Famous People Who Died Today

Widely considered the greatest novelist of the Victorian era, Charles Dickens was an English writer famous for creating world-renowned fictional characters. Regarded by critics and scholars as a literary genius, most of his short stories and novels are read around the world even today. His distinctive style of writing is referred to as Dickensian.

Adam West was an actor best known for his portrayal of Batman in the 1960s live-action TV series of the same name. One of the first actors to play Batman, West is considered the most popular actor to play the iconic character. After his death, the Bat-Signal was projected on Los Angeles’ City Hall as a tribute to the actor.

TV personality, actor, emcee, and game show host Allen Ludden is best remembered for hosting various incarnations of the game show, Password, for almost two decades. He also hosted other game shows and wrote a series of books for young readers. A much-beloved personality, he was the recipient of the 1961 Horatio Alger Award.

Rik Mayall was an English comedian, actor, and writer. A pioneer of alternative comedy, Rik Mayall's approach to sitcom and creativity inspired a generation of comedians. Widely regarded as one of the greatest comedy performers of all time, Rik Mayall received several posthumous honors after sudden and untimely death at the age of 56.

Victoria Woodhull was an American politician, suffragist, and writer who played an important role in the women's suffrage movement. She is credited with founding Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly, America's first newspaper to be founded by a woman. Her life and career inspired the Broadway musical Onward Victoria. In 2001, she was posthumously inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

Alexis Smith was a singer and actress who had a remarkable career on Broadway. In 1972, Smith won a Tony Award for her performance in a musical titled Follies. Before making her Broadway debut, Alexis Smith had a successful film career; she achieved stardom in the 1940s, appearing alongside actors like Errol Flynn and Fredric March.

In spite of his short life, which ended at age 24, Birsa Munda is remembered for spearheading the tribal movement against the British. He also made the British introduce new laws for the protection of the tribal land rights. He died in prison while undergoing trials.

A master of what he called dynamic cubism, 20th-century American painter Jacob Lawrence experimented with a variety of media, such as tempera, cardboard, and paper.  His narrative painting consisted of scenes from Black history. The Migration of the American Negro remains one of his best creations.

Columba was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist. At the beginning of the Hiberno-Scottish mission, he played a major role in spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland. After studying under some of Ireland's most prominent church figures, he founded several monasteries. He is revered as a Catholic saint and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. 

Edith Cowan was an Australian social reformer best remembered for serving as a member of parliament; she was the first Australian woman to do so. She is also remembered for working for the welfare and rights of children and women. In recognition of her contribution, Cowan has been depicted on Australia's fifty-dollar note since 1995.

Maltese physician and psychologist Edward de Bono is a pioneer of what is known as brain training. His innovative idea of lateral thinking aims at helping individuals improve their thinking abilities and utilize their full creative potential. His Six Thinking Hats method has been used by eminent leaders and corporates.

M. F. Husain was an Indian artist and filmmaker best remembered for his association with Indian modernism during the 1940s. A founding member of the Progressive Artists' Group, Husain was one of the 20th century's most renowned Indian artists. In 1991, M. F. Husain was honored with India's second-highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan.

Miguel Ãngel Asturias was a Guatemalan poet-diplomat, journalist, playwright, and novelist. He played a significant role in spreading the importance of indigenous cultures. In 1966, he was honored with the International Lenin Peace Prize. In 1967, he became only the second Latin American author to win the prestigious Nobel Prize for Literature.

Romanian playwright, author, and poet Ion Luca Caragiale was known for his biting satire and parody. A Stormy Night and A Lost Letter are 2 of his best-known dramatic works. At various times, he had also been a journalist, a civil servant, and a restaurateur.

James Lawson is an American professor and activist. A prominent tactician and theoretician of nonviolence, Lawson played a major role during the Civil Rights Movement. In the 1960s, Lawson doubled up as a mentor to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee as well as the Nashville Student Movement. James Lawson also served as a pastor for 25 years.

Best remembered for his econometric models, Jan Tinbergen won the first Nobel Prize for Economics along with Ragnar Frisch. Apart from working on subjects such as the business cycle theory and economic development, he had also been the economic advisor to the League of Nations.

Known as a pioneering filmmaker of the Japanese pink films, Kan Mukai had initially dropped out of an economics course to follow his passion of filmmaking. He helped launched the careers of many performers, such as the Roman Porno star Kazuko Shirakawa. He eventually lost his battle with cancer.

George Wells Beadle was an American geneticist who served as the president of the University of Chicago from 1961 until his retirement. In 1958, he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering the role played by genes in controlling the biochemical events within cells. George Wells Beadle also won other awards like the Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal.

French painter Gaston Duchamp, known by his pseudonym, Jacques Villon, is remembered for his Cubist and abstract paintings. Initially a law student, he quit law and switched to art soon. He worked making prints and posters for a decade. He later created masterpieces displaying his sense of colors and geometry.

An influential Jesuit missionary in the Portuguese colony of Brazil, José de Anchieta worked with the indigenous population, converting many of them into Catholic faith. He also wrote Arte de grammtica da lingoa mais usada na costa do Brasil, providing orthography to the local Tupi language and is known to co-found the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

The first Soviet-trained prima ballerina, Marina Semyonova demonstrated an unusual style of ballet that influenced a generation of dancers. She won the Stalin Prize in 1941 when she was associated with the Bolshoi Theatre. She stayed with the company after retiring and became one of the most prominent teachers. In 1975, Semyonova was named a People's Artist of the USSR.

Takeo Arishima was a Japanese short-story writer, novelist, and essayist who worked during the Taishō and late Meiji periods. In addition to being a writer, Takeo Arishima also served as a teacher at his alma mater. Many of his major works, including Aru Onna and Kain no Matsuei, were translated into English by popular authors.

Katharine Cornell was a German-born American actress, producer, writer, and theater owner. Considered one of the greatest theatre actresses of all time, Cornell became the first performer to win the prestigious Drama League Award in 1935 for her portrayal of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. Katharine Cornell was also the recipient of other prestigious awards, such as the Tony Award.