Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Arts & Music

15

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Samy Elmaghribi

سامي المغربي

Morocco

1922 – 2008 (85 years old)

Legendary Judeo-Moroccan maestro and cantor who revived classical Andalusian nubahs and popular Chaabi classics, serving as musical director of the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue of Montreal.

Montreal, Canada

15 Full Record →

Arts & Music

19

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Lili Boniche

ليلي بونيش (إيلي بونيش)

Algeria

1921 – 2008 (86 years old)

Beloved Algerian singer and guitarist who fused classical Casbah Chaabi, Andalusian music, and modern Latin rhythms (tango, rumba), creating the worldwide genre of Franco-Arab popular song.

Paris, France

19 Full Record →

Music

1

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Jeff Healey

Jeff Healey

Canada

25 March 1966 – 2 March 2008 (41 years old)

Astonishing blind Canadian blues-rock guitarist whose signature lap-style playing style and Grammy-nominated hit "Angel Eyes" captivated worldwide audiences.

Toronto, Canada

1 Full Record →

Humanitarian & Peace

42

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Baba Amte

Murlidhar Devidas Amte

India

1914 – 2008 (93 years old)

Indian social activist and Gandhian visionary who founded Anandwan ('Forest of Joy'), transforming the lives of tens of thousands of ostracized leprosy patients.

Warora, India

42 Full Record →

History

0

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Katoucha Niane

Katoucha Niane

Guinea

1960 – 2008 (47 years old)

Guinean international supermodel, author, and fearless activist who campaigned globally against female genital mutilation.

Conakry, Guinea

0 Full Record →

Sports & Athletics

8

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Habib Mougou

الحبيب موقو

Tunisia

1927 AD – 2008 (81 years old)

Iconic striker known as 'Tête d'or' (Golden Head) who remains the all-time leading goalscorer in the history of Étoile du Sahel, leading them to historic pre- and post-independence championships.

Sousse, Tunisia

8 Full Record →

Politics

2

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George Habash

جورج حبش

Palestine

2 August 1926 – 26 January 2008 (81 years old)

Revered Palestinian revolutionary leader known as 'Al-Hakim', founder of the Arab Nationalist Movement (ANM) and the PFLP.

Amman, Jordan

2 Full Record →

Sports & Athletics

29

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Bobby Fischer

Robert James Fischer

United States

1943 – 2008 (64 years old)

Eleventh World Chess Champion whose sensational victory over Boris Spassky in the 1972 'Match of the Century' ended decades of Soviet chess hegemony.

Selfoss, Iceland

29 Full Record →

Politics

0

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Seyoum Haregot

Seyoum Haregot

Eritrea

1932 – 2008 (75 years old)

Distinguished legal scholar who became the first Eritrean to graduate from Harvard Law School (1957), serving as Minister of State and later advising the United Nations on African constitutional governance.

Asmara, Eritrea

0 Full Record →

Sports & Athletics

37

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Sir Edmund Percival Hillary

Sir Edmund Percival Hillary

New Zealand

1919 – 2008 (88 years old)

New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist who, along with Tenzing Norgay, became the first climber confirmed to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Auckland, New Zealand

37 Full Record →

Arts & Music

7

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Abdelaziz Gorgi

عبد العزيز القرجي

Tunisia

1928 – 2008 (79 years old)

Pivotal figure of modern Tunisian painting and head of the Tunis School for over forty years, whose whimsical figurative works and founding of the Gorgi Gallery catalyzed the national art market.

Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia

7 Full Record →

Arts & Music

7

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Cheikh Mohamed Bouzroud

محمد بوزروذ

Morocco

1925 – 2008 (83 years old)

Legendary Amayna (master) of Middle Atlas Amazigh Ahidous, whose charismatic leadership of communal allnatt circle dances and allun (frame drum) rhythms defined Moroccan mountain folklore.

Khenifra, Morocco

7 Full Record →

Religious Figures & Theologians

40

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Mohamed Salem Ould Baddah

محمد سالم ولد عدود (البداح)

Mauritania

1920 – 2008 (88 years old)

Revered Grand Mufti of Mauritania and supreme authority on Maliki jurisprudence whose encyclopedic memorization of Islamic texts earned him international acclaim across the Islamic world.

Nouakchott, Mauritania

40 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

28

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Benazir Bhutto

بینظیر بھٹو

Pakistan

1953 – 2007 (54 years old)

Pakistani politician who made history in 1988 as the first woman elected to head a democratic government in a Muslim-majority nation, serving twice as Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Garhi Khuda Bakhsh (Sindh), Pakistan

28 Full Record →

Arts & Music

34

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Oscar Peterson

Oscar Emmanuel Peterson

Canada

1925 – 2007 (82 years old)

Canadian jazz piano titan celebrated as the 'Maharaja of the Keyboard', world-renowned for his dazzling speed, flawless blues articulation, and celebrated trio recordings.

Mississauga, Canada

34 Full Record →

Arts & Music

13

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Abderrahim Bargach

عبد الرحيم بركاش

Morocco

1949 – 2007 (58 years old)

Beloved Moroccan actor, journalist, and cultural personality who hosted the iconic television program Walima for two decades, celebrating Moroccan gastronomy and popular arts.

Casablanca, Morocco

13 Full Record →

Arts & Music

5

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Norval Morrisseau

Jean-Baptiste Norman Henry Morrisseau

Canada

1932 – 2007 (75 years old)

Anishinaabe visionary artist known as 'Copper Thunderbird' who founded the Woodland School of Art, painting sacred Ojibwe legends in brilliant primary colors with black astral energy lines.

Thunder Bay (Ontario), Canada

5 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

1

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Simone Kaya

Simone Kaya

Côte d'Ivoire

1937-02-11 – 2007-11-25 (70 years old)

Pioneering author and nurse who made history as Côte d'Ivoire's first published female writer with her delicate autobiographical memoirs 'Les Danseuses d'Impé-Eya' and 'Le Prix d'une vie'.

Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

1 Full Record →