- 222 Julia Soaemias, mother of Elagabalus (b. 180). Ruler during her son's minority, murdered by the Praetorian Guard
- 638 Sophronius of Jerusalem, saint/patriarch of Jerusalem, dies
- 859 Eulogius of Cordoba, Spanish Bishop and Christian Martyr
- 1198 Marie de Champagne, daughter of Louis VII of France, dies at 52 or 53 (exact birthdate uncertain, b. 1145)
- 1486 Albert III Achilles [Albrecht III], Elector of Brandenburg, dies at 71
- 1514 Donato Bramante, Italian architect (b. 1444)
- 1575 Matthias Flacius, Croatian Lutheran Protestant reformer, dies at 55
- 1602 Emilio de' Cavalieri, Italian composer
- 1607 Giovanni Maria Nanino, Italian composer
- 1715 Jan-Erasmus Quellinus, Flemish painter (court painter to Emperor Leopold I), dies at 80
- 1722 John Toland, Irish rationalist philosopher, dies at 51
- 1759 John Forbes, British general (b. 1710)
- 1772 Johann George Reutter, composer, dies at 63
- 1786 Charles Humphreys, American delegate to the Continental Congress, dies at 71
- 1786 Jacobus Bellamy [Zelandus], Dutch poet, dies at 28
- 1787 Maximilien Gardel, French ballet dancer and choreographer (Menuet Reine), dies at 45
- 1807 Anton Eberl, Austrian composer, dies at 41
- 1820 Benjamin West, Anglo-American painter (Death of General Wolfe), dies at 81
- 1826 Gervais-François Couperin, French organist and composer, dies at 66
- 1833 Fridolin Weber, German violinist, violist, and composer, dies at 71
- 1851 George McDuffie, Governor of South Carolina (b. 1790)
- 1854 Willard Richards, American physician and religious leader, dies at 49
- 1856 James Beatty, Irish railway engineer (b. 1820)
- 1857 Manuel Jose Quintana, Spanish author and poet (A la paz), dies at 84
- 1863 Sir James Outram, 1st Baronet, English general (b. 1803)
- 1869 Vladimir Odoevsky, Russian philosopher and writer, dies at 65
- 1870 Moshoeshoe I, King of Lesotho (1822-70), dies at about 47
- 1874 Charles Sumner, American politician, Senator Massachusetts (1851-74) and anti-slavery advocate, dies at 63
- 1894 John Selby, England cricket batsman (6 Tests, 2 x 50; Nottinghamshire CCC), dies of paralytic stroke at 44
- 1897 Berthold Tours, Dutch-English composer, dies at 58
- 1897 Henry Drummond, Scottish geologist and evangelist (The Greatest Thing in the World), dies at 45
- 1898 William Rosecrans, American Civil War Union general (b. 1819)
- 1900 Edmund Peate, cricketer (9 Tests for England 1881-86), dies
- 1907 Jean Casimir-Périer, French politician (President of France 1894-95), dies at 59
- 1907 Nikola Petkow, premier (Bulgaria), murdered
- 1908 Benjamin Waugh, English clergyman and social reformer who founded the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, dies at 69
- 1908 Peter Milne, Scottish composer and violinist, known as the "Tarland Minstrel", dies at 83
- 1913 John Shaw Billings, American librarian & surgeon, dies at 74
- 1915 Thomas Alexander Browne, Australian writer (Robbery Under Arms), dies at 88
- 1919 Harald Fryklöf, Swedish composer, dies at 36
- 1920 Julio Garavito Armero, Colombian astronomer (b. 1865)
- 1921 Sherburne Wesley Burnham, American astronomer (binary stars), dies at 83
- 1925 Andreas Hallen, composer, dies at 78
- 1926 Biddy Anderson, South African cricket batsman (1 Test as captain; Western Province) and rugby union centre (3 Tests), dies at 51
- 1929 Joseph Toole, American politician (1st Governor of Montana, 1899-93 & 1901-08), dies at 77
- 1930 Silvio Gesell, German-Argentine radical economist who invented a form of money (free money) with an expiration date, dies at 67 [1]
- 1931 F. W. Murnau German film director (Nosferatu, The Last Laugh), dies of a car crash at 42
- 1932 Dora Carrington, British Bloomsbury artist commits suicide aged 38
- 1937 Joseph S. Cullinan, American oil industrialist who helped build the Texas oil industry (The Texas Company), dies of pneumonia at 76
- 1937 Paul Scheinpflug, German composer, dies at 61
- 1941 Walford Davies, British organist, composer, educator, and broadcaster (BBC), dies at 71
- 1944 Hendrik W. van Loon, Dutch-American radio commentator and writer, dies at 62
- 1944 Irvin S. Cobb, American writer and humorist (Old Judge Priest), dies at 67
- 1947 Victor Hely-Hutchinson, British composer (Carol Symphony), dies of pneumonia at 45
- 1947 Victor Lustig, Austrian-Hungarian con artist known for "selling the Eiffel Tower twice", dies at 57
- 1949 Juan Lamote de Grignon, Catalan pianist, composer (La nit de Nadal (Christmas Night); Hespèria), and orchestra leader (Cobla Barcelona; València Municipal Orchestra), dies at 76
- 1950 Florence Arliss, British actress (Disraeli), dies at 78
- 1951 Philippe of Isacker, Belgian minister, dies at 66
- 1952 Pierre Renoir, French stage and film actor and director (b. 1885)
Scottish bacteriologist (discovered penicillin; Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1945), dies of a heart attack at 73 [1]
- 1955 Oscar Mayer, Bavarian-born American meat packer (b. 1859)
- 1956 Sergey Nikiforovich Vasilenko, Russian opera composer, dies at 83
American aviator and polar explorer (1st to reach both the North Pole and South Pole by air - disputed), dies at 68
- 1958 Ole Kirk Christiansen, Danish carpenter, inventor, and toy maker (Lego Group), dies of a heart attack at 66
- 1959 Haydn Wood, English violinist, and composer of light classical music ("Roses of Picardy"), dies at 76
- 1959 Lester Dent, American writer (Doc Savage), dies at 54
- 1960 Roy Chapman Andrews, US scientist and explorer (found 1st known dinosaur eggs, director of the American Museum of Natural History), dies at 76
- 1962 Will Vesper, German author (Tristan und Isolde), dies at 79
- 1963 Mahomed Nissar, Indian cricketer (6 Tests for India 1932-36, 25 wkts), dies at 52
- 1965 James Reeb, American minister and civil rights activist, dies from head injuries after being beaten in Selma, Alabama at 38
- 1967 Geraldine Farrar, American soprano and actress (Story of American Singer; Such Sweet Compulsion), dies at 85
- 1967 Joseph Forte, British-American actor (Reefer Madness; Life With Luigi), dies at of a heart attack at 75
- 1969 John Wyndham, American sci-fi author (Chrysalids), dies at 65
American detective writer (Perry Mason), dies at 80
- 1971 Philo Farnsworth, American inventor (created electronic television, video camera tube), dies of pneumonia at 64
- 1971 Whitney Young Jr, American leader (National Urban League 1961-71), dies at 49
- 1972 Fredric Brown, American sci-fi author (Martians Go Home), dies at 65
- 1972 Zack Wheat, American Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder (NL batting champion 1918; Brooklyn Superbas / Dodgers / Robins 1909–26), dies of a heart attack at 83
- 1975 Philip Bezanson, American composer (Golden Child), and eductor, dies at 59
- 1975 Sammy Spear, American big band trumpet player and orchestra leader (The Jackie Gleason Show), dies of a heart attack at 65
- 1976 Louis Gesensway, Latvian-American violinist (Philadelphia Orchestra, 1926-71), and composer (Ode To Peace), dies at 70
- 1977 Alberto Rodriguez Larreta, Argentine racing driver (b. 1934)
- 1977 Ulysses S. Grant IV, American geologist and paleontologist, dies from lung failure at 83
- 1978 Claude François, French pop singer-songwriter ("Comme d'habitude"), electrocuted in a home mishap at 39
- 1978 Sofia Vembo [Bembou], Greek singer, known as the "Songstress of Victory" for her patriotic music, dies of a stroke at 68
- 1979 Jeanne Leleu, French pianist and composer, dies at 80
- 1979 Victor Kilian, American actor (Gentleman's Agreement), dies at 88
- 1980 Julio de Caro, Argentine musician, conductor, and tango composer, dies at 80
- 1982 Edmund Cooper, British sci-fi writer (Tomorrow Came), dies at 55
- 1982 Horace Gregory, American poet, dies at 83
- 1983 Lurlean Hunter, American jazz singer, dies at 63
- 1984 Kostas Roukounas, Greek rembetiko singer and songwriter, dies at about 81 (b. 1903)
- 1984 Nakagawa Soen, Taiwanese-born Japanese Zen master and poet, dies in Rytutakuji monastery at 76
American professor known as the father of intelligence analysis, dies at 82
- 1986 Sonny Terry [Saunders Terrell], American blind Piedmont blues harmonica player and singer (Brownie McGhee), dies at 74
- 1987 Joe Gladwin, British actor (Nearest and Dearest, No Hard Feelings), dies at 81
- 1988 Pham Hung, premier of Vietnam, dies at about 74
- 1989 James Kee, American politician (US Representatives for West Virginia, 1965-73), dies at 71
- 1989 Johan Fleerackers, Flemish civil servant and cultural attaché (Minister of Cutlure, 1965-77), dies at 57
- 1989 John Jay McCloy, American lawyer and banker (Secretary of War 1941-45, Chairman Chase Manhattan Bank, President of World Bank 1947-49), dies at 93
- 1989 William Challee, American stage and screen actor (Desperate; Five Easy Pieces; Moonchild), dies at 84
- 1990 Dean Horrix, English footballer (b. 1961)
- 1992 David Carroll, American actor (Grand Hotel: The Musical), dies of pulmonary embolism at 41
- 1992 Manuel De Dios Unanue, US anti-drug journalist, murdered at 48
- 1992 Richard Brooks, American film director (Blackboard Jungle; In Cold Blood; Key Largo), dies at 79
- 1993 Dino Bravo, Canadian professional wrestler (WWF), shot to death at 44
- 1993 Edgar Nelson Barclift, dancer, dies after lengthy illness at 76
- 1993 Jim Boyd, American country and western swing musician (and his Men of the West - "Waxahachie Dishwasher Boy"), dies at 78
- 1993 Manuel da Fonseca, Portuguese writer (Cerro Maior), dies at 81
- 1994 Jacques Doucet, French painter (Mostar Sarajevo), dies at 69
- 1995 Carel Birnie, found Utrecht Opera/Dutch Dance Theater, dies at 69
- 1995 Ernest Kabushemeye, Burundese minister of Mijnbouw, murdered
- 1995 Frank Fidler, English artist, dies at 84
- 1996 Barry Appleby, British cartoonist (The Gambols), dies at 86
- 1996 Charles Oatley, English electrical engineer (developed scanning electron microscope), dies at 92
- 1996 John Henry Pyle Pafford, librarian, dies at 96
- 1996 Vince Edwards, American actor, director, and singer (Ben Casey, The Devil's Brigade, Matt Lincoln, Firehouse), dies of cancer at 67
- 1997 Hugo Weisgall, American composer (4 Impressions), dies at 84
- 1997 Lars Ahlin, Swedish writer (My Death is My Own), dies at 81
- 1998 Jean Shiley, American high jumper (Olympic gold 1932), dies at 86
- 1999 Camille Laurin, Quebec psychiatrist and politician (Parti Québécois), dies at 76
- 1999 Herbert Jasper, Canadian physiologist and neurologist, dies at 92
- 1999 Stefan Schnabel, German actor (Anna; Dracula's Widow; Firefox), dies of a heart attack at 87
- 2000 Alfred Schwarzmann, German gymnast (Olympic gold individual, team, horse vault, 2 x bronze 1936; silver 1952), dies at 87
- 2002 Al Cowens, American Major League Baseball right fielder (Kansas City Royals, Seattle Mariners; Gold Glove Award), dies from a heart attack at 50
- 2002 James Tobin, American economist, 1981 Nobel Prize for his theory on the effects of financial markets, dies at 84 [1]
- 2003 Brian Cleeve, Irish author (Cry of Morning) and broadcaster, dies at 81
- 2003 Ivar Hansen, speaker of the Danish Folketing (b. 1938)
- 2006 Anthony Farrar-Hockley, English army officer (NATO Commander) and military historian, dies at 81
- 2006 Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion, Canadian Hockey HOF right wing (11 x NHL All-star; 6 x Stanley Cup - Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers) and coach (NY Rangers, Atlanta Flames, Montreal Canadiens), dies at 75
President of Serbia (1991-97) and Yugoslavia (1997-2000), dies at 64
- 2007 Betty Hutton [Elizabeth June Thornburg], American actress, dancer, singer and comedian (Greatest Show on Earth), dies of colon cancer a 86
- 2008 Dave Stevens, American illustrator and comic artist (The Rocketeer), dies at 52
- 2009 Charles Lewis, Jr., American businessman, promoter and entertainer
- 2010 Hans van Mierlo, Dutch politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister (1994-98), dies at 78
- 2010 Leena Peltonen-Palotie, Finnish human geneticist (b. 1952)
- 2010 Merlin Olsen, American College-Pro Football HOF defensive tackle (Utah State Uni; First-team All-Pro 1966–70; 14 × Pro Bowl; Los Angeles Rams) and actor (Father Murphy), dies of cancer at 69
- 2011 Loleatta Holloway, American disco singer ("Love Sensation"), dies of heart failure at 64
- 2012 Hans G. Helms, German writer and composer, dies at 79
- 2012 Sid Couchey, American comic book artist, dies at 92
- 2014 Bob Crow, English trade union leader (National Union RMT), dies of a heart attack at 52
- 2015 Jimmy Greenspoon, American session and touring rock organist (Three Dog Night - "Joy to the World"), dies of metastatic melanoma at 67
- 2015 Ralph Taeger, American actor (Klondike, Acapulco, Hondo), dies at 78
- 2016 Iolanda Balaș, Romanian high jumper (Olympic gold 1960), dies at 79
- 2016 Keith Emerson, British rock keyboardist, composer, and arranger (Emerson, Lake & Palmer - "Karn Evil 9"), commits suicide at 71
- 2018 Karl Lehmann, German clergyman and Catholic cardinal (Bishop of Mainz, 1983-2016), dies at 81
- 2018 Ken Dodd, British singer and comedian described as "the last great music hall entertainer," dies of complications from a chest infection at 90
- 2019 Hal Blaine [Harold Belsky], American pop and rock session drummer (The Wrecking Crew), dies at 90
- 2019 Willie Ellison, American NFL running back. 1967-74 (Pro Bowl 1971; Los Angeles Rams, Kansas City Chiefs), dies at 73
- 2020 Charles Wuorinen, American contemporary classical pianist, conductor, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer (Time's Encomium; Marimba Variations; Brokeback Mountain), dies at 81
- 2020 Michel Roux, French chef and restaurateur (Le Gavroche, 1st Michelin three-starred restaurant in Britain), dies at 78
- 2021 Gerald Hartley, American composer, choral director, and educator, dies at 99
- 2022 Timmy Thomas, American R&B keyboardist, singer-songwriter, and record producer ("Why Can't We Live Together"; "Cold Col People"), dies of cancer at 77
- 2023 Amy Fuller, American rower (World C'ship gold W 8+, 6 x silver; Olympic silver Coxless four 1992), dies from breast cancer at 54
- 2023 Bill Tidy, English cartoonist (Fosdyke Saga), and TV personality, dies at 89 [1]
- 2023 Harry "Bud" Grant, American Pro Football HOF coach (NFL Coach of the Year 1969 Minnesota Vikings; 4 x Grey Cup C'ship Winnipeg Blue Bombers) and basketball forward (NBA C'ship 1950 Minnesota Lakers), dies at 95 [1]
- 2023 John Jakes, American writer (North and South; Sir Scoundrel; Great Women Reporters), dies at 90
- 2024 Emilio Correa, Cuban boxer (Olympic gold welterweight 1972; World C'ship gold 1974), dies at 70
- 2024 Eric Carmen, American power pop singer songwriter (The Raspberries - "Go All The Way"; solo "All By Myself"), dies at 74 [1]
- 2024 Malachy McCourt, American-Irish actor, writer, and politician (The Molly Maguires, Brewster's Millions, Another world), younger brother of Frank McCourt, dies at 92
American polio survivor known as "Polio Paul" who lived for decades in an iron lung after contracting the disease at age 6, dies at 78
- 2025 Clive Revill, New Zealand stage and screen actor (Irma La Douce; Oliver!; Avanti!), dies at 94
- 2025 Junior Bridgeman, American basketball guard (Milwaukee Bucks, LA Clippers) and businessman (net worth $1.4b+), dies of a cardiac event at 71
- 2025 Norair Nurikian, Bulgarian weightlifter (Olympic gold men's 60kg 1972, 56kg 1976), dies at 76
