Who Was Alive in 1864

Michael FaradayAge 73

1791–1867 · Science & Invention

Electromagnetic induction

Charles BabbageAge 73

1791–1871 · Science & Invention

Father of the computer, designed the Analytical Engine

Victor HugoAge 62

1802–1885 · Literature

Les Misérables, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

Hans Christian AndersenAge 59

1805–1875 · Literature

The Little Mermaid, fairy tales

Abraham LincolnAge 55

1809–1865 · Politics & Leadership

16th US President, ended slavery

Charles DarwinAge 55

1809–1882 · Science & Invention

Theory of evolution by natural selection

Charles DickensAge 52

1812–1870 · Literature

A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist

Giuseppe VerdiAge 51

1813–1901 · Music

La Traviata, Aida — operatic master

Richard WagnerAge 51

1813–1883 · Music

Ring Cycle, revolutionary opera

Otto von BismarckAge 49

1815–1898 · Politics & Leadership

Unified Germany, the Iron Chancellor

Frederick DouglassAge 46

1818–1895 · Activism & Social Change

Abolitionist, orator, writer

Karl MarxAge 46

1818–1883 · Philosophy & Thought

Das Kapital, Communist Manifesto

Herman MelvilleAge 45

1819–1891 · Literature

Moby-Dick

Queen VictoriaAge 45

1819–1901 · Politics & Leadership

Longest-reigning British monarch of her era

Walt WhitmanAge 45

1819–1892 · Literature

Leaves of Grass, father of free verse

Susan B. AnthonyAge 44

1820–1906 · Activism & Social Change

Women's suffrage pioneer

Florence NightingaleAge 44

1820–1910 · Activism & Social Change

Founder of modern nursing

Fyodor DostoevskyAge 43

1821–1881 · Literature

Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov

Harriet TubmanAge 42

1822–1913 · Activism & Social Change

Underground Railroad conductor

Louis PasteurAge 42

1822–1895 · Science & Invention

Germ theory, pasteurization

Gregor MendelAge 42

1822–1884 · Science & Invention

Father of genetics

Jules VerneAge 36

1828–1905 · Literature

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Leo TolstoyAge 36

1828–1910 · Literature

War and Peace, Anna Karenina

Emily DickinsonAge 34

1830–1886 · Literature

Reclusive poetic genius

Sitting BullAge 33

1831–1890 · Politics & Leadership

Lakota leader who defeated Custer at Little Bighorn

Alfred NobelAge 31

1833–1896 · Science & Invention

Invented dynamite, founded Nobel Prizes

Dmitri MendeleevAge 30

1834–1907 · Science & Invention

Created the periodic table of elements

Mark TwainAge 29

1835–1910 · Literature

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Andrew CarnegieAge 29

1835–1919 · Business & Industry

Steel magnate, philanthropist

John D. RockefellerAge 25

1839–1937 · Business & Industry

Oil tycoon, richest American ever

Claude MonetAge 24

1840–1926 · Art

Water Lilies, father of Impressionism

Pyotr TchaikovskyAge 24

1840–1893 · Music

Swan Lake, The Nutcracker

Pierre-Auguste RenoirAge 23

1841–1919 · Art

Impressionist painter of joyful scenes

Friedrich NietzscheAge 20

1844–1900 · Philosophy & Thought

"God is dead," Beyond Good and Evil

Thomas EdisonAge 17

1847–1931 · Science & Invention

Light bulb, phonograph, 1000+ patents

Alexander Graham BellAge 17

1847–1922 · Science & Invention

Invented the telephone

Antoni GaudíAge 12

1852–1926 · Art

Sagrada Família architect

Vincent van GoghAge 11

1853–1890 · Art

Starry Night, post-Impressionist icon

Oscar WildeAge 10

1854–1900 · Literature

The Picture of Dorian Gray, wit and charm

Sigmund FreudAge 8

1856–1939 · Philosophy & Thought

Father of psychoanalysis

Nikola TeslaAge 8

1856–1943 · Science & Invention

AC electricity, visionary inventor

Woodrow WilsonAge 8

1856–1924 · Politics & Leadership

28th US President, League of Nations

Theodore RooseveltAge 6

1858–1919 · Politics & Leadership

26th US President, Rough Rider

Emmeline PankhurstAge 6

1858–1928 · Activism & Social Change

British suffragette leader

Max PlanckAge 6

1858–1947 · Science & Invention

Father of quantum theory

Arthur Conan DoyleAge 5

1859–1930 · Literature

Creator of Sherlock Holmes

Rabindranath TagoreAge 3

1861–1941 · Literature

First non-European Nobel laureate in Literature

Gustav KlimtAge 2

1862–1918 · Art

The Kiss, Art Nouveau master

Claude DebussyAge 2

1862–1918 · Music

Clair de Lune, Impressionist music

Henry FordAge 1

1863–1947 · Business & Industry

Assembly line, Model T automobile

Edvard MunchAge 1

1863–1944 · Art

The Scream