| | 303 - Saint George, Roman soldier and Christian martyr |
| | 725 - Wihtred, King of Kent |
| | 871 - Ethelred of Wessex |
| | 997 - Adalbert of Prague, bishop, patron saint of Bohemia, Poland, Hungary, and Prussia (b. ca. 956 |
| | 1014 - Brian Boru, High King of Ireland (killed in battle) |
| | 1016 - Ethelred II of England |
| | 1124 - King Alexander I of Scotland (b. 1078) |
| | 1151 - Queen Adeliza of England (b. 1103) |
| | 1217 - King Inge II of Norway (b. 1185) |
| | 1407 - Olivier de Clisson, French soldier (b. 1326) |
| | 1616 - Miguel Cervantes, Spanish author (b. 1547) |
| | 1616 - William Shakespeare, English writer and actor (b. 1564) |
| | 1616 - El Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, Peruvian writer (b. 1539) |
| | 1625 - Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange (b. 1567) |
| | 1702 - Margaret Fell, English Quaker leader (b. 1614) |
| | 1740 - Thomas Tickell, English writer (b. 1685) |
| | 1781 - James Abercrombie, British general (b. 1706) |
| | 1792 - Karl Friedrich Bahrdt, German theologian and adventurer (b. 1741) |
| | 1794 - Guillaume-Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes, French statesman (executed) (b. 1721) |
| | 1850 - William Wordsworth, English poet (b. 1770) |
| | 1889 - Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly, French writer (b. 1808) |
| | 1895 - Carl Ludwig, German physician (b. 1815) |
| | 1915 - Rupert Brooke, English poet (b. 1887). |
| | 1936 - Teresa de la Parra, Venezuelan writer (b. 1889) |
| | 1951 - Charles G. Dawes, Vice President of the United States, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1865) |
| | 1952 - Julius Freed, American inventor and banker (b. 1887) |
| | 1975 - William Hartnell, English actor (b. 1908) |
| | 1979 - Blair Peach, New Zealand-born anti-fascist (b. 1946) |
| | 1981 - Josep Pla, Catalan journalist and writer (b. 1897) |
| | 1983 - Buster Crabbe, American swimmer and actor (b. 1908) |
| | 1984 - Red Garland, American jazz pianist (b. 1923) |
| | 1985 - Sam Ervin, American politician (b. 1896) |
| | 1986 - Harold Arlen, American composer (b. 1905) |
| | 1986 - Jim Laker, English cricketer (b. 1922) |
| | 1986 - Otto Preminger, Austrian-born film director (b. 1906) |
| | 1990 - Paulette Goddard, American actress (b. 1911) |
| | 1991 - Johnny Thunders, American musician (b. 1952) |
| | 1992 - Satyajit Ray, Indian filmmaker (b. 1921) |
| | 1993 - César Chávez, American labor activist (b. 1927) |
| | 1995 - Howard Cosell, American sports journalist (b. 1918) |
| | 1995 - John C. Stennis, U.S. Senator from Mississippi (b. 1904) |
| | 1996 - P. L. Travers, Australian author (b. 1899) |
| | 1997 - Denis Compton, English cricketer (b. 1918) |
| | 1998 - James Earl Ray, American assassin (b. 1928) |
| | 2003 - James H. Critchfield, American Central Intelligence agent (b. 1917) |
| | 2003 - Fernand Fonssagrives, French photographer (b. 1910) |
| | 2005 - Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Premier of Queensland (b. 1911) |
| | 2005 - Al Grassby, Australian immigration minister (b. 1928) |
| | 2005 - Sir John Mills, English actor (b. 1908) |
| | 2005 - Romano Scarpa, Italian-born comic artist (b. 1927) |
| | 2005 - Earl Wilson, baseball player (b. 1934) |
| | 2006 - Johnnie Checketts, New Zealand fighter ace and war hero (b. 1912) |