Curated playlist
2011 deaths
- Elizabeth TaylorAfter Rock Hudson said he was dying of AIDS, Elizabeth Taylor helped found a research foundation in 1985.
- Amy WinehouseAmy Winehouse won five Grammys singing by satellite from London at 3 a.m. Her visa was not processed in time.
- Osama bin LadenOsama bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaeda, left behind a letter that was released only after his death. It urged Americans to work with the Obama administration to prevent climate change and to "save humanity" from the greenhouse gas…
- Osamu DezakiOsamu Dezaki made anime fade into a painted still. He called the technique a "postcard memory."
- Gil Scott-HeronGil Scott-Heron preferred the word "bluesologist" even as critics called him a rap progenitor.
- Jimmy SavileJimmy Savile ended the last weekly edition of Top of the Pops on the 30th of July 2006 with the words 'It's number one, it's still Top of the Pops.' After the closing credits, he turned off the studio lights. Savile had been a fixture of…
- Sylvia RobinsonSylvia Robinson pushed Grandmaster Flash's group to record "The Message" in 1982.
- Diana Wynne JonesDiana Wynne Jones began writing mostly to keep her sanity. Her first book was a farce for adults, not a fantasy.
- Otto von HabsburgOtto von Habsburg, born to be emperor, spent nearly half a century in exile from Austria.
- Flórián AlbertFlórián Albert won the 1967 Ballon d'Or without ever leaving his Budapest club, Ferencváros.
- Maria DowlingMaria Dowling's book argued that ideas mattered at Henry VIII's court, not merely power.
- John McCarthy (computer scientist)John McCarthy coined the term "artificial intelligence" in the summer of 1956. He also created the language Lisp.
- Robert EttingerA 1931 Amazing Stories tale about a frozen professor stayed with 12-year-old Robert Ettinger.
- Vincent CroninVincent Cronin's history books sold well, but scholars did not always welcome them.
- Richard Hamilton (artist)Richard Hamilton defined pop art in a 1957 letter to two architects. He called it expendable, witty and Big Business.
- Robert BerksSculptor Robert Berks had living subjects stay a week or two before he touched the clay. He watched how they moved.