Famous birthdays by year

Famous People Born in 1854

Born in 1854? Meet the well-known people who share your birth year, from the biggest names to the ones you might not expect, month by month.

Turning 172 in 2026 · Chinese zodiac: Year of the Tiger

The 1850s

The most famous people born in 185413

1854–1900

Oscar Wilde

Irish playwright and wit who wrote The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Gray before his imprisonment

Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential dramatists in London in the early 1890s.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 172

Photo: Napoleon Sarony / Adam Cuerden · Public domain

1854–1891

Arthur Rimbaud

French poet who wrote A Season in Hell and Illuminations before he was 21, then gave up poetry to trade in Africa

Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (UK:, US:; French:; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 172

Photo: Étienne Carjat · Public domain

1854–1912

Henri Poincaré

French mathematician and physicist who founded topology, laid the groundwork for chaos theory and anticipated relativity

Jules Henri Poincaré (UK:, US:; French:; 29 April 1854 – 17 July 1912) was a French mathematician, theoretical physicist, engineer, and philosopher of science.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 172

Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1854–1922

Benedict XV

Italian pope who led the Catholic Church through the First World War and tried in vain to broker peace

Pope Benedict XV (Latin: Benedictus PP. XV; Italian: Benedetto XV; born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, Italian:; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ReligionWould be 171

Photo: Nicola Perscheid · Public domain

1854–1917

Emil von Behring

Physiologist who received the first ever Nobel Prize in Medicine

Emil von Behring (German:; Emil Adolf von Behring: born Emil Adolf Behring; 15 March 1854 – 31 March 1917), was a German physiologist.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 172

Photo: L. Lamarra, Neapel · Public domain

1854–1915

Paul Ehrlich

Nobel Prize-winning scientist who developed the first effective treatment for syphilis

Paul Ehrlich (German:; 14 March 1854 – 20 August 1915) was a German physician and scientist who worked in the fields of hematology, immunology and antimicrobial chemotherapy. He shared the 1908 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Élie Metchnikoff "in recognition of their work on immunity".

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 172

Photo: Eduard Blum · CC BY 4.0

1854–1938

Karl Kautsky

Influential Marxist theorist and philosopher

Karl Johann Kautsky (German:; 16 October 1854 – 17 October 1938) was an Austrian-born Marxist theorist. One of the most authoritative promulgators of orthodox Marxism, he was for decades the leading theorist of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Second International.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 172

Photo: Unknown · Public domain

1854–1941

Paul Sabatier

Nobel Prize-winning chemist who developed methods for hydrogenating organic compounds

Paul Sabatier (French:; 5 November 1854 – 14 August 1941) was a French chemist, born in Carcassonne. In 1912, Sabatier was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Victor Grignard.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 171

Photo: Nobel Foundation · Public domain

Born in 1854, month by month

January
- James George Frazer (January 1) · Influential Scottish social anthropologist and author of The Golden Bough
March
- Paul Ehrlich (March 14) · Nobel Prize-winning scientist who developed the first effective treatment for syphilis
- Thomas R. Marshall (March 14) · Vice President of the United States under Woodrow Wilson
- Emil von Behring (March 15) · Physiologist who received the first ever Nobel Prize in Medicine
April
- Henri La Fontaine (April 22) · Belgian lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize winner
- Henri Poincaré (April 29) · French mathematician and physicist who founded topology, laid the groundwork for chaos theory and anticipated relativity
June
- Oscar Wilde (June 16) · Irish playwright and wit who wrote The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Gray before his imprisonment
July
- Leoš Janáček (July 3) · Czech composer known for his unique operas and folk-inspired style
- George Eastman (July 12) · Founder of Kodak who pioneered the use of roll film
October
- Karl Kautsky (October 16) · Influential Marxist theorist and philosopher
- Arthur Rimbaud (October 20) · French poet who wrote A Season in Hell and Illuminations before he was 21, then gave up poetry to trade in Africa
November
- Paul Sabatier (November 5) · Nobel Prize-winning chemist who developed methods for hydrogenating organic compounds
- Benedict XV (November 21) · Italian pope who led the Catholic Church through the First World War and tried in vain to broker peace

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