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Fame and fortune

Stars, poets, heiresses, lottery winners and the very rich, and the fights over their money, names, likeness and remains.

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What do the fame and fortune estate cases show?

A dead star's image is protected only where an heir registers it and sues; elsewhere others register it first. When the heirs of an intestate estate hold it through a family corporation, a board majority can vote to sell heirlooms over another heir's objection.

Stories
70
Years
649 to 2023
Main regions
North America, Europe, East Asia
Legal traditions
Common law, Civil law
Updated
30 October 2026

Every case in fame and fortune, best-known first

Best-known first: cases from 1900 on, then the United States, then Europe, and the people most read about on English Wikipedia each month. Fiction, scripture and legend come last.

Bruce Lee as Chen Zhen (4x5 cropped): Bruce Lee as Chen Zhen National General Pictures publicity photo distributed for The Chinese Connection1973 · Hong Kong; buried in Seattle, Washington, USAA Chinese fast-food chain used a Bruce Lee figure as its logo for 15 years, and his daughter sued for 210 million yuanBruce Lee died in Hong Kong on 20 July 1973, aged 32, of brain swelling. He is buried at Lake View Cemetery in Seattle.gulfnews.com and 3 moreMartin Luther King Jr.: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Lyndon Johnson (cropped)1968 · Memphis, Tennessee, USAMartin Luther King Jr.'s estate sued his daughter in 2014 to take his Nobel medal and Bible for sale, and a judge locked both in a bank boxMartin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on 4 April 1968. He left no will, and his estate passed to his widow, Coretta Scott King, and their 4 children.law.resource.org and 12 moreHoward Hughes: Howard Hughes 19381976 · On a flight to Houston, Texas, USAHoward Hughes left no valid will, a jury found the Mormon will naming Melvin Dummar a forgery, and Texas and California fought over his death taxesHoward Hughes, the aviator, film producer and owner of Las Vegas casinos, died on 5 April 1976 aboard a plane from Acapulco to Houston. He was 70.Cornell Law School, LII and 11 moreAnna Nicole Smith: Anna Nicole Smith2007 · Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida, UAnna Nicole Smith's body went to her 5-month-old daughter's guardian after a Florida judge wept through the ruling, and DNA named the girl's fatherAnna Nicole Smith gave birth to a daughter, Dannielynn, in the Bahamas on 7 September 2006. Three days later her son Daniel, 20, died in her hospital room. The Bahamian birth certificate named her lawyer and companion Howard K.cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov and 7 morePhil Hartman: Phil Hartman in character as Chick Hazard, Private Eye, circa 1978.1998 · Encino, CaliforniaPhil Hartman was shot dead by his wife in 1998; their wills left $1.23 million to two children, and a 1999 suit blamed ZoloftBrynn Hartman shot her sleeping husband three times at about 2:30 a.m. on 28 May 1998. About four hours later, with police in the house, she killed herself. Their children, Sean, nearly 10, and Birgen, 6, were in the home.spokesman.com and 2 moreRosa Parks: Rosa Parks, November 1956 (cropped)2005 · Detroit, Michigan, USARosa Parks left almost all her estate to her institute, her 13 nieces and nephews contested the will, and a 2007 settlement gave them 20 percentRosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955 for refusing to give up her bus seat. In 1999 she sued OutKast and its record labels over the 1998 song "Rosa Parks".law.resource.org and 10 moreJohnny Carson: Johnny Carson Tonight Show 19652005 · Los Angeles, CaliforniaJohnny Carson's trust gave his foundation $156 million after his death, and no public accounting of his estate has appearedJohnny Carson died of emphysema in January 2005 at 79. He kept his giving private. His charity, the John W. Carson Foundation, had received about $1 million to $2 million a year from the John W. Carson Trust.thesmokinggun.com and 3 moreLenny Bruce: Lenny Bruce 19611966 · Hollywood Hills, Los AngelesLenny Bruce died broke in 1966 with an appeal pending, and New York pardoned him in 2003On 4 November 1964 a New York court found Lenny Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon guilty of obscenity. On 21 December 1964 he was sentenced to four months in a workhouse and freed on bail pending appeal.Internet Archive and 4 morePanorama of United States Supreme Court Building at Dusk: Panorama of the west facade of United States Supreme Court Building at dusk in Washington, D.C., United States of America.1995 · Houston, Texas, USAJ. Howard Marshall II's widow Anna Nicole Smith won $474 million in a bankruptcy court, and after two Supreme Court cases her estate got nothingThe Texas oil businessman J. Howard Marshall II married Vickie Lynn Marshall, known as Anna Nicole Smith, on 27 June 1994, when he was 89 and she was 26. He died in Houston on 4 August 1995, aged 90.Cornell Law School, LII and 8 moreGloria Morgan-Vanderbilt with daughter: Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt with her daughter Gloria Vanderbilt1925 · Manhattan, New York, USAA judge took 10-year-old Gloria Vanderbilt from her mother and gave her and her trust to her auntReginald Vanderbilt inherited $7.5 million, and creditors and taxes consumed most of it. He died in 1925, when his daughter Gloria was 18 months old. She and her half-sister shared a $5 million trust run by Surrogate James Foley.encyclopedia.com and 3 moreDoris Duke: Doris Duke 1951 (cropped)1993 · Falcon Lair, Beverly HillsDoris Duke left $1.2 billion with her butler as executor, and a court-appointed lawyer said her doctor hastened her deathDoris Duke was the heiress to a tobacco and power fortune. On 7 October 1966, at her Newport estate, Rough Point, she was driving the car that killed her friend Eduardo Tirella at the gate.Cornell Law School, LII and 3 moreLeona Helmsley: Leona Helmsley cropped mug2007 · Dunnellen Hall, Greenwich, Connecticut, USALeona Helmsley left $12 million in trust for her dog Trouble and nothing to 2 grandchildren, and a judge cut the dog's trust to $2 millionLeona Helmsley, a hotel operator and real estate investor, was convicted of federal income tax evasion in 1989. She died of congestive heart failure on 20 August 2007 at Dunnellen Hall, her home in Greenwich, Connecticut, aged 87.NBC News and 14 moreBuffalo Bill: Portrait of William F. Cody (aka) "Buffalo Bill"1917 · Denver, ColoradoBuffalo Bill's 1913 will gave everything to Louisa; Denver newspaper owners held his $20,000 debt, and Wyoming has claimed his body since 1917William F. Cody's 1906 will asked for burial on Cedar Mountain, above the town of Cody, Wyoming, which he founded. He changed the will in 1913 after reconciling with his wife Louisa, and she inherited everything.cowboystatedaily.com and 2 moreJosephine Baker: Baker Harcourt 1940 21975 · Paris; Château des Milandes, Dordogne, FranceJosephine Baker barricaded herself in the kitchen of her château when it was sold for her debts, and was carried out to the stepsJosephine Baker fell in love with the Château des Milandes in the Dordogne in the 1930s. She married the bandleader Jo Bouillon in its chapel in 1947.culture.gouv.fr and 3 moreMartha Graham: Martha Graham 19481991 · New York CityMartha Graham left her dances to Ron Protas in 1991, and federal courts ruled from 2002 to 2006 that her own center owned themMartha Graham died in 1991 aged 96. Her sole heir was Ronald Protas, her close friend, who had become artistic director of her Center.FindLaw Caselaw and 3 moreBenny Hill: Benny Hill. Waxwork of Benny Hill in character as Fred Scuttle on The Benny Hill Show.1992 · Teddington, LondonBenny Hill left an estate of 7,548,192 pounds to seven nieces and nephews, and his grave was broken into in 1992 over a rumour of buried goldBenny Hill died on 18 April 1992, aged 68, in an armchair in his Teddington flat. He was found two days later.probatesearch.service.gov.uk and 3 moreMartha Raye: Martha Raye 1951 press photo1994 · Los Angeles, CaliforniaMartha Raye married a man 33 years younger and left him her $2 million estate, after her daughter sued for conservatorshipMartha Raye died of pneumonia at Cedars-Sinai on 19 October 1994, aged 78. She had had Alzheimer's disease, a 1990 stroke and liver disease. Her left leg was amputated in October 1993 and her right in February 1994.americanhistory.si.edu and 3 moreGeorge Balanchine: George Balanchine (1965)1983 · New York CityBalanchine's 1983 will split the rights to about 100 ballets among a handful of friends, and the heirs formed a TrustGeorge Balanchine died on 30 April 1983, aged 79, of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. His longtime assistant Barbara Horgan had urged him to write a will so that rights to his ballets would not pass to a brother in the Soviet Union.easthamptonstar.com and 3 moreMata Hari: MataHari151917 · Vincennes, near ParisMata Hari's body went unclaimed after her 1917 execution, and the embalmed head kept in a Paris anatomy museum was found missing in 2000Margaretha Zelle, known as Mata Hari, was convicted of treason by a French military court and shot by firing squad on 15 October 1917. No relative claimed her body, so it was handed over for medical study.library.georgetown.edu and 3 moreAga Khan III: Aga Khan III (5399571310)1957 · Versoix, near Geneva, SwitzerlandThe Aga Khan's will passed over his son Aly Khan and made his 20-year-old grandson imamAga Khan III led the Nizari Ismaili Muslims for 72 years and died at Versoix on 11 July 1957.theeastafrican.co.ke and 6 moreRudolf Nureyev: Nureyev 9 Allan Warren1993 · Levallois-Perret, FranceRudolf Nureyev left most of his estate to two foundations; a sister and niece contested the will, and a federal judge ruled for the foundation in 1998Rudolf Nureyev died of AIDS-related illness at 54. He founded the Ballet Promotion Foundation in 1975 and left most of his estate to foundations.Deseret News and 3 moreMay 27, 1936 10-10 A.M. VIEW FROM SOUTHEAST. - Belair, Tulip Grove Drive, Belair-at-Bowie, Bowie, Prince George's County: Ogle, Samuel; Tasker, Benjamin; Tasker, Benjamin; Franklin1955 · Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York, USAAnn Woodward shot her husband, the owner of Nashua, a grand jury cleared her in 30 minutes, and both her sons later killed themselvesWilliam Woodward Jr. inherited Belair, the Maryland estate and stud farm, and the racehorse Nashua when his father died in 1953. He asked his wife, Ann, for a divorce in 1947, and she refused.biography.com and 2 moreBrooke Astor: Brooke Astor (1980)2007 · Holly Hill, Briarcliff Manor, New YorkBrooke Astor's son was convicted of looting her estate while she had Alzheimer'sBrooke Astor was the widow of Vincent Astor and a leading New York philanthropist. She had Alzheimer's disease in her last years. Her 2002 will left most of her estate to charity.NBC News and 2 moreHuguette Clark: Huguette Clark (crop)2011 · Manhattan, New York City, New York, USAHuguette Clark's second will cut out her relatives and left her nurse about $30 million, and the relatives settled for $34.5 millionHuguette Clark, a painter, was the youngest daughter of William A. Clark, a Montana senator whose fortune came from copper mining.NBC News and 5 moreEAST (FRONT) ELEVATION - Henry M. Flagler Mansion, Whitehall Way, Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, FL: EAST (FRONT) ELEVATION - Henry M. Flagler Mansion, Whitehall Way, Palm Beach, P1917 · Louisville, Kentucky, USAHenry Flagler's widow left $5 million to her new husband in a codicil signed eight days before she died, and her family dug up her bodyMary Lily Kenan married Henry Flagler, co-founder of Standard Oil, on 24 August 1901. He died in 1913 and left most of his wealth to her. In late 1916 she married Robert Worth Bingham, a Louisville judge.ebsco.com and 2 moreP. T. Barnum: P. T. Barnum - 02176a (cropped)1891 · Bridgeport, ConnecticutP.T. Barnum's will paid a grandson to take the Barnum name; sources give the sum as $25,000 or a share of the estateP.T. Barnum died at home in Bridgeport on 7 April 1891, aged 80. His first wife Charity died in 1873 and he married Nancy Fish in 1874. He had no sons.collections.ctdigitalarchive.org and 4 moreHarry Kendall Thaw on trial - sketch: Harry Kendall Thaw watching the faces of the men in the jury box1947 · Miami Beach, Florida, USAHarry Thaw's mother spent the family fortune to free him after he shot Stanford White, and his will left Evelyn Nesbit $10,000Harry Kendall Thaw was heir to his father William Thaw's coal and railroad fortune. The father limited his allowance; after the father died, his mother raised it.encyclopedia.com and 4 moreIsabella Blow: 2005 Stuckist Turner demo (1) Ausschnitt Isabella Blow2007 · Gloucestershire, UKIsabella Blow's father left her £5,000, and after her death her estate put her McQueen wardrobe up for auctionIsabella Blow was born a Delves Broughton. Her grandfather, Sir Jock Delves Broughton, sold most of the family's estate, held for about 600 years, to pay gambling debts.timeout.com and 3 moreHetty Green: Hetty Green, half-length portrait, seated1936 · Lake Placid, New York, USAFour states and the United States claimed $37.7 million in death taxes from Hetty Green's son's $36 million estateWhen Hetty Green died in 1916, her son Edward H. R. "Ned" Green and her daughter Sylvia each inherited half of a fortune estimated at $100 million to $200 million. Hetty had opposed his companion Mabel Harlow, a former prostitute.Cornell Law School, LII and 3 moreAlfred S. Bloomingdale: Alfred Bloomingdale1982 · Los Angeles, California, USAAlfred Bloomingdale's mistress sued his dying body for palimony, was beaten to death a year later, and her estate won $200,000Alfred Bloomingdale, a co-founder of Diners Club, met Vicki Morgan in August 1969, when she was 17 and he was 53. He made her his mistress, paid her husband to end their marriage and kept her in an apartment.UPI and 3 moreBryan Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne: Bryan Guinness in Taormina, Italy, 19291966 · Redcliffe Gardens, South Kensington, London, EnglandGuinness heir Tara Browne died at 21 before his £1 million inheritance, and his mother won custody of his sonsTara Browne was the son of Oonagh Guinness and Dominick Browne, 4th Baron Oranmore and Browne. He was due to receive £1 million at 25 and in the meantime had an allowance of £720 a month.au.rollingstone.com and 2 moreEvalyn Walsh McLean: Evalyn Walsh McLean cph.3b188351947 · Washington, D.C., USAEvalyn Walsh McLean wore the Hope Diamond through a son's death, a husband's insanity and the Lindbergh hoax, and her estate sold itEvalyn Walsh was the daughter of Thomas Walsh, a miner who struck gold. In 1908 she married Ned McLean, heir to the Washington Post and Cincinnati Enquirer fortune.the-cartiers.com and 2 moreAI illustration: The Manhattan Surrogate's Court building on Chambers Street, 19861983 · Fort Pierce, FloridaA Johnson & Johnson heir left $400 million to the maid he married, and his six children suedJ. Seward Johnson I was an heir to Johnson & Johnson. In 1971, aged 76, he married Barbara "Basia" Piasecka, 34, a Polish immigrant he had hired as a cook, who then became chambermaid and then his art curator.UPI and 3 moreSushant Singh Rajput: Manish Malhotra’s 50th birthday bash2020 · Mumbai, IndiaA Delhi court ruled that Sushant Singh Rajput's publicity rights died with him, so his father could not stop a film about his deathThe actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead at his flat in Bandra, Mumbai, in June 2020.LiveLaw and 2 moreColuche: Press conference with French humorist Coluche about the Restos du Coeur in Strasbourg on 20 February 19861986 · Opio, Alpes-Maritimes, FranceColuche left 6.1 million francs of debt in 1986, his ex-wife refused the estate, and his sons spent 28 years suing over his sketchesMichel Colucci, known as Coluche, died at 41 on 19 June 1986 when his Honda motorcycle hit a truck on the road near Opio. A 2006 book alleges he was murdered, and the official finding was an accident.lefigaro.fr and 3 moreMargot Fonteyn: Margot Fonteyn - 1960s1991 · Panama CityMargot Fonteyn died in Panama in 1991 after her savings went to her paralysed husband's care, and a 1990 gala raised 250,000 pounds for herIn June 1964, while Margot Fonteyn danced with Rudolf Nureyev in Bath, her husband Roberto Arias was shot four times by a rival Panamanian politician, Alfredo Jimenez, and left a quadriplegic.The Seattle Times and 3 moreHurricane West Virginia: Main Street in w:Hurricane, West Virginia.2020 · Hurricane, Putnam County, West Virginia, USA (where the tickJack Whittaker won a $314.9 million Powerball jackpot, and his granddaughter and daughter were found dead within seven yearsJack Whittaker owned a contracting business and was already worth about $17 million when he bought a Powerball ticket at C&L SuperServe in Hurricane, West Virginia.wvencyclopedia.org and 2 moreMap of Illinois, marked on the globe2012 · Chicago, Illinois, USAA Chicago man died of cyanide the day after his $1 million lottery check was issued, and his widow and siblings fought over the estateUrooj Khan, 46, owned dry-cleaning businesses in Chicago. In June 2012 he won $1 million on a scratch-off ticket bought at a 7-Eleven. He took a lump sum; the state's check after tax was $424,449.NBC News and 2 moreFrostproof-welcome: Frostproof Florida welcome sign2009 · Plant City, Florida, USAA woman took over a $30 million lottery winner's money, and police found him buried under a concrete slabA Florida Lotto ticket sold at a Town Star store in Frostproof on 15 November 2006 won a $30 million jackpot. Abraham Shakespeare took a lump sum of $17 million.NBC News and 2 moreClaus von Bülow: Claus von Bülow on After Dark on 13 September 19972008 · Newport, Rhode Island, and New York, New York, USAClaus von Bülow was acquitted of trying to kill his wife, then gave up her fortune to settle her children's $56 million suitMartha "Sunny" von Bülow had two children, Annie Laurie and Alexander von Auersperg, by her first husband, Prince Alfred von Auersperg, and a daughter, Cosima, by her second, Claus von Bülow.UPI and 2 moreJoão Gilberto: Brazilian singer João Gilberto2019 · Rio de Janeiro, BrazilJoão Gilberto's daughter had him declared incapable while he faced eviction, and his heirs won R$150 million from his record label after he diedIn 1997 the singer João Gilberto sued his record label, EMI, for reissuing his early albums on CD without his consent and for unpaid royalties.rollingstone.com.br and 3 moreJumbo: Jumbo and his keeper Matthew Scott1885 · St. Thomas, OntarioJumbo the elephant was killed by a train in 1885; his skeleton, hide, heart and ashes went to four different ownersIn 1882 the London Zoo's superintendent, Abraham Bartlett, sold Jumbo to P.T. Barnum for 2,000 pounds (US$10,000). A lawsuit claimed the sale broke zoo bylaws, the zoo tried to back out, and the court upheld the sale.tufts.edu and 3 moreMax Linder: Max Linder - Feb 1922 Photoplay1925 · ParisMax Linder and his wife died in a Paris hotel in 1925, a letter said "He will kill me," and his brother won custody of his daughter and her fortuneMax Linder married Helene "Ninette" Peters on 2 August 1923. She was 17, and he was arrested in Nice for kidnapping a minor. In 1924 the two were found unconscious in a Vienna hotel, explained as an accidental overdose.The New York Times and 3 moreReynolda House south facade 1919: Thomas Warren Sears photonegative of the south face of the Reynolda House in 1919, showing the official entrance and porte-cochere.1932 · Reynolda, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USAA tobacco heir was shot at Reynolda, his pregnant widow was indicted for murder, and their son was paid $6.25 millionZachary Smith Reynolds was the youngest child of R. J. and Katharine Reynolds.dncr.nc.gov and 4 moreLillian Leitzel: Lillian Leitzel (1931)1931 · Copenhagen, Denmark; Long Beach, CaliforniaLillian Leitzel fell to her death in 1931, and her widower Alfredo Codona shot his third wife and himself in 1937 during a property splitLillian Leitzel, a Ringling Bros. aerialist, fell on 13 February 1931 at the Valencia Music Hall in Copenhagen when the swivel holding her rope broke. She died two days later, aged 39.circusringoffame.org and 3 moreHarry Houdini: Harry Houdini1926 · Detroit, MichiganHoudini's great-nephew and two authors announced a 2007 plan to exhume his body to test for poisonHarry Houdini died at 52 on 31 October 1926. The accepted account is that a punch to the stomach in Montreal on 22 October ruptured his appendix, causing peritonitis. No autopsy was performed.wildabouthoudini.com and 2 moreTaiMeiTuk LungMeiVillage Sign: 龍尾村路牌2023 · Lung Mei village, Tai Po, Hong Kong, ChinaAbby Choi's former husband and his father and brother are on trial for her murder over a flat she had put in her father-in-law's nameAbby Choi was a 28-year-old Hong Kong model and influencer. She had two children with her former husband, Alex Kwong. Prosecutors say she was wealthy and the Kwong family was not.thestar.com.my and 2 moreInternational Maritime Organization London: Headquarters of the International Maritime Organization in London, United Kingdom.2016 · Zurich, SwitzerlandA Saudi billionaire took a diplomatic post to defeat his ex-wife's claim, lost, and died nine days before he had to pay £53 millionWalid Juffali was chairman and heir of E. A. Juffali and Brothers. He was married for 12 years to the model Christina Estrada, and they had a daughter.archive.news.stv.tv and 3 moreBeau Brummell: BrummellEngrvFrmMiniature1840 · Caen, FranceBeau Brummell spent his inheritance on clothes and cards, fled London by night, and died in a paupers' asylum in CaenGeorge Bryan Brummell was born on Downing Street on 7 June 1778, the son of Lord North's private secretary. His father's estate, about £60,000, was shared equally among three children and held in trust until they came of age.english-heritage.org.uk and 2 moreHuntington Hartford: Huntington Hartford2008 · Lyford Cay, BahamasHuntington Hartford had $90 million at 12, lost about $30 million on Paradise Island, and was found in a Brooklyn rental at 90Huntington Hartford was heir to the A&P supermarket fortune. When his grandfather died in 1917, he began receiving about $1.5 million a year, and by 12 he had about $90 million. In 1940 he put $100,000 into the newspaper PM.washingtonexaminer.com and 1 moreIsaac Singer: Isaac Merrit Singertitle QS:P1476,en:"Isaac Merrit Singer"label QS:Len,"Isaac Merrit Singer"1875 · Oldway, Paignton, Devon, EnglandIsaac Singer left a sewing-machine fortune to children by five women, and a former partner claimed to be his widowIsaac Merritt Singer made his fortune improving the sewing machine and selling it on instalments. He had children by at least five women. He had two with his wife, Catharine Haley, whom he divorced in 1860.torbay.gov.uk and 3 moreMap of South Korea, marked on the globe2008 · Seoul; grave at Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, South KoreaChoi Jin-sil's ex-husband regained rights over her children the day she died, and a fan stole her ashes from her graveThe actress Choi Jin-sil divorced the baseball player Cho Sung-min in 2004. He signed a contract giving up custody and the right to manage his two children's property in exchange for Choi paying off his debts.The Korea Times and 6 moreJulia Pastrana: Julia Pastrana1860 · MoscowJulia Pastrana's husband sold her embalmed body after she died in 1860, and it was exhibited, stolen and stored in Oslo until Mexico buried it in 2013Julia Pastrana, born in Sinaloa, Mexico, toured Europe and America with her husband and manager Theodore Lent, whom she married in Baltimore on 10 November 1855.publicdomainreview.org and 3 moreHetty Green cph: Hetty Green, half-length portrait, seated1865 · Massachusetts, USAHetty Robinson produced a will page giving her all of her aunt's $2 million, and a Harvard mathematician testified the signature was tracedHetty Robinson was the niece and sole heir-at-law of Sylvia Ann Howland. Howland died on 2 July 1865 with an estate of about $2 million.Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School and 3 moreKim Kwang-seok: Kim Kwang-seok performing live in 19921996 · Seoul, South KoreaKim Kwang-seok's daughter, heir to his song copyrights, died in 2007, and her mother told no one for ten yearsThe folk singer Kim Kwang-seok died at his Seoul home in 1996, aged 32. Police concluded suicide. Friends said he had asked for a divorce the day before.The Korea Times and 3 moreMap of Nigeria, marked on the globe2023 · Lagos, NigeriaMohbad's father has kept the singer unburied for nearly three years until a court-ordered DNA test shows whether his grandson is his son's childThe singer Ilerioluwa Aloba, known as Mohbad, died on 12 September 2023 and was buried the next day. Police later exhumed the body.radionigerialagos.gov.ng and 3 moreNizamViiMukarram: Nizam VII of Hyderabad with his grandson Mukarram Jah c.19342023 · Istanbul, TurkeyThe last Nizam of Hyderabad inherited one of the world's largest fortunes and died in Turkey after losing most of itMukarram Jah was born in France in 1933 to Azam Jah, heir of the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad, and Princess Durru Shehvar, daughter of the last Ottoman caliph.thenewsminute.com and 4 moreMap of India, marked on the globe2016 · Chennai, Tamil Nadu, IndiaJayalalithaa left no will; a court gave her house to her niece and nephew, and the state took 21 kilos of her goldJ. Jayalalithaa, a former film actress, was Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. She died in December 2016, unmarried and without children. On 27 May 2020 the Madras High Court declared her niece J. Deepa and nephew J.LiveLaw and 4 moreFairuz: Fairuz 19712009 · Beirut, LebanonFairuz's nephews blocked her from staging her late husband's musical without their approval, and a Beirut court stopped her performing his brother's workThe brothers Assi and Mansour Rahbani wrote the songs and musicals that Fairuz sang. Fairuz married Assi. Assi died in 1986. Mansour died in January 2009.news.wjct.org and 3 moreRikidōzan: Rikidōzan1963 · Tokyo, JapanRikidōzan hid that he was Korean, died of a yakuza stab wound, and left his 22-year-old widow president of five companies and a reported 3 billion yen of debtRikidōzan was born Kim Sin-rak in 1924 in South Hamgyong, now in North Korea. He entered sumo in Japan in 1940, took a Japanese name and kept his Korean birth secret.Korea JoongAng Daily and 3 moreSolomon-linda: Solomon Linda in 1941 (color corrected version)1962 · Johannesburg, South AfricaSolomon Linda sold "Mbube" for 10 shillings, and his daughters seized Disney's South African trademarks to win a share of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"In 1939 Solomon Linda, a Zulu migrant worker, recorded "Mbube" in Johannesburg's first recording studio. He assigned his worldwide copyright to Gallo Record Company for 10 shillings.wipo.int and 4 moreFrédéric Chopin: Frederic Chopin photo1849 · Paris, France; heart at Holy Cross Church, Warsaw, PolandChopin's sister smuggled his heart into Warsaw, an SS officer took it in 1944, and scientists examined it in 2014 without opening the jarFrédéric Chopin died in Paris in 1849. He feared being buried alive and wrote that since "this cough will choke me", he wanted his body opened. He asked that his heart be taken to Poland.Smithsonian Magazine and 1 moreWilliam Beckford: William Beckford1770 · Fonthill, Wiltshire, EnglandWilliam Beckford inherited a Jamaican sugar fortune at 10, built Fonthill Abbey, and sold it before its tower fellWilliam Thomas Beckford's family fortune came from three generations of sugar planters in Jamaica. His father, William Beckford, bought Fonthill in Wiltshire in 1744 or 1745 for £32,000.lbs.ucl.ac.uk and 3 moreArqua panorama: Panorama della zona alta dell'abitato di Arquà Petrarca da Monte Castello1374 · Arquà Petrarca, Padua, ItalyVenice gave Petrarch a house for his library, the library went to his enemies' heirs and then to France, and the skull in his tomb is a woman'sIn 1362 Petrarch offered his books to Venice. The Republic gave him a house on the Riva degli Schiavoni on condition that his works stay in Venice after his death. He left Venice and never sent the books.bnf.fr and 4 moreJapanese: 『市川團十郎（初代）の竹抜き五郎』Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjūrō I in the role of Takenuki Gorō (Soga no Gorō).title QS:P1476,ja: This is likely one of the most famous early Torii school i1704 · Ichimura-za theatre, Edo (Tokyo), JapanDanjūrō I was stabbed to death in his dressing room by a rival actor, and his 15-year-old son took the name that is now in its 13th generationIchikawa Danjūrō I was born in Edo in 1660 and founded the aragoto acting style of kabuki in 1673.kabuki21.com and 3 moreMap of Japan, marked on the globe1443 · Kyoto and Sado Island, JapanZeami lost his son and the leadership of his Noh troupe to the shogun's favourite, and was exiled to Sado at about 72Zeami performed before the shogun Yoshimitsu at 11 and won his patronage. He led the Kanze troupe after his father Kannami died, wrote many new plays, and wrote treatises on acting for his successors.the-noh.com and 2 moreLi Qingzhao: 李清照塑像1129 · Jiankang (Nanjing) and Hangzhou, ChinaLi Qingzhao lost her late husband's collection to war and thieves, then reported her second husband to the courts and went to jail for itThe poet Li Qingzhao and her husband Zhao Mingcheng built a collection of bronzes, books, paintings and inscriptions. When the Jurchen took the north, they fled south with 15 carts of books.zh.wikisource.org and 3 moreWang Xizhi: Portraits of Famous Men: Wang Xizhi649 · Zhaoling, Liquan County, Shaanxi, ChinaA Tang emperor sent an agent in disguise to take Wang Xizhi's Orchid Pavilion Preface from an old monk, and took it into his tombIn 353 Wang Xizhi wrote the preface to a poetry gathering at the Orchid Pavilion near modern Shaoxing.zh.wikisource.org and 2 moreMahmud I: 24th Sultan and 103rd Calip of Islam, Mahmud I (1696–1754).Legend · 1020 · Tus, Khorasan, IranTradition says Sultan Mahmud's gold for the Shahnameh reached Ferdowsi's town as his coffin left it, and his daughter refused itFerdowsi spent about 30 years writing the Shahnameh, the Persian national epic. The fullest account of his payment comes from Nizami Aruzi, who visited his tomb about a century later and recorded what was told at Tus.jls.um.ac.ir and 2 moreKabir: Kabir004Legend · 1518 · Maghar, Sant Kabir Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, IndiaTradition says Hindus and Muslims fought over Kabir's body and found only flowers under the sheetKabir was a poet. The district administration of Sant Kabir Nagar says he was loved equally by Muslims and Hindus.sknagar.nic.in and 2 more