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TIMELINER

History's most surprising connections

Who Was Alive in 1881

90 of 492 historical figures were alive in 1881

Victor Hugo
Victor HugoAge 79
1802–1885 · Literature
Les Misérables, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo EmersonAge 78
1803–1882 · Philosophy & Thought
Transcendentalist essayist of Self-Reliance
Charles Darwin
Charles DarwinAge 72
1809–1882 · Science & Invention
Theory of evolution by natural selection
Franz Liszt
Franz LisztAge 70
1811–1886 · Music
Piano virtuoso, composer of the Hungarian Rhapsodies
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe VerdiAge 68
1813–1901 · Music
La Traviata, Aida — operatic master
Richard Wagner
Richard WagnerAge 68
1813–1883 · Music
Ring Cycle, revolutionary opera
Otto von Bismarck
Otto von BismarckAge 66
1815–1898 · Politics & Leadership
Unified Germany, the Iron Chancellor
Frederick Douglass
Frederick DouglassAge 63
1818–1895 · Activism & Social Change
Abolitionist, orator, writer
Karl Marx
Karl MarxAge 63
1818–1883 · Philosophy & Thought
Das Kapital, Communist Manifesto
Herman Melville
Herman MelvilleAge 62
1819–1891 · Literature
Moby-Dick
Queen Victoria
Queen VictoriaAge 62
1819–1901 · Politics & Leadership
Longest-reigning British monarch of her era
Walt Whitman
Walt WhitmanAge 62
1819–1892 · Literature
Leaves of Grass, father of free verse
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. AnthonyAge 61
1820–1906 · Activism & Social Change
Women's suffrage pioneer
Florence Nightingale
Florence NightingaleAge 61
1820–1910 · Activism & Social Change
Founder of modern nursing
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich EngelsAge 61
1820–1895 · Philosophy & Thought
Co-author of The Communist Manifesto with Marx
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor DostoevskyAge 60
1821–1881 · Literature
Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov
Harriet Tubman
Harriet TubmanAge about 59
1822–1913 · Activism & Social Change
Underground Railroad conductor
Louis Pasteur
Louis PasteurAge 59
1822–1895 · Science & Invention
Germ theory, pasteurization
Gregor Mendel
Gregor MendelAge 59
1822–1884 · Science & Invention
Father of genetics
Jules Verne
Jules VerneAge 53
1828–1905 · Literature
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Leo Tolstoy
Leo TolstoyAge 53
1828–1910 · Literature
War and Peace, Anna Karenina
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik IbsenAge 53
1828–1906 · Literature
Norwegian playwright of A Doll's House
Emily Dickinson
Emily DickinsonAge 51
1830–1886 · Literature
Reclusive poetic genius
Sitting Bull
Sitting BullAge about 50
1831–1890 · Politics & Leadership
Lakota leader who defeated Custer at Little Bighorn
Alfred Nobel
Alfred NobelAge 48
1833–1896 · Science & Invention
Invented dynamite, founded Nobel Prizes
Dmitri Mendeleev
Dmitri MendeleevAge 47
1834–1907 · Science & Invention
Created the periodic table of elements
Mark Twain
Mark TwainAge 46
1835–1910 · Literature
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew CarnegieAge 46
1835–1919 · Business & Industry
Steel magnate, philanthropist
John D. Rockefeller
John D. RockefellerAge 42
1839–1937 · Business & Industry
Standard Oil tycoon, among the richest Americans in history
Claude Monet
Claude MonetAge 41
1840–1926 · Art
Water Lilies, father of Impressionism
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Pyotr TchaikovskyAge 41
1840–1893 · Music
Swan Lake, The Nutcracker
Émile Zola
Émile ZolaAge 41
1840–1902 · Literature
French novelist who wrote J'Accuse
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste RenoirAge 40
1841–1919 · Art
Impressionist painter of joyful scenes
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich NietzscheAge 37
1844–1900 · Philosophy & Thought
"God is dead," Beyond Good and Evil
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah BernhardtAge 37
1844–1923 · Film & Entertainment
French stage actress of worldwide fame
Thomas Edison
Thomas EdisonAge 34
1847–1931 · Science & Invention
Light bulb, phonograph, 1000+ patents
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham BellAge 34
1847–1922 · Science & Invention
Invented the telephone
Paul Gauguin
Paul GauguinAge 33
1848–1903 · Art
Post-Impressionist painter of Tahiti
Antoni Gaudí
Antoni GaudíAge 29
1852–1926 · Art
Sagrada Família architect
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van GoghAge 28
1853–1890 · Art
Starry Night, post-Impressionist icon
Oscar Wilde
Oscar WildeAge 27
1854–1900 · Literature
The Picture of Dorian Gray, wit and charm
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund FreudAge 25
1856–1939 · Philosophy & Thought
Father of psychoanalysis
Nikola Tesla
Nikola TeslaAge 25
1856–1943 · Science & Invention
AC electricity, visionary inventor
Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow WilsonAge 25
1856–1924 · Politics & Leadership
28th US President, League of Nations
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard ShawAge 25
1856–1950 · Literature
Irish playwright of Pygmalion
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore RooseveltAge 23
1858–1919 · Politics & Leadership
26th US President, Rough Rider
Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline PankhurstAge 23
1858–1928 · Activism & Social Change
British suffragette leader
Max Planck
Max PlanckAge 23
1858–1947 · Science & Invention
Father of quantum theory
Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan DoyleAge 22
1859–1930 · Literature
Creator of Sherlock Holmes
Anton Chekhov
Anton ChekhovAge 21
1860–1904 · Literature
Russian playwright and short-story master
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath TagoreAge 20
1861–1941 · Literature
First non-European Nobel laureate in Literature
Gustav Klimt
Gustav KlimtAge 19
1862–1918 · Art
The Kiss, Art Nouveau master
Claude Debussy
Claude DebussyAge 19
1862–1918 · Music
Clair de Lune, Impressionist music
David Hilbert
David HilbertAge 19
1862–1943 · Science & Invention
German mathematician of Hilbert's problems
Henry Ford
Henry FordAge 18
1863–1947 · Business & Industry
Assembly line, Model T automobile
Edvard Munch
Edvard MunchAge 18
1863–1944 · Art
The Scream
Max Weber
Max WeberAge 17
1864–1920 · Philosophy & Thought
A founder of modern sociology
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard KiplingAge 16
1865–1936 · Literature
Author of The Jungle Book, Nobel laureate
H.G. Wells
H.G. WellsAge 15
1866–1946 · Literature
The War of the Worlds, science fiction pioneer
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-senAge 15
1866–1925 · Politics & Leadership
Father of the Republic of China
Marie Curie
Marie CurieAge 14
1867–1934 · Science & Invention
Radioactivity, first woman Nobel laureate
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd WrightAge 14
1867–1959 · Art
American architect of Fallingwater
Scott Joplin
Scott JoplinAge 13
1868–1917 · Music
King of Ragtime
Maxim Gorky
Maxim GorkyAge 13
1868–1936 · Literature
Russian writer of The Lower Depths
Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma GandhiAge 12
1869–1948 · Politics & Leadership
Nonviolent independence leader of India
Grigori Rasputin
Grigori RasputinAge 12
1869–1916 · Politics & Leadership
Mystic who influenced the Russian royal family
Henri Matisse
Henri MatisseAge 12
1869–1954 · Art
Leader of Fauvism, master of color and cut-outs
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir LeninAge 11
1870–1924 · Politics & Leadership
Bolshevik leader of the October Revolution
Marcel Proust
Marcel ProustAge 10
1871–1922 · Literature
In Search of Lost Time
Orville Wright
Orville WrightAge 10
1871–1948 · Science & Invention
Co-inventor of the airplane
Rosa Luxemburg
Rosa LuxemburgAge 10
1871–1919 · Activism & Social Change
Marxist theorist and revolutionary
Ernest Rutherford
Ernest RutherfordAge 10
1871–1937 · Science & Invention
Father of nuclear physics
Roald Amundsen
Roald AmundsenAge 9
1872–1928 · Exploration
First to reach the South Pole
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand RussellAge 9
1872–1970 · Philosophy & Thought
Logician, philosopher and Nobel laureate
Ernest Shackleton
Ernest ShackletonAge 7
1874–1922 · Exploration
Heroic Antarctic explorer, Endurance expedition
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo MarconiAge 7
1874–1937 · Science & Invention
Pioneer of long-distance radio
Winston Churchill
Winston ChurchillAge 7
1874–1965 · Politics & Leadership
British PM who led WWII effort
Harry Houdini
Harry HoudiniAge 7
1874–1926 · Film & Entertainment
Legendary escape artist & illusionist
Carl Jung
Carl JungAge 6
1875–1961 · Philosophy & Thought
Analytical psychology, archetypes
Albert Schweitzer
Albert SchweitzerAge 6
1875–1965 · Philosophy & Thought
Nobel Peace Prize physician, theologian and organist
Thomas Mann
Thomas MannAge 6
1875–1955 · Literature
German novelist of The Magic Mountain
Pancho Villa
Pancho VillaAge 3
1878–1923 · Politics & Leadership
Mexican revolutionary general
Lise Meitner
Lise MeitnerAge 3
1878–1968 · Science & Invention
Discovered nuclear fission, overlooked for Nobel
Joseph Stalin
Joseph StalinAge 3
1878–1953 · Politics & Leadership
Leader of the Soviet Union 1924–1953
Albert Einstein
Albert EinsteinAge 2
1879–1955 · Science & Invention
Theory of relativity, E=mc²
Leon Trotsky
Leon TrotskyAge 2
1879–1940 · Politics & Leadership
Russian revolutionary, founder of the Red Army
Helen Keller
Helen KellerAge 1
1880–1968 · Activism & Social Change
Deafblind author and activist, The Story of My Life
Pablo Picasso
Pablo PicassoAge 0
1881–1973 · Art
Cubism, Guernica, most prolific artist
Alexander Fleming
Alexander FlemingAge 0
1881–1955 · Science & Invention
Discovered penicillin
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal AtatürkAge 0
1881–1938 · Politics & Leadership
Founder and first president of modern Turkey

Born in 1881

Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
1881–1973 · Art
Cubism, Guernica, most prolific artist
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
1881–1938 · Politics & Leadership
Founder and first president of modern Turkey
Alexander Fleming
Alexander Fleming
1881–1955 · Science & Invention
Discovered penicillin

Also Born in 1881

1881–1938 · born May 19
President of Turkey from 1923 to 1938
1881–1963 · born November 25
Head of the Catholic Church from 1958 to 1963
1881–1936 · born September 25
Chinese novelist and essayist (1881–1936)
1881–1942 · born November 28
Austrian writer (1881–1942)
1881–1945 · born March 25
Hungarian composer (1881–1945)
1881–1958 · born March 23
French novelist (1881-1958)
1881–1931 · born February 12
Russian ballet dancer (1881–1931)
1881–1958 · born October 22
American physicist (1881–1958)
1881–1973 · born September 29
Austrian–American political economist (1881–1973)
1881–1954 · born April 3
Prime Minister of Italy from 1945 to 1953
1881–1957 · born January 31
American chemist and physicist (1881–1957)
1881–1969 · born February 4
Soviet military officer and politician (1881–1969)

Died in 1881

Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Dostoevsky
1821–1881 · Literature
Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov

Also Died in 1881

1831–1881 · died September 19
President of the United States in 1881
1804–1881 · died April 19
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1868; 1874–1880)
1795–1881 · died February 5
Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher (1795–1881)
1818–1881 · died March 13
Emperor of Russia from 1855 to 1881
1839–1881 · died March 28
Russian composer (1839–1881)
1804–1881 · died June 23
German botanist
1820–1881 · died June 6
Belgian composer and violinist

Sources

  1. 1881 — Wikipedia. Births, deaths and events of the year
  2. Victor Hugo — Wikipedia
  3. Ralph Waldo Emerson — Wikipedia
  4. Charles Darwin — Wikipedia
  5. Franz Liszt — Wikipedia
  6. Giuseppe Verdi — Wikipedia
  7. Richard Wagner — Wikipedia
  8. Otto von Bismarck — Wikipedia
  9. Frederick Douglass — Wikipedia
  10. Karl Marx — Wikipedia
  11. Herman Melville — Wikipedia
  12. Queen Victoria — Wikipedia
  13. Walt Whitman — Wikipedia
  14. Susan B. Anthony — Wikipedia
  15. Florence Nightingale — Wikipedia
  16. Friedrich Engels — Wikipedia
  17. Fyodor Dostoevsky — Wikipedia
  18. Harriet Tubman — Wikipedia
  19. Louis Pasteur — Wikipedia
  20. Gregor Mendel — Wikipedia
  21. Jules Verne — Wikipedia
  22. Leo Tolstoy — Wikipedia
  23. Henrik Ibsen — Wikipedia
  24. Emily Dickinson — Wikipedia
  25. Sitting Bull — Wikipedia
  26. Alfred Nobel — Wikipedia
  27. Dmitri Mendeleev — Wikipedia
  28. Mark Twain — Wikipedia
  29. Andrew Carnegie — Wikipedia
  30. John D. Rockefeller — Wikipedia
  31. Claude Monet — Wikipedia
  32. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky — Wikipedia
  33. Émile Zola — Wikipedia
  34. Pierre-Auguste Renoir — Wikipedia
  35. Friedrich Nietzsche — Wikipedia
  36. Sarah Bernhardt — Wikipedia
  37. Thomas Edison — Wikipedia
  38. Alexander Graham Bell — Wikipedia
  39. Paul Gauguin — Wikipedia
  40. Antoni Gaudí — Wikipedia
  41. Vincent van Gogh — Wikipedia
  42. Oscar Wilde — Wikipedia
  43. Sigmund Freud — Wikipedia
  44. Nikola Tesla — Wikipedia
  45. Woodrow Wilson — Wikipedia
  46. George Bernard Shaw — Wikipedia
  47. Theodore Roosevelt — Wikipedia
  48. Emmeline Pankhurst — Wikipedia
  49. Max Planck — Wikipedia
  50. Arthur Conan Doyle — Wikipedia
  51. Anton Chekhov — Wikipedia
  52. Rabindranath Tagore — Wikipedia
  53. Gustav Klimt — Wikipedia
  54. Claude Debussy — Wikipedia
  55. David Hilbert — Wikipedia
  56. Henry Ford — Wikipedia
  57. Edvard Munch — Wikipedia
  58. Max Weber — Wikipedia
  59. Rudyard Kipling — Wikipedia
  60. H. G. Wells — Wikipedia
  61. Sun Yat-sen — Wikipedia
  62. Marie Curie — Wikipedia
  63. Frank Lloyd Wright — Wikipedia
  64. Scott Joplin — Wikipedia
  65. Maxim Gorky — Wikipedia
  66. Mahatma Gandhi — Wikipedia
  67. Grigori Rasputin — Wikipedia
  68. Henri Matisse — Wikipedia
  69. Vladimir Lenin — Wikipedia
  70. Marcel Proust — Wikipedia
  71. Wright brothers — Wikipedia
  72. Rosa Luxemburg — Wikipedia
  73. Ernest Rutherford — Wikipedia
  74. Roald Amundsen — Wikipedia
  75. Bertrand Russell — Wikipedia
  76. Ernest Shackleton — Wikipedia
  77. Guglielmo Marconi — Wikipedia
  78. Winston Churchill — Wikipedia
  79. Harry Houdini — Wikipedia
  80. Carl Jung — Wikipedia
  81. Albert Schweitzer — Wikipedia
  82. Thomas Mann — Wikipedia
  83. Pancho Villa — Wikipedia
  84. Lise Meitner — Wikipedia
  85. Joseph Stalin — Wikipedia
  86. Albert Einstein — Wikipedia
  87. Leon Trotsky — Wikipedia
  88. Helen Keller — Wikipedia
  89. Pablo Picasso — Wikipedia
  90. Alexander Fleming — Wikipedia
  91. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk — Wikipedia
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