Died On August 11th

One of the finest comedians of all time, Robin Williams began his career as a stand-up comedian and soon moved to act in television and films. Though widely recognised for his comedic skills, the immensely talented Williams proved his versatility by taking up and successfully performing more serious roles in films like Good Will Hunting and The Fisher King.

Leonidas I was the king of the Greek city-state of Sparta from 489–480 BCE. He was the son of King Anaxandridas II. He is remembered for his participation in the Second Persian War, especially for his leadership at the Battle of Thermopylae. He died at the battle, gaining legendary status as the leader of the 300 Spartans.

Born to Indian descendants in Trinidad, V. S. Naipaul grew up to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. The author of iconic novels such as Half a Life and A House for Mr. Biswas, Naipaul was also knighted. His realistic depiction of developing countries and their miseries won hearts worldwide.

Möngke Khan reigned as the fourth khagan (emperor) of the Mongol Empire. He made several important reforms to improve the Mongol Empire's administration. Under his reign, the empire conquered Syria and Iraq and had conflicts with the Delhi Sultanate of India.

An important figure in the English religious history, John Henry Newman was a nineteenth century theologian, scholar and poet. Famed for leading the Oxford movement in the Church of England, he later switched to the Roman Catholic Church, eventually becoming the Cardinal Deacon of St. George in Velabro.  Also an influential educator and writer, he was canonized in October 2019.

Transylvania-born Hungarian military general John Hunyadi had also been the country’s governor. Remembered for his role in the battles of Kosovo and Varna, he eventually succumbed to a plague outbreak, though he went down in history for his valiant exploits against the Turks and is now a legend even in Romania and Bulgaria.

Urdu poet Rahat Indori had an illustrious and versatile career as a painter, a Bollywood lyricist, and a professor. A regular at poetry events such as Kavi Sammelan, he was known for his captivating couplets such as Kisi Ke Baap Ka Hindustan Thodi Hai. He died of COVID-19 in 2020.

Sabina Spielrein was a Russian physician who also worked as a psychoanalyst, psychiatrist, and teacher during an illustrious professional career that spanned 30 years. A pioneer of psychoanalysis, Spielrein was the first person to bring in and popularize the concept of the death instinct. Sabina Spielrein was also one of the earliest psychoanalysts to study schizophrenia in detail. 

Born to a hat manufacturer, James Wilson initially wished to study law but later joined his father’s business. Over the years, he established what is now the Standard Chartered Bank. Sent to Kolkata by Queen Victoria to introduce tax reforms, he introduced paper currency in the country, but died of dysentery.

Tazio Nuvolari was an Italian racing driver who raced motorcycles before focusing on sports cars. Nicknamed The Flying Mantuan, Nuvolari won 150 races including 24 Grands Prix, two Mille Miglias, five Coppa Cianos, two RAC Tourist Trophies, and two Targa Florios. Widely regarded as one of the greatest racing drivers of all time, Nuvolari also won a European Drivers' Championship.

Max Theiler was a South African-American virologist and physician. After getting his medical degree in South Africa, he went on to earn a diploma in tropical medicine and hygiene in London. During his career, he developed a vaccine against yellow fever, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1951. 

Known as the Little Master of Pakistan, Hanif Mohammad was perhaps the first international star of Pakistani cricket. He also scripted history by becoming the first Pakistani cricketer with a Test cricket triple hundred. While his brothers played cricket, too, his mother was a national badminton champion.

Rafael Kubelík was a Czech composer and conductor who served as the musical director of The Royal Opera, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. He also worked as a guest conductor for famous orchestras in America and Europe. Among his works were five operas and three symphonies.  

Hans Memling was a 15th-century painter who worked in the tradition of Early Netherlandish painting. He trained in the Brussels workshop of prominent painter Rogier van der Weyden. With time, he became one of the leading artists in the region and ran a large workshop. He was extremely successful and died a wealthy man. 

Nicholas of Cusa was a German mathematician, astronomer, jurist, theologian, and philosopher. One of the first supporters of Renaissance humanism in Germany, Nicholas of Cusa made significant political and spiritual contributions in European history. He is remembered for his efforts to reform the universal and Roman Church.

Noted for his contributions in the fields of topology and algebra, Italian mathematician Enrico Betti also worked in the area of theoretical physics, particularly dealing with potential theory and elasticity. He discovered Betti's theorem and is perhaps best remembered for his 1871 paper on topology that led to the eventual naming of the Betti numbers after him.

American physician and abdominal-surgeon John Benjamin Murphy, who served as President of Chicago Medical Society and the American Medical Association, is best-remembered as an early advocate of intervention in appendicitis appendectomy. Several innovative procedures in areas like thoracic-surgery, neurosurgery, gynaecology, and orthopaedics were performed and elucidated by him. He is also noted for eponyms like Murphy drip and Murphy’s punch.