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: Victor Noir

date_of_death: January 11, 1870

age: 21

cause_of_death: Homicide - gunshot wounds

claim_to_fame: Writers and Poets

best_know_for: Victor Noir was the nom de plume of a budding journalist killed at 21 years old by Prince Pierre Bonaparte. The prince was a relative of the reigning monarch, Emperor Napoleon III, the same Napoleon who censured the press and forced writers like Victor Hugo into exile. The little noble shot Victor six times when Noir and another witness went to pick up the prince and drive him to a duel. The prince was quickly tried and acquitted, paying only a pittance in damages for taking another man's life. More than a hundred thousand outraged people crowded for the funeral on a cold January day in 1870. It was a catalyst for anti-royal fervor. Later that same year, after a crushing defeat at a battle in the Franco-Prussian war they imprisoned the last Napoleon.

popular name: Ellen Glasgow

date_of_death: November 21, 1945

age: 72

cause_of_death: Coronary thrombosis

claim_to_fame: Writers and Poets

best_know_for: Ellen Glasgow was an American novelist whose realistic depictions of life in her native Virginia helped direct Southern literature away from sentimentality and nostalgia. A lifelong Virginian who published 20 books including 7 novels which sold well (five reaching best-seller lists) as well as gained critical acclaim earning a Pulitzer Prize in 1942.