Notable Deaths on June 17

Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa Al-Ayyat was an Egyptian politician, engineer, and professor who served as the fifth president of Egypt from 2012 to 2013, when General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi removed him from office in a coup d'état after protests in June. Affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood organization, Morsi led the Freedom and Justice Party from 2011 to 2012.

Mumtaz Mahal was the empress of the Mughal Empire from 1628 to 1631 as the chief consort of the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan. The Taj Mahal in Agra, often cited as one of the Wonders of the World, was commissioned by her husband to act as her tomb.

Jean Ann Kennedy Smith was an American diplomat, activist, humanitarian, and author who served as United States Ambassador to Ireland from 1993 to 1998. A member of the Kennedy family, Kennedy was the eighth of nine children born to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Kennedy. Her siblings included President of the United States John F. Kennedy, United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York, United States Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, Rosemary Kennedy, and Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver.

Uthman ibn Affan was the third and longest-reigned Rashidun caliph, ruling from 644 until his assassination in 656. He was also a second cousin, son-in-law, and senior companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and played a major role in early Islamic history. He is most famously known for the compilation and distribution of the standardized version of the Quran during his reign, known as the Uthmanic codex. This standardization established a uniform written text of the Quran, and the Uthmanic codex forms the basis of the Quran used by Muslims today.

Eugen Weidmann was a German-born criminal and serial killer who was executed by guillotine in France in June 1939, the last public execution in France.

John Whiteside Parsons was an American rocket engineer, chemist, and Thelemite occultist. Parsons was one of the principal founders of both the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Aerojet. He invented the first rocket engine to use a castable, composite rocket propellant, and pioneered the advancement of both liquid-fuel and solid-fuel rockets.

Jeff Chandler was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Cochise in Broken Arrow (1950), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was one of Universal Pictures' more popular male stars of the 1950s. His other credits include Sword in the Desert (1948), Deported (1950), Female on the Beach (1955), and Away All Boats (1956). He also performed as a radio actor and as a singer.

Darrell Cecil "Shifty" Powers was a non-commissioned officer with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division during World War II. Powers was portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by Peter Youngblood Hills.

Kenneth Kaunda, also known as KK, was a Zambian politician who served as the first president of Zambia from 1964 to 1991. He was at the forefront of the campaign for independence from the British Empire, though he would subsequently establish himself as a dictator and oversee Zambia's economic collapse once this was achieved. Dissatisfied with Harry Nkumbula's leadership of the Northern Rhodesian African National Congress, he broke away and founded the Zambian African National Congress, later becoming the head of the socialist United National Independence Party (UNIP).

Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, also known by his regnal name of Agha Mohammad Shah, was the founder of the Qajar dynasty of Iran, ruling as Shah from 1789 to 1797, after reunifying the country and establishing Tehran as its capital.

Thomas Samuel Kuhn was an American historian and philosopher of science whose 1962 book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions was influential in both academic and popular circles. The book popularized the term paradigm shift, which has since become an English-language idiom. Alexander Bird describes the book as one of the most cited academic books of all time.

Bolesław I the Brave, less often known as Bolesław the Great, was Duke of Poland from 992 to 1025 and the first King of Poland in 1025. He was also Duke of Bohemia between 1003 and 1004 as Boleslaus IV. A member of the Piast dynasty, Bolesław was a capable monarch and a strong mediator in Central European affairs. He continued to proselytise Western Christianity among his subjects and raised Poland to the rank of a kingdom, thus becoming the first Polish ruler to hold the title of rex, Latin for King.

Süleyman Sami Demirel was a Turkish politician, engineer, and statesman who served as the president of Turkey from 1993 to 2000. He previously served as the prime minister of Turkey seven times between 1965 and 1993. He was the leader of the Justice Party (AP) from 1964 to 1980 and the leader of the True Path Party (DYP) from 1987 to 1993.

General Sir Richard Nugent O'Connor was a senior British Army officer who fought in both the First and Second World Wars, and commanded the Western Desert Force in the early years of the Second World War. He was the field commander for Operation Compass, in which his forces destroyed a much larger Italian army – a victory which nearly drove the Axis from Africa, and in turn, led Adolf Hitler to send the Afrika Korps under Erwin Rommel to try to reverse the situation. O'Connor was captured by a German patrol on 6 April 1941 and spent over two years in an Italian prisoner of war camp. He eventually escaped after the fall of Mussolini in the autumn of 1943. In 1944 he commanded VIII Corps in the Battle of Normandy and later during Operation Market Garden. In 1945 he was General Officer in Command of the Eastern Command in India and then, in the closing days of British rule in the subcontinent, he headed Northern Command. His final job in the army was Adjutant-General to the Forces in London, in charge of the British Army's administration, personnel and organisation.

Kathryn Elizabeth Smith was an American contralto. Referred to as The First Lady of Radio, Smith became well known for her renditions of "God Bless America" and "When the Moon Comes over the Mountain".

Roberto Calvi was an Italian banker, dubbed "God's Banker" by the press because of his close business dealings with the Holy See. He was a native of Milan and was chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, which collapsed in one of Italy's biggest political scandals.

Clementa Carlos Pinckney was an American politician and pastor who served as a Democratic member of the South Carolina Senate, representing the 45th District from 2000 until his murder in 2015. He was previously a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1997 through 2000.

Major John Pitcairn was a British military officer. Born in Dysart, Fife, he enlisted in a marine regiment of the British Army in 1745 during the War of the Austrian Succession and joined His Majesty's Marine Forces when it was raised in 1755. Pitcairn served in North America during the French and Indian War before being sent to Boston in 1774 at the rank of major. He fought in the 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord which sparked the American War of Independence. Two months later in June, Pitcairn was killed in action during the Battle of Bunker Hill. Respected by both his men and his American opponents, he was buried at Boston's Old North Church. At the time of his death Pitcairn was serving alongside his son Thomas, also a marine officer in the same division, who helped to carry his mortally wounded father from the battlefield.

Joseph Addison was a British writer and politician. He was the eldest son of Lancelot Addison. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend Richard Steele, with whom he founded The Spectator magazine. His simple prose style marked the end of the mannerisms and conventional classical images of the 17th century. Addison is also famous for his play Cato, a Tragedy, written in 1712.

John David Crow Sr. was an American professional football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1957 as a halfback playing for the Texas A&M Aggies. After college, he played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago / St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers from 1958 to 1968.

Jijabai, was the mother of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, founder of the Maratha Kingdom. She was a daughter of Lakhuji Jadhav of Sindkhed Raja. He belonged to the lineage of Devagiri Yadavas.

Lieutenant-General Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck better known as Lord William Bentinck, was a British military commander and colonial administrator, who served as the first governor-general of India from 1828 to 1835.

Richard Dalton Howser was an American Major League Baseball shortstop, coach, and manager who was best known as the manager of the Kansas City Royals during the 1980s and for guiding them to the franchise's first World Series title in 1985.

John Edward Boulting and Roy Alfred Clarence Boulting, known collectively as the Boulting brothers, were English filmmakers and identical twins who became known for their series of satirical comedies in the 1950s and 1960s. They produced many of their films through their own production company, Charter Film Productions, which they founded in 1937.

Ashikaga Yoshiteru , also known as Yoshifushi or Yoshifuji, was a Japanese samurai, daimyo and the 13th shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1546 to 1565 during the late Muromachi period of Japan. He was the eldest son of the 12th shōgun, Ashikaga Yoshiharu, and his mother was a daughter of Konoe Hisamichi. When he became shogun in 1546 at age 11, Yoshiteru's name was Yoshifushi ; but some years later in 1554, he changed his name to the one by which he is conventionally known today. His childhood name was Kikubemaru (菊童丸). His younger brother Ashikaga Yoshiaki became the fifteenth shōgun.

Friedrich "Fritz" Walter was a German footballer who spent his entire senior career at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He usually played as an attacking midfielder or inside forward. In his time with the Germany and West Germany national teams, he appeared in 61 games and scored 33 goals, and was the captain of the team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup. After his career, he was named honorary captain of the Germany national team. Walter held the record for the most assists provided in FIFA World Cup tournaments, recording either nine or ten assists. His record was eventually surpassed by Lionel Messi in 2026.

Daoji, popularly known as Jigong, was a Chan Buddhist monk who lived in the Southern Song. He purportedly possessed supernatural powers through Buddhist practice, which he used to help the poor and stand up to injustice. However, he was also known for his wild and eccentric behavior and did not follow Buddhist monastic rules by consuming alcohol and meat. By the time of his death, Daoji had become a legend in Chinese culture and a deity in Chinese folk religion. He is mentioned by Buddhists in folktales and gong'an, and sometimes invoked by oracles to assist in worldly affairs.

Patricia Anne Thirza Byrne was an English actress, best known for her role as "Nursie" in Blackadder II as well as Malcolm's domineering Mother, Mrs Stoneway in all seven series of the ITV comedy Watching between 1987 and 1993.

Lozen was a warrior and prophet of the Chihenne Chiricahua Apache. She was the sister of Victorio, a prominent chief. Born into the Chihenne band during the 1840s, Lozen was, according to legends, able to use her powers in battle to learn the movements of the enemy. According to James Kaywaykla, Victorio introduced her to Nana, "Lozen is my right hand ... strong as a man, braver than most, and cunning in strategy. Lozen is a shield to her people".

George Basil Hume was an English Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1976 until his death in 1999. A member of the Benedictines, he was made a cardinal in 1977.

Gianfranco Ferré was an Italian fashion designer also known as "the architect of fashion" for his background and his original attitude toward creating fashion design.

James Eubert Holshouser Jr. was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 68th governor of North Carolina from 1973 to 1977. He was the first Republican candidate to be elected as governor of the state since 1896. Born in Boone, North Carolina, Holshouser initially sought to become a sports journalist before deciding to pursue a law degree. While in law school he developed an interest in politics and in 1962 he was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives where he focused on restructuring government and higher education institutions, and drug abuse legislation. Made chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party in March 1966, he established the organization's first permanent staff and gained prominence by opposing a cigarette tax.

John I Albert was King of Poland and (disputed) Supreme Duke of Lithuania from 1492 to his death, as well as Duke of Głogów from 1491 to 1498. He was the fourth Polish sovereign from the Jagiellonian dynasty and the son of Casimir IV and Elizabeth of Austria.

Arnold Seymour Relman — known as Bud Relman to intimates — was an American internist and professor of medicine and social medicine. He was editor of The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) from 1977 to 1991, where he instituted two important policies: one asking the popular press not to report on articles before publication and another requiring authors to disclose conflicts of interest. He wrote extensively on medical publishing and reform of the U.S. health care system, advocating non-profit delivery of single-payer health care. Relman ended his career as professor emeritus at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts.

Ralf Gustav Dahrendorf, Baron Dahrendorf, was a German-British sociologist, philosopher, political scientist and liberal politician. A class conflict theorist, Dahrendorf was a leading expert on explaining and analysing class divisions in modern society. Dahrendorf wrote multiple articles and books, his most notable being Class and Conflict in Industrial Society (1959) and Essays in the Theory of Society (1968).

Ronald William Clarke was an Australian athlete, writer, and the Mayor of the Gold Coast from 2004 to 2012. He was one of the best-known middle- and long-distance runners in the 1960s, notable for setting seventeen world records.

Cláudio Besserman Vianna, commonly known as Bussunda, was a Brazilian humorist and TV comedian, member of the Casseta & Planeta troupe. He was born in Rio de Janeiro, where he lived and worked, having started his career in the 1980s as a writer for satirical magazine Casseta Popular. One of the most popular Brazilian comedians of his generation, the overweight Bussunda was famous for his impersonations of football striker Ronaldo and of Brazil's president Lula. He also did the voice of Shrek in the Brazilian Portuguese version of Shrek and Shrek 2. He was of Jewish descent.

Sir William Wyndham, 3rd Baronet was a British Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1710 to 1740. He served as Secretary at War in 1712 and Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1713 during the reign of the last Stuart monarch, Queen Anne (1702–1714). He was a Jacobite leader firmly opposed to the Hanoverian succession and was leader of the Tory opposition in the House of Commons during the reign of King George I (1714–1727) and during the early years of King George II (1727–1760).

Admiral of the Red Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, PC was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As a junior officer he saw action during the Seven Years' War. Middleton was given command of a guardship at the Nore, a Royal Navy anchorage in the Thames Estuary, at the start of the American War of Independence, and was subsequently appointed Comptroller of the Navy. He went on to be First Naval Lord and then First Lord of the Admiralty.

Allen Sutton Sothoron was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. As a player, he was a spitball pitcher who spent 11 years in the major leagues playing for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians and the St. Louis Cardinals. Born in Bradford, Ohio, Sothoron threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and weighed 182 pounds (83 kg). He attended Albright College and Juniata College.

Sakanoue no Tamuramaro was a court noble, general and shōgun of the early Heian period of Japan. He served as Dainagon, Minister of War and Ukon'e no Taisho. He held the kabane of Ōsukune and the court rank of Junior Second Rank and was awarded the Order of Second Class.

Nikolay Ivanovich Bobrikov was a Russian general and politician. He served as Governor-General of Finland and the Finnish Military District from 29 August [O.S. 17 August] 1898 until his death, during the early reign of Emperor Nicholas II, and was responsible for promoting Russification policies in Finland. After his appointment as governor-general, he quickly became very unpopular and was assassinated by Eugen Schauman, a Finnish nationalist born in Kharkov.

James Robert Williams was a Canadian cartoonist who signed his work J. R. Williams. He was best known for his long-run daily syndicated panel Out Our Way. As noted by Coulton Waugh in his 1947 book The Comics, anecdotal evidence indicated that more Williams' cartoons were clipped and saved than were other newspaper comics. A newspaper promotion of 1930 compared him to poets Eugene Field and James Whitcomb Riley.

Ingeborg of Norway was a Norwegian princess and by marriage a Swedish royal duchess with a position in the regency governments in Norway (1319–1327) and Sweden (1319–1326) during the minority of her son, King Magnus Eriksson. In 1318–1319, she was Sweden's de facto ruler, and from 1319 until 1326, she was Sweden's first de jure female regent. Her role in northern European history is considered of major importance.

Edwin Sheffield "Bulbs" Ehlers was an American professional basketball player. Standing 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) and weighing 198 pounds (90 kg), he played the Shooting Guard positions. Ehlers was drafted third overall in the inaugural 1947 BAA draft by the Boston Celtics. In two seasons in the league, both with the Celtics, Ehlers averaged 8.1 points per game.

Claude Louis Hector de Villars, Prince of Martigues, Marquis then (1st) Duke of Villars, Viscount of Melun was a French military commander and an illustrious general of Louis XIV. He was one of only six Marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France. Villars is considered one of the great military commanders produced by his time.

Sir Arthur Harden, FRS was a British biochemist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1929 with Hans Karl August Simon von Euler-Chelpin for their investigations into the fermentation of sugar and fermentative enzymes. He was a founding member of the Biochemical Society and editor of the Biochemical Journal for 25 years.

Percival Lea Dewhurst Perry, 1st Baron Perry KBE was an English motor vehicle manufacturer who served as chairman of Ford Motor Company Limited in Britain for 20 years from its incorporation in 1928, completing almost a lifetime's work with Henry Ford. He also led the establishment of Segro.

Georgije Bogić was a Serbian Orthodox protopresbyter and the parish priest of the Orthodox church in Našice; who was martyred by the Ustaše during the Second World War, for which he was canonized as Saint George of Slavonia, being recognised as a new martyr and hieromartyr.

Paul Rostock was a German physician, official, and university professor. He was chief of the Office for Medical Science and Research under Third Reich Commissioner and war criminal Karl Brandt and a full professor, medical doctorate, medical superintendent of the University of Berlin Surgical Clinic.

Roberto Marcelo Levingston Laborda was an Argentine Army general who was the 36th President of Argentina from 1970 to 1971. His presidency was marked by a protectionist economic policy amid the country's financial struggles, and the imposition of the death penalty against terrorists and kidnappers.

Thomas Joseph Winning was a Scottish Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Glasgow from 1974 and President of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland from 1985 until his death. Winning was elevated to the cardinalate in 1994.

Tachibana no Kachiko , also known as Empress Danrin , was a Japanese empress, the chief consort of Emperor Saga and the daughter of Tachibana no Kiyotomo. She was de facto ruler of the empire between 833 and 850.

Fulk the Venerable was archbishop of Reims from 883 until his death. He was a key figure in the political conflicts of the West Frankish kingdom that followed the dissolution of the Carolingian Empire in the late ninth century.

James Phinney Baxter III was an American historian, educator, and academic, who won the 1947 Pulitzer Prize for History for his book Scientists Against Time (1946). He was also the author of The Introduction of the Ironclad Warship (1933).

Douglas Curtis Swan was an American comics artist. The artist most associated with Superman during the period fans call the Bronze Age of Comic Books, Swan produced hundreds of covers and stories from the 1950s through the 1980s.

George Edward "Duffy" Lewis was an American professional baseball player who was a left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees, and the Washington Senators from 1910 to 1921.

Martín Miguel Juan de la Mata de Güemes-Montero y Goyechea de la Corte was a military leader and popular caudillo who defended northwestern Argentina from the Spanish royalist army during the Argentine War of Independence.

David of Scotland was a Scottish prince and Earl of Huntingdon. He was the grandson of David I and the younger brother of two Scottish kings, Malcolm the Maiden and William the Lion.

Pope Adeodatus II, sometimes called Deodatus, was the bishop of Rome from 672 to his death on 17 June 676. He devoted much of his papacy to improving churches and fighting monothelitism.

Sir Charles Fitzpatrick, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Justice of Canada, as Chief Justice of Canada and then as Lieutenant Governor of Quebec.

Jan of Jenštejn was a Bohemian archbishop, composer and poet. From 1379 to 1396 he was the Archbishop of Prague. He studied in Bologna, Padua, Montpellier and Paris.

José Nasazzi Yarza was a Uruguayan footballer who played as a right-back or centre-back. He captained his country when they won the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930.

Patricia Irene Brown was a pitcher who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Listed at 5' 5", 135 lb., she batted and threw right handed.

Refik Koraltan was a Turkish politician, having served as the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) from 22 May 1950 to 27 May 1960.

Baldwin Jacobson Lonsdale was a Vanuatuan politician and Anglican priest who served as the president of Vanuatu from 22 September 2014 until his death in 2017.

Éric Dewailly was a Canadian epidemiologist and medical researcher from Quebec. He was particularly notable for his research into human toxicology and the effect of contaminants on the environment in the Arctic. A professor of medicine at Laval University and the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec Research Center, he was also a scientific director of the World Health Organization's Collaborative Centre in Environmental Health.

Major Julien-Alexandre Félix was the director of manoeuvres in the French Military Aviation School, École militaire de Pau. He set the altitude record on August 5, 1911 in Étampes in France by climbing to 11,330 feet in 63 minutes, breaking the record of Georges Legagneux.

Dirk V was Count of West-Frisia from 1061 to 1091.

Infanta Catarina ; was a Portuguese infanta (princess), daughter of King Edward of Portugal and Eleanor of Aragon.

Philip Howard was an English Roman Catholic cardinal.

John III Sobieski was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696.

Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon was a French poet and tragedian.

Ioannis Vlachos, better known as Daskalogiannis, was a wealthy shipbuilder and shipowner who led a Cretan revolt against Ottoman rule in the 18th century.

Joseph Méry was a French writer, journalist, novelist, poet, playwright and librettist.

Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, was an English painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's style and subject matter.

Julius Friedrich Seljamaa was an Estonian politician, diplomat and journalist. From 1933 to 1936, he was the Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Johan Wagenaar was a Dutch composer and organist.

Sir Hubert Ashton was an English first-class cricketer, footballer and politician.

William D. Davenport was an American sprint runner.

Joseph Gerald George McNeil was a professional ice hockey goaltender who won three Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens between 1947 and 1956.

Cyd Charisse was an American dancer and actress.

Gloria Laura Vanderbilt was an American artist, author, actress, fashion designer, heiress, and socialite.