Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift.

Famous Deaths on April 7

  • 30 Jesus Christ is crucified, according to astronomer Schaefer
  • 924 Berengar of Friuli, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor (915-924), murdered by one of his own men at about 79
  • 1307 Joan of Acre, daughter of Edward I of England (b. 1271)
  • 1444 John Capreolus, French theologist (Libri IV), dies at about 50

Charles VIII (1470-1498)

King of France (1483-98) who invaded Italy, dies after hitting his head on a door lintel at 27

  • 1503 [Zoe] Sophia Palaiologina, Byzantine princess, wife of Grand Prince Ivan III of Moscow, dies (b. 1449)
  • 1524 Philip of Burgundy, bishop of Utrecht, dies
  • 1614 El Greco, Greek-born artist working in Spain (b. 1541)
  • 1638 Shimazu Tadatsune, Japanese ruler of Satsuma, dies at 61
  • 1651 Lennart Torstenson, Swedish soldier and engineer (b. 1603)
  • 1658 Juan Eusebio Nieremberg, Spanish mystic (b. 1595)
  • 1661 William Brereton, 1st Baronet, English soldier and politician, dies at 56
  • 1663 Francis Cooke, Mayflower Pilgrim, dies at approximately 80
  • 1668 William Davenant, English poet (b. 1606)
  • 1719 Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, French priest and saint of the Catholic Church, dies at 67
  • 1739 Dick Turpin, English highwayman (hanged) (b. 1706)
  • 1747 Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, Prussian field marshal, dies at 70
  • 1766 Tiberius Hemsterhuis, Dutch classicist, dies at 81
  • 1767 Franz Sparry, Austrian composer, dies at 51
  • 1768 Michel Mathieu, French violist and composer, dies at 78
  • 1778 Johann Balthasar Kehl, German composer and organist, dies at 52
  • 1782 Taksin, King of Siam (1767-82), dies at 47
  • 1783 Ignaz Jakob Holzbauer, Austrian composer, dies at 71
  • 1789 Abd-ul-Hamid I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1725)
  • 1789 Petrus Camper, Dutch anatomist and anthropologist who studied comparative anatomy, paleontology and the facial angle, dies at 66
  • 1801 Noël François de Wailly, French lexicographer, dies at 76

Toussaint Louverture (1743-1803)

Haitian general, revolutionary and most famous of the leaders of the Haitian Revolution, dies while in prison in France at 59

  • 1810 Pieter L. van de Kasteele, Dutch politician and patriot, dies at 61
  • 1811 Garsevan Chavchavadze, Georgian diplomat and politician, dies at 53
  • 1816 Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este, Empress of Austria and queen of Hungary and Bohemia, dies at 28
  • 1823 Jacques Charles [Jacques-Alexandre-César Charles], French inventor and balloonist (with Nicholas Robert was 1st to take flight in a hydrogen balloon), dies at 76
  • 1833 Antoni Radziwiłł, Polish-Lithuanian politician, cellist, and composer, dies at 57
  • 1836 William Godwin, English philosopher and political writer (Caleb Williams), dies at 80
  • 1842 Henrik Anker Bjerregaard, Norwegian writer and poet (Fjeldeventyret), dies at 50
  • 1850 William Lisle Bowles, English poet (14 Sonnets), dies at 87
  • 1858 Anton Diabelli, Austria publisher and composer, dies at 76
  • 1862 Sydney Nelson, English song composer, dies at 62
  • 1868 Thomas D'Arcy McGee, Irish-Canadian journalist and Father of Confederation, assassinated at 42
  • 1871 Alexander Lloyd, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1805)
  • 1871 Alexander of Wales, British Prince, son of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, dies at 1 day old after born prematurely
  • 1871 Wilhelm Freiherr von Tegetthoff, Austrian admiral (Helgoland/Lissa), dies of pneumonia at 43
  • 1875 Georg Herwegh, writer, dies at 57
  • 1877 Errico Petrella, Italian composer, dies at 63
  • 1880 Diederich Krug, German pianist and composer (Le petit Chevalier), dies at 60
  • 1880 Isaac M. St. John, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 52
  • 1881 Pierre Napoleon Bonaparte, Corsican representative of the people, dies at 65
  • 1884 Maria van Ackere-Doolaeghe, Flemish poet (Daisies, Avondlamp), dies at 80
  • 1885 Carl Theodor Ernst von Siebold, German physiologist (b. 1804)

P. T. Barnum (1810-1891)

American circus promoter and showman (Barnum & Bailey), dies at 80

  • 1895 James Lawson Kemper, American lawyer, military officer (US Army Captain - Mexican-American War; Confederate Army Major General), and politician (Governor of Virginia, 1874-78), dies at 71
  • 1900 Frederick Edwin Church, American romantic landscape painter (Hudson River School), dies at 73
  • 1917 Spyridon Samaras, Greek composer (Olympic Hymn), dies at 53
  • 1920 Karl Binding, German jurist (b. 1841)
  • 1925 Saint Tikhon of Moscow [Vasily Ivanovich Bellavin], 11th Patriarch of Moscow and all of Russia, dies at 60
  • 1928 Alexander Bogdanov, Russian physician and philosopher, dies at 54
  • 1932 Erv A Kelley, US policeman, shot to death by Pretty Boy Floyd
  • 1934 William Monroe Trotter, American newspaper editor and activist for African-Americans civil rights, dies in a fall from his roof on his 62nd birthday
  • 1939 Joseph Lyons, 10th Prime Minister of Australia (1932-39), dies at 59
  • 1943 Alexandre Millerand, French President (1920-24) and Prime Minister (1920), dies at 84
  • 1943 Jovan Dučić, Herzegovinian Serb poet (Blue Legends), dies at 72

Henry Ford (1863-1947)

American industrialist and auto maker (Ford Model T), dies at 83

  • 1950 Walter Huston, Canadian actor (Maltese Falcon, Treasure of Sierra Madre), dies from an aneurysm at 67
  • 1955 Theda Bara, actress (Camille, Cleopatra, 2 Orphans), dies at 62
  • 1958 Judge Jackson, American sacred harp composer, songwriter, and educator (The Colored Sacred Harp), dies at 75
  • 1958 Klimenty Arkad'yevich Korchmaryov, Ukrainian composer, dies at 58
  • 1961 Jesús Guridi, Spanish composer, dies at 74
  • 1961 Marian Jordan, radio comedienne (Fibber McGee & Molly), dies at 62
  • 1961 Yusef Greiss, Egyptian composer, dies at 61
  • 1967 Anne Morrison Chapin, American playwright, actress, (The Wild Westcotts), and screenwriter (The Sailor Takes A Wife), dies at 75

Jim Clark (1936-1968)

Scottish auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1965, World F1 Champion 1963, 65; 25 x F1 GP wins), dies in race accident at Hockenheim, Germany at 32

  • 1970 Josina Machel, Mozambican independence activist, and wife of Mozambique's 1st president Samora Machel, dies at 25
  • 1971 Charles F Pahud de Mortanges, (Olympic gold 1928, 32), dies at 74
  • 1971 Charles Pahud de Mortanges, Dutch equestrian (Olympic gold individual 3 day event 1928, 32; team 3 day event 1924, 28), dies at 74

Joe Gallo (1929-1972)

American mobster, murdered at his 43rd birthday party by rival mobsters

  • 1972 Abeid Karume, Tanzanian sheik/president, murdered
  • 1972 Victor Wong, American actor (Mission to Moscow, War Correspondent, King Kong), dies at 65
  • 1973 Nick Stuart, Romanian-born American bandleader and actor (Secrets of Chinatown), dies of cancer at 69
  • 1976 Mary Margaret McBride, American radio personality (WOR-AM, NYC), dies at 76
  • 1977 Jim Thompson, American author (The Killer Inside Me), dies at 70
  • 1977 Siegfried Buback, German Federal Prosecutor, assassinated by far-leftist militant group Red Army Faction, at 57
  • 1978 Ernest Kanitz, Austrian-American composer, dies at 83
  • 1979 Bruno Apitz, German writer, dies at 78
  • 1981 Christopher "Kit" Lambert, British record producer and manager of The Who, dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 45
  • 1982 Brenda Benet, actress (Track of Thunder), commits suicide by gun at 36
  • 1982 Harald Ertl, Austrian racing driver (b. 1948)
  • 1983 Gavin Gordon, television actor (Romance, Lone Cowboy), dies at 82
  • 1984 Frank Church, American lawyer and politician (United States Senator from Idaho), dies at 59
  • 1984 Samuel C Engel, poet, dies of heart failure at 79
  • 1985 Carl Schmitt, German political theorist and prominent Nazi (Verfassungslehre), dies at 96
  • 1986 Jean Mogin, Belgian poet (Pastures of Silence), and playwright, dies at 64
  • 1986 Leonid Kantorovich, Russian Soviet economist (Father of linear programming, Nobel Prize for Economics 1975), dies at 74
  • 1987 Maxine Sullivan [Marietta Williams], American jazz vocalist and performer ("Going Places"), dies following a seizure at 75
  • 1988 Cesar Bresgen, Austrian organist and composer, dies at 74
  • 1989 Alberto Morin, Puerto Rican actor (Two Mules for Sister Sara; Rio Grande), dies at 86
  • 1991 Ruth Page, American ballet dancer and choreographer (Diaghilev's Ballets Russes - Pygmalion), dies at 92
  • 1992 Alix Talton, former Miss Georgia, dies of lung cancer at 72
  • 1992 Clovis Ruffin, American fashion designer (T shirt dress), dies of AIDS at 46
  • 1993 Billy Griffith, English cricket wicketkeeper (3 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 140, 5 dismissals; Cambridge Uni CC, Surrey CCC, MCC, Sussex CCC) and administrator (Secretary MCC), dies at 78
  • 1993 Max Croiset, Dutch actor (The Village on the River, Dog of Flanders, Little Ark), dies at 80
  • 1993 Richard Schmiechen, American film producer (The Times of Harvey Milk), dies of AIDS at 45
  • 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
  • 1994 Albert Guðmundsson, Icelandic footballer and politician (Minister of Finance), dies at 70
  • 1994 Evert Hartman, Dutch writer (War Without Friends), dies at 56
  • 1994 Francois de Grossouvre, French politician and adviser to President Mitterrand, commits suicide at 76
  • 1994 Golo Mann, German-American historian (Antisemitism), dies at 85
  • 1994 Ken Carson, American western singer (Garry Moore Show), dies at 79
  • 1994 Lee Brilleaux, British R&B singer, harmonica player, and guitarist (Dr. Feelgood), dies of lymphoma at 41
  • 1995 Peter Brinson, British ballet and dance writer, lecturer, and promoter (Ballet For All), dies at 75
  • 1995 Philip Jebb, British architect, dies at 68
  • 1996 Ian Spurling, ballet designer, dies at 59
  • 1996 John Evan "Jasper" Weston-Davies [pen name Berkley Mather], English writer, dies at 87
  • 1997 Egil Harder, Danish concert pianist and composer (The Blue Anemone), dies on his 80th birthday
  • 1997 Georgy Shonin, Soviet cosmonaut (Soyuz 6), dies of a heart attack at 61
  • 1997 Luis Aloma, Cuban baseball player, dies at 73
  • 1997 Sam Parks Jr., American golfer (US Open 1935), dies at 87
  • 1998 Broery Marantika [Simon Pesulima], Indonesian blues and jazz singer, and actor, dies at 51
  • 1998 Nick Auf der Maur, Canadian journalist and politician, dies at 55
  • 1999 Angus Paton, English civil engineer (wrote economic and infrastructure reports for Canada and Syria, hydroelectric dams), dies at 93
  • 2000 Heinz [Burt], British rock bassist (The Tornados - "Telstar"), dies from complications of a stroke at 57 [1]
  • 2001 Beatrice Straight, American actress (Network, Poltergeist, Power), dies of pneumonia at 86
  • 2001 David Graf, American actor (Police Academy- Sgt. Eugene Tackleberry), dies of a heart attack at 50
  • 2002 John Agar, American actor (Sands of Iwo Jima, Fort Apache), dies at 81
  • 2003 Cecile de Brunhoff, French storyteller (b. 1903)
  • 2003 David Greene, British television director (b. 1921)
  • 2003 Jutta Hipp, German-American jazz pianist and composer, dies at 78
  • 2004 Robert Sangster, British race horse owner and breeder, dies of pancreatic cancer at
  • 2004 Victor Argo, American actor, dies at 69
  • 2005 Bob Kennedy, American MLB baseball player (Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians), manager (Chicago Cubs, Oakland A's), and executive, dies at 84
  • 2005 Cliff Allison, British racing driver (b. 1932)
  • 2005 Grigoris Bithikotsis, Greek singer, dies at 82
  • 2005 José Melis, Cuban-American pianist, orchestra leader, and television personality (Jack Paar Program), dies of a respiratory infection at 85
  • 2007 Barry Nelson, American actor (Airport), dies at 89
  • 2007 Johnny Hart, American cartoonist (B.C., Wizard of Id), dies at 76
  • 2007 Neville Duke, English WWII flying ace (shot down 27 planes), test pilot (air speed record 1953), dies at 85
  • 2009 Dave Arneson, American game designer (Dungeons & Dragons), dies of cancer at 61
  • 2009 Philip Moore [Lord Moore of Wolvercote], British Private Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II, dies at 88

George Nissen (1914-2010)

American inventor (created the trampoline), dies at 96

  • 2011 Duke of Grafton, 11th Duke of Grafton, British peer, dies at 92
  • 2011 Pierre Gauvreau, Canadian painter, television writer and producer, dies at 88

Mike Wallace (1918-2012)

American journalist and media personality (60 Minutes, 1968-2006; Biography), dies of natural causes at 93

  • 2013 Andy Johns, British sound engineer and record producer (Humble Pie; Free; Joe Satriani), dies at 62
  • 2013 John St Aubyn, 4th Baron St Levan, English peer (St Michael's Mount), dies at 94
  • 2013 Les Blank, American documentary filmmaker, dies at 77
  • 2013 Marty Blake, NBA executive (GM Atlanta Hawks, NBA Director of Scouting), dies at 86
  • 2014 John Shirley-Quirk, British operatic bass-baritone (Death in Venice), dies at 82
  • 2014 Peaches Geldof, English columnist and daughter of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates, dies of a heroin overdose at 25
  • 2015 Ad de Besten, Dutch poet, dies at 92
  • 2015 Geoffrey Lewis, American actor (Earl-Flo, Gun Shy), dies at 79
  • 2015 Kardam, Prince of Turnovo, eldest son of King Simeon II of Bulgaria and his wife Doña Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela, dies at 52
  • 2015 Stan Freberg, American satirist, ad executive and cartoon voice (Bertie), dies at 88
  • 2016 Marcel Dubé, Canadian playwright (Zone), and French language advocate, dies at 86
  • 2017 Tim Pigott-Smith, English actor (Jewel in Crown, King Charles III), dies at 70
  • 2019 Joe Miceli, American drummer (John Fred and His Playboy Band - "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)"),dies at 74
  • 2019 Seymour Cassel, American actor (Faces, Plain Clothes, Valentino), dies at 84
  • 2020 Hal Willner, American music producer (Lost In The Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill; Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films; The Carl Stalling Project), dies with symptoms of COVID-19 at 64
  • 2020 Harv Schmidt, American college basketball coach (University of Illinois 1967-74), dies at 83
  • 2020 Herb Stempel, American game show contestant and television industry whistleblower (Twenty-One), dies at 93 [1]
  • 2020 John Prine, American country folk singer-songwriter ("Hello In There"; "Angel From Montgomery"; "Paradise"), dies of COVID-19 complications at 73
  • 2021 Anne Beatts, American comedy writer (National Lampoon magazine; Saturday Night Live, 1975-79; Square Pegs), dies at 74
  • 2021 Doug Holden, English soccer winger (5 caps; Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End), dies at 90
  • 2021 James Hampton, American actor (F Troop - "Bugler Dobbs"; Teen Wolf), writer, and director, dies from Parkinson’s disease complications at 84
  • 2021 Tommy Raudonikis, Australian rugby league halfback (20 Tests; Rothmans Medal 1972; Wests, Newtown) and coach (Wests, NSW), dies from cancer at 70
  • 2021 Viktor Kurentsov, Belarusian weightlifter (Olympic gold middleweight 1968; silver 1964; 5 x World C'ship gold middleweight), dies at 80
  • 2022 George Bruce, British portrait painter, dies at 92
  • 2022 Rayfield Wright, American Pro Football HOF offensive tackle (Super Bowl 1971, 77; 3 × First-team All-Pro; 6 × Pro Bowl; Dallas Cowboys), dies at 76
  • 2023 (Edward) "Kidd" Jordan, American jazz saxophonist and music educator, dies at 87
  • 2023 Ian Bairnson, Scottish session and touring guitarist (Alan Parsons Project; Kate Bush), dies at 69 [1]
  • 2023 John Regan, American session and touring rock bassist (Frehley's Comet; Peter Frampton), dies at 71
  • 2023 Lasse Wellander, Swedish session and touring guitarist (Abba), dies of cancer at 70
  • 2024 Clarence "Frogman" Henry, American R&B pianist and singer ("Ain't Got No Home"; "(I Don't Know Why) But I Do"), dies at 87 [1]
  • 2024 Jerry Grote, American baseball catcher (MLB All-Star 1968, 74, World Series 1969; New York Mets), dies of respiratory failure at 81 [1]
  • 2024 Joe Kinnear, Irish soccer defender (26 caps Republic of Ireland; Tottenham) and manager (Wimbledon, Luton Town, Newcastle United), dies from vascular dementia at 77
April 7 Highlights