Famous People Who Died Today

Robert Vaughn was an American actor known for his contribution across all three major acting mediums. Vaughn also had political aspirations and was among the first Hollywood stars to openly criticize the war against Vietnam. A member of the Democratic Party, Robert Vaughn was credited with founding a group called Dissenting Democrats along with Carl Reiner and Dick Van Dyke.

John Aniston is a Greek-born American actor best known for playing Victor Kiriakis on the popular daytime soap opera, Days of Our Lives. Over the years, Aniston has been contributing immensely to the American TV industry, but perhaps his biggest contribution is mentoring his daughter, Jennifer Aniston, and allowing her to follow in his footsteps.

Carol Ann Susi was an American actress best remembered for playing the semi-competent intern, Monique Marmelstein, in the television series, Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Later in her career, she found popularity by voicing Mrs. Wolowitz, a recurring off-screen character, in the popular TV series, The Big Bang Theory. In 2014, Susi died of cancer at the age of 62.

Irish immigrant Mary Mallon, or Typhoid Mary, worked as a cook in affluent American households. When people started falling ill in and around places where Mary had worked, it was discovered that she was an asymptomatic carrier of typhoid. Escaping every time, she caused three deaths and was eventually forcibly isolated.

Alexander Calder was an American sculptor best remembered for his innovative kinetic sculptures designed to use either motor, air currents, or other forces of nature. A multi-talented personality, Calder was also known for his paintings, miniatures, prints, jewelry design, theater set design, political posters, and tapestries and rugs. In 1977, he was honored with the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Lucretia Mott was an American women's rights activist, abolitionist, and social reformer. Mott played a major role in the events leading up to the Seneca Falls Convention, the first gathering supporting women's rights in the USA. Lucretia Mott's work influenced Elizabeth Cady Stanton whom she mentored. In 1983, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

One of the greatest Kannada literary figures to have ever lived, Jnanpith Award- and Padma Vibhushan-winning author Kuvempu had written the state anthem of Karnataka, Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujate. He was also an academic who had served as the Mysore University vice-chancellor and often voiced his concerns on social issues.

Soren Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher, theologian, social critic, poet, and religious author. Widely regarded as the first existentialist philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard is sometimes referred to as the Father of Existentialism. He is also credited with influencing many theologians, philosophers, and writers like Paul Feyerabend, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Jorge Luis Borges.

The progenitor of the Bush political family, James Smith Bush, was a jurist by training before he was drawn to divinity and ordained as a priest. He began his career as rector of the Grace Church in Orange, New Jersey. Later, he visited other parts of the country, writing several books on religion, most significant of them being Evidence of Religion.

James Le Mesurier was an English Army officer who was stationed in Yugoslavia where he was a member of the UN peacekeeping force. He is best remembered as the British co-founder of a volunteer civil defence organization called White Helmets, which was formed during the Syrian Civil War in southern Turkey in 2014.

Romanian Christian Democratic politician Corneliu Coposu is largely remembered as the founder of the anti-Communist alliance Romanian Democratic Convention. Initially a journalist, he was elected to the Senate of Romania in 1992. He spent 17 years as a detainee during the Communist regime. He later won the Legion of Honour.

Hiram Bingham I was an American missionary who led the first group of American missionaries in an attempt to spread Christianity in the Hawaiian islands. An important figure in the history of Hawaii, Bingham continues to be revered in the US state. Punahou School, which is located in Honolulu, has a math building named in his honor.

Danish geneticist and botanist Wilhelm Ludvig Johannsen is remembered for his research on plant heredity. Initially a professor, who had also taught plant physiology at the University of Copenhagen, he later focused on research. He is also credited with coining the terms phenotype, genotype, and genes.

Ilse Aichinger and her twin sister, Helga, were half-Jews and were thus forbidden to study by the Nazis and sent to a button factory as laborers instead. Following World War II, she studied medicine but later quit studies to pen her harrowing experiences in her bestselling novel The Greater Hope.

Industrialist Shishaku Shibusawa Eiichi is remembered as one of the pioneers of capitalism in Japan. Born into a peasant family, he grew up to become a government official and brought about major reforms in the Meiji period. He founded the First National Bank and also invested in industries such as paper and mining.

Catholic nun Catherine McAuley is best remembered as the founder of the Religious Sisters of Mercy. Orphaned as a child, she was raised by Protestant foster parents and later built The House of Mercy, catering to orphans and homeless women, with her inheritance. Her congregation focuses on education of the poor.

Vivian Fuchs was an English explorer best remembered for leading an expeditionary team that accomplished the maiden overland crossing of Antarctica; the team achieved the feat in 1958. In 1959, Vivian Fuchs was honored by the Royal Danish Geographical Society with the prestigious Hans Egede Medal. Fuchs co-wrote The Crossing of Antarctica along with Sir Edmund Hillary.