1030 – William V (‘the Great”), Duke of Aquitaine (995-10300 and Count of Poitier (969-1030), dies at 60
1794 – Marriott Arbuthnot, British admiral and naval commander during the American War for Independence, dies at 82 or 83
1952 – George Howells Broadhurst, British-American playwright, director and producer responsible for opening Broadway’s Broadhurst Theatre, dies at 85
1972 – Bir Bikram Shah Deva Mahendra, King of Nepal (1955-72), dies at 51
1979 – Grant Green, American jazz, blues and funk guitarist, and songwriter, dies of a heart attack at 43
1994 – Pierre Boulle, French writer known for “The Bridge on the River Kwai” and “Planet of the Apes”, dies at 81
2000 – (Simon) “Si” Zentner, American jazz, session, and pop trombonist and big-band lbandeader, dies of leukemia at 82
2001 – Gordon R. Dickson, Canadian-American sci-fi author (Genetic General), dies at 77
2012 – Anthony Bevilacqua, American cardinal, dies at 88
2023 – Lou Campanelli, American basketball coach (James Madison University 1972-85; University of California, Berkeley 1986-93), dies at 84
Category: Famous Deaths
Famous Deaths for 30th January 2026
1797 – Johann Abraham Sixt, German organist, harpsichord player, and composer, dies at 40
1840 – Juan Galindo, Irish-Honduran soldier, diplomat for Federal Republic of Central America and early Maya archaeologist, killed in battle at about 38
1846 – Joseph Carpue, English surgeon who pioneered early plastic surgery in England, dies at 81
1867 – Kōmei [Osahito], 121st Emperor of Japan (1846-67) during the final years of the Edo period, dies of smallpox at 35
1957 – Grigore Gafencu, Romanian minister of Foreign Affairs (1938-39), dies at 65
1967 – (Raymond) Lee Morgan, American actor (Dungeons of Harrow; The Last of the Fast Guns), dies of heart disease at 64
1983 – Alan Cunningham, British general and last High Commissioner of Palestine (1945-48), dies at 95
1996 – Bob Thiele, American radio broadcaster, and record producer (John Coltrane; B.B. King), dies of kidney failure at 73
2001 – Johnnie Johnson, British fighter pilot (b. 1915)
2017 – Harold Rosen, American engineer (created geosynchronous communications satellite), dies at 90
Famous Deaths for 29th January 2026
1888 – Edward Lear, English poet and author (famous for his nonsense poems – The Owl and the Pussycat), dies at 75
1946 – Harry Hopkins, American statesman and presidential advisor (US Secretary of Commerce, Loan and Lease law), dies at 55
1946 – Sidney Jones, British conductor and composer (The Geisha, A Gaiety Girl), dies at 84
1960 – Louis Jean Heydt, American character actor (Waterfront; Gone With The Wind; The Great McGinty), dies from a heart attack at 56
2007 – Barbaro, American thoroughbred racehorse, winner of 2006 Kentucky Derby, dies at 3
2009 – Bill Frindall, English cricket scorer and statistician (BBC, “the Bearded Wonder”), dies from Legionnaires’ disease at 69
2011 – Milton Babbitt, American mathematician, composer of serial and electronic music (Correspondences), and teacher (Princeton; Juilliard), dies at 94
2021 – Yvon Douis, French soccer striker (20 caps; Lille, Le Havre, Monaco, Cannes), dies from COVID-19 at 85
2024 – Héctor Sanabria, Mexican soccer defender (7 caps; UNAM Pumas 1965-78) and manager (UNAM Pumas, CD Toluca, CD Veracruz), dies at 78
2025 – Vadim Naumov, Russian pairs skater (World C’ship gold 1994), dies in American Eagle Flight 5342 collision with Black Hawk helicopter at 55
Famous Deaths for 28th January 2026
1612 – Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and scholar (founder of the Bodleian Library), dies at 66
1896 – Joseph Barnby, English conductor and composer, dies at 57
1942 – Pablo Luna, Spanish composer (De España vengo), dies at 61
1963 – Gustave Garrigou, French cyclist (Tour de France 1911), dies at 78
1963 – Jean Felix Piccard, Swiss scientist, explorer and balloonist (1st flight into stratosphere, by balloon), dies on his 79th birthday
1976 – Ray Nance, American jazz trumpeter, violinist, and vocalist (Duke Ellington Orchestra, 1940-63 – “Take the ‘A’ Train”, “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)”; Earl Hines), dies at 62
1995 – Walter Allen, English writer and literary critic, dies at 83
1997 – Pietro Cavallero ‘the laughing bandit’, Italian bandit, dies at 68
2006 – Henry McGee, British actor and comedian (No, That’s Me Over Here!, The Benny Hill Show), dies at 77
2007 – Yelena Romanova, Russian athlete (Olympic gold Unified Team 3,000m 1992), dies at 43
Famous Deaths for 27th January 2026
1763 – Johann Theodor of Bavaria, Prince-Bishop of Regensburg, Freising and Liège, dies at 59
1802 – Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg, German lieder and ballad composer, and conductor, dies at 42
1864 – Leo von Klenze, German neoclassical architect (Walhalla), dies at 59
1962 – Percy LeSueur, Canadian hockey goaltender (inventor large goalie glove and LeSueur net), dies at 80
1984 – Lou Crosby, American actor, and radio and TV announcer (Lum and Abner; The Lawrence Welk Show), dies at 69
1987 – Allison Danzig, American sports writer (Tennis Pictorial History, NY Times), dies at 88
1989 – Bayani Casimiro, Filipino dancer and actor [Okey Ka Fairy Ko!], dies at 70
1995 – Geoffrey Parsons, Australian-British concert pianist, accompanist, and harpsichord player. dies of cancer at 65
1996 – Olga Havlová (nee Šplíchalová) Czech political activist (First Lady of the Czech Republic, 1993-96; First Lady of Czechoslovakia, 1989-92), dies of cancer at 63
2004 – Jack Paar, American comedian and TV host of the Jack Paar Show and The Tonight Show (1957-62), dies at 85
Famous Deaths for 26th January 2026
1803 – Georg von Pasterwiz, Austrian composer, dies at 72
1878 – Ernst Heinrich Weber, German anatomist and physiologist (one of the founders of experimental psychology), dies at 82
1942 – Felix Hausdorff, German mathematician (Hausdorff space), dies at 73
1975 – Lubov Orlova, Russian actress (Moscow Laughs; Man of Music; Tanya), dies at 74
1976 – João Branco Núncio, Portuguese Bullfighter (b. 1901)
1992 – Okke Jager, Dutch theologist, writer and poet, dies at 63
2003 – Valeriy Brumel, Soviet Olympic athlete (b. 1942)
2012 – Dimitra Arliss [Arlys], American actress (Rich Man Poor Man II, The Sting), dies at 79
2016 – Colin Vearncombe, British singer-songwriter (Black – “Wonderful Life”), dies from injuries in a car accident at 53
2020 – Bob Shane, American folk vocalist (Kingston Trio – “Tom Dooley”), dies at 85
Famous Deaths for 25th January 2026
1627 – Louis Hébert, French apothecary, kings attorney and colonist of New France, dies at 51 or 52
1906 – Pierre-Lambert Goossens, Belgian archbishop of Mechelen and Cardinal Primate of Belgium, dies at 78
1963 – Wilson Kettle, of Newfoundland, dies at 102, leaving 582 living descendants
1991 – Lillian Bond, English-American actress (Air Mail, Pick-up, Blond Cheat), dies at 83
1995 – John Smith, American actor (Cimarron City, Laramie, 7 Angry Men), dies at 63
1997 – Jim Boyd, American boxer (Olympic gold light-heavyweight, 1956), dies at 66
2013 – Zekkariyas [Cecil Womack], American soul songwriter, singer, and record producer (Womack and Womack – “Teardrops”), dies at 64
2022 – Heinz Werner Zimmermann, German contemporary sacred music composer (Prosalieder; Missa profana), and educator, dies at 91
2023 – B. V. [Balkrishna] Doshi, Indian architect (Pritzker Prize, 2018), dies at 95
2023 – Cindy Williams, American actress (Laverne and Shirley – “Shirley; American Graffiti), dies at 75
Famous Deaths for 24th January 2026
1376 – Richard FitzAlan, 3rd Earl of Arundel, English military leader for Edward III during Hundred Years’ War dies at 62 or 63
1805 – Giacomo Conti, Italian composer, dies at 50
1905 – William Sellers, American engineer and inventor (US standard screw thread), dies at 80
1929 – Willem Royaards, Dutch theater director (Adam in Ballingschap), dies at 62
1975 – Larry Fine, American actor and comedian (3 Stooges), dies at 72
1986 – Gordon MacRae, American singer and actor (Oklahoma!, Carousel), dies of pneumonia at 64
1991 – John M. Kelly, Irish politician and academic (b. 1931)
1991 – Harold “Shot” Jackson, American country dobro player, and pedal steel guitarist (Roy Acuff), and guitar designer and builder (Sho-Bud), dies after his second stroke at 70
1992 – Ken Darby, American vocal arranger, lyricist, Academy Award-winning film score composer, and writer, dies at 82
2002 – Elie Hobeika, Lebanese Forces militia commander (b. 1956)
Famous Deaths for 23rd January 2026
1622 – William Baffin, English navigator (1st European to discover Baffin Bay) and explorer, dies of a gunshot wound at in an attack on Qeshm, island of Hor about 38
1785 – Matthew Stewart, Scottish mathematician (b. 1717)
1879 – Adolf Jensen, German composer, dies of tuberculosis at 42
1893 – Phillips Brooks, American Episcopal bishop and composer (Little Town of Bethlehem), dies at 57
1975 – Karel Paul van der Mandele, Dutch financier, director (Rotterdam Bank), administrator, and economist, dies at 94
1978 – Vic Ames, American singer (Ames Brothers – “Tammy”), dies in a car accident at 52
2002 – Igor Kipnis, American harpsichordist, pianist, conductor, and educatordies of renal cancer at 71
2015 – Guy Gallo, American poet, playwright, and screenwriter (Under the Volcano), dies of cancer at 59
2019 – Jonas Mekas, American avant garde filmmaker and film critic, dies at 96
2023 – Carol Sloane [Morvan], American jazz singer, dies from complications of a stroke at 85
Famous Deaths for 22nd January 2026
1581 – Joost de Damhoudere, Flemish lawyer (Praxis rerum criminalium), dies at 73
1666 – Shah Jahan, 5th Mughal Emperor of India (1628-58) who built the Taj Mahal for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, dies at 74
1767 – Johann Gottlob Lehmann, German minterologist and geologist, dies at 47
1879 – Anthony Durnford, British colonel, dies in Battle of Isandlwana
1931 – Alma Rubens, American actress (Humoresque), dies of Lobar pneumonia and bronchitis at 33
1978 – Herbert Sutcliffe, British cricketer (54 Tests for England 4555 runs), dies at 83
2000 – Anne Hébert, French Canadian author and poet (Kamouraska), dies at 83
2007 – Ngô Quang Trưởng, South Vietnamese general (b. 1929)
2007 – Liz Renay [Pearl Elizabeth Dobbins], American actress (Desperate Living), dies at 80
2019 – Charles Vandenhove, Belgian architect (Standard-Omnisporthal, Liège), dies at 91