1667 – Godefroy Wendelin, Flemish astronomer, the crater Vendelinus on the Moon is named after him, dies at 87
1669 – William Prynne, English Puritan leader (b. 1600)
1889 – Loisa Puget, French composer, dies at 79
1942 – Arthur Dolphin, cricketer (1 Test England 1921, 1 run, 1 catch), dies
1971 – Carl Ruggles, American composer (Evocations), dies at 95
1993 – Ben Scholtens, historian (Gaama Duumi), murdered at 39
1998 – Mary Calderone, American physician and founder of Planned Parenthood, dies at 94
2011 – John McCarthy, American computer scientist (coined the term “artificial intelligence,” created the Lisp programming language), dies at 84
2022 – Ashton Carter, American military civilian official (Secretary of Defense, 2015-17), and academic administrator, dies of a heart attack at 68
2023 – Anderl Molterer, Austrian alpine skier (Olympic silver Giant slalom, bronze Downhill 1956; Hahnenkamm Race 1959), dies at 92
Category: Famous Deaths
Famous Deaths for 23rd October 2025
1874 – Abraham Geiger, German theologian and leader of Reform Judaism, dies at 64
1903 – Francis Ellingwood Abbot, American theologian (Scientific Theism), dies at 66
1976 – Leonard Lee, American vocalist (Shirley and Lee – “I’m Gone”), dies at 40
1997 – Luther Simjian, Armenian-American Inventor (teleprompter and first self-posing portrait camera), dies at 92
2003 – Tony Capstick, English actor, comedian, and musician. dies of an aneurysm at 59
2006 – Lebo Mathosa, South African entertainer (b. 1977)
2007 – (Mustaf) “John” Ilhan, Turkish-Australian entrepreneur (Crazy John’s mobile phones), dies of a hereditary heart condition at 42
2009 – Lou Jacobi, Canadian actor and comedian (Irma la Douce, The Dean Martin Show), dies at 95
2013 – Bill Mazer, American sports broadcaster (New York institution in sports reporting; sports trivia expert), dies at 92
2015 – Jimmy Roberts, Canadian ice hockey defenceman (NHL All Star 1965, 69, 70; Stanley Cup 1965, 66, 73, 76, 77; Montreal Canadiens), dies at 75
Famous Deaths for 22nd October 2025
1494 – Gian Galeazzo, Italian duke of Milan (1476-94), dies
1674 – Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, Dutch painter, dies at 53
1707 – Cloudesley Shovell, British Commander-in-Chief of the British fleet, drowns in Scilly Naval disaster at 57
1881 – Janis Cimze, Latvian composer, Father of Latvian choir music, dies at 67
1954 – Oswald de Andrade, Brazilian author (one of the modernist Group of Five), dies at 64
1970 – René Schneider, Chilean general/supreme commander, murdered
1989 – Roland Winters [Winternitz], American actor (Mama; The Smothers Brothers; Jet Pilot; Meet Millie), dies at 84
1996 – Matthew Harding, businessman/football supporter, dies at 42
1999 – Martin Donnelly, New Zealand cricket batsman (7 Tests, 1 x 100, 4 x 50, HS 206; Wellington, Canterbury) and rugby union centre (1 Test England 1947), dies at 82
2006 – Choi Kyu-hah, President of South Korea, dies at 87
Famous Deaths for 21st October 2025
1500 – Go-Tsuchimikado, 103rd Emperor of Japan (1464-1500), dies at 58
1687 – Edmund Waller, English poet (Song: Go, lovely rose) and politician, dies at 81
1861 – Edward Dickinson Baker, British-American attorney, politician (US Senator from Oregon, 1860-61; US Representative from Illinois, 1845-47, 1849-51), and Union Army officer, dies in the US Civil War Battle of Balls Bluff, Virginia at 50
1881 – Eduard Heine, German mathematician known for the Heine-Borel theorem, dies at 60
1944 – Alois Kayser, German missionary to Nauru (b. 1877)
1945 – Henry Armetta, Italian-American actor (The Black Cat, Bell for Adano, Big Store), dies from a heart attack at 57
1955 – Roy Minnett, Australian cricket all-rounder who played 9 Tests, 3 x 50, 11 wickets; NSW, dies at 69
1978 – Mel Street, American country music singer-songwriter (“Lovin’ on Back Streets”, “Lovin’ on Borrowed Time”), dies of a self-inflicted gunshot on his 45th bithday
1995 – Jose Ignacio Cabrujas, Venezuelan playwright and writer ‘Maestro of the Telenovelas’, dies at 58
2019 – Willie Brown, American Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback, coach and executive (Super Bowl 1976, 80, 84; Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders), dies at 78
Famous Deaths for 20th October 2025
1740 – Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (1711-40), dies after falling ill on a hunting trip at 55
1931 – Emánuel Moór, Hungarian composer, pianist, and inventor of musical instruments, dies at 68
1957 – Jack Buchanan, British theatre and film actor, singer, dancer, and producer (The Band Wagon), dies from spinal cancer at 66
1994 – (Charles) Robert Medley, English abstract and figurative style painter, dies at 88
1998 – Franz Tumler, Austrian writer (Cloak, Aufruf), dies at 86
1999 – Ron Smith, English trade union leader (British Postal Workers), dies at 84
2011 – Muammar Gaddafi, Libyan revolutionary, political theorist and dictator (1969-2011), beaten to death in captivity by a Misratan militia at about 69
2014 – Pavle Merku, Italian-Slovene composer and ethnomusicologist, dies at 87
2020 – Bill Mathis, American football halfback (AFL All Star 1961, 63; New York Titans/Jets), dies at 81
2023 – Haydn Gwynne, English film and stage actress (Drop the Dead Donkey, Billy Elliot the Musical, Windsors), dies at 66
Famous Deaths for 19th October 2025
1682 – Thomas Browne, English philosopher and writer (Garden of Cyrus), dies at 77
1902 – Jim Younger, American outlaw and member of the James-Younger Gang, commits suicide at 54
1912 – E. B. Dwyer, Austalian-born cricketer (Sussex bowler 1906-09), dies at 36
1992 – Petra Kelly, German politician found dead, apparent victim in murder-suicide at 44
1993 – Dionisio Herrero, Spanish air force general, murdered
1997 – Harold French, British director and actor (The Cavalier of the Streets, Trio, Quartet), dies at 97
1999 – Nathalie Sarraute [Tcherniak], French writer (Childhood; Portrait of a Man Unknown; The Golden Fruits), dies at 99
2001 – Jagernath Lachmon, Surinamese politician, dies at 85
2013 – Ronald Shannon Jackson, American avant-garde jazz and funk drummer, and composer (Cecil Taylor; Last Exit; Decoding Society), dies of leukemia at 73
2016 – Yvette Chauviré, French ballerina (Paris Opera Ballet, 1930-56), actress, and dance teacher, dies at 99
Famous Deaths for 18th October 2025
1817 – Etienne-Nicolas Méhul, French opera composer, dies at 54
1864 – David Bell Birney, American businessman, lawyer, and Major General (Union Army), dies at 39
1959 – Boughera El Ouafi, Algerian athlete (Olympic gold marathon 1928), dies of gun wounds at 61
1973 – Frank Knight, TV announcer (Chronoscope), dies at 79
1982 – Bess Truman (née Elizabeth Wallace), US First Lady (1945-52), dies of congestive heart failure at 97
1991 – Gunnar Sønstevold, Norwegian jazz pianist, and orchestral and film score composer (Litany In Atlanta; The Dorian Cage), dies at 78
1991 – Jan Christiaanse, Dutch university professor, and politician (Senate, 1973-77, 1979-91; resident of Dutch political party CDA), dies at 59
1993 – Lois Kibbee, American actress (Edge of Night), dies of a brain tumor at 71
2007 – Kumiko Ida, Japanese classical pianist, dies of meningitis at 38
2010 – Marion Brown, American jazz alto saxophonist, (Marion Brown Quartet; John Coltrane -“Ascension”; Artie Schepp), avant garde composer, writer, and ethnomusicologist, dies at 79
Famous Deaths for 17th October 2025
1174 – Queen Petronila of Aragon (b. 1135)
1897 – Isidor Dannström, Swedish composer, dies at 84
1901 – George Godfrey, Canadian boxer (“Old Chocolate” – World Colored Heavyweight Champion 1883-88), dies of tuberculosis at 48
1921 – Katherine Griffith [Kiernan], American actress (Pollyanna, Fast Company), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 45
1958 – Paul Outerbridge, American photographer, dies at 63
1979 – John Stuart, Scottish actor (Kittie, Superman, Number Seventeen), dies at 81
1981 – David Guion, American pianist, composer, and cowboy, dies at 88
1994 – Barbara Grigor, Scottish filmmaker and art entrepreneur, dies at 50
2007 – Joey Bishop [Gottlieb], American TV talk show host (Joey Bishop Show) and member of the “Rat Pack” group of entertainers, dies at 89
2024 – Mitzi Gaynor [Francesca von Gerber], American actress, singer, and dancer (Anything Goes; South Pacific), dies at 93
Famous Deaths for 16th October 2025
1594 – William Allen, English cardinal/founder seminary of Douai, dies at 62
1877 – Theodore Barrière, French dramatist (b. 1823)
1972 – Leo G. Carroll, British actor (Topper; Strangers On A Train; The Man From U.N.C.L.E.), dies at 85
1983 – Øivin Fjeldstad, Norwegian conductor and composer, dies at 80
1984 – Peggy Ann Garner, American actress (Little Women, Daisy Kenyon), dies of cancer at 53
1987 – Dana Suesse, American musician and songwriter (“You Ought To Be In Pictures”), dies at 77
2005 – John Baines Johnston, British diplomat (British High Commissioner to Rhodesia just before independence, High Commissioner of Malaysia), dies at 87
2012 – Eddie Yost, American MLB player, dies from cardiovascular disease at 86
2013 – Ed Lauter, American actor (The Artist, The Number 23), dies from mesothelioma at 74
2024 – Patti McGee, American skateboarder (first female pro skateboarder; first Women’s US C’ship 1964; first woman inducted IASC Skateboarding HOF), dies of a stroke at 79
Famous Deaths for 15th October 2025
892 – al-Mu’tamid, Abbasid caliph (870-92), dies at about 50
1595 – Abu al-Faiz ibn Mubarak Faizi, Persian-Dutch East iIndies poet, dies at 48
1789 – John Morgan, American physician-in-chief of Continental Army and co-founder of the Medical College at the University of Pennsylvania, the first medical school in Colonial America, dies at 54
1900 – Zdeněk Fibich, Czech classical composer (Šárka; Hippodamia; Moods, Impressions, and Reminiscences), dies at 49
1930 – Herbert Henry Dow, American chemical industrialist (Dow Chemical), dies from cirrhosis of the liver at 64
1965 – Buster Moten [Ira Smith], American jazz accordionist (Bennie Moten’s Kansas City Orchestra – “South”, “Moten Swing”), dies at 61
1994 – Hannes Wustinger, Austrian race car driver, dies in a crash during a race at 29
2012 – Norodom Sihanouk, King of Cambodia (1941-55 and 1993-2004), Chief of State (1960-70), independence campaigner and film producer, dies from a heart attack at 89
2018 – Cicely Berry, British theatre director (Royal Shakespeare Company) and voice coach, dies at 92
2019 – Hossein Dehlavi, Persian composer, conductor and teacher (Sarbaz; Plectrum Orchestra), dies of Alzheimer complications at 92