Muammar al-Qaddafi seized control of the Libyan government in 1969, and ruled as an authoritarian dictator for more than 40 years before he was overthrown in 2011.
1942-2011
James Arness is an American actor best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon on the TV show Gunsmoke for 20 years.
1923-2011
1916-2011
John Barry was a British film composer best known for his memorable work on James Bond films.
1933-2011
Osama bin Laden is a terrorist extremist who planned the attacks on the World Trade Center and is intent on driving Western influence from the Muslim world.
1957-2011
1925-2011
Child actor Jackie Cooper was in the Our Gang short film series and the Little Rascals television show. He also starred in the 1931 film The Champ.
1922-2011
Patricia Dunn served as a director and non-executive chairwoman of Hewlett-Packard before resigning in 2006, after receiving a criminal indictment stemming from a spying scandal.
1953-2011
American actor Peter Falk is best known for his role as the television detective Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo.
1927-2011
Geraldine A. Ferraro was a member of Congress and the first woman to run for the U.S. vice presidency on a major party platform.
1935-2011
Betty Ford became the First Lady when President Nixon resigned and made her Vice President husband, Gerald Ford, the acting President.
1918-2011
Joe Frazier was the world heavyweight boxing champion from February 1970 until January 1973 and fought in the famous "Thrilla in Manila" in 1975.
1944-2011
Václav Havel is a playwright who in 1989 became the president of Czechoslovakia, contining on after the country became the Czech Republic until 2003.
1936-2011
Christopher Hitchens was a controversial, thought-provoking British-American writer who covered a range of serious topics, including art and atheism.
1949-2011
Steve Jobs co-founded Apple Computers with Steve Wozniak. Under Job's guidance, the company pioneered a series of revolutionary technologies, including the iPhone and iPad.
1955-2011
Jack Kevorkian was a U.S.-based physician who assisted in patient suicides, sparking increased talk on hospice care and "right to die" legislative action.
1928-2011
Kim Jong Il's dominating personality and complete concentration of power has come to define the country North Korea.
1941-2011
The "godfather of fitness," Jack LaLanne, is known for his 1950s TV fitness program and for his endorsement of a power juicer in 2002.
1914-2011
Actor Len Lesser played Uncle Leo on the sitcom Seinfeld. He also co-starred with Hollywood legends Steve McQueen, Robert DeNiro and Clint Eastwood.
1922-2011
Director Sidney Lumet was best known for his films Twelve Angry Men and Serpico. He made more than 40 films during his career.
1924-2011
Wangari Maathai was a Kenyan political and environmental activist and her country's assistant minister of environment, natural resources and wildlife.
1940-2011
Andy Rooney was an Emmy Award-winning journalist best known for his "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney" segments which aired on the CBS news program 60 Minutes.
1919-2011
Sargent Shriver was a political administrator and diplomat perhaps best known for designing the U.S. Peace Corps, which was established in 1961. Shriver served as first director of the organization from its inception until 1966.
1915-2011
Actress Elizabeth Taylor starred in films like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Butterfield 8, but was just as famous for her violet eyes and scandalous love life.
1932-2011
Amy Winehouse won five Grammy Awards for her 2006 album Back to Black, and is remembered for songs like "Rehab," "Back to Black" and "Valerie." She died in 2011, at age 27.
1983-2011