- 917 Erchanger, Duke of Swabia (c. 880)
- 1059 Michael I Cerularius, Patriarch of Constantinople (1043-59) whose excommunication by Rome caused the Great Schism, dies (b. c. 1000)
- 1118 Pope Paschal II, born Raniero (1099-1118) dies
- 1519 Vasco Núñez de Balboa, Spanish explorer (b. 1475)
- 1527 Juan de Grijalva, Spanish conquistador (c. 1489)
- 1546 Azai Sukemasa, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1491)
- 1596 John Ligarius, German theologist/prime minister, dies at 66
- 1609 Joseph Justus Scaliger, French inventor of "Julian Period", dies at 68
- 1670 Honorat de Brueil seigneur de Racan, French playwright, dies at 80
- 1683 Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st earl of Shaftesbury, dies at 61
- 1686 Nicolas-Francois Blondel, French architect, dies
- 1699 Obadiah Walker, English writer (b. 1616)
- 1704 Willem B Schepers, Dutch merchant/ship owner, dies at about 83
- 1706 Adrien Baillet, French scholar and critic, dies at 56
- 1710 Johann Georg Gichtel, German mystic and religious leader, dies at 71
- 1722 Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton, English supporter of William III of England (b. 1661)
- 1731 Thomas Woolston, English theologian (b. 1669)
- 1773 Alexis Piron, French dramatist (La Métromanie), dies at 83
- 1774 Mustafa III, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1717). Reigns 1757 to 1774. Dies at 56
- 1795 Samuel Wallis, English explorer (Wallis Island), dies at 66
- 1809 Josiah Hornblower, American statesman (b. 1729)
- 1814 Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, French writer and botanist (b. 1737)
- 1815 M Claudius, writer, dies at 74
- 1815 Matthias Claudius, German poet, dies at 74
- 1823 Cayetano José Rodríguez, Argentine cleric, journalist and poet (b. 1761)
- 1831 Achim v Arnim, writer, dies at 49
- 1859 Henry Hallam, British lawyer and historian, dies at 81
- 1870 Alexander Herzen, Russian writer (b. 1812)
- 1871 John J Rochussen, gov-general of Neth-Indies (1845-51), dies at 73
- 1872 Franz Grillparzer, Austrian playwright (Sappho/Libussa), dies at 81
- 1881 Wilhelm Matthias Naeff, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1802)
- 1892 John Couch Adams, English astronomer (co-discover Neptune), dies at 72
- 1901 Elisha Gray, American inventor (telephone prototype), dies at 65
- 1903 Hermanus J A M Schaepman, Dutch clergyman/politician, dies at 58
- 1914 Theodor Kittelsen, Norwegian artist (b. 1857)
- 1919 Gojong, Emperor Gwangmu of Korea (1897-1907), dies at 66
Vladimir Lenin
1924 Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov Lenin, Russian Revolutionary leader and Premier, dies of a stroke at 53
Vladimir Lenin
Camillo Golgi
1926 Camillo Golgi, Italian physician and medical researcher (Nobel Prize in Medicine-1906), dies at 81
Camillo Golgi
- 1927 Floris H Verster, Dutch painter/cartoonist/etcher, dies at 65
- 1928 George Washington Goethals, American army general and civil engineer who supervised the construction of the Panama Canal, dies at 69
- 1932 [Giles] Lytton Strachey, English biographer and critic, dies at 51
- 1933 George A. Moore, Irish novelist (b. 1852)
- 1944 Gustaaf DFL Schamelhout, Flemish physician/writer, dies at 74
- 1944 Heinrich zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, German major and pilot, shot down
- 1945 Rash Behari Bose, Indian revolutionary leader against the British Raj in India, dies at 58
George Orwell
1950 George Orwell, British author (Animal Farm, Nineteen Eighty-Four), dies in London at 46
George Orwell
- 1955 Maarten Pleun Vrij, Dutch lawyer and criminologist, dies at 59
- 1957 Arthur L Bowley, English statistician/economist, dies at 87
- 1962 André Lhote, French painter and art historian (Traité du paysage), dies at 76
- 1963 Franz Jung, German writer and political activist, dies at 74
- 1968 Will Lang Jr., American magazine executive (b. 1914)
- 1971 Richard B Russell, (Sen-D-Ga), dies at 73
- 1974 Jan Arends, Dutch poet/author, dies at 48
- 1974 Lewis L Strauss, head US Atomic Energy Comm (1953-58), dies at 78
- 1977 Sandro Penna, Italian poet, dies at 70
- 1978 Freda Utley, British scholar and author. (b. 1898)
- 1981 Norman Stronge, former Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament, assassinated by IRA alongside son James
- 1981 James Stronge former Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament, assassinated by IRA, alongside his father Norman
- 1984 Giannis Skaribas, Greek writer, dramatist, and poet (b. 1893)
- 1985 James Beard, American culinary expert and author (Delights & Prejudices), dies at 81
- 1987 Pieter G Buckinx, Flemish writer (7th Day), dies at 83
- 1987 Charles Goodell, American politician (b. 1926)
- 1994 Basel al-Assad, Syrian president Hafez al-Assad's son and chosen successor, dies in car accident at 31
- 1995 Flavio "Negao" Pires da Conceicao, drug Trafficker, dies at 25
- 1995 John Halas, Hungarian-American cartoonist and animator (Animal Farm), dies at 82
- 1996 Roman Ciesiewicz, artist/graphic designer, dies at 65
- 1996 Sam Green, industrialist/inventor, dies at 88
- 1996 René Marc Jalbert, sergeant-at-Arms at the National Assembly of Quebec (b. 1921)
- 1996 Roman Cieślewicz, Polish French artist, graphic designer, dies at 66
- 1997 Dennis Main-Wilson, British TV and radio producer (Marty, Till Death Us Do Part), dies of lung cancer at 72
- 1997 Michael Duane, British progressive educationalist and author, dies at 81
- 1997 Colonel Tom Parker [Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk], Dutch-born talent manager (Elvis Presley), dies at 87
- 2001 Byron de la Beckwith, American white supremacist, dies at 80
- 2003 Paul Haines, American-born Canadian poet (b. 1933)
- 2004 Yordan Radichkov, Bulgarian writer and playwright (The Tied Up Balloon), dies at 74
- 2005 Theun de Vries, Dutch writer (The Girl with the Red Hair), dies at 97
- 2005 John L. Hess, American journalist (b. 1917)
- 2006 Ibrahim Rugova, Kosovar nationalist writer and President of Kosovo (1992-2006), dies at 61
- 2006 Bedanand Jha, Nepalese politician
- 2007 U;Nee, Korean pop artist (b. 1981)
- 2008 Pam Barrett, Canadian politician (b. 1953)
- 2008 Marie Smith Jones, last native speaker of the Eyak language (b. 1918)
- 2011 Dennis Oppenheim, American conceptual artist (b.1938)
- 2012 Jonathan Idema, American torturer, kidnapper and con-artist, dies from Aids complications at 55
- 2012 Roy John Britten, American molecular biologist, dies at 92
- 2013 Alden Winship Clausen, American banker (President of World Bank), dies at 89
- 2015 Martin Honeysett, British cartoonist (Punch, Private Eye), dies at 71
- 2015 Leon Brittan, British politician, Home Secretary and member of the European Commission, dies at 75
- 2017 Emma Tennant, English writer (Pemberley: Or, Pride and Prejudice Continued), dies at 79
- 2019 Harris Wofford, American politician (Sen-D-Pennsylvania 1991-94), head of AmeriCorps, dies at 92