Mary Shelley

popular name: Mary Shelley

date_of_death: February 1, 1851

age: 53

cause_of_death: Brain tumor

claim_to_fame: Writers and Poets

best_know_for: Mary Shelley (1797–1851) was an English novelist, best known for writing Frankenstein, one of the most influential works in the horror genre. She was born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, the daughter of the feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft and philosopher William Godwin. Her mother died only 11 days after her birth, leaving her with a strong intellectual legacy and a challenging childhood. In 1814, at the age of 16, Mary began a romantic relationship with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who was already married. Despite societal taboos, they eloped to France in 1816, where they faced personal hardships, including the death of their first child. That same year, during a summer spent with Lord Byron at Lake Geneva, she conceived the idea for Frankenstein, which was published in 1818 when she was just 20. Percy Shelley died in 1822 in a drowning accident, leaving Mary a widow with a young son. She continued to write and publish, but struggled financially and emotionally. She wrote novels, short stories, travelogues, and biographies, though none gained the lasting fame of Frankenstein. She also edited and promoted Percy’s works. Mary Shelley died on February 1, 1851, from a brain tumor at the age of 53. She left behind a legacy as a pioneering figure in Gothic literature and a trailblazer for women in literature, particularly through her groundbreaking work with Frankenstein, which explored themes of creation, responsibility, and the human condition.

popular name: John Steinbeck

date_of_death: December 20, 1968

age: 66

cause_of_death: Heart disease and congestive heart failure

claim_to_fame: Writers and Poets

best_know_for: John Steinbeck was an American author born on February 27, 1902, in Salinas, California. Known for his keen social perception and deep empathy for the working class, Steinbeck wrote with a powerful sense of realism and compassion. His most celebrated works include The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, and East of Eden, novels that often explore themes of economic hardship, human dignity, and the American Dream. Many of his stories are set in California and reflect the struggles of farmers, laborers, and outcasts during the Great Depression. Steinbeck's writing style combined lyrical prose with a journalistic eye for detail, making his work both emotionally resonant and socially conscious. He won the Pulitzer Prize for The Grapes of Wrath in 1940 and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962. The grave of John Steinbeck can be found at the Garden of Memories Cemetery in Salinas, California.

popular name: Paul Éluard

date_of_death: November 18, 1952

age: 56

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: Writers and Poets

best_know_for: Paul Éluard was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement. He is widely considered the best of the surrealist poets, and his surrealist books include Capitale de la douleur (1926), La Rose publique (1934) and Les Yeux fertiles (1936). Éluard also included among his close friends such visual artists as Picasso, Miró, Tanguy, and Salvador Dali (who stole his first wife, Gala).