Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Benyoucef Benkhedda

بن يوسف بن خدة

Algeria

1920 – 2003 (82 years old)

Eminent Algerian nationalist leader and intellectual who succeeded Ferhat Abbas as President of the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic (GPRA) in 1961, overseeing the Evian Accords and the proclamation of independence.

Algiers, Algeria

4 Full Record →

Humanitarian & Peace

6

Philip Francis Berrigan

Philip Berrigan

United States

1923 – 2002 (79 years old)

Ancien officier de la Seconde Guerre mondiale devenu prêtre joséphite et apôtre intransigeant du désarmement nucléaire et des droits civiques.

Baltimore, Maryland, United States

6 Full Record →

Philosophy & Thought

3

John Rawls

John Bordley Rawls

United States

1921 – 2002 (81 years old)

American political philosopher whose 1971 masterpiece A Theory of Justice revived normative political philosophy, introducing the 'veil of ignorance' and 'justice as fairness'.

Cambridge (Massachusetts), United States

3 Full Record →

Arts & Music

4

Roberto Matta

Roberto Sebastián Antonio Matta Echaurren

Chile

1911 – 2002 (91 years old)

Chilean painter and architect who pioneered 'psychological morphologies'—cosmic, iridescent Surrealist landscapes that catalyzed the transition from Surrealism to Abstract Expressionism.

Civitavecchia, Italy

4 Full Record →

Juan Alberto Schiaffino

Uruguay

1925 – 2002 (77 years old)

Uruguayan inside-forward who scored the equalizing goal in the historic 1950 World Cup 'Maracanazo' final against Brazil, later winning three Scudetti with AC Milan.

Montevideo, Uruguay

2 Full Record →

14

🕯️ 2,890

Johnny Unitas

John Constantine Unitas

United States

7 May 1933 – 11 September 2002 (69 years old)

John Constantine 'Johnny U' Unitas was the prototype of the modern American football quarterback, whose pinpoint passing accuracy, legendary high-top black cleats, and ice-cold command of the two-minute drill popularized the NFL on national television. Leading the Baltimore Colts to victory in 'The Greatest Game Ever Played' in 1958, he threw a touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games (a record that held for 52 years).

Timonium, Maryland, United States

14 Full Record →

10

🕯️ 330

Theodore Samuel Williams

United States

1918 – 2002 (83 years old)

American baseball left fielder for the Boston Red Sox, widely regarded as the greatest pure hitter in baseball history, the last MLB player to hit over .400.

Scottsdale, Arizona, United States

10 Full Record →

Fritz Walter

Friedrich Walter

Germany

1920 – 2002 (81 years old)

Legendary captain of West Germany who led the national team to victory in the 1954 World Cup 'Miracle of Bern', restoring German national dignity after World War II.

Kaiserslautern, Germany

2 Full Record →

Mamo Wolde

ማሞ ወልዴ

Ethiopia

1932 – 2002 (69 years old)

Legendary Ethiopian long-distance runner who succeeded Abebe Bikila to capture the Olympic marathon gold medal at the 1968 Mexico City Games.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

2 Full Record →

8

🕯️ 310

Samuel Jackson Snead

United States

1912 – 2002 (89 years old)

American professional golfer who won 82 PGA Tour events (tied all-time record) and seven major championships, famed for his fluid, natural swing.

Hot Springs, Virginia, United States

8 Full Record →

Ladislao Kubala

Kubala László

Hungary

1927 – 2002 (74 years old)

Legendary Hungarian-born forward who became the heart and soul of FC Barcelona in the 1950s, whose immense popularity compelled the construction of the Camp Nou.

Barcelona, Spain

2 Full Record →

3

Valeriy Lobanovskyi

Валерій Васильович Лобановський

Soviet Union (Ukraine)

1939 – 2002 (63 years old)

Legendary Ukrainian football manager and pioneer of scientific football and universal pressing, who led Dynamo Kyiv to two European Cup Winners' Cups and managed the Soviet Union to the Euro 1988 final.

Kyiv, Ukraine

3 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

Kaifi Azmi

कैफ़ी आज़मी

British India

1919 – 2002 (83 years old)

Urdu poet and lyricist of the Progressive Writers' Movement whose revolutionary poem Aurat championed female emancipation, and who transformed his impoverished native village of Mijwan.

Azamgarh (Uttar Pradesh), India

2 Full Record →

3

Lou Thesz

United States

1916 – 2002 (86 years old)

Six-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and undisputed titan of pure catch wrestling whose combined world title reigns spanned over ten years and legitimized professional wrestling across five decades.

Gotha (Florida), United States

3 Full Record →

Sciences & Discovery

Cesar Milstein

César Milstein

Argentina

1927 – 2002 (74 years old)

Argentine biochemist who developed hybridoma technology to produce monoclonal antibodies, a revolutionary medical breakthrough awarded the 1984 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

Cambridge, United Kingdom

2 Full Record →

Philosophy & Thought

Statesmanship & Statesmen

Hans-Georg Gadamer

German Empire

1900 – 2002 (102 years old)

German philosopher whose 1960 masterwork Truth and Method established philosophical hermeneutics, defining human understanding through the 'fusion of horizons' (Horizontverschmelzung) and dialogue.

Heidelberg, Germany

2 Full Record →