Explore 658 historical events from 1850–1859.
Sandford Spence Schultz, known in later life as Sandford Spence Storey, was an English cricketer, who played for Uppingham Rovers, Cambridge University, and Lancashire and played i…
Sandford Schultz, English cricketer (died 1937)
Zelia Maria Magdalena Nuttall was an American archaeologist and anthropologist who specialised in pre-Aztec Mexican cultures and pre-Columbian manuscripts. She discovered two forgo…
Zelia Nuttall, American archeologist and historian (died 1933)
Georg Michaelis was the imperial chancellor of the German Empire for a few months in 1917 during the First World War. He was the first commoner to hold the post, though the Supreme…
Georg Michaelis, German academic and politician, 6th Chancellor of Germany (died 1936)
Manuel Espinosa Batista was a Colombian pharmacist turned politician who campaigned for a separate Panama state and became one of "Founders of the Republic". He is known for his ph…
Manuel Espinosa Batista, Colombian pharmacist and politician (died 1919)
Michał Drzymała was a Polish peasant living in the Greater Poland region under Prussian rule.
Michał Drzymała, Polish rebel and activist (died 1937)
Milton Snavely Hershey was an American chocolatier, businessman, and philanthropist.
Milton S. Hershey, American businessman, founded The Hershey Company (died 1945)
Julia Barlow Platt was an American embryologist, politician and mayor.
Julia Platt, American embryologist and politician (died 1935)
William Howard Taft was the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have …
William Howard Taft, American lawyer, jurist, and politician, 27th President of the United States (died 1930)
Anna Winlock (1857–1904) was an American astronomer and human computer, one of the first members of female computer group known as "the Harvard Computers." She made the most comple…
Anna Winlock, American astronomer and academic (died 1904)
Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky was a Russian rocket scientist who pioneered astronautics. Along with Hermann Oberth and Robert H. Goddard, he is one of the pioneers of space f…
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Russian scientist and engineer (died 1935)
John Hessin Clarke was an American lawyer and judge who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1922.
John Hessin Clarke, American lawyer and judge (died 1945)
Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist. Along with his poetry, he is known for writing the autobiographical novel La Confession d'un enfan…
Alfred de Musset, French dramatist, poet, and novelist (born 1810)
Baron Augustin-Louis Cauchy was a French mathematician, engineer, and physicist. He was one of the first to rigorously state and prove the key theorems of calculus, pioneered the f…
Augustin-Louis Cauchy, French mathematician and academic (born 1789)
Douglas William Jerrold was an English dramatist, journalist, and writer, best known for his satirical wit, his socially critical essays, and his association with the early years o…
Douglas William Jerrold, English journalist and playwright (born 1803)
Alcide Charles Victor Marie Dessalines d'Orbigny was a French naturalist who made major contributions in many areas, including zoology, palaeontology, geology, archaeology and anth…
Alcide d'Orbigny, French zoologist and paleontologist (born 1802)
Carlo Pisacane, Duke of San Giovanni was an Italian patriot and one of the first Italian socialist thinkers. He was an early advocate of propaganda by deed, arguing that violence w…
Carlo Pisacane, Italian soldier and philosopher (born 1818)
William Learned Marcy was an American lawyer, politician, and judge who served as U.S. Senator, the eleventh Governor of New York, U.S. Secretary of War and the twenty-first U.S. S…
William L. Marcy, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 21st United States Secretary of State (born 1786)
Carl Czerny was an Austrian composer, music educator, and pianist of Czech origin. His music spanned the late Classical and early Romantic eras. His vast musical production amounte…
Carl Czerny, Austrian pianist and composer (born 1791)
Stefano Franscini was a Swiss politician and statistician. He was one of the initial members of the Swiss Federal Council elected in 1848 and Switzerland's first native Italian spe…
Stefano Franscini, Swiss statistician and politician (born 1796)
Reverend Thomas Dick, was a British church minister, science teacher and writer, known for his works on astronomy and practical philosophy, combining science and Christianity, and …
Thomas Dick, Scottish minister, astronomer, and author (born 1774)
Marie-Joseph "Eugène" Sue was a French novelist. He was one of several authors who popularized the genre of the serial novel in France with his very popular and widely imitated The…
Eugène Sue, French author and politician (born 1804)
Rufus Wilmot Griswold was an American anthologist, editor, poet, and critic. Born in Vermont, Griswold left home when he was 15 years old. He worked as a journalist, editor, and cr…
Rufus Wilmot Griswold, American anthologist, poet, and critic (born 1815)
John McLoughlin, baptized Jean-Baptiste McLoughlin, was a French-Canadian, later American, Chief Factor and Superintendent of the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company at F…
John McLoughlin, Canadian-American businessman (born 1784)
Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte was a French philosopher and writer who formulated the doctrine of positivism. He is often regarded as the first philosopher of science …
Auguste Comte, French sociologist and philosopher (born 1798)