The Victorian period is also known for the number of writers, scientists, inventors and eminent persons from other fields which contributed to the social, cultural and economic development of Britain.
Table of Contents
Some of the famous Victorians
Famous Novelists/ Writers and Poets
Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was a very popular novelist.
Mrs. Isabella Beeton (1836-1865) popular writer and known for her book Book of Household Management.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning were the famous poets of the Victorian period.
Tennyson (1809-1892) was famous his poems like The Charge of the Light Brigade and was the favourite poet of Queen Victoria.
Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) was an English novelist and poet who wrote many stories like Tess of the Durbervilles and The Mayor of Casterbridge.
Mary Ann Evans (1819-1880) wrote numerous books like Silas Marner and Middlemarch by her pen name George Eliot.
Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) became popular for his fictional character Sherlock Holmes.
William Wordsworth (1770-1850) was a major English Romantic poet. He along with Samuel Taylor Coleridge helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature.
William Thackeray (1811-1863) was a contemporary novelist of Charles Dickens known for his novel Vanity Fair.
Famous Victorians in medicine
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) was the pioneer of modern nursing.
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836-1917) was the first British woman to qualify as a doctor and founder of a hospital for poor women and children.
Joseph Lister (1827-1912) was a Scottish surgeon who comprehended the significance of keeping the wounds of the patients and the medical equipment clean during operations.
Famous People in other sciences
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was a famous naturalist known for his book titled The Origin of Species.
Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) invented the telephone.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859) was an engineer who specialized in railway traction, tunnels, and bridges. He had designed the Clifton Suspension Bridge, engineered the Greta Western Railway and built SS Great Eastern, the largest ship in the 19th century.
Thomas Edison (1847-1931) was the inventor of ideas that changed the lives of the people during the 19th century. He had invented his own phonograph, an electric carbon filament lamp which later on became the modern bulb.
Famous Victorian Politicians
These are some of the well-known Victorian political figures.
William Booth (1829-1912) was a Methodist minister. He founded the Salvation Army in 1878 to extend help, food and shelter to the poor.
Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) was the Prime Minister and an author.
William Gladstone (1809-1898) was a liberal politician and was the Prime Minister for 4 times.
John Atkinson Grimshaw painter
David Lucas’ Short Biography – mezzotint engraver
Charles Spurgeon was a prominent English Particular Baptist preacher
George Harvey was a famous artist of the 19th century
- Scientists & Inventors:
- John Snow: English physician, considered one of the founders of modern epidemiology for his work identifying the source of a cholera outbreak
- Ellen Wood: English author, best known for her sensational novels.
- Weedon Grossmith: English writer and painter, often collaborated with his brother George.
- Fancy Burney: English satirical novelist, diarist, and playwright.
- Edwin Chadwick: English social reformer noted for his work to reform the Poor Laws and improve sanitation and public health.
- George Stephenson: English civil engineer and mechanical engineer, known as the “Father of Railways.”
- John Webster: English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies.
- Walter Alva Scott Scottish poet
- Oliver Cromwell: English military and political leader, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
- Marie Curie: Polish-born physicist and chemist, known for her pioneering research on radioactivity.
- Louis Pasteur: French biologist, microbiologist, and chemist known for his discoveries in vaccination and pasteurization.
- Michael Faraday: English scientist known for contributions to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry.
- Herbert Spencer Biography: A prominent Victorian philosopher and sociologist, known for coining the term “survival of the fittest”.
- William Ford: Distinguished figure
- Michael Frederick Halliday: Prominent linguist known for systemic functional linguistics.
- Currier and Ives: Famous American printmaking firm.
- Marconi: Guglielmo Marconi, the pioneering genius behind wireless communication.
- Nikola Tesla: Serbian-American inventor known for his groundbreaking work in electromagnetism.
- Joseph Niepce: Recognized for inventing the world’s first successful photograph.
- Charles Michel de L’epee: Revered as the “Father of the Deaf” for his work in deaf education.
- Hughes Cornelius Jabez: Distinguished in the fields of photography and phrenology.
- Palmer Fanny Currier and Ives Artist: An artist associated with the Currier and Ives printmaking firm.
- Robinson tait, Tait John R: Notable figures
- Johannes Gutenberg: The inventor of the printing press, revolutionizing the world of books.
- Felix Nadar: Renowned photographer known for his portraits of celebrities.