Famous People Who Died Today

John Carradine is considered one of the most famous character actors in Hollywood history. With an extensive career spanning almost six decades, he became known for his roles in horror films. He holds 351 film and TV credits and is among the most prolific English-speaking actors of all time. Many of his descendants are also actors.

Eugene O'Neill was an American playwright whose works earned him several prestigious awards, including four Pulitzer Prizes for Drama and the 1936 Nobel Prize in Literature. His play Long Day's Journey into Night is frequently named among the 20th century's finest American plays. In the 1981 film Reds, Eugene O'Neill is played by actor Jack Nicholson.

Horace was a Roman lyric poet who was influential during the time of Augustus. Renowned for his Odes, Horace's ode-writing style was imitated by a number of aspiring poets in England during the 17th and 18th centuries when ode-writing was considered highly fashionable.

Ada Lovelace was a mathematician known for her work on the Analytical Engine, a mechanical general-purpose computer proposed by Charles Babbage. Many believe that Lovelace was the first to recognize the potential of computers. It is also believed that she published the first algorithm after realizing that the algorithm could be carried out by a machine like the Analytical Engine.

Fernand Braudel was a French historian who led a group of historians who were associated with the Annales School. Braudel is credited with popularizing the school in France. As the leader of the school during the 1950s and 1960s, Braudel had a major influence on historical writings around the world. He is also counted among the forefathers of world-systems theory.

Tony Hsieh showed his entrepreneurial spirit since his Harvard days, when he managed a pizza delivery outlet for his dorm. He later founded the Las Vegas-based online shoe and clothing retailer Zappos. He tragically died from smoke inhalation at a house fire during Thanksgiving, shortly before turning 47.

V. P. Singh served as the Indian prime minister briefly between 1989 and 1990. The Raja Bahadur of Manda, he was the only Indian prime minister who was also a former king. Initially a Congress member, he later established the Janata Dal. He was married to the Raja of Deogarh’s daughter.

Better known as Carl Jung’s wife, Emma Jung was the daughter of one of the most affluent businessmen in Switzerland. Though she initially wished to study natural sciences, being a woman in her time, she couldn’t. Later a co-owner of a luxury watch company, she helped her husband financially in his career.

Nicolae Iorga was a Romanian politician, historian, memoirist, poet, playwright, literary critic, and Albanologist. He is credited with co-founding the Democratic Nationalist Party. Nicolae Iorga is best remembered for his service as the Prime Minister of Romania from 19 April 1931 to 6 June 1932. 

Guillaume Dufay was a French composer and music theorist active during the Renaissance. He was regarded as the leading European composer of the era. Dufay was one of the first composers of the Franco-Flemish School and was also associated with the Burgundian School. His most famous work, the complex motet Nuper Rosarum Flores, is considered an icon of Western culture.

French-born Swiss composer Arthur Honegger was part of the legendary Les Six and heralded the modern movement in French music. Trained in Zurich and Paris, he later soared to fame with his version of Le Roi David. Antigone and Pacific 231 remain two of his most popular pieces.

Confederate soldier Sam Davis, who was captured, convicted and executed by Union forces at just 21 years of age in Pulaski, Tennessee, during the American Civil War, is remembered for his courage and loyalty and lauded as the Boy Hero of the Confederacy. A martyr to the Confederate cause, Davis was eulogized by Middle Tennesseeans for his bravery and sacrifice.

Once the executive director of the MLB Players Association, Marvin Miller was also an economist employed by the US government during World War II. Named to the Baseball Hall of Fame, he had also been part of the negotiating team for the association’s collective bargaining agreement.

Catalan Baroque painter Josep Maria Sert is best remembered for his murals which adorn iconic buildings such as the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York and the League of Nations assembly hall in Geneva. He took 30 years to paint the Vic Cathedral, which was eventually destroyed by fire.

An important figure of  the Spanish Enlightenment, statesman author Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos began his career as a criminal judge before returning to his native province, where he completed his best known work, arguing for agricultural reforms. As Minister of Justice he argued against Inquisition and as an important member of the Supreme Central Junta, actively opposed the French invasion.

Basil Zaharoff was a Greek industrialist and arms dealer. Dubbed the mystery man of Europe and merchant of death, Zaharoff is remembered as a cunning and manipulative businessman who employed corrupt business tactics during the First World War. Interestingly, he was also a philanthropist, and his life inspired several fictional characters, including Ian Fleming's Ernst Stavro Blofeld.

Senesino was an Italian contralto castrato best remembered for his collaboration with George Frideric Handel. After making his debut at Venice in 1707, Senesino went on to establish himself as an important singer and performer.

Satyendra Dubey was an Indian Engineering Service officer who headed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) where he was the project director. Dubey was murdered at the age of 30 for exposing corruption in NHAI project. His murder instigated several protests and Dubey was honored with several awards, including the Whistleblower of the Year award from Index on Censorship.

J. Howard Pew headed the Sun Oil Company, now known as Sunoco, founded by his father, oil magnate Joseph Newton Pew, Sr. He introduced many innovations in his company and later formed a shipbuilding company with his brother. He and his siblings also formed the Pew Charitable Trusts.