Famous Deaths on June 28

• 548 Theodora, Byzantine Empress and wife of Justinian I, dies at about 48 of suspected breast cancer after a few days of illness, without children to succeed the throne, ending the Macedonian dynasty
• 573 Alboin, king of Longobarden, probably poisoned by his wife
• 683 Leo II, Pope (681-83), dies aged about 72

• 767 Paul I, Italian Pope (757-67), dies
• 1061 Floris I, Count of Frisia (now Holland), dies at about 44 [born c. 1017]
• 1175 Andrei Bogolyubsky, Russian prince
• 1194 Emperor Xiaozong, 11th emperor of the Song dynasty in China (1162-89), dies at 66
• 1385 Andronicus IV Paleologus, Byzantine anti-emperor, dies
• 1586 Primož Trubar, Slovenian Protestant reformer, writer, and bible translator, dies at 78
• 1598 Abraham Ortelius, Flemish cartographer and dealer in maps, books, and antiquities (Theatrum orbis terrarum), dies at 71
• 1617 Johan Evertsen de Captain, Swiss admiral, dies in battle
• 1714 Cornelis Chastelein, Dutch VOC merchant and plantation owner in Batavia who freed his slaves, dies at 56
• 1714 Daniel van Papenbroeck, Flemish Jesuit historian, dies at 86
• 1716 George FitzRoy, British lieutenant-general and 1st Duke of Northumberland, dies at 50 [1]
• 1742 Jan Josef Ignác Brentner, Bohemian composer, dies at 52
• 1748 Marretje Arends [Matje of Nieuwendijk], Amsterdam plunderer, hanged

• 1748 Pieter van Dort, Amsterdam plunderer, hanged
• 1754 Martin Folkes, English antiquarian and mathematician, dies at 63
• 1776 Thomas Hickey, American sergeant convicted of treason, hanged
• 1788 Johann Christoph Vogel, German composer, dies at 32
• 1798 Pierre Dutillieu, French-Italian opera composer, dies at 44
• 1802 Johann Jakob Engel, German author (Herr Lorenz Stark), dies at 60
• 1806 Johann Friedrich Ludwig Sievers, German composer, dies at 64
• 1813 Gerhard von Scharnhorst, Prussia general and Minister of War (1808-10) who reformed the Prussian army, dies at 57 after being wounded in the foot during battle

• 1834 Joseph Bové, Russian architect (b. 1784)

• 1846 Adriaan van den Ende, Dutch vicar and educationalist, dies at 77
• 1855 Giovanni Agostino Perotti, Italian composer, dies at 86
• 1857 Joseph Fischhof, Czech-Austrian pianist and composer, dies at 53
• 1872 Karl Ludwig Friedrich Hetsch, German composer, dies at 66
• 1876 August Wilhelm Ambros, Austrian Czech musicologist (History of Music), dies at 59
• 1880 Texas Jack Omohundro, American frontier scout, actor, and cowboy, dies at 33
• 1881 Jules Armand Dufaure, French statesman (Prime Minister of France 1871-73), dies at 82
• 1889 Maria Mitchell, 1st US woman astronomer (Vassar), dies at 70
• 1890 Edouard Gregoir, Belgian composer, dies at 67
• 1891 Jose Inzenga y Castellanos, composer, dies at 63
• 1892 Alexandros Rhizos Rhankaves, Greek poet and statesman, dies at 82
• 1909 Israel Durham, Phillies president dies
• 1910 Gustave Leon Huberti, Belgian composer, dies at 67
• 1913 Manoel Ferraz de Campos Salles, Brazilian lawyer, politician (President of Brazil, 1898-1902), and coffee grower, dies at 72

• 1914 Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, assassinated with her husband Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, at 46

• 1916 Ştefan Luchian, Romanian painter (b. 1868)
• 1921 Charles Joseph Bonaparte, American Lawyer and political activist (US Attorney General (1906-9), dies at 70
• 1922 Velimir Khlebnikov, Russian poet and playwright, dies at 36
• 1924 Jack Darragh, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame right wing (Stanley Cup 1911, 20-21, 23; Ottawa Senators), dies of peritonitis at 33
• 1929 Edward Carpenter, English poet and philosopher (Civilisation, Its Cause and Cure), dies at 84
• 1937 Max Adler, Austrian socialist theorist, dies at 64
• 1940 Italo Balbo, Italian pilot and governor of Libya, dies at 44
• 1946 Antoinette Perry, American stage actress, theater director, co-founder of the American Theatre Wing, and namesake of the Tony Award, dies of a heart attack at 58
• 1946 Eduard Veterman, Dutch painter/playwright, dies in an auto accident
• 1947 Stanislav K Neumann, Czech poet (Anti-Guide), dies at 72
• 1950 Henry Balfour Gardiner, English composer and musician, dies at 72
• 1954 Red Deer, in Milwaukee Zoo, oldest known deer, dies at 26 (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
• 1957 Ede Poldini, Hungarian composer (La poupée valsante; The Vagabond and the Princess), dies at 88
• 1958 Alfred Noyes, British poet and essayist (Robin Hood), dies at 77
• 1960 Jake Swirbul, American aircraft manufacturer (b. 1898)

• 1963 John ‘Home Run’ Baker, American Baseball HOF third baseman (World Series 1910, 11, 13; AL HR leader 1911–14; AL RBI leader 1912, 13; Philadelphia A’s), dies at 77
• 1964 King Calder, American actor (Lt Grey in “Martin Kane Private Eye”), dies at 64
• 1965 (Ernest) “Red” Nichols, American jazz cornetist, composer and jazz bandleader (His Five Pennies – “Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider”; “Bugler’s Lament”), dies of a heart attack at 60 [1]
• 1965 [Theodora E] Betsy Ranucci-Beckman, actress (Dood Water), dies at 88
• 1971 Franz Stangl, Austrian commandant of concentration camps (b. 1908)
• 1971 Henri Puvrez, Belgian sculptor (Serenity), dies at 78
• 1971 Joseph Colombo, mobster, shot dead at 48

• 1974 Frank Sutton, American actor (Marty, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.), dies of a heart attack at 50
• 1975 Konstantinos Apostolos Doxiadis, Greek architect (b. 1913)
• 1975 Rod Serling, American screenwriter and TV host (The Twilight Zone; Night Gallery), dies after multiple heart attacks at 50
• 1975 Serge Reding, Belgian weightlifter (b. 1941)
• 1976 Stanley Baker, Welsh actor and producer (Concrete Jungle, Zorro, Zulu), dies of pneumonia at 49
• 1978 Clifford Dupont, First President of Rhodesia (b. 1905)
• 1979 Paul Dessau, German composer and conductor (Adventures of Casanova; Never Trust a Woman), dies at 84
• 1980 Helen Gahagan Douglas, American actress and politician (Nixon’s 1st opponent for the United States Senate in 1950), dies at 79
• 1980 Herbie Faye, comedian (Doc, Phil Silvers Show), dies at 81
• 1980 José Iturbi, Spanish concert pianist and conductor who appeared in nearly a dozen 1940s MGM musicals, dies at 84
• 1980 Yoshiro Irino, Japanese composer, dies at 58
• 1981 Floyd “Candy” Johnson, American jazz saxophonist (Andy Kirk; Count Basie; Bill Doggett), and educator, dies at 59
• 1981 Mohammed Beheshti, Iranian cleric and politician (Chief Justice of Iran), assassinated in Hafte Tir bombing at 52
• 1981 Peter Paul Kreuder, German-Austrian pianist and film score composer, dies at 75

• 1982 Gerard Rutten, Dutch film director (Sterren stralen overal), dies at 79
• 1982 Harry Mills, American baritone pop singer and vocal trumpet (The Brothers – “Paper Doll”, “Up A Lazy River”, “The Glow-Worm”), dies at 70
• 1985 James Craig [Meador], American actor (Devil & Daniel Webster, Cyclops), dies of lung cancer at 73
• 1985 Jimmy Thomson, Scottish golfer (US Open 1935, PGA C’ship 1936 runner-up), dies at 76
• 1985 Lambros Konstantaras, Greek actor (O blofatzis, Anna of Rhodes), dies at 72
• 1988 Kurt Raab, German writer and actor (Boarding School, Stationmaster’s Wife), dies from AIDS complications at 46
• 1989 Joris Ivens, Dutch director (A Tale of the Wind, Rain), dies at 90
• 1990 Estelle Lamont, entertainer, dies
• 1991 Ernie McCormick, Australian cricket fast bowler (12 Tests, 36 wickets, BB 4/101; Victoria), dies at 85
• 1991 Klas Bruinsma, clergyman, dies
• 1992 John Piper, British writer (US Churches in WWI) and official war painter, dies at 88
• 1992 Mikhail Tail, Soviet Latvian World Chess Champion (1960-61), dies at 55
• 1992 Vitya Vronsky, Russian-American concert pianist (Vronsky & Babin), and educator (Cleveland Institute), dies at 82
• 1993 Boris Christoff, Bulgaria Italian bass opera singer (Boris Godunov), dies at 79
• 1993 [Jesus Christ] “GG” Allin, American punk rock singer, dies of accidental heroin overdose at 36
• 1994 (Fredericka) “Fredi” Washington, American stage and screen actress (Black & Tan), writer, and civil rights activist, dies at 90
• 1994 William A. Henry III, American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist (Boston Globe), arts critic (Time Magazine), and author, dies of a heart attack at 44
• 1995 Donald Sinclair, vet, dies at 83
• 1996 (Ronald George) “Tim” Woodman, British WWII RAF pilot and squadron leader, dies at 82
• 1996 Ghita Ionescu, Romanian politician scientist (Communism in Romania), dies at 83
• 1996 Michael Wishart, British figurative painter, dies at 68
• 1996 Willard McMurry, American blues record label executive (Trumpet Records), dies at 89
• 1998 Ralph Perring, British businessman (Lord Mayor of London 1962-63), dies at 95
• 2000 Jane Birdwood, British anti-Semitic activist (b. 1913)
• 2000 Nils Poppe, Swedish actor (the Seventh Seal, Dum-Bom), dies of viral complications after several stroke at 92
• 2001 Joan Sims, British actress (“Carry on” films, As Time Goes By), dies from liver failure and diverticulitis at 71
• 2001 Mortimer J. Adler, American philosopher and author (Encyclopedia Brittanica), dies at 98
• 2003 Joan Lowery Nixon, American writer of historical fiction and juvenile mystery (The Kidnapping of Christina Lattimore, The Other Side of Dark), dies at 76 [1] [2]
• 2003 Russell Endean, South African cricket wicketkeeper (28 Tests, 3 x 100, HS 162no, 41 dismissals; Transvaal, MCC), dies at 79
• 2003 Wim Slijkhuis, Dutch athlete (b. 1923)
• 2004 Anthony Buckeridge, English author (Jennings), dies at 92
• 2005 Brenda Howard, American LGBT activist (b. 1946)
• 2006 George Page, American television host (b. 1935)
• 2006 George Unwin, British WWII fighter ace (b. 1913)
• 2006 Jim Baen, American sci-fi publisher and editor (b. 1943)
• 2006 Lennie “Len” Weinrib, American comedian and actor (H.R. Pufnstuf, Bedknobs and Broomsticks), dies from a stroke at 71
• 2006 Peter Rawlinson, Baron Rawlinson of Ewell, English barrister, politician and author, dies at 87
• 2007 Eugene B. Fluckey, American Navy submariner, dies at 93
• 2007 Kiichi Miyazawa, 78th Prime Minister of Japan (1991-93), dies at 87
• 2008 Ruslana Korshunova, Kazakhstani model, dies aged 20 after falling from the ninth-floor balcony of her Manhattan apartment under unexplained circumstances
• 2009 A. K. Lohithadas, Indian screenwriter, director, and producer (b. 1955)
• 2009 Billy Mays, American television pitchman (b. 1958)
• 2009 Fred Travalena, American comedian and impressionist (b. 1942)
• 2009 John Ronayne, Irish classical and session violinist (Radio Éireann Symphony Orchestra; London Philharmonic; Royal Philharmonic; The Beatles – “All you Need is Love. “Yellow Submarine”), dies at 77
• 2009 Tom Wilkes, American photographer, art director, poster and album cover designer (George Harrison; Rolling Stones; Carpenters, Sir Doug; Janis Joplin; Sandpipers), dies at 69
• 2010 Bill Aucoin, American rock band manager(KISS, 1973-82; Billy Idol, 1981-86), dies of prostate cancer surgey complications at 66

• 2010 Robert Byrd, US Senator (Democrat-WV, 1959-2010), majority leader and once the longest-serving Senator in history, dies at 92
• 2012 Éric Gaudibert, Swiss composer, pianist, and teacher, dies at 75
• 2012 Leontine T. Kelly, 1st African American female bishop (United Methodist Church), dies at 92
• 2013 David Atkinson, British air marshal, and honorary physician to the Queen Elizabeth II, dies at 90
• 2013 Matt Osborne, American professional wrestler, dies at 55
• 2014 Jim Brosnan, American baseball player and writer (Long Season), dies at 84
• 2014 Meshach Taylor, American actor, dies from colorectal cancer at 67
• 2014 Seymour Barab, American cellist (Philip Glass Ensemble), and composer of fairy tale operas (Little Red Riding Hood), dies at 93
• 2015 Jack Carter [Chakrin], American comedian and actor, dies at 93
• 2016 Buddy Ryan, American football coach (Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals), dies from cancer and stroke complications at 85
• 2016 Pat Summitt, American Basketball HOF coach (8 × NCAA Division I tournament; 18 × NCAA Regional—Final Four; University of Tennessee), dies from Alzheimer’s disease at 61
• 2016 Scotty Moore, American guitarist (Elvis Presley, 1954-68; Roy Orbison), dies at 84
• 2016 Sergei Cortez, Chilean-Belarusian composer (Jubilee and The Bear; Giordano Bruno), dies at 81
• 2018 Harlan Ellison, American sci-fi author and screenwriter (Star Trek -“The City on the Edge of Forever”), dies at 84
• 2020 Joe Bugel, American football coach (offensive line Washington Redskins ‘Hogs’, Super Bowl 1982, 87; Phoenix Cardinals, Oakland Raiders), dies of bone cancer at 80
• 2020 Marián Čišovský, Slovak soccer defender (15 caps; Inter Bratislava, Viktoria Plzeň), dies of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis at 40
• 2021 Jock Aird, Scottish soccer defender (4 caps Scotland, 2 New Zealand; Burnley), dies at 94
• 2021 Sergio Victor Palma, Argentine boxer (WBA Super Bantamweight champion 1980-82), dies from COVID-19 at 65
• 2022 Cüneyt Arkın, Turkish film actor (The Adam Trilogy), dies at 84
• 2022 Deborah James, British teacher, journalist, author (You, Me and the Big C), and charity campaigner, dies of cancer at 40
• 2023 Lowell P Weicker, American politician (US Senator from Connecticut (R), 1971-88): Governor of Connecticut, 1991-95), dies at 92 [1]
• 2024 Dudu, Brazilian soccer midfielder (13 caps; Palmeiras 134 games) and manager (Palmeiras), dies at 84
• 2024 Marty Pavelich, Canadian ice hockey left winger (Stanley Cup & NHL All Star 1950, 52, 54, 55 Detroit Red Wings), dies from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at 96
• 2024 Orlando Cepeda, Puerto Rican Baseball HOF first baseman (11 × MLB All-Star; World Series & NL MVP 1967 St. Louis Cardinals; NL Rookie of the Year 1958 SF Giants), dies at 86 [1]
• 2024 Yves Herbet, French soccer midfielder (16 caps; Nancy 100 games) and manager (FC Martigues, Bahrain, Angers), dies at 78

June 28 Highlights