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Notable Deaths on November 25
102 people
311 – 2025
November 25 has seen 102 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 311 – 2025. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
2005 — George Best
Northern Irish footballer (born 1946)
Did you know
A skillful dribbler, he is considered one of the greatest players of all time, along with being considered one of the most talented to play
Did you know
He was named European Footballer of the Year in 1968 and came fifth in the FIFA Player of the Century vote
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In 1999 he was on the six-man shortlist for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Century
Did you know
He was an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
Year 311 (CCCXI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valerius and Maximinus. The denomination 311 for this year has been used since the…
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311
Turkic emperor (born 683)
Bilge Qaghan, born Ashina Mojilian (Chinese:阿史那默棘連), was the fourth qaghan of the Second Turkic Khaganate. His accomplishments were described in the Orkhon inscriptions.
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734
Máel Coluim mac Cinaeda was King of Alba (Scotland) from 1005 until his death in 1034. He was one of the longest-reigning Scottish Kings of that period.
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1034
son of Henry I of England (sinking of the White Ship) (born 1103)
William Ætheling (Middle English: [ˈwiliəm ˈaðəliŋɡ], Old English: [ˈæðeliŋɡ]; 5 August 1103 – 25 November 1120), commonly called Adelin was the son of Henry I of England by his wife Matilda of Scotland, and was thus…
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1120
Pope Lucius III, born Ubaldo Allucingoli, reigned as head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1181 to his death in 1185. Born to an aristocratic family in Lucca, prior to being elected…
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1185
Japanese shōgun (born 1264)
Prince Koreyasu , also known as Minamoto no Koreyasu , was the seventh shōgun of the Kamakura shogunate of medieval Japan. He was the nominal ruler virtually controlled by the Hōjō clan regents.
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1326
1374
French merchant and banker (born 1395)
Jacques Cœur was a French government official and state-sponsored merchant whose personal fortune became legendary and led to his eventual disgrace. He initiated regular trade routes between France and the Levant. His…
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1456
Italian admiral (born 1466)
Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi was an Italian statesman, condottiero and admiral, who played a key role in the Republic of Genoa during his lifetime.
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1560
Chinese general (born 1512)
Hu Zongxian, courtesy name Ruzhen (汝貞) and art name Meilin (梅林), was a Chinese general and politician of the Ming dynasty who presided over the government's response to the wokou pirate raids during the reign of the…
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1565
English actor, founded Dulwich College (born 1566)
Edward Alleyn was an English actor who was a major figure of the Elizabethan theatre and founder of the College of God's Gift in Dulwich.
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1626
French astronomer and mathematician (born 1605)
Ismaël Boulliau was a 17th-century French astronomer, mathematician, and Catholic priest, who was also interested in history, theology, classical studies, and philology. He was an active member of the Republic of…
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1694
American lawyer and politician, 10th Mayor of New York City (born 1643)
Stephanus van Cortlandt was the first native-born mayor of New York City, a position which he held from 1677 to 1678 and from 1686 to 1688. He was the patroon of van Cortlandt Manor and was on the governor's executive…
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1700
English hymnwriter and theologian (born 1674)
Isaac Watts was an English Congregational minister, hymn writer, theologian, and logician. He was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns. His works include "When I Survey the Wondrous…
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1748
German violinist and composer (born 1687)
Johann Georg Pisendel was a German Baroque violinist and composer who, for many years, led the Court Orchestra in Dresden as concertmaster, then the finest instrumental ensemble in Europe. He was the leading violinist…
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1755
English poet and politician (born 1712)
Richard Glover was an English poet and politician.
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1785
German explorer and scholar (born 1821)
Johann Heinrich Barth was a German explorer of Africa and scholar.
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1865
German chemist and academic (born 1818)
Adolph Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe was a German chemist and academic, and a major contributor to the birth of modern organic chemistry. He was a professor at Marburg and Leipzig. Kolbe was the first to apply the term…
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1884
American lawyer and politician, 21st Vice President of the United States (born 1819)
Thomas Andrews Hendricks was an American politician and lawyer from Indiana who served as the 16th governor of Indiana from 1873 to 1877 and the 21st vice president of the United States from March 1885 until his death…
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1885
Alfonso XII, also known as El Pacificador, was King of Spain from 29 December 1874 to his death in 1885.
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1885
American lawyer and politician (born 1839)
Edward Payson Allen was an American Civil War veteran and politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. He served two terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1887 to 1891.
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1909
French-American racing driver and businessman (born 1892)
Gaston Louis Chevrolet was an American racing driver and automobile manufacturer. He was the winner of both the Indianapolis 500 and the American National Championship in 1920.
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1920
English plant taxonomist and authority on succulents (born 1849)
Nicholas Edward Brown was an English plant taxonomist and authority on succulents. He was also an authority on several families of plants, including Asclepiadaceae, Aizoaceae, Labiatae and Cape plants.
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1934
American lawyer and judge (born 1866)
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a United States federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first commissioner of baseball from 1920 until his death in 1944. He is remembered for his…
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1944
Japanese martial artist, founded Uechi-ryū (born 1877)
Kanbun Uechi was the founder of Uechi-Ryū, one of the primary karate styles of Okinawa.
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1948
American actor and dancer (born 1878)
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid black entertainer in the United States during the first half of the 20th century. His long career…
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1949
Chinese general (born 1922)
Mao Anying was a Chinese military officer. He was the eldest son of Mao Zedong and Yang Kaihui. Educated in Moscow and a veteran of multiple wars, Mao was killed in action by an air strike during the Korean War.
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1950
Danish author and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1873)
Johannes Vilhelm Jensen was a Danish author, known as one of the great Danish writers of the first half of 20th century. He was awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in Literature "for the rare strength and fertility of his…
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1950
Finnish linguist and diplomat (born 1873)
Gustaf John Ramstedt was a Finnish diplomat, orientalist and linguist. He was also an early Finnish Esperantist, and chairman of the Esperanto-Association of Finland.
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1950
Ukrainian-Russian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1894)
Alexander Petrovich Dovzhenko, also Oleksandr Petrovych Dovzhenko, was a Soviet film director and screenwriter of Ukrainian origin. He is often cited as one of the most important early Soviet filmmakers, alongside…
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1956
Prince George of Greece and Denmark was the second son and child of George I of Greece and Olga Konstantinovna of Russia. He served as high commissioner of the Cretan State during its transition towards independence…
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1957
French actor (born 1922)
Gérard Philipe was a prominent French actor who appeared in 32 films between 1944 and 1959 known for his outspoken communist views. He came to prominence during the later period of the poetic realism movement of French…
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1959
Belgian archer (born 1866)
Gerard Theodor Hubert Van Innis was a Belgian competitor in the sport of archery; he competed in two Summer Olympics 20 years apart and came away with a total of six gold medals and three silver medals.
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1961
Russian lieutenant (born 1913)
Alexander Ivanovich Marinesko was a Soviet career naval officer. During the last year of World War II, he became known as the captain of the submarine S-13, which sank the German military transport ship Wilhelm Gustloff…
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1963
1965
American novelist, critic, and essayist (born 1878)
Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. was an American author, muckraker journalist, and political activist, and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for governor of California. He wrote nearly 100 books and other works in several…
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1968
American geographer and explorer (born 1908)
Paul Allman Siple was an American Antarctic explorer and geographer who took part in six Antarctic expeditions, including the two Byrd expeditions of 1928–1931 and 1933–1935. Siple was also a Sea Scout. His first and…
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1968
Japanese author, actor, and director (born 1925)
Kimitake Hiraoka, known by his pen name Yukio Mishima, was a Japanese writer, playwright, actor, martial artist, model, and the leader of an attempted coup d'état that culminated in his seppuku.
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1970
Romanian engineer, designed the Coandă-1910 (born 1886)
Henri Marie Coandă was a Romanian inventor, aerodynamics pioneer, and builder of an experimental aircraft, the Coandă-1910, which never flew. He invented a great number of devices, designed a "flying saucer" and…
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1972
German architect (born 1893)
Bernhard Hans Henry Scharoun was a German architect best known for designing the Berliner Philharmonie and the Schminke House in Löbau, Saxony. He was an important exponent of organic and expressionist architecture.
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1972
Lithuania-born English actor (born 1928)
Laurence Harvey was a Lithuanian-born British actor and film director. He was born to Lithuanian Jewish parents and emigrated to South Africa at an early age, before later settling in the United Kingdom after World War…
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1973
English singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1948)
Nicholas Rodney Drake was an English singer-songwriter. An accomplished acoustic guitarist, Drake signed to Island Records at the age of twenty while still a student at the University of Cambridge. His debut album, Five…
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1974
Burmese lawyer and diplomat, 3rd Secretary-General of the United Nations (born 1909)
Thant, known honorifically as U Thant, was a Burmese diplomat and the third secretary-general of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971, the first non-Scandinavian as well as Asian to hold the position. He held the office…
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1974
American tennis player (born 1928)
Herbert Flam was an American tennis player who was ranked by Lance Tingay as the World No. 4 amateur in 1957.
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1980
American actor and singer (born 1907)
Harold "Jack" Albertson was an American actor, comedian, dancer and singer who also performed in vaudeville. Albertson was a Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winning actor, which ranks him among a rare stature of 24 actors who…
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1981
Pakistani Christian playback singer (born 1932)
Noel Dias, better known as Saleem Raza, was a Pakistani playback singer. He converted to Islam and started his singing career from Lahore, Pakistan, quickly gaining popularity. Raza was a classically- trained singer and…
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1983
Indian lawyer and politician, 5th Deputy Prime Minister of India (born 1913)
Yashwantrao Balwantrao Chavan was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as 5th Deputy Prime Minister of India in the short-lived Charan Singh ministry in 1979. He served as the last Chief Minister of…
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1984
English poet and critic (born 1905)
Geoffrey Edward Harvey Grigson was a British poet, writer, editor, critic, exhibition curator, anthologist and naturalist. In the 1930s, he was editor of the influential magazine New Verse, and went on to produce 13…
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1985
German pastor and theologian (born 1909)
Franz Hildebrandt was a German-born Lutheran, and later Methodist, pastor and theologian, forced into exile during World War II, and subsequently active in the United Kingdom and the USA.
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1985
American lawyer and politician, 51st Mayor of Chicago (born 1922)
Harold Lee Washington was an American lawyer and politician who was the 51st mayor of Chicago. In April 1983, Washington became the first African American to be elected as the city's mayor at the age of 60. He served as…
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1987
American general (born 1907)
Alva Revista Fitch was a lieutenant general in the United States Army and was deputy director of Defense Intelligence Agency from 1964 to 1966. He commanded an artillery battalion during the Battle of Bataan and was a…
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1989
Georgian philosopher and academic (born 1930)
Merab Mamardashvili was a Georgian philosopher.
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1990
American actress and voice artist (born 1905)
Eleanor Audley was an American actress with a distinctive voice and a diverse body of work. She played Oliver Douglas's mom, Eunice Douglas, on the CBS sitcom Green Acres (1965–1969), and provided two Disney animated…
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1991
Russian-French journalist (born 1914)
Léon Zitrone was a Russian-born French journalist and television presenter.
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1995
Malawian physician and politician, 1st President of Malawi (born 1898)
Hastings Kamuzu Banda was a Malawian politician who served as the leader of Malawi from 1964 to 1994. He served as Prime Minister from independence in 1964 to 1966, when Malawi was a Dominion/Commonwealth realm. In…
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1997
American philosopher and academic (born 1906)
Henry Nelson Goodman was an American philosopher, known for his work on counterfactuals, mereology, the problem of induction, irrealism, and aesthetics.
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1998
American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (born 1933)
Clerow "Flip" Wilson Jr. was an American comedian and actor best known for his television appearances during the late 1960s and 1970s. From 1970 to 1974, Wilson hosted his own weekly variety series The Flip Wilson Show,…
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1998
Mexican union leader and politician (born 1904)
Valentín Campa Salazar was a Mexican railway union leader and presidential candidate. Along with Demetrio Vallejo, he was considered one of the leaders of the 1958 railway strikes. Campa was also the founder of the…
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1999
American baseball player and scout (born 1917)
Hugh Alexander was an American professional baseball player and scout. He was an outfielder during his brief playing career, but after he suffered a career-ending injury at the age of 20 he became one of baseball's most…
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2000
Czech-English director and producer (born 1926)
Karel Reisz was a Czech-born British filmmaker and film critic, one of the pioneers of the new realist strain in British cinema during the 1950s and 1960s. Two of the best-known films he directed are Saturday Night and…
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2002
American painter and academic (born 1939)
Edward Francis Paschke was an American painter. His childhood interest in animation and cartoons, as well as his father's creativity in wood carving and construction, led him toward a career in art. As a student at the…
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2004
English rally driver (born 1971)
Richard Alexander Burns was an English rally driver who won the 2001 World Rally Championship, having previously finished runner-up in the series in 1999 and 2000. He also helped Mitsubishi to the world manufacturers'…
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2005
Italian author and illustrator (born 1931)
Luciano Bottaro was an Italian comic book artist.
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2006
Mexican singer-songwriter (born 1979)
Valentín Elizalde Valencia was a Mexican singer. Nicknamed "El Gallo de Oro", he specialized in Banda and regional mexican music and was known for his off-key style. His biggest hits included: "Vete Ya," "Ebrio de…
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2006
American actress and publisher, co-founded Beginner Books (born 1916)
Phyllis Cerf Wagner, also known as Phyllis Fraser, was an American socialite, writer, publisher, and actress. She was a co-founder of Beginner Books.
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2006
American lieutenant and pilot (born 1919)
Kenneth Marlar Taylor was a United States Air Force officer and a flying ace of World War II. He was a new United States Army Air Corps second lieutenant pilot stationed at Wheeler Field during the Japanese attack on…
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2006
American philosopher and academic (born 1954)
Peter Lipton was an American philosopher. He was the Hans Rausing Professor and Head of the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge University, and a fellow of King's College, until his death in…
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2007
British protozoologist (born 1915)
Leonard George Goodwin CMG FRS was a British protozoologist noted for his work on testing the effectiveness of chemical compounds in treating tropical diseases. He was born in London to a shoe shop manager, and became…
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2008
American journalist and author (born 1930)
Alfred Balk was an American reporter, nonfiction author and magazine editor who wrote groundbreaking articles about housing segregation, the Nation of Islam, the environment and Illinois politics. His refusal to…
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2010
English keyboard player, songwriter, and director (born 1955)
Peter Martin Christopherson, also known as Sleazy, was an English musician, music video director, commercial artist, designer, and photographer. He was best known as a member of design agency Hipgnosis and a co-founder…
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2010
American anthropologist and academic (born 1933)
Covington Scott Littleton was an American anthropologist who was Professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology at Occidental College. A co-founder of the Journal of Indo-European Studies, Littleton was an expert…
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2010
English businessman, founded Bernard Matthews Farms (born 1930)
Bernard Trevor Matthews CVO CBE QSM was the founder of Bernard Matthews Foods, a company that is best known for producing turkey meat products.
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2010
Russian weightlifter and coach (born 1942)
Vasily Ivanovich Alekseyev was a Soviet weightlifter. He set 80 world records and 81 Soviet national records in weightlifting and won Olympic gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 games.
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2011
American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1947)
Curtis John Arceneaux better known by the name Coco Robicheaux, was an American blues musician from Ascension Parish, Louisiana, United States.
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2011
Pakistani poet and writer (born 1959)
Jawayd Anwar was a Pakistani poet and writer. He is widely recognized as a significant writer in modern Urdu poetry, particularly for his nazms. He authored four volumes of poetry, including a posthumous collection…
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2011
Swedish mathematician and educator (born 1931)
Lars Valter Hörmander was a Swedish mathematician who has been called "the foremost contributor to the modern theory of linear partial differential equations". Hörmander was awarded the Fields Medal in 1962 and the Wolf…
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2012
English footballer and manager (born 1930)
David James Sexton was an English football manager and player. He was notable for managing Chelsea to their first European trophy.
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2012
English actress (born 1920)
Dinah Sheridan was an English actress with a career spanning seven decades. She was best known for the films Genevieve (1953) and The Railway Children (1970), the long-running BBC comedy series Don't Wait Up…
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2012
2012
American baseball player (born 1924)
Leland Victor Brissie was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1947 to 1953 for the Philadelphia Athletics and Cleveland Indians.
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2013
Argentinian businessman (born 1968)
Ricardo Aníbal Fort Campa was an Argentine socialite, entrepreneur and television director. Although his career lasted four years, Fort was one of the most popular personalities in his country.
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2013
English footballer and manager (born 1932)
William Anthony Foulkes was an English footballer who played for Manchester United in the Busby Babes teams of the 1950s, and also in the 1960s. His favoured position was centre-half. For Manchester United, he played…
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2013
American drummer and bandleader (born 1921)
Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleader, first with a…
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2013
Czech journalist and politician (born 1934)
Egon T. Lánský was a Czech politician, journalist, political commentator, spokesperson and columnist. He was member of the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD).
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2013
American author and illustrator (born 1921)
Alfred John Plastino was an American comics artist best known as one of the most prolific Superman artists of the 1950s, along with his DC Comics colleague Wayne Boring. Plastino also worked as a comics writer, editor,…
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2013
American publisher and philanthropist (born 1924)
Irvin J. Borowsky was an American publisher and philanthropist.
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2014
Indian dancer, and choreographer (born 1920)
Sitara Devi was an Indian dancer of the classical Kathak style of dancing, a singer, and an actress. She was the recipient of several awards and accolades, and performed at several prestigious venues in India and…
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2014
Czech composer and conductor (born 1944)
Petr Hapka was a Czech composer, one of the most significant composers of Czech film music scores. He is known for his collaborations with the lyricist Michal Horáček.
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2014
American biogerontologist and academic (born 1916)
Denham Harman was an American medical academic who latterly served as professor emeritus at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Harman is known as the "father of the free radical theory of aging".
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2014
Jamaican boxer (born 1974)
O'Neil Bell was a Jamaican professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2011. He held the undisputed cruiserweight title in 2006 and the lineal cruiserweight title from 2006 to 2007.
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2015
English admiral (born 1932)
Sir John Jeremy Black, also known as J. J. Black, was a senior Royal Navy officer. He commanded the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible during the Falklands War, and later served as Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command…
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2015
Norwegian drummer and composer (born 1941)
Svein "Chrico" Christiansen was a Norwegian jazz musician (drums), known from a number of recordings, and central on the Oslo Jazz scene.
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2015
Swedish author and translator (born 1919)
Paul Lennart Hellsing was a Swedish writer and translator. For his lasting contribution as a children's writer, Hellsing was a finalist in 2010 for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award.
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2015
American director, producer, and editor (born 1913)
James Elmo Williams was an American film and television editor, producer, director and executive. His work on the film High Noon (1952) received the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. In 2006, Williams published Elmo…
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2015
Communist leader of Cuba, and revolutionary (born 1926)
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as prime minister from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 2008. Ideologically a…
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2016
2016
Argentinian football player (born 1960)
Diego Armando Maradona was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the…
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2020
English football player and manager (born1943)
Terence Frederick Venables, often referred to as "El Tel", was an English football player and manager who played for clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers and won two caps for England.
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2023
American actor (born 1928)
Henry Earl Holliman was an American actor, animal rights activist, and singer known for his many character roles in films, mostly Westerns and dramas, in the 1950s and 1960s. He won a Golden Globe Award for the film The…
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2024
American evangelist and Christian writer (born 1929)
Harold Lee Lindsey was an American evangelical writer and television host. He wrote a series of popular apocalyptic books – beginning with The Late Great Planet Earth (1970) – asserting that the Apocalypse or end time…
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2024
Spanish Roman Catholic bishop (born 1949)
Bernardo Álvarez Afonso was a Spanish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna in Tenerife, commonly known as the Diocese of Tenerife, from 2005 to 2024.
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2025
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Notable deaths
Who died on November 25?
George Best — Northern Irish footballer (1946–2005)
FeaturedGeorge Best
Death year2005
Known forA skillful dribbler, he is considered one of the greatest players of all time, along with being considered one of the most talented to play
Deaths on this date102 (311 – 2025)
Explore November 25
Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.
Also on November 25 in History
2009
Jeddah floods: Freak rains swamp the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, during an ongoing Hajj pilgrimage. Three thousand cars are swept away and 122 people perish in the torrents, with 350 others missing. Wikipedia →
2008
Cyclone Nisha strikes northern Sri Lanka, killing 15 people and displacing 90,000 others while dealing the region the highest rainfall in nine decades. Wikipedia →
2000
See all events on November 25
The 2000 Baku earthquake, with a Richter magnitude of 7.0 kills 26 people dead in Baku, Azerbaijan, being the strongest earthquake in the region in 158 years. Wikipedia →
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