Did you know
Hues became interested in geography and mathematics, and studied navigation at a school set up by Walter Raleigh
Notable Deaths on May 24
102 people
688 – 2025
May 24 has seen 102 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 688 – 2025. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
1632 — Robert Hues
English mathematician and geographer (born 1553)
Did you know
Between 1586 and 1588, Hues travelled with Thomas Cavendish on a circumnavigation of the globe, performing astronomical observations and taking the latitudes of places they visited
Did you know
Beginning in August 1591, Hues and Cavendish again set out on another circumnavigation of the globe
Did you know
Cavendish died on the journey in 1592, and Hues returned to England the following year.
Did you know
Robert Hues was an English mathematician and geographer
688
1089
first Grand Master of the Knights Templar (born c. 1070)
Hugo de Paganis, commonly known in French as Hugues de Payens or Payns, was the co-founder and first Grand Master of the Knights Templar.
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1136
David I was a 12th century ruler and saint who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son of King Malcolm III and Queen Margaret, David spent most of his…
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1153
Count of Champagne (born 1179)
Theobald III was Count of Champagne from 1197 to his death. He was designated heir by his older brother Henry II when the latter went to the Holy Land on the Third Crusade, and succeeded him upon his death. He…
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1201
Moroccan sultan (born 1297)
Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Uthman, was a sultan of the Marinid dynasty who reigned in parts of what is now Morocco between 1331 and 1348. In 1333 he captured Gibraltar from the Castilians, although a later attempt to take…
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1351
Taejo, personal name Yi Sŏnggye, later changed to Yi Tan, was the founder and first monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. After overthrowing the Goryeo dynasty, he ascended to the throne in 1392 and abdicated six…
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1408
2nd Duke of Albany, Scottish politician (born 1362)
Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany was a leading Scottish nobleman, the son of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, and the grandson of King Robert II of Scotland, who founded the Stewart dynasty. In 1389, he became Justiciar…
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1425
French commander (born 1396)
Ambroise de Loré was baron of Ivry in Normandy, a French military commander, and comrade-in-arms of Joan of Arc. A reforming commisar of trades and police and "Garde de la prévôté de Paris", he became Provost of Paris…
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1456
Polish mathematician and astronomer (born 1473)
Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than Earth at its center. The publication of Copernicus's model in his book De revolutionibus orbium…
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1543
1st Earl of Salisbury, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (born 1563)
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury was an English statesman and alleged spymaster noted for his direction of the government during the Union of the Crowns, as Tudor England gave way to Stuart rule (1603). Lord…
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1612
Spanish poet and cleric (born 1561)
Luis de Góngora y Argote was a Spanish Baroque lyric poet and a Catholic priest at Córdoba Cathedral. Góngora and his lifelong rival, Francisco de Quevedo, are widely considered the most prominent Spanish poets of all…
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1627
Spanish Franciscan abbess and mystic (born 1602)
Mary of Jesus of Ágreda, OIC,, was an abbess and spiritual writer. She is best known for her extensive correspondence with King Philip IV of Spain and her reports of bilocation between Spain and New Spain. She was a…
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1665
German physician and chemist (born 1660)
Georg Ernst Stahl was a German chemist, physician and philosopher. He was a supporter of vitalism, and until the late 18th century his works on phlogiston were accepted as an explanation for chemical processes.
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1734
1st Baron Rodney, English admiral and politician, 16th Governor of Newfoundland (born 1718)
Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB was a Royal Navy officer, politician and colonial administrator. He is best known for his service in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over…
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1792
5th Duke of Argyll, Scottish field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Argyllshire (born 1723)
Field Marshal John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll, styled Marquess of Lorne from 1761 to 1770, was a British Army officer and politician. After serving as a junior officer in Flanders during the War of the Austrian…
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1806
French mathematician and academic (born 1765)
Sylvestre François Lacroix was a French mathematician.
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1843
German author and composer (born 1797)
Baroness Anna Elisabeth Franziska Adolphine Wilhelmine Louise Maria von Droste zu Hülshoff, known as Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, was a 19th-century German Biedermeier poet, novelist, and composer of classical music.…
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1848
American colonel (born 1837)
Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth was a United States Army officer, close personal friend of the 16th President of the United States Abraham Lincoln, and law clerk who was the first conspicuous casualty and the first Union…
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1861
German painter and illustrator (born 1794)
Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld was a German painter, chiefly of Biblical subjects. As a young man he associated with the painters of the Nazarene movement who revived the florid Renaissance style in religious art. He is…
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1872
American journalist and activist (born 1805)
William Lloyd Garrison was an American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. His widely read anti-slavery newspaper The Liberator was a driving force that fueled the abolitionist era, which Garrison founded in…
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1879
English painter and illustrator (born 1805)
Samuel Palmer Hon.RE was a British landscape painter, etcher and printmaker. He was also a prolific writer. Palmer was a key figure in Romanticism in Britain and produced visionary pastoral paintings.
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1881
Canadian bishop (born 1824)
Louis-Zéphirin Moreau was a Canadian Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe from 1875 until his death in 1901. He was also the cofounder of the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Hyacinthe with Élisabeth…
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1901
Scottish golfer and architect (born 1821)
Thomas Mitchell Morris, otherwise known as Old Tom Morris, and The Grand Old Man of Golf, was a Scottish golfer. He was born in St Andrews, Fife, the "home of golf" and location of the St Andrews Links, and died there…
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1908
Irish-English soldier (born 1896)
Pte. John Condon was an Irish soldier born in Waterford City. He was mistakenly believed to have been the youngest Allied soldier killed during the First World War, at the age of 14 years; he lied about his age and he…
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1915
Mexican poet, journalist, and educator (born 1870)
Amado Nervo also known as Juan Crisóstomo Ruiz de Nervo, was a Mexican poet, journalist and educator. He also acted as Mexican Ambassador to Argentina and Uruguay. His poetry was known for its use of metaphor and…
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1919
1923
Russian engineer (born 1863)
Nikolai Karlovich von Meck was a Russian engineer and entrepreneur involved in the development of Russia during the first part of the twentieth century. He was put on trial as part of the Shakhty Trial and executed in…
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1929
American biologist (born 1851)
Fanny Searls, also known by her married name Fanny Gradle, was an American physician and botanical collector. Dalea searlsiae, Searls' prairie clover, is named after her. Born in Waukegan, Illinois, she attended…
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1939
English admiral (born 1887)
Vice-Admiral Lancelot Ernest Holland, was a Royal Navy officer who commanded the British force in the Battle of the Denmark Strait in May 1941 against the German battleship Bismarck. Holland was lost when he stayed at…
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1941
German field marshal and pilot (born 1892)
Robert Ritter von Greim was a German Generalfeldmarschall and First World War flying ace. In April 1945, in the last days of World War II in Europe, Adolf Hitler appointed Greim commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe after…
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1945
Belgian actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1885)
Jacques Feyder was a Belgian film director, screenwriter and actor who worked principally in France, but also in the US, Britain and Germany. He was a director of silent films during the 1920s, and in the 1930s he…
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1948
Russian architect, designed Lenin's Mausoleum and Moscow Kazanskaya railway station (born 1873)
Alexey Victorovich Shchusev was a Russian and Soviet architect who was successful during three consecutive epochs of Russian architecture – Art Nouveau, Constructivism, and Stalinist architecture, being one of the few…
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1949
1st Earl Wavell, English field marshal and politician, 43rd Governor-General of India (born 1883)
Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, was a senior officer of the British Army. He served in the Second Boer War, the Bazar Valley Campaign and the First World War, during which he was wounded in the…
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1950
American actor, director, screenwriter (born 1872)
Thomas N. Heffron was a screenwriter, actor, and a director. He was born in Nevada, He worked as an attorney and danced in vaudeville before he began his career in film with Thanhousr in 1911, eventually landing him a…
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1951
English chemist and mathematician (born 1866)
Martha Annie Whiteley, was an English chemist and mathematician. She was instrumental in advocating for women's entry into the Chemical Society, and was best known for her dedication to advancing women's equality in the…
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1956
Australian public servant (born 1895)
Francis Harry Rowe was a senior Australian public servant, best known for his time as Director-General of the Department of Social Services.
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1958
American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 52nd United States Secretary of State (born 1888)
John Foster Dulles was an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat who served as United States secretary of state under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 until his resignation in 1959. A member of the Republican…
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1959
American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1918)
Elmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. His slide…
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1963
American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (born 1908)
Alex or Aleck Miller, known later in his career as Sonny Boy Williamson, was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He was an early and influential blues harp stylist who recorded successfully in the…
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1965
American pianist and composer (born 1899)
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Music critic Ralph J. Gleason called him "America's most…
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1974
1976
English organist, composer, and educator (born 1890)
Sir Ernest Bullock was an English organist, composer, and teacher. He was organist of Exeter Cathedral from 1917 to 1928 and of Westminster Abbey from 1928 to 1941. In the latter post he was jointly responsible for the…
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1979
Swiss race car driver (born 1940)
Herbert Müller Rebmann was a racing driver from Switzerland. He was born in Reinach and was nicknamed Stumpen-Herbie. Among other successes, he won the Targa Florio twice, in 1966 and 1973, both with Porsche.
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1981
American wrestling promoter and businessman, founded WWE (born 1914)
Vincent James McMahon, also referred to as Vince McMahon Sr., was an American professional wrestling promoter. He is best known for running the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, later known as the World Wide Wrestling…
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1984
English motorcycle road racer (born 1909)
Frederick Lee Frith OBE was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world champion. A former stonemason and later a motor cycle retailer in Grimsby, he was a stylish rider and five times winner of the Isle of Man…
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1988
Canadian painter (born 1910)
Arthur Villeneuve, was a Québécois painter and member of the Order of Canada.
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1990
American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1944)
Harold Eugene Clark was an American singer-songwriter and founding member of the folk rock band the Byrds. He was the Byrds' principal songwriter between 1964 and early 1966, writing most of the band's best-known…
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1991
Japanese race car driver (born 1956)
Hitoshi Ogawa was a Japanese racing car driver. He is the father of Ryo Ogawa, the 2015 Japanese Formula 3 champion.
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1992
English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1916)
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, was a British politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and from 1974 to 1976. He was Leader of the Labour Party from 1963 to…
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1995
American admiral (born 1909)
Vice Admiral Thomas Francis Connolly Jr. was a three-star rank admiral in the United States Navy, aviator, and gymnast. As a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team, he won an Olympic bronze…
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1996
1996
American journalist and author (born 1908)
Joseph Quincy Mitchell was an American writer best known for the work he published in The New Yorker. He is known for his carefully written portraits of eccentrics and people on the fringes of society, especially in and…
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1996
Irish actor (born 1923)
Edward Mulhare was an Irish actor whose career spanned five decades. He is best known for his starring roles in two television series, sitcom The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (1968-70) and action drama Knight Rider (1982-86).
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1997
American journalist and scholar (born 1947)
Kurt Schork was an American and Bosnian war correspondent, working for Reuters.
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2000
Indian poet and songwriter (born 1919)
Asrar ul Hassan Khan, better known as Majrooh Sultanpuri, was an Indian Urdu poet and lyricist in the Hindi language film industry. He wrote lyrics for numerous Hindi film soundtracks. He was one of the dominant musical…
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2000
American author (born 1926)
Wallace Markfield was an American comic novelist best known for his first novel, To an Early Grave (1964), about four men who spend the day driving across Brooklyn to their friend's funeral. He is also known for…
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2002
English actress (born 1910)
Rachel Redgrave, known primarily by her birth name Rachel Kempson, was an English actress. She married Sir Michael Redgrave, and was the matriarch of the famous acting dynasty.
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2003
German-American photographer (born 1917)
Henry Ries was a photographer who worked for New York Times. His most famous photo was of "The Berlin Air Lift" which was later made into a U.S. Postage Stamp commemorative.
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2004
Canadian author and critic (born 1913)
Milton Shulman was a Canadian author, film and theatre critic who was based in the United Kingdom from 1943.
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2004
American critic and educator (born 1900)
Edward (Charles) Wagenknecht was an American literary critic and teacher who specialized in 19th-century American literature. He wrote and edited many books on literature and movies, and taught for many years at various…
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2004
German activist and author (born 1922)
Carl Amery, the pen name of Christian Anton Mayer, was a German writer and environmental activist. Born in Munich, he studied at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU). He was a participant of Gruppe 47. He…
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2005
Belgian journalist and poet (born 1913)
Baron Arthur Haulot was a Belgian journalist, humanist and poet who served, during World War II as an active member of the Belgian resistance. As president of the Jeunes Socialistes, he was made prisoner and taken to…
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2005
Canadian academic and politician (born 1935)
Guy Tardif was a Canadian politician. He was a Parti Québécois member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1976 to 1985 and was a cabinet minister in the governments of René Lévesque and Pierre-Marc Johnson. He is…
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2005
American art director and production designer (born 1915)
Lloyd Henry "Bummy" Bumstead was an American cinematic art director and production designer. In a career that spanned nearly 70 years, Bumstead began as a draftsman in RKO Pictures' art department and later served as an…
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2006
French actor (born 1923)
Claude Léon Auguste Piéplu was a French theatre, film and television actor. He was known for his hoarse and frayed voice.
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2006
American actor, comedian, and director (born 1922)
Thomas Richard Martin was an American comedian and director. He was known for his role as the co-host of the sketch comedy program Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1968 to 1973.
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2008
American organist and bandleader (born 1936)
James Harrell McGriff was an American hard bop and soul-jazz organist and organ trio bandleader.
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2008
British-American astronomer (born1947)
Andrew Stephen Wilson was an astronomer from Doncaster, Yorkshire. He earned a doctorate in physics from the University of Cambridge.
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2008
American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1963)
Jay Walter Bennett was an American multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer, and singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the band Wilco from 1994 to 2001.
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2009
2010
2010
American businessman and activist (born 1920)
Raymond V. Haysbert Sr. was an American business executive and civil rights leader during the second half of the 20th century in Baltimore, Maryland. During World War II, he served in Africa and Italy with the renowned…
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2010
2010
German soprano and actress (born 1926)
Anneliese Rothenberger was a German operatic soprano who had an active international performance career which spanned from 1942 to 1983. She specialized in the lyric coloratura soprano repertoire, and was particularly…
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2010
American heiress, painter, and philanthropist (born 1906)
Huguette Marcelle Clark was an American painter, heiress, and philanthropist. She became well known again late in life as a recluse, living in hospitals for more than 20 years while her various mansions remained…
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2011
Indian-Pakistani businessman and politician (born 1930)
Hakim Ali Zardari was a Pakistani politician who served as a member of National Assembly of Pakistan from 1972 to 1977,1988 to 1990 and then again from 1993 to 1996.
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2011
Dutch-German SS officer (born 1922)
Klaas Carel Faber was a convicted Dutch-German war criminal. He was the son of Pieter and Carolina Josephine Henriëtte Faber, and the brother of Pieter Johan Faber, who was executed for war crimes in 1948. Faber was on…
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2012
American journalist and author (born 1948)
Kathi Kamen Goldmark was an American author, columnist, publishing consultant, radio and music producer, songwriter, and musician. Goldmark was the author of the novel And My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You, co-authored…
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2012
Belgian psychoanalyst and author (born 1929)
Jacqueline Harpman was a Belgian writer and psychoanalyst.
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2012
Argentinian footballer (born 1925)
Juan Francisco Lombardo was an Argentine football defender. He played a large part of his career for Argentine giants Boca Juniors and represented Argentina on 37 occasions.
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2012
2012
German-American violinist and composer (born 1929)
Helmut Braunlich was a German-American violinist, composer, and musicologist.
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2013
Welsh footballer (born 1942)
Ronald Tudor Davies was a Welsh footballer, who played as a centre forward. He spent most of his career with Southampton in the Football League First Division, and also for the Welsh national team.
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2013
German painter (born 1930)
Gotthard Graubner was a German painter, born in Erlbach, in Saxony, Germany.
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2013
American journalist and author (born 1931)
Haynes Bonner Johnson was an American journalist, author, and television analyst. He reported on most of the major news stories of the latter half of the 20th century and was widely regarded as one of the top American…
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2013
Ukrainian-Russian director and screenwriter (born 1925)
Pyotr Yefimovich Todorovsky was a Russian film director, screenwriter, and cinematographer.
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2013
English cricketer (born 1935)
David Arthur Allen was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Gloucestershire between 1953 and 1972. He also played 39 Test matches for England between 1960 and 1966.
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2014
known as the "Rosa Parks of the lesbian community" (born 1920)
Stormé DeLarverie was an American known as the lesbian whose scuffle with police was, according to DeLarverie and many eyewitnesses, the spark that ignited the Stonewall uprising, spurring the crowd to action. Born in…
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2014
Iranian businessman (born 1969)
Mahafarid Amir Khosravi, also known as Amir Mansour Aria, was an Iranian businessman who was executed for his part in the 2011 Iranian embezzlement scandal. At one time, he was considered the richest man in Iran. An…
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2014
Canadian journalist and author (born 1927)
Cyril Knowlton Nash was a Canadian journalist, author and news anchor. He was senior anchor of CBC Television's flagship news program, The National from 1978 until his retirement in 1988. He began his career in…
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2014
American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (born 1932)
John Bernard Vasconcellos Jr. was an American politician from California and member of the Democratic Party. He represented Silicon Valley as a member of the California State Assembly for 30 years and a California State…
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2014
English rugby player (born 1962)
Dean Carroll was an English professional rugby league footballer and cricketer who played in the 1980s and 1990s.
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2015
Australian lawyer and judge (born 1917)
Sir Kenneth Sydney Jacobs was an Australian judge who served as a Justice of the High Court of Australia.
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2015
English author (born 1947)
Tanith Lee was a British science fiction and fantasy writer. She wrote more than 90 novels and 300 short stories, and was the winner of multiple World Fantasy Awards, the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award and the…
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2015
English gaming commentator and critic (born 1984)
John Peter Bain, known as TotalBiscuit, was a British video gaming commentator and game critic on YouTube. He was known for his role in professional shoutcasting and esports, and also known for his gaming commentary…
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2018
daughter of Margarete Himmler and Heinrich Himmler (born 1929)
Gudrun Margarete Elfriede Emma Anna Burwitz was the daughter of Heinrich Himmler and Margarete Himmler. Her father, as Reichsführer-SS, was a leading member of the Nazi Party and chief architect of the Final Solution.…
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2018
American-Swiss rock and pop singer, dancer, actress and author (born 1939)
Tina Turner was a singer, songwriter, actress and author. Dubbed the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she broke both racial and gender barriers in rock music with her vocal prowess and stage presence. She is one of the…
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2023
American musician (born 1945)
Douglas Lloyd Ingle was an American musician, best known as the founder, organist, primary composer and lead vocalist for the band Iron Butterfly. He wrote the band's hit song "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", which was first…
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2024
2024
English footballer (born 1951)
Gary Pierce was an English professional football goalkeeper.
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2025
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Notable deaths
Who died on May 24?
Robert Hues — English mathematician and geographer (1553–1632)
Explore May 24
Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.
Also on May 24 in History
2022
A mass shooting occurs at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, United States, resulting in the deaths of 21 people, including 19 children. Wikipedia →
2019
Twenty-two students die in a fire in Surat (India). Wikipedia →
2019
See all events on May 24
Under pressure over her handling of Brexit, British Prime Minister Theresa May announces her resignation as Leader of the Conservative Party, effective as of June 7. Wikipedia →
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