William the Conqueror (c. 1028-1087)
the first Norman king of England (1066-1087) and Duke of Normandy (1035-1087), dies at about 59
James IV (1473-1513)
King of Scotland (1488-1513), killed in the Battle of Flodden at 40
- 1573 Andre de Resende, Portuguese Dominican friar and humanist, dies at 74 or 75
- 1583 Humphrey Gilbert, English soldier, explorer and founder of Newfoundland, dies at sea, apparently reading "Utopia", at 43 or 44
- 1596 Anna Jagiellon, Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania (1575-87), dies at 72
- 1612 Nakagawa Hidenari, Japanese warlord (b. 1570)
- 1676 Paul de Chomedey de Maosonneuve, French military officer (founder and head of religious mission Fort Ville-Marie - later Montreal), dies at 64 [1]
- 1680 Henry Marten, English parliamentary judge and regicide (signed death warrant of King Charles I), dies imprisoned at Chepstow Castle at about 78
- 1683 Algernon Sidney, English Whig politician and political theorist, beheaded for treason at 60
- 1713 Giovanni Antonio Viscardi, Swiss architect, dies at 67
- 1755 Johann Lorenz von Mosheim, German historian (b. 1694)
- 1770 Bernard Siegfried Albinus [Weiss], German surgeon and anatomist (1st to link vascular system with the fetus), dies at 73
- 1770 Georg Dionysius Ehret, German-English botanist and cartoonist, dies at 62
- 1803 Armand-Emmanuel Trial, French pianist and comic opera composer, dies at 30
- 1806 William Paterson, American jurist and statesman (b. 1745)
- 1810 Johann Baptiste Hagenauer, Austrian sculptor, dies at 78
- 1815 John Singleton Copley, American painter of portraits and historical objects, dies at 77
- 1817 Paul Cuffe, African American civil rights activist (helped settle Sierra Leone), dies at 58
- 1832 Bernhard Klein, German composer, mainly of vocal works, dies at 39
- 1841 Augustin Pyrame de Candolle, Swiss botanist, established a plant classification system and coined the term taxonomy, dies at 63
- 1866 Gergely Czuczor, Hungarian-Czech poet and translator (Great Hung dictionary), dies at 65
- 1876 American Horse, Oglala Lakota warrior chief, dies in Battle of Slim Buttes (b. c. 1830)
- 1878 Jacobo Ficher, Russian-Argentine composer, violinist, conductor, and music educator, dies at 81
- 1888 Jan van Swieten, Dutch governor of West-Sumatra, dies at 71
- 1891 Jules Grévy, 2nd President of the French Third Republic, dies at 84
- 1898 Stéphane Mallarmé [pen name of Étienne Mallarmé], French symbolist poet, dies at 56
- 1901 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French painter and printmaker (At the Moulin Rouge), dies from the effects of alcoholism and syphilis at 36
- 1901 Willem van Goltstein van Oldenaller, Dutch minister of Colonies dies at 70
- 1902 Titus van Asch van Wijck, Dutch politician (Governor of Suriname 1891-97), dies at 53
- 1907 Ernest Roland Wilberforce, English bishop of Chichester, dies at 67
- 1909 Edward Henry Harriman, American leading railroad builder (Union Pacific Railroad Company), dies at 61
- 1913 Paul Smet de Naeyer, Belgian politician and count (Prime Minister of Belgium 1896-99, 1899-1907), dies at 70
- 1915 A. G. Spalding, American Baseball HOF pitcher, manager and executive (NL wins leader 1871–76; President, co-owner Chicago White Stockings; co-founder of Spalding sporting goods company), dies at 66
- 1926 William S. Scarborough, American linguist and author (Birds of Aristophanes), dies at 74
- 1931 Lujo Brentano, German economist and social reformer, dies at 86
- 1934 Roger Fry, English artist and art critic, dies at 67
- 1941 Gustav Ehrismann, German author and expert on the German language, dies at 85
- 1941 Hans Spemann, German embryologist (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1935), dies at 72
- 1946 Mynona, Polish writer (The Creator), dies at 74
- 1951 Cecil Gray, Scottish composer and music critic, dies at 56
- 1951 Gibson Gowland, British actor (Greed, Blind Husbands, The Phantom of the Opera), dies at 74
- 1952 Joseph Allen Sr., American actor, dies at 79
- 1954 Alfred Gradstein, Polish composer, dies at 49
- 1958 Charles Macartney, Australian cricket all-rounder (35 Tests, 2,131 runs at 41.78, 7 x 100s, 45 wickets), dies at 72
- 1959 Collie Smith, West Indian cricket all-rounder (26 Tests, 4 x 100, HS 168; Jamaica), dies in a car crash at 26
- 1959 Max d'Ollone, French composer and writer (Le Ménestrel), dies at 84
- 1960 Armas Maasalo, Finnish composer, organist (St. John's Lutheran Church, 1926-58), and pedagogue (Helsinki Church Music Institute, 1914-51), dies at 75
- 1960 Jussi Björling, Swedish operatic tenor, dies from cardiomegaly (enlarged heart) complications at 49
- 1962 Geoffrey Mander, English industrialist (Mander Brothers Ltd.), dies at 80
- 1962 Pat Rooney, American vaudevillian (Night club), dies at 82
- 1963 Ernst Kantorowicz, German-American historian (Laudes regiae), dies at 68
- 1963 Jan Schouten, Dutch co-founder of Daily Trouw (illegal resistance newspaper WWII), dies at 80
- 1964 Charles O'Neill, Canadian composer, dies at 82
- 1965 Julián Antonio Carillo Trujillo, Mexican violinist, conductor and composer (D.W. Griffith's Intolerance), and music theorist (Sonido 13 / The Thirteenth Sound), dies at 90
- 1966 Antonio Massana, Catalan composer, and Jesuit priest, dies at 76
- 1966 Leon de Smet, Belgian painter (Luminist school), dies at 85
- 1966 Nestor Paiva, American-Portuguese actor (Zorro, The Creature from the Black Lagoon), dies of cancer at 61
- 1967 Helen Flint, American actress (Sea Devils), dies after being hit by a car at 69
- 1969 Cec Dixon, South African cricket fast-medium bowler (1 Test; 3 wickets; Transvaal), dies at 78
- 1969 Katherine Singleton, American actress (Ziegfeld Follies) and Miss Universe (1926), dies at 65
- 1973 Samuel N. Behrman, American playwright and screenwriter (Quo Vardis), dies at 80
- 1974 Soltan Hajibeyov, Azerbaijani composer and People's Artist of the USSR, dies at 55
- 1975 Ethel Griffies, English actress (Billy Liar, Birds), dies at 97
- 1975 John McGiver, American actor (Patty Duke Show; Jimmy Stewart Show; Fitzwilly), dies from a heart attack at 61
- 1975 Minta Durfee, actress (Keystone Comedies, Mickey), dies at 85
Mao Zedong (1893-1976)
Chinese revolutionary and Chairman of the Communist Party of China (1949-76), dies of a heart attack at 82
- 1977 John Breeden, American actor (Salute, Madame Racketeer, Joy Street), dies at 73
- 1978 Hugh MacDiarmid [pen name for Christopher Murray Grieve], Scottish poet (leader of the Scottish literary renaissance), dies at 86
- 1978 Jack L Warner [Jacob Warner], Canadian-American film executive and president of the Warner Bros. Studios, dies at 86
- 1979 Norman "Norrie" Paramor, British composer, arranger, pianist, bandleader, and record producer (Cliff Richard: The Shadows; Helen Shapiro), dies at 65
- 1979 Solon Michaelides, Cypriot composer, teacher, and musicologist, dies at 73
- 1979 Wilbur Ware, American jazz double bassist (Riverside Records; Thelonious Monk; Sonny Rollins), included in photographer Art Kane's photo "A Great Day In Harlem", dies of emphysema at 56
- 1980 Harold Clurman, American theatrical producer and director (Deadline at Dawn), dies at 78
- 1980 John Howard Griffin, American photographer, journalist and author (Black Like Me), dies from complications of diabetes at 60
- 1981 Helen Humes, American jazz and blues singer (Harry James; Count Basie; "Million Dollar Secret"), dies of cancer at 68
- 1981 Jacques Lacan, French psychoanalyst and semanticist, dies at 80
- 1981 Phiroz Palia, Indian cricket batsman (2 Tests; United Provinces), dies at 71
- 1982 Frederic Dannay [Ellery Queen], American detective writer, dies at 76
- 1984 Walter Kaufmann, German-American conductor (Winnipeg Symphony, 1948-57), composer (Navaratnam), and musicologist (The Ragas of South India), dies at 77
- 1984 Yilmaz Güney, Kurdish film director (Yol; Arkadaş; Baba; Ağit), dies of gastric cancer at 47
- 1985 Paul Flory, American chemist (1974 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for work on polymers), dies at 75
- 1985 Rod Funseth, American golfer (US Masters runner-up 1978), dies from cancer at 52 [1]
- 1987 Gerrit Jan Heijn, Dutch businessman (Ahold), kidnapped then murdered at 56
- 1987 Gunnar de Frumerie, Swedish pianist and composer (Circulus Quintus), dies at 79
- 1989 Tim Hovey, American child actor (Slim Carter, Man Afraid), dies of a drug overdose at 44
- 1990 Rimantas Stankevičius, Lithuanian cosmonaut, dies at 46
- 1990 Samuel Doe, Liberian politician (b. 1951)
- 1991 Edwin M. McMillan, American physicist and discoverer of plutonium (Nobel 1951), dies at 83
- 1991 Joop Zwart, Dutch political activist and resistance fighter, dies at 78
- 1991 Paul Michael Lombardi, American actor (The Fisher King), dies of AIDS at 31
- 1993 David Tendlar, American animator (Betty Boop), dies at 84
- 1993 Helen O'Connell, American big-band singer (Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra - "Green Eyes"; "Anapola"), and TV host (Today Show, 1956-58), dies of cancer at 74
- 1994 Patrick O'Neal, American actor (Under Siege, The Stepford Wives, King Rat, Night of the Iguana), dies at 66
- 1995 Ida Carroll, English double bassist, educator, administrator (Northern School of Music, 1956-72), and composer, dies at 89
- 1995 Jamie Whitten, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi), dies at 85
- 1996 Bill Monroe, American singer known as the "Father of Bluegrass" ("Blue Moon of Kentucky"), dies at 84
- 1996 Jack Pepys, South African British immunologist (allergy and allergic diseases), dies at 82
- 1996 Ruggero Mastroianni, Italian film editor (Giulietta degli spiriti), dies at 66
Burgess Meredith (1907-1997)
American actor (Mr Novak, The Penguin in Batman, Rocky), dies at 88
Richie Ashburn (1927-1997)
American Baseball Hall of Fame infielder (6 × MLB All-Star; NL batting champion 1955, 58; Philadelphia Phillies) and sportscaster (Phillies TV 1963-71), dies of a heart attack at 70
- 1998 Bill Cratty, American modern dancer and choreographer, dies of liver cancer at 47
- 1998 Lucio Battisti, Italian pop singer and composer, dies of cancer at 55
- 1999 Chan Parker, American author; wife of Charlie Parker and Phil Woods (b. 1925)
- 1999 David Stafford-Clark, English psychiatrist, dies at 83
- 1999 Jim "Catfish" Hunter, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (MLB All-Star 1966, 67, 70, 72–1976; World Series 1972–74, 77, 78; AL Cy Young Award 1974; Oakland A's, NY Yankees), dies from Lou Gehrig's disease at 53
- 1999 Ruth Roman, American actress (Strangers on a Train, Knots Landing, Dallas), dies at 76
- 2000 Bill Waddington, British actor and comedian (Percy in Coronation Street), dies at 84
- 2000 Julian Critchley, British journalist and politician, dies at 69
Ahmad Shah Massoud (1953-2001)
Afghan political and military leader who fought the Soviet Union and led the Northern Alliance against the Taliban, assassinated at 48 in northeastern Afghanistan by al Qaeda-linked suicide bombers disguised as journalists
- 2002 Geoffrey Dummer, British electronics engineer who built the first integrated circuit (microchip) and worked on radar systems, dies at 93
Edward Teller (1908-2003)
Hungarian-American physicist, father of the Hydrogen bomb (Manhattan Project), dies at 95
- 2003 Larry Hovis, American actor (Hogan's Heroes), dies at 67
- 2003 Thomas Allibone, English physicist (Manhattan Project, high-voltage particle acceleration), dies at 99
- 2004 Caitlin Clarke, American actress (Dragonslayer), dies at 52
- 2004 Ernie Ball, American entrepreneur and musician who pioneered the development of guitar-related products, dies at 74
- 2005 John Wayne Glover, English-born Australian serial killer, commits suicide in prison at 72
- 2005 Stanley Dancer, American harness racer (4 Hambletonians, 3 Trot Triple Crown), dies at 78
- 2006 Gérard Brach, French screenwriter (The Name of the Rose), dies at 79
- 2006 Richard Burmer, American composer and musician, dies at 50
- 2006 William B. Ziff Jr., American magazine publishing executive, (Modern Bride; Popular Electronics, PC Magazine), dies of cancer at 76
- 2007 Helmut Senekowitsch, Austrian soccer forward (18 caps; Sturm Graz, First Vienna, Real Betis, Wacker Innsbruck) and manager (Austria, Athletic Bilbao, AEK), dies at 73
- 2007 Hughie Thomasson, American guitarist, singer, and songwriter (Outlaws - "Green Grass and High Tides"; Lynyrd Skynyrd, 1996-2005), dies of a heartt attack at 55
- 2008 Warith Deen Muhammad, American Muslim leader and theologian (American Society of Muslims), dies at 74
- 2012 Ron Taylor, Australian shark expert and cinematographer, dies from myeloid leukemia at 78
- 2012 Verghese Kurien, Indian engineer (billion-litre idea), dies from kidney failure at 90
- 2014 Antonín Tučapský, Czech composer, teacher, and choral conductor, dies at 86
- 2014 Denny Miller, American actor, dies from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at 80
- 2014 Robert 'Trob' Young, Scottish musician (Primal Scream), found dead at 49
- 2015 Robin McDonald, Scottish rock guitarist (Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas), dies at 72
- 2016 James Stacy [Maurice William Elias], American actor (Lancer), dies at 79
- 2019 Brian Barnes, English golfer (Ryder Cup 1969-79), dies of cancer at 74
- 2019 Robert Frank, Swiss-American photographer (The Americans), and filmmaker (Pull My Daisy; Candy Mountain), dies at 94
- 2020 Alan Minter, English boxer (world middleweight champion 1980), dies from cancer at 69
- 2020 Jack Ging, American character actor (11th Hour; Ripcord; Tales of Wells Fargo), dies at 90
- 2020 Ronald Bell, American rock saxophonist and composer (Kool & The Gang), dies at 68
- 2020 Shere Hite [Shirley Diana Gregory], American-German sex therapist (The Hite Report), dies at 77 [1]
- 2021 Danilo Popivoda, Serbian soccer forward (20 caps Yugoslavia; Olimpija, Eintracht Braunschweig), dies at 74
- 2021 Timothy Colman, English naval officer and businessman (Colman's mustard), dies at 91
- 2021 Urbain Braems, Belgian soccer manager (Anderlecht, Beveren, Standard de Liège, Trabzonspor), dies at 87
- 2023 Mangosuthu Buthelezi, South African politician and Zulu prince (Chief Minister of KwaZulu 1972-94), dies at 95 [1]
- 2023 Rainer Troppa, German soccer defender (17 caps GDR; BFC Dynamo 172 games), dies at 65
Assassination
Car Crash
Hanging
Killed in Action
Plane Crash
Poisoning