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

Famous Deaths on March 27

  • 710 Rupert of Salzburg, saint and Bishop of Worms and Salzberg
  • 922 Al-Hallaj al-Mughith-al-Hsayn Mansur, Persian mystic, beheaded at 64
  • 965 Arnulf I, the Elder/the Great, count of Flanders (918-65), dies
  • 973 Herman, Duke of Saxony
  • 1378 Gregory XI [Pierre R the Beaufort], last French Pope (1370-78), dies
  • 1462 Vasili II 'the Blind' Grand Prince of Moscow, dies at 47
  • 1472 Janus Pannonius, Hungarian poet and translator, dies at 37
  • 1482 Mary of Burgundy, daughter of Charles the Bold and his successor, dies falling off her horse (b. 1457)
  • 1555 William Hunter, Protestant martyr
  • 1572 Girolamo Maggi, Italian Renaissance man (b. abt. 1523)

James I and VI (1566-1625)

King James VI of Scotland (1567-1625) and James I of England and Ireland (1603-25), dies of dysentery at 58

  • 1635 Robert Naunton, English politician (b. 1563)
  • 1668 Clemens Thieme, German Baroque composer, dies at 36
  • 1679 Abraham Mignon, Dutch still life painter, dies at 38
  • 1697 Simon Bradstreet, English colonial magistrate, last governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, dies at 93
  • 1701 Anne Hilarion de Cotentin, French naval commander and national hero under Louis XIV, Marshal of France, dies at 58
  • 1714 Anton Ulrich, German Duke of Brunswick and poet, dies at 80
  • 1714 Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel, queen of Denmark and Norway (1670-99), dies at 63
  • 1757 Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz, composer, dies at 39
  • 1761 Johann Ludwig Steiner, Swiss composer, dies at 72
  • 1769 Josef Antonin Gurecky, composer, dies at 60
  • 1770 Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Italian Venetian Rococo painter (Banquet of Cleopatra), dies at 73
  • 1809 Joseph-Marie Vien, French court painter, dies at 92
  • 1826 Jakob Haibel, Austrian composer, dies at 63
  • 1827 François Alexandre Frédéric, French social reformer (b. 1747)
  • 1836 James Fannin, Texas revolutionary (b. 1804)
  • 1843 Karl Salomo Zachariae von Lingenthal, German jurist (b. 1769)
  • 1848 John Burke, Irish genealogist (Burke's Peerage), dies at 61
  • 1849 Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford (b. 1776)
  • 1850 Wilhelm Beer, German banker and amateur astronomer (1st full map of the Moon), dies at 53
  • 1864 Jean-Jacques Ampère, French scholar (b. 1800)
  • 1865 Petrus Hoffman Peerlkamp, Dutch scholar (b. 1786)
  • 1873 Amedée Simon Dominique Thierry, French journalist and historian (b. 1797)
  • 1875 Edgar Quinet, French historian (b. 1803)
  • 1876 Hambletonian "daddy of 'em all", American top sire standardbred horse, dies after siring over 1,300 foals at 26 [1]
  • 1878 Dobri Voynikov, Bulgarian teacher, playwright and journalist (The Phoney Civilization), dies at 44
  • 1878 George Gilbert Scott, architect, dies
  • 1889 John Bright, English reform politician and anti0war advocate, dies at 77
  • 1889 Moritz Fürstenau, German composer, dies at 64
  • 1894 Verney Lovett Cameron, English explorer (Tanganyika), dies at 49
  • 1897 Andreas Anagnostakis, Greek physician (b. 1826)
  • 1898 Syed Ahmad Khan, Indian Muslim intellectual and one of the founding fathers of the Pakistan movement, dies at 80
  • 1900 Pieter J Joubert [Smart Piet], South African general, dies at 69
  • 1905 Mildred Childe Lee, American favourite daughter of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, dies at 59
  • 1910 Alexander Agassiz, American biologist and geologist, dies at 74
  • 1910 David Duffle Wood, American blind composer (organist and choir master at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church), dies at 72

Susan Blow (1843-1916)

American educator who pioneered kindergarten education and was known as the "Mother of the Kindergarten", dies at 72

  • 1920 Johan G Danser, Dutch poet (Meetings), dies at 26
  • 1922 Nikolay Alexandrovich Sokolov, Russian composer, dies at 63
  • 1923 James Dewar, Scottish chemist and physicist (Dewarfles/cordiet), dies at 80
  • 1924 Walter Parratt, British organist and composer, dies at 83
  • 1925 Carl Neumann, German mathematician and physicist (Neumann-functions), dies at 92
  • 1927 Joe Start, American baseball player, dies at 84
  • 1928 Leslie Stuart [Thomas Barrett], British musical theater composer (Florodora), dies at 64
  • 1929 Samuil Shatunovsky, Ukrainian mathematician, dies at 70
  • 1931 Arnold Bennett, English novelist (Anna of the Five Towns), dies at 63
  • 1933 Lionel Palairet, British cricket batsman (2 Tests; Somerset CCC, Oxford Uni CC), dies at 62
  • 1934 Francis William Reitz, 5th State President of the Orange Free State, dies at 89
  • 1938 William Stern, German-American philosopher (Intelligence of Children), dies at 66
  • 1939 Constance Lindsay Skinner, Quesnel British Columbia, Canadian author (Rivers of America), dies at 57

Michael Joseph Savage (1872-1940)

Australian-born New Zealand politician and first Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand (1935-40), dies of colon cancer at 68

  • 1943 Grigori Yakovlevich Bakhchivangi, Russian test pilot (world speed record in BI-1 rocket plane), but killed in its crash at 35
  • 1945 Jorgen Nielsen, Danish writer (romance), dies at 42
  • 1947 Charles Smith, cricketer (batted for South Africa in 1902-03), dies
  • 1948 Karel Candael, Flemish composer, dies at 64
  • 1952 Kiichirō Toyoda, Japanese businessman and automobile maker (Toyota Motor Corporation). dies from a cerebral hemorrhage at 57
  • 1953 Narciso Garay, Panamanian composer, dies at 76
  • 1956 Frans Beelaerts van Blokland, minister of Foreign affairs, dies at 84
  • 1959 Grant Withers, American actor (Rio Grande, Oklahoma, Annie), commits suicide with sleeping pills at 54
  • 1960 Ian Whyte, Scottish composer and conductor (BBC Scottish Orchestra), dies at 58
  • 1961 Jack Kane, British-Canadian arrranger, composer, and orchestra leader (Steve & Eydie; Andy Williams Show), dies at 37
  • 1967 David L. Snell, American pianist and composer for films (MGM Studio), dies at 69
  • 1967 Gerardus H de Vet, the Bold, bishop of Breda (1962-67), dies at 49
  • 1967 Jim Thompson, American designer (Thai silk industry), disappears while walking in Malaysia's Cameron Highlands at 61

Yuri Gagarin (1934-1968)

Russian cosmonaut and 1st man into space (aboard Vostok 1), dies in a Mig-15 plane crash at 34

  • 1969 B. Traven, German novelist ("The Death Ship"; "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre") who is cloaked in mystery and whose identity, real name and birthplace is disputed, dies at possibly 87
  • 1972 M. C. Escher, Dutch graphic artist and lithograph carver (Praedestinatie), dies at 73
  • 1972 Sharkey Bonano, American jazz musician, dies at 67
  • 1973 Boyan Georgiev Ikonomov, Bulgarian composer, dies at 72
  • 1973 Michael Kalatozov, Russian director and cinematographer (When the Cranes Fly), dies at 69
  • 1975 Arthur Bliss, English composer (Olympians), dies at 83
  • 1975 Gertrude Niesen, American actress, comedian, and songwriter (Start Cheering; Rookies on Parade), dies following a long illness at 63
  • 1977 A. P. Hamann, American politician and city manager of San Jose, California, dies in the Tenerife airport disaster at 67
  • 1977 Diana Hyland, actress (Peyton Place, 8 is Enough), dies at 41
  • 1977 Eve Meyer, X actress (Immoral Mr Teas), dies in a plane crash at 46
  • 1977 Lodewijk de Vocht, Belgian composer (Prayer for My Fatherland), conductor, kapellmeister (Antwerp Cathedral, 1913-50), and educator (Antwerp Conservatory, 1921-52), dies at 89
  • 1978 Dutch Zwilling, American baseball outfielder (Federal League HR all-time leader), dies at 89
  • 1978 Wilfred Pickles, British actor (Billy Liar, Gay Dog), dies at 73
  • 1979 Ronald Adam, actor (Phantom Shot), dies at 82
  • 1981 Mao Dun [Shen Dehong], Chinese writer (Midnight), dies at 84
  • 1982 Bob Ysaguirre, American jazz double bass and tuba player (Don Redman Orchestra), dies at 85
  • 1982 Fazlur Rahman Khan, Bangladeshi-American structural engineer and architect (Sears Tower, Chicago; John Hancock Center, Chicago; Metrodome, Minneapolis), dies of a heart attack at 52
  • 1983 James Hayter, actor (Pickwick Papers, Trio, Great Game), dies at 75
  • 1983 Jānis Ivanovs, Latvian composer, and pedagogue, dies at 76
  • 1986 Cass Canfield, US publisher, dies at 88
  • 1987 Bruno Kiefer, German-born Brazilian composer, dies at 63
  • 1987 Lloyd Goodrich, American Arts Museum director, dies at 90
  • 1988 Jan van den Weghe, Flemish writer, dies at about 67
  • 1989 May Allison, American actress (Youth for Salem Men of Steel), dies of respiratory failure at 98
  • 1991 Aldo Ray [Da Re], American actor (God's Little Acre, Green Beret), dies of cancer at 64
  • 1991 Elinor Remick Warren, American concert pianist and composer, dies at 91
  • 1991 Leueen McGrath, actress (Edward My Son, Saint's Vacation), dies at 77
  • 1991 Ralph Bates, British actor (Persecution, Graveyard), dies at 50
  • 1992 Anita Colby [Counihan], American model, actress (Mary of Scotland; Cover Girl; Pepsi Cola Playhouse), beauty coach, and inventor (chair-bed), dies of lung disease at 77
  • 1992 Easley Blackwood, Sr, American expert bridge player, and writer, dies at 89
  • 1992 Gerry Duggan, Irish-Australian character actor dies at 81
  • 1992 Harald Sæverud, Norwegian composer (Rondo Amoroso; Sinfonia Dolorosa), dies at 94
  • 1992 James E. Webb, American government official (Administrator of NASA, 1961-68, James Webb S[ace Telescope named after him), dies of a heart attack at 85
  • 1992 Martin Engelman, Dutch cartoonist, painter and graphic artist, dies at 68
  • 1993 Carlos Gimenez, Argentine-Venezuelan director (Theater Festival of Caracas), dies at 47
  • 1993 Clifford Jordan, American jazz tenor saxophonist, dies of cancer at 61
  • 1993 Kate Reid, British actress (The Andromeda Strain, Heaven Help US), dies of cancer at 62
  • 1993 Katherine Hynes De Groot, dies of stroke at 88
  • 1994 Dennis Hartas, flier, dies at 69
  • 1995 Albert Drach, Austrian-Jewish writer, dies at 92
  • 1995 Bernard Cornfeld, Romanian/US financier (Fund of Funds), dies at 67
  • 1995 Chet Gierlach, American music publisher, jazz and popular song composer ((The Funniest Bird I've Heard of) The Kiwi (Kee Wee) Bird), dies at 75
  • 1995 Rene Allio, film Director, dies at 70
  • 1996 Howie Wyeth, American drummer and pianist (Bob Dylan; Robert Gordon; Christine Lavin), dies of cardiac arrest at 51
  • 1997 Ella Maillart, Swiss adventurer, travel writer, and sportsperson (Forbidden Journey), dies at 94
  • 1998 David McClelland, American psychologist (b. 1917)
  • 1998 Ferry Porsche, Austrian automobile pioneer (Porsche AG), dies at 88
  • 2000 Ian Dury, English rock musician (The Blockheads) and actor (Judge Dredd), dies at 57
  • 2001 Anthony Dexter [Walter Fleischmann], Canadian actor (The Phantom Planet, Captain John Smith and Pocahontas), dies at 88

Billy Wilder (1906-2002)

Austrian-American filmmaker (Stalag 17: Some Like It Hot; The Lost Weekend; The Apartment), dies of pneumonia at 95

Dudley Moore (1935-2002)

English comedian, actor (10; Arthur; Bedazzled), jazz pianist, and composer, dies of progressive supranuclear palsy and pneumonia at 66

Milton Berle (1908-2002)

American comedian and TV host (Uncle Miltie, Mr Television), dies at 93

  • 2003 Daniel Ceccaldi, French actor (Stolen Kisses, Bed and Board), dies at 75
  • 2003 Edwin Carr, New Zealand classical composer, dies at 76
  • 2003 Paul Zindel, American writer (b. 1936)
  • 2003 Ricardo Munguia, Salvadoran aid worker
  • 2004 Adán Sánchez, Mexican-American singer, dies from injuires sustained in a single vehicle accident at 19
  • 2005 Bob Casey, American baseball announcer (b. 1925)
  • 2005 Grant Johannesen, American concert pianist, dies at 83
  • 2005 Gwydion Brooke [Holbrooke], British bassoonist (Royal Philharmonic, 1946-1961), dies at 93
  • 2005 Wilfred Bigelow, Canadian heart surgeon (b. 1913)
  • 2006 Dan Curtis, American television producer and director (b. 1928)
  • 2006 Ian Hamilton Finlay, Scottish poet, writer, artist and gardener, dies at 80
  • 2006 Lyn Nofziger, American journalist and political advisor to Ronald Reagan, dies of cancer at 81
  • 2006 Ruari McLean, British typographer (b. 1917)
  • 2006 Stanisław Lem, Polish writer (b. 1921)
  • 2007 Paul Lauterbur, American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1929)
  • 2008 George Pruteanu, Romanian literary critic and politician (b. 1947)
  • 2008 Jean-Marie Balestre, French president of motor sport's FIA, dies at 86
  • 2009 Irving R. Levine, American journalist (NBC News), dies at 86
  • 2009 Jack Dreyfus, American businessman (b. 1913)
  • 2010 Stan Parris, American politician (Rep-R-VA, 1973-74, 81-91), dies at 80
  • 2010 Vasily Smyslov, Russian grandmaster (b. 1921)
  • 2011 Farley Granger, American actor (Arnold, Rope, Deathmask), dies at 85
  • 2012 Adrienne Rich, American feminist poet and essayist (Diving into the Wreck), dies from complications of rheumatoid arthritis at 82
  • 2012 Hilton Kramer, American art critic, dies from heart failure at 84
  • 2012 Millôr Fernandes, Brazilian writer and playwright, dies at 88
  • 2012 Warren Stevens, American actor (Richard Boone Show), dies from lung disease at 92
  • 2013 Hjalmar Andersen, Norwegian speed skater (Olympic gold 1,500m, 5,000m, 10,000m 1952; World C'ship gold all-round 1950, 51, 52), dies from trauma due to a fall at 90
  • 2014 James Schlesinger, American economist and public servant (US Secretary of Energy, 1977-79; US Secretary of Defense, 1973-75; Chair of Atomic Energy Commission, 1973-75), dies at 85
  • 2016 Mother Angelica, Catholic American Franciscan nun, dies at 92
  • 2017 Arthur Blythe, American jazz saxophonist, dies at 76
  • 2017 Chelsea Brown, American comedienne (Laugh-in, Matt Lincoln), dies at 74
  • 2017 David Storey, British novelist and playwright (This Sporting Life), dies at 83
  • 2018 Stephane Audran, French actress (Just Before Nightfall), dies at 85
  • 2019 Bruce Yardley, Australian cricket spin bowler and coach (33 Tests, 126 wickets; coach Sri Lanka), dies from cancer at 71
  • 2019 Friedrich Achleitner, Austrian architecture critic (Österreichische Architektur im 20. Jahrhundert), and poet, dies at 88
  • 2019 Joe Bellino, American College Football Hall of Fame halfback (Heisman Trophy 1960, Navy), dies of stomach cancer at 81
  • 2019 Valery Bykovsky, Soviet cosmonaut (Vostok 5, Soyuz 22, 31), dies at 84
  • 2020 Bob Andy [Keith Anderson], Jamaican reggae songwriter, and vocalist ("Feel the Feeling"; "Fire Burning"), dies of cancer at 75
  • 2020 Frank Myler, English rugby league stand-off (24 caps Great Britain, 1 England; Widnes, St. Helens) and coach (Widnes, Swinton, Oldham), dies at 81
  • 2020 Les Hunter, American basketball center (NCAA C'ship 1963, Loyola Ramblers; NBA: Baltimore Bullets; ABA All Star 1968, 69; Miami Floridians), dies from cancer at 77
  • 2021 Derek Ufton, English soccer defender (1 cap; Charlton Athletic), manager (Plymouth Argyle) and cricket wicketkeeper (Kent), dies at 92
  • 2021 Howard Schnellenberger, American football coach (National C'ship Uni of Miami 1983; Uni of Oklahoma, Uni of Louisville, Florida Atlantic Uni; Baltimore Colts), dies at 87
  • 2021 Todd Kabel, Canadian jockey (Sovereign Award for Outstanding Jockey 1992, 95, 2003-06; Queen's Plate 1995, 2000; Prince of Wales Stakes 2000, 07), dies at 55
  • 2022 Alexandra Zabelina, Russian fencer (Olympic gold USSR women's team foil 1960, 68, 72), dies at 85
  • 2022 Karl Korte, American composer (Pale is This Good Prince; The Time Is:),and educator (University of Texas, 1971-97), dies at 91
  • 2022 Titus Buberník, Czech soccer midfielder (23 caps Czechoslovakia; ČH Bratislava, LASK Linz), dies at 88
  • 2023 Howie Kane [Howard Kirshenbaum], American rock singer (Jay and the Americans - "Come a Little Bit Closer"), dies at 81
  • 2023 James Bowman, British concert and operatic countertenor (Benjamin Britten's "Apollo"), dies at 81 [1]
  • 2023 Jocelyn Morlock, Canadian contemporary and post-modern classical composer (My Name is Amanda Todd; Bird in the Tangled Sky), and music educator, dies at 53
  • 2023 Wim de Bie, Dutch comedian, satirist, and writer (van Kooten & de Bie - The Simplistic Covenant), dies of complications from Parkinson's disease at 83
  • 2024 Choi Dae-Shik, South Korean soccer midfielder who played 15 internationals; Daewoo Royals, LG Cheetahs, Oita Trinita, dies at 59

Joe Lieberman (1942-2024)

American attorney, US Senator from Connecticut (D/IND: 1989-2013) and Vice-Presidential candidate in 2000, dies at 82