Famous People Who Died Today

The son of a machine shop owner, Robert H. Goddard grew up to become a pioneer of rocketry. Interested in physics and mechanics since childhood, he dreamed of space flight. He developed the world’s first rocket that ran on liquid fuel. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center is named after him.

John Saunders was a sports journalist who worked for the popular cable sports channel ESPN from 1986 to 2016. During his career, Saunders anchored important events, such as the 1995 World Series of Major League Baseball (MLB). His book Playing Hurt: My Journey from Despair to Hope was published posthumously.

Henry Moseley was an English physicist best known for his development of Moseley's law in X-ray spectra. He made major contributions to the fields of atomic physics, nuclear physics, and quantum physics. He was working at the University of Oxford when World War I broke out, following which he went to volunteer for the Royal Engineers of the British Army. 

Jennifer Paterson was a British celebrity cook, television personality, actress, and author. She is best remembered for hosting the popular TV show Two Fat Ladies along with Clarissa Dickson Wright. She also contributed as a columnist for magazines like The Oldie and The Spectator.

German aeronautical engineer Otto Lilienthal became the first known person to use gliders for a successful flight. A mechanical engineer, he owned a shop and flight factory and developed gliders, with which he completed around 2,000 flights. Lilienthal, however, died after breaking his back in a glider crash.

Born into poverty and orphaned at age 2, Impressionist painter Joaquín Sorolla later traveled to Rome to acquire training in painting. He began his career painting on themes of historical and social relevance and later also excelled in landscapes and portraits. Sad Inheritance remains one of his best works.

Apart from being the first female university graduate in the Netherlands, the first Dutch female physician, and the first female to get a medical doctorate in her country, Aletta Jacobs was also a pioneering women’s suffrage activist. She traveled the world for her feminist mission with fellow suffragette Carrie Chapman.

Saint Lawrence was one of the seven deacons of the Roman church serving Pope Sixtus II, who were executed by the Roman emperor Valerian during the persecution of the Christians. As a deacon, he was responsible for the distribution of alms to the poor. He was captured and martyred in 258 AD. His feast day is on 10 August. 

Madeleine Leininger was an American nursing professor and nursing theorist. She is credited with developing the concept of transcultural nursing. Madeleine Leininger's contributions to nursing theory were honored by the American Academy of Nursing with a Living Legend award in 1998.

Kristen Nygaard was a Norwegian programming language pioneer, computer scientist, and politician. He is remembered for co-inventing Object-oriented programming (OOP), a programming paradigm currently taught at engineering colleges of many countries including India. In 2001, he received the A.M. Turing Award for co-inventing the programming language Simula. Kristen Nygaard and Ole-Johan Dahl were the first winners of the Rosing Prize.

Felix Hoppe-Seyler was a German chemist and physiologist. He is credited with founding the disciplines of molecular biology and biochemistry. He is also credited with founding Journal for Physiological Chemistry and worked as its editor until his demise in 1895. Felix Hoppe-Seyler also played an important role as a teacher; among his students were Albrecht Kossel and Friedrich Miescher.

Irish-born mathematician Robert Adrain moved to the US when he was 23, as a political refugee, after his campaign against the British Crown forces failed. In the US, he taught at various institutes, such as Rutgers and Columbia, and made significant contributions to algebra and statistics.

Léon Gaumont was a French engineer, inventor, and industrialist. A pioneer of the moving picture industry, Gaumont is credited with founding Gaumont Film Company, the first and oldest film studio in the world. Léon Gaumont is also remembered for his association with Solax Studios.

Anthony Radziwill was a Swiss-born American filmmaker and television executive. The son of Polish Prince Stanisław Albrecht Radziwiłł and socialite Lee Radziwiłł, Anthony started his career as a television producer, winning the prestigious Peabody Award in 1990 for his investigation on the revival of Nazism in the US. Anthony Radziwill died at the age of 40 due to cancer.

Hindi author Harishankar Parsai was known for his own brand of satire. Equipped with an MA degree in Hindi, he had initially taken up a job, which he later quit to launch a magazine named Vasudha and become a full-fledged author. The Sahitya Akademi Award-winning writer remains a pioneer of Hindi satire.

Piero Tosi was an Italian costume designer known for his extensively researched and intricately detailed historical costumes. He began his career in the 1950s, and his first significant period film was Senso, directed by Luchino Visconti. He collaborated with Visconti in many other films in the coming decades. He was awarded an Academy Honorary Award in 2013.