On This Day

Deaths in History on November 5

  • 1370 Casimir III the Great, King of Poland (1333-70), dies at 61
  • 1515 Mariotto Albertinelli, Italian painter, dies at 41
  • 1559 Kano Motonobu, Zen co-founder (Kano school of painting), dies at 83
  • 1603 Irini Fedorovna, Russian daughter of Boris Godunov, dies
  • 1660 Alexandre de Rhodes, French Jesuit missionary (b. 1591)
  • 1660 Lucy Hay, Countess of Carlisle, English socialite (b. 1599)
  • 1669 John Coccejus, German/Neth reformed theologist, dies at about 66
  • 1675 Cort Adeler, Norwegian admiral and ship designer (served Dutch, Venetian and Danish navies), dies at 52
  • 1680 Gillis Valckenier, mayor of Amsterdam (1665..80), dies at about 57
  • 1701 Charles Gerard, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, French-born English politician, dies at about 40
  • 1714 Bernardino Ramazzini, Italian physician (founder of occupational medicine), dies at 81
  • 1737 Johan Willem, Duke of Ripperda, Dutch political adventurer, dies at 55
  • 1752 Carl Andreas Duker, German classical scholar (b. 1670)
  • 1758 Hans Egede, Norwegian Lutheran missionary (b. 1686)
  • 1772 Pieter Steyn, Dutch grand pensionary (1749-72), dies at 66
  • 1801 Motoori Norinaga, Japanese physician, scholar, and writer (Kojiki-den (Commentaries on the Kojiki)), dies at 71
  • 1803 Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, French army general and writer (Les Liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons)), dies at 61
  • 1804 Elizabeth "Betje" Wolff-Bekker, poetess (Sara Burgerhart), dies at 66
  • 1807 Angelica Kauffmann, Swiss Neoclassical painter, dies at 66
  • 1819 Dirk van den Boetzelaer, Regent of Holland, dies at 55
  • 1828 Maria Feodorovna of Russia, second wife of Tsar Paul I of Russia, dies at 69
  • 1834 Aernout Drost, Dutch literary/founder (The Guide), dies at 24
  • 1836 Karel Hynek Mácha, Czech poet (b. 1810)
  • 1850 Ferdinand Karl Joseph, Archduke of Austria-Este, dies at 69
  • 1854 Soimonov, Russian general, dies in battle of Inkermann
  • 1869 Otis Tufts, American machinist and inventor who built printing machines, steam engines, firefighting equipment and invented the steam pile driver, dies at 65
  • 1872 Thomas Sully, American portrait painter (Queen Victoria), dies at 89

James Clerk MaxwellJames Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879)

Scottish physicist (speed of light), dies of abdominal cancer at 48

James Clerk Maxwell
  • 1883 William Hicks, British col/commander (Egyptian army), dies in battle
  • 1923 Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen, French novelist (b. 1880)

Christiaan EijkmanChristiaan Eijkman (1858-1930)

Dutch physician and bacteriologist (Nobel Prize in Medicine 1929), dies at 72

Christiaan Eijkman
  • 1939 Charles Barrois, French geologist and palaeontologist, dies at 88
  • 1941 Arndt Pekurinen, Finnish pacifist (b. 1905)
  • 1943 Louis Schelfhout, Dutch painter and graphic artist, dies at 62
  • 1944 Alexis Carrel, French surgeon, sociologist and biologist (Nobel 1912), dies at 71
  • 1955 Maurice Utrillo, French painter (Port St Martin, Montmartre), dies at 71
  • 1960 August Gailit, Estonian writer (Ekke Moor), dies at 69
  • 1964 Lansdale Sasscer, U.S. Congressman for Maryland's 5th District (b. 1893)
  • 1964 Mabel Lucie Attwell, English children's author and illustrator, dies at 85
  • 1969 Itih Walracen, Sudanese widow of author William Walraven, dies
  • 1975 Edward L Tatum, American molecular geneticist and biochemist (Nobel Prize 1958), dies of heart failure at 65
  • 1975 Lionel Trilling, American literary critic and author (1969 Poses Award, The Liberal Imagination), dies at 70
  • 1979 Al Capp, US cartoonist (Li'l Abner), dies at 70
  • 1982 Gerarda "Gerda" Brautigam, Dutch journalist and politician (PvdA), dies
  • 1982 Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, American novelist (Dictee), raped and murdered at 31
  • 1985 Arnold Chikobava, Georgian linguist (b. 1898)
  • 1987 Jan Nicolaas Bakhuizen van den Brink, Dutch theologist and church historian, dies at 91
  • 1990 Humphrey Gibbs, Governor of Southern Rhodesia (1959-69), dies at 87
  • 1991 Robert Maxwell, Czech-British billionaire publisher, politician and fraudster (Mirror Group, NY Daily News), drowns at sea at 68
  • 1992 Jan Hendrik Oort, Dutch astronomer (hypothesized "Oort Cloud"), dies at 92
  • 1993 Maurice Cranston, English philosopher and political scientist (John Locke biographies), dies at 73
  • 1996 Lars-Ake Nilsson, Swedish diplomat, dies at 53
  • 1997 Isaiah Berlin, Latvian-British philosopher, dies at 88
  • 2000 Bibi Titi Mohammed, Tanzanian politician (b.1926)
  • 2000 Roger Peyrefitte, French writer (Special Friendships), dies at 93
  • 2000 Victor Grinich, American businessman (b. 1924)
  • 2001 Barry Horne, a British animal liberation activist.
  • 2005 John Fowles, British novelist (Collector, French Lieutenant's Woman), dies at 79
  • 2005 Rod Donald, New Zealand environmentalist (b. 1957)

Bülent EcevitBülent Ecevit (1925-2006)

four term Turkish Prime Minister (between 1974 and 2002), dies at 81

Bülent Ecevit
  • 2007 Nils Liedholm, Swedish football midfielder and coach (b. 1922)
  • 2008 Paul Greening, Royal Navy officer and master of Queen's household, dies at 80
  • 2010 Adrian Păunescu, Romanian poet and politician (b. 1943)
  • 2012 Charles V. Bush, African-American pioneer (1st African-American US Air Force Academy Graduate and US Supreme Court Page), dies from colon cancer at 72
  • 2012 Stalking Cat [Dennis Avner], American body modifier, dies at 54
  • 2014 Lane Evans, American politician (Rep-D-IL, 1983-2007), dies at 63
  • 2021 Russell Ebert, Australian Rules midfielder (4 x Magarey Medals; 6 x Port Adelaide FC B&F; Australian Football HOF) and coach (SA 1996-98), dies of leukemia at 72


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