1955

January 2

• José Antonio Remon, President of Panamá (1952-55), is assassinated. [1]

January 4

• Dominicus Johner, composer, dies at age 80. [1]
• François Rasse, composer, dies at age 81. [1]
• Jan D Domela Nieuwenhuis Nyegaard, Dutch preacher, dies at age 84. [1]

January 7

• Gerald Hartigan, cricketer (South African batsman in five Tests 1911-14), dies. [1]

January 11

• Rodolfo Graziani, Italian East-Africa Minister of Defense, dies at age 72. [1]

January 15

• Yves Tanguy, French/American sailor/surrealistic painter, dies. [1]

January 16

• Jonkheer Reneke de Marees van Swinderen, Dutch minister (1908-13), dies at age 94. [1]

January 17

• Joannes A Veraart, Dutch judge/Member of Parliament, (Jews in Netherlands), dies at age 68. [1]

January 21

• Maarten P Vrij, Dutch lawyer/criminologist/High Council, dies at age 59. [1]

January 27

• Ernst Penzoldt, writer, dies. [1]

January 29

• Hans Hedtoft, premier of Denmark (1947-55), dies at age 51. [1]

January 31

• John R Mott, US theologist/founder (YMCA, Nobel Prize 1946), dies at age 89. [1]

February 12

• Tom Moore, actor (Ladies be Seated, Majority Rules), dies at age 71. [1]

February 14

• Charles Cuvillier, composer, dies at age 77. [1]

February 15

• S Z Sakall, actor (Dolly Sisters, Casablanca), dies at age 71. [1]

February 17

• Otto J Gombosi, Hungarian/American musicologist, dies at age 52. [1]

February 23

• Paul Claudel, French poet/playwright (L'otage), dies at age 86. [1]

February 25

• Marij Kogoj, composer, dies at age 59. [1]

February 27

• Tom Howard, comedian (It Pays to be Ignorant), dies at age 66. [1]

March 7

• Tom Dugan, actor (Pick a Star), dies at age 66. [1]

March 8

• Princess Clementine of Belgium, wife of V Napoleon Bonaparte, dies at age 82. [1]

March 9

• Matthew A Henson, met Peary at North Pole, dies at age 88. [1]

March 11

• Meat packer Oscar Mayer dies. [5]
• Alexander Fleming, English bacteriologist (penicillin), dies at age 73. [1]

March 12

• Charlie "Bird" Parker, US jazz saxophonist, dies in New York City, New York at age 34. [1]
• Theodor Plievier, writer, dies. [1]

March 13

• Yung Deva, king of Nepal (191?-55), dies at about age 48. [1]

March 16

• Mayhew Lake, composer, dies at age 75. [1]

March 29

• Everard Verachtert, Flemish linguist (I Can Speak Nicely), dies at age 81. [1]

March 30

• Harl McDonald, US composer (Santa Fé Trail), dies at age 55. [1]

April 1

• Silvio d'Amico, Italian theater critic (Il Teatro Italian), dies at age 68. [1]

April 7

• Theda Bara, actress (Camille, Cleopatra, Two Orphans), dies at age 62. [1]

April 10

• Oskar Frederik Lindberg, composer, dies at age 68. [1]

April 16

• Abdullah Seif el-Islam, brother of Yemenite king Ahmed, beheaded. [1]

April 18

• Albert Einstein, German/American physicist (E=MC^2, Theory of Relativity), dies. [1] [5]
• Don Blackie, cricketer (3 Tests for Australia 1928-29), dies at age 46. [1]
• Eugen Herrigel, Zen philosopher/scholar, dies in Germany at age 70. [1]

April 23

• Robert H Woltjer, classical/AR-First-Member of parliament, dies at age 76. [1]

April 24

• Alfred Polgar, Austrian writer/theater critic, dies at age 79. [1]

April 25

• Constance Collier, actress (Perils of Pauline), dies at age 77. [1]
• Paulus B Barth, Swiss painter/lithographer, dies at age 73. [1]

April 28

• Lode Cantens, Flemish playwrite (Gnomes of the City), dies at age 43. [1]

May 2

• Tadeusz Jarecki, composer, dies at age 66. [1]

May 3

• Philips C Visser, explorer/ambassador to Moscow, dies. [1]

May 4

• Georges Enescu, Romanian/French violist/composer (Oedipe), dies at age 73. [1]
• Louis Breguet, French aviation pioneer, dies at age 75. [1]

May 11

• G L Jessop, cricketer (match-winning batsman, brilliant field), dies. [1]

May 16

• James Agee, US critic/writer (Death in Family), dies in New York. [1]

May 17

• Alan Fairfax, cricketer (10 Tests for Australia 1928-31), dies. [1]
• Francesco Balilla Pratella, composer, dies at age 75. [1]
• Leslie Hylton, cricketer (West Indies quickie 1939), hung for murder. [1]

May 18

• Edwin Scharff, German painter/sculptor (Rossebändiger), dies at age 68. [1]
• Mary McLeod Bethune, educator and civil rights leader, dies at age 79. [1]

May 29

• Daniël G van Beuningen, art collector, dies at age 78. [1]

May 31

• "Wild Bill" Vukovich killed in the Indianapolis 500. [1]
• Raoul Gunsbourg, composer, dies at age 95. [1]

June 22

• Wyllis Cooper, TV narrator (Volume One), dies at age 56. [1]

July 22

• Joseph Foley, actor (Mr Peepers), dies at age 45. [1]

July 23

• Harry Haden, actor (Harry - Stu Erwin Show), dies at age 73. [1]

August 28

• Emmett Till kidnapped and lynched at age 14, in Money, Mississippi, USA. [1]

September 1

• Philip Loeb, actor (Jake - The Goldbergs), dies at age 61. [1]

September 30

• James Dean is killed in an auto collision at age 24 near Cholame, California. [1] [5]

October 27

• Clark Griffith, baseball player/manager (New York Yankees), dies at age 85. [1]

November 14

• Robert E Sherwood, dramatist (Abe Lincoln in Illinois), dies at age 59. [1]

December 5

• Paul Harvey, actor (Calamity Jane, Heldorado, Jamboree), dies at age 73. [1]

December 8

• Jacques Handschin, Swiss musicologist, dies at age 69. [1]

December 11

• Franz Adolf Syberg, composer, dies at age 51. [1]
• Johan C Altorf, sculptor (October 3 Monument), dies at age 79. [1]

December 21

• Dorothy Bernard, actress (Margaret - Life With Father), dies at age 65. [1]

December 22

• Len Braund, cricketer (23 Tests for England 987 runs 47 wickets), dies. [1]

December 24

• Nana Bryant, actress (Mrs Nestor - Our Miss Brooks), dies at age 67. [1]

1956

January 3

• Death of Joseph Wirth in Freiburg, Germany; chancellor of the Weimar Republic (1921-22). [37]

January 4

• Alexander Tikhonovich Grechaninov, Russian/American composer, dies at age 91. [1]

January 5

• Jeanne F Bourgeois, French head mistress (Moulin Rouge), dies at age 84. [1]

January 10

• Henricus P Bremmer, Dutch art historian (Beeldende Kunst), dies at age 84. [1]
• Karl L Schmidt, German/Swiss theologist (Urchristentum), dies at age 64. [1]

January 12

• John Raedecker, Dutch sculptor (WWII Monument Amsterdam), dies at age 70. [1]
• Norman Kerry, actor (Air Eagles, Phantom of Opera), dies at age 61. [1]

January 14

• Siegfried F Nadel, Australian/British anthropologist (Nuba), dies at age 52. [1]

January 22

• P A M Speet, Dutch broadcast CEO (KRO), dies. [1]

January 23

• Alexander Korda, English movie producer (Henry VIII), dies at age 62. [1]

January 27

• Erich Kleiber, Austrian conductor, dies. [1]

January 29

• H[enry] L[ouis] Mencken, American essayist/critic/satirist (Smart Set), dies in Baltimore, Maryland at age 75. [1] [5]

January 30

• Gerrit Mannoury, mathematician/philosopher, dies at age 88. [1]
• Jane Seymour, actress (Young Mr Bobbin), dies at age 56. [1]

February 2

• Charley Grapewin, actor (Ellery Queen), dies at age 86. [1]

February 4

• Leendert A Donker, Dutch Social Democrat party-minister of Justice, dies at age 56. [1]
• Peder Gram, composer, dies at age 74. [1]

February 5

• Savilly Tartakower, Austrian/Polish/French chess player, dies at age 74. [1]

February 8

• Connie Mack, baseball manager (Philadelphia Athletics, 1901-50), dies at age 93. [1]

February 18

• Gustave Charpentier, French opera composer (Louise), dies at age 95. [1]

February 21

• Edwin Franko Goldman, composer, dies at age 78. [1]

February 22

• Paul Léautaud [Maurice Boissard], French writer (Petit ami), dies at age 84. [1]

February 26

• Herman Courtens, Belgian baron/painter, dies at age 72. [1]

February 27

• Frank Dailey, orchestra leader (Music at Meadowbrook), dies at age 54. [1]
• Günther Ramin, German organist/composer/choir conductor, dies at age 57. [1]

February 29

• Elpidio Quirino, President of Philippines (1949-53), dies at age 65. [1]

March 3

• Willem H Keesom, Dutch physicist (Helium I/II), dies at age 79. [1]

March 5

• Erich Itor Kahn, composer, dies at age 50. [1]

March 11

• Sergey Nikiforovich Vasilenko, Russian opera composer, dies at age 83. [1]

March 16

• Joseph John Richards, composer, dies at age 77. [1]

March 17

• Fred Allen, comedian (Colgate Comedy Hour, Fred Allen Radio Show), dies at age 61. [1]

March 18

• Friedrich Panzer, German germanist (Hilde-Gudrun), dies at age 85. [1]
• Louis Bromfield, writer, dies at age 59. [1]

March 22

• Death penalty against Prime Minister-director Léon Jungschlaeger. [1]
• George A L Sarton, Belgian/US historian, dies at age 71. [1]

March 25

• George Luther Foote, composer, dies at age 70. [1]
• Robert Newton, actor (Henry V, Odd Man Out), dies at age 50. [1]

March 26

• Thomas Alexandrovich de Hartmann, composer, dies at age 70. [1]

March 27

• Frans Beelaerts van Blokland, minister of Foreign affairs, dies at age 84. [1]

March 28

• Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, vocalist, dies of a heart attack. [1]

April 2

• Albert de Bassompierre, Belgium ambassador to Tokyo, Japan, dies at age 82. [1]
• Chester Clute, actor (Niagara Falls), dies at age 65. [1]
• Philippo de Pisis, Italian painter, dies at age 59. [1]

April 3

• T Kostov, Bulgarian vice-premier, is executed. [1]

April 4

• Fritz Künkel, German physician/charachterologist, dies at age 66. [1]

April 10

• Bozidar Sirola, composer, dies at age 66. [1]
• Clarence Beaumont, first batter in first World Series, dies at age 75. [1]
• Jozef Szulc, composer, dies at age 81. [1]

April 12

• José Moscardo Ituarte, Spanish General (Alcázar 1936), dies at age 77. [1]

April 15

• Emile Nolde [Hansen], German painter (Grablegung Christi), dies at age 88. [1]

April 19

• Ernst R Curtius, German literature historian, dies at age 70. [1]
• Lionel K P "Buster" Crabb, British diver (WWII), dies at age 47. [1]
• Léon N H Jungschlaeger, head military intelligence Netherlands-Indies, dies at age 52. [1]

April 20

• Jaap Vranken, organist/composer (Stabat mater), dies. [1]
• Lieven Duvosel, Flemish music composer (Levensschets), dies at age 78. [1]

April 24

• Albrecht G Alt, German theologist (Small Schriften), dies at age 72. [1]
• Henry Stephenson, actor (Conquest, Mr Lucky), dies at age 85. [1]

April 26

• Edward Arnold, actor (Mr Smith Goes to Washington), dies at age 66. [1]

April 29

• Nemesio Otano y Eugenio, composer, dies at age 75. [1]

April 30

• Alben W Barkley (US Vice President-Democrat-1949-53), dies at age 78. [1]

May 5

• Charles R Gallas, lexicographer (French Dictionary), dies at age 88. [1]

May 11

• Walter S Adams, US astronomer/director of Mount Wilson, dies at age 79. [1]

May 12

• Hendrik P Marchant, Dutch minister of Education, dies at age 87. [1]
• Vladimir Ambros, composer, dies at age 65. [1]

May 13

• Aleksandr A Fadejev, Russian author (Young Guard), commits suicide at age 54. [1]

May 18

• Maurice Tate, cricketer (39 Tests for England, 155 wickets), dies. [1]

May 20

• André Eugene Maurice Charlot, actor (Summer Storm), dies. [1]
• Max Beerbohm, caricturist/writer (Yet Again), dies. [1]

May 24

• Guy Kibbee, actor (Captain Blood, Babes in Arms), dies at age 74. [1]

May 26

• Al Simmons, outfielder (Oakland Athletics) / lifetime batting average of .334, dies at age 54. [1]

May 29

• Albert H Edelkoort, theologist (Christusverwachting), dies at age 65. [1]
• Hermann Abendroth, German conductor (Gewandhausorkest), dies at age 73. [1]

June 6

• Margaret Wycherly, actress (Claudia), dies at age 75. [1]

August 11

• Jackson Pollock, abstract artist, dies in auto accident (East Hampton). [1]

September 21

• Anastasio Somoza, Nicaraguan dictator, assassinated by Roliberto Lopez. [1]

September 23

• Earl Godwin, newscaster (Meet the Veep), dies at age 75. [1]

September 27

• Milburn Apt in X-2 rocket plane reaches 3370 kph, but dies in crash. [1]
• Mildred "Babe" Didrickson Zaharias, great female athlete, dies. [1]

October 6

• Walter Herlihy, announcer (Music at Meadowbrook), dies at age 42. [1]

November 1

• Lajos Asztalos, International Chess Master (1950), dies at age 67. [1]

November 5

• Art Tatum, black pianist, dies at age 46 in Los Angeles, California, USA. [1]

November 11

• Victor Young, orchestra leader (Milton Berle Show), dies at age 56. [1]

December 8

• Edgar Leslie Bainton, composer, dies at age 76. [1]

December 9

• Hans Barth, composer, dies at age 59. [1]

December 12

• Lorenzo Perosi, composer, dies at age 83. [1]

December 17

• Eddie Acuff, actor (Guns of Pecos), dies at age 48. [1]

December 21

• Lewis M Terman, psychologist (Genetic studies of genius), dies at age 79. [1]

December 25

• Robert Walser, writer, dies at age 78. [1]

December 26

• Holmes Herbert, actor (The Kiss), dies at age 74. [1]

December 28

• Roelof Kranenburg, Dutch social democratic party-chairman, dies at age 76. [1]

December 29

• Martin Albertz, German theologist (Jesus Christ's Church), dies at age 73. [1]