Who Was Alive in 1897

Giuseppe VerdiAge 84

1813–1901 · Music

La Traviata, Aida — operatic master

Otto von BismarckAge 82

1815–1898 · Politics & Leadership

Unified Germany, the Iron Chancellor

Queen VictoriaAge 78

1819–1901 · Politics & Leadership

Longest-reigning British monarch of her era

Susan B. AnthonyAge 77

1820–1906 · Activism & Social Change

Women's suffrage pioneer

Florence NightingaleAge 77

1820–1910 · Activism & Social Change

Founder of modern nursing

Harriet TubmanAge 75

1822–1913 · Activism & Social Change

Underground Railroad conductor

Jules VerneAge 69

1828–1905 · Literature

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Leo TolstoyAge 69

1828–1910 · Literature

War and Peace, Anna Karenina

Dmitri MendeleevAge 63

1834–1907 · Science & Invention

Created the periodic table of elements

Mark TwainAge 62

1835–1910 · Literature

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Andrew CarnegieAge 62

1835–1919 · Business & Industry

Steel magnate, philanthropist

John D. RockefellerAge 58

1839–1937 · Business & Industry

Oil tycoon, richest American ever

Claude MonetAge 57

1840–1926 · Art

Water Lilies, father of Impressionism

Pierre-Auguste RenoirAge 56

1841–1919 · Art

Impressionist painter of joyful scenes

Friedrich NietzscheAge 53

1844–1900 · Philosophy & Thought

"God is dead," Beyond Good and Evil

Thomas EdisonAge 50

1847–1931 · Science & Invention

Light bulb, phonograph, 1000+ patents

Alexander Graham BellAge 50

1847–1922 · Science & Invention

Invented the telephone

Antoni GaudíAge 45

1852–1926 · Art

Sagrada Família architect

Oscar WildeAge 43

1854–1900 · Literature

The Picture of Dorian Gray, wit and charm

Sigmund FreudAge 41

1856–1939 · Philosophy & Thought

Father of psychoanalysis

Nikola TeslaAge 41

1856–1943 · Science & Invention

AC electricity, visionary inventor

Woodrow WilsonAge 41

1856–1924 · Politics & Leadership

28th US President, League of Nations

Theodore RooseveltAge 39

1858–1919 · Politics & Leadership

26th US President, Rough Rider

Emmeline PankhurstAge 39

1858–1928 · Activism & Social Change

British suffragette leader

Max PlanckAge 39

1858–1947 · Science & Invention

Father of quantum theory

Arthur Conan DoyleAge 38

1859–1930 · Literature

Creator of Sherlock Holmes

Rabindranath TagoreAge 36

1861–1941 · Literature

First non-European Nobel laureate in Literature

Gustav KlimtAge 35

1862–1918 · Art

The Kiss, Art Nouveau master

Claude DebussyAge 35

1862–1918 · Music

Clair de Lune, Impressionist music

Henry FordAge 34

1863–1947 · Business & Industry

Assembly line, Model T automobile

Edvard MunchAge 34

1863–1944 · Art

The Scream

H.G. WellsAge 31

1866–1946 · Literature

The War of the Worlds, science fiction pioneer

Sun Yat-senAge 31

1866–1925 · Politics & Leadership

Father of the Republic of China

Marie CurieAge 30

1867–1934 · Science & Invention

Radioactivity, first woman Nobel laureate

Scott JoplinAge 29

1868–1917 · Music

King of Ragtime

Mahatma GandhiAge 28

1869–1948 · Politics & Leadership

Nonviolent independence leader of India

Grigori RasputinAge 28

1869–1916 · Politics & Leadership

Mystic who influenced the Russian royal family

Marcel ProustAge 26

1871–1922 · Literature

In Search of Lost Time

Orville WrightAge 26

1871–1948 · Science & Invention

Co-inventor of the airplane

Roald AmundsenAge 25

1872–1928 · Exploration

First to reach the South Pole

Ernest ShackletonAge 23

1874–1922 · Exploration

Heroic Antarctic explorer, Endurance expedition

Guglielmo MarconiAge 23

1874–1937 · Science & Invention

Pioneer of long-distance radio

Winston ChurchillAge 23

1874–1965 · Politics & Leadership

British PM who led WWII effort

Harry HoudiniAge 23

1874–1926 · Film & Entertainment

Legendary escape artist & illusionist

Carl JungAge 22

1875–1961 · Philosophy & Thought

Analytical psychology, archetypes

Pancho VillaAge 19

1878–1923 · Politics & Leadership

Mexican revolutionary general

Lise MeitnerAge 19

1878–1968 · Science & Invention

Discovered nuclear fission, overlooked for Nobel

Albert EinsteinAge 18

1879–1955 · Science & Invention

Theory of relativity, E=mc²

Pablo PicassoAge 16

1881–1973 · Art

Cubism, Guernica, most prolific artist

Alexander FlemingAge 16

1881–1955 · Science & Invention

Discovered penicillin

Virginia WoolfAge 15

1882–1941 · Literature

Mrs Dalloway, modernist pioneer

James JoyceAge 15

1882–1941 · Literature

Ulysses, literary revolutionary

Igor StravinskyAge 15

1882–1971 · Music

The Rite of Spring, modern classical

Franklin D. RooseveltAge 15

1882–1945 · Politics & Leadership

32nd US President, New Deal, WWII leader

Coco ChanelAge 14

1883–1971 · Business & Industry

Fashion icon, Chanel No. 5

Franz KafkaAge 14

1883–1924 · Literature

The Metamorphosis, surreal fiction

Niels BohrAge 12

1885–1962 · Science & Invention

Atomic model, quantum mechanics pioneer

Diego RiveraAge 11

1886–1957 · Art

Mexican muralist, political artist

Erwin SchrödingerAge 10

1887–1961 · Science & Invention

Schrödinger's cat, wave equation

Georgia O'KeeffeAge 10

1887–1986 · Art

Mother of American modernism

Charlie ChaplinAge 8

1889–1977 · Film & Entertainment

The Tramp, silent film legend

Ho Chi MinhAge 7

1890–1969 · Politics & Leadership

Revolutionary leader of Vietnam

Agatha ChristieAge 7

1890–1976 · Literature

Best-selling mystery novelist ever

Dwight D. EisenhowerAge 7

1890–1969 · Politics & Leadership

WWII Supreme Commander, 34th US President

Charles de GaulleAge 7

1890–1970 · Politics & Leadership

Leader of Free France, French President

Haile SelassieAge 5

1892–1975 · Politics & Leadership

Emperor of Ethiopia, Rastafari symbol

J.R.R. TolkienAge 5

1892–1973 · Literature

The Lord of the Rings, Middle-earth

Mao ZedongAge 4

1893–1976 · Politics & Leadership

Founder of the People's Republic of China

Babe RuthAge 2

1895–1948 · Sports

Baseball's Sultan of Swat

Buster KeatonAge 2

1895–1966 · Film & Entertainment

Silent film comedian, The General

F. Scott FitzgeraldAge 1

1896–1940 · Literature

The Great Gatsby

Amelia EarhartAge 0

1897–1937 · Exploration

First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic