- 1089 Lanfrance, Archbishop of Canterbury, dies
- 1317 Guy van Avesnes/Henegouwen, bishop of Utrecht, dies at about 63
- 1357 Afonso IV, King of Portugal (1325-57), dies at 66
- 1521 Willem van Croij, Duke of Soria, dies at about 62
- 1534 Dirk Martens, Flemish printer/humanist, dies at about 83
- 1556 Saitō Dōsan, Japanese daimyo (b. 1494?)
- 1672 Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, English soldier, admiral and patron of Samuel Pepys, killed at the Battle of Solebay at 46
- 1672 John Trevor, English politician (b. 1626)
- 1685 Pieter de la Court, economist/historian, dies at about 67
- 1707 Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, Marquise de Montespan, French mistress of King Louis XIV of France, dies at 66
- 1747 Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues, French writer, dies at 31
- 1750 Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan (b. 1720)
- 1808 Richard Hurd, English bishop and writer (b. 1720)
- 1811 Henry Dundas, British minister (b. 1742)
- 1816 Ras Wolde Selassie, Ethiopian warlord and Regent of the Ethiopian Empire
- 1828 Daikokuya Kōdayū, Japanese castaway (b. 1751)
Noah Webster
1843 Noah Webster, American lexicographer (Webster's Dictionary), dies at 84
Noah Webster
- 1849 Anne Brontë, English novelist (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall), dies at 29
- 1862 Lev Mei, Russian poet and dramatist, dies at 40 [O.S. 5/16]
- 1863 Edmund Kirby Jr, American Brigadier General (Union Army), dies of injuries at 23
- 1864 Henry H Giesy, US Union-brigadier general, dies in battle
- 1864 Simion Bărnuţiu, Romanian philosopher and liberal politician, dies at 55
John Russell
1878 John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, British Prime Minister (Whig: 1846-52 and 1865-66), dies at 85
John Russell
- 1900 George Grove, English biblical scholar and misicographer, dies at 79
- 1911 Stephanus Jacobus du Toit, South African theologist and journalist (Afrikaner Bond), dies at 64
- 1912 Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, French scientist, dies at 74
- 1913 Lord Avebury [John Lubbock], British banker and politician, dies at 79
- 1913 Lunsford L. Lomax, American Major General (Confederate Army), dies at 77
- 1916 Ivan Franko, Ukrainian writer and political activist, dies at 59
- 1921 Geo Mestdagh, Belgian aviation pioneer, dies
- 1922 John Munro Longyear, American capitalist and developer of timber and mineral lands, dies at 72
- 1927 Georges Eekhoud, Belgian writer (Belgian Kempen), dies at 73
- 1927 Boris Kustodiev, Russian painter (b. 1878)
- 1929 Alice Stopford Green, Irish historian and proponent of Irish independence, dies at 81
- 1937 Alfred Adler, Austria psychiatrist (Individual Psychology), dies at 67
- 1940 Friedrich Karl von Hessen (b. 1868)
- 1944 Katri Vala, Finnish poet, dies at 42
- 1947 August Eigruber, Austrian war criminal, dies at 40
- 1948 Unity Mitford, English fascist sympathizer and one of the Mitford sisters, dies from the effects of a bullet in her head at 33
- 1950 Vicente Sotto, Filipino politician and author (Sotto Law, Republic Act No. 53), dies at 73
- 1953 Hori Tatsuo, Japanese writer (b. 1904)
- 1968 Fyodor Matveyevich Okhlopkov, Yakut-born Soviet sniper (b. 1908)
Edward VIII
1972 Edward VIII, King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India (Jan 20th, 1936 until his abdication on Dec 11th, 1936), dies at 77
Edward VIII
- 1975 Eric Emerson, entertainer, dies
- 1976 Steffan Danielsen, Faroese painter (b. 1922)
- 1980 Rolf Nevanlinna, Finnish mathematician (b. 1895)
- 1981 Stefan Wyszyński, Polish Cardinal, dies at 79
- 1982 Lt Col 'H'. Jones VC, Commanding Officer, 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment (British Army) (Falklands War) (b. 1940)
- 1983 Erastus Corning 2nd, American politician, 72nd Mayor of Albany, New York (b. 1909)
- 1990 Giorgio Manganelli, writer, dies at 67
- 1990 Hussein Bin Onn, 1st minister of Malasia (1976-81), dies
- 1991 Brigitte B Fischer, writer, dies
- 1991 Ethel Lois Payne, American civil rights journalist and "1st Lady of the Black Press", dies at 79
- 1994 Rita Gillespie, British pioneering TV Director, dies at 65
- 1994 Charles Spry, Australian soldier and security chief, dies at 83
- 1994 Ely Jacques Kahn, Jr., American writer, dies at 77
- 1995 Jean Muir, British fashion designer, dies at 66
- 1996 Buck Bundy, TV dog (Married with Children), dies at 13
- 1996 John "Jack" Layden, local politician, dies at 70
- 1996 Sidney Greenbaum, grammarian, dies at 66
- 2001 Francisco Varela, Chilean biologist and philosopher (b. 1946)
- 2001 Joe Moakley, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts (1973-2001), dies at 74
- 2003 Oleg Makarov, cosmonaut (b. 1933)
- 2003 Ilya Prigogine, Russian-born physicist and chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (b. 1917)
- 2004 Umberto Agnelli, Italian automobile executive (Fiat), dies at 69
- 2007 Toshikatsu Matsuoka, Japanese politician (b. 1945)
- 2008 David Mitton, Scottish-born director (b. 1938)
- 2010 Jacob Kistemaker, Dutch nuclear physicist (ultra centrifuge), dies at 93
- 2010 Hugh Ford, British mechanic engineer, dies at 96
Maya Angelou
2014 Maya Angelou [Marguerite Johnson], American author ("I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"), poet and actress (Nyo-Roots), dies at 86
Maya Angelou
- 2016 Harambe, Western lowland gorilla resident at Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, shot and killed at 17 by a zoo worker to protect a 3 year old boy who had climbed into its enclosure
- 2018 Jens Christian Skou, Danish scientist (Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1997), dies at 99