1755 – Montesquieu, French writer (b. 1689)
1852 – Samuel Prout, British water color painter, dies at 68
1939 – Pius XI [Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti], Italian 259th Pope (1922-39), dies at 81
1951 – Joseph Bovet, composer, dies at 71
1993 – John Grossman, Czech director (Process, Revisor), dies
1995 – S van der Linde, church historian, dies at 89
2001 – Lewis Arquette, American actor (Horror Show, Book of Love), dies at 65
2003 – Edgar de Evia, Mexican-American photographer, dies at 92
2007 – Ned Austin, American character actor (b. 1925)
2008 – Roy Scheider, American actor (Jaws, The French Connection, Marathon Man, Paper Lion), dies at 75