On This Day

Famous Deaths on October 30

  • 1459 Poggio Bracciolini, Italian humanist, who rediscovered lost classical texts, dies at 79
  • 1522 Jean Mouton [de Hollingue], French composer, dies at about 63 [date of birth dispute]
  • 1553 Jacob Sturm von Sturmeck, German statesman and reformer (b. 1489)
  • 1583 Pirro Ligorio, Italian architect/painter/archaeologist, dies at 83
  • 1602 Jean-Jacques Boissard, French poet (b. 1528)
  • 1611 Charles IX [Carl], King of Sweden (1604-11), dies at 61
  • 1626 Willebrord Snellius (also Snell and Snel van Royen), Dutch astronomer/mathematician, dies at about 46
  • 1632 Henri de Montmorency, French duke/plotter, beheaded
  • 1654 Emperor Go-Kōmyō, 110th emperor of Japan, dies at 21
  • 1661 Alexander Adriaenssen, Flemish painter known for his still lifes of fish and game pieces, dies at 74
  • 1667 Johann Jakob Wolleb, a Swiss organist, theologian and composer, dies in the plague at 54
  • 1676 Ahmed Koprulu, Turkish great vizer (siege of Candia, Kreta), dies
  • 1680 Antoinette Bourignon, Flemish-French mystic, dies at 64
  • 1685 Michel le Tellier, French statesman (b. 1603)
  • 1690 Hieronymus van Beverningk, Dutch general, dies at 76
  • 1757 Osman III, sultan of Turkey (1754-57), dies at 58
  • 1785 Gustaf P Creutz, Swedish diplomat/poet (Daphne), dies at 54
  • 1787 Ferdinando Galiani, Italian economist (Della Moneta), dies at 58

William Cavendish-BentinckWilliam Cavendish-Bentinck (1738-1809)

3rd Duke of Portland, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Whig: 1783, 1807-09), dies after an operation to remove a kidney stone at 71

William Cavendish-Bentinck
  • 1816 Frederick I of Württemberg (b. 1754)
  • 1823 Edmund Cartwright, English inventor (power loom), dies at 80
  • 1833 Pieter G. Witsen Geysbeek, Dutch historian, dies at 58
  • 1842 Allan Cunningham, Scottish poet and author, dies at 57
  • 1853 Pietro Raimondi, Italian composer (Triple Oratorio:, Putifar-Giuseppe-Giacobbe), dies at 66
  • 1862 Ormsby McKnight Mitchel, American astronomer and Union Major General, dies at 53
  • 1867 John Albion Andrew, American politician (25th Governor of Massachusetts), dies at 49
  • 1883 Johann Vesque von Püttlingen, Austrian lawyer and composer, dies at 80
  • 1885 Gustav Merkel, German organist (Dresden Cathedral, 1864-85), composer, and pedagogue (Dresden Conservatory), dies at 57
  • 1889 Alfred E. Jackson "Mudwall", American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 82

John AbbottJohn Abbott (1821-1893)

3rd Prime Minister of Canada (Conservative: 1891-92), dies of brain cancer at 72

John Abbott
  • 1894 Honoré Mercier, Canadian politician and 9th Premier of Quebec (1887-91), dies at 54
  • 1898 Yakov Petrovich Polonsky Russian poet (Stichotvorenija), dies at 78
  • 1899 William Henry Webb, American industrialist and philanthropist, dies at 83
  • 1901 George Elliott Benson, British Army officer, killed in battle Battle at Bakenlaagte, South Africa at 40
  • 1910 Henri Dunant, Swiss humanitarian, Founder of Red Cross (Nobel 1901), dies at 82
  • 1912 James S. Sherman, 27th Vice President of the United States (1909-1912), dies at 57
  • 1912 Jan Karol Gall, Polish conductor and composer of mostly vocal pieces (Mizerna, cicha), dies at 55
  • 1914 Ernst Stadler, German poet (Der Aufbruch), dies fighting in WWI at 31

Charles TupperCharles Tupper (1821-1915)

6th Prime Minister of Canada (Conservative: 69-day term in 1896), dies of heart failure at 94

Charles Tupper
  • 1915 Gervys Rignold Hazlitt, cricketer (9 Tests for Aust 1907-12), dies
  • 1916 Silas Gamaliel Pratt, American composer (The Tragedy of the Deep), dies at 70
  • 1919 Ella Wheeler Wilcox, American author and poet (Poems of Passion), dies at 68

Bonar LawBonar Law (1858-1923)

British Prime Minister (Conservative: 1922-23), dies of throat cancer at 64

Bonar Law
  • 1928 Oscar Sonneck, American editor (The Musical Quarterly), musicologist, and librarian (Library of Congress, 1902-17), dies at 55
  • 1930 Sakichi Toyoda, Japanese inventor and industrialist (Toyota Industries), dies at 63
  • 1932 Paul Methuen, 3rd Baron Methuen, English army officer (Governor of Natal and Malta) dies at 87
  • 1933 Guillermo M. Tomás, Cuban composer, dies at 65
  • 1936 Lorado Taft, American sculptor (Black Hawk), dies at 76
  • 1936 Teddy Wynyard, cricketer (three Tests for England 1896-1906), dies
  • 1941 (Leon) "Chu" Berry, American swing jazz tenor saxophonist (Fletcher Henderson; Cab Calloway), dies in a car accident at 33
  • 1944 Paul Ladmirault, French composer, dies at 66
  • 1953 Alice Eastwood, Canadian-American botanist (Handbook of Trees of California), dies at 94
  • 1953 Emmerich Kálmán, Hungarian composer of operettas, dies at 71

Pío BarojaPío Baroja (1872-1956)

Spanish Basque writer, author of over 100 novels (The Struggle for Life, Zalacain the Adventurer), dies at 83

Pío Baroja
  • 1958 Rose Macaulay, English writer (The Towers of Trebizond), dies at 77
  • 1959 Blonde Dolly [Sybille A J Niemans], Dutch prostitute, murdered at 33
  • 1960 Alfred Hill, Australian-New Zealand composer and conductor (Hinemoa), dies at 90
  • 1961 Luigi Einaudi, Italian economist and politician (1st President Italy 1948-55), dies at 87
  • 1966 Yórgos Theotokás, Greek novelist (Leonís), dies at 60
  • 1967 Charles Trowbridge, Mexican-American actor (Fatal Hour), dies at 85
  • 1968 Conrad Richter, American writer (Light in the Forest), dies at 78
  • 1968 Pert Kelton, actress (Cavalcade of Stars), dies at 61
  • 1968 Ramon Novarro [Jose Samaniegos], Mexican-American actor (Ben-Hur, Mata Hari), is murdered at 69
  • 1969 George "Pops" Foster, American jazz double bassist, tuba player, and trumpeter (Louis Armstrong; Sidney Bechet; Earl Hines), dies at 77
  • 1971 Osvald Chlubna, Czech organist, composer, and musicologist, dies at 78
  • 1972 Alan Roth, American orchestra leader (Milton Berle Show), dies at 68
  • 1972 Philip H. Frohman, American architect (Washington National Cathedral), dies at 84
  • 1973 Ernst-Lothar von Knorr, German composer, and music educator, dies at 77
  • 1975 Gustav Hertz, German physicist (Nobel Prize for Physics 1925 for "discovery of the laws governing the impact of an electron upon an atom"), dies at 88
  • 1979 Barnes Wallis, English scientist, engineer and inventor (bouncing bomb), dies at 92
  • 1979 Donna Rachele Mussolini, wife of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, dies at 89
  • 1981 Georges Brassens, French screenwriter, dies
  • 1981 Lew Jenkins, American boxer (World Lightweight Champion 1940-41), dies at 64
  • 1982 Angelo Ephrikian, Armenian-Italian composer, dies at 69
  • 1984 June Duprez, actress (Calcutta, Tiger Fang), dies at 66
  • 1984 Mario Gallo, actor (Delvecchio), dies at 61
  • 1985 Kirby Grant, American actor (Rustlers Round-Up, Yukon Gold, Sky King), dies in an auto accident at 74
  • 1986 Andrzej Markowski, Polish composer, dies at 62
  • 1988 Sugar Geise, actress (Rhythm Parade), dies after brief illness at 71
  • 1988 T. Hee, American animator (b. 1911)
  • 1989 Ingeborg Refling-Hagen, Norwegian author and poet (Loke Saar Havre), dies at 95
  • 1990 Craig Russell, Canadian female impersonator, dies of an AIDS-stroke at 42
  • 1990 Harry Lauter, American actor (Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Waterfront), dies of heart failure at 76
  • 1991 Johan Mekkink, painter, dies
  • 1991 Ken Hardin, producer, dies at 62
  • 1991 William Shea, American lawyer (instrumental in NY Mets establishment; Shea Stadium), dies from a stroke at 84
  • 1992 Joan Mitchell, American painter and printmaker dies of cancer aged 67
  • 1993 Hernan Heleno Castro, El Salvadorian guerilla leader, murdered
  • 1993 Paul Grégoire, French Canadian Archbishop of Montreal, dies at 82
  • 1994 Martyn Wiley, writer/broadcaster, dies at 40
  • 1994 Nyanaponika [Siegmund Feniger], German scholar/author, dies at 93
  • 1995 Brian Easdale, British orchestral and film composer (The Red Shoes; Gone To Earth), dies at 86
  • 1995 Roland Leich, American composer, chiefly of art songs, vocal, and choral music, and educator (Carnegie Institute, 1946-76), dies at 72
  • 1995 Terry Southern, writer, dies at 71
  • 1996 John Young, Scottish actor and TV panelist (Masquerade Party), dies at 80
  • 1996 Leon Lewis, US radio talk show host (WMCA, 1970-80), dies at 81
  • 1996 Rohan Butler, English historian, dies at 79
  • 1997 Samuel Fuller, American screenwriter and director (Shock Corridor, The Big Red One), dies from natural causes at 85
  • 1998 Bulldog Turner, American Pro/College Football HOF center (Hardin–Simmons Uni; 7 × First-team All-Pro; 4 x Pro Bowl; Chicago Bears), dies at 79
  • 1999 Nise da Silveira, Brazilian psychiatrist (made advances in occupational therapy), dies at 94

Steve AllenSteve Allen (1921-2000)

American comedian, composer, actor and TV host (Tonight Show; Steve Allen Show), dies of injuries from a car accident at 78

Steve Allen
  • 2002 Jam Master Jay [Jason Mizell], American rapper and musician (Run-DMC), fatally shot by an unknown assailant at 37
  • 2002 Juan Antonio Bardem, Spanish director and screenwriter (b. 1922)
  • 2002 Rudolf Brucci [Bruči], Italian-Croatian composer (Gilgamesh; Lesta), and educator, dies at 85
  • 2002 William Mitchell, British physicist, dies at 77
  • 2003 Abel Ehrlich, Israeli composer, dies at 88
  • 2004 Margaret O'Rene "Peggy" Ryan, American dancer and actress (Hawaii Five-0), dies at 80
  • 2005 Al López, American Baseball HOF catcher (MLB All-Star 1934, 41; Brooklyn Dodgers; Boston Bees, Pittsburgh Pirates) and manager (AL Manager of the Year 1959 Chicago WS; Cleveland Indians), dies at 97
  • 2005 Shamsher Singh Sheri, Indian communist leader (b. 1942)
  • 2006 Clifford Geertz, American anthropologist (symbolic anthropology), dies at 80
  • 2006 Junji Kinoshita, Japanese playwright (b. 1914)
  • 2007 John Woodruff, American athlete (Olympic gold 1936), dies at 92
  • 2007 Linda Stein, Ramones manager and real estate broker, murdered by her personal assistant at 62
  • 2007 Peter Hoagland, American politician (Rep-D-Nebraska 1989-95), dies at 65

Robert GouletRobert Goulet (1933-2007)

American Tony and Grammy Award-winning singer, stage and screen actor (Camelot - ""If Ever I Would Leave You"), dies of pulmonary fibrosis at 73

Robert Goulet
  • 2007 Washoe, chimpanzee trained in American Sign Language (b. 1965)
  • 2008 Pedro Pompilio Argentinian businessman (b. 1950)
  • 2009 Claude Lévi-Strauss, French social anthropologist and ethnologist (structuralism), dies at 100
  • 2009 Norton Buffalo [Phillip Jackson], American singer-songwriter and country and blues harmonica player, dies of cancer at 58
  • 2010 Harry Mulisch, Dutch writer (Message to King Rat), dies at 83
  • 2013 Frank Wess, American jazz flutist, saxophonist ((Duke Ellington, 1953-64; New York Jazz Quartet, 1974-82) and composer, dies of a heart attack related to kidney failure at 91
  • 2013 Pete Haycock, British blues-rock guitarist, vocalist, and composer (Climax Blues Band - "Couldn't Get It Right"), dies of a heart attack at 62
  • 2015 Albert "Al" Molinaro, American actor (The Odd Couple, Happy Days), dies from illness at 96
  • 2015 Mel Daniels, American professional basketball player (Hall of Fame 2012), dies at 71
  • 2017 M V Sridhar, Indian cricketer (scored 366 for Hyderabad v Andhra Pradesh 1994), dies of a heart attack at 51
  • 2018 Hardy Fox, American member of avant-garde band The Residents, dies at 73
  • 2018 Jin Young [Louis Cha Leung-yung], Chinese Wuxia novelist, dies at 94

Whitey BulgerWhitey Bulger (1929-2018)

American organized crime boss, killed at 89 shortly after arriving at US Penitentiary Hazelton in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia

Whitey Bulger
  • 2019 Bernard Slade [Newbound], Canadian screenwriter (The Flying Nun; The Partridge Family), and playwright (Same Time, Next Year; Romantic Comedy), dies of Lewy body dementia at 89
  • 2019 Don Fraser, American boxing promoter (LA venues; colourful wardrobe & offbeat PR gimmicks), dies at 92
  • 2019 Ron Fairly, American baseball utility and broadcaster (MLB All Star 1973, 77; LA Dodgers, Montreal Expos; Seattle Mariners), dies from cancer at 81
  • 2019 William J. Hughes, American politician and diplomat (Rep-D-New Jersey, 1975-95), dies at 87
  • 2020 Herb Adderley, American Pro Football HOF cornerback (Super Bowl 1967, 68, 71; 5 x Pro Bowl; 4 × First-team All-Pro; Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys), dies from COVID-19 at 81
  • 2020 Nobby Stiles, English soccer midfielder (28 caps; World Cup 1966; Manchester United 311 games) and manager (Preston NE, WBA), dies from dementia at 78
  • 2021 Alan Davidson, Australian cricket all-rounder (44 Tests, 1,328 runs @ 24.59, 186 wickets, best 7/93, 42 catches; NSW), dies at 92
  • 2021 Bert Newton, Australian radio, television, and stage personality (Good Morning Australia; Logie Award ceremonies; 20-1), dies at 83
  • 2021 Jerry Remy, American baseball infielder (MLB All Star 1978; California Angels, Boston Red Sox) and broadcaster (NESN), dies from lung cancer at 68
  • 2021 Pepi Bader, German bobsledder (World C'ship gold 2-man 1970; Olympic silver 1968, 72), dies at 80
October 30 Highlights

Famous People by Cause of Death

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