Category: Famous Deaths

1820 – Antonin Vranicky, Czech composer and violinist, dies at 59
1866 – John Mason Neale, English divine, scholar and hymnwriter (b. 1818)
1928 – W. H. Grattan Flood, Irish author and composer, dies at 68
1946 – Benny Lynch, Scottish boxer (World flyweight title 1937-38), dies of malnutrition-induced respiratory failure at 33
1970 – Ingolf Dahl [Marcus], German-American pianist and composer (Allegro and Arioso), dies at 56
1979 – Kurt Kaszner [Serwicher], Austrian actor (Kiss Me Kate, Lili, Casino Royale), dies of cancer at 65
1991 – Harry Reasoner, American newscaster (60 Minutes, ABC, CBS), dies at 68
1995 – André Fleury, French organist and composer, dies at 92
2012 – Marvin Hamlisch, American composer and conductor (The Sting; A Chorus Line), dies of respiratory arrest at 68
2020 – Wilbert McClure, American boxer (Olympic gold light middleweight 1960), dies at 81

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1866 – William Burton, American politician, 39th Governor of Delaware (1859-63), dies at 76
1999 – D. W. Brooks, American farmer and businessman, dies at 97
2001 – Otema Allimadi, Prime Minister of Uganda (b. 1929)
2002 – Franco Lucentini, Italian writer (b. 1920)
2002 – Chick Hearn, American basketball broadcaster (called 3,338 LA Lakers games), dies at 85
2005 – Jim O’Hora, American football coach (b. 1915)
2005 – Polina Astakhova, Soviet-Ukrainian gymnast (5 Olympic gold 1956, 60, 64), dies at 68
2014 – Chapman Pincher, British journalist and author (about secret service), dies at 100
2018 – Stanley Glasser, South African composer (Lalela Zulu; Lamentations; Zonkizizwe), academic (Goldsmiths College, 1969-96), and broadcaster, dies at 94
2021 – Terry Davies, Welsh rugby union full back (21 Tests Wales, 2 British and Irish Lions; Swansea RFC, Llanelli RFC), dies at 88

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1476 – Jacob van Armagnac-Pardiac, French duke of Nemours, beheaded
1966 – Howard Jackson, American film score composer (It Happened One Night), dies at 66
1991 – Jeri Southern [Genevieve Hering], American jazz singer (“You Better Go Now”; “Joey”), dies of a heart attack at 64
1999 – Victor Mature, American actor (I Wake Up Screaming, Samson and Delilah), dies from leukemia at 86
2004 – Kenneth Couzens, British Deputy Chairman of British Coal Board and significant figure during Miners Strike, dies at 79
2012 – Arnie Risen, Basketball Hall of Fame center (NBA All-Star 1952-55; NBA C’ship 1951, 57; Rochester Royals, Boston Celtics), dies at 87
2013 – Art Donovan, American NFL HOF defensive tackle, 1950-61 (4 x Pro Bowl, 2 x Champion – Baltimore Colts and 2 other teams), and US Marine (WWII – Iwo Jima), dies from a respiratory ailment at 89
2014 – James Brady, U.S. press secretary (wounded during Reagan assassin attempt), dies at 73
2015 – Les Munro, New Zealand WWII pilot (Dambusters Raid), dies at 96
2022 – Neil Castles, American auto racer (NASCAR Grand National East Series Champion 1972; NASCAR Cup Series 51 x top 5, 178 x top 10 finishes), dies at 87

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1800 – Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch, German composer, dies at 63
1835 – Wenzel Müller, Austrian composer, dies at 67
1894 – George Inness, American landscape painter (Delaware Water Gap), dies at 69
1939 – August Enna, Danish opera composer (The Witch; Kleopatra), dies at 80
1954 – Colette [Sidonie-Gabrielle], French author, novelist (Gigi; La Vagabonde) and actress, dies at 81
1977 – Makarios III [Michail Moeskos], Cypriot clergyman (Archbishop of Cyprus, 1950-77), and politician (1st President of Cyprus, 1966-74), dies of a heart attack at 63
1997 – Pietro Rizzuto, Italian-Canadian politician (Senator for Repentigny, Quebec, 1976-97), dies at 83
2010 – Bobby Hebb, American soul and RandB singer-songwriter (“Sunny”), dies of lung cancer at 72
2011 – Bubba Smith, American College Football Hall of Fame defensive end (Michigan State; Pro Bowl 1970, 71; First Team All Pro 1971; Super Bowl 1971; Baltimore Colts) and actor (Police Academy), dies of acute drug intoxication and heart disease at 66
2017 – Ángel Nieto, Spanish motorcycle racer (World C’ships: 50cc 1969, 70, 72, 75, 76, 77; 125cc 1971, 72, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84; 90 Grand Prix victories), dies in a road accident at 70

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1100 – William II [William Rufus], King of England (1087-1100), killed by an arrow shot by Sir Walter Tyrell while hunting in the New Forest at 44
1222 – Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse (1194-1222), dies at 65
1849 – Muhammad Ali of Egypt, Albanian-born Pasha and viceroy of Egypt (founder of modern Egypt), dies at 80
1978 – Carlos Chávez, Mexican conductor and composer (Sinfonía India), dies at 79
1978 – Totie Fields [Sophie Feldman], American comedienne, dies at 48
2004 – Don Tosti, American musician (“Pachuco Boogie”), dies at 81
2008 – Fujio Akatsuka, Japanese cartoonist, dies of pneumonia at 72
2017 – Ara Parseghian, American College Football HOF coach (Northwestern; NCAA C’ship 1966, 73 Notre Dame), dies at 94
2020 – Bob Ryland, American tennis player (first African-American to play professionally) and coach (Harold Solomon, Arthur Ashe, Venus and Serena Williams), dies of aspiration pneumonia at 100
2025 – Kelley Mack (née Klebenow), American actress (Addy in “The Walking Dead”), dies of cancer at 33

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1580 – Albrecht Giese, German politician and diplomat, dies at 55
1589 – Jacques Clément, French assassin of Henry III of France (b. 1567)
1812 – Yakov Kulnev, Russian general (killed in battle) (b. 1763)
1884 – Heinrich Laube, writer, dies
1911 – Edward Austin Abbey, American painter (Quest of the Holy Grail mural at Boston Public Library), dies at 59
1963 – Theodore Roethke, American poet (Praise to the end!), dies at 55
1971 – John McDermott, American golfer (US Open, 1911-12), dies of heart failure at 79
1994 – Gerard van de Groenekan, furniture maker/designer, dies at 90
1997 – Svyatoslav Richter, Russian pianist, dies of a heart attack at 82
2016 – Franciszek Macharski, Polish Cardinal, Archbishop of Kraków (1978-2005), dies at 87

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1638 – Sybilla Schwarz, German baroque poet, dies at 17
1784 – Denis Diderot, French enlightenment philosopher (Encyclopédie), dies at 70
1917 – Francis Ledwidge, Irish poet (b. 1881)
1981 – mar Torrijos, Panamanian military officer, coup d-etat leader, and dictator (Maximum Leader of the Panamanian Revolution, 1968-81), dies in plane crash at 52
1990 – Albert Leduc, Canadian ice hockey defenseman (Stanley Cup 1930, 31 Montreal Canadiens), dies at 87
1997 – Edith Fore, American pitchwoman (ad for LifeCall alarm – I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!), dies at 81
2013 – Michael Ansara, American actor (Broken Arrow, Centennial), dies at 91
2022 – Mo Ostin [Ostrofsky], American record company executive (Verve; Reprise; Warner Bros; Dreamworks), dies at 95
2023 – Melaku Worede, Ethiopian plant geneticist and agronomist (helped Ethiopia recover from 1984 famine), dies at 87
2023 – Angus Cloud, American actor (Euphoria), dies of an accidental drug overdose at 25

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578 – Jacob Baradaeus, Bishop of Edessa and saint, established Syriac Orthodox Church, dies of an illness at 77 or 78
1652 – John Cloppenburg, Dutch Calvinist theologian, dies at 68
1683 – Maria Theresa of Spain, queen of Louis XIV of France, dies at 44
1947 – George Challenor, West Indian cricketer (played in 1st WI Test side 1928), dies at 59
1948 – Sophonisba Breckenridge, American professor, teacher and social activist (1st woman to graduate from Chicago Uni Law School), dies at 82
1977 – Jorgen Ponto, West German banker, murdered
1982 – Roberta Pedon, American glamour model, dies at 28
1983 – Vasantrao Deshpande, Indian Hindustani vocalist, dies at 63
2006 – Anthony Galla-Rini, American concert accordionist, and arranger, dies at 102
2025 – Michael Lydon, American music journalist and a founding editor of Rolling Stone, dies of complications of Parkinson’s disease at 82

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1030 – Olaf II Haraldsson, King of Norway, dies in battle of Stiklestad at 34 or 35
1099 – Urban II [Odo de Lagery], French Pope who began the First Crusade (1088-99), dies at about 64
1936 – Frank Gavan Duffy, Australian barrister and judge (High Court of Australia, 1913-35, and Chief Justice of Australia, 1931-35), dies at 84
1953 – Rosa May Billinghurst, British disabled suffragette and member of the Women’s Social and Political Union, dies at 78
1960 – Richard Simon, American book publisher (co-founder of Simon and Shuster), dies at 61
1973 – Norm Smith, Australian rules footballer and coach (b. 1915)
1976 – Mickey Cohen, American gangster (Cohen crime family), dies at 62
2001 – Edward Gierek, Polish communist politician, dies of lung disease at 88
2004 – Rena Vlahopoulou, Greek actress and singer (b. 1923)
2023 – David W. Potter, Scottish sports writer (published 60+ books, primarily Scottish football and cricket), dies at 74

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1741 – Antonio Vivaldi, Italian Baroque composer (The Four Seasons), dies at 63
1967 – Karl W. Richter, American air force pilot during the Vietnam War (youngest to shoot down a MiG), shot down at 24
1976 – Lucie Mannheim, German singer and actress (39 Steps), dies at 77
1990 – Jill Esmond, English actress (13 Women, My Pal Wolfe, FP 1), dies at 82
1994 – Ralph Herman, American Emmy Award-winning composer (From the Scriptures; Circus Time), orchestra leader, and music director (ABC-TV, 1952-71), dies after a stroke at 80
1997 – Rosalie Crutchley, British actress (Armchair Theatre: Black Limelight, Four Weddings and a Funeral), dies at 77
1999 – Rudolf Halaczinsky, German composer, dies at 78
2015 – James Jude, American thoracic surgeon (developed CPR), dies at 87
2024 – Martin Phillipps, New Zealand new wave singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Chills – “Heavenly Pop Hit”, “Pink Frost”), dies of liver failure at 61
2025 – Ryne Sandberg, American Baseball HOF infielder (10 × MLB All-Star; NL MVP 1984; 9 × Gold Glove Award; Chicago Cubs) and manager (Philadelphia Phillies, 2013-15), dies of prostate cancer at 65

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