Famous People Who Died In 1847

Felix Mendelssohn was a German composer of the early Romantic period. He was also a skilled organist, pianist, and conductor. He composed symphonies, concertos, chamber music, and organ music. His collection of lyrical piano songs Songs Without Words is among his best-known works. He was the founder of the public university The Leipzig Conservatory. He died aged just 38. 

Scottish surgeon Robert Liston worked in an era when anesthesia wasn’t invented. He could complete amputations within minutes, thus saving the lives of many when the speed of the surgery made the difference between life and death. Later, he became the first European surgeon to operate under anesthesia.

Marie Louise was an Austrian archduchess who reigned as Duchess of Parma from 1814 until her death. The eldest child of Emperor Francis II of Austria and his second wife, Maria Theresa, she grew up during a tumultuous period in the history of Austria. She was married to Napoleon I from 1810 to 1821. She died of pleurisy in 1847.  

English paleontologist Mary Anning is best known for the fossil collections she made in Jurassic marine fossil beds. She made major contributions to studies related to prehistoric life and the history of the Earth. As a woman in 19th-century Britain, she could not fully participate in the scientific community despite her brilliance. She gained fame after her death.

Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen, son of Emperor Leopold II, was a major force behind strengthening the Austrian army in early 19th century. He is remembered for his exploits in the French Revolutionary Wars. Though initially successful in the Napoleonic Wars, he was defeated in the Battle of Wagram.

Danish organic chemist William Christopher Zeise initially aspired to study medicine but later switched to chemistry. He prepared one of the world’s first organometallic compounds, Zeise’s salt, and conducted pathbreaking research in the field of organosulfur chemistry. His achievements got him knighted by the Danish monarch.

Henri Dutrochet was a French physician, physiologist, and botanist. Dutrochet is best remembered for his investigation into osmosis. He is also credited with discovering cells in plants and cell biology. Henri Dutrochet’s works earned him several awards including the Académie Française's prize for experimental physiology.

Best known for exploring the geology of the Tertiary Period, Alexandre Brongniart initially taught natural history and then became a professor of mineralogy. He also worked for the development of porcelain enameling in France. His other works include a classification of reptiles and the introduction of geologic dating.

Grace Aguilar was raised in a closed Jewish circle and wasn’t allowed to mingle much outside her family. In spite of the regulations, she grew up to educate people about Jewish culture and history and later penned the iconic domestic novels Home Influence and its sequel, The Mother's Recompense.

Scottish Presbyterian minister and political economist Thomas Chalmers has been immortalized by the town of Port Chalmers in New Zealand, named after him. An ordained minister, he was initially a math lecturer. He later became the Free Church of Scotland’s first moderator. He tried applying Christian ethics to economic problems.

Daniel O'Connell, also known as The Liberator, was an Irish lawyer who later became a leader of Irish Catholics and was eventually elected to the UK Parliament. He was one of the first Catholics to become Lord Mayor of Dublin and one of the first great nationalist leaders of Ireland.

Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel was a German pianist and composer of the early Romantic era. Many of her works were published under her younger brother Felix Mendelssohn's name due to the social conventions about the roles of women at that time and the reservations of her family. However, she has been getting the recognition that she deserves since the 1990s.

Sahle Selassie, a noted Amhara noble of Ethiopia, was proclaimed Ras and Meridazmach of Shewa in a turn-of-events following murder of his father Wossen Seged, a Meridazmach of Shewa. A strong, progressive and kind hearted ruler, Sahle ruled for over three-decades (1813 to 1847) and made several reforms including in criminal law and administration, and worked on modernizing his country.   

French-Swiss theologian Alexandre Vinet was a major figure of the Protestant Reformation in the French-speaking regions of Switzerland. While he initially taught French and theology at the universities of Basel and Lausanne, he later spoke against religious dogma and supported the separation of church and the state.

One of the founding members of the Swedish Geatish Society, which tried to arouse nationalism through historical study, Erik Gustaf Geijer was a historian, philosopher, poet, political and social theorist all rolled into one. A professor of history at the Uppsala University, he had authored number of books and wrote music for many of his poems, chamber works, choirs etc.

José Joaquín de Olmedo was an Ecuadorian political leader best remembered for his service as the President of Ecuador from March 1845 to December 1845. A prominent politician, José Joaquín de Olmedo also served as the Vice President of Ecuador from 12 September 1830 to 15 September 1831.

Hans Järta was a Swedish revolutionary and administrator. He played a major role in the Coup of 1809 which dethroned Gustavus IV Adolphus. Hans Järta was also one of the most important drafters of Sweden's 1809 constitution. He also served as the Governor of Kopparberg County from 1812 to 1822.

Eighteenth-century mystic George Rapp is best remembered as the founder of the religious sect of Rappites, or Harmonists. Initially a weaver in Germany, he later moved to the U.S. to escape persecution. Following his death, his followers decreased, due to the Harmonists’ vow of celibacy and little or no conversion.

Finnish-Swedish poet Frans Mikael Franzén, who had been the Bishop of the Diocese of Härnösand, was also one of the pioneers of the Romantic movement in Sweden. Initially a professor of philosophy, he later reformed Swedish poetry, inspired by the likes of Shakespeare and Milton.

William Richards was a politician and missionary whose work on a formal land title system gave rise to the Great Mahele in 1848. He also helped popularize a liberal constitutional monarchy in the Kingdom of Hawaii. He also served as a translator to King Kamehameha III and later helped translate much of the Bible into Hawaiian.