Notable Deaths on May 25

Balraj Raghunath Dutt, publicly known as Sunil Dutt, was an Indian actor, film producer, director, and politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He acted in more than 80 films over a career spanning five decades and was the recipient of three Filmfare Awards, including two for Best Actor. Regarded as one of the most successful and finest actors in the history of Indian cinema, Dutt was known for his unique style and delivering impactful messages through his films. In 1968, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, for his contribution to Indian cinema.

Madam C. J. Walker, Mrs. Charles Joseph Walker was an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political and social activist. Walker is recorded as the first woman to become a self-made millionaire in America in the Guinness Book of World Records. Multiple sources mention that although other women might have been the first, their wealth is not so well-documented.

Charles Nelson Reilly was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher. He performed in the original Broadway casts of Bye Bye Birdie; Hello, Dolly!; and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. His television credits include The Ghost & Mrs. Muir and Match Game. A recording of his autobiographical one-man play Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly was adapted into a 2006 independent film.

John William Warner III was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States senator from Virginia from 1979 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the U.S. secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974. Warner is both the longest serving Republican Senator from Virginia, and the second longest serving Senator from Virginia behind Democrat Harry F. Byrd. He served as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee from 1999 to 2001, and from 2003 to 2007. Warner also served as the chairman of the Senate Rules Committee from 1995 to 1999.

Gustav Holst was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite The Planets, he composed many other works across a range of genres, although none achieved comparable success. His distinctive compositional style was the product of many influences, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss being most crucial early in his development. The subsequent inspiration of the English folksong revival of the early 20th century, and the example of such rising modern composers as Maurice Ravel, led Holst to develop and refine an individual style.

Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski was a Polish military general, politician and de facto leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 until 1989, serving as a military dictator from 13 December 1981 until 22 July 1983. He was the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party between 1981 and 1989, making him the last leader of the Polish People's Republic. Jaruzelski served as Prime Minister from 1981 to 1985, the Chairman of the Council of State from 1985 to 1989 and briefly as President of Poland from 1989 to 1990, when the office of President was restored after 37 years. He was also the last commander-in-chief of the Polish People's Army, which in 1990 became the Polish Armed Forces.

Claus von Bülow was a British lawyer, consultant and socialite. In 1982, he was convicted of attempting to murder his wife Sunny von Bülow in 1979, which had left her in a temporary coma, and in 1980, when an alleged insulin overdose left her in a persistent vegetative state for the rest of her life. On appeal, both convictions were reversed, and von Bülow was found not guilty at his second trial.

Albert Stotland Ruddy was a Canadian-born American producer and screenwriter of film and television. He was known for producing the films The Godfather (1972) and Million Dollar Baby (2004), both of which won him the Academy Award for Best Picture. He also co-created the CBS sitcom Hogan's Heroes (1965–1971), and the action series Walker, Texas Ranger (1993–2001).

Victor Tayback was an American actor. He was best known for his role as diner owner Mel Sharples in both the movie Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) and on the television sitcom Alice (1976–1985) that was based on it, as well as his multiple guest appearances on The Love Boat (1977–1987). The former earned him two consecutive Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Witold Pilecki, known by the codenames Roman Jezierski, Tomasz Serafiński, Druh and Witold, was a Polish World War II cavalry officer, intelligence agent, and resistance leader.

Idris was King of Libya from 24 December 1951 until his ousting in the 1969 Libyan revolution. He ruled over the United Kingdom of Libya from 1951 to 1963, after which the country became known as simply the Kingdom of Libya. Idris had served as Emir of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania from the 1920s until 1951. He also headed the Sanusi order.

Itzhak "Ben" Bentov was a Czechoslovakia-born Israeli-American scientist, inventor, mystic and author. His many inventions, including the steerable cardiac catheter, helped pioneer the biomedical engineering industry. He was also a believer in the holographic universe theory and an early proponent of what has come to be referred to as consciousness studies and authored several books on the subject.

Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians in history.

Ismail Merchant was an Indian film producer. He worked for many years in collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions which included film director James Ivory as well as screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Together they made film adaptations from the novels of E.M. Forster and Henry James. Merchant received the BAFTA Award for Best Film for A Room with a View (1985), and Howards End (1992). He received Academy Award nominations for Best Live Action Short Film for The Creation of a Woman (1959) and for Best Picture for A Room with a View (1985), Howards End (1992), and The Remains of the Day (1993).

Pope Gregory VII, born Hildebrand of Sovana, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.

Symon Vasyliovych Petliura was a Ukrainian revolutionary, politician and journalist. He was the Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian People's Army (UNA) and led the Ukrainian People's Republic during the Ukrainian War of Independence, a part of the wider Russian Civil War.

John Arthur Spenkelink was an American convicted murderer. He was executed in 1979, the first convicted criminal to be executed in Florida after capital punishment was reinstated in 1976, and the second in the United States as well as the first involuntarily executed in about 14 years.

Rosa Bonheur was a French painter, sculptor and animalier. Her paintings include Ploughing in the Nivernais, first exhibited at the Salon of 1849, and now in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, and The Horse Fair, which was exhibited at the Salon of 1853 and is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Bonheur was widely considered to be the most famous female painter of the nineteenth century. She made sculptures in a realist style.

Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Henao was a Spanish dramatist, poet, and writer. He is known as one of the most distinguished poets and writers of the Spanish Golden Age, especially for the many verse dramas he wrote for the theatre. Calderón has been termed "the Spanish Shakespeare", the national poet of Spain, and one of the greatest poets and playwrights in the history of world literature.

John William Wactor III was an American actor known for playing Brando Corbin on the series General Hospital and Johnny on the NBC series Siberia. He also had roles in the series Army Wives and the films USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage and Supercell. On May 25, 2024, Wactor was killed when three men tried to steal his automobile's catalytic converter in downtown Los Angeles. He was 37 years old.

Henry Ossawa Tanner was an American artist who spent much of his career in France. He became the first African-American painter to gain international acclaim. Tanner moved to Paris, France, in 1891 to study at the Académie Julian and gained acclaim in French artistic circles. In 1923, the French government elected Tanner chevalier of the Legion of Honor.

Richard Morton Sherman was an American songwriter who specialized in musical films with his brother Robert B. Sherman. According to the official Walt Disney Company website and independent fact checkers, "The Sherman Brothers were responsible for more motion picture musical song scores than any other songwriting team in film history."

Henry II, nicknamed Sangüesino because he was born in Sangüesa, was the King of Navarre from 1517. The kingdom had been reduced to a small territory north of the Pyrenees mountains by the Spanish conquest of 1512. Henry succeeded his mother, Queen Catherine, upon her death. His father was her husband and co-ruler, King John III, who died in 1516.

Georg Carl Wilhelm Friedrich von Küchler was a German Generalfeldmarschall of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War, who was subsequently convicted of war crimes. He commanded the 18th Army and Army Group North during the Soviet-German war of 1941–1945.

Dom Peter III, nicknamed the Builder, was King of Portugal from 24 February 1777 to his death in 1786, by marriage to his niece Queen Dona Maria I.

Graham Cyril Kennedy AO was an Australian entertainer, comedian and variety performer, radio and television host as well as a personality and actor of theatre, television and film. He was often referred to as "The King of Television" or simply "The King" and called "Gra Gra".

William Paley was an English Anglican clergyman, philosopher, abolitionist and utilitarian. He was at times referred to as a Christian apologist by his critics. He is best known for his natural theology exposition of the teleological argument for the existence of God in his 1802 work Natural Theology or Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity, which made use of the watchmaker analogy.

Pope Alexander IV, born Rinaldo di Jenne, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 December 1254 to his death in 1261. In 1255, Alexander IV canonized Saint Clare of Assisi, founder of the religious order for women called the Poor Clares.

John Richard Simplot was an American entrepreneur and businessman best known as the founder of the J. R. Simplot Company, a Boise, Idaho–based agricultural supplier specializing in potato products. In 2007, he was estimated to be the 89th-richest person in the United States, at $3.6 billion. At the time of his death at age 99 in May 2008, he was the oldest billionaire on the Forbes 400.

Field Marshal John Griffin Griffin, 4th Baron Howard de Walden, 1st Baron Braybrooke, KB, was a British Army officer, politician and peer. He served as a junior officer with the Pragmatic Army in the Dutch Republic and Germany during the War of the Austrian Succession. He commanded a brigade at the Battle of Corbach and the Battle of Warburg in July 1760 during the Seven Years' War. He was wounded at the Battle of Kloster Kampen and retired from active service. Born John Whitwell, he changed his name to Griffin in 1749 under the terms of a settlement from his aunt, the countess of Portsmouth, from whom he inherited Audley End House in 1762. He held the seat of Andover in the House of Commons from 1749 to 1784, when he was elevated to the House of Lords as 4th Baron Howard de Walden. In 1789 he received the further title of 1st Baron Braybrooke. He was married twice but had no children.

Mahendra Karma was an Indian political leader belonging to Indian National Congress from Chhattisgarh. He was the leader of the opposition in the Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha from 2004 to 2008. In 2005, he played a top role in organising the Salwa Judum movement against Naxalites, a Maoist group in Chhattisgarh. He was a Minister of Industry and Commerce in the Ajit Jogi cabinet since the state formation in 2000 to 2004. He was assassinated by Naxalites on 25 May 2013 in the 2013 Naxal attack in Darbha valley while returning from a Parivartan Rally meeting organised by his party in Sukma.

Krešimir "Krešo" Ćosić was a Croatian professional basketball player and coach. He was a collegiate All-American at Brigham Young University. He was the first basketball player in the world to play all five positions.

Lieutenant-General Sir Benjamin D'Urban was a British general and colonial administrator, who is best known for his frontier policy when he was the Governor in the Cape Colony. Durban, the third-largest city in South Africa, was renamed in his honor.

Aldhelm, Abbot of Malmesbury Abbey, Bishop of Sherborne, and a writer and scholar of Latin poetry, was born before the middle of the 7th century. He is said to have been the son of Kenten, who was of the royal house of Wessex. He was certainly not, as his early biographer Faritius asserts, the brother of King Ine. After his death he was venerated as a saint, his feast day being the day of his death, 25 May.

Ahmed Cevdet Pasha was an Ottoman scholar, intellectual, bureaucrat, administrator, and historian who was a prominent figure in the Tanzimat reforms of the Ottoman Empire. He was the head of the Mecelle commission that codified Islamic law for the first time in response to the Westernization of law. He is often regarded as a pioneer in the codification of a civil law based on the European legal system. The Mecelle remained intact in several modern Arab states in the early and mid-20th-century. In addition to Turkish, he was proficient in Arabic, Persian, French and Bulgarian. He wrote numerous books on history, law, grammar, linguistics, logic and astronomy.

Fredric John Warburg was a British publisher, who in 1935 founded the company Secker & Warburg. He is best known for his association with the author George Orwell. During a career spanning a large part of the 20th century and ending in 1971, Warburg published Orwell's major books Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), as well as works by other leading figures such as Thomas Mann and Franz Kafka. Other notable publications included The Third Eye by Lobsang Rampa, Pierre Boulle's The Bridge over the River Kwai, Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf and William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.

Renzo De Felice was an Italian historian who specialized in the Fascist era. Among other works, he authored a 6000-page biography of Mussolini. He argued that Mussolini was a revolutionary modernizer in domestic issues but a pragmatist in foreign policy who continued the Realpolitik policies of Italy from 1861 to 1922. Historian of Italy Philip Morgan has called De Felice's biography of Mussolini "a very controversial, influential and at the same time problematic re-reading of Mussolini and Fascism" and rejected the contention that his work rose above politics to "scientific objectivity", as claimed by the author and his defenders.

John Sherratt Stewart was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who was a defenceman for 12 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks. He won two Stanley Cup championships with the Red Wings and was named to the post-season NHL All-Star team on five occasions: three times on the first team and twice on the second. Stewart also played in the first four NHL All-Star Games. After completing his NHL career as captain of the Black Hawks, he went on to coach numerous teams at various levels of hockey.

Dany Robin was a French actress of the 1950s and the 1960s. Nicknamed ‘la petite fiancée de la France’ in the post-war years, she became one of the leading female stars of the 1950s, moving from the role of ‘ingénue’ to that of saucy Parisienne. She played the leading lady in Topaz (1969).

Elisabeth Rozetta Geleerd Loewenstein was a Dutch-American psychoanalyst. Born to an upper-middle-class family in Rotterdam, Geleerd studied psychoanalysis in Vienna, then London, under Anna Freud. Building a career in the United States, she became one of the nation's major practitioners in child and adolescent psychoanalysis throughout the mid-20th century. Geleerd specialized in the psychoanalysis of psychosis, including schizophrenia, and was an influential writer on psychoanalysis in childhood schizophrenia. She was one of the first writers to consider the concept of borderline personality disorder in childhood.

Haakon Steen Lie was a Norwegian politician who served as party secretary for the Norwegian Labour Party from 1945 to 1969. Coming from humble origins, he became involved in the labour movement at an early age, and quickly rose in the party system. After actively working for the resistance movement and the exiled government during World War II, he was elected to the second-highest position in the party after the war, and his years in office were the most successful in the party's history.

Lida Peyton "Eliza" Pollock was an American archer who competed in the early twentieth century. She won two bronze medals in Archery at the 1904 Summer Olympics in Missouri in the double national and Columbia rounds and a gold medal with the US team. She was born in Hamilton, Ohio and died in Wyoming, Ohio. She is the oldest woman ever to win an Olympic Gold. She was aged 63 years and 333 days when she won gold.

Zoran Mušič, baptised as Anton Zoran Musič, was a Slovene painter, printmaker, and draughtsman. He was the only painter of Slovene descent who managed to establish himself in the elite cultural circles of Italy and France, particularly Paris in the second half of the 20th century, where he lived for most of his later life. He painted landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and self-portraits, as well as scenes of horror from the Dachau concentration camp and vedute of Venice.

Terrence James Jenner was an Australian cricketer who played nine Tests and one ODI from 1970 to 1975. He was primarily a leg-spin bowler and was known for his attacking, loopy style of bowling, but he was also a handy lower-order batsman. In his latter years he was a leg-spin coach to many players around the world, and a great influence on Shane Warne. He was also a radio cricket commentator for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Gemma Frisius was a Dutch physician, mathematician, cartographer, philosopher, and instrument maker. He created important globes, improved the mathematical instruments of his day and applied mathematics in new ways to surveying and navigation. Gemma's rings, an astronomical instrument, are named after him. Along with Gerardus Mercator and Abraham Ortelius, Frisius is often considered one of the founders of the Netherlandish school of cartography, and significantly helped lay the foundations for the school's golden age.

Chester Bliss Bowles was an American diplomat and ambassador, governor of Connecticut, congressman and co-founder of a major advertising agency, Benton & Bowles, now part of Publicis Groupe. Bowles is best known for his influence on American foreign policy during Cold War years, when he argued that economic assistance to the Third World was the best means to fight communism, and even more important, to create a more peaceable world order.

J. Guru, also known as Kaduvetti Guru, was an Indian politician who was twice elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in Tamil Nadu. He was the president of the Vanniyar Sangam, a caste-based organization that represented the interests of the Vanniyar community.

Elisabeth of Brandenburg was a Duchess consort of Brunswick-Göttingen-Calenberg by marriage to Eric I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Regent of the Duchy of Brunswick-Göttingen-Calenberg during the minority of her son, Eric II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, from 1540 until 1545. She is considered a "Reformation Princess", who, together with the Hessian reformer Anton Corvinus, helped the Reformation prevail in today's South Lower Saxony.

William Payne Whitney was an American businessman and member of the influential Whitney family. He inherited a fortune and enlarged it through business dealings, then devoted much of his money and efforts to a wide variety of philanthropic purposes. His will included funds to expand the New York Hospital, now called NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic was established.

Flann mac Máel Sechnaill, better known as Flann Sinna, was the son of Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid of Clann Cholmáin, the leading branch of the Southern Uí Néill. He was King of Mide from 877 onwards and a High King of Ireland. His mother Land ingen Dúngaile was a sister of Cerball mac Dúnlainge, King of Osraige.

Gabriel Vargas Bernal was a Mexican cartoonist, whose comic strip La Familia Burrón was created in 1937. This cartoon has been described as one of the most important in Mexican popular culture. Vargas won the National Journalism Prize of Mexico in 1983 and the "Premio Nacional de Ciencias y Artes en el área de Tradiciones Populares" in 2003.

Veikko Johannes Uusimäki was a Finnish actor and theater councilor. During his life, he acted in a total of 25 films, in connection with which he also served as director of Yleisradio's theater services between 1973 and 1987. In 1973, Uusimäki was awarded the Pro Finlandia Medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland.

Alexander Mikhaylovich Belostenny was a Ukrainian professional basketball player. He was a member of the senior Soviet national team, from 1977 to 1992, except for an absence during a single competition, EuroBasket 1987. At a height of 2.16 m tall, and a weight of 120 kg (260 lbs.), he played at the center position.

Leo Joseph "Bud" Goodwin was an American swimmer, diver, and water polo player who competed for the New York Athletic Club. He participated for the U.S. in the 1904 and 1908 Summer Olympics and won two gold and two bronze medals in events that encompassed all three disciplines.

Sir Frank Watson Dyson, KBE, FRS, FRSE was an English astronomer and the ninth Astronomer Royal. He is remembered today largely for introducing the Greenwich time signal to BBC radio, and for the role he played in proving Einstein's theory of general relativity.

Randall Thomas Davidson, 1st Baron Davidson of Lambeth, was an Anglican bishop who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1903 to 1928. He was the longest-serving holder of the office since the Reformation, and the first to retire from it.

Ahmet Necip Fazıl Kısakürek was a Turkish poet, novelist, playwright, Islamist ideologue, and conspiracy theorist. He is also known simply by his initials NFK. He was noticed by the French philosopher Henri Bergson, who later became his teacher.

Sir Toaripi Lauti was a Tuvaluan politician who served as chief minister of the Colony of Tuvalu (1975–78), as the first prime minister following Tuvalu's independence (1978–1981) and governor-general of Tuvalu (1990–1993). He was married to Sualua Tui.

Baron Gustaf Bonde was a Swedish statesman. He was a persistent advocate of a pacifist policy at a time when war on the slightest provocation was the watchword of every Swedish politician.

Austin Lane Crothers was an American politician and a member of the United States Democratic Party. He was the 46th governor of Maryland in the United States from 1908 to 1912.

Roger Williams Straus Jr. was an American publisher who was co-founder and chairman of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, a New York book publishing company, and member of the Guggenheim family.

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.

Maksim Adamavich Bahdanovich was a Belarusian poet, journalist, translator, literary critic and historian of literature. He is considered one of the founders of the modern Belarusian literature.

Nils Elias Kristofer von Dardel, sometimes known as Nils de Dardel, was a 20th-century Swedish Post-Impressionist painter and grandson of the famous Swedish painter Fritz von Dardel.

Daniel Ernst Jablonski was a German theologian and reformer of Czech origin, known for his efforts to bring about a union between Lutheran and Calvinist Protestants.

Mildred Geraldine Joy Kirkpatrick, was an Australian country music singer-songwriter and wife and manager of Slim Dusty. Her daughter is country singer and musician Anne Kirkpatrick.

Paula Preradović, known professionally as Paula von Preradović or by her married name as Paula Molden, was an Austrian writer and poet of Croatian descent.

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Ṣūfī was a Persian astronomer.

John Stafford was a medieval English prelate and statesman who served as Lord Chancellor (1432–1450) and as Archbishop of Canterbury (1443–1452).

Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi, OCarm, was an Italian Carmelite nun and mystic. She has been declared a saint by the Catholic Church.

Adam Tanner was an Austrian Jesuit theologian.

Lyubov Sergeyevna Popova was a Russian-Soviet avant-garde artist, painter and designer.

Emanuel Feuermann was an internationally celebrated cellist in the first half of the 20th century.

Robert Capa was a Hungarian-American war photographer and photojournalist. He is considered by some to be the greatest combat and adventure photographer in history.

Yevgenia Solomonovna Ginzburg was a Soviet writer who served an 18-year sentence in the Kolyma Gulag. Her given name is often Latinized to Eugenia.

Amedeo "Amédée" Gordini was an Italian-born race car driver and sports car manufacturer in France.

Ruby Violet Payne-Scott was an Australian pioneer in radiophysics and radio astronomy.

Uładzimir Łeanidavič Katkoŭski was a Belarusian blogger, web designer, Wikipedian and website creator.

Herb Jeffries was an American actor of film and television and popular music and jazz singer-songwriter, known for his baritone voice.

Matthew Saad Muhammad was an American professional boxer who was the WBC Light Heavyweight Champion of the World for two-and-a-half years.