Famous Deaths on April 15

1764 Madame de Pompadour, French mistress of King Louis XV of France, dies of tuberculosis at 42
1764 Peder Horrebow, Danish astronomer who invented the Horrebow-Talcott Method, a method to determine a location's latitude from the stars, dies at 84
1765 Mikhail Lomonosov, Russian scholar & poet, dies at 53
1788 Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer, dies at 77
1793 Ignacije Szentmartony, Croatian Jesuit missionary & geographer, dies at 74
1803 Václav Norbert Brixi, Czech organist, composer and priest (aka Jeroným Brixi), dies at 65
1804 Charles Pichegru, French army general and royalist who plotted to overthrow Napoleon, strangles himself in prison at 43
1819 Oliver Evans, American inventor who pioneered high-pressure steam engine, dies at 63
1824 Theodorus Frederik van Capellen, Dutch naval officer (Bombardment of Algiers) dies at 61
1853 Johann Leopold Fuchs, German composer, dies at 67
1854 Arthur Aikin, English scientist & writer (b. 1773)
1863 Jan Nepomuk Kanka, Czech composer, dies at 90

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

16th US President (Republican: 1861-65), dies from gunshot wounds at 56

1866 William Jackson, British organist and composer, dies at 51
1870 Emma Willard, American women's rights activist & educator who founded the 1st school for women's higher education in the US, dies at 83
1881 Sophia Perovskaya, Soviet icon, aristocrat, and socialist revolutionary (Narodnaya Volya), who helped orchestrate the successful assassination of Tsar Alexander II of Russia, executed by hanging at 27

Matthew Arnold (1822-1888)

English poet and critic (Dover Beach), dies at 65

1889 Father Damien [Joseph de Veuster], Belgian priest and missionary who helped lepers in Hawaii, dies of leprosy at 49
1891 Stephen Albert Emery, American pianist, composer, and pedagogue (Elements of Harmony), dies at 49
1892 Amelia Edwards, English author (The Phantom Coach) and Egyptologist, dies at 60
1898 Kepa Te Rangihiwinui, Maori military leader, dies in his 70s
1899 Karl Ludwig Kahlbaum, German psychiatrist (pioneer in classifying mental health), dies at 70
1911 Georg Knorr, German engineer (brake system trains), dies at 51

Edward Smith (1850-1912)

English naval captain of the RMS Titanic, dies when the ship sinks in the Atlantic Ocean aged 62

John Jacob Astor IV (1864-1912)

American business magnate, real estate developer (Astoria Hotel) and soldier (richest passenger aboard the Titanic), dies aboard the Titanic at 47, presumed drowned

1912 William T. Stead, British newspaper editor (The Pall Mall Gazette), dies in the sinking of the Titanic at 62
1913 Ğabdulla Tuqay, Tatar poet (Oh My Mother Tongue!), dies at 26
1916 Alfred Cogniaux, Belgian botanist, dies at 75
1919 Jane Delano, American nurse & educator (Red Cross Nursing Service during WWI), dies at 57
1924 Eduardo Caudella, Romanian opera composer, dies at 82
1925 John Singer Sargent, American painter (Wyndham Sisters), dies at 69
1926 Frank Iredale, Australian cricketer (14 Tests for Aust, 807 runs at 36 68), dies at 58
1927 Francesco Gaeta, Italian poet (Di Giacomo), dies at 47
1927 Gaston Leroux, French writer (The Phantom of the Opera), dies at 58
1929 Antonio Smareglia, Italian composer, dies at 74
1937 Ned Hanlon, American Baseball HOF center fielder (NL pennant 1887 Detroit Wolverines) and manager (5 × NL pennant Baltimore Orioles, Brooklyn Superbas), dies at 79
1937 Nikolai Artzibushev, Russian jurist and composer, dies at 79
1938 Caesar Vallejo, Peruvian-French poet (Trilce, Russia & 1931), dies from the effects of Maleria at 46

Hugh S. Johnson (1881-1942)

American head of the National Recovery Administration & member of FDR's Brain Trust, dies of pneumonia at 60

1942 Joshua Pim, Irish tennis player (Wimbledon 1893-94), dies at 72

Robert Musil (1880-1942)

Austrian writer (Mann ohne Eigenschaften), dies at 61

1943 Aristarkh Lentulov, Russian artist, dies at 61
1943 Raffaele Casimiri, Italian composer, and musicologist dies at 62
1944 Giovanni Gentile, Italian philosopher (The Doctrine of Fascism), dies at 68

Manuel Roxas (1892-1948)

5th President of the Philippines (1946-48), dies of a heart attack at 56

1948 Radola Gajda, Czech military commander & politician, dies at 56

Wallace Beery (1886-1949)

American circus performer (Ringling Brothers Circus) & actor (Alias a Gentleman, Dinner at 8), dies from a heart attack at 64

1954 Arthur Fickenscher, American microtonal composer, and educator (University of Virginia, 1920-41), dies at 82
1954 Juan Vicente Lecuna, Venezuelan diplomat & composer, dies at 54
1956 Emile Nolde [Hansen], German painter (Grablegung Christi), dies at 88
1957 Pedro Infante, Mexican actor and ranchero singer, dies as co-pilot in a plane crash at 39
1958 Estelle Taylor, American actress, dies at 64
1962 Arsenio Lacson, Filipino journalist and politician (Mayor of Manila, 1952-62), dies of a stroke at 49
1962 Clara Blandick [Clara Blanchard Dickey], American stage and screen character actress (Tom Sawyer; Huckleberry Finn; Wizard of Oz),, commits suicide at 85
1962 Esther Minciotti, Italian actress, dies at 73
1963 Edward "Carji" Greeves, Australian Rules Football midfielder (winner inaugural Brownlow Medal 1924), dies at 59
1965 Sydney Chaplin, English actor, half brother of Charlie Chaplin and his business manager, dies at 80
1966 Joseph Crehan, American actor (The Roaring Twenties, Meeting at Midnight), dies of stroke at 82
1967 Totò [Antonio De Curtis], Italian actor (Motorizzate; Noi Duri) commonly referred to as the most popular Italian comedian of all time, dies from a heart attack at 69
1968 Borys Lyatoshynsky, Ukrainian composer, conductor, and teacher, known as the father of modern Ukrainian music, dies at 73
1969 Victoria von Battenberg, Queen of Spain, wife of King Alfonso XIII, dies at 81
1970 Ripper Collins, American baseball first baseman (MLB All-Star 1935, 36, 37; World Series 1931, 34; NL HR leader 1934; St Louis Cardinals), dies at 66
1971 Dan Reeves, American NFL team owner (Cleveland, LA Rams), dies at 58
1972 Otto Brenner, German trade union leader (Industrial Union of Metalworkers), dies at 64
1974 Giovanni D'Anzi, Italian songwriter ("Malinconia d'amore"), dies at 68
1975 John B. McKay, American test pilot (X-15), dies at 52
1975 Richard Conte, American actor (The Godfather, Tony Rome, Hotel), dies from a heart attack at 65
1976 Gerald Smith, American antisemite (Nationalist Christian Crusade), dies at 78

Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)

French existentialist philosopher and writer (Le Mur, Nobel 1964; declined), dies at 74

1980 Marshall Reed, American actor (The Madmen of Mandoras, Mysterious Island), dies from a massive hemorrhage at 62
1980 Paul Langton, American actor (Till the Clouds Roll By, Peyton Place), dies from a heart attack at 66
1980 Raymond Bailey, American actor (Vertigo, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Incredible Shrinking Man), dies at 75
1981 French Duynstee, Dutch states rights leader, dies at 67
1981 John Thach, American WWII naval aviator (developed the Thach Weave) & USN admiral, dies at 75
1982 Arthur Lowe, British actor (Dad's Army, Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Ruling Class), dies following a stroke at 66
1982 Louis de Guiringaud, French foreign minister (1976-78), commits suicide at 70
1983 Corrie ten Boom, Dutch author (The Hiding Place) & Holocaust survivor, dies at 91
1983 Gyula Illyés, Hungarian author & poet (Az Ismertlen Illyes), dies at 80
1983 Rodolfo Hoyos {Jr}, Mexican-American actor (The Brave One; Viva Valdez -"Luis"), dies from a stroke at 67
1984 Alexander Trocchi, Scottish writer, dies at 58
1984 Machito [Francisco "Frank" Grillo], Latin jazz musician and creator of Cu-bop and salsa music (Afro-Cubans), dies following a stroke at 76
1984 Tommy Cooper, British comedian & magician, collapses and dies on stage at 61
1984 William Empson, English poet & critic (Milton's God), dies at 77
1985 Ben Stroman, Dutch writer (Jomtof & Blue Beard), dies at 82

Jean Genet (1910-1986)

French novelist (The Thief's Journal, Our Lady of the Flowers) and playwright (The Balcony, The Maids), dies of throat cancer at 75

1986 Sergei Anokhin, Soviet test pilot (world records for gliding flights), dies at 76
1986 Tim McIntire, American actor (Brubaker; Stand By Your Man), singer-songwriter, and musician (Funzone), dies of congestive heart failure at 41
1988 Han G. Hoekstra, Dutch poet (Zandloperr; Ongerijmde life), journalist, and editor, dies at 81
1988 Kenneth Williams, British actor (Hancock's Half Hour, Carry On films), dies of an overdose at 61
1988 Youri Egorov, Soviet classical pianist, dies at 33
1989 Charles Vanel, French actor & director (Wages of Fear), dies at 96

Hu Yaobang (1915-1989)

Chinese communist official and General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (1982-87), dies of a heart attack at 73

1989 Nesuhi Ertegün, Turkish–American jazz record producer and label executive (Atlantic Records; Warner Music), dies from complications of cancer surgery at 71

Greta Garbo (1905-1990)

Swedish actress (Anna Karenina, Camille), dies at 84

1990 Henry Kendrick, American actor (Raising Arizona), dies at 56
1990 Ulrich Becher, German writer & playwright, dies at 80
1991 Marjorie Warfield, American stage, radio, and silent film actress, dies of pneumonia at 88
1991 Martin Ashe, American actor, dies at 81
1993 George Frederick Ives, British-Canadian army veteran & last survivor of the Boer War, dies at 111
1993 Harry Alexander, Australian cricket fast bowler (1 Test, Bodyline series 1933, 1 wicket; Victoria), dies at 87
1993 John Tuzo Wilson, Canadian geologist (contributions to plate tectonics), dies at 84
1993 Leslie Charteris, British mystery writer (Saint), dies at 85
1993 William Bakewell, American actor (All Quiet on the Western Front; Gone with the Wind), dies of leukemia at 84
1994 John Curry, British figure skater (Olympic gold, World C'ship gold, European C'ship gold 1976), dies from AIDS at 44
1994 Walter Clegg, British politician, dies at 73
1995 Cleo Brown, American jazz pianist, dies at 85
1995 Harry Shoulberg, American expressionist painter, dies at 91
1996 Alexander Tanev, Bulgarian composer, dies at 67
1997 Sam Moskowitz, American writer & historian of science fiction, dies at 76
1997 Zdenek Mlynar, Czech politician (secretary of the Czechoslovak communist party, 1968–70), dies at 66

Pol Pot (1925-1998)

Cambodian dictator (1976-79), revolutionary who led the Khmer Rouge (1963-97) and perpetrator of the Cambodian genocide, dies at 72

1998 Rose Maddox, American country and bluegrass singer-songwriter, and fiddle player (Sing a Little Song of Heartache), dies of kidney failure at 72
1999 Harvey Postlethwaite, British engineer & racing car designer, dies at 55
2000 Edward Gorey, American illustrator, dies at 75
2001 Joey Ramone [Jeffrey Hyman], American punk rock singer and musician (The Ramones - "I Wanna Be Sedated"; Blitzkrieg Bop"; solo -"What a Wonderful World"), dies of lymphoma at 49
2001 John Verrall, American composer, dies at 92
2002 Byron "Whizzer" White, American football player & U.S. Supreme Court Justice, dies at 84
2002 Damon Francis Knight, American sci-fi author (CV, Beyond the Barrier), dies at 79
2002 William Leonard "Will" Reed, British pianist and composer, dies at 91
2003 Erin Fleming, Canadian actress, dies at 61
2003 Leonard Tose, American trucking magnate and owner of NFL Philadelphia Eagles (1969-85), dies at 88
2003 Reg Bundy, British performer, dies at 56
2004 Ray Condo, Canadian musician, dies at 53
2005 John Fred [Gourrier], American pop singer (John Fred and His Playboy Band - "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)"), dies from kidney disease at 63
2005 Ken Funston, South African cricket batsman (18 Tests, top score 92), dies at 79
2005 Margaretta Scott, British actress (Crescendo, Where's Charley, Counterblast), dies from pneumonia and breast cancer at 93
2006 Louise Smith, American auto racer (tied for 2nd woman to race in top level NASCAR), dies of cancer at 89
2007 Brant Parker, American cartoonist (co-creator of "The Wizard of Id"), dies at 86
2008 Benoît Lamy, Belgian film director, dies at 62
2008 Brian "Blinky" Davison, British rocker (The Nice), dies at 65
2008 Krister Stendahl, Swedish Lutheran theologian & bishop, dies at 86
2008 Sean Costello, American blues guitarist and singer, dies of multiple drug intoxication at 28
2009 Clement Freud, British writer, broadcaster and former liberal MP, dies at 84
2010 Benjamin Hooks, American lawyer, Baptist minister, and civil rights leader (NAACP executive director, 1977-92), dies at 85
2010 Jack Herer, American author & cannabis activist, dies at 70
2011 Vittorio Arrigoni, Italian peace activist, dies at 36
2012 Charles Pringle, British air marshal, dies at 92
2012 Joan Tozzer, American figure skater, dies at 90
2012 Murray Rose, Australian Olympic gold winning swimmer, dies from leukemia at 73
2013 Jean-François Paillard, French conductor, dies at 85
2013 Jo Roland [Rolando Bonardelli], Swiss pop singer and TV personality (Rendez-vous), known as the 'Swiss Perry Como', dies at 80
2013 Richard LeParmentier, American actor (Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope), dies at 66
2013 Sal Castro, Mexican-American activist, dies from thyroid cancer at 79
2015 Jonathan Crombie, Canadian actor (Anne of Green Gables), dies of a brain hemorrhage at 48
2017 Allan Holdsworth, British progressive rock guitarist, dies at 70
2017 Clifton James, American actor (Live and Let Die, Silver Streak), dies at 96
2017 Sylvia Moy, American songwriter ("My Cherie Amour"; "This Old Heart Of Mine"; "It Takes Two"), dies of pneumonia at 79
2018 R. Lee Ermey, American actor (Full Metal Jacket- Gunnery Sergeant Hartman), dies at 74
2019 Don Perry, Canadian NHL coach (LA Kings 1982-84), dies at 89
2019 Joe Terry (Terranova), American Doo-wop singer (Danny & The Juniors - "At The Hop"), dies at 78
2019 Les Reed, British songwriter ("It's Not Unusual"; "There's A Kind Of Hush"; "Here It Comes Again"), dies at 83
2019 Owen Kay Garriott, American electrical engineer and NASA astronaut (Skylab 3, STS 9), dies at 88
2020 (Leon) "Lee" Konitz, American jazz saxophonist (Miles Davis - Birth of the Cool), dies of COVID-19 complications at 92
2020 Brian Dennehy, American actor (Cocoon, Death of a Salesman), dies at 81
2020 Dámaso García, Dominican baseball second baseman (MLB All-Star 1984, 85; Silver Slugger Award 1982; Toronto Blue Jays), dies from a malignant brain tumour at 63
2020 Willie Davis, American Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end (Super Bowl I, II; Pro Bowl 1963-67; First-team All-Pro 1962, 64–67; Green Bay Packers), dies from kidney failure at 85
2021 Leroy Keyes, American College Football Hall of Fame and NFL running back / safety (Purdue; Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs), dies from heart failure at 74
2022 Andy Coen, American college football coach (Lehigh University Mountain Hawks 2006-18; record 85-64), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 57
2022 Art Rupe [Goldberg], American gospel, R&B, and early rock record producer and label executive (Specialty Records - Little Richard, Sam Cooke, Lloyd Price), dies at 104
2022 Bernhard Germeshausen, German bobsledder (Olympic gold x 4 GDR 1976, 80), dies at 70
2022 Charles Henry Plumb, British Conservative politician and 15th President of the European Parliament (1987-89), dies at 97
2022 Jack Newton, Australian golfer (British Open runner-up 1975; US Masters runner-up 1980), dies at 72
2022 Tony Brown, Australian rugby league five-eighth (10 Tests; Newtown RLFC, Penrith RLFC), dies at 86
2023 Faith Thomas, Australian cricket fast bowler (1 WTest; first Indigenous woman to represent Australia in any sport; South Australia), dies at 90