Tupac Shakur

Tupac Shakur's tragically brief music career fundamentally changed the world of hip-hop music. We remember Shakur's life today as well as the lives of other notable people who were born this day in history. Tupac Shakur's tragically brief music career fundamentally changed the world of hip-hop music. His groundbreaking lyrics raised the bar for the genre, and his larger-than-life persona helped to propel him to the top of the popular music charts. In addition to his work as a musician, Shakur starred in several films including "Juice," "Poetic Justice," and "Above the Rim." After his murder in 1996, three more of his completed films were released, as was a series of previously unreleased studio recordings and remixes of his songs. Since Shakur's death, his work has been studied by academics at several U.S. universities, a clothing line started in his name, and his mother, Afeni Shakur, created a foundation in his honor to help foster creative growth in children. We remember Shakur's life today as well as the lives of other notable people who were born this day in history. Click to discover notable people who died this day in history including Chicago Bear Brian Piccolo. 1971: Tupac Shakur, U.S. rapper and actor who sold more than 75 million records, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time, is born in Manhattan, New York. 1959: The Ultimate Warrior, born James Hellwig, U.S. professional wrestler who was a World Wrestling Federation champion, is born in Crawfordsville, Indiana. The Ultimate Warrior personified the larger-than-life cartoon characters who helped skyrocket the WWE into the mainstream in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Warrior dressed in face paint, had tassels dangling from his super-sized biceps, and sprinted to the ring when his theme song hit. He'd shake the ropes and grunt and howl while the crowd went wild for the popular good guy. Read more 1937: Erich Segal, U.S. author and screenwriter known best for his novel and screenplay "Love Story," is born in Brooklyn, New York. Segal was a Yale classics professor and screenplay writer when he turned a proposed movie about two college students — preppy Oliver and smart-mouthed Jenny — into a novel. Published in 1970, "Love Story" was a weeper about a young couple who fall in love, marry, and discover she is dying of cancer. It was a million-seller guaranteed to make readers cry and critics scream. A much bigger audience caught up with the film version, which starred Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw. Read more 1934: Jane Henson, U.S. puppeteer who was the wife of Jim Henson and worked with him on many "Muppets" productions, is born in Queens, New York. She and Jim Henson met in a University of Maryland puppetry class in the mid-1950s, and they became creative and business partners in the development of the Muppets. The Hensons married in 1959 and had five children: Lisa, Cheryl, Brian, John, and Heather. The pair separated in 1986, and Jim Henson died in 1990. In 1992, Mrs. Henson created and funded The Jim Henson Legacy to preserve his artistic contributions. Read more 1930: Vilmos Zsigmond, influential U.S. cinematographer who won an Academy Award for "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," is born in Szeged, Hungary. 1920: John Howard Griffin, U.S. journalist and author known best for his 1961 book, "Black Like Me," is born in Dallas, Texas. 1917: Irving Penn, U.S. photographer known for his fashion photography and celebrity portraits, is born in Plainfield, New Jersey. Penn, who constantly explored the photographic medium and its boundaries, typically preferred to isolate his subjects – from fashion models to Aborigine tribesmen – from their natural settings to photograph them in a studio against a stark background. He believed the studio could most closely capture their true natures. Between 1964 and 1971, he completed seven such projects, his subjects ranging from New Guinea mud men to San Francisco hippies. Read more 1917: Katharine Graham, U.S. publisher who was the longtime publisher of The Washington Post, is born in New York, New York. 1907: Jack Albertson, U.S. actor whose notable films include "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" and "The Poseidon Adventure," who also starred on TV's "Chico and the Man," is born in Malden, Massachusetts. 1890: Stan Laurel, English comedian and actor who was one-half of the legendary comedy duo Laurel and Hardy, is born in Ulverston, England. 1829: Geronimo, Apache leader known for fighting against Texas and Mexico as they tried to take over his tribe's land, is born near Turkey Creek, Mexico. 1738: Mary Katherine Goddard, U.S. publisher who was the first postmaster in the U.S. and the first to print the Declaration of Independence with the names of its signers, is born in Connecticut. Click to discover notable people who died this day in history including Chicago Bear Brian Piccolo.

Tupac Shakur

Born June 16

Died September 13

35 Actors Who Died Before Their Last Movie Was Released

Afeni Shakur (1947–2016)