Famous Deaths on May 16

Charles Perrault (1628-1703)

French author and fairy tale writer (Tales of Mother Goose), dies at 75

1754 Giovanni Carlo Maria Clari, Italian composer, dies at 76
1762 Ernst Christian Hesse, German composer, dies at 86
1768 Cornelis Writer, fleet supervisor, dies at about 81
1778 Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, English diplomat and politician, dies at 59
1782 Daniuel Charles Solander, botanist, dies
1790 Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke, English politician, dies at 70
1805 Christiaan Brunings, Dutch hydraulic engineer, dies at 68
1819 Alexander van Bylandt, military, dies at 75
1829 William Congreve, English artillery officer and inventor who designed fire rockets, dies at 56
1830 Joseph Fourier, French mathematician (mathematical theory of heat conduction) and egyptologist, dies at 62
1835 Felicia Dorothea Hemans, English-Welsh poet ("The boy stood on the burning deck", "The stately homes of England"), dies of dropsy at 41
1847 Kaspar Ett, German organist/composer, dies at 59
1862 Joseph L. Hogg, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 55
1862 Lev Mej, Russian dramatist and poet (The Tsar's Bride), dies at 40 [O.S. 5/16]
1863 Lloyd Tilghman, Confederate brigadier general, dies in battle at 47
1864 Lean Bear, Cheyenne chief, murdered
1880 Karl August Krebs, composer, dies at 76
1883 Ferdinand de Braekeleer the Elder, Belgian painter of genre scenes, dies at 91
1891 Ion Brătianu, Romanian statesman (Premier of Romania 1876-88), dies at 69
1892 John Banvard, American artist who painted worlds largest painting (3 mile canvas), dies at 75
1892 Théodore-Joseph Canneel, Flemish painter, dies at 74
1903 Eduard Rappoldi, composer, dies at 72
1904 N I Bobrikov, Russian governor-general in Finland, dies
1910 Henri-Edmond Cross [Delacroix], French painter (Fauvism), dies at 53
1913 Louis Perrier, Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council, dies at 63
1918 Eusapia Palladino, Italian spiritual medium, dies at 64
1920 Joselito [José Gómez Ortega], Spanish matador (bullfighter) prodigy, gored to death by a bull at 25
1920 Levi Parsons Morton, American ambassador and politician (R) (Vice President of the United States 1889-93, Governor of New York 1895-96), dies at 96 [1]
1924 William "Candy" Cummings, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (credited with creating the curveball), dies at 75
1926 Mehmed VI Vahideddin, last sultan of Ottoman Empire (1918-22), dies at 65
1928 Edmund Gosse, English poet, author (Father & Son) and critic, dies at 78
1929 Lilli Lehmann, German opera soprano (Tristan und Isolde), dies at 80
1932 Ki Imukai, premier of Japan (1931-32), murdered
1932 William Pember Reeves, politician/poet, dies
1936 Julius Schreck, German Nazi military man (1st head of the SS), and confidant of Adolf Hitler, dies of meningitis at 37
1938 Joseph Strauss, American civil engineer (chief engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge), dies at 68
1938 Steve Fairbairn, British rower and coach (Jesus College Boat Club, Cambridge University), dies at 75
1942 Bronislaw Kasper Malinowski, anthropologist, dies
1943 Alfred Hoche, German psychiatrist (b. 1865)
1944 Ferdinand Alphons Marie van der Ham, Dutch WW II resistance fighter, dies at 27
1944 George Ade, American playwright, writer and humorist (Counsel Widow, Fables in Slang), dies at 78
1944 Leone Sinigaglia, Italian composer, dies at 75
1944 Max Brand [Frederick Schiller Faust], western author, dies
1947 Frederick Gowland Hopkins, British biochemist (Nobel Prize, 1929), dies at 85
1949 William Newzam Prior Nicholson, painter/engraver, dies
1952 Alec Hearne, English cricket batsman (1 Test; Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1894; Kent), dies at 88
1952 Frances Benjamin Johnston, American pioneering female photographer

Django Reinhardt (1910-1953)

Belgium born Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer considered the most significant European jazz musician, dies at 43

1954 Clemens Krauss, Austrian conductor (Vienna State Opera; Berlin State Opera), dies at 61
1954 Werner Bischof, Swiss photographer (Magnum), dies accidentally in a road accident at 38
1955 James Agee, American author (African Queen, Death in Family), dies at 45
1956 H. B. Reese, American inventor of Reese's, dies at 76
1957 Dick Irvin, Canadian Hockey HOF center (Chicago Black Hawks) and coach (Stanley Cup 1932 Toronto Maple Leafs; 1944, 46, 53 Montreal Canadiens), dies at 64
1957 Eliot Ness, American federal agent "The Untouchables" (put away Al Capone), dies of a heart attack at 54
1958 Jeroom Verten [Jozef Frans Vermetten], Flemish playwright, dies at 49
1959 Elisha Scott, Irish soccer goalkeeper (31 caps Ireland [IFA]; Liverpool 430 games), dies at 65
1959 Joe Cook, Stage comedian, dies at 69
1961 George A. Malcolm, American jurist (17th Associate Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court) and educator, dies at 79
1963 Oleg Penkovsky, Soviet military intelligence (GRU), dies at 44
1966 Randy Turpin, British boxer (NYSAC, NBA and The Ring middleweight titles 1951-53), shot dead in his home at 37
1969 Johnny Jordan, English cameraman (You Only Live Twice), dies at 44
1971 Barney Stanley, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame forward (Stanley Cup 1915, Vancouver Millionaires; coach Chicago Black Hawks 1927-28), dies at 77
1972 Maxime Dumoulin, French composer, dies at 79
1975 Michael X, (Abdul Malik), hanged in Trinidad, for murder
1977 Edouard Van Remoortel, Belgian conductor (St Louis Symphony, 1958-62), dies at 50
1978 William Steinberg, German-American conductor (Pittsburgh Symphony, 1952-76; Boston Symphony, 1969-71), dies at 78
1979 A. Philip Randolph, American labor leader (Railroad Porter's Union), dies at 90
1981 Ernie Freeman, American musician (Raunchy), pianist and arranger, dies at 58
1983 Carel Brons, Dutch composer, dies at 52
1984 Andy Kaufman, American comedian and actor (Taxi -"Latka"), dies of cancer at 35
1984 Irwin Shaw, American writer (Rich Man, Poor Man), dies at 71
1984 Wessel Couzijn, Dutch sculptor and cartoonist (Auschwitz-monument), dies at 71

Margaret Hamilton (1902-1985)

American character actress (The Wizard of Oz), dies of a heart attack at 82

1988 Charles Keeping, English illustrator (b. 1924)
1988 Kay Baxter, American bodybuilder (NPC Gold's Classic 1981), dies in car crash at 42
1988 Louise Wood, director of Girl Scouts of USA (1961-72), dies at 78
1989 Hassan Khaled, sheik of Lebanon, murdered
1990 Dag Drollet, Cheyenne Brando's boyfriend killed by her brother Christian

Jim Henson (1936-1990)

American puppeteer, artist, screenwriter and filmmaker, and creator of 'the Muppets" (Sesame Street; The Muppet Show), dies of toxic shock syndrome caused by pneumonia at 53

Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990)

American vaudeville, stage, and screen dancer, singer ("The Candy Man"), actor (Ocean's 11), and Rat Pack member, dies of throat cancer at 64

1991 Prudence Nesbitt, British actress/TV producer, dies
1992 Chalino Sánchez, Mexican musician, murdered at 31
1992 Marisa Mell, actress (Hostages), dies of cancer at 53
1993 Madan Kumar Bhandari, Nepalese politician (Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist)), dies at 41
1993 Marv Johnson, American R&B pianist, songwriter, and singer ("You Got What It Takes"; "(You've Got To) Move Two Mountains"), dies of a stroke at 54
1994 Alain Cuny, French actor (La Dolce Vita, Detective, Weite Land, Emmanuelle), dies at 85
1994 Barbara Jean Jones, fictional character on General Hospital, dies at 7
1994 Phani Majumdar, Indian film director (Street Singer), dies at 82
1994 Vasek Simek, Czech/American actor (Green Card, Mistress), dies at 66
1995 Lola Flores, Spanish singer, dancer and actress (Kuma Ching, Faraona), dies at 70
1995 Ragnhild Marie Hatton, Norwegian historian, dies at 82
1996 Edward McInnes, German scholar, dies at 60
1996 Jeremy Boorda, U.S. Navy admiral (25th Chief of Naval Operations), commits suicide at 56
1996 Pierre Debizet, resistance fighter/special agent, dies at 72
1997 Elbridge Durbrow, American diplomat (b. 1903)
1997 Horace "Bones" McKinney, American basketball forward, coach and broadcaster (Washington Capitols, Wake Forest), dies at 78
2000 Bodacious the Bull Famous rodeo bull (b. 1988)
2000 William Ferris, American composer and conductor (William Ferris Chorale, 1971-2000), dies while conducting a rehearsal of Verdi's Requiem at 63
2001 Brian Pendleton, English musician (The Pretty Things) (b. 1944)
2002 Alec Campbell, the last surviving ANZAC (b. 1899)
2002 Big Dick Dudley, American professional wrestler (b. 1968)
2003 Mark McCormack, American businessman (b. 1930)
2004 June Taylor, American choreographer, dies at 86
2004 Marius Constant, Romanian-born French composer and conductor (founded Ars Nova), dies at 79
2005 Andrew Goodpaster, American general (NATO Supreme Allied Commander 1969-74), dies at 90
2007 (Terry) "Topper" Price, American blues, jazz and rock vocalist and harmonica player (The Upsetters). dies at 54
2007 Albert Delvaux, Belgian composer (Symphonia Burlesca), dies at 93
2008 Wilfrid Howard Mellers, English musicologist and composer (François Couperin and the French Classical Tradition), dies at 94
2010 Hank Jones, American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer, dies at 91
2010 Ronnie James Dio [Padavona], American singer, songwriter and musician (Elf; Rainbow; Black Sabbath; Dio; and Heaven & Hell), dies at 67
2011 Bill Skiles, American comic (b. 1931)
2011 Bob Davis, Australian rules footballer (b. 1928)
2011 Edward Hardwicke, British actor (Sherlock Holmes), dies at 78
2012 Doug Dillard, American country rock musician (The Dillards, Gene Clark, Dillard & Clark) and actor (Clem-Popeye), dies of a lung infection caused by a collapsed lung at 75
2012 James Abdnor, American senator, dies at 89
2013 Bernard Waber, American children's book author, dies from kidney failure at 88
2013 Dick Trickle, American auto racer (7 x ARTGO C'ships, ASA AC-Delco Challenge C'ship 1984, 85; NASCAR Rookie of the Year 1989), dies by self inflicted gunshot at 71
2013 Heinrich Rohrer, Swiss physicist (tunneling microscope-Nobel 1986), dies at 79
2013 Paul Shane, English comedian and actor, dies at 72
2015 Dean Potter, American free climber and BASE jumper, dies in a wingsuit flying accident at Yosemite National Park, aged 43
2015 Prashant Bhargava, American filmmaker (Patang: The Kite), dies of cardiac arrest at 42
2016 Julia Meade [Kunz], American actress and TV hostess (Spotlight Playhouse), dies at 90
2018 Joseph Campanella, American character actor (Guiding Light, Mannix), dies at 93
2018 Michael Slive, American college sports executive (Commissioner SEC 2002-15), dies of prostate cancer at 77

Bob Hawke (1929-2019)

Australian politician and 23rd Prime Minister of Australia (Labor: 1983-91), dies at 89

I. M. Pei (1917-2019)

Chinese-American modernist architect (Louvre Pyramid) who won the 1961 Brunner Prize, dies at 102

2020 Arthur Summons, Australian rugby union fly-half (10 Tests; Gordon RFC) and rugby league five-eighth (9 Tests; Western Suburbs RLFC), dies at 84
2020 Donn Trenner, American jazz pianist, arranger, and orchestra leader (Steve Allen's Westinghouse Show), dies at 93
2020 Michael McCaskey, American football executive (Chicago Bears president 1983-98; chairman 1999-2011), dies from cancer at 76
2020 Tony Yates, American college basketball point guard (National C'ship 1961, 62 Cincinnati Bearcats) and head coach (Cincinnati 1983-89), dies at 82
2021 Rildo da Costa Menezes, Brazilian soccer defender (38 caps; Santos, CEUB, New York Cosmos), dies at 79
2022 Maurice Lindsay, British sports administrator (chairman Preston North End FC, Wigan Warriors RLFC; CEO RFL 1992-99), dies at 81
2023 Marlene Bauer Hagge, American golfer, co-founder LPGA (Woman's PGA C'ship 1956), dies after a fall at 89
2023 Nelsinho Rosa, Brazilian soccer coach (Saudi Arabia, Fluminense, Vasco da Gama), dies at 85
2023 Per Røntved, Danish soccer defender (75 caps; Werder Bremen, Brønshøj BK, Randers SK Freja), dies from cancer at 74