Grand Duchess Anastasia
If you know anything about Russian history in the early 20th century, then you know, it was a very turbulent time. This is an undated photograph of Grand Duchess Anastasia, the tsar’s daughter. The family was killed by the Bolsheviks during the October Revolution. The grand duchess was around 17 years old when she died. What’s most striking is that she appears as though she could’ve been plucked out of modern-day Russia.
Shutterstock/Everett Collection
After her death, there were a number of conspiracy theories about whether or not she actually survived the revolution, but a DNA test proved that she was killed with the rest of her family in 1918.
Princess Angeline
Princess Angeline isn’t the most famous figure on this list, but you’ve likely heard of her father, Chief Seattle. Princess Angeline’s father worked to create good relations with settlers arriving in present-day Oregon. The princess’s bond with the settlers resulted in them giving her the name and title of Princess Angeline. She and her father played an important role in the history of the state and in the history of America.
Wikimedia Commons/Boyd and Braas Photographs of Seattle and Washington State
In her later life, she lived a modest existence making baskets and washing clothes. The city was named in honor of her father and his work to foster good relations with the settlers.
Edgar Allen Poe
Edgar Allen Poe is one of the largest figures in American literature, probably thanks in part to the type of tales he wrote. Poe’s horror stories laid the groundwork for the detective story and science fiction work. Many of his stories and poems are still referenced in pop culture today. He was born in 1809 and lived until his death in 1849. It’s thought that this photo was taken some time right before he died.
Shutterstock/Everett Collection
A bit ironically, his death is shrouded in a bit of mystery. He disappeared for a couple of days before being found wearing someone else’s clothes and in a pretty bad state. He was taken to the hospital, where he died a couple of days later. Alcohol poisoning was the ruling cause of death, but this has been heavily disputed
Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll is a pretty recognizable name today (think Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland), but he was born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. Before his literary fame, he was more known for his work as a mathematician. Carrol came up with his famous story as a way to entertain a friend’s daughter, but the story quickly took on a life of its own and met with a ton of success after it was published.
Shutterstock/Everett Collection
Lewis Carroll was born in 1832, and he passed away in 1898. Today, it’s hard to imagine children’s literature without Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and characters like the Cheshire Cat.
Ned Kelly
Ned Kelly was a bushranger and one of the most famous figures in Australian history. The bushrangers were basically bandits, but Kelly was a sort of Robin Hood figure who many considered to be a hero. In his last run-in with the authorities, he donned a bulletproof suit of armor that looked like something a knight would wear. Kelly was born in 1854 and died in the shootout in 1880.
Wikimedia Commons/Australian News and Information Bureau, Canberra
Kelly is such a large figure in Australian folklore that there’s even a saying used sometimes today that references him: “To be as game [brave] as Ned Kelly.”
Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth is one of the most famous Americans from the 19th century and she played an important role in helping Black Americans gain equal rights. Truth was born as a slave in New York before escaping with her daughter. Not long after her escape, she sued her son’s slave owner to stop his sale to another man in Alabama. She won her case, becoming the first Black woman to do so against a White man.
Wikimedia Commons/GAFGMH-e0gQHtA at Google Cultural Institute
Her son was freed, and she continued to advocate for the enslaved and women’s rights throughout her life. It’s not known for certain what year she was born, but she passed away in 1883.
Andrew Johnson
Today, Andrew Johnson is not nearly as well known as his predecessor, Abraham Lincoln, but he played a vital role in shaping America’s history after Lincoln’s assassination. He favored a path toward reconciliation after the Civil War, which is still debated as to whether it was the right choice or not today. Republicans tried to impeach him for his leniency towards the South and Reconstruction after the Civil War.
Wikimedia Commons/Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs Division
Johnsons, who was from Tennessee, did little to force Southern states to accept the equal rights of Black Americans, and today, he’s remembered mainly as being one of the nation’s weaker leaders.
Frederick Henry Royce
You may not know who Frederick Henry Royce is, but odds are, his last name rings a bell. That’s because he was one of the founders of Rolls-Royce, one of the world’s premier luxury car brands. Despite this, Royce didn’t make it past elementary school before dropping out. He had to drop out and find a job after his father’s death. Royce was born in 1863 and died in 1933.
Getty Images/Heritage Images / Contributor
In addition to making some of the world’s finest cars, Rolls-Royce is known for its airplane engines. One of Royce’s famous quotes is, “Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble.”
