Notable Deaths on November 12

Anne de Montmorency, duc de Montmorency was a French noble, governor, royal favourite and Constable of France during the mid to late Italian Wars and early French Wars of Religion. He served under five French kings. He began his career in the latter Italian Wars of Louis XII, seeing service at Ravenna. When François, his childhood friend, ascended to the throne in 1515 he advanced as governor of the Bastille and Novara, then in 1522 was made a Marshal of France. He fought at the French defeat at La Bicocca in that year, and after assisting in rebuffing the invasion of Constable Bourbon he was captured at the disastrous Battle of Pavia. Quickly freed, he then worked to free first the king and then the king's sons. In 1526, he was made Grand Maître, granting him authority over the king's household. In the same year, he was also made governor of Languedoc. He aided in the marriage negotiations for the king's son, the duc d'Orléans to Catherine de' Medici in 1533. In the mid 1530s he found himself opposed to the war party at court led by Admiral Chabot and therefore retired. He returned to the fore after the Holy Roman Emperor invaded Provence, leading the royal effort that foiled his invasion, and leading the counter-attack. In 1538 he was rewarded by being made Constable of France, this made him the supreme authority over the French military. For the next two years he led the efforts to secure Milan for France through negotiation with the Emperor, however this proved a failure and Montmorency was disgraced, retiring from court in 1541.

Henryk Mikołaj Górecki was a Polish composer of contemporary classical music. According to critic Alex Ross, no recent classical composer has had as much commercial success as Górecki. He became a leading figure of the Polish avant-garde during the post-Stalin cultural thaw. His Anton Webern-influenced serialist works of the 1950s and 1960s were characterized by adherence to dissonant modernism and influenced by Luigi Nono, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Krzysztof Penderecki and Kazimierz Serocki. He continued in this direction throughout the 1960s, but by the mid-1970s had changed to a less complex sacred minimalist sound, exemplified by the transitional Symphony No. 2 "Copernican" and the Symphony No. 3 "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs". This later style developed through several other distinct phases, from such works as his 1979 Beatus Vir, to the 1981 choral hymn Miserere, the 1993 Kleines Requiem für eine Polka and his requiem Good Night.

Wilma Glodean Rudolph was an American sprinter who overcame polio as a child and went on to become a world-record-holding Olympic champion and international sports icon in track and field following her successes in the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games. Rudolph competed in the 200-meter dash and won a bronze medal in the 4 × 100-meter relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics at Melbourne, Australia. She also won three gold medals, in the 100- and 200-meter individual events and the 4 × 100-meter relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. Rudolph was acclaimed as the fastest woman in the world in the 1960s; she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field during a single Olympic Games.

Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron was an English army officer and politician who commanded the New Model Army from 1645 to 1650 during the English Civil War. Because of his dark hair, he was known as "Black Tom" to his loyal troops. He was the eldest son and heir of Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, and succeeded to the title of Lord Fairfax in 1648 on the death of his father, although he was generally known as Sir Thomas Fairfax to distinguish them. He adopted the profession of arms as a young man, when he served under Horace Vere in the Netherlands. In 1637, he married Vere's daughter Anne.

Henry Norman Bethune was a Canadian thoracic surgeon, early advocate of universal health care, and member of the Communist Party of Canada. Bethune came to international prominence first for his service as a frontline trauma surgeon supporting the Republican government during the Spanish Civil War, and later supporting the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) Eighth Route Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Bethune helped bring modern medicine to rural China, treating both sick villagers and wounded soldiers. He died from infection during an operation, prompting Mao Zedong to dedicate a eulogy to him. He remains widely commemorated in China today.

Philippe du Plessis was the 13th Grand Master of the Knights Templar. He was born in the fortress of Plessis-Macé, Anjou, France. In 1189 he joined the Third Crusade as a simple knight, and discovered the Order of the Temple in Palestine. After the death of Gilbert Horal he became Grand Master. He helped uphold the treaty between Saladin and Richard I. In the renewal of this treaty in 1208 he suggested that the Teutonic Order and Hospitallers should make a new peace treaty offer with Malek-Adel. The accord was criticised by Pope Innocent III.

Peter Martyr Vermigli was an Italian-born Reformed theologian. His early work as a reformer in Catholic Italy and his decision to flee for Protestant northern Europe influenced some other Italians to convert and flee as well. In England, he influenced the Edwardian Reformation, including the Eucharistic service of the 1552 Book of Common Prayer. He was considered an authority on the Eucharist among the Reformed churches and engaged in controversies on the subject by writing treatises. Vermigli's Loci Communes, a compilation of excerpts from his biblical commentaries, became a standard Reformed theological textbook.

Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, was an English novelist, biographer, and short story writer. Her novels offer detailed studies of Victorian society, including the lives of the very poor. Her first novel, Mary Barton, was published in 1848. Her only biography The Life of Charlotte Brontë, published in 1857, was controversial and significant in establishing the Brontë family's lasting fame. Among Gaskell's best known novels are Cranford (1851–1853), North and South (1854–1855), and Wives and Daughters (1864–1866), all of which have been adapted for television by the BBC.

Timothy Lancaster West was an English actor with a long and varied career across theatre, film, and television. He began acting in repertory theatres in the 1950s before making his London stage debut in 1959 moving on to three seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company during the 1960s. West played King Lear and Macbeth (twice) along with other notable roles in The Master Builder and Uncle Vanya. In 1978, West was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Actor of the Year in a Revival for his performance in The Homecoming.

Syedna Taher Saifuddin, also known as Taher Saifuddin, was the 51st and longest serving Da'i al-Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohras. Saifuddin adapted the modernisation in Western and European ideas, and established its benefits for the Bohras, whilst still steeped in the traditions and the culture of the community's Fatimid heritage. Saifuddin laid substantial groundwork in terms of philanthropy, education, entrepreneurship, social outreach, political outreach, and community upliftment upon which his successors continued to build, resulting in an unprecedented era of prosperity among the Dawoodi Bohras.

Mikhail Iosifovich Gurevich, a Soviet aircraft-designer, co-founded the Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG) military aviation bureau along with Artem Mikoyan. The bureau became famous for its fighter aircraft, rapid interceptors and multi-role combat aircraft which were staples of the Soviet Air Forces throughout the Cold War. The bureau designed 170 projects, of which 94 became serial-production models. In total, 45,000 MiG aircraft have been manufactured domestically, 11,000 of them for export. The last plane which Gurevich personally worked on before he retired in 1964 was the MiG-25.

Ira Marvin Levin was an American novelist, playwright, and songwriter. His works include the novels A Kiss Before Dying (1953), Rosemary's Baby (1967), The Stepford Wives (1972), This Perfect Day (1970), The Boys from Brazil (1976), and Sliver (1991). Levin also wrote the play Deathtrap (1978). Many of his novels and plays have been adapted into films. He received the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award and several Edgar Awards. In 1996 he was given the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement.

John Joseph Horgan was a Canadian politician and diplomat who served as the 36th premier of British Columbia from 2017 to 2022 and the ambassador of Canada to Germany from 2023 to 2024. He led the British Columbia New Democratic Party from 2014 to 2022, guiding the party to government after 16 years in opposition. A member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (MLA) from 2005 to 2023, he represented the riding of Langford-Juan de Fuca.

Roque Victoriano González Garza was a Mexican general and politician who served as acting President of Mexico from January to June 1915. He was appointed by the Convention of Aguascalientes during the Mexican Revolution, and had previously been an important advisor to President Francisco Madero and a member of the Chamber of Deputies. He was later a founder of the anti-communist, xenophobic, antisemitic, nationalist Revolutionary Mexicanist Action party and its leader from 1933 to 1934.

Mohammed Emwazi, commonly referred to as Jihadi John, was a British militant of Kuwaiti origin seen in several videos produced by the Islamist extremist group Islamic State (IS) showing the beheadings of a number of captives in 2014 and 2015. A group of his hostages nicknamed him "John" since he was part of a four-person terrorist cell with English accents whom they called 'The Beatles'; the press later began calling him "Jihadi John".

Liu Shaoqi was a Chinese revolutionary and politician. He was the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1954 to 1959, first-ranking vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1956 to 1966, and the chairman of the People's Republic of China from 1959 to 1968. He was considered to be a possible successor to Chairman Mao Zedong, but was purged during the Cultural Revolution.

Minoru Yasui was an American lawyer from Oregon. Born in Hood River, Oregon, he earned both an undergraduate degree and his law degree at the University of Oregon. He was one of the few Japanese Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor who fought laws that directly targeted Japanese Americans or Japanese immigrants. His case was the first case to test the constitutionality of the curfews targeted at minority groups.

Lord George Gordon was a British nobleman and politician best known for lending his name to the Gordon Riots of 1780. An eccentric and flighty personality, he was born into the Scottish nobility and sat in the House of Commons from 1774 to 1780. His life ended after a number of controversies, notably one surrounding his conversion to Judaism, for which he was ostracised. He died in Newgate Prison.

Alfréd Hajós was a Hungarian swimmer, football (soccer) player, referee, manager, and career architect. He was the first modern Olympic swimming champion and the first Olympic champion of Hungary. Formerly excelling in track including discus and hurdles, he was part of the first National European football/soccer team fielded by Hungary in 1902, later serving as a referee as well as the manager and coach of the national football team.

John Graham "Mitch" Mitchell was an English rock and jazz drummer, best known for his contributions in the Jimi Hendrix Experience, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2009. In 2016, Mitchell was ranked number 8 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Drummers of All Time".

Thomas Eugene Kurtz was an American computer scientist and educator. A Dartmouth professor of mathematics, he and colleague John G. Kemeny are best known for co-developing the BASIC programming language and the Dartmouth Time-Sharing System in 1963 and 1964. These innovations made computing more accessible by simplifying programming for non-experts and allowing multiple users to share a single computer, transforming how computers were used in education and research.

Penny Singleton was an American actress and labor leader. During her six decade career on stage, screen, radio and television, Singleton appeared as the comic-strip heroine Blondie Bumstead in a series of 28 motion pictures from 1938 until 1950 and the popular Blondie radio program from 1939 until 1950. Singleton also provided the voice of Jane Jetson in the animated series The Jetsons from 1962 to 1963.

Madan Mohan Malaviya was an Indian scholar, educational reformer, and activist notable for his role in the Indian independence movement. He was president of the Indian National Congress four times and the founder of Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha. He was addressed as Pandit, a title of respect. Malaviya is known as the founder of one of the most prestigious universities of India named Banaras Hindu University.

Charles Rudolf Friml was a Czech-born composer of operettas, musicals, songs and piano pieces, as well as a pianist. After musical training and a brief performing career in his native Prague, Friml moved to the United States, where he became a composer. His best-known works are Rose-Marie and The Vagabond King, both of which enjoyed success on Broadway and in London and were adapted for film.

Guadalupe Natalia Tovar Sullivan, known professionally as Lupita Tovar, was a Mexican-American actress. She is best known for her starring role in the 1931 Spanish-language version of Drácula, filmed in Los Angeles by Universal Pictures at night using the same sets as the Bela Lugosi version, but with a different cast and director; and her leading-lady role in the British-made Buster Keaton feature The Invader.

Admiral Sir John Hawkins was an English naval commander, naval administrator, privateer and slave trader. Hawkins pioneered, and was an early promoter of, English involvement in the Atlantic slave trade. He is considered to be the first English merchant to profit from the Triangle Trade, selling enslaved people from Africa to the Spanish colonies in the West Indies in the late 16th century.

Roy Owen Haynes was an American jazz drummer. In the 1950s, he was given the nickname "Snap Crackle" for his distinctive snare drum sound and musical vocabulary. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career spanning more than eight decades, he played swing, bebop, jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz. He is considered to be a pioneer of jazz drumming.

Yang Jisheng was a Chinese court official of the Ming dynasty who held multiple posts during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor. He is remembered as a political opponent of Yan Song, on whose initiative he was arrested and eventually executed. His death, widely perceived as unjust, was followed by significant posthumous veneration of his memory during the late imperial era.

William Franklin Holden was an American actor. He was an Academy Award and Primetime Emmy Award winner, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. He was named one of the "Top 10 Stars of the Year" six times, and appeared as 25th on the American Film Institute's list of 25 greatest male stars of Classical Hollywood cinema.

Catherine Baker Knoll was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party. She was the 30th lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, serving under Governor Ed Rendell from 2003 to 2008, when she died in office. Prior to that, she served as the 72nd Pennsylvania treasurer from 1989 to 1997. She was the first woman to be lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania.

Stan Lee was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics, which later became Marvel Comics. Lee was Marvel's primary creative leader for two decades, expanding it from a small publishing house division to a prominent multimedia corporation that dominated the comics and film industries.

Percival Lowell was an American businessman, author, mathematician, and astronomer who fueled speculation that there were canals on Mars, and furthered theories of a ninth planet within the Solar System. He founded the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, and formed the beginning of the effort that led to the discovery of Pluto 14 years after his death.

Mahmoud Abdel Aziz was an Egyptian film and television actor. He became famous for several famous roles in Egyptian cinema, before becoming famous in his native Egypt and the whole region for his Egyptian patriotic role in the Egyptian TV series Raafat el-Hagan. The Egyptian Actors Guild announced his death on the night of 12 November 2016.

Josaphat Kuntsevych, OSBM was a Basilian hieromonk and archeparch of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Polotsk from 1618 to 1623. On 12 November 1623, he was beaten to death with an axe during an anti-Catholic riot by Eastern Orthodox Belarusians in Vitebsk, in the eastern peripheries of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Don Walsh was an American oceanographer, U.S. Navy officer, and marine policy specialist. While aboard the bathyscaphe Trieste, he and Jacques Piccard made a record maximum descent in the Challenger Deep on January 23, 1960, to 35,813 feet (10,916 m). Later and more accurate measurements have measured it at 35,798 feet (10,911 m).

William I, called the Great, was Count of Burgundy from 1057 to 1087 and Mâcon from 1078 to 1087. He was a son of Reginald I, Count of Burgundy and Alice of Normandy, daughter of Richard II, Duke of Normandy. William was the father of several notable children including Pope Callixtus II.

Cnut, also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rule are referred to together as the North Sea Empire by historians.

Louis III was a claimant to the Kingdom of Naples from 1417 to 1426, as well as count of Provence, Forcalquier, Piedmont, and Maine and duke of Anjou from 1417 to 1434. As the heir designate to the throne of Naples, he was duke of Calabria from 1426 to 1434.

Jean Sylvain Bailly was a French astronomer, mathematician, freemason, and political leader of the early part of the French Revolution. He presided over the Tennis Court Oath, served as the mayor of Paris from 1789 to 1791, and was ultimately guillotined during the Reign of Terror.

William Henry Barlow was an English civil engineer of the 19th century, particularly associated with railway engineering projects. Barlow was involved in many engineering enterprises. He was engineer for the Midland Railway on its London extension and designed the company's London terminus at St Pancras.

Saint Livinus (c. 580 – 12 November 657), also Livinus of Ghent, was an apostle in Flanders and Brabant, venerated as a saint and martyr in the Catholic tradition and more especially at the Saint Bavo Chapel, Ghent. His feast day is 12 November.

Fred Holland Day was an American photographer and publisher. He was prominent in literary and photography circles in the late nineteenth century and was a leading Pictorialist. He was an early and vocal advocate for accepting photography as a fine art.

Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Serebrov was a Soviet cosmonaut. He graduated from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (1967), and was selected as a cosmonaut on 1 December 1978. He retired on 10 May 1995. He was married and had one child.

William Christopher Zeise was a Danish organic chemist. He is best known for synthesising one of the first organometallic compounds, named Zeise's salt in his honour. He also performed pioneering studies in organosulfur chemistry, discovering the xanthates in 1823.

Warren Clarke was an English film, television and stage actor. He appeared in several films after a significant role as Dim in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971). His television appearances included Dalziel and Pascoe, The Manageress and Sleepers.

Albert Bond Lambert was an American businessman. He was the president of Lambert Pharmacal Company, marketer of Listerine, for over 25 years. Lambert was also a keen amateur golfer and prominent St. Louis aviator and benefactor of aviation.

Emmanuel Michel Benner, known as Many Benner, was a French painter. The son of Jean Benner, Many was the nephew of his father's twin brother, also named Emmanuel Benner. All four Benners were painters.

Harry Robbins "Bob" Haldeman was an American political aide and businessman, best known for his service as White House Chief of Staff to President Richard Nixon and his consequent involvement in the Watergate scandal.

Joseph James Cheeseman was the 12th president of Liberia. Born at Edina in Grand Bassa County, he was elected three times on the True Whig ticket. Cheeseman was educated at Liberia College.

Hans Arvid Hammarskiöld was a Swedish professional photographer. He was active in most genres—for many years he worked as an industrial photographer, but was especially noted for his portraits.

Burchard III, a member of the Hunfriding dynasty, was the count of Thurgau and Zürichgau, perhaps of Rhaetia, and then Duke of Swabia from 954 to his death.

John Henry of Luxembourg, a member of the House of Luxembourg, was Count of Tyrol from 1335 to 1341 and Margrave of Moravia from 1349 until his death.

John Deere Cady was an American golfer who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. He was the grandson of John Deere, and the great-grandson of Linus Yale, Sr.

Sir John Kenneth Tavener was an English composer of choral religious works. Among his works are The Lamb (1982), The Protecting Veil (1988), and Song for Athene (1993).

Donnchad mac Máel Coluim was King of Alba. He was son of Malcolm III and his first wife Ingibiorg Finnsdottir, widow of Thorfinn Sigurdsson, earl of Orkney.

Song Jae-rim, also known as Song Jae-lim, was a South Korean actor and model. Starting in modelling, Song had a career as an actor in Korean dramas.

Stephen Gardiner was an English Catholic bishop and politician during the English Reformation period who served as Lord Chancellor during the reign of Queen Mary I.

Thomas Henry Wisdom was a British motoring correspondent for the Daily Herald. He was also a racing driver who took part in numerous races and rallies.

Canute VI was King of Denmark from 1182 to 1202. Contemporary sources describe Canute as an earnest, strongly religious man.

Hans Nansen was a Danish statesman.

Friedrich Hoffmann or Hofmann was a German physician and chemist. He is also sometimes known in English as Frederick Hoffmann.

Juan Ramón González de Balcarce was an Argentine military leader and politician.

Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano was an Italian composer, mainly of operas. His best-known work in that genre was Andrea Chenier (1896).

Julia Marlowe was an English-born American actress, known for her interpretations of William Shakespeare's plays.

Lesley Ashburner was an American athlete who competed mainly in the 110 metre hurdles.

Sarah Wambaugh was an American political scientist.

Augustin Josip "Tin" Ujević was a Croatian poet, considered by many to be the greatest poet in 20th-century Croatian literature.

Gustaf Fredrik "Jotte" Söderström was a Swedish athlete and tug of war competitor.

Johanna "Hanna" Neumann was a German-born mathematician who worked on group theory.

Walter Hamor Piston, Jr., was an American composer of classical music, music theorist, and professor of music at Harvard University.

Eve Arden was an American film, radio, stage and television actress. She performed in leading and supporting roles for nearly six decades.

Gabriele Tinti was an Italian actor, whose film career spanned over 100 roles between 1951 and 1991.

Sally Shlaer was an American mathematician, software engineer and software methodologist, known as co-developer of the 1980s Shlaer–Mellor method for software development.

Franck Pourcel was a French composer, arranger, and conductor of popular and classical music.

Albert Hague was a German–born American songwriter and actor.

Anthony John Miles was an English chess player and the first Englishman to earn the Grandmaster title.

Cameron Troy Duncan was a filmmaker from New Zealand.

Anthony Theodore Thompson was an American session drummer best known as the drummer of the Power Station and a member of Chic.

Konrad Rudnicki was a Polish astronomer, professor at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, and a priest of the Old Catholic Mariavite Church.

Kurt Trampedach was a Danish painter and sculptor.

Margaret "Marge" Ellen Roukema was an American Republican Party politician who represented New Jersey in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981 to 2003.

Ravi Chopra was an Indian filmmaker, best known for directing the television show Mahabharat (1988–1990).

Márton Fülöp was a Hungarian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.