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Ahmadou Ahidjo
World Leader / 1924 - 1989
Ahmadou Ahidjo was the first president of the United Republic of Cameroon. He lead one of the few successful attempts at supraterritorial African unity.
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(1924-1989)
World Leader
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Alvin Ailey
Choreographer / 1931 - 1989
Alvin Ailey was an American choreographer and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York in 1958.
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(1931-1989)
Choreographer
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Jim Backus
Film Actor, Television Actor, Radio Personality, Writer / 1913 - 1989
Jim Backus was a film and TV actor known for his roles in Rebel Without a Cause and Gilligan’s Island, as well as being the voice of Mr. Magoo.
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(1913-1989)
Film Actor, Television Actor, Radio Personality, Writer
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Lucille Ball
Television Actress, Comedian / 1911 - 1989
One of America's most beloved comedians, Lucille Ball is particularly known for her iconic TV show I Love Lucy.
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(1911-1989)
Television Actress, Comedian
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Samuel Beckett
Writer / 1906 - 1989
20th century Irish novelist, playwright and poet Samuel Beckett penned the play Waiting for Godot. In 1969, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
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(1906-1989)
Writer
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Irving Berlin
Songwriter / 1888 - 1989
Irving Berlin was one of the most prolific and popular songwriters of the 20th century, counting among his many hits "White Christmas" and "Cheek to Cheek."
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(1888-1989)
Songwriter
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Mel Blanc
Film Actor, Television Actor, Comedian, Musician, Radio Talk Show Host, Talk Show Host / 1908 - 1989
Mel Blanc was a voice actor and entertainer who provided voices for Bugs Bunny and over 400 other cartoon characters.
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(1908-1989)
Film Actor, Television Actor, Comedian, Musician, Radio Talk Show Host, Talk Show Host
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Sterling Brown
Educator, Literary Critic, Editor, Poet / 1901 - 1989
African-American poet Sterling Brown is best known for writing poetry distinctly rooted in folklore and authentic black dialect. His works, including Southern Road (1932), have been widely praised for their authenticity and phonetic spelling.
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(1901-1989)
Educator, Literary Critic, Editor, Poet
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Ted Bundy
Murderer, Serial Killer / 1946 - 1989
American serial killer and rapist Ted Bundy was one of the most notorious criminals of the late 20th century.
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(1946-1989)
Murderer, Serial Killer
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John Cassavetes
Film Actor, Television Actor, Director / 1929 - 1989
Film director and actor John Cassavetes made his directorial debut with the critically praised Shadows and featured roles in such films as The Dirty Dozen.
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(1929-1989)
Film Actor, Television Actor, Director
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Nicolae Ceausescu
World Leader / 1918 - 1989
Nicolae Ceausescu was the leader of Communist Romania for more than two decades until his execution in 1989.
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(1918-1989)
World Leader
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Adolfo Constanzo
Serial Killer, Cult Leader / 1962 - 1989
Adolfo Constanzo was a serial killer in the 1980s, whose religious cult performed ritual murders. He evaded police until his 1989 assisted suicide.
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(1962-1989)
Serial Killer, Cult Leader
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Malcolm Cowley
Historian, Literary Critic, Journalist / 1898 - 1989
Malcolm Crowley was a literary critic and social historian who took part in Depression-era political debate.
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(1898-1989)
Historian, Literary Critic, Journalist
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Salvador Dalí
Painter, Filmmaker, Writer / 1904 - 1989
Salvador Dali is best known for his long surrealist painting career.
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(1904-1989)
Painter, Filmmaker, Writer
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Bette Davis
Actress, Pin-up / 1908 - 1989
Bette Davis is remembered as one of Hollywood's legendary leading ladies, famous for her larger-than-life persona and for her nearly 100 film appearances.
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(1908-1989)
Actress, Pin-up
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Daphne du Maurier
Author, Playwright / 1907 - 1989
Dame Daphne du Maurier was a novelist and playwright whose famous works Rebecca and The Birds were made into films by Alfred Hitchcock.
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(1907-1989)
Author, Playwright
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Hirohito
Emperor / 1901 - 1989
Hirohito is best known for being Japan's longest-reigning emperor. His reign lasted from 1926 until his death in 1989. He was a controversial leader who led Japan's military to surrender to the Allied Forces in 1945.
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(1901-1989)
Emperor
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Abbie Hoffman
Civil Rights Activist, Environmental Activist, Anti-War Activist, Journalist / 1936 - 1989
Abbie Hoffman, American political activist and founder of the Youth International Party (Yippies), was known for his successful media events.
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(1936-1989)
Civil Rights Activist, Environmental Activist, Anti-War Activist, Journalist
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Vladimir Horowitz
Pianist / 1903 - 1989
Vladimir Horowitz was a Russian pianist who gained an international reputation because of his stunning technique.
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(1903-1989)
Pianist
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Dolores Ibárruri
Political Leader / 1895 - 1989
Dolores Ibárruri was Spanish Communist leader who earned a legendary reputation as an impassioned orator during the Spanish Civil War.
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(1895-1989)
Political Leader
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Christine Jorgensen
Film, Theater, Television, Singer / 1926 - 1989
Entertainer, author and famous transsexual Christine Jorgensen, made headlines in the early 1950s for having a sex change from a man to a woman.
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(1926-1989)
Film, Theater, Television, Singer
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Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
Political Leader, Religious Leader / 1902 - 1989
Ayatollah Khomeini became the supreme religious leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, following many years of resistance to Shah Pahlavi.
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(1902-1989)
Political Leader, Religious Leader
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Laurence Olivier
Actor, Filmmaker / 1907 - 1989
Laurence Olivier was one of the most acclaimed actors of the 20th century, known for his numerous Shakespeare roles on stage and screen as well as memorable turns in more modern classics.
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(1907-1989)
Actor, Filmmaker
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Marc Lepine
Mass Murderer / 1964 - 1989
Marc Lepine went on a shooting spree in 1989 that became known as the Montreal Massacre, which killed 14 people.
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(1964-1989)
Mass Murderer
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Robert Mapplethorpe
Activist, Painter, Photographer, Sculptor / 1946 - 1989
Robert Mapplethorpe, recognized as a giant of late 20th century photography, is best known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits.
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(1946-1989)
Activist, Painter, Photographer, Sculptor
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Ferdinand Marcos
Lawyer, Dictator / 1917 - 1989
Known for running a corrupt, undemocratic regime, Ferdinand Marcos was the president of the Philippines from 1966 to 1986.
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(1917-1989)
Lawyer, Dictator
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Billy Martin
Coach / 1928 - 1989
Billy Martin is best known for his successful professional baseball managerial career, which often included conflict with ownership.
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(1928-1989)
Coach
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Huey P. Newton
Civil Rights Activist / 1942 - 1989
Huey P. Newton was an African-American activist best known for founding the militant Black Panther Party in 1966, along with co-founder Bobby Seale.
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(1942-1989)
Civil Rights Activist
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Hermann Oberth
Physicist / 1894 - 1989
Hermann Oberth has been called "the father of German rocketry." He assisted Wernher von Braun in the 1950s in developing space rockets for the United States.
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(1894-1989)
Physicist
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Anthony Quayle
Film Actor, Theater Actor, Director / 1913 - 1989
Sir Anthony Quayle was a revered actor of stage and screen known for work that included Hamlet, Lawrence of Arabia and Anne of the Thousand Days.
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(1913-1989)
Film Actor, Theater Actor, Director
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Gilda Radner
Television Actress, Comedian / 1946 - 1989
Gilda Radner was an award-winning actress and comedian known for her work on Saturday Night Live. She was married to fellow comedian Gene Wilder.
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(1946-1989)
Television Actress, Comedian
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Sugar Ray Robinson
Boxer / 1921 - 1989
Sugar Ray Robinson was an American professional boxer who is frequently cited as the greatest boxer in history.
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(1921-1989)
Boxer
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William B Shockley
Physicist / 1910 - 1989
William Shockley was an engineer and co-winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1956 for his development of the transistor.
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(1910-1989)
Physicist
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Virgil Thomson
Critic, Songwriter, Conductor / 1896 - 1989
Virgil Thomson was a composer, conductor and musical critic known for his work in opera.
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(1896-1989)
Critic, Songwriter, Conductor
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Barbara Tuchman
Historian, Journalist / 1912 - 1989
Barbara Tuchman, American historian and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, is best known for writing The Guns of August and Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-45.
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(1912-1989)
Historian, Journalist
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Diana Vreeland
Journalist / 1903 - 1989
As a fashion journaist who worked for Harper's Bazaar and Vogue, Diana Vreeland was an influential figure in American fashion during the 20th century.
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(1903-1989)
Journalist
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Robert Penn Warren
Civil Rights Activist, Literary Critic, Poet / 1905 - 1989
American poet Robert Penn Warren was one of the founders of New Criticism and is the only person to have won the Pulitzer Prize for both fiction and poetry.
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(1905-1989)
Civil Rights Activist, Literary Critic, Poet