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John Keats -

The English poet died of tuberculosis in 1821, long before he became a household name at the end of the 19th century.

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John Keats -

During his lifetime, his work was hugely undervalued: his only fan outside of his family was the exiled poet Percy Shelley.

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Oscar Wilde -

The well-known Irish writer only became really famous after his death, although he was one of London’s most popular playwrights during the 1890s.

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Oscar Wilde -

Nowadays the author of ‘The Picture of Dorian Grey’ is arguably best known for being arrested and imprisoned for committing the crime of homosexuality.

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Franz Kafka -

The German existentialist writer died of tuberculosis in 1924, before publishers had the chance to realize the genius of his work.

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Franz Kafka -

Before he died, he instructed friend Max Brod to burn all of his writing, but thankfully the disobedient Brod had everything published and Kafka became one of the best-known authors of the 20th century.

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Vincent van Gogh -

When the Dutch painter died in 1890, he had only sold one painting and it went for the equivalent of around US$109.

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Vincent van Gogh -

The troubled artist gained popular recognition around 20 years after his death. His 2,000-piece portfolio includes some paintings that today are worth millions.

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Galileo Galilei -

The work of the Italian astronomer was rejected during his lifetime, largely due to criticism from religious figures who were adamant that the world was fixed and didn’t revolve around the sun.

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Galileo Galilei -

Since the early 19th century, Galileo has been recognized for the contribution he made to our understanding of outer space.

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Johann Sebastian Bach -

The infamous composer died in 1750 before his talent for writing music was properly recognized.

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Johann Sebastian Bach -

He became hugely famous as a composer thanks to a revival of his music in the 1800s, but prior to this he was only really recognized for playing the organ.

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Emily Dickinson -

The American poet was painfully shy and only published a few of her poems before she died in 1886.

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Emily Dickinson -

Following her death, her sister discovered and published about 800 raw and highly personal poems that made the writer a household name.

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Edgar Allan Poe -

Although the American writer did have his work published during his lifetime, he never actually made enough money from it to support himself.

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Edgar Allan Poe -

Best known for his stories of mystery and the macabre, the writer who struggled to make ends meet is now heralded for introducing a new writing style and theme into the literary sphere.

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Henry David Thoreau -

The American philosopher died in 1862 before his ideas about the importance of appreciating the natural world were fully understood.

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Henry David Thoreau -

Since his death, his work has inspired such influential figures as Mahatma Gandhi and Leo Tolstoy.

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Gregor Johann Mendel -

The scientist died in 1884 before the importance of his work was recognized.

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Gregor Johann Mendel -

Nowadays he is credited with having discovered the general principles of heredity that form the basis of the modern science of genetics.

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Alfred Wegener -

The German meteorologist died in 1930 before his theory on continental drift was proven.

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Alfred Wegener -

For want of concrete evidence, his theory that all the Earth’s continents are interconnected and slowly drifting apart was not proven correct until the 1950s.

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Johannes Vermeer -

Since the 19th century, the Dutch painter has been well known for his depictions of domestic middle-class life, but he did not enjoy extensive recognition during his lifetime.

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Johannes Vermeer -

When he died in 1675, Vermeer was not widely known outside his home city of Delft, and he is said to have struggled financially.

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Stieg Larsson -

The Swedish writer was well-known during his lifetime for the work he did as a journalist.

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Stieg Larsson -

He is now better known, however, for his ‘Millennium’ trilogy, for which he only received widespread recognition since his death in 2004.

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Jeff Buckley -

The albums that made the ‘Hallelujah’ singer famous were released after his tragic death in 1997.

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Jeff Buckley -

At the time of the musician’s death, he had only released one album and several more have been released since.

See also: Popular cover songs more famous than the original.

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