Famous People Who Died Today

Bing Crosby was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Widely regarded as the first multimedia star, Bing was a leader in motion picture grosses, radio ratings, and record sales from 1930 to 1954. His intimate singing style influenced several popular singers, such as Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, John Lennon, and Elvis Presley among others.

Regarded as the successor to Douglas Fairbanks, Errol Flynn was an Australian-born actor who gained recognition in the Golden Age of Hollywood mainly because of his romantic swashbuckler roles. He also achieved fame for his reputation as a womanizer and party animal in personal life. His career and life inspired several films, such as My Wicked, Wicked Ways and Flynn.

Leonard Bernstein was an American composer, music educator, conductor, pianist, author, and humanitarian. One of the most important cultural personalities of 20th century America, Bernstein influenced many generations of musicians. He is also credited with mentoring famous conductors like John Mauceri, Herbert Blomstedt, Alexander Frey, Marin Alsop, and Edo de Waart among many others.

Known as The Desert Fox, Nazi field marshal Erwin Rommel led the Axis forces during World War II. For his plot to assassinate Hitler in 1944, he was given a choice to either commit suicide by consuming a cyanide pill or face a trial and execution. He chose the former.

Simon MacCorkindale was a British actor, writer, and filmmaker. Although he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father to become an officer with the Royal Air Force, MacCorkindale had to pursue a theatre career due to poor eyesight. As it turned out, poor eyesight was a blessing in disguise as he became a prominent film and TV personality.  

Noted mathematician and polymath, Benoit B. Mandelbrot is perhaps best known for his work on fractal. He not only coined the term, but also used computer-constructed images to illustrate the mathematical definition. Also credited with the discovery of Mandelbrot set and Mandelbrot law, he established that even those things which were apparently chaotic or rough had a "degree of order".

Douglas Mawson was an Australian Antarctic explorer, geologist, and academic. Counted among the most important leaders of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, Mawson was honored with a knighthood in 1914. Best remembered for his contribution to Australian geology, Mawson was featured on the Australian one-hundred-dollar note from 1984 to 1996.

Nizam al-Mulk was a Persian political philosopher, scholar, and vizier of the Great Seljuk Empire. Nizam rose to the position of the de facto ruler from humble beginnings. He is perhaps best remembered for founding several important institutions known as madrasa in cities across the Seljuk Empire. Nizam al-Mulk is also credited with writing an important political treatise called Siyasatnama.

Milena Dravic was a film, TV, and theatre actress from Serbia. She is best remembered for her portrayal of Ranka in the 1962 film Prekobrojna, for which she received the prestigious Golden Arena under the Best Actress category. A versatile actress, Milena Dravic was also the recipient of Pavle Vujisić Award and the Dobričin prsten lifetime achievement award.

Aḥmad Shawqī was an Arabic poet laureate who worked at the court of the Khedive. He also wrote plays and prose, including five tragedies. On 17 June 1977, Aḥmad Shawqī's Giza residence was converted into a museum. His work is celebrated even today at a cultural center called the El Sawy Culture Wheel.

Swedish author, playwright, and journalist Hjalmar Söderberg had begun his career as a civil servant, before switching to full-time writing. Known for his novels such as Doctor Glas and Martin Birck’s Youth, he also penned short story collections such as Historietter. His themes are often melancholic and cynical.

Renaissance composer Jacques Arcadelt, one of the most significant figures of the Franco-Netherlandish school, is best remembered for his madrigals and his secular compositions. He was influenced by a variety of music, such as frottola and the music he heard as a choir member of the Sistine Chapel.

Gunilla von Post was a Swedish aristocrat best remembered for her 1997 book Love, Jack, which revealed an intimate relationship with John F. Kennedy during the 1950s. In 2010, Gunilla von Post auctioned some of the letters penned by Kennedy to her.

Sigurd Hoel was a Norwegian author best remembered for his 1927 book Sinners in Summertime, which was adapted into a movie in 1932 and in 2002. As the main consultant for Gyldendal publishing, Sigurd Hoel influenced a generation of Norwegian writers. In 1940, he was honored with the Gyldendal's Endowment award. In 1948, he received the prestigious Norwegian Booksellers' Prize.

Born into a noble Spanish family, Garcilaso de la Vega grew up to be one of the greatest poets of the Golden Age of Spanish literature. Most of his mature writings were inspired by the Italian Renaissance and carried themes such as failed love. His notable works include Dialoghi di amore.