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  4. 1908
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Lives Begun

Who was born in 1908

32 memorials found

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January

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Edward Teller

Edward Teller

19082003

Hungarian-American theoretical physicist known as 'the father of the hydrogen bomb' and co-creator of the Teller–Ulam design

Simone de Beauvoir

Simone de Beauvoir

19081986

French existentialist philosopher and feminist activist who wrote the influential work "The Second Sex" and helped launch modern feminist theory

February

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Amintore Fanfani

Amintore Fanfani

19081999

Italian politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Italy for five separate terms and was a founder of the modern Italian centre-left

March

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David Lean

David Lean

19081991

Visionary British film director known for cinematic epics such as Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago, and acclaimed adaptations like Great Expectations and Brief Encounter

Maurice Merleau-Ponty

Maurice Merleau-Ponty

19081961

French phenomenological philosopher, art theorist, and aesthetician known for his work on perception and human experience, and co-founder of Les Temps modernes

Anna Magnani

Anna Magnani

19081973

Italian actress and screenwriter, celebrated as the first Italian woman to win an Academy Award for her powerful performances

Rex Harrison

Rex Harrison

19081990

British actor celebrated for his captivating performances on stage and screen, including Tony Award-winning roles in 'Anne of the Thousand Days' and 'My Fair Lady'

April

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Józef Gosławski

Józef Gosławski

19081963

Polish sculptor, caricaturist, and medallic artist, known for designing coins, monuments, and medals, and a laureate of many artistic competitions

Herbert von Karajan

Herbert von Karajan

19081989

Austrian conductor and music director known for his 34-year tenure with the Berlin Philharmonic and an estimated 200 million records sold

May

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Hannes Alfvén

Hannes Alfvén

19081995

Swedish electrical engineer, plasma physicist, and science fiction author who won the 1970 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on magnetohydrodynamics and plasma physics

Ian Fleming

Ian Fleming

19081964

British author who created James Bond and revolutionized the spy novel genre with his sophisticated thrillers

June

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Salvador Allende

Salvador Allende

19081973

29th president of Chile and the first Marxist elected to lead a liberal democracy in Latin America

Otto Skorzeny

Otto Skorzeny

19081975

Austrian engineer and Waffen-SS officer known for leading daring special operations during World War II, including the rescue of Benito Mussolini

July

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Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller

Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller

19081979

American businessperson, politician, philanthropist, and art collector who served as the 41st Vice President of the United States and the 49th Governor of New York

August

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Don Bradman

Don Bradman

19082001

Australian cricketer, known as "the Don," who achieved the greatest Test batting average of 99.94, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson

19082004

French humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography and pioneer of street photography, known for his concept of 'the decisive moment'

September

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SS

Saizo Saito

19082004

Japanese association football player who represented his country on the Japan national team

Mika Waltari

Mika Waltari

19081979

Finnish writer best known for his best-selling novel "The Egyptian," Mika Waltari was a prolific author across poetry, short stories, crime novels, plays, essays, and film scripts

Victor Ambartsumian

Victor Ambartsumian

19081996

Soviet Armenian astrophysicist and science administrator, widely regarded as the founder of theoretical astrophysics in the Soviet Union

Cesare Pavese

Cesare Pavese

19081950

Italian writer, poet, critic, and translator recognized as one of the most influential figures in 20th-century Italian literature

October

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Ilya Mikhailovich Frank

Ilya Mikhailovich Frank

19081990

Soviet physicist and Nobel laureate recognized for his explanation of Cherenkov radiation

Enver Hoxha

Enver Hoxha

19081985

Albanian communist revolutionary, statesman, and political theorist who led Albania as First Secretary of the Party of Labour and Prime Minister from 1944 to 1985

John Kenneth Galbraith

John Kenneth Galbraith

19082006

Canadian-American economist, diplomat, and public official whose bestselling books on economics and influential service during World War II helped stabilize the American economy

Mercè Rodoreda

Mercè Rodoreda

19081983

Catalan novelist, poet, and short story writer whose works in the Catalan language left a lasting mark on Spanish literature

Carole Lombard

Carole Lombard

19081942

American actress renowned for her energetic and off-beat roles in screwball comedies, recognized by the American Film Institute as one of Classic Hollywood's greatest female stars

November

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Claude Lévi-Strauss

Claude Lévi-Strauss

19082009

Belgian-born French anthropologist and ethnologist whose work was key in the development of structuralism and structural anthropology

TI

Tameo Ide

19081998

Japanese association football player who represented the Japan national team

TT

Teizo Takeuchi

19081946

Japanese association football player who represented the national team and is the father of lighting designer Motoko Ishii

Joseph Rotblat

Joseph Rotblat

19082005

Polish-born British-naturalised physicist and Nobel Peace laureate, recognized for his work towards nuclear disarmament after leaving the Manhattan Project due to his conscience

Giovanni Leone

Giovanni Leone

19082001

Italian lawyer, politician, and university professor who served as the 6th President of Italy from 1971 to 1978

December

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Simon Wiesenthal

Simon Wiesenthal

19082005

Jewish Austrian Holocaust survivor and renowned Nazi hunter who dedicated his life to documenting wartime atrocities and bringing perpetrators to justice

Olivier Messiaen

Olivier Messiaen

19081992

French composer, organist, and ornithologist known for his innovative 20th-century classical music and influential teaching