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Famous Deaths on November 15

Justinian I (c. 482-565 AD)

Byzantinian Emperor (527-565), commissioned Corpus Juris Civilis, important civil law code, dies at 82

  • 654 Penda of Mercia, Pagan Anglo-Saxon King of Mercia, killed at the Battle of Winwaed and his head cut off
  • 655 Penda, King of Mercia, Anglo Saxon King
  • 1028 Constantine VIII Byzantine Emperor (b. 960)
  • 1136 Margrave Leopold III of Austria (b. 1073)
  • 1194 Margaretha van Elzas, wife of count Boudouin V of Henegouwen, dies
  • 1280 Albertus Magnus the Great, German leader/bishop Regensburg, dies at 87
  • 1463 Giovanni Antonio del Balzo Orsini, Prince of Taranto and Constable of Naples
  • 1527 Princess Catherine of York, 9th child and sixth daughter of King Edward IV by his wife Elizabeth Woodville, dies at 48
  • 1544 King Jungjong of Joseon (b. 1506)
  • 1579 Ferenc Dávid, Hungarian religious reformer (b. 1510)
  • 1628 Roque Gonzales, Paraguayan missionary (b. 1576)
  • 1629 Bethlen Gabor, King of Hungary (1620-29), dies at 49

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)

German astronomer (discovered laws of planetary motion), dies at 58

  • 1634 Johann Staden, German composer, dies at 53
  • 1658 Jacobus Revius [Reefsen], theologist/writer/poet, dies at about 72
  • 1670 John Amos Comenius, Czech-speaking Moravian teacher, educator and writer, dies at 78

John Wheelwright (c. 1592-1679)

English-American Puritan clergyman, dies at 87

  • 1691 Albert Cuyp, landscape painter, buried at 71
  • 1706 Tsangyang Gyatso, 6th Dalai Lama (1697-1706), dies at 23
  • 1712 Charles Mohun, 4th Baron Mohun, English politician (b. 1675)
  • 1712 Giuseppe Vignola, Italian composer, dies at 50
  • 1712 James Douglas, 4th Duke of Hamilton, Scottish nationalist (b. 1658)
  • 1750 Pantaleon Hebenstreit, German musician, composer, and instrument inventor, dies at 81
  • 1787 Christoph Willibald Gluck, Austrian composer (Iphigénie Tauride), dies at 73
  • 1788 Peregrinus Pogl, German composer, dies at 77

John Witherspoon (1723-1794)

Scottish-American president of the College of New Jersey who signed the Declaration of Independence, dies at 71

  • 1795 Charles-Amédée-Philippe van Loo, French painter (b. 1719)
  • 1812 Eagle Fokke Simonsz, writer (Year 3000), dies at about 57
  • 1815 Johann Lukas Schubaur, German composer and physician, dies at 65
  • 1819 Daniel Rutherford, Scottish chemist and physician (isolation of nitrogen in 1772), dies at 70
  • 1831 Vincenc Mašek, Bohemian composer, dies at 76
  • 1832 Jean Baptiste Say, French economist, dies at 63
  • 1842 Joseph Rastrelli, German composer, dies at 43
  • 1848 Pellegrino Rossi, Italian economist and politician assassinated at 61

Maria II (1819-1853)

Daughter of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil, dies at 34

  • 1863 Frederik VII, 1st constitutional king of Denmark (1848-63), dies at 55
  • 1889 Ambrose Dudley Mann, American diplomat, dies at 88
  • 1892 Thomas Neill Cream, Scottish-Canadian serial killer (Lambeth poisoner), is executed at 42
  • 1897 John Mercer Langston, 1st African-American to hold US political office, dies at 67
  • 1907 Horatio Richmond Palmer, American composer and choir director, dies at 73
  • 1908 Empress Dowager Cixi [the old Buddha], empress-widow of China, dies at 72
  • 1910 Wilhelm Raabe [Jakob Corvinus], German author (Der Hungerpastor), dies at 79
  • 1913 Camille Armand Jules Marie de Polignac, French army officer who fought in US Civil war for Confederate Army, dies at 81
  • 1916 Henryk Sienkiewicz, Polish author (Quo Vadis, Nobel 1905), dies at 70
  • 1916 Luis Muñoz Rivera, Puerto Rican journalist (founded Federalist Party), dies at 57
  • 1917 Oswald Chambers, Scottish Baptist and Holiness Movement minister and writer (My Utmost for His Highest), dies at 43
  • 1918 Georges Antoine, Belgian pianist and composer, dies at 26 [1]
  • 1919 Alfred Werner, Swiss chemist (Nobel 1913), dies at 52
  • 1919 Mohammad Farid, an influential Egyptian political figure.
  • 1924 Artur de Sacadura Freire Cabral, Portuguese aviator (1st flight across the south Atlantic), disappears flying over the English Channel at 43
  • 1928 Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin, American Geologist and educator, dies at 85
  • 1931 C. A. J. van Dishoeck, Dutch publisher, dies at 68
  • 1933 Affie Jarvis, Australian cricket wicket-keeper (11 Tests, 18 dismissals; South Australia), dies at 73
  • 1934 Anton Dreesmann, German-Dutch manufacturer (Vroom & Dreesman), dies at 80
  • 1938 George Glover, cricketer (Test for South Africa 1895-96), dies
  • 1944 Maarten Reuchlin, resistance fighter, executed

Lionel Barrymore (1878-1954)

American actor (It's A Wonderful Life; Dr. Kildare (films); Key Largo), dies at 76

  • 1955 Lloyd Bacon, director (Fuller Brush Girl, 42nd Street), dies at 65
  • 1958 Tyrone Power, American actor (The Mark of Zorro; Nightmare Alley), dies of a heart attack at 44
  • 1959 Alex Kennedy, cricketer (31 wkts in 5 Tests for England 1922-23), dies
  • 1961 Douglas Walton, Canadian-American actor (Bad Lands), dies of a heart attack at 51
  • 1961 Elsie Ferguson, American actress (Footlights, Scarlet Pages), dies at 78
  • 1961 Johanna Westerdijk, Dutch botanist and Netherlands 1st female prof (Utrecht, 1917-52), dies at 78
  • 1963 (Frederick) "Fritz" Reiner, Hungarian-American conductor (Cincinnati Symphony, 1922-31; Pittsburgh Symphony, 1938-48; Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 1953-63), and educator (Curtis Institute), dies of pneumonia at 74 [1]
  • 1963 Linus McAtee, American Hall of Fame jockey (Preakness Stakes 1916; Kentucky Derby 1927, 29; US Champion Jockey by earnings 1928), dies at 65
  • 1965 John Geoghegan, U.S. Army infantry lieutenant and Silver Star recipient, killed during the Battle of Ia Drang in Vietnam War at 24
  • 1966 Dimitrios Tofalos, Greek weightlifter (b. 1877)
  • 1967 Alice Lake, American silent screen actress (Frisco Kid, Wicked), dies at 72
  • 1967 Michael J. Adams, USAF pilot (X-15), dies in X-15 crash at 37
  • 1969 Billy Southworth, American Baseball HOF manager (World Series 1942, 44 St. Louis Cardinals; Boston Braves) and outfielder (World Series 1926 NY Giants), dies of emphysema at 76
  • 1969 Ignacio Aldecoa, Spanish writer (Gran Sol, Caballo the Pica), dies at 44
  • 1969 Roy D'Arcy [Roy Giusti], American actor (Warning Shadows, Revolt of Zombies), dies at 75
  • 1971 Rudolf Abel, Soviet spy (b. 1903)
  • 1974 James Morrison, American actor (Wine of Youth, Little Detectives), dies on his birthday at 86
  • 1976 Jean Gabin, French actor (Moulin Rouge, La Grande Illusion), dies at 72
  • 1977 Serafin Pro, Cuban composer, dies at 71
  • 1978 Dick Chapman, American golfer (1940 US amateur, 1951 British amateur), dies of a stroke at 67

Margaret Mead (1901-1978)

American anthropologist (Coming of Age in Samoa, Thoughts & Female), dies of pancreatic cancer at 76

  • 1979 Jed Harris, Austrian-born American theatre producer and director (Billy Rose Show, Operation Mad Ball), dies at 79
  • 1981 Enid Markey, American actress, 1st to play Tarzan's Jane, dies at 85
  • 1981 Walter Heitler, German physicist, quantum field theorist, philosopher, and writer (Man and Science), dies at 77
  • 1983 Dai Rees, Scottish golfer (British Open runner-up 1953-54, 61), dies of car accident injuries at 70
  • 1983 John Le Mesurier, British actor (The Italian Job, Jabberwocky, Dad's Army), dies of cirrhosis of the liver at 71
  • 1984 Baby Fae, who received a baboon's heart, dies at 3 weeks
  • 1985 Spencer W. Kimball, American 12th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1973-1985), dies at 90
  • 1986 Alexandre Tansman, Polish composer (Dyptique), dies at 89
  • 1986 John E. Grotberg, American politician (Rep-R-IL, 1985-86), dies of cancer in office at 61
  • 1988 Mona Washbourne, actress (Blue Bird, Games), dies at 84
  • 1990 Alydar, American racehorse (b. 1975)
  • 1990 Bill E Herndon, actor (Rivals), dies at 54
  • 1993 Evelyn Venable, American model and actress (Death Takes a Holiday, Columbia Pictures logo), dies of cancer at 80
  • 1993 Luciano Liggio, Italian mafia leader/painter, dies
  • 1993 Mouin Shabaita, Palestinian al-Fatah commandant, murdered
  • 1993 Theo Huizenaar, Dutch boxing trainer (Bep van Klaveren), dies at 93
  • 1994 Elizabeth George Speare, American author (The Witch of Blackbird Pond), dies at 85
  • 1994 James W. Watts, American neurosurgeon, developer of the Frontal Lobotomy, dies at 90
  • 1994 Janet Ahlberg (née Hall), British children's book illustrator (The Jolly Postman; Each Peach Pear Plum), dies of breast cancer at 50
  • 1994 Volodymyr Ivashko, President of Ukraine (1990-91), dies
  • 1995 Billy Hughes, British educationist and Labour Party politician, dies at 81
  • 1995 Eve Perrick, British journalist (The Daily Mail), dies at 78
  • 1996 Alger Hiss, former alleged spy/lawyer, dies at 92
  • 1997 Saul Chaplin [Kaplan], American Oscar Award-winning stage, and screen composer, arranger, and orchestrator (An American in Paris; "The Anniversary Song"), dies at 85
  • 1998 Ludvik Danek, Czechoslovak discus thrower (b. 1937)
  • 1998 Stokely Carmichael, American civil rights activist (b. 1941)
  • 2000 Gene Gutchë [Romeo Eugene Gutschë], German-American composer (Akhenaten; Bongo Divertimento), dies at 93
  • 2002 Myra Hindley, English murderess (murdered 5 small children with Ian Brady), dies at 60
  • 2002 Sohn Kee-chung, Korean athlete and long-distance runner, dies at 90
  • 2003 (Wesley) "Speedy" West, American, Country Music Hall of Fame steel guitar player, and record producer, dies at 79
  • 2003 Dorothy Loudon, American actress and singer (Annie), dies of cancer at 78
  • 2003 Laurence Tisch, American businessman (CEO of CBS Television, 1985-96; co-founder of Loews Corp), dies of gastroesophageal cancer, at 80
  • 2003 Ray Lewis, Canadian 4X400 relayer (Olympic bronze 1932), dies at 93
  • 2004 Ben Cami, Flemish writer and poet (Rose from Mud), dies at 84
  • 2004 Elmer L. Andersen, 30th Governor of Minnesota (1961-63), dies at 95
  • 2004 John Morgan, Canadian comedian (b. 1930)
  • 2005 Arto Salminen, Finnish writer (b. 1959)
  • 2005 Dr. Adrian Rogers, American Southern Baptist Minister and leader (b. 1931)
  • 2005 Preston Robert Tisch, American businessman (co-founder of Loews Corp), and NFL co-owner (NY Giants, 1991-2002), dies from brain cancer at 79
  • 2006 Ana Carolina Reston, Brazilian model (b. 1985)
  • 2006 David K. Wyatt, American historian (b. 1937)
  • 2007 Joe Nuxhall, American baseball pitcher and sportscaster (youngest MLB player at 15 years, 316 days), dies at 79
  • 2008 Glen Brand, American wrestler (Olympic gold middleweight 1948), dies at 85
  • 2009 Antonio de Nigris, Mexican soccer striker (16 caps; Monterrey, Villarreal), dies from a heart attack at 31
  • 2009 Patriarch Pavle of Serbia, 44th Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church (b. 1914)
  • 2009 Pierre Harmel, Belgian politician and Prime Minister of Belgium (1965-66), dies at 98
  • 2010 Ed Kirkpatrick, American baseball player (b. 1944)
  • 2010 Imre Polyák, Hungarian featherweight (Olympic gold 1964), dies at 78
  • 2010 Larry Evans, American chess grandmaster, author and journalist (5 x US Chess C'ship; 20+ books), dies following gallbladder surgery at 78
  • 2011 Dulcie Gray, British singer, actress, author and lepidopterist (Mine Own Executioner), dies at 95
  • 2011 Mark "Moogy" Klingman, American rock musician and songwriter (Utopia), dies of bladder cancer at 61
  • 2011 Oba Chandler, American convicted murderer, dies at 65
  • 2013 Mike McCormack, American NFL offensive tackle (NY Yankees, Cleveland, Philadelphia), dies at 83
  • 2013 Raimondo d'Inzeo, Italian equestrian, 1st athlete to compete in 8 Olympic games (Olympic gold/2 silver/3 bronze-1948-76), dies at 88
  • 2014 (Bernard) "Bunny" Briggs, American tap dancer 'Duke's dancer', dies at 92
  • 2015 Cynthia Payne, English brothel madam, dies at 82
  • 2015 Larry J. Hopkins, American politician (Rep-R-KY, 1979-93), dies at 88
  • 2015 P.F. Sloan [Philip Schlein], American songwriter ("Eve of Destruction"; "Secret Agent Man"), session guitarist, and singer, dies of pancreatic cancer at 70
  • 2015 Saeed Jaffrey, Indian actor (The Chess Players, Gandhi), dies at 86
  • 2015 Vincent Margera, American reality TV personality (Viva La Bam - "Don Vito"), and convicted sex offender, dies of kidney and liver failure at 59
  • 2016 Jules Eskin, American cellist (Boston Symphony, 1964-2016), dies of cancer at 85 [1]
  • 2016 Milt Okun, American music producer, conductor, and arranger (Peter, Paul and Mary; John Denver), dies at 92
  • 2016 Mose Allison, American jazz and blues piano player, singer, and composer ("Everybody's Cryin Mercy"; "Your Mind Is on Vacation"), dies at 89
  • 2016 Sixto Durán Ballén, Ecuadorian politician, President of Ecuador (1992-96), dies at 95
  • 2017 Keith Barron, English actor (At Earth's Core, Baby Love), dies at 83
  • 2017 Lil Peep [Gustav Åhr], American rapper, dies of a drug overdose at 21
  • 2018 Roy Clark, American country singer and banjo player (Hee Haw, The Tonight Show), dies at 85
  • 2019 Bobby Neame, British brewer (Shepherd Neame), dies at 85
  • 2019 Harrison Dillard, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 4×100m relay 1948; 110m hurdles, 4×100m relay 1952), dies at 96
  • 2020 Campbell Forsyth, Scottish soccer goalkeeper (4 caps; St Mirren, Kilmarnock, Southampton), dies at 86
  • 2020 Ray Clemence, English soccer goalkeeper (England 61 caps, Liverpool, Tottenham), dies from prostate cancer at 72
  • 2020 Soumitra Chatterjee, Indian actor, playwright and poet (Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy), dies of COVID-19 complications at 85 [1]
  • 2021 Bengt Madsen, Swedish soccer administrator (chairman Malmö FF 1999-2009), dies from cancer at 79
  • 2021 Bobby Collins Jr., American college football coach (head coach University of Southern Mississippi; Southern Methodist University), dies at 88
  • 2021 Heber Bartolome, Filipino folk-rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bandurria and kubing player (Banyuhay - "Nena"), dies at 73
  • 2023 Daisaku Ikeda, Japanese Buddhist leader (Soka Gakkai), dies at 95 [1]
  • 2023 George Chigova, Zimbabwean soccer goalkeeper (32 caps; Polokwane City FC, SuperSport United FC), dies from heart disease at 32
  • 2023 Ken Squier, American sportscaster (NASCAR on CBS, TBS 1983–99; first lap-by-lap commentary of Daytona 500 1979), dies of an intestinal blockage at 88
November 15 Highlights