Died On August 23rd

William Wallace was a Scottish knight who played an important role in the First War of Scottish Independence. Since his death, Wallace has been viewed as an iconic figure whose story of bravery and valor has inspired several works of art, including the Academy Award-winning film Braveheart. Wallace has also inspired video games and brewery companies, such is his popularity.

Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor who appeared in many silent films, including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and The Sheik.  He began his career as part of an operetta company and later joined movies. He was known in Hollywood as the Latin Lover and was considered a major male sex symbol in the 1920s. 

Caesarion reigned as the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt from September 44 BC to August 30 BC. He was Julius Caesar's only known biological son and his mother Cleopatra ruled over ancient Egypt along with him. Caesarion's death at the age of 17 marked the beginning of the famous Roman Empire and the end of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt.

William Herschel was a German-born British astronomer and composer. He pioneered the use of astronomical spectrophotometry and discovered infrared radiation. Impressed by his work, King George III appointed him the Court Astronomer. Herschel often collaborated with his sister, Caroline Lucretia Herschel, a fellow astronomer. In 1816, he was made a Knight of the Royal Guelphic Order. 

Brock Peters was an American singer and actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of Tom Robinson in the American drama film To Kill a Mockingbird. In 1990, Peters was honored with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award for his career and humanitarian contributions.

French physicist Charles Augustin De Coulomb, remembered for laying down the Coulomb’s law, had previously been a military engineer in the West Indies. At the onset of the French Revolution, Coulomb, struggling with failing health, devoted himself to research. The unit of electric charge, coulomb, was named after him.

Psychiatrist R. D. Laing was known for his different perspective on mental illnesses, particularly psychosis. Known as anti-psychiatry, his theory of resolving mental ailments opposed the age-old shock therapy. His written works include The Divided Self. He was also a talented poet and had fathered 10 children by four women.

Princess Stéphanie of Belgium became the Crown Princess of Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia after her marriage to Crown Prince Rudolf, the son of Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I. Following the death of her husband and his mistress in a suicide-murder pact, she married a Hungarian nobleman.

Abu Bakr was a companion and father-in-law of the founder of Islam, Muhammad. After Muhammad's death, Bakr played an important role in leading the Muslims as the first Rashidun Caliph. Under Abu Bakr’s leadership, the Muslim state expanded over the entire Arabian peninsula. Abu Bakr's work during his reign eventually led to the Muslim conquests of the Levant and Persia.

Austrian architect Adolf Loos is often compared to American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in terms of his contribution. Loos believed architecture shouldn’t contain the extra elements and ornaments promoted by Art Nouveau. Mostly known for his residential projects, he built modern buildings such as the Goldman and Salatsch Building.

Nobel Prize-winning biochemist John Kendrew revolutionized science with his 3-D model of the muscle protein myoglobin. The Cambridge alumnus later co-founded the European Molecular Biology Organization and had been the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Molecular Biology. He had also worked on operational research for the Royal Air Force.

Puritan clergyman Increase Mather was educated at Harvard and Trinity and preached his first sermon the day he turned 18. The son of Puritan minister Richard Mather, he penned An Essay for the Recording of Illustrious Providences, which is said to have influenced the Salem witch trials.

Egyptian statesman Saad Zaghloul, who once led the Wafd Party and the 1918-19 nationalist movement, had also served as the prime minister of Egypt for less than a year. Initially an advocate, he had also worked as a journalist. He had headed the Egyptian ministries of justice and education, too.

Belgian painter and graphic artist Félicien Rops is best remembered for his association with symbolism and Fin-de Siecle, and for his prints. Part of the Les Vingt group of artists, he created masterpieces such as Absinthe Drinker and Lady with the Puppet. He also experimented with erotic themes.

Kuroda Kiyotaka, also known as Kuroda Ryōsuke, played a significant role in the Meiji Restoration. Apart from being president of the Privy Council, he had been the prime minister of Japan, too. He introduced Western agricultural methods in Hokkaido but reigned in the wake of controversies related to unequal treaties.

Abdülmecid II is remembered as the last caliph of the Ottoman dynasty of Turkey. Son of Sultan Abdulaziz, he received his education at the palace. After the deposition of his cousin and the abolition of the Sultanate, he was declared the caliph by the Turkish National Assembly.

The older brother of Pakistani cricketer Rameez Raja, Wasim Raja was a fine cricketer in his own right. He later became a coach and a referee and also taught subjects such as math and geography at a school in England. He died of a heart attack while playing a match in England.

Florence B. Seibert is remembered for developing the tuberculin test, which became the standard test for detecting TB. Defeating polio at age 3, she went on to win scholarships and made it to Yale. One of the greatest women biochemists of the U.S., she also contributed to intravenous drug therapy.

Nobel Prize-winning American biochemist Stanford Moore is best remembered for is pathbreaking research on the molecular structure of ribonuclease, also known as RNase. The University of Wisconsin–Madison alumnus spent most of his professional life working at the Rockefeller Institute, now The Rockefeller University. He remained single throughout his life.

One of the most important Austrian painters of the Biedermeier period, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller is best known for his landscape paintings, which he drew from close observation, highlighting not only his unique sense of color, but also his deep knowledge of nature. Equally known are his portraits, genre scenes, and still lifes, which are appreciated for their detailed descriptions and accurate characterizations.  

Gilbert Taylor was a British cinematographer best remembered for his work on popular and critically acclaimed films like Dr. Strangelove, The Omen, and Star Wars. Over the course of his illustrious career, Gilbert Taylor worked with celebrated directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, and Roman Polanski. He was honored by the British Society of Cinematographers with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Naum Gabo was a Russian sculptor and theorist who played an important role in the development of 20th-century sculpture in Russia. An influential figure, Gabo was a prominent part of many popular avant-garde movements like Cubism, Futurism, the Staatliches Bauhaus, Constructivism, Neoplasticism, and the Abstraction-Création group. Naum Gabo traveled extensively and worked in places like the UK and Netherlands.

Rumored to be a possible lover of the English king James I, statesman George Villiers, was a royal favorite but later grew unpopular with people for his inefficiency and faulty foreign policies. He practically ruled England in the initial years of Charles I’s reign and was eventually assassinated by an army officer.