Deaths in History on February 11

  • February
  • 641 Heraclius, emperor of Byzantium (610-641), dies at about 65
  • 731 Gregory II, Greek-Syrian Pope, dies
  • 821 Benedict of Aniane, saint, dies
  • 824 Paschal I, Italian Pope (817-24), dies
  • 867 Theodora, the Saint, beauty queen/empress of Byzantine, dies
  • 1141 Hugo of St-Victor, philosopher/theologist/mystic, dies
  • 1160 Minamoto no Yoshitomo, Japanese general (b. 1123)
  • 1503 Elizabeth of York, Queen Consort of England and wife of King Henry VII, dies on 38th birthday
  • 1511 Henry, Duke of Cornwall, son of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, dies at 7 weeks
  • 1543 Ahmed Gran, sultan of Adal, dies in battle at Wayna Daga
  • 1626 Pietro Cataldi, Italian mathematician, dies at 77

Person of interestRené Descartes

1650 René Descartes, French philosopher "I think therefore I am", stops thinking due to pneumonia at 53

Philosopher René Descartes
Philosopher
René Descartes
  • 1685 David Teniers III, Flemish painter, dies at 46
  • 1713 Jahandar Shah, Mughal emperor of India (b. 1664)
  • 1755 Francesco Scipione, marchese di Maffei, Italian archaeologist (b. 1675)
  • 1763 William Shenstone, English poet, dies at 48

  • 1829 Alexandr Griboyedov, Russian playwright (b. 1795)
  • 1841 J H Ferdinand Olivier, German painter, dies at 55
  • 1862 Elizabeth Siddal, British poet and artist (b. 1829)
  • 1868 Leon Foucault, discovers 1st physical proof of Earth's rotation, dies at 48
  • 1870 Jacob M de Kempenaer, Dutch min of Internal Aff (1848-49), dies at 76
  • 1879 Honore Daumier, caricaturist/painter, dies
  • 1879 Willem J van Zeggelen, Dutch author/novelist/writer, dies at 67
  • 1888 William Kelly, American inventor (pneumatic process of steelmaking), dies at 76
  • 1899 George Morgan, 1st English motorist to die in an motor accident, dies
  • 1901 Milan I, King of Serbia, dies at 56
  • 1907 Peter J Savelberg, Dutch Limbourg monastery founder, dies at 80
  • 1911 Albert von Rothschild, baron/Austrian banker, dies at 66
  • 1917 Oswaldo Cruz, Brazilian physician (b. 1872)
  • 1922 Gerardus J P Bolland, Dutch philosopher (Bolland Society), dies at 67
  • 1923 Wilhelm Killing, German mathematician (b. 1847)
  • 1931 Charles Algernon Parsons, British inventor (steam turbine), dies at 76
  • 1940 John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, Gov-Gen of Canada (1935-40), dies
  • 1941 Rudolf Hilferding, German economist/Min of Finance (SPD), suicide at 63
  • 1945 J S H Lokerman, Dutch resistance fighter, dies in Neugengamme
  • 1948 Sergei Eisenstein, Russian director (Battleship Potemkin), dies at 50
  • 1954 Adolph M. Christianson, justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court (b. 1877)
  • 1958 Ernest Jones, British psychonanalyst (b. 1879)
  • 1961 Patrice Lumumba, Congolese revolutionary, 1st prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, assassinated by the Belgian government at 34
  • 1961 Kate Carew [Mary Williams], American caricaturist, dies at 91

Person of interestSylvia Plath

1963 Sylvia Plath, American poet/novelist (Ariel), commits suicide at 30

Author and Poet Sylvia Plath
Author and Poet
Sylvia Plath

  • 1971 Whitney Young Jr, National Urban League director, drowns in Nigeria
  • 1972 Jan Wils, architect (Olympian Stadium, Amsterdam), dies at 80
  • 1973 J. Hans D. Jensen, German physicist (Nobel prize 1963), dies at 65
  • 1975 Richard Ratsimandrava, Malagasy soldier and statesman, assassinated (b. 1931)
  • 1976 Alexander Lippisch, German scientist and pioneer of aerodynamics, dies at 81
  • 1976 Frank Arnau [Heinrich Schmitt], German crime fiction writer, dies at 81
  • 1977 Louis J M Beel, Dutch premier (1946-48, 58-59), dies at 74
  • 1977 Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Indian leader and 5th President of India (1974-77), dies of a heart attack at 72
  • 1978 James B Conant, headmaster (Harvard University), dies at 84
  • 1978 Harry Martinson, Swedish novelist and poet (Trade Wind-Nobel 1974), dies at 73
  • 1985 Ben Abruzzo, American businessman and balloonist (b. 1930)
  • 1986 Frank [Patrick] Herbert, American sci-fi author (Dune), dies at 65
  • 1986 Evelio Javier, Filipino politician, lawyer, and civil servant (b. 1942)
  • 1987 Sadequain, famous Pakistani painter and artist. (b. 1930)
  • 1991 Oscar Nitzchke, German architect (Alcoa building, Centre Pompidou), dies at 90
  • 1991 Robert W. Holley, American biochemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1922)
  • 1991 Ajla Rachmanova, Russian-Austrian author (Students), dies at 92
  • 1993 George A Stephen, inventor (Weber Kettle Grill), dies at 71
  • 1994 Vincent Wigglesworth, British entomologist (Metamorphosis hormones), dies at 94
  • 1996 Amelia Rosselli, Italian poet, commits suicide at 65
  • 1996 Bob Shaw, Irish sci-fi writer, dies of cancer at 64
  • 1996 Kebby Musokotwane, prime minister of Zambia in (1985-89), dies
  • 2000 Roger Vadim, French director (b. 1928)
  • 2000 Jacqueline Auriol, French aviatrix (b. 1917)
  • 2004 Shirley Strickland, Australian athlete (b. 1925)
  • 2005 Jack L. Chalker, American author (b. 1944)

Person of interestPeter Benchley

2006 Peter Benchley, American author, dies at 65

Jaws Novelist Peter Benchley
Jaws Novelist
Peter Benchley
  • 2007 Marianne Fredriksson, Swedish author (Simon and the Oaks), dies at 79
  • 2008 Tom Lantos, member of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1928)
  • 2008 Frank Piasecki, American aeronautical designer (b. 1919)
  • 2009 Willem J Kolff, Dutch-American Physician and Biomedical Engineer (artificial kidney, hemodialysis), dies at 97
  • 2010 [Lee} Alexander McQueen, English fashion designer, commits suicide at 40

February in History