Famous people and celebrities who died on April 16
Welcome to Takemeback.to's page dedicated to remembering the celebrities and famous people who passed away on April 16. 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.
- 1825 Henry Fuseli
A Swiss painter, draughtsman, and writer on art, who was renowned for his depictions of supernatural subjects and nightmares.
- 1879 Bernadette Soubirous
A young French woman who had visions of the Virgin Mary, leading to the establishment of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes.
- 1947 Rudolf Höss
Nazi SS officer and commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp, responsible for overseeing the systematic murder of over one million people during the Holocaust. He was a key architect of the Nazi genocide and was later tried and executed for war crimes.
- 1958 Rosalind Franklin
Pioneering British chemist and X-ray crystallographer who played a crucial role in understanding the molecular structures of DNA, RNA, viruses, coal, and graphite. Her work was instrumental in discovering the double helix structure of DNA, though her contributions were initially underrecognized.
- 1961 Carl Hovland
Renowned American social psychologist who made groundbreaking contributions to communication theory and social psychology research.
- 1968 Fay Bainter
Fay Bainter was an Academy Award-winning actress known for her versatile performances in film and theater.
- 1968 Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber was an American novelist, short story writer, and playwright who won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1925 for her novel 'So Big'.
- 1972 Yasunari Kawabata
LIT - Japanese novelist and short story writer, nobel prize laureate (b. 1899)
- 1973 Nino Bravo
Nino Bravo was a popular Spanish singer known for his romantic ballads during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He tragically died in a car accident at the young age of 28, cutting short a promising musical career.
- 1973 István Kertész
Renowned Hungarian conductor and music educator who made significant contributions to classical music during the mid-20th century.
- 1985 Scott Brady
American film actor known for his roles in Western and crime movies, brother to Lawrence Tierney. He was a complex performer with a notable Hollywood career during the mid-20th century.
- 1988 Khalil al-Wazir
Khalil al-Wazir, also known as Abu Jihad, was a prominent Palestinian political leader and co-founder of Fatah, who played a crucial role in the Palestinian national movement. He was assassinated by Israeli Mossad agents in Tunis in 1988.
- 1991 David Lean
Legendary British film director renowned for epic masterpieces like 'Lawrence of Arabia' and 'The Bridge on the River Kwai', who significantly influenced cinema's visual storytelling in the mid-20th century.
- 1992 Neville Brand
Neville Brand was a prominent American character actor known for his tough-guy roles in films and television, particularly in westerns and crime dramas during the 1950s and 1960s.
- 1994 Ralph Ellison
Ralph Ellison was a prominent African American novelist, literary critic, and scholar, best known for his groundbreaking novel 'Invisible Man', which won the National Book Award in 1953 and is considered a landmark work in 20th-century American literature.
- 1996 Stavros Niarchos
A prominent Greek shipping magnate known for building one of the world's largest private tanker fleets and amassing a significant personal fortune through strategic business ventures.
- 1997 Roland Topor
Roland Topor was a renowned French-Polish Jewish artist, writer, and multidisciplinary creative who significantly influenced avant-garde culture through his surreal cartoons, literature, and multimedia works.
- 1998 Fred Davis
Legendary English snooker player who was a prominent figure in the sport during the mid-20th century, known for his exceptional skill and competitive spirit.
- 1998 Alberto Calderón
Alberto Calderón was a distinguished Argentinian-American mathematician known for his significant contributions to mathematical analysis. He made groundbreaking work in harmonic analysis and partial differential equations, earning international recognition in the academic mathematical community. Calderón is considered one of the most important mathematicians of the 20th century.
- 2002 Robert Urich
American actor known for television series like Spenser: For Hire and Vega$, who appeared in films such as Magnum Force and worked across stage, film, and radio.
- 2005 Kay Walsh
Kay Walsh was a prominent English actress known for her versatile performances in film and theater during the mid-20th century, particularly in British cinema.
- 2007 Seung-Hui Cho
South Korean student who perpetrated the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech, a tragic event that shocked the United States and led to significant discussions about campus safety and gun control.
- 2007 Liviu Librescu
Jewish-Romanian engineering professor who survived the Holocaust and became a renowned academic, tragically killed during the Virginia Tech shooting while protecting his students.
- 2008 Edward Norton Lorenz
Pioneering meteorologist who developed chaos theory and the butterfly effect, fundamentally transforming our understanding of complex dynamic systems.
- 2010 Daryl Gates
Prominent American law enforcement official who served as Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1978 to 1992. He is known for creating the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program and was a controversial figure during the Rodney King era.
- 2012 Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller
Prominent Danish businessman and CEO of A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, one of the world's largest shipping and logistics companies. He significantly expanded the family business into a global enterprise.
- 2013 Pat Summerall
Pat Summerall was a legendary American football player who became an iconic sports broadcaster, known for his distinctive voice and professional commentary.
- 2018 Harry Anderson
Harry Anderson was an American actor and screenwriter best known for his role as Judge Harry Stone in the popular TV sitcom Night Court.
- 2021 Helen McCrory
Renowned British actress known for her roles in Harry Potter, Peaky Blinders, and numerous stage productions. She was a highly respected performer in film, television, and theater.
What Is special about April 16?
Discover what makes April 16 a memorable date