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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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83
Born 1929-02-08. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Age
He was a French film actor. He is best known for his role in Le gendarme series (as Merlot). He did not appear in the last two sequels. In 1967 he appeared in the TV serial Les Chevaliers du ciel.
54
Born 1957-12-10. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Heart
He was an American actor, best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in The Green Mile, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. He was also recognized for his appearances in motion pictures such as Armageddon, The Whole Nine Yards, The Scorpion King and Daredevil, as well as voice acting roles in works such as Brother Bear and Kung Fu Panda. On July 13, 2012, Duncan was taken to a hospital after suffering a heart attack. Media reports suggested that his girlfriend, Omarosa Manigault, had previously tried to save his life by performing CPR. Duncan's publicist, Joy Fehily, issued a statement on August 6 that read he was moved from the intensive-care unit but remained hospitalized following his heart attack.
82
Born 1930-08-05. Domain:Society. Cause of death:Age
He was an American astronaut and the first person to walk on the Moon. Armstrong underwent surgery on August 7, 2012, to relieve blocked coronary arteries. He died in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the age of 82, due to complications from blocked coronary arteries.
65
Born 1946-10-30. Domain:Science (Math style). Cause of death:Cancer
William Paul Thurston was an American mathematician. He was a pioneer in the field of low-dimensional topology and was awarded the Fields Medal in 1982 for his contributions to the study of 3-manifolds. Thurston was a professor of mathematics at Princeton University, University of California, Davis, and Cornell University. He was also a director of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute. Thurston died on August 21, 2012 in Rochester, New York, of a sinus mucosal melanoma that was diagnosed in 2011.
68
Born 1944-06-21. Domain:Directing. Cause of death:Suicide
Tony Scott was a British film director. His films include The Hunger, Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II, The Last Boy Scout, True Romance, Crimson Tide, Enemy of the State, Spy Game, Man on Fire, Déjà Vu, The Taking of Pelham 123 and Unstoppable. He was the younger brother of fellow film director Ridley Scott. The Hunger starred David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve and introduced Willem Dafoe in a small role. The Hunger had elaborate photography and sumptuous production design, but it failed to find an audience, received harsh reviews by critics, and had disappointing box office sales (though it later became a cult favourite). Finding himself largely unemployable in Hollywood for the next two and a half years, Scott returned to commercials and music videos. Scott committed suicide by jumping off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in the San Pedro port district of Los Angeles, California. Investigators from the Los Angeles Police Department’s harbor division found contact information in his car, which was parked near the bridge, and a suicide note in his office. Witnesses said he did not hesitate before jumping. His body was taken from the water by the Los Angeles Port Authority.
73
Born 1939-01-10. Domain:Music. Cause of death:orphan disease
He was an American singer. He is best known for his 1967 hit single and generational anthem, "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)". He had suffered from Guillain–Barré syndrome since 2010. Guillain–Barré–Strohl syndrome, is an acute polyneuropathy, a disorder affecting the peripheral nervous system. Ascending paralysis, weakness beginning in the feet and hands and migrating towards the trunk, is the most typical symptom, and some subtypes cause change in sensation or pain as well as dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system.
49
Born 1963-06-12. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:Accident
He was a French rally driver. Bugalski died from injuries sustained when he fell out of a tree at his home in Vichy.
82
Born 1930-04-10. Domain:TV/Radio. Cause of death:Age
Le masque et la plume. Droit de réponse.
68
Born 1944-06-02. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Age
He was an American composer. He was one of only eleven people to have been awarded an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. He was also one of only two people to have won those four prizes and also a Pulitzer Prize (the other was Richard Rodgers). Hamlisch also won two Golden Globes. Marvin Hamlisch died in Los Angeles, California, at age 68, following a brief illness.
93
Born 1919-04-17. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Pneumonia
Isabel Vargas Lizano, better known as Chavela Vargas, was a Costa Rican-born Mexican singer. She was especially known for her rendition of Mexican rancheras, but she is also recognized for her contribution to other genres of popular Latin American music.
86
Born 1925-10-03. Domain:Writing. Cause of death:Pneumonia
He was an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar (1948), outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality. Vidal was born Eugene Louis Vidal in West Point, New York, the only child of 1st Lieutenant Eugene Luther Vidal (1895–1969) and Nina Gore (1903–1978). The middle name, Louis, was a mistake on the part of his father, "who could not remember for certain whether his own name was Eugene Louis or Eugene Luther." As Vidal explained in his memoir Palimpsest (Deutsch, 1995), "... my birth certificate says 'Eugene Louis Vidal': this was changed to Eugene Luther Vidal, Jr.; then Gore was added at my christening; then at fourteen I got rid of the first two names."
91
Born 1921-07-29. Domain:Directing. Cause of death:Unknown
Always elusive about his past and known to refuse interviews and not allow photographs to be taken of him, his place of birth is highly disputed. Some sources and Marker himself claim that he was born in Ulan Bator, Mongolia. Other sources say he was born in Belleville, Paris, and others, in Neuilly-sur-Seine. The 1949 edition of Le Cœur Net specifies his birthday as July 22. Film critic David Thomson has stated: "Marker told me himself that Mongolia is correct. I have since concluded that Belleville is correct- but that does not spoil the spiritual truth of Ulan Bator." When asked about his secretive nature, Marker has said "My films are enough for them (the audience)." Marker became known internationally for the short film La jetée (The Pier) in 1962. It tells of a post-nuclear war experiment in time travel by using a series of filmed photographs developed as a photomontage of varying pace, with limited narration and sound effects. In the film, a survivor of a futuristic third World War is obsessed with a distant and disconnected memories of a pier at the Orly Airport, the image of a mysterious woman, and a man's death. Scientists experimenting in time travel select the man choose him for their studies, and the man travels back in time to contact the mysterious woman, and discovers that the man's death at the Orly Airport was his own. Except for one shot of the woman mentioned above sleeping and suddenly waking up, the film is composed entirely of photographs by Jean Chiabaud and stars Davos Hanich as the man, Hélène Chatelain as the woman and filmmaker William Klein as a man from the future. La Jetée was the inspiration for Mamoru Oshii's 1987 debut live action feature The Red Spectacles (and, later for, parts of Oshii's 2001 film Avalon as well) and also inspired Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys (1995). « Chris Marker, c'est un peu le plus célèbre des cinéastes inconnus. » — Philippe Dubois, "Introduction", dans Théorème no 6 : Recherches sur Chris Marker, 2006, p. 6, repris par Marker dans son générique de début de Leila Attacks!, transposé en anglais sous la forme « Christ Marker, the best known author of unknown movies ».
51
Born 1960-11-15. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Suicide
She was a German film and television actress. She was married to actor Ulrich Mühe with whom she had two children. Mühe died of cancer in 2007. With Ulrich Mühe, she appeared as the victimised married couple in the original version of Michael Haneke's Funny Games in 1997. Lothar worked again with Haneke as Mrs Schober in The Piano Teacher and in The White Ribbon. Assisted suicide ?
75
Born 1937-06-11. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Age
Raymon Lee Cramton, known professionally as Chad Everett, was an American actor who appeared in more than 40 films and television series. He was well known for his role as Dr. Joe Gannon in the television drama Medical Center, which aired on CBS from 1969 to 1976. Everett died at his home in Los Angeles after an 18-month battle with lung cancer.
61
Born 1951-05-26. Domain:Society. Cause of death:cancer (pancreas)
She was an American physicist and astronaut. Ride joined NASA in 1978 and, at the age of 32, became the first American woman to enter into low Earth orbit in 1983. Ride died 17 months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
71
Born 1941-06-09. Domain:Music. Cause of death:cancer (pancreas)
Jon Lord was an English composer, pianist and Hammond organ player known for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque forms, especially with Deep Purple, besides Whitesnake, Paice, Ashton & Lord, The Artwoods and Flower Pot Men. In 2011, Lord was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
93
Born 1919-06-21. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Age
She was a French actress, famous for the main role of Tatie Danielle. Chelton was born in Jerusalem but spent her childhood in Belgium. The daughter of French parents of Jewish heritage, she lost her mother at the age of 6, and followed her father to Antwerp. She moved to Switzerland during World War II before settling in Paris. Married to decorator Jacques Noël, she had 4 children.
95
Born 1917-01-24. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Age
He was an American film and television actor whose career spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, winning an Oscar in 1955 for Marty. On television, he played Quinton McHale in the 1962–1966 series McHale's Navy and co-starred in the mid-1980s action series Airwolf, in addition to a wide variety of other roles. Borgnine was also known for his role as Mermaid Man in the animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. Borgnine died of renal failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles,
47
Born 1964-10-28. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Stroke
Born in Dakar, Diouf was known for his lead role in The Beast (La bête) and as Baba in Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra. He never recovered from a stroke in February 2009.
57
Born 1955-06-06. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Accident
He was a founding member, with his younger brother Jimmy, of controversial independent rock band The Frogs. He was the primary percussionist for the band. Dennis was also a temporary member of The Smashing Pumpkins from 1996 to 1997, filling in on live keyboards following the death of Jonathan Melvoin. The brothers Flemion also appeared on "Medellia of the Gray Skies," on the band's single for "Tonight, Tonight". On Adore, the brothers backed vocals for "To Sheila" and "Behold! The Night-Mare". Flemion drowned in a lake in Racine County, Wisconsin.
85
Born 1926-09-08. Domain:Society. Cause of death:Age
He was an Italian automobile designer and Senator for life. In 1965 it was Sergio Pininfarina who personally persuaded Enzo Ferrari to adopt a "mid-engined" engine configuration for a new line of road cars, with the engine positioned behind the driver, but ahead of the rear wheels. The resulting Ferrari Dino Berlinette Speciale was presented at the Paris Motor Show in October, although it would be another two years before the cars were offered for sale. After his father's death in 1966, Pininfarina became chairman of the company. In 2006 Sergio and his son Andrea, who died in 2008 were named Honorary Chairmen of Pininfarina,
88
Born 1923-10-31. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Age
He was a French actor. He played Marius in "les bronzés font du ski".
50
Born 1961-11-05. Domain:Society. Cause of death:Accident
He was an American naval officer and a NASA astronaut. Poindexter was involved in a Jet Ski accident with his son near Pensacola Beach, Florida, on July 1, 2012. He was lifeflighted to a local hospital, where he later died.
96
Born 1915-10-22. Domain:Politics. Cause of death:Age
He was an Israeli politician and the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms, 1983–84 and 1986–1992. Before the establishment of the State of Israel, Shamir was a member of the Irgun, a group that was considered a terrorist group by the United Nations Security Council and was a breakaway from the Haganah. He was the country’s second longest-serving prime minster after David Ben-Gurion. In 2004, Shamir's health declined, with the progression of his Alzheimer's Disease and he was moved to a nursing home. The government turned down a request by the family to finance his stay at the facility.
88
Born 1923-08-17. Domain:Writing. Cause of death:Age
He is a French poet and writer. He has written numerous novels, essays and books of aphorisms and poems. He was elected to the Académie Goncourt in 1971, as well as to the Académie Mallarme. He is also the author of Histoire de la poésie française: La poésie du XVIIe siècle. At the time of his death, he was writing his memoirs.
77
Born 1934-10-16. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:Cancer
He was Bruce Lee's first student and first assistant instructor in the United States. He met Lee in 1959, as they both attended Edison Technical College and was the one who first taught Lee judo. Bruce Lee had his reaction time measured at Glover's house. In the book "Bruce Lee - Between Wing Chun and JKD", Glover states: The timer was hooked up to a light switch that activated it when the light was turned off. It was stopped by striking a pad with a cut off switch behind it. Bruce tested his reactions several times and they were all about five hundredths of a second (0.05 second). Bruce´s first punches were thrown from a distance of three feet. When he closed from five feet his reactions were slower but they were still around eight hundredths of a second (0.08 second). My own times from three feet were between 11 and 18 hundredths of a second (0.11 and 0.18 second). From a distance they were in the low twenties.
31
Born 1981-03-20. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:Accident
He was an Australian sprinter who competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics. He was the Australian national men's 200 metre champion in 2005 and 2006. His greatest international achievement was a sixth place at the 2003 World Indoor Championships. He was known for being similarly competitive over 100, 200 and 400 metre sprint distances. Batman died, aged 31, in a car crash at Marrakai, near Darwin, Northern Territory.
71
Born 1941-05-19. Domain:Writing. Cause of death:Pneumonia
Ephron died from pneumonia, a complication resulting from acute myeloid leukemia, a condition with which she was diagnosed in 2006. In her most recent book, I Remember Nothing (2010), Ephron left clues that something was wrong or that she was sick.
86
Born 1926-05-15. Domain:Science (Math style). Cause of death:Age
He was a Chinese mathematician. He graduated from National Chekiang University (Zhejiang University) in 1948, and received a doctorate degree in physics and mathematical science from Moscow University in 1959. He was primarily engaged in the research on partial differential equation, differential geometry, and mathematical physics. He served as vice president of Fudan University and from 1988 to 1993 president of the University of Science and Technology of China. In 1980, he was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
59
Born 1952-10-27. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Cancer
She was a French pianist. She was married to the writer Yann Queffélec, with whom she had a daughter, Leonora. She died in Paris.