Explore 785 historical events from 1850–1859.
Sir Henry Rider Haggard was an English writer of adventure fiction romances set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the lost world literary genre. He was al…
Henry Rider Haggard, English novelist (died 1925)
Henry Chapman Mercer was an American archeologist, artifact collector and tile-maker, who was the designer of three distinctive poured concrete structures: Fonthill, his home; the …
Henry Chapman Mercer, American archaeologist and author (died 1930)
George Howard Earle Jr. was an American lawyer and businessman from Philadelphia who worked as a receiver and rescued multiple businesses from financial hardship. He was a politica…
George Howard Earle, Jr., American lawyer and businessman (died 1928)
John Verran was an Australian politician and trade unionist. He served as premier of South Australia from 1910 to 1912, the second member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) to hol…
John Verran, English-Australian politician, 26th Premier of South Australia (died 1932)
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American engineer, futurist, and inventor. He is known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply syst…
Nikola Tesla, Serbian-American electrical and mechanical engineer (died 1943)
Octave Hamelin was a French philosopher.
Octave Hamelin, French philosopher (died 1907)
Bal Gangadhar Tilak, was an Indian nationalist and self-rule activist in the Indian independence movement. He was one third of the Lal Bal Pal triumvirate. The honorific "Lokmanya"…
Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Indian lawyer and journalist (died 1920)
Charles Émile Picard was a French mathematician. He was elected the fifteenth member to occupy seat 1 of the Académie française in 1924.
Émile Picard, French mathematician and academic (died 1941)
George Bernard Shaw, known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and poli…
George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1950)
George Coulthard was an Australian cricketer, umpire and Australian rules footballer.
George Coulthard, Australian footballer and cricketer (died 1883)
Alfred Deakin was an Australian politician who served as the second prime minister of Australia from 1903 to 1904, 1905 to 1908, and 1909 to 1910. He held office as the leader of t…
Alfred Deakin, Australian lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Australia (died 1919)
Sir Thomas Anstey Guthrie was an English writer, most noted for his comic novel Vice Versa about a boarding-school boy and his father exchanging identities. His reputation was conf…
Thomas Anstey Guthrie, English journalist and author (died 1934)
William Willett was a British builder and a promoter of British Summer Time.
William Willett, English inventor, founded British Summer Time (died 1915)
James Buchanan Brady, also known as Diamond Jim Brady, was an American businessman, financier and philanthropist of the Gilded Age.
Diamond Jim Brady, American businessman and philanthropist (died 1917)
James Keir Hardie was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party, and was its first parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908.
Keir Hardie, Scottish politician and trade unionist (died 1915)
Aparicio Saravia da Rosa was a Uruguayan politician and military leader. He was a member of the Uruguayan National Party and was a revolutionary leader against the Uruguayan govern…
Aparicio Saravia, Uruguayan general and politician (died 1904)
Jakub Bart-Ćišinski, also known as Łužičan, Jakub Bart Kukowski, was a Sorbian poet, writer and playwright, translator of Czech, Polish, Italian and German literature. He produced …
Jakub Bart-Ćišinski, German poet and playwright (died 1909)
Medora de Vallombrosa, Marquise de Morès, was an American heiress who married Marquis de Morès.
Medora de Vallombrosa, Marquise de Morès, American heiress (died 1921)
Asher Zvi Hirsch Ginsberg, primarily known by his Hebrew name and pen name Ahad Ha'am, was a Hebrew journalist and essayist, and one of the foremost pre-state Zionist thinkers. He …
Ahad Ha'am, Hebrew essayist and journalist and pre-state Zionist thinker (died 1927)
Clara Schønfeld was a Danish stage and film actress whose career spanned from the late 19th century through the 1920s.
Clara Schønfeld, Danish actress (died 1939)
Ivan Yakovych Franko PhD was a Ukrainian poet, writer, social and literary critic, journalist, translator, economist, political activist, ethnographer, and the author of the first …
Ivan Franko, Ukrainian author and poet (died 1916)
Carl David Tolmé Runge was a German mathematician, physicist, and spectroscopist.
Carl David Tolmé Runge, German mathematician, physicist, and spectroscopist (died 1927)
Sergei Nikolaevich Winogradsky (Russian: Сергей Николаевич Виноградский; Ukrainian: Сергій Миколайович Виноградський; 13 September [O.S. 1 September] 1856 – 24 February 1953), also…
Sergei Winogradsky, Ukrainian-Russian microbiologist and ecologist (died 1953)
Sir John Bowser, Australian politician, was the 26th Premier of Victoria. He was born in London, the son of an army officer, and arrived in Melbourne as a child with his family. He…
John Bowser, English-Australian politician, 26th Premier of Victoria (died 1936)