Famous People Who Died in 1953

Discover the most famous people died who died in the year 1953. This list includes people like Joseph Stalin, Mary of Teck, Lavrentiy Beria, Hank Williams, Jim Thorpe and many more. This list of celebrities is loosely sorted by popularity. People featured on this list, include political leaders, artists, poets and physicists who died in 1953. This list includes people from United States, United Kingdom, Germany & France and many more countries.

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Hank Williams

(One of the Most Significant and Influential Singers and Songwriters of the 20th Century)

Birthdate: September 17, 1923

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Mount Olive, Alabama, United States

Died: January 1

Musician Hank Williams is widely considered one of the most influential and significant American singer-songwriters of the 20th century. Hank Williams influenced several singers, such as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, and Charley Pride to name a few. Since his untimely death at the age of 29, many artists have released tribute albums honoring Hank Williams.

Jim Thorpe

(American Athlete and Olympic Gold Medalist)

Birthdate: May 28, 1887

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Lincoln County, Oklahoma, United States

Died: March 28

Jim Thorpe was an American athlete who was counted among the most versatile athletes of the modern era. Jim Thorpe won two gold medals at the 1912 Olympics and became the first Native American to give the United States an Olympic gold. He also played American football, professional baseball, and basketball. He was memorialized in the 1951 film Jim Thorpe – All-American.

Birthdate: March 26, 1881

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Florence

Died: January 2

Son of an Italian leather-goods maker, Guccio Gucci was initially reluctant to join his family business and worked in hotels instead. Changing his mind later, he opened the first Gucci shop in Florence in 1921. The year of his death, 1953, saw the opening of the first Gucci store abroad.

Birthdate: October 27, 1914

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Swansea

Died: November 9

Dylan Thomas was a Welsh writer and poet who published popular poems, such as Do not go gentle into that good night, which was popularized in the 2014 movie, Interstellar, where Michael Caine's character recites the poem throughout the film. Dylan Thomas achieved tremendous popularity during his lifetime and remains popular after his untimely death at the age of 39.

Birthdate: April 23, 1891

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Krasne, Ukraine

Died: March 5

Sergei Prokofiev was a Russian Soviet pianist, composer, and conductor. Renowned for creating masterpieces across various genres, Prokofiev is widely considered one of the 20th century's major composers. Many other composers like Arthur Honegger have called Prokofiev the greatest contemporary musician of all time. An open pianists' competition, which is held every year in Ukraine, is named after Sergei Prokofiev.

Eugene O'Neill

(American Playwright and Winner of the 1936 Nobel Prize in Literature)

Birthdate: October 16, 1888

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States

Died: November 27

Eugene O'Neill was an American playwright whose works earned him several prestigious awards, including four Pulitzer Prizes for Drama and the 1936 Nobel Prize in Literature. His play Long Day's Journey into Night is frequently named among the 20th century's finest American plays. In the 1981 film Reds, Eugene O'Neill is played by actor Jack Nicholson.

Joseph Stalin

(Soviet Political Leader & Dictator Who Led the Soviet Union from 1922 Until His Death in 1953)

Birthdate: December 18, 1878

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Gori, Georgia

Died: March 5

Controversial Russian dictator, Joseph Stalin, ruled the Soviet Union for around 25 years from 1929 to 1953 and is credited for making it a prominent industrial and military power of the world. During the Second World War, his army defeated the Nazis too. However, his regime was also one of terror and brutality where numerous Soviet citizens lost their lives.

Edwin Powell Hubble

(American Astronomer Who is Regarded as the Leading Observational Cosmologist of the 20th Century)

Birthdate: November 20, 1889

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Marshfield, Missouri, United States

Died: September 28

While the Hubble Telescope, named after Edwin Powell Hubble, reminds one of his contribution to astronomy, he failed to get a Nobel Prize, as back in his time, the Nobel Committee didn’t recognize astrophysics as a valid science. He is best remembered for his work on galaxies and extragalactic astronomy.

Birthdate: January 23, 1910

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Liberchies, Belgium

Died: May 16

Belgian-born Romani-French jazz musician Jean Reinhardt was better known by his nickname Django. Some of his most celebrated composition were Belleville and Swing '42. Though he died at 43, he influenced an entire generation of musicians, which led to annual Django Festivals, a film, and a biography.

Herman J. Mankiewicz

(American Screenwriter Best Known for His Academy Award Winning Film 'Citizen Kane')

Birthdate: November 7, 1897

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: New York, New York, United States

Died: March 5

Herman J. Mankiewicz is remembered for co-writing the screenplay for the film Citizen Kane. He had also worked for the Chicago Tribune and The New York Times. He came to be known for his signature witty humor, known as "Mankiewicz humor” and inspired the 2020 Netflix biopic Mank.

Robert A. Taft

(Politician)

Birthdate: September 8, 1889

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Died: July 31

Maude Adams

(Actress)

Birthdate: November 11, 1872

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Died: July 17

Birthdate: March 22, 1868

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Morrison

Died: December 19

Nobel Prize-winning experimental physicist Robert Andrews Millikan had begun his career as a faculty member at the University of Chicago and penned countless physics books. He later devoted himself to his research on elementary electronic charge and the photoelectric effect. His famous oil-drop experiment is known to all physics enthusiasts.

Jonathan M. Wainwright

(General)

Birthdate: August 23, 1883

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Walla Walla, Washington, United States

Died: September 2

James Finlayson

(Scottish Actor and Comedian)

Birthdate: August 27, 1887

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Larbert, Stirlingshire, Scotland

Died: October 9

Birthdate: October 15, 1893

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Peleș Castle, Sinaia, Romania

Died: April 4

Carol II of Romania reigned as king of Romania from 1930 to 1940. He played a major role in establishing a royal dictatorship in Romania by abolishing the political parties and removing the 1923 constitution. He replaced the political parties with the National Renaissance Front, a single monopoly party of government.

Hilaire Belloc

(Poet and Author Best Known for His Humorous Poem ‘Cautionary Tales for Children’)

Birthdate: July 27, 1870

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: La Celle-Saint-Cloud, France

Died: July 16

British-French writer Hilaire Belloc is one of the most controversial figures of England from the 20th century, owing to the accusations of anti-semitism and marked Catholic influence in his works. Remembered for his Cautionary Tales for Children, he continued to move from place to place, thus depleting his finances.

Jorge Negrete

(Actor, Singer, Film actor)

Birthdate: November 30, 1911

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Guanajuato

Died: December 5

Jorge Negrete was a Mexican actor and singer. One of the most popular actors of his generation, Negrete helped create the charro film genre. He is credited with co-founding the Mexican Actors Association, where he served as one of its most important leaders. Such is his popularity that fans still pay tribute on his death anniversary by visiting his tomb.

Derek Bentley

(Epileptic British Man Convicted and Hanged for the Murder of a Policeman, at the Age of 19)

Birthdate: June 30, 1933

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Southwark, London, England

Died: January 28

Derek Bentley was 19 when he was hanged for murdering a policeman during a burglary attempt. An illiterate, he had the mental age of 11 and also suffered from epilepsy. The controversial case led to a 45-long battle for a posthumous pardon, which was granted, and then a reversal of the murder charge.

Ivan Bunin

(The First Russian Writer to Receive the Nobel Prize for Literature)

Birthdate: October 22, 1870

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Voronezh, Russia

Died: November 8

Ivan Bunin was a Russian writer whose stories and poems are regarded as one of the richest collection of works in the Russian language. In 1933, Ivan Bunin became the first Russian writer to be honored with the prestigious Nobel Prize for Literature. Subsequently, he donated 100,000 francs to a charity fund.

Ibn Saud

(King of Saudi Arabia from 1932 to 1953)

Birthdate: January 15, 1875

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Died: November 9

Ibn Saud, or King Abdulaziz, was the founder and first monarch of Saudi Arabia. He oversaw the discovery of petroleum and the subsequent oil production in his country. He annexed the kingdoms of central and northern Arabia and ruled for over 20 years. He sired countless children, including 45 sons.

Birthdate: July 6, 1901

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Calcutta, India

Died: June 23

Mary Anderson

(inventor)

Birthdate: February 19, 1866

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Greene County

Died: June 27

Mary Anderson was a real estate developer, rancher, and inventor. She is best known for inventing the windshield wiper blade. She received her first patent for an automatic car window cleaning device controlled from inside the car in 1903. She was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2011, more than half a century after her death.

Maud Gonne

(English-born Irish Republican Revolutionary, Suffragette & Actress)

Birthdate: December 21, 1866

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Tongham, England

Died: April 27

Maud Gonne not just co-founded the Sinn Féin party but also participated in the theater movement of W.B Yeats, who made her his muse and proposed to her many times, only to be rejected. An Irish nationalist, she also formed the Daughters of Ireland and acted in Yeats’s first play Cathleen ni Houlihan.

Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster

Birthdate: March 19, 1879

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Cheshire

Died: July 19

Millard Mitchell

(American Character Actor)

Birthdate: August 14, 1903

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Havana, Cuba

Died: October 13

Bill Tilden

(American Tennis Player Who was the World No. 1 Amateur for Six Consecutive Years, From 1920 to 1925)

Birthdate: February 10, 1893

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Died: June 5

Height: 6'2" (188 cm)

Francis Picabia

(French Avant-Garde Painter and Poet Who was One of the Early Major Figures of the 'Dada Movement')

Birthdate: January 22, 1879

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Paris, France

Died: November 30

Francis Picabia was a French avant-garde painter, typographist, and poet. He is best remembered for his highly abstract planar compositions, which are rich in contrasts. One of the most influential figures of the Dada movement, Francis Picabia helped popularize Dadaism in France and in the United States of America.

Tazio Nuvolari

(Former Italian Racing Driver)

Birthdate: November 16, 1892

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Castel d’Ario, Italy

Died: August 11

Tazio Nuvolari was an Italian racing driver who raced motorcycles before focusing on sports cars. Nicknamed The Flying Mantuan, Nuvolari won 150 races including 24 Grands Prix, two Mille Miglias, five Coppa Cianos, two RAC Tourist Trophies, and two Targa Florios. Widely regarded as one of the greatest racing drivers of all time, Nuvolari also won a European Drivers' Championship.

Julia de Burgos

(Writer)

Birthdate: February 17, 1914

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Carolina, Puerto Rico

Died: July 6

James Jackson Jeffries

(Boxer)

Birthdate: April 15, 1875

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Carroll, Ohio, United States

Died: March 3

Height: 6'2" (188 cm)

Toni Wolff

(Psychologist)

Birthdate: September 18, 1888

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Zürich

Died: March 21

Denied formal education for being a woman, Toni Wolff later became one of psychoanalyst Carl Jung’s closest collaborators. She entered Jung’s life as a patient of depression after her father’s death. She later headed the Psychologischer Club Zürich as its president and is often described as an intellectual rival of Jung’s wife.

Alice Prin

(Model)

Birthdate: October 2, 1901

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Chatillon-sur-Seine, France

Died: March 23

Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick

(Duke)

Birthdate: November 17, 1887

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Penzing, Vienna, Austria

Died: January 30

Iuliu Maniu

(32nd Prime Minister of Romania Who was Later Convicted of Treason and Given Life Imprisonment)

Birthdate: January 8, 1873

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Badacin, Romania

Died: February 5

Iuliu Maniu held office as 32nd Prime Minister of Romania. He served as President of Romanian National Party and thereafter co-founded National Peasants' Party and served as its President for around five years. He was later arrested as a result of the Tămădău affair, convicted of treason and sentenced to life-imprisonment at hard-labour. He died in prison after six years.

Julian Tuwim

(Polish Poet and Co-Founder of 'Skamander', An Experimental Poetry Group)

Birthdate: September 13, 1894

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Łódź, Poland

Died: December 27

Julian Tuwim was a Polish poet who co-founded a group of experimental poets called Skamander along with his contemporaries like Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz and Antoni Słonimski. A popular and influential figure in Polish literature, Tuwim was also admired for his immense contribution to children's literature. In 1935, Julian Tuwim was honored with the Polish Academy of Literature's prestigious Golden Laurel award.

Étienne Balsan

(horsebreeder, jockey)

Birthdate: February 11, 1880

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Paris

Died: 1953 AD

Porter Hall

(Actor Known for Playing Villains or Comedic Incompetent Characters in the 1930s and 1940s)

Birthdate: September 19, 1888

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

Died: October 6

Porter Hall was an American actor who achieved prominence during the 1930s and 1940s. He is best remembered for playing supporting roles in popular films like The Thin Man and Double Indemnity.

Prince Oscar Bernadotte

(Prince)

Birthdate: November 15, 1859

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Stockholm, Sweden

Died: October 4

Richard von Mises

(Austrian Scientist and Mathematician)

Birthdate: April 19, 1883

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Lviv, Ukraine

Died: July 14

Richard von Mises was an Austrian Jewish scientist and mathematician. He is known for his work on solid mechanics, aerodynamics, aeronautics, fluid mechanics, and probability theory. He was the Gordon McKay Professor of Aerodynamics and Applied Mathematics at Harvard University. He is the one who proposed the now-famous "birthday problem" in probability theory. He was married to mathematician Hilda Geiringer.

Kid Nichols

(Baseball manager)

Birthdate: September 14, 1869

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Madison, Wisconsin, United States

Died: April 11

Ruth Crawford Seeger

(Composer)

Birthdate: July 3, 1901

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: East Liverpool, Ohio, United States

Died: November 18

Vera Mukhina

(Russian Painter and Sculptor)

Birthdate: July 1, 1889

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Riga, Latvia

Died: October 6

Considered the most popular female Soviet sculptor, Vera Mukhina earned the nickname of the queen of Soviet sculpture. After a plastic surgery following a sledging accident as a young girl, she focused on studying sculpting. The five-time Stalin Prize winner is remembered for her works such as Peasant Woman.

John Marin

(painter, architect)

Birthdate: December 23, 1870

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Rutherford

Died: October 2

Rudolph Schindler

(One of the Seminal Master Architects Who Defined Modern Architecture in Southern California)

Birthdate: September 10, 1887

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Vienna, Austria

Died: August 22

Born to a craftsman in Austria, Rudolph Schindler grew up to a master architect. He also introduced his signature form of modern architecture, known as space architecture, and his own adaptation of the wood frame, the Schindler Frame. He built most of his masterpieces in Southern California, primarily in Los Angeles.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

(Indian-British Barrister)

Birthdate: April 14, 1872

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Mumbai, India

Died: December 10

Johan Laidoner

(Estonian Statesman and General Who was the Commander of the Defence Forces During the Estonian War of Independence)

Birthdate: February 12, 1884

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Viljandi County, Estonia

Died: March 13

Johan Laidoner was an Estonian statesman and general. He is best remembered for his service as the Commander of the Defence Forces during the Estonian War of Independence. He was also one of the most influential and important Estonian politicians during the interwar period.

Kathleen Ferrier

(Singer)

Birthdate: April 22, 1912

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Higher Walton, United Kingdom

Died: October 8

Emmerich Kalman

Birthdate: October 24, 1882

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Siófok

Died: October 30

Hungarian composer Emmerich Kalman is best remembered for his operettas and was a leading figure in the development of the Viennese operetta. He initially worked as a lawyer’s assistant and a music critic for Pesti Napló to fund his music studies. One of his best-known works remains The Gay Hussars.

Ernst Zermelo

(Former Mathematician, Logician known for his role in developing Zermelo–Fraenkel axiomatic set theory and his proof of the well-ordering theorem)

Birthdate: July 27, 1871

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Berlin, Germany

Died: May 21