Famous Deaths on October 11

• 965 Bruno I, archbishop of Cologne/duke of Lutheran, dies at about 40
• 1188 Robert I of Dreux, son of Louis VI of France
• 1303 Boniface VIII [Benedetto Gaetani], Italian pope and ruler of the Papal States (1294-1303), dies at 72 or 73

• 1347 Ludwig IV, Duke of Bavaria (1301-47), King of the Romans (1314-47) and Holy Roman Emperor (1328-47), dies at 65
• 1424 Jan Zizka, Czech (army)leader (Hussieten), dies of plague at 46
• 1531 Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss Christian theologian, musician, and leader of the Swiss Protestant Reformation, dies at 47
• 1579 Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (1565-79), assassinated at 72 or 73
• 1598 Joachim Camerarius, German botanist (horticulture catalog) and physician, dies at 63
• 1617 Franchois Vranck, economist/writer (Deduction), dies at about 62
• 1666 Henry de Fleury dee Coulan, mister of Buat/ritmeester, dies
• 1705 Guillaume Amontons, French physicist, dies at 42
• 1708 Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus, German mathematician (Tschirnhaus transformation), dies at 57
• 1721 Edward Colston, English merchant, philanthropist and slave trader, dies at 84
• 1725 Hans Herr, Swiss Mennonite bishop, dies at 86
• 1761 Johann Pfeiffer, German violinist, composer and concert master at court (Bayreuth), dies at 64

• 1811 Johann Conrad Ammann, Swiss physician, naturalist, and instructor of non-verbal deaf persons, dies at 86
• 1812 Jurriaan François de Friderici, Dutch military officer (Governor-General of Suriname, 1790-1802), and plantation owner, dies at 60
• 1821 John Ross Key, American lawyer, commissioned officer in the Continental Army and the father of Francis Scott Key, dies at 67
• 1837 Samuel Wesley, British organist and composer referred to as “The English Mozart” (Exultate Deo), dies at 71
• 1839 Leonor de Almeida marquesa de Alorna, Portuguese poet, dies at 88
• 1850 Louise of Orléans, Queen of Belgium (1832-50), Wife of Leopold I, dies of TB at 38
• 1852 Ferdinand Eisenstein, German mathematician (number theory), dies at 29
• 1879 Ethel Lynn Beers (née Ethelinda Eliot), American poet (“All Quiet Along the Potomac Tonight”; “Weighing the Baby”), dies at 52 [1]

• 1891 Irish nationalist Charles Stewart Parnell’s funeral held at Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, attended by more than 200,000

• 1896 Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1829)
• 1897 Léon Boëllmann, French organist and composer (Variations Symphoniques; Suite Gothique), dies at 35
• 1915 Jean Henri Fabre, French naturalist and entomologist (insects & spiders), dies at 91
• 1925 Mikael Lybeck, Finnish-Swedish language poet (Samlade Arbeten), dies at 71
• 1933 Josef Hofmiller, writer, dies
• 1935 Frank Mitchell, English cricket batsman (5 Tests, HS 41; Yorkshire CCC, MCC) and rugby union forward (6 Tests; Blackheath RFC), dies at 63
• 1935 Steele Rudd [Arthur Hoey Davis], Australian author (On Our Selection), dies at 66
• 1940 Lluís Companys, Spanish politician, 123rd President of the Generalitat of Catalonia (1933-40), shot at 58
• 1940 Vito Volterra, Italian mathematician and physicist, dies at 80
• 1942 Leonid Nikolayev, Russian-Soviet pianist and composer, dies at 64
• 1946 Ico Hitrec, Croatian footballer, dies at 35
• 1953 James Earle Fraser, American sculptor (Indian Head (Buffalo) nickel), dies at 76
• 1958 Johannes R. Becher, German writer and politician, dies at 67
• 1959 Bert Bell, American Pro Football HOF executive (NFL Commissioner 1946-59; owner Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers), dies from a heart attack at 64
• 1960 Richard Cromwell [LeRoy Melvin Radabaugh], American actor (Jezebel, Riot Squad), dies of cancer at 50

• 1962 Erich Tschermak von Seysenegg, Austrian botanist who was one of three scientists (also Hugo de Vries and Carl Correns) who independently rediscovered Gregor Mendel’s work on the laws of genetics, dies at 90

• 1965 Dorothea Lange, American documentary photographer, dies at 70
• 1965 Walther Stampfli, Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council, dies at 80
• 1967 Ivan Isakov [Hovhannes Ter-Isahakyan], Russian-Armenian military commander (Commander in Chief of the Soviet Navy during WW II), dies at 73
• 1970 Anis Fuleihan, Lebanese-American classical pianist, composer (Theremin Concerto), conductor, and pedagogue, dies at 70
• 1971 Chester Conklin, American actor (Every Day’s a Holiday, Greed), dies at 85
• 1971 Chesty Puller, US Marine Corps lieutenant general and the most decorated Marine in history, dies at 73
• 1976 Alfredo Bracchi, Italian songwriter (with Giovanni D’Anzi – “El Biscella”, “Malinconia d’amore”), pianist, and screenwriter, dies at 78
• 1977 MacKinlay Kantor, American novelist (Andersonville), dies at 73
• 1977 Mason Gross, professor (Think Fast, 2 for the Money), dies at 66
• 1984 K. M. Rangnekar, Indian cricketer (33 runs at 5 50 for India), dies at 67
• 1984 Sid Carroll, Australian cricketer (prolific NSW opener 1945-59 avg 39 59), dies at 61
• 1985 Alex La Guma, South African novelist (A Walk in the Night), and anti-apartheid activist (1956 Treason Trial), dies of a heart attack at 61
• 1985 Tex Williams, American country-western singer, dies of cancer at 68
• 1986 Georges Dumézil, French philologist, linguist and religious studies scholar (trifunctional hypothesis on Proto-Indo-European mythology), dies at 88 [1]
• 1986 Norm Cash, American baseball 1st baseman (5 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1968; AL batting champion 1961; Detroit Tigers), dies from drowning at 51
• 1988 Bonita Granville, American actress and producer (These Three, Hitler’s Children, Lone Ranger), dies of lung cancer at 65
• 1988 Morgan Farley, actor (Open Secret), dies of natural causes at 90
• 1988 Wayland Flowers, American ventriloquist (Madame), dies of AIDS at 48
• 1989 M. King Hubbert, American geologist and geophysicist, dies at 86
• 1989 Paul Shenar, American actor (The Secret of NIMH; Dream Lover; Scarface), and theater director (American Conservatory Theater), dies of AIDS at 53
• 1990 Douglas Edwards, American newscaster (CBS Evening News, FYI), dies of cancer at 73
• 1990 Robert Tessier, actor (Nightwish, Future Force), dies at 56
• 1991 Redd Foxx [JohnSanford], American comedian and actor (Sanford & Son; Redd Foxx Show), dies of a heart attack at 68
• 1991 Steven Jesse Bernstein, American underground poet (suicide) (b. 1950)
• 1992 Theo Wolvencamp, painter (Cobra), dies
• 1992 Willem RJ Wittkampf, journalist/writer (Liner, Cannon), dies
• 1993 Andy Stewart, Scottish singer (“Donald Where’s Your Troosers?”, “A Scottish Soldier”), lyricist, and television presenter (The White Heather Club; Scotch Corner), dies of a heart attack at 59
• 1993 Jess Thomas, American tenor known for his singing in Richard Wagner operas, dies at 66
• 1993 Yvar Mikhashoff [Ronald Mackay], American contemporary classical pianist, composer, and educator (University of Buffalo, 1973-93), dies of AIDS at 52
• 1994 Maja Bulgakova, Ukrainian actress (Krylja), dies in auto-accident at 62
• 1994 Nic Jonk, sculptor/painter (Nereus on Zeepaard), dies at 66
• 1995 Isolde Ahlgrimm, Austrian harpsichordist, fortepianist, early music and original instrument proponent, and teacher, dies at 81
• 1996 Arthur Walter Lucas, first Chief Restorer of the National Gallery, London, dies at 80
• 1996 Edith Tilton Penrose, American-born British economist (The Theory of the Growth of the Firm), dies at 81
• 1996 Johnny Costa [Costanza], American jazz pianist, celeste and accordion player, and musical director (Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood), dies at 74
• 1996 Keith Boyce, West Indian cricketer (West Indies all-rounder 1969-76), dies of chronic cirrhosis of the liver at 53
• 1996 Lars Ahlfors, Finnish mathematician (b. 1907)
• 1996 Roger Lapébie, French cyclist, winner of Tour de France in 1937, dies at 85 [1]
• 1996 Terry Patchett, politician, dies at 56
• 1996 William Vickrey, Canadian economist (Nobel 1996), dies at 82
• 1998 Richard Denning [Louis Denninger Jr.], American actor (An Affair to Remember, The Black Scorpion), dies from cardiac arrest at 84

• 1999 Zbigniew Wiszniewski, Polish composer, dies at 77
• 2000 Donald Campbell Dewar, Scottish politician (1st minister of Scotland’s first Parliament in almost 300yrs), dies from health complications at 63
• 2002 Dina Pathak [Gandhi], Indian Gujarati theatre actress, director and activist (President of National Federation of Indian Women, 1994-2002), dies of a heart attack at 80
• 2003 Franklyn Perring, English botanist (co-author of Atlas of the British Flora, 1962), dies of cancer at 76
• 2003 Ivan Getting, American physicist and engineer (developed Global Positioning System), dies at 91 [1]

• 2004 Nicholas Gordon-Lennox, British diplomat (Ambassador to Spain, 1984-88), dies at 73
• 2005 Edward Szczepanik, Polish economist and Prime Minister in exile (b. 1915)
• 2005 Shan-ul-Haq Haqqee, Pakistani Urdu linguist and writer, dies at 88
• 2006 Benito Martínez, Haitan born Cuban who claimed to be the oldest living person at 126 (b. 1880)
• 2006 Cory Lidle, American baseball pitcher (b. 1972)
• 2006 Howard Kerzner, Chief Executive Officer of Kerzner International (b. 1964)
• 2007 Sri Chinmoy [Chinmoy Kumar Ghose], Indian guru, dies at 76
• 2007 Tex Hill, American World War II fighter pilot and triple flying ace (Flying Tigers, US Army Air Corps), dies at 92
• 2007 Werner von Trapp, Austrian singer (Trapp Family Singers), dies at 91
• 2008 Jörg Haider, Austrian far-right politician (b. 1950)
• 2008 Neal Hefti, American jazz trumpeter, arranger (Woody Herman; Count Basie); bandleader (Kate Smith Show) and composer (“Li’l Darlin”; The Odd Couple; Batman theme), dies at 85
• 2009 Veronika Neugebauer, German actress and voice actress (b. 1969)
• 2010 Georges Rutaganda, Rwandan war criminal imprisoned for crimes against humanity as vice president of Hutu militia Interahamwe during the Rwandan Genocide, dies at 51

• 2013 Stu Gilliam, American actor and comedian (Roll Out, Harris & Company), dies at 80
• 2014 Mats Rondin, Swedish cellist, conductor, and educator, dies at 54
• 2015 Dean Chance, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1964, 67; Cy Young Award 1964; no-hitter 1967; LA / California Angels, Minnesota Twins), dies at 74
• 2015 John Berg, American art director, 4-time Grammy Award-winner for album art (Columbia Records, 1961-85), dies of pneumonia at 83
• 2018 Doug Ellis, British entrepreneur (Chairman of Aston Villa), dies at 94

• 2019 Robert Forster [Foster], American actor (Medium Cool, Jackie Brown), dies of cancer at 78
• 2020 Ângelo Martins, Portuguese soccer defender (20 caps; Benfica 231 games), dies at 90
• 2020 Gary F. Jones, American thoroughbred racehorse trainer ($52.6m in purses; 1,465 race wins; US Racing HOF), dies at 76

• 2020 Jon Gibson, American flute and saxophone player (Philip Glass Ensemble, 1968-2019), and composer (The Voyage of The Beagle), dies at 80 [1]
• 2021 Deon Estus, American touring and session bassist (Wham!; George Michael), dies at 65
• 2021 Olav Nilsen, Norwegian soccer striker/midfielder (62 caps; Viking FK), dies at 79
• 2021 Tony DeMarco, American boxer (NBA, NYSAC, The Ring welterweight titles 1955), dies at 89
• 2021 Trevor Hemmings, British businessman (Owner Preston North End FC; 3 x Grand National winners Hedgehunter [2005], Ballabriggs [2011], Many Clouds [2015]), dies at 86

• 2022 Joe Crozier, Canadian ice hockey head coach (Buffalo Sabres 1971-74, Toronto Maple Leafs 1980-81), dies at 93
• 2023 Gayle McKinney-Griffith, American ballerina (Dance Theater of Harlem), dancing coach, and choreographer, dies of cancer at 74 [1]
• 2023 Gérard Murillo, French rugby union outside back (2 Tests; Stade Dijonnais) and manager (Saint-Jean-de-Luz Olympique Rugby 1962-81), dies at 91
• 2023 Pauline Jani, Zimbabwean netball goal keeper-shooter (113 caps), dies at 34
• 2024 Branko Rašović, Montenegrin soccer defender (10 caps Yugoslavia; Partizan Belgrade, Borussia Dortmund), dies at 82
• 2024 Kevin Bowring, Welsh rugby union coach (Wales 1995-98), dies from a heart attack at 70
• 2024 Ronnie Dawson, Irish rugby union hooker & captain (27 Tests Ireland, 6 British & Irish Lions; Wanderers FC, Leinster), dies at 92

October 11 Highlights