Famous Deaths on April 24

Daniel Defoe (1660-1731)

English novelist (Robinson Crusoe), dies at about 70

1758 Florian Wrastill, Austrian composer of sacred music, choir master, and Benedictine monk, dies at 41
1776 Carolus van de Abeele, Flemish Jesuit, dies at 84
1776 Giuseppe Paolucci, Italian composer, dies at 49
1779 Eleazar Wheelock, American founder of Dartmouth College, dies at 68
1783 Grigori Orlov, Russian military officer and favorite of Catherine the Great (helped her overthrow Peter III), dies at 48 [NS]
1824 Herman Muntinghe, Dutch theologist (History of Mankind), dies at 71
1827 Pierre-Joseph Candeille, French composer, dies at 82
1848 Francois van Campenhout, Belgian composer (Brabanconne), dies at 69
1850 Louis Alexandre Piccinni, Italian-French composer, dies at 70
1852 Vasily Zhukovsky, Russian poet (b. 1783)
1855 Walenty Karol Kratzer, composer, dies at 75
1875 Jose Maria de la Purificacion Ventura, Spanish composer (Father of the modern Sardana), dies at 58
1891 Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, Prussian general and fieldmarshal, dies at 90
1900 Andrew Smith Hallidie, American inventor and cable car pioneer, dies at 64
1900 George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll and Secretary of State for India (1868-74, 1880-85), dies at 76
1904 Friedrich Siemens, German industrialist, dies at 77
1912 Justin M'Carthy, Irish politician and novelist (Miss Misanthrope), dies at 81
1917 Oskar Blumenthal, German playwright and critic, dies at 65
1922 Richard Batka, Austrian music critic and composer, dies at 53
1924 George Street, English cricket wicket-keeper (1 Test, 1 dismissal; Surrey CCC, MCC), dies in a road accident at 34
1924 Granville Stanley Hall, American pioneering psychologist, dies at 78
1928 Ferdinand Hummel, German composer, dies at 72
1930 Henry Ernest Dudeney, English mathematician and puzzle maker, dies at 73
1933 Felix Adler, German-American educator of political and social ethics, dies at 81
1935 Paul Klengel, German pianist, violinist, composer and educator, dies at 80
1936 Alphons Diepenbrock, Dutch composer, conductor, and essayist, dies at 73
1936 Bernard van Dieren, Dutch composer, and music critic, dies at 51
1936 Finley Peter Dunne, American journalist and humorist (Mr Dooley), dies at 68
1938 George Grey Barnard, American sculptor, dies at 74
1941 Karin Boye, Swedish writer (Kallocain) commits suicide at 40
1942 Leonid Kulik, Russian mineralogist who led the first research expedition to study the Tunguska meteor site, the largest impact event in recorded history, dies of typhus in a Nazi prison camp at 58

Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942)

Canadian author (Anne of Green Gables), dies at 67

1944 William Stephens, U.S. political figure (b. 1859)
1945 Anton de Kom, Surinamese resistance fighter, dies of tuberculosis in a Nazi concentration camp at 47
1945 Antoon Schweigmann, Dutch religious poet and resistance fighter, dies at 51
1945 Hubert Bath, British film composer and music director, dies at 61
1947 Willa Cather, American writer (My Ántonia), dies at 73
1948 Jāzeps Vītols, Latvian composer, dies at 84
1948 Manuel Ponce, Mexican composer (Ferial), dies at 65
1948 Rosita Marstini, actress (I Cover Waterfront, Big Parade), dies at 54
1955 Alfred Polgar, Austrian writer and theater critic (Yes & No!), dies at 79
1956 Albrecht Alt, German theologist (Small Schriften), dies at 72
1956 Henry Stephenson, British actor (Conquest, Little Old NY, Mr Lucky), dies at 85
1957 Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff, Dutch politician (Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies 1926-31), dies at 84
1959 Jef van Hoof, Flemish composer, dies at 72
1960 Johannes "Jan" Musch, Dutch actor (Dead Water), dies at 84
1960 Max von Laue, German physicist who discovered the diffraction of X-rays by crystals, dies at 80
1961 (Joseph) Rosario Bourdon, French Canadian-American cellist, violinist, conductor, arranger and musical director (Victor Talking Machine Company, 1905-31; Symphonique de Montréal, 1935-44), dies at 76
1961 Lee Moran, American actor (Circus Clown), dies of heart ailment at 72 (b. 1888)
1964 Gerhard Domagk, German bacteriologist (Nobel Prize 1939 in Physiology or Medicine - first commercially available antibiotic and marketed under the brand name Prontosil), dies at 68
1965 Louise Dresser, actress (State Fair, Ship Comes In, Mammy), dies at 86
1967 Frank Overton, American actor (Fail Safe; 12 O'Clock High (TV series, not film)), dies of a heart attack at 49
1967 Vladimir Komarov, Soviet cosmonaut (Voshkod I, Soyuz 1) and the 1st human to die in a space flight, dies in Soyuz 1 at 40
1968 Norman McKaye, actor (Untamed Fury, Frogman), dies at 62
1968 Tommy Noonan, American actor, screenwriter and producer (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Promises Promises), dies of a brain tumor at 46
1970 Otis Spann, American blues pianist and singer (The Blues Never Die!), dies of liver cancer at 40 [or perhaps, 46; birth date disputed]
1971 Lennie Hayton, American pianist, composer, conductor and arranger (Paul Whiteman; Bing Crosby; MGM), dies at of heart attack at 63
1974 (William) "Bud" Abbott, American comedian (Abbott & Costello), dies of cancer at 78
1975 Pete Ham, Welsh rock singer-songwriter, and guitarist (Badfinger - "Without You"; "No Matter What"; Day After Day"), takes his own life at 27
1976 Mark Tobey, US abstract painter, (Broadway Norm), dies at 85
1979 John Carroll [Julian LaFaye], American actor (Flying Tigers, Go West), dies from leukemia at 72
1980 Alenjo Carpentier, Cuban-French writer (Guerra del Tiempo), dies at 75
1983 Rolf Stommelen, German auto racer (24 Hours of Daytona 1968, 78, 80, 82; 61 x F1 GP), dies in a racing accident at 39
1985 Sergei Yutkevich, Russian film director, (Otello, Banya), dies at 80
1986 Bill Edrich, English cricket all-rounder (39 Tests, 6 x 100, HS 219no, 41 wickets; MCC, Middlesex CCC), dies following a fall at 70

Wallis Simpson (1896-1986)

American divorcee whom British King Edward VIII abdicated his throne to marry, dies at 89

1988 Bob Newson, South African cricket fast bowler (3 Tests, 4 wickets; Transvaal; Rhodesia), dies at 87
1989 Franz Binder, Austrian soccer striker and manager (19 caps Austria, 9 caps Germany; Rapid Vienna), dies at 77
1990 Joseph Leberman, entertainer, dies
1990 Tom Rolfing, actor (He Knows You're Alone, Cliff-Another World), dies
1991 J. de Graaf, Dutch ethicist, president church & peace, dies at 79

Oliver Tambo (1917-1993)

South African lawyer, anti-apartheid politician and co-founder (African National Congress), dies of a stroke at 75

1996 Donald Cammell, film director, dies at 62
1996 Preston Lockwood [Reginald], British actor (Time Bandits, Jeeves and Wooster), dies of natural causes at 83

Eugene Stoner (1922-1997)

American firearms designer and inventor of the M16, dies of cancer at 74

1997 Pat Paulsen, American comedian (Smothers Brothers Show) and presidential candidate, dies at 69
1997 Robert Erickson, American composer, dies at 80
1998 Mel Powell [Epstein], American composer (Duplicates: A Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra - Pulitzer Prize for Music, 1990), dies from liver cancer at 75
2000 Alma Heflin, American commercial airplane test pilot and child psychologist, dies at 89
2000 John Beck, New Zealand cricket batsman (8 Tests; 3 x 50; top score 99; Wellington), dies at 65
2001 Al Hibbler, American singer ("Unchained Melody"), dies at 85
2001 Leon Sullivan, African-American civil rights leader and pastor (b. 1922)

Estée Lauder (1906-2004)

American entrepreneur (Estée Lauder cosmetics), dies of cardiopulmonary arrest at 97

2004 Willie Watson, English cricket batsman (23 Tests, 2 x 100s) and soccer midfielder (4 caps; Sunderland), dies at 84
2004 Winson Hudson, American civil rights activist (rural Mississippi), dies at 87
2005 Ezer Weizman, President of Israel (b. 1924)
2005 Fei Xiaotong, Chinese sociologist (b. 1910)
2006 Brian Labone, English soccer defender (26 caps; Everton FC 451 games), dies at 66
2006 Moshe Teitelbaum, Hassidic rabbi (b. 1914)
2009 John Michell, British writer, (b. 1933)
2009 Rev. Timothy Wright, American gospel singer (Been There Done That), and pastor, dies from injuries sustained in a car crash at 61
2011 Colin Snedden, New Zealand cricket spin bowler (1 Test; Auckland), dies at 93
2011 Marie-France Pisier, French actress (b. 1944)
2011 Sathya Sai Baba, Indian guru, spiritual figure, dies at 84
2012 Nel Ginjaar-Maas, Dutch under-secretary of Education (VVD), dies at 80
2013 Larry Felser, American sports columnist (Buffalo Courier-Express, The Buffalo Evening News, The Sporting News), dies at 80
2014 Konstantin Orbelyan, Armenian pianist, jazz and classical composer, and orchestra leader (State Estrada (Pops) Orchestra), dies at 85
2016 Billy Paul [Paul Williams], American soul singer ("Me & Mrs Jones"), dies of pancreatic cancer at 81
2016 Jan Henrik Kayser, Norwegian concert pianist (Grieg Prize, 1978), dies at 83
2016 Papa Wemba [Wembadio Kikumba], Congolese singer, known as the "King of Rumba Rock", dies after collapsing on stage at 66
2016 Tommy Kono, American weightlifter (Olympic gold 67.5kg 1952, 82.5kg 1956; silver 75kg 1960; World C'ship gold x 6), dies at 85
2017 Agustín Edwards, Chilean media tycoon (El Mercurio), dies at 89
2017 Benjamin Barber, American political theorist (Jihad vs. McWorld), dies at 77
2017 Don Gordon [Donald Guadagno], American actor (Bullitt, Papillon), dies at 90
2017 Robert M. Pirsig, American author (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance), dies at 88
2019 Dick Rivers [Hervé Forneri], French rock and roll singer and actor, dies from cancer on his 74th birthday
2020 Graeme Watson, Australian cricket all-rounder (5 Tests, 1 x 50, 6 wickets; 2 ODIs; Victoria CA, WA CA, NSW CA), dies from cancer at 75
2020 Harold Reid, American country bass vocalist (Statler Brothers - "Bed Of Rose's"), dies of kidney failure at 80 [1]
2020 Lynn Faulds Wood, Scottish television presenter (Watchdog), dies of a stroke at 72
2021 Christa Ludwig, German soprano (Vienna State Opera, 1955-94; Metropolitan Opera, 1959-93), dies at 93
2021 John T. Ward Jr., American racehorse trainer (Kentucky Derby 2001 Monarchos; Breeders' Cup Distaff 1999 Beautiful Pleasure), dies at 75
2021 Sarolta Monspart, Hungarian orienteering competitor (first non-Scandinavian female to win World C'ship 1972; 14 x national titles), dies at 76
2022 (Wilhelm) "Willi" Resetarits, Austrian singer and human rights activist, dies at 73
2022 Richie Moran, American Lacrosse HOF midfielder (Uni of Maryland) and coach (NCAA National C'ship 1971, 76, 77; Coach of the Year 1971, 77, 87; Cornell), dies at 85