Famous People Born In 1905

A multi-talented personality, Howard Hughes was one of the richest person of his time. A business tycoon, he made big investments in films and aviation industry. Passionate about flying, he set numerous flying records, and also risked his own life in process. Howard Hughes who inherited his family business and became millionaire at the age of 18, was later on troubled with mental illness and turned recluse.

Iconic Swedish-American movie star Greta Garbo is remembered for her melancholic characters. She soared to fame with silent movies such as A Woman of Affairs and talkies such as Mata Hari and Anna Karenina. The three-time Academy Award nominee quit films at 35 and lived a private life.

Christian Dior was a French fashion designer. He is credited with founding Christian Dior, one of the world's top fashion houses, which is currently owned by Groupe Arnault. At the time of its founding, the clothes designed by Christian Dior revolutionized women's dress. The brand also re-established Paris as the fashion hub of the world after World War II.

Myrna Loy was an American actress best remembered for playing femme fatale roles. Loy was able to break her stereotypical femme fatale on-screen image by playing Nora Charles in the 1934 comedy-mystery film The Thin Man. Although she never received an Academy Award nomination, Myrna Loy was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 1991 for her contribution to cinema.

Maria von Trapp was the matriarch of the Austrian singing family, Trapp Family Singers. As a young woman, she married widowed naval commander Georg von Trapp. He already had seven children from his first wife, and the couple had three more. The family began singing together at events and became a popular touring act called the Trapp Family Singers. 

Ayn Rand was a Russian-American philosopher and writer. Apart from publishing two best-selling novels, Ayn Rand is credited with developing a philosophical system called Objectivism. Over the years, Ayn Rand has been a major influence among American conservatives and libertarians. Some of the famous personalities influenced by her include Amber Heard, Vince Vaughn, Jimmy Wales, Ayelet Shaked, and Mary Ruwart.

Jean-Paul Sartre was a French philosopher, writer, literary critic, and political activist. One of the most important personalities in the philosophy of phenomenology and existentialism, Sartre played a crucial role in 20th-century French philosophy. His work continues to influence literary studies, post-colonial theory, sociology, and critical theory. He was honored with the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Joseph Cotten was an American actor who achieved prominence on Broadway during the 1930s. He then became a leading Hollywood actor in the 1940s, playing important roles in films like Citizen Kane, Shadow of a Doubt, and Duel in the Sun. In 1960, Joseph Cotten was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Anna May Wong was an American actress and the first Chinese-American to make it big in Hollywood. She is remembered as the first Chinese-American to gain international recognition as an actress. Anna made history in 1951 when she appeared in The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong, becoming the first Asian-American to be featured as the lead in a US television show.

Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl founded logotherapy. He also authored several books, most notably his bestselling autobiographical depiction of his ordeal at various Nazi concentration camps, Man's Search for Meaning. He had lost his parents, brother, and wife in the Holocaust. He later won honors such as the Oskar Pfister Award.

Dag Hammarskjöld was a Swedish diplomat and economist. In 1953, Hammarskjöld became the youngest person to be appointed as the Secretary-General of the United Nations. He died in airplane crash in 1961. Dag Hammarskjöld became the first person to be honored with a Nobel Peace Prize posthumously.

While he initially wished to follow in his prosecutor father’s footsteps to be a lawyer, Otto Preminger later discovered his love for theater. A master stage director, he later signed with Fox as one of its first independent filmmakers. He soared to fame with the 1944 film Laura.  

Known as The Magician of field hockey, Dhyan Chand, one of the greatest hockey players from India, is remembered for his three Olympic gold medals and for his ability to control the ball. The Padma Bhushan awardee initially loved wrestling but deviated to hockey after joining the army.

Psychologist Harry Harlow proved that monkeys raised without their mothers exhibited abnormal psychological development. He had a long association with the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he conducted most of his experiments. He was criticized for using dramatic names, such as “pit of despair,” for his experimental devices.

Polish Catholic nun Faustyna Kowalska is remembered for her diary, which recorded her multiple visions of Jesus and was later published. She later got an artist to paint the Image of the Divine Mercy, based on her visions. Known as the Apostle of Divine Mercy, she was canonized as a saint in 2000.

Mulk Raj Anand was an Indian writer best remembered for his depiction of the people belonging to the backward class in traditional Indian society. Anand, who wrote in English, was one of the first Indian writers to achieve an International readership. In 1968, Mulk Raj Anand was honored with India's third-highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan.

Erwin Chargaff was a biochemist and writer who worked at the Columbia University medical school as a professor of biochemistry. He is credited with discovering the Chargaff's rules, which played an important role in the discovery of the DNA's double helix structure. Also a prolific writer, Erwin Chargaff authored several books, including an autobiography.