Famous People Born In 1754

Scottish engineer William Murdoch initially worked for the firm of Matthew Boulton and James Watt. He later made a host of inventions and was the first to use coal gas for illumination. He was also known for his work on steam energy and invented the oscillating engine and the D slide valve.

Banastre Tarleton was a British politician and general. He served in the American Revolutionary War where he was a lieutenant colonel. An iconic figure, Tarleton has been portrayed in several films, such as Sweet Liberty, The Patriot, and Amazing Grace. He has also been depicted in many TV series and novels.   

While his clubfoot prevented him from joining the army and also earned him the nickname The Lame Devil, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord later became the bishop of Autun. Known for his womanizing ways, he also went down in history as an opportunist who changed sides.

Mary Ludwig Hays, an American brave heart who is considered to have fought at the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778 during the American War of Independence, is mostly identified as the woman behind the legend of Molly Pitcher. She reportedly took her husband's place working a gun after he was wounded and brought water to troops at the battle  

French diplomat and bishop Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord is counted among the most pragmatic and prominent diplomats in European history. He served King Louis XVI and thereafter changed sides several times, serving at highest levels of successive French governments of Napoleon I, Louis XVIII and Louis Philippe I. He served as the first Prime Minister of France under Louis XVIII.

Initially training to be an apothecary like his father, Joseph Proust later deviated to pharmacy and then to chemistry. He is best remembered for developing the law of definite proportions, also known as the Proust's law, which states that pure chemical compounds always consist of constant proportions of constituent elements.

Fulani scholar, Sunni Islamic religious teacher, philosopher and revolutionary Usman Ɗan Fodio became the founder and first Sultan of Sokoto Caliphate in West Africa after defeating the Hausa Kingdoms in the Fulani War. Usman encouraged literacy and scholarship for both men and women. He is viewed as a Mujaddid by Muslims and considered the most significant reforming leader of Africa. 

Louis XVI of France reigned as the last king of France from 1774 to 1792 before the French Revolution, which ended the monarchy in France. During his reign, Louis made attempts to remove land and labor tax, abolish serfdom, and improve tolerance toward non-Catholics. However, the proposed reforms were opposed by the French nobility.

George Crabbe was an English surgeon, poet, and clergyman. He began his career as a doctor's apprentice in the 1770s and later become a surgeon. After a few years, he pursued a living as a poet and also served as a clergyman in various capacities. He wrote poetry mainly in the form of heroic couplets. He was also a coleopterist. 

The wife of Jean-Marie Roland, Madame Roland was a leading French revolutionary and often hosted significant political meets at her salon. She often directed her husband’s political actions and was responsible for creating a rift between the Jacobin and Girondin factions. She was later arrested and guillotined.

Jacques Pierre Brissot was a French journalist and publisher. He was one of the most important members of the Girondins, who played a prominent role during the French Revolution. Brissot is also credited with founding the Society of the Friends of the Blacks, an abolitionist society, which aimed at abolishing the institution of slavery.

Asmus Jacob Carstens was a Danish-German painter, counted among the most famous artists of German Neoclassicism. Apprenticed to a cooper (barrel-maker) for five years, he quit his apprenticeship to pursue painting. He had a difficult personality and his behavior was often erratic, which made it difficult for him to establish himself successfully despite being immensely talented. 

Isaac René Guy le Chapelier was a French politician and jurist of the Revolutionary period. He oversaw the abolition of feudalism in France, which was later added to the Constitution of 1791, a majority of which was drafted by him. Le Chapelier is also remembered for introducing a motion in the National Assembly which forbade trade unions, guilds, and compagnonnage.

André Boniface Louis Riqueti de Mirabeau was a French soldier who served as a reactionary leader at the beginning of the French Revolution. As a colonel, he commanded the Touraine Regiment under Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur in the American Revolution. He was part of many sea fights with the British, including the famous Battle of Yorktown in 1781.

Best known for publishing The Family Shakespeare volumes, which made Shakespeare’s plays appealing to children, Thomas Bowdler was also a qualified doctor. His technique of diluting Shakespeare’s works gave rise to the word bowdlerize, which describes the over-simplification of books, films, or series, for making them family-friendly.

Remembered as one of the founders of the Baptist Missionary Society, Andrew Fuller had initially been a pastor at the Soham and Kettering Baptist Churches. He then formed his own society with William Carey and others and became its first secretary. He also assisted missionary activities in Jamaica and India.