Famous Deaths on November 12

• 607 Pope Boniface III, dies after less than a year in office

• 1094 King Duncan II of Scotland, killed in battle after reigning for 7 months (b. 1060)
• 1202 Canute VI, King of Denmark (1182-1202), assassinated at about 39
• 1434 King Louis III of Naples
• 1555 Stephen Gardiner, English bishop of Winchester, dies at about 65
• 1558 Shalom Shakna ben Joseph, Rabbi (founder of 1st Polish Yeshiva), dies
• 1567 Anne de Montmorency, French duke, soldier and statesman (Marshal and Constable of France, influential at court), dies at 74
• 1595 John Hawkins, English naval commander, Treasurer of the Navy, and early English slave trader, dies at sea at 63
• 1600 Andrew of Austria, Austrian nobleman (Margrave of Burgau), clergyman (Catholic cardinal and bishop), and Governor-General of the Habsburg Netherlands (1598-1599), dies at 42
• 1606 Matthäus Ludecus, German composer, dies at 79
• 1667 Hans Nansen, Danish statesman, dies at 68

• 1712 Tokugawa Ienobu, 6th Japanese shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate (1709-12), dies at 50
• 1720 Peter Tordenskjold, Norwegian naval hero, dies at 30
• 1722 Adriaen van der Werff, Dutch painter, engraver and architect, dies at 63
• 1739 Ludwig Ernst, German composer, dies at 71
• 1742 Friedrich Hoffmann, German physician and chemist, first to investigate carbon monoxide poisoning, dies at 82
• 1754 Jacob de Wit, Dutch Rococo painter, dies at 58

• 1793 Jean-Sylvain Bailly, French Statesman, astronomer (computed orbit for Halley’s Comet (1759), and author, guillotined during the Reign of Terror at 57
• 1806 Josef Gottlieb Kölreuter, German Botanist who pioneered the study of plant hybrids, dies at 73
• 1809 Karel van Poucke, Flemish sculptor, dies at 69
• 1823 Emanuel Aloys Förster, Bohemian composer and music teacher, dies at 75
• 1836 Juan Ramón Balcarce, Argentine military leader and politician, dies at 63
• 1852 Georg Hellmesberger Jr., Austrian violinist and composer, dies at 22
• 1857 Manuel Oribe, Uruguayan politician and nationalist, 2nd President of Uruguay (1835-38), dies at 65
• 1865 Elizabeth Gaskell, English novelist (North and South), dies of a heart attack at 55
• 1865 Preston King, U.S. Senator from New York (1857-63), dies at 59
• 1869 Gheorghe Asachi, Moldovian-Romanian author, poet, polyglot and humanist (1st newspaper in Moldavia), dies at 81
• 1893 Alexander Freiherr von Bach, Austrian attorney and politician (Premier of Austria 1852-59), dies at 80
• 1896 Spyridon Xyndas, Greek composer, dies at 84
• 1908 William Keith Brooks, American marine zoologist (anatomy and embryology of marine animals), dies at 60
• 1912 Jose Canalejas bon Mendez, Spanish politician, premier of Spain (1910-12), murdered at 58

• 1921 Fernand Khnopff, Belgian painter and sculptor, dies at 63
• 1925 Roman Statkowski, Polish composer, dies at 65
• 1932 Dugald Clerk, Scottish engineer and inventor (1st 2-stroke motorcycle engine), dies at 78
• 1933 James T. Kelley, Irish silent film actor (Charlie films – The Rink; The Immigrant; A Dog’s Life), dies at 79
• 1936 Stefan Grabinski, Polish horror writer known as the “Polish Poe”, dies of tuberculosis at 49

• 1939 Oscar [Bachigaloupi] Tourniaire, Dutch actor and director (Pink Kate), dies at 59
• 1940 Alejandro Garcia Caturla, Cuban composer, dies at 34
• 1941 Abe Reles “Kid Twist”, American NY gangster and police informer, killed falling from a window under suspicious circumstances at 35
• 1941 Ernie Koob, American baseball pitcher (no-hitter 1917; St. Louis Browns), dies from a lung ailment at 49

• 1944 Edgar Stillman Kelley, American composer (Gulliver), dies at 87
• 1944 George David Birkhoff, American mathematician (Aesthetic measure), dies at 60
• 1944 Otto Blumenthal, German mathematician, journal editor (Mathematische Annalen, 1906-38) and university professor, dies in Theresienstadt concentration camp at 68
• 1944 Roy Agnew, Australian composer (Sonata Ballade), dies at 51
• 1946 Madan Mohan Malaviya, Indian co-founder of Banaras Hindu University, dies at 84
• 1947 Emmuska Orczy, Hungarian-born British Baroness and writer (The Scarlet Pimpernel), dies at 82
• 1948 Umberto Giordano, Italian composer, chiefly of opera (Andrea Chénier; Fedora; La cena delle beffe), dies at 81
• 1955 Alfréd Hajós, Hungarian swimmer (Olympic gold 100/200m 1896), soccer forward (1 cap) and manager (Hungary 1906), dies at 77
• 1955 Tin Ujević, Croatian poet (Žedan kamen na studencu), dies at 64
• 1957 Fritz Schulz, German law historian (Classical Roman Law), dies at 78
• 1958 James Michael Curley, American politician (53rd Governor of Massachusetts, 1935-37), dies at 83
• 1960 John Trim, cricketer (occasional WI quick 1948-52, 18 wkts), dies at 45
• 1962 Alexander Spitzmüller, Austrian composer, educator, radio broadcaster, and music critic, dies at 68
• 1962 Sid Tomack, American actor (The Life of Riley, Adventures of Superman), dies from a heart ailment at 55
• 1965 Syedna Taher Saifuddin, Bohra Spiritual Leader, dies at 77
• 1966 Quincy Porter, American composer, teacher, and Pulitzer Prize winner (1954), dies at 69
• 1967 Herman Uyttersprot, Flemish literature historian, dies at 58
• 1967 Kurt Barthel [KuBa], German writer and political activist, dies at 53
• 1969 Louis van Tulder, Dutch tenor (Kantoorkruk to high C), dies at 77
• 1970 Gene Gifford American jazz banjoist, guitarist, and arranger (Jean Goldkette; Casa Loma Orchestra), dies at 62
• 1972 Rudolf Friml, Czech-American concert pianist and composer (Rose-Marie; The Vagabond King), dies at 92
• 1974 Charles Quinlivan, American actor (Seven Guns to Mesa, Mr. Garlund), dies of a heart attack at 50
• 1974 Þórbergur Þórðarson, Icelandic author and Esperantist, dies at 86
• 1976 Mikhail Gurevich, Russian aircraft designer, co-founded Mikoyan-Gurevich military aviation bureau, dies at 83

• 1978 Howard Swanson, American composer known for his settings of poems of Langston Hughes, dies at 71
• 1980 Alexander Voormolen, Dutch composer and music librarian, dies at 85
• 1980 Andrei Amalrik, Russian writer and dissident (Will the Soviet Union Survive Until 1984), dies in a car accident at 42

• 1983 Preston Jackson [James Preston McDonald], American jazz trombonist (Preservation Hall Jazz Band), dies at 81
• 1984 Chester Himes, American author (b. 1909)
• 1987 Cornelis Vreeswijk, Dutch singer-songwriter (“Brev från kolonien”), and poet, based in Sweden, dies of liver cancer at 50
• 1987 Roger Lewis, American businessman (CEO of Amtrak, Pam Am), dies at 75
• 1988 Primo Conti, Italian futurist painter, dies at 88
• 1988 Tomasz Sikorski, Polish minimalist composer (Solitude of Sounds), dies at 49
• 1989 Armando Gentilucci, Italian composer, dies at 50
• 1990 Dave Willock, American actor (Queen of Outer Space), dies at 81
• 1990 Eve Arden [Eunice Quedens], American stage and screen actress (Stage Door; Our Miss Brooks; The Mothers-In-Law; Grease), dies at 82
• 1990 Nico Haak, Dutch singer (Foxy Foxtrot), dies
• 1990 Rifaat El-Maghub, Egyptian MP leader, assassinated at 64
• 1990 Yannis Ritsos, Greek poet and political activist, dies at 81 [1]
• 1991 Diane Brewster, American actress (Courage of Black Beauty), dies at 60
• 1991 Paul-Émile Léger, Canadian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop (Montreal), dies at 87
• 1992 Charles “Honi” Coles, American actor and tap dancer (Dirty Dancing), dies of cancer at 81
• 1992 David Oliver, American actor (Perry Hutchins-Another World), dies of AIDS at 30
• 1992 Eddie Mayehoff, American actor (Hour Glass, That’s My Boy, How to Murder Your Wife), dies of natural causes at 83
• 1993 Bill Dickey, American Baseball HOF catcher (11 × MLB All-Star; 7 × World Series; NY Yankees) and manager (NY Yankees), dies at 86
• 1993 Kanwar Rai Singh, Indian cricket batsman (1 Test; Services, Southern Punjab), dies at 71
• 1994 Katherine Elliott, British physician (oral rehydration therapy), dies at 75
• 1994 Michael John Innes Mackintosh Stewart Innes, writer, dies at 88

• 1995 Curley Fox, American fiddler, dies at 85
• 1995 Jack Mann, British fighter pilot and hostage, kidnapped by Islamists in Lebanon in May 1989, dies at 81
• 1995 Sir Robert Stephens, British stage and screen actor (Holocaust; Chaplin; QB VII; Cleopatra), dies from complications of surgery at 64
• 1996 Don Kenyon, English cricket batsman (8 Tests, 1 x 50; Worcestershire CCC), dies at 72
• 1996 Gwen Catley, English soprano, dies at 90
• 1996 John Qace Hardbattle, Botswana political activist and co-founder of the First People of the Kalahari (1991), dies of lymphatic cancer at 51 [1]
• 1997 Carlos Surinach, Spanish-American composer, dies at 82
• 1997 William Matthews, American poet, dies at 55
• 1998 Kenny Kirkland, American jazz pianist (Wynton Marsalis; Branford Marsalis) and funk keyboardist (Buckshot Lefonque), dies of congestive heart failure at 43
• 1999 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Jr., American thoroughbred horse owner (Bed O’ Roses, Native Dancer), dies at 87
• 1999 Gaby Casadesus (née Gabrielle l’Hôte), French classical pianist and teacher, dies at 98
• 2000 Franck Pourcel, French popular orchestra leader, dies of complications from Parkinson’s disease at 87
• 2000 John Bury, British stage designer known for his work with Peter Hall (The War of The Roses), dies of pneumonia at 75
• 2000 Leah Rabin, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, (b. 1928)
• 2001 Albert Hague [Marcuse], German-American actor, singer and composer (Fame, How the Grinch Stole Christmas), dies of cancer at 73
• 2001 Carrie Donovan, American fashion editor (Vogue, The New York Times Magazine), dies at 73 [1] [2]
• 2001 Tony Miles, English chess player (first Englishman to earn the Grandmaster title), dies from heaart failure at 46

• 2003 Kay E. Kuter, American actor (Green Acres), dies at 78
• 2003 Penny Singleton, American actress (Blondie) and voice actress (Jane-Jetsons), dies at 95
• 2003 Tony Thompson, American session and touring drummer (Chic; LaBelle; The Power Station), dies of renal cancer at 48
• 2005 Richard E. Lawyer, American USAF officer, pilot, and astronaut, dies at 73
• 2005 William G. Adams, former mayor of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada (b. 1923)
• 2006 General Jacob E. Smart, US Air Force leader World War II (b. 1909)

• 2008 (John) “Mitch” Mitchell, British drummer (Jimi Hendrix Experience), dies at 62
• 2008 Catherine Baker Knoll, American politician (30th Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, 2003-08 – 1st female to hold the office), dies of cancer at 78
• 2008 Serge Nigg, French composer (Timor; Jérôme Bosch Symphony), and administrator (French Ministry of Culture, 1967-82), dies at 84
• 2010 Henryk Górecki, Polish composer (Symphony No. 3 – Symphony of Sorrowful Songs), dies from complications arising from a lung infection at 76
• 2010 John MacIvor Perkins, American composer, dies at 75
• 2010 Karl Plutus, Estonian jurist and centenarian (b. 1904)
• 2010 Theodore W. Kheel, American labor negotiator (Fair Employment Practices, 1962-63, New York City newspaper strike), dies at 96
• 2011 Peter Roebuck, English cricket batsman (335 first-class games) and journalist (Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, ESPNcricinfo, ABC), dies by suicide at 55
• 2012 Deborah Raffin, American model, actress (The Ransom; 40 Carats; Touched By Love, 7th Heaven), and audiobook publisher, dies of leukemia at 59
• 2012 Sergio Oliva, American body builder (The Myth, IFBB Mr. Olympia, 1967-9), dies at 71
• 2012 Willis Whitfield, American physicist and inventor of the clean room, dies at 92 [1]
• 2013 Aleksandr Serebrov, Soviet cosmonaut (Soyuz T-7, T-8, TM-8, TM-17), dies at 69
• 2013 Allan Blank, American contemporary classical composer, violinist, and educator, dies at 87
• 2013 John Tavener, British composer (The Whale; The Protecting Veil), dies from complications of Marfan syndrome, a genetic connective tissue disorder, at 69
• 2014 Marge Roukema, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey), dies at 85
• 2014 Richard Pasco, British actor (Gorgon, Arch of Triumph), dies at 88
• 2014 Warren Clark, British actor, dies at 67
• 2015 Márton Fülöp, Hungarian footballer and goalkeeper, dies of cancer at 32
• 2016 Dawn Coe-Jones, Canadian golfer (3 LPGA wins), dies of cancer at 56
• 2016 Lupita Tovar, Mexican-born actress (Dracula), dies at 106
• 2017 Eric Salzman, American composer (New Musical Theater), dies at 84
• 2017 Liz Smith [Mary Elizabeth], American journalist and gossip columnist known as “The Grand Dame of Dish” (WNBC, NY Daily News), dies at 94
• 2017 Michel Chapuis, French classical organist and pedagogue, dies at 87

• 2018 Igor Mikhailovich Luchenok, Belarusian composer and teacher, dies at 80

• 2020 Albert Quixall, English soccer inside-forward (5 caps; Sheffield Wednesday, Manchester United), dies at 87
• 2020 Jerry Rawlings, Ghanaian Head of State (1981-93) and President of Ghana (1993-2001), dies at 73
• 2020 Jim Tucker, American rock guitarist (The Turtles – “Happy Together”), dies at 74
• 2020 Krasnodar Rora, Croatian soccer midfielder (5 caps Yugoslavia; Dinamo Zagreb, Standard Liège) and manager (Šibenik), dies at 75
• 2020 Masatoshi Koshiba, Japanese physicist (2002 Nobel Prize for Physics for neutrinos), dies at 94 [1]
• 2021 Aleksandr Lenyov, Russian soccer midfielder / defender (10 caps Soviet Union; Torpedo Moscow), dies at 77
• 2021 Bob Bondurant, American auto racer (24 Hours of Le Mans GT +3.0 1964; Shelby American, Ferrari, Eagle teams), dies at 88
• 2021 Paul Gludovatz, Austrian football manager (Austria U-20; SV Ried, TSV Hartberg, SV Eberau), dies from COVID-19 at 75
• 2021 Ron Flowers, English soccer midfielder (49 caps; Wolverhampton Wanderers 467 games), dies at 87
• 2021 Takeshi Koba, Japanese Baseball HOF infielder (Hiroshima Carp) and manager (Japan Series Champion 1979, 80, 84 Hiroshima Carp), dies at 85
• 2022 Carroll Hubbard Jr., American politician (Rep-D-Kentucky, 1975-93), dies at 85
• 2022 Cor van der Gijp, Dutch soccer striker (13 caps; SC Emma Dordrecht, Feyenoord Rotterdam, Blauw Wit Amsterdam), dies at 91
• 2022 Steve Webber, American baseball college coach (University of Georgia 1981-96; NCAA C’ship 1990), dies at 74
• 2023 Aldo Bet, Italian soccer defender (2 caps; Roma, Verona, AC Milan), dies at 74
• 2023 M. Russell Ballard, American religious leader (Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of LDS Church. 2018-23), dies at 95
• 2023 Mustafa Hasanagić, Serbian soccer striker (5 caps Yugoslavia; Partizan, Servette FC, FC La Chaux-de-Fonds) and manager (MKE Ankaragücü), dies at 82
• 2023 Patrick Smith, Australian sports journalist (The Age, The Australian, SEN; Walkley Award 1997, 2002, 04), dies at 71
• 2023 Richard Brooks, American soul singer (Impressions, 1958-62 – “Gypsy Woman”), and songwriter (“For Your Precious Love”), dies at 83
• 2023 Roman Čechmánek, Czech ice hockey goaltender (Olympic gold 1998; World C’ship gold 1996, 99, 2000; Philadelphia Flyers, LA Kings), dies at 52
• 2024 Michael Hübner, German track cyclist (World C’ship gold Sprint 1986 GDR, 90, 92 FRG; Keirin 1990, 91, 92; Team sprint 1995), dies at 65
• 2024 Roy Haynes, American jazz drummer (Charlie Parker; Stan Getz; Thelonious Monk; Eric Dolphy; Chick Corea), dies at 99 [1]
• 2024 Timothy West, British stage and screen actor (Brass; Churchill and the Generals; King Lear; Great Canal Journeys), dies at 90

November 12 Highlights