Famous Deaths on August 21

Elizabeth Báthory (1560-1614)

Hungarian countess and the world's most prolific female serial killer, dies at 54

1627 Jacques Mauduit, French composer, dies at 69
1629 Camillo Procaccini, Italian painter/etcher, dies
1673 Isaac Sweers, Dutch fleet admiral, dies at 51
1673 John de Love I, vice-admiral, dies in sea battle at about 54
1689 William Cleland, Scottish poet and soldier
1723 Dimitrie Cantemir, Romanian historian and Monarch of Moldova (1710-11), dies at 49
1724 Noel Alexandre, French controversial theologian and historian, dies at 85
1762 Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, English writer (b. 1689)
1763 Charles Wyndham, 2nd Earl of Egremont, British statesman (b. 1710)
1772 Alessandro Felici, Italian composer, dies at 29
1772 Johann Andreas Joseph Giulini, German composer, and priest dies at 48
1785 Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, French sculptor (Child with Cage, Mercury Fastening his Sandals), dies at 71
1798 Corneille-François de Nélis, Flemish scholar and bishop of Antwerp, dies at 62
1812 Silverius Muller, Austrian composer, priest, and educator, dies at 67
1813 Sophia Magdalena of Denmark, Queen consort of Sweden, dies at 67
1814 Benjamin Thompson, American physicist and inventor (Royal Institution of Great Britain), dies at 61
1824 John Taylor, American philosopher (Jeffersonian Democracy), dies at 70
1824 Santiago Ferrer, Spanish composer, dies at 62
1836 Claude-Louis Navier, French engineer and physicist who specialized in mechanics (Navier–Stokes equations), dies at 51
1838 Adelbert von Chamisso, French writer (Peter Schlemihl), dies at 57
1856 Peter Josef von Lindpaintner, German composer, dies at 64
1864 John Calhoun Sanders, Confederate brigadier general, dies in battle at 24
1867 Juan Álvarez, Mexican revolutionary leader (President of Mexico 1855), dies at 77
1870 Ma Xinyi Viceroy of Liangjiang of the late Qing Dynasty in China (b. 1821)
1876 Harry T. Hays, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 56
1888 Simon Vissering, Dutch minister of Finance (1879-81), dies at 70
1898 Niccolò van Westerhout, Italian composer, dies at 40
1905 Jules Oppert, French-German Assyriologist (decodes characters), dies at 80
1905 Mary Mapes Dodge, American children's author (St. Nicholas Magazine), editor and writer (Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates), dies at 74
1911 W R Wister, cricketer (USA v Canada 1859), dies
1919 Laurence Doherty, British tennis player (Wimbledon 1902-06, US Nationals 1903), dies of toxemia at 43
1921 Ernest Daudet, French journalist and writer (White Terror), dies at 84
1932 Frederick Corder, British composer (The Nabob's Pickle), dies at 80
1935 John Hartley, English tennis player (Wimbledon 1879-80), dies at 86
1935 Josef Cyril Sychra, Czech composer, dies at 76
1937 George Wright, American Baseball HOF shortstop (NA pennant 1872-75 Boston Red Stockings; NL pennant 1877-78 Boston Red Caps, 1879 Providence Grays), dies at 90
1940 Ernest Thayer, American poet who wrote the famous baseball poem "Casey", dies at 77
1940 Hermann Obrecht, Swiss jurist, member of the Swiss Federal Council, dies at 58

Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)

Ukrainian-Russian Marxist revolutionary, political theorist and founder of the Red Army, assassinated at 62 by an ice-pick wielding Ramón Mercader

1940 Paul Juon, Russian-Swiss violinist and composer, dies at 68
1942 Kiyoano Ichiki, Japanese colonel (WWII), dies
1943 (Abraham) A. Merritt, American magazine editor and sci-fi author (The Moon Pool; Burn, Witch, Burn!), dies from a heart attack at 59
1943 Henrik Pontoppidan, Danish writer (Peter Gelukkige, Nobel 1917), dies at 86
1947 Ettore Bugatti, Italian-French automobile designer and manufacturer (Automobiles E. Bugatti), dies at 65
1949 Gerhard von Keussler, German composer, dies at 75
1951 (Leonard) Constant Lambert, British composer (The Rio Grande; Horoscope; Summer's Last Will and Testament), and music director (Vic-Wells/Royal Ballet, 1931-47), dies of pneumonia and complications of diabetes and alcoholism at 45
1952 Isaac Sadeh, leader of Jewish commando forces, dies
1957 Harald Ulrik Sverdrup, Norwegian meteorologist and oceanographer (b. 1888)
1957 Nels Stewart, Canadian Hockey HOF center (Stanley Cup 1925 Montreal Maroons; Hart Memorial Trophy 1926, 30), dies at 57
1958 Stevan Hristić, Serbian composer (Legend of Ohrid; Opeleo), conductor (Belgrade Philharmonic, 1923-34; Belgrade Opera, 1925-35), and pedagogue (Belgrade Music Academy, 1937-50), dies at 73
1958 Walter Schumann, American choral director (Ford Show) and film and television composer (Night Of The Hunter; Dragnet theme), dies at 44
1960 David Barnard Steinman, American civil engineer and bridge designer (Hudson, Triborough), dies at 74
1963 John Gunn, English cricket medium pace bowler (6 Tests, 18 wickets, BB 5/76; Nottinghamshire CCC), dies at 87
1964 J. L. Wilkinson, American Baseball HOF executive (founder All Nations Baseball club 1912 & NgL Kansas City Monarchs 1920), dies at 86

Palmiro Togliatti (1893-1964)

Italian politician and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Italy (1926-34, 1938-64), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 71

1968 Vladimir Boudnik, Czech sculptor, commits suicide at about 45
1970 Timothy Mather Spelman, American composer, dies at 79
1971 George Jackson, American criminal, author, and Black Guerrilla Family gang founder, shot to death during attempted San Quentin, California prison escape at 29
1974 Buford Pusser, American sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee, dies in a single vehicle car crash at 36
1976 Ken James, New Zealand cricket wicket-keeper (11 Tests, 16 dismissals; Wellington, Northamptonshire CCC), dies at 72
1977 Danny Lockin, American actor and dancer (Hello Dolly), dies from bleeding to death after being stabbed 100 times
1977 Octavus L "Octave" van Aerschot, actor (Scandal in Paris), dies at 87
1978 Charles Eames, American designer and architect, dies at 71
1978 Vinoo Mankad, Indian cricketer (44 Tests for India, 2,109 runs), dies at 61
1979 Giuseppe Meazza, Italian footballer, dies at 68
1980 Jack Cheetham, South African cricket batsman and captain (24 Tests; Western Province), dies at 60
1981 Eddie Byrne, British actor (Star Wars, Island of Terror), dies from a stroke at 70
1981 Hermann Schey, German-Dutch classical bass-baritone singer, and teacher, dies at 85
1982 Sobhuza II, Paramount Chief and Ngwenyama of Swaziland (1899-1982) who holds the record for the longest reign of any monarch in recorded history, dies at 83
1983 Benigno S Aquino Jr, Philippines opposition leader, killed at 50
1987 Karl Bruck, entertainer, dies
1988 H. G. Adler, German writer (The Journey), dies at 78
1988 Ray Eames, American designer and filmmaker, dies at 75
1989 Raul Seixas, Brazilian rock singer-songwriter ("Mosca na Sopa" - "Fly In The Soup"), dies of pancreatitis at 44
1991 Oswald von Nell-Breuning, German theologist and philosopher, dies at 101
1991 Richard Wilson, producer/writer/actor (Pay or Die), dies at 75
1991 Wolfgang Hildesheimer, German-Swiss architect and writer (Mozart biographer), dies at 74
1992 Dai Vernon [David Frederick Wingfield Verner], Canadian magician, dies at 98
1992 Lucille Brown, American actress (Our Gang - "Farina"(the 1st one)), dies after illness at 74
1992 Theo van Tijn, Marxist/social-historian, dies at 65
1992 Theodor Berger, Austrian composer. (Sinfonia Parabolica), dies at 87
1994 Anita Lizana, Chilean tennis player (US Nat C'ships 1937; first Latin American major winner), dies at 78
1994 Danitra Vance, American comedienne (SNL, 1985), and actress (Jumpin' At The Boneyard), dies of breast cancer at 40
1994 Hein Fentener van Vlissingen, eccentric millionaire, dies at 73
1995 Anatole Fistoulari, Ukrainian conductor, dies at 88
1995 Hilda Beatritz Guevara, daughter of Che Guevara, dies at 39
1995 James Truitte, American ballet dancer (Lester Horton; Alvin Ailley), dies at 72
1995 Ken Rickards, West Indies cricketer (104 runs at 34 66 for WI 1948-52), dies at 71
1995 Len Martin, sports broadcaster, dies at 76
1995 Manfred Donike, German cyclist and chemist drug test pioneer, dies at 61
1995 Nanni Loy, Italian film director (The Four Days of Naples), dies at 69
1995 Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Indian physicist (Nobel Prize 1983 for work on structure and evolution of the stars), dies at 84
1996 Joyce Plesters, British conservation scientist, dies at 69
1996 Sidney George Gray, company secretary, dies at 82
1997 Misael Pastrana Borrero, President of Colombia (1970-74), dies
1997 Yuri Nikulin, Russian clown and actor (b. 1921)
1999 Juan Carlos Zorzi, Argentinian composer, and conductor, dies of esophageal cancer at 63
1999 Leo Castelli, Italian-American art dealer, dies at 91
2000 Daniel Lisulo, Prime Minister of Zambia (b. 1930)
2001 Calum MacKay, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1927)
2003 Kathy Wilkes, English philosopher and aid worker (b. 1946)
2003 Wesley Willis, American underground singer-songwriter, and visual artist, dies of leukemia at 40
2004 Isaäc Arend Diepenhorst, Dutch lawyer and Minister of Education, dies at 88
2005 Dahlia Ravikovitch, Israeli poet (b. 1936)
2005 David Ironside, South African cricketer (South African swing bowler in 3 Tests v NZ 1953-54), dies at 80
2005 Marcus Schmuck, Austrian mountaineer (b. 1925)
2005 Martin Dillon, American opera singer, dies of cardiac arrest at 48
2005 Polly Hill, British economic anthropologist (studied Cocoa-Farmers Of Southern Ghana), dies at 91
2005 Robert Moog, American engineer (Moog synthesizer, Moog Music), dies of a brain tumor at 71
2006 Paul Fentener van Vlissingen, Dutch businessman and philanthropist (b. 1941)
2006 Ustad Bismillah Khan, Indian classical shehnai (reeded woodwind instrument) player, dies at 90
2007 Caroline Aigle, French first woman fighter pilot in the French Air Force aged 25, dies of cancer at 32
2007 Elizabeth P. Hoisington, American Brigadier General (one of the first two women to attain the rank of brigadier general), dies at 88
2007 Siobhan Dowd, British/Irish writer (b. 1960)
2008 "Huckle" Jerry Finn, American sound engineer and record producer (Blink-182), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage and heart attack at 39
2008 Buddy Harman, American country music drummer (Grand Ole Opry, Elvis Presley), dies at 79
2009 Dean Turner, Australian rock musician (Magic Dirt), dies of cancer at 37
2009 Johnny Carter, American doo-wop singer (The Flamingos; The Dells), dies at 75
2009 Rex Shelley, Singaporean author (b. 1930)
2010 Nancy Dolman, Canadian actress and comedienne (b. 1950)
2010 Rodolfo Enrique Fogwill, Argentinean writer (b. 1941)
2012 Georg Leber, German politician, dies at 91
2012 William Thurston, American mathematician, dies from melanoma at 65
2013 C. Gordon Fullerton, American USMC Colonel, and NASA astronaut (STS-3; STS-51-F), dies at 76
2013 Sid Bernstein, American music producer/promoter, dies at 95
2015 Anna Kashfi [Joan O'Callaghan], Welsh actress and 1st wife of Marlon Barando, dies at 80
2015 Bob Hepple, South African-born academic and Nelson Mandela's lawyer, dies at 81
2015 Jimmy Evert, American tennis coach (father of Chris Evert), dies at 91
2017 Abdur Razzak, Bangladeshi actor and director (Ki Je Kori, Chandranath), dies at 75
2017 Thomas Meehan, American writer (Annie, The Producers, Hairspray), dies at 88
2018 Barbara Harris, American Tony Award-winning actress (Plaza Suite; Family Plot), dies at 83
2018 George Andrie, American football defensive end (Super Bowl 1971; First Team All Pro 1969; 5 x Pro Bowl; Dallas Cowboys), dies from dementia at 78
2018 Stefán Karl Stefánsson, Icelandic actor (Lazytown), dies of cancer at 43
2019 Norma Croker, Australian sprinter (1st Olympic Gold from Queensland), dies at 84
2020 Mohamed Ben Rehaiem, Tunisian soccer midfielder (35 caps; CS Sfaxien), dies at 69
2020 Pedro Nájera, Mexican soccer midfielder (FIFA World Cup 1954, 62; Club América), dies at 91
2021 (Isaac) Don Everly, American rock and roll singer-guitarist (The Everly Brothers - "Bye, Bye Love"; "Wake Up Little Susie"; "When WIll I Be Loved"), dies at 84
2021 Floyd Reese, American football administrator (GM Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans 1994-2006) and analyst (ESPN's NFL Live, ESPN.com), dies from cancer at 73
2022 David Armstrong, English soccer midfielder (3 caps; Middlesbrough 359 games, Southampton 222 games), dies at 67
2022 Monnette Sudler, American jazz guitarist (Sounds of Liberation), dies at 70