Famous People Who Died Today

Jimmy Buffett is an American musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author, and businessman. Buffett, who owns the Margaritaville Cafe chain of restaurants, is one of the richest musicians in the world. Also known for his charity work, Jimmy Buffett is credited with founding a non-profit group called Save the Manatee Club, which works towards the conservation of manatees.

Jerry Reed was an American guitarist, country music singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He won three Grammy Awards and two Country Music Association awards during his illustrious career. In 2017, he was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Jerry Reed was also inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.

Siegfried Sassoon was an English writer, poet, and soldier. One of the most popular poets during the First World War, Sassoon's works satirized the patriotic pretensions of those accountable for the war as well as described the horrors of the war. Siegfried Sassoon's works and ideology greatly influenced another leading poet of the First World War, Wilfred Owen.

Frontiersman William Clark is remembered for his iconic expedition to the Pacific Northwest along with Meriwether Lewis, in what is known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He had also been a US Army soldier and the governor of Missouri Territory. He named his first-born after Lewis.

Eero Saarinen was a Finnish-American industrial designer and architect best remembered for his impressive designs for monuments and buildings. He is credited with designing important structures, such as the Washington Dulles International Airport, the TWA Flight Center, and the Gateway Arch. He is widely regarded as one of the 20th-century's most prominent American architectures.

Experimental physicist and Nobel laureate Luis Walter Alvarez is best remembered for inventing the liquid hydrogen bubble chamber, which enabled the discovery of countless short-lived resonance particles. The University of California, Berkeley professor and MIT scientist had also been part of the development of the atomic bomb.

The son of a professor, A. Bartlett Giamatti grew up to follow in his father’s footsteps and be a professor of English and the president of Yale. However, his love for baseball also made him an MLB Commissioner. As the president of the National League, he removed Pete Rose for shoving an umpire.

Pope Adrian IV was the only Englishman to have served as the pope. Initially aspiring to study law, he later began his spiritual journey by joining the abbey of St Ruf. His reign as the pope lasted a little more than 4 years but was plagued by crisis and controversy.

Lillian Wald was an American nurse, author, and humanitarian. She is credited with establishing the Henry Street Settlement, a not-for-profit social service agency in New York City. After founding the agency, Lillian Wald became an activist and fought for the rights of minorities and women. She also supported racial integration and campaigned for suffrage.  

Dimitrie Cantemir is remembered as one of the most influential figures of the early Enlightenment days. A Moldavian prince, he later became an advisor to Russian monarch Peter the Great. He not only wrote extensively on Romanian and Ottoman history but also studied Turkish culture and music.

Charles A. Beard was an American historian who served as a professor at Columbia University. Beard is credited with writing several influential books, such as An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States which played a crucial role in helping him attain an iconic status within the progressive school of historical interpretation.

Russian novelist and travel writer Ivan Goncharov is best remembered for his novel Oblomov. Born into an affluent merchant family, he later had a 30-year stint as an official, working for the ministries of finance and censorship. In his memoir, An Uncommon Story, he accused many authors of plagiarizing his works.

Canadian author and social reformer Nellie McClung had struck gold with her first novel, Sowing Seeds in Danny, a bestseller. She also spoke widely about woman suffrage and was part of the Alberta legislature. She was part of The Famous Five, a group of women who launched the Persons Case.

Liviu Rebreanu was a Romanian playwright, novelist, journalist, and short story writer. Throughout his life, Rebreanu was part of several literary circles. From 1925 to 1932, Liviu Rebreanu served as the president of the Romanian Writers' Society. Some of his notable works include Pădurea spânzuraților, Adam și Eva, and Răscoala.

Wols was a German photographer and painter. Widely regarded as a pioneer of lyrical abstraction, Wols was one of the most important and influential personalities of the Tachisme movement. However, his works were hardly recognized and appreciated during his lifetime. Wols is also remembered for his influential book titled Aphorismes de Wols, which discusses art theory.

Cornelis de Houtman was a Dutch merchant seaman best remembered for commanding the maiden Dutch expedition to the East Indies. Although it produced a modest profit, this voyage was important as it proved the vulnerability of the Portuguese monopoly on the spice trade. This voyage helped the Dutch to replace the Portuguese and establish a Dutch monopoly on spice trading.

Japanese politician Inoue Kaoru was a major figure of the Meiji period. He had held several important portfolios, such as the ministries of agriculture, finance, and foreign affairs. He began his political career as part of the anti-foreigner movement and also sailed to England to study foreigners.