1723 – J Fischer von Erlach, Austrian architect (Hofburg, Vienna), dies at 66
1952 – Charles Collett, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Western Railway (1922-41), dies at 80
1986 – Manly Wade Wellman, sci-fi author (Devil’s Planet), dies at 82
2001 – Malcolm Shepherd [2nd Baron Shepherd], Politician (L) and Leader of the House of Lords (1974-76), dies at 82
2004 – Sławomir Rawicz, Polish soldier (b. 1915)
2020 – Margaret Burbidge, British-American astronomer and educator (faint object spectrograph of the Hubble Space), dies at 100
2020 – Ed Biles, American football coach (College: Xavier 1962-68; NFL: Houston Oilers 1981-83), dies from leukemia at 88
2021 – Philip K Chapman, Australian astronaut (Apollo 14 support), dies at 86
2022 – Joaquim Carvalho, Portuguese soccer goalkeeper (6 caps; Sporting CP), dies at 84
2022 – Bobby Rydell [Ridarelli], American pop singer (“Wild One”; “Wildwood Days”), and actor (Bye Bye Birdie), dies of pneumonia at 79
Category: Famous Deaths
Famous Deaths for 4th April 2025
1930 – Vladimir Majakovski, Russian poet, dies
1961 – Simion Stoilow, Romanian mathematician (b. 1873)
1970 – Victor Otto Stomps, German writer and publisher, dies at 72
1980 – Woodrow Wilson “Red” Sovine, American country music singer, dies following a heart attack leading to a car crash at 62
1983 – Jacqueline Logan, American actress and silent film leading lady (WAMPAS Baby Star), dies at 78
1985 – Kate Roberts, Welsh nationalist and Welsh language writer, dies at 94
1991 – Max Frisch, Swiss writer and playwright (I’m Not Stiller, Firebugs), dies at 79
1992 – Samuel Reshevsky, Polish-American chess grandmaster (World C’ship 3rd 1948; 8 x US C’ship gold), dies of a heart attack at 80
2011 – Scott Columbus, American heavy metal drummer (Manowar, 1983–91 and 1994–2008), takes his own life at 54
2018 – Gertrude Jeannette, African American taxi driver, playwright and film and stage actress (Shaft, Cotton Comes to Harlem), dies at 103
Famous Deaths for 3rd April 2025
1680 – Shivaji Bhonsle [Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj], Indian warrior and founder of the Maratha Empire, dies of fever and dysentery around the age of 52
1728 – James Anderson, Scottish lawyer (b. 1662)
1747 – Francesco Solimena, Italian painter, dies at 89
1797 – Nonnosus Madlseder, German composer and Benedictine Monk, dies at 66
1917 – Arthur Graeme West, British writer and war poet (The Diary of a Dead Officer), killed by a sniper at about 25
1962 – Benny “Kid” Paret, American welterweight boxer, dies after a fight at 24
2001 – Lester “Big Daddy” Kinsey, American Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, dies at 74
2016 – Bill Henderson, American jazz singer (“Señor Blues”), and actor (Dreams – “Torpedo”), dies at 90
2020 – Tom Dempsey, American NFL kicker (Pro Bowl, First-team All-Pro 1969; New Orleans Saints; longest winning field goal, 63 yards), dies of COVID-19 complications at 73
2022 – June Brown, British actress (EastEnders, 1985–93 and 1997–2020 – “Dot”; Sitting Target), dies at 95
Famous Deaths for 2nd April 2025
1791 – Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, French revolutionary (influential member of the National Constituent Assembly), dies of natural causes at 42
1910 – Boyd Alexander, English explorer and ornithologist (Niger to the Nile), murdered in a dispute with locals in Africa at 37
1923 – Michel Théato, Luxembourgian athlete (Olympic gold representing France, marathon 1900), dies at 45
1938 – Alice Berend, writer, dies
1979 – Ivan Barrow, Jamaican cricket wicketkeeper (11 Tests; first West Indian Test century-maker in England), dies at 68
1992 – Juanito, Spanish soccer forward (34 caps; Real Madrid 284 games, 85 goals), dies in car crash at 37
2009 – Peter Anderson, English footballer (Plymouth Argyle), dies at 72
2009 – Clifford “Bud” Shank, American jazz saxophonist and flute player, dies of a pulmonary embolism at 82
2013 – Chuck Fairbanks, American football coach (New England Patriots 1973-78; University of Oklahoma 1967-72, University of Colorado 1979-81), dies from brain cancer at 79
2018 – Winnie Mandela [Winnie Madikizela-Mandela], South African anti-apartheid activist and ANC politician, dies of a long illness at 81
Famous Deaths for 1st April 2025
1580 – Alonso Mudarra, Spanish composer, composed the first music for the guitar, dies at about 70
1865 – Giuditta Pasta, Italian soprano, dies at 67
1872 – Frederick Maurice, English theologian (Church of England), dies at 66
1901 – François-Marie Raoult, French physicist and chemist (Law of Raoult), dies at 70
1987 – Henri Cochet, French tennis player (French Open 1926, 28, 30, 32; Wimbledon 1927, 29; US Open 1928), dies at 85
1993 – Juan of Borbon y Battemberg, father of king Juan Carlos I, dies
2007 – Herb Carneal, American sports broadcaster (Minnesota Twins 1962-2006; Ford C. Frick Award 1996), dies of congestive heart failure at 83
2013 – Basia Johnson (née Barbara Piasecka), Polish-American domestic servant, philanthropist, humanitarian, art collector, and heir to Johnson and Johnson fortune, dies at 76
2014 – Joe “Speedo” Frazier, American doo-wop vocalist (Impalas – “Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home)”), dies at 70
2024 – Vontae Davis, American football cornerback (Pro Bowl 2014, 15; Indianapolis Colts), dies at 35
Famous Deaths for 31st March 2025
1837 – John Constable, English landscape painter (Hay Wain), dies at 60
1869 – Allan Kardec, French author and founder of Spiritism, dies at 64
1886 – Giovanni Rossi, Italian composer, dies at 57
1915 – Wyndham Halswelle, British athlete (Olympic gold 400m 1908), dies in WWI action at 32
1938 – Willem Kloos, Dutch poet and critic (New Guide), dies at 78
1959 – Peter Suhrkamp, German publisher (Suhrkamp Verlag), dies at 68
1980 – Vladimír Holan, Czech poet, dies at 74
1996 – Julius Young, fast food entrepreneur, dies at 73
1998 – Bella Abzug “Battling Bella”, American politician, feminist and activist (Rep-D-NY, 1970-74), dies at 77
2021 – Jane Manning, British concert and operatic soprano, educator, and promoter of contemporary classical music, dies at 82
Famous Deaths for 30th March 2025
1875 – Marie Moke Pleyel, Belgian composer, dies at 63
1966 – Maxfield Parrish, American painter and illustrator, dies at 95
1974 – Lodewijk Rogier, Dutch historian (Reborn in Freedom), dies at 79
1981 – Noel Harford, New Zealand cricket batsman (8 Tests, 2 x 50; Manawatu, Hawke’s Bay, Franklin), dies at 50
1988 – Edgar Faure, Prime Minister of France (1952, 52-56) and writer, dies at 79
1992 – Luigi De Laurentiis, Italian producer (Toto, Macaroni), dies at 75
2006 – Red Hickey, American football coach (HC SF 49ers 1959-63; devised shotgun formation), dies at 89
2014 – Kate O’Mara, English actress (Dynasty) and writer, dies at 74
2016 – Howard Cable, Canadian conductor, arranger, and composer, dies at 95
2018 – Bill Maynard [Walter Williams], English actor (Greengrass-Heartbeat) and comedian, dies at 89
Famous Deaths for 29th March 2025
1650 – Cornelis Galle I, Flemish engraver, dies at about 73
1921 – John Burroughs, American writer and nature enthusiast (Burroughs Medal namesake), dies at 83
1979 – Sultan Yahya Petra, 6th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia (1975-79), dies at 61
1995 – Terry Moore, American baseball outfielder (World Series 1942, 46; 4 x MLB All Star; St. Louis Cardinals) and manager (Philadelphia Phillies 1954), dies at 82
1996 – Maggie Donnelly, London bag lady depicted in TV show “Bag Lady”, dies at 46
2005 – Johnnie Cochran, American attorney (O.J. Simpson defense attorney), dies at 67
2009 – Andy Hallett, American actor and singer (b.1975)
2016 – [Anna Marie] “Patty” Duke, American Academy and Emmy awarding actress (The Miracle Worker; The Patty Duke Show), and mental health advocate, dies of sepsis from a ruptured intestine at 69
2018 – Anita Shreve, American writer (Weight of Water, Past the Island; Drifting), dies of cancer at 71
2020 – Krzysztof Penderecki, Polish composer (“Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima”), dies at 86
Famous Deaths for 28th March 2025
1840 – Simon-Antoine-Jean Lhuillier, Swiss mathematician, dies at 89
1927 – Karl Prohaska, Austrian composer, dies at 57
1939 – Francis Matthew John Baker, Australian politician (b. 1903)
1948 – Princess Henriette, Duchess of Vendôme and Alençon, dies at 77
1957 – Christopher Morley, American author (Kitty Foil), dies at 66
1992 – Wendell Mayes, writer, dies of cancer at 72
1996 – Simon Harcourt Nowell-Smith, British bibliophile, dies at 87
2015 – Douglas Leedy, American electronic and classical music composer (Entropical Paradise; Chorale For Harpsichord in Just Tuning), dies at 77
2017 – Janine Sutto, French Canadian actress and comedian (Guide de la petite vengeance), dies of natural causes at 95
2020 – Azam Khan, Pakistani squash player (British Open 1959-62), dies from COVID-19 at 95
Famous Deaths for 27th March 2025
1668 – Clemens Thieme, German Baroque composer, dies at 36
1848 – John Burke, Irish genealogist (Burke’s Peerage), dies at 61
1889 – Moritz Fürstenau, German composer, dies at 64
1910 – David Duffle Wood, American blind composer (organist and choir master at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church), dies at 72
1916 – Susan Blow, American educator who pioneered kindergarten education and was known as the “Mother of the Kindergarten”, dies at 72
1991 – Ralph Bates, British actor (Persecution, Graveyard), dies at 50
1998 – Ferry Porsche, Austrian automobile pioneer (Porsche AG), dies at 88
2001 – Anthony Dexter [Walter Fleischmann], Canadian actor (The Phantom Planet, Captain John Smith and Pocahontas), dies at 88
2009 – Irving R. Levine, American journalist (NBC News), dies at 86
2016 – Mother Angelica, Catholic American Franciscan nun, dies at 92