Famous Deaths on October 17

Agrippina the Elder (14 BC - 33 AD)

Roman noblewoman (mother of Caligula), dies of starvation at 47

532 Boniface II, 1st "German" Pope, dies
1174 Queen Petronila of Aragon (b. 1135)
1552 Andreas Osiander, German Protestant Reformation theologist, dies at 53
1586 Philip Sidney, English Elizabethan era poet (Arcadia) and soldier, dies in battle at 32
1616 John Pitts, Catholic scholar and writer. (b. 1560)
1638 Gilles Claesz de Hondecoeter, Flemish (?) painter, buried at about 63
1660 Adrian Scrope, English regicide (b. 1601)
1673 Thomas Clifford, English statesman (1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh), dies at 43
1702 Walrad, Dutch Prince of Nassau-Usingen, and field marshall (for William III of Orange), dies at 67
1705 Anne "Ninon" de l'Enclos, French patron of the arts, courtesan and writer, dies at 84
1757 René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French scientist (b. 1683)
1763 Arnold Hoogvliet, Dutch poet (Abraham the patriarch), dies at 76
1776 Pierre François le Courayer, French theologian (b. 1681)
1780 William Cookworthy, English chemist, dies at 75
1786 Johann Ludwig Aberli, Swiss artist (b. 1723)
1806 Jean Jacques Dessalines, Emperor of Haiti, dies
1825 Peter Winter, German composer, dies at 71
1836 Orest Kiprensky, Russian painter (b. 1782)
1837 Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Austrian composer, dies at 58

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

Polish pianist and composer (Concerto in F Minor), dies of tuberculosis at 39

Laura Secord (1775-1868)

Canadian heroine of the war of 1812, dies at 93

Robert McClure (1807-1873)

Irish explorer who discovered the Northwest passage, dies at 66

1887 Gustav Kirchhoff, German physicist (spectroscopy, coined "black body" radiation), dies at 63
1889 N.G. [Nikolay Gavrilovich] Chernyshevsky, Russian philosopher (What Is to Be Done?), dies at 61
1890 Prosper Philippe Catherine Sainton, French composer, dies at 77
1897 Isidor Dannström, Swedish composer, dies at 84
1901 George Godfrey, Canadian Black heavyweight boxer known as Old Chocolate, dies of Tuberculosis at 48
1904 Nikolai Amani, Russian composer, dies at 32
1909 Nicola Spinelli, Italian composer, dies at 44
1910 Julia Ward Howe, American poet (Battle Hymn of the Republic), author, abolitionist, and women's suffragist, dies of pneumonia at 91
1910 Sergey Muromtsev, Russian lawyer, politician and President of the First Imperial Duma, dies at 60
1910 William V Moody, American poet (Sabine Woman, Great Divide), dies
1917 Maria J "Marie" Bakker, actress/wife of Maarten Stranger, dies at 59
1918 Gordon White, cricketer (WW I Superb South African batsman 1905-12), dies
1921 Katherine Griffith [Kiernan], American actress (Pollyanna, Fast Company), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 45
1921 Yaa Asantewaa, Ghanaian queen of Ashanti Empire, led fight against British colonialism, dies at 80 or 81
1931 Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist, dies at 47
1932 Jane Poupelet, French sculptor and graphic artist (la bande à Schnegg), dies at 58
1934 Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Spanish histologist (central nervous system) and neuroscientist (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1906), dies at 82
1940 George Davis, American Baseball HOF shortstop and manager (New York Giants; World Series 1906 Chicago WS), dies at 70
1941 John S Plaskett, Canadian astronomer (Plaskett's twins), dies
1943 Stefan Starzyński, Polish politician (b. 1893)
1944 Pavel Haas, Czech Jewish composer, murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp at 45 (b. 1899)
1956 Anne Crawford, British film actress (Knights of the Round Table), dies of leukemia at 35
1957 John HA Eman, founder of Aruban Peoples Party, dies at 70
1958 Charlie Townsend, English cricketer (2 Tests for England 1899), dies at 81
1958 Paul Outerbridge, American photographer, dies at 63
1962 (Henry) "Rubberlegs" Williams, American vaudeville dancer, and blues and jazz singer, dies at 55
1962 Natalia Goncharova, Russian avant-garde artist and painter, dies at 81
1963 Jacques Hadamard, French mathematician (proved the prime number theorem), dies at 97
1965 Bart King, American cricket pioneer (North America's greatest all-rounder; helped develop art of swing bowling), dies at 91
1966 Soledad Jiménez, Spanish actress (Kid Galahad, The Phantom of the Range), dies at 92
1966 Wieland Wagner, German opera director, dies
1967 Henry Puyi, Chinese Emperor (last emperor of China and the Qing dynasty 1908-12), dies at 61
1970 Pierre Laporte, Vice-Premier of Quebec (assassinated) (b. 1921)
1970 Vola Vale, American actress (b. 1897)
1972 George, Crown Prince of Serbia, eldest son of King Peter I, dies at 85
1972 Walter "Turk" Broda, Canadian ice hockey goaltender, 5x Stanley Cup, 2x Vezina Trophy (Toronto Maple Leafs, 1935-51), dies of a heart attack at 58
1973 Ingeborg Bachmann, Austrian author and poet (Gott von Manhattan), dies at 47
1974 René A de Rooy, Suriname/Antillean poet, dies at 57
1975 Vittorio Gui, Italian conductor and composer (Batture d'aspetto), dies at 90
1977 Cal Hubbard, American Baseball HOF umpire (AL 1936-51) and Pro/College Football HOF tackle (4 × NFL C'ship 1927, 29–31; 4 × First-team All-Pro; NY Giants, GB Packers), dies of cancer at 77
1979 John Stuart, Scottish actor (Kittie, Superman, Number Seventeen), dies at 81
1979 Karel Reiner, Czech pianist, composer, and Theresienstadt concentration camp survivor, dies at 69
1979 S J Perelman, American author, humorist and screenwriter (The New Yorker, Around the World in 80 Days), dies at 75
1981 David Guion, American pianist, composer, and cowboy, dies at 88
1982 Alain de Rothschild, French banker (Banque Rothschild), dies at 72
1982 Peterus van Doorne, Dutch industrialist, dies at 47
1983 Pol le Roy, Flemish writer (Stroom) and WWII collaborator, dies at 78
1983 Raymond Aron, French sociologist and political scientist (The Opium of the Intellectuals), dies at 78
1984 Alberta Hunter, American blues singer and composer, dies at 89
1985 Joseph Rosenstock, American conductor (NY City Opera), dies at 90
1987 Abdul Malek Ukil, Bangladeshi politician (b. 1925)
1987 Roderich Menzel, Czech tennis player (French Open singles 1938 runner-up; US Open mixed doubles 1935 runner-up), dies at 80
1987 Ruby Dandridge [Ruby Jean Butler], American actress (Father of the Bride), dies at 87

Ralph Abernathy (1926-1990)

American civil rights leader (Southern Christian Leadership Conference), dies of a blood clot at 64

1991 "Tennessee" Ernie Ford, American country music singer ("Sixteen Tons"), and actor (I Love Lucy; The Ford Show), dies of liver disease at 72
1991 J. G. Devlin, Northern Irish actor (No Surrender), dies at 84
1991 Piet van Est, The Vuurbal, cyclist (7x Tour de France), dies at 57
1992 Herman Johannes, Indonesian professor, scientist and politician (b. 1912)
1992 Ton Hasebos, cameraman/TV director (Gnome Hasebos), dies
1993 Criss Oliva, American musician (Savatage), dies at 30
1993 Frank J Del Giudice, US industrial designer (Boeing 747), dies at 77
1993 Helmut Gollwitzer, German theologist/antifascist, dies at 84
1993 Wim van Dooren, theologist/humanist/philosopher, dies
1994 Barbara Grigor, Scottish filmmaker and art entrepreneur, dies at 50
1994 Dmitri Cholodov, Russian journalist, murdered at 27
1994 Gus Risman, Welsh rugby league centre, fullback (18 Tests Wales, 17 Great Britain, 1 England; Salford RLFC, Workington Town RLFC) and coach (Bradford Northern, Salford, Workington Town), dies at 83
1994 Ralph Hill, American athlete (Olympic silver 5,000m 1932; same time as winner Lauri Lehtinen), dies at 85
1994 Rik van Bentum, painter/art director of Paradiso, dies at 57
1995 Peter Hinchcliff, historian, dies at 66
1996 Berthold Goldschmidt, German-British composer and conductor, dies at 93
1996 Christopher Acland, English drummer (Lush), takes his own life at 30
1997 Paul Edwin Zimmer, sci-fi writer, dies of a heart attack at 54
1998 Hakim Mohammed Said, Pakistani scholar and philanthropist
1998 Joan Hickson, British actress (b. 1906)
1999 Nicholas Metropolis, Greek-American mathematician, physicist and computer scientist, dies at 84
1999 Ralph Grey, Baron Grey of Naunton, Governor of Northern Ireland (1968-73), dies at 89
2000 Leo Nomellini, American College/Pro Football HOF defensive tackle (Uni of Minnesota; 6×First-team All-Pro; 10×Pro Bowl; NFL 1950s All-Decade Team; SF 49ers), dies of a stroke at 76
2001 Jay Livingston, American composer ("Buttons & Bows"; "Mona Lisa"; "Tammy"), dies at 86
2001 Micheline Ostermeyer, French athlete (Olympic gold shot put, discus; bronze high jump 1948), dies at 78
2001 Rehavam Zeevi, Israeli politician (b. 1926)
2002 (George) Derek Bell, Northern Irish harpist, pianist, oboist, musicologist, and composer (The Chieftans; "Three Images of Ireland in Druid Times"), dies of a heart attack at 66 [1]
2002 Aileen Riggin, American diver (Olympic gold 3m springboard 1920, 24), dies at 96
2002 Fred Scolari, American basketball point guard (NBA All-Star 1952, 53; Washington Capitols; Baltimore Bullets), dies at 80
2003 Janice Rule, American actress (Alvarez Kelly, Doctor's Wife), dies at 72
2004 Uzi Hitman, Israeli pop singer-songwriter, actor, and television personality, dies of a heart attack at 22)
2005 Ba Jin, Chinese writer (b. 1904)
2005 Franky Gee, European techno artist (b. 1962)
2006 Christopher Glenn, American newscaster (b. 1938)
2006 Daniel Emilfork, French actor (b. 1924)
2007 Joey Bishop [Gottlieb], American TV talk show host (Joey Bishop Show) and member of the "Rat Pack" group of entertainers, dies at 89
2007 Robert A. Young, American politician (Rep-D-MO, 1977-87), dies at 83
2007 Teresa Brewer, American pop and jazz singer (Put Another Nickel In), dies at 76
2008 Levi Stubbs [Stubbles], American baritone singer (The Four Tops - "It's the Same Old Song"; "Standing In The Shadows of Love"), dies at 72
2009 Vic Mizzy, American composer and band leader (themes to Green Acres and The Addams Family), dies at 93
2011 Carl Lindner, Jr., Cincinnati businessman and one of the world's richest people (b. 1919)
2012 Stanford Robert Ovshinsky, American inventor and scientist, dies from prostate cancer at 89
2012 Sylvia Maria Kristel, Dutch actress, dies from throat and liver cancer at 60
2015 Danièle Delorme [Gabrielle Girard], French actress (Pardon My Affair), dies at 89
2015 Howard Kendall, English footballer and football manager (Everton), dies at 69
2016 Eddie Applegate, American actor (The Patty Duke Show - "Richard"), dies at 81
2017 Gordon Downie, Canadian rock musician (The Tragically Hip), dies of glioblastoma at 53
2017 Ingvar Lidholm, Swedish composer (Toccata e Canto), dies at 95
2017 Julian May, American sci-fi author (Golden Torc, Magnificat), dies at 86
2019 Alicia Alonso, Cuban ballerina and founder of the National Ballet of Cuba, dies at 98
2019 Elijah Cummings, American politician (Rep-Maryland (D) 1996-2019), dies at 68
2019 Márta Kurtág [née Kinsker], Hungarian classical pianist, dies at 92