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Wiesel Elie (b. 1926-09-30 / d. 2016-07-02)
He was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, written mostly in French and English, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a Jewish prisoner in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps. Utah senator Orrin Hatch paid tribute to Wiesel in a speech on the Senate floor the following week, in which he said that, "With Elie's passing, we have lost a beacon of humanity and hope. We have lost a hero of human rights and a luminary of Holocaust literature.
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54
Born 1969-08-19. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:alcohol, other drugs
Matthew Langford Perry was an American and Canadian actor. He starred as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom Friends from 1994 to 2004, and won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for the role. Perry also appeared on Ally McBeal (2002) and received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his performances in The West Wing (2003) and The Ron Clark Story (2006). He gained a leading role in the NBC series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip which aired from 2006 to 2007. Perry also became known for his leading film roles in Fools Rush In (1997), Almost Heroes (1998), Three to Tango (1999), The Whole Nine Yards (2000), Serving Sara (2002), The Whole Ten Yards (2005), and 17 Again (2009). He voiced Benny in the video game Fallout: New Vegas (2010). While Perry did not drink on the set of Friends, he did work with extreme hangovers and was sometimes sweating and shaking. Perry became addicted to Vicodin after a jet-ski accident in 1997, and completed a 28-day rehab program at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation that year. His weight dropped as low as 128 pounds (58 kg) and he took as many as 55 Vicodin pills per day. At age 30, he suffered from alcohol-induced pancreatitis and erectile dysfunction; in May 2000, he was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. In February 2001, Perry paused productions of Friends and Serving Sara for 2 months, entering rehab for an addiction to Vicodin, methadone, amphetamines, and alcohol. Fifteen years later, he revealed that due to his addiction issues, he did not remember three years of the time he was acting on Friends, between seasons three and six. In 2018, Perry spent five months in a hospital for a gastrointestinal perforation. During the hospital stay, Perry nearly died after his colon burst from opioid abuse. He spent two weeks in a coma and used a colostomy bag for nine months. Upon being admitted to the hospital, doctors told his family that Perry had a 2% chance of survival. He was connected to an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine, which breathed for him. Two years afterwards, while attending rehab in Switzerland, Perry faked pain to get a prescription of 1,800 milligrams of Oxycontin per day and was having daily ketamine infusions. He was given propofol in conjunction with a surgery, which stopped his heart for five minutes. The resulting cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) resulted in eight broken ribs. He paid $175,000 for a private jet to take him to Los Angeles to get more drugs. When doctors there refused, Perry spent another $175,000 to take a private jet back to Switzerland. In 2022, he estimated that $9 million was spent on his addiction, including 14 stomach surgeries, 15 stays in rehab, and therapy twice a week for 30 years. He believed he had attended 6,000 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
61
Born 1962-03-31. Domain:Business. Cause of death:Accident
Richard Stockton Rush III was an American businessman, best known as the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of deep-sea exploration company OceanGate. On June 18, 2023, he was killed along with four others aboard OceanGate's submersible Titan, which imploded during an attempt to visit the wreck of the Titanic in the North Atlantic.
79
Born 1942-04-16. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:Age
Sir Francis Owen Garbett Williams CBE was a British businessman, racing car driver and the founder of Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited. He was the team principal from its foundation in 1977 until 2020. Williams met Virginia Berry in 1967. They married in 1974. They had two sons, Jonathan and Jamie, and a daughter, Claire, who would go on to become the deputy team principal of his future Formula One team Williams Grand Prix Engineering. Williams used a wheelchair since a car accident in the South of France, on 8 March 1986, rendered him tetraplegic. He was driving with team sponsorship manager Peter Windsor in a hired Ford Sierra 1600 from the Paul Ricard Circuit to Nice Côte d'Azur Airport when the incident happened. Williams had been at the circuit to watch the testing of the team's new Williams FW11, but as a keen long distance runner, he was returning to the airport following the trials because he wished to compete in a half marathon in London the next day. During the drive to the airport, he lost control of the hire car on a slight left hand kink in the road, clipping a low stone wall, causing the vehicle to leave the highway. An eight-foot (2.4 m) drop between the road and a field caused the car to roll onto the driver's side. Williams remained conscious but was immediately aware that he could not move and was fearful of fire due to fuel spillage. He suffered a spinal fracture between the fourth and fifth vertebra after being pressed between his seat and the crushed roof. Windsor, who had sustained only minor injuries, extracted Williams from the vehicle while waiting for the emergency services. Virginia flew with Patrick Head to the French hospital and was of the opinion that Williams was about to die. She organised his urgent repatriation to England, where doctors performed a tracheotomy, which then allowed his lungs to be drained of fluid, almost certainly saving his life. Virginia wrote an autobiographical book that was published in 1991, A Different Kind of Life, in which she describes her experiences in the Formula One team's formative years as well as her husband's near-fatal accident. For his part, Williams decided not to read her account during her lifetime, preferring to leave the past in the past. She was diagnosed with cancer in 2010, and died on 7 March 2013, at the age of 66.
50
Born 1970-12-18. Domain:Music. Cause of death:alcohol, other drugs
Earl Simmons, known by his stage name DMX ("Dark Man X"), was an American rapper, songwriter, and actor. He began rapping in the early 1990s and released his debut album It's Dark and Hell Is Hot in 1998, to both critical acclaim and commercial success, selling 251,000 copies within its first week of release. He released his best-selling album, ... And Then There Was X, in 1999, which included the hit single "Party Up (Up in Here)". His 2003 singles "Where the Hood At?" and "X Gon' Give It to Ya" were also some of his most popular. DMX had spoken openly about his addiction to crack cocaine, which began when he was 14 years old after he smoked a marijuana cigarette laced with the drug. He also said that he had bipolar disorder. On April 2, 2021, at approximately 11:00 pm, Simmons was rushed to a hospital in White Plains, New York, where he was reported to be in critical condition following a heart attack at his home possibly resulting from an overdose. The next day, his attorney, Murray Richman, confirmed Simmons was on life support. That same night, tabloid journalism outlet TMZ, who first reported on the hospitalization, stated that Simmons had suffered oxygen deprivation to his brain as paramedics attempted to resuscitate him for 30 minutes. Simmons' former manager, Nakia Walker, said he was in a "vegetative state" with "lung and brain failure and no current brain activity". His manager, Steve Rifkind, stated Simmons was comatose and that he was set to undergo tests to determine his brain's functionality which would allow his family to "determine what's best from there". On April 9, 2021, Simmons had reportedly lost functionality in multiple essential organs, including his lungs. Simmons was pronounced dead later that day, age 50, according to a statement released by his family.
82
Born 1938-02-19. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Age
Rika Zaraï was an Israeli singer and writer. Rika Gozman (later Zarai) was born in Jerusalem. In the 1950s, the Israeli writer, Aharon Megged, wrote a musical for the IDF Central Command entertainment troupe about five soldiers falling in love with five country girls. In 1956, it was produced commercially by the Ohel theater starring Rika Zarai. The music was written by her husband Yochanan Zarai, with lyrics and melodies by Naomi Shemer. In 1969, Zarai rose to fame with her songs Casatschok and Alors je chante, the French version of Vivo Cantando. She went on to have a successful career in Europe, where she popularized Israeli classic songs such as Hava Nagila, Yerushalayim shel zahav and Hallelujah. Zarai sings in Hebrew, English, French, Italian, Spanish and German. She lived in Paris but visited Israel periodically. According to a report in the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronoth in 2008, she suffered a stroke which paralyzed the left side of her body.
86
Born 1933-06-20. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Age
Daniel Louis Aiello Jr. was an American actor. He appeared in numerous motion pictures, including The Godfather Part II (1974), The Front (1976), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Moonstruck (1987), Harlem Nights (1989), Hudson Hawk (1991), Ruby (1992), Léon: The Professional (1994), 2 Days in the Valley (1996), Dinner Rush (2000), and Lucky Number Slevin (2006). He played Don Domenico Clericuzio in the miniseries The Last Don (1997). Aiello was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Salvatore "Sal" Frangione in the Spike Lee film Do the Right Thing (1989). Aiello died at age 86 at a hospital in New Jersey, following a brief illness.
83
Born 1934-11-12. Domain:Society. Cause of death:Age
Charles Milles Manson (né Maddox) was an American criminal and cult leader. In mid-1967, he formed what became known as the "Manson Family", a quasi-commune based in California. His followers committed a series of nine murders at four locations in July and August 1969. According to the Los Angeles County district attorney, Manson plotted to start a race war, though he and others disputed this motive. In 1971, he was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the deaths of seven people, including the film actress Sharon Tate. The prosecution conceded that Manson never literally ordered the murders, but they contended that his ideology constituted an overt act of conspiracy. Manson was also convicted of first-degree murder for the deaths of Gary Hinman and Donald Shea. On January 1, 2017, Manson was suffering from gastrointestinal bleeding at California State Prison in Corcoran when he was rushed to Mercy Hospital in downtown Bakersfield. A source told the Los Angeles Times that Manson was seriously ill, and TMZ reported that his doctors considered him "too weak" for surgery. He was returned to prison on January 6, and the nature of his treatment was not disclosed. On November 15, 2017, an unauthorized source said that Manson had returned to a hospital in Bakersfield, but the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation did not confirm this in conformity with state and federal medical privacy laws. He died from cardiac arrest resulting from respiratory failure and colon cancer at the hospital.
27
Born 1989-03-11. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Accident
He was a Soviet-born American movie, television and voice actor. Starring role in the 2013 movie, "Odd Thomas". On the morning of June 19, 2016, Yelchin was found by friends crushed between his car and the iron security gate of his Studio City, Los Angeles home. It was described as a "freak accident". He was pronounced dead later that day at the age of 27. Yelchin was best known for portraying Pavel Chekov in the Star Trek reboot series, appearing in Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), and will appear in Star Trek Beyond (2016).
83
Born 1931-03-26. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Age
He was an American actor, film director, poet, singer and photographer. Nimoy was best known for his role as Spock in the original Star Trek series (1966–69), and in multiple film, television and video game sequels. Nimoy revealed that he had been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). On Twitter, he said: "I quit smoking 30 yrs ago. Not soon enough. I have COPD. Grandpa says, quit now!! LLAP (Live Long and Prosper)." On February 19, 2015, Nimoy was rushed to UCLA Medical Center for severe chest pains after a call to 911. According to accounts, he had been in and out of hospitals for the "past several months.
66
Born 1945-12-30. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Heart attack
David Thomas "Davy" Jones was an English recording artist and actor, best known as a member of The Monkees. On the morning of 29 February 2012, Jones was found seated in his car complaining of chest pains and having difficulty breathing. He was rushed to Martin Memorial South Hospital in Stuart, Florida, where he was pronounced dead of a severe heart attack due to atherosclerosis.
24
Born 1986-10-22. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:Suicide
He was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. The cause of death was reported to be suicide by hanging as Roberts struggled to cope with the split from his fiancée after she had been having an affair with Paul Terry. At an inquest opened at the end of the week, deputy coroner Rodney Haig gave cause of death as asphyxia. Following Roberts' death, Rushden retired their number one shirt.
26
Born 1984-04-17. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:Unknown
He was an American long-distance swimmer.
While competing in an open water 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) World Cup swimming race in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, teammate Alex Meyer noticed Crippen did not cross the finish line. After Meyer screamed for help, the other competing swimmers jumped back into the water to try to find Crippen. Two hours after the finish of the men's race, and after 90 minutes of searching by other swimmers, deep-sea divers finally arrived. Crippen's body was found near the final buoy, about 500 yards from shore. He was rushed to the local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, though it was suspected he died at the scene. Winner Thomas Lurz and other swimmers said the water was above 30 °C (86 °F) and that several other swimmers, including two Americans and one Brazilian, had to be briefly hospitalized.
FINA president Dr. Julio Maglione said it was the first death in any FINA event and an investigation was opened. Crippen had told his coach after 8 kilometers that he was feeling thirsty, yet continued with the race.
47
Born 1963-04-13. Domain:Society. Cause of death:Unknown
"There are times I don't like the way my life went, but that doesn’t mean that I'm not in love with life," says the 43-year-old motivational speaker who created the Choose Living Foundation. "Is it fair what's happened to me? No, of course not. So what? I still have to get up in the morning. By engaging life, by moving what few muscles I have, my bed suddenly becomes an exercise mat."
Finishing his undergraduate work in 1985, he ventured to New York City, to train at the Circle in the Square Theatre School on Broadway. Three weeks later, leaving a late-night rehearsal session on his motorcycle, MacLaren was broadsided by a 40,000-pound city bus. Rushed to Bellevue Hospital, he was initially diagnosed as "dead on arrival."
After 18 hours of surgery doctors stabilized a comatose MacLaren and made a decision that would shape the next eight years of his life. They amputated his left leg below the knee. He awoke from his coma, rehabbed diligently, and attempted to resume his graduate studies at the Yale School of Drama. There, he started swimming, and picked up a book on triathlons that sparked his imagination. Soon, MacLaren was ready to resume life as an athlete, as a triathlete. "I felt like I was back in it, back in life," he says. "I didn't compete against other people. I was competing against me. A buddy once said, 'Mac, nobody cares how fast you go, they just love that you're doing it.'
"I told him I care. I never wanted to be taken for granted, as that guy with the fake leg. So I just kept pushing myself."
MacLaren became a media sensation in the fledgling sport of triathlons, paving the way for a new generation of disabled athletes. He competed and set scores of records in some of the toughest races on the planet, including the New York City Marathon and the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii, and routinely finished ahead of 80 percent of the able-bodied athletes.
Then, on June 6, 1993, his life took another cruel turn. He was in Mission Viejo, California, racing another triathlon. Two miles into the bike leg, on a closed course, a traffic marshal misjudged MacLaren's speed approaching an intersection. The marshal directed a van to cross the street, and the van and MacLaren collided. Hurled into a signpost, MacLaren broke his neck at the C5 vertebrae, paralyzing him.
Slowly, MacLaren pulled himself back again, grappling with seemingly insurmountable obstacles and even reclaiming some motor function of his limbs. Most importantly, he fostered an inner force that enabled him to act in ways he couldn't as an able-bodied athlete. "It took two years of self study, going deep, and then deeper again," he says. "And, sometime in 2000-2001, I chose life."
13
Born 1997-05-00. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:Accident
He was a nationally ranked American amateur motorcycle racer.
Lenz was involved in a fatal crash during a warmup lap at the MD250H race of the Red Bull Indianapolis GP. Lenz fell and was struck by another rider, 12-year-old Xavier Zayat. Medics immediately put Lenz into a neck brace, and rushed him to the Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis, where he later died of his injuries.
34
Born 1976-05-08. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Suicide
He was an African American pornographic actor who performed under the screen name "Steve Driver". He died while being apprehended by police for the alleged murder of fellow actor Herbert Hin Wong as well as assault on two other individuals. On June 1, 2010, Hill was accused of attacking the three with a sword.
Stephen Hill had been told he was terminated from Ultima DVD and was being evicted from the premises. The incident escalated, resulting in Hill attacking a man in the back of the building. Two others, including Herbert Wong, rushed to the victim’s aid and were cut with repeated swings of a movie prop Samurai-style machete. All three victims were rushed to Northridge Hospital Medical Center where Wong was pronounced dead.
Four days later on June 5th, Hill was surrounded by a SWAT team in a residence located around Azul Drive in West Hills. Hill climbed a nearby hill area and was brandishing a sword which he threatened to use to kill himself. Video recording shows that Hill was first shot near the right shoulder by a policeman, most likely with a non lethal gun. Hill, cornered, went closer to the edge of the cliff. A second shot was fired by another policeman. Then Hill got even closer to the edge, and only then attempted a jump that eventually killed him.
46
Born 1963-04-24. Domain:Music. Cause of death:AIDS
He was born in Châlons-sur-Marne to the artist Cabu and Isabelle Monin, co-founder of the ecology-related magazine, La Gueule ouverte.
He was rushed to a hospital after a concert in Paris on November 12th 2009
46
Born 1963-00-00. Domain:Society. Cause of death:Infection
Vodden was born Lucy O'Donnell in Weybridge, Surrey, in 1963.
She was a classmate of Julian Lennon's, son of Beatles musician John Lennon, at Heath House School. Julian Lennon drew a picture of O'Donnell in 1966 and took it to his father, explaining to him that the picture he drew was, "That’s Lucy in the sky with diamonds." The quote became the legend for the origin of the song.
in 2007, Lucy Vodden admitted to being the Lucy referred to in the song in an interview with the BBC Radio. She told the BBC that, "I remember Julian and I both doing pictures on a double-sided easel, throwing paint at each other, much to the horror of the classroom attendant… Julian had painted a picture and on that particular day his father turned up with the chauffeur to pick him up from school."
In 2009, Julian Lennon learned that Vodden, who lived in Surrey, England, suffered from the immune system disease lupus. Lennon sent her flowers with a personally written card. After learning that Vodden was taking solace from gardening and looking at plants, Lennon sent her gift vouchers for a garden centre. Vodden, who saw Lennon in the intervening years one time at a concert of his, reacted by saying, "It was lovely of Julian."
Vodden developed an infection on the second day of her first vacation with her husband in eight years. She was rushed to a hospital in King's Lynn, Norfolk, where she died.
At the time of its release, the Beatles claimed that the inspiration for the song came from a drawing by John Lennon's son, Julian, which Julian called "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". The song sparked controversy when released, including being banned by the BBC because of the supposed reference to the drug LSD, with the letters of the title spelling Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Lennon would later deny the reference during an interview with Rolling Stone. Despite John Lennon's denial of the title and content of the song having to do with LSD, on June 2, 2004, McCartney told BBC that the song is, in fact, about LSD
62
Born 1947-02-02. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:cancer (colorectal)
Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006, and began treatment, including chemotherapy and surgery. Four months later, on her 60th birthday, the Associated Press wire service reported that Fawcett was, at that point, cancer free. Fawcett said in a statement, "This is an extraordinarily happy day for me and my family. I hope that my news might offer some level of inspiration to others who unfortunately must continue to fight the disease."
Less than four months later, in May 2007, Fawcett brought a small digital video camera to document a doctor's office visit. There, she was told a malignant polyp was found in the area where she had been treated for the initial cancer. Doctors contemplated whether to implant a radiation seeder (which differs from conventional radiation and is used to treat other types of cancer). Fawcett's U.S. doctors told her that she would require a colostomy. Instead, Fawcett traveled to Germany for treatments described variously in the press as "holistic", "aggressive", and "alternative". There, Dr. Ursula Jacob prescribed a treatment including surgery to remove the anal tumor, and a course of perfusion and embolization for her liver cancer by Doctors Claus Kiehling and Thomas Vogl in Germany, and chemotherapy back in Fawcett's home town of Los Angeles. Although initially the tumors were regressing, their reappearance a few months later necessitated a new course, this time including laser ablation therapy and chemoembolization. Aided by friend Alana Stewart, Fawcett documented the highs and lows of her battle with the disease.
In early April 2009, Fawcett, back in the U.S., was rushed to a hospital, reportedly unconscious and in critical condition. Subsequent reports, however, indicated that the severity of her condition was not as dire as first reported. On April 6, the Associated Press reported that her cancer had metastasized to her liver. Fawcett had learned of this development in May 2007 and her subsequent treatments in Germany had targeted this as well. The report denied that she was unconscious, and explained that the reason for Fawcett's hospitalization was not her cancer but a painful abdominal hematoma that had been the result of a minor procedure, according to the Los Angeles cancer specialist treating Fawcett, Dr. Lawrence Piro. Her spokesperson emphasized she was not "at death's door", adding "She remains in good spirits with her usual sense of humor ... She's been in great shape her whole life and has an incredible resolve and an incredible resilience." Three days later, on April 9, Fawcett was released from the hospital, picked up by longtime companion O'Neal, and, according to her doctor, was "walking and in great spirits and looking forward to celebrating Easter at home."
A month later, on May 7, Fawcett was reported as being critically ill, with Ryan O'Neal quoted as saying that she now spends her days at home, on an IV, often asleep. The Los Angeles Times reported that Fawcett was in the last stages of her cancer and had the chance to see her son Redmond in April 2009, although shackled and under supervision, as he was then incarcerated, Fawcett seemed not to notice. Her 91-year-old father, James Fawcett, flew out to Los Angeles to visit with Farrah, his only living child (her sole sibling, sister Diane, had succumbed to lung cancer in 2001).
Her doctor, Lawrence Piro, and Fawcett's friend and Angels co-star Kate Jackson—a breast cancer survivor—appeared together on The Today Show dispelling tabloid-fueled rumors, including the suggestions that Fawcett had ever been in a coma, had ever reached 86 pounds, and had ever given up her fight against the disease or lost the will to live. Jackson decried such demoralizing fabrications, saying they "really do hurt a human being and a person like Farrah". Piro recalled when it became necessary for Fawcett to undergo treatments that would cause her to lose her hair, acknowledging that "Farrah probably has the most famous hair in the world", but acknowledged that it is not a trivial matter for any cancer patient, whose hair "affects [one's] whole sense of who [they] are". Of the documentary, Jackson averred that Fawcett "didn't do this to show that 'she' is unique, she did it to show that we are all unique ... (T)his was...meant to be a gift to others to help and inspire them."
The two-hour documentary Farrah's Story, which was filmed by Fawcett and friend Alana Stewart, aired on NBC on May 15, 2009. The documentary was watched by nearly 9 million people in its premiere airing and it was re-aired on the broadcast network's cable stations MSNBC, Bravo and Oxygen.
In June, O'Neal asked Fawcett to marry him. She accepted his proposal and O'Neal said the wedding would happen "as soon as she can say yes." The two never married.
Fawcett died at approximately at 9:28 a.m. (PST), in the intensive care unit of Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, with O'Neal and Stewart by her side.
50
Born 1958-08-29. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Heart
On the morning of June 25, 2009, Jackson reportedly collapsed at a rented home in Holmby Hills in Los Angeles. After he collapsed, Jackson's personal physician, who was with him at the time, attempted to resuscitate him. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a 911 call at 12:21 pm local (Pacific) time and arrived nine minutes later. Jackson was reportedly not breathing and CPR was quickly performed. Resuscitation efforts continued both en route to the UCLA Medical Center, and after arrival at approximately 1:14 p.m (20:14 UTC), for a further hour. He fell into a coma and died shortly after being rushed to UCLA Medical Centre. The cause of death is reported to be cardiac arrest. Jackson was pronounced dead at about 2:26 pm local time (21:26 UTC). Los Angeles Police Department homicide and robbery division detectives attended the scene as a matter of routine in high profile death cases. The case was transferred to the Los Angeles coroner for investigation as there was no doctor in attendance to sign the death certificate. Jackson's body was transported by helicopter from UCLA to the LA Coroners offices. The autopsy is said to be scheduled for Friday, June 26, 2009. Prior to his death, Jackson had been scheduled to perform 50 sold-out concerts to over one million people, at London's O2 arena, from July 13, 2009 to March 6, 2010. During a publicity press conference, Jackson made suggestions of possible retirement. Randy Phillips, president and chief executive of AEG Live, had stated that the first 10 dates alone would have earned the singer approximately £50 million. The company faces a potential liability of over £300 million because of Jackson's death.
19
Born 1989-01-15. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:Unknown
He was a Russian professional ice hockey winger, who last played for the Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League.
Cherepanov died after collapsing on the bench during a KHL game against Chekhov Vityaz. He played a shift with teammate Jaromir Jagr, and the two were talking on the bench shortly after they left the ice, when he suddenly collapsed. He was first tried to be revived on the bench, then carried to the dressing room and he was finally rushed to an intensive care unit. The ambulance that is normally at all games had already departed and had to be called back, taking approximately 15-20 minutes to get him to a hospital. He died later that day.
On August 29, 2007, during game 2 of the 2007 Super Series, Cherepanov collided with Canadian forward Brandon Sutter and suffered a concussion. The next day it was reported that he would be out for the remainder of the eight-game series. Team Russia went on to go winless in the series.
44
Born 1964-04-16. Domain:Music. Cause of death:Accident
Esbjörn Svensson went missing during a scuba diving session on Ingarö outside of Stockholm, Sweden. His diving companions eventually found him lying unconscious on the seabed. Having sustained serious injuries, he was rushed to Karolinska University Hospital by helicopter, but his life could not be saved.
35
Born 1972-03-01. Domain:Sport. Cause of death:Accident
On December 25, 2007, he successfully defended the WBO Inter-Continental flyweight title with an unanimous decision victory over Heri Amol. In the 12th round, Choi was dropped with five seconds remaining, but beat the count and went on to win the fight. He collapsed while still in the ring after the bout and was rushed to the Soonchunhyang University Hospital immediately after the fight in order to undergo emergency brain surgery. Choi died on January 2, 2008, when he was removed from a ventilator after having been pronounced brain-dead the day before.
34
Born 1972-09-24. Domain:Politics. Cause of death:Murder
He was a Lebanese politician in the Kataeb Party, better known in English as the Phalange Party. Lebanon's second-youngest MP, he was a rising star in his party.
He was the third member of his family to be assassinated in 25 years. His uncle Bachir Gemayel was assassinated in 1982, also at age 34, and Bachir's 1-year-old daughter was killed in a car bomb attack in 1980, initially supposed to target him.
The day before Lebanon's Independence Day, at least three to four gunmen opened fired at close range on Gemayel with five different types of silenced automatic weapons, all using 9 mm bullets, after ramming his car from the front in the Jdeideh suburb of Beirut with a Honda CRV with tinted windows that they were driving. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead. His bodyguard Sameer Chartouni was also killed.
52
Born 1953-02-09. Domain:Performing. Cause of death:Cancer
He met Marushka Detmers in 1991, and had a daughter with her.
48
Born 1953-02-09. Domain:Politics. Cause of death:Murder
Massoud was the target of a suicide attack which occurred at Khvajeh Ba Odin. The attackers were two Arabs who claimed to be Belgians originally from Morocco. However their passports turned out to be stolen and their nationality Tunisian. The assassins claimed to want to interview Massoud and set off a bomb either in their video camera or in a belt worn by the cameraman while asking Massoud questions. The explosion also killed Mohammed Asim Suhail, a Northern Alliance official, while Mohammad Fahim Dashty and Massoud Khalili were injured. The assassins may have intended to attack several Northern Alliance council members simultaneously. One of the attackers was killed by the explosion and the other was shot while trying to escape. Massoud was rushed after the attack to the Indian Military hospital at Farkhor, Tajikistan which is now Farkhor Air Base. The news of Massoud's death was reported almost immediately, appearing in European and North American newspapers on 10 September 2001. It was quickly overshadowed by the September 11, 2001 attacks, which proved to be the terrorist attack that Massoud had warned against.
61
Born 1939-11-27. Domain:Politics. Cause of death:Murder
Kabila was shot during the afternoon of January 16, 2001 by one of his own staff, Rashidi Kasereka, who was also killed. The assassination was part of a failed coup attempt which was crushed and Kabila, who may have been still alive, was flown to Zimbabwe for medical treatment. His death was confirmed there on January 18. One week later, his body was returned to Congo for a state funeral and his son, Joseph, became president ten days later.
The investigation into the assassination led to 135 people being tried before a special military tribunal. The alleged ringleader, Colonel Eddy Kapend (one of Kabila's cousins), and 25 others were sentenced to death in January 2003. Of the other defendants 64 were jailed, with sentences from six months to life, and 45 were exonerated.
70
Born 1928-03-10. Domain:Society. Cause of death:Hepathitis B
In 1997 Martin Luther King's son Dexter King met with Ray, and publicly supported Ray's efforts to obtain a retrial. Loyd Jowers, a restaurant owner in Memphis, was brought to civil court and sued as being part of a conspiracy to murder Martin Luther King; Jowers was found liable, and the King family was awarded $100 in restitution to show that they were not pursuing the case for financial gain.
Dr. William Pepper, a friend of King in the last year of his life, represented James Earl Ray in a televised mock trial in an attempt to get Ray the trial that he never had. Pepper then represented the King family in a wrongful death civil trial against Loyd Jowers. The King family does not believe Ray had anything to do with the murder of Martin Luther King.
Ray died in prison at the age of 70 from complications related to kidney disease, caused by hepatitis C probably contracted as a result of a blood transfusion given after a stabbing while at Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. It was also confirmed in the autopsy that he died of liver failure.
27
Born 1969-08-31. Domain:Society. Cause of death:Suicide
The first murder of the spree was that of his friend Jeffrey Trail, a former US Naval Officer and propane salesman on April 27, 1997, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The next victim was architect David Madson, who was found on the east shore of Rush Lake Near Rush City, MN after the Minnesota Corrections Association Fishing Tournament on April 29, 1997 with gunshot wounds to the head. Police recognized a connection, as Trail's body had been found in Madson's Minneapolis loft apartment, and started an intensive nationwide manhunt.
Cunanan next drove to Chicago and killed prominent real-estate developer Lee Miglin, 72, on May 4, 1997. Five days later, the intensive manhunt for Cunanan, who escaped in Miglin's car, culminated with the fourth victim in Pennsville, New Jersey, at the Finn's Point National Cemetery, killing caretaker William Reese, 45, on May 9, 1997. Cunanan apparently killed him for his pick-up truck, while leaving Miglin's car behind.
While the manhunt focused on Reese's truck, Cunanan remained in hiding in Miami Beach, Florida, for months between his fourth and fifth murders. Finally, for his fifth murder he chose fashion designer Gianni Versace, who was killed on July 15, 1997.
Eight days later, Cunanan committed suicide in the upstairs bedroom aboard a Miami houseboat apparently to avoid capture by the police, who finally discovered Reese's stolen truck nearby and obtained tips from neighbors that someone resembling Cunanan was living in the houseboat.
60
Born 1936-03-01. Domain:Writing. Cause of death:Heart attack
In 1991, L'Idiot international was one of the only newspaper to criticize the Gulf War, and Jean-Edern Hallier went to Iraq to cover the war. Some time before, he had published Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses (1988), and personally delivered an exemplary of the book to the Iranian embassy in Paris.
He died opportunedly from a heart attack while riding his bike.
6
Born 1990-08-06. Domain:Society. Cause of death:Murder
She was an American child beauty pageant contestant made famous by her murder and the subsequent media coverage. She was found dead in the basement of her parents' home in Boulder, Colorado, nearly eight hours after she was reported missing. The case is notable in both its longevity and the media interest it has generated in the United States. After several grand jury hearings, the case is still unsolved.
The results of the autopsy revealed that JonBenét was killed by strangulation and a skull fracture. A garrote made from a length of tweed cord and the broken handle of a paintbrush had been used to strangle her; her skull had suffered severe blunt trauma; there was no evidence of conventional rape, although sexual assault could not be ruled out. The official cause of death was asphyxiation due to strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma.