Notable Deaths on June 15

James Knox Polk was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of American expansionism and Jacksonian democracy. Polk saw Texas join the Union in his first year in office; the annexation of the formerly independent republic, which had declared independence from Mexico, was one of the precipitating causes that soon led the U.S. into the Mexican–American War. The settlement of that war expanded American territory to the Pacific Ocean. During his term, the dispute with the United Kingdom over the Oregon Territory was resolved as well, creating the present U.S.-Canadian border.

James Simon Wallis Hunt was a British racing driver and broadcaster who competed in Formula One from 1973 to 1979. Nicknamed "the Shunt", Hunt won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1976 with McLaren and won 10 Grands Prix across seven seasons.

Ella Jane Fitzgerald was an American jazz vocalist, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing.

Glenda May Jackson was an English actress and politician. Over the course of her distinguished career she received numerous accolades including two Academy Awards, three Emmy Awards and a Tony Award, making her one of the few performers to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting". Her other accolades include two BAFTAs and a Golden Globe Award. A member of the Labour Party, she served continuously as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 23 years, first for Hampstead and Highgate from 1992 to 2010, and then, following boundary changes, for Hampstead and Kilburn from 2010 to 2015.

Frederick III, or Friedrich III, was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days from 9 March 1888 until his death in June that year, during the Year of the Three Emperors.

Hume Blake Cronyn Jr. was a Canadian-American actor, screenwriter and playwright. He appeared in many stage productions, television and film roles throughout his career, and received many honors, including three Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards, as well as nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Cronyn was the husband of actress Jessica Tandy, with whom he was presented the Kennedy Center Honor in 1986 and National Medal of Arts in 1990. In 1999, he was awarded with a star on the Canada's Walk of Fame.

Minamoto no Yoshitsune was a Japanese samurai commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. His older half-brother was Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate. His common name was Kurō, and his formal name was Yoshitsune.

Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post–World War II era, gaining both acclaim and notoriety for his lavish stagings of classical works, as well as his film adaptations of the same.

John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzene was a Byzantine emperor and nobleman, statesman, and general. He served as grand domestic under Andronikos III Palaiologos and regent for John V Palaiologos before reigning as Byzantine emperor in his own right from 1347 to 1354. Deposed by his former ward, he was forced to retire to a monastery under the name Joasaph Christodoulos and spent the remainder of his life as a monk and historian. Aged 91 at his death, he was the longest-lived of the Roman emperors. His two disastrous civil wars led to the loss of much of the remaining territory in the Balkans under Byzantine control to the Serbian and Bulgarian empires, but the most severe loss during his civil war was the loss of the Gallipoli peninsula to the Ottoman Turks, allowing the Ottomans to gain territory in Europe and setting the stage for the destruction of the Byzantine Empire a century later.

John Bowden Connally Jr. was an American politician who served as the 39th governor of Texas from 1963 to 1969 and as the 61st United States secretary of the treasury from 1971 to 1972. He began his career as a Democrat and became a Republican in 1973.

Murad I, nicknamed Hüdavendigâr, was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1362 until his assassination during the Battle of Kosovo in 1389. He was the son of Orhan Gazi and Nilüfer Hatun. Murad I came to the throne after his elder half-brother Süleyman Pasha's death.

John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is most known for his unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and for his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a distinctive sound. Montgomery often worked with his brothers Buddy and Monk, as well as organist Melvin Rhyne. His recordings up to 1965 were oriented toward hard bop, soul jazz, and post bop, but around 1965 he began recording more pop-oriented instrumental albums that found mainstream success. His later guitar style influenced jazz fusion and smooth jazz.

Philip III, also known as Philip the Good, was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death in 1467. He was a member of a cadet line of the House of Valois, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonged. During his reign, the Burgundian State reached the apex of its prosperity and prestige, and became a leading centre of the arts.

Lazar Hrebeljanović was a medieval Serbian ruler who created the largest and most powerful state on the territory of the disintegrated Serbian Empire. Lazar's state, referred to by historians as Moravian Serbia, comprised the basins of the Great Morava, West Morava, and South Morava rivers. Lazar ruled Moravian Serbia from 1371 until his death in 1389. He sought to resurrect the Serbian Empire and place himself at its helm, claiming to be the direct successor of the Nemanjić dynasty, which went extinct in 1371 after ruling over Serbia for two centuries. Lazar's programme had the full support of the Serbian Orthodox Church, but the Serbian nobility did not recognize him as their supreme ruler. He is often referred to as Tsar Lazar Hrebeljanović ; however, he only held the title of prince.

Robert I was the elected King of West Francia from 922 to 923. Before his election to the throne he was Count of Poitiers, Count of Paris and Marquis of Neustria and Orléans. He succeeded the overthrown Carolingian king Charles the Simple, who in 898 had succeeded Robert's brother, king Odo.

Mihai Eminescu was a Romanian Romantic poet, novelist, and journalist from Moldavia, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active member of the Junimea literary society and worked as an editor for the newspaper Timpul, the official newspaper of the Conservative Party (1880–1918). His poetry was first published when he was 16 and he went to Vienna, Austria to study when he was 19. The poet's manuscripts, containing 46 volumes and approximately 14,000 pages, were offered by Titu Maiorescu as a gift to the Romanian Academy during the meeting that was held on 25 January 1902. Notable works include Luceafărul, Odă în metru antic, and the five Letters (Epistles/Satires). In his poems, he frequently used metaphysical, mythological and historical subjects.

Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler Sr. was an American politician from Kentucky. He represented Kentucky in the U.S. Senate and served as its 44th and 49th governor. Aside from his political positions, he also served as the second commissioner of baseball from 1945 to 1951 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982. His grandson, Ben Chandler, later served as US Representative for Kentucky's sixth district.

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was a German expressionist painter and printmaker. He was one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to the foundation of Expressionism in 20th-century art. Kirchner volunteered for army service in the First World War, but soon suffered a breakdown and was discharged. His work was branded as "degenerate" by the Nazis in 1937 and more than 600 of his works were sold or destroyed.

Andronikos III Palaiologos, commonly Latinized as Andronicus III Palaeologus, was the Byzantine emperor from 1328 to 1341. He was the son of Michael IX Palaiologos and Rita of Armenia. He was proclaimed co-emperor in his youth, before 1313, and in April 1321 he rebelled against his grandfather, Andronikos II Palaiologos. He was formally crowned co-emperor in February 1325, before ousting his grandfather outright and becoming sole emperor on 24 May 1328.

Ray McAnally was an Irish actor. He was the recipient of three BAFTA Awards in the late 1980s: two BAFTA Film Awards for Best Supporting Actor, and a BAFTA Television Award for Best Actor for A Very British Coup in 1989. In 2020, he was ranked at number 34 on The Irish Times's list of Ireland's greatest film actors.

Miloš Obilić is a legendary Serbian knight and saint in the Serbian Orthodox Church traditionally said to have served Prince Lazar during the Ottoman invasion of Serbia in the late 14th century. Although absent from contemporary records, he features prominently in later accounts of the 1389 Battle of Kosovo as the assassin of Sultan Murad I. The assassin remains unnamed in historical sources until the late 15th century, but the widespread circulation of the story in Florentine, Serbian, Ottoman, and Greek sources suggests that versions of it were known across the Balkans within decades of the battle.

Theophanu Skleraina was empress of the Holy Roman Empire by marriage to Emperor Otto II, and regent of the Empire during the minority of their son, Emperor Otto III, from 983 until her death in 991. She was the niece of the Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimiskes. Theophanu was known to be a forceful and capable ruler, and her status in the history of the Empire was in many ways exceptional. Her official titles contained 'consors imperii', which her stepmother Adelaide of Italy already received and 'comperatrix augusta', which was modeled after the Byzantine position of the empress to ensure succession and regencies.

Hoyt Richard Murdoch was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names "Dirty" Dick Murdoch and "Captain Redneck". He was best known for his time in the NWA, World Wrestling Federation and New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

Sir John Cavendish was an English judge and politician from Cavendish, Suffolk, England. He and the village gave the name Cavendish to the aristocratic families of the Dukedoms of Devonshire, Newcastle and Portland.

Sir Fitzroy Hew Royle Maclean, 1st Baronet, was a British Army officer, writer and politician. Before World War II, he served as a diplomat, after which point he enlisted, and distinguished himself on several fronts. He was a Unionist Member of Parliament (MP) from 1941 to 1974.

John Vincent Atanasoff was an American physicist and inventor credited with inventing the first electronic digital computer. Atanasoff invented the first electronic digital computer in the 1930s at Iowa State College. Challenges to his claim were resolved in 1973 when the Honeywell v. Sperry Rand lawsuit ruled that Atanasoff was the inventor of the computer. His special-purpose machine has come to be called the Atanasoff–Berry Computer.

Brett Whiteley was an Australian artist. He is represented in the collections of all the large Australian galleries, and was twice winner of the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman prizes. He held many exhibitions, and lived and painted in Australia as well as Italy, the United Kingdom, Fiji and the United States.

John of Berry or John the Magnificent was Duke of Berry and Auvergne and Count of Poitiers and Montpensier. His brothers were King Charles V of France, Duke Louis I of Anjou and Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy. He was Regent of France from 1380 to 1388 during the minority of his nephew King Charles VI.

Sir William Arthur Lewis was a Saint Lucian economist and the James Madison Professor of Political Economy at Princeton University. Lewis remains the only black person to have won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

Evelyn Underhill was an English Anglo-Catholic writer and pacifist known for her numerous works on religion and spiritual practice, in particular Christian mysticism. Her best-known work is Mysticism, published in 1911.

Choi Hong-hi was a South Korean martial artist and army general who was an important figure in the history of the Korean martial art of Taekwondo, albeit controversial due to his introduction of taekwondo to North Korea.

Romanos I Lakapenos or Lekapenos, Latinized as Romanus I Lacapenus or Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for and senior co-ruler of the young Constantine VII.

Manos Hatzidakis was a Greek composer and theorist of Greek music, widely regarded as one of the greatest Greek composers of all time. He was one of the main proponents of the "éntekhno" form of music, along with Mikis Theodorakis, and he is credited as the founder of the Orchestra of Colours, an ensemble performing lesser-known works and the music of Greek composers, and influenced a broad swath of Greek culture through his writings and radio broadcasts. With his theoretical and compositional work, he is considered to be the first to connect post-war the worded music with traditional music.

Kenneth Geddes "Ken" Wilson was an American theoretical physicist and a pioneer in using computers for studying particle physics. He was awarded the 1982 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on phase transitions—illuminating the subtle essence of phenomena like melting ice and emerging magnetism. It was embodied in his fundamental work on the renormalization group.

Alfred Denis Cortot was a Swiss pianist, conductor, and teacher who lived and worked in France for many years. He was one of the most renowned classical musicians of the 20th century. A pianist of massive repertory, he was especially valued for his poetic insight into Romantic piano works, particularly those of Chopin, Franck, Saint-Saëns and Schumann. For Éditions Durand, he edited editions of almost all piano music by Chopin, Liszt and Schumann.

Ary Scheffer was a Dutch-French Romantic painter. He was known mostly for his works based on literature, with paintings based on the works of Dante, Goethe, Lord Byron and Walter Scott, as well as religious subjects. He was also a prolific painter of portraits of famous and influential people in his lifetime. Politically, Scheffer had strong ties to King Louis Philippe I, having been employed as a teacher of the latter's children, which allowed him to live a life of luxury for many years until the French Revolution of 1848.

Samuel Earl Crawford, nicknamed "Wahoo Sam", was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Crawford batted and threw left-handed, stood 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) tall and weighed 190 pounds (86 kg). Born in Wahoo, Nebraska, he had a short minor league baseball career before rapidly rising to the majors with the Cincinnati Reds in 1899. He played for the Reds until 1902.

José Froilán González was an Argentine racing driver who competed in Formula One between 1950 and 1960. Nicknamed "the Pampas Bull" and "el Cabezón", González was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1954 with Ferrari, and won two Grands Prix across nine seasons. In endurance racing, González won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1954, also with Ferrari.

Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton was an English aristocrat and courtier. He was suspected throughout his life of being Roman Catholic, and went through periods of royal disfavour, in which his reputation suffered greatly. He was distinguished for learning, artistic culture and his public charities. He built Northumberland House in London and superintended the construction of the fine house of Audley End. He founded and planned several hospitals. Francis Bacon included three of his sayings in his Apophthegms, and chose him as "the learnedest councillor in the kingdom to present to the king his Advancement of Learning." After his death, it was discovered that he had been involved in the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury.

Jules Roy was a French writer. "Prolific and polemical" Roy, born an Algerian pied noir and sent to a Roman Catholic seminary, used his experiences in the French colony and during his service in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War as inspiration for a number of his works. He began writing in 1946, while still serving in the military, and continued to publish fiction and historical works after his resignation in 1953 in protest of the First Indochina War. He was an outspoken critic of French colonialism and the Algerian War of Independence and later civil war, as well as a strongly religious man.

Peyami Safa was a Turkish journalist, columnist and novelist. He came to the fore in the Turkish literature of the Republican era with his psychological works such as Dokuzuncu Hariciye Koğuşu. He reflected his life and his changes to his works. He wrote many novels under the pseudonym Server Bedi. He created Cingöz Recai, a character inspired by Arsène Lupin of the French writer Maurice Leblanc. He also worked as a journalist at various institutions and published several magazines such as Kültür Haftası with his brother İlhami Safa.

Raymond Getliffe was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens. Born in Galt, Ontario, he played with the Saint John St. Peters. At the time of his death, he was believed to be the oldest living former Montreal Canadiens player. Getliffe's name is on the Stanley Cup twice, for 1939 with Boston and 1944 with Montreal. On February 6, 1943, while playing for the Canadiens he scored five goals in one game.

Otfrid Foerster was a German neurologist and neurosurgeon, who made innovative contributions to neurology and neurosurgery, such as rhizotomy for the treatment of spasticity, anterolateral cordotomy for pain, the hyperventilation test for epilepsy, Foerster's syndrome, the first electrocorticogram of a brain tumor, and the first surgeries for epilepsy. He also made influential contributions in advancing knowledge of dermatomes, building upon previous work of Herringham, Thorburn, Sherrington, and others. He also helped map the motor cortex of the cerebrum.

Eadburh was the daughter of King Edward the Elder of England and his third wife, Eadgifu of Kent. She lived most of her life as a nun known for her singing ability. Most of the information about her comes from hagiographies written several centuries after her life. She was canonised twelve years after her death and there are a small number of churches dedicated to her, most of which are located in the Worcestershire area.

Kristian Olaf Bernhard Birkeland was a Norwegian space physicist, inventor, and professor of physics at the Royal Fredriks University in Oslo. He is best remembered for his theories of atmospheric electric currents that elucidated the nature of the aurora borealis. In order to fund his research on the aurorae, he invented the electromagnetic cannon and the Birkeland–Eyde process of fixing nitrogen from the air. Birkeland was nominated for the Nobel Prize seven times.

James Joseph Dykes was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a third and second baseman from 1918 through 1939, most notably as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics dynasty that won three consecutive American League pennants from 1929 to 1931 and, won the World Series in 1929 and 1930. Dykes played his final six seasons for the Chicago White Sox.

Henry Sacheverell was an English Anglican High Church clergyman who achieved nationwide fame in 1709 after preaching an incendiary sermon on 5 November. Sacheverell was subsequently impeached by the House of Commons of Great Britain and though found guilty, his light punishment was seen as a vindication and he became a popular figure in the country, contributing to the Tories' landslide victory at the 1710 British general election.

Frank Elbridge Webb was an American engineer who served as the Farmer–Labor Party's presidential candidate in 1928. In the 1932 presidential election, he was initially renominated by the Farmer–Labor Party before being removed and running as the nominee for a wing of the Liberty Party. He also led many unsuccessful efforts to build bridges that spanned the San Francisco Bay.

Frederick II, known as Frederick the Quarrelsome, was Duke of Austria and Styria from 1230 until his death. He was the fifth and last Austrian duke from the House of Babenberg, since the former margraviate was elevated to a duchy by the 1156 Privilegium Minus. He was killed in the Battle of the Leitha River, leaving no male heirs.

Tatu Kolehmainen was a Finnish long-distance runner who competed at the 1912 and 1920 Summer Olympics. In 1912, he reached the finals of 10,000 m and marathon races, but failed to finish due to a strong heat. In 1920, he placed 10th in the marathon. His younger brother Hannes competed alongside at the 1912 and 1920 Games.

Wendell Meredith Stanley was an American biochemist, virologist and Nobel laureate. Stanley's work contributed to lepracidal compounds, diphenyl stereochemistry, and the chemistry of the sterols. His research on the virus causing the mosaic disease in tobacco plants led to the isolation of a nucleoprotein which displayed tobacco mosaic virus activity.

Unryū Kyūkichi was a Japanese sumo wrestler from Yanagawa, Chikugo Province. He was the sport's 10th yokozuna. Although the name of the style of the yokozuna 's in-ring ceremony is named after him, the fact that he himself practiced this style is highly debated.

Maurice Bellemare, was a politician in Quebec, Canada. He was known as Le Vieux Lion de la Politique Québécoise because of his colourful style and his many years of public office. Bellemare was one of the last survivors of the Union Nationale party.

Suzanne Flon was a French stage, film, and television actress. She won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for her performance in the 1961 film Thou Shalt Not Kill. Flon also received two César Awards and two Molière Awards in her career.

James Short FRS was a Scottish mathematician and manufacturer of optical instruments, principally telescopes. During his 35-year career as a telescope-maker he produced approximately 1,360 scientific instruments.

Albert Viktor Julius Joseph Michael Graf von Mensdorff-Pouilly-Dietrichstein was an Austro-Hungarian diplomat who served as Ambassador to London at the outbreak of World War I.

Adalbert was the 17th Bishop of Passau from 946 to 970.

Emperor Go-Sanjō was the 71st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His given name was Takahito (尊仁).

Matthew Asen Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzenus was Byzantine Emperor from 1353 to 1357 and later Despot of the Morea from 1380 to 1381.

Tamás Bakócz OP was a Hungarian archbishop, cardinal and statesman. He was a serious candidate for the 1513 papal conclave.

Louis-Claude Daquin was a French composer, writing in the Baroque and Galant styles. He was a virtuoso organist and harpsichordist.

Thomas Campbell was a Scottish poet at the intersection of the neoclassical with the Romantic style of British poetry.

Franjo Krežma, also known as Franz Krezma in German-speaking countries, was a Croatian violinist and composer.

Louis Charles Bonaventure Alfred Bruneau was a French composer who played a key role in the introduction of realism in French opera.

Giulio Cabianca was a Formula One driver from Italy.

Robert Reiniger Meredith Willson was an American composer, lyricist, and playwright.

Andrew William Stanfield was an American sprinter and Olympic gold and silver medallist.

Omer Côté was a Canadian politician and a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec.

Henri Alekan was a French cinematographer.

Herbert Taylor Pearson was a New Zealand cricketer who played for Auckland in the 1930s and 1940s.

Raymond Devos was a French humorist, stand-up comedian and clown. He is best known for his sophisticated puns and surreal humour.

Barry Bruce MacKay was an American tennis player, tournament director and broadcaster. He was ranked #1 in the U.S. in 1960.

Dennis O'Rourke was an Australian cinematographer and documentary filmmaker.

Heinz "Flocke" Flohe was a German footballer and manager.

Jacques Bergerac was a French actor and businessman.

Matija Sarkic was a professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.