Famous People Born In 1887

Discover the most famous people born in 1887. The list includes people like Srinivasa Ramanujan, Erwin Schrödinger, Chiang Kai-shek, Marcel Duchamp, Le Corbusier and many more. This list of celebrities is loosely sorted by popularity. People featured on this list, include political leaders, soldiers, poets and artists born in 1887. This list includes people from United States, United Kingdom, Germany & France and many more countries.
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 1 
Jim Thorpe
(American Athlete and Olympic Gold Medalist)
Jim Thorpe
12
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: 28th May
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Lincoln County, Oklahoma, United States
Died: March 28, 1953

Jim Thorpe was an American athlete who was counted among the most versatile athletes of the modern era. Jim Thorpe won two gold medals at the 1912 Olympics and became the first Native American to give the United States an Olympic gold. He also played American football, professional baseball, and basketball. He was memorialized in the 1951 film Jim Thorpe – All-American.

 2 
Georgia O'Keeffe
(American Modernist Artist Known for Her Flowers and New York Skyscrapers Paintings)
Georgia O'Keeffe
25
Birthdate: 15th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, United States
Died: March 6, 1986
Artist Georgia O'Keeffe enriched American modernism and precisionism with her artwork, mostly water color and charcoal paintings. She was the first female artist to have a retrospective at New York’s MOMA. Her paintings focused on the cityscapes and landscapes of New York and New Mexico, and abstract flowers.
 3 
Marcus Garvey
(Jamaican Political Activist, Journalist and Founder and First President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association)
Marcus Garvey
14
Listed In: Activists
Birthdate: 17th August
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Saint Ann's Bay, Jamaica
Died: June 10, 1940
Marcus Garvey is remembered as an iconic Black separatist leader who believed that all African-origin people in Europe and America should go back to Africa. He established the Universal Negro Improvement Association, but his activism was not accepted by civil rights activists, who believed in racial integration and not segregation.
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 4 
Erwin Schrödinger
(Austrian Physicist Who Made Important Contributions to the Development of Quantum Mechanics)
Erwin Schrödinger
21
Listed In: Physicists
Birthdate: 12th August
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Erdberg, Vienna, Austria
Died: January 4, 1961
Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger, is best known for the "Schrödinger's cat" experiment, or the Schrodinger equation. His book What Is Life? explored genetics through physics. The Nobel Prize winner also wrote on a variety of topics, such as color theory and thermodynamics, and tried to create a unified field theory.
 5 
Shoeless Joe Jackson
(American Professional Baseball Player Who Plays as an Outfielder)
Shoeless Joe Jackson
12
Listed In: Baseball Players
Birthdate: 16th July
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Pickens County, South Carolina, United States
Died: December 5, 1951

MLB player Joseph Jefferson Jackson, or Shoeless Joe, was associated with the Philadelphia Athletics, the Cleveland Naps/Indians, and the Chicago White Sox. He was dragged into the Black Sox Scandal, through which the 1919 Chicago White Sox team members conspired to fix the World Series, leading him to be banned.

 6 
Boris Karloff
5
Listed In: Actors
Birthdate: 23rd November
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Camberwell
Died: February 2, 1969
Boris Karloff is best remembered as a horror film actor who appeared in films such as Frankenstein and its sequels and the 1932 film The Mummy. He voiced Grinch in the TV special How the Grinch Stole Christmas! He was also part of radio plays, including the Lights Out series.
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 7 
Srinivasa Ramanujan
(Mathematician)
Srinivasa Ramanujan
102
Listed In: Mathematicians
Birthdate: 22nd December
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Erode
Died: April 26, 1920

A self-taught genius Indian mathematician, Srinivasa Ramanujan is known for his contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory and continued fractions. Born into a humble family, the celebrated mathematician struggled with poverty but still managed to publish first of his papers in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society. Later, his collaboration with English mathematician G. H. Hardy proved very productive.

 8 
Conrad Hilton
(American Businessman and Founder of the ‘Hilton Hotels’ Chain)
Conrad Hilton
14
Listed In: Hoteliers
Birthdate: 25th December
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: San Antonio, New Mexico, United States
Died: January 3, 1979

Conrad Hilton was an American politician and businessman credited with founding the popular multinational hospitality company, Hilton Hotels Corporation. He is also the founder of a non-profit charitable organization called Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, which aims at ending human suffering worldwide. In 1996, the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize was created by the foundation in the memory of Conrad Hilton.

 9 
Alvin York
(One of the Most Decorated United States Army Soldiers of World War I)
Alvin York
6
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: 13th December
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Fentress County, Tennessee, United States
Died: September 2, 1964

One of the most decorated United States Army soldiers of World War I, Alvin York is best remembered for leading an attack on a German machine-gun nest. The son of a poor blacksmith, he started working as a child to contribute to his family income. After joining the army, he became known for his courage and valor.

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 10 
William Frawley
9
Listed In: Actors
Birthdate: 26th February
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Burlington, Iowa
Died: March 3, 1966
William Frawley is best remembered as Fred Mertz from the iconic sitcom I Love Lucy and as "Bub" O'Casey from My Three Sons. He had started his career as a vaudeville entertainer and later performed as part of the comedy duo Frawley and Louise, with his wife, Edna Louise Broedt. 
 11 
Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein
(British Army Officer Who Served in the First and Second World Wars and the Irish War of Independence)
Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein
8
Listed In: Military Leaders
Birthdate: 17th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Kennington, London, United Kingdom
Died: March 24, 1976

Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, was a British Army officer who played important roles in World War I, World War II, and the Irish War of Independence. He commanded the British Eighth Army during the Second World War and also oversaw the operations during the Battle of Normandy. Bernard Montgomery has a couple of statues dedicated to him.

 12 
Le Corbusier
(Architect)
Le Corbusier
18
Listed In: Artists
Birthdate: 6th October
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
Died: August 27, 1965

Le Corbusier was a Swiss-French designer, painter, architect, writer, and urban planner. He was one of the pioneers of modern architecture. During his illustrious career, which spanned 50 years, Le Corbusier designed buildings in India, Japan, Europe, and North and South America. He is also credited with revolutionizing urban planning.  

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 13 
Marcel Duchamp
(French Painter, Sculptor, Chess Player and Writer)
Marcel Duchamp
10
Birthdate: 28th July
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Blainville-Crevon, France
Died: October 2, 1968
French-American painter and sculptor Marcel Duchamp is remembered for his association with movements such as Cubism and Dadaism. A significant figure in conceptual art, he was against art that was meant to just cater to the eyes. He was also a skilled chess player and carved his own chess set.
 14 
Chiang Kai-shek
(President of the Republic of China)
Chiang Kai-shek
26
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: 31st October
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Xikou
Died: April 5, 1975

Chiang Kai-shek was a Chinese revolutionary who led the Republic of China between 1928 and 1975, first in mainland China until 1949 and later on in Taiwan until his death. He is credited with successfully leading the Northern Expedition against the Beiyang government, achieving Chinese unification. He was involved in a civil war with Communist Party of China, which he lost in 1949 and retreated to Taiwan.

 15 
Marc Chagall
(Jewish-French Artist Who was a Pioneer of Modernism)
Marc Chagall
9
Listed In: Artists
Birthdate: 6th July
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Lizona, Belarus
Died: March 28, 1985

Russian-French artist Marc Chagall, a key figure of modernism, had explored a wide range of media as an artist, from paintings and drawings to stained glass and ceramics. His major projects included the ceiling of the Paris Opéra, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Jerusalem Windows of Israel.

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 16 
Chico Marx
(American comedian)
Chico Marx
3
Birthdate: 22nd March
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: New York City, New York
Died: October 11, 1961
 17 
L. S. Lowry
(Artist)
L. S. Lowry
9
Listed In: Artists
Birthdate: 1st November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Stretford, Lancashire, England
Died: February 23, 1976

Laurence Stephen Lowry was an English painter, known for his bleak urban industrial landscapes, peopled with human figures akin to “matchstick men”. He became interested in the subject while working at a Manchester real-estate and began depicting what he saw. Although critics are divided over his stature, they all agree on the relevance of his works as a social commentary.

 18 
Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
(Military Leader)
Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
9
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: 13th September
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York, USA
Died: July 12, 1944
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Marjorie Merriweather Post
7
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: 15th March
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Springfield, Illinois, United States
Died: September 12, 1973
Entrepreneur and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post was the daughter of General Foods founder C.W. Post. She diversified her father’s business by introducing a frozen food line to the pre-extisting cereal company. She was also known for her fetish for Russian art and her mansion Mar-a-Lago, later purchased by Donald Trump.
 20 
Violet Jessop
(Nurse)
Violet Jessop
15
Listed In: Nurses
Birthdate: 2nd October
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Bahía Blanca, Argentina
Died: May 5, 1971
 21 
Charles I of Austria
(Emperor of Austria from 1916 to 1918)
Charles I of Austria
9
Listed In: Emperors & Kings
Birthdate: 17th August
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Persenbeug-Gottsdorf, Austria
Died: April 1, 1922

Charles I of Austria reigned from 1916 to 1918 as the last emperor of Austria. He was the last king of Croatia, Bohemia, Hungary, and the last monarch from the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. Charles is remembered for making unsuccessful attempts to end Austria-Hungary's World War I campaign. He also tried to save the Austro-Hungarian Empire from disintegration but was unsuccessful.

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 22 
Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg
(Queen)
Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg
1
Birthdate: 24th October
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Balmoral Castle, Scotland
Died: April 15, 1969
 23 
Arthur Rubinstein
(One of the Greatest Pianists and Chopin Interpreters of His Time)
Arthur Rubinstein
4
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: 28th January
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Łódź, Poland
Died: December 20, 1982

Arthur Rubinstein was a Polish-American pianist counted amongst the greatest pianists of all time. He had an extensive career spanning eight decades, during which he earned much international acclaim. He played music performed by several illustrious composers and is especially remembered for his interpretation of Chopin’s music. Renowned pianists François-René Duchâble and Avi Schönfeld were his students. 

 24 
Henry Moseley
(Physicist)
Henry Moseley
9
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: 23rd November
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Weymouth, Dorset, England
Died: August 10, 1915

Henry Moseley was an English physicist best known for his development of Moseley's law in X-ray spectra. He made major contributions to the fields of atomic physics, nuclear physics, and quantum physics. He was working at the University of Oxford when World War I broke out, following which he went to volunteer for the Royal Engineers of the British Army. 

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 25 
Rupert Brooke
2
Listed In: Poets
Birthdate: 3rd August
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Rugby
Died: April 23, 1915
 26 
Walter Johnson
(American Professional Baseball player)
Walter Johnson
3
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: 6th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Humboldt, Kansas, United States
Died: December 10, 1946
 27 
Felix Yusupov
(Prince of Russia)
Felix Yusupov
1
Listed In: Emperors & Kings
Birthdate: 23rd March
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died: September 27, 1967

Felix Yusupov was a Russian prince and count from the Yusupov family. He participated in the assassination of the controversial mystic Grigori Rasputin. He was born into a wealthy family and led a flamboyant life. He was happily married to Princess Irina of Russia, the niece of Tsar Nicholas II, for more than 50 years.

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 28 
Alf Landon
(Governor of Kansas)
Alf Landon
3
Birthdate: 9th September
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Died: October 12, 1987
 29 
Barnes Wallis
(English Scientist and Engineer Known for Inventing the ‘Bouncing Bomb’ and ‘Earthquake Bomb’)
Barnes Wallis
2
Listed In: Inventors
Birthdate: 26th September
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Ripley, Derbyshire, England
Died: October 30, 1979

Barnes Wallis was an English engineer, inventor, and scientist. He played an important role during the Second World War by inventing the bouncing bomb which was used in Operation Chastise by the Royal Air Force to attack the dams of the Ruhr Valley. Barnes Wallis is also credited with inventing the earthquake bomb and his version of the geodetic airframe.

 30 
Nadia Boulanger
(One of the Most Influential Teachers of Musical Composition of the 20th Century)
Nadia Boulanger
0
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: 16th September
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: October 22, 1979

Born to a music instructor father, French composer and conductor Nadia Boulanger was no stranger to music as a kid. The first woman to conduct prime orchestras, she had the who’s who of the music industry, such as Elliott Carter, Roy Harris, and Quincy Jones, on her list of students.

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 31 
Juan Gris
(Spanish Cubist Painter)
Juan Gris
4
Listed In: Cubist Painters
Birthdate: 23rd March
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Madrid, Spain
Died: May 11, 1927

Juan Gris was a Spanish painter whose paintings are counted among the Cubism movement's most distinctive works. Gris's works and style influenced the Purist style of Charles Edouard Jeanneret and Amédée Ozenfant. Some of his paintings, such as Still Life with Checked Tablecloth and The musician's Table, have sold for millions of dollars at the auction.

 32 
John Reed
(Journalist, Poet)
John Reed
5
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: 22nd October
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Portland, Oregon, United States
Died: October 17, 1920
 33 
Heitor Villa-Lobos
(One of the Foremost Latin American Composers of the 20th Century)
Heitor Villa-Lobos
1
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: 5th March
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Died: November 17, 1959

Heitor Villa-Lobos was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist. He is widely believed to be "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music." He was a prolific composer with over 2,000 orchestral, chamber, instrumental, and vocal works to his name. His music continues to be popular today, even six decades after his death. 

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 34 
Grover Cleveland Alexander
(Baseball Player)
Grover Cleveland Alexander
4
Listed In: Baseball Players
Birthdate: 26th February
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Elba, Nebraska, United States
Died: November 4, 1950
 35 
Aldo Leopold
(American Author & Environmentalist Who is Best Known for His Book 'A Sand County Almanac')
Aldo Leopold
4
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: 11th January
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Burlington
Died: April 21, 1948
 36 
James Finlayson
(Scottish Actor and Comedian)
James Finlayson
0
Birthdate: 27th August
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Larbert, Stirlingshire, Scotland
Died: October 9, 1953
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 37 
Hans Oster
(Former Deputy Chief of the Abwehr (1935 - 1944) and a Leading Figure of the Anti-Nazi German Resistance)
Hans Oster
2
Listed In: Military Leaders
Birthdate: 9th August
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Dresden, Germany
Died: April 9, 1945

Hans Oster was a German military officer who served as a general in Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany. Oster was one of the most important members involved in the German resistance to Nazism. One of the key participants of the Oster Conspiracy, Oster was also involved in the assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler on 20 July 1944.

 38 
Ruth Benedict
(American Anthropologist)
Ruth Benedict
0
Listed In: Anthropologists
Birthdate: 5th June
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: New York, United States
Died: September 17, 1948

Ruth Benedict was an American folklorist and anthropologist. Benedict, who played an important role in the American Folklore Society, also served as the American Anthropological Association's president; the association gives away an annual prize named after Ruth Benedict. In 2005, she was made an inductee of the National Women's Hall of Fame.

 39 
Joseph Philippe Lemercier Laroche
(Engineer)
Joseph Philippe Lemercier Laroche
2
Birthdate: 26th May
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Cap-Haïtien, Haiti
Died: April 15, 1912
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 40 
Kurt Schwitters
(German Artist Best Known for His Collages and Relief Constructions)
Kurt Schwitters
0
Birthdate: 20th June
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Hanover, Germany
Died: January 8, 1948

German artist and poet Kurt Schwitters, known for collage, artist's book, installation, sculpture and poetry, is noted for his collages and relief-constructions. Schwitters planned a Dada section in Hanover and the Merz art-style traces back to him, which he found by chance while forming a collage with the German word Kommerz. One of his notable works is Das Undbild, 1919.

 41 
Roland Hayes
(African-American concert artist)
Roland Hayes
0
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: 3rd June
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Curryville, Georgia, United States
Died: January 1, 1977
 42 
Courtney Hicks Hodges
(General)
Courtney Hicks Hodges
0
Listed In: Military Leaders
Birthdate: 5th January
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Perry, Georgia, United States
Died: January 16, 1966
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 43 
Eubie Blake
(American composer)
Eubie Blake
2
Listed In: Composers
Birthdate: 7th February
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Died: February 12, 1983
 44 
Lynn Fontanne
(Actress)
Lynn Fontanne
0
Listed In: Actresses
Birthdate: 6th December
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Woodford, London, England
Died: July 30, 1983
 45 
Marc Mitscher
(Admiral of the navy)
Marc Mitscher
0
Listed In: Military Leaders
Birthdate: 26th January
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Hillsboro, Wisconsin, United States
Died: February 3, 1947
 46 
Jack Phillips
(Wireless telegraphist)
Jack Phillips
3
Listed In: Sailors
Birthdate: 11th April
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Farncombe, Surrey, England
Died: April 15, 1912
 47 
Hermine Reuss of Greiz
(Princess)
Hermine Reuss of Greiz
0
Birthdate: 17th December
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Greiz, Principality of Reuss-Greiz, German Empire
Died: August 7, 1947
 48 
Alexander Vandegrift
(General)
Alexander Vandegrift
3
Listed In: Military Leaders
Birthdate: 13th March
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Charlottesville, Virginia, United States
Died: May 8, 1973
 49 
Julian Huxley
(Biologist)
Julian Huxley
4
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: 22nd June
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: London, England
Died: February 14, 1975
 50 
Govind Ballabh Pant
(Freedom Fighter)
Govind Ballabh Pant
26
Birthdate: 10th September
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Almora,India
Died: March 7, 1961