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

Famous Deaths on June 1

  • 195 BC Gaozu of Han, Emperor of China (202-195 BC), founder of Han Dynasty
  • 1191 Philips van de Elzas, count of Vlanderen, dies
  • 1340 Jan van Diest, Bishop of Utrecht (1322-40), dies
  • 1434 Władysław II Jagiełło, King of Lithuania and later also Poland, dies (b.1351)
  • 1568 18 nobles beheaded in Brussels for treason and heresy by Duke of Alva and authority of Council of Troubles
  • 1568 Gijsbert van Bronkhorst-Batenburg, calvinist leader, beheaded
  • 1571 John Story, English Catholic martyr, executed at Tyburn by being hung, drawn and quartered

Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616)

Japanese Shogun who founded the first Tokugawa Shogunate and united Japan, dies from natural causes

  • 1625 Honoré d'Urfé, French writer (L'Astrée), dies from injuries after falling from a horse at 57
  • 1639 Melchior Franck, German composer
  • 1660 Louis d'Ailleboust de Coulonge, French engineer and Governor of New France (1648-51, acting 1657-58), buried at 47 or 48 [1]
  • 1660 Mary Dyer, English Quaker (martyred) - hanged for defying a law banning Quakers from the Massachusetts Bay Colony
  • 1676 Creutz, Swedish admiral (Öland), dies in battle
  • 1676 Uggla, Swedish admiral (Öland), dies in battle
  • 1699 Jean Rousseau, French cviolist, composer and music theorist (Traité de la viole), dies at 54
  • 1710 David Mitchell, Scottish admiral in the British Royal navy (b. 1642)
  • 1713 Johan Runius, Swedish poet (Dudaim), dies at 34
  • 1729 Matthaeus de Cock, governor general of Dutch Indies (1725-29), dies at about 65
  • 1740 Samuel Werenfels, Swiss theologian (reasonable orthodoxy), dies at 83
  • 1763 Johann Caspar Vogler, German composer, dies at 67
  • 1769 Edward Holyoke, American academic and 9th President of Harvard University, dies at 79
  • 1795 Pierre-Joseph Desault, French anatomist (b. 1744)
  • 1810 Johann Paul Wessely [Jan Pavel Veselý], Czech violinist and composer, dies at 47
  • 1815 Louis Alexandre Berthier, French marshal (b. 1853)
  • 1823 Louis-Nicholas Davout, French military commander under Napoleon (Marshall of the Empire, defeated Prussians at Battle of Auerstädt), dies at 53
  • 1826 Jean Frédéric Oberlin, Alsatian pastor (b. 1740)
  • 1830 Sahajanand Swami, believed to be an incarnation of god by his followers, leaves his mortal body. (b. 1781)
  • 1841 David Wilkie, British painter, dies at 55
  • 1846 Gregory XVI [Bartolomeo Alberto Mauro Cappellari], Pope (1831-1846), dies at 80
  • 1861 John Quincy Marr, US Confederate captain, dies in battle at Fairfax Courthouse, the first Confederate death of the war at 36
  • 1864 Hong Xiuquan, Chinese rebel (b. 1812)
  • 1864 Solomon George Washington Dill, poor white ally of African Americans, assassinated in his home by white terrorists in SC
  • 1867 Karl von Staudt, German mathematician (projective geometry), dies at 69

James Buchanan (1791-1868)

15th US President (1857-61), dies at 77

  • 1873 Joseph Howe, Canadian politician (3rd Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia), dies at 68
  • 1876 Hristo Botev, Bulgarian poet and revolutionary, dies at 28
  • 1879 Napoléon IV, Prince Imperial, Head of the House of Bonaparte (1873-79), killed in action during the Anglo-Zulu war at 23
  • 1909 Giuseppe Martucci, composer, dies at 53
  • 1910 Francis Seymour Haden, English surgeon and etcher, dies at 91
  • 1912 Daniel Burnham, American architect and urban designer (built skyscrapers), dies at 65
  • 1918 Friedrich Richard Faltin, composer, dies at 83
  • 1918 Jaroslav Novotny, Czech composer, dies at 32
  • 1925 Lucien Guitry, French actor (La Dame aux camélias), dies at 64
  • 1926 Vasily Mikhaylovich Metallov, composer, dies at 64
  • 1927 J. B. Bury, Irish historian (b. 1861)

Lizzie Borden (1860-1927)

American woman acquitted of the murder of her parents (gave her mother forty whacks), dies of pneumonia at 66

  • 1935 Alberto Cametti, Italian composer, dies at 64
  • 1938 Ödön von Horváth, Hungarian writer (A Child of Our Time), dies at 36
  • 1941 Hugh S Walpole, British novelist and playwright (Jeremy, Maradick at 40), dies at 57
  • 1942 Ernest Pingoud, Finnish composer, dies at 53
  • 1942 Vladislav Vančura, Czech writer (Rozmarné léto), dies at 50
  • 1943 Leslie Howard [Stainer], British actor (Gone With The Wind; Of Human Bondage), dies after Nazis shoot down his plane at 50
  • 1943 Wilfrid B. Israel, Jewish activist
  • 1946 Ion Antonescu, Romanian army officer (Marshall; Cheif of Staff, 1933-34), authoritarian politician (Prime Minister and Conducător, 1940-44), is executed by firing squad after having been convicted of war crimes at 63
  • 1946 Leo Slezak, Moravian dramatic tenor and actor (Othello; Zirkus Saran; Husaren heraus), dies from a heart attack at 72
  • 1948 Alex Gard, Russian-born caricaturist (b. 1900)
  • 1948 Sonny Boy Williamson I [John Lee], American blues musician (Down & Out Blues), dies at 34
  • 1951 Rafael Altamira Crevea, Spanish lawyer and historian, dies at 85

John Dewey (1859-1952)

American philosopher (Common Faith), dies at 92

  • 1954 Martin Andersen Nexø, Danish writer (Pelle Erobreren), dies at 84
  • 1955 F Melius Christiansen, composer, dies at 84
  • 1959 Sax Rohmer [Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward], English author (Dr Fu Manchu novels), dies at 76
  • 1960 Lester Patrick, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman (6 x Stanley Cups as player, coach and manager), dies from a heart attack at 76
  • 1960 Paula Hitler, Austrian-German sister of dictator Adolf Hitler, dies at 64

Adolf Eichmann (1906-1962)

German Nazi officer (SS-Obersturmbannführer, Holocaust organizer), hanged in Israel at 56

  • 1964 Rutkowski Bronislaw, Belarusian organist, pedagogue, and composer, dies at 66

Curly Lambeau (1898-1965)

American Pro Football Hall of Fame halfback, coach (founder, first coach Green Bay Packers), dies of a heart attack at 67

  • 1966 Papa Jack Laine, American musician and pioneering bandleader, dies at 92

Helen Keller (1880-1968)

American political activist, author (The Story of My Life) and lecturer, who was the 1st deaf-blind person to earn a BA, dies at 87

  • 1968 [Johan] Erik Lindegren, Swedish poet/interpreter, dies at 57
  • 1969 Ivar Ballangrud, Norwegian speed skater (Olympic gold 5,000m 1928; 500m, 5,000m 10,000m 1936), dies at 65
  • 1969 Michiyo Tsujimura, Japanese agricultural scientist and biochemist (components of green tea), dies at 81
  • 1969 Stan Brenders, Belgian jazz pianist and bandleader, dies at 65
  • 1970 Giuseppe Ungaretti, Italian poet (Hermeticism) and journalist, dies at 82

Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)

American theologian (Nature & Destiny of Man), dies at 78

  • 1973 Harvey S. Firestone Jr, American tire manufacturer, dies at 75
  • 1973 Helen Parkhurst, American educator (The Dalton Plan), dies at 86
  • 1973 Mary Kornman, American actress ("Our Gang" shorts; The Desert Trail; Queen of the Jungle; Swing It, Professor), dies at 57
  • 1973 Walter Greaza, American actor (Treasury Man; Martin Kane Private Eye), dies at 76
  • 1976 Pierre Balledux, Dutch actor, theatre director (The Hague Players), and resistance fighter, dies at 89
  • 1979 Jack Mulhall, American actor and producer (The Three Musketeers, The Amazing Exploits of the Clutching Hand), dies at 91
  • 1979 Werner Forssmann, German urologist (Nobel 1956), dies at 74
  • 1980 Arthur Nielsen, American market analyst (b. 1897)

Rube Marquard (1886-1980)

American Baseball HOF pitcher (NL wins leader 1912; NL strikeout leader 1911; no-hitter 1915; NY Giants), dies at 93

  • 1981 Carl Vinson, American politician (38th Dean of the United States House of Representatives, 1961-65), dies at 97
  • 1981 Naim Chadir, PLO-representative in Brussels, murdered
  • 1982 Hendrik Algra, Dutch teacher, journalist, and politician (ARP), dies
  • 1983 Anna Seghers [Netty Reiling], German author (The 7th Cross), dies at 82
  • 1983 Charles Tham, of Saxon-Coburg-Gotha, count of Flanders/Prince, dies
  • 1984 Nate Nelson, American singer (Flamingos - I Only Have Eyes for You), dies at 52
  • 1985 Richard Greene, English stage and screen actor (The Adventures of Robin Hood), dies of cardiac arrest at 66
  • 1987 Errol Barrow, 1st Prime Minister of Barbados (1961-76, 1986-87), dies at 67
  • 1987 Rashid Karami, Lebanese statesman (elected Prime Minister 8 times between 1958-87), assassinated by a bomb rigged in his helicopter at 65
  • 1988 Leon Belasco [Leonid Simeonovich Berladsky], Russian actor (Lucky Partners, My Sister Eileen), dies at 85
  • 1989 Aurelio Lampredi, Italian automobile and aircraft engine designer (Ferrari), dies at 71
  • 1990 Eric Barker, actor/writer (Carry on Sergeant, Roommates), dies
  • 1991 David Ruffin, American soul musician and early lead singer for The Temptations (My Girl; Ain't Too Proud to Beg), dies of a drug overdose at 50
  • 1992 Howard Ralston, actor (Pollyana), dies
  • 1992 Louise Hoff, entertainer, dies at 69
  • 1994 Frances Heflin, American actress (All My Children, The Skin of Our Teeth), dies of lung cancer at 73
  • 1994 Juan J H Rovira, Spanish general, murdered
  • 1994 Wim van der Grinten, Dutch lawyer and KVP politician (State Secretary of Economic Affairs), dies at 80
  • 1995 Prudence Hyman, English dancer, dies at 80
  • 1995 Tony Clegg, English property trader (Montleigh), dies at 58
  • 1996 Alan Blakley, British guitarist and record producer (The Tremeloes - "Here Comes My Baby"; "Silence Is Golden"), dies of cancer at 54
  • 1996 Don Grolnick, American jazz pianist, composer and session musician (Brecker Brothers; Linda Ronstadt; James Taylor), dies of non-Hodgkin lymphoma at 48
  • 1996 Fernand Schokweiler, Luxembourger judge (European Court of Justice, 1985-96), dies from post-surgical complications at 60
  • 1996 Michael Fox, American actor (Perry Mason, Quincy, Dallas, Bold & the Beautiful), dies at 75
  • 1996 Robert Arthur Hughes, English surgeon and Presbyterian missionary, dies at 85
  • 1996 Sanjiva Reddy, Indian politician, sixth President of India (1977-82), dies at 83
  • 1996 Stephen Jones, English art historian, dies of cancer at 41
  • 1997 Nikolai Tikhonov, Soviet politician (Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union 1980-85), dies at 92
  • 1998 Darwin Joston, American actor (Assault on Precinct 13), dies at 60
  • 1999 Christopher Cockerell, English engineer and inventor (Hovercraft), dies at 88
  • 1999 Mr. Prospector, American thoroughbred racehorse and breeding stallion (most influential sire of his generation), dies of complications from colic at 29
  • 2001 Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, King of Nepal (1972-2001), killed by his son Dipendra in the Nepalese Royal Massacre at 55
  • 2001 Hank Ketcham, American cartoonist (Dennis the Menace), dies of prostate cancer at 81
  • 2001 Queen Aiswarya of Nepal, killed by her son Dipendra in the Nepalese Royal Massacre at 51

Hansie Cronje (1969-2002)

South African cricket batsman and captain (68 Tests, 3,714 runs, 43 wickets; 188 ODIs; life ban for match-fixing 2000), dies in a plane crash at 32

  • 2003 Johnny Hopp, American baseball outfielder, first baseman (MLB All-Star 1946; World Series 1942, 44, 50, 51; St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates), dies at 86
  • 2004 William Manchester, American historian (Death of a President), dies at 82
  • 2005 Derry Jeffares, Irish Anglo-Irish scholar (Stirling University), dies at 84

George Mikan (1924-2005)

American Basketball Hall of Fame center (NBA All-Star 1951-54; NBL MVP 1948; Minneapolis Lakers), dies of diabetes complications at 80

  • 2006 Rocío Jurado, Spanish singer and actress, dies at 59
  • 2007 Arn Shein, American sports writer (editor The Daily Item 1949-74), dies at 78
  • 2007 Tony Thompson, American singer-songwriter in R&B group Hi-Five, dies at 31
  • 2008 Alton Kelley, American graphic artist, known for concert posters and album cover art (Grateful Dead -"Workingman's Dead"; Steve Miller Band - "Book of Dreams"), dies at 67
  • 2008 Tommy Lapid, Israeli journalist and politician (b. 1931)
  • 2008 Yves Saint Laurent, French fashion designer, dies at 71
  • 2009 Vincent O'Brien, Irish racehorse trainer (6 x Epsom Derby; 2 x British champion trainer; only British Triple Crown winner, Nijinsky 1970), dies at 92
  • 2010 Lt. Gen. William H. Ginn, Jr., U.S. Air Force officer (b.1928)
  • 2014 Ann B. Davis, American stage and screen actress (Bob Cummings Show - "Schultzy"; The Brady Bunch - "Alice"), dies from subdural hematoma incurred in a fall at 88
  • 2014 Valentin Mankin, Ukrainian yachtsman (Olympic gold, USSR, Finn class 1968), dies at 75
  • 2015 Charles Kennedy, British politician (Liberal Democrat leader 1999-2006), dies at 55
  • 2015 Jean Ritchie, American folk singer, dies at 92
  • 2017 Jack McCloskey, American basketball coach (Portland Trail Blazers 1972-74) and executive (GM Detroit Pistons NBA C'ship 1989, 90), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 91
  • 2017 Roberto De Vicenzo, Argentine golfer (British Open 1967; US Masters 1968 runner-up), dies at 94
  • 2017 Tankred Dorst, German playwright, dies at 91
  • 2018 Eddy Clearwater [Edward Harrington], American blues musician (West Side Strut), dies of heart failure at 83
  • 2018 Jill Ker Conway, Australian-American author, first female president of Smith College, dies at 83
  • 2019 José Antonio Reyes, Spanish soccer left wing (Spain 21 caps; Sevilla, Atlético Madrid, Arsenal), dies in a car crash at 35
  • 2019 Leah Chase 'Queen of Creole Cuisine', New Orleans chef and author, dies at 96
  • 2020 Lee Grosscup, American football quarterback (NY Jets, NY Titans) and sportscaster (college football analyst ABC; Cal Berkeley), dies at 83
  • 2020 Myroslav Skoryk, Ukrainian contemporary classical composer (Carpathian Rhapsody), and pedagogue, dies at 81
  • 2020 Pat Dye, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (East Carolina, Wyoming, Auburn; record 153–62–5), dies from COVID-19 at 80
  • 2021 Adnan Al Sharqi, Lebanese soccer manager (Lebanon 1974–76, 1987–93, 2006–08; Ansar 11 x league titles), dies from cancer at 79
  • 2021 Alexander Maykapar, Russian harpsichordist, organist, and musicologist, dies at 74
  • 2021 Vince Promuto, American football guard (Pro Bowl 1963, 64; Washington Redskins), dies of congestive heart failure at 82
  • 2023 Cynthia Weil, American songwriter ("We Got Get Out Of This Place"; "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"; "On Broadway"; "He's So Shy"), dies at 82 [1]
June 1 Highlights