2008 deaths

Swiss oceanographer (1922–2008)

American pin-up model (1923–2008)

Polish social historian and politician (1932–2008)

Croatian footballer (1936–2008)

American character actor (1942–2008)

6th president of Ireland (1923–2008)

Austrian historian and chancellor (1929-2008)

American actress (1932–2008)

American game designer and author (1938–2008)

American public intellectual, conservative author and political commentator (1925–2008)

Egyptian film director (1926–2008)

American actress (1923–2008)

German-American computer scientist (1923-2008)

Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and spirituals.

American author, historian and broadcaster (1912-2008)

U.S. Representative from California (1981–2008)

Maltese chief judge and first President of the republic (1909-2008)

French Caribbean recording artist; singer, songwriter (1917–2008)

English drummer (1946–2008)

Soviet-Russian musician, poet, and painter (1964–2008)

American jazz trumpeter (1938–2008)

Finnish poet and writer (1931–2008)

Estelle Reiner was an American actress and singer, described by The New York Times as "matriarch of one of the leading families in American comedy". She was the wife of Carl Reiner and the mother of Rob Reiner, Lucas Reiner, and Annie Reiner.

German singer (1931–2008)

American actor and comedian (1927–2008)

American actress (1910-2008)

American director (1925-2008)

American cardiac surgeon (1908–2008)

Lebanese militant leader (1962–2008)

Japanese mathematician who pioneered stochastic calculus (1915–2008)

Swiss translator and Esperantist (1931-2008)

Indian freedom fighter, social worker (1914–2008)

American film actress

American special effects artist (1946–2008)

French film director, screenwriter, film editor and actor (1908–2008)

American actor (1916–2008)

Beninese Catholic prelate and Servant of God (1922–2008)

American politician (1921–2008)

Soviet-Ukrainian artistic gymnast (1932–2008)

Kazakhstani fashion model

Soviet Po-2 navigator in WWII and Hero of Kazakhstan (1922-2008)

Tuvan politician, first non-royal female head of state

Argentine-German composer (1931-2008)

American supercentenarian (1893–2008)

Cambodian photojournalist (1942–2008)

Japanese film director and screenwriter (1915–2008)

Soviet cosmonaut (1939-2008)

prime minister of Vietnam (1922-2008)

former First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party (1926–2008)

Maldivian politician, 2nd president of the Maldives (1922-2008)

American-born British stock investor, businessman and philanthropist

British recording engineer, producer, musician (1923-2008)

Catholic cardinal (1935–2008)

German actor (1923–2008)

Israeli radio and television presenter, journalist, and politician (1931–2008)

American novelist (1933-2008)

Lithuanian-American author, editor, and critic (1931–2008)

Sudanese politician (1941–2008)

Spanish footballer (1927-2008)

Canadian musician (1966–2008)