Famous People Born In 1815

George Boole is remembered for pioneering Boolean algebra, a tool used in digital computer circuits. More of a self-taught mathematician, Boole began teaching at 16 and later grew up to be a math professor at Queen’s College, Cork. His work in differential equations and algebraic logic was groundbreaking.

Ada Lovelace was a mathematician known for her work on the Analytical Engine, a mechanical general-purpose computer proposed by Charles Babbage. Many believe that Lovelace was the first to recognize the potential of computers. It is also believed that she published the first algorithm after realizing that the algorithm could be carried out by a machine like the Analytical Engine.

John A. Macdonald was the first prime minister of Canada. A dominant figure in Canadian politics for half a century, he was a lawyer by profession before venturing into politics. As a politician, he was influential in building Canada’s new government. To date, he remains one of the highest-rated prime ministers in Canadian history. 

George Meade was a civil engineer and United States Army officer best remembered for decisively defeating Robert E. Lee in the American Civil War. After the war, he played an important role during the Reconstruction era. As a civil engineer, George Meade was involved in the construction of many lighthouses. 

Henry Parkes was a politician who served as the premier of the Colony of New South Wales. Serving at different time periods throughout the 1870s and 1880s, Parkes was the longest non-consecutive premier in the Colony of New South Wales history. Considered the Father of Federation, Parkes was described as the most commanding figure in Australian politics by The Times.

Karl Weierstrass was a German mathematician best remembered for his significant contributions to mathematics. Often referred to as the father of modern analysis, Weierstrass proved the Bolzano-Weierstrass theorem and the intermediate value theorem. He also authorized the definition of continuous function. The asteroid 14100 Weierstrass and the lunar crater Weierstrass are named after him.

Julia Margaret Cameron was a British photographer best remembered for her close-up portraits of popular Victorian men. Widely regarded as one of the 19th century's most important portraitists, Cameron is credited with capturing the beauty and innocence of children, women, and men. Julia Margaret Cameron is also credited with popularizing the close-ups in photography.

The founder of the Salesian Order, John Bosco, also known as Don Bosco, started his life as a priest in Turin. He began teaching young boys who came to Turin for jobs and later branched out to form a similar institution for girls too, with St. Mary Mazzarello.

Although best remembered for his discovery of the world's oldest handwritten Bible, known as Codex Sinaiticus or Sinai Bible, Konstantin Von Tischendorf, a renowned Biblical scholar, worked chiefly on recension of the New Testament text. A prolific writer making extensive contributions to biblical textual criticism, he is today best known for his magnum opus, Critical Edition of the New Testament.

American surgeon and pharmacist Crawford Long is best-known as the inventor of modern anaesthetics in the West. Long is believed to be the first to apply inhaled sulfuric ether as a general anaesthesia. He applied it for the first time in 1842 for removing a tumour from a patient’s neck and went on to perform several other surgeries using ether anaesthetic.

Pierre Napoléon Bonaparte was a French nobleman, politician, and revolutionary. He played an important role during the Revolutions of 1848, serving as a member of the Constituent Assembly. He also played a prominent role in helping his cousin Louis Napoleon become the first president of France.

Daniel Decatur Emmett was an American entertainer and songwriter best remembered for composing the popular song, Dixie. Daniel Decatur Emmett is credited with founding the famous 19th-century group of entertainers called the Virginia Minstrels. The group helped invent an entertainment form that came to be known as the minstrel show. His life and career inspired a biographical film titled Dixie.

German embryologist and neurologist Robert Remak is known for pathbreaking scientific feats such as the discovery of the Remak’s ganglia and the use of electrotherapy to treat nervous ailments. He also named the three layers of the embryo, the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. His Jewish origin deprived him from valid recognition.

Otto of Greece was a Bavarian prince who reigned as the king of Greece from 1832 to 1862. He was largely unpopular throughout his reign as he failed to resolve Greece's poverty. He was deposed in 1862 and died in exile in 1867.

Dutch-Canadian painter Cornelius Krieghoff is best known for his depictions of the natural beauty of Canadian landscapes. His romanticized versions of American Indian and Canadian life were later imitated by many. His paintings of winter scenes, such as The Toll Gate and The Blizzard, are appreciated to this day.

Best remembered as the inventor of the Francis turbine, civil engineer James B. Francis initially helped build the Stonington Railway. At 22, he became the chief engineer of Proprietors of the Locks and Canals on the Merrimack River, and stayed with it for 40 years, as a prominent waterpower engineer.

Warren De la Rue was an astronomer, inventor, and chemist remembered for his work in astronomical photography. In 1840, Warren created one of the first electric light bulbs in the world when he transferred an electric current through a vacuum tube with a platinum coil enclosed. Over the course of his career, he received many awards like the Lalande Prize.

Feng Yunshan had a major role to play in the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing regime. He led Hong Xiuquan’s God Worshipping Society and later became the South King of the Taiping Rebellion. He was fatally wounded by a Qing gunner, following which the Taiping invaded and ravaged Quanzhou.

American women’s rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton first came to know about laws that discriminated against women while studying law books in the office of her father, who was a prominent judge. She later became the president of the National Woman Suffrage Association and co-wrote books such as The Woman's Bible.