Famous people and celebrities who died in March 1959

This page is dedicated to commemorating the celebrities and famous people who passed away in March 1959. This month marked the loss of influential and beloved figures whose contributions spanned various fields and touched many lives. Explore our detailed list to remember and celebrate their enduring legacies and the remarkable impact they had on the world

• March 2 Richie Valens

  Rock singer ('donna', ‘la bamba') killed in iowa plane crash at the age of 17.

• March 2 Eric Blore

  English actor (born 1887).

• March 3 Lou Costello

  Legendary American comedian best known for the comedy duo Abbott and Costello, famous for their vaudeville and film performances, particularly their iconic comedy routine 'Who's on First?'

• March 4 Maxey Long

  American athlete (born 1878).

• March 6 Fred Stone

  Actor (hideaway westerner), is killed at 85

• March 7 Hinsdale Smith

  Roll-down auto window developer, dies at age of 88.

• March 7 Arthur C Pigou

  English economist (economics of welfare).

• March 8 Abdel Wahab Shawwaf

  Iraqi colonel / putschist, murdered

• March 11 Lester Dent

  Prolific pulp fiction writer best known for creating the adventure character Doc Savage, a pioneering figure in the adventure genre.

• March 11 Haydn Wood

  Composer dies at 76

• March 15 Lester Young

  Legendary jazz saxophonist who revolutionized tenor saxophone playing in the swing era, profoundly influencing future musicians with his cool, understated style.

• March 16 John Sailling

  Last documented us civil war veteran dies at the age of 111.

• March 25 Billy Mayerl

  A notable English composer and pianist known for his distinctive musical style in the early 20th century.

• March 26 Raymond Chandler

  Raymond Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter who is considered a master of the hard-boiled detective fiction genre.

• March 27 Grant Withers

  Actor (okla annie), committed suicide using sleeping pills at 54

• March 29 Barthélemy Boganda

  African priest and politician, 1st prime minister of the central african republic (b. 1910)

• March 29 Sara Wennerberg-Reuter

  Composer dies at 84

• March 30 Riccardo Zanella

  Italian politician (b. 1875)

• March 30 John Auden

  English solicitor, deputy coroner and a territorial soldier (b. 1894)

• March 30 Daniil Andreev

  Russian writer and mystic (born in 1906).

• March 31 Peter Suhrkamp

  German publisher, suhrkamp verlag, dies at 68