Famous People Who Died in 1937

Discover the most famous people died who died in the year 1937. This list includes people like H. P. Lovecraft, John D. Rockefeller, Jean Harlow, George Gershwin, Jagadish Chandra Bose and many more. This list of celebrities is loosely sorted by popularity. People featured on this list, include political leaders, poets, composers and novelists who died in 1937. This list includes people from United States, United Kingdom, France & Germany and many more countries.

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Birthdate: July 8, 1839

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Richford, New York, United States

Died: May 23

Widely regarded as the richest person in modern history and the wealthiest American ever, John D. Rockefeller was a business magnate who founded the Standard Oil Company. He was America’s first billionaire. He also defined the structure of modern philanthropy as the foundations created by him had a major effect on scientific research, medicine, and education.

H. P. Lovecraft

(American Weird-Fiction Writer Known for Creating the Mythopoeia 'Cthulhu Mythos')

Birthdate: August 20, 1890

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Providence, Rhode Island, United States

Died: March 15

HP Lovecraft was a writer of weird and horror fiction and is known for his creation of Cthulhu Mythos, which has inspired a large body of games and music. His stories focused on his interpretation of humanity's place in the universe. He was virtually unknown during his lifetime, but is now considered a significant 20th-century author of supernatural horror fiction.

George Gershwin

(Pianist and Composer Best Known for His Orchestral Compositions ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ and ‘An American in Paris’)

Birthdate: September 26, 1898

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States

Died: July 11

George Gershwin was an American pianist, composer, and painter. His work Porgy and Bess is widely regarded as an American cultural classic and one of the 20th century's most important American operas. Many of his compositions have been used in films and television series. His life and work inspired the 1945 biographical movie, Rhapsody in Blue.

Jean Harlow

(American Actress Who was the Leading Sex Symbol of the Early 1930s)

Birthdate: March 3, 1911

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri, United States

Died: June 7

Jean Harlow was an actress and sex symbol. Nicknamed the Platinum Blonde and Blonde Bombshell, Harlow was famous for her femme fatale screen persona. She became one of the biggest Hollywood stars despite being in the industry for not more than nine years. Her life and career inspired several movies, such as Harlow and Hughes and Harlow: Angels in Hell.

Ernest Rutherford

(New Zealand Physicist Who is Known as the Father of Nuclear Physics)

Birthdate: August 30, 1871

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Brightwater, New Zealand

Died: October 19

New Zealand physicist Ernest Rutherford is remembered as the father of nuclear physics. His discovery of radioactive half-life and of radon, and his differentiation of alpha and beta radiation, won him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1908. Element 104 was named rutherfordium in his honor.

Bessie Smith

(One of the Greatest Female Blues Singers of the 1930s)

Birthdate: April 15, 1894

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States

Died: September 26

Bessie Smith was an American singer who gained popularity during the Jazz Age. Dubbed the Empress of the Blues, Smith was one of the most famous blues singers of the 1920s and 1930s. Counted among the greatest singers of her generation, Bessie Smith was a major influence on several other singers. Her life and work inspired the TV film Bessie.

Birthdate: April 25, 1874

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Bologna, Italy

Died: July 20

Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian electrical engineer and inventor best remembered for his work on long-distance radio transmission. Marconi, who is credited with inventing the radio, was honored with the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in the field of wireless telegraphy. Also a businessman, Marconi founded the Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company in 1897.

Maurice Ravel

(One of the Leading Composers of Impressionist Music, Known for His Orchestral Work "Boléro,")

Birthdate: March 7, 1875

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Ciboure, France

Died: December 28

French impressionist composer Maurice Ravel is best known for his orchestral composition Boléro. He rejected the Legion d'honneur and all French awards. He was one the first composers to realize the importance of recording music to gain a wider reach. Most of his music consisted of piano and orchestration.

Birthdate: May 9, 1860

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland

Died: June 19

Sir James Matthew Barrie was a Scottish playwright and novelist. He is credited and remembered for creating the famous fictional character, Peter Pan. In the 1922 New Year Honours, Barrie was made a member of the Order of Merit. Before his death, he gifted the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children with the rights of his Peter Pan works.

Birthdate: January 24, 1862

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: New York City

Died: August 11

Birthdate: December 12, 1862

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Crosby, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom

Died: October 17

J. Bruce Ismay was an English businessman. He served as managing director and chairman of the popular shipping company White Star Line, which operated the ill-fated passenger liner RMS Titanic. In 1912, Ismay was subjected to severe criticism after surviving the sinking of the Titanic. In the 1997 film Titanic, J. Bruce Ismay was played by actor Jonathan Hyde.

Birthdate: November 30, 1858

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Bikrampur, Bengal Presidency, British India (Now Munshiganj District of Bangladesh)

Died: November 23

Indian physicist, biologist, and plant physiologist Jagadish Chandra Bose revolutionized science with his research on how plants and animals react to external stimuli. He founded the Bose Institute, made pioneering contribution to the field of radio and microwave optics, and also penned one of the first works of Bengali science fiction.

Birthdate: April 9, 1865

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Kruszewnia, Poland

Died: December 20

German military leader Erich Ludendorff gained fame with the victories at Liège and Tannenberg during World War I. He promoted the theory that Marxists, Jews, and Freemasons were responsible for Germany’s defeat in the war. He later became a military theorist, writing books such as The Total War.

Antonio Gramsci

(Italian Philosopher Best Known for His Theory of 'Cultural Hegemony')

Birthdate: January 22, 1891

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Ales, Italy

Died: April 27

Antonio Gramsci was an Italian politician, journalist, philosopher, linguist, and writer. A founding member of the Communist Party of Italy, Gramsci went on to serve as the leader of the party before he was arrested by Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime. Since his death, Antonio Gramsci has been the subject of several plays and films.

Birthdate: October 12, 1866

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Lossiemouth

Died: November 9

Alfred Adler

(Austrian Psychotherapist and Founder of the School of ‘Individual Psychology’)

Birthdate: February 7, 1870

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus, Vienna, Austria

Died: May 28

Alfred Adler was an Austrian psychotherapist and medical doctor. He is credited with founding the school of individual psychology. He was also one of the founders of the psychoanalytic movement along with Sigmund Freud and Freud's colleagues. In 2002, a survey conducted by Review of General Psychology named Adler among the 20th century's most eminent psychologists.

Birthdate: January 1, 1863

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Paris

Died: September 2

Pierre de Coubertin was a French historian and educator. Credited with founding the International Olympic Committee, Coubertin is often referred to as the father of the modern Olympic Games. Also an important contributor to the sport of rugby union, Coubertin was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2007.

Birthdate: March 24, 1855

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Died: August 27

The son of wealthy Pittsburgh banker Thomas Mellon, Andrew William Mellon had followed in his father’s footsteps, to be a banker. He had also been the American ambassador to the U.K. and the American secretary of the treasury. He owned companies such as Alcoa, Old Overholt whiskey, and Gulf Oil.

Ted Healy

(American Vaudeville Performer, Actor and Comedian)

Birthdate: October 1, 1896

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Kaufman, Texas, United States

Died: December 21

Daniel Daly

(Military Leader)

Birthdate: November 11, 1873

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Glen Cove, New York, United States

Died: April 27

Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild

(British Politician and Zoologist Who Served as a Member of Parliament from Aylesbury)

Birthdate: February 8, 1868

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: England

Died: August 27

Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild was a British soldier, politician, zoologist, and banker. He is best remembered for his service as the president of the largest Jewish communal organization in the UK, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, between 1925 and 1926. Walter Rothschild also made immense contributions to the field of zoology.

R. J. Mitchell

(British Aircraft Designer Known for Designing the Supermarine Spitfire Fighter Used in WWII)

Birthdate: May 20, 1895

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Butt Lane, Kidsgrove, England

Died: June 11

Aeronautical designer R. J. Mitchell joined Supermarine at age 21 and worked for them throughout his life. Remembered for designing sea planes, he was also the man behind the fighter aircraft Spitfire, which was used extensively during World War II. The film The First of the Few chronicled his life.

Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse

(Artist)

Birthdate: November 25, 1868

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Darmstadt, Germany

Died: October 9

Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse was the son of Louis IV and Princess Alice and the grandson of Queen Victoria of England. An art lover, he established the Darmstadt Artists’ Colony for artists and craftsmen, and patronized the artists of the art nouveau Jugendstil movement.

Birthdate: April 27, 1896

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Burlington, Iowa, United States

Died: April 29

Wallace Carothers was an American inventor and chemist. He worked for DuPont where he was the leader of organic chemistry. Carothers, who played a major role at the DuPont Experimental Station, is credited with inventing nylon. Despite his success, Carothers was unhappy with his life and committed suicide at the age of 41; he was troubled by bouts of depression.

Horacio Quiroga

(Uruguayan Playwright, Poet and Short Story Writer)

Birthdate: December 31, 1878

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Salto, Uruguay

Died: February 19

Horacio Quiroga was a Uruguayan poet, playwright, and short story writer. He is best remembered for depicting jungles and characters with mental illnesses in his stories. Horacio Quiroga is credited with influencing the works of Gabriel García Márquez and Julio Cortázar.

Karol Szymanowski

(Polish Composer, Pianist and a Member of the Modernist Movement 'Young Poland')

Birthdate: October 6, 1882

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Tymoshivka, Ukraine

Died: March 29

Karol Szymanowski was a Polish pianist and composer best remembered for his opera King Roger, which was composed between 1918 and 1924. An internationally recognized composer, Karol Szymanowski is the recipient of some of the highest national honors such as the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland and the Order of Polonia Restituta.

Birthdate: June 21, 1859

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Died: May 25

Henry Ossawa Tanner was an American artist best remembered as the first African-American painter to achieve international fame. Widely regarded as the best African American painter of all time, Henry's work was influential during his lifetime. The works of other painters like William Edouard Scott and Norman Rockwell were influenced by Henry Ossawa Tanner's technique.

Birthdate: October 16, 1863

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Birmingham, England

Died: March 16

William Gillette

(Actor)

Birthdate: July 24, 1863

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Hartford, Connecticut, United States

Died: April 29

Chūya Nakahara

(Poet, Writer, Tanka poet, Translator)

Birthdate: April 29, 1907

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Yamaguchi

Died: October 22

Known as one of Japan’s most impactful bohemian romantic poets, Chūya Nakahara was often compared to French symbolist poets for his fine imagery. Also known as the Japanese Rimbaud, he was influenced by Dadaism, too. He tragically died of meningitis at 30, though his legacy of around 350 poems lives on.

Carl Emil Pettersson

(Sailor)

Birthdate: October 23, 1875

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Stockholm, Sweden

Died: May 12

Swedish sailor Carl Emil Pettersson, who worked for Neuguinea-Compagnie, was shipwrecked while on a work trip in the Pacific. He was washed ashore and eventually became the ruler of Tabar Island in Papua New Guinea, after marrying the princess of the island. He also owned plantations and unearthed a gold deposit.

Rudolf Otto

(German Theologian and One of the Most Influential Scholars of Religion in the Early Twentieth Century)

Birthdate: September 25, 1869

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Peine, Germany

Died: March 6

Initially a professor of theology, philosopher Rudolf Otto later contributed to some of the most significant works of theology, such as The Idea of the Holy. He was also a member of the Prussian Parliament and is remembered for his services to Christianity and his idea of numinous.

Birthdate: December 22, 1856

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Potsdam

Died: December 21

Jaishankar Prasad

(Poet)

Birthdate: January 30, 1889

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Varanasi

Died: January 14

Jaishankar Prasad was an Indian poet and an important figure in modern Hindi theatre and Hindi literature. Along with Mahadevi Verma, Sumitranandan Pant, and Suryakant Tripathi, Prasad is counted among the Four Pillars of Romanticism in Hindi literature.

Attila József

(One of the Most Famous Hungarian Poets of the 20th Century)

Birthdate: April 11, 1905

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Budapest, Hungary

Died: December 3

One of the greatest 20th-century Hungarian poets, Attila József was a washerwoman’s son and had begun writing poems since age 17 but soared to fame only after his death. He was also a co-founder of the literary journal Szép Szó, or Beautiful Word. He later showed signs of mental illnesses.

Joseph Taylor Robinson

(Politician)

Birthdate: August 26, 1872

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Lonoke, Arkansas, United States

Died: July 14

Hadji Ali

(Artist)

Birthdate: 1892 AD

Birthplace: Khedivate of Egypt

Died: November 5

Philip Snowden, Viscount Snowden

(Politician)

Birthdate: July 18, 1864

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Cowling, England

Died: May 15

Ivor Gurney

(Former Poet, Composer best known for his Five Elizabethan Songs)

Birthdate: August 28, 1890

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Gloucester, United Kingdom

Died: December 26

Abd al-Hafid of Morocco

(Sultan)

Birthdate: February 24, 1875

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Fès, Morocco

Died: April 4

Philip de László

(Painter)

Birthdate: April 30, 1869

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Budapest, Hungary

Died: November 22

Harry Vardon

(Golfer)

Birthdate: May 9, 1870

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Grouville, Jersey, Channel Islands

Died: March 20

Birthdate: July 29, 1878

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Walnut, Illinois

Died: December 29

Walter Burley Griffin

(Architect, Landscape architect, Urban planner)

Birthdate: November 24, 1876

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Maywood

Died: February 11

American architect Walter Burley Griffin is best known for designing cities such as Canberra, Griffith, and Leeton. His early projects were inspired by the Prairie house style. He is also believed to have developed the concept of the L-shaped floor plan. He died in India, while working on his commissions.

Yeghishe Charents

(Poet)

Birthdate: March 13, 1897

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Kars, Kars Oblast, Russian Empire

Died: November 27

Mrs. Leslie Carter

(Actress)

Birthdate: June 10, 1857

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Lexington, Kentucky, United States

Died: November 13

Alfred Abel

(Actor)

Birthdate: March 12, 1879

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Leipzig, Germany

Died: December 12

Bolesław Leśmian

(Polish Poet Who Was Among the First to Adapt Symbolism and Expressionism to Polish Verse)

Birthdate: January 22, 1877

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Warsaw, Poland

Died: November 5

One of the pioneers of Symbolism and Expressionism in Polish poetry, lyric poet Bolesław Leśmian also established an artistic theater and co-published an art newspaper. Apart from working as a notary and a lawyer, he published masterpieces such as Łąka, or The Meadow, and Napój cienisty, or Shadowy Drink.

Eero Järnefelt

(Finnish Painter Known for His Landscapes of the Area Around Koli National Park and His Portraits)

Birthdate: November 8, 1863

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Vyborg, Russia

Died: November 15

One of Finland’s best-known painters, Eero Järnefelt is remembered for his stunning depictions of scenes around the Koli National Park. Apart from his landscapes such as Heinäkuun päivä and Raatajat rahanalaiset, he also painted portraits, such as Poikani. He was also an art professor at the University of Helsinki.

Charles Homer Haskins

(Historian)

Birthdate: December 21, 1870

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Meadville, Pennsylvania, United States

Died: May 14