1930 – Alvar Gullstrand, Swedish optician (Nobel 1911), dies
1955 – Bob Gordon, American cool jazz baritone saxophonist, dies in a car accident at 27
1955 – Emmett Till, American lynching victim, kidnapped and lynched at 14, in Money, Mississippi
1971 – Nathan Leopold, US kidnapper and murderer of Bobby Franks (1924), dies at 66
1975 – Fritz Wotruba, Austrian sculptor (b. 1907)
1985 – Ruth Gordon, American actress (Rosemary’s Baby, The Big Bus), dies of a stroke in her sleep at 88
1988 – Paul Whitelaw, New Zealand cricket batsman (2 Tests; Auckland), dies at 78
1993 – William Stafford, American poet (b. 1914)
1996 – Al Zarilla, American baseball outfielder (MLB All Star 1948; St. Louis Browns), dies of cancer at 77
2017 – Bobby Boyd, American NFL cornerback (5 × All-Pro 1964–1968; NFL interceptions leader 1965; Baltimore Colts), dies of bladder cancer at 79