Famous Deaths on November 17

• 375 Valentinian I “The Great”, Roman Co-Emperor and Ruler of Western Roman Empire (336-75), dies at 54
• 474 Leo II, Byzantine Emperor (474), dies at age 7

• 641 Jomei [Tamura], 34th Emperor of Japan (629-41), dies at 48
• 680 Hilda of Whitby, Christian saint and founding abbess of Whitby monastery (b. 614)
• 885 Liutgard of Saxony, Queen of the Franks (876-882)
• 1093 Margaret, widow of Scottish king Malcolm III, dies
• 1231 Elisabeth of Hungary, daughter of Andrew II of Hungary (b. 1207)
• 1302 St. Gertrude the Great, German Benedictine nun (b. 1256)
• 1326 Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel, English politician, dies at 41
• 1494 Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Italian scholar and Renaissance philosopher (Oration on the Dignity of Man), dies under mysterious circumstances, possibly poisoned, at 31
• 1512 Kempo Roeper, Frisian rebel, quartered
• 1525 Eleanor of Viseu, Queen of Portugal (1481-95), dies at 67

• 1558 Reginald Pole, English cardinal, scholar and “heretic”, dies at 58
• 1562 Antoine de Bourbon, King of Navarre (1555-62), father of Henry IV of France, dies at 44
• 1563 John Bale, English bishop and anti-catholic playwright (Kynge Johan), and historian, dies at 67
• 1592 John III, King of Sweden (1568-92), dies at 54
• 1600 Kuki Yoshitaka, Japanese naval commander, commits seppuku (ritual suicide) after defeat at Battle of Sekigahara (b. 1542)
• 1632 Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim, Bavarian field marshal, dies at 38
• 1643 Jean-Baptiste Budes, Comte de Guébriant, Marshal of France (b. 1602)
• 1648 Thomas Ford, English composer and lutenist to the royal court, dies (b. 1580)
• 1665 John Earle, English bishop and author, tutor to Charles II (b. c. 1601)
• 1668 Joseph Alleine, English Nonconformist travelling preacher (b. 1634)
• 1690 Charles de Sainte-Maure, first Duke of Montausier, French military officer and royal tutor of the dauphin under King Louis XIV, dies at 80 [1] [2]
• 1713 Abraham van Riebeeck, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (1709-13), dies of dysentery at 60

• 1747 Alain-René Lesage, French author (Le diable boiteux), dies at 79
• 1757 Maria Josepha of Austria, Queen consort of Poland (1734-57), dies at 57

• 1770 Gian Francesco de Majo, Italian composer, dies at 38
• 1776 James Ferguson, Scottish astronomer, dies at 66
• 1780 Bernardo Bellotto, Italian painter (b. 1720)
• 1794 Jacques François Dugommier, French general, dies at 56
• 1808 David Zeisberger, Moravian clergyman and missionary, dies at 87
• 1808 Mustafa IV, 29th Sultan of Ottoman Empire (1807-08), dies at 29
• 1818 Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of England, consort to King George III, dies at 74
• 1826 Louise Reichardt, German composer of lieder and scared songs, educator, and choral conductor, dies at 47
• 1848 Joseph Bernard Cannaert “Olim”, Flemish lawyer, dies at 80
• 1849 Prince Alexander of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst, German priest and reputed miracle-worker, dies at 55
• 1856 William Knyvett, British singer and composer, dies at 77
• 1858 Robert Owen, British father of the cooperative movement (b. 1771)
• 1862 Alexey Verstovsky, Russian composer, dies at 63
• 1865 James McCune Smith, African-American doctor and abolitionist, dies at 52
• 1875 Hilario Ascasubi, Argentina author (pampa, gauchos & indians), dies
• 1893 Alexander-Jozef von Battenberg, Prince of Bulgaria (1879-86), dies at 36
• 1897 George Hendric Houghton, American Protestant Episcopal clergyman and founder of the Church of Transfiguration, dies at 77
• 1900 J. J. Ferris, Australian cricket fast bowler (9 Tests, 61 wickets, BB 7/37; NSWCA, Gloucestershire CCC), dies at 33
• 1902 Hugh Price Hughes, Welsh Methodist Social reformer, dies at 55
• 1905 Adolphe [Adolf Wilhelm August Karl Friedrich], Grand Duke of Luxembourg (1890-1905), dies at 88
• 1905 Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders and son of Leopold I, dies at 68
• 1907 Francis Leopold McClintock, Irish-born British naval officer and explorer who confirmed fate of Franklin’s 1845 Artic expedition, dies at 88

• 1917 Charles Holroyd, English artist and curator, Director of the National Gallery (1906-16), dies at 56
• 1921 John McLaren, cricketer (one Test Aust v Eng 1912), dies
• 1921 Pa Chay Vue, Hmong Nationalist
• 1922 Robert Comtesse, Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1899-1912), dies at 75
• 1926 Carl Akeley, American taxidermist and naturalist who developed the animal mount process and other techniques for museums, dies at 62
• 1927 Adolph Joffe, Russian Communist revolutionary and writer (Brest-Litovsk), commits suicide at 44
• 1928 Lala Lajpat Rai, Indian author, politician, and freedom fighter, dies from police baton injuries during a peaceful protest at 63
• 1929 Dick Lilley, English cricket wicket-keepe (92 dismissals in 35 Tests 1896-1909), dies at 62
• 1929 Herman Hollerith, German/US statistician (punch card), dies at 69
• 1931 Georgi Atanasov, Bulgarian composer (Gergana), dies at 50
• 1931 Hara Prasad Shastri, Indian academic, Sanskrit scholar, archivist and historian of Bengali literature, dies at 77
• 1931 John Paulus Lotsy, Dutch botanist and geneticist (Resumptio Genetics), dies at 64
• 1934 Joachim Ringelnatz [Hans Bötticher], German writer and artist, dies at 51
• 1936 Ernestine Schumann-Heink (née Rössler), Austrian-American contralto (Bayreuth Festival, 1896-1914; Metropolitan Opera, 1899-1932), dies of leukemia at 75
• 1937 Jack Worrall, Australian cricket batsman (11 Tests, 5 x 50s; Victoria CA) and VFL premiership coach (Carlton 1906, 07, 08; Essendon 1911, 12), dies at 76
• 1938 Ante Trumbić, Croatian politician (23rd Mayor of Split), dies at 74
• 1940 Eric Gill, British sculptor, engraver and typographer (Perpetua, Gill Sans), dies of cancer at 58
• 1940 Raymond Pearl, American biologist, statistician, and one of the founders of biometry, dies at 61 [1]
• 1941 Ernst Udet, German WWI pilot and notable flying ace who helped develop the Luftwaffe under the Nazi Party, commits suicide at 45
• 1942 Ben Reitman, American anarchist, physician (b. 1879)
• 1943 Paul Charles Rene Landormy, French musicologist, music critic, and composer, dies at 74
• 1944 Archie MacLaren, English cricket batsman and captain (35 Tests; 424 Lancashire v Somerset 1895), dies at 72
• 1944 Johan Hermanus Doorn, Dutch journalist and resistance fighter (Orange Newspaper), dies at 34
• 1945 Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, dies at 63
• 1947 Ricarda Huch, German writer and historian “First Lady of German humanism”, dies at 83
• 1947 Victor Serge, Russian anarchist, novelist, and historian (b. 1890)
• 1955 James P. Johnson, American pianist and jazz composer (Charleston), dies at 64
• 1957 Cora Witherspoon, American actress (Quality Street; The Bank Dick), dies at 67
• 1958 Marcelle Meyer, French concert pianist specializing in both contemporary classical (Les Six) and Baroque revivalist (Bach; Rameau) repertoires, dies of a heart attack while at the keyboard at 61
• 1958 Mort Cooper, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1942, 43, 45, 46; World Series 1942, 44; NL MVP 1942), dies of cirrhosis and a staphylococcal infection at 45
• 1958 Yutaka Taniyama, Japanese mathematician, known for the Taniyama–Shimura conjecture, commits suicide at 31
• 1959 Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian cellist, guitarist, and conductor, and composer (Bachianas Brasileiras), dies at 72
• 1962 Arthur Vining Davis, American industrialist and CEO (Alcoa-1910-57), dies at 95
• 1966 Jean-Pierre Peugeot III, French industrialist and leader of the Peugeot company (1928-66), dies at 70 [1] [2]
• 1967 Fred Koch, American chemical engineer and entrepreneur (Koch Industries), dies at 67
• 1968 Mervyn Peake, British writer and illustrator (Gormenghast books), dies at 57
• 1968 Wilhelm Lehmann, German writer, dies at 86
• 1970 Naunton Wayne, Welsh actor (Quartet, Hidden Room, Double Confession), dies at 69
• 1971 Gladys Cooper, actress (Margaret-The Rogues), dies at 83
• 1973 Mirra Alfassa, French-Indian spiritual leader (Sri Aurobindo), known as “The Mother”, dies at 95
• 1974 Clive Brook, British actor and director (List of Adrian Messenger, On Approval), dies at 87
• 1975 Kay Johnson, actress (Real Glory, Of Human Bondage), dies at 70
• 1976 Victor Alessandro, composer, dies at 60
• 1979 Immanuel Velikovsky, Russian writer (Worlds in Collision), dies at 84
• 1979 John Glascock, British bass guitarist and singer (Carmen, 1972-75; Jethro Tull, 1976-79 – “Too Old To Rock ‘n’ Roll, Too Young To Die”), dies of congenital heart valve defect at 28
• 1980 Shah Maghsoud Sadegh Angha, Iranian Sufi master and poet, master of the Oveyssi-Shahmaghsoudi Sufi Order, dies at 64
• 1981 Bob Eberly [Eberle], American big band singer (Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra), dies of a heart attack at 65 [1]
• 1982 Bill Baldwin, announcer (Mayor of Hollywood), dies at 69
• 1982 Duk Koo Kim, South Korean boxer, legally declared dead
• 1982 Eduard Tubin, Estonian-Swedish composer and conductor, dies at 77
• 1982 Ruth Donnelly, comedienne, dies at 86 in NYC
• 1985 Jimmy Ritz [Samuel Joachim], American vaudevillian, actor and comedian (Ritz Brothers – The Gorilla;, Hi’ya, Chum; Straight, Place and Show), dies of heart failure at 81
• 1986 Alan Hewitt, actor (Det Brennan-My Favorite Martian), dies at 71
• 1986 Georges Besse, French president-director of Renault, murdered
• 1987 Irene Wicker, singer/actress (Singing Lady), dies at 81
• 1987 Paul Derringer, American baseball pitcher (6 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1931 St. Louis Cardinals, 1940 Cincinnati Reds), dies at 81
• 1988 Sheilah Graham, gossip columnist, dies of heart failure at 84
• 1989 Billy Lee, actor (Sons of Legion, Biscuit Eater), dies
• 1989 Emerson Buckley, American conductor (Greater Miami Opera, 1950-86), dies at 73
• 1989 Gus Farace, American gangster (b. 1960)

• 1991 John Blatnik, (Rep-Minn, 1947-75), dies at 80
• 1991 Kelly Jean Van Dyke-Nance, American actress, adult film performer and Jerry Van Dyke’s daughter, commits suicide at 33
• 1991 Paul Reid Roman, actor (Aviator, Blue Knight), dies of cancer at 55
• 1991 Rudolf Petzold, German educator and composer, dies at 83
• 1992 Audre Lorde, American writer, feminist and activist (Black Unicorn), dies of cancer at 58
• 1993 Gérard D. Levesque, Canadian politician, dies at 67
• 1994 G Waller, German/Swiss movie journalist (NRC/Variety), dies at 82
• 1995 Alan Hull, British folk singer-songwriter, and guitarist (Lindisfarne – “Lady Eleanor”), dies of a heart attack at 50
• 1995 Edward LeBone Molotlegi, Kgosi (king) of the Bafokeng (1956-95), dies at 66
• 1995 John Prickett, teacher/ecumenist, dies at 88
• 1995 Marguerite Young, writer, dies at 87
• 1995 Pete Welding, American music writer (Down Beat), musicologist (Testament Records), and jazz and blues record producer (Doug Quattlebaum), dies of a heart attack at 60
• 1996 Johan Fleming Ramsland, Australian-British broadcaster (Managing Editor BBC World), dies of cancer at 54
• 1997 David Ignatow, American poet (Tread the Dark, Rescue the Dead), dies at 83
• 1997 Wilfred Josephs, British composer (Rebecca; Requiem), dies at 70
• 1998 Esther Rolle, Bahamian-American actress (Good Times; Maude), dies from complications of diabetes at 78
• 1998 Weeb Ewbank, American NFL coach (Baltimore Colts, NY Jets), dies at 91
• 2000 Louis Eugène Félix Néel, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
• 2001 Billy Vessels, American College Football Hall of Fame halfback (Heisman Trophy 1952, University of Oklahoma), dies at 70
• 2001 Michael Karoli, German rock guitarist (Can), dies of cancer at 53 (b. 1948)
• 2002 Abba Eban [Aubrey Solomon Meir Eban], Israeli diplomat, ambassador to US (1950-59), and scholar (Diplomacy for the Next Century), dies at 87 [1] [2]
• 2002 Leo P. Kelley, American sci-fi author (Dead Moon, Vacation in Space), dies at 74
• 2003 Arthur Conley, American singer (“Sweet Soul Music”), dies of intestinal cancer at 57
• 2003 Don Gibson, American country musician (“Sweet Dreams”), dies at 75
• 2003 Surjit Bindrakhia [Bains], Punjabi Bhangra singer (“Lakk Tunoo Tunoo”; “Dupatta Tera Satrang Da”), dies of cardiac arrest at 41
• 2004 Alexander Ragulin, Russian ice hockey player (Olympic gold 1964, 68, 72), dies at 63
• 2004 Mikael Ljungberg, Swedish wrestler (Olympic gold 2000), dies at 34
• 2005 Marek Perepeczko, Polish actor (Janosik), dies at 63
• 2006 Bo Schembechler Jr., American College Football Hall of Fame tackle (Miami U), coach (Miami U 1963-68, University of Michigan 1969-89; career record 234–65–8), and administrator (Michigan), dies at 77
• 2006 Ferenc Puskás, Hungarian soccer forward (Hungary 85 caps, Spain 4; Real Madrid, Budapest Honvéd) and manager (Panathinaikos), dies of pneumonia at 79
• 2006 Flo Sandon’s [Mammola Sadon], Italian jazz and pop singer (Sanremo Music Festival, 1953 – “Viale d’autunno”), dies at 82
• 2006 Gale Cleven, American WWII pilot (100th Bomb Group), portrayed by Austin Butler in “Masters of the Air”, dies at 87
• 2006 Ruth Brown, American actress and singer sometimes known as the “Queen of R&B” (“So Long”; “Teardrops From My Eyes”), dies at 78
• 2006 Tony Pithey, Rhodesian cricket batsman (17 Tests for South Africa; top score 154, 1965), dies at 73
• 2008 George Stephen Morrison, American admiral and father of The Doors’ lead singer Jim Morrison
• 2008 Guy Peellaert, Belgian graphic artist, photographer (Rock Dreams), movie poster and album cover designer (David Bowie -“Diamond Dogs’; Rolling Stones – “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll”), dies of cancer at 74
• 2008 Pete Newell, American Basketball Hall of Fame coach (Uni of San Francisco, Michigan State Uni; NCAA men’s C’ship 1959, Cal Berkeley; Olympic gold 1960), dies at 93
• 2009 José Aboulker, French Algerian Jewish leader of anti-Nazi resistance and advocate for Algerians, dies at 89
• 2011 Kurt Budke, American basketball coach (b. 1961)
• 2011 Olin Branstetter, American businessman and politician (b. 1929)
• 2012 Margaret Yorke, English crime fiction writer, dies at 88
• 2013 Doris Lessing, British novelist (Adore; Memoirs of a Survivor; Golden Notebook), and Nobel Laureate (2007), dies at 94 [1] [2]
• 2013 Omprakash Valmiki, Indian Dalit writer and poet (Joothan), dies of stomach cancer at 63
• 2014 Jimmy Ruffin, American soul singer “(What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”), dies at 78
• 2014 Ray Sadecki, American MLB player, dies from blood cancer at 73
• 2017 Azzedine Alaïa, Tunisian-born fashion designer, dies at 82
• 2017 Earle Hyman, American stage and screen actor (The Cosby Show – “Russell Huxtable”; ThunderCats; Coriolanus), dies at 91
• 2017 Salvatore Riina, Italian mobster and chief of the Sicilian Mafia, dies in prison hospital ward at 87
• 2017 William Mayer, American composer (A Death in the Family; Brief Candle; Octagon), dies from heart failure at 91
• 2018 Mary Kay Stearns, American actress (Mary Kay & Johnny), dies at 93
• 2018 Richard Baker, English broadcaster (newsreader for BBC News, 1954-1982), dies at 93
• 2019 Adnan Pachachi, Iraqi and Emirati politician and diplomat (Iraq Minister of Foreign Affairs during Six-Day War), dies at 96
• 2020 Walt Davis, American athlete (Olympic gold high jump 1952) and basketball center (NBA C’ship 1956, 58; Philadelphia Warriors, St. Louis Hawks), dies at 89
• 2021 Dave Frishberg, American jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and lyricist (“I’m Just A Bill”; “Van Lingle Mungo”), dies at 88
• 2021 Keith Alison, American session and touring guitarist (Paul Revere and The Raiders, 1968-75), and songwriter, dies at 79
• 2022 Aleksandr Gorshkov, Russian ice dancer (World C’ship gold x 6; Olympic gold USSR 1976; with Lyudmila Pakhomova), dies at 76
• 2022 Tomáš Svoboda, Czech pianist and composer (Etude; Symphony of Nature), dies at 82
• 2023 Abe Stoklasa, American country music songwriter and musician, dies at 36
• 2023 Henning Munk Jensen, Danish soccer defender (62 caps; PSV Eindhoven, Aalborg BK 392 games; Danish Player of the Year 1968, 75), dies at 76
• 2023 Seóirse Bodley, Irish composer and professor of music (University College Dublin), dies at 90 [1]

November 17 Highlights