Alfred Bernhard Nobel ( äl ' fred bern ' härd nōbel ') () ( 21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896 ) was a Swedish chemist, engineer, innovator, and armaments manufacturer.

* 1896 – In Athens, the opening of the first modern Olympic Games is celebrated, 1, 500 years after the original games are banned by Roman Emperor Theodosius I.

* 1896 – Closing ceremony of the Games of the I Olympiad in Athens, Greece.

* 1896 – Hans List, Austrian inventor and entrepreneur ( d. 1996 )

* 1896 – Reverend Gary Davis, American singer and guitarist ( d. 1972 )

* 1896 – Anglo-Zanzibar War: the shortest war in world history ( 09: 00 to 09: 45 ) between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar.

* 1896 – Faina Ranevskaya, Russian actress ( d. 1984 )

* 1844 – James Henry Greathead, English engineer ( d. 1896 )

* 1896 – Erich Hückel, German physicist ( d. 1980 )

* 1896 – Jean Piaget, Swiss psychologist ( d. 1980 )

In 1896 England under the captaincy of W G Grace won the series 2 – 1, and this marked the end of England's longest period of Ashes dominance.

* 1896 – Lorenzo Herrera, Venezuelan singer and composer ( d. 1960 )

* 1988 – Jim Jordan, American actor ( b. 1896 )

* 1896 – Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, American author ( d. 1953 )

* 1896 – Pat Clayton, English surveyor and explorer ( d. 1962 )

* 1896 – Tristan Tzara, Romanian poet and essayist ( d. 1963 )

* 1896 – Gerty Cori, Austrian biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate ( d. 1957 )

* 1896 – Catherine Doherty, Russian-Canadian activist ( d. 1985 )

* 1896 – Paul Outerbridge, American photographer ( d. 1958 )

* 1896 – Léon Theremin, Russian inventor, invented the Theremin ( d. 1993 )

* 1896 – Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie discover gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush.

* 1896 – Officially recognised date of the Cry of Pugad Lawin, the start of the Philippine Revolution is made in Pugad Lawin ( Quezon City ), in the province of Manila ( actual date and location is disputed ).

* 1896 – Philippine Revolution: After Spanish victory in the Battle of San Juan del Monte, eight provinces in the Philippines are declared under martial law by the Spanish Governor-General Ramón Blanco y Erenas.

* 1850 – Marcelo H. del Pilar, Filipino writer, journalist, and revolutionary ( d. 1896 )

* 1896 – Raymond Massey, Canadian actor ( d. 1983 )

* 1896 – Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent became the first person to be convicted of speeding.

* March 12 – Arnold Ridley, English playwright and actor ( b. 1896 )

* May 29 – Arnold Susi, Estonian lawyer and politician ( b. 1896 )

The first person to be convicted of speeding is believed to be Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent, who on 28 January 1896 was fined for speeding at.

Arnold was part of New Kensington until it was designated as a separate borough in January, 1896.

The first electric starter was installed on an Arnold ( automobile ), an adaptation of the Benz Velo, built 1896 in East Peckham, England by electrical engineer H. J. Dowsing.

In 1896 his bust was unveiled in Westminster Abbey alongside that of his son, Matthew and the Times asserted that " As much as any who could be named, Arnold helped to form the standard of manly worth by which Englishmen judge and submit to be judged ".

In August 1896, the first speeding offence in the United Kingdom was committed in Paddock Wood when Walter Arnold of East Peckham was chased by a police constable on a bicycle and apprehended for driving at in his Benz motor-car.

William Arnold Ridley, OBE ( 7 January 1896 – 12 March 1984 ) was an English playwright and actor, first notable as the author of the play The Ghost Train and later in life for portraying the elderly Private Charles Godfrey in the British sitcom Dad's Army ( 1968 – 77 ).

He returned to the area in 1896 with his son Arnold, who quickly learned to ski, and both father and son realized the potential in the future of winter sports.

He was educated locally at the King Edward VI Grammar School before entering upon his career ( without any formal qualification ) as an English Master at various schools in England and Wales: Buxton ( 1884-7 ); Ashton ( 1887-8 ); Rydal Mount School, Colwyn Bay ( 1888 – 94 ), where he also coached the football team ; Arnold House School, Chester ( 1894-6 ); Stationers ' School, Hornsey, north London ( 1896 – 1925, retired ).

As the Arnold Motor Carriage Co. from 1896 to 1898. the firm built twelve cars patterned after the Benz but fitted with their own engines.

One Arnold from 1896 was fitted with the world ’ s first self-starter, by electrical engineer H. J. Dowsing.

He was Arnold Gerstenberg student in 1896.

Brigadier Arnold William Potts DSO, OBE, MC ( 16 September 1896 – 1 January 1968 ) was an Australian grazier who served in the First World War and led 21st Brigade of the Second AIF during its defence of the Kokoda Trail during the Second World War.

Arnold Potts was born on 16 September 1896 at Peel on the Isle of Man to William, a schoolmaster, and Mary Potts.

Arnold Loosemore VC DCM ( 7 June 1896, Sheffield, England – 10 April 1924 ) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

* Arnold Ridley ( 1896 – 1984 ), English actor

* Arnold Blanch ( 1896 – 1968 ), born and raised in Mantorville, Minnesota