Notable Deaths on August 31

John Martin Feeney, better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and was one of the first American directors to be recognized as an auteur. In a career of more than 50 years, he directed over 130 films between 1917 and 1970, and received a record four Academy Awards for Best Director for The Informer (1935), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941), and The Quiet Man (1952).

Pranab Mukherjee was an Indian politician who served as the president of India from 2012 until 2017. He was the first person from West Bengal to hold the office. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the Indian National Congress and occupied several top ministerial portfolios in the Government of India. Prior to his election as President, Mukherjee was Finance Minister from 2009 to 2012 also in 1982 to 1984. He was awarded India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 2019, by his successor as president, Ram Nath Kovind.

Urho Kaleva Kekkonen, often referred to by his initials UKK, was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 to 1982. He also served as prime minister, and held various other cabinet positions. He was the third and most recent president from the Agrarian League/Centre Party. Head of state for nearly 26 years, he dominated Finnish politics for 31 years overall. Holding a large amount of power, he won his later elections with little opposition and has often been classified as an autocrat.

Laurent Patrick Fignon was a French professional road bicycle racer who won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984, as well as the Giro d'Italia in 1989. He held the title of FICP World No. 1 in 1989. Fignon came close to winning the Tour de France for a third time in 1989 but was defeated by Greg LeMond by eight seconds, the closest margin ever to decide the Tour. Fignon won many classic races, including consecutive victories in Milan–San Remo in 1988 and 1989. He died from cancer in 2010.

Joseph-Napoléon-Henri Bourassa was a French Canadian political leader and publisher. In 1899, Bourassa was outspoken against the British government's request for Canada to send a militia to fight for Britain in the Second Boer War. Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier's compromise was to send a volunteer force, but the seeds were sown for future conscription protests during the World Wars of the next half-century. Bourassa unsuccessfully challenged the proposal to build warships to help protect the empire. He led the opposition to conscription during World War I and argued that Canada's interests were not at stake. He opposed Catholic bishops who defended military support of Britain and its allies. Bourassa was an ideological father of French-Canadian nationalism. Bourassa was also a defining force in forging French Canada's attitude to the Canadian Confederation of 1867.

Violet Lucille Fletcher was an American screenwriter of film, radio and television. Her credits include The Hitch-Hiker, an original radio play written for Orson Welles and adapted for a notable episode of The Twilight Zone television series. Lucille Fletcher also wrote Sorry, Wrong Number, one of the most celebrated plays in the history of American radio, which she adapted and expanded for the 1948 film noir classic of the same name. Married to composer Bernard Herrmann in 1939, she wrote the libretto for his opera Wuthering Heights, which he began in 1943 and completed in 1951, after their divorce.

Sir Thomas Rainsford Bavin, was an Australian lawyer and politician who served as Premier of New South Wales from 1927 to 1930. He was born in New Zealand and arrived in Australia at the age of 15, where he studied law and became a barrister. He served as personal secretary to Australia's first two prime ministers, Edmund Barton and Alfred Deakin. Bavin was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1917. He served two terms as Attorney General of New South Wales before leading the Nationalist Party to victory at the 1927 state election, in a coalition with the Country Party. His predecessor Jack Lang and the Australian Labor Party (ALP) defeated his government after a single term at the 1930 state election.

Chief Oshkosh was a chief of the Menominee Native Americans, recognized as the leader of the Menominee people by the United States government from August 7, 1827, until his death. He was involved in treaty negotiations as the United States sought to acquire more of the Menominee tribe's land in Wisconsin and Michigan for both white settlers and relocated Oneida, Stockbridge, Munsee, and Brothertown Indians. The Menominee ceded over 10,000,000 acres (40,000 km2) of land to the United States. However, Oshkosh resisted U.S. government pressure for the tribe to relocate to northern Minnesota and played a key role in securing the 235,524-acre (953.13 km2) Menominee Indian Reservation as a permanent home for his people on their ancestral land.

Admiral of the White Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, was a Royal Navy officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. For much of his career he was regarded as a dependable officer, and spent several years as Captain of the Fleet under Admiral Sir John Jervis. However, he is chiefly remembered for his controversial actions following the Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1805 which resulted in his court-martial. Though he was removed from his sea command, he was retained in the Navy and later served as Commander-in-Chief of the base at Plymouth.

Liu Cong (died 31 August 318), courtesy name Xuanming, nickname Zai, also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Zhaowu of Han (Zhao), was an emperor of the Xiongnu-led Chinese Han-Zhao dynasty. During his reign, the Han-Zhao brought about the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, leading to its re-establishment in the south as the Eastern Jin dynasty at Jiankang in 318. His forces conquered the ancient Chinese capitals of Luoyang and Chang'an. He also captured Emperor Huai of Jin and Emperor Min of Jin, who he both had executed after forcing them to act as cupbearers.

Farhad Mehrad was a popular Iranian singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. He was a versatile musician who released the first English rock and roll album in Iran. Farhad gained fame among the Iranian rock, pop and folk musicians before the Islamic Revolution of 1979. He was prohibited from singing for several years in Iran after the revolution. Farhad's first concert after the Islamic Revolution was held in 1990. He is still recognized as one of the most influential and respected contemporary Iranian singers. Farhad was also the founding member of the popular Iranian band Black Cats.

Gottfried Finger, also Godfrey Finger, was a Moravian-German Baroque Kapellmeister and composer. He was also a virtuoso on the viol, and many of his compositions were for the instrument. He also wrote operas. Finger was born in Olomouc, modern-day Czech Republic, and worked for the court of James II of England before becoming a freelance composer. The fact that Finger owned a copy of the musical score of the work Chelys by the Flemish composer Carolus Hacquart suggests that the two composers may have worked together in England.

DeLancey Walker Gill was an American drafter, landscape painter, and photographer. Gill first became noted for his landscape illustrations and watercolors, featuring subjects such as Native American pueblos in addition to his main focus on Washington, D.C. Characterized as detailed and meticulous in his landscapes, Gill captured views of working-class and rural areas of Washington not commonly depicted in art of the period. Despite his other work, he continued to paint throughout his life, and taught art classes at the Corcoran School.

Thomas Coster Scott was an American professional football player who was a linebacker and defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers, earning All-American honors as an offensive and defensive end. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979. Scott was also an elite lacrosse player and was Virginia's first two-sport All-American. He was also on the U.Va. baseball and basketball squads.

Admiral of the Blue Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB was a Royal Navy officer, colonial administrator and politician who served in the Seven Years' War, American War of Independence, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and War of 1812. In addition to serving as the governor of Newfoundland, he was also a member of the British House of Commons during his semi-retirement. Duckworth, a vicar's son, achieved much in a naval career that began at the age of 11.

François-André Danican Philidor, born François-André Danican and often referred to as André Danican Philidor during his lifetime, was a French composer and chess master. He contributed to the early development of the opéra comique. He is widely regarded as the best chess player of his age; his book Analyse du jeu des Échecs was considered a standard chess manual for at least a century. A chess opening, an endgame position, and a checkmate method are all named after him.

Kashiram Rana was an Indian politician and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of India. In 1989, he was elected to the 9th Lok Sabha from Surat constituency in Gujarat. He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004 from the same constituency. He served as a union cabinet minister in the department of textiles, twice, in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee led NDA govt during 1998–2004. He died on 31 August 2012.

Sir Robert Richard Torrens,, also known as Robert Richard Chute Torrens, was an Irish-born parliamentarian, writer, and land reformer. After a move to London in 1836, he became prominent in the early years of the Colony of South Australia, emigrating after being appointed to a civil service position there in 1840. He was Colonial Treasurer and Registrar-General from 1852 to 1857 and then the third Premier of South Australia for a single month in September 1857.

Georges Braque was a major 20th-century French painter, collagist, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his alliance with Fauvism from 1905, and the role he played in the development of Cubism. Braque's work between 1908 and 1912 is closely associated with that of his colleague Pablo Picasso. Their respective Cubist works were indistinguishable for many years, yet the quiet nature of Braque was partially eclipsed by the fame and notoriety of Picasso.