Did you know
Carver Dana Andrews was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir and later in Western films.
Notable Deaths on December 17
1992 — Dana Andrews
American actor (born 1909)
December 17 has 99 recorded notable deaths across history, from 779 to 2025. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
99 source records
779 – 2025
Today in history
Major events on December 17
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1989 Fernando Collor de Mello defeats Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the Brazilian presidential election, becoming the first democratically elected President in almost 30 years. Source
- 1951 The American Civil Rights Congress delivers "We Charge Genocide" to the United Nations. Source
- 2002 Second Congo War: The Congolese parties of the Inter Congolese Dialogue sign a peace accord which makes provision for transitional governance and legislative and presidential elections within two years. Source
- 1892 First issue of Vogue is published. Source
Did you know
James McCaffrey starred as the lead character in the short lived series Swift Justice, which was cancelled after only a season.
Did you know
In 2024, a scientific study ruled out Hauser's princely descent by comparing mitochondrial DNA haplotypes with the House of Baden.
Did you know
With Graham at quarterback, the Browns posted a record of 105 wins, 17 losses, and 4 ties, including a 9–3 win–loss record in the AAFC and NFL playoffs.
Did you know
Sammy Baugh played college football for the TCU Horned Frogs, where he was a two time All-American prior to being selected by the Redskins in the first round of the 1937 NFL draft.
More major people who died on December 17
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
2023
James McCaffrey
American actor (born 1958)
James Perry McCaffrey was an American actor. He starred as the lead character in the short lived series Swift Justice, which was cancelled after only a season.
1833
Kaspar Hauser
German feral child (born 1812?)
Kaspar Hauser was a German youth who claimed to have grown up in the total isolation of a darkened cell.
2003
Otto Graham
American football player and coach (born 1921)
Otto Everett Graham Jr. was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons.
2008
Sammy Baugh
American football player and coach (born 1914)
Samuel Adrian Baugh was an American professional football quarterback who played 16 seasons with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL).
1562
Eleonora di Toledo
Grand Duchess of Tuscany (born 1522)
Eleanor of Toledo was a Spanish noblewoman who became Duchess of Florence as the first wife of Cosimo I de' Medici.
2005
Jack Anderson
American journalist and author (born 1922)
Jack Northman Anderson was an American newspaper columnist, syndicated by United Features Syndicate, considered one of the founders of modern investigative journalism.
2014
Dieter Grau
German-American scientist and engineer (born 1913)
Dieter Grau was a German-born American aerospace engineer and member of the "von Braun rocket group", at Peenemünde (1939–1945) working on the V-2 rockets in World War II.
2014
Oleh Lysheha
Ukrainian poet and playwright (born 1949)
Oleh Lysheha was a Ukrainian poet, playwright, translator and intellectual.
2015
Hal Brown
American baseball player and manager (born 1924)
Hector Harold Brown was an American professional baseball player and right-handed pitcher.
2006
Larry Sherry
American baseball player and coach (born 1935)
Lawrence Sherry was an American professional baseball player and coach.
2013
Fred Bruemmer
Latvian-Canadian photographer (born 1929)
Fred Bruemmer, D.Litt. was a Latvian Canadian nature photographer and researcher. He spent his life travelling extensively throughout the circumpolar regions and to other remote parts of the globe.
1917
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
English physician and activist (born 1836)
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was an English physician and suffragist.
2008
Gregoire
Congolese chimpanzee, oldest recorded (born 1942)
Gregoire was, up until his death, Africa's oldest known chimpanzee. For the last eleven years of his life, he was a resident of the Tchimpounga Sanctuary in the Republic of the Congo.
2012
Daniel Inouye
American captain and politician (born 1924)
Daniel Ken Inouye was an American attorney, soldier, and statesman who represented Hawaii in the United States Senate from 1963 until his death in 2012.
2020
Jeremy Bulloch
English actor (born 1945)
Jeremy Andrew Bulloch was an English actor. In a career that spanned six decades, he gained recognition for originating the physical portrayal of Boba Fett in the Star Wars franchise, appearing as the character in the…
2010
Captain Beefheart
American singer-songwriter (born 1941)
Don Van Vliet, known by his stage name Captain Beefheart, was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist.
1273
Rumi
Persian jurist, theologian, and poet (born 1207)
Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī, commonly known as Rumi, was a Sufi mystic, poet, and founder of the Islamic brotherhood known as the Mevlevi Order. His family hailed from Balkh.
2013
Janet Rowley
American geneticist and biologist (born 1925)
Janet Davison Rowley was an American human geneticist and the first scientist to identify a chromosomal translocation as the cause of leukemia and other cancers, thus proving that cancer is a genetic disease.
2024
Igor Kirillov
Russian general (born 1970)
Igor Anatolyevich Kirillov was a Russian lieutenant general. He was the head of the Chemical, Biological, and Nuclear Defense Troops of the Russian Armed Forces. He held a Candidate of Military Sciences degree.