Died on Tuesday, 12th August – Famous Deaths

12/08/2024

Kim Kahana, American actor and stunt performer (born 1929)

Kim Kahana Sr. was an American actor, stunt performer, and action choreographer of Hawaiian and Japanese descent. He worked on stunts for over 300 films and television programs and ran a stunt school in Groveland, Florida, that has trained over 15,000 students.

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12/08/2021

Una Stubbs, English actress, TV personality, and dancer (born 1937)

Una Stubbs was an English actress, television personality, and dancer who appeared on British television, in the theatre, and occasionally in films. She became known after appearing in the film Summer Holiday (1963) and later played Rita Rawlins in the BBC sitcoms Till Death Us Do Part (1965–1975) and In Sickness and in Health (1985–1992). Her other television roles include Aunt Sally in Worzel Gummidge (1979–1981) and Miss Bat in The Worst Witch (1998–2001). She also appeared as Sherlock Holmes's landlady Mrs. Hudson in the BAFTA-winning television series Sherlock (2010–2017) where she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Crime Thriller Awards.

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12/08/2020

Bill Yeoman, American college football player and coach (born 1927)

William Frank Yeoman was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Houston from 1962 to 1986. In his tenure, he became the winningest coach in Houston Cougars football history, with an overall record of 160–108–8. Yeoman revolutionized offensive football in 1964 by developing the Veer option offense. Yeoman also played a prominent role in the racial integration of collegiate athletics in the South by being the first coach at a predominantly white school in the State of Texas to sign a black player. Yeoman's Cougars finished the season ranked in the top ten of the AP Poll four times and finished 11 times in the AP or UPI top 20.

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12/08/2019

DJ Arafat, Ivorian DJ and singer (born 1986)

Ange Didier Houon, known professionally as DJ Arafat and various other stage names, was an Ivorian disc jockey and singer who made music in the Coupé-Décalé genre. The word "coupé-décalé" came from a traditional dance in the Ivory Coast. "Jonathan", "202", "Dosabado", "Kpangor", "Zoropoto" and "Enfant Beni" were some of his major hits. Dj Arafat's impact reached beyond Africa, especially after he gained a following in France. His performances there in the mid-2000s helped him cultivate an international fanbase and contributed to his reputation as an African music ambassador.

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12/08/2017

Bryan Murray, Canadian ice hockey coach (born 1942)

Bryan Clarence Murray was a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and coach. He served as general manager of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2007 to 2016. He had previously been general manager of the NHL's Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Florida Panthers, and Detroit Red Wings. He was also the head coach for the Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and Ottawa Senators, for a total of 17 full or partial seasons.

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12/08/2016

Juan Pedro de Miguel, Spanish handball player (born 1958)

Juan Pedro de Miguel Rubio was a Spanish handball player who competed in the 1980 Summer Olympics and in the 1984 Summer Olympics.

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12/08/2015

Jaakko Hintikka, Finnish philosopher and academic (born 1929)

Kaarlo Jaakko Juhani Hintikka was a Finnish and American philosopher and logician. Hintikka is regarded as the founder of formal epistemic logic and of game semantics for logic. He was awarded the Rolf Schock Prize for philosophy in 2005, and he was chief editor of the philosophical journal Synthese 1965–2002.

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Stephen Lewis, English actor and screenwriter (born 1926)

Stephen Lewis, credited early in his career as Stephen Cato, was an English actor, comedian, director, screenwriter, and playwright. He is best known for his roles as Inspector Cyril "Blakey" Blake in On the Buses, Clem "Smiler" Hemmingway in Last of the Summer Wine and Harry Lambert in Oh, Doctor Beeching!, although he also appeared in numerous stage and film roles.

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Meshulim Feish Lowy, Hungarian-Canadian rabbi and author (born 1921)

Meshilem Feish Segal Lowy II was the fourth Grand Rebbe of the Tosh Hasidic dynasty.

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John Scott, English organist and conductor (born 1956)

John Gavin Scott was an English organist and choirmaster who reached the highest levels of his profession on both sides of the Atlantic. He directed the Choir of St Paul's Cathedral in London from 1990 to 2004. He then directed the Choir of Men and Boys of Saint Thomas Church on Fifth Avenue in New York City until his death at age 59. Whilst training countless young musicians, he maintained an active career as an international concert performer and recording artist, and was acclaimed as "the premier English organist of his generation".

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12/08/2014

Lauren Bacall, American model, actress, and singer (born 1924)

Betty Joan Perske, known professionally as Lauren Bacall, was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and was one of the last surviving major stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. She received an Academy Honorary Award in 2009 in recognition of her contribution to the Golden Age of motion pictures.

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Futatsuryū Jun'ichi, Japanese sumo wrestler (born 1950)

Futatsuryū Jun'ichi was a sumo wrestler from Hokkaidō, Japan. After retirement he became the head coach of Tokitsukaze stable. Following his involvement in the hazing and death of trainee Takashi Saito, in October 2007 he became the first serving stablemaster to be dismissed by the Japan Sumo Association. In May 2009 he was sentenced to six years in prison. He died on August 12, 2014, of lung cancer.

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Kongō Masahiro, Japanese sumo wrestler (born 1948)

Kongō Masahiro was a former sumo wrestler from Hokkaidō, Japan. His highest rank was sekiwake and he won a top division tournament championship in 1975. He was a sumo coach and head of the Nishonoseki stable from 1976 until 2013.

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12/08/2013

Tereza de Arriaga, Portuguese painter (born 1915)

Tereza de Arriaga was a Portuguese painter and teacher.

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Hans-Ekkehard Bob, German soldier and pilot (born 1917)

Hans Ekkehard Bob was a German fighter pilot, serving with the Luftwaffe. During World War II, Bob flew approximately 700 combat missions, and claimed 60 victories; 37 of which were on the Eastern Front.

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Pauline Maier, American historian and academic (born 1938)

Pauline Alice Maier was a historian of the American Revolution, whose work also addressed the late colonial period and the history of the United States after the end of the Revolutionary War. She was the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of American History at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

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David McLetchie, Scottish lawyer and politician (born 1952)

David William McLetchie CBE was a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 1998 to 2005. He was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Edinburgh Pentlands constituency from 2003 to 2011 and the Lothian region from 1999 to 2003 and 2011 to 2013.

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Vasiliy Mihaylovich Peskov, Russian ecologist and journalist (born 1930)

Vasily Mikhailovich Peskov was a Soviet and Russian writer, journalist, photographer, traveler and ecologist. He worked in the Russian tabloid newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda since 1956. From 1975 until 1990, he conducted the TV programme In the World of Animals on Soviet TV.

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12/08/2012

Jimmy Carr, American football player and coach (born 1933)

James Henry Carr was an American professional football player who played nine seasons for the Chicago Cardinals, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). Carr also played one season in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Montreal Alouettes in 1958. He was the starting left corner with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1960 when they won the World Championship beating the Green Bay Packers. He played college football at Morris Harvey in Charleston, West Virginia. While there he played in three bowl games and was one of three NAIA Hall of Fame inductees in 1962. He also played high school football and baseball at East Bank High School in East Bank, West Virginia.

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Jerry Grant, American race car driver (born 1935)

Gerald Wayne Grant was a driver in the USAC Championship Car series. Born in Seattle, he began racing sports cars in Northern California in the early 1960s. He raced in the 1965-1977 seasons, with 54 career starts, including the Indianapolis 500 in 1965-1968, 1970 and 1972-1976. He finished in the top ten 13 times, with his best finish in 3rd position in 1974 at Ontario.

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Joe Kubert, Polish-American illustrator, founded The Kubert School (born 1926)

Joseph Kubert was a Polish-born American comic book artist, art teacher, and founder of The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman. He is also known for working on his own creations, such as Tor, Son of Sinbad, and the Viking Prince, and, with writer Robin Moore, the comic strip Tales of the Green Beret.

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Édgar Morales Pérez, Mexican engineer and politician

Édgar Morales Pérez was the mayor-elect of Matehuala, San Luis Potosí, Mexico, elected on July 1, 2012. He was a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (PVEM), which are in a coalition in his municipality. The National Action Party (PAN) had ruled Matehuala for several years, and Morales Pérez was scheduled to take office in September 2012.

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Alf Morris, English politician and activist (born 1928)

Alfred Morris, Baron Morris of Manchester, was a British Labour Co-operative politician and disability rights campaigner.

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12/08/2011

Robert Robinson, English journalist and author (born 1927)

Robert Henry Robinson was an English radio and television presenter, game show host, journalist and author. He presented Ask the Family for many years on the BBC.

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12/08/2010

Isaac Bonewits, American Druid, author, and activist; founded Ár nDraíocht Féin (born 1949)

Phillip Emmons Isaac Bonewits was an American Neo-Druid who wrote a number of books on the subject of Neopaganism and magic. Bonewits was a public speaker, liturgist, singer and songwriter, and founder of the Neopagan organizations Ár nDraíocht Féin (ADF) and the Aquarian Anti-Defamation League.

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Guido de Marco, Maltese lawyer and politician, 6th President of Malta (born 1931)

Guido de Marco was a Maltese politician, who served as the sixth president of Malta from 1999 to 2004. A noted statesman and lawmaker, de Marco also served as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior, Justice, and Minister for Foreign Affairs.

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Richie Hayward, American drummer and songwriter (born 1946)

Richard Hayward was an American drummer best known as a founding member and drummer in the band Little Feat. He performed with several bands and worked as a session player. Hayward also joined with friends in some small acting roles on television, which included an episode of F Troop.

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André Kim, South Korean fashion designer (born 1935)

Kim Bong-nam, known professionally as André Kim, was a South Korean fashion designer based in Seoul, South Korea. He was known predominantly for his evening and wedding gown collections.

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12/08/2009

Les Paul, American guitarist, songwriter, and inventor (born 1915)

Lester William Polsfuss, known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype, called the Log, served as inspiration for the Gibson Les Paul. Paul taught himself how to play guitar, and while he is mainly known for jazz and popular music, he had an early career in country music. In the 1950s, he and his wife, singer and guitarist Mary Ford, made numerous recordings, selling millions of copies.

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12/08/2008

Christie Allen, English-Australian singer (born 1954)

Christie Allen was an English-born Australian pop singer who had a successful career in Australia. Her top four hits on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart were "Goosebumps" and "He's My Number One". Allen was voted the Most Popular Female Performer at the TV Week / Countdown Music Awards for 1979 and 1980. At the 1979 awards, "Goosebumps" also won the Best Songwriter award for Terry Britten. Allen died on 12 August 2008 of pancreatic cancer, aged 54.

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Helge Hagerup, Norwegian playwright, poet and novelist (born 1933)

Helge Hagerup was a Norwegian playwright, poet and novelist. He was born in Trondheim, a son of Inger Hagerup, and brother of Klaus Hagerup. He made his literary debut in 1949 with the short story collection Vi fem i annen etasje. He was best known as playwright. Among his plays staged at Nationaltheatret are Løfter om kjærlighet from 1960, Superboy from 1968, and Camp from 1976. He was awarded the Prix Italia in 1973 for his audio play Den dagen du aldri skal glemme. He also wrote crime fiction, and the collection Hvorfor skrek morderen? was published in 1982.

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12/08/2007

Merv Griffin, American actor, singer, and producer, created Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune (born 1925)

Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway. From 1962 to 1986, Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show. Griffin also created several game shows, including Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, through his production companies, Merv Griffin Enterprises and Merv Griffin Entertainment.

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Mike Wieringo, American author and illustrator (born 1963)

Michael Lance Wieringo, who sometimes signed his work under the name Ringo, was an American comics artist best known for his work on DC Comics' The Flash, Marvel Comics' Spider-Man and Fantastic Four, as well as his own creator-owned series, Tellos. In 2017, the Ringo Awards were created in honor of Wieringo. They are presented at the Baltimore Comic-Con to recognize achievement in the comics industry.

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12/08/2006

Victoria Gray Adams, American civil rights activist (born 1926)

Victoria Jackson Gray Adams was an American civil rights activist from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She was one of the founding members of the influential Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

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12/08/2005

John Loder, English sound engineer and producer, founded Southern Studios (born 1946)

John F. Loder was an English sound engineer, record producer and founder of Southern Studios, as well as a former member of EXIT and co-founder of the Southern Records distribution company with his wife Sue. He was also the studio engineer of choice for Crass and Crass Records, and was often considered to be the band's "ninth member".

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12/08/2004

Godfrey Hounsfield, English biophysicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1919)

Sir Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield was a British electrical engineer who shared the 1979 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Allan MacLeod Cormack for his part in developing the diagnostic technique of X-ray computed tomography (CT).

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12/08/2002

Enos Slaughter, American baseball player and manager (born 1916)

Enos Bradsher Slaughter, nicknamed "Country", was an American professional baseball right fielder. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, Kansas City Athletics, and Milwaukee Braves from 1938 to 1959. He is best known for scoring the winning run in Game 7 of the 1946 World Series for the Cardinals. A ten-time All-Star, he has been elected to both the National Baseball Hall of Fame and St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.

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12/08/2000

Gennady Lyachin, Russian captain (born 1955)

Gennady Petrovich Lyachin was a Russian navy officer. He was the commanding officer of the Russian submarine Kursk when the vessel suffered a series of explosions and sank on 12 August 2000.

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Loretta Young, American actress (born 1913)

Loretta Young was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1916 to 1989. She received numerous honors including an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and three Primetime Emmy Awards as well as two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her work in film and television.

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12/08/1999

Jean Drapeau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 37th Mayor of Montreal (born 1916)

Jean Drapeau was a Canadian politician who served as mayor of Montreal for 2 non-consecutive terms from 1954 to 1957 and from 1960 to 1986. Major accomplishments of the Drapeau Administration include the development of the Montreal Metro entirely underground mass transit subway system running on 'whisper quiet' rubber wheels, a successful international exposition Expo 67 as well as the construction of a major performing arts centre, the Place des Arts. Drapeau also secured the hosting of the 1976 Summer Olympics and was instrumental in building the Olympic Stadium and then world's tallest inclined tower. Drapeau was responsible for securing a Major League Baseball franchise, with the creation of the Montreal Expos in 1969. Drapeau's main legacy is Montreal's attainment of global status under his administration. He was the longest serving mayor of Montreal.

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12/08/1997

Jack Delano, American photographer and composer (born 1914)

Jack Delano was a Russian Empire-born Ukrainian photographer, filmmaker, and composer, who spent much of his life in Puerto Rico. In the United States, he worked for the Works Progress Administration, United Fund, and most notably, the Farm Security Administration (FSA). He wore many hats as he also was a composer known for his use of Puerto Rican folk material, started a television production company, and was a cartoonist, poet, professor, and architectural designer.

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12/08/1996

Victor Ambartsumian, Georgian-Armenian astrophysicist and academic (born 1908)

Viktor Amazaspovich Ambartsumian was a Soviet and Armenian astrophysicist and science administrator. One of the 20th century's leading astronomers, he is widely regarded as the founder of theoretical astrophysics in the Soviet Union.

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Mark Gruenwald, American author and illustrator (born 1953)

Mark Eugene Gruenwald was an American comic book writer, editor, and occasional penciler known for his long association with Marvel Comics.

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12/08/1992

John Cage, American composer and theorist (born 1912)

John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, artist, and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde. Critics have lauded him as one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was also instrumental in the development of modern dance, mostly through his association with choreographer Merce Cunningham, who was also Cage's romantic partner for most of their lives.

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12/08/1990

Dorothy Mackaill, English-American actress (born 1903)

Dorothy Mackaill was a British-American actress, most active during the silent-film era and into the pre-Code era of the early 1930s.

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12/08/1989

Aimo Koivunen, Finnish soldier and corporal (born 1917)

Aimo Allan Koivunen was a Finnish soldier in the Continuation War and the first documented case of a soldier overdosing on methamphetamine during combat. The case gained more notoriety due to Koivunen's fighting abilities whilst intoxicated.

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William Shockley, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1910)

William Bradford Shockley was an American physicist. He was the manager of a research group at Bell Labs that included John Bardeen and Walter Brattain. The three scientists were jointly awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics "for their researches on semiconductors and their discovery of the transistor effect."

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12/08/1988

Jean-Michel Basquiat, American painter (born 1960)

Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the neo-expressionism movement.

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12/08/1986

Evaline Ness, American author and illustrator (born 1911)

Evaline Ness was an American commercial artist, illustrator, and author of children's books. She illustrated more than thirty books for young readers and wrote several of her own. She used a great variety of artistic media and methods.

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12/08/1985

Kyu Sakamoto, Japanese singer-songwriter (born 1941)

Hisashi "Kyu" Sakamoto , legally registered as Hisashi Ōshima since 1956, was a Japanese singer and actor.

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Manfred Winkelhock, German race car driver (born 1951)

Manfred Winkelhock was a German racing driver, who competed in Formula One between 1980 and 1985.

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12/08/1984

Ladi Kwali, Nigerian potter (born 1925)

Ladi Kwali or Ladi Dosei Kwali, OON NNOM, MBE was a Nigerian potter, ceramicist and educator.

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12/08/1983

Theodor Burchardi, German admiral (born 1892)

Theodor Burchardi was an Admiral with the Kriegsmarine during World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. He was responsible for organising the evacuation of 2 million people from Courland and Eastern Prussia at the end of World War II in Operation Hannibal and the Evacuation of East Prussia.

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12/08/1982

Henry Fonda, American actor (born 1905)

Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American actor whose career spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. Known for his work on screen and stage, he often portrayed characters who embodied an everyman image.

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Salvador Sánchez, Mexican boxer (born 1959)

Salvador "Sal" Sánchez Narváez was a Mexican professional boxer born in the town of Santiago Tianguistenco, Estado de México. Sanchez was the WBC and The Ring featherweight champion from 1980 to 1982. Many of his contemporaries as well as boxing writers believe that had it not been for his premature death, Sánchez could have gone on to become the greatest featherweight boxer of all time. Sánchez died on August 12, 1982, in a car accident while driving from Querétaro to San Luis Potosí. He is also the uncle of Salvador Sánchez II.

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12/08/1979

Ernst Boris Chain, German-Irish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1906)

Sir Ernst Boris Chain was a German-born British biochemist. He shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Alexander Fleming and Howard Florey "for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in various infectious diseases".

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12/08/1978

John Williams, English motorcycle racer (born 1946)

John Glen Williams was an English motorcycle short-circuit road racer who also entered selected Grands Prix on the near-continent. He mostly raced as a "privateer" having a personal sponsor, Gerald Brown. Williams died in Northern Ireland, following an accident when racing at an event held on closed public roads near Dundrod.

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12/08/1976

Tom Driberg, British politician/journalist (born 1905)

Thomas Edward Neil Driberg, Baron Bradwell was a British journalist, politician, High Anglican churchman and possible Soviet spy, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1942 to 1955, and again from 1959 to 1974. A member of the Communist Party of Great Britain for more than twenty years, he was first elected to Parliament as an Independent and joined the Labour Party in 1945. He never held any ministerial office, but rose to senior positions within the Labour Party and was a popular and influential figure in left-wing politics for many years.

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12/08/1973

Walter Rudolf Hess, Swiss physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1881)

Walter Rudolf Hess was a Swiss physiologist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1949 for mapping the areas of the brain involved in the control of internal organs. He shared the prize with Egas Moniz.

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Karl Ziegler, German chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1898)

Karl Waldemar Ziegler was a German chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963, with Giulio Natta, for work on polymers. The Nobel Committee recognized his "excellent work on organometallic compounds [which]...led to new polymerization reactions and ... paved the way for new and highly useful industrial processes". He is also known for his work involving free-radicals, many-membered rings, and organometallic compounds, as well as the development of Ziegler–Natta catalyst. One of many awards Ziegler received was the Werner von Siemens Ring in 1960 jointly with Otto Bayer and Walter Reppe, for expanding the scientific knowledge of and the technical development of new synthetic materials.

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12/08/1967

Esther Forbes, American historian and author (born 1891)

Esther Louise Forbes was an American novelist, historian, and children's writer who received the Pulitzer Prize and the Newbery Medal. She was the first woman elected to membership in the American Antiquarian Society.

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12/08/1966

Artur Alliksaar, Estonian poet and author (born 1923)

Artur Alliksaar was an Estonian poet.

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12/08/1964

Ian Fleming, English spy, journalist, and author (born 1908)

Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British writer, best known for his postwar James Bond series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his father was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Henley from 1910 until his death on the Western Front in 1917. Educated at Eton, Sandhurst, and, briefly, the universities of Munich and Geneva, Fleming moved through several jobs before he started writing.

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12/08/1959

Mike O'Neill, Irish-American baseball player and manager (born 1877)

Michael Joyce O'Neill was an Irish born starting pitcher and left fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1901 through 1907, he played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1901–04) and Cincinnati Reds (1907). O'Neill batted and threw right-handed. A native of Maam, Ireland, he played as Michael Joyce in his 1901 rookie year with the Cardinals.

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12/08/1955

Thomas Mann, German author and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1875)

Paul Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas are noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual. His analysis and critique of the European and German soul used modernized versions of German and Biblical stories, as well as the ideas of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Arthur Schopenhauer.

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James B. Sumner, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1887)

James Batcheller Sumner was an American biochemist. He discovered that enzymes can be crystallized, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1946 with John Howard Northrop and Wendell Meredith Stanley. He was also the first to prove that enzymes are proteins.

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12/08/1952

David Bergelson, Ukrainian author and playwright (born 1884)

David Bergelson was a Yiddish language writer born in the Russian Empire. He lived for a time in Berlin, Germany, before moving to the Soviet Union following the Nazi rise to power in Germany. He was a victim of the post-war antisemitic "rootless cosmopolitan" campaign and one of those executed on the Night of the Murdered Poets.

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12/08/1944

Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., American lieutenant and pilot (born 1915)

Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr. was an American naval aviator who was a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. He was a member of the Kennedy family and the eldest of the nine children born to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. During World War II, Kennedy was killed in action while serving as a land-based patrol bomber pilot, and posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

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Jacques Pellegrin, French zoologist (born 1873)

Jacques Pellegrin was a French zoologist.

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12/08/1943

Vittorio Sella, Italian photographer and mountaineer (born 1859)

Vittorio Sella was an Italian photographer and mountaineer, whose photographs of mountains are regarded as some of the finest ever made.

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12/08/1941

Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon, English soldier and politician, 56th Governor General of Canada (born 1866)

Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon, styled as the Earl of Willingdon between 1931 and 1936, was a British Liberal politician and administrator who served as Governor General of Canada and as Viceroy and Governor-General of India.

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Bobby Peel, English cricketer and umpire (born 1857)

Robert Peel was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket for Yorkshire between 1883 and 1897. Primarily a left-arm spin bowler, Peel was also an effective left-handed batsman who played in the middle order. Between 1884 and 1896, he was regularly selected to represent England, playing 20 Test matches in which he took 101 wickets. Over the course of his career, he scored 12,191 runs and took 1,775 wickets in first-class cricket. A match-winning bowler, particularly when conditions favoured his style, Peel generally opened the attack, an orthodox tactic for a spinner at the time, and was highly regarded by critics.

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12/08/1940

Nikolai Triik, Estonian painter, illustrator, and academic (born 1884)

Nikolai Voldemar Triik was an Estonian Modernist painter, graphic artist, printmaker and professor. His work displays elements of Symbolism and Expressionism.

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12/08/1935

Friedrich Schottky, German mathematician and academic (born 1851)

Friedrich Hermann Schottky was a German mathematician who worked on elliptic, abelian, and theta functions and introduced Schottky groups and Schottky's theorem.

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12/08/1934

Hendrik Petrus Berlage, Dutch architect, designed the Beurs van Berlage (born 1856)

Hendrik Petrus Berlage was a Dutch architect and designer. He is considered one of the fathers of the architecture of the Amsterdam School.

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12/08/1928

Leoš Janáček, Czech composer and educator (born 1854)

Leoš Janáček was a Czech composer, music theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic music, including Eastern European folk music, to create an original, modern musical style.

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12/08/1924

Sándor Bródy, Hungarian journalist and author (born 1863)

Sándor Bródy was a Hungarian author and journalist.

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12/08/1922

Arthur Griffith, Irish journalist and politician, 3rd President of Dáil Éireann (born 1871)

Arthur Joseph Griffith was an Irish writer, newspaper editor and politician who founded the political party Sinn Féin. He led the Irish delegation at the negotiations that produced the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, and served as the president of Dáil Éireann from January 1922 until his death that August.

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12/08/1921

Pyotr Boborykin, Russian playwright and journalist (born 1836)

Pyotr Dmitriyevich Boborykin was a Russian writer, playwright, and journalist.

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12/08/1918

William Thompson, American archer (born 1848)

Will Henry Thompson was an American archer, poet and lawyer. His brother Maurice, he was a founder of the National Archery Association in 1879 in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Maurice was the inaugural president and William was president in 1882, 1903 and 1904.

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12/08/1914

John Philip Holland, Irish engineer, designed HMS Holland 1 (born 1840)

John Philip Holland was an Irish marine engineer who developed the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the US Navy, USS Holland (SS-1) and the first Royal Navy submarine, Holland 1.

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12/08/1904

William Renshaw, English tennis player (born 1861)

William Charles Renshaw was a British tennis player active during the late 19th century, who was ranked world No. 1. He won twelve Wimbledon titles: seven in singles and five in doubles. A right-hander, Renshaw was known for his power and technical ability which put him ahead of competition at the time. His seven Wimbledon men's singles titles were a record that stood for 128 years, until surpassed in 2017. His six consecutive singles titles (1881–86) remain an all-time record. Additionally, Renshaw won the doubles title five times with his twin brother Ernest. William Renshaw was the first president of the British Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).

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12/08/1901

Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, Finnish-Swedish botanist, geologist, mineralogist, and explorer (born 1832)

Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld was a Finland-Swedish aristocrat, geologist, mineralogist and Arctic explorer. He was a member of the noble Nordenskiöld family of scientists and held the title of a friherre (baron).

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12/08/1900

Wilhelm Steinitz, Austrian chess player and theoretician (born 1836)

William Steinitz was a Bohemian-Austrian, and later American, chess player. From 1886 to 1894, he was the first World Chess Champion. He was also a highly influential writer and chess theoretician.

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12/08/1896

Thomas Chamberlain, American colonel (born 1841)

Thomas Davee Chamberlain was the Lieutenant Colonel of the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War, the brother of Union general Joshua L. Chamberlain, the Colonel of the 20th Maine Infantry.

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12/08/1891

James Russell Lowell, American poet and critic (born 1819)

James Russell Lowell was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the fireside poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets to rival the popularity of British poets. These writers usually used conventional forms and meters in their poetry, making them suitable for families entertaining at their fireside.

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12/08/1865

William Jackson Hooker, English botanist and academic (born 1785)

William Jackson Hooker was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew he founded the Herbarium and enlarged the gardens and arboretum. The standard author abbreviation Hook. is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.

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12/08/1864

Sakuma Shōzan, Japanese scholar and politician (born 1811)

Sakuma Shōzan was a Japanese politician and scholar of the Edo period.

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12/08/1861

Eliphalet Remington, American inventor and businessman, founded Remington Arms (born 1793)

Eliphalet Remington II was an American engineer who founded what would become known as Remington Arms. Originally the company was known as E. Remington followed by E. Remington & Son and then E. Remington and Sons.

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12/08/1849

Albert Gallatin, Swiss-American ethnologist, linguist, and politician, 4th United States Secretary of the Treasury (born 1761)

Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin was a Genevan-American politician, diplomat, ethnologist, and linguist. Often described as "America's Swiss Founding Father", he was a leading figure in the early years of the United States, helping shape the new republic's financial system and foreign policy. Gallatin was a prominent member of the Democratic-Republican Party, represented Pennsylvania in both chambers of Congress, and held several influential roles across four presidencies, most notably as the longest serving U.S. secretary of the treasury. He is also known for his contributions to academia, namely as the founder of New York University and cofounder of the American Ethnological Society.

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12/08/1848

George Stephenson, English engineer and academic (born 1781)

George Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians as a great example of diligent application and thirst for improvement. His chosen rail gauge, sometimes called "Stephenson gauge", was the basis for the 4-foot-8+1⁄2-inch (1.435 m) standard gauge used by most of the world's railways.

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12/08/1829

Charles Sapinaud de La Rairie, French general (born 1760)

Charles Henri Félicité Sapinaud de la Rairie was a French soldier and Vendéen general during the war in the Vendée.

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12/08/1827

William Blake, English poet and painter (born 1757)

William Blake was an English poet, painter and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. What he called his "prophetic works" were said by the 20th-century critic Northrop Frye to form "what is in proportion to its merits the least read body of poetry in the English language". While he lived in London his entire life, except for three years spent in Felpham, he produced a diverse and symbolically rich collection of works, which embraced the imagination as "the body of God", or "human existence itself".

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12/08/1822

Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, Irish-English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (born 1769)

Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Irish-born British statesman and politician. As secretary to the Viceroy in Ireland, he worked to suppress the Rebellion of 1798 and to secure passage in 1800 of the Irish Act of Union. As the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom from 1812, he was central to the management of the coalition that defeated Napoleon, and was British plenipotentiary at the Congress of Vienna. In the post-war government of Lord Liverpool, Castlereagh was seen to support harsh measures against agitation for reform, and he ended his life an isolated and unpopular figure.

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12/08/1810

Étienne Louis Geoffroy, French pharmacist and entomologist (born 1725)

Étienne Louis Geoffroy was a French entomologist and pharmacist. He was born in Paris and died in Soissons. He followed the binomial nomenclature of Carl von Linné and devoted himself mainly to beetles.

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12/08/1809

Mikhail Kamensky, Russian field marshal (born 1738)

Count Mikhail Fedotovich Kamensky was a Russian nobleman and a noted field marshal, who distinguished himself in the Catherinian wars and the Napoleonic campaigns.

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12/08/1778

Peregrine Bertie, 3rd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire (born 1714)

General Peregrine Bertie, 3rd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven,, styled Lord Willoughby de Eresby from 1715 to 1723 and Marquess of Lindsey from 1735 to 1742, was an English peer.

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12/08/1689

Pope Innocent XI (born 1611)

Pope Innocent XI, born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and leader of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 until his death on 12 August 1689.

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12/08/1674

Philippe de Champaigne, Belgian-French painter and educator (born 1602)

Philippe de Champaigne was a Brabant-born French Baroque era painter, a major exponent of French Baroque painting. He was a founding member of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture in Paris, the premier art institution in the Kingdom of France during the Ancien Régime.

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12/08/1638

Johannes Althusius, German jurist and philosopher (born 1557)

Johannes Althusius was a German–Dutch jurist and Calvinist political philosopher.

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12/08/1612

Giovanni Gabrieli, Italian organist and composer (born 1557)

Giovanni Gabrieli was an Italian composer and organist. He was one of the most influential musicians of his time, and represents the culmination of the style of the Venetian School, at the time of the shift from Renaissance to Baroque idioms.

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12/08/1602

Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, Mughal vizier and historian (born 1551)

Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, also known as Abul Fazl, Abu'l Fadl and Abu'l-Fadl 'Allami, was an Indian writer, historian, and politician who served as the grand vizier of the Mughal Empire from his appointment in 1579, until his death in 1602. His notable works include the Akbarnama, Ain-i-Akbari, and a Persian translation of the Bible.

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12/08/1588

Alfonso Ferrabosco the elder, Italian-English composer (born 1543)

Alfonso Ferrabosco was an Italian composer. While mostly famous as the solitary Italian madrigalist working in England, and the one mainly responsible for the growth of the madrigal there, he also composed much sacred music. He also may have been a spy for Elizabeth I while he was in Italy.

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12/08/1577

Thomas Smith, English scholar and diplomat (born 1513)

Sir Thomas Smith was an English scholar, parliamentarian and diplomat.

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12/08/1546

Francisco de Vitoria, Spanish theologian (born 1492)

Francisco de Vitoria, also known as Francisco de Victoria, was a Spanish Catholic philosopher, theologian, and jurist of Renaissance Spain. He is the founder of the tradition in philosophy known as the School of Salamanca, which laid the groundwork for early free-market economics and individual rights, influencing the development of libertarian thought. Vitoria's work on natural law and the freedom of exchange contributed to later Austrian School economists' emphasis on the moral basis for voluntary commerce. Although less known than others of his kind, he has been considered one of the most influential humanists of the Renaissance.

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12/08/1484

Sixtus IV, pope of the Catholic Church (born 1414)

Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, Italian: Sisto IV; born Francesco della Rovere; was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included the construction of the Sistine Chapel and the creation of the Vatican Library. A patron of the arts, he brought together the group of artists who ushered the early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpieces of the city's new artistic age.

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12/08/1424

Yongle, emperor of the Ming Empire (born 1360)

The Yongle Emperor, personal name Zhu Di, was the third emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. He was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the dynasty.

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12/08/1399

Demetrius I Starshy, Prince of Trubczewsk (in battle) (born 1327)

Dmitry of Bryansk or Dmitry the Elder was the Lithuanian prince of Bryansk from 1356 to 1379 and from 1388 to 1399. Dmitry was the second eldest son of Algirdas, the grand duke of Lithuania, and his first wife Maria of Vitebsk.

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12/08/1335

Prince Moriyoshi, Japanese shōgun (born 1308)

Prince Moriyoshi was a Japanese prince, military leader and monk.

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12/08/1319

Rudolf I, duke of Bavaria (born 1274)

Rudolf I of Bavaria, called "the Stammerer", a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was Duke of Upper Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1294 until 1317.

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12/08/1315

Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick, English nobleman

Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick was an English magnate, and one of the principal opponents of King Edward II and his favourite, Piers Gaveston. Guy was the son of William de Beauchamp, the first Beauchamp earl of Warwick, and succeeded his father in 1298. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Falkirk and subsequently, as a capable servant of the crown under King Edward I. After the succession of Edward II in 1307, however, he soon fell out with the new king and the king's favourite, Piers Gaveston. Warwick was one of the main architects behind the Ordinances of 1311, that limited the powers of the king and banished Gaveston into exile.

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12/08/1295

Charles Martel, king of Hungary (born 1271)

Charles Martel of the Capetian dynasty was the eldest son of king Charles II of Naples and Mary of Hungary, the daughter of King Stephen V of Hungary.

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12/08/1222

Vladislaus III, duke of Bohemia

Vladislaus Henry, a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was elected Duke of Bohemia in 1197 and Margrave of Moravia from 1197 until his death. He only served as duke during the year 1197 and was indeed the last ruler of Bohemia to hold that title. It was his brother Ottokar I, whose forces overthrew him, who finally achieved the elevation of the Duchy of Bohemia to the status of a kingdom starting in 1198.

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12/08/0961

Yuan Zong, emperor of Southern Tang (born 916)

Li Jing, originally Xu Jingtong (徐景通), briefly Xu Jing (徐璟) in 937–939, courtesy name Boyu (伯玉), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Yuanzong of Southern Tang (南唐元宗), also known in historiography as the Middle Lord of Southern Tang (南唐中主), was the second and penultimate monarch of China's Southern Tang dynasty during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He reigned his state from 943 until his death.

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12/08/0960

Li Gu, chancellor of Later Zhou (born 903)

Li Gu, courtesy name Weizhen, titled Duke of Zhao, was an official of the Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, and Later Zhou, Liao, and Northern Song dynasties of China. He served as a chancellor under the Later Zhou dynasty.

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12/08/0875

Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor (born 825)

Louis II, sometimes called the Younger, was the king of Italy and emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 844, co-ruling with his father Lothair I until 855, after which he ruled alone.

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12/08/0792

Jænberht, archbishop of Canterbury

Jænberht was a medieval monk, and later the abbot, of St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury, who was named Archbishop of Canterbury in 765. As archbishop, he had a difficult relationship with King Offa of Mercia, who at one point confiscated lands from the archbishopric. By 787, some of the bishoprics under Canterbury's supervision were transferred to the control of the newly created Archbishopric of Lichfield, although it is not clear if Jænberht ever recognised its legitimacy. Besides the issue with Lichfield, Jænberht also presided over church councils in England. He died in 792 and was considered a saint after his death.

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01/01/1970

Cleopatra, Egyptian queen (born 69 BC)

Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and the last active Hellenistic pharaoh. A member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, she was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great. Her first language was Koine Greek, and she is the only Ptolemaic ruler known to have learned the Egyptian language, among several others. After her death, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire, marking the end of the Hellenistic period in the Mediterranean, which had begun during the reign of Alexander.

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