Deaths

Philipp Franz von Siebold

Philipp Franz von Siebold smuggled maps out of isolationist Japan in 1828. The Japanese discovered them and expelled him forever. He'd spent six years studying everything: plants, animals, language, culture. He sent 12,000 specimens back to Europe. Japan didn't open its borders for another 25 years. He'd stolen an entire country's secrets.

Nikolaï Makovski, peintre russe (° 10 mai 1841).

Heinrich Ahrens, entrepreneur allemand (° 21 décembre 1842).

Ernest Brudenell-Bruce, homme politique britannique (° 8 janvier 1811).

1888

Albert Zimmermann, deutscher Maler

1888

Alessandro Antonelli, italienischer Architekt

1889

Antonio Meucci

Antonio Meucci filed a caveat for a "talking telegraph" in 1871 but couldn't afford the $10 annual renewal fee. Alexander Graham Bell filed his patent five years later. Meucci sued but died before the case was resolved. Congress recognized him as the telephone's inventor in 2002, 113 years too late. He died in poverty in Staten Island, his invention in someone else's name.

1890

Friedrich Wilhelm August Carl von Arnim, preußischer Verwaltungsbeamter

1891

Adolf Rösicke, deutscher Theaterschauspieler und -direktor

1892

William W. Chapman

William W. Chapman served as a U.S. Congressman from Iowa for one term in the 1840s. He practiced law in Burlington and died at 84. He cast votes on bills that are now footnotes. His legal briefs are lost. The Congressional Record remains.

1893

Lucy Stone, US-amerikanische Reformerin, Frauenrechtlerin, Abolitionistin und Publizistin

1893

Johann Rudolf von Toggenburg, Schweizer Jurist und Politiker

1893

Charles Gounod

Charles Gounod wrote Faust at 41 and watched it become the most-performed opera in history. The Paris Opéra staged it over 2,000 times in his lifetime. He composed 12 more operas afterward. Nobody remembers them. He spent his final decades watching orchestras play the one thing he'd written that mattered.

1894

Wilhelm Lenk von Wolfsberg, k.

Wilhelm Lenk von Wolfsberg, k. u. k. Feldzeugmeister und Naturwissenschaftler

1898

Juan Alonso Zayas, militar del ejército español (n.

Juan Alonso Zayas, militar del ejército español (n. 1869).

1898

Lucien Anderson, US-amerikanischer Politiker

1900s 153

1902

Carl Spindler, deutscher Unternehmer

1905

Jessie Boucherett, ativista britânica (n.

Jessie Boucherett, ativista britânica (n. 1825).

1905

José María Pampillón, militar uruguayo (n.

José María Pampillón, militar uruguayo (n. 1831).

1908

Nozu Michitsura

Nozu Michitsura commanded Japanese forces during both the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, rising to field marshal. He personally led troops at the Siege of Port Arthur, one of the bloodiest battles in modern warfare before 1914. He died in 1908, having spent 40 years in military service. Japan named a battleship after him.

1910

Alfons Auer, deutscher Politiker

1911

Alfred Binet

Alfred Binet created the IQ test to identify students who needed extra help. He insisted intelligence was malleable, improvable, not fixed. American psychologists imported his test and used it to prove the opposite: that intelligence was hereditary and permanent. He died at 54, watching his work justify exactly what he'd opposed.

1911

Johann Hinrich Angelbeck, deutscher Politiker

1913

Jarl Hulldén, regatista finlandés (n.

Jarl Hulldén, regatista finlandés (n. 1885).

1913

Dinuzulu, König der Zulu

1916

Otto Dammer, deutscher Schriftsteller und Publizist

1917

Ruth Gentry, US-amerikanische Mathematikerin

1918

Koloman Moser, pintor, dibujante y diseñador austríaco (n.

Koloman Moser, pintor, dibujante y diseñador austríaco (n. 1868).

1919

William Waldorf Astor, US-amerikanisch-britischer Finanzier, Politiker, Diplomat und Adliger

1920

Luis Jorge Fontana, argentinischer Militär, Politiker, Naturforscher und Schriftsteller

1920

Otto Lemm, deutscher Unternehmer

1921

Ludwig III of Bavaria

Ludwig III became King of Bavaria at 67 and reigned for six years. World War I ended. Revolution erupted. Soldiers formed councils. He fled Munich in a car, the first German monarch to abdicate. He didn't sign papers or make speeches. He just drove away. The thousand-year-old Wittelsbach dynasty ended with a road trip.

1921

Ulrich Kreusler, deutscher Agrikulturchemiker

1923

Heinrich Kern, Schweizer Landwirt und Politiker

1924

Franz Schrader, géographe, alpiniste, cartographe et peintre français (° 11 janvier 1844).

1931

Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison died on October 18, 1931, at 84, at his home in West Orange, New Jersey. Herbert Hoover asked Americans to dim their electric lights for one minute in tribute. The country did. Edison had invented the practical incandescent bulb, the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and over 1,000 other patented devices, through a method that was itself an invention: systematic, industrial research, teams of people working on a problem rather than lone geniuses waiting for inspiration. He called it '1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.' He worked through the last days of his life. He told his daughter a few hours before he died: 'It is very beautiful over there.' She asked where he meant. He didn't answer.

1931

Lesser Ury

Lesser Ury painted Berlin's streets in rain and gaslight, capturing the city's melancholy before anyone called it Expressionism. He was a loner, rejected by the Berlin Secession, and worked in obscurity while contemporaries became famous. He died in 1931 in his studio, alone. The Nazis later destroyed much of his work because he was Jewish.

1931

Ernest Robinson Ackerman, US-amerikanischer Politiker

1932

Ioannis Chrysafis, gimnasta griego (n.

Ioannis Chrysafis, gimnasta griego (n. 1873).

1932

Ioannis Chrysafis

Ioannis Chrysafis won Greece's first-ever Olympic gold medal in 1896, competing in rope climbing. He scaled 14 meters in 23.4 seconds. The event was discontinued after 1932. He spent the rest of his life as a gymnastics instructor in Athens. His record still stands because nobody climbs ropes at the Olympics anymore.

1933

Albert von Trentini, österreichischer Schriftsteller

1934

Thies Hinrich Engelbrecht, deutscher Agrargeograph

1934

Santiago Ramón y Cajal

Santiago Ramón y Cajal's father was a barber-surgeon who wanted his son to follow him. Cajal wanted to be an artist. They compromised: he'd draw what he saw under microscopes. He discovered that the nervous system was made of individual cells, not one continuous net. He hand-drew over 2,900 illustrations of neurons, each one beautiful enough to hang in a gallery. He won the Nobel Prize. The drawings are still used in textbooks.

1934

Rudolf von Tavel, Schweizer Journalist und Schriftsteller

1935

Gaston Lachaise

Gaston Lachaise left Paris for Boston in 1906 to follow a married woman he'd met at the opera. He worked in obscurity for years, sculpting monumental female nudes that shocked American audiences with their sensuality and scale. He died broke in 1935, three days after his final exhibition closed. His sculptures now sell for millions.

1939

Celestí Boada, político español (n.

Celestí Boada, político español (n. 1902).

1940

Hans Vollenweider, Schweizer Straftäter

1940

Saint-Pol-Roux (Paul-Pierre Roux dit), poète français (° 15 janvier 1861).

1941

Manuel Teixeira Gomes

Manuel Teixeira Gomes served as Portugal's President for two years in the 1920s. Then he resigned and moved to Algeria. He was 64. He spent the next 18 years writing erotic novels in exile. He died in 1941. He'd quit being president to write about sex.

1942

Mikhail Nesterov

Mikhail Nesterov painted religious icons and monastery scenes for decades. The Soviets banned religious art. He switched to portraits of scientists and engineers. He died during the Siege of Leningrad at 80, having survived revolution, purges, and starvation. His icons are in museums. His Soviet portraits are in storage.

1943

Benedictus Hubertus Danser, botánico y taxónomo neerlandés (n.

Benedictus Hubertus Danser, botánico y taxónomo neerlandés (n. 1891).

1944

Viktor Ullmann, pianista y compositor austriaco (n.

Viktor Ullmann, pianista y compositor austriaco (n. 1898).

1947

Michiaki Kamada

Michiaki Kamada was a Japanese admiral who commanded forces in China during World War II. He was convicted of war crimes in 1947. He was executed by hanging. The tribunal took four months. The sentence took four minutes. He was 57.

1948

Karl Gustav Vollmoeller, deutscher Archäologe und Dichter, Dramatiker und Drehbuchautor

1948

Walther von Brauchitsch

Walther von Brauchitsch commanded the entire German Army through Poland, France, and the first years of Russia. Hitler fired him in 1941 after Moscow didn't fall. He had three heart attacks during the war. The Allies arrested him in 1945. He died in a Hamburg hospital before trial. He never answered for anything.

1949

Enriqueta Compte y Riqué, pédagogue uruguayenne (° 31 décembre 1866).

1950

Giuseppe Borgatti, artiste lyrique italien (° 17 mars 1871).

1950

Eugen Neufeld, österreichischer Schauspieler

1951

Philipp Friedrich Wilhelm Abegg, deutscher Verwaltungsbeamter

1952

Rudolf zur Bonsen, deutscher Verwaltungsjurist und Regierungspräsident

1953

Federico Gerdes, peruanischer Komponist, Dirigent und Pianist

1953

Hector Pellerin, kanadischer Sänger, Schauspieler und Entertainer

1954

Roquette-Pinto, médico, antropólogo e ensaísta brasileiro (n.

Roquette-Pinto, médico, antropólogo e ensaísta brasileiro (n. 1884).

1955

José Ortega y Gasset, filósofo español (n.

José Ortega y Gasset, filósofo español (n. 1883).

1956

Rafael Estrada y Arnáiz, militar y académico español (n.

Rafael Estrada y Arnáiz, militar y académico español (n. 1884).

1956

Grosvenor Atterbury, US-amerikanischer Architekt, Stadtplaner und Schriftsteller

1956

Yoshio Markino

Yoshio Markino moved to London in 1897 with £40 and taught himself English by reading newspapers. He painted watercolors of London street scenes and wrote books about being Japanese in Edwardian England. His 1910 memoir A Japanese Artist in London became a bestseller. He lived in London for 45 years, painting the city through two world wars, dying there in 1956. His paintings hang in British museums — London seen through Tokyo eyes.

Boughera El Ouafi

Boughera El Ouafi won the 1928 Olympic marathon running for France. He was Algerian. France had colonized his country. He worked in a Paris car factory. After winning gold, he sold his medal to pay bills. He died broke in 1959, shot in a café dispute. France buried him without ceremony.

Helmuth Gmelin, deutscher Schauspieler und Theaterleiter

Othón P. Blanco, marino mexicano (n.

Othón P. Blanco, marino mexicano (n. 1868).

Francisco Graña Reyes, médico, catedrático, empresario y político peruano (n.

Francisco Graña Reyes, médico, catedrático, empresario y político peruano (n. 1878).

1960

Coriolano Alberini, filósofo argentino (n.

Coriolano Alberini, filósofo argentino (n. 1886).

Hans Heinz Theyer, österreichischer Kameramann

Wilhelm Boden, deutscher Jurist und Politiker

Tsuru Aoki

Tsuru Aoki became the first Asian-American movie star in 1910s Hollywood, appearing in over 50 silent films. She married her co-star Sessue Hayakawa. When sound arrived, studios stopped casting Asian leads. She retired at 38. She spent the next 30 years managing her husband's career instead of having her own.

Rodolphe Rubattel, político suizo (n.

Rodolphe Rubattel, político suizo (n. 1896).

1962

Barend Coenraad Petrus Jansen, niederländischer Chemiker

1962

Iván Petrovich

Iván Petrovich was a Serbian actor who became a star in German silent films. He made 100 films in five languages. Sound arrived and his accent disappeared his career. He kept working in smaller roles. He died in 1962. Film historians remember him. Nobody else does.

1963

Constance Worth, australische Schauspielerin

1964

Guglielmo Carubbi, italienischer Ruderer

Henry Travers

Henry Travers played Clarence the angel in It's a Wonderful Life at 72, his most famous role in a 30-year film career. He'd been a successful stage actor in England before moving to Hollywood. He died at 91, mostly forgotten, until television made his angel immortal every December.

Hans Zulliger, Schweizer Volksschullehrer

Lauri Törni

Lauri Törni fought for Finland against the Soviets, then for Nazi Germany, then for the United States in Vietnam. Born in 1919, he joined the U.S. Army under the name Larry Thorne and became a Green Beret. His helicopter crashed in Laos in 1965. His remains weren't recovered until 1999. Three armies, three wars, three flags.

Frank Hutchens, neuseeländischer Komponist

1966

Rafael Sánchez Mazas, escritor y político español (n.

Rafael Sánchez Mazas, escritor y político español (n. 1894).

1966

Elizabeth Arden

Elizabeth Arden opened her first salon on Fifth Avenue in 1910, painted the door red, and refused to change it when neighbors complained. She built an empire on that stubbornness — 29 salons, 300 products, $60 million in sales. The door's still red.

1966

S. S. Kresge

Sebastian Spering Kresge revolutionized American retail by transforming his five-and-dime stores into the sprawling Kmart discount empire. His death in 1966 closed the chapter on a business model that shifted consumer habits toward self-service shopping and suburban big-box stores, a template that still dominates the modern retail landscape today.

1967

Luis López de Mesa, científico y humanista colombiano (n.

Luis López de Mesa, científico y humanista colombiano (n. 1884).

1967

Richard McCreery, militar británico (n.

Richard McCreery, militar británico (n. 1898).

1967

Wilhelm Schwinn, deutscher Politiker

1969

Hans Stieber, deutscher Dirigent, Komponist und Geiger

1969

Gyula Mándi

Gyula Mándi played soccer for Hungary in the 1920s and managed the national team in the 1950s. He was there for Hungary's greatest era: the team that went unbeaten for four years and lost the 1954 World Cup final. He died in 1969. Hungarians still talk about that team.

1970

Zeid bin Hussein, irakischer Diplomat

1970

Krim Belkacem, homme politique algérien (° 14 septembre 1922).

1972

Richard Sanders, US-amerikanischer Ringer

Margaret Caroline Anderson

Margaret Anderson founded The Little Review in 1914 with zero money and infinite confidence. She published the first chapters of Ulysses in America. The government seized four issues and burned them. She was tried for obscenity. She lost. Joyce's masterpiece reached American readers anyway, one banned issue at a time.

Walt Kelly

Walt Kelly drew Pogo for 23 years without missing a deadline. He'd started as an animator at Disney, working on Dumbo and Fantasia. His comic strip about a possum in a swamp became political satire sharp enough that papers pulled it during election years. He created a character based on Joseph McCarthy — a wildcat named Simple J. Malarkey. Newspapers banned it. He ran it anyway.

Hans Schwippert, deutscher Architekt

Leo Strauss

Leo Strauss argued that ancient philosophers hid their true meanings in esoteric writing to avoid persecution — and that modern readers had forgotten how to decode them. He taught at the University of Chicago for 20 years, training students who became neoconservative intellectuals. He left a method of reading that sees secrets everywhere.

1974

Anders Lange, político noruego (n.

Anders Lange, político noruego (n. 1904).

1974

Gil Duggan, US-amerikanischer American-Football-Spieler

1975

Graham Haberfield

Graham Haberfield played Jerry Booth on Coronation Street for 14 years. He fixed cars, fell in love, got his heart broken on screen twice a week. He died suddenly in 1975 at 34. The show wrote his character out by having him move to Wales. Millions mourned a mechanic who never existed.

1975

Al Lettieri

Al Lettieri played Sollozzo in "The Godfather," the drug dealer who gets shot in the restaurant. He had 17 minutes of screen time. He died of a heart attack three years later at 47. He'd appeared in 20 films. Nobody remembers the other 19. He's the guy who got shot in the restaurant.

1975

K. C. Douglas

K.C. Douglas recorded rural blues in California in the 1940s and '50s, singing about cotton fields and sharecropping even though he'd left Mississippi decades earlier. He worked as a janitor while recording. His songs were rediscovered during the blues revival of the '60s. He died in 1975, just as people started paying attention.

Pedro Sanjuán, spanischer Komponist und Dirigent

Soong Ai-ling, primera china que estudió en los Estados Unidos (n.

Soong Ai-ling, primera china que estudió en los Estados Unidos (n. 1890).

Count Ossie, baterista y rastafari jamaicano (n.

Count Ossie, baterista y rastafari jamaicano (n. 1926)

Viswanatha Satyanarayana

Viswanatha Satyanarayana wrote 100 books in Telugu. He won the Jnanpith Award, India's highest literary honor, in 1970. He wrote poetry, novels, and plays. He translated the Ramayana. He died in 1976. Most of his work has never been translated into English. He's unknown outside Telugu-speaking India.

Jan-Carl Raspe

Jan-Carl Raspe shot himself in Stammheim Prison on the same night two other Red Army Faction leaders died in their cells. He was 33. He'd been paralyzed from the waist down since a shootout with police in 1972. He'd spent five years in a wheelchair, awaiting trial for terrorism. The gun's origin was never explained.

Jan-Carl Raspe, militante alemán de la Fracción del Ejército Rojo (n.

Jan-Carl Raspe, militante alemán de la Fracción del Ejército Rojo (n. 1944).

Zohair Youssif Akache, palästinensischer Terrorist

Andreas Baader

Andreas Baader was found shot in his cell at Stammheim Prison the morning after his Red Army Faction allies were stopped at Mogadishu. Officials called it suicide. Three other RAF members died the same night. The gun was smuggled in, they said, though the prison was maximum security. Nobody believed the story then. Nobody believes it now.

Gudrun Ensslin

Gudrun Ensslin was found hanged in her cell at Stammheim Prison the same night two other Red Army Faction members died. The government called it suicide. Her supporters called it execution. She was 37. She'd spent seven years in prison for bombings that killed four people. The mystery outlived everyone involved.

Ziembinski, ator e diretor de teatro, cinema e televisão (n.

Ziembinski, ator e diretor de teatro, cinema e televisão (n. 1908).

Ramón Mercader

Ramón Mercader drove an ice axe into Trotsky's skull in Mexico City in 1940. Trotsky lived for 26 hours. Mercader served twenty years in Mexican prison, never revealing who'd sent him. The KGB finally admitted it in 1960. He moved to Cuba after his release, then to the USSR. They gave him the Hero of the Soviet Union medal in secret. He died in Havana. His ashes went to Moscow.

May Wirth, artista de circo australiana (n.

May Wirth, artista de circo australiana (n. 1894).

Anna Maria Simundt, deutsche Theaterschauspielerin, Rezitatorin, Sprechpädagogin und Schriftstellerin

Kathi Hock, deutsche Bildhauerin

Hellmuth von Hase, deutscher Verleger

Virgilio Piñera, escritor cubano (n.

Virgilio Piñera, escritor cubano (n. 1912).

Hans Seigewasser, deutscher Politiker und Widerstandskämpfer

1980

Hans Ehard, deutscher Jurist und Politiker

1980

Filipp Stárikov, militar soviético (n.

Filipp Stárikov, militar soviético (n. 1896)

1980

Edwin Way Teale

Edwin Way Teale walked 17,000 miles across America photographing insects. He spent 20 years documenting their lives for National Geographic and his 30 books, winning a Pulitzer in 1966 for Wandering Through Winter. He built a darkroom in his barn in Connecticut and kept notebooks on every species he encountered. His journals filled 200 volumes. He saw more of America on foot than most people see by car.

Pierre Mendès France

Pierre Mendès France ended the First Indochina War and granted autonomy to Tunisia during his brief, intense tenure as Prime Minister. His death in 1982 silenced a rare moral voice in French politics who prioritized decolonization and economic modernization over the colonial status quo. He remains the standard for political integrity in the French Fifth Republic.

John Robarts

John Robarts served as Ontario's Premier for 10 years. He opened 500 schools and doubled university enrollment. He retired in 1971. He struggled with depression. He shot himself in 1982 at 64. He'd built Ontario's education system and couldn't save himself.

Bess Truman

Bess Truman hated being First Lady. She gave one press conference in seven years. She burned all her husband's letters to her — decades of correspondence, gone. She outlived him by ten years, rarely leaving their house in Independence, Missouri. She died at 97, the longest-lived First Lady at the time. The house is a museum now. The letters are still gone.

Dwain Esper

Dwain Esper made exploitation films so lurid that theaters showed them at midnight to avoid censors. His 1934 film Maniac featured a man eating a cat's eyeball. He claimed his movies were educational. They weren't. He died at 90, having spent six decades making films nobody admits watching but everyone remembers.

1983

Diego Abad de Santillán

Diego Abad de Santillán fought in the Spanish Civil War and helped run Barcelona's economy when anarchists controlled the city in 1936. Factories operated without bosses. Trams ran on time. It lasted eight months. He fled to Argentina when Franco won. He spent 40 years in exile, writing about the revolution that almost worked.

1983

Barbara Karinska, US-amerikanische Kostümbildnerin

1983

Willie Jones

Willie Jones played third base for the Phillies for 10 seasons and never hit above .270. He made four All-Star teams anyway. His nickname was Puddin' Head. He led the league in errors twice and in putouts three times. Defense kept him employed. A weak bat nearly ended him. He stayed 15 years.

1984

Jon-Erik Hexum

Jon-Erik Hexum was playing Russian roulette with a prop gun on set. He put the blank cartridge to his temple and pulled the trigger as a joke. The wadding from the blank fractured his skull. He was 26. Brain-dead within hours. They used his organs for transplants. Five people lived because of his stupid mistake.

1984

Henri Michaux

Henri Michaux took mescaline over 100 times and painted what he saw. He wrote eight books about psychedelic experiences. He was 85 when he died, having spent four decades methodically documenting altered consciousness. The French government gave him its highest literary honor. He'd built a career from hallucinations.

1984

Jon-Erik Hexum, actor estadounidense (n.

Jon-Erik Hexum, actor estadounidense (n. 1957).

1985

Medardo Galli, italienischer Ruderer

1985

Stefan Askenase, musicien polonais (° 10 juillet 1896).

1987

Adriaan Ditvoorst

Adriaan Ditvoorst made films so raw Dutch television refused to air them. He cast his own mother in a role where she played dead. His camera work felt like surveillance. Critics called him uncompromising. Others called him unwatchable. He died at 47, leaving behind eleven films that still make audiences uncomfortable.

1988

Frederick Ashton, bailarín y coreógrafo ecuatoriano (n.

Frederick Ashton, bailarín y coreógrafo ecuatoriano (n. 1904).

1988

Frederick Ashton

Frederick Ashton was born in Ecuador to English parents who ran a trading company. He didn't see ballet until he was 13. He became the choreographer who defined British ballet for half a century. He created over 100 works for the Royal Ballet. His dancers said he demonstrated every movement himself, even in his eighties.

1989

Isaac Lindley, empresario y filántropo peruano (n.

Isaac Lindley, empresario y filántropo peruano (n. 1904).

1990

Heinz Oskar Vetter, deutscher Gewerkschafter

1990

Gato Pérez (Xavier Patricio Pérez), cantautor hispanoargentino (n.

Gato Pérez (Xavier Patricio Pérez), cantautor hispanoargentino (n. 1951).

1991

Gunnar Sønstevold, norwegischer Komponist

1992

Christa Lehmann, deutsche Schauspielerin und Theaterregisseurin

1993

Peter Haasen, deutscher Metallphysiker

1993

Smaïl Yefsah, journaliste algérien (° 29 octobre 1962).

Max Müller, deutscher Philosoph

Lee Allen, US-amerikanischer R&B-Saxophonist

Xavier Depraz, comédien et chanteur lyrique français (° 22 avril 1926).

Else Klink, deutsche Leiterin der Ausbildungsstätte für Eurythmie

Eberhard Feik, deutscher Schauspieler

Cleews Vellay, gestionnaire français, président d'Act Up-Paris (° 3 février 1964).

Conchita Montes, actriz española (n.

Conchita Montes, actriz española (n. 1914).

1995

Claudio Brook, actor mexicano (n.

Claudio Brook, actor mexicano (n. 1927).

1995

Gilbert Langevin, poète québécois (° 27 avril 1938).

Luciano Durán Böger, escritor, poeta y novelista boliviano (n.1904).

Hans Drachsler, deutscher Politiker

Otto Heinrich Kühner, deutscher Schriftsteller

Jason Bernard, acteur américain (° 17 mai 1938).

Trude Eipperle, soprano allemande (° 27 janvier 1908).

Adolf Schröter, deutscher Porträt- und Landschaftsmaler

Roberto Goizueta, presidente de The Coca-Cola Company (n.

Roberto Goizueta, presidente de The Coca-Cola Company (n. 1932).

Sergei Mikhailovich Voronin, matemático ruso (n.

Sergei Mikhailovich Voronin, matemático ruso (n. 1997).

1998

Erhard Theodor Astler, deutscher Maler, Grafiker und Zeichner

1998

Alfred Praks

Alfred Praks won an Olympic bronze medal in Greco-Roman wrestling for Estonia in 1924. When the Soviets occupied Estonia, he fled to Sweden. He died there at 96. The medal came with him. The country he won it for disappeared for 47 years.

Joseph Piatek, footballeur français (° 9 mars 1931).

Paddi Edwards

Paddi Edwards voiced Flotsam in The Little Mermaid, the eel whispering in Ariel's ear. Her voice was so unsettling that Disney used it for one of Ursula's most manipulative scenes. She'd spent decades playing villains on TV — everything from Batman to The Dukes of Hazzard. She died in 1999. Kids still hear her hiss without knowing her name.

John Cannon, kanadischer Automobilrennfahrer

Werner Georg Haverbeck, deutscher Theologe

2000s 133

Wladimir Pizek, sowjetischer Schauspieler

Sidney Salkow, cineasta estadunidense (n.

Sidney Salkow, cineasta estadunidense (n. 1909).

Gwen Verdon

Gwen Verdon won four Tony Awards in six years. She was Bob Fosse's wife, muse, and uncredited choreographer. She danced in "Damn Yankees," "Sweet Charity," and "Chicago." After they separated, she kept fixing his work. She'd slip into rehearsals and teach dancers what Fosse really wanted. She never took credit. He got famous. She got four Tonys.

Julie London

Julie London recorded "Cry Me a River" in one take in 1955. She was an actress who could sing. The song hit number nine. She recorded 32 albums. She acted in movies and TV. She played Dixie McCall on "Emergency!" for seven years. She retired in 1979. "Cry Me a River" is still on every jazz compilation. One take.

2001

Micheline Ostermeyer, atleta y músico francés (n.

Micheline Ostermeyer, atleta y músico francés (n. 1922).

2001

Micheline Ostermeyer

Micheline Ostermeyer won Olympic gold in shot put and discus in 1948, then gave a piano recital that same year at a Paris concert hall. She'd studied at the Paris Conservatory. She competed in athletics to stay fit for piano. She chose music over sports at 30. She recorded Ravel and Debussy for decades.

2001

János Kulka, ungarischer Dirigent und Komponist

Nikolai Rukavishnikov, cosmonauta soviético (n.

Nikolai Rukavishnikov, cosmonauta soviético (n. 1932).

Nikolai Rukavishnikov

Nikolai Rukavishnikov flew three space missions between 1971 and 1979. On his first flight, the crew couldn't dock with a space station and nearly died from carbon dioxide poisoning. He went back up twice more. He logged 182 days in orbit. He died at 69 from a heart attack. Space didn't kill him.

Frederick Kanfer, österreichisch-US-amerikanischer Psychologe und Verhaltenstherapeut

Roman Tam

Roman Tam was called the Godfather of Cantopop. He recorded over 1,000 songs across four decades. He died of liver cancer at 52. Hong Kong gave him a public memorial. Tens of thousands attended. He'd never married, never confirmed rumors about his sexuality. He left behind only the music.

2003

Manuel Vázquez Montalbán

Manuel Vázquez Montalbán created detective Pepe Carvalho, who solved crimes and cooked elaborate meals in equal measure. He wrote 25 novels featuring him. He was on a plane from Bangkok when he had a heart attack. He died mid-flight at 64. His detective outlived him, still unsolved in the final manuscript.

2003

Preston Smith

Preston Smith expanded the Texas higher education system by establishing the Texas Tech University School of Medicine and creating the state’s first community college funding formula. As the 40th Governor of Texas, he navigated the turbulent integration of public schools and oversaw the passage of the state's first comprehensive water plan, shaping the infrastructure of modern Texas.

2003

Giovanni Ubaldo « Jean » Panzani, industriel français (° 1911).

Hilaire Flandre, homme politique français (° 24 février 1937).

Ilija Džuvalekovski, mazedonischer Schauspieler

Fermin Rocker, britischer Maler und Anarchist

Veerappan

Veerappan killed 124 people and smuggled sandalwood worth $2.6 million from Indian forests. He evaded capture for 30 years. He kidnapped a movie star. Police finally ambushed him in 2004, firing 200 rounds. He'd spent three decades in the jungle, living in caves. Sandalwood trees still grow where he hid.

K. M. Veerappan, indischer Verbrecher

Johnny Haynes

Johnny Haynes became England's first £100-a-week footballer in 1961. The maximum wage had just been abolished. He stayed at Fulham his entire career, never winning a major trophy. Bigger clubs offered more money. He refused. He died in a car crash at 71. Loyalty cost him everything except respect.

Franz Schillinger, deutscher Komponist und Gitarrist

Heinrich Nettesheim, deutscher Ringer

Marietheres Angerpointner, deutsche Schauspielerin

Gianfranco Rivoli, director de orquesta y compositor italiano (n.

Gianfranco Rivoli, director de orquesta y compositor italiano (n. 1921).

Bill King

Bill King called Oakland Raiders games for 25 years with a voice like gravel and poetry. He'd lost an eye in a childhood accident. He wore an eyepatch. He also called Warriors basketball and A's baseball. He worked until he was 78. He died of a hip surgery complication. Three teams retired his microphone.

John Hollis

John Hollis played Lobot in The Empire Strikes Back and Sondergaard in Raiders of the Lost Ark. His face was covered in both roles. He worked steadily for 50 years, almost always in masks or makeup. He died at 74. Most people who'd seen him on screen wouldn't recognize him on the street.

William Evan Allan, militaire australien (° 24 juillet 1899).

Alexandre Iakovlev (Александр Николаевич Яковлев), homme politique russe (° 2 décembre 1923).

Mario Francesco Pompedda

Mario Francesco Pompedda served in the Vatican's highest court for 26 years. He was made a cardinal in 2001 at 72. He adjudicated marriage annulments and canonical disputes. He died in 2006. He'd spent his career deciding whether marriages were valid. The church's rules outlasted every marriage he dissolved.

Anna Russell

Anna Russell recorded comedy albums parodying opera and classical music. Her 1953 sketch explaining Wagner's Ring Cycle runs 22 minutes and is funnier than most comedians' entire careers. She performed into her 80s. Leonard Bernstein called her a genius. She made a living mocking the art form she loved most.

Laurie Taitt

Laurie Taitt ran the 400-meter hurdles for Great Britain, competing in the 1958 Commonwealth Games. Born in Guyana in 1934, he moved to England and became one of the first Black athletes to represent Britain in international track. He died in 2006. His times are forgotten, but he ran when simply showing up was a statement.

Snooky Pryor, US-amerikanischer Blues-Sänger und Mundharmonikaspieler

Alvin Weinberg, physicien nucléaire américain (° 20 avril 1915).

Marc Hodler, skieur alpin puis avocat et dirigeant sportif (° 26 octobre 1918).

Maria Haller, diplomate angolaise (° 1923).

Albert « Bobby » Hachey, guitariste et chanteur country canadien (° 2 janvier 1932).

Lucky Dube

Lucky Dube recorded 22 reggae albums and sold 10 million copies across Africa. He was shot during a carjacking in Johannesburg, trying to drop his children at their uncle's house. He was 43. Five men tried to steal his car. They didn't know who he was. South Africa buried him like a head of state.

Vincent DeDomenico

Vincent DeDomenico invented Rice-A-Roni in 1958 by combining rice and pasta with chicken broth powder. The San Francisco treat. His family's company sold $100 million worth annually by the 1970s. Quaker Oats bought them out. He died at 92. His invention is still in every American grocery store.

William J. Crowe

William Crowe commanded all U.S. forces worldwide as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, then endorsed Bill Clinton over George H.W. Bush in 1992. He broke with his own party. Bush had given him the job. He became Ambassador to Britain under Clinton. Military colleagues never forgave him. He'd chosen politics over loyalty.

William J. Crowe, American admiral and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (born 1925)

Alan Coren

Alan Coren wrote humor columns for Punch magazine for 20 years and appeared on BBC radio panel shows 300 times. His daughter Giles became a columnist. His son became a doctor. He died of cancer at 69. He'd made a career from being funny on demand, twice a week, for four decades.

Xie Jin, cineasta chino (n.

Xie Jin, cineasta chino (n. 1923).

Maurice Bernardet, journaliste français (° 18 septembre 1921).

Nildon Carlos Braga Veloso, futebolista brasileiro (n.

Nildon Carlos Braga Veloso, futebolista brasileiro (n. 1943).

Dave McKenna, pianista estadunidense (n.

Dave McKenna, pianista estadunidense (n. 1930).

Dee Dee Warwick

Dee Dee Warwick recorded "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" two years before Diana Ross made it a hit. She was Dionne Warwick's sister. She sang backup for Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett. She never had a number one. She died at 63 from undisclosed causes. Her sister got the fame. She got the footnotes.

Basie Viviers, joueur de rugby à XV sud-africain (° 1er mars 1927).

Ignacio Ponseti, médico ortopedista infantil español, creador del método que lleva su nombre para el tratamiento del …

Ignacio Ponseti, médico ortopedista infantil español, creador del método que lleva su nombre para el tratamiento del pie equino varo aducto (n. 1914).

Adriaan Kortlandt

Adriaan Kortlandt spent 40 years studying wild chimpanzees in Congo, watching them make tools and hunt. In 1962, he filmed chimps using sticks as weapons against a stuffed leopard, proof they could plan attacks. His work showed chimpanzees weren't peaceful — they were strategic. He published over 150 papers on primate behavior. Jane Goodall cited him. Most people only know her name.

Barbara Ratthey, deutsche Schauspielerin und Synchronsprecherin

Nancy Spero

Nancy Spero refused to paint anything but war for years after her husband returned from military service. She created the War Series on paper because canvas felt too precious, too traditional. She covered scrolls with helicopters, bombs, and mutilated bodies. She died in 2009, having spent five decades making art the establishment called too angry, too feminist, too much.

Billy Raimondi

Billy Raimondi caught for the Oakland Oaks when the Pacific Coast League rivaled the majors in talent and pay. He played 16 seasons without reaching the big leagues, a star in a league most fans forgot. He died in 2010 at 97. The PCL still considers him one of its greatest catchers.

Joachim Herz, deutscher Opernintendant und -regisseur

Juan Miguel Bákula, historiador, escritor y diplomático peruano.

Marion Brown

Marion Brown played saxophone on John Coltrane's 'Ascension' — the album that split jazz into before and after. He'd studied law before music. He recorded 27 albums as a bandleader. His sound was softer than the other free jazz players, almost vocal. He spent his last years teaching ethnomusicology at Wesleyan.

2011

Friedrich Kittler, deutscher Literaturwissenschaftler und Medientheoretiker

Albert Lee Ueltschi

Albert Ueltschi was Charles Lindbergh's personal pilot. He started FlightSafety International in 1951 with one flight simulator in a building at LaGuardia Airport. He sold the company to Berkshire Hathaway for $1.5 billion in 1996. He kept working until he was 92. Warren Buffett called him one of the best businessmen he'd ever met.

George Mattos

George Mattos won a bronze medal in pole vault at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, clearing 4.40 meters. Born in 1929, he competed for the United States in an era when vaulters used bamboo or steel poles. Fiberglass poles arrived in the 1960s and added a full meter to world records. He died in 2012, having vaulted in a different physics.

David S. Ware

David S. Ware played the tenor saxophone so intensely he'd sometimes pass out mid-performance. He led his own quartet for 30 years, recording 20 albums of free jazz that critics called "spiritual" and "punishing." He had a kidney transplant in 2009, kept touring, and died three years later at 62. His final album came out the month he died. He never learned to play quietly.

Sylvia Kristel

Sylvia Kristel was cast in Emmanuelle because the director wanted someone who looked "innocent but not virginal." She was 22. The 1974 film made $100 million and turned softcore into art house. She made four sequels, hated all of them, and spent the money on cocaine. She wrote a memoir in 2006 admitting she'd been high through most of the '80s. The role made her famous and miserable in equal measure.

Brain Damage

Brain Damage was a professional wrestler who performed in extreme hardcore matches, taking chair shots and barbed wire for crowds of a few hundred. Born in 1977, he wrestled on independent circuits across the U.S. for years without breaking through to WWE or major promotions. He died in 2012 at 35. Most wrestlers never get famous. They just bleed.

Slater Martin

Slater Martin stood 5'10" and played guard when the NBA had no shot clock. Games ended 19-18. He won five championships with the Minneapolis Lakers and St. Louis Hawks. He was the first player under six feet elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Speed beat height for the first time.

Charlie Dickson, futbolista británico (n.

Charlie Dickson, futbolista británico (n. 1935).

Bum Phillips

Bum Phillips wore a cowboy hat on the sideline. He took it off only twice: in the Astrodome, out of respect for being indoors, and at funerals. He coached the Houston Oilers to two AFC Championship games. They lost both. He never won a Super Bowl but became more beloved than coaches who did.

Bill Young

Bill Young served in Congress for 42 years, representing Florida's Gulf Coast from 1971 to 2013. Born in 1930, he was a sergeant in the Army National Guard and became the longest-serving Republican in the House. He brought billions in defense spending to his district. He died in 2013, two months after leaving office, having never lost an election.

Allan Stanley

Allan Stanley won four Stanley Cups with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1960s, playing defense until he was 41. Born in 1926, he spent 21 seasons in the NHL, an era when players wore no helmets and stitches were handled between periods. He died in 2013. He'd outlasted his knees, his teammates, and the league he'd helped build.

Tom Foley

Tom Foley was the first Speaker of the House to lose re-election in his own district since 1862. He'd held the speakership for five years when voters in Washington's 5th district threw him out in 1994. The Republican Revolution swept 54 Democrats from office that night. He'd served 30 years in Congress.

Felix Dexter

Felix Dexter wrote and performed on The Real McCoy, the first British sketch show with an all-Black cast, in 1991. He created characters that satirized race relations with precision sharp enough to make everyone uncomfortable. He acted in Belleville Rendez-vous and Casanova after that, always in small roles. He died of myeloma at 52, leaving behind sketches that still circulate on YouTube without his name attached.

Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix

Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix ran the Tijuana Cartel with his brothers, controlling drug routes into California for two decades. Born in 1949, he was arrested in 1993 and served ten years in prison. Released in 2008, he was shot in the head at a family party in 2013 while wearing a costume. Witnesses said the gunman was dressed as a clown.

Ravuri Bharadhwaja, escritor indio (n.

Ravuri Bharadhwaja, escritor indio (n. 1927).

Jean-Michel Fouché, futbolista y entrenador francés (n.

Jean-Michel Fouché, futbolista y entrenador francés (n. 1944).

Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix, narcotraficante mexicano (n.

Francisco Rafael Arellano Félix, narcotraficante mexicano (n. 1949).

Norman Geras, teórico político británico (n.

Norman Geras, teórico político británico (n. 1943).

Irena Bieniek-Kotela, arquitecta y urbanista polaca (n.

Irena Bieniek-Kotela, arquitecta y urbanista polaca (n. 1922).

Mary Carver, actriz estadounidense (n.

Mary Carver, actriz estadounidense (n. 1924).

Felix Dexter, actor y comediante británico (n.

Felix Dexter, actor y comediante británico (n. 1961).

Efua Dorkenoo, activista ghanesa-británica defensora contra mutilación genital femenina (n.

Efua Dorkenoo, activista ghanesa-británica defensora contra mutilación genital femenina (n. 1949).

حارث طه الراوي، شاعر عراقي.

Joanne Borgella

Joanne Borgella finished seventh on American Idol in 2008, then became a plus-size model signed with Wilhelmina. She walked runways at 200 pounds, appeared in Lane Bryant campaigns, and advocated for body diversity in fashion. She was diagnosed with endometrial cancer at 29 and died at 32. She'd spent four years proving you could be fat and beautiful. The industry still hasn't caught up.

Paul Craft

Paul Craft wrote "Midnight Flyer" and "Brother Jukebox" and "Dropkick Me, Jesus" — a novelty song that Bobby Bare took to number 16 in 1976. He wrote hundreds of songs, recorded a few albums himself, and never had a hit as a performer. Mark Chesnutt and Alison Krauss recorded his work decades later. He died in 2014 at 76. Songwriters rarely get famous. They just get covered.

Mariano Lebrón Saviñón

Mariano Lebrón Saviñón wrote 30 books on Dominican history and linguistics, focusing on Taíno influences in Caribbean Spanish. He spent 50 years documenting words that survived colonization — hurricane, barbecue, hammock — all Taíno. He taught at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo for decades. His dictionaries are still used. Most people speak his research without knowing they're speaking Taíno.

Edward Regan

Edward Regan served as New York State Comptroller for 12 years, overseeing a $90 billion pension fund. He was a Republican who fought his own party over fiscal transparency. He later taught public policy at CUNY. His audit reports were so detailed they became textbooks. Numbers were his weapon.

Sidney Shapiro

Sidney Shapiro moved to China in 1947, married a Chinese actress, and never left. He translated over 20 Chinese novels into English, including Outlaws of the Marsh and Family. He became a Chinese citizen in 1963 and was appointed to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He died in Beijing at 98, having spent 67 years there. Most Americans who went to China in 1947 came home.

Peter Radszuhn, deutscher Musikjournalist

Claude Ollier, escritor francés (n.

Claude Ollier, escritor francés (n. 1922).

Rachel Makinson, investigadora científica australiana (n.

Rachel Makinson, investigadora científica australiana (n. 1917).

Eduardo D'Angelo, actor y humorista uruguayo (n.

Eduardo D'Angelo, actor y humorista uruguayo (n. 1939).

Frank Watkins

Frank Watkins played bass for Obituary and defined the sound of death metal for 30 years. He played so low and heavy that other bassists tried to copy his tone. He died of a heart attack at 47 while on tour. The band still plays. They've never replaced him.

Robert W. Farquhar

Robert Farquhar figured out how to send spacecraft to places NASA said were impossible. He designed the first mission to orbit a comet, the first to orbit an asteroid, and the first to land on one. He worked at NASA for 40 years. He saved missions other engineers had declared dead. Space exploration looks the way it does because of him.

Franklin April, futbolista namibio (n.

Franklin April, futbolista namibio (n. 1984).

Robert Dickerson

Robert Dickerson painted Sydney's working poor, the drunks and drifters nobody else looked at. He worked as a coal miner before picking up a brush. He died in 2015, having spent 60 years documenting the people Australia's art establishment ignored. His paintings hang in every major Australian gallery now.

Luiz Olavo Baptista, brasilianischer Jurist, Hochschullehrer und Mitglied des Appellate Body der WTO (* 1938)

Gamal El-Ghitani

Gamal El-Ghitani was imprisoned and tortured under Nasser for his political journalism. He turned to fiction, writing novels that disguised modern Egypt as medieval Cairo to evade censors. He edited a literary magazine for 25 years, publishing writers the government hated. He died in 2015, leaving behind 20 novels that mapped his country's pain.

Paul West

Paul West wrote 50 novels and memoirs, many about World War II pilots and historical figures. He moved from England to America in 1957 to teach at Penn State. He suffered a stroke in 2003 that destroyed his ability to speak but left his writing intact. He published five more books afterward, typing what he couldn't say. His final novel appeared in 2011, eight years after he'd lost his voice.

2016

Dieter Hömig, deutscher Verfassungsrichter

2016

تركي بن سعود بن تركي بن سعود الكبير، أمير سعودي.

2016

Christophe Sagna, footballeur sénégalais (° 5 mai 1954).

2017

Danielle Darrieux, actriz francesa (n.

Danielle Darrieux, actriz francesa (n. 1917).

2017

Brent Briscoe, ator e roteirista estadunidense (n.

Brent Briscoe, ator e roteirista estadunidense (n. 1961).

2017

Marino Perani

Marino Perani played professional football in Italy's lower divisions, then managed 28 different clubs over 40 years. He never managed in Serie A. He spent his career in Serie B and below, taking jobs at clubs like Pisa, Reggiana, and Ternana. He managed his last match at 76 in 2015. He died in 2017, having spent 55 years in Italian football without ever reaching the top.

Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab

Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab led a coup in Sudan in 1985, then held elections a year later and handed over power. He was defense minister when he overthrew President Nimeiry. He promised democracy. He kept his promise. Sadiq al-Mahdi won the election. Swar al-Dahab retired. He's one of the only military rulers in African history who actually left.

Lisbeth Palme

Lisbeth Palme was married to Sweden's Prime Minister when he was assassinated on a Stockholm street in 1986. She was walking beside him. She spent the next 32 years working for UNICEF and children's rights, never speaking publicly about the murder. It's still unsolved.

Randolph Hokanson, pianista estadounidense (n.

Randolph Hokanson, pianista estadounidense (n. 1915).

Raúl Marrero, puerto-ricanischer Cantautor

Renate Seelig, deutsche Illustratorin

2019

Rui Jordão

Rui Jordão scored 15 goals in 27 games for Portugal and became a legend at Benfica, where he won five league titles. Born in Angola during colonial rule, he left for Portugal as a teenager. He died in 2019. His 1977 season, 46 goals in all competitions, remains a Benfica record.

2019

Gerhard Menk, deutscher Archivar und Landeshistoriker

Sid Hartman, periodista estadounidense (n.

Sid Hartman, periodista estadounidense (n. 1920).

Heike Meves, deutsche Politikerin

David Kushnir, israelischer Leichtathlet und Fußballspieler

Tomás Herrera, kubanischer Basketballspieler

René Felber

René Felber served as President of the Swiss Confederation for one year, the standard term in a country that rotates the presidency annually among seven ministers. He was Foreign Minister for six years, president for one, then retired. Switzerland doesn't believe in long reigns.

Colin Powell Dies: Trailblazing General and Secretary of State

Colin Powell grew up in the South Bronx, the son of Jamaican immigrants. He joined the ROTC at City College, served two tours in Vietnam, and rose through the Army to become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — the first Black man to hold the position. He commanded the Coalition forces in the Gulf War. As Secretary of State he presented evidence of Iraqi weapons programs to the UN Security Council in February 2003. Much of it was wrong. He called it a blot on his record for the rest of his life. He died in October 2021 of COVID-19 complications, having been immunocompromised.

Willy Kemp, ciclista luxemburgués (n.

Willy Kemp, ciclista luxemburgués (n. 1925).

Concha Márquez Piquer, cantante española (n.

Concha Márquez Piquer, cantante española (n. 1945).

Edita Gruberová, soprano eslovaca (n.

Edita Gruberová, soprano eslovaca (n. 1946).

Miguel Palmer, ator mexicano (n.

Miguel Palmer, ator mexicano (n. 1942).

William Lucking, US-amerikanischer Film- und Theaterschauspieler

2022

Valeri Rubakov, físico teórico ruso (n.

Valeri Rubakov, físico teórico ruso (n. 1955).

2022

Ole Ellefsæter, esquiador noruego (n.

Ole Ellefsæter, esquiador noruego (n. 1939).

2022

Harvey Wollman

Harvey Wollman became South Dakota's governor when his predecessor resigned to become a senator. He served 15 months, lost the next election, and went back to farming. He was governor by accident. He spent the rest of his life growing corn. He died at 87.

2023

Juanita McNeely, pintora estadounidense (n.

Juanita McNeely, pintora estadounidense (n. 1936).

2023

Roger Brown, jugador de baloncesto estadounidense (n.

Roger Brown, jugador de baloncesto estadounidense (n. 1950).

2023

Dwight Twilley, cantor, compositor e guitarrista estadunidense (n.

Dwight Twilley, cantor, compositor e guitarrista estadunidense (n. 1951).

Klaus Möbius, deutscher Physiker

Donald B. Redford, egiptólogo y arqueólogo canadiense (n.

Donald B. Redford, egiptólogo y arqueólogo canadiense (n. 1934).

Laurence Traiger, US-amerikanischer Komponist

Yehuda Bauer

Yehuda Bauer survived the Holocaust as a teenager in Romania, then spent 70 years studying it. He taught at Hebrew University for decades. He wrote 30 books. He advised governments and museums. He testified at trials. He defined the term 'genocide' for the UN. He died in 2024 at 98, having devoted his entire academic life to documenting what he'd survived as a boy.

Ginés González García

Ginés González García was Argentina's Minister of Health three times across 20 years. He managed the country's response to HIV, H1N1, and COVID-19. He resigned in 2021 after a vaccine scandal. He died in 2024. Argentine public health still uses the systems he built.

Sam Rivers

Sam Rivers played bass for Limp Bizkit during their peak, when they sold 16 million albums and headlined stadiums. He was the quiet one in a band famous for chaos. He left in 2021, played with other groups, kept touring. He was 47.

Lia Smith

Lia Smith competed as a diver at the University of Pennsylvania and became an advocate for transgender athletes after her teammate Lia Thomas — a trans woman swimmer — sparked national controversy in 2022. Smith defended her. She testified before legislatures. She gave dozens of interviews. She was 25 when she died in 2025.

Olga Sippl, sudetendeutsche Sozialdemokratin