Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Politics

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André Kolingba

André-Dieudonné Kolingba

Central African Republic

1936-08-12 – 2010-02-07 (73 years old)

General and President of the Central African Republic (1981–1993) who maintained political stability, built the modern Bangui infrastructure, and peacefully conceded power in the 1993 democratic elections.

Bangui, Central African Republic

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Arts & Music

5

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Ali Ali-Khodja

علي علي خوجة

Algeria

1923 – 2010 (87 years old)

Master painter, graphic designer, and long-time professor and director of the National School of Fine Arts in Algiers, whose lyrical semi-abstract canvases celebrated Casbah geometry.

Algiers, Algeria

5 Full Record →

Arts & Music

16

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Georges Wilson

Georges Willson

France

1921 – 2010 (88 years old)

Revered French actor and stage director who succeeded Jean Vilar at the helm of the Théâtre National Populaire (TNP) and starred in cinema classics from The Long Absence to Captain Fracasse.

Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines, France

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Humanitarian & Peace

22

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Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn

United States

1922 – 2010 (87 years old)

Influential American historian and civil rights campaigner whose masterwork A People's History of the United States retold history from the standpoint of grassroots struggles.

Santa Monica, United States

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Literature & Poetry

15

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J. D. Salinger

Jerome David Salinger

United States

1919 – 2010 (91 years old)

Legendary American author whose 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye became an enduring touchstone of youth alienation, adolescent angst, and literary brilliance.

Cornish, United States

15 Full Record →

Arts & Music

16

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Roger Pierre

Jean René Jean-Louis Pierre

France

1923 – 2010 (86 years old)

Beloved French comic actor and writer who formed one of France's greatest comedic duos with Jean-Marc Thibault, entertaining millions across stage, film, and television.

Paris, France

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Sciences & Discovery

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Marshall Warren Nirenberg

Marshall Warren Nirenberg

United States

1927 – 2010 (82 years old)

American biochemist and geneticist who shared the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for breaking the genetic code and showing how RNA translates DNA into proteins.

New York City, United States

16 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

6

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P. K. Page

P. K. Page

Great Britain

23 November 1916 – 14 January 2010 (93 years old)

Distinguished Canadian poet and visual artist whose glittering metaphysical verse and Brazilian journals earned the highest national honors.

Victoria, Canada

6 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

15

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Fina de Calderón

Josefina de Attard y Tello

Spain

1927 – 2010 (82 years old)

Spanish writer, poet, and composer who directed celebrated international literary salons and championed Hispanic cultural exchanges across Europe and the Americas.

Madrid, Spain

15 Full Record →

Arts & Music

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Eric Rohmer

Jean Marie Maurice Schérer

France

1920 – 2010 (89 years old)

A key architect of the French New Wave and former editor-in-chief of Cahiers du Cinéma, celebrated for his elegant, dialogue-driven film cycles exploring love and morality.

Paris, France

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Arts & Music

15

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Sandro de América

Roberto Sánchez-Ocampo

Argentina

1945 – 2010 (64 years old)

Legendary Argentine singer and actor considered a founding father of Argentine rock, who evolved into a Latin pop superstar dubbed the 'Elvis of South America'.

Burzaco, Argentina

15 Full Record →

Politics

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Habib Bourguiba Jr.

الحبيب بورقيبة الابن

France

1927 – 2009 (82 years old)

Accomplished diplomat and statesman who served as Tunisia's ambassador to Washington, Rome, and Paris, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and key proponent of computer science and technological modernism.

Monastir, Tunisia

4 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

21

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Abdelhadi Boutaleb

عبد الهادي بوطالب

Morocco

1923 – 2009 (85 years old)

Distinguished Moroccan scholar, royal tutor to King Hassan II, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and founding Director-General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO).

Rabat, Morocco

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Literature & Poetry

8

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Jaafar Majed

جعفر ماجد

Tunisia

1940 – 2009 (69 years old)

Distinguished poet and scholar from Kairouan who directed the seminal intellectual journal Rihab Al-Ma'rifa and authored influential studies on modern Maghrebi literature and poetic imagery.

Tunis, Tunisia

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Politics

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Bernard Kolélas

Bernard Bakana Kolélas

Congo

1933-06-12 – 2009-11-13 (76 years old)

Charismatic Bakongo statesman, human rights advocate, and longtime opposition leader who founded the MCDDI party, served as Mayor of Brazzaville, and briefly as Prime Minister during the 1997 crisis.

Bacongo, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo

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Arts & Music

6

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Meki Megara

المكي مغارة

Morocco

1933 – 2009 (76 years old)

Pioneering modernist painter of the Tetouan School, professor at the National School of Fine Arts of Tetouan, and designer of Bank Al-Maghrib coins, medals, and commemorative currencies.

Tetouan, Morocco

6 Full Record →

Philosophy & Thought

23

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Mustafa Mahmud

مصطفى محمود

Egypt

1921 – 2009 (87 years old)

Renowned Egyptian philosopher, physician, and intellectual who authored over 80 books reconciling modern quantum physics with Islamic metaphysics, hosting 400 episodes of the iconic television program Science and Faith.

6th of October City, Egypt

23 Full Record →

Anthropology

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Claude Lévi-Strauss

Claude Lévi-Strauss

Belgium

1908 – 2009 (100 years old)

Centenarian titan of modern thought and father of structural anthropology whose fieldwork in Brazil and masterpiece Tristes Tropiques (1955) transformed twentieth-century understanding of culture, myth, and human universality.

Lignerolles (Côte-d'Or), France

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