- 1492 Antoine Busnois, French composer known for his chansons, dies at about 62
- 1656 John IV (also known as João, o Restaurador), King of Portugal (1640-56), composer, and musicologist, dies at 52
- 1669 Laurentius Erhard, German composer, dies at 71
- 1672 Heinrich Schütz, German organist and composer, dies at 87
- 1712 Johann Bernhard Staudt, Austrian Jesuit composer, dies at 58
- 1795 Jiří Antonín Benda, Czech composer and violinist, dies at 73
- 1801 Christian Friedrich Gregor, Moravian composer and bishop, dies at 78
- 1835 Ignaz Schuster, Austrian composer, dies at 56
- 1865 Thérèse Wartel, French pianist and composer, dies at 51
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Russian composer of the late-Romantic period (1812 Overture; The Nutcracker; Swan Lake), dies of suspected cholera at 53
- 1897 Édouard Deldevez, French violinist and composer, dies at 80
- 1901 Bohdan Borkowski, Polish composer, dies at 48
- 1912 Mykola Lysenko, Ukrainian composer (Taras Bulba), conductor and ethnomusicologist, dies at 70
- 1922 William Baines, British composer, dies of tuberculosis at 23
- 1953 John Parsons Beach, American composer, dies at 76
- 1958 Francis George Scott, Scottish composer, dies at 78
- 1965 Clarence Williams, American composer, dies at 67
- 1965 Edgard Varèse, French-American composer (Ionisation; Poème électronique), dies at 81
- 1968 Charles Münch, French violinist, and conductor (Boston Symphony, 1949-62; Orchestre de Paris, 1967-68), dies of a heart attack at 77
- 1968 Guillaume Landré, Dutch composer, dies at 63
- 1970 Agustín Lara, Mexican composer and singer-songwriter of popular ballads and boleros (Granada; Solamente Una Vez), dies at 73
- 1972 Billy Murcia, Colombian born American rocker (New York Dolls), chokes to death at 21
- 1983 Robert Gross, American composer and violinist, dies at 69
- 1986 Elisabeth Grümmer, German-Alsatian soprano, dies at 75
- 1987 Jean Rivier, French composer and educator (Paris Conservatory, 1946-66), dies at 91
- 1987 Zohar Argov, Israeli singer, dies in jail of unintentional suicide at 32
- 1989 Dickie Goodman, American parody singer and producer ("The Flying Saucer"; "Energy Crisis '74"; "Mr. Jaws"), dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at 55
- 1991 André Vandernoot, Flemish flautist and conductor (Royal Flemish Opera, 1959-73), dies at 64
- 1996 Ion Dumitrescu, Romanian classical and film score composer (The Sun Rises), dies at 83
- 2000 Herbert Brün, German composer, dies at 82
- 2004 Pete Jolly [Ceragioli], American session and West Coast jazz pianist, and accordionist (Shorty Rogers; Pete Jolly Trio), dies of multiple myeloma at 72
- 2005 Miguel Aceves Mejía, Mexican actor, composer and singer, dies at 90
- 2005 Minako Honda, Japanese singer and musical actress, dies of leukemia at 38
- 2007 Hank Thompson, American country music singer (The Brazos Valley Boys), dies at 82
- 2014 Rick Rosas, American session and touring bassist (Neil Young; Joe Walsh; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young), dies of a heart attack at 65
- 2016 Zoltan Kocsis, Hungarian pianist and conductor, dies of cancer at 64
- 2018 Hugh McDowell, British cellist (Electric Light Orchestra - "Strange Magic"; "Evil Woman"), dies of cancer at 65
- 2019 Robert Freeman, English photo-journalist and graphic designer (early Beatles album art and film posters), dies of pneumonia at 82 [1]
- 2020 Barbara York, Canadian composer (A Butterfly in Time), dies of pulmonary fibrosis at 71
- 2020 King Von [Dayvon Bennett], American rapper and songwriter ("Crazy Story"), dies in a nightclub gunfight at 26
- 2021 Astro [Terence Wilson], British reggae-rock vocalist (UB40 - "Red Red Wine"), dies at 64
- 2021 Evette Benton, American soul session and touring vocalist (Sweethearts of Sigma; Patti Labelle), dies at 67
- 2022 Betty Johnson, American pop and cabaret singer (Jack Paar Show; "I Dreamed"), dies at 93
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide