Famous People Born In 1855
Discover the most famous people born in 1855. The list includes people like Eugene V. Debs, Robert M. La Follette, Sr., James S. Sherman, William Pitt (Architect), Andrew William Mellon and many more. This list of celebrities is loosely sorted by popularity. People featured on this list, include political leaders, inventors, essayists and composers born in 1855. This list includes people from United States, United Kingdom and many more countries.
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Birthdate: 23rd January
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Ogden, Utah, United States
Died: November 26, 1926
Birthdate: 5th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Terre Haute
Died: October 20, 1926
Eugene V. Debs, one of the founders of the Industrial Workers of the World, was a renowned socialist and a five-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party. He is remembered for founding the American Railway Union. He was convicted of sedition, but his sentence was later commuted.
Birthdate: 24th March
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: August 27, 1937
The son of wealthy Pittsburgh banker Thomas Mellon, Andrew William Mellon had followed in his father’s footsteps, to be a banker. He had also been the American ambassador to the U.K. and the American secretary of the treasury. He owned companies such as Alcoa, Old Overholt whiskey, and Gulf Oil.
4
William Mulholland
(Irish-American Self-Taught Civil Engineer Known for Building the Water System of Los Angeles)
Birthdate: 11th September
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Belfast, Ireland
Died: July 22, 1935
William Mulholland was initially hailed as a hero for building the first aqueduct system of Los Angeles, as the first chief engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. He later resigned taking responsibility for the collapse of the St. Francis Dam, which had caused countless deaths.
Birthdate: 30th November
Birthplace: Toledo, Ohio, United States
Died: April 8, 1905
6
Percival Lowell
(Astronomer, Mathematician)
Birthdate: 13th March
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Boston
Died: November 12, 1916
Born into the famous Brahmin Lowell family of Massachusetts, Percival Lowell studied at Harvard, where he excelled in math. He managed a cotton mill and also spent time in Asia as a diplomat. He is best remembered for initiating the discovery of Pluto and for studying the canals on Mars.
Birthdate: 14th June
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Primrose
Died: June 18, 1925
Birthdate: 24th October
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Utica, New York, United States
Died: October 30, 1912
9
Ernest Chausson
(Composer)
Birthdate: 20th January
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: June 10, 1899
10
William Friese-Greene
(Photographer, Inventor)
Birthdate: 7th September
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Bristol
Died: May 5, 1921
William Friese-Greene was a British photographer and inventor. A pioneer of motion pictures, Friese-Greene is remembered for devising a series of cameras with which he shot moving pictures in London. Despite earning substantial amount of money throughout his career, Friese-Greene died in poverty as he spent his earnings on his inventions. His life inspired a biopic titled The Magic Box.
11
King Camp Gillette
(Businessman)
Birthdate: 5th January
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, United States
Died: July 9, 1932
12
Evelyn De Morgan
(Painter)
Birthdate: 30th August
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: London
Died: May 2, 1919
Birthdate: 24th March
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Lesotho
Died: December 11, 1920
14
Paul Deschanel
(Former President of France)
Birthdate: 13th February
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Schaerbeek, Belgium
Died: April 28, 1922
Son of Émile Deschanel, a professor exiled due to his opposition to Napoleon III, Paul Deschanel grew up to study law. Before becoming the president of France, he had also been the president of the Chamber of Deputies. A skilled author, too, he was part of the Académie Française.
15
Robert de Montesquiou
(Poet)
Birthdate: 7th March
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: December 11, 1921
16
Clarence W. Barron
(Publisher)
Birthdate: 2nd July
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Died: October 2, 1928
17
Houston Stewart Chamberlain
(Philosopher)
Birthdate: 9th September
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Southsea, Hampshire, England
Died: January 9, 1927
Birthdate: 1st May
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: London, England
Died: April 24, 1924
19
Alexandre Darracq
(French Investor, Engineer, Cycle Manufacturer and Automobile Manufacturer)
Birthdate: 10th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Bordeaux, France
Died: November 2, 1931
Alexandre Darracq was a French engineer, investor, cycle manufacturer and automobile manufacturer. He established Automobiles Darracq France in Suresnes and was one of the first to plan mass production of motor vehicles. By 1904, Darracq was producing more than ten percent of all automobiles in France. He also built racing cars and founded a school for racing drivers.
20
Joseph Wright
(English Philologist and Academic)
Birthdate: 31st October
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Idle, Bradford, United Kingdom
Died: February 27, 1930
21
Clinton Hart Merriam
(Father of Mammalogy)
Birthdate: 5th December
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
Died: March 19, 1942
Clinton Hart Merriam was an American mammalogist, zoologist, ornithologist, ecologist, entomologist, geographer, ethnographer, physician, and naturalist. Referred to as the father of mammalogy, Merriam owned a private collection of mammal specimens. Clinton Hart Merriam is also credited with co-founding the National Geographic Society and the American Ornithologists' Union.
22
Inukai Tsuyoshi
(Politician, Prime Minister)
Birthdate: 4th June
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Okayama, Japan
Died: May 15, 1932
23
Alice Freeman Palmer
(Educator)
Birthdate: 21st February
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Colesville, New York, United States
Died: December 6, 1902
24
William Grenfell, 1st Baron Desborough
(British Politician and Fencer)
Birthdate: 30th October
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: London, England
Died: January 9, 1945
Apart from winning medals for fencing and heading the Oxford University Boat Club, William Grenfell, 1st Baron Desborough was also an adventurer who had rowed across the English Channel. A public servant, too, he had been part of the House of Commons for both the Liberals and the Conservatives.
25
Jakub Schikaneder
(Painter)
Birthdate: 27th February
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Prague, Czec Republic
Died: November 15, 1924
Birthdate: 1st May
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: September 17, 1942
Birthdate: 12th May
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died: August 28, 1914
Birthdate: 31st December
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: San Mauro Pascoli, Italy
Died: April 6, 1912
29
John Warne Gates
(Industrialist)
Birthdate: 18th May
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Winfield, Illinois, United States
Died: August 9, 1911
30
Léon Teisserenc de Bort
(Meteorologist)
Birthdate: 5th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: January 2, 1913
31
Marie-Joseph Lagrange
(Priest)
Birthdate: 7th March
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Bourg-en-Bresse, France
Died: March 10, 1938
32
Henry Cuyler Bunner
(Novelist)
Birthdate: 3rd August
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Oswego, New York, United States
Died: May 11, 1896
33
Emile Verhaeren
(One of the Founders of the School of Symbolism)
Birthdate: 21st May
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Sint-Amands, Belgium
Died: November 27, 1916
34
William Rutherford Benn
(Journalist and a member of the political Benn family)
Birthdate: 30th November
Birthplace: Poplar, London, England
Died: 1921 AD
35
Walter Hines Page
(Journalist)
Birthdate: 15th August
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Cary, North Carolina, United States
Died: December 21, 1918
Birthdate: 16th July
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Tournai, Belgium
Died: December 25, 1898
37
Isaac Isaacs
(Judge, Politician, Barrister)
Birthdate: 6th June
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Melbourne
Died: February 11, 1948
38
Arthur Nikisch
(Hungarian Conductor)
Birthdate: 12th October
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Mosonszentmiklós, Hungary,
Died: January 23, 1922
One of the greatest 19th-century conductors, Arthur Nikisch was born to a Hungarian father and a Czech mother. Excelling as a student at the Vienna Conservatory, he later joined the Vienna Philharmonic. He was later associated with top-notch orchestras in Berlin, Budapest, and Boston. He also conducted the Ring Cycle operas.
39
Robert Koldewey
(Archaeologist)
Birthdate: 10th September
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Blankenburg am Harz, Duchy of Brunswick, German Confederation
Died: February 4, 1925
40
John Hays Hammond
(Engineer)
Birthdate: 31st March
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: San Francisco, California, United States
Died: June 8, 1936
Birthdate: 2nd September
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Newton, North Carolina, United States
Died: November 27, 1931
42
Henry Nicholas Ridley
(British Botanist, Geologist and Naturalist Known for Establishing the Rubber Industry in the 'Malay Peninsula')
Birthdate: 10th December
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Harling, England
Died: October 24, 1956
English botanist Henry Nicholas Ridley is best remembered for his contribution to the cultivation of rubber in the Malay peninsula. His passion to achieve his goal earned him the nickname Mad Ridley. Of his written works, one of the most significant was the 5-volume Flora of the Malay Peninsula.
Birthdate: 4th June
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Melbourne, Victoria
Died: May 25, 1918
William Pitt was an Australian politician and architect best remembered as one of the greatest architects during the 1880s in Melbourne. Pitt is credited with designing some of Melbourne's most popular and detailed High Victorian commercial buildings like The Federal Coffee Palace, Old Rialto Building, Sir Charles Hotham Hotel, and Princess' Theatre.
44
Marieta de Veintemilla
(Former Ecuadorian First Lady and a Feminist Author)
Birthdate: 30th November
Birthplace: Guayaquil, Ecuador
Died: 1907 AD
Ecuadorian feminist author Marieta de Veintemilla served as the First Lady of Ecuador during the presidency of her uncle, Ignacio de Veintemilla, who was unmarried. She introduced the norm of women going out without male guardians and wearing bright colors in Ecuador. She also controlled the army in her uncle’s absence.
Birthdate: 26th October
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Nichinan, Miyazaki, Japan
Died: November 25, 1911
46
Joaquim Augusto Mouzinho de Albuquerque
(Politician, Military personnel)
Birthdate: 12th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Batalha, Portugal
Died: January 8, 1902
Joaquim Augusto Mouzinho de Albuquerque was a Portuguese cavalry officer best remembered for his service as the Governor-General of Portuguese Mozambique from 1896 to 1897. He helped Portugal annex Mozambique by defeating and capturing the tribal king Gungunhana in 1895.
47
Alfred Cort Haddon
(British Anthropologist and Ethnologist)
Birthdate: 24th May
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: London, England
Died: April 20, 1940
A pioneer of British anthropology, Alfred Cort Haddon is remembered for his contribution of over three decades to Cambridge. While he initially went to the Torres Strait to study marine biology, he later devoted himself to the study of the indigenous people. His History of Anthropology remains his best-known work.
48
Fannie Barrier Williams
(Educator)
Birthdate: 12th February
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Brockport, New York, United States
Died: March 4, 1944
49
George de Forest Brush
(Painter)
Birthdate: 28th September
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Tennessee, United States
Died: April 24, 1941
50
Juan Zorrilla de San Martín
(Uruguayan Poet Famous for a Long Historical Verse Epic, Tabaré)
Birthdate: 28th December
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Montevideo, Uruguay
Died: November 3, 1931
Uruguayan poet Juan Zorrilla de San Martín is mostly remembered for his 6-canto epic poem Tabaré. He also launched the Catholic periodical El bien público. Regarded as the National Poet of Uruguay, he also penned Hymn to the Tree, a Spanish poem that became popular as a song in various Latin American nations.