Famous Deaths on April 3

1747 Francesco Solimena, Italian painter, dies at 89
1769 Gerhard Tersteegen, German evangelist and poet (wrote in blood), dies at 71
1792 George Pocock, British admiral (b. 1706)
1797 Nonnosus Madlseder, German composer, dies at 66
1804 Jędrzej Kitowicz, Polish priest (b. 1727/1728)
1811 Pieter-Jozef Verhaghen, Flemish court painter, dies at 83
1822 Friedrich Justin Bertuch, German publisher and patron, dies at 74
1826 Reginald Heber, English bishop & hymn writer, dies at 42
1827 Ernst Chladni, German physicist (Chladni's law - estimating the speed of sound), instrument inventor (euphon; clavicylinder), and musician, dies at 70
1838 Francesco Antommarchi, Napoleon's physician on St Helena, dies at 57
1849 Juliusz Slowacki, Polish poet (Father of the Plague-Patient), dies at 39
1850 Václav Tomášek, Czech pianist, composer (Eclogues), and pedagogue, dies at 75
1858 Sigismund Ritter von Neukomm, Austrian composer and royal chaplain master, dies at 79
1862 James Clark Ross, British Royal Navy explorer (British Antarctic), dies at 61
1868 Franz Berwald, Swedish composer, dies of pneumonia at 71
1876 Henriette Davidis, German cookery writer (Practical Cookbook), dies at 75
1882 Friedrich Wilhelm Kücken, German composer, dies at 71

Jesse James (1847-1882)

American outlaw and son of a clergyman, shot dead at 34 by fellow gang member Robert Ford in St. Joseph, Missouri

1884 Carel van Nispen tot Sevenaer, Dutch Cath politician, dies at 59
1891 Joseph Kervyn de Lettenhove, Belgian politician and literary figure, dies at 73

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

German composer and conductor (Hungarian Dances; A German Requiem), dies at 63

1901 Richard D'Oyly Carte, British opera impresario (Gilbert & Sullivan operas), dies at 56
1907 Theodor Aufrecht, German linguist, Indologist and translator (Rigveda's Hymns), dies at 85
1909 Benjamin Johnson Lang, American conductor and composer, dies at 71
1915 Andrew Stoddart, English cricket batsman & captain (16 Tests, 2 x 100, HS 173; Middlesex CCC) and rugby union centre & captain (10 Tests; first captain Barbarians RFC), dies by suicide at 52
1917 Arthur Graeme West, British writer and war poet (The Diary of a Dead Officer), killed by a sniper at about 25
1919 Paul Geisler, German conductor, composer, and pedagogue, dies at 62
1920 Homer Newton Bartlett, American pianist, organist and composer, dies at 74
1930 Emma Albani, Canadian operatic soprano, dies at 82
1936 Bruno Hauptmann, German kidnapper of Charles Augustus Lindbergh III, executed at 36
1941 Pal Teleki-von Szek, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920-21, 39-41), committed suicide at 61
1942 Albert Siklós, Hungarian composer, dies at 63
1942 Paul Gilson, Belgian composer, dies at 76
1943 Conrad Veidt, German actor (Casablanca, Cabinet of Dr Calgary), dies from a heart attack at 50
1945 Josef Weinheber, Austrian poet and writer (Vienna Verbatim), dies at 43
1946 Masaharu Homma, Japanese Lt General (responsible for Bataan Death March in the Philippines), executed by firing squad for war crimes at 58
1946 Thomas Dixon, American white supremacist, novelist, playwright (The Clansman: A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan), dies at 82
1949 Basil Harwood, English composer, dies at 89
1950 Adolf Wiklund, Swedish composer, dies at 70
1950 Carter G. Woodson, American historian (African American studies), dies at 74
1950 Kurt Weill, German-American composer and collaborator of Bertolt Brecht (Die Dreigroschenoper - The Threepenny Opera), dies after a heart attack at 50
1951 John C. Kielstra, Dutch economist & governor (Suriname 1933-44), dies at 72
1952 Miina Sillanpää, Finnish first female minister and a key figure in the workers' movement, dies at 85
1957 Edward "Ned" Sparks, Canadian actor (42nd Street, Imitation of Life), dies from intestinal obstruction at 73
1958 Theodor Kramer, Austrian poet and writer, dies at 61
1962 Benny "Kid" Paret, American welterweight boxer, dies after a fight at 24
1962 Manolis Kalomiris, Greek opera composer, dies at 78
1965 Ernst Kirchweger, Austrian communist and resistance fighter (born 1897 or 1898)
1966 Battista Farina, Italian automobile designer and founder of Pininfarina company, dies at 72
1966 Russel Crouse, American playwright (Life with Father) and journalist, dies at 73
1969 Rex Evans, British actor (Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman; Zara; Matchmaker), dies after surgery at 65
1971 Joseph Valachi, American gangster, dies at 66
1971 Manfred Bonnington Lee [Ellery Queen], American detective writer, dies at 65
1972 Ferde Grofé American composer (Grand Canyon Suite), dies at 80
1975 Mary Ure, Scottish actress (Sons & Lovers; Where Eagles Dare), dies at 42
1976 Maurice Johnstone, English brass band composer, dies at 75
1977 Jack Ryder, Australian cricket all-rounder (20 Tests, 1,394 runs @ 51.62), dies at 87
1978 Ray Noble, English bandleader, comedian and actor (The Very Thought of You), dies at 74
1980 Luella Gear, American actress (Joe & Mabel), dies at 82
1981 Juan Trippe, American airline pioneer and entrepreneur (Pan Am founder), dies at 81
1981 Leo Kanner, Austrian-American psychiatrist and social activist known for his work related to autism, dies at 86
1982 Herman W. Filarski, Dutch bridge journalist, dies at 69
1982 Warren Oates, American actor (Dillinger, East of Eden, Stoney Burke), dies of a heart attack at 53
1983 Danny Rapp, American pop singer (Danny & The Juniors - "At The Hop"), takes his own life at 41
1984 Antanas Račiūnas, Lithuanian composer and pedagogue, dies at 78
1986 Peter Pears, English tenor (Death in Venice), dies at 75
1987 Hans Gál, Austrian-British composer (Die heilige Ente (The Sacred Duck)), dies at 97
1987 Tom Sestak, American football player (b. 1936)
1988 Milton A. Caniff, US cartoonist (Terry & the Pirates), dies at 81
1989 Norman Wooland, German actor (Ivanhoe, Quo Vadis, Hamlet), dies at 79
1990 Katharine Balfour, American actress (Love Story), dies of ALS at 69
1990 Sarah Vaughan, American jazz singer, dies of lung cancer at 66

Graham Greene (1904-1991)

English novelist (Brighton Rock, Our man in Havana, The Power and the Glory) and journalist, dies of leukemia at 86

1992 (Lloyd) "Slim" Andrews, American actor (Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory), comic, and singer-songwriter, dies at 85 [1]
1992 Margaret Barker, American actress (Fathers & Son), dies of lung cancer at 83
1993 Alexander Mnouchkine, French movie producer (Professional), dies at 83
1993 Dieter Plage, German wildlife filmmaker, dies at 57
1993 Eduardo Cabellero Calderon, Colombian writer and diplomat, dies at 83
1993 Klaas Schenk, Dutch speed skater and coach (coach 1952, 56, 60 Winter Olympics; father of triple gold medallist Ard), dies at 86
1993 Pinky Lee, American children's show host (Pinky Lee Show), dies of a heart attack at 85
1994 Elizabeth "Betty" Furness, American actress, journalist and consumer activist (Dangerous Corner, Studio 1), dies of stomach cancer at 78
1994 Frank G. Wells, American company director (Walt Disney Co.), dies in a helicopter crash at 62
1994 Jerome Lejeune, French geneticist (discovered chromosome responsible for Downs Syndrome), dies at 67
1994 Pat Harper, American NYC news anchor (WPIX, WNBC), dies of a heart attack at 59
1995 David Herbert, British writer and raconteur, dies at 86
1995 Gracita Morales, Spanish actress (Operation Mata Hari), dies at 66
1996 (Roosevelt) "Booba" Barnes, American blues guitarist, dies at 59
1996 Carl Stokes, first African American mayor of a major US city (Cleveland), dies at 68
1996 Ron Brown, American politician (US Secretary of Commerce, 1993-96; Democratic Party Chairman, 1989-93), dies in an air crash approaching Dubrovnik, Croatia, at 54
1997 Henriette Wyeth, American artist known for her portraits, dies at 89
1997 Judy Flannery, American triathlete, killed by a car while training at 56
1997 Sergei Filatov, Soviet equestrian dressage (Olympic gold 1960), dies at 70
1998 Mary Cartwright, English mathematician (b. 1900)
1998 Rob Pilatus, American-German model, dancer, and de-frocked Grammy Award winner (Milli Vanilli - "Girl You Know It's True"), dies of accidental prescription drug and alcohol overdose at 42
1999 Lionel Bart, English pop and theatrical music composer (Oliver), and writer, dies of liver cancer at 68
2000 Terence McKenna, American writer and philosopher (b. 1946)
2001 Lester "Big Daddy" Kinsey, American Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, dies at 74
2001 Michael Berry, Baron Hartwell, British newspaper proprietor and journalist, dies at 89
2002 Fad Gadget [Francis Tovey], English singer and musician, dies of a heart attack at 45
2003 Homer Banks, American singer and songwriter ("Be What You Are"), dies at 61
2003 Michael Kelly, American journalist (b. 1957)
2005 Jef Eygel, Belgian basketball player (b. 1933)
2005 Tony Croatto {Hermes Martinis], Italian-Puerto Rican folk song singer and composer (Los TNT; Haciendo Punto en Otro Son), and television presenter, dies of cancer at 65
2006 Marshall Goldberg, American College Football HOF back (Uni of Pittsburgh; All Pro, Pro Bowl 1941; Chicago Cardinals), dies at 88
2007 Eddie Robinson, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (Grambling 408 wins), dies of Alzheimer's disease at 88
2007 Marion Eames, Welsh novelist, dies at 86
2007 Nina Wang, Chinese widow of businessman Teddy Wang (Asia's richest woman), dies at 69
2007 Zoltan Pongracz, Hungarian composer (Mariphonia), dies at 95
2008 Hrvoje Ćustić, Croatian football player (b. 1983)
2010 Dusan Radic, Serbian composer, dies at 80
2010 Eugène Terre'Blanche, South African white supremacist and leader of the far-right Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging, beaten to death over alleged political and racist motivations at 69
2011 Calvin Russell [Kosler], American blues, roots, and rock singer-songwriter and guitarist (Dream Of The Dog), dies of liver cancer at 62
2013 Robert Ward, American composer (Pantaloon), dies at 95
2013 Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, German-American novelist and screenwriter, dies from pulmonary failure at 85
2014 Freda Kida, American cartoonist, dies at 93
2014 Tommy Lynn Sells, American serial killer, executed for murder at 49
2015 Andrew Porter, British organist, opera director, music critic, and librettist, dies at 86
2015 Bob Burns, American drummer (Lynyrd Skynyrd), dies in a car crash at 64
2015 Sarah Brady, American gun-control activist, dies at 73
2016 Donald "Don" Francks, Canadian actor, singer and musician (Terminal Choice; Finian's Rainbow), dies at 84
2016 Erik Bauersfeld, American voice actor (Star Wars' Admiral Ackbar "Its a trap"), dies at 93
2016 Joseph Medicine Crow, Native American chief and historian, dies at 102
2016 Lars Gustafsson, Swedish poet and novelist (The Death of a Beekeeper, The Cracks in the Wall), dies at 79
2017 Kishori Amonkar, Indian classical Hindustani singer, dies at 84
2018 David Edgerton, American entrepreneur and founder of Burger King, dies of complications of surgery at 90
2018 Lill-Babs [Barbro Margareta Svensson], Swedish pop singer, (Eurovision, 1961) actress, and television presenter, dies of heart failure while battling cancer at 80
2020 Robert Armstrong [Lord Armstrong of Illminster], British peer and civil servant (Spycatcher trial), dies at 93
2020 Tom Dempsey, American NFL kicker (Pro Bowl, First-team All-Pro 1969; New Orleans Saints; longest winning field goal, 63 yards), dies of COVID-19 complications at 73
2021 Gloria Henry [McEniry], American actress (Dennis the Menace), dies at 98
2021 Jill Corey [Norma Jean Speranza], American pop singer (Your Hit Parade), dies at 85
2021 Yevgeniy Zagorulko, Russian high jump coach (Andrey Silnov, Yelena Yelesina, Anna Chicherova), dies of COVID-19 at 78
2022 Gene Shue, American NBA basketball guard, 1954-64, 5X All-Star (New York Knicks, Fort Wayne/Detroit Pistons, and 2 other teams), and NBA coach, 1966-89, 2X Coach of the Year (Baltimore/Washington Bullets, Philadelphia 76ers, and 2 other teams), dies from melanoma at 90
2022 June Brown, British actress (EastEnders, 1985–93 & 1997–2020 - "Dot"; Sitting Target), dies at 95
2022 Stan Parrish, American football coach (Ball State Uni, Wabash College, Kansas State Uni, Marshall Uni; TB Buccaneers QB coach Super Bowl 2002), dies at 75
2022 Tommy Davis, American baseball utility (3 x MLB All Star; World Series 1963; NL batting champion 1962, 63 LA Dodgers), dies at 83
2023 Nigel Lawson, British journalist and politician (UK Chancellor 1983-89, reformed tax laws), dies at 91 [1]