References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2008 June 28.

1947 January 4 Forrest Reid Irish author/critic (Young Tom, Apostate), dies at age 71. [1] January 9 Karl Mannheim sociologist (Diagnosis of Our Time), dies at age 53. [1] Lambertus Zijl sculptor (Merchant Exchange-Amsterdam), dies at age 80. [1] January 12 Jonas Cohn German/English philosopher (Wertwissenschaft), dies at age 77. [1] January 13 Veit Valentin German/US historian (German People), dies at age 61. [1] January 20 Josh Gibson Negro League slugger, dies of a brain tumor at age 35. [1] January 23 Pierre Bonnard French painter/illustrator, dies at age 79. [1] Roy Park cricketer (prolific Victorian bat and official), dies. [1] January 24 Felix Timmermans writer/painter (Gift from Saint Nicholas), dies at age 60. [1] January 25 Al Capone Chicago gangster, dies of syphilis at age 48. [1] January 26 Grace Moore US soprano/actress (One Night of Love), dies at age 45. [1] Swedish Prince Gustaf Adolf dies in an airplane crash at Kastrup, Sweden. [1] [7] January 28 Reynaldo Hahn composer, dies at age 72. [1] January 29 Fred Barratt cricket (5 wickets at 47 in five Tests for England 1929-30), dies. [1] January 30 Frederick F Blackman English botanist, dies at age 80. [1] February 3 Anna Bahr-von Mildenburg Austrian soprano/director, dies at age 74. [1] Birth of Stephen McHattie Antigonish Nova Scotia; actor (Call Me, Death Valley). [1] Marc A "Pete" Mitscher US Lieutenant-Admiral (WWII-Task Force 58), dies at age 60. [1] February 5 Birth of David Ladd Los Angeles California; actor (Raymie, Catlow, Misty, Deathline). [1] Ganzefles Dutch Nazi spy/Jew hunter, executed. [1] Hans Fallada writer, dies at age 53. [1] February 6 Albert J Bakker Dutch actor (Teun the night watch), dies at age 82. [1] Luigi Russolo composer, dies at age 61. [1] February 8 Ernest Samuel Williams composer, dies at age 65. [1] February 12 Sidney Toler actor (Charlie Chan, Dark Alibi), dies at age 72. [1] February 15 Birth of Marisa Berenson New York City, New York, actress (Barry Lyndon, Death in Vienna, SOB). [1] February 25 Friedrich Paschen German physicist, dies at age 82. [1] February 26 Ben Webster actor (Old Curiosity Shop), dies at age 82. [1] February 27 Mackinnon of Mackinnon cricketer (Tests England vs Australia 1879), dies at age 89. [1] March 1 J Boogaard Nazi collaborator, executed. [1] March 5 Alfredo Casella Italian composer/conductor (La Giara), dies at age 63. [1] March 6 Ludwig Weber composer, dies at age 55. [1] March 9 Stanley Jackson cricketer (20 Tests for England 1893-1905), dies. [1] March 11 Victor Hely-Hutchinson composer, dies at age 45. [1] March 19 Willem F J Pijper Dutch composer/critic, dies at age 52. [1] March 27 Charles Smith cricketer (batted for South Africa in 1902-03), dies. [1] March 28 Rudolph Hermann Simonsen composer, dies at age 57. [1] April 1 George II king of Greece, dies at age 56. [1] April 2 Joseph Hardstaff cricket (311 runs in five Tests for England 1907-08), dies. [1] April 6 Vaclav Kapral composer, dies at age 58. [1] April 8 Henry Ford US industrialist (Ford cars), dies. [1] April 9 Konrad Friedrich Noetel composer, dies at age 43. [1] April 12 Christian F L Leipoldt South African writer (Die Moormansgat), dies. [1] April 15 Wolstenholme rocker, dies. [1] April 18 Benny Leonard lightweight boxing champion (1917-25), dies at age 51. [1] April 20 Christian X King of Denmark (1912-47), dies at age 76. [1] April 29 Irving Fisher US economist, dies at age 80. [1] May 1 Sanner leader of Norger blood bath, executed. [1] May 11 Else JT Rangstrøm Swedish conductor/singer/composer/critic, dies at age 62. [1] May 14 John Ray Sinnock US chief engraver (1925-47), dies at age 59. [1] May 23 C F Ramuz writer, dies at age 68. [1] May 30 Sidney Hugo Nicholson composer, dies at age 72. [1] May 31 Adrienne Ames actress (Black Sheep, 24 Hours), dies at age 39. [1] Henri G Casadesus Fr altviolist/composer (viola d'amour), dies at age 66. [1] June 20 Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel, gangster, shot dead in Beverly Hills, California. [1] [5] July 17 Raoul Wallenberg dies in Lubianka prison in Russia. (According to Soviet officials in 1957, he died of a heart attack, likely brought on by then State Security Chief Viktor Abakumov. According to Soviet spy Pavel Sudoplatov in 1994, he was executed by poison injection after his refusal to be recruited as a spy.) [7] September 20 Fiorello La Guardia (Mayor-Republican-New York City), dies. [1] October 29 Frances Cleveland Preston former first lady, dies in Baltimore at age 83. [1] November 1 Man O' War dies. [1] December 1 Aleister Edward S Crowley British occultist, dies at age 72. [1] Hardy mathematician, dies. [1] December 12 Júlio A Peixoto Brazilian writer (Fruta do Mato), dies at age 70. [1] December 14 Franz Zorell German Roman Catholic lexicographer, dies at age 84. [1] Stanley Baldwin English premier (1923, 24-29, 35-37), dies at age 80. [1] December 20 St-Georges de Bouchélier French author (Children's Carnival), dies at age 71. [1] December 28 Victor Emmanuel III king of Italy (1900-46)/Ethiopia, dies at age 78. [1] December 29 Joseph Cuvelier Belgian historian/general, dies at age 78. [1] December 30 Han [Henricus A] van Meegeren Dutch painter/art forger, dies at age 58. [1] December 31 Franz X Ritter von Epp German general (SW Africa), dies at age 79. [1] 1948 January 1 Hermann K J Zilcher German pianist/composer (Liebesmesse), dies at age 66. [1] Willem Louis Frederic Landre composer, dies at age 73. [1] January 7 Raoul Auernheimer writer, dies. [1] January 8 Kurt Schwitters writer, dies at age 60. [1] Death of Richard Tauber (original name, Richard Denemy) in London, England (born in Linz, Austria) at age 55; operatic tenor/composer. [1] [37] January 14 Anna "Ans" van Dike Dutch Jewish Nazi-collaborator, executed at age 42. [1] January 21 Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari composer, dies at age 72. [1] January 26 Ignaz Friedman composer, dies at age 65. [1] January 30 Herb Pennock pitcher (New York Yankees)/general manager (Philadelphia Phillies), dies. [1] Mahatma Gandhi, India spiritual and political leader, assassinated by Hindu extremists in New Delhi, at age 78. [1] Orville Wright US aviation pioneer, dies at age 76. [1] February 5 Johann Blaskowitz German General (surrendered at Wageningen), dies at age 64. [1] February 6 Robert Brasillach French author/Nazi collaborator, dies at age 38. [1] February 7 "Red" McKenzie blues-jazz singer (played comb-with-tissue-paper), dies. [1] February 9 Karl Valentin German comic/writer, dies at age 65. [1] February 10 Ewart Astill cricket all-rounder (9 Tests for England 1927-30), dies. [1] Sergei Eisenstein Russian director (Battleship Potemkin), dies at age 50. [1] February 11 Sergy Eisenstein film director, dies at age 50. [1] February 21 Frederick Archibald Lamond composer, dies at age 80. [1] March 3 Antonin Artaud writer, dies at age 51. [1] March 4 Antonin Artaud French poet/actor (Napoleon), dies at age 51. [1] Elsa Brändström [Angel of Siberia], Swedish philanthropist, dies at age 59. [1] March 5 Charles Prince cricketer (5 and 1 in only Test for South Africa), dies. [1] March 10 Jan Masaryk Czechoslovakian Foreign minister, commits suicide or is murdered. [1] March 25 Warren Hymer actor (Show Them No Mercy), dies at age 42. [1] March 26 Helen Ernst German poster artist/resistance fighter, dies at about age 43. [1] March 27 Karel Candael Flemish composer, dies at age 64. [1] March 31 Egon E Kisch Czechoslovakian writer/journalist (Raging Reporter), dies at age 62. [1] April 8 Josef B Kjellgren Swedish writer (Guldkedjan), dies at age 40. [1] April 9 Jorge Elecier Gaitán Colombian politician, murdered. [1] April 14 Gerhard Anschütz German professor, dies at age 81. [1] April 16 Babe Ruth, baseball legend, dies. [1] April 17 Johan P Earl of Limburg Stirum diplomat, dies at age 75. [1] Percy Sherwell cricketer (South Africa captain in 13 Tests 1905-11), dies. [1] April 21 Carlos Lopez Buchardo composer, dies at age 66. [1] April 24 Joseph Wihtol composer, dies at age 84. [1] Manuel Marua Ponce Mexican composer (Ferial), dies at age 65. [1] Rosita Marstini actress (I Cover Waterfront, Big Parade), dies at age 54. [1] May 1 Christos Ladas Greek minister of Justice, murdered. [1] May 8 Alfred Holy composer, dies at age 81. [1] May 12 Isidor Achron composer, dies at age 55. [1] May 22 Claude McKaye Jamaican/US poet/author (Banjo, Home to Harlem), dies in Chicago at age 57. [1] May 24 Alfred Kastner composer, dies at age 78. [1] May 25 Jacques Feyder actor/director (kermesse héroique), dies at age 59. [1] May 29 May Whitty actress (Gaslight, Mrs Miniver, Suspicion), dies at age 82. [1] May 31 Jose Vianna da Motta composer, dies at age 80. [1] June 13 Babe Ruth's final farewell at Yankee Stadium, he dies August 16th. [1] July 5 Carole Landis actress, dies at age 29. [1] July 15 John J Persing US General (WW I), dies at age 87. [1] July 21 Arshile Gorky abstract expressionist, dies at age 43. [1] August 16 Death of George Herman "Babe" Ruth of throat cancer at age 53 in New York City; baseball player (Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, record 714 home runs). [1] [129] September 11 Quaid-i-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah dies. [1] September 17 In Jerusalem, Palestine, Count Folke Bernadotte, nephew of the Swedish King, is murdered by Jewish extremists while mediating peace between Palestinians and Jews. [1] [7] December 4 Karl Bonhoeffer German psychiatrist/neurologist, dies. [1] December 7 Godfrey Turner composer, dies at age 35. [1] December 9 Sir Timothy O'Brien cricketer (Bart five Tests England 1884-96), dies. [1] December 14 Reginald Owen Morris composer, dies at age 62. [1] December 17 Edgar Istel composer, dies at age 68. [1] December 18 Janet Fay hammered to death by the Honeymoon Killers. [1] December 20 C Aubrey Smith actor (Prisoner of Zenda), dies at age 85. [1] Ladha Ramji cricketer (brother of Amar Singh, Test India 1933-34), dies. [1] December 21 Seishiro Itagaki Japanese general/Minister of War, hanged. [1] December 23 Hideki Tojo Japan Prime Minister and six other Japanese hanged for war crimes by US. [1] December 28 Mahmud Nokrashy Pasha Prime Minister of Egypt, assassinated. [1] December 31 Malcolm Campbell English race driver, dies at age 63. [1] 1949 January 1 Malcolm Campbell English cyclist (world speed-record), dies at age 63. [1] January 9 Amilcare Zanella composer, dies at age 75. [1] January 10 Death of Erich Dagobert von Drygalski in Königsberg, Germany; geographer, glaciologist, professor. [37] January 14 Joaquín Turina Spanish pianist/conductor/composer (Rima), dies at age 66. [1] January 15 Black Dahlia murder victim found in Los Angeles (basis of the movie). [1] Pompeo Aloisi Italian baron/diplomat/senator, dies at age 63. [1] January 20 Josephus T J Cuypers architect (Amsterdam Stock Exchange), dies at age 87. [1] January 25 Emil Axman composer, dies at age 61. [1] January 26 Victor Fleming director (Wizard of Oz, Gone With Wind), dies at age 65. [1] January 27 Boris Asafiev composer, dies at age 64. [1] January 28 Gustaf Lazarus Nordqvist composer, dies at age 62. [1] January 31 Henri de Vries [Hendricus Walterop]; actor (Cleopatra), dies at age 84. [1] February 1 Herbert Stothart composer, dies at age 63. [1] February 5 Juozas Tallat-Kelpsa composer, dies at age 50. [1] February 8 Franco Leoni composer, dies at age 81. [1] Leonid Alexeyevich Polovinkin composer, dies at age 54. [1] February 9 Poul Julius Ouscher Schierbeck composer, dies at age 60. [1] February 10 Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" opens at Morosco Theater, New York City. [1] February 18 Niceto A Zamora y Torres premier of Spain (1931-36), dies at age 71. [1] February 19 Auguste Jean Maria Charles Serieyx composer, dies at age 83. [1] February 21 Ernest Walker composer, dies at age 78. [1] February 22 Russell Porter actor (Betsy, Hanna's War, British Empire), dies. [1] February 28 Stanley Robert Marchant composer, dies at age 65. [1] March 11 Henri-Honoré Giraud French General/Member of Parliament, dies at age 70. [1] Juan Lamonte de Grignon composer, dies at age 76. [1] March 12 Maria "Beppie" Bakker Dutch actress/wife of Piet Vink Sr, dies at age 95. [1] March 17 Felix Bressart actor (Escape, Ninotchka, Iceland), dies at age 54. [1] March 25 Hanns A Rauter German SS-commandant in Netherlands, executed at age 54. [1] March 28 Grigoras Dinicu composer, dies at age 59. [1] March 30 Dattaram Dharmaji Hindlekar cricketer (4 Tests for India), dies. [1] Friedrich C R Bergius chemist (brown coal, Nobel Prize 1931), dies at age 64. [1] April 3 Basil Harwood composer, dies at age 89. [1] April 6 Stanley Christopherson cricketer (1884, MCC President during WWII), dies. [1] April 13 C V France dies at age 80. [1] April 14 Joseph A Cushman US paleontologist, dies at age 68. [1] April 15 Wallace Beery US actor (The Champ), dies at age 64. [1] April 16 Sutan Ibrahim gelor Datuk Tan Malaka Indon communist, executed at age 54. [1] April 18 Leonard Bloomfield linguist/philosopher, dies. [1] April 24 Third Tony Awards: Death of a Salesman and Kiss Me Kate win. [1] May 2 Arthur Miller wins Pulitzer Prize for "Death of a Salesman". [1] May 5 Maurice Maeterlinck Belgian playwright (Grand Fairie, Nobel Prize 1911), dies. [1] May 6 A L Ochse cricketer (10 wickets in three Tests for South Africa 1927-29), dies. [1] P-M-B Maurice Maeterlinck Belgian philosopher (Nobel Prize 1911), dies at age 86. [1] May 9 Louis II Prince of Monaco, dies. [1] May 11 Adrianus de Kleyn throat/nose/otologist (ear doctor), dies at age 65. [1] May 16 William Newzam Prior Nicholson painter/engraver, dies. [1] May 21 Klaus Mann German writer, dies at age 42. [1] May 22 Hans Erich Pfitzner Russian/German composer, dies at age 80. [1] Klaus H T Mann German/US writer (Turning Point), dies. [1] May 25 Simon H Spoor intelligence officer/general (WWII), dies at age 47. [1] May 27 Ropert L Ripley, cartoonist (Believe It or Not), dies at age 55 in New York. [1] [5] June 3 Amedos Peter Giannine founder of Bank of America dies at age 79. [1] September 18 Frank Morgan; actor (Annie Get Your Gun), dies at age 59. [1] [5] November 25 Luther "Bill" Robinson famed tap dancer, dies at age 71. [1] December 3 Elin Pelin writer, dies. [1] Maria Ouspenskaya actress (Spookies), dies at age 62. [1] December 6 Leadbelly [Huddie William Ledbetter] blues singer, dies at age 64. [1] December 16 Traitsjo Kostov Bulgarian communist vice-premier, executed. [1] December 17 David Stanley Smith composer, dies at age 72. [1] December 28 Jack Lovelock New Zealand/US surgeon/athlete (Olympics-gold-1936), dies at age 39. [1] W Hervey Allen US writer/poet (Anthony Adverse), dies at age 60. [1]