Hernán Cortés (1485-1547)
Spanish conquistador (defeated the Aztec Empire and colonized large parts of Mexico), dies of pleurisy at 61 or 62
- 1592 Alexander Farnese, land guardian of Neth (1579-92), dies at 46
- 1615 Louis des Balbes de Berton de Crillon, French general
- 1665 Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet, French socialite (b. 1588)
- 1694 Pierre Paul Puget, French artist, dies at 74
- 1719 Pasquier Quesnel, French theologist (La Foi), dies at 85
- 1723 Philippe II, Duke of Orléans and Regent of France (1715-23), dies at 49
- 1726 Samuel Penhallow, English-born American colonist and historian, dies at 61
- 1747 Vincent Bourne, English classical scholar (b. 1695)
- 1748 Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, English politician, dies at 86
- 1810 Philipp Otto Runge, German Romantic painter, dies at 33
Marquis de Sade (1740-1814)
French philosopher and writer (Justine) and where the words sadism and sadist are derived from, dies at 74
John Brown (1800-1859)
American abolitionist and revolutionary (Harpers Ferry), hanged at 59
- 1860 Alfred Bunn, British theatrical manager (b. 1796)
- 1863 Jane Appleton Pierce, American 1st lady (1853-57) and wife of Franklin Pierce, dies of tuberculosis at 57
- 1864 Archibald Gracie III, Confederate brigadier general, dies in battle at Siege of Petersburg, Virginia aged 32
- 1888 Namık Kemal, Turkish writer, journalist and political activist (Young Ottomans), dies at 47
- 1890 Cadmus M. Wilcox, American Major General (Confederate Army - American Civil War), dies at 66
- 1892 Jay Gould, American railroad developer and speculator, dies at 56
- 1899 Gregorio del Pilar, Filipino general (killed at Battle of Tirad Pass) (b. 1875)
- 1918 Edmond Rostand, French poet and dramatist (b. 1868)
- 1918 Margit Kaffka, Hungarian writer, dies in the flu pandemic at 38
- 1919 Henry Clay Frick, American industrialist (built world's largest coke & steel operation) and art collector (Frick Collection) , dies at 69
- 1924 Kazimieras Būga, Lithuanian philologist (b. 1879)
- 1935 James Henry Breasted, American Egyptologist and anthropologist, dies at 70
- 1935 Martha Carey Thomas, American educator, suffragist, linguist and second President of Bryn Mawr College, dies of a coronary occlusion at 78
- 1935 State of California uses gas chamber instead of hanging for 1st time: Robert Lee Cannon (29) and Albert Kessel (28) executed for role in Folsom Prison escape attempt resulting in murder of warden and guard (San Quentin State Prison. Marin County)
- 1936 John Ringling, American circus owner (b. 1866)
- 1943 Nordahl Grieg, Norwegian poet, dramatist and novelist (The Defeat), dies at 41
- 1944 Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Italian-French prose writer, novelist, poet, and dramatist (Futurism e Futurista), dies of cardiac arrest at 67
- 1944 JW Ummels, Dutch resistance fighter (House of Saxon-Nazi), dies
- 1951 Manuel Ugarte, Argentine diplomat, politician, newspaper owner, and author, dies at 79
- 1953 Francis Picabia, French avante-garde artist, writer and typographist (Amorous Parade), dies at 74
- 1957 Manfred Sakel, Polish neurophysiologist and psychiatrist, dies at 57
- 1966 Luitzen [Bertus] Brouwers, Dutch mathematician, dies at 85
- 1967 Francis Spellman, American Bishop and Cardinal of Roman Catholic Church, dies at 78
- 1969 Kliment Voroshilov, Russian politician and military officer under Stalin (President of the USSR 1953-60), dies at 88
- 1972 Friedrich Christian Christiansen, German Luftwaffe general, dies
- 1972 Ip Man, Chinese martial artist, and a master teacher of Wing Chun, dies at 79
- 1974 Max Weber, Swiss Federal Councilor, dies at 77
- 1980 Romain Gary, Lithuanian-born French writer (b. 1914)
- 1981 Alexis Kagame, Rwandan philosopher, historian, poet and Tutsi intellectual and cultural leader, dies at 69
- 1981 Herman Jan Scheltema [NEM Pareau], Dutch jurist and poet, dies at 74
- 1985 Aniello Dellacroce, American gangster (b. 1914)
- 1985 Philip Larkin, English poet and writer (North Ship, Jill), dies at 63
- 1986 John Curtis Gowan, American psychologist (b. 1912)
- 1987 Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich, Russian physicist, dies at 73
- 1992 Gary Mascaro, choreographer, dies at 43
- 1992 Loek Elfferich, Dutch journalist/historian (Treason in Rotterdam), die
Pablo Escobar (1949-1993)
Colombian drug lord, shot to death by Colombian Police at 44
- 1994 Donald John Urquhart, English librarian, dies at 85
- 1994 Norman Anderson, English lawyer, missionary and Arabist dies at 86
- 1995 Francis Joseph Quinn, academic, dies at 90
- 1995 Mária Telkes, Hungarian-American biophysicist ('the Sun Queen' who invented solar energy technologies), dies at 94 [1]
- 1995 Robertson Davies, Canadian novelist essayist/dramatist, dies at 82
- 1995 Stanley Devon, British photographer (British press photographer of the year 1948, 50), dies at 88
- 1997 Endicott Peabody, American politician (62nd Governor of Massachusetts), dies at 77
- 2002 Arno Peters, German historian (b. 1916)
- 2002 Ivan Illich, Austrian priest and philosopher (b. 1926)
- 2003 Alan Davidson, British author (Annabel stories) (b. 1924)
- 2004 Mona Van Duyn, American poet (b. 1921)
- 2005 Kenneth Lee Boyd, American convicted murderer (executed) (b. 1948)
- 2005 Nat Mayer Shapiro, American painter (b. 1919)
- 2005 Van Tuong Nguyen, Australian drug smuggler (hanged) (b. 1980)
- 2007 Thomas F. Torrance, Scottish Protestant theologist, dies at 94
- 2008 Kathleen Baskin-Ball, American United Methodist Pastor
- 2012 Israel Keyes, American serial killer, commits suicide awaiting trial at 34
- 2013 Jean-Claude Beton, Algerian-born French businessman, entrepreneur and soft-drink manufacturer (Orangina), dies at 88
- 2013 Vernon Shaw, President of Dominica (1998-2003), dies at 83
- 2016 Paul de Wispelaere, Flemish writer and critic, dies at 88
- 2019 Fred Storey, Canadian curler (World C'ship gold 1966, 68, 69), dies at 87
- 2020 Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, French politician, President of France (1974-81), dies of COVID-19 at 94
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide