- Jan 29 Adolf Philipp, German-American Broadway composer (Adele), born in Hamburg, German Confederation (now Germany) (d. 1936)
- Feb 5 Carl Teike, German military composer, born in Stettin-Altdamm, Pomerania (now Szczecin, Poland) (d. 1922)
- Feb 7 Arthur Collins, American baritone vocalist, known as 'King of the Ragtime Singers' (Peerless Quartet), and comedian, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1933)
- Feb 7 Ricardo Castro Herrera, Mexican concert pianist and composer, born at Hacienda de santa Bárbara, Mexico (d. 1907)
- Feb 17 Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, Australian bush poet (Waltzing Matilda, The Man From Snowy River), born near Orange, New South Wales, Australia (d. 1941)
- Mar 14 Casey [John] Jones, American railroad engineer who dies trying to save a train (Ballad of Casey Jones), born in Missouri (d. 1900)
- Mar 15 Johan Halvorsen, Norwegian violinist, conductor (Nationaltheatret Orchestra, 1899-1929), and composer (Bergensiana), born in Drammen, Norway (d. 1934)
- Mar 15 Leslie Stuart, [Thomas Barrett], British musical theater composer (Florodora), born in Southport, Lancashire, England (d. 1928)
- Mar 23 Hjalmar Borgstrom [Jensen], Norwegian composer (Hvæm er du med de tusene navne (Who are you with a thousand names)), and music critic, born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway (d. 1925)
- Mar 23 Louis Glass, Danish pianist and composer, born in Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 1936)
- Apr 10 Eugene Francis Charles D'Albert, German pianist and composer (Golem), born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 1932)
- May 14 Eleanor Everest Freer, American composer, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1942)
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Jun 11 German composer (Also sprach Zarathustra, Don Quixote), born in Munich, Germany
- Jun 15 Guy Ropartz [Joseph Guy Marie Ropartz], French composer, born in Guingamp, France (d. 1955)
- Jun 29 Anton Beer-Walbrun, German composer, born in Kohlberg, Kingdom of Württemberg (now Germany) (d. 1929)
- Jul 6 Alberto Nepomuceno, Brazilian composer and conductor (Artemis), born in Fortaleza, State of Ceará, Brazil (d. 1920)
- Jul 24 Michel-Gaston Carraud, French composer, born in Le Mée-sur-Seine, France (d. 1920)
- Aug 5 Resurreccion Maria de Azkue, Basque priest, composer and first head of the Euskaltzaindia, born in Lekeitio, Spain (d. 1951)
- Aug 31 Max Wilhelm Zach, Polish-American violinist and conductor (Boston Symphony 1896-1907; St. Louis Symphony, 1907-21), born in Lemberg, Galicia (now Lviv, Ukraine) (d. 1921)
- Sep 3 Hale A. VanderCook, American composer, born in Ann Arbor, Michigan (d. 1949)
- Sep 7 Giovanni Tebaldini, Italian composer, born in Brescia, Lombardy, Italy (d. 1952)
Alexander Gretchaninov (1864-1956)
Oct 25 Russian-American Romantic composer, born in Moscow, Russia
- Oct 26 Joseph Moorat, British composer (Prunella), born in England (d. 1938)
- Oct 30 Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, American pianist and philanthropist, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1953)
- Nov 10 Alexandre Levy, Brazilian composer and pianist, born in São Paulo, Brazil (d. 1892)
- Dec 9 Sidney Homer, American composer, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1953)
- Dec 17 (John) Felix Körling, Swedish composer and conductor, born in Kristdala, Sweden (d. 1937)
- Dec 19 Adolf Sandberger, German composer and musicologist, born in Würzburg, Kingdom of Bavaria (now Germany) (d. 1943)
- Dec 27 Joseph Lauber, Swiss concert pianist and composer, born in Ruswil, Switzerland (d. 1952)
- Dec 30 Alessandro Longo, Italian composer and musicologist, born in Amantea, Italy (d. 1945)
Country Singers
Jazz Singers
Opera Singers
Pop Singers
Rappers
Rock Singers