Category: Famous Deaths

1654 – Johann Valentin Andreae, German theologian and writer (claimed to have written Rosicrucian text), dies at 67
1773 – Mentewab, dowager Empress of Ethiopia (b. circa 1706)
1848 – Denis-Auguste Affre, Archbishop of Paris (1840-48) and opponent of King Louis-Philippe, shot to death at 54
1958 – Martinus Ballings, Belgian Jesuit author (Wilskracht/Willpower), dies at 93
1960 – Harry Pollitt, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain dies at 69
1970 – Daniel Kinsey, American hurdler (b. 1902)
1992 – Stefanie Ann Sargent, American guitarist (7 Year Bitch), dies of alcohol and heroin overdose at 24
2011 – Betty Callaway, English figure skating coach (Torvill and Dean, Regőczy and Sallay), dies after a fall at 83
2015 – Denis Vigay, British cellist (BBC Symphony; Academy of St Martin in the Fields; Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band), dies at 89
2024 – Landry Nguémo, Cameroonian soccer defensive midfielder (41 caps; Nancy, Bordeaux, Saint-Étienne), dies in a car accident at 38

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1291 – Eleanor of Provence, wife of Henry III of England
1864 – Tom Hyer, American bare-knuckle boxer (American heavyweight champion 1841-51), dies of edema at 45
1906 – Alexander Muir, Canadian composer (The Maple Leaf Forever), dies at 76
1965 – Johan Conrad Kikkert, Dutch painter and critic who promoted modern art in the Netherlands through Modern Art Circle, dies at 82
1992 – Herman Rohde, professional wrestler (b. 1921)
1993 – Roy Campanella, American Baseball Hall of Fame catcher (NL MVP 1951, 53, 55; World Series 1955; 8 x MLB All Star; Brooklyn Dodgers), dies of a heart attack at 71
2001 – William Bryant, American character actor (King Dinosaur, Hell Squad), dies of cancer at 77
2021 – Jon Hassell, American composer and trumpet player (Dream Theory In Malaya), dies at 84
2022 – Ole Barndorff-Nielsen, Danish mathematician and statistical theorist, dies at 87
2024 – Pat Heywood, Scottish actress (10 Rillington Place; Lucky Feller), dies at 92

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1514 – Berta Jacobsdr [Suster Bertken], Dutch hermit, dies at 87
1876 – Lame White Man, Cheyenne, dies at the Battle of the Little Bighorn
1896 – Emile A. H. Seipgens, Dutch novice priest, beer brewer, poet and writer (The Chaplain Bardelo), dies at 58
1942 – Hans Lietzman, German theologist and church historian, dies at 67
1959 – Charles Starkweather, American spree killer (11 victims), executed by electric chair at 20
1960 – Tommy Corcoran, American baseball shortstop (MLB shortstop game assist record 14), dies at 91
1961 – John Alexander Douglas McCurdy, Canadian aviator, dies at 74
1985 – Connie “Pee Wee” Crayton, American RandB and blues guitarist and singer (“Do Unto Others”), dies of a heart attack at 70
2018 – Bo Nilsson, Swedish composer (Doppelspiel), dies at 81
2020 – Marga Richter, American classical pianist and composer (Landscapes of the Mind; Out of Shadows and Solitude), dies at 93

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1766 – Adrien-Maurice de Noailles, third Duke of Noailles, soldier, and Marshal of France, dies at 87
1860 – Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia (1807-13), dies at 75
1933 – Sissieretta Joyner Jones, American singer (“Black Patti”), dies at about 64
1938 – “Digger” Robertson, Australian cricketer (Test for Australia 1885, played in California), dies at 76
1945 – José Gutierrez Solana, Spanish painter and author (Madrid Escenas), dies at 59
1947 – Emil Seidel, German-American politician (36th Mayor of Milwaukee), dies at 82
1995 – Inshan Ali, West Indian cricketer (WI chinaman bowler 1971-77), dies at 45
2002 – Pierre Werner, Prime Minister of Luxembourg (1979-84), dies at 88
2005 – Paul Winchell (Wilchinsky), American ventriloquist (Jerry Mahoney, Knucklehead Smiff), inventor (mechanical artificial human heart,1963), voice actor (Winnie the Pooh – “Tigger”; Dick Dastardly; The Banana Splits -“Fleegle”), and acupuncturist, dies at 82
2020 – Jane Parker-Smith. English classical organist, dies at 70

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1839 – Hester Stanhope, English aristocrat, traveller and archaeologist, dies at 63
1893 – Sir Theophilus Shepstone, British-born South African statesman (b. 1817)
1910 – John McGraw, 2nd Governor of Washington (1893-97), dies at 59
1924 – Cecil Sharp, British collector of English folk music and dance, dies at 64
1996 – Pasqualino de Santis, Italian cinematographer, dies at 69
1997 – “Wino” Willie Forkner, American biker (Wild One), dies of a heart attack at 77
2007 – Rod Beck, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1993, 94, 97; San Francisco Giants), dies from a drug overdose at 38
2010 – Allyn Ferguson, American orchestra leader (The Andy Williams Show), and TV theme composer (Barney Miller; Charlie’s Angels), dies at 85
2012 – Alan McDonald, Northern Irish soccer defender (52 caps; QPR 476 games), dies from a heart attack at 48
2024 – Hugo Villanueva, Chilean soccer defender (21 caps; Universidad de Chile 133 games), dies at 85

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1634 – Johann von Aldringen, Austrian field marshal (b. 1588)
1915 – James Murray Spangler, American inventor of portable vacuum cleaner (Hoover), dies at 66
1922 – Henry H Wilson, Field Marshal, murdered in London
1928 – George Siegmann, American actor (Birth of Nation, Queen of Sheba, Oliver Twist), dies from pernicious anemia at 46
1966 – Roger Blunt, New Zealand cricket all-rounder and broadcaster (9 Tests; BBC), dies at 65
1988 – Dennis Day [Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty], Irish-American tenor (“Danny Boy”), radio and television comic actor (Jack Benny Program; A Day in the Life of Dennis Day), dies of ALS at 72
1994 – L. V. Prasad, Indian pioneering filmmaker, dies at 87
2007 – Guy Vander Jagt, American politician (Rep-R-MI, 1966-93), dies at 75
2020 – Carlos Luis Morales, Ecuadorian soccer goalkeeper (40 caps; Independiente, Palestino, ESPOLI), dies from cardiocirculatory arrest at 55
2022 – Alec Head, French horse trainer and breeder (6 x champion trainer France; 4 x Arc de Triomphe; owner Haras du Quesnay), dies at 97

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1040 – Fulk the Black, French Count of Anjou, one of the great medieval castle builders (Langeais, Loches)), dies at 69 or 70
1887 – Adolf Schimon, Austrian German composer, dies at 67
1976 – Margaret Herrick, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences director (b. 1902)
1983 – Anton van de Velde, Belgian writer and director (Tijl), dies at 87
1986 – Assi Rahbani, Lebanese composer, with his lyricist brother, Mansour (Biya el-Khawatim – The Ring Seller), dies at 63
1997 – Arthur Prysock, American jazz and RandB singer (“I Didn’t Sleep a Wink Last Night”; “In The Rain”), dies at 68 or 73 [birth year disputed]
2005 – Jaime Cardinal Sin, Filipino Catholic Archbishop of Manila (b. 1928)
2012 – Richard Adler, American musical theater composer and songwriter (ThePajama Game; Damn Yankees)), dies at 90
2021 – Tom Kurvers, American ice hockey defenseman (Hobey Baker Award 1984; Stanley Cup 1986 Montreal Canadiens), dies from adenocarcinoma at 58
2023 – Winnie Ewing, Scottish lawyer and politician (Member of Scottish Parliament, 1999-2003; President of the Scottish National Party, 1987-2005; Member of the European Parliament, 1979-99), dies at 93

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1842 – Michael Umlauf, Austrian violinist, composer, and conductor (premiere of Beethoven’s 9th), dies at 60
1925 – Wilhelm Posse, German composer, dies at 72
1948 – George Frederick Boyle, Australian-American composer, dies at 61
1958 – Kurt Alder, German chemist (Nobel 1950), dies at 55
1975 – Daniel Ayala Pérez, Mexican violinist, conductor, and composer, dies at 68
1984 – Hans Studer, Swiss composer, dies at 73
1998 – Conrad Schumann, East German border guard, committed suicide at 56
2011 – [Anna] Ottilie Patterson, Irish blues and jazz singer (Chris Barber Jazz Band), dies at 79
2017 – Prodigy [Albert Johnson], American rapper (Mobb Deep), dies at 42
2024 – Donald Sutherland, Canadian actor (The Dirty Dozen; M*A*S*H (film): Ordinary People; The Hunger Games films), dies from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at 88

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1312 – Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall and favourite of Edward II of England beheaded at 27 or 28
1799 – Joseph Bologne, French violinist, conductor, composer, and champion fencer, dies at 51
1947 – Willem H. Fly, Dutch typographer/co-founder (SDAP), dies at 84
1984 – Wladimir Rudolfovich Vogel, composer, dies at 88
1988 – Gladys Spellman, American. Congresswoman (b. 1918)
1993 – William Golding, English author (Lord of the Flies, Nobel Prize for Literature 1983), dies at 81
2010 – Ursula Thiess [Schmidt], German actress (Monsoon, Bengal Brigade, Americano), dies at 86
2017 – Tony DiCicco, American soccer coach (US women 1994-99; FIFA Women’s World Cup gold 1999; FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup gold 2008), dies from cancer at 68
2022 – Brett Tuggle, American session and touring rock keyboard player (David Lee Roth, 1986-94; Fleetwood Mac, 1997-2017), dies of cancer at 70
2023 – Karolis Chvedukas, Lithuanian soccer midfielder (20 caps; FK Sūduva 163 games, Waterford FC), dies at 32

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1669 – Abraham Crijnssen, Swiss admiral, conquered Suriname, dies
1921 – Eduardo Acevedo Díaz, Uruguayan writer (Nativa, Lanza y Sable), dies at 70
1948 – Edward Brooker, British politician (interim Premier of Tasmania, Dec 1947-Feb 1948), dies of a pulmonary edema at 57
1980 – Terence Fisher, English film director (Hammer Films), dies at 76
1995 – Arthur John Howard, British actor (Frieda, Last Holiday, Paradiso, Glass Cage), dies at 85
2005 – J.J. Pickle, American politician (Rep-D-Texas, 1963-95), dies at 91
2006 – Richard Stahl, American actor (Howard-It’s a Living), dies at 74
2018 – Walter Bahr, American soccer midfielder (19 caps) and coach (Penn State), dies of complications broken hip at 91
2018 – Barry McDaniel, American lyric baritone (Deutsche Oper Berlin, 1962-99), dies at 87
2024 – Anouk Aimée [Nicole Dreyfus], French actress (La Dolce Vita; 8 1/2; A Man and A Woman), dies at 92

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