Famous People Who Died Today

Richard McDonald was an entrepreneur who co-founded the fast-food company McDonald's with his brother, Maurice. Their father ran a food stall. As young men, Richard and Maurice took over their father’s business and redesigned the restaurant. The restaurant was highly successful, and the brothers began franchising their system. The first McDonald's restaurant has now been converted into a museum. 

Paul Kruger was a South African politician who served as the last State President of the South African Republic. Revered by his admirers as a tragic folk hero, Kruger was one of the most influential military and political personalities in 19th-century South Africa. His life inspired the 1941 German film Ohm Krüger, in which Kruger was played by Emil Jannings.

William Henry Perkin is best remembered for his chance discovery of the dye mauveine, made of aniline purple. He had apparently discovered the dye while attempting to synthesize quinine. The Royal Medal-winning British chemist also studied salicyl alcohol and flavoring agents and synthesized the first artificial perfume.

Mark Oliphant was an Australian humanitarian and physicist who played a prominent role in the first experimentation of nuclear fusion. He also played an influential role in the development of nuclear weapons. Oliphant is credited with founding the Australian Academy of Science. Over the course of his illustrious career, Mark Oliphant received several prestigious awards, such as the Hughes Medal.

Augustin-Jean Fresne, best remembered for his pioneering research on the wave theory of light, was a sickly child and was mostly homeschooled in his early days. The French physicist was a civil engineer, too. Unfortunately, most of his scientific work failed to receive public attention during his lifetime.

Francisco de Miranda was a Venezuelan revolutionary and military leader. He is considered a predecessor of Simón Bolívar, who liberated much of South America during the Spanish American wars of independence. Miranda is best remembered for his role in three major political movements of his time: the French Revolution, the American Revolutionary War, and the Spanish American Wars of Independence. 

Marius Petipa was a French pedagogue, ballet dancer, and choreographer. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and important ballet choreographers and masters in ballet history. From 1871 to 1903, he served as the principal choreographer and Ballet Master of the popular Imperial Russian Ballet. In the 1983 biopic Anna Pavlova, Petipa was played by Pyotr Gusev.

Richard von Mises was an Austrian Jewish scientist and mathematician. He is known for his work on solid mechanics, aerodynamics, aeronautics, fluid mechanics, and probability theory. He was the Gordon McKay Professor of Aerodynamics and Applied Mathematics at Harvard University. He is the one who proposed the now-famous "birthday problem" in probability theory. He was married to mathematician Hilda Geiringer.  

Romanian author Ion N. Theodorescu, better known as Tudor Arghezi, is remembered for his contribution to Romanian children’s literature and for introducing a new lyric poetry form. He was a leading figure of Poporanism and Symbolism in Romania. The novel Wooden Icons and the poetry collection Suitable Words remain 2 of his best-known works.

Christian Boltanski was a French sculptor, painter, photographer, and filmmaker. Best remembered for his contemporary French conceptual style and photography installations, Boltanski took part in more than 150 art exhibitions around the world. He also won several prestigious prizes like the Praemium Imperiale Award.

Francisco Morales Bermúdez was a Peruvian general and politician. He served as the President of Peru from 29 August 1975 to 28 July 1980. A prominent political leader, Morales Bermúdez also served as the Prime Minister of Peru in 1975. From 1969 to 1974, Francisco Morales Bermúdez served as the Minister of Economy and Finance.

Widely known as the greatest British sportsperson, Max Woosnam not only won an Olympic gold in tennis, but was also a Manchester City and England footballer and a seasoned cricketer who had scored a century at Lord’s. He was also skilled in golf and snooker. His chain-smoking habits eventually claimed his life.

Jacinto Benavente was one of the foremost Spanish dramatists of the 20th century. The son of a popular pediatrician, he developed an early interest in literature but was expected to pursue a more conventional professional. He began studying law but abandoned it to become a dramatist. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1922. 

Germaine de Staël was a French political theorist and woman of letters. She is best remembered for her collaboration with the popular  Swiss-French political thinker Benjamin Constant. Germaine, who was way ahead of her time, is widely regarded as a precursor of feminism.

English biologist and anthropologist Walter Baldwin Spencer is remembered for his pioneering study of the indigenous population of Australia. He initially taught biology but later drifted to anthropology. He was also knighted but died while on an expedition to study the Ushuaia of the Tierra del Fuego.

Known as Mellisai Mannar, or The King of Light Music, Tamil composer M. S. Viswanathan had a troubled childhood, selling food at movie theaters and learning music to sustain himself and his family. Of the many awards he had won is the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South.

Ivana Trump was the first wife of Donald Trump, who she married in 1977. Their marriage lasted for nearly 15 years and ended in a much-publicized divorce after she discovered her husband’s extramarital affair with Marla Maples. After the divorce, Ivana developed her own lines of clothing, fashion jewelry, and beauty products.

Karl Heinrich Ulrichs was a German lawyer, journalist, jurist, and writer. Today, he is widely regarded as a pioneer of the modern gay rights movement and sexology. Ulrichs is considered the first openly gay man in the history of mankind. In August 1867, Karl Heinrich Ulrichs urged the goverment to revoke anti-homosexual laws, becoming the first homosexual to do so.

Āpirana Ngata was a New Zealand statesman best remembered for his work in protecting and promoting Māori culture and language. He also served as the Minister of Native Affairs from 10 December 1928 to 1 November 1934. His picture is depicted on the fifty dollar note.

Born in Cape Town, Johannes Brand grew up to be a lawyer and even studied in Britain. As the president of the Orange Free State, he secured prosperity for the land and was also knighted by the Queen of England. He also led a few costly wars against the Sotho.

Sidney Rigdon was a leading figure of the Latter Day Saint movement during its early history. He became a member of the Peter's Creek Baptist Church of Library following his baptism. He was close friends with Adamson Bentley, with who he jointly preached for years. Besides preaching, he also worked as a journeyman tanner.