Famous 19th Century Educators

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 1 
Savitribai Phule
(Social Reformer, Poet)
Savitribai Phule
23
Birthdate: January 3, 1831
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Naigaon, British India (now in Satara district, Maharashtra)
Died: March 10, 1887

Savitribai Phule was a revolutionary social reformer who dedicated her life to educate girls and bring about gender equality in the face of resistance from the conservative Indian society. Phule, who was illiterate till her marriage, went on to become a teacher, a feat considered first by an Indian woman. With her husband, she established schools for girls in Maharashtra.

 2 
Anne Sullivan
(Educator)
Anne Sullivan
22
Birthdate: April 14, 1866
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Agawam, Massachusetts, United States
Died: October 20, 1936
 3 
Maria Montessori
(Italian Educator and Founder of the 'Montessori Method of Education')
Maria Montessori
21
Birthdate: August 1, 1870
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Chiaravalle, Italy
Died: April 30, 1952

Maria Montessori was an Italian educator and physician best known for developing the Montessori method of education, a student-friendly method, which is being used in several public and private schools around the world. In 2020, she was nominated by Time magazine as one of their Top 100 Women of the year.

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 4 
James Naismith
(The Inventor of the Game of 'Basketball')
James Naismith
9
Birthdate: November 6, 1861
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Almonte, Mississippi Mills, Canada
Died: November 28, 1939
Canadian-American physician and coach James Naismith is considered as the inventor of basketball. He authored the first basksetball rule book and established the University of Kansas basketball team. He served as the Kansas Jayhawks athletic director and coach, and trained legends such as Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith.
 5 
Joshua Chamberlain
(Educator & War Hero)
Joshua Chamberlain
5
Birthdate: September 8, 1828
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Brewer
Died: February 24, 1914
 6 
Friedrich Froebel
(Pedagogue)
Friedrich Froebel
7
Birthdate: April 21, 1782
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Oberweißbach, Germany
Died: June 21, 1852
 7 
Mary McLeod Bethune
(American Civil Rights Activist and Founder of the 'National Council of Negro Women')
Mary McLeod Bethune
5
Birthdate: July 10, 1875
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Mayesville, South Carolina, United States
Died: May 18, 1955

Mary McLeod Bethune was an American civil rights activist, educator, womanist, humanitarian, and philanthropist. She is credited with founding the National Council of Negro Women. Bethune also played a key role in the creation of the Black Cabinet while serving as an adviser to Franklin Roosevelt. In 1973, Bethune was made an indutee of the National Women's Hall of Fame.

 8 
Pierre de Coubertin
(Father of the Modern Olympic Games)
Pierre de Coubertin
7
Birthdate: January 1, 1863
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Paris
Died: September 2, 1937

Pierre de Coubertin was a French historian and educator. Credited with founding the International Olympic Committee, Coubertin is often referred to as the father of the modern Olympic Games. Also an important contributor to the sport of rugby union, Coubertin was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2007. 

 9 
Edward Thorndike
(Psychologist)
Edward Thorndike
4
Birthdate: August 31, 1874
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Williamsburg, Massachusetts, United States
Died: August 9, 1949
 10 
Anna Leonowens
(British Travel Writer, Educator, and Social Activist)
Anna Leonowens
6
Birthdate: November 5, 1834
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Ahmednagar, India
Died: January 19, 1915

Indian-born British author Anna Leonowens is best remembered for her memoir The English Governess at the Siamese Court, which related her experience as a governess of the children of King Mongkut of Siam. The musical The King and I and the novel Anna and the King of Siam were inspired by her life.

 11 
Deborah Sampson
(Military woman)
Deborah Sampson
4
Birthdate: December 17, 1760
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Plympton, Massachusetts, USA
Died: April 29, 1827
 12 
Daniel Hale Williams
4
Birthdate: January 18, 1856
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: August 4, 1931

Daniel Hale Williams was a general surgeon known for performing the first documented, successful pericardium surgery in the US in 1893. Born to interracial parents, he faced numerous struggles in his journey to become a physician. He later founded the first non-segregated hospital in the United States, Chicago's Provident Hospital. He also founded a nursing school for African Americans. 

 13 
Emma Willard
(American Women's Rights Activist)
Emma Willard
3
Birthdate: February 23, 1787
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Berlin, Connecticut, United States
Died: April 15, 1870
 14 
Mary Harris Jones
(Irish-born American Schoolteacher and Activist)
Mary Harris Jones
4
Birthdate: May 1, 1830
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Cork, Ireland
Died: November 30, 1930

After losing her husband and children in a yellow fever epidemic and her dress shop in the great Chicago fire, schoolteacher and dressmaker Mary Harris Jones became an activist, earning the nickname Mother Jones. A prominent unionist for coal miners and other workers, she also co-founded the Social Democratic Party.

 15 
W. C. Handy
(Composer)
W. C. Handy
6
Birthdate: November 16, 1873
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Florence, Alabama, United States
Died: March 28, 1958
 16 
Richard Allen
(American Clergyman Who was the First Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church)
Richard Allen
4
Birthdate: February 14, 1760
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: March 26, 1831

Born to slave parents, American clergyman Richard Allen became a Methodist convert at 22. He later founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church and served as its first bishop. Apart from establishing the first church for Blacks in the U.S., he worked on various aspects to improve the lives of Blacks.

 17 
Lillian Moller Gilbreth
4
Birthdate: May 24, 1878
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Oakland, California, United States
Died: January 2, 1972
 18 
Matthew Fontaine Maury
(American Astronomer, Oceanographer, Meteorologist, Geologist and Naval Officer)
Matthew Fontaine Maury
4
Birthdate: January 14, 1806
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Spotsylvania County, Virginia, United States
Died: February 1, 1873

American astronomer, naval officer, oceanographer and author Matthew Fontaine Maury, who first served the United States Navy and then the Confederacy States Navy, made significant contributions in oceanography. His book Physical Geography of the Sea is counted among the first comprehensive books on oceanography. Navies and merchant marines across the world adopted his uniform system of recording oceanographic data.

 19 
Katharine Drexel
(American Heiress, Philanthropist, Religious Sister, and Educator)
Katharine Drexel
4
Birthdate: November 26, 1858
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: March 3, 1955

Roman Catholic saint Katharine Drexel, the founder of Xavier University, was born to Philadelphia banker Francis Anthony Drexel and picked up he philanthropic habits from her father. In spite of inheriting a massive fortune, she devoted her life to building schools and churches for the racially underprivileged.

 20 
William G. Morgan
(American Educator and Inventor of Volleyball)
William G. Morgan
3
Birthdate: January 23, 1870
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Lockport, New York, United States
Died: December 27, 1942
 21 
Maggie Lena Draper Walker
(Entrepreneur)
Maggie Lena Draper Walker
3
Birthdate: July 15, 1864
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Died: December 15, 1934
 22 
Melvin Tolson
(Poet)
Melvin Tolson
3
Birthdate: February 6, 1898
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Moberly, Missouri, United States
Died: August 29, 1966
 23 
Alexander Glazunov
(Composer)
Alexander Glazunov
3
Birthdate: August 10, 1865
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died: March 21, 1936
 24 
Paul Dukas
(French Composer Best Known for the Orchestral Piece 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice')
Paul Dukas
3
Birthdate: October 1, 1865
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: May 17, 1935

Best known for his masterpiece The Sorcerer's Apprentice, French composer Paul Dukas was admired by both conservative and progressive French musicians. Born to a pianist mother, Dukas had begun composing while recovering from an ailment at age 14. Shortly before his death, he destroyed most of his manuscripts.

 25 
Alain LeRoy Locke
(American Writer and Philosophe)
Alain LeRoy Locke
3
Birthdate: September 13, 1886
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: June 9, 1954
 26 
Reginald Johnston
(Commissioner of Weihaiwei (1927–1930) ,Former diplomat who served as the tutor and advisor to Puyi, the last Emperor of China)
Reginald Johnston
3
Birthdate: October 13, 1874
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Edinburgh, Scotland
Died: March 6, 1938
 27 
Abdelhamid Ben Badis
(Educator)
Abdelhamid Ben Badis
3
Birthdate: December 4, 1889
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Constantine, Algeria
Died: April 16, 1940
 28 
Laura Spelman Rockefeller
5
Birthdate: September 9, 1839
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Wadsworth, Ohio, United States
Died: March 12, 1915
 29 
Halford Mackinder
(British Geographer, Academic and One of the Founding Fathers of Both 'Geopolitics' and 'Geostrategy')
Halford Mackinder
3
Birthdate: February 15, 1861
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Gainsborough, England
Died: March 6, 1947

Halford Mackinder was an English geographer, politician, and academic. He is considered one of the founding fathers of geostrategy as well as geopolitics. Mackinder’s work helped establish geography as a separate discipline in the UK. An influential academic, Halford Mackinder held important positions in popular universities, including the University Extension College and the London School of Economics.

 30 
Ōkawa Shūmei
(Writer)
Ōkawa Shūmei
3
Birthdate: December 6, 1886
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Yamagata, Japan
Died: December 24, 1957
 31 
Egerton Ryerson
(Educator, minister known for Championing free schooling in Canada, influence in the design of the Canadian Indian residential school system)
Egerton Ryerson
3
Birthdate: March 24, 1803
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Walsh, Canada
Died: February 19, 1882
 32 
Charlotte Mason
(British Educator & Reformer)
Charlotte Mason
3
Birthdate: January 1, 1842
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales
Died: January 16, 1923

Renowned educator of the 1800s, Charlotte Mason introduced a new way of teaching children, which included the use of books which engage the reader, or what she called “living books,” maintaining a nature journal, and using music and art as resources. She helped develop homeschooling techniques that are in use to this day.

 33 
Albert C. Barnes
(Chemist)
Albert C. Barnes
3
Birthdate: January 2, 1872
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: July 24, 1951
 34 
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet
(Educator)
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet
3
Birthdate: December 10, 1787
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
Died: September 10, 1851
 35 
Laura Bridgman
(Educator)
Laura Bridgman
3
Birthdate: December 21, 1829
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Hanover, New Hampshire,United States
Died: May 24, 1889
 36 
Rudolf Otto
(German Theologian and One of the Most Influential Scholars of Religion in the Early Twentieth Century)
Rudolf Otto
3
Birthdate: September 25, 1869
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Peine, Germany
Died: March 6, 1937

Initially a professor of theology, philosopher Rudolf Otto later contributed to some of the most significant works of theology, such as The Idea of the Holy. He was also a member of the Prussian Parliament and is remembered for his services to Christianity and his idea of numinous.

 37 
Zitkala-Sa
(Writer)
Zitkala-Sa
5
Birthdate: February 22, 1876
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Yankton Reservation, South Dakota, United States
Died: January 26, 1938
 38 
Sister Nivedita
(Irish Teacher, Author, Social Activist, School Founder and Disciple of 'Swami Vivekananda')
Sister Nivedita
5
Birthdate: October 28, 1867
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
Died: October 13, 1911

Born in Ireland, schoolteacher Margaret Elizabeth Noble met Indian spiritual leader Swami Vivekananda in London and, inspired by his ideals, went to Calcutta, where she was renamed Sister Nivedita and began following Brahmacharya. She not only founded a girls’ school in Kolkata but also worked for social upliftment of Indians.

 39 
Edmund Ignatius Rice
(Irish Catholic Missionary and Educationalist)
Edmund Ignatius Rice
3
Birthdate: June 1, 1762
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Callan, County Kilkenny, Ireland
Died: August 29, 1844
Irish businessman Edmund Ignatius Rice was a successful trader of livestock and other supplies. After his wife’s death, he devoted himself to several charitable causes, especially those related to the education and health of the poor. He later founded the Congregation of the Brothers of the Christian Schools of Ireland.
 40 
Septima Poinsette Clark
(Educator)
Septima Poinsette Clark
3
Birthdate: May 3, 1898
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Charleston, South Carolina
Died: December 15, 1987
 41 
Thomas MacDonagh
(Poet)
Thomas MacDonagh
3
Birthdate: February 1, 1878
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Cloughjordan, Ireland
Died: May 3, 1916

Born to schoolteacher parents, Thomas MacDonagh initially aspired to be a missionary. However, he later taught English and French, and then focused on writing. The author of plays such as When the Dawn Is Come, MacDonagh later joined the Irish Volunteers and led the Easter Rising before being executed by shooting.

 42 
Roscoe Pound
(Scholar)
Roscoe Pound
3
Birthdate: October 27, 1870
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
Died: June 30, 1964
 43 
Patty Hill
(Composer)
Patty Hill
3
Birthdate: March 27, 1868
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Anchorage, Kentucky, United States
Died: May 25, 1946
 44 
Edith Hamilton
(Educator)
Edith Hamilton
3
Birthdate: August 12, 1867
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Dresden, Saxony
Died: May 31, 1963
 45 
Henry Van Dyke
3
Birthdate: November 10, 1852
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Philadelphia
Died: April 10, 1933
 46 
Catharine Beecher
(Educator)
Catharine Beecher
3
Birthdate: September 6, 1800
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: East Hampton, New York, United States
Died: May 12, 1878
 47 
Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays
Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays
3
Birthdate: August 1, 1894
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: South Carolina
Died: March 28, 1984
 48 
Thomas Arnold
(Educator)
Thomas Arnold
4
Birthdate: June 13, 1795
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: East Cowes, England
Died: June 12, 1842
 49 
Nicolae Paulescu
(Romanian Scientist Known for His Research on 'Insulin' and His Anti-Semitic Writings)
Nicolae Paulescu
3
Birthdate: October 30, 1869
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Bucharest, Romania
Died: July 17, 1931

Known for his pathbreaking research on the hormone insulin, Romanian physiologist Nicolae Paulescu was also a professor of medicine. He had a tiff with the Nobel Prize committee on their decision to award two other scientists for the discovery of insulin. His anti-Semitic writings influenced the Iron Guard movement.

 50 
Dhondo Keshav Karve
(Social Reformer and Educator)
Dhondo Keshav Karve
3
Birthdate: April 18, 1858
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Ratnagiri
Died: November 9, 1962

Dhondo Keshav Karve was an Indian social reformer who worked for women's welfare in India. A pioneer in supporting widows' education, Karve also promoted widow remarriage. He also walked the talk by marrying a widow. Karve is credited with founding SNDT Women's University, India's first women's university. In 1958, he was honored with India’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna.