Obituaries by Year — Modern Era

The 20th century was rich in outstanding historical figures, but unfortunately, no one is eternal. Can you name the people who passed away in each year of the modern era, starting with the fateful year of 1914? Good luck!

I give you two hints: occupation and assotiative words

Main factor is a historical import, so if you have any adjustions, they are accepted

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Last updated: November 11, 2025

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First submitted	November 11, 2025
Times taken	323
Average score	67.9%
Rating	4.80
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1914 (royal)
Sarajevo assasination

1915 (composer)
"The Poem of Fire"

1916 (mystic)
Tsar's family healer

1917 (courtesan)
accused espionage

1918 (monarch)
last Tsar of Russia

1919 (politician)
Panama Canal

1920 (journalist)
American Communist Party

1921 (composer)
"The Carnival of the Animals"

1922 (inventor)
telephone

1923 (engineer)
Paris 1889 World Fair Tower

1924 (revolutionary)
1917 October Revolution

1925 (revolutionary)
1911 China Revolution

1926 (illusionist)
escapist

1927 (dancer)
Yesenin's ex-spouse

1928 (explorer) South Pole expedition

1929 (inventor)
German inventor of car

1930 (writer)
Sherlock Holmes series

1931 (inventor)
electric light bulb

1932 (inventor)
Kodak

1933 (politician)
Silent Cal

1934 (scientist)
radioactivity

1935 (actor)
Oklahoma's Favorite Son

1936 (writer)
The Jungle Book

1937 (composer)
Rhapsody in Blue

1938 (politician)
Republic of Turkey

1939 (psychologist)
psychoanalysis

1940 (politician)
Stalin's rival

1941 (writer)
To the Lighthouse

1942 (pediatrician)
Warsaw orphanage

1943 (inventor)
alternating current

1944 (writer)
The Little Prince

1945 (writer)
The Diary of a Young Girl

1946 (writer)
The War of the Worlds

1947 (businessman)
Model T

1948 (activist)
nonviolent resistance

1949 (writer)
Gone with the Wind

1950 (writer)
1984

1951 (businessman)
Volkswagen Beetle

1951 (politician)
First lady of Argentina

1953 (politician)
Soviet Union

1954 (scientist)
'father' of computer science

1955 (scientist)
theory of relativity

1956 (painter)
Convergence

1957 (politician)
Second Red Scare

1958 (scientist)
DNA structure

1959 (musician)
The Day When the Music Died

1960 (actor)
Rhett Buttler

1961 (writer)
The Old Man and the Sea

1962 (actress)
pop culture icon

1963 (politician)
Ich bin ein Berliner

1964 (politician)
First PM of India

1965 (activist)
OAAU

1966 (animator)
Mickey Mouse

1967 (revolutionary)
Cuban revolution

1968 (activist)
I Have a Dream

1969 (politician)
Communist Party of Vietnam

1970 (musician)
Star-Spangled Banner

1971 (musician)
What a Wonderful World

1972 (politician)
President of Ghana

1973 (painter)
Guernica

1974 (musician)
jazz pianist

1975 (monarch)
last Emperor of Ethiopia

1976 (writer)
The Death on Nile

1977 (singer)
King of Rock & Roll

1978 (politician)
1973 War

1979 (politician)
Miracle on Han river

1980 (musician)
Imagine

1981 (musician)
reggae

1982 (actress)
Princess of Monaco

1983 (comic artist)
The Adventures of Tintin

1984 (politician)
Mother Indira

1985 (victim)
eruption in Colombia

1986 (writer)
Second Sex

1987 (painter)
Pop Art

1988 (businessman)
Formula One

1989 (painter)
The Persistence of Memory

1990 (puppeteer)
The Muppets

1991 (singer)
The Show Must Go On

1992 (writer)
Robot science fiction series

1993 (actress)
Breakfast at Tiffany's

1994 (musician)
Nirvana

1995 (politician)
Oslo Accords

1996 (rapper)
California Love

1997 (activist)
Queen of People's Hearts

1998 (singer)
'Ol Blue Eyes

1999 (film director)
The Shining

2000 (politician)
Canadian PM

2001 (singer)
Princess of R&B

2002 (writer)
Pippi Longstocking

2003 (singer)
Folsom Prison Blues

2004 (actor)
Don Corleone

2005 (religious figure)
Polish Pope

2006 (politician)
Iraq War

2007 (politician)
capitalism in Russia

2008 (actor)
Joker

2009 (singer)
Thriller

2010 (writer)
Catcher on the Rye

2011 (businessman)
IPhone

2012 (singer)
Bodyguard

2013 (politician)
African National Congress

2014 (actor)
Good Morning, Vietnam

2015 (actor)
Lord of the Rings

2016 (athlete)
The Rumbe in the Jungle

2017 (singer)
Linkin Park

2018 (scientist)
A Brief History of Time

2019 (fashion designer)
Fendi

2020 (soccer player)
Goal of the century

2021 (nobility)
Duke of Edinburgh

2022 (monarch)
God Save the Queen

2023 (singer)
Private Dancer

2024 (actress)
Minerva McGonagall

2025 (religious figure)
Argentine Pope

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13 Comments

Level 47

Nov 11, 2025

Decent quiz

Level 73

Dec 10, 2025

Great quiz! Love the old photos, love the wide variety of people.

Level 69

Dec 10, 2025

Thank you very much!

Level 69

Dec 10, 2025

I'd explain probably only one of my arguable decisions. I put Agatha Christie instead of Chairman Mao a bit subjective. I think that's a shame that such an important figure like Mao doesn't appear in this quiz, but still I preferred Agatha instead of him.

For the first, I think there's too much political figures, espeacially if we will look at the social import. I mean, Brezhnev, Gorbachev, Reagan, FDR, Thatcher, etc. But then it would be a huge list of dead politicians, and I wanted to have more diversed quiz.

And second, I'm just loving Agatha Christie too much to ignore her. Sorry, Mao.

Of course, objectively he's made much more historical import than any other person, but still I prefer Agatha for this quiz. A bit subjectively, but still that's my choice.

Level 69

Dec 15, 2025

Its good that its not just politicians, variety is the spice of life (and quizzes as well :))

Level 89

Dec 10, 2025

Great quiz. Hari wasn't accepted by itself.

Level 69

Dec 10, 2025

I did that because I thought Mata Hari is her scenic pseudonym. I think Hari is not her lastname, and it would be strange to accept 'Hari'. But maybe it's better to have a typein than haven't, yes?

Level 61

Dec 10, 2025

Absolutely love this quiz (still taking it!) but I would recommend providing a different photo for the author of Gone with the Wind... because it has her name in the picture!

Also says "Rumbe in the Jungle" - dropped the l

Level 69

Dec 11, 2025

Yes, I've noticed both things. Of course, the Rumble is my fault, but I still can't find the time for fixing this. But I found Margaret Mitchell is pretty fun, tbh, let it be a little gift for the users :)

Level 61

Dec 10, 2025

So I don't really know anything about the lady for 1927, save her cause of death, which was extremely brutal.

I think she (donning a scarf) and someone else were driving in a convertible sports car in the French Riviera. You can probably see where this is going, but the slipstream caused the scarf to get tangled with the wheels & she was ripped out of the car...

She broke her neck & unsurprisingly died. Ouch.

Level 69

Dec 11, 2025

Yes, her cause of death was terrible.

I think that's nuances of mentality. The thing is that Isadora Duncan is a VERY famous in Russia, but firstly because of her dramatic marriage with Russian poet Sergei Yesenin (very popular in Russia), and also for gaining Soviet citizenship. But of course, people from other countries doesn't know her. That's ironic bc she's an American dancer. I expected she'd be unknown for other ones, but still, shs's the most famous person I found for 1927.

Level 69

Dec 15, 2025

Someone called it a decent quiz in a comment above, I'd say its a tremendous quiz :D

Level 69

Dec 15, 2025

Thank you very very much!