Famous People Born In 1832

Édouard Manet was a French painter who played a key role in the transition to Impressionism from Realism in the 19th-century. Manet was one of the first artists from his generation to paint modern life. His early masterworks, such as Olympia, served as rallying points for young and aspiring impressionist painters. His works continue to influence painters around the world.

Wilhelm Wundt was a German physiologist, professor, and philosopher. He is often counted among the founders of modern psychology and is widely considered the father of experimental psychology. He is also credited with founding the first laboratory for psychological research, which he founded at the University of Leipzig in 1879.

Mary Edwards Walker, or Dr. Mary Walker, was the only female surgeon who served injured soldiers during the American Civil War. A dress reform supporter, she believed women should value comfort more than tradition when it came to clothes. She was also the first and only Medal of Honor winner.

Best known for his wood-engraving, Gustave Doré was a child prodigy who began his artwork at the tender age of 5. A master lithographer and caricaturist, he began his career with Journal pour Rire. He also worked on commissions from authors such as Cervantes, Milton, and Dante.

William Crookes was a British chemist and physicist remembered as a pioneer of vacuum tubes. He was the inventor of what became known as the Crookes tube. He is also credited with the discovery of the element thallium. He was the first person to describe the spectrum of terrestrial helium. He was interested in spiritualism and occultism as well. 

Nobel Prize-winning Norwegian author Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, the first Nobel laureate from his country, is regarded as one of The Four Greats of Norwegian Literature. He also penned the Norwegian national anthem and is known for books such as Absalom's Hair and short stories such as The Railroad and the Churchyard.

Ivan Shishkin was a Russian painter best remembered for his associaton with the Peredvizhniki movement. He achieved popularity for his forest landscapes, such as Morning in a Pine Forest and Rain in an Oak Forest. He was also an excellent printmaker and a draftsman. Shishkin also worked as a professor of painting in several prestigious institutions like the Imperial Academy.

Khurshidbanu Natavan was an Azerbaijani poet and philanthropist. Regarded as one of the most prominent lyrical poets of Azerbaijan, Natavan was best known for her lyrical ghazals. Also a well-known philanthropist, Khurshidbanu Natavan worked towards promoting the cultural and social development of Karabakh. She is credited with building an aqueduct, which relieved the townsfolk of their water problem.

Known for his pioneering work in cultural anthropology, Edward Burnett Tylor penned iconic works such as Primitive Culture, which was partially influenced by Darwin’s theory of evolution. Born to affluent Quaker parents, he quit school to focus on his business but was later drawn to anthropology. He popularized the term animism.

Hudson Taylor was one of the most popular Christian missionaries in China. His 51-year stint in China witnessed him baptizing over 50,000 people. Apart from converting people, he also mingled with the Chinese at a personal level, adopting their clothing habits, contrary to what other missionaries practiced.

Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld was a Finland-Swedish geologist, aristocrat, Arctic explorer, and mineralogist. He is best remembered for leading the Vega Expedition of 1878–1880, the first Arctic expedition to steer through the Northeast Passage. The expedition is regarded as one of the greatest achievements in Swedish science history.    

Amos Whitney was in his early teens when he apprenticed at a machine company. He is best remembered for his manufacturing company Pratt & Whitney, which he set up with Francis A. Pratt. He had designed a number of innovative machine parts for sewing machines, guns, and typewriters.

Sir Leslie Stephen was an English historian, biographer, author, critic, and mountaineer. Leslie Stephen also took an active part in the organized humanist movement, serving as the president of the West London Ethical Society on multiple occasions. He was the father of famous author, Virginia Woolf, and painter, Vanessa Bell.

Tomás Estrada Palma was a Cuban politician who served as the first President of Cuba after Cuba's independence in 1902. During his presidency, Cuba's infrastructure, public health, and communication improved significantly. Tomás Estrada Palma had also played an important role during the Ten Years' War, serving as the Cuban Republican in Arms' president.

Juan Leon Mera was an Ecuadorian novelist, essayist, painter, and politician. He is credited with writing Ecuador's national anthem, Salve, Oh Patria. Among his other well-known literary works is a novel titled Cumandá, which was translated into English by Noé O. Vaca in 2007.

Juan Montalvo was an Ecuadorian essayist and author. He is best remembered for his 1880 work Las catilinarias, which made him popular throughout intellectual circles in Europe, the USA, and the rest of Latin America. Although the book made him famous, it also forced him to live in France for the rest of his life as a refugee.

Octave Chanute was a French-American aviation pioneer and civil engineer. He is credited with helping budding enthusiasts like the Wright brothers by providing them with help and advice. He also helped publicize their flying experiments. At the time of his death, Octave Chanute was referred to as the father of aviation.

Maori guerrilla leader Te Kooti is best remembered for launching the Ringatu religious movement. He once announced that he had received divine orders to establish a new church. Imprisoned for his activities, he later escaped with 168 prisoners. He was later pardoned but remained dedicated to the Ringatu cause.

Once the prime minister of France, Jules Ferry was a Moderate Republican leader, who is remembered for his efforts in the French colonial expansion. He followed in his father’s footsteps to become a lawyer but gained fame as a political critic. He later became increasingly unpopular due to expenditures incurred in wars. 

Best known for his book The Light of Asia, a narrative poem on Gautama Buddha, English poet and journalist Edwin Arnold had initially been a school teacher. He later also worked as a journalist, before turning to writing full-time. His The Song Celestial was a poetic version of the Bhagavad Gita.