Military build up and stronger partnership with US
Widely regarded as one of the greatest mathematicians and most influential scientists of all time, Sir Isaac Newton is celebrated for having formulated the theory of universal gravity.
Renowned English playwright, poet, and actor William Shakespeare is considered the greatest dramatist in history.
Friedrich Schiller was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher whose notable works include the play 'William Tell' (1804).
Military and political leader Napoleon Bonaparte was Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814 and again in 1815. He died in exile on the remote island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic.
The 'Hungarian Rhapsodies Nos. 1-6' number some of the finest works composed by Franz List, who was a virtuoso pianist.
Russian composer Tchaikovsky is one of the few great classical composers whose voice was recorded. Julius Block, a personal friend of inventor Thomas Edison, captured for posterity a short testimonial spoken by Tchaikovsky into one of Edison's phonographs in January 1890.
Austrian painter Gustav Klimt, a prominent member of the Symbolism, Art Nouveau, and Vienna Secession movements, is renowned for rendering much of his work in gold leaf, exemplified by the painting 'The Kiss' (1907–08).
One of the leading composers and conductors of his generation, Austro-Bohemian-born Gustav Mahler is especially remembered for 'Symphony No. 2, Resurrection' (1895).
Sinn Fein leader and Commander-In-Chief of the Irish Free State Army, Michael Collins was shot and killed in an ambush by anti-Anglo-Irish Treaty forces on August 22, 1922.
The works of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche had a profound influence on modern intellectual history. Notable works include 'The Antichrist,' published in 1895, and 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' (1883–1885). Richard Strauss' famous 1896 'Also Sprach Zarathustra' was inspired by the book, and became well known after its use in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film '2001: A Space Odyssey.'
German novelist and short story writer Thomas Mann is remembered for the novella 'Death in Venice' (1912) and 'Doctor Faustus' (1947), among many other influential and highly symbolic works.
Known as Lorenzo the Magnificent, de' Medici was the powerful ruler of the Florentine Republic. A patron of scholars, artists, and poets, he helped fund works by Botticelli and Michelangelo, among others.
Mary, Queen of Scots reigned over Scotland from 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. After fleeing to England, where she spent nearly 19 years in custody, the former monarch was executed on the orders of Queen Elizabeth I of England.
Dante Alighieri's 'Divine Comedy' (1320) is considered to be the pre-eminent work in Italian literature, and recognized as one of the greatest works of world literature.
A standout among the works of Irish novelist James Joyce is 'Ulysses' (1922), regarded as one of the most important works of modernist literature.
On the night of July 22, 1934, John Dillinger stepped out of the Biograph Theater in Chicago and into a Bureau of Investigation (BOI) ambush. One of the most famous gangsters of the Great Depression was shot and killed as he attempted to flee. The BOI was the forerunner of today's FBI.
German-born composer George Frideric Handel achieved huge success with 'Messiah' (1742). He is buried at Westminster Abbey in London.
Communist revolutionary and statesman Enver Hoxha ruled Albania from 1941 until his death in 1985.
Second World War German general Erwin Rommel was known as the "Desert Fox" for his military cunning. He was forced to commit suicide by the Nazis after being implicated in the 20 July plot to assassinate Hitler.
Oliver Cromwell led armies of the Parliament of England against King Charles I during the English Civil War and was one of the signatories of the vanquished monarch's death warrant.
Lord Nelson was struck by a bullet fired by a French sharpshooter during the Battle of Trafalgar. He died on the quarterdeck of his flagship, HMS Victory.
Often grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as one of the "Three Bs" of classical music, Brahms is celebrated for his 'Academic Festival Overture' and his most famous choral work, 'German Requiem.'
Influential Nicaraguan poet, journalist, and diplomat Rubén Darío initiated the Spanish-American literary movement known as modernismo (modernism).
Sources (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) (FBI) (History) (uDiscover Music) (Tchaikovsky Research) (JRank)
See also: The most iconic masks in pop culture
The First Lady of Argentina, better known as Evita, was the wife of Argentine President Juan Perón (1895–1974).
One of the 20th century's most significant figures, Stalin was also one of the most brutal dictators of the modern age.
'Ode to a Nightingale,' 'Sleep and Poetry,' and the celebrated sonnet 'On First Looking into Chapman's Homer' number just some of the famous works penned by English romantic poet John Keats.
The preparation and creation of death masks can be traced back to ancient Egypt, when funeral masks were made as part of the mummification process, most famously for King Tutankhamun. But it wasn't until the Middle Ages that death masks began appearing not so much as a ritual element, but as a way of serving as a model for sculptors in creating statues and busts of the deceased person. By the 1800s, death masks had become valued for themselves, and it was quite fashionable for departed individuals of note such as scientists, composers, and writers to be revered in such a way, a final viewing of the deceased created for posterity.
Click through for a final look at some of history's most famous—and infamous—death mask recipients.
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The preparation and creation of death masks can be traced back to ancient Egypt, when funeral masks were made as part of the mummification process, most famously for King Tutankhamun. But it wasn't until the Middle Ages that death masks began appearing not so much as a ritual element, but as a way of serving as a model for sculptors in creating statues and busts of the deceased person. By the 1800s, death masks had become valued for themselves, and it was quite fashionable for departed individuals of note such as scientists, composers, and writers to be revered in such a way, a final viewing of the deceased created for posterity.
Click through for a final look at some of history's most famous—and infamous—death mask recipients.