Famous Deaths on August 18

• 353 Decentius, Roman usurper against Western Emperor Constantius II
• 440 Sixtus III, Italian Pope (432-40), dies
• 472 Flavius Ricimer, Germanic general who effectively ruled Western Roman Empire (456-472), dies

• 849 Walafrid Strabo, German monk and theologian

• 1236 Theodorus Van Celles, Flemish Crusader leader and founder of the Crosier Monastery at Maastricht (Kuisheren), dies
• 1258 Theodore II Lascaris, Emperor of the Empire of Nicaea
• 1276 Adrian V [Ottobono Fieschi], Italian Pope (7/11-8/18/1276), dies
• 1318 Clare of Montefalco, Italian Abbess and religious leader, dies at about 40 (exact birthdate uncertain, born c. 1268)
• 1430 Thomas de Ros, 8th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, English soldier and politician, drowned at 23
• 1503 Alexander VI [Rodrigo de Borja], Spanish Pope controversial for acknowledging his children (1492-1503), dies at 72
• 1541 Henry IV, Duke of Saxony from the House of Wettin, dies at 68

• 1563 Étienne de La Boétie, French judge and writer, dies at 32
• 1613 Giovanni Artusi, Italian composer
• 1620 Wanli, Emperor of Ming Dynasty, dies at 56
• 1634 Urbain Grandier, French priest (b. 1590)
• 1642 Guido Reni, Italian Baroque painter, dies at 66
• 1645 Eudoxia Streshneva, Tsarina of Mikhail I of Russia (b. 1608)
• 1652 Benjamin G Cuyp, historical painter, dies at about 40
• 1683 Charles Hart, British Shakespearean actor, dies
• 1707 William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire, English statesman and Whig politician (1661-84), dies at 67
• 1712 Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers, English soldier
• 1761 François Gaspard Adam, French sculptor (garden sculptures), dies at 51
• 1765 Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (1745-65), dies at 56
• 1797 Josiah Spode, English potter and founder of Spode pottery works, dies at 64
• 1803 James Beattie, Scottish poet and philosopher (Essay on Truth), dies at 67
• 1809 Matthew Boulton, English manufacturer and engineer (b. 1728)
• 1811 Johann Heinrich Zang, German composer and organist, dies at 78
• 1815 Chauncey Goodrich, American politician, U.S. Senator from Connecticut, dies at 55
• 1840 Anthony Christiaan Winand Staring, Dutch poet (Ode to Simplicity), dies at 73 [1]
• 1842 Louis de Freycinet, French explorer and navigator (published the first map to show a full outline of the coastline of Australia in 1811), dies at 62
• 1850 Honoré de Balzac, French novelist (La Comédie Humaine), dies at 51
• 1853 Peter Lichtenthal, Austrian composer, musicologist, and physician, dies at 73
• 1858 William Austin Burt, American scientist, surveyor and inventor who patented America’s first typographer (typewriter) and the equatorial sextant, dies at 66
• 1863 Thomas Welsh, US Union brigadier general (Antietam), dies at 39
• 1870 Felix Salm-Salm, Prussian/US prince/brigadier general, dies in battle
• 1887 Orson Squire Fowler, American phrenologist and lecturer, dies at 77
• 1889 Jacques Damala [Aristides Damalas], Greek military officer and actor, dies from an overdose at 34
• 1894 William Charles Levey, Irish conductor and composer, dies at 57
• 1896 Frederick Crouch, British-American cellist, composer (“Kathleen Mavourneen”), Confederate soldier, and music teacher, dies at 88
• 1896 Richard Avenarius, German philosopher (founded the epistemological theory of knowledge known as empirical criticism), dies at 52
• 1901 Richard Kleinmichel, composer, dies at 54
• 1907 John Kerr, Scottish physicist and pioneer in the field of electro-optics (electro-visually Kerr-effect), dies at 82
• 1916 Edward D Pain, English journalist (NY World), dies in battle at 36
• 1919 Joseph E. Seagram, Canadian distillery founder (Seagram Distilleries), dies at 78
• 1934 Delilah Beasley, American author and the 1st Black female newspaper columnist (Oakland Tribune, The Negro Trial-Blazers of California), dies of heart disease at 61

• 1942 Erwin Schulhoff, Czech-Russian composer and pianist (Ogelala), dies of tuberculosis at 48 in a German concentration camp in Wülzburg, Bavaria
• 1942 Moriz Seeler, German writer , poet, and film producer, dies at 46
• 1943 Ali-Agha Shikhlinski, Russian-Azerbaijani general, dies at 78
• 1943 Hans Jeschonnek, German air force general/chief-staff, commits suicide
• 1944 Ernst “Teddy” Thalmann, leader of German KPD, dies
• 1944 Jacques Roumain, Haitian writer (Gouverneurs de la Rosée), dies at 37
• 1945 Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian revolutionary and nationalist, dies of injuries from a plane crash at 48
• 1946 Georg Åberg, Swedish athlete (Olympic silver triple jump; bronze long jump 1912), dies at 53
• 1949 Paul J. Mares, American jazz trumpeter and composer (Farewell Blues), dies at 49
• 1950 Julien Lahaut, chairman Belgian Communist Party, murdered
• 1952 Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga, Chilean Jesuit saint (b. 1901)
• 1952 Ralph Byrd, American actor (Dick Tracy TV Show, SOS Coast Guard), dies from a heart attack at 43
• 1957 Wawrzyniec Żuławski, Polish composer, dies during an alpine rescue mission on Mont Blanc, in the Alps, at 41
• 1961 Learned Hand, American Chief Judge of US Court of Appeals, dies at 89
• 1961 Leonhard Frank, German Expressionist novelist and playwright known for “Karl and Anna”, dies at 78
• 1962 Cleo Ridgely, silent screen actress (I Remember Mama), dies at 68
• 1966 Isaac Keesing, Dutch publisher and founder (System Keesing), dies at 80
• 1966 Watze Cuperus, Frisian author (Struggle & Blessing), dies at 75
• 1968 Arthur Marshall, American ragtime piano player and composer (“Swipesy Cakewalk” with Scott Joplin; “The Peach”), dies at 86
• 1968 Cy Walter, American jazz pianist (Three’s Company), dies of cancer at 52
• 1969 Laci Boldemann, Swedish composer, dies at 48
• 1969 Mildred Davis, American silent screen actress (Grandma’s Boy; Haunted Spooks; I Do!), dies of coronary disease at 68
• 1969 Otto Stern, German-American physicist (Stern-Gerlach-experiment, Nobel 1943), dies at 81
• 1980 Norman Cazden, American composer, educator, and music theorist, dies at 65
• 1981 Anita Loos, American screenwriter, novelist (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) and playwright, dies at 88
• 1982 Beverly Bayne, American actress (Romeo & Juliet, Passionate Youth), dies at 87
• 1983 Nikolaus Pevsner, German-born art historian (b. 1902)
• 1984 Hollie Roffey, English baby, world’s youngest heart transplant at 10 days old, dies at 28 days
• 1988 Alexandr V Shchukin, Russian cosmonaut, dies in SU-26 crash at 42

• 1989 Bert Oosterbosch, Dutch cyclist, dies at 32
• 1989 Imry Németh, Hungarian athlete (Olympic gold hammer throw 1948, bronze 1952; WR 1959 59.88m), dies at 72
• 1989 Luis Carlos Galan, Colombian presidential candidate, murdered
• 1989 Yūji Koseki, Japanese military march and film score composer (Mothra), dies at 80
• 1990 B F Skinner, American psychologist (Skinner Box), dies of Leukemia at 86
• 1990 Grethe Ingmann (née Clemmensen), Danish pop singer (Eurovision, 1963), dies of cancer at 52
• 1990 Raf Reymen, Flemish actor (Huisvuil, Het glas water), dies at 64
• 1991 Clarence Hutchenrider, American jazz clarinetist (Casa Loma Orchestra), dies at 83
• 1991 Rick Griffin, American artist and a leading designer of psychedelic posters in the 1960s (Grateful Dead), dies in a motorcycle accident on his Harley at 47
• 1991 Vaughn Shoemaker, US cartoonist (John Q Public, Pulitzer), dies
• 1992 Christopher McCandless, subject of the book Into the Wild (b. 1968)
• 1992 Gerard Sonder, Dutch radio host (AVRO), dies
• 1992 John Sturges, American film director (Gunfight at the OK Corral), dies of emphysema at 82
• 1993 Alf Bold, German festival programmer, dies of AIDS at 47
• 1994 Gottlob Frick, German opera singer, dies at 88
• 1994 Judy Ann Scott-Fox, literary agent, dies at 56
• 1994 Richard Laurence Millington Synge, British biochemist (Nobel 1952), dies at 79
• 1995 Andrew Wilkinson, British pediatrician and the first Professor of Paediatric Surgery in the UK, dies at 81
• 1995 George Terry, one of the youngest British chief constables in English history, dies at 74
• 1995 James Maxwell, American actor and director (The Portrait of a Lady, The Shadow of the Tower, The Evil of Frankenstein), dies at 66
• 1996 Geoffrey Dearmer, British poet (A Day’s Delight), dies at 103
• 1996 Hugo Gabriel Gryn, British Reform rabbi, dies at 66
• 1997 Harold Spina, American popular song composer (“Annie Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”), dies at 91
• 1998 Otto Wichterle, Czech chemist and inventor of the soft contact lens, dies at 84 [1]
• 1998 Persis Khambatta, Indian actress (Star Trek, Megaforce), dies of a heart attack at 49
• 2000 Maurice Evans, English soccer wing half (Reading, 407 games) and manager (Shrewsbury Town, Reading, Oxford United), dies from a heart attack at 63
• 2001 David Peakall, British toxicologist whose work on DDT lead to its banning in the US, dies at 70
• 2002 Dean Riesner, American film and television screenwriter (Bill and Coo), dies at 83
• 2003 Tony Jackson, British bass player (The Searchers, 1962-64 – “Sugar And Spice”), dies from a combination of diabetes, heart disease, and cirrhosis of the liver at 65
• 2004 Elmer Bernstein, American film music composer (The Magnificent Seven; To Kill A Mockingbird; The Age Of Innocence; Thoroughly Modern Millie), dies at 82
• 2004 Hiram Fong, American businessman and politician (U.S. Senator from Hawaii), dies at 97
• 2004 Joe Dodge, American jazz drummer (Dave Brubeck Quartet, 1953-56), dies at 82
• 2005 Chri$ Ca$h [Christopher Bauman], American professional wrestler, dies in a motorcycle accident at 23
• 2005 Gao Xiumin, Chinese comedy actress (b. 1959)
• 2006 Fernand Gignac, Canadian singer and actor (b. 1934)
• 2006 Jamie Astaphan, Caribbean-born physician (b. 1946)
• 2007 Lucien Jarraud, Canadian radio host, dies at 84
• 2007 Michael Deaver, Reagan Administration Deputy White House Chief of Staff, dies at 69
• 2007 Viktor Prokopenko, Ukrainian soccer coach (Ukraine, Rotor Volgograd, Shakhtar Donetsk, Dynamo Moscow), dies of a heart attack at 62
• 2008 Pervis Jackson, American pop and R&B singer (The Spinners, 1954-2008 – “Games People Play”), dies of brain and liver cancer at 70

• 2009 Robert Novak, American journalist and commentator (b. 1931)
• 2010 Benjamin Kaplan, American copyright scholar, dies at 99
• 2010 Carlos Hugo [Charles Hugues], French-Spanish nobleman of the Bourbon-Parma family, Duke of Parma (1977-2010), and Carlist politician, dies of cancer at 80
• 2010 Hal Connolly, American athlete and hammer thrower (Olympic gold, 1956), dies at 79
• 2010 Kenneth “Kenny” Edwards, American musician and singer-songwriter (The Stone Poneys, Bryndle), dies of cancer and a blood disorder at 64
• 2010 Scott Davis, American Announcer of Track and Field (b.1943)
• 2012 Scott McKenzie, American singer, dies at 73
• 2013 Dezső Gyarmati, Hungarian water polo player (Olympics, 1948-64), dies at 85
• 2014 Don Pardo, TV announcer (Jeopardy, Saturday Night Live), dies at 96
• 2014 Jim Jeffords, American politician (Senator-R+I-Vermont 1989-2007, Rep-R-VT, 1975-89), dies at 80
• 2015 (Alan) “Bud” Yorkin, American film and television producer and director (Divorce American Style; All in the Family; Sanford And Son), dies at 89
• 2015 Louis Stokes, American politician (Rep-D-OH, 1969-99), dies at 90
• 2015 Roger Smalley, British-Australian pianist, conductor, and composer (Gloria Tibi Trinitas), dies at 72
• 2017 Brian Aldiss, British sci-fi author (Super-Toys Last All Summer Long, Helliconia trilogy), dies at 92
• 2017 Bruce Forsyth, British entertainer and television presenter (The Generation Game), dies at 89
• 2017 Zoe Laskari, Greek actress, dies at 72

• 2018 Peter Tapsell, British Conservative Party politician (Member of Parliament, 1959-64 and 1966-2015), dies at 88
• 2019 Jack Whitaker, American sportscaster (ABC, CBS), dies of natural causes at 95
• 2019 Kathleen Blanco, American politician, 1st female Governor of Louisiana (2004-08), dies from cancer at 76
• 2020 Ben Cross, English actor (Chariots of Fire, Star Trek), dies at 72
• 2020 Dale Hawerchuk, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame center (#1 pick NHL Draft 1981; Calder Trophy 1982; Canada Cup 1987, 91; Winnipeg Jets, Buffalo Sabres), dies from stomach cancer at 57
• 2020 Glenn Bassett, American tennis coach (UCLA 1967-93; 7 x NCAA C’ships), dies at 93
• 2020 Hal Singer, American jazz and R&B saxophonist (“Corn Bread”), dies at 100 [1]
• 2021 Robert Smith, American baseball administrator (President International Baseball Federation 1981-93; IOC Olympic Order), dies at 85
• 2022 Hadraawi [Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame], Somali poet who helped preserve the Somali language, dies at 79 [1]
• 2023 Garry Adey, English rugby union number 8 (2 Tests; Leicester Tigers 381 games) and businessman (Executive Chairman The Adey Group), dies at 78
• 2023 James L. Buckley, American politician, Senator from New York (Conservative Party: 1971-77), dies at 100
• 2023 Jean-Louis Georgelin, French Army General (Chief of the Defence Staff, 2006-10), and overseer of Notre-Dame-de-Paris reconstruction (2019-23), dies in a mountain climbing faux pas at 74 [1]
• 2023 Ray Hildebrand, American pop and contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter (Paul & Paula – “Hey Paula; Land and Hildebrand), dies at 82

• 2024 Franciszek Smuda, Polish soccer manager (Poland 2009-12; Widzew Łódź, Wisła Kraków; Polish Coach of the Year 1996, 97, 99, 2008), dies at 76
• 2024 Phil Donahue, American Emmy Award-winning daytime TV talk show host (The Phil Donahue Show), dies at 88 [1]
• 2024 Ruth Johnson Colvin, American literacy advocate (Literacy Volunteers of America; ProLiteracy Worldwide), and writer (Off the Beaten Path: Stories of People Around the World), dies at 107

August 18 Highlights