- 429 Honoratus of Arles, Roman Cistercian monk, monastery founder (Lérins Abbey), bishop, and saint, dies at about 79
- 664 Amr ibn al-A'as, Arab general who led the Muslim conquest of Egypt, dies at about 90
- 1088 Berengarius of Tours, French theologist, dies
- 1275 Raymundus of Penafort, Spanish church law scholar, dies
- 1374 Andreas Corsini, Italian saint/bishop of Fiesole, dies
- 1425 Jan of Bavaria, liege of Holland/bishop/duke, dies
- 1481 Akhmat Khan, Khan of the Golden Horde (1465-1481)
- 1536 Baldassare Peruzzi, Italian architect and painter, dies at 54
- 1541 Bernard van Orley, Flemish royal painter of Hungary, dies at about 52
- 1592 John Casimir of Simmern, German prince and regent for his nephew, Elector Frederick IV (b. 1543)
- 1616 Philip Henslowe, English theatrical entrepreneur during Elizabethan age, dies at about 65
- 1646 Elias Hill, German architect of Augsburg, dies at 72
- 1685 Malachias Siebenhaar, Bohemian-German composer, dies at 68
- 1689 Seth Ward, English mathematician and astronomer (b. 1617)
- 1693 Mehmed IV, Turkish Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1648-87), dies at 51
- 1694 Francesco Morosini, Venetian army general who fought the Ottomans and Doge of Venice (1688-94), dies at 74
- 1697 Carlo Mannelli, Italian composer, dies at 56
- 1702 Thomas Franklin, English smith/uncle of B Franklin, dies [NS=Jan 17]
- 1718 Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian writer and jurist (b. 1664)
- 1718 Richard Hoare, English goldsmith and banker (b. 1648)
- 1725 Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Japanese playwright (Yotsugi Soga), dies at about 71
- 1731 Étienne François Geoffroy, French physician and chemist (1718 affinity table), dies at 58
- 1734 John Dennis, English dramatist whose thunder was stolen (b. 1657)
- 1738 Franz Xaver Murschhauser, German composer and theorist, dies at 74
- 1742 Johann Georg Reinhardt, Austrian organist, composer, and Kappelmeister dies at about 66
Haym Salomon (1740-1785)
Polish-born American broker who helped finance the American Revolution, dies in Philadelphia at 44
- 1790 Johann Trier, German composer, dies at 73
- 1799 Frederick, Dutch Prince of Orange and general, second son of King William V, dies of a fever at 25
- 1800 William Jones, British clergyman and author, dies at 73
- 1813 Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers, French general, dies at 48
- 1831 Rodolphe Kreutzer, French composer (La mort d'Abel) and virtuoso violinist, dies at 64
- 1840 Fanny Burney, English novelist (Camille, Evalina), dies at 87
- 1847 Tyagaraja [Kakarla Thyagabrahmam], Mulukanadu Brahmin classical Carnatic music vocalist and composer (Pancharatna Kritis), dies at 79
- 1849 Hartley Coleridge, English poet, dies at 52
Louis Braille (1809-1852)
French educator and inventor of a system of reading and writing for the blind, dies of tuberculosis at 43
Gregor Mendel (1822-1884)
Austrian monk and geneticist (discoverer of laws of heredity), dies at 61
- 1884 Paul "the Great" Taglioni, Italian-Austrian ballet choreographer, dies at 75
- 1885 Harishchandra, Indian poet, dramatist and commonly referred as "father of modern Hindi", dies at 34
- 1885 Peter C Asbjornsen, Norwegian fairy tale writer, dies at 72
- 1901 Philip Danforth Armour, American industrialist (foundered meatpacking firm Armour Foods), dies at 68
- 1902 Jan Bloch, Polish military theorist and peace activist, dies at 65
- 1907 Walter Read, cricketer (Engl batsman, 117 at no 10 v Aust 1884), dies
- 1908 George Dixon, Canadian boxer (World Bantamweight title, 1892; World Featherweight champion, 1891-97 & 1898-1901; 1st Black athlete to win a World C'ship in any sport), dies of liver failure at 37
- 1913 Frederick Hitch, English Victoria Cross Winner (b. 1856)
- 1915 Reginald Wood, cricketer (one Test England v Australia 1886), dies
- 1917 Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack, Dutch lawyer, economist (Bank of the Netherlands) and historian, dies at 82
Georg Cantor (1845-1918)
German mathematician (discovered transfinite numbers), dies at 72
- 1919 Max Heindel, Danish-American Christian occultist, astrologer and mystic, dies at 54
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)
26th US President (R: 1901-09; Nobel 1906), dies in NY at 60
- 1922 Jakob Rosanes, German mathematician (algebraic geometry and invariant theory), dies at 79
- 1928 Alvin Kraenzlein, American track and field athlete (4 Olympic gold 1900), dies at 51
- 1929 Tex Rickard, American boxing promoter and entrepreneur (founder NHL New York Rangers; builder third incarnation of Madison Square Garden, NYC), dies of complications from an appendectomy at 59
- 1933 Vladimir de Pachmann, Russian-German pianist, dies at 84
- 1934 Herbert Chapman, Legendary Manager of Arsenal and Huddersfield Town (b. 1878)
- 1935 George P Baker, American educator and playwright (Dramatic Technique), dies at 68
- 1936 Charles Stoneham, American owner of the NY Giants), dies at 59
- 1937 Brother André [Alfred Bessette], Canadian Roman Catholic lay brother and saint (St Joseph’s Oratory, Montreal), dies at 91
- 1939 Albert Ward, cricketer (England batsman in 7 Tests 1893-95), dies
- 1941 Charley O'Leary, American baseball shortstop (Detroit Tigers; oldest MLB player to collect a hit and score a run [58] St. Louis Browns 1934), dies at 65
- 1941 Franz Hessel, German writer, dies at 60
- 1942 Emma Calvé [Calvet], French operatic soprano (Metropolitan Opera, 1893-1904), dies at 83
- 1944 Ida Tarbell, American muckraker (The History of the Standard Oil Company), dies at 86
- 1945 Edith Frank, mother of Holocaust diarist Anne Frank, dies from starvation at the age of 44
- 1945 Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist (b. 1863)
Victor Fleming (1889-1949)
American film director (The Wizard of Oz; Gone With The Wind), dies at 65
- 1950 Isaiah Bowman, American geographer (co-founder of the Geographical Review), dies at 71
- 1954 Rabbit Maranville, American Baseball HOF infielder (World Series 1914 Boston Braves) and manager (Chicago Cubs), dies at 62
- 1958 Josephine CMA, princess of Belgium/nun, dies at 85
- 1959 Jose Enrique Pedreira, Puerto Rican composer ("Tus Caricias"; "Siempre"), and pedagogue, dies at 54
- 1960 Edith Barstow, American choreographer (Frankie Laine Time, The Gem of the Ocean), dies at 54
- 1960 Erik Lindahl, Swedish economist (Theory of Money & Capital), dies at 68
- 1961 Regina Ullmann, Swiss poet and writer, dies at 76
- 1962 Jacob "Jaap" Nanninga, Dutch painter (France, N Africa), dies at 57
- 1963 Lourens Baas Becking, Dutch botanist (Baas Becking hypothesis), dies at 68
- 1964 Edgar Maass, German/American author (Verdun), dies at 67
- 1967 Johnny Keane, American baseball manager (World Series 1964 St. Louis Cardinals; NY Yankees), dies of a heart attack at 55
- 1968 Kurt Baschwitz, German-Dutch sociologist and journalist (Heksen), dies at 81
- 1972 Chen Yi, Chinese military commander and politician (b. 1901)
- 1974 David Alfaro Siqueiros, Mexican sculptor/muralist, dies at 77
- 1975 Noel Madison, actor (Jitterbugs, Black Raven), dies at 77
- 1976 Albert Rice Leventhal, American publisher (Little Golden Books), dies at 68
- 1977 Hanns Lilje, German Lutheran bishop and antifascist (Church und Welt), dies at 77
- 1977 Niall MacGinnis, Irish character actor (Curse of the Demon, Helen of Troy), dies from cancer at 63
- 1978 Burt Munro, New Zealand motorcycle racer, and subject of the film 'The World's Fastest Indian", dies at 78
- 1978 Francine York, American actress (Slattery's People), dies at 80
- 1978 John D. MacArthur, American insurance billionaire, dies at 80
- 1980 Georgeanna Tillman, American singer (The Marvelettes - "Please Mr. Postman"), dies from lupus and sickle cell anemia at 37
- 1981 A. J. Cronin, Scottish writer (Citadel, Shining Victory), dies at 84
- 1984 Ernest Laszlo, Hungarian-U.S. cinematographer (b. 1898)
- 1985 Robert W. Welch Jr., American businessman who founded the conservative John Birch Society, dies at 85
- 1986 Louis Lebeer, Belgian art historian, engraver, and academic, dies at 90
- 1987 Domingo Santa Cruz Wilson, Chilean composer, dies at 87
- 1988 Brent Collins, soap actor (Another World), dies of a heart attack at 46
- 1990 Hans Jaray, Austrian actor (Lydia, Fedora) and playwright, dies at 83
- 1990 Ian Charleson, Scottish actor (Gandhi, Chariots of Fire), dies of AIDS at 40
- 1991 Ada Moore, entertainer, dies of cancer at 64
- 1991 Ahmet Adnan Saygun, Turkish composer, dies at 83
- 1992 Avon Jaeger Hill, entertainer, dies of cancer at 44
- 1992 Elaine McKenna, Australian actress (Peg Martin-Cell Block H), dies
- 1993 Elisabeth, Archduchess of Austria, Princess of Liechtenstein (daughter of Charles I last Emperor of Austria), dies at 70
- 1993 John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie, American jazz trumpeter, a creator of bebop & modern jazz (A Night In Tunisia), dies of cancer at 75
- 1993 Rudolf Nureyev, Russian-Austrian ballet dancer and choreographer (Kirov Ballet, 1958-61; Royal Ballet, 1964-70; Paris Opera Ballet. 1983-89), dies of AIDS at 54
- 1994 "Iron" Adriaan van Es, Dutch undersec of Navy (1963-72), dies at 80
- 1994 Gerardus J Sizoo, physicist/director of Dutch Free University, dies
- 1994 Morty the Moose, American character alces (Northern Exposure), dies at 6
- 1994 Virginia Kelley Clinton, Mother of President Clinton, dies at 70
- 1995 Edward Sutcliffe, British judge (British Central Criminal Court), dies at 77
- 1995 James Clay, American jazz tenor saxophonist, dies at 59
- 1995 Joe Slovo, Latvian/South African attorney/sect-gen (SACR), dies at 68
- 1995 Karl Guttmann, Austrian-Dutch playwright and director (Pinter), dies at 81
- 1996 (Robert) "Chubby" Wise, American bluegrass fiddler, dies at 80
- 1996 Duane Hanson, American artist, made life-sized realistic sculptures of people, dies at 70
- 1996 Henry Lennox d'Aubigny Hopkinson, British diplomat and Conservative politician, dies at 94
- 1996 John Phillipps Kenyon, historian/teacher, dies at 68
- 1996 Johnny Johnston, American singer and actor (Make that Spare), dies at 80
- 1997 Catherine Scorsese [Cappa], Italian-American actress (The King of Comedy, Goodfellas, Cape Fear), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 84
- 1997 Ian Peter Leslie Smith, British journalist, dies at 52
- 1997 Litz Pisk, British movement teacher in the theater, dies at 87
- 1997 Vince Williams, American actor (Hampton in "Guiding Light"), dies of cancer at 39
- 1998 Georgy Sviridov, Soviet Russian neo-romantic composer (The Blizzard; Time; Forward!), dies of a heart attack at 82
- 1999 Michel Petrucciani, French jazz pianist (100 Hearts), dies from a pulmonary infection at 36
- 2000 Don Martin, American cartoonist (b. 1931)
- 2002 Fred Taylor, American Basketball Hall of Fame coach and broadcaster (Ohio State University 1959-76; MLB Washington Senators 1950-52), dies at 77
- 2004 Francesco Scavullo, American celebrity photographer, dies at 82
- 2004 Pierre Charles, 5th Prime Minister of Dominica, dies at 49
- 2005 Lois Hole, Lt. Governor of Alberta (b. 1933)
- 2005 Louis Robichaud, Premier of New Brunswick (b. 1925)
- 2005 Samuel Smith, American chemist and co-inventor of Scotchgard, dies at 77 [1]
- 2005 Tarquinio Provini, Italian motorcycle road racer (2-time world champion 1957-58), dies at 71
- 2006 Hugh Thompson Jr., American Vietnam War veteran who played a major role in ending the 1968 My Lai massacre, dies of cancer at 62
- 2006 Lou Rawls, American soul singer-songwriter and producer ("You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine"), dies of cancer at 72
- 2007 "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow, American country-rock session and touring pedal-steel guitarist (Flying Burrito Brothers; George Harrison, Jackson Browne), dies at 72
- 2007 Mario Danelo, American football player (b. 1985)
- 2007 Roberta Wohlstetter, military historian and strategist (b. 1912)
- 2009 Claude Jeter, American gospel music singer (The Swan Silvertones), dies at 94
- 2009 Ron Asheton, American guitarist, bassist, and songwriter (The Stooges), dies of an apparent heart attack at 60 [exact date estimated]
- 2009 Vivienne Della Chiesa, American lyric soprano who sang on US radio during the 1940s and early 1950s (The American Album of Familiar Music, The Standard Hour), dies at 93
- 2010 Shelly Kurland, American educator, classically trained session violinist and string arranger for country music recordings (Shelly Kurland Strings), dies at 81
- 2011 Don Tyson, American businessman, founder of Tyson Foods, dies at 80
- 2011 Uche Okafor, Nigerian footballer (b. 1967)
- 2012 Ellen Pence, American social activist (battered women's movement), dies from cancer at 63
- 2012 John Celardo, American comic strip artist (Tarzan), dies at 93
- 2012 Louise Annand-MacFarquhar, Scottish painter and filmmaker, dies at 96
- 2012 Robert Dozier, Hollywood screenwriter, dies at 81
- 2012 Robert Holness, South African English radio and television presenter (Blockbusters), dies at 83
- 2012 Roger Boisjoly, American aerodynamicist (anticipated challenger disaster), dies at 73
- 2012 W. Francis McBeth, American composer (Of Sailors and Whales), conductor, and pedagogue (Ouachita Baptist University, 1957-96), dies at 78
- 2013 Neil Adcock, South African cricket fast bowler (26 Tests, 104 wickets @ 21.10), dies from bowel cancer at 81
- 2014 H. Owen Reed, American composer, dies at 103
- 2014 Larry D Mann, Canadian actor and broadcaster (Accidental Family, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer), dies at 91
- 2015 Lance Percival, English actor and comedian (That Was The Week That Was), dies at 81
- 2016 Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros, Cuban jazz trumpeter (Orchestra Harlow; Eddie Palmieri), dies of prostate cancer at 87
- 2016 Pat Harrington Jr, American actor (Danny Thomas Show, One Day at a Time), dies at 86
- 2018 Horace Ashenfelter, American athlete (Olympic gold 3000m steeplechase 1952), dies at 94
- 2021 Bobby Few, American jazz pianist and vocalist, dies at 85
- 2021 Satya Paul, Indian fashion designer and entrepreneur who invented the modern sari, dies of a stroke at 79 [1]
- 2022 Bob Falkenburg, American tennis player (Wimbledon singles 1948, doubles, 1947; US Open doubles 1944), dies at 95
- 2022 Calvin Simon, American funk and gospel vocalist (Parliament/Funkadelic - "Livin' the Life"), dies at 79
- 2022 F. Sionil José, Filipino novelist (Rosales Saga) and Philippine National Artist for Literature, dies at 97
Peter Bogdanovich (1939-2022)
American film director and producer (The Last Picture Show; Paper Moon), dies at 82 [1]
Sidney Poitier (1927-2022)
Bahamian-American actor, first black actor to win Oscar for Best Actor ("Lillies in the Field"; "To Sir With Love"; "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"), director (Stir Crazy), civil rights advocate, and diplomat, dies at 94 [1]
- 2023 Bill Campbell, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star, AL saves leader 1977; AL Rolaids Relief Man Award 1976, 77; Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox), dies from cancer at 74
- 2023 Dick Savitt, American tennis player (Wimbledon, Australian C'ships 1951), dies at 95
- 2023 Gianluca Vialli, Italian soccer striker (59 caps; Cremonese, Sampdoria, Juventus, Chelsea), manager (Chelsea, Watford) and broadcaster (Sky Italia), dies from pancreatic cancer at 58
- 2023 Steve James, American guitarist, songwriter, and luthier, dies from a glioblastoma brain tumor at 72
- 2024 Malcolm Price, Welsh rugby union centre (9 Tests Wales, 5 British & Irish Lions; Pontypool RFC) and rugby league centre (2 Tests GB; Oldham RLFC, Rochdale Hornets), dies at 86
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide