Famous Deaths on February 17

1688 Rev James Renwick, hanged in Scotland for being a Presbyterian
1694 Antoinette du Ligier de la Guard Deshoulieres, French poet and literary figure, dies at 56
1715 Antoine Galland, French orientalist and archaeologist, dies at 68
1732 Louis Marchand, French Baroque musician and composer, dies at 63
1768 Arthur Onslow, English politician (Speaker of the House of Commons 1728-61), dies at 76
1780 Andreas Felix von Oefele, German historian and librarian, dies at 73
1796 James Macpherson, Scottish writer and poet, dies at 59
1815 Franz Gotz, Bohemian composer, dies at 59
1827 Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Swiss educator (Leonard & Gertrude), dies at 81
1830 Marcos Portugal [Marcos Antonio da Fonseca Portugal], Portuguese-Brazilian opera, sacred music, and national anthem composer (Portugal - "Hymno Patriótico", 1809; Brazil - "Hino da Independência", 1822), dies at 67
1841 Ferdinando Carulli, Italian classical guitar composer (Méthode, Op. 27), dies at 71
1847 William Collins, English landscape painter, dies at 58
1852 Micha Joseph Levenson, Hebrew poet, dies
1854 Hugues Felicité Robert de Lamennais, French Catholic priest and writer (L'avenir), dies at 71
1854 John Martin, English painter and engraver, dies at 64
1856 Heinrich Heine, German poet and lyricist (Schubert, Liszt), dies at 58
1856 John Braham, English tenor singer and composer, dies at 81
1872 José Burgos, Filipino Catholic priest (advocated for greater Filipino self-determination), executed at 35
1874 Adolphe Quetelet, Belgian astronomer, mathematician and sociologist (body mass index scale), dies at 77
1875 Luis Nicolau Fagunde Varela, Brazilian romantic poet (Cântico do Calvário) dies at 33

1878 José Amador de los Ríos, Spanish historian and poet, dies at 59
1883 Napoléon Coste, French guitarist and composer, dies at 76
1883 Vasudeo Balwant Phadke, Indian independence activist and revolutionary, dies at 37

Christopher Latham Sholes (1819-1890)

American newspaper man, politician and inventor of the typewriter, dies of tuberculosis at 71

1894 Francisco Barbieri Spanish zarzuela opera composer (El Diablo en el poder), dies at 70
1901 Ethelbert Nevin, American pianist and composer (The Rosary; Narcissus), dies of a stroke at 38
1903 Joseph Parry, Welsh composer and musician, dies at 61
1905 Serge Alexandrovich, Governor-General of Moscow, assassinated by a terrorist bomb; his carriage driver also died, the assailant survived, was tried and hanged
1907 Henry Steel Olcott, American military officer and co-founder of the Theosophical Society, dies at 74

Geronimo (1829-1909)

Apache leader and resistance fighter, dies at 79

1912 Alois Lexa von Aehrenthal, Austrian diplomat (Foreign Minister of Austria-Hungary 1906-12), dies at 57
1912 Edgar Evans, Welsh explorer (part of Robert Scott's Terra Nova Expedition to Antarctica), dies attempting to return from the Pole at 35
1917 Edmund Bishop, English Roman Catholic historian and Secretary of Thomas Carlyle, dies at 70

Wilfrid Laurier (1841-1918)

7th Prime Minister of Canada (Liberal: 1896-1911), dies of a stroke at 76

Henry Bacon (1866-1924)

American architect (Lincoln Memorial), dies at 57

1924 Oskar Merikanto [Ala-Kanto], Finnish pianist, organist, and composer, dies at 55
1929 John Read, English cricketer (batted in 17 Tests for Eng for 463 runs), dies
1932 Franz Gailliard, Belgian painter and graphic artist (Egina), dies at 70
1933 Henri Viotta, Dutch conductor and composer (Handbook of Music), dies at 84
1934 Albert I, King of Belgium (1909-34), dies at 58
1934 Siegbert Tarrasch, German chess player, chess writer, and chess teacher, dies at 71
1936 Erich Schaeder, German theologist (Theozentrische), dies at 74
1939 Willy Hess, German violinist, dies at 79
1943 Armand J. Piron, American jazz violinist and composer, dies at 54
1943 Konstantin Bogaevsky, Russian painter (b. 1872)
1944 Fausto Agnelli, Swiss painter, dies at 64
1951 Nikoghayos Fadeyi Tigranyan, Armenian composer, dies at 94
1954 Evert Gorter, Dutch children's pioneering paediatrician founder of Dutch medical child care), dies at 72
1955 Otto J. Gombosi, Hungarian-American musicologist, dies of a heart attack at 52
1958 Hugh McCrae, Australian writer and poet (Satyrs and Sunlight: Sylvarum Libri), dies at 81
1959 Kathryn Adams, American silent film actress, dies at 65
1959 Tim Mara, American founder and administrator (NFL NY Giants), dies at 59
1961 Nita Naldi [Anita Donna Dooley], American stage and silent film actress (Blood & Sand; Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde), dies of a heart attack at 66
1962 Bruno Walter, German-French opera and symphony conductor (Vienna Philharmonic; NY Philharmonic), dies at 85
1962 Joseph Kearns, American actor (George-Dennis the Menace), des at 55
1966 Frank Pettingell, English actor (Becket, Up the Creek), dies at 75
1966 Gail Kane, American actress (White Sister, Arizona), dies at 81
1966 Hans Hofmann, German-American painter (Search for the Real), dies at 85
1968 Donald Wolfit, British actor (Lawrence of Arabia, Becket, Accursed), dies of heart ailment at 65
1969 (Adolphe) Paul Barbarinan American jazz drummer (King Oliver; Red Allen Sextet; Onward Brass Band), dies while playing his snare drum, marching in a Mardi Gras parade at 69
1970 Alfred Newman, American film music arranger, conductor and composer, winner of 9 Academy Awards (The Robe; How The West Was Won; Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing), dies at 69
1970 Shmuel Agnon, Israeli writer (Day Before Yesterday, Nobel Prize for Literature 1966), dies at 81 [1]
1971 Teddy Hart, American actor (After the Thin Man, 3 Men on a Horse), dies at 73
1972 Gavriil Popov, Soviet Russian composer, dies at 67
1976 Jean Servais, Belgian actor (Le Plaisir, Every Man is My Enemy), dies from heart failure at 65
1977 Janani Luwum, Ugandan Archbishop (b. 1922)
1977 Quincy Howe, American newscaster (CBS Weekend News), dies at 76
1979 Bill Gargan, American actor (The Bells of St. Mary's; You Only Live Once), dies from a heart attack at 73
1980 Graham Sutherland, English artist (official WWII war artist), dies at 76
1980 Jerry Fielding, American jazz musician and composer (Lively Ones, Hogan's Heroes), dies at 57
1982 Lee Strasberg, Austrian acting coach and actor (The Godfather: Part II, Somewhere in the Night), dies at 80
1982 Nestor Chylak, American Baseball HOF umpire (AL 1954-78; 3 x ALCS; 5 x World Series; 6 x MLB All Star games), dies at 59
1982 Thelonious Monk, American jazz pianist and composer ("Straight, No Chaser"; "'Round Midnight"; "Brilliant Corners"), dies of a stroke at 64
1984 Lucille Benson, American actress (Halloween II, 1941, Bosom Buddies), dies of liver cancer at 69
1985 Wanda Perry, actress (Roberta, Death of a Salesman), dies at 67
1986 Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian philosopher (Kingdom Happiness), dies at 90

Red Ruffing (1904-1986)

American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (6 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1932, 36–39, 41; NY Yankees), dies from stroke related problems at 80

1987 Hal K. Dawson, American actor (Another Language, Wells Fargo), dies at 90
1987 Verree Teasdale, American actress (Skyscraper Souls), dies at 83
1989 Lefty Gomez, American Baseball HOF pitcher (7 × MLB All-Star; 5 × World Series; Triple Crown 1934, 37; NY Yankees), dies of congestive heart failure at 80
1990 Erik Rhodes [Ernest Sharpe], American actor (Top Hat, Night at the Ritz), dies of pneumonia at 84
1990 Frans Kellendonk, Dutch writer (Good for Nothing), dies at 39
1990 Hap Day, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame defenceman (Stanley Cup 1932 [captain], 42, 45, 47, 48, 1949 [coach], 1951 [assistant manager]; Toronto Maple Leafs), dies at 88
1990 Marc Clement, actor (Career Opportunities, Sluggers Wife), dies at 39
1991 Enrique Bermudez, Nicaraguan commandant, founder of the Nicaraguan Contras, assassinated at 58
1993 Alfredo de Leon, leader (Philippines Red Scorpio Gang), killed
1993 George E. Wilburn, film editor, dies of emphysema at 77
1993 Leslie Townsend, English cricket all-rounder (England in 4 Tests 1930-34), dies at 89
1994 Gretchen Fraser, American slalom skier (Olympic gold 1948, 1st American Olympic skiing gold), dies at 75
1994 Randy Shilts, American journalist (& the band played on), dies of AIDs at 41
1995 Thelma Hulbert, English painter (Le Sacre du Printemps), dies at 81
1995 Uta Graf, German born American singer and teacher, dies at 80
1996 Bentley Bridgewater, British Museum secretary, dies at 84
1996 Evelyn Laye, English actress and singer (Sun Child), dies at 95
1996 Gus Hardin [Carolyn Ann Blankenship], American country singer, dies at 50
1996 Hervé Bazin, French writer (Head Against the Wall), dies at 84
1996 Michel Pablo [Michalis N. Raptis], Chilean-Greek writer and Trotskyist revolutionary (Fourth International), dies at 84
1997 Zein Isa, Palestinian militant imprisoned in the United States for the honor killing of his daughter
1998 Bob Merrill, American composer and lyricist (People, Mambo Italiano), commits suicide at 72
1998 Ernst Jünger, German author and entomologist (Storm of Steel), dies at 102
1999 Shirley Stoler, American actress (The Honeymoon Killers, Seven Beauties), dies at 69
2001 Bob Geary, Canadian football player and manager (b. 1933)
2001 Debbie Dean [Reba Smith], American pop singer and songwriter (Motown), dies at 73
2001 Khalid Abdul Muhammed, American Nation of Islam spokesman (b. 1948)
2003 Frank Thistlethwaite, English academic and Vice Chancellor (University of East Anglia), dies at 87
2004 José López Portillo, President of Mexico (1976-82), dies at 83
2004 Shirley Strickland, Australian athlete (Olympic gold 80m hurdles 1952, 56; 4 x 100m relay 1956), dies at 78
2005 Daniel "Dan" O'Herlihy, Irish actor (Twin Peaks, Fail Safe, Last Starfighter, Robocop), dies of natural causes at 85
2005 Omar Sívori, Argentine soccer forward and manager (19 caps Argentina, 9 caps Italy; Juventus), dies of pancreatic cancer at 69
2006 Bill Cowsill, American singer & musician (The Cowsills - "Hair"; "The Rain, The Park, And Other Thing"), dies of emphysema at 58
2006 Ray Barretto, American percussionist and Latin jazz bandleader (Charanga Moderna - "El Watusi"), dies at 76
2007 Dermot O'Reilly, Irish-born Canadian musician, producer and songwriter (b. 1943)
2007 Jurga Ivanauskaitė, Lithuanian writer (b. 1961)
2007 Maurice Papon, French Nazi collaborator, dies at 92
2007 Mike Awesome, American professional wrestler (b. 1965)
2008 Brian Harris, English footballer and manager, dies at 72
2009 Conchita Cintrón, Chilean bullfighter (b. 1922)
2009 Gazanfer Özcan, Turkish actor (b. 1931)
2010 Kathryn Grayson [Zelma Hedrick], American vocalist and actress (Anchors Aweigh, Kiss Me Kate), dies of natural causes at 88
2011 Bill Monroe, American newscaster (NBC-TV, Congressional Report), dies at 90
2011 Egbert van Paridon, Dutch actor and director (Flodder, The Assault), dies at 90
2011 Steve Horn, American politician (Rep-R-California 1993-2003), dies at 79
2012 Michael Davis, American bass guitarist, and songwriter (MC5 -"Kick Out The Jams"), dies of liver failure at 68
2012 Ulric Neisser, American psychologist, dies at 83
2013 Mindy McCready, American country singer, commits suicide by gunshot at 37
2013 Richard Briers, English actor, dies from emphysema at 79
2014 Bob Casale, (aka Bob 2), American new wave rock musician (Devo - "Whip It!"), and record producer, dies from heart failure at 61
2015 Andrzej Koszewski, Polish choral and orchestral composer, and musicologist, dies at 92
2015 Kenneth "Wally" Kelly, American R&B singer (Manhattans - "Kiss And Say Goodbye"), dies at 74
2016 Andy Ganteaume, Trinidadian cricketer (West Indian batsman who scored 112 in his only Test innings 1948), dies at 95
2016 Tony Phillips, American MLB player (Oakland Athletics), dies at 56
2017 Alan Aldridge, British artist, graphic designer and illustrator whose artwork was used in record covers for The Beatles and The Who, dies at 73
2017 Magnus Wenninger, American mathematician and author of Polyhedron models, dies at 97
2017 Peter Richardson, British cricket batsman (34 Tests, 5 x 100, 9 x 50, HS 126; Worcestershire CCC, Kent CCC), dies at 85
2017 Robert H. Michel, American politician (Rep-R-IL, 1957-95), dies at 93
2017 Warren Frost, American actor (Twin Peaks, Matlock, Seinfeld), dies at 91
2018 Arno Motulsky, German-born founder of medical genetics, known as the "father of pharmacogenomics," dies at 94
2018 Beatricce "Beebe" Freitas [nee Botty], American pianist, organist, and voice teacher (Hawaii Opera Theatre), dies at 79
2019 Ethel Ennis, American jazz singer (If Women Ruled The World), dies of a stroke at 86 [1]

Mickey Wright (1935-2020)

American golfer (13 major titles; 82 LPGA Tour wins), dies from a heart attack at 85

2020 Terry Lineen, New Zealand rugby union centre (12 caps; Auckland), dies at 84
2021 Doug Grisby, American soul music bassist, composer and producer (Patti LaBelle; Teena Marie), dies after suffering a stroke at 57
2021 Gianluigi Saccaro, Italian fencer (Olympic gold épée team 1960; silver épée team 1964; bronze épée 1968), dies at 82
2021 Martha Stewart [Haworth], American actress (In A Lonely Place; Daisy Kenyon: Doll Face), dies at 98
2021 Martí Vergés, Spanish soccer midfielder (12 caps; FC Barcelona), dies at 86
2021 Murray Weideman, Australian rules football CHF (Collingwood VFL premiers 1953, 58 [c]; B&F 1957, 61, 62; Victoria 1956-60) and coach (Collingwood 1975-76), dies at 85
2021 Özcan Arkoç, Turkish soccer goalkeeper (9 caps; Hamburger SV) and manager (Hamburger SV, Hannover 96), dies at 81

Rush Limbaugh (1951-2021)

American conservative political talk radio personality, dies of lung cancer at 70

2022 Dallas Good, Canadian alt-country-rock guitarist and singer-songwriter (The Sadies -"Through Strange Eyes"), dies at 48
2022 Máté Fenyvesi, Hungarian soccer forward (76 caps; Ferencváros 343 games) and politician (MP 1998-2006), dies at 88
2022 Steve Burtenshaw, English soccer manager (Sheffield Wednesday, Everton, QPR, Arsenal) and midfielder (Brighton & HA 237 games), dies at 86
2023 (Harry Gilbert) Gil Trythall, American pianist, contemporary classical and electronic music composer (The Pastimes of Lord Chaitanya), and educator, dies at 92
2023 John Holdsworth, English rugby league referee (2 x Challenge Cup Finals; record 6 x Premiership Finals; first World Club Challenge 1987: Wigan beat Manly 8-2), dies at 76
2023 Stella Stevens [Estella Eggleston], American actress (Girls! Girls! Girls!; The Nutty Professor; Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows), dies of Alzheimer's disease at 84 [1]