Notable Deaths on November 15

120 people 165 BC – 2024

November 15 has seen 120 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 165 BC – 2024. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.

By · Wikipedia

Speedy West

2003 — Speedy West

American guitarist and producer (born 1924)

Did you know

In 1960, Speedy played on and produced Loretta Lynn's first single

Did you know

West, who began playing Paul Bigsby's second ever pedal steel guitar in 1947, was the first country steel guitarist to use a pedal guitar

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Wesley Webb West, better known as Speedy West, was an American pedal steel guitarist and record producer

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During his time at Capitol, he played on over 6000 recordings, including pop records by artists like Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby

Did you know

Nashville players like Bud Isaacs would adopt it in the early 1950s


Mattathias
Jewish resistance leader
Mattathias ben Johanan was a Kohen who helped spark the Maccabean Revolt against the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire. Mattathias's story is related in the deuterocanonical book of 1 Maccabees and in the writings of…
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-165
Malo
Breton bishop and saint
Saint Malo was a Welsh mid-sixth century founder of Saint-Malo, a commune in Brittany, France. He was one of the seven founding saints of Brittany.
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621
king of East Anglia
Æthelhere was King of East Anglia from 653 or 654 until his death. He was a member of the ruling Wuffingas dynasty and one of three sons of Eni to rule East Anglia as Christian kings. He was a nephew of Rædwald, who was…
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655
Penda of Mercia
king of Mercia
Penda was a 7th-century king of Mercia, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom in what is today the Midlands. A pagan at a time when Christianity was taking hold in many of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Penda took over the Severn Valley…
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655
French nobleman (born 983)
Odo II was the count of Blois, Chartres, Châteaudun, Champagne, Beauvais and Tours from 1004 and count of Troyes and Meaux from 1022. He twice tried to make himself a king: first in Italy after 1024 and then in Burgundy…
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1037
Leopold III
margrave of Austria (born 1073)
Leopold III, known as Leopold the Good, was the Margrave of Austria from 1095 to his death in 1136. He was a member of the House of Babenberg. He was canonized on 6 January 1485 and became the patron saint of Austria,…
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1136
Margaret I
countess of Flanders
Margaret I was the countess of Flanders suo jure from 1191 to her death.
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1194
Frederick of Isenberg
German nobleman (born 1193)
Count Frederick of Isenberg was a German noble, the younger son of Arnold of Altena. Before the split between Arnold of Altena-Isenberg the eldest and his brother Friedrich Altena-Mark the younger son of Everhard von…
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1226
Albertus Magnus
German bishop, theologian, and philosopher (born 1193)
Albertus Magnus, also known as Saint Albert the Great, Albert of Swabia, Albert von Bollstadt, or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop. He is considered one of the greatest…
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1280
James I of Urgell
Spanish nobleman (born 1321)
James I, the eighteenth Count of Urgell, was the fourth son of Alfonso IV King of Aragon and Teresa d'Entença & Cabrera, 17th Countess of Urgell.
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1347
Joanna of Pfirt
duchess of Austria
Joanna of Pfirt was the Countess of Pfirt in her own right from 1324 and Duchess of Austria as consort of Duke Albert II from 1330 until her death.
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1351
duke of Bavaria
Otto V, was a Duke of Bavaria and Elector of Brandenburg as Otto VII. Otto was the fourth son of Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV by his second wife Margaret II of Avesnes, Countess of Hainaut and Holland.
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1379
Giovanni Antonio Del Balzo Orsini
Italian nobleman
Giovanni Antonio (Giannantonio) Orsini del Balzo was a southern Italian nobleman and military leader; he was Prince of Taranto, Duke of Bari, Count of Lecce, Acerra, Soleto and Conversano, as well as Count of Matera…
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1463
Catherine of York
English princess (born 1479)
Catherine of York was the sixth daughter of King Edward IV of England and his queen consort Elizabeth Woodville.
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1527
Ferenc Dávid
Hungarian preacher, founder of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania (born 1510)
Ferenc Dávid was a preacher and theologian from Transylvania, the founder of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania, and the leading figure of the Nontrinitarian Christian movements during the Protestant Reformation. He…
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1579
Roque González de Santa Cruz
Paraguayan missionary and martyr (born 1576)
Roque González de Santa Cruz, SJ was a Guaraní-Spanish Jesuit priest who was the first missionary among the Guaraní in Paraguay. He was murdered in 1628 and is venerated as a martyr and a saint by the Catholic Church.
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1628
Johannes Kepler
German astronomer and mathematician (born 1571)
Johannes Kepler was a German polymath who was an astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, natural philosopher and music theorist. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best known for his laws of…
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1630
John Amos Comenius
Czech bishop, philosopher, and educator (born 1592)
John Amos Comenius was a Czech philosopher, pedagogue and theologian who is considered the father of modern education. He served as the last bishop of the Unity of the Brethren before becoming a religious refugee and…
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1670
Dutch painter (born 1620)
Aelbert Jacobszoon Cuyp or Cuijp was one of the leading Dutch Golden Age painters, producing mainly landscapes. The most famous of a family of painters, the pupil of his father, Jacob Gerritszoon Cuyp (1594–1651/52),…
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1691
Tsangyang
Tibetan dalai lama (born 1683)
The 6th Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso was recognized as the 6th Dalai Lama after a delay of many years, permitting the Potala Palace to be completed. He was an unconventional Dalai Lama that preferred a Nyingma school…
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1706
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Notable deaths

Who died on November 15?

Speedy West — American pedal steel guitarist (1924–2003)

FeaturedSpeedy West
Death year2003
Known forHe frequently played with Jimmy Bryant, both in their own duo and as part of the regular Capitol Records backing band for Tennessee Ernie Ford and many others
Deaths on this date120 (165 BC – 2024)

Explore November 15

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

Also on November 15 in History

2022
The world population reached eight billion. Wikipedia →
2020
Lewis Hamilton wins the Turkish Grand Prix and secures his seventh drivers' title, equalling the all-time record held by Michael Schumacher. Wikipedia →
2017
A flood a few miles outside of Athens results in the death of 25 people. Wikipedia →
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