Category: Famous Deaths

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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1577 – Thomas Smith, English diplomat and scholar (b. 1513)
1638 – Johannes Althusius [Althaut], German lawyer, dies at about 81
1675 – Karl Rabenhaupt, German-Dutch baron of Sucha/army leader, dies at 73
1864 – Sakuma Shōzan, Japanese reformer (b. 1811)
1948 – Harry Brearley, English inventor (b. 1871)
2008 – Donald Erb, American composer known for large orchestral works, dies at 81
2010 – Richie Hayward, American drummer (Little Feat), dies of liver cancer at 64
2010 – Isaac Bonewits, founder of U.S. Druid organization Ar Ndraiocht Fein (b. 1949)
2020 – Bill Yeoman, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (University of Houston 1962-86; record 160–108–8), dies from kidney failure and pneumonia at 92
2022 – Ricardo Perdomo, Uruguayan soccer midfielder (6 caps; Club Nacional de Football, Rayo Vallecano, Unión Española) and coach (Miramar Misiones, Plaza Colonia), dies at 62

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1494 – Hans Memling [John Memlinc], Flemish painter (Passietaferelen), dies
1937 – Edith Wharton, American Pulitzer prize-winning novelist (Ethan Frome, House of Mirth), dies at 75
1942 – Richard Heinrich Stein, German composer, and music theorist (La musica moderna), dies at 60
1980 – Paul Robert, French lexicographer and publisher (b. 1910)
1995 – Wilbur Stark, American film screenwriter, director, and producer (Vmpire; Circus The Thing), dies at 83
1995 – (Wonga) Phil Harris], American singer, actor (The Jungle Book; The Aristocrats; Robin Hood), comedian, and orchestra leader (The Jack Benny Program; The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show), dies of a heart attack at 91
1996 – Mel Taylor, American rock drummer (The Ventures, 1962-73 and 1979-96), dies of cancer at 63
1998 – Benjamin “Benny” Waters, American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist, dies at 96
2010 – Geoffrey Johnson Smith, Scottish Conservative politician (1959-2001), dies at 86
2011 – Jani Lane [John Oswald], American heavy metal rock songwriter, and singer (Warrant – “Cherry Pie”), dies of acute alcohol poisoning at 47

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794 – Fastrada, 3rd wife of French King Charles the Great, dies at 30
1723 – Guillaume Dubois, French cardinal and statesman, dies at 66
1973 – Douglas Kennedy, American actor (Dark Passage, The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold), dies of cancer at 57
1977 – Vince Barnett, American actor (Star is Born, Human Jungle), dies at 75
1979 – John Nicholas “Dick” Foran, American actor (OK Crackerby, Fort Apache, Winners of the West), dies at 69
1986 – Don McRae, New Zealand cricket medium pace bowler (1 Test; Canterbury CA) and soccer goalkeeper (1 cap; Nomads United FC), dies at 71
1992 – Aribert Heim, Austrian SS physician (served at the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp in Mauthausen, known as Dr. Death), dies at 78
1994 – Leendert-John Schalm, Dutch banker on Curacao, murdered at 58
2000 – Gilbert Parkhouse, Welsh cricket batsman (7 Tests England, 2 x 50; Glamorgan CCC, MCC), dies at 74
2022 – Abdul Wadud [Ronald DeVaughn], American jazz, avant-garde, and classical cellist (Camille; By Myself), dies at 75

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1250 – King Eric IV of Denmark (1241-1250), beheaded after being betrayed by his brother (b. 1216)
1898 – Gardner Quincy Colton, American lecturer who was the first to use nitrous oxide as an anesthetic in dentistry, dies at 84
1962 – Lowell Stockman, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon, dies at 61
1975 – Dmitri Shostakovich, Russian composer (The Gadfly; The Nose), dies of lung cancer at 68
1986 – Jef Scherens, Belgian track cyclist (World C’ships gold sprint 1932-37, 47), dies at 77
1996 – Kenneth Fleetwood, English fashion designer (Hardy Amies, dressed Queen Elizabeth II), dies at 65
2005 – Judith Rossner, American novelist (“Looking for Mr. Goodbar”; “August”), dies at 70
2006 – James van Allen, American physicist (discovered Van Allen radiation belts), dies at 91
2006 – Philip E. High, English sci-fi author, dies at 92
2007 – Joe O’Donnell, American documentary photographer and photojournalist, dies at 85

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