Famous People Who Died Today

Larry Linville was an American actor best known for playing Major Frank Burns in the popular war comedy-drama TV series, M*A*S*H. His portrayal of an ill-tempered, civilian doctor in the series earned him wide recognition. Surprisingly, he declined an offer to renew his contract for two more seasons to pursue other roles, but couldn't emulate the success achieved through M*A*S*H.

Lebanese author and poet Khalil Gibran is best remembered for his bestselling works The Prophet and Broken Wings. One of the leaders of the Mahjar movement of Arabic literature, he specialized in incorporating mythological and mystical symbols in his works and was inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche and William Blake.

Stuart Sutcliffe was a Scottish musician and painter. He is best remembered for his association with the popular rock band the Beatles, where he was the original bass guitarist. Before achieving popularity as a guitarist, Sutcliffe left the Beatles to pursue painting. Along with John Lennon, Stuart Sutcliffe is credited with coining the name Beetles, which later became the Beatles.

Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh was an English author, known for his novels, biographies, and travelogues. Hailed as the most brilliant satirical novelist of his day, he wrote mostly satires before WWII. But during the war, his writings took a serious turn; he published Brideshead Revisited in 1945, a book that continues to appear on the best books list till now.

Joseph Louis Lagrange was an Italian mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the fields of number theory, analysis, and both classical and celestial mechanics. He served as the director of mathematics at the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin for over 20 years. He later moved to France and became a member of the French Academy of Sciences. 

French paleontologist and Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin is remembered as someone who deviated from theology to science. He discovered the fossilized remains known as the Peking man in China, but faced a lot of opposition from his religious superiors when it came to publishing his scientific thoughts.

William of Ockham, also known as Doctor Invincibilis, is chiefly remembered as one of the pioneers of nominalism. The 14th-cenntury Franciscan friar was also a scholar and philosopher, and laid the foundation of Occam’s razor. His written works include Summa logicae and his commentary on his own lectures, Sentences.

Chris Hani was a South African politician who led the South African Communist Party from 1991 to 1993. One of the most important and influential fighters against the apartheid government, Hani played an important role in the development of the armed wing of the ANC, Umkhonto we Sizwe. He was assassinated by a Polish immigrant named Janusz Waluś.

Chen Yun was a Chinese political leader who played a major role during the Chinese economic reform. He was regarded as one of the most influential political leaders of China during the '80s and '90s. He also played an important role during the Chinese Civil War and was later counted among the Eight Great Eminent Officials of China.

Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis was a Lithuanian composer, painter, and writer. Widely regarded as a pioneer of abstract art in Europe, Čiurlionis contributed immensely to art nouveau and symbolism. Today, many of his paintings are preserved at the M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum in Lithuania. Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis also had a major influence on modern Lithuanian culture.

Scottish-Irish businessman Alexander Turney Stewart initially aspired to be a Presbyterian minister, before deviating to teaching and then eventually stepping into business. He began with trading textile and then launched a dry goods business, A. T. Stewart & Company, in New York, which he later expanded into an empire.

Manuel González Flores was a Mexican military general turned politician who served as the 35th President of Mexico from 1880 to 1884. Prior to joining politics, he played significant roles in the Mexican–American War and the Reform War, as an army man. His tenure as the president saw major diplomatic and domestic achievements. 

Birbal Sahni was a pioneer of palaeobotanical research in India. The founder of the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, he also taught botany at BHU and Lucknow University. He was also interested in music and tennis, and loved collecting coins. He was a Fellow of The Royal Society, too.

Though trained in dance and the piano, Patricia Collinge later found her calling in acting. The Irish-American actor is best remembered for her iconic roles such as Lavinia Penniman in The Heiress. Her performance as Aunt Birdie in the film The Little Foxes later got her nominated for an Academy Award.

Rabah Bitat was an Algerian politician and nationalist. He is best remembered for his service as the interim President of Algeria from 1978 to 1979. He was appointed president after the demise of Houari Boumédiène. Rabah Bitat also served as the President of the People's National Assembly of Algeria from 1977 to 1990.

Anna Walentynowicz was a Polish trade unionist. She was credited with co-founding a Polish trade union called Solidarity, which played a key role in ending the Communist rule in Poland. In 2006, Anna Walentynowicz was honored with the Order of the White Eagle. She was also named in Time magazine's 100 Women of the Year list in 2020.

Auguste Lumière was a French engineer, illusionist, industrialist, and biologist. Alongside his brother Louis Jean Lumière, Auguste is credited with inventing a projection device and animated photographic camera called the cinematograph, which attracted worldwide acclaim. He is also remembered for his innovations in military aircraft and his pioneering work in the use of X-rays.

Peter Mitchell was a British biochemist best known for his discovery of chemiosmosis, for which he was honored with the prestigious Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1978. Over the course of his career, Peter Mitchell also received other prestigious awards such as the Copley Medal and the Sir Hans Krebs Medal.

Jean-Baptiste Dumas was a 19th-century French chemist. He is best remembered for his works on organic analysis and synthesis. He is also credited with developing a method for the analysis of nitrogen in compounds. He was a member of the French Academy of Sciences and one of the founders of the École centrale des arts et manufactures.