Famous People Who Died Today

English-American actor and comedian, Richard Dawson, is best known for playing Corporal Peter Newkirk in the TV series Hogan's Heroes. He grew up during World War II and had a difficult childhood. As a young man, he began his career as a stand-up comedian and started getting acting roles as well. He also gained fame as a game show host.

Italian general, patriot, and republican Giuseppe Garibaldi is remembered for the role he played in the Italian unification and the creation of the Kingdom of Italy. He is considered one of Italy's "fathers of the fatherland." A highly proficient military general, he also led the Expedition of the Thousand on behalf of Victor Emmanuel II. He died in 1882.

Rex Harrison was an English actor who won a couple of Tony Awards and an Academy Award in a career spanning 60 years. For his contribution to the film and TV industry, Harrison was honored with a couple of stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1979, he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

Mel Ferrer is best known for his role in War and Peace, in which he co-starred with his fourth wife, Audrey Hepburn. He had also delivered hits such as Scaramouche and Knights of the Round Table. He also produced and played the titular role in the biopic El Greco.

Bruce McLaren was a New Zealand engineer, inventor, racing car designer, and driver. He is credited with founding McLaren Automotive in 1963. Formula One's successful team, McLaren, is named after him. McLaren has been inducted into various halls of fame, including the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame, Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, and International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Lou Gehrig was an American baseball player. Nicknamed The Iron Horse for his durability and prowess as a hitter, Lou Gehrig played for the New York Yankees of the Major League Baseball (MLB). His life and career inspired the 1942 film The Pride of the Yankees in which he was portrayed by actor Gary Cooper.

Dick Cusack was an American actor, humorist, and filmmaker who won an Emmy Award for making a documentary titled The Committee in 1971. In addition to directing and acting, Cusack also owned a production company that produced many films. Dick Cusack is also credited with inspiring his children—John, Joan, and Ann Cusack—to establish themselves in the American film industry.

Raj Kapoor was an Indian film actor, producer, and director best remembered for his contribution to the Hindi film industry. The recipient of 11 Filmfare Awards and three National Film Awards, Raj Kapoor is regarded as one of the greatest Indian actors of all time. In 1987, he was honored with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest honor in cinema.

Amos Tversky was an Israeli cognitive and mathematical psychologist. He is known for his contribution to the discovery of systematic human cognitive bias. The son of a social worker and politician, he received his doctorate from the University of Michigan before embarking on an academic career. He worked closely with his longtime collaborator, Daniel Kahneman, and wrote several papers together. 

Tom Kibble was a British theoretical physicist who specialized in quantum field theory. He conducted considerable research on topological defects and became the first person to describe the Higgs mechanism. He became concerned about the nuclear arms race in the 1950s and advocated for the scientist's social responsibility. He was posthumously awarded the Isaac Newton Medal.  

American biochemist, analytical chemist, and professor Paul Delos Boyer was the first Utah-born Nobel laureate. His elucidation of enzymatic mechanism underlying synthesis of adenosine triphosphate with John E. Walker led the two to jointly win the 1997 Nobel Prize in Chemistry which they co-received with Jens C. Skou for a separate research of the latter.

Giuseppe Ungaretti was an Italian poet, essayist, journalist, academic, and critic. One of the most important contributors to Italian literature during the 20th century, Ungaretti was honored with the first Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 1970. He is credited with popularizing hermetic poetry, a form of difficult and obscure poetry.

Cinematographer John Alton had begun his career as an MGM lab technician and then became a cameraman at Paramount. Apart from Hollywood, he had also worked on several Spanish movies. He is best remembered for his Academy Award-winning work in An American in Paris and his book Painting with Light.

Former chairman and chief executive of Sony, Nobuyuki Idei also served on the board of companies such as General Motors, Accenture, and Nestlé. He switched Sony’s focus from stand-alone electronic devices to interconnected devices that used the internet or could be connected to mobile phones. He later helmed a management consultancy.

Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry was a Pakistani politician who served as Pakistan's fifth President from 1973 to 1978. He also played a key role in spreading the ideas of the Muslim League, before the partition of India,  in the 1940s.

Known for constructions such as the Severn Tunnel and the Charing Cross and Cannon Street railways, John Hawkshaw was initially employed with the Manchester and Leeds Railway. His work was spread across Egypt, India, and the Netherlands. He was eventually knighted and made a fellow of the Royal Society.

Best known for his paintings on folding screens, ceramic figures, writing boxes, and fans, Ogata Kōrin rejuvenated the Rinpa school of Japanese art. Apart from painting, he also specialized in textile designing and lacquerwork. Though born to a wealthy calligrapher, he later lost his riches due to his extravagance.