Louis Braille

popular name: Abraham Lincoln

date_of_death: April 15, 1865

age: 56

cause_of_death: Assassination (gunshot wound to the head)

claim_to_fame: Historical Figure

best_know_for: As one of the greatest American presidents in all of American history, Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States of America from 1861 until his assassination in 1865 by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln led the nation through the American Civil War, and succeeded in preserving the Union, abolishing slavery, bolstering the federal government, and modernizing the U.S. economy. He is known for his historic Gettysburg Address and Emancipation Proclamation.

popular name: Eddie Rickenbacker

date_of_death: July 23, 1973

age: 82

cause_of_death: Pneumonia

claim_to_fame: Historical Figure

best_know_for: Captain Edward V. Rickenbacker was called America’s Ace of Aces during World War I, the highest scorer of American aerial victories over the Germans. He could just as easily have been labeled the ‘luckiest man alive,’ however, since he survived — by his own count — 135 brushes with death during his exciting lifetime. With 26 aerial victories, he was the United States' most successful fighter ace in the war and is considered to have received the most awards for valor by an American during the war. He was also a race car driver, an automotive designer, a government consultant in military matters and a pioneer in air transportation, particularly as the long-time head of Eastern Air Lines. At one time he even owned and raced at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Towards the end of his life as CEO of Eastern Air Lines, the company was the most profitable airline in the postwar era. However during the late 1950s Eastern Air Lines' fortunes declined, and Rickenbacker was forced out of his position as CEO in 1959. Rickenbacker also resigned as the chairman of the board in 1963, at the age of 73. After that, Captain and Mrs. Rickenbacker traveled extensively for a number of years and in the 1960s, Rickenbacker became a well-known speaker, sharing shared his vision for the future of technology and commerce. Upon his death, he was buried at Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio.

popular name: Aaron Burr Sr.

date_of_death: September 24, 1757

age: 41

cause_of_death: Fever

claim_to_fame: Historical Figure

best_know_for: Aaron Burr Sr. was a notable Presbyterian minister and college educator in colonial America. He was a founder of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) and the father of Aaron Burr (1756–1836), the third vice president of the United States. When Jonathan Dickinson, the first president of the College, died soon after his appointment in 1747, Burr (who taught at the College) then became the second president on November 9, 1748. During his tenure (1748–1757), the curriculum was settled, the student body increased from 8 in 1747 to 40–50 in 1751, and the first commencement was held. Among the first graduates was Richard Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence; five others became Presbyterian ministers. Burr moved the College to its permanent home at Princeton, New Jersey, where he supervised the construction of Nassau Hall, Princeton's best-known structure and the largest building in colonial New Jersey when it was completed in 1756. In 1755, Burr was relieved of his pastoral duties in order to concentrate full-time on his work at Princeton. At age 32, he became the youngest person ever to serve as president of Princeton.