Famous People Who Died In 1906

Susan B. Anthony's vital role in the women's suffrage movement changed the course of history. She led one of the two national suffrage organizations, which later became the National American Woman Suffrage Association, with Susan as its leading force. She also played an instrumental role in publishing The Revolution, a women's rights newspaper.

A pioneer in crystallography, radioactivity, piezoelectricity, and magnetism, Pierre Curie was a French physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics along with Henri Becquerel and Marie Curie. Despite being an atheist, Pierre Curie was fascinated by spiritualism as he believed that spiritual questions deal with physics. 

French artist Paul Cézanne was a prominent Post-Impressionist painter and influenced much of the early-20th-century movement known as Cubism. Some of his notable works include The Card Players, The Bathers, and Pyramid of Skulls. He experimented with water colors and had created a host of still-life paintings.

Henrik Ibsen was a Norwegian theatre director and playwright. One of the most influential and popular playwrights of his generation, Ibsen is credited with co-founding modernism in theatre, for which he is often called the father of realism. After William Shakespeare, Henrik Ibsen is the world's most often performed dramatist. His works have influenced other playwrights like George Bernard Shaw.

Austrian physicist and philosopher, Ludwig Boltzmann, played a key role in the development of statistical mechanics. As a young man, he was appointed a professor of mathematical physics at the University of Graz. He worked extensively with other physicists over the course of his brilliant academic career. He suffered from bipolar disorder and died by suicide in 1906. 

Stanford White was an American architect who designed several important monuments including the Washington Square Arch. He also helped construct Nikola Tesla's Wardenclyffe Tower, which happens to be his last design. Although White was an influential and prominent designer of his time, he is best remembered for his illicit relationship with Evelyn Nesbit which has inspired several works of art.

One of the greatest Indian painters of all time, Raja Ravi Varma is best remembered for mixing Indian mythological subjects with the Western historicist style of art. His painting skills made the king of Travancore his patron at 14. His best-known works include The Milkmaid and The Begum’s Bath.

James A. Bailey was an American impresario and circus ringmaster. He is credited with co-founding one of the greatest circus companies of all time, Barnum and Bailey's Circus. A year after his death, his widow sold the circus to the Ringling brothers, resulting in the formation of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Renowned Victorian-era feminist and social reformer Josephine Butler was a champion for women’s suffrage and also fought against human trafficking. It is believed, she devoted herself to charity after the death of her 6-year-old daughter. She also forced Cambridge to encourage women’s education, which culminated in the Newnham women’s college.

Alexander Stepanovich Popov was a Russian physicist best remembered for his pioneering work in transmitting radio signals. One of the first inventors to come up with a radio receiving device, Popov's work was contemporaneous with the groundbreaking work of Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi. Popov's life and career inspired the 1949 biographical film Alexander Popov which was directed by Herbert Rappaport.

Astrophysicist Samuel Pierpont Langley had worked as an engineer before he taught physics and astronomy at the Western University of Pennsylvania. He later took over as the director of the Allegheny Observatory. He is best remembered for his research on solar radiation and for inventing the bolometer.

Makonnen Wolde Mikael served as Shum of Harar from 1887 to 1906 under Ethiopian monarchs Yohannes IV and Menelik II. The governor of Harar province and a military leader, Mikael is best-remembered for his role as an effective general during various military-campaigns, most notably during First Italo–Ethiopian War when he played a key role at the Battle of Adwa.

Spanish baritone singer and voice educator Manuel García was the son of legendary opera singer Manuel del Popolo Vicente García. He started his career with his father’s production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. He invented the laryngoscope and penned the classic Complete Treatise on the Art of Singing.

Bartolomé Mitre was an Argentine soldier, statesman, and author. He is best remembered for his service as the President of Argentina from 12 October 1862 to 12 October 1868. A major political figure that best characterized liberalism in 19th century Argentina, Bartolomé Mitre was also a historian, journalist, writer, and poet.

One of the earliest Skagen painters, Norwegian artist Frits Thaulow was a pioneering figure of Impressionist painting in Norway. Best remembered for his marine landscape painting, he later received the French Legion of Honor. Picquigny, Ambiance Du Soir, and Dordrecht remain some of his best-known works.

Élie Ducommun was a Swiss peace activist best remembered for winning the 1902 Nobel Peace Prize. He is credited with founding the League of Peace and Freedom in 1867. In 1891, he was chosen to serve as the director of the first non-governmental international peace organization, International Peace Office. Élie Ducommun served in this position until his death in 1906.

Known as Haiti’s Shakespeare, Oswald Durand was an iconic Haitian literary figure who is also considered Haiti’s national poet. Mostly a romantic poet, he had been a journalist and politician, too. He was also made the president of the Chamber of Deputies. Choucoune remains one of his best-known works.

Tom Cooper was an American cyclist best remembered for his rivalry with Major Taylor. In 1898, he played a major role in the creation of the American Racing Cyclists Union. Tom Cooper was also an early automobile racing driver whose work with Henry Ford resulted in two high-speed race cars.

Christian IX of Denmark was King of Denmark from 1863 to 1906, having claimed the throne following the death of King Frederick VII. During his early reign, the Danish saw defeat in the Second Schleswig War and lost several duchies. Recovering from a tumultuous start, he reigned over his nation for several years and was respected by his people.

Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi was an American teacher, medical physician, scientist, suffragist, and writer. The first female student to study medicine at Sorbonne, Jacobi is best remembered for campaigning for women's rights to medical education throughout her life. Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi provided scientific evidence against the popular belief that menstruation made women ill-suited to education. 

Carl Schurz was a German-born American statesman, reformer, and journalist. After immigrating to the USA during the German revolutions of 1848–49, Schurz became an important member of the Republican Party. He also helped found the Liberal Republican Party which was organized to oppose the reelection of Ulysses S. Grant.  

Richard Seddon was a New Zealand politician best remembered for his service as the 15th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 27 April 1893 until his death on 10 June 1906. Seddon is the longest-serving premier in the history of New Zealand. He is considered one of the greatest, most widely known, and most influential politicians in New Zealand history.

Oscar Levertin was one of the finest poets and literary historians of his country and one of most prominent figures of the Swedish Romantic movement. His best-known works include Kung Salomo och Morolf and the short-story volume Rococonoveller. He was also the University of Stockholm’s first chair of literary history.