Famous Deaths on December 27

1805 Belle van Zuylen, Dutch-Swiss writer (Trois Femmes), dies at 65
1812 Joanna Southcott, an English self-described religious prophetess.
1812 Shneur Zalman of Liadi, Lithuanian rabbi and founder of Chabad Hasidism (b. 1745)
1834 Charles Lamb, British critic/poet/essayist (Essays of Elia), dies at 59

Stephen F. Austin (1793-1836)

Founded and helped colonize the US state of Texas, dies of pneumonia at 43

1858 Alexandre Pierre François Boëly, French composer, dies at 73
1877 Nikolay Alekseyevich Nekrasov, Russian poet, writer and publisher (Russkije Zjenjshiny), dies at 56
1880 Alessandro Nini, Italian composer, dies at 75
1896 John Brown, British manufacturer (b. 1816)
1900 William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong and British industralist and inventor (hydraulic crane Armstrong Gun), dies at 90
1914 Charles Martin Hall, American chemist and inventor, dies at 51
1916 Nicolai Soloviev, Russian music critic and composer, dies at 70
1919 Achilles Alferaki, Russian composer, dies at 73
1919 Theodoor de Meester, Dutch premier (1905-08), dies at 68

Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923)

French engineer and architect who designed and built the Eiffel tower, dies at 91

1924 William Archer, Scottish critic/playwright (Green Goddess), dies at 68
1925 Sergei Yesenin, Russian poet, dies at 30
1930 William Courtleigh, Canadian actor (The Birth of Character, Ashes, The Nightingale), dies at 63
1931 Peter C. Lutkin, American organist, composer (The Lord Bless You and Keep You), choral conductor, and educator (Northwestern University, 1891-1931)dies of a heart attack at 73
1931 Walter Courvoisier, Swiss composer, dies at 76
1936 Hans von Seeckt, German general and advisor of Chiang Kai-shek, dies at 70
1938 Calvin Bridges, American geneticist (b. 1889)
1938 Emile Vandervelde, President (1900–1918) of the International Socialist Bureau and Minister of 3 Belgian governments dies at 72
1938 Osip Mandelstam, Polish-Russian poet and writer (Kamen), dies in a Siberian transit camp of typhoid fever at 47
1942 William Morgan, American physical education instructor and inventor of "mintonette" (now known as volleyball), dies at 72

Amy Beach (1867-1944)

American pianist and composer (Gaelic Symphony), dies at 77

1950 Max Beckmann, German painter and graphic artist, dies at 66
1952 Henri G Winkelman, Dutch supreme commander army/navy 1940, dies at 76
1952 Patrick Joseph Hartigan, Australian Roman Catholic priest, dies at 74
1953 Julian Tuwim, Polish poet and lyricist, dies at 59
1955 Alfred Carpenter, English Royal Navy soldier, dies at 74
1955 Ham Fisher, American comic strip writer and cartoonist (Joe Palooka), dies at 55
1956 Lambert McKenna, Irish editor and lexicographer, dies at 86
1957 Alan Bridge, actor (Hail the Conquering Hero), dies at 66
1959 Alfonso Reyes, Mexican writer (Simpatías y diferencias) and diplomat (Higenia Cruel), dies at 70
1965 Edgar Ende, German painter (b. 1901)
1966 Frankie Genaro, American boxer (World flyweight champion 1928-31; Olympic gold flyweight 1920), dies at 65
1966 Guillermo Stábile, Argentine footballer (b. 1906)

Lester B. Pearson (1897-1972)

14th Canadian Prime Minister (Nobel Peace Prize 1957), dies at 75

1974 Amy Vanderbilt, American authority on etiquette, dies of multiple fractures of the skull at 66
1974 Bob Custer [Raymond Glenn], American silent and sound screen actor (The Fighting Hombre; The Law of the Wild), dies of a heart attack at 76
1976 Main Rousseau Bocher, American uniform designer (Red Cross, Girl Scouts, Waves), dies at 86
1978 Bob de Lange [Jacob Bernard de Lange], Dutch actor and director (Daniel), dies at 62
1978 Chris Bell, American rock guitarist (Big Star - "In The Street"), dies in a car crash at 27
1978 Houari Boumédiènne, President of Algeria (1965-78), dies at 51
1979 Hafizullah Amin, Afghan politician (President of Afghanistan, 1979), killed by Russian forces in a coup during Soviet invasion at 50
1981 (Hoagland) "Hoagy" Carmichael, American composer, singer ("In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening"; "Stardust"; "Two Sleepy People"), dies at 82
1982 John Leonard Swigert Jr., American astronaut (Apollo 13), dies of cancer at 51
1983 Walter Scott, American singer (Bob Kuban), murdered at 40
1985 Harry Hopman, Australian tennis player, coach (Davis Cup captain 1939-67, won 16), dies of a heart attack at 79
1986 Lars-Erik Larsson, Swedish composer (God in Disguise (Förklädd gud, Op. 24); Linden), and pedagogue (Stockholm Conservatory; Uppsala University), dies of complications from diabetes at 78
1986 Louis van Lint, Belgian painter (post-war abstraction), dies at 77
1987 Geoffrey D Lloyd, Chairman of the guild of British Newspaper editors (b. 1933)
1987 Priscilla Dean, actress (Outside the Law), dies of injuries at 91
1987 Rewi Alley, New Zealand writer (Americans in China, dies at 90
1988 Fox Harris, actor (Alienator, Warlords, Sid & Nancy), dies
1988 Hal Ashby, American film director (The Last Detail; Shampoo; Being There), dies of pancreatic cancer at 59
1988 Hall Ashby, American director (Shampoo, 8 Million Ways to Die), dies at 59
1990 Helene Stanley, American actress (Carnival Story, Roar of the Crowd),and live-action model for Disney animators (Cinderealla; Sleeping Beauty), dies at 61
1991 Edward M Love, American Broadaway dancer and choreographer, dies of AIDS at 43
1991 John Morgan Evans, actor, dies after lengthy illness at 49
1991 W Hudson, US "strongest man to the world" (540 kg), dies
1992 Cardew "the Cad" [Douglas] Robinson, English comedian (Alfie), dies at 75
1992 Jan Peeters, Dutch watercolor painter, stained glass, tile, and monument artist, dies at 80
1992 Kay Boyle, American writer (Scottsboro: An American Tragedy), dies at 90
1993 Youssef Sebti, Algerian scholar/poet, murdered at 50
1994 Fanny Cradock, English TV chef and food critic, dies at 85
1994 Hans Berghuis, author/poet (Kleitabletten), dies at 70
1994 J. B. L. Reyes, Filipino jurist (b. 1902)
1994 Peter May, English cricket batsman (66 Tests, 4,537 @ 46.77, 13 x 100, 22 x 50; HS 285no; Surrey CCC), dies from a brain tumour at 64
1994 Sadi de Gorter, Dutch author/diplomat (Abscess), dies at 82
1995 Al Barlick, American Baseball Hall of Fame umpire (7 x World Series; 7 x MLB All Star games), dies at 80
1995 Jeremy John Beadle, British critic, writer and broadcaster, dies of AIDS at 39
1995 Peter Refn, Danish journalist/director (Violets are Blue), dies at 54
1995 Shura Cherkassky, American classical pianist, dies at 86
1996 Johnny Heartsman [Eastman], American R&B, soul and electric blues session musician and songwriter, dies of a stroke at 60
1997 Anthea Joseph, British music promoter, dies at 57
1997 Billy Wright, Irish Protestant paramilitary leader (b. 1960)
1997 Brendan Gill, American critic (The New Yorker), dies at 83
1997 Buxton Orr, Anglo-Scottish composer, dies at 73
1997 Dorothy Stroud, garden historian, dies at 87
1997 Ewart Abner, American record label executive, President of Motown Records, manager of Stevie Wonder), dies at 74
1997 Tom Hudson, British artist and teacher, dies at 75
1998 Ricardo Tormo, Spanish Grand Prix motocycle racer, dies at 46
1999 Bernard Chacksfield, British Air Vice-Marshal, dies at 86
2000 Jack McVea, American swing jazz, and R&B clarinetist, saxophonist, and bandleader, dies at 86
2002 George Roy Hill, American Academy Award-winning film director (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; The Sting; Slap Shot; A Little Romance; The World According to Garp), dies from complications of Parkinson's disease at 81
2002 Richard Mitchell, American professor and author (The Underground Grammarian), dies at 73
2003 Alan Bates, English actor (b. 1934)
2003 Ivan Calderón, Puerto Rican baseball outfielder (MLB All Star 1991; Chicago White Sox, Montreal Expos), dies from multiple firearm wounds at 41
2004 (Walter) "Hank" Garland, American Nashville-based country, rock and jazz session guitar virtuoso ("Sugarfoot Rag"; "(Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame"; "Jingle Bell Rock"), dies of complications from a staph infection at 74
2005 William Doody, Canadian politician (b. 1931)
2006 Marmaduke Hussey, Baron Hussey of North Bradley and Chairman of the Board of Governors of BBC (1986-96), dies at 83

Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007)

12th Prime Minister of Pakistan and 1st female leader of a Muslim nation, assassinated in Rawalpindi by a suicide bomber at 54

2007 Jaan Kross, Estonian writer (b. 1920)
2007 Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Polish film director (b. 1922)
2007 Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza, grandson of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil and claimant to the throne of Brazil, dies at 94
2008 Delaney Bramlett, American rocker (Shindogs; Delaney & Bonnie), dies at 69
2010 Keith Andrew, English cricket wicketkeeper (2 Tests; Northamptonshire CCC), dies at 81
2011 Helen Frankenthaler, American abstract expressionist artist (Arden), dies at 83
2012 Harry Carey Jr, American actor (Back to the Future Part III, Gremlins), dies from natural causes at 91

Norman Schwarzkopf (1934-2012)

US Army General and commander of coalition forces in the Gulf War, dies of complications from pneumonia at 78

2012 Valentin Boreyko, Russian rower (Olympic gold coxless pair [Oleg Golovanov] 1960), dies at 79
2015 (Meadow) "Meadowlark" Lemon, American basketball star (Harlem Globetrotters, 1955-80, 1990, and 3 other teams), and clergyman, dies at 83
2015 Andy M. Stewart, Scottish musician and composer (Silly Wizard), dies at 63
2015 Haskell Wexler, American cinematographer and director, dies at 93
2015 Stein Eriksen, Norwegian alpine skier (first Olympic giant slalom gold 1952), dies at 88
2015 Stevie Wright, British-born Australian singer with the Easybeats ("Friday On My Mind"), dies at 68

Carrie Fisher (1956-2016)

American actress (Princess Leia in Star Wars, When Harry Met Sally...) and writer (Postcards from the Edge), dies at 60 four days after suffering a heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles

2019 (Beryl) "Jack" Sheldon, American jazz trumpeter (Merv Griffin), singer (Schoolhouse Rock), and actor (Run Buddy Run), dies at 88
2019 Art Sullivan [Marc Liénart van Lidth de Jeude], Belgian pop singer-songwriter ("Un océan de caresses"), dies of pancreatic cancer at 69
2019 Don Imus, American radio talk show host (WNBC), dies from complications of lung disease at 79
2019 Garrett List, American classical and jazz composer and trombonist (Julliard Ensemble), dies at 76
2019 Ilias Rosidis, Greek soccer defender (29 caps; Olympiacos FC), dies at 92
2020 Harry Bromfield, South African cricket spin bowler (9 Tests, 17 wickets; Western Province), dies at 88
2020 José Luiz Carbone, Brazilian soccer midfielder (6 caps; São Paulo, Internacional, Botafogo) and coach (Fluminense, Guarani), dies from liver cancer at 74
2020 Loyd Phillips, American College Football Hall of Fame defensive lineman (University of Arkansas; Chicago Bears), dies from a stroke at 75
2022 Andrzej Iwan, Polish soccer forward (29 caps; Wisła Kraków, Górnik Zabrze, VfL Bochum), dies at 63
2022 Arnie Ferrin, American College Basketball HOF guard (NCAA C'ship, Final Four MOB 1944 Uni of Utah; NBA C'ship Minneapolis Lakers 1949, 50), dies at 97
2022 Imre Szöllősi, Hungarian sprint canoeist (World C'ship gold K-2 10,00m 1966; 2 x Olympic silver 1960, bronze 1968), dies at 81
2022 Luann Ryon, American archer (Olympic gold women's individual 1976), dies at 69