Emil Jannings
Jan 2 Emil Jannings, German actor (Faust, The Blue Angel, The Way of All Flesh), dies of liver cancer at 65
- Jan 2 James Dooley, Irish-Australian Premier of New South Wales, dies at 72
- Jan 6 Isaiah Bowman, geographer/co-founder (Geographical Review), dies at 71
- Jan 8 George Rowe, cricketer (15 wckts in 4 Tests for S Af 1895-1902), dies
- Jan 8 Joseph A Schumpeter, Aus/US economist/Minister of Finance, dies at 66
- Jan 8 Joseph Issac Shneerson, Jewish Lubavitch Chabal leader, dies
- Jan 11 Karin Michaelis, writer, dies at 77
- Jan 12 Koos van de Griend, Dutch composer, dies at 44
- Jan 15 Henry "Hap" Arnold, American commanding general, US Army Air Force (WWII), dies at 63
- Jan 18 Horace Rice, Australian tennis player (Australasian C'ship 1907), dies at 77
George Orwell
Jan 21 George Orwell, British author (Animal Farm, Nineteen Eighty-Four), 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 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 1934 - introduction of a raw-liver diet in the treatment of pernicious anemia), dies at 64
- 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 & 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, Austrian man, only record human to 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 5 Roman Shukhevych, Ukrainian nationalist and military leader, dies at 42
- 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 15 Ralph Greenleaf, American pocket billiards player (20-time world champion), dies from acute internal haemorrhage at 50
- Mar 17 Adolf Meyer, American psychiatrist and neurologist (pioneered mental hygiene), dies at 83
- Mar 19 Edgar Rice Burroughs, American author (Tarzan of the Apes), dies at 74
- Mar 19 Sir Walter Norman Haworth, British chemist (Nobel Prize, 1937), dies of a heart attack on his 67th birthday [1]
- Mar 20 Walter Eucken, German economist, dies at 59
- Mar 23 Douglas Carr, England cricket spin bowler (1 Test, 7 wickets; Kent CCC), dies at 78
- Mar 24 James Rudolph Garfield, American politician, dies at 84
- Mar 24 Harold Laski, English economist and Labour Party leader (1945-46), dies at 56
- 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 Weill, German-American composer (Die Dreigroschenoper - The Threepenny Opera), dies after a heart attack 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 Hamilton Houston, American lawyer & architect of NAACP legal campaign, dies at 54
- Apr 26 G. Murray Hulbert, American politician, dies at 68
- Apr 27 Adam Tadeusz Wieniawski, Polish composer, dies at 70
- Apr 27 Karl Straube, German organist & conductor, dies at 77
- Apr 27 Hobart Cavanaugh, American actor (Border Town, Black Angel), dies at 63
- May 6 Agnes Smedley, writer, dies
- May 7 Bertha "Chippie" Hill, American blues and vaudeville singer (King Oliver's Jazz Band), struck and killed by a car in New York City at 45
- 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, dies at 66
- 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 at 77
- 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, English cricket medium pace bowler (3 Tests, 15 wickets; Nottinghamshire), dies at 57
- Jun 9 Edward Asahel Birge, American pioneer in limnology, dies at 98
- Jun 17 Syed Wazir Ali, Indian cricket batsman (7 Tests; Southern Punjab; Muslims), dies from appendicitis at 46
- 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 Tribune building), dies at 76
- Jul 1 Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Swiss musician and educator (Dalcroze erythmics), dies at 84
- Jul 4 William C. Fownes Jr, American golfer and administrator (US Amateur C'ship 1910; President US Golf Ass'n 1926-27), dies at 72
- 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 6 Harold Weekes, American College Football Hall of Fame halfback (Columbia University; All American 1901), dies at 70
- 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 figure (The Nation), dies at 64
- Jul 21 Albert Riemenschneider, American pianist, educator, musicologist, and founder of America'a oldest Bach Festival, dies at 71
Mackenzie King
Jul 22 Mackenzie King, 10th Prime Minister of Canada (1921-30, and 1935-48), dies of pneumonia at 75
- 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 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 and electrical engineer (Giorgi system of measurement), dies at 78
- 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 26 Ransom Eli Olds, American auto (Oldsmobile) & truck (REO) manufacturer, dies at 86
- Aug 27 Cesare Pavese, Italian writer (Fuoco Grande), dies at 41
- Aug 30 Ralph Hancock, Welsh garden designer (Rockefeller Center), dies at 57
- 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 11 Rudolf Palm, Curaçaoan pianist and composer, dies at 70
- Sep 13 Sara Allgood, Irish-American actress (Blackmail, How Green Was My Valley), dies of a heart attack at 70
- 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 collegiate basketball, football, and baseball coach, 1918-50 (University of Southern California, 1929-50), dies of a heart attack at 57
- 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, Canadian ice hockey goaltender (first NHL goaltender to record 20 shutouts in one season; Montreal Canadiens), dies in a car accident at 55
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 HOF pitcher (World Series 1926 Chicago Cubs; Triple Crown 1915, 16, 20; 6 × NL wins & strikeout leader; Philadelphia Phillies), dies at 63
- 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 V. Jensen, Danish novelist and poet (The Fall of the King; Nobel Prize for Literature, 1944), dies at 77
- Nov 25 Gustaf John Ramstedt, Finland-Swedish linguist and diplomat, dies at 77
- Nov 26 Hedwig Courts-Mahler, German author, dies at 83
James Braid
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 Constantin "Dinu" Lipatti, Romanian classical pianist and composer, dies of Hodgkins disease complications 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
Sardar Patel
Dec 15 Vallabhbhai Patel, Indian freedom fighter and statesman, dies at 75
- Dec 16 Otto Vrieslander, German composer and musicologist, dies at 70
- Dec 22 Julius Weismann, German pianist, conductor, and composer (Schwanenweiß), dies at 70
- Dec 22 Walter Damrosch, German-American conductor (New York Symphony, 1885-1928; commissioned Gershwin's Piano Concerto), and composer (The Man Without A Country), 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, Dutch composer and lawyer, 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 (The Jungle Book), dies at 83
- Dec 31 Karl Renner, Austrian President (1918-20, 45-50), dies at 80