William Andrews Clark

popular name: George Peabody

date_of_death: November 4, 1869

age: 74

cause_of_death: Pneumonia

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: George Peabody was an American financier and philanthropist and is widely regarded as the father of modern philanthropy. Born into a poor family in Massachusetts, Peabody went into business in dry goods and later into banking. In 1837 he moved to London (which was then the capital of world finance) where he became the most noted American banker and helped to establish the young country's international credit. Having no son of his own to whom he could pass on his business, Peabody took on Junius Spencer Morgan as a partner in 1854 and their joint business would go on to become J.P. Morgan & Co. after Peabody's 1864 retirement. In his old age, Peabody won worldwide acclaim for his philanthropy. He founded the Peabody Trust in Britain and the Peabody Institute and George Peabody Library in Baltimore, and was responsible for many other charitable initiatives. Peabody would have been the first American buried in Westminster Abbey in London had his will not stipulated that his final resting place would be near his boyhood home.

popular name: Colonel Sanders

date_of_death: December 16, 1980

age: 90

cause_of_death: Pneumonia brought on by acute leukemia

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Colonel Harland Sanders was an American businessman and founder of fast food chicken restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (also known as KFC). When Sanders was only 6, his father died. So at a young age, he had to care for his siblings and did much of the family cooking. At 7 years old, Sanders already had mastered several regional dishes. When he was 40 years old, he began cooking for hungry travelers at a service station in Corbin, Kentucky. Sanders did not have a restaurant, but instead served guests at his own dining room table. As word spread and more people started coming for the food, he moved across the street to a motel and restaurant that seated 142 people. During the next nine years, he perfected his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices that is still used today. This special recipe remains a closely guarded secret. At age 65, Colonel Harland Sanders began franchising his chicken business using his $105 monthly Social Security check. Today, Kentucky Fried Chicken operates more than 5,200 restaurants in the United States and more than 15,000 units around the world. Upon his death he was laid to rest at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky.

popular name: Andrew Carnegie

date_of_death: August 11, 1919

age: 83

cause_of_death: Bronchial Pneumonia

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist who played a pivotal role in the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century. Born on November 25, 1835, in Dunfermline, Scotland, Carnegie emigrated to the United States with his family in 1848, settling in Pennsylvania. Starting as a bobbin boy in a cotton factory, he quickly rose through the ranks of the business world, eventually founding the Carnegie Steel Company, which became the largest and most profitable industrial enterprise of its time. After selling his company to J.P. Morgan in 1901 for $480 million (equivalent to billions today), Carnegie devoted the rest of his life to philanthropy. He believed in the "Gospel of Wealth," the idea that the rich have a moral obligation to use their wealth for the betterment of society. Carnegie donated over $350 million during his lifetime to causes such as libraries, education, and peace initiatives. He died on August 11, 1919, leaving behind a legacy as one of the richest men in history and one of its most generous philanthropists. Upon his death, Andrew Carnegie was laid to rest at the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York.