1905: The Year in People

The Greatest Generation · Year of the Snake 🐍 · Born in 1905 turn 121 in 2026

The year in numbers

US president

Theodore Roosevelt

In the news: Einstein publishes the theory of special relativity

What happened in 1905

1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar, the 1905th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 905th year of the 2nd millennium, the 5th year of the 20th century, and the 6th year of the 1900s decade. As of the start of 1905, the Gregorian calendar was 13 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.

Summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Born in 1905

68 people in our data · most viewed first

Ayn Rand

1905–1982 · February 2

Russian-American writer and philosopher

Albert Speer

1905–1981 · March 19

German architect

Christian Dior

1905–1957 · January 21

French fashion designer

Dalton Trumbo

1905–1976 · December 9

American screenwriter

Clara Bow

1905–1965 · July 29

American actress

Dag Hammarskjöld

1905–1961 · July 29

UN Secretary-General from 1953 to 1961

Anna May Wong

1905–1961 · January 3

American actress

Albert Pierrepoint

1905–1992 · March 30

English executioner

Andy Devine

1905–1977 · October 7

American actor

Robert Sink

1905–1965 · April 3

United States Army general

Arthur Koestler

1905–1983 · September 5

Hungarian-British author and journalist

Franchot Tone

1905–1968 · February 27

American actor and director

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed

1905–1977 · May 13

President of India from 1974 to 1977

Astrid of Sweden

1905–1935 · November 17

Queen of the Belgians from 1934 to 1935

Abraham Zapruder

1905–1970 · May 15

Witness to the John F. Kennedy assassination

Dhyan Chand

1905–1979 · August 29

Indian field hockey player

Charles Lane (actor, born 1905)

1905–2007 · January 26

American actor

Hylda Baker

1905–1986 · February 4

English comedian and actress

Barnett Newman

1905–1970 · January 29

American painter

Abeid Karume

1905–1972 · August 4

President of Zanzibar from 1964 to 1972

Arthur Lake (actor)

1905–1987 · April 17

American actor (1905–87)

Anthony Powell

1905–2000 · December 21

English novelist

Doris Hare

1905–2000 · March 1

Welsh actress, comedian, singer, and dancer

Agnes de Mille

1905–1993 · September 18

American dancer and choreographer

Died in 1905

Julien Reverchon1837–1905 · French botanist
Thomas John Barnardo1845–1905 · Philanthropist, founder and director of homes for poor children
Adolph Menzel1815–1905 · German artist
Ernst Abbe1840–1905 · German physicist, entrepreneur, and social reformer
Agnes Marshall1852–1905 · English cookery writer
Carl Wernicke1848–1905 · German physician and neuropathologist
George S. Boutwell1818–1905 · American politician and lawyer
Carmine Crocco1830–1905 · Italian brigand and revolutionary
Albert von Kölliker1817–1905 · Swiss anatomist, physiologist, and histologist
Ferdinand von Richthofen1833–1905 · German explorer and scientist
Ann Jarvis1832–1905 · American activist
Ignacio Cervantes1847–1905 · Cuban pianist and composer