Famous People Who Died Today

A policeman and a gunfighter, Wyatt Earp is most known for his role in one of the most famous gunfights in the American West history - the Gunfight at O.K. Corral against a group of cowboys. The incident inspired numerous films and books that elevated his heroic status. During his life, he also worked as a truck driver and saloonkeeper. 

James Joyce was an Irish novelist, poet, teacher, short story writer, and literary critic. Widely considered one of the 20th century's most important and influential writers, James Joyce contributed immensely to the modernist avant-garde movement. Joyce's work has influenced several scholars and writers, such as Jorge Luis Borges, Salman Rushdie, Seán Ó Ríordáin, Flann O'Brien, John Updike, and Cormac McCarthy.

Though born in the US, Patrick McGoohan moved to the US with his family as a child and later became one of Britain’s best-known actors. Fans loved him as John Drake in Danger Man and as Number Six in The Prisoner. He is also known for his Emmy-winning performance in the series Columbo.

The 38th vice president of the USA, Hubert Humphrey was an early skeptic of the Vietnam War; however, he had no choice but to support the war effort as President Lyndon B. Johnson wanted the war to go on. Thanks to his popularity, several buildings have been named after Humphrey. He has also been portrayed by actors like Bradley Whitford.

One half of the German-American entertainer duo Siegfried & Roy, Siegfried Fischbacher teamed up with his partner Roy Horn to perform awe-inspiring stunts with white tigers and lions. They hosted one of Las Vegas’s most visited shows, till Horn was severely injured after a tiger attacked Horn on stage.

Swiss-French artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp initially studied textile design and later began creating multimedia art called Duo-Collages, along with her husband, German-French abstract artist Jean Arp. Apart from teaching at an art and craft school, the Dadaist had also used dance, painting, and sculpture to showcase her artistic talent.

From working as a photographer to becoming one of the members of the British royal family, Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon had an amazing journey. Despite being known for his marriage with Princess Margaret, he was also known for his philanthropy and charity work. He also co-designed the Snowdon Aviary, which is now part of the famous London Zoo.

German-born Dutch naturalist and artist Maria Sibylla Merian is remembered for her drawings of insects and plants. She also contributed to the development of entomology through her detailed work on insects and her documentation of a butterfly’s metamorphosis. Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium is her best-known work.

Alexander Stepanovich Popov was a Russian physicist best remembered for his pioneering work in transmitting radio signals. One of the first inventors to come up with a radio receiving device, Popov's work was contemporaneous with the groundbreaking work of Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi. Popov's life and career inspired the 1949 biographical film Alexander Popov which was directed by Herbert Rappaport.

Flemish painter Jan Brueghel the Elder is perhaps best remembered for his floral still lifes and landscapes. The second son of legendary Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder, he was also nicknamed "Velvet" Brueghel and "Flower" Brueghel and was a court painter of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II.

Abbot Suger was a French abbot, statesman, and historian considered one of the earliest patrons of Gothic architecture. He was born into a humble family and trained at the priory of Saint-Denis de l'Estrée. He started working as the secretary to the abbot of Saint-Denis and later became the abbot. He was also a patron of art. 

Son of former president Chiang Kai-shek, Chiang Ching-kuo had been the premier and the president of the Republic of China. He had also studied in Russia as Nikolai Vladimirovich Elizarov. Following the rise of communists in China, he moved to Taiwan and continued to manage the government in exile.

Prominent Finnish architect and designer Aino Aalto considered a pioneer of Scandinavian design, co-founded Artek design company with her architect husband, Alvar Aalto and others. She served as its first creative director and collaborated on most of its famous designs. It has been discovered that work of the Viipuri Library, which typifies 1920s functionalist architectural design, was completed by her.  

Catholic cardinal Gilberto Agustoni initially studied theology in Rome but later moved to Fribourg due to World War II. He had served as part of the Roman Curia, had been the Secretary of the Congregation for the Clergy, and was named as part of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.

Kitaw Ejigu was an Ethiopian-American engineer and one of Ethiopia’s first aerospace scientists. He worked for NASA as a system engineer and space research scientist and managed a joint NASA/ESA International Solar Polar Mission Spacecraft Systems Interface. He is also credited with the invention of two aerospace mechanisms which were patented under NASA's new technologies programs.  

J. F. R. Jacob was an Indian Army officer who played a major role in the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971; the Indian Army helped Bangladesh attain independence from Pakistan. He also saw action in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and during World War II. J. F. R. Jacob also served as the governor of Punjab and Goa.

One of the two Rahbani Brothers, Mansour Rahbani, along with his brother, Assi, enriched the Lebanese music scene with their legendary compositions. They also developed the unique Rahbani singing theater and composed music for a few films. Mansour and Assi later formed a trio with Assi’s wife, Fairuz.

Born to a weaver, George Fox had little formal education and left home at 18, in pursuit of some religious experience. The English missionary later founded the Society of Friends, or Quakers, which is a Protestant branch. He was married to Margaret Fell, known widely as "the mother of Quakerism."