Discover the most famous people born in 1889. The list includes people like Adolf Hitler, Charlie Chaplin, Jawaharlal Nehru, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Martin Heidegger and many more. This list of celebrities is loosely sorted by popularity. People featured on this list, include political leaders, soldiers, directors and poets born in 1889. This list includes people from United States, Germany, United Kingdom & France and many more countries.
Vote for Your Favourite Person
Right IconThis ranking is based on an algorithm that combines various factors, including the votes of our users and search trends on the internet.
1
Adolf Hitler(Nazi Dictator and Chancellor of Germany (1933-1945))
Birthdate: 20th April
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Braunau am Inn, Austria
Died: April 30, 1945
One of the most powerful leaders of the 20th century, Adolf Hitler was a German dicator whose policies started the WWII that resulted in the death of millions of people. He had a visceral hatred for Jews and during his regime nearly six million Jews were killed in Holocaust.
2
Charlie Chaplin(The Greatest Comic Artist Ever & One of the Most Important Figures in Motion-Picture History)
Birthdate: 16th April
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Walworth, London, England
Died: December 25, 1977
Cinema lovers around the world hold Charlie Chaplin in high esteem. One of the biggest stars of the silent film era and an icon, he left the audience in splits with his comedic performances. Even today, his performances in movies like Modern Times and The Gold Rush are considered classic. The legendary actor was also a writer, director and producer.
3
Otto Frank(German Businessman and Father of ‘Anne Frank', the Author of 'The Diary of a Young Girl’)
Birthdate: 12th May
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Province of Hesse-Nassau
Died: August 19, 1980
Otto Frank, the father of Anne Frank, published her journal, detailing her experience during the Holocaust, as The Diary of a Young Girl, after her death. Otto was the only person in his family to survive the Holocaust. A former banker, he had also served in the German army.
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: 26th April
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Vienna, Austria
Died: April 29, 1951
Austrian-British philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein is remembered for his works related to logic, the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of mathematics, and the philosophy of language. He taught at the University of Cambridge for many years. He published only one book during his lifetime. Most of his manuscripts were collected later and published posthumously.
Recommended Lists:5
Edwin Powell Hubble(American Astronomer Who is Regarded as the Leading Observational Cosmologist of the 20th Century)
Birthdate: 20th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Marshfield, Missouri, United States
Died: September 28, 1953
While the Hubble Telescope, named after Edwin Powell Hubble, reminds one of his contribution to astronomy, he failed to get a Nobel Prize, as back in his time, the Nobel Committee didn’t recognize astrophysics as a valid science. He is best remembered for his work on galaxies and extragalactic astronomy.
6
Martin Heidegger(One of the Most Important and Influential Philosophers of the 20th Century)
Birthdate: 26th September
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Messkirch, Germany
Died: May 26, 1976
German philosopher Martin Heidegger was one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century and is remembered for his work on phenomenology, existentialism, and hermeneutics. He explained his ideas in his book Being and Time. He also introduced the concept of Dasein, or “being,” characteristic of human beings.
Recommended Lists:7
Claude Rains(One of the Greatest Character Stars on the Big Screen)
Birthdate: 10th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Clapham, London, England, United Kingdom
Died: May 30, 1967
British-American actor, Claude Rains, had an extensive career that spanned nearly seven decades. The son of a stage actor, he was introduced to the entertainment industry at a young age and went on to have a successful career. He was nominated for the Academy Award four times. He is considered one of the finest actors of the 20th century.
8
Jean Cocteau(French Author and Artist Who Was One of the Foremost Creatives of the 'Surrealist', 'Avant-Garde', and 'Dadaist' Movements.)
Birthdate: 5th July
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Maisons-Laffitte, France
Died: October 11, 1963
While Jean Cocteau preferred calling himself a poet, his multidimensional works consisted of novels such as Les Enfants Terribles and films directed by him such as La Belle et la Bête. Cocteau relied on motifs such as eyes, blood, and mirrors, and mingled mythology and modernism.
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: 15th April
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Crescent City
Died: May 16, 1979
Birthdate: 25th May
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Kiev, Ukraine
Died: October 26, 1972
Igor Sikorsky was a Russian-American aviator known for his pioneering contributions to the development of both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Born in Russia, he immigrated to US as a young man and founded the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in 1923. He is also credited for developing the first of Pan American Airways' ocean-crossing flying boats.
Recommended Lists:11
Clifton Webb(Film actor, Singer)
Birthdate: 19th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Died: October 13, 1966
12
Vaslav Nijinsky(Ballet Dancer, Choreographer and One of the Greatest Male Dancers of All Time)
Birthdate: 12th March
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Kyiv, Ukraine
Died: April 8, 1950
Vaslav Nijinsky was a ballet dancer and choreographer. He is counted among the greatest male dancers of the early 20th century. He was known for the intensity of his characterizations. He was brilliant and could dance en pointe, a rare skill few male dancers of his era possessed. He suffered from mental health issues in his later life.
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: 23rd February
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States
Died: January 6, 1949
14
Robert A. Taft(Politician)
Birthdate: 8th September
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Died: July 31, 1953
Recommended Lists:15
Louise Mountbatten(Queen)
Birthdate: 13th July
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Schloss Heiligenberg, Seeheim-Jugenheim, Germany
Died: March 7, 1965
Birthdate: 15th September
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Clarendon Parish
Died: May 22, 1948
Claude McKay was a poet who played an influential role in the Harlem Renaissance. Remembered for his work If We Must Die, a poem written in response to mob attacks on African-American communities by white Americans, McKay was named the national poet of Jamaica in 1977. For his contribution to literature, he was posthumously honored with the Order of Jamaica.
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: 8th March
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Parry Sound, Ontario
Died: August 5, 1952
Birthdate: 7th April
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Vicuña, Chile
Died: January 10, 1957
Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet and educator Lucila Godoy Alcayaga was better known by her pseudonym, Gabriela Mistral. The suicide of her first love inspired her poem Dolor. Her diplomatic assignments later took her to places such as Madrid and Lisbon. She is remembered for her emotional verses and her feminism.
Recommended Lists:19
Erle Stanley Gardner(American Writer, Lawyer and Novelist)
Birthdate: 17th July
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Malden, Massachusetts, United States
Died: March 11, 1970
Birthdate: 15th April
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Missouri
Died: January 19, 1975
Recommended Lists:21
Anna Akhmatova(One of the Most Significant Russian Poets of 20th Century)
Birthdate: 23rd June
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Odessa, Ukraine
Died: March 5, 1966
One of the greatest Russian women poets, Anna Akhmatova had started writing poems at age 11. She was part of the Acmeists, who laid down their own style, Acmeism. Poema bez geroya and Requiem remain two of her finest works. She later wrote about the horrors of the Stalinist regime.
Birthdate: 23rd September
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
Died: December 14, 1974
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: 15th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Lisbon, Portugal
Died: July 2, 1932
Son of King Carlos I, Manuel II, was the last king of Portugal. While he came to power after his father’s assassination, he had to flee to England after the Portuguese monarchy was dissolved by a revolution. He later devoted himself to books and published Early Portuguese Books.
Birthdate: 14th April
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: London, England, United Kingdom
Died: October 22, 1975
Recommended Lists:25
George S. Kaufman(Theatre director, Screenwriter, Journalist, Playwright, Bridge player, Writer)
Birthdate: 16th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Pittsburgh
Died: June 2, 1961
26
Thomas Midgley, Jr.(American Mechanical and Chemical Engineer)
Birthdate: 18th May
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: November 2, 1944
Thomas Midgley Jr. was an American chemical and mechanical engineer. Midgley played a key role in the development of leaded gasoline and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were later banned due to their negative impact on the environment and human health. Thomas Midgley Jr. was granted over 100 patents during his lifetime.
Recommended Lists:Birthdate: 15th October
Sun Sign: Libra
Died: September 21, 1945
28
Lord Leopold Mountbatten(Military Leader)
Birthdate: 21st May
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Windsor Castle, Windsor, England
Died: April 23, 1922
Recommended Lists:29
Taha Hussein(One of the Most Influential 20th-century Egyptian Writers and Intellectuals, and a Figurehead for the Egyptian Renaissance)
Birthdate: 15th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Maghaghah, Egypt
Died: October 28, 1973
Taha Hussein was an Egyptian writer, intellectual, and one of the most influential personalities in 20th-century Egypt. Best remembered for his literary work, Hussein received 21 nominations for the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature during his lifetime. Taha Hussein is also remembered for his political career; he served as the Minister of Education in Egypt.
30
Dorothy Gibson(Former Film Actress best remembered as a survivor of the sinking of the Titanic and for starring in the first motion picture based on the disaster)
Birthdate: 17th May
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Hoboken, New Jersey, United States
Died: February 17, 1946
31
Efrem Zimbalist(Composer, Conductor, Music educator, Violinist, University teacher)
Birthdate: 21st April
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Rostov-on-Don
Died: February 22, 1985
32
Paul Bern(American Film Director, Screenwriter, and Producer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
Birthdate: 3rd December
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Wandsbek, Germany
Died: September 5, 1932
Filmmaker and producer Paul Bern was the man behind the launch of American sex symbol Jean Harlow. He, unfortunately, died of a gunshot wound only 2 months after his marriage to Bern, which gave rise to numerous theories, one of them being suicide. The handwritten suicide not found was not conclusive.
33
Abdelhamid Ben Badis(Educator)
Birthdate: 4th December
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Constantine, Algeria
Died: April 16, 1940
34
Fritz Pfeffer(Physician)
Birthdate: 30th April
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Gießen
Died: December 20, 1944
Known as Albert Dussel in Anne Frank’s diary, Fritz Pfeffer was a successful Jewish dentist who had hid along with Anne Frank and her family in the Secret Annex during the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands. Initially deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, he later died at the Neuengamme concentration camp.
Birthdate: 21st January
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: nyazhpogostsky District, Russia
Died: February 10, 1968
Pitirim Sorokin was a Russian-American political activist and sociologist best remembered for his immense contribution to the social cycle theory. His life and work have played an influential role in the life of popular American historian and scholar, Allan Carlson. Among other prominent personalities who have been influenced by Sorokin's work is American politician and 48th Vice President Michael Pence.
36
Sophie Taeuber-Arp(Swiss Artist, Textile Designer, and Sculptor Whose Multimedia Works Bridged the Gap Between Fine and Applied Arts)
Birthdate: 19th January
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Davos, Switzerland
Died: January 13, 1943
Swiss-French artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp initially studied textile design and later began creating multimedia art called Duo-Collages, along with her husband, German-French abstract artist Jean Arp. Apart from teaching at an art and craft school, the Dadaist had also used dance, painting, and sculpture to showcase her artistic talent.
Birthdate: 4th March
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Green Ridge
Died: August 4, 1938
38
Conrad Aiken(Writer)
Birthdate: 5th August
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Savannah, Georgia, United States
Died: August 17, 1973
39
Carl Theodor Dreyer(Danish Screenwriter and Film Director)
Birthdate: 3rd February
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Copenhagen, Denmark
Died: March 20, 1968
40
James Whale(Director, Actor)
Birthdate: 22nd July
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Worcestershire, England
Died: May 29, 1957
41
Abel Gance(Former film director, writer best known for three major silent films: J'accuse, La Roue, and Napoléon)
Birthdate: 25th October
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: November 10, 1981
Birthdate: 17th February
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Illinois
Died: November 29, 1974
43
Walton Walker(Army General)
Birthdate: 3rd December
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Belton, Texas, United States
Died: December 23, 1950
44
R. G. Collingwood(Philosopher)
Birthdate: 22nd February
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Cartmel Fell, England
Died: January 9, 1943
Birthdate: 26th April
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Mount Shasta
Died: August 18, 1981
46
Harry Nyquist(Physicist, Computer scientist, Engineer, Statistician, Mathematician)
Birthdate: 7th February
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Kil Municipality
Died: April 4, 1976
Harry Nyquist was a Swedish electronic engineer and physicist best remembered for his contributions to communication theory. His work earned him many prestigious awards such as the IRE Medal of Honor, the Stuart Ballantine Medal, and the Rufus Oldenburger Medal. Harry Nyquist is also remembered for his association with Bell Telephone Laboratories.
47
Cyril Delevanti(Actor)
Birthdate: 23rd February
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: London, England
Died: December 13, 1975
48
Jaishankar Prasad(Poet)
Birthdate: 30th January
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Varanasi
Died: January 14, 1937
Jaishankar Prasad was an Indian poet and an important figure in modern Hindi theatre and Hindi literature. Along with Mahadevi Verma, Sumitranandan Pant, and Suryakant Tripathi, Prasad is counted among the Four Pillars of Romanticism in Hindi literature.
49
Musidora(Actress)
Birthdate: 23rd February
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: December 11, 1957
50
Joseph Force Crater(American Lawyer and Judge)
Birthdate: 5th January
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Easton, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: June 6, 1939
