Notable Deaths on March 23

March 23 has 113 recorded notable deaths across history, from 59 to 2026. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.

Bhagat Singh

1931 — Bhagat Singh

Indian activist (born 1907)

By · — Wikipedia

Notable Deaths 113 source records 59 – 2026

Major events on March 23

See what else happened on this day in history.

  1. 1965 NASA launches Gemini 3, the United States' first two-man space flight (crew: Gus Grissom and John Young). Source
  2. 1868 The University of California is founded in Oakland, California when the Organic Act is signed into law. Source

Did you know about Bhagat Singh

Bhagat Singh was an Indian anti-colonial revolutionary who participated in the mistaken murder of a junior British police officer in December 1928 in what was intended to be retaliation for the death of an Indian nationalist.

Did you know about Friedrich Hayek

Hayek shared the 1974 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with Gunnar Myrdal for work on money and economic fluctuations, and the interdependence of economic, social and institutional phenomena.

Did you know about Lil' Chris

Lil' Chris came to prominence in 2006 after appearing on the Channel 4 series Rock School, which saw Kiss vocalist and bassist Gene Simmons make a rock band at Lil' Chris' school.

Did you know about Joe Weider

Joe Weider was the publisher of various bodybuilding and fitness-related magazines, most notably Muscle & Fitness, Flex, Men's Fitness, and Shape, and the manufacturer of a line of fitness equipment and fitness supplements.

Did you know about Gilbert N. Lewis

Lewis also researched on relativity and quantum physics, and in 1926 he coined the term "photon" for the smallest unit of radiant energy.

More major people who died on March 23

Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.

1992 Friedrich Hayek

Friedrich Hayek

Austrian-German economist, philosopher, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1899)
Friedrich August von Hayek was an Austrian economist and philosopher. He is known for his contributions to political economy, political philosophy and intellectual history. Hayek shared the 1974 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with Gunnar Myrdal for work on money and economic fluctuations, and the interdependence of economic, social and institutional phenomena. His account of how prices communicate information is widely regarded as an important contribution to economics that led to his receiving the prize. He was a notable member of the Austrian school of economics.
Wikipedia source
2015 Lil' Chris

Lil' Chris

English singer-songwriter, actor, and television personality (born 1990)
Christopher James Hardman, known professionally as Lil' Chris, was an English singer-songwriter, actor, and television personality. He came to prominence in 2006 after appearing on the Channel 4 series Rock School, which saw Kiss vocalist and bassist Gene Simmons make a rock band at Lil' Chris' school. Later that year he released the single "Checkin' It Out", which charted at number 3, and a self-titled album. In 2008 he hosted his own series, Everybody Loves Lil' Chris. Hardman died by suicide in March 2015 at his home in Lowestoft after struggling with his mental health.
Wikipedia source
2013 Joe Weider

Joe Weider

Canadian-American bodybuilder and publisher, co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (born 1919)
Josef Weider was a Canadian publisher and entrepreneur who co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) alongside his brother Ben Weider. He was also the creator of Mr. Olympia, Ms. Olympia, and the Masters Olympia bodybuilding contests. He was the publisher of various bodybuilding and fitness-related magazines, most notably Muscle & Fitness, Flex, Men's Fitness, and Shape, and the manufacturer of a line of fitness equipment and fitness supplements. In 2014, he was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame.
Wikipedia source
1946 Gilbert N. Lewis

Gilbert N. Lewis

American chemist (born 1875)
Gilbert Newton Lewis was an American physical chemist and a dean of the college of chemistry at University of California, Berkeley. Lewis was best known for his discovery of the covalent bond and his concept of electron pairs; his Lewis dot structures and other contributions to valence bond theory have shaped modern theories of chemical bonding. Lewis successfully contributed to chemical thermodynamics, photochemistry, and isotope separation, and is also known for his concept of acids and bases. Lewis also researched on relativity and quantum physics, and in 1926 he coined the term "photon" for the smallest unit of radiant energy.
Wikipedia source
2014 Peter Oakley

Peter Oakley

English YouTuber (born 1927)
Peter Oakley was an English pensioner and Internet personality, who posted YouTube videos under the Internet pseudonym geriatric1927. With his YouTube debut in August 2006 with Telling it all, a series of five-to-ten-minute autobiographical videos, Oakley gained popularity with a wide section of the YouTube community. Amongst the autobiographical details revealed in his videos are that he served as a radar mechanic during World War II, that he had a lifelong love of motorcycles, and that he lived alone as a widower and pensioner.
Wikipedia source
1022 Zhen Zong

Zhen Zong

Chinese emperor (born 968)
Emperor Zhenzong of Song, personal name Zhao Heng, was the third emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned from 997 to his death in 1022. His personal name was originally Zhao Dechang, but was changed to Zhao Yuanxiu in 983, Zhao Yuankan in 986, and finally Zhao Heng in 995. He was the third son of his predecessor, Emperor Taizong, and was succeeded by his sixth son, Emperor Renzong at the end of his reign. From 1020 he was seriously ill, but retained power despite this. Because of his illness, day-to-day rule of China was often placed in the hands of his third wife, Empress Liu.
Wikipedia source
2012 Jim Duffy

Jim Duffy

American animator, director, and producer (born 1937)
Jim Duffy was an American animator whose credits included more than twenty years at Klasky Csupo creating productions for Nickelodeon, as well as earlier stints as an animator for Hanna-Barbera, TVC Animation in London, Murakami-Wolf-Swenson, and others. Duffy received two Primetime Emmy Awards for the 2000s animated show As Told by Ginger, as well as several other nominations for his work on Rugrats. Duffy also won three Daytime Emmy Awards during his tenure at Klasky Csupo, and received additional nominations for his work on Aaahh!!! Real Monsters and Captain Planet and the Planeteers. Duffy was also a director, writer, designer and storyboard artist for live-action television commercials, PSAs, and corporate productions, including a series of safety videos for the National Coal Board. He divided his professional time between Los Angeles and London. His shortform animated films were screened at film festivals worldwide.
Wikipedia source
1978 Halyna Kuzmenko

Halyna Kuzmenko

Ukrainian teacher and anarchist revolutionary (born 1897)
Agafya "Halyna" Andriivna Kuzmenko was a Ukrainian teacher and anarchist revolutionary. After moving to southern Ukraine, she became a prominent figure within the ranks of the Makhnovshchina, a mass movement to establish a libertarian communist society. Kuzmenko spearheaded the movement's educational activities, promoted Ukrainization and acted as an outspoken advocate of women's rights. Along with her husband, the anarchist military leader Nestor Makhno, in 1921 she fled into exile from the political repression in Ukraine. While imprisoned for subversive activities in Poland, she gave birth to her daughter Elena Mikhnenko, whom she brought with her to Paris. Following the death of her husband, the outbreak of World War II saw her deportation for forced labour, first by the Nazis and then by the Soviets. After her release, she spent her final days with her daughter in Kazakh SSR.
Wikipedia source
2002 Eileen Farrell

Eileen Farrell

American soprano (born 1920)
Eileen Farrell was an American soprano who had a nearly 60-year-long career performing both classical and popular music in concerts, theatres, on radio and television, and on disc. NPR noted, "She possessed one of the largest and most radiant operatic voices of the 20th century." While she was active as an opera singer, her concert engagements far outnumbered her theatrical appearances. Her career was mainly based in the United States, although she did perform internationally. The Daily Telegraph stated that she "was one of the finest American sopranos of the 20th century; she had a voice of magnificent proportions which she used with both acumen and artistry in a wide variety of roles", and described her as having a voice "like some unparalleled phenomenon of nature. She is to singers what Niagara is to waterfalls."
Wikipedia source
1999 Luis María Argaña

Luis María Argaña

Paraguayan judge and politician, Vice President of Paraguay (born 1932)
Luis María del Corazón de Jesús Dionisio Argaña Ferraro was a Paraguayan politician and jurist. A prominent and influential member of the Colorado Party, he was a Supreme Court judge, unsuccessfully ran for the Colorado Party's nomination for president in the 1993 election and eventually was elected Vice-President in the 1998 election, but was assassinated seven months after assuming office in March 1999 at a time when it appeared likely that he would inherit the presidency from Raúl Cubas, who was on the verge of being impeached. The incident and its aftermath is known in Paraguay as Marzo paraguayo. An airport in Paraguay, Dr. Luis María Argaña International Airport, is named for him.
Wikipedia source
1955 Artur Bernardes

Artur Bernardes

Brazilian politician, 12th President of Brazil (born 1875)
Artur da Silva Bernardes was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 12th president of Brazil from 1922 to 1926. Bernades' presidency was marked by the crisis of the First Brazilian Republic and the almost uninterrupted duration of a state of emergency. During his long political career, from 1905 until his death, he was the main leader of the Republican Party of Minas Gerais (PRM) from 1918–1922 until the party's closure in 1937, and founder and leader of the Republican Party (PR).
Wikipedia source
2016 Ken Howard

Ken Howard

American actor (born 1944)
Kenneth Joseph Howard Jr. was an American actor. He was known for his roles as Thomas Jefferson in 1776 (1972) and as high school basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the television show The White Shadow (1978–1981). Howard won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play in 1970 for his performance in Child's Play, and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his work in Grey Gardens (2009).
Wikipedia source
1972 Cristóbal Balenciaga

Cristóbal Balenciaga

Spanish fashion designer, founded Balenciaga (born 1895)
Cristóbal Balenciaga Eizaguirre was a Spanish fashion designer, and the founder of the Balenciaga clothing brand. He had a reputation as a couturier of uncompromising standards and was referred to as "the master of us all" by Christian Dior and as "the only couturier in the truest sense of the word" by Coco Chanel, who continued, "The others are simply fashion designers". On the day of his death, in 1972, Women's Wear Daily ran the headline "The King is Dead".
Wikipedia source
2011 Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor

American-British actress, socialite and humanitarian (born 1932)
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was a British and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. She then became the world's highest-paid movie star in the 1960s, remaining a well-known public figure for the rest of her life. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked her seventh on its list of the greatest female screen legends.
Wikipedia source
1980 Arthur Melvin Okun

Arthur Melvin Okun

American economist and academic (born 1928)
Arthur Melvin "Art" Okun was an American economist. Okun is known in particular for Okun's law, an observed relationship that states that for every 1% increase in the unemployment rate, a country's GDP will be roughly an additional 2.5% lower than its potential GDP. He is also known as the creator of the misery index, the analogy of the deadweight loss of taxation with a leaky bucket, and for the conception of "the invisible handshake".
Wikipedia source
1986 Moshe Feinstein

Moshe Feinstein

American Orthodox Rabbi and posek (born 1895)
Moshe Feinstein was a Russian-born American Orthodox Jewish rabbi, scholar, and posek. He has been called the most famous Orthodox Jewish legal authority of the 20th century and his rulings are often referenced in contemporary rabbinic literature. Feinstein served as president of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis, chairman of the Council of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of the Agudath Israel of America, and head of Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem in New York.
Wikipedia source
2014 Dave Brockie

Dave Brockie

Canadian-American singer-songwriter and bass player (born 1963)
David Murray Brockie was a Canadian-born American singer and musician. He was the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Gwar, in which he performed as Oderus Urungus, and he was a bassist and lead singer in the bands Death Piggy, X-Cops, and the Dave Brockie Experience (DBX). He additionally played the Oderus Urungus character in the comedy horror TV sitcom Holliston. Brockie died of a heroin overdose in 2014.
Wikipedia source
1953 Raoul Dufy

Raoul Dufy

French painter and illustrator (born 1877)
Raoul Dufy was a French painter associated with the Fauvist movement. He gained recognition for his vibrant and decorative style, which became popular in various forms, such as textile designs, and public building decorations. Dufy is most remembered for his artwork depicting outdoor social gatherings. In addition to painting, he was skilled in various other fields, including drawing, printmaking, book illustration, scenic design, furniture design, and planning public spaces.
Wikipedia source
2007 Eric Medlen

Eric Medlen

American race car driver (born 1973)
Eric John Medlen was an American NHRA Fuel Funny Car driver. Medlen drove for John Force Racing in 2004, 2005, and 2006, campaigning in the Castrol Syntec Ford Mustang Fuel Funny Car, and in 2007, campaigning in the Auto Club/Pleasant Holiday Ford Mustang Fuel Funny Car. He had a total of six career wins. His first win came during his Rookie season in 2004 at Brainerd International Raceway.
Wikipedia source

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