TIMELINER

History's most surprising connections

Who Was Alive in 1884

67 of 328 historical figures were alive in 1884

Victor Hugo
Victor HugoAge 82
1802–1885 · Literature
Les Misérables, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe VerdiAge 71
1813–1901 · Music
La Traviata, Aida — operatic master
Otto von Bismarck
Otto von BismarckAge 69
1815–1898 · Politics & Leadership
Unified Germany, the Iron Chancellor
Frederick Douglass
Frederick DouglassAge 66
1818–1895 · Activism & Social Change
Abolitionist, orator, writer
Herman Melville
Herman MelvilleAge 65
1819–1891 · Literature
Moby-Dick
Queen Victoria
Queen VictoriaAge 65
1819–1901 · Politics & Leadership
Longest-reigning British monarch of her era
Walt Whitman
Walt WhitmanAge 65
1819–1892 · Literature
Leaves of Grass, father of free verse
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. AnthonyAge 64
1820–1906 · Activism & Social Change
Women's suffrage pioneer
Florence Nightingale
Florence NightingaleAge 64
1820–1910 · Activism & Social Change
Founder of modern nursing
Harriet Tubman
Harriet TubmanAge 62
1822–1913 · Activism & Social Change
Underground Railroad conductor
Louis Pasteur
Louis PasteurAge 62
1822–1895 · Science & Invention
Germ theory, pasteurization
Gregor Mendel
Gregor MendelAge 62
1822–1884 · Science & Invention
Father of genetics
Jules Verne
Jules VerneAge 56
1828–1905 · Literature
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Leo Tolstoy
Leo TolstoyAge 56
1828–1910 · Literature
War and Peace, Anna Karenina
Emily Dickinson
Emily DickinsonAge 54
1830–1886 · Literature
Reclusive poetic genius
Sitting Bull
Sitting BullAge 53
1831–1890 · Politics & Leadership
Lakota leader who defeated Custer at Little Bighorn
Alfred Nobel
Alfred NobelAge 51
1833–1896 · Science & Invention
Invented dynamite, founded Nobel Prizes
Dmitri Mendeleev
Dmitri MendeleevAge 50
1834–1907 · Science & Invention
Created the periodic table of elements
Mark Twain
Mark TwainAge 49
1835–1910 · Literature
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew CarnegieAge 49
1835–1919 · Business & Industry
Steel magnate, philanthropist
John D. Rockefeller
John D. RockefellerAge 45
1839–1937 · Business & Industry
Oil tycoon, richest American ever
Claude Monet
Claude MonetAge 44
1840–1926 · Art
Water Lilies, father of Impressionism
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Pyotr TchaikovskyAge 44
1840–1893 · Music
Swan Lake, The Nutcracker
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste RenoirAge 43
1841–1919 · Art
Impressionist painter of joyful scenes
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich NietzscheAge 40
1844–1900 · Philosophy & Thought
"God is dead," Beyond Good and Evil
Thomas Edison
Thomas EdisonAge 37
1847–1931 · Science & Invention
Light bulb, phonograph, 1000+ patents
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham BellAge 37
1847–1922 · Science & Invention
Invented the telephone
Antoni Gaudí
Antoni GaudíAge 32
1852–1926 · Art
Sagrada Família architect
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van GoghAge 31
1853–1890 · Art
Starry Night, post-Impressionist icon
Oscar Wilde
Oscar WildeAge 30
1854–1900 · Literature
The Picture of Dorian Gray, wit and charm
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund FreudAge 28
1856–1939 · Philosophy & Thought
Father of psychoanalysis
Nikola Tesla
Nikola TeslaAge 28
1856–1943 · Science & Invention
AC electricity, visionary inventor
Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow WilsonAge 28
1856–1924 · Politics & Leadership
28th US President, League of Nations
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore RooseveltAge 26
1858–1919 · Politics & Leadership
26th US President, Rough Rider
Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline PankhurstAge 26
1858–1928 · Activism & Social Change
British suffragette leader
Max Planck
Max PlanckAge 26
1858–1947 · Science & Invention
Father of quantum theory
Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan DoyleAge 25
1859–1930 · Literature
Creator of Sherlock Holmes
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath TagoreAge 23
1861–1941 · Literature
First non-European Nobel laureate in Literature
Gustav Klimt
Gustav KlimtAge 22
1862–1918 · Art
The Kiss, Art Nouveau master
Claude Debussy
Claude DebussyAge 22
1862–1918 · Music
Clair de Lune, Impressionist music
Henry Ford
Henry FordAge 21
1863–1947 · Business & Industry
Assembly line, Model T automobile
Edvard Munch
Edvard MunchAge 21
1863–1944 · Art
The Scream
H.G. Wells
H.G. WellsAge 18
1866–1946 · Literature
The War of the Worlds, science fiction pioneer
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-senAge 18
1866–1925 · Politics & Leadership
Father of the Republic of China
Marie Curie
Marie CurieAge 17
1867–1934 · Science & Invention
Radioactivity, first woman Nobel laureate
Scott Joplin
Scott JoplinAge 16
1868–1917 · Music
King of Ragtime
Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma GandhiAge 15
1869–1948 · Politics & Leadership
Nonviolent independence leader of India
Grigori Rasputin
Grigori RasputinAge 15
1869–1916 · Politics & Leadership
Mystic who influenced the Russian royal family
Marcel Proust
Marcel ProustAge 13
1871–1922 · Literature
In Search of Lost Time
Orville Wright
Orville WrightAge 13
1871–1948 · Science & Invention
Co-inventor of the airplane
Roald Amundsen
Roald AmundsenAge 12
1872–1928 · Exploration
First to reach the South Pole
Ernest Shackleton
Ernest ShackletonAge 10
1874–1922 · Exploration
Heroic Antarctic explorer, Endurance expedition
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo MarconiAge 10
1874–1937 · Science & Invention
Pioneer of long-distance radio
Winston Churchill
Winston ChurchillAge 10
1874–1965 · Politics & Leadership
British PM who led WWII effort
Harry Houdini
Harry HoudiniAge 10
1874–1926 · Film & Entertainment
Legendary escape artist & illusionist
Carl Jung
Carl JungAge 9
1875–1961 · Philosophy & Thought
Analytical psychology, archetypes
Pancho Villa
Pancho VillaAge 6
1878–1923 · Politics & Leadership
Mexican revolutionary general
Lise Meitner
Lise MeitnerAge 6
1878–1968 · Science & Invention
Discovered nuclear fission, overlooked for Nobel
Albert Einstein
Albert EinsteinAge 5
1879–1955 · Science & Invention
Theory of relativity, E=mc²
Pablo Picasso
Pablo PicassoAge 3
1881–1973 · Art
Cubism, Guernica, most prolific artist
Alexander Fleming
Alexander FlemingAge 3
1881–1955 · Science & Invention
Discovered penicillin
Virginia Woolf
Virginia WoolfAge 2
1882–1941 · Literature
Mrs Dalloway, modernist pioneer
James Joyce
James JoyceAge 2
1882–1941 · Literature
Ulysses, literary revolutionary
Igor Stravinsky
Igor StravinskyAge 2
1882–1971 · Music
The Rite of Spring, modern classical
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. RooseveltAge 2
1882–1945 · Politics & Leadership
32nd US President, New Deal, WWII leader
Coco Chanel
Coco ChanelAge 1
1883–1971 · Business & Industry
Fashion icon, Chanel No. 5
Franz Kafka
Franz KafkaAge 1
1883–1924 · Literature
The Metamorphosis, surreal fiction

Notable World Events in 1884

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