Died On May 16th

Discover the most famous people who died on May 16. The list includes people like Eliot Ness, Andy Kaufman, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joseph Fourier, A. Philip Randolph. Famous personalities featured on this list, include soldiers, physicists, actors and composers and from other domains of life. This list includes people from United States, United Kingdom, France & Germany and many more countries.
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 1 
Jim Henson
(Puppeteer)
Jim Henson
40
Birthdate: September 24, 1936
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Greenville, Mississippi, United States
Died: 1990

Jim Henson was an American animator, puppeteer, cartoonist, inventor, actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, and composer. He is credited with creating The Muppets, an ensemble cast of puppet characters, for which he achieved worldwide popularity. He is also credited with co-founding Muppets, Inc. in 1958, which eventually became The Jim Henson Company. In 2011, Jim Henson was named a Disney Legend.

 2 
Sammy Davis Jr.
(Singer, Dancer and Actor Known for His Song ‘The Candy Man’)
Sammy Davis Jr.
30
Listed In: Singers
Birthdate: December 8, 1925
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Harlem, New York, United States
Died: 1990

Nicknamed “Mister Show Business,” posthumous Grammy-winner Samuel Davis Jr. was a multifaceted performer who excelled in dancing, singing, and acting. From delivering vaudeville performances as a child, Samuel graduated to creating Billboard charters and performing with Frank Sinatra as part of the Rat Pack. Sadly, he died in debt.

 3 
Andy Kaufman
(Comedian, Best known for His Portrayal of 'Latka Gravas' on the Sitcom 'Taxi')
Andy Kaufman
36
Birthdate: January 17, 1949
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
Died: 1984

Andy Kaufman was an American entertainer and wrestler. Considered an anti-comedian for his ability and willingness to provoke confused and negative reactions from audiences, Kaufman is revered for his counterintuitive approach to comedy. Apart from influencing comedians like Jim Carrey, Kaufman also inspired movies like Toni Erdmann. There are rumours that his death is believed to be a hoax and part of his prank.

 4 
Eliot Ness
(American Prohibition Agent Known for His Efforts to Bring Down Al Capone)
Eliot Ness
12
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: April 19, 1903
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: 1957
Eliot Ness led the group of American law-enforcement agents known as The Untouchables. He is remembered for enforcing the Prohibition in the U.S. and is considered responsible for bringing crime lord Al Capone to justice. He co-authored the book The Untouchables, which led to many screen adaptations.
 5 
Bob Hawke
(23rd Prime Minister of Australia)
Bob Hawke
29
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: December 9, 1929
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Bordertown, Australia
Died: 2019
The 23rd Prime Minister of Australia, Bob Hawke was the longest-serving Labour leader and electorally most successful leader in the history. During his tenure he instituted a unified wage accord among the country's fractious labour unions that resulted in achieving greater industrial harmony. He also holds the feat of being the third longest-serving Prime Minister of the country.
 6 
Ronnie James Dio
(Former heavy metal singer, songwriter and composer)
Ronnie James Dio
13
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: July 10, 1942
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States
Died: 2010
Height: 5'4" (163 cm)
 7 
Django Reinhardt
9
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: January 23, 1910
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Liberchies, Belgium
Died: 1953
Belgian-born Romani-French jazz musician Jean Reinhardt was better known by his nickname Django. Some of his most celebrated composition were Belleville and Swing '42. Though he died at 43, he influenced an entire generation of musicians, which led to annual Django Festivals, a film, and a biography.
 8 
I. M. Pei
(Architect)
I. M. Pei
20
Listed In: Architects
Birthdate: April 26, 1917
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Guangzhou, China
Died: 2019

I. M. Pei was a Chinese-American architect who drew inspiration from the garden villas at Suzhou when he was young. He is credited with founding I. M. Pei & Associates, an independent design firm, in 1955. Today, the award-winning firm is known by the name, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners. Pei is known for designing structures like the Mesa Laboratory.

 9 
Charles Perrault
(Iconic French Author Who Laid the Foundations for a New Literary Genre, the 'Fairy Tale')
Charles Perrault
5
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: January 12, 1628
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: 1703

Most people have grown up reading fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood and Puss in Boots. However, they aren’t probably aware that these folk tales were first collated and presented under the genre fairy tales, as Tales of Mother Goose, by 17th-century French author Charles Perrault.

 10 
Chalino Sanchez
(He specialized in Regional Mexican music)
Chalino Sanchez
16
Listed In: Singers
Birthdate: August 30, 1960
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: El Guayabo, Sinaloa, Mexico
Died: 1992
 11 
Joseph Fourier
(Mathematician & Physicist)
Joseph Fourier
6
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: March 21, 1768
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Auxerre, Burgundy, Kingdom of France (now in Yonne, France)
Died: 1830

Joseph Fourier was a French physicist and mathematician best remembered for commencing the investigation of the Fourier series, which is used widely to solve problems of heat transfer and vibrations. Fourier's law of conduction and Fourier transform are named in his honor. Fourier is also said to have discovered the greenhouse effect.

 12 
A. Philip Randolph
(Leader of the African-American civil-rights movement,)
A. Philip Randolph
6
Listed In: Activists
Birthdate: April 15, 1889
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Crescent City
Died: 1979
 13 
William Adams
(Navigator, Merchant-Adventurer and the First Englishman to Reach Japan)
William Adams
9
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: September 24, 1564
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Gillingham, England
Died: 1620

One of the first-known Westerner to gain the title of samurai, William Adams, also known as Anjin Miura, was an English navigator who explored uncharted territories for his country. Apart from being the first Englishman to travel to Thailand and Japan, he was also the third from his country to travel to Vietnam.

 14 
Lynn Shelton
(Film director)
Lynn Shelton
2
Birthdate: August 27, 1965
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Oberlin, Ohio, U.S.
Died: 2020
 15 
Dick Trickle
(The Winningest Short Track Driver in History)
Dick Trickle
6
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: October 27, 1941
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, United States
Died: 2013

Billed as the winningest short track driver in history of American car racing, Dick Trickle is believed to have won 1,200 events out of an estimated appearance of 2,200 featured races.  Considered a legend in short track racing community and nicknamed the White Knight, he competed in most major races including ASA, ARTGO, ARCA, All Pro, IMCA, NASCAR, and USAC.

 16 
Ashley Massaro
(American Professional Wrestler, Reality TV Contestant and Model)
Ashley Massaro
6
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: May 26, 1979
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: New York City, United States
Died: 2019
Height: 5'4" (163 cm)
 17 
Edward Cedric Hardwicke
(Actor)
Edward Cedric Hardwicke
0
Birthdate: August 7, 1932
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: London, United Kingdom
Died: 2011
Height: 5'9" (175 cm)
 18 
Robert Mondavi
(American Winegrower and Businesspeople)
Robert Mondavi
1
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: June 18, 1913
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Virginia, Minnesota, United States
Died: 2008
 19 
Levi P. Morton
(Vice President of the United States (1889-93))
Levi P. Morton
1
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: May 16, 1824
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Shoreham, Vermont, United States
Died: 1920
 20 
James Agee
(Novelist)
James Agee
1
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: November 27, 1909
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
Died: 1955
 21 
Joseph Strauss
(American Structural Engineer Who Revolutionized the Design of 'Bascule Bridges')
Joseph Strauss
3
Listed In: Engineers
Birthdate: January 9, 1870
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Died: 1938

Best known for designing the Golden Gate Bridge, engineer Joseph Strauss specialized in movable bridges and developed the concepts of the bascule bridge and the vertical-lift bridge. Born to a pianist mother and a painter-writer father, he later also penned poems such as The Mighty Task is Done.

 22 
Jeremy Michael Boorda
(Naval Officer)
Jeremy Michael Boorda
2
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: November 26, 1939
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: South Bend, Indiana, United States
Died: 1996
 23 
Héloïse
(French Nun and Wife of the Theologian and Philosopher 'Peter Abelard')
Héloïse
0
Birthdate: 1101 AD
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: 1164
French nun Héloïse was also a philosopher, writer, and abbess and was a renowned "woman of letters". She was noted as a  philosopher of love and friendship. In 1147, she was granted the rank of prelate nullius, approximately the level of a bishop. Her surviving letters are considered a foundation of French and European literature and inspiration for courtly love.
 24 
Val A. Browning
(Businessperson)
Val A. Browning
4
Birthdate: August 20, 1895
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Ogden
Died: 1994
 25 
Elizabeth Alexeievna
(Aristocrat)
Elizabeth Alexeievna
0
Birthdate: January 24, 1779
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Karlsruhe, Baden
Died: 1826
 26 
Dean Potter
(American Alpinist, Free Climber, Highliner, and BASE Jumper)
Dean Potter
3
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: April 14, 1972
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, United States
Died: 2015

Dean Potter was an American alpinist, free climber, highliner, and BASE jumper. He completed many free solo ascents, hard first ascents, enchainments, and speed ascents in Patagonia and Yosemite National Park. Dean Potter died in Yosemite National Park in a wingsuit flying accident in 2015 at the age of 43.

 27 
Hank Jones
(Musician)
Hank Jones
2
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: July 31, 1918
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Vicksburg, Mississippi
Died: 2010
 28 
Irwin Shaw
(Illness)
Irwin Shaw
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: February 27, 1913
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: The Bronx
Died: 1984
 29 
June Taylor
(Choreographer)
June Taylor
0
Listed In: Dancers
Birthdate: December 14, 1917
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
Died: 2004
 30 
Marisa Mell
(Austrian Actress)
Marisa Mell
2
Birthdate: February 24, 1939
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Graz, Austria
Died: 1992
Height: 5'8" (173 cm)
 31 
Jackie Basehart
(Actor)
Jackie Basehart
1
Birthdate: October 11, 1951
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Santa Monica, California, United States
Died: 2015
 32 
Mary Richardson Kennedy
(Architect)
Mary Richardson Kennedy
0
Listed In: Architects
Birthdate: 1960 AD
Birthplace: Bayonne, New Jersey, United States
Died: 2012

Mary Richardson Kennedy, who was married to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the brother of Kerry Kennedy, was associated with green building practices and food allergy research in the U.S. She made headlines with her suicide in 2012. She was apparently found hanging in the garage of her Bedford home.

 33 
Mariana of Austria
(Queen Consort of Spain)
Mariana of Austria
1
Birthdate: December 24, 1634
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Wiener Neustadt, Austria
Died: 1696
 34 
Frederick Gowland Hopkins
(English Biochemist Whose Discovery of Vitamins Earned Him 'Nobel Prize in Medicine' in 1929)
Frederick Gowland Hopkins
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: June 20, 1861
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Eastbourne, United Kingdom
Died: 1947

Frederick Gowland Hopkins was an English biochemist whose discovery of vitamins earned him the prestigious 1929 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He also received other prestigious awards like the Royal Medal and Copley Medal. He is also credited with discovering the amino acid tryptophan. From 1930 to 1935, Frederick Gowland Hopkins served as the President of the Royal Society.

 35 
Marin Preda
(Novelist)
Marin Preda
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: August 5, 1922
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Siliștea Gumești, Romania
Died: 1980
 36 
Heinrich Rohrer
(Physicist)
Heinrich Rohrer
0
Listed In: Scientists
Birthdate: June 6, 1933
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Buchs, Switzerland
Died: 2013

Nobel Prize-winning Swiss mathematician Heinrich Rohrer is best remembered for co-designing the scanning tunneling microscope along with fellow Nobel winner Ernst Ruska. He was also associated with the IBM Research laboratory and even conducted research on thermal conductivity at Rutgers University in New Jersey while on his honeymoon in the US.

 37 
Louis Philippe, Crown Prince of Belgium
(Prince)
Louis Philippe, Crown Prince of Belgium
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: July 24, 1833
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Brussels, Belgium
Died: 1834
 38 
Edward Gibbon Wakefield
(Former Member of the New Zealand Parliament (1853 - 1855))
Edward Gibbon Wakefield
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: March 20, 1796
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: London, England
Died: 1862

A major force behind setting up the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand Edward, English economist Gibbon Wakefield lent his name to the colonizing plan called the Wakefield scheme. He formulated the Canadian colonial policy Durham Report. Interestingly, he had been convicted of abducting and marrying a 15-year-old girl.

 39 
Alec Campbell
(Trade unionist)
Alec Campbell
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: February 26, 1899
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Launceston
Died: 2002

Alec Campbell was 16 when he was named to the Australian Army during World War I. A water carrier at Gallipoli, he developed partial facial paralysis due to a fever and was thus discharged. Named one of Australian Legends, he later led a vibrant civilian life and became a prominent unionist.

 40 
Mary Breckinridge
(American Nurse Midwife and Founder of the 'Frontier Nursing Service')
Mary Breckinridge
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: February 17, 1881
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Died: 1965

Mary Breckinridge was an American nurse midwife best remembered for founding the Frontier Nursing Service, which educates nurse-midwives and provides healthcare services to the rural population. In 1995, Mary Breckinridge was made an inductee of the National Women's Hall of Fame.

 41 
Edmund Gosse
(British Poet, Author and Critic)
Edmund Gosse
1
Birthdate: September 21, 1849
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: London, England
Died: 1928

Edmund Gosse was an English author, poet, and critic. His book Father and Son inspired the popular TV play Where Adam Stood as well as Peter Carey's novel Oscar and Lucinda. Gosse also helped promote the works of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen in England. He is also credited with helping James Joyce and W. B. Yeats establish themselves as writers.

 42 
Oswaldo López Arellano
(Political leader)
Oswaldo López Arellano
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: June 30, 1921
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Danlí, Honduras
Died: 2010
 43 
Marika Rokk
(Actress)
Marika Rokk
0
Birthdate: November 3, 1913
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Cairo, Khedivate of Egypt
Died: 2004
 44 
Pilar Pellicer
(Actress)
Pilar Pellicer
0
Birthdate: February 12, 1938
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Mexico City, México
Died: 2020
 45 
Alain Cuny
(Actor)
Alain Cuny
0
Birthdate: July 12, 1908
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Saint-Malo, Brittany, France
Died: 1994
Height: 5'11" (180 cm)
 46 
Suzanne Césaire
(Writer)
Suzanne Césaire
0
Listed In: Activists
Birthdate: August 11, 1915
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Les Trois-Îlets, Martinique
Died: 1966
 47 
George Maximilianovich, 6th Duke of Leuchtenberg
(Youngest son of Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg)
George Maximilianovich, 6th Duke of Leuchtenberg
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: February 29, 1852
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died: 1912
 48 
Ion C. Brătianu
(Politician)
Ion C. Brătianu
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: June 2, 1821
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Argeș County, Romania
Died: 1891
 49 
Modibo Keïta
(1st President of Mali)
Modibo Keïta
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: June 4, 1915
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Bamako Capital District, Mali
Died: 1977
 50 
Kamala Markandaya
(One of the Most Important Indian Novelists Who Wrote in English)
Kamala Markandaya
0
Birthdate: January 1, 1924
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Mysuru, India
Died: 2004

Kamala Markandaya, also known as Kamala Taylor after her marriage, was one of the most significant Indian writers of English. Known for novels such as Nectar in a Sieve and A Silence of Desire, she was known to portray Western ideals as materialistic. She moved to England after India’s independence.