Famous People Who Died in 1923

Discover the most famous people died who died in the year 1923. This list includes people like Warren G. Harding, Pancho Villa, Gustave Eiffel, Sarah Bernhardt, Katherine Mansfield and many more. This list of celebrities is loosely sorted by popularity. People featured on this list, include political leaders, inventors, journalists and physicists who died in 1923. This list includes people from United Kingdom, France, United States & Germany and many more countries.

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Birthdate: June 5, 1878

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: La Coyotada, Mexico

Died: July 20

Military leader Pancho Villa was a significant figure of the Mexican Revolution. He supported the ouster of dictator Porfirio Diaz and later fought to remove Victoriano Huerta from power. He also allied with Emiliano Zapata and fought against Venustiano Carranza. He remains immortalized in many films and novels.

Birthdate: November 2, 1865

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Blooming Grove, Ohio, United States

Died: August 2

The 29th President of the United States, Warren G. Harding assumed office in 1921 shortly after the end of WWI and became very popular. He died in 1923 while still in office. Later, various scandals that occured during his presidency were uncovered and his image suffered a serious setback. His presidency is today ranked amongst the worst in the American history.

Gustave Eiffel

(French Civil Engineer Known for His Contribution to Building the ‘Statue of Liberty’ and ‘Eiffel Tower’)

Birthdate: December 15, 1832

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Dijon, France

Died: December 27

The man behind the jewel that adorns Paris, the Eiffel Tower, French civil engineer Gustave Eiffel later earned the nickname “the magician of iron.” He revolutionized bridge-building by using compressed-air caissons, designed the Statue of Liberty, and built the first aerodynamic laboratory. He died while listening to Beethoven's 5th symphony.

Wilhelm Rontgen

(German Mechanical Engineer and Winner of the 1901 Nobel Prize in Physics)

Birthdate: March 27, 1845

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Lennep, Remscheid, Germany

Died: February 10

Wilhelm Rontgen was a German physicist and mechanical engineer. He is best remembered for producing and detecting X-rays for which he was honored with the first Nobel Prize in Physicsin 1901. His discovery of X-rays remains one of the greatest achievements in the field of medical science.

Sarah Bernhardt

(One of the Most Popular French Actresses of the Late 19th and Early 20th Century)

Birthdate: October 23, 1844

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Paris, France

Died: March 26

Sarah Bernhardt was a French actress known for playing important roles in popular French plays of the early-20th century. Her decision to play Hamlet inspired Theresa Rebeck's play Bernhardt/Hamlet, in which Janet McTeer portrayed Sarah Bernhardt. In 1960, Bernhardt became the earliest born person to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Birthdate: August 2, 1868

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Athens, Greece

Died: January 11

Constantine I reigned as the king of Greece from 1913 to 1917 and again from 1920 to 1922. He led the Greek army during the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913. The National Schism was a result of his disagreement with Eleftherios Venizelos on whether Greece should join World War I.

Birthdate: October 14, 1888

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Wellington

Died: January 9

Katherine Mansfield was a New Zealand modernist writer best remembered for her short stories. Her life and career inspired several films, plays, novels, and TV series. In 1973, she became the subject of a BBC miniseries titled A Picture of Katherine Mansfield. In 2011, actress Kate Elliott played Mansfield in a TV biopic titled Bliss.

Birthdate: September 16, 1858

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Rexton, Canada

Died: October 30

Birthdate: August 4, 1834

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Kingston upon Hull

Died: April 4

Vilfredo Pareto

(Economist, Writer, Philosopher, Sociologist, University teacher)

Birthdate: July 15, 1848

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Paris

Died: August 19

A qualified civil engineer, Vilfredo Pareto had initially worked for the railways and the ironworks. However, he gradually deviated to philosophy, sociology, and politics and gained fame for his application of math to economic issues and his introduction of Pareto efficiency. Mind and Society remains his best-known work.

Joaquín Sorolla

(Spanish Valencian Painter Best Known for His Depictions of Beach and Water Scenes)

Birthdate: February 27, 1863

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Valencia, Spain

Died: August 10

Born into poverty and orphaned at age 2, Impressionist painter Joaquín Sorolla later traveled to Rome to acquire training in painting. He began his career painting on themes of historical and social relevance and later also excelled in landscapes and portraits. Sad Inheritance remains one of his best works.

Birthdate: June 26, 1866

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Hampshire, England

Died: April 5

Julius Martov

(Russian Revolutionary and Prominent Menshevik Leader)

Birthdate: November 24, 1873

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Constantinople, Turkey

Died: April 4

Russian revolutionary and politician Julius Martov was a prominent leader of the Mensheviks. A close associate of Vladimir Lenin since his initial political career, he later clashed with Lenin’s ideology of limiting party membership to an exclusive group. He spent his finals years in Berlin as an editor of Socialist Courier.

James Dewar

(Scottish Chemist and Physicist Best Known for His Invention of the 'Vacuum Flask')

Birthdate: September 20, 1842

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Kincardine, Scotland

Died: March 27

James Dewar was a British chemist and physicist best known for his invention of the vacuum flask. He conducted considerable research into the liquefaction of gases and atomic and molecular spectroscopy. He also wrote papers on the qualities of hydrogen and organic chemistry. He was awarded the Albert Medal of the Royal Society of Arts and the Rumford Medal.

Georg Luger

(Austrian Firearms Designer)

Birthdate: March 6, 1849

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Steinach am Brenner, Tyrol, Austria

Died: December 22

Jack Trice

(American football player)

Birthdate: May 12, 1902

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Hiram, Ohio, United States

Died: October 8

Charlotte Mason

(British Educator & Reformer)

Birthdate: January 1, 1842

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales

Died: January 16

Renowned educator of the 1800s, Charlotte Mason introduced a new way of teaching children, which included the use of books which engage the reader, or what she called “living books,” maintaining a nature journal, and using music and art as resources. She helped develop homeschooling techniques that are in use to this day.

Hovhannes Tumanyan

(Poet)

Birthdate: February 19, 1869

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Lori Province, Armenia

Died: March 23

Maurice Barrès

(Novelist)

Birthdate: August 19, 1862

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Charmes, France

Died: December 4

Charles Rothschild

(Banker, Entomologist)

Birthdate: May 9, 1877

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: London

Died: October 12

Willie Keeler

(Baseball player)

Birthdate: March 3, 1872

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: New York City, New York

Died: January 1

Théophile Steinlen

(French Art Nouveau Painter and Printmaker)

Birthdate: November 10, 1859

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Lausanne, Switzerland

Died: December 13

French-Swiss artist Théophile Steinlen is best remembered for his Art Nouveau paintings. He was also known for his signature, and mostly symbolic, use of cats in most of his works. He got acquainted with several artists at the Le Chat Noir club, leading to commissions for artwork.

Jaroslav Hašek

(Czech Writer and Journalist Best Known for His Novel 'The Fate of the Good Soldier Švejk')

Birthdate: April 30, 1883

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Prague, Czechia

Died: January 3

Initially a bank clerk, Jaroslav Hašek later dedicated his life to writing. The Czech author is best known for his iconic historical satire The Good Soldier Schweik. He had also been imprisoned as a Russian prisoner of war during World War I and was known for his bohemian life.

Khama III

(Ngwato Chief)

Birthdate: 1837 AD

Birthplace: Mosu, Botswana

Died: February 21

Khama III was the Kgosi (king) of the Bangwato people. He was also referred to by missionaries as Khama the Good and Khama the Great. As a young man, he had considerable wealth and was well-traveled. He also spoke fluent Dutch. He was baptized into the Lutheran church in 1860 and is remembered as the founder of a Christian state.

Princess Louise of Prussia

(Politician)

Birthdate: December 3, 1838

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Berlin, Germany

Died: April 23

Damdin Sükhbaatar

(Army Leader)

Birthdate: February 2, 1893

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Khuree, Qing Empire, Mongolia

Died: February 20

Aleksandŭr Stamboliyski

(20th Prime Minister of Bulgaria (1919 - 1923))

Birthdate: March 1, 1879

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Slavovitsa, Bulgaria

Died: June 14

Aleksandŭr Stamboliyski was a Bulgarian politician best remembered for his service as the Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 14 October 1919 to 9 June 1923. He was ousted from his position in a coup d'état and was subsequently tortured and killed on 14 June 1923.

Hertha Ayrton

(British Engineer, Mathematician, Physicist and Inventor Known for Her Work With the 'Electric Arcs')

Birthdate: April 28, 1854

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Portsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England

Died: August 26

Hertha Ayrton was a British engineer, physicist, mathematician, and inventor. She is remembered for her work on electric arcs and ripple marks in sand and water, for which she was awarded the Hughes Medal by the Royal Society. As a woman in the 19th century, she had to face innumerable struggles in her career. She was also a passionate suffragist.

Charles Henry Turner

(Zoologist)

Birthdate: February 3, 1867

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

Died: February 14

Ernst Troeltsch

(Politician, Theologian, University teacher, Sociologist)

Birthdate: February 17, 1865

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Augsburg-Haunstetten

Died: February 1

Ernst Troeltsch was one of the first German theologians to insist that the Christian church should reconsider its version of absolute truth. The Social Teaching of the Christian Churches remains his best-known work. The son of a physician, he was skeptical of religious absolutism from the very beginning.

Edward W. Morley

(Scientist)

Birthdate: January 29, 1838

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Newark, New Jersey, United States

Died: February 24

Princess Anastasia of Greece and Denmark

(Princess)

Birthdate: January 20, 1878

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Zanesville, Ohio, United States

Died: August 29

Charles Proteus Steinmetz

(German Mathematician and Engineer Whose Research on AC Systems Revolutionized the US Electric Industry)

Birthdate: April 9, 1865

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Wrocław

Died: October 26

Though German-born American mathematician and engineer Charles Proteus Steinmetz suffered from a deformed back since childhood, he excelled in math, physics, and classical literature. His ideas on alternating current (AC) systems initiated the electrical era in the US. By the time he died, he had over 200 patents under his name.

Krišjānis Barons

(Writer)

Birthdate: October 31, 1835

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Jaunpils parish, Latvia

Died: March 8

Edward Emerson Barnard

(American astronomer)

Birthdate: December 16, 1857

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Nashville

Died: February 6

Having lost his father a few months before his birth, Edward Emerson Barnard struggled with poverty and missed out on formal education, but realized his passion for photography quite early in life. Remembered as a pioneer of celestial photography, he discovered countless comets and celestial bodies, including the Barnard’s star.

Thomas Shaughnessy, 1st Baron Shaughnessy

(Railway administrator)

Birthdate: October 6, 1853

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

Died: December 10

William R. Day

(Jurist)

Birthdate: April 17, 1849

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Ravenna, Ohio, United States

Died: July 9

Henry Martyn Robert

(Soldier)

Birthdate: May 2, 1837

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Robertville, South Carolina, United States

Died: May 11

Birthdate: November 23, 1837

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Leiden, Netherlands

Died: March 8

Nobel Prize-winning physicist Johannes Diderik van der Waals, born to a carpenter, was largely self-taught in his early days. His pathbreaking research on the gaseous and liquid states of matter influenced later studies on molecular dynamics. He was the man behind the van der Waals equation.

Frank Hayes

(American Jockey)

Birthdate: 1901 AD

Birthplace: Ireland

Died: June 4

Louis Couperus

(Dutch Novelist and Poet)

Birthdate: June 10, 1863

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: The Hague, Netherlands

Died: July 16

Author Louis Couperus was one of the most significant figures of the Dutch literary revival in the 1880s. Born in the Dutch East Indies, he later lived in Italy, the Netherlands, and parts of Asia and Africa. He experimented with styles and themes such as French realism, the occult, and Oriental culture.

Max Nordau

(Physician, Author and Co-founder of World Zionist Organization)

Birthdate: July 29, 1849

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Pest, Budapest, Hungary

Died: January 23

Hungarian physician and author Max Nordau was the son of a rabbi. After practicing medicine in Budapest for a while, he went to Paris and began writing for Neue Freie Presse. A major figure behind the Zionist Organization, he penned The Conventional Lies of Our Civilization, which was banned in several countries.

Théophile Delcassé

(Statesman)

Birthdate: March 1, 1853

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Pamiers, France

Died: February 22

Elihu Vedder

(Painter)

Birthdate: February 26, 1836

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: New York, New York, United States

Died: January 29

Takeo Arishima

(Japanese Novelist Known for His Novel 'Aru Onna' And for His Strong Humanitarian Views)

Birthdate: March 4, 1878

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan

Died: June 9

Takeo Arishima was a Japanese short-story writer, novelist, and essayist who worked during the Taishō and late Meiji periods. In addition to being a writer, Takeo Arishima also served as a teacher at his alma mater. Many of his major works, including Aru Onna and Kain no Matsuei, were translated into English by popular authors.

John Morley

(Statesman)

Birthdate: December 24, 1838

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Blackburn, England

Died: September 23

John Morley was a British writer, newspaper editor, and politician. Morley served as the Chief Secretary for Ireland from February to July 1886. Between 1905 and 1910, he was the Secretary of State for India. John Morley is best remembered for his writings, many of which have been published. Morley is credited with inspiring influential figures like Mahomed Ali Jinnah.

Edith Södergran

(One of the Best Modern Swedish-Language Poets)

Birthdate: April 4, 1892

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: St. Petersburg, Russia

Died: June 24

Edith Södergran was a Finnish poet whose poetry has influenced numerous lyrical poets all over the world. Counted among the greatest Swedish-language poets of modernism, Södergran's work continues to influence Swedish-language musical lyrics and poetry. Edith Södergran did not live long enough to experience the appreciation of her poetry as she died at the age of 31 due to tuberculosis.

Alice Cunningham Fletcher

(Anthropologist)

Birthdate: March 15, 1838

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Havana, Cuba

Died: April 6

Ledi Sayadaw

(Buddhist Monk)

Birthdate: December 1, 1846

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Saingpyin, Dabayin Kingdom of Burma

Died: June 27