Veikko Leo Karvonen (January 5, 1926 – August 1, 2007) was a Finnish athlete who mainly competed in the marathon. He won the bronze medal in the marathon at the 1956 Summer Olympics. At the 1954 European Championships he won the gold medal in the marathon and the following year won the Boston Marathon.

Karvonen was born in Sakkola, a small Karelian town that then belonged to Finland but was invaded by the Soviet Union during World War II. Karvonen was evacuated to Saarijärvi, where he started his running career training with Jussi Kurikkala. He ran his first marathon in autumn 1949 in Turku with the promising result of 2:45:07.

Karvonen participated in the 1950 European Championships in Brussels. He finished second in the marathon 32 seconds after the winner Jack Holden. In the Track and Field News annual world ranking he was the second best marathon runner of 1950, after Holden.

In 1951 Karvonen ran three marathons and won each of them. In the Finnish Championship marathon in July his winning time was 2:28:46. In August in the Nordic Championship marathon he ran 2:28:07. In September he won the Enschede Marathon by over six minutes' margin before Tom Richards, Karvonen's winning time was 2:29:02. In 1951 Karvonen was ranked as the best marathon runner in the Track and Field News annual world ranking.

Tuomari Nurmio is the artist name of Hannu Juhani Nurmio (b. 1950 in Helsinki), a Finnish rock singer and songwriter.

Since his debut album, Nurmio has been regarded as one of the most original Finnish singer-songwriters. His lyrics are filled with peculiar and arresting metaphors and expressions, some of which have made their way into the vernacular Finnish language. Especially the first four albums are now seen as classic works.

Musically the first albums draw on the traditions of American country, blues and roots music, combining them with new wave quirkiness and energy. The lyrics have romantic, humorous undertones, with occasional glimpses of the dark side of urban life. In the 1990s Nurmio's sound has moved towards a scratchy, rugged sound somewhat reminiscent of Tom Waits. In the 2000s he has often performed in a duo with a guitar and Markku Hillilä playing drums. One of his recent collaboration is that with the band Alamaailman Vasarat.

In 2011 Nurmio appeared as a guest singer on Finnish metal band Korpiklaani's album Ukon Wacka.

Alain Mimoun (born January 1, 1921) is a retired Frenchrunner and Olympic marathon champion.

Born in El Telagh, then in French Algeria, Mimoun lost several years of competition to World War II. After the war, he was the French champion in the 5000 metres and 10000 metres.

Mimoun's path to an Olympic gold medal was blocked in both 1948 and 1952 by Czech runner Emil Zátopek. Mimoun won silver medals in 10000 metres in 1948 and 1952 as well as another silver medal in 5000 metres in 1952. His second place finishes behind Zátopek gave him the nickname "Zátopek's Shadow." He finally won a gold medal in the marathon at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.

Mimoun made the French team for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. He won his final national championship in 1966, twenty years after his debut.

The athletics stadium in Bugeat, France is named in Mimoun's honor.

Jean Sibelius ( pronunciation (help·info); 8 December 1865 – 20 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period. His music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."

The core of Sibelius's oeuvre is his set of seven symphonies. Like Beethoven, Sibelius used each successive work to further develop his own personal compositional style. His works continue to be performed frequently in the concert hall and are often recorded.

In addition to the symphonies, Sibelius's best-known compositions include Finlandia, the Karelia Suite, Valse triste, the Violin Concerto in D minor and The Swan of Tuonela (one of the four movements of the Lemminkäinen Suite). Other works include pieces inspired by the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala; over 100 songs for voice and piano; incidental music for 13 plays; the opera Jungfrun i tornet (The Maiden in the Tower); chamber music; piano music; Masonic ritual music; and 21 separate publications of choral music.

William Patrick "Billy" Gray (24 May 1927 – 11 April 2011) was an English professional association footballer and manager who played initially as a winger.

On his transfer to Nottingham Forest in 1957 he played in his accustomed position of outside right; in the summer of 1958 Forest signed Roy Dwight, also an outside right, from Fulham, and Gray moved to inside forward. In this position he played in every game of that season's FA Cup winning run, and scored 5 goals, including 3 penalties and one in the 4th round vs Grimsby Town directly from a corner.

In later years at Forest he moved to full back, finally leaving the club in 1963 to become player manager at Millwall.

His death in April 2011 at the age of 83 leaves Jeff Whitefoot as the only survivor from the 1959 Cup-winning team.