Famous People Who Died In 1909

Leopold II of Belgium reigned over Belgium as its second king from 1865 to 1909. He also owned the Independent State of the Congo from 1885 to 1908. Congolese people were subjected to torture and murder under Leopold's administration; the term crimes against humanity was coined by George Washington Williams in 1890 to describe the atrocities of Leopold's administration.

One of the most significant leaders of the Oglala Lakota tribe of the Sioux group of Native Americans, Red Cloud is remembered for his fearless resistance to the American plan of accessing the goldfields in Montana. He attached workers along the Bozeman Trail and eventually forced the U.S. to withdraw.

Hermann Minkowski was a mathematician who served as a professor at the University of Göttingen, the University of Königsberg, and the University of Zurich. He is credited with creating and developing the geometry of numbers. He is also credited with using geometrical methods to resolve problems in the theory of relativity, mathematical physics, and number theory.

Isaac Albeniz was a Spanish composer, conductor, and virtuoso pianist. Widely regarded as one of the most important composers of the Post-Romantic era, Albeniz had a strong influence on younger composers as well as his contemporaries. Many of his personal papers are preserved in several prominent institutions, such as the Library of Catalonia.

One of the most significant figures behind the modernization of Japan, Itō Hirobumi had led his country as its first prime minister and was also a genrō. Born to an adopted son of a samurai family, he contributed to the Meiji Restoration and the formation of the Japanese constitution.

Frederic Remington was an American sculptor, painter, illustrator, and writer. Best remembered for his depictions of the Western United States, Remington is a member of several cowboy halls of fame, including the Texas Trail Hall of Fame. Frederic Remington was regarded as one of the most successful and popular Western illustrators during the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Especially remembered for his pioneering work on rote learning and memory, German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus became interested in the subject after reading Gustav Fechner's Elements of Psychophysics.  Eventually, he developed the experimental methods for measuring memory, using 2,300 three-letter nonsense syllables that he devised. Later, he also discovered the forgetting curve and the spacing effect and described the learning curve.

Cesare Lombroso was an Italian criminologist, phrenologist, and physician. He founded the Italian School of Positivist Criminology at the end of the 19th century. Initially an army surgeon, he later became a professor of forensic medicine and hygiene. His works drew from the concepts of physiognomy, degeneration theory, and psychiatry. Later in life, be became interested in spirituality.

Francisco Tárrega was a Spanish composer and classical guitarist active during the Romantic period. He is often considered the father of classical guitar and is counted among the greatest guitarists of all time. He loved music from an early age and was able to build a successful career with his father’s encouragement. He died at the peak of his career. 

Joshua Slocum was a seaman who became the first person to sail single-handedly around the world. He was also a noted writer and wrote a book about his journey, Sailing Alone Around the World; the book became an international bestseller. He disappeared in November 1909, during one of his sailing adventures. He was declared legally dead after a few years. 

A major figure of the Irish Literary Revival, John Millington Synge is best remembered for his play The Playboy of the Western World, which caused riots in Dublin due to its satiric depiction of the Irish nature of boasting. His life ended abruptly at 37, due to blood cancer.

Peder Severin Krøyer was a Danish painter best remembered for painting beach scenes featuring local fishermen as well as recreation life on the beach. Some of his paintings are preserved at the Skagens Museum in Denmark.

Mary MacKillop, the first Australian to be made a saint by the Catholic Church, was born to poor Scottish immigrants and had taken up the reins of her family at age 14. She got a pedophile priest dismissed and is thus revered as a patron saint of sexual abuse victims.

Initially a herbalist’s apprentice, Simon Newcomb later deviated to mathematics and astronomy. Born to a schoolteacher, he had loved math since age 5 but wasn’t formally educated. He later joined Harvard University, taught math at the US Navy, detected locations of celestial bodies, and wrote a science-fiction novel, too.

Nineteenth-century Beaux-Arts architect Charles Follen McKim was a major part of the Neoclassical revival. The Harvard alumnus became a master architect and specialized in making houses out of shingles. He co-founded the firm McKim, Mead & White, and his notable works include the Columbia University and the Boston Public Library.

Donald Currie was a Scottish politician, shipowner, and philanthropist. He is credited with founding the Castle shipping company, which had ships plying between Calcutta and Liverpool. A noted philanthropist, Currie donated to several institutions like the University College Hospital and the University of Edinburgh. Donald Currie also received several honors including the Royal Society of Arts' Fothergill gold medal.  

Zhang Zhidong was a Chinese official who played an important role in the Qing dynasty. Zhang was one of the four most important officials of the dynasty, along with Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang, and Zeng Guofan. Zhang is remembered for promoting the modernization of Chinese troops. He also played a major role in the eradication of the Imperial examination system.

Euclides da Cunha was a Brazilian engineer and journalist. He attended Escola Militar da Praia Vermelha as a young man. He then studied civil engineering and began his career as a journalist. He was elected to the Academia Brasileira de Letras (Brazilian Academy of Letters) in 1903. He was murdered by his wife’s affair partner in 1909. 

John Davidson was a Scottish poet, novelist, and playwright best remembered for his ballads. A prolific writer, Davidson's work influenced several Modernist poets like Wallace Stevens and Hugh MacDiarmid. John Davidson's financial troubles as well as mental and physical health problems culminated in his suicide by drowning on 23 March 1909 at the age of 51.

Michael Jan de Goeje was a Dutch orientalist who wielded great influence over his pupils as well as eastern administrators and theologians who attended his lectures. Michael Jan de Goeje's editions of Arabic texts, especially his edition of Tabari, are of great value to scholars. He also served as the president of the International Association of Academies of Science.

One of the greatest Polish sociologists, Ludwig Gumplowicz was a pioneering figure of sociology in German-speaking nations. While he initially had a stint as a journalist, he later taught public law at the University of Graz. He is remembered for his belief in conflict as a major social force.