Who Was Alive in 1821

Thomas JeffersonAge 78

1743–1826 · Politics & Leadership

Author of the Declaration of Independence

Francisco GoyaAge 75

1746–1828 · Art

Spanish Romantic painter

Edward JennerAge 72

1749–1823 · Science & Invention

Pioneer of the smallpox vaccine

HokusaiAge 61

1760–1849 · Art

The Great Wave, Japanese master printmaker

Napoleon BonaparteAge 52

1769–1821 · Politics & Leadership

Emperor of France, military genius

Ludwig van BeethovenAge 51

1770–1827 · Music

Symphonies composed while going deaf

Niccolò PaganiniAge 39

1782–1840 · Music

Virtuoso violinist, the Devil's violinist

Simón BolívarAge 38

1783–1830 · Politics & Leadership

Liberator of South America

Jacob GrimmAge 36

1785–1863 · Literature

Grimm's Fairy Tales

Shaka ZuluAge 34

1787–1828 · Politics & Leadership

Founder of the Zulu Kingdom

Michael FaradayAge 30

1791–1867 · Science & Invention

Electromagnetic induction

Charles BabbageAge 30

1791–1871 · Science & Invention

Father of the computer, designed the Analytical Engine

Alexander PushkinAge 22

1799–1837 · Literature

Father of Russian literature

Victor HugoAge 19

1802–1885 · Literature

Les Misérables, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

Hans Christian AndersenAge 16

1805–1875 · Literature

The Little Mermaid, fairy tales

Abraham LincolnAge 12

1809–1865 · Politics & Leadership

16th US President, ended slavery

Charles DarwinAge 12

1809–1882 · Science & Invention

Theory of evolution by natural selection

Edgar Allan PoeAge 12

1809–1849 · Literature

Master of the macabre, The Raven

Frédéric ChopinAge 11

1810–1849 · Music

Romantic piano virtuoso

Charles DickensAge 9

1812–1870 · Literature

A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist

Giuseppe VerdiAge 8

1813–1901 · Music

La Traviata, Aida — operatic master

Richard WagnerAge 8

1813–1883 · Music

Ring Cycle, revolutionary opera

Otto von BismarckAge 6

1815–1898 · Politics & Leadership

Unified Germany, the Iron Chancellor

Ada LovelaceAge 6

1815–1852 · Science & Invention

First computer programmer

Emily BrontëAge 3

1818–1848 · Literature

Wuthering Heights

Frederick DouglassAge 3

1818–1895 · Activism & Social Change

Abolitionist, orator, writer

Karl MarxAge 3

1818–1883 · Philosophy & Thought

Das Kapital, Communist Manifesto

Herman MelvilleAge 2

1819–1891 · Literature

Moby-Dick

Queen VictoriaAge 2

1819–1901 · Politics & Leadership

Longest-reigning British monarch of her era

Walt WhitmanAge 2

1819–1892 · Literature

Leaves of Grass, father of free verse

Susan B. AnthonyAge 1

1820–1906 · Activism & Social Change

Women's suffrage pioneer

Florence NightingaleAge 1

1820–1910 · Activism & Social Change

Founder of modern nursing

Fyodor DostoevskyAge 0

1821–1881 · Literature

Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov