Famous Deaths on August 8

1759 Carl Heinrich Graun, German tenor, opera composer (Der Tod Jesu), and Royal Kapellmeister to Frederick the Great (1740-59), dies at 55
1788 Louis-François-Armand du Plessis, duke de Richelieu, French marshal of France and grand-nephew of Cardinal Richelieu, dies at 92
1816 Blas de Laserna, Spanish composer (championed traditional Spanish musical forms), dies at 65
1824 Friedrich August Wolf, German philologist (Prolegomena), dies at 65

George Canning (1770-1827)

British Prime Minister (Tory: 1827) and Foreign Secretary, dies in office at 57

1828 Carl Peter Thunberg, Swedish naturalist, dies at 84
1834 Silvestro Palma, Italian opera composer, dies at 80
1863 Angus MacAskill known as 'Giant MacAskill', circus performer (b.1825)
1879 Immanuel Hermann Fichte, German philosopher, dies at 83
1887 Alexander William Doniphan, American lawyer and soldier, dies at 79
1888 Friedrich Wilhelm Jahns, German composer, voice teacher and musicologist, dies at 79
1897 Jacob Burckhardt, Swiss cultural historian, dies at 79
1898 Eugène Boudin, French painter (beach scenes), dies at 74
1902 James Tissot, French painter and illustrator, dies at 65
1908 Joseph Maria Olbrich, Austrian architect (Vienna Secession movement), dies of leukemia at 40
1909 William Miller, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 89
1911 William P. Frye, American politician (b. 1830)
1918 Gertrude E. Durden Rush, American composer and playwright, dies at 38
1921 Juhani Aho, Finnish journalist and writer (Panu, Tuomio), dies at 59
1928 Stjepan Radic, Croatian politician (founder of Croatian People's Peasant Party), shot and assassinated in parliament at 57
1934 Wilbert Robinson, American Baseball HOF catcher (Philadelphia A's, Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Cardinals) and manager (Baltimore Orioles, Brooklyn Robins), dies at 71
1940 Johnny Dodds, American early jazz clarinetist, dies at 48
1944 Erwin von Witzleben, German fieldmarshal (July 20th plot), hanged at 62
1944 Juliusz Kaden-Bandrowski, Polish novelist and satirist (Black Wings), dies of wounds received during the Warsaw Uprising at 59
1944 Michael Wittman, German soldier and tank ace, dies in battle at 30
1947 Anton Ivanovich Denikin, Russian general (led anti-Bolshevik White forces during Russian Civil war), dies at 73
1950 Ernest Douwes Dekker, Indo-Dutch nationalist and founder of National-India Party, dies at 70
1950 Fergus McMaster, Australian businessman and aviation pioneer (Qantas), dies at 71
1950 Nikolai Myaskovsky, Russian composer (Kirov is With Us), dies at 69
1954 Gino Tagliapietra, Italian pianist and composer (Antologia di musica antica e moderna per pianoforte), dies at 67
1960 Danton Walker, American columnist (Broadway Spotlight), dies at 61
1961 Franc N D Buchman, US theology (Moral Rearms), dies at 83
1961 Méi Lánfāng, Chinese opera performer (b. 1894)
1963 Sándor Jemnitz, Hungarian composer, dies at 72
1965 Olga Fastrová, Czech writer and editor (National Policy), dies at 89

Shirley Jackson (1916-1965)

American author (Road Through the Wall), dies at 45

1966 Ed "Strangler" Lewis, American professional wrestler, dies at 75
1966 Pierre Charles, Belgian heavyweight boxer, dies at 63
1967 Jaromir Weinberger, Czech-American composer (Czech Rhapsody), dies at 71
1968 Orovida Camille Pissarro, British painter and etcher, dies at 74
1969 Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer, German human biologist and Nazi physician, dies at 73
1970 Johnny Goodman, American golfer (US Open 1933), dies at 60
1972 Andrea Feldman, American actor (b. 1948)
1973 Vilhelm Moberg, Swedish author (The Emigrants) and historian, dies at 74
1974 Baldur von Schirach, German writer, Nazi official and convicted war criminal (Head of Hitler Youth 1931-40), dies at 67
1975 Bernie Green, American orchestra leader (Arthur Godfrey Show, Garry Moore Show), dies at 66
1975 Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader of the 1950-60s hard bop era (The Black Messiah), dies of a stroke at 46
1976 John Roselli, hired by CIA to kill Castro, found murdered
1979 Nicholas Monsarrat, British novelist (b. 1910)
1980 Aga Yahya Khan, Pakistani general and politician (President of Pakistan 1969-71, Bangladesh genocide during his regime), dies at 63
1980 Jacqueline Cochran, US pilot and 1st woman to break sound barrier, dies at 74
1980 Paul Triquet, Canadian military officer, dies at 70
1982 Eric Brandon, British auto racer (closely associated with development Cooper Car Company), dies at 62
1982 Ferre Grignard, Belgian pop singer/painter (Crucified Jesus), dies
1982 Hermine Heijermans, author (Snikken en Smartlapjes), dies at 80
1982 Kurt Edelhagen, West German jazz pianist, dies at 62
1982 Valeer van Kerkhove, Flemish writer (De Weerlozen), dies at 63
1984 Ellen Raskin, American author (b.1928)
1984 Richard Deacon, American actor (The Dick Van Dyke Show - "Mel Cooley"), dies of cardiovascular disease at 62
1985 Leo Weisgerber, German linguist (organicist theory), dies at 86
1985 Louise Brooks, American silent screen actress (Pandora's Box), dies of a heart attack at 78
1987 Danilo Blanuša, Croatian mathematician, dies at 83
1988 Alan Ameche, American College Football Hall of Fame fullback (Heisman Trophy 1954, U of Wisconsin; Pro Bowl 1955–1958, NFL C'ship 1958, 59; Baltimore Colts), dies of a heart attack at 55
1988 Alan Napier, British actor (The Sword in the Stone, Batman), dies at 85
1988 Félix Leclerc, French Canadian singer and composer (Moi, mes souliers), dies at 74
1988 Ramón Valdés, Mexican actor (b. 1923)
1989 Irv Cottler, American session and touring drummer (Frank Sinatra; Dinah Shore), dies of a heart attack at 71
1990 Andrzej Dobrowolski, Polish classical and experimental composer, dies at 68
1991 James Irwin, American air force officer and NASA astronaut (Apollo 15, 8th person to walk on the moon), dies at 61
1991 John Brasser, Dutch Zaans resistance fighter (White Ko), dies at 79
1991 Julissa Gomez, American gymnast (b. 1972)
1991 [Magdalena] M. G. Schenk, Dutch journalist, dies at 84
1992 Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei, Iranian influential Shia Islamic scholar, dies at 92
1992 Alison L. Gertz, American aids-activist, Esquire women of year, dies of aids at 26
1992 Arthur Lang, American boxer and businessman, dies at 115
1992 Eitan Berglas, Israeli banker and advisor, dies at 58
1992 Lou Krugman, American actor (I Want to Live), dies of cancer at 78
1992 Thomas J. McIntyre, American senator and writer (Fear Brokers), dies at 77
1993 Harry Bellaver, American actor (Another World; Naked City), dies at 88
1993 Lou van Rees, Dutch jazz and pop music impresario, dies at 77
1993 Roy London, American actor and director (Tiger Warsaw), dies of lymphoma at 50
1994 Henriette Santer, Dutch-English clinical psychologist, dies at 62
1994 Leonid Leonov, Russian writer and playwright (Russky Lesson), dies at 95
1994 Robin Cavendish, English campaigner for the disabled, dies at 64
1995 David Begelman, American film producer (Columbia Pictures embezzlement scandal), dies at 73
1996 Åke Hermanson, Swedish composer, dies at 73
1996 Didi Duprat, French guitarist, dies at 69
1996 George Samways, English children's writer (Greyfriars), dies at 101
1996 Herbert Huncke, American writer and poet, dies at 80
1996 Julian Stryjkowski, Polish journalist and writer known for his radical leftist leanings, dies at 91
1996 Nevill Francis Mott, British physicist (1977 Nobel Prize for Physics for work on amorphous semiconductors), dies at 90
1997 Duncan Swift, English jazz pianist, dies at 74
1998 Mahmoud Saremi, Iranian journalist, killed by the Taliban at about 30
2003 Jack Noreiga, West Indian cricketer (9-95 WI v India 1971), dies at 67
2003 Maki Ishii, Japanese composer, dies at 66
2004 Dimitris Papamichael, Greek actor (b. 1934)

Fay Wray (1907-2004)

Canadian American actress (King Kong), dies at 96

2005 Ahmed Deedat, Islamic scholar (b. 1918)
2005 Barbara Bel Geddes, American actress (Vertigo, Dallas, Caught), dies at 82
2005 Gene Mauch, American baseball player (b. 1925)
2005 Ilse Werner [Ilse Charlotte Still], Dutch-German actress (Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow), dies at 84
2005 John H. Johnson, African-American publisher Negro Digest, Ebony, Jet), dies at 87
2005 Monica Sjöö, Swedish artist (b. 1938)
2006 Irving "Duke" Jordan, American jazz pianist (Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Sonny Stitt), dies at 84
2006 Michael Hurd, British composer and musicologist known for his choral music (Jonah-Man Jazz), dies at 77
2007 Joybubbles [Josef Carl Engressia Jr.], American notable phone phreak, dies at 58
2007 Ma Lik, Chinese politician (b. 1952)
2007 Melville Shavelson, American film director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1917)
2008 Frank Cornish, American NFL center/guard, 1990-95 (San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, and 3 other teams), dies of heart disease at 40
2008 Joseph Gelineau, French Catholic Jesuit priest and composer, dies at 87
2008 Orville Moody, American golfer (US Open 1969), dies of multiple myeloma at 74
2009 Daniel Jarque, Spanish football player, dies of a heart attack at 26
2010 Jack Parnell, British jazz drummer, and orchestra leader (The Benny Hill Show; The Englebert Humperdick Show; Barbra Streisand and Other Musical Instruments), dies of cancer at 87

Patricia Neal (1926-2010)

American actress (Hud, Subject Was Roses) and wife of Roald Dahl, dies at 84

2013 Karen Black, American actress (5 Easy Pieces; Pyx), dies from ampullary cancer at 74
2013 Regina Resnik, American operatic singer, dies at 90
2014 Charles Keating, English actor, dies from lung cancer at 72
2014 Peter Sculthorpe, Australian composer (Kakadu), dies at 85
2016 Doris Bohrer [Sharrar], American WWII spy, dies at 93
2016 Edward Daly, Irish Bishop "Bloody Sunday" priest, dies at 82
2017 Barbara Cook, American stage singer and actress (The Music Man), dies at 89

American Grammy Award-winning country-pop singer ("By The Time I Get to Phoenix"; "Wichita Lineman"; "Rhinestone Cowboy"), session guitarist (The Beach Boys; Elvis Presley; The Monkees; Phil Specter), television personality (The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour), and actor (True Grit), dies at 81

2020 Gabriel Ochoa Uribe, Colombian soccer manager (record 14 x league titles; Millonarios [6], Santa Fe [1], América de Cali [7]; Columbia), dies at 90
2021 Bobby Bowden, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (Florida State 1976-2009; National C'ship 1993, 99), dies of pancreatic cancer at 91
2021 Cesare Salvadori, Italian fencer (Olympic gold sabre team 1972; silver 1964, 68), dies at 79
2021 Ken Clark, Canadian football punter (CFL All Star 1977, 80, 82, 85; Hamilton Tiger-Cats; Saskatchewan Roughriders; Ottawa Rough Riders; NFL: LA Rams), dies at 73
2022 Lamont Dozier, American songwriter and producer (Holland–Dozier–Holland - "Heat Wave"; "Where Did Our Love Go"; "You Keep Me Hanging On"), dies at 81 [1] [2]

Olivia Newton-John (1948-2022)

British-Australian Grammy Award-winning pop singer ("Hopelessly Devoted to You"; "Physical"), and actress (Grease), dies of breast cancer at 73 [1]

2023 Federico Bahamontes, Spanish road cyclist (Tour de France 1959; first to win mountain classification in all 3 Grand Tours), dies at 95
2023 [Sixto] Rodríguez, American singer-songwriter and guitarist ("Sugar Man"), dies at 81

August 8 Highlights