Ash+Grant

Where theres life， theres death. Though a true statement， for some it seems that life and legacy continue on long after death. Many artists， poets， writers and others have been able to continue to live on through their stories， theories， art and ideas. Though not immortal， the works of certain people allow them to continue to be an important part of the world， despite no longer living.

The list below describes five people， who after death， became famous and made a profound impact on society as well as culture that can still be felt today. Not all of these people wanted fame， but ultimately achieved it， just in an untimely manner. I guess posthumous1） fame isnt all that bad.

Alfred Wegener

Born on November 1， 1880， Alfred Wegener dedicated his life to being a prolific German scientist， geologist， and meteorologist2）. In 1905， he received his astronomy degree from the University of Berlin and then set out on a life of discovery and experimentation. He went on expeditions to Greenland in order to study the polar air circulation， which was done before there was ever a widely accepted existence of the Earths jet stream3）. Wegener， during his life， also focused his research heavily on continental drift， in which he believed the continents were very slowly moving around the earth. But， despite research and information that backed his theory， it was not accepted until later on in the 1950s. He died in 1931 on a trip to Greenland due to heart failure.

The Death Effect

Though he made his theories known during his lifetime， not many people believed him， and they often went on with their own experiments， disregarding Wegeners findings. While he did discover the jet stream， continental drift and the fact that the continents are connected， he was never credited with these ideas until there was concrete evidence proposed and accepted. After his death， J. Tuzo Wilson4） provided substantial evidence to prove the existence of tectonic plates5） and continental drift. Once proven， Wegeners theories were brought to the forefront.

Galileo Galilei was born on February 15， 1564. He was a scientist， mathematician and astronomer who contributed valuable information and astrological tools to the scientific world. He created a telescope that allowed him to look at the planets， including Jupiter and Saturn， in which he was able to discover the moons orbiting these planets. Though he didnt discover the theory himself， he proved that Copernicus was correct in his heliocentric6） theory of our solar system. While his discoveries and theories were correct， he was often criticized by those heavily involved in religion， which was a way of life during his time， as they believed that the world was geocentric and was in one fixated place and did not move to revolve around the sun. He was accused of heresy7） by Pope Urban VIII and was put on house arrest8） until his death.

The Death Effect

While Galileo did make himself known， his theories were hardly accepted during his lifetime. During his lifetime， there was still a strong focus on incorrect religious beliefs. People didnt want to think outside of the Bible， and therefore anything that contradicted what the Bible claimed was ultimately thrown out and entirely disregarded. However， today， Galileo stands as the father of modern physics and his work is highly praised. Even though he didnt know it， Galileo was studying and experimenting with scientific ideas that today are considered highly important parts of the scientific world， including kinematics9） and strength of materials.

Born in 1822， Gregor Johann Mendel was an Augustinian10） priest， who today is known as the “father of modern genetics.” Even though his experiments didnt seem of much value during his time， little did people know that he had experimented with genetic inheritance by examining pea plants. Despite the fact that he was extremely shy and quiet and often had psychological breakdowns， he was heavily devoted to plant hybridization， botany， meteorology and learning more about natural science. One of his most famous experiments involved him cross-breeding two different types of pea plants. His experiments brought forth two generalizations， the Law of Segregation11） and the Law of Independent Assortment12）， which later became known as Mendels Laws of Inheritance. In 1884 Mendel died， but thankfully his discoveries did not.

The Death Effect

While he had made very significant findings， such as the fact that trait inheritance follows certain laws， Mendels theories and data were not recognized， used and praised until the 20th century. Many disregarded his theories and information due to the fact that they just didnt understand it. He was rediscovered in the 1900s and biologists over flocked to test out his experiments. Today， Mendel has two laws named after him， both dealing with genetics. One explains dominant and recessive genes， which he discovered after mixing a white and purple pea plant， and the product producing only purple flowers， and the other explains how alleles13） of different genes all assort independent of other alleles.

Born on January 19， 1809 in Massachusetts， Edgar Allan Poe flew under the radar14） his entire life. He is known as an American Romantic Movement writer who often focused on macabre15） mystery， and is the first to write a detective-fiction short story. He had hoped to become a successful writer and make a living by doing so， but his life went otherwise. While Poe was able to publish his prose as well as short stories， he wasnt usually paid for them， and if he was， it was just a few dollars. His piece， The Raven， sold for $9， which is a highly praised work of literature today. After his wifes premature death， his life seemed to go downhill. He was moving from place to place in order to keep publishing his work and attempting to stay out of legal trouble due to excessive drinking. However， in 1849， Poe died of what doctors say to be a combination of many possible things， ranging from suicide to rabies16）， to heart disease.

The Death Effect

While Poes work was published， he never made much money， and never received the fame he has today. All over the world his work is celebrated for introducing a new type of writing style and theme into the literature world.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle said， “Each [of Poes detective stories] is a root from which a whole literature has developed…. Where was the detective story until Poe breathed the breath of life17） into it？” High praise from someone who many feel is the most important detective novelist of all time.

Born on July 3， 1883 in Prague， Franz Kafka was part of a middle-class Jewish family. He was the eldest of all of the children and was put under most pressure to help his family by his father. After attending school at the Charles-Ferdinand University of Prague， he studied chemistry， then switched to law， and became extremely interested in writing and other literary elements. Though he found quality jobs， he quit them often due to conflicts with the time. Kafka wanted more time to himself in order to write， and later in life moved to Berlin in 1921 in order to get this time. But， in 1924 he died suddenly， apparently from starvation， due to the fact that he was suffering from tuberculosis18） and was no longer able to eat.

The Death Effect

“Dearest Max， my last request： Everything I leave behind me … in the way of diaries， manuscripts， letters， sketches， and so on， [is] to be burned unread.”

While alive， Kafka only published a few pieces of his unfinished works. His writing didnt get much attention until after he died， and that is when many began to discover his style of writing， which was highly existential and modern， and often reflected his own life in a dry19）， humorous way. Before dying， Kafka never really finished his works. The Metamorphosis stands as one piece of literature that was completed， but many see it as a short story， not a novel. His work wasnt published until after he died， by a lifelong friend named Max Brod. Today， there is still a search for lost letters and manuscripts written by Kafka.

His fame lives on as Kafka has a museum dedicated to his work in Prague， Czech Republic. Possibly more notable is the fact that the term “Kafkaesque” is widely used today to describe bizarre concepts and ideas which are prevalent in his works， particularly The Trial and The Metamorphosis.

有生就有死。這話雖然不假，但對某些人而言，即便過世之后很久，生命和身后留下的影響似乎也不會停止。許多離世的藝術家、詩人、作家等都得以通過自己的小說、理論、藝術和思想來延續(xù)生命。雖然不能永垂不朽，但有些人會因其作品而能繼續(xù)在世上占有舉足輕重的地位，盡管他們已經(jīng)離世。

下面介紹的五個人都是過世后聞名天下的。時至今日，我們仍可以感受到他們對社會和文化產(chǎn)生的深遠影響。他們并非都想成名，但最終都功成名就了，只是名聲來得不是時候。但我想身后之名也沒那么糟糕吧。

阿爾弗雷德·魏格納

阿爾弗雷德·魏格納出生于1880年11月1日，他終身致力于科研工作，是一名成果豐碩的德國科學家、地質學家和氣象學家。1905年，他在柏林大學獲得天文學學位，隨即展開了畢生的探索和實驗工作。為了研究極地的大氣環(huán)流，他曾多次赴格陵蘭島考察，而那時人們還未曾廣泛認同地球急流的存在。在有生之年，魏格納還著重將精力專注于大陸漂移的研究，在研究中他認為大陸正非常緩慢地在地球表面移動。但是，盡管有研究和資料支持他的理論，這一學說卻直到后來的20世紀50年代才被接受。1931年，魏格納在赴格陵蘭島考察途中因心力衰竭不幸逝世。

身后之名

盡管魏格納在有生之年已將自己的理論公之于眾，但并沒有多少人相信他。人們常常自顧自地繼續(xù)著實驗，對魏格納的發(fā)現(xiàn)置之不理。盡管他的確發(fā)現(xiàn)了急流、大陸漂移以及大陸之間相互連接這一事實，但直到有人提出確鑿的證據(jù)并被接受之后，人們才將這些觀點歸功于魏格納。在魏格納過世之后，J·圖佐·威爾遜提供了充分的論據(jù)來證明構造板塊和大陸漂移的存在。一經(jīng)證實，魏格納的理論就躋身前沿理論之列。

伽利略·加利萊伊出生于1564年2月15日。作為一名科學家、數(shù)學家和天文學家，他為科學界貢獻了寶貴的資料和占星工具。他發(fā)明了可以用于觀測木星、土星等行星的望遠鏡，并用望遠鏡發(fā)現(xiàn)了圍繞這些行星運轉的衛(wèi)星。盡管太陽系中的“日心說”理論并非由伽利略本人發(fā)現(xiàn)，但他卻證明了哥白尼提出的這一理論的正確性。雖然伽利略的發(fā)現(xiàn)和理論是正確的，但他卻常常陷于虔誠宗教徒的批判之中——虔誠的宗教信仰是他所處時代的一種生活方式——因為人們相信地球是世界的中心，它巋然不動，不會圍繞太陽公轉。伽利略被羅馬教皇烏爾班八世指控發(fā)表異端邪說，被軟禁在家直至離世。

身后之名

雖然伽利略的確使自己聲名在外，但終其一生，他的理論都幾乎沒有被接受。在他的有生之年，人們仍固執(zhí)地堅持著錯誤的宗教觀點。他們不愿跳出《圣經(jīng)》的框架來思考，因此任何與《圣經(jīng)》中的觀點相悖的事物最終都會被摒棄并被完全忽視。然而，如今，伽利略被譽為“現(xiàn)代物理學之父”，他的研究也受到高度贊揚。盡管伽利略本人并不知曉，但他當初所研究和進行實驗的科學觀點如今被視為科學界極其重要的組成部分，包括運動學和材料力學。

格雷戈爾·約翰·孟德爾出生于1822年，是一名奧古斯丁修會的神父，如今被譽為“現(xiàn)代遺傳學之父”。盡管他的實驗在他生活的時代看起來沒有太大價值，但人們并不知道他通過觀察豌豆植株來進行基因遺傳實驗。雖然他極其害羞，少言寡語，并常受心理崩潰之擾，但他仍全身心地致力于植物雜交、植物學和氣象學的研究以及對自然科學的更深入了解。他最著名的實驗之一是將兩個不同品種的豌豆植株進行雜交繁育。他的實驗揭示了兩個定律——分離定律和自由組合定律，即后來被人們熟知的孟德爾遺傳定律。孟德爾于1884年逝世，但值得慶幸的是，他的科學發(fā)現(xiàn)并沒有隨他而逝。

身后之名

盡管孟德爾做出了重大的科學發(fā)現(xiàn)，比如發(fā)現(xiàn)性狀遺傳遵循某些規(guī)律，但直到20世紀，孟德爾的理論和數(shù)據(jù)才獲得認同、得以使用并受到稱贊。許多人無視他的理論和信息，僅僅因為他們不理解。到了20世紀初期，他再次得到關注，生物學家們蜂擁去驗證他的試驗結果。如今，有兩個定律都是以孟德爾的名字命名的，同屬遺傳學的范疇。其中一個定律解釋了顯性基因和隱性基因的遺傳規(guī)律，他將開白色花與開紫色花的豌豆植株進行雜交，結果只得到開紫色花的植株，從而發(fā)現(xiàn)了這一定律。另一個定律解釋了不同基因的等位基因是如何獨立于其他等位基因來實現(xiàn)全部獨立分配的。

埃德加·愛倫·坡1809年1月19日出生在馬薩諸塞州。終其一生，他始終低調神秘。如今，他作為美國浪漫主義運動時期的作家而聞名，通常專注于創(chuàng)作驚悚的懸疑小說，而且是短篇偵探小說的鼻祖。他原本希望成為一位成功的作家，并以此養(yǎng)家糊口，但他的生活卻是另外一番景象。雖然坡得以出版自己的散文和短篇小說，但卻常常拿不到稿酬，即便能拿到稿酬，也僅有幾美元而已。他的詩歌《烏鴉》當初只賣了九美元，而如今這是一部受到高度贊譽的文學作品。在他的妻子早逝之后，他的人生似乎開始走下坡路了。為了繼續(xù)出版自己的作品，并試圖逃避酗酒引起的法律問題，他在各地顛沛流離。然而，1849年，坡去世了，醫(yī)生說可能引起他死亡的原因很多，包括自殺、狂犬病和心臟病。

身后之名

雖然坡的作品得以出版，但他從未賺到過很多錢，也從未享受過當今這樣的名望。他的作品如今名滿天下，因為它們?yōu)槲膶W界引入了一種新的寫作風格和主題。

阿瑟·柯南·道爾爵士曾說：“[坡的]每一部[偵探小說]都為偵探小說類文學的發(fā)展提供了根基……在坡給偵探小說注入生命力之前，哪里存在偵探小說呢？”這是許多人眼中有史以來最重要的偵探小說家對坡的高度贊譽。

1883年7月3日，弗朗茨·卡夫卡出生在布拉格一個中產(chǎn)階級猶太家庭。他是家中的長子，迫于父命，他承受著最大的養(yǎng)家壓力。從布拉格查理大學畢業(yè)后，他學習過化學，繼而轉向法律，并開始對寫作和其他文學工作產(chǎn)生極大的興趣。盡管他找到的工作都不錯，但他卻經(jīng)常因為時間沖突而辭職?？ǚ蚩ㄏ虢o自己更多的時間去寫作，為了獲得寫作時間，他于1921年搬到了柏林。然而，1924年，他突然去世，明顯死于饑餓，因為他當時身患肺結核，已無法進食。

身后之名

“我最親愛的馬克斯，下面是我最后的請求：我過世后留下的每件東西……包括日記、手稿、信件、草稿等，請不要閱讀，全部燒毀。”

在有生之年，卡夫卡僅僅發(fā)表了幾篇未完成的作品。去世后，他的作品才受到廣泛關注。也是在那時，很多人開始發(fā)現(xiàn)他的寫作風格，這種風格高度體現(xiàn)了存在主義和現(xiàn)代主義，經(jīng)常以一種冷面滑稽和幽默的方式折射卡夫卡自己的生活。去世之前，卡夫卡從未真正地完成過自己的作品?！蹲冃斡洝肥且黄淹瓿傻奈膶W作品，但很多人認為它只是一個短篇故事，不是小說。直到去世后，卡夫卡的作品才被其畢生的摯友馬克斯·布羅德發(fā)表。時至今日，仍有人在尋找卡夫卡遺失的信件和手稿。

卡夫卡盛名依舊，他在捷克共和國的布拉格擁有一個用于展示自己作品的博物館?；蛟S更值得一提的是“卡夫卡式”一詞，該詞如今被廣泛地用來描述怪誕的概念和思想，而這些在卡夫卡的作品中無處不在，在《審判》和《變形記》兩部作品中尤為如此。

1. posthumous [?p?stj?m?s] adj. 死后的，身后的

2. meteorologist [?mi?ti??r?l?d??st] n. 氣象學家

3. jet stream：[氣]急流，指位于對流層上層或平流層中的強而窄的氣流，是全球大氣環(huán)流的重要環(huán)節(jié)。

4. J. Tuzo Wilson：J·圖佐·威爾遜（1908～1993），加拿大地球物理學家和地質學家，因對板塊構造論的貢獻而在全世界享有盛譽。

5. tectonic plate：[地] （地殼）構造板塊

6. heliocentric [?hi?li??sentr?k] adj. [天]日心的

7. heresy [?her?si] n. 異教；異端邪說

8. house arrest：[律] （本宅）軟禁

9. kinematics [?k?n??m?t?ks] n. [物]運動學

10. Augustinian：奧古斯丁修會的。奧古斯丁，即奧勒留·奧古斯?。ˋurelius Augustine， 354～430），古羅馬帝國時期基督教思想家，是奧古斯丁修會的發(fā)起人。

11. Law of Segregation：（遺傳學用語）分離定律

12. Law of Independent Assortment：（遺傳學用語）自由組合定律，獨立分配定律

13. allele [??li?l] n. [生] （遺傳學中的）等位基因，對偶基因

14. under the radar：在視線以外，不引人注目地

15. macabre [m??kɑ?br?] adj. 恐怖的，令人毛骨悚然的

16. rabies [?re?bi?z] n. 狂犬病

17. breath of life：生命的氣息；生命；靈魂

18. tuberculosis [tju??b??（r）kj??l??s?s] n. 肺結核

19. dry [dra?] adj. （幽默、諷刺等）冷面滑稽的