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
May 17th
217 Notable deaths
Franco Merli
Italian actor.
Born October 31st, 1956 in Rome.
Died May 17th, 2025 at 68 years old in Rome. [ref]
Mary Everest Boole
Author of didactic works on mathematics (1832-1916).
Born March 11th, 1832 in Wickwar.
Died May 17th, 1916 at 84 years old in Notting Hill.
Gordon Bell
American computer engineer (1934–2024).
Born August 19th, 1934 in Kirksville. [ref]
Died May 17th, 2024 at 89 years old in Coronado (aspiration pneumonia). [ref]
Lucky Peterson
American musician (1964–2020).
Born December 13th, 1964 in Buffalo.
Died May 17th, 2020 at 55 years old in Dallas. [ref]
Wil van Gogh
Dutch feminist and the sister of vincent and theo van gogh (1862–1941).
Born March 16th, 1862 in Zundert. [ref]
Died May 17th, 1941 at 79 years old in Ermelo. [ref]
Montagu Love
British actor (1877–1943).
Born March 15th, 1880 in Portsmouth.
Died May 17th, 1943 at 63 years old in Beverly Hills (myocardial infarction).
Elijah Harper
Canadian politician (1949-2013).
Born March 3rd, 1949 in Red Sucker Lake.
Died May 17th, 2013 at 64 years old in Ottawa.
Jeannette Piccard
American balloonist, scientist, teacher and priest (1895-1981).
Born January 5th, 1895 in Chicago.
Died May 17th, 1981 at 86 years old in Minneapolis.
Ike Willis
American musician.
Born November 12th, 1955 in St. Louis.
Died May 17th, 2026 at 70 years old in North Las Vegas. [ref]
Yūko Mizutani
Japanese actress and voice actress (1964–2016).
Born November 4th, 1964 in Ama district.
Died May 17th, 2016 at 51 years old in Tokyo (breast cancer). [ref]
Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
French crown princess (1814-1858).
Born January 24th, 1814 in Ludwigslust Palace.
Died May 17th, 1858 at 44 years old in London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (influenza). [ref]
Totó la Momposina
Colombian singer.
Born August 1st, 1940 in Talaigua Nuevo, Bolívar Department.
Died May 17th, 2026 at 85 years old in Celaya. [ref]
Francisco Manuel Oller
Puerto rican painter (1833 - 1917).
Born June 17th, 1833 in Bayamón.
Died May 17th, 1917 at 83 years old in San Juan.
E. Franklin Frazier
American sociologist and writer (1894–1962).
Born September 24th, 1894 in Baltimore.
Died May 17th, 1962 at 67 years old in Washington, D.C..
G. Evelyn Hutchinson
British zoologist (1903–1991).
Born January 30th, 1903 in Cambridge.
Died May 17th, 1991 at 88 years old in London.
Moji Olaiya
Nigerian actress and singer.
Born February 27th, 1975.
Died May 17th, 2017 at 42 years old in Canada (puerperal disorders). [ref]
Olga Samaroff
American pianist (1880–1948).
Born August 8th, 1882 in San Antonio.
Died May 17th, 1948 at 65 years old in New York City (myocardial infarction).
Béla Balázs
Hungarian film critic, aesthetician, writer and poet (1884–1949).
Born August 4th, 1884 in Szeged. [ref]
Died May 17th, 1949 at 64 years old in Budapest (stroke). [ref]
Herbert Croly
American political writer (1869–1930).
Born January 23rd, 1869 in New York City.
Died May 17th, 1930 at 61 years old
Werenoi
French rapper (1994–2025).
Born January 30th, 1994 in Melun. [ref]
Died May 17th, 2025 at 31 years old in 13th arrondissement of Paris (cardiac arrest, hyperkalemia). [ref]
Eugen Weber
American historian (1925-2007).
Born April 24th, 1925 in Bucharest.
Died May 17th, 2007 at 82 years old in Los Angeles, Brentwood (pancreatic cancer). [ref]
Armin T. Wegner
German pacifist, writer and poet (1886–1978).
Born October 16th, 1886 in Elberfeld.
Died May 17th, 1978 at 91 years old in Rome.
Bronisław Piłsudski
Polish cultural anthropologist (1866–1918).
Born November 2nd, 1866 in Zalavas.
Died May 17th, 1918 at 51 years old in Paris (drowning).
Finn Juhl
Danish architect and industrial designer (1912-1989).
Born January 30th, 1912 in Copenhagen, Frederiksberg.
Died May 17th, 1989 at 77 years old in Copenhagen.
José Santos Zelaya
President of nicaragua from 1893 to 1909.
Born November 1st, 1853 in Managua.
Died May 17th, 1919 at 65 years old in New York City.
Deaths 51 to 75 of 217
Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them. George Eliot