Died on Saturday, 18th October – Famous Deaths

18/10/2025

Sam Rivers, American bassist (born 1977)

Samuel Robert Rivers was an American musician. He was the bassist, backing vocalist and was one of the founding members of the nu metal band Limp Bizkit.

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Yang Chen-Ning, Chinese theoretical physicist (born 1922)

Yang Chen-Ning also known as C.N. Yang and Franklin Yang, was a Chinese-American theoretical physicist who made significant contributions to statistical mechanics, integrable systems, gauge theory, particle physics and condensed matter physics.

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Lia Smith, American diver and transgender rights advocate.

Lia Purcell Smith was an American student at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, who died by suicide on October 18, 2025, at the age of 21. She was reported missing by her father on October 19, 2025, and her body was found by the Vermont State Police near Middlebury College's organic farm in Cornwall, Vermont, on October 24, 2025. Smith, who was a transgender woman, was a member of the Middlebury Panthers women's swimming and diving team and experienced backlash, doxing, and deadnaming from critics of transgender women athletes.

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18/10/2024

Yehuda Bauer, Israeli historian of the Holocaust (born 1926)

Yehuda Bauer was a Czech-born Israeli historian and scholar of the Holocaust. He was a professor of Holocaust studies at the Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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Ginés González García, Argentine politician and physician (born 1945)

Ginés González García was an Argentine politician and physician who served twice as the country's Minister of Health under the successive presidencies of Eduardo Duhalde and Néstor Kirchner, from 2002 to 2007, and under President Alberto Fernández, from 2019 to 2021. A specialist in public healthcare, González García also served as Argentine Ambassador to Chile from 2007 to 2015.

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18/10/2022

Harvey Wollman, American politician, 26th Governor of South Dakota (born 1935)

Harvey Lowell Wollman was an American politician who served as the 26th Governor of South Dakota from 1978 to 1979. He was the first Lieutenant Governor in the history of South Dakota to succeed to the governorship. To date, he is the most recent Democrat to serve as South Dakota's governor.

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18/10/2021

Colin Powell, American military leader and statesman, 65th Secretary of State (born 1937)

Colin Luther Powell was an American Army general, diplomat, and statesman who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005, being the first Black American to hold the office, and was the highest-ranking Black American in the federal executive branch in American history until the election of Barack Obama as president in 2008. Initially politically independent, Powell joined the Republican Party in 1995. He was the 15th national security advisor from 1987 to 1989, and the 12th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993.

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18/10/2020

René Felber, 81st President of the Swiss Confederation (born 1933)

René Felber was a Swiss politician. He was a member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1987 to 1993. In 1992, he served as the president of Switzerland.

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18/10/2019

Rui Jordão, Angolan-born Portuguese footballer (born 1952)

Rui Manuel Trindade Jordão was a Portuguese footballer.

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18/10/2018

Lisbeth Palme, Swedish child psychologist, former chairwoman of UNICEF (born 1931)

Anna Lisbeth Christina Palme was a Swedish children's psychologist, UNICEF chairwoman and the wife of Swedish prime minister Olof Palme, until his assassination in 1986.

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Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab, 5th President of the Sudan (born 1934)

Abdel Rahman Suwar al-Dahab was a Sudanese military officer who served as the Head of State of Sudan from 6 April 1985, to 6 May 1986.

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18/10/2017

Marino Perani, Italian football player and manager (born 1939)

Marino Perani was an Italian football manager and player, who played as a forward, usually as a winger.

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18/10/2015

Robert Dickerson, Australian painter (born 1924)

Robert Henry Dickerson was an Australian figurative painter and former member of the Antipodeans group of artists. Dickerson is one of Australia's most recognised figurative artists and one of a generation of influential artists who include Ray Crooke, Charles Blackman, Laurence Hope, Margaret Olley and Inge King.

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Gamal El-Ghitani, Egyptian journalist and author (born 1945)

Gamal al-Ghitani was an Egyptian author of historical and political novels and cultural and political commentaries and was the editor-in-chief of the literary periodical Akhbar Al-Adab till 2011.

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Robert W. Farquhar, American engineer (born 1932)

Robert Willard Farquhar was an American mission design specialist who worked for NASA. He designed halo orbits and was involved in a number of spaceflight missions.

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Frank Watkins, American bass player (born 1968)

Frank Watkins was an American heavy metal musician best known as a former, long-time bass player for the death metal band Obituary; he played with them from 1989 to 1997 and then from 2003 until 2010. He had been the bass player of the Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth at the time of his death, where he had been known as Bøddel.

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Paul West, English-American author, poet, and academic (born 1930)

Paul Noden West was a British-born American novelist, poet, and essayist. He was born in Eckington, Derbyshire in England to Alfred and Mildred (Noden) West. Before his death, he resided in Ithaca, New York, with his wife Diane Ackerman, a writer, poet, and naturalist. West is the author of more than 50 books.

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18/10/2014

Mariano Lebrón Saviñón, Dominican author and academic (born 1922)

Mariano Lebrón Saviñón was a Dominican author of the 20th century. One of the founders of the second private university in the Dominican Republic, he named it the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña, also writing its anthem. He was born on August 3, 1922, in Santo Domingo, the son of a Spanish immigrant, José Lebrón Morales, and a Dominican mother, Rosa Cándida Saviñón Pérez, of Canarian descent. He attended primary and secondary education in Santo Domingo. He received his medical degree at the University of Santo Domingo in 1946, and in 1949 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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Edward Regan, American academic and politician (born 1930)

Edward Van Buren Regan was an American politician and public figure from New York State. He was a member of the Republican Party.

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Sidney Shapiro, American-Chinese author and translator (born 1915)

Sidney Shapiro was an American-born Chinese actor, translator, and writer who lived in China from 1947 to 2014. He lived in Beijing for more than 50 years and became a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He was of very few naturalized citizens of the People's Republic China.

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18/10/2013

Tom Foley, American lawyer and politician, 57th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (born 1929)

Thomas Stephen Foley was an American lawyer, diplomat, and politician who served as the 49th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1989 to 1995. A member of the Democratic Party, Foley represented Washington's 5th congressional district for 30 years (1965–1995). He was the first Speaker of the House in over a century since Galusha Grow in 1862 to be defeated in a re-election campaign.

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Bum Phillips, American football player and coach (born 1923)

Oail Andrew "Bum" Phillips Jr. was an American football coach at the high school, college and professional levels. He served as head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for the Houston Oilers from 1975 to 1980 and the New Orleans Saints from 1981 to 1985.

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Allan Stanley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1926)

Allan Herbert Stanley was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League between 1948 and 1969. A four-time Stanley Cup winner and three-time member of the second NHL All-Star team, Stanley was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1981.

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Bill Young, American sergeant and politician (born 1930)

Charles William Young was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 until his death in 2013. A Republican from Florida, Young served as chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations from 1999 to 2005. He was the longest-serving Republican member of Congress at the time of his death.

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18/10/2012

Brain Damage, American wrestler (born 1977)

Marvin Lambert was an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Brain Damage.

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Sylvia Kristel, Dutch model and actress (born 1952)

Sylvia Maria Kristel was a Dutch actress and model who appeared in over 50 films. She was the eponymous character in five of the seven Emmanuelle films, including originating the role with Emmanuelle (1974).

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Slater Martin, American basketball player and coach (born 1925)

Slater Nelson "Dugie" Martin Jr. was an American professional basketball player and coach who was a playmaking guard for 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A seven-time NBA All-Star, he won five championships. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

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George Mattos, American pole vaulter (born 1929)

George Mattos was an American pole vaulter. He competed for his native country in two Olympics, 1952 when he finished 9th and 1956 when he finished 4th, both times behind American teammate Bob Richards.

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Albert Lee Ueltschi, American pilot and businessman, founded FlightSafety International (born 1917)

Albert Lee Ueltschi is considered the father of modern flight training and was the founder of FlightSafety International. Ueltschi was once personal pilot to Juan Trippe and an associate to Charles Lindbergh. On July 21, 2001, he was enshrined at Dayton, Ohio in the National Aviation Hall of Fame, along with test pilot Joe Engle, United States Marine Corps flying ace Marion Carl, and USAF ace Robin Olds. In 2013, Flying magazine ranked Ueltschi number 13 on its list of the "51 Heroes of Aviation".

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David S. Ware, American saxophonist and composer (born 1949)

David Spencer Ware was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader.

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18/10/2010

Marion Brown, American saxophonist and musicologist (born 1931)

Marion Brown was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, writer, visual artist, and ethnomusicologist. He was a member of the avant-garde jazz scene in New York City during the 1960s, playing alongside musicians such as John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, and John Tchicai. He performed on Coltrane's landmark 1965 album Ascension. AllMusic reviewer Scott Yanow described him as "one of the brightest and most lyrical voices of the 1960s avant-garde."

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Billy Raimondi, American baseball player (born 1912)

William Louis Raimondi was an American professional baseball catcher. He played in Minor League Baseball for 22 years, including 21 years in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). He played for the Oakland Oaks from 1932 to 1949, the Sacramento Solons from 1949 to 1950, and the Los Angeles Angels from 1951 to 1953. Raimondi is a member of the PCL Hall of Fame, elected in 1951.

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18/10/2009

Adriaan Kortlandt, Dutch ethologist and biologist (born 1918)

Adriaan Kortlandt was a Dutch ethologist. He has been described together with Vernon Reynolds and Jane Goodall as "...one of a trio of pioneers ... who founded field studies of chimpanzees in the 1960s."

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Nancy Spero, American painter and academic (born 1926)

Nancy Spero was an American visual artist known for her political and feminist paintings and hand pulled prints.

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18/10/2008

Dee Dee Warwick, American singer (born 1945)

Delia Juanita Warrick, known professionally as Dee Dee Warwick, was an American soul singer. Born in East Orange, New Jersey, she was the sister of singer Dionne Warwick, the niece of Cissy Houston, and a first cousin of singers Whitney Houston and Leontyne Price.

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18/10/2007

Alan Coren, English journalist and author (born 1938)

Alan Coren was an English writer, humorist, broadcaster and satirist. He was a regular panellist on the BBC Radio quiz The News Quiz and a team captain on BBC television's Call My Bluff. Coren was the editor of Punch for almost a decade; later, he edited The Listener magazine.

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William J. Crowe, American admiral and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (born 1925)

William James Crowe Jr. was a United States Navy admiral and diplomat who served as the 11th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, and as the ambassador to the United Kingdom and Chair of the Intelligence Oversight Board under President Bill Clinton.

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Vincent DeDomenico, American businessman, founded the Napa Valley Wine Train (born 1915)

Vincent Michael "Vince" DeDomenico, Sr. was an American entrepreneur, one of the inventors of Rice-A-Roni, and a founder of the Napa Valley Wine Train.

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Lucky Dube, South African singer-songwriter and keyboard player (born 1964)

Lucky Philip Dube was a South African reggae musician and Rastafarian. His record sales across the world earned him the Best Selling African Musician prize at the 1996 World Music Awards. In his lyrics, Dube discussed issues affecting South Africans and Africans in general to a global audience. He recorded 22 albums in a 25-year period and was Africa's best-selling reggae artist of all time. Dube was murdered in the Johannesburg suburb of Rosettenville on the evening of 18 October 2007.

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18/10/2006

Mario Francesco Pompedda, Italian cardinal (born 1929)

Carlo Mario Francesco Pompedda was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and the Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura for the Roman Curia. He spent nearly fifty years in a variety of posts within the Catholic Church's ecclesiastical court system, from 1955 to 2004.

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Anna Russell, English-Canadian singer and actress (born 1911)

Anna Russell was an English–Canadian singer and comedian. She gave many concerts in which she sang and played comic musical sketches on the piano. Among her best-known works are her concert performances and recordings of The Ring of the Nibelungs – a humorous 22-minute synopsis of Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen – and her parody How to Write Your Own Gilbert and Sullivan Opera.

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Laurie Taitt, Guyanese-English hurdler (born 1934)

John Lawrence Taitt was a British sprint hurdler. He was born in Georgetown, Demerara-Mahaica, British Guiana and competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics.

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18/10/2005

Johnny Haynes, English-Scottish footballer (born 1934)

John Norman Haynes was an English association footballer who played as an inside forward. He made 56 appearances for his country including 22 as captain. He was selected for three World Cup finals squads playing in the latter two of those. Nicknamed "the Maestro", his attacking play was noted for two-footed passing ability, vision and deftness of touch. Haynes is widely regarded as Fulham's greatest ever player, remaining loyal there for twenty years despite coming no nearer to a major trophy win than two FA Cup semi-final appearances. Immediately following the abolition of the £20 maximum wage in 1961, he became the first player to be paid £100 a week. He also had a spell on loan with Toronto City in 1961 and ended his playing days at Durban City, winning there the only trophy he won in his football career.

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Bill King, American sportscaster (born 1927)

Wilbur "Bill" King was an American sports announcer. In 2016, the National Baseball Hall of Fame named King recipient of the 2017 Ford C. Frick Award, the highest honor for American baseball broadcasters.

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18/10/2003

Preston Smith, American businessman and politician, 40th Governor of Texas (born 1912)

Preston Earnest Smith was an American entrepreneur and politician who served as the 40th governor of Texas from 1969 to 1973. A conservative member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 35th lieutenant governor from 1963 to 1969.

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Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, Spanish journalist, author, and critic (born 1939)

Manuel Vázquez Montalbán was a prolific Spanish writer from Barcelona: journalist, novelist, poet, essayist, anthologue, prologist, humorist, critic and political prisoner as well as a gastronome and an FC Barcelona supporter.

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18/10/2000

Julie London, American singer and actress (born 1926)

Julie London was an American singer and actress whose career spanned more than 40 years. A torch singer noted for her contralto voice, London recorded over thirty albums of pop and jazz standards between 1955 and 1969. Her recording of "Cry Me a River", a song she introduced on her debut album Julie Is Her Name, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001. In addition to her musical notoriety, London was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1974 for her portrayal of Nurse Dixie McCall in the television series Emergency!

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Gwen Verdon, American actress and dancer (born 1925)

Gwyneth Evelyn "Gwen" Verdon was an American actress and dancer. She won four Tony Awards for her musical comedy performances, and she served as an uncredited choreographer's assistant and specialty dance coach for theater and film. Verdon was a critically acclaimed performer on Broadway in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, having originated many roles in musicals, including Lola in Damn Yankees, the title character in Sweet Charity, and Roxie Hart in Chicago.

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18/10/1987

Adriaan Ditvoorst, Dutch director and screenwriter (born 1940)

Adriaan Ditvoorst was a Dutch film director and screenwriter. He directed nine films between 1965 and 1984. His 1967 film Paranoia was entered into the 17th Berlin International Film Festival.

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18/10/1984

Henri Michaux, French painter and poet (born 1899)

Henri Michaux was a Belgian-born French experimental poet, writer and painter. Michaux is renowned for his strange, highly original poetry and prose, and also for his art: the Paris Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York had shows of his work in 1978. His autobiographical texts that chronicle his psychedelic experiments with LSD and mescaline include Miserable Miracle and The Major Ordeals of the Mind and the Countless Minor Ones. He is recognised for his idiosyncratic travelogues and books of art criticism. Michaux is also known for his stories about Plume – "a peaceable man" – one of the most unenterprising heroes in literature, a character subject to many misfortunes.

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18/10/1983

Diego Abad de Santillán, Spanish economist and author (born 1897)

Sinesio Baudillo García Fernández, commonly known by his pseudonym Diego Abad de Santillán, was a Spanish Argentine anarcho-syndicalist economist. Born in León, his family moved to Argentina while he was young. He returned to Spain for his higher education and became involved in the Spanish anarchist movement. After his studies, he went back to Argentina and became involved with the Argentine Regional Workers' Federation (FORA), co-founding the International Workers' Association (IWA). Following the 1930 Argentine coup d'état and the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic, he again went to Spain, becoming involved in the Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI). During the Spanish Civil War, he served in the Catalan government as Minister of Economy. After the war, he returned to Argentina and largely ceased political activities, going back to Spain only after the Spanish transition to democracy.

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Willie Jones, American baseball player (born 1925)

Willie Edward Jones, nicknamed "Puddin' Head", was an American professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (1947–1959), Cleveland Indians (1959), and Cincinnati Reds (1959–1961). He batted and threw right-handed.

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18/10/1982

Dwain Esper, American director and producer (born 1892)

Dwain Atkins Esper was an American director and producer of exploitation films.

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Pierre Mendès France, French lawyer and politician, 143rd Prime Minister of France (born 1907)

Pierre Isaac Isidore Mendès France was a French politician who served as prime minister of France for eight months from 1954 to 1955. As a member of the Radical Party, he headed a government supported by a coalition of Gaullists (RPF), moderate socialists (UDSR), Christian democrats (MRP) and liberal-conservatives (CNIP). Pierre-Mendès France is primarily remembered as the French Prime Minister who was in office at the outbreak of the Algerian independence war in 1954. During his tenure, France initiated close military cooperation with Israel, selling arms and aircraft to the young state. Mendès-France laid the groundwork for France’s military nuclear program and the early transfer of nuclear technology to Israel.

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John Robarts, Canadian lawyer and politician, 17th Premier of Ontario (born 1917)

John Parmenter Robarts was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th premier of Ontario from 1961 to 1971. He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario.

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Bess Truman, American wife of Harry S. Truman, 40th First Lady of the United States (born 1885)

Elizabeth Virginia Truman was First Lady of the United States from 1945 to 1953 as the wife of President Harry S. Truman. She had previously served as Second Lady of the United States from January to April 1945. At 97 years, 247 days, she was the longest-lived first and second lady.

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18/10/1980

Edwin Way Teale, American photographer and author (born 1899)

Edwin Way Teale was an American naturalist, photographer and writer. Teale's works serve as primary source material documenting environmental conditions across North America from 1930–1980. He is perhaps best known for his series The American Seasons, four books documenting over 75,000 miles (121,000 km) of automobile travel across North America following the changing seasons.

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18/10/1978

Ramón Mercader, Spanish journalist, assassin of Leon Trotsky (born 1914)

Jaume Ramón Mercader del Río was a Spanish communist and NKVD secret agent who assassinated the revolutionary Leon Trotsky in Mexico City in August 1940 with an ice axe, for which Mercader was imprisoned for 19 years and 8 months.

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18/10/1977

Andreas Baader, German militant (born 1943)

Berndt Andreas Baader was a West German communist and leader of the far-left terrorist organization Red Army Faction (RAF), also commonly known as the Baader-Meinhof Group.

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Gudrun Ensslin, German militant leader, founded the Red Army Faction (born 1940)

Gudrun Ensslin was a German far-left terrorist and founder of the West German far-left militant group Red Army Faction.

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18/10/1976

Viswanatha Satyanarayana, Indian poet and author (born 1895)

Viswanatha Satyanarayana was a 20th-century Telugu writer. His works included poetry, novels, dramatic play, short stories and speeches, covering a wide range of subjects such as analysis of history, philosophy, religion, sociology, political science, linguistics, psychology and consciousness studies, epistemology, aesthetics and spiritualism. He was a student of the illustrious Telugu writer Chellapilla Venkata Sastry, of the Tirupati Venkata Kavulu duo. Viswanatha's wrote in both a modern and classical style, in complex modes. His popular works include Ramayana Kalpavrukshamu, Kinnersani Patalu and the novel Veyipadagalu. Among many awards, he was awarded the Jnanpith Award in 1970, the first for a Telugu writer, and Padma Bhushan in 1971.

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18/10/1975

K. C. Douglas, American rural blues singer (born 1913)

K. C. Douglas was an American rural blues singer and guitarist.

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Al Lettieri, American actor (born 1928)

Alfredo Anthony Lettieri was an American actor and screenwriter. Active during the 1960s and 1970s, he commonly portrayed villainous characters. Lettieri achieved recognition for his performance as mobster Virgil Sollozzo in the crime film The Godfather (1972), and appeared in several other productions alongside Hollywood's biggest screen stars.

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Graham Haberfield, English actor (born 1941)

Coronation Street is a British soap opera, initially produced by Granada Television. Created by writer Tony Warren, Coronation Street first broadcast on ITV on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters introduced in the show's third year, by order of first appearance.

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18/10/1973

Margaret Caroline Anderson, American publisher, founded The Little Review (born 1886)

Margaret Caroline Anderson was the American founder, editor and publisher of the art and literary magazine The Little Review, which published a collection of modern American, English and Irish writers between 1914 and 1929. The periodical is most noted for introducing many prominent American and British writers of the 20th century, such as Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot, in the United States and publishing the first thirteen chapters of James Joyce's then-unpublished novel Ulysses.

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Walt Kelly, American illustrator and animator (born 1913)

Walter Crawford Kelly Jr. was an American animator and cartoonist, best known for the comic strip Pogo. He began his animation career in 1936 at Walt Disney Productions, contributing to Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Dumbo. In 1941, at the age of 28, Kelly transferred to work at Dell Comics, where he created Pogo, which eventually became his platform for political and philosophical commentary.

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Leo Strauss, German-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (born 1899)

Leo Strauss was a German-American political philosopher and historian of philosophy whose work greatly influenced twentieth-century political theory in the United States and the study of classical political thought. He is known best for his interpretation of ancient and medieval philosophy, his account of classical natural right, and his claim that philosophers often wrote esoterically, presenting different teachings to general and specialist readers. Strauss argued that the modern turn in philosophy, beginning with Niccolò Machiavelli and culminating in historicism and relativism, marked a decisive break with the classical understanding of politics and the good life. His work sought to recover the questions and methods of ancient political philosophy as a corrective to the perceived crisis of modern thought.

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18/10/1969

Gyula Mándi, Hungarian footballer and manager (born 1899)

Gyula Mándi, also referred to as Mándi Gyula or Julius Mandel was a Hungarian Olympic national team and club footballer, who played as a defender and fullback/ He was also a manager of club and national teams. He was Jewish.

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18/10/1966

Elizabeth Arden, Canadian-American businesswoman, founded Elizabeth Arden, Inc. (born 1878)

Elizabeth Arden, also known as Elizabeth N. Graham, was a Canadian-American businesswoman who founded what is now Elizabeth Arden, Inc., and built a cosmetics empire in the United States.

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S. S. Kresge, American businessman, founded Kmart (born 1867)

Sebastian Spering Kresge was an American merchant and businessman. He created and owned two chains of department stores: the S. S. Kresge Company, one of the 20th century's largest discount retail organizations, and the Kresge-Newark traditional department store chain. The discounter was renamed the Kmart Corporation in 1977.

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18/10/1965

Henry Travers, Irish-American actor (born 1874)

Travers John Heagerty, known professionally as Henry Travers, was an English film and stage character actor who specialised in portraying slightly bumbling but amiable and likeable older men. His best known role to today's audiences was the guardian angel Clarence Odbody in the 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life. He also received an Academy Award nomination for his supporting role in Mrs. Miniver (1942). Other notable films include The Invisible Man (1933), Dark Victory (1939), High Sierra (1941), and The Bells of St. Mary's (1945).

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18/10/1962

Iván Petrovich, Serbian-German actor and singer (born 1894)

Iván Petrovich was a Serbian film actor and singer.

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18/10/1961

Tsuru Aoki, Japanese-American actress (born 1892)

Tsuru Aoki was a Japanese stage and screen actress whose career was most prolific in the United States during the silent film era of the 1910s through the 1920s. Aoki may have been the first Asian actress to garner top billing in American motion pictures.

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18/10/1959

Boughera El Ouafi, Algerian-French runner (born 1903)

Ahmed Boughera El Ouafi was a French Algerian marathon runner who represented France at the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics, winning gold in the latter. He was largely unacknowledged in his lifetime, facing discrimination in France due to his Algerian origin, but received posthumous recognition.

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18/10/1956

Yoshio Markino, Japanese painter and author (born 1869)

Yoshio Markino was a Japanese artist and author who from 1897 – 1942 was based in London. During the Edwardian years of 1903 – 1915 he was the most well known Japanese person living in London, and was widely praised for bridging the Japanese and Western artistic aesthetic in his artwork, particularly in his depiction of London's fog, gaslights and wet streets, which became his hallmark. Like his contemporaries Whistler and Monet, he viewed the London fog from an outsider's point of view and marvelled at the effect it had on light, both natural and artificial. Markino became known affectionately as Heiji of London Fog, and wrote: 'I think London without mists would be like a bride without a trousseau'. His autobiography A Japanese Artist in London, published in 1910 and written in an eccentric style, described his years of extreme poverty in London while trying to establish himself as an illustrator and artist. From his early years he was fascinated by Western culture and remained a committed Anglophile all his life.

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18/10/1948

Walther von Brauchitsch, German field marshal (born 1881)

Walther Heinrich Alfred Hermann von Brauchitsch was a German Generalfeldmarschall and Commander-in-Chief (Oberbefehlshaber) of the German Army during the first two years of World War II. Born into an aristocratic military family, he entered army service in 1901. During World War I, he served with distinction on the corps-level and division-level staff on the Western Front.

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18/10/1947

Michiaki Kamada, Japanese admiral (born 1890)

Michiaki Kamada was a vice-admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy who saw service in the Pacific Theatre of World War II.

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18/10/1942

Mikhail Nesterov, Russian painter (born 1862)

Mikhail Vasilyevich Nesterov was a Russian and Soviet painter; associated with the Peredvizhniki and Mir iskusstva. He was one of the first exponents of Symbolist art in Russia.

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18/10/1941

Manuel Teixeira Gomes, Portuguese lawyer and politician, 7th President of Portugal (born 1860)

Manuel Teixeira Gomes was a Portuguese politician who served as the president of Portugal from 1923 to 1925.

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18/10/1935

Gaston Lachaise, French-American sculptor (born 1882)

Gaston Lachaise was a French-born sculptor, active in America in the early 20th century. A native of Paris, he is most noted for his robust female nudes such as his heroic Standing Woman. Gaston Lachaise was taught the fundamentals of European sculpture while living in France. While still a student, he met and fell in love with an older American woman, Isabel Dutaud Nagle, then followed her after she returned to America. There, he became profoundly impressed by the great vitality and promise of his adopted country. Those life-altering experiences clarified his artistic vision and inspired him to define the female nude in a new and powerful manner. His drawings, typically made as ends in themselves, also exemplify his remarkably new treatment of the female body.

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18/10/1934

Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Spanish pathologist, histologist, and neuroscientist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1852)

Santiago Ramón y Cajal was a Spanish neuroscientist, pathologist, and histologist specialising in neuroanatomy, and the central nervous system. He and Camillo Golgi received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1906. Ramón y Cajal was the first Spaniard to win a scientific Nobel Prize. His original investigations of the microscopic structure of the brain made him a pioneer of modern neuroscience.

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18/10/1931

Thomas Edison, American engineer and businessman, invented the phonograph (born 1847)

Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, which include the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and early versions of the electric light bulb, have had a widespread impact on the modern industrialized world. He was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of organized science and teamwork to the process of invention, working with many researchers and employees. He established the first industrial research laboratory.

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Lesser Ury, German painter (born 1861)

Leo Lesser Ury was a German impressionist painter and printmaker, associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting.

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18/10/1921

Ludwig III of Bavaria (born 1845)

Ludwig III was the last King of Bavaria, reigning from 1913 to 1918. Initially, he served in the Bavarian military as a lieutenant and went on to hold the rank of Oberleutnant during the Austro-Prussian War. He entered politics at the age of 18, as a member of the Bavarian parliament, and was a keen participant, supporting electoral reforms. Later in life, he served as regent and de facto head of state from 1912 to 1913, ruling for his cousin, Otto. After the Bavarian parliament passed a law allowing him to do so, Ludwig deposed Otto and assumed the throne for himself. He led Bavaria during World War I. His short reign was seen as championing conservative causes and he was influenced by the Catholic encyclical Rerum novarum.

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18/10/1911

Alfred Binet, French psychologist and author (born 1857)

Alfred Binet, born Alfredo Binetti, was a French psychologist who together with Théodore Simon invented the first practical intelligence test, the Binet–Simon test. In 1904, Binet took part in a commission set up by the French Ministry of Education to decide whether school children with learning difficulties should be sent to a special boarding school attached to a lunatic asylum, as advocated by the French psychiatrist and politician Désiré-Magloire Bourneville, or whether they should be educated in classes attached to regular schools as advocated by the Société libre pour l'étude psychologique de l'enfant (SLEPE) of which Binet was a member. There was also debate over who should decide whether a child was capable enough for regular education. Bourneville argued that a psychiatrist should do this based on a medical examination. Binet and Simon wanted this to be based on objective evidence. This was the beginning of the IQ test. A preliminary version was published in 1905. The full version was published in 1908, and slightly revised in 1911, just before Binet's death.

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18/10/1908

Nozu Michitsura, Japanese field marshal (born 1840)

Field Marshal Marquis Nozu Michitsura was a Japanese field marshal and leading figure in the early Imperial Japanese Army.

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18/10/1893

Charles Gounod, French composer and educator (born 1818)

Charles-François Gounod was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been Faust (1859); his Roméo et Juliette (1867) also remains in the international repertoire. He composed a large amount of church music, many songs, and popular short pieces including his "Ave Maria" and "Funeral March of a Marionette".

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18/10/1892

William W. Chapman, American lawyer and politician (born 1808)

William Williams Chapman was an American politician and lawyer in Oregon and Iowa. He was born and raised in Virginia. He served as a United States Attorney in Iowa when it was part of the Michigan and Wisconsin territories, and then represented the Iowa Territory in the United States House of Representatives. He later immigrated to the Oregon Country, where he served in the Oregon Territorial Legislature.

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18/10/1889

Antonio Meucci, Italian-American engineer (born 1808)

Antonio Santi Giuseppe Meucci was an Italian inventor and an associate of Giuseppe Garibaldi, a major political figure in the history of Italy. Meucci is best known for developing a voice-communication apparatus that several sources credit as the first telephone.

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18/10/1886

Philipp Franz von Siebold, German physician and botanist (born 1796)

Jhr. Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold was a German physician, botanist and traveller. He achieved prominence by his studies of Japanese flora and fauna. He was the father of the first female Japanese doctor educated in Western medicine, Kusumoto Ine.

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18/10/1876

Francis Preston Blair, American journalist (born 1791)

Francis Preston Blair Sr. was an American journalist, newspaper editor, and influential figure in national politics advising various U.S. presidents across party lines. He was an early member of the Democratic Party, and a strong supporter of President Andrew Jackson, having helped him win Kentucky in the 1828 presidential election. From 1831 to 1845, Blair worked as Editor-in-Chief of the Washington Globe, which served as the primary propaganda instrument for the Democratic Party, and was largely successful. He was an influential advisor to President Jackson, and served prominently in a group of unofficial advisors and assistants known as the "Kitchen Cabinet".

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18/10/1871

Charles Babbage, English mathematician and engineer, invented the mechanical computer (born 1791)

Charles Babbage was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer.

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18/10/1865

Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, English soldier and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1784)

Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, known as Lord Palmerston, was a British Anglo-Irish politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to his death in 1865. A member of the Tory, Whig and Liberal parties, Palmerston was also the first Liberal prime minister. An ideologue of "Free-Trade" and a major sponsor of the Opium Wars against the Chinese Empire and the war against Egypt, he dominated British foreign policy from 1830 to 1865 when Britain stood at the height of its imperial power.

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18/10/1817

Etienne Nicolas Méhul, French pianist and composer (born 1763)

Étienne Nicolas Méhul was a French composer of the late classical and early romantic periods. He was known as "the most important opera composer in France during the Revolution". He was also the first composer to be called a "Romantic". He is known particularly for his operas, written in keeping with the reforms introduced by Christoph Willibald Gluck and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

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18/10/1775

Christian August Crusius, German philosopher and theologian (born 1715)

Christian August Crusius was a German philosopher and Protestant theologian.

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18/10/1770

John Manners, Marquess of Granby, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire (born 1721)

Lieutenant-General John Manners, Marquess of Granby was a British Army officer and politician. The eldest son of John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland, as he did not outlive his father and inherit the dukedom, Manners was known by his father's subsidiary title, Marquess of Granby. He served in the military during the Jacobite rising of 1745 and the Seven Years' War, being subsequently rewarded with the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Forces. Manners was popular with the troops who served under him and many British pubs are still named after him today.

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18/10/1744

Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (born 1660)

Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, was an English courtier who became one of the most influential women of her time through her close relationship with Anne, Queen of Great Britain. Churchill's influence on Anne was widely known, and leading public figures often turned their attentions to her, hoping to attain favour from the queen.

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18/10/1739

António José da Silva, Brazilian-Portuguese playwright (born 1705)

António José da Silva Coutinho was a Brazilian-Portuguese dramatist born in colonial Brazil, known as "the Jew". The Brazilian spelling of his first name is Antônio; António José da Silva Coutinho in Hebrew is אנטוניו ז'וזה דה סילווה‎.

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18/10/1678

Jacob Jordaens, Belgian painter illustrator (born 1593)

Jacques (Jacob) Jordaens was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and a designer of tapestries and prints. He was a prolific artist who created biblical, mythological, and allegorical compositions, genre scenes, landscapes, illustrations of Flemish sayings and portraits. After the death of Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, he became the leading Flemish Baroque painter of his time. Unlike those illustrious contemporaries he never travelled abroad to study the Antique and Italian painting and, except for a few short trips to locations elsewhere in the Low Countries, he resided in Antwerp his entire life. He also remained largely indifferent to Rubens and van Dyck's intellectual and courtly aspirations. He expressed this attitude in his art by avoiding idealistic treatment of his subject in contrast to these contemporaries.

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18/10/1667

Fasilides, Ethiopian emperor (born 1603)

Fasilides, also known as Fasil, Basilide, or Basilides, was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1632 to his death on 18 October 1667, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His throne name was Alam Sagad.

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18/10/1646

Isaac Jogues, French priest, missionary, and martyr (born 1607)

Isaac Jogues was a French missionary and martyr who traveled and worked among the Iroquois, Huron, and other Native populations in North America. He was the first European to name Lake George, calling it Lac du Saint Sacrement. In 1646, Jogues was martyred by the Mohawk at their village of Ossernenon, near the Mohawk River.

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18/10/1604

Igram van Achelen, Dutch lawyer and politician (born 1528)

Igram van Achelen was a Dutch statesman.

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18/10/1570

Manuel da Nóbrega, Portuguese-Brazilian priest and missionary (born 1517)

Manuel da Nóbrega, SJ was a Portuguese Jesuit priest and the first provincial of the Society of Jesus in colonial Brazil. Together with José de Anchieta, he was very influential in the early history of Brazil. He participated in the founding of several cities, such as Recife, Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo, as well as many Jesuit colleges and seminaries.

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18/10/1564

Johannes Acronius Frisius, Dutch physician and mathematician (born 1520)

Johannes Acronius Frisius was a Dutch medical doctor and mathematician of the 16th century.

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18/10/1561

Yamamoto Kansuke, Japanese samurai (born 1501)

Yamamoto Kansuke was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. He was known as one of the "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen". Also known by his formal name, Haruyuki (晴幸). He was a brilliant strategist, and is particularly known for his plan which led to success in the fourth battle of Kawanakajima against Uesugi Kenshin. However, Kansuke never lived to see his plan succeed; thinking it to have failed, he charged headlong into the enemy ranks, dying in battle.

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18/10/1558

Mary of Hungary (born 1505)

Mary of Austria, also known as Mary of Hungary, was Queen of Hungary and Bohemia as the wife of King Louis II, and was later governor of the Habsburg Netherlands.

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18/10/1545

John Taverner, English organist and composer (born 1490)

John Taverner was an English composer and organist, regarded as one of the most important English composers of his era. He is best-known for Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas and The Western Wynde Mass, and Missa Corona Spinea is also often viewed as a masterwork.

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18/10/1541

Margaret Tudor, queen of James IV of Scotland (born 1489)

Margaret Tudor was Queen of Scotland from 1503 until 1513 as the wife of James IV. She then served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority, and fought to extend her regency. Margaret was the eldest daughter and second child of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of Henry VIII. Through her granddaughter's marriage and her descendants, the House of Stuart eventually acceded to the thrones of England and Ireland, culminating in the "Union of the Crowns" under her great-grandson James VI and I in 1603.

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18/10/1526

Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón, Spanish explorer (born 1475)

Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón was a Spanish magistrate and explorer who in 1526 established the short-lived San Miguel de Gualdape colony, one of the first European attempts at a settlement in what is now the United States. Ayllón's account of the region inspired a number of later attempts by the Spanish and French governments to colonize the southeastern United States.

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18/10/1511

Philippe de Commines, French-speaking Fleming in the courts of Burgundy and France (born 1447)

Philippe de Commines was a writer and diplomat in the courts of Burgundy and France. He has been called "the first truly modern writer" and "the first critical and philosophical historian since classical times". Neither a chronicler nor a historian in the usual sense of the word, his analyses of the contemporary political scene are what made him virtually unique in his own time.

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18/10/1508

Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell, Lord High Admiral of Scotland

Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell was Lord High Admiral of Scotland. He rose to political prominence after supporting James IV against his father, and was proxy at the King's marriage.

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18/10/1503

Pope Pius III (born 1439)

Pope Pius III, born Francesco Todeschini, then Francesco Todeschini-Piccolomini, was head of the Catholic Church and leader of the Papal States from 22 September 1503 to his death. At just twenty-six days, he had one of the shortest pontificates in papal history.

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18/10/1480

Uhwudong, Korean dancer and poet (born 1440)

Ŏudong or Eoudong, also known as Ŏŭrudong or Eoeuludong, née Pak, was a Korean dancer, writer, artist, and poet from a noble family in the Joseon period of the 15th century. Most of her work has not been preserved. She is described to be one of the evil women from the Joseon Dynasty along with Queen Munjeong, Jang Nok-su, and Royal Noble Consort Hui.

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18/10/1442

Infante João of Portugal (born 1400)

Infante John, Constable of Portugal was a Portuguese infante (prince) of the House of Aviz, Constable of Portugal and master of the Portuguese Order of St. James (Santiago). In Portugal, he is commonly referred to as the O Infante Condestável.

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18/10/1417

Pope Gregory XII (born 1326)

Pope Gregory XII, born Angelo Corraro, Corario, or Correr, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 November 1406 to 4 July 1415. Reigning during the Western Schism, he was opposed by the Avignon claimant Benedict XIII and the Pisan claimants Alexander V and John XXIII. Gregory XII wanted to unify the Church and voluntarily resigned in 1415 to end the schism.

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18/10/1382

James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond, Irish politician, Lord Justice of Ireland (born 1331)

James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormond was a noble in the Peerage of Ireland. He was Lord Justice of Ireland in 1359, 1364, and 1376, and a dominant political leader in Ireland in the 1360s and 1370s.

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18/10/1366

Petrus Torkilsson, Archbishop of Uppsala

Petrus Torkilsson was Bishop of Linköping, 1342–1351 and Archbishop of Uppsala, Sweden, 1351–1366.

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18/10/1214

John de Gray, bishop of Norwich

John de Gray or de Grey was an English prelate who served as Bishop of Norwich, and was elected but unconfirmed Archbishop of Canterbury. He was employed in the service of Prince John even before John became king, for which he was rewarded with a number of ecclesiastical offices, culminating in his pro forma election to Norwich in 1200. De Gray continued in royal service after his elevation to the episcopate, lending the King money and undertaking diplomatic missions on his behalf. In 1205 King John attempted to further reward de Gray with a translation to the archbishopric of Canterbury, but a disputed election process led to de Gray's selection being quashed by Pope Innocent III in 1206.

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18/10/1141

Leopold, Duke of Bavaria (born 1108)

Leopold, known as Leopold the Generous, was Margrave of Austria from 1136, and Duke of Bavaria from 1139 until his death in 1141.

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18/10/1101

Hugh I, Count of Vermandois (born 1053)

Hugh, called the Great was the first count of Vermandois from the House of Capet. His wife, Adelaide de Vermandois was the heiress and holder of the title of Countess of Vermandois, holding the lineage rights, but Hugh ruled as Count of Vermandois jure uxoris from 1085 to 1101. He is known primarily for being one of the leaders of the First Crusade. His nickname Magnus is probably a bad translation into medieval Latin of an Old French nickname, le Maisné, meaning "the younger", referring to Hugh as younger brother of King Philip I of France.

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18/10/1081

Nikephoros Palaiologos, Byzantine general

Nikephoros Palaiologos was a Byzantine general of the 11th century.

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18/10/1035

Sancho III of Pamplona (born 992)

Sancho Garcés III, also known as Sancho the Great, was the King of Pamplona from 1004 until his death in 1035. He also ruled the County of Aragon and by marriage the counties of Castile, Álava and Monzón. He later added the counties of Sobrarbe (1015), Ribagorza (1018) and Cea (1030), and would intervene in the Kingdom of León, taking its eponymous capital city in 1034.

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18/10/0815

Abu'l-Saraya, Zaydi rebel leader

Abu'l-Sarāyā al-Sarī ibn Manṣūr al-Shaybānī was leader of a Zaydi revolt against the Abbasid Caliphate in Kufa and Iraq in 815. The revolt spread quickly across southern Iraq, and his agents even took over Mecca and Medina. At one point, the rebels threatened even Baghdad, but the Abbasid general Harthama ibn A'yan drove them back to Kufa in a series of victories. Forced to abandon Kufa in late August, Abu'l-Saraya and his followers tried to flee, but were pursued, defeated, and captured. Abu'l-Saraya himself was executed at Baghdad on 18 October. The uprising continued in the Hejaz for a few months under Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq as anti-caliph at Mecca, until this too was suppressed by the Abbasid troops.

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18/10/0707

Pope John VII (born 650)

Year 707 (DCCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 707 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

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18/10/0325

Emperor Ming of Jin (born 299)

Emperor Ming of Jin (simplified Chinese: 晋明帝; traditional Chinese: 晉明帝; pinyin: Jìn Míng Dì; Wade–Giles: Chin Ming-ti; 299 – 18 October 325, personal name Sima Shao, courtesy name Daoji, was an emperor of the Eastern Jin dynasty of China. During his brief reign, he led the weakened Jin out of domination by the warlord Wang Dun, but at his early death, the empire was left to his young son Emperor Cheng, and the fragile balance of power that he created was soon broken, leading to the Su Jun Disturbance and weakening the Jin state even further. Subsequent Eastern Jin emperors until Emperor Fei were his descendants, being either his sons or grandsons.

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18/10/0031

Lucius Aelius Sejanus, Roman politician (born 20 BC)

AD 31 (XXXI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tiberius and Sejanus. The denomination AD 31 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

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