Deaths June 16 | History by KabAstro

John Churchill (1650-1722)

1st duke of Marlborough, English general strategist, dies at 72

1742 Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans, Queen consort of Spain, dies at 32
1749 Johann Baptista Ruffini, Italian trader (b. 1672)
1752 Giulio Alberoni, Spanish-Italian minister and cardinal, dies at 88
1752 Joseph Butler, English philosopher, dies at 60
1777 Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset, French poet and dramatist (b. 1709)
1778 Konrad Ekhof [Hans Konrad Dieterich Eckhof], German actor and director, dies at 57
1779 Sir Francis Bernard, Governor of New Jersey and Massachusetts (b. 1712)
1792 Benjamin Tupper, Continental Army officer, and pioneer to the Ohio Country (b. 1738)
1804 Johann Adam Hiller, German composer, dies at 75
1808 Georg Wenzel Ritter, German bassoonist, composer and friend of Mozart, dies at 60
1812 Franz Pforr, German painter and cartoonist (Lukasbund), dies at 23
1815 Frederik Willem, Duke of Brunswick (1813-15), dies in battle at 43
1824 Charles-François Lebrun, duc de Plaisance, Third Consul of France (b. 1739)
1831 Josef Schnabel, German composer, dies at 64
1837 Valentino Fioravanti, Italian composer, dies at 72
1850 William Lawson British-Australian surveyor who explored New South Wales (first route across Blue Mountains), dies at 76
1855 John Gorrie, American scientist and inventor (cold-air process of refrigeration), dies at 51

John Snow (1813-1858)

English physician who studied cholera and is considered the 'Father of modern epidemiology', dies of a stroke at 45

1866 Joseph Méry French poet (b. 1798)
1869 Charles Sturt, English explorer (Australia), dies at 74
1872 Norman MacLeod, Scottish clergyman (b. 1812)
1878 Crawford Williamson Long, American surgeon and pioneer (use of ether as an anesthetic in surgery), dies at 62
1880 James Southerton, English cricket spin bowler (2 Tests; played in first Test match; oldest player to make Test debut at 49; Sussex CCC, Hampshire CCC), dies at 52
1881 Marie Laveau, American Voodoo practitioner, dies at 79
1881 Sir Josiah Mason, English manufacturer (b. 1795)
1885 Wilhelm Camphausen, German painter (b. 1818)
1892 Victor Tesch, Belgian industrialist and Minister of Justice, dies at 80
1901 Herman Grimm, German writer, poet and historian, dies at 75
1902 Ernst Schröder, German mathematician (algebraic logic), dies at 60
1910 Wendelin Weißheimer, German composer and conductor, dies at 72
1925 Chittaranjan Das, Indian lawyer, politician and activist (founded Swaraj Party), dies at 55
1925 Emmett Hardy, American jazz cornetist, dies of tuberculosis at 22
1928 Mark Keppel, Superintendent of Los Angeles County Schools from 1902-1928, dies at 61
1929 Bramwell Booth, English 2nd General of The Salvation Army, dies at 73
1929 Vernon Louis Parrington, American author (Romantic Revolution, Pulitzer 1928), dies at 57
1930 Elmer Ambrose Sperry, American entrepreneur and inventor (gyrocompass), dies at 69
1930 Ezra Fitch, American businessman (Abercrombie & Fitch founder), dies at 64
1932 Frederik Willem van Eeden, Dutch utopian writer (Walden), dies at 72
1936 Leib Malach, Yiddish writer, dies at 41
1939 Chick Webb, American jazz drummer and big band bandleader (introduced Ella Fitzgerald), dies of Pott's disease (tuberculosis of the spine), at 34
1940 DuBose Heyward, American writer (Porgy, Star Spangled Virgin), dies at 54
1940 Vitezslava Kapralova, Czech composer and conductor, dies from typhoid fever at 25
1941 Lodo of Hamel, 1st Dutch secret affiliate, dies
1944 Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray, Bengali chemist (founder of Bengal Chemicals And Pharmaceuticals), dies at 82
1944 George Stinney, African-American boy wrongfully convicted of murder, is executed by electric chair at 14
1944 Marc Bloch, French historian and member of the French resistance, executed by firing squad by the Gestapo at 57
1945 Aris Velouchiotis, Greek guerrilla resistance leader (b. 1905)
1946 Ludwig Winder, Austrian-Czech writer and journalist, dies of heart disease at 57
1946 Miloje Milojević, Serbian composer, dies at 61
1947 Jean-Francois Capart, Belgian Egyptologist (Memphis), dies at 86
1952 Andrew Lawson, Scottish-American geologist, first to map the entire San Andreas Fault (b. 1861)
1953 John Scott Lidgett, English theologist, dies at 98
1953 Margaret Bondfield, English politician and 1st British female cabinet minister (Labour), dies at 80
1955 Ozias Leduc, Canadian painter, dies at 90

Imre Nagy (1896-1958)

Hungarian communist and Prime Minister of Hungary (1953-56), hanged at 62

1958 José Pablo Moncayo, Mexican composer (Huapango), dies at 45

George Reeves (1914-1959)

American actor (Adventures of Superman; Gone With The Wind), commits suicide by shooting himself in the head at 45

1961 Marcel Junod, Swiss physician (b. 1904)
1962 Hans Kirk, Danish writer (The Fishermen), dies at 64
1966 German Galynin, Russian composer, dies at 44
1967 Reginald Denny, English actor (Rebecca, Cat Ballou, Batman), dies at 75
1969 Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, British field marshal and Governor General of Canada (1946-52), dies at 78
1969 Jan Hanlo, Dutch poet (Oote oote boe), dies at 57
1969 Karl Schiske, Austrian composer, dies at 53
1970 Brian Piccolo, American NFL football running back, 1965-69 (Chicago Bears), and subject of the 1971 TV movie "Brian's Song", dies of cancer at 26
1970 Elsa Triolet [Ella Kagan], Russian-French writer and Resistance fighter, dies at 73
1970 Heino Eller, Estonian composer (Koit (Dawn); Videvik (Twilight)), pedagogue (Tallinn Conservatory, 1940 -70), and teacher of Arvo Pärt, dies at 83
1971 Garfield Wood, American inventor, motorboat builder and racer (world water speed record x 5; first to travel over 100 mph on water), dies at 90
1971 John Reith, Scottish broadcast executive (General Manager of the BBC), dies at 81
1974 Mauritz Hugo, Swedish actor (Atomic Blonde, Death Valley Gunfighter), dies from heart disease at 65
1975 Don Robey, American record label executive and record producer, dies at 71
1976 Francis E. Meloy Jr, US ambassador to Lebanon, kidnapped & killed at 59
1976 Victor Lord, American fictional character on TV soap opera "One Life to Live", dies at 59

Wernher von Braun (1912-1977)

German-American rocket scientist (Germany - V1 and V2, US -Saturn V, NASA), and Disney space consultant, dies of pancreatic cancer at 65

1978 Felicia Montealegre, Costa Rican-American actress (Studio One; Kraft Television Workshop), and social activist, dies of lung cancer at 56
1979 (William Jennings Bryan) "Ben" Weber, American composer (Thorne Music Award 1965), dies at 62
1979 Ignatius Kutu Acheamphong, Ghanaian chief of state (1972-78), executed by firing squad during a coup at 47
1979 Liselotte Welskopf-Heinrich, German writer and historian, dies at 77
1979 Nicholas Ray, American film director (Rebel Without a Cause), dies at 67
1981 Humphrey Keervelt, Surinamese official (Suriname Planning Bureau), murdered
1981 John S Knight, American journalist and publisher (Knight Newspapers), dies at 86
1981 Jule Gregory Charney, American meteorologist, dies at 64
1982 James Honeyman-Scott, English rock guitarist and vocalist (The Pretenders - "Brass In Pocket"), overdoses on drugs at 25
1983 James Arthur Calata, African National Congress (ANC) leader and Anglican clergyman, dies at 87
1984 Harmonica Slim [Travis Blaylock], American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter ("You Better Believe It"), dies at 49
1984 Lew Andreas, American basketball coach (b. 1895)
1986 Maurice Duruflé, French organist (St. Etienne-du-Mond, 1929-75), composer (Requiem, Op. 9), and teacher (Paris Conservatory, 1943-70), dies at 84
1987 John Mikaelsson, Swedish race walker (Olympic gold 10k 1948, 52), dies at 73
1988 Miguel Piñero, Puerto Rican playwright, actor, and co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. (b. 1946)
1990 Eva Turner, British operatic soprano, dies at 98
1990 Thomas Cowling, British mathematician and astronomer, dies at 83
1991 Vicki Brown, British pop, rock session vocalist, and contemporary classical singer, dies of breast cancer at 51
1992 Joris Diels, Flemish actor and director (It's a Cruel World; Haagsche Comedy), dies at 89
1993 Lindsay Hassett, Australian cricket batsman and captain (43 Tests; 3,073 runs @ 46.56; 10 x 100s; Victoria) and broadcaster (ABC 1956-81), dies at 79

Bernard Moitessier (1925-1994)

French sailor, vagabond and author who famously led the 1st non-stop, singlehanded, round the world yacht race before sailing a 2nd lap of the world back to Tahiti, dies of prostate cancer at 69 [1]

1994 Boris Alexandrov, Russian conductor (Red Army Song and Dance Ensemble), dies at 88
1994 Eileen Way, British actress (Les Miserables, Rainbow, Vikings, Assassin), dies at 82
1994 Kristen Pfaff, American rock bassist (Hole, 1993-94), dies of heroin overdose at 27
1994 Terence de Vere White, Irish novelist (An Affair with the Moon), dies at 82
1996 David Mourão-Ferreira, Portuguese poet (Cancioneiro de Natal) and film maker, dies at 69
1996 Mel Allen, American sportscaster (voice of NY Yankees; 22 World Series; 24 MLB All Star games), dies at 83
1997 Dal Stivens, Australian author, dies at 85
1997 John Wolters, American drummer (Dr. Hook -"When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman"), dies at 52
1999 (David) "Screaming Lord" Sutch, English rocker ("Jack The Ripper"), and politician (founder of Official Monster Raving Loony Party), commits suicide at 58
2000 Empress Kōjun, Empress consort of Japan, dies at 97
2000 Richard Dufallo, American clarinetist and conductor, dies at 67
2001 Adam Popovich, Serbian-American musician, director and composer, dies at 91
2003 Georg Henrik von Wright, Finnish-Swedish philosopher (b. 1916)
2003 Pierre Bourgault, French Canadian politician (b. 1934)
2004 Thanom Kittikachorn, Thai politician and general (1971 coup Prime Minister of Thailand 1958-73), dies at 92
2005 Enrique Laguerre, Puerto Rican writer (La Llamarada), dies at 99
2006 Igor Śmiałowski, Polish actor (Lalka, Znachor, Niedaleko Warszawy), dies at 88
2007 Grand Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani, Iranian cleric, dies at 76
2007 Mikhail Kononov, Soviet Russian actor, dies from a tromboembolism at 67
2007 Patricia Darcy Jones, American session and touring rock vocalist (Cher), and Broadway actress, dies at 54
2007 Pattie D'Arcy, American musical theater, session and touring vocalist (Cher), dies at 54
2008 Mario Rigoni Stern, Italian writer, World War II veteran and Nazi concentration camp survivor (b. 1921)
2008 Tom Compernolle, Belgian athlete (b. 1975)
2010 Garry Shider, American funk and psychedelic soul guitarist and musical director (Parliament-Funkadelic), dies of brain and lung cancer at 56
2010 Marc Bazin, Haitian politician (b. 1932)
2010 Maureen Forrester, Canadian operatic contralto (Resurrection Symphony), dies at 79
2010 Ronald Neame, British director (1st Monday in October; The Poseidon Adventure), dies at 99
2012 Alasdair Fraser, Scottish-born Northern Irish lawyer, director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland, dies at 65
2013 Hans Hass, Austrian diving pioneer, dies at 94
2014 Pierre D'Archambeau, American concert violinist, dies at 87

Tony Gwynn (1960-2014)

American Baseball HOF outfielder (15 x MLB All Star; 8 x NL batting champion; 5 × Gold Glove Award; SD Padres), dies of salivary gland cancer at 54

2015 Charles Correa, Indian architect (McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT), dies at 84

Helmut Kohl (1930-2017)

German chancellor (West Germany, 1982-90, unified Germany, 1990-98), dies at 87

2017 John G. Avildsen, American film director (Rocky, The Karate Kid), dies of cancer at 81
2017 Stephen Furst, American actor (Animal House, St. Elsewhere), dies from diabetes complications at 63
2018 Donald Ritchie, Scottish ultra-runner (world record 100 miles 11:51:11 1979), dies of health complications at 73
2018 Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Russian conductor (Bolshoi Theatre, 1951-61; USSR State Radio, 1961-74; USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony, 1983-91), dies at 87
2020 Charles Webb, American writer (The Graduate), dies at 81
2020 Edén Pastora, Nicaraguan "Sandinistas" rebel leader, dies at 83
2021 Frank Bonner [Boers], American actor (WKRP in Cincinnati - "Herb Tarlek"; The Hoax; Just The Ten Of Us), and television director, dies of complications from Lewy body dementia at 79
2022 Don Neely, New Zealand cricket historian, administrator (President NZ Cricket 2006-09), dies at 86
2022 Steinar Amundsen, Norwegian sprint canoeist (Olympic gold K-4 1000m 1968; World C'ship gold 1970, 75), dies at 76
2023 Alfredo Rojas, Argentine soccer striker (15 caps; CA Lanús, Real Betis, Gimnasia de La Plata, CA Boca Juniors), dies at 86
2023 Ben Helfgott, Polish-British Holocaust survivor, Olympian (1956, 1960), champion weightlifter, and Holocaust educator, dies at 93
2023 Bob Brown, American College-Pro Football HOF offensive tackle (University of Nebraska; 5 × First-team All-Pro; 6 x Pro-Bowl; Philadelphia Eagles, LA Rams, Oakland Raiders), dies at 81
2023 Daniel Ellsberg, American military analyst, whistleblower (The Pentagon Papers), and anti-war advocate, dies of pancreatic cancer at 92 [1]
2023 Gino Mäder, Swiss road and track cyclist (Vuelta a España Young rider classification 2021), dies in a race accident at 26
2023 Manabu Kitabeppu, Japanese Baseball HOF pitcher (Hiroshima Toyo Carp; 7 x NPB All-Star; Central League MVP 1986), dies from leukemia at 65
2023 Paxton Whitehead, English stage and screen actor (Back to School, Mad About You - "Hal"), dies at 85
2024 Bob Schul, American athlete (Olympic gold - 5,000m, 1964), dies at 86