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25 Most Famous People from The 1800s

Originally published by  Charity K on March 2023 and Updated by Beatrice J on March 2024

History is made rich by some people who overcame remarkable milestones in the world. Abraham Lincoln was among such who modernized the US economy. Further, he supported the Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution which abolished the slave trade. 

The Nobel Prize winner in Physics, Albert Einstein influenced Physics by developing the theory of relativity and his contribution to quantum mechanics became famous in his time. Hellen Keller, an American author, disability rights advocate, and political activist founded the American Foundation for the Blind making a world record. Others were Marie Curie, the Nobel prize winner for pioneering research on radioactivity. Nikola Tesla the inventor of the modern alternating-current electricity supply systems

1. Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln In Color.png Photo by IceKoldKube – Wikimedia Commons

He was born on February 12, 1809, he was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman. Lincoln served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He led the Union through the American Civil War and succeeded in abolishing slavery, modernizing the U.S. economy, and bolstering the federal government. Abraham strongly supported the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which upon its formalization, it abolished slavery.

Abraham is remembered as a national hero for his wartime leadership and efforts to preserve the Union and abolish slavery. He is often ranked in both popular and scholarly polls as the greatest president in American history.

Read more about why Abraham Lincoln was famous here.

2. Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein Head.jpg Photo by Photograph by Orren Jack Turner, Princeton, N.J. Modified with Photoshop by PM_Poon and later by Dantadd. –

The German physicist was born on March 14, 1879, he was widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. He is known for developing the theory of relativity and also for important contributions to quantum mechanics are the two pillars of modern physics. Albert received numerous awards and honors for example he was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Read more about Albert Einstein here.

3. Charles Darwin

Charles was born on February 12, 1809, he was an English naturalist, biologist, and geologist. He is widely remembered for his contributions to evolutionary biology. Charles’ proposition that all species of life have descended from a common ancestor is now generally accepted as a fundamental concept in science. Charles introduced his scientific pattern of evolution resulted from a process he called natural selection.

Scholars describe him as one of the most influential figures in human history and have been honored by burial in Westminster Abbey. His work established evolutionary descent with modification.

4. Charles Dickens

Famous writer Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on February 7, 1812. He is known for creating some of the world’s best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed popularity during his lifetime up until the 20th century. Scholars recognized him as a literary genius. 

His work was published in well over a dozen major novels and novellas including a number of Christmas-themed stories, several non-fiction books, and a handful of plays. Festivals and museums celebrate his life and work some of these include the Charles Dickens Museum in London, the Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum in Portsmouth, and many more.

5. Charlie Chaplin

Sir Charles Spencer KBE was born on April 16, 1889, he was an English comic actor, composer, and filmmaker. He rose to fame in the era of silent film and became a worldwide icon through this screen persona. He was considered one of the film industry’s most important figures. Charlie wrote, produced, directed, edited, and starred in most of his films. He was noted as a perfectionist, his financial independence enabled him to spend years on the development and production of a picture.

In the 1975 New Year Honors, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He was also awarded honorary Doctor of Letters degrees by the University of Oxford and the University of Durham in 1962. In 1972, Charlie was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. These were only some of the many awards and honors he received over the years.

6. Harriet Tubman

American abolitionist and social activist Armainta Ross also known as Harriet Tubman was born on March 1822. Harriet is known for escaping and rescuing 70 enslaved people including her family and friends. She saved them through the Underground Railroad which was a network of antislavery activists and safe houses. Years later, she became an activist in the movement for women’s suffrage.

Harriet is the subject of artworks like songs, novels, sculptures, movies, paintings, and theatrical productions. For her bravery, she was honored and awarded in various ways for example, she was inducted into the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame, the National Women’s Hall of Fame, and the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.

7. Helen Keller

Helen Keller circa 1920 – restored.jpg Photo by Los Angeles Times; restored by User:Rhododendrites –

Born on June 27, 1880, Helen was an American author, political activist, disability rights advocate, and lecturer. During her time at the American Foundation for the Blind, she toured the United States and traveled to 35 countries around the globe advocating for those with vision loss. She wrote 14 books and hundreds of speeches and essays on topics ranging from animals to Mahatma Gandhi. 

Helen campaigned for those with disabilities, labor rights, world peace, and women’s suffrage. In 1971, she was inducted into the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame.

8. Marie Curie

Marie Curie c1920.jpg Photo by Henri Manuel –

Polish and naturalized-French physicist Maria Salomea was born on November 7, 1867. She was a physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. Marie is remembered as the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and the only person to win a Nobel in two scientific fields. Her husband, Pierre Curie was a co-winner of her first Nobel Prize, this made them the first-ever married couple to win the Nobel. She received numerous honorary degrees from universities across the world.

9. Nikola Tesla

This famous inventor was born on July 10, 1856. He was a Serbian-American electrical engineer, futurist, mechanical engineer, and inventor who is best known for his contributions to the design of modern alternating-current electricity supply systems. For his great addition to society, there were multiple things that were named after him including the Nikola Tesla Award, the Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, the Nikola Tesla Museum Archive in Belgrade, and the popular Tesla, Inc.

At Niagara Falls, New York, a monument to Tesla was established. In 2001, a commemorative plaque honoring Nikola Tesla was installed, and in 2013, a monument of Tesla was unveiled in Baku. Presidents Tomislav Nikolic and Ilham Aliyev attended a ceremony of unveiling.

10. Pablo Picasso

Portrait de Picasso, 1908.jpg Photo by Anonymous –

He was born on October 25, 1881, he was a Spanish sculptor, painter, ceramicist, printmaker, and theatre designer who spent most of his life in France. He is known as one of the most influential artists and was known for co-founding the Cubist movement. Several of his paintings ranked among the most expensive paintings in the world. Most of his paintings sold for US $95.2 million, $106.5 million, and $104 million.

Picasso was the first artist to receive a special honor exhibition at the Grand Gallery of the Louvre Museum in Paris. At the time of his death, most of his paintings were in his possession. He also had a considerable collection of the work of other famous artists such as Henri Matisse.

11. Theodore Roosevelt

President Roosevelt – Pach Bros (cropped).jpg Photo by Pach Bros. –

Often referred to by his initials Teddy or T.R. was an American politician born on October 27, 1858. He was also a statesman, soldier, writer, conservationist, historian, and naturalist. Theodore served as the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. He is noted as the youngest person to become president of the United States. 

Theodore established forests, national parks, and monuments to preserve the nation’s natural resources. His successful efforts to broker the end of the Russo-Japanese War won him the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize. Roosevelt was included with President George Wahington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln at the Mount Rushmore Memorial which was designed in 1927. 

There is more about the fame of Theodore Roosevelt here.

12. Thomas Edison

He was born on February 11, 1847, and he was an American inventor and businessman. Thomas developed many devices in fields such as mass communication, electric power generation, motion pictures, and sound recording. Thomas was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of organized science and teamwork, which helps with the process of the invention. 

Thomas was honored with a lot of awards during his career and even after his death. In 1887, he won the Matteucci Medal and he was later elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science, in 1899, he was awarded the Edward Longstreth Medal of The Franklin Institute. In 1904, he was named an Honorable Consulting Engineer at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World’s fair.

13. Ulysses S. Grant

Grant was born on April 27, 1822, he was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. He was an effective civil rights executive who signed the bill that created the Justice Department. In 1865, he led the Union Army to victory as Commanding General and thereafter served as secretary of war. He worked hand in hand with Radical Republicans to protect African Americans during Reconstruction.

14. Vincent van Gogh

Vincent was born on March 30, 1853, he was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. He created 2,100 artworks and around 860 oil paintings in the last two years of his life. They include still lifes, landscapes, self-portraits, and portraits. His works during this time are characterized by bold colors and dramatic brushwork that contributed to the foundations of modern art.

In 1973, the Van Gogh Museum opened in the Museumplein in Amsterdam. It became the second most popular museum in the Netherlands and receives more than 1.5 million visitors a year. In 2015, it was noted that the museum had a record of 1.9 million, and 85% of the visitors come from other countries.

15. Winston Churchill

Born on November 30, 1874, he was a British statesman, writer, and soldier who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice. From 1900 to 1964, he was a Member of Parliament and represented a total of five constituencies. He was economic liberal and imperialist for most of his career and was also a member of the Conservative Party. 

Winston was considered one of the most significant figures and is seen as a victorious wartime leader who played an important role in defending Europe’s liberal democracy. In 1973, his statue in Parliament Square was unveiled by his widow Clementine. The United States Naby honored him in 1999 by naming a new Arleigh Burke-class destroyer the USS Winston S. Churchill.

16.Elijah McCoy 

Elijah McCoy, born in Canada to parents who had escaped slavery in the United States, became a prominent African-Canadian inventor and engineer. His most notable contribution was the invention of the automatic lubricator for steam engines, patented in 1872.

McCoy’s invention significantly improved the efficiency and reliability of steam engines by automatically applying oil to critical parts. His innovative work earned him the reputation for producing high-quality machinery, and his invention had a profound impact on the industrial revolution, making machinery more efficient and durable.

17.Alexander Graham Bell 

Alexander Graham Bell, a Scottish-born inventor and scientist, is best known for inventing the telephone. Patented in 1876, the telephone revolutionized communication by enabling voice transmission over long distances.

Bell’s work extended beyond the telephone, and he made significant contributions to fields such as aviation and education for the deaf. His impact on the communication landscape is immeasurable, as the telephone laid the foundation for modern telecommunications systems.

18.Sojourner Truth 

Sojourner Truth, born into slavery in New York, became a prominent abolitionist and women’s rights activist. Best known for her powerful “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech delivered in 1851, Truth advocated for the rights of both enslaved African Americans and women.

Her compelling speeches and personal narratives contributed significantly to the abolitionist movement, and she played a crucial role in promoting equal rights and justice for marginalized groups.

19.Elizabeth Fry

Elizabeth Fry, an English Quaker and social reformer, is renowned for her pioneering work in prison reform and advocacy for the humane treatment of prisoners. In the early 19th century, Fry implemented reforms in British prisons, emphasizing education, hygiene, and rehabilitation.

Her efforts led to lasting improvements in the conditions of prisons and the treatment of inmates, laying the groundwork for subsequent penal reforms.

20.Elizabeth Cady Stanton 

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a leading figure in the American women’s suffrage movement during the 19th century. She, along with Susan B. Anthony, played a pivotal role in organizing the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, where the Declaration of Sentiments was drafted, advocating for women’s rights.

Stanton’s tireless efforts and advocacy were instrumental in the eventual passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, granting women the right to vote in the United States.

21.Mark Twain 

Mark Twain, the pen name of Samuel Clemens, was an American author and humorist. Renowned for his literary contributions, including “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” Twain is considered one of the greatest American writers.

His works often provided social commentary on the issues of his time, including racism and inequality, and his humor and wit left an enduring mark on American literature.

22.Clara Barton 

Clara Barton, a pioneering American nurse and humanitarian, is best known for her role as the founder of the American Red Cross. During the Civil War, Barton provided essential medical care to wounded soldiers on the front lines, earning her the nickname “Angel of the Battlefield.”

Her dedication to humanitarian work continued after the war, leading to the establishment of the American Red Cross in 1881, an organization that remains a vital force in disaster relief and blood donation.

23.John D. Rockefeller 

John D. Rockefeller was an American business magnate and philanthropist who played a pivotal role in the development of the American petroleum industry. As the founder of Standard Oil, Rockefeller became one of the wealthiest individuals in history.

While his business practices were controversial, leading to the eventual breakup of Standard Oil, Rockefeller’s later philanthropic endeavors, such as establishing the Rockefeller Foundation, left a lasting positive impact on education, public health, and scientific research.

24.Queen Victoria 

Queen Victoria, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, ascended to the throne in 1837 and played a crucial role in shaping the Victorian era. Her reign witnessed significant social, economic, and industrial changes in the United Kingdom.

Victoria’s influence extended to the British Empire, and her support for constitutional monarchy and cultural interests had a profound impact on the perception of the monarchy during her time.

25.Jane Austen 

Though Jane Austen‘s most significant works were published in the early 19th century, her impact on English literature endures. Austen, an English novelist, is celebrated for her novels, including “Pride and Prejudice,” “Sense and Sensibility,” and “Emma.”

Her novels explored the social norms and relationships of the British landed gentry, offering keen observations on class, marriage, and morality. Austen’s wit, insight, and enduring popularity make her one of the most revered authors in the literary canon.

For more information about famous people in the early centuries, click here.