Famous People Who Died Today

Antonio Salieri was an Italian classical composer, conductor, and teacher considered a key figure in the development of late 18th-century opera. He was a protégé of eminent composer Christoph Willibald Gluck. For several years, he served as the director of the Italian opera by the Habsburg court. His works were performed widely across Europe during his lifetime. 

Caspar David Friedrich was a German painter best remembered for painting mid-period allegorical landscapes. Widely regarded as the most important German painter of his era, Friedrich is celebrated as an important figure of the German Romantic movement. His works have influenced several painters, including Johan Christian Dahl, Arnold Böcklin, and Christiane Pooley.

Hungarian brunette beauty Angelica Bella began her career in the porn industry as Gabriella Dari. Initially a favorite of German producers, she later became a huge name in Italy. Known for her hardcore porn films that included anal sex, she has  now retired and runs an online sex shop.

The first Nigerian civil engineer, Herbert Macaulay was a multi-talented man who had been a politician, a musician, and a journalist. Also remembered as the Father of Nigerian Nationalism, he was one of the major figures who opposed British colonialism in Nigeria. He practiced ancient African magic and the occult.

Willard Boyle revolutionized physics with the invention of the charge-coupled device (CCD), which also earned him, and his co-inventor George E. Smith, a Nobel Prize. During his time at Bellcomm, he was associated with the Apollo space program. Both he and Smith worked for Bell Laboratories, too.

Right-wing Romanian politician Octavian Goga was a significant part of the Romanian nationalistic movement and the Romanian National Party. He later formed the National Christian Party and led Romania as its prime minister. He was a talented poet, playwright, and journalist, too, and penned works such as The Olt River.

Architect Josef Hoffmann was one of the pioneering figures of the Vienna Sezession. He also supported the British Arts and Crafts Movement and helped in setting up the Vienna Workshop, serving as its director for 30 years. He was later made the city architect of Vienna.

Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma was the Head of the House of Bourbon-Parma from 1974 until his death in 1977. He was also a Carlist claimant to the Spanish throne. He joined the Belgian army during World War I and fought with distinction. He also played important roles in the Spanish Civil War and World War II during his military career.

After winning a beauty contest as a housewife, Joyce Davidson worked on a TV cooking show. The CBC TV broadcaster was once dragged into a controversy for stating that she was “indifferent” about Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Canada. Public backlash drove her out of the country, and she eventually settled in the US.

Arnold van Gennep was a Dutch-German-French folklorist and ethnographer. He is best remembered for his 1909 work, The Rites of Passage, which influenced Joseph Campbell's 1949 work The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Arnold van Gennep's work also influenced Victor Turner's research and his 1969 work, The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure.

Ion Ghica was a Romanian mathematician, statesman, politician, and diplomat. He is best remembered for his service as the Prime Minister of Romania. Ion Ghica is also remembered for his association with Academia Mihăileană, where he served as a professor of mineralogy, geology, and political economy.

Maurane was a Belgian singer and actress best remembered for her famous duets with popular artistes like Catherine Lara, Michel Fugain, and Eddy Mitchell. Maurane also won several prestigious awards such as Rapsat-Lelièvre award, RFi Octave award, and Festival d'été de Québec award.  

Russian chess grandmaster Yuri Averbakh remains the oldest living grandmaster in the world. He was active in the world chess arena till the 1980s and played till the age of 85. He has also been an expert in endgame theory and has penned several articles on chess.

Though Czech composer Leopold Koželuch had planned to study law, he later switched his focus to music. He began his career as a piano instructor and later rose to be one of the finest composers of ballet and operas. He also served as a court composer in Vienna.

Isabella Blow was an English editor who edited magazines like Vogue. As the muse of Philip Treacy, Blow is credited with discovering models like Sophie Dahl and Stella Tennant. Isabella Blow is also credited with supporting and enriching the career of English fashion designer and couturier Alexander McQueen. Isabella Blow committed suicide at the age of 48.