Famous Deaths on January 16

1752 Francis Blomefield, English topographer (History of Norfolk), dies at 46

Edward Gibbon (1737-1794)

English historian (The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire), dies in London at 56

1809 Sir John Moore, British General, at the Battle of Corunna (b. 1761)
1817 Alexander J. Dallas, American statesman and financier, dies at 57
1817 Antonín Volánek, Czech organist and composer, dies at 55
1834 Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette, French mathematician (b. 1769)
1842 Thomas Fearnley, Norwegian landscape painter, dies of typhoid fever at 39
1849 Wilhelm Martin Leberecht de Wette, German theologist, dies at 69
1856 Thaddeus William Harris, American naturalist (b. 1795)
1864 Anton Schindler, German violinist and biographer (Beethoven), dies at 68
1879 Octave Crémazie, French Canadian poet, dies at 51
1885 Edmond François Valentin About, French writer (Le Roi des montagnes), dies at 56
1886 Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian composer (La Gioconda), dies at 51
1886 Jacob Kats, Flemish writer (Earthly Paradise), dies at 81
1891 Clement Léo Delibes, French romantic composer (Coppélia, Sylvia, Le roi l'a dit, Lakmé), dies at 54
1892 Imakita Kosen, Zen teacher/abbot of Engagkuji monastery, dies
1893 Johan Philip Koelman, painter/sculptor/architect, dies at 74
1898 Charles Pelham Villiers, longest-serving MP in the British House of Commons (b. 1802)
1899 Charles Chiniquy, Canadian Catholic priest who left the Roman Catholic Church and became a Presbyterian minister, dies at 89
1901 Arnold Böcklin, Swiss painter (b. 1827)

Hiram R. Revels (1827-1901)

American clergyman, politician,1st African American in Congress (US Senator from Mississippi, 1870-71), and college president (Alcorn, 1871-82), dies at 73

1901 Jules Barbier, French opera librettist (b. 1825)
1906 Marshall Field, American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field and Company, dies at 71
1907 Alfred Shaw, English cricket medium/spin bowler (7 Tests; bowled first ball in Test cricket; first to take 5 wickets in a Test innings; Nottinghamshire CCC, MCC), dies at 64
1908 Lydia Moss Bradley, American bank president, philanthropist, and college founder (Bradley Polytechnic Institute), dies at 91
1912 Georg Heym, German writer, dies in an ice skating accident at 24
1913 Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, American aeronaut and inventor, dies at 80
1916 Arnold Aletrino, Dutch physician, criminologist, and author (From Death), dies at 57

George Dewey (1837-1917)

U.S. Admiral of the Navy, won Battle of Manila Bay, dies at 79

1919 Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves, President of Brazil (b. 1848)
1919 Jaroslav Jeremiáš, Czech pianist and composer, dies at 19
1920 Reginald De Koven, American composer, dies at 60
1924 Maurice de Plessys, French poet (Palace Occidental), dies at 59
1924 Winifred Cochrane, Countess of Dundonald, philanthropist (b. 1859)
1934 Annie Patterson, Irish organist, composer, and musicologist, dies at 65
1935 Ma Barker, American criminal (b. 1871)
1935 Richard Wetz, German composer (Requiem, Op. 50 in B minor), dies of lung cancer at 59
1936 Albert Fish, American serial killer, executed at 65
1938 Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Indian Bengali novelist (Devdas), dies at 61
1942 Carole Lombard [Jane Alice Peters], American actress (My Man Godfrey; To Be or Not to Be), dies in a plane crash at 33
1942 Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, Governor General of Canada (1911-16), dies at 91
1943 Franz Courtens, Belgian landscape painter (Sunny Lane), dies at 88
1945 Dennis Donnini, British rifleman (Victoria Cross), dies in battle at 19
1946 Johanna HC Albregt, actress/wife of Henri Dons (Paradise), dies at 71
1954 Michail M Prishvin, Russian writer, dies
1957 Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, Governor-General of the Union of South Africa and Canada, dies at 82

Arturo Toscanini (1867-1957)

Italian cellist and conductor (La Scala, 1898-1908 & 1921-29; Metropolitan Opera, 1908-15; New York Philharmonic, 1926-36; NBC Symphony Orchestra, 1937-41 & 1944-54), dies after a stroke in NYC at 89

1961 Janos Viski, Hungarian composer, dies at 54
1962 Emanuel Stickelberger, Swiss writer (Holbein in England), dies at 77
1962 Frank Hurley, Australian photographer (b. 1885)
1962 Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor and architect, dies at 78
1963 Gilardo Gilardi, Argentine composer, pianist and conductor (La leyenda del urutaú, Réquiem, Misa de Gloria), dies at 73
1963 Ike Quebec, American tenor-saxophone player, dies of cancer at 44
1966 Margarete Susman, German-Jewish writer, dies at 91
1967 Dirk Vansina, Flemish playwright (Sage of Kai-Roi), dies at 72
1967 Robert J. Van De Graaff, American engineer & physicist (Mobility of Gaseous Ions), dies at 65
1968 John Davidson, American stage and silent and sound screen actor (The Bronze Bell; Dick Tracy vs Crime, Inc; Chinese Cat), dies at 81
1968 Robert R "Bob" Jones, founder (Bob Jones University), dies at 84
1969 Vernon Duke [Vladimir Alexandrovich Dukelsky], American composer and songwriter ("Taking a Chance on Love"), dies of lung cancer at 65
1970 Armijn Pane, Indonesian writer (Djinak-djinak merpati), dies at 61
1971 Kermit Maynard, American cowboy actor (Valley of Terror, Saturday Roundup), dies at 73
1971 Philippe Thys, Belgian cyclist (three times winner of Tour de France), dies at 81
1972 David Seville [Ross Bagdasarian], American songwriter ("Come On A-My House"), singer (Alvin & The Chipmunks - "Witch Doctor"), and actor (Rear Window), dies at 52
1972 Teller Ammons, American attorney and politician (Governor of Colorado, 1937-39), dies at 76
1974 Roy Bargy, American pianist and composer (Jimmy Durante Show), dies at 79
1975 Thor Johnson, American conductor (Cincinnati Symphony, 1947-58; Nashville Symphony, 1967-75), dies at 61
1977 Leif Panduro, Danish writer ('k Have varnish on traditions), dies at 53
1978 Virginia Pope, American fashion editor (New York Times), dies at 92
1979 August Heissmeyer, German SS officer, dies at 82
1979 Fred Elizalde, Spanish Filipino composer, dies at 71
1979 Peter Butterworth, British actor and comedian (Carry On), dies of a heart attack at 63

Ted Cassidy (1932-1979)

American actor (Lurch-Addams Family), dies at 46

1980 Anna Maria Franciska van Wageningen-Salomons, Dutch author (Girl Student), dies at 94
1981 Bernard Lee, British actor (M in James Bond movies, Fallen Idol, Dr No), dies at 73
1982 Harald Søltoft Agersnap, Danish cellist, pianist, conductor, and composer (Royal Danish Theatre, 1931-66), dies at 82
1985 Robert Fitzgerald, American poet and translator, dies at 74
1986 Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist, author, and publisher (b. 1892)
1987 Bertram Wainer, Australian physician pro-abortion access campaigner, dies of a heart attack at 58
1987 Earl Wilson, American journalist and columnist (Midnight Earl), dies at 79
1987 Ilse Lagner, German antiwar writer, dies at 87
1987 Joyce Jameson, American comedienne and actress (Spike Jones Show, The Outlaw Josey Wales), commits suicide at 59
1987 Robert De Kers [Keersmaeker], Belgian jazz trumpeter and bandleaders, dies at 80
1988 Andrija Artuković, Croatian war criminal (b. 1899)
1988 Ballard Berkeley [Blascheck], British actor (Fawlty Towers, East meets West, The BFG), dies at 83
1989 Pierre Boileau, French screenwriter (Vertigo), dies at 82
1989 Romo Vincent, actor (Naked Jungle), dies
1989 Trey Wilson, actor (Bull Durham, Twins, Raising Arizona), dies
1991 Cladys "Jabbo" Smith, American jazz trumpet pioneer, dies at 82
1992 Ajahn Chah, Thai Buddhist meditation master, dies at 73
1992 Roselle Novelle, silent film actress, dies at 95
1993 Florence Desmond [Dawson], actress (Sally in Our Alley), dies at 87
1993 Freddie Cochrane, American boxer (World Welterweight champion 1941-1946), dies at 77
1993 Glenn Corbett [Glen Edwin Rothenburg], American actor (Route 66; Shenandoah; Chisum), dies of lung cancer at 59
1993 Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Icelandic strength athlete (b. 1960)
1993 Sathasivam Krishnakumar, Sri Lanka commander, commits suicide
1994 Stephen Kritsick, veterinarian (Good Morning America), dies at 42
1995 William Dillard, American jazz trumpeter and Broadway singer dies from complications of Lupus, at 83 [1]
1996 Harry Potts, English soccer forward (Burnley, Everton) and manager (Burnley, Shrewsbury Town, Blackpool), dies at 75
1996 Kaye Webb, English writer and publisher (Puffin Club), dies at 81
1996 Marcia Davenport, American author and music critic (b. 1903)
1996 Richard Kermode, American rocker (Kozmic Blues Band), dies at 49
1997 Charlie Alfred Galbraith, English jazz trombonist, dies at 76
1997 Ennis Cosby, son of Bill Cosby, murdered on LA highway at 29
1997 Jim Kensil, NFL president (NY Jets), dies of heart failure at 66
1997 Stephen Fitz-Simon, entrepreneur, dies at 59
1998 David "Junior" Kimbrough, American blues musician, dies at 67
1998 Dimitris Horn, Greek actor (A Girl in Black), dies of cancer at 66
1998 Lionel Birkett, West Indian cricket batsman (4 Tests, 1 x 50; Barbados, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago), dies at 92
1998 Peter Diamand, artistic administrator, dies at 84
1999 Jim McClelland, Australian solicitor, politician, Minister, Royal Commissioner, judge (b. 1915)
1999 Oscar Cullmann, French-Swiss Lutheran theologist (Das Petrusproblem), dies at 96
2000 Gene Harris [Haire], American soul-jazz pianist (The Three Sounds), dies of kidney failure at 66
2000 Will "Dub" Jones, American bass singer (The Coasters - "Charlie Brown"), dies at 71
2001 Auberon Waugh, British author and journalist (b. 1939)

Laurent-Désiré Kabila (1971-2001)

Congolese revolutionary and 3rd President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1997-2001), assassinated in his office at 61 by one of his own bodyguards

2001 Leonard Woodcock, American labor leader (United Auto Workers) and US ambassador to China, dies at 89
2001 Virginia O'Brien, American actress and singer (Meet the People, Gus, Ziegfeld Follies), dies of a heart attack at 81
2002 (Carl) "Bobo" Olson, American boxer World Middleweight Champion, 1953-55), dies at 73
2002 Eddie Meduza, Swedish composer (b. 1948)
2002 Robert Hanbury Brown, British-Australian astronomer and physicist (b. 1916)
2002 Ron Taylor, American actor (b. 1952)
2003 Henryk Czyz, Polish composer and musician, dies at 79
2003 Richard Wainwright, English politician, Liberal MP for Colne Valley (1966–70), dies at 84
2004 John Siomos, American rock drummer, dies at 56
2004 Kalevi Sorsa, Prime Minister of Finland (b. 1930)
2005 Marjorie Williams, American journalist (b. 1958)
2006 Stanley Biber, American physician, pioneer of transgender surgery, (b. 1923)
2007 Benny Parsons, American racecar driver and commentator (b. 1941)
2007 Ron Carey, American actor (Barney Miller), dies of a stroke at 71
2007 Thornton James "Pookie" Hudson, American vocalist (The Spaniels- "Goodnite Sweetheart Goodnite"), dies of cancer at 72
2009 Andrew Wyeth, American realist painter (Christina's World), dies at 91
2009 Joe Erskine, American boxer and long distance runner (b. 1930)
2009 John Mortimer, British barrister, screenwriter and author. (b. 1923)
2012 Gustav Leonhardt, Dutch harpsichordist, organist and conductor, dies at 87
2012 Jimmy Castor, American pop and funk musician (Troglodyte (Cave Man), Jimmy Castor Bunch), died of heart failure at 71
2013 Abigail Van Buren [Pauline Phillips], American columnist and radio show host known for "Dear Abby" advice column, twin sister of fellow advice columnist Ann Landers (Eppie Lederer), dies from complications from Alzheimer's disease at 94
2013 Yevdokiya Mekshilo, Soviet skier (Olympic gold 1964), dies at 81
2014 Dave Madden, Canadian-born American actor (Charlotte's Web, Alice, The Partridge Family), dies from heart and kidney failure at 82
2014 Roger Lloyd-Pack, British stage and screen actor (Only Fools and Horses - "Trigger"; The Vicar of Dibley - "Owen"; Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), dies of pancreatic cancer at 69
2014 Russell Johnson, American television and film actor, best known for his role as "The Professor" on Gilligan's Island, dies of kidney failure at 89
2016 Gary Loizzo, American rock guitarist and singer (American Breed - "Bend Me, Shape Me"), dies of pancreatic cancer at 70
2017 Cuthbert Johnson, English musician and Benedictine abbot, dies at 70
2017 Eugene Cernan, American NASA astronaut (12th person on the moon), dies at 82
2018 Bradford Dillman, American actor (Compulsion, Piranha, Sudden Impact, Enforcer), dies of complications of pneumonia at 87
2018 Dave Holland, English heavy metal rocker (Judas Priest - "Breakin' the Law"), dies at 69
2018 Jo Jo White, American basketballer (Olympic gold - 1968), dies of complications of dementia at 71
2019 Hugh Lewin, South African anti-apartheid activist and writer (Bandiet: Seven Years in a South African Prison), dies at 79
2019 Rita Vidaurri, American Ranchera singer, dies at 94
2020 Christopher Tolkien, British author and son of J. R. R. Tolkien, dies at 95
2020 Efraín Sánchez, Colombian soccer goalkeeper (9 caps; San Lorenzo) and manager (Columbia), dies at 93
2020 Peter Hammersley, British Rear-Admiral who served on and designed submarines, dies at 91
2021 Jon Arnett, American College Football Hall of Fame halfback (USC; 5 × Pro Bowl; LA Rams, Chicago Bears), dies from heart failure at 85

Phil Spector (1939-2021)

American record producer (Wall of Sound), and convicted murderer, dies of COVID-19 complications at 81 [1]

2022 Charles McGee, American US Air Force officer and fighter pilot of the Tuskegee Airmen (WWII, Korean War, Vietnam), dies at 102
2022 Collarwali, Indian tigress and 'Super Mum' who birthed 29 cubs, cremated at Pench Tiger Reserve at 16 [1]
2023 Bjarne Hansen, Norwegian soccer centre-back (3 caps; Vålerenga FC), dies at 93
2023 Frank Thomas, American baseball outfielder (3 x MLB All-Star; Pittsburgh Pirates), dies at 93
2023 Luigina "Gina" Lollobrigida, Italian actress (Trapeze; Falcon Crest), photojournalist, and sculptor, dies at 95 [1]
2023 Pierre Danos, French rugby union halfback (17 Tests; RC Toulon, AS Béziers), dies at 93
2023 Vladislovas Česiūnas, Lithuanian sprint canoeist (Olympic gold USSR C-2 1000 1972; 4 x World C'ship gold), dies at 82