Famous People Who Died Today

Georges Pompidou was a French politician whose tenure as prime minister of France between 1962 and 1968 was the longest in the history of France. From 1969 to 1974, Pompidou served as president of France. He is credited with mending France's relationship with the US and maintaining positive relations with many other countries. 

Pope John Paul II was the head of the Catholic Church from 1978 until his death in 2005. He is hailed for helping to end Communist rule in his native Poland and improving the Catholic Church's relations with Islam, Judaism, and the Eastern Orthodox Church. He was a lifelong football fan, having himself played the sport in his youth.

In her short career, American actress Jennifer Syme acted in few films like Lost Highway and also worked as musician DaveNavarro's personal assistant. She briefly dated Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves. The couple broke up after the death of their daughter who was stillborn. Tragically, the actress died at the young age of 28, when her vehicle crashed into a row of parked cars.

Hide (real name: Hideto Matsumoto) began his music career as lead guitarist for the metal group X-Japan. He achieved fame as a musician, singer-songwriter and record producer during the 1990s. His untimely death at just 33 shocked the music fans around the world.

Hasan ibn Ali was the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam. He was born to Muhammad's daughter Fatimah and Ali. Hasan is often referred to as the second Imam by the Shia Muslims. He was known for his kindness, knowledge, bravery, and tolerance.

Franz Halder, the son of an army officer, became the Chief of General Staff of the German army, replacing General Ludwig Beck. He later became the Commander in Chief but was replaced due to disagreements with Hitler. He later testified against major Nazi officials in the Nuremberg War Crimes Trial.

Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau was the son of renowned economist Victor Riqueti. A bout of small pox disfigured his face permanently but that didn’t stop him from rising as a leader of the French Revolution. However, posthumously, he was proved to be a royalist.

The founder of the California-based Crystal Cathedral, Robert H. Schuller had begun preaching at a drive-in theater. Later, his weekly TV ministry Hour of Power became hugely popular. He had also penned books such as Tough Times Never Last but Tough People Do and Your Future is Your Friend.

Spanish director, screenwriter, producer, actor, cinematographer, editor, musician and composer Jesús Franco Manera, considered as a cult director by both critics and public, is most reputed as a director of exploitation and B-movies. His expansive career spanning over five decades saw him writing, directing, producing and acting in around 173 feature films.

Nobel Prize-winning Swedish electrical engineer Hannes Alfvén is best remembered for his research on plasma physics. He practically pioneered the field of magnetohydrodynamics, which deals with plasmas in magnetic fields. He also proposed the concept of plasma cosmology, challenging the big-bang model, and penned works such as Cosmic Plasma.

Best remembered for his Godzilla series of films, among more than 200 other films, which he made with Toho Studios, producer Tanaka Tomoyuki had also produced several films for Akira Kurosawa, including the Academy Award-nominated and Palme d'Or-winning Kagemusha. He was married to Japanese actor Chieko Nakakita.

Taos Amrouche was an Algerian singer and writer. In 1947, she became the first woman from Algeria to publish a novel, when she released her autobiographical novel titled Jacinthe noire. Although she wrote in French, Taos Amrouche sang in Kabyle and her debut album Chants berbères de Kabylie was translated from Kabyle to French by her brother Jean.

One of the most influential Turkish short-story writers of the 20th century, Sabahattin Ali was born in a region of the Ottoman Empire that is now in northern Greece. A journalist and a high-school German teacher, he was imprisoned for libel and later assassinated. His best-known works include Madonna in a Fur Coat.

Spanish baritone singer and actor Josep Lluís Moll, better known by his pseudonym Fortunio Bonanova, started his career as a telephone operator. After debuting as a singer in Wagner’s Tannhäuser, he had a successful Hollywood career with films such as Tropic Holiday and Moon Over Miami.