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

Famous Deaths on July 6

  • 1017 Genshin [Eshin Sōzu], Japanese scholar-monk of the Buddhist Tendai sect (Ōjōyōshū -"Essentials of Birth in the Pure Land"), dies at around 75

Henry II of England (1133-1189)

dies of a bleeding ulcer at 56

  • 1218 Eudes III, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1166)
  • 1249 Alexander II, King of Scots (1215-49), dies at 50
  • 1415 Jan Hus, Bohemian religious reformer burned for heresy by the Church at Constance, Germany (b. 1369)
  • 1476 Regiomontanus [Johannes Müller von Königsberg], German mathematician and astronomer, prepares astronomic tables, dies at 40
  • 1480 Antonio Squarcialupi [Giovanni], Italian composer and organist (Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, 1432-80), dies at 64
  • 1533 Ludovico Ariosto, Italian poet (Orlando Furioso), dies at 57

Thomas More (1478-1535)

English philosopher, Renaissance humanist, author (Utopia), statesman (Lord Chancellor 1529-32), and Catholic saint, beheaded for treason at 57

Edward VI (1537-1553)

King of England (1547-53), dies at 15

  • 1568 Johann Oporinus, Swiss book publisher/publisher, dies at 61
  • 1583 Edmund Grindal, English bishop of London/archbhp of York, dies at 64
  • 1585 Thomas Aufield, English Catholic martyr (b. 1552)
  • 1684 Peter Gunning, English royalist churchman (b. 1614)
  • 1734 Nicolas Bernier, French composer, dies at 69
  • 1740 Claudius Amyand, French-born British surgeon who performed first appendectomy, dies at about 80
  • 1758 George Howe, 3rd Viscount Howe, British general
  • 1759 William Pepperrell, British colonial soldier, dies at 63
  • 1765 Ferdinand Zellbell the elder, Swedish composer, dies at 76
  • 1768 Conrad Beissel, German born American religious leader and composer (founded Ephrata community), dies at 78
  • 1790 George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield, Scottish general (Seven Years' War) and Governor of Gibraltar (1777-90) who commanded the garrison during the Great Siege Gibraltar, dies of palsy/stroke at 72
  • 1792 Maria Louisa of Spain, Empress consort of the Holy Roman Empire, dies at 46
  • 1795 Georg Gottfried Petri, German composer, dies at 79
  • 1802 Daniel Morgan, American soldier and politician (Battle of Cowpens, Whiskey Rebellion), dies at 66
  • 1809 Antoine Charles Louis Lasalle, French cavalry general (b. 1775)
  • 1813 Granville Sharp, English abolitionist, dies at 77
  • 1815 Samuel Whitbread, English politician, dies at 51
  • 1816 Philipp Meissner, German composer, dies at 67

John Marshall (1755-1835)

4th Chief Justice of the United States (1801-35), dies at 79

  • 1851 Thomas Davenport, American inventor (invented 1st commercial electric motor), dies at 48

Georg Ohm (1789-1854)

German physicist and mathematician (Ohm's law), dies at 65

  • 1858 Jan Emmanuel Doležálek, Bohemian organist and composer, dies at 78
  • 1860 Alexandre Goria, French pianist and composer, dies at 37
  • 1863 Strong Vincent, American army officer (fought at Battle of Gettysburg), dies at 26 fighting at the Little Round Top in Gettysburg
  • 1864 Samuel Allen Rice, American Brigadier General (Union Army), dies of injuries at 36
  • 1868 Samuel Lover, Irish composer, novelist and painter, dies at 71
  • 1868 Sanosuke Harada, Shinsengumi Captain (b. 1840)
  • 1871 Antonio de Castro Alves, Brazilian poet (O navio negreiro), dies at 34
  • 1879 Henry Smart, English organist and composer, dies at 65
  • 1890 Edwin Chadwick, British social reformer (Poor law reform, sanitation movement), dies at 90

Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893)

French author (Boule de Suif), dies four days after trying to commit suicide by cutting his throat at 42

  • 1896 Alexander Sergeyevich Famintsin, Russian composer, dies at 54
  • 1901 Prince Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1819)
  • 1902 Leopoldo Miguez, Brazilian composer, dies at 51
  • 1907 August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein, German Linguist, Theologian (b. 1826)
  • 1911 Alexandra Iosifovna of Altenburg, German-born Russian princess married to Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, dies at 80
  • 1914 Delmira Agustini, Uruguayan poet (El Libro Blanco), murdered at 27
  • 1915 Lawrence Hargrave, English-born aviation pioneer and inventor (box kite), dies at 65
  • 1916 Odilon Redon [Bertrand-Jean Redon], French symbolist painter (b. 1840)
  • 1918 Count von Mirbach, German ambassador to Moscow, dies
  • 1922 Mary Theresa Ledóchowska, Polish-Austrian Catholic nun (founded the Missionary Sisters of St. Peter Claver), dies at 59
  • 1932 Kenneth Grahame, British author (The Wind in the Willows), dies at 73
  • 1933 Robert Kajanus, Finnish conductor and composer, dies at 76
  • 1934 Edward Vermeulen, Flemish writer, dies at 73
  • 1946 Jeanne Lanvin, French fashion designer and perfumer (Lavin), dies at 79
  • 1950 Harold Weekes, American College Football Hall of Fame halfback (Columbia University; All American 1901), dies at 70
  • 1950 Theodore "Fats" Navarro, American jazz trumpet player, dies from poor health following long-term heroin addiction, tuberculosis, and a weight problem, at 26
  • 1951 Josef Hüttel, Czech composer, dies at 57
  • 1952 Louis-Alexandre Taschereau, French Canadian politician (b. 1867)
  • 1954 Dirk Verbeek, Dutch actor and director (Hofstad Stage), dies at 70
  • 1955 Paolo Gallico, Italian-American concert pianist, composer (The Apocalypse), and educator, dies at 87
  • 1958 Marie van Regteren Altena, Dutch painter (Amsterdam's Joffers), dies at 89
  • 1959 George Grosz, German cartoonist and painter (Ecce Homo), dies at 65
  • 1960 Aneurin Bevan, Welsh-British politician (Member of Parliament, 1929-60; Minister of Health, 1945-51 - launched NHS), dies of stomach cancer at 62

Hans Wilsdorf (1881-1960)

German businessman and founder of Rolex and Tudor, dies at 79

  • 1961 Cuno Amiet, Swiss painter and illustrator, dies at 93
  • 1961 Enrique Larreta [E Rodriguez Maza], Argentine diplomat and writer, dies at 86
  • 1961 Scott LaFaro, American jazz bassist (Bill Evans Trio), dies in a car accident at 25
  • 1962 Archduke Joseph August of Austria, Austrian field marshal, dies at 89
  • 1962 George, Duke of Mecklenburg, head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, dies at 63

William Faulkner (1897-1962)

American author (As I Lay Dying, Nobel Prize for Literature 1949), dies at 64

  • 1966 "Sad" Sam Jones, American baseball pitcher (no-hitter 1923; World Series 1918, 23; Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees), dies at 73
  • 1966 Ann Nagel [Anna Marie Dolan], American actress (Don Winslow of the Navy, The Green Hornet), dies of cancer at 50
  • 1968 John Indrisano, American welterweight boxer, stunt man, and bit-part actor (O.K.. Crackerby!), dies of apparent suicide at 61
  • 1970 Marjorie Rambeau, American stage, silent and sound screen actress (Primrose Path; Torch Song), dies at 80
  • 1971 Horst Lange, German writer (The Long Lament), dies at 66

Louis Armstrong (1901-1971)

American jazz trumpeter and singer (Hello Dolly; What A Wonderful World), dies of a heart attack at 69

  • 1971 Thomas C Heart, US admiral/commander (Asiatic fleet), dies
  • 1972 (Andre) Brandon De Wilde, American stage and screen actor (The Member of the Wedding; Shane; Jamie; Hud), dies in a car crash at 30
  • 1972 Vincent Valentine, West Indian cricket pace bowler (England 1933), dies
  • 1973 Joe E. Brown, American comedian (Buck Circus Hour), dies after long illness at 80
  • 1973 Otto Klemperer, German-American conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic, 1933-39), and composer (Das Ziel), dies at 88
  • 1973 Patrick McVey, actor (Manhunt, Big Town), dies at 63
  • 1974 Carlos Isamitt, Chilean composer, dies at 87
  • 1975 Otto Skorzeny, German/Austrian SS (Mussolini/Ardennen), dies
  • 1975 Ruffian, American racehorse (b. 1972)
  • 1976 Fritz Lenz, German geneticist and Nazi eugenics influencer, dies at 89
  • 1976 Zhu De, Chinese general and politician (commander-in-chief of Eighth Route Army), dies at 89
  • 1977 Oedoen Partos, Hungarian-Israeli violist (Israel Philharmonic, 1938-56), composer, and teacher dies at 69
  • 1979 Van McCoy, American musician and songwriter (The Hustle), dies of a heart attack at 39
  • 1980 Gail Patrick [Margaret Fitzpatrick], American actress (My Man Godfrey, Love Crazy), dies of leukemia at 69
  • 1982 Bob Johnson, American baseball outfielder (8 x MLB All Star; Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox), dies at 76
  • 1982 Russell Thorson, American radio and television actor (One Man's Family; The Detectives), dies at 72
  • 1986 Jagjivan Ram, Indian independence activist and politician, dies at 78
  • 1989 Janos Kádár, 46th Prime Minister of Hungary 5th Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People's Republic of Hungary (1956-58), dies at 77
  • 1990 Jim Samuels, comedian, dies of spinal meningitis at 41
  • 1990 Nathaniel Wyeth, American chemist and inventor (created PET plastic beverage bottle), dies at 78
  • 1990 Paul Wynne, American reporter who chronicled their battle with Aids, dies of AIDS at 46
  • 1991 Muda Lawal, Nigerian footballer (b. 1954)
  • 1991 Nicholas P. Dallis, American psychiatrist and comic strip writer (Rex Morgan, M.D.), dies at 79
  • 1991 Thorley Walters, actor (Trog, Edwardians, Daisy), dies at 78
  • 1992 Bryan Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne and Guinness brewing heir, dies at 86
  • 1992 Edgardo Pallero, Argentine film producer (Los hijos de fierro), dies at about 56

Marsha P. Johnson (1945-1992)

African-American gay liberation and AIDS activist, drag queen, and transgender pioneer (Gay Liberation Front, S.T.A.R.), dies under suspicious circumstances at 46

  • 1993 Ruth Lady Fermoy, maternal grandmother of Diana, Princess of Wales, dies at 84
  • 1994 Cameron Mitchell, American actor (The High Chaparral), dies of lung cancer at 75
  • 1994 Geoffrey McQueen, TV writer, dies at 46
  • 1995 Aziz Nesin, Turkish writer, dies at 79
  • 1995 Helene Johnson, American Harlem Renaissance poet, dies at 87
  • 1995 Ivor Keys, British organist, musicologist, and academic (University of Nottingham; University of Birmingham), dies at 76
  • 1996 Kathy Ahern, American golfer (Women's PGA C'ship 1972), dies of breast cancer at 47
  • 1997 Brun Smith, New Zealand cricket batsman (4 Tests @ 47.40), dies at 75
  • 1998 Roy Rogers, American cowboy (Happy Trails, Roy Rogers Show), dies at 86
  • 1999 Barry Winchell, American soldier murdered in his sleep by a fellow soldier at 21
  • 1999 Carl Gunter Jr, American politician (b. 1938)
  • 1999 Joaquín Rodrigo, Spanish composer, dies at 97
  • 2000 Akira Miyazawa, Japanese jazz saxophonist, dies at 72
  • 2000 Ľudovít Rajter, Slovak composer and conductor, dies at 93
  • 2000 Rederic Coote, British Anglican Bishop (Colchester), dies at 85
  • 2000 Władysław Szpilman, Polish pianist and classical composer, dies at 88
  • 2002 Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian businessman (b. 1932)
  • 2002 István Sárközy, Hungarian composer, dies at 81
  • 2002 John Frankenheimer, American film director (The Birdman of Alcatraz; The Manchurian Candidate), dies at 72
  • 2003 Christian "Buddy" Ebsen Jr., American actor (Beverly Hillbillies, Breakfast at Tiffany's), dies of complications from pneumonia at 95
  • 2003 Skip Battin, American singer-songwriter (The Byrds), dies at 69
  • 2004 Syreeta Wright, American singer (b. 1946)
  • 2004 Thomas Klestil, President of Austria (1992-2004), dies at 71
  • 2005 Bruno Augenstein, German-born mathematician (b. 1923)
  • 2005 Claude Simon, Malagasy-French writer, (Nobel Prize Literature 1985), dies at 91
  • 2005 Ed McBain [Evan Hunter], American writer (Blackboard Jungle), dies at 78
  • 2005 L. Patrick Gray III, American lawyer and bureaucrat (Acting FBI Director, 1972-73), dies at 88
  • 2005 Richard Verreau, Canadian tenor (b. 1926)
  • 2006 Cal Lampley, American session pianist, record producer (Miles Davis; Nina Simone, Mahalia Jackson, Groove Holmes), music critic, and educator (Peabody Institute), dies from complications of multiple sclerosis at 82
  • 2006 Kasey Rogers, American actress (Bewitched), dies at 80
  • 2006 Tom Weir, Scottish climber, author and broadcaster (The Scots Magazine, Weir's Way), dies at 91
  • 2008 Bobby Durham, American jazz drummer (b. 1937)
  • 2009 Johnny Collins, British folk and maritime music singer (b. 1938)
  • 2009 Leo Mol, Ukrainian Canadian artist and sculptor (b. 1915)

Robert McNamara (1916-2009)

American United States Secretary of Defense (1961-8), who played a major role in US escalation in Vietnam, dies at 93

  • 2009 Vasily Aksyonov, Soviet-Russian novelist (The Burn), dies at 76
  • 2010 Harvey Fuqua, American R&B singer-songwriter (The Moonglows - "Sincerely"), producer (Marvin Gaye), and record label executive (Motown), dies of a heart attack at 80
  • 2010 Jan Blokker, Dutch journalist, editor (VPRO; de Volkskrant), novelist, and screenwriter, dies at 83
  • 2011 John Mackey, American Pro Football HOF tight end (Super Bowl 1970; 3 × First-team All-Pro; 5 × Pro Bowl; Baltimore Colts, San Diego Chargers), dies at 69
  • 2012 Charles David Ganao, Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo, dies at 85
  • 2014 Alan J. Dixon, American politician (Sen-D-Illinois, 1981-93), dies at 86
  • 2014 Kathy Stobart, British jazz tenor saxophonist, bandleader, and teacher, dies of a stroke at 89
  • 2015 Masabumi Kikuchi, Japanese jazz pianist, synthesizer player, and composer, dies of a subdural hematoma at 75
  • 2017 Heinz Schneiter, Swiss soccer defender (44 caps; BSC Young Boys) and manager (FC Thun, BSC Young Boys), dies at 82
  • 2017 Thomas E. Sanders, American aerial cameraman (Living Daylights), dies at 63
  • 2019 Cameron Boyce, American actor (Mirrors, Jessie), dies from an epileptic seizure at 20
  • 2019 João Gilberto, Brazilian singer, guitarist and 'father of bossa nova' (Getz/Gilberto - Grammy Award for Album of the Year 1965), dies at 88
  • 2019 Martin Charnin, American Broadway stage singer, dancer (West Side Story), director, and lyricist (Annie), dies after a heart attack at 84
  • 2020 Charlie Daniels, American singer (Devil Went Down to Georgia), dies at 83
  • 2020 Ennio Morricone, Italian trumpeter, and composer of classical music and film scores ("The Mission"; "Cinema Paradiso"; "The Hateful Eight"), dies at 91 [1]
  • 2020 Joe Porcaro, American jazz and session drummer and percussionist (Lalo Schifrin; Rosemary Clooney; Toto), and educator (Los Angeles College of Music), dies at 90
  • 2022 Bryan Marchment, Canadian NHL defenseman, 1989-2006 (Edmonton Oilers, San Jose Sharks, and 7 other teams), dies at 53
  • 2022 Dale Douglass, American golfer (3 x PGA Tour titles; 11 x Champions Tour titles; US Senior Open 1986), dies at 88

James Caan (1940-2022)

American actor (Brian's Song; The Godfather; Rollerball; Misery; Elf), dies at 82 [1] [2]

  • 2023 Attila Abonyi, Australian soccer winger (61 caps; Melbourne Hungaria SC, Sydney Croatia 58 FC, St. George Budapest SC), dies at 76
  • 2023 Dick Sheridan, American College Football HOF coach (Furman University, NC State University), dies at 81
  • 2023 Gene Gaines, American Canadian Football HOF defensive back (CFL All Star 1965, 66, 67; Grey Cup 1968, 69 Ottawa Rough Riders, 1970, 74 Montreal Alouettes), dies at 85
  • 2023 Peter Nero [Bernard Nierow], American conductor (Philadelphia POPS, 1979-2013), pianist and composer (Sunday in New York), dies at 89 [1]
July 6 Highlights