Famous Deaths on September 16

• 655 Martinus I, bannished Pope (649-53), dies
• 1087 Victor III [Dauferio/Desiderius], Italian Pope (1086-87), dies
• 1100 Bernold of Constance, German chronicler (b. 1054)

• 1345 John IV, Duke of Brittany (b. 1295)
• 1380 Charles V, the Wise, King of France during Hundred Years’ (1364-80), dies at 42
• 1394 Clement VII [Robert de Geneve], Pope (1378-94), dies
• 1406 Cyprian, Metropolitan of Moscow (b. 1336)
• 1498 Tomas de Torquemada, Castilian Grand Inquisitor during Spanish Inquisition, who burned 10,000 people, dies at 77
• 1542 Diego de Almagro II, Spanish conquistador known as “El Mozo,” the son of Diego de Almagro, is executed for his role in fatal a coup d’état attempt at about 21 (birthday uncertain, b. 1520)
• 1583 Catherine Jagellion, Polish princess and queen of Sweden as the wife of John III of Sweden, dies at 56
• 1589 Michael Baius, Flemish theologian (b. 1513)
• 1643 Lucas Franchoys the Elder, Belgian painter, dies at 69
• 1652 Dirck Janszoon Sweelinck, Dutch composer, dies at 61
• 1670 William Penn, English admiral and politician, father of the founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, dies at 49
• 1672 Anne Bradstreet, New England’s first published poet, dies (birth date unknown)
• 1681 Jahanara Begum, Mughal princess, eldest daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan, First Lady of the Mughal court, dies at 67

• 1696 Lambert Pietkin, Flemish composer, dies at 83

• 1753 Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, Prussian architect (Sanssouci) and painter, dies at 54
• 1775 Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst, English privy councillor (b. 1684)
• 1798 Damasus Brosmann, Moravian composer, dies at 67
• 1803 Nicolas Baudin, French explorer (b. 1754)
• 1819 John Jeffries, American physician and meteorologist (1st balloon flight across English Channel), dies at 75

• 1829 Nikolay Raevsky, Russian general and statesman, dies at 58
• 1834 Antoine-Vincent Arnault, French writer (Guillaume the Nassau), dies
• 1845 Johannes Kinker, Dutch linguist, philosopher and poet (Minderjarige Zangster), dies at 81
• 1865 Christian Julius De Meza, Danish general (b. 1792)
• 1890 Louis Le Prince, French artist and original inventor of the motion picture camera sometimes called “the father of cinematography,” vanishes under suspicious circumstances at 49
• 1896 Antônio Carlos Gomes, Brazilian opera composer, first from outside of Europe have a successful career in Italy, dies at 60
• 1898 Ramón Emeterio Betances, Puerto Rican politician, medical doctor and diplomat, dies at 71
• 1910 Hormuzd Rassam, Assyrian archaeologist (discovered Epic of Gilgamesh, world’s oldest piece of literature), dies at 84
• 1911 Edward Whymper, English mountaineer 1st to climb Matterhorn (1865), dies at 71
• 1914 James Edward Sullivan, American sports official and founder (Amateur Athletic Union), dies at 51
• 1916 Basil W. Duke, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 78
• 1920 Daniel Andersson, Swedish poet and writer (Polar History), dies at 32
• 1925 Alexander Alexandrovich Friedman, Russian physicist (b. 1888)
• 1925 Leo Fall, Austria operetta composer (That Pink von Stambul), dies at 52
• 1926 Rudolf C Eucken, German philosopher (Nobel 1908), dies at 80
• 1932 (Millicent) “Peg” Entwistle, British stage and screen actress, commits suicide at 24 [1]
• 1932 Ronald Ross, British pathologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, dies at 75
• 1933 George Gore, American baseball player, dies at 79
• 1936 Karl Buresch, Austrian lawyer and politician, dies at 57
• 1944 Gustav Bauer, German politician, Chancellor of Germany (1919-1920), dies at 74
• 1945 Johannes “Pa” van der Steur, Dutch missionary to the East Indies, philanthropist and humanitarian (established Oranje Nassau Orphanage), dies at 80
• 1945 John McCormack, Irish-American tenor (Irish folksongs), dies at 61
• 1946 James Hopwood Jeans, English physicist, mathematician and astronomer (The Mysterious Universe), dies at 69
• 1946 Mamie Smith, American vaudeville singer, dancer and actress (Crazy Blues), dies at 63
• 1948 Ferdinand I MKLM, prince of Saxony-Coburg/tsar of Bulgaria, dies
• 1950 Pedro De Cordoba, American actor (Club Havana, Swamp Fire, Saboteur), dies at 68
• 1951 Bill Klem, American Baseball HOF umpire (record 18 x World Series), dies at of a heart attack at 77
• 1953 Colin G. Fink, American chemist (electro chemistry), dies at 71 [1]
• 1955 Leopold CMS Amery, British minister of Colonies (India), dies at 81
• 1956 Shorty Ray, American football player and supervisor of NFL officials, dies at 71

• 1960 José Sancho Marraco, Spanish composer, organist and chapel master (Cathedral of Barcelona, 1923-57, dies at 81
• 1961 A P F Chapman, cricketer (26 Tests for England), dies
• 1961 Percy Chapman, English cricket batsman (26 Tests, captain 1926-31, 1 x 100; Kent CCC), dies after a fall at 61
• 1961 Yme Schuitmaker, Frisian-Dutch potato merchant, actor, and playwright (Maerteblom (Snowdrop); Lysbet), dies at 84
• 1962 Saif al-Islam Achmad, monarch of Yemen, dies at about 71
• 1964 Ernest Hill, American jazz double-bassist, dies at 64
• 1964 Leo Weismantel, German writer (Das Totenliebespar), dies at 76
• 1965 Ahn Eak-tai, Korean cellist, composer (Aegukga – national anthem of South Korea), and conductor, dies at 58
• 1965 Fred Quimby, American Academy Award-winning animated film producer (Tom and Jerry cartoons), dies of a heart attack at 79
• 1971 Ferdinand Sassen, Dutch philosopher and director, dies at 77
• 1973 Frederic Meyer, actor (Faraway Hill), dies at 63
• 1973 Leonard Carmichael, American Psychologist and secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (1953-64), dies at 74
• 1975 Irene Hayes, Ziegfeld girl and businesswoman (b. 1896)
• 1976 Bertha Lutz, Brazilian biologist, congresswoman, and feminist, and co- founder of the Brazilian Federation for Women’s Progress, dies at 82 [1]
• 1977 Marc Bolan, English rock vocalist and guitarist (T-Rex – “Bang a Gong (Get It On)”), dies in a car crash at 29

• 1978 Bill Foster, American Baseball HOF pitcher (NgL All-Star 1933, 34; NgL World Series 1926, 27; Chicago American Giants), dies at 74
• 1979 Nur Mohammed Taraki, Communist president of Afghanistan (1978-79), murdered by order from his successor, Hafizullah Amin, at 62
• 1982 Rolfe Sedan, American actor (Young Frankenstein, Ninotchka, George Burns Show), dies at 86
• 1984 Paul Neuhuys, Belgian playwright and poet (Le Canari et le Cerise), dies at 87
• 1984 Richard Brautigan, American novelist and poet (Trout Fishing in America), takes his own life at 49 [exact date estimated based on forensic investigation]
• 1987 Howard Moss, American poet and editor (New Yorker), dies at 65
• 1990 Loretta Tupper, radio/TV entertainer, dies of cancer at 84
• 1990 Steve Condos, tap dancer, dies of a heart attack at 71
• 1991 Carol White, British actress (Cathy Come Home, Poor Cow), dies due to ill-health as a result of substance abuse at 47
• 1992 Duke Robbins, entertainer, dies of pneumonia at 71
• 1992 Lee Tully, entertainer, dies
• 1992 Millicent Fenwick, American politician (Rep-R-NJ 1975-82), dies at 82
• 1993 Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Australian Aboriginal political activist and writer (We Are Going), dies at 72
• 1993 Willie Mosconi, American pool player (World C’ship pocket billiards 1941-57), dies of a heart attack at 80
• 1994 Alain Bernardin, French impresario of the Crazy Horse Saloon, dies at 78
• 1994 Albert de Courtray, French archbishop of Lyon/cardinal, dies at 71
• 1994 Bernie Lazaroff Leighton, pianist, dies at 73
• 1994 Dolly Hare, German/British actress (Broken Blossom), dies at 84
• 1994 Jack Dodson, American character actor (he Andy Griffith Show – “Howard Sprague”), dies of heart failure at 63
• 1994 Johnny Berry, English soccer right winger (4 caps; Manchester United, Birmingham City), dies from cancer at 68
• 1995 Michael Balfour, historian, dies at 86
• 1995 Pierre Olaf [Trivier], French actor (Camelot, Don’t Drink the Water, Kraft Music Hall), dies at 67
• 1996 Andrew MacElhone, British bartender, owner (Harry’s New York Bar in Paris) and inventor of cocktails (Harry’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails), dies of a heart attack at 73
• 1996 Gene Nelson [Leander Berg], American screenwriter, director and actor (Tea For 2, Oklahoma), dies at 76
• 1996 Kai Laursen, Danish concert violinist, dies at 74
• 1996 McGeorge Bundy, American national security adviser for JFK (1961-66), dies at 77
• 1997 Antony Kearey, television producer, dies at 77
• 1997 Terence Cooper, British actor (Casino Royale), dies at 64
• 2000 Georgiy Gongadze, Ukrainian journalist (b. 1969)
• 2001 Samuel Z. Arkoff, American film producer and co-founder of American International Pictures, dies at 83
• 2002 James Gregory, American actor (My Favorite Martian, Barney Miller), dies at 90
• 2003 Sheb Wooley, American vocalist (Purple People Eater, Hee Haw), dies at 82
• 2004 Izora Rhodes Armstead, American disco singer (Two Tons O’ Fun; The Weather Girls – “It’s Raining Men”), dies of heart failure at 62
• 2005 Constance Moore, American singer and actress (Buck Rogers; Show Business; Atlantic City), dies at 85

• 2005 Harry Freedman (Henryk Frydmann), Canadian composer, dies at 83
• 2006 Floyd Curry, Canadian ice hockey right wing (Stanley Cup 1953, 56-58; Montreal Canadiens), dies at 81
• 2006 Rob Levin, creator of Freenode (b. 1955)
• 2007 Jean Balissat, Swiss composer pedagogue and conductor (Kaleidoscope for trumpet and percussion), dies at 71
• 2007 Robert Jordan, American author of the Wheel of Time series, dies from complications from multiple myeloma at 58
• 2008 Norman Whitfield, American songwriter and producer for Motown (“I Heard It Through the Grapevine”), dies at 68

• 2009 Myles Brand, American sports administrator (4th NCAA President), dies of pancreatic cancer at 67
• 2011 Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, American electric blues vocalist, harmonica player, and drummer, dies following a stoke at 75
• 2012 John Ingle, American actor (Edward Quartermaine-General Hospital), dies from cancer at 84
• 2012 Ragnhild Alexandra [Princess Ragnhild, Mrs Lorentzen], Norwegian princess, dies of cancer at 82

• 2015 Guy Béart [Béhart-Hasson], French singer and songwriter (“L’Eau vive”), and television host, dies of a heart attack at 85
• 2016 António Mascarenhas Monteiro, 1st democratically elected President of Cape Verde (1991-2001), dies at 72
• 2016 Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, Italian President (1999-2006) and Prime Minister (1993-94), dies at 95

• 2016 W. P. Kinsella, Canadian novelist and short story writer of “Shoeless Joe” which was adapted into the movie “Field of Dreams”, dies at 81
• 2018 Big Jay [Cecil James] McNeely, American R&B saxophonist, dies of prostate cancer at 91
• 2018 Frank Parker, American actor (Days of our Lives, Never Too Young), dies at 79
• 2019 Peter Stormonth Darling, Scottish investment banker (Mercury Asset Management Group, largest fund-management in the UK), dies at 86
• 2019 Sander Vanocur, American journalist (NBC Weekend News), dies at 91 [1]
• 2019 Sir Donald Gosling, British entrepreneur (Central Car Parks; National Car Parks), yachtsman, and WWII Royal Navy veteran, dies at 90
• 2019 Vic Vogel, Hungarian-Canadian pianist, composer and bandleader, dies at 84
• 2020 Jack Kelley, American collegiate, WHA, and NHL ice hockey coach, and executive (Colby College coach, 1955-62; Boston University coach, 1962-72; New England Whalers, coach and general manager, 1972-81; Pittsburgh Penquins president, 1993-2001), dies at 93
• 2021 Boet van Dulmen, Dutch motorcycle racer (84 starts, 1 win, 4 podiums,1 pole; Finnish 500cc GP 1979), dies in a road accident at 73
• 2021 Clive Sinclair, British consumer electronics inventor (Executive pocket calculator; ZX Spectrum computer), dies of cancer at 81 [1]
• 2021 Dušan Ivković, Serbian basketball point guard (Radnički Belgrade) and coach (Yugoslavia 1987-95; Serbia 2008-13; FIBA HOF), dies from pulmonary edema and herpes at 77
• 2021 Jane Powell [Suzanne Burce], American singer and actress (Royal Wedding; Seven Brides for Seven Brothers), dies at 92
• 2022 Allen Aylett, Australian Rules football midfielder (North Melbourne FC 220 games) and executive (president North Melbourne FC 1971-76, 2001-05; chairman VFL 1977-84), dies at 88
• 2022 Luciano Vassallo, Eritrean soccer midfielder (104 caps Ethiopia; Cotton Factory Club 1960-73) and manager (Ethiopia, Cotton FC), dies at 87
• 2022 Mahsa Amini, Iranian women whose death sparks nationwide protests, dies at 22 in suspicious circumstances allegedly after being beaten in by Iranian Morality Police [1]
• 2023 Arild Hetleøen, Norwegian soccer central defender (4 caps; SK Brann), dies at 80
• 2023 Irish Grinstead, American R&B singer (702 – “Where My Girls At?”), dies at 43
• 2023 John Marshall, British jazz-rock drummer (Nucleus, 1969-72; Soft Machine, 1972-84 & 2015-22), dies at 82
• 2023 Lionel Morgan, Australian rugby league winger (3 Tests; first Indigenous Australian to play in a recognised RL Test), dies at 85
• 2023 Phillip JK Burton, British ornithologist and writer (Vanishing Eagles), dies at 87
• 2023 Ron Barassi, Australian Football HOF ruck rover (6×VFL Premierships Melbourne FC, Carlton FC) and coach (4×VFL Premierships; Melbourne, Carlton, North Melbourne, Sydney), dies after a fall at 87
• 2024 Barbara Leigh-Hunt, British stage and screen actress (Search for the Nile), dies at 88
• 2024 István Juhász, Hungarian soccer midfielder (23 caps; Ferencváros; Olympic gold 1968), dies at 79
• 2024 Robert Dill-Bundi, Swiss track cyclist (Olympic gold Individual pursuit 1980; World C’ship gold Keirin 1984), dies at 65
• 2024 Robert Lansdorp, American tennis coach (Tracy Austin, Pete Sampras, Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova), dies at 85

September 16 Highlights