Famous People Who Died In 1917
Discover the most famous people died who died in the year 1917. This list includes people like Mata Hari, Buffalo Bill, Edgar Degas, Dadabhai Naoroji, Auguste Rodin and many more. This list of celebrities is loosely sorted by popularity. People featured on this list, include soldiers, aviators, artists and journalists who died in 1917. This list includes people from United Kingdom, United States, France & Germany and many more countries.
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1
Buffalo Bill(American Showman, Bison Hunter and One of the Most Famous Figures of the American Old West,)
Birthdate: February 26, 1846
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Scott County, Iowa, United States
Died: January 10
William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody was a legendary showman and bison hunter who had also been a Union soldier. He began working as a freight carrier at 11 and later performed in Wild West-themed shows. He later formed Buffalo Bill's Wild West and toured across the U.S. and Europe.
2
Scott Joplin(American Composer and Pianist Known as the ‘King of Ragtime’)
Birthdate: November 24, 1868
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Texarkana, Texas, United States
Died: April 1
Composer and pianist Scott Joplin, or the King of Ragtime, had written more than 100 original ragtime pieces. His most iconic piece was the Maple Leaf Rag. He had also written two operas, including Treemonisha. He was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize. The film The Sting featured his compositions.
3
Edgar Degas(French Impressionist Artist Best Known for His Pastel Drawings and Oil Paintings)
Birthdate: July 19, 1834
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: September 27
French Impressionist artist Edgar Degas is best remembered for his oil paintings and pastel drawings and for his signature use of dancers and bathing women as themes in his works such as Fin d'Arabesque and Woman in a Tub. He had also experimented with bronze sculptures and called himself a realist.
4
Auguste Rodin(French Sculptor Best Regarded as the Founder of 'Modern Sculpture')
Birthdate: November 13, 1840
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: November 17
Initially aspiring to be a monk, Auguste Rodin found his true calling when he visited Italy and was awestruck by Michelangelo’s creations. His iconic sculptures such as The Thinker and The Age of Bronze are astoundingly life-like. He breathed magic into nudes and ballerinas made of stone and bronze.
5
Emile Durkheim(French Sociologist Who Established the 'Academic Discipline of Sociology')
Birthdate: April 15, 1858
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Épinal, France
Died: November 15
Emile Durkheim was a French sociologist. He is credited with establishing the discipline of sociology for academic purposes and is widely regarded as the chief architect of modern social science. During his lifetime, Emile Durkheim published several works on topics like morality, religion, and education. He also played a major role in the development of sociology and anthropology as disciplines.
Birthdate: September 2, 1838
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Died: November 11
Height: 5'5" (165 cm)
Birthdate: August 5, 1877
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Claremont, Pickering, Canada
Died: July 8
Tom Thomson was a Canadian artist best remembered for producing some of Canada's most iconic works, namely The West Wind and The Jack Pine. Thomson's work has had a profound influence on Canadian art and he is often regarded as an unofficial member of the famous Group of Seven as he died shortly before the establishment of the iconic group.
Birthdate: December 26, 1837
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Montpelier, Vermont, United States
Died: January 16
Birthdate: June 9, 1836
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Whitechapel
Died: December 17
The first female doctor and surgeon of Britain, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was initially denied admission to medical schools because of her gender and had thus started studying privately. Soon after joining the Marylebone Dispensary as an attendant, she contributed to the formation of the New Hospital for Women.
10
Dadabhai Naoroji(Indian Political Leader Who was the Second Person of Asian Descent to be a British MP)
Birthdate: September 4, 1825
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Died: June 30
Dadabhai Naoroji was an Indian scholar and political leader. Dubbed the Grand Old Man of India, Naoroji is remembered for co-founding the Indian National Congress where he served as the president on three occasions. He also played an important role in India's fight for freedom, popularizing the Indian wealth drain theory through his book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India.
11
Ferdinand von Zeppelin
(A Pioneer in Development of Rigid Airship and Founder of Aircraft Manufacturing Company ‘Luftschiffbau Zeppelin’)
Birthdate: July 8, 1838
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
Died: March 8
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.
12
L. L. Zamenhof
(Linguist, Ophthalmologist, Inventor, Poet, Translator, Esperantist, Physician, Writer, Bible translator)
Birthdate: December 15, 1859
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Białystok
Died: April 14
L. L. Zamenhof was an ophthalmologist best remembered for creating the most widely spoken international auxiliary language, Esperanto. He came up with the constructed language after being consumed by the idea of a warless world. L. L. Zamenhof received several honors for creating Esperanto, including the Légion d'honneur. He also received 12 nominations for the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize.
13
Bob Fitzsimmons
(British Professional Boxer Who was the Sport’s First Three-Division World Champion)
Birthdate: May 26, 1863
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Helston, England
Died: October 22
British boxer Bob Fitzsimmons initially spent a lot of time in his family’s blacksmith’s forge in New Zealand, thus later earning the nickname The Fighting Blacksmith. He later scripted history as the first boxer to win world titles in three categories, the middleweight, the light-heavyweight, and the heavyweight divisions.
14
Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia
(Aristocrat)
Birthdate: July 25, 1860
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Marmorpalais, Potsdam, Germany
Died: March 14
15
Diamond Jim Brady
(Businessman)
Birthdate: August 12, 1856
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: New York City, United States
Died: April 13
16
Albert Ball
(Aviator, Military personnel)
Birthdate: August 14, 1896
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Nottingham
Died: May 7
17
Ecaterina Teodoroiu
(Soldier)
Birthdate: January 14, 1894
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Târgu Jiu, Romania
Died: September 3
18
Franz Brentano
(German Philosopher, Priest, and Professor Who Founded Intentionalism)
Birthdate: January 16, 1838
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Marienberg, Germany
Died: March 17
Widely regarded as the founder of Intentionalism, or act psychology, German philosopher Franz Brentano was also a Roman Catholic priest. He also taught philosophy at the University of Würzburg and the University of Vienna and penned the iconic works Psychology from an Empirical Standpoint and Inquiry into Sense Psychology.
Birthdate: March 3, 1878
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Lambeth, Surrey, England
Died: April 9
Educated at Oxford, poet Edward Thomas spent a considerable time working rather reluctantly as a journalist and penning nature studies and critiques of 19th-century authors. An encounter with Robert Frost inspired him to write poems. He was killed in action in Arras, France, during World War I.
Birthdate: October 31, 1835
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Berlin
Died: August 20
Adolf von Baeyer was a German chemist who is best known for synthesizing indigo. Interested in science from a young age, he studied chemistry at the University of Heidelberg, where his mentor was the prominent organic chemist August Kekulé. He went on to have a successful career and received the 1905 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
21
Léon Minkus
(Former composer of ballet music, a violin virtuoso and teacher)
Birthdate: March 23, 1826
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Vienna, Austria
Died: December 7
Birthdate: August 6, 1828
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Lee County
Died: December 12
23
Teresa Carreno(Pianist an internationally renowned virtuoso pianist and was often referred to as the)
Birthdate: December 22, 1853
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Caracas, Venezuela
Died: June 12
Teresa Carreno was a Venezuelan composer, conductor, and pianist. During the course of her illustrious career, which spanned more than 50 years, Carreno achieved international popularity as a virtuoso pianist and was nicknamed the Valkyrie of the Piano. Carreno is also credited with teaching pianists like Edward MacDowell, who went on to become a popular pianist in his own right.
Birthdate: March 15, 1854
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Ławice
Died: March 31
Nobel Prize-winning German physiologist Emil Adolf von Behring is remembered as a pioneer of immunology for his research on serum therapy developed an antitoxin to cure diphtheria. One of the 13 children of his parents, he had studied medicine at a military academy due to lack of funds.
25
Georges Guynemer
(Iconic French Fighter Pilot of World War I)
Birthdate: December 24, 1894
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: September 11
One of the best-known French fighter pilots of World War I, Georges Guynemer reportedly shot 54 enemy planes. Awarded with honors such as the Légion d'honneur and the Médaille militaire, he was a national hero. He went MIA and was later declared dead after he failed to return from a combat mission in 1917.
Birthdate: May 20, 1860
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Munich
Died: August 13
Nobel Prize-winning German biochemist Eduard Buchner was the first to demonstrate how the enzymes in yeast cause the fermentation of carbohydrates. He also taught at various universities, such as Berlin and Breslau. He died in the Battle of Mărășești, while serving as a major, during World War I.
Birthdate: August 25, 1841
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Bern, Switzerland
Died: July 27
Emil Theodor Kocher was a Swiss medical researcher and physician. In 1909, Kocher became the first surgeon and first Swiss citizen to receive a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He earned the prize for his work in the pathology, physiology, and surgery of the thyroid. He was widely regarded as a leader and pioneer in the field of surgery.
28
Noel Godfrey Chavasse
(Military physician, Athletics competitor)
Birthdate: November 9, 1884
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Oxford
Died: August 4
29
Albert Pinkham Ryder
(Painter)
Birthdate: March 19, 1847
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States
Died: March 28
30
Herbert Beerbohm Tree
(Actor)
Birthdate: December 17, 1852
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Kensington, England
Died: July 2
Birthdate: February 16, 1848
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Trévières, France
Died: February 16
32
Henry Croft
(Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Cowichan)
Birthdate: January 15, 1856
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Darling Point, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died: July 28
33
Belva Ann Lockwood
(American lawyer)
Birthdate: October 24, 1830
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Royalton, New York
Died: May 19
34
John W. Foster
(Politician)
Birthdate: March 2, 1836
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Petersburg, Indiana, United States
Died: November 15
35
Hugo Simberg
(Finnish Symbolist Painter Known for Paintings like ‘The Wounded Angel’ and ‘The Garden of Death’)
Birthdate: June 24, 1873
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Hamina, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire (now Hamina, Finland)
Died: July 12
Finnish symbolist painter and graphic artist Hugo Gerhard Simberg was most noted for his paintings that were made on macabre and supernatural topics depicting gloomy and otherworldly scenes. Two of his most recognizable paintings include The Wounded Angel that was voted in 2006 by the Ateneum art museum as "national painting" of Finland; and The Garden of Death.
36
Radomir Putnik
(Serbia's First Field Marshal and Chief of the General Staff)
Birthdate: January 24, 1847
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Kragujevac, Serbia
Died: May 17
Serbian army commander Radomir Putnik was the country’s first Field Marshal and Chief of the General Staff. He led the Serbs in the Balkan Wars and World War I. One of his most significant wins was against the Austro-Hungarian army in the battles of Cer and Kolubara in 1914.
37
Frances Xavier Cabrini(Italian-American Catholic Religious Sister and Founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)
Birthdate: July 15, 1850
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Sant'Angelo Lodigiano, Italy
Died: December 22
Frances Xavier Cabrini was an Italian-American nun who founded a Catholic religious institute called the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The institute played a major role in supporting Italian immigrants to the US. In 1946, Frances Xavier Cabrini became the first American citizen to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.
38
William Henry Moody
(Jurist)
Birthdate: December 23, 1853
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Newbury, Massachusetts, United States
Died: July 2
39
Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein
(Prince)
Birthdate: January 22, 1831
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Augustenborg, Denmark
Died: October 28
40
Anton Haus(Austro-Hungarian Naval Chief Who Later Became the Grand Admiral of the Navy)
Birthdate: June 13, 1851
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Tolmin
Died: February 8
Austro-Hungarian naval chief who led during World War I, Anton Haus later served as the Navy's Grand Admiral. He also penned the iconic academic text Oceanography and Maritime Meteorology when he worked as a teacher at the Naval Academy. He also supported unrestricted submarine warfare, a technique followed by the Germans.
Birthdate: August 17, 1839
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: The Hague, Netherlands
Died: August 22
42
Edward Miner Gallaudet
(Educator)
Birthdate: February 5, 1837
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Died: September 26
43
Edward Burnett Tylor
(British Anthropologist and the Founder of 'Cultural Anthropology')
Birthdate: October 2, 1832
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Camberwell, London, England
Died: January 2
Known for his pioneering work in cultural anthropology, Edward Burnett Tylor penned iconic works such as Primitive Culture, which was partially influenced by Darwin’s theory of evolution. Born to affluent Quaker parents, he quit school to focus on his business but was later drawn to anthropology. He popularized the term animism.
44
Mendele Moykher Sforim
(Author)
Birthdate: January 2, 1836
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Kopyl, Russia
Died: December 8
45
Ranavalona III
(Statesperson)
Birthdate: November 22, 1861
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Merina Kingdom Madagascar
Died: May 23
46
Oswald Chambers
(Author, Theologian)
Birthdate: July 24, 1874
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Aberdeen
Died: November 15
47
Maksim Bahdanovič(Belarusian Poet, Translator, Journalist and One of the Founders of the Modern Belarusian Literature)
Birthdate: December 9, 1891
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Minsk
Died: May 25
Maksim Bahdanovič was a Belarusian poet, translator, journalist, historian of literature, and literary critic. Widely regarded as one of the progenitors of modern Belarusian literature, Bahdanovič was the first poet to bring several new lyrical forms into Belarusian literature. Maksim Bahdanovič is also remembered for translating the works of famous poets like Paul Verlaine, Alexander Pushkin, Heinrich Heine, and Horace.
Birthdate: January 12, 1885
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Lispole, Ireland
Died: September 25
Birthdate: April 18, 1860
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Reims, France
Died: March 14
50
Nikolay Dukhonin
(General)
Birthdate: December 13, 1876
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Smolensk Governorate, Russian Empire
Died: December 3