The Detroit Free Press is reporting that Dr. Jack Kevorkian died this morning as the result of a blood clot, while hospitalized with kidney and heart problems. He was 83 years old.

Joe Swickard at the publication writes:

His attorney, Mayer Morganroth, said it appears Kevorkian suffered a pulmonary thrombosis when a blood clot from his leg broke free and lodged in his heart. With Kevorkian was his niece Ava Janus and Morganroth.

“It was peaceful, he didn’t feel a thing,” Morganroth said.”

Kevorkian was known to some as “Dr. Death,” a nickname he obtained as someone who assisted the suicides of terminally ill patients, which landed him 8 years in prison. He had no regrets, as he indicated in a CNN interview last year (he also talks about Michael Jackson’s death):

He was also recently portrayed by Al Pacino in the award winning film You Don’t Know Jack.

Of course it didn’t take long for “Jack Kevorkian” to become a trending topic on Twitter, and there is plenty of social commentary about his demise as you might expect.

More about Kevorkian’s death here.