Famous People Who Died Today

Known as America’s one of the most influential Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and served as the first secretary of the treasury. He also fought in the American Revolutionary War and was considered as a leading votary of the strong central government.

Considered one of the most underrated actresses, the late Kelly Preston left her mark in both films and television shows and across a variety of genres. The charming actress starred alongside big Hollywood actors including her husband John Travolta and made her presence felt in most of them.

Born into a wealthy English family, Gertrude Bell was an explorer at heart and went down in history for her journeys across the Middle East and for helping establish the Hāshimite dynasty in Iraq. Though she graduated in history from Oxford, being a woman, she wasn’t awarded a degree.

Amar Bose was an American academic, entrepreneur, sound engineer, and electrical engineer. Bose served as a professor at MIT for more than 45 years. He is also credited with founding a manufacturing company called Bose Corporation where he served as the chairman. In 2008, Amar Bose was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. 

British automobile and aviation pioneer Charles Stewart Rolls is remembered for co-founding Rolls-Royce. The Cambridge alumnus was the first pilot to fly across the English Channel and back without a halt. He died in a plane accident at age 32 and was the first British aviator to do so.

Robert Wolders was a Dutch actor best known for his portrayal of Erik Hunter in the Western television series, Laredo. Known for his exotic accent and good looks, Wolders' personal life largely overshadowed his professional life. His marriage with Merle Oberon and relationship with Audrey Hepburn kept him in the spotlight throughout his life.

The second-born son of Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Columbus introduced technologies such as the printing press to Seville. He gathered a huge collection of books from all over Europe and established a personal library. The accomplished bibliographer also penned a biography of his father, which became a valuable source of information.

Born as an illegitimate child of a priest from Rotterdam, Desiderius Erasmus later grew up to be a significant figure of the northern Renaissance. He is remembered for his research on free will and for being the first to edit the New Testament, replacing traditional elements with new-age humanism.

Glasgow-born civil engineer Robert Stevenson initially built lighthouses as part of the Scottish Lighthouse Board. Apart from constructing the Bell Rock Lighthouse in Scotland, he also invented the hydrophore and flashing lights. He was also the grandfather of writer Robert Louis Stevenson. He is part of the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame.

One of the first female interior designers of her time, Elsie de Wolfe was largely known for her anti-Victorian elements in her designs. She was also a professional stage actor and had also launched her own theater company. Her works include the Colony Club, New York’s first women’s club.

Ynes Mexia was a Mexican-American botanist best remembered for her large collection of specimens of plants and flora originating from the sites of Mexico, Peru, and Colombia. She collected more than 150,000 specimens over a period of 16 years, during which she encountered various challenges, including dangerous terrain, poisonous berries, earthquakes, and bogs. 

Finnish symbolist painter and graphic artist Hugo Gerhard Simberg was most noted for his paintings that were made on macabre and supernatural topics depicting gloomy and otherworldly scenes. Two of his most recognizable paintings include The Wounded Angel that was voted in 2006 by the Ateneum art museum as "national painting" of Finland; and The Garden of Death.  

Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen was a German army officer. A flying ace in World War I, Richthofen was promoted to the rank of Generalfeldmarschall while serving in Luftwaffe, Wehrmacht's aerial warfare branch, during World War II. Widely regarded as a visionary in aerial warfare, Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen was honored with several prestigious awards, such as the Eastern Front Medal.

François Furet was a French historian best remembered for his works concerning the French Revolution. He is credited with creating a French think tank named the Saint-Simon Foundation for which he also served as president. From 1985 to 1997, he taught French history at the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. Furet was honored with prestigious awards like Tocqueville Award.

Welsh-born Samuel M. Jones moved to the US with his family at age 3. Poverty forced him to work, first in a sawmill and then on a steamship. He later opened an oil-pumping machine factory and became well-liked for his Golden Rule. He also served as a Republican mayor of Toledo.

Olga Guillot was a Cuban singer best remembered as an exponent of bolero music. Nicknamed the queen of bolero, Guillot was honored with the Golden Palm Award in 1963 under the best bolero singer of Latin America category. The following year, Olga Guillot became the first Latin singer to perform in the famed Carnegie Hall.

Best remembered for her book The Descent of Woman, author Elaine Morgan was a 2-time BAFTA-winning TV write, who had penned many adaptations, and a scientific theorist. She propagated the aquatic ape theory of human evolution, suggesting that all other theories had been negligent of a woman’s role in evolution.

Joseph Jongen was a Belgian composer, organist, and music educator. Jongen started composing at age 13 and continued well into his 70s. He composed a great deal and produced gems like Symphonie Concertante of 1926. From 1925 to 1939, he also served as the director at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels where he had been teaching a technique called fugue.

Legendary Italian operatic baritone Piero Cappuccilli initially wished to become an architect but switched to singing later. After gaining fame with his performances in cities such as London, Paris, and Vienna, and his impeccable Verdi interpretations, he was forced to end his career due to an automobile accident.