Famous birthdays by year

Famous People Born in 1902

Born in 1902? 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 124 in 2026 · Chinese zodiac: Year of the Tiger

The 1900s

The most famous people born in 190233

1902–1968

John Steinbeck

American novelist of The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men and East of Eden who won the Nobel Prize in Literature

John Ernst Steinbeck ( STYNE-bek; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and novelist. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social perception".

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 124

View profile Photo (modified): McFadden Publications, Inc.; no photographer credited; photo likely the work of Sonya Noskowiak, as Steinbeck is wearing · Public domain

1902–1994

Karl Popper

Austrian-British philosopher who argued that science advances by falsification and defended liberal democracy in The Open Society

Sir Karl Raimund Popper (28 July 1902 – 17 September 1994) was an Austrian–British philosopher, academic and social commentator.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PhilosophyWould be 124

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1902–1984

Paul Dirac

English physicist who predicted antimatter, wrote the Dirac equation and shared the Nobel Prize in Physics at 31

Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac ( dih-RAK; 8 August 1902 – 20 October 1984) was an English theoretical physicist who is considered to be one of the founders of quantum mechanics. Dirac laid the foundations for both quantum electrodynamics and quantum field theory, coining the former term.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 124

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1902–1988

Halldór Laxness

Nobel Prize-winning Icelandic author of Independent People

Halldór Kiljan Laxness (Icelandic:; born Halldór Guðjónsson; 23 April 1902 – 8 February 1998) was an Icelandic writer and winner of the 1955 Nobel Prize in Literature. He wrote novels, poetry, newspaper articles, essays, plays, travelogues and short stories.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 124

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1902–1995

Eugene Paul Wigner

Nobel Prize-winning physicist who contributed to the Manhattan Project

Eugene Paul Wigner (Hungarian: Wigner Jenő Pál, pronounced; November 17, 1902 – January 1, 1995) was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist who also contributed to mathematical physics.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 123

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1902–1992

Barbara McClintock

Geneticist who discovered mobile genetic elements in maize

Barbara McClintock (June 16, 1902 – September 2, 1992) was an American cytogeneticist who was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. McClintock received her PhD in botany from Cornell University in 1927.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 124

View profile Photo (modified): Smithsonian Institution /Science Service; Restored by Adam Cuerden · Public domain

1902–2003100 Club

Leni Riefenstahl

German filmmaker and photographer known for the documentary Triumph of the Will

Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (German:; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German filmmaker, photographer, and actress. She is considered one of the most controversial personalities in film history.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmWould be 124

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1902–1974

Charles Lindbergh

Aviator who completed the first solo non-stop transatlantic flight

Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York to Paris, a distance of 3,600 miles (5,800 km), flying alone for over 33 hours.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

AviationWould be 124

View profile Photo (modified): Harris & Ewing · Public domain

Born in 1902, month by month

January
- Georgy Malenkov (January 8) · Soviet politician who briefly succeeded Joseph Stalin as leader
- Carl Rogers (January 8) · Influential American psychologist who founded person-centred therapy
- Josemaría Escrivá (January 9) · Spanish priest who founded the Catholic organisation Opus Dei
- Saud of Saudi Arabia (January 15) · Second King of Saudi Arabia who modernised the country's infrastructure
- Alva Myrdal (January 31) · Swedish diplomat and politician who won the Nobel Peace Prize
February
- Charles Lindbergh (February 4) · Aviator who completed the first solo non-stop transatlantic flight
- Walter Houser Brattain (February 10) · American physicist who co-invented the transistor
- Ansel Adams (February 20) · Renowned landscape photographer known for his black-and-white images of nature
- John Steinbeck (February 27) · American novelist of The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men and East of Eden who won the Nobel Prize in Literature
April
- Halldór Laxness (April 23) · Nobel Prize-winning Icelandic author of Independent People
- Theodore Schultz (April 30) · Nobel Prize-winning economist who researched human capital and rural development
May
- Alfred Kastler (May 3) · French physicist who won the Nobel Prize for optical pumping
- André Lwoff (May 8) · Nobel Prize-winning microbiologist who discovered how viruses infect bacteria
June
- Erik Erikson (June 15) · Developmental psychologist who coined the term identity crisis
- Barbara McClintock (June 16) · Geneticist who discovered mobile genetic elements in maize
July
- William Wyler (July 1) · Acclaimed director of Ben-Hur and Roman Holiday
- Kurt Alder (July 10) · Nobel Prize-winning chemist known for the Diels-Alder reaction
- Eric Hoffer (July 25) · American social philosopher known for the book The True Believer
- Karl Popper (July 28) · Austrian-British philosopher who argued that science advances by falsification and defended liberal democracy in The Open Society
August
- Paul Dirac (August 8) · English physicist who predicted antimatter, wrote the Dirac equation and shared the Nobel Prize in Physics at 31
- Arne Tiselius (August 10) · Nobel Prize-winning chemist who developed methods for separating proteins
- Leni Riefenstahl (August 22) · German filmmaker and photographer known for the documentary Triumph of the Will
- Fernand Braudel (August 24) · Influential French historian who pioneered the Annales School
September
- Juscelino Kubitschek (September 12) · Brazilian president who oversaw the construction of the capital city Brasília
October
- Ray Kroc (October 5) · Businessman who built McDonald's into a global fast-food franchise
- Shigeyoshi Suzuki (October 13) · Manager of the Japanese national football team
- Elsa Lanchester (October 28) · British actress who played the title character in Bride of Frankenstein
November
- Mikhail Suslov (November 8) · Soviet politician and chief ideologist of the Communist Party
- Eugene Paul Wigner (November 17) · Nobel Prize-winning physicist who contributed to the Manhattan Project
December
- Talcott Parsons (December 13) · Influential American sociologist who developed the social action theory
- Ralph Richardson (December 19) · Distinguished British actor of the stage and cinema
- Charan Singh (December 23) · Former Prime Minister of India and champion of peasant rights
- Igor Kurchatov (December 30) · Physicist who led the Soviet atomic bomb project

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