* 1878 – Erich Mühsam, German author ( d. 1934 )

* 1878 – Aino Kallas, Finnish-Estonian author ( d. 1956 )

* 1878 – John Corry Wilson Daly, Canadian politician ( b. 1796 )

Alexander Mackenzie, PC ( January 28, 1822 – April 17, 1892 ), a building contractor and newspaper editor, was the second Prime Minister of Canada from November 7, 1873 to October 8, 1878.

* Sir Henri Elzear Taschereau – October 7, 1878

* 1878 – Dick Grant, Canadian runner ( d. 1958 )

** Haliotis kamtschatkana assimilis Dall, 1878 – synonym: Haliotis assimilis, the threaded abalone

Prominent leaders include co-founders Lucien Febvre ( 1878 – 1956 ) and Marc Bloch ( 1886 – 1944 ).

* 1878 – Tip Foster, English cricketer ( d. 1914 )

* 1878 – Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel, Russian army officer ( d. 1928 )

* 1878 – Léon Binoche, French rugby player ( d. 1962 )

* 1878 – Manuel L. Quezon, Filipino politician, 2nd President of the Philippines ( d. 1944 )

* 1878 – Richard Girulatis, German footballer and manager ( d. 1963 )

* George V of Hanover ( 1819 – 1878 )

* 1878 – George Whipple, American physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate ( d. 1976 )

* Queen Victoria – the British Weights and Measures Act of 1878 defined it as containing 4, 840 square yards.

* 1878 – Emil Fuchs, German-American attorney and baseball owner ( d. 1961 )

* 1878 – Oliver W. F. Lodge, English poet and writer ( d. 1955 )

* 1878 – Alfred Döblin, German writer ( d. 1957 )

* 1929 – Pierre Fatou, French mathematician ( b. 1878 )

* 1843 – Alice of the United Kingdom ( d. 1878 )

* 1878 – William Merz, American gymnast and athlete ( d. 1946 )

* 1878 – Jean Crotti, Swiss artist ( d. 1958 )

* 1965 – Louise Dresser, American actress ( b. 1878 )

* May 5 – Carlos Saavedra Lamas, Argentine politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize ( b. 1878 )

Carlos Saavedra Lamas ( November 1, 1878 – May 5, 1959 ) was an Argentine academic and politician, and in 1936, the first Latin American Nobel Peace Prize recipient.

Further attempts were made by André Rebouças in 1878 and by Horácio de Carvalho in 1898, but the summit was only reached in 1919, by Carlos Spierling and Osvaldo Leal.

The Ten Years ' War () ( 1868 – 1878 ), also known as the Great War and the War of ' 68, began on October 10, 1868 when sugar mill owner Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and his followers proclaimed Cuba's independence from Spain.

* Carlos Saavedra Lamas ( 1878 – 1959 ), Argentinian academic and politician

Brocius arrived from either Texas or Missouri around 1878 and went briefly to the San Carlos Reservation with a herd of cattle, before arriving in the Arizona Territory.

Slapped with fresh embargoes and a joint blockade, Argentina by 1851 found itself bankrupt and with " rogue nation " standing ; on 3 February 1852, a surprise military campaign led by the Governor of Entre Ríos Province, Justo José de Urquiza, put an end to the Rosas regime and, until 1878, at least, serious Argentine foreign policy misadventures.

Eduardo Federico Newbery ( Buenos Aires, February 17 1878 – Rio de la Plata, October 17 1908 ) was an Argentine odontologist and aerostat pilot of North American descent.

* 1878 – William Aberhart, Canadian politician ( d. 1943 )

Gustav Radbruch ( 21 November 1878 – 23 November 1949 ) was a German legal scholar and politician.

* John Young ( Canadian politician ) ( 1811 – 1878 ), former member of the Canadian House of Commons

* 1878 – Peeter Põld, Estonian scientist and politician ( d. 1930 )

* 1796 – John Corry Wilson Daly, Canadian politician ( d. 1878 )

* 1878 – Paul Reynaud, French politician ( d. 1966 )

* 1966 – Paul Reynaud, French politician, 118th Prime Minister of France ( b. 1878 )

* September 21 – Paul Reynaud, French politician ( b. 1878 )

* September 1 – Peeter Põld, Estonian pedagogical scientist and politician ( b. 1878 )

* November 10 – Ion Farris, American politician, former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives ( b. 1878 )

* Francis Evans Cornish ( 1831 – 1878 ), Canadian politician

** named after François Vincent Raspail ( 1794 – 1878 ) French chemist and politician

It is named for Tennessee politician Edward S. Cheatham ( 1818 – 1878 ).

* Sir William Miles, 1st Baronet ( 1797 – 1878 ), politician

* August Willich ( 1810 – 1878 ), politician and general

* Jules Malou ( 1810 – 1886 ), politician, Prime Minister of Belgium from 1871 to 1878 and in 1884

John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC ( 18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878 ), known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century.

( 22 September 1878 – 20 October 1967 ) was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1946 to 1947 and from 1948 to 1954.

The son of an ashigaru of the Kaga domain, he was famous as the lead assassin of the powerful politician Ōkubo Toshimichi on May 14, 1878.

( May 10, 1878 – October 3, 1929 ) was a German politician and statesman who served as Chancellor in 1923 ( for a brief period of 102 days ) and Foreign Minister 1923 – 1929, during the Weimar Republic.

1801 – 1878 ), New York politician