Famous People Who Died Today

The father of former WWE wrestler and actor Dwayne Johnson, Rocky Johnson was a popular Canadian professional wrestler. He was the first black wrestler to win the Georgia Heavyweight Championship. He inspired several popular wrestlers, such as The Rock. He is also credited with helping wrestlers like Hulk Hogan establish themselves in the wrestling world.

American filmmaker David Lynch is widely regarded as one of the most influential and accomplished directors of the modern era. Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, The Straight Story, Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire are some of his acclaimed films. He was given an honorary Oscar in 2019. He is also a painter and a musician.

Brad Renfro was living in a trailer park when director Joel Schumacher spotted him and cast him in The Client. Over the years, Renfro appeared in films such as Tom and Huck and Apt Pupil. He, however, struggled with drug abuse and died of a heroin overdose at 25.

Banastre Tarleton was a British politician and general. He served in the American Revolutionary War where he was a lieutenant colonel. An iconic figure, Tarleton has been portrayed in several films, such as Sweet Liberty, The Patriot, and Amazing Grace. He has also been depicted in many TV series and novels.   

Mathew Brady was an American photographer who captured the American Civil War through his lenses. One of the earliest photographers in the history of the US, Brady is credited with taking pictures of prominent personalities like Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley, and Andrew Jackson. Dubbed the father of photojournalism, Mathew Brady was the most renowned American photographer during the 19th century.   

Gulzarilal Nanda was the acting prime minister of India after the deaths of sitting prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964 and Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1966. The Bharat Ratna winner had previously been jailed twice for his participation in Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement. He had also been an economics professor.

Edward Everett was an American politician, diplomat, educator, pastor, and orator. Widely regarded as one of the great orators of the Civil War and antebellum eras, Everett is remembered for his two-hour speech at the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg in 1863, where Abraham Lincoln delivered his popular Gettysburg Address. Edward Everett also taught ancient Greek literature at Harvard University.

Nigerian statesman Ahmadu Bello was the only Premier of Northern Nigeria. The Sardauna of Sokoto, he was one of the main spokespersons for Northern Nigeria during the country’s struggle for independence. He is also remembered as a founding father of modern Nigeria. He was assassinated in Nigeria’s first military coup.

Ivan Meštrović was a Croatian architect, sculptor, and writer. Counted among the most important Croatian sculptors of the modern era, Ivan Meštrović is sometimes credited with taking Croatian arts to the world stage. He also had a strong artistic influence on Serbia where many streets are named in his honor.

Hungarian-French virtuoso pianist Gyorgy Cziffra was born into a poor family of gypsy musicians and lost his father and sister to starvation. His piano skills got him a job at a circuses and nightclubs. He eventually trained at the Franz Liszt Academy. Following his son’s death in a fire, he stopped performing.

American biochemist and Nobel laureate Marshall W. Nirenberg is best known for his research on solving the genetic code. The son of a Jewish shirtmaker father, Nirenberg showed an early interest in biology. He led the National Heart Institute’s genetics department and was associated with the National Institutes of Health.

Known as the "Pied Piper of Astronomy" or the "Star Monk," amateur astronomer John Dobson created a low-cost Newtonian telescope, known as the Dobsonian telescope. Born in China, Dobson later moved to the U.S., where he spent 23 years at the Vedanta Monastery, following which he promoted astronomy and cosmology.

Italian theologian and scientist Paolo Sarpi was also a lawyer. He lost his father early and was raised by his mother and uncle. His intellect and seriousness had earned him the nickname The Bride in his early days. He advocated for the separation of the Church and the state.

Awad Hamed al-Bandar was an Iraqi chief judge. As the head of the Revolutionary Court, Al-Bandar was responsible for issuing death sentences to more than 100 Dujail residents after the failed assassination attempt on Saddam Hussein on 8 July 1982. After the US invasion, Awad Hamed al-Bandar was found guilty of crimes against humanity and was executed by hanging. 

Nigerian politician Samuel Akintola started his career as a lawyer and joined the Action Group as a legal advisor, later heading the group as a deputy leader. He later became the Premier of Western Nigeria. He was assassinated in the Young Majors Coup in January 1966.

Carl Erik Mannerheim was a Swedish–Finnish statesman and soldier. From 1822 to 1826, he served as the Vice Chairman of the Economic Division. A member of the Diet of Porvoo, Carl Erik Mannerheim was also involved in the formation of Grand Duchy's institutions.

Leah Goldberg was an Israeli poet, playwright, literary translator, and author who wrote in the Hebrew language. An important writer, Goldberg's works are generally regarded as classics of Israeli literature. In 1949, she received the Ruppin Prize. In 1970, Leah Goldberg was honored with the prestigious Israel Prize for literature.