Famous People Who Died Today

Scalia played an important role as an associate justice of the US Supreme Court for 30 years. Not only was he regarded as one of the most important justices in the history of the court, but he was also considered one of the most influential jurists of the 20th century. He was posthumously honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Cotton Mather is remembered as one of the most significant New England Puritans. However, he exhibited a curious mixture of science and traditions, as he promoted vaccination against smallpox, while supporting the Salem witch trials. He had penned works such as Curiosa Americana and was a Royal Society member.

Benvenuto Cellini was a 16th-century Italian goldsmith, sculptor, draftsman, and artist. The multifaceted artist wrote poetry and a famous autobiography as well. An important figure in Mannerism, he is known for creating pieces, such as the Cellini Salt Cellar and Perseus with the Head of Medusa. He was a member of the prestigious Accademia delle Arti del Disegno of Florence. 

Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst was a British suffragette who co-founded the Women's Social and Political Union. From 1912 to 1913, Pankhurst directed the organization's militant actions from France. After the war, Christabel Pankhurst settled down in the United States of America where she served as an evangelist for the Second Coming movement.

Polish mathematician-cryptologist Marian Rejewski is noted for reconstructing the sight-unseen German military Enigma cipher machine and solving Enigma-machine cipher using limited documents that the French military intelligence managed to obtain. He and his colleagues developed and applied methods and equipment for decrypting the German machine ciphers which gave Britain an opportunity to read German Enigma-encrypted messages during Second World War.   

Paulino Alcántara was a Filipino-born Spanish football player who played as a forward for the Catalonia national football team from 1915 and 1926 and for the Spain national team from 1921 to 1923. He also played for the Philippines national team in 1917. In 1917, Paulino Alcántara won a silver medal for the Philippines at the Far Eastern Championship Games.

Rafael Sabatini was an Italian-English author who wrote romance and adventure novels. Sabatini is best remembered for his bestselling novels like The Sea Hawk, Captain Blood: His Odyssey, and Bellarion the Fortunate. Overall, Rafael Sabatini wrote 34 novels, six non-fiction books, eight short story collections, and several uncollected short stories.

Forough Farrokhzad was an Iranian poet and film director. Her strong feminist voice earned her much acclaim and also brought about much criticism. She was both a popular and controversial figure. Her works were banned for more than a decade after the Islamic Revolution. In more recent years, she has become Iran's most revered female poet. 

Elizabeth Mackintosh, better known by her pseudonym, Josephine Tey, was a physical education teacher before becoming a full-time author. She first tasted success with The Man in the Queue, a detective novel written as Gordon Daviot. Her work A Shilling for Candles was made into a film by Alfred Hitchcock.

Born to renowned criminologist Hans Gross, Otto Gross initially worked with his father but later deviated to depth psychology. It is believed, he was a liberal drug user and an advocate of polyamory. He apparently allowed his wife to have sexual relationships with other men, often participating as an observer.

Italian astronomer and mathematician Roger Joseph Boscovich was one of the first European scientists to accept Newton’s gravitational theory. His contributions to astronomy include the application of geometry to compute the orbit of a planet and the equator of a rotating planet. He also laid the foundation of the atomic theory.

Bangladesh National Film Award winner Humayun Faridi had initially started studying organic chemistry but had to abandon his studies due to the Bangladesh Liberation War. Starting his acting career with theater, he later acted in series such as Songsoptok and Kothao Keu Nei, and films such as Din-Mojur.

Best known for his sci-fi novels such as Epp and Lul, Norwegian author Axel Jensen had even penned manuscripts for animated movies and cartoon strips. Known for his unpredictable behavior, he had an unstable marriage with Marianne Ihlen, who later became Leonard Cohen’s muse. In his later years, he suffered from paralysis.

British author Violet Page wrote under the pseudonym Vernon Lee and dressed without inhibitions. Rumors claimed she was a lesbian, though she never stated so. The poet and critic is best remembered for her work on aesthetics, Belcaro. She was also a skilled harpsichord player and a true-blue feminist.

Elizabeth Jolley was an English-born Australian author who wrote 15 novels, three non-fiction books, and four short story collections after beginning to write at the age of 53. Jolley, who achieved significant critical acclaim for her work, also taught at Curtin University where she mentored several writers like Tim Winton. She also won several awards like National Book Council Award.

Arno Breker was a German architect and sculptor who was active during Nazi rule. The authorities endorsed his work as the antithesis of degenerate art. He created the statue Die Partei, representing the spirit of the Nazi Party. Hitler exempted Breker from military service and provided him several amenities for being the Nazi’s official sculptor. 

Vilhelm Hammershøi was a Danish painter best known for his poetic and subdued portraits. He studied painting with prominent landscape painters Vilhelm Kyhn and Frederik Vermehren at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. He then debuted in the Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition in 1885 and proceeded to build an illustrious career in art. His wife, Ida, was his muse.

Croatian historian, politician, and author Franjo Rački started his career as a teacher in Senj. He launched many magazines, including Književnik and also co-established the Yugoslavian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Most of his writings were on topical issues in Croatia. He also served as the president of Matica hrvatska.

Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh was an Azerbaijani dramatist, poet, translator, and lyricist. Counted among the greatest poets of Azerbaijan, Vahabzadeh received several prestigious awards such as the Azerbaijan SSR state prize in 1974. Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh also served as a politician and college professor.