August 18 :: Historical Deaths

Famous Deaths

• 353 - Decentius, Roman usurper


• 472 - Ricimer, Roman general


• 849 - Walafrid Strabo, German monk and theologian


• 1227 - Genghis Khan, Khagan of Mongol Empire


• 1258 - Theodore II Lascaris, Emperor of the Empire of Nicaea


• 1276 - Pope Adrian V


• 1318 - Clare of Montefalco, Italian Abbess and religious leader (born c. 1268)


• 1430 - Thomas de Ros, 9th Baron de Ros, English soldier and politician (drowned) (b. 1406)


• 1503 - Pope Alexander VI (b. 1431)


• 1559 - Pope Paul IV (b. 1476)


• 1563 - Étienne de La Boétie, French judge and writer (b. 1530)


• 1613 - Giovanni Artusi, Italian composer


• 1620 - Wanli, Emperor of China (b. 1563)


• 1634 - Urbain Grandier, French priest (b. 1590)


• 1642 - Guido Reni, Italian painter (b. 1575)


• 1645 - Eudoxia Streshneva, Tsarina of Mikhail I of Russia (b. 1608)


• 1683 - Charles Hart, English actor (b. 1625)


• 1707 - William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire, English soldier and statesman (b. 1640)


• 1712 - Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers, English soldier


• 1765 - Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1708)


• 1809 - Matthew Boulton, English manufacturer and engineer (b. 1728)


• 1815 - Chauncey Goodrich, American politician (b. 1759)


• 1842 - Louis de Freycinet, French explorer (b. 1779)


• 1850 - Honoré de Balzac, French writer (b. 1799)


• 1919 - Joseph E. Seagram, Canadian distillery founder (b. 1841)


• 1940 - Walter P. Chrysler, American automobile executive (b. 1875)


• 1942 - Rafaela Ottiano, Italian-born American actress (b. 1888)


• 1943 - Ali-Agha Shikhlinski, Russian-Azerbaijani general (b. 1865)


• 1949 - Paul Mares, American musician (b. 1900)


• 1952 - Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga, Chilean Jesuit saint (b. 1901)


• 1963 - Clifford Odets, American playwright (b. 1906)


• 1981 - Anita Loos, American screenwriter (b. 1889)


• 1983 - Nikolaus Pevsner, German-born art historian (b. 1902)


• 1990 - Grethe Ingmann, Danish singer (b. 1938)


• 1990 - B.F. Skinner, American psychological theorist (b. 1904)


• 1992 - John Sturges, American film director (b. 1911)


• 1994 - Martin Cahill, The General, infamous Dublin criminal (b. 1949)


• 1998 - Persis Khambatta, Indian actress (b. 1950)


• 2001 - David Peakall, British scientist (b. 1931)


• 2002 - Dean Riesner, American film and television writer (b. 1918)


• 2003 - Tony Jackson, English musician (The Searchers) (b. 1938)


• 2004 - Elmer Bernstein, American composer (b. 1922)


• 2004 - Hiram Fong, former U.S. Senator from Hawaii (b. 1906)


• 2005 - Christopher Bauman, American wrestler (b. 1982)


• 2005 - Gao Xiumin, Chinese comedy actress (b. 1959)


• 2006 - Fernand Gignac, Canadian singer and actor (b. 1934)


• 2006 - Jamie Astaphan, Caribbean-born physician (b. 1946)


• 2007 - Michael Deaver, Reagan Administration Deputy White House Chief of Staff (b. 1938)