Welcome! Check out today's deaths, recent deaths, or our deaths stats.

Feeling experimental? Head on over to our newest (and darkest) feature: Next-2-Die™ predictions

In the year 1997

722 Notable deaths

Lyman Spitzer

American astronomer (1914–1997).

Born June 26th, 1914 in Toledo.

Died March 31st, 1997 at 82 years old in Princeton.

Josef Pieper

German philosopher (1904-1997).

Born May 4th, 1904 in Elte, North Rhine-Westphalia. [ref]

Died November 6th, 1997 at 93 years old in Münster. [ref]

Chang Yu-sheng

Taiwanese singer (1966–1997).

Born June 7th, 1966 in Taiwan.

Died November 12th, 1997 at 31 years old in Mackay Memorial Hospital (traffic collision).

Joyce Compton

American film actress (1907-1997).

Born January 27th, 1907 in Lexington.

Died October 13th, 1997 at 90 years old in Los Angeles.

Eddie Arcaro

American jockey (1916–1997).

Born February 19th, 1916 in Cincinnati.

Died November 14th, 1997 at 81 years old in Miami (liver cancer).

Reginald Victor Jones

World war ii scientist (1911-1997).

Born September 29th, 1911 in Herne Hill.

Died December 17th, 1997 at 86 years old in Aberdeen.

Leo Rosten

Jewish american humorist.

Born April 11th, 1908 in Łódź.

Died February 19th, 1997 at 88 years old in New York City.

George Wald

American biologist, biochemist, physiologist and nobel laureate (1906–1997).

Born November 18th, 1906 in New York City.

Died April 12th, 1997 at 90 years old in Cambridge.

Peng Zhen

Chinese politician (1902-1997).

Born October 12th, 1902 in Quwo County.

Died April 26th, 1997 at 94 years old in Beijing.

Alfred Hershey

American chemist (1908–1997).

Born December 4th, 1908 in Owosso.

Died May 22nd, 1997 at 88 years old in Syosset (heart failure).

Mehtab

Hindi film actress.

Born April 28th, 1918 in Sachin.

Died April 10th, 1997 at 78 years old in Mumbai.

Martin Kippenberger

German artist (1953-1997).

Born February 25th, 1953 in Dortmund. [ref]

Died March 7th, 1997 at 44 years old in Vienna (liver cancer). [ref]

Johnny Copeland

American blues musician (1937-1997).

Born March 27th, 1937 in Haynesville.

Died July 3rd, 1997 at 60 years old in New York City.

Friedrich Hund

German physicist (1896-1997).

Born February 4th, 1896 in Karlsruhe.

Died March 31st, 1997 at 101 years old in Göttingen.

John Howard Yoder

American theologian and academic (1927–1997).

Born December 29th, 1927 in Smithville.

Died December 30th, 1997 at 70 years old in South Bend.

Noël Browne

Irish politician (1915-1997).

Born December 20th, 1915 in Waterford.

Died May 21st, 1997 at 81 years old in Baile na hAbhann.

Georges Guétary

French singer and actor (1915–1997).

Born February 8th, 1915 in Alexandria.

Died September 13th, 1997 at 82 years old in Mougins (myocardial infarction).

Amos Tutuola

Nigerian writer (1920-1997).

Born June 20th, 1920 in Abeokuta.

Died June 8th, 1997 at 76 years old in Ibadan (diabetes).

Béla Barényi

Hungarian engineer and inventor (1907–1997).

Born March 1st, 1907 in Hirtenberg. [ref]

Died May 30th, 1997 at 90 years old in Böblingen. [ref]

Richard Glazar

Czech-bon survivor of treblinka extermination camp (1920-1997).

Born November 29th, 1920 in Prague. [ref]

Died December 20th, 1997 at 77 years old in Prague (falling).

Narciso Yepes

Spanish classical guitarist (1927–1997).

Born November 14th, 1927 in Lorca.

Died May 3rd, 1997 at 69 years old in Murcia (cancer).

Ivor Allchurch

Welsh footballer (1929-1997).

Born October 16th, 1929 in Swansea.

Died July 10th, 1997 at 67 years old in Swansea.

Marco Ferreri

Italian film director, screenwriter and actor (1928—1997).

Born May 11th, 1928 in Milan.

Died May 9th, 1997 at 68 years old in Paris (myocardial infarction).

Saul Chaplin

American composer and musical director (1912-1997).

Born February 19th, 1912 in Brooklyn.

Died November 15th, 1997 at 85 years old in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (falling from height).

Félix Candela

Mexican architect (1910-1997).

Born January 27th, 1910 in Madrid.

Died December 7th, 1997 at 87 years old in Durham.

Deaths 226 to 250 of 722

« 1996
1998 »

Death: something like birth, a natural mystery, elements that split and recombine. Not an embarrassing thing. Not an offense to reason, or our nature. Marcus Aurelius