Dec 1 Oliver Wolcott, American judge, signed US Declaration of Independence, dies at 71 Dec 11 Richard Brocklesby, English physician (b. 1722) Dec 22 Giovanni Marco Rutini, Italian composer, dies at 74 John Wilkes (1725-1797) Dec 26 English radical, journalist (The North Briton) and politician, dies of marasmus at 72 Nov 1797 Famous Deaths by Year Jan 1798 Famous People by Cause of Death Assassination Drug Overdose Gunshot Wound Murder Plane Crash Suicide