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Charles Dickens' father was a clerk at the Naval Pay Office, and because of this the family had to move from place to place: Plymouth, London, Chatham. It was a large family and despite hard work, his father couldn't earn enough money. In 1823 he was arrested for debt and Charles had to start working in a factory, labeling bottles for six shillings a week. The economy eventually improved and Charles was able to go back to school. After leaving school, he started to work in a solicitor's office. He learned shorthand and started as a reporter working for the Morning Chronicle in courts of law and the House of Commons. In 1836 his first novel was published, "The Pickwick Papers". It was a success and was followed by more novels: "Oliver Twist" (1837), "Nicholas Nickleby" (1838-39) and "Barnaby Rudge" (1841). He traveled to America later that year and aroused the hostility of the American press by supporting the abolitionist (anti-slavery) movement. In 1858 he divorced his wife Catherine, who had borne him ten children. During the 1840s his social criticism became more radical and his comedy more savage: novels like "David Copperfield" (1849-50), "A Tale of Two Cities" (1959) and "Great Expectations" (1860-61) only increased his fame and respect. His last novel, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood", was never completed and was later published posthumously.

Robert Browning (7 May 1812 - 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humor, social commentary, historical settings and challenging vocabulary and syntax. His early long poems Pauline (1833) and Paracelsus (1835) were acclaimed, but his reputation dwindled for a time - his 1840 poem Sordello was seen as willfully obscure - and took over a decade to recover, by which time he had moved from Shelleyan forms to a more personal style. In 1846 he married fellow poet Elizabeth Barrett and moved to Italy. By her death in 1861 he had published the collection Men and Women (1855). His Dramatis Personae (1864) and book-length epic poem The Ring and the Book (1868-1869) made him a leading poet. By his death in 1889 he was seen as a sage and philosopher-poet who had fed into Victorian social and political discourse. Societies for studying his work survived in Britain and the US into the 20th century.

Ivan Goncharov was a classic Russian writer whose novel 'Oblomov' was adapted to film by director Nikita Mikhalkov.

He was born Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov on June 18, 1812, in Simbirsk, Russian Empire (now Ulyanovsk, Russia). His father, a wealthy merchant, died when Goncharov was only seven, and he was brought up by his Godfather, Nikolai Tregubov, a retired Navy sailor. Goncharov received an excellent private education at the home of his parents. From the age of 10 he studied at a private boarding school in Moscow, specializing in commerce. From 1830 - 1834 Goncharov attended Moscow University, having such schoolmates a Mikhail Lermontov, Alexander Gertsen, and Ivan Turgenev among other distinguished Russians. Upon his graduation from Moscow University in 1834, Goncharov served as a government official for the next thirty years. He specialized in translations of foreign correspondence with the Russian government.

Between 1852 and 1855 Goncharov served as a secretary to the legendary Navy Admiral Yevfimy Putyatin. Goncharov took part in the historic Russo-Japanese Treaty of 1855, serving as the official interpreter between the Russian and Japanese governments. At that time Goncharov made voyages aboard the Russian Navy frigate "Pallada" ('Pallas'), visiting many countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Upon his return to Russia, Goncharov eventually experienced disillusionment with the Russian social and economic traditions. His 1858 publication of his travelogue, a chronicle of his three-year journey, became a sensation in the Tsarist Russia. His next book, Oblomov', made Goncharov a classic, and was praised by such figures as Fyodor Dostoevsky, and others.

In 1867 Goncharov fell under pressure for his independent views, and retired from his position as a government interpreter and censor. He eventually became a professional writer, living in St. Petersburg, Russia. He wrote numerous short stories, critiques, essays and memoirs, and continued traveling outside of Russia. During the 1860s Goncharov was part of the St. Petersburg cultural milieu, albeit his independent political position and his advanced and original views on Russian reality were causing him problems with the rigid hard-liners in the Russian establishment. He eventually suffered from negative criticism that was orchestrated by his conservative opponents. Goncharov struggled for twenty years writing his third big novel, 'Obryv' (aka.. The Precipice), dealing with romantic rivalry of three men, and sporting a veiled critique of disintegrating Russian society. Ivan Goncharov never married, he died if pneumonia in his home in St. Petersburg, Russia, and was laid to rest in the writer's corner of cemetery in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Ivan Goncharov's most important novel, 'Oblomov', was published in 1859, and became widely successful in Russia. It was even compared with the Shakespeare's Hamlet, albeit the title character, Oblomov, is giving the answer "No!" to the question "To be or not to be?". The story of Oblomov and Russians around him is dealing with a conundrum of problems of social and economic nature that are typical of Russia. The novel was adapted into the eponymous film, A Few Days from the Life of I.I. Oblomov (1980), by director Nikita Mikhalkov, starring Oleg Tabakov in the title role.

Ivan Goncharov's writings are included in the Russian school curriculum and reissued in massive printings.

Aleksandr Herzen was born on 6 April 1812 in Moscow, Russian Empire [now Russia]. He was a writer, known for Soroka-vorovka (1920), Soroka-vorovka (1959) and Novela (1963). He died on 21 January 1870 in Paris, France.

Friedrich von Flotow was born on 26 April 1812 in Teutendorf, Sanitz, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. He was a composer, known for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), No Reservations (2007) and Analyze This (1999). He was married to Rosina Theen, Anna Theen and Elisabeth von Zadow. He died on 24 January 1883 in Darmstadt, Hesse, 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.

Hendrik Conscience was born on 3 December 1812 in Antwerp, French Empire [now Belgium]. He was a writer, known for De loteling (1919), De arme edelman (1921) and Baas Ganzendonck (1929). He was married to Maria Peinen. He died on 10 September 1883 in Elsene, Belgium.

Edward Lear was an English artist, poet, musician and humorist best known for writing the children's poem, "The Owl and the Pussycat." Lear published "A Book of Nonsense" in 1846, which greatly helped to popularize the limerick. As an artist, he produced scientific illustrations of birds and other wildlife. He also composed twelve musical settings of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poetry.

William Vincent Wallace was born on 11 March 1812 in Waterford, Ireland. He was a writer, known for Maritana (1927) and Maritana (1922). He died on 12 October 1865 in Vieuzos, Hautes-Pyrénées, France.

Vincent Wallace was born on 11 March 1812 in Waterford, Ireland. He was a writer, known for Don Caesar de Bazan (1915). He was married to Helen Stoepel (common law?) and Isabella Kelly. He died on 12 October 1865 in Sauveterre-de-Comminges, Haute-Garonne, France.

Lauro Rossi was born on 19 February 1812 in Macerata, Kingdom of Italy [now Marche, Italy]. He died on 5 May 1885 in Cremona, Lombardy, Italy.

Henry Russell was born on 24 December 1812 in Sheerness, Kent, England, UK. He died on 8 December 1900 in London, England, UK.

Marc Michel was born on 22 July 1812 in Marseille, France. He was a writer, known for Two Timid Souls (1928), The Italian Straw Hat (1928) and La fille bien gardée (1924). He died on 12 March 1868 in Paris, France.

Paul Siraudin was born on 18 December 1812 in Paris, France. He was a writer, known for Airs de France (1955), Lika mot lika (1906) and L'affaire du courrier de Lyon (1923). He died on 8 September 1883 in Enghien-les-Bains, France.

Peter Christen Asbjørnsen was born on 15 January 1812 in Kristiania, Norway [now Oslo, Norway]. Peter Christen was a writer, known for Anansi Storytime (2016), Prinsessen som ingen kunne målbinde (1932) and Jackanory (1965). Peter Christen died on 6 January 1885 in Kristiania, Norway [now Oslo, Norway].

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.

Evgeniy Grebyonka was born on 2 February 1812 in Poltava, Russian Empire [now Ukraine]. Evgeniy was married to M. Rostenberg. Evgeniy died on 15 December 1848 in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire [now Russia].

Alexander Herzen was born on 6 April 1812 in Moscow, Russian Empire. He was married to Natalia Aleksandrovna Zakharina. He died on 21 January 1870 in Paris, France.