Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Godtfred Kirk Christiansen

Denmark

1920-07-08 – 1995-07-13 (75 years old)

Danish industrialist who patented the iconic stud-and-tube interlocking Lego brick mechanism in 1958, conceived the 'Lego System of Play', and built Legoland Billund.

Billund, Denmark

0 Full Record →

Philosophy & Thought

3

Ali al-Wardi

علي الوردي

Iraq

23 October 1913 – 13 July 1995 (81 years old)

Founding father of Iraqi sociology whose books analyzed the duality of the Iraqi character between Bedouin values and urban civilization.

Baghdad, Iraq

3 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

2

Sylvain Bemba

Congo

1934-02-17 – 1995-07-08 (61 years old)

Prolific Congolese dramatist, novelist, and musicologist whose plays 'L'Enfer, c'est Orféo' and book '50 Ans de Musique du Congo' chronicled African performing arts.

Brazzaville, Congo

2 Full Record →

Sports & Athletics

32

🕯️ 260

Ricardo Alonso González

United States

1928 – 1995 (67 years old)

American tennis player of Mexican heritage, long-time world No. 1 professional player who dominated the professional tour for eight consecutive years.

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

32 Full Record →

9

Mohamed El-Mawgi

محمد الموجي

Egypt

1923 – 1995 (72 years old)

Towering composer who launched the golden career of Abdel Halim Hafez with Safini Marra and composed classical orchestral milestones for Umm Kulthum including Lel Sabr Hodood and Es'al Rouhak.

Cairo, Egypt

9 Full Record →

12

Atef El-Tayeb

عاطف الطيب

Egypt

1947 – 1995 (47 years old)

Master filmmaker who revolutionized Egyptian cinema in the 1980s as the pioneer of Neo-Realism, directing monumental social masterworks including The Bus Driver and The Innocent.

Cairo, Egypt

12 Full Record →

Humanitarian & Peace

40

Jonas Edward Salk

Jonas Salk

United States

1914 – 1995 (80 years old)

Médecin et virologue américain, inventeur du premier vaccin sûr et efficace contre la poliomyélite, dont il refusa de breveter la formule pour le bien de l'humanité.

San Diego, California, United States

40 Full Record →

Politics

Harry Gwala

Themba Harry Gwala

South Africa

1920-07-30 – 1995-06-20 (74 years old)

Fierce anti-apartheid revolutionary known as 'The Lion of Pietermaritzburg', who spent over twenty years on Robben Island, losing the use of both arms yet remaining an unshakeable leader.

Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

0 Full Record →

18

Sheikh Imam

الشيخ إمام

Egypt

July 2, 1918 – June 7, 1995 (76 years old)

Blind Egyptian folk singer and oud virtuoso whose acoustic songs of defiance, performed alongside poet Ahmed Fouad Negm, formed the musical soundtrack to popular rebellions and democratic movements across the Arab world.

Giza, Egypt

18 Full Record →

Sports & Athletics

33

🕯️ 2,280

Krešimir Ćosić

Croatia

26 November 1948 – 25 May 2095 (46 years old)

Krešimir Ćosić was a revolutionary Croatian basketball center who became the first player in history to play all five positions on the floor, inventing the modern point-center role. An All-American at Brigham Young University who rejected lucrative NBA contracts to return home to Zadar, he won two World Championships, three European Championships, and Olympic gold in Moscow 1980.

Baltimore, Maryland, United States

33 Full Record →

Politics

Woldeab Woldemariam

Eritrea

1905-04-27 – 1995-05-15 (90 years old)

Venerated intellectual and journalist revered as the Father of Eritrean Nationalism, who survived seven assassination attempts while campaigning for an independent Eritrea.

Asmara, Eritrea

0 Full Record →

Science

Murray Barr

Canada

20 June 1908 – 4 May 1995 (86 years old)

Trailblazing Canadian neurocytologist who discovered the Barr body, establishing chromosomal sex determination and modern human medical genetics.

London, Canada

0 Full Record →

13

Statesmanship & Statesmen

Mohamed Zinet

محمد زينات

Algeria

1932 – 1995 (63 years old)

Visionary Algerian filmmaker and actor whose poetic 1971 cinematic masterpiece 'Tahia Ya Didou!' is celebrated worldwide as one of the most innovative and lyrical films ever made in North Africa.

Paris, France

13 Full Record →

34

Morarji Desai

મોરારજી દેસાઈ

India

1896 – 1995 (99 years old)

Fourth Prime Minister of India (1977–1979) and first non-Congress Prime Minister, staunch Gandhian ascetic who led the Janata Party to victory restoring Indian democracy following the 21-month Emergency, only person awarded both India and Pakistan's highest civilian honors.

Ahmedabad (Gujarat), India

34 Full Record →

Sciences & Discovery

2,778

🕯️ 143

Hannes Alfvén

Hannes Olof Gösta Alfvén

Sweden

1908 – 1995 (86 years old)

Swedish plasma physicist who founded magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and won the 1970 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Danderyd, Stockholm, Sweden

2,778 Full Record →

Philosophy & Thought

3

John Humphrey

John Peters Humphrey

Canada

30 April 1905 – 14 March 1995 (89 years old)

Visionary Canadian legal scholar and Director of the UN Human Rights Division who wrote the historic first draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Hampton, Canada

3 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

13