Did you know about Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1994.
Notable Deaths on July 27
July 27 has 117 recorded notable deaths across history, from 903 to 2024. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
2017 — Sam Shepard
American playwright, actor, author, screenwriter, and director (born 1943)
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
117 source records
903 – 2024
Today in history
Major events on July 27
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1299 According to Edward Gibbon, Osman I invades the territory of Nicomedia for the first time, usually considered to be the founding day of the Ottoman state. Source
- 1789 The first U.S. federal government agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs, is established (it will be later renamed Department of State). Source
Did you know about John Dalton
John Dalton was an English chemist, physicist, and meteorologist whose work laid the foundations of modern atomic theory and stoichiometric chemistry.
Did you know about Jack Tatum
John David Tatum was an American professional football safety who played 10 seasons from 1971 through 1980 with the Oakland Raiders and the Houston Oilers in the National Football League (NFL).
Did you know about Nicholas II
Pope Nicholas II, otherwise known as Gerard of Burgundy, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 January 1059 until his death in 27 July 1061.
Did you know about Rudolf IV
Rudolf IV, also called Rudolf the Founder, was a scion of the House of Habsburg who ruled as duke of Austria, Styria and Carinthia from 1358, as well as count of Tyrol from 1363 and as the first duke of Carniola from 1364 until his death.
More major people who died on July 27
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1844
John Dalton
English physicist, meteorologist, and chemist (born 1776)
John Dalton was an English chemist, physicist, and meteorologist whose work laid the foundations of modern atomic theory and stoichiometric chemistry. Building on earlier ideas about the indivisibility of matter and his own precise measurements of combining ratios, Dalton proposed that each chemical element consists of identical atoms of characteristic weight, and that compounds are formed when atoms of different elements combine in fixed whole-number proportions. His A New System of Chemical Philosophy (1808) presented a coherent atomic model, supplied relative atomic weights and symbolic notation, and established the quantitative framework that shaped nineteenth-century chemistry and remains the basis of modern chemical thought.
2010
Jack Tatum
American football player (born 1948)
John David Tatum was an American professional football safety who played 10 seasons from 1971 through 1980 with the Oakland Raiders and the Houston Oilers in the National Football League (NFL). He was popularly nicknamed as "the Assassin" because of his playing style. Tatum was voted to three consecutive Pro Bowls (1973–1975) and played on one Super Bowl-winning team in nine seasons with the Raiders. He is also known for a hit he made against New England Patriots wide receiver Darryl Stingley in a 1978 preseason game that paralyzed Stingley from the neck down. He won a national championship at Ohio State.
1061
Nicholas II
pope of the Catholic Church
Pope Nicholas II, otherwise known as Gerard of Burgundy, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 January 1059 until his death in 27 July 1061. At the time of his election, he was bishop of Florence. During his Papacy, Nicholas II successfully expanded the influence of the papacy in Milan and southern Italy. He was also responsible for passing papal election reforms, the most significant of which restricted the deliberation of candidates to the Cardinal Bishops, thus beginning the process of removing the lesser clergy, religious and nobility of the City from the process.
1365
Rudolf IV
Duke of Austria (born 1339)
Rudolf IV, also called Rudolf the Founder, was a scion of the House of Habsburg who ruled as duke of Austria, Styria and Carinthia from 1358, as well as count of Tyrol from 1363 and as the first duke of Carniola from 1364 until his death. He succeeded his father Albert II, Duke of Austria, who was not included among the seven imperial prince-electors by the Golden Bull of 1356. In order to acquire titles and honors higher than ducal, Rudolf commissioned the "Privilegium Maius", a forged document accompanied by several other forgeries, that were divised in order to elevate Austrian dukes to various titles, rights and privileges. The Emperor Charles IV refused to recognize and confirm the validity of those claims, but in spite of that, Rudolf started to use the archducal title by the middle of 1359, and continued to assert those claims until his death.
1978
Bob Heffron
New Zealand-Australian miner and politician, 30th Premier of New South Wales (born 1890)
Robert James Heffron, also known as Bob Heffron or R. J. Heffron, was a long-serving New South Wales politician, union organiser and Australian Labor Party (ALP) Premier of New South Wales from 1959 to 1964. Born in New Zealand, Heffron became involved in various Socialist and labour movements in New Zealand and later Australia before joining the Australian Labor Party. A prominent unionist organiser, he was gaoled for "conspiracy to strike action". He was later elected to the Parliament of New South Wales for Botany in 1930. However his disputes with party leader Jack Lang led to his expulsion from the ALP in 1936 and Heffron formed his own party from disgruntled Labor MPs known as the Industrial Labor Party. The success of his party enabled his readmission to the party and his prominence in a post-Lang NSW Branch which won office in 1941.
2012
Darryl Cotton
Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (born 1949)
Darryl Grant Cotton was an Australian pop, rock singer-songwriter, television presenter and actor. He was a founding member of Australian rock group Zoot in 1965, with Beeb Birtles, and were later joined by Rick Brewer and Rick Springfield. As a solo artist Cotton released the albums, Best Seat in the House (1980), It's Rock 'n' Good Fun (1984) and Let the Children Sing (1994). In April 1980 his biggest solo hit, "Same Old Girl", which was co-written by Cotton, peaked at No. 6 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. He acted in the TV soap opera, The Young Doctors (1979), and on stage as Joseph in the theatre production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (1983).
1995
Rick Ferrell
American baseball player and coach (born 1905)
Richard Benjamin Ferrell was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout, and executive. He played for 18 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1929 through 1947 for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox, and Washington Senators. His brother, Wes Ferrell, was a major league pitcher for 15 seasons, and they were teammates from 1933 through part of 1938 on the Red Sox and Senators. Following his three seasons in minor league baseball, he appealed to the Commissioner of Baseball to become a free agent, claiming that he was being held in the minors though he deserved promotion. The Commissioner agreed, and he was granted free agency; he signed with the St. Louis Browns.
1963
Hooks Dauss
American baseball player (born 1889)
George August "Hooks" Dauss was an American professional baseball player from 1909 to 1926. He played 15 seasons of Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Detroit Tigers from 1912 to 1926. He was given the nickname "Hooks", because his curveball was hard to hit. He compiled a career record of 223–182 with a 3.30 earned run average (ERA). His best years were 1915 when he had a 24–13 record, 1919 with a 21–9 record, and 1923 with a 21–13 record. Dauss's 223 wins are still the most for a pitcher in Tigers franchise history, and he is one of only 14 pitchers to record at least 200 wins all with one team.
2005
Al Held
American painter and academic (born 1928)
Al Held was an American Abstract expressionist painter. He was particularly well known for his large scale Hard-edge paintings. As an artist, multiple stylistic changes occurred throughout his career, however, none of these occurred at the same time as any popular emerging style or acted against a particular art form. In the 1950s his style reflected the abstract expressionist tone and then transitioned to a geometric style in the 1960s. During the 1980s, there was a shift into painting that emphasized bright geometric space the deepness of which reflected infinity. From 1963 to 1980 he was a professor of art at Yale University.
1968
Babe Adams
American baseball player and manager (born 1882)
Charles Benjamin "Babe" Adams was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1906 to 1926 who spent nearly his entire career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Noted for his outstanding control, his career average of 1.29 walks per 9 innings pitched was the second lowest of the 20th century; his 1920 mark of 1 walk per 14.6 innings was a modern record until 2005. He shares the Pirates' franchise record for career victories by a right-hander (194), and holds the team mark for career shutouts (47); from 1926 to 1962, he held the team record for career games pitched (481).
1981
Elizabeth Rona
Hungarian American nuclear chemist (born 1890)
Elizabeth Rona was a Hungarian nuclear chemist, known for her work with radioactive isotopes. After developing an enhanced method of preparing polonium samples, she was recognized internationally as the leading expert in isotope separation and polonium preparation. Between 1914 and 1918, during her postdoctoral study with George de Hevesy, she developed a theory that the velocity of diffusion depended on the mass of the nuclides. As only a few atomic elements had been identified, her confirmation of the existence of "Uranium-Y" was a major contribution to nuclear chemistry. She was awarded the Haitinger Prize by the Austrian Academy of Sciences in 1933.
1101
Conrad II
king of Italy (born 1074)
Conrad II of Italy, also known as Conrad (III) (12 February 1074 – 27 July 1101), was the Duke of Lower Lorraine (1076–1087), King of Germany (1087–1098) and King of Italy (1093–1098). He was the second son of Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and Bertha of Savoy, and their eldest son to reach adulthood, his older brother Henry having been born and died in the same month of August 1071. Conrad's rule in Lorraine and Germany was nominal. He spent most of his life in Italy and there he was king in fact as well as in name.
1962
Richard Aldington
English poet and author (born 1892)
Richard Aldington was an English writer and poet. He was an early associate of the Imagist movement. His 50-year writing career produced "143 separate titles, including poetry, literary criticism, fiction, essays, anthologies, biographies, translations, and introductions. In addition, he published reviews of over 1,350 separate books, published hundreds of other articles, and wrote an immense quantity of letters, of which approximately 8,000 have been located since his death." He edited The Egoist, a literary journal, and wrote for The Times Literary Supplement, Vogue, The Criterion, and Poetry. His biography, Wellington (1946), won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.
2008
Youssef Chahine
Egyptian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1926)
Youssef Chahine was an Egyptian film director. He was active in the Egyptian film industry from 1950 until his death in 2008. He directed twelve films included in a list of Top 100 Egyptian films published by the Cairo International Film Festival. As a winner of the Cannes 50th Anniversary Award, Chahine was credited with launching the career of actor Omar Sharif. A well-regarded director with critics, he was often present at film festivals during the earlier decades of his work. Chahine gained his largest international audience as one of the co-directors of 11'9"01 September 11 (2002).
2012
Norman Alden
American actor (born 1924)
Norman Alden was an American character actor who performed in television programs and motion pictures. He first appeared on television on The 20th Century Fox Hour in 1957. He provided the voice of Sir Kay in The Sword in the Stone (1963), and had a notable role in I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977). His acting career began in 1957 and lasted nearly 50 years. He is also known for playing Kranix in The Transformers: The Movie (1986). He retired from acting in 2006. He died on July 27, 2012, at the age of 87.
1276
James I of Aragon (born 1208)
James I the Conqueror was the 11th King of Aragon, 38th Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276; King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276; and King of Valencia from 1238 to 1276. His long reign of 62 years is not only the longest of any Iberian monarch, but one of the longest monarchical reigns in history, ahead of Hirohito of Japan but remaining behind Elizabeth II of Britain, Queen Victoria of Britain, Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, and King Louis XIV of France.
2024
Pavel Kushnir
Russian pianist, writer, activist and political prisoner (born 1984)
Pavel Mikhailovich Kushnir was a Russian pianist, writer, and political activist, who became the first political prisoner in modern Russia to die during a hunger strike. Born into a musical family in Tambov, Kushnir displayed exceptional talent as a pianist from an early age, performing at 17 the complete cycle of 24 Preludes and Fugues by Shostakovich. After graduating from the Moscow Conservatory in 2007, he worked as a pianist and accompanist in various Russian cities, eventually becoming a soloist with the Birobidzhan Regional Philharmonia in 2023.
2012
Geoffrey Hughes
English actor (born 1944)
Geoffrey William Hughes DL was an English actor. Hughes provided the voice of Paul McCartney in the animated film Yellow Submarine (1968), and rose to fame for portraying bin man Eddie Yeats in the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street from 1974 to 1983, making a return to the show in 1987. He is well known for playing loveable slob Onslow in the British sitcom Keeping Up Appearances (1990–1995) and "Twiggy" in the sitcom The Royle Family, playing the part from 1998 to 2008.
2013
Bud Day
American colonel and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1925)
George Everette "Bud" Day was a United States Air Force officer, aviator, and veteran of World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War. He was also a prisoner of war, and recipient of the Medal of Honor and Air Force Cross. As of 2025, he is the only person to be awarded both the Medal of Honor and Air Force Cross. He was posthumously advanced to the rank of brigadier general effective March 27, 2018, as directed by the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act.