August 31 :: Historical Deaths

Famous Deaths

• 651 - Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne, Irish bishop and missionary


• 683 - Pacal II ruler of the Maya polity of Palenque


• 1056 - Theodora, Byzantine Empress (b. 981)


• 1234 - Emperor Go-Horikawa of Japan (b. 1212)


• 1372 - Ralph Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford, English soldier (b. 1301)


• 1422 - King Henry V of England (b. 1387)


• 1645 - Francesco Bracciolini, Italian poet (b. 1566)


• 1654 - Ole Worm, Danish physician (b. 1588)


• 1688 - John Bunyan, English writer (b. 1628)


• 1730 - Gottfried Finger, Czech composer (b. 1660?)


• 1741 - Johann Gottlieb Heineccius, German jurist (b. 1681)


• 1772 - William Borlase, English naturalist (b. 1695)


• 1795 - François-André Danican Philidor, French chess player (b. 1726)


• 1799 - Nicolas-Henri Jardin, French architect (b. 1720)


• 1814 - Arthur Phillip, British admiral, first Governor of New South Wales (b. 1738)


• 1867 - Charles Baudelaire, French poet (b. 1821)


• 1869 - Mary Ward, Irish scientist, first automobile accident victim (b. 1827)


• 1888 - Mary Ann "Polly" Nichols, widely believed to be the first victim of Jack the Ripper (b. 1845)


• 1920 - Wilhelm Wundt, German psychologist (b. 1832)


• 1940 - Georges Gauthier, French Canadian Roman Catholic archbishop of Montreal (b. 1871)


• 1941 - Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet (b. 1892)


• 1948 - Billy Laughlin, American actor (b. 1932)


• 1952 - Henri Bourassa, French Canadian political leader (b. 1868)


• 1963 - Georges Braque, French painter (b. 1882)


• 1967 - Ilya Ehrenburg, Russian writer (b. 1891)


• 1969 - Rocky Marciano, American boxer (b. 1923)


• 1973 - John Ford, American film director (b. 1894)


• 1974 - William Pershing Benedict, American pilot


• 1974 - Norman Kirk, New Zealand prime minister (b. 1923)


• 1978 - John Wrathall, President of Rhodesia (b. 1913)


• 1979 - Sally Rand, American dancer and actress (b. 1904)


• 1985 - Frank Macfarlane Burnet, Australian biologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1899)


• 1986 - Henry Moore, English sculptor (b. 1898)


• 1986 - Urho Kekkonen, President of Finland (b. 1900)


• 1997 - Diana, Princess of Wales (b. 1961)


• 1997 - Dodi Al-Fayed, film producer (b. 1955)


• 2000 - Patricia Owens, Canadian actress (b. 1925)


• 2002 - Lionel Hampton, American vibraphone player (b. 1908)


• 2002 - George Porter, English chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1920)


• 2004 - Carl Wayne, English singer (b. 1943)


• 2005 - Joseph Rotblat, Polish-British physicist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1908)


• 2005 - Michael Sheard, British actor (b. 1940)


• 2006 - Mohamed Abdelwahab, Egyptian footballer (b. 1983)


• 2006 - Tom Delaney, British racing driver (b. 1911)


• 2007 - Gay Brewer, American golfer (b. 1932)