Did you know
Her husband died in 1944, and she was elected to his former seat at the 1946 federal election – the first woman elected to parliament as an independent
Notable Deaths on December 12
68 people
884 – 2021
December 12 has seen 68 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 884 – 2021. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
1970 — Doris Blackburn
Australian politician (born 1889)
Did you know
However, Blackburn served only a single term before being defeated
Did you know
She served in the House of Representatives from 1946 to 1949, the second woman after Enid Lyons to do so
Did you know
She was married to Maurice Blackburn, a Labor MP, but he was expelled from the party in 1937 and she resigned from the party in solidarity
Did you know
Doris Amelia Blackburn was an Australian social reformer and politician
Carloman II was the King of West Francia from 879 until his death. A member of the Carolingians, he and his elder brother Louis III, divided the kingdom between themselves and ruled jointly until the latter's death in…
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884
Jewish physician, philosopher, and scholar (born 1135 or 1138)
Moses ben Maimon, commonly known as Maimonides and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam, was a Sephardic Jewish rabbi who is widely acknowledged as one of the most prolific and influential Torah scholars of the…
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1204
first wife of Robert Bruce VII (born 1277)
Isabella of Mar was the first wife of Robert Bruce VII, Earl of Carrick. Isabella died before her husband was crowned King of Scotland. She and her husband were the grandparents of Robert II, King of Scotland, founder…
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1296
Dogaressa of Venice, botanist, author
Loredana Marcello was a Dogaressa of Venice by marriage to the Doge Alvise I Mocenigo. She was an author of letters and poetry and studied botany, and was regarded as a model of an educated and cultivated renaissance…
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1572
1st Viscount Bolingbroke, English philosopher and politician, Secretary at War (born 1678)
Henry St. John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke was a British Tory politician and philosopher. He was a leader of the Tories, and supported the Church of England politically despite his antireligious views and opposition to…
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1751
German philosopher, author, and critic (born 1700)
Johann Christoph Gottsched was a German philosopher, author, critic and grammarian of the Enlightenment.
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1766
Ukrainian author (born 1742)
Reb Meshullam Feivush Heller of Zbarazh was the author of several Hasidic sefarim including the Yosher Divrei Emes.
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1794
Prince Frederick Adolf, Duke of Östergötland was a Swedish Prince, youngest son of King Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, a sister of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia. He was given the title…
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1803
Canadian archeologist and politician, 1st Mayor of Montreal (born 1787)
Jacques Viger was an antiquarian, archaeologist, and the first mayor of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
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1858
Ukrainian-Russian mathematician and theorist (born 1804)
Viktor Yakovlevich Bunyakovsky was a Russian mathematician, member and later vice president of the Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
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1889
Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Canada (born 1845)
Sir John Sparrow David Thompson was the fourth prime minister of Canada, serving from 1892 until his death in 1894. He had previously been fifth premier of Nova Scotia for a brief period in 1882. He is the only…
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1894
Ethiopian emperor (born 1844)
Menelik II', baptised as Sahle Maryam, was king of Shewa from 1866 to 1889 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 to his death in 1913. A member of the Solomonic dynasty, Menelik expanded the Ethiopian Empire to its greatest…
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1913
American astronomer and academic (born 1868)
Henrietta Swan Leavitt was an American astronomer. Her discovery of how to effectively measure vast astronomical distances led to a shift in the understanding of the scale and nature of the universe.
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1921
French author and poet (born 1903)
Raymond Radiguet was a French novelist and poet. His two novels, noted for their explicit themes and unique style and tone, were praised by many of the greatest writers of the time. He died unexpectedly at the age of…
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1923
Norwegian skier (born 1894)
Thorleif Haug was a Norwegian skier who competed in nordic combined and cross-country. At the 1924 Olympics he won all three Nordic skiing events. He was also awarded the bronze medal in ski jumping, but 50 years later…
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1934
Sr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter (born 1883)
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. was an American actor and filmmaker best known for being the first actor to play the masked vigilante Zorro and other swashbuckling roles in silent films. One of the biggest stars of the…
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1939
Filipino lieutenant and pilot (born 1915)
César Fernando María Tianko Basa was a Filipino military pilot who fought in World War II. He was one of the pioneer fighter pilots of the Philippine Army Air Corps, the forerunner of the Philippine Air Force, and was…
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1941
British biochemist (born 1885)
Marjory Stephenson was a British biochemist. In 1945, she was one of the first two women elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, the other being Kathleen Lonsdale.
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1948
American singer (born 1907)
Mildred Bailey was an American jazz singer during the 1930s and 1940s, known as "The Queen of Swing", "The Rockin' Chair Lady", and "Mrs. Swing".
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1951
Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland (born 1900)
Sir Albert Joseph Walsh was Commissioner of Home Affairs and Education and chief justice of the Dominion of Newfoundland, and its first lieutenant governor upon its admission to the Canadian Confederation on 1 April…
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1958
Austrian-American swimmer (born 1880)
Karl Ruberl, also known as Charles Ruberl Sr., was an Austrian swimmer who competed in the late 19th century and early 20th century in the 200 meter events. He participated in swimming at the 1900 Summer Olympics in…
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1966
American actress (born 1902)
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat (1944). She also had a…
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1968
English colonel and cricketer (born 1884)
Richard Romer Claude Baggallay was an English army officer and cricketer who played first-class cricket for Derbyshire between 1912 and 1919 and captained the side in 1913, 1914 and 1919.
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1975
Canadian lawyer and politician, 19th Premier of Quebec (born 1912)
Jean Lesage was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the 19th premier of Quebec from July 5, 1960, to June 16, 1966. Alongside Georges-Émile Lapalme, René Lévesque and others, he is often viewed as the father…
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1980
American actress (born 1923)
Anne Baxter was an American actress, star of Hollywood films, Broadway productions, and television series. She won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and seven Photoplay Awards, and was nominated for an Emmy and two…
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1985
Hungarian historian and politician, 35th Prime Minister of Hungary (born 1932)
József Tihamér Antall, Jr. was a Hungarian teacher, librarian, historian, and statesman who served as the first democratically elected prime minister of Hungary, holding office from May 1990 until his death in December…
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1993
American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (born 1933)
Stuart Allen Roosa was an American aeronautical engineer, smokejumper, United States Air Force pilot, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, who was the Command Module Pilot for the Apollo 14 mission. The mission lasted from…
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1994
American journalist, author, and critic (born 1914)
Vance Oakley Packard was an American journalist and social critic. He was the author of several books, including The Hidden Persuaders and The Naked Society. He was a critic of consumerism.
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1996
Ukrainian-Russian mathematician and academic (born 1921)
Evgenii Mikhailovich Landis was a Soviet mathematician who worked mainly on partial differential equations.
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1997
American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 41st Governor of Florida (born 1930)
Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. was an American politician and military officer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Florida from 1971 to 1989 and as the 41st governor of Florida from…
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1998
American captain and politician (born 1922)
Morris King Udall was an American attorney and politician who served as a U.S. representative from Arizona from 1961 to 1991. As a member of the Democratic Party, he was a leading contender for the 1976 Democratic…
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1998
American painter and illustrator (born 1904)
Paul Cadmus was an American artist widely known for his egg tempera paintings of gritty social interactions in urban settings. He also produced many highly finished drawings of single nude male figures. His paintings…
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1999
American novelist, short story writer, and playwright(born 1923)
Joseph Heller was an American author of novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays. His best-known work is his debut novel Catch-22 (1961), a satire on war and bureaucracy, whose title has become a synonym for an…
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1999
Italian geologist and explorer (born 1897)
Count Ardito Desio was an Italian explorer, mountain climber, geologist, and cartographer.
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2001
2002
Azerbaijani general and politician, 3rd President of Azerbaijan (born 1923)
Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev was an Azerbaijani politician who was a Soviet party boss in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 1969 to 1982, and the third president of Azerbaijan from 1993 to 2003.
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2003
American actor and producer (born 1956)
Robert F. Newmyer was an American film producer, both commercial and independent.
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2005
Danish actress (born 1936)
Annette Susanne Strøyberg was a Danish actress. Her films included Les Liaisons dangereuses (1959), which was directed by her first husband, Roger Vadim.
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2005
Lebanese journalist and politician (born 1957)
Gebran Ghassan Tueni was a Lebanese politician and the former editor and publisher of daily paper An Nahar, established by his grandfather, also named Gebran Tueni, in 1933. He was assassinated in 2005 as part of a…
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2005
American basketball player (born 1928)
Paul Joseph Arizin, nicknamed "'Pitchin Paul", was an American basketball player who spent his entire National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Philadelphia Warriors from 1950 to 1962. He retired with the…
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2006
American actor (born 1935)
Peter Richard Boyle was an American actor. He is known for his work as a character actor on film and television and received several awards including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
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2006
American attorney and politician, 39th Governor of Pennsylvania (born 1917)
Raymond Philip Shafer was an American attorney and politician who served as the 39th governor of Pennsylvania from 1967 to 1971. Prior to that, he served as the 23rd lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967…
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2006
American engineer and businessman, co-founded Seagate Technology (born 1930)
Alan Field Shugart was an American engineer, entrepreneur and business executive whose career defined the modern computer disk drive industry.
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2006
Lebanese general (born 1953)
Major General François al-Hajj was a Lebanese military officer. He was assassinated by a car bomb on 12 December 2007.
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2007
American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1931)
Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with his…
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2007
American cardinal and theologian (born 1918)
Avery Robert Dulles was an American Jesuit priest, theologian, and cardinal of the Catholic Church. Dulles served on the faculty of Woodstock College from 1960 to 1974, of the Catholic University of America from 1974 to…
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2008
American actor (born 1916)
Charles Van Dell Johnson was an American actor and dancer. He had a prolific career in film, television, theatre and radio, which spanned over 50 years, from 1940 to 1992. He was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer…
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2008
Scottish race car driver, founded Tom Walkinshaw Racing (born 1946)
Thomas Dobbie Thomson Walkinshaw was a British racing car driver from Scotland and the founder of the racing team Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR). He was also involved in professional rugby union, as owner of Gloucester…
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2010
American banker, publisher, and philanthropist, founded the Allbritton Communications Company (born 1924)
Joe Lewis Allbritton was an American banker, publisher and philanthropist.
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2012
English rugby player (born 1987)
David Tait was a professional rugby union player for Sale Sharks in the Guinness Premiership.
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2012
American actor, director, screenwriter, author, educator, and activist (born 1931)
Thomas Robert Laughlin Jr. was an American actor, filmmaker, educator, activist, and perennial candidate. He was best known as the star and director of the Billy Jack tetralogy of action drama films, produced between…
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2013
Bangladeshi journalist and politician (born 1948)
Abdul Quader Mollah was a Bangladeshi Islamist leader, writer, and politician of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, who was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh…
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2013
American actress (born 1917)
Audrey Mary Totter was an American radio, film, and television actor and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s.
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2013
American author and illustrator, created Clifford the Big Red Dog (born 1928)
Norman Ray Bridwell was an American author and cartoonist best known for creating the Clifford the Big Red Dog book series.
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2014
English mathematician, historian, and academic (born 1941)
Ivor Owen Grattan-Guinness was a historian of mathematics and logic.
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2014
American baseball player (born 1928)
Herbert Eugene Plews was an American Major League Baseball second baseman. He played four years in the majors, from 1956 to 1959 with the Washington Senators and in 1959 for the Boston Red Sox. In the minor leagues he…
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2014
Dutch footballer (born 1942)
Frans Geurtsen was a Dutch footballer, who played at both professional and international levels as a striker.
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2015
American politician, White House Deputy Chief of Staff (born 1944)
Evelyn May Lieberman was an American public affairs professional who, during the Clinton administration, became the first woman to serve as White House Deputy Chief of Staff, and was the first United States Under…
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2015
Australian-American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (born 1931)
Shirley Hazzard was an Australian-American novelist, short story writer, and essayist. She was born in Australia and also held U.S. citizenship.
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2016
2017
American singer and songwriter (born 1955)
Patrick Michael DiNizio was an American musician. He was best known for being the lead singer, songwriter and founding member of the band The Smithereens, which he formed in 1980 with Jim Babjak, Dennis Diken and Mike…
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2017
American actor (born 1933)
Daniel Louis Aiello Jr. was an American actor. He appeared in numerous motion pictures, including The Godfather Part II (1974), The Front (1976), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Hide in Plain Sight (1984), The…
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2019
English author (born 1931)
David John Moore Cornwell, known by his pen name John le Carré, was an English author.
Many of his espionage novels have been adapted for film or television. He has been described as a "sophisticated, morally ambiguous…
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2020
American actress, dancer, and choreographer (born 1949)
Ann Reinking was an American dancer, actress, choreographer, and singer. As a star of Broadway musicals, her credits include Over Here! (1974), Goodtime Charley (1975), Chicago (1977), Dancin' (1978), and Sweet Charity…
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2020
Mexican actor, ranchera singer, and film producer (born 1940)
Vicente Fernández Gómez was a Mexican mariachi singer, actor and film producer. Nicknamed "Chente", "El Charro de Huentitán", "El Ídolo de México", and "El Rey de la Música Ranchera", Fernández started his career as a…
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2021
American politician and environmental advocate (born 1924)
Clyde Bernard Fowler was an American politician from Maryland. He was a Calvert County Commissioner from 1970 to 1982, and served in the Maryland Senate between 1983 and 1994. Fowler is best known for his advocacy for…
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2021
Tongan politician and military officer, Deputy Prime Minister (born 1955)
'Siosaʻia Lausiʻi, Lord Maʻafu Tukuiʻaulahi, also known as Lord Maʻafu, was a Tongan politician, military officer, and member of the Tongan nobility.
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2021
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Notable deaths
Who died on December 12?
Doris Blackburn — Australian activist and legislator (1889–1970)
FeaturedDoris Blackburn
Death year1970
Known forShe served in the House of Representatives from 1946 to 1949, the second woman after Enid Lyons to do so
Deaths on this date68 (884 – 2021)
Explore December 12
Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.
Also on December 12 in History
2024
Indian Grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju became the undisputed World Chess Champion in a tournament held in Singapore, making him the 18th and the youngest champion in chess history. Wikipedia →
2021
Dutch Formula One racing driver Max Verstappen wins the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, beating seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton to become the first Formula One World Champion to come from the Netherlands. Wikipedia →
2015
See all events on December 12
The Paris Agreement relating to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is adopted. Wikipedia →
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