Notable Deaths on April 24

Q: Who died on April 24?

Notable people who died on April 24 include: Mellitus, Petronille de Chemillé, Gertrude of Austria (born 1226), Theodore I, Jorge Manrique.

Q: What is Mark Tobey known for?

Mark Tobey, American-Swiss painter and educator (born 1890)

1976 — Mark Tobey

American-Swiss painter and educator (born 1890)

April 24 has seen 81 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 624 – 2026. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.

By thisDay.info Editorial Team · April 24 — Wikipedia

Notable Deaths 81 people 624 – 2026

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His densely structured compositions, inspired by Asian calligraphy, resemble Abstract expressionism, although the motives for his compositions differ philosophically from most Abstract Expressionist painters

Did you know

In 1921, Tobey founded the art department at The Cornish School in Seattle, Washington.

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His work was widely recognized throughout the United States and Europe

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Along with Guy Anderson, Kenneth Callahan, Morris Graves, and William Cumming, Tobey was a founder of the Northwest School

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Senior in age and experience, he had a strong influence on the others; friend and mentor, Tobey shared their interest in philosophy and Eastern religions

Mellitus

saint and archbishop of Canterbury

Mellitus was the first bishop of London in the Saxon period, the third archbishop of Canterbury, and a member of the Gregorian mission sent to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism to…

624

Petronille de Chemillé

abbess of Fontevrault

Petronilla of Chemillé was the first abbess of the double monastery of Fontevrault in western France, which she headed from 1115 to 1149 following her second widowhood. She is honored as Venerable by the Catholic Church.

1149

Gertrude of Austria (born 1226)

Gertrude of Austria was a member of the House of Babenberg, Duchess of Mödling and later titular Duchess of Austria and Styria. She was the niece of Duke Frederick II of Austria, the last male member of the Babenberg…

1288

Theodore I

Marquess of Montferrat (born 1291)

Theodore I Palaiologos or Palaeologus was Marquis of Montferrat from 1306 until his death.

1338

Jorge Manrique

Spanish poet (born 1440)

Jorge Manrique was a major Castilian poet, whose main work, the Coplas por la muerte de su padre , is still read today. He was a supporter of the queen Isabel I of Castile, and actively participated on her side in the…

1479

Şehzade Ahmet

Ottoman prince (born 1465)

Şehzade Ahmed was a Şehzade (prince) of the Ottoman Empire, the eldest surviving son of Sultan Bayezid II. He fought against his younger brother, Selim, in the Ottoman Civil War of 1509–1513 to succeed their father, and…

1513

Concino Concini

Italian-French politician, Prime Minister of France (born 1575)

Concino Concini, 1st Marquis d'Ancre was an Italian politician, best known for being a minister of Louis XIII of France, as the favourite of Louis's mother, Marie de Medici, Queen regent of France. In 1617, he was…

1617

Fidelis of Sigmaringen

German friar and saint (born 1577)

Fidelis of Sigmaringen, O.F.M. Cap. was a German Capuchin friar who was involved in the Catholic Counter-Reformation. He was martyred by his opponents at Seewis im Prättigau, now part of Switzerland. Fidelis was…

1622

Thomas Fincke

Danish mathematician and physicist (born 1561)

Thomas Fincke was a Danish mathematician and physicist, and a professor at the University of Copenhagen for more than 60 years.

1656

Johannes Zollikofer

Swiss vicar (born 1633)

Johannes Zollikofer was a Swiss reformed vicar.

1692

Daniel Defoe

English journalist, novelist, and spy (born 1660)

Daniel Defoe was an English writer, journalist, merchant and spy. He is famous for his novels Robinson Crusoe (1719), Moll Flanders (1722) and Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress (1724). He has been seen as one of the…

1731

Anton thor Helle

German-Estonian clergyman and translator (born 1683)

Anton Thor Helle was a Baltic German Lutheran clergyman, linguist and Bible translator in Estonia. He led the initiative and served as chief editor of the first complete translation of the Bible into Estonian (1739),…

1748

Eleazar Wheelock

American minister and academic, founded Dartmouth College (born 1711)

Eleazar Wheelock was an American Congregational minister, orator, and educator in present-day Columbia, Connecticut, for 35 years before founding Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. He had tutored Samson Occom, a…

1779

Axel von Fersen the Elder

Swedish field marshal and politician (born 1719)

Count Fredrik Axel von Fersen was a Swedish statesman and soldier of Baltic German descent. He served as Lord Marshal of the Riksdag of the Estates, and although he worked closely with King Gustav III before and through…

1794

Vasily Zhukovsky

Russian poet and translator (born 1783)

Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky was the foremost Russian poet of the 1810s and a leading figure in Russian literature in the first half of the 19th century. He held a high position at the Romanov court as tutor to the…

1852

Zulma Carraud

French author (born 1796)

Zulma Carraud was a French author. She is best known for her children's books and textbooks particularly La Petite Jeanne ou le devoir and Maurice ou le travail.

1889

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

German field marshal (born 1800)

Graf Helmuth Karl Bernhard von Moltke was a Prussian Generalfeldmarschall. The chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as the creator of a new, more modern method of directing armies in the…

1891

G. Stanley Hall

American psychologist and academic (born 1844)

Granville Stanley Hall was an American psychologist and educator who earned the first doctorate in psychology awarded in the United States of America at Harvard University in the nineteenth century. His interests…

1924

David Kldiashvili

Georgian author and playwright (born 1862)

David Kldiashvili was a Georgian prose-writer whose novels and plays are concentrated on the degeneration of the country’s gentry and the miseries of the peasantry, boldly exposing the antagonisms of Georgian society.

1931

Anastasios Papoulas

Greek general (born 1857)

Anastasios Papoulas was a Greek general, most notable as the Greek commander-in-chief during most of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–22. Originally a firm royalist, after 1922 he shifted towards the republican…

1935

George Grey Barnard

American sculptor (born 1863)

George Grey Barnard, often written George Gray Barnard, was an American sculptor who trained in Paris. He is especially noted for his heroic sized Struggle of the Two Natures in Man at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,…

1938

Louis Trousselier

French cyclist (born 1881)

Louis Trousselier was a French racing cyclist who won the 1905 Tour de France. His other major wins were Paris–Roubaix, also in 1905, and the 1908 Bordeaux–Paris. He came third in the 1906 Tour de France and won 13…

1939

Karin Boye

Swedish author and poet (born 1900)

Karin Maria Boye was a Swedish poet and novelist. In Sweden, she is acclaimed as a poet, but internationally, she is best known for the dystopian science fiction novel Kallocain (1940).

1941

Lucy Maud Montgomery

Canadian author (born 1874)

Lucy Maud Montgomery, published as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a collection of novels, essays, short stories, and poetry beginning in 1908 with Anne of Green Gables.

1942

Charles Jordan

American magician (born 1888)

Charles Thorton Jordan was an American magician.

1944

Ernst-Robert Grawitz

German physician and SS officer, facilitator of medical experiments on concentration camp inmates (born 1899)

Ernst-Robert Grawitz was a German physician and an SS functionary during the Nazi era. Grawitz funded Nazi programs involving experimentation on inmates in Nazi concentration camps and was part of the group in charge of…

1945

Willa Cather

American novelist, short story writer, and poet (born 1873)

Willa Sibert Cather was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including O Pioneers!, The Song of the Lark, and My Ántonia. In 1923, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for One of Ours, a…

1947

Jāzeps Vītols

Latvian composer (born 1863)

Jāzeps Vītols was a Latvian composer, pedagogue and music critic. He is considered one of the fathers of Latvian classical music.

1948

Guy Mairesse

French racing driver (born 1910)

Guy Mairesse was a French racing driver. He participated in three Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 3 September 1950. He scored no championship points.

1954

Max von Laue

German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1879)

Max Theodor Felix von Laue was a German physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1914 "for his discovery of the diffraction of X-rays by crystals."

1960

Lee Moran

American actor, director and screenwriter (born 1888)

Lee Moran was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter.

1961

Milt Franklyn

American composer (born 1897)

Milton J. Franklyn was an American musical composer and arranger who worked on the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated cartoons, working alongside and later succeeding Carl Stalling.

1962

Gerhard Domagk

German pathologist and bacteriologist (born 1895)

Gerhard Johannes Paul Domagk was a German pathologist and bacteriologist.

1964

Louise Dresser

American actress (born 1878)

Louise Dresser was an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the many films in which she played the wife of Will Rogers, including State Fair and David Harum.

1965

Simon Chikovani

Georgian poet and author (born 1902)

Simon Ivanes dze Chikovani was a prominent Georgian poet. He set out to be the leader of the Georgian Futurist movement and ended up as a Soviet establishment figure.

1966

Vladimir Komarov

Russian pilot, engineer, and cosmonaut (born 1927)

Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov was a Soviet test pilot, aerospace engineer, and cosmonaut. In October 1964, he commanded Voskhod 1, the first spaceflight to carry more than one crew member. He became the first Soviet…

1967

Robert Richards

Australian politician, 32nd Premier of South Australia (born 1885)

Robert Stanley Richards was an Australian politician. He served as premier of South Australia for two months in 1933, leading the Parliamentary Labor faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in the aftermath of a…

1967

Walter Tewksbury

American athlete (born 1876)

John Walter Beardsley Tewksbury was an American track and field athlete. At the 1900 Summer Olympics, he won five medals, including two golds.

1968

Otis Spann

American singer and pianist (born 1930)

Otis Spann was an American blues musician many consider the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist.

1970

Fernando Amorsolo

Filipino painter (born 1892)

Fernand Amorsolo y Cueto was a portraitist and painter of rural Philippine landscapes. Nicknamed the "Grand Old Man of Philippine Art," he was the first-ever to be recognized as a National Artist of the Philippines. He…

1972

Bud Abbott

American comedian and producer (born 1897)

William Alexander "Bud" Abbott was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known as the straight man in the comedy duo Abbott and Costello.

1974

Alejo Carpentier

Swiss-Cuban musicologist and author (born 1904)

Alejo Carpentier y Valmont was a Cuban novelist, essayist, and musicologist who greatly influenced Latin American literature during its famous "boom" period. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, of French and Russian…

1980

Ville Ritola

Finnish runner (born 1896)

Vilho "Ville" Eino Ritola was a Finnish long-distance runner. Known as one of the "Flying Finns", he won five Olympic gold medals and three Olympic silver medals in the 1920s. He holds the record of winning most…

1982

Erol Güngör

Turkish sociologist, psychologist, and academic (born 1938)

Erol Güngör was a Turkish social psychologist and writer. His work focused on the socially derived nature of language, morality, and values. Güngör wrote extensively on nationalism and culture at a time when Turkey was…

1983

Rolf Stommelen

German racing driver (born 1943)

Rolf Johann Stommelen was a German racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1969 to 1978. In endurance racing, Stommelen was a four-time winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona with Porsche.

1983

Rafael Pérez y Pérez

Spanish author (born 1891)

Rafael Pérez y Pérez, was a popular Spanish writer of over 160 romantic novels from 1909 to 1971. He was one of the first writers to publish romance novels written in Spanish language. His novels have been translated…

1984

Wallis Simpson

American socialite, Duchess of Windsor (born 1896)

Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, was an American socialite and the wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused a constitutional crisis that led to Edward's abdication.

1986

Oliver Tambo

South African lawyer and activist (born 1917)

Oliver Reginald Kaizana Tambo was a South African anti-apartheid politician, activist, and revolutionary who served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1967 to 1991.

1993

Tran Duc Thao

Vietnamese philosopher and theorist (born 1917)

Trần Đức Thảo was a Vietnamese philosopher. His work attempted to unite phenomenology with Marxist philosophy. His work had some currency in France in the 1950s and 1960s, and was cited favorably by Jacques Derrida,…

1993

Lodewijk Bruckman

Dutch painter (born 1903)

Lodewijk Karel "Loki" Bruckman was a Dutch magic realist painter. He lived and worked in the Netherlands, the United States, and Mexico. Museum de Oude Wolden in the village of Bellingwolde has a permanent exhibition of…

1995

Allan Francovich

American director and producer (born 1941)

Allan James Francovich was an American film maker. He is best known for creating a number of films critical of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), linking them to terrorist attacks during the Cold War in Africa,…

1997

Pat Paulsen

American comedian and activist (born 1927)

Patrick Layton Paulsen was an American comedian and satirist known for his roles on several of the Smothers Brothers television shows, and for his satirical campaigns for President of the United States between 1968 and…

1997

Eugene Stoner

American engineer, designed the AR-15 rifle (born 1922)

Eugene Morrison Stoner was an American machinist and firearms designer who is most associated with the development of the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle that was redesigned and modified by Colt's Patent Firearm Company for the…

1997

Josef Peters

German racing driver (born 1914)

Josef Peters was a racing driver from Düsseldorf, Germany. He participated in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, on August 3, 1952. He failed to finish, scoring no championship points.

2001

Johnny Valentine

American wrestler (born 1928)

John Theodore Wisniski, better known by his ring name Johnny Valentine, was an American professional wrestler with a career spanning almost three decades. He has been inducted into four halls of fame for his…

2001

Lucien Wercollier

Luxembourgish sculptor (born 1908)

Lucien Wercollier was a sculptor from Luxembourg. While he worked primarily in bronze and marble, some of his work is sculpted in wood, alabaster, stone and onyx. His public monuments in bronze and marble are of…

2002

Nüzhet Gökdoğan

Turkish astronomer and mathematician (born 1910)

Hatice Nüzhet Gökdoğan was a Turkish astronomer, mathematician and academic. After studying mathematics and astronomy in France as a young adult, Gökdoğan joined the faculty of Istanbul University in 1934 and completed…

2003

José Giovanni

French-Swiss director and producer (born 1923)

Joseph Damiani, known by the pen name José Giovanni, was a French-Swiss writer, filmmaker, and a convicted criminal. He was known for his realistic, gritty crime novels which drew upon his own personal experiences and…

2004

Estée Lauder

American businesswoman, co-founded Estée Lauder Companies (born 1906)

Estée Lauder was an American businesswoman. She co-founded her eponymous cosmetics company with her husband, Joseph Lauter. Lauder was the only woman on Time magazine's 1998 list of the 20 most influential business…

2004

Ezer Weizman

Israeli general and politician, 7th President of Israel (born 1924)

Ezer Weizman was an Israeli major general and politician who served as the president of Israel, first elected in 1993 and re-elected in 1998. Before the presidency, Weizman was commander of the Israeli Air Force and…

2005

Fei Xiaotong

Chinese sociologist and academic (born 1910)

Fei Xiaotong or Fei Hsiao-tung was a Chinese anthropologist and sociologist. He was a pioneering researcher and professor of sociology and anthropology; he was also noted for his studies of China's ethnic groups as well…

2005

Brian Labone

English footballer (born 1940)

Brian Leslie Labone was an English footballer who played for and captained Everton. A one-club man, Labone's professional career lasted from 1958 to 1971, during which he won the Football League championship twice and…

2006

Moshe Teitelbaum

Romanian-American rabbi and author (born 1914)

Moshe (Moses) Teitelbaum was a Hungarian-American Hasidic rebbe and the world leader of the Satmar Hasidim.

2006

Jimmy Giuffre

American clarinet player, and saxophonist, and composer (born 1921)

James Peter Giuffre, Italian pronunciation: [dʒufˈfre]; April 26, 1921 – April 24, 2008) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He is known for developing forms of jazz which allowed for…

2008

Sathya Sai Baba

Indian guru and philanthropist (born 1926)

Sathya Sai Baba was an Indian godman and philanthropist. At the age of 14, he claimed to be the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba and left his home for religious cause.

2011

Hans Hollein

Austrian architect, designed Haas House (born 1934)

Hans Hollein was an Austrian architect and designer and key figure of postmodern architecture. Some of his most notable works are the Haas House and the Albertina extension in the inner city of Vienna.

2014

Sandy Jardine

Scottish footballer and manager (born 1948)

William "Sandy" Pullar Jardine was a Scottish professional footballer who played for Rangers, Hearts and represented Scotland. He played over 1000 professional games and twice won the Scottish Football Writers…

2014

Shobha Nagi Reddy

Indian politician (born 1968)

Bhuma Shobha Nagi Reddy was an Indian politician from Andhra Pradesh, India. She represented the Allagadda constituency in the Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh for four terms until 2012 when she resigned due to…

2014

Tadeusz Różewicz

Polish poet and playwright (born 1921)

Tadeusz Różewicz was a Polish poet, playwright, writer, and translator. Różewicz was in the first generation of Polish writers born after Poland regained its independence in 1918, following the century of foreign…

2014

Władysław Bartoszewski

Polish journalist and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1922)

Władysław Bartoszewski was a Polish professor of History, politician, social activist, journalist, writer, historian and insurgent. A former Auschwitz concentration camp prisoner, he was a World War II resistance…

2015

Tommy Kono

American weightlifter and coach (born 1930)

Tamio "Tommy" Kono was an American weightlifter of Japanese descent. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Kono set world records in four different weight classes: lightweight, middleweight, light-heavyweight and…

2016

Robert Pirsig

American author and philosopher (born 1928)

Robert Maynard Pirsig was an American writer and philosopher. He is the author of the philosophical books Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values (1974) and Lila: An Inquiry into Morals (1991),…

2017

Andrew Woolfolk

American saxophonist (born 1950)

Andrew Paul Woolfolk II was an American saxophonist. Woolfolk was a longtime member of the band Earth, Wind & Fire from 1973 to 1985, and from 1987 to 1993. He also collaborated with artists such as Deniece Williams,…

2022

Wang Xiaolong

Chinese Coast guardsman (born 1995)

Wang Xiaolong was a Chinese Coast Guard who was killed whilst intercepting a smuggling operation. He is the first China Coast Guard (CCG) member to be killed in the line of duty and the first CCG member to be made a…

2023

Bob Cole

Canadian sports announcer (born 1933)

Robert Cecil Cole was a Canadian sports television announcer who worked for CBC and Sportsnet and a competitive curler. He was known primarily for his work on National Hockey League's Hockey Night in Canada and Olympic…

2024

Terry Hill

Australian rugby league player (born 1972)

Terence Christopher Hill was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played as a centre in the 1990s and 2000s. He played in the NRL for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Eastern Suburbs, Western Suburbs…

2024

Donald Payne Jr.

American politician (born 1958)

Donald Milford Payne Jr. was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 10th congressional district from 2012 until his death in 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, Payne served as…

2024

Mike Pinder

British musician (born 1941)

Michael Thomas Pinder was an English rock musician. He was a founding member and the original keyboard player of the rock group the Moody Blues. In 1978, he left the group following the recording of Octave, their ninth…

2024

Roy Phillips

British musician (born 1941)

Roy Godfrey Phillips was a British musician. He was a member of The Soundtracks, The Saints and The Peddlers.

2025

Dirk Kempthorne

American businessman and politician, 49th United States Secretary of the Interior (born 1951)

Dirk Arthur Kempthorne was an American politician from the state of Idaho. A Republican, he served as a United States senator from Idaho from 1993 to 1999 and as the 30th Governor of Idaho from 1999 to 2006. Kempthorne…

2026

April 24 in the Blog

Penicillin Discovery — April 24, 1928

1 petri dish changed medicine: in 1928, Alexander Fleming's London lab accident led to a groundbreaking discovery that saves millions of lives every year.

Read the full story

Notable deaths

Who died on April 24?

Mark Tobey — American painter

FeaturedMark Tobey

Death year1976

Known forHis densely structured compositions, inspired by Asian calligraphy, resemble Abstract expressionism, although the motives for his compositions differ philosophically from most Abstract Expressionist painters

Deaths on this date81 (624 – 2026)

Explore April 24

Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.

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Also on April 24 in History

2025

A mass stabbing at a school in Nantes, France, leaves one person dead and three others wounded. Wikipedia →

2013

A building collapses near Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing 1,134 people and injuring about 2,500 others. Wikipedia →

2013

Violence in Bachu County, Kashgar Prefecture, of China's Xinjiang results in death of 21 people. Wikipedia →

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1976 — Mark Tobey

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