Famous Deaths on October 21

1662 Henry Lawes, British sacred and secular songwriter, dies at 66
1687 Edmund Waller, English poet (Song: Go, lovely rose) and politician, dies at 81
1765 Giovanni Paolo Pannini, Italian painter and architect, dies at 73
1773 Johann Conrad Schlaun, German baroque architect, dies at 78
1775 Peyton Randolph, American president of the Continental Congress (b. 1721)
1777 Samuel Foote, British actor, dramatist and theatre manager (Mirror), dies at 57
1793 Johann Ernst Hartmann, Danish violinist and composer, dies at 66
1798 Johann Christoph Schmugel, German organist and composer, dies at 71

Horatio Nelson (1758-1805)

British admiral and war hero, dies in Battle of Trafalgar at 47

1805 Johann Baptist Lasser, German singer and composer, dies at 54
1810 Franz Teyber, Austrian composer, dies at 52
1861 Edward Dickinson Baker, British-American attorney, politician (US Senator from Oregon, 1860-61; US Representative from Illinois, 1845-47, 1849-51), and Union Army officer, dies in the US Civil War Battle of Balls Bluff, Virginia at 50
1861 John Breckinridge Grayson, Confederate brigadier general, dies
1872 Jacques Babinet, French physicist, mathematician and astronomer (contributions to optics), dies at 78
1873 Johann Sebastian Welhaven, Norwegian poet (b. 1807)
1886 Jose Hernandez, Argentine poet (La vuelta the MartinFierro), dies at 51
1891 Alpheus Baker, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 63
1896 James Henry Greathead, British engineer (b. 1844)
1897 Paul Kuczynski, Polish composer, dies at 50
1901 James A. Walker, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 69
1904 Isabelle Eberhardt, Swiss explorer and writer of North Africa, dies in a flash flood at 27
1905 José Teodor Vilar, Spanish organist and composer (La Rambla de les Flors), dies at 69
1906 Helena Amelung [Georgette A], Dutch actress (Scapegoat), dies at 55
1907 Jules Chevalier, French Roman Catholic priest (Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart), dies at 83
1916 Karl von Stürgkh, Austrian nobleman and politician (Prime Minister, 1911-16), assassinated at 56
1919 Sven August Körling, Swedish composer, dies at 77
1924 Martin Pierre Joseph Marsick, Belgian composer, dies at 76
1929 Owen Dunell, South African cricket batsman (South Africa's 1st Test captain; 2 Tests), dies at 73
1931 Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian playwright (La Ronde - Reigen), and novelist (Fräulein Else), dies a brain hemorrhage at 69
1937 Lucy Diggs Slowe, American educator (Dean of Women, Howard University, 1922-37), tennis champion (American Tennis Association, 1917), and sorority co-founder (Alpha Kappa Alpha, 1908), dies at 52
1939 H G "Nummy" Deane, South African cricket batsman (17 Tests [12 as captain], 3 x 50; Natal, Transvaal), dies from a heart attack at 44
1940 William G. Conley, Governor of West Virginia (b. 1866)
1943 Dudley Pound, British admiral of the fleet and 1st Sea Lord (Jutland, WW II), dies at 66
1944 Alois Kayser, German missionary to Nauru (b. 1877)
1945 Henry Armetta, Italian-American actor (The Black Cat, Bell for Adano, Big Store), dies from a heart attack at 57
1953 Muirhead Bone, Scottish etcher and painter (WWI & WWII war artist), dies at 77
1955 Roy Minnett, Australian cricketer (all-rounder prior to WWI), dies
1961 Nils Johan Einar Ferlin, Swedish poet (Barfotabarn), dies at 62
1963 George Cressey, American geographer (Crossroads), dies at 66
1963 Józef Franczak, Polish soldier and anti-communist resistance fighter who was the last cursed soldiers, dies in a firefight with 35 functionaries of a ZOMO (paramilitary riot police) at 45
1965 Bill Black, American bandleader and bassist who worked with Elvis, dies of a brain tumor at 39
1965 Marie McDonald, American singer and actress known as "The Body Beautiful" (Promises Promises), dies of an accidental drug overdose at 42
1966 Gertrude Hoffman, actress (Mrs Odetts-My Little Margie), dies at 95
1967 Ejnar Hertzsprung, Danish astronomer (Hertzsprung-Russell diagram), dies at 94

Jack Kerouac (1922-1969)

American novelist and poet of the Beat Generation (On the Road, Mexico Blues), dies of cirrhosis of the liver at 47

1969 Oscar "TV Slim" Wills, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist ("Flatfoot Sam"), dies in a car wreck at 53
1969 Waclaw Sierpinski, Polish mathematician (Sierpinski triangle), dies at 87

John T. Scopes (1900-1970)

American teacher convicted for teaching evolution (Scopes "monkey trial" 1925), dies of cancer at 70

1971 Raymond Hatton, American actor (Girls in Prison, Lady Killer), dies of a heart attack at 84
1971 Shiga Naoya, Japanese novelist (Road Through Dark Night), dies at 88
1973 Arabi El Goni, VP/Chad parliament, murdered
1975 Charles Reidpath, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m, 4×400m relay 1912), dies at 86
1977 Ferit Tüzün, Turkish composer (Esintiler - Inspirations; The Ears of Midas), and conductor (Turkish State Opera and Ballet Orchestra, 1959-77), dies at 48
1978 Anastas Mikoyan, Armenian revolutionary, politician (First Deputy Premier of Supreme Soviet, 1855-64), diplomat, and cookbook publisher (The Book of Tasty and Healthy Food), dies at 83
1980 Hans Asperger, Austrian pediatrician and eponym of Asperger syndrome, dies at 74
1981 Karel Šrom, Czech composer, musicologist, critic, and broadcaster, dies at 77
1982 Radka Toneff, Norwegian jazz singer (It Don't Come Easy), dies of a drug overdose at 30
1983 Theodorus Zwartkruis, Dutch Bishop of Haarlem, Netherlands, dies at 73
1984 Dalibor Cyril Vačkář, Czech composer, dies at 78
1984 Francois Truffaut, dir (Fahrenheit 451), dies of brain cancer at 52
1986 Lionel Murphy, Australian politician and judge, dies at 64
1987 Ying-Chin Ho, Taiwan government official, dies at 88
1989 Jean Image, Hungarian-born French animator (b. 1910)
1992 Jackson Weaver, voice of Smokey the Bear, dies of diabetes
1992 Jim Garrison, Louisiana District Attorney who investigated JFK assassination, dies at 70
1993 Assad Saftawi, Palestinian co-founder of al-Fatah, murdered at 58
1993 Irving Torgoff, American baseball player (Detroit Tigers), dies at 75
1993 James Leo Herlihy, American novelist (Midnight Cowboy), commits suicide at 66
1993 Melchior Ndadaye, 1st Hutu President of Burundi (1993), murdered at 40
1993 Sam Zolotow, US theater critic (NY Times), dies at 94
1993 Scott Heiser, US photographer (Interview), dies at 44
1994 Jerome Bert Weisner, American engineer (science advisor to John. F Kennedy, President of MIT 1971-80), dies at 79
1995 Jesús Blasco, Spanish comic book author (Cuto), dies at 75
1995 Jose Ignacio Cabrujas, writer, dies at 58
1995 Linda Goodman, American astrologer and poet, dies from complications of diabetes at 70
1995 Maxene Andrews, American pop and sing jazz singer (The Andrews Sisters - "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"; "Rum and Coca-Cola"), dies of a heart attack at 79
1995 Shannon Hoon, American vocalist (Blind Melon), dies of a drug overdose at 28
1996 Abdelhamid Benhadugah, novelist, dies at 71
1996 Eric Halsall, sheepdog trial commentator, dies at 76
1996 Georgios Zoitakis, leader of Greece (1967-72), dies
1996 Robert O'Neill Crossman, politician, dies at 49
1996 Wang Li, politician, dies at 78
1997 Dolph Camilli, Bkln Dodger/MVP (1941), dies at 90
1998 Alan Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury, British business executive, dies at 96
1998 Alexander Cairncross, Scottish economist (Chancellor of Glasgow University), dies at 87
1998 Francis W. Sargent, 64th Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1915)
1999 Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Turkish politician, journalist, and educator, assassinated at 60

John Bromwich (1918-1999)

Australian tennis player (Australian C'ship 1939, 46 / 13 Grand Slam doubles titles), dies at 80

2003 (Steven) Elliott Smith, American Academy Award nominated singer-songwriter (Good Will Hunting - "Miss Misery"), dies of suspected self-inflicted stab wounds at 34 [1]
2003 Fred Berry, African-American actor (Rerun-What's Happening), dies at 52
2003 Louise Day Hicks, American politician (b. 1916)
2003 Luis A. Ferré, Puerto Rican industrialist and politician (Governor of Puerto Rico, 1969-73), dies at 99
2005 Tara Correa-McMullen, American actress (Judging Amy), shot at 16
2006 Rene Gerber, Swiss composer, dies at 98
2007 Paul Fox, English musician and singer (The Ruts), dies at 56
2007 Ronald B. Kitaj, American-British painter and graphic artist (pop art), dies at 74
2009 Louise Cooper, British sci-fi author (Nemesis, Inferno, Infanta, Nocturne), dies of a brain hemorrhage at 57
2011 Edmundo Ros, Trinidadian-Venezuelan musician and arranger, dies at 100
2012 Dann Cahn, American film editor, dies of natural causes at 89
2012 George McGovern, American politician and Presidential candidate (D-1972), dies at 90
2012 Yash Chopra, Indian director (Waqt), dies from dengue fever and multiple organ failure at 80
2013 Bud Adams Jr., American NFL team owner (Tennessee Titans), dies at 90
2013 Major Owens, American politician (Rep-D-NY, 1983-2007), dies at 77
2013 Marion Morgan (née Swires), American big band jazz singer (Harry James; Stop the Music), dies at 89

Ben Bradlee (1921-2014)

American editor, journalist and newspaper executive (Washington Post), dies at 93

2014 Gough Whitlam, Australian politician (Prime Minister, 1972-1975), dies at 98
2015 Marty Ingels, American comedian (I'm Dickens He's Fenster), dies at 79
2016 Manfred Krug, German actor (Boxer), dies at 79
2018 Robert Faurisson, British-born French academic, dies at 89
2019 Willie Brown, American Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback, coach and executive (Super Bowl 1976, 80, 84; Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders), dies at 78
2020 Frank Bough, British sports and current affairs television presenter, dies at 87
2020 Gordon Astall, English soccer forward (2 caps; Birmingham City 235 games, 59 goals), dies from dementia at 93
2020 Marge Champion (née Belcher), American dancer (Marge & Gower Champion Show), dies at 101
2020 Viola Smith, American drummer and bandleader (one of the first professional female drummers), dies at 107 [1]
2021 Bernard Haitink, Dutch conductor (Concertgebouw, 1961-88; London Philharmonic, 1967-79; Royal Opera Covent Garden, 1987-2002), dies at 92 [1]
2021 Kathy Flores, American rugby union coach (United States women's team 2002-11; Brown University), dies at 66
2021 Nils Einár Grönberg, Swedish rapper ("Första klass"; "Katten i trakten"), shot to death in suspected gang-related incident at 19
2022 Harry White, Australian jockey (Melbourne Cup: Think Big 1974, 75; Arwon 1978; Hyperno 1979; Australian Racing HOF), dies from multiple sclerosis at 78
2022 Jim Bolla Jr., American college basketball coach (UNLV Women 1982-96; Uni of Hawaii 2004-09), dies of cancer at 70