Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Statesmanship & Statesmen

25

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Ali Mahdi Muhammad

Cali Mahdi Maxamed

Somalia

1939 – 2021 (82 years old)

4th President of Somalia (1991–1997) who assumed power following the overthrow of military dictator Siad Barre, navigating devastating civil warfare against rival faction leader General Mohamed Farrah Aidid in Mogadishu.

Mogadishu, Somalia

25 Full Record →

History

1

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Djibril Tamsir Niane

Djibril Tamsir Niane

Guinea

1932-01-09 – 2021-03-08 (89 years old)

Monumental Guinean historian, playwright, and educator who immortalized the Mandinka oral tradition by transcribing and publishing 'Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali'.

Conakry, Guinea

1 Full Record →

Arts & Music

10

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Raja Farhat

رجاء فرحات

Tunisia

1945 – 2021 (75 years old)

Master storyteller, dramatist, and cultural historian who brought modern Tunisian history to the stage in monumental solo plays examining Bourguiba and the founding fathers.

Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia

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Arts & Music

22

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Neville O'Riley Livingston

Bunny Wailer

Jamaica

1947 – 2021 (73 years old)

Reggae icon, singer, and percussionist who was the last surviving founding member of The Wailers alongside Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, winning three Grammy Awards for Best Reggae Album as a solo visionary.

Clarendon, Jamaica

22 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

20

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Sir Michael Thomas Somare

Sir Michael Somare

Papua New Guinea

1936 – 2021 (84 years old)

Revered as the "Father of the Nation" of Papua New Guinea, who led the country to peaceful independence from Australia in 1975 and served as its first, third, and sixth Prime Minister across four decades of governance.

Wewak, East Sepik, Papua New Guinea

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Sports & Athletics

43

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Hannu Mikkola

Hannu Olavi Mikkola

Finland

1942 – 2021 (78 years old)

Legendary 'Flying Finn' who won the 1983 World Rally Championship, pioneered the development of the revolutionary four-wheel-drive Audi Quattro, and won the 1,000 Lakes Rally seven times.

Helsinki, Finland

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Literature & Poetry

35

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Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti

Lawrence Ferlinghetti

United States

1919 – 2021 (101 years old)

Centenarian American poet, publisher, and free speech champion who founded City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco and defended Allen Ginsberg's Howl in a landmark 1957 First Amendment obscenity trial.

San Francisco, United States

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Sciences & Discovery

23

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Bernard Lown

Bernard Lown

Lithuania

1921 – 2021 (99 years old)

Centenarian American cardiologist and inventor of the direct-current defibrillator and coronary care unit who saved millions of lives from cardiac arrest, and co-founded International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, winning the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize.

Sharon, Massachusetts, United States

23 Full Record →

Arts & Music

21

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Juan Zacarías Pacheco Kniping

Johnny Pacheco

Dominican Republic

1935 – 2021 (85 years old)

Dominican-American musician, composer, and bandleader who co-founded Fania Records in 1964 and created the Fania All-Stars, popularizing salsa music and Latin culture across the globe.

The Bronx, New York, United States

21 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

22

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Carlos Saúl Menem Akil

Carlos Menem

Argentina

1930 – 2021 (90 years old)

44th President of Argentina (1989–1999) who transformed Argentina's economy through radical free-market privatization, pegged the peso to the US dollar to halt hyperinflation, and pardoned military officers of the Dirty War.

San Justo, Buenos Aires, Argentina

22 Full Record →

Arts & Music

21

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Armando Anthony Corea

Chick Corea

United States

1941 – 2021 (79 years old)

Visionary American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer whose pioneering fusion work with Miles Davis and his band Return to Forever redefined modern jazz, earning 27 Grammy Awards.

Tampa Bay, United States

21 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

24

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Jean-Claude Carrière

Jean-Claude Carrière

France

1931 – 2021 (89 years old)

Prolific and legendary French screenwriter, novelist, and dramatist whose brilliant collaborations with Luis Buñuel (Belle de Jour, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie) and adaptations like The Tin Drum and Cyrano de Bergerac defined international cinema, winning an Academy Honorary Award.

Colombières-sur-Orb, France

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Statesmanship & Statesmen

22

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George Pratt Shultz

George P. Shultz

United States

1920 – 2021 (100 years old)

Distinguished American statesman and economist who served as US Secretary of State under Ronald Reagan (1982–1989), playing a pivotal role in negotiating the 1987 INF Treaty and successfully navigating the end of the Cold War.

Palo Alto, California, United States

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Arts & Music

18

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Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer

Christopher Plummer

Canada

1929 – 2021 (91 years old)

Venerable Canadian stage and screen actor celebrated for his classical Shakespearean performances, his defining role as Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music, and winning the Academy Award at age 82.

Weston, United States

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Humanitarian & Peace

25

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Sir Thomas Moore

Captain Sir Tom Moore

Great Britain

1920 – 2021 (100 years old)

Centenarian British Army World War II officer who captured global hearts during the COVID-19 pandemic by walking 100 laps of his garden ahead of his 100th birthday, raising a record £38.9 million for NHS charities and receiving a knighthood.

Keighley, United Kingdom

25 Full Record →

Sciences & Discovery

23

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Paul Jozef Crutzen

Paul Crutzen

Netherlands

1933 – 2021 (87 years old)

Dutch atmospheric chemist and Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate (1995) who proved that nitrogen oxides accelerate ozone layer depletion, proposed the "nuclear winter" theory, and popularized the term "Anthropocene" for humanity's geological epoch.

Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

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Arts & Music

21

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Cicely L. Tyson

Cicely Tyson

United States

1924 – 2021 (96 years old)

Trailblazing American actress whose seven-decade career shattered racial barriers with dignified portrayals of Black women in Sounder, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, and Roots, receiving an honorary Academy Award.

The Bronx, New York, United States

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Arts & Music

4

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Zhour Mâamri

زهور المعمري

Morocco

1942 – 2021 (79 years old)

A pioneer of Moroccan theater and leading dramatic actress of the Maâmora Troupe, celebrated for powerful tragic roles on stage and television across four decades.

Rabat, Morocco

4 Full Record →