Famous Deaths on April 21

Jean Racine (1639-1699)

French dramatist (Phèdre, Athalie), dies of liver cancer at 59

1701 Asano Naganori, Japanese warlord (daimyō), dies at 33
1719 Philippe de la Hire, French mathematician and historian (b. 1640)
1720 Antoine Hamilton, French writer (b. 1646)
1722 Robert Beverley, Jr., historian of Colonial Virginia (b. 1673)
1730 Jan Palfijn, Flemish physician/inventor (forceps), dies at 79
1736 Prince Eugene of Savoy, French-born Austrian field marshal in the Holy Roman Empire and for the Habsburg Monarchy against the Ottomans and the French, dies at 72 [1]
1780 Ferdinand Zellbell the younger, Swedish composer and co-founder of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, dies at 60

Tiradentes (1746-1792)

Brazilian revolutionary and independence fighter (Inconfidência Mineira) considered a national hero, hanged, drawn and quartered in Rio de Janeiro at 45

1793 John Michell, English seismologist (b. 1724)
1815 Joseph Winston, U.S. Congressman from North Carolina (b. 1746)
1821 Thursday October Christian, son of Fletcher Christian (leader of the historical mutiny on the Bounty), dies at 40
1825 Johann Friedrich Pfaff, German mathemattician (b. 1765)
1836 Samuel Slater, English-American industrialist who brought the textile industrial revolution to America, dies at 67
1852 Ivan Nabokov, Russian general (b. 1787)
1868 Henry James O'Farrell, Australian would-be assassin of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh
1871 Elisabeth Grube, writer, dies
1878 Temistocle Solera, Italian opera composer, dies at 62
1898 Louis Théodore Gouvy, French-German composer, dies at 78
1899 Heinrich Kiepert, German cartographer and geographer (1st modern maps of classical world and Ottoman Empire), dies at 80
1900 Heinrich Vogl, composer, dies at 55

Mark Twain (1835-1910)

American author (Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer), dies at 74

The Red Baron (1892-1918)

German World War I fighter ace, dies at 25 after his plane is shot down

1920 Maria Stanford, American pioneering educator and professor, dies at 83
1922 Alessandro Moreschi, Italian castrato (b. 1858)
1924 Eleanora Duse, Italian actress (La Gioconda, La Locandiera), dies at 64
1930 Alex Smith, Scottish-American golfer (US Open 1906, 10), dies at 56
1930 Robert Bridges, English poet (Testament of beauty) and British Poet Laureate (1913-30), dies at 85
1938 Muhammad Iqbal, British East Indies lawyer and Pakistan national hero, dies at 65
1939 Herman Finck, British conductor (Palace Theatre (London), 1900-20), theater and light classical composer (In The Shadows), dies at 66
1945 John Poston, British major/Montgomery's ADC, dies in battle at 25

John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946)

English economist whose ideas changed the theory and practice of modern macroeconomics, dies of a heart attack at 62

1946 Robert Graham, cricketer (3 wkts for South Africa in 2 Tests 1898-99), dies
1948 Carlos Lopez Buchardo, Argentine composer, dies at 66
1952 Leslie Banks, English actor (Henry V, 21 Days, Eye Witness), dies at 61
1952 Stafford Cripps, British Labour politician, dies at 62
1956 Charles MacArthur, American playwright and screenwriter (The Scoundrel), dies at 60
1958 Manuel Infante, Spanish composer and conductor, dies at 74
1961 James Melton, American pop (1920-30's) and operatic tenor (Metropolitan Opera, 1942-50), dies at 57
1962 Frederick Handley Page, designer of 1st big airplane (40 seats), dies
1965 Edward Victor Appleton, English physicist (Nobel Prize 1947), dies at 72
1967 André-Louis Danjon, French astronomer (invented Danjon astrolabe), dies at 77
1968 Norman Demuth, British composer and musicologist specializing in French works, dies at 69
1970 Earl Hooker, American blues slide guitar player ("Blue Guitar"), dies of tuberculosis at 40
1971 Edmund Lowe, American actor (Black Sheep, Good Sam, Dillinger, Hot Pepper), dies at 81

François Duvalier (1907-1971)

Dictator and President of Haiti (1957-71), dies of heart disease and diabetes at 64

1973 Arthur Fadden, 13th Prime Minister of Australia, dies at 79

Merian C. Cooper (1893-1973)

American film director and producer (King Kong) and aviator (Kościuszko Squadron, Director-Pan American Airways), dies of cancer at 79

1973 Ursula Jeans, British actress (Cavalcade, Over the Moon, I Lived With You), dies of cancer at 66
1974 Charles "Chic" Harley, American football player (b. 1895)
1975 Jack Westrup, English composer, dies at 70
1977 Milton "Gummo" Marx, American comic (Marx Brothers), dies at 84
1978 Sandy Denny, country singer, dies at 37
1980 Aleksandr Oparin, Russian biochemist (b. 1894)
1980 Sohrab Sepehri, Persian poet and painter (b. 1928)
1981 Eddie Sauter, American big band and theatrical arranger, bandleader (Sauter-Finegan Orchestra), and jazz composer (Stan Getz -"Focus"), dies of a heart attack at 66
1981 Harry Lee, cricketer (scored 18 & 1 in only Test for England), dies
1982 Joe Sawyer [Sauers], Canadian actor (Adventures of Rin Tin Tin - "Sgt. Biff O'Hara"), dies of liver cancer at 75
1983 Walter Slezak, Austrian-American stage and screen actor (Bedtime for Bonzo; Lifeboat; The Inspector General), commits suicide at 80
1985 Foster Hewitt, Canadian radio broadcaster (Hockey Night in Canada), dies at 82
1985 Irving Mills [Isadore Minsky], American jazz music publisher, manager (Duke Ellington, 1926-48), singer and lyricist, dies at 91
1985 Rudi Gernreich, Austrian-American fashion designer (monokini, miniskirt), dies of cancer at 62
1985 Tancredo Neves, president-elect of Brazil, dies at 75
1986 Salah Jaheen, Egyptian poet and cartoonist, dies at 55
1987 Edith Green, American politician (Rep-D-Oregon 1955-74), dies at 77
1988 I. A. L. Diamond, Hollywood screenwriter (1960 Acad Award-Apartment), dies at 67
1989 James Kirkwood, American actor, author and playwright (A Chorus Line, P. S. Your Cat Is Dead!), dies of cancer at 64
1989 Princess Deokhye of Korea, last princess of the Korean Empire, dies at 76
1990 Erté [Romain de Tirtoff], Russian-French artist and designer, dies at 97
1990 Johnny Beazley, American MLB baseball pitcher (1941-42 & 1946-49 (St. Louis Cardinals - winner of two 1942 World Series games; Boston Braves), and WWII veteran, dies of cancer at 71
1991 Richard Bolling, American politician (Rep-D-Missouri 1949-83), dies at 74
1991 Willi Boskovsky, Austrian violinist and conductor (Vienna New Year's Concert, 1955-79), dies at 81
1992 Robert Harris, American criminal and murderer, executed in a gas chamber at 39 in San Quentin State Prison, California
1992 Vladimir K Romanov, Grand Duke/Rus pretender to the throne, dies at 74
1993 Hal Schumacher, American baseball pitcher (World Series 1933; MLB All-Star 1933, 35; New York Giants), dies at 82
1994 Clement Merk, animal trainer, dies at 93
1995 Bob Wyatt, English cricket all-rounder and captain (40 Tests, 2 x 100, HS 149, 18 wickets; Warwickshire CCC, Worcestershire CCC), dies at 93
1995 Stafford Heginbotham, British toymaker (Tebro Toys) and Football Club Chairman, dies at 61
1996 A H Kardar, cricketer (3 Tests for India & 23 for Pak 1946-58), dies
1996 Alceo Galliera, Italian conductor (Victoria Symphony; La Scala), and composer (The Wise Virgins and the Foolish Virgins), dies at 85
1996 Dzhokhar Dudayev, separatist leader and President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (1991), dies at 52
1996 Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder, sportscaster, LV bookmaker (The NFL Today; fired for racist remarks), dies of a heart attack at 77
1996 Robert Hersant, French newspaper press baron, dies at 76
1996 Rodney Meredith Thomas, English architect and painter, dies at 93
1996 Zora Arkus-Duntov,Belgian-American automotive engineer, known as "the Father of the Corevette", dies at 86
1997 Andres Rodriguez, Paraguayan president (1989-93), dies
1997 Diosdado Macapagal, President of the Philippines (1961-65), dies at 86
1998 Jean Francois Lyotard, French philosopher and sociologist (b. 1924)
1998 Peter Lind Hayes, American comedian and singer (Peter Lind Hayes Show), dies at 82
1999 Charles "Buddy" Rogers, American film actor (Wings), singer, and dance bandleader, dies at 94
2000 Neal Matthews, Jr., American singer (The Jordanaires), dies at 70
2001 David Hollestelle, Dutch baritone singer (Dutch Radio Chorus), dies at 84

American jazz pianist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and civil rights activist (“Mississippi Goddam”; “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black”, “Feeling Good”; “Wild Is The Wind”), dies of breast cancer at 70

2004 Lorraine "Tui" St. George Tucker, American recorder player and composer (Catawba), dies at 79
2004 Mary McGrory, American journalist and columnist, dies at 85
2005 Gerry Marshall, British auto racer (625 x overall and class saloon wins), dies from heart failure at 63
2005 Heinz Kluncker, German trade union leader (ÖTV (Öffentliche Dienste, Transport und Verkehr - Public service, transport and traffic) president, 1964-82)., dies at 80
2006 T.K. Ramakrishnan, Indian politician (b. 1922)
2006 Telê Santana, Brazilian soccer winger (Fluminense FC 557 games) and manager (Brazil, Flamengo, Fluminense, Palmeiras, São Paulo), dies from an abdominal infection at 74
2007 Lobby Loyde [John Lyde], Australian rock guitarist and songwriter (The Purple Heart; Wild Cherries; Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs), dies at 65
2007 William "Parry" O'Brien, American shot putter (Olympic golds 1952, 1956, and silver 1960), dies of a heart attack during a swimming competition at 75
2008 Al Wilson, American soul singer ("Show and Tell"; "The Snake"), dies of kidney failure at 68
2009 Vivian Maier, American street photographer unknown until her death, dies at 83
2010 Gustav Lorentzen, Norwegian singer-songwriter (b. 1947)
2010 Idwal Pugh, Welsh-born British civil servant (UK Ombudsman 1976-78), dies at 92
2010 Juan Antonio Samaranch, Spanish sports administrator (7th President International Olympic Committee 1980-2001), dies of cardio-respiratory failure at 89
2012 Charles Colson, Nixon adviser (Watergate), dies from a brain hemorrhage at 80
2013 Chrissy Amphlett, Australian singer- songwriter (Divinyls - "I Touch Myself"), dies of breast cancer at 53
2013 Jean-Michel Damase, French pianist and composer, dies at 85
2013 Leopold Engleitner, Austrian Holocaust survivor, dies at 107

Shakuntala Devi (1929-2013)

Indian writer and mental calculator known as the "Human Computer", stops calculating at 83 due to complications from severe respiratory problems

2014 George H. Heilmeier, American engineer (helped invent LCD displays), dies at 77
2016 Lonnie Mack, American rocker ("Baby What's Wrong"), dies at 74
2016 Peter Ruckman, American Baptist minister and founder of Pensacola Bible Institute in Pensacola, dies at 94

Prince Rogers Nelson (1958-2016)

American funk, rock, R&B singer-songwriter and musician ("1999"; "Purple Rain"), dies from an accidental overdose of painkillers at 57

2017 Ugo Ehiogu, English soccer defender (4 caps; Aston Villa, Middlesborough), dies from cardiac arrest at 44
2018 Nabi Tajima, Japanese supercentenarian and the last living person certified to have been born in the 19th century, dies at 117
2018 Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Brazilian movie director (Como Era Gostoso o Meu Francês, Vidas Secas), dies at 89
2018 Verne Troyer, American actor (Mini-Me in Austin Powers movies), dies at 49
2020 Florian Schneider, German musician (Kraftwerk), dies of cancer at 73
2020 Milt Sunde, American NFL guard (Pro Bowl 1966; NFL Champion 1969; Minnesota Vikings), dies from Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease at 78
2020 Teruyuki Okazaki, Japanese karate master (10th degree black belt Shotokan Karate; founder International Shotokan Karate Federation), dies from COVID-19 at 88
2021 Håkon Brusveen, Norwegian cross-country skier (Olympic gold 15 km, silver 4 × 10 km relay 1960), dies at 93
2022 Daryle Lamonica, American football quarterback (Pro Bowl 1970, 72; AFL MVP 1967, 69; Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills), dies at 80
2022 Jack Rutherford, Australian cricket all-rounder (1 Test, HS 30, 1 wicket; WA CA), dies at 92