1619 – Samuel Daniel, English poet (b. 1562)
1909 – Gottfred Matthison-Hansen, Danish composer, dies at 76
1960 – Abram F. Joffe, Russian physicist (crystal), dies at 79
1969 – Arnie Herber, American Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback (NFL C’ship 1930, 31, 36, 39; First-team All-Pro 1932, 35, 36; Green Bay Packers, NY Giants), dies at 59
1971 – Norman Steenrod, American mathematician (algebraic topology), dies at 61
2006 – Maurice Grosse, British paranormal investigator known for the ‘Enfield Haunting’ case, dies at 87
2015 – Mathieu Kérékou, Dictator and President of Benin (1973-91, 1996-2006), dies at 82
2019 – Sulli [Choi Jin-ri], South Korean K-pop singer (f(x)) and actress (Fashion King), takes her own life at 25
2020 – Fred Dean, American Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end (Pro Bowl 1979–81, 83; First-team All-Pro 1980, 81; Super Bowl 1981, 84; SD Chargers, SF 49ers), dies from COVID-19 at 68
2022 – Robbie Coltrane [Anthony Robert McMillan], Scottish comedian and BAFTA Award-winning actor (Cracker; Harry Potter films; Nuns on the Run), dies at 72
Category: Famous Deaths
Famous Deaths for 13th October 2025
1652 – Abraham Verhoeven, Flemish printer/newspaper publisher, dies
1890 – Samuel Freeman Miller, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, dies at 74
1917 – Florence La Badie, American silent film actress, dies of injuries from automobile accident at 29
1938 – E. C. Segar, American cartoonist (Popeye), dies at 43
1948 – Samuel S. Hinds, American actor (Raven, Test Pilot), dies at 73
1966 – Clifton Webb [Webb Parmelee Hollenbeck], American actor (Razor’s Edge, Laura), dies of a heart attack at 76
1970 – Julia Culp, Dutch mezzo-soprano, dies at 90
1979 – Rebecca Clarke, British-American violist and classical composer (Morpheus), dies at 93
2009 – Daniel Melnick, American television and film producer (Get Smart; Ages of Man; Roxanne), and studio executive, dies at 77
2011 – Barbara Kent, Canadian born – U.S. silent film actress and WAMPAS Baby Stars (b.1907)
Famous Deaths for 12th October 2025
1679 – William Gurnall, English writer (b. 1617)
1685 – Gerard Brandt, Dutch theologist, poet and historian, dies at 59
1685 – Christoph Ignaz Abele, Austrian jurist (b. 1628)
1817 – Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel, German organist, pianist, kapellmeister, composer, and priest, dies at 66
1938 – Hugh Massie, Australian cricket batsman and captain (9 Tests; NSW), dies at 84
1954 – George Welch, American World War II flying ace (Medal of Honor nominee) and test pilot, dies in a plane crash of his experiential F-100 Super Sabre at 36
1969 – Sonja Henie, Norwegian figure skater (Olympic gold 1928, 32, 36), and actress (My Lucky Star), dies from leukemia at 57
1989 – Franco Luambo [Makiadi], Congolese jazz and rumba guitarist, composer, and bandleader (TPOK Jazz), dies from AIDS at 51
2008 – Marta Pan, Hungarian-French sculptor (Great spiral), dies at 85
2015 – Armin Kircher, Austrian organist, composer, and conductor, dies of heart failure at 48
Famous Deaths for 11th October 2025
1617 – Franchois Vranck, economist/writer (Deduction), dies at about 62
1850 – Louise of Orléans, Queen of Belgium (1832-50), Wife of Leopold I, dies of TB at 38
1891 – Irish nationalist Charles Stewart Parnell’s funeral held at Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, attended by more than 200,000
1940 – Vito Volterra, Italian mathematician and physicist, dies at 80
1942 – Leonid Nikolayev, Russian-Soviet pianist and composer, dies at 64
1977 – Mason Gross, professor (Think Fast, 2 for the Money), dies at 66
1984 – K. M. Rangnekar, Indian cricketer (33 runs at 5 50 for India), dies at 67
1990 – Douglas Edwards, American newscaster (CBS Evening News, FYI), dies of cancer at 73
1996 – Lars Ahlfors, Finnish mathematician (b. 1907)
2021 – Tony DeMarco, American boxer (NBA, NYSAC, The Ring welterweight titles 1955), dies at 89
Famous Deaths for 10th October 2025
732 – Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, Arab Tihamite Governor of Andalusia, killed in combat at the Battle of Tours
1659 – Abel Tasman, Dutch seafarer and explorer (1st European to sight Tasmania, New Zealand and Fiji), dies around the age of 55
1691 – Isaac de Benserade, French poet, dies at 77
1938 – Lord Hawke [Martin Hawke], English cricket batsman (5 Tests; Yorkshire CCC, Cambridge Uni CC, MCC), dies at 78
1983 – Ralph Richardson, English actor (Anna Karenina, Doctor Zhivago), dies of a stroke at 80
1993 – Catherine Collard, French concert pianist (Schumann; Brahms), and teacher, dies of cancer at 46
1993 – Owen Saunders, English mathematician and mechanical engineer, dies at 89
2021 – Luis de Pablo, Spanish composer, and musicologist, dies at 91
2023 – Terry Dischinger, American College Basketball HOF guard (Purdue; 3 x NBA All-Star; NBA Rookie of the Year 1963 Baltimore Bullets; Detroit Pistons; Olympic gold 1960), dies at 82
2024 – Gunnar Eggen, Norwegian harness racer (Oslo Grand Prix, Olympiatravet, March of Dimes Trot 1988), dies at 78
Famous Deaths for 9th October 2025
1562 – Gabriel Fallopius [Fallopio], Italian anatomist and early advocate for the use of condoms (Observationes anatomicae), dies at 39
1747 – David Brainerd, American missionary to the Native Americans, dies at 29
1793 – Jean Joseph Marie Amiot, French missionary (b. 1718)
1831 – Ioannis Kapodistrias, Greek diplomat, first head of state of independent Greece (1828-31) and founding father of modern Greece, assassinated at 55
1868 – Howell Cobb, American politician (U.S. Secretary of Treasury), dies at 53
1940 – Wilfred Grenfell, British medical missionary to Newfoundland and Labrador, dies at 75
1955 – Alice Joyce, American actress (Song O’ My Heart), dies at 65
1972 – Miriam Hopkins, actress (Carrie, Barbary Coast), dies at 69
1998 – Ian Johnson, Australian cricket spin bowler and captain (45 Tests; 109 wickets), dies at 80
2016 – Andrzej Wajda, Polish film director (Ashes and Diamonds, Man of Iron), dies at 90
Famous Deaths for 8th October 2025
1606 – John VI the Elder, Count of Nassau, father of 24, dies at 69
1820 – Henri Christophe, President of Haiti (1807-11) and King of Haiti (1811-20), dies at 53
1834 – François-Adrien Boieldieu, French opera composer known as ‘the French Mozart’ (La dame blanche – The White Lady), dies at 58
1941 – Gus Kahn, German-American lyricist (“It Had to Be You”; “Makin’ Whoopee”; “I’ll See You in My Dreams”), dies of a heart attack at 54
1969 – Eduardo Ciannelli, Italian actor (Foreign Correspondent, Gunga Din), dies at 80
1978 – Karl Swenson, American actor (Lars Hanson-Little House on the Prairie), dies of a heart attack at 70
1988 – Ernst Hermann Meyer, German composer, dies at 82
2002 – Phyllis Calvert [Bickle], British actress (Crash of Silence, The Man in Grey), dies at 87
2017 – Jerry Kleczka, American politician (Rep-D-WI, 1984-2005), dies at 73
2024 – Tim Johnson, American Democratic politician and senator from South Dakota (1997-2015), dies at 77
Famous Deaths for 7th October 2025
290 – [Christian] Sergius, Roman soldier and martyred saint, decapitated
1639 – Johannes Isacius Pontanus, Dutch teacher and historian (1st history of Amsterdam), dies at 68
1792 – George Mason, American statesman (Bill of Rights) and founding father, dies of natural causes at 66
1924 – Clemens Baeumker, German historian (Patristischen Philosophie), dies at 71
1956 – Clarence Birdseye, American inventor and founder of the modern frozen food industry (Birdseye), dies of a heart attack at 69
1990 – Juan Jose Arevalo, President of Guatemala (1945-51), dies
2001 – Alf Gover, English cricket fast bowler (4 Tests; Surrey CCC) and coach (Frank Tyson, Viv Richards, Andy Roberts, Ian Bishop; Surrey), dies at 93
2001 – Jimmie Lloydd [Logdon], American country and rockabilly singer, dies at 79
2021 – (Frederick) “Rick” Jones, Canadian-British children’s television presenter (Play School; Fingerbobs), and folk musician (Meal Ticket – “Better Believe It Babe”), dies of esophageal cancer at 84
2022 – Bill Nieder, American athlete (Olympic gold shot put 1960, silver 1956), dies at 89
Famous Deaths for 6th October 2025
1661 – Guru Har Rai, seventh Sikh Guru
1840 – François Budan de Boislaurent, French mathematician, dies at 80
1874 – Thomas Tellefsen, Norwegian pianist and composer, dies at 50
1885 – Thomas Talbot, American politician, 31st Governor of Massachusetts, dies at 67
1966 – Sydney Chatton, English actress (Once Upon a Horse), dies of a heart attack at 48
2006 – Valentin Muratov, Russian gymnast (4 gold, 1 silver medals 1952, 1956 Olympics), dies at 78
2006 – Puck Brouwer, Dutch athlete (b. 1930)
2007 – James “Bud” Ekins, American film stuntman (The Great Escape; Bullitt), dies at 77
2010 – Lex van Delden, Dutch actor (Soldier of Orange), dies at 63
2018 – Montserrat Caballé, Spanish bel canto operatic soprano, and unlikely pop star (with Freddie Mercury – “Barcelona”), dies at 85
Famous Deaths for 5th October 2025
1112 – Sigebert of Gembloux, French chronicler
1564 – Pierre de Manchicourt, Flemish composer, dies at about 54 [birth date uncertain]
1950 – Frederic Lewy, German neurologist (b. 1885)
1960 – Alfred L. Kroeber, American anthropologist and author (Anthropologist looks at History), dies at 84
1965 – Gustaf Adolf Tiburtius Bengtsson, Swedish composer, dies at 79
1986 – Emanuel Sayles, American jazz banjo player (Preservation Hall Jazz Band), dies at 79
1996 – Seymour Cray, American inventor (Cray Research, Cray I supercomputer), dies after a car accident at 71
1997 – Brian Pillman, American professional wrestler, dies at 35
2004 – William H. Dobelle, American biomedical engineer (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2013 nominee), dies at 62
2011 – Bert Jansch, Scottish folk guitarist, singer, dulcimer player, and songwriter dies of lung cancer at 67