Top People Who Became Famous After Death

1. Vincent van Gogh- Though having been a painter for decades, Vincent van Gogh didn’t become famous until the end of his life. He was so unknown that not many even knew of his death. Despite the fact he had painted large numbers of artwork, it only began to become popular around the late 1890s. His work started to spread from France and Belgium into Germany and the Netherlands with the help of his brother’s wife.

2. Franz Kafka- Born on July 3, 1883 in Prague, Franz Kafka was part of a middle-class Jewish family. He was the eldest of all of the children and was put under most pressure to help his family by his father. After attending school at the Charles-Ferdinand University of Prague, he studied chemistry, then switched to law, and became extremely interested in writing and other literary elements.

3. Emily Dickinson - Emily Dickinson’s poetry is some of the best written by a female in the English language. She has become widely acknowledged as an innovative, pre-modernist poet. Born on December 10, 1830, Dickinson lived the life of a recluse, due to the fact that she was extremely shy and introverted. She was seen as eccentric in her Massachusetts town, which made her even more isolated from the town commoners.

4. Edgar Allan Poe - Born on January 19, 1809 in Massachusetts, Edgar Allan Poe flew under the radar his entire life. He is known as an American Romantic Movement writer who often focused on macabre, mystery, and is the first to write a detective-fiction short story. He had hoped to be become a successful writer and make a living by doing so, but his life went otherwise.

5. Henry David Thoreau - Best known for his books Walden and Hoosiers, Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817 and was able to truly emphasize the importance of natural living and being one with nature and the natural world. He is also well known for fighting for resistance against unfair laws and from morally unjust governments.