Theodosius II (401-450 AD)
the Younger, Eastern Roman emperor (408-450), dies after a riding accident at 49
- 1057 Victor II [Gebhard], Pope (1055-57), dies
- 1101 Su Tung-p'o, Chinese poet, essayist, painter and calligrapher, dies at 64
- 1128 William Clito, Count of Flanders (1127-28), dies at 25
- 1230 Duke Leopold VI of Austria (b. 1176)
- 1285 Queen Keran of Armenia, consort of Leo III of Armenia
- 1330 Michael Shishman of Bulgaria [Michael III], Tsar of Bulgaria (1323-30), dies in the Battle of Velbuzd
- 1527 Rodrigo de Bastidas, Spanish conquistador (founded city of Santa Marta), murdered by some of his men
Thomas Cromwell (c. 1485-1540)
English chief minister for King Henry VIII, executed for treason and heresy at the Tower of London at 54 or 55
- 1631 Guillén de Castro y Bellvis, Spanish dramatist (b. 1569)
- 1641 John Amner, English composer, dies at 61
- 1655 Cyrano de Bergerac, French dramatist and novelist (Voyage to the Moon), and inspiration for Edmond Rostand’s play, dies under mysterious circumstances at 36
- 1655 Suzuki Shosan, Samurai/monk/propagator of Zen Buddhism, dies at 76
- 1667 Abraham Cowley, English poet (Mistress/Sex libri plantarum), dies
- 1675 Bulstrode Whitelocke, English lawyer (b. 1605)
- 1685 Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington, English statesman (b. 1618)
- 1711 Gerard Lairesse, Dutch painter, buried at 69
- 1718 Etienne Baluze, French scholar (b. 1630)
- 1723 Mariana Alcoforado, Portuguese nun, dies at 63
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Italian Baroque composer (The Four Seasons), dies at 63
- 1746 John Peter Zenger, German born journalist and printer working in New York, involved in 1st amendment fight, dies at 48
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
German composer (St. Matthew's Passion; Brandenburg Concertos; Toccata and Fugue), dies at 65
- 1762 George Dodington, 1st Baron Melcombe, English politician (b. 1691)
- 1778 Arvid Niclas von Höpken, Swedish nobleman, soldier, and composer (Il Re Pastore), dies at 68
- 1793 Hayashi Shihei, Japanese military scholar, dies at 54
- 1794 Georges Couthon, French politician and lawyer during French Revolution (worked closely with Robespierre in Legislative Assembly), guillotined at 39
Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794)
French revolutionary (President of the National Convention, Member of Committee of Public Safety), executed by guillotine at 36
- 1802 Giuseppe Sarti, Italian composer (Il er pastore, Ifigenia), dies at 72
- 1811 Heinrich Joseph von Collin, Austria dramatist and poet (Coriolan), dies at 39
- 1818 Gaspard Monge, French mathematician (descriptive and differential geometry), politician (Minister of the Marine, 1792-93), and educator (École polytechnique), dies at 72
- 1835 Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier, French marshal (b. 1768)
- 1837 John Ross, British composer and organist, dies at 73
- 1838 Bernhard Henrik Crusell, Swedish-Finnish composer, dies at 62
- 1842 Clemens Brentano, German poet and author (The Story of the Just Casper and Fair Annie), dies at 63
- 1844 Joseph Bonaparte, older brother of Napoleon I and King of Naples and Spain, dies at 76
- 1847 John Walter II, English newspaper owner (who made The Times into an important newspaper, 1812-47), dies at 71
- 1849 Charles Albert, King of Sardinia (1831-49), dies at 50
- 1850 Stefano Pavesi, Italian opera composer (Ser Marcantonio), dies at 71
- 1863 James Deshler, US Confederate brigadier general, dies in battle at 30
- 1864 Johann Hermann Kufferath, German composer, dies at 67
- 1864 Samuel Benton, US Confederate brigadier general, dies in battle at about 44
- 1869 Carl Gustav Carus, German psychologist, philosopher and painter, dies at 80
- 1869 Jan Evangelista Purkyně, Czech anatomist (b. 1787)
- 1872 Friedrich Kaiser, Dutch astronomer (Kaiser-Compass), dies at 64
- 1878 George Law Curry, American newspaper publisher and Governor of Oregon, dies at 58
- 1895 Edward Beecher, American theologian, dies at 91
- 1895 Jan Kappeyne van de Coppello, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1877-79), dies at 72
- 1899 Antonio Guzmán Blanco, Military leader, diplomat and politician, President of Venezuela (1870-77, 1879-84, 1886-87), dies at 70
- 1904 Vyacheslav von Plehve, Russian Minister of the Interior, killed by Jewish revolutionaries after a bomb is thrown at his carriage, dies at 58
- 1907 James Henry Lane, US Brigadier General during Civil War (Confederate) and professor, dies at 74
- 1915 Vilbrun Guillaume Sam, Haitian rebellion leader, President of Haiti (1915), lynched by a mob at 56
- 1929 Henry Blake Fuller, American writer and dramatist (The Cliff-Dwellers, Under the Skylights), dies at 72
- 1930 Allvar Gullstrand, Swedish physician (Nobel Prize 1911), dies at 68
- 1934 Louis Tancred, South African cricket batsman (14 Tests, 2 x 50; Transvaal), dies at 57
Marie Dressler (1868-1934)
Canadian-American actress (Dinner at 8, Anna Christie), dies of cancer at 65
- 1937 Joseph Lee, American Father of Playgrounds movement, dies at 88
- 1937 Muslim Magomayev, Azerbaijani-Soviet composer, dies at 51
- 1939 William James Mayo, American surgeon and co-founder (Mayo Clinic in Minnesota), dies at 78
- 1940 Richard Ohlsson, Swedish composer, dies at 66
- 1942 Flinders Petrie, English Egyptologist (Merneptah Stele, measured the pyramids), dies at 89
- 1957 Edith Abbott, American social worker and educator (University of Chicago Social Sciences), dies at 80
- 1958 Walter Andrae, German archaeologist (helped steal Ishtar Gate), dies at 81
- 1960 Enrique Amorim, Uruguayan author (La victoria no viene sola), dies at 60
- 1965 Edogawa Ranpo, Japanese author (boy detectives club books), dies at 70
- 1965 Maurice Yvain, French composer, dies at 74
- 1965 Minor Watson, American actor (Woman of the Year, Viva Cisco Kid), dies at 75
- 1967 Karl W. Richter, American Air Force pilot during Vietnam War (youngest to shoot down a MiG), shot down at 24
- 1968 Charles William Mayo, American surgeon (Mayo Clinic), dies in a car accident on his 70th birthday
- 1968 Otto Hahn, German physicist and chemist (Nobel 1944, radiothorium/actinium), dies at 89
- 1969 Ernst Tittel, Austrian organist and composer, dies at 59
Frank Loesser (1910-1969)
American songwriter and composer (Guys And Dolls; "Baby, It's Cold Outside"; The Most Happy Fella), dies at 59
- 1969 Gabriel von Wayditch, Hungarian-American composer, dies at 80
- 1969 Ramón Grau, Cuban politician, 6th and 10th President of Cuba, dies at 87
- 1971 Charles E. Pont, American artist, dies at 73
- 1971 Myril Hoag, American baseball player, dies at 63
- 1972 Charu Majumdar, Indian revolutionary leader, dies in custody at 53
- 1972 Helen Traubel, American soprano, dies at 73
- 1973 Mary Ellen Chase, American educator and author (Windswept, 1959 Sarah Hale Award), dies at 86
- 1973 Royal Butler [Edwin Richey], American actor (Zenobia), dies at 80
- 1974 Truman Bradley, American TV host (Science Fiction Theater), dies at 69
- 1976 Lucie Mannheim, German singer and actress (39 Steps), dies at 77
- 1979 Charles Shadwell, British conductor (BBC Variety Orchestra, 1936-46), and bandleader dies at 81
- 1980 Cecil Burleigh, American violinist, composer (Sonnets of Autumn; Boyhood Recollections), and educator (University of Wisconsin, 1921-55), dies at 95
- 1981 Fr. Stanley Rother, American Roman Catholic priest, martyr and missionary to Guatemala, murdered at 46
- 1982 George Kleinsinger, American composer (Tubby the Tuba), dies at 68
- 1982 Keith Green, American contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter and pianist ("There Is a Redeemer"; "(Until) Your Love Broke Through"), and minister, dies in plane crash at 28
- 1982 Nick Lucas [Dominic Lucanese], American jazz guitarist and singer ("Tiptoe Through the Tulips"; "Painting the Clouds With Sunshine"), dies of double pneumonia at 84
- 1983 Alec Marks, Australian cricketer (good NSW batsman 1928-37), dies at 72
- 1984 Ahti Sonninen, Finnish composer (Pessi and Illusia, Rauhaa, vain rauhaa), dies at 70
- 1984 Bess Flowers 'The Queen of Hollywood Extras', American actress (View from Pompey's Head), dies at 85
- 1985 Grant Williams, American actor (Hawaiian Eye, Incredible Shrinking Man), dies of toxic poisoning at 54
- 1986 Charles Aubroeck, Belgian painter and sculptor (Iron Tower), dies at 91
- 1986 Cliff Melton, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1942; NL saves leader 1937; NY Giants), dies at 74
- 1986 Syd Curnow, South African cricket batsman (7 Tests, HS 47; Transvaal), dies at 78
- 1987 James Burnham, American philosopher, political theorist and Trotskyist (The Managerial Revolution, Coming Defeat of Communism), dies at 81
- 1989 Jeff Richards [Richard Mansfield Taylor], American actor (Don't Go Near the Water), dies of acute respiratory failure at 64
- 1990 Armando Frid, Argentinian horse tamer and centenarian, dies reportedly at 124
- 1990 Bruno Kreisky, Austrian politician (Chancellor, 1970-83; Foreign Minister, 1959-66), dies at 79
- 1990 Jill Esmond, English actress (13 Women, My Pal Wolfe, FP 1), dies at 82
- 1990 Maurice Braddell, English actor (Things to Come), dies at 89
- 1991 Luis Aravena Munoz, Chilean singer who was exiled in the Netherlands, dies at 45
- 1993 Herbert Joeks [Herman Hugten], Dutch actor (Snip & Snap, Pipo de clown), dies at 77
- 1994 Bernard Delfont, Russian-British impresario (Thorn EMI), dies at 84
- 1994 Colin Turnbull, British-American anthropologist (The Forest People), dies at 69
- 1994 Ralph Herman, American Emmy Award-winning composer (From the Scriptures; Circus Time), orchestra leader, and music director (ABC-TV, 1952-71), dies after a stroke at 80
- 1994 Selwyn Powell, British magazine editor (The Geographical Magazine; Night & Day), dies at 82
- 1996 Harold Fox, American fashion designer (the zoot suit), and big band trumpeter, dies of cancer at 86
- 1996 Marguerite "Marge" Ganser, American pop singer (The Shangri-Las - "Leader of the Pack"), dies of breast cancer at 48
- 1996 Mickey Fenn, British docker and socialist, dies at 58
- 1996 Micky Fenn, British dock worker, trade unionist, anti-fascist, and anti-racist activist, dies at 58
- 1996 Roger Tory Peterson, American ornithologist and writer (How to Know Birds), dies at 87
- 1997 Rosalie Crutchley, British actress (Armchair Theatre: Black Limelight, Four Weddings and a Funeral), dies at 77
- 1997 Seni Pramoj, Prime Minister of Thailand (1945-46, 75, 76), dies at 92
- 1998 Lenny McLean, English bareknuckle fighter (b. 1949)
- 1998 Zbigniew Herbert, Polish poet and writer, dies at 73
- 1999 Rudolf Halaczinsky, German composer, dies at 78
- 1999 Trygve Haavelmo, Norwegian economist and 1989 Nobel laureate for his contributions to econometrics, dies at 87
- 2000 Abraham Pais, Dutch-born American physicist and historian (b. 1918)
- 2000 Jerome Smith, American guitarist (KC & the Sunshine Band - "Boogie Shoes"), dies in a construction accident at 47
Archer John Porter Martin (1910-2002)
English chemist and Nobel laureate, dies at 92
Francis Crick (1916-2004)
English molecular biologist who co-discovered DNA's structure, with James Watson (Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, 1962), dies of colon cancer at 88 [1] [2]
- 2004 George Williams, American soul singer (The Tymes), dies at 68
- 2004 Sam Edwards, American actor (Captain Midnight, Twelve O'Clock High), dies at 89
- 2004 Tiziano Terzani, Italian journalist (b. 1938)
- 2005 Ronald MacDonald, British major-general (WWII), dies at 93
- 2006 David Gemmell, British writer (b. 1948)
- 2006 Patrick Allen, British actor (Roman Holiday, Dial "M" for Murder), dies at 79
- 2007 Jim LeRoy, American aerobatics pilot, dies in a plane crash at the Dayton airshow at 46
- 2007 Karl Gotch, Belgian professional wrestler (b. 1924)
- 2008 Susan Tamim, Lebanese singer and actress (Studio El Fan), murdered in her apartment in Dubai at 30
- 2009 Jim Johnson, American NFL Assistant Coach, Eagles Defensive Coordinator from 1999-2009 (b.1941)
- 2009 Peter Richard Tahourdin, English-Australian composer, dies at 80
- 2009 Reverend Ike [Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II], American televangelist (Joy of Living), dies at 74
- 2010 Ivy Bean, English internet celebrity (b. 1905)
- 2011 Abdul Fatah Younis, Former Libyan Interior Minister, assassinated for pro-Gadaffi ties (b. 1944)
- 2013 Eileen Brennan, American actress (Laugh-In, Pvt Benjamin), dies from bladder cancer at 80
- 2013 George Scott, American MLB player, dies at 69
- 2013 Rita Reys [Maria Reijs], Dutch jazz singer, dies from a intracranial hemorrhage at 88
- 2013 William Scranton, American Republican Party politician and diplomat, dies from a cerebral hemorrhage at 96
- 2014 Jon Erikson, American swimmer 1st to triple cross English Channel (1981), dies at 58
- 2014 Margot Adler, American journalist, dies from endometrial cancer at 68
- 2015 Clive Rice, South African cricket all-rounder (WSC 1978-79, ODI 1991; Nottinghamshire), dies from a brain tumour at 66
- 2015 James Jude, American thoracic surgeon (developed CPR), dies at 87
- 2016 Mahasweta Devi, Indian Bengali writer and activist, dies at 90
- 2018 Bruce Lietzke, American golfer (13 PGA Tour wins; US Senior Open 2003), dies of brain cancer at 67
- 2018 Ian Stanley, Australian golfer (British Senior Open 2001), dies of cancer at 69
- 2020 Aleksandr Aksinin, Russian athlete (Olympic gold, 4×100m relay 1980; bronze 1976), dies at 65
- 2020 Bent Fabric [Fabricius-Bjerre], Danish pianist and composer (Alley Cat), dies at 95 [1]
- 2020 Gisele Halimi, Tunisian-French lawyer, feminist and author, dies at 93
- 2020 John McNamara, American MLB manager (American League Manager of the Year 1986; Boston Red Sox), dies at 88
Johnny Ventura (1940-2021)
merengue and salsa bandleader (“Patacon Pisao”), and politician (Mayor of Santiago, 1998-2002), dies of heart failure at 81 [1]
- 2021 Joseph "Dusty" Hill, American rock bassist and songwriter (ZZ Top - "Cheap Sunglasses"; "Legs"), dies at 72 [1]
- 2021 Ron Popeil, American inventor and TV personality who popularized the phrase "But wait, there's more!", dies at 86 [1]
- 2021 Ruben Radica, Croatian classical and electronic music composer (Towards A), and educator, dies at 90
- 2022 Bernard Cribbins, British character actor (Old Jack’s Boat; Doctor Who – “Wilfred Mott”; The Railway Children), voice-over artist (The Wombles; Jackanory), and novelty song singer (Right Said Fred), dies at 93
- 2022 Terry Neill, Northern Irish soccer defender (59 caps; Arsenal, Hull City FC) and manager (Hull City FC, Tottenham, Arsenal), dies at 80
- 2022 Wayne Hawkins, American football guard (5 × AFL All-Star 1963–1967; Oakland Raiders), dies at 84
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide