Discover the most famous people died who died in the year 1946. This list includes people like H. G. Wells, John Maynard Keynes, Gertrude Stein, Wilhelm Keitel, John Logie Baird and many more. This list of celebrities is loosely sorted by popularity. People featured on this list, include political leaders, non-fiction writers, soldiers and military leaders who died in 1946. This list includes people from Germany, United Kingdom, United States & Russia and many more countries.
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1
H. G. Wells(British Author Who Has Been Called the 'Father of Science Fiction')
Birthdate: September 21, 1866
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Kent, England, United Kingdom
Died: August 13
H. G. Wells was an English writer. Although he was prolific in many genres, he is best remembered for his work on sci-fi novels, for which he is often referred to as the father of science fiction. His 1901 novel The First Men in the Moon became so influential that a lunar impact crater is named after him.
2
Jack Johnson(One of the Most Influential Boxers of All Time)
Birthdate: March 31, 1878
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Galveston, Texas, United States
Died: June 10
Jack Johnson was an American boxer and one of the most dominant champions of his generation. Considered one of the most influential boxers ever, Jack Johnson became the first African American to win the world heavyweight championship at the peak of the Jim Crow era. He is often credited with influencing popular boxers like Muhammad Ali.
3
John Maynard Keynes(One of the Most Influential Economists of the 20th Century Whose Ideas Greatly Influenced Economic Policies of Governments)
Birthdate: June 5, 1883
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Cambridge ,England
Died: April 21
John Maynard Keynes was an English economist. His ideas are credited with changing the theory and practice of the economic policies and macroeconomics of governments at a fundamental level. Counted among the 20th century's most influential economists, Keynes' ideas are the basis for Keynesian economics. In 1999, he was named in Time magazine's Most Important People of the Century list.
Birthdate: August 13, 1888
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Helensburgh
Died: June 14
Scottish inventor, electrical engineer, and innovator, John Logie Baird, is best known for demonstrating a working TV system in 1926. He then went on to invent the first viable purely electronic color TV picture tube and founded the Baird Television Development Company. He was inducted into the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame in 2015.
Birthdate: January 29, 1880
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Darby, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: December 25
Birthdate: February 3, 1874
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: July 27
Gertrude Stein was an American playwright, novelist, poet, and art collector. She is remembered for publishing works about lesbian sexuality, which was considered a taboo at that time. Over the years, Gertrude Stein has been the subject of several works of art. In the 2011 movie Midnight in Paris, Stein was portrayed by Kathy Bates.
7
Louis Slotin(Canadian Physicist and Chemist Who Took Part in the Manhattan Project)
Birthdate: December 1, 1910
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Winnipeg, Canada
Died: May 30
While showing his colleagues how to work on a plutonium bomb, Canadian scientist Louis Slotin was exposed to a lethal radioactive dose that first caused him to vomit and then die 9 days later. He had, however, reportedly shielded his colleagues from maximum exposure, thus saving their lives.
Birthdate: January 1, 1864
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Hoboken
Died: July 13
9
Walter Johnson(American Professional Baseball player)
Birthdate: November 6, 1887
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Humboldt, Kansas, United States
Died: December 10
Height: 6'1" (185 cm)
10
Damon Runyon(Writer)
Birthdate: October 4, 1880
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Manhattan, Kansas, United States
Died: December 10
11
Ernst Kaltenbrunner(Former President of the ICPC and Director of the Reich Security Main Office (1943 - 1945))
Birthdate: October 4, 1903
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Ried im Innkreis, Austria
Died: October 16
Ernst Kaltenbrunner was an SS official who played a major role in the Holocaust during the Nazi era. From 1943 to 1945, Kaltenbrunner served as chief of the Reich Main Security Office, which housed the offices of SD, Kripo, and Gestapo. His most influential period as an SS official coincided with the period during which the genocide of Jews intensified.
12
Hans Frank(German Politician and Lawyer Who Served as Governor-General of Poland During World War II)
Birthdate: May 23, 1900
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Karlsruhe, Germany
Died: October 16
Hitler’s legal advisor Hans Frank was made the governor-general of Poland after World War II broke out. Known as the Butcher of Poland for his atrocities against the Jews, he was hanged at the end of the Nuremberg Trials. He penned his autobiography while awaiting his execution.
Birthdate: October 31, 1892
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Died: March 24
Alexander Alekhine was a French and Russian chess player renowned for his imaginative and fierce attacking style. He also possessed great positional and endgame skill, which he used effectively to reign as the World Chess Champion from 1927 to 1935 and then from 1937 to 1946. Also a theoretician, Alexander Alekhine innovated several opening variations, including the Alekhine's Defence.
14
Draža Mihailović(Yugoslav Serb General During World War II)
Birthdate: April 27, 1893
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Ivanjica, Serbia
Died: July 17
Serbian military leader Dragoljub Mihailović headed the Yugoslavian underground army known as the Chetniks, during World War II. He had also fought in the Balkan Wars and World War I, but post-World War II, he was convicted of treason and executed by the communist powers of Yugoslavia.
15
Arthur Seyss-Inquart(Austrian Nazi Politician and Chancellor of Austria for 2-Days in March 1938 Before its Annexation)
Birthdate: July 22, 1892
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Stonařov, Czechia
Died: October 16
Arthur Seyss-Inquart was an Austrian politician who was part of the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I. A Nazi propagandist, Seyss-Inquart was convicted of crimes against humanity and war crimes at the Nuremberg trials and sentenced to death. He was executed on 16 October 1946 in Nuremberg Prison.
16
Gifford Pinchot(First Chief of the US Forest Service & Former Governor of Pennsylvania)
Birthdate: August 11, 1865
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Simsbury, Connecticut, United States
Died: October 4
Gifford Pinchot was an American politician and forester. He is best remembered for his service as the first chief of the US Forest Service from February 1905 to January 1910. Gifford Pinchot also served as the Governor of Pennsylvania on two occasions; from 16 January 1923 to 18 January 1927 and again from 20 January 1931 to 15 January 1935.
17
Julius Streicher(German Nazi Politician, Founder and Publisher of the Virulently Antisemitic Newspaper ‘Der Stürmer’)
Birthdate: February 12, 1885
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Dinkelscherben, Germany
Died: October 16
Julius Streicher went from being an elementary school teacher to establishing the anti-semitic Nazi newspaper Der Stürmer. He led an adulterous life and even spread rumors about his rival party members, which eventually led him to lose all party posts. He was eventually hanged after the Nuremberg trials.
Birthdate: November 23, 1876
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Cádiz, Spain
Died: November 14
Spanish pianist Manuel de Falla, known for his musical nationalism, was one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. Born in Cádiz, Falla initially learned playing the piano from his mother, and later went to Madrid for further training. His work also took him to France and Argentina.
19
László Moholy-Nagy(Photographer)
Birthdate: July 20, 1895
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Bácsborsód
Died: November 24
Hungarian artist László Moholy-Nagy was known for his non-representational art and his love for constructivism. Though he initially studied law, he later experimented with many forms of art, such as painting, sculpting, and photography. He also taught at the Bauhaus school of avant-garde design and co-edited the Bauhausbook series.
20
William S. Hart(Actor)
Birthdate: December 6, 1864
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Newburgh, New York, United States
Died: June 23
21
Joseph Stilwell(General)
Birthdate: March 19, 1883
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Palatka, Florida, United States
Died: October 12
22
Lionel Atwill(Actor)
Birthdate: March 1, 1885
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Croydon, Greater London, England
Died: April 22
Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
23
Countee Cullen(American poet)
Birthdate: May 30, 1903
Sun Sign: Gemini
Died: January 9
24
Dorothy Gibson(Former Film Actress best remembered as a survivor of the sinking of the Titanic and for starring in the first motion picture based on the disaster)
Birthdate: May 17, 1889
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Hoboken, New Jersey, United States
Died: February 17
25
Booth Tarkington(One of Only Four Novelists to Win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction More Than Once)
Birthdate: July 29, 1869
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Died: May 19
Birthdate: December 25, 1861
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Allahabad, India
Died: November 12
Madan Mohan Malaviya was an Indian educational reformer and politician. He is best remembered for playing an important role in India's freedom struggle. He served as the president of the Indian National Congress on three occasions and founded a political party named Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha. He also co-founded Central Hindu College and worked towards promoting modern education in India.
27
Harlan F. Stone(Lawyer)
Birthdate: October 11, 1872
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Chesterfield, New Hampshire, United States
Died: April 22
28
Herbert Macaulay(Nigerian Politician Who Was Known as the Father of Nigerian Nationalism)
Birthdate: November 14, 1864
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Lagos Colony, Nigeria
Died: May 7
The first Nigerian civil engineer, Herbert Macaulay was a multi-talented man who had been a politician, a musician, and a journalist. Also remembered as the Father of Nigerian Nationalism, he was one of the major figures who opposed British colonialism in Nigeria. He practiced ancient African magic and the occult.
Birthdate: November 19, 1875
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Verkhnyaya Troitsa, Russia
Died: June 3
Mikhail Kalinin was a Soviet politician and an Old Bolshevik revolutionary. From 1919 to 1946, Kalinin served as head of state of the Soviet Union. After Kalinin's death, three major cities of the Soviet Union were named or renamed in his honor.
30
Ignacy Mościcki(Polish chemist)
Birthdate: December 1, 1867
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Mierzanowo
Died: October 2
Born in a small Polish village, Ignacy Mościcki grew up to become a chemist, an academic, and a researcher, before he stepped into politics. He later served Poland as its longest-serving president. Initially a supporter of Polish dictator Józef Piłsudski, he became more liberal after Piłsudski’s death.
31
George Woolf(Jockey)
Birthdate: May 31, 1910
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Cardston, Alberta, Canada
Died: January 4
32
George Arliss(Writer, Playwright, Film director, Autobiographer, Screenwriter, Stage actor, Film actor)
Birthdate: April 10, 1868
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: London
Died: February 5
33
Tony Lazzeri(Baseball player)
Birthdate: December 6, 1903
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: San Francisco, California, United States
Died: August 6
34
James Clark McReynolds(Attorney General)
Birthdate: February 3, 1862
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Elkton, Kentucky, United States
Died: August 24
35
Horace Pippin(Painter)
Birthdate: February 22, 1888
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: July 6
36
Gerda Steinhoff(Guard)
Birthdate: January 29, 1922
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Wrzeszcz, Gdańsk, Poland
Died: July 4
37
Barney Oldfield(American Automobile Racer)
Birthdate: January 29, 1878
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Wauseon, Ohio, United States
Died: October 4
38
Gilbert N. Lewis(American Physical Chemist Best Known for His Discovery of the Covalent Bond)
Birthdate: October 23, 1875
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Weymouth, Massachusetts, United States
Died: March 23
Gilbert N. Lewis was an American physical chemist best remembered for his detection of the covalent bond. He made immense contributions to photochemistry, chemical thermodynamics, and isotope separation. Gilbert N. Lewis received 41 nominations for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, but never won the award. However, he influenced and mentored numerous Nobel laureates, including Harold Urey and William F. Giauque.
39
Paul Langevin(French Physicist)
Birthdate: January 23, 1872
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: December 19
Best known for developing the Langevin dynamics and the Langevin equation, physicist Paul Langevin was also a staunch Communist. Having worked on his doctoral thesis under Pierre Curie, he had formed a connection with Curie’s wife, Marie Curie, which developed into a full-blown love affair after Pierre’s death.
40
Maria Innocentia Hummel(Nun)
Birthdate: May 21, 1909
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Massing, Germany Massing, Germany
Died: November 6
41
Jeanne Lanvin(French Fashion Designer)
Birthdate: January 1, 1867
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: July 6
Jeanne Lanvin was a French fashion designer who is credited with founding the multinational high fashion house, Lanvin. She is also credited with founding the perfume and beauty company Lanvin Parfums. In the 1920s, she opened shops devoted to menswear, lingerie, and home décor. In 1938, she was presented with the Officier Legion of Honour.
42
Jorge Ubico(21st President of Guatemala)
Birthdate: November 10, 1878
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Guatemala City, Guatemala
Died: June 14
43
Patty Hill(Composer)
Birthdate: March 27, 1868
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Anchorage, Kentucky, United States
Died: May 25
44
Felix Hoffmann(German Chemist and Inventor)
Birthdate: January 21, 1868
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Ludwigsburg, Germany
Died: February 8
Felix Hoffmann was a German chemist best remembered for re-synthesizing diamorphine, which was later popularized as heroin. Hoffmann is also known for synthesizing aspirin, although it is still unclear whether he synthesized it on his own or under the direction of Arthur Eichengrün. In 2002, Felix Hoffmann was inducted into the US National Inventors Hall of Fame.
45
Willi Herold(Military personnel)
Birthdate: September 11, 1925
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Chemnitz, Germany
Died: November 14
46
Louis Bachelier(French Mathematician)
Birthdate: March 11, 1870
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Le Havre, France
Died: April 28
French mathematician Louis Bachelier was said to be the first to chart a mathematical model for what is now called the Brownian motion. After losing his wine merchant father early in life, he took over the reins of his family business, but he gradually became a pioneer in mathematical finance.
47
Laurette Taylor(Actress)
Birthdate: April 1, 1883
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: New York City, New York
Died: December 7
48
Vulcana(Welsh Strongwoman)
Birthdate: May 6, 1874
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Abergavenny, Wales
Died: August 8
49
Antoinette Perry(Actress)
Birthdate: June 27, 1888
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Denver, Colorado,United States
Died: June 28
50
Constance Garnett(English translator)
Birthdate: December 19, 1861
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Brighton, England
Died: December 17
