Famous Deaths on April 20

George Clinton (1739-1812)

American soldier and 4th Vice President (1805-12), dies at 73 and 1st Vice President to die in office

1820 Arthur Young, English writer on agriculture (Annals of Agriculture), dies at 78
1821 Franz Karl Achard, German physicist and chemist, dies at 67
1831 John Abernethy, English surgeon, dies at 67
1836 Johan I Jozef, Monarch of Liechtenstein and fieldmarshal, dies at 75
1839 Giuseppe Rossini, father of Italian composer Gioachino Rossini, dies
1869 Carl Loewe, German composer, dies at 72
1869 Piotr Studzinski, Polish conductor and composer, dies at 42
1872 Ljudwit Gaj, Croatian writer/poet (Pjesma iz Zagorja), dies at 62
1873 William Tite, English architect (The Royal Exchange), dies at 75
1874 Alexander H. Bailey, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York), dies at 56
1885 Gustav Nachtigal, German physician and explorer (consul in Tunis, secured protectorates for Germany in central Africa), dies at sea at 51
1887 Muhammad Sharif Pasha, Egyptian statesman (b. 1826)
1899 Joseph Wolf, German artist (b. 1820)
1900 Alexandre Falguière, French sculptor and painter, dies at 68
1906 Australian wombat; oldest known marsupial, dies in London Zoo at 26 (London, England)
1908 Henry Chadwick, English-American Baseball HOF pioneer (1st rule book; created game stats eg. BA, ERA; box scores), dies at 85
1910 Samuel Gibbs French, American Major General (Confederate Army), dies at 91

Bram Stoker (1847-1912)

Irish theater manager and author (Dracula), dies at 64

1912 H. H. Holmes [Herman Webster Mudgett], American serial killer associated with 27 deaths, dies at 64
1918 Karl Ferdinand Braun, German inventor, co-developed wireless telegraphy (Nobel 1909), dies at 67
1918 Reginald Harry Mybirgh Hands, cricketer (1 Test for SA), dies
1921 Tony Jackson, American ragtime pianist and singer-songwriter ("Pretty Baby"), dies of cirrhosis of the liver at 38
1925 Herbert Lawford, British tennis player (Wimbledon 1887; first exponent of topspin), dies at 73
1932 Giuseppe Peano, Italian mathematician and glottologist, dies at 73
1935 Juliaan de Vriendt, Flemish painter, dies at 92
1935 Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon, English fashion designer, dies at 71
1941 Barend ter Haar, Dutch lawyer, dies in Buchenwald at 49
1947 Christian X, King of Denmark (1912-47), dies at 76
1951 Ivanoe Bonomi, Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1873)
1953 Erich Weinert, German communist writer, dies at 62
1956 Jaap Vranken, Dutch organist and composer (Stabat mater), dies at 59
1956 Lieven Duvosel, Flemish composer (De Leiecyclus - The Lys-cycle), dies at 78
1960 Paul Fort, French poet (founder of Vers et Prose), dies at 88
1962 Artúr Harmat, Hungarian composer, dies at 76
1962 Jesse G. Vincent, American engineer (designed 1st V-12 engine, Packard automobiles) dies at 82
1964 Eddie Dyer, American baseball player, dies at 64
1965 Dick Wessel, American actor (Dick Tracy vs Cueball, Beware of Blondie), dies of heart attack on 52nd birthday
1968 Mabel Stark, American tiger trainer "crazy Mabel", found dead after her suicide at 79
1968 Marion Weeks, American silent film actress, and Ziegfield Follies singer and dancer, dies of stroke at 81
1969 William "Benny" Benjamin, American session drummer (Motown's Funk Brothers), dies of a stroke at 43 [1]
1970 Shakeel Badayuni, Indian poet and lyricist, dies at 53
1971 Cecil Parker, British actor (The Lady Vanishes, Indiscreet, Tale of 2 Cities), dies at 73
1973 Elisabeth Hauptmann, German writer (co-author of The Threepenny Opera), dies at 75
1973 Hans Kelsen, Austrian legal philosopher and political philosopher, dies at 91
1973 Robert Armstrong, American actor (Mighty Joe Young, King Kong), dies at 82
1974 Mohammed Ayub Khan, premier/president (Pakistan), dies
1974 Richard Huelsenbeck, German Dada writer, dies at 81
1977 Bryan Foy, director/writer, dies at 80
1977 Len Johnson, Australian cricket fast bowler (1 Test, 6 wickets, BB 3/8; Queensland), dies at 58
1977 Wilmer Allison, American tennis player (US Nat C'ship 1935), dies at 72
1979 Peter Donald, British-born American actor and radio host dubbed "one of radio's great dialecticians" (Masquerade Party), dies at 60
1982 Andy Sandham, English cricket batsman (14 Tests; 1st triple centurion 325 v WI 1930), dies at 91

Archibald MacLeish (1892-1982)

American poet (Conquistador) and playwright (J.B.), dies at 89

1982 Mimi Boesnach, actress (Wedding of Kloris & Roses), dies at 82
1984 Hristo Prodanov, Bulgarian mountaineer (b. 1943)
1984 Mabel Mercer, British jazz and cabaret singer whose style and phrasing influenced Frank Sinatra ("Fly Me to the Moon"), dies at 84
1986 Sibte Hassan, Pakistani activist, journalist and writer, dies at 73
1987 Antony Tudor, English dancer and choreographer (American Ballet Theater), dies at 78
1989 H.B. "Toby" Halicki, American filmmaker, stunt driver, and actor (Gone In 60 Seconds), killed by felled telephone pole while filming a stunt at 48
1990 Alex McCrindle, Scottish actor (Star Wars, Eye of the Needle), dies at 78
1990 Horst Sinderman, RDA 1st minister (1973-76), dies
1991 Don Siegel, American film director (Coogan's Bluff, Dirty Harry), dies at 78
1991 Sean O'Faolain [J Whelan], Irish writer (Nest of Simple), dies at 91
1991 Steve Marriott, British rock guitarist, singer & songwriter (Small Faces, 1965-68, 75-78); Humble Pie, 1969-75, 79-83 - Eat It), dies in a house fire at 44
1991 Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal, Mongolian politician (Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Great Khural (President), 1974-84; Prime Minister, 1952-74; General Secretary of the Mongolian People's Party, 1940-54), dies at 74
1992 Benny Hill [Alfred Hawthorn Hill], British comedian (The Benny Hill Show), dies of a heart attack at 68
1992 Johnny Shines, American delta blues singer and guitarist, dies at 76
1992 Marjorie Gestring, American springboard diver (Olympic gold 1936), dies at 69
1993 Cantinflas [Mario Moreno], Mexican actor (Around World in 80 Days, Pepe), dies from lung cancer at 81
1994 Jean Carmet, French actor (Cache Cash, Miss Mona, Night Magic), dies of a heart attack at 72

Milovan Djilas (1911-1995)

Yugoslavian politician and writer (The New Class), dies at 83

1995 R E S Wyatt, cricketer (England capt 16 times), dies
1995 Sunil Jayasinghe, Sri Lankan wicketkeeper (1979 World Cup), suicide
1995 Tessie O'Shea, Welsh stage and screen entertainer, dies at 81
1996 Cecilia Grace Hunt Reeves Gillie, Executive (BBC), dies at 88
1996 Christopher Robin Milne, bookseller, dies at 75
1996 Trần Văn Trà [Nguyễn Chấn], North Vietnamese military leader, dies at 77 or 78
1999 "Ravishing" Rick Rude, American professional wrestler, dies at 40
1999 Eric Harris, American mass murderer (Columbine High School shooter), dies at 18
1999 Señor Wences, Spanish ventriloquist (his hand acts as a puppet) and comedian, dies at 103
1999 Victims and shooters of the Columbine High School massacre
2001 Bert Sutcliffe, New Zealand cricket batsman (42 Tests, 5 x 100s, TS 230no; Otago CA), dies at 77
2001 Giuseppe Sinopoli, Italian conductor and composer (Sunnyata; Lou Salomé), dies while conducting Verdi's "Aida" of a heart attack at 54
2001 Maria Karnilova, American dancer and actress (Fiddler on the Roof, Ivan the Terrible), dies at 80
2002 Alan Dale, American singer (Alan Dale Show), dies at 76
2003 Bernard Katz, German-born Australian biophysicist (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1970), dies at 92
2003 Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (b. 1976)
2003 Ruth Hale, American playwright and actress (b. 1908)
2005 Fumio Niwa, Japanese novelist (b. 1904)
2006 Anna Svidersky (b. 1988)
2007 Andrew Hill, American jazz pianist, composer and educator, dies at 75
2007 Michael Fu Tieshan, Chinese bishop (b. 1931).
2008 Monica Lovinescu, Romanian essayist, literary critic and journalist (b. 1923)
2008 VL Mike [Michael Allen], American rapper, shot to death by unknown assailant at 32

Dorothy Height (1912-2010)

American civil rights and women's rights activist (National Council of Negro Women), dies at 98

2011 Chris Hondros, American photographer (b. 1970)
2011 Madelyn Pugh, American television writer (I Love Lucy), dies at 90
2011 Tim Hetherington, British-American photojournalist (b. 1970)
2011 Zoltán Sztáray, Hungarian writer, dies at 92
2012 Bert Weedon, British jazz, pop, and blues guitar player ("Guitar Boogie Shuffle"), dies at 91
2012 Peter Carsten, German actor and film producer actor (A Study in Terror, Mr Super Invisible), dies at 83
2013 Howard Phillips, American politician, dies from dementia and Alzheimer's disease at 72
2013 Nosher Powell, English actor and boxer, dies at 84
2013 Struther Arnott, Scottish molecular biologist and chemist (cancer research), dies at 78
2014 Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, American boxer (famous murder conviction overturned after 19 years imprisonment), dies of prostate cancer at 76
2015 Aharon Lichtenstein, Orthodox Jewish rabbi, dies at 81
2015 Bob St. Clair "The Geek", American football player, dies at 84
2015 Raymond Carr, English historian and warden (St Antony's College Oxford), dies at 96
2016 Chyna [Joanie Laurer], American professional wrestler and reality TV star, dies at 46
2016 Guy Hamilton, British director (Goldfinger), dies at 93
2016 Victoria Wood, British comedian and actress, dies of cancer at 62
2017 Cuba Gooding, Sr., American pop and soul singer (The Main Ingredient - "Everybody Plays the Fool"), dies at 72
2018 Allan B. Swift, American broadcast journalist and politician (US Representative for Washington (D), 1979-95), dies at 82

Avicii (1989-2018)

Swedish musician, DJ, remixer and record producer ("Levels"; "Wake Me Up"; "Sunshine"), commits suicide at 28

2020 Mike Curtis, American NFL linebacker (Super Bowl 1971; Pro Bowl 1968, 70, 71, 74; First-team All-Pro 1968, 69; Baltimore Colts), dies at 77

Tom Lester (1938-2020)

American television actor (Green Acres - "Eb"), dies at 81 from complications related to Parkinson’s disease

2021 Atli Heimir Sveinsson, Icelandic composer (Time and Water), dies at 80

Idriss Deby (1952-2021)

Chadian politician and military officer (President of Chad, 1990–2021), dies of injuries inflicted on a battlefield at 68

2021 Leslie McKeown, Scottish pop vocalist (Bay City Rollers - "Saturday Night"), dies at 65
2022 Guitar Shorty [David William Kearney], American blues-rock guitarist, singer and songwriter (You Don't Treat Me Right), dies at 87
2022 Robert Morse, American Tony and Emmy Award-winning stage and screen singer and actor (Mad Men; How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying), dies at 90 [1]

April 20 Highlights