Famous People Born In 1757

The better half of one of America’s founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton was involved in her husband’s political career during his lifetime and worked towards protecting his legacy after his death. A social worker, she lent support to multiple charitable causes including establishing New York’s first private orphanage.

Marquis de Lafayette was a French aristocrat and military officer, who  is remembered for fighting in the American Revolutionary War, as the commander of American troops in several battles. After returning to France, he played key roles in the French Revolution of 1789 and the July Revolution of 1830. Considered a hero in both America and France, he advocated the end of slavery.  

Scottish civil engineer Thomas Telford had begun his career as a mason at 14, having lost his father in infancy. A self-taught architect, he was responsible for building many structures, including the Caledonian Canal and the Menai Suspension Bridge. Named The Colossus of Roads, he symbolized the Scottish Enlightenment.

Dauphin Louis had one of the most unpopular reigns as the king of France. Following the fall of Bastille, he became the first royal family member to go into exile. Decisions such as the imposition of the death penalty and press censorship led to the July Revolution and his abdication.

Antonio Canova was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor widely regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists. He was famous for his marble sculptures. His work was inspired by the Baroque and the classical revival. His most notable works include Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss and Perseus Triumphant. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he refused to take in pupils. 

British lawyer and legal reformer Samuel Romilly is best remembered for bringing about significant reforms in the English criminal law. Known for is campaigns against capital punishment for minor offenses, he was also knighted for his achievements. Unfortunately, distressed at his wife’s death, he committed suicide later.

Rigas Feraios was a Greek writer, revolutionary, and political thinker. A front runner of the Greek War of Independence, Feraios is revered as one of the most important national heroes in Greece. Rigas Feraios is also credited with kindling the Greeks' love of freedom.

James Wilkinson served the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and also revealed Aaron Burr’s conspiracy to the U.S. government. While he worked against the Spanish people as part of the U.S. army, he was later revealed to be a Spanish spy, also known as Number Thirteen.

English navigator and Royal Navy officer George Vancouver was the first to explore the Pacific coast of North America. His explored territories included the Canada’s British Columbia, the US’s Alaska, and Australia’s southwest coast. His 3-volume treatise on his journeys, with a collection of maps, was published posthumously.

Ottoman metaphysical poet and mystic Sheikh Galip, who was also known as Mehmed Esad, was taught by Hodja Neş'et. Known for his poetic works such as Divan and Hüsn ü Aşk, he was known for his use of abstraction and his own vocabulary. He also opposed the prosaic style of poet Nabi.

The son of a painter father, Vladimir Borovikovsky grew up to be a master of ecclesiastic painting and portraits. He was patronized by Empress Catherine II and commissioned to decorate her palace with his works. A 1794 portrait of the empress, drawn by him, was the first instance of sentimentalism in painting.

Constantin François de Chassebœuf, comte de Volney was a French abolitionist, philosopher, orientalist, writer, and politician. Volney was one of the first modern writers to champion the Christ myth theory, which suggests that Jesus Christ had no historical existence. Volney argued that Jesus was a mythical character and that Christianity was an amalgam of numerous ancient mythologies. 

Mechanical engineer and naval architect Samuel Bentham was responsible for Russia’s victory over a Turkish force, using shell guns on warships. He had also visited China to study ship designs and had served as the inspector of English naval works. He was the younger brother of philosopher Jeremy Bentham.

Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt was a Finnish-Swedish-Russian diplomat and courtier. In Finland, he is counted among the greatest statesmen of all time. He is also counted among the fathers of Finnish independence alongside Göran Magnus Sprengtporten; Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt's advice to Russia's Alexander I played an important role in acquiring the Grand Duchy of Finland's autonomy.

Manuel Quimper was a Spanish Peruvian cartographer, explorer, colonial official, and naval officer. He is remembered for his participation in charting the Sandwich Islands and the Strait of Juan de Fuca in the late-18th century. He served as a colonial governor in Peru at the start of Peru's fight for independence. After Peru’s independence, Manuel Quimper pursued a literary career.

Spanish-born sculptor and architect Manuel Tolsá is credited with introducing Neoclassical art to Mexico, then known as New Spain. His most iconic works include the construction of the College of Mines and the completion of the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral. Apart from Neoclassical symmetry, he also used Baroque elements.

Pierre Jean Georges Cabanis was a French freemason, physiologist, and materialist philosopher. An early proponent of evolution, Cabanis is credited with influencing the work of French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. Pierre Jean Georges Cabanis made a statement on natural selection much before Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

Eighteenth-century mystic George Rapp is best remembered as the founder of the religious sect of Rappites, or Harmonists. Initially a weaver in Germany, he later moved to the U.S. to escape persecution. Following his death, his followers decreased, due to the Harmonists’ vow of celibacy and little or no conversion.