Aged 54
Famous people who died at 54
156 of the 11,867 best-known people in our data died aged 54, including Christopher Columbus, Osama bin Laden and Benazir Bhutto. Here are the 100 best known.
- Christopher ColumbusItalian explorer and navigator · c. 1451–1506
- Osama bin LadenFounder of al-Qaeda · 1957–2011
- Benazir Bhutto11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan · 1953–2007
- John CalvinFrench Protestant reformer · 1509–1564
- Paul GauguinFrench painter and printmaker · 1848–1903
- Tycho BraheDanish astronomer and alchemist, 1546–1601 · 1546–1601
- Husayn ibn AliGrandson of Muhammad and the 3rd Shia Imam · AD 626–680
- Andrei TarkovskySoviet and Russian film director, screenwriter, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director · 1932–1986
- Charles II of EnglandKing of England, Scotland, and Ireland · 1630–1685
- Peter SellersBritish actor and comedian · 1925–1980
- Xerxes IFifth Achaemenid emperor · c. 519–465 BC
- Matthew PerryAmerican-Canadian actor · 1969–2023
- Michael Clarke DuncanAmerican actor · 1957–2012
- Charles the BaldKing of West Francia from 843 to 877 and Carolingian Emperor from 875 to 877 · AD 823–877
- VitelliusEighth Roman Emperor (69) · AD 15–69
- Pepin the ShortKing of the Franks from 751 to 768 · c. AD 714–768
- Alfonso XIIIKing of Spain from 1886 to 1931 · 1886–1941
- Paul IIPope of the Catholic Church from 1464 to 1471 · 1417–1471
- Lavrentiy BeriaSoviet politician and NKVD police chief · 1899–1953
- Friedrich EbertGerman politician, president of Germany · 1871–1925
- Henri MoissanFrench chemist · 1852–1907
- Jean JaurèsFrench / Occitan socialist leader · 1859–1914
- MacrinusRoman emperor from 217 to 218 · c. AD 164–218
- Benedict IPope · c. AD 525–579
- Laurence SterneAnglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric · 1713–1768
- Marinus IPope · c. AD 830–884
- SrideviIndian actress · 1963–2018
- SymmachusPope from 498 to 514 · c. AD 460–514
- Zviad GamsakhurdiaGeorgian politician, dissident and writer, first President of Georgia · 1939–1993
- AshurbanipalAssyrian ruler · c. 685–631 BC
- Berthe MorisotFrench painter · 1841–1895
- Robert I of ScotlandKing of Scotland · 1274–1329
- DalidaEgyptian-French singer and actress · 1933–1987
- Marcellus IPope · AD 255–309
- Rudolf NureyevSoviet ballet dancer and choreographer · 1938–1993
- Valentinian IRoman emperor from 364 to 375 · AD 321–375
- Johann Peter Gustav Lejeune DirichletGerman mathematician · 1805–1859
- Jean-Baptiste LullyItalian-born French composer · 1632–1687
- Konstantinos VIIByzantine emperor · AD 905–959
- Krzysztof KieślowskiPolish film director and screenwriter · 1941–1996
- Muslim ibn al-ḤajjājIslamic hadith scholar · c. AD 821–875
- Elizabeth Báthory ↗Hungarian countess · 1560–1614
- Arthur Seyss-Inquart ↗Austrian Nazi politician, and Nazi ruler of occupied Netherlands, convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death · 1892–1946
- Franz Werfel ↗Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright and poet · 1890–1945
- Guido Westerwelle ↗German politician (FDP), Foreign Minister of Germany · 1961–2016
- Vasili III of Moscow ↗Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1505 to 1533 · 1479–1533
- Constantine I of Greece ↗King of Greece · 1868–1923
- Vittorio Alfieri ↗Italian noble, dramatist and poet · 1749–1803
- Lisa Marie Presley ↗American singer-songwriter · 1968–2023
- Alfred Binet ↗French psychologist and inventor of the first usable intelligence test · 1857–1911
- Sani Abacha ↗Nigerian military ruler · 1943–1998
- Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-'Abidin ↗Great-grandson of Muhammad and the fourth of the Shiite Imams · AD 659–713
- John III of Sweden ↗Swedish king · 1537–1592
- Józef Gosławski ↗Polish sculptor and medallic artist · 1908–1963
- Wilma Rudolph ↗American athlete · 1940–1994
- Anthony Minghella ↗British film director, playwright and screenwriter · 1954–2008
- Walther Rathenau ↗German businessman, writer, art collector and politician · 1867–1922
- John C. Breckinridge ↗Vice president of the United States from 1857 to 1861 · 1821–1875
- José Maria de Eça de Queirós ↗Portuguese writer and diplomat · 1845–1900
- Kate Chopin ↗American author · 1850–1904
- Thomas Gray ↗English poet and classical scholar · 1716–1771
- Moritz Schlick ↗German philosopher · 1882–1936
- Walter Model ↗German field marshal · 1891–1945
- Léo Delibes ↗French composer · 1836–1891
- Danilo Kiš ↗Serbian and Yugoslav novelist · 1935–1989
- Hermann Müller ↗German politician · 1876–1931
- Hovhannes Tumanyan ↗Armenian writer and public activist · 1869–1923
- Lafcadio Hearn ↗Greek-Irish writer, translator, and teacher who introduced the culture and literature of Japan to the West · 1850–1904
- Naim Frashëri ↗Albanian poet, writer and activist · 1846–1900
- Anastasio Somoza Debayle ↗Dictador of Nicaragua · 1925–1980
- Charles Lucien Bonaparte ↗French noble, biologist, politician and art collector · 1803–1857
- Fumimaro Konoe ↗Politician and former Prime Minister of Japan · 1891–1945
- Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen ↗German writer · 1622–1676
- John IV Laskaris ↗13th-century emperor of Nicaea · c. 1251–1305
- Mikhail Vrubel ↗Russian painter · 1856–1910
- Charles I of Hungary ↗King of Hungary · c. 1288–1342
- James Boswell ↗Scottish lawyer, diarist and author · 1740–1795
- Musa al-Kazim ↗Seventh of the Twelve Imams · c. AD 745–799
- Pierre Louÿs ↗French writer and poet · 1870–1925
- Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz ↗Polish artist, dramatist and novelist · 1885–1939
- Velupillai Prabhakaran ↗Founder of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a militant organization in Sri Lanka · 1954–2009
- Ken Saro-Wiwa ↗Nigerian social rights activist · 1941–1995
- Pim Fortuyn ↗Dutch politician · 1948–2002
- Williamina Fleming ↗Astronoma escocesa · 1857–1911
- Caroline of Ansbach ↗Queen consort of Great Britain and Ireland from 1727 to 1737 · 1683–1737
- Raul Julia ↗Puerto Rican actor · 1940–1994
- Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany ↗Duke of Florence · 1519–1574
- Ed Wood ↗American screenwriter, director, producer, actor, author, and film editor · 1924–1978
- Moacir Rodrigues Santos ↗Brazilian association football player · 1970–2024
- Alexander Fadeyev ↗Soviet writer and politician · 1901–1956
- Demetrius I of Macedon ↗King of Macedon · c. 337–283 BC
- Karol Szymanowski ↗Polish composer · 1882–1937
- Alexander Bogdanov ↗Russian physician, philosopher and revolutionary · 1873–1928
- Edith González ↗Mexican actress · 1964–2019
- Guillaume IX ↗Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony and Count of Poitou · 1071–1126
- Maurice de Saxe ↗Marshal General of France · 1696–1750
- Nutan ↗Indian actress · 1936–1991
- Pulcheria ↗Byzantine empress, wife of Marcian · c. AD 399–453
- Samuel Aba ↗King of Hungary · c. 990–1044
- Sandy Dennis ↗American actress · 1937–1992
"c." means only the years are known, so the age could be a year out. Dates are from Wikidata (CC0), last updated 22 October 2026.
Other ages
Keep score on your phone
Outlived for iPhone tracks every famous person you outlive, tells you who is next, and gives you a nudge on the day.