Did you know
After the war, he became a leading leftist intellectual associated with the Socialist Party of America, and later with the Communist Party USA
Notable Deaths on August 24
104 people
691 – 2024
August 24 has seen 104 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 691 – 2024. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
1983 — Scott Nearing
American economist, educator, and activist (born 1883)
Did you know
In 1915, he was dismissed from a teaching position at the Wharton School on account of his left-wing politics, becoming a cause célèbre of the American Left
Did you know
Together, they published Living the Good Life: How to Live Simply and Sanely in a Troubled World in 1954.
Did you know
Scott Nearing was an American radical economist, educator, writer, political activist, pacifist, vegetarian and advocate of simple living
Did you know
His opposition to American entry into World War I led to his prosecution under the Espionage Act, for which he was found not guilty
691
842
895
927
927
942
948
Byzantine emperor (born 1015)
Michael V Kalaphates was Byzantine emperor for four months in 1041–1042. He was the nephew and successor of Michael IV and the adoptive son of Michael IV's wife Empress Zoe. He was popularly called "the Caulker"…
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1042
Norwegian king (born 1073)
Magnus III Olafsson, better known as Magnus Barefoot, was the King of Norway from 1093 until his death in 1103. His reign was marked by aggressive military campaigns and conquest, particularly in the Norse-dominated…
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1103
French pirate (born 1170)
Eustace the Monk, born Eustace Busket, was a French pirate and mercenary, one of the most famous pirates of the early 13th century, in the grand tradition of medieval outlaws. The birthplace of Eustace was not far from…
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1217
1313
Duke of Pomerania (born 1348)
Casimir or Kasimir III (IV) (1348 – 24 August 1372), oldest son of Barnim III, was one of the Dukes of Pomerania-Stettin (Szczecin). He died during a campaign against the Margraviate of Brandenburg during the siege of…
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1372
Duchess of Pomerania (born 1435)
Sophia of Pomerania-Stolp, was a Duchess of Pomerania by birth, and married to Eric II, Duke of Pomerania.
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1497
English princess (born 1469)
Cecily of York, also known as Cecelia, was the third daughter of King Edward IV of England and his queen consort Elizabeth Woodville.
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1507
Italian painter and etcher (born 1503)
Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, also known as Francesco Mazzola or, more commonly, as Parmigianino, was an Italian Mannerist painter and printmaker active in Florence, Rome, Bologna, and his native city of Parma. His…
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1540
Italian cardinal (born 1483)
Gasparo Contarini was an Italian diplomat, cardinal, and Bishop of Belluno. He advocated for dialogue with Protestants during the Reformation. Born in Venice, he served as the Republic's ambassador to Charles V during…
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1542
French admiral (born 1519)
Gaspard de Coligny, seigneur de Châtillon, was a French nobleman, Admiral of France, and Huguenot leader during the French Wars of Religion. He served under kings Francis I and Henry II during the Italian Wars,…
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1572
French soldier and diplomat (born 1535)
Charles de Téligny was a French soldier and diplomat.
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1572
English mathematician and astronomer (born 1546)
Thomas Digges was an English mathematician and astronomer. He was the first to expound the Copernican system in English but discarded the notion of a fixed shell of immoveable stars to postulate infinitely many stars at…
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1595
Peruvian saint (born 1586)
Rose of Lima, TOSD, was a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic in Lima, Peru, Spanish Empire, who became known for both her life of severe penance and her care of the poverty stricken of the city through her own…
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1617
English sculptor and architect (born 1586)
Nicholas Stone was an English sculptor and architect. In 1619 he was appointed master-mason to James I, and in 1626 to Charles I.
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1647
French cardinal and author (born 1614)
Jean François Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de Retz was a French churchman, writer of memoirs, and agitator in the Fronde.
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1679
Irish colonel (born 1618)
Thomas Blood was an Anglo-Irish army officer and self-styled colonel best known for his attempt to steal the Crown Jewels of England from the Tower of London in 1671. Described in an American source as a "noted bravo…
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1680
Dutch painter and etcher (born 1616)
Ferdinand Bol was a Dutch painter, etcher and draftsman. Although his surviving work is rare, it displays Rembrandt's influence; like his master, Bol favored historical subjects, portraits, numerous self-portraits, and…
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1680
1683
German poet and soldier (born 1715)
Ewald Christian von Kleist was a German poet and cavalry officer. His vast family was well-established in Farther Pomerania; 58 male members of his family fought in Frederick the Great's army of the Seven Years' War. …
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1759
English poet and prodigy (born 1752)
Thomas Chatterton was an English poet who committed suicide at age 17. He was an influence on Romantic artists of the period such as Shelley, Keats, Wordsworth and Coleridge.
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1770
Greek monk and saint (born 1714)
Kosmas the Aetolian, sometimes Cosmas the Aetolian or Patrokosmas "Father Kosmas" was a monk, who is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church. He is recognized as one of the originators of the…
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1779
English priest and author (born 1709)
Thomas Alcock was a clergyman in the Church of England, a pluralist and an author.
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1798
American wife of Benedict Arnold and American Revolutionary War spy (born 1760)
Margaret Shippen was the second wife of General Benedict Arnold. She has been described as "the highest-paid spy in the American Revolution".
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1804
American lawyer and politician (born 1777)
James Carr, son of U.S. Congressman Francis Carr, was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Maine, then a District of Massachusetts.
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1818
English writer and physician (born 1795)
John William Polidori was an English writer and medical doctor. He is known for his associations with the Romantic movement and credited by some as the creator of the vampire genre of fantasy fiction.
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1821
French physicist and engineer (born 1796)
Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot was a French military engineer and physicist. A graduate of the École polytechnique, Carnot served as an officer in the Engineering Arm of the French Army. He also pursued scientific studies,…
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1832
British Royal Navy commander (born 1780/81)
Richard Weymouth was a Royal Navy commander, notable as compiler of the Naval, Military, and Village Hymn Book, published in the year of his death and designed for non-denominational use: thus it aimed to exclude hymns…
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1832
Hungarian poet, critic, and politician (born 1790)
Ferenc Kölcsey was a Hungarian poet, literary critic, orator, and politician, noted for his support of the liberal current in Hungary regarding the politics involving the Austrian Empire. He wrote Himnusz, the national…
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1838
English civil servant and composer (born 1788)
Theodore Edward Hook was an English writer, intellectual, prankster and briefly a civil servant in Mauritius. One of the first writers of the English fashionable novel, he is best known for his practical jokes,…
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1841
French-American soldier (born 1778)
John Ordronaux was a French-born privateer and businessman. Born in Nantes, Brittany, he eventually moved to the United States. During the War of 1812, Ordronaux captained two ships, Marengo and Prince de Neufchatel,…
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1841
German physicist and mathematician (born 1822)
Rudolf Julius Emanuel Clausius was a German physicist and mathematician and is considered one of the central founding fathers of the science of thermodynamics. By his restatement of Sadi Carnot's principle known as the…
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1888
English mountaineer and author (born 1855)
Albert Frederick Mummery, was an English mountaineer and author. Although most notable for his many and varied first ascents put up in the Alps, Mummery, along with J. Norman Collie, Geoffrey Hastings, and two Gurkhas…
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1895
American author and educator (born 1856)
Kate Douglas Wiggin was an American educator, author and composer. She wrote children's stories, most notably the classic children's novel Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, and composed collections of children's songs. She…
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1923
English businessman and showman (born 1860)
Tom Norman, born Thomas Noakes, was an English businessman, showman and the last exhibitor of Joseph Merrick who was otherwise known as the "Elephant Man". Among his later exhibits were a troupe of little people, a "Man…
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1930
American activist (born 1861)
Kate M. Gordon was an American suffragist, civic leader, and one of the leading advocates of women's voting rights in the Southern United States. Gordon was the organizer of the Southern States Woman Suffrage Conference…
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1932
American painter and educator (born 1874)
Frederick Carl Frieseke was an American Impressionist painter who spent most of his life as an expatriate in France. An influential member of the Giverny art colony, his paintings often concentrated on various effects…
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1939
Polish-German technician and inventor, invented the Nipkow disk (born 1860)
Paul Julius Gottlieb Nipkow was a German electrical engineer and inventor. He invented the Nipkow disk, which laid the foundation of television, since his disk was a fundamental component in the first televisions.…
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1940
Argentinian painter and educator (born 1886)
Antonio Alice was an Argentine portrait painter. He was awarded the Prix de Rome in 1904.
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1943
adventurer and politician (born 1902)
Ettore Muti was an Italian aviator and Fascist politician. He was party secretary of the National Fascist Party from October 1939 until shortly after the entry of Italy into World War II on 10 June 1940.
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1943
French philosopher and activist (born 1909)
Simone Adolphine Weil was a French philosopher, mystic and political activist. Despite her short life, her ideas concerning religion, spirituality and politics have remained widely influential in contemporary philosophy.
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1943
American lawyer and judge, 48th United States Attorney General (born 1862)
James Clark McReynolds was an American lawyer and judge from Tennessee who served as United States Attorney General under President Woodrow Wilson and as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.…
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1946
Brazilian lawyer and politician, 14th President of Brazil (born 1882)
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas was a Brazilian military officer, lawyer, and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Due to his long and…
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1954
Japanese director and screenwriter (born 1898)
Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese filmmaker who directed roughly one hundred films during his career between 1923 and 1956. His most acclaimed works include The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939), The Life of Oharu…
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1956
English Catholic priest (born 1888)
Ronald Arbuthnott Knox was an English Catholic priest, theologian, author, and radio broadcaster. Educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, where he earned a high reputation as a classicist, Knox was ordained as a…
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1957
Irish painter and educator (born 1876)
Paul Henry was an Irish artist noted for depicting the West of Ireland landscape in a spare Post-Impressionist style.
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1958
American businessman, founded Kaiser Shipyards and Kaiser Aluminum (born 1882)
Henry John Kaiser was an American industrialist who became known for his shipbuilding and construction projects, then later for his involvement in fostering modern American health care. Prior to World War II, Kaiser was…
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1967
Russian-American pilot and businessman, co-founded Republic Aviation (born 1894)
Alexander Nikolaievich Prokofiev de Seversky was a Russian-American aviation pioneer, inventor, and influential advocate of strategic air power.
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1974
Canadian ice hockey player (born 1916)
Herbert William "Buddy" O'Connor was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played for the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers in the National Hockey League between 1941 and 1951. He won the Hart Trophy and…
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1977
American singer-songwriter, trumpet player, and actor (born 1910)
Louis Leo Prima was an American trumpeter, singer, entertainer, and bandleader. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he formed a…
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1978
German soldier and pilot (born 1912)
Hanna Reitsch was a German aviator and test pilot. Reitsch was among the very last people to meet Adolf Hitler before his suicide in the Führerbunker in April 1945. Following her capture, she provided information about…
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1979
English actress (born 1927)
Yootha Joyce Needham, known as Yootha Joyce, was a British actress best known for playing Mildred Roper opposite Brian Murphy in the sitcom Man About the House (1973–1976) and its spin-off George and Mildred (1976–1979).
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1980
Canadian priest and author (born 1896)
Félix-Antoine Savard, was a Canadian priest, academic, poet, novelist and folklorist.
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1982
Estonian-Finnish high jumper and discus thrower (born 1913)
Kalevi Kotkas was an Estonian-born Finnish athlete, specializing in high jump, discus throw and shot put. He became the first ever European champion in high jump, in 1934 in Turin, and competed in the 1932 and 1936…
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1983
American composer and educator (born 1906)
Paul Creston was an American composer of classical music. He composed six symphonies and several concertante works for violin, piano, accordion, marimba and saxophone. He has been described as a leading American…
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1985
English rugby player and wrestler (born 1936)
Malcolm Kirk was an English professional wrestler who went by the ring name of "King Kong" Kirk as well as Kojak Kirk, Killer Kirk and "Mucky" Mal Kirk. He started as a professional rugby league player before becoming a…
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1987
Russian-American journalist and author (born 1941)
Sergei Donatovich Dovlatov was a Soviet journalist and writer. Internationally, he is one of the most popular Russian writers of the late 20th century.
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1990
Sudanese-Egyptian poet and academic (born 1931)
Gely Abdel Rahman Arabic: جيلي عبد الرحمن was one of the leading Sudanese poets of the second half of the 20th century.
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1990
Italian-American inventor (born 1904)
Bernard Castro was the inventor of the modern convertible couch.
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1991
Dutch academic and judge (born 1918)
Andreas Matthias Donner was a Dutch judge and the second President of the European Court of Justice, a position which he served between 1958 and 1964.
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1992
Italian racing driver (born 1907)
Luigi "Gigi" Villoresi was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1950 to 1956.
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1997
American actor (born 1910)
Everett Eugene Grunz, known professionally as E. G. Marshall, was an American actor. One of the first group of actors selected for the new Actors Studio, Marshall, by 1948, had performed in major plays on Broadway.
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1998
American actress (born 1916)
Mary Jane Croft was an American actress best known for roles as Betty Ramsey on I Love Lucy, Miss Daisy Enright on the radio and television versions of Our Miss Brooks, Mary Jane Lewis on The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy,…
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1999
Egyptian guitarist and composer (born 1929)
Alexandre Lagoya was a French classical guitarist and composer. His early career included boxing and guitar, and as he cites on the sleeve of a 1981 Columbia album, his parents hoped he would outgrow his predilection…
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1999
2000
American actress (born 1924)
Jane Greer was an American film and television actress best known for her role as femme fatale Kathie Moffat in the 1947 film noir Out of the Past. In 2009, The Guardian named her one of the best actors never to have…
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2001
Estonian violinist, pianist, and conductor (born 1917)
Roman Voldemarovich Matsov was a Soviet and Estonian violinist, pianist, and conductor.
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2001
Russian priest and mystic (born 1909)
Nikolai Alekseievich Guryanov was a Russian Orthodox Christian and reputed myrrh-bearing starets and priest. Numerous miracles and healings are ascribed to him.
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2002
Ethiopian-English explorer and author (born 1910)
Sir Wilfred Patrick Thesiger, also known as Mubarak bin Landan, was a British military officer, explorer, and writer. Thesiger's travel books include Arabian Sands (1959), on his foot and camel crossing of the Empty…
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2003
Swiss-American psychiatrist and academic (born 1926)
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross was a Swiss and American psychiatrist, a pioneer in near-death studies, author, and developer of the five stages of grief, also known as the "Kübler-Ross model".
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2004
Pakistani film, television and radio actor (born 1942)
Jamshed Ansari was a Pakistani film, television and radio actor.
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2005
American soldier and engineer (born 1926)
Rocco Anthony Petrone was an American mechanical engineer, U.S. Army officer and NASA official. He served as director of launch operations at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) from 1966 to 1969, as Apollo program…
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2006
Canadian tenor and educator (born 1916)
Léopold Simoneau, was a French-Canadian lyric tenor, one of the outstanding Mozarteans of his time. In 1959 he became the first recipient of the Calixa-Lavallée Award.
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2006
Canadian educator and politician, 39th Mayor of Quebec City (born 1937)
Andrée Plamondon Boucher was a Canadian politician from the province of Quebec. She was the mayor of Quebec City from November 19, 2005, until her death. Previously, she had been the mayor of the city of Sainte-Foy,…
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2007
American director and producer (born 1943)
Aaron Russo was an American entertainment businessman, film producer, director, and political activist. He was best known for producing movies including Trading Places, Wise Guys, and The Rose. Later in life, he created…
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2007
Japanese director and screenwriter (born 1963)
Satoshi Kon was a Japanese film director, animator, screenwriter and manga artist from Sapporo, Hokkaido, and a member of the Japanese Animation Creators Association (JAniCA). He was a graduate of the Graphic Design…
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2010
2011
American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (born 1951)
Michael Kendall Flanagan was an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher, front office executive, and color commentator. He spent 18 years as a player in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles…
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2011
2012
Faroese surveyor and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (born 1936)
Joen Pauli Højgaard Ellefsen was a Faroese politician and member of the Union Party. He was Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands from 1981 to 1985.
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2012
American actor (born 1932)
Stephen Robert Franken was an American actor who worked in film and television for over fifty years.
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2012
Brazilian footballer and manager (born 1937)
Félix Miélli Venerando was a Brazilian football player, more commonly known as Félix.
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2012
American soccer player and manager (born 1938)
Gerard Austin Baker was an American soccer player. From 1955 until 1970, he played 16 seasons in either the Scottish or English first division. He earned seven caps with the US national team in 1968 and 1969, scoring…
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2013
Brazilian footballer and manager (born 1931)
Nílton de Sordi, sometimes known as just De Sordi, was a Brazilian footballer who played as a defender.
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2013
American actress (born 1925)
Julia Ann Harris was an American actress. Renowned for her classical and contemporary roles, she earned numerous accolades including a record five Tony Awards for Best Lead Actress in a Play, as well as three Primetime…
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2013
American businesswoman and philanthropist (born 1928)
Muriel Faye Siebert was an American businesswoman who was the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and the first woman to head one of the NYSE's member firms. She joined the 1,365 male…
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2013
English actor, director, producer, and politician (born 1923)
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough was an English actor, film director and producer.
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2014
Brazilian businessman (born 1928)
Antônio Ermírio de Moraes was a Brazilian billionaire businessman and the chairman of the Votorantim Group, one of the country's largest companies, focused on metals, paper, cement and frozen orange juice. He was the…
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2014
American football player and coach (born 1934)
Charles Edward Coffey was an American football player and coach. A native of Shelbyville, Tennessee, Coffey attended the University of Tennessee to play football for Robert Neyland. While at the University of Tennessee…
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2015
German-American computer scientist and academic (born 1932)
Joseph Frederick Traub was an American computer scientist. He was the Edwin Howard Armstrong Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University and External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute. He held positions at…
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2015
English racing driver (born 1978)
Justin Boyd Wilson was a British professional open-wheel racing driver who competed in Formula One (F1) in 2003, the Champ Car World Series (CCWS) from 2004 to 2007 and the IndyCar Series from 2008 to 2015. He won the…
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2015
German politician, 4th President of Germany (born 1919)
Walter Scheel was a German statesman. A member of the Nazi Party who joined the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP) in 1946, he first served in government as the Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and…
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2016
American actor, comedian, and radio talk show host (born 1948)
Jon "Jay" Thomas Terrell was an American actor, comedian, and radio personality. He was heard in New York from 1976 to 1979 on top-40 station 99X, and later on rhythmic CHR station 92KTU, and in Los Angeles beginning in…
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2017
American author, journalist, and lecturer (born 1936)
Gail Sheehy was an American author, journalist, and lecturer. She was the author of seventeen books and numerous high-profile articles for magazines such as New York and Vanity Fair. Sheehy played a part in the movement…
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2020
English musician (born 1941)
Charles Robert Watts was an English musician who was the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021.
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2021
American wrestler (born 1987)
Windham Lawrence Rotunda, better known by his ring name Bray Wyatt, was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures in WWE from 2009 to 2021 and again from 2022 until his death in 2023.
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2023
German footballer and manager (born 1953)
Christoph Paul Daum was a German professional football manager and player. As a manager, he won eight trophies with clubs from Germany, Turkey and Austria. In 1992, he won the Bundesliga championship with VfB Stuttgart.…
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2024
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Notable deaths
Who died on August 24?
Scott Nearing — American economist, pacifist, and homesteader (1883–1983)
FeaturedScott Nearing
Death year1983
Known forIn 1915, he was dismissed from a teaching position at the Wharton School on account of his left-wing politics, becoming a cause célèbre of the American Left
Deaths on this date104 (691 – 2024)
Explore August 24
Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.
Also on August 24 in History
2023
Japan officially begins discharging treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean, sparking international concerns and condemnation. Wikipedia →
2020
Erin O'Toole is elected leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. Wikipedia →
2017
See all events on August 24
The National Space Agency of Taiwan successfully launches the observation satellite Formosat-5 into space. Wikipedia →
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