Famous Deaths on December 23

1652 John Cotton, Puritan clergyman in Massachusetts Bay colony, dies at 68
1675 Caesar, duc de Choiseul, French marshal and diplomat (b. 1602)
1688 Jean-Louis Lully, French composer and son of Jean-Baptiste Lully, dies at 21
1696 Johann David Mayer, German composer, dies at 60
1722 Pierre Varignon, French mathematician (b. 1654)
1744 Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans, Duchess of Lorraine, dies at 68
1749 Mark Catesby, English naturalist (Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands), dies at 66
1761 Alestair Ruadh MacDonnell, Scottish Jacobite spy "Pickle, dies at 36"
1771 Marie-Marguerite d'Youville, first native Canadian canonized (founded the Order of Sisters of Charity of Montreal), dies at 70,
1779 Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol, British admiral and politician (b. 1724)
1787 Louise of France, French princess daughter of King Louis XV and Marie Leszczyńska and Carmelite prioress, dies at 50
1789 Charles-Michel de l'Épée, French philanthropist and developer of 'Signed French', dies at 77
1793 Antoine François Prévost, French author and novelist (b. 1697)
1793 Johann Adolph Hasse, German composer (Antonio e Cleopatra), dies at 74
1795 Henry Clinton, British army officer and politician, dies at 65
1805 Francis Masson, Scottish botanist (1st plant hunter for Kew Gardens, in South Africa), dies at 64
1805 Pehr Osbeck, Swedish explorer and naturalist (b. 1723)
1812 Michel Delalande, French sacred music composer and maître de musique (Cathedral of Chartres, 1761-85), dies at 73

Thomas Malthus (1766-1834)

British economist and demographer (Law of Malthus), dies of heart disease at 68

1846 Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent, French naturalist (b. 1780)
1877 Thomas Wright, English antiquarian and writer, dies at 87
1891 Holger Simon Paulli, Danish conductor and composer, dies at 81
1902 Frederick Temple, 95th Archbishop of Canterbury, dies at 81
1907 Pierre Janssen, French astronomer, discovered helium, dies at 83
1908 Eduard Wachmann, Romanian composer, conductor and university professor, dies at 72
1908 Francois A. Gevaert, Belgium Dutch composer (Diable au Moulin), dies at 68
1911 Karl Hoschna, Bohemian born Tin Pan Alley-era composer (Every Little Movement), dies at 34
1912 Otto Schoetensack, German anthropologist, dies at 62
1913 Bonnor Middleton, South African cricket fast bowler (6 Tests, 24 wickets; Western Province), dies at 48
1915 Roland Leighton, English poet and soldier (featured in The Testament of Youth), dies on French battlefield during WWI at 20
1925 A S C Wallis [Adele von Antal-Opzoomer], Dutch writer (Vorstengunst), dies at 69
1930 Johannes H. Been, Brielle archivist, dies at 71
1931 (Frederick) Tyrone Power Sr., British-American stage and screen actor (The Big Trial; The Test of Donald Norton), dies of a heart attack at 62
1931 Wilson Bentley, American scientist (b. 1865)
1938 Robert Herrick, American novelist (Chimes), dies at 70

Anthony Fokker (1890-1939)

Dutch aviation pioneer and aircraft manufacturer (Eindecker monoplanes, Fokker Triplane), dies of pneumococcal meningitis at 49

1943 Theo Thijssen, Dutch writer (Kees the boy), dies at 64
1944 Charles Dana Gibson, American illustrator (Gibson Girl), dies at 77
1945 Mogens Klitgaard, Danish author (Brunkul), dies at 39
1946 John A. Sampson, American gynecologist (b. 1873)

Hideki Tojo (1884-1948)

Japanese Prime Minister during WW II (1941-44), hanged for war crimes at 64

1948 Seishirō Itagaki, Japanese military officer and politician (War Minister, 1938-39), hanged for war crimes at 63
1950 Vincenzo Tommasini, Italian composer (Le donne de buon umore), dies at 72
1951 Alfrēds Kalniņš, Latvian organist, composer (Baņuta), conductor, and pedagogue, dies at 72
1951 Benito Lynch, Irish-Argentine writer (Palo Verde), dies at 66

Lavrentiy Beria (1899-1953)

Soviet politician and head of the NKVD secret service, executed after being ousted from power at 54

1954 René Iché, French sculptor (b. 1897)
1955 Len Braund, English cricket all-rounder (23 Tests, 3 x 100, 47 wickets; Surrey CCC, Somerset CCC), dies at 80
1959 Edward Frederick Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, viceroy of India and British ambassador to US (1940-46), dies at 78
1959 Lester Lonergan Jr, American stage and screen actor (Guilty Bystander; The Growing Paynes), dies at 66
1961 Kurt Meyer, German SS officer (b. 1910)
1962 George Saiko, Austrian writer, dies at 70
1962 Luis Alberni, Spanish character actor (The Lady Eve, Topaze), dies at 76
1964 Arrigo Pedrollo, Italian composer, dies at 86
1966 Heimito von Doderer, Austrian writer, dies at 70
1967 Karen Verne [Ingeborg Klinkerfuss], German actress (Sky Murder, All Through the Night, Madame X), dies from a heart ailment at 49
1967 Richard Flury, Swiss composer, dies at 71
1967 Ruth Fuller Sasaki, American Zen teacher (1st Zen Institute of America), dies at 75
1969 Donald Foster, American actor (Hazel, Lord Love A Duck), dies after long illness at 80
1970 Bessie Abramowitz Hillman, Russian-American labor leader and founder of Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, dies at 71
1970 Charlie Ruggles, American actor (Bringing Up Baby, The Patchwork Girl of Oz), dies at 84
1970 Mimi Benzell, American operatic soprano (Gilda-Rigoletto), dies at 52
1971 Carlo Jachino, Italian composer, dies at 84
1972 Abraham Joshua Heschel, Polish-born Jewish American rabbi and theologian dies in New York aged 65
1972 Andrej Tupolev, Russian aircraft builder, dies at 84
1973 Arthur Richardson, Australian cricket all-rounder (9 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 100, 12 wickets; South Australia, Western Australia), dies at 85
1973 Gerard Kuiper, Dutch-American astronomer after whom the Kuiper belt is named, dies at 68
1973 Irna Phillips, American scriptwriter who created 6 soap operas (Guiding Light), dies at 72
1975 Richard S Welch, CIA station chief in Athens, shot dead
1976 Frank Forest [Hayek], American actor (Big Broadcast of 1937, Champagne Waltz), dies at 80
1976 Walter Bauer, German Canadian writer, dies at 72
1979 Peggy Guggenheim, American art collector, dies at 81
1982 Jack Webb, American screenwriter, director and actor (Dragnet, Sunset Boulevard), dies of a heart attack at 62
1982 Norman Dinerstein, American composer, dies of a heart attack at 45
1983 Colin Middleton, Northern Irish artist (b. 1910)
1984 Joan Lindsay, Australian author (Picnic at Hanging Rock), dies at 88
1985 James Vance (20) and Raymond Belknap (18) attempt suicide (Belknap dies). Their families later sue rock group Judas Priest for subliminal messages in song "Better By You, Better Than Me".
1989 Josef Alexander, American composer (Of Masks and Men; Incantations), and music professor (Brooklyn College), dies at 82
1989 Peter Bennett, British actor (Lady Chatterley's Lover, The Adventures of Robin Hood), dies at 72
1990 Frank King, West Indian cricketer (WI fast bowler played 14 Tests 1953-56), dies at 64
1990 Wendell Scott, American auto racer (first black driver to win a race at NASCAR's premier level [Jacksonville 200 1963]), dies from spinal cancer at 69
1991 Byron Q Griffith, producer/actor, dies at 73
1991 Rosa Jackson Lumpkin, among the oldest people in the world, dies at 115
1992 Cyril Walters, Welsh cricketer (11 Tests for England, 784 runs), dies at 87
1992 Eddie Hazel, American pop guitarist (Funkadelic - "Knee Deep"), dies at 42
1993 Gertrude "Trudi" Duby Blom, actress, shot to death at about 92
1994 Charles Shirley, American big band jazz arranger (Stan Kenton; Les Elgart), and alcoholism counselor, dies of a heart attack at 74
1994 Didier Rocher, son of French cosmetic maker Yves Rocher, dies at 41
1994 Nora Dunfee, American actress (Forrest Gump, Lorenzo's Oil), dies at 78
1994 Sebastian Shaw, British actor, director, playwright and poet (High Season, Ace of Spades, Caste), dies of natural causes at 89
1995 David Land, impresario and theatre producer, dies at 77
1995 Gabrielle Keiller, Scottish art collector, golfer, archaeological photographer, dies at 87
1995 Patric Knowles [Reginald Lawrence Knowles], British actor (Chisum, Arnold, Mutiny), dies from a brain hemorrhage at 84
1996 Krešimir Fribec, Croatian composer, dies at 88
1996 Rina Ketty [Cesarina Picchetto], Italian singer (J'attendrai), dies at 85
1996 Ronnie Scott [Schatt], British jazz saxophonist and club-owner, dies at 69
1997 Brian Malzard Foss, British psychologist, dies at 76
1997 Donald Gunn MacRae, British sociologist, dies at 76
1997 Hrvoje Horvatic, Croatian video artist, dies at 39
1997 Keith Bentley, English international racing cyclist, dies at 72
1997 Stanley Cortez, American cinematographer (Magnificent Ambersons), dies at 89
1999 Marcel Landowski, French composer (Un enfant appelle), dies at 84
2000 Billy Barty [William John Bertanzetti,], American actor (Under the Rainbow, Foul Play), dies of heart failure at 76
2000 Noor Jehan [Allah Rakhi Wasai], Pakistani singer and actress (Mela; Chann Way), dies at 74

Victor Borge (1909-2000)

Danish-American comedian and pianist, dies at 91

2001 Bola Ige, Nigerian politician, Minister of Justice, murdered at 71
2001 Leonid Wīgner, Latvian conductor (Latvian Opera and Ballet Theater, 1936-49; LPSR Radio Symphony, 1949-75), composer, and pedagogue, dies at 95
2002 Tatamkhulu Afrika, South African poet & writer, dies at 82
2004 Anne Truitt, American artist dies aged 83
2004 P. V. Narasimha Rao, Indian politician, 9th Prime Minister of India (1991-96), dies of a heart attack at 83
2004 Peter Beazley, British politician (C) (European Parliament), dies at 82
2005 Lajos Baróti, Hungarian soccer defender (2 caps; Szegedi AK, Győri ETO) and manager (Hungary 1957-66, 75-78), dies at 91
2005 Norman D. Vaughan, American polar explorer and dogsled driver (b. 1905)
2006 Charlie Drake [Charles Springall], English comedian, dies at 81
2006 Johnny Vincent, English footballer for Birmingham City and Middlesbrough (b. 1947)
2006 Robert Stafford, American politician (Sen-R-VT, 1971-88), dies at 93
2006 Timothy J. Tobias, American composer and musician, dies at 54
2007 Michael Kidd, American film and stage choreographer (b. 1915)

Oscar Peterson (1925-2007)

Canadian jazz pianist and composer (Downbeat Magazine's Pianist of the Year, 1950-62), dies of kidney failure at 82

2007 William Francis Ganong, American physiologist (b. 1924)
2008 Eric Charles Twelves Wilson, English British Army officer (awarded Victoria Cross), dies at 96
2009 Edward Schillebeeckx, Belgian Roman Catholic theologian (influential at Second Vatican Council), dies at 95
2009 Grayson Shillingford, West Indian cricket fast bowler (7 Tests, 15 wickets, BB 3/63; Windward Islands), dies at 65
2009 Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, Tibetan senior official (b. 1910)
2009 Robert L. Howard, highly decorated officer of the United States Army (b. 1939)
2010 Fred Hargesheimer, American World War II pilot (b. 1916)
2010 K. Karunakaran, Indian politician (b. 1918)
2011 Denise Darcel, French actress (Dangerous When Wet), dies of complications from a ruptured aneurysm at 87

Mikhail Kalashnikov (1919-2013)

Russian general and inventor of the AK-47, dies at 94

2013 Ricky Lawson, American musician, dies at 59
2013 Vito Rizzuto, Italian-Canadian alleged mafia boss, also known as "Montreal's Teflon Don", dies at 67
2013 Yusef Lateef, American jazz saxophonist and flautist, dies at 93
2014 Jerzy Semkow, Polish-French conductor and educator, dies at 86
2015 Alfred G. Gilman, American scientist (1994 Nobel Prize for G-protein discoveries), dies at 74
2016 Heinrich Schiff, Austrian cellist and conductor, dies at 65
2016 Piers J Sellers, English astronaut and climate scientist, dies of cancer at 61
2017 Maurice Hayes, Irish politician (European Person of the Year 2003), dies at 90
2018 (Ann) "Honey" Lantree, British rock drummer (The Honeycombs), dies at 75
2019 Alan Harrington, Welsh soccer defender (11 caps; Cardiff City 348 games), dies at 86
2019 Duncan MacKay, Scottish soccer defender (14 caps; Celtic 162 games), dies at 82
2020 John Edrich, English cricket batsman (77 Tests, 12 x 100. 24 x 50, HS 310no; Norfolk CCC, Surrey CCC), dies at 83
2020 Leslie West [Weinstein], American rock guitarist (Mountain - "Mississippi Queen"; "Theme for an Imaginary Western"), dies of cardiac arrest at 75 [1]
2021 Bob McCammon, Canadian ice hockey coach (Philadelphia Fllyers 1978-84, Vancouver Canucks 1987-91), dies at 80
2022 Colin Jillings, New Zealand thoroughbred horse trainer (W. S. Cox Plate 1993 The Phantom Chance; 4 x Auckland Cup winners; 5 x NZ Derby winners), dies at 91
2022 Cotton Davidson, American football quarterback & punter (AFL All-Star 1961, 63; AFL All-Star Game MVP 1961; Baltimore Colts, Dallas Texans, Oakland Raiders), dies at 91
2022 George Cohen, English soccer defender (37 caps; FIFA World Cup 1966; Fulham 459 games), dies at 83
2022 József Fitos, Hungarian soccer midfielder (12 caps; Szombathelyi Haladás 1919, Budapest Honvéd, Panathinaikos FC), dies at 63
2022 Philippe Streiff, French auto racer (55 x F1 Grand Prix; 24 Hours of Le Mans 1981 runner-up; French Formula 3 C'ship 1981), dies at 67
2022 Trevor Fancutt, South African tennis player (Australian C'ships mixed doubles [Jan Lehane]), dies at 88
2022 Txetxu Rojo, Spanish soccer forward (18 caps; Athletic Bilbao 413 games) and manager (Athletic Bilbao, Celta Vigo, Osasuna, Real Zaragoza), dies at 75