Alves, Louis
Disasters
Age 33
October 1, 1969 - February 20, 2003
Mount St. Mary Cemetery / Pawtucket / Rhode Island / USA / North America
On February 20, 2003 music fan Louis Alves attended a concert at the Station Nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island. After opening bands Trip and Fathead finished their sets, the glam band Great White took the stage just after 11...
Belmont, Alva Vanderbilt
Business and Finance
Age 80
January 17, 1853 - January 26, 1933
Woodlawn Cemetery / Bronx / New York / USA / North America
Alva Vanderbilt Belmont was a prominent multi-millionaire American socialite and a major figure in the American women's suffrage movement. She was noted for her energy, intelligence, strong opinions, and willingness to challenge c...
Gibson, Althea
Sports
Age 76
August 25, 1927 - September 28, 2003
Rosedale Cemetery / Montclair / New Jersey / USA / North America
Althea Gibson was an American tennis player and professional golfer, and one of the first Black athletes to cross the color line of international tennis. In 1956, she became the first African American to win a Grand Slam title (th...
Rossini, Gioachino
Music
Age 76
February 29, 1792 - November 13, 1868
Santa Croce Basilica / Firenze / Florence / Italy / Europe
Gioachino Antonio Rossini was the most significant Italian composer of the first half of the nineteenth century. Although he wrote many songs including chamber music and piano pieces, Rossini is most famous for his 39 operas, in p...
Hefner, Hugh
Business and Finance
Age 91
April 9, 1926 - September 27, 2017
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Hugh Hefner transformed the adult entertainment industry with his groundbreaking publication Playboy. From the first issue featuring Marilyn Monroe in December 1953, Playboy expanded into a multimillion-dollar enterprise mirroring...
Toland, Gregg
Show Business
Age 44
May 29, 1904 - September 28, 1948
Hollywood Forever Cemetery / Los Angeles / California / USA / North America
Gregg Wesley Toland was an American cinematographer known for his innovative use of techniques such as deep focus, examples of which can be found in his work on Orson Welles' Citizen Kane (1941), William Wyler's The Best Years of ...
Nichols, John Philip
Crime and their Victims
Age 71
December 15, 1924 - March 17, 2001
Desert Memorial Park / Cathedral City / California / USA / North America
John Philip Nichols, 76, was the controversial patriarch of the family and former CIA agent that brought the Cabazon Indians into the gambling era. After Nichols became financial advisor in 1978, the tribe launched business ventur...
Berigan, Bunny
Music
Age 33
November 2, 1908 - June 2, 1942
Annunciation Cemetery / Fox Lake / Wisconson / USA / North America
Bunny Berigan was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader who rose to fame during the swing era of the 1930s and early 40s. Although he composed some jazz instrumentals such as "Chicken and Waffles" and "Blues", Berigan was bes...
Little, Booker Jr.
Music
Age 23
April 2, 1938 - October 5, 1961
New Park Cemetery / Memphis / Tennessee / USA / North America
Booker Little, twenty-three year-old composer, arranger and trumpet player has lately come to demonstrate, in recordings and as the musical director of the Max Roach group, a talent that was taken too early. When he died suddenly ...
Éluard, Paul
Writers and Poets
Age 56
December 14, 1895 - November 18, 1952
Cimetière du Père Lachaise / Paris / France / Europe
Paul Éluard was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement. He is widely considered the best of the surrealist poets, and his surrealist books include Capitale de la douleur (1926), La Rose publique (1934) a...
Carvel, Tom
Business and Finance
Age 84
July 14, 1906 - October 21, 1990
Ferncliff Cemetery / Hartsdale / New York / USA / North America
Tom Carvel was the creator of soft serve ice cream and one of the founding fathers of the franchise system in America. Carvel, a Greek immigrant, had been an auto mechanic in New York, then worked on refrigeration units for the U....
Cermak, Anton
Historical Figure
Age 59
May 9, 1873 - March 6, 1933
Bohemian National Cemetery / Chicago / Illinois / USA / North America
Anton Cermak was the 44th mayor of Chicago who was shot while shaking hands with President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt in Miami, Florida after a day of fishing on February 15, 1933. Cermak was shot in the lung and wounded during G...
Goodman, Benny
Music
Age 77
May 30, 1909 - June 13, 1986
Long Ridge Union Cemetery / Stamford / Connecticut / USA / North America
American jazz clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". Benny Goodman led one of the first integrated jazz groups and help start the careers of many jazz musicians including Lionel Hampton, trumpeters Ziggy Elman an...
Colasanto, Nicholas
Show Business
Age 61
January 19, 1924 - February 12, 1985
St Ann Cemetery / Cranston / Rhode Island / USA / North America
Nicholas Colasanto was a well-loved actor and television director who achieved his greatest success as "Coach" on the TV series Cheers (1982). After serving his country during World War II, at the age of 28, he saw Henry Fonda per...
Monroe, James
Historical Figure
Age 73
April 28, 1758 - July 4, 1831
Hollywood Cemetery / Richmond / Virginia / United States / North America
James Monroe was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He oversaw major westward expansion of the U.S. and strengthened American forei...