1830 – Joseph Fourier, French mathematician (mathematical theory of heat conduction) and Egyptologist, dies at 62
1862 – Lev Mej, Russian dramatist and poet (The Tsar’s Bride), dies at 40 [O.S. 5/16]
1955 – James Agee, American author (African Queen, Death in Family), dies at 45
1956 – H. B. Reese, American businessman, candy maker, and inventor (Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups), dies of a heart attack at 76
1958 – Jeroom Verten [Jozef Frans Vermetten], Flemish playwright, dies at 49
1963 – Oleg Penkovsky, Soviet military intelligence (GRU), dies at 44
1969 – Johnny Jordan, English cameraman (You Only Live Twice), dies at 44
1989 – Hassan Khaled, sheik of Lebanon, murdered
2004 – Marius Constant, Romanian-born French composer and conductor (founded Ars Nova), dies at 79
2021 – Rildo da Costa Menezes, Brazilian soccer defender (38 caps; Santos, CEUB, New York Cosmos), dies at 79
Category: Famous Deaths
Famous Deaths for 15th May 2025
913 – Hatto I, Archbishop of Mainz
1621 – Henrick de Keyser, Dutch architect and sculptor (master builder of Amsterdam, Zuiderkerk church), dies at 56
1821 – John Wall Calcott, English composer, dies at 54
1873 – Alexandru Ioan Cuza, 1st Prince of united Romania (land reform, emancipated peasants), dies in exile at 53
1892 – Arthur Hodister, British ivory seller (Heart of Darkness), murdered at 44
1969 – Joe Malone, Canadian Hockey HOF center (only player in NHL history to score 7 goals in a single game 1920; Stanley Cup 1912, 13 Quebec Bulldogs; 1924 Montreal Canadiens), dies at 79
1986 – Elio de Angelis, Italian race car driver (b. 1958)
1994 – Frederik von Pallandt, Danish-Dutch pop singer and guitarist (Nina and Frederik), murdered in the Philippines at 60
2007 – Jerry Falwell, American TV evangelist, founder of Liberty University, dies at 73
2020 – Fred Willard, American comedian and character actor (Fernwood 2-Night; Best In Show: Everyone Loves Raymond; Modern Family), dies at 86
Famous Deaths for 14th May 2025
1801 – Johann Ernst Altenburg, composer, dies at 66
1923 – Charles de Freycinet, French prime minister (b. 1828)
1969 – Frederick Lane, Australian swimmer (Olympic gold 200m freestyle, 200m obstacle 1900), dies at 89
1970 – (Mary) “Billie” Burke, American radio, stage, silent and sound film actress (Zieigfield Follies; The Wizard of Oz; Merrily We Live), dies at 85
1977 – Robert Maynard Hutchins, American educational philosopher (University of Chicago), dies at 78
1996 – Edward Gurney, American attorney and politician (US Senator for Florida, 1969-74; US Representative for Florida, 1963-69), dies at 82
2006 – James Botten, South African cricketer (all-rounder in 1965 South African series v England), dies at 67
2012 – Derek Hammond-Stroud, English operatic baritone, dies at 86
2014 – Stephen Sutton, English cancer blogger (Stephen’s Story), dies at 19
2017 – Elske ter Veld, Dutch politician (State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment), dies at 72
Famous Deaths for 13th May 2025
1381 – John of Chatillon, Count of Blois, dies
1673 – Jacob Aertsz Colom, Dutch publisher (Consolation of the Sea), dies at 73
1732 – Theodor Schwartzkopff, German composer, dies at 72
1839 – Joseph Fesch, French cardinal (Archbishop of Lyon, 1802-39), diplomat, art collector (Musée Fesch), and uncle of Napoleon, dies at 76
1864 – Junius Daniel, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 35
1873 – Kaspar Masek, Czech-Slovenian composer, dies at 79
1994 – Arthur Basil Cottle, British academic and medievalist, dies at 77
1996 – John “Jack” Baines, British mountaineering publisher, dies at 57
2002 – Ruth Cracknell, Australian actress (Mother and Son), dies at 76
2023 – Keiko Tanaka-Ikeda, Japanese gymnast (World C’ship gold balance beam 1954; Olympic bronze team 1964; first Japanese female to win a world title), dies at 89
Famous Deaths for 12th May 2025
1182 – Valdemar I of Denmark, King of Denmark (1146–82), dies at 51
1876 – Georgi Benkovski, Bulgarian revolutionary, brutally killed by the Turks (b. 1843)
1908 – Melesio Morales, Mexican composer (Ildegonda; Anita; Sinfonía Vapor), conductor, and teacher, dies at 69
1971 – Johnny Taylor, Australian cricket batsman (20 Tests; 1 x 100, 8 x 50) and rugby union fly-half (2 caps), dies at 75
1981 – Benjamin Sheares, President of Singapore (1971-81), dies at 73
1986 – Elisabeth Bergner, Austrian British stage actress, dies at 85
1996 – Homer Keller, American contemporary classical composer (Quiet Music for a Tree), and educator (University of Oregon, 1958-76), dies at 81
1998 – Hermann Lenz, German writer (Swabian Chronicles), dies at 75
2004 – John LaPorta, American jazz clarinetist and composer, dies at 84
2015 – Ruth Mompati, South African politician and Secretary of Nelson Mandela, dies at 89
Famous Deaths for 11th May 2025
1708 – Jules Hardouin Mansart, French architect, dies at 62
1891 – Edmond Becquerel, French physicist who studied the solar spectrum, magnetism, electricity and optics (photovoltaic effect), dies at 71
1927 – Juan Gris, Spanish cubist painter (Still Life Before an Open Window), dies at 40
1934 – Orest Khvolson, Russian physicist and honorary member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences (1920), dies at 81
1935 – Edward Herbert Thompson, American archaeologist (Mayan civilization), dies at 78
1976 – Camille Schmit, Belgian composer, dies at 68
1995 – David Avidan, Israeli poet, dies at 62
2006 – Frankie Thomas, American actor and author (Tom Corbett Space Cadet), dies of a stroke at 85
2017 – Jur Mellema, Dutch politician (CHU), dies at 93
2018 – Scott Hutchinson, Scottish musician (Frightened Rabbit), found dead after a suffering from mental illness at 36
Famous Deaths for 10th May 2025
1641 – Johan Banér, Swedish Field Marshal, led Swedish armies during Thirty Years’ War, dies at 44
1826 – Giuseppe Sigismondo, Italian historian and composer, dies at 86
1849 – Katsushika Hokusai, Japanese painter and printmaker (The Great Wave off Kanagawa), dies at 89
1868 – Henry Bennett, American politician (b. 1808)
1967 – Lorenzo Bandini, Italian auto racer (24 Hours of Le Mans 1963; 24 Hours of Daytona 1967), dies after a race accident in Monaco F1 GP at 31
1971 – Shukichi Mitsukuri, Japanese composer (10 Haikai de Basho), dies at 75
2006 – Val Guest, British film director (b. 1911)
2015 – Rein van den Broek, Dutch trumpet player (Ekseption), dies at 69
2020 – John Teerlinck, American NFL defensive end (SD Chargers) and coach (annual award for NFL best defensive line coach named after him), dies at 69
2022 – Mike Davis, English rugby union lock (16 caps; Sherborne RFC) and coach (England 20 Tests 1979-83), dies at 80
Famous Deaths for 9th May 2025
1864 – John Sedgwick, American Major General (Union Army), is shot in battle after claiming “they couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance” at 50
1950 – Esteban Terradas i Illa, Catalan mathematician, scientist and engineer, dies at 66
1967 – Elmar Berkovich, Hungarian-Dutch industrial designer (Eindhoven theater), dies at 69
1993 – Freya Stark, English explorer and travel writer (The Southern Gates of Arabia), dies at 100
1995 – Percy Mansell, Rhodesian cricket all-rounder (13 Tests South Africa, 11 wickets, 2 x 50; Rhodesia), dies at 75
1997 – Willy Hess, Swiss musicologist, composer and famous Beethoven scholar, dies at 90
2012 – Vidal Sassoon, British-American hair stylist and CEO of Vidal Sasson, dies from leukemia at 84
2013 – Alfredo Landa, Spanish actor (The Crach, Sinatra), dies at 80
2014 – Mel Patton, American athlete (Olympic gold 200m, 4x100m relay 1948; WR 100 yards 9.2s 1948), dies at 89
2023 – Jon Povey, English drummer (The Pretty Things; Electric Banana), dies of leukemia at 80
Famous Deaths for 8th May 2025
1319 – Haakon V, King of Norway (1299-1319), dies
1864 – James Samuel Wadsworth, American politician and major general (Union), dies in battle at 56
1876 – Truganini, last originating Tasmanian, dies
1880 – Gustave Flaubert, French novelist (Madame Bovary), dies at 58
1960 – Hugo Alfvén, Swedish violinist, conductor, and composer (Midsommarvaka – Midsummer Vigil), dies at 88
1994 – Steven Keats, American actor (Death Wish), dies of apparent suicide at 48
2007 – Carson Whitsett, American session keyboard player and songwriter (“Don’t Give Up On Me”), dies of brain cancer at 62
2007 – Mark Burns, British actor (Death in Venice, Juggernaut), dies from cancer at 71
2015 – (Antoni) “Ton” Hartsuiker, Dutch pianist, composer, broadcaster, and educator, dies at 81
2022 – Dennis Waterman, English stage and screen actor (Fair Exchange; Minder; The Sweeney), and singer, dies of lung cancer at 74
Famous Deaths for 7th May 2025
1166 – William I, the Bad, Norman King of Sicily (1154-66) dies at about 46
1814 – Franz Volrath Buttstett, German composer, dies at 79
1825 – Antonio Salieri, Italian composer (Tarare; La Fiera), opera director (Habsburg Court, 1774-92), and Kapellmeister (Austrian Imperial Court, 1788-1824), dies in Vienna at 74
1840 – Caspar David Friedrich, German painter, chiefly of landscapes with contemplative figures in the Romantic style, dies at 65
1985 – Dawn Addams, British actress (A King in New York, Star Maidens) who married the Prince of Roccasecca, dies of cancer at 54
1998 – Eddie Rabbitt, American songwriter (“Kentucky Rain”), and country singer (“I Love a Rainy Night”), dies of lung cancer at 56
2006 – Richard Carleton, Australian television news journalist, dies of a heart attack, while covering press conference of Beaconsfield Mine collapse, at 62
2007 – Bianco [Eugene Capobianco], American jazz, easy-listening, and session harpist, dies at 80
2010 – Adele Mara [Adelaida Delgado], American actress (Sands of Iwo Jima; Angel in Exile), dies at 87
2019 – Georg Katzer, German composer (electro-acoustic music), dies at 84