Topic

Deaths

Lives that ended on these dates, and what they left behind.

Painted portrait of Pope Clement VII, a bearded man in a red cape and cap, seated and turned slightly to one side

Death1534Pope Clement VII diesThe Medici pope who lived through the Sack of Rome and the break with England dies after a long illness, days after backing Michelangelo's Last Judgment.September 25, 1534

Full-length painted portrait of Túpac Amaru in a patterned tunic and feathered headdress, holding a ceremonial axe and a shield

Death1572Túpac Amaru is executedSpanish authorities beheaded the last Sapa Inca in the main square of Cuzco, ending the final independent remnant of the Inca Empire.September 24, 1572

Full-length painted portrait of King Ferdinand VII in a dark military uniform with a red sash and medals

Death1833Ferdinand VII diesThe death of Spain's absolutist king left a daughter not yet three on the throne and a disputed succession that set off the Carlist Wars.September 29, 1833

Engraved portrait of August Ferdinand Möbius as an elderly man with white hair, wearing a dark coat and bow tie

Death1868August Möbius diesThe Leipzig mathematician and astronomer died at 77, leaving his name on a one-sided strip and on ideas that still shape geometry and number theory.September 26, 1868

Black-and-white studio portrait of Louis Pasteur, an older bearded man in a dark suit

Death1895Louis Pasteur diesThe French chemist who tied germs to disease, developed vaccines against anthrax and rabies, and gave his name to pasteurization died near Paris at 72.September 28, 1895

Close-up of an elderly Hugh Hefner smiling, wearing a white captain's hat, an orange shirt, and a tweed jacket

Death2017Hugh Hefner diesThe founder of Playboy died at his Los Angeles mansion at 91, closing a career that pushed sex into the mainstream and drew fierce criticism.September 27, 2017