Did you know
Thelma Todd also had roles in several Wheeler and Woolsey and Laurel and Hardy films, the last of which featured her in a part that was cut short by her sudden death in 1935 at the age of 29.
Notable Deaths on December 16
1935 — Thelma Todd
American actress and comedian (born 1905)
December 16 has 115 recorded notable deaths across history, from 604 to 2025. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
115 source records
604 – 2025
Today in history
Major events on December 16
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1912 First Balkan War: The Royal Hellenic Navy defeats the Ottoman Navy at the Battle of Elli. Source
- 1880 Outbreak of the First Boer War between the Boer South African Republic and the British Empire. Source
- 1782 British East India Company: Muharram Rebellion: Hada and Mada Miah lead the first anti-British uprising in the subcontinent against Robert Lindsay and his contingents in Sylhet Shahi Eidgah. Source
- 1863 American Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis appoints General Joseph E. Johnston to replace General Braxton Bragg as commander of the Army of Tennessee. Source
Did you know
Haakon IV Haakonsson, sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his namesake son, was King of Norway from 1217 to 1263.
Did you know
Frank Gotch became one of the most popular athletes in the United States from the 1900s to the 1910s.
Did you know
Jerry Colangelo, who was the Suns' first general manager, interim coach (twice), and part owner called Van Arsdale "the pillar of the Phoenix Suns franchise" upon Van Arsdale's retirement in 1977.
Did you know
The oldest of four Ten Boom children, she neither left the family nor married, but remained at home until World War II.
More major people who died on December 16
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1263
Haakon IV
king of Norway (born 1204)
Haakon IV Haakonsson, sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his namesake son, was King of Norway from 1217 to 1263. His reign lasted for 46 years, longer than any Norwegian king since Harald Fairhair.
1917
Frank Gotch
American wrestler (born 1878)
Frank Alvin Gotch was an American professional wrestler who was the first American to win the World Heavyweight Championship in catch wrestling, and is credited for popularizing professional wrestling in the United…
2024
Dick Van Arsdale
American basketball player (born 1943)
Richard Albert Van Arsdale was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns. A three-time NBA All-Star selection with the Suns, his No.
1944
Betsie ten Boom
Dutch Holocaust victim (born 1885)
Elisabeth ten Boom was a Dutch woman, the daughter of a watchmaker, who suffered persecution under the Nazi regime in World War II, including incarceration in Ravensbrück concentration camp, where she died aged 59.
1687
William Petty
English economist and philosopher (born 1623)
Sir William Petty was an English economist, physician, scientist and philosopher. He first became prominent serving Oliver Cromwell and the Commonwealth in Ireland.
1908
American Horse
American tribal leader and educator (born 1840)
American Horse was an Oglala Lakota chief, statesman, educator and historian. American Horse is notable in American history as a U.S.
1474
Ali Qushji
Uzbek astronomer, mathematician, and physicist (born 1403)
Ala al-Dīn Ali ibn Muhammed, Persian: علاءالدین علی بن محمد سمرقندی known as Ali Qushji was a Timurid theologian, jurist, astronomer, mathematician and physicist, who settled in the Ottoman Empire during the reign of…
1783
Sir William James
1st Baronet, Welsh-English commander and politician (born 1720)
Commodore Sir William James, 1st Baronet was a Bombay Marine officer and politician who represented West Looe in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1774 to 1783.
1970
Oscar Lewis
American anthropologist of Latin America (born 1914)
Oscar Lewis, born Lefkowitz was an American anthropologist. He is best known for his vivid depictions of the lives of slum dwellers and his argument that a cross-generational culture of poverty transcends national…
2001
Stefan Heym
German-American soldier and author (born 1913)
Helmut Flieg was a German writer, known by his pseudonym Stefan Heym. He lived in the United States and trained at Camp Ritchie in 1943, making him one of the Ritchie Boys of World War II.
1983
Debs Garms
American baseball player (born 1907)
Debs C. Garms was an American professional baseball player for 12 seasons as an outfielder and third baseman for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, and St. Louis Cardinals.
2015
Lizmark
Mexican wrestler (born 1950)
Juan Baños was a Mexican professional wrestler better known by the ring name Lizmark. The name was taken from the German battleship Bismarck.
1669
Nathaniel Fiennes
English soldier and politician (born 1608)
Nathaniel Fiennes, c. 1608 to 16 December 1669, was a younger son of the Puritan nobleman and politician, William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele.
2001
Stuart Adamson
English-Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1958)
William Stuart Adamson was a Scottish rock guitarist and singer. Adamson began his career in the late 1970s as a founder and performer with the punk rock band Skids.
1774
François Quesnay
French economist, physician, and philosopher (born 1694)
François Quesnay was a French economist and physician of the Physiocratic school. He is known for publishing the "Tableau économique" in 1758, which provided the foundations of the ideas of the Physiocrats.
1945
Fumimaro Konoe
Japanese lawyer and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Japan (born 1891)
Prince Fumimaro Konoe was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1937 to 1939 and from 1940 to 1941.
2004
Agnes Martin
American painter and educator (born 1912)
Agnes Bernice Martin, was an American abstract painter. Her work has been defined as an "essay in discretion on inward-ness and silence".
2012
Jake Adam York
American poet and academic (born 1972)
Jake Adam York was an American poet. He published three books of poetry before his death: Murder Ballads, which won the 2005 Elixir Prize in Poetry; A Murmuration of Starlings, which won the 2008 Colorado Book Award in…
1998
William Gaddis
American author and academic (born 1922)
William Thomas Gaddis Jr. was an American novelist. The first and longest of his five novels, The Recognitions, was named one of TIME magazine's 100 best novels from 1923 to 2005 and two others, J R and A Frolic of His…