Death Anniversary Thread

[The Ashes Urn 1,356]

Ethiopian marathon runner Abebe Bikila died on this day 50 years ago, aged 41.

 

[diego 1,984]

Abas Mirza was born in Amol, Mazandaran and died 190 years ago at the age of 44 in Mexed in Iran, he was a Persian heir apparent of the Qajar dynasty. He gained fame as a military commander during the wars against Russia and the Ottoman Empire, as a modernizer of the armed forces and military institutions of Persia, and by his death before his father, Shah Fate Ali. Abas was an intelligent prince, possessed some talent literary, and is notable for the comparative simplicity of his life.

[Hell 1,334]

Irish actor and singer Richard Harris died on this day 21 years ago, aged 72. Harris received two Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his performances in This Sporting Life (1963), and The Field (1991). Other notable roles include in The Guns of Navarone (1961), Red Desert (1964), A Man Called Horse (1970), Cromwell (1970), Unforgiven (1992), Gladiator (2000), and The Count of Monte Cristo (2002). He gained acclaim for his role as Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), the latter of which was his final film role.

 

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 1 year ago, French painter Pierre Soulages passed away at the age of 102.

 

Photo Credit: NVP3D per Creative Commons license

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 66 years ago, Belgian architect and interior designer Henry van de Velde, who co-founded the Art Nouveau movement, passed away at the age of 94.

[Drewsky1211 4,742]

Alfred the Great died on this day 1124 years ago, aged 50.

- Alfred was the youngest child of King Æthelwulf of Wessex, and three of his brothers also served as king (Æthelbald from 858-860, Æthelbert from 860-865, and Æthelred from 865-871). Alfred became king when he was 22 years old.

- At the beginning of Alfred's reign, Great Britain was constantly under Viking raids. Initially paying them off, Alfred began waging war with them in 876 after they broke a treaty by killing their hostages. These battles would continue for the next decade.

- Alfred retook London from the Vikings in 886, and would start calling himself the "King of the Anglo-Saxons" from this point forwards. Alfred would fortify the city in an attempt to repel the Vikings.

- Alfred would drive the Vikings away from what was now England in 896 following a successful military reorganization. This achievement is where his epithet originates from.

- During his reign, Alfred would encourage the English population to learn how to read; he did not know how to read until he was 12, but loved reading poetry (possibly Beowulf) once literate.

- Alfred is believed to have suffered from a digestive ailment throughout his life (historians believe he had Crohn's disease or chronic hemorrhoids), though his cause of death was not recorded. He would be succeeded as king by his son Edward.

[The Ashes Urn 1,356]

American football player and coach Mike Michalske died on this day 40 years ago, aged 80.

 

[diego 1,984]

José Malhoa was born in Caldas da Rainha and died in Figueiró dos Vinhos 90 years ago, he was a Portuguese painter, designer and teacher. He was a pioneer of Naturalism in Portugal, having been part of the Grupo do Leão.[3] He also stood out for being one of the Portuguese painters who came closest to the Impressionist artistic movement. He was the first president of the National Society of Fine Arts

Tião Macalé was born in Salvador and died in São José do Rio Preto 30 years ago. He was a Brazilian actor, musician and comedian, famous for his appearances on the program Os Trapalhões. With a toothless smile, he was known for his famous catchphrase "Ihh, disgusting, tchan!".

[Hell 1,334]

Russian-American aviation pioneer in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft Igor Sikorsky died on this day 51 years ago, aged 83. His first success came with the S-2, the second aircraft of his design and construction. His fifth airplane, the S-5, won him national recognition as well as FAI license number 64. His S-6-A received the highest award at the 1912 Moscow Aviation Exhibition, and in the fall of that year that aircraft won first prize for its young designer, builder and pilot in the military competition at Saint Petersburg. In 1939, Sikorsky designed and flew the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300, the first viable American helicopter, which pioneered the rotor figuration used by most helicopters today. Sikorsky modified the design into the Sikorsky R-4, which became the world's first mass produced helicopter in 1942.

 

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 2 years ago, Canadian-born American comedian and social satirist Mort Sahl passed away at the age of 94.

[Drewsky1211 4,742]

Lise Meitner died on this day 55 years ago, aged 89.

- Meitner was the daughter of noted chess master Philipp Meitner. She was born to a Jewish family, but she converted to Christianity (specifically Lutheranism) in 1908.

- Meitner began attending the University of Vienna in 1901 (women began to be allowed there in 1897), and received her doctorate in 1906. She would later go to the Friedrich Wilhelm University, where she began to work with Max Planck. Planck would soon introduce her to Otto Hahn, and the two began a life-long collaboration.

- In 1917, Meitner became the first person to isolate the mother isotope of actinium- she had discovered the element protactinium.

- Meitner, along with Hahn, would find out how to split the atom- Meitner was the one to name this process "fission"; this eventually led to the development of the nuclear bomb. This discovery would earn Hahn the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1944, but Meitner wasn't awarded (some claim sexism). Regardless, Meitner would be nominated 49 times between 1924 and 1967 for either the Nobel Prize in Chemistry or Physics.

- Meitner had to flee Austria in 1938, and ended up refuging in Sweden. She would spend time in the US and UK, but did not return home after the war's end.

- Meitner had a heart attack in 1964, and would suffer from a fall that resulted in her breaking her hip in 1967; the same year she had several mini-strokes (would've been a great pick if the list existed in 1968). Meitner would die less than two weeks before her 90th birthday.

- In 1982, element 109 was synthesized for the first time. This would be named "meitnerium" after her in 1997:

[Sly Ronnie 879]

Lou Reed died 10 years ago today aged 71.

[The Ashes Urn 1,356]

American actor Allan Lane died on this day 50 years ago, aged 64.

 

[diego 1,984]

Beatrice of Castile died 720 years ago at the age of 61, she was infanta of Castile, queen of Portugal between 1253 and 1279 and queen mother from 1279 to 1303. She was the daughter of King Afonso X the Wise, born in Zaragoza, Spain

Miguel Servetus was born in Villanueva de Sigena, Spain and died in Geneva at the age of 42 570 years ago, he was the first European to describe the pulmonary circulation.

Laurentius Petri was born in Örebro, Sweden and died 450 years ago in Uppsala. He and his brother Olaus Petri are, together with King Gustav I Vasa, considered the main Protestant reformers in Sweden.

Gabriel I Báthory died 410 years ago at the age of 24 in Oradea, where he was also born, he was Prince of Transylvania from 1608 until the date of his death in 1613

[Hell 1,334]

Spanish musician and bandleader Xavier Cugat died on this day 33 years ago, aged 90. He spent his formative years in Havana, Cuba. A trained violinist and arranger, he was a leading figure in the spread of Latin music. In New York City, he was the leader of the resident orchestra at the Waldorf–Astoria before and after World War II. He was also a cartoonist and a restaurateur. The personal papers of Xavier Cugat are preserved in the Biblioteca de Catalunya.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,742]

Jerry Lee Lewis died on this day a year ago, aged 87.

- Lewis was cousins with Mickey Gilley and (later famous televangelist) Jimmy Swaggart, and the three of them would play piano together, often performing songs for their church.

- Lewis went professional in 1952, and signed with Sun Records in 1956. He was a member of the Million Dollar Quartet alongside Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins.

- Lewis achieved monumental stardom in 1957 with his songs "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Great Balls of Fire", and he is considered to be a pioneer of rock and roll:

- Lewis' career, however, would almost be ended when he married his 13-year old cousin in 1958. Despite this controversy, Lewis would become a successful country artist, with his song "Another Place, Another Time" peaking at number 4 on Billboard's Country Chart in 1968. Over the next nine years, 16 more songs of his would reach the top ten on said chart, with four of them reaching number one.

- Lewis would infamously be arrested in 1976 for showing up at Graceland, intending to shoot Elvis. The following decade would see him start frequent drug use, and rack up millions of dollars in debt.

- Lewis first appeared on the DeathList in 1993, likely due to his reckless habits. He would suffer a significant stroke in 2019, and returned to the list in 2022 after a 29-year absence. He was the 11th hit of the 14 that year; his death was erroneously reported two days before it actually occurred.

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 1 year ago, American poet Gerald Stern passed away at the age of 97.

 

Photo Credit: Rodrigo Fernández per Creative Commons license

[diego 1,984]

John Wallis, in Ashford, Kent and died 320 years ago at the age of 86 in Oxford, was a British mathematician whose work on calculus was a precursor to that of Isaac Newton. He was an expert in cryptography and decoded messages during the Civil War

Otto Messmer was born in Union City (New Jersey) and died in Fort Lee, Teaneck at the age of 91 40 years ago. He was best known for his work on Felix the Cat, both in cartoons and in newspaper comic strips produced by Pat Sullivan's studio. It is not known who created Felix the Cat, whether Otto or Pat, because until Pat died in 1933, he was credited with creating Felix. Otto, as soon as Pat died, assumed that he was the real author of Félix, not knowing who truly created him. Died of a heart attack

Tadeusz Mazowiecki was born in Płock and died in Warsaw 10 years ago at the age of 86. He was one of the main opponents of the regime of the People's Republic of Poland, a former member of the Solidarność union and Prime Minister of Poland.

[The Ashes Urn 1,356]

American billionaire tobacco heiress, philantropist and socialite Doris Duke died on this day 30 years ago, aged 80.

 

[Hell 1,334]

English philosopher and physician John Locke died on this day 319 years ago, aged 72. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". He is considered as one of the first of the British empiricists. Locke is equally important to social contract theory. His work greatly affected the development of epistemology and political philosophy. His writings influenced Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the American Revolutionaries. His contributions to classical republicanism and liberal theory are reflected in the United States Declaration of Independence.

 

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 1 year ago, American football coach and athletic director Vince Dooley passed away at the age of 90.

 

Photo Credit: Georgia National Guard per Creative Commons license

[John "요한" Sulu 419]

On this day 2 years ago, American politician Linwood Holton, who served as the 61st governor of Virginia from 1970 to 1974, passed away at the age of 98.

[Drewsky1211 4,742]

King Gustaf V of Sweden died on this day 73 years ago, aged 92.

- Gustaf was the son of King Oscar II, and became king upon his death in 1907. Gustaf opted not to have a coronation, and his precedent stands in the Swedish monarchy to this day (with his son and great-grandson successors).

- Gustaf would quickly reform the Swedish monarchy in that he gave the country's parliament more power, albeit he wanted to handpick his own government. This was compromised by allowing Gustaf to nominate ministers, but the Swedish Parliament needed to have a vote whether to accept or reject them.

- Gustaf was an avid tennis player, often competing in tournaments under the pseudonym "Mr. G". Having first seen the sport on a trip to the UK in 1876, he founded Sweden's first tennis club once he got back home.

- Gustaf sympathized with Germany during both World Wars due to his wife Victoria having hailed from there. He infamously tried to send a congratulatory letter to Hitler for his persecution of communists, but the Prime Minister stopped it from happening. He did, however, try to convince him to stop persecuting Jews (Gustaf was friends with famous Jewish tennis player Daniel Prenn).

- There have been rumors that Gustaf was bisexual, allegedly having had sexual relations with a man named Kurt Haijby between 1936 and 1947 (his wife had died in 1930).

- Gustaf was Sweden's oldest king, and reigned for 43 years. He was succeeded by his son Gustaf VI Adolf.

- In popular culture, Gustaf was mentioned in Cab Calloway's signature song "Minnie the Moocher" (released in 1931):

"She had a dream about the king of Sweden
He gave her things, that she was needin'
He gave her a home built of gold and steel
A diamond car, with the platinum wheels"

[diego 1,984]

Claudio Cavalcanti was born in Araguari and died 10 years ago at 73 in Rio de Janeiro, was an actor, television director, theatrical producer, writer, translator, singer, voice actor, radio broadcaster and Brazilian politician.
He was honored with several awards, including the Tiradentes Medal (Alerj) and the General Zenobian Medal of the Costa (Brazilian Army), and is commendator of the Brazilian Army with the Pending Medal.

[The Ashes Urn 1,356]

American figure skater Roger Turner died on this day 30 years ago, aged 92.