Simone de Beauvoir

popular name: Victor Hugo

date_of_death: May 22, 1885

age: 83

cause_of_death: Pneumonia

claim_to_fame: Writers and Poets

best_know_for: Victor Hugo is considered to be one of the greatest and best-known French writers. Outside France, his most famous works are the novels Les Misérables (1862), and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831). In France, Hugo is renowned for his poetry collections, such as Les Contemplations (The Contemplations) and La Légende des siècles (The Legend of the Ages). Hugo was at the forefront of the Romantic literary movement with his play Cromwell and drama Hernani. He produced more than 4,000 drawings in his lifetime, and campaigned for social causes such as the abolition of capital punishment.

popular name: Lewis Carroll

date_of_death: January 14, 1898

age: 65

cause_of_death: Pneumonia

claim_to_fame: Writers and Poets

best_know_for: Lewis Carroll, born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson in Daresbury, England, was an English writer, mathematician, logician, and photographer, best known for his iconic works Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). Carroll was the eldest boy of 11 children and attended Rugby School and then attended Oxford University in 1850. He would remain at Christ Church as student, teacher and in various others roles until his death. Despite his academic success, his true passion lay in writing and storytelling. Under the pen name Lewis Carroll, he began writing stories and poems, blending fantasy, logic, and wordplay. His most famous works, the Alice books, originated from a storytelling session for the young Alice Liddell, the daughter of the Dean of Christ Church. These books became celebrated for their imaginative narratives, playful language, and deep philosophical undertones, earning Carroll a lasting place in literary history. Carroll was also a pioneering photographer, particularly known for his portraits of young girls, including Alice Liddell. His photography career, however, has been the subject of some controversy due to his obsession with young subjects. Though Carroll spent much of his life in relative obscurity, his works gradually gained fame, and he became a beloved figure in British literature.

popular name: O. Henry

date_of_death: June 5, 1910

age: 47

cause_of_death: Cirrhosis of the liver with complications of diabetes and an enlarged heart

claim_to_fame: Writers and Poets

best_know_for: William Sydney Porter, better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American short story writer. Porter was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. He moved to Texas in 1882, where he met his wife, Athol Estes, with whom he had two children. In 1902, after the death of his wife, Porter moved to New York, where he soon remarried. Will Porter's most prolific writing period started in New York City where he wrote 381 short stories including "The Gift of the Magi", "The Duplicity of Hargraves", and "The Ransom of Red Chief". His stories are known for their surprise endings and witty narration. He wrote a story a week for over a year for the New York World Sunday Magazine. His wit, characterization, and plot twists were adored by his readers but often panned by critics. Porter was a heavy drinker, and by 1908, his markedly deteriorating health affected his writing. In 1909, Sarah left him, and he died on June 5, 1910, of cirrhosis of the liver, complications of diabetes, and an enlarged heart. Porter's legacy includes the O. Henry Award, an annual prize awarded to outstanding short stories.