Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Anna Pauline Murray

Pauli Murray

United States

1910 – 1985 (74 years old)

Juriste révolutionnaire, cofondatrice de NOW et première femme prêtre épiscopalienne afro-américaine, dont les écrits juridiques ont inspiré Ruth Bader Ginsburg et Thurgood Marshall.

Brooklyn, New York, United States

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Celeste Woss y Gil

Dominican Republic

1891-05-05 – 1985-06-29 (94 years old)

Trailblazing female visual artist who introduced the modern nude, post-impressionism, and African aesthetic dignity to Dominican art, establishing the country's first modern art studio school in 1924.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

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Elias Sarkis

إلياس سركيس

Lebanon

20 July 1924 – 27 June 1985 (60 years old)

President of Lebanon (1976-1982) who governed with quiet stoicism, financial discipline, and institutional dedication during the civil war.

Chbaniyyeh, Lebanon

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Tage Erlander

Tage Fritjof Erlander

Sweden

1901-06-13 – 1985-06-21 (84 years old)

Sweden's longest-serving Prime Minister who led the country for twenty-three consecutive years (1946–1969), architecting the modern universal welfare state and the 'Strong Society'.

Munkfors, Sweden

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Tapio Wirkkala

Tapio Veli Ilmari Wirkkala

Finland

1915-06-02 – 1985-05-19 (69 years old)

Colossal Finnish design pioneer and master craftsman who drew inspiration from Arctic ice and Lapland nature to create Iittala's Ultima Thule glassware, the Kantti vase, and Bank of Finland markka notes.

Helsinki, Finland

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Statesmanship & Statesmen

Penn Nouth

ប៉ែន នុត

Cambodia

1906-04-01 – 1985-05-18 (79 years old)

Veteran statesman and seven-time Prime Minister of Cambodia whose administrative acumen and unshakeable loyalty to King Sihanouk guided Cambodia through independence and difficult Cold War crises.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

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Tahar Ben Ammar

الطاهر بن عمار

Tunisia

1889 – 1985 (95 years old)

Prime Minister of Tunisia who signed the historic Internal Autonomy Conventions in 1955 and the definitive Protocol of Independence on March 20, 1956, officially ending the French Protectorate.

Tunis, Tunisia

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René Portocarrero

Cuba

1912-02-24 – 1985-04-27 (73 years old)

One of Cuba's greatest visual masters whose kaleidoscopic canvases, stained-glass motifs, and celebrated series 'Color de Cuba' and 'Flora' captured the baroque soul, architecture, and fiestas of Havana.

Havana, Cuba

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Literature & Poetry

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Geraldo Bessa-Victor

Angola

1917-06-19 – 1985-04-01 (67 years old)

Prominent Angolan poet, jurist, and essayist whose lyrical collections Ecos Dispersos and Ao Som das Marimbas explored mestizo identity, folklore, and the African soul.

Lisbon, Portugal

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Arts & Music

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Marc Chagall

Moishe Segal / Марк Захарович Шагал

Belarus

1887 – 1985 (97 years old)

Russian-French early modernist whose dreamlike paintings and stained glass drew on Jewish folklore, love, and spiritual poetry.

Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France

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Sports & Athletics

4

Eddie Shore

The Edmonton Express

Canada

25 November 1902 – 16 March 1985 (82 years old)

Fierce Saskatchewan-born defenseman whose ferocious physical style and four Hart Trophy MVP awards made him the ultimate archetype of old-time hockey.

Springfield, United States

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Jessie Oonark

Canada

2 March 1906 – 7 March 1985 (79 years old)

Prolific Inuit artist from Baker Lake whose bold graphic prints and monumental felt-and-duffle wall hangings celebrated shamanic spirituality and maternal devotion.

Baker Lake, Canada

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Philosophy & Thought

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Mahmoud Mohamed Taha

محمود محمد طه

Sudan

1909 – 1985 (76 years old)

Visionary Sudanese Islamic thinker, civil engineer, and leader of the Republican Brothers whose revolutionary book The Second Message of Islam advocated universal human rights, gender equality, and religious tolerance.

Khartoum Region, Sudan

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Literature & Poetry

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Faiz Ahmad Faiz

فیض احمد فیض

Pakistan

1911 – 1984 (73 years old)

Celebrated 20th-century progressive Urdu poet (1911–1984), awarded the International Lenin Peace Prize, whose lyrical verse melded classical ghazal romanticism with passionate advocacy for human rights and democracy.

Lahore (Punjab), Pakistan

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