The Present Perfect Construction in English has the following uses (cf.

McCawley
1971):
(a) The Universal sense of the Perfect, used to indicate that a state of affairs
prevailed throughout some interval stretching from the past into the present
I've known Max since 1960.
(b) The Existential sense of the Perfect, used to indicate the existence of past
events,
I have read Principia Mathematica five times.
(c) The Stative/Resultative sense of the Perfect, used to indicate that the dire
ct effect of a past event still continues
I can't come to your party tonight - I've caught the flu.
(d) The Hot News sense of the Perfect, used to report hot news
Malcolm X has just been assassinated.
This, coupled with the lack of Present Perfect with subjects who are dead
Madonna has visited Princeton.
*Einstein has visited Princeton.
means that X has died is only appropriate at a time when the addressee would not
yet know that X is dead.
Executive Summary: If it's Hot News, use the Present Perfect; but if it's Old Ne
ws, simple past.
http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/63256/which-is-correct-has-died-or-di
ed