May 13 Calendar
  • 384 Servatius/Aravatius, bishop of Tongeren, dies at 65+
  • 1162 Géza II, King of Hungary and Croatia (1141-62)
  • 1176 Matthias I, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1119)
  • 1312 Theobald II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1263)
  • 1381 John of Chatillon, Count of Blois, dies
  • 1573 Takeda Shingen, Japanese warlord of Kai Province (1541-73) known as the "Tiger of Kai", dies while besieging Noda Castle in Mikawa Province at 51
  • 1619 Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Dutch lawyer and statesman, beheaded at 71
  • 1673 Jacob Aertsz Colom, Dutch publisher (Consolation of the Sea), dies at 73
  • 1704 Louis Bourdaloue, French Jesuit preacher, dies at 71
  • 1732 Theodor Schwartzkopff, German composer, dies at 72
  • 1742 Ludwig IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (b. 1719)
  • 1768 Princess Louisa Anne of Wales, dies of tuberculosis at 19
  • 1776 Anton de Haen, Austrian medical expert (Ratio Medendi), dies at 71
  • 1787 Johann Michael Malzat, Austrian composer, dies at 38
  • 1793 Martin Gerbert, German composer, music historian and abbot, dies at 72
  • 1807 Eliphalet Dyer, American statesman and judge, dies at 85
  • 1812 Johann Matthias Sperger, Austrian double bassist and composer, dies at 62
  • 1826 Christian Kramp, French mathematician known for his work with factorials, dies at 65
  • 1831 Christian Gottfried Körner, German lawyer, dies at 74
  • 1835 John Nash, British town planner/architect (Regent's Park), dies
  • 1839 Israel Ashkenazi of Shklov, founded Ashkenazic community (1815), dies
  • 1839 Joseph Fesch, French cardinal (Archbishop of Lyon, 1802-39), diplomat, art collector (Musée Fesch), and uncle of Napoleon, dies at 76
  • 1860 Christian Gmelin, German chemist, dies at 67
  • 1864 Junius Daniel, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 35
  • 1866 Nikolai Brashman, Russian mathematician, dies at 69
  • 1873 Kaspar Masek, Czech-Slovenian composer, dies at 79
  • 1878 Joseph Henry, American scientist and pioneer of electromagnetism, dies at 80
  • 1882 Jules Nicolas Crevaux, French naval doctor and explorer (French Guiana and the Amazon), murdered on the Pilcomayo River at 35

American inventor and businessman (mechanical reaper), dies at 75

  • 1885 Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle, German pathologist, dies at 75
  • 1885 Juliana Horatia Ewing [Gatty], English children's author (Lob Lie-by-the-Fire), dies at 43
  • 1896 Nora Perry, American poet, journalist and children's writer, dies (b. 1831)
  • 1901 Leopoldo Alas, Spanish novelist (La Regenta), dies at 49
  • 1903 Apolinario Mabini, Filipino political theoretician and 1st Prime Minister of the Philippines, dies at 38
  • 1914 R. E. Foster, English cricket batsman (8 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 287 on debut 1903; Worcestershire CCC) and soccer forward (5 caps; Corinthian FC, Old Malvernians FC; only man to captain England in both sports), dies of diabetes at 36
  • 1916 Sholem Aleichem [Solomon Rabinowitz], Yiddish author and playwright (Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye the Dairyman), dies of tuberculosis at 57
  • 1921 Jean Aicard, French poet and novelist (Jeune Croyances), dies at 73
  • 1925 Boris Savinkov, Russian writer and revolutionary, dies in prison under mysterious circumstances at 46
  • 1926 Libert H. Boeynaems, Belgian Catholic prelate and the fourth vicar apostolic of the Vicariate Apostolic of the Hawaiian Islands, dies at 68

Norwegian Arctic explorer and advocate for refugees (Nobel Peace Prize 1922), dies of a heart attack at 68

  • 1930 Helene Lange, German feminist (honoured with the Grand Prussian State Medal), dies at 82
  • 1931 Josif Marinković, Serbian composer, dies at 79
  • 1933 Paul Ernst, German writer, dies at 67
  • 1938 Charles Edouard Guillaume, French physicist (1920 Nobel Prize for Physics), dies at 77
  • 1939 Stanislaw Lesniewski, Polish logician and mathematician (Warsaw School of Logic), dies at 53
  • 1939 Wilhelm Normann, German chemist (hydrogenated liquid fat creating trans fat), dies at 69
  • 1942 Hyam Greenbaum, British violinist, composer and conductor of the 1st TV orchestra (BBC), dies of alcohol-related problems at 41
  • 1945 Alfred "Tubby" Hall, American jazz drummer (King Oliver; Louis Armstrong), dies at 49
  • 1951 Marianne Philips, Dutch author (Issue Beukennoot), dies at 65
  • 1956 Aleksandr A. Fadejev, Russian author (Young Guard), commits suicide at 54

American 2 time Academy award-winning actor (High Noon), dies at 60

  • 1962 Frank Jenks, American stage and screen actor (Colonel Flack, Zombies on Broadway), dies of cancer at 59
  • 1962 Franz Kline, American abstract expressionist painter, dies of heart failure at 51
  • 1962 H. Trendley Dean, American dental surgeon who introduced fluoridation into water, dies from complications of asthma and emphysema at 68
  • 1963 Alois Hudal, Austrian bishop who helped Nazi war criminals escape trial, dies at 77
  • 1966 Henk [Hendrik M] Randwijk, Dutch poet and editor in chief (Vrij Nederland), dies at 56
  • 1967 Frank McGrath, American actor (The Reluctant Astronaut, Wagon Train), dies from a heart attack at 64
  • 1970 William Dobell, Australian portrait artist, dies at 70
  • 1971 Valerian Mikhaylovich Bogdanov-Berezovsky, Russian composer, dies 67
  • 1972 Dan Blocker, American actor (Cimarron City - "Tiny"; Bonanza - "Hoss"), dies of a pulmonary embolism at 43

American golfer (British Open 1933, PGA C'ship 1936-37), dies at 69

  • 1974 Jaime Torres Bodet, Mexican politician, 2nd Director-General of the UNESCO (1948-52), dies at 72
  • 1975 Bob Wills, American musician, known as the 'King of Western Swing' ("Steel Guitar Rag"), dies from bronchial pneumonia at 69
  • 1975 Vladislav Zolotaryov, Soviet Russian bayanist (button accordion player), and composer (Six Children's Suites), takes his own life at 53
  • 1978 Alby Roberts, New Zealand cricket fast bowler (5 Tests, 7 wickets; Canterbury, Otago), dies at 68
  • 1981 Carl Weinrich, American organist, choral conductor, Baroque revivalist, and educator, dies at 76
  • 1982 Gara Garayev [Kara Karayev], Soviet-Azerbaijani composer (Seven Beauties), dies at 64
  • 1982 Renzo Rossellini, Italian composer, dies at 74
  • 1985 Leatrice Joy, silent screen star, dies in Riverdale (Bronx) NYC at 91
  • 1985 Revaz Dogonadze, Georgian scientist (one of the founders of Quantum electrochemistry), dies at 53
  • 1985 Selma Diamond, Canadian-American comedy writer (Your Show Of Shows), and actress (Night Court, 1984-85 - "Selma"), dies of lung cancer at 64
  • 1987 Phil Moore, American jazz pianist, arranger, and bandleader, dies at 70
  • 1987 Ron Saggers, Australian cricket wicket-keeper (effective NSW & Aussie late 40's), dies at 69

American jazz trumpeter and vocalist ("My Funny Valentine"), falls to his death from an Amsterdam hotel balcony at 59

  • 1990 Venedikt Jerofejev, Russian writer, dies at 51
  • 1992 F. E. McWilliam [Frederick Edward], Northern-Irish surrealist sculptor (Four Seasons Group), dies at 83
  • 1992 Gisela Elsner, German writer (Die Riesenzwerge, Rowohlt), commits suicide at 55
  • 1993 Evert "Eef" Dolman, Dutch cyclist (Olympic gold 1964), dies at 47
  • 1993 Joaquin Garcia [Vargas] "Borolas", Mexican comedian and actor (Santa Sangre), dies at 71
  • 1994 Arthur Basil Cottle, British academic and medievalist, dies at 77
  • 1994 Duncan Hamilton, Irish racing driver, dies at 74
  • 1994 Ruth Gillette, American actress (Wild Gold), dies of cancer at 88
  • 1996 John "Jack" Baines, British mountaineering publisher, dies at 57
  • 1997 Laurie Lee, English poet and author (I Can't Stay Long), dies at 82

American golfer (7 x major titles including Career Grand Slam; 38 PGA Tour event wins), dies of pneumonia at 97

  • 1999 Meg Greenfield, American Pulitzer Prize winning editorial writer (Washington Post; Newsweek), dies of cancer at 68
  • 2000 Olivier Greif, French classical composer (Lettres de Westerbork), dies at 50
  • 2000 Paul Bartel, American actor (b. 1938)
  • 2001 Jason Miller, American actor and writer (Exorcist, Light of Day), dies at 62

Indian novelist (Malguidi Days), dies at 94

  • 2002 Ruth Cracknell, Australian actress (Mother and Son), dies at 76
  • 2002 Valeri Lobanovsky, Ukrainian footballer and manager (b. 1939)
  • 2005 Eddie Barclay, French record producer (b. 1921)
  • 2005 George Dantzig, American mathematician (b. 1914)
  • 2005 Michael Ross, American serial killer (b. 1959)
  • 2006 Jaroslav Pelikan, American historian (b. 1923)
  • 2006 Johnnie Wilder, Jr., American singer (Heatwave), dies at 56
  • 2008 John Phillip Law, American actor (Death Rides a Horse), dies at 70
  • 2008 Ron Stone, American television reporter, dies at 72
  • 2008 Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, Sheikh of Kuwait, dies at 78
  • 2009 Frank Aletter, American character actor (Mac-It's About Time, Tom-Nancy), dies of lung cancer at 83
  • 2009 Rabbi Meir Brandsdorfer, member of the Rabbinical Court of the Edah HaChareidis, Jerusalem
  • 2010 Lode Backx, Flemish pianist, dies at 87
  • 2011 Bernard Greenhouse, American cellist (Beaux Arts Trio), dies at 95
  • 2011 Bruce Ricker, American jazz and blues documentarian (The Last of the Blue Devils; Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser), dies at 68
  • 2011 Derek Boogaard, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1982)
  • 2011 Jack Richardson, Canadian record producer (The Guess Who), dies at 81
  • 2011 Patricia Tindale, British architect and civil servant (school buildings, public housing), dies at 85
  • 2012 Donald "Duck" Dunn, American bassist (Booker T & The MG's; Stax Records house band; The Blues Brothers), dies at 70
  • 2013 Chuck Muncie, American football running back, dies from a heart attack at 60
  • 2013 Dr. Joyce Brothers, American psychologist, dies from respiratory failure at 85
  • 2013 Vladimir Romanovsky, Soviet sprint canoer, dies at 56
  • 2015 Nina Otkalenko, Soviet Russian 800m runner (9 world records; European Champion, 1954), dies at 86
  • 2015 Robert Drasnin, American clarinetist, composer, and film and television music supervisor (CBS, 1977-91), dies after a fall at 87
  • 2018 Margot Kidder, Canadian American actress (Lois Lane in Superman films, Amityville Horror), dies at 69

American singer ("Sentimental Journey; "Que Sera, Sera"), actress known as the "girl next door" (Pillow Talk; The Man Who Knew Too Much), and animal rights activist, dies of pneumonia at 97

  • 2019 Jerome Callet, American musician and designer of brass instruments, dies at 89
  • 2020 Rolf Hochhuth, German playwright (Der Stellvertreter), dies at 89
  • 2021 Nelson Marcenaro, Uruguayan soccer defender (8 caps; Mundialito 1980; Progreso, Portuguesa, Peñarol, Emelec), dies from a heart attack at 68
  • 2022 Ben Roy Mottelson, American-Danish physicist (Nobel Prize for Physics 1975 for work on structure of the atomic nucleus), dies at 95 [1]
  • 2022 Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, 2nd President of the United Arab Emirates (2004-2022), dies at 73
  • 2022 Teresa Berganza, Spanish mezzo-soprano (Rossini), dies at 89
  • 2023 Keiko Tanaka-Ikeda, Japanese gymnast (World C'ship gold balance beam 1954; Olympic bronze team 1964; first Japanese female to win a world title), dies at 89
  • 2023 Weldon Olsen, American ice hockey center (Olympic gold 1960, silver 1956; Michigan State University), dies at 90
  • 2024 Alice Munro, Canadian author (Dance of the Happy Shades; Runaway) and 2013 Nobel laureate, dies at 92 [1]
  • 2024 Lucien Mias, French rugby union lock (29 Tests; RC Narbonne, SC Mazamet), dies at 93
May 13 Highlights

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