Jules Renard

popular name: Oscar Wilde

date_of_death: November 30, 1900

age: 46

cause_of_death: Meningitis following an acute ear infection

claim_to_fame: Writers and Poets

best_know_for: Oscar Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill. Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. Undeniably brilliant, the author, playwright and poet was known for his acclaimed works including 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' and 'The Importance of Being Earnest,' as well as his brilliant wit, flamboyant style and infamous imprisonment for homosexuality. Aside from is collective works, he is also remembered for the circumstances of his criminal conviction for gross indecency for consensual homosexual acts in "one of the first celebrity trials" and imprisonment. At the height of his fame and success, while The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) was still being performed in London, Wilde prosecuted the Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel. The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel trial unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and trial for gross indecency with men. After two more trials he was convicted and sentenced to two years' hard labor, the maximum penalty, and was jailed from 1895 to 1897. Today his collective works are considered among the great literary masterpieces of the late Victorian period.

popular name: Jean Giono

date_of_death: October 8, 1970

age: 75

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Writers and Poets

best_know_for: Jean Giono was a French writer who spent his entire life living and writing in Manosque, France. It was here that the author created his monumental oeuvre, inspired by the sun-drenched footpaths and unbridled natural scenery that was his home. Following in his footsteps visitors will cross the landscapes he described so vividly, from Gréoux-les-Bains to Forcalquier where his work A King Alone was born. Among his novels, the most famous are “Colline” (“The Hill”) of 1929, “Regain” (“Re covety”) of 1930, “Le Chant du Monde” (“Song of the World”) of 1934, “Que Ma Joie De meure” (“Let My Joy Remain”) of 1935, “L'Eau Vive” (“Lively Water”) of 1944, “Les Ames Mortes” (“The Dead Souls”) of 1949, “Le Hussard sur le Toit” (“The Hussard on the Roof”) of 1951 and “Le Moulin de Po logne” (“The Polish Mill”) 1952. Outside France, Giono's best-known work is probably the short story The Man who Planted Trees (and 1987 film version). This optimistic tale of a man who brings a deserted valley back to life by planting trees reflects Giono's long-standing love of the natural world, an attitude that made him a precursor to the modern ecological movement. In his later years, Giono was honoured with the Prince Rainier of Monaco literary prize in 1953, awarded for his lifetime achievements, was elected to the Académie Goncourt in 1954, and became a member of the Conseil Littéraire of Monaco in 1963.

popular name: Dominick Dunne

date_of_death: August 26, 2009

age: 83

cause_of_death: Bladder cancer

claim_to_fame: Writers and Poets

best_know_for: Dominick Dunne was an American writer, investigative journalist, and producer. He started as a producer in film and television, and is noted for involvement with the pioneering gay film The Boys in the Band (1970) and the award-winning drug film The Panic in Needle Park (1971). He turned to writing in the early 1970s. After the 1982 murder of his daughter Dominique, he came to focus on the ways in which wealth and high society interacts with the judicial system. Famous trials he covered included those of O.J. Simpson, Claus von Bulow, Michael Skakel, William Kennedy Smith, and the Menendez brothers. Dunne was a frequent contributor to Vanity Fair, from the 1980s, and also appeared regularly on television discussing crime.