Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Statesmanship & Statesmen

Yves Thériault

Canada

1915 – 1983 (67 years old)

One of Canada's most widely translated novelists whose 1958 Arctic masterpiece Agaguk brought Inuit culture and survival into world literature, published in millions of copies across twenty languages.

Rawdon (Quebec), Canada

5 Full Record →

19

Ahmed Tewfik El Madani

أحمد توفيق المدني

Tunisia

1898 – 1983 (84 years old)

Eminent Algerian nationalist historian, founding member of the Association of Ulema, and Minister of Cultural Affairs in the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic (GPRA).

Algiers, Algeria

19 Full Record →

Politics

Christophe Soglo

Benin

1909-06-28 – 1983-10-07 (74 years old)

Distinguished military officer and President of Dahomey who intervened repeatedly in the 1960s to prevent ethnic civil war among regional political triumvirs and drafted the 1964 Constitution.

Abomey, Benin

1 Full Record →

Humanitarian & Peace

36

Yusuf Dadoo

Yusuf Mohamed Dadoo

South Africa

1909 – 1983 (74 years old)

Physician and leader of the South African Indian Congress who signed the 1947 'Three Doctors' Pact' forging the historic alliance between Black and Indian freedom fighters.

London, United Kingdom

36 Full Record →

Humanitarian & Peace

38

Michael Scott

Guthrie Michael Scott

Great Britain

1907 – 1983 (76 years old)

Anglican priest and civil rights champion who served as the official petitioner for the Herero people at the United Nations, bringing Namibian independence to the world stage.

London, United Kingdom

38 Full Record →

3

Musine Kokalari

Turkey

1917-02-10 – 1983-08-14 (66 years old)

First female published author in Albanian history who founded the Social Democratic Party in 1943, survived thirty-seven years of communist prison and internal exile, and died an unbroken martyr.

Rrëshen, Albania

3 Full Record →

Art

2

Raymond Massey

Canada

30 August 1896 – 29 July 1983 (86 years old)

Celebrated Toronto-born actor whose commanding voice and Lincoln portrayal in Abe Lincoln in Illinois earned Oscar and Tony acclaim, later starring in Dr. Kildare.

New Haven, United States

2 Full Record →

Politics

Michel Micombero

Burundi

1940-01-01 – 1983-07-16 (43 years old)

Army officer who overthrew the ancient Burundian monarchy in November 1966 to establish the Republic of Burundi, serving as its inaugural President until 1976.

Bururi, Burundi

1 Full Record →

Gabrielle Roy

Canada

1909 – 1983 (74 years old)

Beloved French-Canadian novelist whose 1945 masterpiece Bonheur d'occasion (The Tin Flute) won France's prestigious Prix Fémina and inaugurated modern realistic Quebec literature prior to the Quiet Revolution.

Quebec City (Quebec), Canada

5 Full Record →

Alden Nowlan

Canada

25 January 1933 – 27 June 1983 (50 years old)

Beloved Maritimes poet and writer whose honest, tender verses captured the beauty, heartbreak, and resilience of rural working-class Atlantic Canada.

Fredericton, Canada

5 Full Record →

Arts & Music

33

Alberto Ginastera

Alberto Evaristo Ginastera

Argentina

1916 – 1983 (67 years old)

Argentine classical composer acclaimed as the greatest South American composer of the twentieth century, celebrated for Danzas Argentinas, the ballet Estancia, and innovative neo-expressionist operas.

Geneva, Switzerland

33 Full Record →

Nadia Tueni

نادية تويني

Lebanon

8 July 1935 – 20 June 1983 (47 years old)

Acclaimed Lebanese Francophone poetess whose poignant collections, including 'Twenty Poems for One Love', captured the soul and heartbreak of Lebanon.

Beirut, Lebanon

5 Full Record →

Humanitarian & Peace

39

Ghanshyam Das Birla

घनश्याम दास बिड़ला

India

1894 – 1983 (89 years old)

Magnat de l'industrie et philanthrope indien, mécène principal du Mahatma Gandhi et du mouvement pour l'indépendance, bâtisseur du BITS Pilani.

London, United Kingdom

39 Full Record →

Music

Ernesto Djédjé

Ernest Djédjé Blé

Côte d'Ivoire

1947-01-01 – 1983-06-09 (36 years old)

Visionary musical innovator who modernized traditional Bété rhythms to invent Ziglibithy, captivating Africa with explosive polyrhythms, poetic social commentary, and the smash album 'Zikélo'.

Daloa, Côte d'Ivoire

1 Full Record →

Music

Ustad Mohammad Hussain Sarahang

محمد حسین سرآهنگ

Afghanistan

1924-01-01 – 1983-06-06 (59 years old)

Colossal master of Hindustani classical music from the Kharabat quarter of Kabul, awarded the supreme title 'Sartaj-e Musiqi' (Crown of Music) in India and revered for his musical settings of Bedil.

Kabul, Afghanistan

1 Full Record →

Arts & Music

13

Mahmoud El-Meliguy

محمود المليجي

Egypt

1910 – 1983 (72 years old)

Towering screen legend dubbed the 'Marlon Brando of the East' and 'Emperor of Evil', whose unforgettable performance as Mohamed Abu Swailam in Youssef Chahine's The Land (Al-Ard) is a world cinema monument.

Cairo, Egypt

13 Full Record →

Music