Barney Hill

popular name: Charles Blondin

date_of_death: February 22, 1897

age: 72

cause_of_death: Diabetes

claim_to_fame: The Odd and the Interesting

best_know_for: Charles Blondin was a French tightrope walker and acrobat. During the winter of 1858, a 34-year-old French acrobat traveled to Niagara Falls hoping to become the first person to cross the “boiling cataract.” Noting the masses of ice and snow on either bank and the violent whirls of wind circling the gorge, Blondin delayed the grand event until he would have better weather. He always worked without a net, believing that preparing for disaster only made one more likely to occur. Known for his numerous crossings of the 1,100 ft (340 m) Niagara Gorge on a tightrope, he added a touch of showmanship - once stopping midway to cook an omelette and once carrying his manager on his back. Believe it or not, he died in bed at the ripe age of 72.

popular name: Diana Mosley

date_of_death: August 11, 2003

age: 93

cause_of_death: Heat Stroke

claim_to_fame: The Odd and the Interesting

best_know_for: Diana Mosley (née Mitford) was a British aristocrat best known for her controversial political views and associations with fascist and Nazi figures. Born into the prominent Mitford family, she became one of the most notorious members due to her far-right ideology. She was initially married to Bryan Guinness, heir to the barony of Moyne, and both were part of the Bright Young Things, a social group of young Bohemian socialites in 1920s London. Her marriage ended in divorce as she was pursuing a relationship with Oswald Mosley (leader of the British Union of Fascists). In 1936, she married Mosley at the home of the propaganda minister for Nazi Germany, Joseph Goebbels, with Adolf Hitler as guest of honor. Diana was a fervent admirer of Adolf Hitler, whom she met several times and regarded with great affection—she even honeymooned in Nazi Germany and maintained correspondence with Hitler. Her views included openly racist and anti-Semitic sentiments, and she was a Holocaust denier who downplayed or dismissed the atrocities committed by the Nazis. During World War II, she and her husband were interned by the British government as threats to national security. Despite her privileged background and social status, Diana Mosley remained unapologetic about her extremist beliefs until her death in 2003, making her one of the most unsettling figures of British fascism. She joins her two sisters, Unity and Nancy, at the gravesite of Diana Mosley at St. Mary's Churchyard in Swinbrook, UK.

popular name: Annie Edson Taylor

date_of_death: April 29, 1921

age: 82

cause_of_death: Natural Causes

claim_to_fame: The Odd and the Interesting

best_know_for: Annie Edson Taylor was an American schoolteacher who, on her 63rd birthday, October 24, 1901, became the first, and oldest, person to go over Niagara Falls intentionally and survive. The trip itself took less than twenty minutes, but it was some time before the barrel was actually opened and discovered she was relatively unharmed with only a small gash on her head. She attempted to earn money by talking about her experience, writing a memoir, and eventually working as a clairvoyant, but eventually fell into poverty and died in relative obscurity.