Aged 51
Famous people who died at 51
129 of the 11,867 best-known people in our data died aged 51, including Napoleon, Molière and Marcel Proust. Here are the 100 best known.
- NapoleonFrench military leader, French Emperor 1804–1814 and again in 1815 · 1769–1821
- MolièreFrench playwright and actor · 1622–1673
- Marcel ProustFrench novelist, critic and essayist · 1871–1922
- Honoré de BalzacFrench novelist and playwright · 1799–1850
- Rainer Maria RilkeAustrian poet and writer · 1875–1926
- Paul VerlaineFrench poet · 1844–1896
- Édouard ManetFrench painter · 1832–1883
- Johann Gottlieb FichteGerman philosopher · 1762–1814
- Carl von ClausewitzGerman-Prussian general and military theorist · 1780–1831
- David RicardoBritish banker, classical economist and politician · 1772–1823
- Torquato TassoItalian poet · 1544–1595
- James GandolfiniAmerican actor · 1961–2013
- Zulfikar Ali Bhutto4th President and 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan · 1928–1979
- Germaine de StaëlGenevan-French author · 1766–1817
- William III of EnglandKing of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1689 to 1702 · 1650–1702
- Jan van EyckFlemish painter · c. 1390–1441
- Gustav StresemannGerman politician, statesman, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate · 1878–1929
- William the SilentDutch statesman and revolt leader · 1533–1584
- Gustave DoréFrench illustrator and painter · 1832–1883
- Sergius IIIPope · c. AD 860–911
- Leo IXHead of the Catholic Church from 1049 to 1054 · 1002–1054
- Saint DominicFounder of the Dominican Order · c. 1170–1221
- Sergius IPope · c. AD 650–701
- Antonin ArtaudFrench-Occitanian poet, playwright, actor and theatre director · 1896–1948
- John VPope · c. AD 635–686
- Innocent V185th Pope of the Catholic Church · c. 1225–1276
- Mehmed IV19th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire · 1642–1693
- Marcus Vipsanius AgrippaAncient Roman statesman and general · c. 63–12 BC
- Thomas BecketEnglish archbishop and martyr, 1119/1120–1170 · 1119–1171
- Ahmed II21th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire · 1643–1695
- Irene of Athens ↗Empress of Byzantine Empire · c. AD 752–803
- Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor ↗Holy Roman Emperor from 1014 to 1024 · 973–1024
- Alois Alzheimer ↗German psychiatrist and neuropathologist · 1864–1915
- Theodora ↗Byzantine empress from 527 to 548 · c. AD 497–548
- Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis ↗French mathematician, mechanical engineer, and scientist · 1792–1843
- Publius Papinius Statius ↗1st century CE Roman poet · c. AD 45–96
- Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia ↗King of Prussia · 1688–1740
- Harald III of Norway ↗King of Norway from 1046 to 1066 · c. 1015–1066
- René Goscinny ↗French comic book artist and author · 1926–1977
- Imre Lakatos ↗Hungarian philosopher of mathematics and science · 1922–1974
- Antiochus IV Epiphanes ↗King of the Seleucid Empire · c. 215–164 BC
- Bobby Moore ↗English association football player · 1941–1993
- Emperor Taizong of Tang ↗Chinese emperor of the Tang Dynasty (598-649) · AD 598–649
- John I Tzimiskes ↗Byzantine emperor · c. AD 925–976
- Anton Makarenko ↗Ukrainian and Soviet educator and writer · 1888–1939
- Mohammed V of Morocco ↗King of Morocco · 1909–1961
- Nargis ↗Indian actress · 1929–1981
- Constantius III ↗Western Roman Emperor · c. AD 370–421
- Sigismund II Augustus ↗King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania · 1520–1572
- Andrei Platonov ↗Russian author · 1899–1951
- El Lissitzky ↗Soviet artist, designer, photographer, teacher, typographer and architect · 1890–1941
- Jules Dumont d'Urville ↗French Navy officer and explorer · 1790–1842
- Margaret Tudor ↗Scottish Queen consort · 1489–1541
- John Smith ↗English soldier, explorer, writer · 1580–1631
- Alexander Grin ↗Russian writer · 1880–1932
- Angela Carter ↗English novelist · 1940–1992
- Bill Evans ↗American jazz pianist · 1929–1980
- Stanley Milgram ↗American social psychologist · 1933–1984
- Anton Raphael Mengs ↗German-Bohemian painter active in Dresden, Rome and Madrid · 1728–1779
- Fritz Sauckel ↗German Nazi politician and convicted war criminal · 1894–1946
- László Moholy-Nagy ↗Hungarian artist · 1895–1946
- Minamoto no Yoritomo ↗1st shogun of the Kamakura shogunate · 1147–1199
- Shireen Abu Akleh ↗Palestinian-American journalist · 1971–2022
- Domenico Cimarosa ↗Italian opera composer of the Neapolitan school · 1749–1801
- Yaqut al-Hamawi ↗Arab bibliographer and geographer · c. 1178–1229
- Charles George Gordon ↗British army officer and administrator · 1833–1885
- Eero Saarinen ↗American architect · 1910–1961
- Simon Marius ↗German astronomer · 1573–1624
- Madam C. J. Walker ↗American entrepreneur · 1867–1919
- Robert Shaw ↗British actor and writer · 1927–1978
- Walter Bagehot ↗British journalist, businessman, and essayist · 1826–1877
- Adam de la Halle ↗French poet, composer and trouvère · c. 1237–1288
- Annette von Droste-Hülshoff ↗German composer and writer · 1797–1848
- Alphonse Allais ↗French writer and humorist · 1854–1905
- Amy Lawrence Lowell ↗US writer · 1874–1925
- Eleanor H. Porter ↗American novelist · 1868–1920
- Jack Swigert ↗NASA Astronaut, Pilot · 1931–1982
- John Toland ↗Irish philosopher · 1670–1722
- Roland Freisler ↗German jurist and politician · 1893–1945
- Valdemar I of Denmark ↗King of Denmark · 1131–1182
- Valery Legasov ↗Soviet nuclear chemist, chief of the commission investigating the Chernobyl disaster · 1936–1988
- Alexander Ivanov ↗Russian artist · 1806–1858
- Amilcare Ponchielli ↗Italian composer · 1834–1886
- Charles De Coster ↗Belgian novelist · 1827–1879
- Fulk, King of Jerusalem ↗Count of Anjou (r. 1109-1129) and the King of Jerusalem · c. 1092–1143
- Natalya Estemirova ↗Russian human rights activist · 1958–2009
- Albert Edelfelt ↗Finland Swedish painter and illustrator · 1854–1905
- Letitia Christian Tyler ↗First Lady of the United States · 1790–1842
- Takeda Shingen ↗Japanese daimyo of the Sengoku period · 1521–1573
- Claude-Louis Navier ↗French engineer and physicist · 1785–1836
- Dezső Kosztolányi ↗Hungarian poet, writer and translator · 1885–1936
- Ibn al-Baitar ↗Andalusian Arab pharmacist, botanist, physician and scientist · c. 1197–1248
- Pedro Armendáriz ↗Mexican actor · 1912–1963
- Hideyo Noguchi ↗Japanese bacteriologist · 1876–1928
- Lucius Cornelius Cinna ↗Ancient Roman politician, consul in 87, 86, 85 and 84 BC, father-in-law of Julius Caesar · c. 135–84 BC
- Mário de Andrade ↗Brazilian writer, musicologist and photographer · 1893–1945
- Sverre of Norway ↗King of Norway · c. 1151–1202
- Alexander Jannaeus ↗Second king of the Hasmonean dynasty of Judea · c. 127–76 BC
- Friedrich Miescher ↗Swiss biochemist · 1844–1895
- Jahandar Shah ↗The eighth Mughal Emperor from 1712 to 1713 · 1661–1713
"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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