1654 – Matei Basarab, Prince of Wallachia (b. 1588)
1886 – Joseph Victor von Scheffel, German writer (Ekkehard), dies at 60
1917 – Edward Thomas, poet, killed in WW I
1945 – Georg Elser, German failed assassin of Hitler, dies at Dachau concentration camp at 42
1964 – Hesketh Pearson, English biographer and playwright (Writ for Libel), dies at 77
1971 – Will Harridge, American Baseball HOF executive (President American League 1931-59), dies at 87
2005 – Andrea Dworkin, American radical feminist (Pornography: Men Possessing Women), dies of heart failure at 58
2007 – Egon Bondy, Czech philosopher and writer (b. 1930)
2019 – Marilynn Smith, American golfer, co-founder LPGA (Titleholders Championship 1963-64), dies at 89
2021 – Ekkehard Fasser, Swiss bobsledder (Olympic gold, four-man 1988; World C’ship gold 1983; World Cup champion 1985-86), dies at 68
Category: Famous Deaths
Famous Deaths for 8th April 2023
1537 – Willem Aerts, Flemish architect, dies
1725 – John Wise, American clergyman and political activist who protested against British taxes, dies at 73
1759 – Francois de La Croix, French composer, dies at 76
1919 – Frank Winfield Woolworth, American businessman, retail pioneer (Five-and-Dimes; self-service display cases) and founder of F. W. Woolworth Co, dies at 66
1958 – Ethel Turner, Australian author (Seven Little Australians), dies at 88
1965 – Jack Durston, English cricket fast bowler (1 Test, 5 wickets; Middlesex CCC) and soccer goalkeeper (Queens Park Rangers, Brentford), dies at 71
1969 – Haskell Karp, American heart transplant patient, who received 1st fully artificial heart, dies after 65 hours at 48
2004 – Enda Colleran, Gaelic footballer (b. 1941)
2006 – Gerard Reve, Dutch writer (Evenings, Dear Guys), dies at 82
2008 – Stanley Kamel, American actor (b. 1943)
Famous Deaths for 7th April 2023
1307 – Joan of Acre, daughter of Edward I of England (b. 1271)
1444 – John Capreolus, French theologist (Libri IV), dies at about 50
1767 – Franz Sparry, Austrian composer, dies at 51
1880 – Diederich Krug, German pianist and composer (Le petit Chevalier), dies at 60
1932 – Erv A Kelley, US policeman, shot to death by Pretty Boy Floyd
1970 – Josina Machel, Mozambican independence activist, and wife of Mozambique’s 1st president Samora Machel, dies at 25
1994 – Agathe Uwilingiyimana, Prime Minister of Rwanda (1993-94) and one of the 1st female political figures in Africa, assassinated by the presidential guard in the opening stages of the Rwandan Genocide at 40
2000 – Heinz [Burt], British rock bassist (The Tornados – “Telstar”), dies from complications of a stroke at 57
2005 – Bob Kennedy, American MLB baseball player, 1939-57 (Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, and 3 other teams, manager, 1963-68 (Chicago Cubs, Oakland A’s), and executive, 1976-92, dies at 84
2011 – Duke of Grafton, 11th Duke of Grafton, British peer, dies at 92
Famous Deaths for 6th April 2023
1551 – Joachim Vadian [Vadianus] Swiss humanist, scholar and protestant reformer, dies at 66
1833 – Adamántios Koraïs, Greek humanist scholar, dies at 84
1939 – Robert Courtneidge, British theater producer, dies
1970 – Sam Sheppard, American accused murderer (b. 1923)
1971 – Igor Stravinsky, Russian composer (Le Sacre du Printemps – The Rite of Spring; The Firebird), dies of pneumonia at 88
1979 – Milton Ager, American composer, dies at 85
1996 – Nadieh [Karin Meis], Dutch singer, guitarist and composer (Haifa Blue), dies from a pulmonary embolism and breast cancer at 37
2015 – James Best [Jewel Franklin Guy], American actor (The Dukes of Hazzard, Sounder), dies at 88
2020 – Graham “Jock” Edwards, New Zealand cricket batsman (8 Tests, 3 x 50; Central Districts), dies from heart failure at 64
2020 – Radomir Antić, Serbian soccer defender (1 cap Yugoslavia; Partizan, Luton Town) and manager (Atlético Madrid; Serbia), dies from pancreatitis at 71
Famous Deaths for 5th April 2023
1673 – Francois Caron, admiral/governor (Formosa), drowns at about 72
1676 – John Winthrop, the Younger, American politician (b. 1606)
1944 – Isolde Kurz, German writer/poetess (Meine Mutter), dies at 90
1954 – Claude Delvincourt, French composer and pianist, dies at 66
1970 – Jacob H “Jaap” Stotijn, Dutch oboist, and conductor (Residence Orchestra), dies at 78
1992 – Anthony “Tony” Papa, big band leader, dies at 65
2018 – Cecil Taylor, American pianist, poet, and one of the pioneers of free jazz, dies at 89
2018 – Eric Bristow MBE [‘The Crafty Cockney’], English darts player (BDO World Champion 1980-81, 84-86), dies of a heart attack at 60
2018 – Isao Takahata, Japanese anime film director, screenwriter and producer (Grave of the Fireflies, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya), dies of lung cancer at 82
2020 – Peter Walker, English cricket batsman (3 Tests; Glamorgan CCC), dies after a stroke at 84
Famous Deaths for 4th April 2023
1585 – Caspar de Robles, Spanish viceroy of Frisia, dies at about 57
1903 – Margaret Ann Neve, British 1st recorded female Supercentenarian, who lived in three centuries, dies at 110
1931 – Andre Michelin, French industrialist, tire manufacturer (Michelin) and publisher of the Michelin Guide, dies of respiratory failure at 78
1943 – Raoul Laparra, French composer, dies during a bombing raid in WWII at 66
1972 – Adam Clayton Powell Jr., American politician (Rep-D-NY), dies of acute prostatitis at 63
1978 – Gino Contilli, Italian composer, dies at 70
1991 – John Heinz, American businessman and Republican politician (Senator from Pennsylvania, 1977-1991), dies in a plane crash at 52
2003 – Anthony Caruso, American actor (b. 1916)
2010 – Clifford M. Hardin, American politician (17th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture), dies at 94
2013 – Carmine Infantino, American comic book artist, dies at 87
Famous Deaths for 3rd April 2023
1350 – Eudes IV, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1295)
1811 – Pieter-Jozef Verhaghen, Flemish court painter, dies at 83
1941 – Pal Teleki-von Szek, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920-21, 39-41), committed suicide at 61
1950 – Carter G. Woodson, American historian (African American studies), dies at 74
1994 – Elizabeth “Betty” Furness, American actress, journalist and consumer activist (Dangerous Corner, Studio 1), dies of stomach cancer at 78
2002 – Fad Gadget [Francis Tovey], English singer and musician, dies of a heart attack at 45
2015 – Sarah Brady, American gun-control activist, dies at 73
2016 – Joseph Medicine Crow, Native American chief and historian, dies at 102
2018 – Lill-Babs [Barbro Margareta Svensson], Swedish pop singer, (Eurovision, 1961) actress, and television presenter, dies of heart failure while battling cancer at 80
2022 – June Brown, British actress (EastEnders, 1985–93 and 1997–2020 – “Dot”; Sitting Target), dies at 95
Famous Deaths for 2nd April 2023
1872 – Samuel Morse, American painter and inventor of the electric telegraph and Morse Code, dies at 80
1930 – Zewditu, Empress of Ethiopia (1916-30), dies at 53
1979 – Carroll Rosenbloom, American businessman and NFL team owner (Baltimore Colts, LA Rams), dies of a heart attack at 72
1992 – Paula Kelly, American big band singer (The Modernaires), dies at 72
2002 – Jack Kruschen, Canadian character actor (The Apartment, Busting Loose), dies at 80
2005 – Pope Saint John Paul II [Karol Wojtyla], 264th Roman Catholic Pope (1978-2005), dies of heart failure at 84
2010 – Mike Cuellar, Cuban baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1967, 70, 71, 74; World Series 1964, 70; AL Cy Young Award 1969; Baltimore Orioles), dies from stomach cancer at 72
2011 – Larry Finch, American college basketball coach (University of Memphis 1986-97), dies at 60
2013 – Jesús Franco, Spanish film director and writer, dies from complications from a stroke at 82
2020 – Sergio Rossi, Italian shoe designer, dies of COVID-19 complications at 84
Famous Deaths for 1st April 2023
1548 – Sigismund I the Old, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1506-48), dies at 81
1814 – Jozef de Ferraris, French-Austrian general and cartographer, dies at 87
1832 – Robert the Hermit, US ex-slave/hermit in Massachusetts, dies
1878 – John Corry Wilson Daly, Canadian politician (b. 1796)
1918 – Karl Valentin, Swedish composer, dies at 64
1984 – Chepín [Electo Rosell], Cuban violinist, bandleader, and composer (Orquesta Chepín-Chovén), dies at 76
1998 – Eugene “Gene” Evans, American actor (My Friend Flicka, Johnny Ringo, Alamo), dies of heart failure at 75
2010 – John Forsythe, American actor (Charlie’s Angels, Dynasty), dies at 92
2013 – Jack Pardee, American College Football Hall of Fame linebacker (Texas AandM; NFL: LA Rams, Washington Redskins) and coach (Houston Oilers), dies at gallbladder cancer at 76
2018 – Efraín Ríos Montt, Guatemalan general and dictator (1982-83) convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity, dies of a heart attack at 91
Famous Deaths for 31st March 2023
1547 – King Francis I of France (1515-47), dies complaining about the weight of the crown at 52
1703 – Johann Christoph Bach, German harpsichordist and composer, dies at 60
1727 – Isaac Newton, English physicist, mathematician and astronomer (Gravity, Laws of Motion), dies at 84
1850 – John C. Calhoun, US Vice President (1825-32), dies of tuberculosis at 68
1900 – Frank Milligan, cricketer (Mafeking 2 Tests Eng v South Africa 1898-99), dies
1945 – Maurice Donnay, French playwright (Lovers), dies at 85
1945 – Hans Fischer, German organic chemist (Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1930), commits suicide at 63
2002 – Barry Took, British comedian (b. 1928)
2003 – H.S.M. Coxeter, English-born geometer (b. 1907)
2021 – Ron Greene, American college basketball coach (Uni of New Orleans, Mississippi State, Murray State, Indiana State), dies at 82