Historical Archive

Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Filterable archive covering centuries of intellectual, artistic, and moral contributions to the human story.

Showing 1135–1152 of 8305 archival records
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Cinema
4
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Jeanne Moreau

Jeanne Moreau
🇫🇷 France
1928 – 2017 (89 years old)

Legendary French actress, director, and singer whose husky voice, sensual intelligence, and iconic roles in Louis Malle's Ascenseur pour l'échafaud and François Truffaut's Jules et Jim made her the definitive muse of the French New Wave.

Paris, France
Abdelmajid Dolmy
Sports & Athletics
26
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Abdelmajid Dolmy

عبد المجيد الظلمي
🇲🇦 Morocco
1953 – 2017 (64 years old)

Legendary Moroccan midfielder who represented the Atlas Lions at the historic 1986 World Cup, celebrated for his peerless elegance on the pitch and receiving the UNESCO Fair Play Trophy for never receiving a red card in 20 years.

Casablanca, Morocco
Blaoui Houari
Arts & Music
33
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Blaoui Houari

بلاوي الهواري
🇩🇿 Algeria
1920 – 2017 (97 years old)

Patriarch of western Algerian popular music who modernized the Bedouin heritage of Oranie, composed over 500 songs, and mentored the legendary stars of modern Raï including Cheb Mami and Khaled.

Oran, Algeria
Liu Xiaobo
Resistance & Human Rights
62
🕯️ 1,380

Liu Xiaobo

刘晓波
🇨🇳 China
28 December 1955 – 13 July 2017 (61 years old)

Liu Xiaobo was a renowned Chinese literary critic, university professor, and dissident intellectual who was awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for his sustained and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China. A central figure during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests who negotiated safe passage for student protesters, he co-authored Charter 08 demanding constitutional democracy and died while in state custody in 2017.

Shenyang, Liaoning, China
Boualem Khalfa
Literature & Poetry
6
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Boualem Khalfa

بوعلام خلفة
🇩🇿 Algeria
1923 – 2017 (94 years old)

Historic director of the progressive newspaper 'Alger Républicain', resistance militant who survived brutal colonial torture, and poet who spent his life defending free speech.

Algiers, Algeria
Simone Veil
Resistance & Human Rights
64
🕯️ 995

Simone Veil

Simone Annie Liline Jacob
🇫🇷 France
13 July 1927 – 30 June 2017 (89 years old)

Auschwitz survivor, magistrate, and statesman who as French Minister of Health overcame vicious opposition to legalize abortion (Loi Veil, 1975), and became the first directly elected President of the European Parliament.

Paris, France
Quett Masire
Politics
2
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Quett Masire

Sir Ketumile Quett Joni Masire
🇧🇼 Botswana
1925-07-23 – 2017-06-22 (91 years old)

Second President of Botswana and co-founder of the BDP whose prudent macroeconomic stewardship and diamond revenues guided Botswana's transition into Africa's most stable and prosperous democracy.

Kanye, Botswana
Ali-Akbar Tajvidi
Arts & Music
7
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Ali-Akbar Tajvidi

علی‌اکبر تجویدی
🇮🇷 Iran
1926 – 10 June 2017 (91 years old)

Eminent Iranian miniaturist and art historian who earned a doctorate at the Sorbonne and authored the definitive history of Persian painting from the 5th to 10th centuries.

Tehran, Iran
Mohamed Talbi
History
5
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Mohamed Talbi

محمد الطالبي
🇹🇳 Tunisia
1921 – 2017 (95 years old)

Renowned historian of medieval Ifriqiya and liberal Islamic philosopher who served as first Dean of the Faculty of Letters of Tunis, fiercely defending liberty of conscience and critical thought.

Tunis, Tunisia
Taoufik Baccar
Literature & Poetry
7
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Taoufik Baccar

توفيق بكار
🇹🇳 Tunisia
1927 – 2017 (89 years old)

Pioneering literary critic and professor regarded as the father of modern Tunisian literary criticism, who founded the prestigious 'Uyun' book series that canonized modern Tunisian literature.

La Marsa, Tunisia
Sid Ahmed Naguib
Arts & Music
8
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Sid Ahmed Naguib

سيد أحمد نجيب
🇩🇿 Algeria
1946 – 2017 (71 years old)

Refined master of Chaabi music known for his profound scholarly respect for classical Arabic qasidas and his graceful interpretation of the Casbah tradition.

Algiers, Algeria
Ahmed Kathrada
Humanitarian & Peace
41
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Ahmed Kathrada

Ahmed Mohamed Kathrada
🇿🇦 South Africa
1929 – 2017 (87 years old)

Anti-apartheid veteran who was convicted alongside Nelson Mandela at the Rivonia Trial and served twenty-six years in prison, dedicating his life to non-racialism.

Johannesburg, South Africa
Raymond Kopa
Sports & Athletics
40
🕯️ 1,980

Raymond Kopa

Raymond Kopaszewski
🇫🇷 France
13 October 1931 – 3 March 2017 (85 years old)

Raymond Kopa was the premier playmaker of postwar French football and the first French player to win the prestigious Ballon d'Or (1958). The grandson of Polish immigrants who worked in the coal mines, he became a global sensation with Stade de Reims and Real Madrid, winning three consecutive European Cups (1957–1959) alongside Alfredo Di Stéfano.

Angers, Maine-et-Loire, France
Showing 1,135–1,152 of 8,305 memorials • Page 64 of 462