Samuel de Champlain (1567-1635)
French explorer (Lake Champlain) and founder of Quebec City, dies of a stroke at 61
- 1676 Matthew Hale, Lord Chief Justice of England (b. 1609)
- 1676 William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English aristocrat and Royalist general in the English Civil War, dies at 83
- 1683 Kara Mustafa Pasha Turkish grand-vizier (1676-83) and Ottoman general (siege of Vienna), executed by strangulation (b. 1634)
- 1758 James Hervey, English clergyman (b. 1714)
- 1765 Antonio Tonelli, Italian cellist and composer, dies at 79
- 1765 Václav Prokop Diviš, Czech theologian and natural scientist, dies at 67
- 1784 Yosa Buson, Japanese painter (b. 1716)
- 1788 John Logan, Scottish conductor (Ode to the Cuckoo), dies at about 40
- 1824 Barbara Juliane, baroness von Krüdener, Baltic German religious mystic, author, and Pietist Lutheran theologian, dies at 60
- 1842 Bedrich Divis Weber, Bohemian composer and musicologist, dies at 76
- 1848 Johan Erik Nordblom, Swedish composer, dies at 60
- 1861 Johan Willem van Reinhartshausen, Dutch illegitimate son of Princess Marianne of Orange-Nassau and her coachman, Johannes van Rossum, dies of scarlet fever at 11
Linus Yale Jr. (1821-1868)
American portrait painter and inventor (Yale cylinder lock), dies at 47 [1]
- 1875 Young Tom Morris, Scottish golfer (British Open 1868-70, 72), dies of pulmonary haemorrhage at 24
- 1878 Anna Claypoole Peale, American painter of miniatures, dies at 87
- 1880 Fridolin Anderwert, Swiss Federal Councillor, dies at 52
- 1883 Marek Konrad Sokolowski, Polish guitarist and composer, dies at 65
- 1895 Raul Pompeia, Brazilian writer (O Ateneu), dies at 32
- 1904 Vilhelm Svedbom, Swedish composer, dies at 61
- 1916 Albert Chmielowski, Polish Catholic Saint, dies at 71
- 1921 Hans Huber, Swiss composer and pedagogue, dies at 69
- 1921 Vladimir Korolenko, Russian writer (The Blind Musician), dies at 68
- 1922 Alphonse Goovaerts, Belgian composer and musicologist (Histoire et Bibliographie de la Typographie Musicale dans les Pays-Bas), dies at 75
- 1925 Karl Abraham, German psychoanalyst, dies at 48
- 1925 Sergei Yesenin, Russian lyric poet, dies at 30
- 1926 Yoshihito [Taishō], 123rd Emperor of Japan (1912-26), dies at 47
- 1927 Sergei Sazonov, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs (1910-16), dies in exile in France at 66
- 1930 Harvey Worthington Loomis, American composer (Lyrics of the Red Man), dies at 65
- 1933 Francesc Macià, Catalonian statesman (b. 1859)
- 1935 Paul Bourget, French novelist and critic, dies at 83
- 1936 Pierre Maurice, Swiss composer, dies at 68
Karel Čapek (1890-1938)
Czech author, playwright and critic (R.U.R.), coined term "robot", dies of pneumonia at 48
- 1940 Agnes Ayres [Hinkle], American silent screen actress (The Sheik; Souls at Sea), dies from a cerebral hemorrhage at 42
- 1942 Vojislav Vuckovic, composer, dies at 32
- 1943 Ilona Durigo, Hungarian contralto singer, dies at 62
- 1943 Raymond Huntington Woodman, composer, dies at 82
- 1946 W C Fields, writer and comedian (Bank Dick, It's A Gift), dies at 67
- 1947 Gaspar G. Bacon, was Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1886)
- 1950 Neil Francis Hawkins, British fascist (b. 1903)
- 1950 Xavier Villaurrutia, Mexican poet (Nostalgia de la muerte), dies at 47
- 1951 Harry T Moore, American educator, civil rights activist and Florida NAACP official, assassinated by a bombing of his home at 46
- 1953 Lee Shubert, American theatre producer (theatres in NY & LA named after him), dies at about 80
- 1953 Patsy Donovan, Irish-American baseball outfielder (Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals) and manager (Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Washington Sens, Brooklyn Superbas, Boston RS), dies at 88
- 1954 Johnny Ace, American rhythm and blues singer, accidentally shoots himself in the head at 25
- 1954 Liberty Hyde Bailey, American botanist, horticulturalist and writer (Hortus), dies at 96
- 1954 Rosario Scalero, composer, dies at 84
- 1956 Robert Walser, Swiss writer, dies at 78
- 1957 Frederick Law Olmsted Jr, American landscape architect and advocate for wildlife conservation, dies at 87
- 1961 Otto Loewi, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1873)
- 1961 Owen Brewster, U.S. Senator from Maine (b. 1888)
- 1961 Rheinhold Rudenberg, inventor of electron microscope, dies
- 1963 Tristan Tzara [Samuel Rosenfeld] Romanian-French poet (Approximate Man), dies at 67
- 1964 Cheerio Meredith, actress (One Happy Family), dies at 74
- 1971 Byron Arnold, American composer, dies at 70
- 1972 C. Rajagopalachari, India's freedom fighter and the first Governor General of independent India, dies at 94
- 1973 Gabriel Voisin, French aviation pioneer and luxury automobile manufacturer, dies at 93
- 1973 İsmet İnönü, Turkish military officer and statesman (President of Turkey, 1938-50; Prime Minister, 1923-37 and 1961-65), dies at 89
- 1974 Harry Ray, American film make-up artist, costume designer and actor (Avanti!), dies at 65
- 1975 Gaston Gallimard, French publisher (Librairie Gallimard), dies at 94
- 1976 Arthur Mitchell, English cricket batsman (6 Tests, 2 x 50; Yorkshire CCC), dies at 74
- 1976 Frankie Darro [Frank Johnson], American actor (Radio Ranch, Wild Boys of the Road, Valley of Wanted Men), dies of a heart attack at 58
Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977)
British actor and comedian (Modern Times, The Kid), dies in Switzerland at 88
- 1979 Joan Blondell, American actress (Real McCoys), dies of leukemia at 73
- 1979 Jordi Bonet, Quebec muralist and sculptor (b. 1932)
- 1979 Lee Bowman, American actor (Ellery Queen, Miami Undercover, The Impatient Years), dies from a heart attack at 64
- 1980 (Ludwig) "Louis" Neefs, Belgian pop singer (Eurovision, 1967 & 1969), dies, along with his wife, in a car accident at 43
- 1980 Fred Emney, British actor (Let the People Sing; Adventures of a Private Eye; Lilac Domino), dies at 80
- 1983 Joan Miro, Spanish painter and sculptor, dies at his home in Majorca at 90
- 1985 George Rhodes, American pianist, composer, arranger, and music director (Sammy Davis, Jr. Show), dies of a heart attack at 66
- 1988 Edward Pelham-Clinton, 10th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne (b. 1920)
- 1988 Ooka Shohei, Japanese novelist (b. 1909)
- 1989 Barrel Regtien, student leader, dies
Billy Martin (1928-1989)
American baseball 2nd baseman (MLB All Star 1956; World Series 1951, 52, 53, 56; NY Yankees) and manager (World Series 1977 NY Yankees), killed in a car accident at 61
- 1989 Elena Ceausescu, wife of Romania's Communist dictator Nicolae, executed at 73
- 1989 Georgy Mushel, Uzbek pianist and composer, dies at 80
- 1989 Jean-Etienne Marie, French composer of microtonal music and electroacoustics, dies at 72
- 1989 Ton Regtien, Dutch student leader, political activist, and writer (Vietnam Tribunal Stockholm Roskilde), dies at 51
- 1990 Marguerite N Wittenberg, entertainer, dies of cancer at 77
- 1991 Curt Bois, actor (Great Waltz, Boat is Full), dies at 90
- 1991 Mahmood Hussain, Pakistan cricket swing bowler (27 Tests, 68 wickets; Karachi, Pakistan Universities), dies from diabetes mellitus at 59
- 1991 Orane Demazis, French actress (Marius, Fanny et Caesar), dies at 87
- 1991 Sal Provenza, entertainer, dies of lymphoma at 45
- 1991 Tom Newman, American actor (Cape Fear (1962); Tales From The Dark Side), dies of a heart attack at 60
- 1992 Garrison H Davidson, US lt-gen commandant (West Point), dies
- 1992 Helen Joseph, South African anti-apartheid activist, dies at 87
- 1992 Monica Dickens, English/American journalist/author, dies at 77
- 1992 Richard H Ichord, US leader of House Un-American Activities Committee, dies at 66
- 1992 Ted Croker, English football administrator (Secretary English Football Association 1973-89), dies at 68
- 1993 Pierre Victor Auger, French physicist (b. 1899)
- 1994 Pierre Dreyfus, French director of Renault (1955-75), dies at 87
- 1994 Zail Singh, Indian politician, (7th President of India 1982-87), dies of injuries from a motor accident at 78
Dean Martin (1917-1995)
American singer ("That's Amore"; "Everybody Loves Somebody"; "Sway"), comedian and actor (Martin and Lewis, The Dean Martin Show), dies of throat cancer at 78
- 1995 Emmanuel Levinas, Lithuanian-French Jewish philosopher, dies at 89
- 1995 Jimmy Boucher, Irish cricket all-rounder (28 first-class matches for Ireland; secretary Irish Cricket Union 1954-73), dies at 85
- 1995 Marijan Lipovsek, Slovenian pianist, composer, and teacher, dies at 85
- 1995 Nicolas Slonimsky, Russian-American pianist, conductor, musicologist (Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns; Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians), and composer, dies at 101
- 1996 Bill Osmanski, American College Football HOF fullback (Holy Cross; NFL C'ship 1940, 41, 43, 46; 3 × Pro Bowl; First-team All-Pro 1939; Chicago Bears), dies at 80
- 1996 Jon Benet Ramsey, Colorado child beauty queen, murdered at 6
- 1996 Rupert John, gov-gen of Grenadines (1970-76), dies
- 1997 Anatoli Boukreev, mountaineer, dies at 39
- 1997 Denver Pyle, American actor (The Dukes of Hazzard, The Andy Griffith Show), dies of lung cancer at 77
- 1997 Giorgio Strehler, Italian opera and theatre director, dies at 76
- 1997 Laurence Gower, academic, dies at 84
- 1998 Bryan MacLean, American singer, musician and songwriter (Love) (b. 1946)
- 1998 Hugh Martell, British Vice Admiral, dies at 86
- 1998 John Pulman, English snooker player (World Champion 1957-68; News of the World Snooker Tournament 1954, 57, 58), dies after a fall at 75
- 1999 Peter Jeffrey, British character actor (Dr Phibes Rides Again, Twinsanity), dies at 70
- 2000 Neil Hawke, Australian cricket fast bowler (27 Tests, 91 wickets; South Australia CA), dies at 61
- 2000 Willard Van Orman Quine, American philosopher and logician in the analytic tradition, dies at 92
- 2002 William T. Orr, American actor (The Big Street), and television producer (Cheyenne), dies at 85
- 2003 Nicholas Mavroules, American politician (Rep-D-MA, 1979-93), dies at 74
- 2004 Gennadi Strekalov, Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz T-3, T-8, T-11, TM-21), dies at 64
- 2005 (Märta) Birgit Nilsson, Swedish operatic soprano (Elektra, Salome), dies at 87
- 2005 Derek Bailey, English guitar virtuoso (b. 1930)
- 2005 Robert Barbers, Philippine senator (b. 1944)
- 2006 Hiroaki Hidaka, Japanese serial killer (b. 1962)
James Brown (1933-2006)
American R&B, gospel, soul and funk singer-songwriter known as 'The Godfather of Soul' ("Sex Machine"; "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag"; "Hot Pants"), dies of heart failure at 73
- 2007 George Vallings, British Royal Navy Vice Admiral (Korean War; Suez Crisis; Flag Officer of Scotland and Northern Ireland, 1985-87), dies at 75
- 2007 Hans Otte, German composer and pianist (The Book of Sounds, Book of Hours), dies at 81
- 2007 John Hayes, New Zealand cricket fast bowler (15 Tests, 30 wickets; Auckland CA), dies at 80
- 2007 Mighty King Kong, Kenyan reggae musician. (b. 1973)
- 2008 Eartha Kitt, American singer (Santa Baby), dancer, comedian, actress and activist (Catwoman-Batman), dies at 81
- 2009 Tony "T-Bone" Bellamy, American rock guitarist (Redbone), dies of liver failure at 63
- 2009 Vic Chesnutt, American singer-songwriter, dies of an overdose of muscle relaxants at 46
- 2010 Bud Greenspan, American documentary maker (Olympic Games; IOC Olympic Order award 1985), dies of Parkinson's disease at 84
- 2010 Carlos Andrés Pérez, President of Venezuela (1974-79, 89-94), dies at 88
- 2011 Israel Baker, American concert and session violinist (NBC Symphony; Paramount Studios Orchestra), dies at 92
- 2011 Jim "Motorhead" Sherwood [Euclid James Sherwood], American rock musician (Mothers Of Invention), dies at 69
- 2012 Frank Calabrese Sr [Frankie Breeze], American mafia hitman, dies at 75
- 2012 Othmar Schneider, Austrian alpine skier (Olympic gold men's slalom, silver downhill 1952), dies at 84
- 2013 Mike Hegan, American baseball utility (MLB All Star 1969 NY Yankees; World Series 1972 Oakland A's), dies from heart failure at 71
- 2014 Geoff Pullar, English cricket batsman (28 Tests, 4 x 100s, HS 175; Lancashire CCC, Gloucestershire CCC), dies at 79
- 2014 Gleb Yakunin, Russian priest and dissident, dies at 80
- 2014 Mary Lyon, English geneticist (X-chromosome inactivation), dies at 89
- 2016 Alphonse Mouzon, American jazz musician (Weather Report, Tenacious Records), dies from cancer at 68
George Michael (1963-2016)
English singer-songwriter and pop superstar (Wham! - "Careless Whisper"; "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"; solo - " I Want Your Sex"; "Faith"), dies of suspected heart failure at 53
- 2016 Valery Khalilov, Russian military conductor and composer, dies in a plane crash in the Black Sea, near Sochi, at 64
- 2017 Vladimir Shainsky, Soviet and Russian composer, dies at 92
- 2018 Nancy Roman, American, NASA's first chief of astronomy 'Mother of the Hubble', dies at 93
- 2019 Ari Behn (né Bjørshol), Norwegian author (Trist som faen - Sad as hell), playwright, and husband of Princess Martha Louise of Norway (2002-17), takes his own life at 47
- 2019 Peter Schreier, German tenor and conductor (Dresden State Opera, 1962-2000), dies at 84 [1]
- 2020 Ivan Bohdan, Ukrainian Greco-Roman wrestler (Olympic gold Soviet Union heavyweight 1960; World C'ship gold 1958, 61), dies at 92
- 2020 Jaan Rääts, Estonian pianist, orchestral and film score composer, dies at 88
- 2020 K. C. Jones, American Basketball Hall of Fame point guard (Olympic gold 1956; NBA C'ship 1959–66, Boston Celtics) and coach (NBA C'ship 1984, 86; Boston Celtics), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 88
- 2020 Robin Jackman, English cricket seam bowler (4 Tests, 14 wickets; 15 ODIs; Surrey CCC), dies from COVID-19 at 75
- 2020 Tony Rice, American bluegrass guitarist (J.D. Crowe and the New South), dies at 69 [1]
- 2021 Janice Long (née Chegwin), British radio host (Crash FM; BBC), dies of pneumonia at 66
- 2021 John Gleeson, Australian rugby league five eighth (10 Tests; Queensland 25 games; Wynnum-Manly, Brothers RLFC), dies at 82
- 2021 Ray Illingworth, English cricket spin bowler and captain (61 Tests, 122 wickets, 1,836 runs @ 23.24; Yorkshire CCC, Leicestershire CCC), dies at 89
- 2021 Thomas Lovejoy, American conservation biologist who coined the term "biodiversity", dies at 80
- 2021 Tifini Hale, American pop singer (Party - "Rodeo"; "That's Why"), dies of cardiac arrest at 46
- 2021 Wayne Thiebaud, American painter (Four Pinball Machines), dies at 101
- 2022 Fabián O'Neill, Uruguayan soccer midfielder (19 caps; Nacional, Cagliari, Juventus), dies from chronic liver disease at 49
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning