Famous People Born In 1819

The Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for over six decades, Queen Victoria reigned for longer than any of her predecessors. Her rule witnessed the vast expansion of the British Empire and ushered in a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military changes. Her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were celebrated with great pomp and show.

Albert, Prince Consort was the husband of Queen Victoria who earned a reputation for promoting public causes like the abolition of slavery worldwide and educational reform. He also helped develop Britain's constitutional monarchy by guiding his wife during her dealings with Parliament. After his untimely death at age 42, Queen Victoria started wearing black for the remainder of her life. 

Walt Whitman was an American poet, journalist, and essayist. Also a humanist, Whitman played a crucial role in the shift between transcendentalism and realism. Often referred to as the father of free verse, Whitman is one of the most influential American poets of all time. Several decades after his death, Walt Whitman's poetry remains influential.

Herman Melville was an American short story writer, novelist, and poet. One of his best-known works, Moby-Dick is widely regarded as one of the great American novels, although it did not garner much attention during his lifetime. Livyatan melvillei, a species of an extinct sperm whale, which was discovered in 2010, was named in his honor.  

Mary Ann Evans, known by her pseudonym George Eliot, was an English poet, novelist, translator, and journalist. One of the most prominent writers of the Victorian era, Eliot's works are known for their psychological insight, realism, and detailed description of the countryside. Her novel Middlemarch was voted one of the greatest literary works in a 2007 poll conducted by Time.

The leading English art critic of the Victorian era, John Ruskin was a hugely influential figure in the latter half of the 19th century. Also a philosopher and prominent social thinker, he wrote on varied subjects like geology, architecture, education, botany, myth, ornithology, literature, and political economy. He founded the charitable trust Guild of St George.

Clara Wieck Schumann was a German pianist, teacher, and composer. One of the most famous pianists of the Romantic era, Schumann changed the way concerts were conducted during her time and made a long-lasting impression as a pianist. She also influenced other pianists through her teaching; among her students were famous English pianist, Mathilde Verne.

A walk through the woods in Dundee, changed Allan Pinkerton’s life, as he bumped into a group of counterfeiters and reported them to the police. This incident inspired him to later become Chicago's first full-time detective. His agency’s logo, an unblinking eye, inspired the phrase “Private Eye.”

Sir George Stokes, 1st Baronet was an Anglo-Irish physicist and mathematician. He studied at Pembroke College, Cambridge, and spent his entire career at the University of Cambridge as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. As a physicist, he made key contributions to fluid mechanics and physical optics. He received the Royal Society's Copley Medal in 1893.

Léon Foucault was a French physicist remembered for his presentation of the Foucault pendulum. Foucault is credited with measuring the speed of light and discovering eddy currents. He is also credited with coining the term gyroscope. Considered one of the most important physicists from France, Foucault's name is among the 72 names etched on the famous Eiffel Tower in Paris.

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.

British civil engineer Joseph Bazalgette was the man behind the development of the sewage system of London. He was later knighted for his achievements and had also served as the president of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Another notable work of his was the Hammersmith Bridge.

Edwin Drake, or Colonel Drake, was the first American to drill an oil well successfully. Initially a railroad worker, he later helped develop Titusville and other oil-rich areas of northwestern Pennsylvania into booming oil-drilling zones. His failure to patent his techniques led to his poverty in his final years.

Stanisław Moniuszko was a Polish composer, teacher, and conductor. He is credited with writing several popular operas and art songs with patriotic folk themes that depicted the valor of the people of former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Thanks to his efforts to glorify the people of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Stanisław Moniuszko is called the father of Polish national opera.

Apart from founding Pretoria, Marthinus Wessel Pretorius had also been the president of the South African Republic and of the Orange Free State. The son of the Great Trek leader Andries Pretorius, Marthinus attempted to unite the Boer factions but failed to do so and eventually retired.

Though completely blind since childhood, George V of Hanover, the only son of King Ernest Augustus, exerted his influence by constantly being at conflict with the Hanoverian parliament. His rejected of Prussia’s demands of unarmed neutrality led to Prussia’s invasion of Hanover. He spent his final years in exile.

Ottilie Assing was a German-American abolitionist, freethinker, and feminist. She is best remembered for her friendship with American social reformer and abolitionist, Frederick Douglass. Apart from attending numerous conventions and meetings alongside Douglass, Ottilie Assing also translated many of his works to German.  

Part of the renowned Mayo family of doctors of the U.S., William Worrall Mayo played a key role in establishing the Mayo Clinic. He and his two sons built the St. Mary’s Hospital, along with the Sisters of St. Francis, after the deadly tornado of 1883 destroyed Rochester.

Physicist Hippolyte Fizeau is best remembered for conducting the Fizeau experiment, named after him, which measured the speed of light. His other achievements include his contribution to the discovery of the Doppler effect and his description of the capacitor to improve the efficiency of the induction coil.

Isaac Mayer Wise was an American Reform rabbi, author, and editor. He is best remembered for his service as the rabbi of the congregation Beth-El of Albany. In this capacity, Isaac Mayer Wise effected many changes, such as the consent for having a mixed-sex choir, allowing women and men to sit together in family pews, and elimination of Bar Mitzvah.

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes was a Cuban revolutionary who declared Cuban independence and became the first president of Cuba in 1868. His actions started the famous Ten Years' War, the first of three wars that led to the independence of Cuba in 1902. Since Carlos' actions led to Cuba's independence, he is referred to as the Father of the Fatherland.

The pioneer of German realist fiction, Theodor Fontane started as a journalist before venturing into a writing career at the ripe age of 58. He had also briefly been an apothecary, following in his father’s footsteps. His novels such as Effi Briest talk about the plight of women.