Notable Deaths on January 6

Q: Who died on January 6?

Notable people who died on January 6 include: Abo of Tiflis, Berengar of Tours, Gilbert de Clare, Matilda of Chester, Raymond of Penyafort.

Q: What is Sidney Poitier known for?

Sidney Poitier, Bahamian-American actor, director, and diplomat (born 1927)

2022 — Sidney Poitier

Bahamian-American actor, director, and diplomat (born 1927)

January 6 has seen 88 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 786 – 2023. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.

By thisDay.info Editorial Team · January 6 — Wikipedia

Notable Deaths 88 people 786 – 2023

Did you know

In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor

Did you know

In 1999, he was ranked number 22 among the "American Film Institute's 100 Stars"

Did you know

Sidney Poitier was a Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and diplomat

Did you know

Among his other accolades are two competitive Golden Globe Awards, a BAFTA Award and a Grammy Award, in addition to nominations for two Emmy Awards and a Tony Award

Did you know

Poitier was one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Abo of Tiflis

Iraqi martyr and saint (born 756)

Abo of Tiflis was a Christian martyr of Arab origin, who went on to practice his faith in what is now Tbilisi, the capital of present-day Georgia.

786

Berengar of Tours

French scholar and theologian (born 999)

Berengar of Tours, in Latin Berengarius Turonensis, was an 11th-century French Christian theologian and archdeacon of Angers, a scholar whose leadership of the cathedral school at Chartres set an example of intellectual…

1088

Gilbert de Clare

1st Earl of Pembroke (born 1100)

Gilbert Fitz Gilbert de Clare, was created Earl of Pembroke in 1138.

1148

Matilda of Chester

Countess of Huntingdon, Anglo-Norman noblewoman (born 1171)

Matilda of Chester, Countess of Huntingdon was an Anglo-Norman noblewoman, sometimes known as Maud and sometimes known with the surname de Kevelioc. She was a daughter of Hugh de Kevelioc, 5th Earl of Chester, and the…

1233

Raymond of Penyafort

Catalan archbishop and saint (born 1175)

Raymond of Penyafort was a Catalan friar with the Dominicans who was a canon lawyer. He compiled the Decretals of Gregory IX, a collection of canonical laws that remained a major part of Church law until the 1917 Code…

1275

Gertrude van der Oosten

Beguine mystic

Gertrude van der Oosten was a Dutch Beguine who was considered a mystic and had received the Stigmata.

1358

Roger Walden

English bishop

Roger Walden was an English treasurer and Bishop of London.

1406

Christopher of Bavaria

King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (born 1418)

Christopher of Bavaria was King of Denmark, Sweden (1441–48) and Norway (1442–48) during the era of the Kalmar Union. He ruled after the Kalmar Union's King Erik of Pomerania was deposed. Early in his reign he put down…

1448

Uzun Hasan

Shahanshah of the Turkoman Aq Qoyunlu dynasty (born 1423)

Uzun Hasan or Uzun Hassan was a ruler of the Turkoman Aq Qoyunlu state and is generally considered to be its strongest ruler. Hasan was from the Bayandur tribe, and ruled between 1452 and 1478, presiding over the…

1478

Alessandro de' Medici

Duke of Florence (born 1510)

Alessandro de' Medici, nicknamed "il Moro" due to his dark complexion, Duke of Penne and the first Duke of the Florentine Republic, was ruler of Florence from 1530 to his death in 1537. The first Medici to rule Florence…

1537

Baldassare Peruzzi

Italian architect and painter, designed the Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne (born 1481)

Baldassare Tommaso Peruzzi was an Italian architect and painter, born in a small town near Siena and died in Rome. He worked for many years with Bramante, Raphael, and later Sangallo during the erection of the new St.…

1537

Philip Henslowe

English impresario (born 1550)

Philip Henslowe was an Elizabethan theatrical entrepreneur and impresario. Henslowe's modern reputation rests on the survival of his diary, a primary source for information about the theatrical world of Renaissance…

1616

Seth Ward

English bishop, mathematician, and astronomer (born 1617)

Seth Ward was an English mathematician, astronomer, and bishop.

1689

Mehmed IV

Ottoman sultan (born 1642)

Mehmed IV, nicknamed as Mehmed the Hunter, was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687. He came to the throne at the age of six after his father was overthrown in a coup. Mehmed went on to become the…

1693

Chikamatsu Monzaemon

Japanese actor and playwright (born 1653)

Chikamatsu Monzaemon , real name Sugimori Nobumori , was a Japanese dramatist of jōruri, the form of puppet theater that later came to be known as bunraku, and the live-actor drama, kabuki. The Encyclopædia Britannica…

1725

Étienne François Geoffroy

French physician and chemist (born 1672)

Étienne François Geoffroy was a French physician and chemist, best known for his 1718 affinity tables. He first contemplated a career as an apothecary, but then decided to practice medicine. He is sometimes known as…

1731

John Dennis

English playwright and critic (born 1657)

John Dennis was an English critic and dramatist.

1734

Josef Dobrovský

Czech philologist and historian (born 1753)

Josef Dobrovský was a Czech philologist and historian. He was one of the most important figures of the Czech National Revival along with Josef Jungmann.

1829

Rodolphe Kreutzer

French violinist, composer, and conductor (born 1766)

Rodolphe Kreutzer was a French violinist, teacher, conductor, and composer of forty French operas, including La mort d'Abel (1810).

1831

Frances Burney

English author and playwright (born 1752)

Frances Burney, also known as Fanny Burney and later Madame d'Arblay, was an English novelist, diarist and playwright. In 1786–1790 she held the post of "Keeper of the Robes" to Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, George…

1840

Louis Braille

French educator, invented Braille (born 1809)

Louis Braille was a French educator and the inventor of a reading and writing system named after him, braille, intended for use by visually impaired people. His system is used worldwide and remains virtually unchanged…

1852

Giacomo Beltrami

Italian jurist, explorer, and author (born 1779)

Giacomo Costantino Beltrami was an Italian jurist, author, and explorer, known for claiming to have discovered the headwaters of the Mississippi River in 1823 while on a trip through much of the United States. In…

1855

Richard Henry Dana Jr.

American lawyer and politician (born 1815)

Richard Henry Dana Jr. was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts, a descendant of a colonial family, who gained renown as the author of the classic American memoir Two Years Before the Mast and as an…

1882

Gregor Mendel

Czech geneticist and botanist (born 1822)

Gregor Johann Mendel was an Austrian biologist, meteorologist, mathematician, Augustinian friar and abbot of St. Thomas' Abbey in Brno (Brünn), Margraviate of Moravia. Mendel was born in a German-speaking family in the…

1884

Bharatendu Harishchandra

Indian author, poet, and playwright (born 1850)

Bharatendu Harishchandra was an Indian poet, writer, and playwright. He authored several dramas, biographical sketches, and travel accounts with the goal of influencing public opinion. Bharatendu Harishchandra is often…

1885

Lars Hertervig

Norwegian painter (born 1830)

Lars Hertervig was a Norwegian painter. His semi-fantastical work with motives from the coastal landscape in the traditional district of Ryfylke is regarded as one of the peaks of Norwegian painting.

1902

Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack

Dutch economist and historian (born 1834)

Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack was a Dutch legal scholar, economist and historian, who is best known for his work De socialisten: Personen en stelsels.

1917

Georg Cantor

German mathematician and philosopher (born 1845)

Georg Ferdinand Ludwig Philipp Cantor was a mathematician who played a pivotal role in the creation of set theory, which has become a fundamental theory in mathematics. Cantor established the importance of one-to-one…

1918

Theodore Roosevelt

American colonel and politician, 26th President of the United States (born 1858)

Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Previously serving six months as vice president under William McKinley, Roosevelt became president after McKinley's…

1919

Devil Anse Hatfield

American Confederate guerrilla and leader of the Hatfield clan during the Hatfield-McCoy feud (born 1839)

William Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield was the patriarch of the West Virginian Hatfield family who led the family during the Hatfield–McCoy feud.

1921

Jakob Rosanes

German mathematician and chess player (born 1842)

Jakob Rosanes was a German mathematician who worked on algebraic geometry and invariant theory. He was also a chess master.

1922

Alvin Kraenzlein

American hurdler and long jumper (born 1876)

Alvin Christian "Al" Kraenzlein was an American track-and-field athlete known as "the father of the modern hurdling technique". He was the first sportsman in the history of the Olympic games to win four individual gold…

1928

Wilhelm Ramsay

Finnish geologist and professor (born 1865)

Wilhelm Ramsay was a Finnish geologist. He became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1914 and in 1915 was accepted into the Royal Physiographic Society in Lund. He coined the terms Fennoscandia (1900)…

1928

Vladimir de Pachmann

Russian pianist (born 1848)

Vladimir de Pachmann or Pachman was a Russian pianist of German descent. He is known for performing the works of Chopin and for his eccentric performing style.

1933

Herbert Chapman

English footballer and manager (born 1878)

Herbert Chapman was an English football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most influential and successful managers in the early 20th century, before his…

1934

André Bessette

Canadian saint (born 1845)

André Bessette, C.S.C., commonly known as Brother André and since his canonization as Saint André of Montreal, was a lay brother of the Congregation of Holy Cross and a significant figure of the Catholic Church among…

1937

Charley O'Leary

American baseball player and coach (born 1875)

Charles Timothy O'Leary was an American professional baseball shortstop who played eleven seasons with the Detroit Tigers (1904–1912), St. Louis Cardinals (1913), and St. Louis Browns (1934) of Major League Baseball…

1941

Emma Calvé

French soprano and actress (born 1858)

Emma Calvé, born Rosa Emma Calvet was a French operatic dramatic soprano.

1942

Henri de Baillet-Latour

Belgian aristocrat, 3rd President of the International Olympic Committee (born 1876)

Henri de Baillet-Latour, Count of Baillet-Latour was a Belgian aristocrat and the third president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

1942

Ida Tarbell

American journalist, reformer, and educator (born 1857)

Ida Minerva Tarbell was an American writer, investigative journalist, biographer, and lecturer. She was one of the leading muckrakers and reformers of the Progressive Era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and…

1944

Vladimir Vernadsky

Russian mineralogist and chemist (born 1863)

Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky, also spelt Volodymyr Ivanovych Vernadsky, was a Russian, Ukrainian, and Soviet mineralogist and geochemist who is considered one of the founders of geochemistry, biogeochemistry, and…

1945

Victor Fleming

American director, producer, and cinematographer (born 1883)

Victor Lonzo Fleming was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were the historical drama Gone with the Wind, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director, and the…

1949

Jean Lurçat

French painter (born 1892)

Jean Lurçat was a French artist noted for his role in the revival of contemporary tapestry. He was also a painter and ceramist.

1966

Chen Yi

Chinese general and politician, Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China (born 1901)

Chen Yi was a Chinese Communist military commander and politician. He served as Mayor of Shanghai from 1949 to 1958 and as Foreign Minister of China from 1958 to 1972. He is one of Ten Marshals of the People's Republic…

1972

David Alfaro Siqueiros

Mexican painter (born 1896)

David Alfaro Siqueiros was a Mexican social realist painter, best known for his large public murals using the latest in equipment, materials and technique. Along with Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, he was one of…

1974

Burt Munro

New Zealand motorcycle racer (born 1899)

Herbert James Munro was a motorcycle racer from New Zealand, famous for setting a motorcycle speed record in the 1000cc Streamliner Modified Fuel category, at Bonneville, on 26 August 1967. This record still stands as…

1978

A. J. Cronin

Scottish physician and author (born 1896)

Archibald Joseph Cronin (Cronogue) (19 July 1896 – 6 January 1981) was a Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known novel is The Citadel (1937), about a Scottish physician who serves in a Welsh mining village…

1981

Ernest Laszlo

Hungarian-American cinematographer (born 1898)

Ernest Laszlo, A.S.C. was a Hungarian-American cinematographer for over 60 films, and was known for his frequent collaborations with directors Robert Aldrich and Stanley Kramer. He was a member of the American Society…

1984

Ian Charleson

Scottish-English actor (born 1949)

Ian Charleson was a Scottish stage and screen actor. He is best known internationally for his starring role as Olympic athlete and missionary Eric Liddell in the Oscar-winning 1981 film Chariots of Fire. He is also well…

1990

Pavel Cherenkov

Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1904)

Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov was a Soviet physicist who shared the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physics with Ilya Frank and Igor Tamm "for the discovery and interpretation of the Cherenkov effect".

1990

Alan Wiggins

American baseball player (born 1958)

Alan Anthony Wiggins was an American professional baseball player. He was a second baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres and Baltimore Orioles between 1981 and 1987. A speedy…

1991

Steve Gilpin

New Zealand vocalist and songwriter (born 1949)

Stephen Ellis Gilpin was a New Zealand singer and a founder of new wave band Mi-Sex.

1992

Dizzy Gillespie

American singer-songwriter and trumpet player (born 1917)

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but adding layers of…

1993

Rudolf Nureyev

Russian-French dancer and choreographer (born 1938)

Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev was a Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Nureyev is widely regarded as the preeminent male ballet dancer of the 20th century, as well as one of the greatest ballet dancers of all…

1993

Joe Slovo

Lithuanian-South African lawyer and politician (born 1926)

Yossel Mashel "Joe" Slovo was a South African politician, anti-apartheid activist, and revolutionary. A Marxist-Leninist, he was a long-time leader and theorist in the South African Communist Party (SACP), a leading…

1995

Michel Petrucciani

French-American pianist (born 1962)

Michel Petrucciani was a French jazz pianist. From birth he had osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disease that causes brittle bones and, in his case, short stature. Despite his health condition and relatively short…

1999

Pierre Charles

Dominican educator and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Dominica (born 1954)

Pierre Charles was a Dominican politician who served as Prime Minister of Dominica from 2000 to his death in 2004. At the time of his death, he was also serving as Member of Parliament for Grand Bay since 1985.

2004

Eileen Desmond

Irish civil servant and politician, 12th Irish Minister for Health (born 1932)

Eileen Christine Desmond was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Health and Minister for Social Welfare from 1981 to 1982. She was a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1965 to 1969 and 1973 to 1987. She also…

2005

Lois Hole

Canadian academic and politician, 15th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta (born 1929)

Lois Elsa Hole, CM, AOE DStJ was a Canadian politician, businesswoman, academician, professional gardener and best-selling author. She was the 15th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta from 10 February 2000 until her death on…

2005

Tarquinio Provini

Italian motorcycle racer (born 1933)

Tarquinio Provini was an Italian professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was a two-time world champion in road racing. Provini was also a four-time Isle of Man TT winner and won 13 Italian national…

2005

Lou Rawls

American singer-songwriter (born 1933)

Louis Allen Rawls was an American baritone singer. He released 61 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably the song "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine". He also…

2006

Roberta Wohlstetter

American political scientist, historian, and academic (born 1912)

Roberta Morgan Wohlstetter was an American historian of U.S. military intelligence. In 1962 she authored Pearl Harbor: Warning and Decision. The book was based on a several-year study of the Japanese attack on Pearl…

2007

Shmuel Berenbaum

Rabbi of Mir Yeshiva (Brooklyn) (born 1920)

Shmuel Berenbaum was an Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva of the Mir yeshiva in Brooklyn, New York.

2008

Uche Okafor

Nigerian footballer, coach, and sportscaster (born 1967)

Uchenna Kizito Okafor, often shortened to Uche Okafor was a Nigerian professional footballer who played as a defender. He made 34 international appearances for the Nigeria national team.

2011

Bob Holness

South African-English radio and television host (born 1928)

Robert Wentworth John Holness was a British radio and television presenter. He presented the British version of Blockbusters.

2012

Ruth Carter Stevenson

American art collector, founded the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (born 1923)

Ruth Carter Stevenson was an American art collector. She was the founder of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art.

2013

Marina Ginestà

French Resistance soldier and photographer (born 1919)

Marina Ginestà i Coloma was a Catalan communist born in France, member of the Unified Socialist Youth, and an iconic figure of the Spanish Civil War. She became famous due to the photo taken by Juan Guzmán on the…

2014

Nelson Ned

Brazilian singer-songwriter (born 1947)

Nelson Ned d'Ávila Pinto was a Brazilian singer-songwriter. He built a career as a singer and composer of sentimental, suffering songs, rising to popularity in Brazil and Latin America in 1969 and becoming known…

2014

Julian Rotter

American psychologist and academic (born 1916)

Julian B. Rotter was an American psychologist known for developing social learning theory and research into locus of control. He was a faculty member at Ohio State University and then the University of Connecticut. A…

2014

Basil John Mason

English meteorologist and academic (born 1923)

Sir Basil John Mason was a British expert on cloud physics. He was Director-General of the Meteorological Office from 1965 to 1983 and Chancellor of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology…

2015

Pat Harrington

Jr., American actor and screenwriter (born 1929)

Daniel Patrick Harrington Jr. was an American Emmy Award–winning stage and television actor, best known for his role as building superintendent Dwayne Schneider on the sitcom One Day at a Time (1975–1984). His father…

2016

Florence King

American journalist and author (born 1936)

Florence Virginia King was an American novelist, essayist and columnist.

2016

Christy O'Connor Jnr

Irish golfer and architect (born 1948)

Christopher O'Connor ; 19 August 1948 – 6 January 2016) was an Irish professional golfer. He is often known for defeating American Fred Couples at the 1989 Ryder Cup, helping Europe secure the trophy.

2016

Silvana Pampanini

Italian model, actress, and director, Miss Italy 1946 (born 1925)

Silvana Pampanini was an Italian film actress, director and singer. She was also the niece of the soprano of the golden era of opera, Dame Rosetta Pampanini. Silvana Pampanini caused a sensation when she took part in…

2016

Octavio Lepage

Venezuelan politician, President of Venezuela (born 1923)

Octavio Lepage Barreto was a Venezuelan politician who served as the acting president of Venezuela from 21 May 1993 to 5 June 1993.

2017

Om Puri

Indian actor (born 1950)

Om Prakash Puri was an Indian actor who appeared in mainstream commercial Hindi films as well as English, Punjabi, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Gujarati, Urdu, and Marathi films, as well as independent and art…

2017

José Ramón Fernández

Cuban revolution leader (born 1923)

José Ramón Fernández Álvarez was a Cuban Communist leader who was a vice-president of the Council of Ministers.

2019

Lamin Sanneh

Gambian-born American professor (born 1942)

Lamin Sanneh was a Gambian American scholar who was the D. Willis James Professor of Missions and World Christianity at Yale Divinity School and Professor of History at Yale University.

2019

W. Morgan Sheppard

British actor (born 1932)

William Morgan Sheppard, also credited by his full name or as Morgan Sheppard, was an English actor who appeared in over 100 films and television programmes, in a career that spanned over 50 years.

2019

Paul Streeten

Austrian-born British economics professor (born 1917)

Paul Patrick Streeten was an Austrian-born British economics professor. He was a professor at Boston University, US until his retirement. He has been a distinguished academic working on development economics since the…

2019

Richard Maponya

South African businessman (born 1920)

Richard John Pelwana Maponya, GCOB, was a South African entrepreneur and property developer best known for building a business empire despite the restrictions of apartheid and his determination to see the Soweto…

2020

Ashli Babbitt

American participant in the January 6 United States Capitol attack

On January 6, 2021, Ashli Babbitt, a 35-year-old American United States Air Force veteran and pool supply owner, was fatally shot by an officer during the attack on the United States Capitol. She was part of a mob of…

2021

Gordon Renwick

Canadian ice hockey administrator and businessman (born 1935)

Gordon Ralph Renwick was a Canadian ice hockey administrator, who served as president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA), vice-president of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), and was the team…

2021

James Cross

British diplomat kidnapped during the 1970 October crisis in Québec (born 1921)

James Richard Cross was an Irish-born British diplomat who served in India, Malaysia and Canada. While posted in Canada, Cross was kidnapped by members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) during the October…

2021

Peter Bogdanovich

American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1939)

Peter Bogdanovich was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. He started out his career as a young actor studying under Stella Adler before working as a film critic for Film Culture…

2022

Francisco Sionil Jose

Philippine novelist (born 1924)

Francisco Sionil José was a Filipino writer who was one of the most widely read in the English language. A National Artist of the Philippines for Literature, which was bestowed upon him in 2001, José's novels and short…

2022

Mary Lou Kownacki

American Roman Catholic nun, peace activist, and writer (born 1941)

Sister Mary Lou Kownacki was a Roman Catholic Benedictine nun, peace activist, and writer. She was a close friend and collaborator of fellow nun and activist Joan Chittister. Kownacki was arrested 13 times over the…

2023

Notable deaths

Who died on January 6?

Sidney Poitier — Bahamian-American actor, filmmaker, diplomat (1927–2022)

FeaturedSidney Poitier

Death year2022

Known forIn 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor

Deaths on this date88 (786 – 2023)

Explore January 6

Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.

Events on January 6 Birthdays on January 6 Deaths on January 6 January 6 quiz

Also on January 6 in History

2025

Justin Trudeau announces his resignation as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Prime Minister of Canada after nine years in office. Wikipedia →

2021

Supporters of U.S. president Donald Trump storm the United States Capitol Building to disrupt certification of the 2020 presidential election, resulting in four deaths and evacuation of the U.S. Congress. Wikipedia →

2019

Muhammad V of Kelantan resigns as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, becoming the first monarch to do so. Wikipedia →

See all events on January 6

January 5 January 7

Explore notable deaths on the interactive calendar.

Open the Calendar All Blog Posts

Notable Deaths on January 6

2022 — Sidney Poitier

Who died on January 6?

Explore January 6

Also on January 6 in History

History runs on facts, and this project runs on coffee!