Famous Deaths on March 23

Agrippina the Younger (15-59 AD)

Roman Empress (sister of Caligula, wife of Claudius, mother of Nero), dies at 43 (circumstances of her death vary, but suggest she was murdered by her son, the Emperor Nero)

1103 Eudes I, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1058)
1169 Shirkuh, Kurdish general, Vizier of Cairo, and Saladin's uncle, dies
1237 Jan of Brienne, King of Jerusalem and Emperor of Constantinople, dies
1361 Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster, richest peer in England, dies at 50 or 51

Peter the Cruel (1334-1369)

Spanish King of Castile and Leon (1350-69), murdered by his half-brother at 34

1548 Itagaki Nobukata, retainer of Takeda Shingen

Julius III (1487-1555)

Counter-Reformation Pope (1550-55), dies at 67

1559 Emperor Gelawdewos of Ethiopia (killed in battle) (b. 1521/1522)
1596 Henry Unton, English diplomat
1606 Justus Lipsius [Joost Lips], Flemish humanist and classical scholar (founding father of Neostoicism), dies at 58
1618 James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Abercorn, Scottish politician
1653 Johan van Galen, Dutch admiral (commanded Dutch fleet during Battle of Leghorn), dies of wounds from the Battle of Leghorn at about 48
1658 Valentin Dretzel, German composer, dies at 79
1669 Philipp Buchner, German composer, dies at 54

Nicolas Fouquet (1615-1680)

French politician and Superintendent of Finances (1653-61) who became fabulously wealthy and later imprisoned for maladministration of state funds, dies in jail in Pinerolo at 65

1742 Jean-Baptiste Dubos, French writer (b. 1670)
1747 Claude Alexandre de Bonneval, French soldier (b. 1675)
1748 Johann Gottfried Walther, German composer and musicologist, dies at 63
1754 Johann Jakob Wettstein, Swiss theologian (b. 1693)
1756 Georg Gottfried Wagner, German composer, dies at 57
1783 Gaspard Fritz, Swiss composer and violinist, dies at 67
1786 Patience Wright, 1st US woman pro artist, dies (birth date unknown)
1801 Tsar Paul I of Russia (1796-1801) is struck with a sword, strangled, and trampled to death in his bedroom at St. Michael's Castle aged 46
1806 George Pinto [Sanders], English violin prodigy, keyboard virtuoso, and composer, dies of tuberculosis at 20
1809 Ferdinand-Philippe-Joseph Staes, Belgian composer, dies at 60
1813 Princess Augusta Frederica of Great Britain, dies at 75
1816 Ignaz Vitzthumb, Austrian musician, composer, and conductor, dies at 91
1818 Nicolas Isouard, French composer, dies at 42
1819 August von Kotzebue, German dramatist, dies at 57
1821 Bernhard Anselm Weber, German pianist, conductor and composer, dies at 56
1832 Wilhelm Würfel, Bohemian pianist, conductor, teacher, and composer, dies at 41
1840 William Maclure, Scottish-American Geologist (first geological map), dies at 76
1842 Stendhal [Marie-Henri Beyle], French author (Le Rouge et de Noir, a Chartreuse de Parme), dies at 59
1862 Karl Robert von Nesselrode, German-Russian chancellor, dies at 81
1869 Charles Lucas, English composer and Principle of the Royal Academy of Music, dies at 60
1880 Gustav Mankell, Moravian-Swedish organist and composer, dies at 67
1881 Nikolay Rubinstein, Russian pianist, conductor, and composer, dies at 45
1906 Victor Barton, English cricket batsman (1 Test, HS 23; Kent CCC, Hampshire CCC) and soccer goalkeeper (Southampton), dies at 38
1907 Konstantin Pobedonostsev, Russian reactionary lawyer and senator, dies at 79
1914 Rafqa Pietra Choboq Ar-Rayès (Saint Rebecca) Lebanese saint (b. 1832)
1914 Teunis Stoel, Dutch actor and director (Small Theater), dies at 62
1918 César Cortinas, Uruguayan composer, dies of tuberculosis at 27
1925 Aleksei Kuropatkin, Russian general and minister of War, dies at 76
1927 Paul César Helleu, French artist (b. 1859)

Bhagat Singh (1907-1931)

Indian freedom fighter, hanged at 23

1935 Florence Moore, American vaudeville, stage and silent screen actress, dies of cancer at 48
1937 Helge Rode, Danish poet and critic, dies at 66
1942 Jan Olieslagers, Belgian aviation and motorcycle pioneer (WWI flying ace, Antwerp Devil), dies of cancer at 58
1942 Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear, President of Argentina (1922-28), dies at 73
1943 Andre Lichtenberger, French Sudan writer (Le Petit Roi), dies at 72
1943 Joseph Moiseyevich Schillinger, composer, dies at 47
1944 O.C. Wingate, British General-Major (Burma), dies in air crash in India at 41
1946 Gilbert N. Lewis, American Chemist (theory of covalent bonding), dies at 70
1947 Archduchess Luise of Austria, Princess of Tuscany (b. 1870)
1950 Douglas Carr, England cricket spin bowler (1 Test, 7 wickets; Kent CCC), dies at 78
1952 Klaas Schilder, Dutch vicar and theologist (Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (liberated)), dies at 61
1953 Raoul Dufy, painter, Forcalquier, France
1955 Artur da Silva Bernardes, President of Brazil (b. 1875)
1957 Patrick Abercrombie, English architect and town planner, dies at 77
1958 Florian Znaniecki, Polish/US sociologist/philosopher, dies at 76
1960 Franklin P. Adams, American columnist (Information Please), dies at 78
1961 A.C. "Jack" Russell, English cricket batsman (10 Tests, 5 x 100s; Essex CCC), dies at 73
1961 James Edward Murray, (Sen-D-Montana) (1935-61), dies
1961 Valentin Vasilyevich Bondarenko, Russian cosmonaut, dies in an accident during training at 24
1962 Josef van Schaik, Dutch lawyer and politician (Vice-Premier of Netherands), dies at 80
1962 Val Paul, American actor and director (Suspense, The Phantom Thief), dies at 75
1964 Peter Lorre, Hungarian-American actor (M, Casablanca, Beast with 5 Fingers), dies from a stroke at 59
1964 Vasily Vainonen, Russian ballet choreographer (Gayaneh), dies at 66
1965 Mae Murray, actress (Bachelor Apartment), dies of heart ailment at 75
1966 Johannes W Elsensohn, Dutch actor/writer (Arie), dies at 82
1967 Duncan Macrae, Scottish actor (Casino Royale, The Little Kidnappers), dies at 61
1968 Edwin O'Connor, American writer (The Edge of Sadness - Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 1962), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 49
1968 Lauwrens Voorthuyzen [Lou de Palingboer], Dutch religious sect leader, dies at 70
1969 Rudolf Pannwitz, German writer and philosopher (Urblik), dies at 87
1970 Del Lord, Canadian director (Three Stooges films), dies at 75
1971 Armin Loos, German-born American composer, dies at 67
1971 Simon Vestdijk, Dutch writer and poet (Brass Garden), dies at 72
1972 Cristóbal Balenciaga, Spanish couturier 'The Master', dies at 77
1973 Ken Maynard, American stuntman and actor (Phantom Rancher, $50,000 Reward), dies of stomach cancer at 77
1977 Bennie Green, American swing jazz and soul trombonist (Earl Hines), dies at 53
1978 Bill Kenny, American singer, dies at 63
1979 Philip Bourneuf, actor (Big Night, Frankenstein), dies at 71
1979 Ted Anderson, English footballer (b. 1911)
1980 Arthur Melvin Okun, American economist (Misery Index), dies of a heart attack at 51
1981 Mike Hailwood, MBE GM, British motorcycle road racer (World C'ships: 250cc – 1961, 66, 67; 350cc – 1966, 67; 500cc –1962, 63, 64, 65; 76 Grand Prix wins), dies in a car accident at 40
1982 Mario Praz, Italian literary critic and scholar (Casa della vita), dies at 85
1983 Barney Clark, 1st artificial heart recipient, dies after 112 days at 62
1983 David Wynne, Welsh composer (Owain ab Urien), dies at 82
1984 Shauna Grant [Colleen Applegate], American pornographic actress, commits suicide at 20
1985 Anton Constandse, Dutch anarchist and writer, dies at 85
1985 Patricia Roberts Harris, (Rep-D), 1st African American woman cabinet member, dies of cancer at 60
1985 Peter Charanis, Greek-American scholar and professor (b. 1908)
1985 Richard Beeching, English physicist, engineer and chairman of British Railways (1961-64), dies at 71
1987 Adriaan Pitlo, Dutch lawyer, dies at 85
1988 Dayton Lummis, American character actor (The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell; The Wrong Man; Moonfire), dies at 84
1990 Al Sears, American jazz and R&B saxophonist (Duke Elllington Orchestra; Johnny Hodges - "Castle Rock"), dies at 80
1990 René Enriquez, Nicaraguan-American actor (Hill Street Blues - "Ray Calletano"), dies of complications from AIDS at 56
1991 Dominic Bellissimo, created buffalo chicken wings, dies at 68
1991 Elisaveta Bagriana, Bulgarian poet (The Eternal and the Holy), dies at 97
1991 Fons Jansen, Dutch news reader and cabaretier, dies at 65
1991 Mona Maris, actress (Camila, Berlin Correspondent), dies at 88
1991 Parkash Singh, Indian soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross (b. 1913)
1992 Friedrich August von Hayek, Austrian-British economist (Road to Serfdom, 1974 Nobel Prize for Economics), dies at 92 [1]
1993 Hans Werner Richter, German writer and founder (Gruppe 47), dies at 84
1993 Tim Crews, American pitcher (LA Dodgers), dies from injuries from a boating accident under the influence of alcohol at 31
1994 Alvara del Portillo, Spanish Opus Dei bishop, dies at 80
1994 Giulietta Masina, Italian actress, (La Strada; Nights of Cabiria; The White Sheik) and wife of director Federico Fellini, dies of lung cancer at 73
1994 Jim Moloney, American actor and writer, dies of Parkinson's disease at 64
1994 Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexican presidential candidate, assassinated at 44
1995 Alan Barton, English singer (Smokie, Black Lace), dies in a bus crash at 41
1995 Danny Apolinar, American composer & songwriter, dies at 61
1995 Davie Cooper, Scottish football player, dies at 39
1995 Irving Shulman, American author & screenwriter, dies at 81
1995 Ripley L. Ingram, American singer, dies at 65
1995 Robert Turner, winner of 1st All-American Soap Box Derby, dies at 72
1995 Russell Reading Braddon, Australian author, dies at 74
1996 J. D. "Jay" Miller, American record producer, dies at 73
1996 Peter Baer, German-British artist and printmaker, dies at 72
1998 Gerald Stano, American serial killer (confessed to killing 41 people), dies at 46
1999 Luis María Argaña, Paraguayan politician (b. ?)
2001 David McTaggart, Canadian co-founder of Greenpeace, dies in a car accident at 68
2001 Irving "Sully" Boyar, American actor (Dog Day Afternoon, Car Wash), dies of a heart attack at 76
2001 Rowland Evans, American news reporter (CNN-Evans & Novak), dies at 79
2002 Ben Hollioake, English cricketer (b. 1977)
2002 Eileen Farrell, American soprano (I Got A Right To Sing The Blues; Metropolitan Opera, 1960-66) and film voice (Interrupted Melody), dies at 82
2003 Fritz Spiegl, Austrian-British classical flautist, broadcaster, composer, and wit, dies at 77
2004 Rupert Hamer, Australian politician (b. 1916)
2005 David Kossoff, British actor and anti-drug campaigner (The Young Lovers, The Larkins), dies at 85
2006 Cindy Walker, American songwriter ("Dream Baby"; "You Don't Know Me") and country singer, dies at 87
2006 David B. Bleak, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1932)

Desmond Doss (1919-2006)

American soldier and 1st conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor who was the subject of the film Hacksaw Ridge. dies at 87

2006 Sarah Caldwell, American conductor/opera director (Flagstaff), dies at 82
2007 Eric Medlen, American NHRA drag racer, dies at 33
2007 Paul Joseph Cohen, American mathematician (Cohen forcing, Continuum hypothesis), dies at 72
2009 Raúl Macías, A famous Mexican boxer (b. 1934)
2010 Blanche Thebom, American mezzo-soprano (Amneris-Aida), dies at 94

Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)

English-American actress (Cleopatra, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), businesswoman, humanitarian, and serial bride, dies of congestive heart failure at 79

2011 Fred Titmus, English cricket all-rounder (53 Tests, 153 wickets, 10 x 50s; Middlesex), dies at 78
2012 Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, President of Somalia, dies from liver failure at 77
2013 Barbara Donald, American jazz trumpeter and bandleader ("The Past and Tomorrows"), dies at 70
2013 David Bond, British sailor, dies at 90
2013 Virgil Trucks, American baseball pitcher (World Series 1945 Detroit Tigers; MLB All Star 1949, 54), dies at 95
2014 Adolfo Suárez, Prime Minister of Spain (1976-81), dies from a respiratory infection at 81
2014 Carmelo Bossi, Italian light middleweight boxer (Olympic silver 1960), dies at 74
2014 Geriatric1927 [Peter Oakley], English video blogger, dies at 86

Lee Kuan Yew (1923-2015)

Founding father of modern Singapore and 1st Prime Minister of Singapore (1959-90), dies of pneumonia at 91

2015 Lil' Chris [Hardman], British rock singer (Checkin' It Out), takes his own life at 24 [1]
2015 Nick Peters, American Baseball Hall of Fame writer (Oakland Tribune, Sacramento Bee, Berkeley Gazette, San Francisco Chronicle), dies at 75
2015 Roy Douglas, English composer and arranger (Tomorrow We Live - At Dawn We Die), dies at 107
2016 Gegham Grigorian, Armenian operatic tenor, and artistic director (Yerevan Opera, 2000-07), dies at 65
2016 Joe Garagiola, American MLB catcher (4 teams, 1946-54), sportscaster, and TV host (Today Show), dies at 90
2016 Ken Howard, American actor (The White Shadow), dies at 71
2016 Peter Moores, British businessman and director (Littlewoods), dies at 83
2017 Lola Albright, American singer and actress (Delta Country, Kid Galahad, A Cold Wind in August), dies at 92
2017 Louis Frémaux, French conductor (Monte-Carlo Philharmonic, 1956-65; City of Birmingham Symphony, 1969-78; Sydney Symphony, 1979-82), dies at 95
2018 DuShon Monique Brown, American actor (Prison Break, Connie-Chicago Fire), dies at 49
2020 Branko Cikatić, Croatian kickboxer (first K-1 World Grand Prix Heavyweight C'ship 1993), dies from Parkinson's disease at 65
2021 Benny Dees, American college basketball coach (U of New Orleans; U of Wyoming; Western Carolina Uni), dies at 86
2021 Don Heffington, American touring and session drummer, singer, songwriter and producer (Lone Justice; Watkins Family Hour; Emmylou Harris), dies of leukemia at 70
2021 Ethel Gabriel (nee Nagy), American record producer and label executive (RCA, 1943-84), dies at 99
2021 George Segal, American actor (Carbon Copy; Fun With Dick & Jane; Just Shoot Me!), and banjo player, dies at 87
2021 Julié Pomagalski, French snowboarder (World C'ship gold snowboard cross 1999), dies in an avalanche at 40
2022 Jimmy Lindley, English jockey (2,000 Guineas 1963, 66; St Leger 1964) and broadcaster (BBC), dies at 86

Madeleine Albright (1937-2022)

American diplomat (UN Delegate, 1993-97), and 1st female US Secretary of State (1997-2001), dies of cancer at 84

2023 Frank LeMaster, American football linebacker (Pro Bowl 1981 Philadelphia Eagles; SF 49ers), dies at 71
2023 Jerry Green, Pro Football Hall of Fame journalist (Associated Press 1956-63; The Detroit News 1963-2004), dies of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis at 94
2023 Keith Reid, British poet and lyricist (Procol Harum - "A Whiter Shade of Pale"), dies of cancer at 76 [1]
2023 Peter Marti, Swiss soccer striker (6 caps; BSC Young Boys, FC Zürich, FC Basel, FC Aarau), dies at 70
2023 Walter Cole [stage name Darcelle XV] American drag performer (Portland's Darcelle XV Showplace, aged 85 became world’s oldest drag performer), dies at 92 [1]