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Leon Trotsky
(Soviet Politician)
7 November 1879 – 21 August 1940 (Aged 60)
Trotsky was a communist revolutionary.
He played a pivotal role in the 1917 October Revolution, becoming one of the seven founding members of the first Politburo.
Trotsky became opposed to the policies of Joseph Stalin and failed to lead a struggle against him.
In 1929, he was exiled from the Soviet Union but continued to oppose Lenin from abroad.
Trotsky was assassinated in Mexico City on the orders of Stalin in August 1940.
F. Scott Fitzgerald
(Author)
24 September 1896 – 21 December 1940 (Aged 44)
Fitzgerald was a famous American author, best known for his novel, The Great Gatsby.
He achieved relatively modest success during his lifetime but has come to be recognized as one of America’s greatest writers.
Fitzgerald was a notoriously heavy drinker, being an alcoholic from an early age.
His marriage to Zelda descended into turmoil, between F. Scott’s lifestyle and Zelda suffering from a mental breakdown.
F. Scott died from a heart attack at the age of 44.
Henri Desgrange
(Cyclist)
31 January 1865 – 16 August 1940 (Aged 75)
Desgrange was a French cyclist and, later, became a sports journalist, writing books and editing a magazine about cycling.
During his career as a cyclist, Desgrange set twelve world track cycling records.
He is famous for organizing the first-ever Tour de France, with the leader’s yellow jersey bearing his initials, H.D., in the style in which he wrote them, to this day.
Desgrange died in his home on the Mediterranean coast at the age of 75.
Marcus Garvey
(Civil Rights Activist)
17 August 1887 – 10 June 1940 (Aged 52)
Garvey was a Jamaican civil rights activist whose ideas came to inspire the Rastafarian movement and the Nation of Islam.
His philosophy about African-Americans and African diaspora came to be known as Garveyism.
He founded the Black Star Line, which encouraged African diaspora to return to their ancestral home.
Garvey died in London, England, after suffering numerous strokes.
His ideas lived on and continued to inspire people during the American civil rights movement.
He is considered a Jamaican national hero, while the Ghanaian national football team is nicknamed the Black Stars in Garvey’s honor.
Robert Hichens
(British Sailor)
16 September 1882 – 23 September 1940 (Aged 58)
Hichens was a British sailor who is best known for being at the wheel on the Titanic when it hit the iceberg that led to its demise.
He was put in charge of one of the ship’s lifeboats during the evacuation, where his subsequent actions have been called into question for not doing more to help save stricken passengers.
In 1933, Hichens was jailed for attempting to murder Harry Henley, a man from whom he had previously bought a boat. He was released in 1937.
Hichens died of heart failure at the age of 58, while aboard a ship moored off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland.
