London, England (CNN) -- A collection of wills reveals Karl Marx died a poor man and Charles Darwin left behind a large estate, an ancestry website said Wednesday.
The England and Wales National Probate Calendar, 1861-1941, reveals the value of more than 6 million estates, including some left by famous people.
It was published online Wednesday for the first time by Ancestry.co.uk.
The records show the anti-capitalist Marx died in 1883 leaving 250 pounds (23,000 pounds today) -- $395 ($36,000 today) -- to his youngest daughter, Eleanor.
The famous Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton left even less on his death in 1922 -- just 556 pounds (20,000 pounds today) -- $878 ($31,600 today). The website said he lost his fortune in failed money-making schemes while allegedly trying to recapture the adventure of his youth.
Darwin, by contrast, left a personal estate worth 146,911 pounds (around 13 million pounds today) -- $232,000 ($20.5 million today) -- when he died in 1882, the website said.
"Probate" refers to the court's authority to adminster a deceased person's estate. That power lay with the church until 1857, when the state took it over and began putting together the records published Wednesday, Ancestry.co.uk said.
The records show the average value of a person's will during the period was 3,400 pounds ($5,363), with some wills leaving as little as 10 pounds ($15.75), the website said.
Entries also reveal details about the fate of the deceased, such as Edward John Smith, captain of the Titanic. His will says he was "lost at sea," along with passengers Bejamin Guggenheim and John Astor, and the ship's builder, Thomas Andrews.
The wills show John Cadbury, who created the eponymous chocolate empire, left a personal estate of 43,773 pounds (around 4.2 million pounds today) -- $69,000 ($6.6 million) -- when he died in 1889.
Several famous authors left substantial estates when they died, according to the records. CNN
