Explore 658 historical events from 1850–1859.
Matthias Zurbriggen (15 May 1856 in Saas-Fee – 21 June 1917 in Geneva) was a Swiss mountaineer. He climbed throughout the Alps, the Andes, the Himalayas and New Zealand.
Matthias Zurbriggen, Swiss mountaineer (died 1917)
Henri-Edmond Cross, born Henri-Edmond-Joseph Delacroix, was a French painter and printmaker. He is most acclaimed as a master of Neo-Impressionism and he played an important role i…
Henri-Edmond Cross, French Neo-Impressionist painter (died 1910)
José Pablo Torcuato Batlle y Ordóñez, nicknamed Don Pepe, was a prominent Uruguayan politician who served two terms as President of Uruguay for the Colorado Party. The son of a for…
José Batlle y Ordóñez, Uruguayan journalist and politician, President of Uruguay (died 1929)
Louis Félix Marie François Franchet d'Espèrey was a French general during World War I. In September 1914, as the new commander of the French 5th Army, he played a notable role in o…
Louis Franchet d'Espèrey, Algerian-French general (died 1942)
Andrey Andreyevich Markov was a Russian mathematician celebrated for his pioneering work in stochastic processes. He extended foundational results—such as the law of large numbers …
Andrey Markov, Russian mathematician and theorist (died 1922)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)