Did you know
Born in Halifax in 1901, Huggins moved to the United States for medical school
Notable Deaths on January 12
106 people
690 – 2026
January 12 has seen 106 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 690 – 2026. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
1997 — Charles Brenton Huggins
Canadian-American physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1901)
Did you know
For this finding, he was awarded the 1966 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine
Did you know
Huggins continued to perform research into his 90s; he died in Chicago in 1997.
Did you know
Charles Brenton Huggins was a Canadian-American surgeon and physiologist known for his work on prostate function, prostate cancer, and breast cancer
Did you know
Huggins's work on how sex hormones influence prostate function ultimately led to his discovery of hormone therapies to treat prostate cancer
English scholar and saint, founded the Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey (born 628)
Benedict Biscop, also known as Biscop Baducing, was an Anglo-Saxon abbot and founder of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Priory. Following his death, he was canonized as a saint.
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690
Samanid emir
Ahmad ibn Ismail was amir of the Samanids (907–914). He was the son of Ismail Samani. He was known as the "Martyred Amir".
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914
Chinese chief of staff (born 898)
Sang Weihan (桑維翰), courtesy name Guoqiao (國僑), formally the Duke of Wei (魏公), was a Chinese historian, military general, poet, and politician of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Later Jin, serving as…
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947
English monk and saint (born 1110)
Aelred of Rievaulx, also known as also Ailred, Ælred, or Æthelred; was an English Cistercian monk and writer who served as Abbot of Rievaulx from 1147 until his death. He is venerated by the Catholic Church as a saint…
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1167
1320
Queen of France (born 1254)
Marie of Brabant was Queen of France from 1274 until 1285 as the second wife of King Philip III. Born in Leuven, Brabant, she was a daughter of Henry III, Duke of Brabant, and Adelaide of Burgundy.
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1322
English noblewoman (born 1345)
Eleanor Maltravers, or Mautravers, was an English noblewoman. The granddaughter and eventual heiress of the first Baron Maltravers, she married two barons in succession and passed her grandfather's title to her grandson.
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1405
Holy Roman Emperor (born 1459)
Maximilian I was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519. He was never crowned by the Pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed himself…
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1519
French mathematician and lawyer (born 1601)
Pierre de Fermat was a French magistrate, polymath, and above all, a mathematician who is given credit for early developments that led to infinitesimal calculus, including his technique of adequality. In particular, he…
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1665
Italian priest and composer (born 1605)
(Gian) Giacomo Carissimi was an Italian composer and music teacher. He is one of the most celebrated masters of the early Baroque or, more accurately, the Roman School of music. Carissimi established the characteristic…
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1674
French-Canadian nun and saint, founded the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal (born 1620)
Marguerite Bourgeoys, CND, was a French religious sister and founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal in the colony of New France, now part of Québec, Canada.
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1700
English banker and politician, Lord Mayor of London (born 1647)
Sir William Ashhurst was a British banker, merchant and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1689 to 1710. He also served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1693.
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1720
English-Scottish historian and author (born 1685)
John Horsley FRS was a British antiquarian, known primarily for his book Britannia Romana or The Roman Antiquities of Britain which was published in 1732.
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1732
1735
1759
German violinist and composer (born 1696)
Johann Melchior Molter was a German composer and violinist of the late Baroque period.
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1765
Scottish-American general and physician (born 1726)
Hugh Mercer was a Scottish brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He fought in the New York and New Jersey campaign and was mortally wounded at the Battle of Princeton.
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1777
French politician (born 1703)
François Bigot was a French government official. He served as the Financial Commissary on Île Royale, commissary general of the ill-fated Duc d'Anville expedition and finally as the Intendant of New France, the last…
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1778
English bishop (born 1691)
Richard Challoner was an English Catholic prelate who served as Vicar Apostolic of the London District during the greater part of the 18th century, and as Titular Bishop of Doberus. In 1738, he published a revision of…
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1781
German philosopher, poet, and critic (born 1772)
Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel was a German literary critic, philosopher, and Indologist. With his older brother, August Wilhelm Schlegel, he was one of the main figures of Jena Romanticism.
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1829
French chef (born 1784)
Marie-Antoine Carême, known as Antonin Carême, was a leading French chef of the early 19th century.
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1833
1st Baron Grenville, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1759)
William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville was a British Pittite Tory politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1806 to 1807, but was a supporter of the Whigs for the duration of the Napoleonic…
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1834
Slovak philologist and politician (born 1815)
Ľudovít Štúr, also known as Ľudovít Velislav Štúr, was a leader of the Slovak national revival in the 19th century and the codifier of standard Slovak, he is lauded as one of the most important figures in Slovak history.
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1856
Czech philologist and author (born 1791)
Václav Hanka was a Czech philologist, poet and literary historian. Today he is known primarily as the probable counterfeiter of Dvůr Králové Manuscript, which he allegedly found. He contributed to the Czech National…
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1861
3rd Earl of Charlemont, Irish politician, Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone (born 1820)
James Molyneux Caulfeild, 3rd Earl of Charlemont KP was an Irish politician and peer.
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1892
Irish bishop and historian (born 1815)
William Reeves was an Irish antiquarian and the Church of Ireland Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore from 1886 until his death. He was the last private keeper of the Book of Armagh and at the time of his death was…
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1892
American businessman, founded Canadian Club (born 1816)
Hiram Walker was an American entrepreneur and founder of the Hiram Walker and Sons Ltd. distillery in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. He was born in East Douglas, Massachusetts, and moved to Detroit in 1838. He purchased land…
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1899
Lithuanian-German mathematician and academic (born 1864)
Hermann Minkowski was a mathematician and professor at the University of Königsberg, ETH Zürich, and the University of Göttingen, described variously as German, Polish, Lithuanian-German, or Russian. He created and…
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1909
Greek journalist, judge, and politician (born 1845)
Andreas Papagiannakopoulos was a judge and a politician of Kalavryta and Achaea.
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1911
Greek lawyer and politician, 80th Prime Minister of Greece (born 1844)
Georgios Theotokis was a Greek politician and Prime Minister of Greece, serving the post four times. He represented the Modernist Party or Neoteristikon Komma (NK).
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1916
English tenor and actor (born 1866)
Gervase Henry Cary-Elwes, DL, better known as Gervase Elwes, was an English tenor of great distinction, who exercised a powerful influence over the development of English music from the early 1900s up until his death in…
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1921
Australian businessman and politician, 4th Australian Minister for Defence (born 1864)
Sir Austin Chapman was an Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1901 until his death in 1926. He held ministerial office in the governments of Alfred Deakin and Stanley Bruce, serving as…
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1926
Polish violinist and composer (born 1887)
Paul Kochanski was a Polish violinist, composer and arranger active in the United States.
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1934
German-American painter and illustrator (born 1867)
Oscar Bluemner, born Friedrich Julius Oskar Blümner and after 1933 known as Oscar Florianus Bluemner, was a Prussian-born American Modernist painter.
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1938
Austrian-American hotelier (born 1891)
Ralph Hitz was a pioneer in the hotel industry, whose ideas for marketing and customer service became the industry standard for luxury lodging. During the 1930s he was the head of the National Hotel Management Company,…
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1940
English lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (born 1898)
Edward Benn ('Ned') Smith VC, DCM was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
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1940
Dutch journalist and critic (born 1902)
Jan Remco Theodoor Campert was a Dutch journalist, theater critic and writer who lived in Amsterdam. During the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II Campert was arrested for aiding Jews. He was held in…
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1943
American commander and pilot (born 1915)
Wing Commander Lance Cleo "Wildcat" Wade DSO, DFC & Two Bars was an American pilot who joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War and became a flying ace. He remained with RAF until his death in a…
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1944
1958
English engineer and author (born 1899)
Nevil Shute Norway was an English novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and Nevil Shute as his pen name to protect his engineering…
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1960
Russian journalist and activist (born 1869)
Ariadna Vladimirovna Tyrkova-Williams was a liberal politician, journalist, writer and feminist in Russia during the revolutionary period until 1920. Afterwards, she lived as a writer in Britain (1920–1951) and the…
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1962
American author, playwright, and director (born 1936)
Lorraine Vivian Hansberry was an American playwright and writer. She was the first Black American female author to have a play performed on Broadway. Hansberry's best-known work, the play A Raisin in the Sun, highlights…
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1965
Turkish diplomat (born 1887)
Burhan Belge was a Turkish politician and diplomat, who was a prominent figure among the young intellectuals during the early periods of Republic of Turkey and served as the representative of Muğla province during the…
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1967
1st Baron Tovey, English admiral (born 1885)
Admiral of the Fleet John Cronyn Tovey, 1st Baron Tovey,, sometimes known as Jack Tovey, was a Royal Navy officer. During the First World War he commanded the destroyer HMS Onslow at the Battle of Jutland and then…
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1971
American historian and academic (born 1896)
Roy Franklin Nichols was an American historian who won the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for History for The Disruption of American Democracy.
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1973
Princess Patricia of Connaught was a member of the British royal family and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She was the third and youngest child and the second daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and…
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1974
English crime novelist, short story writer, and playwright (born 1890)
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Mallowan, Lady Mallowan, usually known by her first married name, Agatha Christie, was an English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short-story collections, particularly those…
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1976
French director and screenwriter (born 1907)
Henri-Georges Clouzot was a French film director, screenwriter and producer. Clouzot is best remembered for his work in the thriller film genre, having directed The Wages of Fear (1953) and Les Diaboliques (1955), which…
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1977
Ukrainian engineer and politician (born 1903)
Nikolai Viktorovich Podgorny was a Soviet statesman who served as the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, the head of state of the Soviet Union, from 1965 to 1977.
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1983
South African politician (born 1925)
Cornelius Petrus Mulder was a South African politician and cabinet minister.
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1988
Italian racing driver and motorcycle racer (born 1906)
Pierino Antonio Alberto Taruffi was an Italian racing driver, motorcycle road racer, motorsport executive and engineer, who competed in Formula One from 1950 to 1956. Taruffi won the 1952 Swiss Grand Prix with Ferrari.…
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1988
Canadian-American author and educator (born 1919)
Laurence Johnston Peter was a Canadian educator and "hierarchiologist" who is best known to the general public for the formulation of the Peter principle.
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1990
Australian public servant and diplomat (born 1911)
Sir Robert Gillman Allen Jackson was an Australian naval officer, public servant and United Nations administrator who specialised in technical and logistical assistance to the developing world.
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1991
a Hindustani classical singer (born 1924)
Pandit Kumar Gandharva, originally known as Shivaputra Siddharamayya Komkalimath was an Indian classical singer, well known for his unique vocal style and for his refusal to be bound by the tradition of any gharana. The…
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1992
Estonian physicist and philosopher (born 1919)
Gustav Naan was a Soviet and Estonian physicist and philosopher. According to the Estonian Encyclopedia's definition, he "wrote plenty of irritating publicist articles".
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1994
German mathematician and academic (born 1926)
Joachim A. Nitsche was a German mathematician and professor of mathematics in Freiburg, known for his important contributions to the mathematical and numerical analysis of partial differential equations. The duality…
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1996
1997
English racing driver (born 1939)
Roger Albert Clark, MBE was a British rally driver during the 1960s and '70s, and the first competitor from his country to win a World Rally Championship (WRC) event when he triumphed at the 1976 RAC Rally.
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1998
Canadian-American ice hockey player (born 1961)
Douglas Peter Wickenheiser was a Canadian ice hockey player, who was drafted first overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1980 NHL entry draft.
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1999
American animator and screenwriter (born 1913)
Marc Fraser Davis was a prominent American artist and animator for Walt Disney Animation Studios. He was one of Disney's Nine Old Men, the famed core animators of Disney animated films, and was revered for his knowledge…
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2000
American basketball player (born 1969)
Bobby Ray Phills II was an American professional basketball player. He played shooting guard and small forward for the National Basketball Association's Cleveland Cavaliers and Charlotte Hornets.
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2000
Brazilian guitarist and composer (born 1922)
Luiz Floriano Bonfá was a Brazilian guitarist and composer. He was best known for the music he composed for the film Black Orpheus.
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2001
American engineer and businessman, co-founded Hewlett-Packard (born 1913)
William Redington Hewlett was an American engineer and the co-founder, with David Packard, of the Hewlett-Packard Company (HP).
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2001
American lawyer and politician, 57th U.S. Secretary of State (born 1917)
Cyrus Roberts Vance was an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the 57th United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1980. Prior to serving in that position, he was the United States…
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2002
American ornithologist and author (born 1912)
Dean Arthur Amadon was an American ornithologist and an authority on birds of prey.
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2003
Japanese actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1930)
Kinji Fukasaku was a Japanese filmmaker. Known for his "broad range and innovative filmmaking", he worked in many different genres and styles, but was best known for his gritty yakuza films, typified by the Battles…
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2003
Argentine general and politician, 44th President of Argentina (born 1926)
Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri Castelli was an Argentine military officer who served as the de facto President of Argentina from December 1981 to June 1982. Galtieri ruled as a military dictator during the National…
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2003
Manx-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1949)
Maurice Ernest Gibb was a British musician and songwriter. He achieved global fame as a member of the Bee Gees pop group, considered one of the most successful pop-rock groups of all time.
Although his elder brother…
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2003
English physicist and spy (born 1911)
Alan Nunn May was a British physicist and a confessed and convicted Soviet spy who supplied secrets of British and American atomic research to the Soviet Union during World War II.
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2003
Russian mathematician and academic (born 1921)
Olga Aleksandrovna Ladyzhenskaya was a Russian mathematician who worked on partial differential equations, fluid dynamics, and the finite-difference method for the Navier–Stokes equations. She received the Lomonosov…
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2004
Indian actor (born 1932)
Amrish Puri was an Indian actor, who was one of the most notable and important figures in Indian cinema and theatre. He acted in more than 450 films, and established himself as one of the greatest and iconic actors in…
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2005
Santa Clara Pueblo Native American painter (born 1918)
Pablita Velarde born Tse Tsan was an American Pueblo artist and painter.
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2006
American pianist and composer (born 1937)
Alice Lucille Coltrane, also known as Swamini Turiyasangitananda or simply Turiya, was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and Hindu spiritual leader. An accomplished pianist and one of the few harpists in…
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2007
Australian soldier, lawyer, and politician, 38th Australian Minister for Defence (born 1925)
Sir Denis James "Jim" Killen, was an Australian politician and a Liberal Party member of the Australian House of Representatives for almost 30 years, 1955 to 1983, representing the Division of Moreton in Queensland. He…
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2007
2008
French actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1934)
Claude Berri was a French film director, producer, screenwriter, distributor and actor.
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2009
French philosopher and author (born 1946)
Daniel Bensaïd was a philosopher and a leader of the Trotskyist movement in France. He became a leading figure in the student revolt of 1968, while studying at the University of Paris X-Nanterre.
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2010
Palestinian businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Consolidated Contractors Company (born 1920)
Hasib Sabbagh was a Palestinian businessman, activist, and philanthropist.
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2010
Norwegian geologist and academic (born 1924)
Bjørn Grothaug Andersen was a Norwegian professor of Quaternary geology and glaciology who made foundational contributions to glacial geology and the understanding of climate change.
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2012
American director, choreographer, and educator (born 1945)
Glenda Dickerson was an American director, folklorist, adaptor, writer, choreographer, actor, black theatre organizer, and educator. She was the second African-American woman to direct on Broadway, with her 1980 musical…
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2012
American lawyer and politician, 27th Governor of South Dakota (born 1939)
William John Janklow was an American lawyer and politician and member of the Republican Party. He holds the record for the longest tenure as the governor of South Dakota: sixteen years in office. Janklow had the…
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2012
American businessman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (born 1931)
Charles Harry Price II was an American businessman and ambassador of the United States.
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2012
American football player and coach (born 1935)
Jim Stanley was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Oklahoma State University–Stillwater from 1973 to 1978, compiling a record of 35–31–2. Stanley was also the head coach of…
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2012
American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1942)
Precious Bryant was an American country blues, gospel, and folk singer and guitarist. Bryant is described as one of Georgia's great blueswomen. She played Piedmont fingerstyle guitar.
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2013
First Lady of Venezuela (born 1921)
Flor de María Chalbaud Castro was First Lady of Venezuela between 2 December 1952 and 23 January 1958 and one of the founders of the Bolivarian Ladies Society.
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2013
American journalist and activist (born 1923)
Eugene Corbett Patterson, sometimes known as Gene Patterson, was an American journalist and civil rights activist. He was awarded the 1967 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing.
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2013
English actress (born 1946)
Alexandra Lendon Bastedo was a British actress, best known for her role as the secret agent Sharron Macready in the 1968 British espionage/science fiction adventure series The Champions. Bastedo was a vegetarian and…
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2014
American educator and politician, 58th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan (born 1924)
Connie Berube Binsfeld was an American Republican politician from the U.S. State of Michigan. She served as the 60th lieutenant governor of Michigan. Starting as an advocate for the environment in planning for the…
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2014
American soldier, businessman, and politician (born 1922)
George Elyott Dement Jr., was an American innkeeper and restaurateur who served from 1989 to 2005 as the thirteenth mayor of Bossier City, Louisiana.
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2014
American historian and academic (born 1927)
Harold Trevor Colbourn was an Australian professor and academic administrator, who served as the second president of the University of Central Florida, previously named Florida Technological University.
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2015
American journalist and author (born 1929)
Robert Gover was an American journalist who became a best-selling novelist at age 30. His first novel, One Hundred Dollar Misunderstanding, a satire on American racism, remains a cult classic that helped break down…
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2015
2015
Russian soprano and actress (born 1939)
Elena Vasilyevna Obraztsova was a Soviet and Russian mezzo-soprano. She was awarded the People's Artist of the USSR in 1976 and Hero of Socialist Labour in 1990.
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2015
Brazilian-Dutch field hockey player (born 1985)
Inge Vermeulen was a Brazil-born Dutch field hockey player.
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2015
American writer and filmmaker (born 1928)
William Peter Blatty was an American writer, director and producer. He is best known for his 1971 novel The Exorcist and for his screenplay for the 1973 film adaptation. Blatty won an Academy Award for Best Adapted…
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2017
English football player and manager (born 1944)
Graham Taylor was an English football player, manager, pundit and chairman of Watford Football Club. He was the manager of the England national football team from 1990 to 1993, and also managed Lincoln City, Watford,…
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2017
American sports commentator and journalist (born 1928)
Keith Max Jackson was an American sports commentator, journalist, author, and radio personality, known for his career with ABC Sports (1966–2006). While he covered a variety of sports over his career, he is best known…
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2018
English philosopher and writer (born 1944)
Sir Roger Vernon Scruton was an English philosopher, writer, and social critic who specialised in aesthetics and political philosophy, particularly in the furtherance of conservative views. The founding-editor of The…
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2020
American singer (born 1943)
Veronica Yvette Greenfield, known professionally as Ronnie Spector, was an American singer. Regarded as the "bad girl of rock and roll", she achieved international fame for founding and fronting the girl group the…
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2022
American singer-songwriter (born 1968)
Lisa Marie Presley was an American singer-songwriter. The daughter of singer and actor Elvis Presley and actress Priscilla Presley, she became the sole heir to her father's estate following the deaths of her grandfather…
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2023
Indian politician, 30th Minister of Civil Aviation, 29th Labour Minister (born 1947)
Sharad Yadav was an Indian politician from the Rashtriya Janata Dal(RJD) party. He was elected to the Lok Sabha seven times and to the Rajya Sabha four times for Janata Dal (United). He was the first national president…
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2023
American actress (born 1945)
Leslie Ann Charleson was an American actress, best known for playing the role of Monica Quartermaine on the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital for 46 years.
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2025
American actor and producer (born 1934)
Claude Miller Jarman Jr. was an American actor. He became a child star with his role as Jody Baxter in The Yearling (1946), for which he won an Academy Juvenile Award. Further roles in films like Intruder in the Dust…
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2025
American LGBTQ rights activist (born 1956)
Rick Garcia was an American LGBTQ activist known primarily for his work in Chicago and for LGBTQ acceptance within the Roman Catholic Church. As a co-founder of Equality Illinois, he advocated for equal treatment and…
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2026
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Notable deaths
Who died on January 12?
Charles Brenton Huggins — American physician (1901–1997)
FeaturedCharles Brenton Huggins
Death year1997
Known forBorn in Halifax in 1901, Huggins moved to the United States for medical school
Deaths on this date106 (690 – 2026)
Explore January 12
Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.
Also on January 12 in History
2020
Taal Volcano in the Philippines erupts and kills 39 people. Wikipedia →
2016
Ten people are killed and 15 wounded in a bombing near the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. Wikipedia →
2015
See all events on January 12
Government raids kill 143 Boko Haram fighters in Kolofata, Cameroon. Wikipedia →
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