Notable people who died on May 22 include: Dong Zhuo, Constantine the Great, Empress Genshō of Japan (born 683), Emperor Go-Reizei of Japan (born 1025), Saint Humility.

Notable Deaths on May 22

Q: What is Albert Claude known for?

Albert Claude, Belgian biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1899)

1983 — Albert Claude

Belgian biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1899)

May 22 has seen 86 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 192 – 2026. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.

By thisDay.info Editorial Team · May 22 — Wikipedia

Notable Deaths 86 people 192 – 2026

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In 1945 he published the first detailed structure of cell

Did you know

At Rockefeller University he made his most groundbreaking achievements in cell biology

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Albert Claude was a Belgian-American cell biologist and medical doctor who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1974 with Christian de Duve and George Emil Palade

Did you know

In 1929 he found an opportunity to join the Rockefeller Institute in New York

Did you know

His elementary education started in a comprehensive primary school at Longlier, his birthplace

Dong Zhuo

Chinese warlord and politician (born 138)

Dong Zhuo, courtesy name Zhongying, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. At the end of the reign of the Eastern Han, Dong Zhuo was a general and powerful…

192

Constantine the Great

Roman emperor (born 272)

Constantine I, also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a pivotal role in elevating the status of Christianity in the…

337

Empress Genshō of Japan (born 683)

Empress Genshō was the 44th monarch of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Her reign spanned the years 715 through 724.

748

Emperor Go-Reizei of Japan (born 1025)

Emperor Go-Reizei was the 70th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.

1068

Saint Humility

founder of the Vallumbrosan religious order of nuns (born c.1226)

Saint Humility, known as Saint Roxanne was the founder of the Vallumbrosan Nuns.

1310

Blanche of England

sister of King Henry V (born 1392)

Blanche of England, also known as Blanche of Lancaster, was a member of the House of Lancaster, the daughter of King Henry IV of England by his first wife Mary de Bohun.

1409

Edmund Beaufort

2nd Duke of Somerset, English commander (born 1406)

Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, 4th Earl of Somerset, 1st Earl of Dorset, 1st Marquess of Dorset styled 1st Count of Mortain,, was an English nobleman and an important figure during the Hundred Years' War. His…

1455

Thomas Clifford

8th Baron de Clifford, Lancastrian commander (born 1414)

Thomas Clifford, 8th Baron de Clifford, also 8th Lord of Skipton, was the elder son of John, 7th Baron de Clifford, and Elizabeth Percy.

1455

Henry Percy

2nd Earl of Northumberland, English commander (born 1393)

Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland was an English nobleman and military commander in the lead up to the Wars of the Roses. He was the son of Henry "Hotspur" Percy, and the grandson of Henry Percy, 1st Earl of…

1455

Rita of Cascia

Italian nun and saint (born 1381)

Rita of Cascia, OSA, was an Italian Catholic widow and Augustinian nun. After Rita's husband died, she joined a small community of nuns who later became Augustinians. Therein, she was known both for practicing…

1457

Edmund Grey

1st Earl of Kent, English administrator, nobleman and magnate (born 1416)

Edmund Grey, 1st Earl of Kent, KB was an English administrator, nobleman and magnate, and the son of Sir John Grey, KG and Constance Holland. His main residence was at Wrest near Silsoe, Bedfordshire.

1490

John Forest

English friar and martyr (born 1471)

John Forest was an English Franciscan friar and martyr. Confessor to Catherine of Aragon, Forest was burned to death at Smithfield for "heresy", in that he refused to acknowledge the King as head of the church.

1538

Francesco Guicciardini

Italian historian and politician (born 1483)

Francesco Guicciardini was an Italian historian and statesman. A friend and critic of Niccolò Machiavelli, he is considered one of the major political writers of the Italian Renaissance. In his masterpiece, The History…

1540

Sher Shah Suri

Indian ruler (born 1486)

Sher Shah Suri, also known by his title Sultan Adil, was the Sultan of Hindustan, as the first Sur Emperor, from 1540 until his death in 1545. Prior to his ascension, he also served as the ruler of Bihar (1530–1540) and…

1545

Giovanni Bernardi

Italian sculptor and engraver (born 1495)

Giovanni Bernardi, also known as Giovanni da Castel Bolognese and as Giovanni da Castelbolognese, was an Italian gem engraver and medallist who was born in Castel Bolognese, Italy. He was the son of a goldsmith and by…

1553

Renata of Lorraine (born 1544)

Renata of Lorraine was a noblewoman of the House of Lorraine who became a Duchess of Bavaria by her marriage to Duke William V.

1602

Pieter Willemsz. Verhoeff

Dutch captain (born 1573)

Pieter Willemsz Verhoeff was a Dutch admiral of the Admiralty of Amsterdam, notable for his voyage to Asia between 1607 and 1612.

1609

Gaspar Schott

German physicist and mathematician (born 1608)

Gaspar Schott was a German Jesuit and scientist, specializing in the fields of physics, mathematics and natural philosophy, and known for his industry.

1666

Pope Alexander VII (born 1599)

Pope Alexander VII, born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death, in May 1667.

1667

François-Marie

1st duc de Broglie, French general (born 1671)

François Marie de Broglie, 1st Duke of Broglie was a French Royal Army officer and diplomat.

1745

Baal Shem Tov

Polish rabbi and author (born 1700)

Israel ben Eliezer, known as the Baal Shem Tov or BeShT (בעש״ט), was a Jewish mystic and healer regarded as the founder of Hasidic Judaism. A baal shem tov is a "Master of the Good Name"—that is, one able to work…

1760

Durastante Natalucci

Italian historian and academic (born 1687)

Durastante Tommaso Francesco Emiliano Natalucci was an Italian historian who specialized in history of Trevi, in Umbria.

1772

Ewald Friedrich von Hertzberg

Prussian politician, Foreign Minister of Prussia (born 1725)

Ewald Friedrich Graf von Hertzberg was a Prussian statesman.

1795

Martha Washington

First, First Lady of the United States (born 1731)

Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was the wife of George Washington, who was a Founding Father and the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, she served as the…

1802

Mordecai Manuel Noah

American journalist and diplomat (born 1755)

Mordecai Manuel Noah was an American sheriff, playwright, diplomat, journalist, and utopian. He was born in a family of mixed Ashkenazi and Portuguese Sephardic ancestry and was the grandson of Jonas Phillips. He was…

1851

Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies (born 1810)

Ferdinand II was King of the Two Sicilies from 1830 until his death in 1859.

1859

Thornsbury Bailey Brown

American soldier (born 1829)

Thornsbury Bailey Brown of Taylor County, Virginia, is generally considered the first Union soldier killed by a Confederate soldier during the American Civil War. Brown, a member of a Virginia militia or volunteer…

1861

Julius Plücker

German mathematician and physicist (born 1801)

Julius Plücker was a German mathematician and physicist. He made fundamental contributions to the field of analytical geometry and was a pioneer in the investigations of cathode rays that led eventually to the discovery…

1868

Victor Hugo

French novelist, poet, and playwright (born 1802)

Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo was a French Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician.

1885

Gaetano Bresci

Italian-American anarchist, assassin of Umberto I of Italy (born 1869)

Gaetano Bresci was an Italian anarchist who assassinated King Umberto I of Italy. His experience working as a young weaver led him to the conclusion that he had faced exploitation in the workplace, which attracted him…

1901

Jules Renard

French author and playwright (born 1864)

Pierre-Jules Renard was a French author and member of the Académie Goncourt, most famous for the works Poil de carotte and Les Histoires Naturelles. Among his other works are Le Plaisir de rompre and the posthumously…

1910

Augusta

Lady Gregory, Anglo-Irish activist, landlord, and playwright, co-founded the Abbey Theatre (born 1852)

Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory was an Anglo-Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, and wrote…

1932

Tsengeltiin Jigjidjav

Mongolian politician, 10th Prime Minister of Mongolia (born 1894)

Tsengeltiin Jigjidjav was prime minister of Mongolia from 1930 to 1932.

1933

William Glackens

American painter and illustrator (born 1870)

William James Glackens was an American realist painter and one of the founders of the Ashcan School, which rejected the formal boundaries of artistic beauty laid down by the conservative National Academy of Design. He…

1938

Ernst Toller

German playwright and author (born 1893)

Ernst Toller was a German author, playwright, left-wing politician and revolutionary, known for his Expressionist plays. He served in 1919 for six days as President of the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic, after…

1939

Jiří Mahen

Czech author and playwright (born 1882)

Jiří Mahen was a Czech novelist and playwright. He was a prolific author and his literary work also includes essays, poetry, scientific articles, manuals and fairy tales. He was a significant figure in cultural life in…

1939

Claude McKay

Jamaican writer and poet (born 1889)

Festus Claudius "Claude" McKay was a Jamaican-American writer and poet. He was a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance.

1948

Alfonso Quiñónez Molina

Salvadoran politician, physician, and three-time president of El Salvador (born 1874)

Alfonso Quiñónez Molina was a Salvadoran politician and physician who served as the 24th President of El Salvador from 1923 to 1927. He also served as the country's acting president on two separate occasions and twice…

1950

Chief Bender

American baseball player, coach, and manager (born 1884)

Charles Albert "Chief" Bender was a Native American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball during the 1900s and 1910s. In 1911, Bender tied a record by pitching three complete games in a…

1954

Christopher Stone

English radio host (born 1882)

Christopher Reynolds Stone was a British radio broadcaster who in 1927 became the first disc jockey in the United Kingdom. He was co-founder of the music magazine The Gramophone. In addition to his reviews and articles…

1965

Tom Goddard

English cricketer (born 1900)

Thomas William John Goddard was an English cricketer and the fifth-highest wicket taker in first-class cricket.

1966

Langston Hughes

American poet, social activist, novelist, and playwright (born 1902)

James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harlem…

1967

Charlotte Serber

American Librarian of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos site (born 1911)

Charlotte Serber was an American journalist, statistician and librarian. She was the librarian of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II, and the laboratory's only female group leader. After…

1967

Cecil Day-Lewis

Anglo-Irish poet and author (born 1904)

Cecil Day-Lewis, often written as C. Day-Lewis, was an Anglo-Irish poet and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1968 until his death. He also wrote mystery stories under the pseudonym Nicholas Blake, most of which…

1972

Margaret Rutherford

English actress (born 1892)

Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford was an English actress of stage, films and television.

1972

Irmgard Flügge-Lotz

German-American mathematician and aerospace engineer (born 1903)

Irmgard Flügge-Lotz, née Lotz was a German-American mathematician and aerospace engineer. She was a pioneer in the development of the theory of discontinuous automatic control, which has found wide application in…

1974

Lefty Grove

American baseball player (born 1900)

Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove was an American professional baseball pitcher. After having success in the minor leagues during the early 1920s, Grove became a star in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the American League's…

1975

Cevdet Sunay

Turkish general and politician, 5th President of Turkey (born 1899)

Ahmet Cevdet Sunay was a Turkish politician and military officer who served as the president of Turkey from 1966 to 1973.

1982

Erna Scheffler

German lawyer and justice of the Federal Constitutional Court (born 1893)

Erna Scheffler was a German senior judge.

1983

Karl-August Fagerholm

Finnish politician, valtioneuvos, the Speaker of the Parliament and the Prime Minister of Finland (born 1901)

Karl-August Fagerholm was a Finnish politician. Fagerholm served as Speaker of Parliament and three times as Prime Minister of Finland. Fagerholm became one of the leading politicians of the Social Democrats after the…

1984

Wolfgang Reitherman

German-American animator, director, and producer (born 1909)

Wolfgang Reitherman, also known and sometimes credited as Woolie Reitherman, was a German-American animator, director and producer. As a member of the "Nine Old Men" at Walt Disney Productions, Reitherman was known for…

1985

Giorgio Almirante

Italian journalist and politician (born 1914)

Giorgio Almirante was an Italian politician who founded the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement, which he led until his retirement in 1987.

1988

Steven De Groote

South African pianist and educator (born 1953)

Steven De Groote was a South African classical pianist.

1989

Rocky Graziano

American boxer (born 1922)

Thomas Rocco Barbella, better known as Rocky Graziano, was an American professional boxer and actor who competed in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions. He held the lineal World Middleweight title from 1947 to…

1990

Lino Brocka

Filipino director and screenwriter (born 1939)

Catalino Ortiz Brocka was a Filipino film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and significant filmmakers in the history of Philippine cinema. His filmography often addressed the country's…

1991

Shripad Amrit Dange

Indian lawyer and politician (born 1899)

Shripad Amrit Dange was an Indian politician who was a founding member of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and a stalwart of Indian trade union movement. During the 20th century, Dange was arrested by the authorities…

1991

Stan Mortensen

English footballer and manager (born 1921)

Stanley Harding Mortensen was an English professional footballer, notable for his part in the 1953 FA Cup final, in which he became the only player ever to score a hat-trick in a Wembley FA Cup Final. He was also both…

1991

Zellig Harris

American linguist and academic (born 1909)

Zellig Sabbettai Harris was an American linguist, mathematical syntactician, and methodologist of science widely considered to have been influential in his fields. Originally a Semiticist, he is best known for his work…

1992

Mieczysław Horszowski

Polish-American pianist and composer (born 1892)

Mieczysław Horszowski was a Polish and American pianist who had one of the longest careers in the history of the performing arts.

1993

Alziro Bergonzo

Italian architect and painter (born 1906)

Alziro Bergonzo was an Italian architect and painter. His primary style was the rationalized Stile Littorio.

1997

Alfred Hershey

American biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1908)

Alfred Day Hershey was an American Nobel Prize–winning bacteriologist and geneticist.

1997

John Derek

American actor, director, and photographer (born 1926)

John Derek was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He appeared in such films as Knock on Any Door, All the King's Men, Rogues of Sherwood Forest (1950), and The Ten Commandments (1956). He was also known for…

1998

José Enrique Moyal

Israeli physicist and engineer (born 1910)

José Enrique Moyal was an Australian mathematician and mathematical physicist who contributed to aeronautical engineering, electrical engineering and statistics, among other fields.

1998

Davie Fulton

Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (born 1916)

Edmund Davie Fulton was a Canadian Rhodes Scholar, politician and judge. He was born in Kamloops, British Columbia, the son of politician/lawyer Frederick John Fulton and Winnifred M. Davie, daughter of A. E. B. Davie.…

2000

Richard Biggs

American actor (born 1960)

Richard James Biggs II was an American television and stage actor, known for his roles on the television series Days of Our Lives and Babylon 5.

2004

Mikhail Voronin

Russian gymnast (born 1945)

Mikhail Yakovlevich Voronin was a Soviet and Russian gymnast who competed for the Soviet Union in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He won seven medals, including two gold, at the 1968 Summer Olympics, as well as two…

2004

Charilaos Florakis

Greek politician (born 1914)

Charilaos Florakis was a leader of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE).

2005

Thurl Ravenscroft

American voice actor and singer (born 1914)

Thurl Arthur Ravenscroft was an American actor and bass singer best known for providing the voice of Tony the Tiger in Kellogg's Frosted Flakes commercials from the 1950s until his death and for singing "You're a Mean…

2005

Lee Jong-wook

South Korean physician and diplomat (born 1945)

Lee Jong-wook was a South Korean physician. He was the director-general of the World Health Organization for three years. Lee joined the WHO in 1983, working on a variety of projects including the Global Programme for…

2006

Pemba Doma Sherpa

Nepalese mountaineer (born 1970)

Pemba Doma Sherpa was the first Nepalese female mountaineer to climb Mount Everest via its north face, was the second Nepali woman to summit from both the north and south faces, and is one of six women to have summited…

2007

Robert Asprin

American soldier and author (born 1946)

Robert Lynn Asprin was an American science fiction and fantasy author and active fan, known best for his humorous series MythAdventures and Phule's Company.

2008

Martin Gardner

American mathematician, cryptographer, and author (born 1914)

Martin Gardner was an American writer on popular mathematics and popular science. His interests also encompassed magic, scientific skepticism, micromagic, philosophy, religion, and literature – especially the writings…

2010

Joseph Brooks

American director, producer, screenwriter, and composer (born 1938)

Joseph Brooks was an American songwriter, composer, filmmaker and convicted rapist. He was a successful author of commercial jingles during the 1960s, before pivoting to a filmmaking career. His 1977 romantic drama You…

2011

Muzafar Bhutto

Pakistani politician (born 1970)

Muzafar Bhutto was a Sindhi nationalist politician, who served as the Secretary General of the Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM). His body was found at a roadside near Hatri bypass, in Hyderabad, Pakistan after he went…

2012

Wesley A. Brown

American lieutenant and engineer (born 1927)

Wesley Anthony Brown was the first African-American graduate of the United States Naval Academy (USNA) in Annapolis, Maryland. He served in the United States Navy from May 2, 1949, until June 30, 1969. He was involved…

2012

Sigurd Ottovich Schmidt

Russian historian and ethnographer (born 1922)

Sigurd Ottovich Schmidt was a Russian historian, ethnographer and teacher.

2013

Marques Haynes

American basketball player and coach (born 1926)

Marques Haynes was an American professional basketball player and member of the Harlem Globetrotters, notable for his ability to dribble the ball and keep it away from defenders. According to the 1988 film Harlem…

2015

Vladimir Katriuk

Ukrainian-Canadian SS officer (born 1921)

Volodymyr Katriuk was a Ukrainian-Canadian soldier and beekeeper, who was accused of having taken part in the Khatyn massacre and other massacres under the cover of anti-partisan warfare as a member of the…

2015

Velimir "Bata" Živojinović

Serbian actor and politician (born 1933)

Velimir "Bata" Živojinović was a Yugoslav and Serbian actor and politician. He appeared in more than 340 films and TV series, and is regarded as one of the best actors in former Yugoslavia.

2016

Nicky Hayden

American motorcycle racer (born 1981)

Nicholas Patrick Hayden, nicknamed "The Kentucky Kid", was an American professional motorcycle racer who won the MotoGP World Championship in 2006. Hayden began racing motorcycles at a young age. He began his road…

2017

Judith Kerr

German-born British writer and illustrator (born 1923)

Anna Judith Gertrud Helene Kerr was a German-born British writer and illustrator whose books sold more than 10 million copies around the world. She created both enduring picture books such as the Mog series and The…

2019

Denise Cronenberg

Canadian costume designer (born 1938)

Denise Cronenberg was a Canadian costume designer.

2020

Dervla Murphy

Irish touring cyclist and author (born 1931)

Dervla Murphy was an Irish touring cyclist and author of adventure travel books, writing for more than 50 years.

2022

David Wilkie

Scottish swimmer (born 1954)

David Andrew Wilkie was a Scottish swimmer who was the Olympic 200m breaststroke champion in 1976, the first British swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal since Anita Lonsbrough in 1960, and the first British man to do…

2024

Richard A. Tapia

American mathematician, National Medal of Science recipient (born 1939)

Richard Alfred Tapia was an American mathematician and academic who was a professor at Rice University in Houston, Texas. He held the title of University Professor, the university's highest academic honor. In 1996,…

2026

May 22 in the Blog

Richard, Duke of York, Strikes Down King Henry VI — May 22, 1455

100 men killed: Richard, Duke of York, defeats King Henry VI in St Albans, England, in 1455, sparking the Wars of the Roses.

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Notable deaths

Who died on May 22?

Albert Claude — Belgian-American cell biologist (1899–1983)

FeaturedAlbert Claude

Death year1983

Known forHis elementary education started in a comprehensive primary school at Longlier, his birthplace

Deaths on this date86 (192 – 2026)

Explore May 22

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

Events on May 22 Birthdays on May 22 Deaths on May 22 May 22 quiz

Also on May 22 in History

2026

A gas explosion at a coal mine in Changzhi, Shanxi, leaves at least 82 people dead. Wikipedia →

2021

Hypothermia kills 21 runners in the 100 km (60-mile) Gansu ultramarathon disaster in China. Wikipedia →

2020

Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303 crashes in Model Colony near Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 98 people. Wikipedia →

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1983 — Albert Claude

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