Died on Sunday, 8th March – Famous Deaths

08/03/2025

Athol Fugard, South African actor, director, and playwright (born 1932)

Harold Athol Lanigan Fugard was a South African playwright, novelist, actor and director. Widely regarded as South Africa's greatest playwright and acclaimed as "the greatest active playwright in the English-speaking world" by Time magazine in 1985, he published more than thirty plays. He is best known for his political and penetrating plays opposing the system of apartheid, some of which have been adapted to film. His novel Tsotsi was adapted as a film of the same name, which won an Academy Award in 2005. Three plays he wrote, and two plays he co-authored, were nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play.

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08/03/2020

Max von Sydow, Swedish actor (born 1929)

Max von Sydow was a Swedish and French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television series in multiple languages. Capable in roles ranging from stolid, contemplative protagonists to sardonic artists and menacing, often gleeful villains, von Sydow received numerous accolades including honors from the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival. He was nominated for two Academy Awards: for Best Actor for Pelle the Conqueror (1987) and for Best Supporting Actor for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011).

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08/03/2019

Marshall Brodien, American actor (born 1934)

Marshall Brodien was an American professional magician who played Wizzo the Wizard, a wizard clown character which appeared on WGN-TV's Bozo's Circus and The Bozo Show from 1968 to 1994.

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Cedrick Hardman, American football player and actor (born 1948)

Cedrick Ward Hardman was an American professional football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders, then played in the United States Football League (USFL) for the Oakland Invaders. Hardman's thirteen-year football career lasted from 1970 to 1981 in the NFL and ended as a player/coach in 1983 with the Invaders. Hardman held the record for most sacks in a season for the 49ers recording 18 sacks in only 14 games during the 1971 season with the 49ers until 2012, when it was broken by Aldon Smith with 19.5.

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08/03/2018

Kate Wilhelm, American author (born 1928)

Kate Wilhelm was an American author. She wrote novels and stories in the science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres, including the Hugo Award–winning Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang. Wilhelm established the Clarion Workshop along with her husband Damon Knight and writer Robin Scott Wilson.

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08/03/2016

George Martin, English composer, conductor, and producer (born 1926)

Sir George Henry Martin was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" due to his extensive involvement in each of the Beatles' original albums. Martin's formal musical expertise and interest in novel recording practices facilitated the group's rudimentary musical education and desire for new musical sounds to record. Most of their orchestral and string arrangements were written by Martin, and he played piano or keyboards on a number of their records. Their collaborations resulted in popular, highly acclaimed records with innovative sounds, such as the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

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08/03/2015

Sam Simon, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1955)

Samuel Michael Simon was an American television writer, producer and animal rights activist who co-developed the animated sitcom The Simpsons.

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08/03/2014

Leo Bretholz, Austrian-American Holocaust survivor and author (born 1921)

Leo Bretholz was a Holocaust survivor who, in 1942, escaped from a train heading for Auschwitz. He has also written a book on his experiences, titled Leap into Darkness.

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William Guarnere, American sergeant (born 1923)

William J. Guarnere Sr. was a United States Army paratrooper who fought in World War II as a non-commissioned officer with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division.

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08/03/2013

John O'Connell, Irish politician, Irish Minister of Health (born 1927)

John Francis O'Connell was an Irish politician who served as Minister for Health from 1992 to 1993 and Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann from 1981 to 1982. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1965 to 1987 and from 1989 to 1993. He served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Dublin constituency from 1979 to 1981. He was a Senator from 1987 to 1989, after being nominated by the Taoiseach.

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Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin, German soldier and publisher (born 1922)

Ewald-Heinrich Hermann Konrad Oskar Ulrich Wolf Alfred von Kleist-Schmenzin was a German publisher and convenor of the Munich Conference on Security Policy until 1998. A member of the von Kleist family and an officer in the Wehrmacht during World War II, his parents were active in the German resistance against Adolf Hitler. Von Kleist was designated to kill Hitler in a suicide attack and was the last surviving member of the 20 July 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler.

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08/03/2012

Simin Daneshvar, Iranian author and academic (born 1921)

Simin Dāneshvar was an Iranian academic, novelist, fiction writer, and translator.

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08/03/2009

Hank Locklin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1918)

Lawrence Hankins Locklin was an American country music singer and songwriter. He had 70 chart singles, including two number-one hits on Billboard's country chart. His biggest hits included "Send Me the Pillow You Dream On" and his signature "Please Help Me, I'm Falling". The latter also went to number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 pop music chart. Billboard's 100th anniversary issue listed it as the second-most successful country single of the rock and roll era. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America.

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08/03/2007

John Inman, English actor (born 1935)

Frederick John Inman was an English actor and singer best known for his role as Mr. Humphries in Are You Being Served?, a British sitcom between 1972 and 1985, and the spin-off series Grace and Favour. He was the only actor from those series to reprise the role when an Australian version was launched.

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John Vukovich, American baseball player and coach (born 1947)

John Christopher Vukovich, nicknamed "Vuk" or "Johnny Vuk", was an American professional baseball utility infielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball, best known for his years with the Philadelphia Phillies. He played in parts of ten seasons between 1970 and 1981 for the Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, and Milwaukee Brewers. Vukovich is also known for recording the lowest career MLB batting average (BA) (.161) of any non-pitcher with 500 or more at bats (AB).

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08/03/2005

César Lattes, Brazilian physicist and academic (born 1924)

Cesare Mansueto Giulio Lattes, also known as César Lattes, was a Brazilian experimental physicist, one of the discoverers of the pion, a subatomic particle composed of a quark and an antiquark.

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Aslan Maskhadov, Chechen commander and politician, President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (born 1951)

Aslan Aliyevich Maskhadov was a Soviet and Chechen politician and military commander who also served as the third president of the unrecognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.

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08/03/2004

Muhammad Zaidan, Syrian militant, founded the Palestinian Liberation Front (born 1948)

Muhammad Zaidan aka Muhammad Abbas, sometimes known as Abu Abbas, was a founder of the Palestinian Liberation Front (PLF) Organization.

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08/03/2003

Adam Faith, English singer (born 1940)

Terence Nelhams Wright, known professionally as Adam Faith, was an English singer, actor, and financial journalist. As a British rock and roll teen idol, he scored consecutive No. 1 hits on the UK singles chart with "What Do You Want?" (1959) and "Poor Me" (1960). He became the first UK artist to lodge his initial seven hits in the top 5, and was ultimately one of the most charted acts of the 1960s. He was also one of the first UK acts to record original songs regularly.

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Karen Morley, American actress (born 1909)

Karen Morley was an American film actress.

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08/03/1999

Adolfo Bioy Casares, Argentinian journalist and author (born 1914)

Adolfo Bioy Casares was an Argentine fiction writer, journalist, diarist, and translator. He was a friend and frequent collaborator of his fellow countryman Jorge Luis Borges. He is the author of the Fantastique novel The Invention of Morel.

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Peggy Cass, American actress and comedian (born 1924)

Mary Margaret "Peggy" Cass was an American actress, comedian, game show panelist, and announcer.

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Joe DiMaggio, American baseball player and coach (born 1914)

Joseph Paul DiMaggio, nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "the Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. Born to Italian immigrants in California, he is considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time and set the record for the longest hitting streak.

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08/03/1998

Ray Nitschke, American football player (born 1936)

Raymond Ernest Nitschke was an American professional football player who spent his entire 15-year career as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) with the Green Bay Packers. Enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1978, he was the anchor of the defense for head coach Vince Lombardi in the 1960s, leading the Packers to five NFL championships and victories in the first two Super Bowls.

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08/03/1996

Jack Churchill, British colonel (born 1906)

John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming Churchill, was a British Army officer. Nicknamed "Fighting Jack Churchill" and "Mad Jack", he fought in the Second World War with a broadsword, longbow, and a set of bagpipes.

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08/03/1993

Billy Eckstine, American jazz singer (born 1914)

William Clarence Eckstine was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award "for performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording". His recording of "I Apologize" was given the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999. The New York Times described him as an "influential band leader" whose "suave bass-baritone" and "full-throated, sugary approach to popular songs inspired singers such as Earl Coleman, Johnny Hartman, Joe Williams, Arthur Prysock, and Lou Rawls."

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08/03/1983

Alan Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton, English lieutenant and politician (born 1904)

Alan Tindal Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton, CH, PC, DL, was a British Conservative politician.

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William Walton, English composer (born 1902)

Sir William Turner Walton was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include Façade, the cantata Belshazzar's Feast, the Viola Concerto, the First Symphony, and the British coronation marches Crown Imperial and Orb and Sceptre.

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08/03/1982

Hatem Ali Jamadar, Bengali politician (born 1872)

Khan Sahib Hatem Ali Jamadar was a Bengali politician and philanthropist. He served as a member of the Bengal Legislative Assembly and the East Bengal Legislative Assembly.

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08/03/1975

George Stevens, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1904)

George Cooper Stevens was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for A Place in the Sun (1951) and Giant (1956).

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08/03/1973

Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, American keyboard player and songwriter (born 1945)

Ronald Charles McKernan, known as Pigpen, was an American musician. He was a founding member of the San Francisco band the Grateful Dead and played in the group from 1965 to 1972.

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08/03/1971

Harold Lloyd, American actor, director, and producer (born 1893)

Harold Clayton Lloyd Sr. was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.

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08/03/1961

Thomas Beecham, English conductor and composer (born 1879)

Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras. From the early 20th century until his death, Beecham was a major influence on the musical life of Britain and, according to the BBC, was Britain's first international conductor.

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08/03/1957

Othmar Schoeck, Swiss composer and conductor (born 1886)

Othmar Schoeck was a Swiss Romantic composer and conductor. He was known for his considerable output of art songs and song cycles but also wrote operas, notably the one-act Penthesilea, premiered in Dresden in 1927, and instrumental works, including two string quartets and concertos for violin, cello and horn.

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08/03/1948

Hulusi Behçet, Turkish dermatologist and scientist (born 1889)

Hulusi Behçet was a Turkish dermatologist and scientist. He described a disease of inflamed blood vessels in 1937, which is named after him as Behçet's disease. His portrait was depicted on a former Turkish postcard stamp.

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08/03/1944

Fredy Hirsch, German Jewish athlete who helped thousands of Jewish children in the Holocaust (born 1916)

Alfred Hirsch was a German-Jewish athlete, sports teacher, and Zionist youth movement leader, notable for helping thousands of Jewish children during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in Prague, Theresienstadt concentration camp, and Auschwitz. Hirsch was the deputy supervisor of children at Theresienstadt and the supervisor of the children's block at the Theresienstadt family camp at Auschwitz II-Birkenau.

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08/03/1943

Cipto Mangunkusumo, Indonesian independence leader (born 1886)

Cipto Mangunkusumo was a prominent Indonesian independence leader and Sukarno's political mentor. Together with Ernest Douwes Dekker and Soewardi Soerjaningrat, he was one of the three founders of the influential Indische Party, a political party disseminating the idea of self-government of the Dutch East Indies. After the party was labeled subversive by the colonial court of law in 1913, he and his fellow IP leaders were exiled to the Netherlands.

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08/03/1942

José Raúl Capablanca, Cuban chess player (born 1888)

José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was a Cuban chess player who was the third world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he was widely renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play.

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08/03/1941

Sherwood Anderson, American novelist and short story writer (born 1876)

Sherwood Anderson was an American novelist and short story writer, known for subjective and self-revealing works. Self-educated, he rose to become a successful copywriter and business owner in Cleveland and Elyria, Ohio. In 1912, Anderson had a nervous breakdown that led him to abandon his business and family to become a writer.

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08/03/1937

Howie Morenz, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1902)

Howard William Morenz was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Beginning in 1923, he played centre for three National Hockey League (NHL) teams: the Montreal Canadiens, the Chicago Black Hawks, and the New York Rangers. Before joining the NHL, Morenz excelled in the junior Ontario Hockey Association, where his team played for the Memorial Cup, the championship for junior ice hockey in Canada. In the NHL, he was one of the most dominant players in the league and set several league scoring records. A strong skater, Morenz was referred to as the "Stratford Streak" and "Mitchell Meteor" in reference to his speed on the ice.

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08/03/1932

Minna Craucher, Finnish socialite and spy (born 1891)

Minna Craucher was the false name of Maria Vilhelmiina Lindell, a Finnish socialite and spy. Her home was a noted salon for various writers and artists. She also did espionage, originally for the Cheka, the Soviet secret police, and was arrested three times for fraud. She also had connections to the right-wing Lapua Movement. She became the subject of several books and stories. In 1932 she was murdered by Olavi Runolinna.

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08/03/1930

William Howard Taft, American politician, 27th President of the United States (born 1857)

William Howard Taft was the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices.

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Edward Terry Sanford, American jurist and politician, United States Assistant Attorney General (born 1865)

Edward Terry Sanford was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1923 until his death in 1930. Prior to his nomination to the high court, Sanford served as a United States Assistant Attorney General under President Theodore Roosevelt from 1905 to 1907, and as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee and the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee from 1908 to 1923. As of January 2026, he is the last sitting district court judge to be elevated directly to the Supreme Court.

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08/03/1923

Johannes Diderik van der Waals, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1837)

Johannes Diderik van der Waals was a Dutch theoretical physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1910 "for his work on the equation of state for gases and liquids." Van der Waals started his career as a schoolteacher, before becoming the first physics professor of the University of Amsterdam when its status was upgraded to Municipal University in 1877.

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08/03/1917

Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German general and businessman (born 1838)

Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin was a German general and later inventor of the Zeppelin rigid airships. His name became synonymous with airships and dominated long-distance flight until the 1930s. He founded the company Luftschiffbau Zeppelin.

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08/03/1889

John Ericsson, Swedish-American engineer (born 1803)

John Ericsson was a Swedish-American engineer and inventor. He was active in England and the United States.

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08/03/1887

Henry Ward Beecher, American minister and activist (born 1813)

Henry Ward Beecher was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery trial. His rhetorical focus on the love of Christ has influenced mainstream Christianity through the 21st century.

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James Buchanan Eads, American engineer, designed the Eads Bridge (born 1820)

James Buchanan Eads was an American civil engineer and inventor. He held more than 50 patents and was known internationally. He designed and built the Eads Bridge over the Mississippi River in St. Louis, which was designated a National Historic Landmark.

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08/03/1874

Millard Fillmore, American lawyer and politician, 13th President of the United States (born 1800)

Millard Fillmore was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853. He was the last president to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House, and the last to be neither a Democrat nor a Republican. A former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Fillmore was elected vice president in 1848, and succeeded to the presidency when Zachary Taylor died in 1850. Fillmore was instrumental in passing the Compromise of 1850, which led to a brief truce in the battle over the expansion of slavery.

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08/03/1872

Priscilla Susan Bury, British botanist (born 1799)

Priscilla Susan Bury, born Falkner, was an English botanist and illustrator.

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Cornelius Krieghoff, Dutch-Canadian painter (born 1815)

Cornelius David Krieghoff was a Dutch-born Canadian-American painter of the 19th century. He is best known for his paintings of Canadian genre scenes involving landscapes and outdoor life, which were as sought after in his own time as they are today. He painted many winter scenes, some in several variants. He painted in Quebec City from 1853 to 1864 and 1870 to 1872, creating a prolific portfolio of landscape and genre paintings.

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08/03/1869

Hector Berlioz, French composer, conductor, and critic (born 1803)

Louis-Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the Symphonie fantastique and Harold in Italy, choral pieces including the Requiem and L'Enfance du Christ, his three operas Benvenuto Cellini, Les Troyens and Béatrice et Bénédict, and works of hybrid genres such as the "dramatic symphony" Roméo et Juliette and the "dramatic legend" La Damnation de Faust.

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08/03/1844

Charles XIV John of Sweden (born 1763)

Charles XIV John was King of Sweden and Norway from 1818 until his death in 1844 and the first monarch of the Bernadotte dynasty. In Norway, he is known as Charles III John ; before he became royalty in Sweden, his name was Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte. During the Napoleonic Wars, he participated in several battles as a Marshal of France.

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08/03/1723

Povel Juel, Norwegian civil servant (born c.1673)

Povel Juel was a Norwegian civil servant and writer, executed for treason in 1723.

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Christopher Wren, English architect, designed St. Paul's Cathedral (born 1632)

Sir Christopher Wren FRS was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who is one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including what is regarded as his masterpiece, St Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710.

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08/03/1717

Abraham Darby I, English blacksmith (born 1678)

Abraham Darby, in his later life called Abraham Darby the Elder, now sometimes known for convenience as Abraham Darby I, was an English ironmaster and foundryman. Born into an English Quaker family that played an important role in the Industrial Revolution, Darby developed a method of producing pig iron in a blast furnace fuelled by coke rather than charcoal. This was a major step forward in the production of iron as a raw material for the Industrial Revolution.

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08/03/1702

William III of England (born 1650)

William III and II, also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 1672, and King of England, Ireland, and Scotland from 1689 until his death in 1702. He ruled England, Scotland, and Ireland with his wife, Queen Mary II, and their joint reign is known as that of William and Mary.

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08/03/1641

Xu Xiake, Chinese geographer and explorer (born 1587)

Xu Xiake, born Xu Hongzu (徐弘祖), courtesy name Zhenzhi (振之), was a Chinese explorer, geographer, and travel writer of the Ming dynasty, known best for his famous geographical treatise, and noted for his bravery and humility. He traveled throughout China for more than 30 years, documenting his travels extensively. The records of his travels were compiled posthumously in The Travel Diaries of Xu Xiake, and his work translated by Ding Wenjiang. Xu's writing falls under the old Chinese literary category of 'travel record literature', which used narrative and prose styles of writing to portray one's travel experiences.

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08/03/1619

Veit Bach, German baker and miller

Vitus "Veit" Bach was a German baker and miller who, according to Johann Sebastian Bach, founded the Bach family, which became one of the most important families in musical history.

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08/03/1550

John of God, Portuguese friar and saint (born 1495)

John of God, O.H. was a Portuguese soldier turned healthcare worker in Spain, whose followers later formed the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, a Catholic religious institute dedicated to the care of the poor, sick and those with mental disorders.

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08/03/1466

Francesco I Sforza, Duke of Milan (born 1401)

Francesco I Sforza was an Italian condottiero who founded the Sforza dynasty in the duchy of Milan, ruling as its (fourth) duke from 1450 until his death. Renowned for his military skill and political acumen, he was among the few condottieri to successfully transform battlefield success into stable dynastic rule.

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08/03/1403

Bayezid I, Ottoman sultan (born 1360)

Bayezid I, also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt, was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1389 to 1402. He adopted the title of Sultan-i Rûm, Rûm being the Arabic name for the Eastern Roman Empire. In 1394, Bayezid unsuccessfully besieged Constantinople. Bayezid vanquished all the Beyliks and proceeded to conquer and vassalize the entirety of Anatolia. In 1402, he once more besieged Constantinople, appearing to find success, but he ultimately withdrew due to the invasion of the Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur. He defeated the crusaders at the Battle of Nicopolis in what is now Bulgaria in 1396. He was later defeated and captured by Timur at the Battle of Ankara in 1402 and died in captivity in March 1403, which triggered the Ottoman Interregnum between his sons.

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08/03/1144

Pope Celestine II

Pope Celestine II, born Guido di Castello, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 26 September 1143 to his death on 8 March 1144.

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08/03/1137

Adela of Normandy, by marriage countess of Blois (born c. 1067)

Adela of Normandy, of Blois, or of England, also known as Saint Adela in the Catholic Church, was a daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders. She later became the countess of Blois, Chartres, and Meaux by marriage to Stephen II of Blois. Her husband greatly benefited from the increased social status and prestige that came with a marriage into such a wealthy and powerful family. She was regent of Blois during the absence of her spouse in 1096–1100 and 1101–02, and during the minority of her son from 1102 until 1120. Her marriage also laid the groundwork for a period of extended strife in the Anglo Norman lands. Adela was the mother of King Stephen of England whose taking of the throne in preference to her niece Empress Matilda led to the civil war known as The Anarchy.

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08/03/1126

Urraca of León and Castile (born 1079)

Urraca, called the Reckless (La Temeraria), was Queen of León, Castile and Galicia from 1109 until her death. She claimed the imperial title as suo jure Empress of All Spain and Empress of All Galicia. She is considered to be the first European queen to reign in her own right.

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