Famous People Who Died Today

Regarded as the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud was a neurologist. Despite suffering criticism, psychoanalysis remains influential in the fields of psychology and psychiatry; such is the influence Freud has on humanities. Scholars believe that Freud is one of the most influential personalities of the 20th century and that his impact is comparable to that of Marxism and Darwinism.

Chilean poet-diplomat and politician, Pablo Neruda, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. He was a versatile writer and his works include surrealist poems, historical epics, political manifestos, and love poems. He is considered the national poet of Chile. As a politician, he served a term as a senator for the Chilean Communist Party and held several diplomatic positions.

Italian opera composer Vincenzo Bellini was encouraged to study music by his organist father. Best known for his operas such as The Sleepwalker and Norma, Bellini was named the Swan of Catania. His letters to his friend Francesco Florimo reveal Bellini was known for his womanizing ways, too.

Nobel Prize-winning Chinese physicist Charles K. Kao is best remembered for his discovery of how light is transmitted through fibre-optic cables. Named the Godfather of Broadband, he was also knighted by the U.K. Following his diagnosis of Alzheimer disease, he co-founded the Charles K. Kao Foundation for Alzheimer’s Disease.

Canadian-American frontiersman, hardware store owner, sheriff, U.S. Marshal, horse breeder and hotel owner Seth Bullock is best known for building the Bullock Hotel, the oldest hotel in Deadwood. Bullock was appointed the first sheriff of the then lawless Dakota where he eventually emerged as a prominent figure civilizing the rowdy camp without killing anyone.

South African boxer Corrie Sanders, nicknamed The Sniper, was a heavyweight champion and was motivated to take up boxing by his uncle. He made headlines when he was shot in the stomach and killed in an armed robbery at a restaurant in Brits, while celebrating his nephew's 21st birthday.

John Wesley Powell was a geologist and explorer of the American West. He undertook a series of adventures as a young man and later joined the military. He is best known for the three-month-long geographic expedition he undertook down the Green and Colorado rivers. He was made the director of the U.S. Geological Survey in 1881.  

C. W. W. Kannangara was a Sri Lankan politician and lawyer. He played an important role in the Sri Lankan independence movement, a peaceful political movement aimed at achieving freedom from the British Empire. As a lawyer, C. W. W. Kannangara defended many political prisoners during the Riots of 1915 and later served as the President of Ceylon National Congress.

Born Francesco Forgione, Pio of Pietrelcina changed his name after joining the Capuchin order at age 15. He later became famous for exhibiting stigmata, marks on his body symbolizing the wounds of Jesus. He is revered as the patron saint of adolescents and civil defense volunteers.

John Bradfield was an Australian engineer remembered for envisioning the Sydney Harbour Bridge; he oversaw the design and the construction of the bridge, which is now considered a major landmark in Sydney. He was also associated with many other notable projects, such as the Cataract Dam, Brisbane's Story Bridge, and Burrinjuck Dam. He received many prestigious awards during his lifetime.

Pope Linus served as the bishop of Rome from 67 AD until his death in 76 AD. Pope Linus finds a mention in the New Testament along with other popes like Saint Peter and Clement of Rome. Canada's Saint-Lin–Laurentides is named in his honor.

French astronomer Urbain Le Verrier revolutionized celestial mechanics by ascertaining the existence of Neptune by mathematical means. Apart from winning the Royal Society of London’s Copley Medal, he had also led the Observatory of Paris as its director. His name remains one of the 72 engraved on the Eiffel Tower.

Ayodele Awojobi was a Nigerian academic, inventor, author, activist, and social crusader. Regarded as a scholarly genius by his peers and teachers alike, Awojobi became the first African to earn a degree of Doctor of Science at the Imperial College London. His research papers in the field of vibration are often referred to and studied by researchers around the world.

The daughter of actor and soprano Joaquina Sitches and tenor Manuel García, Spanish mezzo-soprano Maria Malibran was 8 when she debuted on stage with her father. She gained immense fame as Rosina in The Barber of Seville. She died after falling from a horse soon after marriage to violinist Charles de Bériot.

Sonja Savic was a Serbian actress best remembered for her husky voice and impressive performances in Yugoslav films of the 1980s. Savić was also an outspoken critic of the government and the direction her country was heading in terms of political and cultural values. Sonja Savić was reported to have died of drug overdose in 2008 at age 47.

Irish scholar Adomnán not just served as the abbot the Iona Abbey but also penned Life of Columba, a biography of Saint Columba, which serves as an important source of information about early-medieval Scotland. He also laid down the Law of Adamnan, improving the condition of women, children, and clerics.

Friedrich Wöhler was a German chemist best remembered for his contribution to the field of inorganic chemistry. He was the first person to isolate the chemical elements yttrium and beryllium in pure metallic form. Friedrich Wöhler was also the first person to prepare many inorganic compounds such as silicon nitride and silane.

Prosper Mérimée was a French writer and one of the pioneers of narrative prose, which came to be known as a novella. A multi-talented personality, Mérimée was also a historian and archaeologist; he played a key role in the development of the process of architectural preservation. He was responsible for safeguarding several historic sites, such as the Cité de Carcassonne. 

José Gervasio Artigas was a Uruguayan military general, political leader, and statesman. Considered a national hero in Uruguay, Artigas played a major role in the Latin American wars of independence against the Hispanic Monarchy. Apart from monuments and statues that have been erected in his honor, several public places have also been named after José Gervasio Artigas.

Best known for works such as The Savage God, which spoke about suicide, and the psychological thriller Day of Atonement, Al Alvarez was educated at Oxford and later became the youngest Christian Gauss lecturer at Princeton. His poems and other works carried themes of love and loss.

The man who penned the first published study of pathology in English, Matthew Baillie was an Oxford-educated physician who was later also named a Fellow of The Royal Society. He also inherited the estates of his physician uncle William Hunter and taught at his medical school for a while.

A pilot’s son, Charles Stuart Bowyer excelled in physics and became a professor at the University of California at Berkeley. A pioneer of extreme ultraviolet astronomy, he spearheaded the launch of the first EUVE satellite and also pushed for the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence. He died of COVID-19 complications.