Famous Deaths on July 20

1597 Franciscus Raphelengius, Flemish publisher (1st Arabic-Latin dictionary), dies at 58
1607 Paulus Merula, Dutch lawyer and historian (Historia Belgica), dies at 48
1609 Federico Zuccari, Italian Mannerist painter, dies at about 69
1616 Hugh O'Neill, 3rd Earl of Tyrone, Irish soldier
1636 John Oldham, trader in Mass, murdered by indians
1704 Peregrine White, First English child born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, dies at 83
1732 Francesco Bartolomeo Conti, Italian mandolin and theorbo player, and composer, dies at 50 or 51 [birth year disputed]
1752 John C Pepusch, English composer (Beggar's Opera), dies at about 85
1762 Christoph Nichelmann, German composer and harpsichordist, dies at 44
1766 Isabelle Farnese, queen of Spain, dies
1808 François-Hippolyte Barthélémon, French composer, dies at 66
1816 Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin, Russian poet (b. 1743)
1819 John Playfair, Scottish geologist/mathematician, dies
1824 Joan Melchior Kemper, Dutch lawyer (designed civil code law book), dies at 48
1825 Joseph-Denis Doche, French composer, dies at 58
1833 Ninian Edwards, American politician (Governor of Illinois Territory, 1809–1813; U.S. Senator from Illinois, 1818–1824; Governor of Illinois 1826–1830), dies of cholera at 58
1859 Hans E Schack, Danish politician and writer (Fantasy), dies at 39
1866 Berhard Riemann, German mathematician (zeta-function), dies at 39
1866 Emilio Faà di Bruno, Italian naval captain, goes down with his ship (Re d'italia) in the Battle of Lissa at 46
1868 Antoine Prumier, French harpist and composer, dies at 75

1868 Johann Friedrich Kittl, Czech composer, dies at 62
1888 Henri Braekeleer, Flemish painter, dies at 48
1893 Thomas Kelly, Australian cricket batsman (2 Tests, HS 35; Victoria CA), dies at 49
1893 Tom Kelly, Australian cricketer (two Tests for Australia 1877-79, 64 runs), dies at 49
1897 Jean Ingelow, English poet (b. 1820)
1897 Philip Dale Roddey, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 71
1898 Yuri Karlovich Arnold, Russian composer, dies at 86
1901 William Cosmo Monkhouse, English poet and critic (b. 1840)

Leo XIII (1810-1903)

256th Pope (1878-1903), dies at 93

1908 Demetrius Vikelas, Greek businessman and writer (first President International Olympic Committee 1894-1896), dies at 73
1908 Federico Chueca, Spanish composer, dies at 62
1912 Andrew Lang, Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and anthropologist (Andrew Lang's Fairy Books), dies at 68
1914 Leo van Gheluwe, Belgian composer, dies at 76
1922 Andrey Markov, Russian mathematician (Markov Chain), dies at 66
1923 Pancho Villa [José Doroteo Arango Arámbula], Mexican revolutionary general and guerrilla leader,, murdered at 55
1926 Felix Dzerzhinsky [Iron Felix, Bloody Felix], Soviet statesman, established and developed Soviet secret police (Cheka, forerunner to the KGB), dies at 48
1927 Ferdinand I VAM, King of Romania (1914-27), dies at 61
1928 Kostas Karyotakis, Greek poet, dies at 31
1929 Noble Drew Ali [Timothy Drew], American prophet (Moorish Science Temple), dies at 43
1932 René Bazin, French novelist (b. 1853)
1936 Arthur Battelle Whiting, American composer and teacher, dies at 75
1936 Jose Sanjurjo, Spanish general (Morocco) and high director, dies at 64

Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937)

Italian inventor and electrical engineer who pioneered work on long distance radio transmission (Nobel 1909), dies of a heart attack at 63

1939 Joseph Mendes da Costa, sculptor, dies
1940 Y G Van de Peat, Dutch director of employment, commits suicide
1941 Lew Fields, American vaudeville performer (b. 1867)
1942 Patric Cobb, British sea officer, dies in battle
1944 Arthur J Treadwell, English mayor of Stoke Newington, dies at about 71
1944 Brandt, col/German staff chief, dies in bombing
1944 Claus von Stauffenberg, German antifascist colonel (attempted to assassinate Hitler), dies by firing squad at 36
1944 Friedrich Olbricht, German general (July 20th plotter), executed
1944 Heinz Burns, German (Olympic gold 1936), dies in bombing
1944 Korten, chef gen of Germany Luftwaffe, dies in bomb explosion
1944 Ludwig Beck, German general (July 20th plot), dies at 64
1944 Mertz, German colonel (July 20th plotter), executed
1944 Mildred Harris, American actress (b. 1901)
1944 Rudolf Schmundt, German general /Hitler's Army adjunct, dies from wounds in attempt to assassinate Hitler at 48
1944 Werner von Haeffen, German lieutenant (July 20th plotter), executed
1945 Arthur Seccull, South African cricketer (Test v England 1896), dies
1945 Paul Valéry [Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry], French author, philosopher and poet (La Jeune Parque), dies at 73
1946 Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton, American trombonist and plunger mute pioneer (Duke Ellington Orchestra), dies of a stroke at 42
1951 Abdullah Ibn Hussein, Jordan's King (1946-51), killed in Jerusalem
1951 Mustafa Shuqri Ashu, tailor/murderer of king Abdullah, shot to death
1951 Wilhelm, the last Crown Prince of the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia, dies at 69
1953 Dumarsaid Estime, President of Haiti (b. 1900)
1953 Jan Struther, British author (b. 1901)
1954 Blair Moody, American journalist (US Senator (D)-Michigan, 1951-52), dies at 52
1956 James Alexander Calder, Canadian politician, dies at 87
1956 Ken Burn, Australian cricketer (Tasmanian rep on 1890 Ashes tour, 2 Tests), dies at 93
1957 Phil Hanna, singer (Once Upon a Tune), dies at 46
1958 Franklin Pangborn, American actor (My Best Gal, Hats Off, Easy Living), dies at 69
1959 Harry Fox [Arthur Carringford], American vaudeville dancer, comedian and actor (Talent Scout), dies at 77
1959 William D. Leahy, American admiral and chief of staff during WWII, dies at 84
1962 André Renard, Belgium worker's union leader (MSU), dies at 51
1962 George MacAulay Trevelyan, English royal historian, dies at 86
1964 Anna Vyrubova, Russian lady-in-waiting, the best friend and confidante of Tsaritsa Alexandra Fyodorovna, dies at 80
1966 Julien Carette, French actor (Sylvia & the Phantom), dies of burns at 68
1968 Joseph Keilberth, German conductor (Bayreuther Festival), dies at 60
1969 Roy Hamilton, American singer (You'll Never Walk Alone), dies at 40
1970 Iain Macleod, Conservative Party Politician and Chancellor of Exchequer at time of his death (b. 1913)

Bruce Lee (1940-1973)

Hong Kong-American martial artist and actor (Enter the Dragon), dies of a cerebral edema at 32

1973 Robert Smithson, American land artist (b. 1938)
1974 Allen Jenkins, American actor (Hey Jeannie, Top Cop, Girl Habit), dies at 74
1976 Samuel Mutendi, founder of the Zimbabwean Zion Christian Church, dies
1976 Tom Lowry, New Zealand cricket batsman (7 Tests, 2 x 50s; first NZ Test captain), President NZ Thoroughbred Breeders Association 1951-65, dies at 78
1977 Carter DeHaven, American actor (Courage, Great Dictator), dies at 90
1977 Gary Kellgren, American music producer who co-founded The Record Plant studios, drowns in a swimming pool, along with his girlfriend, at 38
1980 Gerard Croiset, Dutch parapsychologist, dies at 71
1982 Okot p'Bitek, Ugandan poet (b. 1931)
1983 Frank Reynolds, American news anchor (ABC Evening News, 1968-70; World New Tonight, 1977-83), dies at 59
1984 Gail Kubik, American composer (Gerald McBoing Boing), dies at 69
1984 Jim Fixx, American jogger and writer (Jim Fixx on Running), dies at 52
1985 Bruno de Finetti, Italian probabilist statistician and actuary, dies at 79
1986 Helen Craig, American actress (Snake Pit, They Live by Night), dies at 74
1987 Richard Egan, American actor (Empire, Redigo, Pollyanna), dies of cancer at 63
1989 Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, commander (French resistance), dies
1989 Mary Treen, actress (Career, Rock-a-bye Baby), dies at 71
1990 Herbert Jenkins, Atlanta's longest serving police chief (b. 1907)
1990 Sara Heyblom, Dutch actress (Obsessions, Pygmalion), dies
1991 Earl Robinson, American composer, dies in a car accident at 81
1991 Rellys [Henri Marius Bourrelly], French actor (Letters from My Windmill), dies at 86
1993 Vince Foster, American lawyer and Deputy White House Counsel commits suicide aged 48
1994 Paul Delvaux, Belgian surrealist painter, dies at 96
1994 Reginald Hall, English endocrinologist, dies at 83
1995 Ernest Mandel, Belgian philosopher and economist (Marxist), dies at 72
1995 Helmut Gernsheim, German photographer, collector and historian, dies at 82
1995 Natalia Dmitrevna Shpiller, Czech-Russian lyric soprano, dies at 85
1996 Colin Campbell Mitchell, soldier, dies at 70
1996 Peter Malcolm Gordon Raleigh, journalist, dies at 77
1997 Clifford McWatt, West Indian cricket wicketkeeper (6 Tests, 10 dismissals; British Guiana), dies in a car crash at 75
1997 Linda Stirling, college prof/B movie actress (Pretender), dies at 75
1998 Dieter Nowka, German composer, conductor and musicologist, dies at 74
1998 June Byers, American professional wrestler (b. 1922)
1999 Sandra Gould, American actress (b. 1916)
2000 Gregory Hill (also known as Malaclypse the Younger,) American writer (Principia Discordia), dies at 59
2000 Mabel Scott, American gospel and R&B vocalist (Boogie Woogie Santa Claus), dies at 85

Roberto Suárez Gómez (1932-2000)

Bolivian drug lord called the "King of Cocaine" whose story was the basis of the movie "Scarface", dies of a heart attack at 68

2001 Carlo Giuliani, Italian anarchist (b. 1978)
2001 Werner Haentjes, German conductor and composer of operas and film scores, dies at 77
2002 Michalis Kritikopoulos, Greek soccer striker (28 caps; Olympiacos), dies from cardiac arrest at 56
2003 Nicolas Freeling, English writer (b. 1927)
2004 Adi Lady Lala Mara, Fiji chieftainess, wife of Kamisese Mara (b. 1931)
2005 Finn Gustavsen, Norwegian politician (b. 1926)
2005 James Doohan, Canadian actor (Star Trek), dies from Pulmonary fibrosis at 85
2005 Kayo Hatta, American film director (b. 1958)
2006 Gérard Oury [Max-Gérard Houry Tannenbaum] French actor and filmmaker, dies at 87
2006 Robert Cornthwaite, American actor (Thing, War of the Worlds, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?), dies of natural causes at 89
2006 Ted Grant, British Trotskyist (b. 1913)
2007 Bill Flemming, American journalist and sportscaster (ABC's Wide World of Sports), dies at 80
2007 Ivor Emmanuel, Welsh singer and actor (Zulu, Show Boat, Kiss Me, Kate), dies of a stroke at 79
2007 Tammy Faye Bakker (Messner), American Christian singer and former wife of Jim Bakker (The PTL Club), dies at 65
2008 Artie Traum, American folk guitarist, songwriter, producer, and filmmaker, dies of ocular cancer at 65
2009 Ria Brieffies, Dutch singer (b. 1957)
2010 Mirjana Lewis (née Vrbanic), Croat-American classical pianist and harpsichord player, dies at 74
2011 Lucian Freud, German-British artist (Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, Boy With a Rat), dies at 88
2012 Dorothy Germain Porter, American golfer (US Curtis Cup winning captain 1966), dies at 88
2012 Simon Ward, English actor, dies at 70
2012 Sir Alastair Burnet [James William Alexander Burnet], British journalist and broadcaster (News at Ten), dies at 84
2015 Elio Fiorucci, Italian fashion designer, dies at 80
2016 Wayne Carson, American country musician and songwriter ("Always On My Mind"; "The Letter"), dies at 73
2017 Chester Bennington, American singer and songwriter (Linkin Park), commits suicide at 41
2019 Peter McNamara, Australian tennis player (Australian Open doubles 1979, Wimbledon doubles 1980, 82), dies of prostate cancer at 64
2020 Mickey McGee, American session and touring drummer (Linda Ronstadt; Jackson Browne; Flying Burrito Brothers; Juice Newton), and songwriter ("I'll Never Love Again"), dies of COVID-19 complications at 72
2021 Chuck E. Weiss, American blues and rock songwriter, vocalist, and muse (Rickie Lee Jones; Tom Waits), dies of cancer at 76 [1]
2021 Françoise Arnoul, French actress and composer (French Cancan; Jacko & Lise), dies at 90
2021 Jerry Granelli, American-Canadian jazz drummer (Vince Guaraldi Trio; Mose Allison), dies at 80
2022 Douglas Mitchell, Canadian Football Hall of Fame executive (CFL Commissioner 1984-88), dies at 83
2022 Phil Jackson, English rugby league inside back (29 Tests GB, 1 England; World Cup 1954, 57 GB 6 games; Barrow RLFC), dies at 90