Famous People Who Died In 1873

David Livingstone was a Scottish physician who played a major role at the London Missionary Society, where he was a pioneer Christian missionary. He is also remembered for his work as a missionary in Africa. Widely considered one of the most famous British heroes of the late Victorian era, Livingstone was mentioned in the 100 Greatest Britons list in 2002.

Louis Agassiz was a biologist and geologist. He was famous as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Born in Switzerland, he completed his education in Europe and emigrated to USA. He was appointed a professor of zoology and geology at Harvard University. He later founded the Museum of Comparative Zoology at the Lawrence Scientific School.  

Vasil Levski was a Bulgarian revolutionary who is considered a national hero in Bulgaria. Nicknamed the Apostle of Freedom, Vasil Levski strategized a revolutionary movement to free Bulgaria from the Ottoman rule. In a nationwide television poll conducted in 2007, Levski was voted as the greatest Bulgarian of all time.

Alexandru Ioan Cuza was the first ruler of the Romanian Principalities after the unification of Moldavia and Wallachia. He is credited with modernizing the Romanian society through a series of reforms. Today, Alexandru Ioan Cuza is regarded as a national hero of Romania. He is also counted among the founders of the modern Romanian state.

American astronomer, naval officer, oceanographer and author Matthew Fontaine Maury, who first served the United States Navy and then the Confederacy States Navy, made significant contributions in oceanography. His book Physical Geography of the Sea is counted among the first comprehensive books on oceanography. Navies and merchant marines across the world adopted his uniform system of recording oceanographic data.

German chemist Justus von Liebig is best known for his research on organic compounds and his contribution to biochemistry and agriculture. The Copley Medal-winning scientist initially studied pharmacy but later switched to chemistry. As a professor, he stressed on laboratory-based teaching of chemistry and separating it from pharmacy, opposing traditional methods.

Apprenticed as a merchant at age 14, Robert William Thomson grew up to study civil engineering and also worked with the South Eastern Railway Company. His illustrious career saw him make quite a few inventions, such as the pneumatic tire, the fountain pen, and the road steamer.  

Born to a farmer in Germany’s Black Forest, Franz Xaver Winterhalter was initially trained as a lithographer. The nineteenth-century German painter later gained fame for his paintings and portraits of Europe’s royalty and aristocracy. Among his subjects were Queen Victoria of England and Elizabeth of Austria.

Orphaned as a toddler, Viktor Hartmann was raised by her aunt, who was the wife of architect Alexandre Hemilian. While he initially worked as an architect, he later focused on pencil sketching and water-color painting. He died of aneurysm at 39, following which most of his work was lost.

Edwin Landseer was an English sculptor and painter best remembered for incorporating animals as subjects in his works. Landseer is credited with sculpting the famous lion sculptures that form a part of the base of Nelson's Column in the City of Westminster, Central London.

Bénédict Morel was a French psychiatrist born in Austria. He was abandoned by his parents and had a difficult childhood. He worked hard to earn a medical doctorate and worked alongside psychiatrist Jean-Pierre Falret. He soon became an influential psychiatrist himself and was a key figure in the field of degeneration theory in the mid-19th century. 

Born to an affluent landowner, Fyodor Tyutchev was homeschooled and grew up to represent his country as a diplomat in Germany. A nationalist and Pan-Slavist, he also became one of the most-quoted Russian poets. His love poems were inspired by his affair with his daughter’s governess.

Michael Madhusudan Dutt was an Indian poet, dramatist, and writer who predominantly wrote in the Bengali language. A pioneer of Bengali drama, Dutt is widely considered the most skilled poet in the history of Bengali literature. His life and career inspired the 1950 drama film Michael Madhusudhan, in which Dutt was played by Indian actor Utpal Dutt.

Samuel Simon Schmucker was a theologian and Lutheran pastor. He played a key role in the founding of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg as well as Gettysburg College. He also played a major role in the founding of the Evangelical Lutheran General Synod of the United States of America. He was also well-known for his efforts as an abolitionist.

The son of anti-slavery icon William Wilberforce, Anglican priest Samuel Wilberforce served as the bishop of Oxford. He earned the nickname Soapy Sam, probably due to his clean private life or his peculiar manner of hand-washing. A major figure of the Oxford Movement, he opposed Darwin’s theory of evolution.

Giovanni Battista Donati was an Italian astronomer considered a pioneer in the spectroscopic study of the stars, the Sun, and comets. He worked in the Observatory of Florence for several years, becoming its director in 1864. He published a memoir in which he discussed the feasibility of a physical classification of the stars. He discovered the spectacular Comet Donati. 

Born to a prominent Swiss physician and physicist, Auguste Arthur de la Rive initially served as the chair of natural philosophy at the University of Geneva, where his father had worked. He later came to be known for his research on the electrochemical reaction in batteries.

José Antonio Páez was a Venezuelan political leader who served as the President of Venezuela on three occasions; from 1830 to 1835, 1839 to 1843, and 1861 to 1863. He played an important role during the Venezuelan War of Independence, in which he supported Simón Bolívar and fought against the Spanish Crown. Later, Páez spearheaded Venezuela's independence from Gran Colombia.

Alessandro Manzoni was a 19th-century Italian poet, novelist, and philosopher. His novel The Betrothed is generally counted among the masterpieces of world literature. He is credited to have contributed to the stabilization of the modern Italian language. He was politically active and was a member of the Italian Senate. He was a proponent of Liberal Catholicism. 

Rifa'a al-Tahtawi was an Egyptian writer, translator, teacher, intellectual, and Egyptologist. Many of his works were aimed at bringing an understanding between Christian and Islamic civilizations. Rifa'a al-Tahtawi also played an important role in influencing the development of literature, science, law, and Egyptology in 19th-century Egypt.