Famous People Who Died Today

Alexander Fleming was a Scottish microbiologist and physician. He is credited with discovering penicillin, the world's first effective antibiotic substance; a discovery that changed the course of history. He also discovered lysozyme, an antimicrobial enzyme which forms part of the innate immune system. In 1999, Fleming was named in Time magazine's 100 Most Important People of the 20th century list.

American naval officer Richard E. Byrd is remembered for his pioneering expeditions to Antarctica, using airplanes. Though he was awarded a US Congressional Medal of Honor for completing the first flight over the North Pole, it was later revealed that he had returned when he was 150 miles away from the destination.

Legendary English keyboardist Keith Emerson gained international fame as a founding member of the progressive rock group trio, Emerson, Lake & Palmer. He was also known for his work with The Nice. A victim of depression in his later years, he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.

Primarily known for his stand-up comedies, Ken Dodd was also a celebrated actor and singer. Working mainly as a solo comedian, he became noted for his rapid delivery of one liner jokes, often interspersed with songs. Over his long career spanning more than six decades, he had also appeared in numerous television productions and had released many hit albums.

Charles Sumner was an American statesman, academic lawyer, and orator. As the leader of the anti-slavery forces in Massachusetts, Sumner played a major role during the American Civil War. He also played a crucial role during the Reconstruction era, seeking equal rights to the freedmen.

F. W. Murnau was a German film director best remembered for directing the 1922 silent horror film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, which is widely regarded as a masterpiece of German Expressionist cinema. He also made Hollywood films like Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, which is often counted among the best movies ever made by critics and film directors.

John Wyndham was an English writer best remembered for writing science fiction stories set in post-apocalyptic landscapes, such as The Day of the Triffids. His books have inspired other works of art like movies and radio. John Wyndham’s 1957 science fiction novel The Midwich Cuckoos was filmed twice under the title Village of the Damned.

Son of a top Nazi official, laicized Roman Catholic priest Martin Adolf Bormann found shelter in a church after Germany lost the war. Ordained as a priest, he later served in Congo before leaving the ministry to become a teacher of theology. After retirement, he began traveling across Germany and Austria, talking about the horrors of Nazi rule in schools.

One of the pioneers of the slapshot, considered a tough shot in hockey, Bernie Geoffrion, or Boom Boom, as he is known to his fans, is part of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He mostly played for the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Rangers, and also coached the Canadiens.

Dragan Nikolic was a Serbian actor best remembered for his portrayal of Alija in the 1981 Yugoslavian-German adventure film The Falcon, for which he was honored with the prestigious Best Actor award at Pula Film Festival. Over the course of his career, which spanned five decades, Dragan Nikolic played various characters in films of different genres.

Geraldine Farrar was an American soprano who was known for both her musical talent and her beauty. She made her opera debut with Faust at the Royal Opera House and later also performed as the Monte Carlo Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. She also appeared in several silent movies, such as Maria Rosa.

Royal Navy officer David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, had been the Admiral of the Fleet and is remembered for his exploits in World War I. Some of his major heroics were seen in the Battle of Jutland and the Battle of Heligoland Bight. He was also knighted for his achievements.

Silvio Gesell was a German-Argentine theoretical economist, merchant, Georgist, social activist, libertarian socialist, anarchist, and founder of Freiwirtschaft. He is also credited with founding a magazine named Monetary and Land Reform which was closed soon after its establishment for financial reasons. Silvio Gesell is also credited with co-creating the magazine Der Physiokrat.

Physicist Arthur Jeffrey Dempster is credited with the invention of the first mass spectrometer, which is used to measure the quantities of charged particles. He was also the man behind the discovery of uranium-235, an isotope used in atom bombs, and was associated with the Manhattan Project, too.

Doreen Massey was a British geographer and social scientist. A multi-talented personality, Massey specialized in feminist geography, Marxist geography, and cultural geography among several other topics. For many years, she served at the UK's Open University as a professor of Geography. Over the course of her career, Doreen Massey was honored with many prestigious awards like the Presidential Achievement Award.

Slobodan Milosević was a Serbian political leader who served as the President of Serbia from 1989 to 1997 and of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000. He pursued Serbian nationalist policies, which resulted in the breakup of the socialist Yugoslav federation. Milosevic was charged with war crimes in connection to the Bosnian War, the Croatian War, and the Kosovo War, and died in custody.

Ivan Evstatiev Geshov served as the 18th Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 29 March 1911 to 14 June 1913. He was also recognized as one of Bulgaria's leading economic minds, enabling him to serve as Finance Minister of the country on several occasions.