Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Prophets & Divine Messengers

Cyprian Ekwensi

Cyprian Odiatu Duaka Ekwensi

Nigeria

1921-09-26 – 2007-11-04 (86 years old)

Prolific Nigerian novelist, short story writer, and pharmacist celebrated for his vivid depictions of urban Nigerian life in masterworks like 'Jagua Nana' and 'People of the City'.

Enugu, Nigeria

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Ahmed Al-Omran

أحمد العمران

Bahrain

1909-01-01 – 2007-10-21 (98 years old)

Venerated educator recognized as the 'Father of Modern Education in Bahrain' who directed the national educational system for over three decades and served as independent Bahrain's first Minister of Education.

Muharraq, Bahrain

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History

2

Andrée de Jongh

Andrée Eugénie Adrienne de Jongh

Belgium

1916 – 2007 (90 years old)

Legendary Belgian resistance heroine code-named 'Dédée' who founded the WWII Comet Line escape network, personally leading over 118 downed Allied airmen across the snowy Pyrenees into neutral Spain.

Schaerbeek (Brussels), Belgium

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Stéphane-Maurice Bongo-Nouarra

Congo

1937-06-06 – 2007-10-07 (70 years old)

Agricultural engineer and technocrat who served as Prime Minister in 1992 following the historic Sovereign National Conference, guiding Congo's transition to constitutional democracy.

Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo

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Sports & Athletics

39

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Al Oerter

Alfred Adolf Oerter Jr.

United States

19 September 1936 – 1 October 2007 (71 years old)

Alfred Adolf 'Al' Oerter Jr. was an American track and field titan who became the first athlete in history to win the gold medal in the same individual event at four consecutive Olympic Games (Melbourne 1956, Rome 1960, Tokyo 1964, Mexico City 1968). Remarkably, he entered none of the four Olympics as the world record holder or favorite, yet set an Olympic record in every single one.

Fort Myers, Florida, United States

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Art

2

Ken Danby

Canada

6 March 1940 – 23 September 2007 (67 years old)

Distinguished Canadian realist painter whose 1972 egg tempera masterpiece At the Crease became the defining visual icon of Canadian hockey culture.

Guelph, Canada

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Sports & Athletics

32

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Colin Steele McRae

Great Britain

1968 – 2007 (39 years old)

Scottish rally driver who became the youngest World Rally Champion in 1995, famed worldwide for his flat-out, maximum-attack driving style.

Lanark, Great Britain

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Diplomacy

2

Angie Brooks

Angie Elizabeth Brooks

Liberia

1928-08-24 – 2007-09-09 (79 years old)

Historic Liberian jurist and diplomat who in 1969 became the first African woman—and only the second woman in history—to serve as President of the United Nations General Assembly.

Virginia, Liberia

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Arts & Music

15

Statesmanship & Statesmen

Rajae Belmlih

رجاء بلمليح

Morocco

1962 – 2007 (45 years old)

Beloved Moroccan vocal star who achieved pan-Arab acclaim across the Middle East with hits like 'Sabri Alik Tal', serving as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for children.

Casablanca, Morocco

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12

Driss Basri

إدريس البصري

Morocco

1938 – 2007 (68 years old)

Powerful Minister of the Interior from 1979 to 1999, who served as King Hassan II's principal lieutenant in state administration, security, and territorial integration.

Rabat, Morocco

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Antonio Lamer

Joseph Antonio Charles Lamer

Canada

8 July 1933 – 21 August 2007 (74 years old)

Sixteenth Chief Justice of Canada (1990-2000), preeminent criminal law jurist who expanded the legal protections of the accused under Section 7 of the Charter.

Montreal, Canada

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Holden Roberto

Alvaro Holden Roberto

Angola

1923-01-12 – 2007-08-02 (84 years old)

Pioneering Angolan liberation leader who founded the FNLA, formed the Revolutionary Government of Angola in Exile (GRAE), and launched the armed struggle in northern Angola in 1961.

M'banza-Kongo, Angola

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Art

Ingmar Bergman

Ernst Ingmar Bergman

Sweden

1918-07-14 – 2007-07-30 (89 years old)

Universally acclaimed as one of the greatest filmmakers in cinematic history, whose psychological masterworks 'The Seventh Seal', 'Wild Strawberries', and 'Fanny and Alexander' won three Academy Awards.

Fårö, Sweden

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Music

Salman Shukur

سلمان شكر

Iraq

1921 – 28 July 2007 (86 years old)

Renowned Iraqi classical oud master and composer who headed the string department at the Baghdad Institute of Fine Arts.

Woking, United Kingdom

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Zahir Shah

محمد ظاهر شاه

Afghanistan

1914-10-15 – 2007-07-23 (92 years old)

Last King of Afghanistan who reigned for four decades (1933–1973), maintaining peace, neutrality through the Cold War, and enacting the democratic 1964 Constitution before serving as Father of the Nation.

Kabul, Afghanistan

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Science

Kai Siegbahn

Kai Manne Börje Siegbahn

Sweden

1918-04-20 – 2007-07-20 (89 years old)

Swedish physicist awarded the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics for developing Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA/XPS), son of Nobel laureate Manne Siegbahn.

Uppsala, Sweden

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Music