Did you know
She won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Comedy Actress for the role in 1967
Notable Deaths on December 6
91 people
343 – 2024
December 6 has seen 91 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 343 – 2024. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
1989 — Frances Bavier
American actress (born 1902)
Did you know
Originally from New York theatre, she worked in film and television from the 1950s until the 1970s
Did you know
Bavier was also known for playing Amy Morgan on It's a Great Life (1954–1956).
Did you know
Frances Elizabeth Bavier was an American stage and television actress
Did you know
Aunt Bee logged more Mayberry years (ten) than any other character
Greek bishop and saint (born 270)
Saint Nicholas of Myra, also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara in Anatolia during the time of the Roman Empire. Because of the many miracles…
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343
Prince Toneri was a Japanese imperial prince in the Nara period. He was a son of Emperor Tenmu. He was given the posthumous name Emperor Sudoujinkei , as the father of Emperor Junnin. In the beginning of the Nara…
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735
Arab rebel leader (born 710)
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥasan al-Muthannā ibn al-Ḥasan al-Mujtabā ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib or Muḥammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya, was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, through his daughter…
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762
Dom Afonso I nicknamed "the Conqueror", "the Founder" and "the Great" by the Portuguese, was the first king of Portugal, from 26 July 1139 until his death on 6 December 1185. He achieved the independence of the County…
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1185
1305
1306
Pope Clement VI, born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death, in December 1352. He was the fourth Avignon pope. Clement reigned during the first visitation of the Black Death…
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1352
Dutch painter (born 1495)
Jan van Scorel was a Dutch painter, who played a leading role in introducing aspects of Italian Renaissance painting into Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting. He was one of the early painters of the Romanist style…
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1562
Moroccan writer, judge and mathematician (born 1552)
Shihab al-Din abu l-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Mohammed ibn Mohammed ibn Ahmed ibn Ali ibn 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Abi'l-'Afiyya al-Miknasi az-Zanati, known simply as Ahmad ibn al-Qadi or Ibn al-Qadi (1552/1553–1616), was a Maghrebi…
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1616
French cardinal (born 1556)
Jacques Davy Duperron was a French politician and Roman Catholic cardinal.
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1618
Spanish priest and author (born 1601)
Baltasar Gracián y Morales, better known as Baltasar Gracián, was a Spanish Jesuit priest and Baroque prose writer and philosopher. He was born in Belmonte, near Calatayud (Aragón). His writings were lauded by…
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1658
English priest, scholar, and academic (born 1602)
John Lightfoot was an English churchman, rabbinical scholar, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and Master of St Catharine's College, Cambridge.
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1675
Queen consort of Ferdinand III (born 1630)
Eleonora Gonzaga was by birth Princess of Mantua, Nevers and Rethel from the Nevers branch of the House of Gonzaga, and was Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen consort of Hungary and Bohemia by marriage to Emperor…
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1686
Dutch priest and composer (born 1642)
Benedictus Buns, Benedictus à sancto Josepho, was a Carmelite priest and composer.
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1716
English poet and playwright (born 1674)
Nicholas Rowe was an English dramatist, poet and miscellaneous writer who was appointed Poet Laureate in 1715. His plays and poems were well-received during his lifetime, with one of his translations described as one of…
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1718
Scottish poet and songwriter (born 1665)
Lady Grizel Baillie was a Scottish gentlewoman and songwriter. Her accounting ledgers, in which she kept details about her household for more than 50 years, provide information about social life in Scotland in the…
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1746
Italian anatomist and pathologist (born 1682)
Giovanni Battista Morgagni was an Italian anatomist, generally regarded as the father of modern anatomical pathology, who taught thousands of medical students from many countries during his 56 years as Professor of…
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1771
French painter (born 1699)
Jean Siméon Chardin was an 18th-century French painter. He is considered a master of still life, and is also noted for his genre paintings which depict kitchen maids, children, and domestic activities. Carefully…
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1779
English bishop (born 1714)
Jonathan Shipley was a clergyman who held offices in the Church of England, who became Bishop of Llandaff from January to September 1769 and Bishop of St Asaph from September 1769 until his death.
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1788
English ornithologist and entomologist (born 1789)
William Swainson FLS, FRS, was an English ornithologist, malacologist, conchologist, entomologist and artist.
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1855
French physiologist and academic (born 1794)
Marie Jean Pierre Flourens, father of Gustave Flourens, was a French physiologist, the founder of experimental brain science, and a pioneer in anesthesia.
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1867
German linguist and academic (born 1821)
August Schleicher was a German linguist. Schleicher studied the Proto-Indo-European language and devised theories concerning historical linguistics. His great work was A Compendium of the Comparative Grammar of the…
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1868
Greek painter and educator (born 1814)
Theodoros Vryzakis was a Greek painter, known mostly for his historical scenes. He was one of the founders of the "Munich School", composed of Greek artists who had studied in that city.
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1878
American businessman (born 1814)
Erastus Brigham Bigelow was an American inventor of weaving machines.
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1879
Swiss businessman and politician, founded Credit Suisse (born 1819)
Johann Heinrich Alfred Escher vom Glas, colloquially Alfred Escher, was a Swiss business magnate, banker, railway pioneer and politician who most notably served on the National Council from 1848 to 1882 for the Liberal…
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1882
English novelist, essayist, and short story writer (born 1815)
Anthony Trollope was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among the best-known of his 47 novels are two series of six novels each collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire and the…
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1882
American general and politician, President of the Confederate States of America (born 1808)
Jefferson F. Davis was the only president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865, leading the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Before the war, he was a member of the Democratic Party who represented…
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1889
German engineer and businessman, founded the Siemens Company (born 1816)
Ernst Werner Siemens was a German electrical engineer, inventor and industrialist. Siemens's name has been adopted as the SI unit of electrical conductance, the siemens. He founded the electrical and telecommunications…
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1892
Russian chemist (born 1851)
Aleksandr Pavlovich Dianin was a Russian chemist from Saint Petersburg. He carried out studies on phenols and discovered a phenol derivative now known as bisphenol A and the accordingly named Dianin's compound. He was…
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1918
Ottoman politician, 280th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (born 1865)
Mehmed Said Halim Pasha was a writer and statesman who served as the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1913 to 1917. He is said to be one of the perpetrators of the Armenian genocide and later assassinated by…
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1921
American author and screenwriter (born 1863)
Gene Stratton-Porter, born Geneva Grace Stratton, was an American writer, nature photographer, and naturalist from Wabash County, Indiana. In 1917 Stratton-Porter urged legislative support for the conservation of…
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1924
Irish-Australian politician, 29th Premier of Tasmania (born 1870)
Edmund John Chisholm Dwyer-Gray was an Irish-Australian politician, who was the 29th Premier of Tasmania from 11 June to 18 December 1939. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP).
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1945
American journalist and publisher, founded The New Yorker (born 1892)
Harold Wallace Ross was an American journalist who co-founded The New Yorker magazine in 1925 with his wife Jane Grant, and was its editor-in-chief until his death.
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1951
American baseball player and manager (born 1874)
Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner was an American professional baseball shortstop who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1897 to 1917, mostly with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Nicknamed "the Flying Dutchman"…
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1955
Indian economist and politician, 1st Indian Minister of Justice (born 1891)
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and politician who chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India based on the debates of the Constituent Assembly of India and the…
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1956
Martinique-French psychiatrist and author (born 1925)
Frantz Omar Fanon was a French West Indian psychiatrist and political philosopher from the French colony of Martinique. His works have become influential in the fields of post-colonial studies and critical theory. As…
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1961
Dutch footballer and architect (born 1895)
Evert van Linge was a Dutch footballer who earned 13 caps for the Dutch national side between 1919 and 1926, scoring three goals. He also participated at the 1924 Summer Olympics. He played for Be Quick 1887 and SC…
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1964
English actress and singer (born 1934)
Janet Munro was a British actress. She won a Golden Globe Award for her performance in the film Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959) and received a BAFTA Film Award nomination for her performance in the film Life…
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1972
Soviet naval officer (born 1904)
Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov was a Soviet naval officer who achieved the rank of Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union and served as People's Commissar of the Navy during the Winter War and the Second World War.…
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1974
Brazilian lawyer and politician, 24th President of Brazil (born 1918)
João Belchior Marques Goulart, commonly known as Jango, was a Brazilian politician who served as the 24th president of Brazil from 1961 until a military coup d'état deposed him in 1964. He was considered the last…
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1976
French engineer and businessman, co-founded DB (born 1911)
Charles Deutsch (1911–1980) was a French aerodynamics engineer and automobile maker, founder of the brand "DB" with René Bonnet, and later of the "CD".
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1980
Kenyan activist and politician (born 1927)
Jean-Marie Seroney was a Kenyan human rights advocate, legislator, and an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience. He was detained as a prisoner of conscience for 1,155 days.
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1982
French singer and actress (born 1903)
Lucienne Boyer was a French entertainer and musician, best known for her song "Parlez-moi d'amour". Her impresario was Bruno Coquatrix. According to the New York Times, she "reigned as queen of Paris nightlife during…
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1983
Pakistani poet, historian, and politician (born 1914)
Gul Khan Naseer also known as Malek o-Sho'arā Balochistan ; 14 May 1914 – 6 December 1983) was a Pakistani politician, poet, historian, and journalist from Balochistan. Most of his work is in Balochi language, but he…
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1983
American actor and puppeteer (born 1917)
Franklin Burr Tillstrom was a puppeteer and the creator of Kukla, Fran and Ollie.
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1985
American baseball player and manager (born 1893)
Burleigh Arland Grimes was an American professional baseball player and manager, and the last major league pitcher who was officially permitted to throw the spitball. Grimes made the most of this advantage, as well as…
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1985
American serial killer, arsonist, and cannibal (born 1938)
Carroll Edward "Eddie" Cole was an American serial killer who was executed in Nevada in 1985 for killing two women by strangulation. He was also convicted of murdering three other women in Texas and is believed to have…
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1985
American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1936)
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were in the early…
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1988
American pianist and composer (born 1902)
Sammy Fain was an American composer of popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to Broadway theatre.
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1989
American actor, singer, and producer (born 1912)
John Howard Payne was an American film actor who is mainly remembered from film noir crime stories and 20th Century Fox musical films, and for his leading roles in Miracle on 34th Street and the NBC Western television…
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1989
Greek singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1948)
Pavlos Sidiropoulos was a Greek musician noted for combining rock music with Greek music. He is considered one of the pillars of Greek rock due to his involvement so early in its foundation. In particular, Flou (1976),…
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1990
Malaysian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Malaysia (born 1903)
Tunku Abdul Rahman, widely known simply as Tunku, was a Malaysian statesman who served as the first prime minister of Malaysia from 1957 until 1970. He was also the only chief minister of the Federation of Malaya from…
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1990
English nurse (born 1906)
Mary Elizabeth "Mimi" Smith, informally known as Aunt Mimi, was a maternal aunt and the parental guardian of the English musician John Lennon. She was born in Toxteth, Liverpool, as the oldest of five daughters. She…
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1991
English economist and statistician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1913)
Sir John Richard Nicholas Stone was an eminent British economist. He was educated at Gonville and Caius College and King's College at the University of Cambridge. In 1984, he was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in…
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1991
American actor (born 1908)
Don Ameche was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, repertory theatre, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which led to the offer of a movie contract…
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1993
German footballer and manager (born 1922)
Heinrich "Heinz" Baas was a German football player and manager.
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1994
Italian actor and director (born 1933)
Gian Maria Volonté was an Italian actor and activist. He is known for his roles in Italian Western films: Ramón Rojo in Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars (1964), El Indio in Leone's For a Few Dollars More (1965), El…
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1994
American businessman (born 1926)
Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle was an American professional football executive. Rozelle served as the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) for nearly thirty years, from January 1960 until his retirement in…
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1996
American football player and first overall draft pick (born 1930)
Harry Lewis Babcock was an American professional football end in the National Football League (NFL). He was the first overall selection in the 1953 NFL draft.
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1996
Dutch swimmer (born 1918)
Willemijntje den Ouden was a competitive swimmer from the Netherlands, who held the 100-meter freestyle world record for nearly 23 years, from 1933 to 1956.
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1997
French sculptor and educator (born 1921)
César, also occasionally referred to as César Baldaccini, was a French sculptor.
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1998
German-American actor (born 1920)
Werner Klemperer was an American actor. He was best known for playing Colonel Wilhelm Klink on the CBS television sitcom Hogan's Heroes, for which he twice won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy…
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2000
2000
American football player and coach (born 1923)
Charles Youmans McClendon, also known as "Cholly Mac", was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Louisiana State University (LSU) from 1962 to 1979, compiling a record of…
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2001
American priest and activist (born 1923)
Philip Francis "Phil" Berrigan was an American peace activist and Catholic priest with the Josephites. He engaged in nonviolent, civil disobedience in the cause of peace and nuclear disarmament and was often arrested.
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2002
Guatemalan general and politician, President of Guatemala (born 1918)
Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio was a military officer and politician who served as the 35th president of Guatemala from 1970 to 1974. A member of the National Liberation Movement, his government enforced torture,…
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2003
Luxembourger cyclist (born 1932)
Charly Gaul was a Luxembourgish professional cyclist. He was a national cyclo-cross champion, an accomplished time triallist and superb climber. His ability earned him the nickname of Angel of the Mountains in the 1958…
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2005
Malaysian-Singaporean union leader and politician, 3rd President of Singapore (born 1923)
Chengara Veetil Devan Nair was a Singaporean union leader and politician who served as the third president of Singapore from 1981 until his resignation in 1985.
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2005
South African singer (born 1942)
Danny Williams was a South African-born British pop singer who earned the nickname "Britain's Johnny Mathis", for his smooth and stylish way with a ballad. He is best known for his 1961 UK number one version of "Moon…
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2005
American general (born 1912)
Lieutenant General William Pelham Yarborough was a senior United States Army officer. Yarborough designed the U.S. Army's parachutist badge, paratrooper or 'jump' boots, and the M42 airborne jump uniform. He is known as…
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2005
New Zealand director and producer (born 1922)
John Feeney was a New Zealand-born director, photographer and writer.
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2006
American-Canadian journalist and actor (born 1953)
Mark Edward Dailey was an American-born Canadian television journalist and announcer. He was the host of 11 p.m. weeknight CityNews newscasts in Toronto, Ontario, and a prominent continuity announcer voicing…
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2010
American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1940)
Dobie Gray was an American singer and songwriter. Gray's music spanned multiple genres, including soul, country, pop, and musical theater. His hit songs included "The 'In' Crowd" in 1965 and "Drift Away". "Drift Away"…
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2011
Equatoguinean engineer and politician, Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea (born 1961)
Miguel Abia Biteo Boricó was an Equatoguinean politician. He was the 5th Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea having served from 11 July 2004 to 14 August 2006. He was a member of the Bubi ethnic group.
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2012
2012
Taiwanese banker and businessman (born 1933)
Jeffrey Koo Sr. was a Taiwanese billionaire banker and the third-generation of the Koo Family who served as honorary chairman and governor of CTBC Financial Holding, and co-founded the Koos Group.
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2012
English guitarist (born 1951)
Richard Hugh "Huw" Lloyd-Langton was an English musician, best known as the guitarist for the rock band Hawkwind at various times. He also had his own band, The Lloyd Langton Group, and was the session lead guitarist…
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2012
Uruguayan lawyer and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay (born 1963)
Pedro Humberto Vaz Ramela was a Uruguayan diplomat, politician, and lawyer. Vaz served as the Minister of Foreign Relations of Uruguay from August 31, 2009 until March 1, 2010. In 2010, President José Mujica appointed…
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2012
French poet and critic (born 1939)
Jean-Pierre Desthuilliers was a French writer and poet. He was born on 22 October 1939 in Versailles and died on 6 December 2013.
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2013
English pianist and composer (born 1926)
Stanley William Tracey was a British jazz pianist and composer, whose most important influences were Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. Tracey's best known recording is the 1965 album Jazz Suite Inspired by Dylan…
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2013
American basketball player and coach (born 1942)
M. K. Turk was an American college basketball player and coach.
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2013
German-American video game designer, created the Magnavox Odyssey (born 1922)
Ralph Henry Baer was a German-born American inventor, game developer, and engineer.
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2014
American wrestler and manager (born 1962)
David Everett Ferrier was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Gigolo" Jimmy Del Ray. Del Ray was best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as one half of the…
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2014
American golfer (born 1923)
Fred Hawkins was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s.
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2014
English-American photographer and journalist (born 1981)
Luke Daniel Somers was a British-born American photojournalist who had been held hostage by the militant Islamist group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Yemen. He was a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and…
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2014
Taiwanese actor, director, and politician (born 1945)
Ko Chun-hsiung was a Taiwanese actor, director and politician. He had been acting since the 1960s and had appeared in more than 200 films.
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2015
Chinese general and politician (born 1917)
Liu Juying was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and general in the People's Liberation Army.
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2015
British actor (born 1934)
Nicholas John Smith was an English comedian and actor. He appeared in the BBC sitcom Are You Being Served?, playing Mr (Cuthbert) Rumbold, the manager of the fictional Grace Brothers department store.
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2015
British actor (born 1923)
Peter Ewart Ohm, known professionally as Peter Vaughan, was an English actor known for many supporting roles in British film and television productions. He also acted extensively on stage.
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2016
Australian fashion model and television personality (born 1936)
Margaret May Tabberer was an Australian fashion, publishing and television personality. She was a dual recipient of the Gold Logie award for her television work. Tabberer founded her own fashion label and PR companies…
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2024
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Notable deaths
Who died on December 6?
Frances Bavier — American actress (1902–1989)
FeaturedFrances Bavier
Death year1989
Known forOriginally from New York theatre, she worked in film and television from the 1950s until the 1970s
Deaths on this date91 (343 – 2024)
Explore December 6
Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.
Also on December 6 in History
2017
Donald Trump's administration officially announces the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Wikipedia →
2015
Venezuelan parliamentary election: For the first time in 17 years, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela loses its majority in parliament. Wikipedia →
2006
See all events on December 6
NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars. Wikipedia →
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