Famous People Who Died Today

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 1 
Walter Brennan
16
Birthdate: July 25, 1894
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Lynn, Massachusetts, United States
Died: 1974

Actor and singer, Walter Brennan, was one of the best known Hollywood actors in the mid-20th century. The veteran actor was the recipient of three Academy Awards, becoming one of only three male actors to do so. In an extensive career spanning almost five decades, he had appeared in over a hundred films and TV shows.

 2 
Florence Griffith Joyner
(Former Sprinter Who Won Gold Medal in 1988 Olympics)
Florence Griffith Joyner
23
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: December 21, 1959
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States
Died: 1998

Legendary American sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner is still regarded as the fastest woman in the world. Her world records in both the 100m and 200m categories have still not been broken. The three-time Olympic gold medal winner was also known for her six-inch nails and her unconventional outfits.

 3 
Arthur Schopenhauer
(German Philosopher Best Known for His Work ‘The World as Will and Representation’)
Arthur Schopenhauer
14
Birthdate: February 22, 1788
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Gdańsk, Poland
Died: 1860

Arthur Schopenhauer was a German philosopher. He was among the first Western philosophers to affirm important tenets of Indian philosophy, such as denial of the self and asceticism. Schopenhauer's work has had a tremendous posthumous impact on disciplines like science, literature, and philosophy. His work influenced personalities like Albert Einstein, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Sigmund Freud, George Bernard Shaw, and Leo Tolstoy. 

 4 
Virgil
(Ancient Roman Poet of the Augustan Period)
Virgil
10
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: October 15, 0070
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Cisalpine Gaul
Died: 0019
1st-century B.C. Roman poet Virgil is best remembered for his epic The Aeneid, which was based on Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. He has also written the Latin poems the Eclogues/Bucolics and the Georgics. His Aeneid, considered ancient Rome’s national epic, inspired other influential works, such as Dante’s Divine Comedy.
 5 
Walter Scott
(Novelist and Poet known for his Works Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, and The Lady of the Lake)
Walter Scott
11
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: August 15, 1771
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Edinburgh, Scotland
Died: 1832

Walter Scott was a Scottish novelist, poet, historian, and playwright. Scott's ability as a writer and his knowledge of history made him a pioneering figure in the formation of the historical novel genre. An influential writer, many of his works remain classics of Scottish as well as English-language literature. Scott was admired by other prominent writers like Letitia Elizabeth Landon.

 6 
Tommy DeVito
(Founding member, vocalist, and lead guitarist of rock band the Four Seasons)
Tommy DeVito
3
Listed In: Singers
Birthdate: June 19, 1928
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Belleville, New Jersey, United States
Died: 2020
 7 
Chief Joseph
(Nez Perce leader)
Chief Joseph
6
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: March 3, 1840
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Wallowa River
Died: 1904

Chief Joseph, a leader of the Nez Percé tribe of Native Americans, had initially agreed to the U.S. demand of them moving into a reservation in Idaho. However, fearing retaliation after his men killed a few whites, he attempted an escape to Canada, leading his people through an arduous trek.

 8 
Alice Ghostley
8
Birthdate: August 14, 1923
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Eve, Missouri
Died: 2007
 9 
Jaco Pastorius
(Musician)
Jaco Pastorius
4
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: December 1, 1951
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Norristown, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: 1987
 10 
Giovanni Boccaccio
(One of the Greatest European Prose Writers of His Time)
Giovanni Boccaccio
5
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: June 16, 1313
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Certaldo, Italy
Died: 1375

Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian poet, writer, and correspondent of Petrarch. An important Renaissance humanist, Boccaccio was also one of the most prominent personalities of 14th-century European literature. A versatile writer, Giovanni Boccaccio is often viewed as the most important European prose writer of his generation. His works influenced popular personalities like Geoffrey Chaucer and Miguel de Cervantes.

 11 
Jackie Stallone
(American Astrologer, Dancer, Wrestling Promoter and Mother of Actor Sylvester Stallone)
Jackie Stallone
8
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: November 29, 1921
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Washington, D.C., United States
Died: 2020

Jackie Stallone was an American dancer, astrologer, and kayfabe promoter of Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. Jackie Stallone was the first woman to host a daily TV program on weight lifting and exercise. She later established Barbella's, a women-only gym. Perhaps her biggest contribution to the world is giving birth to Sylvester Stallone, who went on to become a popular actor.

 12 
Harry Carey
(Actor)
Harry Carey
1
Birthdate: January 16, 1878
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: The Bronx, New York, United States
Died: 1947
 13 
Benjamin Graham
(Economist, Investor)
Benjamin Graham
2
Birthdate: May 8, 1894
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: London, England
Died: 1976
 14 
Michael Lonsdale
(Actor)
Michael Lonsdale
3
Birthdate: May 24, 1931
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: 2020
 15 
Willie Garson
18
Birthdate: February 20, 1964
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Highland Park, New Jersey
Died: 2021
 16 
Leonid Rogozov
(Soviet General Practitioner Who Took Part in the Sixth Soviet Antarctic Expedition)
Leonid Rogozov
1
Listed In: Physicians
Birthdate: March 14, 1934
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Chita, Russia
Died: 2000

Leonid Rogozov was a Soviet general practitioner remembered for performing his own appendectomy as he developed appendicitis while stationed at Novolazarevskaya Station; he was part of the sixth Soviet Antarctic Expedition in 1961 when he developed appendicitis. The self-surgery, which was documented by Rogozov’s colleagues, resulted in a change of policy and health checks were made mandatory during such expeditions.

 17 
Boz Burrell
(First Known Person to Take Detailed Photographs of Snowflakes)
Boz Burrell
1
Listed In: Singers
Birthdate: August 1, 1946
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Holbeach, Lincolnshire, England
Died: 2006
 18 
Robert Benchley
(Humorist)
Robert Benchley
1
Birthdate: October 15, 1889
Sun Sign: Libra
Died: 1945
 19 
Diana Sands
(Actress)
Diana Sands
0
Birthdate: August 22, 1934
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Bronx, New York, U.S
Died: 1973
 20 
Kenji Miyazawa
(Poet, Novelist, Writer, Teacher, Esperantist, Agronomist, Children's writer)
Kenji Miyazawa
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: August 27, 1896
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Hanamaki
Died: 1933
Japanese novelist Kenji Miyazawa was also a poet of children's literature and is one of Japan's most-read and best-loved authors. Some of his major works include Night on the Galactic Railroad, Kaze no Matasaburō, Gauche the Cellist, and The Night of Taneyamagahara.  Many of his children's stories have inspired anime, most notably Night on the Galactic Railroad.
 21 
Orlando Letelier
(Chilean Politician, Economist, and Diplomat)
Orlando Letelier
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: April 13, 1932
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Temuco
Died: 1976

Orlando Letelier was a Chilean politician, economist, and diplomat. After his arrest due to his participation in the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, Letelier was exiled from Chile. In 1975, Letelier left for Washington D.C., where he achieved popularity as an economist and teacher. Orlando Letelier was murdered in 1976 by agents of the Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional.

 22 
Princess Marie Bonaparte
(Author)
Princess Marie Bonaparte
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: July 2, 1882
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Saint-Cloud, French Third Republic
Died: 1962
 23 
Luisa Spagnoli
(Businesswoman)
Luisa Spagnoli
0
Listed In: Business People
Birthdate: October 30, 1877
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Perugia, Italy
Died: 1935

Luisa Spagnoli was an Italian businesswoman best remembered for creating the popular women's clothing and chocolate brand Perugina. Spagnoli's chocolate brand Baci Perugina became so famous that it was marketed in foreign countries, such as the United States of America.

 24 
Armand Călinescu
(39th Prime Minister of Romania Who was Assassinated by ‘Iron Guard’ Members with ‘Nazi’ Support)
Armand Călinescu
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: June 4, 1893
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Piteşti, Romania
Died: 1939

Romanian economist and politician Armand Călinescu served as Minister of Interior and Deputy Prime Minister before becoming Prime Minister of Romania. He was believed to be very close to King Carol II and possibly the real-power behind the throne during the King’s royal-dictatorship. Călinescu detested Iron Guard and anti-Semitism and was eventually assassinated by Iron Guard members with Nazi support.

 25 
Migettuwatte Gunananda Thera
(Monk)
Migettuwatte Gunananda Thera
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: February 9, 1823
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Balapitiya, Sri Lanka
Died: 1890
 26 
Napoleon Chagnon
(American Cultural Anthropologist Known for His Studies of the Indigenous Yanomami People of the Amazon Rain Forest)
Napoleon Chagnon
0
Birthdate: August 27, 1938
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Port Austin, Michigan, United States
Died: 2019

Napoleon Chagnon was a cultural anthropologist considered a pioneer of scientific anthropology. He did long-term ethnographic fieldwork among the Yanomamö indigenous people, in which he used an evolutionary approach to understand social behavior. This work received both praise and criticism, making him a controversial figure. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2012. 

 27 
Abraham Flexner
(Educator)
Abraham Flexner
1
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: November 13, 1866
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Died: 1959
 28 
Carl Ruiz
(Chef)
Carl Ruiz
1
Listed In: Food Experts
Birthdate: April 4, 1975
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Passaic, New Jersey, United States
Died: 2019
 29 
George Read
(Politician)
George Read
0
Listed In: Lawyers & Judges
Birthdate: September 18, 1733
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Cecil County, Maryland, United States
Died: 1798
 30 
Dingiri Banda Wijetunga
(Former President & Prime Minister of Sri Lanka)
Dingiri Banda Wijetunga
1
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: February 15, 1916
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Polgahanga, Sri Lanka
Died: 2008

Dingiri Banda Wijetunga was a Sri Lankan political leader best remembered for his service as the President of Sri Lanka from 1993 to 1994. An influential politician, he also served as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1989 to 1993. In 1993, Dingiri Banda Wijetunga was honored with the prestigious Sri Lankabhimanya, Sri Lanka's highest civilian honor.

 31 
Emanuel Schikaneder
(Impresario)
Emanuel Schikaneder
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: September 1, 1751
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Straubing, Germany
Died: 1812
 32 
Margaret Ogola
(Novelist)
Margaret Ogola
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: June 12, 1958
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Asembo, Kenya
Died: 2011
 33 
Henry Koster
(Director, Producer)
Henry Koster
0
Birthdate: May 1, 1905
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Berlin, German Empire
Died: 1988

German-born director Henry Koster experimented with cartooning, painting, and even scriptwriting, before directing his debut film, Thea Roland. Following the rise of the Nazi regime, he moved to the U.S. His rich body of work consists of his Oscar-nominated direction in The Bishop's Wife and his equally popular Harvey.

 34 
Edward Arthur Milne
(Astrophysicist)
Edward Arthur Milne
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: February 14, 1896
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Kingston upon Hull
Died: 1950

British astrophysicist and cosmologist Edward Arthur Milne was a brilliant student and a Cambridge scholar. Remembered for his work on kinematic relativity, he introduced the Milne model, too. He applied the Saha equation in his studies on the spectral lines of stars and also lectured on Christianity.

 35 
Flavius Aëtius
(Roman General during the Last Years of the Western Roman Empire)
Flavius Aëtius
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: 0391 AD
Birthplace: Silistra
Died: 0454

Roman general Flavius Aëtius, also known as the Last of the Romans, was a Roman general during the final years of the Western Roman Empire. He had a huge influence over Emperor Valentinian III. He resisted Attila’s invasion in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. He was eventually assassinated by Valentinian.

 36 
Paul Reynaud
(French Lawyer and Politician)
Paul Reynaud
1
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: October 15, 1878
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Barcelonnette
Died: 1966
 37 
Gerolamo Cardano
(South African Politician and Zulu Tribal Leader Who Was Home Minister of South Africa from 1994 to 2004)
Gerolamo Cardano
3
Birthdate: September 24, 1501
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Pavia, Italy
Died: 1576

Italian polymath Gerolamo Cardano is best known for his iconic work Ars magna, or The Great Art, which contributed immensely to the field of algebra. Throughout his illustrious life, he had been a physician, a math lecturer, and an astrologer. He was also the first to describe typhus fever clinically.

 38 
Anthony Comstock
(Political writer)
Anthony Comstock
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: March 7, 1844
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: New Canaan
Died: 1915
 39 
Bernardo Houssay
(Argentine Physiologist Known for His Work on Pituitary Regulation of Glucose in Animals)
Bernardo Houssay
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: April 10, 1887
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died: 1971

Bernardo Houssay was an Argentine physiologist best remembered for winning the 1947 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine and becoming the first Argentine Nobel Prize winner in the field of sciences. Bernardo Houssay won the award for discovering the role of the pituitary hormones in regulating the amount of glucose in animals. 

 40 
Ahmed ʻUrabi
(Prime Minister of Egypt)
Ahmed ʻUrabi
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: March 31, 1841
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: near Al-Zaqāzīq, Egypt
Died: 1911
 41 
Mikimoto Kōkichi
(The Founder of the 'Mikimoto Pearl Company')
Mikimoto Kōkichi
0
Birthdate: January 25, 1858
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Toba, Mie Prefecture, Japan
Died: 1954

Japanese pearl farmer and entrepreneur Mikimoto Kōkichi pioneered the cultured pearl industry. He later monopolized the industry, organizing exhibitions and launching sales offices worldwide. A crown manufactured by the Mikimoto Pearl Company was later used by Ms. Universe winners, while the company also designed for the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants.

 42 
Sven Hassel
(Danish Novelist Known Primarily for His Novels Focusing on Stories of German Combatants During World War II)
Sven Hassel
1
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: April 19, 1917
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Frederiksborg County, Denmark
Died: 2012

Sven Hassel was a Danish writer best remembered for his novels that focus on the stories that revolve around the German combatants during the Second World War. A popular literary figure, Sven Hassel is often counted among the bestselling Danish authors of all time.

 43 
Kurt Adler
(Austrian Chorus Master and Opera Conductor Who Was Known for His Three-Decade-Long Tenure)
Kurt Adler
0
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: March 1, 1907
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Jindrichuv Hradec, Czechia
Died: 1977

Kurt Adler began studying music at age 6 and delivered his first public piano performance at 14. Though his parents were killed in a Nazi concentration camp, Adler fled to the U.S. and settled in New York. The master conductor is best remembered for his association with the Metropolitan Opera.

 44 
Robert L. Forward
(Physicist)
Robert L. Forward
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: August 15, 1932
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Geneva, New York, United States
Died: 2002
 45 
Jan Pieterszoon Coen
(Governor-General)
Jan Pieterszoon Coen
1
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: January 8, 1587
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Hoorn, Netherlands
Died: 1629
 46 
Nigel Patrick
(Film actor, Film director)
Nigel Patrick
0
Birthdate: May 2, 1912
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Clapham, London, England
Died: 1981
 47 
Nils Bohlin
(Swedish Mechanical Engineer and Inventor Who Invented the 'Three-Point Safety Belt')
Nils Bohlin
0
Listed In: Engineers
Birthdate: July 17, 1920
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Härnösand, Sweden
Died: 2002

Nils Bohlin was a Swedish inventor and mechanical engineer remembered for inventing the three-point safety belt in vehicles. The safety belt is considered one of the most important inventions in the history of automobiles. In 1974, he was honored with the Ralph Isbrandt Automotive Safety Engineering Award. In 1999, Bohlin was made an inductee of the Automotive Hall of Fame.   

 48 
Ben Cauley
(Trumpeter)
Ben Cauley
2
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: October 3, 1947
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Died: 2015
 49 
Otto Grotewohl
(Politician)
Otto Grotewohl
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: March 11, 1894
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Braunschweig
Died: 1964
 50 
Henry de Montherlant
(Essayist)
Henry de Montherlant
1
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: April 20, 1895
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: 1972