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- 18 Historical Figures from the 1800s Who Had Strange Hobbies</p>
<p>Silvia Fernandez August 13, 2025 at 4:59 PM</p>
<p>1800s-historical-figures-strange-hobbies</p>
<p>Last on August 13, 2025 by Matt Staff</p>
<p>Peel back the polished biographies and you'll find that many 19th-century historical figures unwound in ways that were, delightfully odd, to say the very least. From storm-surfing in treetops to sleeping in a coffin for "inspiration," their free time reads like a cabinet of curiosities.</p>
<p>Here are 18 icons from the 1800s whose strange hobbies make them feel startlingly human and a lot more fun.</p>
<p>1. Ada Lovelace plotted horse-race bets with math</p>
<p>oldschoolcool / via reddit.com</p>
<p>The computing pioneer didn't just theorize algorithms; she tried to apply them to 1840s horse racing. Lovelace and friends tinkered with probabilistic "systems" to beat the bookies, a pastime that reportedly left her with sizeable debts. Call it the first messy collision of code and cash.</p>
<p>2. Charles Babbage crusaded against street musicians</p>
<p>compsci – funniy / via reddit.com</p>
<p>When he wasn't designing the Difference Engine, Babbage meticulously logged noise complaints, especially about organ grinders, and campaigned to ban them from London streets. He published withering essays on "street nuisances" and kept statistics like a one-man city audit. Victorian data science, aimed squarely at the neighborhood soundtrack.</p>
<p>3. Fyodor Dostoevsky chased roulette highs</p>
<p>The novelist's off-hours weren't all philosophy; he binged on European roulette tables, losing fortunes and racing deadlines. The compulsion fed directly into his novel The Gambler, which he dictated at breakneck speed to pay creditors. Art imitating life, with a spinning wheel in the middle.</p>
<p>4. Victor Hugo made ink-blot art</p>
<p>pics / via reddit.com</p>
<p>To stop himself from sneaking out, Hugo had his valet hide his clothes, then drafted nude under a blanket until pages filled up. After hours, he daubed soot and ink into eerie, Rorschach-like drawings. Even his procrastination looked avant-garde.</p>
<p>5. John Muir "rode" trees during windstorms</p>
<p>owenkirbs / via youtube.com</p>
<p>The naturalist literally climbed into the crowns of giant conifers to feel gales roar through the branches. Perched a hundred feet up, he took notes while the forest swayed. Extreme journaling, 1870s edition.</p>
<p>6. Mary Anning combed deadly cliffs for fossils</p>
<p>paleontology / via reddit.com</p>
<p>Long before "paleontology" was a household word, Anning scoured Lyme Regis with hammer and basket, prying ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs from collapsing shale. Landslides, tides, and falling rock were part of the job and the thrill. Her living room doubled as a museum of monsters.</p>
<p>7. Gregor Mendel kept bees like a scientist-monk</p>
<p>zachefner / via reddit.com</p>
<p>Between pea-plant crosses, the Augustinian friar bred bees and logged meticulous weather data at the monastery. He even tested heredity in his hives, chasing patterns in color and temperament. Genetics met apiculture in a surprisingly busy cloister.</p>
<p>8. Arthur Conan Doyle hosted séances (and backed fairies)</p>
<p>sherlockholmes / via reddit.com</p>
<p>Sherlock's creator was an ardent spiritualist who sat for table-rapping circles and defended the infamous Cottingley fairy photographs. He debated skeptics with courtroom gusto and wrote essays as if building a case for the unseen. A detective novel, searching for evidence beyond the veil.</p>
<p>9. Sarah Bernhardt slept in a coffin -and sculpted</p>
<p>victorianera / via reddit.com</p>
<p>The world's most famous actress rehearsed melodrama by napping in a silk-lined coffin she kept at home. When curtain calls ended, she traded scripts for clay, exhibiting respectable sculpture in Paris salons. Grandeur by day, gothic by night.</p>
<p>10. Anna Pavlova kept swans at home</p>
<p>rs_x / via reddit.com</p>
<p>The ballerina behind "The Dying Swan" maintained real swans at her London villa, feeding and naming them like gentle co-stars. Guests recalled outdoor teas interrupted by elegant honking processions. Method living, meet waterfowl.</p>
<p>11. Gustave Eiffel turned his tower into a weather lab</p>
<p>oldschoolcool / via reddit.com</p>
<p>After the 1889 fair, Eiffel kept a tiny apartment at the summit and fitted the structure with instruments for meteorology and early radio tests. He logged wind, pressure, and transmission quirks high above Paris. Not just a monument; an open-air science kit.</p>
<p>12. Émile Zola prowled Paris with a camera</p>
<p>books / via reddit.com</p>
<p>The novelist lugged glass plates through foggy streets, experimenting with angles and long exposures. His private albums show carriages, shopfronts, and candid crowds; proto-photojournalism from a man better known for ink. When he wasn't writing realism, he was shooting it.</p>
<p>13. J.P. Morgan hoarded gemstones like treasure</p>
<p>colorization / via reddit.com</p>
<p>America's most famous banker poured a fortune into mineral collecting, amassing museum-worthy crystals and rare gems. Curators courted his eye; a rosy beryl was later christened "morganite" in his honor. Wall Street by day, glittering geodes by night.</p>
<p>14. The Countess of Castiglione staged proto-selfies</p>
<p>victorianera / via reddit.com</p>
<p>Virginia Oldoïni spent years crafting theatrical self-portraits with photographer Pierre-Louis Pierson; costumes, props, elaborate poses, the works. She storyboarded her own image long before influencers existed. Call her the 1860s queen of the curated feed.</p>
<p>15. Sarah Winchester remodeled forever</p>
<p>apple-.-boy / via reddit.com</p>
<p>The heiress believed constant building might appease restless spirits, so her California mansion sprouted stairs to nowhere, doors into voids, and rooms within rooms. Crews worked in shifts; blueprints mutated weekly. A hobby that turned into a labyrinth.</p>
<p>16. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky conducted while holding his chin.</p>
<p>randomvictorianstuff / via reddit.com</p>
<p>Plagued by a superstition that his head might "fall off", the composer sometimes gripped his jaw mid-performance to steady his nerves. Colleagues whispered; audiences watched, spellbound. Anxiety as stagecraft; odd, but unforgettable.</p>
<p>17. Honoré de Balzac collected ornate walking sticks</p>
<p>frenchhistorymemes / via reddit.com</p>
<p>Between marathon writing sessions (and oceans of coffee), Balzac hunted canes with carved knobs and fantastical handles. He even penned essays on elegant cane etiquette. Accessories as identity, wielded like punctuation.</p>
<p>18. Philipp von Ferrary built the world's wildest stamp trove</p>
<p>the_sceptic_lemur / via reddit.com</p>
<p>The eccentric aristocrat funneled his fortune into philately, buying legendary rarities and carrying albums on global hunts. Dealers trembled when he entered the room and prices rose on sight. His collection became the stuff of auction folklore.</p>
<p>Explore more historical content:</p>
<p>Turns out the 19th century's greatest historical figures were anything but boring off the clock. Want more wonderfully human detours from the past? Try these 17 Historical Figures Who Had Weird Hobbies, or these 20 Historical Figures Who Would've Been Meme Legends. You can also check these 19 of the Last Known Photos of Famous Historical Figures.</p>
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