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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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41
Born 1963-12-03. Domain:Society. Cause of death:Accident
She was a woman who suffered brain damage and became dependent on a feeding tube. She collapsed in her home on February 25, 1990, and experienced respiratory and cardiac arrest, resulting in extensive brain damage, a diagnosis of persistent vegetative state (PVS) and 15 years of institutionalization. In 1998, Michael Schiavo, her husband and guardian, petitioned the Pinellas County Circuit Court to remove her feeding tube. Robert and Mary Schindler, her parents, opposed this, arguing she was conscious. The court determined that Terri would not wish to continue life-prolonging measures. The long battle stretched on for seven years and included involvement by politicians and advocacy groups, notably pro-life and disability rights ones. Before the local court's decision was carried out, on March 18, 2005, the governments of Florida and the United States had passed laws that sought, unsuccessfully, to prevent removal of Schiavo's feeding tube. These events resulted in extensive national and international media coverage.
By March 2005, the legal history around the Schiavo case included fourteen appeals and numerous motions, petitions, and hearings in the Florida courts; five suits in Federal District Court; Florida legislation struck down by the Supreme Court of Florida; a subpoena by a congressional committee to qualify Schiavo for witness protection; federal legislation (Palm Sunday Compromise); and four denials of certiorari from the Supreme Court of the United States. She died at a Pinellas Park hospice, at the age of 41. Some have since maintained that her death constituted "judicial murder."
On the morning of February 25, 1990, at approximately 4:30 a.m. EST, Schiavo collapsed in a hallway of their St. Petersburg apartment. Firefighters and paramedics arriving in response to Michael's 9-1-1 call found her face-down and unconscious. She was not breathing and had no pulse. They attempted to resuscitate her, she was defibrillated several times, and she was transported to the Humana Northside Hospital. There she was intubated, ventilated, and eventually given a tracheotomy. The long period without oxygen led to profound brain injury ("anoxic-ischemic encephalopathy" noted at autopsy), severely damaging those parts of the brain concerned with cognition, perception, and awareness.
The cause of her cardiac arrest has never been determined. For a time, it was believed that her cardiac arrest had been caused by an imbalance of electrolytes in her blood. On admission to hospital, her serum potassium level was noted to be very low, at 2.0 mEq/L; the normal range for adults is 3.5–5.0 mEq/L. Her sodium and calcium levels were normal. Electrolyte imbalance can be caused by losing fluids. Her medical chart contained a note that "she apparently has been trying to keep her weight down with dieting by herself, drinking liquids most of the time during the day and drinking about 10–15 glasses of iced tea." Iced tea is a mild diuretic; that is, it is a food that causes fluid loss. However the low potassium could have been a spurious result caused by the intravascular administration of fluids during the attempt to resuscitate her. It is unclear whether she had bulimia.
69
Born 1936-01-30. Domain:Science (Physics style). Cause of death:Other
He died in Paris after being hospitalized for two and a half years. Trương Trọng Thi was born in Cholon (Saigon). When he was 14 years old, he arrived in France to study, and later studied at the École Française de Radioélectricité (now EFREI). After working for Schlumberger and Intertechnique for some time, he formed the company R2E (Réalisation d'Études Électroniques). In 1973, with François Gernelle and a team of engineers he created the Micral, the first non-kit, microprocessor based personal computer in the world. It was created two years before the MITS Altair of Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems arrived on the market. In 1981, R2E was absorbed by Groupe Bull.
80
Born 1925-01-06. Domain:Business. Cause of death:Stroke
Renault was contracted to build the factory, which employed over 2000 workers at its peak production. The engine was made by Renault, while Lotus designed the chassis and bodywork details. The factory started manufacturing cars in early 1981, but the company was in receivership by February 1982. It turned out around 9,000 cars over 21 months before the British government ordered its closure in November 1982.
94
Born 1911-03-14. Domain:Art. Cause of death:Age
He was an origamist, considered to be the grandmaster of origami. He is credited with raising origami from a craft to a living art. According to his own estimation made in 1989, he created more than 50,000 models, of which only a few hundred designs were presented as diagrams in his 18 books. Yoshizawa acted as an international cultural ambassador for Japan throughout his career. In 1983, Japanese emperor Hirohito named him to the Order of the Rising Sun, one of the highest honors that can be given to a Japanese citizen. His second wife, Kiyo Yoshizawa, served as his manager and taught origami alongside him till his death on his 94th birthday.
71
Born 1933-10-25. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:Age
Viktor Arsenevich Kapitonov (Russian: Виктор Арсеньевич Капитонов) was a Soviet road cyclist who competed at the 1956 and 1960 Summer Olympics. In 1956 he finished 32nd individually and 6th with the Soviet team. In 1960 he won the individual road race and finished third in the 100 km team time trial. His gold medal was the first for Soviet cyclists. At the end of the race Kapitonov mistakenly sprinted for the finish with one lap to go, surprising his main rival Livio Trapè. In the last lap Trapè sprinted first, but Kapitonov caught him up in the last few meters. Kapitonov was part of the Soviet teams that won the Peace Race in 1958, 1959, 1961 and 1962. He retired in 1965 and until 1985 coached the Soviet road racing team. In 1983 he defended a PhD in pedagogy.
50
Born 1954-10-18. Domain:Business. Cause of death:Murder
Édouard Stern was a French banker famously murdered in Geneva, Switzerland, by a woman he had a four-year relationship with. At the time of his death, he was the 38th richest French citizen.
51
Born 1953-07-01. Domain:Other. Cause of death:Accident
He was a black dwarf. He played in a number of porn movies. He is also known for his role in "le miel et les abeilles", as Giant coocoo. He played also in "les filles d'à coté". He died in a car crash.
75
Born 1929-11-16. Domain:Other. Cause of death:Age
Josette Rey-Debove was a French lexicographer and semiologist. She was the first female lexicographer in France, and held many prominent posts in this field, where she used her influence to promote feminist changes to French language usage. Her husband, Alain Rey, was also her colleague.
62
Born 1942-04-23. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Kidney failure
Born Alexandria Cymboliak Zuck to John and Mary (née Cymboliak) in Bayonne, New Jersey, who later divorced. Her mother was of Rusyn ancestry. Abbreviated as "Sandra", she became a professional model by the age of four and subsequently progressed to television commercials.
Sandra Dee made her first film, Until They Sail, in 1957. There was some confusion as to her actual birth year, with evidence pointing to both 1942 and 1944, however Intelius indicates 1942.
Dee's adult years were marked by ill health. She admitted that for most of her life she battled anorexia nervosa, depression and alcoholism. In 2000, it was reported that she had been diagnosed with a myriad ailments, including throat cancer and renal disease. It was later learned that the former (the cancer scare) was unfounded, but the latter (renal or kidney disease) was indeed true. Complications of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), combined with pneumonia, led to her death at the Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, California.
67
Born 1937-07-18. Domain:Journalism. Cause of death:Suicide
He was an American journalist and author who wrote The Rum Diary (1998, written in the early 1960s), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1971) and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 (1973). He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to such a degree that they become central figures of their stories. He is known also for his lifelong use of alcohol, LSD, mescaline, and cocaine (among other substances); his love of firearms; his inveterate hatred of Richard Nixon; and his iconoclastic contempt for authoritarianism. While suffering a bout of health problems, he committed suicide in 2005 at the age of 67.
60
Born 1944-05-25. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Cancer
His songs from the film Emmanuelle called Emmanuelle In The Mirror and Theme From Emmanuelle have been sampled in the Lily Allen single Littlest Things, released in December 2006.
80
Born 1924-03-01. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Age
The educator in "Les grandes gueules".
60
Born 1944-11-01. Domain:Politics. Cause of death:Murder
Hariri was killed, along with 21 others, when explosives equivalent of around 1,000 kg of TNT were detonated as his motorcade drove near the St. George Hotel in Beirut. Among the dead were several of Hariri's bodyguards and his friend and former Minister of the Economy Bassel Fleihan. Rafik Hariri was buried along with his bodyguards, who died in the bombing, in a location near Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque.
87
Born 1917-10-30. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:Age
Jean-Louis' uncle.
90
Born 1914-10-21. Domain:Science (Physics style). Cause of death:Other
He was an inventor best known for his development of the crash test dummy, a device which, during the last half of the twentieth century, was widely used by automobile manufacturers to test the reliability of automobile seat belts and other safety protocols.
Alderson died at his home in Marina Del Rey, California, due to complications from myelofibrosis.
Myelofibrosis with myeloid metaplasia, also known as agnogenic myeloid metaplasia, chronic idiopathic myelofibrosis, and primary myelofibrosis, was first described in 1879 and is currently classified as a myeloproliferative disease caused by the growth and proliferation of an abnormal bone marrow stem cell, resulting in the replacement of the bone marrow with fibrous connective tissue. An eponym for the disease is Heuck-Assmann disease, or Assmann's Disease.
89
Born 1915-10-17. Domain:Writing. Cause of death:Age
In December 2004, the 89-year-old Miller announced that he has been living with a 34-year-old artist Agnes Barley at his Connecticut farm since 2002, and that they intended to marry. Miller's final play, Finishing the Picture, opened at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago, in the fall of 2004. He stated that the work was based on the experience of filming The Misfits.
Miller died at his home in Roxbury of congestive heart failure (the 56th anniversary of the Broadway debut of Death of a Salesman) at the age of 89, surrounded by his family.
50
Born 1954-08-21. Domain:Business. Cause of death:Suicide
Humbert Jean René Balsan was a French film producer and chairman of the European Film Academy. He was known for securing financing and distribution for diverse and often challenging films. In February 2005, Balsan was found dead in the offices of his production company, Ognon Pictures, in Paris. He was known to have suffered from depression, and killed himself by hanging.
80
Born 1924-10-30. Domain:Science (Physics style). Cause of death:Age
He served as a Minister of the Research from 1984 through 1986.
72
Born 1932-02-24. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Heart
Complications following heart surgery.
86
Born 1918-09-04. Domain:Business. Cause of death:Age
Co-founder with Max Théret of the store named FNAC.
32
Born 1973-01-19. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Suicide
She is best known internationally as Nadine in the 2000 film Baise-moi.
While staying at a friend's house in Paris's XIVth arrondissement, she committed suicide on the night of January 28, 2005 by overdosing on sleeping pills.
« Double péné par 5 °C, suivie d'une éjaculation. Couverte de sperme, trempée, morte de froid, personne ne m'a tendu une serviette. Une fois que t'as tourné ta scène, tu vaux plus rien. »
84
Born 1920-11-30. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Age
In 1949's White Heat she took on the role of "Verna Jarrett," opposite James Cagney. Mayo later claimed in interviews that she was occasionally genuinely frightened by Cagney during the filming of the picture, because Cagney's acting was so realistic and natural.
83
Born 1921-08-11. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Other
Carl Martin Rudolf Möhner was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1949 and 1976. He was born in Vienna, Austria, and died in McAllen, Texas from Parkinson's disease. His most famous role was as Jo "le Suédois" in the 1955 classic French heist film Rififi.
61
Born 1943-08-10. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Cancer
In 1968, Griffin teamed with David Gates and Robb Royer to form the band Bread (drummer Mike Botts joined on their second album, On the Waters; Larry Knechtel replaced Royer in 1971). They had a number one Billboard Hot 100 hit, with the song "Make It With You".
75
Born 1929-09-21. Domain:Society. Cause of death:cancer (blood)
91
Born 1913-05-26. Domain:Writing. Cause of death:Age
He wrote Les carnets du Major Thompson, which was published in 1954.
87
Born 1917-03-06. Domain:Art. Cause of death:Operation
William Erwin Eisner was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series The Spirit (1940–1952) was noted for its experiments in content and form. In 1978, he popularized the term "graphic novel" with the publication of his book A Contract with God. He was an early contributor to formal comics studies with his book Comics and Sequential Art (1985). The Eisner Award was named in his honor, and is given to recognize achievements each year in the comics medium; he was one of the three inaugural inductees to the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame. Eisner died in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, of complications from a quadruple bypass surgery performed December 22, 2004.