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. She was laid to rest at St. Peter's Church in Bournemouth UK.

popular name: Jack Kerouac

date_of_death: October 21, 1969

age: 47

cause_of_death: Abdominal hemorrhage and cirrhosis of the liver due to chronic alcoholism

claim_to_fame: Writers and Poets

best_know_for: Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist who, alongside Jack Cassidey, William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation in the late 1950s through the early 60s. After the publication of On The Road and The Dharma Bums Kerouac became an underground celebrity and, with other beats, a progenitor of the hippie movement. At the time Kerouac greatly influenced many of the cultural icons of the 1960s, including The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, and the Doors.

popular name: Ogden Nash

date_of_death: May 19, 1971

age: 68

cause_of_death: Heart failure after suffering a stroke during treatment for kidney failure

claim_to_fame: Writers and Poets

best_know_for: Ogden Nash was an American poet well known for his light verse, of which he wrote over 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyming schemes, he was declared by The New York Times the country's best-known producer of humorous poetry.