This is a list of notable people who died as a result of hanging, including suicides and judicial, extrajudicial, or summary executions. These deaths are notable due to history or due to media exposure.
Suicide by hanging
Emperor Aizong of Jin, emperor of China's Jin dynasty (14 February 1234) Chongzhen Emperor, emperor of China's Ming dynasty (25 April 1644) Gérard de Nerval, French poet and essayist (26 January 1855) Philipp Mainländer, German philosopher (1 April 1876) Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist, pioneer of statistical mechanics (5 September 1906) Sergei Yesenin, Russian poet, ex-husband of Isadora Duncan (27 December 1925) Nishinoumi Kajirō II, Japanese 25th yokozuna (27 January 1931) Alberto Santos-Dumont, Brazilian aviation pioneer (23 July 1932) Hans Berger, German inventor of electroencephalography (1 June 1941) Marina Tsvetayeva, Russian poet (31 August 1941) Eduard Wirths, German Nazi Chief SS Auschwitz concentration camp doctor (21 September 1945) Leonardo Conti, Nazi Reich Health Leader; in prison cell (6 October 1945) Robert Ley, German Nazi Reichsorganisationsleiter; in prison cell (25 October 1945) Charles Armijo Woodruff, 11th Governor of American Samoa (23 November 1945) Rudolf Jung, Nazi Director of Reich Inspection of Labour Administration; in prison cell (11 December 1945) Robert van Genechten, Dutch collaborator during German Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, in jail cell (13 December 1945) Gustav Simon, German Nazi NSKK-Obergruppenführer; in prison cell (18 December 1945) Hans Bothmann, German Nazi SS commandant of Chełmno extermination camp; while in custody (4 April 1946) Max Koegel, German Nazi SS commander of Lichtenburg concentration camp, Ravensbrück concentration camp, Majdanek concentration camp, and Flossenbürg concentration camp; in prison cell (27 June 1946) Carl Schneider, German Nazi Heidelberg University professor, researcher for Nazi euthanasia program; in prison cell (11 December 1946) Herbert Backe, German Nazi SS Obergruppenführer; in prison cell (6 April 1947) Irmfried Eberl, Austrian Nazi SS-Obersturmführer psychiatrist, commandant of Treblinka extermination camp (16 February 1948) Karl Jäger, Swiss-born German Nazi SS Einsatzkommando leader; in prison cell (22 May 1959)"Ex-Nazi Hangs Himself in Cell" The New York Times, page 21, 16 September 1959. Wilfrid Garfield Case, Canadian Member of Parliament (22 September 1959) Otoya Yamaguchi, Japanese ultranationalist youth who assassinated Inejirō Asanuma, chairman of the Japan Socialist Party (2 November 1960) Hermann Höfle, Austrian-born Nazi SS commander and Holocaust perpetrator; in prison cell (21 August 1962) Werner Heyde, German Nazi SS psychiatrist, a main organizer of Nazi Germany's Euthanasia Program; in prison cell (13 February 1964) Frederick Fleet, British lookout on the Titanic who first spotted the iceberg (10 January 1965) Kurt Bolender, German Nazi SS sergeant who operated Sobibór extermination camp gas chambers; in prison cell (10 October 1966) Ilse Koch, German Nazi overseer at Buchenwald concentration camp and Majdanek concentration camp; in prison cell (1 September 1967) Fu Qifang, Chinese table tennis player and coach (16 April 1968) Jiang Yongning, Chinese table tennis player and coach (16 May 1968) Rong Guotuan, Chinese table tennis player and coach (20 June 1968) Mack Ray Edwards, American child sex abuser and serial killer; in prison cell (30 October 1971) Frei Tito, Brazilian friar (10 August 1974) Pete Ham, Welsh guitarist and singer of rock band Badfinger (23 April 1975) Phil Ochs, American singer-songwriter and activist (9 April 1976) Ulrike Meinhof, imprisoned member of the German Red Army Faction, (9 May 1976) David Munrow, British musician and early music historian (15 May 1976) Gudrun Ensslin, imprisoned member of the German Red Army Faction, circumstances questionable (18 October 1977) Ian Curtis, English lead singer of Joy Division (18 May 1980) Trent Lehman, American former child actor of Nanny and the Professor (18 January 1982) Tom Evans, British member of the rock band Badfinger (19 November 1983) Richard "Ricky" Kasso, American murderer, and drug dealer (7 July 1984) Stella Strada, Filipino actress (28 December 1984) Pepsi Paloma, Filipino actress (31 May 1985) Richard Manuel, Canadian musician best known for his membership in The Band (4 March 1986) Rudolf Hess, German Nazi Deputy Führer to Hitler and convicted criminal; in prison (17 August 1987) Valery Legasov, Soviet chemist and lead investigator of the Chernobyl Disaster (27 April 1988) Jiang Qing, Chinese political figure, wife of Mao Zedong (14 May 1991) Michael Gothard, British actor (2 December 1992) Buster Edwards, British Great Train Robber (28 November 1994) Fred West, British serial killer (1 January 1995) Cheyenne Brando, Tahitian daughter of Marlon Brando (16 April 1995) Duc Cong Huynh, one of the two perpetrators of the 1994 Reno U-Haul murders (26 December 1995) Kim Kwang-Seok, South Korean folk rock singer (6 January 1996) Luigi Pistilli, Italian actor (21 April 1996) Ray Combs, American host of Family Feud from 1988 to 1994 (2 June 1996) Terence Donovan, British fashion photographer (22 November 1996) Michael Hutchence, Australian lead singer of INXS (22 November 1997) Rozz Williams, American musician, founder of Christian Death (1 April 1998) Justin Fashanu, English footballer (2 May 1998) Hide, Japanese rock musician (2 May 1998) Sarah Kane, British playwright (20 February 1999) Mackey Feary, American lead singer of Hawaiian band Kalapana (20 February 1999) David Strickland, American actor, best known for his character Todd on Suddenly Susan (22 March 1999) Screaming Lord Sutch, British musician, Best known for his song "Jack the Ripper", and his album Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends (16 June 1999)" Petr Lébl, Czech theatre director (11 December 1999) Justin Pierce, British-born American skateboarder and actor (10 July 2000) Stuart Adamson, British musician (16 December 2001) Jon Lee, Welsh drummer with Feeder (7 January 2002) Maury Travis, American serial killer (10 June 2002) Ryan Halligan, American 13-year-old schoolboy (7 October 2003) Jonathan Brandis, American actor (12 November 2003) Harold Shipman, English doctor and serial killer, convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment (13 January 2004) Jason Raize, American actor and singer (4 February 2004) Nafisa Joseph, Indian model and video jockey (29 July 2004) Norman "Dinky" Diamond, British drummer with Sparks in the 1970s (10 September 2004) Charlie Brandt, American murderer and suspected serial killer (13 September 2004) Lee Eun-ju, South Korean actress and singer (22 February 2005) Paul Hester, former drummer of Crowded House (26 March 2005) Kuljeet Randhawa, Indian model and actress (8 February 2006) Jon Dough, American adult film actor (27 August 2006) Megan Meier, American 13-year-old schoolgirl (17 October 2006) U;Nee, South Korean singer and actress (21 January 2007) Jung Da Bin, South Korean actress (10 February 2007) Mike Awesome, American former professional wrestler, twice ECW Champion (17 February 2007) Kevin Whitrick, British online suicide via webcam (21 March 2007) Toshikatsu Matsuoka, Japanese politician (28 May 2007) Chris Benoit, Canadian professional wrestler (24 June 2007) John David Roy Atchison, US Attorney and children's sports coach, in a prison after being charged with soliciting sex from a child (5 October 2007) Kunal Singh, Indian actor (7 February 2008) Mark Speight, British children's television presenter (7 April 2008) Deborah Jeane Palfrey, operator of an escort agency in Washington, D.C. (1 May 2008) David Foster Wallace, the American author of Infinite Jest (12 September 2008)David Foster Wallace, 46, Writer, Dies Choi Jin-sil, South Korean actress (2 October 2008) Kurt Demmler, German songwriter accused of sexual abuse of underage girls; in prison cell (3 February 2009) Jang Ja-yeon, South Korean actress (7 March 2009) Lucy Gordon, English actress and model (20 May 2009) Daul Kim, South Korean-born model who modeled in France (19 November 2009) Phoebe Prince, a 15-year-old schoolgirl (14 January 2010) Alexander McQueen, British fashion designer (11 February 2010) Ambrose Olsen, American male model (22 April 2010)"AMBROSE OLSEN DEAD: Male Model Dies At Age 24", 23 March 2011, The Huffington Post Choi Jin-young, South Korean brother of Choi Jin-sil (29 March 2010) Viveka Babajee, Mauritian model and actress (25 June 2010)"Supermodel-actress Viveka Babajee hangs self in India", 26 June 2010, Manila Bulletin Publishing Alex Whybrow, American professional wrestler better known as Larry Sweeney (11 April 2011) Miyu Uehara, Japanese glamour model (12 May 2011)"'Talent' Miyu Uehara dead after apparently hanging herself at home", 12 May 2011, Japan Today Andrzej Lepper, former Deputy Prime Minister of Poland and former Minister of Agriculture of Poland (5 August 2011) Jamey Rodemeyer, American 14-year-old student (September 2011) Gary Speed, Wales national football team manager and former football player (27 November 2011) Ivan Pravilov, Ukrainian hockey coach, in prison as he awaited trial for alleged sexual abuse of teenager he coached (10 February 2012) Amanda Todd, Canadian student and victim of sextortion and bullying (10 October 2012) Jacintha Saldanha, Indian nurse who worked at King Edward VII's Hospital in the City of Westminster, London (7 December 2012) Cho Sung-min, South Korean ex-husband of Choi Jin-sil (6 January 2013) Aaron Swartz, American 26-year-old computer programmer and Internet activist (11 January 2013) Ram Singh, one of the culprits of the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder case. He allegedly hanged himself in his cell (11 March 2013) Jiah Khan, British-American Bollywood actress (3 June 2013) Gia Allemand, American actress, model, and reality television contestant (14 August 2013) Ariel Castro, convicted kidnapper and rapist (3 September 2013) Uday Kiran, South Indian actor (5 January 2014) Charlotte Dawson, New Zealand-born Australian television personality (22 February 2014) L'Wren Scott, American fashion model, fashion designer, and costume designer (17 March 2014) Fausto Fanti, Brazilian humorist, founding member of Hermes & Renato and guitarist of Massacration (30 July 2014) Yoshiki Sasai, Japanese stem cell researcher (5 August 2014) Robin Williams, American actor and comedian (11 August 2014) Simone Battle, American X-Factor contestant, singer and member of the band G.R.L. (5 September 2014) Sean O'Haire, American professional wrestler (8 September 2014) Alok Nembang, Nepali film and music video director (6 November 2014) Lil' Chris, English singer-songwriter, actor and television personality (23 March 2015) Joseph A. Bennett, English actor (13 April 2015) Homaro Cantu, American chef and inventor (14 April 2015) Kalief Browder, falsely imprisoned African American youth (6 June 2015) Julia Buencamino, Filipino teen actress (7 July 2015) Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean footballer (18 September 2015) Ranganath, South Indian actor (19 December 2015) Ian Murdock, American software engineer, known for being the founder of the Debian project and Progeny Linux Systems (28 December 2015) Rohith Vemula, Indian Ph.D. student (17 January 2016) Daryl Easton, American magician (24 February 2017) Pratyusha Banerjee, Indian television actress (1 April 2016) Mark Fisher, English writer, music critic, cultural theorist, philosopher and teacher (13 January 2017) Alec Kreider, American convicted murderer; in prison cell (20 January 2017) Aaron Hernandez, former NFL player (19 April 2017) František Rajtoral, Czech footballer (23 April 2017) Chris Cornell, American musician, frontman of Soundgarden, Audioslave and Temple of the Dog (18 May 2017) Stevie Ryan, American YouTuber, actress and comedian (1 July 2017) Chester Bennington, American musician and frontman of Linkin Park, singer and founder/frontman of Dead by Sunrise (20 July 2017)