Famous People Born In 1814

The inventor of the saxophone, Belgian musician Adolphe Sax, was born to instrument-maker parents who had themselves re-designed the French horn. As a child, he was known as "the ghost" for his frequent brushes with death. He made many other instruments, which were included in the French army bands.

One of the most significant Russian romantic authors of the Golden Age of Russian Poetry, Mikhail Lermontov is remembered for his iconic novel A Hero of Our Time. His initial poems, such as Prisoner of the Caucasus, were highly Byronic. His writings laid the foundation for the Russian psychological novel.

Eugène Viollet-le-Duc was a French architect and author. He is credited with restoring prominent medieval landmarks in France, including iconic buildings which had been damaged during the French Revolution. He restored Notre-Dame de Paris and the Basilica of Saint-Denis, among others. He is regarded as the first theorist of modern architecture and wrote extensively on the subject. 

Mikhail Bakunin was a Russian socialist and anarchist. He is credited with founding an anarchist school of thought called collectivist anarchism. Regarded as one of the most influential personalities of anarchism, Mikhail Bakunin has had a major influence on thinkers like Peter Kropotkin, Herbert Marcuse, Errico Malatesta, Neil Postman, E. P. Thompson, and A. S. Neill.    

Best remembered for leading the Indian Rebellion of 1857, tribal leader Tantia Tope used guerilla tactics in his fights against the British. In spite of no formal military training, he also managed to seize Gwalior temporarily with Rani Lakshmibai. He was later hanged to death by the British.

Anders Jonas Ångström was a Swedish physicist best remembered for co-founding the science of spectroscopy. He is also renowned for his studies of terrestrial magnetism, astrophysics, heat transfer, and the aurora borealis. In 1850, Anders Jonas Ångström was made a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.  

Apart from being a qualified doctor, Julius von Mayer was also a skilled chemist and physicist. His theory that heat and work can be transformed into one another paved the path for what is now known as the first law of thermodynamics, which states “energy can be neither created nor destroyed.”

Lorenzo Snow was an American religious leader who became the fifth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in 1898. A school teacher by profession, he became involved in church services as a young man. In his later years, he founded a society called the Polysophical Society. He married multiple times and had many children. 

Born to an engineer father, British missionary Alfred Saker had built a small steam engine by 16. Intelligent and well-read, he later departed on a mission to Africa, eventually setting up the city of Victoria, now known as Limbe, in Cameroon. He is also credited with translating the Bible into Douala.

Rose O'Neal Greenhow was a well-known Confederate spy who was active during the American Civil War. She is credited with securing the South's victory at the Battle of First Manassas in July 1861. After her demise, Rose O'Neal Greenhow was given a Confederate military funeral.

Nicolaas Beets was a Dutch author, professor, poet, and preacher. He is credited with founding a Protestant school, which is now known by the name, Nicolaas Beetsschool. Nicolaas Beets is also remembered for his magnum opus Camera Obscura, which continues to be celebrated even today.

Hong Xiuquan was a Hakka Chinese revolutionary best remembered for leading the Taiping Rebellion against the much-feared and powerful Qing Dynasty. Credited with establishing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Hong Xiuquan later served as an inspiration to the Communists under Mao Zedong. In 1959, China established a small museum to honor his legacy.