Famous Deaths on September 12

Blanche of Lancaster (1345-1369)

wife of John of Gaunt, dies possibly of the plague at 24 (age disputed)

1500 Albert III, Duke and ruler of Saxony, dies at 57
1591 Richard Grenville, English privateer, explorer, politician and vice-admiral (established Roanoke colony), dies fighting a rearguard action as a result of the naval Battle of Flores at 49
1604 Louis Gunther, Count of Nassau, dies in battle at about 29
1612 Tsar Vasili IV of Russia (1606-10), dies deposed as a prisoner (b. 1552)
1642 Henri Coiffier de Ruzé, marquis de Cinq Mars, French nobleman, beheaded for treason in plot again Cardinal de Richelieu (b. 1620)
1647 Joos Banckert, Swiss Dutch navy admiral, known as the "Scourge of the Marranos" and "Terror of the Portuguese" due to his military prowess, dies at sea returning from Brazil at about 48 (exact birth date unknown, born c.
1660 Jacob Cats [Father Cats], Dutch grand pensionary and poet (Houwelyck), dies at 82
1661 Jacobus de la Torra, RC apostole vicar of Holland, dies at about 53
1665 Jean Bolland, Flemish Jesuit writer and historian (Acta Sanctorum), dies at 69
1672 Tanneguy Lefebvre, French classical scholar (b. 1615)
1674 Nicolaas Tulp, Mayor of Amsterdam (1654-71), dies at 80
1683 Afonso VI, mentally ill King of Portugal (1656-67), dies at 40
1691 Johann Georg III, Elector of Saxony (1680-91), dies at 44
1695 Jacob Abendana, Spanish scholar (b. 1630)
1732 Jean Philippe Eugène de Mérode, Belgian marquis of Westerloo, dies at 58
1739 Reinhard Keiser, German opera conductor and composer, chiefly of operas and oratorios (Almira; Lukas-Passion), dies at 65
1764 Jean Philippe Rameau, French composer (Castor en Pollux), dies at 80
1779 Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple, English politician, dies at 67
1789 Franz Xaver Richter, Austro-Moravian singer, violinist, composer, conductor and music theorist, dies at 79
1806 Christian Gottfried Thomas, German composer, publisher, and musicologist, dies at 58
1807 Edward Miller, English organist, flautist, composer (Rockingham; Galway), and musical theorist (Treatise of Thorough Bass and Composition), dies at 71
1812 Pyotr Bagration, Georgian-Russian prince and general, dies fighting during Napoleonic invasion of Russia at 47

Edmund Randolph (1753-1813)

US Founding Father, 1st US Attorney General (1789-94) and 2nd US Secretary of State (1794-95), dies at 60

1815 José Maurício, Portuguese organist, and sacred music and modinha (love song) composer, dies at 63
1819 Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Prussian general (b. 1742)
1824 Louis Albert Guislain Bacler d'Albe, French cartographer to Napoleon, dies at 62
1836 Christian Dietrich Grabbe, German writer and dramatist, dies from the effects of syphilis at 34
1860 John Winebrenner, American clergyman (founded Church of God General Conference), dies at 63
1861 George N. Briggs, American lawyer and politician, 19th Governor of Massachusetts, dies at 65

Peter Mark Roget (1779-1869)

British lexicographer (Roget's Thesaurus) and inventor (slide rule, pocket chessboard), dies at 90

1870 Fitz Hugh Ludlow, American author (The Hasheesh Eater), dies at 34
1871 Karl Collan, Finnish composer, dies at 43
1874 François Guizot, French historian and politician (17th Prime Minister of France), dies at 86
1876 Henry A. Wise, American lawyer and politician (33rd Governor of Virginia), dies at 69
1877 Julius Reitz, German cellist, composer, teacher, and music editor, dies at 64
1878 Friedrich August von Alberti, German geologist (Triasic Age), dies at 83
1879 Peter Arnold Heise, Danish organist, composer (Drot og Marsk (King and Marshal); Jylland mellem tvende), and teacher, dies at 49
1889 Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges, French historian and sociologist, dies at 59
1892 Carl Faust, Prussian military musician and composer (Marsch Glück auf - Lucky March), and conductor, dies at 62
1912 Pierre-Hector Cardinal Coullie, Cardinal-Archbishop of Lyon
1917 Eric Lundie, South African cricketer (WWI Test South Africa v England 1914), dies at the Battle of Passchendaele at 29
1918 George Reid, fourth Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1845)
1919 Leonid Andreyev, Russian journalist and writer (Red Laugh, Seven Hangs), dies at 48
1923 Jules Violle, French physicist and inventor, dies at 81
1926 Edmund Jenkins, American clarinetist and composer (Charlestonia; Afram), dies at 32
1927 Sarah Frances Whiting, American physicist and astronomer, dies at 80
1927 Walther Amelung, German archaeologist, dies at 61
1929 Rainis [Jānis Pliekšāns], Latvian poet and playwright, dies at 64
1931 Charles Seeberger, American inventor (coined term escalator and designed 1st commercially produced escalator), dies at 74 [1]
1934 Catherine Breshkovsky 'Babushka' Russian Socialist (one of founders Socialist Revolutionary Party, considered Grandmother of Russian Revolution), dies at 90
1936 Hermann Hirt, German linguist (Indo-European Grammar), dies at 70
1947 Harry Rowe Shelley, American hymn composer, dies at 89

Harry Burleigh (1866-1949)

African American baritone and composer (Five Songs of Laurence Hope), and Springarn Medal winner (1917), dies at 82

1953 Hugo Schmeisser, German inventor and weapons designer, dies at 68
1953 Lewis Stone, American actor (The Lost World, Prisoner of Zenda), dies of a heart attack at 73
1955 Gustave Vanzype, Belgian literary figure (La Gazette), dies at 86
1956 Hans Carossa, German writer, dies at 77
1956 Sándor Graf Festetics, Hungarian nobleman and politician, dies at 74
1960 Jules Buffano, American composer and pianist (Jimmy Durante Show), dies at 62
1961 Carl Hermann, German physicist, dies at 63
1962 William Frederick Archdall Ellison, Irish clergyman and astronomer (director of the Armagh Observatory), dies at 53
1963 Ben Sealey, West Indian cricketer (one Test WI v England 1933), dies at 64
1963 Mervyn A. Ellison, British astronomer (spectrohelioscope), dies at 63
1972 William Boyd, American film actor, cowboy hero (Hopalong Cassidy), dies at 77
1973 Eduard Flipse, Dutch conductor and composer, dies at 77
1973 Marjorie Merriweather Post, American businesswoman (General Foods Corp), philanthropist and multi-millionaire (built Mar-a-Largo), dies at 86
1975 Doc Alexander, American College Football Hall of Fame guard (Syracuse; All Pro 1921, 22; Rochester Jeffersons; NFL C'ship 1925; NY Giants), dies at 78
1977 Robert Lowell, American poet and pacifist (Lord Weary's Castle, Near the Ocean), dies at 60
1977 Steven Biko, South African anti-apartheid activist, dies in police custody at 30
1978 Frank Ferguson, American character actor (My Friend Flicka - "Gus"; Peyton Place - "Eli Carson"), dies of cancer at 71 (0r 78, birthdate disputed)
1979 Denis Smith, English cricketer (England left-handed batsman 1935), dies at 72
1980 André Chéron, French chess player (French Champion, 1926, 1927 & 1929) and endgame theorist, dies at 84
1980 Lillian Randolph, American radio and screen actress (The Great Gildersleeve; Amos 'n Andy; It's A Wonderful Life: Roots; The Onion Field), dies of cancer at 81
1981 Eugenio Montale, Italian poet and translator (Xenia-Nobel 1975), dies at 84
1982 Karen Aabye, Danish author (Less bedstemor there jomfru), dies at 77
1982 Kommer Kleijn, Dutch actor and radio play director (Tomorrow It Will Be Better), dies at 89
1983 Sabin Carr, American athlete (Olympic gold pole vault 1928; WR 4.27m 1927), dies at 79
1984 Geoffrey Lloyd, British politician and Governor of the BBC, dies at 82
1986 Frank Nelson, American comedic radio and screen actor (The Jack Benny Show; I Love Lucy), dies of cancer at 75
1986 Jacques-Henri Lartigue, French photographer and painter, dies at 92
1987 John Qualen, Canadian actor (Casablanca, The Grapes of Wrath, The Searchers), dies at 87
1988 (Carlos) "Charlie" Palmieri, American salsa and charanga music bandleader, musical director, and piano player (Tito Puente; Alegre All-Stars), dies after a heart attack at 60
1988 Alan Bible, American lawyer and politician (Sen-D-Nev, 1954-74), dies at 78
1988 Lauris Norstad, American general (NATO commander) and CEO (Owens-Corning Fiberglass), dies at 71

Margaret McFarland (1905-1988)

American child psychologist (Mister Rogers' Neighborhood), dies at 83

1989 Anton Lubowski, Namibian attorney (SWAPO), murdered at 37
1990 Athene Seyler, English actress (Make Mine Mink), dies at 101
1991 Regis Toomey, American actor (Burke's Law, Petticoat Junction), dies at 93

Anthony Perkins (1932-1992)

American actor (Psycho; Friendly Persuasion; Fear Strikes Out; Pretty Poison), and singer, dies from AIDS-related pneumonia at 60 [1]

1992 Ed Peck, American character actor (Zoot Suit; Bullitt; Happy Days - "Officer Kirk"), dies of a heart attack at 75
1992 Ruth Nelson, American stage and screen actress (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn; 3 Women; Awakenings), dies at 87
1993 Charles Lamont, American actor and director (Abbott & Costello films), dies at 95
1993 Harold Innocent, English actor (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves), dies at 60
1993 Herman Nieland, Dutch organist, pianist, composer (Te Deum Laudamus; Blätterlos), and educator, dies at 82
1993 Raymond Burr, Canadian-American actor (Perry Mason, Ironsides, Godzilla), dies of liver cancer at 76
1994 Boris Yegorov, Soviet physician and cosmonaut (Voskhod I), dies at 56
1994 Douglas MacKenzie Davey, British psychometrist, dies at 72
1994 Major Bill Smith, American record producer, dies at 72
1994 Tom Ewell [Sam Yewell Tompkins], American actor (Tom Ewell Show, The Seven Year Itch), dies at 85
1995 Geoffrey Stokes, American rock & roll writer, dies at 55
1995 Jeremy Brett [Peter Huggins], British actor (Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; My Fair Lady), dies of heart failure at 61
1995 John Stuart-Jervis, British-American balloonist, dies after his balloon is mistakenly shot down over Belarus at 68
1995 Larry Gales, American jazz double-bassist, dies of leukemia at 59
1996 Ernesto Geisel, 29th President of Brazil (1974-79), dies at 89
1996 Geoffrey Bryan Bentley, British Canon of Windsor and moral theologian, dies at 87
1996 James Gulliver, Scottish businessman (Argyll Foods), dies at 66
1996 Lloyd Turner, Australian-British journalist (Daily Star - libel case with Jeffery Archer), dies at 57
1996 Ricardo López, Uruguayan-born American stalker of Björk, commits suicide aged 21
1996 Richard Barrer, New Zealand-born chemist (father of zeolite chemistry), dies at 86
1996 Toma Prošev, Macedonian composer, and pedagogue, dies at 64
1997 (Stig) "Stikkan" Anderson, Swedish actor, music entrepreneur and co-founder of Polar Music (ABBA), dies of a heart attack at 66
1997 Janet Leach, American potter, dies at 79
1997 Judith Merril [Judith Josephine Grossman], American-Canadian sci-fi writer (edited influential anthologies), dies at 74
1999 Bill Quackenbush, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame defenceman (8 x NHL All-Star; Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings) and coach (Princeton), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 77
2000 Gary Olsen [Grant], British stage and screen actor (2point4 Children - "Ben"), dies of cancer at 42
2000 Stanley Turrentine, American jazz saxophonist (Wonderland), dies at 66
2001 Victor Wong [Yee Keung Victor Wong], American actor (Big Trouble in Little China), dies of a heart attack at 74

Johnny Cash (1932-2003)

American country singer ("I Walk the Line"; "Ring of Fire"; "A Boy Named Sue"), dies at 71

2004 John Buller, British composer, dies at 77
2004 Kenny Buttrey, American session drummer based in Nashville (Bob Dylan; Neil Young; Elvis Presley; Joan Baez, Jimmy Buffett), dies of cancer at 59
2004 Max Abramovitz, American architect (Lincoln Center, UN Building), dies at 96
2007 Phil Frank, American cartoonist (Farley, The Elderberries comics), dies at 64
2008 Bob Quinn, Australian Football Hall of Fame rover (All Australian captain 1947; SA captain 1945-47; Magarey Medal 1938, 45; Port Adelaide FC), dies at 93
2008 David Foster Wallace, American author and essayist (b. 1962)

Jack Kramer (1921-2009)

American tennis player (Wimbledon 1947, US Open 1946, 47), dies of cancer at 88

2009 Norman Borlaug, American agronomist (Green revolution - Nobel Peace Prize 1970), dies at 95
2009 Willy Ronis, French photographer (b. 1910)
2010 Claude Chabrol, French film director and screenwriter (b. 1930)
2010 Giulio Zignoli, Italian footballer (b. 1946)
2011 Alexander Galimov, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1985)
2011 Frits Castricum, Dutch journalist and politician (PvdA), dies at 64

Ray Dolby (1933-2013)

American engineer, sound expert, and inventor (Dolby noise reduction system), dies of leukemia at 80

2014 Donald Sinden, English actor, dies from prostate cancer at 90

Ian Paisley (1926-2014)

First Minister of Northern Ireland (Democratic Unionist Party: 2007-08), loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader, dies at 88

2014 Joe Sample, American jazz and session keyboardist and composer (The Jazz Crusaders), dies of mesothelioma at 75
2014 Salah El Mahdi, Tunisian composer, conductor, musicologist, and artistic director, dies at 89
2015 Bryn Merrick, British musician (The Damned), dies at 56
2015 Frank D. Gilroy, American writer (Subject Was Roses), dies at 89
2015 Max Beauvoir, Haiti Chief Voodoo Priest, dies at 79
2016 Ali Javan, Iranian American physicist and inventor (Helium-Neon Laser), dies at 89 [1]
2016 Hidayat Inayat Khan, British-French classical composer, conductor and Sufi teacher, dies at 99
2017 Edith Windsor [née Schlain], American LGBT rights activist (lead plaintiff in United States v. Windsor), dies at 88
2017 Heiner Geißler, German politician (Federal Minister for Youth, Family and Health, 1982–85), and party leader (General Secretary of Christian Democratic Union, 1977-89), dies at 87
2017 Riem de Wolff, Indonesian-Dutch singer and guitarist (Blue Diamonds), dies at 74
2017 Siegfried Köhler, German conductor, music director, and composer, dies at 94
2020 Barbara Jefford, British stage actress (James Joyce's Ulysses), dies at 90
2020 Edna Wright, American pop singer (Honey Cone - "Want Ads"), dies of a heart attack while suffering from COPD at 75
2020 Terence Conran, English designer and restaurateur (Habitat), dies at 88
2021 Michel Maïque, French rugby league second rower (8 Tests; FC Lézignan) and politician (Mayor of Lézignan-Corbières 2014-20), dies from acute pancreatitis at 73
2022 Harry Landis, British stage director and character actor (EastEnders, 1995-97 - "Felix"; Friday Night Dinner, 2012-14 - "Mr. Morris"), dies at 90
2022 Ramsey Lewis, American Grammy Award-winning jazz-pop pianist ("The In Crowd"; "Wade in the Water"), dies at 87 [1]
2023 Dominique Colonna, French soccer goalkeeper (13 caps; Stade Français, OGC Nice, Reims) and manager (Cameroon 1965-70), dies at 95
2023 Gordon Kennett, English motorcycle speedway rider (World Pairs C'ship [Malcolm Simmons] 1978; World Championship 1978 runner-up), dies at 70
2023 Jean Boht, English actress (Bread - "Nellie"; Distant Voices; Still Lives), dies of Alzheimer's disease at 91
2023 Roy Kidd, American College Football HOF coach (Eastern Kentucky University 1964-2002, record 314–124–8), dies at 91

September 12 Highlights