Famous Deaths on September 20

• 1168 Paschal III [Guido di Crema], Italian Antipope (1164-68), dies of cancer at around 58
• 1246 Michael of Chernigov, Ruler and grand prince of Kiev (1234-43), trampled, slaughtered and martyred at around 61 on orders of the Khan of the Golden Horde, Batu Khan, for refusing to bow to the fires and idols of the Mongols
• 1384 Louis I, Duke of Anjou (1360-84) and King of Naples (Battle of Poitiers), dies while on the march at 45

• 1460 Gilles Binchois, Franco-Flemish composer of early Renaissance music, dies at about 60
• 1493 Philippe Pot, Burgundian nobleman, military leader and diplomat, dies at around 65 [1]
• 1586 Anthony Babington, English page and conspirator to Mary, Queen of Scots convicted of plotting the assassination of Elizabeth I, hanged, drawn and quartered at 24
• 1590 Lodovico Agostini, Italian composer, dies at about 56
• 1613 Willem Hessels van Est [Estius], Dutch Catholic theologist and commentator on the Pauline epistles. dies at around 71
• 1624 Isaac Le Maire, Amsterdam ship owner, dies at about 66
• 1625 Heinrich Meibom, German historian and poet, dies at 69
• 1627 Jan Gruter, Flemish-born Dutch critic, dies at 66
• 1630 Claudio Saracini, Italian composer, dies at 44
• 1639 John Meursius [van Meurs], Dutch classical scholar, dies at 60
• 1643 Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland, English politician and writer
• 1647 Giovanni Del Turco, Italian composer, dies at 70
• 1648 Ivan Lukačić, Croatian composer, dies at 61

• 1653 Humphrey Chetham, English cloth merchant (his will leaves money to establish Chetham Library – oldest English language public library in the world), dies at 72 [1]
• 1679 Cornelis Evertsen the Younger, Dutch vice admiral of Zealand, dies at 51
• 1703 Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll, Scottish privy councillor, dies at 52
• 1706 Pierre Verdier, French composer working in Sweden, dies at 79
• 1721 Thomas Doggett, British comedy actor (Drury Lane Theatre), dies at approximately 51
• 1731 Sicco van Goslinga, Fries diplomat and Secretary of High Council, dies at 67
• 1773 Pieter de Swart, Dutch architect (Delfts Port Rotterdam; Royal Theatre, The Hague), dies at 63
• 1803 Robert Emmet, Irish nationalist, executed by being hung then beheaded after death at 25
• 1810 Wouter Johannes van Troostwijk, Dutch painter, dies at 28
• 1823 Daniel Steibelt, German pianist and composer, dies at 57
• 1839 Jose Gaspar de Francia, dictator of Paraguay (1816-39), dies at 74
• 1852 Philander Chase, American Episcopal Church bishop and founder of Kenyon College, dies at 76
• 1863 Benjamin Hardin Helm, American attorney and Confederate brigadier general and Abraham Lincoln’s brother-in-law, dies at the Battle of Chickamauga at 33

• 1863 William Haines Lytle, American politician, poet and Brigadier General (Union Army), killed in action during the American Civil War at 36
• 1872 James Patton Anderson, American politician and Confederate general wounded at the Battle of Jonesboro, dies at 50
• 1880 Donald McKay, Canadian-American naval architect (built fastest clipper ships), dies at 70
• 1884 Leopold Fitzinger, Austrian zoologist, dies at 82
• 1886 John Liptrot Hatton, English composer and pianist, dies at 77
• 1896 Gottfried Conradi, Norwegian composer, dies at 76
• 1897 Karel Bendl, Czech composer, dies at 59
• 1898 Theodor Fontane, German writer (Der Stechlin), dies at 78
• 1905 Vjenceslav Novak, Croatian Realist writer (Pavao Šegota), dies at 46
• 1905 Walter Cecil Macfarren, British pianist, teacher (Royal Academy, 1846-1903), conductor, and composer, dies at 79
• 1906 Robert R. Hitt, American politician (b. 1834)
• 1908 Pablo de Sarasate, Spanish violinist and composer (Spanish Dancer), dies at 64
• 1917 Herbert Morris, Jamaican deserter in France, executed at 17
• 1927 George Nichols, American director and actor (His Favorite Pastime, Star Boarder), dies at 62 or 63
• 1931 Sam Morris, Australian cricket all-rounder (1 Test; 1st black & of West Indian origin to rep. Australia in a Test; Victoria CA), dies at 76
• 1932 Max Slevogt, German painter, dies at 63
• 1932 Wovoka [Jack Wilson], American Indian leader of the Paiute and visionary (Ghost Dance religious movement), dies at 75 or 76
• 1933 Annie Besant, English social reformer and supporter of Indian independence, dies at 85
• 1939 Paul Bruchési, French Canadian Catholic archbishop of Montreal, dies at 83
• 1944 John Grayburn, British soldier who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry during the defence of Arnhem bridge, dies during the battle at 26
• 1945 Augusto Tasso Fragoso, Brazilian military officer and briefly president (1930), dies at 76

• 1945 William Seabrook, American journalist, occultist and explorer, commits suicide by drug overdose at 61
• 1946 Raimu [Jules Auguste Cesar Muraire], French actor (The Baker’s Wife, Marius, Fanny), dies from a heart attack at 62

• 1949 Nikolaos Skalkottas, Greek composer, dies due to an untreated hernia at 45
• 1949 Richard Dix, American actor (10 Commandments, Cimarron, The Ghost Ship), dies from a heart attack at 56
• 1956 Theo Frenkel, Dutch actor (Footlights, Hague’s Comedy), dies at 85

• 1959 Olin Howland, American actor (Gone With The Wind; Them!; Circus Boy), dies at 73
• 1960 Lee Duncan, American owner and trainer film dog Rin Tin Tin, dies of a heart attack at 67
• 1960 Michel Brusselmans, Belgian composer, dies at 74
• 1962 Curley Weaver, American blues guitarist, dies of uremia at 56
• 1967 Henri Mulet, French organist, cellist, and composer (Carillon-Sortie; Esquisses Byzantines), dies at 88
• 1968 Frank Pelleg [Pollack], Czech-Israeli harpsichordist, pianist, conductor and educator, dies at 57
• 1971 Giorgos Seferis, Greek poet and diplomat (Nobel Prize for Literature 1963), dies at 71
• 1971 James Westerfield, American actor (Jungle Heat, Lucky Johnny), dies from a heart attack at 59
• 1971 William F. Albright, American old testament scholar and archaeologist, dies at 80
• 1973 Ben Webster, American jazz tenor saxophonist, dies at 64
• 1973 Glenn Strange, American actor (Sam the Bartender-Gunsmoke), dies at 74
• 1973 Jack Marshall, American jazz and session guitarist, film and television composer, arranger, and record producer (Capitol Records), dies at 51

• 1973 Maurice T. “Maury” Muehleisen, American musician and songwriter (Jim Croce), dies in a plane crash at 24
• 1974 Carlyle Blackwell Jr, American actor (The Pilgrim Lady, The Triumph of the Rat), dies at 71
• 1974 Robert Herberigs, Flemish composer (La Chanson d’Eve), dies at 88
• 1975 Saint-John Perse, French diplomat and poet (Nobel 1960), dies at 78
• 1975 Vincent Lopez, American pianist and big band bandleader (“Nola”), dies at 79
• 1976 Johan Boskamp, Dutch opera singer and actor, dies at 85
• 1976 Kermit Bloomgarden, American producer (The Diary of Anne Frank, The Music Man), dies at 71
• 1979 Ludvík Svoboda, Czech general and politician (8th President of Czechoslovakia, 1968-75), dies at 83
• 1980 Sanpei Hayashiya, Japanese comedian (b. 1925)
• 1982 Karel Krautgartner, Czech jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, arranger, composer, conductor and teacher, dies at 60
• 1984 Steve Goodman, American folk singer and songwriter (“City O f New Orleans”; “Chicken Cordon Blues”), dies of leukemia at 36
• 1987 Michael Stewart [Myron Stuart Rubin], American playwright (Hello, Dolly!), dies at 63
• 1988 Roy Kinnear, English actor (Man About the House, Scrooge, Help!), dies at 54
• 1989 Richie Ginther, American racing driver, dies from a heart attack at 59
• 1990 Jackie Moran, American actor (Janie, Barefoot Boy), dies of cancer at 65
• 1993 Erich Hartmann, German WW II pilot (downed 352 Russian aircraft), dies at 71
• 1993 Leonard Parkin, British TV host (ITN), dies at 64
• 1993 Loan Volkerijk, Dutch baseball coach (ADO), dies at 65
• 1994 Davidson Nicol, Sierra Leonean diplomat and author, dies at 70
• 1994 Jimmy Hamilton, American jazz saxophonist, dies at 77

• 1995 Monica Maurice, industrialist and Managing Director and Chairman of the Wolf Safety Lamp Company, Sheffield, dies at 87
• 1995 Walter Haas Jr., American businessman and sports team owner (Levi Strauss & Co, Oakland A’s), dies of prostate cancer at 79
• 1996 Max Manus, Norwegian resistance fighter and author who specialized in sabotage during World War II, dies at 81
• 1996 Murtaza Bhutto, Pakistani politician, dies at 42
• 1996 Paul Draper, American tap dancer and choreographer, dies at 87
• 1996 Paul Erdos, Hungarian mathematician, dies of a heart attack at 83
• 1996 Paul Weston [Wetstein], American pianist, arranger, orchestra leader (Tommy Dorsey Orchestra; The Jim Nabors Show), pop and classical composer (“Day By Day”; “Crescent City Suite”), dies from natural causes at 84
• 1999 Raisa Gorbacheva, Russian philanthropist and wife of Mikhail Gorbachev, dies at 67
• 1999 Robert Lebel, French Canadian ice hockey executive, dies at 93
• 1999 Tahia Carioca, Egyptian actress and belly dancer (Watch Out For Zouzou), dies at 79
• 1999 Willy Millowitsch, German actor (National Lampoon’s European Vacation), dies from heart failure at 90
• 2000 Dorothy Emmet, English philosopher, dies at 95
• 2000 Gherman Titov, Russian cosmonaut and 4th person in space, dies at 65
• 2001 Marcos Pérez Jiménez, President of Venezuela (1953-58), dies at 87
• 2003 Gordon Mitchell [Charles Allen Pendleton], American actor and bodybuilder (Sinbad), dies a 80
• 2003 Lord Williams of Mostyn, Welsh barrister, politician, and Lord President of the Council, dies at 62
• 2003 Simon Muzenda, Zimbabwean politician (1st Vice-President of Zimbabwe), dies at 80
• 2004 Brian Clough, English footballer and football manager, dies of cancer at 69
• 2004 Townsend Hoopes, American assistant secretary of defense, and writer on Vietnam, dies at 82
• 2005 Simon Wiesenthal, Austrian-Polish Nazi hunter (b. 1908)
• 2005 Tobias Schneebaum, American writer, anthropologist and explorer dies at 83
• 2006 Armin Jordan, Swiss conductor, dies at 74
• 2006 John W. Peterson, American hymn writer (“It Took a Miracle”), publisher and editor (Singspiration), dies of prostate cancer at 84
• 2006 Sven Nykvist, Swedish cinematographer (Cries and Whispers), dies at 83
• 2007 Johnny Gavin, Irish soccer winger (7 caps Rep. Ireland; Norwich City 312 games), dies at 79
• 2007 Juraj Pospíšil, Czech composer (November Triptych), and pedagogue (Bratislavia Conservatory, 1955-91), dies at 76
• 2008 Nappy Brown [Napoleon Brown Culp], American R&B singer and songwriter (“Don’t Be Angry”, “Night Time Is the Right Time”), dies at 78
• 2009 John Hart, American actor (The Lone Ranger, The Adventures of Captain Africa), dies from complications of dementia at 91
• 2010 Kenny McKinley, American football player (b. 1987)
• 2010 Leonard Skinner, American high school gym teacher; namesake of rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, dies at 77
• 2011 Burhanuddin Rabbani, President of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996. (b. 1940)
• 2011 Robert Whitaker, British photographer whose work was used on Beatles and Cream album covers, dies at 71
• 2014 Polly Bergen [Nellie Burgin], American actress, singer, television host, and writer (Winds of War – “Rhoda”; The Helen Morgan Story), dies of natural causes at 84
• 2014 Rob Bironas, American football placekicker (First-team All-Pro, Pro Bowl, PFW Golden Toe Award 2007; Tennessee Titans), dies in a car crash at 36
• 2015 Charles Kenneth “C K” Williams, American poet and translator (Pulitzer prize 2000), dies at 78
• 2015 Jack Larson, American actor (The Adventures of Superman -“Jimmy Olsen”), screenwriter, and librettist (Virgil Thomson’s “Lord Byron”), dies at 87
• 2016 Bill Barrett, American politician (Rep-R-Nebraska 1991-2001), dies at 87
• 2016 Curtis Hanson, American film director and screenwriter (LA Confidential, 8 Mile), dies at 71
• 2018 John Cunliffe, British children’s book author and television presenter (Postman Pat; Rosie and Jim), dies of cardio-pulmonary
  failure at 85
• 2019 Howard Cassady, American College Football Hall of Fame halfback (Heisman Trophy 1955, Ohio State; NFL C’ship 1957, Detroit Lions), dies at 85
• 2019 Su Beng [Lim Tiau-hui], Taiwanese revolutionary, ‘Father of Taiwanese Independence’ (Taiwan’s 400-Year History), dies at 100
• 2020 Garland F. Pinholster, American college basketball coach (USA: gold Pan American Games 1963; Oglethorpe University 1956-66), dies at 92
• 2021 Billy Maxwell, American golfer (US Amateur C’ship 1951; Ryder Cup 1963; 7 x PGA Tour wins), dies at 92
• 2021 Jan Jindra, Czech rower (Olympic gold Coxed four 1952, bronze Eight 1960), dies at 89
• 2021 Sarah Dash, American pop, R&B, and disco singer (Patti LaBelle & Bluebirds; Labelle – “Lady Marmalade”), dies at 76
• 2021 Sherwood Boehlert, American politician (Rep-R-NY, 1983-2007), dies at 84
• 2023 Camille Dimmer, Luxembourgish soccer forward (19 caps; FC Claravallis, Anderlecht, R. Crossing Club Molenbeek, Red Boys Differdange), dies at 84
• 2023 Elaine Devry [Thelma Mahnken], American actress (The Atomic Kid, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf), dies at 93
• 2023 Katherine Anderson, American singer (The Marvelettes – “Please Mr. Postman”; “Don’t Mess With Bill”), dies at 79
• 2023 Odilon Polleunis, Belgian soccer striker (22 caps; Sint-Truiden, RWD Molenbeek, KSK Tongerenborn), dies from heart failure at 80
• 2024 Igor Štuhec, Slovenian contemporary classical composer (Entuziazmi; Differentiations), dies at 91 [date unconfirmed]
• 2024 Kathryn Crosby (née Grandstaff), American actress (as Kathryn Grant – Operation Mad Ball; The 7th Voyage of Sinbad; The Big Circus), registered nurse, and TV personality, dies at 90

September 20 Highlights