Notable Deaths on July 15

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian playwright and short story writer. Widely considered one of the greatest writers of all time, his career as a playwright produced four classics, and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. Along with Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg, Chekhov is often referred to as one of the three seminal figures in the birth of early modernism in the theatre. Chekhov was a physician by profession. "Medicine is my lawful wife," he once said, "and literature is my mistress."

Martin James Landau was an American actor. His career began in the late 1950s, with early film appearances including a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959). His career breakthrough came with leading roles in the television series Mission: Impossible (1966–1969) and Space: 1999 (1975–1977).

John Ball was an English priest who took a prominent part in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. Although he is often associated with John Wycliffe and the Lollard movement, Ball was actively preaching "articles contrary to the faith of the church" at least a decade before Wycliffe started attracting attention.

John Joseph Pershing, nicknamed "Black Jack", was an American army general, educator, and founder of the Pershing Rifles. He served as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) during World War I from 1917 to 1920. In addition to leading the AEF to victory in World War I, Pershing served as a mentor to many in the generation of generals who led the United States Army during World War II, including George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, Lesley J. McNair, George S. Patton, and Douglas MacArthur.

Margaret Mary Day Lockwood was a British actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included The Lady Vanishes (1938), Night Train to Munich (1940), The Man in Grey (1943), and The Wicked Lady (1945). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress for the 1955 film Cast a Dark Shadow. She also starred in the television series Justice (1971–1974). Ronald Bergan of The Guardian called her "one of the most beautiful, energetic, and spirited actresses in the history of British cinema."

Lisa del Giocondo was an Italian noblewoman and member of the Gherardini family of Florence and Tuscany. Her name was given to the Mona Lisa, her portrait commissioned by her husband and painted by Leonardo da Vinci in the Italian Renaissance.

Christine Chubbuck was an American television news reporter who worked for stations WTOG and WXLT-TV in Sarasota, Florida. She is best known for being the first person to die by suicide on a live television broadcast.

Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych, given the epithet "the Great", was Prince of Novgorod from 970 and Grand Prince of Kiev from 978 until his death in 1015. The Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church both canonised him as Saint Vladimir.

Rudolf of Habsburg (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was a German nobleman and the first member of the House of Habsburg to become King of the Romans, reigning from 1273 until his death. Born into a relatively minor noble family, Rudolf succeeded his father as Count of Habsburg in 1240, gradually expanding his power through military campaigns, political alliances, and the construction of key fortresses such as Neuhabsburg Castle. His marriage to Gertrude of Hohenberg further strengthened his position among the Swabian nobility. During the turbulent period of the Great Interregnum, Rudolf distinguished himself both as a formidable military leader—participating in regional conflicts and even joining the Prussian Crusade in 1254—and as a restorer of order, often intervening against robber barons and feuding nobles. Despite facing excommunication due to disputes with the Church, Rudolf ultimately reconciled with ecclesiastical authorities and built a reputation for fairness and pragmatism. In 1273, he was elected King of the Romans, ending decades of imperial vacancy and division. As king, Rudolf reasserted imperial authority in Germany, notably defeating King Ottokar II of Bohemia and securing Habsburg control over Austria, Styria, and Carinthia. His reign laid the foundations for the rise of the Habsburg dynasty, which would become one of the most influential royal houses in European history. Rudolf died in 1291, leaving a legacy of restored stability and dynastic ambition within the Holy Roman Empire.

Celeste Holm was an American actress. Holm won an Academy Award for her performance in Elia Kazan's Gentleman's Agreement (1947), and was nominated for her roles in Come to the Stable (1949) and All About Eve (1950). She also is known for her performances in The Snake Pit (1948), A Letter to Three Wives (1949), The Tender Trap (1955), and High Society (1956) as well as for originating the role of Ado Annie in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! (1943).

Charles Sherwood Stratton, better known by his stage name "General Tom Thumb", was an American with dwarfism who achieved great fame as a performer under circus pioneer P. T. Barnum.

Yang Yuhuan, often known as Yang Guifei or Lady Yang, and known briefly by the Taoist nun name Taizhen (太真), was the beloved consort of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang during his later years. She is known as one of the Four Beauties of ancient China.

General James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, Duke of Buccleuch was an English Army officer and courtier. Originally called James Crofts or James Fitzroy, he was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II of England with his mistress Lucy Walter.

Georgette Lizette "Googie" Withers was an English dancer and actress, with a lengthy career spanning some 73 years in theatre, film, and television. She was a well-known actress and star of British films during and after the Second World War.

James Middleton Cox was an American businessman and politician who served as the 46th and 48th governor of Ohio, and a two-term U.S. representative from Ohio. As the Democratic nominee for President of the United States at the 1920 presidential election, he lost in a landslide to fellow Ohioan Warren G. Harding. Cox's running mate was future president Franklin D. Roosevelt. He founded the chain of newspapers that continues today as Cox Enterprises, a media conglomerate.

Laurence Paul Cunningham was an English professional footballer who played as a winger. He notably played in England, France, and Spain, where he became the first-ever English player to sign for Real Madrid.

Gustavo Díaz Ordaz Bolaños was a Mexican politician and member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He served as the President of Mexico from 1964 to 1970. Previously, he served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies for Puebla's 1st district, a senator of the Congress of the Union for Puebla, and Secretary of the Interior.

Carl Czerny was an Austrian composer, music educator, and pianist of Czech origin. His music spanned the late Classical and early Romantic eras. His vast musical production amounted to over a thousand works and his books of studies for the piano are still widely used in piano teaching. He was one of Ludwig van Beethoven's best-known pupils and would later become one of the main teachers of Franz Liszt.

Paul William Gallico was an American novelist and short story and sports writer. Many of his works were adapted for motion pictures. He is perhaps best remembered for The Snow Goose, his most critically successful book, for the novel The Poseidon Adventure, primarily through the 1972 film adaptation, and for four novels about the beloved character of Mrs. Harris.

Paul Eugen Bleuler was a Swiss psychiatrist and eugenicist most notable for his influence on modern concepts of mental illness. He coined several psychiatric terms including schizophrenia, schizoid, autism, depth psychology and what Sigmund Freud called "Bleuler's happily chosen term 'ambivalence'". Bleuler remains a controversial figure in psychiatric history for his racist and ableist beliefs, as well as his implementation of eugenic practises in psychiatry based on these beliefs, most notably at the Burghölzli clinic in Zurich.

Peter Rudolf de Vries was a Dutch investigative journalist and crime reporter. His television program Peter R. de Vries, misdaadverslaggever covered high-profile cases and set a Dutch television viewing record. For decades he was famous in the Netherlands for his works in unsolved crimes. He also became internationally renowned for his programme covering the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. In 2005, he founded his own political party which was disbanded soon after.

Annibale Carracci was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his younger brother Agostino Carracci and elder cousin Ludovico Carracci, Annibale was one of the progenitors, if not founders of a leading strand of the Baroque style, borrowing from styles from both north and south of their native city, and aspiring for a return to classical monumentality, but adding a more vital dynamism. Painters working under Annibale at the gallery of the Palazzo Farnese would be highly influential in Roman painting for decades.

Gottfried Keller was a Swiss poet and writer of German literature. Best known for his novel Green Henry and his cycle of novellas called Seldwyla Folks, he became one of the most popular narrators of literary realism in the late 19th century.

Ernest Bloch was a Swiss-born American composer. He is recognized as one of the most significant Swiss composers in history. Several of his most notable compositions reflect his Jewish heritage. As well as producing musical scores, Bloch had an academic career that culminated in his recognition as Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley in 1952.

Ulrich von Jungingen was the 26th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1407 to 1410. His policy of confrontation with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland would spark the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War and lead to disaster for his Order, and his own death, at the Battle of Grunwald.

María Rosalía Rita de Castro was a Galician poet and novelist, considered one of the most important figures of the 19th-century Spanish literature and modern lyricism. Widely regarded as the greatest Galician cultural icon, she was a leading figure in the emergence of the literary Galician language. Through her work, she projected multiple emotions, including the yearning for the celebration of Galician identity and culture, and female empowerment. She is credited with challenging the traditional female writer archetype.

Donald Bruce Mackay was an Australian businessman and anti-drug campaigner. He disappeared in 1977, but his body has never been found. In 1986, James Bazley was convicted for his murder.

Bahíyyih Khánum was the only daughter of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, and Ásíyih Khánum. She was born in 1846 with the given name Fatimih Sultan, and was entitled "Varaqiy-i-'Ulyá" or "Greatest Holy Leaf". Brought up through the trying times her family lived through, in adulthood she served the interests of the religion and was even quite often entrusted with running the affairs of the religion. Greatly favoured by Bahá'u'lláh, she is seen within the Baháʼí Faith as one of the greatest women to have lived. According to Baháʼís, every dispensation has one particular holy woman or "immortal heroine". In the time of Jesus it was the Virgin Mary, the time of Muhammad it was his daughter Fatima Zahra and during the Báb's dispensation it was Táhirih. Baháʼís believe that Bahíyyih Khánum is the outstanding heroine of the Baháʼí dispensation.

Louis Quilico, was a Canadian opera singer. One of the leading dramatic baritones of his day, he was an ideal interpreter of the great Italian and French composers, especially Giuseppe Verdi. He was often referred to as "Mr Rigoletto" in reference to the Verdi opera. During his 45-year-long career he shared performing credits with opera's greatest stars. He spent 25 consecutive years at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. After his retirement from the stage in 1998 he continued to perform and record, most often with his second wife, pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico,, with whom he made four CDs. The couple also toured together extensively in concerts until Quilico's death in 2000. Quilico received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts, in November 1999 for his lifetime contribution to classical music.

Irving Babbitt was an American academic and literary critic, noted for his founding role in a movement that became known as the New Humanism, a significant influence on literary discussion and conservative thought in the period between 1910 and 1930. He was a cultural critic in the tradition of Matthew Arnold and a consistent opponent of romanticism, as represented by the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Politically he can, without serious distortion, be called a follower of Aristotle and Edmund Burke. He was an advocate of classical humanism but also offered an ecumenical defense of religion. His humanism implied a broad knowledge of various moral and religious traditions. His book Democracy and Leadership (1924) is regarded as a classic text of political conservatism. Babbitt is regarded as a major influence over American cultural and political conservatism.

Hermann Emil Louis Fischer was a German chemist and 1902 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He discovered the Fischer esterification. He also developed the Fischer projection, a symbolic way of drawing asymmetric carbon atoms. He also hypothesized the lock and key mechanism of enzyme action. He never used his first given name, and was known throughout his life simply as Emil Fischer.

Alireza Shapour Shahbazi was a prominent Persian archaeologist, Iranologist and a world expert on Achaemenid archaeology. Shahbazi got a BA degree in and an MA degree in East Asian archaeology from SOAS. Shahbazi had a doctorate degree in Achaemenid archaeology from University of London. Alireza Shapour Shahbazi was a lecturer in Achaemenid archaeology and Iranology at Harvard University. He was also a full professor of archaeology at Shiraz University and founded at Persepolis the Institute of Achaemenid Research in 1974. After the Islamic revolution, he moved to the US, firstly teaching at Columbia University and then later becoming a full professor of history in Eastern Oregon University.

Wenceslao "Bintao" Quinito Vinzons Sr. was a Filipino patriot and leader of the Philippine armed resistance against the Japanese invasion in World War II. He was the youngest delegate to the 1935 Philippine Constitutional Convention. For leading demonstrations as a student leader, he was dubbed the "Father of Student Activism in the Philippines" when he, along with Narciso J. Alegre and future Senator and Vice President Arturo Tolentino, founded the Young Philippines Party.

Cornelis Jacobus Langenhoven, who published under his initials C.J. Langenhoven, was a South African poet who played a major role in the development of Afrikaans literature and cultural history. His poetry was one of the then young language's foremost promoters. He is best known for writing the words for "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika", which was used previously as the national anthem during apartheid. He was affectionately known as Sagmoedige Neelsie or Kerneels. His childhood friend who helped him get into poetry was called Hans Conrodius van Zyl.

William Charles "Razor" Smith was a Surrey slow bowler. Nicknamed "Razor" because of his extreme thinness, Smith was a frail man and prone to serious injury; he could rarely get through a full season's cricket, but when fit and healthy, could command the sharpest off-break among bowlers of his day. He was also able to bowl a somewhat faster ball with a very high flight that turned a little from leg and, with any help from the pitch, would get up almost straight.

Elisabeth Margaret Welch was an American singer, actress, and entertainer, whose career spanned seven decades. Her best-known songs were "Stormy Weather", "Love for Sale" and "Far Away in Shanty Town". She was American-born, but was based in Britain for most of her career.

Edward Roy Perl was an American neuroscientist whose research focused on neural mechanisms of and circuitry involved in somatic sensation, principally nociception. Work in his laboratory in the late 1960s established the existence of unique nociceptors. Perl was one of the founding members of the Society for Neuroscience and served as its first president. He was a Sarah Graham Kenan Professor of Cell Biology & Physiology and a member of the UNC Neuroscience Center at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

Grace Hutchins was an American labor reformer and researcher, journalist, political activist and communist. She spent many years of her life writing about labor and economics, in addition to being a lifelong dedicated member of the Communist Party, along with Anna Rochester, a Marxist economist and historian and her companion of 45 years. Together they were known for promoting radical Christian pacifism in the United States, although Hutchins was also regularly involved in strikes, demonstrations and labor disputes.

Lawrence Mervil Tibbett was an American opera singer and recording artist who also performed as a film actor and radio personality. A baritone with large, deep, and dark-timbred voice, his dynamic range could range from forceful fortes to delicate pianissimos. He sang leading roles with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City more than 600 times from 1923 to 1950. He performed diverse musical theatre roles, including Captain Hook in Peter Pan in a touring show.

Vasily Alekseyevich Maklakov was a Russian student activist, a trial lawyer and liberal parliamentary deputy, an orator, and one of the leaders of the Constitutional Democratic Party, notable for his advocacy of a constitutional Russian state. He served as deputy in the (radical) Second, and conservative Third and Fourth State Duma. According to Stephen F. Williams Maklakov is "an inviting lens to which to view at the last years of Tsarism".

John Edward Brownlee was the fifth premier of Alberta, serving from 1925 until 1934. Born in Port Ryerse, Ontario, he studied history and political science at the University of Toronto's Victoria College before moving west to Calgary to become a lawyer. His clients included the United Farmers of Alberta (UFA); through his connection with that lobby group, he was involved in founding the United Grain Growers (UGG).

Hammer DeRoburt was a Nauruan politician and independence leader. He led negotiations for independence from Australia and the end of the country's status as a United Nations trust territory. He was subsequently elected as the inaugural president of Nauru, serving four terms in office. Prior to independence he was head chief of Nauru and chair of the Nauru Local Government Council.

Carle or Charles-André van Loo was a French painter, son of the painter Louis-Abraham van Loo, a younger brother of Jean-Baptiste van Loo and grandson of Jacob van Loo. He was the most famous member of a successful dynasty of painters of Dutch origin. His oeuvre includes every category: religion, history painting, mythology, portraiture, allegory, and genre scenes.

Panikkervettil Thomas Panicker Geevarghese, known formally as Geevarghese Mar Ivanios, was the first metropolitan archbishop and founder of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. He was a key figure in the Malankara Reunion Movement, which sought to reunite the Malankara Church with the Catholic Church, culminating in his joining the Catholic Church in 1930 along with a group of followers.

Leonora M. Kearney Barry was an Irish-American labor activist. As the only woman to hold national office within the Knights of Labor, she brought attention to the conditions of working women through her involvement in the labor reform movement. She also furthered the progress of women's rights during the period following the American Civil War and Reconstruction.

Ladislaus Josephovich Bortkiewicz was a Russian economist and statistician of Polish ancestry. He wrote a book showing how the Poisson distribution, a discrete probability distribution, can be useful in applied statistics, and he made contributions to mathematical economics. He lived most of his professional life in Germany, where he taught at Strassburg University and Berlin University (1901–1931).

Eleanor Estes was an American children's writer and a children's librarian. Her book Ginger Pye, for which she also created illustrations, won the Newbery Medal. Three of her books were Newbery Honor Winners, and one was awarded the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. Estes' books were based on her life in small-town Connecticut in the early 1900s.

William, known as William the Courteous, a member of the House of Habsburg and Wilhelm, was Duke of Austria from 1386. As head of the Leopoldian line, he ruled over the Inner Austrian duchies of Carinthia, Styria and Carniola as well as the County of Tyrol and Further Austria from 1396 until his death.

Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov was a Russian painter who adhered to the waning tradition of Neoclassicism but found little sympathy with his contemporaries. Although Ivanov was born and died in St. Petersburg, he spent the most of his life in Rome, where he worked on his magnum opus, The Appearance of Christ Before the People.

Abū al-Wafāʾ Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Ismāʿīl ibn al-ʿAbbās al-Būzjānī was a Persian mathematician and astronomer who worked in Baghdad. He made important innovations in spherical trigonometry, and his work on arithmetic for businessmen contains the first instance of using negative numbers in a medieval Islamic text.

Anne-Marie Javouhey, SJC was a French nun who founded the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Cluny. She is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church. She is known as the Liberator of the Slaves in the New World, and as the mother of the town of Mana, French Guiana.

Friedrich "Fritz" Wilhelm Schnitzler was a German landowner and business manager, and also a local politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the founder of the agricultural association of the District of Reutlingen and co-founder of the landholders' association of Baden-Württemberg, and lobbyist in the state parliament.

György "Kolo" Kolonics was a Hungarian sprint canoeist who won two gold and two bronze medals at four Summer Olympics. He also won a record fifteen gold medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships. He died from cardiac arrest while preparing for his fifth Olympics.

Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev was a Russian statesman, historian, philosopher, and ethnographer. He is known as the author of a book on Russian history titled The History of Russia, posthumously published in 1767. He also founded three cities in the Russian Empire: Stavropol-on-Volga, Yekaterinburg, and Perm.

Leopold von Auer was a Hungarian violinist, academic, conductor, composer, and instructor. Many of his students went on to become prominent concert performers and teachers.

Francis Adams Cherry was an American judge and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as probate judge of the Twelfth Chancery District Court of Arkansas in 1942 and again from 1944 to 1952 and as governor of Arkansas from 1953 to 1955.

Wan Li was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician who served as First Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1983 to 1988 and the 5th Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1988 to 1993.

Omar Abu Risha was a Syrian poet and diplomat. He served as the Syrian ambassador to the United States from 1961 to 1964 and was a renowned poet who lyricized Fī Sabīli al-Majd , Syria's de facto national anthem.

Girolamo Rainaldi was an Italian architect who worked mainly in a conservative Mannerist style, often with collaborating architects. He was a successful competitor of Bernini. His son, Carlo Rainaldi, became an even more notable, more fully Baroque architect.

Tsilla Chelton was a French actress of theatre and film, famous for playing the main role in 1990 film Tatie Danielle, in which she was nominated for a César Awards and as an elderly Dominican in Sister Smile.

Juan Felipe Ibarra was an Argentine soldier and politician. He was one of the caudillos who dominated the Argentine interior during the formation of the national state, and ruled the province of his birth for decades.

Robert Howell Brooks was founder of Naturally Fresh, Inc. in 1966 in Atlanta, Georgia. He helped create the Hooters of America, Inc. restaurant chain that would eventually drive that company's rapid expansion in the mid–late 1990s.

John Thomas Riedl was an American computer scientist and the McKnight Distinguished Professor at the University of Minnesota. His published works include highly influential research on the social web, recommendation systems, and collaborative systems.

Meskerem Legesse was an Ethiopian distance runner. She participated in the 1,500 meters at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Legesse turned professional and participated in a number of U.S. events at various distances.

Freddie Keppard was an American jazz cornetist who once held the title of "King" in the New Orleans jazz scene. This title was previously held by Buddy Bolden and succeeded by Joe Oliver.

Walter Donaldson was a prolific American popular songwriter and publishing company founder, composing many hit songs of the 1910s to 1940s, that have become standards and form part of the Great American Songbook.

Zaim Topčić was a Bosnian writer of novels. He twice won the Annual Award of the Association of Writers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the novels Lump of Sun and Black Snows.

Agnes of Durazzo was the wife of James of Baux, titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople. She was the last woman to claim the title of empress of the Latin Empire.

Nina Karlovna Bari was a Soviet mathematician known for her work on trigonometric series. She is also well-known for two textbooks, Higher Algebra and The Theory of Series.

Robert Aloysius Roe was an American Democratic Party politician who represented New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives from November 4, 1969 to January 3, 1993.

Jean-Baptiste Salpointe was a French-born prelate who serve as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in New Mexico in the United States from 1885 to 1894.

Justinas Lagunavičius was a Lithuanian basketball player who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1952 Summer Olympics. He trained at VSS Žalgiris in Kaunas.

Catherine of Henneberg was a Countess of Henneberg by birth and, from 1347, Margravine of Meissen and Landgravine of Thuringia by marriage. She was the wife of Frederick the Severe of the House of Wettin. Through her, the Wettins inherited her family's Franconian possessions.

Bonaventure was an Italian Catholic Franciscan bishop, cardinal, scholastic theologian and philosopher.

Eric Magnusson was king of Norway from 1280 until 1299.

Joan Beaufort was Queen of Scots from 1424 to 1437 as the spouse of King James I.

René of Chalon, also known as Renatus of Chalon, was the prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht and Gelre.

Shimazu Takahisa , a son of Shimazu Tadayoshi, was a daimyō during Japan's Sengoku period. He was the fifteenth head of the Shimazu clan.

Pierre de Bourdeille, called the seigneur et abbé de Brantôme, was a French memoirist, soldier and biographer.

Jean-Antoine, chevalier Houdon was a French neoclassical sculptor.

Winthrop Mackworth Praed —typically written as W. Mackworth Praed—was an English politician and poet.

Claude Charles Fauriel was a French historian, philologist and critic.

Hugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal was an Austrian novelist, librettist, poet, dramatist, narrator, and essayist.

Brother Marie-Victorin, F.S.C., was a Canadian member of Brothers of the Christian Schools and a noted botanist in Quebec, Canada.

Edward Vivian "Vance" Palmer was an Australian novelist, dramatist, essayist and critic.

Set Persson was a Swedish communist leader.

Bernard Whalen "Bert" Convy was an American actor, singer, game-show panelist, and host known for Tattletales, Super Password and Win, Lose or Draw.

Óscar Acosta Zeledón was a Honduran writer, poet, critic, politician and diplomat.

Aubrey Morris was a British actor known for his appearances in the films A Clockwork Orange and The Wicker Man.