Famous People Who Died In 1889

Discover the most famous people died who died in the year 1889. This list includes people like Jefferson Davis, Robert Browning, Antonio Meucci, James Prescott Joule, Maria Mitchell and many more. This list of celebrities is loosely sorted by popularity. People featured on this list, include poets, political leaders, novelists and inventors who died in 1889. This list includes people from United Kingdom, United States, Italy & Germany and many more countries.
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 1 
Jefferson Davis
(Former President of the Confederate States (1862 - 1865))
Jefferson Davis
57
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: June 3, 1808
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Fairview, Kentucky, United States
Died: December 6

Jefferson Davis was the president of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865. He was also the U.S. secretary of war and had fought in the Mexican–American War earlier. He was against secession. He wrote an autobiography named The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government.

 2 
Robert Browning
(Poet & Playwright)
Robert Browning
9
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: May 7, 1812
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Camberwell
Died: December 12

Robert Browning was an English playwright and poet best remembered for his dramatic monologues. His monologues are widely studied around the world as most teachers consider them ideal examples of the monologue form. One of the most important Victorian poets, Browning has inspired several poets and playwrights. 

 3 
Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria
(Heir Apparent of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, Who Died by a Suicide Pact With His Mistress)
Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria
4
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: August 21, 1858
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Laxenburg castles, Austria
Died: January 30

Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria was heir apparent to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The only son of Elisabeth in Bavaria and Emperor Franz Joseph I, Rudolf died at the age of 30 at the Mayerling hunting lodge in an assumed suicide pact with his lover Mary Vetsera. The incident has inspired several works of art, such as cinema.

 4 
James Prescott Joule
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: December 24, 1818
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Salford, Lancashire, England, UK
Died: October 11

English physicist, and mathematician, James Prescott Joule primarily worked on the nature of heat, in course of which he established that all forms of energy are fundamentally same and therefore inter-convertible. His findings resulted in the development of the first law of thermodynamics and negation of calorie theory. The SI derived unit of energy, the joule, is named after him.

 5 
Antonio Meucci
(Inventor of voice-communication apparatus)
Antonio Meucci
3
Birthdate: April 13, 1808
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Florence
Died: October 18
Italian inventor Antonio Meucci was born into poverty and had to work part-time as a gate-keeper to support his studies. While working as a stage technician, he invented a pipe telephone. He later invented an electromagnetic telephone-like device, credited by many as the world’s first telephone. 
 6 
Mihai Eminescu
(The National Poet of Romania and a Major Figure of Romanticism)
Mihai Eminescu
6
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: January 15, 1850
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Botoșani, Romania
Died: June 15

Considered the national poet of Romania, Mihai Eminescu was a major figure of Romanticism in Romanian literature. Starting as an editor for the paper Timpul, he later penned iconic poems such as Luceafărul, or The Evening Star, and stories such as Sărmanul Dionis and Cezara. He, unfortunately, died in a mental asylum.

 7 
Wilkie Collins
(Novelist, Playwright)
Wilkie Collins
1
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: January 8, 1824
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: London
Died: September 23
 8 
Maria Mitchell
(Astronomer)
Maria Mitchell
5
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: August 1, 1818
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Nantucket
Died: June 28
Maria Mitchell was motivated by her amateur astronomer father to venture into astronomy, and he taught her to operate several astronomical instruments. She later grew up to be America’s first professional female astronomer and is best remembered for discovering the comet 1847 VI, also known as Miss Mitchell's Comet.
 9 
James Smith Bush
(Jurist, Writer, Lawyer, Priest, Politician)
James Smith Bush
3
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: June 15, 1825
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Rochester
Died: November 11

The progenitor of the Bush political family, James Smith Bush, was a jurist by training before he was drawn to divinity and ordained as a priest. He began his career as rector of the Grace Church in Orange, New Jersey. Later, he visited other parts of the country, writing several books on religion, most significant of them being Evidence of Religion.

 10 
Ion Creanga
(Romanian Author Who Was a Prominent Member of the Junimea Literary Society)
Ion Creanga
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: March 1, 1837
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Târgu Neamț, Moldavia
Died: December 31

Romanian author Ion Creanga is best remembered for his pioneering contribution to children’s literature, Childhood Memories. He was associated with the Romanian literary society Junimea and the realist art movement. He also enriched the folklore of Romania, drawing on the fairy tales of his land.

 11 
Lucy Webb Hayes
(American first lady)
Lucy Webb Hayes
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: August 28, 1831
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Chillicothe, Ohio , United States
Died: June 25
 12 
Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel
(Princess)
Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel
3
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: July 25, 1797
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Rumpenheim Castle, Offenbach, Germany
Died: April 6
 13 
Laura Bridgman
(Educator)
Laura Bridgman
2
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: December 21, 1829
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Hanover, New Hampshire,United States
Died: May 24
 14 
Elvira Madigan
(Circus performer, best known today for her romantic relationship with the Swedish nobleman and cavalry officer Sixten Sparre)
Elvira Madigan
1
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: December 4, 1867
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Flensburg, Germany
Died: July 19
 15 
Gerard Manley Hopkins
(Poet, Writer)
Gerard Manley Hopkins
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: July 28, 1844
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: London
Died: June 8
 16 
John Ericsson
(Swedish-American Inventor)
John Ericsson
1
Birthdate: July 31, 1803
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Långbanshyttan, Värmland, Sweden
Died: March 8

Swedish-born American naval engineer and inventor John Ericsson is most remembered for designing and building the first armoured turret warship and developing the screw propeller. The warship – USS Monitor – is credited for keeping the Union (North) Navy stay protected during the American Civil War. His other inventions include the torpedo technology and solar machine.

 17 
Jan Ernst Matzeliger
(Surinamese-American Inventor)
Jan Ernst Matzeliger
0
Birthdate: September 15, 1852
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Paramaribo, Suriname
Died: August 24
 18 
Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin
(Novelist)
Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: January 27, 1826
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Spas-Ugol, Russia
Died: May 10
 19 
Alexandre Cabanel
(Former Painter, who painted historical, classical and religious subjects in the academic style)
Alexandre Cabanel
3
Birthdate: September 28, 1823
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Montpellier, France
Died: January 23
 20 
Father Damien
(Belgian Priest Known for His Missionary Work Among the Hawaiian Lepers)
Father Damien
2
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: January 3, 1840
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Tremelo, Belgium
Died: April 15

Father Damien was a Roman Catholic priest best remembered for his ministry, which he led for people with leprosy. He is credited with building schools and hospitals to benefit those in need. After caring for those in the leper colony for 11 years, Damien contracted leprosy and succumbed to the disease. He is referred to as a martyr of charity.   

 21 
Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada
(31st President of Mexico (1872 - 1876))
Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: April 24, 1823
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
Died: April 21

In spite of growing up as a poor orphan, who aspired to be a priest, Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada ended up completing a law degree and became a professor. He later stepped into politics and, as a Liberal leader, led Mexico as its 31st president.

 22 
John Archibald Campbell
(Associate Justice of the Supreme Court)
John Archibald Campbell
0
Listed In: Lawyers & Judges
Birthdate: June 24, 1811
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Washington, Georgia, United States
Died: March 12
 23 
Amy Levy
(Poet, Novelist, Essayist)
Amy Levy
1
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: November 10, 1861
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: London, Clapham
Died: September 10

New Woman novelist and poet Amy Levy made history when she became the second Jewish female student at Cambridge and the first Jewish female at Newnham College. Depressed since an early age, she eventually committed suicide by inhaling carbon monoxide. She is best remembered for her dramatic monologue Xantippe.

 24 
Peter Lalor
(Irish-Australian Rebel and Politician)
Peter Lalor
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: February 5, 1827
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Raheen, Ireland
Died: February 9
 25 
Veronica Micle
(Poet)
Veronica Micle
1
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: April 22, 1850
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Năsăud, Romania
Died: August 3
 26 
Nikolay Chernyshevsky
(Critic)
Nikolay Chernyshevsky
0
Birthdate: July 24, 1828
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Saratov, Russia
Died: October 29
 27 
Ignacy Domeyko
(Geologist)
Ignacy Domeyko
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: July 31, 1802
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Nesvizh
Died: January 23

Ignacy Domeyko was a Polish geologist, educator, and mineralogist. He is credited with founding one of Chile's oldest public universities, the University of Santiago, Chile (Usach). After the Polish–Russian War 1830–31, he settled in Chile where he made significant contributions to the study of Chile's geology, geography, and mineralogy. Ignacy Domeyko’s observations helped shape Chile's labor movement.

 28 
Maurice Sand
(Writer)
Maurice Sand
0
Birthdate: June 30, 1823
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: September 4
 29 
Giovanni Bottesini
(Composer)
Giovanni Bottesini
0
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: December 22, 1821
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Crema, Italy
Died: July 7
 30 
Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges
(French Historian)
Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges
1
Birthdate: March 18, 1830
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: September 12

Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges was a French historian who directed some excavations in Chios and wrote a historical account of the island. He studied at the French School in Athens and proceeded to have a brilliant academic career devoted to teaching and writing. He was elected a member of the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques in 1875.

 31 
Lozen
(Warrior)
Lozen
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: 1840 AD
Birthplace: United States
Died: June 17
 32 
Juan Montalvo
(Ecuadorian Essayist and Author)
Juan Montalvo
2
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: April 13, 1832
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Ambato, Ecuador
Died: January 17

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.

 33 
Jules Dupré
(Painter)
Jules Dupré
0
Birthdate: April 5, 1811
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Nantes, France
Died: October 6
 34 
Melville Reuben Bissell
(Entrepreneur)
Melville Reuben Bissell
1
Birthdate: September 25, 1843
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Hartwick, New York, United States
Died: March 15
 35 
Simon Cameron
(Politician)
Simon Cameron
0
Listed In: Business People
Birthdate: March 8, 1799
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Maytown, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: June 26
 36 
André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri
(Photographer)
André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri
0
Listed In: Photographers
Birthdate: March 28, 1819
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: October 4
 37 
Youssef Bey Karam
(Governor of Ehden (1846 - 1861))
Youssef Bey Karam
1
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: May 15, 1823
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Ehden, Ottoman Lebanon
Died: April 7

Youssef Bey Karam, considered one of the major pillars of Lebanese nationalism, not only participated in the 1860 civil war but also led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire. Well versed in languages such as French and Italian, the Lebanese Maronite had also been the governor of Ehden.

 38 
Charles III, Prince of Monaco
(Prince)
Charles III, Prince of Monaco
1
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: December 8, 1818
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: September 10
 39 
Franciscus Donders
(Dutch Ophthalmologist)
Franciscus Donders
0
Listed In: Physicians
Birthdate: May 27, 1818
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Tilburg, Netherlands
Died: March 24

Frans Cornelis Donders was a Dutch ophthalmologist who also served as a professor of physiology at Utrecht University. A respected and internationally acclaimed ophthalmologist, Donders directed the Netherlands Hospital for Eye Patients for many years. Frans Cornelis Donders was also one of the three main founders of scientific ophthalmology along with Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz and Graefe.

 40 
Theodore Dwight Woolsey
(Author)
Theodore Dwight Woolsey
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: October 31, 1801
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
Died: July 1
 41 
George H. Pendleton
(Politician)
George H. Pendleton
2
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: July 19, 1825
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Died: November 24
 42 
Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam
(Writer)
Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: November 7, 1838
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Saint-Brieuc, France
Died: August 19

Part of the symbolist movement, French author Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam is best remembered for his drama Axël and his short story collection Cruel Tales. His works often dealt with themes of horror and sadism. He spent all his life in poverty and married his mistress on his deathbed.

 43 
Dmitry Tolstoy
(Statesman)
Dmitry Tolstoy
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: March 13, 1823
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Died: May 7
 44 
Benjamin Day
(Newspaper Publisher)
Benjamin Day
1
Birthdate: April 10, 1810
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Springfield, Massachusetts, United States
Died: December 21
 45 
Shishunala Sharif
(Indian Poet and Philosopher)
Shishunala Sharif
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: July 3, 1819
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Shishuvinahala, Karnataka, India
Died: March 7
 46 
Kawanabe Kyōsai
(Japanese Artist)
Kawanabe Kyōsai
0
Birthdate: May 18, 1831
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Koga, Ibaraki, Japan
Died: April 26

Also known as The Painting Demon, caricaturist and painter Kawanabe Kyōsai is credited with creating what is now known as the first manga magazine, Eshinbun Nipponchi. His works were largely inspired by Japanese folklore and culture. He was often arrested by the shogunate for his rebellious works.

 47 
Horatius Bonar
(Scottish Poet and Priest)
Horatius Bonar
1
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: December 19, 1808
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Edinburgh, Scotland
Died: July 31

Horatius Bonar was a Scottish poet and churchman. In addition to being a highly popular and voluminous author, Bonar also played a major role in the development of the Church of Scotland. Also a prodigious hymnodist, Horatius Bonar wrote several hymns that became popular throughout the English-speaking world. 

 48 
Charles Leroux
(Balloonist)
Charles Leroux
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: October 31, 1856
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Waterbury, Connecticut, United States
Died: September 12
 49 
Martin Farquhar Tupper
(Poet, Writer)
Martin Farquhar Tupper
1
Listed In:
Birthdate: July 17, 1810
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Greater London
Died: November 1
 50 
Robert Hamerling
(Austrian Poet)
Robert Hamerling
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: March 24, 1830
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Kirchberg am Walde, Austria
Died: July 13

Robert Hamerling was born into poverty but secured a place at the University of Vienna with financial assistance from people who were impressed by his talent in poetry. He is best remembered for his poems such as A Swan Song of the Romantic and Ahasuerus in Rome.