People who died on December 16 108
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Chen Shubao
d. 604 (b. 553)
Houzhu, emperor of the Chen dynasty (d. 604)
Wu Zetian
d. 705 (b. 624)
Wu Zetian, Empress of the Zhou Dynasty (b. 624)
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Pepin of Herstal
d. 714 (b. 635)
Pepin of Herstal, Frankish statesman (b. 635)
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Eberhard of Friuli
d. 867 (b. 815)
Eberhard of Friuli, Frankish duke (b. 815)
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Ado (bishop)
d. 874
Ado, archbishop of Vienne
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Pope John VIII
d. 882
John VIII, pope of Rome
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Wei Yifan
d. 902
Wei Yifan, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
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Adelaide of Italy
d. 999 (b. 931)
Adelaide of Italy (b. 931)
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Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester
d. 1153
Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester (b. c. 1100)
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Haakon IV of Norway
d. 1263 (b. 1204)
Haakon IV of Norway (b. 1204)
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Öljaitü
d. 1316 (b. 1280)
Öljaitü, Mongolian ruler (b. 1280)
Charles, Count of Valois
d. 1325 (b. 1270)
Charles, Count of Valois (b. 1270)
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Secondotto, Marquess of Montferrat
d. 1378 (b. 1360)
Secondotto, Marquess of Montferrat (b. 1360)
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John FitzAlan, 1st Baron Arundel
d. 1379 (b. 1348)
John FitzAlan, 1st Baron Arundel, English general and politician, Lord Marshall of England (b. 1348)
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John II, Duke of Lorraine
d. 1470 (b. 1425)
John II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1425)
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Ali Qushji
d. 1474 (b. 1403)
Ali Qushji, Uzbek astronomer, mathematician, and physicist (b. 1403)
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Afonso de Albuquerque
d. 1515 (b. 1453)
Afonso de Albuquerque, Portuguese admiral and politician, 3rd Viceroy of Portuguese India (b. 1453)
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Thomas Cheney
d. 1558
Thomas Cheney, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. c. 1485)
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Ivan Fyodorov (printer)
d. 1583
Ivan Fyodorov, Russian printer
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Allison Balfour
d. 1594
Allison Balfour, alleged Scottish witch
Yi Sun-sin
d. 1598 (b. 1545)
Yi Sun-sin, Korean general (b. 1545)
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Nathaniel Fiennes
d. 1669 (b. 1608)
Nathaniel Fiennes, English soldier and politician (b. 1608)
William Petty
d. 1687 (b. 1623)
William Petty, English economist and philosopher (b. 1623)
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Leopold II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau
d. 1751 (b. 1700)
Leopold II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (d. 1758)
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Peter Frederick Haldimand
d. 1765 (b. 1741)
Peter Frederick Haldimand, Swiss-Canadian lieutenant and surveyor (b. 1741)
François Quesnay
d. 1774 (b. 1694)
François Quesnay, French economist, physician, and philosopher (b. 1694)
Johann Adolph Hasse
d. 1783 (b. 1699)
Johann Adolph Hasse, German composer and educator (b. 1699)
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Sir William James, 1st Baronet
d. 1783 (b. 1720)
Sir William James, 1st Baronet, Welsh-English commander and politician (b. 1720)
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Saverio Cassar
d. 1805 (b. 1746)
Saverio Cassar, Gozitan priest and rebel leader (d. 1805)
Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy
d. 1809 (b. 1755)
Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy, French chemist and entomologist (b. 1755)
Wilhelm Grimm
d. 1859 (b. 1786)
Wilhelm Grimm, German anthropologist and author (b. 1786)
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Henry Yesler
d. 1892 (b. 1810)
Henry Yesler, American businessman and politician, 7th Mayor of Seattle (b. 1810)
Alphonse Daudet
d. 1897 (b. 1840)
Alphonse Daudet, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1840)
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Pavel Tretyakov
d. 1898 (b. 1832)
Pavel Tretyakov, Russian businessman and philanthropist, founded the Tretyakov Gallery (d. 1897)
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American Horse
d. 1908 (b. 1840)
American Horse, American tribal leader and educator (b. 1840)
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Frank Gotch
d. 1917 (b. 1878)
Frank Gotch, American wrestler (b. 1878)
Camille Saint-Saëns
d. 1921 (b. 1835)
Camille Saint-Saëns, French pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1835)
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Gabriel Narutowicz
d. 1922 (b. 1865)
Gabriel Narutowicz, Lithuanian-Polish engineer and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Poland (b. 1865)
Elinor Wylie
d. 1928 (b. 1885)
Elinor Wylie, American poet and author (b. 1885)
Thelma Todd
d. 1935 (b. 1906)
Thelma Todd, American actress and comedian (b. 1905)
Frank Eugene
d. 1936 (b. 1865)
Frank Eugene, American-German photographer and educator (b. 1865)
Billy Hamilton (baseball, born 1866)
d. 1940 (b. 1866)
Billy Hamilton, American baseball player and manager (b. 1866)
✝
George Bambridge
d. 1943 (b. 1892)
George Bambridge, English diplomat (b. 1892)
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Betsie ten Boom
d. 1944 (b. 1885)
Betsie ten Boom, Dutch Holocaust victim (b. 1885)
Giovanni Agnelli
d. 1945 (b. 1866)
Giovanni Agnelli, Italian businessman, founded the Fiat Automobile Company (b. 1866)
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Fumimaro Konoe
d. 1945 (b. 1891)
Fumimaro Konoe, Japanese lawyer and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1891)
Sidney Olcott
d. 1949 (b. 1873)
Sidney Olcott, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1873)
Robert Henry Best
d. 1952 (b. 1896)
Robert Henry Best, American journalist (b. 1896)
Nina Hamnett
d. 1956 (b. 1890)
Nina Hamnett, Welsh painter and author (b. 1890)
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Hans Rebane
d. 1961 (b. 1882)
Hans Rebane, Estonian journalist and politician, 8th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1961)
W. Somerset Maugham
d. 1965 (b. 1874)
W. Somerset Maugham, British playwright, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1874)
Futabayama Sadaji
d. 1968 (b. 1912)
Futabayama Sadaji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 35th Yokozuna (b. 1912)
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Muhammad Suheimat
d. 1968 (b. 1916)
Muhammad Suheimat, Jordanian general and politician (b. 1916)
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Alphonse Castex
d. 1969 (b. 1899)
Alphonse Castex, French rugby union player (b. 1899)
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Soe Hok Gie
d. 1969 (b. 1942)
Soe Hok Gie, Indonesian activist and academic (b. 1942)
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Oscar Lewis
d. 1970 (b. 1914)
Oscar Lewis, American anthropologist of Latin America (d. 1970)
Kostas Varnalis
d. 1974 (b. 1884)
Kostas Varnalis, Greek poet and playwright (b. 1884)
Réal Caouette
d. 1976 (b. 1917)
Réal Caouette, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1917)
Risto Jarva
d. 1977 (b. 1934)
Risto Jarva, Finnish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1934)
Colonel Sanders
d. 1980 (b. 1890)
Colonel Sanders, American businessman, founded KFC (b. 1890)
Hellmuth Walter
d. 1980 (b. 1900)
Hellmuth Walter, German-American engineer (b. 1900)
Colin Chapman
d. 1982 (b. 1928)
Colin Chapman, English engineer and businessman, founded Lotus Cars (b. 1928)
Debs Garms
d. 1983 (b. 1907)
Debs Garms, American baseball player (b. 1907)
✝
Karl Deichgräber
d. 1984 (b. 1903)
Karl Deichgräber, German philologist and academic (b. 1903)
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Thomas Bilotti
d. 1985 (b. 1940)
Thomas Bilotti, American mobster (b. 1940)
Paul Castellano
d. 1985 (b. 1915)
Paul Castellano, American mobster (b. 1915)
Oscar Alfredo Gálvez
d. 1989 (b. 1913)
Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1913)
Silvana Mangano
d. 1989 (b. 1930)
Silvana Mangano, Italian actress (b. 1930)
Aileen Pringle
d. 1989 (b. 1895)
Aileen Pringle, American actress (b. 1895)
Lee Van Cleef
d. 1989 (b. 1925)
Lee Van Cleef, American actor (b. 1925)
Douglas Campbell (aviator)
d. 1990 (b. 1896)
Douglas Campbell, American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1896)
Eszter Tamási
d. 1991 (b. 1938)
Eszter Tamási, Hungarian actress and journalist (b. 1938)
Moses Gunn
d. 1993 (b. 1929)
Moses Gunn, American actor (b. 1929)
Kakuei Tanaka
d. 1993 (b. 1918)
Kakuei Tanaka, Japanese soldier and politician, 64th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1918)
✝
Quentin Bell
d. 1996 (b. 1910)
Quentin Bell, English historian and author (b. 1910)
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Lillian Disney
d. 1997 (b. 1899)
Lillian Disney, American illustrator and philanthropist (b. 1899)
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William Gaddis
d. 1998 (b. 1922)
William Gaddis, American author and academic (d. 1998)
Stuart Adamson
d. 2001 (b. 1958)
Stuart Adamson, English-Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1958)
Stefan Heym
d. 2001 (b. 1913)
Stefan Heym, German-American soldier and author (b. 1913)
Robert Stanfield
d. 2003 (b. 1914)
Robert Stanfield, Canadian economist, lawyer, and politician, 17th Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1914)
✝
Gary Stewart (singer)
d. 2003 (b. 1944)
Gary Stewart, American singer-songwriter (b. 1945)
Ted Abernathy
d. 2004 (b. 1933)
Ted Abernathy, American baseball player (b. 1933)
✝
Deyda Hydara
d. 2004 (b. 1946)
Deyda Hydara, Gambian journalist, co-founded The Point (b. 1946)
Agnes Martin
d. 2004 (b. 1912)
Agnes Martin, American painter and educator (b. 1912)
Kenneth Bulmer
d. 2005 (b. 1921)
Kenneth Bulmer, English author (b. 1921)
✝
Ed Hansen
d. 2005 (b. 1937)
Ed Hansen, American director and screenwriter (b. 1937)
✝
John Spencer (actor)
d. 2005 (b. 1946)
John Spencer, American actor (b. 1946)
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Don Jardine
d. 2006 (b. 1940)
Don Jardine, Canadian wrestler and trainer (b. 1940)
✝
Taliep Petersen
d. 2006 (b. 1950)
Taliep Petersen, South African singer-songwriter and director (b. 1950)
✝
Pnina Salzman
d. 2006 (b. 1922)
Pnina Salzman, Israeli pianist and educator (b. 1922)
✝
Stanford J. Shaw
d. 2006 (b. 1930)
Stanford J. Shaw, American historian and academic (b. 1930)
Dan Fogelberg
d. 2007 (b. 1951)
Dan Fogelberg, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1951)
Roy E. Disney
d. 2009 (b. 1930)
Roy E. Disney, American businessman (b. 1930)
Yegor Gaidar
d. 2009 (b. 1956)
Yegor Gaidar, Russian economist and politician, Prime Minister of Russia (b. 1956)
✝
Manto Tshabalala-Msimang
d. 2009 (b. 1940)
Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, South African physician and politician, 22nd South African Minister of Health (b. 1940)
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Melvin E. Biddle
d. 2010 (b. 1923)
Melvin E. Biddle, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1923)
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Robert Easton (actor)
d. 2011 (b. 1930)
Robert Easton, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1930)
Nicol Williamson
d. 2011 (b. 1938)
Nicol Williamson, Scottish actor (b. 1938)
✝
Elwood V. Jensen
d. 2012 (b. 1920)
Elwood V. Jensen, American biologist and academic (b. 1920)
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Jake Adam York
d. 2012 (b. 1972)
Jake Adam York, American poet and academic (b. 1972)
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James Flint (RAF officer)
d. 2013 (b. 1913)
James Flint, English commander (b. 1913)
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Ray Price (musician)
d. 2013 (b. 1926)
Ray Price, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1926)
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Marta Russell
d. 2013 (b. 1951)
Marta Russell, American author and activist (d. 2013)
Martin Brasier
d. 2014 (b. 1947)
Martin Brasier, English paleontologist, biologist, and academic (b. 1947)
Tim Cochran
d. 2014 (b. 1955)
Tim Cochran, American mathematician and academic (b. 1955)
✝
Peter Dickinson
d. 2015 (b. 1927)
Peter Dickinson, Rhodesian-English author and poet (b. 1927)
✝
Lizmark
d. 2015 (b. 1950)
Lizmark, Mexican wrestler (d. 2015)
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George Earl Ortman
d. 2015 (b. 1926)
George Earl Ortman, American painter and sculptor (b. 1926)