- 1103 Erik I Ejegod, the good hearted, King of Denmark (1095-1103), dies
- 1290 King Ladislaus IV of Hungary (b. 1262)
- 1460 Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, English military leader (b. 1402)
- 1480 King René I of Naples (b. 1410) last heir of house of Anjou
- 1535 Jacob Van Campen, Reconstruction bishop, beheaded
- 1573 Willem van Bronkhorst, Brattenburg/Stein/army leader, dies
- 1584 William I "the Silent" [William of Orange], Earl of Nassau, assassinated at 51 in his home in Delft, Holland, by Balthasar Gérard
- 1590 Archduke Charles II of Austria (b. 1540)
- 1594 Paulo Bellasio, composer, dies at 40
- 1621 Karel Bonaventura Buquoy, French soldier (b. 1571)
- 1653 Gabriel Naudé, French librarian and scholar (b. 1600)
- 1668 Adam-Nicolas Gascon, composer, dies at 45
- 1680 Louis Moréri, French encyclopedist (b. 1643)
- 1683 François-Eudes de Mézeray, French historian (b. 1610)
- 1686 Ercole Ferrata, Italian sculptor/restauranteur, dies at 76
- 1686 John Fell, English churchman (b. 1625)
- 1690 Domenico Gabrielli, composer, dies at 39
- 1690 Jan van Brakel, Dutch vice admiral (Chatham), dies in battle at 48
- 1692 Bridget Bishop, 1st person to be hanged in Salem witch trials Massachusetts USA
- 1762 Johann F Gronovius, physician/botany, dies at 76
- 1776 Richard Peters, English-born clergyman (b. 1704)
- 1806 George Stubbs, British animal painter (Horse Frightened by Lion), dies at 81
- 1838 Willem earl van Hogendorp, Dutch colonial governor, dies at about 43
- 1839 Fernando Joseph Maria Sor, composer, dies at 61
Louis-Jacques Daguerre
1851 Louis-Jacques Daguerre, French inventor and photographer (daguerreotype), dies at 63
Louis-Jacques Daguerre
- 1863 Clement Clarke Moore, American Professor and writer ('Twas the Night Before Xmas), dies at 83
- 1863 Paul Jones Semmes, American businessman and Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 48
- 1868 Carlo Conti, Italian composer, dies at 71
- 1875 Henry L. Benning, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 61
- 1881 Georg Hermann Nicolai, German architect (b. 1812)
- 1884 Paul Charles Morphy, US lawyer/chess wizard, dies at 47
- 1888 Rafael Hernando, composer, dies at 66
- 1889 Julia Gardiner Tyler, 2nd wife of President John Tyler (1841-45), dies at 69
- 1902 Albert, King of Saxony (1873-1902), dies at 74
- 1908 Eliza Laurillard, Dutch vicar, poet and writer, dies at 78
- 1908 Phoebe Knapp, American hymn writer and organist, dies at 69
- 1909 Flooi Du Toit, South African cricket leg-spinner (Test for South Africa 1892), dies at 40
- 1910 Johann G Galle, German discoverer of Neptune by telescope, dies
- 1915 Hendrik W Mesdag, painter (Panorama Mesdag), dies
- 1920 Eugénie de Montijo, Emperor of France (1853-71), dies at 94
- 1920 John A "Jacky" Kilverston, adm/designer (dreadnought), dies at 79
- 1920 Jackie Fisher, British admiral (b. 1841)
- 1924 Johannes B van Heutsz, gov-gen of Dutch Indies (1904-09), dies at 73
- 1927 Kevin O'Higgins, Irish Free State VP, assassinated
- 1937 Attilio Brugnoli, composer, dies at 56
- 1937 Johan[nes] B Schepers, Fries writer (Braga), dies at 71
- 1940 Donald Francis Tovey, English musicologist/composer, dies at 64
- 1941 Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton, pioneer jazz pianist, dies in LA at 56
- 1943 Arthur Nevin, American composer, dies at 72
- 1952 Rued Immanuel Langgaard, composer, dies at 58
- 1953 Sidney Homer, composer, dies at 88
- 1954 Calogero Vizzini, Sicilian mafioso (b. 1877)
- 1955 Henry W Methorst, Dutch director (Central Bureau of Statistic), dies
- 1956 Joe Giard, American baseball player (b. 1898)
- 1957 Sholem Asch, Polish-Jewish novelist and playwright (East River, Three Cities), dies at 77
- 1963 John Sutton, British actor (The Three Musketeers, Tower of London, Return of Fly), dies of heart attack at 54
- 1963 Teddy Wakelam, English sports broadcaster and rugby union player (b. 1893)
- 1965 Jacques Audiberti, French poet (Le cavalier seul), dies at 66
- 1971 Harry M O'Connor, dies of pneumonia at 98
- 1971 Mohamed Madbouh, Moroccan general/putschist, shot to death
- 1975 Achiel H van Acker, Belgian premier (1945-46, 1954-58), dies at 77
- 1977 Norman Paris, orchestra leader (For Your Pleasure), dies at 41
- 1978 Michel Gusikoff, composer, dies at 85
- 1978 Joe Davis, English snooker player (b. 1901)
- 1979 Arthur Fiedler, orchestra leader (Boston Pops), dies at 84
- 1981 Ken Rex McElroy, American resident of Skidmore, Missouri known as "the town bully", murdered at 47 in an unsolved killing in front of a crowd of 30-46 in Skidmore's main street
- 1982 Gustav MR von Koenigswald, German/Dutch paleontologist, dies at 79
- 1982 Maria Jeritza, [Jedlicka], Aust/US, singer (Metropolitan Opera), dies
- 1983 Werner Egk, German composer (Die Zaubergeige), dies at 82
- 1985 Fernando Pereira, military activist, murdered
- 1987 John H. Hammond, American music producer, critic and activist, discovered Billie Holiday, dies at 76
- 1988 Errol John, Trinidadian actor and playwright (A Man from the Sun, The Nun's Story, Assault on a Queen), dies at 63
- 1989 Mel Blanc, American voice actor, comedian best known for his Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons (Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd & Porky Pig), dies at 81
- 1989 Thomas "Tommy" Trinder, British radio comedian and actor (Save a Little Sunshine, Phoenix), dies at 80
- 1990 Hans Faverey, poet, dies
- 1990 Irene Champlin, dies after long illness at 59
- 1991 Gerome Ragal, author (Hair), dies of cancer at 48
- 1992 Albert Pierrepoint, last and longest serving British executioner (est. 433-608 executed), dies at 87
- 1993 Masugi Ibuse, Japanese author (Kuroi ame (Black rain)), dies at 95
- 1993 Ruth Krauss, author (Carrot Seed), dies at 91
- 1993 Sam Rolfe, American screenwriter (b. 1924)
- 1994 Earl Strum, referee (NBA), dies of brain cancer at 66
- 1994 Otto Bonsema, soccer star/trainer (GVAV, Veendam), dies at 84
- 1995 Hugh Dundas, fighter pilot/businessman, dies at 74
- 1996 Eladio Rusconi, writer/publisher/businessman, dies at 79
- 2000 Vakkom Majeed, Indian Freedom fighter, Travancore-Cochin Legislative member (b. 1909)
- 2000 Justin Pierce, English-American actor and skateboarder (b. 1975)
- 2002 Jean-Pierre Côté, French Canadian politician and Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1926)
- 2003 Winston Graham, English writer (b. 1908)
- 2003 Hartley Shawcross, British prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials (b. 1902)
- 2003 Bishnu Maden, Nepalese politician
- 2005 Richard Eastham, American actor (Battle for the Planet of the Apes, Falcon Crest), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 89
- 2005 A. J. Quinnell [Philip Nicholson], English writer (Man on Fire), dies at 65
- 2005 Freda Wright-Sorce, American radio performer (b. 1955)
- 2005 Freddy Soto, American comedian and actor (b. 1970)
- 2005 Jimmy Franklin and Bobby Younkin, airshow performers
- 2006 Shamil Basayev, Chechen rebel (b. 1965)
- 2007 Abdul Rashid Ghazi, radical Pakistani cleric (b. 1951)
- 2007 Doug Marlette, American cartoonist (b. 1949)
- 2007 Zheng Xiaoyu, director of the State Food and Drug Administration of the People's Republic of China (b. 1944)
- 2008 Hiroaki Aoki, founder of Benihana (b. 1938)
- 2008 Mike Souchak, professional golfer (b. 1927)
- 2011 Pierrette Alarie, Canadian operatic soprano, dies at 89
- 2011 Roland Petit, French choreographer and dancer (b. 1924)
- 2015 Omar Sharif [Michel Dimitri Shalhoub], Egyptian actor (Doctor Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia), dies at 83
- 2015 Roger Rees, Welsh Tony winning stage and screen actor (Cheers), dies at 71
- 2015 Jon [Jonathan Stewart] Vickers, Canadian operatic tenor, dies at 88
- 2017 Betty Dukes, American Walmart employee who fought against gender discrimination (2001 Betty Dukes v. Walmart lawsuit) dies at 67
- 2018 Cliff Downey, Canadian politician (MP, 1968–1972), dies at 89