Famous People Born In 1857

Discover the most famous people born in 1857. The list includes people like William Howard Taft, Joseph Conrad, Edward Elgar, Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, Heinrich Hertz and many more. This list of celebrities is loosely sorted by popularity. People featured on this list, include psychiatrists, journalists, mathematicians and political leaders born in 1857. This list includes people from United States, United Kingdom, France and many more countries.
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 1 
William Howard Taft
(27th President of the United States)
William Howard Taft
34
Listed In: Lawyers & Judges
Birthdate: 15th September
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Died: March 8, 1930

The 27th president of the United States, William Howard Taft also served as the tenth Chief Justice of the US; he is the only person in the history of the US to have held both the offices. He had a great impact as chief justice and has been regarded as the greatest US chief justices of all time.

 2 
Joseph Conrad
(Known for Short Stories and Novels Like Lord Jim, Heart of Darkness and the Secret Agent)
Joseph Conrad
7
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: 3rd December
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Berdychiv, Ukraine
Died: August 3, 1924

Joseph Conrad was a Polish-British writer. Considered one of the greatest English-language novelists of all time, Conrad is credited with bringing a non-English sensibility into English-language literature. Many of his works have inspired several films, TV series, and video games. His anti-heroic characters and narrative style have influenced many authors like Salman Rushdie, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and T. S. Eliot.

 3 
Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell
(First Chief Scout of the World-Renowned Scout Movement.)
Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell
6
Listed In: Military Leaders
Birthdate: 22nd February
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Paddington, London, England
Died: January 8, 1941
Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell was a British Army officer and first Chief Scout of the world-renowned Scout Movement. He is also credited with co-founding the Guide Association, the national guiding organization of the UK. The recipient of the first Silver Buffalo Award, Robert Baden-Powell was also nominated for the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize on many occasions.
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 4 
Milton S. Hershey
(Chocolatier & Businessman)
Milton S. Hershey
13
Listed In: Philanthropists
Birthdate: 13th September
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Derry Township, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: October 13, 1945
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 5 
Edward Elgar
(Composer)
Edward Elgar
6
Listed In: Composers
Birthdate: 2nd June
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Broadheath, England
Died: February 23, 1934
 6 
Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom
(The Fifth Daughter and the Youngest Child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert)
Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom
6
Birthdate: 14th April
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: London, England
Died: October 26, 1944
Princess Beatrice of the U.K. was the fifth daughter and the youngest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. She stayed with her mother long after all her siblings married and left. She eventually married Prince Henry of Battenberg, and she and her husband continued to live with the Queen. 
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 7 
Heinrich Hertz
(German Physicist Who Discovered the Existence of Electromagnetic Waves)
Heinrich Hertz
6
Listed In: Physicists
Birthdate: 22nd February
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Hamburg, Germany
Died: January 1, 1894

Heinrich Hertz was a German physicist best remembered for proving the existence of electromagnetic waves with conclusive evidence. For his contributions, Hertz has been honored around the world by a number of countries, including Japan, Russia, and Germany. In 1930, the International Electrotechnical Commission established hertz (Hz) as the SI unit for frequency.

 8 
Clarence Darrow
7
Listed In: Lawyers
Birthdate: 18th April
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Kinsman Township
Died: March 13, 1938
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 9 
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
(Russian Rocket Scientist Who Pioneered Astronautic Theory)
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
1
Birthdate: 17th September
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Izhevskoe, Russia
Died: September 19, 1935

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was a Russian rocket scientist. Credited with pioneering astronautic theory, Tsiolkovsky is widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of astronautics and modern rocketry. His works served as an inspiration to several other Soviet rocket engineers like Valentin Glushko and Sergei Korolev. Hence, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky's work played an influential role in the Soviet space program.

 10 
Ronald Ross
(Medical doctor)
Ronald Ross
1
Birthdate: 13th May
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Almora, India
Died: September 16, 1932

Nobel Prize-winning British doctor Ronald Ross is best remembered for his pathbreaking work on malaria, which proved that the disease was caused by the Anopheles variant of mosquitoes. After his extensive research in India, he went back to London, where he was knighted. He also wrote poetry and songs.

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 11 
Alfred Binet
(Psychologist, Educationist)
Alfred Binet
2
Listed In: Psychologists
Birthdate: 8th July
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Nice
Died: October 18, 1911
 12 
Williamina Fleming
(Scottish Astronomer Famous for Her Discovery of the 'Horsehead Nebula')
Williamina Fleming
5
Listed In: Astronomers
Birthdate: 15th May
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Dundee, Scotland
Died: May 21, 1911

Born in Scotland, Williamina Fleming moved to the U.S. with her husband, where she began working as a housekeeper for Harvard Observatory director Edward C. Pickering. Pickering secured her a job at the observatory, and Fleming went on to establish a classification and cataloguing system for stars.

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 13 
Ida Tarbell
(Journalist)
Ida Tarbell
1
Listed In: Journalists
Birthdate: 5th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Hatch Hollow, Amity Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: January 6, 1944
 14 
Eugen Bleuler
(Psychiatrist, Physician, University teacher)
Eugen Bleuler
1
Listed In: Psychiatrists
Birthdate: 30th April
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Zollikon
Died: July 15, 1939
One of the most prolific psychiatrists of his time, Eugen Bleuler is known as the man who introduced the term schizophrenia. He also introduced autism and ambivalence as 2 concepts required for the study of schizophrenia. His Textbook of Psychiatry became a staple in classes of psychiatry
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 15 
Charles Scott Sherrington
(English Neurophysiologist Who Won the 1932 Nobel Prize in Medicine)
Charles Scott Sherrington
1
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: 27th November
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Islington, London, England
Died: March 4, 1952

Charles Scott Sherrington was an English histologist, neurophysiologist, pathologist, and bacteriologist. In 1932, Sherrington and Edgar Douglas Adrian were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries of the functions of neurons. Charles Scott Sherrington's exposition of synaptic communication between neurons helped understand the central nervous system. He was also the recipient of the prestigious Royal Medal.

 16 
Theodor Kittelsen
(Artist, illustrator)
Theodor Kittelsen
0
Birthdate: 27th April
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Kragerø, Norway
Died: January 21, 1914

Theodor Kittelsen was a Norwegian artist best remembered for his nature paintings and illustrations of legends and fairy tales, especially of trolls. Widely regarded as one of the most popular Norwegian artists of all time, Kittelsen's art has inspired the cover design of many albums released by famous folk metal and black metal bands like Empyrium, Burzum, Satyricon, and Otyg.

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 17 
Ruggero Leoncavallo
(Italian Opera Composer and Librettist)
Ruggero Leoncavallo
1
Listed In: Composers
Birthdate: 23rd April
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Naples, Italy
Died: August 9, 1919

Best known for his iconic opera Pagliacci, Ruggero Leoncavallo was one of the greatest opera composers of Italy. He was his own librettist in most of his operas. Mattinata, the song which he wrote for the Gramophone Company, or HMV, is another of his notable works.

 18 
George Gissing
(British Novelist Best Known for His Works: 'The Nether World', 'New Grub Street' and 'The Odd Women')
George Gissing
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: 22nd November
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Wakefield, England
Died: December 28, 1903

English novelist George Gissing is known for the way he showcased the realism of the lower-middle class in his works such as The Nether World. In spite of being a brilliant student, he was expelled from Owens College for theft. He specialized in the literary study of Charles Dickens and his works.

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 19 
Alfonso XII of Spain
(King of Spain)
Alfonso XII of Spain
1
Listed In: Emperors & Kings
Birthdate: 28th November
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Madrid, Spain
Died: November 25, 1885
 20 
Georges Gilles de la Tourette
(Physician, Psychiatrist, Neurologist)
Georges Gilles de la Tourette
0
Listed In: Physicians
Birthdate: 30th October
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Saint-Gervais-les-Trois-Clochers
Died: May 26, 1904
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 21 
Eugène Atget
(French Photography)
Eugène Atget
1
Listed In: Artists
Birthdate: 12th February
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Libourne, France
Died: August 4, 1927

Eugène Atget was a French flâneur credited with pioneering documentary photography. Renowned for his obstinacy to document all of the street scenes and architecture of Paris before the advent of urbanization, Atget's works inspired several surrealists. Unfortunately, Eugène Atget did not live to see the kind of reception his works eventually received; he was not celebrated during his lifetime.

 22 
Aleksandr Lyapunov
(mathematician, physicist)
Aleksandr Lyapunov
0
Listed In: Mathematicians
Birthdate: 6th June
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Yaroslavl
Died: November 3, 1918
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 23 
Pedro Paterno
(2nd Prime Minister of the Philippines)
Pedro Paterno
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: 27th February
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Manila, Philippines
Died: April 26, 1911

Philippine politician Pedro Paterno was educated in Spain, where he graduated in philosophy and theology. He later became the prime minister of his country. A poet and novelist, too, he eventually became infamous as a traitor after supporting the U.S. and favoring American dominion during the Philippine–American War.

 24 
Fannie Farmer
(Cook)
Fannie Farmer
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: 23rd March
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Died: January 15, 1915
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 25 
Vladimir Bekhterev
(Russian Neurologist and the Father of Objective Psychology Known for Noting the Role of the 'Hippocampus' in Memory)
Vladimir Bekhterev
2
Birthdate: 20th January
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Sorali, Russia
Died: December 24, 1927

Neurologist and psychiatrist Vladimir Bekhterev is best remembered for his research on the brain and conditioned reflexes and for his pioneering research on objective psychology. He taught at institutes such as the University of Kazan and was also known for his rivalry with contemporary Ivan Pavlov.

 26 
E. A. Wallis Budge
(Egyptologist)
E. A. Wallis Budge
0
Listed In: Philologists
Birthdate: 27th July
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Bodmin, England
Died: November 23, 1934
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 27 
Le Pétomane
(French Flatulist and Entertainer)
Le Pétomane
6
Listed In: Entertainers
Birthdate: 1st June
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Marseille, France
Died: August 8, 1945
 28 
Frank J. Sprague
(Engineer)
Frank J. Sprague
1
Birthdate: 25th July
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Milford
Died: October 25, 1934
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 29 
Alexander of Battenberg
(Former Prince of Bulgaria (1879 - 1886))
Alexander of Battenberg
2
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: 5th April
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Verona, Italy
Died: November 17, 1893

Alexander Joseph or Alexander of Battenberg was a prince of Bulgaria from 29 April 1879 to 7 September 1886. He was forced to abdicate in 1886 by pro-Russian Bulgarian Army officers during a coup d'état. After abdicating, Alexander went on to serve in the Austrian Army as a general.

 30 
Pope Pius XI
4
Birthdate: 31st May
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Desio, Italy
Died: February 10, 1939

A man who believed in the motto “The peace of Christ in the kingdom of Christ,” Pope Pius XI was also an avid scholar. His reign witnessed the rise of Benito Mussolini and the signing of the Lateran Treaty, which recognized Vatican City as an independent nation state.

 31 
Martinus Theunis Steyn
(Former 6th State President of the Orange Free State (1896 - 1902))
Martinus Theunis Steyn
0
Listed In: Lawyers & Judges
Birthdate: 2nd October
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Winburg, South Africa
Died: November 28, 1916

Marthinus Theunis Steyn was a South African lawyer, politician, and statesman. As a young man, he studied law at the Inner Temple in London and returned home to set up his practice. He became the sixth and last president of the independent republic the Orange Free State in 1896, a position he held till 1902.  

 32 
Andrija Mohorovičić
(Meteorologist)
Andrija Mohorovičić
1
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: 23rd January
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Opatija
Died: December 18, 1936
 33 
Julius Wagner-Jauregg
(Physician, Politician, Neurologist, Psychiatrist, Professor)
Julius Wagner-Jauregg
0
Listed In: Physicians
Birthdate: 7th March
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Wels
Died: September 27, 1940

Nobel Prize-winning Austrian psychiatrist Julius Wagner-Jauregg is best known for revolutionizing medical science by partially treating general paresis through artificial induction of malaria. He paved the path for shock therapy and fever therapy to treat mental ailments. He also studied thyroid and ovarian issues. He later became a Nazi sympathizer.

 34 
Sidney Kidman
(Businessperson, Stockman)
Sidney Kidman
0
Listed In: Celebrities
Birthdate: 9th May
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Adelaide
Died: September 2, 1935
 35 
Elwood Haynes
(Inventor)
Elwood Haynes
1
Birthdate: 14th October
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Portland, Indiana, United States
Died: April 13, 1925
 36 
Wilhelm Ludvig Johannsen
(Danish Botanist, Physiologist, and Geneticist Best Known for Coining the Terms Gene, Phenotype and Genotype)
Wilhelm Ludvig Johannsen
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: 3rd February
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Elsinore, Denmark
Died: November 11, 1927

Danish geneticist and botanist Wilhelm Ludvig Johannsen is remembered for his research on plant heredity. Initially a professor, who had also taught plant physiology at the University of Copenhagen, he later focused on research. He is also credited with coining the terms phenotype, genotype, and genes.

 37 
Henrik Pontoppidan
(Johann Adolph Hasse)
Henrik Pontoppidan
0
Listed In: Novelists
Birthdate: 24th July
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Fredericia, Denmark
Died: August 21, 1943
 38 
Émile Coué
(Psychologist)
Émile Coué
0
Listed In: Psychologists
Birthdate: 26th February
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Troyes, France
Died: July 2, 1926
 39 
Martha Carey Thomas
(American Linguist, Suffragist, and Educator)
Martha Carey Thomas
0
Birthdate: 2nd January
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Died: December 2, 1935
 40 
Mrs. Leslie Carter
(Actress)
Mrs. Leslie Carter
0
Listed In: Actresses
Birthdate: 10th June
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Lexington, Kentucky, United States
Died: November 13, 1937
 41 
Lucy, Lady Houston
(Philanthropist, Political activist)
Lucy, Lady Houston
2
Listed In: Activists
Birthdate: 8th April
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Lambeth, London, England
Died: December 29, 1936
 42 
James Edward Keeler
(American Astronomer Who Discovered the First 'Pulsar' and Observed the 'Rings of Saturn')
James Edward Keeler
1
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: 10th September
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: La Salle, Illinois, United States
Died: August 12, 1900

James Edward Keeler initially worked at the Lick Observatory and later proved that the rings of Saturn aren’t solid but are made of tiny particles. He used the reflecting telescope for his astrophotography projects. He had also been the director of the Allegheny Observatory and had co-founded Astrophysical Journal.

 43 
Edward Emerson Barnard
(American astronomer)
Edward Emerson Barnard
1
Listed In: Astronomers
Birthdate: 16th December
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Nashville
Died: February 6, 1923

Having lost his father a few months before his birth, Edward Emerson Barnard struggled with poverty and missed out on formal education, but realized his passion for photography quite early in life. Remembered as a pioneer of celestial photography, he discovered countless comets and celestial bodies, including the Barnard’s star.

 44 
Karl Koller
(Ophthalmologist)
Karl Koller
0
Listed In: Ophthalmologists
Birthdate: 3rd December
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Bohemia, Czech Republic
Died: March 21, 1944
 45 
William Seward Burroughs I
(Inventor)
William Seward Burroughs I
0
Listed In: Inventors
Birthdate: 28th January
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Auburn, New York, United States
Died: September 14, 1898
 46 
John Joly
(Irish Physicist Known for His Development of Radiotherapy in the Treatment of Cancer)
John Joly
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: 1st November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Holywood, Ireland
Died: December 8, 1933

Irish physicist and geologist John Joly created headlines when he estimated the age of the Earth at a 100 million years back in 1898. The University of Dublin professor of geology also made developments in the extraction of radium and its application in the treatment of cancer.

 47 
Alice Stone Blackwell
(Journalist, Poet, Biographer, Feminist)
Alice Stone Blackwell
1
Birthdate: 14th September
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: New Jersey
Died: March 15, 1950
 48 
Shibli Nomani
(Former writer known for the founding of the Shibli National College in 1883 and the Darul Mussanifin)
Shibli Nomani
0
Listed In: Philosophers
Birthdate: 3rd June
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Uttar Pradesh, India
Died: November 18, 1914
 49 
Mikhail Alekseyev
(General)
Mikhail Alekseyev
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: 15th November
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Vyazma, Russia
Died: October 8, 1918
 50 
Ovonramwen
(King of Benin)
Ovonramwen
0
Listed In: Emperors & Kings
Birthdate: 30th November
Birthplace: Calabar, Nigeria
Died: December 31, 1914