Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Sciences & Discovery

11

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Joseph Murray

Joseph Edward Murray

United States

1919 – 2012 (93 years old)

Pioneering American surgeon who performed the world's first successful human organ transplant (a kidney between identical twins in 1954), winning the 1990 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Boston, United States

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Sports & Athletics

9

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Héctor Camacho

Héctor Luis Camacho Matías

🌐 Puerto Rico

1962 – 2012 (50 years old)

Flamboyant and blindingly fast Puerto Rican professional boxer who captured world titles in three weight classes and electrified the sport with his blazing hand speed, theatrical ring entrances, and charisma.

New York City, United States

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Arts & Music

8

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Larry Hagman

Larry Martin Hagman

United States

1931 – 2012 (81 years old)

Iconic American actor who became one of the most recognizable figures in television history as astronaut Tony Nelson in 'I Dream of Jeannie' and the delightfully ruthless oil baron J.R. Ewing in the worldwide sensation 'Dallas'.

Dallas, United States

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Literature & Poetry

10

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Boris Strugatsky

Борис Натанович Стругацкий

Russia

1933 – 2012 (79 years old)

Russian science fiction author who with his brother Arkady wrote Roadside Picnic (adapted into Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker) and Hard to Be a God, creating timeless allegories of totalitarianism and moral conscience.

Saint Petersburg, Russia

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Arts & Music

7

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Lucille Bliss

Lucille Paullette Bliss

United States

1916 – 2012 (96 years old)

Pioneering American voice actress dubbed the 'Girl with a Thousand Voices' who lent her voice to Crusader Rabbit in TV's first animated series, stepsister Anastasia in Disney's 'Cinderella', and Smurfette in 'The Smurfs'.

Los Angeles, United States

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Arts & Music

7

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Clive Dunn

Clive Robert Benjamin Dunn

Great Britain

1920 – 2012 (92 years old)

Beloved British comedic actor and entertainer immortalized as the excitable, doddering butcher Lance-Corporal Jack Jones in the iconic BBC sitcom 'Dad's Army', famous for catchphrases 'Don't panic!' and 'They don't like it up 'em!'.

Faro, Portugal

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Arts & Music

11

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Terry Callier

Terrence Orlando Callier

United States

1945 – 2012 (67 years old)

Celebrated American singer-songwriter and guitarist whose distinctive synthesis of folk, jazz, soul, and gospel produced critically acclaimed 1970s albums and a remarkable British acid jazz rediscovery in the 1990s.

Chicago, United States

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Literature & Poetry

15

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Jacques Dupin

Jacques Dupin

France

1927 – 2012 (85 years old)

Distinguished French poet, art critic, and co-founder of the review L'Éphémère who directed the Galerie Maeght and served as the definitive biographer of Alberto Giacometti and Joan Miró.

Paris, France

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Sports & Athletics

10

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Emanuel Steward

Emanuel Steward

United States

1944 – 2012 (68 years old)

Iconic American boxing trainer and founder of Detroit's legendary Kronk Gym who developed forty-one world champions, including Thomas Hearns, Lennox Lewis, and Wladimir Klitschko.

Detroit, United States

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Philosophy & Thought

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Jacques Barzun

Jacques Martin Barzun

France

1907 – 2012 (104 years old)

French-American cultural historian and philosopher of education who served as Provost of Columbia University and authored the monumental bestseller From Dawn to Decadence at age ninety-two.

San Antonio, United States

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Statesmanship & Statesmen

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George McGovern

George Stanley McGovern

United States

1922 – 2012 (90 years old)

U.S. Senator from South Dakota, decorated B-24 bomber pilot, and 1972 Democratic presidential nominee who campaigned courageously against the Vietnam War and dedicated his life to eradicating global hunger.

Washington, D.C., United States

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Sciences & Discovery

18

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E. Donnall Thomas

Edward Donnall Thomas

United States

1920 – 2012 (92 years old)

American physician who developed bone marrow transplantation as a lifesaving treatment for leukemia and other fatal blood cancers, awarded the 1990 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Seattle, United States

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Politics

1

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Lincoln Alexander

The Honourable Lincoln MacCauley Alexander

Canada

1922 – 2012 (90 years old)

Trailblazing statesman who served in the RCAF during WWII, made history as Canada's first Black Member of Parliament in 1968, first Black federal cabinet minister, and first Black Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.

Hamilton (Ontario), Canada

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Arts & Music

8

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Sylvia Kristel

Sylvia Kristel

Netherlands

1952 – 2012 (60 years old)

Dutch actress and model who achieved global cultural superstardom playing the titular protagonist in the groundbreaking 1974 erotic romance film 'Emmanuelle', becoming one of European cinema's most famous faces.

Utrecht, Netherlands

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Sciences & Discovery

12

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Stanford R. Ovshinsky

Stanford R. Ovshinsky

United States

1922 – 2012 (89 years old)

Prolific, self-taught American inventor described as the Thomas Edison of modern clean energy, who created the nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery that powered the first hybrid cars, rewriteable CDs, and thin-film solar panels.

Bloomfield Hills, United States

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Statesmanship & Statesmen

38

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Norodom Sihanouk

នរោត្តម សីហនុ

Cambodia

1922-10-31 – 2012-10-15 (89 years old)

Secured Cambodian national independence without bloodshed in 1953 and acted as the vital unifier who restored the constitutional monarchy and peace after the Khmer Rouge genocide.

Beijing, China

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Arts & Music

3

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Abderrahmane Kirouche (Paco)

عبد الرحمن قيروش باكو

Morocco

1948 – 2012 (64 years old)

Legendary Gnawa maâlem from Essaouira who joined iconic band Nass El Ghiwane in 1974, infusing their revolutionary folk-rock protest sound with deep acoustic guembri trance and unforgettable lead vocals.

Essaouira, Morocco

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Statesmanship & Statesmen

10

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Arlen Specter

Arlen Specter

United States

1930 – 2012 (82 years old)

Fiercely independent Pennsylvania statesman who served thirty years in the U.S. Senate, authored the single-bullet theory for the Warren Commission, and chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Huntingdon Valley, United States

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