Famous Deaths on July 23

• 945 Richarius, bishop of Liège (922-45), dies
• 1227 Qiu Chuji, Chinese Taoist (b. 1148)
• 1373 Birgitta of Sweden, Sweden’s most celebrated saint who established Bridgettines religious order, dies at 69 or 70

• 1403 Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester, English rebel (executed) (b. 1343)
• 1531 Louis de Brézé, seigneur d’Anet, Marshal of Normandy and husband of Diane de Poitiers
• 1581 Georges Lalaing, viceroy of Friesland, dies
• 1584 John Day, English protestant printer (Book of Martyrs) (b. 1522)
• 1645 Michael I, first Russian Tsar of the House of Romanov (1613-45), dies at 49
• 1685 Pietro Reggio, Italian composer, singer, and lutenist, dies at 53
• 1690 Richard Gibson, English painter of portrait miniatures and a court dwarf, dies at around 75
• 1692 Gilles Ménage, French scholar, dies at 78
• 1727 Simon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain
• 1757 Domenico Scarlatti, Italian composer and harpsichordist (La Silvia), dies at 71
• 1764 Gilbert Tennent, Irish Presbyterian religious leader in Colonial America, dies at 61
• 1773 George Edwards, English naturalist and ornithologist (father of British ornithology), dies at 79
• 1781 John Joachim Zubly, Swiss-American Continental Congressman, dies at 56

• 1800 John Rutledge, American 2nd Chief Justice of the United States, dies at 60
• 1803 Arthur Wolfe, Irish 1st viscount Kilwarden, Chief Justice of Ireland, murdered during Irish Rebellion at 64
• 1816 Elizabeth Hamilton, British author (Cats: A Celebration), dies at 68
• 1829 Wojciech Boguslawski, Polish composer, dies at 72
• 1840 František Max Kníže, Czech composer, dies at 55
• 1844 Christian Gobrecht, 4th US chief engraver (1840-44), dies in office
• 1853 Andries Pretorius, Boer leader (Pretoria named after him), dies at 54
• 1859 Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, French poet (Bouquets et prières), dies at 73
• 1866 Thomas Forbes Walmisley, English composer, dies at 83

• 1878 Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky, Bohemian-Austrian pathologist whose classification and explanation of diseases advanced clinical diagnoses, dies at 74 [1]
• 1878 Miguel Hilarion Eslava, Spanish composer and priest (Chapel Master Royal Chapel Madrid), dies at 70

• 1888 Williams Carter Wickham, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 67
• 1904 John Simon, British pathologist, public health officer, and 1st Chief Medical Officer (1855-76), dies at 87
• 1905 Jean-Jacques Henner, French painter, dies at 76
• 1909 Ernest F. Cambier, Belgian colonial official (built railway in the Congo), dies at 65
• 1909 Zygmunt Noskowski, Polish composer, conductor, and pedagogue, dies at 63

• 1920 Conrad Kohrs, German-born cattle rancher in Montana, dies at 84
• 1923 Charles Dupuy, French statesman, 3 times Prime Minister of France (1893, 1894-95, 1898-99), dies at 71
• 1924 Frank Frost Abbott, American classical scholar, dies at 64
• 1927 Saad Zaghlul, Egyptian parliament chairman, dies at 74
• 1927 William Ashley, English economic historian (The Economic Organisation of England), dies at 67
• 1930 Glenn Curtiss, American aviation pioneer and airplane builder, dies at 52
• 1932 Alberto Santos-Dumont, Brazilian balloonist, airship builder, and aviator (1st plane flight in Europe), dies by suicide at 59
• 1932 Frank Rankin, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame rover (Toronto Eatons, Toronto St. Michael’s Majors) and coach (Toronto Granites-Canada Olympic gold 1924), dies at 41
• 1932 Tenby Davies, Welsh athlete (world half-mile professional champion 1909), dies at 48
• 1933 Max Schillings, German composer and conductor (Mona Lisa), dies at 65
• 1942 Adam Czerniaków, Polish engineer and head of Warsaw Jewish Ghetto Council, dies by suicide at beginning of clearing of the Ghetto at 61
• 1942 Andrew Ducat, English cricketer (England 1921) and footballer, dies whilst batting at Lords Cricket Ground at 56
• 1942 Nikola Vaptsarov, Bulgarian poet, communist and revolutionary, executed by firing squad at 32
• 1942 Valdemar Poulsen, Danish engineer who invented devices for radio broadcasting, dies at 72
• 1943 Emanuel Querido, Dutch author and publisher (N.V. Em. Querido Uitgeversmaatschappij), murdered in the Nazi extermination camp at Sobibor at 71
• 1944 Helmuth James von Moltke, German earl (July 20th plotter), executed by the Nazis for treason at 37
• 1944 Max Nettlau, German anarchist and historian, dies at 79
• 1946 James Maxton, Scottish politician, Leader of the Independent Labour Party, dies at 61

• 1951 Robert Flaherty, American filmmaker and the father of documentary film (Nanook of North), dies at 67
• 1955 Betsy van Es, Flemish actress (Un soir de joie), dies at 55
• 1955 Cordell Hull, American Secretary of State (1933-44) who established United Nations (Nobel Peace Prize 1945), dies at 83
• 1957 Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Italian prince and writer (The Leopard), dies at 61
• 1961 Esther Dale, American actress (Curly Top; The Egg and I; Ma and Pa Kettle films), dies after surgery at 75
• 1964 Jan de Vries, Dutch scholar of Germanic linguistics and Germanic mythology, dies at 74
• 1966 Donald Novis, British singer and actor (Monte Carlo; The Singing Plumber), dies at 60
• 1966 Douglass Montgomery, American actor (Forbidden, Harmony Lane), dies from spinal cancer at 56

• 1968 Henry Hallett Dale, physiologist (1938 Noble Prize for Medicine or Physiology for work on acetylcholine), dies at 93
• 1969 Dell Floyd, American editor, author and playwright (Little Accident), dies at 82
• 1970 Leith Stevens, American pianist, composer and conductor of scores for radio (Suspense), film (The Wild Ones; War of the Worlds), and television (Climax!), dies of a heart attack (upon learning his wife was killed in a car accident) at 60
• 1971 Van Heflin [Emmett Evan Heflin Jr], American stage, screen, and radio actor (Johnny Eager; Shane; Madame Bovary; 3:10 to Yuma), dies of a heart attack at 62
• 1973 Eddie Rickenbacker, American aviator “Ace of Aces” (WWI), dies at 82
• 1973 Marius-François Gaillard, French pianist (DeBussy), conductor and composer (La passion noire), dies at 72
• 1975 Emlen Tunnell, American Pro Football HOF safety (NFL C’ship 1956 NY Giants, 1961 GB Packers; 6 × First-team All-Pro; 9 × Pro Bowl), dies from a heart attack at 51
• 1976 Martin Wickramasinghe, Sri Lankan author (Gamperaliya – The Uprooted/Changing Village), dies at 85
• 1976 Wilhelmina Von Bremen, American 4X100 relay sprinter (Olympic gold 1932), dies at 64
• 1977 René de Vos, Dutch actor and composer (Jij Bent Mijn Leven), dies at 79
• 1979 Joseph Kessel, French journalist and novelist (Army of the Shadows), dies at 81
• 1980 Keith Godchaux, American pianist, and singer (Grateful Dead, 1971-79 – “Let Me Sing Your Blues Away”), dies in a car accident at 32
• 1980 Mollie Steimer, American political prisoner and anarchist agitator, dies at 82
• 1980 Sarto Fournier, Quebec politician, Mayor of Montreal (1957-60), dies at 72
• 1982 Betty Parsons, American artist and art dealer, dies at 82
• 1982 Vic Morrow [Morozoff], American film and television actor Combat!; Cimmaron; Roots), killed by helicopter crash during the filming of “The Twilight Zone: The Movie” at 53
• 1983 Georges Auric, French composer (one of Les Six), dies at 84
• 1984 Lloyd Gough, American actor (Sunset Boulevard, The Front, The Green Hornet), dies of aortic aneurysm at 76
• 1985 Johnny Wardle, English cricketer (b. 1923)
• 1985 Kay Kyser, bandleader (Kay Kyser’s Kollege), dies at 79
• 1986 Jouko Paavo Kalervo Tolonen, Finnish composer, dies at 73
• 1988 Jahangir Khan, Indian cricket fast bowler (4 Tests India; Pakistan selector), dies at 78
• 1989 Claude Harmon, American golfer (US Masters 1948), dies of heart failure at 73
• 1989 Donald Barthelme, American author (b. 1931)
• 1990 Bert Sommer, American pop-folk music singer-songwriter, who appeared on Broadway in “Hair”, and performed at Woodstock, dies of respiratory illness at 41
• 1990 Georges Flamant, Frencg actor (La Chienne), dies in Paris at 86
• 1990 Joe Turner, American jazz pianist, dies of cardiac arrest at 82
• 1990 Kenjiro Takayanagi, Japanese development of television (b. 1899)
• 1992 Arletty [Léonie Bathiat], French fashion model and actress (Hotel du Niord; Children of Paradise; The Longest Day), dies at 94
• 1992 Maxine Audley, British actress (Peeping Tom, Ricochet, House of Cards), dies at 69
• 1993 James Jordan, father of NBA star Michael Jordan, found dead near McColl, South Carolina
• 1994 Aad Ivens, Dutch checkers player, dies at 80
• 1994 Hans J. Salter, Austrian-American film composer (The Wolf Man; Christmas Holiday; This Love Of Ours), dies at 98
• 1994 Henry William Collins, English artist, dies at 84
• 1995 Bob Rundick, American poet and DJ, dies at 52
• 1995 Floyd McDaniel, American blues singer and guitarist, dies at 80
• 1996 Aliki Vougiouklaki, actress (Madalena), dies at 63
• 1996 Aliki Vouyouklaki, Greek stage and screen actress (Madalena), dies of pancreatic cancer at 62
• 1996 Hamilton Fish IV, American politician (Rep-R-NY, 1969-95), dies at 70
• 1996 Jean Muir, American actress (Fugitive in the Sky, The Aldrich Family) and the 1st performer to be blacklisted for being an alleged communist sympathizer, dies at 85 [1]
• 1996 Jessica “Decca” Mitford, English author, activist and one of the Mitford sisters, dies at 78
• 1996 John Corner, scientist, dies at 80
• 1996 Red Munger, American baseball (MLB All Star 1944, 47, 49; St. Louis Cardinals), dies at 77
• 1997 Chūhei Nambu, Japanese athlete (Olympic gold triple jump 1932; only person to have held WRs in both long jump & triple jump), dies at 93
• 1998 John Hopkins, English TV, film and stage writer (Z-Cars), dies at 67
• 1998 Vladimir Dudintsev, Ukrainian Soviet writer (Not by Bread Alone), dies at 79
• 1999 Alex Gordon, Welsh architect (RIBA President), dies at 82

• 2001 Eudora Welty, American novelist (Optimist’s Daughter-Pulitzer 1973), dies at 92
• 2002 Arnold Weinstock, English industrialist (GEC managing director), dies at 77
• 2002 Chaim Potok [Herman Potok], American novelist (The Promise; The Chosen), and rabbi, dies at 73
• 2002 Reginald “Leo” McKern, Australian actor (Blue Lagoon, Help, Mouse that Roared), dies of health complications at 82
• 2002 William Luther Pierce, American author and activist, dies at 68
• 2003 James E. Davis, New York City councilman (murdered) (b. 1962)
• 2004 Carlos Paredes, Portuguese guitar virtuoso and composer, dies at 79
• 2004 Mehmood [Ali], Indian actor, singer, director and producer (Do Phoo!, Vardaan), dies at 71
• 2004 Piero Piccioni, Italian jazz pianist, lawyer, film score composer (Swept Away), and conductor, dies at 82
• 2004 Serge Reggiani, Italian-French actor (Paris Blues), chanson singer (“Les loups sont entrés dans Paris”; “Sarah”), and painter, dies of a heart attack at 82
• 2005 Myron Floren, American accordionist (The Lawrence Welk Show), dies at 85
• 2005 Ted Greene, American jazz guitarist and teacher (b. 1946)
• 2006 Charles E. Brady Jr, American physician, Navy Captain and NASA astronaut (STS-78), commits suicide at 54
• 2006 Jean-Paul Desbiens, Quebec writer and journalist, dies at 79
• 2007 Benjamin Libet, American scientist (human consciousness), dies at 91
• 2007 George Tabori, Hungarian writer, dies at 93
• 2007 Mohammed Zahir Shah, last King of Afghanistan (1933-73), dies at 92
• 2007 Ron Miller, American songwriter and record producer (b. 1933)
• 2007 Tor Kamata, American-Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1937)
• 2008 Kurt Furgler, Swiss politician, President of the Confederation (1977, 1981 and 1985), dies at 84
• 2009 Danny McBride, American musician (Sha Na Na, 1975-80), dies at 63
• 2010 Daniel Schorr, American broadcast journalist (CBS), dies at 93
• 2010 Willem Breuker, Dutch saxophonist and conductor (WB Collective), dies at 65

• 2011 John Shalikashvili, Polish-American general (NATO), dies at 75
• 2011 Johnny Hoes, Dutch musician and producer (“Wish I’d Stayed with My Mom”), dies at 94
• 2011 Nguyễn Cao Kỳ, Premier of South Vietnam (1965-67), dies at 80
• 2012 Robert Cage, American blues guitarist (From Lake Mary), dies at 75

• 2013 Djalma Santos, Brazilian soccer right-back (98 caps; Portuguesa 434 games, Palmeiras 498 games), dies from pneumonia at 84

• 2014 Anne Mackenzie, South African long distance athlete, dies at 88
• 2014 Dora Bryan [Broadbent], British stage and screen actress (A Taste of Honey), novelty singer (“All I Want For Christmas Is A Beatle”), and hotelier dies at 91
• 2014 Heinz Martin Lonquich, German pianist, conductor, composer (The Silence of John of Nepomuk; Where year and day don’t count), and clergyman, dies at 77
• 2016 Thorbjorn Falldin, Swedish politician, Prime Minister (1976-78, 79-82) and sheep farmer, dies at 90
• 2017 Mervyn Rose, Australian tennis player (Australian C’ships 1954, French C’ships 1958), dies at 87
• 2020 Benjamin Mkapa, Tanzanian politician, President of Tanzania (1995-2005), dies at 81
• 2020 Jean Brankart, Belgian cyclist (Tour de France 1955, Giro d’Italia 1958 runner-up; Belgium national track pursuit champion 1956, 58, 59), dies at 90
• 2020 Mars Rafikov, Russian cosmonaut (one of the 20 original cosmonauts), dies at 66
• 2021 John Cornell, Australian screenwriter (Paul Hogan Show; Crocodile Dundee), and director (Crocodile Dundee II),. dies from complications related to Parkinson’s disease at 80
• 2021 Tito Lupini, Italian rugby union prop (11 Tests; Rovigo) and coach (Rovigo), dies from COVID-19 at 65
• 2022 Bob Rafelson, American Emmy Award-winning television producer (The Monkees), and film maker (Five Easy Pieces; Easy Rider; Head), dies at 89
• 2022 Rinus Ferdinandusse, Dutch journalist, editor (Vrij Nederland, 1969-96), and author (Dovemansoren; Naked Over the Fence), dies at 90
• 2023 Inga Swenson, American stage and screen actress (110 in the Shade; Benson – “Gretchen”), dies at 90
• 2023 Pamela Blair American stage actress, singer, and dancer (A Chorus Line), dies at 73
• 2023 Roy Swetman, English cricket wicket-keeper (11 Tests, 26 dismissals, 1 x 50; Surrey CCC, Nottinghamshire CCC, Gloucestershire CCC), dies at 89

July 23 Highlights