Famous People Who Died Today

Acknowledged by his rivals as a remarkable hitter, Jack Dempsey was an American heavyweight boxing champion who was known for his powerful punches. The record attendance at his bouts was an indication of his popularity. He was considered as one of the greatest fighters of all time. Born poor and nicknamed Kid Blackie, Jack Dempsey went on to become one of the richest athletes during his time.

Joseph Haydn was an Austrian composer who played a key role in the progression of chamber music during the Classical period. He is often referred to as the Father of the String Quartet and Father of the Symphony for his contributions to musical form. Joseph Haydn is also credited with mentoring and tutoring Mozart and Beethoven, respectively.

Jean Stapleton was an American actress best known for her portrayal of Edith Bunker in the popular sitcom, All in the Family, for which she won two Golden Globe Awards and three Emmy Awards. In 2002, she was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame as well as the Television Hall of Fame.

Psychologist and former Harvard professor Timothy Leary was an advocate of psychedelic drugs. His research experiments included the controversial Concord Prison Experiment and Marsh Chapel Experiment. After being fired from Harvard for his actions, he continued promoting his theories through catchphrases such as “turn on, tune in, drop out.”

Évariste Galois was a French mathematician best remembered for solving a 350-year-old problem when he was still in his teens. His work formed the basis for group theory and Galois theory, two important branches of abstract algebra. Also a political activist, Évariste Galois died at the age of 20 after suffering wounds in a duel.

Jennifer Worth was a British memoirist best remembered for her best-selling trilogy: Call the Midwife, Farewell to The East End, and Shadows of the Workhouse. The trilogy, which is about Jennifer Worth's experience as a nurse and midwife in East End of London during the 1950s, inspired the popular TV series, Call the Midwife. 

Mary Soames was a British author and the youngest child of Winston Churchill and Clementine. From 1939 to 1941, Soames worked for several public organizations, such as the Women's Voluntary Service and Red Cross. She then joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In 1945, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), in recognition of meritorious military services.

Tintoretto, also known as Il Furioso, was a significant painter of the Venetian school and is remembered for his phenomenal speed of painting, his long strokes, and his depiction of humans in motion. His most notable works, such as Susanna in the Bath, embody Renaissance mannerism.

Louise Bourgeois was a French-American artist best remembered for her large-scale installation art and sculpture. Also a prolific printmaker and painter, Bourgeois explored a variety of themes, such as sexuality and death. In 1997, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. In 2009, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

American architect Lloyd Wright is best remembered for his Prairie style of architecture predominant in the 20th-century American residential buildings. A proponent of organic architecture, he also delivered talks on architecture. He made headlines when a staff set fire to his Taliesin studio and murdered seven people.

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, a shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate, unlike his predecessors, was associated with the imperial bureaucracy. His reign witnessed major revolts, while he successfully crushed the pirates and feudal lords who threatened China, thus rekindling Sino-Japanese trade relations. The Chinese recognized him as the King of Japan.

Petar Toshev Mladenov was a Bulgarian politician and diplomat. The last recognized leader of the People's Republic of Bulgaria, Mladenov also served briefly as the Republic of Bulgaria's first President in 1990. An influential political figure, Petar Toshev Mladenov also served as the Foreign Minister of Bulgaria from 13 December 1971 to 24 October 1989.

The son of celebrated cinematographer Hans F. Koenekamp, Fred Koenekamp followed in his father’s footsteps and started his career as a camera loader at RKO. He first found fame with his two-time Emmy-winning work in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. His work in The Towering Inferno won him an Academy Award.

Scottish Presbyterian minister and political economist Thomas Chalmers has been immortalized by the town of Port Chalmers in New Zealand, named after him. An ordained minister, he was initially a math lecturer. He later became the Free Church of Scotland’s first moderator. He tried applying Christian ethics to economic problems.

Spanish author Juan Antonio de Zunzunegui was primarily known for his novels and short stories that reflected the life of Bilbao and Madrid. A Spanish Academy member, he is remembered for masterpieces such as El premio and El supremo bien and for his realistic narrative.

Mechanical engineer and naval architect Samuel Bentham was responsible for Russia’s victory over a Turkish force, using shell guns on warships. He had also visited China to study ship designs and had served as the inspector of English naval works. He was the younger brother of philosopher Jeremy Bentham.