Deaths June 12 | History by KabAstro

1760 Antoine Court, French minister and itinerant preacher in the Reformed church who restored Protestantism to France, dies at 69
1761 Meinrad Spiess, German composer, dies at 77
1772 Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, French explorer (made important discoveries in the south Indian Ocean, in Tasmania and in New Zealand), killed by local Maori in New Zealand at 48 (b. 1724)
1778 Philip Livingston, American businessman and politician (signed Declaration of Independence), dies at 62
1788 Johann Andreas Cramer, German preacher (Court Preacher to King Frederick V of Denmark), dies at 65
1789 Jean-Étienne Liotard, Swiss portrait painter (Maria-Theresia), dies at 86
1816 Pierre Augereau, Marshal of France and duc de Castiglione (Coup of 18 Fructidor), dies at 58
1818 Egwale Seyon, Emperor of Ethiopia (1801-1818), dies
1842 Thomas Arnold, English educator and historian (History of Rome), dies at 46
1850 Jean Victor de Constant Rebecque, Swiss-Dutch army leader, dies at 77
1853 Johannes Cornelis de Jonge, Dutch historian and archivist, dies at 60
1858 Cornelis Smit, Dutch ship builder, dies at 74
1858 William Horsley, English musician and composer, dies at 83
1878 Hendrik Jut, Dutch murderer (Head of Jut), dies at 26
1878 William Cullen Bryant, American poet (Thanatopsis), dies at 83

1883 John Randolph Tucker, American naval officer (Confederate Navy), dies at 71
1887 Gustav Weber, Swiss organist, choral dierctor, and composer, dies at 41
1888 Carel Vosmaer, Dutch poet and art critic (Netherlands Spectator), dies at 62
1904 Camille de Renesse, Belgian nobleman and entrepreneur, dies at 67
1912 Frédéric Passy, French economist and pacifist (Nobel Peace Prize 1901 for European Peace Movement), dies at 90
1917 Teresa Carreño, Venezuelan classical pianist, soprano, composer, and conductor, dies at 63
1922 Wolfgang Kapp, German politician (Kapp putsch 1920), dies at 63
1928 Salvador Díaz Mirón, Mexican poet (Los Cien Mejores Poemas), dies at 74
1930 Dyce Willcocks, cricketer ("Grand Old Man" of Canadian cricket), dies
1932 René de Clerq, Flemish poet and writer (Book of Love), dies at 54
1932 Theo Heemskerk, Dutch lawyer, and politician (Prime Minister, 1908-13; Council of State, 1913-18; Minister of Justice, 1918-25), dies at 79
1936 Isidore Weiss, French checker player (world champion x 7), dies at 69
1936 Karl Kraus, Austrian satirical writer, dies at 62
1936 M. R. James, English scholar and author (Ghost Stories of an Antiquary), dies at 73
1937 Mikhail Tukhachevsky, Marshal of the Soviet Union (b. 1893)

1942 Walter Leigh, British composer (The Frogs of Aristophanes), killed in action near Tobruk, Libya while serving in British Army, at 36

Emil Hácha (1872-1945)

Czech politician (President of Czechoslovakia, 1938-9, State President of Bohemia and Moravia, 1939-1945), dies in prison in mysterious circumstances at 72

1946 Count Hisaichi Terauchi, Japanese fieldmarshal, dies
1947 Jazeps Medins, Latvian composer, dies at 70
1952 Michael von Faulhaber, German cardinal (Archbishop of Munich who opposed Nazi regime), dies at 83
1957 Jimmy Dorsey, American big band jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, and bandleader (Green Eyes; Tangerine; Pennies From Heaven), dies of throat cancer at 53
1958 Marinus van Meel, Dutch aviator and aircraft manufacturer, dies at 77
1961 Clinton Golden, American labor leader (founder of the United Steelworkers of America), dies at 72
1962 John Ireland, English composer and pianist (Epic March), dies at 82
1963 Andrew Browne, Irish/British admiral (Cape Matapan, WW II), dies at 80

Medgar Evers (1925-1963)

American civil rights activist and NAACP official, shot and assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi at 37

1966 Hermann Scherchen, German conductor (Winterthur Symphony Orchestra, 1922-50), and music theorist (Lehrbuch des Dirigierens - Treatise on Conducting), dies at 74
1966 Thomas Chalmers, American opera singer, actor, and filmmaker (Blind Alleys, Outrage), dies at 81
1967 Bombardier Billy Wells [William Thomas Wells], English heavyweight boxer (Lionsdale Belt, 1911), dies at 79
1968 Fidelio Friedrich Finke, Bohemian German composer, dies at 76
1969 Alexander Deyneka, Ukrainian painter (b. 1899)
1972 Edmund Wilson, American literary critic and writer (To the Finland station), dies at 79
1972 Saul David Alinsky, American community activist (co-founder of Industrial Areas Foundation), and radical writer (John L. Lewis: An Unauthorized Biography), dies at 63
1975 Alfred Kurella, German author and functionary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany in East Germany, dies at 80
1976 Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ, Prime Minister of South Vietnam, dies at 68
1978 Guo Moruo, Chinese scholar and writer, dies at 85
1980 Billy Butlin, South African-born British founder of Butlins holiday camps, dies at 80
1980 Milburn Stone, American actor (Gunsmoke, Pickup on South Street), dies from a heart attack at 75
1982 Karl von Frisch, Austrian ethologist and bee expert (Nobel 1973), dies at 95
1982 Sgt Ian McKay VC, Platoon Sergeant 4 Platoon, B Company, 3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment (British Army) (Falklands War) (b. 1953)

Norma Shearer (1902-1983)

Canadian-American actress (Escape, Romeo & Juliet), dies at 82

1985 Edmund Perry, 17 and newly graduated from N.H. prep. high school, shot and killed in Manhattan by NYPD undercover officer Lee Vanhouten, who claimed Perry tried to rob him
1986 Antoon Breyne, Belgian journalist, dies at 76
1986 Tony Desimone, combo leader (Ernie in Kovacsland), dies at 66
1988 Marcel Poot, Belgian baron and composer, dies at 87
1989 Lou Monte [Scaglione], Italian-American novelty song singer-songwriter (Peppino the Italian Mouse; Dominick the Donkey), dies at 72
1989 Peter Baden, Norwegian composer, organist and music critic, dies at 80
1990 Glen Gorbous, Canadian MLB outfielder (record for longest throw of a regulation baseball [445' 10"]), dies at 59

Terence O'Neill (1914-1990)

Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (Ulster Unionist Party: 1963-69), dies of cancer at 75

1992 Edward Fleming, Danish director (Lille Spejl), dies
1992 Gerda Nicolson, actress (Next of Kin, Clinic), dies
1992 Renié [Conley], American Academy Award-winning costume designer (Cleopatra; Kitty Foyle), dies at 90
1994 Christopher Collins, American actor (True Identity), voice actor (Cobra Commander-G.I. Joe) and comedian, dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 44
1994 Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Russian-American rabbi (head of Lubavitcher Jews), dies at 92
1994 Nicole Brown Simpson, German-American ex-wife of O.J. Simpson, murdered at 35
1994 Otto Roesch, paleontologist, dies at 93
1994 Ron Goldman, waiter, murdered with wife of O.J. Simpson at 27
1995 Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Italian classical pianist, dies at 75
1995 Luigi Innocenti, Italian motorbike and auto tycoon (Lambretta), dies at 71
1996 Ilona Ference, American actress (Quatermass II, Star of My Night), dies at 78
1997 Bulat Okudzhava, Russian poet-bard and singer-songwriter (founder of author's song genre), dies at 73
1998 Éric Tabarly, French Navy officer and yachtsman (Ostar 1964, 76; Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race 1964), dies from drowning at 66
1998 Leo Buscaglia, American psychologist known as "Dr Love" (Love), dies of a heart attack at 74
1998 Theresa Merritt [Hines], American singer and actress (The Wiz; That's My Mama), dies of skin cancer at 75
1999 Wallace E. Howell, American meteorologist and NY's famed rainmaker during the city's 1950 water shortage, dies at 84 [1]
2000 P. L. Deshpande, Indian Marathi writer, dies at 80
2002 Bill Blass, American fashion designer, dies at 79

Gregory Peck (1916-2003)

American actor (To Kill a Mockingbird, MacArthur), dies of bronchopneumonia at 87

2005 Scott Young, Canadian sportswriter, novelist, and journalist (b. 1918)
2006 György Ligeti, Hungarian classical composer (Le Grand Macabre), dies at 83 (b. 1923)
2006 Kenneth Roy Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet, Canadian businessman and art collector (b. 1923)
2007 Colin Fletcher, Welsh author and pioneering backpacker (Walking Through Time), dies of complications from an old head injury at 85
2007 Don Herbert, American scientist and TV host (Watch Mr Wizard), dies at 89
2008 Derek Tapscott, Welsh footballer (b. 1932)
2008 Pam Henning [Cornelia Catharina Pamela Ingenegeren], Indonesian-Dutch cabaret dancer and actress, dies at 90
2010 Egon Ronay, Hungarian food critic, dies at 94
2011 Carl Gardner, American pop-rock vocalist (The Coasters - "Yakety Yak"), dies at 83
2011 Kati-Claudia Fofonoff, Skolt Sámi poet and writer, dies at 63

Henry Hill (1943-2012)

American mobster and FBI informant who was the subject of Nicholas Pileggi's book "Wiseguy", later adapted as Martin Scorcese's film "GoodFellas", dies from a heart condition at 69

2015 Ernest Tomlinson, English light classical composer, dies at 90
2015 Monica Lewis, American jazz singer and film actress (Box Office, Affair with a Stranger), dies at 93
2016 Donald Carr, English cricket all-rounder (2 Tests, 1 x 50, 2 wickets; Derbyshire CCC) and official (secretary Test and County Cricket Board 1976-86), dies at 89
2016 George V. Voinovich, US politician (R), Senator and Governor of Ohio, dies at 79
2016 Janet Waldo, American radio and actress (Judy Jetson, Shazzan, Penelope Pitstop), dies at 97
2017 Felice Taylor, American R&B singer (I Feel Love Comin' On), dies at 73
2018 Jon Hiseman, English drummer (Colosseum), dies at 73
2019 Sylvia Miles, American actress (Midnight Cowboy, Farewell My Lovely), dies at 94
2020 William S. Sessions, American director of FBI (1987-93), dies at 90
2021 Anatoly Chukanov, Russian cyclist (Olympic gold Soviet Union team time trial 1976; UCI Road World C'ships gold 1977), dies at 67
2021 Igor Zhelezovski, Belarusian speed skater (record 6 x World Sprint Champion; Olympic silver 1994; bronze 1988), dies from COVID-19 at 57
2021 Jim "Mudcat" Grant, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1963, 65; Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, and 5 other teams), singer, and writer (Black Aces), dies at 85 [1]
2022 Buster Welch, American cutting horse trainer (4 x NCHA World Championship; 5 x NCHA World Championship Futurity), dies at 94
2022 Fred Cuming, British painter, chiefly of contemporary landscapes, dies at 92
2022 Phil Bennett, Welsh rugby union fly-half (29 Tests Wales, 8 British & Irish Lions; Barbarians FC; Llanelli RFC 414 games & 2,535 points), dies at 73
2022 Philip Baker Hall, American actor (Secret Honor, Hard Eight, Magnolia), dies at 90
2023 Carol Higgins Clark, American suspense novelist (Regan Reilly series), dies of cancer at 66
2023 Harvey Glance, American athlete (Olympic gold 4x100m relay 1976; World C'ship gold 4x100m relay 1987), dies of a heart attack at 66
2023 John Fru Ndi, Cameroonian politician (founding Chairman of the Social Democratic Front party), dies at 81 [1]

Silvio Berlusconi (1936-2023)

Italian media tycoon and politician (Prime Minister of Italy, 1994-95, 2001-06, 2008-11), dies at 86 [1]

2023 Treat Williams, American actor (Flashpoint; Hair; Everwood), dies from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident at 71
2024 Bob Harris, American sportscaster (announcer Duke University men's basketball & football 1976-2017), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 81

Jerry West (1938-2024)

American Basketball HOF guard (NBA C'ship 1972, NBA Finals MVP 1969 LA Lakers; 14 x NBA All Star) and executive (8 x NBA C'ship), dies at 86 [1]

2024 Tony Lo Bianco, American stage and screen actor (The French Connection; A View From the Bridge; Hizzoner!), dies of prostate cancer at 87 [1]

June 12 Highlights