Sarah Winchester, heiress of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, earned notoriety for allegedly communicating with spirits while building a labyrinthine California mansion.

• (c. 1839–1922)

George Custer was an American cavalry commander who in 1876 led 210 men to their deaths at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

• General
  (1839–1876)

Robert Smalls was an enslaved African American who became a politician, serving in both the South Carolina legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives.

• Politician
  (1839–1915)

John D. Rockefeller was the head of the Standard Oil Company and one of the world's richest men. He used his fortune to fund ongoing philanthropic causes.

• Entrepreneur, CEO, Famous Business Leaders
  (1839–1937)

Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield led his family in their notorious and bloody feud with the McCoys during the late 1800s along the Kentucky-West Virginia border.

• (1839–1921)

Alfred Sisley was a French Impressionist painter, primarily of landscapes, and a friend of Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

• Painter
  (1839–1899)

George Cadbury successfully took over their father’s business, Cadbury Brothers cocoa and chocolate, with his brother Richard and they improved working conditions.

• Philanthropist
  (1839–1922)

Post-Impressionist French painter Paul Cézanne is best known for his incredibly varied painting style, which greatly influenced 20th century abstract art.

• Painter
  (1839–1906)

Actress Nelly Ternan was the mistress of author Charles Dickens. Their affair is the subject of the film The Invisible Woman, in which Felicity Jones plays Nelly.

• Theater Actress
  (1839–1914)

Journalist and editor Francis P. Church is remembered best for his 1897 editorial reply to Virginia O'Hanlon, in which he declares Santa Claus is real.

• Editor, Journalist
  (1839–1906)

Modest Mussorgsky was a 19th century Russian composer. His most famous works include "Night on Bald Mountain," "Boris Godunov" and "Pictures at an Exhibition."

• (1839–1881)

Painter John Butler Yeats was the father of poet William Butler Yeats and artist Jack Butler Yeats. His portrait of John O'Leary is considered his best work.

• Painter
  (1839–1922)

Attorney Thomas B. Reed was a Maine politician who was eventually elected to Congress, setting up regulations on legislative processes in the House.

• U.S. Representative
  (1839–1902)