Discover the most famous people who died on August 12. The list includes people like Cleopatra, Ian Fleming, William Blake, Lauren Bacall, Jean-Michel Basquiat. Famous personalities featured on this list, include artists, actors, actresses and short story writers and from other domains of life. This list includes people from United States, United Kingdom, France & Germany and many more countries.
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1
Jean-Michel Basquiat(American Artist Who Became Popular During the 1980s as Part of the Neo-Expressionism Movement)
Birthdate: December 22, 1960
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Died: 1988
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist whose legacy has had an influence upon fashion, film, music, and literature. He serves as an inspiration to street artists as he started off as one, painting graffiti on buildings. After his death, at the age of 27, the value of his work has increased; in 2017, one of his paintings sold for a record $110.5 million.
2
Henry Fonda(American Actor Who Cultivated an Everyman Screen Image in Several Films Considered to be Classics)
Birthdate: May 16, 1905
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Grand Island, Nebraska, United States
Died: 1982
Hollywood legend Henry Fonda, father of Peter and Jane Fonda, is best remembered for his Academy Award-winning role as Norman Thayer Jr. in On Golden Pond. He began his career with Broadway plays and then appeared in classics such as The Grapes of Wrath and 12 Angry Men.
Birthdate: May 28, 1908
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Mayfair, London
Died: 1964
Ian Fleming was a British writer, naval intelligence officer, and journalist. Fleming is credited with creating one of the most popular characters of all time, James Bond. His James Bond series of novels have sold more than 100 million copies, making them one of the best-selling fictional book series in history. Jamaica’s Ian Fleming International Airport is named after him.
4
Lauren Bacall(One of the Greatest Female Star of Classic Hollywood Cinema)
Birthdate: September 16, 1924
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Bronx, New York, United States
Died: 2014
Known for her sultry looks and distinctive voice, Lauren Bacall was an important actress from the Golden Age of Hollywood. As part of a publicity stunt, Bacall was asked to sit on the piano that was being played by Vice President Harry Truman at the National Press Club. The picture of Bacall sitting on the piano remains an iconic photograph.
5
William Blake(English Poet Who is Considered a Seminal Figure in the History of the Poetry of the Romantic Age)
Birthdate: November 28, 1757
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: London, England, United Kingdom
Died: 1827
William Blake, author of The Songs of Innocence and of Experience, was a prominent figure of the early phase of the Romantic Age, known as the pre-Romantic era. Known for his visual artistry and poetry, he was also a staunch abolitionist and a forerunner of the "free love" movement.
Birthdate: January 6, 1913
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Died: 2000
Loretta Young began as a child actor. She later won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Katrin "Katy" Holstrum in The Farmer's Daughter and earned an Academy Award nomination for her role in Come to the Stable. Fans also loved her in the Emmy-winning series The Loretta Young Show.
7
Merv Griffin(Host of 'The Merv Griffin Show' and Creator of the Games Shows 'Jeopardy!' and 'Wheel of Fortune')
Birthdate: July 6, 1925
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: San Mateo, California, United States
Died: 2007
Merv Griffin was an American media mogul and television show host best known for hosting, The Merv Griffin Show, from 1965 to 1986. He is also credited with creating famous game shows, such as Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, through his TV production companies. For his contribution to TV, Merv Griffin was inducted posthumously into the Television Hall of Fame.
Birthdate: September 5, 1912
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States
Died: 1992
John Cage was one of the most influential avant-garde composers of the post-World War II era. He pioneered many innovative techniques in music, such as the prepared piano and electroacoustic music. His composition 4′33″ involved musicians sitting silently, without playing any instrument, while the audience heard environmental sounds.
9
Les Paul(Jazz Guitarist: One of the Pioneers of the Solid-body Electric Guitar)
Birthdate: June 9, 1915
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Waukesha, Wisconsin, United States
Died: 2009
Jazz and country guitarist Les Paul developed his version of the solid-body electric guitar, which he named the Log. He is also credited with pioneering innovations such as multitrack recording, the eight-track tape recorder, and overdubbing. He won the Special Merit/Technical Grammy Award for his achievements.
10
Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.(United States Naval Aviator and Eldest Son of Joseph P. Kennedy SR and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy)
Birthdate: July 25, 1915
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Hull, Massachusetts, United States
Died: 1944
Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. was a US Navy lieutenant. The eldest of the famous Kennedy siblings, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. was groomed by his father from a very young age to become the president of the United States. After his death during World War II at age 29, John F. Kennedy took it upon himself to materialize his father's dreams.
Birthdate: May 1, 1937
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England
Died: 2021
Height: 5'2" (157 cm)
Birthdate: June 9, 1781
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Wylam
Died: 1848
George Stephenson was a British mechanical and civil engineer. Stephenson is credited with pioneering rail transport which is widely regarded as one of the most prominent inventions of the 19th century. Regarded as the Father of Railways, George Stephenson is also credited with developing the standard rail gauge which is used by several railways around the world.
Birthdate: May 25, 1969
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Aurora, Ohio, United States
Died: 2022
Actress Anne Heche became involved in a high profile relationship with Ellen DeGeneres, which was highly publicized by the media. IShe had claimed that her father had sexually abused her during her childhood. She also said that she had an alter ego named Celestia, but has put her alter ego behind her. Anne met a tragic death after a fatal car accident. She was 53.
14
Thomas Mann(German Novelist Who Won the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature)
Birthdate: June 6, 1875
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Lübeck, Germany
Died: 1955
German author Thomas Mann, known for his epic novels, was part of the Hanseatic Mann family of authors. He depicted his own family in his novel Buddenbrooks. He won the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature. During Hitler’s reign, he fled to Switzerland and then to the U.S.
15
William Shockley(American Physicist, Inventor and Winner of the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics)
Birthdate: February 13, 1910
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: London, England
Died: 1989
American physicist, inventor and Nobel laureate William Bradford Shockley Jr received the Nobel Prize in Physics with John Bardeen and Walter Brattain in 1956 for their researches on semiconductors and for discovering the transistor effect while working at the Bell Labs. He later became a proponent of eugenics while serving as a professor of electrical engineering at Stanford University.
16
Kyu Sakamoto(Singer)
Birthdate: December 10, 1941
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Kawasaki Ward, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan
Died: 1985
With his Billboard number one track Sukiyaki, Kyu Sakamoto became the first to score a pop number one with a song entirely sung in Japanese. Born to a restaurateur, he had started his career singing in jazz clubs. He died in a 1985 plane crash that killed over 500 people.
17
Leos Janacek(One of the Most Important Czech Composers of the 20th Century)
Birthdate: July 3, 1854
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Hukvaldy, Czechia
Died: 1928
Leos Janacek was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, and teacher. He is credited to have created an original, modern musical style inspired by Moravian and other Slavic folk music. He was deeply influenced by folklore and by the works of his contemporary and friend, Antonín Dvořák. The Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra is named in his honor.
18
Wilhelm Steinitz(American Chess Player and the First World Chess Champion)
Birthdate: May 14, 1836
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Prague, Czechia
Died: 1900
Wilhelm Steinitz was an Austrian-born American chess player. He is recognized as the first World Chess Champion, having reigned from 1886 to 1894. A multi-talented personality, Wilhelm Steinitz was also an influential chess theoretician and writer. Steinitz is also remembered for having a huge impact on the game and was a well-known player during his time.
19
Enos Slaughter(Baseball player)
Birthdate: April 27, 1916
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Roxboro, North Carolina, United States
Died: 2002
20
Joe Tex(Singer-songwriter)
Birthdate: August 8, 1935
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Rogers, Texas, U.S.
Died: 1982
21
James Russell Lowell(Was an American Romantic Poet, Critic, Editor, and Diplomat)
Birthdate: February 22, 1819
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Died: 1891
22
Anna Held(French-Polish Actress and Singer Best Known for Her Revues 'The Ziegfeld Follies')
Birthdate: March 19, 1872
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Warsaw, Poland
Died: 1918
Anna Held was a Polish singer and stage performer. Although her personal life and relationship with Florenz Ziegfeld overshadowed her professional career, Anna Held's uninhibited style inspired the popular theatrical revue productions on Broadway, The Ziegfeld Follies. Her relationship with Florenz Ziegfeld also inspired films like The Great Ziegfeld and Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women.
23
Godfrey Hounsfield(English Electrical engineer Who Was a Joint Winner 1979 Nobel Prize for Medicine)
Birthdate: August 28, 1919
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Newark-on-Trent, England
Died: 2004
Nobel Prize-winning British electrical engineer Godfrey Hounsfield is best known for developing the CAT and CT scan techniques along with Allan Cormack. He also led the team that developed Britain’s first all-transistor computer. He was knighted for his achievements, while the measure of radiodensity was named the Hounsfield scale.
Birthdate: May 1, 1360
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Nanjing, China
Died: 1424
Yongle Emperor reigned as the third emperor of the Ming dynasty from 1402 until his death in 1424. He is credited with preserving Chinese culture by constructing monuments like the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, which was counted among the wonders of the world until its destruction in 1856. He is considered one of the most influential rulers in Chinese history.
25
Luther Allison(Guitarist)
Birthdate: August 17, 1939
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Widener, Arkansas, United States
Died: 1997
26
Arthur Griffith(Former Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom (1918-1922))
Birthdate: March 31, 1871
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
Died: 1922
Best known as the founder of the political party Sinn Féin, Arthur Griffith was also a journalist who launched the nationalist newspaper United Irishman. Though he didn’t participate in the Easter Rising, he was arrested and later released. He negotiated the Anglo-Irish Treaty and became the president of Dáil Éireann.
27
José Luis Brown(Football manager, Football player)
Birthdate: November 10, 1956
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Ranchos, Argentina
Died: 2019
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
28
Philippe de Champaigne(Painter)
Birthdate: May 26, 1602
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Brussels
Died: 1674
29
Salvador Sánchez(Mexican Professional Boxer)
Birthdate: January 26, 1959
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Santiago Tianguistenco, Mexico
Died: 1982
Mexican boxer Salvador Sánchez, known by nicknames such as The Invincible Eagle, was a young WBC and lineal featherweight champion. An untimely death at age 23, due to a car crash, cut his career short. He had also appeared in the movie The Last Fight, released posthumously.
30
Richie Hayward(Drummer)
Birthdate: February 6, 1946
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Des Moines, Iowa, United States
Died: 2010
31
Francesco Crispi(Prime Minister, Statesman,Lawyer Journalist)
Birthdate: October 4, 1818
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Ribera, Agrigento, Italy
Died: 1901
32
Jules Brunet(French Military Officer)
Birthdate: January 2, 1838
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Belfort
Died: 1911
33
Francisco de Vitoria(Spanish Philosopher, Theologian, and Jurist of Renaissance Spain)
Birthdate: 1483 AD
Birthplace: Burgos, Spain
Died: 1546
Francisco de Vitoria was a Spanish Roman Catholic theologian, philosopher, and jurist of Renaissance Spain. He founded the School of Salamanca, a tradition in philosophy. He made tremendous contributions to the theory of just war and international law. His works have been interpreted by various scholars to support contrary policies. He taught at the universities of Valladolid and of Salamanca.
34
Albert Gallatin(Politician, Diplomat)
Birthdate: January 29, 1761
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Geneva
Died: 1849
35
Walter J. Ong(Anthropologist, Historian, Writer, University teacher, Catholic priest, Literary critic, Journalist)
Birthdate: November 30, 1912
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Kansas City
Died: 2003
36
Ernst Boris Chain(British Biochemist and Co-Recipient of the 1945 Nobel Prize in Medicine for His Work on Penicillin)
Birthdate: June 19, 1906
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
Died: 1979
Born to a chemist father in Berlin, Ernst Boris Chain moved to the U.K. amid the rise of the Nazis. The Nobel Prize-winning biochemist later worked at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford. He is best remembered for isolating and purifying penicillin, along with Howard Walter Florey.
37
Eliphalet Remington(Engineer Who founded the "Remington Arms")
Birthdate: October 28, 1793
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Suffield, Connecticut, United States
Died: 1861
Birthdate: March 17, 1881
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Frauenfeld
Died: 1973
Walter Rudolf Hess was a Swiss physiologist whose research on the diencephalon earned him the 1949 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. His research helped him to map the parts of the brain that control the internal organs. In 1930, he helped found the International Foundation for the High Alpine Research Station Jungfraujoch and served as its director till 1937.
39
Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor(Roman Emperor)
Birthdate: 0825 AD
Died: 0875
40
Elizabeth Murray(Painter)
Birthdate: September 6, 1940
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: 2007
41
Metacom(Tribal Leader)
Birthdate: 1638 AD
Birthplace: Massachusetts, United States
Died: 1676
Birthdate: November 26, 1898
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: November 26, 1898, Helsa, Germany
Died: 1973
Karl Ziegler was a German chemist whose work on polymers earned him the prestigious Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963, which he shared with Giulio Natta. Ziegler is also renowned for his work involving organometallic compounds and free-radicals. He is also credited with developing Ziegler-Natta catalyst. During his career, Ziegler won many awards, including the Werner von Siemens Ring.
43
Lenny Breau(Guitarist, Songwriter, Jazz musician, Musician, Music teacher, Jazz guitarist, Classical guitarist)
Birthdate: August 5, 1941
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Auburn, Maine
Died: 1984
44
Mac Jack(Politician)
Birthdate: March 8, 1965
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Graaff-Reinet, South Africa
Died: 2020
South African educator and African National Congress member McCollen Ntsikelelo Jack, also known as Mac Jack, is remembered for his zeal and his never-say-die attitude. He went from being a teacher to a principal and then to the Northern Cape MEC for Education. He died of COVID-19 at age 55.
Birthdate: July 21, 1414
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Celle Ligure, Italy
Died: 1484
Remembered as a patron of the arts, Pope Sixtus IV devoted himself to the reconstruction of Roman churches and also sponsored the construction of the Sistine Chapel. He also developed the Vatican Library and made it available for scholars. He was a key force behind making Rome a Renaissance city.
46
John Philip Holland(Former engineer who developed the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the US Navy, and the first Royal Navy submarine, Holland 1)
Birthdate: 1841 AD
Birthplace: Liscannor, Ireland
Died: 1914
47
Ray Eames(American Designer and Artist)
Birthdate: December 15, 1912
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Sacramento, California, United States
Died: 1988
Ray Eames was an American designer and artist who made pioneering contributions in the fields of graphic design, architecture, film, and textile design. She is best remembered for establishing the Eames Office along with her husband Charles Eames. Ray and Charles Eames are regarded as one of the most influential and popular designers of the 20th century.
48
Bartholomew Columbus(Italian Explorer and the Younger Brother of Christopher Columbus)
Birthdate: 1461 AD
Birthplace: Genoa, Italy
Died: 1514
49
Princess Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld(Princess)
Birthdate: July 23, 1781
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Coburg, Germany
Died: 1860
50
Manfred Winkelhock(German Racing Driver)
Birthdate: October 6, 1952
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Waiblingen, Germany
Died: 1985
