Deaths
- 1053 – Godwin, Earl of Wessex (b. 1001)
- 1220 – Adolf of Altena, Archbishop of Cologne (b. 1157)
- 1415 – Manuel Chrysoloras, Greek humanist and grammarian (b. 1355)
- 1446 – Filippo Brunelleschi, Italian architect (b. 1377)
- 1610 – Robert Parsons, English priest (b. 1546)
- 1621 – John Carver, English merchant, first governor of Plymouth Colony (b. 1576)
- 1632 – George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, English politician and colonizer (b. 1580)
- 1641 – Domenico Zampieri, Italian painter (b. 1581)
- 1652 – Patriarch Joseph, Russian religious leader
- 1659 – Simon Dach, German poet (b. 1605)
- 1704 – Johann van Waveren Hudde, Dutch mathematician (b. 1628)
- 1719 – Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de Maintenon, second wife of Louis XIV of France (b. 1635)
- 1754 – Jacopo Riccati, Italian mathematician (b. 1676)
- 1761 – Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll, Scottish politician (b. 1682)
- 1761 – William Oldys, English antiquarian and bibliographer (b. 1696)
- 1764 – Madame de Pompadour, French court, mistress of King Louis XV of France (b. 1721)
- 1764 – Peder Horrebow, Danish astronomer (b. 1679)
- 1765 – Mikhail Lomonosov, Russian scientist and writer (b. 1711)
- 1788 – Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (b. 1711)
- 1793 – Ignacije Szentmartony, Croatian missionary and geographer (b. 1718)
- 1804 – Charles Pichegru, French general (b. 1761)
- 1854 – Arthur Aikin, English chemist, mineralogist, and writer (b. 1773)
- 1861 – Sylvester Jordan, German politician and lawyer (b. 1792)
- 1865 – Abraham Lincoln, American politician, 16th President of the United States (b. 1809)
- 1888 – Matthew Arnold, English poet (b. 1822)
- 1889 – Father Damien, Flemish missionary (b. 1840)
- 1898 – Kepa Te Rangihiwinui, Maori military leader
- 1912 – Victims of the RMS Titanic disaster
- Edward Smith, English navy officer and captain of the RMS Titanic (b. 1850)
- Henry Tingle Wilde, English chief officer (b. 1872)
- William McMaster Murdoch, Scottish sailor and first officer (b. 1873)
- Wallace Hartley, English violinist (b. 1878)
- James Paul Moody, English sixth officer (b. 1887)
- Jack Phillips, British wireless telegraphist (b. 1887)
- John Jacob Astor IV, American businessman, real estate builder, investor, inventor and writer (b. 1864)
- Thomas Andrews, Irish businessman and shipbuilder (b. 1873)
- Jacques Futrelle, American journalist and mystery writer (b. 1875)
- John Thayer, American cricket player (b. 1862)
- William T. Stead English author and journalist (b. 1849)
- Isidor Straus co-owner of Macy's department store and former Congressman from New York (b. 1845) and his wife Ida (b. 1849)
- Benjamin Guggenheim American businessman (b. 1865)
- 1917 – János Murkovics, Slovene writer and teacher (b. 1839)
- 1927 – Gaston Leroux, French writer (b. 1868)
- 1938 – César Vallejo, Peruvian poet (b. 1892)
- 1942 – Robert Musil, Austrian novelist (b. 1880)
- 1943 – Aristarkh Lentulov, Russian artist (b. 1882)
- 1944 – Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin, Soviet general (b. 1901)
- 1945 – Hermann Florstedt, German Nazi leader (b. 1895)
- 1948 – Radola Gajda, Czech military commander and politician (b. 1892)
- 1949 – Wallace Beery, American actor (b. 1885)
- 1957 – Pedro Infante, Mexican actor and singer (b. 1917)
- 1962 – Clara Blandick, American actress (b. 1880)
- 1962 – Arsenio Lacson, Filipino politician and writer (b. 1911)
- 1963 – Edward Greeves, Australian footballer (b. 1903)
- 1967 – Totò, Italian comedian, actor, writer, singer, and songwriter (b. 1898)
- 1969 – Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (b. 1887)
- 1970 – Ripper Collins, American baseball player (b. 1904)
- 1971 – Dan Reeves, American football team owner (b. 1912)
- 1971 – Gurgen Boryan, Armenian poet and playwright (b. 1915)
- 1974 – Giovanni D'Anzi, Italian songwriter (b. 1906)
- 1975 – Richard Conte, American actor (b. 1910)
- 1980 – Raymond Bailey, American actor (b. 1904)
- 1980 – Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher and writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1905)
- 1982 – Arthur Lowe, British actor (b. 1915)
- 1983 – Corrie ten Boom, Dutch author and Holocaust survivor (b. 1892)
- 1983 – John Engstead, American photographer (b. 1909)
- 1984 – Tommy Cooper, Welsh comedian and magician (b. 1921)
- 1984 – Alexander Trocchi, Scottish writer (b. 1925)
- 1986 – Jean Genet, French author (b. 1910)
- 1988 – Kenneth Williams, English actor and comedian (b. 1926)
- 1988 – Youri Egorov, Soviet pianist (b. 1954)
- 1989 – Nesuhi Ertegün, American record executive (b. 1917)
- 1989 – Charles Vanel, French actor (b. 1892)
- 1989 – Hu Yaobang, Chinese politician (b. 1915)
- 1990 – Greta Garbo, Swedish actress (b. 1905)
- 1992 – Otis Barton, American diver (b. 1899)
- 1993 – Leslie Charteris, Singapore author (b. 1907)
- 1993 – John Tuzo Wilson, Canadian geologist (b. 1908)
- 1994 – John Curry, English figure skater (b. 1949)
- 1995 – Harry Shoulberg, American painter (b. 1903)
- 1998 – Pol Pot, Cambodian dictator (b. 1925)
- 1999 – Harvey Postlethwaite, British engineer and race car designer (b. 1944)
- 2000 – Edward Gorey, American illustrator (b. 1925)
- 2001 – Joey Ramone, American singer-songwriter and musician (The Ramones and Sniper) (b. 1951)
- 2002 – Damon Knight, American author (b. 1922)
- 2002 – Byron "Whizzer" White, American football player and United States Supreme Court Justice (b. 1917)
- 2003 – Reg Bundy, British drag queen, actor, and dancer (b. 1941)
- 2003 – Erin Fleming, Canadian actress (b. 1941)
- 2004 – Ray Condo, Canadian singer and musician (b. 1950)
- 2004 – Mitsuteru Yokoyama, Japanese manga artist (b. 1934)
- 2005 – John Fred, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
- 2007 – Brant Parker, American cartoonist (b. 1920)
- 2008 – Sean Costello, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1979)
- 2008 – Benoît Lamy, Belgian director (b. 1945)
- 2008 – Krister Stendahl, Swedish theologian and bishop (b. 1921)
- 2009 – Ed Blake, American baseball player (b. 1925)
- 2009 – Clement Freud, British writer and broadcaster (b. 1924)
- 2009 – László Tisza, Hungarian-American physicist (b. 1907)
- 2010 – Jack Herer, American author and cannabis activist (b. 1939)
- 2011 – Vittorio Arrigoni, Italian activist (b. 1975)
- 2012 – Dwayne Schintzius, American basketball player (b. 1968)
Read more about this topic: April 15
Famous quotes containing the word deaths:
“Death is too much for men to bear, whereas women, who are practiced in bearing the deaths of men before their own and who are also practiced in bearing life, take death almost in stride. They go to meet deaththat is, they attempt suicidetwice as often as men, though men are more successful because they use surer weapons, like guns.”
—Roger Rosenblatt (b. 1940)
“There is the guilt all soldiers feel for having broken the taboo against killing, a guilt as old as war itself. Add to this the soldiers sense of shame for having fought in actions that resulted, indirectly or directly, in the deaths of civilians. Then pile on top of that an attitude of social opprobrium, an attitude that made the fighting man feel personally morally responsible for the war, and you get your proverbial walking time bomb.”
—Philip Caputo (b. 1941)
“You lived too long, we have supped full with heroes,
they waste their deaths on us.”
—C.D. Andrews (19131992)