Deaths Date 1944 | History by KabAstro

Deaths 1 - 200 of 296

Jan 12 Lance C. Wade, American pilot (b. 1915)
Jan 14 Mohammed Emin Yurdakul, Turkish poet, dies at about 74
Jan 19 Harold Fraser-Simson, composer, dies at 71
Jan 20 James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist, dies at 83
Jan 21 Gustaaf Schamelhout, Flemish physician and writer, dies at 74
Jan 21 Heinrich zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, German major and pilot, shot down

Edvard Munch (1863-1944)

Jan 23 Norwegian painter (The Scream), dies at 80, bequeathing all of his work to the city of Oslo

Jan 23 Viktor Gusev, Russian poet (Polyushko Pole), dies at 34
Jan 29 William Allen White, American journalist (Emporia Gazette), dies at 75
Jan 31 Jean Giraudoux, French writer and playwright (The Madwoman of Chaillot), dies at 61
Feb 1 Martin Lunssens, Belgian composer, dies at 72

Piet Mondrian (1872-1944)

Feb 1 Dutch abstract painter (Broadway Boogie Woogie, Composition with Red Blue and Yellow) and art theoretician, dies of pneumonia at 71

Feb 4 Arsen Kotsoyev, Russian writer, dies at 72
Feb 4 Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress, dies at 79
Feb 5 Robert E. Park, American sociologist (human ecology, marginal man), dies at 79
Feb 7 Lina Cavalieri, Italian dramatic soprano, and silent film actress, killed during WWII Allied bombing near here home in Florence, Italy at 69
Feb 10 Eugène Michel Antoniadi, Greek astronomer, a crater on Mars and the Antoniadi crater on the Moon were named in his honor (b. 1870)
Feb 11 Ivan Sollertinski, friend of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, dies
Feb 16 Bob Zurke [Boguslaw Zukowski], American jazz pianist, arranger, (Bob Crosby Orchestra), and composer ("Old Tom-Cat On The Keys"), dies of complications of pneumonia aggravated by acute alcohol poisoning at 32
Feb 16 Edmund von Borck, German composer, dies fighting in Italy in WWII at 37
Feb 17 Fausto Agnelli, Swiss painter, dies at 64
Feb 19 Siegfried Garibaldi Kallenberg, German composer, dies at 76
Feb 21 Ferenc Szisz, Hungarian auto racer (winner 1st Grand Prix motor racing event in Le Mans, France 1906), dies at 70
Feb 22 Kasturba Gandhi, Wife of Mahatma Gandhi, dies at 74

Leo Baekeland (1863-1944)

Feb 23 Belgian-American chemist and inventor (bakelite plastics), dies at 80

Feb 29 Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, President of Finland (b. 1861)
Mar 4 Emanuel Weiss, American hitman (b. 1906) (executed)
Mar 4 Fannie Barrier Williams, American educator and political activist (b. 1855)

Louis Buchalter (1897-1944)

Mar 4 Jewish-American mobster (Murder, Inc.), executed at 47

Mar 4 Louis Capone, New York organized crime figure (b. 1896) (executed)
Mar 5 Max Jacob, French poet and writer, dies in nazi concentration camp at 67
Mar 6 Ernst Cohen, Dutch chemist, killed in gas chamber of Auschwitz concentration camp at 74
Mar 10 David Vogel, Russian-Hebrew poet, and writer (Married Life; Before the Dark Gate; In the Sanatorium), murdered in Auschwitz concentration camp at 52
Mar 11 Hendrik W. van Loon, Dutch-American radio commentator and writer, dies at 62
Mar 11 Irvin S. Cobb, American writer and humorist (Old Judge Priest), dies at 67
Mar 12 Artur Gavazzi, Croatian geographer, dies at 82
Mar 14 Pavel Chesnokov, Russian-Soviet composer, dies at 66
Mar 15 Otto von Below, German commandant (WWI), dies at 86
Mar 18 Benjamin Delmonte, theater director and actor (Black Haired Whore), dies at 79
Mar 19 William Hale Thompson, American mayor of Chicago (b. 1869)
Mar 20 Felix Woyrsch, German composer, dies at 83
Mar 22 Pierre Pucheu, French Internal minister to Vichy government, executed by firing squad at 44
Mar 23 O.C. Wingate, British General-Major (Burma), dies in air crash in India at 41
Mar 28 Chayyim Most, Rabbi/Maggid of Kovono, killed by Nazis
Mar 28 Stephen Leacock, Canadian economist and humorist (Literary Lapses), dies at 75
Mar 31 Mineichi Koga, admiral of Japanese fleet, dies
Apr 2 Mikulas Moyzes, Slovak composer, dies at 71
Apr 4 John Peale Bishop, American poet (Undertaker's Garland), dies at 51
Apr 4 Karel Weis, Czech composer and folk song collector, dies at 82
Apr 5 Isolde Kurz, German writer and poetess (Meine Mutter), dies at 90
Apr 5 Willy Derby [Willem Dieben], Dutch popular song singer (Hello Bandoeng; White Roses), dies of a heart attack at 58
Apr 9 Boleslaw Wallek-Walewski, Polish composer and conductor, dies at 59
Apr 9 Evgeniya Rudneva, Russian World War II heroine (b. 1920)
Apr 13 Cécile Chaminade, French pianist and 1st female composer awarded with Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur (1913), dies at 86
Apr 13 Paul Hazard, French critic and literature historian, dies at 65
Apr 15 Giovanni Gentile, Italian philosopher (The Doctrine of Fascism), dies at 68
Apr 17 Jack Hearne, English cricket spin bowler (12 Tests, 49 wickets; England's first hat-trick vs Australia 1899), dies at 76
Apr 18 Thomas Hitchcock Jr., American polo player (Westchester Cup 1924,27,30,39), dies testing a new fighter plane during WWII at 44
Apr 19 Tommy Hitchcock, polo player (Westchester Cup 1924, 27), dies at 44
Apr 22 Mezio Agostini, Italian composer, dies at 68
Apr 24 William Stephens, U.S. political figure (b. 1859)
Apr 25 Tony Mullane, Irish-American baseball player, dies at 85
Apr 26 Violette Morris, French athlete & spy for Nazi Germany, dies at 51
Apr 28 Frank Knox, American politician (Republican VP candidate 1936), newspaper editor and Secretary of the Navy during World War II, dies at 70
Apr 29 Bernardino Machado, President of Portugal (1915–17, 1925–26), dies at 93
Apr 29 Billy Bitzer, American cinematography pioneer, dies at 72

Paul Poiret (1879-1944)

Apr 30 French fashion designer and couturier who was the most fashionable dress designer before World War I, dies at 65

May 5 Bertha Benz [Cacilie Bertha Ringer], German inventor, automotive pioneer and wife of fellow automotive inventor Karl Benz, dies at 95
May 9 Ethel Smyth, English composer, dies at 86
May 11 Henk Hos, Dutch resistance fighter, executed at 37
May 11 Walter Oesau, German fighter pilot (WWII), dies at 30
May 12 Arthur Quiller-Couch, Cornish novelist and editor (The Oxford Book Of English Verse 1250–1900), dies at 80
May 16 Ferdinand Alphons Marie van der Ham, Dutch WW II resistance fighter, dies at 27
May 16 George Ade, American playwright, writer and humorist (Counsel Widow, Fables in Slang), dies at 78
May 16 Leone Sinigaglia, Italian composer, dies at 75
May 16 Max Brand [Frederick Schiller Faust], western author, dies
May 17 Félix Éboué, French colonial administrator, dies at 60
May 19 Godfrey Wilson, British Anthropologist of social change and colonial problems in Africa, commits suicide as a conscientious objector in WW II
May 26 Barend Busnac, Dutch office clerk and resistance fighter, executed by Nazi police in Haaren, Nethrlands at 22
May 26 Cyril Francois, South African cricket all-rounder (5 Tests, 252 runs, 6 wickets), dies in a motor accident at 46
May 26 Henricus Verbunt, Dutch civil servant and resistance fighter, executed by German forces at 34
May 26 Jacob J. Hage, Dutch farmer and WW II resistance fighter, executed at 23
May 26 Robert van Spaendonck, Dutch resistance fighter, dies at 27
May 28 Katri Vala, Finnish poet, dies at 42
May 30 Jessie Ralph, American stage, silent and sound screen actress (The Good Earth; San Francisco: The Bank Dick), dies at 79
Jun 2 Vera Menchik, Russian born British chess master, 1st official Women's World Chess Champion (1927-39), dies in a London air raid at 38
Jun 5 Riccardo Zandonai, Italian composer, dies at 61
Jun 6 Den Brotheridge, British lieutenant who was the 1st to die during D-Day landings in World War II is killed at 28
Jun 9 99 inhabitants of Tulle, hanged by SS
Jun 10 French Duwaer, Dutch printer/resistance fighter, executed
Jun 10 Gerrit Jan van der Veen [Wolffensperger], Dutch resistance fighter, executed at 41 (b. 1902)
Jun 10 Johan Limpers, Dutch sculptor and resistance fighter, executed at 28
Jun 10 Sylvio Lazzari, Austrian-French choir master and composer (La Lépreuse), dies at 86
Jun 10 Willem Jacob van Stockum, Dutch physicist and mathematician, dies at 33
Jun 13 Christopher Heseltine, cricketer (2 Tests for England 1895-96), dies
Jun 14 Lubor Niederle, Czech archaeologist and anthropologist, dies at 78
Jun 14 Robert H. Iseley, American pilot (Saipan), dies when his plane is shot down in battle at 35
Jun 16 Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray, Bengali chemist (founder of Bengal Chemicals And Pharmaceuticals), dies at 82
Jun 16 George Stinney, African-American boy wrongfully convicted of murder, is executed by electric chair at 14
Jun 16 Marc Bloch, French historian and member of the French resistance, executed by firing squad by the Gestapo at 57
Jun 19 Bill Bradley, cricketer (bowled for England in two Tests 1899), dies
Jun 19 Han Yong-woon, Korean Buddhist reformer and poet, at 65
Jun 21 Jan Bonekamp, Dutch resistance fighter and friend of Hannie Schaft, dies
Jun 24 Rio Gebhardt, German jazz pianist, composer, and orchestra leader, dies in France during WWII battle at 36
Jun 25 Lucha Reyes [María de Luz Flores], Mexican mariachi singer ("Guadalajara"), dies of barbiturate intoxication at 38
Jun 26 Billy Newham, cricketer (England Test 1887), dies
Jun 27 Milan Hodža, Slovak politician (b. 1878)
Jun 27 Werner Wehrli, Swiss composer, pedagogue, and conductor, dies at 52
Jun 29 Chick Henderson [Henderson Rowntree], British dance band vocalist (Joe Loss Orchestra - "Begin the Beguine"), killed in action while serving in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, at 31
Jul 1 Carl Mayer, Austrian-Jewish actor (Dreaming Lips, Ariane, Sunrise), dies of cancer at 49
Jul 5 William Gillies Whittaker, English composer, dies at 67
Jul 7 Erich Salomon, German photographer, dies at 58
Jul 7 Georges Mandel [Louis Rothschild], French politician and resistance leader, is executed by the Milice at 59
Jul 11 Wolfgang Redlich, German major/pilot, dies in battle
Jul 16 Johannes Post, Dutch farmer and anti-Nazi resistance leader (Landelijke Knokploegen), executed by Nazi SS after a failed attempt to free his brother from prison aid at 37
Jul 17 Hugh Rigby, English portrait painter (King George V 1928-32), dies
Jul 17 William James Sidis, American mathematician and child prodigy, dies from a cerebral hemorrhage at 46
Jul 18 George A Hartland, British politician (MP, Norwich, 1931-35), dies at 60
Jul 18 Thomas Sturge Moore, English poet (Centaurs' Booty), dies at 74
Jul 19 Carl Bock, Danish Gestapo agent, liquidated
Jul 19 Harry CA Eyres, British diplomat (Constantinople, Albania), dies at 87
Jul 19 Will Marion Cook, American violinist, choral director, and composer, dies at 75
Jul 20 Arthur J Treadwell, English mayor of Stoke Newington, dies at about 71
Jul 20 Brandt, col/German staff chief, dies in bombing
Jul 20 Claus von Stauffenberg, German antifascist colonel (attempted to assassinate Hitler), dies by firing squad at 36
Jul 20 Friedrich Olbricht, German general (July 20th plotter), executed
Jul 20 Heinz Burns, German (Olympic gold 1936), dies in bombing
Jul 20 Korten, chef gen of Germany Luftwaffe, dies in bomb explosion
Jul 20 Ludwig Beck, German general (July 20th plot), dies at 64
Jul 20 Mertz, German colonel (July 20th plotter), executed
Jul 20 Mildred Harris, American actress (b. 1901)
Jul 20 Rudolf Schmundt, German general /Hitler's Army adjunct, dies from wounds in attempt to assassinate Hitler at 48
Jul 20 Werner von Haeffen, German lieutenant (July 20th plotter), executed
Jul 21 Gerrit van den Bosch, led illegal Dutch CPN party, dies in Dachau
Jul 21 Henning von Tresckow, German Major General (organized resistance against Hitler in July 20th plot), commits suicide at 43
Jul 23 Helmuth James von Moltke, German earl (July 20th plotter), executed by the Nazis for treason at 37
Jul 23 Max Nettlau, German anarchist and historian, dies at 79
Jul 24 Jan Postma, leader of illegal Dutch party (CPN), executed at 49
Jul 25 Lesley J McNair, US Lieutenant General killed by friendly fire at St-Lo
Jul 25 Max Kommerell, German literary critic (Die Gefangenen), dies of cancer at 42

Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878-1944)

Jul 26 Shah of Iran (1925-41), dies of a heart ailment at 66

Jul 27 Victor Vreuls, Belgian violinist, teacher, and composer, dies at 68

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944)

Jul 31 French writer, poet and pioneering aviator (The Little Prince), dies during a reconnaissance mission at 44

Manuel L. Quezon (1878-1944)

Aug 1 Second President of the Philippines (1935-42), dies of tuberculosis at 65

Aug 3 Felka Platek, Polish painter, wife of painter Felix Nussbaum, murdered at in Auschwitz Concentration Camp at 44
Aug 5 Maurice Turnbull, Welsh cricketer (England) rugby player (Wales), dies fighting in WWII at 38
Aug 7 Agustín Barrios Mangoré, Paraguayan classical guitarist and composer (La Catedral), dies at 59
Aug 8 Erwin von Witzleben, German fieldmarshal (July 20th plot), hanged at 62
Aug 8 Juliusz Kaden-Bandrowski, Polish novelist and satirist (Black Wings), dies of wounds received during the Warsaw Uprising at 59
Aug 8 Michael Wittman, German soldier and tank ace, dies in battle at 30
Aug 9 Felix Nussbaum, German surrealist painter (Widerstandskunst), murdered at Auschwitz Concentration Camp at 39
Aug 10 Berthold Schenk von Stauffenberg, German aristocrat, attempted to assassinate Hitler, executed by Nazi regime at 39
Aug 12 Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., brother of President John F. Kennedy, killed in action in plane explosion over Blythburgh, East Suffolk, England at 29
Aug 16 Roman Padlewski, Polish violinist, composer, and underground resistance fighter, dies of battle injuries sustained during the Warsaw Uprising at 28 [1]
Aug 17 John Trumble, Australian cricket all-rounder (7 Tests, 10 wickets; brother of Hugh), dies at 80
Aug 18 Ernst "Teddy" Thalmann, leader of German KPD, dies
Aug 18 Jacques Roumain, Haitian writer (Gouverneurs de la Rosée), dies at 37

Günther von Kluge (1882-1944)

Aug 19 German field marshal during World War II (Invasion of Poland, Battle of France, Operation Barbarossa), commits suicide at 61

Aug 19 Henry Wood, British conductor associated with London's promenade "Proms" concerts (Gentle Art of Singing; My Life of Music), dies following an illness at 75
Aug 22 Raymond Aimos, actor (Golem, Mayerling, La Bandera), dies at 55
Aug 23 Nikolay Andreyevich Roslavets, Ukrainian composer, dies at 63
Aug 25 Krijn van den Helm, Dutch resistance fighter (KP Leeuwarden), shot to death
Aug 25 Musa Cälil, Russian-Soviet Tatar poet (The Moabit Notebooks), and resistance fighter, executed by guillotine in Plötzensee Prison, Berlin at 38
Aug 26 Adam von Trott zu Solz, German lawyer and diplomat, dies at 35
Aug 27 Georg von Boeselager, German nobleman (b. 1915)
Aug 28 Ernst Thälmann, German communist presidential candidate, dies at 58
Aug 30 (William) Crickett Smith, American ragtime, and jazz cornetist and trumpeter (James Reese Europe's Clef Club; Ziegfeld's Midnight Frolics; Louis Mitchell's Jazz Kings), and bandleader, dies at 53
Aug 30 Morten Nielsen, Danish poet and resistance fighter, dies resisting German occupation at 22
Sep 2 Bella Rosenfeld, Jewish Belarusian writer, subject of Marc Chagall's paintings and his 1st wife, dies at 48
Sep 2 George W. Norris, U.S. Senator noted for his advocacy of political reform and of public ownership of hydroelectric-power plants, dies at 83
Sep 2 Gustav Aschaffenburg, German psychiatrist (pioneer in criminology and forensic pathology), dies at 78
Sep 2 Manfred Freiherr von Killinger, German ambassador to Romania, commits suicide after Romanian coup
Sep 3 František Drdla, Czech composer, dies at 75
Sep 4 Izaak van der Horst, Dutch resistance fighter, executed at Herzogenbusch concentration camp at 35
Sep 6 Robert Lejour, Belgian lawyer and resistance fighter, murdered
Sep 7 Eduardo Sanchez de Fuentes, Cuban composer, dies at 70
Sep 8 Jan van Gilse, Dutch composer (Frau Helga von Staveren; Thijl), conductor, and anti-Nazi resistance fighter, dies of pneumonia at 63
Sep 10 Jaap P. Musch, Dutch resistance fighter, murdered by Nazis
Sep 13 Noor Inayat Khan, Indian princess and Special Operations Executive agent in WWII posthumously awarded the George Cross, executed at Dachau at 30
Sep 13 W. Heath Robinson, English illustrator and cartoonist (Don Quixote), dies at 72
Sep 16 Gustav Bauer, German politician, Chancellor of Germany (1919-1920), dies at 74
Sep 17 Friedrich Kussin, German Major-General and commander in Arnhem during Operation Market Garden, dies in battle at 49
Sep 18 Anthony Stefanich, British boxer and Army captain, killed in battle at Arnhem, Netherlands at 27
Sep 18 Hendrikus Colijn, Dutch army officer and Anti-Revolution Party (ARP) politician (Prime Minister, 1925-26 & 1933-39), dies at 75