Died On October 25th

A multitalented personality, Richard Harris was an Irish actor, singer, director and writer. He began as a stage actor and later moved to films. His famous films include This Sporting Life, Camelot, A Man Called Horse, Gladiator and the first two Harry Potter films. He released numerous musical albums, published a poetry book and ventured into film direction with Bloomfield.

Vincent Price was an American actor who was honored with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Remembered for his iconic voice, Price narrated many animation films and documentaries. His life inspired Tim Burton to direct a stop-motion film titled Vincent. Since he was also an ardent art collector, The Vincent Price Art Museum is named in his honor.

Geoffrey Chaucer was an English author and poet. He is best known for his collection of 24 stories titled The Canterbury Tales. Geoffrey Chaucer is widely regarded as the greatest British poet of the Middle Ages and is often referred to as the father of English poetry. He is also credited with helping legitimize the literary use of Middle English.

Bat Masterson was a lawman and professional gambler known for his exploits in the late 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was known for his hunting skills and earned fame as a gunfighter. Later in his life, he became a reporter and columnist for The Morning Telegraph and gained popularity as a leading sports writer.

Legendary Scottish singer-songwriter, bassist, and composer Jack Bruce gained international fame with the British rock band Cream and released iconic tracks such as I Feel Free. He also performed as part of the jazz fusion group the Tony Williams Lifetime. In 2006, he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Wellington Mara co-owned the NFL team New York Giants, as he inherited the team from his father and the team’s founder, Tim Mara. The Giants players named him The Duke, as it was believed he was named after the Duke of Wellington. He died of lymphoma at age 89.

Evangelista Torricelli, a student of Galileo, later made a name for himself as a physicist and a mathematician with his invention of the barometer. He also laid down the Torricelli’s theorem and discovered the Torricellian vacuum. The torr, a unit of pressure, bears his name.

Jamaican reggae musician Gregory Isaacs, also known as the Cool Ruler and Lonely Lover, soared to fame with the track Night Nurse. He excelled in both romantic ballads and socially relevant songs. He sold marijuana in his early days and had a lifelong drug problem. He was also once imprisoned for possessing firearms.

Alfonsina Storni was an Argentine playwright and poet of the modernist period. She was one of the first women to find success in the Argentine literature and theater scene, which were dominated by men. Her literary works not only inspired her readers but also inspired other writers. 

Abbas Mirza was the son of Fath Ali Shah, the second Shah of Qajar Iran, and his wife Asiyeh Khanum. As the crown prince, he developed a reputation as a military commander during the Russo-Persian War. He made many attempts to modernize the Persian army but without any success. He predeceased his father and died in 1833. 

One of the most prominent scholars of the Middle Ages, Belgian historian Henri Pirenne had started his career as a professor at the University of Ghent. The Francqui Prize winner was imprisoned by the Germans during their occupation of Belgium and penned A History of Europe while in prison.

At age 2, Sadako Sasaki survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, being just 2km away from the bombing site. However, years later, she developed leukemia, as an aftermath of the bombing. While in hospital, battling the terminal disease, she folded over 1,000 origami cranes, in the hope of getting better.

Turkish intellectual, sociologist, and author Mehmed Ziya, better known by his pseudonym, Ziya Gökalp, was a main figure of the Turkish nationalist movement. Though initially educated as a vet, he later quit his studies to focus on politics. His writings include The Principles of Turkism. He was apparently highly influenced by Sufism.

Finland’s 5th president and 14th prime minister, Risto Ryti had also led his country as its minister of finance. Known for his economic policies, he was one of then most prominent political figures of his country during the interwar period. He is also remembered for authoring the 1944 Ryti–Ribbentrop Agreement.

Known as the Mad Mechanic, Harry Ferguson was the man behind the invention of the modern tractor, popularly known as the Wee Grey Fergie. He was also the first Irish to build and fly his own plane. His legacy lives on in the Massey Ferguson brand of agricultural machinery.