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
Category: Famous Deaths
Famous Deaths for 30th April 2026
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
Famous Deaths for 29th April 2026
1951 – Jules Verstraete [Julien Gustave de Graef], Flemish actor (rubber, The Three Wishes), dies at 67
1975 – Michael John Shea, American First Lieutenant US Marine Corps, one of the last soldiers killed in Vietnam, dies at 25
1982 – Herbert Collum, German organist (Kreuzkirche, Dresden, 1935-82), harpsichordist, composer, and conductor, dies at 67
1993 – Cy Howard, American director, producer and screenwriter (My Friend Irma, Lovers and Other Strangers), dies from heart failure at 77
2008 – Michael “Micky” Waller, British blues and rock drummer (Long John Baldry; Jeff Beck Group), dies of liver failure at 66
2013 – John La Montaine, American composer, dies at 93
2018 – Luis García Meza Tejada, Bolivian general and dictator, dies at 88
2019 – Gino Marchetti, Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end (Pro Bowl x 11), dies of pneumonia at 93
2020 – Trevor Cherry, English soccer defender (27 caps; Leeds United, Huddersfield Town, Bradford City) and manager (Bradford City), dies at 72
2021 – Billie Hayes [Brosch], American stage, film, and television actress Li’l Abner – “Mammy Yokum”; Witchiepoo), dies at 96
Famous Deaths for 28th April 2026
1772 – Johann Friedrich Struensee, German physician of Christian VII of Denmark, dies at 34
1883 – William M. Browne, American Confederate politician and Brigadier General, dies at 59
1887 – Carl Ferdinand Pohl, German-Austrian music historian, organist, and composer, dies at 67
1945 – Claretta Petacci, Italian mistress of Mussolini, executed at 33
1945 – Roberto Farinacci, Italian fascist, dies at 52
1955 – Lode Cantens, Flemish playwright (Gnomes of the City), dies at 43
1987 – Ben Linder, American engineer, murdered by Contras in Nicaragua at 27
1995 – Henry C. Rogers, American publicist, dies at 81
2014 – Jack Ramsay, American Hall of Fame basketball coach (Portland Trail Blazers, 1977 NBA Champions), dies from cancer at 89
2021 – Madeline Davis, American activist and the first openly lesbian delegate to a Democratic national convention, dies of complications of a stroke at 80
Famous Deaths for 27th April 2026
1599 – Maeda Toshiie, Japanese general, dies at 61
1702 – Jean Bart, French naval captain, privateer, and sea hero (Escape from Plymouth), dies at 51
1876 – George Aiken, American playwright and actor famous for writing the most popular stage adaptation of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, dies at 45
1927 – Albert J. Beveridge, American politician and historian (Progressive leader, Senator Indiana 1899-1911), dies at 64
1982 – Tom Tully, American radio, stage, and screen actor (The Caine Mutiny; Shane), dies at 73
1992 – Olivier Messiaen, French composer (L’Ame en Bourgeon; St Francois d’Assise), dies at 83
1996 – William Colby, American C.I.A. director (1973-76), dies at 76
1996 – Joan Sterndale-Bennett, British actress (Brighton Rock, Those Fantastic Flying Fools), dies at 82
1998 – John Bassett, Canadian publisher and media baron, dies at 47
1998 – Godfrey Kenton, English actor (The Tempest, Well’s Theater), dies at 96
Famous Deaths for 26th April 2026
1922 – Hans Sommer, German theatre composer, dies at 84
1944 – Violette Morris, French athlete and spy for Nazi Germany, dies at 51
1951 – Arnold Sommerfeld, German physicist, dies at 82
1958 – Joan Collette, Dutch graphic artist and painter (New Church, Delft), dies at 68
1965 – Aaron Avshalomov, Russian-Jewish-American composer (Kuan Yin; The Great Wall), conductor (Shanghai Municipal Orchestra, 1943-46), and librarian, dies at 70
1983 – Bronislaw Kaper, Polish-American Academy Award-winning film composer (Green Dolphin Street; Lili; The Brothers Karamazov), dies at 81
2007 – Edward Seidensticker, American historian and translator of Japanese and classical works, dies at 86
2013 – Len Rempt-Halmmans de Jongh, Dutch politician (House of Representatives, 1975-79, 1982–94), dies at 85
2018 – Charles Neville, American vocalist and saxophonist (Neville Brothers), dies of pancreatic cancer at 79
2025 – Andy Bey, American jazz singer and pianist (Horace Silver; Gary Bartz), dies at 85
Famous Deaths for 25th April 2026
1295 – Sancho IV, the Brave, scholar/king of Castile/Leon, dies
1828 – Johannes Goldberg, Dutch politician and first Agent of the National Economy, dies at 64
1911 – Emilio Salgari, Italian novelist (b. 1862)
1946 – Joseph Vine, cricketer (batted in two Tests Eng v Aust 1911-12), dies
1949 – Jankel Adler, Polish painter and printmaker, dies at 53
1972 – George Sanders, Russian actor (All About Eve-Academy Award 1950), commits suicide at 65
1995 – Ginger Rogers [Virginia McMath], American vaudeville, stage and screen dancer, singer (Top Hat), and Academy Award-winning actress (Kitty Foyle; Stage Door), dies at 83
1999 – Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, Irish journalist, author, sports official and 6th President of the International Olympic Committee (1972-80), dies at 84
2023 – Sir Winfried Bischoff, German-British banker and chairman of Lloyds Banking Group, dies at 81
2023 – Vera Krepkina, Russian athlete (Olympic gold USSR long jump 1960; WR 4×100m relay 1956, tied WR 100m 11.3s 1958), dies at 90
Famous Deaths for 24th April 2026
1731 – Daniel Defoe, English novelist (Robinson Crusoe), dies at about 70
1776 – Carolus van de Abeele, Flemish Jesuit, dies at 84
1852 – Vasily Zhukovsky, Russian poet and leading figure in Russian literature, dies at 69
1945 – Hubert Bath, British film score and light music composer (Cornish Rhapsody), and music director, dies at 61
1957 – Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff, Dutch politician (Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies 1926-31), dies at 84
1961 – Lee Moran, American actor (Circus Clown), dies of heart ailment at 72 (b. 1888)
1967 – Frank Overton, American actor (Fail Safe; 12 O’Clock High (TV series, not film)), dies of a heart attack at 49
1988 – Bob Newson, South African cricket fast bowler (3 Tests, 4 wickets; Transvaal; Rhodesia), dies at 87
2000 – Alma Heflin, American commercial airplane test pilot and child psychologist, dies at 89
2021 – Christa Ludwig, German soprano (Vienna State Opera, 1955-94; Metropolitan Opera, 1959-93), dies at 93
Famous Deaths for 23rd April 2026
1014 – Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, dies in battle at Clontarf at 72 or 73
1728 – Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco, Spanish organist, composer (La púrpura de la rosa), and maestro de capilla (Catedral de Lima, Peru, 1676-1707), dies at 83
1792 – Karl Friedrich Bahrdt, German theologian and adventurer, dies at 50
1823 – Joseph Nollekens, English sculptor (portrait busts, patronized by George III), dies at 85
1986 – Harold Arlen [Hyman Arluck], American popular song composer (“Over the Rainbow”; “It’s Only A Paper Moon”; “Stormy Weather”), dies of cancer at 81
1986 – Otto Preminger, Austro-Hungarian-American theatre and film director, producer (Laura; Advise and Consent; Anatomy of A Murder), and actor (Stalag 17), dies of lung cancer at 80
1999 – Tullio Pandolfini, Italian water polo athlete (Olympic gold, 1948), dies at 84
2011 – Max van der Stoel, Dutch politician and Minister of Foreign Affairs (PvdA), dies at 86
2022 – Orrin Hatch, American politician (US Senator from Utah (R), 1977-2019) longest-serving Utah US Senator, dies at 88
2025 – Jonnie Boer, Dutch chef with three Michelin Stars and a pioneer of the New Nordic food movement, dies of a pulmonary embolism at 60
Famous Deaths for 22nd April 2026
835 – Kūkai, Japanese Buddhist monk and poet (founded Shingon school of Buddhism), dies at 60
1951 – Horace Donisthorpe, British entomologist (British Ants), dies at 81
1976 – Frutuoso de Lima Viana, Brazilian pianist and composer, dies at 79
1982 – Melville Bell Grosvenor, American photographer and president of National Geographic Society, dies at 80
1989 – Emilio G. Segrè, Italian physicist and Nobel laureate (discovered the elements technetium, astatine and the sub-atomic antiparticle antiproton), dies at 84 of a heart attack
2003 – Martha Griffiths, U.S. Congresswoman, dies at 91
2005 – (John) Norman Bird, British stage, wireless, and screen character actor (Worzel Gummidge, 1979–81 – “Mr Braithwaite”), dies at 80
2009 – Jack Cardiff, British cinematographer (Black Narcissus), dies at 94
2022 – Guy Lafleur, Canadian Hockey HOF right wing (5 x Stanley Cup, 2 x NHL MVP, NHL Playoff MVP Montreal Canadiens; NY Rangers, Quebec Nordiques), dies of lung cancer at 70
2025 – Keith Stackpole, Australian cricket batsman (43 Tests, 7 x 100, 14 x 50, HS 207; Victoria), dies at 84