Aged 74
Famous people who died at 74
278 of the 11,867 best-known people in our data died aged 74, including Joseph Stalin, Mark Twain and Jean-Paul Sartre. Here are the 100 best known.
- Joseph StalinPolitician and leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from 1924 to 1953 · 1878–1953
- Mark TwainAmerican author and humorist · 1835–1910
- Jean-Paul SartreFrench existentialist philosopher · 1905–1980
- Friedrich EngelsGerman philosopher, sociologist and economist · 1820–1895
- Jawaharlal NehruPrime Minister of India from 1947 to 1964 · 1889–1964
- Muhammad AliAmerican boxer · 1942–2016
- Ibn KhaldunHistoriographer and historian · c. 1332–1406
- Sun Tzu6th century BCE Chinese general and military strategist · c. 544–470 BC
- George Frideric HandelGerman-British Baroque composer · 1685–1759
- EuripidesClassical Athenian playwright · c. 481–407 BC
- Millard FillmorePresident of the United States from 1850 to 1853 · 1800–1874
- Werner HeisenbergGerman theoretical physicist and nobel prize winner · 1901–1976
- Giuseppe GaribaldiItalian general, patriot and republican · 1807–1882
- Franz LisztHungarian romantic composer and virtuoso pianist · 1811–1886
- Frederick II of PrussiaKing of Prussia from 1740 to 1786 · 1712–1786
- Bing CrosbyAmerican singer and actor · 1903–1977
- Jean CocteauFrench writer and film director · 1889–1963
- Hendrik LorentzDutch physicist · 1853–1928
- Pierre de CoubertinFounder of modern Olympic Games, pedagogue and historian · 1863–1937
- Gabriele D'AnnunzioItalian writer, poet, playwright, soldier and politician · 1863–1938
- Roald DahlBritish writer and poet · 1916–1990
- Ibn al-HaythamArab physicist, mathematician and astronomer · c. 965–1039
- Marquis de SadeFrench nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer of erotic works · 1740–1814
- Seamus HeaneyIrish poet, playwright, translator, lecturer · 1939–2013
- Baháʼu'lláhFounder of the Bahá'í Faith · 1817–1892
- Miguel Ángel AsturiasGuatemalan writer and diplomat · 1899–1974
- Shah JahanThe fifth Mughal Emperor from 1628 to 1658 · 1592–1666
- AryabhataPioneer astronomer who formulated zero, quadratic rules, and earth's rotation. · c. AD 476–550
- Jacques DerridaFrench philosopher · 1930–2004
- Jane AddamsAmerican feminist social activist, reformer, social worker, sociologist, philosopher, and writer · 1860–1935
- Ichirō MizukiJapanese singer, voice actor · 1948–2022
- Leopold II of BelgiumKing of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909 · 1835–1909
- Sebastián PiñeraChilean entrepreneur and politician · 1949–2024
- Antoninus Pius15th Roman Emperor · AD 86–161
- Nikos KazantzakisGreek writer, poet and philosopher · 1883–1957
- Edgar Rice BurroughsAmerican writer · 1875–1950
- Nicolas Boileau-DespréauxFrench poet and critic · 1636–1711
- Eisaku SatōPrime Minister of Japan from 1964 to 1972 · 1901–1975
- A. A. MilneBritish author known for creating Winnie-the-Pooh · 1882–1956
- Dennis HopperAmerican actor and film director · 1936–2010
- Gerolamo CardanoItalian Renaissance mathematician, physician, astrologer · 1501–1576
- Ahmad ibn HanbalMuslim jurist and theologian · AD 780–855
- Aram KhachaturianSoviet Armenian composer · 1903–1978
- Charles Sanders PeirceAmerican philosopher, logician, mathematician, and scientist · 1839–1914
- John of DamascusChristian monk, priest, hymnographer and apologist · c. AD 675–749
- Leopold I of BelgiumGerman prince who became the first King of the Belgians · 1790–1865
- Abdelkader El DjezairiAlgerian religious and military leader · 1808–1883
- Raymond PoincaréFrench statesman and lawyer, President of France · 1860–1934
- Theodore DreiserAmerican novelist and journalist · 1871–1945
- Johnny HallydayFrench musician, singer and actor · 1943–2017
- Fred RogersAmerican television personality · 1928–2003
- Antonio SalieriItalian composer and teacher · 1750–1825
- Frances Hodgson BurnettEnglish-American playwright and author · 1849–1924
- Nikolai BerdyaevRussian philosopher · 1874–1948
- Carl Philipp Emanuel BachGerman composer · 1714–1788
- Eduardo GaleanoUruguayan writer and journalist · 1940–2015
- Alan ShepardAmerican astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer · 1923–1998
- Johanna SpyriSwiss writer · 1827–1901
- Kary MullisAmerican biochemist · 1944–2019
- Leonid KantorovichRussian mathematician · 1912–1986
- James CoburnAmerican actor · 1928–2002
- Arthur HardenBritish biochemist · 1865–1940
- Giovanni Battista TiepoloItalian painter · 1696–1770
- Pierre-Gilles de Gennes ↗French physicist · 1932–2007
- Louise Michel ↗French author and anarchist · 1830–1905
- Oliver Heaviside ↗Electrical engineer, mathematician and physicist · 1850–1925
- Lana Turner ↗American actress · 1921–1995
- Leoš Janáček ↗Czech composer · 1854–1928
- August Krogh ↗Danish physiologist · 1874–1949
- John Dos Passos ↗American novelist · 1896–1970
- Allan McLeod Cormack ↗American physicist · 1924–1998
- Edward Thorndike ↗American psychologist · 1874–1949
- Karl Ziegler ↗German chemist · 1898–1973
- Max Delbrück ↗Biophysicist · 1906–1981
- Lion Feuchtwanger ↗German writer · 1884–1958
- Richard Kiel ↗American actor · 1939–2014
- Stan Laurel ↗English actor · 1890–1965
- Anton Denikin ↗Russian military and political leader · 1872–1947
- Cosimo de' Medici ↗First ruler of the Medici political dynasty · 1389–1464
- Léon Bourgeois ↗French statesman · 1851–1925
- Sergei Bondarchuk ↗Soviet and Russian film director, screenwriter, and actor · 1920–1994
- Thomas De Quincey ↗British author · 1785–1859
- Meat Loaf ↗American singer and actor · 1947–2022
- Mercè Rodoreda ↗Spanish writer · 1908–1983
- Amos ↗8th-century BCE Israelite biblical prophet, Christian saint, traditionally linked to the Book of Amos · c. 814–740 BC
- Bai Juyi ↗Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty · AD 772–846
- César Milstein ↗Argentine biochemist · 1927–2002
- Jean-Honoré Fragonard ↗French painter · 1732–1806
- Paul Langevin ↗French physicist, philosopher of science and pedagogue · 1872–1946
- L. Ron Hubbard ↗American writer and Scientology founder · 1911–1986
- Peter Carl Fabergé ↗Russian jeweller · 1846–1920
- Harald Bluetooth ↗King of Denmark and Norway · c. AD 911–985
- Karen Black ↗American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter · 1939–2013
- Patricia Highsmith ↗American novelist and short story writer · 1921–1995
- Sam Walton ↗American businessman · 1918–1992
- Brigitte Bierlein ↗Austrian jurist and politician, former federal chancellor of Austria and president of the Austrian constitutional court · 1949–2024
- Eadweard Muybridge ↗English-American photographer · 1830–1904
- Herbert Spencer Gasser ↗American physiologist · 1888–1963
- R. Lee Ermey ↗American actor and soldier · 1944–2018
- Robert Fisk ↗English writer and journalist · 1946–2020
"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.
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