In the year 1902, New Zealand becomes the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses (Jan 1), the Berlin U-Bahn** is opened** (Feb 15), a Circuit Court prevents Thomas Edison from having a monopoly on motion picture technology  (Mar 10), the first movie theater in the United States opens in Los Angeles (Apr 2), Cuba gains independence from the United States (May 20), Edward VII is crowned King of the United Kingdom (Aug 9) - and all these fine people were born:

1902-xxxx Dick Rowland* (b Jimmie Jones) shoeshiner/accused of rape which set off the 1921 Tulsa race massacre - Vinita, OK USA (1960?) 1902-0105 Benjamin Roden* founder of the Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventist Church  - Bearden, Indian Territory, USA (1986/70) 1902-0106 Margaret Woodbridge* swimmer/OS - Detroit, MI USA (1995/93) 1902-0109 Josemaría Escrivá* Catholic priest/founder of Opus Dei - Barbastro, Spain (1975/73) 1902-0119 Aune Somersalmi* (b Sundell) actress/opera singer - GD of Finland (1984/82) 1902-0120 Leon Ames* actor - Portland, IN USA (1993/91) 1902-0131 Tallulah Bankhead* actress - Huntsville, AL USA (1968/66) 1902-0131 Alva Myrdal* sociologist/ diplomat/politician/N - Uppsala, Sweden (1986/84) 1902-0201 1902-0203 Dolly Rudeman* Dutch graphic designer - Salatiga, Java, Dutch East Indies (1980/77) 1902-0204 Charles Lindbergh* aviator/ author/activist - Detroit, MI USA (1974/72) 1902-0209 Ingrid von Wiesen (b Hedberg) - Kirkkonummi, GD of Finland (1979/77) Find a Grave 1902-0210 Walter Houser Brattain* American physicist/N - Xiamen, Fujian, Qing Dynasty (1987/85) 1902-0220 Ansel Adams* photographer/environmentalist - San Francisco, CA USA (1984/82) 1902-0225 King Clancy* hockey player (NHL 100)/referee/coach - Ottawa, ON Canada (1986/84) 1902-0226 Andjar Asmara* writer/filmmaker - Alahan Panjang, West Sumatra, Dutch East Indies (1961/59) 1902-0227 Ethelda Bleibtrey* swimmer/OG - Waterford, NY USA (1978/76) 1902-0227 John Steinbeck* author/N - Salinas, CA USA (1968/66) 1902-0228 1902-0301 1902-0308 Lydia Pasternak Slater* chemist/ translator/sister of Boris Pasternak - Moscow, Russian Empire (1989/87) 1902-0309 Will Geer* (b Ghere) actor/ musician/social activist - Frankfort, IN USA (1978/76) 1902-0310 1902-0317 Bobby Jones* golfer - Atlanta, GA USA (1971/69) 1902-0319 Rauha Elina Nieminen** (b Aspinen) mother of Ritva Nieminen - Viipuri, GD of Finland (1977/75) 1902-0320 1902-0331 1902-0403 Yrjö Lyytikäinen* publisher/founder of the magazine Apu - Helsinki, GD of Finland (1956/54) 1902-0408 Andrew Irvine* mountaineer - Birkenhead, Cheshire, England (1924/22) 1902-0423 Halldór Laxness* (b Guðjónsson) writer/N - Reykjavik, Iceland (1998/95) 1902-0501 1902-0510 David O. Selznick* film producer/screenwriter - Pittsburgh, PA USA (1965/63) 1902-0511 Dick Curtis* actor - Newport, KY USA (1952/49) 1902-0518 Ossi Elstelä* (b Elmstedt) actor/ playwright/director/father of Kristiina Elstelä - Tampere, Finland (1969/66) 1902-0518 Meredith Willson* flutist/composer/ playwright - Mason City, IA USA (1984/82) 1902-0525 Helvi Leiviskä* composer/ writer/music educator - Helsinki, GD of Finland (1982/80) 1902-0531 1902-0602 Laura Barney Harding* socialite - New York, NY USA (1994/92) 1902-0625 Risto-Veikko Luukkonen* architect - Helsinki, GD of Finland (1972/70) 1902-0701 1902-0710 Kurt Alder* German chemist/N - Königshütte, Silesia (1958/55) 1902-0720 1902-0723 Alpo S. Tuura* Finnish-American painter/to U.S. at age 14 - Riihimäki, GD of Finland (1928/25) 1902-0729 Salli Karuna* (b Friberg) actress - Rauma, GD of Finland (1987/85) 1902-0731 1902-0801 1902-0807 Douglas Lowe* athlete/middle-distance runner/OG - Manchester, England (1981/78) 1902-0808 Paul Dirac* physicist/N - Bristol, England (1984/82) 1902-0816 Georgette Heyer*  historical romance and detective fiction novelist - Wimbledon, London, England (1974/71) 1902-0816 Wallace Thurman* novelist/ screenwriter - Salt Lake City, UT USA (1934/32) 1902-0820 1902-0821 Siiri Angerkoski* actress - Oulu, GD of Finland (1971/68) 1902-0822 Leni Riefenstahl* film director/ propagandist for Adolf Hitler - Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (2003/101) 1902-0824 Carlo Gambino* Italian-American crime boss of the Gambino crime family /to the U.S. at age 19 - Palermo, Sicily, Kingdom of Italy (1976/74) 1902-0831 1902-0901 1902-0916 Mildred Harnack* (b Fish) American-German literary historian/ translator/German resistance fighter (Rote Kapelle) - Milwaukee, WI USA (1943/40) 1902-0921 Luis Cernuda* poet - Sevilla, Spain (1963/61) 1902-0921 Howie Morenz* hockey player (NHL 100)/inspired the creation of the Boston Bruins - Mitchell, ON Canada (1937/34) 1902-0922 John Houseman* actor - Bucharest, Romania (1988/86) 1902-0924 Charles “Chuck” Hellman* (b Karl Hellman) Finnish-American boxer - Turku, Finland (1986/83) 1902-0924 Erwin Jaskulski* Ukrainian-American accountant/comptroller at KHON-TV/centenarian masters athlete/to U.S. at age 51 - Chernivtsi, Ukraine, Russian Empire (2006/103) 1902-0930 1902-1001 1902-1005 Kumeko Urabe* 浦辺粂子 actress - Kamo District, Shizuoka, Japan (1989/87) 1902-1010 1902-1014 Martti Suosalo* (b Finni) actor/theater manager/grandfather of the actor Martti Suosalo - Messukylä, GD of Finland (1954/51) 1902-1018 Miriam Hopkins* actress - Savannah, GA USA (1972/69) 1902-1020 1902-1026 Jack Sharkey* (b Zukauskas) boxer - Binghamton, NY USA (1994/91) 1902-1026 Kustaa Vilkuna* ethnologist/ linguist/historian - Nivala, GD of Finland (1980/77) 1902-1026 Alfred Vogel* herbalist/naturopath/ writer - Aesch, Basel, Switzerland (1996/93) 1902-1030 1902-1101 1902-1114 Pua Kealoha* swimmer/OS - Waialua, Territory of Hawaii (1989/86) 1902-1117 Eugene Wigner* physicist/N - Budapest, Austria-Hungary (1995/92) 1902-1121 Isaac Bashevis Singer* writer/N - Leoncin, Congress Poland (1991/88) 1902-1123 Eddie Shore* hockey player (NHL 100)/team owner - Fort Qu’Appelle, NT Canada (1985/82) 1902-1126 Maurice McDonald* co-founder of McDonald’s - Manchester, NH USA (1971/69) 1902-1129 Carlo Levi* painter/ writer- Turin, Kingdom of Italy (1975/72) 1902-1130 1902-1214 Greta Kuckhoff* (b Lorke) German resistance fighter (Rote Kapelle) - Frankfurt an der Oder, Province of Brandenburg, German Empire (1981/78) 1902-1220 Prince George* Duke of Kent/the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary/younger brother of kings Edward VIII and George VI - York Cottage, Norfolk, England (19´42/39) 1902-1228 Shen Congwen* Chinese writer - Fenhuang, Hunan, Qing Dynasty (1988/85) 1902-0 1902-0 1902-0 Updated 2025-0416 Helsinki-Stockholm Search for another year here