1760 – Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf, Austrian-born German religious and social reformer, dies at 59
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
1880 – Johann Hermann Berens, German-born Swedish Romantic composer, dies at 54
1915 – François Faber, Luxembourgian cyclist (Tour de France 1909), killed in action by gunshot wounds at 28
1970 – Walter P. Reuther, American worker’s union leader and president of the CIO, dies in a plane crash at 62
1977 – Walter Kraft, German organist and composer, dies at 71
1979 – Cyrus Eaton, Canadian-American financier, industrialist and steel magnate, dies at 95
2004 – Alan King [Irwin Kniberg], American comedian and actor (Anderson Tapes, Memories of Me), dies at 76
2015 – Kenan Evren, Turkish soldier and politician, (President of Turkey 1980-1989 by military coup), dies at 97
2016 – John Warr, English cricket bowler (avg 281) and president (MCC), dies at 88
Category: Famous Deaths
Famous Deaths for 8th May 2023
1725 – John Lovewell, American ranger and Native Indian scalper, dies fighting against Abenaki Indians at 33
1846 – Giacomo Cordella, Italian composer, dies at 59
1941 – Heinrich Zöllner, German composer, dies at 86
1947 – Harry Gordon Selfridge, American-born department store founder (b. 1858)
1967 – Elmer Rice, American playwright (Pulitzer-Street Scene) and novelist, dies at 74
1979 – Talcott Parsons, American sociologist, dies at 76
1990 – Tomas O’Fiach [Tomas Seamus Fee], Irish cardinal-archbishop, dies of a heart attack at 66
1994 – George Peppard, American actor (Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Banacek, A-Team, Blue Max), dies at 65
2006 – Viola Mae Wilkerson, American pop singer (“Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now”), dies of cancer at 69
2017 – Robert Gutter, American conductor and teacher (founded International Institute for Conductors, 1996), dies at 78
Famous Deaths for 7th May 2023
1800 – Niccolò Piccinni, Italian classical, opera, and sacred music composer (Roland; Buona Figliuola), dies at 72
1876 – Franz Graf von Pocci, German founding director of the Munich Marionette Theatre (Punch and Judy), poet, and illustrator of children’s literature (Viola Tricolor: In Picture and Rhyme), dies at 69
1925 – William Hesketh Lever, First Viscount Leverhulme (b. 1851)
1928 – Alexander Spendiaryan, Armenian-Soviet conductor and composer (Three Palms; Yerevan Sketches), dies at 56
1941 – David Wijnkoop, Dutch revolutionary socialist, dies
2011 – Seve Ballesteros, Spanish golfer (British Open 1979, 84, 88, US Masters 1980, 83), dies of brain cancer at 54
2015 – Sir Samuel “Sam” Edwards, Welsh physicist (condensed matter physics), dies at 87
2016 – Chris Mitchell, Scottish footballer, commits suicide at 27
2018 – Maurane [Claudine Luypaerts], Belgian Francophone jazz and chanson singer, dies at 57
2020 – Mike Storen, American sports executive (Indiana Pacers, Atlanta Hawks; ABA Commissioner 1973-76), dies from cancer at 84
Famous Deaths for 6th May 2023
1727 – Catharine I of Russia [Marta Samuilovna], wife of Peter the Great, dies at about 42
1891 – Thomas Hare, English barrister and political reformer, dies at 85
1949 – Arthur L Ochse, South African cricket fast bowler (3 Tests, 10 wickets, BB 4–79; Eastern Province), dies at 49
1972 – Deniz Gezmiş, Turkish Left-wing Political Activist (b. 1947)
1987 – William J. Casey, American head of the CIA during the Iran-contra scandal (1981-87), dies of aspiration pneumonia at 73
2007 – Enéas Carneiro, Brazilian politician (b. 1938)
2015 – Jim [James] Wright, American politician (D-Texas) (Speaker of the House 1987-1989), dies at 92
2018 – Brad Steiger, American author and paranormal researcher, dies at 82
2021 – Kentaro Miura, Japanese manga author (Berserk), dies at 54
2021 – Carlos Timoteo Griguol, Argentine soccer midfielder (Atlanta, Rosario Central) and manager (Ferro Carril Oeste, Real Betis, River Plate), dies from COVID-19 at 84
Famous Deaths for 5th May 2023
311 – Galerius, Emperor of Rome (305-311) ended persecution of Christianity in the East, dies of disease
1219 – King Leo II of Armenia (b. 1150)
1309 – Charles II, the Lame, King of Naples (1285-1309), dies
1971 – Violet Jessop, Titanic survivor (b. 1887)
1985 – Sir Donald Bailey, British civil engineer (b. 1901)
1993 – Lenore Kingston Jenson, dies of cancer at 79
2003 – Walter Sisulu, South African activist (b. 1912)
2018 – Rosemarie Schruder, German writer, dies at 89
2018 – Ermanno Olmi, Italian film director (The Tree of Wooden Clogs), dies at 86
2020 – Hillard “Sweet Pea” Atkinson, American RandB singer (Was (Not Was)), dies of a heart attack at 74
Famous Deaths for 4th May 2023
1684 – John Nevison, English highwayman (b. 1639)
1824 – Joseph Joubert, French essayist and moralist (b. 1754)
1855 – Camille Pleyel, Austrian piano builder, and composer, dies at 66
1919 – Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Slovak politician, French general and astronomer (b. 1880)
1945 – Fedor von Bock, German field marshal (commander in the German occupation of Austria, invasions of Poland, France, and Russia during WWII), dies at 64
1953 – T. Tertius Noble, English composer, dies at 85
1981 – Paul Green, American novelist and playwright (In Abraham’s Bosom), dies at 87
2009 – Jane Randolph, American actress (Cat People, Railroaded!), dies of complications after hip surgery at 93
2018 – Renate Dorrelstein, Dutch writer and journalist, dies of cancer at 64
2022 – Harm Ottenbros, Dutch bicycle racer (World C’ships gold men’s road race 1969), dies at 78
Famous Deaths for 3rd May 2023
1654 – François de Kinschot, Dutch jurist and chancellor of Brabant, dies at 77
1679 – James Sharp, English archbishop (assassinated) (b. 1613)
1942 – Thorvald Stauning, Prime Minister of Denmark (1924-26, 1929-42), dies at 68
1994 – Haty Tegelaar-Boonacker, Dutch politician and 2nd chamber member (CDA), dies at 63
1999 – Steve Chiasson, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1967)
2000 – Yoshinao Nakada, Japanese composer, dies at 76
2002 – Barbara Castle, British politician (b. 1910)
2016 – Thomas W. Libous, American politician (Senate-R-New York 1989-2015) brought down by scandal, dies of cancer at 63
2018 – Dan Grimm, American football player (Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons), dies of Parkinson’s disease and dementia at 77
2018 – David Pines, American physicist, dies at 93
Famous Deaths for 2nd May 2023
1567 – Marin Drzic, Croatian playwright (Dundo Maroje), dies
1627 – Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, Italian composer (b. 1560)
1980 – Alioune Diop, Senegalese writer and editor (Présence africaine), dies at 70
1985 – Larry Clinton, American trumpeter and bandleader, dies at 75
1997 – Paulo Freire, Brazilian educator and philosopher (critical pedagogy), dies at 75
2009 – Marilyn French, American author (The Women’s Room), dies at 79
2015 – Guy Carawan, American folk singer and folklorist (We Shall Overcome), dies at 87
2017 – (Mary) Norma Procter, British contralto singer, dies of Parkinson’s Disease at 89
2018 – Kottayam Pushpanath, Indian author, dies at 80
2022 – Yuri Vasenin, Russian soccer midfielder (9 caps USSR; FC Zorya Voroshylovhrad), dies at 73
Famous Deaths for 1st May 2023
1447 – Louis VII, Duke of Bavaria (1413-43), dies at around 79
1863 – Edward D. Tracy, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies in battle at 29
1899 – Ludwig Büchner, German philosopher and physician, dies at 75
1924 – August Cuppens, Flemish author (Limburgs Driemanschap), dies at 62
1928 – Ebenezer Howard, English founder of the garden city movement and author (To-Morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform), dies at 78
1957 – Grant Mitchell, American actor (Great Lie, Laura, Cairo, Conflict), dies at 82
1996 – Asher Wallfish, journalist, dies at 67
2006 – Johnny Paris, American saxophonist (Johnny and the Hurricanes) (b. 1940)
2011 – Ted Lowe, English snooker commentator (Pot Black, BBC), dies at 90
2017 – Mike Lowry, American politician (Rep-D-WA, 1979-89, Governor of Washington 1993-97), dies at 78
Famous Deaths for 30th April 2023
1328 – Meister Eckhard, German theologist and mystic, dies at about 78
1793 – Lorenzo Fago, Italian composer and teacher, dies at 88
1893 – Gyula Beliczay, Hungarian composer and teacher, dies at 57
1943 – Otto Jespersen, Danish linguist, dies at 82
1943 – Etty Hillesum, Dutch diarist, dies in Auschwitz
1966 – Richard Fariña, American folk singer-songwriter (“Birmingham Sunday”), and novelist (“Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me”), dies in a motorcycle crash on his 29th birthday
1993 – Dave Waymer, American NFL safety (NO Saints), dies of a heart attack at 34
1997 – Henry Picard, American golfer (Masters 1938, PGA 1939), dies at 90
2019 – Mike Doyle, American surfer (World C’ship 1964 runner-up; World Tandem Champion 1965, 67), dies of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at 78
2020 – Chuni Goswami, Indian soccer striker and captain (30 caps; Mohun Bagan) and cricket all-rounder (captain Bengal), dies from cardiac arrest at 82