Famous Deaths on December 4

1603 Maarten de Vos, Flemish painter, dies at about 71
1609 Alexander Hume, Scottish poet (Hymns and Sacred Songs), dies
1642 Armand Jean du Plessicide de Richelieu, French statesman and Cardinal (chief minister to Louis XIII 1624-42), dies at about 57
1649 Outgert Arisz Akersloot, Dutch silversmith, dies at about 73
1649 William Drummond of Hawthornden, Scottish poet, dies at 63
1676 Johann Georg Ebeling, German composer, dies at 39

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)

English philosopher (Leviathan), dies of a stroke at 91

1680 Thomas Bartholin, Danish physician, mathematician, and theologian (b. 1616)
1696 Empress Meishō, Japan (b. 1624)
1732 John Gay, English poet and dramatist (The Beggar's Opera), dies at 47
1798 Luigi Galvani, Italian anatomist and physicist ("animal electricity", gave the term "galvanize"), dies at 61
1807 Prince Hall, activist/Masonic leader, dies in Boston

Robert Jenkinson (1770-1828)

2nd Earl of Liverpool, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Tory: 1812-27), dies of a stroke at 58

1836 Daniel Read, American composer, dies at 79
1884 Alice Mary Smith, British composer, dies at 45
1893 Allan Wilson, British/Rhodesian Major, dies in battle against the Ndebeles during First Matabele War
1893 Heinrich Göbel, German-American mechanic and inventor (incandescent lamps), dies at 75
1893 John Tyndall, Irish physicist who demonstrated why the sky is blue and proved that the Earth's atmosphere has a greenhouse effect, dies at 73
1902 Charles Dow, American journalist and economist (co-founded Dow Jones and 1st editor of Wall St Journal), dies at 51
1909 Paul-Albert Besnard, French painter and graphic artist (Elle), dies at 60
1915 Gustav Hollaender, German violinist, conductor, and composer, dies at 60
1926 Ivana Kobilca, Slovenian-born painter (b. 1861)
1932 Gustav Meyrink, writer, dies at 64
1933 Stefan George, German poet (Das neue Reich), dies at 65
1935 Charles Richet, French physiologist (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1913 for work on anaphylaxis), dies at 85
1935 Hylton Philipson, English cricket wicketkeeper (5 Tests, 11 dismissals), dies at 69
1935 Johan Halvorsen, Norwegian violinist, conductor (Nationaltheatret Orchestra, 1899-1929), and composer (Bergensiana), dies at 71
1938 Dina Appeldoorn, Dutch classical pianist and composer, dies at 54
1938 Tamanishiki San'emon, Japanese sumo wrestler (32nd yokozuna; winner 9 top division yūshō), dies following a delayed appendectomy at 34
1943 Carlo Mierendorff, German politician and anti-fascist, dies at 46
1944 Roger Bresnahan, American Baseball Hall of Fame catcher, outfielder and manager (World Series 1905 NY Giants; St. Louis Cardinals; first shin guards and batting helmet), dies at 65
1945 Thomas Hunt Morgan, American evolutionary biologist, geneticist and embryologist (Nobel Prize 1933), dies at 79
1948 Karl Bonhoeffer, German psychiatrist and neurologist (resisted Nazi's Aktion T4 extermination campaign), dies at 80
1951 Pedro Salinas, Spanish writer (Generation of 1927), dies at 61
1952 James E. Norris, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame team owner (Detroit Red Wings), dies at 72
1952 Karen Horney, German-American neo freudian psycho analyst, dies at 67
1953 Daniel Gregory Mason, American composer (Chanticker), dies at 80
1954 Nina Varzar, wife of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, dies at 46
1956 Alexander Rodchenko, Russian painter and photographer, dies at 64
1959 Rosetta Duncan, American vaudevillian (Duncan Sisters), actress (Topsy and Eva), and songwriter (Remeberin'). dies in an auto accident at 65
1967 Bert Lahr [Irving Lahrheim], American comic and actor (The Wizard of Oz - "Lion"), dies of cancer at 72
1967 Harry Wismer, American sports broadcaster (NBC Blue Network, ABC, voice of Washington Redskins) and AFL team owner (New York Titans), dies after a fall at 54
1969 Alceo Toni, Italian arranger (Vivaldi's "Four Season's" for piano four-hands), composer (Elegiac Quintet), and musicologist, dies at 85
1969 Fred Hampton, American activist (Black Panther Party leader; Rainbow Coalition co-founder) shot and killed by the FBI and Chicago police at 21
1971 Shunryu Suzuki, Zen monk and teacher, (founder of San Francisco Zen Center, populised Zen Buddhism in the US) dies at 67
1973 Alfred Fuller, Canadian-American businessman ('Fuller Brush Man'), dies at 88
1973 Michael O'Shea, American actor (Smart Woman), dies of a heart attack at 67
1974 Lee Kinsolving, actor (Explosive Generation), dies at 36
1974 Sophie-Carmen "Sonia" Eckhardt-Gramatté, Russian-Canadian pianist and composer, dies at 75

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975)

German-American political theorist and historian (Origins of Totalitarianism), dies of a heart attack at 69

1976 Ace Gutowsky, Russian/American football fullback (Portsmouth Spartans, Brooklyn Dodgers; NFL C'ship 1935, Detroit Lions), dies of cancer at 67
1976 Tommy Bolin, American rock guitarist and songwriter (Deep Purple), dies of heroin and other substances overdose at 25
1976 W. F. McCoy, Northern Irish politician (b. 1886)

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

English composer (The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra; Peter Grimes), dies of heart failure at 63

1977 Leila Hyams, actress (Red Headed Woman, Freaks), dies at 72
1978 Samuel Abraham Gouldsmit, Dutch-American physicist (formulated concept of electron spin), dies at 76
1979 Robert Karnes, actor (Max-The Lawless Years), dies at 62
1980 Francisco Sá Carneiro, 109th Prime Minister of Portugal, dies at 46
1980 Stanislawa Walasiewicz [Stella Walsh], Polish-born American athlete (Olympic gold 100m 1932), dies when shot during an armed robbery, at 69
1983 Bruce Drake, American Basketball Hall of Fame coach (University of Oklahoma 1938-55, 200-181), dies at 77
1983 Estelle Omens, American actress (Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds), dies at 55
1984 John Rock, American obstetrician and gynecologist who co-developed the 1st birth control pill, dies at 94
1985 Frederick Boland, Irish diplomat (President of the UN General Assembly), dies at 81
1985 Marcel Boereboom, Belgian pianist, critic, educator, and musicologist (Handbook of Music History), dies at 83
1986 Reuben Nakian, US sculptor, dies at 89
1987 Rouben Mamoulian, American movie director and author (The Mark of Zorro, Applause), dies at 90
1988 Osman Achmatowicz, Polish chemist, dies at 89
1990 Edward Binns, American actor (12 Angry Men; Fail-Safe), dies of a heart attack at 74
1991 Alex Graham, Scottish cartoonist who created the comic strip "Fred Basset", dies at 78
1993 Frank Sturgis, watergate burglar, dies at 68

Frank Zappa (1940-1993)

American rock guitarist, composer, (Mothers of Invention - "Peaches en Regalia"; "Baby Snakes"), activist, and filmmaker (200 Motels), dies from prostate cancer at 52

1993 Hetty de Boer-Jongkind, Dutch medical astrologist and founder (Vakvereniging Medical Astrology), dies at 42
1993 Margaret Landon, American author (Anna & the King of Siam), dies at 90
1994 Geoffery Rudolph Elton, historiographer, dies at 73
1994 Jacob Kaplan, French Grand Rabbi (1955-81), dies at 99
1994 Julio Ramon Ribeyro, Peruvian playwright, dies at 66
1994 Robert Jesse Charleston, museum curator, dies at 78
1994 Thomas Roy Garrett, museum curator, dies at 63
1995 Adrianne Jones, killed by David Graham & Diane Zamora, at 16
1996 Basil Nield, British judge and politician (Conservative Party), dies at 83
1996 Willard Parker, American actor (Kiss Me Kate, What A Woman), dies at 84
1997 Joseph Wolpe, South African psychotherapist, dies at 82
1997 Richard Vernon, British character actor (A Hard Days Night; The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; Gandhi), dies of complications from Parkinson's disease at 72
1999 Rose Elizabeth Bird, California Supreme Court Justice (1977-87), dies at 63
1999 Sylvester Clarke, West Indian cricket fast bowler (11 Tests, 42 wickets), dies from a heart attack at 44

Colin Cowdrey (1932-2000)

England cricket batsman (114 Tests, 7,624 runs @ 44.06), dies of a heart attack at 67

2000 H. C. Artmann, Austrian writer, dies at 79
2002 Bernie Dwyer, British rock drummer (Freddie and The Dreamers - "I'm Telling You Now"), dies at 61
2003 Iggy Katona, American auto racer (ARCA Series 1955-57, 62, 66-67; record 79 wins), dies at 87
2004 Carl Esmond, Austrian actor (Ministry of Fear, Smash-Up), dies of natural causes at 102
2004 Elena Souliotis, Greek soprano, dies of heart failure at 61
2005 Errol Brathwaite, New Zealand author (b. 1924)
2005 Gloria Lasso [Rosa Montserrat Coscolín], French-Spanish n canción melódica singer ("Etranger au paradis"; "Buenas noches mi amor"), dies of a heart attack at 83
2005 Gregg Hoffman, American film producer (b.1963)
2006 James Kim, American television personality (b. 1971)
2007 Chip Reese, American poker player (3 x World Series of Poker bracelets), dies from pneumonia at 56
2007 Friedrich Zehm, German pianist and composer, dies at 85
2007 Norval Morrisseau, Canadian artist (b. 1932)
2007 Pimp C. [Chad Butler], American rapper (Underground Kingz), dies of overuse of prescription cough syrup and sleep apnea at 33
2008 Forrest J. Ackerman, American literary agent and writer who invented the term "sci-fi (Famous Monsters of Filmland), dies at 92
2009 Eddie Fatu, Samoan-American professional wrestler (b. 1973)
2011 Hubert Sumlin, American blues guitarist (Howlin' Wolf), dies at 80
2011 Sócrates [Socrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Sousa Vieira de Oliveira], Brazilian soccer midfielder and manager (60 caps, 22 goals Brazil; Corinthians), dies of septic shock at 57
2012 Besse Cooper, American supercentenarian and world's oldest living person (June 21, 2011 - December 4, 2012)
2012 Jack Brooks, American politician, dies at 89
2012 Jonathan Harvey, British composer (Bhakti; Wheel of Emptiness),educator, and musicologist (Music of Stockhausen), dies at 73
2012 Miguel Calero, Colombian soccer goalkeeper (50 caps; Copa América 2001; Pachuca), dies from cerebral thrombosis at 41
2012 Vasily Belov, Russian author, dies at 80
2013 McDonald Bailey, British-Trinidadian athlete (Olympic bronze 100m 1952; 100m WR 10.2s 1951-56), dies at 92
2015 Rodney Milne [Blumer], British opera critic (Opera magazine, 1971-99), musicologist, and libretto translator, dies at 79
2015 Salvatore "Robert" Loggia, American actor (Jagged Edge, Big, Officer & a Gentleman, Scarface), dies of complications from Alzheimer's disease at 85
2016 Margaret Whitton, American actress (Good & Evil, Major League), dies of cancer at 67
2016 Radim Hladík, Czech guitarist (The Blue Effect), dies from lung illness at 69
2017 Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemeni politician and 1st President of Yemen (1990-2012), is killed during the Battle of Sana'a at 75
2017 Christine Keeler, British model and showgirl (Profumo affair), dies from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at 75
2017 Mary Louise Hancock, American politician and activist, dies at 97
2017 Shashi Kapoor [Balbir Raj Kapoor], prominent Indian Bollywood actor (Deewar, The Deceivers, Shalimar, Heat & Dust), dies from a chest infection at 79
2019 Bob Willis, English cricket fast bowler and captain (90 Tests, 325 wickets; 64 ODIs; Surrey CCC, MCC, Warwickshire CCC, Northern Transvaal), dies of prostate cancer at 70
2019 Ockie Oosthuizen, South African rugby union front rower (9 caps; Transvaal), dies from cancer at 64
2020 Bassam Saba, Lebanese violinist, oud, and nay player (New York Arabic Orchestra; Silk Road Ensemble), dies of COVID-19 complications at 62 [1]
2020 David L. Lander, American actor (Laverne & Shirley - "Squiggy"), dies of multiple sclerosis at 73 [1]
2021 Eileen Ash-Whelan, English cricket medium pace bowler (7 WTests, 10 wickets, BB 4/68; Middlesex CC), dies at 110
2021 Stonewall Jackson, American country music musician ("Waterloo"; "A Wound Time Can't Erase"), dies from complications of vascular dementia at 89
2022 Bob McGrath, American musician, singer (Sing Along With Mitch), and actor (Sesame Street, 1969-2017), dies of complications from a stroke at 90 [1]
2022 Nick Bollettieri, American tennis coach (Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Monica Seles), dies at 91
2022 Patrick Tambay, French auto racer (Can Am Challenge Cup Series 1977, 80; 123 x F1 GP 1977-86), dies from Parkinson's disease at 73