Deaths in 2012 facts for kids

A list of notable people who passed away in 2012. This article shares information about some of the famous and important individuals from around the world who died during that year. They include leaders, artists, scientists, and athletes who made a difference in their fields.

January: Notable Figures Who Passed Away

Kiro Gligorov, a former President of Macedonia.

Malam Bacai Sanha, who was the President of Guinea-Bissau.

Rauf Denktaş, the first President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a Spanish politician.

Gustav Leonhardt, a Dutch musician and teacher.

Etta James, a famous American singer.

Theodoros Angelopoulos, a Greek movie director.

Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, the ninth President of Italy.

• January 1 - Kiro Gligorov, 94, the former President of the Republic of Macedonia.
• January 1 - Bob Anderson, 89, an English fencer and movie sword fight choreographer.
• January 3 - Josef Skvorecky, 87, a Czech writer and publisher, passed away from cancer.
• January 5 - Frederica Sagor Maas, 111, an American screenwriter and playwright.
• January 9 - Malam Bacai Sanha, 64, the President of Guinea-Bissau.
• January 13 - Rauf Denktaş, 87, the first President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
• January 15 - Manuel Fraga Iribarne, 89, a Spanish politician and former leader of Galicia.
• January 16 - Gustav Leonhardt, 83, a Dutch musician, conductor, and teacher.
• January 19 - Sarah Burke, 29, a Canadian freestyle skier, died from complications after a skiing accident.
• January 20 - Etta James, 73, a famous American singer, passed away from leukemia.
• January 22 - Joe Paterno, 85, an American college football coach, died from lung cancer.
• January 24 - Theodoros Angelopoulos, 76, a Greek movie director and screenwriter, died after being hit by a motorcycle.
• January 29 - Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, 93, the 9th President of Italy.

February: Important People We Lost

Wislawa Szymborska, a Polish poet and Nobel Prize winner.

Whitney Houston, a famous American singer and actress.

Davy Jones, a British actor and musician from The Monkees.

• February 1 - Wislawa Szymborska, 88, a Polish poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1996.
• February 1 - Don Cornelius, 75, an American TV show host, known for Soul Train.
• February 3 - Ben Gazzara, 81, an American actor, passed away from pancreatic cancer.
• February 4 - Florence Green, 110, a British woman who was the last-surviving World War I service veteran.
• February 11 - Whitney Houston, 48, a beloved American singer and actress, died from drowning.
• February 16 - Baddeley Devesi, 70, the first Governor-General of the Solomon Islands.
• February 22 - Marie Colvin, 56, an American war correspondent, was killed in Syria.
• February 29 - Davy Jones, 66, a British actor and musician from The Monkees, died from a heart attack.

March: Figures Who Passed On

Jean Giraud, a French comic book artist.

Frank Sherwood Rowland, an American chemistry professor and Nobel Prize winner.

Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria, the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

George Tupou V, the King of Tonga.

Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, a former President of Somalia.

• March 1 - Lucio Dalla, 68, an Italian singer-songwriter and musician, died from a heart attack.
• March 5 - Robert B. Sherman, 86, an American songwriter.
• March 10 - Jean Giraud, 73, a French comic book artist and writer.
• March 10 - Frank Sherwood Rowland, 84, an American chemistry professor and Nobel Prize winner.
• March 10 - Nick Zoricic, 29, a Canadian ski cross racer, died from brain injuries after a crash.
• March 14 - Censu Tabone, 98, the 4th President of Malta.
• March 17 - Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria, 88, the Egyptian Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, passed away from cancer.
• March 18 - George Tupou V, 63, the King of Tonga.
• March 23 - Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, 77, a former President of Somalia, died from complications related to pneumonia.
• March 27 - Adrienne Rich, 82, an American poet, writer, and feminist.

April: Notable Lives Concluded

Giorgio Chinaglia, an Italian footballer.

Miguel de la Madrid, the 52nd President of Mexico.

Bingu wa Mutharika, the President of Malawi.

Mike Wallace, an American journalist and television personality.

Ahmed Ben Bella, the first President of Algeria.

Piermario Morosini, an Italian footballer.

Dick Clark, an American radio and television personality.

Matilde Camus, a Spanish poet and writer.

• April 1 - Giorgio Chinaglia, 65, an Italian footballer, died from a heart attack.
• April 1 - Miguel de la Madrid, 77, the 52nd President of Mexico.
• April 5 - Bingu wa Mutharika, 78, the President of Malawi, died from a heart attack.
• April 7 - Mike Wallace, 93, an American journalist and television personality.
• April 11 - Ahmed Ben Bella, 93, the 1st post-independence President of Algeria.
• April 14 - Piermario Morosini, 25, an Italian footballer, died from cardiac arrest during a game.
• April 18 - Dick Clark, 82, an American radio and television personality, died from a heart attack.
• April 20 - E. Donnall Thomas, 92, an American physician and Nobel Prize winner.
• April 28 - Matilde Camus, 92, a Spanish poet and writer.

May: Lives Remembered

Donna Summer, a famous American disco singer.

Robin Gibb, a British musician from the Bee Gees.

• May 2 - Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih, 57, an Indonesian physician and politician, died from lung cancer.
• May 4 - Adam Yauch, 47, an American musician from the Beastie Boys, passed away from cancer.
• May 8 - Maurice Sendak, 83, an American children's writer and illustrator.
• May 9 - Vidal Sassoon, 84, a British hairdresser, died from leukaemia.
• May 15 - Carlos Fuentes, 83, a Mexican writer and novelist.
• May 17 - Donna Summer, 63, a famous American disco singer, died from lung cancer.
• May 20 - Robin Gibb, 62, a British musician from the Bee Gees, died from kidney failure.
• May 20 - Eugene Polley, 96, an American engineer and inventor of the Remote control.

June: People Who Passed Away

Ray Bradbury, a famous American writer.

Ann Rutherford, a Canadian-born American actress.

Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz al-Saud, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.

Yitzhak Shamir, a former Prime Minister of Israel.

• June 2 - Kathryn Joosten, 72, an American television actress, died from lung cancer.
• June 5 - Ray Bradbury, 91, a beloved American writer and screenwriter, passed away after a long illness.
• June 11 - Ann Rutherford, 94, a Canadian-born American actress, known for Gone with the Wind.
• June 11 - Teofilo Stevenson, 60, a Cuban boxer, died from a heart attack.
• June 16 - Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz al-Saud, 78, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
• June 24 - Lonesome George, around 100, an Ecuadorean Pinta Island tortoise, the last known survivor of his kind.
• June 26 - Nora Ephron, 71, an American writer, screenwriter, and director, died from leukaemia.
• June 30 - Yitzhak Shamir, 96, a two-time former Prime Minister of Israel, passed away from Alzheimer's disease.

July: Remembering Those Who Left Us

Andy Griffith, a famous American actor.

Ernest Borgnine, an American actor.

Dara Singh, an Indian professional wrestler and actor.

Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.

Tony Martin, an American singer and actor.

Gore Vidal, a famous American writer.

• July 1 - Andy Griffith, 86, an American actor known for his TV shows, died from a heart attack.
• July 8 - Ernest Borgnine, 95, an American actor, passed away from renal failure.
• July 12 - Dara Singh, 83, an Indian wrestler and actor.
• July 16 - Jon Lord, 71, a British musician from the band Deep Purple, died from pancreatic cancer.
• July 23 - Sally Ride, 61, the first American astronaut woman in space, died from pancreatic cancer.
• July 24 - John Atta Mills, 68, the President of Ghana.
• July 27 - Tony Martin, 98, an American singer and actor.
• July 31 - Gore Vidal, 86, an American writer, died from complications related to pneumonia.

August: Lives Honored

Bernard Lovell, a British physicist and radio astronomer.

Meles Zenawi, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia.

Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the Moon.

Carlo Maria Martini, an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal.

• August 6 - Bernard Lovell, 98, a British physicist and radio astronomer.
• August 6 - Marvin Hamlisch, 68, an American composer, passed away after a short illness.
• August 13 - Helen Gurley Brown, 90, an American writer and publisher.
• August 15 - Harry Harrison, 87, an American science fiction writer.
• August 20 - Phyllis Diller, 95, an American actress and comedian.
• August 20 - Meles Zenawi, 57, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia and former President, died from an illness.
• August 25 - Neil Armstrong, 82, the American astronaut and first person to walk on the Moon, died from complications after heart surgery.
• August 31 - Carlo Maria Martini, 85, an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal and Archbishop of Milan.

September: Remembering Significant Individuals

Michael Clarke Duncan, an American actor.

Christopher Stevens, a United States diplomat.

Hebe Camargo, a Brazilian actress and television presenter.

• September 1 - Hal David, 91, an American songwriter.
• September 3 - Sun Myung Moon, 92, a Korean religious leader, died from pneumonia.
• September 3 - Michael Clarke Duncan, 54, an American actor, died from complications after a heart attack.
• September 11 - Christopher Stevens, 52, a American diplomat and Ambassador to Libya, was killed during an attack.
• September 13 - Peter Lougheed, 84, a Canadian politician and lawyer.
• September 16 - Princess Ragnhild of Norway, 82, a member of the Norwegian royalty, passed away after a long illness.
• September 23 - Corrie Sanders, 46, a South African boxer, was killed.
• September 25 - Andy Williams, 84, an American singer and entertainer, died from bladder cancer.
• September 29 - Hebe Camargo, 83, a Brazilian actress, singer, and television presenter, died from cardiac arrest.

October: Important People Who Passed Away

Chadli Bendjedid, the third President of Algeria.

Norodom Sihanouk, a former King of Cambodia.

George McGovern, an American politician and former Senator.

Russell Means, a Native American activist and actor.

• October 1 - Eric Hobsbawm, 95, a British historian and writer, passed away after a long illness.
• October 6 - Chadli Bendjedid, 83, the 3rd President of Algeria.
• October 10 - Alex Karras, 77, an American football player and actor, died from kidney failure.
• October 15 - Norodom Sihanouk, 89, a former King of Cambodia, died from a heart attack.
• October 17 - Sylvia Kristel, 60, a Dutch actress and model, died from complications related to cancer.
• October 21 - George McGovern, 90, an American politician and former United States Senator for South Dakota.
• October 22 - Russell Means, 72, a Native American activist and actor, died from esophageal cancer.
• October 25 - Jacques Barzun, 104, a French-born American historian and philosopher.

November: Remembering Those We Lost

Larry Hagman, a famous American actor.

Zig Ziglar, an American writer and speaker.

I. K. Gujral, a former Prime Minister of India.

• November 1 - Mitch Lucker, 28, an American singer, died in a traffic collision.
• November 5 - Elliott Carter, 103, an American composer.
• November 6 - Maxim of Bulgaria, 98, the Patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
• November 6 - Clive Dunn, 92, a British actor and comedian.
• November 23 - Larry Hagman, 81, a famous American actor and director, died from leukemia.
• November 24 - Héctor Camacho, 50, a Puerto Rican boxer, was killed.
• November 26 - Joseph E. Murray, 93, an American doctor who performed the first successful kidney transplant.
• November 28 - Zig Ziglar, 86, an American writer, speaker, and salesman, died from pneumonia.
• November 30 - I. K. Gujral, 92, a former Prime Minister of India.

December: Final Farewells of 2012

Oscar Niemeyer, a Brazilian architect.

Jenni Rivera, an American-Mexican singer and actress.

Iajuddin Ahmed, a former President of Bangladesh.

Ravi Shankar, a famous Indian sitarist.

Daniel Inouye, a United States Senator for Hawaii.

Jack Klugman, an American actor.

Charles Durning, an American actor.

• December 5 - Dave Brubeck, 91, an American jazz pianist and composer, died from heart failure.
• December 5 - Oscar Niemeyer, 104, a famous Brazilian architect, died from cardiac arrest.
• December 9 - Patrick Moore, 89, an English astronomer and writer.
• December 9 - Jenni Rivera, 43, an American-Mexican singer and actress, died in a plane crash.
• December 10 - Iajuddin Ahmed, 81, a former President of Bangladesh.
• December 11 - Ravi Shankar, 92, a world-renowned Indian sitarist, passed away after a short illness.
• December 17 - Daniel Inouye, 88, a United States Senator for Hawaii, died from respiratory complications.
• December 24 - Charles Durning, 89, an American actor.
• December 24 - Jack Klugman, 90, an American television and movie actor, died from prostate cancer.
• December 27 - Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., 78, an American general, died from complications related to pneumonia.
• December 30 - Rita Levi-Montalcini, 103, an Italian neurologist and Nobel Prize winner.