Aug 17 Lorenzo Da Ponte [Emanuele Conegliano], Italian-American librettist (Don Giovanni; Cosi Fan Tutti), poet, and libertine priest, dies at 89 Aug 19 James Geddes, American Engineer (Erie Canal), dies at 75 Aug 21 Adelbert von Chamisso, French writer (Peter Schlemihl), dies at 57 Jul 1838 Famous Deaths by Year Sep 1838 Famous People by Cause of Death Assassination Drug Overdose Gunshot Wound Murder Plane Crash Suicide