Southwick, Alfred
The Odd and the Interesting
Age 72
May 18, 1826 - June 11, 1898
Forest Lawn Cemetery / Buffalo / New York / USA / North America
In 1881 Alfred Southwick heard a story about an intoxicated man who touched a live electric generator. Given that the man died so quickly, Southwick concluded that electricity could be used as an alternative to hanging for executi...
Emerson, Keith
Music
Age 71
November 2, 1944 - March 11, 2016
Lancing and Sompting Cemetery / Lancing / West Sussex / England / Europe
Keith Emerson was an English keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer who was perhaps best known as one-third of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success wi...
Thunders, Johnny
Music
Age 38
July 15, 1952 - April 23, 1991
Mount St. Mary Cemetery Flushing / Flushing / New York / United States / North America
One cannot talk about the origins of punk rock without mentioning the New York Dolls and their lead guitarist - Johnny Thunders. This underrated American glam band played an important role in influencing bands as diverse as the Se...
Tyner, Rob
Music
Age 46
December 12, 1944 - September 18, 1991
Roseland Park Cemetery / Berkley / Michigan / USA / North America
Although he originally auditioned as the bass player, Rob Tyner was the original lead singer for the original All American Detroit garage band MC5. It was Tyner who issued the rallying cry of "kick out the jams, motherfuckers" at ...
Doyle, Arthur Conan
Writers and Poets
Age 71
May 22, 1859 - July 7, 1930
All Saints Church - Minstead Village / Minstead, Lyndhurst / United Kingdom / Europe
Over 125 years after his creation, Sherlock Holmes remains the most popular fictional detective in history. Arthur Conan Doyle is best known for the 60 stories he wrote about Sherlock Holmes. His body of work includes nearly 200 n...
Malcolm X
Historical Figure
Age 39
May 19, 1925 - February 21, 1965
Ferncliff Cemetery / Hartsdale / New York / USA / North America
Malcolm X was a Muslim minister and controversial human rights activist who was a popular figure during the civil rights movement. He is best known for his time spent as a vocal spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X was als...
Kennedy, Rosemary
Historical Figure
Age 86
September 13, 1918 - January 7, 2005
Holyhood Cemetery / Chestnut Hill / Massachusetts / USA / North America
Rosemary Kennedy was the third child and eldest daughter of Joseph and Rose Kennedy and her brothers included future president John F. Kennedy. She was slower to crawl, slower to walk and to speak than her brothers and she reporte...
Vincent, Gene
Music
Age 36
February 11, 1935 - October 12, 1971
Eternal Valley Memorial Park / Newhall / California / United States / North America
More threatening than Elvis, wilder than Jerry Lee Lewis and sexier than Buddy Holley, Gene Vincent was the real thing. A swaggering, unrepentant rock 'n' roll singer and guitarist, he represented a dangerous embodiment of the def...
Flemmi, Vincent
Crime and their Victims
Age 44
September 5, 1935 - October 16, 1979
Milton Cemetery / Milton / Massachusetts / USA / North America
There's only one Boston mob hitman and psychopath more vicious that Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi (long time associate of Whitey Bulger) and that was his brother Vincent "Jimmy the Bear" Flemmi. Suspected or convicted of dozens of...
Bashung, Alain
Music
Age 61
December 1, 1947 - March 14, 2009
Cimetière du Père Lachaise / Paris / France / Europe
Alain Bashung was a French singer, songwriter and actor credited with reviving the French chanson in "a time of French musical turmoil" and was one of the most influential and admired French singer/songwriters of the last 40 years...
Fleming, Ian
Writers and Poets
Age 56
May 28, 1908 - August 12, 1964
St. James' Churchyard / Swindon / Wiltshire / England / Europe
Ian Fleming was a British writer and naval intelligence officer who is best known for his iconic James Bond series of spy novels. The Bond stories rank among the best-selling series of fictional books of all time, having sold over...
Littieri, Al
Show Business
Age 47
February 24, 1928 - October 18, 1975
St. John Cemetery / Middle Village / New York / USA / North America
If you liked watching films in the 1970s, you'll know who Al Lettieri was, even if you can't put a face to the name. He played Solozzo in The Godfather. (Michael played by Al Pacino shot him dead with the Police Chief in the resta...
Cassidy, Eva
Music
Age 33
February 2, 1963 - November 2, 1996
Cremated / North America
Eva Cassidy was a powerful, soulful singer and guitarist known for her interpretations of jazz, folk, and blues music whose meteoric rise to fame happened only after her passing from melanoma cancer at the young age of 33.
Clavel, Bernard
Writers and Poets
Age 87
May 29, 1923 - October 5, 2010
Frontenay Communal Cemetery / Frontenay / France / Europe
The popular French novelist Bernard Clavel, who started his career as a baker, published his first novel "Night Worker" in 1956 and went on to write more 40 more, including "The Fruits of Winter" which in 1968 won France's coveted...
Bono, Sonny
Music
Age 62
February 16, 1935 - January 5, 1998
Desert Memorial Park / Cathedral City / California / USA / North America
Singer, songwriter, actor and entertainer Sonny Bono began his career struggling to write songs while working as a waiter, a construction worker, a truck driver and a butcher's helper. In his 20's he immersed himself in the music ...