Arthur C. Clarke

Officially known as GRB 080319B, there was a bright supernova at the moment Arthur C. Clarke's death was announced. It was visible to the naked eye for a few hours, then faded. By "bright", I mean it was 2.5 million times more luminous than the most luminous supernova ever recorded. Since it's also about 7.5 billion light-years away, that makes it the most intrinsically bright object ever observed by humans in the universe.

And it occurred right as Clarke's death was being announced.

Larry Sessions wants it to be officially known as "The Clarke Event". I see no reason to disagree.