- 1089 Lanfranc, Italian Archbishop of Canterbury (1070-89) and counsellor to William the Conqueror, dies
- 1317 Guy van Avesnes/Henegouwen, bishop of Utrecht, dies at about 63
- 1357 Afonso IV, King of Portugal (1325-57) called the Brave, 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 (1758-1843)
American lexicographer (Webster's Dictionary), dies at 84
- 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 (1792-1878)
1st Earl Russell, British Prime Minister (Whig: 1846-52 and 1865-66), dies at 85
- 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 Boris Kustodiev, Russian painter (b. 1878)
- 1927 Georges Eekhoud, Belgian writer (Belgian Kempen), dies at 73
- 1928 Charles Edward Montague, English journalist and author (Fiery Particles), dies at 61
- 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 (1894-1972)
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
- 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 Charles Spry, Australian soldier and security chief, dies at 83
- 1994 Ely Jacques Kahn, Jr., American writer, dies at 77
- 1994 Rita Gillespie, British pioneering TV Director, dies at 65
- 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
- 1998 Philip L. Carret, American investor and founder of Pioneer Fund, dies at 101
- 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
- 2001 Vulimiri Ramalingaswami, Indian medical scientist, dies at 79
- 2003 Ilya Prigogine, Russian-born physicist and chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (b. 1917)
- 2003 Oleg Makarov, cosmonaut (b. 1933)
- 2004 Umberto Agnelli, Italian automobile executive (Fiat, 1965-2004), dies of lung cancer at 69
- 2007 Parren Mitchell, American politician (Rep-D-MD, 1971-87), dies at 85
- 2007 Toshikatsu Matsuoka, Japanese politician (b. 1945)
- 2008 Beryl Cook, British painter, dies at 81
- 2008 David Mitton, Scottish-born director (b. 1938)
- 2010 Hugh Ford, British mechanic engineer, dies at 96
- 2010 Jacob Kistemaker, Dutch nuclear physicist (ultra centrifuge), dies at 93
Maya Angelou (1928-2014)
American author ("I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"), poet and actress (Nyo-Roots), dies at 86
- 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 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
- 2018 Jens Christian Skou, Danish scientist (Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1997), dies at 99
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide