1278 – Ottokar II, King of Bohemia (1253-78), dies in battle
1921 – Ludwig Thoma, German writer, dies at 54
1937 – Andrew Mellon, American banker (Mellon Bank), industrialist and Secretary of the Treasury (1921-32), dies at 82
1949 – Nico van Suchtelen, Dutch writer and publisher, dies at 70
1974 – Charles Lindbergh, American aviator who was 1st to fly solo across the Atlantic, dies of lymphoma at 72
1977 – Heinz Röttger, German composer (Phaeton), and music director (Landestheater Dessau, 1954-77), dies at 67
1980 – Jimmy Forrest, American jazz saxophonist (Night Train), dies at 60
1987 – John Goddard, West Indian cricket all-rounder and captain (27 Tests @ 30.67; 33 wickets; Barbados), dies at 68
1989 – Irving Stone, American writer (Love is Eternal, Lust for Life), dies at 86
2007 – Edward Brandt Jr., American physician and public health official, dies at 74
Category: Famous Deaths
Famous Deaths for 25th August 2026
1868 – Henry P Scholte, Dutch/US vicar (Iowa), dies at 62
1936 – Grigory Zinoviev [Hirsch Apfelbaum], Russian revolutionary, Communist International chairman (1919-26), and anti-Stalinist politician, executed on treason charges during Stalin’s ‘Great Purge’ at 52
1957 – Leo Perutz, Austrian writer and mathematician, dies at 74
1969 – Helen Blair Bartlett, American geologist credited with inventing the insulation for spark plugs, dies at 67
1995 – Doug Stegmeyer, American rock bassist (Billy Joel Band, 1976-87), dies of a self-inflicted gun wound at 43
1998 – Lewis F. Powell Jr., American Supreme Court justice (1972-87), dies at 90
2008 – Marpessa Dawn, American-French actress (Black Orpheus), dies of a heart attack at 74
2008 – John Thoday, British geneticist, dies at 91
2016 – Sonia Rykiel, French fashion designer, dies at 86
2023 – Tony Roberts, American College Football HOF broadcaster (play-by-play announcer Notre Dame Fighting Irish football 1980-2006), dies at 94
Famous Deaths for 24th August 2026
1801 – Jacques-Denis Antoine, French builder (La Monnaie Paris), dies at 68
1833 – Adrian Hardy Haworth, English entomologist and botanist, dies at 65
1958 – John G. Strijdom, South African politician and nationalist, Prime Minister of South Africa (1954-58), dies at 65
1962 – Henry George Ley, British organist, and choral composer, dies at 74
1978 – Louis Prima, American jazz and pop singer, trumpeter, and bandleader (“That Old Black Magic”; “Oh, Marie”), dies at 67
2001 – Bettejane “Jane” Greer, American actress (Out of the Past, Prisoner of Zenda, Clown), dies at 76
2012 – Pauli Ellefsen, Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (1981-85), dies at 76
2019 – Arun Jaitley, Indian politician and lawyer, leader of the opposition (2009-14), and MP (2000-19), dies at 66
2020 – Tony Colton [Chalk], British singer-songwriter, and record producer (Head, Hands, and Feet), dies of kidney failure at 68
2020 – Pascal Lissouba, Congo politician, 1st democratically-elected President of the Republic of the Congo (1992-97), dies at 88
Famous Deaths for 23rd August 2026
1628 – George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham and English courtier who was a favorite of King James I, assassinated by army officer John Felton at 35
1975 – Hank Patterson, American actor (Gunsmoke, Fred Ziffel-Green Acres), dies at 87
1980 – Norman Shelley, British radio actor (Churchill’s Speech), dies at 77
1981 – (Thaman) “Pete” Daily, American swing and dixieland jazz cornetist and valve trombonist (The Chicagoans), dies at 70
1989 – Helen le Clerq, Dutch dancer and choreographer, dies at 57
1992 – Malcolm Atterbury, American actor (Jonas-Thicker than Water, Apples Way), dies at 85
1994 – Rabah Stambouli, Algerian sociologist/politician, murdered at 65
2005 – Ninjalicious, Canadian author and urban explorer (b. 1973)
2016 – Steven Hill, American actor (Mission Impossible, Law and Order), dies at 94
2023 – Erkin Koray, Turkish psychedelic rock guitarist, electro baglama player, and singer, dies of lung disease at 82
Famous Deaths for 22nd August 2026
1584 – Jan Kochanowski, Polish writer (b. 1530)
1942 – Mikhail Fokine, Russian ballet dancer and choreographer, dies at 62
1951 – J. P. Bickell, Canadian businessman and sports team owner (Toronto Maple Leafs), dies at 66
1976 – Juscelino Kubitschek, President of Brazil (1955-60), dies at 73
1980 – James Smith McDonnell, American aircraft manufacturer, dies of a stroke at 81
1990 – Thomas W. McKnew, American Vice President, Chairman, and Chairman Emeritus of the National Geographic Society (1954-90), dies of pneumonia at 94
2008 – Gladys Powers, Canadian World War I veteran (b. 1899)
2009 – Elmer Kelton, American Western novelist (b. 1926)
2016 – (Jean-Baptiste) “Toots” Thielemans, Belgian-American jazz harmonica player, guitarist, whistler, and composer, dies at 94
2023 – Tom Courtney, American athlete (Olympic gold 800m, 4x400m relay 1956), dies of amyloidosis at 90
Famous Deaths for 21st August 2026
1935 – John Hartley, English tennis player (Wimbledon 1879-80), dies at 86
1940 – Ernest Thayer, American poet who wrote the famous baseball poem “Casey”, dies at 77
1979 – Giuseppe Meazza, Italian footballer, dies at 68
1980 – Jack Cheetham, South African cricket batsman and captain (24 Tests; Western Province), dies at 60
1994 – Danitra Vance, American comedienne (SNL, 1985), and actress (Jumpin’ At The Boneyard), dies of breast cancer at 40
1995 – Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Indian physicist (Nobel Prize 1983 for work on structure and evolution of the stars), dies at 84
1999 – Leo Castelli, Italian-American art dealer, dies at 91
2007 – Siobhan Dowd, English-Irish writer known for “Bog Child”, dies of cancer at 47
2013 – Sid Bernstein, American music producer, and concert promoter (Beatles; Rolling Stones), dies at 95
2022 – David Armstrong, English soccer midfielder (3 caps; Middlesbrough 359 games, Southampton 222 games), dies at 67
Famous Deaths for 20th August 2026
1153 – Bernard of Clairvaux, French monk and saint (founded Clairvaux abbey, preached famous sermon advocating for the Second Crusade), dies (b. 1090)
1823 – Pius VII [Luigi Barnaba Gregorio Chiaramonti], Italian bishop of Imola and Pope (1800-23), dies at 81
1905 – David Wark, Irish-born Canadian senator (1867-1905) who served almost 38 years in office, dies at 101
1961 – Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist (Nobel 1946 – physics of high pressure), dies at 79
1972 – A. M. Klein, Canadian modernist Jewish poet (Hath Not a Jew), dies at 63
1994 – Kalman Kahana, Polish co-founder of state Israel, dies at 81
1995 – Vladimír Škutina, Czechoslovakian writer and actor (Hvezda jede na jih), dies of cancer at 64
2013 – Richard Angas, British operatic bass singer (English National Opera, 1980-2000), dies at 71
2013 – Marian McPartland, British jazz pianist, and radio host (Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz), dies at 95
2017 – Fredell Lack, American concert violinist, and teacher (University of Houston, 1959-2009), dies at 95
Famous Deaths for 19th August 2026
1506 – Alexander Jagiellon, Grand Duke of Lithuania (1492-1506) and King of Poland (1501-6), dies at 45
1680 – Jean Eudes, French catholic priest, founder of the Eudists, dies at 78
1795 – Friedrich Hartmann Graf, German composer, dies at 67
1889 – Auguste Villiers de l’Isle-Adam, French writer (Contes cruels), dies at 60
1959 – Claude Grahame-White, English aviation pioneer who was the 1st to make a night flight, dies at 79
1962 – Kerstin Hesselgren, Swedish politician, 1st woman in Swedish parliament, dies at 90
1963 – Kathleen Parlow, Canadian violinist, and educator, dies at 72
1970 – Paweł Jasienica, Polish historian, dies at 60
2008 – Marguerite Empey [Diane Webber], American model and Playboy playmate (May 1955, Feb 1956), dies at 76
2017 – Janusz Glowacki, Polish novelist (Give Us This Day), playwright (Cinders) and screenwriter (Hunting Flies), dies at 78
Famous Deaths for 18th August 2026
1642 – Guido Reni, Italian Baroque painter, dies at 66
1803 – James Beattie, Scottish poet and philosopher (Essay on Truth), dies at 67
1896 – Frederick Crouch, British-American cellist, composer (“Kathleen Mavourneen”), Confederate soldier, and music teacher, dies at 88
1980 – Norman Cazden, American composer, educator, and music theorist, dies at 65
1989 – Luis Carlos Galan, Colombian presidential candidate, murdered
2004 – Hiram Fong, American businessman and politician (U.S. Senator from Hawaii), dies at 97
2009 – Kim Dae-jung, 8th President of South Korea (1998-2003) and 2000 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, dies at 85
2010 – Kenneth “Kenny” Edwards, American musician and singer-songwriter (The Stone Poneys, Bryndle), dies of cancer and a blood disorder at 64
2023 – Garry Adey, English rugby union number 8 (2 Tests; Leicester Tigers 381 games) and businessman (Executive Chairman The Adey Group), dies at 78
2025 – Vivian Ayers Allen, American cultural activist, novelist and poet (Hawk, Spice of Dawns), dies at 102
Famous Deaths for 17th August 2026
1777 – Giuseppe Scarlatti, Italian composer, dies at 54
1786 – Frederick the Great, King of Prussia (1740-86), dies at 74
1834 – Husein Gradaščević, Bosniak general, dies at 31
1914 – James Grierson, British general, dies of an aneurism at 55
1935 – Charlotte Perkins Gilman, American feminist, writer and lecturer for social reform, dies at 75
1961 – Carlos Salzedo, French-American piano prodigy, harpist, composer, educator (Curtis Institue; Juilliard), and new music advocate (co-founder of International Composers’ Guild), dies at 76
1979 – Vivian Vance [Jones], American stage and screen actress (I Love Lucy – “Ethel Mertz”; The Lucy Show – “Viv”), dies of cancer at 70
1987 – Charles Drummond de Andrade, Brazilian poet (Claro Enigma), dies at 84
2025 – Sheila R. Canby, American historian and curator of Islamic art (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009-19), dies of complications of cancer at 76
2025 – Joe Hickerson, American folk music singer and archivist (Director of the Library of Congress American Folklife Center, 1963-98), dies at 89