Death Anniversary Thread

[Drewsky1211 4,721]

Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, died on this day 201 years ago, aged 51.

There are many, many things to be said about his conquest of Europe, and the Battle of Waterloo- so I'm going to delve into his seldom-talked about exile on Saint Helena.

 

Following his famous defeat, Napoleon was sent to said island, which is located in the southern Atlantic Ocean, far from any other landmass. A troop of British soldiers were sent with him to prevent his escape, as he had done from Elba in 1814.

 

Napoleon was sent to live at Longwood House, a dilapidated mansion that was formerly a farm of the colonial East India Company. Napoleon complained about his living situation, which was in a damp environment, and caused illness to both him and his attendants- perhaps in an attempt to get him to die faster. While on Saint Helena, Napoleon wrote memoirs about his life, and a biography about Julius Caesar. He was also taught how to read in English. To cure his boredom, he often played solitaire.

 

Napoleon's isolation led to depression, and he confined himself to Longwood for the final few years of his life. His health rapidly deteriorated in early 1821, and he was bedridden by March of that year. The most common theory on how Napoleon died was from stomach cancer- the surgeon who performed his autopsy had found an ulcer, and his family had a history with the disease- Napoleon's father Carlo had also died from it. Arsenic poisoning was also suggested- people at the time were constantly being exposed to it via glues and dyes, the wallpaper in Longwood contained copper arsenite (for the dye), and the arsenic levels in Napoleon's body were 100 times above normal.

[Hell 1,334]

English born military serviceman from Pershore, Worcestershire, who at the time of his death was the oldest combat veteran of the First World War from England, having served with the Royal Navy from 1915 until 1926 Claude Choules died on this day 11 years ago, aged 110.

 

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Leopold I , Emperor Of The Holy Roman Empire died on this day 317 years ago his reign over the HRE was known for many conflicts with The Ottoman Empire, Kingdom Of France , Kingdom Of Sweden, Hungarian Rebels And The Spanish Empire. 

[The Ashes Urn 1,353]

American engineer and physicist Theodore Maiman died on this day 15 years ago, aged 79.

 

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On this day in 2012 former Dutch football  manager  George Knobel  who managed the national team between 1974 and 1976  died aged 89. 

[Drewsky1211 4,721]

King Edward VII died on this day 112 years ago, aged 68.

Edward's birth name was Albert, and his mother, Queen Victoria, insisted that he reign as "Albert Edward" (which would have made him the first English monarch to use a double name). Edward objected to this, as he did not want to devalue his father's name (which was also Albert).

 

On June 24, 1902, two days before his coronation, Edward was diagnosed with appendicitis, and underwent surgery. He was crowned on August 9th.

 

Edward's 9-year reign was primarily focused on boosting foreign relations. A visit to French president Emile Loubet in 1903 secured the Entente Cordiale (negotiated 1904), ensuring the end of centuries of British-French conflict, and made the borders of the two nations' African colonies clear.

 

The United Kingdom faced a constitutional crisis in 1910 when the "People's Budget" bill (a bill similar to the United States' 16th Amendment at the same time) was repeatedly vetoed by the House of Lords- this eventually led to the House of Lords no longer being able to veto monetary-based bills, and set terms from 7 years to 5.

 

Edward suffered several heart attacks on May 6, 1910, and died at 11:45 PM that night.

 

As of the time of writing this, only two or three known subjects of Edward are living (Koko Hume Lepota of South Africa (in limbo), and Ethel Caterham and Rose Eaton of the United Kingdom).

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American non fiction author who wrote over one hundred books on a variety pf subjects, mainly for young audiences Daniel Cohen died on this day 4 years ago, aged 82.

 

 

German born american actress and singer Marlene Dietrich died on this day 30 years ago, aged 90.

 

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Seven years since Errol Brown, lead singer of Hot Chocolate, couldn't be put together again, dying aged 71, from liver cancer.

 

[The Ashes Urn 1,353]

American restaurateur and entertainer Jilly Rizzo died on this day 30 years ago, aged 75.

 

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On this day in 2016 australian entrepreneur,  media mogul and television producer  Reg Grundy died aged 92. He was the brains behind australian tv  soaps like Sons and daughters,  The Young Doctors,  Neighbours and Prisoner Cell block H. 

[Drewsky1211 4,721]

Actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr. died on this day 22 years ago, aged 90.

Fairbanks' career started in 1923 at the age of 13, largely due to association with his father Douglas Sr., who was also a famous actor. During the 1930s, he starred in hit movie after hit movie, including Outward Bound (1930), Little Caesar (1931), The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), and Gunga Din (1939). Fairbanks was also known for his marriage to Joan Crawford from 1929 to 1933.

 

Fairbanks was commissioned into the US Navy in World War II, where he achieved the rank of lieutenant commander. He retired from the Naval Reserve as a captain in 1954.

 

After the war, Fairbanks starred in a string of pirate-themed movies, none of which were a financial success. He later moved to the United Kingdom, where he attended the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Kent in 1961. Around this time, Fairbanks primarily acted on TV shows. He retired from acting in 1987.

 

Fairbanks appeared twice on the DeathList, in 1999 and 2000, where he was the sixth death of the year (out of ten).

 

 

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American politician and jurist who served as the sixth chief justice of the United States Salmon P. Chase died on this day 149 years ago, aged 65.

 

[The Immortal 634]

Been some time since the last driver death anniversary of the day, but American F1 and sports car driver Hap Sharp died on this day, 29 years ago. The reason I decided to feature him, is the cause of his death. Hap ended up committing suicide after being diagnosed with term inal cancer.

 

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Its 11 years since the unlikely Pearly Gates mates golfer Seve Ballesteros (expectedly) & musician & DJ Big George (unexpectedly) both died, Seve at 54, from a brain tumour, and George at 53 from a heart attack, probably caused by drug use.

  

[The Ashes Urn 1,353]

German army officer, scientist and explorer Wilhelm Filchner died on this day 65 years ago, aged 79.

 

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On this day in 1940 , former leader of the Labour Party George Lansbury  , died aged 81.

He lead the Party for three years between  1932 and 1935.

He started of as a radical liberal but evolved into a socialist over the years. 

In 1912 he helped to set up the now defunct  Daily Herald  newspaper. 

Hollywood legend  Angela Lansbury is his granddaughter. 

[Drewsky1211 4,721]

Children's author Maurice Sendak died on this day 10 years ago, aged 83.

Sendak wrote and illustrated Where The Wild Things Are in 1963- it initially was received poorly due to its imagery deemed too frightening for young children, but still managed to win the Caldecott Medal in 1964. Sendak would win another Caldecott Medal in 1971 for In The Night Kitchen, a book that has been commonly banned from schools due to its main character (a child) being nude for the majority of the book.

 

Sendak wrote Seven Little Monsters in 1977. The book was based on a short for Sesame Street that Sendak had made (but never aired), and would later become an animated series that ran from 2000 to 2003:

 

In 2009, Where The Wild Things Are was adapted into a film, directed by Spike Jonze. Jonze would often consult Sendak during the production of the film, and Sendak was credited as a producer. Jonze dedicated his 2013 film Her in Sendak's memory (as well as James Gandolfini, who voiced the character Carol in the WIld Things movie).

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American film actress best known for her stormy social life and battles with alcoholism and drug addiction Barbara Payton died on this day 55 years ago, aged 39.

 

 

American actress Dana Plato died on this day 23 years ago, aged 34.

 

[The Immortal 634]

Canadian F1 driver Gilles Villeneuve died on this day 40 years ago, aged 32 in a qualifying accident at Zolder for the Belgian Grand Prix. He got 6 career wins and 13 podium finishes and was considered to be one of the most talented drivers of his generation, he was also known for his incredible pace and aggressive racing style.

 

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[The Ashes Urn 1,353]

American record executive Neil Bogart died on this day 40 years ago, aged 39.

 

 

 

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On this day in  1994  american actor George  Peppard,  latterly  famous  for his role in hit 1980s US television  drama/action series  The A Team  but also a cast member of iconic  Audrey Hepburn film Breakfast at Tiffanys,  died aged 65.

[Drewsky1211 4,721]

Little Richard died on this day 2 years ago, aged 87.

Born Richard Penniman, Little Richard first made it big in 1955 when he signed a deal with Specialty Records. That year, he released undoubtedly his biggest hit, "Tutti Frutti":

 

Among Little Richard's other charting singles of the 1950s include "Long Tall Sally" and "Lucille". He soon made his own band, called The Upsetters. In 1964, Jimi Hendrix joined his band, but was fired the following year due to him trying to usurp Richard's spotlight. Seeing Hendrix's success with his own band (The Jimi Hendrix Experience), Little Richard began to adopt a more flamboyant onstage persona.

 

Later in his career (in 1994), he sang the theme song for the educational cartoon The Magic School Bus:

 

Little Richard made his debut (and only appearance) on the DeathList in 2019 (#45), and died after a two-month battle with bone cancer the following year.

[Gooseberry Crumble 5,337]

On this day in 1949  Louis II Prince of Monaco died  aged 78.

He succeeded to the throne on 26 June  1922 after his  father Albert I Prince of Monaco died. 

His mother Mary Hamilton was a scottish aristrocrat  , making the future monarch a grandson of the Duke of Hamilton. 

Her marriage to Albert was unhappy , short lived  and ultimately annulled. 

He was brought up until the age of 11 in Germany by his mother and stepfather but had to return to Monaco at that age  to be trained for his future role.

There was a potential political crisis overshadowing  Louis  II because until he became a legal father and  had a direct heir  the person in line to inherit the throne of Monaco if he died was his german cousin  Wilheim Duke of Urach. 

To prevent this in 1911 a law was passed  that enabled his out of wedlock daughter to be recognised as his rightful heir-  but this law was quickly ruled invalid  and so in 1918 a law that allowed Louis to adopt his illegitimate  daughter and appoint her as heir with succession rights was passed.

His daughter Princess Charlotte  however   ceded her succession rights in 1944 to her son  the future Prince Rainier III.

 

Louis was very indecisive on Monacos position and which side it supported during World War two  causing tension and frustration with his grandson and heir.  

He had questionable financial links with the nazi party and  many of Monacos population descended from Italy and supported dictator Mussolini thus creating domestic  conflict about  who Monaco should support. Shortly after Mussolini  fell  Germany occupied Monaco and to Louis shame Monaco handed over 90 Jewish residents to the nazis to be killed.

Allied troops  eventually  liberated Monaco and in subsequent years post war Louis was accused of neglecting Monaco and its post war problems and spending too much time out of the country often in Paris.

 

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Nepali-Indian sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay died on this day 36 years ago, aged 71.

 

 

American television personality and musician best known for his role on the MTV reality television series Rob & Big, in which he co-starred with professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek from 2006 to 2008 Christopher Boykin died on this day 5 years ago, aged 45.

 

 

American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist Lena Horne died on this day 12 years ago, aged 92.

 

[arghton 6,684]

Kenan Evren, President/military dictator of Turkey 1980-1989 died on this day in 2015, 7 years ago aged 97.