Famous birthdays by year
Famous People Born in 1878
Born in 1878? 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 148 in 2026 · Chinese zodiac: Year of the Tiger
The 1870s
The most famous people born in 187820
1878–1953Joseph Stalin
Soviet dictator from the 1920s until 1953 who led the USSR through the Second World War and ruled through purges and labour camps
Photo: Franklin D. Roosevelt Library Public Domain Photographs · Public domain
1878–1968Lise Meitner
Nuclear physicist who co-discovered the process of nuclear fission
Photo: Smithsonian Institution · Public domain
1878–1967Carl Sandburg
Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet and biographer of Abraham Lincoln
Photo: Al Ravenna, World Telegram staff photographer · Public domain
1878–1929Gustav Stresemann
Nobel Peace Prize winner and influential Weimar Republic statesman
Photo: Unknown · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
1878–1935Kazimir Malevich
Avant-garde painter who founded the Suprematist art movement
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain
1878–1944Reza Shah
Founder of the Pahlavi dynasty and former Shah of Iran
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain
1878–1965Martin Buber
Existentialist philosopher who wrote I and Thou
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain
1878–1968Upton Sinclair
American author who wrote the influential social protest novel The Jungle
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain
Born in 1878, month by month
- January
- Carl Sandburg (January 6) · Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet and biographer of Abraham Lincoln
- John B. Watson (January 9) · Psychologist who established the influential school of behaviorism
- February
- Martin Buber (February 8) · Existentialist philosopher who wrote I and Thou
- Kazimir Malevich (February 11) · Avant-garde painter who founded the Suprematist art movement
- March
- Reza Shah (March 15) · Founder of the Pahlavi dynasty and former Shah of Iran
- April
- Lionel Barrymore (April 28) · Oscar-winning actor known for playing Mr Potter in It's a Wonderful Life
- May
- Gustav Stresemann (May 10) · Nobel Peace Prize winner and influential Weimar Republic statesman
- July
- Eino Leino (July 6) · Finnish poet and pioneer of the country's literary tradition
- August
- Alfred Döblin (August 10) · German novelist best known for the modern classic Berlin Alexanderplatz
- Pyotr Wrangel (August 15) · Commanding general of the anti-Bolshevik forces in the Russian Civil War
- Manuel L. Quezon (August 19) · Second President of the Philippines and leader during the Commonwealth era
- George Whipple (August 28) · Nobel Prize-winning physician who discovered liver therapy for treating anaemia
- September
- Upton Sinclair (September 20) · American author who wrote the influential social protest novel The Jungle
- Shigeru Yoshida (September 22) · Prime Minister of Japan during the post-war reconstruction period
- Charles Ferdinand Ramuz (September 24) · Swiss author known for his novels about mountain life
- November
- Carlos Saavedra Lamas (November 1) · Argentine politician and the first Latin American Nobel Peace Prize winner
- Lise Meitner (November 7) · Nuclear physicist who co-discovered the process of nuclear fission
- December
- Akiko Yosano (December 7) · Influential Japanese feminist poet and author of Tangled Hair
- C. Rajagopalachari (December 10) · Indian independence leader, lawyer and writer who served as the only Indian Governor-General and later founded the Swatantra Party
- Joseph Stalin (December 18) · Soviet dictator from the 1920s until 1953 who led the USSR through the Second World War and ruled through purges and labour camps