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Edvard Hagerup Grieg (Greig) was born on on June 15, 1843, in Bergen, Norway. His father, named Alexander Greig (originally McGregor), was English consul of Scottish origin. His mother, named Gesine Hagerup, was an educated pianist. Grieg grew up among three sisters and an elder brother. He began piano studies with his mother at the age of six. His mother's brother-in-law, a famous violinist Ole Bull, recommended Grieg to study at the Leipzig Conservatory. From 1858-1862 he studied music in Leipzig under the tutelage of Ignaz Moscheles and graduated with honors. From 1863-1866 Grieg lived in Copenhagen, where he continued his music studies with 'Niels W. Gade'. He made progress towards Scandinavian folk music while being an apprentice of Rikard Nordraak. Soon Grieg emancipated himself from the German romantic tradition and grew towards the development of his original style. Grieg's harmonies became unorthodox, rich, and challenging for a public conditioned to classic compositions of Mozart and Haydn. During the winter of 1865-1866 he was in Rome, where he performed his music and earned a European reputation.

His love of the Norwegian folk culture and traditional melodies became evident in his compositions written after 1866, the year Grieg returned to Norway. He settled in Christiania (Oslo) and established himself as a music teacher and concert performer. At the same time Grieg became the founder of a concert society "Eutherpe" with a choir and a symphony orchestra. His collection of "Lyrical Pieces" for piano made him a fine reputation among musicians. Grieg was called the "Chopin of the North" by Hans Bulow. In 1867 Grieg married his cousin Nina Hagerup, and their only child died being only one year old. His famous Piano Concerto in A minor was completed in 1868 and performed in Copenhagen. With a letter of recommendation from Franz Liszt, Grieg received a state stipend for his studies in Italy and spent a winter of 1869-1870 in Rome. There Grieg performed his music and had meetings with Franz Liszt and other European musicians. His collaboration with Norwegian writer Bjornson also began in Rome. During the 1870's Grieg and Bjornson made several dramatic compositions together. In 1876 Grieg was asked by Henrik Ibsen to write the incidental music to "Peer Gynt", a play about the Norwegian folk hero. Later Grieg made two "Peer Gynt" Suites for concert performances, which scored international success.

In 1872 Grieg was made a member of the Royal Music Society in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1874 Grieg was awarded the state annual grant of 1600 kronen from the Norwegian Storthing. He quit teaching and returned to his hometown of Bergen. There he chose a natural environment for his work. Grieg composed much of his music among the picturesque landscape of forest, mountains, and sea at the Hardanger fjord. There he had a cottage with a Steinway baby grand piano. Grieg's admiration with serenity and beauty of the Norwegian landscapes was the essential part of his music. Grieg wrote music of a distinguished lyrical quality and emotional depth, which he expressed through refined melody lines and sophisticated harmonic changes. His symphonic "Norwegian dances" and "Norwegian peasant dances" allude to Scandinavian folk melodies. The "Peer Gynt" suites and such pieces as "Solvejg's Song" and "Ein Schwan" are characterized with power for creating pictures in the listener's mind, which made them suitable for many film scores.

From 1878-1880 Grieg and his wife Nina, a professional singer, went on a two-year journey. Grieg performed in many cities of Europe. He was giving performances of his Piano Concerto in London during the 1880s and 1890s. Grieg died on September 4, 1907, in Bergen, Norway, and was laid to rest in a mountain cave at his countryside estate in Troldhaugen, Norway. His wife Nina lived to the age of 90 and made Grieg's villa in Troldhaugen into a museum. A concert hall was built nearby to house the annual festivals of Grieg's music.

Pierre Jules César Janssen was a French astronomer born in Paris into a cultivated family. He studied mathematics and physics at the faculty of sciences, then taught at the Lycée Charlemagne in 1853, and in the school of architecture from 1865-1871, but his energies were mainly devoted to various scientific missions entrusted to him. In 1868, he discovered the gaseous nature of the solar chromosphere and, along with English scientist Joseph Norman Lockyer, the element helium. In 1874, in order to capture a series of photographs of transit of Venus, Janssen invented the Revolver of Janssen or Photographic Revolver, an instrument that originated the chronophotography (a branch of photography based on capturing movement from a sequence of images). This was a large camera based on the Maltese cross mechanism, which is an important milestone in the development of cameras used to film movies. The revolver could take several dozens of exposures at regulated intervals on a daguerreotype disc. Later this invention was of great use for researchers like Étienne-Jules Marey to carry out exhibitions and inventions. Janssen's series of photographs covering the transit of planet Venus captured in Passage de Venus (1874) was a pioneering and historic register that survived the test of time and is considered by many as the oldest film ever created, possibly the very first where moving images were used.

Hector Malot was born on 20 May 1830 in La Bouille, Seine-Inférieure [now Seine-Maritime], France. He was a writer, known for Sans famille (1914), Sans famille (1925) and Zyte (1916). He was married to Marthe Oudinot de la Faverie and Anna Dariès. He died on 17 July 1907 in Fontenay-sous-Bois, Seine [now Val-de-Marne], France.

Alfred Jarry was born on 8 September 1873 in Laval, Mayenne, France. He was a writer, known for UBU (2023), Ubu król (2003) and Ubu roi (1996). He died on 1 November 1907 in Paris, France.

Joris-Karl Huysmans was the only son of a French mother and a Dutch father. At 20 he began a long career in the Ministry of the Interior, writing many of his novels on official time. His early work, influenced by contemporary naturalist novelists. His major novels epitomize successive phases of the aesthetic, spiritual, and intellectual life of late 19th-century France. Huysmans' work is considered remarkable for its idiosyncratic use of the French language, large vocabulary, descriptions, satirical wit and far-ranging erudition. First considered part of Naturalism, he became associated with the decadent movement with his publication of "À rebours" (1884). His work expressed his deep pessimism, which had led him to the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer.

Ida McKinley was born on 8 June 1847 in Canton, Ohio, USA. She was married to William McKinley. She died on 26 May 1907 in Canton, Ohio, USA.

Stanislaw Wyspianski was born on 15 January 1869 in Krakau, Galicia, Austria-Hungary [now Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland]. He was a writer, known for Sad bozy (1911), Les noces (1973) and Teatr Polskiego Radia (2004). He was married to Theodora Teofila Pytko. He died on 28 November 1907 in Krakau, Galicia, Austria-Hungary [now Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland].

Archibald Clavering Gunter was born on 25 October 1847 in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, UK. He was a writer, known for Mr. Barnes of New York (1922), My Official Wife (1926) and Mr. Barnes of New York (1914). He was married to Esther Lizbeth Burns. He died on 24 February 1907 in New York City, New York, USA.

Ottomar Anschütz was a German inventor, photographer, and chronophotographer. Between 1864 and 1868, he studied photography under some of the well-known photographers of the time. He received recognition for his photograph of John of Saxony on horseback in 1867, and then took over his father's company in Lissa, mainly working as a portrait photographer and as a decorative painter. In 1881, he made his first instantaneous photographs. In 1882, he developed his portable camera and made a name for himself with sharp photographs of imperial military demonstrations in Breslau the same year, and gained more fame with pictures of flying white storks in 1884 - the first photographs of birds on the wild. In 1885, he made his first chronophotographs of horses. The quality of his pictures was generally regarded to be much higher than that of the chronophotography works of Eadweard Muybridge and Étienne-Jules Marey. In 1886, he developed the Electrotachyscope, an early device that displayed short motion picture loops with 24 glass plate photographs on a 1.5 meter wide rotating wheel that was hand-cranked to the speed of circa 30 frames per second. Each image was illuminated by a sparking spiral Geissler tube and displayed on a small opal glass window in a wall in a darkened room for up to seven spectators. Different versions were developed and shown at many international exhibitions, fairs, conventions and arcades from 1887 until at least 1894, and probably inspired many other pioneers in the history of film technology.

Although born in England, lightweight boxer Billy Edwards had his greatest successes in America, and was the American lightweight champion in the late 1860s and early 1870s. After retiring from fighting, Edwards remained active as a trainer and writer. He trained the renowned John L. Sullivan for several fights, and also wrote about boxing. Well after his retirement from the ring, Edwards appeared in the Edison Company film Billy Edwards and the Unknown (1895), in which he fought a brief exhibition match.

Giosuè Carducci was born on 27 July 1835 in Valdicastello di Pietrasanta, Tuscany, Italy. Giosuè was a writer, known for Teatro Satanico: Inno A Satana Virginia (2015). Giosuè was married to Elvira Menicucci. Giosuè died on 16 February 1907 in Bologna, Italy.

Mary J. Holmes was born on 5 April 1825 in Brookfield, Massachusetts, USA. She was a writer, known for Lena Rivers (1932), Lena Rivers (1914) and Tempest and Sunshine (1916). She was married to Daniel Holmes. She died on 6 October 1907 in Brockport, Monroe County, New York, USA.

Alfred Packer was born on 21 January 1842 in Pennsylvania, USA. He died on 23 April 1907 in Phillipsburg, Colorado, USA.

Paula Modersohn-Becker was born on 8 February 1876 in Dresden, Saxony, Germany. She was a writer, known for Paula Modersohn-Becker - Geschichte einer Malerin (2007). She died on 20 November 1907 in Worpswede, Lower Saxony, Germany.

Ernest Blum was born on 15 August 1836 in Paris, France. He was a writer, known for Mam'zelle Nitouche (1954). He died on 18 September 1907 in Paris, France.

Lord Kelvin was born on 26 June 1824 in Belfast, Ireland [now Northern Ireland], UK. He died on 17 December 1907 in Ayrshire, Scotland, UK.

Thomas Bailey Aldrich was born on 11 November 1836 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA. He was a writer, known for Her Condoned Sin (1917), Judith de Béthulie (1914) and Sozinha com sua alma (Alone with her soul) (2022). He was married to Lilian Woodman. He died on 19 March 1907 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Ilia Chavchavadze was born on 8 November 1837 in Kvareli, Georgia Governorate, Russian Empire [now Georgia]. Ilia was a writer, known for Glakhis naambobi (1961), Otaraant qvrivi (1958) and Katsia-Adamiani? (1979). Ilia died on 12 September 1907 in Tsitsamuri, Tiflis Governorate, Russian Empire [now Georgia].

King Oscar II was born on 21 January 1829 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden. He is known for Kongejagt paa Hveen (1903), Konungens af Siam landstigning vid Logårdstrappan (1897) and Kung Oscars mottagning i Kristianstad (1906). He was married to Drottning Sophia. He died on 8 December 1907 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden.

Teixeira de Melo was born on 28 August 1833 in Campos dos Goitacases, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was a producer and production manager, known for Um Dia Qualquer (1965) and Marajó, Barreira do Mar (1967). He died on 10 April 1907 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Romualdo Marenco was born on 1 March 1841 in Novi Ligure, Piedmont, Italy. He was a writer, known for Ballet Excelsior (1913) and Excelsior (2002). He died on 9 October 1907 in Milan, Italy.

David Christie Murray was not only a successful journalist, author and playwright, he was also considered by many as one of the greatest lecturers of his day. The son of a printer, Murray began his writing career at the Wednesbury Advertiser and later the Birmingham Morning News. After relocating to London in 1873 he wrote for the Daily News, the World and the London Times. The latter as a special correspondent covering the Russo-Turkish War.

While Murray was struggling to become established in London, John Lovell, of the Press Association, took pity on the cash strapped youth and invented some work for him. Lovell later sent him two guineas in a pill box with the instructions "Take immediately". Murray had not eaten in several days and had been sleeping at night on park benches.

On returning to England after covering the Russo-Turkish War, Murray was asked to report directly to Prime Minister Gladstone on what he had seen. Murray attended the meeting still wearing his bearskin lined camel hair campaign overcoat. As Gladstone was helping him on with his overcoat after the meeting had concluded, he asked Murray where he had obtained such an interesting garment. After informing the P.M. that the coat came from Bulgaria, Gladstone replied that, while he had heard of Bulgarian atrocities, this was the first one that he had ever observed.

In 1889 Murray embarked on an extensive and ultimately well received lecture tour of Australia. While returning home early the next year he went missing. Some papers theorized that had stopped off in Mexico and had been murdered or maybe gone mad. Five months later Murray cabled friends in Canada to inform them that he had been working in Samoa as a guest of writer Robert Louis Stevenson. This was not the first time (nor the last) that a false report of his demise had appeared in the British press. Some years earlier newspapers had mistakenly reported that he died while covering the Russo-Turkish War. Years later they would falsely report that he had been murdered in San Francisco.

Murray began a successful two year lecture tour of North America in 1894. The tour was billed as "Memory's Lucky Bag" (The Reminiscences of a Novelist) and "Leaves from the Notebook of a Novelist".

In the late 1890s Murray wrote a series of articles for the Daily News and the London Morning on the "Dreyfus Affair" in France. His investigative reporting may have played a hand in Capt. Albert Dreyfus' release from Devil's Island.

Murray proposed in 1898 that the Anglo-American League look into erecting a statue of George Washington on British soil as a "national recognition of the justice of the cause in which he fought and a final signal of our amity with the American people".

Of the many works he published during his Life's Atonement" (1879), "Joseph's Coat" (1881), "Val Strange" (1882), "By the Gate of the Sea" (1883), "Aunt Rachel "(1886), "The Weaker Vessel"(1888) and "Dangerous Catspaw" (1889) were among his most successful. He was a performer in at least two of his plays, "Ned's Chum" (1891) and "The Chartist" (1892 or 1893). Murray's books and plays were popular on both sides of the Atlantic. As early as 1885 his stories were being serialized in American newspapers. His last work "Theories of the Soul" was published after his death.

Murray's daughter, Dora Christie Murray, said in a 1929 interview that years earlier her father had given her adopted brother a fatal overdose of a prescribed opiate. She explained that after her brother became seriously ill and the family was told that there was no hope of recovery, her father decided to put an end to his suffering as his condition grew more and more painful. The subject had come up during a debate in the British press over mercy killing.

Carl Costa was born on 2 February 1832 in Vienna, Austria. He was a writer, known for Bruder Martin (1954). He died on 11 October 1907 in Vienna, Austria.

Joseph Hatton was born on 3 February 1837 in Andover, Hampshire, England, UK. He was a writer, known for John Needham's Double (1916). He was married to Louisa Howard (actress) née Johnson. He died on 31 July 1907 in London, England, UK.

David C. Murray was born in 1847 in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England, UK. David C. was a writer, known for Aunt Rachel (1920). David C. died on 1 August 1907 in Hampstead, London, England, UK.