Famous People Born In 1813

Soren Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher, theologian, social critic, poet, and religious author. Widely regarded as the first existentialist philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard is sometimes referred to as the Father of Existentialism. He is also credited with influencing many theologians, philosophers, and writers like Paul Feyerabend, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Jorge Luis Borges.

Legendary Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi is best remembered for his masterpieces such as Requiem, Rigoletto, Falstaff, and Otello. He was also briefly associated with the Risorgimento movement meant to unify Italy and thus composed many choruses reflecting the spirit. He was inspired by composers such as Bellini and Donizetti.

David Livingstone was a Scottish physician who played a major role at the London Missionary Society, where he was a pioneer Christian missionary. He is also remembered for his work as a missionary in Africa. Widely considered one of the most famous British heroes of the late Victorian era, Livingstone was mentioned in the 100 Greatest Britons list in 2002.

Best known as the father of modern epidemiology, British doctor John Snow revolutionized medical science with his study of London’s Broad Street cholera outbreak of 1854. His research contributed to the development of London’s sewage and water systems and led to the reduction in cholera cases.

Congregational minister Henry Ward Beecher, the eighth child of Reverend Lyman Beecher, was a skilled orator and a prominent Protestant speaker. He was known for anti-slavery stance and his belief in God's love, One of his best works is the pamphlet Seven Lectures to Young Men.

John C. Frémont is best remembered for his role in the expansion of US settlements in the West and also for the development of what is now known as California. A military officer, he became one of the first senators from California and had also been the 5th governor of Arizona.

Known as The Father of Modern Gynaecology, J. Marion Sims is remembered for developing a surgical method to deal with vesicovaginal fistula, a childbirth-related complication. However, since his experiments were conducted on Black slave-women, without anesthesia, they were later deemed unethical. He had also headed the American Gynecological Society.

Claude Bernard was a French physiologist whose scientific experiments led to several important discoveries. He is credited with coining the phrase milieu intérieur, which refers to the extracellular fluid (ECF) environment. He also pioneered the use of a blinded experiment to eliminate various experimental biases.

Junius Spencer Morgan was an American financier and banker. The patriarch to the famous Morgan banking house, Morgan is credited with establishing J. S. Morgan & Co. in 1864. He then transformed his banking house into a financial empire with the help of his son, John Pierpont Morgan Sr. 

Part of the Young Germany movement, German dramatist and author Georg Büchner was a revolutionary and a master of Expressionist plays. Born to an army doctor, he studied medicine but also simultaneously participated in pamphleteering for social issues. He is remembered for works such as Danton’s Death and Woyzeck.

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.

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. 

Charles-Valentin Alkan was a French virtuoso pianist and composer. During the peak of his career in the 1830s and 1840s, Alkan was counted among the most important pianists in Paris. Over the years, his music has been admired by several prominent musicians like Anton Rubinstein, Egon Petri, and Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji.

Apart from being a surgeon, John Rae later became famous as an explorer of the Canadian Arctic. Initially a resident surgeon at the Moose Factory post of the Hudson’s Bay Company, he later explored places such as Victoria Island. He later moved to London and was made a Royal Society Fellow.

Initially a postal clerk and then a teacher, Charles Harpur would often cut out poems written by him and collect them in a scrapbook, to be published later. His poetry depicted the untamed natural beauty of Australia. The Bush-Rangers, his second book, contains some of his best poems.

Frédéric Ozanam was a French lawyer, literary scholar, equal rights advocate, and journalist. He is credited with co-founding the Conference of Charity, which came to be known as the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. in 1997, Frédéric Ozanam was beatified at Notre Dame de Paris by Pope John Paul II and his feast day is observed on 9 September.

Frederick Scott Archer was an English sculptor and photographer best remembered for his invention of a photographic process called the collodion process. His invention enhanced the accessibility of photography for the public. Unfortunately, Scott Archer died impoverished as he failed to patent his discovery before publishing it. As a sculptor, he displayed his works at the Royal Academy of Arts.