Famous Deaths on August 27

• 542 Saint Caesarius of Arles
• 827 Pope Eugene II, Italian Pope (824-827)
• 1208 Irene Angelina, daughter of Isaac II Angeles, dies

• 1394 Chōkei, 98th Emperor of Japan (1368-83), dies at 50 or 51 (b. 1343)
• 1450 Reginald West, 6th Baron De La Warr, English politician (b. 1395)
• 1508 Hieronymus Münzer, German humanist, geographer and physician, toured and wrote about the Iberian peninsula, dies
• 1521 Josquin Des Prez, French composer, dies between 66 and 71 [birthdate uncertain]
• 1522 Giovanni A Amadei/Amadeo, Italian sculptor/architect, dies at about 75
• 1545 Piotr Gamrat, Polish Catholic archbishop (b. 1487)
• 1576 Titian [Tiziano Vecelli], Italian Renaissance painter (Assumption of the Virgin), dies of plague at 87 or 88
• 1590 Pope Sixtus V [Felice Piergentile], Pope of the Catholic Church (1585-90), dies at 68
• 1608 Hendrik van Kinschot Dutch lawyer (lawyer for the Council of Brabant), dies at 66
• 1611 Tomés L de Victoria, Spanish composer, singer, organist, and priest, dies at about 53
• 1635 Lope Félix de Vega Carpio, Spanish playwright and poet (Angelica, Arcadia), dies at 72
• 1651 Jacob Backer, Dutch painter, dies at about 43
• 1664 Francisco Zurbarán, Spanish painter, dies at 65
• 1667 Adriaen Millaert [Melar], Flemish engraver, dies at 33
• 1727 Aert de Gelder, Dutch painter (King David), dies at 81
• 1746 Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer, German-Bohemian organist, and baroque composer, dies at about 89
• 1748 James Thomson, Scottish poet (Rule, Britannia), dies at 47
• 1758 Barbara of Portugal [Maria Madalena Bárbara Xavier Leonor Teresa Antónia Josefa], Queen of Spain, dies at 46

• 1827 Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff, Austrian diplomat and statesman (ruled the Netherlands for Holy Roman Emperor), dies at 78
• 1828 Eise J Eisinga, constructed planetarium at Franeker, dies at 84
• 1830 Louis Henri, Prince of Condé, commits suicide at 74
• 1840 William Kneass, 3rd US chief engraver (1824-40), dies in office
• 1841 Ignaz von Seyfried, Austrian composer, dies at 65
• 1846 Franciszek Ścigalski, Polish composer, dies at 64
• 1846 Gottfied Wilhelm Fink, German composer, dies at 63
• 1855 Francisco Eduardo da Costa, Portuguese composer, dies at 36
• 1857 Rufus Wilmot Griswold, American poet, literary critic and editor, dies of tuberculosis at 42
• 1865 Józef Nowakowski, Polish pianist and composer, dies at 64
• 1865 Thomas Chandler Haliburton, Canadian novelist (The Clockmaker; or, The Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick of Slickville), dies at 68
• 1866 John Pierpont, American poet (Airs of Palestine), Unitarian minister, abolitionist and reformer, dies at 81 [1]
• 1868 Franz Xaver Schnyder von Wartensee, Swiss composer, dies at 82
• 1869 Rebecca Gratz, Jewish American educator and philanthropist, dies at 88
• 1871 William Whiting Boardman, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut), dies at 76
• 1874 Johan George Schwartze, painter, dies
• 1874 John Henry Foley, Irish sculptor (Prince Albert Memorial), dies at 56
• 1875 William Chapman Ralston, American banker (b. 1826)

• 1883 August Friedrich Pott, German violinist, composer, and music professor, dies at 76
• 1887 Wilhelm Volckmar, German organ virtuoso, composer, and teacher, dies at 74
• 1890 Milledge Luke Bonham, American politician, Governor of South Carolina (1862-64) and Confederate general, dies at 76
• 1898 John Hopkinson, British physicist and electrical engineer (Hopkinson’s Law), dies with three of his children in a mountaineering accident in the Pennine Alps, Switzerland at 49
• 1910 Clement of Maasdijk, 1st Dutch aircraft death

• 1922 Carl Fuchs, German composer, dies at 83
• 1924 William Maddock Bayliss, British physiologist, co-discoverer of hormones, dies at 64
• 1929 Herman Potočnik, Slovenian rocket scientist, dies at 36
• 1930 Didericus van Epen, Dutch genealogist (Dutch Patriarch, dies at 62
• 1931 Francis Marion Smith, American borax magnate (b. 1846)
• 1931 Frank Harris, Irish-American journalist and writer (My Life & Loves), dies at 75
• 1931 Willem Hubert Nolens, Dutch Catholic priest, politician (MP, 1896-1931) and law professor (University of Amsterdam, 1909-26), dies at 70
• 1937 John Russell Pope, American architect (Jefferson Memorial, National Archives and Records Administration), dies at 63
• 1943 Otto Selz, German psychologist, dies at 62
• 1944 Georg von Boeselager, German nobleman (b. 1915)
• 1948 Charles Evans Hughes, American statesman, Republican politician and 11th Chief Justice of Supreme Court (1930-41), dies at 86
• 1948 Oley Speaks, American composer (On the Road to Mandalay), dies at 74
• 1948 Oscar Lorenzo Fernández, Brazilian conductor and composer (Imbapara), dies at 50
• 1949 Arthur Chesney [Kellaway], British stage and screen character actor (The Lodger; Chelsea Life), dies of a stroke at 68
• 1950 Cesare Pavese, Italian writer (Fuoco Grande), commits suicide at 41
• 1953 Nicolai Berezowsky, Russian-American composer, dies at 53
• 1955 Joachim Wach, philosopher/sociologist (Sociology of Religion), dies
• 1958 Ernest Lawrence, American nuclear scientist and inventor (Cyclotron – Nobel Prize for Physics, 1939), dies at 57
• 1962 Carlos Lavín, Chilean composer (Lamentaciones Huiliches), and ethnomusicologist, dies at 79
• 1963 Allama Mashriqi, Pakistani scholar and politician (b. 1888)

• 1964 Aleksey Semyonovich Zhivotov, Russian composer, dies at 59

• 1965 Edmond of Dooren, Flemish painter, dies at 68
• 1965 Gerald Bond, South African cricketer (South Africa 1938-39), dies at 56

• 1965 Otto Reinhold, German composer, dies at 66

• 1967 Henri-Georges Adam, French painter/cartoonist/sculptor, dies at 63
• 1968 Marina, Princess of Greece and Denmark, Duchess of Kent, wife of Prince George of England, dies at 61
• 1969 Claire Whitney, silent film actress (Blind Fools), dies at 79
• 1969 Erika Mann, German-American author (Other Germany) and daughter of Thomas Mann, dies at 63
• 1969 Henri EJA de Page, Belgian lawyer, dies
• 1969 Ivy Compton-Burnett, English novelist (Manservant and Maidservant), dies at 85
• 1971 Bennett Cerf, American publisher (Random House) and panelist (What’s My Line), dies at 73
• 1971 Jim Turnesa, American golfer (PGA C’ship 1952; Ryder Cup 1953), dies of lung cancer at 58
• 1971 Lillian “Lil” Hardin Armstrong, American jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader, dies at 73
• 1971 Margaret Bourke-White, American photographer, 1st female LIFE staff photographer, dies at 67
• 1975 Bob Scholl, American doo-wop vocalist (Mello-Kings – “Tonite, Tonite”), dies in a boating accident at 41

• 1976 Mukesh [Mathur], Indian “playback singer” for Bollywood films, dies of a heart attack at 53
• 1977 George Merritt, English actor (I Monster, Canterbury Tale), dies at 86
• 1979 Bolesław Szabelski, Polish organist and composer, dies at 82

• 1979 Nicholas Mountbatten, Lord Mountbatten’s grandson, murdered by the IRA at 14
• 1980 Douglas Kenney, American humorist (co-founded the magazine National Lampoon), dies at 33
• 1980 Sam Levenson, American humorist (Sam Levenson Show, Masquerade Party), dies at 68
• 1981 Joan Edwards, American pop singer on radio (Your Hit Parade) and television (Joan Edwards Show), dies of a heart attack at 62
• 1981 Valery Kharlamov, Soviet ice hockey player (b. 1948)
• 1982 Anandamayi Ma [Nirmala Sundari], Indian spiritual leader, dies at 86
• 1983 William Hitzig, Austrian Maxwell physician, dies at 78
• 1984 Bernard Youens [Popley], British actor (Coronation Street, Somewhere in Politics), dies from a heart attack at 69
• 1984 Billy Sands, American actor (Phil Silvers Show, McHale’s Navy), dies at 73
• 1987 Charlie Smalls, American Tony Award-winning composer and songwriter (The Wiz), dies of a burst appendix at 43
• 1987 Scott La Rock [Sterling], American hip-hop DJ (Boogie Down Productions), shot to death at 25
• 1988 Mario Montenegro, Filipino actor (The Rites of May), dies at 60
• 1988 Max Black, Azerbaijan-born British-American philosopher (analytical philosophy), dies at 79
• 1990 Raymond St Jacques, American actor, director and producer, who was the 1st African-American to hold a regular role in a western series (Simon Blake in “Rawhide”), dies of cancer at 60

• 1991 Gordon Heath, actor (Sapphire, Staircase, Animal Farm), dies
• 1991 Teddy Stauffer, Swiss bandleader “Germany’s swing-king”, dies at 82
• 1991 Vince Taylor [Brian Holden], British rock and roll singer (Brand New Cadillac), dies of lung cancer at 52
• 1992 Daniel K. Ludwig, American shipping magnate, founded Exportadora de Sal, dies at 95
• 1993 Bob Verstraete, Dutch actor/screenwriter/director (Alicia), dies at 71
• 1994 Roberto Goyeneche [El Polaco], Argentine tango singer (Maria), dies at 68
• 1995 Big Dee Irwin [DiFosco Ervin], American R&B singer (“Swinging on a Star” with Little Eva), and songwriter (“What Kind of Boy”), dies of heart failure at 63
• 1995 Dick Bentley, Australian comedian and actor (The Glums), dies at 88
• 1996 Abram Games, British graphic artist (“Blonde Bombshell” ATS poster), dies at 82
• 1996 Alexander Lanusse, military President of Argentina (1971-73), dies
• 1996 Greg Morris, American actor (Mission: Impossible), dies of a brain tumor at 62
• 1996 Waldo Wedel, American Archaeologist (Great Plains prehistoric cultures), dies at 87
• 1997 Brandon Tartikoff, American TV executive and president of NBC (1981-91), dies from Hodgkin lymphoma at 48
• 1997 Jeep Swenson, American actor (Batman & Robin), dies of heart failure at 40
• 1999 Hélder Câmara, Brazilian Catholic archbishop, and human rights activist, Bishop of Brazil, dies at 90
• 2001 Abu Ali Mustafa, leader of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (assassinated) (b. 1938)
• 2001 Michael Dertouzos, Greek internet pioneer, Director of the M.I.T. Laboratory for Computer Science, dies at 64
• 2002 Dr. Edwin Louis Cole, “Father of the Modern Day Men’s Movement,” Founder of the Christian Men’s Network (CMN)
• 2003 Jinx Falkenburg [Eugenia], American actress and well-known US cover-girl model throughout 1930s-40s, dies at 84
• 2003 Pierre Poujade, French politician (b. 1920)
• 2004 Willie Crawford, American baseball player (Los Angeles Dodgers), dies at 57
• 2005 Bert Farber, American orchestra leader (Arthur Godfrey; Vic Damone), dies at 92
• 2005 Seán Purcell, Gaelic footballer (b. 1929)
• 2006 Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Indian film director (b. 1922)
• 2006 Jesse Pintado, Mexican-American guitarist (Napalm Death), dies of liver failure at 37
• 2006 Maria Capovilla, oldest woman alive from 2004-2006 (b. 1889)
• 2007 Douglas “Doug” Riley [Dr Music], Canadian musician and musical director (Famous People Players), dies of a heart attack at 62
• 2007 Driss Basri, Moroccan politician (Interior Minister 1979-99), dies at 68
• 2007 Eduardo Malapit, American Democratic politician, first US Filipino mayor as Mayor of Kauai, dies at 74
• 2007 Emma Penella, Spanish actress, dies at 76
• 2009 Sergey Mikhalkov, Soviet writer and poet, dies at 96
• 2009 Virgilio Savona, Italian jazz singer and composer (Quartetto Cetra – “Un bacio a mezzanotte”; “Crapa pelada”), dies of complications from Parkinson’s disease at 89

• 2010 Luna Vachon, Professional Wrestler (b. 1962)
• 2011 Nico Minardos, Greek-American actor (The Twilight Zone; Twelve Hours to Kill), dies at 81
• 2011 Norman Frederick Simpson, British playwright (One Way Pendulum), dies at 92
• 2012 Neville Alexander, South African politician activist (10 years in Robben Island Jail), dies at 75
• 2013 Carl Graffunder, American mid-century modernist architect in Minnesota, dies at 94
• 2013 Zelmo Beaty, American Basketball HOF center (2 × NBA All-Star; 3 × ABA All-Star; St Louis Hawks, Utah Stars, LA Lakers), dies at 73
• 2014 (Alexander) “Sandy” Wilson, British theatrical composer and lyricist (The Boy Friend; Divorce Me, Darling!), dies at 90
• 2014 Yehezkel Braun, Israeli composer (Shir ha-shirim), dies of natural causes at 92
• 2015 Darryl Dawkins, American basketball center (Philadelphia 76ers, NJ Nets; NBA breaking a backboard rule), dies of a heart attack at 58
• 2015 George Cleve, Austrian-American conductor (Winnipeg Symphony, 1968-70; San Jose Symphony, 1972-92; San Francisco Midsummer Mozart Festival, 1974-2015), dies of liver failure at 79
• 2019 Dawda Kairaba Jawara, Gambian Prime Minister (1962-70) and 1st President of the Gambia (1970-94), dies at 95
• 2019 Jessi Combs, American auto racer, television personality (women’s land speed class record [4 wheels] 2013, 16), dies in jet-powered high-speed race car crash at 39
• 2020 ‘Bullet’ Bob Armstrong, American pro wrestler (WWE Hall of Fame), dies from bone cancer at 80
• 2020 David Bryant, English lawn bowler (World Outdoor C’ship singles 1966, 80, 88; 4 x C’wealth Games gold singles), dies at 88
• 2020 David Mercer, Welsh television sports presenter (BBC tennis; Eurosports) and tennis umpire (Wimbledon men’s final 1984), dies at 70
• 2020 Dick Ritger, American ten-pin bowler (Tournament of Champions 1970, 79 runner-up; 20 career PBA Tour titles), dies at 81
• 2020 Lute Olson, American Basketball Hall of Fame coach (Uni of Iowa 1974-83; NCAA Division I Tournament 1997, Uni of Arizona 1983-2008), dies from stroke complications at 85
• 2021 Siegfried Matthus, German composer, and opera director (Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg, 1991-2018), dies at 87
• 2022 Milutin Šoškić, Serbian soccer goalkeeper (50 caps Yugoslavia; FK Partizan, 1. FC Köln), dies at 84
• 2022 Mogens Palle, Danish boxing promoter (International Boxing Hall of Fame 2008) and manager (European manager Sonny Liston), dies at 88
• 2023 Franne Lee (née Newman), American Tony Award-winning costume designer (Sweeny Todd; SNL, 1975-80), dies at 81
• 2023 Jonathan Sheppard, English-born American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame horse racing trainer (4X Breeder’s Cup Grand National Steeplechase; Steeplechase, record 1,242 steeplechase victories), dies of Lyme disease at 82
• 2023 Pat Corrales, American baseball catcher (Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, SD Padres) and manager (Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians), dies at 82

August 27 Highlights