Died On August 16th

Widely regarded as the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin was a singer-songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Aretha was ranked number one on Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Singers of All Time list in 2010. Having sold over 75 million records, she is also one of the best-selling musicians ever.

Popularly known as The King of Hollywood, Clark Gable appeared as a leading man for 30 years in an acting career that spanned 37 years. One of the most bankable Hollywood stars in the history of American cinema, Clark Gable was named in the greatest male star of classic American cinema list published by the American Film Institute.

Singer and guitarist Robert Johnson is remembered as a Delta blues legend. Lack of proper documentation of his early life led to various legends surrounding him, such as one that claimed he had made a deal with the Devil to excel in music. He also inspired an award-winning biography. 

Peter Fonda, son of Henry Fonda and brother of Jane Fonda, was an icon of the anti-establishment 1960s’ counterculture. He is best known for his Academy Award-nominated screenplay of Easy Rider and his Golden Globe-winning performances in the TV film The Passion of Ayn Rand and the film Ulee's Gold.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee served as the 10th Prime Minister of India and was the first prime minister who did not belong to the Indian National Congress. The BJP politician had been a journalist and an RSS member. He was a noted poet, too. During his tenure as prime minister, he carried out Pokhran II nuclear tests in 1998 and declared India as a country with nuclear weapons capability.

John Pemberton was an American pharmacist best remembered for his invention of Coca-Cola. A Confederate States Army veteran, Pemberton suffered from a wound sustained during the Battle of Columbus. The injury led him to experiment with different kinds of toxins and painkillers, which in turn helped him invent the recipe to make Coca-Cola.

Born into a family of drug merchants, Jacob Bernoulli was forced to study theology by his father but later deviated to math. He taught math and laid down the Bernoulli’s equation and calculus of variations. Apart from him and his brother, Johann Bernoulli, his family later produced more great mathematicians.

Charles Grandison Finney, dubbed as the Father of Modern Revivalism, began his career with the Presbyterian Church, where his style of preaching fermented spirited revivals. Later, his dissatisfaction with Presbyterian theology led to formation of Broadway Tabernacle and he started promoting abolitionism and equal education for women and blacks. He spent his last years as minister of Oberlin’s First Congregational Church.

Alfredo Stroessner was a Paraguayan Army officer who ruled over Paraguay as its dictator from 1954 to 1989. His 35-year-long rule is the longest in the history of modern South America. He was overthrown in 1989 in a military coup led by Andrés Rodríguez. Subsequently, he was forced into exile and spent his last 17 years in exile in Brazil.

Chemist Robert Bunsen paved the path for spectrum analysis with his discovery that every element emits a light of a particular wavelength. He also co-developed and lent his name to the Bunsen burner. He almost died of arsenic poisoning and lost sight in his right eye in a laboratory explosion.

Irving Langmuir was an American physicist, chemist, and engineer. He is credited with popularizing the concentric theory of atomic structure. Irving Langmuir is also credited with inventing the hydrogen welding technique and the gas-filled incandescent lamp. In 1932, Langmuir won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contribution to surface chemistry. He also won other prestigious awards like Faraday Medal.

José Nápoles was a Cuban-born Mexican boxer best remembered for his World Welterweight Championship reign during the 1970s. Often counted among the greatest boxers of all time in welterweight division, José Nápoles was inducted into The Ring boxing hall of fame in 1985. In 1990, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Wanda Landowska was a Polish pianist and harpsichordist who is credited with reinvigorating the popularity of the harpsichord through her performances, writings, teaching, and recordings in the early 20th century. In 1933, Wanda Landowska became the first person to record Goldberg Variations, which were originally composed by Johann Sebastian Bach for keyboard, on the harpsichord.

The widely revered Hindu religious leader and saint who had a large following was known for promoting the ancient Indian philosophy of Advaita Vedanta and Bhakti. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was a devotee of Goddess Kali who he worshipped as the universal mother. His marriage to Sharada Devi was never consummated. Swami Vivekanada was the most famous disciple of the Bengal-born mystic.