Famous People Who Died Today

Austrian composer Franz Peter Schubert was one of the most prominent figures of the Viennese Classical and Romantic periods. He initially performed at the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde. His compositions include over 600 vocal works and several symphonies, operas, and piano sonatas. One of his most-talked-about works is the Unfinished Symphony.

Rosalynn Carter, served as the U.S. First Lady from 1977 to 1981, as the wife of former U.S. president Jimmy Carter. She promoted human rights, peace, and mental health awareness. She was also an envoy to Latin America and launched Every Child By Two, a childhood immunization awareness program.

Mike Nichols started as a comedian with the troupe The Compass Players and then performed as part of the Grammy-winning duo Nichols and May. Nichols then delivered Tony-winning directorial stage ventures such as Luv and Death of a Salesman and won the Academy Award for his direction in The Graduate. 

Terry Melcher was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Melcher played a key role in shaping the California Sound and folk rock movements of the 1960s. He is also credited with forming the popular rock music duo Bruce & Terry along with Bruce Johnston. Melcher is also known for his association with The Byrds and Charles Manson.

Henri Fayol was a French mining engineer, author, mining executive, and director of mines. He is credited with developing a theory of business administration called Fayolism. Along with Frederick Winslow Taylor, Henri Fayol is credited with founding modern management methods.

Frederick Sanger remains one of only two people to have won the Nobel Prize twice in the same category. The British biochemist is remembered for his ground-breaking work on nucleic acids and the insulin molecule. The son of a Quaker medical missionary, Sanger, too, grew up believing in Quakerism.

The founder of the French Classical tradition, painter Nicolas Poussin was initially influenced by Venetian art but later deviated to antiquity. Most of his paintings showcased historical, mythological, biblical elements but some were also inspired by landscapes and poetry. The Death of the Virgin remains one of his best-known works.

Initially a lawyer, Wolfe Tone later ditched his practice to co-establish the Society of United Irishmen, aimed at ending the British reign in Ireland. A prominent face of the Irish Rebellion, he led French forces into Ireland during the 1798 rebellion. Sentenced to be hanged, he later slit his own throat and died.

The daughter of Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis, Christina Onassis had an unhappy life. She lost both her parents shortly after her brother’s accidental death. She married and divorced 4 times and had a long struggle with eating disorders. She tragically died of a heart attack at 37.

Painter and printmaker James Ensor spent most of his life in the North Sea fishing port of Ostend, away from hustle-bustle of big cities. Yet, he left a significant influence on every aspect of the modernist movement; from symbolism and expressionism to dada and surrealism; also a signature style that involved radical distortion of form, muddled surface and riotous color.  

One of the best Polish authors of the 20th century, Bruno Schulz is remembered for his iconic works such as The Cinnamon Shops, a collection of short stories that had a Kafkaesque style. He was shot dead by a Nazi officer while returning home with a loaf of bread.

Japanese-American meteorologist Tetsuya Theodore Fujita, also known as Ted Fujita, is remembered for his research on severe weather. He devised the Fujita Scale, or F-Scale, for measuring the intensity of tornadoes. In his later life, he was associated with the faculty of the University of Chicago.

The youngest child of New York governor Nelson Rockefeller, Michael Rockefeller shunned his family’s legacy and decided to become an explorer. He went missing while on an expedition to the Asmat region of southwestern Dutch New Guinea and was declared dead 3 years later, raising speculations of cannibalism.

Apart from captaining the non-white South African cricket team, Basil D'Oliveira also played football. His inclusion in the England team later led to the boycott of apartheid-ridden South Africa from Test cricket for 22 years, in what is now known as the D'Oliveira Affair. He received honors such as the CBE.

Though born to a London physician, Calvert Vaux didn’t follow in his father’s footsteps and apprenticed under architect Lewis Nockalls Cottingham instead. He grew up to be a master landscape designer and co-designed New York’s Central Park. His other great work was the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Austrian actor Reggie Nalder was the son of an opera performer. With a face that was permanently disfigured by burns, he was typecast in villainous roles. He is best remembered for his iconic performance as Rien in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much. He also knew 4 languages.

German-British inventor and electrical engineer, who revolutionized the steel-making and glass-making industries, is best remembered for using the Siemens-Martin process to create the regenerative furnace. His achievements earned him accolades such as the Albert Medal. He was a Fellow of The Royal Society and was knighted shortly before his death.

Best known for the 1976 track Sonny's Dream, Canadian folk singer and songwriter Ron Hynes is referred to as “the man of a thousand songs.” Beginning his music career with the coffeehouses and pubs of Toronto, he eventually graduated to being named to the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Canadian-American sociologist, social-psychologist and writer Erving Goffman, regarded as the most influential American sociologist of the 20th century by some, is best-known for his study of symbolic interaction and development of his dramaturgical analysis. His book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life was the first that treated face-to-face interaction as a subject of sociological study.

João Guimarães Rosa was a Brazilian novelist and short story writer. His only novel, Grande Sertão: Veredas, is considered a revolutionary piece of literature. It is said to be the Brazilian equivalent of James Joyce's Ulysses. He later began a diplomatic career as well. Sadly, he passed away at the peak of his highly successful literary and diplomatic career. 

John R. Vane was a British pharmacologist best remembered for his work that helped understand how aspirin produces anti-inflammatory and pain-relief effects. His work also led to the development of new treatments for blood vessel and heart disease. In 1982, John R. Vane was honored with the prestigious Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine alongside Bengt Samuelsson and Sune Bergström.

Alexander Liberman was a Ukrainian-American painter, sculptor, magazine editor, publisher, and photographer. He is best remembered for his association with Condé Nast Publications where he held senior artistic positions over the course of his 32 years at Condé Nast.

Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme was the 5th vice president of Nigeria, who was also the 1st elected vice president of the country. The National Party of Nigeria politician was also a skilled architect who had launched Nigeria’s first indigenous architectural firm. He was also a qualified lawyer.