Famous People Who Died Today

After starting her film career at the age of three, Shirley Temple went on to become Hollywood's highest-grossing child actress from 1935 to 1938. She is the epitome of popular child stars who lose their charm as they grow up. Despite failing as an adult actress, she is ranked 18th in the greatest female screen legends of Classic Hollywood list.

Arthur Miller was an American essayist and playwright. Miller is credited with creating popular plays, such as Death of a Salesman, which is widely regarded as one of the best American plays of the 20th century. Thanks to his illustrious career, which spanned more than 70 years, Arthur Miller is regarded as one of the 20th century's greatest dramatists.

French Enlightenment political philosopher, historian, judge, and man of letters Montesquieu remains the main source of the separation of powers system that is followed in many constitutions across the globe. His treatise The Spirit of the Laws on political theory greatly influenced work of many others, including drafting of the U.S. Constitution by the founding fathers of the United States.

Wilhelm Rontgen was a German physicist and mechanical engineer. He is best remembered for producing and detecting X-rays for which he was honored with the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. His discovery of X-rays remains one of the greatest achievements in the field of medical science.

British surgeon Joseph Lister was a pioneer of antiseptic medicine usage and made a huge contribution to the development of preventive medicine for bacterial infection. His achievements have been honored by many, such as the makers of Listerine antiseptic and mouthwash, who named their product after him.

Jan-Michael Vincent was an American actor who contributed to the success of the popular military drama TV series Airwolf in which he portrayed helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke. Jan-Michael Vincent struggled with alcoholism and drug abuse throughout his life; he often found himself on the wrong side of the law due to his alcohol-related arrests.

Fred Hollows became a renowned name in the field of ophthalmology after helping thousands of people see by restoring their sight. Born in New Zealand, Hollows later became an Australian citizen. He had initially aspired to join the clergy but had decided against it after visiting a mental institution.

Claude Bernard was a French physiologist whose scientific experiments led to several important discoveries. He is credited with coining the phrase milieu intérieur, which refers to the extracellular fluid (ECF) environment. He also pioneered the use of a blinded experiment to eliminate various experimental biases.

David Brewster was a British scientist, inventor, and author. He conducted many experiments in physical optics, especially concerned with the study of the polarization of light. Fellow scientist William Whewell dubbed him the "father of modern experimental optics." He was also a pioneer in photography and invented an improved stereoscope. He wrote numerous works of popular science as well. 

David Thompson was a British-Canadian explorer, fur trader, and surveyor. He was known to some native peoples as Koo-Koo-Sint or "the Stargazer". He traveled over 90,000 kilometers (56,000 mi) across North America over the course of his career and established a successful fur trade. He was married to a Metis woman and had numerous children. 

Pitirim Sorokin was a Russian-American political activist and sociologist best remembered for his immense contribution to the social cycle theory. His life and work have played an influential role in the life of popular American historian and scholar, Allan Carlson. Among other prominent personalities who have been influenced by Sorokin's work is American politician and 48th Vice President Michael Pence.

At 13, Marie-Anne Paulze Lavoisier had married lawyer and chemist Antoine Lavoisier. Her mastery of English helped her assist her husband communicate with his collaborators. She also illustrated her husband’s books and eventually negotiated with Joseph Priestley, on his behalf, over the naming of oxygen, which Priestley had discovered.

Heinrich Lenz was a Russian physicist best remembered for formulating Lenz's law in electrodynamics. Lenz started his career as a teacher and later became the Dean of Mathematics and Physics at the University of St. Petersburg. From 1863 until his demise in 1865, Heinrich Lenz served as a Rector at the institution.

A man who believed in the motto “The peace of Christ in the kingdom of Christ,” Pope Pius XI was also an avid scholar. His reign witnessed the rise of Benito Mussolini and the signing of the Lateran Treaty, which recognized Vatican City as an independent nation state.

Initially a Methodist preacher and a cloth merchant, Norman Birkett later became a successful barrister and even served as the King’s Counsel. A Liberal Party politician, he had also been an MP from Nottingham East. Apart from being a High Court judge, he was also an alternate judge at the Nuremberg Trials

A Harvard alumnus, Lawrence Joseph Henderson was associated with the Harvard Medical School for almost four decades. His chief contribution as a biochemist was his proposal of the Henderson–Hasselbalch equation, which calculates the acid–base equilibria of substances. He also penned the iconic work The Fitness of the Environment.

American heart-surgeon Norman Edward Shumway, who served as President of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, is best-remembered as a pioneer in cardiac-transplantation. He collaborated with cardiothoracic surgeon Randall B. Griepp and became the second doctor who performed a human heart-transplant operation in the US. It was successfully performed at the Stanford Medical Center in Stanford, California, in January 1968.

Among the many positions held by Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg, the most notable were those of the arch-chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire and the archbishop of Mainz. Though he wished to establish a national German church, his wishes were toned down by the pope.

Ellen Gates Starr is best remembered for co-establishing the Hull House social settlement in Chicago along with activist Jane Addams. Initially an art student, she later dedicated her life for the betterment of immigrant factory workers and reformation for child labor laws. She later retired to a Roman Catholic convent.

Sculptor Luca della Robbia is best remembered for launching his own studio of enameled terra-cotta. While he initially specialized in marble work, he was also one of the first to work in the Florentine Renaissance style. The Resurrection lunette of the Florence Cathedral is one of his best-known works

The daughter of Porsche founder Ferdinand Porsche, Louise Piech went down in history as the woman who had saved the family brand from being confiscated by enemy forces during the War. she and her brother, Ferry Porsche, set up Porsche Konstruktionen GesmbH, declaring themselves as directors.

Civil engineer Hubert Shirley-Smith is best known for his contribution to the construction of the iconic Howrah Bridge in Calcutta, India. He also served the Institution of Civil Engineers as its president. He also worked on Scotland’s Forth Road Bridge and Finland’s Rovaniem Bridge. He was eventually knighted for his achievements.