Famous birthdays by year
Famous People Born in 1901
Born in 1901? 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 125 in 2026 · Chinese zodiac: Year of the Ox
The 1900s
The most famous people born in 190136
1901–1966Walt Disney
American animation pioneer who created Mickey Mouse, made Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and founded Disneyland
Photo: Boy Scouts of America · Public domain
1901–1992Marlene Dietrich
German-American actress and singer who became a star in The Blue Angel and entertained Allied troops in the Second World War
Photo: für die Datei Arths-at · Public domain
1901–1971Louis Armstrong
New Orleans jazz trumpeter and singer known as Satchmo, famous for his gravelly voice and What a Wonderful World
Photo: World-Telegram staff photographer · Public domain
1901–1954Enrico Fermi
Italian-American physicist who built the first nuclear reactor, won the Nobel Prize and worked on the Manhattan Project
Photo: Department of Energy-Office of Public Affairs, restored by Yann · Public domain
1901–1989Hirohito
Emperor of Japan from 1926 to 1989 who reigned through the Second World War and announced Japan's surrender by radio
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain
1901–1976Werner Heisenberg
German physicist who formulated the uncertainty principle, helped found quantum mechanics and won the Nobel Prize
Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
1901–1970Sukarno
Indonesian nationalist who declared independence from the Dutch in 1945 and served as the country's first president
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain
1901–1994Linus Pauling
American chemist who explained chemical bonds and won two unshared Nobel Prizes, for Chemistry and for Peace
Photo: US-Gov., Library of Congress, biographical file · Public domain
Born in 1901, month by month
- January
- Alfred Tarski (January 14) · Influential Polish-American logician and mathematician
- Fulgencio Batista (January 16) · Cuban military leader and president ousted by the 1959 revolution
- February
- Clark Gable (February 1) · American actor known as the King of Hollywood, who played Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind and won an Oscar
- Langston Hughes (February 1) · Poet and a central figure of the Harlem Renaissance
- Mohamed Naguib (February 20) · First President of Egypt after the 1952 revolution
- Linus Pauling (February 28) · American chemist who explained chemical bonds and won two unshared Nobel Prizes, for Chemistry and for Peace
- March
- Eisaku Satō (March 27) · Japanese Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner
- April
- Melvyn Douglas (April 5) · Academy Award-winning actor of the Golden Age of Hollywood
- Jacques Lacan (April 13) · Influential French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist
- Hirohito (April 29) · Emperor of Japan from 1926 to 1989 who reigned through the Second World War and announced Japan's surrender by radio
- Simon Kuznets (April 30) · Nobel Prize-winning economist who developed the concept of GDP
- May
- Gary Cooper (May 7) · Academy Award-winning American actor known for westerns and dramas
- Vincent du Vigneaud (May 18) · Nobel Prize-winning biochemist who synthesised the hormone oxytocin
- Max Euwe (May 20) · Dutch chess grandmaster who became the fifth World Chess Champion
- June
- Carlo Biotti (June 5) · Italian judge and former president of the Court of Milan
- Sukarno (June 6) · Indonesian nationalist who declared independence from the Dutch in 1945 and served as the country's first president
- Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (June 18) · Youngest daughter of the last Tsar of Russia
- July
- Vittorio De Sica (July 7) · Italian film director and leading figure in neorealism
- Barbara Cartland (July 9) · Prolific British novelist who wrote hundreds of popular romance books
- Jean Dubuffet (July 31) · French artist who founded the movement known as Art Brut
- August
- Louis Armstrong (August 4) · New Orleans jazz trumpeter and singer known as Satchmo, famous for his gravelly voice and What a Wonderful World
- Ernest Lawrence (August 8) · Nobel Prize-winning physicist who invented the cyclotron particle accelerator
- Salvatore Quasimodo (August 20) · Nobel Prize-winning Italian poet and literary translator
- September
- Charles Brenton Huggins (September 22) · Nobel Prize-winning surgeon who discovered hormone treatments for cancer
- Jaroslav Seifert (September 23) · Nobel Prize-winning Czech poet and journalist
- Robert Bresson (September 25) · Influential French filmmaker known for his minimalist cinematic style
- Enrico Fermi (September 29) · Italian-American physicist who built the first nuclear reactor, won the Nobel Prize and worked on the Manhattan Project
- October
- Alberto Giacometti (October 10) · Swiss sculptor known for his elongated and spindly human figures
- November
- André Malraux (November 3) · French novelist and statesman who served as Minister of Cultural Affairs
- Leopold III of Belgium (November 3) · King of the Belgians who abdicated the throne in 1951
- Nâzım Hikmet (November 30) · Turkish poet and playwright who pioneered modern free verse
- December
- Walt Disney (December 5) · American animation pioneer who created Mickey Mouse, made Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and founded Disneyland
- Werner Heisenberg (December 5) · German physicist who formulated the uncertainty principle, helped found quantum mechanics and won the Nobel Prize
- Paul of Greece (December 14) · King of Greece who reigned during the post-war period
- Margaret Mead (December 16) · Pioneering cultural anthropologist and author of Coming of Age in Samoa
- Marlene Dietrich (December 27) · German-American actress and singer who became a star in The Blue Angel and entertained Allied troops in the Second World War