Deaths in February - 2024

Philosopher Paulin J. Hountondji died February 2 at the age of 81. His books include African Philosophy: Myth and Reality and Struggle For Meaning: Reflections on Philosophy, Culture, and Democracy in Africa (Ohio RIS Africa Series).

Philosopher Oskar Negt died February 2 at the age of 89. His books include Public Sphere and Experience: Analysis of the Bourgeois and Proletarian Public Sphere and History and Obstinacy.

Lexicographer Patrick Hanks died February 1 at the age of 83. His works include Collins dictionary of the English language and A Dictionary of First Names.

*It’s shaping up to be a bad day for philosophers.

Novelist Christopher Priest died February 2 at the age of 80. His books include The Prestige , Inverted World, and The Affirmation.

Theologian Rod Rosenbladt died February 2 at the age of 82. He wrote Christ Alone.

Australian indigenous rights activist Lowitja O’Donoghue died February 4 at the age of 91. Her works include Lowitja and An Aboriginal and Islander consultative organisation .

Rugby star Barry John died February 4 at the age of 79. His books include The Barry John story and The King.

Geographer Ray Watters died February 3 at the age of 95. He wrote Rural Latin America in Transition: Development and Change in Mexico and Venezuela (Governance, Development, and Social Inclusion.

Publisher Joel Belz died February 4 at the age of 82. His books include Consider These Things and A Framework for a Christian World View .

Art historian Antonio Paolucci died February 4 at the age of 84. His books include Ravenna : An Art Guide, The Sistine Chapel: English Language Edition , David: Five Hundred Years, and The Museum of the Medici Chapels and San Lorenzo .

Medical ethicist Brooke Ellison died February 4 at the age of 45. She wrote Miracles Happen: One Mother, One Daughter, One Journey .

Anthropologist Jean Malaurie died February 5 at the age of 101. His books include The Last Kings of Thule, Ultima Thule: Explorers and Natives in the Polar North, and Call of the North: An Explorer's Journey to the North Pole.

Comic book artist Jose Delbo died February 5 at the age of 90. His work can be seen in Transformers: Matrix Quest and Transformers: Last Stand .

Country music artist Toby Keith. Cancer

R&R guitarist for legendary 60's band the MC5 Wayne Kramer dies on Groundhog Day February 2nd. He was 75. His auto-bio the hard stuff: Dope, Crime the MC5, and my life of impossibilities. MC5 were arguably the most radical left wing band from the 60's era and a target of the FBI. The first stanza of the Clash's song Jail Guitar Doors is about Wayne. He and Billy Bragg later on used that song title to set up a nonprofit to donate musical instruments to incarcerated prisoners.

Comic book artist Alfredo Castelli died February 7 at the age of 76. His works include Lumimies , Martin Mystery: Destroyers of the Past, Den gyllene triangeln.

Politician Baroness Shreela Flather died February 6 at the age of 89. She wrote Woman : acceptable exploitation for profit.

Businessman G. Leroy Lail died February 6 at the age of 85. He wrote Win/Win: Lessons Learned in Business and in Life.

LGBTQ rights activist Cecilia Gentili died February 6 at the age of 52. She wrote Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Who Isn’t My Rapist .

Politologist Alfred Grosser died February 7 at the age of 99. His books include The Western alliance : European-American relations since 1945 and The Federal Republic of Germany: A Concise History. I’m assuming a politologist is a French form of political scientist.

Former French Minister of Justice Robert Badinter died February 9 at the age of 95. He was responsible for ending executions in France. His books include Condorcet, 1743-1794, L'Exécution, and L'abolition.

Composer/conductor Seiji Ozawa died February 6 at the age of 88. With Huraki Murakami he wrote Absolutely on Music: Conversations with Seiji Ozawa .

Evangelist Henry Blackaby died February 10 at the age of 88. His books include Experiencing God: How to Live the Full Adventure of Knowing and Doing the Will of God, Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God's Agenda, and Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God (Workbook).

Linguist Virginia Beavert died February 8 at the age of 102. Her books include Ichishkiin Sinwit Yakama/Yakima Sahaptin Dictionary, Anakú Iwachá: Yakama Legends and Stories, and The gift of knowledge : reflections on Sahaptin ways .

NYC bathhouse impresario Steve Ostrow died February 4 at the age of 91. He wrote LIVE AT THE CONTINENTAL: The Inside Story of the World-Famous Continental Baths and LIVE AT THE CONTINENTAL: BOOK ONE: BETTE, BUNS and BALLS.

Long time NPR radio host Bob Edwards died February 10 at the age of 76. His books include Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism and Fridays with Red: A Radio Friendship.

Educator Eve Nussbaum Soumerai died February 2 at the age of 97. She was saved from the Holocaust when her parents sent her to England on a Kindertransport. She wrote Daily Life During the Holocaust and A Voice from the Holocaust (Voices of Twentieth-Century Conflict) .

Former Lutheran bishop of Iceland Karl Sigurbjornsson died February 12 at the age of 77. His books include The Church of Iceland: past and present and Hallgrímur Pétursson.

Chef David Bouley died February 12 at the age of 70. His books include East of Paris: The New Cuisines of Austria and the Danube and World Cuisine: United States of America.

Rabbi Jules Harlow died February 12 at the age of 92. His books include Siddur Sim Shalom : a prayerbook for Shabbat, festivals, and weekdays and Mahzor for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur .

Editorial cartoonist Jack Higgins died February 10 at the age of 69. He wrote My Kind of 'Toon, Chicago Is .

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died under suspicious circumstances in an Arctic prison at the age of 47. He wrote Opposing Forces: Plotting the New Russia.

Comic book artist Enrique Badia Romero died February 15 at the age of 93. His work includes Judge Anderson: The Psi Files Volume 2, Modesty Blaise: The Children of Lucifer, and Agent X9. Specialalbum.

Prof. Lucette Desvignes died February 14 at the age of 97. Her books include Les mains libres, Tome 1 : Vent debout and Animal Tales : A Collection of Short Fiction by Lucette Desvignes.

Singer Etterlene DeBarge died February 16 at the age of 88. She wrote Other Side of the Pain.

Sociologist Johan Galtung died February 17 at the age of 93. His books include Peace by Peaceful Means: Peace and Conflict, Development and Civilization and Transcend and Transform: An Introduction to Conflict Work .

Medical statistician Peter Armitage died February 15 at the age of 99. His books include Statistical Methods in Medical Research and Encyclopedia of Biostatistics: 8-Volume Set .

Journalist Alvin Moscow died February 6 at the age of 98. His books include Collision Course: The Classic Story of the Collision of the Andrea Doria and the Stockholm and The Rockefeller inheritance.

South African cricket star Mike Procter died February 17 at the age of 77. His books include Caught in the middle : monkeygate, politics and other hairy issues : the autobiography of Mike Procter and South Africa: Years of Isolation and the Return to International Cricket .

Olympic runner Henry Rono died February 15 at the age of 72. He wrote Olympic Dream.

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist William Beecher died February 9 at the age of 90. His books include Nuclear Revenge and The KGB Hoax.

Scholar of Soviet history Katerina Clark died February 3 at the age of 83. Her books include Mikhail Bakhtin, The Soviet Novel, Petersburg : Crucible of Cultural Revolution, and Moscow, the Fourth Rome: Stalinism, Cosmopolitanism, and the Evolution of Soviet Culture, 1931-1941 .

Archaeologist Maria Eugenia Aubet died February 18 at the age of 79. Her books include The Phoenicians and the West: Politics, Colonies and Trade, Commerce and Colonization in the Ancient Near East, and The Phoenician cemetery of Tyre-Al Bass : excavations, 1997-1999.

Talk show host Bobbie Wygant ied February 18 at the age of 97. She wrote Talking to the Stars: Bobbie Wygant's Seventy Years in Television.

Novelist Marion Halligan died February 19 at the age of 83. Her books include Valley of Grace, The Apricot Colonel, and The Point .

Egyptologist Jan Assmann died February 19 at the age of 85. His books include Moses the Egyptian: The Memory of Egypt in Western Monotheism and The Mind of Egypt: History and Meaning in the Time of the Pharaohs .

Animal rights activist Steven M. Wise died February 15 at the age of 73. His books include Rattling the Cage: Toward Legal Rights for Animals and Though the Heavens May Fall: The Landmark Trial That Led to the End of Human Slavery .

Music executive David Libert died on February 20 at the age of 81. He wrote Rock and Roll Warrior.

Science Fiction author Steve Miller died February 20 at the age of 73. His co-authored books include Agent of Change and Plan B.

Actress Princess Ira von Furstenberg died February 18 at the age of 83. She wrote Tartanware: Souvenirs from Scotland and Ira Von Fürstenberg: Objets Uniques.

Country music musician Roni Stoneman died February 22 at the age of 85. She wrote Pressing On: The Roni Stoneman Story .

Fashion designer Claude Montana died February 23 at the age of 76. He wrote Claude Montana: Fashion Radical .

Cultural historian Marc Pachter died February 17 at the age of 80. His books include Abroad in America : visitors to the new nation, 1776-1914 and George Washington: A National Treasure .

Jazz historian Reuben Jackson died February 16 at the age of 67. He wrote Fingering the Keys and Scattered Clouds: New & Selected Poems .

Dementia activist Wendy Mitchell has died at the age of 58. Her books include Somebody I Used to Know: A Memoir and What I Wish People Knew About Dementia: The Sunday Times Bestseller .

Soccer star Andreas Brehme died February 20 at the age of 63. He wrote Andreas Brehme Sure-Footed The Story of a World Champion .

Soccer star Stan Bowles died February 24 at the age of 75. He wrote Stan Bowles: The Autobiography and Stan the Man: The Autobiography .

🧐Ever notice how people in certain professions all check out at about the same time? Curious.

Dancer and choreographer Steve Paxton died February 21 at the age of 85. He wrote Gravidade and Steve Paxton: Drafting Interior Techniques.

Poet and dramatist Bernard Kops died February 25 at the age of 97. His books include New English Dramatists 1 and Neither your honey nor your sting .

Comic book artist Ramona Fradon died February 24 at the age of 97. Her work can be seen in The Aquaman Archives, Volume 1 , The Gnostic Faustus: The Secret Teachings behind the Classic Text , and Art of Ramona Fradon HC .

British politician Patrick Cormack died February 25 at the age of 84. His books include Castles of Britain and English Cathedrals.

Poet Alan Brownjohn died February 24 at the age of 92. His work includes First I say this: A selection of poems for reading aloud and A night in the gazebo .

Wrestler Ole Anderson died February 26 at the age of 81. He wrote Road Warriors: The Life and Death of Wrestling's Most Dominant Tag Team .

Translator, critic, and science fiction author Brian Stableford died February 24 aged 75. His works inlcude the Dies Irae series, the David Lydyard sequence, The empire of fear, and Science Fact and Science Fiction: An Encyclopedia.

Antiques dealer Bruce Newman died February 9 at the age of 94. He wrote Don't Come Back Until You Find It: Tales from an Antiques Dealer.

Theologian Norman Hjelme died February 13 at the age of 92. His books include Out of the Ashes: Burned Churches and the Community of Faith and Faith And Order: Toward A North American Conference .

Medical researcher David M. Capuzzi died February 15 at the age of 85. His books include Cholesterol Control 3-Week Plan Handbook and Cookbook and Cholesterol: Lowering and Controlling : 3 Week Plan, Handbook and Cookbook .

Artist and children's book author Petra Mathers died Feb. 6 aged 78. Her works include Lottie's new beach towel, Sophie and Lou, and the illustrations for Borreguita and the Coyote: A Tale from Ayutla, Mexico.

Archaeologist John W. Hayes died February 27 at the age of 85. His books include Handbook of Mediterranean Roman Pottery, Late Roman pottery, and Roman & Pre-Roman Glass in the Royal Ontario Museum: A Catalogue .

Former premier of the USSR Nikolai Ryzhkov died February 28 at the age of 94. He wrote Guidelines for the Economic and Social Development of the USSR for 1986-1990 .

Actor Richard Lewis died February 27 at the age of 76. His books include The Other Great Depression and Reflections from Hell: Richard Lewis' Guide On How Not To Live .

Artist Dennis Downes died February 25 at the age of 70. He wrote Native American Trail Marker Trees: Marking Paths Through The Wilderness .

>29 varielle: Richard Lewis was a comedian.

>30 karenb: also an actor

TV host Dave Myers died February 29 at the age of 66. His books include The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight and The Hairy Dieters Eat for Life: How to Love Food, Lose Weight and Keep it Off for Good!.

>31 varielle: Not arguing that. But he was a comedian first and foremost -- and comedy was what got him the acting gigs.

Artist and mail artist Ruth Wolf Rehfeldt died February 26 aged 92. Her works include SIGNS FICTION and Schrift Stücke : Typewritings und Gedichte. Wolf-Rehfeldt lived and worked in Berlin. When the Wall came down, she stopped creating mail art, claiming that it was no longer necessary.

Historian Janice Rothschild Blumberg died February 21 at the age of 100. Her books include One Voice: Rabbi Jacob M. Rothschild and the Troubled South, Prophet in a Time of Priests: Rabbi "Alphabet" Browne 1845-1929, and As But a Day to a Hundred and Twenty 1867-1987 .

Former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney died February 29 at the age of 84. His books include Memoirs: 1939-1993, Where I Stand , and Trade outlook : globalization or regionalization.

>32 varielle: Dave Myers, not Meyers. Dave Meyers is not a Hairy Biker.

Artist Gunter Brus died February 10 at the age of 85. His books include Gunter Brus: Nervous Stillness on the Horizon and Irrwisch.

Film historian David Bordwell died February 29 at the age of 76. His books include Film Art: An Introduction, Film History: An Introduction, and Narration in the Fiction Film .

Historian Raymond Gillespie died February 8 at the age of 68. His books include Ireland: Art into History, Seventeenth-Century Ireland, and Natives and Newcomers: Essays on the Making of Irish Colonial Society, 1534-1641.

Highly decorated US commander during the Vietnam War John Bahnsen died February 21 at the age of 89. He wrote American Warrior: A Combat Memoir of Vietnam .

Rabbi and environmentalist Ellen Bernstein died February 27 at the age of 70. Her books include Ecology & the Jewish Spirit: Where Nature & the Sacred Meet and The Splendor of Creation: A Biblical Ecology .

HIV researcher Dr. John P. Phair died February 19 at the age of 89. He wrote Contemporary Diagnosis and Management of HIV/AIDS Infections .

Test pilot, aviator, astronaut, and former NASA administrator Richard Truly died February 27 aged 86. He wrote Space Shuttle: The Journey Continues.

Children's book author Kate Banks died Feb. 24 aged 64. Her works include Alphabet Soup, Max's Words, and The Night Worker.

Councillor and amateur historian Peter Christie died February 20 at the age of 73. His books include Even More North Devon History, Of Chirche-reves and of Testamentes: Church, Sex and Slander in Elizabethan North Devon , and North Devon History.

Food scientist Mike Gibney died February 23 at the age of 75. His books include Something to Chew On: Challenging Controversies in Food and Health , Ever Seen a Fat Fox?: Human Obesity Explored, and Food through the Ages: A Popular History .

Boat designer Iain Oughtred died February 21. His books include Clinker Plywood Boatbuilding Manual and Wooden Boat Building in Britain: A Guide to Designers, Builders and Suppliers .

Social historian J. A. Sharpe (James) died February 13 at the age of 77. His books include The Bewitching of Anne Gunter: A Horrible and True Story of Deception, Witchcraft, Murder, and the King of England and Instruments of Darkness: Witchcraft in Early Modern England .

Sound engineer Bob Heil died February 28 at the age of 83. His books include Heil Ham Radio Handbook and Practical Guide for Concert Sound.

Disgraced gallery owner Andrew Crispo died February 8 at the age of 78. His works include Ten Americans: Masters of Watercolor and Pioneers of American Abstraction .

Poet Lyn Hejinian died February 24 at the age of 82. Her work includes My Life, The Best American Poetry 2004, The Language of Inquiry, and Writing Is an Aid to Memory .

Criminologist Vincenzo Ruggiero died February 2 at the age of 73. His books include Crime in Literature: Sociology of Deviance and Fiction, Social Movements: A Reader (Routledge Student Readers), The New European Criminology: Crime and Social Order in Europe, and The crimes of the economy a criminological analysis of economic thought.

Cinematographer Alec Mills died February 12 at the age of 82. He wrote Shooting 007: And Other Celluloid Adventures .

Economic historian Peter Earle died February 5. His books include The Pirate Wars and The Life and Times of Henry V.

Gallery owner Mary Hobart died February 2 at the age of 81. Her books include The Irish revival: an exhibition of Irish paintings from 1880 to 1950 and Edwardian Impressionist, The Art of Harry Mitton Wilson .

Anglican Rev. Hugh Dawes has died at the age of 75. He wrote Freeing the Faith.

Sound engineer Bob Heil died February 28 at the age of 83. His books include Heil Ham Radio Handbook and Practical Guide for Concert Sound.

Advocate for the poor Father Tony Byrne has died at the age of 92. His books include Airlift to Biafra: breaching the blockade, Social services made simple (Made simple books), and Working for justice and peace : a practical guide.

Sociologist Dennis Smith has died at the age of 78. His books include Zygmunt Bauman: Prophet of Postmodernity and The Rise of Historical Sociology.

Book designer and typographer Gerald Cinamon died February 15 at the age of 93. His work includes Rudolf Koch: Letterer, Type Designer, Teacher and E R Weiss : the typography of an artist.