Famous Deaths for 31st January 2026

1030 – William V (‘the Great”), Duke of Aquitaine (995-10300 and Count of Poitier (969-1030), dies at 60
1794 – Marriott Arbuthnot, British admiral and naval commander during the American War for Independence, dies at 82 or 83
1952 – George Howells Broadhurst, British-American playwright, director and producer responsible for opening Broadway’s Broadhurst Theatre, dies at 85
1972 – Bir Bikram Shah Deva Mahendra, King of Nepal (1955-72), dies at 51
1979 – Grant Green, American jazz, blues and funk guitarist, and songwriter, dies of a heart attack at 43
1994 – Pierre Boulle, French writer known for “The Bridge on the River Kwai” and “Planet of the Apes”, dies at 81
2000 – (Simon) “Si” Zentner, American jazz, session, and pop trombonist and big-band lbandeader, dies of leukemia at 82
2001 – Gordon R. Dickson, Canadian-American sci-fi author (Genetic General), dies at 77
2012 – Anthony Bevilacqua, American cardinal, dies at 88
2023 – Lou Campanelli, American basketball coach (James Madison University 1972-85; University of California, Berkeley 1986-93), dies at 84

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