Deaths on 21 May
2000s
Gerry Connolly
2025
American politician (1950–2025)
Jan A. P. Kaczmarek
2024
Polish composer (1953–2024)
Alan Merten
2020
American academic administrator (1941–2020)
Rik Kuypers
2019
Belgian film director (1925–2019)
Binyavanga Wainaina
2019
Kenyan writer and editor (1971–2019)
Nick Menza
2016
American drummer (1964–2016)
Annarita Sidoti
2015
Italian race walker
Twinkle (singer)
2015
English singer-songwriter (1948–2015)
Jassem Al-Kharafi
2015
Former Kuwaiti Speaker of Parliament
Fred Gladding
2015
American baseball player (1936–2015)
Louis Johnson (bassist)
2015
American bass guitarist (1955–2015)
Tunku Annuar
2014
Tunku Bendahara of Kedah
Johnny Gray (baseball)
2014
American baseball player (1926–2014)
Jaime Lusinchi
2014
President of Venezuela from 1984 to 1989
Alireza Soleimani
2014
Iranian wrestler (1956–2014)
Count Christian of Rosenborg
2013
Danish royal (1942–2013)
Frank Comstock
2013
American composer, arranger, conductor, and trombonist
Cot Deal
2013
American baseball player (1923–2013)
Leonard Marsh (businessman)
2013
American businessman (1933–2013)
Bob Thompson (musician, born 1924)
2013
American musician
Dominique Venner
2013
French journalist and essayist
Eddie Blazonczyk
2012
American polka musician (1941–2012)
Otis Clark
2012
American butler
Constantine Buggan
2012
American Ukrainian Orthodox metropolitan and primate (1936–2012)
Roman Dumbadze
2012
Douglas Rodríguez (boxer)
2012
Cuban boxer (1950–2012)
Bill Stewart (American football)
2012
American football coach (1952–2012)
Alan Thorne
2012
Spencer Clark (racing driver)
2006
American racing driver (1987–2006)
Katherine Dunham
2006
American dancer and choreographer (1909–2006)
Cherd Songsri
2006
Thai film director, screenwriter and film producer
Billy Walker (musician)
2006
American country music singer and guitarist (1929–2006)
Deborah Berger
2005
American female artist (1956–2005)
Stephen Elliott (actor)
2005
American actor (1918–2005)
Howard Morris
2005
American actor and director (1919–2005)
Alejandro de Tomaso
2003
Argentine racing driver and businessman (1928–2003)
Frank D. White
2003
American politician in Arkansas (1933–2003)
Niki de Saint Phalle
2002
French plastician, painter and sculptor
Barbara Cartland
2000
English writer and media personality (1901–2000)
John Gielgud
2000
English actor and theatre director (1904–2000)
Mark R. Hughes
2000
American entrepreneur (1956–2000)
1900s
Robert Gist
1998
American actor (1917–1998)
Paul Delph
1996
American musician
Lash LaRue
1996
American actor (1917–1996)
Villem Raam
1996
Estonian art historian
Les Aspin
1995
American politician (1938–1995)
Rajiv Gandhi
1991
Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989
Sammy Davis Sr.
1988
American dancer
Ann Little
1984
American actress (1891–1984)
Kenneth Clark
1983
British art historian, museum director, and documentary TV presenter (1903–1983)
Raymond McCreesh
1981
Provisional IRA volunteer (1957–1981)
Patsy O'Hara
1981
Irish republican (1957–1981)
Vaughn Monroe
1973
American singer (1911–1973)
Ivan Konev
1973
Soviet military commander (1897–1973)
E. L. Grant Watson
1970
American biologist and writer (1885–1970)
Doris Lloyd
1968
British actress (1891–1968)
Marguerite Bise
1965
French chef (1898–1965)
Geoffrey de Havilland
1965
English aircraft engineer (1882–1965)
James Franck
1964
German–American atomic physicist (1882–1964)
Alexander Vertinsky
1957
Russian and Soviet artist and singer (1889–1957)
Harry Bensley
1956
John Garfield
1952
American actor (1913–1952)
Klaus Mann
1949
German writer and dissident (1906–1949)
Billy Minter
1940
English footballer (1888–1940)
Jane Addams
1935
American reformer (1860–1935)
Hugo de Vries
1935
Dutch botanist (1848–1935)
Marcel Boulenger
1932
French fencer and writer
Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery
1929
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1894 to 1895
Ronald Firbank
1926
English novelist (1886–1926)
Hidesaburō Ueno
1925
Owner of Hachikō (1872–1925)
Venustiano Carranza
1920
President of Mexico from 1914 to 1920
Evgraf Fedorov
1919
Russian mathematician and crystallographer (1853–1919)
Leonid Gobyato
1915
Russian general (1875–1915)
Williamina Fleming
1911
Scottish astronomer (1857–1911)
Joseph Olivier (rugby union)
1901
French rugby union player
1800s
Franz von Suppé
1895
Austrian composer (1819–1895)
Émile Henry (anarchist)
1894
French anarchist (1872–1894)
August Kundt
1894
German physicist (1839–1894)
Arturo Prat
1879
Chilean Navy officer and lawyer
John Drew Sr.
1862
19th-century Irish-American actor and theatre manager
José de la Riva Agüero
1858
President of Peru in 1823
Giuseppe Baini
1844
Italian composer
Sikander Jah, Asaf Jah III
1829
Nizam of Hyderabad from 1803 to 1829
Chevalière d'Éon
1810
French diplomat, spy and soldier
Before 1800
Thomas Warton
1790
18th-century English literary historian, critic, and poet
Carl Wilhelm Scheele
1786
Swedish German chemist who discovered oxygen (1742–1786)
Christopher Smart
1771
English poet (1722–1771)
Aleksander Józef Sułkowski
1762
Polish general and politician (1695–1762)
Lars Roberg
1742
Swedish physician and naturalist (1664–1742)
Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer
1724
British statesman (1661–1724)
Pierre Poiret
1719
French mystic
John Eliot (missionary)
1690
Puritan missionary to the American Indians
Otto von Guericke
1686
German scientist, inventor, and politician (1602-1686)
Niccolò Zucchi
1670
Italian Jesuit, astronomer, and physicist
Elizabeth Poole
1664
English settler in Plymouth Colony (1588–1654)
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
1650
Scottish nobleman and soldier (1612–1650)
Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft
1647
Dutch historian and writer (1581–1647)
Tommaso Campanella
1639
Italian philosopher, theologian, astrologer, and poet (1568–1639)
Hieronymus Fabricius
1619
Italian physician, anatomist and surgeon (1533–1619)
Luis Fajardo (Spanish Navy officer)
1617
Spanish admiral (c. 1556–1617)
John Rainolds
1607
English theologian (1549–1607)
Martynas Mažvydas
1563
Lithuanian writer
Hernando de Soto
1542
Spanish explorer and conquistador (c.1479–1542)
Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk
1524
English nobleman and statesman (1443–1524)
Pandolfo Petrucci
1512
Italian ruler
Christian I of Denmark
1481
Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union (1426–1481)
Henry VI of England
1471
King of England (1422–61, 1470–71)
Anna of Cilli
1416
Queen of Poland from 1402 to 1416
Conrad IV of Germany
1254
13th century King of Germany, Sicily, and Jerusalem
Olaf the Black
1237
Thirteenth-century ruler of the Isle of Man and parts of the Hebrides
Wang Anshi
1086
Chinese Song dynasty politician (1021–1086)
Richeza of Poland, Queen of Hungary
1075
Queen of Hungary from 1060 to 1063
Louis V of France
987
King of West Francia from 979 to 987
Feng Dao
954
Chinese inventor, printer, and politician (882–954)
Sun Quan
252
Emperor of Eastern Wu from 229 to 252