- 1490 Antoine Haneron, Bourgundy diplomat, dies at about 90
- 1508 René II, Duke of Lorraine, dies at 57
- 1524 Henry van Zutphen, Dutch Augustine/Luthern minister, burned to death
- 1572 Cornelis Musius, Dutch humanist/poet, murdered at 72
- 1595 Reynier Cant, mayor of Amsterdam, dies at about 59
- 1616 Diogo do Couto, Portuguese historian/archivist of Goa, dies at 74
- 1626 Edmund Gunter, English mathematician (b. 1581)
- 1638 Ivan [Dzivo F] Gundulic, Dalmatian writer (Osman), dies at 49
- 1736 António Manoel de Vilhena, Portuguese ruler of Malta (b. 1663)
- 1749 Gabrielle Chôtelet [La belle Emilie], French writer (Voltaire), dies at 42
- 1808 James Sullivan, 7th Governor of Massachusetts (1807-08), dies at 64
- 1831 Thomas Johann Seebeck, German physicist (Seebeck effect), dies at 61
- 1850 François Sulpice Beudant, French mineralogist and geologist, dies at 63
- 1864 Henry Schoolcraft, American geographer and geologist, dies at 71
- 1865 Leopold I, King of Belgium (1831-65), dies at 74
- 1867 Sakamoto Ryōma, Japanese samurai and anti-shogunate revolutionary, assassinated at 31
- 1877 Jared Kirtland, American physician, naturalist and reformed penitentiaries, dies at 84
- 1878 Henry Wells, American businessman and founder (American Express Co & Wells Fargo & Co), dies at 72
- 1889 Ludwig Anzengruber, Austrian playwright, dies at 50
- 1890 Ludolph Anne Jan Wilt Sloet van de Beele, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (1861-66), dies at 84
Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)
Swedish chemist who invented dynamite and founded the Nobel Prize ceremony on this date, dies at 63
Mackenzie Bowell (1823-1917)
5th Prime Minister of Canada (1894-96), dies of pneumonia at 93
- 1920 Horace Elgin Dodge, American automobile manufacturing pioneer (co-founder of Dodge Brothers Company), dies at 52
- 1921 George Ashlin, Irish architect noted for his work on churches and cathedrals, dies at 84
- 1926 Nikola Pašić, Serbian nationalist and premier (over many periods from 1891 to 1926), dies at 80
- 1928 Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scottish architect, designer, and illustrator, dies at 60
- 1931 Max Elskamp, Belgian author and poet (Six Chansons), dies at 69
- 1935 John H Aberson, 1st rector of Landbouw high school, dies at 78
- 1936 Luigi Pirandello, Italian writer (Six Characters in Search of An Author-Nobel 1934), dies at 69
- 1941 Colin Kelly, American B-17 Flying Fortress pilot and 1st US air hero during WW II, killed in action at 26 after ordering his crew to bail out shortly before his bomber exploded
- 1944 John Brunt, English soldier and Victoria Cross holder, dies at 22
- 1944 Paul Otlet, Belgian author, lawyer and peace activist (created the Universal Decimal Classification scheme), dies at 76
- 1945 Theodor Dannecker, SS officer and an associate of Adolf Eichmann, dies at 32
Damon Runyon (1880-1946)
American journalist and writer (Guys & Dolls-based on his work), dies at 66
- 1949 Duncan Stewart, 2nd British Governor of Sarawak (1949), dies at 45 after being fatally stabbed in the streets of Sibu by pro-Indonesian Malay student Rosli Dhoby
- 1951 Algernon Blackwood, English novelist (The Willows), dies at 82
- 1953 Abdullah Yusuf Ali, British-Indian Islamic scholar and translator (translated Qu'ran into English), dies at 81
- 1958 Adolfo Camarillo, American horse breeder (b.1864)
- 1958 Juliane Gabriels, Flemish physician (Artus Quellin), dies at 72
- 1968 George Forrest, Northern Irish politician, dies at 47
- 1968 Karl Barth, Swiss theologist/minister (Kirchliche Dogma), dies at 82
Thomas Merton (1915-1968)
French-American Catholic writer and Trappist monk (7 Story Mountain), accidentally electrocuted by an electric fan at 53
- 1971 Jo [Jozef Maria Laurens Theo] Cals, Prime Minister of Netherlands (1965-66) and Minister of Education, Arts and Sciences, dies at 57
- 1972 Mark van Doren, American poet and author (Happy Critic, Transients), dies at 78
- 1978 Miura Isshu, Zen teacher, Hakuin Rinzai line, dies at 75
- 1990 Armand Hammer, CEO (Occidental Petroleum), dies at 92
- 1991 Berenice Abbott, US photographer, dies at 93
- 1991 Greta Kempton, American artist (b. 1901)
- 1992 Carlomagno Andrade, Equadorian general, dies
- 1994 Keith Joseph, British MP (C), dies
- 1994 Ruth Evelyn Mansfield, doctor, dies at 92
- 1995 Gillian Rose, philosopher/writer, dies at 48
- 1995 John Francis Boyd, journalist, dies at 85
- 1995 Mary Madge Lascelles, literary critic/poet, dies at 95
- 1995 Phillip Piratin, communist, dies at 88
Franjo Tuđman (1922-1999)
Croatian politician and President of Croatia (1990-1999), dies of stomach cancer at 77
Eugene McCarthy (1916-2005)
American politician (Sen-D-Minn) and presidential candidate, dies of parkinsons at 89
Augusto Pinochet (1915-2006)
Chilean general and dictator of Chile (1973-90), dies of congestive heart failure and pulmonary edema at 91
- 2006 Jack Williamson, American sci-fi author (Cometeers), dies at 98
- 2007 Aqsa Parvez, Canadian victim of an honor crime (b. 1991)
- 2010 J. Michael Hagopian, Turkish-born American documentarian (b. 1913)
- 2010 John Bennett Fenn, American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1917)
- 2012 Iajuddin Ahmed, Bangladeshi President, dies from heart surgery complications at 81
- 2014 Catherine Hughes [Pestell], British principal (Somerville College Oxford), dies at 81
- 2014 Ziad Abu Ein, Palestinian government minister, killed in confrontation with Israeli troops at protest on West Bank
- 2016 A. A. [Adrian Anthony] Gill, British critic (The Sunday Times), dies of cancer at 62
- 2019 Jean Pagé, Canadian sports journalist (host: 'La Soirée du hockey' and '110%'), dies from prostate cancer at 73
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide