Who Was Alive in 1909

Florence NightingaleAge 89

1820–1910 · Activism & Social Change

Founder of modern nursing

Harriet TubmanAge 87

1822–1913 · Activism & Social Change

Underground Railroad conductor

Leo TolstoyAge 81

1828–1910 · Literature

War and Peace, Anna Karenina

Mark TwainAge 74

1835–1910 · Literature

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Andrew CarnegieAge 74

1835–1919 · Business & Industry

Steel magnate, philanthropist

John D. RockefellerAge 70

1839–1937 · Business & Industry

Oil tycoon, richest American ever

Claude MonetAge 69

1840–1926 · Art

Water Lilies, father of Impressionism

Pierre-Auguste RenoirAge 68

1841–1919 · Art

Impressionist painter of joyful scenes

Thomas EdisonAge 62

1847–1931 · Science & Invention

Light bulb, phonograph, 1000+ patents

Alexander Graham BellAge 62

1847–1922 · Science & Invention

Invented the telephone

Antoni GaudíAge 57

1852–1926 · Art

Sagrada Família architect

Sigmund FreudAge 53

1856–1939 · Philosophy & Thought

Father of psychoanalysis

Nikola TeslaAge 53

1856–1943 · Science & Invention

AC electricity, visionary inventor

Woodrow WilsonAge 53

1856–1924 · Politics & Leadership

28th US President, League of Nations

Theodore RooseveltAge 51

1858–1919 · Politics & Leadership

26th US President, Rough Rider

Emmeline PankhurstAge 51

1858–1928 · Activism & Social Change

British suffragette leader

Max PlanckAge 51

1858–1947 · Science & Invention

Father of quantum theory

Arthur Conan DoyleAge 50

1859–1930 · Literature

Creator of Sherlock Holmes

Rabindranath TagoreAge 48

1861–1941 · Literature

First non-European Nobel laureate in Literature

Gustav KlimtAge 47

1862–1918 · Art

The Kiss, Art Nouveau master

Claude DebussyAge 47

1862–1918 · Music

Clair de Lune, Impressionist music

Henry FordAge 46

1863–1947 · Business & Industry

Assembly line, Model T automobile

Edvard MunchAge 46

1863–1944 · Art

The Scream

H.G. WellsAge 43

1866–1946 · Literature

The War of the Worlds, science fiction pioneer

Sun Yat-senAge 43

1866–1925 · Politics & Leadership

Father of the Republic of China

Marie CurieAge 42

1867–1934 · Science & Invention

Radioactivity, first woman Nobel laureate

Scott JoplinAge 41

1868–1917 · Music

King of Ragtime

Mahatma GandhiAge 40

1869–1948 · Politics & Leadership

Nonviolent independence leader of India

Grigori RasputinAge 40

1869–1916 · Politics & Leadership

Mystic who influenced the Russian royal family

Marcel ProustAge 38

1871–1922 · Literature

In Search of Lost Time

Orville WrightAge 38

1871–1948 · Science & Invention

Co-inventor of the airplane

Roald AmundsenAge 37

1872–1928 · Exploration

First to reach the South Pole

Ernest ShackletonAge 35

1874–1922 · Exploration

Heroic Antarctic explorer, Endurance expedition

Guglielmo MarconiAge 35

1874–1937 · Science & Invention

Pioneer of long-distance radio

Winston ChurchillAge 35

1874–1965 · Politics & Leadership

British PM who led WWII effort

Harry HoudiniAge 35

1874–1926 · Film & Entertainment

Legendary escape artist & illusionist

Carl JungAge 34

1875–1961 · Philosophy & Thought

Analytical psychology, archetypes

Pancho VillaAge 31

1878–1923 · Politics & Leadership

Mexican revolutionary general

Lise MeitnerAge 31

1878–1968 · Science & Invention

Discovered nuclear fission, overlooked for Nobel

Albert EinsteinAge 30

1879–1955 · Science & Invention

Theory of relativity, E=mc²

Pablo PicassoAge 28

1881–1973 · Art

Cubism, Guernica, most prolific artist

Alexander FlemingAge 28

1881–1955 · Science & Invention

Discovered penicillin

Virginia WoolfAge 27

1882–1941 · Literature

Mrs Dalloway, modernist pioneer

James JoyceAge 27

1882–1941 · Literature

Ulysses, literary revolutionary

Igor StravinskyAge 27

1882–1971 · Music

The Rite of Spring, modern classical

Franklin D. RooseveltAge 27

1882–1945 · Politics & Leadership

32nd US President, New Deal, WWII leader

Coco ChanelAge 26

1883–1971 · Business & Industry

Fashion icon, Chanel No. 5

Franz KafkaAge 26

1883–1924 · Literature

The Metamorphosis, surreal fiction

Niels BohrAge 24

1885–1962 · Science & Invention

Atomic model, quantum mechanics pioneer

Diego RiveraAge 23

1886–1957 · Art

Mexican muralist, political artist

Erwin SchrödingerAge 22

1887–1961 · Science & Invention

Schrödinger's cat, wave equation

Georgia O'KeeffeAge 22

1887–1986 · Art

Mother of American modernism

Charlie ChaplinAge 20

1889–1977 · Film & Entertainment

The Tramp, silent film legend

Ho Chi MinhAge 19

1890–1969 · Politics & Leadership

Revolutionary leader of Vietnam

Agatha ChristieAge 19

1890–1976 · Literature

Best-selling mystery novelist ever

Dwight D. EisenhowerAge 19

1890–1969 · Politics & Leadership

WWII Supreme Commander, 34th US President

Charles de GaulleAge 19

1890–1970 · Politics & Leadership

Leader of Free France, French President

Haile SelassieAge 17

1892–1975 · Politics & Leadership

Emperor of Ethiopia, Rastafari symbol

J.R.R. TolkienAge 17

1892–1973 · Literature

The Lord of the Rings, Middle-earth

Mao ZedongAge 16

1893–1976 · Politics & Leadership

Founder of the People's Republic of China

Babe RuthAge 14

1895–1948 · Sports

Baseball's Sultan of Swat

Buster KeatonAge 14

1895–1966 · Film & Entertainment

Silent film comedian, The General

F. Scott FitzgeraldAge 13

1896–1940 · Literature

The Great Gatsby

Amelia EarhartAge 12

1897–1937 · Exploration

First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic

Golda MeirAge 11

1898–1978 · Politics & Leadership

Fourth Prime Minister of Israel

Duke EllingtonAge 10

1899–1974 · Music

Jazz legend, big band pioneer

Ernest HemingwayAge 10

1899–1961 · Literature

The Old Man and the Sea, Nobel laureate

Jorge Luis BorgesAge 10

1899–1986 · Literature

Labyrinths, master of magical realism

Alfred HitchcockAge 10

1899–1980 · Film & Entertainment

Master of Suspense — Psycho, Vertigo

Humphrey BogartAge 10

1899–1957 · Film & Entertainment

Casablanca, Hollywood icon

Werner HeisenbergAge 8

1901–1976 · Science & Invention

Uncertainty principle, quantum mechanics pioneer

Louis ArmstrongAge 8

1901–1971 · Music

What a Wonderful World, jazz trumpet

Walt DisneyAge 8

1901–1966 · Film & Entertainment

Created Mickey Mouse, Disney empire

Enrico FermiAge 8

1901–1954 · Science & Invention

Father of the nuclear age, first nuclear reactor

HirohitoAge 8

1901–1989 · Politics & Leadership

Emperor of Japan during WWII

George OrwellAge 6

1903–1950 · Literature

1984, Animal Farm

Bob HopeAge 6

1903–2003 · Film & Entertainment

Comedian, entertainer for 80+ years

Robert OppenheimerAge 5

1904–1967 · Science & Invention

Father of the atomic bomb

Salvador DalíAge 5

1904–1989 · Art

The Persistence of Memory, surrealist

Jean-Paul SartreAge 4

1905–1980 · Philosophy & Thought

Existentialism, declined the Nobel Prize

Hannah ArendtAge 3

1906–1975 · Philosophy & Thought

The Banality of Evil, political theorist

Frida KahloAge 2

1907–1954 · Art

Self-portraits, Mexican cultural icon

Rachel CarsonAge 2

1907–1964 · Activism & Social Change

Silent Spring, environmental movement

Simone de BeauvoirAge 1

1908–1986 · Philosophy & Thought

The Second Sex, feminist existentialist

Kwame NkrumahAge 0

1909–1972 · Politics & Leadership

First President of Ghana