Famous People Who Died Today

Considered a great saint and a symbol of French unity, Joan of Arc led the French army to the watershed victory over the English forces in Orleans in 1429. In 1430, she was captured by the Anglo-Burgundians while defending Compiegne. She was burned at the stake at the age of 19 in 1431. Pope Benedict XV canonised her in 1920.

A politician and attorney, Beau Biden was the eldest child of politician Joe Biden. As a little boy, he was severely injured in a car accident in which his mother and sister perished. He overcame several challenges to become a successful attorney. However, fate was cruel to him and he died of brain cancer at the age of 46.

Loretta Swit is a veteran American stage and small screen actress who became a household name with her award-winning portrayal of Major Margaret ‘Hot Lips’ Houlihan in M*A*S*H, a comedy-drama series on CBS television. Apart from playing a wide range of character roles on television and stage, she also appeared in movies and hosted a documentary on the Korean war.

Long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine had competed in only one Olympic, finishing fourth in the 5000m race in Munich. However, he had begun breaking records since high school and excelled in cross-country running. His tragic death in a car accident after attending a party ended his life and his sports dreams.

Alexander Pope was a satirist and poet whose works produced during the Augustan period made him one of the greatest artistic exponents of that period. Widely regarded as one of the most important English poets of the 18th century, Alexander Pope is best remembered for writing discursive poetry and heroic couplets.

Peter Paul Rubens is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. He lived during the Dutch Golden Age. His style of art emphasized movement, color, and sensuality. He painted altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, and history paintings and also drew cartoons for the Flemish tapestry workshops. He was a classically educated humanist scholar as well.

British-American actor, Claude Rains, had an extensive career that spanned nearly seven decades. The son of a stage actor, he was introduced to the entertainment industry at a young age and went on to have a successful career. He was nominated for the Academy Award four times. He is considered one of the finest actors of the 20th century.

English playwright, poet, and translator, Christopher Marlowe, was one of the major literary figures of the Elizabethan era. It is believed that he greatly influenced his contemporary William Shakespeare. He led a troubled life and died young under mysterious circumstances. Despite his early death, he is regarded as one of the foremost dramatists of the 16th century London.  

Georg von Trapp, or Captain von Trapp, was an Austrian naval officer who led the Trapp Family Singers, the family that inspired the play and the film The Sound of Music. An able military man, he had also been part of World War II and was knighted by the Austrian government.

Son of an artist father and a pianist mother, Boris Pasternak initially wished to become a musician. He is best known for his novel Doctor Zhivago, set against backdrop of the Russian Revolution. The Soviet Communists forced him to decline the Nobel Prize, which his descendants later accepted.

Physicist Leó Szilárd, one of the "Martians," or eminent scientists who had migrated from Hungary to the U.S., was the first to initiate a controlled nuclear chain reaction and was closely associated with the Manhattan Project, meant to develop the atomic bomb. He later advocated for responsible use of nuclear powers.

Nobel Prize-winning physiologist Andrew Huxley is remembered for his studies on nerves and fibers and the chemical processes related to the transmission of nerve impulses. The grandson of biologist T.H. Huxley and the son of the author Leonard Huxley, he was later also knighted for his achievements.

Ziaur Rahman was a Bangladeshi Army officer and politician. He served as the President of Bangladesh from 21 April 1977 to 30 May 1981. He played a major role in the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971. Ziaur Rahman is also credited with founding the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. 

Medical physicist Rosalyn Sussman Yalow was the second woman and the first American woman to earn the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Best known for her research on the radioimmunoassay, or RIA, technique, she studied science at a time when women weren’t hired for science jobs.

Born into an affluent family, Hermann Broch sold his family’s textile factory to focus on studying physics, math, and philosophy. Mostly known for his literary works such as The Sleepwalkers, he had ventured into writing only after 40. He was imprisoned by the Nazis and later fled to the U.S.

Juan Carlos Onetti was a Uruguayan novelist and short story writer. Counted among Latin America's most eminent writers, Onetti was the recipient of several prestigious honors including the Uruguay National Literature Prize. He was also an important member of the Generation '45, a group of writers who had a significant influence in the cultural and literary life of their country.