- 1124 Stefanus of Thiers/Muret, founder of order of Grammond/saint, dies
- 1204 Alexius IV Angelus, Regent of Byzantium (1203-04), murdered at 21 [exact dates of birth and demise uncertain]
- 1245 Johannes de Rupella/de la Rochelle, French theologist, dies
- 1250 Robert I of Artois, French crusader (b. 1216)
- 1250 William II Longespee, dies as a martyr at the battle of Al Mansurah, Egypt (7th Crusade)
- 1265 Hulagu Khan, Mongol ruler, grandson of Genghis Khan (besieged and pillaged Baghdad) (b. 1217)
- 1296 Przemysł II, King of Poland (1295-96), dies at 38
- 1303 Nanshu, Zen teacher (Rinzai line)/founder (Zounan temple), dies
- 1513 Alonso de Ojeda, Spanish explorer (Curacao & Bonaire), dies
Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587)
Queen of Scots [Mary Stuart], Queen of Scotland (1560-87), beheaded at 44
- 1599 Robert Rollock, Scottish educator (1st Regent of Edinburgh University), dies
- 1611 Jan Huygen van Linschoten, Dutch traveller and writer (Reys-Gheschrift), dies (B. 1653)
- 1617 Hans Christoph Heyden, German composer, organist and poet, dies at 44
- 1623 Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, English politician, dies at 80
- 1640 Murad IV, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1623-40) who conquered Baghdad, dies from cirrhosis in Istanbul at 27
- 1650 John Adriaensz, Dutch hydraulic engineer (Haarlemmermeer), dies at about 74
- 1676 Alexis of Russia [Alexei Mikhailovich], Romanov noble (Tsar of All Russia, 1645-76), dies at 46 [OS 29 Jan]
- 1686 Francois Tak, Dutch diplomat on Java, murdered
- 1691 Carlo Rainaldi, Italian architect and composer, dies at 79
- 1709 Giuseppe Torelli, Italian composer (Concerti Grossi), dies at 50
Peter the Great (1672-1725)
Tsar of Russia (1682-1725), dies of uremia at 52
- 1749 Jan van Huysum, Dutch still life painter (specialised in fruit and flowers), dies at 66
- 1750 Aaron Hill, English playwright and poet (Tragedy of Zara), dies at 65
- 1768 George Dance the Elder, English architect (b. 1695)
- 1772 Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of Wales by marriage to Frederick, Prince of Wales, dies at 52
- 1797 Johann Friedrich Doles, German composer, pupil of J. S. Bach, dies at 81
- 1801 Johann Chrysostomus Drexel, German composer, dies at 43
- 1817 Francis Horner, Scottish political economist and politician (1810 Bullion Report), dies of ill health at 38
- 1821 Paul Anton Wineberger, German musician and composer, dies at 62
- 1824 Rhijnvis Feith, Dutch poet and writer (Zwolle, Julia), dies at 71
- 1849 France Prešeren, Slovenian poet (Sonetni Venec), dies at 48
- 1849 Francois-Antoine Habeneck, French composer and musician, dies at 68
- 1856 Agostino Bassi, Italian entomologist, dies at 82
- 1873 John White Geary, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), lawyer, and politician (Governor of Pennsylvania, 1867-73; Mayor of San Francisco, 1850-51), dies of a heart attack at 53
- 1874 David Strauss, German theologist (focused on historical Jesus' Life), dies at 66
Charles Wilkes (1798-1877)
American Antarctic explorer and naval officer (Union Navy), dies at 78
- 1878 Elias M. Fries, Swedish botanist (System mycologicum), dies at 83
- 1884 Arnold Henry Guyot, Swiss-American geologist, geographer and meteorologist, dies at 76
- 1888 Robert H. Anderson, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army, dies at 52
- 1907 Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom, Dutch chemist (fasenleer), dies at 52
- 1909 Catulle Mendès, French poet, dies at 67
- 1909 Edouard Silas, Dutch composer, dies at 80
- 1909 Mieczysław Karłowicz, Polish composer and conductor (Rebirth Symphony, Op. 7), dies in an avalanche while on a skiing excursion at 32
- 1910 Hans Jæger, Norwegian writer and political activist (b. 1854)
- 1916 Gustav Falke, German author and poet (Der Mann im Nebel), dies at 63
- 1920 Richard Dehmel, German poet and writer, dies at 56
- 1921 Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin, Russian activist and anarchist, dies at 78
- 1924 Gee John, Chinese-American gangster (1st person in US to be executed by lethal gas in Nevada), executed at 29
- 1926 William Bateson, English biologist (originator of term "genetics"), dies at 64
- 1929 Maria Christina of Austria, Austrian born Queen and Regent of Spain, dies at 71
Mad Dog Coll (1908-1932)
Irish-American mob hitman, murdered at 23 by the Dutch Schultz gang
- 1935 Max Liebermann, German impressionist painter and graphic artist, dies at 87
Charles Curtis (1860-1936)
American Republican Senator (Kansas: 1907-13, 1915-29) and 31st US Vice President (1929-33) who was the first Native American to become a Senator and Vice President, dies of a heart attack at 76
Felix Hoffmann (1868-1946)
German chemist (synthesized aspirin and heroin), dies at 78 [1]
- 1946 Miles Mander, British actor (Tower of London, Wuthering Heights, Murder!), dies from a heart attack at 57
- 1947 Ernest Williams, American composer, dies at 65
- 1949 Franco Leoni, Italian composer, dies at 81
- 1949 Leonid Polovinkin, Russian conductor, and composer (Night Dreams), dies at 54
- 1953 Cliff Clark, American actor (Kid Glove Killer, Golden Hoofs, Vigilante Hideout), dies from a heart attack at 63
Connie Mack (1862-1956)
American Baseball Hall of Fame catcher, manager and owner (World Series 1910, 11, 13, 29, 30; most managerial wins, losses and games managed in MLB history; Philadelphia A's), dies at 93
John von Neumann (1903-1957)
Hungarian-American mathematician and astronomer (Bocher Award 1938), dies of cancer at 53
- 1957 Walter Bothe, German subatomic particle physicist (Nobel Prize for Physics 1954), dies at 66
- 1959 William J "Wild Bill" Donovan, American head of Office Strategic Services and founding father of the CIA, dies at 76
- 1960 Giles Gilbert Scott, British architect (b. 1880)
- 1960 John Langshaw Austin, British philosopher, (b. 1911)
- 1961 William Duncan, Scottish actor (Hopalong Rides Again, Thunder Trail), dies at 81
- 1963 Abd al-Karīm Qāsim, Prime Minister of Iraq (1958-63), assassinated in Baghdad at 48
- 1963 George Dolenz [Jure Dolenc], Italian actor (Scared Stiff, Count of Monte Cristo), dies from a heart attack at 55
- 1964 Tom Terriss, English director (His Buddy's Wife, Sumuru), dies at 91
- 1965 Ray Brown, American Baseball HOF pitcher (NgL World Series 1943, 44; Triple Crown 1938; Homestead Grays), dies at 56
- 1972 Márkos Vamvakaris, Greek musician and rebetiko songwriter, dies at 66
- 1973 Herbie Taylor, South African cricket batsman and captain (42 Tests; 2,936 runs @ 40.77; 7 x 100s), dies at 83
- 1974 Fern Andra [Vernal Andrews], American actress who worked in German silent cinema, dies at 80
- 1974 Franz Weyergans, Belgian writer and translator (Les Gens Heureux), dies at 61
- 1974 Fritz Zwicky, Swiss astronomer (supernova, dark matter), dies at 75
- 1975 John H. Secondari, American author and newscaster (Open Hearing), dies at 55
- 1975 Martyn Green, British actor (Gilbert & Sullivan, Iceman Cometh), dies at 75
- 1975 Robert Robinson, British chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1886)
- 1977 Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and ethnomusicologist, dies at 75
- 1977 Josef Schelb, German pianist and composer (Sinfonia Apocalytica), dies at 82
- 1979 Jim Smith, English cricket all-rounder (5 Tests), dies at 72
- 1979 Nikolay Semyonovich Tikhonov, Russian poet and writer (against Pasternak), dies at 82
- 1980 Nikos Xilouris, Greek folk singer-songwriter, dies of lung and brain cancer at 43
- 1982 John Hay Whitney, American financier, diplomat and publisher of the NY Herald Tribune (1961-67), dies at 77 [1]
- 1982 Johnny Jacobs, American television announcer (The Dating Game), dies at 65
- 1982 Kurt Edelhagen, German jazz pianist and big bandleader, dies at 61
- 1983 Alfred Wallenstein, American cellist and conductor (Chicago Symphony 1922-29), dies at 84
- 1984 Karel Miljon, Dutch boxer (Olympic bronze 1928), dies at 80
- 1985 Marvin Miller [Mueller], American actor (Space Patrol, Dead Reckoning, Millionaire), dies from a heart attack at 71
- 1985 Tom Greenway, American actor (Miami Story), dies of a heart attack at 75
William Lyons (1901-1985)
British industrialist and automobile manufacturer (Jaguar cars), dies at 84
- 1987 Bronislawa Wajs [Papuscha], Polish-Romani writer, dies at 78
- 1987 Harriet MacGibbon, American actress, dies of a pulmonary & cardiac failure at 81
- 1988 Allan Cuthbertson, Australian-British stage and screen actor (Man and Superman; Captain Nemo and the Underwater City; The WInds of War), dies at 67
- 1989 Maurits Mok, Dutch author and poet (Cheese & Bread Game; The Railroad Strike), dies at 81
- 1990 Del Shannon [Charles Westover], American rock musician and songwriter ("Runaway"), commits suicide at 55
- 1990 George de Mestral, Swiss engineer (invented Velcro), dies at 83
- 1991 Miran Bakhsh, Pakistani cricket spin bowler (2 Tests, 2 wickets; Punjab), dies at 47
- 1992 Baruch Lumet, American actor (Killer Shrews), dies at 93
- 1992 Denny Wright, British jazz guitarist, dies at 67
- 1992 Thomas Williams, American ice hockey player (Olympic gold 1960), dies of a heart attack at 51
- 1993 Casper van den Berg, Dutch poet (Fashionable inconvenience), dies
- 1993 Douglas Heyes, American director and writer (Kitten with a Whip), dies at 73
- 1993 Eliot Janeway, American financial columnist (Eliot Doomsday), dies at 80
- 1993 Franz Schnyder, Swiss director (10th of May), dies at 82
- 1993 N. Shanmugathasan, Sri Lankan communist leader
- 1993 Paul Brickhill, Dutch-American WW II pilot and physician, dies
- 1994 Jacob Firet, Dutch theologist (Agogic Moment), dies at 70
- 1994 Ken Hall, Australian director and producer (Kokoda front line), dies at 92
- 1994 Raymond Scott, American composer (Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm), dies at 85
- 1995 B. G. Hooghoudt, Dutch radiotelescope builder (Dwingeloo/Westerbork), dies at 70
- 1995 Clay Warnick, American choral director (Your Show Of Shows), dies at 79
- 1995 J. William Fulbright, US politician (Senator-Arkansas 1945-74) and founder of the Fulbright scholarship, dies at 89
- 1995 Wilhelm J. Soukop, Austrian-British sculptor, dies at 88
- 1996 Del Ennis, American baseball outfielder (MLB All-Star 1946, 51, 55; NL RBI leader 1950; Philadelphia Phillies), dies from complications of diabetes at 70
- 1996 Derek Worlock, English Roman Catholic Archbishop Liverpool, dies at 76
- 1996 Mercer Kennedy Ellington, American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer, dies at 76
- 1997 Elroy Josephs, British jazz dance teacher, dies at 57
Enoch Powell (1912-1998)
British Conservative MP and shadow cabinet member infamous for his "Rivers of Blood" speech, dies at 85
Halldór Laxness (1902-1998)
Icelandic writer (Nobel 1955), dies at 95
- 1998 Julian Lincoln Simon, American economist and author (b. 1932)
- 1998 William Lambert, American Pulitzer prize-winning reporter, dies at 78
- 1999 Iris Murdoch, Irish-British novelist ("Under the Net"; "The Sea, The Sea") and philosopher ("The Sovereignty of Good"), dies at 79
- 2000 Bob Collins [Harold Lee], American radio broadcaster (WGN- 720AM, Chicago, 1986-2000), die in mid-air plane collision at 57
- 2000 Derrick Thomas, American Pro and College Football Hall of Fame linebacker / end (Pro Bowl 1989–97; First-team All-Pro 1990–92; KC Chiefs), dies of a pulmonary embolism at 33
- 2000 Sid Abel, Canadian ice hockey player (Detroit Red Wings), dies at 81
- 2001 Ivo Caprino, Norwegian animated film director (b. 1920)
- 2002 Eldon Rudd, American politician (Rep-R-AZ, 1977-87), dies at 81
- 2002 Joachim Hoffmann, German historian (b. 1930)
- 2002 Ong Teng Cheong, President of Singapore (b. 1936)
- 2004 Julius Schwartz, American comic book and sci-fi editor, dies at 88
- 2005 Helmut Eder, Austrian composer, dies at 88
- 2005 Jimmy Smith, American jazz musician and organist (Walk On The Wild Side), dies at 79
- 2005 Keith Knudsen, American drummer, vocalist and songwriter (The Doobie Brothers; Southern Pacific), dies of pneumonia at 56
- 2006 Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer, best known for his film scores in the Godzilla films, dies at 91
- 2006 Elton Dean, English jazz and progressive rock saxophonist (Soft Machine), dies of heart and liver ailments at 60 (b. 1945)
Anna Nicole Smith (1967-2007)
American model, Playboy playmate (May 1992, Playmate of the Year 1993) and tabloid fixture, dies of a prescription drug overdose at 39
- 2007 Ian Stevenson, Canadian-American parapsychologist and reincarnation expert, dies at 88
- 2008 Chua Ek Kay, Singaporean painter (b. 1947)
- 2008 Eva Dahlbeck, Swedish actress (Brink of Life, Dreams, A Lesson in Love), dies of infection and Alzheimer's disease at 87
- 2009 Marian Cozma, Romanian handball player (Romania 60 caps), dies of stab wounds at 26
- 2010 John Murtha, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania), dies at 77
- 2011 Tony Malinosky, American baseball player (b. 1909)
- 2012 Gunther Plaut, German-Canadian rabbi, dies at 99
- 2012 Luis Alberto Spinetta, Argentinian rock musician, dies from lung cancer at 62
- 2013 James DePreist, American conductor (Mitropoulos Prize, 1964, Oregon Symphony, 1980-2003), dies of a heart attack at 76
- 2015 Filipe Pires, Portuguese pianist, composer (Portugaliae Genesis), and educator, dies at 81
- 2016 John Disley, Welsh athlete (co-founded London Marathon), dies at 87
- 2016 Violetta Verdy, French ballerina and teacher, dies at 82
- 2017 Ljubisa Beara, Bosnian general convicted of overseeing Srebrenica Massacre, dies in prison at 77
- 2017 Nicolai Gedda, Swedish opera tenor (Opera Two to Six), dies at 91
- 2017 Peter Mansfield, British Physician whose discoveries led to MRI (2003 Nobel Prize), dies at 83
- 2017 Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, British socialite, dies at 45
- 2018 Paul Danblon, Belgian composer, opera director, opera administrator and scientific journalist, dies at 86
- 2019 Robert Ryman, American minimalist painter and visual artist known for his white-on-white works, dies at 88
- 2020 Erhard Schnell, German automotive designer 'Father of the Opel GT', dies at 92
- 2020 Paula Kelly, American dancer, choreographer, and actress (Night Court, 1984 - "Liz"), dies of heart failure at 77
- 2020 Robert Conrad [Conrad R. Falk], American actor (Wild Wild West), dies at 84
- 2021 David Egerton, English rugby union #8 (7 caps; Bath Rugby) and broadcaster (BBC), dies from COVID-19 at 59
- 2021 Jean-Claude Carrière, French screenwriter and actor, collaborated with Luis Buñuel on screen plays (Belle de Jour, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie), dies at 89
Marty Schottenheimer (1943-2021)
American football coach (Cleveland Browns, KC Chiefs; NFL Coach of Year 2004, San Diego Chargers), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 77
- 2021 Mary Wilson, American pop vocalist (Supremes - "Where Did Our Love Go?"), dies at 76 [1]
- 2022 (Arthur) Bamber Gascoigne, English television presenter (University Challenge, 1962-87), and author, dies at 87
- 2022 Gerald Williams, American MLB baseball outfielder, 1992-2005 (NY Yankees, and 5 other teams), dies of cancer at 55
- 2022 Luc Montagnier, French virologist (Nobel Prize 2008, discovered HIV), dies at 89 [1]
Burt Bacharach (1928-2023)
American Grammy and Academy Award-winning composer ("I'll Never Fall in Love Again"; "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head"; "Promises, Promises"), dies at 94 [1]
- 2023 Charlie Faulkner, Welsh rugby union prop (19 Tests Wales; British & Irish Lions 1977; Pontypool RFC, Barbarian FC) and coach (Newport RFC), dies at 81
- 2023 Hilary Tann, Welsh composer (Shakkei), and educator (Union College, 1980-2023), dies at 75
- 2023 Miroslav Blažević, Bosnian soccer manager (Switzerland, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, NK Zagreb, Hajduk Split, Grasshoppers, Dinamo Zagreb, Nantes, PAOK), dies at 87
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide