Died On May 6th

Henry David Thoreau was an American philosopher, essayist, poet, and naturalist. He is credited with popularizing transcendentalism and simple living. His philosophy of civil disobedience, which was detailed in his essay of the same name, later influenced world-renowned personalities like Leo Tolstoy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Mahatma Gandhi.

L. Frank Baum was an author remembered for writing children's books including The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which inspired the 1902 Broadway musical and the 1939 live-action film of the same name. His works anticipated the invention of gadgets like TV that would be invented later. In 2013, Baum was made an inductee of the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame.

As a child, Alexander von Humboldt was sickly and a bad student. After failing to shine in economics and engineering, he grew up to revolutionize the domain of geography. He is remembered for his research on magnetic storms and his treatise on nature, Kosmos. He also spoke about climate change.

Edward VII, the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death, is said to have played a role in the reorganisation of the British Army after the Second Boer War. His main interests lay in the fields of foreign affairs and naval and military matters.

Johan Ludvig Runeberg was a Finnish priest and poet. He is credited with writing Vårt land, the unofficial national anthem of Finland, and is regarded as a national poet of the country. As a priest, Runeberg was involved in the modernization of Virsikirja and produced numerous texts for the new edition. Johan Ludvig Runeberg is an aconic figure in Finland. 

Lucian Blaga was a Romanian poet, philosopher, poetry translator, playwright, and novelist. He was also associated with the University of Cluj, where he worked as a professor of cultural philosophy. Over the course of his career, Lucian Blaga was honored with several prestigious awards, such as the Hamagiu Award and a nomination for the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Shiv Kumar Batalvi was an Indian writer, poet, and playwright who predominantly wrote in the Punjabi language. In 1967, he became the youngest person to receive the Sahitya Akademi Award for his epic verse play Loona, which is regarded as a masterpiece in Punjabi literature. The Shiv Kumar Batalvi Auditorium, which is located in Batala, was constructed in his honor.

Scottish obstetrician James Young Simpson is remembered as the first to use chloroform as an anesthetic in medicine. A University of Edinburgh professor, he was later made a queen’s physician in Scotland. He also received the title of a baronet. His research also included leprosy and fetal pathology.

Hungarian-American mathematician Theodore von Karman is best known for his research on aeronautics. Born to a professor father, Karman was a math prodigy in childhood and was pushed into engineering. He was also the first recipient of the National Medal of Science. A bachelor for life, he lived with his mother and sister.

Philip Kapleau was an American religious teacher who taught the principles of Zen Buddhism. He is credited with founding the Rochester Zen Center, where he taught for almost 40 years. A passionate writer, Philip Kapleau remains widely read. He also continues to have a major influence on the westerners practicing Zen Buddhism in places like the United States of America.

Presidential Medal of Freedom-winning football player and coach Earl Blaik was the son of a blacksmith. He led the Army football teams to three consecutive national championships and was a strong supporter of two-platoon football. In 1951, almost his entire team was punished for breaking the honor code.

Hungarian Catholic clergyman József Mindszenty was arrested more than once for opposing totalitarian governments. Eventually made the archbishop of Esztergom and a cardinal, he was later imprisoned by the communist government for refusing to secularize Catholic schools. Later freed, he underwent a 15-year voluntary confinement at the Hungarian US embassy.

Cornelius Jansen was the Dutch Catholic bishop of Ypres best remembered as the father of an early modern theological movement called Jansenism, which was declared a heresy by the Roman Catholic Church. Jansenism was used as a major political force in France up until the French Revolution.

Sir William Hamilton, 9th Baronet, was a Scottish metaphysician and educator best remembered for his work in the field of logic. Hamilton, who made attempts to combine the views held by German philosopher Immanuel Kant with the Scottish philosophy of common sense, is credited with popularizing the works of Kant in the United Kingdom.

Maria Lassnig was the first female winner of the Grand Austrian State Prize. She was born out of wedlock and was mostly raised by her grandmother. Part of the Dog Pack group of abstract expressionists, she mostly created self-portraits in shades of green and magenta and explored “body awareness.”

Gottfried von Haberler was an Austrian-American economist, writer and educator, famous for his works on international trade. Beginning his career as professor of economics and statistics at the University of Vienna, he later taught at Harvard University before joining American Enterprise Institute. Author of several celebrated works; he is most famous for his 1937 book, The Theory of International Trade.

Born into an affluent family, Chilean author María Luisa Bombal later moved to Paris, where she attended the Sorbonne. She also participated in a literary movement in Argentina and spent 30 years in the US. Her novels portrayed women dissatisfied with their social roles and romantic failures.

Lady Anne Barnard was a Scottish socialite, artist, and travel writer. She is best remembered for her five-year stay in Cape Town, during which she wrote a series of letters to Viscount Melville. Her letters became a prominent source of information about social life in South Africa at the time. She is also remembered for her ballad Auld Robin Gray.

Víctor Manuel Román y Reyes was a Nicaraguan political figure best remembered for his service as the President of Nicaragua from 1947 until his death in 1950. His actions during his presidency enabled the minority in Nicaragua to enter Congress.

German astronomer and mineralogist Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth is credited with the discovery of 395 minor planets. His best-known discovery was the 69230 Hermes, which was assumed lost for over 50 years before being discovered again. He was associated with the Heidelberg Observatory for most of his life.

Li Ching-Yuen was a Chinese martial artist, herbalist, and tactical advisor. Li Ching-Yuen, who is believed to have lived off a diet of rice wine and exotic herbs throughout his life, is best remembered for his extreme longevity claim. According to his claim, Li Ching-Yuen lived for 250 years, although gerontologists consider that to be a myth.

American academic trauma surgeon Samuel David Gross served as professor of surgery at the University of Louisville and Jefferson Medical College, and as president of the AMA. His best-known work was perhaps the two-volume System of Surgery. He was portrayed in Thomas Eakins’ masterpiece, The Gross Clinic. His bronze-statue made by Alexander Stirling Calder presently finds place at Thomas Jefferson University.