Died, I make quite clear, in great suffering (8)
I believe the answer is:
distress
'clear in great suffering' is the definition.
'distress' can be an answer for 'suffering' (synonyms). I am not sure about the 'clear in great' bit.
'died i make quite' is the wordplay.
'died' becomes 'd' (abbreviation next to the year of someone's death).
'make quite' becomes 'stress' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'd'+'i'+'stress'='DISTRESS'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for distress that I've seen before include "Pressure of pain or sorrow" , "State of anxiety or woe" , "State of suffering" , "Extreme anxiety or pain" , "Pain, trouble or sorrow" .)