Died On May 21st
Discover the most famous people who died on May 21. The list includes people like Rajiv Gandhi, Jane Addams, Hernando de Soto, John Garfield, Barbara Cartland. Famous personalities featured on this list, include philosophers, journalists, soldiers and poets and from other domains of life. This list includes people from United States, Germany, United Kingdom & France and many more countries.
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Birthdate: December 6, 1421
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom
Died: 1471
The only child of Henry V, Henry VI of England served as the king of England for almost 40 years. He also served as the disputed king of France between 1422 and 1453, becoming the only English monarch to serve as the king of France. He founded educational institutions like Eton College, All Souls College, Oxford, and King's College, Cambridge.
Birthdate: May 30, 1927
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Hartford, Illinois, USA
Died: 2018
Height: 6'6" (198 cm)
Birthdate: July 9, 1823
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States
Died: 1860
Phineas Gage was a railroad construction foreman. He is best remembered for surviving an accident which destroyed much of the left frontal lobe of his brain; during the accident, a large iron rod was driven through his head. Gage's personality was said to have changed after the accident, which contributed immensely to studies about the brain's role in determining personality.
4
John Gielgud
(Former Actor best known for his Shakespearean roles in the theater, he first played Hamlet at the age of 26)
Birthdate: April 14, 1904
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: South Kensington, London, United Kingdom
Died: 2000
Height: 5'11" (180 cm)
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Jane Addams(Reformer and Social Activist Who Became the First American Woman to be Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize)
Birthdate: September 6, 1860
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Cedarville, Illinois, U.S.
Died: 1935
Jane Addams was an American social worker, reformer, settlement activist, public administrator, sociologist, and author. Addams was a prominent leader in the history of women's suffrage and social work in the USA. She is credited with co-founding one of America's most popular settlement houses, the Hull House in Chicago. Addams is also credited with co-founding the American Civil Liberties Union.
Birthdate: September 4, 1919
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Bronx, New York, United States
Died: 2005
Birthdate: March 4, 1913
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: New York City
Died: 1952
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
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Barbara Cartland(Writer, Known as the ‘Queen of Romance’, One of the Best-Selling Authors Worldwide of the 20th Century)
Birthdate: July 9, 1901
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Edgbaston, Birmingham, England
Died: 2000
Birthdate: June 22, 1909
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Glen Ellyn, Illinois, United States
Died: 2006
Dancer, choreographer, and social activist Katherine Dunham was also a qualified anthropologist. She experimented with various ritual dances, and her innovations included a ballet performance based on Caribbean dance. She also pioneered the Dunham Technique of dance pedagogy and used the pen-name Kaye Dunn to write several works.
10
Dorothy Macmillan
(Socialite)
Birthdate: July 28, 1900
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Lancashire, United Kingdom
Died: 1966
Birthdate: December 29, 1859
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Cuatrociénegas Municipality, Mexico
Died: 1920
Venustiano Carranza was one of the most important leaders of the Mexican Revolution, which transformed the Mexican government and culture. A powerful and influential person, Carranza served as the head of state for two years before serving as the 44th president of Mexico from 1916 to 1920.
12
Louis Johnson
(record producer, jazz musician)
Birthdate: April 13, 1955
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Los Angeles
Died: 2015
13
Eric Hoffer
(Writer, Philosopher, Psychologist)
Birthdate: July 25, 1902
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: New York City
Died: 1983
Social philosopher and author Eric Hoffer was rendered half-blind at 7 due to an accident but regained his sight at 15. Orphaned in his 20s, he took up odd jobs, and once even contemplated suicide. His first book, The True Believer, catapulted him to fame, and he never looked back.
14
Alejandro Rey
(Argentine-American Actor and Television Director )
Birthdate: February 8, 1930
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died: 1987
Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
15
Geoffrey de Havilland
(Aerospace engineer, Engineer, Test pilot, Aviator, Entrepreneur)
Birthdate: July 27, 1882
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: High Wycombe
Died: 1965
Aviation pioneer and aircraft designer Geoffrey de Havilland is best remembered for his double-engine warplane Mosquito and the jet airliner Comet. He was part of the Royal Flying Corps and had been knighted for his achievements. He was also the founder of the De Havilland Aircraft Company.
Birthdate: December 31, 1912
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Pune
Died: 1993
A major figure of The Parachute Regiment, which was operational during World War II, British Army airborne officer John Frost was also a two-time Distinguished Service Order awardee. He led campaigns and operations in places such as Malta, Libya, Sicily, and Italy, before retiring to focus on farming.
17
Williamina Fleming
(Scottish Astronomer Famous for Her Discovery of the 'Horsehead Nebula')
Birthdate: May 15, 1857
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Dundee, Scotland
Died: 1911
Born in Scotland, Williamina Fleming moved to the U.S. with her husband, where she began working as a housekeeper for Harvard Observatory director Edward C. Pickering. Pickering secured her a job at the observatory, and Fleming went on to establish a classification and cataloguing system for stars.
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Vaughn Monroe
(Singer, Musician)
Birthdate: October 7, 1911
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Akron, Ohio, United States
Died: 1973
Birthdate: July 13, 1903
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Mayfair, London, England
Died: 1983
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Gene Wood
(Television personality)
Birthdate: October 20, 1925
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Quincy, Massachusetts, United States
Died: 2004
21
Chevalier d'Éon
(French Diplomat and Spy)
Birthdate: October 5, 1728
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Tonnere, France
Died: 1810
Chevalier d'Éon not just fought for France in the Seven Years' War but was also a spy. Interestingly, he led the first half of his life as a man and the second half as a woman. In his unpublished memoir, he claimed he was a woman raised as a man.
Birthdate: February 27, 1940
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Ballarat, Australia
Died: 2011
Birthdate: October 29, 1930
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Died: 2002
Niki de Saint Phalle was a French-American painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. She gained prominence as a monumental sculptor as not many women were renowned for their skills as monumental sculptors. Also remembered for her social work, Niki was one of the earliest artists to spread awareness about AIDS through art. She also wrote extensively in English and French.
24
Ralph Miliband
(Former Sociologist who published The State in Capitalist Society in 1969)
Birthdate: January 7, 1924
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Brussels, Belgium
Died: 1994
25
Hugo de Vries
(Botanist, Biologist, Geneticist, University teacher)
Birthdate: February 16, 1848
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Haarlem
Died: 1935
Birthdate: August 26, 1882
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Hamburg, German Empire
Died: 1964
James Franck was a German physicist. Along with fellow physicist Gustav Hertz, he jointly received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1925. He had a prominent academic career and served as the director of the Second Institute for Experimental Physics at the University of Göttingen. He later moved to USA and participated in the Manhattan Project during World War II.
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Les Aspin, Jr.
(United States Representative)
Birthdate: July 21, 1938
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Died: 1995
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Tommaso Campanella
(Philosopher Known for His Work 'la Città Del Sole' an Important Early Utopian Work)
Birthdate: September 5, 1568
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Stilo, Italy
Died: 1639
Tommaso Campanella was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, astrologer, and poet. His heterodox views often brought him into conflict with the authorities, and he was imprisoned for several years. In prison, he wrote The City of the Sun, a utopia describing an egalitarian theocratic society. He also defended astronomer Galileo Galilei in his first trial.
29
Fitz John Porter
(Military Officer)
Birthdate: August 31, 1822
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States
Died: 1901
Birthdate: June 15, 1917
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Gretna, Louisiana, United States
Died: 1996
31
Allyn Ann McLerie
(Actress, Singer)
Birthdate: December 1, 1926
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Grand-Mère, Quebec, Canada
Died: 2018
32
Franz von Suppé
(Austrian Composer of Light Operas)
Birthdate: April 18, 1819
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Split, Croatia
Died: 1895
Austrian composer Franz von Suppé was a major figure of the 19th-century light music in both Austria and Germany. He mostly performed at Viennese theaters such as Theater an der Wien. Some of his best-known works are Leichte Kavallerie, or Light Cavalry, and Dichter und Bauer, or Poet and Peasant.
33
Mark Reynolds Hughes
(Businessman)
Birthdate: January 1, 1956
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: La Mirada, California, United States
Died: 2000
34
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
(Poet, Viceroy and Captain General of Scotland)
Birthdate: October 25, 1612
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Edinburgh, Scotland
Died: 1650
Known as The Great Montrose, James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose was not just a Scottish nobleman and military leader but also a talented poet. He won many battles for Charles I but was defeated in the Battle of Carbisdale, following which he was hanged to death in the Edinburgh marketplace.
Birthdate: November 18, 1906
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Munich, Germany
Died: 1949
36
Princess Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily
(Princess)
Birthdate: December 14, 1784
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Royal Palace of Caserta, Caserta, Italy
Died: 1806
37
Conrad IV of Germany
(King)
Birthdate: April 25, 1228
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Andria, Italy
Died: 1254
38
Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk
(Politician)
Birthdate: 1443 AD
Birthplace: England
Died: 1524
39
Alejandro DeTomaso
(Businessman)
Birthdate: July 10, 1928
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died: 2003
40
Jassem Al-Kharafi
(Kuwaiti billionaire businessman)
Birthdate: 1940 AD
Birthplace: Kuwait City
Died: 2015
41
Ernst Zermelo
(Former Mathematician, Logician known for his role in developing Zermelo–Fraenkel axiomatic set theory and his proof of the well-ordering theorem)
Birthdate: July 27, 1871
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
Died: 1953
42
Christian Jürgensen Thomsen
(Danish Antiquarian Who Developed Early Archaeological Techniques and Methods)
Birthdate: December 29, 1788
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Copenhagen, Denmark
Died: 1865
Christian Jürgensen Thomsen was a Danish antiquarian best remembered for developing early archaeological methods and techniques. In 1816, he was selected as the head of an organization, which later became the National Museum of Denmark. Christian Jürgensen Thomsen is credited with mentoring future archaeologists like Bror Emil Hildebrand and J. J. A. Worsaae.
Birthdate: June 28, 1259
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Mongol Empire
Died: 1297
Birthdate: March 13, 1930
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Miami, Florida, United States
Died: 1979
Birthdate: January 14, 1929
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Ralls, Texas, United States
Died: 2006
46
Robert Harley, 1st earl of Oxford
(English statesman)
Birthdate: December 5, 1661
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: London, England
Died: 1724
Birthdate: 0182 AD
Birthplace: Xiapi County, Xu Province, Han Empire
Died: 0252
Sun Quan was the founder of Wu during the tripartite division of China. He went on to reign as the emperor of Eastern Wu from 229 to 252 AD. Today, he is known as a playable character in popular video games, such as the Warriors Orochi video game series. He has also been portrayed in TV series like Three Kingdoms.
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Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery
(Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895)
Birthdate: May 7, 1847
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: London, England, United Kingdom
Died: 1929
49
Ioan Petru Culianu
(Historian)
Birthdate: January 5, 1950
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Iași, Romania
Died: 1991
50
Eleanor H. Porter
(Novelist)
Birthdate: December 19, 1868
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Littleton, New Hampshire, United States
Died: 1920