Famous People Who Died In 1897

Effie Gray was a Scottish painter. She was married to draughtsman and watercolorist, John Ruskin, before leaving him to marry John Everett Millais. This popular love triangle has been depicted in several plays and films, including the 1912 silent movie, The Love of John Ruskin. After marrying Millais, Effie Gray had a major influence on his works.

Alphonse Daudet was a French novelist whose books are still widely read in France. He often collaborated with his wife Julia Daudet, a famous writer, poet, and journalist. Today, several schools and colleges in France are named in his honor.

Henry George was a political economist and journalist. His work was very popular during the Progressive Era and sparked many reform movements. The economic philosophy known as Georgism is inspired by him. His book Progress and Poverty, considered his magnum opus, sold millions of copies worldwide. He was a vocal advocate for women's political rights. 

Karl Weierstrass was a German mathematician best remembered for his significant contributions to mathematics. Often referred to as the father of modern analysis, Weierstrass proved the Bolzano-Weierstrass theorem and the intermediate value theorem. He also authorized the definition of continuous function. The asteroid 14100 Weierstrass and the lunar crater Weierstrass are named after him.

One of his parents’ 10 children, George Pullman initially took over his father’s carpentry business and secured contracts with New York for the Erie Canal project. The founder of the Pullman sleeping car and a company town, Pullam was criticized for using the military to violently end the 1894 Pullman Strike.

Minna Canth was a Finnish social activist and writer best remembered for her plays, The Pastor's Family and The Worker's Wife. Among her plays, Anna-Liisa has been adapted into films and operas for the most number of times. Minna Canth, who was ahead of her time, addressed issues of women's rights in her work.

Royal Engineers army officer John Chard was one of the 11 men to receive the Victoria Cross for defeating a Zulu army of 4,000 warriors at the battle of Rorke's Drift, with a British army of 135. His handwritten account of the war was later auctioned off for £175,000.

Khurshidbanu Natavan was an Azerbaijani poet and philanthropist. Regarded as one of the most prominent lyrical poets of Azerbaijan, Natavan was best known for her lyrical ghazals. Also a well-known philanthropist, Khurshidbanu Natavan worked towards promoting the cultural and social development of Karabakh. She is credited with building an aqueduct, which relieved the townsfolk of their water problem.

Swiss cultural historian and historiographer Jacob Burckhardt is best remembered for his work on the history of Italian Renaissance, Die Kultur der Renaissance in Italien. Born to a Protestant clergyman, he initially studied theology but later switched to history. He was associated with the University of Basel for most of his life.

Ion Ghica was a Romanian mathematician, statesman, politician, and diplomat. He is best remembered for his service as the Prime Minister of Romania. Ion Ghica is also remembered for his association with Academia Mihăileană, where he served as a professor of mineralogy, geology, and political economy.

Galileo Ferraris was an Italian university professor, physicist, and electrical engineer. He was one of the pioneers of AC power system. He is also credited to be the inventor of the three-phase induction motor although he never patented his work. He worked at the Italian Industrial Institution and later at the Italian Electrotechnical Association.

Polish poet and dramatist Adam Asnyk initially studied medicine but was later exiled for his political activities. He was part of the revolutionary government in Poland and fled following the unsuccessful insurrection. He joined the Positivist school and penned everything from sonnets, erotic poems, tragedies, and comedies.

While he initially studied law, Antonio Cánovas del Castillo showed a marked interest in history and politics, too. The six-time prime minister of Spain led the Conservative Party. As a historian, he had penned works such as History of the Decline of Spain. He was assassinated by an Italian anarchist.

Marcus Jacob Monrad was a 19th-century Norwegian philosopher. He graduated as Candidatus theologiæ in 1840 and later became a professor at the Royal Frederick University. In a long academic career spanning four decades, he published three textbooks that became extremely popular. He took an active part in contemporary debates and was an influential personality.   

German botanist Julius von Sachs is remembered for his contribution to the development of experimental plant physiology. He also conducted significant studies on areas such as transpiration of water. He was the chair of botany at the University of Freiburg-im-Breisgau and a professor of botany at the University of Würzburg.

Jamal al-Din al-Afghani was an Islamic ideologist and political activist who traveled across the Muslim world in late-19th century. A fierce advocate of Hindu–Muslim unity in India and Pan-Islamic unity in Europe, Al-Afghani is credited with co-founding Islamic Modernism. Many educational institutions, hospitals, and roads in Afghanistan are named in his honor.