Famous People Who Died At 40

Actor Paul Walker is remembered for his role as Brian O'Conner in the Fast & Furious franchise. A talented star who made his debut as a child actor, he was known for taking up challenging roles, especially in action films. Besides acting, he had a keen interest in marine biology. He was killed in a tragic car accident in 2013.

Considered one of the major authors of the 20th century, Franz Kafka was a Bohemian short-story writer and novelist. Franz Kafka is credited for being one of the earliest German-speaking authors to explore themes like absurdity, existential anxiety, and alienation. The term Kafkaesque is now widely used in the English language to explain those situations experienced by his characters.

Jack London was an American novelist, social activist, and journalist. A pioneer of American magazines and commercial fiction, London was one of the first authors from the US to become an international celebrity. His life and work inspired several films, such as the 1943 movie Jack London and 1980 film Klondike Fever. He was also portrayed in several TV series.

American writer Edgar Allan Poe is regarded as the architect of modern short story, the inventor of the detective-fiction genre and a major contributor towards science fiction genre. The influential writer is recognised for his tales of mystery and macabre. His notable works include The Raven (poem), The Tell-Tale Heart and The Fall of the House of Usher (short stories).

John Lennon was part of the hugely successful and popular music band, Beatles. It became the first British band to break out big in the US. However, they eventually broke up. Subsequently, Lennon went solo, with 1971 album, Imagine, being his most successful and acclaimed post-Beatles efforts. Sadly he was shot dead by a deranged fan in New York.

Robert Capa was a Hungarian-American photojournalist and war photographer. Regarded as the greatest adventure and combat photographer of all time, Robert Capa is best remembered for covering five major wars, namely Second Sino-Japanese War, Spanish Civil War, World War II, First Indochina War, and the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. In 1947, he was honored with the prestigious Medal of Freedom.

Augustus Pugin was an English designer, architect, artist, and critic. He is best remembered for his contribution to the Gothic Revival style of architecture. He is credited with designing the interior of the popular Palace of Westminster in London as well as the palace's iconic clock tower. Augustus Pugin also designed the Alton Castle in Staffordshire.

Juan Gris was a Spanish painter whose paintings are counted among the Cubism movement's most distinctive works. Gris's works and style influenced the Purist style of Charles Edouard Jeanneret and Amédée Ozenfant. Some of his paintings, such as Still Life with Checked Tablecloth and The musician's Table, have sold for millions of dollars at the auction.

Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage was a Portuguese poet who also served in the Portuguese Navy. He is best remembered for his modinhas, which are short, rhyming poems often sung with a guitar. He is also remembered for his interesting lifestyle as he had numerous love affairs.

Best known for his idylls such as Thyrsis and Thalysia, Greek poet Theocritus hailed from Sicily. Remembered as the pioneer of pastoral poetry, he described realistic rural ways of life and inspired later pastoral poems and elegies by legends such as John Milton, P. B. Shelley, and Matthew Arnold.

Hailed as the Patron of Sweden, King Eric IX was a 12th century Swedish king and the founder of the House of Eric. Also known as Saint Eric or Eric the Holy, he has been credited with many good deeds, which includes introduction of salutary laws, helping the poor and curing the sick with his miraculous power etc.

Zhang Xianzhong reigned as the Emperor of the Xi dynasty from 1644 to 1646. He is best remembered for his role in the massacres that depopulated Sichuan during the 1640s. Zhang Xianzhong was killed in 1647 by the invading Qing army.

Regiomontanus was an astrologer, astronomer, and mathematician of the German Renaissance. The development of Copernican heliocentrism was possible because of Regiomontanus' significant contributions to the field of astronomy. Regiomontanus is also credited with designing his own astrological house system which went on to become one of the most famous systems in Europe.

José Cadalso was a colonel of the Royal Spanish Army in the 18th century. He was also a well-known author, playwright, poet, and essayist. As an army man, he traveled through Italy, Germany, England, France, and Portugal and studied the literature of these countries. He is credited to have made massive contributions to Spanish Enlightenment literature. 

Simon Monjack was an English filmmaker, screenwriter, and make-up artist. Much of his professional life was overshadowed by his personal life, which included his marriage to American actress Brittany Murphy. Monjack's death attracted the attention of media as he died five months after Murphy's death due to complications similar to Murphy's undoing.