Famous People Born In 1845

Wilhelm Rontgen was a German physicist and mechanical engineer. He is best remembered for producing and detecting X-rays for which he was honored with the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. His discovery of X-rays remains one of the greatest achievements in the field of medical science.

George I of Greece reigned as the king of Greece from 1863 until his murder in 1913. During his reign of nearly 50 years, which is the longest in the history of modern Greece, George helped expand Greece's territory significantly. During his reign, Greece also became increasingly prosperous and attained a popular place on the European stage.

One of the greatest composers of all time, French pianist and organist Gabriel Fauré is best remembered for his masterpieces such as Requiem. His music career began at 9, when he was sent to Paris to become a choirmaster. At 75, he was awarded the Grand-Croix of the Légion d'honneur.

Mary Eliza Mahoney was an African-American nurse. In 1879, she became the first African American to successfully complete her course from an American school of nursing. She helped eliminate racial discrimination in the nursing profession. Mahoney was made an inductee of the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame and the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1976 and 1993 respectively.

Edmond James de Rothschild was a French businessman with deep connections to the Rothschild banking family. He was a strong supporter of Zionism and donated significant amounts that went towards the establishment of the State of Israel. He also provided funds for the foundation of the Friends of the French National Museum of Natural History Society. 

Gabriel Lippmann was a Franco-Luxembourgish inventor and physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1908. He is also remembered for inventing an astronomical tool called the coelostat. Lippmann was an influential physicist from Luxembourg; an Institute for scientific research in Luxembourg City was named after him. The Institute was later renamed Luxembourg Institute for Science and Technology (LIST). 

Nikola Pašić was a Serbian and Yugoslav diplomat and politician. A leading political figure for nearly four decades, Pašić served as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Serbia on several occasions between 1891 and 1918. Nikola Pašić is also remembered for his service as the Prime Minister of Yugoslavia on three occasions between 1918 and 1926.

Legendary Hungarian-American violinist and composer Leopold Auer was born into a family of painters but chose to learn the violin instead. He initially played for the music-loving bling king of Hanover and later taught violin at Russia’s Saint Petersburg Conservatory. His students include Mischa Elman and Jascha Heifetz.

Ahmet Tevfik Pasha had been the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire for 3 terms and was the last Ottoman to hold the post. He had also been the Ottoman Empire’s foreign minister. He supported revolutionary Mustafa Kemal’s nationalist movement which opposed the Allied occupation of Anatolia following World War I.

Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran was a French physician whose discoveries of certain parasitic protozoans earned him the prestigious Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1907. A well-known philanthropist, Laveran donated half of the money obtained from his Nobel Prize to set up the Laboratory of Tropical Medicine. He is also credited with founding the Société de Pathologie Exotique.

Born to legendary biologist Charles Darwin, George Darwin initially studied law and became a barrister. However, his interest in science made him deviate to astronomy. He believed the Moon was one part of the Earth. He later also taught at Cambridge and was made a Fellow of The Royal Society.

French geographer Paul Vidal de La Blache is largely considered the founding father of modern French geography. He originated the concept of genre de vie. Apart from working as a geography professor at Sorbonne, he penned iconic works such as Tableau de la géographie de la France.

José Maria de Eça de Queirós was a Portuguese writer and novelist. Widely regarded as the greatest exponent of literary realism in the Portuguese language, Eça's works have been translated into many languages, including English. Many of his works have also been adapted into films, TV series, and theatrical plays.

One of the greatest Punjabi Sufi poets, Khwaja Ghulam Farid was part of the Chishti Nizami Sufi order. Remembered for his iconic works such as Diwan-e-Farid and Fawaid Faridia, he wrote in various languages such as Urdu, Persian, and Sindhi. He was also a scholar of Arabic, Braj Bhasha, and other languages.

Recipient of the Victoria Cross, Gonville Bromhead was a British army officer, hailed for his role in the defence of Rorke's Drift during 1879 Anglo-Zulu War. He not only played an important part in repulsing the Zulu assault, but also stayed back to defend the area from future attacks until he was sent back to England to receive his award.  

Sir Pherozeshah Mehta was an Indian lawyer and politician. In 1904, the British Government in India honored Mehta with a knighthood for his work and service to the law. Between 1884 and 1911, he was the president of the Bombay Municipality on four occasions. Pherozeshah Mehta also played an important role as a founding member of the Indian National Congress.

German botanist and plant-physiologist Wilhelm Pfeffer, considered a pioneer of modern plant-physiology, is noted for his work on osmotic pressure. He developed a semi-porous membrane to study osmosis phenomena while researching on plant-metabolism and invented Pfeffer Zelle (Pfeffer Cell Apparatus) to determine osmotic pressure of a solution. He held teaching positions at the Universities of Basel, Bonn, Tübingen and Leipzig.

Polish linguist Jan Niecisław Baudouin de Courtenay is best remembered for laying down the theory of the phoneme. His Essay on a Theory of Phonetic Alternation has contributed immensely to modern linguistic science. He spent his entire life teaching at reputed universities, such as St. Petersburg and Warsaw.

Ludwig II of Bavaria reigned as the King of Bavaria from 10 March 1864 until his death on 13 June 1886. He is best remembered for overseeing the construction of lavish palaces like Linderhof Palace, Neuschwanstein Castle, and Herrenchiemsee. This extravagance brought about his downfall as he was declared insane, which remains a subject of discussion.

Richard Seddon was a New Zealand politician best remembered for his service as the 15th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 27 April 1893 until his death on 10 June 1906. Seddon is the longest-serving premier in the history of New Zealand. He is considered one of the greatest, most widely known, and most influential politicians in New Zealand history.