Famous People Who Died Today

Stephen Hawking was an English theoretical physicist and cosmologist, who despite being afflicted motor neurone disease that severely limited his physical abilities, was able to build a phenomenally successful career. He was the first to set out a theory of cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. Hawking was ranked 25 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, in 2002.

Karl Marx, the philosopher, economist, political theorist and socialist revolutionary, is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet, The Communist Manifesto and the three-volume Das Kapital. His theories, called Marxism, maintained that class conflict leads to the development of human societies and that internal tension were inherent in capitalism, which would ultimately be replaced by the socialist mode of production.

Scott Hall is an American retired wrestler best known for his association with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he is popularly known as Razor Ramon. Apart from his several championship reigns in WWE, Scott Hall is also renowned for being an original member of the New World Order, one of the most popular stables in the history of professional wrestling.

Susan Hayward was an American model and actress best known for playing characters based on true stories. During her illustrious acting career, which spanned 35 years, Susan Hayward won several prestigious awards, such as Academy Award and Golden Globe Award. She was also one of the most bankable Hollywood actresses throughout the 1950s.

George Eastman revolutionized the world of photography with his Eastman Kodak Company and the roll film, which also came to be used in movies. Initially a banker, he later devoted himself to his camera company. A dedicated philanthropist, too, he contributed financially to music, dentistry, and medicine.

Fannie Lou Hamer was an American community organizer and women's rights activist. She also played an important role in the civil rights movement. Hamer is credited with co-founding the Freedom Democratic Party as well as the National Women's Political Caucus. In 1993, Fannie Lou Hamer was made an inductee of the National Women's Hall of Fame.

Four-time Academy Award-winning director Fred Zinnemann had started off as an extra. He later directed/produced masterpieces such as A Man for All Seasons and was one of the first to use non-professional actors along with stars. He was shattered when his ambitious project Man's Fate was shelved.

Ed Roberts was an American activist best remembered for his contribution to the disability rights movement. Roberts, who became the first student to attend the University of California, Berkeley in a wheelchair, played an important role in inspiring and motivating people with physical disabilities. In 2011, Ed Roberts was inducted into the California Hall of Fame.

Comedian Jim Bowen is best remembered for appearing on the ITV game show Bullseye for over a decade. Born to an unwed mother, he was put up for adoption and ended up being adopted by a bricklayer. He grew up to be a PE teacher and later stepped into stand-up comedy.

Fritz Perls initially fought in World War I, following which he treated brain injuries of soldiers. He was later drawn to Freudian psychoanalysis. During World War II, he was the psychiatrist for the South African military. His Gestalt therapy, which he co-created with his wife, Laura, redefined psychology.

Frederick Jackson Turner was an American historian who was closely associated with the University of Wisconsin as well as Harvard University. Turner is credited with training and mentoring several PhDs who went on to become respected historians in their own right. Best remembered for his Frontier Thesis, Frederick Jackson Turner had a strong influence on historians, novelists, and filmmakers.

Lennart Meri was an Estonian writer, politician, and film director. He played a key role in the Estonian independence movement. From 1992 to 2001, he served as the president of Estonia and is often counted among the most revered presidents of Estonia. In 2009, Tallinn Airport was renamed Lennart Meri Tallinn International Airport.

Tokugawa Hidetada was the second shōgun of the Tokugawa dynasty. Named to the shogunate by his father Tokugawa Ieyasu because of his even temper, he not only consolidated his family’s rule, but also banned Christianity and Christian literature in Japan, executing many missionaries and converts. To protect Japan from foreign influence, he also took steps to ban foreign trade.

Lucie Samuel was a French history-teacher and member of French Resistance during Second World War. She obtained an agrégation of history, an uncommon feat for a woman of her time. Her husband Raymond Aubrac, a leader of French Resistance, was given death-sentence. Lucie helped in organising his escape from prison. The couple later joined Charles de Gaulle’s government in exile. 

Legendary Japanese origamist Akira Yoshizawa had authored around 18 books and created over 50,000 models in his lifetime. He went from selling tsukudani to winning the Order of the Rising Sun. He had chanced upon origami while teaching geometry to his subordinates at the factory where he worked.

Ignacy Krasicki was a Primate of Poland, playwright, journalist, encyclopedist, translator, critic of the clergy and a prominent Enlightenment poet of Poland. The most notable works of Krasicki are his Fables and Parables and Satires. The first Polish novel, The Adventures of Mr. Nicholas Wisdom, written in the form of a diary by Krasicki is a milestone in Polish literature.

German art historian Erwin Panofsky is best remembered for his work on iconography. He moved to the U.S. in the wake of the rise of the Nazis. His studies also included Dutch painting and Gothic architecture. His supposedly lost manuscript Habilitationsschrift was recovered years later in a Nazi safe.

The founder of the Focolare Movement (The Work of Mary), Chiara Lubich is regarded as one of the most influential spiritual leaders of the 20th century. During World War II, she and her followers attended to the wounded. She also taught elementary school and penned bestsellers such as Meditations.