References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2008 June 28.

2002 January 3 Death of Freddy Heineken, Dutch-born beer magnate (born 1923). [23] January 8 Death of Alexander Prochorow, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1916). [23] Death of Dave Thomas, American fast food entrepreneur (born 1932). [5] [23] January 12 Death of Stanley Unwin, South African comedian (born 1911). [23] Death of Cyrus Vance, United States Secretary of State (born 1917). [23] January 13 Death of Frank Shuster of the Canadian comic duo Wayne and Shuster (born 1916). [23] Death of Ted Demme, American film and television director (born 1963). [23] January 16 Death of Michael Bilandic, Mayor of Chicago (born 1923). [23] Death of Bobo Olson, American boxer (born 1928). [23] Death of Ron Taylor, American actor (born 1952). [23] January 17 Death of Camilo José Cela, Spanish writer (born 1916). [23] January 20 Death of Carrie Hamilton, American actress (born 1963). [23] January 22 Death of Peggy Lee, American singer and actress (born 1920). [23] January 23 Death of Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist (born 1930). [23] Death of Robert Nozick, American philosopher (born 1938). [23] January 28 Astrid Lidgren dies peacefully in her apartment in Stockholm, Sweden. About 130 million of her books are in circulation, translated into 86 languages. [7] Death of Dick "Night Train" Lane, American football player (born 1928). [23] January 29 Death of Harold Russell, Canadian-born actor (born 1914). [23] February 1 Kidnapped Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is murdered in Karachi, Pakistan. [23] Death of Irish McCalla, American actress (born 1928). [23] February 2 Death of Danielle Van Dam, American murder victim (born 1994). [23] February 6 Death of Max Perutz, Austrian-born molecular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (born 1914). [23] February 8 Death of Joachim Hoffmann, German historian (born 1930). [23] February 9 Death of Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom (born 1930). [23] February 10 Death of Traudl Junge, German private secretary of Adolf Hitler (born 1920). [23] February 13 Death of Waylon Jennings, country music singer (born 1937). [23] February 14 Death of Nándor Hidegkuti, Hungarian footballer (born 1922). [23] February 15 Death of Howard K. Smith, American television journalist (born 1914). [23] Death of Kevin Smith, New Zealand actor (born 1963). [23] February 16 Death of Walter Winterbottom, English football manager (born 1913). [23] Rachel Thaler, 16, is blown up at a pizzeria in an Israeli shopping mall following a suicide bombing attack on a crowd of teens. [23] February 19 Death of Virginia Hamilton, American writer (born 1936). [23] February 20 Death of Willie Thrower, American football player (born 1930). [23] February 21 Death of John Thaw, British actor (born 1942). [23] February 22 Death of Chuck Jones, American animator (born 1912). [5] [23] Angolan political and rebel leader Jonas Savimbi is killed in a military ambush. [23] February 24 Death of Leo Ornstein, American composer and pianist (born 1892). [23] February 26 Death of Lawrence Tierney, American actor (born 1919). [23] February 27 Death of Spike Milligan, British comedian, writer, and poet (born 1918). [23] Death of Mary Stuart, American actress (born 1926). [23] February 28 Death of Helmut Zacharias, German violinist (born 1920). [23] March 4 Death of Elyne Mitchell, Australian author of children's novels (born 1913). [23] Death of Claire Davenport, British actress (born 1933). [23] Death of Eric Flynn, British actor and singer (born 1939). [23] March 11 Death of James Tobin, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1918). [23] German Marion Gräfin Dönhof dies. She had worked with the newspaper, Die Zeit, (Hamburg) since 1946. [37] March 14 Death of Cherry Wilder, New Zealand author (born 1930). [23] The German philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer dies. [37] March 17 The German author, Luise Rinser, dies at age 90. Her works inculde Die rote Katze, Die gläserne Ringe, Gefängnistagebuch, Jan Lobel aus Warschau and Saturn auf der Sonne. [37] March 21 Death of Amanda Dowler, murdered British schoolgirl (born 1988). [23] March 23 Death of Ben Hollioake, cricketer (born 1977). [23] March 24 Death of César Milstein, Argentine scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (born 1927). [23] March 25 Death of Kenneth Wolstenholme, British football commentator (born 1920). [23] March 27 Death of Milton Berle, American comedian and actor (born 1908). [23] Death of Dudley Moore, British pianist, comedian, and actor (born 1935). [23] Death of Billy Wilder, Austrian-born film screenwriter and director (born 1906). [23] March 30 Death of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, queen consort of George VI of the United Kingdom (born 1900). [23] April 1 Death of Meryem Altun, Turkish hunger striker. [23] April 4 Death of John Kaufman, Sculptor. [23] April 5 Death of Layne Staley, American singer (Alice in Chains) (born 1967). [23] April 8 Death of Maria Felix, Mexican actress (born 1914). [23] April 9 Death of Leopold Vietoris, Austrian mathematician (born 1891). [23] April 13 Death of Desmond Titterington, Northern Irish racecar driver (born 1928). [23] April 15 Death of Byron White, American athlete and Supreme Court Justice (born 1917). [23] April 16 Death of Franz Krienbühl, Swiss speed skater (born 1929). [23] Death of Robert Urich, American actor (cancer) (born 1946). [23] April 18 Death of Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian explorer, writer (born 1914). [5] [23] Death of Wahoo McDaniel, American football player and wrestler (born 1938). [23] April 22 Death of Linda Boreman, also know as actress Linda Lovelace in film Deep Throat (born 1949). [23] April 25 Death of Indra Devi, yoga teacher (born 1899). [23] Death of Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, American rapper (TLC) (born 1971). [23] April 27 Death of George Alec Effinger, American author (born 1947). [23] Death of Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, Swiss industrialist and art collector (born 1921). [23] April 28 Death of Ruth Handler, American toy manufacturer (born 1916). [23] May 5 Death of Hugo Bánzer Suarez, President of Bolivia (born 1926). [23] May 6 In the Netherlands, politician Pim Fortuyn is killed by Volkert van der Graaf. [23] May 7 Death of Seattle Slew, famous American racehorse (born 1974). [23] May 11 Death of Joseph Bonanno, Italian-born gangster (born 1905). [23] May 13 Death of Ruth Cracknell, Australian theatre and television actor (born 1925). [23] Death of Valeri Lobanovsky, Ukrainian football manager. [23] May 18 Death of Davey Boy Smith, "The British Bulldog", professional wrestler (born 1962). [23] May 19 Death of John Gorton, nineteenth Prime Minister of Australia (born 1911). [23] May 20 Death of Stephen Jay Gould, American paleontologist and author (born 1941). [23] May 21 Death of Niki de Saint Phalle, French artist (born 1930). [23] May 23 Death of Sam Snead, American golfer (born 1912). [23] May 24 Death of Wallace Markfield, American writer (born 1926). [23] May 26 Death of Mamo Wolde, Ethiopian runner (born 1932). [23] May 28 Death of Jean Berger, German-born composer (born 1909). [23] June 1 Death of Hansie Cronje, South African cricketer (born 1969). [23] June 4 Death of Fernando Belaúnde Terry, President of Peru (born 1912). [23] June 5 Death of Dee Dee Ramone, American bassist (The Ramones) (born 1952). [23] June 6 Death of Hans Janmaat, Dutch politician (born 1934). [23] June 7 Death of Mary Lilian Baels, Belgian princess (born 1916). [23] June 10 Death of John Gotti, American gangster (born 1940). [23] June 11 Death of Robbin Crosby, American guitarist (Ratt) (AIDS) (born 1959). [23] June 12 Death of Bill Blass, American fashion designer (born 1922). [23] June 17 Death of Willie Davenport, American athlete (born 1943). [23] Death of Fritz Walter, German footballer (born 1920). [23] June 18 Death of Jack Buck, baseball announcer (born 1924). [23] June 22 Saint Louis Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile is found dead of a heart attack in his Chicago hotel room. [23] June 23 Death of Pedro 'El Rockero' Alcazar, Panamian boxer (born 1975). [23] June 24 Death of Pierre Werner, Prime Minister of Luxembourg (born 1913). [23] June 26 Death of Arnold Brown, the 11th General of The Salvation Army (born 1913). [23] Death of Jay Berwanger, American football player (born 1914). [23] June 27 Death of John Entwistle, English bassist (The Who) (born 1944). [5] [23] June 29 Death of Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (born 1928). [23] July 4 Death of Benjamin O. Davis Jr., U.S. general (born 1912). [23] July 5 Death of Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (born 1924). [23] Death of Ted Williams, baseball player, of cardiac arrest at age 83 (born 1918). [23] [56] July 6 Death of Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian businessman (born 1932). [23] Death of John Frankenheimer, American film director (born 1930). [23] July 8 Ward Kimball dies. [6] July 9 Death of Laurence Janifer, American writer (born 1933). [23] Death of Rod Steiger, American actor (born 1925). [23] July 13 Death of Yousuf Karsh, Turkish-born photographer (born 1908). [23] July 14 Death of Joaquín Balaguer, President of the Dominican Republic (born 1906). [23] July 15 Death of Samantha Runnion, juvenile victim of kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder (born 1996). [23] July 16 Death of John Cocke, American computer scientist (born 1925). [23] July 19 Death of Alan Lomax, American folklorist and musicologist (born 1915). [23] July 23 Death of Leo McKern, Australian actor (born 1920). [23] Death of William Luther Pierce, Professor of Physics and Neo-Nazi leader (born 1933). [23] Death of Chaim Potok, American author and rabbi (born 1929). [23] July 25 Death of Abdur Rahman Badawi, Egyptian existentialist philosopher (born 1917). [23] Kardinal Joachim Degenhardt, German Archbishop of Paderborn dies at age 76. [37] July 28 Death of Archer John Porter Martin, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1910). [23] August 4 Death of Carmen Silvera, British actress (born 1922). [23] August 5 Death of Josh Ryan Evans; actor (born 1982). [23] Death of Darrell Porter, baseball player (born 1952). [23] Death of Chick Hearn, American basketball announcer (born 1916). [23] Death of Franco Lucentini, Italian writer (born 1920). [23] August 6 Death of Edsger Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist (born 1930). [23] August 11 Death of Galen Rowell, American photographer, writer, and climber (plane crash) (born 1940). [23] August 12 Death of Enos Slaughter, baseball player (born 1916). [23] August 14 Death of Dave Williams, American singer (Drowning Pool) (born 1972). [23] August 15 Death of Kyle Rote, American football player and coach (born 1928). [23] August 18 Death of Dean Riesner, film and television screenwriter (born 1918). [23] August 19 In Baghdad, Iraq, international terrorist Abu Nidal is found dead of several gunshot wounds. [23] August 23 Death of Hoyt Wilhelm, baseball player (born 1922). [23] August 25 Death of Dorothy Hewett, Australian writer (born 1923). [23] August 29 Death of Alan MacNaughtan, Scottish actor (born 1920). [23] August 31 Death of Lionel Hampton, American musician (born 1908). [23] Death of George Porter, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1920). [23] Death of Farhad Mehrad, Iranian legendary musician. [23] September 11 Death of Johnny Unitas, American football player (born 1933). [23] September 18 Death of Bob Hayes, American athlete (born 1942). [23] September 19 Death of Sergei Bodrov Jr., Russian actor (born 1971). [23] Death of Robert Guéï, military ruler of the Côte d'Ivoire (born 1941). [23] September 21 Death of Robert Lull Forward, American author and physicist (born 1932). [23] September 23 Death of Vernon Corea, British broadcaster (born 1927). [23] October 6 Death of Claus von Amsberg, husband of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (born 1926). [23] October 9 Death of Aileen Wournos, American serial killer (born 1956). [23] October 10 Death of Teresa Graves, American actress (born 1948). [23] October 12 Death of Ray Conniff, American musician and bandleader (born 1916). [23] October 13 Death of Stephen Ambrose, American historian and biographer (born 1936). [23] October 17 Death of Derek Bell, Northern Ireland musician (born 1935). [23] October 18 Death of Nikolai Rukavishnikov, cosmonaut (born 1932). [23] Death of Roman Tam, Hong Kong pop singer (born 1950). [23] October 24 Death of Harry Hay, American activist (born 1912). [23] October 25 Death of Richard Harris, Irish actor (born 1930). [23] U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone, his family and staff, are killed by a plane accident at Eveleth, Minnesota. [23] October 30 Death of Jam Master Jay; musician (Run DMC) (born 1965). [5] [23] November 2 Death of Charles Sheffield, English author and physicist (born 1935). [23] November 3 Death of Lonnie Donegan, Scottish musician (King of Skiffle) (born 1931). [23] November 7 Death of Peg Phillips, actress (Northern Exposure) (born 1918). [23] November 12 Death of Károly Doncsecz, Slovenian potter, Master of folk art (born 1918). [23] November 15 In England, Myra Hindley, who was involved in the murders of five children between 1963 and 1965, dies in hospital at the age of 60 after suffering a heart attack in prison. [23] November 17 Death of Abba Eban, Israeli foreign affair minister (born 1915). [23] November 21 Death of Hadda Brooks, American jazz singer, pianist, and composer (born 1916). [23] November 24 Death of John Rawls, American political theorist (born 1921). [23] November 26 Death of Verne Winchell, American doughnut entrepreneur (born 1915). [23] November 28 Death of Norm McDonald, Australian rules footballer (born 1925). [23] December 3 Death of Glenn Quinn, Irish actor (born 1970). [23] December 5 Death of Ne Win, Burmese dictator. [23] December 6 Death of Father Philip Berrigan, American priest and political activist (born 1923). [23] Death of Charles Rosen, American pianist and pioneer in artificial intelligence (born 1927). [23] December 9 Death of Stan Rice, American painter and poet (born 1942). [23] December 12 Death of Nikolai Amosov, Ukrainian heart surgeon, inventor, best-selling author, and exercise enthusiast (born 1913). [23] December 18 Death of Ray Hnatyshyn, Governor General of Canada (born 1934). [23] December 22 Death of Desmond Hoyte, Prime Minister and President of Guyana (born 1929). [23] Death of Joe Strummer, British musician and singer (The Clash) (born 1952). [23] December 25 Death of Laci Peterson, American murder victim (born 1975). [23]