Deaths August 6 | History by KabAstro

Ben Jonson (1572-1637)

English playwright and poet (Volpone, Alchemist), dies at 65

1645 Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex, English merchant, dies at 70
1657 Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Polish-Lithuanian military leader of Zaporozhian Cossacks (organized rebellion of Ukrainian Cossacks against the Polish), dies (b. c. 1595)
1660 Diego Velázquez, Spanish painter (Las Meninas), dies at 61
1661 Jacqueline-Marie-Angélique Arnauld, French abbess (Port-Royal de Paris), dies at about 70
1666 Tsjerk Hiddes de Vries, Dutch admiral, dies in battle at 43
1679 John Snell, British royalist, dies at 49 or 50
1686 Paul Hainlein, German trumpet maker and composer (Battallia Sonata), dies at 60
1695 François de Harlay de Champvallon, Archbishop of Paris, dies at 69
1718 Jacob F Muller [Sjako/Jaco], German Dutch thief 'the Robin Hood of Amsterdam', beheaded at 28
1727 François Valentijn, Dutch vicar and writer (Old and New East-India), dies at 61
1746 Christian VI, King of Denmark and Norway, dies at 46
1753 Georg Wilhelm Richmann, Russian physicist (struck by lightning) (b. 1711)
1758 Stepan Fyodorovich Apraksin, Russian general who commanded Russian armies during the Seven Years' War, dies at 56
1759 Eugene Aram, English philologist (b. 1704)
1775 Heinrich Nikolaus Gerber, German composer, dies at 72
1783 Willem Bachiene, Dutch vicar, theologist, geographer and astronomer, dies at 70
1784 Karl Kohaut, Austrian composer and lutenist, dies at 57
1794 Henry Bathurst, 2nd Earl Bathurst, British politician (b. 1714)
1799 Joseph Friebert, Austrian composer, dies at 74
1815 James A. Bayard (elder), United States Senator from Delaware (b. 1767)
1816 Karl Frieberth, Austrian composer, dies at 80
1820 Antonin Vranicky, Czech composer and violinist, dies at 59
1820 Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia, Duchess of York and Albany, dies at 53
1821 Antonio Bartolomeo Bruni, Italian composer and conductor, dies at 64
1828 Konstantin von Benckendorff, Russian general and statesman, dies of a fever at 43
1848 Nicola Vaccai, Italian composer, dies at 58
1850 Edward Walsh, Irish poet (b. 1805)
1853 Josif Josifovich Genishta, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor, dies at 57
1862 Francisco Acuña de Figueroa, Uruguayan poet (Toraidas), dies at 71
1866 John Mason Neale, English divine, scholar and hymnwriter (b. 1818)
1881 James Springer White, American theologian (co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church), dies at 60
1884 Robert Spear Hudson, English businessman, dies at 71
1886 Wilhelm Scherer, German literature historian, dies at 45
1893 Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel, member of the Swiss Federal Council (b. 1811)
1895 George Frederick Root, American songwriter ("The Battle Cry of Freedom"), dies at 74
1900 Wilhelm Liebknecht, German socialist (Social Democratic Party), dies at 74
1904 Eduard Hanslick, German music critic, dies at 78
1914 Ellen Axson Wilson (née Ellen Louise Axson), American artist and First Lady (US, 1913-14; New Jersey, 1911-13), dies of Bright's Disease during President Woodrow Wilson's 1st term, at 54
1920 Stefan Bastyr, Polish aviator, first flight in independent Poland (b. 1890)
1924 John Henry Roberts, Welsh organist, hymn composer, and pedagogue, dies at 76
1925 Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro, Italian mathematician (tensor analysis), dies at 72
1928 W. H. Grattan Flood, Irish author and composer, dies at 68
1931 (Leon Bismarck) "Bix" Beiderbecke, American jazz cornetist - one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s, pianist, and composer (In A Mist), dies of alcoholism exacerbated pneumonia at 28
1934 Hermann Glauert, British aerodynamicist, dies at 41
1935 Alexander Winkler, Russian composer, dies at 70
1937 Annie Horniman, English theater owner (Abbey Theatre, Dublin), dies at 76
1937 Ferdinand CS Schiller, British philosopher (Mind!), dies at 72
1938 Warner Oland, Swedish actor (The Jazz Singer, Charlie Chan), dies at 58
1943 Tom Garrett, Australian cricket all-rounder (19 Tests, TS 51no, 34 wickets; NSW CA), dies at 85
1945 Hiram Johnson, American progressive politician, US Senator, Governor of California (1911-17), dies at 78
1945 Prince Wu of Korea (b. 1912)
1946 Benny Lynch, Scottish boxer (World flyweight title 1937-38), dies of malnutrition-induced respiratory failure at 33

Blanche Bingley (1863-1946)

British tennis player (Wimbledon 1886, 89, 94, 97, 99-1900), dies at 82

Tony Lazzeri (1903-1946)

American Baseball HOF second baseman (World Series x 5; only player to complete natural cycle with grand slam; NY Yankees), dies from a fall caused by a heart attack at 42

1948 Cyril Walker, English golfer (US Open 1924), dies of pleural pneumonia at 55
1954 David Fairchild, American botanist and explorer (introduced over 200,000 plants to US), dies at 85
1954 Theo Van Reijn, Dutch sculptor and lithograph, dies at 70
1956 Johan Frans van Bemmelen, Dutch zoologist, dies at 96
1959 Preston Sturges [Edmund Biden], American director and screenwriter (Sullivan's Travels), dies at 60
1961 Jozef-Ernest van Roey, Belgian cardinal (opposed Nazism as Archbishop of Mechelen), dies at 87
1963 Tom Keene, American actor (Our Daily Bread), dies of cancer at 68
1964 Cedric Hardwicke, British stage actor (Rope; Suspicion; Peter Pan; Richard III), dies at 71
1965 Aksel Sandemose, writer, dies
1965 Everett Sloane, American actor (Patsy, Citizen Kane, Enforcer), dies of apparent suicide with barbiturates at 55
1965 Nancy Carroll, actress (Alice-Aldrich Family), dies at 60
1965 Peter Ronnefeld, German pianist, composer and conductor (Die Nachtausgabe), dies at 30
1966 Cordwainer Smith [Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger], American sci-fi author (Space Lords), dies at 53
1968 Ernest Burnelle, Belgian politician (Communist Party of Belgium (PCB)), dies at 60

Theodor W. Adorno (1903-1969)

German philosopher and sociologist (Dialectic of Enlightenment, Negative Dialectics), dies at 65

1970 Ingolf Dahl [Marcus], German-American pianist and composer (Allegro and Arioso), dies at 56

Fulgencio Batista (1901-1973)

Dictator and President of Cuba (1933-44, 1952-59), dies of a heart attack at 72

1973 James Beck, British actor (Dad's Army), dies from pancreatitis at 44
1973 Memphis Minnie [Lizzie Douglas], American blues musician, dies at 76
1974 Gene Ammons, American jazz saxophonist ("The Happy Blues"), dies of bone cancer at 49
1976 Gregor Piatigorsky, Ukrainian-American cellist, dies at 73
1978 Edward Durrell Stone, US architect, dies at 76

Paul VI (1897-1978)

262nd Roman Catholic pope (1963-78), dies of a heart attack at 80

1979 Kurt Kaszner [Serwicher], Austrian actor (Kiss Me Kate, Lili, Casino Royale), dies of cancer at 65
1980 Charles Urbanus, Dutch baseball player, dies at 66
1980 Marino Marini, Italian sculptor (The Pilgrim - Houston), dies at 79
1983 Klaus Nomi [Sperber], German new wave singer, and performance artist, dies of AIDS at 39
1985 Forbes Burnham, Premier Guyana (1964-85), dies during surgery at 62
1986 Emilio Fernandez, Mexican director (La Choca, Flor Silvestre), dies at 82
1986 Manfred Hausmann, writer, dies at 87
1986 William J Schroeder, (longest-survivor with permanent artificial) heart, dies at 54, after 620 days with Jarvik VII man-made pump)
1987 Ira C Eaker, commandant USAF in Europe (WWII), dies at 91
1987 Sherwood Bailey, actor (Spud-Our Gang), dies
1988 Anatoly Levchenko, Soviet cosmonaut (TM-4), dies of a brain tumor at 47
1988 J. Skelly Wright, American judge (anti-segregationist), dies at 77
1990 Charles Arnt, actor (Double Exposure), dies of pancreatic cancer at 82
1990 Gordon Metcalfe, American actor (Monster in the Closet), dies of AIDS at 43
1990 Jacques Soustelle, French anthropologist and Minister of Information (Free French forces), dies at 78
1990 Mário Pinto de Andrade, Angolan poet and politician who founded the Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), dies at 62
1990 Robert Alex, shot to death by robber at 31

Harry Reasoner (1923-1991)

American newscaster (60 Minutes, ABC, CBS), dies at 68

1991 Roland Michener, 20th Governor General of Canada (1967-74), dies at 91
1991 Shapour Bakhtiar, Iranian politician (Prime Minister, for 36 days in 1979), assassinated in his home in Suresnes. France at 79
1993 Milt Thompson, American astronaut (Dynasoar, X-15), NASA test pilot and chief-engineer, dies at 67
1994 Domenico Modugno, Italian singer-songwriter (Volare), dies at 66
1995 André Fleury, French organist and composer, dies at 92
1995 Paul James Nunn, mountaineer, dies at 52
1995 Youly Algaroff, Russian-French ballet dancer, dies at 77
1996 Buland al-Haidary, Iraqi poet (Passages to Exile), dies at 69
1996 Gerry Gomez, West Indian cricket all-rounder (29 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 101, 58 wickets, BB 7/55; Trinidad), dies from a heart attack at 76
1996 Hernán Siles Zuazo, Bolivian politician (President of Bolivia 1956-60, 1982-85), dies at 82
1996 Leonard John Coldwell, cricketer, dies at 63
1996 Muhammad al-Badr, magnate of Northern Yemen (1962), dies
1996 Ossie Clark, British fashion designer of the Swinging Sixities, stabbed to death by a former lover at 54
1996 Richard M. Goodwin, American mathematician and economist (The Dynamics of A Capitalist Economy), dies at 83
1998 André Weil, French mathematician (foundational work in number theory and algebraic geometry), dies at 92
1998 Nat Gonella, British big band jazz trumpeter, mellophonist, singer, and bandleader (The Georgians; Oh, Monah), dies at 90
1999 Ilse Pausin, Austrian figure skater (Olympic silver pairs 1936; World C'ship silver x 5 [with brother Erik Pausin]), dies at 80
2001 Dorothy Tutin, British actress (Importance of Being Ernest, Cromwell), dies at 71
2001 Jorge Amado de Faria, Brazilian writer (O Pais do Carnaval), dies at 88
2001 Larry Adler, American pop and classical harmonica player, and composer, dies of cancer at 87
2001 Wilhelm Mohnke, one of the original 120 members of the Nazi SS-Staff Guard (b. 1911)
2002 Edsger Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist (b. 1930)

Rick James (1948-2004)

American funk musician ("Super Freak"), dies of pulmonary failure and cardiac failure at 56

2005 (William) "Keter" Betts, American jazz double bassist (Dinah Washington; Charlie Byrd; Ella Fitzgerald), dies of a heart attack at 77
2005 Carlo Little, English rock drummer (Screaming Lord Sutch & the Savages), dies of lung cancer at 66
2005 Crème Puff, world's oldest recorded cat, dies in Texas aged 38 years and 3 days [1]
2005 Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuban singer (Los Bocucos, 1959-91; Buena Vista Social Club), dies at 78
2005 James Wilson, English-Irish classical composer (Grinning At The Devil), dies at 82
2005 Robin Cook, British politician (b. 1946)
2007 Atle Selberg, Norwegian mathematician (number theory), dies at 90
2007 Heinz Barth, German convicted war criminal and former member of the Nazi SS, dies at 86
2007 Teizo Matsumura, Japanese composer ("Chinmoku / Silence"; "Hymn to Aurora") and haiku poet, dies at 78
2007 Zsolt Daczi, Hungarian rock guitarist (Bikini; Omen; Carpathia Project Tirana Rockers; solo), dies at 38
2008 Jud Taylor, American actor (Dr. Kildare (TV series) - "Dr. Gerson"), and director (Tail Gunner Joe), dies at 76
2009 Bahadır Akkuzu, Turkish rock guitarist and singer (Kurtalan Ekspres), dies of a heart attack at 54
2009 John Hughes, American film director (Breakfast Club; Ferris Bueller's Day Off), dies of a heart attack at 59
2009 Willibrordus S. Rendra, Indonesian poet (Ballad orang-orang tertjina), dies at 73
2009 Willy Deville [William Paul Borsey Jr.], American rock vocalist and guitarist (Mink DeVille; The Princess Bride - "Storybook Love"), dies of pancreatic cancer at 58
2011 Fe del Mundo, Filipino pediatrician and National Scientist of the Philippines, dies at 99
2011 Mark Hatfield, American politician (29th Governor of Oregon), dies at 89
2012 Dan Roundfield, American basketball forward (3-time NBA All Star), dies from drowning at 59
2012 Marvin Hamlisch, American composer and conductor (The Sting; A Chorus Line), dies of respiratory arrest at 68
2012 Robert Hughes, Australian art critic and writer (Barcelona), dies at 74
2012 Ruggiero Ricci, American composer and violinist (Paganini), dies from heart failure at 94
2012 Sir Bernard Lovell, English radio astronomer, dies at 98
2014 LeRoy Pearce, American collegiate athlete and college football coach, 1950-70 (University of Miami, University of Tennessee, University of Arkansas, and 3 others), dies of complications from Alzheimer's disease at 86

Louise Suggs (1923-2015)

American golfer and co-founder of LPGA (11 major titles, US Open 1949, 52), dies of natural causes at 91

2016 Helen Delich Bentley, American politician (Rep-R-MD, 1985-950), dies at 92
2016 Pete Fountain [Pierre LaFontaine], American jazz and Dixieland clarinetist (Lawrence Welk, 1957-59), dies at 86

Betty Cuthbert (1938-2017)

Australian athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 200m, 4x100m 1956; 400m 1964), dies from dementia at 79

2017 Darren Daulton, American baseball catcher (MLB All-Star 1992, 93, 95; World Series 1997; Silver Slugger Award 1992; Philadelphia Phillies), dies of brain cancer at 55
2018 Joël Robuchon, French chef, world record for Michelin stars (32), dies of cancer at 73
2018 Margaret Heckler, American politician and 15th U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services (1983-85), dies at 87
2018 Paul Laxalt, American politician (22nd Governor of Nevada), dies at 96
2019 Maurice Simon, American jazz saxophonist, dies at 90
2020 Brent Scowcroft, American Air Force officer and National Security advisor, dies at 95
2020 Wayne Fontana [Glyn Geoffrey Ellis], British rocker (The Mindbenders - "The Game Of Love"), dies at 74
2020 Wilbert McClure, American boxer (Olympic gold light middleweight 1960), dies at 81
2021 Herbert Schlosser, American television executive (NBC - hired Johnny Carson; championed Laugh-In; conceptualized Saturday Night Live), dies at 95
2021 Kenneth Nichols, Canadian classical pianist, composer, (Symphonic Celebration; Boy In A Cage), and teacher (Brandon University, 1962-96), dies at 85
2022 Gene Visscher, American college basketball coach (Weber State University 1971-74; Northern Arizona University 1981-83), dies at 81
2023 David LaFlamme, American electric rock violinist (It's A Beautiful Day - "White Bird"), dies at 82