Famous People Who Died Today

Ned Beatty was an American actor who appeared in over 160 films during an illustrious career that spanned 50 years. Over the course of his career, Ned Beatty was nominated for several prestigious awards such as the Academy Award, Emmy Award, and Golden Globe Award.

José Mujica is an Uruguayan retired politician. From 2010 to 2015, Mujica served as the president of Uruguay. A well-known philanthropist, Mujica won the hearts of many for his donation of 90 percent of his monthly salary to charities. Due to his generosity and austere lifestyle, José Mujica has often been referred to as the world's humblest head of state.

Matthew Adam Garber was a British child actor who achieved popularity after playing Michael Banks in the 1964 musical fantasy film, Mary Poppins. Garber appeared in two other movies before retiring from acting. Regarded as a spirited and bright boy, Garber enjoyed playing sports and reading books. He died at the age of 21 due to pancreatitis.

Martin Buber was an Austrian and Israeli philosopher who received ten nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature and seven nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. Renowned for his philosophy of dialogue, Buber is best known for his famous essay, I and Thou. In 1951, he was honored by the University of Hamburg with the prestigious Goethe Award.

Best known for his iconic medical textbook Gray's Anatomy, surgeon Henry Gray, who was a skilled anatomist, was made a Fellow of The Royal Society at the tender age of 25. His untimely death at 34 due to small pox, while treating his nephew, cheated him of an illustrious career.

Osamu Dazai was a Japanese author widely regarded as one of the leading writers of fiction of 20th-century Japan. Most of his popular works, such as No Longer Human and The Setting Sun, are regarded as modern-day classics in Japan. Several years after his death, Osamu Dazai continues to be celebrated in Japan, although he is relatively unknown elsewhere.

Mehdi Hassan was a Pakistani ghazal singer and playback singer for Lollywood. He is considered to be one of the greatest figures in the history of ghazal singing and is referred to as the "Shahenshah-e-Ghazal" (Emperor of Ghazal). An influential figure in the Pakistani film industry, he sang and composed music for an estimated 300 films.

Thirteenth-century Portuguese Catholic priest Anthony of Padua was the friar of the Franciscan Order. He is remembered for his self-less devotion to the poor and the sick and is revered as the patron saint of lost items. He was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1946.

Luis Jiménez was an American sculptor best remembered for depicting Hispanic-American themes through his works, which have been exhibited at the Denver International Airport as well as the Smithsonian. In addition to being a sculptor, Jiménez has also taught art at institutions like the University of Houston and the University of Arizona.

Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin was a French watchmaker turned magician and illusionist. The son of a watchmaker, he followed in his father’s footsteps and had a successful career in this field. He ventured into magic by chance and ended up revolutionizing the field. He is today widely regarded as the father of the modern style of conjuring. 

Popular Romanian actor Nadia Gray fled to Paris in the 1940s, along with her aviator husband, to escape the Communist takeover of Romania. Starting her movie career with L'inconnu d'un soir, she later soared to fame with Frederico Fellini’s classic film La dolce vita.

Nineteenth-century Spanish literary critic Leopoldo Alas gained fame for his paliques and his liberalism. A qualified lawyer, he taught law and political economy at the University of Oviedo throughout his life. His notable works include his novel La regenta and his short story collections such as El gallo de Sócrates.

Australian prime minister and Labor Party leader Ben Chifley is chiefly remembered for introducing banking reforms, the expansion of social programs such as immigration schemes, and his light on the hill speech. Born to a blacksmith, he initially worked as a railwayman and then joined politics through trade union movements.

The 31st First Lady of Haiti and the former wife of President Paul Eugene Magloire, Yolette Leconte was known for her contribution to charitable campaigns. She also worked to improve the educational and professional aspects of Haitian women. She was later exiled to Jamaica, France, and the US, along with her husband.

The third son of physician and botanist John Hope, Thomas Charles Hope began his career teaching chemistry and medicine and eventually chaired medicine at the University of Glasgow. He is remembered for discovering the element strontium and also explained why icebergs float. He eventually became a Fellow of The Royal Society.

Jean Raspail was a French author, traveler, and explorer. As a young man, he led many treks, including a Tierra del Fuego–Alaska car trek. He wrote extensively on historical figures and indigenous people. His best-known work is the novel The Camp of the Saints. He was honored with the Jean Walter Prize for his entire body of work. 

Dorothea Erxleben was an 18th-century German woman who became the first female medical doctor in the country. She was the first woman to be licensed by a regulating medical body to practice medicine in the world. She fought for her right to practice medicine from a young age and received her MD from the University of Halle in 1754. 

American soprano Emma Eames was the daughter of an international lawyer and began training in music as a child. After studying music in Boston and Paris, she gained fame with her role in Roméo et Juliette at the Paris Opera and never looked back. She was later chiefly associated with the Metropolitan Opera.

Birger Ruud was a Norwegian alpine skier and ski jumper best remembered for winning two Olympic gold medals and one silver medal in ski jumping for his country. He also won three World Championship gold medals and one silver medal during his illustrious career. Birger Ruud also had a World Championship bronze medal in alpine skiing under his belt.

A pioneer of modern immunology, Robert A. Good was partially paralysed in his younger days and completed his medical studies in a wheelchair, though he mostly recovered later. He was the man behind the first bone marrow transplant in the world. He later won the Lasker Award, among other honors.

Samoan-American professional wrestler Peter Maivia was a promoter for the National Wrestling Alliance in Hawaii. He was part of the famous Anoa'i family. Also known as the Flying Hawaiian, he was considered one of the finest wrestlers of his time. He was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is his grandson.

Nobel Prize-winning biophysicist Georg von Békésy revolutionized medical science with his discovery of how the cochlea, a part of the inner ear, affects sound reception. His initial research at the Hungarian Telephone System gave way to more intense studies at Harvard and the Karolinska Institute. He later taught at the University of Hawaii.

Known as the Rolling Stones muse, for her affairs with at least two of the iconic rock band’s members, Anita Pallenberg was an actor-model. The Rolling Stones tracks such as You Got The Silver and Angie were inspired by her. She had also studied fashion designing after recovering from drug addiction.