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Aleksandr Borodin was born on November 12, 1833 in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was in fact the illegitimate son of the Georgian Prince, Lukas Gedevanishvili, who registered his son under the name of his serf and payed for Borodin's private education in music, languages and sciences.

Young Borodin grew up becoming fluent in German, French and English, besides his native Russian. He later learned Italian and was able to write a technical essay in that language. Borodin studied at the St. Petersburg Medical-Surgical Academy from 1850-1856 and graduated with honours as a Medical Doctor. He also earned a doctorate in organic chemistry with his dissertation "On the analogy of arsenic acid with phosphoric acid in chemical and toxicological behaviour." Borodin carried advanced research on aldehydes. In 1872, Borodin discovered the "Aldol-reaction/condensation". He also worked on the chemistry of mineral waters and researched their medicinal properties.

In 1859-63 Borodin lived in Western Europe, where he studied medicine and chemistry and also attended the concerts of Franz Liszt, who became Borodin's friend and admirer of his music. Back in Russia, Borodin continued his music studies as a weekend hobby. He often played piano and flute with his friends, the composers of "The Mighty Handful", which included Mily Balakirev, Cesar Cui, Modest Mussorgsky and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Borodin was a frequent traveller because of his scientific research and invitations from various research centres and Universities. His tone poem for symphony orchestra "In the Steppes of Central Asia" was composed on his impressions from travels.

Borodin started the work on his first symphony in 1862, under the tutelage of Mily Balakirev and completed the work by 1869, when it was premiered under the baton of Mily Balakirev. In 1869, Borodin started on his Symphony No.2 which was premiered in 1877, but Borodin made upgrades to its orchestration for the triumphal performance in 1879 under the direction of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. His lengthy work on each one of his symphonies was caused by Borodin's preoccupation with his second opera "Prince Igor", which became his most important work. Borodin was working on this masterpiece from 1869 to his death in 1877. It contains the famous choral "Polovetsian Dances" which was borrowed for the popular song "Stranger in Paradise" and was also used in many films.

In 1877, Borodin went to Weimar where Franz Liszt worked as a Muskmaster. Though Borodin's European trips were made for the business of his scientific research, Franz Liszt, being a personal friend of Borodin, made arrangements for his Symphony No. 1 to be performed for the first time outside Russia. In Italy, Borodin became engaged and lived with Ekaterina Protopopova, whom he married upon their return to St. Petersburg, Russia. Borodin composed many romantic songs for voice and piano accompaniment, dedicated to his beloved wife, Ekaterina. Some of those romances were composed to the poems by Nikolai A. Nekrasov. Borodin's romances became a staple in the repertoire of many classical vocalists.

Borodin's strong and lyrical String Quartet No.2 in D Major stands out in that genre. It is an intellectual conversation between the four musical instruments, each having a special character, and each shows its development through their delicious harmonic interplay. The popular "Nocturne" movement from this quartet is arguably one of the most lyrical melodies in all music.

Borodin's contribution to science and culture could be even more significant. He left a number of unfinished works, the Symphony No. 3 and a five-part opera on stories from Russian fairy tales. He died on February 27, 1887 during a party in St. Petersburg and was laid to rest at the St. Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Paul Féval was born on 29 September 1817 in Rennes, France. He was a writer, known for Le Bossu (1959), El jorobado (Enrique de Lagardere) (1943) and Le bossu (1934). He was married to Marie Pénoyée. He died on 8 March 1887 in Paris, France.

Dinah Maria Mulock Craik was born on 20 April 1826 in Stoke-on-Trent, England, UK. She was a writer, known for Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958), John Halifax, Gentleman (1915) and John Halifax (1938). She died on 12 October 1887 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK.

Born into a wealthy family in Thuringen, she was sent by her parents to study music with Fürstin Mathilde von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, then attended the Vienna Conservatory (1844-1846). She appeared as an opera singer in Vienna and Leipzig, but gave up her career in 1853, due to an ear infection. She began her literary career in 1863, publishing novels and short stories in Die Gartenlaube, which were so popular that circulation doubled between 1866 and 1876. Her most well-known novel, Die zweite Frau, was published in 1874.

Joseph Rainey was born on 21 June 1832 in Georgetown, South Carolina, USA. He died on 1 August 1887 in Georgetown, South Carolina, USA.

Poet Emma Lazarus was born into a wealthy family in New York City on July 22, 1849. Her first book of poems, "Poems and Translations", was published in 1867, when she was just 18. Renowned author Ralph Waldo Emerson was impressed with her work and praised it, and her next book, "Admetus and Other Poems" in 1871, was dedicated to him. She published a string of well-received poems and verse works over the next few years.

In 1881 she became involved in the plight of the new waves of immigrants to the US, and became a strong advocate of the rights of immigrants, an unpopular stance during a time when many immigrant groups--especially those of Eastern Europe and Ireland--were under attack by anti-immigrant groups in the US, who said they were "polluting" US culture. Her most famous work, "The New Colossus", was chosen to be the inscription on the base of the Statue of Liberty, welcoming immigrants coming into New York harbor. It contains what are among the most well-known words in the English language: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free".

She published her last book in 1887, and died in New York City on November 19 that year.

Multatuli was born on 3 March 1820 in Amsterdam, United Kingdom of the Netherlands [now Noord-Holland, Netherlands]. Multatuli was a writer, known for Max Havelaar (1976), Vorstenschool (1976) and Ballade van de Japanse Steenhouwer (1982). Multatuli died on 19 February 1887 in Nieder-Ingelheim, Germany.

Józef Ignacy Kraszewski (28 July 1812 - 19 March 1887) was a Polish writer, publisher, historian, journalist, scholar, painter, and author who produced more than 200 novels and 150 novellas, short stories, and art reviews, which makes him the most prolific writer in the history of Polish literature. He is best known for his epic series on the history of Poland, comprising twenty-nine novels in seventy-nine parts.

Mrs. Henry Wood was born on 17 January 1814 in Worcester, Worcestershire, England, UK. She was a writer, known for Ex-Flame (1930), East Lynne (1931) and East Lynne (1913). She was married to Henry Wood. She died on 10 February 1887 in London, England, UK.

Eugène Pottier was born on 4 October 1816 in Paris, France. He was a writer, known for Air Force One (1997), Doctor Zhivago (1965) and Seven Years in Tibet (1997). He died on 6 November 1887 in Paris, France.

Alfred Krupp was born on 26 April 1812 in Essen, Grand Duchy of Berg [now Germany]. He died on 14 July 1887 in Essen, Germany.

Aleksandr Ulyanov was born on 12 April 1866 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. He died on 20 May 1887 in Shlisselburg, Russia.

Philippe Rousseau was born on 22 February 1816 in Paris, France. Philippe died on 5 December 1887 in Acquigny, Eure, France.

John Ceiriog Hughes was born on 25 September 1832 in Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, Denbighshire, Wales, UK. He was married to Anne Roberts. He died on 23 April 1887 in Caersws, Montgomeryshire, Wales, UK.

Jules Laforgue was born on 16 August 1860 in Montevideo, Uruguay. Jules was a writer, known for Hommelette for Hamlet, operetta inqualificabile (da J. Laforgue) (1990) and Through the Windows (2012). Jules was married to Leah Lee. Jules died on 20 August 1887 in Paris, France.

Alfred Hennequin was born on 13 January 1842 in Liege, Belgium. Alfred was a writer, known for Lili (1918). Alfred died on 7 August 1887 in Lpinay-sur-Seine, France.

George J. Webb was born on 24 June 1803 in Rushmore Lodge nearby Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, UK. George J. died on 7 October 1887 in Orange, New Jersey, USA.