Deaths on 17 August
2000s
Terence Stamp
2025
English actor (1938–2025)
Virginia Ogilvy, Countess of Airlie
2024
British countess (1933–2024)
Silvio Santos
2024
Brazilian television host and media mogul (1930–2024)
Arthur Hiller
2016
Canadian film and television director (1923–2016)
Yvonne Craig
2015
American actress (1937–2015)
Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder
2015
László Paskai
2015
Hungarian cardinal
Børre Knudsen
2014
Wolfgang Leonhard
2014
German political author and historian
Sophie Masloff
2014
American mayor (1917–2014)
Miodrag Pavlović
2014
Serbian writer (1928–2014)
Pierre Vassiliu
2014
Musical artist
Odilia Dank
2013
American politician
Jack Harshman
2013
American baseball player (1927–2013)
John Hollander
2013
American poet
David Landes
2013
American economist and historian
Frank Martínez (artist)
2013
American painter (1924–2013)
Gus Winckel
2013
Dutch World War II hero
Aase Bjerkholt
2012
Norwegian politician (1915–2012)
Victor Poor
2012
American engineer and computer pioneer
Patrick Ricard (entrepreneur)
2012
French entrepreneur and CEO
John Lynch-Staunton
2012
Canadian politician (1930–2012)
Francesco Cossiga
2010
President of Italy from 1985 to 1992
Franco Sensi
2008
Italian businessman (1926–2008)
Bill Deedes
2007
British politician (1913–2007)
Eddie Griffin (basketball)
2007
American basketball player (1982–2007)
Shamsur Rahman (poet)
2006
Bangladeshi poet, writer, journalist (1929 – 2006)
John N. Bahcall
2005
American astrophysicist
Thea Astley
2004
Australian novelist and short story writer (1925 – 2004)
Jack Walker
2000
British industrialist and businessman
1900s
Władysław Komar
1998
Polish athletics competitor (1940–1998)
Tadeusz Ślusarski
1998
Polish pole vaulter
Howard Koch (screenwriter)
1995
American playwright and screenwriter
Ted Whitten
1995
Australian rules footballer
Luigi Chinetti
1994
Italian born racecar driver
Jack Morrison (rugby league)
1994
Australian rugby league footballer
Jack Sharkey
1994
Lithuanian-American boxer
Feng Kang
1993
Chinese mathematician (1920–1993)
Pearl Bailey
1990
American actress and singer (1918–1990)
Zia-ul-Haq
1988
Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr.
1988
American politician and businessman (1914–1988)
Victoria Shaw (actress)
1988
Australian actress (1935–1988)
Gary Chester
1987
American studio drummer, author, and teacher
Rudolf Hess
1987
German Nazi politician (1894–1987)
Shaike Ophir
1987
Israeli actor (1928–1987)
Ira Gershwin
1983
American lyricist (1896–1983)
John C. Allen
1979
American roller coaster designer
Vivian Vance
1979
American actress (1909–1979)
Delmer Daves
1977
American film director, producer, and screenwriter (1904–1977)
Conrad Aiken
1973
American novelist and poet
Jean Barraqué
1973
French composer, musicologist, and lecturer (1928–1973)
Paul Williams (The Temptations singer)
1973
American singer (1939–1973)
Maedayama Eigorō
1971
Japanese sumo wrestler
Wilhelm List
1971
German field marshal (1880–1971)
Rattana Pestonji
1970
Thai film director
Otto Stern
1969
German-American experimental physicist (1888–1969)
Ken Miles
1966
British racing driver (1918–1966)
Arthur Fox (fencer)
1958
English-American fencer
Gregorio Perfecto
1949
Filipino judge and politician (1891–1949)
Reidar Haaland
1945
Norwegian police officer (1919–1945)
Billy Fiske
1940
American bobsledder and fighter pilot
José María of Manila
1936
Filipino blessed and Martyr
Adam Gunn
1935
American decathlete
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
1935
American feminist, writer, artist, and lecturer (1860–1935)
Ioan Slavici
1925
Romanian writer and journalist (1848 - 1925)
Tom Kendall
1924
Australian cricketer
Ray Chapman
1920
American baseball player (1891–1920)
Moisei Uritsky
1918
Bolshevik revolutionary (1873–1918)
Madan Lal Dhingra
1909
Indian revolutionary and activist (1883–1909)
Radoje Domanović
1908
Serbian journalist, writer and teacher (1873–1908)
Hans Gude
1903
Norwegian painter (1825–1903)
Edmond Audran
1901
French composer
1800s
William Jervois
1897
British Army general
Wilhelm Bleek
1875
German linguist (1827–1875)
Perucho Figueredo
1870
Cuban musician (1818–1870)
Alcée Louis la Branche
1861
American politician
José de San Martín
1850
Argentine general and leader (1778–1850)
Lorenzo Da Ponte
1838
Italian opera librettist, poet, and Roman Catholic priest (1749–1838)
Husein Gradaščević
1834
Bosnian Muslim general
John Johnson (architect, born 1732)
1814
English architect (1732–1814)
Matthew Boulton
1809
English industrialist (1728–1809)
Before 1800
Frederick the Great
1786
King of Prussia from 1740 to 1786
Jonathan Trumbull
1785
American politician (1710–1785)
Vasily Trediakovsky
1768
Russian poet, translator and philologist (1703–1769)
Joseph Bingham
1723
English scholar and divine (1668–1723)
Anne Dacier
1720
French scholar (1651–1720)
Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen
1676
German novelist (1621/2–1676)
Regnier de Graaf
1673
Dutch physician (1641–1673)
Katharina von Zimmern
1547
Last imperial abbess of Zürich from 1496 to 1524
Edmund Dudley
1510
English administrator (died 1510)
Richard Empson
1510
English politician (died 1510)
John Stewart, Earl of Buchan
1424
14/15th-century Scottish army officer
Nitta Yoshisada
1338
Japanese samurai lord (1301–1338)
Irene of Brunswick
1324
Byzantine Empress consort
Emperor Go-Fukakusa
1304
Emperor of Japan from 1246 to 1260
Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne
1153
Heir apparent of King Stephen of England (died 1153)
Li Shouzhen
949
Chinese general and rebel (died 949)
Carloman (mayor of the palace)
754
8th-century Frankish ruler