Did you know
Kirsty MacColl also sang on a number of recordings produced by her husband Steve Lillywhite, most notably "Fairytale of New York" by the Pogues.
Notable Deaths on December 18
2000 — Kirsty MacColl
British singer-songwriter (born 1959)
December 18 has 109 recorded notable deaths across history, from 919 to 2025. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
109 source records
919 – 2025
Today in history
Major events on December 18
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1854 The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada abolishes the seigneurial system. Source
- 1972 Vietnam War: President Richard Nixon announces that the United States will engage North Vietnam in Operation Linebacker II, a series of Christmas bombings, after peace talks collapsed with North Vietnam on the 13th. Source
- 1958 Project SCORE, the world's first communications satellite, is launched. Source
- 1865 US Secretary of State William Seward proclaims the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment, prohibiting slavery throughout the United States. Source
Did you know
Around 650 instruments survive, including 450 to 512 violins.
Did you know
Eduard Bernstein was a German social democratic politician and socialist theorist.
Did you know
Johann Gottfried Herder was a Romantic philosopher and poet who argued that true German culture was to be discovered among the common people.
Did you know
Pierre Cauchon was a French Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Beauvais from 1420 to 1432.
More major people who died on December 18
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1737
Antonio Stradivari
Italian instrument maker (born 1644)
Antonio Stradivari was an Italian luthier and a craftsman of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas and harps.
1932
Eduard Bernstein
German theorist and politician (born 1850)
Eduard Bernstein was a German social democratic politician and socialist theorist.
1803
Johann Gottfried Herder
German philosopher, theologian, and poet (born 1744)
Johann Gottfried von Herder was a German philosopher, theologian, pastor, poet, and literary critic. Herder is associated with the Age of Enlightenment, Sturm und Drang, and Weimar Classicism.
1442
Pierre Cauchon
French Catholic bishop (born 1371)
Pierre Cauchon was a French Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Beauvais from 1420 to 1432. He was a partisan of Burgundian and English interests in France during the latter years of the Hundred Years' War.
2001
Gilbert Bécaud
French singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (born 1927)
François Gilbert Léopold Silly, known professionally as Gilbert Bécaud, was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances.
1987
Conny Plank
German keyboard player and producer (born 1940)
Konrad "Conny" Plank was a German record producer and musician. He is known for his innovative work as a sound engineer and producer in Germany's krautrock and kosmische music scene in the 1970s.
1969
Charles Dvorak
American pole vaulter and coach (born 1878)
Charles Edward Dvorak was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the pole vault.
1843
Thomas Graham
1st Baron Lynedoch, Scottish-English general and politician (born 1748)
General Thomas Graham, 1st Baron Lynedoch, was a British Army officer and politician.
1939
Ernest Lawson
Canadian-American painter (born 1873)
Ernest Lawson was a Canadian-American painter and exhibited his work at the Canadian Art Club and as a member of the American group The Eight, artists who formed a loose association in 1908 to protest the narrowness of…
1990
Paul Tortelier
French cellist and composer (born 1914)
Paul Tortelier was a French cellist and composer. After an outstanding student career at the Conservatoire de Paris he played in orchestras in France and the US before the Second World War.
1864
José Justo Corro
Mexican politician, President of Mexico (1836–1837) (born 1794)
José Justo Corro y Silva was a Mexican lawyer and statesman who was made president of Mexico on 2 March 1836, after the sudden death of President Miguel Barragán.
1961
Leo Reisman
American violinist and bandleader (born 1897)
Leo F. Reisman was an American violinist and bandleader in the 1920s and 1930s.
2011
Václav Havel
Czech poet, playwright, and politician, 1st President of the Czech Republic (born 1936)
Václav Havel was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and dissident.
2002
Lucy Grealy
Irish-American author (born 1963)
Lucinda Margaret Grealy was an Irish-American poet and memoirist who wrote Autobiography of a Face in 1994.
2007
William Strauss
American author and playwright (born 1947)
William Strauss was an American author, lawyer, playwright, theater director, and lecturer. As an author, he is known for his work with Neil Howe on social generations.
1925
Hamo Thornycroft
English sculptor and academic (born 1850)
Sir William Hamo Thornycroft was an English sculptor, responsible for some of London's best-known statues, including the statue of Oliver Cromwell outside the Palace of Westminster.
1990
Anne Revere
American actress (born 1903)
Anne Revere was an American actress and a member of the board of the Screen Actors Guild. She was best known for her work on Broadway and her portrayals of mothers in a series of critically acclaimed films.
1974
Harry Hooper
American baseball player, coach, and manager (born 1887)
Harry Bartholomew Hooper was an American professional baseball right fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB). Hooper batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
2014
Virna Lisi
Italian actress (born 1936)
Virna Lisa Pieralisi, known as just Virna Lisi, was an Italian actress. Her international film appearances included How to Murder Your Wife (1965), Not with My Wife, You Don't!