Famous people and celebrities who died in December 1965

This page is dedicated to commemorating the celebrities and famous people who passed away in December 1965. 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

  • Dec. 5 Joseph Erlanger

    MED - American physiologist, neuroscientist, and academic nobel prize laureate (b. 1874)

  • Dec. 6 Alberto Vaccari

    Italian jesuit/old testament scholar dies at the age of 90.

  • Dec. 9 Branch Rickey

    Known for breaking the baseball color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson.

  • Dec. 10 Henry (Dixon) Cowell

    American pianist/composer (aeolianharp), passes away at the age of 68.

  • Dec. 14 Hermann Sandby

    Composer dies at 84

  • Dec. 16 W. Somerset Maugham

    British playwright, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1874)

  • Dec. 17 Tito [Raffaele A] Schipa

    Italian composer/tenor rondine dies at the age of 76.

  • Dec. 20 Egon Freiherr von Eickstedt

    German anthropologist dies at the age of 73.

  • Dec. 21 Claude Champagne

    Canadian composer and pianist of the violin (d. 1965).

  • Dec. 22 Richard Dimbleby

    Renowned British broadcaster and journalist who was a key figure in BBC news during the mid-20th century.

  • Dec. 22 Al Ritz

    Actor (gorilla hi ya chum), died at 62

  • Dec. 24 William M. Branham

    Influential American Pentecostal minister and theologian who was a significant figure in the mid-20th century religious revival movement.

  • Dec. 24 John Black

    American astrologer and a teacher at the church of light. on 8/31/1945, he joined afa.

  • Dec. 26 Anthonie Donker

    Dutch literary [professor n donkersloot] dies at the age of 63.

  • Dec. 27 Edgar Ende

    German painter (born 1901).

  • Dec. 29 Frank Nugent

    American screenwriter, journalist and film reviewer (b. 1908)

  • Dec. 29 Kōsaku Yamada

    Japanese composer and conductor (b. 1886)