Died On July 14th

Maryam Mirzakhani was an Iranian mathematician best remembered for her innovative methods and research involving different branches of mathematics like symplectic geometry and ergodic theory. On 13 August 2014, she became the first Iranian and only woman to date to be honored with the prestigious Fields Medal. Maryam Mirzakhani died of breast cancer when she was 40 years old.

Richard McDonald was an entrepreneur who co-founded the fast-food company McDonald's with his brother, Maurice. Their father ran a food stall. As young men, Richard and Maurice took over their father’s business and redesigned the restaurant. The restaurant was highly successful, and the brothers began franchising their system. The first McDonald's restaurant has now been converted into a museum. 

Paul Kruger was a South African politician who served as the last State President of the South African Republic. Revered by his admirers as a tragic folk hero, Kruger was one of the most influential military and political personalities in 19th-century South Africa. His life inspired the 1941 German film Ohm Krüger, in which Kruger was played by Emil Jannings.

Philip II of France reigned as the king of France from 1180 until his death in 1223. He is credited with transforming France into the most powerful and prosperous country in Europe. He is also credited with building the Wall of Philip Augustus and bringing financial stability to France.

William Henry Perkin is best remembered for his chance discovery of the dye mauveine, made of aniline purple. He had apparently discovered the dye while attempting to synthesize quinine. The Royal Medal-winning British chemist also studied salicyl alcohol and flavoring agents and synthesized the first artificial perfume.

Mark Oliphant was an Australian humanitarian and physicist who played a prominent role in the first experimentation of nuclear fusion. He also played an influential role in the development of nuclear weapons. Oliphant is credited with founding the Australian Academy of Science. Over the course of his illustrious career, Mark Oliphant received several prestigious awards, such as the Hughes Medal.

Augustin-Jean Fresne, best remembered for his pioneering research on the wave theory of light, was a sickly child and was mostly homeschooled in his early days. The French physicist was a civil engineer, too. Unfortunately, most of his scientific work failed to receive public attention during his lifetime.

Marius Petipa was a French pedagogue, ballet dancer, and choreographer. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and important ballet choreographers and masters in ballet history. From 1871 to 1903, he served as the principal choreographer and Ballet Master of the popular Imperial Russian Ballet. In the 1983 biopic Anna Pavlova, Petipa was played by Pyotr Gusev.

Christian Boltanski was a French sculptor, painter, photographer, and filmmaker. Best remembered for his contemporary French conceptual style and photography installations, Boltanski took part in more than 150 art exhibitions around the world. He also won several prestigious prizes like the Praemium Imperiale Award.

Romanian author Ion N. Theodorescu, better known as Tudor Arghezi, is remembered for his contribution to Romanian children’s literature and for introducing a new lyric poetry form. He was a leading figure of Poporanism and Symbolism in Romania. The novel Wooden Icons and the poetry collection Suitable Words remain 2 of his best-known works.

Richard von Mises was an Austrian Jewish scientist and mathematician. He is known for his work on solid mechanics, aerodynamics, aeronautics, fluid mechanics, and probability theory. He was the Gordon McKay Professor of Aerodynamics and Applied Mathematics at Harvard University. He is the one who proposed the now-famous "birthday problem" in probability theory. He was married to mathematician Hilda Geiringer.  

Francisco Morales Bermúdez was a Peruvian general and politician. He served as the President of Peru from 29 August 1975 to 28 July 1980. A prominent political leader, Morales Bermúdez also served as the Prime Minister of Peru in 1975. From 1969 to 1974, Francisco Morales Bermúdez served as the Minister of Economy and Finance.

Madalina Manole was a Romanian singer and actress. A pop recording artist, Manole has been associated with various labels throughout her career. Some of her best known albums include Fată dragă, Happy New Year, Trăiesc pentru tine, and 09 Mădălina Manole.

Widely known as the greatest British sportsperson, Max Woosnam not only won an Olympic gold in tennis, but was also a Manchester City and England footballer and a seasoned cricketer who had scored a century at Lord’s. He was also skilled in golf and snooker. His chain-smoking habits eventually claimed his life.

Jacinto Benavente was one of the foremost Spanish dramatists of the 20th century. The son of a popular pediatrician, he developed an early interest in literature but was expected to pursue a more conventional professional. He began studying law but abandoned it to become a dramatist. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1922. 

Ivana Trump was the first wife of Donald Trump, who she married in 1977. Their marriage lasted for nearly 15 years and ended in a much-publicized divorce after she discovered her husband’s extramarital affair with Marla Maples. After the divorce, Ivana developed her own lines of clothing, fashion jewelry, and beauty products.

English biologist and anthropologist Walter Baldwin Spencer is remembered for his pioneering study of the indigenous population of Australia. He initially taught biology but later drifted to anthropology. He was also knighted but died while on an expedition to study the Ushuaia of the Tierra del Fuego.

Pancho Villa was a Filipino boxer best remembered as the first Asian to earn the World Flyweight Championship title in 1923. Counted among the greatest Flyweight boxers of all time, Villa was never knocked out during his boxing career. In 1994, Pancho Villa was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.