On This Day

Famous Deaths on May 10

  • 238 Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus, the Thracian, Roman Emperor, murdered
  • 995 Boudouin, bishop of Utrecht
  • 1034 Mieszko II, King of Poland (1025-34), dies
  • 1290 Duke Rudolph II of Austria (b. 1271)
  • 1403 Katherine Swynford, English Duchess of Lancaster, lover then wife of John of Gaunt, dies at 52 or 53
  • 1424 Go-Kameyama, Emperor of Japan
  • 1493 Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll, Scottish politician
  • 1521 Sebastian Brant, Alsatian humanist (b. 1457)
  • 1566 Leonhard Fuchs, German physician and botanist (Notable Commentaries on the History of Plants) for which the flowering plants and color Fuchsia is named after, dies at 65
  • 1569 Juan the Avila, Spanish minister/writer
  • 1637 Susanna van Baerle, Dutch poet and wife of Constantine Huygens, dies at 37
  • 1641 Johan Banér, Swedish soldier (b. 1596)
  • 1653 John Bicker, ship builder/merchant/regent, dies at 61
  • 1657 Gustaf Horn, Swedish soldier and politician, dies at 65
  • 1691 Colonel John Birch, English soldier (b. 1615)
  • 1696 Jean de La Bruyère, French writer (The Characters, or the Manners of the Age, with The Characters of Theophrastus), dies at 50
  • 1710 Georg Dietrich Leiding, composer, dies at 46
  • 1717 John Hathorne, American magistrate (b. 1641)
  • 1726 Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, English soldier, dies at 56
  • 1733 Barton Booth, British actor (Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre), dies at approximately 52
  • 1737 Nakamikado Emperor of Japan (b. 1702)
  • 1760 Johann Christoph Graupner, German harpsichordist and Baroque composer, dies at 77
  • 1764 Picander [Christian Henrici], German writer (Die Weiberprobe), dies
  • 1770 Charles Avison, English composer, dies at 61
  • 1774 Louis XV, King of France (1715-74), dies at 64
  • 1775 Caroline Matilda of Great Britain, Queen consort of Denmark and Norway, dies at 23
  • 1785 Etienne Joseph Floquet, French opera composer, dies at 36
  • 1787 William Watson, English physician and scientist, dies at 72
  • 1789 Guillaume-Gommaire Kennis, Belgian violinist and composer, dies at 72
  • 1792 John Stevens, American delegate to the Continental Congress
  • 1794 Élisabeth of France, princess of France, youngest sister of king Louis XVI, beheaded at 30
  • 1798 George Vancouver, British explorer, (surveyed Pacific coast from San Francisco to Vancouver Island), dies at 40

Comte de RochambeauComte de Rochambeau (1725-1807)

Comte de Rochambeau, French military leader (commander of the French Expeditionary Force that assisted the Thirteen Colonies), dies at 81

Comte de Rochambeau

Paul ReverePaul Revere (1735-1818)

American silversmith and patriot who alerted the colonial militia to the approach of British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, dies at 83

Paul Revere
  • 1820 Matthäus Stegmayer, Austrian composer, dies at 49
  • 1826 Giuseppe Sigismondo, Italian historian and composer, dies at 86
  • 1829 Thomas Young, British physician and physicist (light interference), dies at 55
  • 1833 François Andrieux, French playwright, dies at 74
  • 1849 Katsushika Hokusai, Japanese painter, dies at 89
  • 1859 John Archduke of Austria, dies

Stonewall JacksonStonewall Jackson (1824-1863)

Confederate general during the American Civil War, dies of pneumonia at 39

Stonewall Jackson
  • 1864 James Clay Rice, lawyer/Union brigadier general, dies in battle at 34
  • 1864 Thomas Greeley Stevenson, Union brigadier general, dies at about 27
  • 1868 Henry Bennett, American politician (b. 1808)
  • 1869 Wilhelm Bernhard Molique, German composer and violonist, dies at 66
  • 1880 John Goss, British organist and composer (Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven), dies at 79
  • 1885 Edward Stephen, Welsh musician and composer, dies at 62
  • 1885 Ferdinand Hiller, German pianist, composer and conductor, dies at 73
  • 1889 Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian satirist (b. 1826)
  • 1891 Karl Wilhelm von Nägeli, Swiss botanist (famous for his work on plant cells), dies at 74
  • 1897 Andrés Bonifacio, Filipino revolutionary leader of 1896 Philippine revolt against Spain, dies at 33
  • 1897 William Thomas Best, English organist and composer, dies at 70
  • 1900 Richard Storrs Willis, American composer, mostly of hymns ("Carol"; "Fairest Lord Jesus"), dies at 81

Henry Morton StanleyHenry Morton Stanley (1841-1904)

Welsh journalist and African explorer (discovered source of the Nile), dies at 63

Henry Morton Stanley
  • 1909 Johannes de Koo, Dutch journalist and playwright, dies at 67
  • 1910 Stanislao Cannizzaro, Italian chemist (advocated for single system of atomic formulas), dies at 85
  • 1910 William Huggins, discoverer of stellar nature of Andromeda, dies
  • 1914 Sir William Alexander Smith, Scottish founder of the Boys' Brigade, dies at 59
  • 1915 Albert Weisgerber, German painter and graphic artist, dies in battle at 37

John Wesley HyattJohn Wesley Hyatt (1837-1920)

American inventor who simplified the production of celluloid, dies at 82

John Wesley Hyatt
  • 1923 Vaslav Vorovsky, Russian delegate, assassinated
  • 1924 Adolfo Albertazzi, Italian writer (Amore & Amore, Top), dies at 58
  • 1930 Edward Stratemeyer, American author (The Rover Boys), dies at 67
  • 1937 William Tedmarsh, British silent movie actor (Two Beds and No Sleep), dies at 61
  • 1938 Percy McAlister, Australian cricket batsman (8 Tests; Big Six cricket dispute 1912), dies at 68
  • 1940 Euphemia "Phemia" Molkenboer, Dutch author and poster artist, dies at 56
  • 1942 Joe Weber, American vaudeville comedian, singer (Weber and Fields), and theatrical producer, dies at 74
  • 1943 Andre Bertulot, Belgian resistance fighter, hanged
  • 1943 Arnaud/Armand Fraiteur, Belgian resistance fighter, hanged
  • 1943 Maurice-Albert Raskin, Belgian resistance fighter, hanged
  • 1945 Richard Glücks, German SS officer and concentration camp administrator, committed suicide at 56
  • 1950 Belle da Costa Greene, American librarian, bibliographer and archivist, dies at 66
  • 1950 John Gould Fletcher, American poet (Burning Mountain), dies at 64
  • 1954 George Hirst, English cricketer (36,323 1st-class runs, 2739 wickets), dies at 82
  • 1955 John Radecki, Australian stained glass artist, dies at 89

Tommy BurnsTommy Burns (1881-1955)

Canadian boxer, dies of a heart attack at 73

Tommy Burns
  • 1956 Clarence E. Mulford, American writer (Hopalong Cassidy), dies at 73
  • 1960 Yuri Olesha, Russian writer, dies at 61
  • 1963 Gene "Big Daddy" Lipscomb, American NFL football defensive lineman, 1953-62 (Baltimore Colts, and two other teams), and professional wrestler, dies of a heroin overdose at 31
  • 1964 Carol Haney, dancer (Pantomime Quiz), dies at 35
  • 1964 Ignace Lilien, Dutch-Austrian composer, dies at 66
  • 1964 Mikhail Larionov, Russian painter (b. 1881)
  • 1965 Hubertus van Mook, Dutch colonial administrator (Acting Governor General of the Dutch East Indies 1942-48), dies at 70
  • 1967 Lorenzo Bandini, Italian auto racer (24 Hours of Le Mans 1963; 24 Hours of Daytona 1967), dies after a race accident in Monaco F1 GP at 31
  • 1968 Maurie Sievers, cricket medium-pacer (Austral v England 1936-37), dies
  • 1968 Philippa Bevans, British actress (Notorious Landlady, World of Henry Orient), dies at 55
  • 1968 Scotty Beckett, American actor (Our Gang, Listen Darling, Battleground), dies from either an overdose, or as a result from a beating at 38
  • 1970 Mari Blanchard, American actress and femme fatale (Kathy-Klondike), dies of cancer at 47
  • 1971 Mihail Jora, Romanian composer, dies at 79
  • 1971 Shukichi Mitsukuri, Japanese composer (10 Haikai de Basho), dies at 75
  • 1972 Rhys Gemmell, Australian tennis player (Australasian C'ships singles & doubles 1921), dies at 76
  • 1973 Jack E. Leonard, American comedian (Disorderly Orderly), dies at 62
  • 1973 Loren Tindall, American actor (Meet Me on Broadway, Girl of Limberlost), dies of a heart attack at 51
  • 1974 Hal Mohr [Harold Leon Mohr], American Cinematographer and husband of Evelyn Venable (Captain Blood), dies at 74
  • 1976 Elias Aslaksen, Leader of Smith's Friends (b. 1888)
  • 1976 George Curzon, dies at 77

Joan CrawfordJoan Crawford (1905-1977)

American actress (Mildred Pierce), dies of a heart attack between 69 and 74 [year of birth disputed]

Joan Crawford
  • 1979 John Cameron Andrieu Bingham Morton, satirist (Beachcomber), dies
  • 1979 Louis Paul Boon, Belgian writer (Eros & the Lonely Man), dies at 67
  • 1982 Jean Picart le Doux, French artist and tapestry designer, dies at 80
  • 1982 Peter Weiss, German author and playwright (Marat/Sade), dies at 65
  • 1983 John P Strijbos, writer (Called that Bird), dies at 92
  • 1984 Jean-Louis Viale, French jazz drummer, dies at 51
  • 1984 Joaquin Agostinho, Portuguese cyclist, dies at 41
  • 1984 Robert Moore, American director and actor (Murder by Death, Marshall-Diana), dies from AIDS-related pneumonia at 56
  • 1988 Shen Congwen, Chinese writer (Long River), dies at 85
  • 1989 Woody Shaw, American jazz trumpeter (Rosewood), and educator, dies from kidney failure and other complications after being struck by a subway train in Brooklyn, NYC, at 44
  • 1990 Susan Oliver [Charlotte Gercke], American stage and screen actress (Peyton Place - "Ann"; Star Trek - The Cage), television director, and airplane pilot, dies of lung cancer at 58
  • 1990 Walker Percy, American writer and novelist ("The Moviegoer"; "Lancelot"), dies of cancer at 73
  • 1991 Armand HF Boni [Armand the Good], Flemish poet/writer, dies
  • 1992 Joan Merrill, American pop vocalist, dies of a stroke at 74
  • 1992 John Lund, American actor (High Society, Wackiest Ship in the Army), dies at 81
  • 1992 Liesbeth Saijers, Dutch sculptor, dies at 76
  • 1992 Sylvia Syms [Blagman], American jazz and cabaret singer and actress ("I Could Have Danced All Night"; South Pacific - "Bloody May"), dies of a heart attack at 74
  • 1993 Lester del Rey, American sci-fi author (Moon Trilogy, Marooned on Mars), dies at 77

John Wayne GacyJohn Wayne Gacy (1942-1994)

American serial killer who killed 33 young men, executed in Illinois at 52

John Wayne Gacy
  • 1994 Lucebert [J Swaanswijk], poet/cartoonist (PC Hooft 1967), dies at 69
  • 1994 Phyllis Flowerdew, English school Reading text author (Wide Range Reader series that sold over 7 million copies), dies at 81
  • 1995 Harold Berens, comedian, dies at 92
  • 1995 Hilde Jarecki, German English educationist (Kindertransport, Playgroups), dies at 83
  • 1995 Jimmy Raney, American jazz guitarist, dies at 67
  • 1997 Joan [Joanie] Weston, American roller derby queen (Bay Bombers), dies at 61
  • 1999 Shel Silverstein, American writer and cartoonist (Now Here's My Plan: A Book of Futilities; The Giving Tree) and songwriter ("A Boy Named Sue"; "The Cover Of The Rolling Stone"), dies at 68
  • 2000 Dédé Fortin, Quebec singer and songwriter (Les Colocs) (b. 1962)
  • 2000 Jules Deschênes, Canadian Quebec Superior Court judge, dies at 76
  • 2001 Deborah Walley, American actress (b. 1943)
  • 2002 David Riesman, American sociologist (Lonely Crowd), dies at 92
  • 2002 George Cates, American composer and orchestra leader (Lawrence Welk Show), dies at 90
  • 2002 Lynda Lyon Block, American convicted murderer (shot a police officer), executed at 54
  • 2002 Yves Robert, French actor, screenwriter and director (The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe), dies at 81
  • 2003 Milan Vukcevich, Yugoslavian chemist and a grandmaster of chess problem composition, dies at 66
  • 2005 David Wayne, American singer (Metal Church) (b. 1958)
  • 2006 A. M. Rosenthal, American journalist and newspaper editor (NY Times), dies at 84
  • 2006 Raizo Matsuno, Japanese politician (b. 1917)
  • 2006 Soraya [Lamilla], Colombian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, arranger and record producer ("Amor En Tus Ojos / Love In Your Eyes"'; "Casi"), dies of breast cancer at 37
  • 2006 Val Guest, British film director (b. 1911)
  • 2007 Brian Wolfson, British CEO (Wembley Stadium Ltd), dies at 71
  • 2007 Oliver Millar, British art historian (served in the Royal Household for 41 years), dies at 84
  • 2008 Jessie Jacobs, Australian Actress (b. 1990)
  • 2008 Leyla Gencer, Turkish soprano (b. 1928)
  • 2010 Frank Frazetta [Frazzetta], American fantasy illustrator of comic book, paperback, album cover art, dies of a stroke at 82
  • 2012 Carroll Shelby, American race car driver (LeMans, 1959), automobile designer (Ford Shelby Mustang; Shelby GT; Dodge Shelby Charger; Dodge Viper). and businessman, dies at 89
  • 2012 Evelyn Johnson, American pilot (most flying hours - 57,685), dies at 102
  • 2016 Louis van Gasteren, Dutch actor and director (The House, De prijs van overleven), dies at 93
  • 2017 Geoffrey Bayldon, British stage and screen actor (Catweazle; Worzel Gummidge - "Crowman"), dies at 93
  • 2018 Evgeni Vasiukov, Russian chess grandmaster (World Senior Champion 1995), dies at 85
  • 2020 Betty Wright [Bessie Norris], American R&B singer-songwriter ("Clean Up Woman"), dies at 66
  • 2020 John Teerlinck, American NFL defensive end (SD Chargers) and coach (annual award for NFL best defensive line coach named after him), dies at 69
  • 2021 Néstor Montelongo, Uruguayan soccer utility (36 caps; Montevideo Wanderers, Peñarol, Nacional, Racing), dies at 66
  • 2021 Norman Lloyd, American actor (St. Elsewhere - "Dr. Auschlander"; Dead Poets Society), producer and director (Alfred Hitchcock Presents), dies at 106 [1]
  • 2021 Tony Armatrading, British stage and screen actor (Colour Blind; Notting Hill), dies of cancer at 59
  • 2022 Bob Lanier, American Basketball HOF center (8 x NBA All-Star; NBA All-Star Game MVP 1974; Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks), dies at 73
  • 2022 Glyn Shaw, Welsh rugby union prop (12 caps; Neath RFC), and rugby league prop (7 caps Wales, 1 GB; Widnes RLFC, Wigan RLFC), dies at 71
  • 2022 Mike Davis, English rugby union lock (16 caps; Sherborne RFC) and coach (England 20 Tests 1979-83), dies at 80
  • 2023 Ed Flanagan, American football center (Pro Bowl 1969, 70, 71, 73; Detroit Lions, San Diego Chargers), dies from heart problems at 79
  • 2023 Rolf Harris, Australian-British comedian, actor, painter, singer-songwriter ("Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport"), and convicted sex offender, dies at 93 [1]
  • 2023 Thelston Payne, West Indian cricket wicketkeeper (1 Test, 5 dismissals; 7 ODIs, HS 60; Barbados), dies from pancreatic cancer at 66
May 10 Highlights

Famous People by Cause of Death

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