Famous Deaths on December 20

1768 Carlo Innocenzo Fragoni, Italian poet, dies at 76
1783 Antonio Soler, Spanish Catalan composer (Fandango), dies at 54
1786 Hannah Ocuish, at 12 is hanged for murder in New London Connecticut; the youngest ever executed in US
1793 Joseph Legros, French singer and composer who was the most prominent haute-contres (operatic tenor) of his generation, dies at 54
1798 Cornelis Ploos van Amstel, Dutch engraver and art collector, dies at 72
1799 David Traugott Nicolai, German composer, dies at 66

Sacagawea (c. 1788-1812)

Shoshone interpreter for the Lewis and Clark expedition, dies at 24

1815 Giovanni Meli, Sicilian poet (Buccolica), dies at 75
1819 Louis-Luc Loiseau de Persuis, French composer, dies at 50
1821 Gian Francesco Fortunati, Italian opera composer and maestro di cappella of Parma, dies at 75
1856 Francesco Bentivegna, Italian revolutionary (b. 1820)
1862 Robert Knox Scottish surgeon, anatomist and zoologist
1875 Michail P Pogodin, Russian historian/writer (Povesti), dies at 75
1903 Gavriil Musicescu, Romanian composer of choral music, conductor, and musicologist, dies at 56
1909 Benjamin Ipavec, Slovene composer (Tičnik), dies at 79
1916 Manuel Giro, Spanish composer, dies at 68
1916 William Wallace Gilchrist, American composer, dies at 70
1917 Lucien Petit-Breton, French road cyclist (Tour de France 1907-8), dies in a road accident at 35
1921 Hans Hartwig von Beseler, German Colonel General, dies at 71
1921 Julius Richard Petri, German microbiologist generally credited with inventing the device known as the Petri dish, dies at 69
1929 Emile Loubet, French premier (1892)/president (1899-1906), dies at 90
1935 Martin O'Meara, Australian WWI soldier and Victoria Cross honoree, dies at 50
1936 Baron De Borchgrave, Belgian ambassador, murdered in Madrid

Erich Ludendorff (1865-1937)

German general during World War I, dies of liver cancer at 72

1938 Annie Armstrong, American missionary leader, dies at 88
1939 Hans Langsdorff, German Kriegsmarine (navy) captain commits suicide after scuttling his ship, the 'Admiral Graf Spee,' due to damage from the Battle of the River Plat (near Argentina)
1941 Igor Severyanin, Russian poet (b. 1887)
1942 Dan Ahearn, Irish-American athlete (men's triple jump WR 15.52m 1911-24), dies at 54
1942 Jean Gilbert [Max Winterfeld], German composer, dies at 63
1944 Abbas Hilmi II, viceroy of Egypt (1892-1914), dies at 70
1945 Charles Eady, cricketer (Tasmanian player for Aust 1896-1901), dies
1948 C Aubrey Smith [Charles], British actor (The Prisoner of Zenda), dies at 85
1948 Ladha Ramji, cricketer (bro of Amar Singh, Test Ind 1933-34), dies
1953 Henry Horatio Dixon, Irish Biologist who originated the cohesion-tension theory of water and mineral movement in plants, dies at 84
1954 Emilis Melngailis, Latvian choral composer, folklorist, and conductor (Latvian Song and Dance Festival), dies at 80
1954 James Hilton, English novelist and screenwriter (Goodbye Mr Chips, Lost Horizon), dies at 54
1956 Ramon Carrillo, Argentine neuroscientist and Public Health minister (b. 1906)
1957 Walter Page, American jazz double bassist, baritone saxophonist, tuba player, and bandleader (Blue Devils; Count Basie Orchestra), dies at 57
1961 Earle Page, eleventh Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1880)
1961 Luis Abraham Delgadillo, Nicaraguan composer, conductor, and educator, dies at 75

Moss Hart (1904-1961)

American playwright (You Can't Take it With You, Act 1), dies of a heart attack at 57

1962 Erik William Gustav Leidzen, Swedish American composer, dies at 68
1963 Paul Constantinescu, Romanian composer (Ballad of the Outlaw for cello and orchestra), and pedagogue, dies at 54
1965 Egon Freiherr von Eickstedt, German anthropologist (classified human into races), dies at 73
1966 Lloyd Spooner, American sports shooter (4 x Olympic gold, 1 x silver, 2 x bronze 1920), dies at 82

John Steinbeck (1902-1968)

American author (Grapes of Wrath, Nobel Prize 1940, 1962), dies at 66

1968 Max Brod, Czech-born Israeli composer, writer and biographer of Kafka, dies at 84
1971 Roy O. Disney, American businessman and co-founder of the Walt Disney Company with brother Walt, dies of cerebral hemorrhage at 78
1972 Gabby Hartnett, American Baseball Hall of Fame catcher (MLB All Star 1933–38; NL MVP 1935; Chicago Cubs) and manager (Chicago Cubs), dies of cirrhosis on his 72nd birthday
1973 Bobby Darin [Walden Robert Cassotto], American singer ("Mack the Knife"; "Splish-Splash"; "Beyond the Sea"), and actor, dies of a heart attack at 37
1973 Luis Carrero Blanco, Prime Minister of Spain (1973), assassinated by ETA
1974 André Jolivet, French composer (Jeune France, Mana), dies at 69
1975 William Lundigan, American actor (Climax, Pinky, They Asked for It), dies of lung and heart congestion at 61
1976 Richard J Daley, American politician (38th Mayor-Chicago-D:1955-76), dies of a heart attack at 74
1976 Walter Fitzgerald, actor (Adv of Sadie, Fallen Idol), dies at 80
1981 Dimitris Rontiris, Greek actor and director (b. 1899)
1982 Artur Rubinstein, Polish-American concert pianist, dies in Geneva at 95
1982 Milan Ristić, Serbian composer, dies at 76
1983 John Vivyan, American actor (Mr Lucky, Wrong Man, Imitation of Life), dies at 68
1986 Joe DeSa, American baseball player (b. 1959)
1988 Alphonse Ouimet, Canadian television pioneer and president of the CBC, dies at 80

Max Robinson (1939-1988)

1st African American network TV anchor (ABC), dies of AIDS at 49

1989 Audrey Christie, American actress (Splendor in the Grass, Fair Exchange), dies at 77
1989 Kurt Böhme, German bass, dies at 81
1990 (William) Elmo Tanner, American big band singer, whistler (Ted Weems Orchestra - "Heartaches"), bandleader, and DJ, dies at 86
1991 Albert Van Vlierberghe, Belgian cyclist (b. 1942)
1991 Andries Dirj Copier, Dutch glass designer (the Guild glass), dies at 90
1991 Fop I Brouwer, Dutch biologist, radio presenter, and writer (Everything That Lives and Grows), dies at 79
1991 Helene Heigh, American actress (Undercover Woman; Teen Age Thunder; 9 to 5), dies at 86
1991 Sam Rabin [Rabinowitz], British sculptor, artist, actor and freestyle wrestler (Olympic bronze middleweight 1928), dies at 88
1991 Simone Beck, French chef, teacher, and cookbook author (with Julia Child - Mastering the Art of French Cooking), dies at 87
1991 Stephen Birnbaum, American tourism writer, dies at 54
1991 Walter Chiari [Annicchiarico], Italian actor (Bellissima; The Little Hut), dies of a heart attack at 67
1992 Peter Brocco, American actor blacklisted in the 1950's (Spartacus: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest), dies of a heart attack at 89
1993 W Edwards Deming, US economist (helped Japan after WW II), dies at 93
1994 Dean Rusk, US Secretary of State (1961-69), dies at 85
1994 J C "Jody" Bateman, fiddler, dies at 75
1995 Adone Zecchi, Italian composer and conductor (Corale Euridice; Orchestra Bolognese de Camera), dies at 91
1995 John Henry Jacques, English co-operative retailer, and politician, dies at 90
1995 Madge Sinclair (née Walters), Jamaican-American actress (Conrack; Roots - "Bell"; Trapper John, M.D. - "Ernestine"; The Lion King), dies of leukemia at 55
1996 Amata Kabua, President of Marshall Islands (1979-96), dies

Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

American scientist, astronomer and author (Broca's Brain, Cosmos, Contact) known for his research on extraterrestrial life, dies of pneumonia after suffering from myelodysplasia at 62

1996 Roger Peacock, English writer (Thursday is missing, dies at 76
1997 Dawn Steel, American filmmaker, 1st woman to head Hollywood studio, dies of cancer at 51
1997 Denise Levertov, American poet and essayist (Joy Beneath the Skin), dies at 74
1997 Dick Spooner, English cricket wicket-keeper (7 Tests; 12 dismissals), dies at 77
1997 Vincent Ciccone, inventor (Blow-Pops candy), dies at 81
1998 Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, British biophysicist (Nobel 1963), dies at 84
1998 Chester P. Lyons, Canadian naturalist and author (b. 1915)
1998 Irene Hervey, American actress (b. 1910)
1999 Riccardo Freda, Italian film director and screenwriter (Theodora, Slave Empress), dies at 90
1999 [Clarence] Hank Snow, Canadian country singer ("I'm Moving On"; "I Went To Your Wedding"), dies of heart failure at 85
2000 Adrian Henri, British poet and founder of poetry-rock group (Liverpool Scene), dies at 68
2000 Mirza Ghulam Hafiz, Bangladesh statesman, politician, and philanthropist (b. 1920)
2001 Foster Brooks, American comedian and actor (The Villain, Oddballs, Mork & Mindy), dies of natural causes at 89

Léopold Sédar Senghor (1906-2001)

Senegalese poet and 1st President of Senegal (1960-80), dies at 95

2004 (Frank) "Son" Seals, American blues musician ("Nothing But the Truth"), dies from diabetes complications at 62
2005 Maniam Moorthy, Malaysian climber
2006 Shi Yuejun, Chinese serial killer
2007 Nataline Sarkisyan, American leukemia patient dies after Cigna HealthCare denied coverage for a medically recommended liver transplant at 17
2007 Tommy Byrne, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1950; World Series 1949, 56; NY Yankees), dies at 87
2008 Dorothy Sarnoff, American operatic soprano, Broadway actress (Rosalinda), author and pioneer of the self-help movement (Speech Can Change Your Life, Speech Dynamics), dies at 94
2009 (Amada) "Amy" Santos Ocampo, Filipina pianist and composer, dies at 84
2009 Arnold Stang, American comedian and actor (Broadside, Milton Berle, Top Cat), dies at 91
2009 Brittany Murphy, American actress (Drop Dead Gorgeous), dies at 32
2009 James Gurley, American rock lead guitarist (Big Brother and the Holding Company), dies of a heart attack at 69
2009 Mairoon Ali, Trinidadian comedienne and actress (b. 1954)
2010 Brian Hanrahan, British journalist (b. 1949)
2010 James R. Mann, American attorney and politician (b. 1920)
2010 Jean-Louis Martinet, French composer, dies at 98
2010 Steve Landesberg, American comedian and actor (Barney Miller - "Dietrich"), from colon cancer on at 74
2011 (Thomas) "Sean" Bonniwell, American rock guitarist and singer-songwriter (The Music Machine - "Talk, Talk"), dies of lung cancer at 71
2012 Eagle Keys, American Canadian Football Hall of Fame linebacker and coach (Grey Cup champion 1949, 54-56, 66; Edmonton Eskimos, Saskatchewan R'riders), dies at 89
2012 Jimmy McCracklin, American pianist, dies from diabetes and hypertension at 91
2014 Hubert Booi, Bonairian-Aruban poet (Golgotha, Muchila), dies at 95
2014 John Freeman, British politician (Labour), ambassador, TV host and executive (London Weekend Television, dies at 99
2015 Patricia Elliott, American actress (Renee-Empire, One Life to Live), dies at 77
2016 Michèle Morgan, French actress (Passage to Marseille), dies at 96
2017 Bernard Francis Law, Disgraced American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church (1982-2002), dies at 86
2018 Donald Moffat, British actor (Logan's Run), dies at 87
2019 Eduard Krieger, Austrian soccer defensive midfielder (25 caps; Austria Wien, Club Brugge K.V., LASK Linz), dies at 73
2019 Frank Foster, English rugby league lock (1 Test GB; Workington Town, Hull Kingston Rovers, Bradford Northern) and coach (Barrow, Whitehaven), dies at 79
2019 Junior Johnson, American auto racer and team owner (Daytona 500 1960; NASCAR Hall of Fame), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 88
2019 Roland Matthes, German swimmer (Olympic gold 100, 200m backstroke 1968, 72; WR x 19), dies at 69
2019 Yuri Pshenichnikov, Soviet soccer goalkeeper and coach (19 caps; FC Pakhtakor Tashkent, CSKA Moscow), dies at 79
2020 Chad Stuart [David Stuart Chadwick], English pop-rock vocalist and guitarist (Chad & Jeremy), songwriter, and producer, dies of pneumonia at 79
2020 Dietrich Weise, German soccer forward (Eintracht Frankfurt, FSV Mainz) and manager (FC Kaiserslautern, E Frankfurt, F Düsseldorf, Egypt, Liechtenstein), dies at 86
2020 Fanny Waterman, English concert pianist & teacher (Leeds International Piano Competition), dies at 100 [1]
2021 Kimera Bartee, American MLB outfielder.1996-2001 (Detroit Tigers, and 2 other teams), and coach, 2017-21 (Pittsburgh Pirates, and 2 other teams), dies of an undiagnosed brain tumor at 49
2022 Denny Doyle, American MLB baseball second baseman, 1970-77 (Philadelphia Phillies, and 1 other team), dies at 78
2022 Franco Harris, American Pro Football HOF running back (Super Bowl 1974 [MVP], 75, 78, 79; 9 x Pro Bowl; First-team All-Pro 1977; Pittsburgh Steelers), dies at 72 [1]