Famous birthdays by year
Famous People Born in 1868
Born in 1868? 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 158 in 2026 · Chinese zodiac: Year of the Dragon
The 1860s
The most famous people born in 186827
1868–1936Maxim Gorky
Russian writer of The Lower Depths and Mother, a founder of socialist realism and a major figure in Soviet culture
Photo: Herman Mishkin · Public domain
1868–1918Nicholas II of Russia
Last Tsar of Russia, who abdicated in 1917 and was executed with his family by the Bolsheviks in 1918
Photo: Boissonnas & Eggler · Public domain
1868–1953Robert Andrews Millikan
American physicist who measured the charge of a single electron
Photo: Unknown (Mondadori Publishers) · Public domain
1868–1934Fritz Haber
Nobel Prize-winning chemist who developed a method for synthesising ammonia
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain
1868–1941Emanuel Lasker
German chess grandmaster and world champion for twenty-seven years
Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
1868–1943Karl Landsteiner
Biologist and physician who discovered the main human blood groups
Photo: Bachrach Studios · Public domain
1868–1912Robert Falcon Scott
Royal Navy officer who led two major expeditions to Antarctica
Photo: Henry Maull (1829–1914) and John Fox (1832–1907) · Public domain
1868–1951Arnold Sommerfeld
German physicist who pioneered developments in atomic and quantum physics
Photo: Collection(s) W. F. Meggers Collection Copyright Holder American Institute of Physics (AIP) · Attribution
Born in 1868, month by month
- January
- Gustav Meyrink (January 19) · Austrian author of the supernatural novel The Golem
- Theodore William Richards (January 31) · First American to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- February
- Pompeu Fabra (February 20) · Linguist who established the modern grammatical standards of the Catalan language
- W. E. B. Du Bois (February 23) · American sociologist and civil rights activist who co-founded the NAACP
- March
- Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg (March 1) · Wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand whose assassination sparked World War I
- Robert Andrews Millikan (March 22) · American physicist who measured the charge of a single electron
- Maxim Gorky (March 28) · Russian writer of The Lower Depths and Mother, a founder of socialist realism and a major figure in Soviet culture
- Scott Joplin (March 31) · American composer and pianist known as the King of Ragtime
- April
- Edmond Rostand (April 1) · French poet and playwright best known for Cyrano de Bergerac
- Peter Behrens (April 14) · German architect and pioneer of modern industrial design
- May
- Magnus Hirschfeld (May 14) · Physician and early pioneer for sexual minority rights in Germany
- Nicholas II of Russia (May 18) · Last Tsar of Russia, who abdicated in 1917 and was executed with his family by the Bolsheviks in 1918
- Abdülmecid II (May 29) · Last Caliph of the Ottoman dynasty and an accomplished painter
- June
- James Connolly (June 5) · Irish republican and socialist leader executed after the Easter Rising
- Robert Falcon Scott (June 6) · Royal Navy officer who led two major expeditions to Antarctica
- Karl Landsteiner (June 14) · Biologist and physician who discovered the main human blood groups
- Miklós Horthy (June 18) · Naval officer who served as Regent of Hungary for 24 years
- July
- Henrietta Swan Leavitt (July 4) · Astronomer who discovered how to measure distances in space
- Gertrude Bell (July 14) · British explorer and diplomat who helped establish modern Iraq
- August
- Constantine I of Greece (August 2) · King of Greece who reigned during the First World War
- Paul Claudel (August 5) · French poet, dramatist and diplomat known for his verse plays
- October
- Alexandra David-Néel (October 24) · French explorer who visited the forbidden city of Lhasa
- November
- Marie Dressler (November 9) · Oscar-winning Canadian actress and comedian of the early sound era
- John Nance Garner (November 22) · American Vice President and Speaker of the House of Representatives
- December
- Arnold Sommerfeld (December 5) · German physicist who pioneered developments in atomic and quantum physics
- Fritz Haber (December 9) · Nobel Prize-winning chemist who developed a method for synthesising ammonia
- Emanuel Lasker (December 24) · German chess grandmaster and world champion for twenty-seven years