“Victorian Era” was height of British Empire. It occurred under Queen Victoria who reigned over 63 years, longer than any other British monarch. This was a period of great change within the British Empire which was now the largest empire in history! It produced many great scientists. Charles Darwin(#16) (Hart 82)published The Origin of Species and developed the idea of evolution. Michael Faraday (#23)(Hart 115)discovered how to use a moving magnet to generate electricity and built the first electric motor. James Maxwell (#24) (Hart 119) formulated the four basic laws of electromagnetism. John Dalton (#32)(Hart 170)developed atomic theory, the basis of our understanding of chemistry. Joseph Lister (#60) (Hart 294), a British surgeon, introduced the use of antiseptic measures in surgery. Though born in Germany, Karl Marx (#27) (Hart 133)lived much of his life in London where he wrote Das Kapital and the Communist Manifesto. His writings form the theoretical basis of Communism. Three American scientists of this time are also in the top 100: Thomas Edison(#35) (Hart 188) invented electric lights(bulbs & electric distribution lines)and the phonograph(record player); he patented more than 1,000 inventions! William Morton (#37) (Hart 195) developed anesthesia for surgery, and Alexander Graham Bell(#42) (Hart 222) invented the telephone. The German, Nikolaus August Otto, (#61) (Hart 297) built the first four-stroke internal combustion engine. And the Austrian, Gregor Mendel (#58) (Hart 286) discovered the basic principles of heredity.(Wikipedia & The 100)
Napoleon Bonaparte (#34) (Hart 181) led France as a general and emperor. The Napoleonic Wars were fought in Europe. He wrote the Code Napoleon, a collection of laws that specified that all men were equal under the law. He also sold the Louisiana Purchase to the US. He made big mistakes though when he invaded Egypt and later Russia. He was finally defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. Louis Pasteur (#11) (Hart 60) was a French scientist who promoted the germ theory of disease, stressed antiseptic methods, developed“pasteurization” for destroying microorganisms in beverages,and developed vaccines that could be used for a large number of diseases. Louis Daguerre (#47) (Hart 240), also of France, invented photography. The Italian, Guglielmo Marconi (#38) (Hart 201) invented the radio. The German, Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen (#71) (Hart 355), discovered X-rays. Another German, Ludwig Van Beethoven (#45) (Hart 232)is considered the greatest of all musical composers. And Sigmund Freud (#69) (Hart 348) of the Austrian Empire originated psychoanalysis.
Africa was divided up and colonized by European nations which added almost one-fifth of the world’s land area to their overseas possessions. The Berlin Conference regulated this European colonization known as the “Scramble for Africa.” Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain all took pieces. France controlled most of West Africa while Britain had large chunks of Eastern and Southern Africa. Only a small area in East Africa kept its independence.
South American nations won independence from their European (mostly Spanish) colonizers. These Spanish American Wars of Independence took place after the French invasion of Spain during Europe’s Napoleonic Wars. The conflicts have been characterized both as wars of national liberation and as civil wars since the majority of combatants on all sides were Spanish Americans and Native Americans. Simon Bolivar (#48) (Hart 244), known as the “George Washington of South America,” helped five nations win their independence from Spain: Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru & Bolivia. Brazil won its independence from Portugal during this same time period. (Wikipedia)
