Famous People Who Died Today

French artist Paul Cézanne was a prominent Post-Impressionist painter and influenced much of the early-20th-century movement known as Cubism. Some of his notable works include The Card Players, The Bathers, and Pyramid of Skulls. He experimented with water colors and had created a host of still-life paintings.

Cleavon Little was an American actor best known for his performance in a musical titled Purlie, for which he received a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award. Also known for his work in TV, Little received a Primetime Emmy Award in 1989 for appearing in one of the episodes of the NBC sitcom Dear John.

Mary Wickes was an American actress who often played professional women, housekeepers, and nuns in films and TV series. A tall woman with a distinctive voice, Wickes proved to be a popular comedian. She was often cast to play wisecracking characters, such as Nurse Dora Pickford in the 1942 drama film Now, Voyager.

Charles Martel was a Frankish military leader and statesman. From 718 until his death in 741, Martel served as the de facto ruler of Francia. He is credited with restoring centralized government in Francia and re-establishing the Franks as the masters of all Gaul through a series of military campaigns.

French and American writer, journalist, and pianist Ève Curie was one of the daughters of scientists Marie Curie and Pierre Curie. She was the only one in the Curie family who did not choose a career in science. She authored her mother’s biography and was actively involved with UNICEF, helping women and children in developing countries.

British folk singer-songwriter, folk song-collector, political activist, and actor Ewan MacColl, was a leading figure of the 1960s British folk revival. He is noted for writing songs like The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Dirty Old Town. He was also involved in trade unionism and socialist politics as a steadfast communist and wrote several left-wing political songs.

Born to a music instructor father, French composer and conductor Nadia Boulanger was no stranger to music as a kid. The first woman to conduct prime orchestras, she had the who’s who of the music industry, such as Elliott Carter, Roy Harris, and Quincy Jones, on her list of students.

Spanish cellist Pablo Casals got his first lessons in instruments such as the violin and the piano from his organist father. Known for his unique technique of using flexible left-hand positions, he later formed a celebrated trio with pianist Alfred Cortot and violinist Jacques Thibaud. He won a posthumous Grammy.

German-American theologian and philosopher Paul Tillich is remembered for his work in the field of Christian existentialism and for concepts such as the method of correlation. His notable works, such as The Courage to Be and the three-volume Systematic Theology, has inspired intellectual thinkers and commoners alike.

Born in Budapest, Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Albert Szent-Györgyi shot himself in the arm while serving in World War II, so that he could be sent back home, and then studied medicine. While he is remembered for first isolating vitamin C, unknown to many, he was also a skilled pianist.

British boxer Bob Fitzsimmons initially spent a lot of time in his family’s blacksmith’s forge in New Zealand, thus later earning the nickname The Fighting Blacksmith. He later scripted history as the first boxer to win world titles in three categories, the middleweight, the light-heavyweight, and the heavyweight divisions.

Known as one of Japan’s most impactful bohemian romantic poets, Chūya Nakahara was often compared to French symbolist poets for his fine imagery. Also known as the Japanese Rimbaud, he was influenced by Dadaism, too. He tragically died of meningitis at 30, though his legacy of around 350 poems lives on.

Gustavo Gutiérrez is a Peruvian Catholic theologian, philosopher, and Dominican priest. A respected theologian, Gutiérrez has served as a visiting professor in many prestigious universities in Europe and North America. Gustavo Gutiérrez has also taught at the Harvard University, the University of Michigan, the University of Cambridge, and the University of California, Berkeley among other schools.

The second governor-general and the second prime minister of Pakistan, Khawaja Nazimuddin had a short tenure due to his ineffective handling of the tense situation in his country. Born in Dacca, he had an elite education at Cambridge and was a qualified lawyer. He was also knighted by the British.

French-born American artist Armand Fernandez, better known as Arman, was initially inspired by Dadaism, while he later created a niche form of art, which consisted of collections of objects, such as axes or guitars. He had also mastered judo and had appeared in an Andy Warhol film.

Hungarian poet Janos Arany is regarded by many as the Shakespeare of ballads. Best known for his iconic epic poem Toldi, which was part of a trilogy, he had also been associated with the Hungarian Academy. He had initially been part of the Hungarian Revolution and later also taught for a while.

One of New Zealand’s best-known poets, James K. Baxter was inspired by Romantic and British modernist poets and mythology. He also penned the popular radio play Jack Winter’s Dream, apart from various other plays and social and literary criticism. He used his Maori name Hemi later in life.

Scottish physicist Sir Andrew Noble, 1st Baronet is best remembered for his research on gunnery and gunpowder and is credited with establishing ballistics as a domain of science. His studies also introduced new types of gunpowder and methods of loading. He was eventually knighted and made a baronet, too.

French philosopher Louis Althusser is remembered for his effort to merge Marxism and structuralism. He taught at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris and had been part of the French Communist Party. He spent several years in a mental institution after strangling his wife, Hélène, to death.

E. Morton Jellinek was an American biostatistician, alcoholism researcher, and physiologist. He is best remembered for his association with the World Health Organization, where he worked as a consultant on alcoholism. E. Morton Jellinek was also associated with several prestigious institutions, such as Stanford University and Yale University.