Deaths in History on December 26

Babur (1483-1530)

Timurid founder and 1st Emperor of the Mughal dynasty in the Indian Subcontinent (1526-30), dies at 47

1574 Charles Guise, archbishop/cardinal of Reims, dies at 50
1624 Simon Marius, astronomer, dies in Bavaria at 54
1627 Gonzaga, Italian monarch of Mantua/Monferrato, dies
1658 Simon Guillain, French sculptor (Castle of Blois/Sorbonne), dies at 78
1676 Domenicus van Tol, Dutch painter, dies
1679 John van de Cappelle, Amsterdam landscape painter, dies at 53
1731 Antoine Houdar de la Motte, French writer (b. 1672)
1740 Mauritius Louis II earl of Nassau, lt-gen (12 children), dies
1771 Claude Adrien Helvétius, French controversial philosopher (On the Mind), dies at 56
1776 Johann Gottlieb Rall, Hessian colonel/mercenary, dies in battle in American Revolutionary War
1780 John Fothergill, English physician, dies at 68
1784 Otto Friedrich Müller, Danish Naturalist who was a pioneer in the study of microorganisms, dies at 54
1784 Seth Warner, American revolutionary leader, dies at 41
1786 Gasparo Gozzi, Italian critic and dramatist, dies at 73

John Wilkes (1725-1797)

English radical, journalist (The North Briton) and politician, dies of marasmus at 72

1837 Martinus van Marum, chemist/physicist (giant salamander), dies at 87
1861 Philip St. George Cocke, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), commits suicide at 52
1866 Samuel Ryan Curtis, Union general-major, dies at 49
1869 Jean Léonard Marie Poiseuille, French physician and physiologist (blood pressure), dies at 72

Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890)

German archaeologist who rediscovered Troy, dies of cholesteatoma at 86

1893 Victor Schœlcher, French abolitionist writer, dies at 89
1896 Emil du Bois-Reymond, German physiologist, co-discoverer of nerve action potential and founder of modern electrophysiology, dies at 78
1909 Frederic Remington, American artist and sculptor of American West, dies at 48
1917 Judith Gautier, French poetess, novelist (Le Dragon Impérial) and daughter of Theophile Gautier, dies at 71
1923 Dietrich Eckart, German Nazi politician (b. 1868)
1931 Melvil Dewey, American librarian and educator (created Dewey Decimal System for libraries), dies at 80
1933 Anatoly Lunacharsky, Russian Marxist revolutionary, author and literary critic, dies at 58
1942 Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, French resistance fighter and assassin of Admiral of the Fleet and Vichy Prime Minister François Darlan, executed by firing squad at 20
1950 James Stephens, Irish poet (Crock of Gold), dies at 68
1952 Pietro Pancrazi, Italian critic (Pegaso), dies at 59
1960 Eduard Ludwig, German architect (Hansa quarter, Berlin), dies at 54
1960 Watsuji Tetsuro, Japanese philosopher (b. 1889)
1965 Nico Donkersloot, Dutch literary and writer, dies at 63
1966 Klaziena "Ina" Boudier-Bakker, Dutch playwright and author (Poverty), dies at 91
1969 Johannes Gerard van Dillen, Dutch economic historian (Of Wealth & Oligarchists), dies at 86
1969 Josef Hromádka, Czech theologist (Lenin prize 1957), dies at 80
1969 Louise Lévêque de Vilmorin, French poet and author (History d'aimer), dies at 67

Harry Truman (1884-1972)

33rd US President (Democrat: 1945-53), dies in Kansas City Mo at 88

1973 Harold B. Lee, American religious leader, Head of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dies at 74
1976 Philip Hart, American lawyer and politician (U.S. Senator (D) from Michigan, 1959-76), dies from cancer at 64
1980 Tony Smith, American sculptor (b. 1912)
1981 Amber Reeves, feminist writer (b. 1887)
1985 Dian Fossey, American zoologist (Gorillas in the Mist), murdered in Rwanda at 53
1988 Glenn McCarthy, American oil tycoon and businessman (b. 1907)
1990 Nancy Cruznan, accident victim/right-to-die case, dies at 33
1991 Sam Cresson, dies at 73
1992 Bert Voeten, Dutch journalist and poet (Antipodes), dies at 74
1992 John G Kemeny, US computer pioneer (BASIC), dies
1994 Asta ER Elstak, Suriname/Neth welfare worker, dies at 74
1994 Johannes J "Joop" Klant, Neth/South African economist/author, dies
1994 Karl Schiller, German economist and politician (Minister of Economics), dies at 83
1997 Cornelius Castoriadis, Greek philosopher and economist, dies at 75
1997 John Hinde, photographer/circus promoter, dies at 81
1997 John Whitley, British air-marshal, dies at 92
1999 Shankar Dayal Sharma, Indian politician and 9th President of India (1992-97), dies at 81
2000 Jack Jacob, British senior master (British Supreme Court), dies at 92
2002 Armand Zildjian, American cymbal manufacturer (b. 1921)
2002 Herb Ritts, American fashion photographer, dies at 50
2004 Jonathan Drummond-Webb, South African pediatric heart surgeon (b. 1959)
2004 Marianne Heiberg, Norwegian mediator (b. 1945)
2004 Simon Atlee, British fashion photographer, drowned by tsunami in Thailand at 33
2004 Sir Angus Ogilvy, British businessman and husband of Princess Alexandra of Kent, dies at 76
2004 Troy Broadbridge, Australian rules footballer, in 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake (b. 1980)
2005 Erich Topp, German submarine commander (b. 1914)
2005 Kerry Packer, Australian businessman (b. 1937)

Gerald Ford (1913-2006)

38th US President (R: 1974-77) and 41st US Vice President (R: 1973-74), dies at 93

2006 Ivar Formo, Norwegian skier (b. 1951)
2007 Andrew Grima, Italian-born British jeweller known for his modern designs, dies at 86
2007 John A. Garraty, American biographer (b. 1920)
2010 Edward Bhengu, South African activist (b. 1934)
2014 Leo Tindemans, Belgian statesman, Prime Minister of Belgium (1974-78), dies at 92
2018 Wendy Beckett, South African British nun and TV art critic, dies at 88

Desmond Tutu (1931-2021)

Anglican Archbishop of South Africa and 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner, dies at 90

2021 Edward O. Wilson, American sociobiologist (world’s leading authority on ants), dies at 92
2021 Karolos Papoulias, President of Greece (2005-15), dies at 92
2021 Sarah Weddington, American attorney (represented "Jane Roe" in Roe v. Wade before US States Supreme Court), dies at 76
2022 Sergey Dmitriyev, Russian soccer striker (6 caps USSR; Zenit Saint Petersburg, CSKA Moscow), dies at 58