Louis Braille

popular name: John Tyler

date_of_death: January 18, 1862

age: 71

cause_of_death: Stroke

claim_to_fame: Historical Figure

best_know_for: John Tyler was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845 after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president in 1841. As vice president, John Tyler set the example for a seamless and immediate succession of presidential power when an incumbent president dies. He is known for being the first president to serve without being elected to office, and served nearly an entire term of four years after President William Henry Harrison died just 32 days after taking office. Tyler demonstrated how a president who was willing to use the veto could block Congress. He vetoed a bill resurrecting the Bank of the United States (which Jackson had dismantled).

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: Simone Veil

date_of_death: June 30, 2017

age: 89

cause_of_death: Natural Causes

claim_to_fame: Historical Figure

best_know_for: Simone Veil was a Holocaust survivor, magistrate, minister, and the first woman President of the European Parliament. She was also the first woman to preside over the directly elected European Parliament.