2008 Charlton Heston, dies at 84, at his home in Beverly Hills, California, with Lydia, his wife of 64 years, by his side 2005 Dale Messick, American Artist 2002 Layne Staley, Grunge rocker, Alice in Chains, dies at 34 2000 Lee Petty, American Celebrity 1997 Allen Ginsberg, beat poet 1997 Alparslan Turkes, Turkish politician (MHP), dies 1996 Peter Nailor, civil servant/historian, dies at 67 1995 Christian Pineau, French politician, dies 1994 Andre Victor Tchelistcheff, winemaker, dies at 92 1994 Aubrey J Watson Sr, bishop, dies at 65 1994 Marlon Riggs, U.S. writer/director/producer (Ethnic notions), dies at 37 1994 Roy Smeck, guitarist/banjoist, dies at 94 1994 Kurt Cobain, grunge rocker (Nirvana), commits suicide by gun at 27 1992 Anthony "Tony" Papa, big band leader, dies at 65 1992 Sam Walton, Billionaire CEO (Wal-Mart), dies of cancer at 74 1992 Samuel H Reshevsky, Polish/US chess grandmaster, dies at 80 1991 John Tower, Senator-R-Texas 1961 - 1985, dies in a plane crash at 65 1991 Manley Lanier "Sonny" Carter, Jr., USN/astro (STS-33), dies at 43 1990 Nico Scheepmaker, Dutch columnist/poet, dies at 59 1988 Alf Kjellin, Swedish actor and director (Juggler), dies 1986 Manly Wade Wellman, sci-fi author (Devil's Planet), dies at 82 1984 Arthur Travors Harris, marshal of British RAF, dies 1984 Theo Koomen, Dutch sportscaster, dies in auto-accident at 54 1982 Abe Fortas, Supreme court justice, dies at 71 1981 Bob "Bear" Hite, rocker (Canned Heat), dies of a heart attack at 36 1981 Cornelis Verolme, Dutch ship builder, dies at 80 1977 John Marriott, dies at 83 1976 Howard Hughes, reclusive billionaire, dies at 72 1975 Inez Courtney, dies at 67 1975 Victor GM Marijnen, Dutch premier 1963 - 1965, dies at 58 1974 William Hudson, actor (I Led 3 Lives), dies at 49 1972 Brian Donlevy, actor (Steve-Dangerous Assignment), dies at 73 1972 Isabel Jewell, dies at 62 1970 Jacob H "Jaap" Stotijn, oboist/conductor, dies at 78 1969 Gabriel M-E-R Chevallier, French author (La Peur), dies at 73 1969 Romulo Gallegos, Venezuela author/president (1947-48), dies at 84 1968 Lois Andrews, dies of lung cancer at 44 1966 Sven Fleuron, writer, dies at 91 1964 Douglas MacArthur, U.S. general (Pacific theater-WW II), dies at 84 1963 Jacobus JP Old, architect/co-founder (The Style), dies at 73 1963 Julius Harrison, composer, dies at 78 1960 Alma Kruger, actor (Made For Each Other), dies at 88 1958 Jozef Brems, Flemish apostole vicar of Denmark, dies at 87 1954 Claude Delvincourt, composer, dies at 66 1952 Henri Vandeputte, Belgian writer (L'Autre Vie), dies at 75 1951 Edward Rigby, dies at 72 1946 Vincent Millie Youmans, U.S. composer (Tea For Two), dies at 47 1945 Huldreich Georg Fruh, composer, dies at 41 1944 Isolde Kurz, German writer/poet (Meine Mutter), dies at 90 1944 Willy Derby, Dieben, singer (Hello Bandoeng), dies 1935 Emil Mlynarski, composer, dies at 64 1934 Salvatore Di Giacomo, composer, dies at 74 1928 Jane Ellen Harrison, scholar/archaeologist, dies 1928 Chauncey Depew, American Politician 1923 George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, egyptologist, dies at 56 1922 Charles F A Woeste, Belgian count/Minister of Justice, dies at 85 1921 Alphonsus J M Diepenbrock, Dutch composer (Missa), dies at 58 1918 Paul Vidal de la Blanche, French geographer, dies at 73 1908 Gaetano Coronaro, composer, dies at 55 1907 Anton G van Hamel, founder (Roman philosphy in Netherlands), dies at 65 1900 Comte de Villebois-Marevil, French/South African general, dies in battle 1896 John Rogers Thomas, composer, dies at 66 1884 John Wisden, publisher/cricketer (prominent Sussex player), dies 1878 Wilhelm Speyer, composer, dies at 87 1871 Georg Andreas Henkel, composer, dies at 66 1820 Henrik C Cras, lawyer (Laudatio Hugonis Grotii), dies at 81 1811 Robert Raikes, founder of Sunday Schools, dies 1794 Georges-Jacques Danton, French revolutionary leader, guillotined at 34 1794 Marie Jean Herault de Sechelles, French author/politician, dies 1794 Georges Jacques Danton, French Revolutionary 1765 Edward Young, English poet (Love of Fame), dies at 81 1732 Johann Christian Schieferdecker, composer, dies at 52 1723 J Fischer von Erlach, Austrian architect (Hofburg, Vienna), dies at 66 1712 John Luyken, poet/etcher (species company), dies at 63 1697 Charles XI, King of Sweden (1660-97), dies at 41 1695 George Savile, 1st marquis of Halifax, dies at 61 1693 Anne M L of Orleans, duchess (Grande Mademoiselle), dies at 65 1684 William Brouncker, 2nd viscount/1st President of Royal Society, dies 1673 Francois Caron, admiral/governor (Formosa), drowns at about 72 1649 John Winthrop, 1st governor Mass Bay Colony, dies at 61 1531 Richard Roose, boiled to death for trying to poison an archbishop 1270 Ramban Nachmanides, Talmudic scholar (Hiddushei Ha-Ramden), dies 1258 Julian of Cornillon/Liege, Flemish visionary/saint, dies 828 Nicephorus, patriarch of Constantinopel (806-15), dies at about 77
