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Cowan George (b. 1920-02-15 / d. 2012-04-20)
He was an American physical chemist, a businessman and philanthropist. Cowan received a B.S. from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1941. He did graduate studies at Princeton, where he worked under future Nobel laureate Eugene Wigner, whose investigation of uranium confirmed the feasibility of the Fermi pile. He continued his nuclear research with the Manhattan Project at the University of Chicago, Oak Ridge, Columbia University, and Los Alamos. Because he was transferred to various locations as a technological troubleshooter for the effort, he was among the very few people with knowledge of the separate components of the bomb, kept apart for security reasons. He joined the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1946. He earned a Ph.D. from the Mellon College of Science in 1950. Weeks after his arrival at Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1949, he directed the detection of radioactive fallout from samples collected near the Russian border indicating the Soviets were in possession of a nuclear bomb. He later served on the Bethe Panel that convinced government decision makers the radiochemistry detected represented weapons uses rather than peaceful pursuits.
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95
Born 1921-08-23. Domain:science (economics). Cause of death:Age
He was an American economist, mathematician, writer, and political theorist. He was the joint winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with John Hicks in 1972. In economics, he was a major figure in post-World War II neo-classical economic theory. Many of his former graduate students have gone on to win the Nobel Memorial Prize themselves. His most significant works are his contributions to social choice theory, notably "Arrow's impossibility theorem", and his work on general equilibrium analysis. He has also provided foundational work in many other areas of economics, including endogenous growth theory and the economics of information.
91
Born 1925-10-21. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Age
Jean-Pierre Jorris was a French theatre actor.
69
Born 1947-09-15. Domain:Writing. Cause of death:Cancer
In 1972, Roger Knobelspiess was sentenced to 15 years in prison for a robbery which he denied having committed. During his detention, he met Jacques Mesrine, the No. 1 public enemy of the time. Cultivated, expressing himself well, he explains the existence of delinquency by "the inequalities of bourgeois society", and obtains the support of many intellectuals and artists, such as Léo Ferré, Jacques Higelin who composed a song for him album Fallen from the sky.
73
Born 1943-04-18. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Kidney failure
He was an American drummer best known for his work with James Brown. A self-taught musician, he was influenced by the sound of natural rhythms around him. His drum patterns on Brown's recordings are considered funk standards. He recorded and toured with Brown for six years and settled in Madison, Wisconsin, where he was a staple of the local music scene. Often uncredited, samples of his drum patterns were heavily used in hip hop music. He was the recipient of an honorary doctorate in fine arts. He survived cancer in 2000 and coped with kidney disease since 2002. Pop icon Prince, who considered Stubblefield a drumming idol, was a major financial supporter and had paid for about $80,000 of the drummer's health care costs, it was disclosed in 2016, since Stubblefield had no health insurance.
52
Born 1964-08-10. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:Stroke
Nicole Bass-Fuchs (née Bass) was an American bodybuilder, actress, professional wrestler, and professional wrestling valet. She worked for companies such as Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation and XPW. From 1993 until her death, she made numerous appearances on The Howard Stern Show and took part as a contestant in Stern's 1993 pay-per-view television event The Miss Howard Stern New Year's Eve Pageant. She then became a member of the show's Wack Pack. She made guest appearances on four soap operas: The Bold and the Beautiful and Days of Our Lives in 1991, and General Hospital and Guiding Light in 1992. On February 16, 2017, a statement was posted on Bass' official Facebook page by her girlfriend Kristen Marrone, where she stated that Bass had been hospitalized after being found unconscious at her apartment. The post said everything possible was being done to help her. Later that day, she was declared to be medically brain dead following a stroke. Her family and friends were with her that evening as she was taken off life support. Bass died a day later at the age of 52.
87
Born 1929-06-11. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Age
Maurice Vanderschueren, better known as Maurice Vander was a French jazz keyboardist. Vander worked in the 1950s with Don Byas, Django Reinhardt, Bobby Jaspar, Jimmy Raney, Stephane Grappelli, Chet Baker, and Kenny Clarke. He won the Prix Django Reinhardt in 1962. In the 1960s he was a session musician for Roger Guerin, Pierre Gossez, and Boulou Ferré, and played with Claude Nougaro and Ivan Jullien. He played with Baker again in the late 1970s and with Johnny Griffin; his later work included performing and recording with Clarke, Richie Cole, Art Farmer, and Benny Powell. Vander is the adoptive father of Christian Vander (musician).
77
Born 1939-10-26. Domain:Religious. Cause of death:Operation
He was a Tibetan Buddhist lama born in Lhasa, Tibet . His personal name was Gelek; kyabje and rimpoche, are titles meaning "teacher" (lit., "lord of refuge") and "precious," respectively. He was a tulku, an incarnate lama of Drepung Monastic University, where he received the scholastic degree of Geshe Lharampa, the highest degree given, at the exceptionally young age of 20. The 14th Dalai Lama said "he completed his traditional Buddhist training as a monk in Tibet prior to the Chinese Takeover." Gelek Rinpoche died in Ann Arbor, Michigan after undergoing surgery the previous month.
93
Born 1923-05-24. Domain:Directing. Cause of death:Age
He was a Japanese filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. His films are known for their jarring visual style, irreverent humour, nihilistic cool and entertainment-over-logic sensibility. He made 40 predominately B-movies for the Nikkatsu Company between 1956 and 1967, working most prolifically in the yakuza genre. His increasingly surreal style began to draw the ire of the studio in 1963 and culminated in his ultimate dismissal for what is now regarded as his magnum opus, Branded to Kill (1967), starring notable collaborator Joe Shishido. Suzuki successfully sued the studio for wrongful dismissal, but he was blacklisted for 10 years after that. As an independent filmmaker, he won critical acclaim and a Japanese Academy Award for his Taishō Trilogy, Zigeunerweisen (1980), Kagero-za (1981) and Yumeji (1991). His films remained widely unknown outside Japan until a series of theatrical retrospectives beginning in the mid-1980s, home video releases of key films such as Branded to Kill and Tokyo Drifter in the late 1990s and tributes by such acclaimed filmmakers as Jim Jarmusch, Takeshi Kitano, Wong Kar-wai and Quentin Tarantino signaled his international discovery. Suzuki continued making films, albeit sporadically. In Japan, he is more commonly recognized as an actor for his numerous roles in Japanese films and television. He died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
76
Born 1940-03-12. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Age
He was an American singer and musician. He received a total of seven Grammy Awards and was nominated for over a dozen more. He is perhaps best known for his 1981 album Breakin' Away. Jarreau also sang the theme song of the 1980s television series Moonlighting, and was among the performers on the 1985 charity song "We Are the World." It was reported on July 23, 2010, that Jarreau was critically ill at a hospital in France, after performing in Barcelonnette, and was being treated for respiratory problems and cardiac arrhythmias. He was conscious, in a stable condition and in the cardiology unit of La Timone hospital in Marseille, the Marseille Hospital Authority said, and he remained there for about a week for tests. n June 2012, Jarreau was diagnosed with pneumonia, which caused him to cancel several concerts in France. Jarreau made a full recovery and continued to tour extensively for the next five years until February 2017. On February 8, 2017, after being hospitalized for exhaustion in Los Angeles, Jarreau cancelled his remaining 2017 tour dates. On that date, the Montreux Jazz Academy, part of the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, announced that Jarreau would not return as a mentor to ten young artists, as he had done in 2015. Jarreau died of respiratory failure, at the age of 76, just two days after announcing his retirement, and one month before his 77th birthday.
85
Born 1931-06-30. Domain:Society. Cause of death:Age
Luce Vigo was Jean Vigo's daughter.
47
Born 1969-08-18. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:cancer (colorectal)
He was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer. Baguet died on 9 February 2017 after a two-year battle against colon cancer.
45
Born 1971-12-23. Domain:TV/Radio. Cause of death:Other
She was an English socialite and television personality. She appeared in several television shows, including the reality programme I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. In 2016 she was diagnosed with a pituitary tumour and an autoimmune condition. She died from a perforated ulcer.
45
Born 1971-02-20. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:orphan disease
Joost Heystek van der Westhuizen was a South African professional rugby union player who made 89 appearances in test matches for the national team, scoring 38 tries. He mostly played as a scrum-half and participated in three Rugby World Cups, most notably in the 1995 tournament, which was won by South Africa. He is widely regarded as the greatest scrumhalf of all time. He captained the national side on ten occasions and was part of the team that won South Africa's first Tri-Nations title in 1998. Domestically he played for the provincial side the Blue Bulls from 1993 to 2003, with whom he won two domestic Currie Cup trophies in 1998 and 2002, and from 1996 until his retirement in 2003 played Super 12 rugby for Northern Transvaal (later renamed the Bulls). He was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2007 and later into the World Rugby Hall of Fame. In 2011, it was announced that van der Westhuizen had motor neurone disease. He eventually became confined to a wheelchair and experienced speech problems, yet still raised awareness of the disease through his charity, the J9 Foundation. In 2001, he and his wife of six years, Marlene, divorced, shortly before he married Amor Vittone. He had two children with Vittone. In February 2009, Rapport newspaper and Heat magazine reported that they had video evidence of him engaging in sex play with a mystery blonde and snorting a white substance. Charmaine Weavers claimed to have had an affair with him in an interview with YOU magazine. His marriage to Vittone fell apart. At the end of March he lost his job as a television presenter with the South African broadcaster SuperSport. On 28 June 2009, he was admitted to hospital with a suspected heart attack, although he was discharged soon afterward when tests found no evidence of heart problems. A panic attack was suspected. On 1 November, coinciding with the release of his autobiography Spieëlbeeld ("Man in the mirror"), van der Westhuizen confessed to being in the controversial sex video and apologised for lying. In a telephone interview in August 2013 with BBC Sports correspondent James Peacock, he spoke about facing up to the controversy. "What I did went against all my principles - my life was controlled by my mind and I had to make my mistakes to realise what life is all about, I led my life at a hundred miles an hour. I've learned that there are too many things that we take for granted in life and it's only when you lose them that you realise what it is all about. But I know that God is alive in my life and with experience you do learn. I can now talk openly about the mistakes I made because I know my faith won't give up and it won't diminish. It's only when you go through what I am going through that you understand that life is generous." Doping was at stake because of the disease. Several south africans were affected during the 90's (Ruben Kruger, Tinus Linee, André Venter).
72
Born 1944-05-19. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Cancer (lung)
He was an American actor and restaurateur. Pellegrino has often acted in law and gangster-themed film and television productions. He was a member of an early 1960s singing group called the Holidaes. Notable acting roles include Johnny Dio in Goodfellas, assorted appearances on Dick Wolf's Law & Order, and FBI Chief Frank Cubitoso on HBO's The Sopranos. Pellegrino was a co-owner of the restaurant Rao's in New York City. Books written by Pellegrino include Rao's Cookbook, Rao's Recipes from the Neighborhood and Rao's on the Grill. He also produced the CD An Evening at Rao's, featuring music from Rao's jukebox.
67
Born 1949-06-12. Domain:Music. Cause of death:cancer (colorectal)
He was an English singer, bassist, and songwriter. He was born in Willington, Derbyshire, and grew up in Bournemouth, Dorset. He rose to fame with bands Mogul Thrash, Family, King Crimson, Roxy Music and Uriah Heep. Following his period in Uriah Heep, Wetton formed U.K., and later — after a brief stint in Wishbone Ash — he was the frontman and principal songwriter of the supergroup Asia, which proved to be his biggest commercial success. Their eponymous debut album sold eight million copies worldwide, and was Billboard magazine's No. 1 album of 1982. He later formed the duo Icon with Geoff Downes (also from Asia, ex-Yes, ex-The Buggles), and from the 1990s had a successful solo career, releasing several studio and live albums. Wetton had a long career as an in-demand session bass player, collaborating with many members of progressive rock bands such as Yes (Steve Howe, Bill Bruford, Alan White, Billy Sherwood, Peter Banks), Roxy Music (Bryan Ferry, Phil Manzanera) and Genesis (Steve Hackett).
37
Born 1979-09-10. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:Cancer
Tokitenkū Yoshiaki, born as Altangadasyn Khüchitbaatar, was a sumo wrestler. He made his professional debut in 2002, reaching the top makuuchi division just two years later. The highest rank he reached was komusubi, which he held on three separate occasions, but never retained for more than one tournament. He earned one special prize, for Technique. He wrestled for the Tokitsukaze stable and acquired Japanese citizenship in 2014. Tokitenkū was diagnosed with malignant lymphoma in 2015 and retired from sumo in 2016 to become a coach; he was the first Mongolian-born wrestler to acquire the right to remain with the Sumo Association as a coach following retirement as an active wrestler.
93
Born 1924-01-28. Domain:Society. Cause of death:Age
Muhammadu Bello Abubahkar Masaba Bida also known as Mohammed Bello Abubakar was born in Nigeria. Masaba is known for having stirred up controversy in his hometown Bida, Niger State due to his extensive polygamy, and for being outspoken, he was uncharged under Sharia law and sent to prison in 2008 for refusing to divorce 82 of his wives. Islam limits the number of wives a Muslim man can have to four, mandating they must be all treated equally. He married 120 wives, divorced 10, and fathered 203 children. At the time of his death in 2017, some of his wives were believed to be pregnant.
72
Born 1944-02-29. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Cancer (lung)
He was a British musician and keyboardist, and longtime member of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, until 2004. Nicholls also played in the NWOBHM band Quartz before joining Black Sabbath. In the 1960s/early 1970s, Geoff played lead guitar for the Birmingham bands The Boll Weevils, The Seed, Johnny Neal and the Starliners, and played keyboards for World of Oz.
97
Born 1919-12-19. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Age
She was a Swiss-French actress. She was the first wife of Michel Piccoli.
89
Born 1927-02-24. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Cancer
She was a French actress, best known for her roles in the films Hiroshima mon amour (1959) and Amour (2012). Riva was nominated for a BAFTA Award for her role in Hiroshima mon amour, and won Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival for Thérèse Desqueyroux (1962). For her lead role in Michael Haneke's Amour, she won a BAFTA Award and the César Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award.
91
Born 1925-08-15. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Age
He was an American actor best known for playing private detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series Mannix from 1967–1975, a role which earned him a Golden Globe Award in 1970, the first of six straight nominations, as well as four consecutive Emmy nominations from 1970–1973. He starred in the short-lived series Tightrope! (1959–1960) and Today's FBI (1981–1982). Connors' acting career spanned six decades. In addition to his work on television, he appeared in numerous films, including Sudden Fear (1952), Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious (1965), Stagecoach (1966), Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die (1966), and Too Scared to Scream (1985), which he also produced. Connors died in Tarzana, California, at the age of 91, a week after being diagnosed with leukemia.
77
Born 1940-01-22. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:cancer (pancreas)
He was an English actor whose career spanned more than 50 years. Hurt's performance in the prison drama Midnight Express (1978) brought him international renown and earned Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards, along with an Academy Award nomination. His BAFTA-nominated portrayal of astronaut Kane, in the science-fiction horror film Alien (1979), yielded a scene where an alien creature burst out of his chest. It has been named by several publications as one of the most memorable moments in cinema history. On 16 June 2015, Hurt publicly announced that he had been diagnosed with early-stage pancreatic cancer. He confirmed that he would continue to work while undergoing treatment and said that both he and the medical team treating him were "more than optimistic about a satisfactory outcome". Following treatment, Hurt stated that his cancer was in remission on 12 October 2015. Hurt died at his home in Cromer, Norfolk three days after his 77th birthday.
86
Born 1930-02-14. Domain:Writing. Cause of death:Age
He was an American writer, the author of various novels, volumes of poetry and short fiction, and essays. Mathews was also a translator of the French language. Mathews invented the "Mathews' Algorithm," a method for producing literary works by transposing or permuting elements according to a predetermined set of rules. Mathews was the first American chosen for membership in the French literary society known as Oulipo, which is dedicated to exploring new possibilities in literature, in particular through the use of various constraints and textual algorithms. The late French writer Georges Perec, likewise a member, was a good friend, and the two translated some of each other's writings. Mathews considered many of his works to be Oulipian in nature, but even before he encountered the group he was working in a parallel direction. He left Princeton in his sophomore year for a tour in the United States Navy, during the course of which (in 1949) he eloped with the artist Niki de Saint Phalle, a childhood friend. His military service completed, Mathews transferred to Harvard University in 1950; the couple's first child, a daughter, was born the following year. After Mathews graduated in 1952 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music, the family moved to Paris, where he continued studies in conducting at I’École Normale de Musique.
57
Born 1959-03-20. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Heart attack
He was a French actor.
96
Born 1921-01-20. Domain:Art. Cause of death:Age
He was a British cartoonist, described by his biographer as ‘the world’s greatest yachting cartoonist.
80
Born 1936-12-29. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Age
She was an American stage, film, and television actress, as well as a producer and social advocate. She was widely known for her prominent television sitcom roles in The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966) and The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977). Her film work included 1967's Thoroughly Modern Millie and 1980's Ordinary People, the latter earning Moore a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Moore was an advocate for animal rights, vegetarianism and diabetes prevention. With her two most prominent roles challenging gender stereotypes and norms, The New York Times said Moore's "performances on [The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show] helped define a new vision of American womanhood." The Guardian said "her outwardly bubbly personality and trademark broad, toothy smile disguised an inner fragility that appealed to an audience facing the new trials of modern-day existence." Moore was a recovering alcoholic and had been diagnosed with Type I diabetes in 1969 after having a miscarriage. In 2011, she had surgery to remove a meningioma, a benign brain tumor. In 2014, friends reported that Moore had heart and kidney problems in addition to being nearly blind. Moore died at the age of 80 at Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, Connecticut, from cardiopulmonary arrest complicated by pneumonia after having been placed on a respirator the previous week.
86
Born 1930-03-30. Domain:Business. Cause of death:Age
Guy-Clément Cogné is the father of Guy-Michel Cogné (1954-2018) who had taken over his father. He is also the father of Michel Cogné (born in 1957), immunologist and a professor at the University of Limoges.
31
Born 1985-09-30. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:Heart attack
He was a Ukrainian professional road bicycle racer, who last competed for UCI Continental team ISD-Lampre. He competed in one Grand Tour during his career, the 2009 Giro d'Italia. In a 2010 interview with Gazetta dello Sport he admitted that he had suffered from problems with alcoholism during his period with Quick-Step, to the point where he came close to death from alcohol poisoning on two occasions. He took up Israeli citizenship in 2015. Grabovskyy died from a heart attack.
92
Born 1924-10-15. Domain:Writing. Cause of death:Age
He was a British author who wrote many historical novels about the Royal Navy, mainly set during either World War II or the Napoleonic Wars. He wrote a total of 68 novels, selling 34 million copies in twenty languages. Reeman is most famous for his series of Napoleonic naval stories, whose central character is Richard Bolitho, and, later, his nephew, Adam Bolitho. He used the pseudonym Alexander Kent (the real name of a friend and naval officer who died during the Second World War) for his Bolitho novels and his real name for his other novels and non-fiction.
78
Born 1938-05-26. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Pneumonia
Jaki Liebezeit was a German drummer, best known as a founding member of experimental rock band Can. He was called "one of the few drummers to convincingly meld the funky and the cerebral".