Famous people and celebrities who died on May 22

Welcome to Takemeback.to's page dedicated to remembering the celebrities and famous people who passed away on May 22. On this day, we honor the lives and legacies of notable figures from various fields who left an indelible mark on the world. Explore our list to learn about their remarkable contributions and celebrate their enduring impact.

• 1885 Victor Hugo

  French poet, writer, novelist and essayist. he was also a gifted painter, architect, critic, and essayist. his works include "the hunchback of notre dame", 1831, "lucrezia borgia," (1833), and "les miserable," (1862).

• 1948 Claude McKay

  Jamaican-American writer known for his poetry and novels exploring the black experience.

• 1961 Joan Davis

  Actress joan (i married joan) dies at 53 from a heart attack

• 1967 Langston Hughes

  Langston Hughes was a pioneering African American poet, novelist, and playwright who played a crucial role in the Harlem Renaissance. His innovative poetry used jazz and blues rhythms to explore the African American experience, making significant contributions to American literature and civil rights discourse.

• 1972 Margaret Rutherford

  English actress (born in 1892)

• 1972 Cecil Day-Lewis

  Cecil Day-Lewis was a prominent British poet and later Poet Laureate, known for his modernist poetry and significant contributions to 20th-century English literature.

• 1975 Lefty Grove

  Legendary Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Red Sox, considered one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history.

• 1977 Hampton Hawes

  The description seems incorrect. Hampton Hawes was actually a renowned jazz pianist, not a basketball player, known for his significant contributions to bebop and hard bop styles.

• 1983 Albert Claude

  MED - Belgian biologist and academic, nobel prize laureate (b. 1899)

• 1984 Karl-August Fagerholm

  Prominent Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister and Speaker of the Parliament during the mid-20th century, playing a significant role in Finland's post-war political landscape.

• 1984 John Marley

  American actor known for his roles in films like 'Cat Ballou' and 'The Godfather', who passed away in 1984 after heart surgery.

• 1985 Wolfgang Reitherman

  Renowned Disney animator, director, and producer who significantly contributed to classic animated films during the mid-20th century.

• 1988 Giorgio Almirante

  Prominent Italian neo-fascist politician who served as leader of the Italian Social Movement (MSI) and was a significant parliamentary figure for decades. He was a controversial political personality known for his far-right ideology and long parliamentary career.

• 1990 Rocky Graziano

  Rocky Graziano was a famous middleweight boxing champion who later became an actor, known for his tough life story and successful boxing career in the 1940s and 1950s.

• 1997 Alfred Hershey

  Renowned American geneticist who, along with Martha Chase, conducted the groundbreaking Hershey-Chase experiment that conclusively demonstrated DNA as the carrier of genetic information. His work was pivotal in understanding molecular genetics and earned him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1969.

• 1998 John Derek

  American actor and director who rose to prominence after his 1944 film debut and was named the 'most popular find of 1949'. He starred in notable films like 'All the King's Men' and 'Rogues of Sherwood Forest'.

• 2005 Thurl Ravenscroft

  Legendary voice actor known for iconic roles like Tony the Tiger and the voice of the Grinch song in 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'. A Disney Legend recognized in 1995 for his distinctive voice work across multiple media platforms.

• 2006 Lee Jong-wook

  Lee Jong-wook was a prominent South Korean physician and international health diplomat who served as Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) from 2003 until his unexpected death in 2006.

• 2010 Martin Gardner

  Martin Gardner was a renowned recreational mathematician, science writer, and creator of mathematical puzzles who significantly influenced popular mathematics and scientific thinking through his extensive writings and columns.

• 2013 Sigurd Ottovich Schmidt

  Prominent Russian historian and ethnographer who made significant contributions to historical research and regional studies in the Soviet and post-Soviet era.

• 2015 Marques Haynes

  Legendary basketball player known for his extraordinary dribbling skills and long career with the Harlem Globetrotters, considered one of the greatest dribblers in basketball history.

• 2017 Nicky Hayden

  Nicky Hayden was an accomplished American motorcycle racer who won the MotoGP World Championship in 2006. Known as the 'Kentucky Kid', he was a beloved figure in motorcycle racing before his tragic death in 2017.

• 2018 Philip Roth

  Philip Roth was an acclaimed American novelist considered one of the most significant literary voices of the 20th century, known for his provocative and introspective works exploring Jewish-American identity and human sexuality.

• 2019 Judith Kerr

  Renowned German-born British children's book author and illustrator, best known for her beloved book 'The Tiger Who Came to Tea' and the semi-autobiographical 'When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit'.

• 2020 Mory Kanté

  Mory Kanté was a renowned Guinean musician who revolutionized African music globally, best known for his international hit 'Yé Ké Yé Ké' which brought African rhythms to worldwide audiences.

• 2020 Jerry Sloan

  Legendary NBA coach who spent most of his career with the Utah Jazz, known for his disciplined coaching style and long-standing commitment to the team.

• 2022 Dervla Murphy

  Renowned Irish travel writer and cyclist who embarked on extraordinary solo bicycle journeys across challenging terrains worldwide, inspiring generations of adventurers and travel enthusiasts.