1886 births

René Jean-Marie-Joseph Guénon (15 November 1886 – 7 January 1951), also known as Abdalwahid Yahia (Arabic: عبد الـوٰاحد يحيیٰ; ʿAbd al-Wāḥid Yaḥiā), was a French-Egyptian intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of metaphysics, having written on topics ranging from esotericism, "sacred science" and "traditional studies" to symbolism and initiation.
In his writings, he claims to hand down eastern religious traditions and adapt them to western readers "while keeping strictly faithful to their spirit".Initiated into Islamic esotericism from as early as 1910 when he was 24, he mainly wrote and published in French, and his works have been translated into more than twenty languages; he also wrote in Arabic an article for the journal Al Marifah.

Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler (UK: FOORT-veng-glər, US: -⁠lər, German: [ˈvɪlhɛlm ˈfʊɐ̯tvɛŋlɐ]; 25 January 1886 – 30 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a major influence for many later conductors, and his name is often mentioned when discussing their interpretative styles.Furtwängler was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic between 1922 and 1945, and from 1952 until 1954. He was also principal conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra (1922–26), and was a guest conductor of other major orchestras including the Vienna Philharmonic.
Although not an adherent of Nazism, he was the leading conductor to remain in Germany during the Nazi regime. Despite his open opposition to antisemitism and the ubiquity of Nazi symbolism, the regime did not seek to suppress him, at Joseph Goebbels' insistence, for propaganda reasons. This situation caused lasting controversy, and the extent to which his presence lent prestige to Nazi Germany is still debated.

Kurt Matthias Robert Martin Hahn (5 June 1886 – 14 December 1974) was a German educator. He was decisive in founding Stiftung Louisenlund, Schule Schloss Salem, Gordonstoun, Outward Bound, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, and the first of the United World Colleges, Atlantic College.

Antoine "Anto" Carte (8 December 1886 - 15 February 1954) was a Belgian painter.
Antoine Carto was born in Mons in 1886. His father was a joiner. Anto Carte was first apprenticed to François Depooter, an interior painter, and then studied art at the academies of Mons and Brussels, and in Paris. He started working in a Symbolist style, but after the First World War became a Flemish Expressionist painter in the style of the painters of the group of Sint-Martens-Latem like Gustave Van de Woestijne. In 1917 he had his first exposition, of illustrations he made for a work by Emile Verhaeren. He exposed together with the Flemish Expressionists at the 1923 Salon d'Automne in Paris. He had a solo exhibition in Pittsburgh, at the Carnegie Institute, in 1924, where all 60 paintings were sold. Retrospective exhibitions at the Museum of Mons were organised in 1949 and in 1995.Later in his career, he designed many posters and stained glass windows, including in 1927 the windows for a new building at the University of Mons-Hainaut. He also designed a 50 Belgian Francs banknote.In 1928, he founded the art group Groupe Nervia together with Louis Buisseret. From 1932 on, he was a professor at the La Cambre school and at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels.He lived most of his career in Braine-le-Château, and died in Ixelles in 1954.

Petrus Johannes Waardenburg (3 June 1886 – 23 September 1979) was a Dutch ophthalmologist, geneticist, and pioneer in the application of genetics to ophthalmology. Waardenburg syndrome is named after him.

Erich Salomon (28 April 1886 – 7 July 1944) was a German Jewish news photographer known for his pictures in the diplomatic and legal professions and the innovative methods he used to acquire them.

Alice Wosikowski (born Alice Ludwig: 18 October 1886 – 4 July 1949) was a German politician (SPD, KPD) who became a member of the Hamburg Parliament between 1927 and 1933. After 1933 she became a resistance activist: much of her life during the twelve Nazi years was spent in government detention institutions.

Hertha Sturm (born Edith Fischer, 24 July 1886: died while in state custody before or during 1945) was a German political activist (SPD, KPD) who after 1933 became a resistance activist. She spent most of the twelve Nazi years in state detention, during which time she was badly tortured and made at least one suicide attempt. She did not outlive the Nazi regime.Hertha Sturm is the name by which she is identified in most sources referring to her political actions and to her experiences under the Nazis. It was the name she took on for her Communist Party work in January 1920 and retained thereafter. In addition to her birth name, Edith Fischer, she may also be identified after 1912, by her married name, as Edith Schumann.

Kurt Grelling (2 March 1886 – September 1942) was a German logician and philosopher, member of the Berlin Circle.

Dr Walter Michel Levinthal FRSE (1886–1963) was a German-born bacteriologist, working in Britain in the 20th century. He gave his name to Levinthal's Agar. He is known for his work on Psittacosis and the influenza virus.