Famous People Who Died In 1838

Frontiersman William Clark is remembered for his iconic expedition to the Pacific Northwest along with Meriwether Lewis, in what is known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He had also been a US Army soldier and the governor of Missouri Territory. He named his first-born after Lewis.

Osceola led the Seminole tribe of Native Americans in their resistance against the U.S. attempt of moving them out of Florida and into the land west of Mississippi. He was eventually deceived by a fake truce attempt, captured, and transported to Fort Moultrie, where he passed away.

While his clubfoot prevented him from joining the army and also earned him the nickname The Lame Devil, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord later became the bishop of Autun. Known for his womanizing ways, he also went down in history as an opportunist who changed sides.

French diplomat and bishop Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord is counted among the most pragmatic and prominent diplomats in European history. He served King Louis XVI and thereafter changed sides several times, serving at highest levels of successive French governments of Napoleon I, Louis XVIII and Louis Philippe I. He served as the first Prime Minister of France under Louis XVIII.

José Bonifácio de Andrada was a Brazilian statesman. He was also a naturalist, mineralist, and professor. He was a significant proponent of Brazilian independence and also spearheaded the abolition project in Brazil. He was of the opinion that a new national capital should be created in Brazil's underdeveloped interior. As a naturalist, he discovered four new minerals. 

French physicist and chemist Pierre Louis Dulong FRS FRSE is best-remembered for proposing the thermodynamic law called the Dulong–Petit law with fellow scientist Alexis Petit. Subjects of his scientific studies included the elasticity of steam, specific heats of gases and conduction of heat. He discovered nitrogen trichloride, worked on specific heat capacity, and expansion and refractive indices of gases.

Part of the second Great Awakening, Presbyterian clergyman Gideon Blackburn had been a missionary to Cherokee areas. Apart from establishing schools for Cherokee children, he had also introduced the communities to new farming methods. He later retired to Nashville, where he taught, and also founded the Blackburn Theological Seminary in Illinois.

At 10, Nathaniel Bowditch was forced to quit studies due to poverty and started working, first at his father’s shop and then as a clerk in other shops. During his voyages in merchant ships, he discovered his love for math. He later redefined maritime navigation with his mathematical research.

Charles Percier introduced what is now known as the Empire style of interior decoration, along with Pierre Fontaine, whom he met while studying architecture in Paris. The Prix de Rome winner often blended Greco-Roman and Egyptian styles of architecture and co-designed much of the Louvre and the Tuileries Palace.

Best remembered as the author of the Hungarian national anthem, Ferenc Kölcsey was orphaned and even lost an eye in childhood. Though a trained lawyer, he later focused on reviving Hungarian literature. He had also been part of the Hungarian Diet, as a prominent liberal leader.

German poet and lyricist Adelbert von Chamisso, who lived in the 19th century, is chiefly remembered for his legendary fairy tale, Peter Schlemihl’s Remarkable Story. He also established the Berlin romanticist society Nordsternbund and was a noted botanist, too. He was also interested in philology and Australasian languages.

Bernard Courtois was a French chemist. He is credited with isolating iodine and morphine. Interested in chemistry from a young age, he learned how to make potassium nitrate for gunpowder for the French Revolution. He later found work at the École Polytechnique in Paris. Later in life, he went into manufacturing high-quality iodine and its salts. 

Copley Medal-winning British horticulturalist Thomas Andrew Knight is best remembered for his study of the movement of sap in plants and the impact of gravity on the growth of plants. He was also the Royal Horticultural Society’s second president. His initial works found a place in the Royal Society’s Philosophical Transactions.

Poul Martin Møller was a Danish academic, poet, and writer. Møller gained recognition for his poetry during his lifetime. After his death, many of his philosophical and fiction writings were published and were received well as well. Poul Martin Møller is perhaps best remembered for mentoring Søren Kierkegaard at the University of Copenhagen where he was serving as a professor.

James Geddes was an American engineer, surveyor, and U.S. Congressman. Geddes is credited with conceiving many canals in the United States, including the Erie Canal. He also played a key role in the development of Syracuse's salt industry at Onondaga Lake. Salina, New York, where James Geddes passed away, was renamed the Town of Geddes in his honor.

Ferdinand Ries was a German composer best remembered for his association with Ludwig van Beethoven. He studied under Beethoven before going on to become his secretary. Ries is credited with helping Beethoven with the premieres of the latter's Fifth and Sixth Symphonies which were used in the Beethoven concert of 22 December 1808. 

Once the principal clarinettist at Stockholm’s Royal Court Orchestra, Bernhard Crusell was part of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. He had been both a soloist and a chamber musician. He was also well-versed in several languages and translated Italian, German, and French operas into Swedish.