Famous People Who Died In 1965

Discover the most famous people died who died in the year 1965. This list includes people like Winston Churchill, Malcolm X, T. S. Eliot, Nat King Cole, Le Corbusier and many more. This list of celebrities is loosely sorted by popularity. People featured on this list, include political leaders, playwrights, novelists and diplomats who died in 1965. This list includes people from United States, United Kingdom, France & Germany and many more countries.
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 1 
Winston Churchill
(Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1940 - 1945, 1951 - 1955))
Winston Churchill
147
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: November 30, 1874
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Blenheim Palace, England, United Kingdom
Died: January 24

The former Prime Minister of the United Kingdoms, Winston Churchill, is known for successfully leading his country during the Second World War against the Nazi Germany. An officer in the British army, he also served as a war correspondent before venturing into politics. One of the most influential peoples in British history, Churchill was also an accomplished painter.

 2 
Nat King Cole
(Singer and Jazz Pianist Best Known His Soft Baritone Voice)
Nat King Cole
33
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: March 17, 1919
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Montgomery, Alabama, United States
Died: February 15
Jazz pianist/singer Nat King Cole, father of singer Natalie Cole, is best remembered for tracks such as Too Young and Mona Lisa. His last album, L-O-V-E, was recorded while he battled lung cancer. With The Nat King Cole Show, he became the first African-American to host his own show.
 3 
Stan Laurel
(Comic Actor Who was Part of The Comedy Duo 'Laurel and Hardy'. and Appeared with His Comedy Partner Oliver Hardy in 107 Short Films)
Stan Laurel
15
Birthdate: June 16, 1890
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Lancashire, England, United Kingdom
Died: February 23

Comedian Stan Laurel entertained audiences as part of the iconic duo Laurel and Hardy, along with Oliver Hardy, in over 100 films. He began his career with music-hall sketch comedy and worked as an understudy of Charlie Chaplin in Fred Karno's Army. He was known for his trademark bowler hat.

 4 
T. S. Eliot
(Best Known as a Leader of the Modernist Movement in Poetry)
T. S. Eliot
74
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: September 26, 1888
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Died: January 4
American-born British poet T. S. Eliot is best remembered for his poems The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Waste Land, and Ash Wednesday, and his plays such as Murder in the Cathedral. He won the Nobel Prize for literature and became a prominent figure of Modernist poetry.  
 5 
Clara Bow
(American Actress Who was a Big Star During Silent Era of the 1920s)
Clara Bow
3
Birthdate: July 29, 1905
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Died: September 27
Clara Bow gained fame during the 1920s’ silent film era and then switched to "talkies" in 1929. Her performance in the movie It earned her the nickname The It Girl, and she soon became a sex symbol of the Roaring Twenties. Following her retirement, she started ranching in Nevada. 
 6 
Shirley Jackson
(American Writer Known Primarily for Her Works of Horror and Mystery)
Shirley Jackson
38
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: December 14, 1916
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: San Francisco, California, United States
Died: September 8
Shirley Jackson redefined the genres of horror and mystery through her works, which include over 200 short stories and six novels. Her iconic novel The Haunting of Hill House was made into a popular Netflix series and several movies, including the 1963 and 1999 versions of The Haunting
 7 
Le Corbusier
(Architect)
Le Corbusier
18
Listed In: Architects
Birthdate: October 6, 1887
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
Died: August 27

Le Corbusier was a Swiss-French designer, painter, architect, writer, and urban planner. He was one of the pioneers of modern architecture. During his illustrious career, which spanned 50 years, Le Corbusier designed buildings in India, Japan, Europe, and North and South America. He is also credited with revolutionizing urban planning.  

 8 
Albert Schweitzer
(Physician and Founder of the “Albert Schweitzer Hospital” in Lambaréné,)
Albert Schweitzer
18
Birthdate: January 14, 1875
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Kaysersberg-Vignoble, France
Died: September 4

Albert Schweitzer was an Alsatian polymath who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 for his philosophical work, Reverence for Life. He is credited with founding the Albert Schweitzer Hospital, which was a direct result of his philosophical expression. Schweitzer is also credited with influencing the Organ reform movement, which began in the mid-20th-century.

 9 
Viola Desmond
(Businesswoman)
Viola Desmond
11
Listed In: Activists
Birthdate: July 6, 1914
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Died: February 7

Though born bi-racial, Viola Desmond became a Black icon for her business acumen. After not being allowed to train as a beautician in Halifax, she moved to Montreal. Her beauty products, salon, and training institute, all catering specifically to Black women, filled a major void in the beauty industry.

 10 
Dorothy Kilgallen
(American Journalist and Panelist on the TV Game Show ‘What's My Line?’)
Dorothy Kilgallen
5
Birthdate: July 3, 1913
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: November 8

Dorothy Kilgallen was an American television game show panelist and journalist. After starting her career as a reporter for the New York Evening Journal, Kilgallen began writing The Voice of Broadway, a newspaper column that became popular over a period of time. She also wrote articles on controversial and sensitive subjects like John F. Kennedy's assassination.

 11 
Edward R. Murrow
(Journalist)
Edward R. Murrow
10
Birthdate: April 25, 1908
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Guilford County, North Carolina, United States
Died: April 27
 12 
Adlai Stevenson II
(5th United States Ambassador to the United Nations)
Adlai Stevenson II
8
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: February 5, 1900
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States
Died: July 14
Adlai Stevenson II served as the Illinois governor from 1949 to 1953. He contested as the Democratic presidential nominee in 1952 and 1956 but was defeated by Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower both the times. Stevenson II also served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 1961 to 1965.
 13 
Alan Freed
(American Disc Jockey and Radio Personality)
Alan Freed
6
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: December 15, 1921
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: January 20
 14 
William M. Branham
(American Christian minister)
William M. Branham
10
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: April 6, 1909
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Cumberland County
Died: December 24
 15 
Wesley Branch Rickey
(Baseball player)
Wesley Branch Rickey
3
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: December 20, 1881
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Portsmouth, Ohio, United States
Died: December 9
Height: 5'9" (175 cm)
 16 
Lorraine Hansberry
(Writer, Theatre director, Screenwriter, Playwright, Human rights activist)
Lorraine Hansberry
8
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: May 19, 1930
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: January 12

Lorraine Hansberry was a writer and playwright best remembered for her play A Raisin in the Sun which emphasizes the plight of African-Americans living under racial segregation. At the age of 29, Lorraine Hansberry received the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, becoming the youngest playwright and the first African-American dramatist to win the prestigious award.

 17 
David O. Selznick
(Film producer, Screenwriter and Film studio executive)
David O. Selznick
6
Listed In: Business People
Birthdate: May 10, 1902
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: June 22
Height: 6'1" (185 cm)
 18 
Jeanette MacDonald
(Actress and Singer Known for Her Musical Films: ‘Maytime’, 'Naughty Marietta' and 'The Love Parade')
Jeanette MacDonald
4
Listed In: Singers
Birthdate: June 18, 1903
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: January 14

Jeanette MacDonald was an American actress and singer best remembered for her performances in the musical films of the 1930s. Renowned for her singing skills, MacDonald appeared in opera and concerts. One of the 20th century's most influential sopranos, Jeanette MacDonald is credited with inspiring a generation of singers and introducing opera to film-going audiences.

 19 
Constance Bennett
(Actress)
Constance Bennett
4
Birthdate: October 22, 1904
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: New York City, New York, USA
Died: July 24
Height: 5'4" (163 cm)
 20 
Spike Jones
(Musician)
Spike Jones
3
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: December 14, 1911
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Long Beach, California, United States
Died: May 1
 21 
Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt
(Socialite best known as the mother of fashion designer and artist Gloria Vanderbilt)
Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt
6
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: August 23, 1904
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Switzerland
Died: February 13
 22 
Henry Travers
(Best Known for His Role as ‘Clarence Odbody’ in the Film ‘It's a Wonderful Life’)
Henry Travers
1
Birthdate: March 5, 1874
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Prudhoe, Northumberland, England
Died: October 18
Travers John Heagerty, better known as Henry Travers, is best remembered as Clarence Odbody from It's a Wonderful Life. He had started his career as a stage actor and appeared frequently on Broadway. He won an Academy Award for Mrs. Miniver and was known for playing friendly old men.
 23 
Dorothea Lange
(Photographer)
Dorothea Lange
3
Listed In: Photographers
Birthdate: May 26, 1895
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Hoboken, New Jersey, United States
Died: October 11
 24 
Curly Lambeau
(American Football Player)
Curly Lambeau
2
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: April 9, 1898
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Green Bay, Wisconsin, United States
Died: June 1
Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
 25 
Louise Mountbatten
(Queen)
Louise Mountbatten
4
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: July 13, 1889
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Schloss Heiligenberg, Seeheim-Jugenheim, Germany
Died: March 7
 26 
Syngman Rhee
(Statesman)
Syngman Rhee
1
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: March 26, 1875
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Haeju
Died: July 19
South Korea’s first president, Syngman Rhee, plunged into politics fighting for independence from Japan. His PhD from Princeton made him the first Korean to get a U.S. doctorate. Faced with the April Revolution and the Second Republic of Korea, he resigned and spent his final years exiled in Honolulu. 
 27 
Martin Buber
(Religious Philosopher Known for His Philosophy of Dialogue)
Martin Buber
1
Birthdate: February 8, 1878
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Vienna, Austria
Died: June 13

Martin Buber was an Austrian and Israeli philosopher who received ten nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature and seven nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. Renowned for his philosophy of dialogue, Buber is best known for his famous essay, I and Thou. In 1951, he was honored by the University of Hamburg with the prestigious Goethe Award.

 28 
Felix Frankfurter
(Judge)
Felix Frankfurter
1
Listed In: Lawyers & Judges
Birthdate: November 15, 1882
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Vienna, Austria-Hungary small (now Austria)
Died: February 22
 29 
Viola Liuzzo
(Civil Rights Activist)
Viola Liuzzo
20
Listed In: Activists
Birthdate: April 11, 1925
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: California, Pennsylvania
Died: March 25
 30 
William Maugham
(Novelist & Playwright)
William Maugham
9
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: January 25, 1874
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: December 15
 31 
Paul Tillich
(Christian Existentialist Philosopher and One of the Most Influential Theologians of the 20th Century)
Paul Tillich
0
Birthdate: August 20, 1886
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Starosiedle, Poland
Died: October 22

German-American theologian and philosopher Paul Tillich is remembered for his work in the field of Christian existentialism and for concepts such as the method of correlation. His notable works, such as The Courage to Be and the three-volume Systematic Theology, has inspired intellectual thinkers and commoners alike.

 32 
Edgard Varese
(Composer)
Edgard Varese
1
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: December 22, 1883
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: November 6
 33 
Bernard Mannes Baruch
(Financier)
Bernard Mannes Baruch
2
Listed In: Business People
Birthdate: August 19, 1870
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Camden, South Carolina, United States
Died: June 20
 34 
Zachary Scott
(Actor)
Zachary Scott
0
Birthdate: February 21, 1914
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Austin, Texas, United States
Died: October 3
 35 
Helena Rubinstein
(Business women)
Helena Rubinstein
2
Listed In: Business People
Birthdate: March 27, 1870
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Kraków, Austrian Poland
Died: April 1
 36 
Frances Perkins
(United States Secretary of Labor (1933-45))
Frances Perkins
1
Listed In: Activists
Birthdate: April 10, 1880
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Died: May 14
 37 
Sonny Boy Williamson II
(Singer)
Sonny Boy Williamson II
5
Listed In: Singers
Birthdate: December 5, 1912
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Glendora, Mississippi, United States
Died: May 25
 38 
Margaret Dumont
(Actress)
Margaret Dumont
1
Birthdate: October 20, 1882
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
Died: March 6
 39 
Geoffrey de Havilland
(Aerospace engineer, Engineer, Test pilot, Aviator, Entrepreneur)
Geoffrey de Havilland
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: July 27, 1882
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: High Wycombe
Died: May 21

Aviation pioneer and aircraft designer Geoffrey de Havilland is best remembered for his double-engine warplane Mosquito and the jet airliner Comet. He was part of the Royal Flying Corps and had been knighted for his achievements. He was also the founder of the De Havilland Aircraft Company.

 40 
Bill Black
(Musician)
Bill Black
0
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: September 17, 1926
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Died: October 21
 41 
Father Divine
(American Spiritual Leader)
Father Divine
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: 1876 AD
Birthplace: Rockville, Maryland, United States
Died: September 10

African-American religious leader George Baker, better known as Father Divine, founded Peace Mission, a movement that is now considered the basis of the civil rights movement. Father Divine claimed that divine intervention had caused the death of the judge who had sentenced him to prison for arranging meetings in Sayville.

 42 
Jimmie Lee Jackson
(African American Civil Rights Activist)
Jimmie Lee Jackson
6
Listed In: Activists
Birthdate: December 16, 1938
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Marion, Alabama, United States
Died: February 26
 43 
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
(Japanese Novelists and One of the Most Prominent Figures in Modern Japanese Literature)
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: July 24, 1886
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan
Died: July 30

Tanizaki Jun'ichirō was a Japanese author whose works made him a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1964. Widely regarded as one of the most important personalities in modern Japanese literature, Tanizaki's work ranges from the depictions of erotic obsessions to the dynamics of family life in 20th-century Japan. Many of his works have been adapted into films.

 44 
Salote Tupou III
(Queen of Tonga from 1918 to 1965)
Salote Tupou III
0
Birthdate: March 13, 1900
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Royal Palace, Tonga Royal Palace, Tonga
Died: December 16
 45 
Geeta Bali
(Indian Actress Who Worked in Hindi Language Films)
Geeta Bali
2
Birthdate: 1930 AD
Birthplace: Sargodha, Pakistan
Died: January 21

Geeta Bali was an Indian actress best remembered for her work in Hindi language films. Bali appeared in over 70 movies in a career spanning more than a decade. Geeta Bali's acting career was cut short when she died at age 35 due to smallpox.

 46 
Amos Alonzo Stagg
(American Athlete and College Coach)
Amos Alonzo Stagg
0
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: August 16, 1862
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: West Orange, New Jersey, United States
Died: March 17
 47 
Henry Cowell
(Composer, Musicologist, Music theorist, Pianist)
Henry Cowell
0
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: March 11, 1897
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Menlo Park
Died: December 10
 48 
Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay
(1st Secretary General of NATO (1952 - 1957) )
Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay
1
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: June 21, 1887
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Nainital, Uttarakhand, India
Died: December 17

Born to a British civil servant in British India, Hastings Lionel Ismay later joined the British Indian Army. During World War II, he rose to be the most trusted military advisor of British prime minister Winston Churchill. He later also served as NATO’s first secretary-general and was eventually knighted.

 49 
Gladys Vanderbilt Szechenyi
(Heiress)
Gladys Vanderbilt Szechenyi
2
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: August 27, 1886
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Newport, Rhode Island, United States
Died: January 29
 50 
Hermann Staudinger
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: March 23, 1881
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Worms, Grand Duchy of Hesse, German Empire
Died: September 8

Hermann Staudinger was a German organic chemist whose demonstration of the existence of polymers earned him the prestigious Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1953. He also played a key role in the development of pyrethroid insecticides as he was able to explain clearly the molecular structures of pyrethrin I and pyrethrin II. Hermann Staudinger is also credited with discovering ketenes.