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

Famous Deaths on July 5

  • 1316 Infante Ferdinand of Majorca (b. 1278)
  • 1375 Charles III of Alençon, French archbishop (b. 1337)
  • 1472 Charles of Artois, Count of Eu, French military leader (b. 1394)
  • 1539 Antonio M Zaccaria, Italian physician/saint, dies
  • 1626 Stephan Fadinger, Austrian boer leader, dies in battle
  • 1666 Albert VI, Duke of Bavaria, dies at 82
  • 1676 Carl Gustaf Wrangel, Swedish soldier (b. 1613)
  • 1681 Fjodor Aleksejevitsj, tsar of Russia, dies
  • 1715 Charles Ancillon, French Huguenot pastor (b. 1659)
  • 1719 Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg, Irish general, dies at 78
  • 1773 Francisco José Freire, Portuguese historian and philologist (b. 1719)
  • 1803 William Jackson [Jackson of Exeter], English composer and organist, dies at 73

Stamford Raffles (1781-1826)

British statesman and founder of Singapore, dies at 44 of apoplexy

Nicéphore Niépce (1765-1833)

French inventor and pioneer of photography, dies at 68

  • 1851 Juanita, Mexican, lynched by California gold diggers
  • 1852 Johann Baptist Weigl, German composer and clergyman, dies at 69
  • 1859 Charles Cagniard de la Tour, French physicist (b. 1777)
  • 1862 Heinrich Georg Bronn, German geologist and paleontologist, dies at 62
  • 1863 Lewis Armistead, Confederate brigadier general at Gettysburg (Pickett's Charge), dies of his injuries from the battle of Gettysburg at 46
  • 1871 Cristina Trivulzio di Belgioioso, Italian princess and politician, dies at 63
  • 1873 John Robertson, American politician, dies at 87
  • 1883 Frederick Scotson Clark, English organist and composer, dies at 42
  • 1884 Victor Massé, French composer(Les Noces de Jeannette), dies at 62
  • 1886 Hendrik Gerhard, Dutch tailor, workers' rights activist (founder - Dutch Chapter of International Workingmen's Association), and "father of socialism in the Netherland " (Chairman of Dutch Social-Democratic (SDB) political party), dies at 57
  • 1886 Henry Gerhard, founder (Social-Democratic Union), dies at 57
  • 1887 August Pott, German philological (Etymology Forschungen), dies at 84
  • 1894 Austen Henry Layard, British archaeologist and diplomat (work in Mesopotamia including rediscovery of Nineveh), dies at 77
  • 1894 Betty Paoli, writer, dies
  • 1904 Abai Kunanbaiuli, Kazakh poet (b. 1845)
  • 1905 Carel Victor Gerritsen, Dutch politician and free thinker (husband of suffragette Aletta Jacobs), dies at 55
  • 1906 Paul Karl Ludwig Drude, German physicist (optics), committed suicide at 42
  • 1907 Maria Anna Mahler, Gustav Mahler's eldest daughter, dies of scarlet fever at 5
  • 1908 Jonas Lie, Norwegian author (The Family at Gilje: A Domestic Story of the Forties), dies at 74
  • 1909 Emil Bohn, German organist, choral director, composer, and musicologist, dies at 70
  • 1909 Frank Selee, American Baseball HOF manager (5 x NL C'ship Boston Beaneaters; Chicago Orphans/Cubs), dies of tuberculosis at 49
  • 1911 George J Stoney, Irish physicist, dies at 85
  • 1911 Maria Pia of Savoy, Queen of Portugal (1862-89), dies at 63
  • 1913 Alfred Lyttelton, English politician and sportsman, 1st to represent England at cricket and football, dies of a stomach abscess at 56
  • 1920 John Shuter, cricketer (scored 28 in only Test for England 1888), dies
  • 1920 Max Klinger, German graphic artist, painter and sculptor (Paraphrase on the Finding of a Glove), dies at 63
  • 1925 Hjalmar Borgstrom, composer, dies at 61
  • 1927 Albrecht Kossel, German physician (Nobel 1910), dies at 73
  • 1932 Sasha Chorny [Alexander Mikhailovich Glikberg], Russian poet, dies at 51
  • 1935 Daniel Plooy, Dutch new testament expert, dies at 58

Chester Greenwood (1858-1937)

American inventor (invented earmuffs at 15), dies at 78

  • 1938 John McIlwraith, cricketer (Tests for Australia), dies
  • 1941 Oskar Fried, German-Russian composer, dies at 69
  • 1944 William Gillies Whittaker, English composer, dies at 67

John Curtin (1885-1945)

Victoria, 14th Prime Minister of Australia (Labor: 1941-45), dies of heart disease at 60

  • 1948 Carole Landis [Frances Ridste], American actress (I Wake Up Screaming; One Million BC; Topper Returns), allegedly commits suicide at 29
  • 1948 Georges Bernanos, French writer (The Diary of the Country Priest), dies at 60
  • 1948 Piet Aalberse, Dutch minister of Labor (1918-25), dies at 77
  • 1950 Private Kenneth Shadrick becomes the first identified American soldier killed in the Korean War
  • 1950 Salvatore Giuliano, Sicilian bandit, shot by police
  • 1957 Charles Sherwood Noble, American-born inventor
  • 1958 Frank Burge, Australian rugby league forward (13 Tests, 26 games NSW; Glebe, St. George; RL "Immortal") and coach (St. George, North Sydney, Western Suburbs, Newtown), dies of a heart attack at 63
  • 1963 Daniel Ruyneman, Dutch composer and pianist, dies at 76
  • 1965 Porfirio Rubirosa, Dominican diplomat, race car driver, and international playboy, dies when he crashes his Ferrari into a tree at 56
  • 1966 George de Hevesy, Hungarian radiochemist (Nobel Prize in Chemistry -1943), dies at 80 [1]
  • 1969 Ben Alexander, American actor (Dragnet, All Quiet on the Western Front), dies of natural causes at 58
  • 1969 Leo McCarey, American film director (The Awful Truth), dies at 70
  • 1969 Tom Mboya, Kenyian economics minister, assassinated in Narobi at 65
  • 1969 Walter Gropius, architect/found (Bauhaus school of design), dies at 86
  • 1969 Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist (Rubinstein-1905), dies at 85
  • 1975 Gilda dalla Rizza, Italian soprano, dies at 82

Elizabeth Ryan (1891-1979)

American tennis player (26 Grand Slam doubles titles), dies at 87

  • 1979 Judson Laire, American stage and screen actor (I Remember Mama - "Papa"; Advise and Consent), dies at 76
  • 1980 Archibald James Potter, Irish composer, dies at 61
  • 1981 Jorge Urrutia Blondel, Chilean composer, dies at 75
  • 1983 Arie Querido, psychiatrist (social psychiatry), dies
  • 1983 Harry James, American swing-era bandleader, trumpeter and husband to Betty Grable, dies from lymphatic cancer at 67
  • 1983 Václav Trojan, Czech composer, dies at 76
  • 1984 Don Elliott [Helfman], American jazz trumpeter, vibraphonist, mellophone player, and vocalist, dies of cancer at 57
  • 1984 Gaston Vandermeulen, Flemish actor (Heilig Experiment, The Arrival of Joachim Stiller), dies at 79
  • 1985 Ger Schmook, Flemish librarian (ADB, Antwerp City Library) dies at 86
  • 1985 Marion Byron, actress (Steamboat Bill Jr), dies at 73
  • 1989 Ernesto Halffter, Spanish classical and film score composer (Rapsodia portuguesa; is Don Quixote de la Mancha), and conductor, dies at 84
  • 1990 Mitch Snyder, homeless advocate, commits suicide by hanging at 46
  • 1991 Howard Nemerow, American poet laureate (Pulitzer), dies
  • 1991 Mildred Dunnock, dies at 87
  • 1992 Georgia Brown [Lilian Klot], British cabaret stage, and screen singer and actress (Oliver!; Shoulder To Shoulder), dies from complications of emergency intestinal surgery at 59
  • 1993 Harrison Salisbury, American journalist and author (NY Times correspondent in Moscow), dies at 84
  • 1994 Ad Gang, Dutch Liberal Party Asst Secretary of State, dies at 67
  • 1996 Anne Hummert, American radio pioneer and producer of daytime radio serials during the 1930s and 1940s (Just Plain Bill, The Romance of Helen Trent), dies at 91
  • 1996 Clyde Wiegand, American physicist ( co-discovered the antiproton), dies at 81
  • 1996 Erik Wickberg, 9th Salvation Army general, dies at 91
  • 1996 Lorna Young, Scottish promoter of Fairtrade products, dies at 44
  • 1997 Mrs. Miller, American singer (A Lover's Missouri), dies at 89
  • 1998 Sid Luckman, American College-Pro Football HOF quarterback (Columbia University; 4 × NFL C'ship 1940, 41, 43, 46; NFL MVP 1943; 5 × First-team All-Pro; 3 × Pro Bowl; Chicago Bears), dies at 81
  • 2001 Ernie K-Doe [Ernest Kador Jr.], American R&B singer ("Mother-in-Law"), dies of kidney failure and cirrhosis of the liver at 68
  • 2002 Grant Beglarian, Armenian-American composer (Of Fables, Foibles, and Fancies), educator (University of Southern California, 1969-86), and arts administrator,dies at 74
  • 2002 Harold "Duke" Dejan, Creole-American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader (Olympia Brass Band), dies at 93
  • 2002 Katy Jurado, Mexican actress, 1st Latin actress to win a Golden Globe (High Noon, Broken Lance), dies at 78

Ted Williams (1918-2002)

American Baseball HOF outfielder (last player to bat over .400 in single season; 19 x MLB All Star; AL MVP 1946, 49; Triple Crown 1942, 47 Boston Red Sox), dies at 84

  • 2003 Roman Lyashenko, Russian ice hockey player, dies at 24
  • 2004 Hugh Shearer, Prime Minister of Jamaica (b. 1923)
  • 2004 Rodger Ward, American race car driver (b. 1921)
  • 2005 Baloo Gupte, Indian cricket leg spin bowler (3 Tests, 3 wickets; Bombay, Bengal, Railways), dies at 70
  • 2005 James Stockdale, U.S. Navy vice admiral (b. 1923)
  • 2005 Shirley Goodman, American R&B and disco singer (Shirley & Lee - "Feels So Good"; Shirley & Company - "Shame, Shame, Shame"), dies at 69

Gert Fredriksson (1919-2006)

Swedish canoeist (6 Olympic gold 1948, 52, 56, 60), dies at 86

  • 2006 Kenneth Lay, American businessman (CEO and Chairman of Enron, 1985-2001), dies at 64
  • 2007 George Melly, British jazz & blues singer, journalist, and art critic, dies of lung cancer and emphysema at 80
  • 2007 Kerwin Mathews, American actor (b. 1926)
  • 2007 Régine Crespin, French operatic mezzo-soprano (Metropolitan Opera, 1962-87; Sheherazade, Les Nuits D'ete), dies of liver cancer at 80
  • 2008 Hasan Doğan, 37th president of the Turkish Football Federation (b. 1956)
  • 2009 Jack Ellory, British orchestral and session alto and bass flute player (Philharmonia Orchestra; The Beatles - "The Fool on the Hill"), dies at 89
  • 2009 Lou Creekmur, American football player (Detroit Lions) and hall of famer, dies at 82
  • 2010 Bob Probert, Canadian NHL right wing, 1985-2002 (Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings), dies of a heart attack while boating at 45
  • 2010 David Fanshawe, British composer and ethnomusicologist (African Sanctus; Pacific Odyssey; Dona Nobis Pacem – A Hymn for World Peace), dies of a stroke at 68
  • 2011 Armon Gilliam, American NBA forward, 1987-2000 (Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks, NJ Nets, and 3 other teams), and college coach, 2001-05 (Penn State), dies of a heart attack at 47
  • 2011 Cy Twombly, American artist (b. 1928)
  • 2011 Malcolm Forsyth, South African-Canadian trombonist and composer (Atayoskewin), dies of pancreatic cancer at 74
  • 2014 Hans-Ulrich Wehler, German historian, dies at 82
  • 2014 Rosemary Murphy, American actress (Margaret-Lucas Tanner), dies from esophageal cancer at 89
  • 2015 Yoichiro Nambu, Japanese-born American Physicist (Nobel Prize 2008), dies at 94
  • 2016 Alirio Díaz, Venezuelan guitarist, composer, and musicologist, dies at 92
  • 2016 Beatrice de Cardi, British archaeologist, dies at 102
  • 2017 Irina Ratushinskaya, Soviet dissident poet (Beyond the Limit), dies of cancer at 63
  • 2017 Pierre Henry, French composer (considered pioneer of musique concrète), dies at 89
  • 2018 Saman Kunan, former Thai Navy SEAL, asphyxiates after delivering oxygen to 13 trapped people in Tham Luang Nang Non cave, Thailand at 38
  • 2019 JN Reddy, South African politician (Solidarity party leader), dies at 93
  • 2019 John McCririck, English horse racing broadcaster, dies at 79
  • 2019 Ugo Gregoretti, Italian director and actor (Rogopag, Common Sense of Modesty), dies at 88
  • 2020 Bob Reade, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (NCAA Div III C'ship 1983-86; AFCA Div III Coach of the Year 1983–86; Augustana Vikings), dies at 87
  • 2020 Nick Cordero, Canadian Broadway actor (Bullets Over Broadway), dies of COVID-19 complications at 41
  • 2020 Ragaa al-Gedawy, Egyptian actress (The Stranger), dies of COVID-19 at 81
  • 2020 Volodymyr Troshkin, Ukrainian soccer defender (31 caps, USSR; Dynamo Kiev 205 games), dies at 72
  • 2020 Willi Holdorf, German athlete (Olympic gold, United Team of Germany, decathlon 1964), dies at 80
  • 2021 Gillian Sheen, British fencer (Olympic gold individual foil 1956), dies at 92
  • 2021 Raffaella Carrà [Pelloni], Italian singer ("Forte forte forte"), actress, and television presenter, dies of lung cancer at 78
  • 2021 Richard Donner [Schwartzberg], American television and film director (Twilight Zone; The Omen, Superman; Lethal Weapon; Scrooged), and producer (X-Men; Tales From The Crypt), dies at 91
  • 2021 William Smith, American actor (Rich Man Poor Man; Any Which Way You Can; Hawaii 5-0), dies at 88
  • 2022 Alfred Koerppen, German organist, composer, and educator (Hannover Hochschule für Musik und Theater, 1948-91). dies at 95
  • 2023 Andrés Oliva, Spanish road cyclist (Mountains Classification Giro d'Italia 1975, 76; Vuelta a España 1975, 76, 78), dies at 74
  • 2023 Coco Lee, Chinese-American pop singer ("A Love Before Time"; "Tragic"), takes her own life at 48
  • 2023 George Tickner, American guitarist and songwriter (Journey, 1973-75 - "I'm Gonna Leave You"), dies at 76
  • 2023 Roly Meates, Irish rugby union coach (Ireland 1975-77; Dublin University RFC, Leinster RFC), dies at 85
July 5 Highlights