Born: 5 January 1932 · Died: 19 February 2016 · Age at death: 84
How old was Umberto Eco when he died?
Umberto Eco died aged 84. He was born on 5 January 1932 and died on 19 February 2016.
Italian semiotician and novelist whose medieval murder mystery The Name of the Rose became an international bestseller
Did you know?He owned an enormous personal library that contained over thirty thousand books and occupied two separate homes.
Quick facts
Date of birth5 January 1932
Date of death19 February 2016
Age at death84
Cause of deathPancreatic cancer
NationalityItalian
BirthplaceAlessandria, Italy
Occupationphilosopher, novelist, essayist
Editor's Take:
Umberto Eco was a scholar who became a bestselling novelist. He was a professor of semiotics, the study of signs and meaning. In 1980 he published The Name of the Rose, a murder mystery set in a medieval monastery. It sold tens of millions of copies and became a film with Sean Connery. Foucault's Pendulum mocked conspiracy theories. He also wrote essays on popular culture, from comics to James Bond. He owned a library of around 50,000 books.
Key Milestones
1962: The Open Work – theory book
1975: A Theory of Semiotics – academic work
1980: The Name of the Rose – bestseller
1986: Film adaptation – starring Sean Connery
Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator.
Umberto Eco's birthday is January 5. He was born on January 5, 1932 in Alessandria, Italy.
How old was Umberto Eco when he died?
Umberto Eco died on February 19, 2016, aged 84.
Who shares a birthday with Umberto Eco?
Famous people who share Umberto Eco's January 5 birthday include Konrad Adenauer, Bradley Cooper, Juan Carlos I of Spain, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Hayao Miyazaki.
