Famous Deaths on May 9

William Bradford (1589-1657)

American governor (Plymouth Colony, Mass), dies at 57

1667 Marie Louise de Gonzague-Nevers, French Queen of Poland (1645-48), dies at 55
1688 Frederick William, Great Elector, ruler of Brandenburg (1640-88), dies at 68
1707 Dietrich Buxtehude, German organist & composer, dies at about 69
1745 Tomaso Antonio Vitali, Italian composer & violinist, dies at 82
1747 John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair, Scottish soldier & diplomat, dies at 73
1760 Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf, Austrian-born German religious & social reformer, dies at 59
1785 Franz Xaver Schnitzer, German composer, dies at 44
1790 William Clingan, American delegate to the Continental Congress

Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791)

American judge, signer of the Declaration of Independence, author, flag designer (first American flag), and composer (The Battle of the Kegs), dies from an apoplectic seizure at 53

1799 Claude-Bénigne Balbastre, French organist, harpsichordist, and composer, dies at 74
1805 Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller, German poet & playwright, dies at 45

Benjamin Lincoln (1733-1810)

American military officer (Battles of Saratoga, Charleston and Yorktown during the American Revolutionary War), dies at 77

1822 Charles Duquesnoy, French composer, dies at 62
1850 Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, French physicist & chemist, dies at 71
1853 Johann Philipp Samuel Schmidt, German composer, dies at 73
1861 Peter Ernst von Lasaulx, German philologist & politician, dies at 55
1864 John Sedgwick, American Major General (Union Army), is shot in battle after claiming "they couldn't hit an elephant at this distance" at 50
1880 George Brown, Birtish-Canadian journalist, publisher (Toronto Globe), Premier of Canada West (Liberal: 1858) and one of the Fathers of Confederation, dies at 61 after being shot in the leg on March 25
1880 Johann Hermann Berens, German-born Swedish Romantic composer, dies at 54
1884 Hermanus Willem Witteveen, Dutch theologist, dies at 69
1889 William S. Harney, American general, dies at 88
1905 Ernst Pauer, Austrian composer & pianist, dies at 78
1914 C. W. Post, American food manufacturer of breakfast cereals, commits suicide at 59

Anthony Wilding (1883-1915)

New Zealand tennis player (Wimbledon 1910-13), killed in action on the Western Front at 31

François Faber (1887-1915)

Luxembourgian cyclist (Tour de France 1909), killed in action by gunshot wounds at 28

1918 George Coşbuc, Romanian poet, dies at 51
1919 James Reese Europe, American ragtime and early jazz arranger, composer, and bandleader in New York, and with the military in France during WWI, dies of a stab wound (received during an argument with one of his drummers), at 38
1919 Ludwig Bösendorfer, Austrian piano builder, dies at 84
1926 J. M. Dent, British publisher, dies at 77
1927 Tommy Routledge, South African cricketer (4 Tests for South Africa 1892-96), dies at 60
1928 Constantin Dimitrescu, Romanian composer (Dans ţănănesc), dies at 81
1931 Albert A. Michelson, American physicist (1907 Nobel Prize), dies at 78
1933 John Arthur Jarvis, English swimmer (Olympic gold 1,000m, 4,000m, water polo 1900), dies at 61
1936 François Conrad Schlumberger, French physicist, dies at 57

Walter Mittelholzer (1894-1937)

Swiss aviation pioneer (Swiss Air) and aerial photographer, dies in a climbing accident on an expedition in Styria at 43 [1]

1938 Thomas B. Thrige, Danish industrialist, dies at 72
1942 Graham McNamee, American sportscaster (originated play-by-play sports broadcasting; Baseball HOF Ford C. Frick Award; 1st Rose Bowl), dies at 53
1944 Ethel Smyth, English composer, dies at 86
1949 Louis II [Louis Honoré Charles Antoine Grimaldi], Prince of Monaco, dies at 78
1950 Esteban Terradas i Illa, Catalan mathematician, scientist and engineer, dies at 66
1951 Marie Ault [Mary Cragg], English actress (The Lodger), dies at 80
1952 Canada Lee [Leonard Canegata], African-American actor (Lost Boundaries), dies of a heart attack at 45
1955 Kate Booth, English Salvationist & evangelist, dies at 97
1957 Ernest de Silva, Sri Lankan business magnate & philanthropist, dies at 69
1957 Ezio Pinza, Italian American operatic bass (NY Metropolitan Opera, 1926-48), and Tony Award-winning singer (South Pacific), dies at 64
1957 Heinrich Campendonk, German painter & wood carver, dies at 67
1958 Bill Goodwin, American television announcer (Jolson Story, Burns & Allen), dies at 47

Charles Vyner Brooke (1874-1963)

3rd and last White Rajah of Sarawak (1917-46), dies at 88

1965 Leopold Figl, Austrian politician (13th Chancellor of Austria), dies at 62
1966 Alfred Mendelsohn, Romanian composer, and conductor (Romanian National Opera, 1944-63), and teacher, dies at 56
1966 Wilhelmus Marinus Bekkers, Dutch Roman Catholic bishop of Hertogenbosch, dies at 58
1967 Elmar Berkovich, Hungarian-Dutch industrial designer (Eindhoven theater), dies at 69
1967 Philippa Schuyler, African-American child classical piano prodigy, composer, and journalist, dies in a helicopter crash in Vietnam at 35
1968 Finlay Currie, Scottish actor (Quo Vadis, Avengers), dies at 90
1968 Harold Gray, American comic strip artist (Little Orphan Annie), dies at 74
1968 Marion Lorne [MacDougall] American stage and Emmy Award-winning screen actress (Bewitched - "Aunt Clara"; Mister Peepers - "Mrs. Gurney"; The Graduate), dies of a heart attack at 84
1968 Mercedes de Acosta, American poet, playwright, costume designer, and socialite, dies at 75
1968 Phil Arnold, American actor (Errand Boy, Stud Lonigan, Damn Yankees), dies from a heart attack at 58
1970 Andrew Watson Myles, Canadian politician, dies at 86
1970 Percy Brier, Australian composer, dies at 84
1970 Walter P. Reuther, American worker's union leader & president of the CIO, dies in a plane crash at 62
1974 Lyubomir Pipkov, Bulgarian pianist, composer, music educator, and (with his father) Antarctic glacier namesake, dies at 69
1975 Philip Dorn, Dutch actor (Enemy Agent; I Remember Mama), dies of a heart attack at 73
1976 Jens Bjørneboe, Norwegian poet & writer (Dikt, Jonas), dies at 55
1976 Raymond Chevreuille, Belgian composer, dies at 74
1976 Valentino Bucchi, Italian composer, dies at 59
1977 James Jones, American novelist (Bad Blood, From Here to Eternity), dies at 55
1977 Walter Kraft, German organist & composer, dies at 71

Aldo Moro (1916-1978)

Italian Prime Minister (1963-68 and 1974-76), assassinated by the Marxist-Leninist terrorist organization Red Brigades at 61

Cyrus Eaton (1883-1979)

Canadian-American financier, industrialist and steel magnate, dies at 95

1979 Eddie Jefferson, American jazz vocalese singer and lyricist ("Moody's Mood for Love"), shot to death by a disgruntled former employee at 60
1979 Lan Adomian, Russian-born American composer, dies at 73
1981 Nelson Algren, American novelist (Man with the Golden Arm), dies at 72
1981 Nip Pellew, Australian cricketer (10 Tests 484 runs at 37), dies at 87
1982 Ab Visser, Dutch poet and writer (Man Without a Head), dies at 69
1984 Nudie Cohn, Ukrainian-American tailor (created the rhinestone 'nudie suits' worn by musicians), dies at 81 [1]
1985 Redmond "Edmond" O'Brien, American actor (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Sam Benedict, Johnny Midnight), dies of Alzheimer's at 69
1985 Reginald Dixon, British theatre organist, dies at 80
1986 Dirk de Vroome, Dutch campaigner & Limbourg activist, dies at 60
1986 Herschel Bernardi, American actor (Arnie, Voice of Charlie the Tuna, Front), dies of a heart attack at 62

Tenzing Norgay (1914-1986)

Tibetan climber who was the 1st to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953 with Edmund Hillary, dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 71

1987 Obafemi Awolowo, Nigerian statesman & nationalist, dies at 78
1989 Keith Whitley, American country music singer ("Don't Close Your Eyes"), dies of alcohol poisoning at 33
1990 Patrick Piggott, British pianist, composer, and musicologist (The Life & Music of John Field; The Innocent Diversion - Music in the Life and Writings of Jane Austen), dies at 74
1990 Pauline Frederick, American journalist and author (NBC), dies at 84
1991 James L. Reinsch, American broadcasting executive & presidential media adviser (Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy) who also advised Winston Churchill on his 1946 "Iron Curtain" speech, dies at 82
1991 Rudolf Serkin, Bohemian-American concert pianist (noted for Beethoven interpretations), and pedagogue (Curtis Institute; Marlboro School of Music), dies of cancer at 88
1992 Mike Tyrell, British air acrobat, dies in an accident at 45
1993 Freya Stark, English explorer and travel writer (The Southern Gates of Arabia), dies at 100
1993 Iván Patachich, Hungarian contemporary classical and electro-acoustic composer, dies at 70
1993 Mary Duncan Sanford, American actress, dies at 98
1993 Penelope Gilliatt, British author, dies at 61
1994 Anni Albers, German-American textile artist and printmaker (1st textile artist to exhibit solo at MOMA), dies at 94
1994 Elias Motsoaledi, South African freedom fighter & anti-apartheid activist, dies at 69
1995 Abha Gandhi, servant to Gandhi, dies at 68
1995 Charles Montgomery Monteith, Irish publisher, dies at 74
1995 Marshall Royal, American jazz alto saxophonist & clarinetist (Count Basie Orchestra), dies at 82
1995 Percy Mansell, Rhodesian cricket all-rounder (13 Tests South Africa, 11 wickets, 2 x 50; Rhodesia), dies at 75
1997 Bob Devaney, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (National C'ship, University of Nebraska 1970, 71; University of Wyoming; career record 136–30–7), dies at 82
1997 Marco Ferreri, Italian film director, dies at 68
1997 Willy Hess, Swiss musicologist, composer and famous Beethoven scholar, dies at 90
1998 Alice Faye [Leppert], American actress & singer (Hello Frisco, Hello; Fallen Angel; Stowaway), dies of stomach cancer at 83
1999 Ivan M. Niven, Canadian-American mathematician, dies at 83
2001 James E. Myers, American songwriter (Rock Around the Clock) & producer, dies at 81
2001 William T. Stearn, British botanist, dies at 90
2002 Dan Devine, American football coach, dies at 77
2002 Leon Stein, American composer, dies at 81
2003 Russell B. Long, American politician (Sen-D-LA, 1948-86), dies at 84
2004 Akhmad Kadyrov, 1st President of Chechnya, dies at 52
2004 Alan King [Irwin Kniberg], American comedian & actor (Anderson Tapes, Memories of Me), dies at 76
2005 Nasrat Parsa, Afghani singer, dies at 36
2007 Dwight Wilson, second-to-last Canadian WWI veteran, dies at 106
2007 Jacob Gilboa, Israeli composer, dies at 87
2008 Jack Gibson, Australian rugby league footballer & coach, dies at 79
2008 Nuala O'Faolain, Irish journalist, dies at 68
2009 Chuck Daly, American Basketball Hall of Fame coach (2-time NBA champion Detroit Pistons), dies of pancreatic cancer at 78
2009 Turner Stephen Bruton, American country songwriter and musician (Crazy Heart), dies of throat cancer at 59
2010 Lena Horne, American actress and Grammy Award-winning singer (Cabin in the Sky; Stormy Weather; The Wiz), dies at 92
2010 Otakar Motejl, Czechoslvakian politician, dies at 77
2011 Wouter Weylandt, Belgian cyclist, dies at 26

Vidal Sassoon (1928-2012)

British-American hair stylist and CEO of Vidal Sasson, dies from leukemia at 84

2013 Alfredo Landa, Spanish actor (The Crach, Sinatra), dies at 80
2013 Andrew Simpson, British sailor (Olympic gold Star class 2008; World C'ship gold 2010), dies after a yacht capsize at 36
2014 Mary Stewart, British sci-fi author (Crystal Cave), dies at 97
2014 Mel Patton, American athlete (Olympic gold 200m, 4x100m relay 1948; WR 100 yards 9.2s 1948), dies at 89
2015 Christopher Wood, English screenwriter & novelist (Confessions), dies at 79
2015 Elizabeth Wilson, American screen & stage actress (Doc, East Side/West Side), dies at 94
2015 Kenan Evren, Turkish soldier & politician, (President of Turkey 1980-1989 by military coup), dies at 97
2016 Dennis Nineham, British theologian (Synod and Doctrine Commission), dies at 94
2016 John Warr, English cricket fast-medium bowler (2 Tests, 1 wicket; Middlesex CCC, University of Cambridge CC) and executive (president MCC 1987-88), dies at 88
2017 Michael Parks, American actor (Tusk, Then Came Bronson), dies at 77
2017 Qian Qichen, Chinese diplomat & vice premier, dies at 89
2017 Robert Miles [Roberto Concina], Swiss musician, record producer, and composer of trance and ambient music ("Children"), dies of pancreatic cancer at 47
2018 Delphine Gibson, American supercentenarian & former oldest person in the US, dies at 114 years and 265 days
2018 Duke Friedrich of Württemberg, German aristocrat & heir to the House of Württemberg, dies at 56 in a traffic collision
2018 Omar Daoud, Libyan footballer, dies in a traffic collision at 35
2018 Poldine Carlo, American writer & Koyukon elder, dies at 97
2018 Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Australian heroin smuggler (Bali Nine), dies of stomach cancer at 34
2019 Freddie Starr, English comedian & singer (The Freddie Starr Showcase), dies at 76

Little Richard (1932-2020)

American singer-songwriter and rock 'n' roll pioneer (Tutti Frutti), dies at 87

2020 Pedro Pablo León, Peruvian soccer forward (49 caps; Alianza Lima), dies from pneumonia and kidney failure at 76
2022 Midge Decter, American journalist and author (The Liberated Woman & Other Americans), dies at 94
2023 Antonio Carbajal, Mexican soccer goalkeeper (32 caps; Club León 364 games) and manager (León, Unión de Curtidores, Atlético Morelia), dies at 93
2023 Denny Crum, American College Basketball & Basketball Hall of Fame coach (University of Louisville 1971-2001; NCAA C'ship 1980, 86; 6 x Final Fours), dies at 86
2023 Heather Armstrong 'Queen of the Mommy bloggers', American web writer (Dooce blog), dies of suicide at 47 [1]
2023 Jackie Zeman, American actress (General Hospital - "Bobbie Spencer"), dies of cancer at 70
2023 John Bland, South African golfer (British Senior Open 1997, 99, 2000 runner-up; US Senior Open 1997 runner-up), dies from cancer at 77