Famous Deaths on February 12

Jane Grey (1537-1554)

Queen of England in 1553 for 9 days, beheaded for treason at 16

1554 Lord Guildford Dudley, Jane Grey's husband, beheaded at about 19 for treason
1571 Nicholas Throckmorton, English diplomat and politician (b. 1515)
1590 Francois Hotman/Hotomanus, French lawyer and diplomat (Anti-Tribonien), dies at 65
1595 Archduke Ernest of Austria, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands (b. 1553)
1616 Johannes van den Driesche, Flemish Hebraist, dies at 65
1624 George Heriot, Scottish goldsmith and philanthropist (b. 1563)
1630 Fynes Moryson, English traveler and writer (b. 1566)
1684 Pietro Andrea Ziani, Italian composer and organist, dies at 67
1689 Marie Louise D'Orleans, Queen consort of Spain as the first wife of King Charles II of Spain, dies at 26
1700 Aleksei Shein, Russian general and statesman (b. 1662)
1712 Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy, mother of Louis XV of France, dies at 26
1724 Elkanah Settle, English poet and playwright, dies at 76
1728 Agostino Steffani, Italian-German diplomat and composer, dies at 73
1738 James Sherard, English amateur composer, dies at 71
1762 Laurent Belissen, French composer, dies at 68
1763 Pierre de Marivaux, French playwright and novelist (Triomphe de l'amour,), dies at 75
1771 Adolf Frederik, King of Sweden (1751-70), dies at 60

Ethan Allen (1738-1789)

American Revolutionary War patriot (lead the Green Mountain Boys), dies of an apoplectic fit at 51

1798 Stanislaw II August Poniatowski, last King of Poland (1764-95), dies of a stroke at 66
1799 František Xaver Dušek, Czech composer, dies at 67
1799 Lazzaro Spallanzani, Italian physiologist and biologist, dies at 70

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

German philosopher (Zum ewigen Frieden), dies at 79

1820 Guillaume Albert Teniers, Flemish composer, dies at 71
1834 Friedrich Schleiermacher, German theologist and philosopher, dies at 65
1837 Ludwig Borne [Loeb Baruch], German-Jewish writer, dies at 50
1856 Thomas L. Jennings, American tailor and inventor (dry-cleaning), abolitionist, and desegregationist, dies at 64 [1]
1861 Hippolyte-André-Baptiste Chélard, French violist, composer and conductor, dies at 72
1871 Alice Cary, American poet (Cincinnati Sentinel), dies at 50
1880 Karl von Holtei, Silesian actor, playwright and author (Die Vagabunden), dies at 82
1884 Aaron Bernstein, German Jewish writer (Young Germany), dies at 72
1886 Horatio Seymour, American politician (18th Governor of New York), dies at 75
1889 Andrew Greenwood, English cricket batsman (2 Tests, HS 49; Yorkshire CCC), dies from tuberculosis at 41
1894 Hans von Bülow, German pianist and composer (b. 1830)
1896 Ambrose Thomas, French opera composer (Mignon), and music professor, dies at 84
1896 Isaac Murphy, American jockey, 628 wins on 1,412 mounts (44.5%), dies at 35
1901 Ramón de Campoamor y Campoosorio, Spanish poet (Colon), dies at 83
1903 Gaspar Núñez de Arce, Spanish dramatist and statesman (b. 1834)
1905 Marcel Schwob, French writer and journalist (Coeur double), dies at 37
1907 Muriel Robb, British tennis player (Wimbledon 1902), dies of lymphadenoma at 28
1912 Armauer Hansen, Norwegian physician (1st to identify leprosy as bacteria), dies at 70 [1]
1915 Émile Waldteufel [Charles Émile Lévy], French pianist and composer (Estudiantina; Les Patineurs - The Skaters' Waltz), dies at 77
1916 Richard Dedekind, German mathematician (Nature & Meaning of Numbers), dies at 84
1920 Émile Sauret, French violinist and composer, dies at 67
1920 Jean Allemane, French socialist/communard (allemanisten), dies at 77
1920 Ottalee Baker, Frank "Home Run" Baker's wife, dies at 31
1921 Charles Leslie, cricketer (4 Tests England v Australia 1882-83), dies
1929 Freiherr Albert von Schrenk-Notzing, German para-psychologist, dies at 66
1929 Lillie Langtry [Emilie Charlotte Le Breton], American actress (His Neighbor's Wife), dies at 75
1931 Samedbey Mehmandarov, Russian general (b. 1855)
1933 Henri Duparc, French composer, dies at 85
1935 Auguste Escoffier, French chef & writer (Le Guide Culinaire), dies at 88
1942 Grant Wood, American painter (American Gothic), dies at 50
1945 Antonio Villa-Real, Filipino jurist (b. 1880)
1945 Henrietta Szold, founder (Hadassah, Youth Aliyah), dies
1945 Walraven van Hall, Dutch banker who led resistance against Nazis, executed by the Nazis at 39
1947 [Hooper] Sidney Toler, American theater director, playwright, stage and screen actor (Madame X; Meeting at Midnight; Charlie Chan films, 1938-46), dies of cancer at 72
1949 Hassan al Banna, Egyptian founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, dies at 42
1951 Choudhary Rehmat Ali, Pakistani nationalist (one of the earliest proponents of the creation of the state of Pakistan and recognized as the creator of the name “Pakistan” for a separate Muslim, homeland in South Asia and is known as the founder of the Pakistan National Movement), dies at 53
1954 Dziga Vertov [Denis Kaufman], Russian influential film director (Man with a Movie Camera, 3 Songs of Lenin), dies at 58
1955 S Z Sakall [Gerö Jenö], Hungarian stage and film character actor (Dolly Sisters, Casablanca), dies at 72
1955 Tom Moore, actor (Ladies be Seated, Majority Rules), dies at 71
1957 Eric Alfred Knudsen, American folklorist (b. 1872)
1957 Johannes Anker Larsen, Danish writer (Martha og Maria), dies at 82
1958 Douglas R. Hartree, English mathematician and physicist, dies at 60
1958 Marcel Cachin, French politician and co-founder of the French Communist Party, dies at 88
1959 George Antheil, American pianist, avant garde composer (Airplane Sonata; Ballet Mécanique), and inventor, dies at 58
1960 Bobby Clark, American vaudevillian, clown and actor (in comedy act with Paul McCullough), dies at 71
1964 Gerald Gardner, British occultist and Wiccan (founding the tradition of Gardnerian Wicca), dies at 79
1965 Henry Kulky [Kulakowich], American actor (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Love Nest), dies from a heart attack at 53
1969 Johanna Tourniaire, Dutch actress (Potasch & Perlemoer), dies at 80
1970 André Souris, Belgian composer, dies at 79
1971 George Shelton, actor (It Pays to be Ignorant), dies at 86

James Cash Penney (1875-1971)

American department store founder (J C Penney), dies at 95

1973 Benjamin Frankel, British composer, dies at 67
1976 Clifton Williams, American composer (The Ramparts; Sinfonians), dies from cancer at 52
1976 Sal Mineo, American actor (Exodus, Rebel Without a Cause), stabbed at 37
1979 Jean Renoir, French film director (Madame Bovary, Nana, Grand Illusion) and actor (Rules of the Game), dies at 84
1980 Floyd Taliaferro Alderson, actor (Crossing Trails), dies
1980 Muriel Rukeyser, American poet (The Book of the Dead), dies at 66
1981 Jean Dixon, actress (Joy of Living, You Only Live Once), dies
1982 Hal Hooker, cricket (307 partners with Kippax for last wicket), dies
1982 Kees Rijnsdorp, Dutch writer (Culprit), dies at 87
1983 (James Hubert) "Eubie" Blake, American ragtime composer and pianist ("Memories of You"; "I'm Just Wild About Harry"), dies at 96
1984 Anna Anderson [possibly born Franziska Schanzkowska], best-known of several imposters claiming to be Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov, dies still maintaining her fraudulent claim at 87
1984 Julio Cortázar, Argentine writer (Blow-Up, Underground Game), dies at 69
1985 Nicholas Colasanto, American actor (Cheers - "Coach"; Family Plot; The Counterfeit Killer), dies of a heart attack at 61
1985 Van Lingle Mungo, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1934, 36, 37, 45; NL strikeout leader 1936; Brooklyn Dodgers, NY Giants), dies at 73
1986 Guy Douglas Hamilton Warrack, composer, dies at 86
1986 Sid Stone, American comedian (Milton Berle Show), dies at 82
1987 Lang Jeffries, Canadian actor (Skip-Rescue 8), dies at 55
1989 Mauritius Balfoort, French/Flemish director, dies at 83
1989 Thomas Bernhard, Austrian novelist, playwright and poet whose work some describe as "the most significant literary achievement since World War II", dies at 58
1991 Edward A Blatt, director (Between 2 Worlds), dies at 88
1991 Robert F. Wagner Jr., Mayor of New York City (Democrat: 1954-65), dies at 80
1991 Roger Patterson, American death metal bass player (b. 1968)
1992 Bep [Lambertus] van Klaveren, Dutch boxing champ (Olympic gold 1928), dies
1992 Ton Brandsteder, CEO (Sony Netherland BV), dies at 74
1993 James Bulger, English child abducted, tortured and beaten to death at 2, by 10 year old boys
1994 Donald Judd, American minimalist sculptor and artist, dies of cancer at 65
1994 Ray Dandridge, American Baseball HOF third baseman (3 × NgL All-Star 1935, 37, 44; American Association MVP 1950 Minneapolis Millers), dies at 80
1994 Sue Rodriguez, Canadian assisted suicide advocate, dies at 43
1995 Earring George Mayweather, American blues harmonica player, dies of liver cancer at 66
1995 L Jansma, Fries publisher (Friese stamp), dies
1995 Nat Holman, American Basketball HOF coach (NCAA, NIT C'ships 1950 CCNY), dies at 98
1995 Rachid Mimouni, Algerian author (L'Honneur de la Tribu), dies at 49
1995 Terence Beckles, English pianist and teacher, dies at 82
1995 Tony Secunda, English rock band manager (The Moody Blues), dies at 54
1996 Bob Shaw, Northern Irish novelist (b. 1931)
1996 Roger Omond, journalist, dies at 51
1997 Nora Beloff, journalist, dies at 78
1997 Walter Ritchie, British sculptor (Man's Struggle), dies at 77
2000 Andy Lewis, Australian musician (b. 1967)

Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000)

American cartoonist (Peanuts), dies of colon cancer at 77

2000 Oliver, American pop singer (b. 1945)
2000 Screamin' Jay Hawkins, American R&B musician (I Put a Spell on You), dies at 70

Tom Landry (1924-2000)

American NFL player, 1949-55 (NY Giants) and coach, 1960-88 (Dallas Cowboys), dies of leukemia at 75

2001 Kristina Söderbaum, German actress and photographer, dies at 88
2003 Vali Myers, Australian painter, dies at 72
2004 Robert A. Bruce, American cardiologist and pioneer (exercise cardiology), dies at 87
2005 Brian Kelly, American actor (Flipper, Straightaway), dies at 71
2005 John Vivian Dacie, English haematologist (discovered haemophilia B), dies at 92
2005 Rafael Vidal, Venezuelan athlete (b. 1964)
2005 Sammi Smith, American country music singer (Help Me Make It Through the Night), dies at 61
2007 Eldee Young, American jazz upright bassist (Ramsey Lewis Trio, 1956-66 'The In Crowd"; Young-Holt Unlimited - "Soulful Strut"), dies of a heart attack at 71
2007 Peggy Gilbert, American jazz saxophonist and bandleader (b. 1905)
2007 Randy Stone, American actor and casting director (b. 1958)
2008 David Groh, American actor (Rhoda - "Joe"; Another Day - "Don"), dies of kidney cancer at 68
2008 Oscar Brodney, American screenwriter (b. 1907)
2009 Lis Hartel, Danish equestrian rider (Olympic silver individual dressage 1952, 56; permanently paralyzed her below her knees from polio), dies at 87
2010 Nodar Kumaritashvili, Georgian luger (b. 1988)
2011 Elizabeth "Betty" Garrett, American actress, comedian, singer and dancer (All in the Family), dies of an aortic aneurysm at 91
2011 Gino Cimoli, American baseball player, dies at 81
2011 Kenneth Mars, American comedic actor (The Producers), dies at 75
2011 Mato Damjanović, Croatian chess grandmaster (b. 1927)
2011 Peter Alexander [Ferdinand Maximilian Neumayer], Austrian actor and singer (Who Wants to Sleep?), dies at 84
2012 David Kelly, Irish actor (Grandpa Joe-Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; Fawlty Towers), dies of pneumonia and lung cancer at 82
2012 John Severin, American comic book artist, dies at 90
2012 Zina Bethune, American actress, dies from hit and run at 66
2013 Hennadiy Udovenko, Ukrainian politician and diplomat (UN General Assembly President, 1997-98), dies at 81
2014 Diarmuid Downs, British automotive engineer, dies at 91
2014 Isaac Sidney "Sid" Caesar, American comic actor and writer (Your Show of Shows), dies at 91
2015 David Carr, American journalist (New York Times), dies of cancer at 58
2015 Gary Owens, American disc jockey/TV host (Laugh In, Gong Show), dies at 80
2015 Sam Andrew, American musician (Big Brother and the Holding Company), dies at 73
2015 Steve Strange [Harrington], Welsh pop singer (Visage) and nightclub host, dies of a heart attack at 55
2016 Johnny Lattner, American College Football Hall of Fame halfback (Heisman Trophy 1953, Notre Dame; Pro Bowl 1954, Pittsburgh Steelers), dies from mesothelioma at 83
2017 Al Jarreau, American jazz singer (Moonlighting), dies at 76
2019 Gordon Banks, English soccer goalkeeper (World Cup 1966, 73 England caps), dies of kidney cancer at 81
2019 Lyndon LaRouche, American political activist (National Caucus of Labor Committees), dies at 96
2019 W. E. B. Griffin [William Edmund Butterworth], American best-selling author (Clandestine Operations, The Lieutenants), dies at 89
2020 Tamás Wichmann, Hungarian sprint canoeist (World C'ship gold x 9; Olympic silver C-1 1000m 1972, C-2 1000m 1968; bronze C-1 1000m 1976), dies at 72
2021 Milford Graves, American avant-garde and free jazz drummer, percussionist (New York Art Quartet), and educator (Bennington College, Vermont, 1973-2012), dies of heart failure at 79 [1]
2022 Brian Kan, Chinese thoroughbred horse trainer (5 x Hong Kong champion trainer; 5 x HK Derby winners), dies at 84
2022 Howard Grimes, American soul music session drummer (Al Green; Ann Peeples), dies of kidney failure at 80

Ivan Reitman (1946-2022)

Slovak-Canadian director and producer (Stripes; Ghostbusters; Dave; Private Parts), dies at 75

2022 William Kraft, American timpanist, percussionist (Los Angeles Percussion Ensemble), conductor, and composer (The Demise of Suriyodhaya; Avalanche), dies at 98
2023 Eileen Sheridan, English cyclist (record road cyclist - Land’s End-John O’Groats time stood for 36 years), dies at 99 [1]
2023 Trugoy the Dove [David Jolicoeur], American rapper and producer (De La Soul - "Me Myself and I"), dies of heart failure at 54

February 12 Highlights