Died On March 8th

The 27th president of the United States, William Howard Taft also served as the tenth Chief Justice of the US; he is the only person in the history of the US to have held both the offices. He had a great impact as chief justice and has been regarded as the greatest US chief justices of all time.

Better known as Mad Jack or Fighting Jack, British Army officer Jack Churchill was an iconic example of a person fighting wars on his own terms. He popularized carrying swords and bagpipes to battles and killed his enemies with his longbow. He inspired a comic strip and several books, too.

Max von Sydow was a Swedish actor and director. In an illustrious career spanning seven decades, Max contributed immensely to American and European cinema, theatre, and television. He appeared in 11 of Ingmar Bergman's films, including The Seventh Seal, which houses the iconic scene where Max's character challenges the personification of Death to a game of chess.

George Martin was an English composer, conductor, arranger, record producer, and audio engineer. Due to his involvement on each of the Beatles' albums, Martin was often referred to as the Fifth Beatle. In 1996, George Martin was made a Knight Bachelor for his contribution to the music industry. Apart from being a musician, Martin also contributed to several charitable causes.

Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic conductor and composer who was highly regarded in places like Russia, Britain, and Germany. Although he did not achieve fame as a composer, Berlioz became renowned internationally for his skills as a conductor. He also wrote musical journalism, which includes his influential work, Treatise on Instrumentation. 

Bayezid I reigned as the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1389 to 1402. He is credited with building one of the largest armies of the world, with which he defeated the Crusaders at Nicopolis in 1396. His only defeat at the Battle of Ankara, which turned out to be fatal, became a subject for writers, painters, and composers.

Congregational minister Henry Ward Beecher, the eighth child of Reverend Lyman Beecher, was a skilled orator and a prominent Protestant speaker. He was known for anti-slavery stance and his belief in God's love, One of his best works is the pamphlet Seven Lectures to Young Men.

German general and inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin is best-remembered for inventing the Zeppelin rigid airships and pioneering development of rigid airships during early 20th century. Zeppelin eventually founded the German aircraft manufacturing company called Luftschiffbau Zeppelin that played an instrumental role in the design and manufacture of rigid airships and emerged as the leading manufacturer of large lighter-than-air vehicles.

John of God was a Portuguese soldier who spent most of his time in Spain as a health-care worker. He is remembered for inspiring the creation of a Catholic religious institute called the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, which was established by his followers. The institute aims at helping the sick, poor, and those suffering from mental illness.

Jean Patou was a French fashion designer. He is credited with founding the popular French fashion house, Jean Patou. Over the years, several popular fashion designers like Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Bohan, and Jean Paul Gaultier have worked for Jean Patou. Patou is also credited with creating the designer tie, which he invented in the 1920s.

A 15th-century Italian captain, Francesco I Sforza reigned as the duke of Milan. He was one of the 7 illegitimate sons of Sforza dynasty founder, Muzio Attendolo Sforza. He later backed a Milan–Florence alliance, which led to the Peace of Lodi. He was also known as a patron of art and architecture.

Widely known as Scotland’s first Black footballer, Andrew Watson was also the first Black player to play international association football. The son of a Guyanese woman and a Scottish plantation owner, he moved to Britain with his father as a child. He was also an engineer and a wholesale business owner.

German-American physician Max Gerson was the proponent of the Gerson Therapy, which began as a diet-based treatment for migraine but ended up being used by him as a treatment for tuberculosis and cancer. Though Gerson died of pneumonia, there was an alternate theory that stated he had been murdered.

Swedish-born American naval engineer and inventor John Ericsson is most remembered for designing and building the first armoured turret warship and developing the screw propeller. The warship – USS Monitor – is credited for keeping the Union (North) Navy stay protected during the American Civil War. His other inventions include the torpedo technology and solar machine.

Ninette de Valois was an Irish-born British dancer, choreographer, teacher, and director of classical ballet. She is best remembered for founding The Royal Ballet, which went on to become a world renowned classical ballet company. Counted among the most influential personalities in the history of ballet, Ninette de Valois is also credited with establishing the Royal Ballet School.

Engineer James B. Eads spent most of his early life marine-salvaging along the Mississippi. Apart from building submarines, he also owned over 50 patents. He is best remembered for his triple-arch steel bridge over the Mississippi. He was the first American engineer to win the Royal Society of Arts’s Albert Medal.

Simin Daneshvar was an Iranian novelist, academic, translator, and fiction writer. In 1948, she became the first Iranian woman to have a collection of Persian short stories published. Simin Daneshvar also became the first Iranian woman to publish a novel when her work Savushun released in 1966; Savushun went on to become a bestseller.

Apprenticed as a merchant at age 14, Robert William Thomson grew up to study civil engineering and also worked with the South Eastern Railway Company. His illustrious career saw him make quite a few inventions, such as the pneumatic tire, the fountain pen, and the road steamer.  

Nobel Prize-winning Hungarian-American chemist George A. Olah, part of the scientists’ group The Martians, is best remembered for his pioneering research on carbocations. He moved to Canada during the revolution of 1956, after which he moved to Massachusetts and to Ohio in the U.S., eventually settling in Los Angeles.

Alexander Salkind was a film producer best remembered for producing popular films like Austerlitz, The Trial, and Hot Line. He is also remembered for his work on the popular Superman film franchise, which earned him a place in DC Comics' list Fifty Who Made DC Great, which was published in 1985.

A pioneer of macroeconomics, Roy Harrod is best remembered for his contribution to the Harrod–Domar model. He came under the influence of John Maynard Keynes at Oxford and Cambridge, and later revolutionized dynamic economics. He also penned The Life of John Maynard Keynes and was knighted for his achievements.