Category: Famous Deaths

1880 – George Brown, Birtish-Canadian journalist, publisher (Toronto Globe), Premier of Canada West (Liberal: 1858) and one of the Fathers of Confederation, dies at 61 after being shot in the leg on March 25
1919 – James Reese Europe, American ragtime and early jazz arranger, composer, and bandleader in New York, and with the military in France during WWI, dies of a stab wound (received during an argument with one of his drummers), at 38
1957 – Heinrich Campendonk, German painter and wood carver, dies at 67
1968 – Harold Gray, American comic strip artist who created “Little Orphan Annie” (1924), dies at 74
1990 – Patrick Piggott, British pianist, composer, and musicologist (The Life and Music of John Field; The Innocent Diversion – Music in the Life and Writings of Jane Austen), dies at 74
1997 – Willy Hess, Swiss musicologist, composer and famous Beethoven scholar, dies at 90
2001 – William T. Stearn, British botanist, dies at 90
2009 – Chuck Daly, American Basketball Hall of Fame coach (2-time NBA champion Detroit Pistons), dies of pancreatic cancer at 78
2018 – Omar Daoud, Libyan footballer, dies in a traffic collision at 35
2019 – Freddie Starr, English comedian and singer (The Freddie Starr Showcase), dies at 76

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1785 – Étienne François, duc de Choiseul, French statesman, dies at 65
1806 – Robert Morris, English-born merchant and American founding father who signed the US Declaration of Independence, dies at 72
1887 – Alexander Ulyanov, Russian revolutionary and brother of Vladimir Lenin, hanged for the attempted assassination of tsar Alexander III at 21
1936 – Oswald Spengler, German historian and philosopher (Underworld of Abendlandes), dies at 55
1979 – Talcott Parsons, American sociologist, dies at 76
2008 – Eddy Arnold, American country music singer (“Make The World Go Away”; “Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye”), dies at 89
2016 – William Schallert, American character actor (Patty Duke Show – “Martin”; Get Smart – “The Admiral”), dies at 93
2018 – Mahmoud Hammoud, Lebanese politician and diplomat, dies at 82 or 83
2018 – Anne V. Coates, British film editor (Lawrence of Arabia; The Elephant Man), dies at 92
2025 – David Souter, American jurist (105th Supreme Court Justice, 1990-2009), dies at 85

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1673 – Johannes Teellinck, Dutch vicar, dies at about 58
1736 – John Weldon, British composer, dies at 60
1836 – Norbert Burgmuller, German composer, drowns during an epileptic seizure at 26
1840 – Caspar David Friedrich, German painter, chiefly of landscapes with contemplative figures in the Romantic style, dies at 65
1934 – Edward Naylor, English composer, dies at 67
1965 – Charles Sheeler, American Modernist-Precisionist artist, commercial photographer, and the avant-garde film maker (Manhatta), dies at 81
1996 – Don McNeill, American radio and TV host (The Breakfast Club; Don McNeill TV Club), dies at 88
2002 – Xavier Montsalvatge, Spanish composer (El gato con botas), dies at 90
2016 – John Krish, British documentary filmmaker (Let My People Go), dies at 92
2020 – John Macurdy [McCurdy], American operatic bass (Metropolitan Opera, 1962-2000), dies at 91

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1620 – Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, Palestinian-born Kabbalist (b. 1543)
1757 – Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, British politician, dies at 73
1794 – Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier, French composer and organist (Notre Dame, 1783-93), dies at 59
1891 – Thomas Hare, English barrister and political reformer, dies at 85
1954 – B. C. Forbes, Scottish-born American financial journalist, author, and founder of Forbes magazine, dies at 73
1992 – Marlene Dietrich, German American actress and singer (The Blue Angel, Shanghai Express), dies in Paris at 90
1999 – Dennis Riley, American composer (Masques (for wind quintet)), dies at 55
2014 – Geoffrey Maitland Smith, British accountant (Sir Charles Clore; Paul McCartney) and businessman (CEO of Sears, 1978-95), dies at 81
2021 – Carlos Timoteo Griguol, Argentine soccer midfielder (Atlanta, Rosario Central) and manager (Ferro Carril Oeste, Real Betis, River Plate), dies from COVID-19 at 84
2023 – Newton N. Minow, American lawyer, statesman (FCC Chairman, 1961-63), and public broadcasting advocate, dies at 97

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1582 – Charlotte de Bourbon, Princess of Orange, dies
1765 – August Friedrich Graun, German organist and composer, dies at about 67 (exact birthday uncertain, c. 1698)
1871 – Howard B. Cushing, American military officer, dies fighting Apaches in Arizona at 32
1972 – [Reverend] Gary Davis, American blues and folk guitarist (A Little More Faith), dies of a heart attack at 76
1979 – Shirley O’Hara, actress (Wild Party), dies at 68
2001 – (Wilson) “Boozoo” Chavis, American zydeco pioneer, accordion player, singer-songwriter, and bandleader, dies following a heart attack at 70
2006 – Naushad Ali, Indian composer, and Hindi film music director, dies at 86
2008 – Irv Robbins, Canadian-American entrepreneur (co-founded the Baskin-Robbins ice cream parlor chain), dies at 90
2017 – Adolph Kiefer, American swimmer (Olympic gold 100m backstroke 1936), dies at 98
2018 – Stanley Falkow, American microbiologist (molecular mechanisms of infectious diseases), dies at 84

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1471 – Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, dies in Battle of Tewkesbury at 17, becoming the only heir apparent to the English throne to ever die in battle
1811 – Nikolay Kamensky, Russian army general, dies at 34
1879 – William Froude, English engineer and naval architect, dies at 68
1938 – Kanō Jigorō, Japanese educator and the founder of Judo, dies at 77
1987 – Cathryn Damon, American actress (Mary-Soap, She’s Having a Baby), dies of cancer at 56
2005 – David Hackworth, U.S. Army officer and military journalist (b. 1930)
2018 – Barnet Fain, American businessman and artist, dies at 86
2021 – Bertil Johansson, Swedish soccer striker (5 caps; IFK Göteborg 267 games) and manager (IFK Göteborg), dies at 86
2022 – Gerhard Mans, Namibian rugby union utility back (27 Tests; Orange Free State RFU, South West Africa RFU), dies at 60
2025 – Peter McParland, Irish soccer forward (34 caps Northern Ireland; Aston Villa 293 games), dies at 91

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1010 – Ansfried, 9th bishop of Utrecht (995-1010)/saint, dies at about 69
1614 – Sasbout Vosmeer, Dutch Catholic theologist and apostole vicar, dies at 66
1880 – Jonathan Homer Lane, American astrophysicist who mathematically analyzed the Sun as a gaseous body, dies at 60
1940 – Henry Ossian Flipper, American soldier, former slave and first African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point, dies at 84
1991 – Jerzy Kosiński, Polish-American novelist (The Painted Bird, Being There), dies at 57
2000 – Yoshinao Nakada, Japanese composer, dies at 76
2011 – Sergo Kotrikadze, Georgian footballer (b. 1936)
2014 – Gary Becker, American economist (Nobel 1992) and recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom 2007, dies from complications following surgery at 83
2023 – Lance Blanks, American basketball guard (Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves), executive (GM Phoenix Suns 2010-13), and broadcaster (ESPN, Longhorn Network), takes his own life at 56
2025 – Steve Pepoon, American television producer and writer (The Simpsons, The Wild Thornberrys), dies at 68

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373 – Athanasius, Greek early church Father, theologian and Patriarch of Alexandria (298-373) (b. 298)
1488 – Jacob van Horne, Burgundy statesman, dies
1963 – Van Wyck Brooks, American literary historian and writer (Ordeal of Mark Twain), dies at 77
1985 – Larry Clinton, American trumpeter and bandleader, dies at 75
1986 – Henri Toivonen, Finnish rally driver (3 x World Rally C’ship round wins for Talbot, Opel, Porsche, Lancia), dies in a rally accident at 29
1993 – Will Weng, American journalist (New York Times, 1930-69), crossword puzzle editor (New York Times, 1969-77), and WWII veteran, dies of throat cancer at 86
2012 – Zvi Zeitlin, Russian-American classical violinist and music professor (Eastman School, 1967-2012), dies at 90
2018 – Cliff Watson, English rugby league front rower (30 Tests GB, 4 England; St Helens 373 games, Cronulla-Sutherland), dies of cancer at 78
2021 – Bobby Unser, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1968, 1975, 1981; USAC C’ship 1968, 1974), dies at 87
2023 – Tori Bowie, American athlete (Olympic gold 4×100 m relay, silver 100m, bronze 200m 2016; World C’ship gold 100m, 4x100m relay 2017), dies at 32

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1859 – John Walker, English inventor and chemist who invented the friction match, dies at 77
1903 – Luigi Arditi, Italian violinist and composer, dies at 80
1941 – Howard Johnson, American lyricist (“When the Moon Comes over the Mountain”, “M-O-T-H-E-R”), dies at 53
1976 – Alexandros Panagoulis, Greek poet and politician who fought the military junta in Greece, dies in a car accident at 36
1984 – Jüri Lossmann, Estonian athlete (Olympic silver marathon 1920), dies at 93
1989 – Sally Kirkland, American fashion editor (Vogue magazine) and manager (Lord and Taylor), dies at 76
1989 – Antonio Janigro, Italian cellist (Zagreb Soloists), dies at 71
2003 – Miss Elizabeth [Hulette], pro wrestling valet (Randy Savage), dies of overdose at 42
2012 – Charles “skip” Pitts, American soul and blues guitarist, dies from lung cancer at 65
2015 – Geoff Duke, English motorcycle racer (world 500cc champion 1951, 1953-55), dies at 92

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1642 – Dmitry Pozharsky, Russian prince (known for his military leadership during the Polish–Muscovite War 1611-12), dies at 63
1758 – François d’Agiçncourt, French composer (b. 1684)
1879 – Emma Smith, Inaugural President of the Women’s Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dies at 74
1945 – Adolf Hitler, Austrian-born German dictator and Führer of Nazi Germany (1936-45), commits suicide by shooting himself at 56
1963 – Bryant Washburn, American actor (Exposure, Millionaire Kid, Nabonga), dies at 74
1977 – Clive Douglas, Australian composer (Kaditcha; Carwoola), conductor (Australian Broadcasting Commission, 1938-68, and educator, dies at 73
1983 – Joel H. Hildebrand, American chemist and educator (research led to new treatments for divers with the ‘bends’ through the use of helium and oxygen breathing mixtures), dies at 101
1996 – Jeanne Bal, American actress (Pat-Love and Marriage, Star Trek- The Man Trap), dies at 67
1999 – Darrell Sweet, British hard rock drummer (Nazareth – “Love Hurts”), dies of a heart attack at a concert soundcheck at 51
2016 – Phil Ryan, Welsh keyboardist and composer (Man; Pete Brown), dies at 69

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