May 2 Alfred de Musset, French poet (Lesson caprices Marianne), dies at 46 May 11 Eugène François Vidocq, French criminal & police detective, dies at 81 May 23 Augustin Louis Cauchy, French mathematician and physicist, dies at 67 Apr 1857 Famous Deaths by Year Jun 1857 Famous People by Cause of Death Assassination Car Crash Hanging Killed in Action Plane Crash Poisoning