Famous People Who Died In 1895

Social reformer and abolitionist, Frederick Douglass was a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York. Born into slavery, he had a difficult early life. Eventually, he managed to escape and dedicated the rest of his life to promoting the cause of abolition. He was a great orator and writer.

Son of Spanish immigrants, Jose Marti spent his childhood in a strife-torn Cuba and attended high school on financial aid. Marti’s poems, essays, and articles were laced with his patriotic vigor to free Cuba from the Spanish rule. He died battling on the field at Dos Ríos.

Thomas Henry Huxley was an English biologist and anthropologist. He specialized in comparative anatomy and was a proponent of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Despite having little formal schooling, he went on to become one of the finest comparative anatomists of the 19th century. He was the chair of natural history at the Royal School of Mines for 31 years. 

Isma'il Pasha, also called Ismail the Magnificent, was the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan. He remained instrumental in modernizing Egypt and Sudan and invested considerably in economic and industrial development and urbanization. His administrative policies, particularly those that led to accumulation of huge foreign debt, paved way for his toppling from power and eventually the British occupation of Egypt.

Friedrich Engels was a German philosopher, political scientist, and revolutionary socialist. Along with Karl Marx, Engels helped develop Marxism, which has had a profound impact on fields like philosophy and anthropology. Engels is credited with helping Marx publish Das Kapital, a foundational theoretical work in politics, economics, and materialist philosophy. He also co-authored influential political documents like The Communist Manifesto.

Apart from being the first to discover nucleic acid, Swiss biochemist Friedrich Miescher also isolated protamine, a protein associated with nucleic acid. Born to a scientifically rich family, he initially wished to become a doctor, but rendered partially deaf due to typhoid, he later chose physiological chemistry.

Apart from being the wife of Prince Alexander of Hesse, Julia, Princess of Battenberg, was also the daughter of German-Polish general Hans Moritz Hauke. Her lack of royal descent was a matter of concern initially, but Alexander eventually married the 6-month pregnant Julia he had fallen in love with.

Austrian composer Franz von Suppé was a major figure of the 19th-century light music in both Austria and Germany. He mostly performed at Viennese theaters such as Theater an der Wien. Some of his best-known works are Leichte Kavallerie, or Light Cavalry, and Dichter und Bauer, or Poet and Peasant.

Known for works such as Cathedral Folk and Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, Nikolai Leskov enriched Russian literature with his short stories and novels that mirrored the burning social issues of his time. He had also worked as a journalist. Many of his works bear the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky.

Leopold von Sacher-Masoch lent his name to the term masochism, a form of sexual deviation. Best known for his novel Venus in Furs, one of his rare books that have been translated in English, he depicted Galician romance and fantasies. He spent his final years in a mental asylum.

Though born to a London physician, Calvert Vaux didn’t follow in his father’s footsteps and apprenticed under architect Lewis Nockalls Cottingham instead. He grew up to be a master landscape designer and co-designed New York’s Central Park. His other great work was the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Stefan Stambolov was a Bulgarian journalist, revolutionary, politician, and poet who served as the Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 1 September 1887 to 31 May 1894. Counted among the most popular and prominent founders of modern Bulgaria, Stambolov played a key role during the Balkan Wars; he helped initiate the cultural and economic progress in Bulgaria.

Engineer William Mahone wasn’t just a railway tycoon associated with the Norfolk–Petersburg Railroad but was also part of the Confederate Army. He was one of the major leaders of Virginia’s Readjusters, a coalition of African-Americans and financially backward whites. The US senator later sided with the Republican Party.

Architect Richard Morris Hunt is largely credited with bringing in the French Beaux-Arts style to the U.S. He was also a major force behind the formation of the American Institute of Architects. His creations include the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s façade and the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal.

Gustav Freytag was a German playwright and novelist best remembered for his 1852 comedy The Journalists which is regarded as one of the 19th century's best German comedies. It is still counted among the most successful German comedies of all time. A respected playwright, Freytag is credited with developing a dramatic structure called Freytag's pyramid which is widely used today.

Jorge Isaacs was a Colombian novelist, poet, and writer of the romantic genre. His only novel María was among the most popular Spanish-language works of the Romantic Movement. The novel, which was published in 1867, was translated into 31 languages. Jorge Isaacs achieved popularity in Colombia as well as other Latin American countries, which helped his political and journalistic career.

Karl Heinrich Ulrichs was a German lawyer, journalist, jurist, and writer. Today, he is widely regarded as a pioneer of the modern gay rights movement and sexology. Ulrichs is considered the first openly gay man in the history of mankind. In August 1867, Karl Heinrich Ulrichs urged the goverment to revoke anti-homosexual laws, becoming the first homosexual to do so.

Copley Medal-winning US geologist and mineralogist James Dwight Dana is remembered for his path-breaking studies on topics such as mountain building, marine life, coral reefs, volcanic activity, and continents. A System of Mineralogy and Manual of Mineralogy are 2 of his iconic works, the latter of which became a standard text.

British explorer and geologist Joseph Thomson was the first European to enter a large part of eastern Africa. His exploration eventually led to the mass colonization of Africa, known as the Scramble for Africa. He secured British mining and trade rights in Africa. Thomson’s gazelle is a type of east-African gazelle named after him.

Camilla Collett was a 19th-century Norwegian writer. She was one of the first contributors to realism in Norwegian literature. An outspoken and independent individual, she is often referred to as the first Norwegian feminist. She became an honorary member of the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights at the time of its inception in 1884. 

The national novelist of Wales, Daniel Owen was born to a coal miner who died when his mine was flooded. Growing up amid poverty, he was initially trained as a tailor but later focused on literature. He is remembered for his novels such as Y Dreflan and his numerous poems and short stories.

Sir Charles Hallé was an Anglo-German conductor and pianist. He is best remembered as the founder of the famous symphony orchestra, The Hallé. Charles Hallé played an important role in the development of musical education in England. In 1890, he was knighted for his service to music.

Petko Slaveykov was a Bulgarian poet, folklorist, publicist, and politician. A multi-talented personality, Slaveykov also worked as a journalist, translator, and philologist. He also left his mark on various fields of study such as history, geography, and biography. Petko Slaveykov is considered the pioneer of Bulgarian children's literature and is credited with authoring several textbooks.

A Benedictine priest, Anyos Jedlik also taught physics and is often termed the unknown inventor of the first electric car, though Carl Benz later patented the motorcar for producing the first automobile series. His invention of the dynamo, which he didn’t speak of for years, was later credited to Werner von Siemens.