Did you know
Michael Crichton's books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films.
Notable Deaths on November 4
2008 — Michael Crichton
American medical doctor, author, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1942)
November 4 has 103 recorded notable deaths across history, from 604 to 2024. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
103 source records
604 – 2024
Today in history
Major events on November 4
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 2008 Barack Obama becomes the first person of biracial or African-American descent to be elected as President of the United States. Source
- 1924 Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming becomes the first female elected as governor in the United States. Source
- 1980 Ronald Reagan is elected as the 40th President of the United States, defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter. Source
- 1973 The Netherlands experiences the first car-free Sunday caused by the 1973 oil crisis. Highways are used only by cyclists and roller skaters. Source
Did you know
Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words are his most famous solo piano compositions.
Did you know
Young entered the major leagues in 1890 with the National League's Cleveland Spiders and pitched for them until 1898.
Did you know
Wilfred Owen was one of the leading poets of the First World War.
Did you know
Sparky Anderson's 2,194 career wins are the seventh-most for a manager in Major League history.
More major people who died on November 4
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1847
Felix Mendelssohn
German pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1809)
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, simply known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic era.
1955
Cy Young
American baseball player and manager (born 1867)
Denton True "Cy" Young was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Born in Gilmore, Ohio, he worked on his family's farm as a youth before starting his professional baseball career.
1918
Wilfred Owen
English lieutenant and poet (born 1893)
Wilfred Edward Salter Owen was an English poet and soldier. He was one of the leading poets of the First World War.
2010
Sparky Anderson
American baseball player and manager (born 1934)
George Lee "Sparky" Anderson was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player, coach, and manager.
2019
Gay Byrne
Irish broadcaster (born 1934)
Gabriel Mary Byrne was an Irish presenter and host of radio and television. His most notable role was as the first host of The Late Late Show over a 37-year period spanning 1962 until 1999.
1957
Shoghi Effendi
Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith (born 1897)
Shoghí Effendi (; Persian: شوقی افندی; 1896 or 1897 – 4 November 1957) was Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1922 until his death in 1957.
1856
Paul Delaroche
French painter and educator (born 1797)
Hippolyte-Paul Delaroche was a French painter known for his depiction of scenes from English and French history.
1946
Rüdiger von der Goltz
German general (born 1865)
Gustav Adolf Joachim Rüdiger Graf von der Goltz was a German army general during the First World War.
1980
Elsie MacGill
Canadian-American engineer and author (born 1905)
Elizabeth Muriel Gregory MacGill, known as the "Queen of the Hurricanes", was a Canadian engineer.
1485
Giovanni Mocenigo
Doge of Venice (born 1408)
Giovanni di Mocenigo was doge of Venice from 1478 to 1485. He fought at sea against the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II and on land against Ercole I d'Este, duke of Ferrara, from whom he recaptured Rovigo and the Polesine.
1992
George Klein
Canadian engineer, invented the motorized wheelchair (born 1904)
George Johann Klein, was a Canadian inventor who is widely regarded as the most productive inventor in Canada in the 20th century.
1924
Gabriel Fauré
French pianist, composer, and educator (born 1845)
Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers.
1997
Richard Hooker
American novelist (born 1924)
Hiester Richard Hornberger Jr. was an American writer and surgeon who wrote under the pseudonym Richard Hooker.
1847
Thiệu Trị
Vietnamese emperor (born 1807)
Thiệu Trị, personal name Nguyễn Phúc Miên Tông or Nguyễn Phúc Tuyền, was the third emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty.
1956
Freddie Dixon
English motorcycle racer and race car driver (born 1892)
Frederick William Dixon was an English motorcycle racer and racing car driver.
1969
Carlos Marighella
Brazilian author and activist (born 1911)
Carlos Marighella was a Brazilian politician, writer, and Marxist–Leninist militant.
1995
Gilles Deleuze
French philosopher and scholar (born 1925)
Gilles Louis René Deleuze was a French philosopher who, from the early 1950s until his death in 1995, wrote on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art.
2013
Leonid Stolovich
Russian-Estonian philosopher and academic (born 1929)
Leonid Naumovich Stolovich was a Russian-Estonian philosopher, Doctor of Philosophy (1966) and professor (1967).
2015
René Girard
French-American historian, philosopher, and critic (born 1923)
René Noël Théophile Girard was a French academic best known for developing mimetic theory, which posits that human desire is fundamentally imitative, leading to rivalry, violence and the scapegoat mechanism as…