Famous Deaths on May 2

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

Italian painter, sculptor, scientist and visionary, dies at 67

1564 Cardinal Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, Italian humanist (b. 1500)
1567 Marin Drzic, Croatian playwright (Dundo Maroje), dies
1627 Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, Italian composer (b. 1560)
1667 George Wither, English writer (Abuses Stript and Whipt), dies at 78
1669 Pieter Jansz Post, master builder (Waag, Gouda), dies at 61
1683 Stjepan Gradić, Croatian philosopher and scientist (b. 1613)
1685 Adriaen van Ostade, Dutch painter, buried
1711 Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, English statesman (b. 1641)
1727 Paul Aler, French jesuit and poet (Gradus ad Parnassum), dies at 70
1736 Albert Seba, Amsterdam pharmacist, dies at 71
1799 Henri-Joseph Rigel, German composer, dies at 58
1810 Henry Jerome de Salis, English churchman, dies at 69
1818 Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch military leader (Brigadier-General) and politician (Governor-General of Dutch-East Indies, 1808-11; Governor-General of Dutch Gold Coast, 1811-15), dies at 55
1819 Mary Moser, English painter (Flowers Still Life), dies at 74
1844 William Beckford, British writer (Epsiodes of Vathek), dies at 83
1845 August Pauly, German writer (Real Encyclopedia), dies at 48
1849 David Hendrik Chasse, Dutch general (fought Napoleon at Waterloo), dies at 84
1857 Alfred de Musset, French poet (Lesson caprices Marianne), dies at 46
1859 Eliza Courtney, English illegitimate daughter of Charles Grey and Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, dies at 67
1864 Giacomo Meyerbeer, German opera composer (Gott und die Natur - God and Nature), dies at 72
1892 Wilhelm Rust, German musicologist and composer, dies at 69
1897 William Cleaver Francis Robinson, composer, dies at 63
1898 Charles C. Walcutt, American general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, dies of an old war wound at 60
1915 Clara Immerwahr, German chemist, first woman to be awarded a doctorate in chemistry in Germany, dies at 44
1918 Ernie Parker, Australian tennis player (Australasian C'ship 1913), dies in action WWI at 34
1919 Gustav Landauer, German socialist and writer (advocated for social anarchism), murdered by counterrevolutionary soldiers during overthrow of Bavarian Socialist government at 49
1922 Richard T. Greener, African-American pioneering scholar and diplomat who was Harvard College's 1st Black graduate, University of South Carolina 1st Black professor and America's 1st Black diplomat to a white country, dies of natural causes at 78 [1]
1927 Ernest Starling, British physiologist (Frank–Starling law of the heart), dies at 61
1934 Sergey Lebedev, Russian chemist, inventor of first commercially viable, mass-produced polybutadiene synthetic rubber for tires, and synthetic motor oil for aircraft engines, dies at 59
1937 Arthur Somervell, English composer, dies at 73
1945 Ludwig Stumpfegger, German SS doctor and Hitler's personal surgeon commits suicide at 34

Martin Bormann (1900-1945)

German Nazi leader (Hitler's secretary, chief of the Party Chancellery), most likely commits suicide on this date at 44 [remains identified in 1972]

1947 Dorothea Binz, German Nazi war criminal (Ravensbrück concentration camp), executed by hanging for her crimes at 27
1947 William Moulton Marston, American psychologist (inventor of an early prototype of the lie detector) and writer (co-creator, Wonder Woman), dies at 53
1954 Pauline Manifarges, Dutch contralto singer, dies at 82
1955 Tadeusz Jarecki, Polish composer and conductor, dies at 66

Joseph McCarthy (1909-1957)

American Senator (Rep - Wisconsin) who claimed communists infiltrated the US government, dies of acute hepatitis, exacerbated by chronic alcohol abuse at 48

1957 Tadeusz Zygfryd Kassern, Polish composer and cultural attache, dies at 53
1958 Alfred Weber, German economist and sociologist, dies at 89
1960 Caryl Chessman, American kidnapper and rapist, executed in gas chamber at San Quentin (California) State Prison after 12 years of appeals at 38
1961 J C White, English cricket spin bowler (15 Tests, 49 wickets; 10-76 Somerset v Worcestershire 1921), dies at 70
1963 Jack Crawford, English cricket all-rounder (12 Tests; Surrey, South Australia, Otago), dies at 76
1963 Tomás Vačkář, Czech composer, dies at 17
1963 Van Wyck Brooks, American literary historian and writer (Ordeal of Mark Twain), dies at 77

Nancy Astor (1879-1964)

American born British politician, 1st female MP in UK House of Commons, dies at 84

1967 Ernst Friedrich, German pacifist and anarchist (War Against War!), dies at 73
1968 Donald L Hall, American airplane designer (Spirit of St Louis), dies at 69

Franz von Papen (1879-1969)

German diplomat and chancellor (1932), dies at 89

1972 Hugo Hartung, writer, dies at 69

J. Edgar Hoover (1895-1972)

American 1st Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (1924-72), dies at 77

1973 Alan Carney [David Boughal], American actor (Zombies on Broadway, Take it from Me), dies at 61
1973 June Hutton [Cowan], American pop vocalist (The Pied Pipers, 1944-50; Afterglow), dies at 52
1979 Giulio Natta, Italian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
1980 Alioune Diop, Senegalese writer & editor (Présence africaine), dies at 70
1980 Clarrie Grimmett, Australian cricket spin bowler (37 Tests; 216 wickets @ 24.21; ICC Cricket Hall of Fame), dies at 88
1980 George Pál, Hungarian-American film director (When Worlds Collide, Puppetoons), dies at 72
1982 Helmut Dantine, Austrian-American actor (Shadow of the Cloak), dies of a heart attack at 64
1982 Hugh Marlowe [Hipple], American actor (All About Eve, Ellery Queen), dies from a heart attack at 71
1983 Ernesto de la Guardia, President of Panama (1956-60), dies at 78
1983 Marius Duintjer, Dutch architect (Kolenkit), dies at 74
1983 Norm Van Brocklin, American Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback (NFL MVP 1960; First-team All-Pro 1960; 9 × Pro Bowl; LA Rams, Philadelphia Eagles) and coach (Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons), dies from a heart attack at 57
1984 Jack Barry, American game show emcee (Joker's Wild), dies of cardiac arrest at 66
1984 Piet van Aken, Flemish writer (Klinkaart, Het begeren), dies at 64
1985 Bridget D'Oyly Carte, British theater & hotel director, dies of lung cancer at 77
1985 Hal LeRoy [John LeRoy Schotte], American vaudeville, Broadway and film dancer (Ziegfeld's Follies of 1931), dies at 71 after surgery
1985 Larry Clinton, American trumpeter and bandleader, dies at 75
1985 Milton S Eisenhower, US diplomat, dies at 85
1986 Henri Toivonen, Finnish rally driver (3 x World Rally C'ship round wins for Talbot, Opel, Porsche, Lancia), dies in a rally accident at 29
1989 Giuseppe Siri, Italian Catholic Cardinal (b. 1906)
1989 Veniamin Kaverin, Russian writer (b. 1902)
1990 David Rappaport, 3'11' actor (Wizard, LA Law), shoots himself at 38
1990 Oleg Anatolyevich Yakovlev, Russian cosmonaut, dies at 49
1990 William L. Dawson, American choir director, composer (Negro Folk Symphony), educator, and musicologist, dies at 90
1990 William Levi Dawson, American composer, choirmaster, and musicologist, dies at 90
1991 Hal Bell, dies at 65
1991 Leib Lensky, dies at 82
1991 Ronald McKie, Australian author (The Mango Tree), dies at 81
1992 Joey Cuevas, American movie dancer, dies at 34
1992 Lee Salk, Russian-American child psychologist and author, dies of cardiac arrest at 65
1992 Margareth Wallmann, Austrian opera director, dies at 88
1992 Philip Dunne, screenwriter, dies of cancer at 84
1992 Wilbur Mills, American congressmen (Democrat-AZ: 1939-77), famous for his involvement in a sex scandal with Fanne Foxe, dies at 82
1993 Julio Gallo, American wine maker (Gallo), dies in a car accident at 83
1993 Will Weng, Sunday Times crossword puzzle editor (1968-78), dies at 86
1994 Louis Calaferte, writer (Requiem of the Innocents), dies at 65
1994 Wilson Charles Geoffrey Baldwin, hero, dies at 75
1995 Michael Hordern, British actor (Watership Down, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold), dies from kidney disease at 83
1996 Arthur Leslie Noel Douglas Houghton, British politician and civil servant, dies at 97
1996 Emile Habibi, Palestinian Israeli writer (The Secret Life of Saeed the Pessoptimist), dies at 73
1996 Peter Swales, British soccer executive (Chairman Manchester City FC 1973-93; vice-president English FA), dies at 63
1997 John Eccles, Australian neurologist (1963 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for work on the synapse), dies at 94
1997 Paulo Freire, Brazilian educator and philosopher (critical pedagogy), dies at 75
1997 Queen Mother Moore, African-American civil rights activist and humanitarian, dies at 98
1998 Gene Raymond [Raymond Guion], American actor (Paris 7000, Love on a Bet, Fireside Theater), dies from pneumonia a 89
1998 Hide [Hideto Matsumoto], Japanese rock guitarist, singer-songwriter and record producer (X Japan; Zilch), takes his own life at 33
1998 Justin Fashanu, English soccer forward (first openly gay pro footballer; first black footballer to command £1 million transfer fee), dies from suicide at 37
1998 Kevin Lloyd, British actor (b. 1949)
1999 Oliver Reed, English actor (Big Sleep), dies of a heart attack at 61 during a break from filming the movie "Gladiator" in Malta
2001 Gina Mastrogiacomo, American actress (Goodfellas), dies at 39
2001 Ted Rogers, British comedian and game show host (3-2-1), dies after emergency open-heart surgery at 65
2002 John Nathan-Turner, English television producer (b. 1947)
2002 W. T. Tutte, English-born codebreaker (b. 1917)
2003 George Wyle [Bernard Weissman], American composer ("The Ballad of Gilligan's Island"; "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"), and orchestra leader (The Flip Wilson Show), dies at 87
2004 John MacKenzie, Scottish-Canadian bagpiper and pipe-major, dies at 83 [1]
2005 Kenneth Bancroft Clark, American civil rights activist (Dark Ghetto) and first black president of the American Psychological Association, dies at 90
2005 Wee Kim Wee, 4th President of Singapore (b. 1915)
2006 Louis Rukeyser, American columnist (b. 1933)
2007 Brad McGann, New Zealand film director and screenwriter (b. 1964)
2008 Beverlee McKinsey (née Magruder), American actress (Another World, 1972-80 - "Iris Carrington"; Guiding Light, 1984-92 - "Alexandra Spaulding"), dies from kidney transplant complications at 72
2009 Jack Kemp, Jack Kemp, American NFL player and politician (Rep-R-NY 1971-89, US Secretary of Housing 1989-93, VP candidate 96), dies of cancer at 73
2009 Marilyn French, American author (The Women's Room), dies at 79

Lynn Redgrave (1943-2010)

British-American actress (Gods and Monsters, Georgy Girl), dies of cancer at 67

Osama bin Laden (1957-2011)

Islamic militant and founder of al-Qaeda, shot and killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan by navy seals during Operation Neptune Spear at 54

2012 Junior Seau, American Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker (12 x Pro Bowl; 6 × First-team All-Pro; NFL Defensive Player of the Year 1992; SD Chargers), commits suicide at 43
2012 Zvi Zeitlin, Russian-American classical violinist and music professor (Eastman School, 1967-2012), dies at 90
2013 Jeff Hanneman, American haevy metal guitarist (Slayer), dies from liver failure at 49
2014 Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., American actor (77 Sunset Strip; Scruples; The F.B.I.), dies at 95
2014 Jessica Cleaves, American soul singer and songwriter (The Friends of Distinction - "Grazing In The Grass"; Earth, Wind & Fire; Parliament Funkadelic), dies of complications from a stroke at 65
2015 Guy Carawan, American folk singer and folklorist (We Shall Overcome), dies at 87
2015 Ma Shui-long, Taiwanese classical composer (The Peacock Flies Southeast), dies at 75
2015 Maya Plisetskaya, Russian prima ballerina (Bolshoi Ballet), dies at 89
2015 Ruth Rendell, English thriller writer (Inspector Wexford novels), dies at 85
2016 Afeni Shakur, mother of Tupac Shakur, Black Panther Party member, dies at 69
2016 Alan Elsdon, British jazz trumpeter, flugelhorn player (Midnite Follies Orchestra), and bandleader, dies at 81
2017 (Mary) Norma Procter, British contralto singer, dies of Parkinson's Disease at 89
2017 Abelardo Castillo, Argentine writer and novelist, dies at 82
2017 Grigori Zhislin, Russian concert violinist, and viola player, dies at 71
2017 Leo Thorsness, American Vietnam War pilot (Medal of Honor), dies at 85
2017 Vincent Baggetta, American actor (Lou-Chicago Story), dies at 72
2018 Bill Torrey, Canadian ice hockey executive (New York Islanders, Florida Panthers), dies at 83
2018 Chris Walsh, American politician (Massachusetts House of Representatives, 2010–2018), dies of lymphoma at 66
2018 Cliff Watson, English rugby league front rower (30 Tests GB, 4 England; St Helens 373 games, Cronulla-Sutherland), dies of cancer at 78
2018 Dick Edell, American lacrosse coach (Maryland Terrapins), dies at 74 of pneumonia
2018 Gord Brown, Canadian politician (MP, 2004–2018), dies of a heart attack at 57
2018 Harald Range, German jurist (Attorney General, 2011–2015), dies at 70
2018 Herman Krebbers, Dutch violinist, concert master, and music teacher, dies at 94
2018 James Thorp, American electrical engineer, dies at 81
2018 Katherine O'Regan, New Zealand politician (MP for Waipa, 1984–1996; list MP, 1996–1999), dies of cancer at 71
2018 Kottayam Pushpanath, Indian author, dies at 80
2018 Paul Dick, Canadian politician, dies at 77 of a heart attack
2018 Sir Keith Williamson, British air force commander (Chief of the Air Staff, 1982–1985), dies at 90
2018 Tony Cucchiara, Italian folk singer and songwriter ("Cain and Abel"), dies at 80
2018 Wang Danfeng, Chinese actress, dies at 93
2018 Wolfgang Völz, German actor, dies at 87
2019 Red Kelly, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame center, coach; politician (Toronto Maple Leafs), dies at 91

Bobby Unser (1934-2021)

American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1968, 1975, 1981; USAC C'ship 1968, 1974), dies at 87

2021 Jacques d'Amboise, American ballet dancer, and choreographer (NYC Ballet Company, 1949-84), actor (Seven Brides For Seven Brothers), and educator (founded National Dance Institute, 1976), dies from stroke complications at 86 [1]
2021 Joel Chadabe, American electronic music composer, dies at 82
2021 Tommy West [Picardo], American record producer (Jim Croce; Anne Murray), and singer-songwriter, dies of complications from Parkinson's disease at 78
2022 Yuri Vasenin, Russian soccer midfielder (9 caps USSR; FC Zorya Voroshylovhrad), dies at 73
2023 Bernard Lapasset, French rugby union executive (Chairman World Rugby 2008-16; President French Federation of Rugby Union 1991-2008), dies at 75
2023 Christian Larièpe, French soccer defender (FC Montceau Bourgogne) and sporting director (AS Saint-Étienne, FC Lausanne-Sport, FC Nantes), dies at 63
2023 Damir Šolman, Croatian basketball small forward (World Cup gold 1970, silver 1974 Yugoslavia; Olympic silver 1968, 76; FIBA European Selection 1974; Mladost Zagreb, Jugoplastika), dies at 74
2023 Frank Phillips, Australian golfer (Australian Open 1957, 61; Hong Kong Open 1966, 73; Singapore Open 1961, 65), dies at 90
2023 Tori Bowie, American athlete (Olympic gold 4×100 m relay, silver 100m, bronze 200m 2016; World C'ship gold 100m, 4x100m relay 2017), dies at 32