Famous Deaths on February 23

September 17, 2024

February 23 Calendar

1704 Georg Muffat, French/German organist/composer, dies at 50
1718 François Fagel, Dutch field marshal (War of the Spanish Succession), dies at 63
1719 Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg, German Lutheran missionary to India, dies at 36
1766 Stanislaw Leszcynski, duke of Lutherans/king of Poland, dies
1781 George Taylor, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (for Pennsylvania), dies at about 64 or 65
1792 Joshua Reynolds, English portrait painter (Simplicity), dies at 68
1800 Joseph Warton, English literary critic (b. 1722)
1806 John Alcock, English composer and organist, dies at 90
1807 François Guichard, French guitarist and composer, dies at 61

1821 Marie-Anne Collot, French sculptor, dies

1851 Joanna Baillie, Scottish poet and playwright, dies at 88

German mathematician considered one of the greatest of all time (Gaussian distribution, fundamental theorem of algebra), dies at 77

1859 Zygmunt Krasiński, Polish Romantic poet (b. 1812)
1867 George Thomas Smart, English composer and conductor (Covent Garden), dies at 90
1868 Andrew Strath, Scottish golfer (British Open 1865), dies at 30
1879 Albrecht von Roon, Prussian soldier and statesman (Minister of War), dies at 75
1884 Jimmy Tambo, Australian aboriginal, US circus attraction, dies at 23
1897 Woldemar Bargiel, German composer, dies at 68
1900 Ernest Dowson, British poet (Decorations in Verse and Prose), dies at 32
1900 William Butterfield, architect of the Gothic revival, dies
1902 Samuel R Gardiner, British historian (Oliver Cromwell), dies at 72
1903 Albert Cahen, French composer, dies at 57
1903 Friedrich Grutzmacher, composer, dies at 70
1904 Mahendralal Sarkar, Indian homeopath doctor and founder of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, dies at 70
1906 Johann Hoch, US murderer, executed
1908 Johannes Friedrich August von Esmarch, German surgeon (b. 1823)
1913 Jimmy Sinclair, cricketer (3 centuries in 25 Test South African career), dies
1915 Robert Smalls, African-American congressman (1875-87), dies at 75
1916 George Martin, English composer and organist, dies at 71
1918 Adolf Friedrich VI, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, dies at 35
1920 Alexander Alexandrovich Il'yinsky, composer, dies at 61
1922 Albert Victor Bäcklund, Swedish physicist (b. 1845)
1927 Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson, Icelandic composer (Lofsöngur - National Anthem of Iceland), dies at 79
1930 Horst Wessel, German nazi lyricist (Fahne Hoch), dies at 22
1930 Mabel Normand [Muriel Fortescue], American silent-film actress, director and comedienne (Mickey), dies of tuberculosis at 35

Australian operatic soprano and face of the Australian 100 dollar note, dies at 69

1934 Augusto Sandino, Nicaraguan patriot, assassinated by the National Guard at 38

English composer (Coronation Ode, Pomp and Circumstance), dies of colorectal cancer at 76

1935 Jan Duiker, Dutch architect (Hotel Gooiland), dies at 44
1937 Claude Buckenham, cricketer (21 wkts in 4 Tests for Eng 1909-10), dies
1942 Stefan Zweig, Austrian poet, essayist and dramatist (Beware of Pity), dies at 60

Belgian-American chemist and inventor (bakelite plastics), dies at 80

1945 Aleksei Tolstoi, Russian poet and writer (Pjotr Peroyj), dies at 62
1945 Aubrey Cousins, Canadian sergeant (Victoria Cross), dies in battle
1946 Tomoyuki Yamashita [Yamashita Tomobumi], Imperial Japanese general dubbed "Tiger of Malaya," executed for war crimes by hanging at 60
1948 John Robert Gregg, Irish-American inventor of a shorthand system Gregg Shorthand, dies at 80
1955 Paul Claudel, French poet and playwright (L'otage-1909), dies at 86
1957 John Friend Mahoney, American physician who pioneered the treatment of syphilis with penicillin, dies at 67
1957 Marika Ninou, Greek singer (b. 1918)
1961 Wilf Ferguson, West Indian cricket spin bowler (8 Tests, 34 wickets, BB 6/92, 2 x 50; Trinidad), dies at 43
1963 Algeria Junius "June" Clark, American jazz trumpeter and cornetist, dies at 62

English comedian (Laurel & Hardy films), dies of a heart attack at 74

1968 Fannie Hurst, American novelist (Anatomy of Me), dies at 78
1969 Joseph Messner, Austrian organist and composer, dies at 75
1969 Madhubala [Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi], Indian actress regarded as "The Venus of Indian Cinema", dies of a heart condition at 36
1970 Hirsch Jacobs, American thoroughbred horse trainer and owner (b. 1904)
1971 King Lockwood, dies of stroke at 73
1972 Michael Taube, Polish composer, dies at 81
1973 Dickinson W. Richards, American physician (Nobel 1956 - development of cardiac catheterization and the characterisation of a number of cardiac diseases), dies at 77
1974 Dave Brown, Australian rugby league centre (9 Tests, 19 games NSW; Eastern Suburbs, Warrington; RL "Immortal") and coach (Eastern Suburbs), dies from cancer at 60
1974 Florence Rice, American actress (Fast Company, Double Wedding, Riding on Air), dies from lung cancer at 67
1974 Harry Ruby [Harry Rubenstein], American composer and screenwriter, dies at 79
1976 John Forest "Fuzzy" Knight, American stage and screen actor, noted as sidekick in Westerns (Oklahoma Annie; Cowboy & the Lady), dies at 74
1976 L. S. Lowry, British painter of industrial scenes, dies at 88
1979 W.A.C. Bennett, Canadian politician, dies at 78
1980 Enrico Celio, Swiss lawyer and President of Switzerland (1943), dies at 90
1980 Robert Vandekerckhove, Belgian politician, dies at 62
1987 Esmond Knight, British actor (Hamlet, Sleeping Murder), dies from a heart attack at 80
1989 Hans Hellmut Kirst, German author (The Lieutenant Must Be Mad), dies at 74
1990 Annelien Kappeyne van de Coppello, Dutch lawyer and politician (Liberal), dies at 53
1990 James Gavin, US 82nd Airborne Division General (Sicily/Normandy), dies at 82
1990 Jose Napoleon Duarte, Salvadoran politician, President of Salvador (1984-89), dies at 62
1992 Jacquelyn Hyde, American actress (Dark, House of Terror), dies at 61
1992 Markos Vafeiadis, Greek Communist leader (ELAS, 1943-49), dies at 86
1993 Edwin Louis Battle, actor (Almost Blue, Chase), dies of stroke at 33
1994 Stuart Berger, doctor (Immune Power Diet), dies from obesity at 40

1995 Melvin Franklin (né English), American R&B bass vocalist (The Temptations, 1960-94 - "Ball of Confusion"), dies of heart failure at 52
1995 Norman Hunter, English children's writer (Professor Branestawm), dies at 95
1995 Peter Wykeham, Royal Air Force fighter pilot, dies at 79
1996 Alan Dawson, American jazz drummer and teacher (Berklee, 1957-75), dies of leukemia at 66
1996 Freddie Stocks, cricket (cent on debut & wkt on 1st ball, Notts), dies
1996 Joseph W. Barr, American banker and politician (Secretary of the Treasury), dies at 78
1997 Oscar Lewenstein, British theater impresario (Bertolt Brecht's The Threepenny Opera), and film producer (The Knack ...and How to Get It), dies of heart failure at 80
1997 Tony Williams, American jazz drummer (Miles Davis), dies at 51
1998 Philip Abbott, American character actor (The FBI, Sweet Bird of Youth), dies at 73
1999 Ruth Gipps, British prolific conductor and composer, dies of cancer at 78
2000 Albrecht Goes, German writer and theologian, dies at 91
2000 Ofra Haza, Israeli singer (b. 1957)
2000 Stanley Matthews, English soccer forward (54 caps; Stoke City, Blackpool; 1st British player to be knighted), dies at 85
2001 Robert Enrico, French film director and screenwriter (b. 1931)
2001 Ruth Railton, British musical director (National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, 1948-65), dies at 85
2003 Howard "Howie" Epstein, American bass guitarist (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, 1982-2002), dies from an overdose at 47
2003 Robert K. Merton, American sociologist (functionalism, self-fulfilling prophecy) and criminologist, dies at 92
2004 Bob Mayo, American session keyboardist (Peter Frampton), dies of a heart attack at 52
2004 Carl Anderson, American singer (b. 1945)
2004 Carl Liscombe, Canadian hockey player (b. 1915)
2004 Don Cornell [Luigi Varlaro], American pop singer (Sammy Kaye Orchestra - "Room Full of Roses; solo - "Hold My Hand"), dies of emphysema and diabetes at 84
2004 Sikander Bakht, Indian politician (Governor of Kerala, 2002-04), dies at 85
2004 Vijay Anand, Indian film director (b. 1934)
2006 Benno Besson, Swiss actor and director (Der Arzt wider Willen), dies at 83
2006 Telmo Zarraonaindía, Spanish footballer (b. 1921)
2007 Donnie Brooks, American singer (b. 1936)
2008 Denis Lazure, Canadian physician and politician, dies at 82
2008 Douglas Fraser, Scottish pilot, first to land at Newfoundland Airport on January 11, 1938 (b. 1916)
2008 Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian prime minister and president (b. 1950)
2008 Paul Frère, Belgian race car driver and motorsport journalist (b. 1917)
2008 Roger Foulon, Belgian writer (Un été dans la Fagne), dies at 84
2010 Mervyn Jones, English author (Nobody's Fault, 5 Hungarian Writers), dies at 87
2011 Jack Gottlieb, American composer, writer and editor, dies at 80
2011 Shri Mataji Nirmala Srivastava, Indian founder of Sahaja Yoga, dies at 87
2012 Bruce Surtees, American cinematographer (Dirty Harry, Lenny), dies at 74
2016 (Hendricus) "Henk" Mochel, Dutch TV host (Rondom Tien), dies of a brain hemorrhage at 83
2016 Lennie Baker, American rock saxophonist musician (Sha Na Na, 1970-99), dies at 69
2017 Derek Ibbotson, English 5K runner (Olympic bronze 1956), dies at 84
2017 Lord David Waddington, British politician (Home Secretary 1989-90), dies at 87
2018 Lewis Gilbert, British director, producer and screenwriter (You Only Live Twice, Sink the Bismarck!), dies at 97
2019 Dorothy Masuka, Zimbabwe-born South African jazz singer and activist, dies from complications of a stroke at 83
2019 Katherine Helmond, American actress and director (Soap, Mona-Who's the Boss), dies at 89
2020 János Göröcs, Hungarian soccer midfielder (62 caps; Újpesti Dózsa, Tatabányai Bányász), dies at 80
2020 Stefan Florenski, Polish soccer defender (11 caps; Górnik Zabrze), dies at 86
2021 Art Michalik, American football linebacker / guard (All-Pro 1953; Pro Bowl 1953; San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers), dies at 91
2021 Fausto Gresini, Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer (125cc World C'ship 1985, 87) and team manager (Aprilia Racing, Gresini MotoGP), dies from COVID-19 at 60
2021 Juan Carlos Masnik, Uruguayan soccer defender (26 caps; NY Skyliners,Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, Nacional, NY Cosmos), dies at 77
2021 Sergiu Natra [Nadler], Romanian-Israeli composer (Symphony in Red, Blue, Yellow and Green), and music professor (Tel Aviv University, 1975-85), dies at 96
2021 Tormod Knutsen, Norwegian cross country skier (Olympic gold individual 1964, silver 1960), dies at 89
2022 Ion Adrian Zare, Romanian soccer defender (7 caps; FC Bihor, BFC Siófok), dies at 62
2022 Jaakko Kuusisto, Finnish violinist, composer, and conductor, dies of brain cancer at 48
2022 Joeli Vidiri, Fijian rugby union winger (7 Tests Fiji, 2 New Zealand; Auckland RU, Barbarian FC), dies from COVID-19 at 48
2023 John Motson, British football broadcaster (10 x FIFA World Cups; 10 x UEFA European C'ships; 29 x FA Cup finals; BBC, Talksport), dies at 77
2023 Tom Tierney, Irish rugby union scrum-half (8 Tests; Munster, Connacht, Leicester) and coach (Ireland women), dies at 46
2024 Irene Camber, Italian fencer (Olympic gold foil individual 1952, bronze team foil 1960; World C'ship gold 1953 individual foil; team foil 1957), dies at 98
2024 Rui Rodrigues, Portuguese soccer centre-back (12 caps; Académica, Benfica, Vitória Guimarães), dies at 80
2024 Wilson Fittipaldi Jr, Brazilian auto racer (38 x F1 GP) and team owner (Fittipaldi F1 team), dies at 80

February 23 Highlights

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