Famous People Who Died on August 9

Discover the most famous people who died on August 9. The list includes people like Sharon Tate, Bernie Mac, Jerry Garcia, Frank Gifford, Hermann Hesse. Famous personalities featured on this list, include actors, biologists, economists and philosophers and from other domains of life. This list includes people from United States, Germany, United Kingdom & Italy and many more countries.

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 1 

Sharon Tate

(Actress - Murdered by Members of the 'Manson Family')

Birthdate: January 24, 1943

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Dallas

Died: 1969

In the 1960s, Sharon Tate was one of Hollywood’s most promising actresses. She won a beauty pageant while still a teenager and soon started modelling and acting in films and television shows. Her big breakout film was Valley of the Dolls. At the age of 26, she was all set to welcome her first child when she was brutally murdered.

 2 

Jerry Garcia

(The Lead Guitarist and a Vocalist with the Rock Band the "Grateful Dead")

Birthdate: August 1, 1942

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: San Francisco, California, United States

Died: 1995

Jerry Garcia had an illustrious 30-year career as the lead guitarist and vocalist of the rock band the Grateful Dead. Rolling Stone ranked him 13th on their 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time list. He was known for his improvisations, participated in many side projects, and released several solo albums.

 3 

Patrick Bouvier Kennedy

(Infant Child of President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Who Lived Just Over 39 Hours)

Birthdate: August 7, 1963

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Bourne, Massachusetts, United States

Died: 1963

Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, born in August 1963, was the infant son of U.S. president John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who died just a little over 39 hours after his birth. Patrick was born prematurely, with hyaline membrane disease (HMD), now known as infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS).

 4 

Gregory Hines

(Actor, Choreographer and One of the Most Celebrated Tap Dancers of All Time)

Birthdate: February 14, 1946

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: New York, New York, United States

Died: 2003

Gregory Hines is remembered as one of the greatest tap dancers in the world. His performance in the Broadway play Jelly's Last Jam won him a Tony and a Drama Desk award. He also won an Emmy for his voice role in Little Bill and hosted his own show.

Birthdate: September 25, 1906

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia

Died: 1975

Dmitry Shostakovich was a Soviet and Russian pianist and composer. Widely regarded as one of the 20th century's major composers, Shostakovich's music is characterized by ambivalent tonality, elements of the grotesque, and sharp contrasts. He composed 15 symphonies during his lifetime and most of his work came under Joseph Stalin.

 6 

Frank Gifford

(American Football Player, Actor and TV Sports Commentator)

Birthdate: August 16, 1930

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Santa Monica, California, United States

Died: 2015

American football player Frank Gifford is remembered for his 12-year stint with the NFL team New York Giants. The NFL MVP-winning footballer was named to eight Pro Bowls. Following his retirement, he gained fame as a sportscaster on shows such as ABC's Monday Night Football and also won two Emmys.

 7 

Hermann Hesse

(Poet, Novelist & Painter Who Won the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature)

Birthdate: July 2, 1877

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Calw, Germany

Died: 1962

German-born Swiss poet, novelist, and painter Hermann Hesse received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946. He explored individuals’ search for authenticity, self-knowledge, and spirituality in his works. An intense and headstrong person from childhood, he developed an early interest in reading. He started writing as a young man and became an influential author in the German-speaking world. 

Birthdate: July 5, 1943

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Toronto, Canada

Died: 2023

Canadian musician, songwriter, and film composer Robbie Robertson became popular following his association as lead guitarist and songwriter with the rock group, The Band. He is credited for playing a key role in popularizing the Americana music genre. He also had a successful career as a solo artist. As a film composer, he has often collaborated with director Martin Scorsese.

Birthdate: 1450 AD

Birthplace: Burgundian Netherlands

Died: 1516

Hieronymus Bosch was a Dutch painter and a significant figure of the Early Netherlandish painting school. Most of his works are made of oil on oak wood and consist of religious themes and dark depictions of Hell. One of his notable works is The Garden of Earthly Delights.

Birthdate: July 8, 1885

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Metzingen, Germany

Died: 1948

Hugo Boss was a German businessman and fashion designer. He is credited with founding one of the most popular fashion houses in the world, Hugo Boss AG. Apart from maintaining his business endeavors, Hugo Boss was also a member of the Nazi Party and remained loyal to the ideology of Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany.

Birthdate: May 17, 1973

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States

Died: 2005

Height: 7'6" (229 cm)

 12 

Ernst Haeckel

(Zoologist & Evolutionist Who Was a Strong Proponent of 'Darwinism')

Birthdate: February 16, 1834

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Potsdam, Germany

Died: 1919

Ernst Haeckel had initially practiced medicine before he gained an interest in Charles Darwin’s theory and began exploring zoology and related fields. He not only coined terms such as ecology, but also named numerous species and created a genealogical tree. He drew numerous figures of animals and sea creatures, too.

Birthdate: October 10, 1933

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Birmingham, Alabama, United States

Died: 1969

Jay Sebring was a celebrity hair stylist who owned a chain of salons called Sebring International and was known for his reckless lifestyle. He; his former girlfriend, actor Sharon Tate; and three others were murdered by members of the Manson Family while they were at Roman Polanski’s Los Angeles home.

 14 

Kamala

(American Professional Wrestler)

Birthdate: May 28, 1950

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Senatobia, Mississippi, United States

Died: 2020

Height: 6'7" (201 cm)

 15 

Frank Whittle

(British Pilot and Aviator Best Known for Inventing the 'Turbojet Engine')

Birthdate: June 1, 1907

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Coventry, England

Died: 1996

Aviation engineer Frank Whittle entered the Royal Air Force as an apprentice and rose through the ranks to become a pilot. He invented the jet engine, though his idea of a plane that could fly at a phenomenal speed was initially laughed at. He was later knighted for his achievements.

 16 

Edith Stein

(Philosopher, Christian Nun and One of the Six 'Patron Saints of Europe')

Birthdate: October 12, 1891

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Wrocław, Poland

Died: 1942

Edith Stein was a German Jewish philosopher who studied at the University of Freiburg and completed her dissertation on empathy. Always interested in Catholicism, she read the autobiography of the mystic Teresa of Ávila and converted to Christianity, and became a Discalced Carmelite nun. She was killed in the Auschwitz concentration camp and is canonized as a martyr.

Birthdate: March 13, 1941

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Al-Birwa

Died: 2008

Revered as the Palestinian national poet, Mahmoud Darwish was born in al-Birwa, a village that was ravaged by Israelis. He was exiled in Paris and Beirut for many years and was even once put in prison for reciting a poem. His writing style merged traditional Arabic forms with modern elements.

Birthdate: August 31, 1874

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Williamsburg, Massachusetts, United States

Died: 1949

 19 

Pat Hitchcock

(Actress)

Birthdate: July 7, 1928

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: London, England

Died: 2021

 20 

Alex Cord

(Actor)

Birthdate: May 3, 1933

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Floral Park, New York, United States

Died: 2021

Birthdate: December 10, 1760

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: New Kent County, Virginia, or Elizabeth City

Died: 1830

James Armistead Lafayette was an enslaved African American. He is best remembered for his service in the Continental Army during the famous American Revolutionary War, where he worked under the command of a French aristocrat and military officer named Lafayette. He worked as a double agent, feeding the British with wrong information and disclosing accurate information to the Americans.

 22 

Michael the Brave

(Romanian National Hero Known for Uniting All of Romania for the First Time)

Birthdate: January 15, 1558

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Drăgoeşti, Vâlcea

Died: 1601

Mihai Viteazul, or Michael the Brave, was the prince of Walachia, who became a national hero after uniting all Romanian principalities under his rule. Known for his exploits against the Turks, he also conquered Transylvania and Moldavia. He was killed shortly after suppressing a revolt of Magyar nobles.

 23 

Franz Jägerstätter

(Fighter)

Birthdate: May 20, 1907

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Sankt Radegund, Austria

Died: 1943

Franz Jägerstätter was an Austrian conscientious objector who served during the Second World War. He opposed the Nazis and refused to fight for Nazi Germany during the war. He was executed for his stance against Nazi Germany and was later declared a martyr by the Catholic Church.

 24 

Jacqueline Cochran

(The First Female Pilot Who Broke the Sound Barrier)

Birthdate: May 11, 1906

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Muscogee, Cantonment, Florida, United States

Died: 1980

A pioneer in women’s aviation, US pilot Jacqueline Cochran was the first female pilot to break the sound barrier. She was also the first woman to lead the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale as its president and the first female Bendix race competitor. She held several other records and also led the organization WASP.

 25 

Joe Orton

(Playwright, Screenwriter, Writer)

Birthdate: January 1, 1933

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Leicester

Died: 1967

 26 

Al-Maʾmūn

(Caliph of Baghdad)

Birthdate: September 14, 0786

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Baghdad, Iraq

Died: 0833

Birthdate: August 11, 1943

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: San Francisco, California, United States

Died: 1969

Height: 5'5" (165 cm)

 28 

Walter Tevis

(Novelist)

Birthdate: February 28, 1928

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: San Francisco, California, United States

Died: 1984

 29 

James Van Allen

(Physicist)

Birthdate: September 7, 1914

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Mount Pleasant, Iowa, United States

Died: 2006

 30 

Ramón Valdés

(Actor, Comedian)

Birthdate: September 2, 1923

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Mexico City, Mexico

Died: 1988

Height: 5'9" (175 cm)

 31 

Ted Stevens

(Former President pro tempore of the United States Senate)

Birthdate: November 18, 1923

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Died: 2010

Birthdate: April 23, 1857

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Naples, Italy

Died: 1919

Best known for his iconic opera Pagliacci, Ruggero Leoncavallo was one of the greatest opera composers of Italy. He was his own librettist in most of his operas. Mattinata, the song which he wrote for the Gramophone Company, or HMV, is another of his notable works.

 33 

John Harsanyi

(Hungarian-American Economist Who Won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 1994)

Birthdate: May 29, 1920

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Budapest, Hungary

Died: 2000

Nobel Prize-winning Hungarian-American economist John Harsanyi is best remembered for developing game theory in mathematics. Known as one of the group of scientists called The Martians, he had escaped deportation during World War II and had fled to Austria and Australia, eventually attaining a PhD from Stanford in the U.S.

 34 

Irene

(Greek Empress)

Birthdate: 0750 AD

Birthplace: Buk-gu, Daegu, South Korea

Died: 0803

Irene of Athens ruled over the Eastern Roman Empire between 797 and 802. She started her political career by becoming the empress consort to Emperor Leo IV. She then served as regent during her son Constantine VI's rule before co-ruling along with him. In 797, she organized a conspiracy to gouge out her son's eyes to become the sole ruler.

 35 

Friedrich Ratzel

(Biologist, Geopolitician, Geographer, Zoologist, Political scientist, University teacher)

Birthdate: August 30, 1844

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Karlsruhe

Died: 1904

Friedrich Ratzel was a German ethnographer and geographer. He was the first person to use the term Lebensraum, which would later become an important and popular word among the National Socialists. Also an influential writer, Friedrich Ratzel's works served as a justification for imperial expansion. 

 36 

Mel Stuart

(Film director)

Birthdate: September 2, 1928

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States

Died: 2012

 37 

Joe Mercer

(Football player)

Birthdate: August 9, 1914

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Ellesmere Port, England

Died: 1990

 38 

David Raksin

(Composer)

Birthdate: August 4, 1912

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Died: 2004

 39 

Bob Jenkins

(Sports announcer)

Birthdate: September 4, 1947

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Richmond, Indiana, United States

Died: 2021

 40 

David Rakoff

(Essayist, Journalist, Actor, Writer)

Birthdate: November 27, 1964

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Montreal

Died: 2012

 41 

Haji

(Actress)

Birthdate: January 24, 1946

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Quebec, Canada

Died: 2013

Height: 5'9" (175 cm)

 42 

Anton Walbrook

(Austrian Actor Who Established a Career in British Cinema)

Birthdate: November 19, 1896

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Vienna, Austria

Died: 1967

Anton Walbrook was an Austrian actor who established a career in the United Kingdom after leaving Austria in 1936 due to safety concerns. He is best remembered for playing important roles in films like The Red Shoes and The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, where he played Boris Lermontov and Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff respectively.

 43 

Herb Thomas

(American Stock Car Racer and One of NASCAR's Most Successful Drivers in the 1950s)

Birthdate: April 6, 1923

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Olivia, North Carolina, United States

Died: 2000

 44 

Walter O'Malley

(Sports Executive)

Birthdate: October 9, 1903

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Bronx, New York, US

Died: 1979

 45 

Chaim Soutine

(Belarusian Painter Who Made a Major Contribution to the Expressionist Movement)

Birthdate: January 13, 1893

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Smilavichy, Belarus

Died: 1943

Chaim Soutine was a Belarussian painter who lived and worked in Paris. Best remembered for his contribution to the expressionist movement, Soutine served as a bridge between the growing form of Abstract expressionism and more traditional approaches. Today, many of his paintings are preserved at places like The Jewish Museum in New York. 

 46 

Melissa Hayden

(Ballet dancer)

Birthdate: April 25, 1923

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Toronto, Canada

Died: 2006

 47 

Ray Harford

(Football player, Football manager)

Birthdate: June 1, 1945

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Halifax, England

Died: 2003

Height: 6'1" (185 cm)

 48 

John Henry Holland

(American Engineer, Psychologist, Scientist and Computer Scientist)

Birthdate: February 2, 1929

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States

Died: 2015

 49 

Francisco Zúñiga

(Artist Known both for his painting and his sculpture)

Birthdate: December 26, 1912

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: San José, Costa Rica

Died: 1998

 50 

Frederick Marryat

(Naval officer)

Birthdate: July 10, 1792

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: London, England

Died: 1848