Famous People Born In 1780

Elizabeth Fry was an English social reformer, prison reformer, Quaker, and philanthropist. Nicknamed the Angel of Prisons, Fry played a major role in the Gaol Act, which necessitated sex-segregation of prisons. The act also mandated the appointment of female warders for female inmates.

One of the two pioneering female honorary members of the Royal Astronomical Society, Mary Somerville was a 19th-century polymath and science writer. Though she specialized in math and astronomy, she was also well-versed in botany and geology. The Connection of the Physical Sciences remains her most notable work.

Carl von Clausewitz was a Prussian military theorist and general. As a theorist, Clausewitz stressed the political aspects of war. His book Vom Kriege, which talks about military strategy, has been very influential despite the fact that it was unfinished at the time of his death. His ideas also influenced personalities like Karl Marx, Mao Zedong, and Leon Trotsky.

Romanian revolutionary leader and a national hero, Tudor Vladimirescu led the Wallachian uprising of 1821. Initially part of the Greek Friendly Brotherhood, to overturn the Turkish rule in the Balkans, he later formed his own Wallachian revolt. He was eventually executed on the orders of Greek nationalist politician Alexander Ypsilantis.

German chemist Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner was born amid poverty but managed to get training as an apothecary. After his university education, he taught at the University of Jena. His discovery of the fact that certain chemical elements were similar later led to the development of the periodic law of chemistry.

William Ellery Channing was an American preacher. One of the most important Unitarian preachers in the early-19th century, Channing was also one of Unitarianism's most prominent theologians. Remembered for his impassioned and articulate public speeches and sermons, Channing had a major influence on the New England Transcendentalists. In 1903, he was honored with a statue at the Boston Public Garden.  

French author Charles Nodier inspired the Romantic writers of his time with his focus on gothic themes. As the director of the Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, he led a group of young writers such as Victor Hugo and Alfred de Musset. His works include The Vampire Lord Ruthwen and The Book Collector.

Karl Nesselrode was a Russian German diplomat remembered for his service as the Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire from 1816 to 1856. Nesselrode played a major role during the negotiations with the USA, which defined the boundary between the Oregon Country and Russian America; Nesselrode was a plenipotentiary during the negotiations that culminated in the Russo-American Treaty of 1824.

Scottish Presbyterian minister and political economist Thomas Chalmers has been immortalized by the town of Port Chalmers in New Zealand, named after him. An ordained minister, he was initially a math lecturer. He later became the Free Church of Scotland’s first moderator. He tried applying Christian ethics to economic problems.

Bernardino Rivadavia was an Argentinian politician who served as the president of Argentina from 1826 to 1827. Although he was accepted as the president only in Buenos Aires, Rivadavia is widely regarded as the first president of Argentina. During his presidency, Argentina witnessed an improvement in the education sector.

Élie, duc Decazes was a French statesman who led the liberal Doctrinaires party during the Bourbon Restoration. A lawyer by profession, he served as a judge of the Seine Tribunal before entering politics. He was a self-proclaimed royalist and remained faithful to the Bourbons throughout the Hundred Days. He became the prime minister of France in 1819. 

Initially a Quaker preacher, folk painter Edward Hicks is best remembered for his work The Peaceable Kingdom and its 100 versions. His interest in painting perhaps stemmed for his early years as a coach painter. He mostly depicted the landscapes of New York and Pennsylvania. His works also featured animals.

Alexander Parris was an American architect-engineer. Parris was one of the members of an influential group of architects that played a key role in founding an institute that would later become the American Institute of Architects. Alexander Parris is also credited with designing several lighthouses along the Northeastern United States coastline.

José Joaquín de Olmedo was an Ecuadorian political leader best remembered for his service as the President of Ecuador from March 1845 to December 1845. A prominent politician, José Joaquín de Olmedo also served as the Vice President of Ecuador from 12 September 1830 to 15 September 1831.