1443 – Ferdinand, the Holy Prince, Portuguese prince, dies serving as a hostage in Moorish Fez, at 40
1825 – Odysseas Androutsos, hero in the Greek War of Independence (Chani of Gravia,), executed for supposedly collaborating with the Ottomans at 37
1826 – Carl Maria von Weber, German pianist, romantic composer (Der Freischutz; Oberon), and lithographer, dies of tuberculosis at 39
1871 – Isodore-Joseph Tolbecque, Belgian-French composer and conductor, dies at 77
1905 – William Claflin, American politician, 27th Governor of Massachusetts (1869-72), dies at 86
1931 – John Lawson Stoddard, American lecturer, photographer, and author, considered the father of travelogue, dies at 81
1946 – Maud Watson, British tennis player (first Wimbledon female champion 1884-85), dies at 81
2020 – Shigeru Yokota, Japanese activist whose daughter was kidnapped by North Korea, dies at 87
2022 – Alec John Such [Szűcs], American rock bassist (Bon Jovi, 1983-94 – “Wanted Dead or Alive”), dies at 70
2025 – John Shulock, American baseball umpire (World Series 1985, 92, MLB All-Star Games 1983, 94; American League 1979-99), dies at 76
Category: Famous Deaths
Famous Deaths for 4th June 2026
1257 – Duke Przemysl I of Poland
1463 – Flavio Biondi, Italian writer (Rome instaurata), dies at about 65
1925 – Pierre Louÿs, French writer (Aphrodite), dies at 54
1972 – A.C. Bilbrew (née Harris), American poet, composer (“The Death of Emmett Till”), singer, choral conductor, and radio personality, dies at 81
1973 – Murray Wilson, father of the Beach Boys: Brian, Carl, and Dennis, dies at 55
2011 – Andreas P. Nielsen, Danish author and composer, dies at 58
2012 – Pedro Borbón, Dominican baseball pitcher (World Series 1975, 76; Cincinnati Reds), dies from cancer at 65
2017 – Juan Goytisolo Gay, Spanish novelist and essayist (Marks of Identity, Count Julian), dies at 86
2019 – Jiggs Kalra, Indian food writer “Czar of Indian cuisine”, dies at 72
2021 – Friederike Mayröcker, Austrian poet and author (Death by Muses, Requiem for Ernst Jandl), dies at 96
Famous Deaths for 3rd June 2026
1864 – James P. McMahon, US Union colonel (164th NY), dies in the Battle of Cold Harbour at about 29
1865 – Okada Izō, Japanese samurai (b. 1838)
1898 – Nikolai Afanisev, Russian violinist and composer, dies at 77
1975 – Ozzie Nelson, American big band leader, radio and television actor and producer (The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet), dies from cancer at 69
1981 – Eric Dalton, South African cricket batsman (15 Tests, top score 117), dies at 74
1991 – Takeshi Nagata, Japanese geophysicist, dies at 78
2000 – Merton Miller, American economist, recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (1990), dies at 77
2004 – Victor Reuther, American labor leader (United Automobile Workers union), dies at 92
2019 – Agustina Bessa-Luís, Portuguese writer (A Sibila), dies at 96
2021 – F. Lee Bailey, American criminal defense attorney (Sam Sheppard; Boston Strangler; Patty Hearst; OJ Simpson), dies at 87
Famous Deaths for 2nd June 2026
1567 – Shane O’Neill, Irish chieftain
1750 – Johann Valentin Rathgeber, German organist, Benedictine priest, choirmaster, and composer (Augsburger Tafel-Confect), dies of gout at 68
1812 – Jan William de Winter, Dutch admiral (commanded Dutch navy in Battle of Campertown), dies at 51
1833 – Simon Byrne, Irish bare-knuckle boxer (Irish heavyweight champion), dies as a result of boxing match injuries at 27
1901 – George Leslie Mackay, Canadian missionary (b. 1844)
1967 – Benno Ohnesorg, German student (b. 1940)
1977 – Stephen Boyd [William Millar], Irish actor (Fantastic Voyage, Ben-Hur), dies of a heart attack at 45
1993 – French JFM of Thiel, Dutch 2nd chamber chairman (1963-72), dies at 86
1997 – Charles Jones, Canadian contemporary classical composer and music educator, dies at 86
2003 – Fred Blassie, American professional wrestler, manager and subject of “My Breakfast with Blassie”, dies of heart and kidney failure at 85
Famous Deaths for 1st June 2026
1660 – Louis d’Ailleboust de Coulonge, French engineer and Governor of New France (1648-51, acting 1657-58), buried at 47 or 48
1676 – Uggla, Swedish admiral (Öland), dies in battle
1729 – Matthaeus de Cock, governor general of Dutch Indies (1725-29), dies at about 65
1825 – Lady Elizabeth Finch-Hatton, British aristocrat and subject of the David Martin painting “Dido Elizabeth Belle and Lady Elizabeth Murray”, dies at 65
1969 – Ivar Ballangrud, Norwegian speed skater (Olympic gold 5,000m 1928; 500m, 5,000m 10,000m 1936), dies at 65
1987 – Rashid Karami, Lebanese statesman (elected Prime Minister 8 times between 1958-87), assassinated by a bomb rigged in his helicopter at 65
1994 – Juan J H Rovira, Spanish general, murdered
1997 – Nikolai Tikhonov, Soviet politician (Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union 1980-85), dies at 92
2001 – Queen Aiswarya of Nepal, killed by her son Dipendra in the Nepalese Royal Massacre at 51
2008 – Tommy Lapid, Israeli journalist and politician (b. 1931)
Famous Deaths for 31st May 2026
1831 – Samuel Bentham, British mechanical engineer and naval architect, dies at 74
1955 – Jacob Clay, Dutch philosopher and physicist (cosmic rays as charged particles), dies at 63
1981 – Giuseppe Pella, 31st Prime Minister of Italy, dies at 79
1987 – Roy Winsor, American producer (Search for Tomorrow, Love of Life), dies at 75
1997 – Anton Zischka, Austrian writer (Lebendiges Europa), dies at 92
2010 – William A. Fraker, American cinematographer (b. 1923)
2010 – Brian Duffy, British photographer and film producer (b. 1933)
2010 – Rubén Juárez, Argentine bandoneonist, dies of cancer at 62
2014 – Marilyn Beck, American newspaper columnist and entertainment reporter, dies at 85
2021 – Mike Marshall, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1974, 75; NL Cy Young Award 1974; Montreal Expos, LA Dodgers, Atlanta Braves), dies at 78
Famous Deaths for 30th May 2026
1744 – Alexander Pope, English poet (The Rape of the Lock, translation of Homer), dies at 56
1770 – François Boucher, French painter (b. 1703)
1975 – Michel Simon, Swiss actor (Panic, Plague, Two of Us), dies at 80
1978 – Jean Deslauriers, Canadian violin prodigy, conductor (CBC, 1935-78), and composer, dies at 68
1980 – Carl Radle, American bass guitarist (Derek and the Dominoes), dies of a kidney infection at 37
1988 – Ella Raines, American actress (Uncle Harry, Runaround, Impact, Brute Force), dies of throat cancer at 67
2000 – Tex Beneke, American bandleader and musician (b. 1914)
2003 – Mickie Most [Michael Hayes], British record producer (Herman’s Hermits; The Nashville Teens; Donovan; Lulu), dies of stomach cancer at 64
2015 – Azmat Rana, Pakistan cricket batsman (1 Test, top score 49; 2 ODIs), dies at 63
2019 – Frank Lucas, American drug kingpin (fictionalised in 2007 film “American Gangster”), dies at 88
Famous Deaths for 29th May 2026
1405 – Philippe de Mézières, advisor to Charles V of France
1750 – Giuseppe Porsile, Neapolitan composer, dies at 70
1814 – Joséphine de Beauharnais, Empress of France (1804-14) and Queen of Italy (1805-10) as the first wife of Napoleon I, dies of pneumonia at 50
1883 – Marianne, Princess of the Netherlands, wife of Prince Albert of Prussia (dissolved 1849), Dutch unconventional princess who left her marriage, dies at 73
1885 – Alfred Meissner, Austrian poet (Ziska), dies at 62
1921 – Horace Porter, American Brigadier General (Union Army), dies at 84
1935 – Josef Suk, Czech violinist (Bohemian String Quartet, 1891-1933), composer (Asrael Symphony; Ripening; Serenade for Strings), and educator, dies at 61
1973 – Voltaire “Volly” De Faut; American jazz reed player (New Orleans Rhythm Kings; Jean Goldkette), dies at 69
1973 – P. Ramlee [Teuku Puteh], Malaysian actor, filmmaker, pop singer and musician, dies of a heart attack at 44
1977 – Ba Maw, Burmese politician, lawyer, and first Burma Premier (1937-9), dies at 84
Famous Deaths for 28th May 2026
1089 – Lanfranc, Italian Archbishop of Canterbury (1070-89) and counsellor to William the Conqueror, dies
1891 – Winfield Scott Featherston “Old Swet”, American politician and Army Brigadier General (Confederate), dies at 70
1940 – Walter Connolly, American actor (It Happened One Night, Good Earth), dies from a stroke at 53
1973 – Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, German composer and conductor (Hassan), dies at 73
1979 – William Edmonson, American bass harmony and gospel vocalist (Southernaires), radio, stage and screen actor (Thirty Years Later), dies at 76
1994 – Ely Jacques Kahn, Jr., American writer, dies at 77
2009 – Terence Alexander, English actor (Bergerac), dies at 86
2014 – Maya Angelou [Marguerite Johnson], American author (“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”), poet and actress (Nyo-Roots), dies at 86
2017 – John Noakes, British TV presenter, dies at 83
2019 – Edward Seaga, Jamaican politician, 5th Prime Minister of Jamaica (1980-89) and record producer, dies at 89
Famous Deaths for 27th May 2026
1708 – Jacques Danican Philidor, French composer, dies at 51
1887 – Coenraad Johannes van Houten, Dutch chemist and cocoa manufacturer (Dutch process chocolate), dies at 86
1947 – Ed Konetchy, American MLB player, dies at 61
1972 – Roy K. Marshall, American astronomer, TV host (Nature of Things), and first director of Morehead Planetarium, dies at 64
1986 – Gaston Duribreux, Flemish writer (Sour Dove), dies at 82
1995 – László Kalmár, Hungarian composer (Triangles), dies at 63
1995 – Ulysses Kay, American neoclassical composer (Of New Horizons: Overture), dies of Parkinson’s disease complications at 78
2007 – Ed Yost, American inventor of the modern hot air balloon and known as “Father of the Modern Day Hot-Air Balloon.”, dies at 87
2014 – Helma Sanders-Brahms, German director and writer (Apple Trees; Germany, Pale Mother), dies of cancer at 73
2020 – Larry Kramer, American playwright and AIDS activist, dies at 84