Notable Deaths on August 14

Q: Who died on August 14?

Notable people who died on August 14 include: Tiberius II Constantine, Duncan I of Scotland, Rainald of Dassel, Minamoto no Yoriie, John I of Portugal (born 1357).

Q: What is Clifford Odets known for?

Clifford Odets, American director, playwright, and screenwriter (born 1906)

81 people 582 – 2025

August 14 has seen 81 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 582 – 2025. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.

By thisDay.info Editorial Team · August 14 — Wikipedia

1963 — Clifford Odets

American director, playwright, and screenwriter (born 1906)

Did you know

In the mid-1930s, he was widely seen as the potential successor to Nobel Prize–winning playwright Eugene O'Neill, as O'Neill began to withdraw from Broadway's commercial pressures and increasing critical backlash

Did you know

From January 1935, Odets's socially relevant dramas were extremely influential, particularly for the remainder of the Great Depression

Did you know

After the production of his play Clash by Night in the 1941–42 season, Odets focused his energies primarily on film projects, remaining in Hollywood until mid-1948

Did you know

His prominence was eventually eclipsed by Miller, Tennessee Williams, and, in the early- to mid-1950s, William Inge.

Did you know

Clifford Odets was an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor

Tiberius II Constantine

Byzantine emperor

Tiberius II Constantine was Eastern Roman emperor from 574 to 582. Tiberius rose to power in 574 when Justin II, during an abatement in a period of severe mental illness, proclaimed him caesar and adopted him as his own…

582

Duncan I of Scotland

Donnchad mac Crinain was king of Scotland (Alba) from 1034 to 1040. He is the historical basis of the "King Duncan" in Shakespeare's play Macbeth.

1040

Rainald of Dassel

Italian archbishop

Rainald of Dassel was Archbishop of Cologne and Archchancellor of Italy from 1159 until his death. A close advisor to the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick Barbarossa, he had an important influence on Imperial politics,…

1167

Minamoto no Yoriie

second Shōgun of the Kamakura shogunate

Minamoto no Yoriie was a Japanese samurai, daimyo and the second shōgun (1202–1203) of the Kamakura shogunate and the first son of its founder, Minamoto no Yoritomo. His Dharma name was Hokke-in-dono Kingo Da’i Zengo…

1204

John I of Portugal (born 1357)

John I, also called John of Aviz, was King of Portugal from 1385 until his death in 1433. He is recognized chiefly for his role in Portugal's victory in a succession war with Castile, preserving his country's…

1433

Pope Pius II (born 1405)

Pope Pius II, born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August 1458 to his death in 1464.

1464

Saitō Tatsuoki

Japanese daimyō (born 1548)

Saitō Uhyōe-Taihitsu Tatsuoki was a daimyō in Mino Province during the Sengoku period and the third generation lord of the Saitō clan. He was a son of Saitō Yoshitatsu, grandson of Saitō Dōsan and nephew of Oda…

1573

Richard Talbot

1st Earl of Tyrconnell, Irish soldier and politician (born 1630)

Richard Talbot, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, was an Irish politician, courtier and soldier.

1691

Madre María Rosa

Capuchin nun from Spain, to Peru (born 1660)

Maria Rosa was a Capuchin nun from Madrid, Spain. She left Spain in 1712 with four other founding nuns to Lima, Peru to establish a new Capuchin convent. She was an example of the early modern women who were a part of…

1716

William Croft

English organist and composer (born 1678)

William Croft was an English composer and organist.

1727

Johann Jakob Reiske

German physician and scholar (born 1716)

Johann Jakob Reiske was a German scholar and physician. He was a pioneer in the fields of Arabic and Byzantine philology as well as Islamic numismatics.

1774

Nathaniel Hone the Elder

Irish-born English painter and academic (born 1718)

Nathaniel Hone was an Irish-born portrait and miniature painter, and one of the founder members of the Royal Academy in 1768.

1784

Margaret Taylor

First Lady of the United States (born 1788)

Margaret Mackall Taylor was the first lady of the United States from 1849 to 1850 as the wife of President Zachary Taylor. She married Zachary in 1810 and lived as an army wife, accompanying her husband to his postings…

1852

Carl Carl

Polish-born actor and theatre director (born 1787)

Karl Andreas Bernbrunn (1787–1854), known by the stage name Carl Carl, was a Kraków-born actor and theatre director.

1854

André Marie Constant Duméril

French zoologist and entomologist (born 1774)

André Marie Constant Duméril was a French zoologist. He was professor of anatomy at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle from 1801 to 1812, when he became professor of herpetology and ichthyology. His son Auguste…

1860

David Farragut

American admiral (born 1801)

David Glasgow Farragut was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. He is remembered in U.S. Navy…

1870

Michael J. McGivney

American priest, founded the Knights of Columbus (born 1852)

Michael Joseph McGivney was an American Catholic priest based in New Haven, Connecticut. He founded the Knights of Columbus at a local parish to serve as a mutual aid and insurance organization, particularly for…

1890

Sarah Childress Polk

First Lady of the United States (born 1803)

Sarah Childress Polk was the first lady of the United States from 1845 to 1849. She was the wife of the 11th president of the United States, James K. Polk.

1891

Simeon Solomon

English soldier and painter (born 1840)

Simeon Solomon was a British painter associated with the Pre-Raphaelites who was noted for his depictions of Jewish life and same-sex desire. His career was cut short as a result of public scandal following his arrests…

1905

William Stanley

British engineer and author (born 1829)

William Ford Robinson Stanley was an English inventor with 78 patents filed in both the United Kingdom and the United States of America. He was an engineer who designed and made precision drawing and mathematical…

1909

Rebecca Cole

American physician and social reformer (born 1846)

Rebecca J. Cole was an American physician, organization founder and social reformer. In 1867, she became the second African-American woman to become a doctor in the United States, after Rebecca Lee Crumpler three years…

1922

Klabund

German author and poet (born 1890)

Alfred Henschke, better known by his pseudonym Klabund, was a German writer.

1928

Hugh Trumble

Australian cricketer and accountant (born 1876)

Hugh Trumble was an Australian cricketer who played 32 Test matches as a bowling all-rounder between 1890 and 1904. He captained the Australian team in two Tests, winning both. Trumble took 141 wickets in Test cricket—a…

1938

Maximilian Kolbe

Polish martyr and saint (born 1894)

Maximilian Maria Kolbe, OFM Conv. was a Polish Conventual Franciscan friar, priest, missionary, and martyr. He volunteered to die in place of a man named Franciszek Gajowniczek in the German death camp of Auschwitz,…

1941

Paul Sabatier

French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1854)

Paul Sabatier was a French chemist, born in Carcassonne. In 1912, Sabatier was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Victor Grignard. Sabatier was honoured for his work improving the hydrogenation of organic…

1941

Joe Kelley

American baseball player and manager (born 1871)

Joseph James Kelley was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who starred in the outfield of the Baltimore Orioles teams of the 1890s. Making up the nucleus of the Orioles along with John McGraw,…

1943

Eliška Misáková

Czech gymnast (born 1926)

Eliška Misáková was a Czech gymnast who was selected to attend the 1948 Summer Olympics.

1948

William Randolph Hearst

American publisher and politician, founded the Hearst Corporation (born 1863)

William Randolph Hearst was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow journalism in…

1951

Hugo Eckener

German pilot and airship designer (born 1868)

Hugo Eckener was the manager of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin during the inter-war years, and also the commander of the famous Graf Zeppelin for most of its record-setting flights, including the first airship flight around the…

1954

Herbert Putnam

American lawyer and publisher, Librarian of Congress (born 1861)

George Herbert Putnam was an American librarian. He was the eighth Librarian of Congress from 1899 to 1939. He implemented his vision of a universal collection with strengths in many languages, especially from Europe…

1955

Bertolt Brecht

German poet, playwright, and director (born 1898)

Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht, known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a playwright in…

1956

Konstantin von Neurath

German lawyer and politician, Reich Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1873)

Konstantin Hermann Karl Freiherr von Neurath was a German politician, diplomat and convicted Nazi war criminal who served as Foreign Minister of Germany between 1932 and 1938.

1956

Frédéric Joliot-Curie

French physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1900)

Jean Frédéric Joliot-Curie was a French chemist and physicist who received the 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with his wife, Irène Joliot-Curie, for their discovery of induced radioactivity. They were the second married…

1958

Johnny Burnette

American singer-songwriter (born 1934)

John Joseph Burnette was an American singer and songwriter of rockabilly and pop music. In 1952, Johnny, his brother Dorsey Burnette, and their mutual friend Paul Burlison, formed the band that became known as the Rock…

1964

Vello Kaaristo

Estonian skier (born 1911)

Vello Kaaristo was the first Estonian cross-country skier to compete in the Olympics. At the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, he placed 30th in the 18 km event with a time of 1'25:11, and 23rd in the 50…

1965

Bob Anderson

English motorcycle racer and race car driver (born 1931)

Robert Hugh Fearon Anderson was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and racing driver. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1958 to 1960 and in Formula One from 1963 to the 1967 seasons. He was also a…

1967

Oscar Levant

American actor, pianist, and composer (born 1906)

Oscar Levant was an American concert pianist, composer, conductor and actor born in Pittsburgh, U.S., from Russian-emigrant parents. Levant studied under Zygmunt Stojowski and Arnold Schoenberg, and has 33 albums as a…

1972

Jules Romains

French author and poet (born 1885)

Jules Romains was a French poet and writer and the founder of the Unanimism literary movement. His works include the play Knock ou le Triomphe de la médecine, and a cycle of works called Les Hommes de bonne volonté .…

1972

Fred Gipson

American journalist and author (born 1908)

Frederick Benjamin Gipson was an American writer and screenwriter. He is best known for writing the 1956 novel Old Yeller, which became a popular 1957 Walt Disney film. Gipson was born on a farm near Mason in the Texas…

1973

Nicolas Bentley

English author and illustrator (born 1907)

Nicolas Clerihew Bentley was a British writer and illustrator, best known for his humorous cartoon drawings in books and magazines in the 1930s and 1940s. The son of Edmund Clerihew Bentley, he was given the name…

1978

Dorothy Stratten

Canadian-American model and actress (born 1960)

Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten, known professionally as Dorothy Stratten, was a Canadian model and actress, primarily known for her appearances as a Playboy Playmate. Stratten was the Playboy Playmate of the Month for August…

1980

Karl Böhm

Austrian conductor and director (born 1894)

Karl August Leopold Böhm was an Austrian conductor. He was best known for his performances of the music of Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss.

1981

Dudley Nourse

South African cricketer (born 1910)

Arthur Dudley Nourse was a South African Test cricketer. Primarily a batsman, he was captain of the South African team from 1948 to 1951.

1981

Mahasi Sayadaw

Burmese monk and philosopher (born 1904)

Mahāsī Sayādaw U Sobhana was a Burmese Theravada Buddhist monk and meditation master who had a significant impact on the teaching of Vipassana (insight) meditation in the West and throughout Asia.

1982

Spud Davis

American baseball player, coach, and manager (born 1904)

Virgil Lawrence "Spud" Davis was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds,…

1984

J. B. Priestley

English novelist and playwright (born 1894)

John Boynton Priestley was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator.

1984

Gale Sondergaard

American actress (born 1899)

Gale Sondergaard was an American actress.

1985

Roy Buchanan

American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1939)

Leroy "Roy" Buchanan was an American guitarist and blues rock musician. A pioneer of the "Telecaster sound", Buchanan worked as a sideman and as a solo artist, with two gold albums early in his career and two later solo…

1988

Robert Calvert

South African-English singer-songwriter and playwright (born 1945): 1712

Robert Newton Calvert was a South African-British writer, poet, and musician. He is principally known for his role as lyricist, performance poet and lead vocalist of the space rock band Hawkwind.

1988

Enzo Ferrari

Italian race car driver and businessman, founded Ferrari (born 1898)

Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari was an Italian racing driver and entrepreneur, the founder of Scuderia Ferrari in Grand Prix motor racing, and subsequently of the Ferrari automobile marque. Under his leadership in…

1988

Alberto Crespo

Argentinian race car driver (born 1920)

Alberto Augusto Crespo was a racing driver from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He entered one World Championship Formula One Grand Prix, the 1952 Italian Grand Prix, with a Maserati entered for him by Enrico Platé. Crespo…

1991

John Sirica

American lawyer and judge (born 1904)

John Joseph Sirica was an American lawyer and jurist who was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia from 1957 to 1992. Sirica became known in the early 1970s for…

1992

Elias Canetti

Bulgarian-Swiss author, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1905)

Elias Canetti was a German-language writer, known as a modernist novelist, playwright, memoirist, and nonfiction writer.

1994

Alice Childress

American actress, playwright, and author (born 1912)

Alice Childress was an American novelist, playwright, and actress, acknowledged as "the only African-American woman to have written, produced, and published plays for four decades." Childress described her work as…

1994

Sergiu Celibidache

Romanian conductor and composer (born 1912)

Sergiu Celibidache was a Romanian conductor, composer, musical theorist, and teacher. Educated in his native Romania, and later in Paris and Berlin, Celibidache's career in music spanned over five decades, including…

1996

Pee Wee Reese

American baseball player and sportscaster (born 1918)

Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1940 to 1958. A ten-time All-Star,…

1999

Larry Rivers

American painter and sculptor (born 1923)

Larry Rivers was an American painter, musician, filmmaker, and occasional actor. Considered by many scholars to be the "Godfather" and "Grandfather" of Pop art, he was one of the first artists to merge non-objective,…

2002

Helmut Rahn

German footballer (born 1929)

Helmut Rahn, known as Der Boss, was a German footballer who played as a forward. He became a legend for having scored the winning goal in the final of the 1954 FIFA World Cup. Rahn, along with the German team, were…

2003

Czesław Miłosz

Polish-born American novelist, essayist, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1911)

Czesław Miłosz was a Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. He primarily wrote his poetry in Polish. Regarded as one of the great poets of the 20th century, he won the 1980 Nobel Prize in…

2004

Trevor Skeet

New Zealand-English lawyer and politician (born 1918)

Sir Trevor Herbert Harry Skeet was a New Zealand-born lawyer and a British Conservative Party politician.

2004

Bruno Kirby

American actor (born 1949)

Bruno Kirby was an American actor. He was best known for his roles in City Slickers, When Harry Met Sally..., Good Morning, Vietnam, The Godfather Part II, The Freshman, Sleepers, Donnie Brasco, and This Is Spinal Tap.…

2006

Tikhon Khrennikov

Russian pianist and composer (born 1913)

Tikhon Nikolayevich Khrennikov was a Russian and Soviet composer, pianist, and General Secretary of the Union of Soviet Composers (1948–1991), who was also known for his political activities. He wrote three symphonies,…

2007

Herman Leonard

American photographer (born 1923)

Herman Leonard was an American photographer known for his unique images of jazz icons.

2010

Vilasrao Deshmukh

Indian lawyer and politician, Chief Minister of Maharashtra (born 1945)

Vilasrao Dagadojirao Deshmukh was an Indian politician who served as the 14th Chief Minister of Maharashtra, first term from 18 October 1999 to 16 January 2003 and second term, from 1 November 2004 to 5 December 2008.…

2012

Svetozar Gligorić

Serbian chess player (born 1923)

Svetozar Gligorić was a Serbian chess grandmaster and musician. He won a record 11 titles at Yugoslav Chess Championship, a record 12 team medals at Chess Olympiad, and is considered the best player ever from Serbia and…

2012

Phyllis Thaxter

American actress (born 1919)

Phyllis St. Felix Thaxter was an American actress. She is best known for portraying Ellen Lawson in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) and Martha "Ma" Kent in Superman (1978). She also appeared in Bewitched (1945), Blood…

2012

Jack Germond

American journalist and author (born 1928)

John Worthen Germond was an American journalist, author, and pundit whose career spanned over 50 years. Germond wrote for the Washington Star and the Baltimore Sun, and was a longtime panelist on the television…

2013

Leonard Fein

American journalist and academic, co-founded Moment Magazine (born 1934)

Leonard J. Fein, also known as Leibel Fein, was an American activist, writer, and teacher specializing in Jewish social themes.

2014

George V. Hansen

American politician (born 1930)

George Vernon Hansen was an American politician from Idaho. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 14 years, representing Idaho's 2nd district from 1965 to 1969 and again from 1975 to 1985.

2014

Bob Johnston

American songwriter and producer (born 1932)

Donald William "Bob" Johnston was an American record producer, best known for his work with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, and Simon & Garfunkel.

2015

Fyvush Finkel

American actor (born 1922)

Philip "Fyvush" Finkel was an American actor and director known as a star of Yiddish theater and for his role as lawyer Douglas Wambaugh on the television series Picket Fences, for which he earned an Emmy Award for…

2016

Jill Janus

American singer (born 1975)

Jill Janus was an American singer who was the lead vocalist of heavy metal bands Huntress, The Starbreakers and Chelsea Girls.

2018

Polly Farmer

Australian footballer and coach (born 1935)

Graham Vivian "Polly" Farmer was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the East Perth Football Club and West Perth Football Club in the…

2019

Julian Bream

English classical guitarist and lutenist (born 1933)

Julian Alexander Bream was an English classical guitarist and lutenist. Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public perception…

2020

Angela Buxton

British tennis player (born 1934)

Angela Buxton was a British tennis player. She won the women's doubles title at both the French Championships and Wimbledon in 1956 with her playing partner, Althea Gibson.

2020

James R. Thompson

American politician, Governor of Illinois (born 1936)

James Robert Thompson Jr. was an American politician and federal prosecutor who served as the 37th governor of Illinois from 1977 to 1991. He was Illinois's longest-serving governor, having been elected to four…

2020

Michael Aung-Thwin

American historian and scholar of Burmese and Southeast Asian history (born 1946)

Michael Arthur Aung-Thwin was a Burmese American historian and emeritus professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, specializing in early Southeast Asian and Burmese history.

2021

Delwar Hossain Sayeedi

Bangladeshi Islamic lecturer, politician (born 1940)

Delwar Hossain Sayeedi was a Bangladeshi Islamic leader, politician and scholar who served as a Member of Parliament representing the Pirojpur-1 constituency from 1996 to 2006. Before entering politics, Sayeedi was…

2023

Gena Rowlands

American actress (born 1930)

Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands was an American actress, whose career in film, stage, and television spanned nearly seven decades. She was a four-time Emmy Award and two-time Golden Globe winner, and she was twice…

2024

Mike Castle

American politician, 69th Governor of Delaware (born 1939)

Michael Newbold Castle was an American politician and lawyer who served as the U.S. representative for Delaware's at-large congressional district from 1993 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served…

2025

Notable deaths

Who died on August 14?

Clifford Odets — American writer and actor (1906–1963)

FeaturedClifford Odets

Death year1963

Known forIn the mid-1930s, he was widely seen as the potential successor to Nobel Prize–winning playwright Eugene O'Neill, as O'Neill began to withdraw from Broadway's commercial pressures and increasing critical backlash

Deaths on this date81 (582 – 2025)

Explore August 14

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

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Also on August 14 in History

2023

Former U.S. president Donald Trump is charged in Georgia along with 18 others in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election in that state, his fourth indictment of 2023. Wikipedia →

2022

An explosion destroys a market in Armenia, killing six people and injuring dozens. Wikipedia →

2021

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake strikes southwestern Haiti, killing at least 2,248 people and causing a humanitarian crisis. Wikipedia →

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1963 — Clifford Odets

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