Famous People Who Died Today

Tony Randall is best remembered as Felix Unger from the sitcom The Odd Couple, based on the 1965 play of the same name, also winning an Emmy for the role. He also appeared in series such as Love, Sidney and delivered Golden Globe-nominated roles in films such as Pillow Talk.

One of the Founding Fathers of the United States who signed the famous Paris Treaty, John Jay was best known as the first Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, although he occupied various other important public positions. He was a diplomat, who shaped his country’s foreign policy. He passed legislation to gradually abolish slavery, but he himself owned five enslaved people.

Lawrence Welk was an American accordionist and bandleader. From 1951 to 1982, Welk hosted the popular musical variety show, The Lawrence Welk Show. Also known for his entrepreneurship skills, Welk had investments in music publishing and real estate. He also owned a club and restaurant. In 1994, he was made an inductee of the International Polka Music Hall of Fame.

From being the youngest vice-president of the United States to joining the Confederate Army during the American civil war, John Breckinridge was a controversial figure in politics. While he was regarded as a shrewd military commander, the former Democratic Congressman was considered a traitor in the northern region. He fled the US after the Civil War but later on returned.

Best known for his masterpiece The Sorcerer's Apprentice, French composer Paul Dukas was admired by both conservative and progressive French musicians. Born to a pianist mother, Dukas had begun composing while recovering from an ailment at age 14. Shortly before his death, he destroyed most of his manuscripts.

Mario Benedetti was a Uruguayan novelist, journalist, and poet. Widely regarded as one of the 20th century's most important writers in the Spanish-speaking world, Benedetti was a key member of the Generation '45. Benedetti's works were published in 20 languages and he also contributed to the weekly newspaper, Marcha, where he served as the literary director from 1954 to 1973.  

Milena Jesenska was a Czech writer, editor, journalist, and translator. She is best remembered for translating Franz Kafka's works from German to Czech and for her romantic relationship with Kafka when she was still married to Ernst Pollak. She is also known for her action of saving the lives of many Jewish and political refugees when the Nazis occupied Czechoslovakia.

Son of a building contractor, Nobel Memorial Prize-winning Swedish economist and sociologist Gunnar Myrdal attained a Rockefeller fellowship to the U.S. and also taught as a professor. Through his book An American Dilemma, he explored the socio-economic issues of the African-American community and laid down concepts such as cumulative causation.

French diplomat and bishop Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord is counted among the most pragmatic and prominent diplomats in European history. He served King Louis XVI and thereafter changed sides several times, serving at highest levels of successive French governments of Napoleon I, Louis XVIII and Louis Philippe I. He served as the first Prime Minister of France under Louis XVIII.

Anglican archbishop of Canterbury Matthew Parker had faced hostility under Roman Catholic queen Mary I’s reign but got his privileges back when Elizabeth I came to power. Among his many works was his own translation of the Bible. He had also been the vice chancellor of the University of Cambridge.

José Santos Zelaya was a Nicaraguan political figure best remembered for his service as the President of Nicaragua from 1893 to 1909. During his presidency, Zelaya enacted many progressive programs, such as established steam ship lines and improved railroads and public education. José Santos Zelaya also enacted a number of constitutional rights.

Born to a math teacher, French mathematician and physicist Alexis Clairaut had mastered calculus at 10. He is best remembered for devising the Clairaut’s equation and for validating the scientific claims of Sir Isaac Newton. He was part of an expedition to Lapland to ascertain a degree of the meridian arc.

Gerald Edelman was an American biologist best remembered for winning the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1972 for his work on the immune system; he shared the award with Rodney Robert Porter. Gerald Edelman is also credited with founding a nonprofit research center named The Neurosciences Institute, where he served as the director.

Serbian army commander Radomir Putnik was the country’s first Field Marshal and Chief of the General Staff. He led the Serbs in the Balkan Wars and World War I. One of his most significant wins was against the Austro-Hungarian army in the battles of Cer and Kolubara in 1914.

While his clubfoot prevented him from joining the army and also earned him the nickname The Lame Devil, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord later became the bishop of Autun. Known for his womanizing ways, he also went down in history as an opportunist who changed sides.

Hungarian author Béla Balázs, known for his Symbolist poems, also made pathbreaking studies in formalist film theory. He later established the Film Studies Institute of Hungary and also contributed to films such as The 3 Penny Opera. The Béla Balázs Prize, named after him, now honors talented cinematographers.

Apart from being the Archbishop of Canterbury, Donald Coggan had also been the Bishop of Bradford and the Archbishop of York. An academic, too, he taught at several universities. Progressive in his views, he supported the admission of women priests. He was made a life peer.

Armand-Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, duc de Richelieu was a French statesman. He served as an officer in the Russian Imperial Army during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. He was a royalist and actively supported monarchy during the Bourbon Restoration, following which he became the prime minister of France. He was married to Alexandrine Rosalie Sabine de Rochechouart-Faudoas.  

Jorge Rafael Videla was an Argentine military officer who was appointed by President Isabel Perón as the General Commander of the Army in 1975. From 1976 to 1981, he served as the de facto President of Argentina after deposing Isabel Perón in a coup d'état. As a member of the Military Junta, Videla was later accused of violating human rights.