Today's 6 January Famous Deaths in History

  • 429 Honoratus of Arles, Roman Cistercian monk, monastery founder (Lérins Abbey), bishop, and saint, dies at about 79
  • 664 Amr ibn al-A'as, Arab general who led the Muslim conquest of Egypt, dies at about 90
  • 1088 Berengarius of Tours, French theologist, dies
  • 1275 Raymundus of Penafort, Spanish church law scholar, dies
  • 1374 Andreas Corsini, Italian saint/bishop of Fiesole, dies
  • 1425 Jan of Bavaria, liege of Holland/bishop/duke, dies
  • 1481 Akhmat Khan, Khan of the Golden Horde (1465-1481)
  • 1536 Baldassare Peruzzi, Italian architect and painter, dies at 54
  • 1541 Bernard van Orley, Flemish royal painter of Hungary, dies at about 52
  • 1592 John Casimir of Simmern, German prince and regent for his nephew, Elector Frederick IV (b. 1543)
  • 1616 Philip Henslowe, English theatrical entrepreneur during Elizabethan age, dies at about 65
  • 1646 Elias Holl, most important German architect of late German Renaissance architecture, dies at 72
  • 1685 Malachias Siebenhaar, Bohemian-German composer, dies at 68
  • 1689 Seth Ward, English mathematician and astronomer (b. 1617)
  • 1693 Mehmed IV, Turkish Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1648-87), dies at 51
  • 1694 Francesco Morosini, Venetian army general who fought the Ottomans and Doge of Venice (1688-94), dies at 74
  • 1697 Carlo Mannelli, Italian composer, dies at 56
  • 1702 Thomas Franklin, English smith/uncle of B Franklin, dies [NS=Jan 17]
  • 1718 Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian scholar and jurist, known for "Originum juris civilis", dies at 53
  • 1718 Richard Hoare, English goldsmith and banker (b. 1648)
  • 1725 Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Japanese playwright (Yotsugi Soga), dies at about 71
  • 1731 Étienne François Geoffroy, French physician and chemist (1718 affinity table), dies at 58
  • 1734 John Dennis, English dramatist whose thunder was stolen (b. 1657)
  • 1738 Franz Xaver Murschhauser, German composer and theorist, dies at 74
  • 1742 Johann Georg Reinhardt, Austrian organist, composer, and Kappelmeister dies at about 66

Polish-born American broker who helped finance the American Revolution, dies in Philadelphia at 44

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  • 1790 Johann Trier, German organist and composer, dies at 73
  • 1799 Frederick, Dutch Prince of Orange and general, second son of King William V, dies of a fever at 25
  • 1800 William Jones, British clergyman and author, dies at 73
  • 1813 Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers, French general, dies at 48
  • 1827 Charlotte von Stein, German poet known for her affair with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, dies at 84
  • 1829 Josef Dobrovský, Czech linguist known for "History of the Bohemian Language and Literature", dies at 75
  • 1831 Rodolphe Kreutzer, French composer (La mort d'Abel) and virtuoso violinist, dies at 64
  • 1840 Fanny Burney, English novelist (Camille, Evalina), dies at 87
  • 1847 Tyagaraja [Kakarla Thyagabrahmam], Mulukanadu Brahmin classical Carnatic music vocalist and composer (Pancharatna Kritis), and Hindu saint, dies at 79
  • 1849 Hartley Coleridge, English poet, biographer, and teacher, dies at 52 [1]

French educator and inventor of a system of reading and writing for the blind, dies of tuberculosis at 43

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  • 1855 Giacomo Beltrami, Italian explorer (b. 1779)
  • 1856 Nicolas-Charles Bochsa, French harpist, composer, forger, and bigamist, dies at 66
  • 1882 Richard Henry Dana Jr., American author (Two Years Before the Mast), dies at 66

Austrian monk and geneticist (discoverer of laws of heredity), dies at 61

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  • 1884 Paul "the Great" Taglioni, Italian-Austrian ballet choreographer, dies at 75
  • 1885 Harishchandra, Indian poet, dramatist and commonly referred as "father of modern Hindi", dies at 34
  • 1885 Peter C Asbjornsen, Norwegian fairy tale writer, dies at 72
  • 1901 Philip Danforth Armour, American industrialist (foundered meatpacking firm Armour Foods), dies at 68
  • 1902 Jan Bloch, Polish military theorist and peace activist, dies at 65
  • 1907 Walter Read, cricketer (Engl batsman, 117 at no 10 v Aust 1884), dies
  • 1908 George Dixon, Canadian boxer (World Bantamweight title, 1892; World Featherweight champion, 1891-97 & 1898-1901; 1st Black athlete to win a World C'ship in any sport), dies of liver failure at 37
  • 1913 Frederick Hitch, English Victoria Cross Winner (b. 1856)
  • 1915 Reginald Wood, cricketer (one Test England v Australia 1886), dies
  • 1917 Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack, Dutch lawyer, economist (Bank of the Netherlands) and historian, dies at 82

German mathematician (discovered transfinite numbers), dies at 72

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  • 1919 Max Heindel, Danish-American Christian occultist, astrologer and mystic, dies at 54

26th US President (R: 1901-09; Nobel 1906), dies in NY at 60

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  • 1922 Jakob Rosanes, German mathematician (algebraic geometry and invariant theory), dies at 79
  • 1928 Alvin Kraenzlein, American track and field athlete (4 Olympic gold 1900), dies at 51
  • 1929 Tex Rickard, American boxing promoter and entrepreneur (founder NHL New York Rangers; builder third incarnation of Madison Square Garden, NYC), dies of complications from an appendectomy at 59
  • 1933 Vladimir de Pachmann, Russian-German pianist, dies at 84
  • 1934 Herbert Chapman, English soccer manager (Football League Div I 1923–24, 1924–25; FA Cup: 1921–22 Huddersfield Town; Football League Div I 1930–31, 1932–33; FA Cup: 1929–30 Arsenal), dies at 55
  • 1935 George P Baker, American educator and playwright (Dramatic Technique), dies at 68
  • 1936 Charles Stoneham, American owner of the NY Giants), dies at 59
  • 1937 Brother André [Alfred Bessette], Canadian Roman Catholic lay brother and saint (St Joseph’s Oratory, Montreal), dies at 91
  • 1939 Albert Ward, English cricket batsman (7 Tests, 1 x 100, 3 x 50, HS 117; Yorkshire CCC), dies at 73
  • 1941 Charley O'Leary, American baseball shortstop, 1904-13 & 1934 (Detroit Tiger, St. Louis Cardinals; oldest MLB player to collect a hit and score a run at 58 for St. Louis Browns 1934), and coach, 1913-37 (Cardinals, NY Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Browns), dies of peritonitis at 65
  • 1941 Franz Hessel, German writer (Spazieren in Berlin (Walking in Berlin), poet, and translator (Marcel Proust), dies from complications of a stroke suffered while in an internment camp, at 60
  • 1942 Emma Calvé [Calvet], French operatic soprano (Metropolitan Opera, 1893-1904), dies at 83
  • 1944 Ida Tarbell, American muckraker (The History of the Standard Oil Company), dies at 86
  • 1945 Edith Frank, mother of Holocaust diarist Anne Frank, dies from starvation at the age of 44
  • 1945 Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist and one of the founders of geochemistry, biogeochemistry, and radiogeology, dies at 81
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  • 1950 Isaiah Bowman, American geographer (co-founder of the Geographical Review), dies at 71
  • 1954 Rabbit Maranville, American Baseball HOF infielder (World Series 1914 Boston Braves) and manager (Chicago Cubs), dies at 62
  • 1958 Josephine CMA, princess of Belgium/nun, dies at 85
  • 1959 Jose Enrique Pedreira, Puerto Rican composer ("Tus Caricias"; "Siempre"), and pedagogue, dies at 54
  • 1960 Edith Barstow, American choreographer (Frankie Laine Time, The Gem of the Ocean), dies at 54
  • 1960 Erik Lindahl, Swedish economist (Theory of Money & Capital), dies at 68
  • 1961 Regina Ullmann, Swiss poet and writer, dies at 76
  • 1962 Jaap Nanninga, Dutch abstract painter (Jungle Flowers, Bowl with Fruit), dies at 57 [1]
  • 1963 Lourens Baas Becking, Dutch botanist (Baas Becking hypothesis), dies at 68
  • 1964 Edgar Maass, German/American author (Verdun), dies at 67
  • 1967 Johnny Keane, American baseball manager (World Series 1964 St. Louis Cardinals; NY Yankees), dies of a heart attack at 55
  • 1968 Kurt Baschwitz, German-Dutch sociologist, journalist and pioneer of mass communication research (Du und die Masse / You and the Mass), dies at 81 [1]
  • 1972 Chen Yi, Chinese military commander, politician and Mayor of Shanghai, dies at 70
  • 1974 David Alfaro Siqueiros, Mexican sculptor/muralist, dies at 77
  • 1975 Noel Madison, actor (Jitterbugs, Black Raven), dies at 77
  • 1976 Albert Rice Leventhal, American publisher (Little Golden Books), dies at 68
  • 1977 Hanns Lilje, German Lutheran bishop and antifascist (Church und Welt), dies at 77
  • 1977 Niall MacGinnis, Irish character actor (Curse of the Demon, Helen of Troy), dies from cancer at 63
  • 1978 Burt Munro, New Zealand motorcycle racer, and subject of the film 'The World's Fastest Indian", dies at 78
  • 1978 Francine York, American actress (Slattery's People), dies at 80
  • 1978 John D. MacArthur, American insurance billionaire, dies at 80
  • 1980 Dilip Kumar Roy, Bengali classical musician, singer, musicologist, playwright, poet, and yogi, dies at 82
  • 1980 Georgeanna Tillman, American singer (The Marvelettes - "Please Mr. Postman"), dies from lupus and sickle cell anemia at 37
  • 1981 A. J. Cronin, Scottish writer (Citadel, Shining Victory), dies at 84
  • 1984 Ernest Laszlo, Hungarian-U.S. cinematographer (b. 1898)
  • 1985 Robert W. Welch Jr., American businessman who founded the conservative John Birch Society, dies at 85
  • 1986 Louis Lebeer, Belgian art historian, engraver, and academic, dies at 90
  • 1987 Domingo Santa Cruz Wilson, Chilean composer, dies at 87
  • 1988 Brent Collins, American soap actor (Another World, As the World Turns), dies of a heart attack at 46
  • 1990 Hans Jaray, Austrian actor (Lydia, Fedora) and playwright, dies at 83
  • 1990 Ian Charleson, Scottish actor (Gandhi, Chariots of Fire), dies of AIDS at 40
  • 1990 Northern Calloway, American actor (David on "Sesame Street"), dies after treatment in a mental institution at 41
  • 1991 Ada Moore, entertainer, dies of cancer at 64
  • 1991 Ahmet Adnan Saygun, Turkish composer, dies at 83
  • 1992 Elaine McKenna, Australian singer and television personality, dies at 54
  • 1993 Elisabeth, Archduchess of Austria, Princess of Liechtenstein (daughter of Charles I last Emperor of Austria), dies at 70
  • 1993 John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie, American jazz trumpeter, a creator of bebop & modern jazz (A Night In Tunisia), dies of cancer at 75
  • 1993 Rudolf Nureyev, Russian-Austrian ballet dancer and choreographer (Kirov Ballet, 1958-61; Royal Ballet, 1964-70; Paris Opera Ballet. 1983-89), dies of AIDS at 54
  • 1994 "Iron" Adriaan van Es, Dutch Undersecretary of Navy (1963-72), dies at 80
  • 1994 Morty the Moose, American character actor (Northern Exposure), dies at 6
  • 1994 Virginia Clinton Kelley (née Cassidy), American nurse anesthetist, and mother of President Bill Clinton, dies of breast cancer at 70
  • 1995 Edward Sutcliffe, British judge (British Central Criminal Court), dies at 77
  • 1995 James Clay, American jazz tenor saxophonist, dies at 59
  • 1995 Joe Slovo, Latvian-South African attorney and politician (Secretary General of SACR), dies at 68
  • 1995 Karl Guttmann, Austrian-Dutch playwright and director (Pinter), dies at 81
  • 1996 (Robert) "Chubby" Wise, American bluegrass fiddler (Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys, 1942-48; Hank Snow's Rainbow Ranch Boys, 1954-70), dies at 80
  • 1996 Duane Hanson, American artist, made life-sized realistic sculptures of people, dies at 70
  • 1996 Henry Hopkinson, 1st Baron Colyton, British diplomat and Conservative politician, dies at 94
  • 1996 John Phillipps Kenyon, historian/teacher, dies at 68
  • 1996 Johnny Johnston, American singer and actor (Make that Spare), dies at 80
  • 1996 Kurt Schmücker, German economist and politician (Member of the Bundestag, 1949-72; Minister of Economics, 1963-66; Minister of Treasury, 1966-69), dies at 76
  • 1997 Catherine Scorsese [Cappa], Italian-American actress (The King of Comedy, Goodfellas, Cape Fear), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 84
  • 1997 Ian Peter Leslie Smith, British journalist, dies at 52
  • 1997 Litz Pisk, British movement teacher in the theater, dies at 87
  • 1997 Vince Williams, American actor (Hampton in "Guiding Light"), dies of cancer at 39
  • 1998 Georgy Sviridov, Soviet Russian neo-romantic composer (The Blizzard; Time; Forward!), dies of a heart attack at 82
  • 1999 Michel Petrucciani, French jazz pianist (100 Hearts), dies from a pulmonary infection at 36
  • 2000 Don Martin, American cartoonist (b. 1931)
  • 2002 Fred Taylor, American Basketball Hall of Fame coach and broadcaster (Ohio State University 1959-76; MLB Washington Senators 1950-52), dies at 77
  • 2004 Francesco Scavullo, American celebrity photographer who did portraits of Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor, dies at 82
  • 2004 Pierre Charles, 5th Prime Minister of Dominica, dies at 49
  • 2005 Lois Hole, Lt. Governor of Alberta (b. 1933)
  • 2005 Louis Robichaud, Robichaud, Canadian Premier of New Brunswick (1960-70), dies at 79
  • 2005 Samuel Smith, American chemist and co-inventor of Scotchgard, dies at 77 [1]
  • 2005 Tarquinio Provini, Italian motorcycle road racer (2-time world champion 1957-58), dies at 71
  • 2006 Hugh Thompson Jr., American Vietnam War veteran who played a major role in ending the 1968 My Lai massacre, dies of cancer at 62
  • 2006 Lou Rawls, American soul singer-songwriter and producer ("You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine"), dies of cancer at 72
  • 2007 "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow, American country-rock session and touring pedal-steel guitarist (Flying Burrito Brothers; George Harrison, Jackson Browne), dies at 72
  • 2007 Mario Danelo, American football player (b. 1985)
  • 2007 Roberta Wohlstetter, military historian and strategist (b. 1912)
  • 2008 Yunus Mahomed, South African lawyer and activist (UDF), dies at 57 [1] [2]
  • 2009 Claude Jeter, American gospel music singer (The Swan Silvertones), dies at 94
  • 2009 Ron Asheton, American guitarist, bassist, and songwriter (The Stooges), dies of an apparent heart attack at 60 [exact date estimated]
  • 2009 Vivienne Della Chiesa, American lyric soprano who sang on US radio during the 1940s and early 1950s (The American Album of Familiar Music, The Standard Hour), dies at 93
  • 2010 Graham Leonard, Bishop of London, most senior Anglican to convert to Catholicism since the reformation, dies at 88
  • 2010 Shelly Kurland, American educator, classically trained session violinist and string arranger for country music recordings (Shelly Kurland Strings), dies at 81
  • 2011 Don Tyson, American businessman, founder of Tyson Foods, dies at 80
  • 2011 Uche Okafor, Nigerian footballer (b. 1967)
  • 2012 Ellen Pence, American social activist (battered women's movement), dies from cancer at 63
  • 2012 John Celardo, American comic strip artist (Tarzan), dies at 93
  • 2012 Louise Annand-MacFarquhar, Scottish painter and filmmaker (At the Museum), dies at 96
  • 2012 Robert Dozier, Hollywood screenwriter, dies at 81
  • 2012 Robert Holness, South African English radio and television presenter (Blockbusters), dies at 83
  • 2012 Roger Boisjoly, American aerodynamicist (anticipated challenger disaster), dies at 73
  • 2012 W. Francis McBeth, American composer (Of Sailors and Whales), conductor, and pedagogue (Ouachita Baptist University, 1957-96), dies at 78
  • 2013 Neil Adcock, South African cricket fast bowler (26 Tests, 104 wickets @ 21.10), dies from bowel cancer at 81
  • 2014 H. Owen Reed, American composer, dies at 103
  • 2014 Larry D Mann, Canadian actor and broadcaster (Accidental Family, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer), dies at 91
  • 2015 Lance Percival, English actor and comedian (That Was The Week That Was), dies at 81
  • 2016 Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros, Cuban jazz trumpeter (Orchestra Harlow; Eddie Palmieri), dies of prostate cancer at 87
  • 2016 Pat Harrington Jr, American actor (Danny Thomas Show, One Day at a Time), dies at 86
  • 2017 Om Puri, Indian Bollywood actor (Aakrosh; Ardh Satya), dies of a heart attack at 66
  • 2018 David Toschi, American police detective known for investigating the Zodiac killer, dies of pneumonia at 86 [1]
  • 2018 Horace Ashenfelter, American athlete (Olympic gold 3000m steeplechase 1952), dies at 94
  • 2018 Peter Preston, British journalist and editor-in-chief of The Guardian and The Observer (Bess, The 51st State), dies at 79 [1]
  • 2021 Bobby Few, American jazz pianist and vocalist, dies at 85
  • 2021 Satya Paul, Indian fashion designer and entrepreneur who invented the modern sari, dies of a stroke at 79 [1]
  • 2022 Barbara Jacket, American athletics coach (Head coach US women's team Olympics 1992; International Women's Sports HOF), dies at 87
  • 2022 Bob Falkenburg, American tennis player (Wimbledon singles 1948, doubles, 1947; US Open doubles 1944), dies at 95
  • 2022 Calvin Simon, American funk and gospel vocalist (Parliament/Funkadelic - "Livin' the Life"), dies at 79
  • 2022 F. Sionil José, Filipino novelist (Rosales Saga) and Philippine National Artist for Literature, dies at 97
  • 2022 Koady Chaisson, Canadian indie-rock banjo player (The East Pointers), dies at 37

American film director and producer (The Last Picture Show; Paper Moon), dies at 82 [1]

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Bahamian-American actor, first black actor to win Oscar for Best Actor ("Lillies in the Field"; "To Sir With Love"; "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"), director (Stir Crazy), civil rights advocate, and diplomat, dies at 94 [1]

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  • 2023 Bill Campbell, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star, AL saves leader 1977; AL Rolaids Relief Man Award 1976, 77; Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox), dies from cancer at 74
  • 2023 Dick Savitt, American tennis player (Wimbledon, Australian C'ships 1951), dies at 95
  • 2023 Gianluca Vialli, Italian soccer striker (59 caps; Cremonese, Sampdoria, Juventus, Chelsea), manager (Chelsea, Watford) and broadcaster (Sky Italia), dies from pancreatic cancer at 58
  • 2023 Steve James, American guitarist, songwriter, and luthier, dies from a glioblastoma brain tumor at 72
  • 2024 Malcolm Price, Welsh rugby union centre (9 Tests Wales, 5 British & Irish Lions; Pontypool RFC) and rugby league centre (2 Tests GB; Oldham RLFC, Rochdale Hornets), dies at 86
  • 2025 Dušan Maravić, Serbian soccer midfielder (7 caps; Red Star Belgrade, Racing Paris; Olympic gold Yugoslavia 1960), dies at 85
  • 2025 John Douglas, Scottish rugby union No. 8 (12 Tests; Blackheath FC, Stewart's Melville RFC; Barbarians RFC), dies at 90


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