Honoring the Legacies: Remembering Those Who Passed Away Today – 4th December
Dear readers, today, we come together to honor the memories of the notable individuals who departed from this world on this very day. 4th December marks the day when we reflect on the lives and legacies of those who have left an indelible imprint on history through their remarkable contributions and achievements.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 63 BC | Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura, Roman politician (b. 114 BC) |
| 334 | Li Ban, emperor of Chang Han (b. 288) |
| 902 | Ealhswith, queen consort and wife of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex |
| 1082 | Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona (b. 1053) |
| 1212 | Dirk van Are, bishop and lord of Utrecht |
| 1244 | Joan, Countess of Flanders and Hainault(b. 1199 or 1200) |
| 1355 | John III, Duke of Brabant (b. 1300) |
| 1560 | Francis II of France (b. 1544) |
| 1570 | Johan Friis, Danish politician (b. 1494) |
| 1624 | Gaspard Bauhin, Swiss botanist and physician (b. 1560) |
| 1654 | Jean François Sarrazin, French author and poet (b. 1611) |
| 1663 | Severo Bonini, Italian organist and composer (b. 1582) |
| 1749 | Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye, Canadian commander and explorer (b. 1685) |
| 1758 | Johann Friedrich Fasch, German violinist and composer (b. 1688) |
| 1770 | James Stirling, Scottish mathematician and surveyor (b. 1692) |
| 1784 | Phillis Wheatley, Senegal-born slave, later American poet (b. 1753) |
| 1791 | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer and musician (b. 1756) |
| 1819 | Friedrich Leopold zu Stolberg-Stolberg, German poet and lawyer (b. 1750) |
| 1870 | Alexandre Dumas, French novelist and playwright (b. 1802) |
| 1887 | Eliza R. Snow, American poet and songwriter (b. 1804) |
| 1891 | Pedro II of Brazil (b. 1825) |
| 1918 | Schalk Willem Burger, South African commander, lawyer, and politician, 6th President of the South African Republic (b. 1852) |
| 1925 | Władysław Reymont, Polish noelist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867) |
| 1926 | Claude Monet, French painter (b. 1840) |
| 1931 | Vachel Lindsay, American poet (b. 1879) |
| 1940 | Jan Kubelík, Czech violinist and composer (b. 1880) |
| 1941 | Amrita Sher-Gil, Hungarian-Pakistani painter (b. 1913) |
| 1942 | Jock Delves Broughton, English captain (b. 1883) |
| 1946 | Louis Dewis, Belgian-French painter and educator (b. 1872) |
| 1951 | Shoeless Joe Jackson, American baseball player and manager (b. 1887) |
| 1951 | Abanindranath Tagore, Indian painter, author, and academic (b. 1871) |
| 1953 | William Sterling Parsons, American admiral (b. 1901) |
| 1955 | Glenn L. Martin, American pilot and businessman, founded the Glenn L. Martin Company (b. 1886) |
| 1961 | Emil Fuchs, German-American lawyer and businessman (b. 1878) |
| 1963 | Karl Amadeus Hartmann, German composer and educator (b. 1905) |
| 1963 | Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Indian-Pakistani lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Pakistan (b. 1892) |
| 1964 | V. Veerasingam, Sri Lankan educator and politician (b. 1892) |
| 1965 | Joseph Erlanger, American physiologist, neuroscientist, and academic Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874) |
| 1968 | Fred Clark, American actor (b. 1914) |
| 1969 | Claude Dornier, German engineer and businessman, founded Dornier Flugzeugwerke (b. 1884) |
| 1969 | Princess Alice of Battenberg (b. 1885) |
| 1973 | Robert Watson-Watt, Scottish engineer, invented the radar (b. 1892) |
| 1975 | Constance McLaughlin Green, American historian and author (b. 1897) |
| 1977 | Katherine Milhous, American author and illustrator (b. 1894) |
| 1977 | Aleksandr Vasilevsky, Russian marshal and politician, Minister of Defence for the Soviet Union (b. 1895) |
| 1979 | Jesse Pearson, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (b. 1930) |
| 1983 | Robert Aldrich, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1918) |
| 1984 | Cecil M. Harden, American politician (b. 1894) |
| 1986 | Edward Youde, Welsh-Chinese sinologist and diplomat, 26th Governor of Hong Kong (b. 1924) |
| 1989 | John Pritchard, English conductor and director (b. 1921) |
| 1990 | Alfonso A. Ossorio, Filipino-American painter and sculptor (b. 1916) |
| 1994 | Harry Horner, Czech-American director, producer, and production designer (b. 1910) |
| 1995 | L. B. Cole, American illustrator and publisher (b. 1918) |
| 1995 | Charles Evans, English mountaineer, surgeon, and educator (b. 1918) |
| 1995 | Gwen Harwood, Australian poet and playwright (b. 1920) |
| 1995 | Clair Cameron Patterson, American scientist (b. 1922) |
| 1997 | Eugen Cicero, Romanian-German jazz pianist (b. 1940) |
| 1998 | Albert Gore, Sr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1907) |
| 2001 | Franco Rasetti, Italian-American physicist and academic (b. 1901) |
| 2002 | Roone Arledge, American sportscaster and producer (b. 1931) |
| 2002 | Ne Win, Burmese general and politician, 4th President of Burma (b. 1911) |
| 2005 | Edward L. Masry, American lawyer and politician (b. 1932) |
| 2006 | David Bronstein, Ukrainian-Belarusian chess player and theoretician (b. 1924) |
| 2007 | Andrew Imbrie, American composer and academic (b. 1921) |
| 2007 | George Paraskevaides, Greek-Cypriot businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Joannou & Paraskevaides (b. 1916) |
| 2007 | Karlheinz Stockhausen, German composer and academic (b. 1928) |
| 2008 | Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow (b. 1929) |
| 2008 | George Brecht, American chemist and composer (b. 1926) |
| 2008 | Nina Foch, Dutch-American actress (b. 1924) |
| 2008 | Beverly Garland, American actress and businesswoman (b. 1926) |
| 2008 | Anca Parghel, Romanian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1957) |
| 2009 | William Lederer, American soldier and author (b. 1912) |
| 2010 | Alan Armer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922) |
| 2010 | Don Meredith, American football player, sportscaster, and actor (b. 1938) |
| 2011 | Peter Gethin, English race car driver (b. 1940) |
| 2011 | Gennady Logofet, Russian footballer and manager (b. 1942) |
| 2012 | Dave Brubeck, American pianist and composer (b. 1920) |
| 2012 | Elisabeth Murdoch, Australian philanthropist (b. 1909) |
| 2012 | Oscar Niemeyer, Brazilian architect, designed the United Nations Headquarters and Cathedral of Brasília (b. 1907) |
| 2012 | Ignatius IV of Antioch, Syrian patriarch (b. 1920) |
| 2013 | Fred Bassetti, American architect and academic, founded Bassetti Architects (b. 1917) |
| 2013 | William B. Edmondson, American lawyer and diplomat, United States Ambassador to South Africa (b. 1927) |
| 2013 | Nelson Mandela, South African lawyer and politician, 1st President of South Africa, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918) |
| 2014 | Ernest C. Brace, American captain and pilot (b. 1931) |
| 2014 | Fabiola, Queen of Belgium (b. 1928) |
| 2014 | Talât Sait Halman, Turkish poet, translator, and historian (b. 1931) |
| 2014 | Jackie Healy-Rae, Irish hurdler and politician (b. 1931) |
| 2014 | Silvio Zavala, Mexican historian and author (b. 1909) |
| 2015 | Vic Eliason, American clergyman and radio host, founded VCY America (b. 1936) |
| 2015 | Tibor Rubin, Hungarian-American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1929) |
| 2015 | Chuck Williams, American businessman and author, founded Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (b. 1915) |
| 2016 | Jayalalithaa, Indian politician, chief minister of Tamil Nadu (b. 1948) |
As we draw this tribute to a close, let us carry forward the lessons and legacies of those we have lost. Their impact on the world remains etched in the fabric of time, serving as a reminder of the enduring power of the human spirit. May their contributions continue to inspire us to strive for greatness and leave our own meaningful mark on the world.
Join us in continuing to celebrate the lives and contributions of those who have shaped our world, even in their absence. Their memory lives on through the stories we share and the legacies we continue to uphold. Until next time, may their spirits find peace in the legacy they have left behind.
