Famous People Born In 1846

Inventor and entrepreneur George Westinghouse was mostly responsible for introducing the U.S. to alternating current (AC). Initially part of the army and the navy, the talented engineer began his journey of inventions with the rotary steam engine and went on to invent several products, such as air brakes.

Apart from being the official jeweler of the Russian imperial court, Peter Carl Fabergé also created some of the most innovative jewelry designs, such as the iconic Fabergé eggs. He had also launched workshops in London, Moscow, and Kiev. Later, hounded by the revolutionary government, he fled to Switzerland.

American architect Daniel Burnham was one of the pioneering designers of the skyscrapers that populate cities such as Chicago. Part of the Beaux-Arts movement, he had been the director of the World’s Columbian Exposition. He also formed his own firm, Burnham & Root with John Wellborn Root.

Henryk Sienkiewicz was a Polish journalist and novelist best remembered for his historical novels. He was the author of the internationally known best-seller Quo Vadis. Beginning his career as a journalist, he soon became one of the most popular Polish authors of his era. He was awarded the 1905 Nobel Prize in Literature for his contribution to literature. 

German engineer and auto designer Wilhelm Maybach once earned the nickname The King of Designers. He collaborated with Gottlieb Daimler and formed Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft, eventually designing the first Mercedes automobiles. He and his son later started an aircraft engine company. In 1996, he was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame.

Charles Stewart Parnell led both the Irish Parliamentary Party and the Home Rule League. A nationalist, he is remembered as one of the pioneering political leaders of Europe. However, his political image suffered a huge blow after he was dragged into an adultery scandal with Katherine O’Shea.

Wladimir Köppen was a Russian-German meteorologist, geographer, botanist, and climatologist. He is best remembered for publishing the Köppen climate classification system, which is used even today. Wladimir Köppen made important contributions to many branches of science. He is also credited with coining the term aerology.

A prominent 19th century English philosopher of the absolute Idealist school and a fellow of Merton College, Oxford, Francis Herbert Bradley was an opponent of the British Empiricist theories and utilitarian trends.  Well-known for his non-pluralistic approach to philosophy, he devoted his life to writing, publishing five books in his lifetime, most significant among them being Appearance and Reality.

Russian ecologist, geomorphologist, and soil scientist Vasily Dokuchaev initially taught at the University of St. Petersburg and was later associated with the Novo-Aleksandr Institute of Agriculture and Forestry. He developed a soil classification system that explained the 5 factors for soil formation. The city of Dokuchaievsk in Ukraine is named after him.

British colonial administrator George Taubman Goldie who is known for his efforts in founding the country Nigeria. He led the Royal Niger Company and marked clear boundaries of control in his negotiations with the French and the German authorities. He was eventually knighted for his achievements.

Welsh-born Samuel M. Jones moved to the US with his family at age 3. Poverty forced him to work, first in a sawmill and then on a steamship. He later opened an oil-pumping machine factory and became well-liked for his Golden Rule. He also served as a Republican mayor of Toledo.

Henry Gannett was an American geographer best remembered for his association with the United States Geological Survey, where he served as the chief geographer from its founding until 1902. Nicknamed the father of mapmaking in America, Henry Gannett is also known as a founding member of the National Geographic Society, where he served as president.

Astronomer and physicist Edward Charles Pickering was the man behind the first physics lab in the U.S. during his tenure as an MIT professor. Apart from inventing the meridian photometer and releasing the first photometric catalog, Harvard Photometry, he had also served as the director of the Harvard College Observatory.

Legendary British journalist C.P. Scott is best remembered as the editor of the iconic Manchester Guardian, which later became known as The Guardian. As part of its liberal stance under his editorship, the Guardian took up many controversial issues, such as the Irish Home Rule.

Russian explorer and anthropologist Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay was one of the first scientists to live with the indigenous community of New Guinea. Named the Moon Man by the Papuans for his ability to produce light through his lantern, he fought against slavery. He was idolized by both Russia and Australia.

Alexandre de Serpa Pinto was a Portuguese explorer and colonial administrator. His journey across Africa earned him the prestigious Founder's Medal from the Royal Geographical Society in 1881. Alexandre de Serpa Pinto also received many honorary memberships and awards for his achievements.

Karl Verner was a Danish linguist best remembered for publishing Verner's Law in 1876. He received the prestigious Bopp Prize in 1877. In 1888, Karl Verner was made a fellow at the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters.

American explorer, anthropologist, and archaeologist William Henry Holmes was a pioneer of professional archaeology in the US. He was also a geologist and a scientific illustrator. He had been a curator at the Smithsonian Institution and had been the director of the National Gallery of Art.

Initially a professor of geology and biology at Butler University, Oliver Perry Hay later contributed immensely to catalogs on North American fossil vertebrates. He had also served as the associate curator of New York’s American Museum of Natural History. His son, too, grew up to be a zoologist.

Isabella Valancy Crawford was a Canadian poet and writer. The author of Malcolm's Katie, a popular poem held in high regard in the history of Canadian poetry, Crawford is widely regarded as Canada's first major poet. She made a living using her skills as a freelance writer, one of the first Canadians to do so.