Famous Deaths on December 6

Saint Nicholas

343 Saint Nicholas [Nikolaos of Myra], Greek Bishop who became the model for Santa Claus, dies at 73 traditional date of death

1185 Afonso I the Conqueror, King of Portugal (1143-85), dies at 76
1352 Clement VI [Pierre Roger], Pope (1342-52), dies
1531 John Volkertsz Trimaker, Dutch anabaptist leader, beheaded
1550 Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Flemish painter, dies at 48
1562 Jan van Scorel, Dutch painter and architect, dies at 67
1598 Elbertus Leoninus, Dutch lawyer/politician, dies at about 78
1618 Jacques Davy Duperron, French Roman Catholic cardinal, dies at 62
1640 Matthijs Elsevier, Flemish/Dutch book publisher/merchant, dies at 75
1651 Anna Roemers Visscher, Dutch poetess, dies at 68
1658 Baltasar Gracian, Spanish writer, dies at 57
1686 Eleonora Gonzaga, Empress of the Holy Roman Empire (1651-57), dies at 56
1716 Benedictus Buns, Dutch Carmelite and composer (b. 1642)
1718 Nicholas Rowe, English poet and dramatist (Tamerlane) Poet Laureate (1715-18), dies at 45
1746 Lady Grizel Baillie, Scottish songwriter (b. 1665)
1771 Giovanni Battista Morgagni, Italian anatomist (b. 1682)
1779 Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, French painter, dies at 80
1788 Jonathan Shipley, British bishop and politician (b. 1714)
1793 Marie Jeanne Becu, Comtesse du Barry, last mistress of Louis XV, beheaded at 50
1799 Joseph Black, Scottish chemist and physicist known for his discoveries of magnesium, latent heat and carbon dioxide, dies at 71
1834 Jonas Daniel Meyer, Dutch lawyer, dies at 54
1855 William John Swainson, English naturalist and artist, dies at 66
1865 Sebastian de Iradier, Spanish composer (Arreglito), dies at 56
1867 Giovanni Pacini, Italian opera composer, and educator, dies at 71
1867 Jean Pierre Flourens, French physiologist, dies at 73
1868 August Schleicher, German linguist (b. 1821)
1869 Jan de Liefde II, Dutch vicar/author (People's Welfare), dies at 54
1873 Manuel Acuña, Mexican poet (Ante un Cadaver), dies at 24
1879 Erastus Brigham Bigelow, American inventor of weaving machine, dies at 65
1882 Alfred Escher, Swiss politician and railroad entrepreneur (b. 1819)
1882 Anthony Trollope, English novelist and poet (Barchester Towers), dies at 67

Jefferson Davis

1889 Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America (1861-65), dies at 81

1889 Jozef Neuhuys [Joseph Hendrikus Neuhuys], Dutch painter, dies at 48
1890 Joe Coburn, Irish boxer (Heavyweight C'ship of America 1863-65), dies from tuberculosis at 55
1891 Émile Bayard, French artist and illustrator, dies at 54

Werner von Siemens

1892 [Ernst] Werner von Siemens, German inventor (siemens electrical conductance unit) and industrialist (Siemens corporation), dies at 75

1903 Frederick Grant Gleason, composer, dies at 54
1914 Eduard Jacobs, Dutch cabaret artist, dies at 47
1920 Karel Kovařovic, Czech composer, dies at 57
1924 Gene Stratton-Porter, American author, screenwriter and naturalist (b. 1863)
1925 Dat So la Lee "Dabuda" or Louise Keyser, Native American (Washoe) basket weaver dies aged about 96
1934 Duke Charles Michael of Mecklenburg, head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, dies at 71
1940 Charlie Hime, cricketer (one Test for South Africa 1895), dies
1941 Oskar Ernst Bernhardt, German author (In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message), dies at 66
1943 Firmin Baes, Flemish painter, dies at 69
1943 Hermann Löhr, British composer, dies at 72
1946 Maximilian Steinberg, Russian composer, dies at 63

Lead Belly

1949 Lead Belly [Huddie William Ledbetter], American blues 12 string guitarist (Rock Island Line), dies of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at 64

1951 J Edward Bromberg, Hungarian actor (The Mark of Zorro, Under 2 Flags), dies from a heart attack at 47
1951 Harold Ross, American magazine editor and co-founded The New Yorker, dies at 59
1953 Konstanty I Galczynski, Polish poet (Zielona Ges), dies at 48

Honus Wagner

1955 Honus Wagner, American Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop (8 x NL batting champion; 5 × NL RBI / stolen base leader; Pittsburgh Pirates), dies at 81

1956 B.R. Ambedkar [Baba Saheb], Indian politician, jurist (architect of the Constitution of India) and social reformer who inspired the Dalit Buddhist Movement, dies after suffering from diabetes at 65

1957 Robert Esnault-Pelterie, French engineer and aviation pioneer who contributed to early heavier-than-air flight in Europe, dies at 76
1958 Erwin Bodky, German-American composer, dies at 62
1959 Len Doyle, actor (Harrington-Mr District Attorney), dies at 66
1961 Frantz Fanon, West Indian psychiatrist and philosopher (The Wretched of the Earth), dies of leukemia at 36
1963 Jozef Goossenaerts, Flem philologist (Language Boundary), dies at 81
1964 Consuelo Vanderbilt (b. 1877)
1965 Alberto Vaccari, Italian jesuit/old testament scholar, dies at 90
1966 Hermann Heiss, German composer, dies at 69
1970 Thomas S Power, American USAF-gen (Raid on Tokyo-March 1945), dies at 65
1971 Hugo Godron, Dutch composer, dies at 71
1971 Jan Altink, Dutch painter/co-founder (Plough), dies at 86
1972 Janet Munro, actress (Crawling Eye, Swiss Family Robinson), dies at 38
1973 Justus Hermann Wetzel, composer, dies at 94
1974 Nikolay Kuznetsov, Russian naval commander (Admiral of the Fleet during World War II), dies at 70
1976 João Goulart, President of Brazil (b. 1918)
1983 Lucienne Boyer, French singer (Parlez-moi d'amour), dies at 82
1984 Ruth Cummings, actress (Daybreak, Dream of Love), dies at 90
1985 Burleigh Grimes, American baseball player, dies at 92
1985 Burr Tillstrom, American puppeteer (Kukla Fran & Ollie), dies at 68
1986 Malik Oussekine, Algerian/French student, killed by police at 22
1987 James Dobson, actor (Impulse, Jet Attack, Okinawa), dies
1988 Bill Harris, American guitarist (Clovers-Love Potion No 9), dies at 63
1988 Roy Orbison, American rock singer-songwriter ("Pretty Woman"; "Only The Lonely"; Traveling Wilburys - "Handle With Care"), dies of a massive heart attack at 52
1989 Frances Bavier, American Emmy Award-winning stage and screen actress (The Andy Griffith Show & Mayberry, RFD - "Aunt Bee"), dies of congestive heart failure at 86
1989 Sammy Fain, American popular music composer, dies at 87
1989 John Payne, American actor (The Restless Gun, Miracle on 34th Street), dies aged 77
1989 Gabor Jodal, Romanian composer, dies at 76

Tunku Abdul Rahman

1990 Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia's founding father, 1st Prime Minister of Malaya (1957-63) and Malaysia (1963-70), dies at 87

1990 Bob Hamilton, American golfer (PGA C'ship 1944), dies at 74
1990 Pavlos Sidiropoulos, Greek rock singer, songwriter and guitarist (Electric Theseus) dies from a heroin overdose at 42
1991 Ann Sorg Coston, actress (Anna-Aldrich Family), dies at 62
1992 Hank Worden, American actor (The Searcher, Red River), dies of natural causes at 91
1992 Percy Herbert, actor (Capt Apache), dies of heart attack at 72
1992 Yngve Sköld, Swedish composer, dies at 93
1993 Dominic "Don" Ameche, American actor (Cocoon, Trading Places), dies of prostate cancer at 85
1993 Prof Wolfgang Paul, German physicist (Nobel 1989), dies at 80
1993 Rita Macedo, actress (Divinas Palabras), dies of heart attack at 65
1993 Rouaz Lakhdar, Algerian supreme court justice, murdered
1993 Desmond Barel Hirshfield, Lord Hirshfield, British chartered accountant, dies at 80
1994 AJ Bronkhorst, vicar/theologist (Reform The Netherlands), dies at 80
1994 Alan Owen, English screenplay/actor (Hard Day's Night), dies at 69
1994 Gian Maria Volontè, Italian actor (Fistful of Dollars), dies at 61
1995 Dmitri Volkogonov, Russian historian (biographies of Stalin and Lenin) and colonel general, dies at 67
1995 James Reston, American journalist (New York Times), dies at 86
1995 John Trevor Key, British photographer, dies of brain tumour at 48
1995 Kathleen Harrison, English actress (Fast Lady, Big Money), dies at 103
1995 Leslie Wilkinson, journalist, dies at 97
1995 Claire Polin, American composer, dies at 69
1996 Bryan Clieve Roberts, English lawyer and colonial administrator (instrumental in Malawi transition to independence), dies at 83

Pete Rozelle

1996 Pete Rozelle, American football executive (NFL Commissioner 1960-89), dies of brain cancer at 70

1996 (John) Trevor Key, British photographer and graphic designer, t known for his work for album cover art (Mike Oldfield; Phil Collins; New Order; OMD), dies of a brain tumor at 48
1997 Alan Mouncer, film director and producer, dies at 68
1997 Eddie Myers, British WWII soldier and engineer, dies at 91
1997 Eliot Daniel, American composer (I Love Lucy theme), dies at 89
1997 Willy den Ouden, Dutch swimmer (WR 100m freestyle, 1:04.06 1933-56; Olympic gold 4×100m freestyle 1936), dies at 79
1998 César Baldaccini, French sculptor, dies at 77
2000 Werner Klemperer, German-American actor (Judgment at Nuremberg, Hogan's Heroes), dies of cancer at 80
2001 Charles McClendon, Hall of Fame college football coach (b. 1923)
2002 Philip Berrigan, American peace activist and Roman Catholic priest, dies at 79
2003 Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio, President of Guatemala (b. 1918)
2003 Jerry Tuite, American professional wrestler (b. 1966)
2003 Hans Hotter, German bass-baritone (b. 1909)
2004 Raymond Goethals, Belgian football coach (b. 1921)
2005 Charly Gaul, Luxembourg cyclist (b. 1932)
2005 Devan Nair, Singaporean politician, 3rd President of Singapore (1981-85), dies at 82
2005 Danny Williams, South African-born singer (b. 1942)
2006 John Feeney, Documentary film-director (b. 1922)
2007 Katy French, Irish Supermodel and Socialite, dies at 24
2010 Mark Dailey, Canadian television journalist and announcer (b. 1953)
2010 Hugues Cuénod, Swiss tenor and musical educator, dies at 108
2011 Dobie Gray [Lawrence Brown], American musician and singer (Drift Away), dies of cancer at 71
2013 Stan Tracey, British jazz pianist, dies at 86
2014 Fred Hawkins, American golfer (US Masters 1958 runner-up), dies at 91
2015 Holly Woodlawn, transgender Puerto Rican actress (Warhol films), dies at 69
2015 Tony Gomez, British rock keyboardist (The Foundations - "Baby Now That I've Found You"; "Build Me Up Buttercup"), dies at 76
2015 Nicholas Smith, English actor (Are You Being Served?), dies at 81
2016 Peter Vaughan, British actor (Porridge, Game of Thrones), dies at 93
2017 Cy Young, American athlete and only US male to win gold in javelin throwing (1952 Olympics), dies of complications from dementia at 89
2017 William H. Gass, American novelist and philosopher (Omensetter's Luck), dies at 93
2018 Pete Shelley [Peter McNeish], English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Buzzcocks "Going Steady"), dies at 63
2018 Andrew Frierson, pioneering African American opera singer, dies at 94
2018 John "Ace" Cannon, American pop, rock and country music saxophonist (Tuff Sax), dies at 84
2019 Jo Ann Washam, American golfer (Women's PGA C'ship 1975 3rd; 3 LPGA Tour titles), dies at 69
2020 Paul Sarbanes, American politician (Senator-D-MD, 1977-2007, sponsored Sarbanes–Oxley Act), dies at 87
2020 Tabaré Vázquez, Uruguayan politician and physician, President of Uruguay (2005-10, 2015-20), dies at 80 [1]
2020 Neil Armstrong, Canadian ice hockey linesman (1,744 NHL games; Hockey Hall of Fame), dies at 87
2020 Dennis Ralston, American tennis player (4 x Grand Slam doubles champion; Wimbledon singles 1966 runner-up), dies from cancer at 78
2020 Jack Scarbath, American College Football Hall of Fame quarterback (Uni of Maryland; Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers), dies at 90
2020 Petras Bingelis, Lithuania conductor, founder and artistic director (Kaunas State Choir, 1969-2020), dies of Covid-19 at 77