Famous People Who Died Today

Michael Clarke Duncan was one of the most popular actors best known for his portrayal of John Coffey in the fantasy drama film The Green Mile. Apart from acting in films and TV series, he was also featured in several video games, such as SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs, Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone, and The Suffering: Ties That Bind.

Football coach, Vince Lombardi, is best known for being the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s. Beginning his career as a high school coach, he eventually started coaching  National Football League (NFL) teams. As a head coach in the NFL, he never had a losing season. He died of cancer in 1970.

Thuy Trang was a Vietnamese-American actress who is remembered for her portrayal of the first Yellow Ranger on the popular TV series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Unfortunately, she joined the infamous 27 Club when she passed away after suffering internal injuries caused by a car accident on September 3, 2001, in San Francisco, California, USA.

Apart from being the first solo balloonist to circumnavigate the world, Steve Fossett also competed the first non-stop solo flight across the world. The adventurer also owned a securities company. His plane went missing on a 2007 mission in western Nevada, and he was declared dead on the discovery of the wreckage.

French philosopher Michel de Montaigne was a significant figure of the French Renaissance in the 16th century. He is credited for popularizing the essay as a literary genre. His massive collection of essays was published in the volume Essais. His work had a direct influence on Western writers, including René Descartes, Francis Bacon, Blaise Pascal, and Voltaire.

It is believed Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev was highly inspired by his dominant mother in his younger days and thus created strong female characters in his novels later. He is remembered for popularizing Russian literature and realism in the West. One of his most notable works was Father and Sons.

Edward Coke was an English politician, barrister, and judge. He is regarded as the greatest jurist of the Jacobean and Elizabethan eras. As a barrister, Coke took up important cases like Slade's Case. As a Member of Parliament, Coke campaigned for the Statute of Monopolies 1623. He also played a key role in the passage of the Petition of Right.

Derek J. de Solla Price was a British physicist, information scientist, and historian of science. He is credited as the father of scientometrics. He received a Doctor of Philosophy in experimental physics from the University of London and began his academic career. He was posthumously awarded the ASIS Research Award for outstanding contributions in the field of information science.

Czech president Edvard Beneš had come to power twice and resigned in both instances, first after the German occupation of Czechoslovakia and then after the communist coup of 1948. Born to peasants in Bohemia, he had earned a doctorate of law and taught at universities before entering politics.

Born into a poverty-stricken family of farmers, Fanny Kaplan was home-schooled. Later, while working as a milliner, she joined the Socialist Revolutionary Party and thus became part of radical politics. She developed anti-Bolshevik sentiments and attempted to assassinate Lenin. Though Lenin recovered, Kaplan was later executed.

Earle Birney was a Canadian novelist and poet. He is best remembered for winning the prestigious Governor General's Award on two occasions. In 1953, he was also honored with the Lorne Pierce Medal for his immense contribution to Canadian literature and poetry.

Russian-French surgeon Serge Voronoff, or the Monkey Gland Man, stunned everyone by implanting monkey testicles in his patients to cure impotence. He had apparently also injected himself with dog and guinea pig testicle extracts. Unfortunately, the scientific community dismissed his claims as simply the result of placebo effect.

It was after her breast cancer diagnosis that Jane Tomlinson became a radiographer. Given 6 months to live after her cancer relapsed, she later lived for 7 more years, until her death. A fearless woman, she raised funds through charity sports events such as marathons, while battling the disease.

Known widely as the father of Osama bin Laden, Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was a Saudi business tycoon. He established the Jeddah-headquartered construction conglomerate Saudi Binladin Group and earned contracts from the Saudi royal family. He was also one of the richest non-royal Saudi and had 22 wives.

Emily Kame Kngwarreye, an Anmatyerr-speaking indigenous Australian artist, became famous for her poetic depictions of her desert homeland. She worked from a remote corner of the Simpson Desert. Apart from acrylic, her work also included elements of batik, tie-dye, and block printing and had the yam plant as a recurrent theme.

Lewis Morley was a British photographer best remembered for his photographs of popular personalities like John Kingsley Orton and Christine Margaret Keeler. He also worked for publications like Tatler and as a theatre photographer for more than 100 West End productions. In 2006, many of his photographs were showcased at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Castruccio Castracani was an Italian condottiero and aristocrat. He played important roles in several battles, including the Battle of Montecatini, where he led his men to victory against the Guelph League. His life and career inspired Niccolò Machiavelli's famous work, Life of Castruccio Castracani.