Famous People Who Died Today

H. G. Wells was an English writer. Although he was prolific in many genres, he is best remembered for his work on sci-fi novels, for which he is often referred to as the father of science fiction. His 1901 novel The First Men in the Moon became so influential that a lunar impact crater is named after him.

Professional baseball player Mickey Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees. He played as a center fielder, right fielder, and first baseman. Regarded by many as the greatest switch hitter in baseball history, he won the Triple Crown in 1956 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. 

Almost 2 decades before germ theory was laid down, Ignaz Semmelweis became the first physician to suggest that hand-washing could prevent the spread of puerperal fever and related deaths. Ironically, after being ridiculed for his theory, he died in a mental asylum, due to an infection from a wound.

Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic artist who is widely regarded as the patriarch of the French Romantic school. As a muralist and painter, Delacroix's study of the optical effects of color inspired the work of the Impressionists. In fact, his work inspired a generation of impressionists.

Known as the Queen of Pop in South Asia back in the 1980s, Pakistani singer Nazia Hassan soared to fame with tracks such as Aap Jaisa Koi and Boom Boom. She began her career as part of a duo with her brother, Zoheb Hassan. She died of lung cancer at 35.

Jane Darwell was an American actress whose career spanned over 50 years, during which she appeared in over 100 movies. She is best remembered for her performance in the 1940 drama film The Grapes of Wrath, which earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 1960, Darwell was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Born in Utah, Marriott founder J. Willard Marriott grew up helping his parents on their family farm. The hotel tycoon began his career selling root beer and gradually launched a restaurant chain. The first Marriott hotel was basically a motel and eventually grew into a US$4.5 billion empire.

Tigran Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian chess player who achieved the grandmaster title in 1952. Nicknamed Iron Tigran, Petrosian was the World Chess Champion between 1963 and 1969. Regarded as one of the best chess players in Armenia during his generation, Tigran Petrosian is credited with popularizing the game in Armenia. He also won the USSR Chess Championship on four occasions.

Social reformer Octavia Hill led the British open-space movement, which eventually led to the formation of the National Trust. Inspired by John Ruskin, she established her first housing project in a London slum. She later devoted her life to developing living conditions of the poor and utilizing open spaces.

Nobel Prize-winning German biochemist Eduard Buchner was the first to demonstrate how the enzymes in yeast cause the fermentation of carbohydrates. He also taught at various universities, such as Berlin and Breslau. He died in the Battle of Mărășești, while serving as a major, during World War I.

A graduate from Kyōto Imperial University law school, Ikeda Hayato began his career in the Ministry of Finance. He later entered politics to become Minister of Finance and eventually the Prime Minister of Japan.  Today he is remembered not only for his Income Doubling Plan, which led to phenomenal economic growth, but also for trying to repair the US-Japan relationship.  

Wilm Hosenfeld was a German Army officer, best remembered for rescuing many Polish people in Nazi-German occupied Poland. His efforts to help save the life of Jewish composer and pianist Władysław Szpilman were depicted in the 2002 biographical war drama film, The Pianist, in which Hosenfeld was portrayed by actor Thomas Kretschmann.

Carolyn S. Shoemaker is an American astronomer best known as a co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. A prolific discoverer of comets, she once held the record for most comets discovered by an individual. She was married to geologist Eugene Shoemaker and often collaborated with him. The couple was awarded the James Craig Watson Medal in 1998. 

Jaime Garzón was a Colombian journalist, politician, comedian, and peace activist. He achieved popularity during the 1990s when he exhibited his unique political satire on Colombian television. He is also remembered for his work as a peace negotiator in the emancipation of FARC guerrillas' hostages. Jaime Garzón was murdered by right-wing paramilitary hitmen in 1999.

Carl Størmer was a Norwegian astrophysicist and mathematician. In physics, Størmer is best known for studying the formation of aurorae and the movement of negatively and positively charged particles in the magnetosphere. As a mathematician, Carl Størmer is renowned for his research in number theory. He also served for many years as a professor at the University of Oslo.

A pioneer of the mathematical method in economics, William Stanley Jevons was the son of an iron merchant and economic enthusiast. Remembered for his studies on marginal utility and supply/demand, he penned the iconic work A General Mathematical Theory of Political Economy and also wrote on Britain’s depleting coal supplies.

Giambologna was a Flemish sculptor best remembered for his bronze and marble statuary in a Mannerist or late Renaissance style. Among his most important works are Mercury and the Rape of the Sabine Women. He also served as an important influence on other popular sculptors like Pierre Puget, Pietro Tacca, Alessandro Algardi, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. 

Nathaniel Kleitman was an American sleep researcher and physiologist. Referred to as the father of modern sleep research, Kleitman is best remembered for writing his 1939 book Sleep and Wakefulness. Nathaniel Kleitman is also remembered for his association with the University of Chicago, where he served as Professor Emeritus in Physiology.