Famous People Born In 1884

Harry Truman was the US president from 1945 to 1953 and his administration successfully guided the US economy through the post-war challenges. He established the Truman Doctrine to contain Soviet geopolitical expansion during the Cold War. He authorised the first and only use of nuclear weapons during a war when he sanctioned bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

Feminist and civil rights icon Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was the longest-serving U.S First Lady. She was a prominent human rights activist, wrote columns, and hosted a radio show. She was named to Gallup's List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century in 1999.

Amedeo Modigliani was an Italian Jewish painter and sculptor. He is remembered for his surrealist and modern-style depiction of nudes in his portraits. Even though he spent his youth in Italy, he worked mainly in France. He enjoyed little success while he was alive. He died young at the age of 35 and received massive posthumous appreciation for his works.

Frank Hamer was an American Texas Ranger and law enforcement officer. He is credited with leading the 1934 group that tracked down and executed criminals, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. Well-known for his investigative skill, marksmanship, and toughness, Frank Hamer was recognized as the archetypal Texas Ranger in the Southwest. His life and work inspired the 2019 film, The Highwaymen.

Emil Jannings was a German actor who became the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor. He was born in Switzerland but moved to Germany as a young child. He began his career as a theater actor and enjoyed tremendous success. He later ventured into films and became a popular figure in Hollywood in the 1920s.   

Swiss-born Belgian physicist Auguste Piccard is best remembered for his research on the Earth’s upper stratosphere. He designed his own ships to explore the depth of the seas and also built balloons to study cosmic rays. His bathyscaphe remains one of his best-known inventions. He also co-discovered the magnetocaloric effect.

Hideki Tojo headed the Imperial Japanese Army and was the Japanese minister of war, apart from being Japan’s prime minister from 1941 to 1944. His tenure witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor. After Japan surrendered to the Allied Powers, Tojo was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death.

C. W. W. Kannangara was a Sri Lankan politician and lawyer. He played an important role in the Sri Lankan independence movement, a peaceful political movement aimed at achieving freedom from the British Empire. As a lawyer, C. W. W. Kannangara defended many political prisoners during the Riots of 1915 and later served as the President of Ceylon National Congress.

Otto Rank was an Austrian psychoanalyst and philosopher. A close colleague of Sigmund Freud, Rank was also the managing director of Freud's publishing house. Rank was a prolific writer and wrote extensively on psychoanalytic themes. He was the first person who viewed therapy as a learning and unlearning experience focusing on feelings. Psychologist Rollo May was deeply influenced by Rank. 

Initially a stenographer, Romanian-born American opera singer Reba Fiersohn, better known as Alma Gluck, started her music career after her marriage and soon found success with her performances at the Metropolitan Opera. She scripted history by scoring the first million-selling phonograph record and also co-founded the American Woman's Association.

Max Brod was a Czech German-speaking Jewish author, composer, and journalist. He studied law at the German Charles-Ferdinand University and proceeded to pursue a career as a journalist and composer. He worked as an editor and literary adviser for the Israeli national theatre for three decades. He was a close friend and biographer of writer Franz Kafka. 

Max Beckmann was a German painter, sculptor, draftsman, printmaker, and writer. Even though scholars classify him as an Expressionist artist, he personally never identified as one. He became involved with the New Objectivity movement in the 1920s. He taught at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts at Washington University in his last years.

The 2nd president of Turkey, İsmet İnönü had also been a 3-time prime minister of the country. Previously an efficient military commander, who had fought in World War I and the Greco-Turkish War, he later led the Republican People's Party in Turkey’s one-party state. He had also been Turkey's foreign affairs minister.

Vincent Auriol, former French president, was initially a lawyer and also headed the Association of Journalists in Toulouse. A Socialist Party member, he had also served as more of a conciliatory agent between the left and the right wings, as a minister in Charles de Gaulle’s cabinet.

Roger Nash Baldwin was a pacifist who played a major role in the development of the human rights movement in USA. He was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union and also founded the International League for the Rights of Man. He was a conscientious objector during World War I. He received the Medal of Freedom in 1981.  

Johan Laidoner was an Estonian statesman and general. He is best remembered for his service as the Commander of the Defence Forces during the Estonian War of Independence. He was also one of the most influential and important Estonian politicians during the interwar period. 

Peter Debye was a Dutch-American physical chemist and physicist. He is best remembered for winning the 1936 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He was also the recipient of the Rumford Medal, Franklin Medal, and Priestley Medal. In 1965, Peter Debye was honored with the National Medal of Science. In 1982, he was inducted into the Alpha Chi Sigma Hall of Fame.

While he initially taught and read at the Anglican Church, British author Sir Hugh Walpole later focused on writing. He is perhaps best known for his works such as the Jeremy series of autobiographical novels and Mr. Perrin and Mr. Traill. He also penned scripts for a few Hollywood movies.