Who Was Alive in 1854

Jacob GrimmAge 69

1785–1863 · Literature

Grimm's Fairy Tales

Michael FaradayAge 63

1791–1867 · Science & Invention

Electromagnetic induction

Charles BabbageAge 63

1791–1871 · Science & Invention

Father of the computer, designed the Analytical Engine

Victor HugoAge 52

1802–1885 · Literature

Les Misérables, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

Hans Christian AndersenAge 49

1805–1875 · Literature

The Little Mermaid, fairy tales

Abraham LincolnAge 45

1809–1865 · Politics & Leadership

16th US President, ended slavery

Charles DarwinAge 45

1809–1882 · Science & Invention

Theory of evolution by natural selection

Charles DickensAge 42

1812–1870 · Literature

A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist

Giuseppe VerdiAge 41

1813–1901 · Music

La Traviata, Aida — operatic master

Richard WagnerAge 41

1813–1883 · Music

Ring Cycle, revolutionary opera

Otto von BismarckAge 39

1815–1898 · Politics & Leadership

Unified Germany, the Iron Chancellor

Frederick DouglassAge 36

1818–1895 · Activism & Social Change

Abolitionist, orator, writer

Karl MarxAge 36

1818–1883 · Philosophy & Thought

Das Kapital, Communist Manifesto

Herman MelvilleAge 35

1819–1891 · Literature

Moby-Dick

Queen VictoriaAge 35

1819–1901 · Politics & Leadership

Longest-reigning British monarch of her era

Walt WhitmanAge 35

1819–1892 · Literature

Leaves of Grass, father of free verse

Susan B. AnthonyAge 34

1820–1906 · Activism & Social Change

Women's suffrage pioneer

Florence NightingaleAge 34

1820–1910 · Activism & Social Change

Founder of modern nursing

Fyodor DostoevskyAge 33

1821–1881 · Literature

Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov

Harriet TubmanAge 32

1822–1913 · Activism & Social Change

Underground Railroad conductor

Louis PasteurAge 32

1822–1895 · Science & Invention

Germ theory, pasteurization

Gregor MendelAge 32

1822–1884 · Science & Invention

Father of genetics

Jules VerneAge 26

1828–1905 · Literature

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Leo TolstoyAge 26

1828–1910 · Literature

War and Peace, Anna Karenina

Emily DickinsonAge 24

1830–1886 · Literature

Reclusive poetic genius

Sitting BullAge 23

1831–1890 · Politics & Leadership

Lakota leader who defeated Custer at Little Bighorn

Alfred NobelAge 21

1833–1896 · Science & Invention

Invented dynamite, founded Nobel Prizes

Dmitri MendeleevAge 20

1834–1907 · Science & Invention

Created the periodic table of elements

Mark TwainAge 19

1835–1910 · Literature

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Andrew CarnegieAge 19

1835–1919 · Business & Industry

Steel magnate, philanthropist

John D. RockefellerAge 15

1839–1937 · Business & Industry

Oil tycoon, richest American ever

Claude MonetAge 14

1840–1926 · Art

Water Lilies, father of Impressionism

Pyotr TchaikovskyAge 14

1840–1893 · Music

Swan Lake, The Nutcracker

Pierre-Auguste RenoirAge 13

1841–1919 · Art

Impressionist painter of joyful scenes

Friedrich NietzscheAge 10

1844–1900 · Philosophy & Thought

"God is dead," Beyond Good and Evil

Thomas EdisonAge 7

1847–1931 · Science & Invention

Light bulb, phonograph, 1000+ patents

Alexander Graham BellAge 7

1847–1922 · Science & Invention

Invented the telephone

Antoni GaudíAge 2

1852–1926 · Art

Sagrada Família architect

Vincent van GoghAge 1

1853–1890 · Art

Starry Night, post-Impressionist icon

Oscar WildeAge 0

1854–1900 · Literature

The Picture of Dorian Gray, wit and charm