Did you know
Shirley Anita Chisholm was an American politician who, in 1968, became the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress.
Notable Deaths on January 1
2005 — Shirley Chisholm
American educator and politician (born 1924)
January 1 has 125 recorded notable deaths across history, from 138 to 2025. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
125 source records
138 – 2025
Today in history
Major events on January 1
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1806 The French Republican Calendar is abolished. Source
- 2004 In a vote of confidence, General Pervez Musharraf wins 658 out of 1,170 votes in the Electoral College of Pakistan, and according to Article 41(8) of the Constitution of Pakistan, is "deemed to be elected" to the office of President until October 2007. Source
- 1863 American Civil War: The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect in Confederate territory. Source
- 1847 The world's first "Mercy" Hospital is founded in Pittsburgh, United States, by a group of Sisters of Mercy from Ireland; the name will go on to grace over 30 major hospitals throughout the world. Source
Did you know
David Stern oversaw NBA basketball's growth into one of the world's most popular sports during the 1990s and 2000s.
Did you know
Edward Weston has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers" and "one of the masters of 20th century photography.
Did you know
John Torrington was the first fatality of the expedition, of which all personnel ultimately died, mostly in and around King William Island.
Did you know
as part of the clandestine Operation Paperclip, where he became one of the main developers of the U.
More major people who died on January 1
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
2020
David Stern
American lawyer and businessman (born 1942)
David Joel Stern was an American lawyer and business executive who was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2014.
1958
Edward Weston
American photographer (born 1886)
Edward Henry Weston was an American photographer. He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers" and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." Over the course of his…
1846
John Torrington
English sailor and explorer (born 1825)
John Shaw Torrington was a Royal Navy stoker. He was part of the 1845 Franklin Expedition to chart unexplored areas of what is now Nunavut, Canada, find the Northwest Passage, and make scientific observations.
1996
Arthur Rudolph
German-American engineer (born 1906)
Arthur Louis Hugo Rudolph was a German rocket engineer who was a leader of the effort to develop the V-2 rocket.
2012
Bob Anderson
English fencer (born 1922)
Robert James Gilbert Anderson was an English Olympic fencer and a renowned film fight choreographer, with a cinema career that spanned more than 50 years and included films such as Highlander, The Three Musketeers,…
1923
Willie Keeler
American baseball player (born 1872)
William Henry Keeler, nicknamed "Wee Willie" because of his small stature, was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1892 to 1910, primarily for the Baltimore Orioles and Brooklyn Superbas…
1944
Charles Turner
Australian cricketer (born 1862)
Charles Thomas Biass Turner was a bowler who is regarded as one of the finest ever produced by Australia. Among his accomplishments were:taking 283 wickets in the English season of 1888 for 11.27 runs each.
1978
Carle Hessay
German-Canadian painter (born 1911)
Hans Karl Hesse, known in later life as Carle Hessay, was a German-born Canadian painter.
1918
William Wilfred Campbell
Canadian poet and author (born 1858)
William Wilfred Campbell was a Canadian poet. He is often categorized as one of the country's Confederation Poets, a group that included Charles G.D.
1994
Edward Arthur Thompson
Irish historian and academic (born 1914)
Edward Arthur Thompson was an Irish-born British Marxist historian of classics and medieval studies.
1896
Alfred Ely Beach
American publisher and lawyer, created the Beach Pneumatic Transit (born 1826)
Alfred Ely Beach was an American inventor, entrepreneur, publisher, and patent lawyer, born in Springfield, Massachusetts.
1766
James Francis Edward Stuart
Jacobite pretender (born 1688)
James Francis Edward Stuart, also known as the Old Pretender, was the senior House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland from 1701 until his death in 1766.
2012
Kiro Gligorov
Macedonian lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Macedonia (born 1917)
Kiro Gligorov was a Macedonian and Yugoslav statesman, economist, and politician who served as the first president of the Republic of Macedonia from 1991 to 1999.
2015
Ulrich Beck
German sociologist (born 1944)
Ulrich Beck was a German sociologist, and one of the most cited social scientists in the world during his lifetime.
2021
Floyd Little
American football player (born 1942)
Floyd Douglas Little was an American professional football player who was a halfback for the Denver Broncos, initially in the American Football League (AFL) and later the National Football League (NFL).
2022
Dan Reeves
American football player and coach (born 1944)
Daniel Edward Reeves was an American professional football running back and coach in the National Football League (NFL).
1982
Victor Buono
American actor (born 1938)
Victor Charles Buono was an American actor, comic, and briefly a recording artist.
1984
Joaquín Rodríguez Ortega
known as "Cagancho", Spanish bullfighter (born 1903)
Joaquín Rodríguez Ortega, professionally known as Cagancho, was a Spanish bullfighter much of whose career was spent in Mexico, although he did sometimes perform in his native Spain, and one of his performances there,…
1992
Grace Hopper
American computer scientist and admiral, co-developed COBOL (born 1906)
Grace Brewster Hopper was an American computer scientist, mathematician, and United States Navy rear admiral. She was a pioneer of computer programming.