Signed to a recording contract at the age of 12, Aaliyah became an overnight R&B sensation. At the height of her stardom, a fatal plane crash ended her life.
1979-2001
Ron Brown was a lawyer and Democratic politician who served as commerce secretary under the administration of President Bill Clinton.
1941-1996
Patsy Cline was a celebrated country singer best known for her crossover hits, including "Crazy" and "Walking After Midnight."
1932-1963
John Denver was one of the most successful singer-songwriters of the 1970s. His hits include "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "Thank God I'm a Country Boy."
1943-1997
Amelia Earhart, the first female pilot to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, mysteriously disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937.
1897-1939
Steve Fossett was an American businessman and adventurer best known for circumnavigating the globe in a hot air balloon in 2002.
1944-2007
Yuri Gagarin was a Soviet cosmonaut who in 1961 became the first man to travel into space
1934-1968
1887-1935
Buddy Holly was a singer/songwriter whose records, conveying a sense of the wide-open spaces of West Texas and unstoppable joie de vivre, remain vital today.
1936-1959
Lech Kaczynski was a politician who served as president of Poland until his sudden death in a plane crash in 2010.
1949-2010
Carolyn Bessette Kennedy married John F. Kennedy Jr. and was considered a trendsetter and fashion icon. She died in a small plane crash in 1999.
1966-1999
Later the publisher of political magazine George, JFK Jr. was the first child ever born to a president-elect, the son of JFK and Jacqueline Kennedy,
1960-1999
1908-1942
American professional boxer and world heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano beat Jersey Joe Walcott for the title and won an unrivaled 49 straight fights.
1923-1969
The most decorated U.S. soldier of World War II, Audie Murphy returned home a hero and became an actor, starring in his own story, To Hell and Back.
1925-1971
1941-1967
1888-1931
Ted Stevens was a U.S. senator from Alaska, and the longest-serving Republican senator in American history (1968-2009).
1923-2010
1957-1999
Mexican-American musician Ritchie Valens is best known for his hit "La Bamba." His successful career was cut short when he died in a plane crash at age 17.
1941-1959
A preeminent bluesman, award-winning guitarist and singer Stevie Ray Vaughan earned critical and commercial success during the 1980s.
1954-1990