160 Famous and Celebrity Deaths in 1950

Emil Jannings

Jan 2 Emil Jannings, German actor (Faust, The Blue Angel, The Way of All Flesh), dies of liver cancer at 65

George Orwell

Jan 21 George Orwell, British author (Animal Farm, 1984), dies in London at 46

Jan 22 Alan Hale Sr., American actor (Little John-The Adventures of Robin Hood), dies of a liver ailment and viral infection at 57
Jan 22 Corinne Luchaire, French actress (b. 1921)
Jan 24 Bull Montana [Luigi Montagna], Italian actor (Brass Buttons, Victory, The Son of the Sheik), dies from coronary thrombosis at 62
Jan 26 Betsy van den Arend, Dutch [Betje], actress (Miss Hobbs), dies at 78

Jan 28 Nikolai Luzin, Russian mathematician, dies at 66
Jan 29 Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1885)
Feb 2 Constantin Carathéodory, Greek mathematician (b. 1873)
Feb 2 George A. Birmingham, Irish clergyman and novelist, dies at 84
Feb 3 Karl Seitz, President of Austria (1920), dies at 80
Feb 6 Georges Imbert, Alsatian chemist (b. 1884)
Feb 6 Frank Speck, American Anthropologist (Algonquin Tribes and Eastern Woodland Native Americans) dies at 68
Feb 10 Armen Tigran Tigranyan, Armenian music composer and conductor, dies at 70
Feb 10 Marcel Mauss, French sociologist (b. 1872)
Feb 13 Rafael Sabatini, Italian-British writer (The Sea Hawk), dies at 74
Feb 14 Eduard Hermann, German linguist (Homer), dies at 80
Feb 14 Karl G Jansky, Czech discoverer of cosmic radio sources, dies at 44
Feb 16 David Denton, cricketer (England batsman in 11 Tests 1905-10), dies
Feb 18 Voranc Prezikov, [Lovro Kuhar], Slavic author (Jamnica), dies at 56
Feb 19 Edyth Walker, American opera singer, dies at 82
Feb 20 Sarat Chandra Bose, Indian activist for independence, dies at 60
Feb 25 George Minot, American physician, Nobel laureate (b. 1885)
Feb 26 Harry Lauder, Scottish comedian and singer (Roamin' in the Gloamin), dies at about 75
Feb 27 Ivan Goll, French-German writer (the Landless John), dies at 58
Mar 1 Alfred Korzybski, Polish-American scientist and philosopher, dies at 70
Mar 2 M Joseph V d'Arbaud, French poet/author (Li cant palustre), dies at 76
Mar 2 Rosli Dhobi, pro-Indonesian Malay student, hanged in Kuching for the assassination of Duncan Stewart, British Governor of Sarawak
Mar 4 Adam Rainer, the only man in recorded human history ever to have been both a dwarf and a giant (b. 1899)
Mar 5 Edgar Lee Masters, American poet and novelist (Spoon River Anthology), dies at 81
Mar 6 Lew Lehr, American comedian (Stop Me if I heard this One), dies at 54

Mar 6 Albert Lebrun, President of France (1932-40), dies at 78
Mar 8 Jaroslav Kocian, composer, dies at 67
Mar 10 Marguerite De La Motte, American actress (b. 1902)
Mar 11 Florence Arliss, British actress (Disraeli), dies at 78
Mar 12 L Heinrich Mann, German/American writer (Between the Races), dies at 78
Mar 17 Adolf Meyer, American psychiatrist and neurologist (pioneered mental hygiene), dies at 83
Mar 19 Edgar Rice Burroughs, sci-fi author (Tarzan of the Apes), dies at 74
Mar 20 Walter Eucken, German economist, dies at 59
Mar 23 Douglas Carr, England cricket leg-spinner (Test 1909), dies
Mar 24 James Rudolph Garfield, American politician, dies at 84
Mar 25 Frank Buck, American actor (Africa Screams, Tiger Queen, Tiger Fangs), dies at 62
Mar 28 Georgine M "May" Basting, actress (Occupier), dies at 67
Mar 30 Léon Blum, Prime Minister of France (People's Front Government), dies at 77

Charles R. Drew

Apr 1 Charles R. Drew, American physician and surgeon who pioneered blood plasma research and developed the blood bank concept, dies in a car crash at 45

Apr 3 Adolf Wiklund, Swedish composer, dies at 70
Apr 3 Carter G. Woodson, American historian (African American studies), dies at 74
Apr 3 Kurt Julian Weill, German composer (Dreigroschenoper), dies at 50
Apr 7 Walter Huston, Canadian actor (Maltese Falcon, Treasure of Sierra Madre), dies from an aneurysm at 67
Apr 8 Albert Ehrenstein, Austria writer (Strum), dies at 63
Apr 8 Vaslav Fromich Nijinsky, Ukrainian ballet dancer, dies in London
Apr 14 Sri Ramana Maharshi, Indian philosopher (b. 1879)
Apr 19 Lord Berners [Gerald Tyrwhitt], English composer (1st Childhood), dies at 66
Apr 22 Charles H Houston, architect of NAACP legal campaign, dies at 54
Apr 26 G. Murray Hulbert, American politician (b. 1881)
Apr 27 Adam Tadeusz Wieniawski, composer, dies at 70
Apr 27 Karl Straube, German organist/conductor, dies
Apr 27 Hobart Cavanaugh, American actor (Border Town, Black Angel), dies at 63
May 6 Agnes Smedley, writer, dies
May 8 Franklin Dyall, British actor (Easy Virtue, Atlantic), dies at 80
May 8 Vital Brazil, Brazilian physician (b. 1865)

May 9 Esteban Terradas i Illa, Catalan mathematician, scientist, and engineer (b. 1883)
May 10 John G Fletcher, American poet (Burning Mountain), dies
May 10 Belle da Costa Greene, American librarian, bibliographer and archivist, dies at 66
May 17 Eduardo Fabini, composer, dies at 67
May 24 Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, British general, dies at 67
May 26 Antonina Neshdanova, Russian soprano (Bolshoi Theater), dies
May 28 Vicente Sotto, Filipino politician and author (Sotto Law, Republic Act No. 53), dies at 73
Jun 2 Stanislas Bizot, French draughts champion (1925), dies at 70
Jun 4 Sam Staples, cricket pace bowler (3 Tests 1927-28), dies
Jun 9 Edward Asahel Birge, American pioneer in limnology, dies at 98
Jun 17 Syed Wazir Ali, cricketer (7 Tests for India), dies
Jun 20 Claude Jennings, cricketer (Aust opening bat in 1912 Triangular), dies
Jun 22 Julio Fonseca, Costa Rican composer, dies at 65
Jun 27 Milada Horakova, Czech advocate/anti fascist, hanged
Jun 28 Henry Balfour Gardiner, English composer and musician, dies at 72
Jul 1 Eliel Saarinen, Finish-American architect (Chicago Trib building), dies at 76
Jul 1 Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, Swiss musician (b. 1865)
Jul 5 Private Kenneth Shadrick becomes the first identified American soldier killed in the Korean War
Jul 5 Salvatore Giuliano, Sicilian bandit, shot by police
Jul 6 Theodore "Fats" Navarro, American jazz trumpet player, dies from poor health following long-term heroin addiction, tuberculosis, and a weight problem, at 26
Jul 8 Othmar Spann, Austrian economist and sociologist (Wahre State), dies at 71
Jul 11 Timotei Popovici, composer, dies at 79
Jul 12 Elsie de Wolfe, American socialite and interior decorator (b. 1865)
Jul 14 Āpirana Ngata, Māori New Zealand politician and lawyer known for promoting and protecting Māori culture and language, dies at 76
Jul 17 Evangeline Booth, the 4th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1865)
Jul 18 Carl Clinton Van Doren, US literary (The Nation), dies at 64
Jul 21 Albert Riemenschneider, American musician and composer, dies at 71

Mackenzie King

Jul 22 Mackenzie King, 10th Prime Minister of Canada (1921-30, and 1935-48), dies of pneumonia at 75

Jul 29 Joe Fry, British racing driver, dies at 34
Aug 5 Emil Abderhalden, Swiss physiologist and biochemist, dies at 73
Aug 8 Ernest Douwes Dekker, Indo-Dutch nationalist and founder of National-India Party, dies at 70
Aug 8 Nicolai Yakovlevich Miaskovsky, composer, dies at 69
Aug 8 Fergus McMaster, Australian businessman and aviation pioneer (Qantas), dies at 71
Aug 8 Nikolai Myaskovsky, Russian composer (Kirov is With Us), dies at 69
Aug 18 Julien Lahaut, chairman Belgian Communist Party, murdered
Aug 19 Giovanni Giorgi, Italian physicist (b. 1871)
Aug 22 Kirk Bryan, American geologist (b. 1888)
Aug 24 Ernst Wiechert, writer, dies at 63
Aug 25 Earl Caddock, professional wrestler (b. 1888)
Aug 27 Cesare Pavese, Italian writer (Fuoco Grande), dies at 41

Sep 6 Olaf Stapledon, British writer and philosopher (b. 1886)
Sep 11 John C Smuts, co-found British RAF/South African PM (1919..48), dies at 80
Sep 11 S M H Colah, cricketer (69 runs in India's 1st 2 tests 1932-33), dies
Sep 13 Sara Allgood, Irish actress (Jane Eyre, Spiral Staircase), dies at 56
Sep 15 Vojtěch Říhovský, Czech composer, dies at 79
Sep 16 Pedro De Cordoba, American actor (Club Havana, Swamp Fire, Saboteur), dies at 68
Sep 21 Edward Arthur Milne, English astrophysicist (kinematic relativity), dies of a heart attack at 54
Sep 23 Sam Barry, American basketball player and coach (b. 1892)
Sep 29 Balthazar Huibrecht Verhagen, Dutch dramatist and writer, dies at 69
Oct 5 Frederic Lewy, German neurologist (b. 1885)

Willis Carrier

Oct 7 Willis Carrier, American engineer (developed modern air conditioning), dies at 73

George Hainsworth

Oct 9 George Hainsworth, National Hockey League goaltender, dies in a car accident at 55

Oct 13 Ernest Haycox, American writer (b. 1899)
Oct 19 Edna St Vincent Millay, American poet/dramatist/feminist (Harp Weaver-Pulitzer Prize), dies at 58
Oct 20 Henry L. Stimson, American statesman (46th United States Secretary of State), dies at 83
Oct 23 Al Jolson [Asa Yoelson], American-Lithuanian jazz singer and silent actor (Mamie, Swanee), dies at 64
Oct 29 Gustav V, king of Sweden, dies at 92
Oct 31 Carel T Scharten, Dutch poet and writer (Lost Paradise), dies at 72
Oct 31 Jozef C Bittremieux, Flemish theologist, dies at 72

George Bernard Shaw

Nov 2 George Bernard Shaw, Irish dramatist (Pygmalion, Nobel Prize for Literature 1925), dies at 94

Nov 4 Grover Cleveland Alexander, American baseball player (b. 1887)
Nov 16 "Dr. Bob" Smith, American physician and co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, dies of colon cancer at 71
Nov 18 Gerardus van de Lion, Dutch minister of Education, dies at 60
Nov 19 Thomas Wood, English composer, dies at 57
Nov 20 Francesco Cilea, Italian composer ( Adriana Lecouvreur), dies at 84
Nov 25 Johannes Vilhelm Jensen, Danish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1873)
Nov 25 Gustaf John Ramstedt, Finland-Swedish linguist and diplomat (b. 1873)
Nov 26 Hedwig Courts-Mahler, German author, dies at 83
Nov 27 James Braid, Scottish golfer, course designer (British Open 1901, 05-06, 08, 10), dies at 80
Dec 1 Ernest John Moeran, British composer, dies at 55
Dec 2 Dino Lipatti, composer, dies at 33
Dec 5 Shri Aurobindo [Aurobindo Ghose], Indian guru and nationalist, dies at 78
Dec 11 Leslie Comrie, New Zealand astronomer and computing pioneer, dies at 57

Peter Fraser

Dec 12 Peter Fraser, British-born New Zealand statesman and 24th Prime Minister of New Zealand (1940-49), dies of a heart attack following hospitalization with influenza at 66

Dec 13 Abraham Wald, Hungarian mathematician (field of statistical sequential analysis), dies at 48
Dec 14 Albrecht Schaeffer, German writer (Heroische Fahrt), dies at 65
Dec 15 Robert Müller-Hartmann, German composer, dies at 66

Sardar Patel

Dec 15 Vallabhbhai Patel, Indian freedom fighter and statesman, dies at 75

Dec 16 Otto Vrieslander, German composer, dies at 70
Dec 22 Julius Weismann, German pianist, conductor, and composer (Schwanenweiß), dies at 70
Dec 22 Walter Johannes Damrosch, German-American composer, dies at 88
Dec 23 Vincenzo Tommasini, Italian composer (Le donne de buon umore), dies at 72
Dec 25 Xavier Villaurrutia, Mexican poet (Nostalgia de la muerte), dies at 47
Dec 25 Neil Francis Hawkins, British fascist (b. 1903)
Dec 26 Emile Enthoven, composer, dies at 47
Dec 26 James Stephens, Irish poet (Crock of Gold), dies at 68
Dec 27 Max Beckmann, German painter and graphic artist, dies at 66
Dec 31 Charles Koechlin, French composer (Jungle Book), dies at 83
Dec 31 Karl Renner, Austrian President (1918-20, 45-50), dies at 80

On This Day

Famous Deaths in 1950