Tunku Abdul Rahman was chief minister of the Federation of Malaya (1955–1957), the first prime minister of an independent Malaya (1957–1963), and the prime minister of Malaysia (1963–1970).
1903-1990
Ralph D. Abernathy was a Baptist minister who co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was a close adviser to Martin Luther King Jr.
1926-1990
1943-1990
1904-1990
Leonard Bernstein was one of the first American-born conductors to receive worldwide fame. He composed the score for the Broadway musical West Side Story.
1918-1990
Art Blakey was an influential jazz drummer associated with the modern bebop style. He played with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Thelonious monk and countless other jazz greats.
1919-1990
For nearly four decades, American composer Aaron Copland achieved a distinctive musical characterization of American themes in an expressive modern style.
1900-1990
Children's author Roald Dahl wrote the kids' classics Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach, among other famous works. He was married to actress Patricia Neal.
1916-1990
Sammy Davis Jr. was an actor, comedian, singer and dancer, and part of the Rat Pack with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, with whom he starred in several films.
1925-1990
Intrigued by burrs that stuck to his clothing, in 1956, Swiss engineer George de Mestral invented the popular fastener now known as Velcro®.
1907-1990
Irene Dunne was an Academy Award-nominated actress and singer known for her roles in Showboat, Anna and the King of Siam and Love Affair.
1898-1990
1906-1990
Publisher Malcolm Forbes was the son of B.C. Forbes, who founded Forbes magazine. Malcolm Forbes eventually worked his way up to becoming company president.
1919-1990
Roy Halston Frowick, best known as Halston, was an iconic clothing designer of the 1970s. His sexy, yet elegant dresses became a staple in American discos.
1932-1990
Greta Garbo is best known for her acting career, in both silent and talking films before World War II.
1905-1990
Actress Ava Gardner was a sultry beauty famous for playing femme fatale roles, and for her marriages to Frank Sinatra, Artie Shaw and Mickey Rooney.
1922-1990
1910-1990
1908-1990
1923-1990
During his all-too-brief life, artist Keith Haring became a sensation in the art world with his bold, cartoon and graffiti influenced works during the 1980s.
1958-1990
Rex Harrison was a Tony- and an Oscar-winning English actor known for his film and stage performances. His most famous role is that of Henry Higgins in the film musical My Fair Lady.
1908-1990
Jim Henson was an American puppeteer best known for creating TV characters, including the Muppets, and for his work on the popular children's show Sesame Street.
1936-1990
Alice Marble was a women's tennis champion, winner of 12 U.S. Open and 5 Wimbledon titles. She also served as U.S spy in Switzerland during WWII.
1913-1990
Mary Martin was a Tony Award-winning actress and singer famous for her roles in stage productions of Peter Pan, South Pacific and The Sound of Music.
1913-1990
1907-1990
William S. Paley was a businessman who started what would become the CBS television network.
1901-1990
1900-1990
Pearl Bailey was a Tony Award-winning singer and actress known for her roles in works like Carmen Jones, House of Flowers, Hello, Dolly! and Porgy and Bess.
1918-1990
Walker Percy was a novelist known chiefly for his first novel, The Moviegoer, which explored spiritual emptiness.
1916-1990
1932-1990
Indian cult leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh created the spiritual practice of dynamic meditation. He started the Rancho Rajneesh commune in Oregon in the 1980s.
1931-1990
American psychologist B.F. Skinner is best known for developing the theory of behaviorism, and for his utopian novel Walden Two (1948).
1904-1990
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress who had a 60-year career in film and TV. Usually playing strong-willed women, Stanwyck defined the femme fatale.
1907-1990
1906-1990
1911-1990
Sarah Vaughan was an American jazz vocalist known for her impressive three octave range. She was inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame in 1990.
1924-1990
A preeminent bluesman, award-winning guitarist and singer Stevie Ray Vaughan earned critical and commercial success during the 1980s.
1954-1990
Paul Watkins, a member of Charles Manson's "family," was not involved in the infamous Tate/LaBianca murders, but testified for the prosecution in the Manson trial, specifically about Manson's theory of "Helter Skelter."
1950-1990
Graham Young is best known as the Teacup Poisoner, responsible for the killing of at least three people in England.
1947-1990