The world has lost one of its wisest voices.

At 86 years of age, Dr. Maya Angelou has passed away after dealing with health issues that forced her to cancel upcoming appearances. She died in her home in Winstom-Salem, N.C., according to reports.

The author, educator and poet has been one of the most prominent voices of contemporary African American culture for over six decades by pulling from her own life experiences and putting them on the page for everyone to understand and relate to.

The specific cause of death is yet to be determined but it is most likely health related after Angelou cancelled her scheduled appearance at an event that was focused on honoring her accomplishments sponsored by Major League Baseball.

Angelou was born in St. Louis, MO on April 4, 1928 but spent much of her youth in Stamps, Arkansas. She would then go on to work with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960 and be awarded the Presidential Medal of Arts in 2000 and he Lincoln Medal in 2008. She has also gone on tours across the globe to pass down her wisdom to all of those that were willing to listen. Angelou wrote multiple autobiographies, the most famous of which being “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”

Dr. Maya Angelou was a three-time Grammy award winner for her spoken word albums and was nominated for a Pulitzer prize, a Tony and an Emmy for her work in Roots, the 1977 television mini-series.

Responses from the world that she affected have already started pouring in. USA Today has composed a list of Angelou’s most notable quotes, which you can read here.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ~ Dr. Maya Angelou