Hadrian (76-138 AD)
Roman Emperor (117-138) and builder of Hadrian's Wall, dies at 62
El Cid (c. 1043-1099)
Castilian nobleman and military leader and general strategist, dies at about 59
- 1103 Erik I Ejegod, the good hearted, King of Denmark (1095-1103), dies
- 1290 King Ladislaus IV ("the Cuman"), Árpád dynasty King of Hungary and Croatia (1272-90), dies at 27
- 1460 Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, English military leader (b. 1402)
- 1480 René of Anjou, King of Naples (1435-42) and last heir of the House of Anjou, dies at 71
- 1535 Jacob Van Campen, Reconstruction bishop, beheaded
Henry II (1519-1559)
King of France (1547-59), dies
- 1573 Willem van Bronckhorst-Batenburg, Dutch nobleman and army leader, dies fighting for William of Orange at about 44
William the Silent (1533-1584)
Prince of Orange (1544-84), founded House of Orange-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, Dutch-Walloon composer and kapellmeister (Saint Paul Collegiate Church, 1659-68), dies at 45
- 1680 Louis Moréri, French encyclopedist (b. 1643)
- 1683 François-Eudes de Mézeray, French historian (b. 1610)
- 1686 Ercole Ferrata, Italian sculptor/restaurateur, dies at 76
- 1686 John Fell, English churchman (b. 1625)
- 1690 Domenico Gabrielli, Italian Baroque composer, dies at 39
- 1690 Jan van Brakel, Dutch vice admiral (Chatham), dies in battle at 48
- 1762 Johann Fredericus Gronovius, Dutch physician and botanist, 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 Sor, Spanish classical guitarist, and composer (Twelve Studies), dies at 61
Louis-Jacques Daguerre (1787-1851)
French inventor and photographer (daguerreotype), dies at 63
- 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)
Paul Morphy (1837-1884)
American chess player considered the greatest of his era (1857-61), dies at 47
- 1888 Rafael Hernando, Spanish composer of zarzuelas, 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 Gottfried Galle, German astronomer, discoverer of Neptune by telescope, dies at 98
- 1915 Hendrik Willem Mesdag, Dutch painter (Panorama Mesdag), dies at 84
- 1920 Eugénie de Montijo, Emperor of France (1853-71), dies at 94
- 1920 Jackie Fisher, British admiral (b. 1841)
- 1920 John A "Jacky" Kilverston, adm/designer (dreadnought), dies at 79
- 1924 Joannes Benedictus van Heutsz, Dutch general (ended Aceh War) and Governor-General of Dutch East Indies (1904-09), dies at 73
- 1927 Kevin O'Higgins, Irish Free State VP, assassinated at 35
- 1935 Paul Hines, American MLB outfielder (Triple Crown 1878, Providence Grays), dies at 80
- 1937 Attilio Brugnoli, Italian pianist and composer, dies at 56
- 1937 Johan Bernard Schepers, Frisian writer (Braga), dies at 71
- 1940 Donald Francis Tovey, British musicologist and composer, dies at 64
- 1941 Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton [LeMothe], American jazz pioneer pianist and composer ("King Porter Stomp"), dies at 56
- 1943 Arthur Nevin, American composer, dies at 72
- 1946 Sidney Hillman, Lithuanian-American union leader (Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union; Congress of Industrial Organizations), dies of a heart attack at 59
- 1952 Rued Immanuel Langgaard, Danish composer and organist (Music of the Spheres; Antikrist), dies at 58
- 1953 Sidney Homer, American composer, dies at 88
- 1954 Calogero Vizzini, Sicilian Mafia boss, dies at 76
- 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 a heart attack at 54
- 1963 Teddy Wakelam, English sports broadcaster (BBC) and rugby union player (captain Harlequin RFC), dies at 70
- 1965 Jacques Audiberti, French poet and playwright (Le cavalier seul), dies at 66
- 1970 Bjarni Benediktsson, 13th Prime Minister of Iceland (1963-70), dies at 62
- 1971 Harry M O'Connor, dies of pneumonia at 98
- 1971 Mohamed Madbouh, Moroccan general/putschist, shot to death
- 1971 Samuel Bronfman, Jewish-Russian-Canadian businessman, distiller (founder of Seagrams), and philanthropist, dies at 82
- 1973 Wallace "Bud" Smith, American boxer (World lightweight title 1955-56), dies of gunshot wounds at 49
- 1975 Achiel H van Acker, Belgian premier (1945-46, 1954-58), dies at 77
- 1977 Norman Paris, American orchestra leader (For Your Pleasure), and composer (" Big Blue Marble", "I've Got A Secret"), dies of stroke complications at 51
- 1978 Joe Davis, English snooker player (World Champion 1927-40, 1946), dies at 77
- 1978 John D. Rockefeller III, American oil billionaire and philanthropist, dies in a car crash at 71
- 1978 Michel Gusikoff, American violinist, concert master, and composer, dies at 85
- 1979 Arthur Fiedler, American orchestra leader (Boston Pops), dies at 84
- 1980 Komako Kimura, Japanese suffragette, actress and editor, dies at 92
- 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 [Marie Jedličková], Czech soprano, known as the Moravian Thunderbolt (Vienna Opera, 1912-34, 1953-56; Metropolitan Opera, 1921-32, 1951); dies at 94
- 1983 Werner Egk, German composer (Die Zaubergeige), dies at 82
- 1985 Fernando Pereira, military activist, murdered
- 1987 John H. Hammond, American music producer, talent scout, promoter, and activist, "discovered" Billie Holiday, Teddy Wilson, Count Basie, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen, 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, Dutch poet, dies at 55
- 1990 Irene Champlin, dies after long illness at 59
- 1991 Gerome Ragni, American playwright and songwriter (Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical), dies of cancer at 55
- 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 Henrik Blichmann, Danish swing jazz pianist, composer (92 Minutes of Yesterday), and orchestra leader, dies at 79
- 1994 Otto Bonsema, Dutch soccer striker (6 caps; Velocitas 1897, GVAV) and manager (SC Heerenveen, GVAV, BV Veendam), dies at 84
- 1995 Hugh Dundas, fighter pilot/businessman, dies at 74
- 1998 Victor Smith, Australian Admiral (Australian Chief of Naval Staff, 1st RAN officer promoted to admiral), dies at 85 [1]
- 2000 Justin Pierce, English-American actor and skateboarder (b. 1975)
- 2000 Vakkom Majeed, Indian Freedom fighter, Travancore-Cochin Legislative member (b. 1909)
- 2002 Jean-Pierre Côté, French Canadian politician and Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1926)
- 2003 Bishnu Maden, Nepalese politician
- 2003 Hartley Shawcross, British prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials (b. 1902)
- 2003 Winston Graham, English writer (b. 1908)
- 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
- 2005 Richard Eastham, American actor (Battle for the Planet of the Apes, Falcon Crest), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 89
- 2005 Roland Bengtsson, Swedish guitarist, lute player and double bassist, dies at 88
- 2006 Shamil Basayev, Chechen rebel (b. 1965)
- 2007 Abdul Rashid Ghazi, radical Pakistani cleric (b. 1951)
- 2007 Doug Marlette, American editorial cartoonist (Kudzu), dies at 57
- 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, American golfer (15 PGA Tour titles; Ryder Cup 1959, 61), dies of a heart attack at 81
- 2010 (Lincoln) "Sugar" Minott, Jamaican reggae singer (The African Brothers), dies at 54
- 2011 Pierrette Alarie, Canadian operatic soprano, dies at 89
- 2011 Roland Petit, French choreographer and dancer (b. 1924)
- 2015 Jon [Jonathan Stewart] Vickers, Canadian operatic tenor, dies at 88
- 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 - "Robin Colcord"), dies of brain cancer at 71
- 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
- 2019 Jerry Lawson, American a cappella singer and arranger (Persuasions - "Under the Boardwalk"), dies of Guillain–Barré syndrome at 75
Jim Bouton (1939-2019)
American baseball pitcher, 1962-70 and 1978 (New York Yankees and 3 other teams; All-Star, 1969), author ("Ball Four"), and broadcaster, dies of cerebral amyloid angiopathy at 80
- 2019 Walt Michaels, American NFL linebacker, coach (5-time Pro Bowl; Cleveland Browns; head coach NY Jets 1977-82), dies at 89
- 2020 Corra Dirksen, South African rugby union winger (10 caps; Northern Transvaal), dies from COVID-19 complications at 82
- 2020 Jack Charlton, English soccer defender (35 caps; World Cup 1966; Leeds United) and manager (Middlesborough, Sheffield Wed, Newcastle, Rep of Ireland), dies from lymphoma and dementia at 85
- 2020 Lara van Ruijven, Dutch short track speed skater (World C'ship gold 500m 2019; Olympic bronze 3000m relay 2018), dies from an autoimmune disease at 27
- 2020 Olga Tass, Hungarian gymnast (Olympic gold, team portable apparatus 1956), dies at 91
- 2021 Byron Berline, American world champion bluegrass fiddle player, dies of stroke complications at 77 [1]
- 2021 Esther Bejarano, German accordionist, singer (Coincidence; Microphone Mafia), anti-fascism activist, and Holocaust survivor, dies at 96
- 2021 Gwendolyn Faison, American politician (Mayor of Camden, New Jersey, 2000-10), dies at 96
- 2021 Jimmy Gabriel, Scottish soccer midfielder (2 caps; Everton, Southampton) and coach (Seattle Sounders; SJ Earthquakes, Seattle Storm, Everton), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 80
- 2022 Barry Sinclair, New Zealand cricket batsman and captain (21 Tests, 3 x 100s; Wellington CA), dies at 85
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide