Discover the most famous people who died on January 4. The list includes people like Albert Camus, Erwin Schrödinger, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Henri Bergson, Joan Aiken. Famous personalities featured on this list, include political leaders, composers, philosophers and physicists and from other domains of life. This list includes people from United States, United Kingdom, Germany & France and many more countries.

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 1 

Tanya Roberts

(Actress and Producer Known for Role as ‘Julie Rogers’ in the TV Series ‘Charlie's Angels’)

Birthdate: October 15, 1949

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: The Bronx, New York City, United States

Died: 2021

Tanya Roberts was an American actress and model who is best remembered for her role in the James Bond film A View to a Kill. While in her teens, she became a fashion and cover model and worked in ads for  Excedrin, Ultra Brite, and Clairol. She began acting as well and soon gained fame as a sex symbol. She retired from acting in 2005.

 2 

T. S. Eliot

(Best Known as a Leader of the Modernist Movement in Poetry)

Birthdate: September 26, 1888

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri, United States

Died: 1965

American-born British poet T. S. Eliot is best remembered for his poems The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Waste Land, and Ash Wednesday, and his plays such as Murder in the Cathedral. He won the Nobel Prize for literature and became a prominent figure of Modernist poetry.  

Birthdate: November 7, 1913

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Drean, Algeria

Died: 1960

Albert Camus was a French philosopher and the second-youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. His philosophical views contributed to the rise of absurdism, a philosophical concept. Also a prolific writer, Albert Camus had an illustrious literary career; most of his philosophical essays and novels are still influential.

 4 

Erwin Schrödinger

(Austrian Physicist Who Made Important Contributions to the Development of Quantum Mechanics)

Birthdate: August 12, 1887

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Erdberg, Vienna, Austria

Died: 1961

Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger, is best known for the "Schrödinger's cat" experiment, or the Schrodinger equation. His book What Is Life? explored genetics through physics. The Nobel Prize winner also wrote on a variety of topics, such as color theory and thermodynamics, and tried to create a unified field theory.

 5 

Phil Lynott

(Lead Vocalist of the Irish Hard Rock Band 'Thin Lizzy')

Birthdate: August 20, 1949

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England

Died: 1986

Phil Lynott was the frontman of the rock band Thin Lizzy, which delivered hits such as Whiskey in the Jar and Jailbreak. After the group disbanded, Phil had a successful solo career, published two poetry books, and led the band Grand Slam. He struggled with heroin addiction throughout his life.

Birthdate: May 27, 1794

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Staten Island

Died: 1877

Cornelius Vanderbilt was an American business magnate credited with vastly expanding and improving America's transportation infrastructure. For his contributions to the country's railroad industry, Vanderbilt was made an inductee of the North America Railway Hall of Fame in 1999. He is also remembered for providing an initial $1 million endowment to Vanderbilt University, which was named in his honor.

 7 

Gerry Rafferty

(Singer-songwriter, Singer, Songwriter)

Birthdate: April 16, 1947

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Paisley

Died: 2011

Birthdate: July 19, 1965

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Died: 2015

Sportscaster Stuart Scott is best remembered as an ESPN anchor. His signature style included catchphrases such as “booyah.” He mostly covered the NBA and NFL games. He received the Jimmy V Award for his long battle with appendix cancer and eventually died of the disease at age 49.

Birthdate: April 3, 1904

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Kaplan, Louisiana, United States

Died: 1999

 10 

Glynis Johns

(Retired Actress, Dancer, Musician and Singer, Known for Her Film ‘The Sundowners’)

Birthdate: October 5, 1923

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Pretoria, South Africa

Died: 2024

The veteran British actress who belongs to the Golden Age of Hollywood is known for her stellar roles in films like Miranda, Third Time Lucky and State Secret. Glynis Johns is also a singer, distinguished by her husky voice. She acted on the stage and the television. The daughter of actor, Mervyn Johns, has a son from her first marriage.

 11 

Mae Questel

(Actress)

Birthdate: September 13, 1908

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: The Bronx, New York, USA

Died: 1998

 12 

Henri Bergson

(French Philosopher and Winner of the 1927 Nobel Prize in Literature)

Birthdate: October 18, 1859

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Paris, France

Died: 1941

French philosopher, Henri Bergson, is remembered for his contribution to the tradition of continental philosophy. His works were considered extremely influential,  especially during the first half of the 20th century. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature (1927) and  Grand-Croix de la Legion d'honneur (1930). He was a simple man who led a humble life despite his great achievements.

 13 

Robert Stigwood

(Impresario, Film Producer, and Music Entrepreneur)

Birthdate: April 16, 1934

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Adelaide

Died: 2016

 14 

Christopher Isherwood

(Novelist)

Birthdate: August 26, 1904

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Cheshire, England, UK

Died: 1986

Height: 5'6" (168 cm)

Birthdate: April 16, 1845

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Died: 1926

Mary Eliza Mahoney was an African-American nurse. In 1879, she became the first African American to successfully complete her course from an American school of nursing. She helped eliminate racial discrimination in the nursing profession. Mahoney was made an inductee of the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame and the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1976 and 1993 respectively.

 16 

Elizabeth Ann Seton

(American Catholic Religious Sister)

Birthdate: August 28, 1774

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: New York, New York, United States

Died: 1821

Born to a physician, Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American to be canonized by the Catholic Church, helped establish the first charity in New York. Part of the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, she pioneered the Catholic schooling system, establishing the first Catholic girls’ school in the U.S. 

 17 

Donald Campbell

(English Speed Record Breaker Who Broke Eight World Speed Records on Land and on Water)

Birthdate: March 23, 1921

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Kingston upon Thames

Died: 1967

Donald Campbell was an English speed record breaker. He is best remembered for breaking eight world speed records on land and on water in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1964, he became the first person to set both world water speed and land records in the same year. Campbell died while attempting to set a water speed record in England.

 18 

Brian Horrocks

(British Army Officer)

Birthdate: September 7, 1895

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Ranikhet, India

Died: 1985

Born to an army doctor in India, Brian Horrocks was educated at Sandhurst and later became a British Army officer. He was skilled in modern pentathlon and had also participated in the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. Post-retirement, he penned a memoir and was featured in several BBC programs.

Birthdate: September 4, 1924

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Rye, East Sussex, England

Died: 2004

 20 

Tony Lip

(Actor)

Birthdate: July 30, 1930

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, USA

Died: 2013

 21 

Conrad Hall

(Considered Amongst History's Most Influential Cinematographers)

Birthdate: June 21, 1926

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Pape'ete, French Polynesia

Died: 2003

Conrad Hall was a cinematographer best remembered for working in films, such as In Cold Blood, American Beauty, and Cool Hand Luke. In 2003, he was named among the most influential cinematographers in history. One of the most celebrated and decorated cinematographers, Conrad Hall won many prestigious awards including three Academy Awards and three British Academy Film Awards.

 22 

Moses Mendelssohn

(Philosopher)

Birthdate: September 6, 1729

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Dessau, Dessau-Roßlau, Germany

Died: 1786

 23 

Paul Chambers

(Composer, Jazz musician)

Birthdate: April 22, 1935

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Pittsburgh

Died: 1969

 24 

Princess Margaretha of Sweden

(Princess)

Birthdate: June 25, 1899

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Stora Parkudden, Djurgården, Stockholm, Sweden

Died: 1977

 25 

George Woolf

(Jockey)

Birthdate: May 31, 1910

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Cardston, Alberta, Canada

Died: 1946

 26 

Rahul Dev Burman

Birthdate: June 27, 1939

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Kolkata

Died: 1994

Rahul Dev Burman was an Indian music director. He is regarded as one of the greatest music composers in the history of Indian music. He is credited with composing songs that helped define the career of singers like Kishore Kumar. His works have inspired a generation of Indian music directors. 

 27 

Georg von Hertling

(Politician)

Birthdate: August 31, 1843

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Darmstadt, Germany

Died: 1919

 28 

Ali Reza Pahlavi

(Politician and Socialite)

Birthdate: April 28, 1966

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Tehran, Iran

Died: 2011

Ali Reza Pahlavi was an Iranian socialite best known as the younger son of former Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Ali Reza was second in the right of succession to the Iranian throne prior to the Islamic Revolution. He died at the age of 44 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after suffering from depression for a long time. 

Birthdate: March 16, 1916

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Japan

Died: 2010

Tsutomu Yamaguchi was a Japanese marine engineer who survived the deadly Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings during the Second World War. He became the only person to be officially recognized as a survivor of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings after he applied for double recognition in January 2009.

 30 

John Toland

(Writer)

Birthdate: June 29, 1912

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States

Died: 2004

 31 

Anneka Di Lorenzo

(Actress)

Birthdate: September 6, 1952

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States

Died: 2011

Height: 5'6" (168 cm)

 32 

Marais Viljoen

(Politician)

Birthdate: December 2, 1915

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Robertson

Died: 2007

Marais Viljoen was the fifth state president of South Africa. He became the last ceremonial president of South Africa when Prime Minister P. W. Botha succeeded him in 1984. He continued to express a keen interest in politics even after retiring from public life.

 33 

Eve Arnold

(Journalist, Photographer, Photojournalist)

Birthdate: April 21, 1912

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Philadelphia

Died: 2012

 34 

Angela of Foligno

(Saint)

Birthdate: 1248 AD

Birthplace: Foligno, Italy

Died: 1309

 35 

Marina Raskova

(Navigator)

Birthdate: March 28, 1912

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Russian Empire

Died: 1943

 36 

Gabriel Cramer

(Genevan Mathematician)

Birthdate: July 31, 1704

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Geneva, Switzerland

Died: 1752

Born to a doctor, Gabriel Cramer showed an interest in math since childhood. He received his doctoral degree at 18 and was named the co-chair of the University of Geneva at 20. Known for his research on algebraic curves, he is also remembered for devising Cramer’s rule and Cramer’s paradox.

 37 

Tom Fears

(American Football Player & Coach)

Birthdate: December 3, 1922

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Guadalajara, Mexico

Died: 2000

 38 

Donal Donnelly

(Actor)

Birthdate: July 6, 1931

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Bradford, England

Died: 2010

 39 

Mohammad Ali Jauhar

(Indian Muslim Activist and One of the Founders of 'The All-India Muslim League')

Birthdate: December 10, 1878

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, India

Died: 1931

Mohammad Ali Jauhar was an Indian Muslim activist, journalist, poet, and freedom fighter. After starting his career by writing articles for major Indian and British newspapers, Mohammad Ali went on to become one of the founders and an important member of the All-India Muslim League. His life and career inspired a 1984 documentary film titled Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar.

 40 

Lester Raymond Brown

(Musician)

Birthdate: March 14, 1912

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Reinerton, Pennsylvania, United States

Died: 2001

 41 

Salmaan Taseer

(Businessman)

Birthdate: May 31, 1944

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Simla, India

Died: 2011

 42 

Sancho II of Portugal

(King)

Birthdate: September 8, 1209

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Coimbra, Portugal

Died: 1248

 43 

Gorilla Jones

(Boxer)

Birthdate: May 12, 1906

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Memphis, Tennessee, United States

Died: 1982

Height: 5'9" (175 cm)

Birthdate: February 16, 1932

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Zhadova, near Czernowitz, Romania (now Ukraine)

Died: 2018

Israeli author Aharon Appelfeld was 8 when the Nazis captured him and his family. While he lost his mother to the Holocaust, he and his father were sent to a labor camp. After escaping the camp, he traveled to Ukraine and Palestine, took up odd jobs, and even studied philosophy.

 45 

Albert Roux

(Restaureur Who Operated Le Gavroche in London's Mayfair)

Birthdate: October 8, 1935

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Semur-en-Brionnais, France

Died: 2021

 46 

Johan Ferrier

(1st President of Suriname)

Birthdate: May 12, 1910

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Paramaribo, Suriname

Died: 2010

 47 

Yelena Sheremeteva

(Noblewoman)

Birthdate: 1553 AD

Birthplace: Russia

Died: 1587

 48 

Sharon la Hechicera

(Actress)

Birthdate: March 28, 1974

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Guayaquil, Guayas Province, Ecuador

Died: 2015

 49 

Johan Ludvig Heiberg

(Philologist)

Birthdate: November 27, 1854

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Denmark

Died: 1928

Johan Ludvig Heiberg was a Danish historian and philologist. Heiberg is best remembered for discovering previously unknown texts in the famous Archimedes Palimpsest. In 1912, Johan Ludvig Heiberg was honored with the Prix Binoux by the French Academy of Sciences.

 50 

Martinus J. G. Veltman

(Dutch Theoretical Physicist Who Shared the 1999 Nobel Prize in Physics for the Work on Particle Theory)

Birthdate: June 27, 1931

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Waalwijk, Netherlands

Died: 2021

Martinus J. G. Veltman was a Dutch theoretical physicist whose work on particle theory alongside Gerardus 't Hooft earned him the prestigious Nobel Prize in physics in 1999, which he shared with the latter. Veltman also wrote a book titled Facts and Mysteries in Elementary Particle Physics, which was published in 2003. The Asteroid 9492 Veltman is named after him.