1902 deaths

Swami Vivekananda (; Bengali: [ʃami bibekanɔndo] ; IAST: Svāmī Vivekānanda ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (Bengali: [nɔrendronatʰ dɔto]), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the introduction of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world, and the father of modern Indian nationalism who is credited with raising interfaith awareness and bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion.Born into an aristocratic Bengali Kayastha family in Calcutta, Vivekananda was inclined from a young age towards religion and spirituality. He later found his guru Ramakrishna and became a monk. After the death of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda extensively toured the Indian subcontinent acquiring first-hand knowledge of the living conditions of Indian people in then British India. Moved by their plight, he resolved to help his countrymen and found a way to travel to the United States, where he became a popular figure after the 1893 Parliament of Religions in Chicago at which he delivered his famous speech beginning with the words: "Sisters and brothers of America ..." while introducing Hinduism to Americans. He was so impactful at the Parliament that an American newspaper described him as "an orator by divine right and undoubtedly the greatest figure at the Parliament".After great success at the Parliament, in the subsequent years, Vivekananda delivered hundreds of lectures across the United States, England and Europe, disseminating the core tenets of Hindu philosophy, and founded the Vedanta Society of New York and the Vedanta Society of San Francisco (now Vedanta Society of Northern California), both of which became the foundations for Vedanta Societies in the West. In India, Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math, which provides spiritual training for monastics and householder devotees, and the Ramakrishna Mission, which provides charity, social work and education.Vivekananda was one of the most influential philosophers and social reformers in his contemporary India, and the most successful missionaries of Vedanta to the Western world. He was also a major force in contemporary Hindu reform movements and contributed to the concept of nationalism in colonial India. He is now widely regarded as one of the most influential people of modern India and a patriotic saint. His birthday in India is celebrated as National Youth Day.

Gustave Pierre Trouvé (2 January 1839 – 27 July 1902) was a French electrical engineer and inventor in the 19th century. A polymath, he was highly respected for his innovative skill in miniaturization.

Henri Jules Louis Marie Rendu (24 July 1844 – 16 April 1902) was a French physician born in Paris. He was related to glaciologist Louis Rendu (1789–1859).
He initially received an education in sciences at the school of agronomy in Rennes, and from 1865 studied medicine in Paris, becoming an interne in 1868 at the Hôpital Saint-Antoine. He served as a military surgeon during the Franco-Prussian War, and a few years later worked in the department of Pierre Potain (1825–1901) at the Hôpital Necker in Paris.
In 1877 he became médecin des hôpitaux, earning his agrégation the following year with a dissertation on chronic nephritis called Etude comparative des néphrites chroniques. In 1885 he was appointed head of the department of medicine at Hôpital Necker, a position he maintained for the rest of his career.
In 1897 Rendu was elected to the Académie Nationale de Médecine. He was a prolific writer, with many of his medical articles being published in the Bulletin de la Société anatomique de Paris, of which he was its editor in 1873–74. Throughout his career he held an avid interest in natural sciences, and spent considerable time as a botanical collector.

Laurent Menager (1835–1902) was a Luxembourg composer, choirmaster, organist and conductor who is often referred to as Luxembourg's national composer. He founded the national choral association Sang a Klang (1857) and composed many songs, orchestral music and operettas as well as music for brass bands and the theatre.

Paul Gabriel Hautefeuille (2 December 1836 in Étampes – 8 December 1902 in Paris) was a French mineralogist and chemist.

Pierre Paul Dehérain (19 April 1830 in Paris – 7 December 1902) was a French plant physiologist and agricultural chemist. He was notably the doctoral advisor of the Nobel Prize winner Henri Moissan.
He served as an assistant at the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers in Paris, then at the age of 26, began work as a professor at the Collège Chaptal. He obtained his LSc degree in 1856 under Edmond Frémy. Later on, he taught classes in agricultural chemistry at the agricultural school in Grignon, and in 1880, became a professor of plant physiology at the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle. In 1887 he was elected a member of the Académie des sciences.As a plant physiologist, he studied the absorption of carbon dioxide by plants and the effect of artificial light, especially ultraviolet rays, on plants. He showed that plants do not absorb only those minerals that are beneficial, as previously thought, but absorb all of them and then use those that they need – so that consumption regulates absorption. He discovered respiration by plant roots and investigated the effect of different minerals on the growth of fruits. He also studied effect of crop rotation on soil quality.
The plant genus Deherainia from the family Theophrastaceae is named after him.

Augustin Alexis Damour (19 July 1808, in Paris – 22 September 1902, in Paris) was a French mineralogist who was also interested in prehistory.

Mieczysław Halka-Ledóchowski (IPA: /mʲɛˈtʂɨswaf ˈxalka lɛduˈxɔfski/), (29 October 1822 – 22 July 1902) was born in Górki (near Sandomierz) in Russian-controlled Congress Poland to Count Josef Ledóchowski and Maria Zakrzewska. He was uncle to Saint Ursula Ledóchowska, the Blessed Maria Teresia (Theresa) Ledóchowska and Father Włodzimierz Ledóchowski, General Superior of the Society of Jesus.

Adolf Dygasiński (March 7, 1839, Niegosławice – June 3, 1902, Grodzisk Mazowiecki) was a Polish novelist, publicist and educator. In Polish literature, he was one of the leading representatives of Naturalism.

Frederik Hendrik Kaemmerer (23 October 1839 – 4 April 1902) was a Dutch painter. He originally worked in the Romantic and Academic styles, but later became an Impressionist.