1836 – Supply Belcher, American composer and singer (The Harmony of Maine), dies at 85
1870 – Charles Dickens, English writer (Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, A Christmas Carol), dies of stroke at 58
1900 – Birsa Munda, Indian tribal freedom fighter, religious leader and folk hero of the Munda tribe who led an uprising in Bengal against the British Raj, dies in jail awaiting trial at 24
1952 – Adolf Busch, German composer (b. 1891)
1973 – Erich von Manstein, German military commander (b. 1887)
1993 – Ian Mikardo, British politician, dies
1994 – Lloyd Lindroth, American harpist known as ‘The Liberace of the Harp’, dies at 63
1996 – Edward Morris Bernstein, economist, dies at 91
2014 – Rik Mayall, English actor and comedian, dies from cardiac arrest at 56
2015 – James Last, German-born composer and big band leader, dies at 86