Famous People Who Died Today

Mark Antony was a Roman politician who played a key role in transforming the Roman Republic into the autocratic Roman Empire. Marc Antony is best remembered as one of Julius Caesar's generals during Caesar's Civil War. One of the most important figures in the history of Rome, Mark Antony has been the subject of several artistic portrayals since his death.

Osman I was the founder of the Ottoman dynasty, which ruled the Ottoman Empire between 1299 and 1922. One of the most important historical figures in Turkey, Osman I is often depicted in popular culture. Interestingly, he is also one of the least documented leaders of the Ottoman Turks, making the factual information of his biographies questionable.

A stint at U.S. Marine Corps and a variety of jobs later, Wilford Brimley finally entered the world of acting, albeit as an extra. He established himself as a character actor and bagged his first leading role at the age of fifty. His notable work include Cocoon, The Natural and Our House. He is known for Quaker Oats commercials too.

Filipino statesman Manuel L. Quezon, or MLQ, was the president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944, thus becoming the first Filipino to lead a government of the whole of the Philippines. He formed a government-in-exile in the U.S. after the Japanese invasion during World War II.

One of the main patriarchs of the famed Medici family that ruled Florence, Italian banker Cosimo de' Medici was one of the richest men of his time. Medici was also a great patron of art and architecture. He also arranged a search for ancient manuscripts and opened a public library.

Francis Gary Powers was an American pilot. His Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) U-2 spy plane was shot down in what came to be known as the 1960 U-2 incident. He was performing photographic aerial reconnaissance deep inside Soviet territory when the incident occurred. He survived and later worked as a helicopter pilot for KNBC in Los Angeles.

Otto Heinrich Warburg was a German medical doctor and physiologist. In 1931, his discovery of the nature of the respiratory enzyme earned him the prestigious Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He also played an important role during World War I where he served as an officer in the cavalry regiment; he was honored with the Iron Cross for bravery.

Catholic bishop Alphonsus Liguori was the man behind the formation of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, also known as the Redemptorists. He stepped into his spiritual life after an 8-year stint as a lawyer. He is also remembered for his works on moral theology and equiprobabilism.

Though she married a Nazi officer at age 15, to avoid deportation, Hungarian Jewish actor Eva Bartok was later hounded by Hungarian Communists. She then moved to the US and gained fame with movies such as The Crimson Pirate. She also claimed to have had a daughter with singer Frank Sinatra.

After losing his father at age 2, Henry Kendall was raised on a farm by his mother. The Australian bush poet is remembered for his depictions of nature in works such as Leaves from Australian Forests. Throughout his life, he continued to switch from one job to another.

Richard Kuhn was an Austrian-German biochemist whose work on vitamins and carotenoids earned him the prestigious Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1938. Over the course of his illustrious career, Richard Kuhn also won several other prestigious awards, such as the Wilhelm Exner Medal in 1952 and the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art in 1961.

Spanish painter Elías García Martínez was trained at an art academy in Barcelona and then served as a professor of ornamental and portrait painting throughout his life. One of his popular frescos in Borja, Ecce Homo, was destroyed by a woman because it needed to be restored, causing international uproar.

Remembered as the coach of tennis legend Roger Federer, Peter Carter had started off as a player but moved to coaching after his playing career was cut short due to injuries. He tragically died in a car accident at the Kruger National Park, where he was supposed to be holidaying with his wife.

Better known as the pioneer of Protestant missionary work in China, Robert Morrison was the first missionary from the London Missionary Society to visit China. Apart from translating the Bible into Chinese, he also enriched Anglo-Chinese literature with his dictionaries and books on Chinese grammar.

Swiss chemist Tadeusz Reichstein is remembered for his Nobel Prize-winning research on the hormones of the adrenal cortex. He also taught pharmaceutical chemistry and organic chemistry at the University of Basel and independently discovered the synthesis of vitamin C. At 99, he was the oldest-living Nobel laureate until his death.

Walter Ulbricht was a German politician who played a major role in the establishment of the Communist Party of Germany. He also played a key role in the establishment and development of the German Democratic Republic. from 1950 to 1971, Walter Ulbricht was the most influential person in East Germany, serving as the Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party.

Medieval Franciscan friar Giovanni da Pian del Carpine was also the first major European traveler to the Mongol region, where he was sent on a mission by Pope Innocent IV. His treatise of his experiences was recorded as Historia Mongalorum and Liber Tartarorum. He later earned the archbishopric of Primate of Serbia.

Khosrow Sinai was an Iranian poet, composer, film director, screenwriter, and scholar. The first Iranian filmmaker to receive an international prize after the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Khosrow Sinai is best remembered for his celebrated film Bride of Fire, which won numerous awards in both international and domestic film festivals.

Officially the Archbishop of Uppsala, Olaus Magnus is remembered more as an established author and cartographer. Born Olof Månsson in southern Sweden, he spent the greater part of his life in exile, leaving behind several monumental works on Nordic countries including the History of the Northern People and Carta Marina, a map that is treasured even by modern oceanographers

One of the pioneers of Hellenic studies, German scholar Karl Otfried Müller began his academic career at the University of Göttingen. While he initially taught art history and archaeology, he later explored Greek art and myths and their relationship with culture and history. He died of a fever during an expedition in Greece.

Norbert Elias was a German-British sociologist. He is best known for his theory of civilizing/decivilizing processes. He studied philosophy, psychology, and medicine at the University of Breslau and was deeply involved in the German Zionist movement. He later moved to the United Kingdom where he pursued an academic career. He wrote prolifically following his retirement.