Aged 59
Famous people who died at 59
190 of the 11,867 best-known people in our data died aged 59, including Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Ovid and Herodotus. Here are the 100 best known.
- Fyodor DostoyevskyRussian novelist · 1821–1881
- OvidRoman poet (43 BC – 17/18 AD) · c. 43 BC–AD 17
- HerodotusGreek historian and geographer · c. 484–425 BC
- Virginia WoolfEnglish modernist writer · 1882–1941
- Sima QianChinese historian · c. 145–86 BC
- Michel de MontaigneFrench author, philosopher, and statesman · 1533–1592
- StendhalFrench writer · 1783–1842
- Auguste ComteFrench philosopher, mathematician and sociologist · 1798–1857
- Émile DurkheimFrench sociologist · 1858–1917
- Oliver CromwellEnglish military and political leader · 1599–1658
- Jean RacineFrench dramatist · 1639–1699
- Nathaniel HawthorneAmerican author · 1804–1864
- Clark GableAmerican actor · 1901–1960
- Truman CapoteAmerican writer · 1924–1984
- Johann Gottfried HerderGerman philosopher, theologian, poet · 1744–1803
- Abu Bakr al-RaziPersian polymath, physician, chemist and philosopher · c. AD 866–925
- Yanka KupalaBelarusian writer · 1882–1942
- Emperor MeijiEmperor of Japan from 1867 until 1912 · 1852–1912
- Olof PalmeSwedish Prime Minister · 1927–1986
- George BestNorthern Irish footballer · 1946–2005
- Gregory of NazianzusChristian saint and theologian · c. AD 330–389
- Ivan FrankoUkrainian poet and writer · 1856–1916
- Nikolay KaramzinRussian writer, poet, critic · 1766–1826
- Erik SatieFrench composer and pianist · 1866–1925
- Paramahansa YoganandaYogi, Kriya Yoga guru and founder of Self-Realization Fellowship · 1893–1952
- Jamal KhashoggiSaudi journalist · 1958–2018
- John BunyanEnglish writer and preacher · 1628–1688
- Innocent IVPope of the Catholic Church from 1243 to 1254 · c. 1195–1254
- Sergei KorolevSoviet rocket engineer and spacecraft designer · 1907–1966
- Maximilian IHoly Roman Emperor · 1459–1519
- Vladimir the GreatGrand Prince of Kiev · c. 956–1015
- Alfred SisleyFrench, British painter · 1839–1899
- Callixtus IIPope from 1119 to 1124 · c. 1065–1124
- Helena BlavatskyRussian occult writer · 1831–1891
- Isoroku YamamotoJapanese Marshal Admiral · 1884–1943
- Abd al-Malik ibn MarwanUmayyad caliph from 685 to 705 · c. AD 646–705
- Pierre BayleFrench philosopher and writer · 1647–1706
- Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron MacaulayBritish historian and politician · 1800–1859
- William GilbertEnglish physician, physicist and natural philosopher · 1544–1603
- Emperor Rudolf IIHoly Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Croatia, King of Bohemia and Archduke of Austria · 1552–1612
- Sei ShōnagonJapanese author and court lady · c. 966–1025
- Ali-Shir Nava'iTurkic poet and politician · 1441–1501
- Clare of AssisiItalian saint · 1194–1253
- Gelasius IIPope from 1118 to 1119 · c. 1060–1119
- Rock HudsonAmerican actor · 1925–1985
- Robert BárányAustro-Hungarian otologist and Nobel Prize laureate · 1876–1936
- Salvatore SchillaciItalian association football player · 1964–2024
- Stephen, King of EnglandKing of England from 1135 to 1154 · c. 1095–1154
- Toussaint Louverture ↗Haitian national hero · 1743–1803
- Anders Jonas Ångström ↗Swedish physicist · 1814–1874
- Arcangelo Corelli ↗Italian violinist and composer · 1653–1713
- Kim Ki-duk ↗South Korean film director · 1960–2020
- Gianni Rodari ↗Italian writer and journalist · 1920–1980
- Leopold von Sacher-Masoch ↗Austrian author · 1836–1895
- Chagatai Khan ↗Second son of Genghis Khan and Börte · c. 1183–1242
- John Brown ↗American abolitionist · 1800–1859
- Booker T. Washington ↗African-American educator, author, orator, and advisor · 1856–1915
- Coolio ↗American rapper · 1963–2022
- Hattie McDaniel ↗American actress · 1893–1952
- Margaret I of Denmark ↗Queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden · c. 1353–1412
- Robert II of France ↗King of the Franks from 996 to 1031 · 972–1031
- Sayyid Qutb ↗Egyptian political theorist and revolutionary · 1906–1966
- Herod Antipas ↗1st century AD tetrarch of Galilee and Perea · c. 21 BC–AD 39
- Gustav Holst ↗British composer · 1874–1934
- Joris-Karl Huysmans ↗French novelist and art critic · 1848–1907
- Marin Mersenne ↗French theologian, philosopher, mathematician and music theorist, often referred to as the "father of acoustics" · 1588–1648
- Frederick Winslow Taylor ↗American mechanical engineer · 1856–1915
- Giuseppe Farina ↗Italian racecar driver · 1906–1966
- Henri-Frédéric Amiel ↗Swiss philosopher and poet · 1821–1881
- Alberto Santos-Dumont ↗Brazilian aviation pioneer · 1873–1932
- Charles Lamb ↗British essayist, poet, antiquarian · 1775–1834
- Jozef Tiso ↗Slovak politician, priest and president of the Slovak Republic from 1939 to 1945 · 1887–1947
- Paul Keres ↗Estonian chess player and sportsperson · 1916–1975
- Peter Lorre ↗Hungarian and American actor · 1904–1964
- Petronius Maximus ↗5th century western Roman emperor · c. AD 396–455
- Christian VII of Denmark ↗King of Denmark and Norway · 1749–1808
- Kevin Mitnick ↗American hacker · 1963–2023
- Sam Peckinpah ↗American film director · 1925–1984
- Seretse Khama ↗First President of Botswana · 1921–1980
- Charles Goodyear ↗American inventor · 1800–1860
- Henry Pelham ↗Prime Minister of Great Britain; · 1694–1754
- Iain Banks ↗Scottish writer · 1954–2013
- Jean Casimir-Perier ↗6th President of the French Republic · 1847–1907
- Victor Fleming ↗American film director, cinematographer, and producer · 1889–1949
- Ancus Marcius ↗King of Rome from 640 to 616 BC · c. 675–616 BC
- Conrad III of Germany ↗Hohenstaufen dynasty king · c. 1093–1152
- Friedrich Ratzel ↗German geographer and ethnographer · 1844–1904
- Ignacy Łukasiewicz ↗Polish pharmacist and petroleum industry pioneer · 1822–1882
- Curzio Malaparte ↗Italian writer · 1898–1957
- David Graeber ↗American anthropologist and anarchist · 1961–2020
- John Cassavetes ↗Greek-American actor, film director, and screenwriter · 1929–1989
- Madame de Lafayette ↗French writer · 1634–1693
- Olympias ↗Mother of Alexander the Great · c. 375–316 BC
- Robert Fitzroy ↗Royal Navy officer and scientist · 1805–1865
- Sidonius Apollinaris ↗Gaulish poet, aristocrat and bishop · c. AD 430–489
- Dayananda Saraswati ↗Indian social reformer · 1824–1883
- Hermann Ebbinghaus ↗German psychologist · 1850–1909
- Howard Temin ↗American geneticist · 1934–1994
- Johann Kaspar Lavater ↗Swiss poet · 1741–1801
- Julian Tuwim ↗Polish poet · 1894–1953
"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.