Notable Deaths on August 22

August 22 has 123 recorded notable deaths across history, from 408 to 2026. This page lists every one of them, with the best-known people first.

Shelley Fabares

2026 — Shelley Fabares

American actress and singer (born 1944)

By · — Wikipedia · Report an error

Notable Deaths 123 source records 408 – 2026

Major events on August 22

See what else happened on this day in history.

  1. 1791 The Haitian slave revolution begins in Saint-Domingue, Haiti. Source
  2. 1991 Iceland is the first nation in the world to recognize the independence of the Baltic states. Source

Did you know about Shelley Fabares

Shelley Fabares's film roles included playing leading lady to Elvis Presley in Girl Happy (1965), Spinout (1966), and Clambake (1967).

Did you know about James Harrington

James Harrington was the second son of Sir Thomas Harrington, who had died with the king's father at the Battle of Wakefield in December 1460.

Did you know about Pedro Durruti

In 1936, he joined the Falange Española de las JONS and attempted to set up a meeting between his brother and the Falange's leader José Antonio Primo de Rivera, but his brother rejected his overtures.

Did you know about Gina Bachauer

In her personal life, Bachauer married music conductor Alec Sherman, who became her manager.

Did you know about Colleen Dewhurst

In addition to other Canadian honors over the years, Dewhurst won two Gemini Awards for her portrayal of Marilla Cuthbert; once in 1986 and again in 1988.


More major people who died on August 22

Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.

1485 James Harrington

James Harrington

Yorkist knight
Sir James Harrington of Hornby was an English politician and soldier who was a prominent Yorkist supporter in Northern England during the Wars of the Roses, having been retained by Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, who was brother-in-law to the head of the House of York, Richard of York. He was the second son of Sir Thomas Harrington, who had died with the king's father at the Battle of Wakefield in December 1460. James himself had fought with Salisbury at the Battle of Blore Heath in 1459, where he had been captured and imprisoned by the Lancastrians until the next year. He was a significant regional figure during the reign of King Edward IV, although the early years of the new king's reign were marred by a bitter feud between him and the Stanley family over a castle in Lancashire. On the accession of King Richard III in 1483, he was appointed to the new king's Household, and as such was almost certainly with him at the Battle of Bosworth Field two years later. It is likely that he fell in battle there, although precise details of his death are now unknown.
1937 Pedro Durruti

Pedro Durruti

Spanish anarchist and Falangist revolutionary (born 1911)
Marciano Pedro Durruti Domingo was a Spanish anarchist and Falangist revolutionary. The younger brother of Buenaventura Durruti, he followed him into the Spanish anarchist movement, becoming a local leader of the Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI) in the Leonese country. After a series of arrests for his anarchist activism, he moved to Madrid, where he came under the influence of Falangism. He attempted to create a synthesis of anarchism and Falangism, and encourage the merger of anarchist and Falangist organisations. In 1936, he joined the Falange Española de las JONS and attempted to set up a meeting between his brother and the Falange's leader José Antonio Primo de Rivera, but his brother rejected his overtures. After the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, he was briefly imprisoned by the Republicans in the Cárcel Modelo, but he was released following an appeal and managed to make his way to the Nationalist zone. There he was implicated in an anti-Francoist conspiracy by Falangist leader Manuel Hedilla, and Durruti himself attempted to organise a coup d'état to overthrow Francisco Franco's military junta and seize power for the Falange. After being found guilty of rebellion by a military tribunal, he was executed by a firing squad made up of other Falangists. The motivations for Durruti's execution have been questioned by historians, who largely conclude that he was executed because of his relation to his brother.
1976 Gina Bachauer

Gina Bachauer

Greek pianist and composer (born 1913)
Gina Bachauer was a Greek classical pianist who toured extensively in the United States and Europe. Interested in piano at a young age, Bachauer graduated from the Athens Conservatory and studied under Alfred Cortot and Sergei Rachmaninoff. She is best known for playing Romantic piano concertos. She played hundreds of concerts for the Allied troops in the Middle East during World War II while she lived in Egypt. She spent a lot of time touring the United States and Europe, giving over 100 concerts each year. Bachauer also recorded extensively, both as a soloist and with orchestras. She received an honorary doctorate from the University of Utah. During her career she was called the "queen of pianists". The Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation was named in honor of her contributions to the musical world. In her personal life, Bachauer married music conductor Alec Sherman, who became her manager. She died at the age of 63 at the Athens Festival.
1991 Colleen Dewhurst

Colleen Dewhurst

Canadian-American actress (born 1924)
Colleen Rose Dewhurst was a Canadian-American actress mostly known for theatre roles. She was a renowned interpreter of the works of Eugene O'Neill on the stage, and her career also encompassed film, early dramas on live television, and performances in Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival. One of her last roles was playing Marilla Cuthbert in the Kevin Sullivan television adaptations of the Anne of Green Gables series and her reprisal of the role in the subsequent TV series Road to Avonlea. In the United States, Dewhurst won two Tony Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards for her stage and television work. In addition to other Canadian honors over the years, Dewhurst won two Gemini Awards for her portrayal of Marilla Cuthbert; once in 1986 and again in 1988.
1818 Warren Hastings

Warren Hastings

English lawyer and politician, 1st Governor-General of Bengal (born 1732)
Warren Hastings was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first governor-general of Bengal in 1772–1785. He and Robert Clive are credited with laying the foundation of the British Empire in India. He was an energetic organizer and reformer. In 1779–1784, he led forces of the East India Company against a coalition of native states and the French. In the end, the well-organised British side held its own, while France lost influence in India. In 1787, he was accused of corruption and impeached, but he was eventually acquitted in 1795 after a long trial. He was made a privy councillor in 1814.
1553 John Dudley

John Dudley

1st Duke of Northumberland, English admiral and politician, Lord President of the Council (born 1504)
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland was an English military officer and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane Grey on the English throne after the King's death. Dudley served as Vice-Admiral and Lord High Admiral from 1537 until 1547, during which time he set novel standards of navy organisation and was an innovative commander at sea. He also developed a strong interest in overseas exploration. Dudley took part in the 1544 campaigns in Scotland and France and was one of Henry VIII's intimates in the last years of the reign. He was also a leader of the religious reform party at court.
2015 Arthur Morris

Arthur Morris

Australian cricketer and journalist (born 1922)
Arthur Robert Morris was an Australian cricketer who played 46 Test matches between 1946 and 1955. An opener, Morris is regarded as one of Australia's greatest left-handed batsmen. He is best known for his key role in Don Bradman's Invincibles side, which made an undefeated tour of England in 1948. He was the leading scorer in the Tests on the tour, with three centuries. His efforts in the Fourth Test at Headingley helped Australia to reach a world record victory target of 404 on the final day. Morris was named in the Australian Cricket Board's Team of the Century in 2000 and was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2001.
2023 Toto Cutugno

Toto Cutugno

Italian singer-songwriter (born 1943)
Salvatore "Toto" Cutugno was an Italian pop singer-songwriter, musician, and television presenter. He was best known for his worldwide hit song, "L'Italiano", released on his 1983 album of the same title. Cutugno also won the Eurovision Song Contest 1990 held in Zagreb, SFR Yugoslavia, with the song "Insieme: 1992", for which he wrote both the lyrics and music. He has been described as "one of the most popular singers in Italy and a symbol of Italian melody abroad", as well as "one of the most popular Italian performers on a global scale" and "one of the most successful Italian songwriters of all time", selling over 100 million records worldwide.
1933 Alexandros Kontoulis

Alexandros Kontoulis

Greek general and diplomat (born 1858)
Alexandros Kontoulis was a Greek military officer who rose to the rank of lieutenant general in the Hellenic Army. He was among the driving minds behind the Macedonian Struggle and was involved in the Albanian national movement, with the nom de guerre of Kapetan Skourtis. Kontoulis fought with distinction in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and the First Balkan War, where he was heavily wounded. In the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, he commanded the I Army Corps on the southern sector of the Greek front from February 1921 to June 1922. After his retirement, he served as ambassador to Albania.
1922 Michael Collins

Michael Collins

Irish rebel, counter-intelligence and military tactician, and politician; 2nd Irish Minister of Finance (born 1890)
Michael Collins was an Irish revolutionary, soldier and politician who was a leading figure in the early-20th century struggle for Irish independence. During the War of Independence he was Director of Intelligence of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). He served in the government of the Irish Republic as the Minister for Home Affairs and later as the Minister for Finance. Collins was Chairman of the Provisional Government of the Irish Free State from January 1922 and commander-in-chief of the National Army from July until he died in an ambush in August 1922, during the Civil War.
2016 S. R. Nathan

S. R. Nathan

6th President of Singapore (born 1924)
Sellapan Ramanathan, often known as S. R. Nathan, was a Singaporean civil servant, diplomat and politician who served as the sixth president of Singapore between 1999 and 2011. He was the longest-serving president in the country's history, holding office for two full terms. Prior to his presidency, Nathan held various key positions in the public service, including roles in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Security and Intelligence Division (SID). He also served as Singapore's High Commissioner to Malaysia and Ambassador to the United States.
2004 Daniel Petrie

Daniel Petrie

Canadian director and producer (born 1920)
Daniel Mannix Petrie was a Canadian film, television, and stage director who worked in Canada, Hollywood, and the United Kingdom; known for directing grounded human dramas often dealing with taboo subject matter. He was one of several Canadian-born expatriate filmmakers, including Norman Jewison and Sidney J. Furie, to find critical and commercial success overseas in the 1960s due to the limited opportunities in the Canadian film industry at the time. He was the patriarch of the Petrie filmmaking family, with four of his children working in the film industry.
408 Stilicho

Stilicho

Roman general (born 359)
Stilicho was a military commander in the Roman army who, for a time, became the most powerful man in the Western Roman Empire. He was partly of Vandal origins and married to Serena, the niece of emperor Theodosius I. He became guardian for the underage Honorius. After years of struggle against barbarian and Roman enemies, political and military disasters finally allowed his enemies in the court of Honorius to remove him from power. His fall culminated in his arrest and execution in 408.
1940 Gerald Strickland

Gerald Strickland

1st Baron Strickland, Maltese lawyer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Malta (born 1861)
Gerald Paul Joseph Cajetan Carmel Antony Martin Strickland, 6th Count della Catena, 1st Baron Strickland,, usually known between 1897 and January 1928 as Sir Gerald Strickland, was a Maltese and British politician and, eventually, peer, who served as Prime Minister of Malta, Governor of the Leeward Islands, Governor of Tasmania, Governor of Western Australia and Governor of New South Wales, in addition to sitting in the House of Commons and later in the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
2014 John S. Waugh

John S. Waugh

American chemist and academic (born 1929)
John Stewart Waugh was an American chemist and Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is known for developing average hamiltonian theory and using it to extend NMR spectroscopy, previously limited to liquids, to the solid state. He is the author of ANTIOPE, a freeware general purpose Windows-based simulator of the spectra and dynamics of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). He has also used systems of a few coupled spins to illustrate the general requirements for equilibrium and ergodicity in isolated systems.
1940 Oliver Lodge

Oliver Lodge

English physicist and academic (born 1851)
Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge was an English physicist and electrical engineer whose investigations into electromagnetic radiation (EMR) contributed to the development of radio. He identified EMR independent of Heinrich Hertz's proof. In his 1894 Royal Institution lecture, The Work of Hertz and Some of His Successors, Lodge's demonstrations on methods to transmit and detect radio waves included an improved early radio receiver he named the coherer. His work led to his holding key patents in early radio communication, his "syntonic" patents.
1995

Johnny Carey

Irish footballer and manager (born 1919)
John Joseph Carey was an Irish professional footballer and manager. As a player, Carey spent most of his career at Manchester United, where he was team captain from 1946 until he retired as a player in 1953. He was also a dual internationalist, playing for and captaining both Ireland teams – the FAI XI and the IFA XI. In 1947 he also captained a Europe XI which played a Great Britain XI at Hampden Park. In 1949 he was voted the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year and in the same year captained the FAI XI that defeated England 2–0 at Goodison Park, becoming the first non-UK team to beat England at home. Carey was also the first non-UK player and the first Irishman to captain a winning team in both an FA Cup Final and the First Division. Like his contemporary Con Martin, Carey was an extremely versatile footballer and played in nine different positions throughout his career. He even played in goal for United on one occasion.
2021 Rod Gilbert

Rod Gilbert

Canadian ice hockey player (born 1941)
Rodrigue Gabriel Gilbert was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played his entire career for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Known as "Mr. Ranger", he played right wing on the GAG line with Vic Hadfield and Jean Ratelle. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982, and was the first player in Rangers history to have his number retired. After his playing career, he became president of the Rangers' alumni association.
1909 Henry Radcliffe Crocker

Henry Radcliffe Crocker

English dermatologist and author (born 1846)
Henry Radcliffe Crocker, FRCP was an English dermatologist. Originally from Hove in Sussex, England, Crocker started his working life as an apprentice to a general practitioner before going to London to attend the University College Hospital medical school. Working as a resident medical officer with William Tilbury Fox, Crocker began a lifelong career in dermatology. With his 1888 book Diseases of the Skin: their Description, Pathology, Diagnosis and Treatment, he became known as a leading figure of dermatology.
2009 Muriel Duckworth

Muriel Duckworth

Canadian pacifist, feminist, and activist (born 1908)
Muriel Helen Duckworth was a Canadian pacifist, feminist, and social and community activist. She was a practising Quaker, a religious denomination committed to non-violence. Duckworth maintained that war, with its systematic violence against women and children, is a major obstacle to social justice. She argued that money spent on armaments perpetuates poverty while reinforcing the power of privileged elites. She believed that "war is stupid" and she steadfastly refused to accept popular distinctions between "good" and "bad" wars.
1711 Louis François

Louis François

duc de Boufflers, French general (born 1644)
Louis François de Boufflers, Duke of Boufflers, known in his lifetime as Chevalier Boufflers, was a prominent French soldier during the reign of Louis XIV of France. He was famed for his excellent defensive leadership during the sieges of Namur and Lille, next to his conduct during the Battle of Malplaquet. He received many honours for his military service, including being created count of Cagny and duke of Boufflers and being named a marshal of France.
2024 Arthur J. Gregg

Arthur J. Gregg

American military officer (born 1928)
Arthur James Gregg was an American military officer who on July 1, 1977, became the first African American in the U.S. Army to reach the rank of lieutenant general. Previously, he was the first African American brigadier general in the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps on October 1, 1972. He served in the U.S. Army for over 30 years with his final assignment as the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff (Logistics) and retired on July 24, 1981.
1978 Jomo Kenyatta

Jomo Kenyatta

Kenyan politician, 1st President of Kenya (born 1894)
Jomo Kenyatta was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He played a significant role in the transformation of Kenya from a colony of the British Empire into an independent republic. Ideologically an African nationalist and a conservative, he led the Kenya African National Union (KANU) party from 1961 until his death.
1981 Vicente Manansala

Vicente Manansala

Filipino painter (born 1910)
Vicente Silva Manansala was a Filipino cubist painter and illustrator. One of the first Abstractionists on the Philippine art scene, Manansala is also credited with bridging the gap between the city and the suburbs, between the rural and cosmopolitan ways of life. His paintings depict a nation in transition, an allusion to the new culture brought by the Americans. Manansala, together with Fabian de la Rosa, are among the best-selling Philippine artists in the West.
1456 Vladislav II of Wallachia

Vladislav II of Wallachia

Vladislav II was a voivode of the principality of Wallachia, from 1447 to 1448, and again from 1448 to 1456. The way Vladislav II came to the throne is debatable. The most accepted view is that Vladislav assassinated Vlad II Dracul, ruler of Wallachia, and was subsequently placed on the throne by John Hunyadi, on the other, Vladislav II was helped by the Ottomans to replace Dan III which was assigned by the Hungarians.
1664 Maria Cunitz

Maria Cunitz

Polish astronomer and author (born 1610)
Maria Cunitz or Maria Cunitia was an accomplished Silesian astronomer, and the most notable female astronomer of the early modern era. She authored a book Urania propitia, in which she provided new tables, new ephemera, and a simpler working solution to Kepler's second law for determining the position of a planet on its elliptical path. The Cunitz crater on Venus is named after her. The minor planet 12624 Mariacunitia is named in her honour.
1350 Philip VI of France (born 1293)

Philip VI of France (born 1293)

Philip VI, called the Fortunate, the Catholic and of Valois, was the first king of France from the House of Valois, reigning from 1328 until his death in 1350. Philip's reign was dominated by the consequences of a succession dispute. When King Charles IV of France died in 1328, his nearest male relative was his sororal nephew, Edward III of England, but the French nobility preferred Charles's paternal cousin, Philip of Valois.
2011 Jack Layton

Jack Layton

Canadian academic and politician (born 1950)
John Gilbert Layton was a Canadian politician and academic who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on the Toronto City Council, occasionally holding the title of acting mayor or deputy mayor of Toronto during his tenure as city councillor. Layton was the member of Parliament (MP) for Toronto—Danforth from 2004 until his death.
1752 William Whiston

William Whiston

English mathematician, historian, and theologian (born 1667)
William Whiston was an English theologian, historian, natural philosopher, and mathematician, a leading figure in the popularisation of the ideas of Isaac Newton. He is now probably best known for helping to instigate the Longitude Act in 1714 and his important translations of the Antiquities of the Jews and other works by Josephus. He was a prominent exponent of Arianism and wrote A New Theory of the Earth.
1963 William Morris

William Morris

1st Viscount Nuffield, English businessman and philanthropist, founded Morris Motors (born 1877)
William Richard Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, was an English motor manufacturer and philanthropist. He was the founder of Morris Motors Limited and is remembered for establishing the Nuffield Foundation, the Nuffield Trust and Nuffield College, Oxford, as well as being involved in his role as president of Bupa in creating what is now Nuffield Health. He took his title from the village of Nuffield, Oxfordshire, where he lived.
2015 Ieng Thirith

Ieng Thirith

Cambodian academic and politician (born 1932)
Ieng Thirith was an influential intellectual and politician in the Khmer Rouge, although she was neither a member of the Khmer Rouge Standing Committee nor of the Central Committee. Ieng Thirith was the wife of Ieng Sary, who was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Democratic Kampuchea's Khmer Rouge regime. She served as Minister of Social Affairs from October 1975 until the fall of the Khmer Rouge in 1979.
1861 Xianfeng

Xianfeng

Emperor of China (born 1831)
The Xianfeng Emperor, also known by his temple name Emperor Wenzong of Qing, personal name Yizhu, was the eighth emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China proper. During his reign, the Qing dynasty experienced several wars and rebellions including the Taiping Rebellion, the Nian Rebellion, and the Second Opium War. He was the last Chinese emperor to exercise sole power.
2016 Toots Thielemans

Toots Thielemans

Belgian and American jazz musician (born 1922)
Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans, known professionally as Toots Thielemans, was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for playing the chromatic harmonica, as well as his guitar and whistling skills, and composing. According to jazz historian Ted Gioia, his most important contribution was in "championing the humble harmonica", which Thielemans made into a "legitimate voice in jazz". He eventually became the "preeminent" jazz harmonica player.
1241 Pope Gregory IX

Pope Gregory IX

(born 1143)
Pope Gregory IX was head of the Catholic Church and the ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the Decretales and instituting the Papal Inquisition, in response to the failures of the episcopal inquisitions established during the time of Pope Lucius III, by means of the papal bull Ad abolendam, issued in 1184.
1797 Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser

Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser

French-Austrian field marshal (born 1724)
Dagobert Sigmund, Count von Wurmser was an Austrian field marshal during the French Revolutionary Wars. Although he fought in the Seven Years' War, the War of the Bavarian Succession, and mounted several successful campaigns in the Rhineland in the initial years of the French Revolutionary Wars, he is probably most remembered for his unsuccessful operations against Napoleon Bonaparte during the 1796 campaign in Italy.
1904 Kate Chopin

Kate Chopin

American novelist and poet (born 1850)
Katherine Chopin was an American author of short stories and novels based in Louisiana. She is considered by scholars to have been a forerunner of American 20th-century feminist authors of Southern or Catholic background, such as Zelda Fitzgerald, and she is among the most frequently read and recognized writers of Louisiana Creole heritage. She is best known today for her 1899 novel The Awakening.
1773 George Lyttelton

George Lyttelton

1st Baron Lyttelton, English poet and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (born 1709)
George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton,, known between 1751 and 1756 as Sir George Lyttelton, 5th Baronet, was a British politician and writer who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1755 to 1756. As an author himself, he was also a supporter of other writers and as a patron of the arts made an important contribution to the development of 18th-century landscape design.
1806 Jean-Honoré Fragonard

Jean-Honoré Fragonard

French painter and illustrator (born 1732)
Jean-Honoré Fragonard was a French painter and printmaker whose late Rococo manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism. One of the most prolific artists active in the last decades of the Ancien Régime, Fragonard produced more than 550 paintings, of which only five are dated. Among his most popular works are genre paintings conveying an atmosphere of intimacy and veiled eroticism.
1976 Juscelino Kubitschek

Juscelino Kubitschek

Brazilian physician and politician, 21st President of Brazil (born 1902)
Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, also known by his initials JK, was a Brazilian politician who served as the 21st president of Brazil from 1956 to 1961. During his term, the country experienced a period of notable economic growth and political stability. However, there was a significant increase in external debt, inflation, and wealth inequality. Kubitschek is also well-known for the construction of Brasília.
1903 Robert Gascoyne-Cecil

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil

3rd Marquess of Salisbury, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1830)
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen years. He was also Foreign Secretary before and during most of his tenure. He avoided international alignments or alliances, maintaining the policy of "splendid isolation".
1989 Huey P. Newton

Huey P. Newton

American activist, co-founded the Black Panther Party (born 1942)
Huey Percy Newton was an African American revolutionary and political activist who co-founded the Marxist–Leninist political and militant organization the Black Panther Party with fellow activist Bobby Seale in 1966. He ran the party as its main leader and helped craft its ten-point manifesto. Under his leadership, the party organized numerous social programs and community events and advocated for collective defense.
1572 Thomas Percy

Thomas Percy

7th Earl of Northumberland, English leader of the Rising of the North (born 1528)
Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland, 1st Baron Percy, KG was an English nobleman, politician and Roman Catholic rebel leader, who led the Rising of the North against Elizabeth I in 1569. After the failure of the rising, he was captured in Scotland, sold to the English government and executed for treason. He was later beatified by the Catholic Church.
1926 Charles William Eliot

Charles William Eliot

American academic (born 1834)
Charles William Eliot was an American academic who was the president of Harvard University from 1869 to 1909, the longest term of any Harvard president. A member of the prominent Eliot family of Boston, he transformed Harvard from a respected provincial college into America's preeminent research university. Theodore Roosevelt called him "the only man in the world I envy."
1485 Richard III of England (born 1452)

Richard III of England (born 1452)

Richard III was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch, the House of York; the former had ruled England since 1154. His defeat and death at the Battle of Bosworth Field marked the end of the Middle Ages in England.
2023 Alexandra Paul

Alexandra Paul

Canadian ice dancer (born 1991)
Alexandra Jane Paul was a Canadian competitive ice dancer. With her skating partner and eventual husband, Mitchell Islam, she won the silver medal at the 2010 World Junior Championships. In their senior career, Paul and Islam were the 2013 Nebelhorn Trophy bronze medalists, three-time Canadian national bronze medalists, and represented their country at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
1974 Jacob Bronowski

Jacob Bronowski

Polish-English mathematician, biologist, and author (born 1908)
Jacob Bronowski was a Polish-British mathematician and philosopher. He is best known for developing a humanistic approach to science, and as the presenter and writer of the thirteen-part 1973 BBC television documentary series, and accompanying book, The Ascent of Man. He was widely regarded as "one of the most revered intellectuals on the global stage."
2014 Pete Ladygo

Pete Ladygo

American football player and coach (born 1928)
Peter Glenn Ladygo was an American football player. He played as a guard and linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL) from 1952 to 1954, and as a guard for the Ottawa Rough Riders in the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 1955. Ladygo played college football for the University of Maryland.
1920 Anders Zorn

Anders Zorn

Swedish artist (born 1860)
Anders Leonard Zorn was a Swedish artist who attained international success as a painter, sculptor, and etching artist. His portrait subjects include King Oscar II of Sweden and three American Presidents: Grover Cleveland, William H. Taft, and Theodore Roosevelt. At the end of his life in 1920, he established the Swedish literary Bellman Prize.
1584 Jan Kochanowski

Jan Kochanowski

Polish poet and playwright (born 1530)
Jan Kochanowski was a Polish Renaissance poet who wrote in Latin and Polish and established poetic patterns that would become integral to the Polish literary language. He has been called the greatest Polish poet before Adam Mickiewicz and one of the most influential Polish poets prior to the 19th century.
1607 Bartholomew Gosnold

Bartholomew Gosnold

English lawyer and explorer, founded the London Company (born 1572)
Bartholomew Gosnold was an English barrister, explorer and privateer who was instrumental in founding the Virginia Company in London and Jamestown in colonial America. He led the first recorded European expedition to Cape Cod. He is considered by Preservation Virginia to be the "prime mover of the colonization of Virginia".
1987 Joseph P. Lash

Joseph P. Lash

American author and journalist (born 1909)
Joseph Paul Lash was an American radical political activist, journalist, and writer. A close friend of Eleanor Roosevelt, Lash won both the Pulitzer Prize for Biography and the National Book Award in Biography for Eleanor and Franklin (1971), the first of two volumes he wrote about the former First Lady.
1485 John Howard

John Howard

1st Duke of Norfolk (born 1430)
John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, also known as Jack of Norfolk, was an English nobleman, soldier, politician, and the first Howard Duke of Norfolk. He was a close friend and loyal supporter of King Richard III, with whom he was slain at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
1953 Jim Tabor

Jim Tabor

American baseball player (born 1916)
James Reubin Tabor, nicknamed "Rawhide", was an American Major League Baseball player, a third baseman for the Boston Red Sox (1938–44) and Philadelphia Phillies (1946–47). Born in New Hope, Alabama, he batted and threw right-handed, stood 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg).
1977 Sebastian Cabot

Sebastian Cabot

English actor (born 1918)
Charles Sebastian Thomas Cabot was a British actor. He is best remembered as the gentleman's gentleman Giles French in the CBS-TV sitcom Family Affair (1966–1971). He was also known for playing the Wazir in the film Kismet (1955) and Dr. Carl Hyatt in the CBS-TV series Checkmate (1960–1962).
2015 Eric Thompson

Eric Thompson

English race car driver and book dealer (born 1919)
Eric David Thompson was a British racing driver, book dealer and insurance broker. He participated in sports car racing between 1949 and 1955 taking his greatest success by finishing third in the 1951 Les 24 Heures du Mans and took part in the 1952 RAC British Grand Prix.
2012 Jeffrey Stone

Jeffrey Stone

American actor and screenwriter (born 1926)
Jeffrey Stone was an American actor and voice-over artist. Stone was the model and inspiration for Prince Charming in the 1950 Walt Disney animated feature film, Cinderella. While he did not voice the character in the film, Stone did provide some of the film's additional voices.
2014

John Sperling

American businessman, founded the University of Phoenix (born 1921)
John Glen Sperling was an American billionaire businessman who is credited with having led the contemporary for-profit education movement in the United States The fortune he amassed was based on his founding of the for-profit University of Phoenix in 1976, which became part of the publicly traded Apollo Group. Sperling brought the business model of higher education to the forefront, a model that employed the scientific management of higher education to the forefront: diminishing the power and importance of labor, increasing the importance of technology, marketing and advertising, and as University of Phoenix cofounder John D. Murphy explained, maximizing profit. For ventures ranging from pet cloning to green energy, he has widely been described as an "eccentric" self-made man by The Washington Post and other media.
1358 Isabella of France

Isabella of France

Queen Consort of England (born 1295)
Isabella of France was Queen of England as the wife of King Edward II, and de facto regent of England from 1327 until 1330. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of King Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre.
1977 Rex Connor

Rex Connor

Australian politician (born 1907)
Reginald Francis Xavier Connor was an Australian politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1963 until he died in 1977, representing the Labor Party. He was the Minister for Minerals and Energy in the Whitlam government from 1972 to 1975.
2014 Noella Leduc

Noella Leduc

American baseball player (born 1933)
Noella Leduc was an American pitcher and outfielder who played from 1951 through 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Listed at 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m), 130 lb, Leduc batted and threw right-handed. She was born in Graniteville, Westford, Massachusetts.
2014 Emmanuel Kriaras

Emmanuel Kriaras

Greek lexicographer and philologist (born 1906)
Emmanuel G. Kriaras was a Greek lexicographer, philologist, professor and linguist. He was Professor Emeritus of the School of Philosophy at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He was a student of Jean Psychari and the practice and ideology of demotic Greek.
1701 John Granville

John Granville

1st Earl of Bath, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (born 1628)
John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath PC was an English landowner who served in the Royalist army during the First English Civil War and was rewarded for his services after the 1660 Stuart Restoration with a title and various appointments.
2018 Ed King

Ed King

American musician (born 1949)
Edward Calhoun King was an American musician. He was a guitarist for the psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock and guitarist and bassist for the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1972 to 1975, and again from 1987 to 1996.
1946 Döme Sztójay

Döme Sztójay

Hungarian general and politician, 35th Prime Minister of Hungary (born 1883)
Döme Sztójay was a Hungarian soldier and diplomat of Serb origin, who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from March to August 1944, heading the puppet government during the country's occupation by Nazi Germany during World War II.
1951 Jack Bickell

Jack Bickell

Canadian businessman and philanthropist (born 1884)
John Paris Bickell was a Canadian businessman, philanthropist, and sports team owner. He is best known for his long-time association with the Toronto Maple Leafs professional ice hockey team as the owner, president, chairman and director 1924–1951.
2005 Luc Ferrari

Luc Ferrari

French-Italian director and composer (born 1929)
Lucien Ferrari was a French composer and pioneer in musique concrète and electroacoustic music. He was a founding member of RTF's Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRMC), working alongside composers such as Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry.
1485 William Brandon

William Brandon

supporter of Henry VII (born 1426)
Sir William Brandon of Soham, Cambridgeshire was Henry Tudor's standard-bearer at the Battle of Bosworth, where he was killed by King Richard III. He was the father of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk.
1994 Allan Houser

Allan Houser

American sculptor and painter (born 1914)
Allan Capron Houser or Haozous was a Chiricahua Apache sculptor, painter, and book illustrator born in Oklahoma. He was one of the most renowned Native American painters and Modernist sculptors of the 20th century.
1986 Celâl Bayar

Celâl Bayar

Turkish lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Turkey (born 1883)
Mahmut Celâlettin "Celâl" Bayar was a Turkish economist and politician who was the president of Turkey from 1950 to 1960. He previously served as the prime minister of Turkey from 1937 to 1939.
1888 Ágoston Trefort

Ágoston Trefort

Hungarian jurist and politician, Hungarian Minister of Education (born 1817)
Dr. Ágoston Trefort was a Hungarian politician, who served as Minister of Religion and Education from 1872 until his death. He was the President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences from 1885.
1980 James Smith McDonnell

James Smith McDonnell

American pilot, engineer, and businessman, founded McDonnell Aircraft (born 1899)
James Smith "Mac" McDonnell Jr. was an American aviator, engineer, and businessman. He was an aviation pioneer and founder of McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, later McDonnell Douglas, and the James S. McDonnell Foundation.
2013 Paul Poberezny

Paul Poberezny

American pilot and businessman, founded the Experimental Aircraft Association (born 1921)
Paul Howard Poberezny was an American aviator, entrepreneur, and aircraft designer. He founded the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) in 1953, and spent the greater part of his life promoting homebuilt aircraft.
2014 U. R. Ananthamurthy

U. R. Ananthamurthy

Indian author, poet, and playwright (born 1932)
Udupi Rajagopalacharya Ananthamurthy was an Indian contemporary writer and critic in the Kannada language. He was born in Thirthahalli Taluk and is considered one of the pioneers of the Navya movement.
1280 Pope Nicholas III (born 1225)

Pope Nicholas III (born 1225)

Pope Nicholas III, born Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 November 1277 to his death on 22 August 1280.
1914 Giacomo Radini-Tedeschi

Giacomo Radini-Tedeschi

Italian bishop and academic (born 1859)
Giacomo Maria Radini-Tedeschi was the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bergamo. Today he is famous for his strong involvement in social issues at the beginning of 20th century.
2012 Paul Shan Kuo-hsi

Paul Shan Kuo-hsi

Taiwanese cardinal (born 1923)
Paul Shan Kuo-hsi, S.J. was a cardinal in the Catholic Church. He was at times the bishop of Hualien and Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and the chairman of Fu Jen Catholic University.
1918 Korbinian Brodmann

Korbinian Brodmann

German neurologist and academic (born 1868)
Korbinian Brodmann was a German neuropsychiatrist who is known for mapping the cerebral cortex and defining 52 distinct regions, known as Brodmann areas, based on their cytoarchitectonic (histological) characteristics.
1966 Erwin Komenda

Erwin Komenda

Austrian car designer and engineer (born 1904)
Erwin Komenda was an Austrian automobile designer and Porsche employee, and a lead contributor to the design of the bodies for the VW Beetle and various Porsche sports cars.
2004 Angus Bethune

Angus Bethune

Australian soldier and politician, 33rd Premier of Tasmania (born 1908)
Sir Walter Angus Bethune was an Australian politician and member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. He was Premier of Tasmania from 26 May 1969 to 3 May 1972.
1891 Jan Neruda

Jan Neruda

Czech journalist, author, and poet (born 1834)
Jan Nepomuk Neruda was a Czech journalist, writer, poet and art critic; one of the most prominent representatives of Czech Realism and a member of the "May School".
1970 Vladimir Propp

Vladimir Propp

Russian philologist and scholar (born 1895)
Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp was a Russian and Soviet folklorist and scholar who analysed the basic structural elements of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest, irreducible structural units.
1425 Eleanor

Eleanor

Princess of Asturias (born 1423)
Eleanor of Castile was heir presumptive to the throne of the Crown of Castile and Princess of Asturias from 1424 until a few months before her death.
1545 Charles Brandon

Charles Brandon

1st Duke of Suffolk, English politician and husband of Mary Tudor (born c. 1484)
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk was an English military leader and courtier. Through his third wife, Mary Tudor, he was the brother-in-law of King Henry VIII.
1828 Franz Joseph Gall

Franz Joseph Gall

Austrian neuroanatomist and physiologist (born 1758)
Franz Joseph Gall or Franz Josef Gall was a German neuroanatomist, physiologist, and pioneer in the study of the localization of mental functions in the brain.
1977 Chunseong

Chunseong

Korean monk, philosopher and writer (born 1891)
Chunseong was the Dharma name of Lee Chang-rim, a Korean Buddhist monk, scholar, poet, writer, and philosopher who was also known by the art name Muaedoin.
2026 Siim Kallas

Siim Kallas

Estonian politician, Prime Minister of Estonia (born 1948)
Siim Kallas was an Estonian politician who served as Prime Minister of Estonia from 2002 to 2003 and as a European Commissioner from 2004 to 2014.
1994

Gilles Groulx

Canadian director and screenwriter (born 1931)
Gilles Groulx was a Canadian film director. He grew up in a working-class family with 14 children. After studying business in school, he went to work in an office but found the white-collar environment wasn't for him. He attended the École du meuble de Montréal for a time and was a supporter of Borduas' automatiste movement. His 8 mm amateur films, landed him a job as picture editor in the news department of the CBC. He was later hired by the National Film Board (NFB) during the beginning of the candid eye movement in 1956.
1681

Philippe Delano

Dutch Plymouth Colony settler (born 1602)
In the United States, members of the Delano family include U.S. presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Ulysses S. Grant and Calvin Coolidge, astronaut Alan B. Shepard, and writer Laura Ingalls Wilder. Its progenitor is Philippe de Lannoy (1602–1681), a Pilgrim of Walloon descent, who arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in the early 1620s. His descendants also include Eustachius De Lannoy, Frederic Adrian Delano, Robert Redfield, and Paul Delano. Delano family forebears include the Pilgrims who chartered the Mayflower, seven of its passengers, and three signers of the Mayflower Compact.
2011 Yao Yuanjun

Yao Yuanjun

Chinese border police officer (born 1993)
Yao Yuanjun was a border police officer with the rank of Private who served in the People's Armed Police Border Defense Corps. Yao drowned in the Shweli river while attempting to arrest a drug trafficker on the China-Myanmar Border.
1338 William II

William II

Duke of Athens (born 1312)
William II was the third son of Frederick III of Sicily and Eleanor of Anjou. He inherited the Duchy of Athens after the death of his elder brother Manfred on 9 November 1317.
2011

Casey Ribicoff

American philanthropist (born 1922)
Casey Ribicoff was an American philanthropist, socialite and the second wife and widow of United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and later United States Senator from Connecticut, Abraham Ribicoff. Ribicoff was the President of the ladies auxiliary of Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida and in 1963 became the first woman to be selected to serve on the hospital's board of trustees.
2008

Gladys Powers

English-Canadian soldier (born 1899)
Gladys Stokes Luxford Powers was thought to be, at age 109, the last female veteran of the First World War following the 27 March 2007 death of fellow 109-year-old Charlotte Winters from the United States. However the subsequent discovery of fellow Britons Ivy Campany, who died on 19 December 2008, and Florence Green has disproved this. Regardless, Powers was the last veteran living in Canada, following the death of Dwight Wilson on 9 May 2007, the day before Powers' 108th birthday. The last Canadian-born veteran, 109-year-old John Babcock, later moved to the United States where he lived until his death on 18 February 2010.
2000

Abulfaz Elchibey

2nd President of Azerbaijan (born 1938)
Abulfaz Gadirgulu oghlu Aliyev, commonly known as Abulfaz Elchibey, was a Azerbaijani nationalist and Soviet dissident who was the first, and as of today, only democratically elected president of post-Soviet Azerbaijan. He served from 17 June 1992 until his ouster in a 24 June 1993 military coup backed by Russia that led to the installation of Heydar Aliyev as president.
1989

Robert Grondelaers

Belgian cyclist (born 1933)
Robert Grondelaers was a road cyclist from Belgium. He won the silver medal in the men's individual road race at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. At the same tournament he claimed the title in the men's team road race, alongside André Noyelle and Lucien Victor. He was a professional rider from 1954 to 1962.
1985

Charles Gibson

historian of Mexico and its Indians, president of the American Historical Association (born 1920)
Charles Gibson was an American ethnohistorian who wrote foundational works on the Nahua peoples of colonial Mexico and was elected President of the American Historical Association in 1977.
1155 Emperor Konoe of Japan (born 1139)

Emperor Konoe of Japan (born 1139)

Emperor Konoe was the 76th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.
1304

John II

Count of Holland (born 1247)
John II was Count of Hainaut, Holland, and Zeeland.
1485 Richard Ratcliffe

Richard Ratcliffe

supporter of Richard III
Sir Richard Ratcliffe, KG was a close confidant of Richard III of England.
1532 William Warham

William Warham

Archbishop of Canterbury (born 1450)
William Warham was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1503 until his death in 1532.
1599 Luca Marenzio

Luca Marenzio

Italian singer-songwriter (born 1553)
Luca Marenzio was an Italian composer and singer of the late Renaissance.
1652 Jacob De la Gardie

Jacob De la Gardie

Estonian-Swedish soldier and politician, Lord High Constable of Sweden (born 1583)
Count Jacob Pontusson De la Gardie was a statesman and a soldier of the Swedish Empire, and a Marshal from 1620 until his death.
1680 John George II

John George II

Elector of Saxony (born 1613)
Johann George II was the Elector of Saxony from 1656 to 1680. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin.
1793 Louis de Noailles

Louis de Noailles

French general (born 1713)
Louis de Noailles, 4th Duke of Noailles was a French peer and Marshal of France.
1850 Nikolaus Lenau

Nikolaus Lenau

Romanian-Austrian poet and author (born 1802)
Nikolaus Lenau was the pen name of Nikolaus Franz Niembsch Edler von Strehlenau, a German-language Austrian poet.
1942 Michel Fokine

Michel Fokine

Russian dancer and choreographer (born 1880)
Michael Fokine was a Russian choreographer and dancer.
1950

Kirk Bryan

American geologist and academic (born 1888)
Kirk Bryan was an American geologist on the faculty of Harvard University from 1925 until his death in 1950.
1958 Roger Martin du Gard

Roger Martin du Gard

French novelist and paleographer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1881)
Roger Martin du Gard was a French novelist, winner of the 1937 Nobel Prize in Literature.
1960

Johannes Sikkar

Estonian soldier and politician, Prime Minister of Estonia in exile (born 1897)
Johannes Sikkar was the first head of the Estonian government in exile as Acting Prime Minister.
1967 Gregory Goodwin Pincus

Gregory Goodwin Pincus

American biologist and academic, co-created the birth-control pill (born 1903)
Gregory Goodwin Pincus was an American biologist and researcher who co-invented the combined oral contraceptive pill.
1971 Birger Nerman

Birger Nerman

Swedish archaeologist (born 1888)
Birger Nerman was a Swedish archaeologist, historian and philologist who specialized in the history and culture of Iron Age Sweden.
1979 James T. Farrell

James T. Farrell

American novelist, short-story writer, and poet (born 1904)
James Thomas Farrell was an American novelist, short story writer and poet.
1991 Boris Pugo

Boris Pugo

Russian soldier and politician, Soviet Minister of Interior (born 1937)
Boris Karlovich Pugo was a Soviet communist politician of Latvian origin.
2003 Arnold Gerschwiler

Arnold Gerschwiler

Swiss figure skater and coach (born 1914)
Arnold Gerschwiler OBE was a Swiss figure skating coach.
2004

Konstantin Aseev

Russian chess player and trainer (born 1960)
Konstantin Aseev was a Russian chess Grandmaster and trainer.
2005

Ernest Kirkendall

American chemist and metallurgist (born 1914)
Ernest Oliver Kirkendall was an American chemist and metallurgist. He is known for his 1947 discovery of the Kirkendall effect.
2007 Grace Paley

Grace Paley

American short story writer and poet (born 1922)
Grace Paley, née Goodside, was an American short story author, poet, teacher, and political activist.
2009 Elmer Kelton

Elmer Kelton

American journalist and author (born 1926)
Elmer Kelton was an American author, known for his Westerns. He was born in Andrews County, Texas.
2010 Stjepan Bobek

Stjepan Bobek

Croatian footballer and manager (born 1923)
Stjepan Bobek was a Yugoslav and Croatian professional football striker and later football manager.
2011 Nick Ashford

Nick Ashford

American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1942)
Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting, production and recording duo composed of Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson.
2012 Nina Bawden

Nina Bawden

English author (born 1925)
Nina Mary Bawden CBE, FRSL, JP was an English novelist and children's writer.
2017 Michael J. C. Gordon

Michael J. C. Gordon

British Computer scientist (born 1948)
Michael John Caldwell Gordon was a British computer scientist.
2018 Krishna Reddy

Krishna Reddy

Indian printmaker, sculptor and teacher (born 1925)
Krishna Reddy was an Indian master printmaker, sculptor, and teacher. He was considered a master intaglio printer and known for viscosity printing.

History runs on facts, and this project runs on coffee!

Your support is incredibly helpful and genuinely appreciated.

Support with a coffee ☕