Died On May 18th

Actress Elizabeth Montgomery had a flourishing acting career that spanned five decades. Throughout her career, she touched the lives of many with her charitable work and political activism. Such was her popularity that after she succumbed to cancer, a bronze statue of her famous character Samantha Stephens from the TV series Bewitched was erected in Massachusetts.

Singer, songwriter, and musician Chris Cornell rose to fame as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. One of the key figures of the 1990s grunge movement, he also had a successful solo career. Unfortunately, he suffered from depression and died of suicide at the peak of his career.

Jill Ireland was an English singer and actress. She is best known for working with her husband Charles Bronson in 15 films. After being diagnosed with breast cancer, Ireland started writing books chronicling her fight with cancer. She also started working with the American Cancer Society. Her fight with cancer inspired the movie Reason for Living: The Jill Ireland Story.

Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer and conductor Gustav Mahler symbolized the transition of 19th-century Austro-German music to early-20th-century modernism. His music was banned during the Nazi era but was rediscovered later. Famous for his Eighth Symphony, he had also been the director of the Hofoper (Vienna Court Opera).

Charles Grodin is an American actor, author, comedian, and former TV talk show host. He became a household name in the late-1970s and 1980s, as he appeared in prominent roles in several popular comedy films of the era. In 1993, he won the American Comedy Award for his portrayal of Murray Blum in the political comedy film, Dave.

Mary McLeod Bethune was an American civil rights activist, educator, womanist, humanitarian, and philanthropist. She is credited with founding the National Council of Negro Women. Bethune also played a key role in the creation of the Black Cabinet while serving as an adviser to Franklin Roosevelt. In 1973, Bethune was made an indutee of the National Women's Hall of Fame.

Jeannette Rankin scripted history as the first female member of the US Congress. A feminist, she was also associated with the women’s suffrage movement. Earlier, the Republican worked as a dressmaker, a furniture designer, and a teacher. She was the only legislator to vote against war after the Pearl Harbor incident.

Túpac Amaru II  was the leader of a large Andean uprising against the Spanish in Peru. His wife was also a revolutionary and played a key role in the uprising. They were both captured, tortured, and put to death by the Spaniards. Following his death, he became known as a mythical figure in the Peruvian struggle for independence. 

David A. Johnston was an American volcanologist who was caught in the midst of the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980. Johnston was killed during the eruption and his body was never found. David A. Johnston's life and career have inspired several documentaries, docudramas, and films.

Jacque Fresco was an American futurist who lectured and wrote his views on various subjects, such as energy efficiency, sustainable cities, cybernetic technology, natural-resource management, and automation. His life and career inspired the 2006 semi-biographical film Future by Design. In 2016, Jacque Fresco was honored with a Novus Summit award for his work.

Aleksandr Vasilyevich Suvorov was a distinguished Russian General, remembered for winning every battle that he had commanded. Known for his thumping victories at the Battle of Rymnik and Siege of Izmail during the Russo-Turkish War and for his contributions during the French Revolutionary Wars, he won many awards and tittles and wrote several military manuals, including The Science of Victory.

Isaac Albeniz was a Spanish composer, conductor, and virtuoso pianist. Widely regarded as one of the most important composers of the Post-Romantic era, Albeniz had a strong influence on younger composers as well as his contemporaries. Many of his personal papers are preserved in several prominent institutions, such as the Library of Catalonia.

Robert Rogers was a British soldier who served during the American Revolution and the French and Indian War. Rogers is remembered for raising and commanding the popular Rogers' Rangers during the French and Indian War. In 1992, he was inducted into the United States Army Ranger Hall of Fame. Robert Rogers’ heroics are depicted in the 1940 film Northwest Passage.

Initially a bootlegger, Harry R. Truman later leased a 50-acre plot in the woods near the active volcano Mount St. Helens and opened the Mount St. Helens Lodge. He became famous after refusing to evacuate the place after warnings that the volcano would erupt, and was later presumed dead.

Jesuit missionary explorer Jacques Marquette is best remembered for his journey to the Mississippi River with Louis Jolliet, which led to the first accurate documentation of the course. While attempting a communication with the Illinois Indians, he died at the mouth of Père Marquette at age 37.

Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran was a French physician whose discoveries of certain parasitic protozoans earned him the prestigious Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1907. A well-known philanthropist, Laveran donated half of the money obtained from his Nobel Prize to set up the Laboratory of Tropical Medicine. He is also credited with founding the Société de Pathologie Exotique.

Augustus Pablo was a Jamaican multi-instrumentalist and record producer who was active from the 1970s to 1999 when he died at age 45 due to a collapsed lung. Pablo is credited with popularizing the use of the melodica in reggae music. His 1976 album King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown is considered an important example of a musical style called dub.

Dobrica Cosic was a Yugoslav and Serbian political theorist, writer, and politician. He is best remembered for his service as the first President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 15 June 1992 to 1 June 1993. Dobrica Cosic also achieved popularity as a writer, winning prestigious awards such as the Medal of Pushkin and the NIN Award.

Arnold Orville Beckman was an American inventor, chemist, philanthropist, and investor. He is credited with inventing the pH meter, which revolutionized the study of biology and chemistry. Based on this invention, Beckman later established a company named Beckman Instruments. Arnold Orville Beckman is also credited with inventing the DU spectrophotometer. In 1988, he was awarded the National Medal of Technology.

Werner Sombart was a German sociologist and economist. He was one of the 20th century's most important Continental European social scientists who served as the leader of the Youngest Historical School. Werner Sombart is credited with coining the phrase late capitalism. He is also remembered for his magnum opus, Der moderne Kapitalismus.

Pauline Viardot was a noted French operatic Mezzo-soprano, music-pedagogue and composer of nineteenth century considered a star performer of her time. She hailed from a musical family. During her illustrious career that spanned over several decades, Viardot thrived as a remarkable pianist and as a complete all-around professional musician. Her notable works include the operas Le dernier sorcier and Cendrillon.

Gordon Hugh Willis Jr. was an American film director and cinematographer. He is best remembered for his photographic work in films, such as The Godfather series and Annie Hall. Willis is credited with defining the cinematic look of the '70s. He was named among the ten most influential cinematographers in a 2003 survey conducted by the International Cinematographers Guild.

Pierre-Gilles de Gennes was a French physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1991. In the initial years of his career, he worked mainly on neutron scattering and magnetism. In his later years, he worked on liquid crystals, interfacial problems, and granular materials. Besides the Nobel Prize, he was also the recipient of the prestigious Lorentz Medal.

Henri Laborit was a French surgeon, writer, neurobiologist, and philosopher. He is best remembered for his role in the development of chlorpromazine, which is used to treat psychotic disorders. In 1957, Henri Laborit was honored with the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award.

Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais was a French polymath who had worked as a watchmaker, playwright, musician, financier, and diplomat. He was also an inventor and revolutionary. He was much respected in French society and held influence in the court of King Louis XV. He supported American independence and actively participated in the early stages of the 1789 French Revolution.