Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Mitchell Sharp

Canada

11 May 1911 – 19 April 2004 (92 years old)

Eminent public servant and federal minister under Pearson and Trudeau who steered Canadian finance, established the Canada Pension Plan, and guided foreign policy.

Ottawa, Canada

1 Full Record →

2

Shafic Abboud

شفيق عبود

Lebanon

22 November 1926 – 8 April 2004 (77 years old)

Celebrated Lebanese painter of the École de Paris whose luminous, layered lyrical abstractions merged Mediterranean light and childhood memories.

Paris, France

2 Full Record →

2

Briek Schotte

Albéric Schotte

Belgium

1919 – 2004 (84 years old)

Legendary Flemish cyclist known as 'Iron Briek', double World Road Champion (1948, 1950), two-time winner of the Tour of Flanders, and iconic embodiment of Flemish endurance through wind, mud, and cobblestones.

Kanegem (Tielt, West Flanders), Belgium

2 Full Record →

7

Safia Chamia

صفية الشامية

Lebanon

1932 – 2004 (72 years old)

Beloved popular singer and musical comedian whose vibrant stage energy, sparkling wit, and hits like 'Mahla Qadek' shaped Tunisian radio, theater, and television for five decades.

Tunis, Tunisia

7 Full Record →

29

Chaïbia Talal

الشعيبية طلال

Morocco

1929 – 2004 (75 years old)

Celebrated self-taught Moroccan painter from Chtouka whose vibrant, raw, and uninhibited canvases of rural women and feasts earned global acclaim from the CoBrA movement and the Salon d'Automne in Paris.

Casablanca, Morocco

29 Full Record →

31

Vilayat Khan

विलायत ख़ान

Bangladesh

1928 – 2004 (75 years old)

Indian sitar virtuoso of the Imdadkhani gharana who modified the structure of the sitar to develop the revolutionary 'gayaki ang' (vocal style), making the instrument sing with the human voice.

Mumbai, India

31 Full Record →

Music

1

Zaki Nassif

زكي ناصيف

Lebanon

4 July 1916 – 11 March 2004 (87 years old)

Foundational pioneer of modern Lebanese music whose iconic folk compositions, including 'Raji Yit'ammar Lubnan', became national anthems of hope.

Mashghara, Lebanon

1 Full Record →

2

Shakir Hassan Al Said

شاكر حسن آل سعيد

Iraq

1925 – 1 March 2004 (79 years old)

Profound Iraqi painter, calligrapher, and theorist who founded the One Dimension Group, blending Islamic mysticism and the Arabic letter.

Baghdad, Iraq

2 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

41

Ahmed Sefrioui

أحمد صفريوي

Morocco

1915 – 2004 (89 years old)

Pioneering Moroccan author who published 'La Boîte à merveilles' (The Wonder Box) in 1954, recognized as the foundational classic of modern Moroccan literature in the French language.

Rabat, Morocco

41 Full Record →

43

🕯️ 430

Marco Pantani

Italy

1970 – 2004 (34 years old)

Italian professional cyclist renowned as 'Il Pirata', widely regarded as the greatest pure mountain climber in cycling history, won the 1998 Giro-Tour double.

Cesenatico, Italy

43 Full Record →

Humanitarian & Peace

40

Denis Eugene Hurley

Denis Hurley

South Africa

1915 – 2004 (88 years old)

Archevêque catholique de Durban et figure morale majeure de la lutte contre l'apartheid en Afrique du Sud, défenseur intrépide des opprimés pendant cinquante ans.

Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

40 Full Record →

14

Safia Farhat

صفية فرحات

Tunisia

1924 – February 7, 2004 (80 years old)

Trailblazing Tunisian visual artist, ceramicist, and educator who was the only female member of the École de Tunis, celebrated for revitalizing traditional tapestry weaving and championing women's artistic independence.

Radès, Tunisia

14 Full Record →

31

🕯️ 2,650

Fanny Blankers-Koen

Francina Elsje Blankers-Koen

Netherlands

26 April 1918 – 25 January 2004 (85 years old)

Francina 'Fanny' Blankers-Koen, 'The Flying Housewife', was an iconic Dutch athlete who shattered gender stereotypes by winning four gold medals at the 1948 London Olympic Games as a 30-year-old mother of two. Named 'Female Athlete of the Century' by the IAAF in 1999, she set 12 world records across sprinting, hurdles, long jump, and high jump.

Hoofddorp, North Holland, Netherlands

31 Full Record →

34

Leonidas da Silva

Leônidas da Silva

Brazil

1913 – 2004 (90 years old)

Legendary Brazilian striker revered as 'The Black Diamond' and the 'Rubber Man' who popularized the bicycle kick and was top scorer at the 1938 World Cup.

Sao Paulo, Brazil

34 Full Record →

Art

1

Ingrid Thulin

Ingrid Lilian Thulin

Sweden

1926-01-27 – 2004-01-07 (77 years old)

Legendary dramatic actress whose intense, aristocratic performances in Ingmar Bergman's 'The Silence', 'Wild Strawberries', and Luchino Visconti's 'The Damned' won the Cannes Best Actress Award.

Sollefteå, Sweden

1 Full Record →

3

Cheikh Mohamed El Marsaoui

الشيخ محمد المرساوي

Morocco

1932 – 2004 (72 years old)

Master violinist and supreme interpreter of Aita Marsawiya who defined the sound of Casablanca and Chaouia popular music across five decades of recorded vinyl and radio broadcasts.

Casablanca, Morocco

3 Full Record →