In the year 1884, the eight-hour workday is proclaimed in the United States, and is henceforth observed as May Day or Labor Day elsewhere in the world as well (May 1), the espresso machine is patented (May 16), the invention of local anesthesia is made public in a medical congress in Heidelberg, Germany (Sep 15), Timisoara becomes the first European town to be illuminated by electric light (Nov 2), the Washington Monument is completed, becoming for a while the tallest structure in the world (Dec 6), Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published in London (Dec 10) - and all these fine people were born:

1884-xxxx Nils Ahlin* schoolteacher/introduced handboll to southern Sweden - Sweden (1960/76) 1884-0101 Jooseppi Musto* tailor/executed by the Whites in the Finnish Civil War - Kansola, Lappee, GD of Finland (1918/34) 1884-0101 Chikuhei Nakajima* 中島 知久平 naval officer/founder of the Nakajima Aircraft Company/politician - Nitta District, Gunma, Japan (1949/65) 1884-0110 1884-0114 Alonzo G. Decker Sr.* engineer/ co-founder of Black & Decker - Baltimore, MD USA (1956/72) 1884-0120 1884-0126 Josephine Dillon* actress/teacher/first wife of Clark Gable - Denver, CO USA (1971/87) 1884-0128 Auguste Piccard* physicist/inventor/balloonist/ - Basel, Switzerland (1962/78) 1884-0128 Jean Piccard* Swiss-American chemist/engineer/balloonist - Basel, Switzerland (1963/79) 1884-0131 1884-0212 Johan Laidoner* Estonian general/statesman - Viirats, Livonia, Russian Empire (1953/69) 1884-0212 Heinrich Lübbe* engineer/inventor of the gun synchronizer for aerial machine gun - Nienburg, German Empire (1940/56) 1884-0213 Alfred Carlton Gilbert* athlete/OG/inventor/ toy-maker - Salem, OR USA (1961/76) 1884-0217 Reinier Beeuwkes* football goalie - Den Haag, Netherlands (1963/79) 1884-0229 Richard S. Aldrich* politician - Washington D.C. USA (1941/57) 1884-0301 1884-0311 Lewi Pethrus* Pentecostal minister/leader of the Pentecostal movement in Sweden - Vargön, Sweden (1974/90) 1884-0319 Bobby Messenger* baseball player - Bangor, ME USA (1951/67) 1884-0321 Tyyne Böök* photographer - Helsinki, GD of Finland (1968/84) 1884-0324 Chika Kuroda* 黒田チカ chemist - Saga Prefecture, Japan (1968/84) 1884-0327 James Cruze* silent film actor/director - Ogden, Utah Territory (1942/58) 1884-0331 1884-0405 Ion Constantin Inculeț* Bessarabian and Romanian politician/President of Moldova  - Răzeni, Russian Empire (1940/56) 1884-0407 Bronislaw Malinowski* Polish-British anthropologist/ethnologist - Kraków, Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary (1942/58) 1884-0410 1884-0412 Otto Fritz Meyerhof* physician/biochemist/N - Hanover, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (1951/67) 1884-0420 Oliver Kirk* boxer/OG - USA (1960/75) 1884-0422 Armas Launis* composer/ ethnomusicologist/writer - Hämeenlinna, GD of Finland (1959/75) 1884-0424 Otto Froitzheim* tennis player - Strasbourg, German Empire (1962/78) 1884-0508 Harry S. Truman* politician/ 33usp - Lamar, MO USA (1972/88) 1884-0509 Valdemar Psilander* silent era actor - Copenhagen, Denmark (1917/32) 1884-0518 Anna Snellman-Kaila* (b Snellman) painter/granddaughter of J. V. Snellman - Viipuri, GD of Finland (1962/77) 1884-0531 1884-0603 Fritz Hauser* reforming politician - Basel, Switzerland (1941/56) 1884-0610 1884-0613 Anton Drexler* locksmith/founder of DAP, the forerunner to the Nazi party - Munich, German Empire (1942/57) 1884-0617 Prince Wilhelm* Swedish and Norwegian prince/son of King Gustaf V of Sweden/author - Tullgarn Palace, Trosa, Sweden (1965/80) 1884-0621 John W. Martin* politician/ Governor of Florida - Plainfield, FL USA (1958/73) 1884-0622 Manfred Björkquist* bishop/co-founder of the prestigious Sigtunaskolan - Norrgissjö, Sweden (1985/101) 1884-0705 Toivo T. Kaila* statistician/ writer - Suodenniemi, GD of Finland (1961/77) 1884-0706 Willem Marinus Dudok* Dutch modernist architect (Hilversum Town Hall) - Amsterdam, Netherlands (1974/89) 1884-0710 Vihtori Kosola* farmer/political activist (Lapuanliike) - Ylihärmä, GD of Finland (1936/52) 1884-0712 Louis B. Mayer* co-founder of MGM studios - Dymer, Kiev, Russian Empire (1957/73) 1884-0712 Amedeo Modigliani* painter/sculptor - Livorno, Tuscany, Italy (1920/35) 1884-0723 Oiva Kallio* architect - Alaveteli, GD of Finland (1964/80) 1884-0726 Joseph Sweeney* actor (12 Angry Men) - Philadelphia, PA USA (1963/79) 1884-0729 Johan Pettersson* athlete (hammer) - Jepua, GD of Finland (1952/68) 1884-0809 Lloyd Turner* hockey promoter - Elmvale, ON Canada (1976/91) 1884-0810 Karin Andersson-Littonen* actress/storyteller in radio - Helsinki, GD of Finland (19xx) 1884-0816 Hugo Gernsback* magazine publisher/science fiction writer - Bonnevoie, Luxembourg (1967/83) 1884-0830 Theodor Svedberg* chemist/N - Valbo, Sweden (1971/86) 1884-0901 1884-0911 Robert Williams Daniel* banker/Titanic survivor/gentleman farmer - Richmond, VA USA (1940/56) 1884-0915 Otto Noro* (b Nieminen) tailor/ actor - Pielavesi, GD of Finland (1957/73) 1884-0918 Margit Slachta* social activist/founder of Sisters of Social Service - Kassa, Austria-Hungary (1974/89) 1884-1003 Paul Pinna* actor - Tallinn, Estonia (1949/64) 1884-1007 Harold Geiger* US military aviator/balloonist - East Orange, NJ USA (1927/42) 1884-1011 Friedrich Bergius* chemist/N - Breslau, German Empire (1949/64) 1884-1011 Eleanor Roosevelt* First Lady/diplomat/activist - New York City, NY USA (1962/78) 1884-1016 Rembrandt Bugatti* sculptor/ brother of the automobile manufacturer Ettori Bugatti - Milan, Italy (1916/31) 1884-1021 Claire Waldoff* (b ClaraWortmann ) cabaret singer - Gelsenkirchen, Westphalia, German Empire (1957/72) 1884-1031 1884–1101 1884-1104 Harry Ferguson* mechanic/ inventor noted for his role in the development of the modern agricultural tractor - County Down, Ireland (1960/75) 1884-1104 Claes Johanson* wrestler/OG - Hyssna, Sweden (1949/64) 1884-1105 T.C. Jester* pastor/civic leader active in Houston, Texas - Camp Hill, AL USA (1950/65) 1884-1105 B. Max Mehl* Polish-American dealer in coins/to U.S. at age 10 - Łódź, Congress Poland, Russian Empire (1957/72) 1884-1120 Loyal Blaine Aldrich* astronomer - Wisconsin USA (1965/80) 1884-1120 Norman Thomas* social reformer/six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America - Marion, OH USA (1968/84) 1884-1124 Jalo Kalima* (b Landgren) linguist/translator - Sääminki, GD of Finland (1952/67) 1884-1130 Ture Rangström* composer/conductor - Stockholm, Sweden (1947/62) 1884-1201 1884-1203 Rajendra Prasad* independence activist/the first President of India - Ziradei, Bengal Presidency, British India (1963/78) 1884-1207 Iivari Mikko Hautamäki** son of Juho Jaakonpoika Hautamäki - Ilmajoki, GD of Finland (1964/79) 1884-1208 Carl Kempe* tennis player/businessman - Stockholm, Sweden (1967/82) 1884-1210 1884-1211 Otto Dahlqvist* actor/ scenographer/theater director - Oulu, GD of Finland (19xx) 1884-1215 1884-1217 Waldo Peirce* painter/a longtime friend of Ernest Hemingway - Bangor, ME USA (1970/85) 1884-1217 Alison Uttley* writer of children’s books - Cromford, Derbyshire, England (1976/91) 1884-1220 1884-1225 Samuel Berger* boxer/OG - Chicago, IL USA (1925/40) 1884-1230 Hideki Tojo* 東條 英機 politician/ general of the Imperial Japanese Army/PM - Tokyo, Empire of Japan (1948/63) 1884-1231 1884-0 1884-0 1884-0 Updated 2025-0215 Helsinki Search for another year here