1839 – Hayim Rapoport, Rabbi of Ostrowiec and author (Maxim Chayyim), dies
1897 – Édouard Deldevez, French violinist and composer, dies at 80
1912 – Mykola Lysenko, Ukrainian composer (Taras Bulba), conductor and ethnomusicologist, dies at 70
1944 – Walter Guinness, Lord Moyne, Anglo-Irish politician, British prefect (Middle-East), assassinated by Jewish terrorists at 64
1963 – Djuanda Kartawidjaja, Indonesian teacher, engineer, and politician (11th and final Prime Minister of Indonesia, 1957-59). dies of a heart attack at 52
1968 – Guillaume Landré, Dutch composer, dies at 63
2001 – Anthony Shaffer, English dramatist (Sleuth), dies at 75
2005 – Miguel Aceves Mejía, Mexican actor, composer and singer, dies at 90
2010 – Robert Lipshutz, American attorney and counsel to the Carter Adminisrtation (b. 1921)
2022 – Betty Johnson, American pop and cabaret singer (Jack Paar Show; “I Dreamed”), dies at 93
Category: Famous Deaths
Famous Deaths for 26th October 2024
1764 – William Hogarth, English satiric painter and engraver (Rake’s Progress), dies at 66
1773 – Amédée-François Frézier, French military engineer and explorer (b. 1682)
1803 – Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford, English politician, dies at 82
1867 – John Fawcett, English composer, dies at 77
1935 – Akos Buttykai, Hungarian composer, dies at 64
1956 – Walter Gieseking, French-German pianist, composer, and lepidopterist, dies at 60
1965 – Hans Knappertsbusch, German conductor (Bavarian State Opera, 1922-36), dies at 77
1971 – Vincent Coleman, American actor (For the Freedom of Ireland, Salome), dies at 71
1993 – Absolutely Nobody [David Powers], Wash lt-gov candidate, dies at 37
1995 – Georgia Neese Gray, 1st Woman Treasurer of USA, dies at 95
Famous Deaths for 18th October 2024
1564 – Johannes Acronius Frisius, German physician and mathematician (b. 1520)
1976 – Viswanatha Satyanarayana, Indian Telugu writer (Ramayana Kalpa Vrukshamu, Veyipadagalu), dies at 81
1977 – Kristian Hauger, Norwegian jazz pianist, orchestra leader and songwriter (“Charleston i Grukkedalen”), dies at 71
1978 – Jacques Mornard [Ramon Mercader], Spanish communist (murdered Trotsky in Mexico with an ice axe), dies at 64
1994 – Lee Allen, American tenor sax player (“Walkin’ With Mr Lee”), dies of cancer at 68
1999 – Tony Crombie, English jazz drummer and bandleader, dies at 74
2010 – Marion Brown, American jazz alto saxophonist, (Marion Brown Quartet; John Coltrane -“Ascension”; Artie Schepp), avant garde composer, writer, and ethnomusicologist, dies at 79
2013 – Marcel Reich-Ranicki, Polish-German influential literary critic, dies at 93
2014 – Edward Regan, American Republican politician and Comptroller of New York (1979-93), dies at 84
2021 – Colin Powell, American General and 1st Black US Secretary of State (2001-05), dies from complications of COVID-19, blood cancer, and Parkinson’s disease at 84
Famous Deaths for 10th October 2024
1857 – Thomas Crawford, American sculptor (Statue of Freedom on dome of US Capitol), dies of cancer at 43
1893 – Lip Pike, American baseball player, dies at 48
1939 – Eleanor Rigby, a real person whose name may have suggested the title to The Beatles song (b. 1895)
1963 – Édith Piaf [Édith Giovanna Gassion], French singer (No, I Don’t Regret Anything; Le Vie En Rose), dies of liver failure at 47
1967 – Ervin Major, Hungarian composer, dies at 66
1976 – Connee Boswell, American jazz singer (Pete Kelly’s Blue), dies at 68
1979 – Paul Paray, French organist, conductor (Detroit Symphony, 1951-62), and composer, dies at 93
2015 – Hilla Becher (née Wobeser), German artist, worked collaboratively with husband Bernd Becher, dies at 81
2018 – Mary Midgley, British-American philosopher (Animals and Why They Matter), dies at 99
2020 – Leon Biriotti, Uruguayan composer and oboist, dies at 90
Famous Deaths for 4th October 2024
1749 – Franz Freiherr von der Trenck, Austrian soldier (b. 1711)
1902 – Lionel Pigot Johnson, British poet and critic (Ireland and Other Poems), dies of a stroke at 35
1946 – Barney Oldfield, American auto racer (International Motorsports Hall of Fame; first to drive at 60mph on circular track), dies of a heart attack at 67
1989 – Secretariat, American thoroughbred race horse (Triple Crown, 1973), euthanized while suffering from laminitis at 19
1990 – Avis Bunnage, British actress (Rising Damp, Coronation Street), dies at 67
1993 – Jim Holton, Scottish soccer defender (15 caps; Manchester United, Coventry City), dies of a heart attack at 42
1994 – F. Gwendolen Rees, Welsh zoologist and parasitologist, dies at 88
2016 – Caroline Crawley, British alt-rock singer (Shelleyan Orphan; Babacar), dies at 53
2019 – Diahann Carroll [Carol Diann Johnson] American Tony Award-winning stage and screen actress (No Strings; Julia; Claudine; Dynasty – “Dominique”), dies of cancer at 84
2021 – Laurie Davidson, New Zealand yacht designer (Black Magic 1995; Team New Zealand 2000; America’s Cup HOF 2007), dies at 94
Famous Deaths for 3rd October 2024
1568 – Elisabeth of Valois, daughter of King Henry II of France and 3rd wife of Philip II of Spain, dies in childbirth at 23
1881 – Orson Pratt, American mathematician and religious leader, dies at 70
1884 – Hans Makart, Austrian painter (Plague in Florenz), dies at 44
1936 – John Heisman, American football coach (legalised forward pass, originated the center-snap; Heisman Trophy named after him), dies from pneumonia at 66
1953 – Arnold Bax, British composer known for his orchestral music (Tintagel), and memoirist (Farewell My Youth), dies of heart failure at 69
1976 – Victoria Spivey, American vaudeville and blues singer, pianist, organist, and songwriter (“Dope Head Blues”; Organ Grinder Blues”), dies at 69
1982 – Vivien Merchant [Ada Thompson], British actress (Alfie; The Homecoming; The Offence), dies from alcoholism at 53
1989 – Joseph Wybran, Belgian physician and Jewish leader, murdered in mysterious circumstances at 49
2005 – Adrian Ratiu, Romanian composer, dies at 77
2007 – M.N. Vijayan, Indian writer, orator, and academic, dies at 77
Famous Deaths for 25th September 2024
1617 – Francisco Suarez, Spanish Jesuit theologian (b. 1548)
1716 – Johann Christoph Pez, German Baroque composer, dies at 52
1940 – Marguerite Clark, American silent film actress (Snow White), dies at 57
1983 – Leopold III, King of the Belgians (from 1934, abdicated 1951), dies at 81
1998 – Russell Smith, American composer, dies at 71
2005 – Georges Arvanitas, French jazz pianist and organist, dies at 74
2010 – Art Gilmore, American radio and television announcer (Highway Patrol), and actor, dies at 98
2012 – Andy Williams, American pop singer (“Moon River”; “Days of Wine and Roses”), dies from bladder cancer at 84
2016 – Kashif Saleem [Michael Jones], American RandB, disco, and soul keyboardist (B.T. Express, 1976-79 – “Can’t Stop Groovin’ Now, Wanna Do It Some More”), songwriter, and record producer, dies at 59
2017 – Folke Rabe, Swedish avant-garde composer (What??), dies at 81
Famous Deaths for 17th September 2024
1676 – Sabbatai Zevi, Montenegrin rabbi, kabbalist, and founder of the Jewish Sabbatean movement, dies at 49
1727 – Glückel of Hameln, German businesswoman (b. 1647)
1803 – Franz Xaver Sussmayr, Austrian composer and conductor, dies (b. 1766)
1808 – Benjamin Bourne, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Rhode Island), dies at 53
1836 – Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, French botanist (Classification of flowering plants), dies at 88
1972 – Akim Tamiroff, Armenian-Russian actor (Touch of Evil, For Whom the Bell Tolls), dies at 72
1991 – René-Charles “Zino” Francescatti, French concert violinist (NY Philharmonic-1939), dies at 89
1994 – Vitas Gerulaitis, Lithuanian-American tennis player (Australian Open 1977; Wimbledon doubles 1975), dies of carbon monoxide poisoning at 40
1998 – William Hugh Albright, American composer and musician, dies at 53
2006 – Alvin Wayne “Al” Casey, American rock and session guitarist (Duane Eddy: The Wrecking Crew), dies at 69
Famous Deaths for 9th September 2024
1398 – King James I of Cyprus (1382-98), dies at about 64
1573 – Andre de Resende, Portuguese Dominican friar and humanist, dies at 74 or 75
1770 – Georg Dionysius Ehret, German-English botanist and cartoonist, dies at 62
1803 – Armand-Emmanuel Trial, French pianist and comic opera composer, dies at 30
1934 – Roger Fry, English artist and art critic, dies at 67
1959 – Max d’Ollone, French composer and writer (Le Ménestrel), dies at 84
1960 – Jussi Björling, Swedish operatic tenor, dies from cardiomegaly (enlarged heart) complications at 49
2003 – Edward Teller, Hungarian-American physicist, father of the Hydrogen bomb (Manhattan Project), dies at 95
2021 – Timothy Colman, English naval officer and businessman (Colman’s mustard), dies at 91
2021 – Danilo Popivoda, Serbian soccer forward (20 caps Yugoslavia; Olimpija, Eintracht Braunschweig), dies at 74
Famous Deaths for 1st September 2024
1159 – Adrian IV [Nicolas Breakspear], British catholic clergyman, and only English pope (1154-59), dies at about 59 (exact birthday unknown)
1666 – French Neck, portrait painter (Women Portrait), dies at about 86
1967 – Siegfried Sassoon, English poet and writer (Counterattack), dies at 80
1985 – Stefan Bellof, German race car driver (b. 1957)
1992 – Chick Harbert, American golfer (PGA C’ship 1954, Ryder Cup 1949, 55), dies of a cerebral haemorrhage at 77
1994 – Clifford Leofric Purdy Bishop, Anglican pastor and bishop, dies at 88
2005 – R. L. Burnside, American blues musician (Deep Blues), dies at 78 (b. 1926)
2007 – Roy McKenzie, New Zealand philanthropist (b. 1922)
2012 – George Jefferson, English engineer who oversaw privatisation of British Telecom, dies at 91
2013 – Tommy Morrison, American boxer (WBO heavyweight title, 1993) and actor (Rocky V), dies from sepsis, multi organ failure, and cardiac arrest at 44