Deaths December 18 | History by KabAstro

1737 Antonio Stradivari, renowned Italian violin-maker, dies in Cremona, Italy, at 93
1751 Kilian Ignaz von Dientzenhofer, Bohemian Baroque architect (Nepomukkerk, Prague), dies at 62
1779 Jan Punt, Dutch engraver, painter, illustrator and actor (Gideonschool), dies at 68
1787 Soame Jenyns, English writer (b. 1704)
1799 Jean-Étienne Montucla, French mathematician, dies at 74
1803 Johann G. von Herder, German philosopher, theologist and poet, dies at 59

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829)

French naturalist (Lamarckian evolution), dies at 85

1831 Willem Bilderdijk, Dutch poet, historian, lawyer, and linguist (Luchtreis; My Relief), dies at 75
1832 Philip Freneau, American poet of the American Revolution (The American Village), dies at 80
1835 Johann Georg Anton Mederitsch-Gallus, Austrian composer, dies at 82
1839 Charles-Henri Plantade, French composer, dies at 75
1841 Felice Blangini, Italian composer, dies at 60
1843 Thomas Graham, Lord Lynedoch, British Viceroy of India (b. 1748)
1848 Bernard Bolzano, Bohemian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1781)
1855 Samuel Rogers, English poet (Italy, a poem), dies at 92
1858 Joseph-Henri-Ignace Mees, Flemish composer, dies at 81
1862 Johnson Kelly Duncan, American architect and Confederate brig-general, dies at 35 of malarial fever
1865 Francisco Manuel da Silva, Brazilian composer (Brazilian National Anthem), dies at 70
1869 Louis Moreau Gottschalk, American pianist and composer, dies at 40
1879 Charley Parkhurst, American stagecoach driver who disguised herself as a women for 30 years, dies at 67
1881 George Edmund Street, English architect, dies at 57
1891 Eduard Hille, German composer and conductor, dies at 69
1892 Richard Owen, English zoologist (Dinosauria), dies at 88
1894 Erastus Flaval Beadle, American publisher (Beadle's Dime Novels), dies at 73
1899 John William Glover, Irish composer, dies at 84
1911 Alberto Randegger, Italian composer, dies at 79
1915 Henry Enfield Roscoe, English chemist (vanadium and photochemistry), dies at 82
1915 Louise Blanchard Bethune, 1st American female professional architect (Buffalo Meter Company Building), dies at 59
1918 Henryk Jarecki, Polish composer, dies at 72
1919 Horatio Parker, American organist and composer, dies at 56
1919 John Alcock, English pilot (1st non-stop flight across Atlantic Ocean), dies in crash at 27
1927 Harry Barrett, British athlete (WR marathon 2:42:31 1909), dies at 47
1928 Lucien Capet, French composer and violinist, dies at 55

Clarence Kummer (1899-1930)

American Racing HOF jockey (Preakness Stakes 1920, 25; Belmont Stakes 1920, 28; US Champion Jockey by earnings 1920), dies from pneumonia at 31

1931 Jack "Legs" Diamond, American gangster and bootlegger, murdered at 34

Legs Diamond (1897-1931)

American gangster during the Prohibition era, shot dead at 34

1932 Eduard Bernstein, German Marxist and revisionist, dies at 82
1935 Juan Vicente Gomez, Venezuelan general and dictator of Venezuela (1908-35), dies at 78
1936 Andrija Mohorovičić, Austro-Hungarian-born Yugoslav seismologist (b. 1857)
1937 Sandford Schultz, English cricket all-rounder (1 Test, 1 wicket, 20 runs; Cambridge University, Lancashire CCC), dies at 80
1939 Heywood Broun, American journalist (1st President of American Newspaper Guild), dies of pneumonia at 51
1948 Janet Fay, American murder victim of the Lonely Hearts Killers (later filmed as "The Honeymoon Killers"), hammered to death at 66
1948 William Arms Fisher, American composer, librettist (Going Home), musicologist, and educator, dies at 87
1963 Winfried Zillig, German opera composer, and conductor (Fantasia Irica), dies at 58
1966 Gene Gauntier [Liggett], American silent film screenwriter and actress. dies at 81
1968 Joan Tabor, American actress (Teenage Millionaire), dies at 36 after accidentally overdosing on influenza medication
1968 Sir John Layton Jarvis, English thoroughbred race horse trainer (9 x British Classic Races; 3 x British flat racing Champion Trainer), dies at 80
1971 Aleksandr Tvardovsky, Russian poet and editor in chief (Novyj Mir), dies at 61

Bobby Jones (1902-1971)

American golfer, course designer (13 major titles, Grand Slam 1930), dies of syringomyelia at 69

1971 Diana Lynn [Dolores Eartha Loehr], American actress (Annapolis Story, Easy Come Easy Go), dies of a stroke at 45
1972 Neilia Biden, Joe Biden's first wife and their 13-month-old daughter Naomi, are killed in an automobile accident a few days before he takes office as the newly elected Senator for Delaware
1973 Julio César Brero [or Giulio Cesare], Italian-born Argentine composer (Novella), and lawyer, dies at 64
1973 Rasheed Turabi, Pakistani scholar, orator and philosopher, dies at 65
1974 Harry Hooper, American Baseball HOF right fielder (World Series 1912, 15, 16, 18 Boston Red Sox), dies at 87
1975 Theodosius Dobzhansky, Russian-American genetist, evolutionary biologist and author (Mankind Evolving), dies at 75
1977 Cyril Ritchard, Australian actor (Peter Pan; Hans Brinker), dies at 80
1977 Louis Untermeyer, American poet and critic (Immortal Poems, Story Poems), dies at 92
1977 Walter Breedveld, Dutch writer (Een ship vergaat), dies at 76

Alexei Kosygin (1904-1980)

Soviet statesman and Premier of the Soviet Union (1964-80), dies of a heart attack at 76

1981 Mehmet Shehu, PM Albania (1954-81)/"US-Russ spy", commits suicide
1982 Bernard Malivoire, French rower (Olympic gold coxed pair 1952), dies at 44
1982 Hans-Ulrich Rudel, German Luftwaffe fighter pilot, the highest-decorated German soldier of WWII, founder of South American Nazi relief organization, and military consultant, dies after a series of strokes at 66
1982 Ray Emery, New Zealand cricket all-rounder (2 Tests, 2 wickets, BB 2/52; Auckland, Canterbury), dies at 67
1982 Tibor de Machula, Hungarian-Dutch cellist, dies at 70
1985 Xuân Diệu, Vietnamese poet (b. 1916)
1986 Mamo Clark, American actress (One Million BC; Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island), and author, dies at 72
1987 Conny Plank, German record producer and musician, dies at 47
1990 Anne Revere, actress (National Velvet), dies of pneumonia at 87
1990 Connie Russell, American singer (Club Embassy; Garroway at Large), dies at 67
1990 Paul Tortelier, French concert cellist, composer, and teacher, dies at 76
1991 George Abecassis, English Formula 1 driver (b. 1913)
1991 June Storey, Canadian-born American actress (South of the Border), dies of cancer at 73
1992 Charles Leatherland, Baron Leatherland, British journalist and Labour Party politician, dies at 94
1992 Clara Hale 'Mother Hale', American social activist (Hale House Center for disadvantaged children), dies at 87
1992 Edwin Gerschefski, American pianist, composer. and teacher (Saugatuck Suite), dies at 83
1992 Mark Goodson, American radio and TV game show producer, with Bill Todman ("I've Got A Secret"; "The Price Is Right"; "Password"), dies of pancreatic cancerat 77
1993 Sam Wanamaker, American-English actor (Private Benjamin), dies of prostate cancer at 74
1994 Heinz Bernhard [Löwenstein], German-born British actor and director (Oliver!, Fiddler on the Roof), dies at 71
1994 Lilia Skala, Austrian/American actress (Ship of Fools, Caprice), dies at 98
1994 Peter Hebblethwaite, English editor-in-chief (The Month), dies at 64
1994 Roger Apéry, Greek-French mathematician (b. 1916)
1995 Brian Brockless, English organist and composer, dies at 69
1995 Chaim Pearl, rabbi, dies at 76
1995 Georgio Fini, restaurateur, dies at 70
1995 Konrad Zuse, German engineer and computing pioneer (b. 1910)
1995 Ross Thomas, author, dies at 69
1996 Arthur Jacobs, English musicologist (Penguin Dictionary of Music), dies at 74

Chris Farley (1964-1997)

American actor and comedian (SNL, Wayne's World, Coneheads), dies of a drug overdose at 33

1998 Lev Demin, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1926)
1999 Robert Bresson, French film director (A Man Escaped, Balthazar, at Random), dies at 98
1999 Robert Dougall, English TV host and broadcaster, dies at 86
2000 James Mitchell, American session baritone saxophonist (The Memphis Horns; Stax Records), dies at 69
2000 Kirsty MacColl, English singer and songwriter (Electric Landlady), dies when run over by a power boat in the National Marine Park of Cozumel at 41
2000 Randolph Apperson Hearst, American newspaper publisher (Hearst Newspapers), dies at 85
2000 Ruud de Wolff, Dutch Indonesian singer and guitarist (The Blue Diamonds), dies of bladder cancer at 59
2000 Stan Fox, American race car driver (b. 1952)
2001 Dan DeCarlo, American cartoonist (Archie Comics), dies at 82
2001 Dimitris Dragatakis, Greek composer, dies at 87
2001 Gilbert Bécaud [François Gilbert Léopold Silly], French singer, pianist, composer and actor (Nathalie) known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances, dies at 74
2002 Ray Hnatyshyn, Governor-General of Canada (b. 1934)
2002 Wayne Owens, former U.S. Congressman (D-Utah) (b. 1937)
2003 Robin Hill, 8th Marquess of Downshire, Irish peer and the Hereditary Constable of Hillsborough Fort, dies at 74
2003 Susan Travers, English-French Foreign Legion soldier, dies at 94
2004 Anthony Sampson, British journalist and biographer (b. 1926)
2004 John W. Downey, American composer, dies at 77
2004 Vijay Hazare, Indian cricket batsman and captain (30 Tests, 7 x 100, HS 164no; Maharashtra, Central India, Baroda, Holkar), dies at 89
2005 Alan Voorhees, American engineer and urban planner (b. 1922)
2006 Daniel Pinkham, American organist, composer (Signs of the Zodiac) and educator (New England Conservatory), dies at 83

Joseph Barbera (1911-2006)

American animator and cartoonist (Hanna-Barbera - Tom and Jerry, Flintstones), dies at 95

2006 Mike Dickin, British radio broadcaster (b. 1943)
2006 Ruth Bernhard, American photographer (1905)
2006 Shaukat Siddiqui, Pakistani author, journalist and political activist (b. 1923)
2007 Bill Strauss, American writer on generations, satirist, and founder of the Capitol Steps (b. 1947)
2007 Gerald Le Dain, Canadian Supreme Court judge (b. 1924)
2007 Jack Linkletter, American TV host (Haggis Baggis, Hootenanny), dies at 70
2008 Jack Douglas, English actor (Carry On films), dies at 81
2008 Majel Barrett, American actress and producer (Star Trek), and the widow of Gene Roddenberry, dies at 76
2008 Mark Felt, the infamous "Deep Throat", American FBI official and whistle blower during the Watergate Scandal dies aged 95
2009 Connie Hines, American actress (Mister Ed), dies of heart problems at 78
2009 Oskar Danon, Yugoslav conductor (Belgrade Opera, 1944-65), dies at 96
2010 Jacqueline de Romilly, French philologist and classical scholar (b. 1913)
2010 James Pickles, English judge and columnist, dies at 85
2010 Phil Cavarretta, American baseball utility (MLB All-Star 1944, 45, 46, 47; NL MVP 1945; Chicago Cubs), dies at 94
2010 Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, Italian banker and economist (b. 1940)
2011 Ralph MacDonald, American rock percussionist and songwriter ("Just the Two of Us"), dies of cancer at 67

Václav Havel (1936-2011)

Czech politician (President of Czechoslovakia, 1990-2, Czech Republic, 1993-2003), dies at 75

2012 Marcus Worsley, British Lord-Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, dies at 87
2013 Ronnie Biggs, English criminal (Great Train Robbery of 1963), dies at 84 [1]
2014 Virna Lisi, Italian actress (Assault on a Queen, Bluebeard), dies at 78
2015 Luc Brewaeys, Belgian pianist, conductor, and composer, dies of cancer at 56
2016 China Machado, Chinese-born model, 1st non-Caucasian super model, dies at 86

Zsa Zsa Gabor (1917-2016)

Hungarian-born American actress (Queen of Outer Space), dies at 99

2017 Jonghyun [Kim Jong-hyun], South Korean singer-songwriter, radio host, and author (SHINee), commits suicide at 27
2018 David Austin, English rose breeder (Austin roses), dies at 92
2019 Abbey Simon, American concert pianist, and pedagogue, dies at 99
2019 Hugh McKenna, British rock keyboardist (The Sensational Alex Harvey Band), dies of cancer at 70
2019 Kenny Lynch, British pop-rock singer ("You Can Never Stop Me Loving You"; "Up On A Roof"), dies of cancer at 81
2020 Tim Severin, British author and explorer who replicated historic voyages, dies at 80
2021 Richard Rogers, British architect (European Court of Human Rights building; The Pompidou Centre; Millennium Dome), dies at 88
2022 Martin Duffy, British rock keyboardist (Primal Scream), dies of head injuries after a fall at 55
2022 Terry Hall, British rock-ska-pop singer (Specials; Fun Boy Three; Vegas), dies at 63
2023 Abderrahim Ouakili, Moroccan soccer midfielder (11 caps; Mainz 05, 1860 Munich, Tennis Borussia Berlin, Karlsruher SC), dies at 53
2023 Bo Larsson, Swedish football striker (70 caps; Malmö FF 310 games 119 goals, VfB Stuttgart), dies at 79
2023 Brian Price, Welsh rugby union lock (32 Tests Wales, 4 British & Irish Lions; Newport RFC, Barbarians RFC), dies at 86