In the year 2002
777 Notable deaths
Lawrence Tierney
American actor (1919–2002).
Born March 15th, 1919 in Brooklyn.
Died February 26th, 2002 at 82 years old in Los Angeles (pneumonia).
Stephen Jay Gould
American biologist and historian of science (1941–2002).
Born September 10th, 1941 in Queens.
Died May 20th, 2002 at 60 years old in New York City (lung cancer).
LaWanda Page
Actress, comedian (1920-2002).
Born October 19th, 1920 in Cleveland.
Died September 14th, 2002 at 81 years old in Hollywood (diabetes).
Cyrinda Foxe
American actress and model (1952–2002).
Born February 22nd, 1952 in Santa Monica.
Died September 7th, 2002 at 50 years old in New York City (brain cancer).
Byron White
Associate justice of the supreme court of the united states and american football player (1917–2002).
Born June 8th, 1917 in Fort Collins.
Died April 15th, 2002 at 84 years old in Denver (pneumonia). [ref]
Kim Hunter
American actress (1922-2002).
Born November 12th, 1922 in Detroit.
Died September 11th, 2002 at 79 years old in Greenwich Village (myocardial infarction).
John Agar
American actor (1921-2002).
Born January 31st, 1921 in Chicago.
Died April 7th, 2002 at 81 years old in Burbank (pulmonary emphysema).
Lonnie Donegan
Scottish-born skiffle musician (1931–2002).
Born April 29th, 1931 in Glasgow.
Died November 3rd, 2002 at 71 years old in Peterborough (myocardial infarction).
Astrid Lindgren
Swedish writer of children's books, song lyrics and screenplays.
Born November 14th, 1907 in Vimmerby. [ref]
Died January 28th, 2002 at 94 years old in Stockholm. [ref]
William Luther Pierce
American neo-nazi (1933–2002).
Born September 11th, 1933 in Atlanta.
Died July 23rd, 2002 at 68 years old in Mill Point (cancer).
Edsger W. Dijkstra
Dutch computer scientist (1930–2002).
Born May 11th, 1930 in Rotterdam. [ref]
Died August 6th, 2002 at 72 years old in Nuenen (colorectal cancer). [ref]
Göran Kropp
Swedish adventurer (1966-2002).
Born December 11th, 1966 in Eskilstuna.
Died September 30th, 2002 at 35 years old in Vantage (falling from height).
Jonas Malheiro Savimbi
Angolan political and military leader (1934-2002).
Born August 3rd, 1934 in Moxico Province, Munhango. [ref]
Died February 22nd, 2002 at 67 years old in Moxico Province. [ref]
James Gregory
American actor (1911-2002).
Born December 23rd, 1911 in The Bronx.
Died September 16th, 2002 at 90 years old in Sedona.
Whitney Blake
American film and television actress, director; television producer (1926-2002).
Born February 20th, 1926 in Eagle Rock.
Died September 28th, 2002 at 76 years old in Edgartown (esophageal cancer).
John Frankenheimer
American film and television director (1930-2002).
Born February 19th, 1930 in Queens.
Died July 6th, 2002 at 72 years old in Los Angeles (myocardial infarction, stroke).
Randy Castillo
American drummer (1950–2002).
Born December 18th, 1950 in Albuquerque.
Died March 26th, 2002 at 51 years old in Los Angeles (skin cancer).
Xi Zhongxun
Chinese politician (1913-2002).
Born October 15th, 1913 in Zhonghe.
Died May 24th, 2002 at 88 years old in Beijing.
Sylvia Rivera
American gay liberation activist, transgender rights activist, and community worker (1951–2002).
Born July 2nd, 1951 in New York City. [ref]
Died February 19th, 2002 at 50 years old in New York City (liver cancer).
Eddie Bracken
American actor (1915–2002).
Born February 7th, 1915 in Astoria.
Died November 14th, 2002 at 87 years old in Montclair (surgical complications).
Robert Nozick
American political philosopher (1938–2002).
Born November 16th, 1938 in Brooklyn.
Died January 23rd, 2002 at 63 years old in Cambridge (stomach cancer).
Cyrus Vance
United states secretary of state from 1977 to 1980 (1917–2002).
Born March 27th, 1917 in Clarksburg.
Died January 12th, 2002 at 84 years old in Mount Sinai Hospital (pneumonia).
Stephen E. Ambrose
American historian and writer (1936–2002).
Born January 10th, 1936 in Decatur.
Died October 13th, 2002 at 66 years old in Bay St. Louis (lung cancer).
Lou Thesz
American professional wrestler (1916-2002).
Born April 24th, 1916 in Banat.
Died April 28th, 2002 at 86 years old in Orlando.
Deaths 51 to 75 of 777
I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity. Gilda Radner