Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz

popular name: Jean-Marie Baptiste Vianney

date_of_death: August 4, 1859

age: 73

cause_of_death: Extended illness

claim_to_fame: Historical Figure

best_know_for: The little town of Ars, France, about 20 miles north of Lyon, has become famous through the holy life and labors of St. John Vianney, its beloved Cure. The story of Jean Vianney emphasizes how God uses the simple and under-rated people to confound those who are regarded as wise by the world. A man who was considered only marginally fit to be a priest and became a saint. Saint Jean Vianney was a French Catholic priest who is venerated in the Catholic Church as a saint and as the patron saint of parish priests. He is often referred to as the "Curé d'Ars" (i.e. the parish priest of Ars), internationally known for his priestly and pastoral work in his parish in Ars, France, because of the radical spiritual transformation of the community and its surroundings.

popular name: Rosemary Kennedy

date_of_death: January 7, 2005

age: 86

cause_of_death: Natural causes

claim_to_fame: Historical Figure

best_know_for: Rosemary Kennedy was the third child and eldest daughter of Joseph and Rose Kennedy and her brothers included future president John F. Kennedy. She was slower to crawl, slower to walk and to speak than her brothers and she reportedly displayed developmental delays from an early age after a bungled delivery led to oxygen deprivation. Despite her apparent intellectual disabilities, Rosemary participated in most family activities. In the diary she kept as a teenager she described people she met, dances and concerts she attended, and a visit to the Roosevelt White House. When her father was appointed US Ambassador to Britain in 1938, Rosemary went to live in London and was presented at court along with her mother and sister Kathleen. Upon return to the states she allegedly exhibited mood swings and disruptive behavior. Fearing Rosemary would be an embarrassment and roadblock for his male offspring to achieve great power at all political levels, without telling anyone Joseph instructed Dr. James W. Watts to perform a frontal lobotomy. The horrifying surgical procedure – which involved severing the connection between the frontal lobe and other parts of the brain – became popular in the 1940s and 1950s with American and British doctors who claimed to be seeking a ‘cure’ for patients with certain mental health conditions that were deemed socially unacceptable. When they completed the surgical procedure, It quickly became apparent that the procedure had caused immense harm. Kennedy's mental capacity diminished to that of a two-year-old child. She could not walk or speak intelligibly and was incontinent. For the next six decades she was housed at a facility in Ohio, hidden from view and rarely spoken of until she died at the age of 86.

popular name: Toots Shor

date_of_death: January 23, 1977

age: 73

cause_of_death: Cancer

claim_to_fame: Historical Figure

best_know_for: Until recently, Toots Shor was long forgotten by most –– now a whole new generation is discovering NYC’s legendary “saloon” thanks to Mad Men. The Mad Men design team even built a virtual Toots Shor set (where Don and Betty drank martinis and ate their famous Caesar Salad prepared at tableside) and sparked a renewed interest in the style of the period. The original was a bar/restaurant in NYC that thrived in the 40s and 50s –– a place where actors, writers, singers, journalists and sports figures came to play. In its heyday, it was the place to go, located at 51 w 51st Street from 1940 to 1959 (after that it moved around the corner to 52nd Street). The ringmaster was Toots Shor - one of New York's most famous restaurateurs and one of the country's foremost patrons of artists, actors, musicians and sports figures.