1508 – Henry van Stolberg and Wernigerode, German viceroy of Friesland, dies at 41
1786 – Henri-Jacques de Croes, Flemish composer and violinist, dies at 80
1799 – Vincenzo Manfredini, Italian harpsichordist, composer, and music theorist, dies at 61
1870 – Edmund Passy, Swedish composer, dies at 80
1986 – Jaime Saenz, Bolivian poet, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1921)
1991 – Stuart Karl, CEO (Karl Home Video), dies at 38 of skin cancer
1994 – Henry Geldzahler, US critic, dies
2004 – Robert Quiroga, American boxer (b. 1969)
2005 – William Corlett, English children’s writer(b. 1938)
2005 – Joe Ranft, American screenwriter and animator (Toy Story, Cars), dies at 45
Category: Famous Deaths
Famous Deaths for 15th August 2023
1552 – Hermann of Wied, German Catholic archbishop (b. 1477)
1615 – Mír ‘Imád al-Ḥasaní, Persian calligrapher (Master of the Nasta‘liq style – St. Petersburg Muraqqa), assassinated on Shah’s authorization (b. 1554)
1619 – Miriam Bella, head of Jewish community of Kraków, dies
1953 – Ludwig Prandtl, German physicist (considered the father of aerodynamics – discovered the boundary layer), dies at 78
1956 – Constantine Freiherr von Neurath, German foreign minister, dies at 83
1967 – René Magritte, Belgian surrealist painter (This is Not a Pipe), dies at 68
1969 – Stijn Streuvels [Frank Lateur], Flemish writer (De Vlaschaard), dies at 97
2020 – Henk Wullems, Dutch soccer manager (NAC Breda, SBV Vitesse, Go Ahead Eagles, AZ; Indonesia 1996-98), dies from a Cerebral infarction at 84
2021 – Gerd Müller “Der Bomber”, German soccer striker (62 caps; FIFA World Cup 1974; Bayern Munich 453 games, 398 goals), dies from Alzheimer’s disease at 75
2021 – Gary Woollard, New Zealand rugby league five eighth (10 Tests; Wellington), dies at 79
Famous Deaths for 14th August 2023
1785 – John William Fletcher, evangelist, dies
1870 – David Farragut, American Admiral (“Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”), dies at 69
1905 – Mohammed Abdoe, Egyptian writing expert (Al’Oerwah al-Woethka), dies
1955 – Herbert Putnam, American Librarian of Congress, dies at 93
1963 – Clifford Odets, American playwright (1961 Award of Merit-Golden Boy), dies at 57
1992 – Norah Phillips, Baroness Phillips, British politician (1st female Whip – UK House of Lords), dies at 82
1992 – Flora Benson, American wife of Ezra Taft Benson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dies at 91
1992 – Tony Williams, American singer (The Platters, 1953-59 – “Only You”; “Great Pretender”), dies at 64
2012 – Ron Palillo, American actor (Arnold Horshack-Welcome Back Kotter), dies from a heart attack at 63
2020 – Thomas Forsyth, Scottish soccer defender (22 caps; Motherwell, Rangers), dies at 71
Famous Deaths for 13th August 2023
1744 – John Cruger, Dutch-born Mayor of New York (b. 1678)
1900 – Collis P. Huntington, American business tycoon and railroad executive (Central Pacific Railroad, Southern Pacific Railroad), dies at 78
1953 – Dmitri Arakishvili, Soviet and Georgian composer, dies at 80
1971 – W. O. Bentley, English engineer and motoring pioneer who founded Bentley Motors Limited, dies at 82
1974 – (Harold) “Tina” Brooks, American hard-bop jazz saxophonist, and composer (“True Blue”), dies of liver failure at 42
1974 – Hugo Yarnold, English cricketer (Umpire in 3 Tests for England), dies at 57
2000 – Nazia Hassan, Pakistani pop singer-songwriter, lawyer and social activist known as “Queen of Pop” in South Asia, dies of lung cancer at 35
2007 – Phil Rizzuto, American Baseball HOF shortstop (5 x MLB All-Star; 7 x World Series; AL MVP 1950; NY Yankees) and broadcaster (WCBS radio, WPIX-TV), dies at 89
2010 – Edwin Newman, American broadcast journalist (b. 1919)
2019 – Kip Addotta, American stand-up comic, dies at 75
Famous Deaths for 12th August 2023
1158 – Anselm of Havelberg, Brandenburg bishop of Havelberg (1129-55), dies at about 58
1750 – Rachel Ruysch, Dutch painter (portrait of of sovereign Johan von de Pfalz), dies at 86
1810 – Etienne Louis Geoffroy, French pharmacist and entomologist, dies at 84
1857 – William Conybeare, English geologist (fossils of plesiosaur dinosaur), dies at 70
1904 – William Renshaw, British tennis player (Wimbledon, 1881-86, 1889 (singles); 1884-86, 1888-89 (doubles, with twin brother Ernest), dies of epileptic convulsions at 43
1982 – Salvador Sánchez, Mexican boxer (WBC, lineal featherweight title 1980-82), dies in a traffic accident at 23
1985 – Marcel Mihalovici, French composer, dies at 86
1990 – Piotr Perkowski, Polish composer, dies at 89
2000 – Patrick Peter Sacco, American composer, dies at 71
2020 – Don Edmunds, American auto racer and car builder (National Sprint Car HOF; built Evel Knievel’s Snake River Canyon Sky cycle), dies at 89
Famous Deaths for 11th August 2023
1949 – Karl Weigl, Austrian-American pianist, composer (Apocalyptic Symphony), and educator, dies of bone marrow cancer at 68
1956 – Jackson Pollock, American expressionist painter (Lavender Mist), dies at 44 in a car accident in East Hampton
1984 – Paul Felix Schmidt, Estonian-German chess player, dies at 67
1987 – Clara Peller, Russian-American manicurist and commercial spokesperson (Wendy’s – “Where’s the beef?”), dies of congestive heart failure at 85
1994 – Gordon Cullen, architect, dies at 80
2007 – Franz Antel, Austrian filmmaker (Der Bockerer), dies at 94
2010 – Dan Rostenkowski, American politician (Rep-D-Il, 1959-94), convicted of mail fraud, dies at 82
2014 – Robin Williams, American actor and comedian (Mork and Mindy, Jumanji, Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting), commits suicide by hanging himself at 63
2020 – Gordon J. Brand, English golfer (British Open 1986 runner-up), dies at 65
2022 – Darius Danesh, Scottish pop, opera, and swing singer-songwriter (Colourblind; Live Twice) and stage actor, dies of respiratory arrest at 41
Famous Deaths for 10th August 2023
1821 – Salvatore Vigano, composer, dies at 52
1934 – John Kane, Scottish-American primitivist painter (Self-Portrait), dies at 73
1948 – Andrew Brown, Scottish football coach (b. 1870)
1973 – Douglas Kennedy, American actor (Dark Passage, The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold), dies of cancer at 57
1976 – Bert Oldfield, Australian cricket wicketkeeper (54 Tests, 130 dismissals, 4 x 50; NSW CA), dies at 81
1996 – Adriano Mandarino Hypolito, priest, dies at 78
1997 – Conlon Nancarrow, American composer (Soundings 4), dies at 84
2002 – Michael Houser, American guitarist (Widespread Panic), dies of pancreatic cancer at 40
2012 – Carlo Rambaldi, Italian Special effects artist, dies at 86
2021 – Tony Esposito, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender (6 x NHL All Star; Vezina Trophy 1970, 72, 74; Chicago Blackhawks), dies from pancreatic cancer at 78
Famous Deaths for 9th August 2023
1652 – John Dirksz Both, Dutch landscape painter and etcher, dies at about 37
1888 – Isaac Strauss, French violinist, conductor and composer, dies at 82
1888 – Charles Cros, French inventor and poet (Le Hareng Saur), dies at 45
1890 – Eduard von Bauernfeld, Austrian comedic playwright, dies at 88
1904 – Friedrich Ratzel, German social-geographer (Lebensraum), dies at 59
1924 – Jacob P. Vis, Dutch founder (NV Royal Salt Industries), dies at 66
1959 – Emil František Burian, Czech author and composer, dies at 55
1992 – Jan van Baal, Dutch anthropologist and governor of Dutch New Guinea, dies (b. 1909)
1996 – Ruth Holland, British journalist (BMJ), dies in the Watford rail crash at 54
2000 – Fouad Serageddin, Egyptian politician and leader of Egypt’s Wafd Party, dies at 88
Famous Deaths for 8th August 2023
1685 – Sassoferrato [Giovanni B Salvi], Italian painter (Madonna), dies at 75
1965 – Shirley Jackson, American author (Road Through the Wall), dies at 45
1979 – Nicholas Monsarrat, British novelist (b. 1910)
1991 – John Brasser, Dutch Zaans resistance fighter (White Ko), dies at 79
1994 – Henriette Santer, Dutch-English clinical psychologist, dies at 62
1997 – Duncan Swift, English jazz pianist, dies at 74
2005 – Ilse Werner [Ilse Charlotte Still], Dutch-German actress (Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow), dies at 84
2008 – Frank Cornish, American NFL center/guard, 1990-95 (San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, and 3 other teams), dies of heart disease at 40
2010 – Patricia Neal, American actress (Hud, Subject Was Roses) and wife of Roald Dahl, dies at 84
2022 – Lamont Dozier, American songwriter and producer (Holland–Dozier–Holland – “Heat Wave”; “Where Did Our Love Go”; “You Keep Me Hanging On”), dies at 81
Famous Deaths for 7th August 2023
1613 – Thomas Fleming, English judge (b. 1544)
1885 – Anthony Modderman, Dutch politician (Minister of Justice, 1879-83), dies at 46
1914 – Bransby Cooper, Australian cricketer, dies at 70
1970 – William Christmas, US African American activist, shot dead
1974 – Sylvio Mantha, Canadian ice hockey player, dies at 72
1994 – Robert Hutton [Winne], American actor (Torture Garden, Rocket), dies at 74
1995 – Brigid Brophy, British novelist (Hackenfeller’s Ape) and campaigner, dies at 66
2008 – Bernie Brillstein, American talent agent/manager and producer (b. 1931)
2010 – Manon Alving, Dutch actress (The Assault, Short American), dies at 87
2020 – Lê Khả Phiêu, Vietnamese leader, General Secretary (1997-2001), dies at 88