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.

1953 January 1 Hank Williams, country singer (Cold Cold Heart), dies at age 29. [1] [5] Ludomir Rózycki Polish composer/conductor (Casanova), dies at age 68. [1] January 4 Arthur Hoyt actor (Gold Rush Gertie, Lost World), dies at age 78. [1] January 8 Heinrich Kaspar Schmid composer, dies at age 78. [1] January 9 Hans Aanrud Norwegian author (Storken), dies at age 89. [1] January 10 Theo Mackeben German pianist/composer (Golden Cage), dies at age 56. [1] January 11 Ernst H Ridder Rappard Dutch Nazi founder (NSNAP), dies at age 53. [1] Marcel Canneel Flemish painter, dies at age 58. [1] Noach Zjordanija Georgian Premier (1918-21), dies at age 84. [1] January 12 Simeon Roncal composer, dies at age 82. [1] January 15 Viktor Patrick Vretblad composer, dies at age 76. [1] January 24 [Karl R] Gerd von Rundstedt General-field marshal (Normandy), dies at age 77. [1] January 26 Martinus Nijhoff Dutch poet/translator (spelling), dies at age 58. [1] January 27 Martinus Nijhoff Dutch poet/interpreter/linguist, dies at age 58. [1] January 30 Louis H N Bosch van Rosenthal Dutch resistance fighter, dies at age 68. [1] February 2 Gustav Strube composer, dies at age 85. [1] February 4 Alexander Loudon Dutch diplomat (League of Nations), dies at age 60. [1] February 8 Cliff Clark actor (Golden Hoofs, Kid Glove Killer), dies at age 63. [1] February 24 Karl R G von Rundstedt German General-field marshal (Ardennes), dies at age 77. [1] February 25 Jesus Garcia Leoz composer, dies at age 49. [1] February 26 Elisabeth "Ilse" Kuyper Dutch/US (opera)composer, dies. [1] Martinus Nijhoff Dutch poet/linguist (spelling), dies at age 58. [1] February 28 Jim Thorpe decathlete (Olympics-gold-1912), dies at age 64. [1] March 1 Anton GO Ridder Van Rappard painter/lithographer/etcher, dies. [1] March 4 Sergei S Prokoviev Russian composer (Peter and the wolf), dies at age 61. [1] March 5 Josef V Stalin soviet leader responsible for 11 million murders, dies at age 73. [1] Sergey Sergeyevich Prokofiev composer, dies at age 61. [1] March 10 Charles Gordon Curtis inventor of (Curtis-steam turbine), dies at age 92. [1] March 14 Klement Gottwald premier/President of Czechoslovakia, dies at age 56. [1] March 17 Conrado del Campo y Zabaleta composer, dies at age 73. [1] March 20 Graciliano Ramos Brazilian author (Vidas Secas), dies at age 60. [1] March 22 James Anderson II (Jo-Northern Exposure), dies. [1] March 24 Felix M Abel French dominican/biblical scholar, dies at age 74. [1] Mary [Victoria of Teck] queen of Great Britain/North-Ireland, dies at age 86. [1] Queen Mary of Britain dies. [1] March 26 Albert Spalding composer, dies at age 64. [1] March 27 Narciso Garay composer, dies at age 76. [1] March 28 James Francis Thorpe, decathlete (Olympics-gold-1912), dies at age 64. [1] [5] March 30 Roderich Mojsisovics-Mojsvar composer, dies at age 75. [1] April 2 Jean Epstein French director (Vive la Vie), dies at age 56. [1] April 4 Carol II King of Romania (1930-40), dies at age 59. [1] Rachilde [Marguerite Vallette-Eymery] French author, dies at age 93. [1] April 14 Emmanuel K de Bom Flemish writer (Scheldelucht), dies at age 84. [1] April 20 Erich Weinert writer, dies at age 62. [1] April 22 Top Naeff [Anthonetta van Rhijn-N] Dutch writer, dies at age 75. [1] April 29 Moïse Kisling Polish/French painter (La souris boiteuse), dies at age 62. [1] May 4 Edward B B Shanks British poet/critic, dies at age 60. [1] Thomas Tertius Noble composer, dies at age 85. [1] May 7 Ormerod Pearse cricketer (55 runs and three wickets in three Tests for S Af), dies. [1] May 11 Jean Adair dies at age 80. [1] May 14 Yasuo Kuniyoshi Japans/US painter/etcher, dies at age 59. [1] May 17 Eric De Lamarter composer, dies at age 73. [1] May 18 Tom Killick cricketer (at the crease two Tests for England 1929), dies. [1] May 19 Damasco Berenguer y Fuste Spanish general/minister of War, dies at age 79. [1] May 22 Vaclav Klicka composer, dies at age 70. [1] May 24 Cor Hermus actor (Bleeke Bet, William of Orange, Jantes), dies at age 63. [1] May 30 George Barnes cinematographer, dies at age 60. [1] June 5 Bill Tilden tennis champ, dies at age 60. [1] June 19 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted of conspiring to pass U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviets, are executed by electric chair at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York. [1] [129] July 22 Cy Kendall actor (Mysteries of Chinatown), dies at age 55. [1] July 31 Robert Taft (Senator-Republican-Oh) (Mr Republican), dies in New York at age 63. [1] September 12 Lewis Stone actor (Prisoner of Zenda), dies at age 73 of a heart attack. [1] September 28 Edwin P Hubble astronomer, designer of telescopes, dies at age 63. [1] November 9 Abdul-Aziz ibn Sa'ud founder of Saudi Arabia, dies (born c 1880). [1] Dylan Thomas, author-poet, dies in New York at age 39. [1] [5] November 27 Eugene O'Neill, playwright, dies in Boston at age 65. [1] [5] December 2 Ernest Hayes cricketer (Surrey bat played five Tests for England), dies. [1] Francis Picabia French painter/illustrator, dies at age 75. [1] December 4 Daniel Gregory Mason composer, dies at age 80. [1] December 6 Konstanty I Galczynski Polish poet (Zielona Ges), dies at age 48. [1] December 15 Kishio Hirao composer, dies at age 46. [1] December 19 Robert A Millikan US physicist (Nobel Prize 1923), dies at age 85. [1] Rudolf Leonhard writer, dies. [1] December 23 Lavrenti P Beria soviet minister of internal security, executed. [1] December 31 Albert Plesman Dutch aviation pioneer/founder (KLM), dies at age 64. [1] 1954 January 10 Fred Raymond composer, dies at age 53. [1] January 11 Edgar Tytgat Flemish painter/etcher/drawer, dies at age 77. [1] Emmy Arbous Dutch actress/cabaret performer (Boefje), dies at age 56. [1] Death of Oscar Straus in Vienna, Austria; composer, Der tapfere Soldat (1908), Ein Walzertraum (1907) Rund um die Liebe (1914). [1] [37] January 13 Roland Diggle composer, dies at age 69. [1] January 16 Michail M Prishvin Russian writer, dies. [1] January 18 Sydney Greenstreet actor (Conflict, Maltese Falcon), dies at age 74. [1] January 19 Sydney Greenstreet actor (Maltese Falcon), dies at age 74. [1] January 20 Fred Root cricketer (England pace bowler in three Tests vs Australia 1926), dies. [1] Warren Bardsley cricketer (41 Tests for Australia, 2469 runs), dies. [1] January 21 Billy Jenkins dies at age 69. [1] January 26 Carl J Eldh Swedish sculptor, dies at age 80. [1] January 27 Paul-Marie Masson composer, dies at age 71. [1] January 31 Edwin H Armstrong US radio inventor (FM), commits suicide at age 63. [1] Florence Bates actress (Kismet, I Remember Mama), dies at age 65. [1] February 1 Julius P Hoste Belgian minister/newspaper publisher, dies at age 69. [1] February 2 Theodor Rogalski composer, dies at age 52. [1] February 4 Vaclav Vackar composer, dies at age 72. [1] February 5 Vittorio Gnecchi composer, dies at age 77. [1] February 7 Jan Adam Maklakiewicz composer, dies at age 54. [1] February 8 Mabel Paige actress (Lucky Jordan), dies at age 73. [1] February 12 Dziga Vertov [Kaufman], Russian director (3 Songs of Lenin), dies at age 58. [1] February 16 Birth of Michael Holding cricket fast bowler (Whispering Death-Awesome for West Indies). [1] February 17 Evert Gorter children's artist (Kindergeneeskunde), dies at age 72. [1] February 26 William R Inge English theologist/philosopher, dies at age 93. [1] March 4 Georg Gohler composer, dies at age 79. [1] Noel Gay [Richard Moxon Armitage], composer, dies at age 55. [1] March 5 Julian Lowell Coolidge mathematician (Study-Segre school), dies at age 80. [1] March 6 Jan Kalf Dutch literature/art historian, dies at age 80. [1] Louis Zimmermann violinist, dies at age 80. [1] March 8 Percy Twentyman-Jones cricketer (pair in only Test for South Africa), dies. [1] March 14 Ludomir Michal Rogowski composer, dies at age 72. [1] March 15 Arthur Fickenscher composer, dies at age 82. [1] March 17 Victor Rousseau Belgian sculptor, dies at age 88. [1] March 18 Walter Mead cricketer (one Test for England 1899), dies. [1] March 19 Walter Braunfels composer, dies at age 71. [1] March 21 Harry Lawrence Freeman composer, dies at age 84. [1] March 25 Gertrud Bäumer writer, dies. [1] March 28 Francis B Young British physician/writer (In South Africa), dies at age 69. [1] April 5 Claude Delvincourt composer, dies at age 66. [1] April 9 Philip Greeley Clapp composer, dies at age 65. [1] April 10 Auguste Lumière French photograph/movie pioneer, dies at age 81. [1] Ludwig Curtius German archaeologist (Die antike Kunst), dies at age 79. [1] April 12 Pim [Willem JH] Mulier Dutch journalist/sports-organizer, dies at age 89. [1] April 15 Juan Vicente Lecuna composer, dies at age 54. [1] April 19 Joe Laurie Jr comedian (Can You Top This?), dies at age 61. [1] April 25 Joseph Hergesheimer novelist (Java Head), dies. [1] April 29 Ernst Heldring Dutch merchant/ship owner/financier, dies at age 82. [1] May 1 Tom Tyler actor (Lost Ranch, Coyote Trails), dies at age 50. [1] May 2 Pauline de Cock-Manifarges singer, dies at age 82. [1] May 10 George Hirst cricketer (36,323 first-class runs, 2739 wickets), dies. [1] May 16 Clemens Krauss Austrian conductor (Vienna State Opera), dies at age 61. [1] Werner Bischof Swiss photographer, dies accidentally at age 38. [1] May 19 Aart A van Schelven church historian (Willem of Orange), dies at age 73. [1] Charles Edward Ives US composer (Unanswered Question), dies at age 79. [1] May 21 Janos Hammerschlag composer, dies at age 68. [1] May 23 H R Bromley-Davenport cricketer (batted in four Tests for England), dies. [1] May 26 Franz Pfemfert writer, dies at age 74. [1] May 27 Herzmanovsky-Orlando writer, dies. [1] May 28 Achille Longo composer, dies at age 54. [1] May 30 Ahmad Amin Egyptian historian/author, dies at age 67. [1] June 4 Harold Hoffman (Governor-New Jersey), dies at age 58. [1] June 22 Don Hollenbeck newscaster (CBS Weekend News), dies at age 49. [1] June 28 Red deer dies in Milwaukee Zoo at age 26; oldest known deer. [1] July 20 Blair Moody (Senator-Mich), dies at age 52. [1] July 24 Mary Church Terrell educator/civil rights leader, dies at age 90. [1] August 3 Colette France, novelist (Claudine), dies at age 81. [1] September 28 Bert Lytell actor (Henry-One Man's Family), dies at age 69. [1] October 20 Willie Shaw race car driver (Indy 500-1937, 39, 40), dies at age 51. [1] December 3 Enrique Soro Barriga composer, dies at age 70. [1] December 4 Nina Vasar wife of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, dies. [1] December 8 Gladys George actress (Roaring Twenties), dies at age 50. [1] December 20 Emilis Melngailis composer, dies at age 80. [1] James Hilton English author (Lost Horizon), dies at age 54. [1] December 25 Johnny Ace ballad singer, dies at age 25 in a game of Russian Roulette. [1] Liberty Hyde Bailey US botanist (Plantbreeding), dies at age 96. [1] Rosario Scalero composer, dies at age 84. [1] December 31 Peter Van Anrooy conductor/composer (Piet Hein Rhapsodie), dies at age 75. [1]