Notable Deaths on February 14

February 14 has 111 recorded notable deaths across history, from 269 to 2026. This page lists every one of them, with the best-known people first.

Glenn Boyer

2013 — Glenn Boyer

American historian and author (born 1924)

By · — Wikipedia · Report an error

Notable Deaths 111 source records 269 – 2026

Major events on February 14

See what else happened on this day in history.

  1. 1947 The act abolishing all noble ranks and related styles comes into force in Hungary. Source
  2. 2005 YouTube is launched by a group of college students, eventually becoming the largest video sharing website in the world and a main source for viral videos. Source

Did you know about Glenn Boyer

Glenn Boyer was the first person to reveal the existence of Wyatt Earp's second wife, Mattie Blaylock.

Did you know about William Blackstone

On 3 July, 1753, he formally gave up his practice as a barrister, and embarked on a series of lectures on English law, the first of their kind.

Did you know about Edmund Rubbra

Edmund Rubbra's later works were not as popular with the concert-going public as his previous ones had been, although he never lost the respect of his colleagues.

Did you know about Nándor Hidegkuti

During the 1950s he was also a key member of the Hungary national team known as the Golden Team.

Did you know about Marco Pantani

Marco Pantani is the second to last rider and one of only eight to ever win the Tour de France – Giro d'Italia double, doing so in 1998.


More major people who died on February 14

Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.

1780 William Blackstone

William Blackstone

English jurist and politician (born 1723)
Sir William Blackstone was an English jurist, justice, and Tory politician most noted for his Commentaries on the Laws of England, which became the best-known description of the doctrines of the English common law. Born into a middle-class family in London, Blackstone was educated at Charterhouse School before matriculating at Pembroke College, Oxford, in 1738. After switching to and completing a Bachelor of Civil Law degree, he was made a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, on 2 November 1743, admitted to Middle Temple, and called to the Bar there in 1746. Following a slow start to his career as a barrister, Blackstone was involved heavily in university administration, becoming accountant, treasurer, and bursar on 28 November 1746, and Senior Bursar in 1750. Blackstone is considered responsible for completing the Codrington Library and the Warton Building, and for simplifying the complex accounting system used by the college. On 3 July, 1753, he formally gave up his practice as a barrister, and embarked on a series of lectures on English law, the first of their kind. These talks were massively successful, earning him £453 ; they led to the publication of An Analysis of the Laws of England in 1756, which sold out repeatedly. It was used to preface his later works.
1986 Edmund Rubbra

Edmund Rubbra

English composer and conductor (born 1901)
Edmund Rubbra was a British composer. He composed both instrumental and vocal works for soloists, chamber groups and full choruses and orchestras. He was greatly esteemed by fellow musicians and was at the peak of his fame in the mid-20th century. The best known of his pieces are his eleven symphonies. Although he was active at a time when many people wrote twelve-tone music, he decided not to write in this idiom; instead, he devised his own distinctive style. His later works were not as popular with the concert-going public as his previous ones had been, although he never lost the respect of his colleagues. Therefore, his output as a whole is less celebrated today than would have been expected from its early popularity. He was the brother of the engineer Arthur Rubbra.
2002 Nándor Hidegkuti

Nándor Hidegkuti

Hungarian footballer and manager (born 1922)
Nándor Hidegkuti was a Hungarian football player and manager. He played as a forward or attacking midfielder and spent the majority of his playing career at MTK Hungária FC. During the 1950s he was also a key member of the Hungary national team known as the Golden Team. Other members of the team included Ferenc Puskás, Zoltán Czibor, Sándor Kocsis and József Bozsik. In 1953, playing as a deep-lying centre-forward, a position which has retroactively been compared to the modern false 9 role, he scored a hat-trick for Hungary when they beat England 6–3 at Wembley Stadium. Playing from deep, Hidegkuti was able to distribute the ball to the other attackers and cause considerable confusion to defences. This was an innovation at the time and revolutionised the way the game was played.
2004 Marco Pantani

Marco Pantani

Italian cyclist (born 1970)
Marco Pantani was an Italian road racing cyclist, widely regarded as one of the greatest climbing specialists in the history of the sport by measures of his legacy, credits from other riders, and records. He recorded the fastest climbs up the Tour's iconic venues of Mont Ventoux (46:00) and Alpe d'Huez (36:50), and other cyclists including Lance Armstrong and Charly Gaul have hailed Pantani's climbing skills. He is the second to last rider and one of only eight to ever win the Tour de France – Giro d'Italia double, doing so in 1998. He is the sixth of seven Italians, after Ottavio Bottecchia, Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, Gastone Nencini and Felice Gimondi, and before Vincenzo Nibali to win the Tour de France.
1923 Charles Henry Turner

Charles Henry Turner

American zoologist, educator, and comparative psychologist (born 1867)
Charles Henry Turner was an American zoologist, entomologist, educator, and comparative psychologist, known for his studies on the behavior of insects, particularly bees and ants. Born in Cincinnati, Turner was the first African American to receive a graduate degree at the University of Cincinnati and the first African American to earn a PhD from the University of Chicago (1907). He spent most of his career as a high school teacher at Sumner High School in St. Louis. Turner was one of the first scientists to systematically examine the question of whether animals display complex cognition, studying arthropods such as spiders and bees. He also examined differences in behavior between individuals within a species, a precursor to the study of animal personality.
1942 Adnan Saidi

Adnan Saidi

Malayan lieutenant (born 1915)
Adnan bin Saidi was a Malayan military officer who served under the 1st Malaya Infantry Brigade within the Malaya Command during the Second World War. Born in Selangor, Adnan pursued his education and graduated from the Sultan Idris Training College. He was initially a schoolteacher before enlisting in the Straits Settlements Volunteer Force (SSVF), where his leadership potential quickly became apparent. Rising through the ranks, he became a commissioned officer in the Malay Regiment, one of the few Malay officers at the time to attain such a position. Known for his discipline, strategic acumen and unwavering dedication, Adnan played a vital role in the defence of Singapore during the Japanese invasion.
1948 Mordecai Brown

Mordecai Brown

American baseball player and manager (born 1876)
Mordecai Peter Centennial Brown, nicknamed "Three Finger Brown" or "Miner", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher and manager during the first two decades of the 20th century. Due to a farm-machinery accident in his youth, Brown lost part of his right index finger. He later broke his middle finger, causing it to permanently bend. In that process he gained a colorful nickname. He turned this handicap into an advantage by learning how to grip a baseball in a way that resulted in an exceptional curveball, which broke radically before reaching the plate. With this technique he became one of the elite pitchers of his era.
1996 Bob Paisley

Bob Paisley

English footballer and manager (born 1919)
Robert Paisley was an English professional football manager and player who played as a wing-half. He spent almost 50 years with Liverpool and is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time. Reluctantly taking the job in 1974, he built on the foundations laid by his predecessor Bill Shankly and went on to become the most successful English manager in history. Paisley is the first of five managers to have won the European Cup three times. He is also one of five managers to have won the English top-flight championship as both a player and manager at the same club.
269 Saint Valentine

Saint Valentine

Roman saint
Saint Valentine was a 3rd-century Roman saint, commemorated in Western Christianity on February 14 and in Eastern Orthodoxy on July 6. From the High Middle Ages, his feast day has been associated with a tradition of courtly love. He is also a patron saint of Terni, epilepsy, and beekeepers. Saint Valentine was a clergyman – either a priest or a bishop – in the Roman Empire who ministered to persecuted Christians. He was martyred and his body buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14, which has been observed as the Feast of Saint Valentine since at least the eighth century.
1010 Fujiwara no Korechika

Fujiwara no Korechika

Japanese nobleman (born 974)
Fujiwara no Korechika , the second son of Michitaka, was a kugyo of the Heian period. His mother was Takashina no Takako, also known as Kō-no-Naishi (高内侍). His sister Teishi (Sadako) was married to Emperor Ichijō, and Korechika aspired to become the regent (Sessho) for his young brother-in-law after his father's death. Korechika's ambitions pitted him against his powerful uncle, Fujiwara no Michinaga, and the resulting power struggle continued until Empress Teishi's unexpected death. This left Michinaga's daughter, Shoshi, as Ichijō's sole empress, solidifying Michinaga's power at court.
1937 Erkki Melartin

Erkki Melartin

Finnish composer (born 1875)
Erkki Gustaf Melartin was a Finnish composer, conductor, and teacher of the late-Romantic and early-modern periods. Melartin is generally considered to be one of Finland's most significant national Romantic composers, although his music—then and now—largely has been overshadowed by that of his contemporary, Jean Sibelius, the country's most famous composer. The core of Melartin's oeuvre consists of a set of six (completed) symphonies, as well as is his opera, Aino, based on a story from the Kalevala, Finland's national epic, but nevertheless in the style of Richard Wagner.
2026 Tom Noonan

Tom Noonan

American actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1951)
Thomas Patrick Noonan was an American actor, director and screenwriter, best known for his roles as Francis Dollarhyde in Manhunter (1986), Frankenstein's Monster in The Monster Squad (1987), Cain in RoboCop 2 (1990), The Ripper in Last Action Hero (1993), Kelso in Heat (1995), Sammy Barnathan in Synecdoche, New York (2008), Mr. Ulman in The House of the Devil (2009), Reverend Nathaniel in Hell on Wheels (2011–2014), the Pallid Man in 12 Monkeys (2015–2018), and as the voice of everyone but Michael and Lisa in Anomalisa (2015).
1994 Christopher Lasch

Christopher Lasch

American historian and critic (born 1932)
Robert Christopher Lasch was an American historian and social critic who was a history professor at the University of Rochester. Lasch's books, including The New Radicalism in America (1965), Haven in a Heartless World (1977), The Culture of Narcissism (1979), The True and Only Heaven (1991), and The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy were widely discussed and reviewed. The Culture of Narcissism became a surprise best-seller and won the National Book Award in the category Current Interest (paperback).
2006 Lynden David Hall

Lynden David Hall

English singer-songwriter and producer (born 1974)
Lynden David Hall was an English singer, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who emerged during the late 1990s as part of the neo soul movement. In 1999, he was the first UK performer ever voted "Best Male Artist" by the readers of Britain's Blues & Soul magazine. His debut album, Medicine 4 My Pain, spawned the UK hit singles "Do I Qualify" and "Sexy Cinderella". In October 2003, Hall was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma; he died on 14 February 2006, aged 31.
2016 Eric Lubbock

Eric Lubbock

4th Baron Avebury, English lieutenant, engineer, and politician (born 1928)
Eric Reginald Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury, was an English politician and human rights campaigner. He served as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Orpington from 1962 to 1970. He then served in the House of Lords, having inherited the title of Baron Avebury in 1971, until his death. In 1999, when most hereditary peers were removed from the House of Lords, he was elected by his fellow Liberal Democrats to remain. When he died, he was the longest serving Liberal Democrat peer.
1009 Bruno of Querfurt

Bruno of Querfurt

German missionary bishop
Bruno of Querfurt, O.S.B. Cam., also known as Brun, was a Christian missionary, bishop, Camaldolese monk and martyr. He was active in the eastern regions of the Holy Roman Empire and became one of the leading figures in the early Christian missions to the peoples of northeastern Europe. Bruno was killed in Prussia, near the frontier of Kyivan Rus' and Lithuania, while attempting to convert the Old Prussians to Christianity. He is venerated as the "Second Apostle of the Prussians".
1959 Baby Dodds

Baby Dodds

American drummer (born 1898)
Warren "Baby" Dodds was an American jazz drummer born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is regarded as one of the best jazz drummers of the pre-big band era. He varied his drum patterns with accents and flourishes, and he generally kept the beat with the bass drum while playing buzz rolls on the snare. Early influences included Louis Cottrell, Sr., Dave Perkins, and Tubby Hall. Dodds was among the first drummers to be recorded improvising while performing.
1922 Heikki Ritavuori

Heikki Ritavuori

Finnish lawyer and politician (born 1880; assassinated)
Heikki Ritavuori was a Finnish lawyer, a politician from the National Progressive Party, a member of the Parliament of Finland and Minister of the Interior. He was the closest colleague of President K. J. Ståhlberg and was Minister of the Interior in J. H. Vennola's first and second cabinets from 1919 to 1922 for a total of 526 days. Minister Ritavuori was shot dead at the door to his home in Helsinki in February 1922.
1995 U Nu

U Nu

Burmese politician, 1st Prime Minister of Burma (born 1907)
Nu, commonly known as U Nu and also by the honorific name Thakin Nu, was a prominent Burmese statesman and the first Prime Minister of Union of Burma. He was educated at Rangoon University, where he developed his political ideas and became actively involved in the student movement. Nu's involvement in the nationalist movement deepened during his university years, and he quickly emerged as a leading figure advocating for Burma's independence from British colonial rule.
2014 Tom Finney

Tom Finney

English footballer (born 1922)
Sir Thomas Finney was an English international footballer who played from 1946 to 1960 as an outside left for Preston North End and England. He is widely acknowledged to have been one of England's greatest ever players. He was noted for his loyalty to Preston, for whom he made 433 Football League and 39 FA Cup appearances, scoring a total of 210 goals. He played for England 76 times, scoring 30 goals.
2013 Ronald Dworkin

Ronald Dworkin

American philosopher and scholar (born 1931)
Ronald Myles Dworkin was an American legal philosopher, jurist, and scholar of United States constitutional law. At the time of his death, he was Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law and Philosophy at New York University and Professor of Jurisprudence at University College London. Dworkin had taught previously at Yale Law School and the University of Oxford, where he was the Professor of Jurisprudence, successor to philosopher H. L. A. Hart.
1969 Vito Genovese

Vito Genovese

Italian-American mob boss (born 1897)
Vito Genovese was an Italian-born American mafioso and the boss of the Genovese crime family of New York City. A childhood friend and criminal associate of Lucky Luciano, Genovese took part in the Castellammarese War and helped Luciano shape the Mafia's rise as a major force in organized crime in the United States. He would later lead Luciano's crime family, which was renamed by the FBI after Genovese in 1957.
1949 Yusuf Salman Yusuf

Yusuf Salman Yusuf

Iraqi politician (born 1901)
Yusuf Salman Yusuf, better known by his nom de guerre Comrade Fahd, was one of the first Iraqi communist activists. He was the first secretary of the Iraqi Communist Party, from 1941 until his execution in 1949. He is generally credited with a vital role in the party's rapid organizational growth in the 1940s. For the last two years of his life, he directed the party from prison.
1975 Julian Huxley

Julian Huxley

English biologist and eugenicist, co-founded the World Wide Fund for Nature (born 1887)
Sir Julian Sorell Huxley was an English evolutionary biologist, eugenicist and internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentieth-century modern synthesis. He was secretary of the Zoological Society of London (1935–1942), the first director of UNESCO, a founding member of the World Wildlife Fund, the president of the British Eugenics Society (1959–1962), and the first president of the British Humanist Association.
1975 P. G. Wodehouse

P. G. Wodehouse

English novelist and playwright (born 1881)
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeves; the immaculate and loquacious Psmith; Lord Emsworth and the Blandings Castle set; the Oldest Member, with stories about golf; and Mr. Mulliner, with tall tales on subjects ranging from bibulous bishops to megalomaniac movie moguls.
2015 Philip Levine

Philip Levine

American poet and academic (born 1928)
Philip Levine was an American poet best known for his poems about working-class Detroit. He taught for more than thirty years in the English department of California State University, Fresno and held teaching positions at other universities as well. He served on the Board of Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets from 2000 to 2006, and was appointed Poet Laureate of the United States for 2011–2012.
1714 Maria Luisa of Savoy

Maria Luisa of Savoy

queen of Spain (born 1688)
Princess Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy, nicknamed La Savoyana, was Queen of Spain by marriage to King Philip V. She acted as regent during her husband's absence from 1702 until 1703 and had great influence as a political adviser during the War of the Spanish Succession, during which she was often regent while Philip fought to protect his legitimacy and his place on the throne.
1870 St. John Richardson Liddell

St. John Richardson Liddell

American general (born 1815)
St. John Richardson Liddell was a prominent Louisiana planter who served as a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was an outspoken proponent of Southern emancipation of slaves in order to secure foreign assistance. Following the war, Liddell had a prominent feud with a former Confederate officer, Charles Jones, who eventually murdered Liddell near his home in 1870.
1943 Aleksander Meysztowicz

Aleksander Meysztowicz

Polish politician and landowner (bron 1864)
Aleksander Meysztowicz was a Polish politician, landowner, and social activist. He served as the Minister of Justice of Poland from 1926 to 1928, and the chairperson of the Provisional Governing Commission and the Minister of Internal Affairs in the Republic of Central Lithuania from 1921 to 1922. He was also a member of the State Council of the Russian Empire from 1909 to 1917.
1989 James Bond

James Bond

American ornithologist and zoologist (born 1900)
James Bond was an American ornithologist and expert on the birds of the Caribbean, having written the definitive book on the subject: Birds of the West Indies, first published in 1936. He served as a curator of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Writer Ian Fleming adopted his name for his fictional British spy; references to the ornithologist permeate the resulting media franchise.
1998 Peter Koch (wood scientist)

Peter Koch (wood scientist)

American industrial engineer and wood scientist (born 1920)
Peter Koch was an American engineer and wood scientist who was considered an expert in the field of wood technology by his peers. From 1963 to 1982, Koch led a team of US Forest Service scientists in forest products utilization research specific to forests of the southeastern US. Accomplishments by Koch and his research team included eight US patents plus hundreds of research publications.
2011 George Shearing

George Shearing

English-American pianist and composer (born 1919)
Sir George Albert Shearing was a British jazz pianist and composer who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 songs, including the jazz standards "Lullaby of Birdland" and "Conception", and had multiple albums on the Billboard charts during the 1950s, 1960s, 1980s and 1990s.
1400 Richard II

Richard II

king of England (born 1367)
Richard II, also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince and Joan of Kent. The Black Prince died in 1376, leaving Richard as heir apparent to his grandfather, King Edward III. Upon the King's death, the 10-year-old Richard succeeded to the throne.
1779 James Cook

James Cook

English captain, cartographer, and explorer (born 1728)
Captain James Cook was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer who led three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans between 1768 and 1779. He completed the first recorded circumnavigation of the main islands of New Zealand, and led the first recorded visit by Europeans to the east coast of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands.
2015 Louis Jourdan

Louis Jourdan

French-American actor and singer (born 1921)
Louis Jourdan was a French film and television actor. He was known for his suave roles in several Hollywood films, including Alfred Hitchcock's The Paradine Case (1947), Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948), Gigi (1958), The Best of Everything (1959), The V.I.P.s (1963) and Octopussy (1983). He played Dracula in the 1977 BBC television production Count Dracula.
2018 Ruud Lubbers

Ruud Lubbers

Dutch politician and diplomat, Prime Minister and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (born 1939)
Rudolphus Franciscus Marie "Ruud" Lubbers was a Dutch politician, diplomat and businessman who served as prime minister of the Netherlands from 1982 to 1994, and as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 2001 to 2005. He was a member of the Catholic People's Party (KVP), which later merged to become the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party.
1891 William Tecumseh Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman

American general (born 1820)
William Tecumseh Sherman was an American businessman, author, and United States Army general in the Union army during the American Civil War (1861–1865). As a general he earned recognition for his command of military strategy but criticism for the harshness of his scorched-earth policies, which he implemented in his military campaign against the Confederate States.
1894 Eugène Charles Catalan

Eugène Charles Catalan

Belgian-French mathematician and academic (born 1814)
Eugène Charles Catalan was a French and Belgian mathematician who worked on continued fractions, descriptive geometry, number theory and combinatorics. His notable contributions included discovering a periodic minimal surface in the space ; stating the famous Catalan's conjecture, which was eventually proved in 2002; and introducing the Catalan numbers to solve a combinatorial problem.
1988 Frederick Loewe

Frederick Loewe

German-American composer (born 1901)
Frederick Loewe was an American composer. He collaborated with lyricist Alan Jay Lerner on a series of Broadway musicals, including Brigadoon, Paint Your Wagon, My Fair Lady, and Camelot, all of which were made into films, as well as the original film musical Gigi (1958), which was first transferred to the stage in 1973.
1549 Il Sodoma

Il Sodoma

Italian painter (born 1477)
Il Sodoma was the name given to the Italian Renaissance painter Giovanni Antonio Bazzi. Il Sodoma painted in a manner that superimposed the High Renaissance style of early 16th-century Rome onto the traditions of the provincial Sienese school; he spent the bulk of his professional life in Siena, with two periods in Rome.
1831 Vicente Guerrero

Vicente Guerrero

Mexican general and politician, 2nd President of Mexico (born 1782)
Vicente Ramón Guerrero Saldaña was a Mexican military officer, guerrilla commander, and statesman who played a central role in the Mexican War of Independence and served as the nation's second president in 1829. Later official memory has also styled him a consummator of independence and a founder of the First Mexican Republic.
1910 Giovanni Passannante

Giovanni Passannante

Italian anarchist (born 1849)
Giovanni Passannante was an Italian anarchist who attempted to assassinate king Umberto I of Italy, the first attempt against Savoy monarchy since its origins. Originally condemned to death, his sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. The conditions of his imprisonment drove him insane and have been denounced as inhumane.
1808 John Dickinson

John Dickinson

American lawyer and politician 5th Governor of Delaware (born 1732)
John Dickinson was an American Founding Father, attorney and politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, Delaware. Dickinson was known as the "Penman of the Revolution" for his 12 Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, published individually in 1767 and 1768, and he also wrote "The Liberty Song" in 1768.
1994 Andrei Chikatilo

Andrei Chikatilo

Soviet serial killer (born 1936)
Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo was a Ukrainian-born Soviet serial killer nicknamed "the Butcher of Rostov", "the Rostov Ripper", and "the Red Ripper" who sexually assaulted, murdered, and mutilated at least fifty-two women and children between 1978 and 1990 in the Russian SFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, and the Uzbek SSR.
1958 Abdur Rab Nishtar

Abdur Rab Nishtar

Pakistani politician, 2nd Governor of Punjab (born 1899)
Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar was a Pakistani independence activist and politician from the North-West Frontier Province. He served as the first Minister of Communications of Pakistan from August 1947 to August 1949 and then as the second Governor of West Punjab from August 1949 to November 1951.
2018 Morgan Tsvangirai

Morgan Tsvangirai

2nd Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (born 1952)
Morgan Richard Tsvangirai was a Zimbabwean politician who was Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013. He was president of the Movement for Democratic Change, and later the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC–T), and a key figure in the opposition to then-president Robert Mugabe.
1999 John Ehrlichman

John Ehrlichman

American lawyer and politician, 12th White House Counsel (born 1925)
John Daniel Ehrlichman was an American lawyer who served as White House Counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under President Richard Nixon. Ehrlichman was an important influence on Nixon's domestic policy, coaching him on issues and enlisting his support for environmental initiatives.
1933 Carl Correns

Carl Correns

German botanist and geneticist (born 1864)
Carl Erich Correns was a German botanist and geneticist notable primarily for his independent discovery of the principles of heredity, which he achieved simultaneously but independently of the botanist Hugo de Vries, and for his acknowledgment of Gregor Mendel's earlier paper on that subject.
1950 Karl Guthe Jansky

Karl Guthe Jansky

American physicist and engineer (born 1905)
Karl Guthe Jansky was an American physicist and radio engineer who in April 1933 first announced his discovery of radio waves emanating from the Milky Way in the constellation Sagittarius. An amateur astronomer, he is considered one of the founding figures of radio astronomy.
1976 Charlie Christodoulou

Charlie Christodoulou

British soldier and mercenary of the Angolan Civil War (born 1951)
Charles Christodoulou was a British soldier in the Parachute Regiment who later served as a foreign mercenary during the Angolan War of Independence of the 1970s. Known as 'Shotgun Charlie', he was involved in the murder of at least 167 people during that conflict.
2021 Carlos Menem

Carlos Menem

Argentine former president, lawyer, and statesman (born 1930)
Carlos Saúl Menem was an Argentine politician who served as the president of Argentina for ten years, from 1989 to 1999. He identified as Peronist, serving as President of the Justicialist Party for 13 years, and his political approach became known as Menemism.
2010 Doug Fieger

Doug Fieger

American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1952)
Douglas Lars Fieger was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the rock band the Knack. He co-wrote "My Sharona," the biggest hit song of 1979 in the U.S., with lead guitarist Berton Averre.
2009 Louie Bellson

Louie Bellson

American drummer and composer (born 1924)
Louie Bellson was an American jazz drummer, composer, arranger, bandleader, and jazz educator. He is credited with pioneering the use of two bass drums. His name was often seen in sources as Louis Bellson, although he himself preferred the spelling Louie.
1881 Fernando Wood

Fernando Wood

American merchant and politician, 73rd Mayor of New York City (born 1812)
Fernando Wood was an American Democratic Party politician, merchant, and real estate investor who served as the 74th and 76th mayor of New York City. He also represented the city for several terms in the United States House of Representatives.
1979 Adolph Dubs

Adolph Dubs

American lieutenant and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Afghanistan (born 1920)
Adolph Dubs, also known as Spike Dubs, was an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan from May 13, 1978, until his death in 1979. He was killed during a rescue attempt after his kidnapping.
2003 Johnny Longden

Johnny Longden

English jockey and trainer (born 1907)
John Eric "Johnny" Longden was an American Hall of Fame and National Champion jockey and a trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses who was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England. His father emigrated to Canada in 1909, settling in Taber, Alberta.
2014 Mike Stepovich

Mike Stepovich

American lawyer and politician, Governor of Alaska Territory (born 1919)
Michael Anthony Stepovich was an American lawyer and politician who served as the last non-interim governor of the Territory of Alaska. Stepovich served as Territorial Governor from 1957 to 1958, and Alaska was given U.S. statehood in 1959.
2015

Franjo Mihalić

Croatian-Serbian runner and coach (born 1920)
Franjo Mihalić was a Yugoslav and Croatian long-distance runner best known for his 1958 win at the Boston Marathon and his marathon silver medal in the 1956 Summer Olympics. Mihalić competed mostly in marathons, road races and cross country races, distinguishing himself by winning many top-level international competitions in the 1950s and setting a combined 25 Croatian and later Yugoslavian national records in long-distance track events between 5000 m and 25 km. In 1957, he became the inaugural winner of the Golden Badge, the award for the best sportsperson of Yugoslavia awarded by the daily Sport. He is regarded as the most accomplished male athlete in the history of Croatian, Serbian and Yugoslav track and field.
2007 Ryan Larkin

Ryan Larkin

Canadian animator and director (born 1943)
Ryan Larkin was a Canadian animator, artist, and sculptor who rose to fame with the psychedelic Oscar-nominated short Walking (1968) and the acclaimed Street Musique (1972). He was the subject of the Oscar-winning film Ryan.
1140 Sobĕslav I

Sobĕslav I

duke of Bohemia
Soběslav I was Duke of Bohemia from 1125 until his death in 1140. He was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, the youngest son of Vratislaus II, by his third wife Świętosława of Poland.
1831 Henry Maudslay

Henry Maudslay

English engineer (born 1771)
Henry Maudslay was an English machine tool innovator, tool and die maker, and inventor. He is considered a founding father of machine tool technology. His inventions were an important foundation for the Industrial Revolution.
1967 Sig Ruman

Sig Ruman

German-American actor (born 1884)
Siegfried Carl Alban Rumann, billed as Sig Ruman and Sig Rumann, was a German-American character actor known for his portrayals of pompous and often stereotypically Teutonic officials or villains in more than 100 films.
1440 Dietrich of Oldenburg

Dietrich of Oldenburg

German nobleman
Dietrich or Theoderic of Oldenburg, also known as Dietrich the Lucky, was Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst. He was known as "Fortunatus" for securing Delmenhorst for his branch of the House of Oldenburg.
1930 Thomas Mackenzie

Thomas Mackenzie

Scottish-New Zealand cartographer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of New Zealand (born 1853)
Sir Thomas Mackenzie was a New Zealand politician and explorer who briefly served as the 18th prime minister of New Zealand in 1912, and later served as New Zealand High Commissioner in London.
1995 Michael V. Gazzo

Michael V. Gazzo

American actor and playwright (born 1923)
Michael Vincenzo Gazzo was an American playwright who later in life became a movie and television actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in The Godfather Part II (1974).
1318 Margaret of France

Margaret of France

queen of England
Margaret or Marguerite of France was Queen of England as the second wife of King Edward I. She was a daughter of Philip III of France and Maria of Brabant.
1989 Vincent Crane

Vincent Crane

English pianist (born 1943)
Vincent Rodney Cheesman, known professionally as Vincent Crane, was an English keyboardist, best known as the organist for the Crazy World of Arthur Brown and subsequently for Atomic Rooster.
2005 Rafic Hariri

Rafic Hariri

Lebanese businessman and politician, 60th Prime Minister of Lebanon (born 1944; assassinated)
Rafic Bahaa El Deen al-Hariri was a Lebanese businessman and politician who served as prime minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 to 2004.
869 Cyril

Cyril

Greek missionary bishop and saint (born 827)
Cyril and Methodius were brothers, Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Early Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs".
1943 Dora Gerson

Dora Gerson

German actress and singer (born 1899)
Dora Gerson was a German cabaret singer and stage and motion picture actress of the silent film era. She was murdered at Auschwitz during the Holocaust.
1974 Stewie Dempster

Stewie Dempster

New Zealand cricketer and coach (born 1903)
Charles Stewart Dempster was a New Zealand Test cricketer and coach. As well as representing New Zealand, he also played for Wellington, Scotland, Leicestershire and Warwickshire.
2007

Gareth Morris

English flute player and educator (born 1920)
Gareth Charles Walter Morris was a British flautist. He was the principal flautist of a number of London orchestras, including the Boyd Neel Orchestra, before joining the Philharmonia Orchestra. He was the principal flautist of this orchestra for 24 years and Professor of the Flute at the Royal Academy of Music from 1945 to 1985. Morris was known for using a wooden flute, at a time when most other players had switched to using metal flutes.
945

Zhu Wenjin

Chinese emperor
Zhu Wenjin was a general who later usurped the throne of Min, reigning from 944 to 945, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of China. In 944, he assassinated Wang Yanxi and tried to take over control of the Min state, but his officer Lin Renhan (林仁翰) assassinated him less than a year later and submitted to Wang Yanxi's brother Wang Yanzheng, who had been warring with Wang Yanxi.
2012

Péter Rusorán

Hungarian swimmer, water polo player, and coach (born 1940)
Péter Rusorán was a Hungarian swimmer, water polo player and later water polo coach. As a player, he won the Olympic Games gold medal in 1964 and the bronze in 1960 and also obtained the Universiade title in 1965. As a coach, Rusorán won a number of national league titles both in Hungary and abroad and also triumphed on two occasions in the most prestigious continental competition, the European Champions Cup.
1229

Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson

king of the Isles
Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson ruled as King of the Isles from 1187 to 1226. He was the eldest son of Guðrøðr Óláfsson, King of Dublin and the Isles. Although the latter may have intended for his younger son, Óláfr, to succeed to the kingship, the Islesmen chose Rǫgnvaldr, who was likely Óláfr's half-brother. Rǫgnvaldr went on to rule the Kingdom of the Isles for almost forty years before losing control to Óláfr.
2012

Mike Bernardo

South African boxer and martial artist (born 1969)
Michael Shawn Bernardo was a South African kickboxer and boxer from Cape Town. He was known as Beru-chan in Japan, where he took part in K-1 World GPs starting in 1994. He held notable wins over Mirko Cro Cop, Andy Hug (2×), Francisco Filho, Branko Cikatic, Stan Longinidis, Gary Goodridge, and three consecutive wins over K-1 legend Peter Aerts.
1956

Harold Edward Dahl

American pilot and mercenary (born 1909)
Harold Edward Dahl was a mercenary American pilot who fought in the Spanish Republican Air Force during the Spanish Civil War. He was a member of the "American Patrol" of the Andres Garcia La Calle group. He was nicknamed "Whitey" due to his very blond hair.
2019

Andrea Levy

English author (born 1956)
Andrea Levy was an English author best known for the novels Small Island (2004) and The Long Song (2010). She was born in London to Jamaican parents, and her work explores topics related to British Jamaicans and how they negotiate racial, cultural and national identities.
1755

Isidro de Espinosa

Franciscan missionary from Spanish Texas (born 1679)
Isidro Félix de Espinosa (1679–1755) was a Franciscan missionary from New Spain who participated in several expeditionary missions throughout the province of Tejas. He was the president of the missionaries from the College of Santa Cruz de Querétaro.
1976

George Washington Bacon III

American soldier, CIA agent, and mercenary (born 1946)
George Washington Bacon III was an American soldier and intelligence officer. He served as a Green Beret in the U.S. Army, Paramilitary Officer in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and finally as a mercenary soldier.
1976

Gertrud Dorka

German archaeologist, prehistorian and museum director (born 1893)
Gertrud Dorka was a German archaeologist, prehistorian, museum director and teacher. She was the museum director of the State Museum for Prehistory and Early History between 1947 and 1958.
2009

Bernard Ashley

English engineer and businessman, co-founded Laura Ashley plc (born 1926)
Sir Bernard Albert Ashley was an English businessman and engineer. He was the husband of Laura Ashley, and was her business partner from the founding of their fashion-textiles-centred business.
2021

William Meninger

American Trappist monk and a principal developer of Centering Prayer (born 1932)
William Austin Meninger, O.C.S.O. was an American Trappist priest who was a spiritual teacher and a principal developer of centering prayer, a method of contemplative prayer.
945

Lian Chongyu

Chinese general
Lian Chongyu was a general of the Chinese Min state. In 944, he and another general, Zhu Wenjin, assassinated the emperor Wang Yanxi. He then supported Zhu as the new emperor of the Min state, but the officer Lin Renhan (林仁翰) assassinated him and Zhu less than a year later and submitted to Wang Yanxi's brother Wang Yanzheng, who had been warring with Wang Yanxi.
1140

Leo I

Armenian prince
Leo I, also Levon I or Leon I, was the fifth lord of Armenian Cilicia (1129/1130–1137).
1164 Sviatoslav Olgovich

Sviatoslav Olgovich

Kievan prince
Sviatoslav Olgovich was Prince of Novgorod (1136–1138); Novgorod-Seversk (1139); Belgorod (1141–1154); and Chernigov (1154–1164).
1489

Nicolaus von Tüngen

prince-bishop of Warmia
Nicolaus von Tüngen was bishop of Warmia from 1467 until 1489.
1528 Edzard I

Edzard I

German nobleman (born 1462)
Edzard I, also Edzard the Great was count of East Frisia from 1491 until his death in 1528.
1676 Abraham Bosse

Abraham Bosse

French engraver and illustrator (born 1602)
Abraham Bosse was a French artist, mainly as a printmaker in etching, but also in watercolour.
1737 Charles Talbot

Charles Talbot

1st Baron Talbot, English lawyer and politician Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (born 1685)
Charles Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot, was a British lawyer and Whig politician. He was Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain from 1733 to 1737.
1744 John Hadley

John Hadley

English mathematician, invented the octant (born 1682)
John Hadley was an English mathematician, and laid claim to the invention of the octant, two years after Thomas Godfrey claimed the same.
1782

Singu Min

Burmese king (born 1756)
Singu Min was the fourth king of the Konbaung dynasty of Myanmar.
1884 Lydia Hamilton Smith

Lydia Hamilton Smith

African-American businesswoman (born 1813)
Lydia Hamilton Smith was an American businesswoman and the long-time housekeeper and confidante of Thaddeus Stevens, later becoming a prominent entrepreneur after his death.
1885 Jules Vallès

Jules Vallès

French journalist and author (born 1832)
Jules Vallès was a French journalist, author, and left-wing political activist.
1924 Amalie Andersen

Amalie Andersen

Norwegian actress (born 1861)
Tilda Amalie Andersen was a Norwegian actress.
1929 Thomas Burke

Thomas Burke

American sprinter, coach, and lawyer (born 1875)
Thomas Edmund Burke was an American sprinter. He was the first Olympic champion in the 100 and 400 meter sprint races.
1943 David Hilbert

David Hilbert

Russian-German mathematician, physicist, and philosopher (born 1862)
David Hilbert was a German mathematician and philosopher of mathematics and one of the most influential mathematicians of all time.
1952 Maurice De Waele

Maurice De Waele

Belgian cyclist (born 1896)
Maurice De Waele was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer.
1970 Bert Strudwick

Bert Strudwick

English cricketer and coach (born 1880)
Herbert Strudwick was an English wicket-keeper. His record of 1,493 dismissals is the third-highest by any wicket-keeper in the history of first-class cricket.
1983 Lina Radke

Lina Radke

German runner and coach (born 1903)
Karoline "Lina" Radke-Batschauer was a German track and field athlete. She was the first Olympic champion in the 800 m for women.
1987 Dmitry Kabalevsky

Dmitry Kabalevsky

Russian pianist and composer (born 1904)
Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky was a Soviet composer, conductor, pianist and pedagogue of Russian gentry descent.
1999 Buddy Knox

Buddy Knox

American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1933)
Buddy Wayne Knox was an American singer-songwriter, best known for his 1957 rock and roll hit song, "Party Doll".
2002 Mick Tucker

Mick Tucker

English drummer (born 1947)
Michael Thomas Tucker was an English musician, best known as the drummer of the glam rock and hard rock band Sweet.
2008 Perry Lopez

Perry Lopez

American actor (born 1929)
Perry Lopez was an American film and television actor. His acting career spanned 40 years.
2010 Dick Francis

Dick Francis

Welsh jockey and author (born 1920)
Richard Stanley Francis was a British steeplechase jockey and crime writer whose novels centre on horse racing in England.
2010 Linnart Mäll

Linnart Mäll

Estonian historian, orientalist, and translator (born 1938)
Linnart Mäll was an Estonian historian, orientalist, translator and politician.
2012 Dory Previn

Dory Previn

American singer-songwriter (born 1925)
Dorothy Veronica "Dory" Previn was an American lyricist, singer-songwriter and poet.
2012 Tonmi Lillman

Tonmi Lillman

Finnish drummer and producer (born 1973)
Tonmi Lillman was a Finnish musician, best known as Otus, the former drummer of the Finnish rock band Lordi.
2014

Chris Pearson

Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of Yukon (born 1931)
Christopher William Pearson was the second leader of the Yukon Progressive Conservative Party and the first premier of Yukon.
2016 Steven Stucky

Steven Stucky

American composer and academic (born 1949)
Steven Edward Stucky was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer.

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