Famous People Who Died Today

One half of the popular musical duo The Carpenters, Karen Carpenter was an American drummer and singer. Her death at age 32 and life-long struggles with eating disorders led to increased awareness of conditions like anorexia and body dysmorphia, which were little-known at the time. In 2010, Carpenter was named on Rolling Stone's 100 greatest singers of all time list.

Psychologist Carl Rogers was the first to introduce a client-centric approach to psychotherapy and addressed the patient as the client. Besides working on troubled children, he also taught at various institutes, such as the University of Chicago. On Becoming a Person remains one of his best-known books.

Best known for working with Albert Einstein to form Bose–Einstein statistics, Indian scientist Satyendra Nath Bose was a master of quantum mechanics. He played the esraj, loved poetry, and had mastered quite a few languages. The Padma Vibhushan winner was also made a Fellow of The Royal Society.

Edgar Mitchell was an American aviator, United States Navy officer, test pilot, NASA astronaut, ufologist, and aeronautical engineer. In 1971, Mitchell became only the sixth person ever to walk on the Moon. Over the course of his illustrious career, Edgar Mitchell was honored with several prestigious awards, such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.   

Matti Nykänen was a Finnish ski jumper widely considered to be the greatest male ski jumper of all time. Over the course of his career, he won five Winter Olympic medals and nine World Championship medals. He won the International Masters Championship for veteran ski jumpers in 2008. He had a tumultuous personal life and faced several legal issues.

Nobel Prize-winning Dutch physicist Hendrik Lorentz, a major figure of the Second Dutch Golden Age, is remembered for his discovery of the Zeeman effect, along with his former student Pieter Zeeman, who shared the Nobel with Lorentz. His research on electromagnetic radiation prepared ground for Einstein’s special theory of relativity.

American actor/writer George Nader is best known for his iconic films such as Sins of Jezebel and Congo Crossing. With his 6’1” frame, the actor mostly earned "beefcake" roles. Though not openly gay, he lived with his partner Mark Miller. An eye injury later forced him to retire from acting.

Born to Greek parents in Romania, Iannis Xenakis was inspired to take up music by his parents, especially his pianist mother. He lost an eye in the Greek resistance during World War II but later excelled as an architect, musician, and mathematician in France, merging music and math through his musique stochastique.

Tura Satana was a Japanese American vedette, exotic dancer, and actress. She achieved popularity after the release of her 1965 American exploitation film Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! where she portrayed the role of Varla. Satana's career took a backseat in 1981 when she met with an accident. She then made a comeback in 2002 and remained active until her death.

Dianne Durham was an artistic gymnast who won the all-around senior title at the women's US National Championships in 1983, becoming the first African American athlete to do so. She suffered from injuries that put a premature end to her brilliant career, and she had to retire in 1985. Later on, she ran the Skyline Gymnastics school in Chicago. 

In 2003, Essie Mae Washington-Williams made headlines when she announced that she was the illegitimate, bi-racial child of senator Strom Thurmond and his Black maid. It is believed Essie’s mother was 16 when she had her, and that Thurmond didn’t accept her, as he was politically pro-segregation.

Giambattista della Porta was an Italian scholar, polymath, and playwright. He was active in Naples at the time of the Scientific Revolution and Reformation in the 16th century. He was knowledgeable in different fields, including occult philosophy, astrology, meteorology, alchemy, mathematics, and natural philosophy. In his later years, he collected rare specimens and grew exotic plants. 

Theodoros Kolokotronis was a Greek general and the greatest leader of the Greek Revolution of 1821 against the Ottoman Empire. He is credited with defeating Mahmud Dramali Pasha's Ottoman army at the Battle of Dervenakia, which is widely regarded as Kolokotronis' greatest success. Today, Theodoros Kolokotronis is ranked among the most important figures in the Greek War of Independence.

Piet Cronjé was a South African Boer general who participated in both the Anglo-Boer Wars. He besieged the British garrison at Potchefstroom during the First Boer War, making a reputation for himself. He was the general commanding in the western theatre of war during the Second Boer War. He was defeated at the Battle of Paardeberg and surrendered. 

Étienne-Louis Boullée was a French architect and visionary whose work continues to have a massive impact on the works of contemporary architects. A highly respected architect during his time, Boullée served as the chief architect under Frederick II of Prussia. Étienne-Louis Boullée is widely regarded as one of the most influential and prominent personalities of French neoclassical architecture. 

Apart from being a Benedictine monk, Rabanus Maurus was also a talented author and is remembered for his 22-volume encyclopaedia On the Natures of Things. He enriched German language and literature and this gained the nickname Teacher of Germany. His works also include translations and commentaries.

Josef Mysliveček was a Czech composer who made immense contributions to the development of late 18th-century classicism in music. He is best remembered for his collaborations with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Josef Mysliveček was also close to the Mozart family.