Famous Deaths on October 27

• 925 Rhazes [Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakariyyāʾ al-Rāzī], Persian physician, philosopher, and writer, dies at 60 (death disputed, 925 or 935)
• 939 Athelstan, one of the greatest Anglo-Saxon kings, often regarded as the 1st king of England dies (b. 895)
• 1271 Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy, French crusader, dies at 59

• 1312 John II, Flemish Duke of Brabant, Lothier and Limburg (1294–1312), dies at 37
• 1327 Elizabeth de Burgh, queen of Robert I of Scotland (b. 1289)
• 1331 Aboe al-Fida [Aboelfeda], Arabic writer/sultan of Hama, dies
• 1430 Vytautas the Great, Grand Duke of Lithuania (b. 1350)
• 1439 Albert II of Germany, King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, dies at about 42
• 1449 Ulugh Beg, Timurid sultan of Samarkand and astronomer, assassinated at 56
• 1485 Rudolphus Agricola [Roelof Huysman], Dutch humanist, scholar (De inventione dialectica), poet, and organist, dies at 41 or 42

• 1542 Abraham ben Avigdor, rabbi/author (commentary on Tur), dies
• 1553 Michael Servetus, Spanish theologian physician, burnt at stake for heresy at Champel near Geneva
• 1561 Lope de Aguirre, Spanish conquistador (b. 1510)
• 1573 Laurentius Petri, first Lutheran Archbishop of Sweden (b. 1499)
• 1580 John Bonga, beggar, dies

• 1617 Ralph Winwood, English politician (b. 1563)
• 1651 Jan III van Foreest, Dutch lawyer, poet and mayor of Hoorn, dies at 65
• 1652 Henry, count of Nassau-Siegen, colonel/gov of Hulst, dies
• 1670 Vavasor Powell, Welsh non-conformist leader (b. 1617)
• 1674 Hallgrímur Pétursson, Icelandic poet (b. 1614)
• 1675 Gilles de Roberval, French mathematician, worked on geometry of curves, dies at 73
• 1687 Renatus Rapinus [René Rapin], French Jesuit theologian and poet (Hortorum libri IV), dies at 65
• 1725 Jacob Hop, Dutch politician and diplomat (treasurer of the Dutch republic), dies at 71
• 1743 Christoph von Graffenried, Swiss nobleman and explorer who founded New Bern, British Province of Carolina (1710), dies at 82
• 1771 Johann Gottlieb Graun, German violinist and composer, dies at about 67 (exact birthday uncertain, c. 1703)
• 1781 Herman-François Delange, Belgian composer, dies at 66
• 1789 John Cook, American farmer and Governor of Delaware (b. 1730)
• 1822 Christian Friedrich Gottlieb Schwencke, German pianist, composer and publisher, dies at 55
• 1824 Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres, Swiss-Canadian cartographer and statesman, dies at 102
• 1833 Ferdinand Franzl, composer, dies at 66
• 1845 Jean Charles Athanase Peltier, French Physicist (Peltier effect 1834), dies at 60
• 1848 Alexander Egorovich Varlamov, Russian composer, dies at 46
• 1858 Ida Laura Pfeiffer, Austrian explorer and travel writer who made two round the world trips, dies at 61
• 1864 Andreas Randel, Swedish composer, dies at 58
• 1879 John Wilkins Whitfield, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 61
• 1897 Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, granddaughter of George III, grandmother of Edward VIII and George VI and great-grandmother of Elizabeth II, dies at 63
• 1917 Arthur Rhys-Davids, English flying ace (WW I), dies at 20
• 1925 Wilhelm Gericke, Austrian composer, dies at 80
• 1927 Joseph “Squizzy” Taylor, Australian gangster, dies of wounds following a gunfight with a rival gangster, John “Snowy” Cutmore, at 39
• 1933 Julius Klengel, German cellist and composer, dies at 74
• 1933 Meir Shapira, rabbi/organizer (Daf Yomi), dies
• 1935 Ernest Eldridge, British auto racer (world land speed record 1924 at Arpajon, France; 1 mile −145.89 mph), dies from pneumonia at 40
• 1938 Lascelles Abercrombie, English poet and critic (Revaluations), dies at 57
• 1940 Fini Valdemar Henriques, composer, dies at 72
• 1941 Ernest Everett Just, African-American embryologist (physiology of development, fertilization, cell division), dies of pancreatic cancer at 58
• 1942 Helmuth Hübener, German anti-Nazi activist and pamphleteer, executed for treason at 17
• 1943 Béla Reinitz, Hungarian composer, dies at 64
• 1943 Isidor Traube, German chemist who founded capillary chemistry and researched liquids (osmosis, surface tension), dies at 83
• 1944 Iman J Van de Bosch, Belgian resistance fighter, dies
• 1949 Ginette Neveu, French child prodigy and concert violinist, dies in a plane crash on São Miguel Island, Azores, Portugal at 30
• 1949 Marcel Cerdan, French boxer (NBA, NYSAC, The Ring middleweight titles 1948-49), dies in a plane crash at 33
• 1953 Zdzislaw Jachimecki, Polish composer and music historian, dies at 71
• 1954 Franco Alfano, Italian opera composer (Puccini’s Turandot), dies at 78
• 1954 Frank Druce, English cricket batsman (5 Tests, 1 x 50; Surrey CCC), dies at 79
• 1954 Sydney Horler, English detective writer (Checkmate), dies at 66

• 1955 Vladimir Mikhaylovich Deshevov, composer, dies at 66
• 1958 Frederik Gerretson [Geerten Gossaert], Dutch historian, poet and politician, dies at 74
• 1958 Joseph Klausner, Polish-Israeli new testament expert, dies at 84
• 1962 Enrico Mattei, Italian oil magnate (Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi), dies at 58
• 1962 Fatso Marco, American actor and comedian (Milton Berle Show), dies at 56
• 1962 Rudolph Anderson, U-2 pilot, shot down over Cuba
• 1964 Sammee Tong, actor (Bachelor Father, Mickey), dies at 63
• 1964 Willi Bredel, German anti-Nazi communist writer (Die Prüfung), dies at 63
• 1965 Edythe Wright, American big band era singer (Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, 1935-39), dies of pancreatic cancer at 51
• 1965 Leo van Puyfielde, Belgian art historian and museum curator (worked with Monuments Men during WWII to recover looted artifacts), dies at 83
• 1966 Nigel Haig, English cricket all-rounder (5 Tests; 1,000 runs and 100 wickets 1921, 27, 29 Middlesex CCC), dies at 78
• 1968 Lise Meitner, Austrian-Swedish physicist (discovered the nuclear fission of uranium, dies at 89
• 1969 Jaume Pahissa, Spanish-Catalan composer (Gala Placidia; Aurora de esperanza), and musicologist, dies at 89
• 1972 Lew Parker [Austin Lewis Jacobs], American actor (Are You with It?, That Girl), dies from cancer at 64
• 1973 Allan “Rocky” Lane, American western cowboy actor (voice of Mr Ed, Red Ryder), dies from cancer at 64
• 1974 Rudolf Dassler, German entrepreneur (founder sportswear company Puma), dies at 76
• 1975 H. V. Porter, American basketball coach and administrator (created fan-shaped backboard; moulded basketball, rules films), dies at 84
• 1975 Rex Stout, American detective writer (Nero Wolfe), dies at 88
• 1976 Deryck Victor Cooke, composer, dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 57
• 1977 (Anton) “Tony” Hulman Jr., American businessman and motorsport entrepreneur (owner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 1945-77), dies of heart failure at 76
• 1977 James M. Cain, American writer (Postman Always Rings Twice), dies at 85
• 1977 Peg Leg Sam [Arthur Jackson], American country blues harmonica player, singer and comedian, dies at 65
• 1979 Father Charles Coughlin, Canadian-American Roman Catholic priest and pro-Fascist radio broadcaster, dies at 88
• 1980 John Van Vleck, American physicist, mathematician, and Nobel Laureate who pioneered the modern quantum mechanical theory of magnetism, dies at 81
• 1980 Judy LaMarsh, Canadian lawyer, politician (Member of Parliament, 1960-68), author, and broadcaster (CBC Radio), dies of pancreatic cancer at 55
• 1980 Steve Peregrin Took, English musician (Tyrannosaurus Rex), dies of a drug overdose at 31
• 1981 John Warburton, British actor (Saratoga Trunk, King Rat, Cavalcade), dies at 82
• 1985 Thomas Townsend Brown, American scientist (The Man Who Mastered Gravity), dies at 80 [1] [2]
• 1986 Alan Branscombe, British jazz and session pianist, vibraphonist, and saxophonist (Tubby Hayes; Beatles – “Got To Get You Into My Life”), dies at 50
• 1987 Vijay Merchant, Indian cricket batsman (10 Tests, 3 x 100, HS 154; Bombay CC), dies at 76
• 1988 Charles Hawtrey, English actor (Carry On films), dies near London at 73
• 1988 Hannah Tillich, German-American writer (Harbor Mouse) and wife of Paul Tillich, dies at 92
• 1988 S B Fuller, founder (Fuller products), dies at 83
• 1990 Elliott Roosevelt, American general, writer and son of FDR (Murder in the Oval Office), dies at 80
• 1990 Jacques Demy, French film director and screenwriter (Lola; The Umbrellas of Cherbourg; Donkey Skin), dies of AIDS at 59
• 1990 Princess Sophie von Hohenberg, daughter of assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (b. 1901)
• 1990 Ugo Tognazzi, Italian comedy actor, director and screenwriter (La Cage Aux Folles, The Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man), dies of a brain hemorrhage at 68
• 1990 Xavier Cugat, Spanish-American bandleader, dies at 90
• 1991 Andrzej Panufnik, Polish-British conductor and composer (Arbor Cosmica; Sinfonia Sacra), dies at 77
• 1991 George Barker, English poet, dies at 78
• 1991 Pyke Koch, Dutch magic realism painter (Dolores’ Breakfast), dies at 90
• 1992 David Bohm, American-born physicist, philosopher, and neuropsychologist (b. 1917)
• 1992 Roy Marshall, West Indian cricket batsman (4 Tests; Hampshire CCC, Barbados), dies from cancer at 62
• 1994 Robert White, American guitarist (The Funk Brothers), dies of complications from open heart surgery at 57
• 1994 Wally Halder, Canadian ice hockey forward (Olympic gold 1948, tournament top scorer), dies of cancer at 69
• 1995 Mike Dutfield, documentary producer, dies in motorcycle accident at 48
• 1995 Susi Hush, English television producer, dies at 49
• 1996 Belinda Quirey, British dance historian and teacher, dies at 84
• 1996 James Aubrey Turner, scientist, dies at 57
• 1996 John Gregory, English ballet dancer, dies at 82
• 1998 Gene Taylor, American politician (Rep-D-St Louis, 1973-89), dies at 70
• 1999 Charlotte Perriand, French architect and furniture designer (Unité d’habitation), dies at 96
• 1999 Frank De Vol, American pop arranger, composer (theme songs to My Three Sons, The Brady Bunch, Family Affair; Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte ), orchestra leader, and actor (Fernwood 2-Night – “Happy Kyne”; The Big Mouth), dies of congestive heart failure at 88
• 1999 Lois Collier [Madelyn Earle Jones], American actress (A Night in Casablanca, Boston Blackie, Slave Girl), dies of Alzheimer’s disease at 80
• 1999 Robert Mills, American physicist (quantum field theory), dies at 72
• 1999 Vazgen Sargsyan, Armenian military commander and politician, Prime Minister of Armenia (1999), assassinated in the National Assembly at 40
• 2000 Walter Berry, Austrian lyric bass-baritone singer, dies of a heart attack at 71
• 2002 Charles O. Whitley, American politician (Rep-D-NC, 1977-87), dies at 75
• 2002 Tom Dowd, American recording engineer and producer (innovator of multitrack recording), dies of emphysema at 77
• 2003 Rod Roddy, American television announcer known for “Come on down! from “The Price is Right”, dies of cancer at 66
• 2004 Claude Helffer, French classical pianist and composer, dies at 82
• 2004 Lester Lanin, American high society ballroom dance orchestra leader (At the Tiffany Ball; Twistin’ in High Society!), dies at 97 [1] [2]
• 2006 Brad Will, American anarchist and independent journalist (b. 1970)
• 2006 Joe Niekro, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1979; NL wins leader 1979; Houston Astros; World Series 1987; NY Yankees), dies from a brain aneurysm at 61
• 2006 Marlin McKeever, American NFL linebacker (Pro Bowl 1966; LA Rams), dies from injuries suffered in a fall at 66
• 2007 Pierre Janssen, Dutch art museum director, dies at 81
• 2008 Bernard W. Rogers, United States Army general who served as the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander, dies at 87
• 2008 Ray Ellis, American record producer, arranger, conductor, and saxophonist (Billie Holiday, Barbra Streisand, Filmation Associates), dies of melanoma at 85
• 2009 David Shepherd, English cricket umpire (92 Tests 1985–2005; 172 ODIs 1983–2005), dies from lung cancer at 68
• 2009 Roy DeCarava, American photographer known for his photographs of jazz musicians (The Sound I Saw), dies at 89
• 2010 Denise Borino, American actress (b. 1964)
• 2010 James Wall, American actor and stage manager (b. 1917)
• 2010 Néstor Kirchner, Argentine politician, President of Argentina (2003-2007), dies of heart failure at 60
• 2010 Owen B Pickett, American politician (Rep-D-Virginia 1987-2001), dies at 80
• 2011 David Rea, American finger-picking folk guitarist, singer, and songwriter (Maverick Child; Slewfoot), dies at 65
• 2011 James Hillman, American psychologist, and educator (C.G. Jung Institute, Zurich), dies from bone cancer at 85
• 2012 Hans Werner Henze, German composer, dies at 86
• 2012 Terry Callier, American soul, folk and jazz guitarist, and singer-songwriter (“What Color Is Love”), dies of cancer at 67
• 2013 Lou Reed, American rock singer-songwriter (Velvet Underground – “Sweet Jane”; solo -“Take A Walk On The Wild Side”), dies from liver disease at 71
• 2015 Betsy Drake, American actress (Every Girl Should be Married), writer, and psychotherapist, dies at 92
• 2016 Pentti Siimes, Finnish actor (Miriam), dies at 87
• 2017 Jack Levy, English mechanical engineer, dies at 91
• 2017 Ladislav Kubík, Czech-American composer (Aulos; Subterranean River) and educator (Florida State University, 1990-2017), dies at 71
• 2018 Murray Khouri, New Zealand classical clarinet player (Australia Ensemble), writer, and broadcaster, dies at 77
• 2018 Ntozake Shange, American playwright and poet known for “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf”, dies at 70
• 2018 Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, Thai businessman, sports team owner (Leicester City FC), dies in helicopter crash at 60
• 2019 John Conyers, American politician (Rep-D-MI, 1965-2017), dies at 90
• 2019 Vladimir Bukovsky, Russian author, activist, and dissident (To Build a Castle; Judgment In Moscow: Soviet Crimes and Western Complicity), dies of cardiac arrest at 76 [1]
• 2020 Jimmy Orr, American NFL wide receiver (Pro Bowl 1959, 65; Super Bowl 1971; Baltimore Colts), dies at 85
• 2021 Bernd Nickel, German soccer attacking midfielder (1 cap West Germany, 1972 Olympics; Eintracht Frankfurt 426 games, 141 goals), dies at 72
• 2021 Bob Ferry, American basketball forward (St. Louis Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Baltimore Bullets) and executive (GM Washington Bullets; NBA Exec of the Year 1979, 82), dies at 84
• 2021 Sandy Carmichael, Scottish rugby union prop (50 caps; British and Irish Lions 1971, 74; West of Scotland, Glasgow District), dies at 77
• 2022 Bahaa Taher, Egyptian writer (1st winner International award for Arabic Fiction 2008), dies at 87
• 2022 Gerald Stern, American poet, (The One Thing in Life), essayist (Some Secrets), and educator, dies at 97 [1]
• 2022 Joyce Molyneux, British chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author, dies at 91
• 2023 Anne Heywood [Violet Pretty], British-American actress (The Fox; The Nun and the Devil) and beauty queen (Miss Great Britain, 1950), dies of cancer at 91

• 2023 Viktor Mamatov, Russian biathlete (Olympic gold USSR 4 × 7.5k relay 1968, 72; World C’ship gold 20k individual 1967, 4 × 7.5k relay 1969, 70, 71), dies at 86

October 27 Highlights