Famous Deaths on August 20

• 535 Mochta of Louth, disciple of St. Patrick
• 984 John XIV [Petrus Canepanova], Italian Pope (983-84), dies
• 1153 Bernard of Clairvaux, French monk and saint (founded Clairvaux abbey, preached famous sermon advocating for the Second Crusade), dies (b. 1090)

• 1384 Geert Groote, Dutch founder of the Brethren of the Common Life, dies at 43
• 1538 Aefgen Listinck, Dutch anabaptist, burned at stake
• 1572 Miguel López de Legazpi, Spanish conquistador (b. 1502)
• 1580 Jeronymo Osorio, Portuguese historian (b. 1506)
• 1603 Aḥmad al-Manṣūr ‘the Golden’, Moroccan ruler (1578-1603) who captured Songhai Empire, dies at 53 or 54 (alternative date 25 August)
• 1632 Valentin de Boulogne, French painter, buried at 38
• 1639 Martin Opitz, German poet/historian (Troerinnen), dies at 41
• 1643 Anne Hutchinson, English Puritan preacher, killed in Native American uprising (b. 1591)
• 1648 Edward Herbert of Cherbury, English courtier, soldier and philosopher, dies at 65
• 1672 Cornelis de Witt, Dutch politician and naval commander (Raid on the Medway – Chatham Dockyard), lynched at 49

• 1679 Jacob Alting, Dutch theologist, dies at 60
• 1680 William Bedloe, English fraudster and Popish Plot informer, dies at 30
• 1701 Charles Sedley, English playwright (b. 1639)
• 1707 Nicolas Gigault, French Baroque organist and composer, dies at about 80
• 1773 Enrique Florez, Spanish historian, dies at 72
• 1799 Johann Christian Gottlob Eidenbenz, German composer, dies at 37
• 1804 Charles Floyd, only fatality of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
• 1811 Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, French admiral and explorer (Falkland Islands, Bougainville Island), dies at 81
• 1813 Jan Krtitel Vanhal, Czech organist, cellist, and composer, dies at 74
• 1813 Johann Baptist Wanhal [Jan Křtitel Vaňhal], Czech organist, cellist, composer, and teacher, dies at 74
• 1823 Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus, German encyclopedia publisher, dies at 51

• 1825 Richard Wainwright, composer and church organist, dies at 68
• 1825 William Waldegrave, 1st Baron Radstock, Governor of Newfoundland, dies at 72

• 1856 Philipp Jakob Riotte, German composer, dies at 80
• 1864 Daniel Chaplin, US Union brigadier general, dies
• 1864 John Herbert Kelly, American solider and the youngest Brigadier General in the Confederate Army, dies in battle at 24
• 1885 Edouard J. A. Agneessens, Flemish painter (Slave Market), dies at 42
• 1887 Jules Laforgue, French poet (Les Complaintas), dies at 27
• 1905 David Wark, Irish-born Canadian senator (1867-1905) who served almost 38 years in office, dies at 101
• 1908 Louis Varney, French composer, dies at 64
• 1910 Arthur Coquard, French composer, and music critic (Le Monde; L’Echo de Paris), dies at 64
• 1912 Walter Goodman, English painter, illustrator and author, dies from cancer at 74

• 1914 Pius X [Giuseppe Sarto], 257th Italian Roman Catholic Pope (1903-14 – lowered age of Communion from 12 to 7,) and saint, dies at 79
• 1915 Paul Ehrlich, German bacteriologist and physician (Chemotherapy, Nobel Prize 1908), dies in 61
• 1917 JFW Adolf Ritter von Baeyer, German chemist (Nobel 1905), dies
• 1919 Gregor MacGregor, English cricket wicket-keeper (8 Tests 1890-93) and Scottish rugby union player, dies at 49
• 1930 Charles Bannerman, Australian cricket batsman (3 Tests; first centurion in Test history 165* 1877), dies at 79
• 1931 Waldemar von Baussnern, composer, dies at 64
• 1932 Emille-Louis-Victor Mathieu, composer, dies at 87
• 1932 Paul Keller, German writer (Vergrabenes Gut), dies at 59
• 1932 Tadeusz Joteyko, composer, dies at 60
• 1935 Otakar Ostrčil, Czech composer (Křížova cesta – Way of the Cross), and conductor (National Theater, 1920-35), dies at 56
• 1936 Edward Weston, English-born American electrical engineer who invented the portable voltmeter, dies at 86 [1]
• 1945 Alexander Roda Roda, Austrian writer, dies at 73
• 1946 (John) “Rags” Ragland, American burlesque comedian, and stage and screen character actor (Whistling In The Dark), dies of liver and kidney failure at 40
• 1947 Franz VM Cumont, Belgian religious historian, dies at 79
• 1948 David John de Lloyd, Welsh musician composer, dies at 65
• 1952 Kurt Schumacher, German politician (Social Democrat Party (SPD) chairman,1946-52). opposition leader, and political prisoner during WWII, dies at 56
• 1959 Alfred Kubin, Austrian writer and illustrator, dies at 82
• 1960 Rudolf Moser, Swiss composer, dies at 68
• 1961 Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist (Nobel 1946 – physics of high pressure), dies at 79
• 1961 Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Canadian-American Arctic explorer and ethnologist, dies at 82
• 1963 Joan Voûte, Dutch astronomer, dies at 84
• 1968 Channing H. Cox, American politician (49th Governor of Massachusetts), dies at 88

• 1970 Hildo Krop, Dutch modernistic sculptor, dies at 86
• 1971 Rashid Minhas, Pakistani Air Force pilot (b. 1951)
• 1972 A. M. Klein, Canadian modernist Jewish poet (Hath Not a Jew), dies at 63
• 1974 Ilona Massey [Hajmássy], Hungarian-American film, stage, and radio actress and singer (Ilona Massey Show), dies of cancer at 64
• 1976 Phyllis Konstam, British actress (Murder, Skin Game), dies at 69
• 1978 Ivan Jirko, Czech composer, music critic and psychiatrist, dies at 51
• 1980 Joe Dassin, American-French singer-songwriter, and guitarist (“Les Champs-Élysées”), dies of a heart attack at 41
• 1982 Ulla Jacobsson, Swedish actress (Zulu, One Summer of Happiness), dies of bone cancer at 53
• 1983 Kerwin Duinmeijer, Dutch of Antillean descent, murdered by in a racially motivated attack at 15
• 1985 Harchand Singh Longowai [Sant Ji], Indian Sikh leader and President of the Akali Dal during the Punjab insurgency of the 1980s, assassinated by Sikh extremists less than a month after he signed a peace accord with the government [1]
• 1986 Donn Bennett, TV host (The Big Idea), dies at 76
• 1986 Milton Acorn, Canadian poet (In Love and Anger, I’ve Tasted My Blood), dies at 63
• 1986 Thad Jones, American jazz saxophonist, flugelhorn player, arranger, bandleader, and composer (Count Basie; Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra), dies of cancer at 63
• 1986 Walter Brooke, actor (DA Scanlon-Green Hornet), dies at 71
• 1989 George Adamson [Baba ya Simba – “Father of Lions”], British conservationist (Born Free), murdered in Kenya at 82
• 1990 Marc Turfkruijer, Flemish football referee, movie journalist, and writer, dies at 90
• 1991 Betty Bowden, British dancer and actress (Vote for Nigel), dies at 86
• 1991 Lenore Strunsky Gershwin, widow of Ira Gershwin, dies at 90
• 1992 Ivan Nikolayevich Anikeyev, Russian “lost” cosmonaut, dies at 59
• 1992 William Taylor, American banking regulator (Chairman of FDIC, 1991-92), dies of surgical complications at 53
• 1993 Bernard Delfgaauw, Dutch philosopher (Johnson murderer!), dies at 80
• 1993 Sydney Arnold, British comic actor (The Meaning of Life, Top Secret!, Miss Jones & Son), dies at 93
• 1994 Aleksander Petrovic, Serbian film director (I Even Met Happy Gypsies), dies at 65
• 1994 Kalman Kahana, Polish co-founder of state Israel, dies at 81
• 1994 Revilo P. Oliver, American right-wing advocate who alleged Lee Harvey Oswald was part of a Soviet conspiracy, dies at 86
• 1995 Hugo Pratt, graphic artist, dies at 68
• 1995 John Gilmore, American jazz tenor saxophonist, clarinetist, percussionist, and bandleader (Sun Ra Arketsra), dies of emphysema at 63
• 1995 Orville “Red” Rhodes, American session pedal steel guitarist, dies at 64
• 1995 Paul Foster, American gospel singer (The Soul Stirrers), dies at 75
• 1995 Vladimír Škutina, Czechoslovakian writer and actor (Hvezda jede na jih), dies of cancer at 64
• 1996 Beverley Whitfield, Australian swimmer (Olympic Gold 1972), dies at 42
• 1996 Rio Reiser, German rock singer (“Ton Steine Scherben”), dies at 46
• 1997 Norris Bradbury, American physicist (Director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, 1945-70), dies at 88
• 1998 Raquel Rastenni, Danish singer (“Seven Lonely Days”), dies at 82
• 1999 Bobby Sheehan, American bassist (Blues Traveler – “Run-Around”), dies of a drug overdose at 31
• 2000 Henry Austin, British tennis player (3-time Grand Slam runner-up), dies of complications from a fall at 94
• 2001 Fred Hoyle, English astronomer (Steady State Theory, coined phrase ‘Big Bang’) and sci-fi writer, dies at 86
• 2001 Kim Stanley [Patricia Reid], American actress (Séance on a Wet Afternoon, The Chase, Right Stuff), dies at 76
• 2002 Harry Wich, Dutch painter and set designer, dies at 76
• 2005 Krzysztof Raczkowski, Polish heavy metal drummer, dies of heart failure at 34
• 2006 Bryan Budd, British soldier (Afghanistan), dies at 29
• 2006 Claude Blanchard, French Canadian singer, comedian and actor, dies at 74
• 2006 Joe Rosenthal, American photographer (Pulitzer Prize-Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima), dies at 94
• 2006 Richard Arthur de Yarburgh-Bateson, 6th Lord Deramore, British architect, dies at 95
• 2007 Berthold Grünfeld, Czech-Norwegian psychiatrist, sexologist, and educator, dies at 75
• 2007 Larry Hartsell, American martial artist, bodyguard, trainer, student of Bruce Lee and Dan Inosanto, dies at 65
• 2007 Leona Helmsley, American real estate billionaire and convicted of federal income tax evasion, dies at 87
• 2007 Roch La Salle, Canadian politician, dies at 79
• 2008 Gene Upshaw, American NFL guard (Oakland Radiers) and NFLPA leader, dies at 63

• 2008 Margaret Douglas, chief political adviser (BBC), dies at 73
• 2008 Stephanie Tubbs Jones, American politician (b. 1949)
• 2009 Larry Knechtel, American session piano and bass player (Simon and Garfunkel; Johnny Rivers), dies of a heart attack at 69
• 2012 Dom Mintoff, Maltese Prime Minister (1955-58, 1971-84), dies at 96
• 2012 Meles Zenawi, Ethiopian politician (President, 1991-95; Prime Minister, 1995-2012), dies from liver cancer at 57

• 2013 Elmore Leonard, American author (Glitz, Mr Majestyk, Touch, 52 Pick-Up), dies from complications from a stroke at 87
• 2013 Marian McPartland, British jazz pianist, and radio host (Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz), dies at 95
• 2013 Richard Angas, British operatic bass singer (English National Opera, 1980-2000), dies at 71
• 2014 (Hugh) “Buddy” MacMaster, Canadian Cape Breton fiddler, dies at 89
• 2014 B.K.S. Iyengar, Indian yoga advocate, dies at 95
• 2015 Egon Bahr, German journalist and politician (Ostpolitik policy), dies at 93
• 2015 Melody Patterson, American actress (F Troop), dies at 66
• 2015 Piotr Warzecha, Polish composer, dies at 74
• 2016 Brian Rix [Lord Rix], British actor and activist (Mencap), dies at 92
• 2016 Irving Fields [Yitzhak Schwartz], American lounge pianist and composer (Ilona Massey Show; Bagels & Bongos), dies at 101
• 2016 Louis Smith, American jazz trumpeter, composer, band leader, and educator, dies at 85
• 2016 Matt Roberts, American rock guitarist (3 Doors Down – “When I’m Gone”), dies of prescription drug overdose at 38

• 2017 Fredell Lack, American concert violinist, and teacher (University of Houston, 1959-2009), dies at 95

• 2017 Wilhelm Killmayer, German composer, dies at 89
• 2018 Charles Blackman, Australian figurative artist (Heide circle), dies at 90
• 2018 Eddie Willis, American guitar and sitar player (The Funk Brothers), dies of polio complications at 82
• 2019 Russ Conway, American sports journalist (Eagleson NHL scandal), dies of heart disease at 70
• 2020 Frankie Banali, American heavy metal drummer (Quiet Riot – “Cum on Feel the Noize”), dies of pancreatic cancer at 68
• 2021 Peter Ind, British jazz double bassist, dies at 93
• 2021 Tom T. Hall, American country singer, songwriter (“Harper Valley PTA”), and author, dies of a self-inflicted gun wound at 85
• 2022 Tom Weiskopf, American golfer (British Open 1973; US Senior Open 1995), dies from pancreatic cancer at 79
• 2023 Bill Vukovich II, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year 1968; Indianapolis 500 1973 runner-up), dies at 79
• 2023 Isabel Crook (née Brown), Canadian-British anthropologist, author (Prosperity’s Predicament), and professor (Beijing Foreign Studies University. 1947-81), dies at 107 [1]
• 2023 Naushad Ali, Pakistan cricket wicket keeper (6 Tests, 9 dismissals; Karachi, Punjab) and match referee (5 Tests, 13 ODI), dies at 79
• 2024 Al Attles, American Basketball HOF coach (NBA C’ship 1975 GS Warriors; NBA All-Star Game HC 1975, 76) and point guard (GS Warriors), dies at 87
• 2024 Humberto Maschio, Argentine-Italian soccer forward (13 caps Argentina, 2 Italy; Racing Club, Bologna, Atalanta) and manager (Argentina 1969, Costa Rica 1972), dies at 91

August 20 Highlights