Famous People Born In 1750

Antonio Salieri was an Italian classical composer, conductor, and teacher considered a key figure in the development of late 18th-century opera. He was a protégé of eminent composer Christoph Willibald Gluck. For several years, he served as the director of the Italian opera by the Habsburg court. His works were performed widely across Europe during his lifetime. 

Caroline Herschel was a German astronomer who is credited with the discovery of many comets, such as 35P/Herschel-Rigollet, which is named in her honor. In 1828, Herschel became the first woman to be honored with a Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society. She was also the first female scientist to receive a salary.

Starting his monastic life at 16, Russian Orthodox monk Saint Herman of Alaska later became a missionary to Alaska. He gained immense respect of the local people in Alaska and also ran a local school, where he taught church subjects and agriculture. He later moved to Spruce Island, where he eventually died.

Hugo Kołłątaj was a Polish educationalist and constitutional reformer who played a major role during the Polish Enlightenment. An influential social and political activist, Kołłątaj was one of the authors of the Constitution of 3 May 1791, which aimed at implementing a constitutional monarchy. Hugo Kołłątaj's work also influenced many subsequent reformers.

Leonor de Almeida Portugal, Marquise of Alorna was a Portuguese noblewoman, poet, and painter. One of the best known exponents of the Portuguese Neoclassic and Neoclassicism, Leonor was recognized as one of Europe's most prominent literary figures at the time. 

Lady Anne Barnard was a Scottish socialite, artist, and travel writer. She is best remembered for her five-year stay in Cape Town, during which she wrote a series of letters to Viscount Melville. Her letters became a prominent source of information about social life in South Africa at the time. She is also remembered for her ballad Auld Robin Gray.

Robert Fergusson was a Scottish poet whose works had a major impact on contemporary poet and lyricist Robert Burns. Although Fergusson's career was brief, he achieved immense popularity for his work in the Scots language. He died at the age of 24 and the brutal circumstances of his demise inspired the creation of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital.

Francisco de Miranda was a Venezuelan revolutionary and military leader. He is considered a predecessor of Simón Bolívar, who liberated much of South America during the Spanish American wars of independence. Miranda is best remembered for his role in three major political movements of his time: the French Revolution, the American Revolutionary War, and the Spanish American Wars of Independence. 

Aaron Arrowsmith was an English cartographer, publisher, and engraver. Aaron, who belonged to the famous Arrowsmith family of geographers, is best remembered for producing the maps of Scotland and North America, which are counted among his most celebrated productions.

Maria Beatrice d'Este, Duchess of Massa was the wife of Archduke Ferdinand, who was the son of Maria Theresa, the Empress of Austria. Her marriage was a political alliance, aiming at strengthening bonds between Austria and Italy. She and Ferdinand formed the House of Austria-Este.

Initially a schoolmaster, Christian Konrad Sprengel rose to be a prominent botanist in Germany and is now remembered for his contribution to the study of plant fertilization. However, the initial failure of his published work made him decide not to publish any further work. In his later years, he turned to philology.

Henri Grégoire, or Abbé Grégoire, was not just a Catholic priest but also a revolutionary. He first gained prominence with his Essay on the Regeneration of the Jews. A radical Jacobin, he was the first priest of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy and also presided over the National Convention.

Born to French travelling acrobats, Alexander Placide initially gained fame as a tightrope walker at Louis XVI’s court. A professional dancer and entertainer, he later moved to the U.S. and led the Charleston Theatre. His shows included ballets, pantomime dramas, and fencing tournaments. He later married opera singer Charlotte Wrighten Placide.

John Abeel III, better known as Cornplanter, was a Dutch-Seneca war chief. He played an important role in the American Revolutionary War and the French and Indian War, serving as a chief warrior. He also played a major role during the post-revolutionary war years, serving as a negotiator between the Seneca and the new Americans.

One of the court poets of the Czartoryski family, Franciszek Dionizy Kniaźnin wrote everything from lyric and love poems to plays and religious verses. He was also inspired by Belarusian folklore. One of this best-known works remains the poem Bugle Call to the Third of May.