Famous Deaths for 2nd February 2026

1802 – Welbore Ellis, 1st Baron Mendip, British statesman (b. 1713)
1867 – Forceythe Willson, American poet (The Old Sergeant), dies at 29
1973 – Hendrik Elias, Flemish historian and Mayor of Ghent (1941-44), dies at 70
1982 – Paul Desruisseaux, Canadian lawyer and politician (Senator for Wellington, Quebec), dies at 76
1994 – Zilner Randolph, American jazz trumpeter, arranger, and music educator, dies at 95
1994 – Stephen Barclay, American actor (Pride of the Plains), dies at 75
1997 – Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (grandmaster 1952), dies at 83
2007 – Eric von Schmidt, American folk/blues singer-songwriter (b. 1931)
2022 – Roy Purdon, New Zealand harness-racing trainer (21 x NZ trainers premierships; 4 x NZ cup winners; 54 x Group One wins), dies at 94
2025 – Gene Barge, American RandB and rock saxophonist, known as “Daddy G” (Gary Bonds – “Quarter to Three”, Fontella Bass – “Rescue Me”, Jackie Wilson – “Your Love Keeps Lifting Me (Higher and Higher)”), dies at 98

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