879 – Boudouin with the Iron Arm, earl of Flanders, dies
1344 – Prince Narinaga, 2nd and last Japanese shōgun of the Kenmu Restoration (1335-7), dies at about 18 (b. circa 1326) [death date disputed]
1722 – Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton, English supporter of William III of England (b. 1661)
1948 – Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian light opera composer, dies at 72
1966 – Shane Paltridge, Australian politician and minister for the Liberal Party, dies of cancer at 56
1977 – John Vincent, American composer, dies at 74
1984 – Giannis Skaribas, Greek writer, dramatist, and poet (b. 1893)
1996 – Jordan Christopher, American stage and screen actor (Angel, Angel, Down We Go; Secrets of Midland Heights), dies of a heart attack at 55
2007 – U;Nee [Lee Hye-ryeon], Korean pop artist, commits suicide at 25
2019 – Kaye Ballard, American stage and screen actress, comedienne, and singer (Mothers-in-Law – “Kaye”), dies at 93
Category: Famous Deaths
Famous Deaths for 20th January 2026
882 – Louis II/III the Younger, German king (876-82), dies
1770 – Charles Yorke, British politician and Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, dies by suicide at 47
1838 – Pierre-Louis Hus-Desforges, French composer and cellist, dies at 64
1905 – Stanislaw Pilinski, French pianist and composer, dies at 65
1952 – Arthur Farwell, American composer, dies at 74
1996 – David Robin Francis Guy Greville, 8th Duke of Warwick, dies at 61
2007 – Anatol Rapoport, Ukrainian-American mathematician and biologist (game theory), dies at 95
2009 – Dante Lavelli, American Pro Football HOF end (NFL C’ship 1950, 54, 55 Cleveland Browns; First-team All-Pro 1953; 3 × Pro Bowl), dies at 85
2018 – Jim Rodford, English rock bassist (Argent, 1969-76; The Kinks, 1978-96; Zombies, 2004-18), dies after a fall at 76
2021 – Ted Thompson, American football linebacker (Houston Oilers) and executive (GM Green Bay Packers 2005-17), dies from autonomic disorder at 68
Famous Deaths for 19th January 2026
639 – Dagobert I, king of Austrasia, Soissons, Burgundy and Neustrië, dies at about 36
1647 – Johan van Beverwijck, Dutch writer and town physician of Dordrecht (Treasure of Health, Treasure of Disease), dies at 52
1862 – Felix Zollicoffer, American journalist and Confederate Brigadier General, killed in action at the Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky at 49
1865 – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French philosopher and anarchist (b. 1809)
1893 – Julius Eichberg, German composer, dies at 68
1894 – Francois Haverschmidt, Dutch writer (Snikken en grimlachjes), dies at 58
1971 – Harry Shields, American musician (b. 1899)
2006 – Wilson Pickett, American RandB singer (“In The Midnight Hour”; “Funky Broadway”), dies of a heart attack at 64
2017 – H. Boyd Woodruff, American microbiologist whose research led to antibiotics, dies at 99
2023 – Norbert Sattler, Austrian slalom canoeist (World C’ship gold K-1 team 1971, K-1 1973; Olympic silver K-1 1972), dies at 71
Famous Deaths for 18th January 2026
1951 – Robert Mark, US chairman (Caste World Congress), dies at 41
1976 – Ad Verhoeven, Dutch soccer player (Xerxes/Sparta), dies in a car crash at 42 [or 1/17]
1980 – Cecil Beaton, British photographer and costume designer (My Fair Lady, Gigi), dies at 76
1985 – Wilfrid Brambell, Irish actor (Hard Day’s Night, Steptoe and Son), dies from cancer at 72
1994 – Torbjörn Hultcrantzn, Swedish jazz double bass player, dies at 56
1996 – Jos Kunst, Dutch composer, dies at 60
2008 – John Stroger American politician (Cook County (Illinois) Board of Commissioners, 1970-2006), dies at 78
2016 – Michel Tournier, French writer (Friday, or, The Other Island), dies at 91
2016 – Glenn Frey, American Grammy Award-winning guitarist, singer-songwriter (The Eagles – “Take it Easy”; “Heartache Tonight”;”Tequila Sunrise”; solo – “Smuggler’s Blues”; “The Heat Is On”), and Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame member, dies from complications of rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis, and pneumonia at 67
2017 – Roberta Peters [Peterman], American operatic soprano (NY Metropolitan Opera, 1950-85), dies of Parkinson’s disease at 86
Famous Deaths for 17th January 2026
1805 – Abraham-Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron, French scholar and interpreter, dies at 73
1830 – W Waiblinger, writer, dies
1909 – Sir Francis Smith, Premier of Tasmania (b. 1819
1936 – Mateiu Caragiale, Romanian poet and author (Craii de Curtea-Veche), dies after suffering a stroke at 50
1952 – Walter O Briggs, American entrepreneur and sports team owner (Detroit Tigers 1935-52), dies at 74
1970 – Billy Stewart, American singer (“I Do Love You”), dies in auto-accident at 32
1993 – Ger ter Horst, Dutch soccer trainer (Sparta), dies
2001 – Norris Turney, American jazz flute and saxophone player (Billy Eckstine, 1947-48; Duke Ellington Orchestra, 1968-73), dies at 79
2012 – Johnny Otis [Ioannis Veliotes], American RandB musician, songwriter, producer and talent scout (“Willie and the Hand Jive”; “Cupid’s Boogie”), known as “the godfather of rhythm and blues”, dies at 90
2025 – Denis Law, Scottish soccer striker (55 caps; Manchester United 309 games; Ballon d’Or 1964; World Soccer World XI 1964), dies from Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia at 84
Famous Deaths for 16th January 2026
1545 – George Spalatin, German humanist, reformer and important figure in the Reformation, dies at 60
1554 – Christiern Pedersen, Danish humanist (b. 1480)
1585 – Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln, English admiral (b. 1512)
1842 – Thomas Fearnley, Norwegian landscape painter, dies of typhoid fever at 39
1924 – Maurice de Plessys, French poet (Palace Occidental), dies at 59
1935 – Ma Barker [Arizona Clark], American crime matriarch, mother of several Barker–Karpis Gang members, dies in police shootout at 61
1942 – Carole Lombard [Jane Alice Peters], American actress (My Man Godfrey; To Be or Not to Be), dies in a plane crash at 33
1979 – Fred Elizalde, Spanish Filipino composer, dies at 71
1998 – Lionel Birkett, West Indian cricket batsman (4 Tests, 1 x 50; Barbados, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago), dies at 92
2002 – Robert Hanbury Brown, British-Australian astronomer and physicist (b. 1916)
Famous Deaths for 15th January 2026
1672 – John Cosin, English clergyman, dies at 77
1964 – George Duncan, Scottish golfer, course designer (British Open 1920), dies at 80
1973 – Jef Alpaerts, Flemish pianist, educator, and conductor (Collegium Musicum Antverpiense), dies at 68
1974 – Karel Salmon [Karl Salomon], Israeli operatic bass-baritone singer, composer, and conductor, dies at 76
1994 – György Cziffra, Hungarian-French pianist (Chopin, Liszt), dies at 72
1997 – Jose Ignacio Domecq, Spanish wine maker, dies at 82
2001 – Ted Mann, American screenwriter (b. 1916)
2002 – Michael Bilandic, American lawyer, politician (Mayor of Chicago, 1976-79), and jurist (Illinois Supreme Court, 1990-2000), dies of heart failure at 78
2012 – Edward Derwinski, American politician (1st Secretary of Veteran Affairs 1989-92; US Representative from Illinois, 1959-83), dies of cancer at 85
2018 – Dolores O’Riordan, Irish musician and singer-songwriter (The Cranberries – “Zombie”; ,”Linger”), drowns in the bath at 46
Famous Deaths for 14th January 2026
1867 – Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, French painter (Valpincon Bather), dies at 86
1937 – Jaishankar Prasad, Hindi poet, dramatist and novelist, dies at 47
1961 – Ernest Thesiger, English actor (Brass Monkey, Ghoul), dies at 81
1978 – Robert Heger, German conductor and composer, dies at 91
1984 – Ray Kroc, American fast food entrepreneur (McDonald’s) and owner of baseball’s San Diego Padres, dies of heart failure at 81
1996 – Jacques LeBrun, French yachtsman (Olympic gold – Snowbird class, 1932), dies at 85
1999 – Aldo van Eyck, Dutch architect (City Hall), dies at 80
2008 – Judah Folkman, American pediatric surgeon and cancer researcher (angiogenesis), dies of a heart attack at 74
2016 – Alan Rickman, English actor (Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, Die Hard, Harry Potter), dies of cancer at 69
2024 – Christophe Boesch, French-Swiss primatologist (studied and championed chimpanzees), dies at 72
Famous Deaths for 13th January 2026
1001 – Fujiwara no Teishi, Japanese Empress who appears in “The Pillow Book”, dies as the result of childbirth at 23 or 24
1488 – Hermann Vischer, “the Old”, German brass sculptor, buried
1914 – Valentin Zubiaurre Spanish composer (Ferdinand Set), and educator, dies at 76
1943 – Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Swiss artist and dancer, dies of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning at 53
1995 – Arnold Smith, painter (Vigelius Prize 1935), dies at 89
1998 – Andrew Rutherford, Scottish scholar and Vice-Chancellor of the University of London (1994-97), dies at 68
2005 – Earl Cameron, Canadian broadcaster (b. 1915)
2008 – Johnny Podres, American baseball pitcher (World Series 1955 MVP, 59, 63, 65; 4 x MLB All Star; Brooklyn/LA Dodgers), dies at 75
2009 – Mansour Rahbani, Lebanese composer, lyricist, and poet, dies of pneumonia at 83
2023 – Klas Lestander, Swedish biathlete (Olympic gold 20k 1960), dies at 91
Famous Deaths for 12th January 2026
1807 – Jean Luzac, Dutch journalist, newspaper editor (Gazette de Leyde), and Patriot, dies in a gunpowder barge explosion at 60
1960 – Nevil Shute [Norway], English-Australian novelist (On the Beach, Town like Alice), dies at 60
1992 – Harry van Doorn, Dutch politician (KVP/KRO-chairman/PPR/CRM), dies at 76
1994 – Robert Horen, American stage and screen actor, dies of cancer at 68
2003 – Paul Pender, American boxer (World Middleweight Champion 1960–61; The Ring Middleweight Champion 1962–63 Retired; Lineal Middleweight Champion 1962–63 Retired), dies at 72
2007 – Alice Coltrane [née McLeod], American jazz harp, piano, and organ player (Journey in Satchidananda), dies of respiratory failure at 69
2019 – Bonnie Guitar [Buckingham], American guitarist, singer and record executive (Dark Moon), dies at 95
2022 – Everett Lee, American violinist, and theater and classical conductor (Cosmopolitan Little Symphony, 1947-55; Norrkoping Symphony, 1962-72), dies at 105
2024 – Bev Dovey, English rugby union prop (2 Tests; Bristol RFC 184 games; Western Counties, Gloucestershire), dies at 85
2025 – Robert Machray, American stage and screen character actor, dies of complications from dementia at 79