Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Aklilu Lemma

Ethiopia

1935 – 1997 (61 years old)

World-renowned parasitologist who in 1964 discovered that the berries of the African endod plant (Phytolacca dodecandra) act as a potent, cheap, natural molluscicide to prevent bilharzia (schistosomiasis), winning the Right Livelihood Award.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

0 Full Record →

18

Ismail Ahmed

إسماعيل أحمد

Morocco

c. 1935 – 1997 (62 years old)

Beloved Moroccan singer, composer, and virtuoso violinist whose smooth tenor voice and romantic classics like 'Kano Hna' and 'Habib El Qalb' defined 20th-century Moroccan melody.

Rabat, Morocco

18 Full Record →

11

Shukry Sarhan

شكري سرحان

Egypt

1925 – 1997 (72 years old)

Revered 'Knight of Egyptian Cinema' and premier dramatic actor whose profound psychological realism in Henry Barakat's The Sin (Al-Haram) and Hussein Kamal's The Postman defined realistic Arab cinema.

Cairo, Egypt

11 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

Etienne Goyémidé

Étienne Goyémidé

Central African Republic

1942-01-22 – 1997-03-17 (55 years old)

Foremost Central African novelist and playwright whose masterpiece 'Le Silence de la forêt' (adapted into an acclaimed feature film) poignantly explored the cultural genocide of the Babinga Pygmies.

Ippy, Ouaka, Central African Republic

1 Full Record →

History

0

Cheddi Jagan

Guyana

1918 – 1997 (78 years old)

Father of the Nation, dentist, Chief Minister of British Guiana, and President of Guyana from 1992 to 1997.

Port Mourant, Guyana

0 Full Record →

Music

2

Statesmanship & Statesmen

Lois Marshall

Canada

29 January 1925 – 19 February 1997 (72 years old)

Internationally acclaimed Canadian concert singer who overcame childhood polio to triumph in Bach, Handel, and Mahler under Arturo Toscanini and Sir Thomas Beecham.

Toronto, Canada

2 Full Record →

32

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Deng Xiaoping

邓小平

China

1904-08-22 – 1997-02-19 (92 years old)

Architect of modern Chinese economic resurgence; pioneered Special Economic Zones, coined 'socialism with Chinese characteristics', and negotiated Hong Kong's 'One Country, Two Systems'.

Beijing, China

32 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

6

Bozorg Alavi

بزرگ علوی

Iran

2 February 1904 – 18 February 1997 (93 years old)

Founding master of modern Persian psychological fiction, member of the 'Group of Fifty-Three', author of the iconic mystery novel 'Her Eyes'.

Berlin, Germany

6 Full Record →

Sciences & Discovery

4,003

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Chien-Shiung Wu

吴健雄

China

1912 – 1997 (84 years old)

Trailblazing experimental physicist known as the 'First Lady of Physics' who disproved the conservation of parity.

Liuhe, Taicang, China

4,003 Full Record →

Jean-Miché Kankan

Dieudonné Afana Ebogo

Cameroon

1956-01-01 – 1997-02-13 (41 years old)

Legendary comedic genius and satirist whose iconic bumbling, alcoholic, oversized-suit persona 'Jean-Miché Kankan' brought laughter and sharp social critique to millions across Central and West Africa.

Akono, Cameroon

1 Full Record →

Music

Vojin Komadina

Војин Комадина

Croatia

1933-11-08 – 1997-02-09 (63 years old)

Distinguished classical composer and academician whose orchestral and piano works synthesized archaic Balkan folkloric micro-intervals and polyphony with avant-garde modern orchestration.

Belgrade, Serbia

1 Full Record →

33

Larbi Batma

العربي باطما

Morocco

1948 – 1997 (49 years old)

Charismatic poet, singer, and lead percussionist of the legendary band 'Nass El Ghiwane', hailed by Martin Scorsese as 'The Rolling Stones of the Arab World', who revolutionized modern Moroccan youth culture.

Casablanca, Morocco

33 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

Bohumil Hrabal

Bohumil František Kilián

Hungary

1914-03-28 – 1997-02-03 (82 years old)

One of the greatest 20th-century European prose masters whose tragicomic masterpieces 'Closely Watched Trains' and 'I Served the King of England' celebrated the stream of ordinary human banter ('pábení').

Hradištko, Nymburk District, Czech Republic

1 Full Record →

Sciences & Discovery

2,692

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Clyde Tombaugh

Clyde William Tombaugh

United States

1906 – 1997 (90 years old)

American astronomer who discovered Pluto in 1930 and hundreds of asteroids and variable stars.

Kuiper Belt (Space), United States

2,692 Full Record →

Science

3

Charles Brenton Huggins

Charles B. Huggins

Canada

22 September 1901 – 12 January 1997 (95 years old)

Halifax-born cancer researcher who discovered that hormones could regulate metastatic prostate and breast cancer, winning the 1966 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Chicago, United States

3 Full Record →

4

André Franquin

Belgium

1924 – 1997 (73 years old)

One of the greatest comic book cartoonists in history, cornerstone of the Marcinelle School, who revitalized Spirou & Fantasio, created the legendary Marsupilami and Gaston Lagaffe, and penned the caustic Idées Noires.

Ixelles (Brussels), Belgium

4 Full Record →

Sports & Athletics

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