Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift.

Famous Deaths on January 24

Caligula (12-41 AD)

3rd Roman Emperor (37-41 AD) who was known for his eccentricity and cruel despotism, assassinated at 28 by Praetorian Guards

  • 772 Stephen III, Greek Sicilian-born Catholic Pope (768-72), dies. (b. 720)
  • 817 Stefanus IV, Pope (816-17), dies
  • 1125 David IV of Georgia (b. 1073)
  • 1336 Alfonso IV, the Benignant, King of Aragon (1327-36), dies at 36
  • 1376 Richard FitzAlan, 3rd Earl of Arundel, English military leader for Edward III during Hundred Years' War dies at 62 or 63
  • 1473 Conrad Paumann, German blind organist and composer, dies
  • 1547 Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, executed for treason
  • 1595 Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria, Governor of Bohemia, dies at 65
  • 1619 Henry Brooke, 11th Baron Cobham, English conspirator against the rule of James I of England, dies at 54
  • 1626 Samuel Argall, English adventurer and naval officer, dies at 45
  • 1639 [George] Jörg Jenatsch, Swiss Grisons leader, assassinated by a man disguised as a bear at about 42
  • 1666 Johann Andreas Herbst, German composer, dies at 77
  • 1678 Joan Maetsuyker, Dutch colonial ruler (Governor-general of Dutch East Indies, 1653-78; Governor of Zeylon, 1646-50), dies at 71
  • 1709 George Rooke, English admiral, captured Spanish treasure fleet at Battle of Vigo Bay, dies at 58 or 59
  • 1728 Johann Philipp Käfer, German composer, 55
  • 1769 François de Chevert, French general, fought in War of Austrian Succession, dies at 73
  • 1805 Giacomo Conti, Italian composer, dies at 50
  • 1812 Eligio Celestino, Italian violinist and composer, dies at 72
  • 1824 Ercole Consalvi, Italian Roman Catholic Cardinal, dies at 66
  • 1848 Horace Wells, American dentist (pioneered use of medical anesthesia), commits suicide after committing a crime under the influence of chloroform at 33
  • 1851 Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini, Italian opera composer and conductor (La Vestale), dies at 76
  • 1856 Rabbi Yechezkel of Kuzmir, Polish Hasidic leader (b. 1775)
  • 1860 James Pollard Espy, American meteorologist (Philosophy of Storms), dies at 74
  • 1862 James McIntosh, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies in battle at about 33
  • 1864 Otto Jonas Lindblad, Swedish composer (Kungssången - Royal Anthem), dies at 54
  • 1864 Stephen Gardner Champlin, American physician and brigadier general (Union), dies Of his battle wounds at about 36
  • 1874 Adam Black, Scottish politician and publisher (A & C Black), dies at 89
  • 1877 Johann Christian Poggendorff, German physicist (b. 1796)
  • 1880 José Gautier Benítez, Puerto Rican poet, dies at 28
  • 1882 Levi Boone, American politician, Mayor of Chicago (1855-56), dies at 73
  • 1883 Friedrich von Flotow, German composer, dies at 70
  • 1884 Johann Christian Gebauer, Danish composer, dies at 75
  • 1885 Martin Delany, African-American abolitionist and physician (1st African American major in US Army), dies at 72
  • 1894 Constance Fenimore Woolson, American writer (Jupiter Lights), dies falls to her death in Venice at 53
  • 1895 Lord Randolph Churchill, British politician (chancellor of the Exchequer, father of Winston Churchill), dies at 45
  • 1901 Simon Hassler, German-American composer, dies at 68
  • 1904 Franz Coenen, Dutch violinist and composer, dies at 77
  • 1905 William Sellers, American engineer and inventor (US standard screw thread), dies at 80 [1]
  • 1911 Carl Eilhardt, German composer and conductor, dies at 67
  • 1911 David Graham Phillips, American journalist and novelist (b. 1867)
  • 1912 James Allen, English writer (As a Man Thinketh), dies at 47
  • 1913 Gustav Luders, German-American conductor and stage musical composer (The Prince of Pilsen), dies at 47
  • 1918 George Arthur Crump, American golf course architect (Founder Pine Valley Golf Club), dies from possible suicide at 46
  • 1924 Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, dies at 29
  • 1924 Thephilo Braga, Portuguese poet and politician, dies at 80

Wilfred Baddeley (1872-1929)

British tennis player (Wimbledon 1891-2, 95), dies at 57

  • 1929 Willem Royaards, Dutch theater director (Adam in Ballingschap), dies at 62
  • 1930 Rebecca Latimer Felton, American writer and politician (first woman to serve as U.S. Senator (Georgia)), dies at 94 [1]
  • 1932 Alfred Yarrow, English shipbuilder (Yarrow Shipbuilders), die sat 90
  • 1932 Paul Warburg, German-American investment banker who influenced and encouraged the design of the Federal Reserve, dies at 63
  • 1939 Maximilian Bircher-Benner, Swiss physician and nutritionist, dies at 71
  • 1940 Emile van Bosch, Belgian revue, operetta and opera singer, dies at 52
  • 1941 Tommy Bond, Irish baseball pitcher and right fielder (Triple Crown 1877; Boston Red Caps; first man born in Ireland to play MLB), dies at 84
  • 1943 John Burns, British minister of Local Government (1905-14), dies
  • 1947 Felix Timmermans, Flemish painter and illustrator (Pallieter), dies at 60
  • 1948 Arthur Liebehenschel, Polish Commandant at the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, executed for war crimes at 48
  • 1948 Maria Mandl, Austrian Nazi concentration camp worker (Lichtenburg; Ravensbrück) extermination camp official (Auschwitz II-Birkenau), and convicted war criminal, executed by hanging at 36
  • 1950 Bull Montana [Luigi Montagna], Italian actor (Brass Buttons, Victory, The Son of the Sheik), dies from coronary thrombosis at 62
  • 1953 Ben Taylor, American Baseball Hall of Fame 1st baseman (Indianapolis ABCs) and manager (Washington Potomacs, Baltimore Black Sox), dies of pneumonia at 64
  • 1953 Mike Jacobs, American boxing promoter (Twentieth Century Sporting Club - Joe Louis' promoter; 3 x $1m fights), dies at 72

Gerd von Rundstedt (1875-1953)

German field marshal during World War II (Commander-in-Chief in the West), dies of heart failure at 77

  • 1955 Ira Hayes, American World War II hero (b. 1923)
  • 1957 Dan Taylor, South African cricket batsman (2 Tests, HS 36; Natal), dies at 70
  • 1960 Edwin Fischer, Swiss concert pianist and conductor, dies at 73
  • 1960 John Miljan, American actor (The Ten Commandments, Possessed, Final Extra, Susan Lenox), dies at 67

Alfred Carlton Gilbert (1884-1961)

American inventor and businessman who invented the Erector Set, one of the most popular toys of all time, dies at 76

  • 1961 Willem van Eysinga, Dutch jurist and diplomat (Paris Peace Conference), dies at 82
  • 1962 Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Turkish poet, novelist, recognized as one of the most important representatives of modernism in Turkish literature (A Mind at Peace, The Time Regulation Institute), dies of a heart attack at 60
  • 1962 Stanley Lord, Captain of the SS Californian the night of the Titanic disaster, dies at 84
  • 1962 Tom Shirley, American actor and TV announcer (They're Off), dies at 62
  • 1964 Stuart Davis, American modernist painter, dies at 71

Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

British Prime Minister (Conservative: 1940-45, 1951-55) during World War II, and writer (Nobel Prize in Literature, 1953), dies of a stroke at 90

  • 1966 Homi J. Bhabha, Indian nuclear physicist, dies at 56
  • 1969 Pauline Hall, Norwegian composer, dies at 78
  • 1970 Caresse Crosby, American poet (b. 1891)
  • 1970 James "Shep" Shepherd, American R&B singer-songwriter (The Heartbeats - "One Thousand Miles"; Shep & Limelites - "Daddy's Home"), beaten to death in a robbery at 34
  • 1971 Bill W. [William Wilson], American co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (b. 1895)
  • 1972 Jerome Cowan, American actor (Blondie, Tab Hunter Show), dies at 74
  • 1973 Alan Lissette, New Zealand cricket spin bowler (2 Tests, 3 wickets; Auckland, Northern Districts), dies from heart disease at 53
  • 1973 J. Carrol Naish, American actor (Sahara; A Medal for Benny), dies of emphysema at 77
  • 1975 Erich Kempka, German chauffeur to Adolf Hitler, dies at 64
  • 1975 Larry Fine, American actor and comedian (3 Stooges), dies at 72
  • 1978 Herta Oberheuser, German doctor (b. 1911)
  • 1979 Jerry Damon, comedian (That Was The Week That Was), dies at 51
  • 1979 Mabel Taliaferro, actress (My Love Come Back), dies at 91
  • 1982 Alfredo Ovando Candía, Bolivian president and dictator (b. 1918)

George Cukor (1899-1983)

American film director (My Fair Lady, Philadelphia Story, The Wizard of Oz), dies of a stroke and a heart attack at 83

  • 1986 Gordon MacRae, American singer and actor (Oklahoma!, Carousel), dies of pneumonia at 64
  • 1986 L. Ron Hubbard, American sci-fi writer (Death Quest; Dianetics) and founder of Church of Scientology, dies at 74
  • 1988 Werner Fenchel, German mathematician (b. 1905)
  • 1989 George Knudson, Canadian golfer (8 PGA Tour titles; Masters 1969 runner-up), dies of lung cancer at 51

Ted Bundy (1946-1989)

American serial killer of up to 100 women during the 1970s, executed by electric chair in Florida at 42

  • 1990 Madge Bellamy, American actress, dies of heart failure at 90
  • 1991 Harold "Shot" Jackson, American country dobro player, and pedal steel guitarist (Roy Acuff), and guitar designer and builder (Sho-Bud), dies after his second stroke at 70
  • 1991 Jack Schaefer, American author (Shane), dies at 83
  • 1991 John M. Kelly, Irish politician and academic (b. 1931)
  • 1991 Lawrence Lott, American actor (Real Men, Philadelphia Experiment), dies of AIDS at 40
  • 1992 Charles Moulin, French actor (French Tarzan), dies
  • 1992 John Bleifer, American actor (Highway to Heaven), dies at 90
  • 1992 Ricky Ray Rector, American murderer, executed in prison at 42
  • 1992 Tina Chow, American model and jewellery designer, dies of AIDS at 41

Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993)

1st African American supreme court justice (1967-91), dies 84

  • 1993 Ugur Mumcu, Turkish journalist and writer (Cumhuriyet Murder), dies at 50
  • 1994 Michalis Vranopoulos, head of Greek state bank, murdered at 48
  • 1994 Yves Navarre, French writer (Le Jardin d'acclimatation), dies at 53
  • 1995 David Cole, American songwriter ( C+C Music Factory - "Gonna Make You Sweat"), and record producer (Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, James Brown), dies at 32
  • 1995 Ian Prestt, English ornithologist, dies at 65
  • 1995 Victor Reinganum, English artist and illustrator, dies at 87
  • 1995 Wim Sinnige, Dutch politician (PvdA) (Amsterdam Alderman of Finance, 1973-80), and arts administrator, dies at 60
  • 1996 Sandor Iharos, Hungarian runner, dies at 65
  • 1997 Callum Alexander MacDonald, Scottish historian, dies of cancer at 49
  • 1998 Jay Monahan, husband of Katie Couric, dies of cancer at 42
  • 1998 Justin Tubb, American country singer (Grand Ole Opry), dies at 62
  • 1998 Walter Bishop, Jr, American bebop jazz pianist, music theorist, and educator, dies of a heart attack at 70
  • 2000 Bobby Duncum, Jr., American professional wrestler (b. 1965)
  • 2001 Leif Thybo, Danish composer and organist, dies at 78
  • 2002 Elie Hobeika, Lebanese Forces militia commander (b. 1956)
  • 2002 Kurt Schaffenberger, American comics artist (Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane), dies at 81
  • 2002 Peter Gzowski 'Mr Canada', Canadian broadcaster, writer and reporter, dies of emphysema at 67
  • 2003 (Giovanni) "Gianni" Agnelli, Italian industrialist, executive (President of Fiat Automobiles, 1966-96), and Italian Senator-for-life (1991-2003), dies of prostate cancer at 81
  • 2003 Lucien Blackwell, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania), dies at 71
  • 2004 Leônidas da Silva, Brazilian footballer (b. 1913)
  • 2005 Chalkie White, English rugby union coach (b. 1929)
  • 2005 June Bronhill, Australian stage and opera singer, dies at 75
  • 2005 Robert Stevens Baker, American organist, composer, and educator (Union Theological Seminary, 1961-72; Institute of Sacred Music at Yale, 1973-75), dies at 88
  • 2005 Vladimir Savchenko, Ukrainian writer (b. 1933)
  • 2006 Chris Penn, American actor (The Wild Life), dies at 40
  • 2006 Fayard Nicholas, American tap dancer, one-half of The Nicholas Brothers and actor (The Five Heartbeats), dies of pneumonia and complications from a stroke at 91
  • 2006 Schafik Handal, Salvadoran politician
  • 2007 Emiliano Mercado del Toro, World's oldest living man 2004-2007, dies at 115
  • 2007 Guadalupe Larriva, Ecuadorian politician (b. 1956)
  • 2007 Krystyna Feldman, Polish actress (b. 1916)
  • 2008 J. Robert Hooper, American politician, dies at 71
  • 2008 Randy Salerno, co-anchor of Chicago's CBS 2 News (b. 1963)
  • 2009 Diane Holland, British actress and dancer (Crossroads - "Sarah"; Hi-de-Hi! - "Yvonne"), dies of bronchial pneumonia at 78
  • 2009 Gérard Blanc, French pop singer ("Une Autre Histoire"), dies at 61
  • 2009 Kay Yow, North Carolina State Univ. women's basketball head coach (b. 1942)
  • 2009 Leonard Gaskin, American jazz bassist (Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis), dies at 88
  • 2009 Reg Gutteridge, British Boxing Journalist (b. 1924)
  • 2010 Pernell Roberts, American actor (Bonanza- "Adam"; Trapper John, M.D.), dies at 81
  • 2010 Robert Mosbacher, American businessman, yachtsman and political appointee (US Secretary of Commerce, 1989-92), dies of pancreatic cancer at 82
  • 2011 Bernd Eichinger, German film producer and director, dies at 61
  • 2011 Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Indian khayal (romance) and devotional (bhajan and abhangsad) singer, dies at 88
  • 2011 Peter Paul Zahl, German left-wing writer and printer (shot two police officers), dies at 66
  • 2012 James Farentino, American actor (The Final Countdown; Dynasty; Mary), dies of heart failure at 73
  • 2012 Patricia Neway, American opera and musical theatre singer, dies at 83
  • 2012 Theo Angelopoulos, Greek film director (The Travelling Players, Eternity and a Day), dies at 76
  • 2013 Richard Stern, American writer (Pacific Tremors), and educator (University of Chicago, 1955-2002), dies at 84
  • 2015 Joe Franklin, American radio host, TV personality and New York institution (The Joe Franklin Show), dies of prostate cancer at 88
  • 2015 Toller Cranston, Canadian figure skater (Olympic bronze men's singles 1976; World C'ship bronze 1974) and painter, dies of a heart attack at 65

Marvin Minsky (1927-2016)

American artificial intelligence computer scientist (MIT), dies at 88

  • 2016 Yvonne Chouteau, Native American dancer (one of the "five Moons" of Oklahoma), dies at 86
  • 2017 (Claude) "Butch" Trucks, American rock drummer (The Allman Brothers Band - "Whipping Post"), dies of a self-inflicted gunshot at 69
  • 2018 Jack Ketchum [Dallas William Mayr], American horror fiction author (Off Season, Red, The Woman), dies of cancer at 71
  • 2018 Mark E. Smith, British rock vocalist (The Fall, The Post-Nearly Man), dies after a long illness at 60
  • 2020 Duje Bonačić, Croatian rower (Olympic gold coxless four 1952), dies at 90
  • 2020 Juan José Pizzuti, Argentine soccer striker and manager (12 caps; Racing Club de Avellaneda), dies at 92
  • 2020 Pete Stark, American politician (Rep-D-CA, 1973-2013), dies at 88
  • 2020 Rob Rensenbrink, Dutch soccer left winger or forward (46 caps; Anderlecht), dies of progressive muscular atrophy at 72
  • 2021 George Armstrong, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame centre (Stanley Cup 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1966–67 Toronto Maple Leafs; 7 x NHL All Star), dies from heart complications at 90
  • 2021 Gunnel Lindblom, Swedish actress (Hunger, Virgin Spring), dies at 89
  • 2021 Jóhannes Eðvaldsson, Icelandic soccer defender (34 caps; Celtic, Tulsa Roughnecks, Hannover 96, Motherwell), dies from COVID-19 at 70
  • 2022 Aftab Baloch, Pakistan cricket batsman (2 Tests; 7th player to pass the 400 first class run milestone, 428 for Sind 1974), dies at 68
  • 2022 Szilveszter Csollány, Hungarian gymnast (Olympic gold rings 2000, silver 1996; World C'ship gold rings 2002), dies from COVID-19 at 51
  • 2023 Duncan Pugh, Australian bobsledder (Olympics, 2010), and school teacher, dies of a brain aneurysm at 48
  • 2023 Lance Kerwin, American actor (James at 15; Salem's Lot; Enemy Mine; Outbreak), dies at 62 [1]
  • 2024 N. Scott Momaday, Native American author (House Made of Dawn, Pulitzer Prize - 1969), dies at 89 [1]
January 24 Highlights