TIMELINER

History's most surprising connections

Who Was Alive in 1905

83 of 328 historical figures were alive in 1905

Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. AnthonyAge 85
1820–1906 · Activism & Social Change
Women's suffrage pioneer
Florence Nightingale
Florence NightingaleAge 85
1820–1910 · Activism & Social Change
Founder of modern nursing
Harriet Tubman
Harriet TubmanAge 83
1822–1913 · Activism & Social Change
Underground Railroad conductor
Jules Verne
Jules VerneAge 77
1828–1905 · Literature
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Leo Tolstoy
Leo TolstoyAge 77
1828–1910 · Literature
War and Peace, Anna Karenina
Dmitri Mendeleev
Dmitri MendeleevAge 71
1834–1907 · Science & Invention
Created the periodic table of elements
Mark Twain
Mark TwainAge 70
1835–1910 · Literature
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew CarnegieAge 70
1835–1919 · Business & Industry
Steel magnate, philanthropist
John D. Rockefeller
John D. RockefellerAge 66
1839–1937 · Business & Industry
Oil tycoon, richest American ever
Claude Monet
Claude MonetAge 65
1840–1926 · Art
Water Lilies, father of Impressionism
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste RenoirAge 64
1841–1919 · Art
Impressionist painter of joyful scenes
Thomas Edison
Thomas EdisonAge 58
1847–1931 · Science & Invention
Light bulb, phonograph, 1000+ patents
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham BellAge 58
1847–1922 · Science & Invention
Invented the telephone
Antoni Gaudí
Antoni GaudíAge 53
1852–1926 · Art
Sagrada Família architect
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund FreudAge 49
1856–1939 · Philosophy & Thought
Father of psychoanalysis
Nikola Tesla
Nikola TeslaAge 49
1856–1943 · Science & Invention
AC electricity, visionary inventor
Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow WilsonAge 49
1856–1924 · Politics & Leadership
28th US President, League of Nations
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore RooseveltAge 47
1858–1919 · Politics & Leadership
26th US President, Rough Rider
Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline PankhurstAge 47
1858–1928 · Activism & Social Change
British suffragette leader
Max Planck
Max PlanckAge 47
1858–1947 · Science & Invention
Father of quantum theory
Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan DoyleAge 46
1859–1930 · Literature
Creator of Sherlock Holmes
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath TagoreAge 44
1861–1941 · Literature
First non-European Nobel laureate in Literature
Gustav Klimt
Gustav KlimtAge 43
1862–1918 · Art
The Kiss, Art Nouveau master
Claude Debussy
Claude DebussyAge 43
1862–1918 · Music
Clair de Lune, Impressionist music
Henry Ford
Henry FordAge 42
1863–1947 · Business & Industry
Assembly line, Model T automobile
Edvard Munch
Edvard MunchAge 42
1863–1944 · Art
The Scream
H.G. Wells
H.G. WellsAge 39
1866–1946 · Literature
The War of the Worlds, science fiction pioneer
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-senAge 39
1866–1925 · Politics & Leadership
Father of the Republic of China
Marie Curie
Marie CurieAge 38
1867–1934 · Science & Invention
Radioactivity, first woman Nobel laureate
Scott Joplin
Scott JoplinAge 37
1868–1917 · Music
King of Ragtime
Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma GandhiAge 36
1869–1948 · Politics & Leadership
Nonviolent independence leader of India
Grigori Rasputin
Grigori RasputinAge 36
1869–1916 · Politics & Leadership
Mystic who influenced the Russian royal family
Marcel Proust
Marcel ProustAge 34
1871–1922 · Literature
In Search of Lost Time
Orville Wright
Orville WrightAge 34
1871–1948 · Science & Invention
Co-inventor of the airplane
Roald Amundsen
Roald AmundsenAge 33
1872–1928 · Exploration
First to reach the South Pole
Ernest Shackleton
Ernest ShackletonAge 31
1874–1922 · Exploration
Heroic Antarctic explorer, Endurance expedition
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo MarconiAge 31
1874–1937 · Science & Invention
Pioneer of long-distance radio
Winston Churchill
Winston ChurchillAge 31
1874–1965 · Politics & Leadership
British PM who led WWII effort
Harry Houdini
Harry HoudiniAge 31
1874–1926 · Film & Entertainment
Legendary escape artist & illusionist
Carl Jung
Carl JungAge 30
1875–1961 · Philosophy & Thought
Analytical psychology, archetypes
Pancho Villa
Pancho VillaAge 27
1878–1923 · Politics & Leadership
Mexican revolutionary general
Lise Meitner
Lise MeitnerAge 27
1878–1968 · Science & Invention
Discovered nuclear fission, overlooked for Nobel
Albert Einstein
Albert EinsteinAge 26
1879–1955 · Science & Invention
Theory of relativity, E=mc²
Pablo Picasso
Pablo PicassoAge 24
1881–1973 · Art
Cubism, Guernica, most prolific artist
Alexander Fleming
Alexander FlemingAge 24
1881–1955 · Science & Invention
Discovered penicillin
Virginia Woolf
Virginia WoolfAge 23
1882–1941 · Literature
Mrs Dalloway, modernist pioneer
James Joyce
James JoyceAge 23
1882–1941 · Literature
Ulysses, literary revolutionary
Igor Stravinsky
Igor StravinskyAge 23
1882–1971 · Music
The Rite of Spring, modern classical
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. RooseveltAge 23
1882–1945 · Politics & Leadership
32nd US President, New Deal, WWII leader
Coco Chanel
Coco ChanelAge 22
1883–1971 · Business & Industry
Fashion icon, Chanel No. 5
Franz Kafka
Franz KafkaAge 22
1883–1924 · Literature
The Metamorphosis, surreal fiction
Niels Bohr
Niels BohrAge 20
1885–1962 · Science & Invention
Atomic model, quantum mechanics pioneer
Diego Rivera
Diego RiveraAge 19
1886–1957 · Art
Mexican muralist, political artist
Erwin Schrödinger
Erwin SchrödingerAge 18
1887–1961 · Science & Invention
Schrödinger's cat, wave equation
Georgia O'Keeffe
Georgia O'KeeffeAge 18
1887–1986 · Art
Mother of American modernism
Charlie Chaplin
Charlie ChaplinAge 16
1889–1977 · Film & Entertainment
The Tramp, silent film legend
Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi MinhAge 15
1890–1969 · Politics & Leadership
Revolutionary leader of Vietnam
Agatha Christie
Agatha ChristieAge 15
1890–1976 · Literature
Best-selling mystery novelist ever
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. EisenhowerAge 15
1890–1969 · Politics & Leadership
WWII Supreme Commander, 34th US President
Charles de Gaulle
Charles de GaulleAge 15
1890–1970 · Politics & Leadership
Leader of Free France, French President
Haile Selassie
Haile SelassieAge 13
1892–1975 · Politics & Leadership
Emperor of Ethiopia, Rastafari symbol
J.R.R. Tolkien
J.R.R. TolkienAge 13
1892–1973 · Literature
The Lord of the Rings, Middle-earth
Mao Zedong
Mao ZedongAge 12
1893–1976 · Politics & Leadership
Founder of the People's Republic of China
Babe Ruth
Babe RuthAge 10
1895–1948 · Sports
Baseball's Sultan of Swat
Buster Keaton
Buster KeatonAge 10
1895–1966 · Film & Entertainment
Silent film comedian, The General
F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott FitzgeraldAge 9
1896–1940 · Literature
The Great Gatsby
Amelia Earhart
Amelia EarhartAge 8
1897–1937 · Exploration
First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic
Golda Meir
Golda MeirAge 7
1898–1978 · Politics & Leadership
Fourth Prime Minister of Israel
Duke Ellington
Duke EllingtonAge 6
1899–1974 · Music
Jazz legend, big band pioneer
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest HemingwayAge 6
1899–1961 · Literature
The Old Man and the Sea, Nobel laureate
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Luis BorgesAge 6
1899–1986 · Literature
Labyrinths, master of magical realism
Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred HitchcockAge 6
1899–1980 · Film & Entertainment
Master of Suspense — Psycho, Vertigo
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey BogartAge 6
1899–1957 · Film & Entertainment
Casablanca, Hollywood icon
Werner Heisenberg
Werner HeisenbergAge 4
1901–1976 · Science & Invention
Uncertainty principle, quantum mechanics pioneer
Louis Armstrong
Louis ArmstrongAge 4
1901–1971 · Music
What a Wonderful World, jazz trumpet
Walt Disney
Walt DisneyAge 4
1901–1966 · Film & Entertainment
Created Mickey Mouse, Disney empire
Enrico Fermi
Enrico FermiAge 4
1901–1954 · Science & Invention
Father of the nuclear age, first nuclear reactor
Hirohito
HirohitoAge 4
1901–1989 · Politics & Leadership
Emperor of Japan during WWII
George Orwell
George OrwellAge 2
1903–1950 · Literature
1984, Animal Farm
Bob Hope
Bob HopeAge 2
1903–2003 · Film & Entertainment
Comedian, entertainer for 80+ years
Robert Oppenheimer
Robert OppenheimerAge 1
1904–1967 · Science & Invention
Father of the atomic bomb
Salvador Dalí
Salvador DalíAge 1
1904–1989 · Art
The Persistence of Memory, surrealist
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul SartreAge 0
1905–1980 · Philosophy & Thought
Existentialism, declined the Nobel Prize

Notable World Events in 1905

← 1904 1906 →