Historical Archives & Public Figures

Mathieu Vangah Ekra

Côte d'Ivoire

1917-02-27 – 2015-02-22 (97 years old)

Respected founding father of Côte d'Ivoire, co-author of the national anthem 'L'Abidjanaise', and lifelong statesman who served as Grand Mediator of the Republic resolving national political crises.

Bonoua, Côte d'Ivoire

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Arts & Music

7

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Ammouri Mbarek

عموري مبارك

Morocco

1951 – 2015 (64 years old)

Visionary reformer of modern Amazigh song who founded the legendary group Ousman in 1975, introducing polyphonic harmonies, acoustic guitars, and modern poetic arrangements to Moroccan music.

Taroudant, Morocco

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Humanitarian & Peace

30

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Robert Gavron, Baron Gavron

Great Britain

c. 1931 – 2015 (84 years old)

Robert Gavron, Baron Gavron was a British printing millionaire, philanthropist and a Labour life peer.. Celebrated internationally for distinguished contributions to humanitarian.

London, United Kingdom

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Literature & Poetry

34

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Assia Djebar

آسيا جبار (فاطمة الزهراء إيملاين)

Algeria

1936 – 2015 (78 years old)

Foremost Algerian novelist, essayist, and filmmaker who gave voice to Algerian women silenced by colonialism and patriarchy, becoming the first writer from North Africa elected to the Académie Française in 2005.

Cherchell, Algeria

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Politics

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Christophe Gbenye

Congo

1927-01-01 – 2015-02-03 (88 years old)

Leading Lumumbist political leader who served as Minister of the Interior in Patrice Lumumba's first government (1960) and later headed the revolutionary CNL and People's Republic at Stanleyville in 1964.

Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

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Humanitarian & Peace

28

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Molade Okoya-Thomas

Nigeria

c. 1936 – 2015 (79 years old)

Chief Molade Alexander Okoya-Thomas FCNA, MFR, OFR, KSS was a Nigerian businessman and philanthropist.. Celebrated internationally for distinguished contributions to humanitarian.

Abuja, Nigeria

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Resistance & Human Rights

49

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Kenji Goto

後藤健二 (Goto Kenji)

Japan

23 October 1967 – 30 January 2015 (47 years old)

Kenji Goto was a renowned Japanese freelance video journalist, documentary filmmaker, and author who dedicated his career to documenting the suffering of innocent civilians, refugees, and children in the world's most perilous conflict zones, from Sierra Leone and Rwanda to Iraq and Syria. In October 2014, he bravely entered ISIS-controlled Syria in an attempt to rescue a captured friend, where he was captured and executed in January 2015.

near Raqqa, Syria

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Sciences & Discovery

22

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Rositsa Yanakieva

Switzerland

c. 1955 – 2015 (60 years old)

Rositsa Yanakieva was a Bulgarian politician and chemist, who served as the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly from 2014 until January 2015. Celebrated internationally for distinguished contributions to sciences.

Geneva, Switzerland

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Sciences & Discovery

20

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Bob Symes

Great Britain

c. 1925 – 2015 (90 years old)

Robert Alexander Schutzmann was an Austrian inventor and television presenter. Celebrated internationally for distinguished contributions to sciences.

London, United Kingdom

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Sciences & Discovery

21

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Justin Capră

Switzerland

c. 1934 – 2015 (81 years old)

Virgilius Justin Capră was a Romanian engineer and inventor.. Celebrated internationally for distinguished contributions to sciences.

Geneva, Switzerland

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Resistance & Human Rights

12

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Jacqueline Guerroudj

جاكلين قروج

France

1919 – 2015 (95 years old)

French-born Algerian freedom fighter who served as an arms courier during the Battle of Algiers, sentenced to death alongside Fernand Iveton before international campaigns spared her life.

Algiers, Algeria

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Sciences & Discovery

19

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Vinay V. Deodhar

India

c. 1949 – 2015 (66 years old)

Vinay Vithal Deodhar was a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Mathematics at Indiana University. Celebrated internationally for distinguished contributions to sciences.

New Delhi, India

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Arts & Music

18

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Faten Hamama

فاتن حمامة

Egypt

May 27, 1931 – January 17, 2015 (83 years old)

Supreme icon of Egyptian and Arab cinema universally acclaimed as 'The Lady of the Arabic Screen', whose stellar six-decade career and nearly one hundred films revolutionized social attitudes and women's legal rights across the Middle East.

6th of October City, Egypt

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Sciences & Discovery

21

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Theodore Sourkes

Canada

c. 1920 – 2015 (95 years old)

Theodore Lionel Sourkes, was a Canadian biochemist and neuropsychopharmacologist who helped advance the treatment of Parkinson's disease and hypertension.. Celebrated internationally for distinguished contributions to sciences.

Ottawa, Canada

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Literature & Poetry

23

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Raoul Pantin

Switzerland

c. 1944 – 2015 (71 years old)

Raoul Pantin was a Trinidad and Tobago journalist, editor, poet and playwright. Celebrated internationally for distinguished contributions to literature.

Geneva, Switzerland

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Literature & Poetry

22

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Arnaldo Calveyra

Argentina

c. 1930 – 2015 (85 years old)

Arnaldo Calveyra was an Argentine poet, novelist and playwright, living in Paris since 1960. Celebrated internationally for distinguished contributions to literature.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

22 Full Record →