TIMELINER

History's most surprising connections

Who Was Alive in 1879

63 of 328 historical figures were alive in 1879

Victor Hugo
Victor HugoAge 77
1802–1885 · Literature
Les Misérables, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
Charles Darwin
Charles DarwinAge 70
1809–1882 · Science & Invention
Theory of evolution by natural selection
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe VerdiAge 66
1813–1901 · Music
La Traviata, Aida — operatic master
Richard Wagner
Richard WagnerAge 66
1813–1883 · Music
Ring Cycle, revolutionary opera
Otto von Bismarck
Otto von BismarckAge 64
1815–1898 · Politics & Leadership
Unified Germany, the Iron Chancellor
Frederick Douglass
Frederick DouglassAge 61
1818–1895 · Activism & Social Change
Abolitionist, orator, writer
Karl Marx
Karl MarxAge 61
1818–1883 · Philosophy & Thought
Das Kapital, Communist Manifesto
Herman Melville
Herman MelvilleAge 60
1819–1891 · Literature
Moby-Dick
Queen Victoria
Queen VictoriaAge 60
1819–1901 · Politics & Leadership
Longest-reigning British monarch of her era
Walt Whitman
Walt WhitmanAge 60
1819–1892 · Literature
Leaves of Grass, father of free verse
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. AnthonyAge 59
1820–1906 · Activism & Social Change
Women's suffrage pioneer
Florence Nightingale
Florence NightingaleAge 59
1820–1910 · Activism & Social Change
Founder of modern nursing
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor DostoevskyAge 58
1821–1881 · Literature
Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov
Harriet Tubman
Harriet TubmanAge 57
1822–1913 · Activism & Social Change
Underground Railroad conductor
Louis Pasteur
Louis PasteurAge 57
1822–1895 · Science & Invention
Germ theory, pasteurization
Gregor Mendel
Gregor MendelAge 57
1822–1884 · Science & Invention
Father of genetics
Jules Verne
Jules VerneAge 51
1828–1905 · Literature
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Leo Tolstoy
Leo TolstoyAge 51
1828–1910 · Literature
War and Peace, Anna Karenina
Emily Dickinson
Emily DickinsonAge 49
1830–1886 · Literature
Reclusive poetic genius
Sitting Bull
Sitting BullAge 48
1831–1890 · Politics & Leadership
Lakota leader who defeated Custer at Little Bighorn
Alfred Nobel
Alfred NobelAge 46
1833–1896 · Science & Invention
Invented dynamite, founded Nobel Prizes
Dmitri Mendeleev
Dmitri MendeleevAge 45
1834–1907 · Science & Invention
Created the periodic table of elements
Mark Twain
Mark TwainAge 44
1835–1910 · Literature
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew CarnegieAge 44
1835–1919 · Business & Industry
Steel magnate, philanthropist
John D. Rockefeller
John D. RockefellerAge 40
1839–1937 · Business & Industry
Oil tycoon, richest American ever
Claude Monet
Claude MonetAge 39
1840–1926 · Art
Water Lilies, father of Impressionism
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Pyotr TchaikovskyAge 39
1840–1893 · Music
Swan Lake, The Nutcracker
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste RenoirAge 38
1841–1919 · Art
Impressionist painter of joyful scenes
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich NietzscheAge 35
1844–1900 · Philosophy & Thought
"God is dead," Beyond Good and Evil
Thomas Edison
Thomas EdisonAge 32
1847–1931 · Science & Invention
Light bulb, phonograph, 1000+ patents
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham BellAge 32
1847–1922 · Science & Invention
Invented the telephone
Antoni Gaudí
Antoni GaudíAge 27
1852–1926 · Art
Sagrada Família architect
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van GoghAge 26
1853–1890 · Art
Starry Night, post-Impressionist icon
Oscar Wilde
Oscar WildeAge 25
1854–1900 · Literature
The Picture of Dorian Gray, wit and charm
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund FreudAge 23
1856–1939 · Philosophy & Thought
Father of psychoanalysis
Nikola Tesla
Nikola TeslaAge 23
1856–1943 · Science & Invention
AC electricity, visionary inventor
Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow WilsonAge 23
1856–1924 · Politics & Leadership
28th US President, League of Nations
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore RooseveltAge 21
1858–1919 · Politics & Leadership
26th US President, Rough Rider
Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline PankhurstAge 21
1858–1928 · Activism & Social Change
British suffragette leader
Max Planck
Max PlanckAge 21
1858–1947 · Science & Invention
Father of quantum theory
Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan DoyleAge 20
1859–1930 · Literature
Creator of Sherlock Holmes
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath TagoreAge 18
1861–1941 · Literature
First non-European Nobel laureate in Literature
Gustav Klimt
Gustav KlimtAge 17
1862–1918 · Art
The Kiss, Art Nouveau master
Claude Debussy
Claude DebussyAge 17
1862–1918 · Music
Clair de Lune, Impressionist music
Henry Ford
Henry FordAge 16
1863–1947 · Business & Industry
Assembly line, Model T automobile
Edvard Munch
Edvard MunchAge 16
1863–1944 · Art
The Scream
H.G. Wells
H.G. WellsAge 13
1866–1946 · Literature
The War of the Worlds, science fiction pioneer
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-senAge 13
1866–1925 · Politics & Leadership
Father of the Republic of China
Marie Curie
Marie CurieAge 12
1867–1934 · Science & Invention
Radioactivity, first woman Nobel laureate
Scott Joplin
Scott JoplinAge 11
1868–1917 · Music
King of Ragtime
Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma GandhiAge 10
1869–1948 · Politics & Leadership
Nonviolent independence leader of India
Grigori Rasputin
Grigori RasputinAge 10
1869–1916 · Politics & Leadership
Mystic who influenced the Russian royal family
Marcel Proust
Marcel ProustAge 8
1871–1922 · Literature
In Search of Lost Time
Orville Wright
Orville WrightAge 8
1871–1948 · Science & Invention
Co-inventor of the airplane
Roald Amundsen
Roald AmundsenAge 7
1872–1928 · Exploration
First to reach the South Pole
Ernest Shackleton
Ernest ShackletonAge 5
1874–1922 · Exploration
Heroic Antarctic explorer, Endurance expedition
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo MarconiAge 5
1874–1937 · Science & Invention
Pioneer of long-distance radio
Winston Churchill
Winston ChurchillAge 5
1874–1965 · Politics & Leadership
British PM who led WWII effort
Harry Houdini
Harry HoudiniAge 5
1874–1926 · Film & Entertainment
Legendary escape artist & illusionist
Carl Jung
Carl JungAge 4
1875–1961 · Philosophy & Thought
Analytical psychology, archetypes
Pancho Villa
Pancho VillaAge 1
1878–1923 · Politics & Leadership
Mexican revolutionary general
Lise Meitner
Lise MeitnerAge 1
1878–1968 · Science & Invention
Discovered nuclear fission, overlooked for Nobel
Albert Einstein
Albert EinsteinAge 0
1879–1955 · Science & Invention
Theory of relativity, E=mc²
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