TIMELINER

History's most surprising connections

Who Was Alive in 1840

39 of 328 historical figures were alive in 1840

Hokusai
HokusaiAge 80
1760–1849 · Art
The Great Wave, Japanese master printmaker
Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò PaganiniAge 58
1782–1840 · Music
Virtuoso violinist, the Devil's violinist
Jacob Grimm
Jacob GrimmAge 55
1785–1863 · Literature
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Michael Faraday
Michael FaradayAge 49
1791–1867 · Science & Invention
Electromagnetic induction
Charles Babbage
Charles BabbageAge 49
1791–1871 · Science & Invention
Father of the computer, designed the Analytical Engine
Victor Hugo
Victor HugoAge 38
1802–1885 · Literature
Les Misérables, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian AndersenAge 35
1805–1875 · Literature
The Little Mermaid, fairy tales
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham LincolnAge 31
1809–1865 · Politics & Leadership
16th US President, ended slavery
Charles Darwin
Charles DarwinAge 31
1809–1882 · Science & Invention
Theory of evolution by natural selection
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan PoeAge 31
1809–1849 · Literature
Master of the macabre, The Raven
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric ChopinAge 30
1810–1849 · Music
Romantic piano virtuoso
Charles Dickens
Charles DickensAge 28
1812–1870 · Literature
A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe VerdiAge 27
1813–1901 · Music
La Traviata, Aida — operatic master
Richard Wagner
Richard WagnerAge 27
1813–1883 · Music
Ring Cycle, revolutionary opera
Otto von Bismarck
Otto von BismarckAge 25
1815–1898 · Politics & Leadership
Unified Germany, the Iron Chancellor
Ada Lovelace
Ada LovelaceAge 25
1815–1852 · Science & Invention
First computer programmer
Emily Brontë
Emily BrontëAge 22
1818–1848 · Literature
Wuthering Heights
Frederick Douglass
Frederick DouglassAge 22
1818–1895 · Activism & Social Change
Abolitionist, orator, writer
Karl Marx
Karl MarxAge 22
1818–1883 · Philosophy & Thought
Das Kapital, Communist Manifesto
Herman Melville
Herman MelvilleAge 21
1819–1891 · Literature
Moby-Dick
Queen Victoria
Queen VictoriaAge 21
1819–1901 · Politics & Leadership
Longest-reigning British monarch of her era
Walt Whitman
Walt WhitmanAge 21
1819–1892 · Literature
Leaves of Grass, father of free verse
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. AnthonyAge 20
1820–1906 · Activism & Social Change
Women's suffrage pioneer
Florence Nightingale
Florence NightingaleAge 20
1820–1910 · Activism & Social Change
Founder of modern nursing
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor DostoevskyAge 19
1821–1881 · Literature
Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov
Harriet Tubman
Harriet TubmanAge 18
1822–1913 · Activism & Social Change
Underground Railroad conductor
Louis Pasteur
Louis PasteurAge 18
1822–1895 · Science & Invention
Germ theory, pasteurization
Gregor Mendel
Gregor MendelAge 18
1822–1884 · Science & Invention
Father of genetics
Jules Verne
Jules VerneAge 12
1828–1905 · Literature
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Leo Tolstoy
Leo TolstoyAge 12
1828–1910 · Literature
War and Peace, Anna Karenina
Emily Dickinson
Emily DickinsonAge 10
1830–1886 · Literature
Reclusive poetic genius
Sitting Bull
Sitting BullAge 9
1831–1890 · Politics & Leadership
Lakota leader who defeated Custer at Little Bighorn
Alfred Nobel
Alfred NobelAge 7
1833–1896 · Science & Invention
Invented dynamite, founded Nobel Prizes
Dmitri Mendeleev
Dmitri MendeleevAge 6
1834–1907 · Science & Invention
Created the periodic table of elements
Mark Twain
Mark TwainAge 5
1835–1910 · Literature
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew CarnegieAge 5
1835–1919 · Business & Industry
Steel magnate, philanthropist
John D. Rockefeller
John D. RockefellerAge 1
1839–1937 · Business & Industry
Oil tycoon, richest American ever
Claude Monet
Claude MonetAge 0
1840–1926 · Art
Water Lilies, father of Impressionism
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Pyotr TchaikovskyAge 0
1840–1893 · Music
Swan Lake, The Nutcracker
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