Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Sports & Athletics

9

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Rik Van Steenbergen

Hendrik Van Steenbergen

Belgium

1924 – 2003 (78 years old)

Colossus of twentieth-century cycling known as 'The Boss' (Rik I), one of only six men to win three World Road Cycling Championships (1949, 1956, 1957) and victor in 40 Six-Day track races.

Arendonk (Antwerp Province), Belgium

9 Full Record →

Humanitarian & Peace

46

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Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan

صدر الدين آغا خان

France

1933 – 2003 (70 years old)

Haut-Commissaire des Nations unies pour les réfugiés de 1966 à 1977, qui transforma le HCR en une agence mondiale secourant des millions de réfugiés en Asie, Afrique et Amérique latine.

Collonge-Bellerive, Geneva, Switzerland

46 Full Record →

Humanitarian & Peace

41

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Walter Sisulu

Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu

South Africa

1912 – 2003 (90 years old)

Architect of the modern African National Congress who mentored Nelson Mandela, co-founded the ANC Youth League, and served twenty-six years on Robben Island.

Johannesburg, South Africa

41 Full Record →

Prophets & Divine Messengers

15

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Skunder Boghossian

Alexander Boghossian

Ethiopia

1937-07-22 – 2003-05-04 (65 years old)

Internationally renowned Ethiopian painter who fused Afro-metaphysics, Coptic church iconography, and European surrealism, becoming the first contemporary African artist collected by MoMA.

Washington, D.C., United States

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Prophets & Divine Messengers

23

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Mongi Ben Hamida

المنجي بن حميدة

Tunisia

1928 – 2003 (75 years old)

World-renowned neurologist and neurogeneticist who founded the National Institute of Neurology of Tunis and discovered the genetic etiology of severe childhood muscular dystrophies (Ben Hamida Syndrome).

Kelibia, Tunisia

23 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

39

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Mohammed Dib

محمد ديب

Algeria

1920 – 2003 (82 years old)

One of Algeria's most prolific and poetic writers, whose realist 'Algerian Trilogy' (La Grande Maison, L'Incendie, Le Métier à tisser) exposed the raw social misery and peasant awakening under colonial rule.

Yvelines, France

39 Full Record →

Arts & Music

3,494

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Nina Simone

Eunice Kathleen Waymon

United States

1933 – 2003 (70 years old)

The 'High Priestess of Soul'—singer, classically trained pianist, and Civil Rights icon whose fierce emotional power transformed modern music.

Carry-le-Rouet, France

3,494 Full Record →

Sciences & Discovery

31

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Bernard Katz

Sir Bernard Katz

Germany

1911 – 2003 (92 years old)

German-born British biophysicist who was awarded the 1970 Nobel Prize in Medicine for discovering that neurotransmitters are released at synapses in discrete packets or 'quanta' via calcium-mediated synaptic vesicles.

London, United Kingdom

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Humanitarian & Peace

44

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Piero Corti

Piero Corti

Italy

1925 – 2003 (77 years old)

Médecin pédiatre italien, cofondateur et bâtisseur avec Lucille Teasdale de l'hôpital de Lacor en Ouganda, sanctuaire de santé et de paix en Afrique équatoriale.

Gulu, Uganda

44 Full Record →

Humanitarian & Peace

44

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Carlo Urbani

Carlo Urbani

Italy

1956 – 2003 (46 years old)

Médecin épidémiologiste italien et président de MSF Italie, premier à identifier le SRAS en 2003, alertant l'OMS et sauvant des millions de vies au prix de la sienne.

Castelplanio, Ancona, Italy

44 Full Record →

Sports & Athletics

11

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Naftali Temu

Naftali Temu

Kenya

1945-04-20 – 2003-03-10 (57 years old)

Historic Kenyan long-distance runner who won Kenya's very first Olympic gold medal in the 10,000 meters at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

Nyamira, Kenya

11 Full Record →

Politics

1

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George Anyona

George Moseti Anyona

Kenya

1945-01-01 – 2003-03-01 (58 years old)

Fiery and incorruptible Member of Parliament for Kitutu Masaba who was detained repeatedly without trial for demanding parliamentary accountability and multi-party democracy.

Nyamira, Kenya

1 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

29

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Benyoucef Benkhedda

بن يوسف بن خدة

Algeria

1920 – 2003 (82 years old)

Eminent Algerian nationalist leader and intellectual who succeeded Ferhat Abbas as President of the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic (GPRA) in 1961, overseeing the Evian Accords and the proclamation of independence.

Algiers, Algeria

29 Full Record →

Arts & Music

5

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Jean-François Zevaco

جان فرانسوا زيفاكو

Morocco

1916 – 2003 (86 years old)

Casablanca-born architect and visionary of Moroccan brutalist modernism who designed the sculptural post-earthquake monuments of Agadir and won the 1980 Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

Casablanca, Morocco

5 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

13

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Mohamed Lamine Debaghine

محمد الأمين دباغين

Algeria

1917 – 2003 (85 years old)

Doctor of medicine, brilliant parliamentarian, and foundational diplomat who served as the first Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic (GPRA).

Algiers, Algeria

13 Full Record →

Arts & Music

14

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Sanaa Gamil

سناء جميل

Egypt

1930 – 2002 (72 years old)

Formidable classical actress of stage, film, and television, immortalized for her heartbreaking role as Nefisah in Naguib Mahfouz's The Beginning and the End (1960).

Cairo, Egypt

14 Full Record →

Politics

1

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Ray Hnatyshyn

Ray Hnatyshyn

Canada

16 March 1934 – 18 December 2002 (68 years old)

Beloved Saskatchewan statesman of Ukrainian descent who served as Minister of Justice and became Governor General in 1990, opening Rideau Hall to ordinary citizens.

Ottawa, Canada

1 Full Record →

Arts & Music

4

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Mustafa al-Hallaj

مصطفى الحلاج

Palestine

1938 – 16 December 2002 (64 years old)

Iconic Palestinian master graphic artist and sculptor who died heroically in a fire in Damascus saving his 114-meter woodcut 'Improvisations of Life'.

Damascus, Syria

4 Full Record →