Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Oscar Kambona

Oscar Salathiel Kambona

Tanzania

1928-08-13 – 1997-07-04 (68 years old)

Charismatic first Foreign Minister of Tanzania and Secretary-General of TANU who pacified the 1964 army mutiny and chaired the OAU Liberation Committee.

Songea, Tanzania

0 Full Record →

Politics

1

Stanley Knowles

Stanley Howard Knowles

United States

18 June 1908 – 9 June 1997 (88 years old)

Beloved parliamentarian known as the 'Conscience of Parliament' who represented Winnipeg North Centre for nearly forty years, winning indexed pensions.

Winnipeg, Canada

1 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

25

Amos Tutuola

Nigeria

1920 – 1997 (76 years old)

Nigerian writer whose bizarre, intoxicating 1952 mythological novel The Palm-Wine Drinkard became the first African novel in English to achieve worldwide international fame.

Abeokuta (Ogun State), Nigeria

25 Full Record →

20

Henry Barakat

هنري بركات

Egypt

June 11, 1914 – May 27, 1997 (82 years old)

Venerable Egyptian film director whose lyrical, emotionally poignant direction of over eighty films—most notably 'The Nightingale's Prayer' and 'The Sin'—defined the Golden Age of Egyptian Cinema, nominated for the Berlin Golden Bear and Academy Award.

Cairo, Egypt

20 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

2

Sa'dallah Wannus

سعد الله ونوس

Syria

27 March 1941 – 15 May 1997 (56 years old)

Syria's greatest modern playwright who formulated the 'Theatre of Politicization' and delivered UNESCO's historic 1996 World Theatre Day message.

Tartus, Syria

2 Full Record →

Science

John Carew Eccles

Sir John Carew Eccles

Australia

1903-01-27 – 1997-05-02 (94 years old)

Distinguished neurophysiologist and philosopher who won the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering the ionic mechanisms involved in excitation and inhibition in the brain's synapses.

Locarno, Ticino, Switzerland

0 Full Record →

Sciences & Discovery

24

John Eccles

Sir John Carew Eccles

Australia

1903 – 1997 (94 years old)

Australian neurophysiologist who won the 1963 Nobel Prize in Medicine for discovering the ionic mechanisms of synaptic inhibition, proving that hyperpolarizing chloride ion influx generates inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs).

Contra (Tenero-Contra, Ticino), Switzerland

24 Full Record →

Sociology

Fernand Dumont

Canada

1927 – 1997 (69 years old)

Eminent Quebec sociologist, philosopher, and intellectual giant whose foundational works, including Le Lieu de l'homme and Genèse de la société québécoise, provided the intellectual compass for the Quiet Revolution.

Sainte-Pétronille (Quebec), Canada

0 Full Record →

20

Sayed Mekawy

سيد مكاوي

Egypt

May 8, 1928 – April 21, 1997 (68 years old)

Iconic blind Egyptian composer, singer, and cultural legend known as 'Sheikh Sayed', whose masterful operetta 'El Leila El Kebira' and timeless popular songs preserved and elevated authentic Egyptian folklore to universal acclaim.

Cairo, Egypt

20 Full Record →

16

Ismail Ahmed

إسماعيل أحمد

Morocco

c. 1935 – 1997 (62 years old)

Beloved Moroccan singer, composer, and virtuoso violinist whose smooth tenor voice and romantic classics like 'Kano Hna' and 'Habib El Qalb' defined 20th-century Moroccan melody.

Rabat, Morocco

16 Full Record →

9

Shukry Sarhan

شكري سرحان

Egypt

1925 – 1997 (72 years old)

Revered 'Knight of Egyptian Cinema' and premier dramatic actor whose profound psychological realism in Henry Barakat's The Sin (Al-Haram) and Hussein Kamal's The Postman defined realistic Arab cinema.

Cairo, Egypt

9 Full Record →

Music

1

Statesmanship & Statesmen

Lois Marshall

Canada

29 January 1925 – 19 February 1997 (72 years old)

Internationally acclaimed Canadian concert singer who overcame childhood polio to triumph in Bach, Handel, and Mahler under Arturo Toscanini and Sir Thomas Beecham.

Toronto, Canada

1 Full Record →

29

🕯️ 630

Deng Xiaoping

邓小平

China

1904-08-22 – 1997-02-19 (92 years old)

Architect of modern Chinese economic resurgence; pioneered Special Economic Zones, coined 'socialism with Chinese characteristics', and negotiated Hong Kong's 'One Country, Two Systems'.

Beijing, China

29 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

3

Bozorg Alavi

بزرگ علوی

Iran

2 February 1904 – 18 February 1997 (93 years old)

Founding master of modern Persian psychological fiction, member of the 'Group of Fifty-Three', author of the iconic mystery novel 'Her Eyes'.

Berlin, Germany

3 Full Record →

Sciences & Discovery

4,000

🕯️ 51

Chien-Shiung Wu

吴健雄

China

1912 – 1997 (84 years old)

Trailblazing experimental physicist known as the 'First Lady of Physics' who disproved the conservation of parity.

Liuhe, Taicang, China

4,000 Full Record →

Music

Vojin Komadina

Војин Комадина

Croatia

1933-11-08 – 1997-02-09 (63 years old)

Distinguished classical composer and academician whose orchestral and piano works synthesized archaic Balkan folkloric micro-intervals and polyphony with avant-garde modern orchestration.

Belgrade, Serbia

0 Full Record →

29