Historical Archives & Public Figures

Haydée Mercedes Sosa

Argentina

1935-07-09 – 2009-10-04 (74 years old)

Revered worldwide as 'The Voice of Latin America' (La Voz de América Latina), whose deep, resonant contralto and anthems like Gracias a la vida and Solo le pido a Dios gave courage to millions resisting dictatorships.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

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Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

40

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Queen Fatimah el-Sharif

الملكة فاطمة الشريف

Libya

1911 – 2009 (98 years old)

Beloved and sole Queen Consort of the Kingdom of Libya (1951–1969), daughter of anti-colonial hero Sayyid Ahmad Sharif and wife of King Idris I, celebrated for founding the Libyan Red Crescent and championing girls' schools.

Cairo, Egypt

40 Full Record →

Music

0

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Shah Abdul Karim

শাহ আবদুল করিম

Bangladesh

1916-02-15 – 2009-09-12 (93 years old)

Revered as the 'Baul Samrat' (Emperor of the Bauls), self-taught mystic philosopher and folk bard from the haor wetlands of Sylhet who composed timeless folk anthems like 'Gari Cholena Cholena'.

Derai, Sunamganj, Bangladesh

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Humanitarian & Peace

49

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Norman Ernest Borlaug

Norman Borlaug

United States

1914 – 2009 (95 years old)

Agronome américain surnommé le père de la Révolution verte, crédité d'avoir sauvé plus d'un milliard d'êtres humains de la famine, prix Nobel de la paix 1970.

College Station, Texas, United States

49 Full Record →

Science

2

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Aage Bohr

Aage Niels Bohr

Denmark

1922-06-19 – 2009-09-08 (87 years old)

Distinguished Danish nuclear physicist awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1975 for discovering the connection between collective motion and particle motion in atomic nuclei.

Copenhagen, Denmark

2 Full Record →

Law

2

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Gani Fawehinmi

Abdul-Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi

Nigeria

1938-04-22 – 2009-09-05 (71 years old)

Legendary Nigerian lawyer, civil rights titan, and legal publisher who was detained dozens of times by successive military regimes in his relentless defence of the poor and rule of law.

Ondo, Nigeria

2 Full Record →

Sports & Athletics

34

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Anton Engelbert Sailer

Austria

1935 – 2009 (73 years old)

Austrian alpine ski racer, the first skier to win all three alpine skiing gold medals (downhill, slalom, giant slalom) in a single Winter Olympics (1956).

Kitzbühel, Austria

34 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

33

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Kim Dae-jung

김대중 / 金大中

South Korea

1924 – 2009 (85 years old)

President of South Korea, democracy activist, and 2000 Nobel Peace Prize laureate known as the 'Nelson Mandela of Asia' for his Sunshine Policy of North-South reconciliation.

Seoul, South Korea

33 Full Record →

Prophets & Divine Messengers

21

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Bechir Torki

بشير التركي

Tunisia

1931 – 2009 (78 years old)

Pioneering nuclear physicist who founded Tunisia's Atomic Energy Commission, was elected President of the IAEA General Conference in 1969, and held over thirty international patents in solar desalination.

Mahdia, Tunisia

21 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

45

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Corazon Aquino

María Corazón Cojuangco Aquino

Philippines

1933-01-25 – 2009-08-01 (76 years old)

Icon of peaceful democratic transition across the globe; promulgated the 1987 Philippine Constitution restoring civil liberties, term limits, and human rights commissions.

Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines

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Statesmanship & Statesmen

19

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Mahmud Sulayman al-Maghribi

محمود سليمان المغربي

Palestine

1935 – 2009 (73 years old)

Distinguished petroleum jurist who earned his doctorate from George Washington University, served as Libya's first post-1969 Prime Minister, and negotiated landmark oil sovereignty agreements.

Damascus, Syria

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Sciences & Discovery

7

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Dr. Mustapha Laliam

الدكتور مصطفى لعلام

Algeria

1928 – 2009 (80 years old)

Distinguished physician and neurobiologist who joined the ALN maquis in 1956, organized surgical networks across Kabylia, and pioneered neurology in independent Algeria.

Algiers, Algeria

7 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

0

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Jean-Baptiste Tati Loutard

Congo

1938-12-15 – 2009-07-04 (70 years old)

Eminent poet, scholar, and long-serving Minister of Culture whose exquisite verse collections ('Poèmes de la Mer', 'Les Feux de la planète') won the Grand Prix Littéraire d'Afrique Noire.

Pointe-Noire, Republic of the Congo

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Arts & Music

32

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Tyeb Mehta

तय्यब मेहता

India

1925 – 2009 (83 years old)

Indian modernist painter and filmmaker of the post-independence avant-garde, renowned for his tragic, fractured depictions of the Diagonal, the Falling Figure, and the Goddess Kali.

Marine Lines (Mumbai), India

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Sports & Athletics

40

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Alexis Argüello

Andrés Alexis Argüello Bohórquez

🌐 Nicaragua

19 April 1952 – 1 July 2009 (57 years old)

Alexis Argüello was a legendary Nicaraguan boxer and national hero who captured world championships across three different weight divisions (featherweight, super featherweight, and lightweight). Renowned for his devastating technical knockout power, gentlemanly chivalry toward defeated opponents, and 62 career knockouts in 77 wins, he was later elected Mayor of Managua.

Managua, Nicaragua

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Politics

2

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Roméo LeBlanc

Canada

18 December 1927 – 24 June 2009 (81 years old)

Acadian teacher and broadcaster who served as Pierre Trudeau's longest-serving Minister of Fisheries, Speaker of the Senate, and first Acadian Governor General.

Memramcook, Canada

2 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

7

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Chérif Belkacem

شريف بلقاسم (سي جمال)

Algeria

1930 – 2009 (78 years old)

Key ALN leader known as 'Si Djamel', member of the General Staff under Boumédiène, Minister of National Education, and prominent statesman of early independent Algeria.

Algiers, Algeria

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Arts & Music

31

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Ali Akbar Khan

আলী আকবর খাঁ

Bangladesh

1922 – 2009 (87 years old)

Indian classical sarod virtuoso and composer hailed by Yehudi Menuhin as the greatest musician in the world, who popularized North Indian classical music throughout the West.

San Rafael (California), United States

31 Full Record →

Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries