Category: Famous Deaths

1485 – Richard III, King of England (1483-85), killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field at 32
1609 – Maharal of Prague, Jewish mystic and philosopher (b. 1525)
1801 – Pieter Gerardus van Overstraten, Dutch Governor-General of Dutch East Indies (1796-1801), dies at 46
1866 – George Shillibeer, pioneer of London’s 1st bus service, dies
1917 – Matthijs Maris [Thijs], Dutch painter and etcher influenced by Pre-Raphaelites, dies at 78
1918 – Korbinian Brodmann, German neurologist (b. 1868)
1958 – Roger Martin du Gard, French novelist (Nobel Prize for Literature 1937), dies at 77
1979 – Henry Beernink, politician, dies at 69
1991 – Boris Pugo, USSR minister of Interior (1990), commits suicide
2015 – Charles Tomlinson, British poet and translator, dies at 88

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1131 – Boudouin II van Bourg, king of Jerusalem, dies
1614 – Elizabeth Báthory, Hungarian countess and the world’s most prolific female serial killer, dies at 54
1673 – John de Love I, vice-admiral, dies in sea battle at about 54
1762 – Mary Wortley Montagu, English poet and writer (wrote about life in Istanbul, advocated for smallpox inoculation) dies at 73
1838 – Adelbert von Chamisso, French writer (Peter Schlemihl), dies at 57
1994 – Hein Fentener van Vlissingen, Dutch eccentric millionaire, dies at 73
2008 – “Huckle” Jerry Finn, American sound engineer and record producer (Blink-182), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage and heart attack at 39
2008 – Buddy Harman, American country music drummer (Grand Ole Opry, Elvis Presley), dies at 79
2012 – Georg Leber, German politician, dies at 91
2015 – Anna Kashfi [Joan O’Callaghan], Welsh actress and 1st wife of Marlon Barando, dies at 80

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984 – John XIV [Petrus Canepanova], Italian Pope (983-84), dies
1384 – Geert Groote, Dutch founder of the Brethren of the Common Life, dies at 43
1825 – Richard Wainwright, composer and church organist, dies at 68
1910 – Arthur Coquard, French composer, and music critic (Le Monde; L’Echo de Paris), dies at 64
1915 – Paul Ehrlich, German bacteriologist and physician (Chemotherapy, Nobel Prize 1908), dies in 61
1931 – Waldemar von Baussnern, composer, dies at 64
1961 – Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist (Nobel 1946 – physics of high pressure), dies at 79
1968 – Earl Sande, American HOF jockey (Triple Crown 1930 Gallant Fox; 3 x Kentucky Derby; 5 x Belmont Stakes; 1 x Preakness Stakes; 3 x US Champion Jockey by earnings; US Champion Trainer by earnings 1938), dies at 69
2006 – Bryan Budd, British soldier (Afghanistan), dies at 29
2022 – Tom Weiskopf, American golfer (British Open 1973; US Senior Open 1995), dies from pancreatic cancer at 79

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1493 – Frederick III of Innsbruck, Holy Roman Emperor (1452-1493), dies at 77 probably of blood loss after his leg is amputated
1650 – Abraham de Verwer, Dutch painter, buried at about 55
1856 – Charles Frédéric Gerhardt, French chemist, dies at 39
1887 – Alvan Clark, American astronomer and maker of the Dearborn Observatory telescope, the largest telescope in the world at the time, dies at 83
1895 – John Wesley Hardin, American outlaw and gunfighter (claimed to have killed 27 men), shot dead in a saloon at 42
1944 – Günther von Kluge, German field marshal during World War II (Invasion of Poland, Battle of France, Operation Barbarossa), commits suicide at 61
1967 – Isaac Deutscher, Polish-English historian (Stalin/Trotsky biography), dies at 60
1971 – Mary Browne, American tennis player (US Nat C’ship 1912-14), dies at 80
1975 – Mark Donohue, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500, 1972), dies from injuries suffered in a crash during a practice run in Graz, Austria at 38
2016 – Jack Riley, American actor (The Bob Newhart Show – “Mr. Carlin”; Rugrats -“Stu Pickles”), dies of pneumonia at 80

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353 – Decentius, Roman usurper against Western Emperor Constantius II
1870 – Felix Salm-Salm, Prussian/US prince/brigadier general, dies in battle
1961 – Learned Hand, American Chief Judge of US Court of Appeals, dies at 89
1982 – Beverly Bayne, American actress (Romeo and Juliet, Passionate Youth), dies at 87
1990 – Raf Reymen, Flemish actor (Huisvuil, Het glas water), dies at 64
1991 – Vaughn Shoemaker, US cartoonist (John Q Public, Pulitzer), dies
2009 – Robert Novak, American journalist and commentator (b. 1931)
2010 – Kenneth “Kenny” Edwards, American musician and singer-songwriter (The Stone Poneys, Bryndle), dies of cancer and a blood disorder at 64
2017 – Bruce Forsyth, British entertainer and television presenter (The Generation Game), dies at 89
2020 – Glenn Bassett, American tennis coach (UCLA 1967-93; 7 x NCAA C’ships), dies at 93

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1510 – Edmund Dudley, English treasurer and author (Tree of Commonwealth), beheaded for treason on orders of King Henry VIII
1673 – Regnier de Graaf, Dutch physician and anatomist, dies of possible suicide at 32
1861 – Alcée Louis la Branche, American Politician (b. 1806)
1875 – Wilhelm Bleek, German linguist (Father of Bantu Philology), dies at 48
1915 – Leo Frank, American convict, hanged in 1915 by a lynch mob in Georgia at 31
1958 – Florent Schmitt, French composer (La tragédie de Salome; Psalm 47), and music critic (Le Temps), dies at 87
1969 – Philip Blaiberg, South African dentist, third person to receive an artificial heart, dies after 19 days at 59
1992 – Andre de Villiers, South African farmer and ANC informant, murdered at 42
1993 – Max de Metz, Dutch publisher and translator, dies at 72
1995 – Ted Whitten, Australian rules footballer, dies at 62

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1443 – Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, Japanese shogun (b. 1434)
1958 – Paul Panzer, German-American silent film actor (The Perils of Pauline, Mildred Pierce, Hotel Berlin), dies at 85
1969 – Russ Bender, American actor and writer (Amazing Colossal Man; Space Monster, It Conquered the World), dies at 59
1986 – Jaime Saenz, Bolivian poet, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1921)
1995 – Robert “Bobby” Debarge, RandB Musician, dies of AIDS at 39
2003 – Andrew Pryce Jackman, British progressive rock keyboardist, arranger and composer, dies of a heart attack at 67
2003 – Idi Amin, Ugandan dictator (1971-79) who killed an estimated 100,000 to 500,000 people, dies of kidney failure aged between 75-80
2007 – Bahaedin Adab, Iranian MP (b. 1945)
2008 – Lucrecia Roces Kasilag, Filipina composer (Filiasiana), concert pianist, and educator (Bayanihan Dance Company), dies of pneumonia 89
2019 – Jim Hardy, American NFL quarterback, 1946-52 (Los Angeles Rams; Chicago Cardinals, Detroit Lions; Pro Bowl 1950), dies at 96

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1729 – Benjamin Neukirch, German poet (Herrn von Hofmannswaldau), dies at 64
1848 – Timothy Olmstead, American fifer and composer, dies at 88
1880 – Adelaide Neilson, English stage actress (Julia-The Hunchback), dies while horse riding at 32
1959 – “Blind” Willie McTell [McTier], American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist, dies at 61
1969 – Stijn Streuvels [Frank Lateur], Flemish writer (De Vlaschaard), dies at 97
1983 – Anthony Costello, American actor (Will Penny, The Outer Limits), dies of HIV/AIDS at 45
1985 – Joe Carveth, Canadian ice hockey right wing (NHL All Star 1950; Stanley Cup 1943, 50 Detroit Red Wings; Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens), dies at 67
1994 – Wout Wagtmans, Dutch cyclist (Rome-Naples-Rome 1957), dies at 64
1994 – Shepherd Mead, American writer (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying), dies of stroke at 80
2006 – Rick Bourke, Australian rugby league player (Cronulla), dies of cancer at 52

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1652 – Abraham Elsevier, Dutch book publisher, dies at 60
1754 – Maria Anna of Austria, Archduchess of Austria and Queen consort of Portugal, dies at 70
1856 – Constant Prévost, French geologist, dies at 69
1922 – Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, British influential journalist and newspaper publisher (started The Daily Mail, Daily Mirror), dies at 57
1983 – Alceu Amoroso Lima, Brazilian essayist, activist and founder of the Brazilian Christian Democracy, dies at 89
1992 – Marion Ames, American advocate for court reform, dies at 74
2000 – Cuan McCarthy, South African cricketer (36 Test wkts for South Africa, 1 career no-ball), dies at 71
2012 – Phyllis Thaxter, American actress (Nora, Fort Worth), dies from Alzheimer’s disease at 92
2015 – Karen Stives, American equestrian rider (Olympic gold team, silver individual 1984), dies at 64
2020 – Thomas Forsyth, Scottish soccer defender (22 caps; Motherwell, Rangers), dies at 71

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1382 – Eleanor of Aragon, wife of John I of Castile, dies giving birth to her third child at 24
1721 – Jacques Lelong, French bibliographer, dies at 56
1934 – Mary Austin, American nature writer and early feminist (Land of Little Rain), dies at 65
1948 – Elaine Hammerstein, American stage and silent film actress, dies in a Tijuana car crash at 51
1965 – Ikeda Hayato, Japanese politician, Prime Minister of Japan (1960-64), dies at 65
1974 – (Harold) “Tina” Brooks, American hard-bop jazz saxophonist, and composer (“True Blue”), dies of liver failure at 42
2005 – David Lange, 32nd Prime Minister of New Zealand (Labour: 1984-89), dies of complications associated with renal failure and diabetes at 63
2006 – Tony Jay, British-American stage, screen, and voice actor (Twins; The Hunchback of Notre Dame – “Frollo”), dies at 73
2008 – Henri Cartan, French Mathematician, dies at 104
2016 – Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Indian Hindu spiritual leader (BAPS), dies at 94

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