Famous People Who Died Today

Regarded as one of the most popular and influential jazz musicians of the previous century, Quincy Jones is known for his work with other legendary artists like Michael Jackson and Frank Sinatra. As the first African-American to find success at the Academy Awards ceremony, Quincy has influenced a host of black musicians and songwriters.

Henri Matisse was a French artist. Although he was known for his skills as a painter, Matisse was also a renowned sculptor, printmaker, and draughtsman. Along with Picasso, Matisse is regarded as one of the artists who contributed immensely to the revolutionary developments in visual arts. His works also influenced other painters who would adopt a technique called intense colorism.

Bob Kane was an American animator, comic book writer, and artist. He is credited with co-creating the world-renowned DC Comics character Batman. He is also credited with co-creating the popular animated series Cool McCool. In 1977, Bob Kane was honored with the prestigious Inkpot Award. In 1996, he was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.

Dick Cheney was the vice president of the US from 2001 to 2009. He is considered to be one of the most powerful vice presidents ever and also one of the most unpopular politicians in the history of the US. He played an important role in America’s response to the September 11 attacks and backed the US invasion of Iraq.

Lonnie Donegan was a British musician and singer-songwriter. He is remembered for his contribution to a genre of folk music called Skiffle which earned him the nickname King of Skiffle. Donegan is credited with influencing British rock and pop musicians of the 1960s. Thanks to his influence on American music, Donegan is considered an important figure in the British invasion.

Wilhelm Reich was an Austrian psychoanalyst and doctor of medicine. He is credited with shaping innovations like body psychotherapy, primal therapy, and Gestalt therapy. Also a writer, Reich's books like The Sexual Revolution and The Mass Psychology of Fascism influenced generations of intellectuals. Also a controversial figure, some of Wilhelm Reich's practices caused a disturbance in the psychoanalytic community.

A cardinal of the Catholic Church of Italy and the archbishop of Milan, Charles Borromeo was a major figure of the Italian Counter-Reformation. He gained a lot of respect with his charitable work during the plague of 1576–78. He is revered as the patron saint of cardinals, bishops, and spiritual leaders.

Olympe de Gouges was an 18th-century French playwright and political activist. Her writings on women's rights and abolitionism were popular in various countries. She was an outspoken advocate against the slave trade in the French colonies. She demanded that French women be given the same rights as French men. She was executed during the Reign of Terror.

Martin de Porres was a Peruvian lay brother of the Dominican Order. He was beatified in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI. He lived an austere life and often went hungry. He abstained from meat and was said to be able to communicate with animals. He is the patron saint of mixed-race people and those who seek racial harmony. 

One of the pioneers of electronic music, Léon Theremin invented the aetherphone, also known as the theremin, which was the first electronic musical instrument to be mass-produced. He also doubled up as a Soviet spy, eavesdropping on the British, French, and US embassies, using the Buran device and The Thing.

Best known for his 14-volume book A History of Soviet Russia, British historian and diplomat E. H. Carr had been part of the Foreign Office for a long time, before stepping into the academic world. He had also been an assistant editor of The Times and a fellow of both Oxford and Cambridge.

Gonçalves Dias was a Brazilian lawyer, poet, playwright, ethnographer, and linguist. A major figure of Brazilian Romanticism, he is credited with having composed Canção do exílio, often considered the best known poem of Brazilian literature. He was posthumously awarded the title of national poet of Brazil and is the patron of the 15th chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. 

Born Tada Jusaburō, Terauchi Masatake changed his name after being adopted by the Terauchi family. He was the army minister for a decade and later became the prime minister of Japan. Known for its aggressive foreign policies, his government collapsed when riots broke out over a rice shortage in Tokyo.

Best known for her track Lambi Judai from the Bollywood film Hero, Pride of Performance-winning Pakistani folk singer Reshma was popular both in Pakistan and India. Born into a gypsy family in Rajasthan in British India, she had no formal education. She sang at shrines and was scouted at age 12.

Georg Trakl had had a tumultuous early life, having been addicted to drugs, apart from being attracted to his own sister. He initially aspired to be a pharmacist but later became one of Austria’s finest elegists. The Expressionist poet wrote masterpieces such as Grodek. He died of a drug overdose.

Hungarian author Dezső Kosztolányi brought in futurism to Hungarian literature and wrote everything from plays to plays. Known for his novels such as Skylark and The Golden Kite, he also translated works of legends such as Shakespeare and Rilke. He was a lifelong journalist, too.

Marc Allégret was a French photographer, screenwriter, and film director. He is credited with helping numerous actors achieve popularity. Performers like Simone Simon, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Michèle Morgan, and Brigitte Bardot were able to establish themselves as bankable and famous actors after appearing in films directed by Marc Allégret.

François Rude was a French sculptor best remembered for sculpting the Departure of the Volunteers on the Arc de Triomphe, which is counted among the most prominent monuments in Paris. His work often expressed the transition from neo-classicism to romanticism. François Rude is also credited with mentoring Charles-Auguste Lebourg and Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, who became prominent sculptors in their own right.

Duncan Scott-Ford was a British merchant seaman. He was accused of passing vital information to an enemy agent during World War II, for which he was executed on 3 November 1942 at the age of 21. Duncan Scott-Ford was part of the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy prior to his execution.

Apart from serving as the Bishop of the Church of England, Robert Lowth had also been an Oxford professor. Among his written works are books on English grammar and treatises on Hebrew poetry. Though offered the position of the Archbishop of Canterbury, he rejected  it citing ill health.

Pierre Paul Emile Roux was a French bacteriologist, physician, and immunologist. A close collaborator of Louis Pasteur, Roux was responsible for the Pasteur Institute's production of the famous anti-diphtheria serum. Credited with founding the field of immunology, Pierre Paul Emile Roux also investigated chicken-cholera, cholera, tuberculosis, and rabies. He was honored with the prestigious Copley Medal in 1917.

Slovenian poet Edvard Kocbek is regarded as one of the finest literary figures from his country. Known to be politically opinionated, he was dragged into a controversy later, when he offered an objective portrayal of the Partisans of World War II in his iconic work Fear and Courage.