Cleopatra (69-30 BC)
the last ruler of the Egyptian Ptolemaic dynasty, commits suicide allegedly by inducing an asp (Egyptian cobra) to bite her
- 875 Louis II, king of Italy/emperor of France, dies at about 50
- 1158 Anselm of Havelberg, Brandenburg bishop of Havelberg (1129-55), dies at about 58
- 1295 Charles Martel of Anjou, Son of Charles II of Naples, dies at 23
- 1424 Yongle, Emperor of the Ming Empire (1402-24), dies at 64
- 1484 George of Trebizond, Greek philosopher (b. 1395)
- 1484 Sixtus IV [Francesco della Rovere], Pope (1471-84), dies
- 1546 Francisco de Vitoria, Spanish theology/lawyer, dies
- 1577 Thomas Smith, English diplomat and scholar (b. 1513)
- 1588 Alfonso Ferrabosco, Italian composer who brought madrigal music to England, dies at 45
- 1612 Giovanni Gabrieli, Italian composer (Madrigali), dies at about 60
- 1633 Jacopo Peri, Italian composer and singer who wrote the 1st recognized opera "Dafne", dies at 71
- 1638 Johannes Althusius [Althaut], German lawyer, dies at about 81
- 1648 Ibrahim I, 18th Ottoman Sultan (1640-48), executed by being publicly strangled in front of a window at 32
- 1654 Cornelis Haga, Dutch ambassador to Constantinople (1611-39), dies at 76
- 1660 Gilbertus van Zinnik, Flemish architect, dies at about 33
- 1674 Philippe de Champaigne, French painter, dies at 72
- 1675 Karl Rabenhaupt, German/Neth baron of Sucha/army leader, dies at 73
- 1676 King Philip [Metacomet], leader Wampanoag-indians, shot to death
- 1689 Innocent XI [Benedetto Odescalchi], Italian, Pope (1676-89), dies at 78
- 1715 Nahum Tate, English poet/playwright/poet laureate, dies
- 1728 Henricus Zwaardecroon, Dutch Governor-General of Dutch East Indies (1718-25), (introduced coffee crop), dies at 61
- 1750 Rachel Ruysch, royal painter of sovereign Johan von de Pfalz, dies
- 1778 Peregrine Bertie, 3rd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, British general and politician (b. 1714)
- 1797 Ignaz Franz Xaver Kurzinger, German composer, dies at 73
- 1797 Paul Ignaz Kürzinger, Bavarian violinist, kapellmeister, and composer, dies at 73
- 1809 Mikhail Kamensky, Russian field marshal, dies at 71
- 1810 Etienne Louis Geoffroy, French pharmacist and entomologist, dies at 84
- 1811 John Francis Edward Acton, French-born English Naval Commander and PM of Naples (remembered for his brutality towards French supporters), dies at 77
- 1812 Jean-Joseph Rodolphe, Alsatian composer, dies at 81
- 1822 Robert Stewart, 2nd marguess of Londonderry, commits suicide, dies
William Blake (1757-1827)
English poet and artist (Songs of Innocence & Experience), dies at 69
- 1830 Franz de Paula Roser, Austrian composer and conductor, dies at 50
George Stephenson (1781-1848)
English engineer known as the "Father of Railways" (Locomotion No. 1, Standard Gauge), dies of pleurisy at 67
- 1849 Albert Gallatin, Swiss-American politician and diplomat (4th US Secretary of the Treasury1801-14), dies at 88
- 1857 William Daniel Conybeare, geologist, dies
- 1861 Eliphalet Remington, American firearms manufacturer (Remington Arms Co., L.L.C.), dies at 67
- 1864 Sakuma Shōzan, Japanese reformer (b. 1811)
- 1865 William Jackson Hooker, English botanist and director (Kew Gardens), dies at 80
- 1877 James Drummond, Scottish historical painter, (b. 1816)
- 1885 Georg Curtius, German classical linguist, dies at 65
- 1885 Helen Hunt Jackson, American author (Ramona), dies at 54
- 1891 James Russell Lowell, American poet, critic and diplomat (Biglow Papers), dies at 72
- 1896 Thomas Chamberlain, officer of the 20th Maine at the Battle of Gettysburg
- 1900 James Edward Keeler, American astronomer (rings of Saturn), dies at 42
- 1900 Wilhelm Steinitz, Austrian World Chess Champion (1866-94), dies at 64
- 1901 Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, Finnish-Swedish explorer and mineralogist (Vega Expedition), dies at 68
- 1904 William Renshaw, British tennis player (Wimbledon, 1881-86, 1889 (singles); 1884-86, 1888-89 (doubles, with twin brother Ernest), dies of epileptic convulsions at 43
- 1911 Jozef Israels, Dutch landscape painter, dies at 87
- 1911 Petrus H Hugenholtz, Dutch reformist vicar (Levenslicht), dies at 79
John Philip Holland (1840-1914)
Irish engineer and father of the modern submarine, dies at 74
Arthur Griffith (1871-1922)
Irish writer and politician who founded Sinn Féin (President of Ireland 1922), dies of cerebral hemorrhage at 51
Leoš Janáček (1854-1928)
Czech composer, dies at 74
- 1934 Hendrik P Berlage, architect (Stock exchange Amsterdam), dies at 78
- 1935 Friedrich Schottky, German mathematician (Schottky's theorem), dies at 84
- 1938 Ludwig Borchardt, German Egyptologist, dies at 74
- 1941 Bobby Peel, English cricket all-rounder (20 Tests, 3 x 50, 101 wickets, BB 7/31; Yorkshire CCC), dies at 84
- 1943 Georges Martin Witkowski, composer, dies at 76
- 1944 Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., brother of President John F. Kennedy, killed in action in plane explosion over Blythburgh, East Suffolk, England at 29
- 1948 Harry Brearley, English inventor (b. 1871)
- 1952 David Bergelson, Yiddish language writer (b. 1884)
- 1955 James B. Sumner, American chemist (Nobel 1946 - discovered that enzymes can be crystallized), dies at 67
Thomas Mann (1875-1955)
German novelist (Magic Mountain-Nobel 1929), dies at 80
- 1959 Mike O'Neill, Irish-American baseball player, dies at 81 (b. 1877)
- 1964 Ian Fleming, English author (James Bond novels), dies at 56
- 1967 (William) "Buster" Bailey, American jazz clarinetist (WC Handy; King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band; Fletcher Henderson; Noble Sissle; John Kirby), and bandleader, dies of a heart attack at 65
- 1968 Esther Forbes, American novelist (Johnny Tremain), dies at 76
- 1968 Pieter Oud, Dutch politician and Mayor of Rotterdam (1945-52), dies at 81
- 1969 Dick Ryan, American actor (For Heaven's Sake, Born to be Bad), dies after long illness at 72
- 1970 Glenn Hartranft, American athlete (discus WR 47.89m 1925; Olympic silver shot putt 1924), dies at 68
- 1973 John Clay, cricketer (Glamorgan offie in only Test 1935), dies
Karl Ziegler (1898-1973)
German chemist and Nobel Laureate (polymers), dies at 74
- 1973 Perry Botkin, American jazz and session guitarist, banjo player, composer, and musical director (Bing Crosby), dies at 66
- 1973 Walter Rudolf Hess, Swiss physiologist (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1949), dies of heart failure at 92
- 1976 Thomas Edward Driberg, 1st baron Bradwell, journalist, dies
- 1979 Ernst Chain, German-British chemist and bacteriologist (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1945 - for his work on penicillin), dies at 73
- 1982 Helvi Leiviskä, Finnish composer, dies at 80
Henry Fonda (1905-1982)
American stage and screen actor (Mr. Roberts; 12 Angry Men; On Golden Pond), dies of heart disease at 77
- 1982 Salvador Sánchez, Mexican boxer (WBC, lineal featherweight title 1980-82), dies in a traffic accident at 23
- 1982 Varlam Shalamov, Russian writer (b. 1907)
- 1983 (Henry) Giff Vivian, New Zealand cricket batsman (7 Tests @ 42.1, top score 100), dies at 70
- 1985 Kyu Sakamoto, Japanese singer (Sukiyaki), and actor, dies in JAL 123 crash at 43
- 1985 Manfred Winkelhock, German race car driver (b. 1951)
- 1985 Marcel Mihalovici, French composer, dies at 86
- 1988 Jean-Michel Basquiat, American artist (Gray, SAMO), dies of a drug overdose at 27
- 1989 Samuel Okwaraji, Nigerian footballer (b. 1964)
William Shockley (1910-1989)
American physicist who helped invent the transistor (1956 Nobel), who was also known for his racist eugenics views, dies of prostate cancer at 79
- 1990 B. Kliban, American cartoonist known for his drawings of cats, usually with horrible puns (Love to Eat Them Mousies), dies at 55
- 1990 Dorothy Mackaill, actress (Love Affair), dies of kidney failure at 87
- 1990 Piotr Perkowski, Polish composer, dies at 89
- 1990 Sara Seegar [Stone], actor (Mystery of Room 13), dies at 76
- 1991 Irene Campbell, British actress/dancer (Wicker Man, St Justice), dies
- 1991 William Gordon, screenwriter (Back to Bataan), dies
- 1992 John Cage, American composer (4′33″; Imaginary Landscape No 1/O'O), dies of a stroke at 79
- 1992 Mazoon al-Mashani, 2nd wife of Sultan Said bin Taimur and Queen Mother of Oman, dies at about 72
- 1992 Patricia Harmsworth, Lady Rothermere [Bubbles], English socialite and actress, dies at 59
- 1993 Jerome Thor, American actor (Riot in Juvenile Prison), dies of cardiac at 69
- 1994 Gene Cherico, American jazz bassist, dies at 59
- 1994 Manfred Salzgeber, German film distributor/publicist, dies at about 51
- 1995 Frank Cvitanovich, Canadian filmmaker, dies at 68
- 1996 Anthony Derrick Parsons, diplomat, dies at 73
- 1996 Victor Ambartsumian, Russian astronomer (Stalin Prize 1946, 50), dies at 87
- 1997 Jack Delano [Jacob Ovcharov], Russian-born American composer and photographer, dies at 83
- 1997 Luther Allison, American blues and session guitarist (Howlin' Wolf; James Cotton), dies of lung and brain cancer at 57
- 1999 Jean Drapeau, Canadian politician (Mayor of Montreal 1954-57, 1960-86), dies at 83
- 1999 John Rigby Hale, British linguist and historian, dies at 75
Loretta Young (1913-2000)
American actress (Farmer's Daughter, Stranger), dies of ovarian cancer at 87
- 2000 Patrick Peter Sacco, American composer, dies at 71
Enos Slaughter (1916-2002)
American Baseball HOF right fielder (10 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1942, 46, 56, 58; St. Louis Cardinals), dies from non-Hodgkin lymphoma at 86
- 2004 George Yardley III, American Basketball Hall of Fame forward (6 × NBA All-Star 1955–60; first player to score 2,000 points in a season; Fort Wayne Pistons), dies of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at 75
- 2004 Peter Woodthorpe, British actor (b. 1931)
- 2004 Sir Godfrey Hounsfield, English electrical engineer and inventor, Nobel laureate (b. 1919)
- 2005 John Loder, co-founder of the anarcho-punk band CRASS (b. 1946)
- 2005 Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lankan politician (Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka), dies at 73
- 2007 Ian McGeoch, Scottish Vice-Admiral with Royal Navy (submarine HMS Splendid WWII), dies at 93
- 2007 Merv Griffin, American television host and game show creator, dies at 82
- 2007 Mike Wieringo, American comic book artist (b. 1963)
- 2008 (June) "Christie" Allen, British-Australian pop singer (Goosebumps), dies of pancreatic cancer at 54
- 2008 Donald Erb, American composer known for large orchestral works, dies at 81
- 2009 Les Paul [Polsfuss], American guitarist, (How High The Moon), songwriter and inventor (solid-body electric guitar), dies at 94
- 2009 Lord John Gregson, British Labour politician and Baron, dies from injuries following a fall at 85
- 2010 Guido de Marco, 6th president of Malta, 45th President of the United Nations General Assembly (b. 1931)
- 2010 Isaac Bonewits, founder of U.S. Druid organization Ar Ndraiocht Fein (b. 1949)
- 2010 Paul Ryan Rudd, American stage and screen actor, dies at 70
- 2010 Richie Hayward, American drummer (Little Feat), dies of liver cancer at 64
- 2011 Robert Robinson, British television presenter (Ask The Family, Call My Bluff) (b. 1927)
- 2012 Mendelis Bašs, Latvian composer, conductor, and pedagogue, dies at 93
- 2013 Friso, Prince of Orange and second son of Queen Beatrix, dies in a coma, a year and a half after being buried in an avalanche, at 44
Lauren Bacall (1924-2014)
American actress and singer named the 20th greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema (Dark Passage, Key Largo), dies of a stroke at 89
- 2015 John Scott, English organist and choirmaster, dies at 59
- 2015 Per Hjort Albertsen, Norwegian organist, composer, and educator, dies at 96
- 2015 Stephen Lewis, British stage and screen comic actor, screenwriter and playwright (In The Buses - "Blakey"; Last of the Summer Wine - "Smiler"), dies at 88
- 2020 Bill Yeoman, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (University of Houston 1962-86; record 160–108–8), dies from kidney failure and pneumonia at 92
- 2020 Don Edmunds, American auto racer and car builder (National Sprint Car HOF; built Evel Knievel's Snake River Canyon Sky cycle), dies at 89
- 2020 Howard Mudd, American football OL (Pro Bowl 1966–68; All-Pro 1967-68; SF 49ers, Chicago Bears) and coach (Super Bowl 2006; OL Indianapolis Colts), dies after a motorcycle accident at 78
- 2020 Marvin Creamer, American mariner, 1st recorded person to sail around the world without navigational instruments, dies at 104
- 2020 Melvin F. Stute, American thoroughbred racehorse trainer (Preakness Stakes 1986, Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies 1986, Breeders' Cup Sprint 1987), dies at 93
- 2020 Pavol Biroš, Slovak soccer defender (9 caps, Czechoslovakia; Slavia Prague), dies from heart disease at 67
- 2021 Emilio Flores Márquez "Don Millo", Puerto Rican sugar cane worker and centenarian, (world's oldest man in 2021), dies at 113 [1]
- 2021 Roger Harring, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (Uni of Wisconsin–La Crosse 1969–99, record 261–75–7), dies at 88
- 2021 Una Stubbs, English actress (Till Death Us Do Part; Sherlock - "Mrs. Hudson"), dies at 84
Anne Heche (1969-2022)
American actress (Donnie Brasco; Juror; Volcano), dies from injuries one week after a fiery single vehicle car crash at 53
- 2022 José Luis Pérez-Payá, Spanish soccer forward (2 caps; Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid), dies at 94
- 2022 Ricardo Perdomo, Uruguayan soccer midfielder (6 caps; Club Nacional de Football, Rayo Vallecano, Unión Española) and coach (Miramar Misiones, Plaza Colonia), dies at 62
- 2022 Viacheslav Semenov, Ukrainian soccer midfielder (11 caps USSR; FC Zorya Luhansk, FC Dynamo Kyiv), dies at 74
- 2022 Wolfgang Petersen, German director, screenwriter and producer (Das Boot; Air Force One; The Perfect Storm), dies of pancreatic cancer at 81
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide