Deaths
- 268 – Pope Dionysius
- 418 – Pope Zosimus
- 1350 – Jean de Marigny, French bishop
- 1458 – Arthur III, Duke of Brittany (b. 1393)
- 1476 – Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (b. 1444)
- 1530 – Babur, Emperor of the Mogul empire (b. 1483)
- 1574 – Charles of Guise, French cardinal (b. 1524)
- 1624 – Simon Marius, German astronomer (b. 1573)
- 1731 – Antoine Houdar de la Motte, French writer (b. 1672)
- 1771 – Claude Adrien Helvétius, French philosopher (b. 1715)
- 1780 – John Fothergill, English physician (b. 1712)
- 1784 – Seth Warner, American revolutionary leader (b. 1743)
- 1786 – Gasparo Gozzi, Italian critic and dramatist (b. 1713)
- 1869 – Jean Louis Marie Poiseuille, French physiologist (b. 1797)
- 1890 – Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist (b. 1822)
- 1909 – Frederic Remington, American artist (b. 1861)
- 1923 – Dietrich Eckart, German Nazi politician (b. 1868)
- 1931 – Melvil Dewey, inventor of the Dewey decimal classification (b. 1851)
- 1933 – Anatoly Lunacharsky, Russian literary critic and politician (b. 1875)
- 1933 – Henry Watson Fowler, English schoolmaster and lexicographer (b. 1858)
- 1960 – Watsuji Tetsuro, Japanese philosopher (b. 1889)
- 1963 – "Gorgeous" George Wagner, American professional wrestler and television personality (b. 1915)
- 1966 – Herbert Otto Gille, German SS officer (b. 1897)
- 1970 – Lillian Board, British track and field athlete (b. 1948)
- 1972 – Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States (b. 1884)
- 1973 – Harold B. Lee, 11th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1899)
- 1974 – Farid al-Atrash, Arab composer (b. 1915)
- 1974 – Jack Benny, American comedian (b. 1894)
- 1974 – Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton, British naval officer (b. 1890)
- 1977 – Howard Hawks, American film director and writer (b. 1896)
- 1980 – Tony Smith, American sculptor (b. 1912)
- 1981 – Amber Reeves, British feminist writer (b. 1887)
- 1981 – Savitri, Indian actress (b. 1937)
- 1983 – Violet Carson, British actress (b. 1898)
- 1985 – Dian Fossey, American gorilla specialist (b. 1932)
- 1985 – Margarete Schön, German actress (b. 1895)
- 1985 – Harold P. Warren, American movie director (d. 1928)
- 1986 – Elsa Lanchester, British-born actress (b. 1902)
- 1988 – Glenn McCarthy, American oil tycoon and businessman (b. 1907)
- 1988 – Pablo Sorozábal, Basque-Spanish composer (b. 1897)
- 1989 – Doug Harvey, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1924)
- 1990 – Gene Callahan, American film art and production designer (b. 1923)
- 1992 – Nikita Magaloff, Russian pianist (b. 1912)
- 1994 – Parveen Shakir, Pakistani poetess (b. 1952)
- 1996 – Kostas Palios, Greek actor (b. 1926)
- 1997 – Cornelius Castoriadis, Greek philosopher and economist (b. 1922)
- 1999 – Curtis Mayfield, American musician (b. 1942)
- 1999 – Shankar Dayal Sharma, President of India (b. 1918)
- 2000 – Jason Robards, American actor (b. 1922)
- 2001 – Nigel Hawthorne, English actor (b. 1929)
- 2002 – Herb Ritts, American photographer (b. 1952)
- 2002 – Armand Zildjian, American cymbal manufacturer (b. 1921)
- 2004 – Troy Broadbridge, Australian rules footballer (b. 1980)
- 2004 – Jonathan Drummond-Webb, South African heart surgeon (b. 1959)
- 2004 – Marianne Heiberg, Norwegian mediator (b. 1945)
- 2004 – Khun Bhumi Jensen, Thai Royal Family member (b. 1983)
- 2004 – Sigurd Køhn, Norwegian jazz musician (b. 1959)
- 2004 – Sir Angus Ogilvy, British businessman (b. 1928)
- 2004 – Aki Sirkesalo, Finnish musician (b. 1962)
- 2004 – Mieszko Talarczyk, Polish-born Swedish musician (Nasum) (b. 1974)
- 2004 – Reggie White, American football player (b. 1961)
- 2005 – Muriel Costa-Greenspon, American mezzo-soprano (b. 1937)
- 2005 – Kerry Packer, Australian businessman (b. 1937)
- 2005 – Vincent Schiavelli, American actor (b. 1948)
- 2005 – Erich Topp, German submarine commander (b. 1914)
- 2006 – Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States (b. 1913)
- 2006 – Ivar Formo, Norwegian skier (b. 1951)
- 2006 – Munir Niazi, Urdu poet from Pakistan (b. 1928)
- 2007 – Joe Dolan, Irish entertainer (b. 1943)
- 2007 – John A. Garraty, American author (b. 1920)
- 2007 – Stu Nahan, American sportscaster (b. 1926)
- 2008 – Gösta Krantz, Swedish actor (b. 1925)
- 2009 – Felix Wurman, American cellist and composer (b. 1958)
- 2010 – Teena Marie, American singer and composer (b. 1956)
- 2010 – Edward Bhengu, South African activist (b. 1934)
- 2011 – Houston Antwine, American football player (b. 1939)
- 2011 – Pedro Armendáriz, Jr., Mexican actor (b. 1940)
- 2011 – Sarekoppa Bangarappa, Indian politician (b. 1932)
- 2011 – Joe Bodolai, American comedy writer (b. 1948)
- 2011 – Fred Fono, Solomon Islands politician (b. 1962)
- 2011 – Sam Rivers, American jazz musician (b. 1923)
- 2011 – James Rizzi, American pop artist (b. 1950)
Read more about this topic: December 26
Famous quotes containing the word deaths:
“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)
“On almost the incendiary eve
Of deaths and entrances ...”
—Dylan Thomas (19141953)
“I sang of death but had I known
The many deaths one must have died
Before he came to meet his own!”
—Robert Frost (18741963)