Famous People Who Died Today

Veteran English actress, Maggie Smith, has an extensive career spanning almost seven decades. One of Britain's most recognizable actresses, she has appeared in more than 60 films and over 70 plays. Making her debut as a stage actress in the 1950s, she quickly moved on to TV and cinema. She has been honored with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival's Legacy Award.

Cliff Burton was an American songwriter and musician. He was part of the famous heavy metal band Metallica as the bassist from 1982 until his death in 1986. He died in a bus crash when Metallica was touring in support of their third studio album. Regarded as one of the greatest bassists of all time, Burton remains an influential musician.

As the founder of Playboy magazine, Hugh Hefner changed the way people viewed nudity. Known for his enviable lifestyle, he resided in luxury mansions along with his Playboy Playmates. Also a well-known philanthropist, Hefner made significant donations to various causes. He also supported freedom of expression and sexual liberation.

French Impressionist artist Edgar Degas is best remembered for his oil paintings and pastel drawings and for his signature use of dancers and bathing women as themes in his works such as Fin d'Arabesque and Woman in a Tub. He had also experimented with bronze sculptures and called himself a realist.

Jimmy Doolittle was an American aviation pioneer and military general. Apart from winning many flying races, Doolittle also helped develop instrument flying. He was the brains behind the Doolittle Raid, the air raid that served as retribution for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II. His work during the raid earned him the prestigious Medal of Honor.

Famous for the age-defying longevity of his American football career, George Blanda set several records before retiring at the age of 48. The quarterback and placekicker who played mainly for Chicago Bears, Houston Oilers and Oakland Raiders teams, retired with 943 extra points from 26 seasons. He scored a record-setting 42 interceptions thrown in a single season in 1962.

Robert Montgomery was an American actor, producer, and director. Renowned for his versatility, Montgomery received two nominations for the prestigious Academy Award under the Best Actor category. Robert Montgomery was awarded a couple of stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the film and TV industries.

Mohammad Najibullah was an Afghan politician. From 1987 to 1992, he served as the president of Afghanistan before resigning in 1992. Throughout his tenure as president and leader of Afghanistan, Najibullah preferred nationalism over socialism, abolished the one-party state, and made Islam an official religion. In 1996, he was publicly hanged by the Taliban after they captured Kabul.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy was an Indian social and religious reformer. He is credited with co-founding the Brahmo Sabha, a social-religious reform movement. Often referred to as the Father of the Bengal Renaissance, Roy has had an influential role in fields like politics, education, and religion. In 2004, he was ranked 10th in BBC's Greatest Bengali of all time poll.

Herbert Lom was a Czech actor best remembered for his versatility as he portrayed suave villains during his younger days and then moved on to playing professional men as he aged. He also proved his comedy skills in The Pink Panther franchise. Lom worked well into his 80s before retiring in 2002. He died 10 years later in his sleep.

Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii was a photographer and chemist of the Russian Empire. Prokudin-Gorskii is remembered for his effort to capture early 20th-century Russia and his groundbreaking work in color photography. From 1909 to 1915, Prokudin-Gorskii traveled across the Russian Empire, documenting several of its aspects. After his death, many of his negatives were taken to the U.S. Library of Congress.

Vincent de Paul was a 17th-century Catholic saint who established the Congregation of the Mission, whose followers are also known as Lazarists, or Vincentians. Known for his charity toward the peasant community and the poor, he also formed associations of women who helped and nursed the sick.

Adelina Patti was an Italian opera singer who achieved immense poularity in the USA and Europe. One of the finest singers of her generation, Patti was also among the highest-paid at the peak of her career. Along with her near contemporaries Thérèse Tietjens and Jenny Lind, Adelina Patti is considered one of the most popular sopranos of all time.

Pulitzer Prize-winning US journalist and author William Safire soared to fame as a New York Times political columnist. He also worked as a speechwriter and penned US vice president Spiro Agnew’s famous phrase “nattering nabobs of negativism.” He also penned a few novels, such as the historical novel Freedom.

S. R. Ranganathan was an Indian librarian and mathematician. Ranganathan is best remembered for developing the colon classification, a system of library classification, which is currently used in research libraries all over the world. In India, he is considered the father of library science, information science, and documentation. His birthday is observed as National Librarian's Day in his home country.

Nobel Prize-winning Austrian psychiatrist Julius Wagner-Jauregg is best known for revolutionizing medical science by partially treating general paresis through artificial induction of malaria. He paved the path for shock therapy and fever therapy to treat mental ailments. He also studied thyroid and ovarian issues. He later became a Nazi sympathizer.

Widely known as the illegitimate son of Napoleon Bonaparte and his Polish noblewoman mistress, Countess Marie Walewska, Alexandre Colonna-Walewski was a French diplomat and politician. Apart from serving as a foreign minister, he is also believed to have collaborated with Alexandre Dumas on an opera.

Apart from launching the fashion brand Chloé, Gaby Aghion had apparently also coined the term prêt-à-porter. Born Gabrielle Hanoka, Gaby went to Paris at 18 and got married at 19. She later built an empire out of her feminine clothes made of soft fabric. She was also awarded the Légion d'Honneur.

William of Wykeham served as the Chancellor of England and Bishop of Winchester. He is credited with establishing New College School and New College, Oxford in 1379. He is also credited with establishing Winchester College in 1382. A reputed builder during the reign of King Edward III, William helped reconstruct Windsor Castle. A rich man, William patronized many schools.

Veteran Turkish actor Tuncel Kurtiz had begun his career with theater and later stepped into movies and television, too. Known for his award-winning roles in films such as Hiuch HaGdi, Şellale, and Yaşamın Kıyısında, he had also ventured into direction and screenwriting. He died of a head injury from an accidental fall.