Death Anniversary Thread

[The Ashes Urn 1,357]

American poet, dramatist and critic Howard Moss died on this day 35 years ago, aged 65.

 

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On this day 7 years ago in 2015 former Scottish  diver and olympian Peter Heatly died aged 91.

 

He competed in the  1948 and 1952 Olympics but without winning any medals but highest placed finish 5th place.

He did win gold  medals for diving in  three consecutive commonwealth games (then known as the British Empire games) in 1950 (Auckland), 1954 (Vancouver) and 1958 (Cardiff). 

He served as the Chairman of the Commonwealth games between 1982-1990.

He is also the grandfather of one of Britains best and  most promising talents in diving going forward -James Heatly. 

 

[Drewsky1211 4,748]

Abdelaziz Bouteflika died on this day 1 year ago, aged 84.

Bouteflika served in Algeria's war of independence, and after it gained it in 1962, he entered politics- becoming the Minister of Foreign Affairs one year later, holding office until 1979. In 1981, Bouteflika was convicted of misappropriating 60 million Algerian dinars during his time in that post, but was pardoned by president Chadli Bendjedid.

 

In 1999, president Liamine Zéroual resigned, calling for early elections. Bouteflika ran, and was supported by the Algerian military. He won with 81% of the vote- though all of his opponents withdrew from the race citing concerns of voter fraud before then. Bouteflika would be re-elected in 2004, 2009, and 2014, receiving over 80% of the vote each time.

 

When Bouteflika announced he planned to run for a fifth term in 2019, citizens began mass protests. These led to several of Bouteflika's cabinet members resigning. Bouteflika soon announced that he decided not to run again, and on April 2, he resigned due to continued protests.

 

These protests were caused in part due to Bouteflika's failing health. In 2005, rumors of Bouteflika having stomach cancer began to surface, though it was actually an ulcer. Rumors of stomach cancer recurred in 2008 as well. Bouteflika had a stroke in 2013, and spent a lot of time receiving treatment in Switzerland. He was also subject to numerous death hoaxes over the years, and by late 2020, was reportedly in a "vegetative state".

 

Bouteflika appeared three times on the DeathList: in 2006, 2020, and 2021- he was the last survivor of the 2006 list.

[Hell 1,334]

39th vice president of the United States Spiro Agnew died on this day 26 years ago, aged 77.

 

[The Ashes Urn 1,357]

Armenian-American film, stage and television actor Akim Tamiroff died on this day 55 years ago, aged 72.

 

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On this day 52 years ago in 1970,  the one and only american singer and musician  Jimi Hendrix died in Notting Hill London aged 27.

 

The circumstances surrounding his death and the events before it are disputed but a coroner concluded that he choked on his own vomit whilst intoxicated on barbiturates. 

[Drewsky1211 4,748]

Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on this day 2 years ago, aged 87.

Ginsburg graduated at the top of her class at Columbia Law School in 1959. She then worked as a volunteer attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, helping settle hundreds of gender discrimination cases, and sought to further women's' rights. In 1980, then-president Jimmy Carter appointed her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Washington, DC circuit.

 

Associate Supreme Court justice Byron White retired in 1993, and Bill Clinton chose Ginsburg as his replacement. She was confirmed to the court by a 96-3 Senate vote, becoming the second woman to serve on it (after Sandra Day O'Connor). Throughout her tenure, Ginsburg would continue to champion for gender equality and reproductive rights. Her very liberal stances earned her the nickname "Notorious RBG" from her supporters ("notorious" in this case was an allusion to Biggie Smalls- The Notorious BIG).

 

Ginsburg had a long history with cancer. She was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1999, which was successfully treated. In 2009, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer- it was caught early, and the tumor was surgically removed. In 2018, an X-ray scan after she fell and fractured her ribs detected malignant lung cancer nodules having one of the lobes of her left lung removed.

By August 2019, RBG's pancreatic cancer had returned, which is the reason she was chosen for the 2020 DeathList. She was reportedly cancer-free by January; however it returned, and eventually killed her. One of her last recorded statements before her death was "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed"- this did not happen, as president Donald Trump appointed Amy Coney Barrett as her successor, and she was confirmed 52-48 just one month later, and just eight days before the presidential election.

[time 8,606]

Its 61 years since the death of Dag Hammarskjöld.

 

 

An economist and diplomat from Sweden, he was the second Secretary-General of the United Nations, appointed at the age of 47, he remains the youngest person to have held the post. He presided over the first UN peacekeeping forces (in Egypt and the Congo) and remains the only posthumous recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

 

He was described by John F. Kennedy as the "greatest statesman of our century", and is considered (along with U Thant) as one of the best two UN Secretary-Generals.

He was killed in a plane crash, along with 15 other passengers & crew, in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) while en-route to negotiate a ceasefire between UN peacekeeping forces in the Congo and Katangese breakaway forces . No definitive cause of the crash has ever been established - an initial Rhodesian enquiry attributed it to pilot error; a UN investigation was indeterminate, while the US CIA said it was shot down with the KGB responsible. Former President Truman also suggested external agents were involved.

Conspiracy theories have abounded ever since, with one report claiming it was shot down by the Katangese Air Force mercenaries.

 

Hammarskjöld was 56 at the time of he is death.

[Hell 1,334]

American professional boxer who competed from 1967 to 1981 Ken Norton died on this day 9 years ago, aged 70.

 

[The Ashes Urn 1,357]

American soul musician Earl Van Dyke died on this day 30 years ago, aged 62.

 

[One shot Paddy 1,206]

7 hours ago, time said:

Its 61 years since the death of Dag Hammarskjöld.

 

 

An economist and diplomat from Sweden, he was the second Secretary-General of the United Nations, appointed at the age of 47, he remains the youngest person to have held the post. He presided over the first UN peacekeeping forces (in Egypt and the Congo) and remains the only posthumous recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

 

He was described by John F. Kennedy as the "greatest statesman of our century", and is considered (along with U Thant) as one of the best two UN Secretary-Generals.

He was killed in a plane crash, along with 15 other passengers & crew, in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) while en-route to negotiate a ceasefire between UN peacekeeping forces in the Congo and Katangese breakaway forces . No definitive cause of the crash has ever been established - an initial Rhodesian enquiry attributed it to pilot error; a UN investigation was indeterminate, while the US CIA said it was shot down with the KGB responsible. Former President Truman also suggested external agents were involved.

Conspiracy theories have abounded ever since, with one report claiming it was shot down by the Katangese Air Force mercenaries.

 

Hammarskjöld was 56 at the time of he is death.

Watched a documentary about it a few years ago, went over the original investigation and a couple of the conspiracy theories plus had an investigator review the case, he discovered that the charts that the crew were using were older than the ones the Rhodesian investigation had and didn't show the small hill that they crashed into, so at night with no radar or ground proximity warning they had no way to know that they were descending into rising ground. 

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On this day seven years ago in 2015, british born best selling  novelist  Jackie Collins,  died aged 77 from cancer in Beverly Hills Hollywood. 

 

She was known for her  rather sexually charged and explicit romantic novels  such as The Stud (1969), Lady Boss (1990), Lovers and Gamblers (1977), Hollywood Husbands (1986) , Lovers and players (2005) and American Star (1993). 

 

Jackie often said much of her material came from being a bit of a wallflower when at parties and social events in Hollywood and high society and quietly observing the human zoo and peoples interactions overtime and soaking it all up . Many celebrities  tried to get her to reveal which of her  novels naughty characters were based on which famous person- but she would never tell!

In some regards Jackie could be quite traditional- a fan of  sexual liberation  and people enjoying  their sexual  freedom and adventure  as long as it was outside marriage. She said outside marriage do whatever you want but once married the rules kick in.

This seeming contrast within Jackies character  lead some to describe her as a raunchy moralist- a phrase I quite like and feels sort of applicable to me!

 

[Drewsky1211 4,748]

Denis Norden died on this day 4 years ago, aged 96.

Norden was born as Denis Cohen, with his family changing their surname when he was a child (likely due to antisemitism). During World War II, Norden would write for troop variety shows, and it is during this war he would meet longtime collaborator Eric Sykes.

 

In 1948, Norden was put alongside Frank Muir as the co-writer of the radio comedy show Take It From Here, which lasted for twelve years. Norden and Muir would frequently appear together on game shows after it ended. Throughout the 1960s, Norden would write the scripts for several films.

 

Norden began hosting the show It'll Be Alright on the Night in 1977, and was usually seen on screen holding a clipboard in his hand. The show was somewhat like an annual America's Funniest Home Videos- if the videos were entirely made of TV and movie outtakes throughout the year. Norden would also host the popular show Laughter File, which began in 1991, and announced in 2006 that he would be retiring due to failing eyesight.

 

Norden debuted on the DeathList in 2010 and would become a bedblocker beginning in 2014, making a total of six appearances- usually staying around the #40 mark, he peaked at #7 in 2017.

[Hell 1,334]

20th President of the United States James A. Garfield has been assassinated on this day 141 years ago, aged 49.

 

[The Ashes Urn 1,357]

Canadian geologist Reginal Aldworth Daly died on this day 65 years ago, aged 86.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,748]

Fletcher Christian died on this day 229 years ago, aged 28.

Christian joined the Royal Navy in 1782 at the age of 17. In 1787, naval lieutenant William Bligh asked Christian to come along on the HMS Bounty, on a mission to transport breadfruit from Tahiti to the Caribbean. He accepted, though he was not given the navigator role like Bligh promised (Christian was not considered skilled enough at the time), and was made the assistant of the navigator John Fryer.

 

The Bounty arrived in Tahiti in 1788, and Christian and several other crewmates became accustomed to the island life- they also had sexual relations with Tahitian women. Bounty left Tahiti in April of 1789, and after a stop in what is now Tonga, they began to head back towards the Americas. Bligh would soon become more irritable and paranoid, and often targeted Christian during fits of rage. Christian grew depressed.

 

On April 28, 1789, Christian and several of his crewmates that he got support from tied up Bligh, and then set him and eighteen others (including Fryer) adrift. They soon arrived on the island of Tofua, and sailed to what is now East Timor six weeks later to report the mutiny.

 

Christian and the other members of the Bounty attempted to settle on the island of Tubuai, but were greeted by hostile natives. They returned to Tahiti, and after gathering several Tahitians for a social gathering on the ship, he cut the anchor and sailed off with them (this included Mauatua, the woman he had relations with). Sixteen Bounty crew members were left on Tahiti.

 

Bounty sailed eastward, and at Pitcairn Island in January 1790. They decided to settle there, and scrapped the ship for wood, and then burned the rest of it. Christian and his now-wife Mauatua- anglicized as "Isabella" had three children: Thursday, Charles, and Mary. Racial tensions grew between the English and the Tahitians, and the remaining Tahitian men murdered several of the Bounty crewmates on September 20, 1793- including Christian.

 

Fletcher Christian and Mauatua are ancestors of virtually almost everyone that lives on Pitcairn Island today- all 47 of them.

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On this day in 1999 Raisa Gorbachev,  wife of the former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev,  died aged 67 from cancer 

She had suffered  health issues since 1991, actually suffering a stroke on her husbands last day in office after a coup attempt forced him from office 

Gossip had it that she struggled to connect with american first lady Nancy Reagan  and their meetings were frosty to put it mildly. They were opposites in so many ways like chalk and cheese. 

 

The speculation about their poor  relationship  gained credibility when it was revealed in a magazine article that a group of US female journalists once took an extended lunch with Nancy Reagan  a while before .  They felt a bit cheap morally afterwards because they  indulged Nancy whilst she sat around for hours slagging of  and gossiping about Raisa Gorbachev  and being incredibly  bitchy about  her- this was either when it was known that Raisa was very ill or just after she had died. 

 

The female journalists enjoyed hearing  the gossip but believed Nancys timing  and full on bitchiness  was too much, heartless  and they felt unease afterwards for partaking in it. 

[time 8,606]

Its four years since the death of writer & presenter John Cunliffe.

 

Born and educated in Colne, Lancashire, he later moved to Kendal, Westmorland (Cumbria), which provided inspiration for the setting of his most famous creation, Postman Pat (& his black-and-white cat), Greendale being based on nearby Longsleddale.

 

Following the success of 'Pat', Cunliffe then wrote Rosie & Jim, over which he maintained more control (having been unhappy with some of the developments surrounding Pat), which was commissioned by ITV, Cunliffe himself presenting the first 50 episodes over two series.

 

Cunliffe died aged 85, from cardio-pulmonary failure, his death being first announced in the Ilkley Gazette:

CUNLIFFE John Left his Ilkley home in a deluge of rain on Thursday, September 20, never to return. Even the skies wept for John the gifted creator of "Postman Pat", "Rosie and Jim" and author of many earlier published collections of poetry and picture story books for children. John's last poetry collection, significantly entitled "Dare You Go", has now come to fruition for John has dared to go and he has gone.

 

[The Ashes Urn 1,357]

Finnish composer Jean Sibelius died on this day 65 years ago, aged 91.

 

 

 

[Hell 1,334]

American folk and rock singer-songwriter Jim Croce died on this day 49 years ago, aged 30.

 

 

Jewish Austrian Holocaust survivor, Nazi hunter, and writer Simon Wiesenthal died on this day 17 years ago, aged 96.

 

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On this day in 1974 american novelist  Jacqueline  Susann died aged 56 from breast cancer.

Her most well known novel was  the iconic bestseller Valley of the dolls (1966) which was made into a Hollywood Blockbuster the next year starring amongst others  Patty Duke,  Susan Hayward  and  Sharon Tate.  A story of three women wishing to make it  big in the entertainment industry  but being propped up and addicted to barbiturates in the process.

Other successful novels included   The Love Machine  (1969) and Once is not enough  (1973).

Jacqueline was first diagnosed with  cancer in 1962 - this time breast cancer.  After a full mastectomy she revealed she made a pact with God that if he allowed her to live at least ten years, she would use her time left to show she had the talent,  gifts and ability to become a best selling author.

 

  Her illness also gave her a sense of urgency to make as much money as possible from her books to secure a good future for her then 16 year old son. 

 

Cancer did return in the early 1970s,  this time lung cancer,  although according to Jacquelines husband  there was at the time a big disagreement between doctors if it  was a new  primary cancer or  a secondary one. Sadly this encounter with cancer She was not to survive and Jacqueline died 48 years ago in 1974 aged 56.

 

[Drewsky1211 4,748]

Haakon VII of Norway died on this day 65 years ago, aged 85.

Haakon was born as prince Carl of Denmark to the future Frederick VIII. In 1905, after Sweden and Norway broke away from each other, Carl was offered the Norwegian throne- his great-uncle was Oscar II, the king at the time, who decided to rule Sweden. Carl accepted and took the regnal name Haakon VII, and was the first monarch of an independent Norway since 1387. During his reign, Haakon was known for not interfering in parliamentary affairs.

 

In 1940, Nazi Germany invaded, and Haakon denied their attempt to make sympathizer Vidkun Quisling the prime minister. Haakon and his family fled to the UK- attempts by the puppet government to depose Haakon were vetoed by parliament, and Haakon became a symbol of Norwegian resistance by broadcasting speeches to Norway. Haakon returned to Norway after the war's end in 1945. For his efforts, he was gifted a royal yacht in 1947.

 

Haakon suffered a fall that fractured his femur in 1955, and it left him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Haakon grew depressed due to the fact that he was no longer able to do some of the things he was once able to, and his health started to fail. By 1957, crown prince Olav (soon to be king Olav V) began to partake in ceremonial and state affairs- Haakon died a few months later.

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American musician and singer, best known as a founding member, vocalist, and lead guitarist of rock band the Four Seasons Tommy DeVito died on this day 2 years ago, aged 92.

 

[time 8,606]

It 31 years since radio and television producer Barney Colehan died.

Colehan joined the Army at the outbreak of the second world war, and sent scripts to the British Forces Network, eventually becoming a producer for them. On leaving the Army he joined the BBC, producing the radio quiz Have A Go, hosted by Wilfred Pickles, personally awarding the prize money to the winning contestants, in response to the audience cries (or Pickles' prompting) of "Give him (her) the money, Barney".

 

Moving into television, he produced the inter-town talent competition Top Town, from 1951, before his biggest success, The Good Old Days, which ran for 30 years, hosted by Leonard Sachs.

 

He's also credited with bringing Top of the Pops to TV, as well as Its a Knockout.

 

He was awarded an MBE for services to broadcasting in 1981, retiring from the BBC in 1983, following the final broadcast of The Good Old Days.

 

A keen golfer, he suffered a stroke whilst playing at his club, Otley, dying aged 77.

[The Ashes Urn 1,357]

American film and stage actress Ruth Attaway died on this day 35 years ago, aged 77.