Famous Deaths on January 12

Marguerite Bourgeoys

1700 Marguerite Bourgeoys, founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame in Quebec, dies at 79

1705 Luca Giordano, Italian artist (b. 1634)
1732 John Horsley, British archaeologist (b. 1685)
1735 John Eccles, English composer (b. 1668)
1759 Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, eldest daughter of King George II of Great Britain, dies at 49
1765 Johann Melchior Molter, composer, dies at 68
1777 Hugh Mercer, Scottish military officer (fought in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War), dies of his wounds at the Battle of Princeton at 50
1781 Richard Challoner, English Catholic prelate (b. 1691)
1807 Adriaan Kluit, Dutch historian, dies at 71
1807 Joan Lucaz, Dutch journalist and patriot, dies at 60
1817 Juan Andres, Spanish Jesuit (b. 1740)
1829 Friedrich von Schlegel, German cultural philosopher/poet, dies at 56
1829 Michael Gottard Fischer, composer, dies at 55
1833 Marie-Antoine Carême, French chef (b. 1784)

William Grenville

1834 William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Whig: 1806-07), dies at 74

1839 Joseph A Koch, Aust painter/cartoonist/etcher/illustrator, dies at 70
1851 Johan Herman Koekkoek, painter, dies at 72
1856 Ľudovít Štúr, Slovak politician and author of Slovak language, dies at 40
1860 Martinus Niewindt, Dutch Bishop of Curacao (christened slaves), dies at 63
1867 Victor Cousin, French philosopher and educational reformer, dies at 74

Isaac Pitman

1897 Isaac Pitman, English teacher and inventor of Pitman shorthand (Stenographic Soundhand), dies at 84

1899 Hiram Walker, American entrepreneur and founder of the Hiram Walker and Sons Ltd. distillery, dies at 82
1909 Hermann Minkowski, German mathematician (b. 1864)
1910 Harry Staley, American baseball pitcher (MLB record 9 RBI 1893; record lasts 70+ years), dies at 43
1921 Gervase Elwes, English tenor (b. 1866)
1925 Oskar Brefeld, German botanist and founder of modern mycology, dies at 85
1926 Sir Austin Chapman, Australian politician (b. 1864)
1928 Ruth Snyder, 1st woman to die in electric chair
1933 Václav Suk, Czech-born Russian composer and violinist, dies at 71
1934 Pawel Kochanski, Polish violinist, composer and arranger (b. 1887)
1934 Surya Sen "Master Da", Indian activist for independence (Chittagong armoury raid), hanged at 39
1938 Gösta Ekman (senior), Swedish actor (b. 1890)
1940 Erich R Jaensch, German psychologist (eidetiek), dies at 56
1942 George Francis, cricketer (WI Test fast-bowler, 23 wkts in 10), dies
1943 Jan Campert, Dutch resistance fighter and poet (18 Dead), dies at 40
1943 Frank Alvord Perret, American volcanologist renowned for his research at Vesuvius, Etna, Stromboli and Kilauea dies at 75
1944 Lance C. Wade, American pilot (b. 1915)
1944 Juliette Atkinson, American tennis player (US Nat C'ship 1895, 97-98), dies at 70
1947 Jonas Cohn, German philosopher (Wertwissenschaft), dies at 77
1950 Koos van de Griend, Dutch composer, dies at 44
1953 Simeon Roncal, Bolivian composer, dies at 82
1956 John Raedecker, Dutch sculptor (WW II Monument Amsterdam), dies at 70
1956 Norman Kerry, American actor (Air Eagles, Phantom of the Opera), dies at 61
1958 Arthur Shepherd, composer, dies at 77
1958 Charles Mallory Hatfield, U.S. rainmaker (b. 1875)
1959 Edvard Eriksen, Danish-Icelandic sculptor, dies at 82
1960 Nevil Shute [Norway], English-Australian novelist (On the Beach, Town like Alice), dies at 60
1962 Richard de Guide, composer, dies at 52
1962 Ariadna Tyrkova-Williams, Russian writer and feminist, dies at 92
1964 C R Browne, cricket leg-spinner (WI in 4 Tests, 6 wkts), dies
1965 Lorraine Hansberry, US playwright, dies in NYC, dies at 34
1965 Porcupine, in the National Zoo, dies at 27; oldest known rodent (Washington, DC)
1967 Holland Smith, American General in the U.S. Marine Corps, dies at 84
1970 Blanche Stuart Scott, US pilot, dies at 84
1972 Padraic Colum, Irish novelist and poet (Collected Poems), dies at 90
1975 Caryn Campbell, Bundy victim, disappears from Snowmass, Colo

Agatha Christie

1976 Agatha Christie, British crime writer (Murder on the Orient Express, Mousetrap), dies at 85

1977 Henri-Georges Clouzot, French director (Les Diaboliques, Truth), dies at 69
1980 Hans Ebeling, cricketer (Vict stalwart, bowled for Aust 1934), dies
1981 Isobel Elsom, actress (Unseen, Jane Eyre, Illegal), dies at 87
1983 Rebop Kwaku Baah, Nigerian percussionist (b. 1944)
1986 Marcel Arland, French author (L'ordre, Lumière du Soir), dies at 86
1988 Connie Mulder, South African politician (b. 1925)
1990 Laurence J. Peter, Canadian author (Peter Principle), dies of a stroke at 70
1990 Paul Amadeus Pisk, composer, dies at 96
1991 Keye Luke, Chinese-American actor (Across the Pacific, Charlie Chan's No 1 Son), dies after a stroke at 86
1991 Vasco Pratolini, Italian writer (Ragazze di San Frediano), dies at 77
1992 Walt Morey, US children's book writer (Gentle Ben), dies at 84
1993 Carles Mira, Spanish director (Que Nos Quiten Lo Bailao), dies at 45
1994 Bob Horen, dies of cancer at 67
1994 Samuel Bronston, Romanian/US producer (El Cid), dies at 85
1995 George Price, cartoonist (New Yorker), dies at 93
1995 Marion Herbst, German/Dutch jewelry designer, dies at 50
1996 Edmund Happold, British structural engineer (founder of Buro Happold), dies at 65
1996 John Howard Purnell, Welsh chemist (Royal Society of Chemistry), dies at 70
1996 Peggy Braithwaite, lighthouse-keeper, dies at 76
1996 Joachim Nitsche, German mathematician (b. 1926)
1997 Charles Huggins, American-Canadian physician and cancer researcher (1966 Nobel Prize), dies at 95
1997 Jean Writer-Edern Hallier, dies at 60
1997 Jill Summers, actress (Agatha Coronation Street), dies at 86
1999 Betty Lou Gerson, American voice actress (101 Dalmatians, Cinderella), dies of a stroke at 84
1999 Doug Wickenheiser, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1961)
1999 Leo Cherne, American economist and commentator (All Star News), dies at 86
2000 Marc Davis, American animator (b. 1913)
2000 Bobby Phills, American basketball player (b. 1969)
2001 Affirmed, American racehorse (b. 1975)
2001 Luiz Bonfá, Brazilian guitarist and composer (b. 1922)

Bill Hewlett

2001 William Hewlett, American engineer and businessman (co-founder Hewlett-Packard), dies of a heart attack at 87

2001 Kyra Vayne [Knopmuss], English stage and opera soprano, dies at 84
2001 Adhemar da Silva, Brazilian triple jumper (Olympic golds 1952, 56), dies at 73
2002 Stanley Unwin, South African comedian (b. 1911)
2002 Cyrus Vance, 57th U.S. Secretary of State (1977-80), dies at 84
2003 Dean Amadon, American ornithologist, dies at 90
2003 Kinji Fukasaku, Japanese director (b. 1930)
2003 Leopoldo Galtieri, dictator of Argentina (b. 1926)

Maurice Gibb

2003 Maurice Gibb, guitarist of the Bee Gees, dies of cardiac arrest at 53

2003 Allan Nunn May, English physicist and Soviet spy (b. 1911)
2004 Olga Aleksandrovna Ladyzhenskaya, Russian mathematician (fluid dynamics), dies at 81
2004 Randy VanWarmer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist ("Just When I Needed You Most"), dies of leukemia at 48
2005 Alessia di Matteo, first survivor of eight transplants in one operation (b. 2003)
2005 Amrish Puri, Indian actor (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom- Mola Ram, Mr. India), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 72
2005 Edmund S. Valtman, Estonian-born cartoonist (b. 1914)
2007 Sir James Killen, Australian politician (b. 1925)
2007 Alice Coltrane [née McLeod], American jazz harp, piano, and organ player (Journey in Satchidananda) dies of respiratory failure at 69
2009 Claude Berri, French actor, director and screenwriter, dies at 74
2009 Arne Næss, Norwegian philosopher (b. 1912)
2009 Russ Conway, Canadian-American character actor (Richard Diamond Private Eye), dies at 95
2010 Hasib Sabbagh, Palestinian businessman and philanthropist, co-founder of Consolidated Contractors Company (b. 1920)
2010 Daniel Bensaïd, French philosopher and a leader of the Trotskyist movement in France, dies of cancer caused by the side effects of drugs used to treat AIDS at 63
2011 Paul Picerni, American actor (The Untouchables), dies at 88
2011 Clemar Bucci, Argentine racing driver, dies at 90
2012 Bill Janklow, American politician and four-term Governor of South Dakota (Republican: 1979-87, 1995-2003), dies of brain cancer at 72
2012 Reginald Hill, British crime author (Andrew Dalziel and Peter Pascoe novels), dies of brain cancer at 75
2012 Charles Price, American businessman and diplomat, dies at 80
2012 Sadao Bekku, Japanese classical and film composer (Matango), dies at 89
2014 Gyula Torok, Hungarian Olympic Champion Boxer, dies at 75
2014 Michael L. Strang, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado), dies at 84
2015 John Bayley, English academic and writer (Iris: A Memoir of Iris Murdoch), dies at 89
2015 Clifford Adams, American trombone player, dies at 62

William Peter Blatty

2017 William Peter Blatty, American scriptwriter and author of The Exorcist, dies at 89

2018 Keith Jackson, American sportscaster (ABC Monday Night Football, college football), dies at 89
2018 Danny Woods, American musician (CEO of the Board), dies at 75
2018 Pierre Pincemaille, French organist, composer, and pedagogue, dies of lung cancer at 61
2019 Bonnie Guitar [Buckingham], American guitarist, singer and record executive (Dark Moon), dies at 95
2019 Bob Kuechenberg, American NFL guard (6-time Pro Bowl, Miami Dolphins), dies of a heart attack at 71
2020 Paulo Gonçalves, Portuguese rally racing motorcycle rider (FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship 2013), dies in motorcycle crash during Dakar Rally at 40
2021 Frank Arok AM, Yugoslavian-Australian soccer coach (Australia 1983-89), dies at 88
2021 Álvaro Mejía, Colombian athlete (Boston Marathon 1971 2:18:45), dies at 80
2021 John Ward, New Zealand cricket wicketkeeper (8 Tests; 17 dismissals), dies at 83
2021 Khalid bin Abdullah Al Saud, Saudi thoroughbred racing owner and breeder (Juddmonte Farms; Dancing Brave, Enable, Frankel, Arrogate), dies at 84

January 12 Highlights

On This Day