Famous People Who Died Today

Katharine Hepburn served as the leading American actress for over six decades. She is regarded as an influential cultural figure and was included in the popular book Women Who Changed The World. Katharine Hepburn is also named in lists like 300 Women Who Changed the World, 100 Icons of the Century, and 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons of All Time.

One of the early Playboy Playmates, Jayne Mansfield was a popular sex symbol of Hollywood during the 1950s. Although she had a short-lived film career, she was very popular for her well-publicized publicity stunts, including wardrobe malfunctions. She started a new trend by becoming the first major actress of the post-silent film era to act in a nude scene!

Widely regarded as a legend of classical Hollywood cinema, Lana Turner was one of the most prominent and highest-paid actresses in the mid-1940s. Also considered a popular culture icon of Hollywood glamor, Turner also achieved success as a pin-up model. Her life and career have inspired several works across art, literature, music, and film. 

Henry Clay was an American statesman who represented Kentucky in the US House of Representatives as well as US Senate. Considered one of the most important political figures of his era, Clay helped found the Whig Party and the National Republican Party. He is also considered one of the greatest speakers in the history of the US House of Representatives.

Steve Ditko was a writer and comics artist. He is credited with co-creating popular Marvel Comics superheroes like Doctor Strange and Spider-Man. Ditko is also credited with co-creating Captain Atom, a character that appears in DC Comics. Ditko received several awards including many Alley Awards. In 1994, he was inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame.

Athlete and martial artist Jim Kelly won hearts with his Afro hairstyle and his roles in action film such as Enter the Dragon and Black Belt Jones. Apart from films, he also excelled in karate, winning contests such as the International Middle Weight Karate Championship. He has also played professional tennis.

Thomas Henry Huxley was an English biologist and anthropologist. He specialized in comparative anatomy and was a proponent of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Despite having little formal schooling, he went on to become one of the finest comparative anatomists of the 19th century. He was the chair of natural history at the Royal School of Mines for 31 years. 

Ignacy Jan Paderewski was a Polish musician who went on to become the third Prime Minister of Poland after being a spokesman for Polish independence for a long time. He also played a significant role as the nation's foreign minister in 1919 when he signed the Treaty of Versailles, an important event that marked the end of World War I.

Legendary French fashion designer Pierre Balmain, who owned the fashion house Balmain, had initially studied architecture but later quit it to pursue his interest in fashion . Born into a family of boutique and drapery business owners, he was introduced to the world of fashion at an early age.

The man behind the discoveries of ailments such as Addison's disease and Addison’s (pernicious) anemia, British physician Thomas Addison also co-wrote the first book on the effect of poisonous agents on the human body. He plunged into depression in his later years and eventually committed suicide.

Algerian revolutionary leader Muhammad Boudiaf was one of the co-founders of the Front de Libération Nationale. Following Algeria’s independence, he opposed the leadership of Ahmed Ben Bella and was exiled for the next 27 years. He returned to head a military-backed council of state but was assassinated soon after.

Carl Haas was an American auto racing organizer who co-owned the Newman/Lanigan/Haas Racing team in the IndyCar and Champ Car Series. Haas also owned Carl A. Haas Motorsports and the Haas Lola Formula One team. The teams that Carl Haas owned won 11 championships in 30 years. In 2007, he was inducted into the SCCA Hall of Fame.

Soviet cosmonaut Vladislav Volkov flew to space aboard Soyuz 7 in 1969 and Soyuz 11 in 1971. The latter was the only crewed mission to board Salyut 1, the first space-station of the world. It however ended in disaster resulting in death of all three crew members including Volkov thus marking them as the only humans who died in space. 

Ole-Johan Dahl was a Norwegian computer scientist, considered to be one of the fathers of Simula and object-oriented programming. He was a professor of computer science at the University of Oslo. He and his close collaborator Kristen Nygaard received the Turing Award for their work in 2001. Dahl also authored several iconic software books. 

A renowned poet and author from Northern Albania, Vaso Pasha was a key figure of the Rilindja movement, commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance. He was well-versed in multiple languages and had also worked at the British consulate in Shkodër and as the mutasarrif of Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate.

Swedish pharmacologist Arvid Carlsson’s research work establishing dopamine as a significant neurotransmitter in the brain resulted in the development of drugs for Parkinson’s disease. In the year 2000, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work. During his career, he was also awarded the Wolf Prize in Medicine, the Japan Prize and Italy's Feltrinelli Prize.

Best remembered as the inventor of the Ross rifle, Sir Charles Ross, 9th Baronet was a talented sharpshooter and rower in his college days and had even participated in the famed Boat Race between Cambridge and Oxford. The Eton-educated baron was also said to be the largest landowner in Britain.

Edward Taylor was a colonial American poet, physician, and pastor. His poetry, which has been characterized as Metaphysical, remained unpublished for 200 years. However, after its publication, Taylor's work has established him as one of the greatest writers of his generation. Edward Taylor’s works have been compared to the works of Baroque poets like Francisco de Quevedo and Giambattista Marino.