Famous birthdays by year

Famous People Born in 1866

Born in 1866? 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 160 in 2026 · Chinese zodiac: Year of the Tiger

The 1860s

The most famous people born in 186615

1866–1946

H. G. Wells

English author of The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds and The Invisible Man, a founding father of science fiction

Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than forty novels and dozens of short stories.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 79

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Photo: George Charles Beresford · Public domain

1866–1925

Sun Yat-sen

Chinese revolutionary and physician who helped overthrow the Qing dynasty and is honoured as the father of modern China

Sun Yat-sen (12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary and political philosopher who founded the Republic of China (ROC) and the Kuomintang (KMT). Sun is credited with leading the 1911 Revolution and overthrowing the Qing dynasty.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsDied aged 58

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Photo: 上海波尔照相馆 · Public domain

1866–1944

Romain Rolland

French novelist of Jean-Christophe and biographer of Beethoven, a committed pacifist who won the Nobel Prize in Literature

Romain Rolland (French:; 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915 "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary production and to the sympathy and love of truth with which he has described…

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 78

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Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1866–1944

Wassily Kandinsky

Russian painter considered a pioneer of abstract art

Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (16 December 1866 – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter and art theorist active in Germany during the late Belle Époque and Interwar eras. Kandinsky is generally credited as one of the pioneers of abstraction in Western art.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ArtDied aged 77

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Photo: 未知上傳者 · Public domain

1866–1954

Jacinto Benavente

Nobel Prize-winning Spanish playwright and screenwriter

Jacinto Benavente y Martínez (Spanish pronunciation:; 12 August 1866 – 14 July 1954) was one of the foremost Spanish dramatists of the 20th century. He was awarded the 1922 Nobel Prize in Literature "for the happy manner in which he has continued the illustrious traditions of the Spanish drama".

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 87

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Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1866–1943

Beatrix Potter

Author and illustrator of The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Helen Beatrix Heelis (née Potter; 28 July 1866 – 22 December 1943), usually known as Beatrix Potter ( BEE-ə-triks), was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 77

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Photo: Charles G.Y. King (1854-1937) · Public domain

1866–1952

Benedetto Croce

Italian philosopher and historian who influenced modern aesthetics

Benedetto Croce, ( KROH-chay; Italian:; 25 February 1866 – 20 November 1952) was an Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and politician who wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, historiography, and aesthetics.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PhilosophyDied aged 86

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Photo: Mario Nunes Vais · Public domain

1866–1925

Erik Satie

Avant-garde French composer known for his minimalist piano pieces

Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (17 May 1866 – 1 July 1925), better known as Erik Satie, was a French composer and pianist. The son of a French father and a British mother, he studied at the Paris Conservatoire but was undistinguished and did not obtain a diploma.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MusicDied aged 59

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Photo: Sonia y natalia · CC BY-SA 3.0

Born in 1866, month by month

January
- George Gurdjieff (January 13) · Mystic and philosopher who developed the Fourth Way spiritual system
- Nathan Söderblom (January 15) · Swedish archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner
- Romain Rolland (January 29) · French novelist of Jean-Christophe and biographer of Beethoven, a committed pacifist who won the Nobel Prize in Literature
February
- Benedetto Croce (February 25) · Italian philosopher and historian who influenced modern aesthetics
April
- Ferruccio Busoni (April 1) · Italian composer and virtuoso pianist known for his Bach transcriptions
May
- Erik Satie (May 17) · Avant-garde French composer known for his minimalist piano pieces
July
- Beatrix Potter (July 28) · Author and illustrator of The Tale of Peter Rabbit
August
- Jacinto Benavente (August 12) · Nobel Prize-winning Spanish playwright and screenwriter
September
- H. G. Wells (September 21) · English author of The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds and The Invisible Man, a founding father of science fiction
- Charles Nicolle (September 21) · French scientist who identified how epidemic typhus was transmitted to humans
- Thomas Hunt Morgan (September 25) · Nobel Prize-winning geneticist who studied fruit flies
October
- Ramsay MacDonald (October 12) · First Labour politician to serve as Prime Minister of Britain
November
- Sun Yat-sen (November 12) · Chinese revolutionary and physician who helped overthrow the Qing dynasty and is honoured as the father of modern China
December
- Alfred Werner (December 12) · Nobel Prize-winning chemist who founded the study of coordination compounds
- Wassily Kandinsky (December 16) · Russian painter considered a pioneer of abstract art

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