Notable Deaths on January 17

Jyoti Basu was an Indian Marxist theorist, communist activist, and politician. He was one of the most prominent leaders of the Communist movement in India. He served as the 6th and longest serving Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1977 to 2000. He was one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He was a member of Politburo of the party from its formation in 1964 until 2008. He was also a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly 11 times. In his political career, spanning over seven decades, he was noted to have been India's longest serving chief minister under elected democracy at the time of his resignation. He declined the post of Prime Minister after the 1996 Indian general election, after the CPM refused to let him head a multi-party coalition as it would not be able to implement Marxist programs, and relinquished the prime ministership to Deve Gowda.

Martino Zaccaria was the Lord of Chios from 1314 to 1329, ruler of several other Aegean islands, and baron of Veligosti–Damala and Chalandritsa in the Principality of Achaea. He distinguished himself in the fight against Turkish corsairs in the Aegean Sea, and received the title of "King and Despot of Asia Minor" from the titular Latin Emperor, Philip II. He was deposed from his rule of Chios by a Byzantine expedition in 1329 and imprisoned in Constantinople until 1337. Martino then returned to Italy, where he was named the Genoese ambassador to the Holy See. In 1343, he was named commander of the Papal squadron in the Smyrniote crusade against Umur Bey, ruler of the Emirate of Aydin, and participated in the storming of Smyrna in October 1344. He was killed, along with several other leaders of the crusade, in a Turkish attack on 17 January 1345.

Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th president of the United States, serving from 1877 to 1881. He served as Cincinnati's city solicitor from 1858 to 1861 and was known as a staunch abolitionist who defended refugee slaves in court proceedings. At the start of the Civil War, Hayes left a fledgling political career to join the Union army. He was wounded five times, most seriously at the Battle of South Mountain in 1862. Hayes earned a reputation for bravery in combat, rising in the ranks to serve as brevet major general. After the war, he was a prominent member of the "Half-Breed" faction of the Republican Party. Hayes served in Congress from 1865 to 1867 and was elected governor of Ohio, serving two consecutive terms from 1868 to 1872 and half of a third two-year term from 1876 to 1877 before his swearing-in as president.

Big Bear, also known as Mistahi-maskwa, was a powerful and popular Cree chief who played many pivotal roles in Canadian history. He was appointed to chief of his band at the age of 40 upon the death of his father, Black Powder. Big Bear is most notable for his involvement in Treaty 6 and the 1885 North-West Rebellion; he was one of the few chief leaders who objected to the signing of the treaty with the Canadian government. He felt that signing the treaty would ultimately have devastating effects on his nation as well as other Indigenous nations. This included losing the free nomadic lifestyle that his nation and others were accustomed to. Big Bear also took part in one of the last major battles between the Cree and the Blackfoot nations, leading fighters in the last, largest battle on the Canadian Plains.

Gary Mark Gilmore was an American criminal who gained international attention for demanding the implementation of his death sentence for two murders he had admitted to committing in Utah. After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a new series of death penalty statutes in the 1976 decision Gregg v. Georgia, he became the first person in almost ten years to be executed in the United States. These new statutes avoided the problems under the 1972 decision in Furman v. Georgia, which had resulted in earlier death penalty statutes being deemed "cruel and unusual" punishment, and therefore unconstitutional. Gilmore was executed by a firing squad in 1977. His life and execution were the subject of the 1979 nonfiction novel The Executioner's Song, by Norman Mailer, and the 1982 TV film of the novel starring Tommy Lee Jones as Gilmore.

Mateiu Ion Caragiale, also credited as Matei or Matheiu, or in the antiquated version Mateiŭ, was a Romanian poet and prose writer, best known for his novel Craii de Curtea-Veche, which portrays the milieu of boyar descendants before and after World War I. Caragiale's style, associated with Symbolism, the Decadent movement of the fin de siècle, and early modernism, was an original element in the Romanian literature of the interwar period. In other late contributions, Caragiale pioneered detective fiction locally, but there is disagreement over whether his work in the field produced a complete narrative or just fragments. The scarcity of writings he left is contrasted by their critical acclaim and a large, mostly posthumous, following, commonly known as mateists.

Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in art glass, especially stained glass and Favrile glass. He is associated with the art nouveau and aesthetic art movements. He was affiliated with a prestigious collaborative of designers known as the Associated Artists, which included Lockwood de Forest, Candace Wheeler, and Samuel Colman. Tiffany designed stained glass windows and lamps, glass mosaics, blown glass such as vases, ceramics, jewelry, enamels, and metalwork. Glass work by Tiffany Studios is known as Tiffany glass. He was the first design director at Tiffany & Co., the family company founded by his father Charles Lewis Tiffany.

Robert James Fischer was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11–0 score, the only perfect score in the history of the tournament. Qualifying for the 1972 World Championship, Fischer swept matches with Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen by 6–0 scores. After winning another qualifying match against Tigran Petrosian, Fischer won the title match against Boris Spassky of the USSR, in Reykjavík, Iceland. Publicized as a Cold War confrontation between the US and USSR, the match attracted more worldwide interest than any chess championship before or since.

Birju Maharaj was an Indian dancer, choreographer, composer, singer, and a leading exponent and teacher of the Lucknow "Kalka-Bindadin" Gharana of Kathak dance in India. He was a descendant of the renowned Maharaj family of Kathak dancers, which includes his two uncles, Shambhu Maharaj and Lachhu Maharaj, and his father and guru, Acchan Maharaj. He also practiced Hindustani classical music and was a vocalist. After working along with his uncle, Shambhu Maharaj at Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra, later the Kathak Kendra, New Delhi, he remained head of the latter, for several years, until his retirement in 1998 when he opened his own dance school, Kalashram, also located in Delhi.

Qi Jiguang, courtesy name Yuanjing, art names Nantang and Mengzhu, posthumous name Wuyi, was a Chinese military general and writer of the Ming dynasty. He is best known for leading the defense on the coastal regions against wokou pirate activities in the 16th century, as well as for the reinforcement of the Great Wall of China. Qi is also known for writing the military manuals Jixiao Xinshu and Lianbing Shiji or Record of Military Training (練兵實紀), which he based on his experience as a martial educator and defensive planner in the Ming military forces. He is regarded as a hero in Chinese culture.

Theodosius I, also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene Christianity. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule the entire Roman Empire. After his death, his sons Arcadius and Honorius ruled from separate courts in the east and the west, continuing the late Roman practice of rule by multiple emperors. He ended the Gothic War (376–382), but did so on terms disadvantageous to the empire, with the Goths remaining politically autonomous within Roman territory, albeit as nominal allies.

Colonel Benjamin Church was a military officer and politician from the New England Colonies who is best known for his role in innovative military tactics notably developing unconventional warfare. He is also known for commanding the first ranger units in North America. Born in the Plymouth Colony, Church was commissioned by Governor Josiah Winslow to establish a company of Rangers called after the outbreak of King Philip's War. Church participated in numerous conflicts which involved the New England Colonies. The force of New Englanders he led tracked down and killed Wampanoag sachem Metacomet, a major factor in ending the conflict.

Jules Ralph Feiffer was an American cartoonist and author, who at one time was considered the most widely read satirist in the country. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 for editorial cartooning and, in 2004, Feiffer was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame. He wrote the animated short Munro, which won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1961. The Library of Congress has recognized Feiffer's "remarkable legacy", from 1946 to the present, as a cartoonist, playwright, screenwriter, adult and children's book author, illustrator, and art instructor.

Johnny Otis, born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes, was an American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, talent scout, and preacher. He was a seminal influence on American R&B and rock and roll. He discovered numerous artists early in their careers who went on to become highly successful in their own right, including Little Esther Phillips, Etta James, Alan O'Day, Big Mama Thornton, Johnny Ace, Jackie Wilson, Little Willie John, Hank Ballard, The Robins, and Sugar Pie DeSanto, among many others. Otis has been called the "Godfather of Rhythm and Blues".

Raymond Otto Stark was an American film producer and talent agent. Stark's background as a literary and theatrical agent prepared him to produce some of the most profitable films of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, such as The World of Suzie Wong (1960), West Side Story (1961), The Misfits (1961), Lolita (1962), The Night of the Iguana (1964), Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), Funny Girl (1968), The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), The Goodbye Girl (1977), The Toy (1982), Annie (1982), and Steel Magnolias (1989).

Lucile Randon, also known as Sister André, was a French supercentenarian who, until her death at the age of 118 years, 340 days, was the world's oldest verified living person following the death of Kane Tanaka on 19 April 2022. She is the fourth-oldest verified person ever, the oldest nun ever, and the oldest confirmed survivor of the COVID-19 pandemic, having tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 a month before her 117th birthday. She is also the only person to date to have died at the age of 118.

Faten Ahmed Hamama was an Egyptian film and television actress and film producer. She made her screen debut in 1939, when she was only seven years old. Her earliest roles were minor, but her activity and gradual success helped to establish her as a distinguished Egyptian actress, later revered as an icon in Egyptian cinema. In 1996, nine of the films she starred in were included in the Top hundred films in the history of Egyptian cinema by the cinema critics of Cairo International Film Festival.

Didier Guillaume was a French politician who briefly served as minister of state of Monaco from 2024 until his death in 2025. He previously served as the minister of agriculture and food in the government of Prime Minister Édouard Philippe from 2018 to 2020. A member of the Socialist Party until 2018, he was President of the General Council of Drôme from 2004 to 2015, Senator for Drôme from 2008 to 2018 and president of the Socialist group in the Senate from 2014 to 2018.

Masʽud I of Ghazni, known as Amīr-i Shahīd, was sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire from 1030 to 1040. The eldest son of Mahmud of Ghazni, he rose to power by seizing the Ghaznavid throne from his younger twin brother, Mohammad, who had been nominated as the heir upon the death of their father. Mohammad was shortly blinded and imprisoned. However, when much of Masʽud's western domains had been wrested from his control, his troops rebelled against him and reinstated his brother to the throne.

Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni was an Italian composer of the Baroque era. His output includes operas, concertos, sonatas for one to six instruments, sinfonias, and solo cantatas. While famous in his day as an opera composer, he is known today for his instrumental music, especially his concertos. He is best remembered today for a work called "Adagio in G minor", attributed to him but largely written by Remo Giazotto, a 20th-century musicologist and composer, who was a cataloguer of the works of Albinoni.

Earnest Lee Holmes was an American professional football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons, primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nicknamed "Fats", he played college football for the Texas Southern Tigers was selected by the Steelers in the eighth round of the 1971 NFL draft. Holmes spent six seasons in Pittsburgh, receiving one second-team All-Pro selection and winning two consecutive Super Bowl titles. In his final season, he was a member of the New England Patriots.

Patrice Émery Lumumba was a Congolese politician, independence leader, and revolutionary who served as the first prime minister of the First Congolese Republic from June until September 1960, following his party's success in the May 1960 election. Lumumba was the leader of the Congolese National Movement (MNC) from 1958 until his assassination in 1961. Ideologically an African nationalist and pan-Africanist, he played a significant role in the transformation of the Congo from a colony of Belgium into an independent republic.

Colo was a western gorilla widely known as the first gorilla to be born in captivity anywhere in the world and the oldest known gorilla in the world in 2017. Colo was born at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium to Millie Christina (mother) and Baron Macombo (father), and lived there for her entire life. She was briefly called "Cuddles" before a contest was held to officially name her. Colo's name was derived from the place of her birth, Columbus, Ohio.

John of Brittany, 4th Earl of Richmond, was an English nobleman and a member of the Ducal house of Brittany, the House of Dreux. He entered royal service in England under his uncle Edward I, and also served Edward II. On 15 October 1306 he received his father's title of Earl of Richmond. He was named Guardian of Scotland in the midst of England's conflicts with Scotland and in 1311 Lord Ordainer during the baronial rebellion against Edward II.

Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, better known by the stage name Lola Montez, was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a Spanish dancer, courtesan, and mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who made her Gräfin (Countess) von Landsfeld. At the start of the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states, she was forced to flee. She proceeded to the United States via Austria, Switzerland, France and London, to return to her work as an entertainer and lecturer.

Landgravine Elisabeth of Hesse-Marburg, German: Elisabeth Landgräfin von Hessen-Marburg, was a landgravine from the House of Hesse-Marburg and through marriage Countess of Nassau-Siegen. She was heiress to the County of Katzenelnbogen, which after her brother's death was claimed both by her and the Landgraviate of Hesse. The legal dispute for the County of Katzenelnbogen between the House of Nassau and the House of Hesse lasted until well after her death and is known as the Katzenelnbogische Erbfolgestreit.

Jyoti Prasad Agarwala was a noted Indian playwright, songwriter, poet, writer and film maker from Assam. He was deeply revered for his creative vision and output and is popularly called the Rupkonwar of Assamese culture. In fact, he is regarded as the founder of Assamese cinema for Joymoti (1935). He was also active as freedom fighter and involved in India's independence movement Quit India Movement. His death day anniversary is observed as Silpi divas his honour.

Albert Jacka, was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces. Jacka was the first Australian to be decorated with the VC during the First World War, receiving the medal for his actions during the Gallipoli Campaign. He later served on the Western Front and was twice more decorated for his bravery.

Gaines DeMario Adams IV was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons. He played college football for Clemson University, and was recognized as a unanimous All-American. He was drafted in the first round of the 2007 NFL draft, and played professionally for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears of the NFL. Adams died unexpectedly in 2010 from a previously undetected heart condition.

Suchitra Sen, widely known as the Mahanayika, was an Indian actress who worked in Bengali and Hindi cinema. The movies in which she was paired opposite actor Uttam Kumar became classics in the history of Bengali cinema. Sen won the Silver Prize for Best Actress for Saat Pake Bandha at the 3rd Moscow International Film Festival in 1963, thus became the first Indian actress to receive an award at an international film festival.

V Rama Rao served as Governor of Sikkim from 2002 to 2007. He started his political career in 1956 when he joined Jana Sangh and went on to become a National Leader of Bharatiya Janata Party and was elected to Andhra Pradesh State Legislative Council from Hyderabad Graduates' Constituency for four consecutive terms in 1966, 1972, 1978 and 1984. He served as a Party Floor Leader in council during his last term.

Lady Llanover, was a Welsh heiress, who was best known as a patron of the Welsh arts. She was born near Abergavenny, in the historic county of Monmouthshire in South East Wales, the youngest daughter of Benjamin Waddington of Ty Uchaf, Llanover and his wife, Georgina Port. She became the heiress to the Llanover Estate in Goetre Fawr, where she and her five sisters were raised and educated by their mother.

Walter Karl Gustav August Ernst von Reichenau was a German Generalfeldmarschall in the Heer (Army) of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was nicknamed "The Bull". Reichenau commanded the 6th Army during the invasions of Belgium and France. During Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, he continued to command the 6th Army as part of Army Group South as it captured Ukraine and advanced deep into the USSR.

Mohammed Burhanuddin was the 52nd Da'i al-Mutlaq of Dawoodi Bohras from 1965 to 2014. He led the community for 49 years in a period of social, economic, and educational prosperity; strengthened and re-institutionalized the fundamental core of the community's faith; revived its culture, tradition, and heritage. In successfully achieving coexistence of traditional Islamic values and modern Western practices within the community, Burhanuddin completed the work his predecessor Taher Saifuddin had started.

Peter I was King of Cyprus and titular King of Jerusalem from his father's abdication on 24 November 1358 until his death in 1369. He was invested as titular Count of Tripoli in 1346. As King of Cyprus, he had some military successes, but was unable to complete many of his plans due to internal disputes that culminated in his assassination at the hands of three of his knights.

Zhao Ziyang was a Chinese politician. He served as the premier of China from 1980 to 1987, as vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1981 to 1982, and as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party from 1987 to 1989. He was in charge of the political reforms in China from 1986, but lost power for his support of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

Barbara Charline Jordan was an American politician, attorney, and educator. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate since Reconstruction, the first woman descendant of American slavery elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and one of the first two African Americans elected to the U.S. House from the former Confederacy since 1901, alongside Andrew Young of Georgia.

Harry David Brecheen, known as "Harry the Cat", was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns. He became the first left-hander to win three games in a single World Series, and the only pitcher to win consecutive World Series games. He later led the National League in several categories in 1948.

Charles Robert "Bert" Kelly was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party and was an influential campaigner for free trade and the elimination of tariffs. He held ministerial office under Harold Holt and John Gorton as Minister for Navy (1967–1968) and Minister for Works (1968–1969). He represented the South Australian seat of Wakefield in the House of Representatives from 1958 to 1977.

Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat was a Mongolian politician and geologist who served as the first president of Mongolia from 1990 to 1997. A member of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party since 1965, he served multiple ministerial positions between 1972 and 1990. In the aftermath of the 1990 Democratic Revolution, he briefly served as Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Great Khural from March to September 1990.

Ion Rațiu was a Romanian lawyer, diplomat, journalist, businessman, writer, and politician. In addition, he was the official presidential candidate of the Christian Democratic National Peasants' Party (PNȚCD) in the 1990 Romanian presidential election in which he subsequently finished third, behind the post-communist Ion Iliescu of the National Salvation Front (FSN) and Radu Câmpeanu of the National Liberal Party (PNL), with only 617,007 votes.

Virginia Mayo was an American actress. She was in a series of popular comedy films with Danny Kaye and was Warner Bros.' biggest box-office draw in the late 1940s. She is also known for her roles in the war drama The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), the film noir White Heat (1949), and the war adventure Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951).

Martin John Springstead was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1966 to 1985 and had since worked as an umpire supervisor. He was the youngest umpire ever to serve as crew chief in the World Series, heading the staff for the 1973 Series at the age of 36 years and 3 months.

Juan Crisóstomo Jacobo Antonio de Arriaga y Balzola was a Spanish Basque composer. He was nicknamed "the Spanish Mozart" after he died, because, like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, he was both a child prodigy and an accomplished composer who died young. They also shared the same first and second baptismal names; and they shared the same birthday, 27 January.

John Ray was an English Christian naturalist and one of the earliest English parson-naturalists. Until 1670 he wrote his name as John Wray; from then on, he used 'Ray', after "having ascertained that such had been the practice of his family before him". He published important works in the fields of botany, zoology and natural theology.

Albert Israel Schatz was an American microbiologist and academic who discovered streptomycin, the first antibiotic known to be effective for the treatment of tuberculosis. He graduated from Rutgers University in 1942 with a bachelor's degree in soil microbiology, and received his doctorate from Rutgers in 1945. His PhD research led directly to the discovery of streptomycin.

Clyde William Tombaugh was an American astronomer and telescope maker, best known for discovering Pluto in 1930, marking the first detection of what would eventually be recognized as the Kuiper belt. At the time, Pluto was referred to as the ninth planet in the Solar System, a classification that stood for over seven decades.

Albert of Riga or Albert of Livonia was the third Catholic Bishop of Riga in Livonia. As the Bishop of Livonia, in 1201, he founded Riga, the modern capital city of Latvia, and the city was later made a bishopric. The building of the Riga Cathedral started during his tenure there in 1221.

Duncan "Dougal" Curdy MacSporran Haston was a Scottish mountaineer noted for his exploits in the British Isles, Alps, and the Himalayas. From 1967 he was the director of the International School of Mountaineering at Leysin, Switzerland, a role he held until his death in an avalanche while skiing above Leysin.

Uwe Nettelbeck was a German record producer, journalist and film critic. He was best known as the creator and producer of the German krautrock band Faust and changed the face of German rock music in the early 1970s. He was also one of Germany's leading film critics in the 1960s.

Elizabeth of Lorraine-Vaudémont, Countess of Nassau-Saarbrücken was a German regent and translator. She was the Countess of Nassau-Weilburg by marriage to Philipp I, Count of Nassau-Weilburg, and the regent of the County of Nassau-Weilburg during the minority of her son Philip II between 1429 and 1438.

Donald Kirshner was an American music publisher, music consultant, rock music producer, talent manager, and songwriter. Dubbed "the Man with the Golden Ear" by Time, he was best known for managing songwriting talent as well as successful pop groups including the Monkees, Kansas, and the Archies.

Giovanni Aldini was an Italian medical doctor and physicist born in Bologna. He is considered a pioneer in the field of electrophysiology. His work on Galvanism – the electrical stimulation of muscles – significantly advanced 19th-century understanding of physiology, electrotherapy, and the nature of bioelectricity.

Gauhar Jaan was an Indian singer and dancer from Kolkata. Popularly known as the gramophone girl, she was India's first celebrity singer. She was one of the first preferences for audio houses to record music on the then-new 78 rpm record in India c. 1902.

Donald Hugh Harron, was a Canadian comedian, actor, director, journalist, author, playwright, and composer. Harron is best remembered by American audiences as a member of the cast of the long-running country music series Hee Haw, on which he played his signature character of Charlie Farquharson.

Charles Hamilton Bell AO was an Australian business executive. He was president of the American fast-food chain McDonald's from December 2002, and chief executive officer from April to November 2004. Bell was the first non-American and the youngest person to hold that position.

Gjergj Kastrioti was an Albanian nobleman and military leader who led the League of Lezhë in the Ottoman-Albanian Wars until his death. Skanderbeg is considered to be a major figure of medieval Albanian history and today is the national hero of Albania.

Juliette Gordon Low was the founder of Girl Scouts of the USA. Inspired by the work of Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Scout Movement, she joined the Girl Guide movement in England, forming her own group of Girl Guides there in 1911.

Arthur Buchwald was an American humorist best known for his column in The Washington Post. At the height of his popularity, it was published nationwide as a syndicated column in more than 500 newspapers. His column focused on political satire and commentary.

Yves Debay, was a veteran French-Belgian war correspondent, who founded and reported for the French-language magazines Raids and later Assaut ("Assault"), which is published out of Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris, France. He was the first Belgian journalist to be killed in Syria.

Derek James Fowlds was an English actor. He played "Mr Derek" in The Basil Brush Show (1969–1973), Bernard Woolley in the sitcom Yes Minister (1980–1984) and its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister (1986–1988), and Sgt Oscar Blaketon in Heartbeat (1992–2010).

Theoderic, commonly known as Thierry of Alsace, was count of Flanders from 1128 to 1168. With a record of four campaigns in the Levant and Africa, he had a rare and distinguished record of commitment to crusading.

Betty Ethel Holton, better known by her stage name, Lizbeth Webb, was an English soprano and stage actress. Known as "the champagne soprano", she is remembered partly for originating the song "This Is My Lovely Day".

Sir Francis Galton was an English polymath active as a statistician, anthropologist, psychologist, meteorologist, explorer, and geographer who was the originator of eugenics during the Victorian era, contributing extensively to the foundations of behavioural genetics.

Panka Pelishek was a Bulgarian pianist and music teacher. She played as a soloist and a chamber musician, particularly known for performing Beethoven's works. In teaching, she encouraged students to follow "their own artistic path".

Captain John James McGinty III was a United States Marine Corps officer who received the United States militaries' highest decoration — the Medal of Honor — for heroism during July 1966 in the Vietnam War.

Clarence Henry Reid was an American musician, songwriter and producer also known by the stage name and alternate persona Blowfly. He released over 25 parody albums as Blowfly and another three albums as Clarence Reid.

Fausto Veranzio was a Croatian polymath, diplomat and bishop from Šibenik, then part of the Republic of Venice. He is a scientist recognised for his genius as both a Croatian and as a Croatian-Hungarian.

Dame Elizabeth Posthuma Simcoe was an English artist and diarist in colonial Canada. Her husband, John Graves Simcoe, was the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. Her diary gives an account of Canadian life.

Shrimad Sudhindra Thirtha Swamiji, also referred to as Shri Sudhindra Thirtha Swamiji, was the legal and spiritual head (mathadipathi) of the Kashi Math and the twentieth successive person called the swamiji of guru parampara.

Agathon Meurman was a Finnish politician and journalist. He was one of the key figures of the Fennoman movement and from 1863 the leader of the Finnish Party together with Yrjö Sakari Yrjö-Koskinen.

George Bancroft was an American historian, statesman and Democratic politician who was prominent in promoting secondary education both in his home state of Massachusetts and at the national and international levels.

Alexander Sergeyevich Dargomyzhsky was a 19th-century Russian composer. He bridged the gap in Russian opera composition between Mikhail Glinka and the later generation of The Five and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Jean-Marie-Rodrigue Villeneuve was a Canadian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Quebec from 1931 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1933.

Noble Henry Willingham, Jr. was an American actor who appeared in more than thirty films and in many television shows, including a stint opposite Chuck Norris in Walker, Texas Ranger.

Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann (1662–1736) was a German master builder and architect who helped to rebuild Dresden after the fire of 1685. His most famous work is the Zwinger Palace.

Yevhen Petrovych Kushnaryov was a Ukrainian politician. Kushnaryov was considered one of the chief ideologues of the Party of Regions and a key ally of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

Sir Francis Villeneuve Smith was an Australian lawyer, judge and politician, who served as the fourth Premier of Tasmania from 12 May 1857 until 1 November 1860.

Jakob Bothe, better known by his pen name Jakob Arjouni, was a German author. He received the 1992 German Crime Fiction Prize for One Man, One Murder.

Hugo Geronimo Fregonese was an Argentine film director and screenwriter who worked both in Hollywood and his home country during the classical era of Argentine cinema.

Camilo José Cela y Trulock, 1st Marquess of Iria Flavia was a Spanish novelist, poet, story writer and essayist associated with the Generation of '36 movement.

Francine Lalonde was a Canadian politician who served on both the provincial and federal levels. Prior to being elected, she was a lecturer, teacher, and unionist.

Percy Peter Tshidiso Qoboza was a black South African journalist, author, and outspoken critic of the apartheid government in South Africa during the early periods of world recognition of the problems evident in the racially divided land.

Sulpicius II. the Pious was a 7th-century bishop of Bourges and saint.

Joseph of Freising, also known as Joseph of Verona, was Bishop of Freising from 747 or 748 until his death.

André de Montbard was the fifth Grand Master of the Knights Templar and also one of the founders of the Order.

Roseline of Villeneuve was a French Carthusian nun. She is regarded as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church.

Feodor I Ioannovich or Fyodor I Ivanovich, nicknamed the Blessed (Блаженный), was Tsar of all Russia from 1584 until his death in 1598.

Jean-François Dandrieu, also spelled D'Andrieu was a French Baroque composer, harpsichordist and organist.

Émile Jean-Horace Vernet, better known as Horace Vernet, was a French painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalist subjects.

Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy was an English historian and jurist.

Hermann Schlegel was a German ornithologist, herpetologist and ichthyologist.

William Robert Giblin was Premier of Tasmania (Australia) from 5 March 1878 until 20 December 1878 and from 1879 until 1884.

Ignaz Wechselmann was a Hungarian architect and philanthropist.

Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany was the last Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1859 to 1860.

Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia was a Russian Grand Duke and a member of the Russian Imperial Family.

Ahmet Derviş also known as Derviş Bey or Derviş Pasha was an officer of the Ottoman Army and a general of the Turkish Army.

Pyotr Nikolayevich Krasnov, also known as Peter Krasnov, was a Russian military leader and writer, who later spearheaded the Cossack collaboration with Nazi Germany.

William Larry Stewart II was an American R&B singer and pianist popular during the 1960s.

Simon Kovar was a Russian-American bassoonist and one of the first renowned teachers of bassoon in the United States.

Betty Smith was an American playwright and novelist. She is best known for writing the 1943 bestseller A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Loukas Panourgias was a Greek athlete and footballer.

Olav V was King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991.

Francis Henry Pullen was an English businessperson and racehorse owner.

Helen Herring Stephens was an American athlete and a double Olympic champion in 1936.

Richard Donald Crenna was an American actor and television director.

Erich Wolf Segal was an American author, screenwriter, educator, and classicist who wrote the bestselling novel Love Story (1970) and its film adaptation.

Robert Alistair McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of West Green was a British businessman, politician and author who was an advisor to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Melvin Norman "Pat" Day was a New Zealand artist and art historian.