Dag Hammarskjöld was born in Sweden on July 29 1905. His distinguished career in public service included Swedish financial affairs, Swedish foreign relations, and global international affairs. He was Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1953 to 1961. An excellent diplomat, in 1954-55 he personally negotiated the release of American soldiers captured by the Chinese in the Korean War. During the Suez Canal crisis of 1956, he was instrumental in getting the UN to nullify the use of force by Israel, France, and Great Britain following Egyptian President Nasser's commandeering of the Canal.
Hammarskjöld was on a peacekeeping mission the night he was killed, September 18, 1961. His plane crashed near the border between Katanga and North Rhodesia. It was never established whether his plane was deliberately shot down or the crash was accidental.