December 15 in History

Historical events, births and deaths on December 15 through the ages, from Iran and around the world. This year it falls on 24 Azar 1405.

Occasions on this day in 2026

international
Zamenhof Day
international
World Turkic Language Family Day
countries
Kingdom Day (Netherlands)
countries
Bill of Rights Day (United States)

This day in the calendar

Famous people born on December 15

Events (53)

533 (1493 years ago) Vandalic War: Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Tricamarum.
687 (1339 years ago) Pope Sergius I is elected as a compromise between antipopes Paschal and Theodore.
1025 (1001 years ago) Constantine VIII becomes sole emperor of the Byzantine Empire, 63 years after being crowned co-emperor.
1161 (865 years ago) Jin–Song wars: Military officers conspire against the emperor Wanyan Liang of the Jin dynasty after a military defeat at the Battle of Caishi, and assassinate the emperor at his camp.
1167 (859 years ago) Sicilian Chancellor Stephen du Perche moves the royal court to Messina to prevent a rebellion.
1256 (770 years ago) Mongol forces under Hulagu enter and dismantle the Nizari Ismaili (Assassin) stronghold at Alamut Castle (in present-day Iran) as part of their offensive on Islamic southwest Asia.
1270 (756 years ago) The Nizari Ismaili garrison of Gerdkuh, Persia surrender after 17 years to the Mongols.
1467 (559 years ago) Stephen III of Moldavia defeats Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, with the latter being injured thrice, at the Battle of Baia.
1546 (480 years ago) The town of Ekenäs (Finnish: Tammisaari) is founded by King Gustav Vasa of Sweden.
1651 (375 years ago) Castle Cornet in Guernsey, the last stronghold which had supported the King in the Third English Civil War, surrenders.
1778 (248 years ago) American Revolutionary War: British and French fleets clash in the Battle of St. Lucia.
1791 (235 years ago) The United States Bill of Rights becomes law when ratified by the Virginia General Assembly.
1836 (190 years ago) The U.S. Patent Office building in Washington, D.C., nearly burns to the ground, destroying all 9,957 patents issued by the federal government to that date, as well as 7,000 related patent models.
1862 (164 years ago) American Civil War: The Battle of Fredericksburg ends in a Union defeat as General Ambrose Burnside withdraws the Army of the Potomac across the Rappahannock River.
1864 (162 years ago) American Civil War: The Battle of Nashville begins at Nashville, Tennessee, and ends the following day with the destruction of the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General John Bell Hood as a fighting force by the Union Army of the Cumberland under General George H. Thomas.
1869 (157 years ago) The short-lived Republic of Ezo is proclaimed in the Ezo area of Japan. It is the first attempt to establish a democracy in Japan.
1871 (155 years ago) Sixteen-year-old telegraphist Ella Stewart keys and sends the first telegraphed message from Arizona Territory at the Deseret Telegraph Company office in Pipe Spring.
1890 (136 years ago) Hunkpapa Lakota leader Sitting Bull is killed on Standing Rock Indian Reservation, leading to the Wounded Knee Massacre.
1893 (133 years ago) Symphony No. 9 ("From the New World" a.k.a. the "New World Symphony") by Antonín Dvořák premieres in a public afternoon rehearsal at Carnegie Hall in New York City, followed by a concert premiere on the evening of December 16.
1899 (127 years ago) British Army forces are defeated at the Battle of Colenso in Natal, South Africa, the third and final battle fought during the Black Week of the Second Boer War.
1903 (123 years ago) Italian American food cart vendor Italo Marchiony receives a U.S. patent for inventing a machine that makes ice cream cones.
1905 (121 years ago) The Pushkin House is established in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to preserve the cultural heritage of Alexander Pushkin.
1906 (120 years ago) The London Underground's Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway opens.
1914 (112 years ago) World War I: The Serbian Army recaptures Belgrade from the invading Austro-Hungarian Army.
1914 (112 years ago) A gas explosion at Mitsubishi Hōjō coal mine, in Kyushu, Japan, kills 687.
1917 (109 years ago) World War I: An armistice between Russia and the Central Powers is signed.
1933 (93 years ago) Anarchist insurrection suppressed in Zaragoza, Spain.
1939 (87 years ago) Gone with the Wind (highest inflation adjusted grossing film) receives its premiere at Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
1941 (85 years ago) The Holocaust in Ukraine: German troops murder over 15,000 Jews at Drobytsky Yar, a ravine southeast of the city of Kharkiv.
1942 (84 years ago) World War II: The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse begins during the Guadalcanal campaign.
1943 (83 years ago) World War II: The Battle of Arawe begins during the New Britain campaign.
1944 (82 years ago) World War II: a single-engine UC-64A Norseman aeroplane carrying United States Army Air Forces Major Glenn Miller is lost in a flight over the English Channel.
1945 (81 years ago) Occupation of Japan/Shinto Directive: General Douglas MacArthur orders that Shinto be abolished as the state religion of Japan.
1960 (66 years ago) Richard Pavlick is arrested for plotting to assassinate U.S. President-Elect John F. Kennedy.
1960 (66 years ago) King Mahendra of Nepal suspends the country's constitution, dissolves parliament, dismisses the cabinet, and imposes direct rule.
1961 (65 years ago) Eichmann trial: Adolf Eichmann is sentenced to death after being found guilty by an Israeli court of 15 criminal charges, including charges of crimes against humanity, crimes against the Jewish people, and membership of an outlawed organization.
1965 (61 years ago) Project Gemini: Gemini 6A, crewed by Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford, is launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida. Four orbits later, it achieves the first space rendezvous, with Gemini 7.
1967 (59 years ago) The Silver Bridge collapses, killing 46 people.
1970 (56 years ago) Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 successfully lands on Venus. It is the first successful soft landing on another planet.
1973 (53 years ago) John Paul Getty III, grandson of American billionaire J. Paul Getty, is found alive near Naples, Italy, after being kidnapped by an Italian gang on July 10.
1973 (53 years ago) The American Psychiatric Association votes 13–0 to remove homosexuality from its official list of psychiatric disorders, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
1978 (48 years ago) U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will recognize the People's Republic of China and sever diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan).
1981 (45 years ago) A suicide car bombing targeting the Iraqi embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, levels the embassy and kills 61 people, including Iraq's ambassador to Lebanon. The attack is considered the first modern suicide bombing.
1989 (37 years ago) Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights relating the abolition of capital punishment is adopted.
1993 (33 years ago) The Troubles: The Downing Street Declaration is issued by British Prime Minister John Major and Irish Taoiseach Albert Reynolds.
1997 (29 years ago) Tajikistan Airlines Flight 3183 crashes in the desert near Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, killing 85.
2000 (26 years ago) The third reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is shut down.
2001 (25 years ago) The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after 11 years and $27,000,000 spent to stabilize it, without fixing its famous lean.
2005 (21 years ago) Introduction of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor into USAF active service.
2010 (16 years ago) A boat carrying 90 asylum seekers crashes into rocks off the coast of Christmas Island, Australia, killing 48 people.
2013 (13 years ago) The South Sudanese Civil War begins when opposition leaders Dr. Riek Machar, Pagan Amum and Rebecca Nyandeng vote to boycott the meeting of the National Liberation Council at Nyakuron.
2014 (12 years ago) Gunman Man Haron Monis takes 18 hostages inside a café in Martin Place for 16 hours in Sydney. Monis and two hostages are killed when police raid the café the following morning.
2017 (9 years ago) A 6.5Mwearthquake strikes the Indonesian island of Java in the city of Tasikmalaya, resulting in four deaths.

Births (171)

37 (1989 years ago) Nero, Roman emperor (died 68)
130 (1896 years ago) Lucius Verus, Roman emperor (died 169)
1242 (784 years ago) Prince Munetaka, Japanese shōgun (died 1274)
1447 (579 years ago) Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria (died 1508)
1567 (459 years ago) Christoph Demantius, German composer, poet, and theorist (died 1643)
1610 (416 years ago) David Teniers the Younger, Flemish painter (died 1690)
1657 (369 years ago) Michel Richard Delalande, French organist and composer (died 1726)
1686 (340 years ago) Jean-Joseph Fiocco, Flemish violinist and composer (died 1746)
1710 (316 years ago) Francesco Zahra, Maltese painter (died 1773)
1789 (237 years ago) Carlos Soublette, Venezuelan general and politician, 11th President of Venezuela (died 1870)
1832 (194 years ago) Gustave Eiffel, French architect and engineer, co-designed the Eiffel Tower (died 1923)
1846 (180 years ago) Amunda Kolderup, Norwegian opera singer (died 1882)
1852 (174 years ago) Henri Becquerel, French physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1908)
1859 (167 years ago) L. L. Zamenhof, Polish linguist and ophthalmologist, created Esperanto (died 1917)
1860 (166 years ago) Niels Ryberg Finsen, Faroese-Danish physician and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1904)
1861 (165 years ago) Charles Duryea, American engineer and businessman, co-founded the Duryea Motor Wagon Company (died 1938)
1861 (165 years ago) Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, Finnish lawyer, judge, and politician, 3rd President of Finland (died 1944)
1863 (163 years ago) Arthur Dehon Little, American chemist and engineer (died 1935)
1869 (157 years ago) Leon Marchlewski, Polish chemist and academic (died 1946)
1875 (151 years ago) Emilio Jacinto, Filipino journalist and activist (died 1899)
1878 (148 years ago) Hans Carossa, German author and poet (died 1956)
1885 (141 years ago) Leonid Pitamic, Slovenian lawyer, philosopher, and academic (died 1971)
1886 (140 years ago) Wanda Krahelska-Filipowicz, Polish politician and resistance fighter (died 1968)
1886 (140 years ago) Florence Jepperson Madsen, American contralto singer and professor of music (died 1977)
1888 (138 years ago) Maxwell Anderson, American journalist and playwright (died 1959)
1890 (136 years ago) Harry Babcock, American pole vaulter (died 1965)
1891 (135 years ago) A.P. Carter, American country singer-songwriter and musician (died 1960)
1892 (134 years ago) J. Paul Getty, American-English businessman and art collector, founded Getty Oil (died 1976)
1894 (132 years ago) Vibert Douglas, Canadian astrophysicist and astronomer (died 1988)
1894 (132 years ago) Josef Imbach, Swiss sprinter (died 1964)
1896 (130 years ago) Betty Smith, American author and playwright (died 1972)
1899 (127 years ago) Harold Abrahams, English sprinter, lawyer, and journalist (died 1978)
1902 (124 years ago) Robert F. Bradford, American lawyer and politician, 57th Governor of Massachusetts (died 1983)
1903 (123 years ago) Tamanishiki San'emon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 32nd Yokozuna (died 1938)
1907 (119 years ago) Gordon Douglas, American actor, director, and screenwriter (died 1993)
1907 (119 years ago) Oscar Niemeyer, Brazilian architect, designed the United Nations Headquarters and the Cathedral of Brasília (died 2012)
1908 (118 years ago) Swami Ranganathananda, Indian monk, scholar, and author (died 2005)
1909 (117 years ago) Sattar Bahlulzade, Azerbaijani-Russian painter (died 1974)
1909 (117 years ago) Eliza Atkins Gleason, American librarian (died 2009)
1910 (116 years ago) John Hammond, American record producer and critic (died 1987)
1911 (115 years ago) Nicholas P. Dallis, American psychiatrist and illustrator (died 1991)
1911 (115 years ago) Stan Kenton, American pianist and composer (died 1979)
1913 (113 years ago) Roger Gaudry, Canadian chemist and businessman (died 2001)
1913 (113 years ago) Muriel Rukeyser, American poet, academic, and activist (died 1980)
1915 (111 years ago) Eila Campbell, English geographer and cartographer (died 1994)
1916 (110 years ago) Miguel Arraes, Brazilian lawyer and politician, Governor of Pernambuco (died 2005)
1916 (110 years ago) Buddy Cole, American pianist and conductor (died 1964)
1916 (110 years ago) Maurice Wilkins, New Zealand-English physicist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2004)
1917 (109 years ago) Shan-ul-Haq Haqqee, Indian-Pakistani linguist and lexicographer (died 2005)
1918 (108 years ago) Jeff Chandler, American actor (died 1961)
1918 (108 years ago) Chihiro Iwasaki, Japanese painter and illustrator (died 1974)
1919 (107 years ago) Max Yasgur, American dairy farmer and host of the Woodstock Music & Art Fair (died 1973)
1920 (106 years ago) Gamal al-Banna, Egyptian author and scholar (died 2013)
1920 (106 years ago) Kurt Schaffenberger, German-American sergeant and illustrator (died 2002)
1921 (105 years ago) Alan Freed, American radio host (died 1965)
1923 (103 years ago) Pierre Cossette, American producer and manager (died 2009)
1923 (103 years ago) Freeman Dyson, English-American physicist and mathematician (died 2020)
1923 (103 years ago) Uziel Gal, German-Israeli engineer, designed the Uzi gun (died 2002)
1923 (103 years ago) Valentin Varennikov, Russian general and politician (died 2009)
1924 (102 years ago) Frank W. J. Olver, English-American mathematician and academic (died 2013)
1924 (102 years ago) Ruhi Sarıalp, Turkish triple jumper and educator (died 2001)
1925 (101 years ago) Kasey Rogers, American actress and author (died 2006)
1926 (100 years ago) Bill Pitt, Australian race car driver (died 2017)
1928 (98 years ago) Ida Haendel, Polish-English violinist and educator (died 2020)
1928 (98 years ago) Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian-New Zealand painter and architect (died 2000)
1930 (96 years ago) Edna O'Brien, Irish novelist, playwright, poet and short story writer (died 2024)
1931 (95 years ago) Klaus Rifbjerg, Danish author and poet (died 2015)
1932 (94 years ago) Jesse Belvin, American singer-songwriter and pianist (died 1960)
1932 (94 years ago) John Meurig Thomas, Welsh chemist and academic (died 2020)
1933 (93 years ago) Bapu, Indian director and screenwriter (died 2014)
1933 (93 years ago) Tim Conway, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 2019)
1933 (93 years ago) Donald Woods, South African journalist and activist (died 2001)
1936 (90 years ago) Joe D'Amato, Italian director and producer (died 1999)
1938 (88 years ago) Michael Bogdanov, Welsh director and screenwriter (died 2017)
1938 (88 years ago) Billy Shaw, American football player (died 2024)
1939 (87 years ago) Cindy Birdsong, American singer-songwriter
1939 (87 years ago) Dave Clark, English musician and songwriter
1942 (84 years ago) Kathleen Blanco, American educator and politician, 54th Governor of Louisiana (died 2019)
1943 (83 years ago) Lucien den Arend, Dutch sculptor
1944 (82 years ago) Chico Mendes, Brazilian trade union leader and activist (died 1988)
1945 (81 years ago) Heather Booth, American civil rights activist, feminist, and political strategist
1946 (80 years ago) Carmine Appice, American drummer and songwriter
1946 (80 years ago) Genny Lim, American writer
1946 (80 years ago) Comunardo Niccolai, Italian footballer (Torres, Cagliari, national team) (died 2024)
1948 (78 years ago) Cassandra Harris, Australian actress (died 1991)
1948 (78 years ago) Charlie Scott, American basketball player
1949 (77 years ago) Don Johnson, American actor
1949 (77 years ago) Brian Roper, English economist and academic
1950 (76 years ago) Melanie Chartoff, American actress and comedian
1950 (76 years ago) Sylvester James Gates, American theoretical physicist and professor
1951 (75 years ago) Joe Jordan, Scottish footballer and manager
1952 (74 years ago) Rudi Protrudi, American singer-songwriter and producer
1952 (74 years ago) Allan Simonsen, Danish footballer and manager
1952 (74 years ago) Julie Taymor, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1953 (73 years ago) John R. Allen, American general and diplomat
1953 (73 years ago) Robert Charles Wilson, American-Canadian author
1954 (72 years ago) Alex Cox, English film director, screenwriter, actor, non-fiction author and broadcaster
1954 (72 years ago) Oliver Heald, English lawyer and politician, Solicitor General for England and Wales
1954 (72 years ago) Mark Warner, American businessman and politician, 69th Governor of Virginia
1955 (71 years ago) Paul Simonon, English singer-songwriter and bass player
1956 (70 years ago) John Lee Hancock, American screenwriter, film director, and producer
1956 (70 years ago) Tony Leon, South African lawyer and politician
1957 (69 years ago) Mario Marois, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1959 (67 years ago) Greg Matthews, Australian cricketer
1959 (67 years ago) Alan Whetton, New Zealand rugby player
1959 (67 years ago) Gary Whetton, New Zealand rugby player
1960 (66 years ago) Walter Werzowa, Austrian composer and producer
1961 (65 years ago) Karin Resetarits, Austrian journalist and politician
1962 (64 years ago) Tim Gaines, American bass player
1963 (63 years ago) Ellie Cornell, American actress and producer
1963 (63 years ago) Norman J. Grossfeld, American screenwriter and producer
1963 (63 years ago) Helen Slater, American actress
1964 (62 years ago) Paul Kaye, English actor
1966 (60 years ago) Carl Hooper, Guyanese cricketer and coach
1966 (60 years ago) Molly Price, American actress
1968 (58 years ago) Garrett Wang, American actor
1969 (57 years ago) Ralph Ineson, English actor
1969 (57 years ago) Chantal Petitclerc, Canadian wheelchair racer and senator
1969 (57 years ago) Adam Setliff, American discus thrower and lawyer
1970 (56 years ago) Frankie Dettori, Italian jockey
1970 (56 years ago) Michael Shanks, Canadian actor, screenwriter and director
1971 (55 years ago) Clint Lowery, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1972 (54 years ago) Lee Jung-jae, South Korean actor
1972 (54 years ago) Stuart Townsend, Irish actor
1973 (53 years ago) Surya Bonaly, French figure skater
1973 (53 years ago) Ryoo Seung-wan, South Korean actor, director, and screenwriter
1974 (52 years ago) Garath Archer, English rugby player
1974 (52 years ago) P. J. Byrne, American actor
1975 (51 years ago) Samira Saraya, Palestinian actor, filmmaker, poet and rapper
1976 (50 years ago) Baichung Bhutia, Indian footballer and manager
1976 (50 years ago) Kim Eagles, Canadian sport shooter
1977 (49 years ago) Mehmet Aurélio, Brazilian-Turkish footballer and manager
1977 (49 years ago) Geoff Stults, American actor and producer
1978 (48 years ago) Mark Jansen, Dutch guitarist and songwriter
1979 (47 years ago) Adam Brody, American actor
1979 (47 years ago) Eric Young, Canadian-American wrestler
1980 (46 years ago) Élodie Gossuin, French beauty pageant titleholder and model
1980 (46 years ago) Sergio Pizzorno, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1981 (45 years ago) Michelle Dockery, English actress
1981 (45 years ago) Brendan Fletcher, Canadian actor and screenwriter
1981 (45 years ago) Roman Pavlyuchenko, Russian footballer
1982 (44 years ago) Charlie Cox, English actor
1982 (44 years ago) Borja García, Spanish racing driver
1982 (44 years ago) George O. Gore II, American actor and comedian
1982 (44 years ago) Tatiana Perebiynis, Ukrainian tennis player
1983 (43 years ago) Delon Armitage, Trinidadian-English rugby player
1983 (43 years ago) René Duprée, Canadian professional wrestler
1983 (43 years ago) Camilla Luddington, English actress
1983 (43 years ago) Ronnie Radke, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1983 (43 years ago) Sophia Young, Vincentian-American basketball player
1984 (42 years ago) Martin Škrtel, Slovak footballer
1985 (41 years ago) Diogo Fernandes, Brazilian footballer
1986 (40 years ago) Kim Junsu, South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer
1986 (40 years ago) Keylor Navas, Costa Rican footballer
1986 (40 years ago) Snejana Onopka, Ukrainian model
1988 (38 years ago) Erik Gustafsson, Swedish ice hockey player
1988 (38 years ago) Steven Nzonzi, French footballer
1991 (35 years ago) Conor Daly, American race car driver
1991 (35 years ago) Yanni Gourde, Canadian ice hockey player
1991 (35 years ago) Alana Haim, American musician and actress
1992 (34 years ago) Jesse Lingard, English footballer
1992 (34 years ago) Maximiliano Meza, Argentine footballer
1992 (34 years ago) Alex Telles, Brazilian footballer
1993 (33 years ago) Daniel Ochefu, American basketball player
1995 (31 years ago) Jahlil Okafor, American basketball player
1996 (30 years ago) Jenifer Brening, German singer
1996 (30 years ago) Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ukrainian footballer
1997 (29 years ago) Maude Apatow, American actress
1997 (29 years ago) Magdalena Fręch, Polish tennis player
1997 (29 years ago) Stefania LaVie Owen, New Zealand-American actress
2000 (26 years ago) Kayvon Thibodeaux, American football player

Deaths (85)

933 (1093 years ago) Li Siyuan, Chinese emperor (born 867)
1025 (1001 years ago) Basil II, Byzantine emperor (born 958)
1072 (954 years ago) Alp Arslan, Turkish sultan (born 1029)
1161 (865 years ago) Wanyan Liang, Chinese emperor (born 1122)
1230 (796 years ago) Ottokar I, duke of Bohemia (born 1155)
1283 (743 years ago) Philip I, Latin emperor (born 1243)
1343 (683 years ago) Hasan Kucek, Chopanid prince (born c. 1319)
1467 (559 years ago) Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna, archbishop and regent of Sweden (born 1417)
1574 (452 years ago) Selim II, Ottoman sultan (born 1524)
1598 (428 years ago) Philips of Marnix, Lord of Saint-Aldegonde, Dutch nobleman (born 1540)
1621 (405 years ago) Charles d'Albert, duc de Luynes, French courtier, Constable of France (born 1578)
1673 (353 years ago) Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, English noblewoman (born 1623)
1675 (351 years ago) Johannes Vermeer, Dutch painter and educator (born 1632)
1683 (343 years ago) Izaak Walton, English author (born 1593)
1688 (338 years ago) Gaspar Fagel, Dutch lawyer and politician (born 1634)
1698 (328 years ago) Louis Victor de Rochechouart de Mortemart, French nobleman (born 1636)
1715 (311 years ago) George Hickes, English minister and scholar (born 1642)
1753 (273 years ago) Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, English architect and politician, designed Chiswick House (born 1694)
1792 (234 years ago) Joseph Martin Kraus, Swedish pianist, violinist, and composer (born 1756)
1812 (214 years ago) Shneur Zalman, Russian rabbi, author and founder of Chabad (born 1745)
1817 (209 years ago) Federigo Zuccari, astronomer, director of the Astronomical Observatory of Naples (born 1783)
1819 (207 years ago) Daniel Rutherford, Scottish chemist and physician (born 1749)
1855 (171 years ago) Jacques Charles François Sturm, French mathematician and academic (born 1803)
1878 (148 years ago) Alfred Bird, English chemist and businessman, invented baking powder (born 1811)
1890 (136 years ago) Sitting Bull, Hunkpapa Lakota tribal chief (born 1831)
1943 (83 years ago) Fats Waller, American singer-songwriter and pianist (born 1904)
1944 (82 years ago) Glenn Miller, American bandleader and composer (born 1904)
1947 (79 years ago) Arthur Machen, Welsh journalist and author (born 1863)
1947 (79 years ago) Crawford Vaughan, Australian politician, 27th Premier of South Australia (born 1874)
1950 (76 years ago) Vallabhbhai Patel, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Deputy Prime Minister of India (born 1875)
1958 (68 years ago) Wolfgang Pauli, Austrian-Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1900)
1962 (64 years ago) Charles Laughton, English-American actor, director, and producer (born 1899)
1965 (61 years ago) M. Balasundaram, Sri Lankan journalist, lawyer, and politician (born 1903)
1966 (60 years ago) Keith Arbuthnott, 15th Viscount of Arbuthnott, Indian-Scottish general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Kincardineshire (born 1897)
1966 (60 years ago) Walt Disney, American animator, director, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded The Walt Disney Company (born 1901)
1968 (58 years ago) Antonio Barrette, Canadian politician, 18th Premier of Quebec (born 1899)
1968 (58 years ago) Jess Willard, American boxer and actor (born 1881)
1969 (57 years ago) Karl Theodor Bleek, German lawyer and politician, 12th Mayor of Marburg (born 1898)
1971 (55 years ago) Paul Lévy, French mathematician and theorist (born 1886)
1974 (52 years ago) Anatole Litvak, Russian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1902)
1977 (49 years ago) Wilfred Kitching, English 7th General of The Salvation Army (born 1893)
1978 (48 years ago) Chill Wills, American actor (born 1903)
1980 (46 years ago) Peter Gregg, American race car driver (born 1940)
1982 (44 years ago) Máire Comerford, Irish Republican (born 1893)
1984 (42 years ago) Jan Peerce, American tenor and actor (born 1904)
1985 (41 years ago) Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, Mauritian physician and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Mauritius (born 1900)
1986 (40 years ago) Serge Lifar, Russian-French ballet dancer and choreographer (born 1905)
1991 (35 years ago) Vasily Zaytsev, Russian captain (born 1915)
1993 (33 years ago) William Dale Phillips, American chemist and engineer (born 1925)
2000 (26 years ago) Haris Brkić, Bosnian-Serbian basketball player (born 1974)
2003 (23 years ago) Vincent Apap, Maltese sculptor (born 1909)
2003 (23 years ago) George Fisher, American cartoonist (born 1923)
2003 (23 years ago) Keith Magnuson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1947)
2004 (22 years ago) Vassal Gadoengin, Nauruan educator and politician, Speaker of the Nauru Parliament (born 1943)
2005 (21 years ago) Heinrich Gross, Austrian physician and psychiatrist (born 1914)
2005 (21 years ago) Stan Leonard, Canadian golfer (born 1915)
2005 (21 years ago) William Proxmire, American soldier, journalist, and politician (born 1915)
2006 (20 years ago) Clay Regazzoni, Swiss racing driver (born 1939)
2006 (20 years ago) Mary Stolz, American journalist and author (born 1920)
2007 (19 years ago) Julia Carson, American lawyer and politician (born 1938)
2008 (18 years ago) León Febres Cordero, Ecuadorian engineer and politician, 46th President of Ecuador (born 1931)
2009 (17 years ago) Eliza Atkins Gleason, American librarian (born 1909)
2009 (17 years ago) Oral Roberts, American evangelist, founded the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association (born 1918)
2010 (16 years ago) Blake Edwards, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1922)
2010 (16 years ago) Bob Feller, American baseball player and sportscaster (born 1918)
2010 (16 years ago) Eugene Victor Wolfenstein, American psychoanalyst and theorist (born 1940)
2011 (15 years ago) Bob Brookmeyer, American trombone player and composer (born 1929)
2011 (15 years ago) Christopher Hitchens, English-American essayist, literary critic, and journalist (born 1949)
2012 (14 years ago) Owoye Andrew Azazi, Nigerian general (born 1952)
2012 (14 years ago) Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, Nigerian politician, 18th Governor of Kaduna State (born 1948)
2012 (14 years ago) Olga Zubarry, Argentinian actress (born 1929)
2013 (13 years ago) Harold Camping, American evangelist, author, radio host (born 1921)
2013 (13 years ago) Joan Fontaine, British-American actress (born 1917)
2013 (13 years ago) Dyron Nix, American basketball player (born 1967)
2014 (12 years ago) Donald Metcalf, Australian physiologist and immunologist (born 1929)
2014 (12 years ago) Fausto Zapata, Mexican journalist, lawyer, and politician, Governor of San Luis Potosí (born 1940)
2015 (11 years ago) Harry Zvi Tabor, English-Israeli physicist and engineer (born 1917)
2016 (10 years ago) Craig Sager, American sports journalist (born 1951)
2017 (9 years ago) Heinz Wolff, scientist and TV presenter (born 1928)
2017 (9 years ago) Calestous Juma, academic (born 1953)
2018 (8 years ago) Eryue He, Chinese historical fiction writer (born 1945)
2018 (8 years ago) Girma Wolde-Giorgis, President of Ethiopia (born 1924)
2020 (6 years ago) Saufatu Sopoanga, Tuvaluan politician, 8th Prime Minister of Tuvalu (born 1952)
2024 (2 years ago) Zakir Hussain, Indian tabla player, musical producer, film actor and composer (born 1951)
2025 (a year ago) William J. Bauer, senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago and previously a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, (born 1926)