On This Day

Deaths in History on January 12

  • 689 Benedict Biscop, Anglo-Saxon abbot, monastery founder, bibliophile, and Christian saint, dies at about 62 [exact birth date uncertain]
  • 1049 Abū-Sa'īd Abul-Khayr, Persian mystic and poet, dies at 81
  • 1167 Aelred of Hexham/Rievaulx, English abbot/saint, dies at about 56
  • 1322 Maria of Brabant, wife of Philip III and Queen consort of France (1274-85), dies at 67
  • 1390 Peter van Herenthals, Dutch theologist/church historian, dies at 67
  • 1519 Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1508-19, established Hapsburg dynasty in Spain), dies at 59
  • 1537 Lorenzo di Credi, Italian painter, dies
  • 1550 Andrea Alciato, Italian jurist, humanist and writer, dies at 57
  • 1665 Pierre de Fermat, French mathematician (Fermat therorem), dies at 63

Marguerite BourgeoysMarguerite Bourgeoys (1620-1700)

French founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame (first Canadian saint), dies at 79

Marguerite Bourgeoys
  • 1705 Luca Giordano, Italian artist (b. 1634)
  • 1732 John Horsley, British archaeologist (b. 1685)
  • 1759 Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, eldest daughter of King George II of Great Britain, dies at 49
  • 1777 Hugh Mercer, Scottish military officer (fought in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War), dies of his wounds at the Battle of Princeton at 50
  • 1781 Richard Challoner, English Catholic prelate (b. 1691)
  • 1807 Adriaan Kluit, Dutch historian and scholar, dies at 71
  • 1807 Joan Lucaz, Dutch journalist and patriot, dies at 60
  • 1817 Juan Andres, Spanish Jesuit (b. 1740)
  • 1829 Friedrich von Schlegel, German cultural philosopher and poet (Lucinde), dies at 56
  • 1833 Marie-Antoine Carême, French chef (b. 1784)

William GrenvilleWilliam Grenville (1759-1834)

1st Baron Grenville, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Whig: 1806-07), dies at 74

William Grenville
  • 1839 Joseph A Koch, Aust painter/cartoonist/etcher/illustrator, dies at 70
  • 1851 Johan Herman Koekkoek, painter, dies at 72
  • 1856 Ľudovít Štúr, Slovak politician and author of Slovak language, dies at 40
  • 1860 Martinus Niewindt, Dutch Bishop of Curacao (christened slaves), dies at 63
  • 1867 Victor Cousin, French philosopher and educational reformer, dies at 74

Isaac PitmanIsaac Pitman (1813-1897)

English teacher and inventor of Pitman shorthand (Stenographic Soundhand), dies at 84

Isaac Pitman
  • 1899 Hiram Walker, American entrepreneur and founder of the Hiram Walker and Sons Ltd. distillery, dies at 82
  • 1909 Hermann Minkowski, German mathematician (b. 1864)
  • 1925 Oskar Brefeld, German botanist and founder of modern mycology, dies at 85
  • 1926 Sir Austin Chapman, Australian politician (b. 1864)
  • 1928 Ruth Snyder, 1st woman to die in electric chair
  • 1934 Surya Sen "Master Da", Indian activist for independence (Chittagong armoury raid), hanged at 39
  • 1940 Erich R Jaensch, German psychologist (eidetiek), dies at 56
  • 1943 Frank Alvord Perret, American volcanologist renowned for his research at Vesuvius, Etna, Stromboli and Kilauea dies at 75
  • 1943 Jan Campert, Dutch resistance fighter and poet (18 Dead), dies at 40
  • 1944 Lance C. Wade, American pilot (b. 1915)
  • 1947 Jonas Cohn, German philosopher (Wertwissenschaft), dies at 77
  • 1956 John Raedecker, Dutch sculptor (WW II Monument Amsterdam), dies at 70
  • 1958 Charles Mallory Hatfield, U.S. rainmaker (b. 1875)
  • 1959 Edvard Eriksen, Danish-Icelandic sculptor, dies at 82
  • 1960 Nevil Shute [Norway], English-Australian novelist (On the Beach, Town like Alice), dies at 60
  • 1962 Ariadna Tyrkova-Williams, Russian writer and feminist, dies at 92
  • 1965 Lorraine Hansberry, American playwright (A Raisin in the Sun), and writer (To Be Young Gifted And Black), dies in NYC, dies of pancreatic cancer at 34
  • 1965 Porcupine, in the National Zoo, dies at 27; oldest known rodent (Washington, DC)
  • 1967 Holland Smith, American US Marine Corps general, considered the "father" of modern U.S. amphibious warfare, dies at 84
  • 1970 Blanche Stuart Scott, US pilot, dies at 84
  • 1972 Padraic Colum, Irish novelist and poet (Collected Poems), dies at 90
  • 1975 Caryn Campbell, Bundy victim, disappears from Snowmass, Colo

Agatha ChristieAgatha Christie (1890-1976)

English crime writer (Murder on the Orient Express, Mousetrap), dies at 85

Agatha Christie
  • 1977 Henri-Georges Clouzot, French director (Les Diaboliques, Truth), dies at 69
  • 1986 Marcel Arland, French author (L'ordre, Lumière du Soir), dies at 86
  • 1988 Connie Mulder, South African politician (b. 1925)
  • 1990 Laurence J. Peter, Canadian author (Peter Principle), dies of a stroke at 70
  • 1991 Vasco Pratolini, Italian writer (Ragazze di San Frediano), dies at 77
  • 1992 Harry van Doorn, Dutch politician (KVP/KRO-chairman/PPR/CRM), dies at 76
  • 1992 Walt Morey, US children's book writer (Gentle Ben), dies at 84
  • 1993 Carles Mira, Spanish director (Que Nos Quiten Lo Bailao), dies at 45
  • 1995 George Price, cartoonist (New Yorker), dies at 93
  • 1995 Marion Herbst, German/Dutch jewelry designer, dies at 50
  • 1996 Edmund Happold, British structural engineer (founder of Buro Happold), dies at 65
  • 1996 Joachim Nitsche, German mathematician (b. 1926)
  • 1996 John Howard Purnell, Welsh chemist (Royal Society of Chemistry), dies at 70
  • 1996 Peggy Braithwaite, lighthouse-keeper, dies at 76
  • 1997 Charles Huggins, American-Canadian physician and cancer researcher (1966 Nobel Prize), dies at 95
  • 1997 Jean Writer-Edern Hallier, dies at 60
  • 1999 Leo Cherne, American economist and commentator (All Star News), dies at 86

Bill HewlettBill Hewlett (1913-2001)

American engineer and businessman (co-founder Hewlett-Packard), dies of a heart attack at 87

Bill Hewlett
  • 2002 Cyrus Vance, 57th U.S. Secretary of State (1977-80), dies at 84
  • 2003 Allan Nunn May, English physicist and Soviet spy (b. 1911)
  • 2003 Dean Amadon, American ornithologist, dies at 90
  • 2003 Kinji Fukasaku, Japanese director (b. 1930)

Leopoldo GaltieriLeopoldo Galtieri (1926-2003)

Argentine general, dictator and President of Argentina (1981-82) who invaded the Falkland Islands, dies of a heart attack at 76 [1]

Leopoldo Galtieri
  • 2004 Olga Aleksandrovna Ladyzhenskaya, Russian mathematician (fluid dynamics), dies at 81
  • 2005 Alessia di Matteo, first survivor of eight transplants in one operation (b. 2003)
  • 2005 Edmund S. Valtman, Estonian-born cartoonist (b. 1914)
  • 2007 Sir James Killen, Australian politician (b. 1925)
  • 2009 Arne Næss, Norwegian philosopher (b. 1912)
  • 2010 Daniel Bensaïd, French philosopher and a leader of the Trotskyist movement in France, dies of cancer caused by the side effects of drugs used to treat AIDS at 63
  • 2010 Hasib Sabbagh, Palestinian businessman and philanthropist, co-founder of Consolidated Contractors Company (b. 1920)
  • 2012 Bill Janklow, American politician and four-term Governor of South Dakota (Republican: 1979-87, 1995-2003), dies of brain cancer at 72
  • 2012 Charles Price, American businessman and diplomat, dies at 80
  • 2012 Reginald Hill, British crime author (Andrew Dalziel and Peter Pascoe novels), dies of brain cancer at 75
  • 2014 Michael L. Strang, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado), dies at 84
  • 2015 John Bayley, English academic and writer (Iris: A Memoir of Iris Murdoch), dies at 89
  • 2020 Paulo Gonçalves, Portuguese rally racing motorcycle rider (FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship 2013), dies in motorcycle crash during Dakar Rally at 40


Famous People by Cause of Death

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