Musicians Who Died on August 31

  • 1604 Giovanale Ancina, Italian priest and composer, dies of purported poisoning at 58
  • 1616 Gemignano Capilupi, Italian choral music composer, dies at 43
  • 1631 Nicolaus Erich, German composer, dies at 43
  • 1638 John Ward, British madrigal and religious music composer, dies at 67
  • 1667 Johann von Rist, German composer and poet known for his hymns, dies at 60
  • 1730 Gottfried Finger, Moravian violist and Baroque composer dies at about 65 [born c. 1655-56]
  • 1795 François-André Danican Philidor, French composer and chess champion, dies at 68
  • 1805 Joseph Abaco, Italian composer, dies at 95
  • 1832 Jean Nicolas Auguste Kreutzer, French violinist and composer, dies at 53
  • 1862 Ignaz Assmayer, Austrian organist and liturgical composer, dies at 72
  • 1902 Mathilde Wesendonck (née Luckemeyer), German writer, poet (Tagebuchblatter), and object of composer Richard Wagner's infatuation, dies at 73
  • 1910 Emīls Dārziņš, Latvian composer (Melanholiskais valsis - Melancholic waltz), and music critic, dies when struck by a train at 34
  • 1940 Johanna "Annie" Bakker, Dutch revue-artist, singer and actress, dies at 58
  • 1946 Paul August von Klenau, Danish opera composer, and conductor, dies at 63
  • 1949 Paul Höffer, German composer (Olympic Arts gold, 1936), dies at 53
  • 1969 Ottmar Gerster, German composer (rector of the Liszt Music Academy in Weimar), dies at 72
  • 1994 Artur Balsam, Polish-American pianist, dies at 88
  • 1994 Norman "Doc" Jones, American jazz bass player (Jo Jo Parnell Trio), dies at 68
  • 1996 Milt Larkin, American jazz trumpeter and bandleader, dies at 85
  • 2002 Lionel Hampton, American Jazz vibraphone player, pianist, drummer, and actor, dies from congestive heart failure at 94
  • 2003 Jaap Geraedts, Dutch composer, dies at 79
  • 2004 Carl Wayne [Colin Tooley], British rock singer (The Move), and actor, dies of esophageal cancer at 61
  • 2008 Jerry Reed, American country music singer ("When You're Hot, You're Hot") and actor (Bat 21; Smokey and the Bandit), dies of complications from emphysema at 71
  • 2009 Maria de Lourdes Martins, Portuguese pianist and composer, dies at 83
  • 2016 Jacques Leduc, Belgian composer, dies at 84
  • 2018 Gloria Jean [Schoonover], American actress (Never Give a Sucker an Even Break), and singer, dies at 92
  • 2019 Wim Statius Muller, Curaçaoa conductor, pianist, and composer, dies at 89
  • 2023 Curtis Fowlkes, American jazz and session trombonist, singer, and band leader (The Jazz Passengers; Lounge Lizards), dies at 73