Who Was Alive in 1861

61 of 492 historical figures were alive in 1861

Jacob GrimmAge 76

1785–1863 · Literature

Grimm's Fairy Tales

Michael FaradayAge 70

1791–1867 · Science & Invention

Electromagnetic induction

Charles BabbageAge 70

1791–1871 · Science & Invention

Father of the computer, designed the Analytical Engine

Victor HugoAge 59

1802–1885 · Literature

Les Misérables, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

Alexandre DumasAge 59

1802–1870 · Literature

Author of The Three Musketeers

Ralph Waldo EmersonAge 58

1803–1882 · Philosophy & Thought

Transcendentalist essayist of Self-Reliance

George SandAge 57

1804–1876 · Literature

French novelist famous under a male pen name

Hans Christian AndersenAge 56

1805–1875 · Literature

The Little Mermaid, fairy tales

Abraham LincolnAge 52

1809–1865 · Politics & Leadership

16th US President, ended slavery

Charles DarwinAge 52

1809–1882 · Science & Invention

Theory of evolution by natural selection

Franz LisztAge 50

1811–1886 · Music

Piano virtuoso, composer of the Hungarian Rhapsodies

Charles DickensAge 49

1812–1870 · Literature

A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist

Giuseppe VerdiAge 48

1813–1901 · Music

La Traviata, Aida — operatic master

Richard WagnerAge 48

1813–1883 · Music

Ring Cycle, revolutionary opera

Otto von BismarckAge 46

1815–1898 · Politics & Leadership

Unified Germany, the Iron Chancellor

Frederick DouglassAge 43

1818–1895 · Activism & Social Change

Abolitionist, orator, writer

Karl MarxAge 43

1818–1883 · Philosophy & Thought

Das Kapital, Communist Manifesto

Herman MelvilleAge 42

1819–1891 · Literature

Moby-Dick

Queen VictoriaAge 42

1819–1901 · Politics & Leadership

Longest-reigning British monarch of her era

Walt WhitmanAge 42

1819–1892 · Literature

Leaves of Grass, father of free verse

Susan B. AnthonyAge 41

1820–1906 · Activism & Social Change

Women's suffrage pioneer

Florence NightingaleAge 41

1820–1910 · Activism & Social Change

Founder of modern nursing

Friedrich EngelsAge 41

1820–1895 · Philosophy & Thought

Co-author of The Communist Manifesto with Marx

Fyodor DostoevskyAge 40

1821–1881 · Literature

Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov

Charles BaudelaireAge 40

1821–1867 · Literature

French poet of Les Fleurs du mal

Harriet TubmanAge about 39

1822–1913 · Activism & Social Change

Underground Railroad conductor

Louis PasteurAge 39

1822–1895 · Science & Invention

Germ theory, pasteurization

Gregor MendelAge 39

1822–1884 · Science & Invention

Father of genetics

Jules VerneAge 33

1828–1905 · Literature

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Leo TolstoyAge 33

1828–1910 · Literature

War and Peace, Anna Karenina

Henrik IbsenAge 33

1828–1906 · Literature

Norwegian playwright of A Doll's House

Emily DickinsonAge 31

1830–1886 · Literature

Reclusive poetic genius

Sitting BullAge about 30

1831–1890 · Politics & Leadership

Lakota leader who defeated Custer at Little Bighorn

James Clerk MaxwellAge 30

1831–1879 · Science & Invention

Maxwell's equations of electromagnetism

Alfred NobelAge 28

1833–1896 · Science & Invention

Invented dynamite, founded Nobel Prizes

Dmitri MendeleevAge 27

1834–1907 · Science & Invention

Created the periodic table of elements

Mark TwainAge 26

1835–1910 · Literature

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Andrew CarnegieAge 26

1835–1919 · Business & Industry

Steel magnate, philanthropist

John D. RockefellerAge 22

1839–1937 · Business & Industry

Standard Oil tycoon, among the richest Americans in history

Claude MonetAge 21

1840–1926 · Art

Water Lilies, father of Impressionism

Pyotr TchaikovskyAge 21

1840–1893 · Music

Swan Lake, The Nutcracker

Émile ZolaAge 21

1840–1902 · Literature

French novelist who wrote J'Accuse

Pierre-Auguste RenoirAge 20

1841–1919 · Art

Impressionist painter of joyful scenes

Friedrich NietzscheAge 17

1844–1900 · Philosophy & Thought

"God is dead," Beyond Good and Evil

Sarah BernhardtAge 17

1844–1923 · Film & Entertainment

French stage actress of worldwide fame

Thomas EdisonAge 14

1847–1931 · Science & Invention

Light bulb, phonograph, 1000+ patents

Alexander Graham BellAge 14

1847–1922 · Science & Invention

Invented the telephone

Paul GauguinAge 13

1848–1903 · Art

Post-Impressionist painter of Tahiti

Antoni GaudíAge 9

1852–1926 · Art

Sagrada Família architect

Vincent van GoghAge 8

1853–1890 · Art

Starry Night, post-Impressionist icon

Oscar WildeAge 7

1854–1900 · Literature

The Picture of Dorian Gray, wit and charm

Sigmund FreudAge 5

1856–1939 · Philosophy & Thought

Father of psychoanalysis

Nikola TeslaAge 5

1856–1943 · Science & Invention

AC electricity, visionary inventor

Woodrow WilsonAge 5

1856–1924 · Politics & Leadership

28th US President, League of Nations

George Bernard ShawAge 5

1856–1950 · Literature

Irish playwright of Pygmalion

Theodore RooseveltAge 3

1858–1919 · Politics & Leadership

26th US President, Rough Rider

Emmeline PankhurstAge 3

1858–1928 · Activism & Social Change

British suffragette leader

Max PlanckAge 3

1858–1947 · Science & Invention

Father of quantum theory

Arthur Conan DoyleAge 2

1859–1930 · Literature

Creator of Sherlock Holmes

Anton ChekhovAge 1

1860–1904 · Literature

Russian playwright and short-story master

Rabindranath TagoreAge 0

1861–1941 · Literature

First non-European Nobel laureate in Literature

Born in 1861

Rabindranath Tagore

1861–1941 · Literature

First non-European Nobel laureate in Literature

Also Born in 1861

Fridtjof Nansen

1861–1930 · born October 10

Norwegian explorer and Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1861–1930)

Alfred North Whitehead

1861–1947 · born February 15

English mathematician and philosopher (1861–1947)

José Rizal

1861–1896 · born June 19

Filipino nationalist, writer, and polymath (1861–1896)

Nadezhda Krupskaya

1861–1939 · born February 26

Wife of Vladimir Lenin (1869–1939)

Mehmed VI

1861–1926 · born January 14

Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1918 to 1922

Georges Méliès

1861–1938 · born December 8

French filmmaker and illusionist (1861–1938)

Frederick Gowland Hopkins

1861–1947 · born June 20

English biochemist (1861–1947)

Lou Andreas-Salomé

1861–1937 · born February 12

Psychoanalyst and author (1861–1937)

Ferdinand I of Bulgaria

1861–1948 · born February 26

Prince/Tsar of Bulgaria from 1887 to 1918

Italo Svevo

1861–1928 · born December 19

Italian and Austro-Hungarian businessman, playwright, and writer (1861–1928)

James Naismith

1861–1939 · born November 6

Inventor of basketball (1861–1939)

Pehr Evind Svinhufvud

1861–1944 · born December 15

Finnish politician (1861–1944)

Also Died in 1861

Taras Shevchenko

1814–1861 · died March 10

Ukrainian poet and artist (1814–1861)

Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour

1810–1861 · died June 6

Italian statesman and politician

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

1806–1861 · died June 29

English poet (1806–1861)

Abdülmecid I

1823–1861 · died June 25

Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1839 to 1861

Frederick William IV

1795–1861 · died January 2

King of Prussia from 1840 to 1861

Pedro V of Portugal

1837–1861 · died November 11

King of Portugal from 1853 to 1861

Lola Montez

1821–1861 · died January 17

Irish dancer and actress

Henry Gray

1827–1861 · died June 13

English anatomist (1827–1861)

Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire

1802–1861 · died November 21

French preacher (1802–1861)

Notable World Events in 1861

1861 American Civil War begins

Sources

1861 — Wikipedia. Births, deaths and events of the year
Jacob Grimm — Wikipedia
Michael Faraday — Wikipedia
Charles Babbage — Wikipedia
Victor Hugo — Wikipedia
Alexandre Dumas — Wikipedia
Ralph Waldo Emerson — Wikipedia
George Sand — Wikipedia
Hans Christian Andersen — Wikipedia
Abraham Lincoln — Wikipedia
Charles Darwin — Wikipedia
Franz Liszt — Wikipedia
Charles Dickens — Wikipedia
Giuseppe Verdi — Wikipedia
Richard Wagner — Wikipedia
Otto von Bismarck — Wikipedia
Frederick Douglass — Wikipedia
Karl Marx — Wikipedia
Herman Melville — Wikipedia
Queen Victoria — Wikipedia
Walt Whitman — Wikipedia
Susan B. Anthony — Wikipedia
Florence Nightingale — Wikipedia
Friedrich Engels — Wikipedia
Fyodor Dostoevsky — Wikipedia
Charles Baudelaire — Wikipedia
Harriet Tubman — Wikipedia
Louis Pasteur — Wikipedia
Gregor Mendel — Wikipedia
Jules Verne — Wikipedia
Leo Tolstoy — Wikipedia
Henrik Ibsen — Wikipedia
Emily Dickinson — Wikipedia
Sitting Bull — Wikipedia
James Clerk Maxwell — Wikipedia
Alfred Nobel — Wikipedia
Dmitri Mendeleev — Wikipedia
Mark Twain — Wikipedia
Andrew Carnegie — Wikipedia
John D. Rockefeller — Wikipedia
Claude Monet — Wikipedia
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky — Wikipedia
Émile Zola — Wikipedia
Pierre-Auguste Renoir — Wikipedia
Friedrich Nietzsche — Wikipedia
Sarah Bernhardt — Wikipedia
Thomas Edison — Wikipedia
Alexander Graham Bell — Wikipedia
Paul Gauguin — Wikipedia
Antoni Gaudí — Wikipedia
Vincent van Gogh — Wikipedia
Oscar Wilde — Wikipedia
Sigmund Freud — Wikipedia
Nikola Tesla — Wikipedia
Woodrow Wilson — Wikipedia
George Bernard Shaw — Wikipedia
Theodore Roosevelt — Wikipedia
Emmeline Pankhurst — Wikipedia
Max Planck — Wikipedia
Arthur Conan Doyle — Wikipedia
Anton Chekhov — Wikipedia
Rabindranath Tagore — Wikipedia

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