Famous Deaths on January 1

Deaths 1 - 200 of 234

• 379 Saint Basil the Great, Bishop of Caesare and theologian (Moralia), dies at about 49
• 404 Telemachus, Roman monk, dies trying to stop a gladitorial fight
• 874 Hasan al-Askari, 11th Imam of Twelver Shia Islam, dies at 27

• 898 Odo of France, Count of Paris (888-98), dies at ~39
• 962 Baudouin III of Flanders, dies of smallpox
• 1204 King Haakon III of Norway, dies in alleged poisoning
• 1338 Shūhō Myōchō, aka Daito Kokushi, Japanese Zen Buddhist monk, and leader of O-To-Kan Rinzai school in Japan, dies at 55
• 1387 Charles, The Bad, King of Navarra (1349-87), dies by burning at 54

• 1517 Hermann Vischer, the Younger, German bronze merchant, dies at 31
• 1554 Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish conquistador and first royal governor of Chile, captured by Mapuche Indians during Battle of Tucapel and executed at 56

• 1560 Joachim du Bellay, French poet and founder of the Pléiade, dies at 38
• 1617 Hendrick Goltzius, Dutch artist and engraver, dies at ~58
• 1626 Cornelis Pieterse Hoft, Amsterdam merchant & regent, dies at 68
• 1631 Thomas Hobson, the "Cambridge Carrier", eponym of Hobson's Choice, dies at 86
• 1661 Pieter Claesz, Dutch still-life painter, dies at ~63
• 1697 Filippo Baldinucci, Florentine biographer & art historian, dies at 71
• 1701 Pietro Sanmartini, Italian composer, dies at 64
• 1716 William Wycherley, English dramatist (The Country Wife), dies at 74
• 1730 Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, English Tory statesman, dies at 82
• 1730 Samuel Sewall, English-American judge and businessman, dies at 77
• 1742 Peregrine Bertie, 2nd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English statesman, dies at 55
• 1748 Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician, dies at 80
• 1753 Louis-Maurice de La Pierre, French composer, dies at 55
• 1758 Johann Friedrich von Cronegk, German poet and playwright (Codrus), dies at 26
• 1759 Jacques-Joachim Trotti, Marquis de La Chétardie, French adventurer, dies at 54
• 1766 James Francis Edward Stuart "The Old Pretender", Jacobite claimant to the thrones of England and Scotland after the death of his father James II, dies at 77
• 1768 Jan-Lauwryn Krafft, Flemish artist and engraver, dies at 73
• 1777 Emanuele Barbella, Neapolitan composer, dies at 58
• 1782 Johann Christian Bach (English Bach), German composer and 11th son of Johann Sebastian Bach, dies at 46
• 1787 Arthur Middleton, American signer of the Declaration of Independence, dies at 44
• 1789 Christleib Siegmund Binder, German composer, dies at 65
• 1789 Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley, English politician, Speaker of the House of Commons, dies at 72
• 1793 Francesco Guardi, Italian painter, dies at 80
• 1796 Alexandre-Théophile Vandermonde, French mathematician, dies at 60
• 1800 Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton, French zoologist, dies at 83
• 1816 Francois Alexander Sallantin, French composer, dies at 60
• 1817 Martin Heinrich Klaproth, German chemist (discovered uranium), dies at 73
• 1818 Fedele Fenaroli, Italian composer, dies at 87
• 1850 Raphael G. Kiesewetter, Austria musicologist (Arab Music), dies at 76
• 1853 Gregory Blaxland, Australian explorer, dies of suicide at 74
• 1862 Mikhail Ostrogradsky, Russian physicist and mathematician, dies at 60
• 1869 Martin W. Bates, American politician, dies at 82
• 1881 Auguste Blanqui, French revolutionary socialist (imprisoned for 33 years, Blanquist movement), dies at 75
• 1887 Johan Hendrik Koelman, Dutch portrait painter, dies at 66
• 1892 Roswell B. Mason, Mayor of Chicago, dies at 86
• 1893 James Fleming Fagan, American farmer and Confederate Army Major General (Shiloh; Mark's Mill), dies at 55
• 1894 Heinrich Hertz, German physicist (1st to broadcast & receive radio waves), dies after surgical complications at 36
• 1896 Alfred Ely Beach, American inventor, dies at 69
• 1901 Ignatius Donnelly, American politician, writer, and amateur scientist. dies at 69
• 1905 Mabel Cahill, Irish tennis player (US National C'ship 1891-92), dies at 41
• 1906 Joseph Miroslav Weber, Czech composer, dies at 51
• 1906 Sir Hugh Nelson, Australian politician (Premier of Queensland), dies at 72
• 1907 Cyrill Kistler, German composer, educator, and music theorist, dies at 58
• 1910 Harriet Powers, African-American slave & quilt maker (Bible Quilt 1886), dies at 72
• 1918 William Wilfred Campbell, Canadian poet (Beyond the Hills of Dream, Ian of the Orcades), dies of pneumonia at 57
• 1919 Mikhail Drozdovsky, Russian general, dies at 39
• 1920 Paul Adam, French writer (L'enfant d'Austerlitz), dies at 57
• 1923 Willie Keeler, American Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder (highest career AB-per-strikeout ratio in MLB history; NL batting champion 1897, 98 Baltimore Orioles), dies of tuberculosis at 50
• 1929 Erich Wichman, Dutch fascist painter and sculptor, dies of pneumonia at 38
• 1931 Martinus Beijerinck, Dutch microbiologist & botanist (1st to coin the name virus), dies at 79
• 1932 C. P. Scott, British journalist, publisher and politician, dies at 85
• 1934 Jakob Wassermann, German writer and novelist (My Life as German and Jew), dies of a heart attack at 60
• 1940 Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao, Indian writer and essayist, dies at 74
• 1942 Jaroslav Ježek, Czechoslovakian composer, dies at 35
• 1943 Andrew Summers Rowan, American military officer who gave "a message to Garcia", dies at 5
• 1944 Charles Turner, Australian cricket fast bowler (17 Tests; 101 wickets @ 16.53; fastest to 50 Test wickets; NSWCA), dies at 81
• 1944 Edwin Lutyens, English architect (Viceroy's House, New Delhi), dies at 74
• 1945 Vit Nejedly, Czech composer, dies at the front during WWII at 33
• 1947 Jesse Reno, American engineer and inventor (created the first escalators), dies at 86
• 1948 Hermann Zilcher, German pianist and composer (Dr Eisenbart, Die Liebesmesse), dies at 66
• 1948 Willem Landré, Dutch composer, and music educator, dies at 73
• 1949 William H. Lewis, American College football center and coach (first African-American selected as an All-American; Harvard), dies of heart failure at 80

• 1953 Ludomir Różycki, Polish composer and conductor (Eros i Psyche; Pan Twardowski), dies at 69
• 1954 Duff Cooper, British diplomat and writer, dies at 63
• 1957 Seán South, Irish Republican Army volunteer, killed during the Brookeborough Raid, at 28
• 1958 David Broekman, Dutch musician (Think Fast), dies at 55
• 1958 Edward Weston, American photographer, dies at 71
• 1960 Margaret Sullavan, American actress (Three Comrades), dies of barbiturate overdose at 50
• 1962 Diego Martínez Barrio, Spanish president (1939), dies at 76
• 1963 Dr Gilbert Bogle, New Zealand-Australian scientist who died mysteriously in a lover's lane (the Bogle-Chandler case), dies at 38
• 1964 Alf Hall, South African cricket fast bowler (7 Tests, 40 wickets), dies at 67
• 1964 Bechara El Khoury, President of Lebanon, dies at 73
• 1964 Otto Olsson, Swedish organist (Gustaf Vasa Church, 1907-56), composer, and teacher (Royal Swedish Academy, 1908-45), dies at 84
• 1964 Rika Hopper, Dutch actress (Comedia, Anastasia), dies at ~86
• 1965 Juan Bautista Plaza, Venezuelan composer, dies at 66
• 1966 Vincent Auriol, French politician (President of France 1947-53), dies at 82
• 1967 (Aubrey) "Moon" Mullican, American hillbilly pianist, songwriter, and singer ("Seven Nights To Rock"), dies of a heart attack at 58
• 1967 Maurice Leyland, English cricket batsman (41 Tests, 2764 runs @ 46.06; Yorkshire 1920-46, 1,000+ runs in 17 consecutive seasons), dies at 66
• 1968 Andy Oberlander, American College Football Hall of Fame halfback (Dartmouth College; National C'ship 1954), dies at 62
• 1968 Guy Boniface, French rugby union centre (35 Tests; Stade Montois Rugby; IRB HOF), dies in a road accident at 30
• 1969 Barton Maclane, American actor (The Quarterback, I Dream of Jeannie), dies of cancer at 66
• 1969 Bruno Söderström, Swedish athlete (Olympic silver pole vault & bronze javelin 1906; bronze pole vault 1908; popularized bowling in Sweden), dies at 87
• 1971 Amphilochius of Pochayiv [Yakov Varnavovich Golovatyuk], Ukrainian Orthodox Christian saint, dies at 76
• 1972 (Jennie Jane Morgan, British-American vaudeville, radio, and screen actress (Our Miss Brooks - "Mrs Margaret Davis"), dies at 91
• 1972 Maurice Chevalier, French actor (Can Can; Gigi) and singer ("Thank Heaven For Little Girls"), dies at 83
• 1975 Arthur Pierson, Norwegian-born American actor and director (Hat Check Girl), dies at 73
• 1975 Ken Loeffler, American College and Basketball Hall of Fame coach (National Invitation Tournament 1952; NCAA Basketball Tournament 1954, La Salle Explorers), dies from a heart attack at 72
• 1977 Roland Hayes, American lyric tenor, arranger, and composer, dies at 89
• 1980 Frank Wykoff, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1928, 32, 36), dies at 70
• 1980 Pietro Nenni, Italian socialist politician (Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs), dies at 88
• 1981 Ceferino Garcia, Filipino boxer (World Middleweight champion 1939-40), dies at 74
• 1981 Hephzibah Menuhin, American-Australian concert pianist, dies at 60

• 1982 Margot Grahame [Margaret Clark], British actress (The Three Musketeers, Criminal Lawyer), dies from chronic bronchitis at 70
• 1982 Paul Belmondo, French sculptor (Bathing Woman, Orleans), dies at 83
• 1982 Victor Buono, American actor (Man from Atlantis: The, Untouchables; Batman - "King Tut"), dies at 43
• 1984 Alexis Korner, British blues revivalist, guitar player (Blues Incorporated - "Please Please Please Please"), and radio broadcaster, dies of lung cancer at 55
• 1984 Ken Sitzberger, American diver & broadcaster (Olympic gold 3m springboard 1964), dies of a brain hemorrhage at 38
• 1986 Bruce Norris, American Hockey Hall of Fame executive (owner Detroit Red Wings 1952-82), dies at 61
• 1986 Marty Friedman, American Basketball Hall of Fame guard and coach (tied World C'ship series, New York Whirlwinds 1921), dies at 96
• 1987 Gustav Knuth, German actor (Sissi, Freddy Unter Fremden), dies at 85
• 1988 Leo Steiner, American restaurateur (Carnegie Deli), dies at 48
• 1988 Marcel Hillaire, German actor (Take the Money and Run, Seven Thieves), dies from surgery complications at 79
• 1990 Charles Boost, Dutch film critic, dies at 82
• 1990 James W. Wood, American astronaut (Dynasoar), dies at 65
• 1990 Joe Hardstaff Jr., English cricket batsman (23 Tests, 1,636 runs @ 46.74; Nottinghamshire CCC), dies at 78
• 1990 Suzuki Sochu, Japanese-born Zen teacher, dies at 80
• 1991 Charles B. Timmer, Dutch writer (Russia Black on White), dies at 83
• 1991 Yvonne Waegemans, Flemish author (Gnome Patjoepelke), dies at 81
• 1992 Constantin Poustochkine, Dutch jazz musician and critic, dies at 81
• 1992 Ginette Leclerc, French actress (Baker's Wife), dies at 79

• 1992 M. J. Frankovich, American football player and film producer (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner), dies at 82
• 1993 "Georgia" Tom [Dorsey], American blues and gospel pianist, songwriter ("Peace In The Valley"), and evangelist, dies at 93
• 1993 June Clayworth, American actress (Bodyguard, Criminal Court), dies of lymphoma at 87
• 1993 Phyllis Hill, American stage and film dancer and actress (Singing in the Dark), dies of lung cancer at 72
• 1994 Arthur Porritt, New Zealand athlete (Olympic bronze 100m 1924) and 11th governor-general of New Zealand 1967-72, dies at 93

• 1994 Werner Schwab, Austrian playwright (Female Presidents) and artist, dies at 35
• 1995 Eugene Wigner, Hungarian-American physicist and mathematician (1963 Nobel Prize for Physics), worked on the Manhattan Project, dies at 92
• 1995 Frederick "Fred" West, British contractor and serial killer (12 charges of murder), commits suicide in his prison cell at 53
• 1995 Jess Stacy, American jazz pianist (Benny Goodman, 1935-39; the Great Gatsby), dies at 90
• 1995 Ted Hawkins, American singer and guitarist (The Next Hundred Years), dies of a stroke at 58
• 1996 Arleigh Burke, American admiral (WW II, Solomon Islands, Navy Cross), dies at 94
• 1996 Arthur Rudolph, German rocket engineer, dies at 89
• 1996 Hamish Imlach, Scottish folk-comic singer-songwriter ("Cod Liver Oil and the Orange Juice"), dies at 55
• 1996 Orapin Chaiyakan, first Thai woman elected to the Parliament of Thailand, dies at 91
• 1997 Hagood Hardy, American-Canadian jazz and easy listening pianist, vibraphonist and film score composer ("The Homecoming"), dies from lymphoma at 59
• 1997 James B. Pritchard, American theologist & archaeologist, dies at 87
• 1997 Joan Rice, British actress (His Majesty O'Keefe, The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men), dies at 66
• 1997 John Burgess, English rugby coach and administrator (England coach 1971-75; RFU President 1987-88), dies at 71
• 1997 Townes Van Zandt, American singer-songwriter ("Pancho and Lefty"), dies of a heart attack at 52
• 1998 Åke Seyffarth, Swedish speed skater (Olympic gold 10,000m 1948; WR 3,000 & 5,000m), dies at 78

• 2000 Colin Vaughan, Australian political journalist, dies at 68
• 2001 Hsu Tsang-Houei, Taiwanese composer and collector of Taiwanese folk songs, dies at 71
• 2001 Ray Walston, American actor (My Favorite Martian, Damn Yankees), dies at 86
• 2002 Julia Phillips, American film producer, dies at 57
• 2003 Cyril Shaps, British actor, producer and voice artist (The Pianist), dies at 79
• 2003 F. William Free, American advertising executive (I'm Cheryl – Fly Me.), dies at 74
• 2003 Joe Foss, American fighter ace, football executive (Medal of Honor-1943; first commissioner American Football League) and politician, dies at 87
• 2004 Harold Henning, South African golfer (2 PGA Tour titles; 3 senior PGA titles; World Cup 1965), dies at 69
• 2004 Keith Adrian [Johnson], British-Dutch stage and screen actor, director, and playwright, dies at 59
• 2005 Bob Matsui, American politician, dies at 63
• 2005 Eugene J. Martin, American painter and artist, dies at 66
• 2005 Hugh Davies, English composer, dies at 61
• 2005 Hugh Lawson, 6th Baron Burnham, British newspaperman, dies at 73
• 2005 Magnús Blöndal Jóhannsson, Icelandic pianist and avant-garde composer, dies at 79

• 2006 Bryan Harvey, American musician (House of Freaks), dies at 49
• 2006 Dawn Lake, Australian TV comedienne, dies at 78
• 2006 Harry Magdoff, American magazine editor, dies at 92
• 2006 Hugh McLaughlin, Irish publisher and inventor, dies at 77
• 2006 Paul Lindblad, American baseball pitcher (World Series champion 1973-74, 78; Kansas City Athletics, Oakland Athletics), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 64
• 2007 A. I. Bezzerides, American novelist and screenwriter, dies at 98
• 2007 Del Reeves, American country music singer, dies at 74
• 2007 Julius Hegyi, American conductor, dies at 83
• 2007 Leon Davidson, American scientist known for studying UFOs, dies at 84
• 2007 Leonard Fraser, Australian serial killer, dies of a heart attack at 55
• 2007 Roland Levinsky, South African medical scientist, dies at 63
• 2007 Tad Jones, American jazz music historian, dies at 54
• 2007 Tillie Olsen, American writer (Tell Me a Riddle), dies at 94
• 2008 Harold Corsini, American photographer, dies from a stroke at 88
• 2008 Peter Caffrey, Irish actor, dies at 58
• 2008 Pratap Chandra Chunder, Indian union minister, dies at 88
• 2008 Salvatore Bonanno, American mafioso & son of crime boss Joseph Bonanno, dies of a heart attack at 75
• 2009 (Johannes Mario) J.M. Simmel, Austrian writer (It Can't Always Be Caviar), dies at 84
• 2009 Claiborne Pell, American writer, politician (US Senator (D) from Rhode Island, 1961-97), and sponsor of education grant legislation, dies at 90
• 2009 Edmund Purdom, British actor (The Egyptian, Asissi Underground, Pieces), dies at 84
• 2009 Nizar Rayan, Hamas leader, killed in an airstrike at 49
• 2011 Billy Joe Patton, American golfer (Masters 1954 3rd; Walker Cup captain 1969), dies at 88
• 2011 Charles Fambrough, American jazz bassist (Jazz Messengers), dies at 60
• 2011 Marin Constantin, Romanian composer and conductor, dies at 85
• 2011 Reynaldo Dagsa, Filipino politician, assassinated at 35
• 2012 Bob Anderson, English fencer & film fight choreographer (Lord of the Rings, Die Another Day), dies at 90
• 2012 Carlos Soria, Argentine lawyer and politician, dies from gunshot to the head at 62
• 2012 Ed Jenkins, American Congressman (Rep-D-Georgia 1977-93), dies at 78
• 2012 Elizabeth Brumfiel, American feminist archaeologist, dies of cancer at 66
• 2012 Fred Milano, American doo-wop singer, member of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, dies from lung cancer at 72
• 2012 Hermann Guggiari, Paraguayan engineer and sculptor (Rejas; NNUU), dies at 88
• 2012 Kiro Gligorov, 1st President of the Republic of Macedonia (1991-99), dies at 94
• 2012 Marcelle Narbonne, French super-centenarian & oldest person in Europe, dies at 113
• 2012 Nay Win Maung, Burmese physician and pro-democracy activist, dies from a heart attack at 50
• 2012 Tommy Mont, American football quarterback (Washington Redskins) and coach (University of Maryland 1956-58, DePauw University 1959-76), dies of heart failure at 89
• 2012 Yafa Yarkoni, Israeli Singer, dies after years of Alzheimer's disease at 86
• 2013 Christopher Martin-Jenkins, British cricket journalist and broadcaster (President MCC; BBC Radio), dies of cancer at 67

• Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next

• Assassination
• Car Crash
• Hanging
• Killed in Action
• Plane Crash
• Poisoning