Famous Deaths on May 15

August 24, 2024

May 15 Calendar

1699 Edward Petre, English Jesuit and privy councilor (b. 1631)
1714 Roger Elliott, British general and Governor of Gibraltar
1740 Ephraim Chambers, English encyclopaedist (b. 1680)
1746 Giovanni Antonio Ricieri, Italian composer and castrato singer dies at 67
1760 Alaungpaya, King of Burma (b. 1711)
1761 Jacob Mossel, Dutch Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (1750-61), dies at 56
1773 Alban Butler, English Catholic priest and writer, dies at 62
1782 Richard Wilson, Welsh landscape painter, dies at 67
1785 Karel Blazej Kopriva, Czech organist and composer, dies at 29
1801 Louis di Belgioioso, Austrian count, diplomat and field marshal under the Habsburgs dies at 73
1821 John Wall Calcott, English composer, dies at 54
1822 Christian Ludwig Dieter, German composer, dies at 64
1823 Antonio Frantisek Becvarovsky, composer, dies at 69
1824 Alexander Campbell, Scottish composer and writer (associate of Walter Scott), dies at 60
1832 Carl Friedrich Zelter, German composer, dies at 73

1833 Edmund Kean, British Shakespearean actor (Edmund Kean's Masonic Career), dies at 46
1842 Emanuel A D M J count de las Cases, French historian (Napoleon), dies at 76
1845 Samuel Wiselius, Dutch lawyer patriot and writer (helped dismantle Dutch East India Co), dies at 76
1847 Daniel O'Connell, Irish lawyer, and nationalist politician (Mayor of Dublin,1841-42; Member of Parliament, 1828-47), dies at 71
1852 Louisa Adams, US First Lady (1825-29), dies at 77
1855 Jan Mazereeuw, Frisian farmer/sect leader, dies at 75
1872 Thomas Hastings, American composer, dies at 87
1873 Alexandru Ioan Cuza, 1st Prince of united Romania (land reform, emancipated peasants), dies in exile at 53
1879 Gottfried Semper, German architect (b. 1803)

American poet (Collected Poems), dies of nephritis at 55

1889 Alfred Potocki, Austrian politician (Prime Minister, Governor, Viceroy of Galicia), dies
1892 Arthur Hodister, British ivory seller (Heart of Darkness), murdered at 44
1895 Joseph Whitaker, British publisher (Whitaker's Almanack), dies at 75
1899 Francisque Sarcey, French writer (Le Temps), dies at 70
1924 Paul Henri Balluet d'Estournelles de Constant, French diplomat and pacifist (Nobel 1909), dies at 71
1932 Inukai Tsuyoshi, Japanese politician (Prime Minister of Japan 1931-32), assassinated by Navy officers at 76
1932 Ki Inukai, premier Japan (1931-32), murdered
1933 Ernest Torrence, Scottish actor (I Cover the Waterfront, Hunchback of Notre Dame), dies from complications following surgery for gall stones at 54
1935 Kazimir Malevich, Polish-Ukrainian avant-garde painter, diesof cancer at 56
1937 Phillip Snowden, British politician first Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, dies at 72
1940 Joseph Limburg, Dutch lawyer and politician, dies at 73
1940 Willem Adriaan Bonger, Dutch criminologist (Race & Crime), suicide at 63
1945 Charles Williams, British poet and writer, dies at 58
1945 Major Courtney, US medal of honor marine, dies in battle of Sugar Loaf
1948 Edward Flanagan, Irish-American Catholic priest and founder of Boys Town, dies of a heart attack at 61
1952 Albert Bassermann, German actor (Foreign Correspondent, Madame Curie), dies at 84
1952 Italo Montemezzi, Italian composer (L'amore dei tre re), dies at 76
1954 William March, American writer (Company K), dies at 60
1956 Austin Osman Spare, English magician (b. 1886)
1958 Michael G the Boer, historian (Harbor of Amsterdam), dies at 91
1964 Cornelis Hendrik Edelman, Dutch geologist, dies at 61
1964 Vladko Maček, Kingdom of Yugoslavia deputy prime minister (b. 1879)
1965 Adrian Schoevers, Dutch director (Schoevers Institution), dies
1966 Kathryn Forbes, American short story writer (mama's bank account), dies at 58
1967 Edward Hopper, American painter (House by Railroad), dies at 84
1967 Jaromír Fiala, Czech composer, dies at 74
1969 Jimmy Wilde, Welsh boxer (Flyweight World Champion, 1916-23), referee, and columnist (News of the World), dies of complications of diabetes and dementia at 76

Canadian Hockey HOF center (only player in NHL history to score 7 goals in a single game 1920; Stanley Cup 1912, 13 Quebec Bulldogs; 1924 Montreal Canadiens), dies at 79

1971 Donald F. Duncan Sr., American entrepreneur (Duncan Toys Company), dies at 78
1971 Goose Goslin, American Baseball HOF left fielder (World Series 1924 Washington Sens, 1935 Detroit Tigers; AL batting champion 1928; MLB All Star 1936), dies at 70
1971 Sir Tyrone Guthrie, British actor, producer, writer and director, dies at 70
1972 Nigel Green, South African-born British character actor (Zulu, Skull, Tobruk, Ipcress File), dies of an accidental barbiturate overdose at 47
1973 Willem Huibert Rassers, Dutch cultural anthropologist (Pandji), dies at 95
1974 Guy Simonds, Canadian army, youngest General officer, dies at 71
1976 Samuel Eliot Morison, American historian (Admiral of the Ocean Sea), dies at 88
1977 Modibo Keïta, 1st President of Mali (1960-68), dies at 61

1979 Curtis Stevens, American bobsledder (Olympic gold 2-man [with brother Hubert] 1932), dies at 80
1983 James Van Der Zee, African-American photographer, dies at 96
1984 Francis Schaeffer, American theologian, philosopher, and pastor (b. 1912)
1984 Lionel Charles Robbins, British economist, dies at 85
1985 Jackie Curtis, actor (Underground USA), dies of a drug overdose at 38
1986 Elio de Angelis, Italian race car driver (b. 1958)
1986 Theodore H. White, American journalist (Making of President, Pulitzer Prize1962), dies at 71
1987 John Baur, American museum director and author (American Paintings in 19th Century), dies at 78
1987 Wynne Gibson, American actress (Night After Night, Aggie Appleby), dies at 88
1988 Andrew Duggan, American character actor (Secret War of Harry Frigg, Winds of War), dies of cancer at 64
1988 Greta Nissen, actress (Ambassador Bill), dies
1989 Johnny Green, American singer (Body and Soul) and film score composer who won 5 Academy Awards, dies at 80
1990 Doug Young, Canadian NHL defenceman (Stanley Cup 1936-37, Detroit Red Wings captain), dies at 81
1991 (Lawrence) "Bud" Freeman, American jazz tenor saxophonist, bandleader, and composer ("The Eel"; "Zen Is When"), dies of cancer at 84
1991 Andreas Floer, German mathematician (Floer homology), dies at 34
1991 Reno Browne, American Western actress, dies at 70
1991 Ronald Lacey, actor (Raiders of Lost Ark, Next Victim), dies at 55
1992 Barbara Lee, American pop singer (Chiffons - He's So Fine; Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?), dies at 44
1992 Bruce Hopkins, performer/director, dies at 44
1992 Jovy Marcelo, Filipino race car driver, killed during a practice run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway at 27
1992 Robert Morris Page, American physicist who helped develop and refine radar technology, dies of heart failure at 88 [1]
1993 Salah Ahmed Ibrahim, Sudanese writer, poet, and diplomat (b. 1933)
1994 Frederik von Pallandt, Danish-Dutch pop singer and guitarist (Nina & Frederik), murdered in the Philippines at 60
1994 Gilbert Roland [Luis Alonso], Mexican actor (Juarez, Barbarosa), dies from cancer at 88
1994 Jan Bakker, Dutch WWII resistance fighter and journalist (Parool), dies at 79
1994 Ronnie Potsdammer, Dutch singer, songwriter and programmer, dies at 71
1994 Royal Dano, American actor (Red Badge of Courage, Cocaine Wars, House II), dies of a heart attack at 71
1995 Edouard Dermithe, Italian actor (Orpheus; Thomas the Impostor), dies at 70
1995 Eric Porter, British stage and BAFTA Award-winning screen actor (The Royal Shakespeare Company; The Forsyte Saga; Antony & Cleopatra, The Thirty Nine Steps), dies of colon cancer at 67
1995 Johnny Van Derrick, British jazz violinist (Pink Panther Theme), dies at 68
1995 Perry Lederman, American folk and blues singer and guitarist, dies at 52
1996 Charles B. Fulton, American jurist (b. 1910)
1996 Claus Bremer, German dramatist, dies at 71
1996 George Tindley, American soul singer and songwriter, dies at 58
1998 Earl Manigault, American basketball player (b. 1944)
1998 John Hawkes, American writer (2nd Skin), dies at 72
2000 Ziki Robertson, 11th Baroness Wharton (née Myrtle Arbuthnot), British model and photographer (as Ziki Arnot), and politician (House of Lords, 1990-200), dies of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) - a rare brain disorder at 66
2003 Desmond Dreyer, British admiral (battle of the River Plate), dies at 93 [1]
2003 George Francis, British gangster (b. 1940)

American Grammy Award-winning country singer (The Carter Family; Johnny Cash Show), songwriter ("Ring of Fire"), and actress, dies from complications after heart valve replacement surgery at 73

2004 Clint Warwick [Albert Eccles], English bassist (Moody Blues), dies at 63
2005 Alan B. Gold, Quebec Chief Justice (b. 1917)
2006 Chic Hecht, American Republican politician and Senator from Nevada (1983-89), dies of prostate cancer at 77
2007 Jerry Falwell, American TV evangelist, founder of Liberty University, dies at 73
2007 Yolanda King, American actress and activist, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. (b. 1955)
2008 Alexander Courage, American composer of original Star Trek theme, dies at 88
2008 Ray Wilson, English footballer (1966 World Cup team), dies at 83
2008 Robert Dunlop, Northern Irish motorcycle racer, younger brother of Joey Dunlop, dies after a crash at 47
2008 Tommy Burns, Scottish soccer midfielder (8 caps; Celtic, Kilmarnock) and manager (Scotland, Celtic, Kilmarnock, Reading), dies of melanoma at 51
2008 Walt Dickerson, American jazz vibraphone player, and composer ("To My Queen"), dies of cardiac arrest at 80 [1]
2008 Willis Lamb, American physicist (Nobel 1955), dies at 94
2009 Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, Australian actor, pilot and radio announcer, dies at 86
2009 Wayman Tisdale, American basketball player and smooth jazz bassist, dies from the effects of cancer at 44
2010 Besian Idrizaj, Footballer (b. 1987)
2010 Diether de la Motte, German composer and music theorist, dies at 82
2010 Moshe Greenberg, American-Israeli Bible scholar, dies at 81
2011 Bob Flannigan, American jazz singer (The Four Freshmen), dies at 84
2012 Carlos Fuentes, Mexican author (The Death of Artemio Cruz), dies from a haemorrhage at 83
2012 Jean Craighead George, American writer (Julie of the Wolves), dies at 92
2014 Jean-Luc Dehaene, Belgian Prime Minister (1992-99), dies from a fall at 73
2015 Bob Hopkins, American basketball forward and coach (Syracuse Nationals; Seattle SuperSonics), dies of heart and kidney failure at 80
2015 Garo Yepremian, American NFL place kicker (Miami Dolphins), dies at 70
2017 Ian Brady [Ian Duncan Stewart], British serial killer (Moors Murders), dies in prison at 79
2018 Ian Denholm, Scottish shipping CEO (Murray Investment Trust), dies at 91
2020 Fred Willard, American comedian and character actor (Fernwood 2-Night; Best In Show: Everyone Loves Raymond; Modern Family), dies at 86
2020 Phil May, English rocker (Pretty Things), dies at 75
2021 Fred Martinelli, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (Ashland University 1959-93), dies at 92
2022 Ricky Gardiner, Scottish rock guitarist (David Bowie - Low; Iggy Pop - Lust for Life), and composer, dies at 73
2022 Stevan Ostojić, Serbian soccer striker (2 caps Yugoslavia; Red Star Belgrade) and manager (RS Belgrade), dies at 80
2023 Ron Northcott, Canadian curler (World C'ship gold 1966, 68, 69), dies at 87
2024 Tates Locke, American basketball coach (Army, Clemson University,Indiana State Uni), dies at 87

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