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(huà)雖然不假，但對(duì)某些人而言，即便過(guò)世之后很久，生命和身后留下的影響似乎也不會(huì)停止。許多離世的藝術(shù)家、詩(shī)人、作家等都得以通過(guò)自己的小說(shuō)、理論、藝術(shù)和思想來(lái)延續(xù)生命。雖然不能永垂不朽，但有些人會(huì)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(gè)人都是過(guò)世后聞名天下的。時(shí)至今日，我們?nèi)钥梢愿惺艿剿麄儗?duì)社會(huì)和文化產(chǎn)生的深遠(yuǎn)影響。他們并非都想成名，但最終都功成名就了，只是名聲來(lái)得不是時(shí)候。但我想身后之名也沒(méi)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(guó)科學(xué)家、地質(zhì)學(xué)家和氣象學(xué)家。1905年，他在柏林大學(xué)獲得天文學(xué)學(xué)位，隨即展開(kāi)了畢生的探索和實(shí)驗(yàn)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(shí)人們還未曾廣泛認(rèn)同地球急流的存在。在有生之年，魏格納還著重將精力專(zhuān)注于大陸漂移的研究，在研究中他認(rèn)為大陸正非常緩慢地在地球表面移動(dòng)。但是，盡管有研究和資料支持他的理論，這一學(xué)說(shuō)卻直到后來(lái)的20世紀(jì)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(méi)有多少人相信他。人們常常自顧自地繼續(xù)著實(shí)驗(yàn)，對(duì)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(shí)，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(diǎn)歸功于魏格納。在魏格納過(guò)世之后，J·圖佐·威爾遜提供了充分的論據(jù)來(lái)證明構(gòu)造板塊和大陸漂移的存在。一經(jīng)證實(shí)，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(xué)家、數(shù)學(xué)家和天文學(xué)家，他為科學(xué)界貢獻(xiàn)了寶貴的資料和占星工具。他發(fā)明了可以用于觀測(cè)木星、土星等行星的望遠(yuǎn)鏡，并用望遠(yuǎn)鏡發(fā)現(xiàn)了圍繞這些行星運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)的衛(wèi)星。盡管太陽(yáng)系中的“日心說(shuō)”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(chéng)宗教徒的批判之中——虔誠(chéng)的宗教信仰是他所處時(shí)代的一種生活方式——因?yàn)槿藗兿嘈诺厍蚴鞘澜绲闹行?，它巋然不動(dòng)，不會(huì)圍繞太陽(yáng)公轉(zhuǎn)。伽利略被羅馬教皇烏爾班八世指控發(fā)表異端邪說(shuō)，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(méi)有被接受。在他的有生之年，人們?nèi)怨虉?zhí)地堅(jiān)持著錯(cuò)誤的宗教觀點(diǎn)。他們不愿跳出《圣經(jīng)》的框架來(lái)思考，因此任何與《圣經(jīng)》中的觀點(diǎn)相悖的事物最終都會(huì)被摒棄并被完全忽視。然而，如今，伽利略被譽(yù)為“現(xiàn)代物理學(xué)之父”，他的研究也受到高度贊揚(yáng)。盡管伽利略本人并不知曉，但他當(dāng)初所研究和進(jìn)行實(shí)驗(yàn)的科學(xué)觀點(diǎn)如今被視為科學(xué)界極其重要的組成部分，包括運(yùn)動(dòng)學(xué)和材料力學(xué)。

格雷戈?duì)枴ぜs翰·孟德?tīng)柍錾?822年，是一名奧古斯丁修會(huì)的神父，如今被譽(yù)為“現(xiàn)代遺傳學(xué)之父”。盡管他的實(shí)驗(yàn)在他生活的時(shí)代看起來(lái)沒(méi)有太大價(jià)值，但人們并不知道他通過(guò)觀察豌豆植株來(lái)進(jìn)行基因遺傳實(shí)驗(yàn)。雖然他極其害羞，少言寡語(yǔ)，并常受心理崩潰之?dāng)_，但他仍全身心地致力于植物雜交、植物學(xué)和氣象學(xué)的研究以及對(duì)自然科學(xué)的更深入了解。他最著名的實(shí)驗(yàn)之一是將兩個(gè)不同品種的豌豆植株進(jìn)行雜交繁育。他的實(shí)驗(yàn)揭示了兩個(gè)定律——分離定律和自由組合定律，即后來(lái)被人們熟知的孟德?tīng)栠z傳定律。孟德?tīng)栍?884年逝世，但值得慶幸的是，他的科學(xué)發(fā)現(xiàn)并沒(méi)有隨他而逝。

身后之名

盡管孟德?tīng)栕龀隽酥卮蟮目茖W(xué)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(jì)，孟德?tīng)柕睦碚摵蛿?shù)據(jù)才獲得認(rèn)同、得以使用并受到稱(chēng)贊。許多人無(wú)視他的理論和信息，僅僅因?yàn)樗麄儾焕斫?。到?0世紀(jì)初期，他再次得到關(guān)注，生物學(xué)家們蜂擁去驗(yàn)證他的試驗(yàn)結(jié)果。如今，有兩個(gè)定律都是以孟德?tīng)柕拿置模瑢龠z傳學(xué)的范疇。其中一個(gè)定律解釋了顯性基因和隱性基因的遺傳規(guī)律，他將開(kāi)白色花與開(kāi)紫色花的豌豆植株進(jìn)行雜交，結(jié)果只得到開(kāi)紫色花的植株，從而發(fā)現(xiàn)了這一定律。另一個(gè)定律解釋了不同基因的等位基因是如何獨(dú)立于其他等位基因來(lái)實(shí)現(xiàn)全部獨(dú)立分配的。

埃德加·愛(ài)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(diào)神秘。如今，他作為美國(guó)浪漫主義運(yùn)動(dòng)時(shí)期的作家而聞名，通常專(zhuān)注于創(chuàng)作驚悚的懸疑小說(shuō)，而且是短篇偵探小說(shuō)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(shuō)，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(shī)歌《烏鴉》當(dāng)初只賣(mài)了九美元，而如今這是一部受到高度贊譽(yù)的文學(xué)作品。在他的妻子早逝之后，他的人生似乎開(kāi)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(wèn)題，他在各地顛沛流離。然而，1849年，坡去世了，醫(yī)生說(shuō)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(guò)很多錢(qián)，也從未享受過(guò)當(dāng)今這樣的名望。他的作品如今名滿(mǎn)天下，因?yàn)樗鼈優(yōu)槲膶W(xué)界引入了一種新的寫(xiě)作風(fēng)格和主題。

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

1883年7月3日，弗朗茨·卡夫卡出生在布拉格一個(gè)中產(chǎn)階級(jí)猶太家庭。他是家中的長(zhǎng)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(xué)畢業(yè)后，他學(xué)習(xí)過(guò)化學(xué)，繼而轉(zhuǎn)向法律，并開(kāi)始對(duì)寫(xiě)作和其他文學(xué)工作產(chǎn)生極大的興趣。盡管他找到的工作都不錯(cuò)，但他卻經(jīng)常因?yàn)闀r(shí)間沖突而辭職。卡夫卡想給自己更多的時(shí)間去寫(xiě)作，為了獲得寫(xiě)作時(shí)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?yàn)樗?dāng)時(shí)身患肺結(jié)核，已無(wú)法進(jìn)食。

身后之名

“我最親愛(ài)的馬克斯，下面是我最后的請(qǐng)求：我過(guò)世后留下的每件東西……包括日記、手稿、信件、草稿等，請(qǐng)不要閱讀，全部燒毀?！?/p>

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(guān)注。也是在那時(shí)，很多人開(kāi)始發(fā)現(xiàn)他的寫(xiě)作風(fēng)格，這種風(fēng)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(guò)自己的作品?！蹲冃斡洝肥且黄淹瓿傻奈膶W(xué)作品，但很多人認(rèn)為它只是一個(gè)短篇故事，不是小說(shuō)。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(shí)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(guó)的布拉格擁有一個(gè)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(lái)描述怪誕的概念和思想，而這些在卡夫卡的作品中無(wú)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(xué)家

3. jet stream：[氣]急流，指位于對(duì)流層上層或平流層中的強(qiáng)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(xué)家和地質(zhì)學(xué)家，因?qū)Π鍓K構(gòu)造論的貢獻(xiàn)而在全世界享有盛譽(yù)。

5. tectonic plate：[地] （地殼）構(gòu)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(shuō)

8. house arrest：[律] （本宅）軟禁

9. kinematics [?k?n??m?t?ks] n. [物]運(yùn)動(dòng)學(xué)

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

11. Law of Segregation：（遺傳學(xué)用語(yǔ)）分離定律

12. Law of Independent Assortment：（遺傳學(xué)用語(yǔ)）自由組合定律，獨(dú)立分配定律

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

14. under the radar：在視線(xiàn)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(jié)核

19. dry [dra?] adj. （幽默、諷刺等）冷面滑稽的