Famous Deaths on July 20

• 833 Ansegis [Ansegius], French abbot of Fontenelle and writer, dies at about 63
• 985 Antipope Boniface VII [Franco Ferrucci] (974, 984–985), dies at unknown age
• 1031 Robert II of France [the Pious, the Wise], King of the Franks (996-1031), dies during a civil war at 59

• 1156 Toba, 74th Emperor of Japan (1107-23), dies at 53
• 1160 Peter Lombard, French theologian
• 1201 Agnes of France, Queen of France, dies [or 7/18]
• 1320 King Oshin of Armenia (b. 1282)
• 1322 Frederik II van Sierck, Bishop of Utrecht (1317-22), dies
• 1351 Margaretha Ebner, German visionary (b. 1291)
• 1387 Robert IV of Artois, Count of Eu (poisoned) (b. 1356)
• 1398 Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March, heir to the throne of England, dies at 24
• 1453 Enguerrand de Monstrelet, French chronicler
• 1454 John II of Castile, King of Castile and León (1406-54), dies at 49
• 1524 Claude of France, Duchess of Brittany and wife of Francis I of France, dies at 24
• 1547 Beatus Rhenanus [Beatus Birt], German humanist, classical scholar and friend of Erasmus, dies bequeathing his significant library to city of Sélestat, at 80
• 1573 Lancelot van Brederode, Dutch general of the “water beggars” rebellion, beheaded by the Spanish

• 1597 Franciscus Raphelengius, Flemish publisher (1st Arabic-Latin dictionary), dies at 58
• 1607 Paulus Merula, Dutch lawyer and historian (Historia Belgica), dies at 48
• 1609 Federico Zuccari, Italian Mannerist painter, dies at about 69
• 1616 Hugh O’Neill, 3rd Earl of Tyrone, Irish soldier
• 1636 John Oldham, English-born Puritan settler in Massachusetts, murdered by Indians at 44
• 1704 Peregrine White, First English child born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, dies at 83
• 1732 Francesco Bartolomeo Conti, Italian mandolin and theorbo player, and composer, dies at 50 or 51 [birth year disputed]
• 1752 John C Pepusch, English composer (Beggar’s Opera), dies at about 85
• 1762 Christoph Nichelmann, German composer and harpsichordist, dies at 44
• 1766 Isabelle Farnese, Queen and Regent of Spain, dies at 73
• 1808 François-Hippolyte Barthélémon, French composer, dies at 66
• 1816 Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin, Russian poet (b. 1743)
• 1819 John Playfair, Scottish geologist and mathematician, dies at 70
• 1824 Joan Melchior Kemper, Dutch lawyer (designed civil code law book), dies at 48
• 1825 Joseph-Denis Doche, French composer, dies at 58

• 1833 Ninian Edwards, American politician (Governor of Illinois Territory, 1809–1813; U.S. Senator from Illinois, 1818–1824; Governor of Illinois 1826–1830), dies of cholera at 58
• 1859 Hans E. Schack, Danish politician and writer (Phantasterne – Fantasy), dies at 39
• 1866 Berhard Riemann, German mathematician (zeta-function), dies at 39
• 1866 Emilio Faà di Bruno, Italian naval captain, goes down with his ship (Re d’italia) in the Battle of Lissa at 46
• 1868 Antoine Prumier, French harpist and composer, dies at 75
• 1868 Johann Friedrich Kittl, Czech composer, dies at 62
• 1888 Henri Braekeleer, Flemish painter, dies at 48
• 1893 Thomas Kelly, Irish-Australian cricket batsman (2 Tests, 1877-79; HS 35; Victoria CA), dies at 49
• 1897 Jean Ingelow, English poet and children’s novelist (Mopsa the Fairy), dies at 77
• 1897 Philip Dale Roddey, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 71
• 1898 Yuri Karlovich Arnold, Russian composer, dies at 86
• 1901 William Cosmo Monkhouse, English poet and art critic, dies at 61

• 1908 Demetrius Vikelas, Greek businessman and writer (first President International Olympic Committee 1894-1896), dies at 73
• 1908 Federico Chueca, Spanish composer, dies at 62
• 1912 Andrew Lang, Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and anthropologist (Andrew Lang’s Fairy Books), dies at 68
• 1914 Leo van Gheluwe, Belgian composer, dies at 76
• 1922 Andrey Markov, Russian mathematician (Markov Chain), dies at 66

• 1926 Felix Dzerzhinsky [Iron Felix, Bloody Felix], Soviet statesman, established and developed Soviet secret police (Cheka, forerunner to the KGB), dies at 48
• 1927 Ferdinand I [Meinrad], King of Romania (1914-27), dies of cancer at 61
• 1928 Kostas Karyotakis, Greek poet, dies at 31
• 1929 Noble Drew Ali [Timothy Drew], American prophet (Moorish Science Temple), dies at 43
• 1932 René Bazin, French novelist of provincial life (La Terre qui Meurt / Autumn Glory; Une Tache d’Encre / A Spot of Ink), dies at 78 [1]
• 1936 Arthur Battelle Whiting, American composer and teacher, dies at 75
• 1936 Jose Sanjurjo, Spanish general (Morocco) and high director, dies at 64

• 1939 Joseph Mendes da Costa, sculptor, dies
• 1940 Y G Van de Peat, Dutch director of employment, commits suicide
• 1941 Lew Fields [Moses Schoenfeld], Polish-American vaudeville and film comedian (Weber and Fields), and theatrical producer, dies at 74
• 1942 Patric Cobb, British sea officer, dies in battle
• 1944 Arthur J Treadwell, English mayor of Stoke Newington, dies at about 71
• 1944 Brandt, col/German staff chief, dies in bombing
• 1944 Claus von Stauffenberg, German antifascist colonel (attempted to assassinate Hitler), dies by firing squad at 36
• 1944 Friedrich Olbricht, German general (July 20th plotter), executed
• 1944 Heinz Burns, German (Olympic gold 1936), dies in bombing
• 1944 Korten, chef gen of Germany Luftwaffe, dies in bomb explosion
• 1944 Ludwig Beck, German general (July 20th plot), dies at 64
• 1944 Mertz, German colonel (July 20th plotter), executed
• 1944 Mildred Harris, American actress (b. 1901)
• 1944 Rudolf Schmundt, German general /Hitler’s Army adjunct, dies from wounds in attempt to assassinate Hitler at 48
• 1944 Werner von Haeffen, German lieutenant (July 20th plotter), executed
• 1945 Arthur Seccull, South African cricketer (Test v England 1896), dies
• 1945 Paul Valéry [Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry], French author, philosopher and poet (La Jeune Parque), dies at 73
• 1946 Joe “Tricky Sam” Nanton, American trombonist and plunger mute pioneer (Duke Ellington Orchestra), dies of a stroke at 42
• 1951 Abdullah Ibn Hussein, Jordan’s King (1946-51), killed in Jerusalem
• 1951 Mustafa Shuqri Ashu, tailor/murderer of king Abdullah, shot to death
• 1951 Wilhelm, the last Crown Prince of the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia, dies at 69
• 1953 Dumarsaid Estime, President of Haiti (b. 1900)
• 1953 Jan Struther [Joyce Anstruther], British author (Mrs. Miniver), dies of cancer at 52
• 1954 Blair Moody, American journalist (US Senator (D)-Michigan, 1951-52), dies at 52
• 1956 James Alexander Calder, Canadian politician, dies at 87
• 1956 Ken Burn, Australian cricketer (Tasmanian rep on 1890 Ashes tour, 2 Tests), dies at 93
• 1957 Phil Hanna, singer (Once Upon a Tune), dies at 46
• 1958 Franklin Pangborn, American actor (My Best Gal, Hats Off, Easy Living), dies at 69
• 1959 Harry Fox [Arthur Carringford], American vaudeville dancer, comedian and actor (Talent Scout), dies at 77
• 1959 William D. Leahy, American admiral and chief of staff during WWII, dies at 84
• 1962 André Renard, Belgium worker’s union leader (MSU), dies at 51
• 1962 George MacAulay Trevelyan, English royal historian, dies at 86
• 1964 Anna Vyrubova, Russian lady-in-waiting, the best friend and confidante of Tsaritsa Alexandra Fyodorovna, dies at 80
• 1966 Julien Carette, French actor (Sylvia & the Phantom), dies of burns at 68
• 1968 Joseph Keilberth, German conductor (Bayreuther Festival), dies at 60
• 1969 Roy Hamilton, American singer (“You’ll Never Walk Alone”), dies of cerebral hemorrhage at 40
• 1970 Egon Eiermann, German architect known for Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial New Church, dies at 65
• 1970 Iain Macleod, Conservative Party Politician and Chancellor of Exchequer at time of his death (b. 1913)

• 1973 Robert Smithson, American land artist (b. 1938)
• 1974 Allen Jenkins, American actor (Hey Jeannie, Top Cop, Girl Habit), dies at 74
• 1976 Samuel Mutendi, founder of the Zimbabwean Zion Christian Church, dies
• 1976 Tom Lowry, New Zealand cricket batsman (7 Tests, 2 x 50s; first NZ Test captain), President NZ Thoroughbred Breeders Association 1951-65, dies at 78
• 1977 Carter DeHaven, American actor (Courage, Great Dictator), dies at 90
• 1977 Gary Kellgren, American music producer who co-founded The Record Plant studios, drowns in a swimming pool, along with his girlfriend, at 38
• 1980 Gerard Croiset, Dutch parapsychologist, dies at 71
• 1982 Okot p’Bitek, Ugandan poet (b. 1931)
• 1983 Frank Reynolds, American news anchor (ABC Evening News, 1968-70; World New Tonight, 1977-83), dies at 59
• 1984 Gail Kubik, American composer (Gerald McBoing Boing), dies at 69
• 1984 Jim Fixx, American jogger and writer (Jim Fixx on Running), dies at 52
• 1985 Bruno de Finetti, Italian probabilist statistician and actuary, dies at 79
• 1986 Helen Craig, American actress (Snake Pit, They Live by Night), dies at 74
• 1987 Richard Egan, American actor (Empire; Redigo; Pollyanna), dies of prostate cancer at 65
• 1988 John Galbreath, American businessman who built skyscrapers, owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, dies at 90
• 1989 Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, French commander of the French resistance, dies at 79
• 1989 Mary Treen (née Summers), American character actress (It’s a Wonderful Life; Kitty Foyle; The Joey Bishop Show), dies of cancer at 82
• 1990 Herbert Jenkins, Atlanta’s longest serving police chief (b. 1907)
• 1990 Sara Heyblom, Dutch actress (Obsessions, Pygmalion), dies
• 1991 Earl Robinson, American composer (Ballad for Americans; Preamble to Peace), and folk music singer-songwriter (“Joe Hill”; “Black and White”), dies in a car accident at 81
• 1991 Rellys [Henri Marius Bourrelly], French actor (Letters from My Windmill), dies at 86
• 1993 Vince Foster, American lawyer and Deputy White House Counsel commits suicide aged 48
• 1994 Paul Delvaux, Belgian surrealist painter, dies at 96
• 1994 Reginald Hall, English endocrinologist, dies at 83
• 1995 Ernest Mandel, Belgian philosopher and economist (Marxist), dies at 72
• 1995 Helmut Gernsheim, German photographer, collector and historian, dies at 82
• 1995 Natalia Dmitrevna Shpiller, Czech-Russian lyric soprano, dies at 85
• 1996 Colin Mitchell, British army soldier (led 1st Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders during Aden City Uprising), dies at 70
• 1996 Peter Raleigh, English foreign correspondent and television executive, dies at 77
• 1997 Clifford McWatt, West Indian cricket wicketkeeper (6 Tests, 10 dismissals; British Guiana), dies in a car crash at 75
• 1997 Linda Stirling, college prof/B movie actress (Pretender), dies at 75
• 1998 (Golden) “Big” Wheeler, American Chicago blues and electric blues singer, harmonic player and songwriter, dies of heart failure at 68
• 1998 Dieter Nowka, German composer, conductor and musicologist, dies at 74
• 1998 June Byers, American professional wrestler (b. 1922)
• 1999 Sandra Gould, American actress (b. 1916)
• 2000 Gregory Hill (also known as Malaclypse the Younger,) American writer (Principia Discordia), dies at 59
• 2000 Mabel Scott, American gospel and R&B vocalist (Boogie Woogie Santa Claus), dies at 85

• 2001 Carlo Giuliani, Italian anti-globalization protester, shot dead at 2001 G8 summit at 23
• 2001 Werner Haentjes, German conductor and composer of operas and film scores, dies at 77
• 2002 Michalis Kritikopoulos, Greek soccer striker (28 caps; Olympiacos), dies from cardiac arrest at 56
• 2003 Nicolas Freeling, English writer (b. 1927)
• 2004 Lala Mara, Fijian chief and wife of Kamisese Mara, Prime Minister and later President of Fiji, dies at 73 [1]
• 2005 Finn Gustavsen, Norwegian politician (b. 1926)
• 2005 James Doohan, Canadian actor (Star Trek), dies from Pulmonary fibrosis at 85
• 2005 Kayo Hatta, American film director (b. 1958)
• 2006 Gérard Oury [Max-Gérard Houry Tannenbaum] French actor and filmmaker, dies at 87
• 2006 Robert Cornthwaite, American actor (Thing, War of the Worlds, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?), dies of natural causes at 89
• 2006 Ted Grant, British Trotskyist (b. 1913)
• 2007 Bill Flemming, American journalist and sportscaster (ABC’s Wide World of Sports), dies at 80
• 2007 Ivor Emmanuel, Welsh singer and actor (Zulu, Show Boat, Kiss Me, Kate), dies of a stroke at 79
• 2007 Tammy Faye Bakker Messner (née LaValley), American Christian singer, AIDS support activist, and former wife of Jim Bakker (The PTL Club), dies of colon cancer at 65
• 2008 Artie Traum, American folk guitarist, songwriter, producer, and filmmaker, dies of ocular cancer at 65
• 2009 Edward T. Hall, American anthropologist (introduced Anthropology of Space), dies at 95
• 2009 Ria Brieffies, Dutch pop singer (Dolly Dots – “Love Me Just a Little Bit More (Totally Hooked on You)”, “P.S.”), dies of lung cancer at 52
• 2010 Mirjana Lewis (née Vrbanic), Croat-American classical pianist and harpsichord player, dies at 74
• 2011 Lucian Freud, German-British artist (Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, Boy With a Rat), dies at 88
• 2012 Dorothy Germain Porter, American golfer (US Curtis Cup winning captain 1966), dies at 88
• 2012 George Greenstein, American baker (Secrets of a Jewish Baker) and owner of The Cheesecake King on Long Island, dies at 83 [1] [2]
• 2012 Simon Ward, English actor, dies at 70
• 2012 Sir Alastair Burnet [James William Alexander Burnet], British journalist and broadcaster (News at Ten), dies at 84
• 2015 Elio Fiorucci, Italian fashion designer, dies at 80
• 2016 Wayne Carson, American country musician and songwriter (“Always On My Mind”; “The Letter”), dies at 73
• 2017 Chester Bennington, American singer and songwriter (Linkin Park), commits suicide at 41
• 2019 Peter McNamara, Australian tennis player (Australian Open doubles 1979, Wimbledon doubles 1980, 82), dies of prostate cancer at 64
• 2019 Sheila Dikshit (née Kapoor), Punjabi politician (Chief Minister of Delhi, 1998-2013), dies of multiple cardiac arrests at 81
• 2020 Mickey McGee, American session and touring drummer (Linda Ronstadt; Jackson Browne; Flying Burrito Brothers; Juice Newton), and songwriter (“I’ll Never Love Again”), dies of COVID-19 complications at 72
• 2021 Chuck E. Weiss, American blues and rock songwriter, vocalist, and muse (Rickie Lee Jones; Tom Waits), dies of cancer at 76 [1]
• 2021 Françoise Arnoul, French actress and composer (French Cancan; Jacko & Lise), dies at 90
• 2021 Jerry Granelli, American-Canadian jazz drummer (Vince Guaraldi Trio; Mose Allison), dies at 80
• 2022 Douglas Mitchell, Canadian Football Hall of Fame executive (CFL Commissioner 1984-88), dies at 83
• 2022 Kamoya Kimeu, Kenyan paleontologist who worked with Richard Leakey and discovered the Turkana Boy skeleton, dies at about 84
• 2022 Phil Jackson, English rugby league inside back (29 Tests GB, 1 England; World Cup 1954, 57 GB 6 games; Barrow RLFC), dies at 90
• 2023 Juan Meza, Mexican boxer (WBC Super Bantamweight champion 1984-85), dies at 67
• 2023 Mirko Novosel, Croatian Basketball HOF coach (EuroLeague C’ship 1985, 1986; European Coach of the Year 1985 Cibona Zagreb; 7 × Yugoslav Cup), dies at 85
• 2024 Jerry Miller, American songwriter and rock guitarist (Moby Grape), dies at 81
• 2024 Sandy Posey, American pop and country singer (“Single Girl”, “Born a Woman”), dies from complications of dementia at 80

July 20 Highlights