Recommended YouTube video: The power of believing that you can improve – TED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X0mgOOSpLU
- “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
Nelson Mandela
Born: 18 July 1918, South Africa
Died: 5 December 2013
Main role: Anti-apartheid leader and president
Cause of death / Health: Complications from a long lung (respiratory) infection - “The time is always right to do what is right.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
Born: 15 January 1929, United States
Died: 4 April 1968
Main role: Civil rights leader and pastor
Cause of death / Health: Assassination by gunshot - “We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.”
Maya Angelou
Born: 4 April 1928, United States
Died: 28 May 2014
Main role: Writer, poet, and civil rights activist
Cause of death / Health: Died after long-term health and heart problems - “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”
Albert Einstein
Born: 14 March 1879, Germany
Died: 18 April 1955
Main role: Theoretical physicist
Cause of death / Health: Internal bleeding from a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm - “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
Born: 11 October 1884, United States
Died: 7 November 1962
Main role: Political leader, diplomat, human rights advocate
Cause of death / Health: Aplastic anemia, tuberculosis, and heart failure - “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
Viktor E. Frankl
Born: 26 March 1905, Austria
Died: 2 September 1997
Main role: Psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, author of Man’s Search for Meaning
Cause of death / Health: Heart failure - “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.”
Malala Yousafzai
Born: 12 July 1997, Pakistan
Alive
Main role: Education activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Cause of death / Health: Alive; no major public illness reported - “Becoming is better than being.”
Carol S. Dweck
Born: 17 October 1946, United States
Alive
Main role: Psychologist, researcher on mindset
Cause of death / Health: Alive; no major public illness reported - “Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals.”
Angela Duckworth
Born: 1970 (exact day and month not widely public), United States
Alive
Main role: Psychologist and researcher on grit
Cause of death / Health: Alive; no major public illness reported - “Vulnerability is the birthplace of courage, creativity and change.”
Brené Brown
Born: 18 November 1965, United States
Alive
Main role: Research professor and author on vulnerability and shame
Cause of death / Health: Alive; no major public illness reported - “Do your little bit of good where you are; it is those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
Desmond Tutu
Born: 7 October 1931, South Africa
Died: 26 December 2021
Main role: Archbishop and anti-apartheid activist
Cause of death / Health: Complications related to prostate cancer - “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.”
Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Born: 6 July 1935, Tibet
Alive
Main role: Buddhist spiritual leader
Cause of death / Health: Alive; no major public illness reported - “You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.”
Rosa Parks
Born: 4 February 1913, United States
Died: 24 October 2005
Main role: Civil rights activist
Cause of death / Health: Natural causes after long-term illness and dementia - “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
Jane Goodall
Born: 3 April 1934, United Kingdom
Died: 10 October 2025
Main role: Primatologist and environmental activist
Cause of death / Health: Cardiopulmonary arrest, with epilepsy reported as a contributing factor - “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.”
Carl R. Rogers
Born: 8 January 1902, United States
Died: 4 February 1987
Main role: Psychologist and founder of person-centered therapy
Cause of death / Health: Heart attack following surgery for a hip fracture - “In a very real sense we have two minds, one that thinks and one that feels.”
Daniel Goleman
Born: 7 March 1946, United States
Main role: Psychologist and author on emotional intelligence - “However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.”
Stephen Hawking
Born: 8 January 1942, United Kingdom
Died: 14 March 2018
Main role: Theoretical physicist and cosmologist
Cause of death / Health: Complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a motor neuron disease - “We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.”
Carl Sagan
Born: 9 November 1934, United States
Died: 20 December 1996
Main role: Astronomer, science communicator, and writer
Cause of death / Health: Pneumonia, related to a bone marrow disease (myelodysplasia) - “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
Anne Frank
Born: 12 June 1929, Germany
Died: 31 March 1945 (official date)
Main role: Diarist and victim of the Holocaust
Cause of death / Health: Typhus in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp - “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
James Baldwin
Born: 2 August 1924, United States
Died: 1 December 1987
Main role: Writer and civil rights activist
Cause of death / Health: Stomach cancer - “Because you are alive, everything is possible.”
Thich Nhat Hanh
Born: 11 October 1926, Vietnam
Died: 22 January 2022
Main role: Buddhist monk, peace activist, and teacher of mindfulness
Cause of death / Health: Died at age 95 after complications following a stroke; exact cause not fully disclosed - “When they go low, we go high.”
Michelle Obama
Born: 17 January 1964, United States
Alive
Main role: Lawyer, author, and former First Lady of the United States
Cause of death / Health: Alive; no major public illness reported - “Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”
J.K. Rowling
Born: 31 July 1965, United Kingdom
Alive
Main role: Novelist, creator of the Harry Potter series
Cause of death / Health: Alive; no major public illness reported - “A champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall.”
Serena Williams
Born: 26 September 1981, United States
Alive
Main role: Tennis player and entrepreneur
Cause of death / Health: Alive; no major public illness reported - “Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.”
Fred Rogers
Born: 20 March 1928, United States
Died: 27 February 2003
Main role: Television host, educator, and minister
Cause of death / Health: Stomach cancer - “Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.”
Kobe Bryant
Born: 23 August 1978, United States
Died: 26 January 2020
Main role: Basketball player
Cause of death / Health: Accidental trauma in a helicopter crash - “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”
Steve Jobs
Born: 24 February 1955, United States
Died: 5 October 2011
Main role: Entrepreneur and co-founder of Apple Inc.
Cause of death / Health: Complications of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (cancer) - “I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.”
Stephen R. Covey
Born: 24 October 1932, United States
Died: 16 July 2012
Main role: Author and teacher on leadership and habits
Cause of death / Health: Complications from a bicycle accident (head injuries) - “Turn your wounds into wisdom.”
Oprah Winfrey
Born: 29 January 1954, United States
Alive
Main role: Television host, producer, and philanthropist
Cause of death / Health: Alive; no major public illness reported - “Make each day your masterpiece.”
John Wooden
Born: 14 October 1910, United States
Died: 4 June 2010
Main role: Basketball coach and teacher of character
Cause of death / Health: Natural causes related to old age
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 