Famous birthdays by year
Famous People Born in 1862
Born in 1862? 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 164 in 2026 · Chinese zodiac: Year of the Dog
The 1860s
The most famous people born in 186221
1862–1943David Hilbert
German mathematician who set the famous 23 Hilbert problems in 1900 and shaped geometry, logic and mathematical physics
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain
1862–1949Maurice Maeterlinck
Belgian Symbolist playwright of The Blue Bird and Pelléas and Mélisande who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911
Photo: Gerschel · Public domain
1862–1918Claude Debussy
French composer of Clair de lune, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and La Mer, a pioneer of musical Impressionism
Photo: Adam Cuerden · Public domain
1862–1946Gerhart Hauptmann
German dramatist of The Weavers, a pioneer of naturalist theatre, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1912
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain
1862–1918Gustav Klimt
Austrian Symbolist painter of The Kiss and the gold Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer who co-founded the Vienna Secession
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain
1862–1947Philipp Lenard
Nobel Prize-winning physicist who researched cathode rays
Photo: Not mentioned in any source · Public domain
1862–1942William Henry Bragg
Physicist who pioneered the study of crystals using X-rays
Photo: Nobel foundation · Public domain
1862–1910O. Henry
American short story writer known for his surprise endings
Photo: W.M. Vanderweyde, New York · Public domain
Born in 1862, month by month
- January
- David Hilbert (January 23) · German mathematician who set the famous 23 Hilbert problems in 1900 and shaped geometry, logic and mathematical physics
- Edith Wharton (January 24) · Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist of The Age of Innocence
- March
- Siegbert Tarrasch (March 5) · German chess master and highly influential writer on chess theory
- Aristide Briand (March 28) · Long-serving French Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize recipient
- April
- Nicholas Murray Butler (April 2) · Long-serving president of Columbia University and Nobel Peace Prize winner
- Pyotr Stolypin (April 14) · Russian Prime Minister known for his major agrarian reforms
- May
- Niko Pirosmani (May 5) · Self-taught Georgian painter known for his naive art style
- Arthur Schnitzler (May 15) · Austrian author known for his psychological plays and fiction
- June
- Allvar Gullstrand (June 5) · Nobel Prize-winning ophthalmologist who researched the optical properties of the eye
- Philipp Lenard (June 7) · Nobel Prize-winning physicist who researched cathode rays
- July
- William Henry Bragg (July 2) · Physicist who pioneered the study of crystals using X-rays
- Gustav Klimt (July 14) · Austrian Symbolist painter of The Kiss and the gold Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer who co-founded the Vienna Secession
- Ida B. Wells (July 16) · American investigative journalist and civil rights pioneer
- August
- Joseph Merrick (August 5) · Victorian man known as the Elephant Man
- Maurice Barrès (August 19) · Influential French novelist, journalist and nationalist politician
- Emilio Salgari (August 21) · Italian author of swashbuckling adventures including the Sandokan series
- Claude Debussy (August 22) · French composer of Clair de lune, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and La Mer, a pioneer of musical Impressionism
- Maurice Maeterlinck (August 29) · Belgian Symbolist playwright of The Blue Bird and Pelléas and Mélisande who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911
- September
- O. Henry (September 11) · American short story writer known for his surprise endings
- November
- Gerhart Hauptmann (November 15) · German dramatist of The Weavers, a pioneer of naturalist theatre, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1912
- Aurel Stein (November 26) · Archaeologist known for his explorations along the Silk Road