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Meyssonier Fernand (b. 1931-06-14 / d. 2008-08-08)
He was an executioner in the last years of French Algeria. He acted as an executioner from 1947 to 1961 and executed more than 200. He inherited the job of executioner from his father Maurice Meyssonnier in 1947 when he ended compulsory education. His ancestors had been executioners from ages ago. When Algeria became independent from France in 1961, the guillotine was replaced by execution by firing squad.
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45
Born 1977-00-00. Domain:Society. Cause of death:alcohol, other drugs
Daniel Auster was the son of writers Lydia Davis and Paul Auster. He was arrested and charged with manslaughter and negligent homicide in the death of his 10-month old infant daughter on April 16, 2022, who consumed heroin and fentanyl he was using. On April 26, 2022, Daniel, who was found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia, died from a overdose.
83
Born 1938-09-23. Domain:Art. Cause of death:Age
Jean-Claude Mézières was a French bandes dessinées artist and illustrator. Born in Paris and raised in Saint-Mandé, he was introduced to drawing by his older brother and influenced by comics artists such as Hergé, Andre Franquin and Morris and later by Jijé and Jack Davis. Educated at the École nationale supérieure des arts appliqués et des métiers d'art, he worked upon graduation as an illustrator for books and magazines as well as in advertising. A lifelong interest in the Wild West led him to travel to the United States in 1965 in search of adventure as a cowboy, an experience that would prove influential on his later work. Returning to France, Mézières teamed up with his childhood friend, Pierre Christin, to create Valérian and Laureline, the popular, long-running science fiction comics series for which he is best known and which has proved to be influential to many science fiction and fantasy films, including Star Wars. Mézières contributed as a conceptual designer on several motion picture projects, most notably the 1997 Luc Besson film, The Fifth Element, as well as continuing to work as an illustrator for newspapers, magazines and in advertising. He also taught courses on the production of comics at the University of Paris VIII: Vincennes—Saint-Denis. Mézières received international recognition through a number of prestigious awards, most notably the 1984 Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême.
79
Born 1941-06-12. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Cancer
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea was an American jazz composer, keyboardist, bandleader and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", "500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba" and "Windows" are widely considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis's band in the late 1960s, he participated in the birth of jazz fusion. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever. Along with Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans, he is considered one of the major piano players to emerge in jazz during the post-John Coltrane era. Corea continued to pursue multiple collaborations and to explore different musical styles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He was also known for promoting and fundraising for a number of social issues. Corea won 23 Grammy Awards and was nominated over 60 times. Corea died from cancer at his home in the Tampa Bay area of Florida.
96
Born 1924-12-19. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Age
Cicely Tyson was an American actress and fashion model. In a career spanning more than seven decades, she became known for her portrayal of strong African-American women. Tyson was the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Black Reel Awards, one Screen Actors Guild Award, one Tony Award, an honorary Academy Award, and a Peabody Award. Tyson first dated jazz trumpeter Miles Davis in the 1960s when he was in the process of divorcing dancer Frances Davis. Davis used a photo of Tyson for his 1967 album, Sorcerer. Davis told the press in 1967 that he intended to marry Tyson in March 1968 after his divorce was finalized, but he married singer Betty Davis that September. Tyson and Davis rekindled their relationship in 1978. They were married on November 26, 1981, in a ceremony conducted by Atlanta mayor Andrew Young at the home of actor Bill Cosby. Their marriage was tumultuous due to Davis' volatile temper and infidelity. Davis credited Tyson with saving his life and helping him overcome his cocaine addiction. They resided in Malibu, California, and New York City, until she filed for divorce in 1988. Their divorce was finalized in 1989, two years before Davis died in 1991.
48
Born 1969-12-15. Domain:Science (Physics style). Cause of death:Accident
Terrence Andrew Davis was an American programmer who created and designed the operating system TempleOS. Its development was an extremely complex, time-consuming and unusual undertaking for one person. Davis also posted video blogs to social media, and by the time of his death, had established a cult online following. He often referred to himself as "the smartest programmer that's ever lived". As a teenager, Davis learned assembly language on a Commodore 64. He earned a master's degree in electrical engineering from Arizona State University and worked for several years at Ticketmaster as a programmer for VAX machines. In 1996, he began experiencing regular manic episodes, one of which led him to hospitalization. Initially diagnosed with bipolar disorder, he was later declared to have schizophrenia. He collected disability payments and resided in Las Vegas with his parents until the year before his death. Although Davis remained lucid when discussing computer-related subjects, his communication skills were largely affected by his schizophrenia. He was controversial for his regular use of racial epithets, which he explained was his way of combating actors of psychological warfare. During his final months, he struggled with periods of homelessness and incarceration. In 2018, he was struck by a train and died at the age of 48. Investigators could not determine whether his death was suicide or accidental.
93
Born 1924-10-08. Domain:Society. Cause of death:Age
Fred Thomas Kovaleski was an American tennis player, spy, and businessman. Fred Kovaleski was born in Maynard, Massachusetts, and grew up in Hamtramck, Michigan. Hamtramck was known as a Polish American center, and both of Kovaleski's parents had immigrated from Poland. In high school, he showed aptitude in handball and tennis, and was coached by Jean Hoxie. By age 17, he played on the junior US Davis Cup team. After graduation in 1949, Kovaleski continued to play tennis. He competed at the 1950 Wimbledon Championships, losing in the fourth round to Australian Frank Sedgman. Kovaleski was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency, with international travel providing him a cover for performing espionage. He left the CIA when he fell in love with Manya Jabes, a woman of Russian ancestry, and the CIA did not approve, though the agency would later hire both of them to translate Russian. After the birth of his son Serge, Kovaleski left the CIA for good. He went on to work in the international divisions of Pepsi, Revlon, Schering-Plough, and Nabisco.
81
Born 1937-02-15. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Age
Nathan Tate Davis was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played the tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, and flute. He is known for his work with Eric Dolphy, Kenny Clarke, Ray Charles, Slide Hampton and Art Blakey.
85
Born 1927-09-25. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Age
Sir Colin Rex Davis was an English conductor best known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom he was particularly associated were Mozart, Berlioz, Elgar, Sibelius, Stravinsky and Tippett.
65
Born 1946-10-30. Domain:Science (Math style). Cause of death:Cancer
William Paul Thurston was an American mathematician. He was a pioneer in the field of low-dimensional topology and was awarded the Fields Medal in 1982 for his contributions to the study of 3-manifolds. Thurston was a professor of mathematics at Princeton University, University of California, Davis, and Cornell University. He was also a director of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute. Thurston died on August 21, 2012 in Rochester, New York, of a sinus mucosal melanoma that was diagnosed in 2011.
68
Born 1943-10-09. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Age
He was an African-American guitarist most famous for playing with Miles Davis' band between 1973 and 1975. His fiercely flanged and distorted guitar bore comparisons to Jimi Hendrix. Cosey kept a low profile for much of his career (he released no solo recorded works)
48
Born 1963-08-09. Domain:Music. Cause of death:alcohol, other drugs
She was an American singer, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the most-awarded female act of all time. On the Thursday before her death, Houston visited singers Brandy and Monica, together with Clive Davis, at their rehearsals for Davis' pre-Grammy Awards party. A reporter for the Los Angeles Times reported that Houston was reeking of alcohol and looked very bloated and disheveled, wearing mismatched clothing with her hair dripping of either water or sweat.
57
Born 1952-00-00. Domain:Society. Cause of death:Cancer (breast)
Ellie Nesler shot and killed her son's accused molester in a courtroom Sonora, California, during the trial. She served 3 years of a 10-year sentence, and was released after an appeal based on jury misconduct. She later went back to prison after a conviction on drug charges, for which she served more than 3 years. While in prison, she developed breast cancer.
Nesler made headlines when she killed Daniel Driver, the man accused of molesting four boys (including her then 6 year old son, William) in 1993, in the Tuolumne County courthouse. She fired five shots into Driver's head, killing him instantly. In 2002, she was convicted of selling and possessing methamphetamine. She was released from a woman's facility near Chowchilla, California in 2006.
Meanwhile, her son got into legal troubles of his own and was convicted of first-degree murder in 2005 for stomping to death a man hired to clean the family's property in Sonora. The 23-year-old said he believed David Davis was letting people pick through the family's belongings.
William Nesler killed Davis less than an hour after he was released from a 30-day sentence for an earlier assault on him. He is serving a 25-year-to-life sentence.
91
Born 1917-05-22. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Age
Nathan Davis was an American film and television actor. Davis died from emphysema and complications of pneumonia in Chicago at age 91.
51
Born 1945-12-12. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Heart attack
Widely regarded as one of the most important and influential jazz drummers to come to prominence in the '60s, Tony Williams first gained fame in the band of trumpeter Miles Davis, and was a pioneer of jazz fusion.
Williams lived and taught in the San Francisco Bay Area until his death from a heart attack following routine gall bladder surgery. One of his final recordings was Arcana, a release organized by prolific bass guitarist Bill Laswell.
78
Born 1917-06-07. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Cancer (lung)
At his side in his last years was ex-wife Jeannie (Bieggers) Martin, whom he had divorced years earlier. The pair became close again, although they resisted suggestions that they wed and seemed content to just being together.
Martin died of respiratory failure, at home with Jeannie by his side, on Christmas morning 1995.
Martin's world began to crumble on March 21, 1987, when his son Dean Paul Martin was killed when his jet fighter crashed while flying with the Air National Guard. A much-touted tour with Davis and Sinatra in 1988 sputtered, with Martin's heart just not into it. On one occasion, he infuriated Sinatra when he turned to him and muttered "Frank, what the hell are we doing up here?" Martin, who always responded best to a club audience, felt lost in the huge stadiums they were performing in (at Sinatra's insistence), and he was not the least bit interested in drinking until dawn after their performances.
In fact, Martin never completely recovered from losing his son, and as a lifelong smoker was suffering from emphysema. In September 1993, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He courageously kept his private life to himself, emerging briefly for a public celebration of his 77th birthday with friends and family.
64
Born 1930-01-04. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:cancer (colorectal)
He is best known for his role as the heavyset, corrupt politician "Boss" Jefferson Davis Hogg in the television show The Dukes of Hazzard.
65
Born 1926-05-26. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Stroke
Osteoarthritis (which led to a hip replacement operation in 1976, the first of several), depression, bursitis, ulcers, rheumatism and a renewed dependence on alcohol and illegal drugs (primarily cocaine), throughout late 1974 and early 1975.
64
Born 1925-12-08. Domain:Music. Cause of death:cancer (throat)
Davis suffered a setback on November 19, 1954, when he almost died in an automobile accident in Victorville, California on a return trip from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. Davis lost his left eye as a result, and wore a glass eye for the rest of his life. The accident occurred on a bend in U.S. Highway 66 at a railroad bridge. While in the hospital, his friend Eddie Cantor told him about the similarities between the Jewish and black cultures. During his hospital stay, Davis converted to Judaism after reading a history of the Jews. One paragraph about the ultimate endurance of the Jewish people intrigued him in particular: "The Jews would not die. Three millennia of prophetic teaching had given them an unwavering spirit of resignation and had created in them a will to live which no disaster could crush".
Davis died in Beverly Hills, California, of complications from throat cancer. Earlier, when he was told he could be saved by surgery, Davis replied he would rather keep his voice than have a part of his throat removed. As a result this decision cost him his life. However, a few weeks prior to his death his entire larynx was removed during surgery.
81
Born 1908-04-05. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Cancer (breast)
In 1983, after filming the pilot episode for the television series Hotel, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy. Within two weeks of her surgery she suffered four strokes which caused paralysis in the right side of her face and in her left arm, and left her with slurred speech. She commenced a lengthy period of physical therapy and, aided by her personal assistant, Kathryn Sermak, gained partial recovery from the paralysis.
During 1988 and 1989, Davis was feted for her career achievements, receiving the Kennedy Center Honor, the Legion of Honor from France, the Campione d'Italia from Italy and the Film Society of Lincoln Center Lifetime Achievement Award. She collapsed during the American Cinema Awards in 1989 and later discovered that her cancer had returned. She recovered sufficiently to travel to Spain where she was honored at the Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival, but during her visit her health rapidly deteriorated. Too weak to make the long journey back to the U.S., she travelled to France where she died on October 6, 1989, at the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine.
63
Born 1918-04-17. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Accident
William Holden died as the result of a fall in his high-rise apartment on the seaside cliffs of Santa Monica, California in November 1981. Holden was alone and heavily intoxicated when he apparently slipped on a throw rug, severely gashed his head on a night table, and bled to death. Evidence suggests he was conscious for at least half-an-hour after the fall but may not have realized the severity of the injury and did not summon aid. His body was found on November 16, but forensic and other evidence suggested he had been dead for several days and most likely died on November 12.
Holden suffered from alcoholism and depression. In 1966, he was involved in a car accident in Italy in which the other driver was killed. It was determined that Holden had been driving under the influence of alcohol; he was charged with vehicular manslaughter and received an eight-month suspended prison sentence. Holden was overcome with guilt, and friends said this led to even heavier bouts of drinking.
He was best man at the marriage of his friend Ronald Reagan to Nancy Davis in 1952.
51
Born 1929-08-16. Domain:Music. Cause of death:alcohol, other drugs
Evans's chemical dependency problems most likely began during his stint with Miles Davis in the late 1950s. A heroin addict for much of his career, his health was generally poor and his financial situation worse for most of the 1960s. By the end of that decade he appeared to have succeeded in overcoming that drug problem, but during the 1970s cocaine became a serious and eventually fatal issue for Evans. His body finally gave out in the fall of 1980, when, ravaged by psychoactive drugs, a perforated liver, and a lifelong battle with hepatitis, he died in New York City of a bleeding ulcer, cirrhosis of the liver and bronchial pneumonia.
80
Born 1892-05-11. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Age
Her father suffered from mental illness for many years, and on 4 March 1883, he battered his father to death.
She suffered from Alzheimer's disease at the end of her life. Margaret Rutherford is buried along with her husband, Stringer Davis, in the graveyard of St. James Church, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England.
27
Born 1943-12-08. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Unknown
Morrison moved to Paris in March 1971 with the intention of taking a break from performing and concentrating on his writing. Hoping to get his life back on track, Morrison lost a great deal of weight and shaved off his beard (although his last photographs show a considerable amount of bloating -- a classic symptom of congestive heart failure). By all accounts he became very depressed whilst in Paris, but he admired the city's architecture, saying 'When they built this city, they threw away the blueprint' in an interview with a Los Angeles journalist in summer 1971.
He was found in his bathtub by Courson. According to Stephen Davis' biography of Morrison, it was reported that he had dried blood around his mouth and nose and large bruising on his chest. This suggests Morrison might have died from a massive hemorrhage caused by tuberculosis. Many fans and biographers have speculated that the cause of death was a drug overdose, but the official report listed the cause of death as heart failure. Pursuant to French law, no autopsy was performed because the medical examiner found no evidence of foul play. The lack of an official autopsy left many questions unanswered and provided a fertile breeding ground for speculation and rumor.
41
Born 1923-10-16. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Accident
Born Monetta Eloyse Darnell in Dallas, Texas.
Darnell's last work as an actress was in a stage production in Atlanta in early 1965. A few weeks later she died at age 41, from burns she received in a house fire in Glenview, Illinois. She had been staying there with friends while preparing for a stage role in the Chicago area. Her 1940 film Star Dust had played on television the night of the fire, and it was widely reported that Darnell had fallen asleep with a lit cigarette while watching it. But biographer Ronald L. Davis, in his book "Hollywood Beauty," says there was no evidence this was true or that Darnell was in any way responsible for the blaze. By his account, Darnell was burned over 80 percent of her body because she ran into a burning area trying to save her friend's child, not knowing that the young girl had already escaped. Darnell died the next day.
73
Born 1879-01-01. Domain:Business. Cause of death:Heart attack
Fox lost control of the company in 1930 during a hostile takeover. A combination of the "Black Monday" stock crash, Fox's injury in a car crash, and government anti-trust action forced him into a protracted seven-year struggle to fight off bankruptcy. At his bankruptcy hearing in 1936, Fox attempted to bribe judge John Warren Davis and commit perjury. He was sentenced to six months in prison. After serving his time, Fox retired from the film business. Fox died in 1952 at the age of 73. No Hollywood producers came to his funeral.
73
Born 1829-02-26. Domain:Business. Cause of death:Age
On May 20, 1873, Strauss and Davis received United States patent #139121 for using copper rivets to strengthen the pockets of denim work pants. Levi Strauss & Co. began manufacturing the first of the famous Levi's brand of jeans in San Francisco, using fabric from the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in Manchester, New Hampshire.