- Jan 3 Joseph Wirth, 5th Chancellor of the Weimar Republic, Germany (Stalin Peace Prize), dies at 76
- Jan 4 Alexandr Tikhonovich Grechaninov, composer, dies at 91
- Jan 5 Mistinguett [Jeanne Florentine Bourgeois], French actress and singer (Moulin Rouge star), dies of cerebral hemorrhage at 80
- Jan 8 Jim Elliot, American Christian missionary, dies at 28
- Jan 9 Paul Malengreau, Belgian organist, composer, and educator (Brussels Conservatory, 1813-53), dies at 71
- Jan 10 Henk Bremmer, Dutch art historian (Beeldende Kunst), dies at 84
- Jan 10 Karl Ludwig Schmidt, German-Swiss theologist (Urchristentum), dies at 64
- Jan 12 John Raedecker, Dutch sculptor (WW II Monument Amsterdam), dies at 70
- Jan 12 Norman Kerry, American actor (Air Eagles, Phantom of the Opera), dies at 61
- Jan 13 Lyonel Feininger, German-American cartoonist and painter, dies at 84
- Jan 14 Siegfried Frederick Nadel, Austrian-British anthropologist (Nuba), dies at 52
- Jan 18 Konstantin Päts, Estonian Prime Minister (1921-23, 1932-33) and dictator (1933-40), dies at 81
- Jan 19 Charles Dingle, American actor (The Little Foxes), dies at 68
- Jan 21 Sam Langford, Canadian boxer (b. 1883)
- Jan 22 P A M Speet, Dutch broadcast CEO (KRO), dies
- Jan 23 Alexander Korda, British movie producer (Henry VIII), dies at 62
- Jan 23 Billy Evans, American Baseball HOF umpire (American League 1906-27; at age 22, youngest umpire in MLB history), dies from a stroke at 71
- Jan 27 Erich Kleiber, Austrian-Argentine conductor (Teatro Colón, 1937-49; NBC Symphony, 1947-48), dies at 65
H. L. Mencken (1880-1956)
Jan 29 American newspaperman and critic (Prejudices, Smart Set), dies at 75
- Jan 30 Gerrit Mannoury, Dutch mathematician and philosopher, dies at 88
- Jan 30 Jane Seymour [Marjorie S Fitz-patrick], Canadian-American actress (Tom, Dick and Harry, Young Mr Bobbin), dies at 62
A. A. Milne (1882-1956)
Jan 31 English author of the Winnie-the-Pooh books, dies at 74
- Feb 2 Charley Grapewin, American actor (The Wizard of Oz, Libeled Lady), dies at 86
- Feb 2 Pyotr Konchalovsky, Russian painter (b. 1876)
- Feb 3 Émile Borel, French mathematician (b. 1871)
- Feb 3 Johnny Claes, Belgian racing driver (b. 1916)
- Feb 4 Leendert Antonie Donker, Dutch Minister of Justice (PvdA), dies at 56
- Feb 4 Peder Gram, Danish composer, dies at 74
- Feb 5 Savielly Tartakower, Austrian/Polish/French chess player, dies at 74
Connie Mack (1862-1956)
Feb 8 American Baseball Hall of Fame catcher, manager and owner (World Series 1910, 11, 13, 29, 30; most managerial wins, losses & games managed in MLB history; Philadelphia A's), dies at 93
- Feb 13 Jan Łukasiewicz, Polish logician, philosopher, professor, and author, dies at 77
- Feb 16 Frank H. Wilson, American actor (Beware, Paradise in Harlem), dies at 69
- Feb 18 Gustave Charpentier, French opera composer (Louise), dies at 95
- Feb 21 Edwin Franko Goldman, American march music composer (founder of American Bandmasters Association), dies at 78
- Feb 22 Paul Léautaud [Maurice Boissard], French writer and theatre critic (Petit ami), dies at 84
- Feb 25 Marij Kogoj, Slovenian composer, dies at 59
- Feb 26 Herman Courtens, Belgian baron and painter, dies at 72
- Feb 27 Frank Dailey, American orchestra leader (Music at Meadowbrook), dies at 54
- Feb 27 Gunther Ramin, German organist and composer, dies at 57
- Feb 28 Emile Buisson, French murderer executed (b. 1902)
Elpidio Quirino (1890-1956)
Feb 29 6th President of the Philippines (1949-53), dies at 65
- Mar 1 Henriette Renié, French harp prodigy, composer, and teacher, dies at 80
- Mar 3 Willem Hendrik Keesom, Dutch physicist (Helium I/II), dies at 79
- Mar 5 Erich Itor Kahn, German composer of Jewish descent, dies at 50
- Mar 9 Amanda Aldridge, British opera singer, pianist, teacher, and composer of parlour songs and light orchestral pieces music, dies at 89
- Mar 11 Sergey Nikiforovich Vasilenko, Russian opera composer, dies at 83
- Mar 16 Joseph John Richards, American composer, dies at 77
Fred Allen (1894-1956)
Mar 17 American comedian (Fred Allen Radio Show), dies of a heart attack at 61
Irene Joliot-Curie (1897-1956)
Mar 17 French chemist and physicist (Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1935) and daughter of Marie Curie, dies of leukemia at 58
- Mar 18 Friedrich Panzer, German germanist (Hilde-Gudrun), dies at 85
- Mar 18 Louis Bromfield, American writer (Early Autumn, Pulitzer-1926), dies at 59
- Mar 20 Wilhelm Miklas, Austrian politician and 3rd President of Austria (1928-38), dies at 83
- Mar 22 George Al Sarton, Belgian-American chemist and historian, dies at 71
- Mar 24 Edmund Taylor Whittaker, British mathematician (applied mathematics and the theory of special functions), physicist and historian of science, dies at 82
- Mar 25 George Luther Foote, American composer, dies at 70
- Mar 25 Robert Newton, British actor (Treasure Island, Henry V, Around the World in 80 Days), dies from a heart attack at 50
- Mar 26 Thomas de Hartmann, Russian composer, dies at 70
- Mar 27 Frans Beelaerts van Blokland, minister of Foreign affairs, dies at 84
- Mar 29 Infante Alfonso of Spain, younger brother of King Juan Carlos, dies from an accidental gunshot at 14
- Mar 31 Ralph DePalma, Italian-American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1915; American AAA National Dirt Track C'ship 1908-11), dies of cancer at 73
- Apr 2 Albert Marie Leon Adolphe de Bassompierre, Belgium ambassador to Tokyo (1921-39), dies at 82
- Apr 2 Chester Clute, American actor ("Arsenic and Old Lace"; "Too Many Girls"; "Niagara Falls"), dies of a heart attack at 65
- Apr 2 Philippo de Pisis, Italian painter, dies at 59
- Apr 10 Bozidar Sirola, composer, dies at 66
- Apr 10 Clarence Beaumont, 1st batter in 1st World Series, dies at 75
- Apr 10 Jozef Szulc, Polish composer, dies at 81
- Apr 15 Emile Nolde [Hansen], German painter (Grablegung Christi), dies at 88
- Apr 19 Ernst Robert Curtius, German literature historian, dies at 70
- Apr 19 Leon Junschlaeger, Dutch sailor, soldier, and head of military intelligence in Dutch Indonesia, dies after a series of strokes while on trial fighting charges of subversion at 52
- Apr 19 Lionel Crabb "Buster", British Royal Navy diver (WWII), disappears presumed dead on a job for M16 at 47
- Apr 20 Jaap Vranken, Dutch organist and composer (Stabat mater), dies at 59
- Apr 20 Lieven Duvosel, Flemish composer (De Leiecyclus - The Lys-cycle), dies at 78
- Apr 21 Charles MacArthur, American playwright and screenwriter (The Scoundrel), dies at 60
- Apr 24 Albrecht G Alt, German theologist (Small Schriften), dies at 72
- Apr 24 Henry Stephenson, British actor (Conquest, Little Old NY, Mr Lucky), dies at 85
- Apr 26 Edward Arnold, American actor (Mr Smith Goes to Washington), dies at 66
- Apr 29 Nemesio Otaño, Spanish organist, choral director, educator, and composer (Basque Suite), dies at 75
- Apr 30 Alben W. Barkley, American politician (US Representative, Senator and 35th VP-D-1949-53), dies at 78
- May 5 Karel Rudolph Gallas, Dutch lexicographer (French Dictionary), dies at 88
- May 7 Josef Hoffmann, Austrian architect (Vienna Secession Movement), dies at 85
- May 10 Clarence E. Mulford, American writer (Hopalong Cassidy), dies at 73
- May 11 Walter Sydney Adams, American astronomer & director of Mount Wilson, dies at 79
- May 12 Hendrik Marchant, Dutch politician (his private member's bill led to women's suffrage), dies at 87
- May 12 Louis Calhern, American actor (Julius Caesar, Blackboard Jungle), dies at 61
- May 12 Vladimír Ambros, Czech composer, dies at 65
- May 13 Aleksandr A. Fadejev, Russian author (Young Guard), commits suicide at 54
- May 14 Robert Willem Pieter Peereboom, Dutch editor in chief (Haarlem Newspaper), dies at 64
- May 15 Austin Osman Spare, English magician (b. 1886)
- May 16 H. B. Reese, American inventor of Reese's, dies at 76
- May 18 Maurice Tate, English cricket all-rounder (39 Tests, 155 wickets, 1 x 100, 5 x 50), dies at 60
- May 20 Andre Eugene Maurice Charlot, actor (Summer Storm), dies
- May 20 Max Beerbohm, English caricaturist, writer and parodist (Saturday Review), dies at 83
- May 24 Guy Kibbee, American actor (Capt Blood, Babes in Arms), dies at 74
- May 26 Al Simmons, American Baseball HOF outfielder (career BA .334; 3 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1929, 30; AL batting champion 1930, 31; Philadelphia A's), dies of a heart attack at 54
- May 29 Albert H. Edelkoort, Dutch theologist (Christusverwachting), dies at 65
- May 29 Hermann Abendroth, German conductor (Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, 1934-45), dies at 73
- Jun 2 Jean Hersholt, Danish actor (Heidi, Greed, Men in White, Aryan), dies form cancer at 69
- Jun 4 Katherine MacDonald, American actress (b. 1881)
- Jun 4 Max Kowalski, German singer, composer, singing teacher, and concentration camp survivor, dies at 73
Hiram Bingham (1875-1956)
Jun 6 American archaeologist who re-discovered the Incan site of Machu Picchu, dies at 80
- Jun 6 Margaret Wycherly, English actress (Claudia), dies at 74
- Jun 7 Julien Benda, Fren philosopher/writer (La trahison des clercs), dies
- Jun 8 Marie Laurencin, French painter, dies at 72
- Jun 11 Corrado Alvaro, Italian writer (Poesie grigio-verdi), dies at 61
- Jun 11 Frank Brangwyn, Welsh painter, muralist and cartoonist (Official War Artist First World War), dies at 89
- Jun 11 Ralph Morgan [Wupperman], American actor (Creeper, Imposter, Jack London), dies at 73
- Jun 13 Reginald Goss-Custard, British organist, arranger and composer (Chelsea Fayre), dies at 79
- Jun 17 Bob Sweikert, American racing driver (b. 1926)
- Jun 17 Paul Rostock, German doctor (b. 1892)
- Jun 19 (Luise) "Lulu" von Strauss und Torney, German poet (Erde der Väter - Our Forefathers' Soil), and novelist (Der jüngste Tag - Judgment Day), dies at 82
Thomas J. Watson (1874-1956)
Jun 19 American businessman (Chairman and CEO of IBM, 1914-56), dies at 87
- Jun 22 Walter de la Mare, British poet and author (The Listeners, Memoirs of a Midget), dies at 83
- Jun 23 Michael Arlen [Dikran Kouyoumdjian], British author and scriptwriter (An American Verdict), dies at 60
- Jun 23 Reinhold Glière, Russian-Soviet composer, dies at 81
- Jun 24 Earl Morris, American archaeologist (Aztec Ruins National Monument), dies at 66
- Jun 25 Ernest J. King, US fleet admiral, Chief of Naval Operations, dies at 77
- Jun 26 Clifford Brown, American jazz trumpeter and composer (Joyspring, Jordu), dies at 25
- Jun 29 Max Emmerich, American athlete and gymnast (Olympic gold, triathlon 1904), dies at 77
- Jul 7 Gottfried Benn, German poet and essayist, dies at 70
- Jul 8 Gerrit Jan van Heuven Goedhart, Dutch politician (1954 Nobel Peace Prize as High Commissioner for Refugees of the UN), dies at 55
- Jul 8 Giovanni Papini, Italian avant-garde writer (Un Uomo Finito), dies at 75
- Jul 10 Joe Giard, American baseball player (b. 1898)
- Jul 12 Maurice Lippens, Belgian governor of Congo (1921-23), dies at 80
- Jul 13 Vladimir Grigor'yevich Zakharov, Soviet-Russian composer, dies at 54
- Jul 14 Jaroslav Řídký, Czech composer, dies at 58
- Jul 16 Brian Norton, South African tennis player (Wimbledon 1921 runner-up), dies at 56
- Jul 17 Jozef de Voght, Flemish priest and songwriter (Under the Snow), dies at 78
- Jul 18 Willem Kernkamp, Dutch minister of Colonies (Islam & Woman), dies at 57
- Jul 20 James Alexander Calder, Canadian politician, dies at 87
- Jul 20 Ken Burn, Australian cricketer (Tasmanian rep on 1890 Ashes tour, 2 Tests), dies at 93
- Jul 26 Miguel Bernal Jiménez, Mexican organist, composer and pedagogue (Tata Vasco; Tres Cartas de México), dies of a heart attack at 46
- Jul 27 Mick Commaille, South African cricketer and soccer rep (12 Tests for South Africa 1910-28), dies at 73
- Jul 29 Ludwig Klages, German philosopher (study of graves), dies at 83
- Jul 30 Maude Royden, English suffragist and preacher, dies at 79
- Aug 2 Albert Woolson, last veteran US Union army, dies at 109
- Aug 5 André Milhoux, Belgian racing driver, dies at 27
- Aug 6 Johan Frans van Bemmelen, Dutch zoologist, dies at 96
Jackson Pollock (1912-1956)
Aug 11 American expressionist painter (Lavender Mist), dies at 44 in a car accident in East Hampton
- Aug 13 Harry Donnan, Australian cricketer (5 Tests for Australia 1891-96), dies at 91
Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956)
Aug 14 German poet and playwright (Mother Courage), dies of a heart attack at 58
Bela Lugosi (1882-1956)
Aug 16 Austrian actor (Dracula, Plan 9 From Outer Space), dies of a heart attack at 73
- Aug 24 Kenji Mizoguchi, Japanese film director (b. 1898)
- Aug 25 Alfred Kinsey, American entomologist and sexologist (Kinsey Report), dies from a heart ailment and pneumonia at 62
- Aug 26 Alfred Wagenknecht, German-born American activist, dies at 75
- Aug 30 Anita Donostia [Jose Antonio de Donostia], Spanish composer, musicologist and priest, dies at 70
- Sep 6 Felix Borowski, British-American composer, educator (Chicago Musical College, 1896-1925), and musicologist (Chicago Symphony, 1908-56), dies at 84
- Sep 6 Michael Ventris, English architect who deciphered Linear B, dies in a car accident at 34
- Sep 7 C. B. Fry, English cricket batsman (26 Tests, 2 x 100s; Sussex, Hampshire), dies at 84
- Sep 8 Fred Rich, Polish-American jazz pianist and dance band leader ("I'm Tickled Pink with a Blue-Eyed Baby"; The Abbott and Costello Show), dies at 58
- Sep 8 Gerrit Bolkestein, Dutch minister of Education (1939-45), dies at 84
- Sep 8 Vital Celen, Flemish writer ('t Pastoorke van Vossendonck), dies at 69
Billy Bishop (1894-1956)
Sep 11 Canadian First World War flying ace with 72 kills, dies at 62
- Sep 12 Hans Carossa, German writer, dies at 77
- Sep 12 Sándor Graf Festetics, Hungarian nobleman and politician, dies at 74
- Sep 15 Henry Clough-Leiter, American composer, dies at 82
- Sep 16 Shorty Ray, American football player and supervisor of NFL officials, dies at 71
- Sep 18 Adélard Godbout, Canadian politician (15th Premier of Quebec), dies at 63
- Sep 20 Theo Frenkel, Dutch actor (Footlights, Hague's Comedy), dies at 85
- Sep 21 Anastasio Somoza García [Tacho], General, dictator and President of Nicaragua (1937-56), assassinated by Roliberto Lopez at 60
- Sep 21 Robert Mills Delaney, American composer, dies at 53
Frederick Soddy (1877-1956)
Sep 22 English radiochemist and Nobel laureate (radioactive substances, isotopes), dies at 79
Babe Didrikson Zaharias (1911-1956)
Sep 27 American all-round athlete (10 LPGA majors, Olympic gold medals 80m hurdles, javelin 1932), dies of colon cancer at 45
- Sep 27 Gerald Finzi, British composer (Dies natalis), dies of disseminated shingles, complicated by encephalitis at 55
- Sep 27 Milburn G. Apt, American test pilot, 1st person to exceed Mach 3, killed in a X-2 rocket plane reaching 3370 kph, dies in the crash at 32
William Boeing (1881-1956)
Sep 28 American aviation pioneer who founded The Boeing Company, dies at 74
- Oct 1 Stan Ockers, Belgian road cyclist (World road champion 1955; Tour de France runner-up 1950, 52), dies in track cycling accident at 36
- Oct 2 George Bancroft, American actor (Texas, Stagecoach, Little Men), dies at 74
- Oct 6 Charles E. Merrill, American investment banker (Merrill Lynch), dies at 70
- Oct 6 Walter Herlihy, announcer (Music at Meadowbrook), dies at 42
Clarence Birdseye (1886-1956)
Oct 7 American inventor and founder of the modern frozen food industry (Birdseye), dies of a heart attack at 69
- Oct 8 Dirk Koster, literary (New Noises), dies at 69
- Oct 9 Marie Doro, American stage and film actress of the early silent film era (The Heart of Nora Flynn, The White Pearl), dies at 74
- Oct 16 Jules Rimet, French football administrator (3rd President of FIFA 1921-54), dies at 83
- Oct 17 Anne Crawford, British film actress (Knights of the Round Table), dies of leukemia at 35
Charles Strite (1878-1956)
Oct 18 American inventor who invented the automatic pop-up toaster, dies at 78
- Oct 18 Harry Parry, Welsh jazz clarinetist and bandleader (BBC's Radio Rhythm Club), dies at 44
- Oct 19 Isham Jones, American saxophonist, bandleader ("Star Dust") and songwriter ("It Had To Be You"; "I'll See You in My Dreams"), dies of cancer at 62
- Oct 24 Henry Nicholas Ridley, British botanist (Malay Peninsula rubber industry), dies at 100
- Oct 25 Risto Ryti, Finnish politician (Prime Minister of Finland 1939-41, President of Finland 1940-44), dies at 67
- Oct 26 Walter Gieseking, French-German pianist, composer, and lepidopterist, dies at 60
Pío Baroja (1872-1956)
Oct 30 Spanish Basque writer, author of over 100 novels (The Struggle for Life, Zalacain the Adventurer), dies at 83
- Nov 1 Lajos Asztalos, Hungarian chess player (International Chess Master 1950), dies at 67
Pietro Badoglio (1871-1956)
Nov 1 41st Prime Minister of Italy (1943-44) and Italian General (1922-43), dies at 85
- Nov 2 Jacob Weinberg, Russian-born Jewish composer, dies at 77
- Nov 2 Leo Baeck, President of World Union for Progressive Judaism, dies at 83
- Nov 5 Art Tatum, American jazz pianist and composer, dies from complications of uremia at 47
- Nov 7 Una Mae Carlisle, American jazz pianist and singer ("Walkin' By The River"), dies of pneumonia at 40
- Nov 9 Aino Kallas, Finnish writer (White Ship, Estonian Tales), dies at 78
Harry Ford Sinclair (1876-1956)
Nov 10 American industrialist who founded Sinclair Oil and implicated in the Teapot Dome scandal, dies at 80
- Nov 10 Victor Young, American violinist, arranger, orchestra leader, and composer ("Street of Dreams"; "Love Letters"; "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You"), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 57
- Nov 19 Francis L Sullivan, British actor (Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, Missing Rembrandt), dies from a lung ailment at 53
- Nov 21 Jean Desmet, Dutch early film distributor and cinema owner dies at 80
- Nov 22 Theodore Kosloff, Russian-born actor, ballet dancer and choreographer, dies at 74
- Nov 22 Vincent de Moro-Giafferi, French criminal attorney, dies at 77
- Nov 23 Jeanne Cappe, Belgian author (Tres Grand Cardinal), dies at about 61