Deaths on 23 December
2000s
Shyam Benegal
2024
Indian director and screenwriter (1934–2024)
Dési Bouterse
2024
Leader of Suriname (1980–1987; 1990–1991; 2010–2020)
Sophie Hediger
2024
Swiss snowboarder (1998–2024)
William Pope.L
2023
American visual artist (1955–2023)
Brandon Montrell
2022
American comedian (1979–2022)
Joan Didion
2021
American writer (1934–2021)
Leslie West
2020
American musician (1945–2020)
Maurice Hayes
2017
Irish public servant and later politician (1927–2017)
Alfred G. Gilman
2015
American pharmacologist (1941–2015)
Don Howe
2015
English footballer, coach, manager, and pundit
Jean-Marie Pelt
2015
Bülend Ulusu
2015
Prime Minister of Turkey from 1980 to 1983
Edward Greenspan
2014
Canadian lawyer and author
Robert V. Hogg
2014
American statistician and academic (1924–2014)
Chryssa
2013
Greek-American artist (1933–2013)
Mikhail Kalashnikov
2013
Russian firearms designer (1919–2013)
Yusef Lateef
2013
American jazz musician (1920–2013)
Ricky Lawson
2013
American drummer (1954–2013)
G. S. Shivarudrappa
2013
Indian poet (1926–2013)
Robert W. Wilson (philanthropist)
2013
American hedge fund manager, philanthropist and art collector (1926–2013)
Jean Harris
2012
Headmistress; convicted celebrity murderer (1923–2012)
Eduardo Maiorino
2012
Brazilian kickboxer and mixed martial arts fighter
Aydın Menderes
2011
Turkish politician (1946–2011)
Fred Hargesheimer
2010
Pilot
K. Karunakaran
2010
Indian politician and former Chief Minister of Kerala
Robert L. Howard
2009
American Army Special Forces officer
Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme
2009
Tibetan politician (1910–2009)
Edward Schillebeeckx
2009
Belgian Catholic theologian (1914–2009)
William Francis Ganong Jr.
2007
American physiologist
Michael Kidd
2007
American choreographer (1915–2007)
Oscar Peterson
2007
Canadian jazz pianist (1925–2007)
Charlie Drake
2006
English comedian, actor, singer and writer (1925–2006)
Timothy J. Tobias
2006
American composer and musician
Johnny Vincent (footballer)
2006
English footballer
Lajos Baróti
2005
Hungarian footballer and coach
Yao Wenyuan
2005
Chinese politician (1931–2005)
P. V. Narasimha Rao
2004
Prime Minister of India from 1991 to 1996
Bola Ige
2001
Nigerian politician (1930–2001)
Billy Barty
2000
American actor (1924–2000)
Victor Borge
2000
Danish-American comedian and pianist (1909–2000)
1900s
Joe Orlando
1998
Italian-American illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist (1927–1998)
Patric Knowles
1995
English actor (1911–1995)
Sebastian Shaw (actor)
1994
English actor, director and writer (1905–1994)
Vincent Fourcade
1992
French interior designer
Joan Lindsay
1984
Australian novelist, playwright and essayist
Colin Middleton
1983
British painter (1910–1983)
Jack Webb
1982
American filmmaker and actor (1920–1982)
Peggy Guggenheim
1979
American art collector (1898–1979)
Irna Phillips
1973
American screenwriter and actress (1901–1973)
Andrei Tupolev
1972
Soviet aerospace engineer (1888–1972)
Charlie Ruggles
1970
American actor (1886–1970)
Aleksander Warma
1970
Estonian politician
Carolyn Sherwin Bailey
1961
American writer
Kurt Meyer
1961
German SS officer (1910–1961)
René Iché
1954
French sculptor
Lavrentiy Beria
1953
Soviet secret police chief (1899–1953)
Vincenzo Tommasini
1950
Italian composer (1878–1950)
Kenji Doihara
1948
Japanese officer, war criminal 1883-1948
Kōki Hirota
1948
Japanese prime minister, diplomat, and war criminal (1878-1948)
Seishirō Itagaki
1948
Japanese officer, war criminal 1885-1948
Heitarō Kimura
1948
Japanese officer and war criminal (1888-1948)
Iwane Matsui
1948
Japanese officer, war criminal (1878–1948)
Akira Mutō
1948
Japanese officer and war criminal (1892–1948)
Hideki Tojo
1948
Prime Minister of Japan from 1941 to 1944
John A. Sampson
1946
American gynecologist (1873–1946)
Anthony Fokker
1939
Dutch aviation pioneer (1890–1939)
Wilson Bentley
1931
American photographer known for photographing snowflakes
Mustafa Fehmi Kubilay
1930
Turkish officer who was beheaded by Islamists in 1930
Shraddhanand
1926
Hindu Guru and Arya Samaj activist
Otto Schoetensack
1912
German industrialist and professor of anthropology
Gungunhana
1906
King of the Gaza Empire
Frederick Temple
1902
Archbishop of Canterbury from 1896 to 1902
1800s
Frederick Tracy Dent
1892
United States Army officer (1820–1892)
Constance Naden
1889
19th-century English writer, poet, and philosopher
John Chisum
1884
American businessman, rancher (1824–1884)
Thomas Robert Malthus
1834
British political economist (1766–1834)
Pehr Osbeck
1805
Swedish explorer, naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus (1723–1805)
Before 1800
Henry Clinton (British Army officer, born 1730)
1795
British Army officer and politician (1730–1795)
Charles-Michel de l'Épée
1789
French priest and educator of the deaf (1712–1789)
Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol
1779
British vice admiral and politician (1724–1779)
Marie-Marguerite d'Youville
1771
French Canadian saint (1701–1771)
Alastair Ruadh MacDonnell
1761
Scottish spy
Pierre Varignon
1722
French mathematician
César de Choiseul, 1st Duke of Choiseul
1675
French diplomat
John Cotton (minister)
1652
Puritan minister in England, America (1585–1652)
François Maynard
1646
French poet (1582–1646)
Barbara Longhi
1638
Italian artist (1552–1638)
Michael Drayton
1631
16th/17th-century English poet and playwright
Henri I, Duke of Guise
1588
Duke of Guise (1551–1588)
Akiyama Nobutomo
1575
Japanese samurai (1527–1575)
Johann Sylvan
1572
German theologian who was executed for his heretical Antitrinitarian beliefs
Nicholas Udall
1556
English playwright, cleric and schoolmaster (1504–1556)
Isabella of Castile, Duchess of York
1392
Castillian princess (1355-1392)
Thomas Preljubović
1384
Despot of Epirus
Beatrice of Bourbon, Queen of Bohemia
1383
Queen consort of Bohemia
Matilda of Habsburg
1304
Duchess consort of Bavaria
Berengaria of Navarre
1230
Queen of England from 1191 to 1199
Saint Thorlak
1193
Icelandic prelate and saint, bishop of Skalholt
Ugo Ventimiglia
1172
Italian cardinal
Al-Radi
940
20th Abbasid Caliph (r. 934–940)
Conrad I of Germany
918
King of East Francia from 911 to 918 AD
Saint Naum
910
Bulgarian writer and missionary
Solomon II (bishop of Constance)
889
Gaubald
761
AD 679
679
Calendar year
Gabriel of Beth Qustan
668
Syriac Orthodox bishop
Huneric
484
King of the Vandals
Emperor Mingyuan of Northern Wei
423
Emperor of Northern Wei