Famous People Who Died Today

Dubbed the King of Cool, Steve McQueen was an American actor known for his antihero persona. He was one of the most bankable stars during the 1960s and 1970s. Renowned for performing many of his own stunts, McQueen remains a popular star. In the 2019 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Steve McQueen was played by Damian Lewis.

Feminist and civil rights icon Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was the longest-serving U.S First Lady. She was a prominent human rights activist, wrote columns, and hosted a radio show. She was named to Gallup's List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century in 1999.

Leonard Cohen was one of the most popular Canadian celebrities of all time. After starting his career as a poet and novelist, Leonard went on to become a famous singer-songwriter, exploring themes like sexuality, religion, depression, and romantic relationships in his work. Leonard Cohen was one of the inspirations for Steven Clark and Matthew Bissonnette's 2002 film Looking for Leonard.

Howard Keel was an American actor. Renowned for his bass-baritone voice, Keel starred in several MGM musicals throughout the 1950s. Also known for his work in TV and films, Keel was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. In 1996, a Golden Palm Star was dedicated to him on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.

British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace is largely remembered for his theory of evolution through natural selection, which inspired Charles Darwin’s studies. He began his career as a surveyor’s apprentice and later introduced concepts such as reinforcement in animals, also known as the Wallace effect. He was awarded the Order of Merit.

Texas-based Democratic politician John Nance Garner III, also known as Cactus Jack, served as the vice president of the U.S. from 1933 to 1941, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The qualified lawyer had also served as the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. He fell out with Roosevelt later.

Known for his collaborations with director John Ford, actor Victor McLaglen was a favorite of audiences of Westerns and even bagged an Oscar for his performance as Gypo Nolan in The Informer. Earlier, he was a carnival boxer and would often use the nickname Sharkey for his bouts.

One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, Touko Valio Laaksonen, better known as Tom of Finland, is remembered for his paintings of the human body and his depiction of homoerotic desire. In his later life, his struggle with emphysema made him switch from pencil to pastels.

Will Durant was an American writer, philosopher, and historian. He is credited with writing The Story of Philosophy which helped popularize philosophy in the USA. Will is also remembered for co-writing an 11-volume set of books titled The Story of Civilization along with his wife Ariel. Will and Ariel were awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, Alexander Dubček, was no stranger to politics as a child, being the son of a Communist Party member. He resisted the Nazi occupation, while his liberal policies later led Soviet authorities to invade Czechoslovakia. He eventually died in a car crash.

Richard Sorge was a German journalist and Soviet military intelligence officer. He was active before and during the Second World War. He worked undercover in both Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan under the codename, "Ramsay." He was arrested, tortured, and hanged in 1944. In 1964, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Hungarian Jewish poet and SOE member Hannah Szenes went down in history for voluntarily parachuting into occupied Europe during World War II to assist the Allied forces and the armed resistance against the Nazis. Captured at the Hungarian border, she was eventually tortured and executed by a firing squad.

It is believed French composer Germaine Tailleferre had started composing at the tender age of 5. She later grew up to be the only woman in Henry Collet’s Les Six, or The French Six. Among her many accolades are the Medal of the City of Paris and the Prix Italia.

Li Hongzhang was a Chinese politician, diplomat, and general of the popular Qing dynasty. He is credited with quelling many major rebellions and took up several important positions in the imperial court. Although he was praised for his diplomatic skills, Li has remained a controversial figure due to his military and political defeats.

British army officer John Hunt, or Baron Hunt, was granted special leave to plan and lead the British expedition to Mount Everest in May 1953. While Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay climbed to the top of Everest, he remained at the base camp. He also taught as a mountain warfare instructor.

Dutty Boukman was a Haitian revolutionary who was active during the Haitian Revolution. It is believed that Boukman and a Vodou mambo named Cécile Fatiman presided over a religious ceremony at Bois Caïman that instigated the 1791 slave revolt which came to be known as the Haitian Revolution.

Padma Shri and Sahitya Akademi Award-winning Indian author Nabaneeta Dev Sen is revered as one of the greatest figures of Bengali literature. Born to a poet couple, Nabaneeta was christened by Rabindrananth Tagore. She was also an academic and was married to economist Amartya Sen for almost 2 decades.

Eileen Agar was a British-Argentinian photographer and painter best remembered for her association with the Surrealist movement. In 1936, Agar became the only woman to exhibit her works at the International Surrealist Exhibition in London after her work was recommended by Paul Nash to the organizers of the exhibition, Herbert Read and Roland Penrose.

Olga Rozanova was a Russian avant-garde artist remembered for her association with important movements like Cubo-Futurism, Neo-Primitivism, and Suprematism. She was also an active member of an organization called Soyuz Molodyozhi which organized lectures, discussions, and art exhibitions. Many of her works are preserved at the Museum of Modern Art, the Harvard Art Museums, and the Carnegie Museum of Art.

Known as the father of township drama, or Black theater, Gibson Kente was a master playwright, who had also directed How Long (Must We Suffer…)?, the first prominent South African movie made by a Black artist. While dying from HIV, he made a public plea for donations, announcing his bankruptcy.

Jorge Carrera Andrade was an Ecuadorian author, poet, diplomat, and historian. He is widely regarded as one of the 20th century's most prominent Latin American poets. Most of his poems have been translated into English, French, German, and Italian. Apart from his literary career, Jorge Carrera Andrade also served as an ambassador to the UK, France, Belgium, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.