Notable people who died on March 4 include: Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia, Landry of Sées, Pelagius I, Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah, Stephen III.

Notable Deaths on March 4

Q: What is Willi Unsoeld known for?

Willi Unsoeld, American mountaineer and educator (born 1926)

1979 — Willi Unsoeld

American mountaineer and educator (born 1926)

March 4 has seen 166 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 306 – 2025. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.

By thisDay.info Editorial Team · March 4 — Wikipedia

Notable Deaths 166 people 306 – 2025

Did you know

William Francis Unsoeld was an American mountaineer who was a member of the first American expedition to summit Mount Everest

Did you know

Unsoeld and Hornbein's climb was the first ascent from the peak's west ridge, and the first major traverse of a Himalayan peak

Did you know

Whittaker, with Sherpa Nawang Gombu, reached the summit on May 1, 1963

Did you know

Unsoeld, Hornbein, Bishop and Jerstad reached the top on May 22, 1963

Did you know

The American Mount Everest Expedition was led by Norman Dyhrenfurth, and included Unsoeld, Jim Whittaker, Lute Jerstad, Barry Bishop and Tom Hornbein

Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia

Christian martyrs

Adrian of Nicomedia or Saint Adrian was a Herculian Guard of the Roman Emperor Galerius. After becoming a convert to Christianity with his wife Natalia (Ναταλία), Adrian was martyred at Nicomedia in Asia-Minor (Turkey).…

306

Landry of Sées

French bishop and saint

Landry of Sées (Landericus) was a Gallo-Roman saint and bishop. The earliest record found of a person named Landry was in the 5th century ca. 450 in the person of St. Landry, third Bishop of Sées who died on March 4,…

480

Pelagius I

pope of the Catholic Church

Pope Pelagius I was the bishop of Rome from 16 April 556 to his death on 3 March 561. A former apocrisiarius to Constantinople, Pelagius I was elected pope as the candidate of Emperor Justinian I, a designation not well…

561

Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah

Fatimid caliph (born 873)

Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥusayn, better known by his regnal name al-Mahdī biʾllāh, was the founder of the Isma'ili Fatimid Caliphate, the only major Shi'a caliphate in Islamic history, and the eleventh Imam of the…

934

Stephen III

king of Hungary (born 1147)

Stephen III was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1162 and 1172. He was crowned king in early June 1162, shortly after the death of his father, Géza II. However, his two uncles, Ladislaus and Stephen, who had joined…

1172

Saladin

founder of the Ayyubid Sultanate (born 1137)

Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, commonly known as Saladin, was a Kurdish commander and political leader. He was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty and the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the…

1193

Joan of England

queen of Scotland (born 1210)

Joan of England, was Queen of Alba (Scotland) from 1221 until her death as the wife of Alexander II. She was the third child of John, King of England, and Isabella of Angoulême.

1238

Yuri II

Russian Grand Prince (born 1189)

Yuri II, also known as George II of Vladimir, or Georgy II Vsevolodovich, was the fourth Grand Prince of Vladimir who presided over the Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal at the time of the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'.

1238

Daniel of Moscow

Russian Grand Duke (born 1261)

Daniil Aleksandrovich, also known as Daniil of Moscow, was the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky and forefather of all Princes of Moscow. His descendants are known as the Daniilovichi. He has been locally approved for…

1303

Jakub Świnka

Polish priest and archbishop

Jakub Świnka was a Polish Catholic priest, the Archbishop of Gniezno and a notable politician and statesman, supporter of the idea of unification of all Polish lands under the rule of Władysław I the Elbow-high. His…

1314

Jeanne d'Évreux

queen consort of France (born 1310)

Joan of Évreux was Queen of France and Navarre as the third wife of King Charles IV of France.

1371

Thomas Usk

English author

Thomas Usk was an English civil servant and writer, briefly appointed the under-sheriff of London by Richard II in 1387, but hanged in the following year. He was the author of The Testament of Love, formerly ascribed…

1388

Saint Casimir

Polish prince (born 1458)

Casimir Jagiellon was a prince of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The second son of King Casimir IV Jagiellon, he was tutored by Johannes Longinus, a Polish chronicler, diplomat, and priest.…

1484

Sigismund

archduke of Austria (born 1427)

Sigismund, a member of the House of Habsburg, was Duke of Austria from 1439 until his death. As a scion of the Habsburg Leopoldian line, he ruled over Further Austria and the County of Tyrol from 1446 until his…

1496

Leonhard Kleber

German organist (born 1495)

Leonhard Kleber was a German organist, and probably composer, of the Renaissance.

1556

Bernard Gilpin

English priest and theologian (born 1517)

Bernard Gilpin, was an Oxford theologian and then an influential clergyman in the emerging Church of England spanning the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Jane, Mary and Elizabeth I. He was known as the 'Apostle of the…

1583

Fausto Sozzini

Italian theologian and educator (born 1539)

Fausto Paolo Sozzini, often known in English by his Latinized name Faustus Socinus, was an Italian Renaissance humanist and theologian, and, alongside his uncle Lelio Sozzini, founder of the Nontrinitarian Christian…

1604

Hans von Aachen

German painter and educator (born 1552)

Hans von Aachen was a German painter who was one of the leading representatives of Northern Mannerism.

1615

Louis III

duke of Bourbon (born 1668)

Louis III de Bourbon, Prince of Condé was a prince du sang as a member of the reigning House of Bourbon at the French court of Louis XIV. Styled as Duke of Bourbon from birth, he succeeded his father in 1709 as Prince…

1710

Claude de Forbin

French admiral and politician (born 1656)

Claude, comte de Forbin-Gardanne was a French Navy officer, nobleman and diplomat. From 1685 to 1688, he led a diplomatic mission to the Ayutthaya Kingdom. He became governor of Bangkok and a general in the Siamese…

1733

John Anstis

English historian and politician (born 1669)

John Anstis was an English officer of arms, antiquarian and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1702 and 1722. He rose to the highest heraldic office in England and became Garter King of Arms in 1718…

1744

Johannes Zick

German painter (born 1702)

Johannes (Johann) Zick was a German painter of frescoes in southern Germany and active during the Baroque period. He was the father of painter Januarius Zick and considered to be an important master of the Late Baroque.

1762

Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon

Duke of Penthièvre (born 1725)

Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon was the son of Louis Alexandre de Bourbon and his wife Marie Victoire de Noailles. He was therefore a grandson of Louis XIV and his mistress, Madame de Montespan. From birth he was known as…

1793

John Collins

American politician, 3rd Governor of Rhode Island (born 1717)

John Collins, was an American politician and a Founding Father of the United States who, as a member of the Continental Congress, signed the Articles of Confederation. He was the third governor of the U.S. state of…

1795

Jean-Baptiste Greuze

French painter (born 1725)

Jean-Baptiste Greuze was a French painter of portraits, genre scenes, and history painting.

1805

Abraham Baldwin

American minister, lawyer, and politician (born 1754)

Abraham Baldwin was an American minister, patriot, politician, and Founding Father who signed the United States Constitution. Born and raised in Connecticut, he was a 1772 graduate of Yale College. After the…

1807

Mariano Moreno

Argentinian journalist, lawyer, and politician (born 1778)

Mariano Moreno was an Argentine lawyer, journalist, and politician. He played a decisive role in the Primera Junta, the first national government of Argentina, created after the May Revolution.

1811

Jean-François Champollion

French philologist and scholar (born 1790)

Jean-François Champollion, also known as Champollion le jeune, was a French philologist and orientalist, known primarily as the decipherer of Egyptian hieroglyphs and a founding figure in the field of Egyptology.…

1832

James Richardson

English explorer (born 1809)

James Richardson was a British explorer known for his expeditions into the Sahel region of the Saharan desert.

1851

Nikolai Gogol

Ukrainian-Russian short story writer, novelist, and playwright (born 1809)

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol was a Russian novelist, short-story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin.

1852

Thomas Bladen Capel

English admiral (born 1776)

Admiral Sir Thomas Bladen Capel was a Royal Navy officer whose distinguished service in the French Revolutionary War, the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 earned him rapid promotion and great acclaim both in and out…

1853

Christian Leopold von Buch

German geologist and paleontologist (born 1774)

Christian Leopold von Buch, usually cited as Leopold von Buch, was a German geologist and paleontologist born in Stolpe an der Oder and is remembered as one of the most important contributors to geology in the first…

1853

Matthew C. Perry

American naval commander (born 1794)

Matthew Calbraith Perry was a United States Navy officer who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. He led the Perry Expedition that ended Japan's isolationism and…

1858

Thomas Starr King

American minister and politician (born 1824)

Thomas Starr King, often known as Starr King, was an American Universalist and Unitarian minister, influential in California politics during the American Civil War, and Freemason. Starr King spoke zealously in favor of…

1864

Alexander Campbell

Irish-American minister and theologian (born 1788)

Alexander Campbell was an Ulster Scots immigrant who became an ordained minister in the United States and joined his father Thomas Campbell as a leader of a reform effort that is historically known as the Restoration…

1866

Carsten Hauch

Danish poet and playwright (born 1790)

Johannes Carsten Hauch was a Danish poet.

1872

Alexander H. Stephens

American lawyer and politician, Vice President of the Confederate States of America (born 1812)

Alexander Hamilton Stephens was an American politician who served as the only vice president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865, and later as the 50th governor of Georgia from 1882 until his death in 1883. A…

1883

Amos Bronson Alcott

American philosopher and educator (born 1799)

Amos Bronson Alcott was an American teacher, writer, philosopher, and reformer. As an educator, Alcott pioneered new ways of interacting with young students, focusing on a conversational style, and avoided traditional…

1888

Joseph Henry Shorthouse

English author (born 1834)

Joseph Henry Shorthouse was an English novelist. His first novel, John Inglesant, was particularly admired as a "philosophical romance". It discusses a religious intrigue in the English 17th century.

1903

John Schofield

American general and politician, 28th United States Secretary of War (born 1831)

John McAllister Schofield was an American soldier who held major commands during the American Civil War. He was appointed U.S. Secretary of War (1868–1869) under President Andrew Johnson and later served as Commanding…

1906

William Willett

English inventor, founded British Summer Time (born 1856)

William Willett was a British builder and a promoter of British Summer Time.

1915

Franz Marc

German painter (born 1880)

Franz Moritz Wilhelm Marc was a German painter and printmaker, one of the key figures of German Expressionism. He was a founding member of Der Blaue Reiter, a journal whose name later became synonymous with the circle…

1916

Moritz Moszkowski

Polish-German pianist and composer (born 1854)

Moritz Moszkowski was a German-Polish composer, pianist, and teacher. His brother Alexander Moszkowski was a famous writer and satirist in Berlin.

1925

James Ward

English psychologist and philosopher (born 1843)

James Ward was an English psychologist and philosopher. He was a Cambridge Apostle.

1925

John Montgomery Ward

American baseball player and manager (born 1860)

John Montgomery Ward, also known as Monte Ward, was an American Major League Baseball pitcher, shortstop, second baseman, third baseman, centerfielder, manager, executive, union organizer, owner and author. Ward, of…

1925

Ira Remsen

American chemist and academic (born 1846)

Ira Remsen was an American chemist who introduced organic chemistry research and education in the United States along the lines of German universities where he received his early training. He was the first professor of…

1927

George Foster Peabody

American banker and philanthropist (born 1852)

George Foster Peabody was an American banker and philanthropist.

1938

Jack Taylor

American baseball player (born 1874)

John W. Taylor was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals.

1938

Hamlin Garland

American novelist, poet, essayist, and short story writer (born 1860)

Hannibal Hamlin Garland was an American novelist, poet, essayist, short story writer, Georgist, and psychical researcher. He is best known for his fiction involving hard-working Midwestern farmers.

1940

Ludwig Quidde

German activist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1858)

Ludwig Quidde was a German politician and pacifist who is mainly remembered today for his acerbic criticism of German Emperor Wilhelm II. Quidde's long career spanned four different eras of German history: Otto von…

1941

Fannie Barrier Williams

American educator and activist (born 1855)

Frances Barrier Williams was an American educator, civil rights and women's rights activist, and the first black woman to gain membership to the Chicago Woman's Club. She became well known for her efforts to have black…

1944

Louis Buchalter

American mob boss (born 1897)

Louis Buchalter, known as Louis Lepke, Lepke Buchalter or Judge Louie,, was a Jewish-American organized crime figure and head of the Mafia hit squad Murder, Inc., during the 1930s. Buchalter was one of the premier labor…

1944

Louis Capone

Italian-American gangster (born 1896)

Louis Capone was a New York organized crime figure who became a supervisor for Murder, Inc. Louis Capone had no known relation to Al Capone, the boss of the Chicago Outfit. Capone was convicted of murder in 1941, and…

1944

René Lefebvre

French businessman (born 1879)

René Charles Joseph Marie Lefebvre was a French factory-owner from Tourcoing, who died in the German concentration camp in Sonnenburg, in the Province of Brandenburg, where he had been imprisoned by the German Gestapo…

1944

Lucille La Verne

American actress (born 1872)

Lucille La Verne Mitchum was an American actress known for her appearances in early sound films, as well as for her triumphs on the American stage. She is most widely remembered to modern audiences as the voice of the…

1945

Mark Sandrich

American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1900)

Mark Sandrich was an American film director, writer, and producer.

1945

Antonin Artaud

French actor and director (born 1896)

Antoine Maria Joseph Paul Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud, was a French artist who worked across a variety of media. He is best known for his writings, as well as his work in the theatre and cinema. Widely…

1948

Clarence Kingsbury

English cyclist (born 1882)

Clarence Brickwood Kingsbury was a British track cyclist who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. He belonged to the Paddington and North End cycling clubs.

1949

Charles Scott Sherrington

English neurophysiologist and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1857)

Sir Charles Scott Sherrington was a British neurophysiologist. His experimental research established many aspects of contemporary neuroscience, including the concept of the spinal reflex as a system involving connected…

1952

Noel Gay

English composer and songwriter (born 1898)

Reginald Moxon Armitage known professionally as Noel Gay was a British composer of popular music of the 1930s and 1940s whose output comprised 45 songs as well as the music for 28 films and 26 London shows. Sheridan…

1954

Herbert O'Conor

American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 51st Governor of Maryland (born 1896)

Herbert Romulus O'Conor was an American lawyer serving as the 51st governor of Maryland from 1939 to 1947. He also served in the United States Senate, representing Maryland from 1947 to 1953. He was a Democrat.

1960

William Carlos Williams

American poet, short story writer, and essayist (born 1883)

William Carlos Williams was an American-Puerto Rican poet and physician closely associated with modernism and imagism. His Spring and All (1923) was written in the wake of T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land (1922). In his…

1963

Nicholas Schenck

Russian-American businessman (born 1881)

Nicholas M. Schenck was a Russian-American film studio executive and businessman.

1969

Harold Barrowclough

New Zealand general, lawyer, and politician, 8th Chief Justice of New Zealand (born 1894)

Major General Sir Harold Eric Barrowclough was a New Zealand military leader, lawyer and Chief Justice from 1953 to 1966.

1972

Charles Biro

American author and illustrator (born 1911)

Charles Biro was an American comic book creator and cartoonist. He created the comic book characters Airboy and Steel Sterling, and worked on Daredevil Comics and Crime Does Not Pay at Lev Gleason Publications.

1972

Adolph Gottlieb

American painter and sculptor (born 1903)

Adolph Gottlieb was an American abstract expressionist painter who also made sculpture and became a printmaker.

1974

John Marvin Jones

American judge and politician (born 1882)

John Marvin Jones was a United States representative from Texas and a Judge of the United States Court of Claims.

1976

Walter H. Schottky

Swiss-German physicist and engineer (born 1886)

Walter Schottky was a German physicist and electrical engineer who played a major early role in developing the theory of thermionic emission, invented the screen-grid vacuum tube in 1915, co-invented the ribbon…

1976

Anatol E. Baconsky

Romanian poet, author, and critic (born 1925)

Anatol E. Baconsky, also known as A. E. Bakonsky, Baconschi or Baconski, was a Romanian modernist poet, essayist, translator, novelist, publisher, literary and art critic. Praised for his late approach to poetry and…

1977

Nancy Tyson Burbidge

Australian botanist and curator (born 1912)

Nancy Tyson Burbidge was an Australian systemic botanist, conservationist and herbarium curator.

1977

Andrés Caicedo

Colombian author, poet, and playwright (born 1951)

Luis Andrés Caicedo Estela was a Colombian writer born in Cali, the city where he would spend most of his life. Despite his premature death, his works are considered to be some of the most original produced in Colombia.…

1977

William Paul

American lawyer and politician (born 1885)

William Lewis Paul was an American attorney, legislator, and political activist from the Tlingit Nation in Southeast Alaska. He was known as a leader in the Alaska Native Brotherhood, and became the first Native…

1977

Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk

German jurist and politician, German Minister for Foreign Affairs (born 1887)

Johann Ludwig "Lutz" Graf Schwerin von Krosigk was a German senior government official who served as the minister of finance of Germany from 1932 to 1945 and de facto chancellor of Germany during May 1945.

1977

Wesley Bolin

American businessman and politician, 15th Governor of Arizona (born 1909)

Harvey Wesley Bolin was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the 15th governor of Arizona between 1977 and 1978. His five months in office mark the shortest term in office for any Arizona governor.…

1978

Joe Marsala

American clarinet player and songwriter (born 1907)

Joseph Francis Marsala was an Italian-American jazz clarinetist, alto and tenor saxophonist, and songwriter, older brother of trumpeter Marty Marsala.

1978

Alan Hardaker

English lieutenant and businessman (born 1912)

Alan Hardaker OBE was an English football administrator for the Football League, a wartime Royal Navy officer, and previously an amateur footballer. He was born in Hull, Yorkshire and was the second son to John and Emma…

1980

Torin Thatcher

American actor (born 1905)

Torin Herbert Erskine Thatcher was a British actor who was noted for his flashy portrayals of screen villains.

1981

Karl-Jesko von Puttkamer

German admiral (born 1900)

Karl-Jesko Otto Robert von Puttkamer was a German admiral who was naval adjutant to Adolf Hitler during World War II.

1981

Ding Ling

Chinese feminist and socialist realist author (born 1904)

Ding Ling, formerly romanized as Ting Ling, was the pen name of Jiang Bingzhi, also known as Bin Zhi, one of the most celebrated Chinese women authors of the 20th century. She is known for her feminist and socialist…

1986

Albert L. Lehninger

American biochemist and academic (born 1917)

Albert Lester Lehninger was an American chemist in the field of bioenergetics. He made fundamental contributions to the current understanding of metabolism at a molecular level. In 1948, he discovered, with Eugene P.…

1986

Richard Manuel

Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist (born 1943)

Richard George Manuel was a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as a pianist and one of three lead singers in the Band, for which he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in…

1986

Elizabeth Smart

Canadian poet and author (born 1913)

Elizabeth Smart was a Canadian poet and novelist. Her best-known work is the novel By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept (1945), an extended prose poem inspired by her romance with the poet George Barker.

1986

Seibo Kitamura

Japanese sculptor (born 1884)

Seibo Kitamura was a Japanese sculptor. He is known as the sculptor of the 10-meter-tall Peace Statue in Nagasaki Peace Park. He is most often referred to as "Seibo".

1987

Beatriz Guido

Argentine author and screenwriter (born 1924)

Beatriz Guido was an Argentine novelist and screenwriter.

1988

Tiny Grimes

American guitarist (born 1916)

Lloyd "Tiny" Grimes was an American jazz and R&B guitarist. He was a member of the Art Tatum Trio from 1943 to 1944, was a backing musician on recording sessions, and later led his own bands, including a recording…

1989

Hank Gathers

American basketball player (born 1967)

Eric Wilson "Hank" Gathers Jr. was an American college basketball player for the Loyola Marymount Lions in the West Coast Conference (WCC). As a junior in 1989, he became the second player in NCAA Division I history to…

1990

Godfrey Bryan

English cricketer (born 1902)

Brigadier Godfrey James Bryan was an English army officer and cricketer. A left-handed batsman, he played first-class cricket between 1920 and 1935 for Kent County Cricket Club and the Army cricket team. His brothers…

1991

Art Babbitt

American animator and director (born 1907)

Arthur Harold Babitsky, better known as Art Babbitt, was an American animator, best known for his work at the Walt Disney Productions animation unit. He received over 80 awards as an animation director and animator, and…

1992

Pare Lorentz

American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1905)

Pare Lorentz was an American filmmaker known for his film work about the New Deal. Born Leonard MacTaggart Lorentz in Clarksburg, West Virginia he was educated at Buckhannon High School, West Virginia Wesleyan College,…

1992

Art Hodes

Ukrainian-American pianist and composer (born 1904)

Arthur W. Hodes, was a Russian-born American jazz and blues pianist. He is regarded by many critics as the greatest white blues pianist.

1993

Tomislav Ivčić

Croatian singer-songwriter and politician (born 1953)

Tomislav Ivčić was a Croatian pop singer, songwriter and politician. He died in a car accident and is buried in Zagreb at the Mirogoj Cemetery.

1993

Izaak Kolthoff

Dutch chemist and academic (born 1894)

Izaak Maurits (Piet) Kolthoff was an analytical chemist and chemistry educator. He is widely considered the father of analytical chemistry for his large volume of published research in diverse fields of analysis, his…

1993

Nicholas Ridley

Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, English lieutenant and politician, Secretary of State for the Environment (born 1929)

Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, was a British Conservative Party politician and government minister.

1993

John Candy

Canadian comedian and actor (born 1950)

John Franklin Candy was a Canadian actor and comedian best known for his work in Hollywood comedy films.

1994

George Edward Hughes

Irish-Scottish philosopher and author (born 1918)

George Edward Hughes was an Irish-born New Zealand philosopher and logician whose principal scholarly works were concerned with modal logic and medieval philosophy.

1994

Matt Urban

American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1919)

Matt Louis Urban was a United States Army lieutenant colonel and one of the most decorated American soldiers of World War II. Urban performed valiantly in combat on many occasions despite being wounded in action several…

1995

Minnie Pearl

American entertainer (born 1912)

Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon, known professionally as her stage character Minnie Pearl, was an American comedian and country singer who appeared at the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years (1940–1991) and on the…

1996

John Sauer

American football player, coach, and sportscaster (born 1925)

John Edward Sauer was an American football player, coach, and broadcaster.

1996

Joe Baker-Cresswell

English captain (born 1901)

Captain Addison Joe Baker-Cresswell DSO was a Royal Navy officer, aide-de-camp to King George VI and High Sheriff of Northumberland. He is noted prominently for his role as the commanding officer of HMS Bulldog during…

1997

Robert H. Dicke

American physicist and astronomer (born 1916)

Robert Henry Dicke was an American astronomer and physicist who made important contributions to the fields of astrophysics, atomic physics, cosmology and gravity. He was the Albert Einstein Professor in Science at…

1997

Ivan Dougherty

Australian general (born 1907)

Major General Sir Ivan Noel Dougherty, was an Australian Army officer during the Second World War and early Cold War period.

1998

Harry Blackmun

American lawyer and judge (born 1908)

Harold Andrew Blackmun was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 to 1994. Appointed by President Richard Nixon, Blackmun ultimately became…

1999

Del Close

American actor and educator (born 1934)

Del Close was an American actor, writer, and teacher who coached many of the best-known comedians and comic actors of the late twentieth century. In addition to an acting career in television and film, he was one of the…

1999

Miłosz Magin

Polish pianist and composer (born 1929)

Miłosz Magin was a Polish composer and pianist.

1999

Hermann Brück

German-Scottish physicist and astronomer (born 1905)

Hermann Alexander Brück CBE FRSE GCSG was a German-born astronomer, who spent the great portion of his career in various positions in Britain and Ireland.

2000

Michael Noonan

New Zealand-Australian author and screenwriter (born 1921)

Michael John Noonan was an Australian / New Zealand novelist and radio script writer. He also created the Australian TV series Riptide.

2000

Ta-You Wu

Chinese physicist and academic (born 1907)

Wu Ta-You was a Chinese physicist and writer who worked in the United States, Canada, China and Taiwan. He has been called the Father of Chinese physics.

2000

Gerardo Barbero

Argentinian chess player (born 1961)

Gerardo Fabián Barbero was an Argentine chess grandmaster. He was born in Lanús, Buenos Aires, and raised in Rosario, Santa Fe.

2001

Jean René Bazaine

French painter and author (born 1904)

Jean René Bazaine was a French painter, designer of stained glass windows and writer. He was the great great grandson of the English Court portraitist Sir George Hayter.

2001

Fred Lasswell

American cartoonist (born 1916)

Fred D. Lasswell was an American cartoonist best known for his decades of work on the comic strip Barney Google and Snuffy Smith.

2001

Jim Rhodes

American businessman and politician, 61st Governor of Ohio (born 1909)

James Allen Rhodes was an American politician who served as the 61st and 63rd governor of Ohio from 1963 to 1971 and again from 1975 to 1983. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as the mayor of Columbus,…

2001

Harold Stassen

American educator and politician, 25th Governor of Minnesota (born 1907)

Harold Edward Stassen was an American Republican Party politician, military officer, and attorney who was the 25th governor of Minnesota from 1939 to 1943. He was a leading candidate for the Republican nomination for…

2001

Ugnė Karvelis

Lithuanian author and translator (born 1935)

Ugnė Karvelis was a writer, a translator and a member of the UNESCO Executive Board from 1997 to 2002.

2002

Elyne Mitchell

Australian skier and author (born 1913)

Elyne Mitchell, OAM was an Australian author noted for the Silver Brumby series of children's novels. Her nonfiction works draw on family history and culture.

2002

Velibor Vasović

Serbian footballer and manager (born 1939)

Velibor Vasović was a Serbian footballer and manager, also one of the legendary players of Partizan and Ajax and is regarded one of greatest defenders of his generation. A sweeper who could play in midfield, Vasović was…

2002

Jaba Ioseliani

Georgian playwright, academic, and politician (born 1926)

Jaba Ioseliani was a Georgian politician, member of Parliament of Georgia, writer, thief-in-law and leader of the paramilitary organisation Mkhedrioni.

2003

Sébastien Japrisot

French author, screenwriter, and director (born 1931)

Sébastien Japrisot was a French author, screenwriter and film director. His pseudonym was an anagram of Jean-Baptiste Rossi, his real name. Renowned for subverting the rules of the crime genre, Japrisot broke down the…

2003

Claude Nougaro

French singer-songwriter (born 1929)

Claude Nougaro was a French jazz singer and poet.

2004

Nicola Calipari

Italian general (born 1953)

Nicola Calipari was an Italian major general and SISMI military intelligence officer. Calipari was accidentally killed in Iraq by American soldiers while escorting a recently released Italian hostage, journalist…

2005

Yuriy Kravchenko

Ukrainian police officer and politician (born 1951)

Yuriy Fedorovych Kravchenko was a Ukrainian General of Internal Service and politician, serving as the country's Minister of Internal Affairs (1995—2001). In 2000, while he was serving as the Minister of Internal…

2005

Carlos Sherman

Uruguayan-Belarusian author and activist (born 1934)

Carlos Sherman was a Uruguay-born Belarusian–Spanish translator, writer, human rights activist and honorary vice-president of the Belarusian PEN Center. He translated from Spanish into Belarusian and Russian.

2005

John Reynolds Gardiner

American author and engineer (born 1944)

John Reynolds Gardiner was an American writer best known for writing the book Stone Fox.

2006

Edgar Valter

Estonian author and illustrator (born 1929)

Edgar Valter was an Estonian graphic artist, caricaturist, writer and illustrator of children's books, with over 250 books to his name, through 55 years of activity (1950–2005). His most famous work is Pokuraamat.

2006

Thomas Eagleton

American lawyer and politician, 38th Lieutenant Governor of Missouri (born 1929)

Thomas Francis Eagleton was an American lawyer who served as a United States senator from Missouri from 1968 to 1987. He was briefly the Democratic vice presidential nominee under George McGovern in 1972. He suffered…

2007

Tadeusz Nalepa

Polish singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1934)

Tadeusz Nalepa was a Polish composer, guitar player, vocalist, and lyricist.

2007

Ian Wooldridge

English journalist (born 1932)

Ian Edmund Wooldridge, OBE was a British sports journalist. He was with the Daily Mail for nearly 50 years.

2007

Gary Gygax

American game designer, co-created Dungeons & Dragons (born 1938)

Ernest Gary Gygax was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) with Dave Arneson.

2008

Leonard Rosenman

American composer and conductor (born 1924)

Leonard Rosenman was an American film, television and concert composer with credits in over 130 works, including East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Battle…

2008

Yvon Cormier

Canadian wrestler (born 1938)

Yvon Cormier was a Canadian professional wrestler. Competing primarily under the ring name The Beast, he and his three wrestling brothers made up the Cormier wrestling family. He wrestled in many countries but regularly…

2009

Horton Foote

American playwright and screenwriter (born 1916)

Albert Horton Foote Jr. was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received Academy Awards for To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), which was adapted from the 1960 novel of the same name by Harper Lee, and Tender Mercies…

2009

George McAfee

American football player (born 1918)

George Anderson McAfee was an American professional football halfback, defensive back and return specialist who played for the Chicago Bears from 1940 to 1941 and 1945 to 1950 in the National Football League (NFL). As…

2009

Raimund Abraham

Austrian architect and educator, designed the Austrian Cultural Forum New York (born 1933)

Raimund Johann Abraham was an Austrian architect.

2010

Johnny Alf

Brazilian pianist and composer (born 1929)

Alfredo José da Silva, popularly known as Johnny Alf, was a Brazilian musician, sometimes known as the "Father of Bossa Nova".

2010

Vladislav Ardzinba

Abkhazian historian and politician, 1st President of Abkhazia (born 1945)

Vladislav Ardzinba was an Abkhaz historian and politician who served as the first de facto president of Abkhazia. Ardzinba led Abkhazia to de facto independence in the 1992–1993 War with Georgia, but its de jure…

2010

Fred Wedlock

English singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1942)

Peter Frederick Wedlock was an English folk singer best known for his UK hit single "The Oldest Swinger in Town", which was covered by German comedian Karl Dall as "Der älteste Popper der Stadt". He performed at many…

2010

Krishna Prasad Bhattarai

Nepalese journalist and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Nepal (born 1924)

Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, popularly known as Kishunji, was a Nepalese revolutionary, statesman, politician, journalist, novelist, and one of the founding leaders of the Nepali Congress. He was one of the main leaders…

2011

Vivienne Harris

English journalist and publisher, co-founded the Jewish Telegraph (born 1921)

Vivienne Harris was a British businesswoman, newspaper publisher and journalist who co-founded the Jewish Telegraph in December 1950 with her husband, Frank Harris. The couple married in 1949.

2011

Ed Manning

American basketball player and coach (born 1943)

Edward R. Manning was an American professional basketball player and college and National Basketball Association (NBA) assistant coach. He was the father of former NBA player and college coach Danny Manning.

2011

Arjun Singh

Indian politician (born 1930)

Arjun Singh was an Indian politician from the Indian National Congress, who served twice as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh in the 1980s. He also served twice as the Union Minister of Human Resource Development, in…

2011

Alenush Terian

Iranian astronomer and physicist (born 1920)

Ālenush Teriān was an Iranian-Armenian astronomer and physicist and is called 'Mother of Modern Iranian Astronomy'.

2011

Simon van der Meer

Dutch-Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1925)

Simon van der Meer was a Dutch particle accelerator physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984 with Carlo Rubbia for contributions to the CERN project which led to the discovery of the W and Z particles,…

2011

Paul McBride

Scottish lawyer and politician (born 1965)

Paul McBride QC was a Scottish criminal lawyer based in Edinburgh. He was a board member of the Scottish Legal Aid Board, and a former vice chairman of the Faculty of Advocates Criminal Bar Association. He died suddenly…

2012

Don Mincher

American baseball player (born 1938)

Donald Ray Mincher was an American Major League Baseball first baseman and longtime minor league executive. He played in the majors from 1960 to 1972 for the "original" Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins,…

2012

Lillian Cahn

Hungarian-American businesswoman, co-founded Coach, Inc. (born 1923)

Lillian Cahn was a Hungarian-born American businessperson who co-founded Coach New York with her husband, Miles Cahn. Lillian Cahn also created Coach's first line of handbags, which remains the label's trademark…

2013

Mickey Moore

Canadian-American actor and director (born 1914)

Mickey Moore was a Canadian-born American film director, second unit director, and child actor. He was credited as Michael Moore on all the films and television projects that he directed, and on most of the films on…

2013

Toren Smith

Canadian businessman, founded Studio Proteus (born 1960)

Toren V. Smith was a Canadian manga translator and founder of Studio Proteus.

2013

Mark Freidkin

Russian author and poet (born 1953)

Mark Iehielyevich Freidkin was a Russian poet, author, translator, and singer.

2014

Elaine Kellett-Bowman

English lawyer and politician (born 1923)

Dame Mary Elaine Kellett-Bowman, DBE was a British Conservative Party politician, serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Lancaster for 27 years from 1970 to 1997. She also served a single term in…

2014

Jack Kinzler

American engineer (born 1920)

Jack Kinzler was a NASA engineer, the former chief of the Technical Services Center at NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, known within the agency as Mr. Fix It. He was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal…

2014

Wu Tianming

Chinese director and producer (born 1939)

Wu Tianming was a Chinese film director and producer who was considered one of the leading "Fourth Generation" directors. He is best known for his film The King of Masks (1995).

2014

Dušan Bilandžić

Croatian historian and politician (born 1924)

Dušan Bilandžić was a Croatian historian and politician.

2015

Ray Hatton

English-American runner, author, and academic (born 1932)

Raymond Robert (Ray) Hatton was an English educator, author, and long-distance runner. Born in England, Hatton moved to the United States in 1956 to attend college, earning degrees in education and geography from…

2015

Bud Collins

American journalist and sportscaster (born 1929)

Arthur Worth "Bud" Collins Jr. was an American journalist and television sportscaster, best known for his tennis commentary. Collins was married to photographer Anita Ruthling Klaussen.

2016

Pat Conroy

American author (born 1945)

Donald Patrick Conroy was an American author who wrote several acclaimed novels and memoirs; his books The Water Is Wide, The Lords of Discipline, The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini were made into films, the last…

2016

P. A. Sangma

Indian lawyer and politician, Speaker of the Lok Sabha (born 1947)

Purno Agitok Sangma was an Indian politician who served as the 11th Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1996 to 1998 and the 4th Chief Minister of Meghalaya from 1988 to 1990. He served as a member of the Lok Sabha from Tura…

2016

Zhou Xiaoyan

Chinese soprano and educator (born 1917)

Zhou Xiaoyan was a Chinese vocal pedagogue and classical soprano. Dubbed by The New York Times as "China's First Lady of Opera", she was considered to be the first important instructor of Western opera in China.

2016

Clayton Yeutter

American politician (born 1930)

Clayton Keith Yeutter, ONZM was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of Agriculture under President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1991 before serving as counselor to the president in 1992. He…

2017

Davide Astori

Italian soccer player (born 1987)

Davide Astori was an Italian professional footballer who played as a central defender.

2018

Keith Flint

English singer (The Prodigy) (born 1969)

Keith Charles Flint was an English singer, motorcyclist, hype man, and a vocalist of the electronic dance act the Prodigy. Starting out as a dancer for the group, he became the vocalist and performed on the group's two…

2019

Luke Perry

American actor (born 1966)

Coy Luther "Luke" Perry III was an American actor. He became a teen idol for playing Dylan McKay on the Fox television series Beverly Hills, 90210 from 1990 to 1995, and again from 1998 to 2000. Perry also starred as…

2019

Javier Pérez de Cuéllar

Peruvian politician and diplomat (born 1920)

Javier Felipe Ricardo Pérez de Cuéllar Guerra was a Peruvian diplomat and politician who served as the fifth secretary-general of the United Nations from 1982 to 1991. He later served as prime minister of Peru from 2000…

2020

Rod Marsh

Australian cricketer and coach (born 1947)

Rodney William Marsh was an Australian professional cricketer who played as a wicketkeeper for the Australian national team. He was a part of the Australian squad which finished as runners-up at the 1975 Cricket World…

2022

Shane Warne

Australian cricketer, coach, and sportscaster (born 1969)

Shane Keith Warne was an Australian international cricketer whose career ran from 1992 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a lower-order right-handed batter for Victoria, Hampshire, the Melbourne…

2022

Phil Batt

American soldier and politician, 29th Governor of Idaho (born 1927)

Philip Eugene Batt was an American politician who served as the 29th Governor of Idaho from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, Batt had previously served as the 35th Lieutenant Governor of Idaho, Chair of…

2023

Roy Ayers

American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, vibraphonist, and producer (born 1940)

Roy Edward Ayers Jr. was an American vibraphonist, record producer, and composer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several studio albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Polydor…

2025

March 4 in the Blog

Penny Black Stamp Introduction - March 4, 1840

Rowland Hill's 1840 innovation in London revolutionized mail with the first adhesive stamp, making postage affordable for all in England

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Notable deaths

Who died on March 4?

Willi Unsoeld — American mountaineer

FeaturedWilli Unsoeld

Death year1979

Known forThe American Mount Everest Expedition was led by Norman Dyhrenfurth, and included Unsoeld, Jim Whittaker, Lute Jerstad, Barry Bishop and Tom Hornbein

Deaths on this date166 (306 – 2025)

Explore March 4

Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.

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Also on March 4 in History

2020

Nik Wallenda becomes the first person to walk over the Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua. Wikipedia →

2018

Former MI6 spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter are poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury, England, causing a diplomatic uproar that results in mass-expulsions of diplomats from all countries involved. Wikipedia →

2015

At least 34 miners die in a suspected gas explosion at the Zasyadko coal mine in the rebel-held Donetsk region of Ukraine. Wikipedia →

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Notable Deaths on March 4

1979 — Willi Unsoeld

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