Famous Deaths on December 21

1864 Archduke Louis of Austria, 14th child of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II and Feldmarschal-Leutnant of Austrian Imperial Army, dies at 80
1864 William Henry Fry, American composer (Niagara Symphony), music director (Musical Fund Society), journalist, and music critic, dies of tuberculosis at 51
1872 Ambrose R. Wright, American Civil War General, dies at 46
1873 Francis Garnier, French explorer, dies at 34
1889 Friedrich August Quenstedt, German geologist and paleontologist, dies at 80
1889 J. B. Lightfoot, English theologist and bishop of Durham, dies at 61
1890 Niels Wilhelm Gade, Danish violinist, organist, composer, and conductor, dies at 73
1900 Roger Wolcott, American political figure, 39th Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1847)
1906 Adalbert von Goldschmidt, Austrian composer, dies at 58
1907 Oskar Lassar, German dermatologist (electrophysical therapy, advocated for public bath houses), dies at 58
1914 Arthur Jones, England cricket all-rounder and captain (12 Tests, 3 wickets, 15 catches; Nottinghamshire CCC), dies from tuberculosis at 42
1920 Claude Tozer, cricketer (dashing NSW batsman, shot to death
1921 Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback, American politician and publisher (2nd African American governor - Governor of Louisiana (R) 1872-73), dies at 84
1927 Jack Saunders, cricketer (79 wickets-14 Tests for Aust 1902-08), dies
1928 Harry Butt, English cricket wicket-keeper (3 Tests, 2 dismissals; Sussex CCC, MCC), dies at 62
1928 Luigi Cadorna, Italian fieldmarshal (WW I, Caporetto), dies at 78
1933 Knud J. V. Rasmussen, Danish Pole explorer (Thule), dies at 54
1933 Tod Sloan, American thoroughbred jockey (1,000 Guineas 1899 [Sibola], Ascot Gold Cup 1900 [Merman]; created monkey crouch riding style), dies from cirrhosis at 59
1935 Kurt Tucholsky, German journalist/writer (Die Weltbühne), dies after taking sleeping tablets at 45

Frank Kellogg (1856-1937)

American politician and diplomat (US Secretary of State, 1925-29), tried to outlaw war (Kellogg–Briand Pact: Nobel Peace Prize, 1929), dies at 80

1937 Ted Healy [Ernest Nash], American vaudeville, stage, and screen actor, comedian (Mad Love, San Francisco, Soup to Nuts), and developer of the Three Stooges, dies from complications of alcoholism at 41
1938 Helen Miller Shepard, American philanthropist who established Hall of Fame, dies at 70

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940)

American author (Great Gatsby, Zelda), dies of a heart attack at 44

1940 Hal Kemp, American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger and sweet jazz bandleader, dies as a result of a car accident at 36
1941 Peetie Wheatstraw [William Bunch], American blues singer, songwriter, and piano player, dies on his 39th birthday when the car in which he was a passenger met a freight train

Franz Boas (1858-1942)

German-American anthropologist and linguist (Mind of Primitive Man), dies at 84

1942 Leendert Round, Dutch sculptor (Giraffen, Blijdorp), dies at 63

George S. Patton (1885-1945)

American WWII general (Sicily, Italy and Normandy) known as "Old Blood & Guts", dies of congestive heart failure at 60

1950 Hattie Wyatt Caraway, American politician (1st woman elected to US Senate, Senator for Arkansas 1931-45), dies at 72 [1]
1956 Lewis M Terman, psychologist (Genetic studies of genius), dies at 79
1957 Eric Coates, English viola palyer and composer, dies at 71
1958 H. B. Warner, British actor (Sunset Boulevard, The King of Kings), dies at 83
1958 Lion Feuchtwanger, philosopher/writer (Der falsche Nero), dies at 74
1959 Rosanjin, Japanese calligrapher, restaurateur and ceramicist (b. 1883)
1962 Syd Saylor [Leo Sailor], American silent and sound screen character actor (Arizona Days; The Three Mesquiteers), dies of a heart attack at 67

Jack Hobbs (1882-1963)

English cricket batsman (61 Tests, 5,410 runs @ 56.94, 15 x 100s; leading 1st-class run-scorer [61,760] and century-maker [199]; Surry), dies at 81

1964 Algernon Kingscote, English tennis player (Australasian C'ship 1919), dies at 76
1964 Carl Van Vechten, American writer famous for the controversial novel "Nigger Heaven", dies at 84
1965 Claude Champagne, Canadian composer, dies at 74
1967 Louis Washkansky, 18 days after 1st heart transplant, dies at 55
1967 Stuart "Stu" Erwin, American actor (The Stu Erwin Show), dies of a heart attack at 64
1972 Horace Mann Bond, American educator, administrator (President of Lincoln University (Pa), 1945-57), and historian, dies at 68
1974 James Henry Govier, British artist (b. 1910)
1974 Richard Long, American actor (Prof-Nanny and the Professor), dies at 47
1976 Edward Bartlett, cricketer (WI Test batsman in 5 Tests 1928-31), dies
1978 Roger Caillois, French writer and scholar (Les Jeux et les Hommes, championed South American writers), dies at 65
1979 Mac Anderson, New Zealand cricketer (Test for NZ 1946, scored five & one), dies at 60

Marc Connelly (1890-1980)

American playwright (One Minute Please), dies at 90

1983 Paul de Man, Belgian literary critic, dies at 64
1983 Rod Cameron [Nathan Roderick Cox], Canadian actor (City Detective, State Trooper, Trigger Trail), dies of cancer at 73
1984 Judith Raskin, American soprano (Susanna-Le Nozze di Figaro), dies at 56
1985 Kamatari Fujiwara, Japanese film actor (Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo), dies of a heart attack at 80
1986 Willy Coppens, Belgian WW I fighter ace, dies at 94
1987 John Spence, founding No Doubt member (b. 1969)
1987 Robert Paige, American actor, TV newscaster and political correspondent (Son of Dracula, Pardon My Sarong, Colgate Comedy Hour), dies 77
1988 Bob Steele [Robert Adrian Bradbury], American actor (Monogram, Supreme, Tiffany), dies of emphysema at 81
1988 Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch-British biologist and zoologist (Nobel 1973), dies at 81
1989 Ján Cikker, Slovak composer, dies at 78
1990 Kelly Johnson, American aircraft engineer (Lockheed Skunk Works, Lockheed U-2, SR-71 Blackbird), dies at 80
1992 Albert King [Nelson], American blues guitarist and singer (BB King & Friends; Blues Alive), dies of a heart attack at 69
1992 Nathan Milstein, Ukrainian-American Grammy Award-winning concert violinist, transcriber and composer, dies at 87
1992 Stella Adler, American actress (Love on Toast; My Girl Tisa), and teacher (Stella Adler Studio of Acting), dies at 91
1992 Sybil Andrews, English-Canadian painter, dies at 94
1993 Philip Christison, British general (Rangoon), dies at 100
1994 Shauna McDonald Brown, British TV producer, dies at 37
1995 Robert Francis Vere Heuston, professor of law, dies at 72
1995 Trenchard Cox, British museum director, dies at 90
1996 Barry Gray [Bernard Yaroslaw], American radio personality and interviewer (started call-in radio), dies at 80
1996 Margaret E Rey, author of children's books, dies at 90
1996 Olga Maria Nicolis di Robilant, Portuguese patron of the arts, dies at 96
1997 Amie Comeaux, American country music singer, dies at 21
1997 Bruce Woodcock, English boxer, European Heavyweight Champion, dies at 76
1997 Harold Roxbee Cox, Baron Kings Norton, British aeronautical engineer, dies at 95
1997 Juzo Itami, film director/actor (Lord Jim, Yuuguremade), dies at 64
1997 Michael Lyne, British Air Vice-Marshal, dies at 78
1998 Ernst Gunther Schenck, German doctor who joined the Sturmabteilung in 1933 {b. 1904)
1998 Karl Denver [Angus McKenzie], Scottish pop singer ("Never Say Goodbye"; "Wimoweh"), dies of a brain tumor at 67
1998 Roger Avon, British actor (Doctor Who, Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.), dies at 84
1999 John Arnatt, British actor (A Challenge for Robin Hood, Circumstantial Evidence), dies at 82

Al Gross (1918-2000)

American inventor (invented the walkie-talkie), dies at 82

2000 Edward Miller, British historian and Master (Fitzwilliam College Cambridge), dies at 85
2001 Dick Schaap, American Emmy Award-winning sportscaster, journalist, and author (Bo Knows Bo: Instant Replay), dies from complications during hip replacement surgery at 67
2001 Felix Guerro Diaz, Cuban composer, dies at 84
2003 M. J. Gopalan, Indian cricket fast bowler (1 Test, 1 wicket; Madras) and hockey representative, dies at 94
2003 Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Spanish playboy and businessman (b. 1924)
2004 Autar Singh Paintal, Indian medical scientist, dies at 79
2005 Elrod Hendricks, American baseball player and coach (b. 1940)
2005 Myron Healey, American actor (The Lone Ranger, Wyatt Earp), dies of ill health at 82
2006 Saparmurat Niyazov, President of Turkmenistan (b. 1940)
2006 Scobie Breasley, Australian jockey (b. 1914)
2006 Sydney Wooderson, English athlete dubbed "The Mighty Atom" (world record 1937), dies at 92
2007 Ken Hendricks, American businessman (b. 1941)
2010 David Hennessy [Lord Windlesham], British politician (C) (Leader of the House of Lords 1973-4) and TV executive, dies at 78
2010 Enzo Bearzot, Italian football player and manager (b. 1927)
2012 Lee Dorman, American rock bassist (Iron Butterfly; Captain Beyond), dies at 70
2013 Bronzell Miller, American WLAF linebacker (Amsterdam Admirals), dies at 42
2013 David Coleman, British sports commentator (BBC 1954-2000), dies at 87
2013 Eli Beeding, American Air Force Captain and rocket test pilot, dies at 85
2013 Lars Edlund, Swedish composer, dies at 91
2014 Billie Whitelaw, British actress (Omen, Adding Machine), dies at 82
2014 Sonia d’Artois, British Canadian WWII resistance agent, dies at 90
2014 Udo Jürgens [Bockelmann], Austrian-Swiss pop singer-songwriter (Eurovision Song Contest, 1966), dies of heart failure at 80
2015 David Emms, British educator (London Goodenough Trust), dies at 90
2016 Weston Noble, American music educator and conductor (Luther College, 1948-2005), dies at 94
2017 Bruce McCandless II, American aviator, electrical engineer and astronaut who made the 1st untethered space walk (STS 41B, STS-31), dies at 80
2017 Richard "Dick" Enberg, American sportscaster (NBC, CBS, ESPN), dies of a heart attack at 82
2017 Roswell Rudd ,American free-jazz trombonist (Archie Shepp), and avant-garde composer (New York Art Quartet), dies of prostate cancer at 82
2017 Wolfgang Ludewig, German composer, dies at 91
2019 Martin Peters, English soccer midfielder (67 caps; West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur, Norwich City), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 76
2019 Sam Strahan, New Zealand rugby union lock (17 caps; Manawatū), dies at 74
2020 K. T. Oslin, American country singer (80's Ladies), dies at 78 [1]
2020 Kevin Greene, American Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker (5 x Pro Bowl; First-team All-Pro 1989, 94, 96; LA Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers), dies at 58
2021 (Wilbert) Billy Davis, American tennis player (11 x American Tennis Association Titles), dies of congestive heart failure at 91
2022 John Harries, British atmospheric physicist (provided 1st direct observational evidence of carbon dioxide increase - greenhouse effect), dies at 76 [1]
2022 Richard Trythall, American-Italian pianist, contemporary classical and electronic music composer (Continuums; Parts Unknown), and educator, dies at 83