Famous People Who Died Today

Regarded as one of the greatest American filmmakers, Stanley Kubrick was the maker of acclaimed movies like Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Barry Lyndon. Stanley Kubrick was known for his exceptional visual style and artistic expression. He began his career as a magazine photographer and subsequently began directing short films. His first big break came with the hit movie Spartacus.

Paul Winfield was an American actor best remembered for playing Nathan Lee in the 1972 drama film Sounder, for which he received an Academy Award nomination. He also earned four Emmy nominations over the course of his career, one of which came for his portrayal of Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1978 miniseries King.

Johann Pachelbel was a German composer, teacher, and organist who is credited with helping the south German organ schools achieve their peak. His contributions to the progression of the fugue and chorale prelude have established him as one of the most prominent composers of the middle Baroque era. During his lifetime, his music became a model for several German composers.

Gordon Parks was a writer, photographer, musician, and film director. He was the first Black American to direct and produce major motion pictures pertaining to the experience of slaves and African-Americans. He is credited with co-creating a new film genre called blaxploitation and his works have influenced filmmakers like Spike Lee. He is also credited with co-founding Essence magazine.

Russian statesman Georgy Lvov created history by becoming the first prime minister of the Russian provisional government formed during the 1917 February Revolution. A qualified lawyer, he worked in civil service for a few years, before joining the Kadet Party, or the Constitutional Democratic Party.

John Edward Gray was a British zoologist best remembered for his association with the British Museum in London, where he was the keeper of zoology from 1840 to 1874. John Edward Gray is also remembered for publishing several records of the museum collections that included descriptions of new species.

Sidney Gottlieb was an American spymaster and chemist who played a major role in the CIA's mind-control program and assassination attempts during the 1950s and 1960s; the illegal human experimentation program which he headed was called Project MKUltra.

Painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela developed a love for the Finnish countryside as a child and later depicted the beauty of the Finnish landscape through his works. Chiefly known for his illustrations of the epic Kalevala, he merged many artistic concepts such as outdoor painting and symbolism.

One of the pioneering figures of the Dutch art movement De Stijl, or The Style, Theo van Doesburg stressed on the importance of simplified and geometric visual arts. The son of a photographer, he grew up to create scores of abstract paintings and designed aesthetic room décor and furniture, too.

Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville was a French explorer and colonial administrator in New France. The younger brother of Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, Bienville joined his brother on several expeditions, including the one to establish the colony of Louisiana. Bienville succeeded in his expedition and is now referred to as the Father of Louisiana.

Agnieszka Osiecka was a Polish poet, playwright, TV writer, film director, and journalist. Widely regarded as an icon of Polish culture, Osiecka was also a prolific songwriter, having penned the lyrics of over 2000 songs. Thanks to her large body of work, Osiecka is regarded as one of the most prolific and important persons in postwar Polish history and culture.  

Paramahansa Yogananda was an Indian Hindu monk, yogi, and guru. He is known for introducing the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) / Yogoda Satsanga Society (YSS) of India to millions across the world. He authored the book Autobiography of a Yogi and is considered the Father of Yoga in the West.

Known as one of the co-founders of Vorticism, a London-based art movement, author-painter Wyndham Lewis is best remembered for his books such as Tarr and The Apes of God. His paintings mingled features of Cubism and Futurism. In his later life, a pituitary tumor made him blind and practically ended his career.

One of Alfred Marshall’s favorite students, Arthur Cecil Pigou was initially a history scholar at King's College but later deviated to economics. One of the most significant figures of neoclassical economics, he specialized in welfare economics and penned pathbreaking works such as The Economics of Welfare.

Haj Ali Razmara was an Iranian military leader and politician. He is best remembered for serving as the 33rd Prime Minister of Iran from 26 June 1950 to 7 March 1951. On 7 March 1951, Razmara became the third prime minister from Iran to be assassinated when he was killed at the age of 49 by Khalil Tahmassebi in Tehran.