Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Statesmanship & Statesmen

Bechir Torki

بشير التركي

Tunisia

1931 – 2009 (78 years old)

Pioneering nuclear physicist who founded Tunisia's Atomic Energy Commission, was elected President of the IAEA General Conference in 1969, and held over thirty international patents in solar desalination.

Mahdia, Tunisia

12 Full Record →

42

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Corazon Aquino

María Corazón Cojuangco Aquino

Philippines

1933-01-25 – 2009-08-01 (76 years old)

Icon of peaceful democratic transition across the globe; promulgated the 1987 Philippine Constitution restoring civil liberties, term limits, and human rights commissions.

Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines

42 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

14

Mahmud Sulayman al-Maghribi

محمود سليمان المغربي

Palestine

1935 – 2009 (73 years old)

Distinguished petroleum jurist who earned his doctorate from George Washington University, served as Libya's first post-1969 Prime Minister, and negotiated landmark oil sovereignty agreements.

Damascus, Syria

14 Full Record →

Sciences & Discovery

3

Dr. Mustapha Laliam

الدكتور مصطفى لعلام

Algeria

1928 – 2009 (80 years old)

Distinguished physician and neurobiologist who joined the ALN maquis in 1956, organized surgical networks across Kabylia, and pioneered neurology in independent Algeria.

Algiers, Algeria

3 Full Record →

Arts & Music

30

Tyeb Mehta

तय्यब मेहता

India

1925 – 2009 (83 years old)

Indian modernist painter and filmmaker of the post-independence avant-garde, renowned for his tragic, fractured depictions of the Diagonal, the Falling Figure, and the Goddess Kali.

Marine Lines (Mumbai), India

30 Full Record →

Sports & Athletics

38

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Alexis Argüello

Andrés Alexis Argüello Bohórquez

🌐 Nicaragua

19 April 1952 – 1 July 2009 (57 years old)

Alexis Argüello was a legendary Nicaraguan boxer and national hero who captured world championships across three different weight divisions (featherweight, super featherweight, and lightweight). Renowned for his devastating technical knockout power, gentlemanly chivalry toward defeated opponents, and 62 career knockouts in 77 wins, he was later elected Mayor of Managua.

Managua, Nicaragua

38 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

Roméo LeBlanc

Canada

18 December 1927 – 24 June 2009 (81 years old)

Acadian teacher and broadcaster who served as Pierre Trudeau's longest-serving Minister of Fisheries, Speaker of the Senate, and first Acadian Governor General.

Memramcook, Canada

0 Full Record →

3

Chérif Belkacem

شريف بلقاسم (سي جمال)

Algeria

1930 – 2009 (78 years old)

Key ALN leader known as 'Si Djamel', member of the General Staff under Boumédiène, Minister of National Education, and prominent statesman of early independent Algeria.

Algiers, Algeria

3 Full Record →

Arts & Music

29

Ali Akbar Khan

আলী আকবর খাঁ

Bangladesh

1922 – 2009 (87 years old)

Indian classical sarod virtuoso and composer hailed by Yehudi Menuhin as the greatest musician in the world, who popularized North Indian classical music throughout the West.

San Rafael (California), United States

29 Full Record →

Félix Malloum

Felix Malloum Ngakoutou Bey-Ndi

Chad

1932-09-10 – 2009-06-12 (76 years old)

Chadian general and Head of State (1975–1979) who negotiated reconciliation accords to resolve civil conflict before stepping down in the interest of national peace.

Sarh, Chad

0 Full Record →

Science

Jean Dausset

Jean-Baptiste-Gabriel-Joachim Dausset

France

1916 – 2009 (92 years old)

Pioneering French immunologist who won the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering the Major Histocompatibility Complex (HLA system) in humans, revolutionizing organ transplantation and genetic disease susceptibility.

Paris, France

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Luís Cabral

Luis de Almeida Cabral

Guinea-Bissau

1931-04-11 – 2009-05-30 (78 years old)

Founding leader of the PAIGC and first President of independent Guinea-Bissau who declared national sovereignty in the Boe hills in 1973 following Amilcar Cabral's martyrdom.

Bissau, Guinea-Bissau

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Arts & Music

2

Helen Khal

هيلين الخال

United States

1923 – 20 May 2009 (86 years old)

Pioneering Lebanese-American color-field painter, prominent art critic, and author of the groundbreaking 1987 study 'The Woman Artist in Lebanon'.

Beirut, Lebanon

2 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

30

Mario Benedetti

Mario Orlando Hamlet Hardy Brenno Benedetti Farrugia

Uruguay

1920 – 2009 (88 years old)

Uruguayan writer and poet of the Generation of 45, renowned for his poignant novel The Truce and accessible, socially engaged poetry that resonated across the Spanish-speaking world.

Montevideo, Uruguay

30 Full Record →

Sports & Athletics

35

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Chuck Daly

Charles Jerome Daly

United States

20 July 1930 – 9 May 2009 (78 years old)

Charles Jerome 'Chuck' Daly was a master NBA coach and psychologist who guided the ferocious Detroit Pistons 'Bad Boys' to back-to-back NBA championships in 1989 and 1990. Renowned for his tailored Italian suits and brilliant ego-management, he was chosen to coach the immortal 1992 US Olympic 'Dream Team' in Barcelona, famously winning the gold medal without calling a single timeout in the entire tournament.

Jupiter, Florida, United States

35 Full Record →

2

Nabiha Ben Miled

نبيهة بن ميلاد

Tunisia

1919 – 2009 (90 years old)

Pioneering feminist leader, social reformer, and anti-colonial militant who served as president of the Union of Tunisian Women (UFT) from 1952 to 1963 and sheltered wounded freedom fighters.

Tunis, Tunisia

2 Full Record →

Music