Famous People Who Died In 1892

Walt Whitman was an American poet, journalist, and essayist. Also a humanist, Whitman played a crucial role in the shift between transcendentalism and realism. Often referred to as the father of free verse, Whitman is one of the most influential American poets of all time. Several decades after his death, Walt Whitman's poetry remains influential.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson was a British poet. One of the most famous British poets of all time, Tennyson served as the Poet Laureate during Queen Victoria's reign. His poetry, which is renowned for its powerful visual imagery, served as an important influence on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group of English poets and painters.

After losing his parents at 10, Louis Vuitton ran away to Paris, where he gained repute as a box-maker/packer, and was even hired by Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie de Montijo. He then founded the iconic French fashion and luxury goods brand Louis Vuitton, which now operates in 50 countries.

Charles Spurgeon was an English Particular Baptist preacher who was a powerful figure in the Reformed Baptist tradition. Hailed as the "Prince of Preachers", he was well respected by Christians of various denominations. He was pastor of the congregation of the New Park Street Chapel for almost four decades. He was the author of several books, sermons, and commentaries. 

German electrical engineer Werner von Siemens is remembered as a pioneer of the telegraph industry. The founder of Siemens also inspired the name to the SI unit of electrical conductance. He was part of the Prussian army and had begun his chemistry experiments while in prison for a minor crime.

Montgomery C. Meigs was an American civil engineer and US Army officer who played an important role during and after the Civil War, serving as Quartermaster General of the US Army. His work as Quartermaster General is widely regarded as an important factor in the Union victory in the Civil War. Meigs is also credited with masterminding Arlington National Cemetery.    

Olga Nikolaevna of Russia was the daughter of Charlotte of Prussia and Nicholas I of Russia. A member of the House of Romanov, Olga became the Kingdom of Württemberg's queen consort. She dedicated herself to social causes, including the issues surrounding the education of girls. She also played a major role in supporting and helping the disabled and wounded veterans.

A renowned poet and author from Northern Albania, Vaso Pasha was a key figure of the Rilindja movement, commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance. He was well-versed in multiple languages and had also worked at the British consulate in Shkodër and as the mutasarrif of Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate.

Ernest Renan was a French Semitic and Orientalist scholar. A multi-talented personality, Renan was also an expert of Semitic civilizations and languages, philologist, philosopher, historian of religion, critic, and biblical scholar. Ernest Renan is credited with writing pioneering and influential works on the origins of Christianity. Ernest Renan is also credited with writing the extremely popular book, Life of Jesus.

Born to a Polish rabbi, Ernestine Rose was much ahead of her times. As a teenager, she spoke up against the regressive Jewish customs that hindered women’s freedom. She later became a pioneering feminist and suffragist from her community and was also inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

Thomas Neill Cream, or the Lambeth Poisoner, was a Scottish-Canadian doctor who offered illegal abortions to sex workers in Chicago. He was later executing for poisoning scores of women and blackmailing others for their murders. It is believed he had claimed to be Jack the Ripper just before his execution.

Eduard Schnitzer, or Emin Pasha, was born into a German Jewish family in modern-day Poland. A qualified physician, he moved to Constantinople after being disqualified in Germany. He not only served the Ottoman rulers but also surveyed and explored Africa extensively. He was eventually killed by Arab slave raiders.

Noted for his contributions in the fields of topology and algebra, Italian mathematician Enrico Betti also worked in the area of theoretical physics, particularly dealing with potential theory and elasticity. He discovered Betti's theorem and is perhaps best remembered for his 1871 paper on topology that led to the eventual naming of the Betti numbers after him.

One of the greatest ukiyo-e woodblock artists of Japan, Yoshitoshi depicted everything from folklore and kabuki subjects to ghost stories through his works. A student of Kuniyoshi, he suffered immense mental trauma during the Meiji Restoration. He later worked as Taiso but spent his final years in an asylum.

The 1st president of Brazil, Deodoro da Fonseca led a coup that ousted Emperor Pedro II. Born to an army officer, he grew up to be an army officer and fought valiantly in campaigns such as the Paraguayan War. However, as a president, he proved to be ineffective and was later forced to resign.

Jules Perrot was a French dancer and choreographer who served as the ballet master of the prestigious Imperial Russian Ballet. Perrot is credited with creating some of the 19th century's most popular ballets, such as La Esmeralda, Pas de Quatre, Giselle, and Ondine. During his illustrious career, Jules Perrot coached famous ballerinas like Carlotta Grisi and Fanny Cerrito.

Ernst Wilhelm von Brücke was a German physician and physiologist. He studied medicine at the University of Berlin. Together with Emil Du Bois-Reymond, Hermann von Helmholtz and others, he founded the Physikalische Gesellschaft (Physical Society) in Berlin. He had a successful academic career and is remembered for his research on the nature of cells and studies of albumin. 

Best remembered as the inventor of the Francis turbine, civil engineer James B. Francis initially helped build the Stonington Railway. At 22, he became the chief engineer of Proprietors of the Locks and Canals on the Merrimack River, and stayed with it for 40 years, as a prominent waterpower engineer.

Best known for his designs of picturesque country houses, Alexander Jackson Davis developed the mid-19th-century carpenter Gothic style. A school drop-out, he became a lithographer before becoming an architect. He also pioneered the Davisean windows. His Gothic Revival-style structures included the Whitby Castle and the Virginia Military Institute.