Historical Archives & Public Figures

Whitney Elizabeth Houston

United States

1963 – 2012 (48 years old)

Peerless American vocal superstar hailed simply as 'The Voice', whose soaring gospel-infused range, record seven consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number-ones, and I Will Always Love You redefined pop music.

Westfield, United States

10 Full Record →

Arts & Music

9

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Don Cornelius

Donald Cortez Cornelius

United States

1936 – 2012 (75 years old)

Visionary American television producer and host who created and presided over 'Soul Train', the longest-running first-run syndicated show in American television history, showcasing Black music, fashion, and dance to the world.

Los Angeles, United States

9 Full Record →

Sports & Athletics

9

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Angelo Dundee

Angelo Mirena

United States

1921 – 2012 (90 years old)

Legendary International Boxing Hall of Fame trainer and cornerman who guided Muhammad Ali through his greatest triumphs, as well as Sugar Ray Leonard and fifteen other world champions.

Palm Harbor, United States

9 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

31

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Wisława Szymborska

Maria Wisława Anna Szymborska

Poland

1923 – 2012 (88 years old)

1996 Nobel laureate in Literature and 'Mozart of Poetry', Polish lyricist whose witty, ironic, and philosophically playful poems celebrated the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Kraków, Poland

31 Full Record →

Arts & Music

31

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Dorothea Tanning

Dorothea Margaret Tanning

United States

1910 – 2012 (101 years old)

American Surrealist painter, sculptor, and author whose uncanny canvases explored subconscious female desires, claustrophobic domesticity, and pioneering soft sculptures.

New York City, United States

31 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

17

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Abdelhamid Mehri

عبد الحميد مهري

Algeria

1926 – 2012 (85 years old)

Venerable Algerian statesman, Minister of North African Affairs in the GPRA, and FLN Secretary-General who transformed the ruling party into a democratic force and co-signed the 1995 Sant'Egidio Peace Platform.

Algiers, Algeria

17 Full Record →

Arts & Music

13

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Cherif Kheddam

شريف خدام

Algeria

1927 – 2012 (85 years old)

Visionary Algerian composer, poet, and teacher who elevated Kabyle music to classical symphonic grandeur and mentored multiple generations of iconic Algerian singers, including Idir.

Bouzeguène (Kabylie), Algeria

13 Full Record →

Sports & Athletics

11

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Jiří Raška

Czech Republic

1941 – 2012 (70 years old)

Celebrated Czech ski jumper who made sporting history at the 1968 Grenoble Winter Olympics by winning Czechoslovakia's first-ever Winter Olympic gold medal, voted Czech Skiier of the Century.

Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, Czech Republic

11 Full Record →

Arts & Music

12

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Etta James

Jamesetta Hawkins

United States

1938 – 2012 (73 years old)

Powerhouse American blues, R&B, rock and soul vocalist whose magnificent, emotionally raw delivery on At Last, Tell Mama, and I'd Rather Go Blind cemented her as one of America's greatest singers.

Inglewood, United States

12 Full Record →

Arts & Music

4

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Mohamed Sousdi

محمد السوسدي

Morocco

1952 – 2012 (60 years old)

Legendary lead singer and charismatic soul of the group Lemchaheb from Hay Mohammadi, whose piercing high tenor voice and evocative lyrics on 'Daouini' and 'Baghi N'etoub' made him an idol of Moroccan youth.

Casablanca, Morocco

4 Full Record →

Arts & Music

11

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Johnny Otis

Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes

United States

1921 – 2012 (90 years old)

Pioneering musician, bandleader, talent scout, and civil rights advocate dubbed the 'Godfather of Rhythm and Blues', who discovered Etta James, Little Richard, and Big Mama Thornton and scored the 1958 hit 'Willie and the Hand Jive'.

Altadena, United States

11 Full Record →

Arts & Music

14

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Mohamed Rouicha

محمد رويشة

Morocco

1950 – 2012 (62 years old)

Legendary Amazigh musician and singer from the Middle Atlas whose four-stringed 'loutar' virtuosity and haunting bilingual poetry in Tamazight and Arabic created masterpieces like 'Inas Inas'.

Khenifra, Morocco

14 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

12

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Ibrahim Aslan

إبراهيم أصلان

Egypt

1935 – 2012 (76 years old)

Celebrated Egyptian author and leading figure of the 'Generation of the Sixties', whose novel The Heron (Malik al-Hazin) depicted working-class Cairo and was adapted into the classic film Kit Kat.

Giza, Egypt

12 Full Record →

Arts & Music

27

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Helen Frankenthaler

United States

1928 – 2011 (83 years old)

American painter who invented the revolutionary 'soak-stain' technique, bridging Abstract Expressionism and Color Field painting, and transforming 20th-century American art.

Darien, United States

27 Full Record →

Arts & Music

9

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John Chamberlain

John Angus Chamberlain

United States

1927 – 2011 (84 years old)

Pioneering American sculptor who translated Abstract Expressionism into three dimensions by crushing, welding, and assembling discarded, painted automobile steel into dynamic monumental art.

New York City, United States

9 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

33

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Václav Havel

Czech Republic

1936-10-05 – 2011-12-18 (75 years old)

Moral beacon who demonstrated how cultural dissent and ethical truth-telling can peacefully dismantle totalitarian tyranny; oversaw the bloodless 'Velvet Divorce' of Czechs and Slovaks.

Vlčice, Czech Republic

33 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

16

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Kim Jong-il

김정일

Russia

1941 – 2011 (70 years old)

Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from 1994 to 2011 who instituted the Songun (military-first) doctrine and oversaw the development of the nation's nuclear weapons program.

Pyongyang, North Korea

16 Full Record →