Famous Deaths on October 15

• 412 Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria
• 892 al-Mu’tamid, Abbasid caliph (870-92), dies at about 50
• 898 Lambert, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Italy (891-898)

• 912 Abdullah ibn Muhammad, 7th Emir of Córdoba (888-912), dies at 68
• 961 Abd al-Rahman III, Umayyad Emir (912-29) and 1st Caliph of Córdoba (929-961), dies at 70
• 1002 Otto-Henry, Duke of Burgundy (b. 946)
• 1080 Rudolf of Rheinfeld, Duke of Swabia and German anti-King
• 1268 Dirk II, mister of Valkenburg, dies
• 1271 Hostiensis [Henricus the Segusia], cardinal and bishop of Ostia, dies
• 1326 Walter de Stapledon, English bishop (1308-26), dies at 65
• 1389 Urban VI [Bartolomeo Prignano], Italian pope (1378-89), dies
• 1404 Marie of Valois, Princess of France, dies at 60
• 1512 Antoon Keldermans, Brabant builder (Middelburg town hall), dies at 72
• 1524 Joachim Patinir, Flemish landscape painter, dies at about 45
• 1539 Reynier Brunt, procureur-general of Court of Holland, dies
• 1595 Abu al-Faiz ibn Mubarak Faizi, Persian-Dutch East iIndies poet, dies at 48

• 1614 Robert Smythson, early English architect (Hardwick Hall), dies at about 80
• 1651 James Stanley 7th Earl of Derby, English aristocrat who fought on the Royalist side during English Civil War, executed for treason after being captured by Roundhead forces at 44
• 1674 Robert Herrick, English poet (‘Gather ye rosebuds while ye may’), dies at 83
• 1682 John Ferrabosco, English organist at Ely Cathedral and composer, dies at 56
• 1715 Humphry Ditton, English mathematician, dies at 40
• 1730 Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac, French explorer and trader in New France (founder of Detroit and Governor of Louisiana 1710-16), dies at 71
• 1788 Samuel Greig, Scottish-Russian admiral (Battle of Chesma), dies at 53
• 1789 John Morgan, American physician-in-chief of Continental Army and co-founder of the Medical College at the University of Pennsylvania, the first medical school in Colonial America, dies at 54
• 1810 Alfred Moore, American Attorney General of North Carolina (1782-91) and Supreme Court judge (1800-04), dies at 55 [1] [2]
• 1811 Nathaniel Dance-Holland, English painter (b. 1735)
• 1817 Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, Swiss traveller and orientalist, 1st European to discover Petra and Abu Simbel, dies at 32

• 1819 Princess Louise of Orange-Nassau, daughter of viceroy Willem V & Wilhelmina of Prussia, dies at 48
• 1819 Sergey Vyazmitinov, Russian general and statesman, dies at 75
• 1820 Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg, Austrian field marshal, dies at 49
• 1833 Michał Ogiński, Polish diplomat, violinist, balalaika player, and composer (Farewell to My Homeland), dies at 68
• 1837 Ivan Dmitriev, Russian statesman (Minister of Justice, 1810-14), and poet (“Liberation of Moscow”), dies at 77
• 1838 Letitia Elizabeth Landon, English poet (Heath’s Book of Beauty), dies at 36
• 1852 Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, German educator and founder of the turnverein (gymnastics) movement, dies at 74
• 1873 [Eleanor] Agnes Lee, American daughter of US Confederate general Robert E. Lee, dies of typhoid fever at 32
• 1883 Francesco Schira, Maltese-born composer, dies at 74
• 1889 Edward Aylesworth Perry, American soldier and politician (General under Lee for Confederate Army, 14th Governor of Florida 1885-89), dies of a stroke at 58
• 1891 Gilbert Arthur à Beckett, English writer (Punch), dies at 54
• 1891 William Henry Fitzhugh Lee, American Major General (Confederate Army), dies at 54
• 1900 Zdeněk Fibich, Czech classical composer (Šárka; Hippodamia; Moods, Impressions, and Reminiscences), dies at 49
• 1902 Thomas Oliver Selfridge, American naval officer who served during the Mexican-American War and the Civil War, dies at 98
• 1910 Larkin Goldsmith Mead, American sculptor who worked in Florence, dies at 75
• 1910 Stanley Ketchel [The Michigan Assassin], Polish-American heavyweight boxing champion (1908-10), murdered at a ranch in Missouri at 24
• 1914 Aleksander Różycki, Polish pianist, composer, and music teacher dies at 59

• 1918 Antonio Cotogni, Italian operatic baritone (Verdi), and voice teacher, dies at 87
• 1918 Sai Baba of Shirdi, Indian saint (b. circa 1838)
• 1920 Hendrik Peter Staal, Dutch military officer, administrator (Minister of War, 1905-07), and politician (Member of the Senate, 1907-20), dies at 75
• 1930 Ernest Wilson, English botanist (plant collector in China), dies in a car accident at 54

• 1937 James Marcus, American actor (The Eagle, The Lonely Trail), dies from a heart attack at 70
• 1944 Philip Mechanicus, Dutch journalist, executed at Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp at 55

• 1948 Edythe Chapman, American actress (b. 1863)
• 1955 Fumio Hayasaka, Japanese film score composer (Rashomon; Seven Samurai), dies of tuberculosis at 41
• 1958 Jack Mason, English cricketer (England all-rounder v Australia 1897-98), dies at 84
• 1958 Jan Poortenaar, Dutch painter, etcher and cartoonist, dies at 72
• 1958 John Hamilton, American actor (The Adventures of Superman – “Perry White”), dies of heart failure at 71
• 1959 Lipót Fejér [Leopold Weiss], Hungarian mathematician known for his work on Fourier series, dies at 79 [1] [2]

• 1960 Clara Kimball Young, American actress (Return of Chandu), dies of stroke at 70
• 1960 Henny Porten, German silent screen actress (Mother Love), dies at 70
• 1960 Maude Eburne, Canadian actress (Ladies They Talk About, Guardsman), dies at 84
• 1963 Edmond Fleg[enheimer], Swiss-French writer (Ecoute Israel), dies at 88
• 1963 Horton Smith. American golfer (US Masters 1934, 36), dies of Hodgkin’s disease at 55

• 1964 Games Slayter, American engineer and inventor of fiberglass, dies at 67 [1]
• 1965 Buster Moten [Ira Smith], American jazz accordionist (Bennie Moten’s Kansas City Orchestra – “South”, “Moten Swing”), dies at 61
• 1965 Carl Hoff, American orchestra leader (Music Hall), dies at 60
• 1968 Franz Reizenstein, German-British pianist, composer, and educator (Concerto Popolare), dies at 57
• 1969 Abdirashid Shermake, President of Somali Republic, shot by one of his bodyguards at 50
• 1969 Rod La Rocque, American actor (Mystery Woman), dies at 70
• 1971 Sylvester Magee, last living American slave and oldest person who ever lived, dies at 130

• 1977 Ralph Truman, British actor (Henry V, Treasure Island, Web of Evidence), dies at 77
• 1978 W. Eugene Smith, American photojournalist (Saipan, Walk to Paradise Garden), dies of a stroke at 59
• 1980 Apostolos Nikolaidis, Greek footballer and volleyball player (b. 1896)
• 1980 Mikhail Lavrentyev, Russian hydrodynamicist and mathematician, dies at 79
• 1981 Frank DeKova, American actor (Chief Wild Eagle-F Troop), dies at 71
• 1982 Elsie Randolph, English actress (That’ll Make You Whistle), dies at 77
• 1983 Pat O’Brien, American actor (Knute Rockne; Angels with Dirty Faces), dies of a heart attack at 83
• 1985 Meret Oppenheim, German born Swiss surrealist artist and photographer (Object: Le Déjeuner en fourrure), dies at 72
• 1985 Ted Steele, American orchestra leader (Cavalcade of Stars), dies at 68
• 1987 Thomas Sankara, Burkinabé revolutionary and politician, President of Burkina Faso (1983-87), assassinated in a coup at 37
• 1988 Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji [Leon Dudley Sorabji], Parsi-British pianist and composer (Opus clavicembalisticum), dies of heart failure at 96
• 1989 Scott O’Dell, American author and recipient of the Hans Christian Anderson Award (1972), dies at 91
• 1990 Delphine Seyrig, French actress (Freak Orlando, Reperages), dies of lung disease at 58
• 1991 Hotze de Roos, Dutch children’s book writer (Chameleon series), dies at 81
• 1992 Oliver Franks, British civil servant, ambassador to US (Report into Falklands War), and philosopher, dies at 87
• 1993 Ken E. Jones, musician (New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra), dies of AIDS at 34
• 1994 Hannes Wustinger, Austrian race car driver, dies in a crash during a race at 29
• 1994 Karl Edward Wagner, American sci-fi author (Bloodstone, Night Winds), dies at 48
• 1994 Sarah Kofman, French philosopher, dies at 60
• 1995 Phil Sidey, English broadcaster (Radio Leeds), dies at 69
• 2000 Konrad Emil Bloch, German-American biochemist, (1964 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work on cholesterol), dies at 88
• 2001 Zhang Xueliang, Chinese ruler of Manchuria, dies at 100
• 2003 Ben Metcalfe, Canadian environmental activist (helped found Greenpeace), dies at 83
• 2003 Bertram N. Brockhouse, Canadian physicist, (1994 Nobel Prize for Physics for neutron spectroscopy), dies at 85
• 2005 Matti Wuori, Finnish politician, dies of cancer at 60
• 2006 Derek Bond, British actor (Nicholas Nickelby, Armchair Theatre), dies at 86
• 2006 Pete Graves [Alexander Walton], American pop and R&B vocalist (The Moonglows – “Blue Velvet”), dies at 70
• 2008 Chris Mims, American NFL defensive end, 1992-99 (San Diego Chargers; Washington Redskins), dies of cardiomegaly (enlarge heart) at 38
• 2008 Edie Adams [Edith Enke], American businesswoman, singer, actress and comedian (Murial Cigar), dies at 81
• 2008 Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca, Turkish poet, dies at 94
• 2008 Jack Narz, American TV game show host (Dotto, Video Village), dies at 85
• 2008 Nathan Davis, American actor (Dunston Checks In, Holes, Code of Silence), dies from emphysema and pneumonia at 91
• 2008 Tom Tresh, American baseball utility (MLB All-Star 1962, 63; AL Rookie of Year & World Series 1962 NY Yankees), dies from a heart attack at 70
• 2010 Johnny Sheffield, American actor (Boy-Tarzan Finds a Son), dies at 79
• 2010 Mildred Fay Jefferson, American physician and pro-life activist (b. 1926)
• 2010 Richard C. Miller, American photographer (b. 1912)
• 2011 Elizabeth “Betty” Driver, British singer and actress (Coronation Street; Pardon the Expression), dies from pneumonia at 91
• 2011 Matthew G. Martinez, American politician (Rep-D+R-CA, 1982-2001), dies at 82
• 2012 Axel Borup-Jørgensen, composer (Nordisk Sommerpastorale; Thalatta! Thalatta!), dies at 87
• 2012 Claude Cheysson, French politician (Minister of Foreign Affairs), dies at 92

• 2013 Gloria Lynne [Wilson], American jazz vocalist (Dell Tones), dies of a heart attack at 83
• 2013 Peter Miles, British Army officer, businessman and courtier in the Household of Elizabeth II, dies at 89
• 2013 Rudolf Friedrich, Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1982-84), dies at 90
• 2014 Nobby Wirkowski, American-Canadian football player and coach (Toronto Argonauts), dies at 88
• 2016 Barbara Romack, American golfer (US Curtis Cup team 1954, 56, 58), dies at 83
• 2018 Cicely Berry, British theatre director (Royal Shakespeare Company) and voice coach, dies at 92 [1]

• 2018 Shelley Hamlin, American golfer (US Open runner-up 1973), dies of breast cancer at 69
• 2019 Hossein Dehlavi, Persian composer, conductor and teacher (Sarbaz; Plectrum Orchestra), dies of Alzheimer complications at 92
• 2020 Dave Munden, British rock drummer (Brian Poole & The Tremeloes), dies at 76
• 2020 Gordon Haskell, British pop, rock and blues musician (Fleur De Lys; King Crimson, 1970; Harry’s Bar), dies of cancer at 74
• 2020 Sonja Edström-Ruthström, Swedish cross-country skier (Olympic gold 3 × 5k relay 1960), dies at 89
• 2021 Miguel de Oliveira, Brazilian boxer (WBC light middleweight champion 1975), dies from pancreatic cancer at 74
• 2021 Tuineau Alipate, Tongan-born NFL and CFL player (Frankfurt Galaxy, Minnesota Vikings), dies at 54
• 2022 Joyce Sims, American R&B singer-songwriter (“All and All”; “Come into My Life”), dies at 63
• 2022 Mikaben [Michael Benjamin], Haitian zouk and dancehall singer-songwriter, dies onstage in Paris of a heart attack at 41
• 2023 Carmen Petra-Basacopol, Romanian composer and educator (Bucharest Conservatory, 1962-2003), dies at 97
• 2023 Gerry Ryan, Irish soccer forward (18 caps Republic of Ireland; Bohemians FC, Derby County, Brighton & Hove Albion), dies at 68
• 2023 Suzanne Somers (née Mahoney), American actress (Three’s Company, 1977-81 – “Chrissy”; Step by Step), dies from complications of breast cancer at 76
• 2024 Bud Daley, American baseball pitcher (World Series 1961, 62 NY Yankees; 4 x MLB All Star KC Athletics), dies at 92

October 15 Highlights