Famous People Who Died In 1949

Richard Georg Strauss was a German conductor, composer, violinist, and pianist. Renowned for his pioneering subtleties of orchestration, Strauss is generally regarded as a modernist, although he was initially considered a conservative, backwards-looking composer. Over the years, his music has influenced other prominent composers like Béla Viktor János Bartók, Karol Maciej Szymanowski, Edward Elgar, and Benjamin Britten.

Sarojini Naidu was an Indian poet and political activist. An important figure in the Indian Independence Movement, she was a proponent of anti-imperialistic ideas, women's rights, and civil rights. Her illustrious career as a poet earned her the nickname Nightingale of India. After India became independent, she became the first woman to hold the office of Governor in the Dominion of India.

Born to a poet and carpenter, George Gurdjieff grew up reading a lot of science books in his hometown, Kars. He later laid down the concept of The Fourth Way, stating that humans can overcome their state of waking sleep through methods involving a combination of music, dance, and lectures.

James Forrestal was an American financier who served as the first US Secretary of Defense from 1947 to 1949. He is also remembered for his service as the US Secretary of the Navy from 1944 to 1947. James Forrestal was honored with the Medal of Merit and the Distinguished Service Medal by President Harry S. Truman.

Elton Mayo was an Australian-born industrial researcher, psychologist, and organizational theorist. As a psychologist, Mayo played an important role during World War I, helping soldiers returning from the war recover from the stresses. He also conducted psycho-pathological tests and is credited with pioneering the psychoanalytic treatment of shell-shock. Elton Mayo's works also laid the basis for the human relations movement.

Robert Ripley was a cartoonist and an amateur anthropologist best known for creating the newspaper panel series Ripley's Believe It or Not! The series was later adapted for radio and TV. He lost his father when he was young and began working as a cartoonist at the age of 16. Over the years, he became extremely successful and wealthy. 

Painter and printmaker James Ensor spent most of his life in the North Sea fishing port of Ostend, away from hustle-bustle of big cities. Yet, he left a significant influence on every aspect of the modernist movement; from symbolism and expressionism to dada and surrealism; also a signature style that involved radical distortion of form, muddled surface and riotous color.  

Amadeo Giannini was an American banker best remembered for founding the Bank of Italy, which later became Bank of America. He is credited with inventing numerous modern banking practices. Amadeo Giannini is also credited with establishing one of the first trans-national institutions.

Aurora Quezon was a Filipino political figure best remembered for her role as the First Lady of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944. Quezon is also remembered for her humanitarian activities; from 1947 to 1949, she served as the chairperson of the Philippine Red Cross. In the 2018 biographical drama film Quezon's Game, Aurora Quezon was played by Rachel Alejandro.

Sigrid Undset was a Norwegian novelist best remembered for her trilogy of historical novels, Kristin Lavransdatter. In 1928, she was honored with the prestigious Nobel Prize for literature, which she donated on 25 January 1940 in order to support the Finnish war effort during the Second World War. A crater on Venus is named in her honor.

Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies was nephew of Francis II, the last King of the Two Sicilies. Carlos was given the title of Infante of Spain before his marriage to Mercedes, Princess of Asturias, daughter of the late King Alfonso XII of Spain. Carlos served the Spanish Army during the Spanish–American War and was later promoted as Inspector General.  

Chairil Anwar was an Indonesian poet whose work dealt with themes like existentialism, individualism, and death. His works, which have been translated into Dutch, French, and English, are credited with helping the evolution of the Indonesian language. His death anniversary is observed as National Literature Day in Indonesia.

Lebanese politician and the founder of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, Antoun Saadeh was also a prolific author, who wrote several books while in prison. He announced a revolution in Lebanon and was promised support by Syria, though Syria handed him over to the Lebanese government, which eventually executed him.

Birbal Sahni was a pioneer of palaeobotanical research in India. The founder of the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, he also taught botany at BHU and Lucknow University. He was also interested in music and tennis, and loved collecting coins. He was a Fellow of The Royal Society, too.

Uruguayan-Spanish artist Joaquín Torres-García didn’t like the conservative style promoted at his Barcelona art academy and deviated more toward Impressionist and post-Impressionist art instead. He later brought Constructivism to South American countries. The Taller Torres García founder is best remembered for his work Monumento Cosmico.

Initially a teacher and a journalist, Ibrahim Datuk Tan Malaka later joined the Communist movement in Indonesia and became Sukarno’s rival for the control of the country’s nationalist movement. Widely regarded as the Father of the Republic of Indonesia, he was captured and executed by Sukarno’s supporters.

Prominent Finnish architect and designer Aino Aalto considered a pioneer of Scandinavian design, co-founded Artek design company with her architect husband, Alvar Aalto and others. She served as its first creative director and collaborated on most of its famous designs. It has been discovered that work of the Viipuri Library, which typifies 1920s functionalist architectural design, was completed by her.  

August Krogh was a Danish professor who taught at the University of Copenhagen between 1916 and 1945. He is best remembered for receiving the prestigious Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1920. Apart from his contributions to medicine, August Krogh is also remembered for co-founding the popular multinational pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk. 

Stephen Samuel Wise was an American Zionist leader and Reform rabbi during the Progressive Era. He followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather to become a rabbi. Later on, he became a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He is also credited with establishing the Jewish Institute of Religion in 1922.

Educated at Cambridge, legendary British economist and philosopher John Neville Keynes later taught moral science there and became its registrar. He revolutionized the field of economics by merging both the inductive and deductive approaches to the subject. His son, John Maynard Keynes, too, was a prominent economist.