Deaths Famous Dead Scientists
Rudolf Urc
Slovak director of documentary and animated films and academic · 15 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 15
Namirembe Bitamazire
Ugandan academic and politician · 14 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 14
Vicki L. Gregory
American academic and librarian · 14 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 14 · Gregory
Eleni Varikas
Greek-born French political philosopher and academic · 12 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 12 · French · Greek
Allyn Bromley
American visual artist and art educator · 12 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 12
Pedro A. Sanchez American soil scientist dead at age 85
an American soil scientist and former director at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, died on January 12, 2026. He was 85. Sanchez served as director of the Agriculture & Food Security Center, senior research scholar, and director of the Millennium Villages… · 12 January 2026 · January 2026 · Sánchez
Ivan Štampach
Czech religionist and theologian · 10 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 10 · Czech · Other · Iván
Nelly Chatué Diop
Cameroonian computer scientist · 10 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 10 · Diop
Musa Gibril Bala Gaye
Gambian economist and politician · 10 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 10 · Gaye
Sergey Daniel
Soviet art historian · 09 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 9
Zhou Liwei
Chinese electro-optics professor · 09 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 9 · Other
Carmen Arnold Biucchi
Switzerland numismatist and archaeologist · 09 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 9 · Biucchi · Other
Hessy Levinsons Taft
German chemist and child model · 08 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 8 · Taft
Ted Nichols Composer dead at age 97
an American composer, conductor and arranger best known for his work on Hanna-Barbera productions including The Flintstones and Jonny Quest, died on January 9, 2026, at age 97. Born Theodore Nicholas Sflotsos on October 2, 1928, in Missoula, Montana, he… · 09 January 2026 · January 2026
Fazl-ur-Raheem Ashrafi
Pakistani Islamic scholar · 07 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 7 · Other
Céline Bellot
Canadian criminologist and academic · 06 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 6
Jiří Witzany
Czech academic and former rector of ČVUT (2000–2006) · 06 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 6 · Czech
Arthur Stockwin British political scientist dead at age 90
a British political scientist who specialised in the politics and foreign policy of Japan, died on January 7, 2026. Born in Birmingham on November 28, 1935, he studied philosophy, politics and economics at the University of Oxford and later earned… · Australia · 07 January 2026 · January 2026
Raj Kumar Pathria Statistical Mechanics 1972 dead at age 92
an Indian-American physicist and Urdu poet, died on January 7, 2026, at the age of 92. He was a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Waterloo and was known for his work on statistical mechanics, including studies of superfluidity… · 07 January 2026 · January 2026
Baghir Suleimanov
Azerbaijani petroleum scientist · 05 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 5
Maulana Fazl-ur-Raheem Ashrafi
Pakistani Islamic scholar · 04 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 4 · Ashrafi · Other
Herbert Beck (historian) German art historian dead at age 84
a German art historian and museum director, died on January 5, 2026, at the age of 84. He served as director of the Liebieghaus and the Städel. Beck was born on April 30, 1941 · 05 January 2026 · January 2026
Amal Fathullah Zarkasyi
Indonesian Muslim scholar · 02 January 2026 · January 2026 · January 2 · Zarkasyi · Other
Patrick Duffy (British politician) British politician, MP and president of the NATO Assembly dead a…
the British politician who served as a Member of Parliament and president of the NATO Assembly, died on January 2, 2026, aged 105. A Labour Party politician and economist, he represented Colne Valley from a 1963 by-election until 1966, and… · 02 January 2026 · January 2026
Mohamed Harbi
Algerian historian · 31 December 2025 · December 2025 · December 31
Imants Freibergs
Latvian computer scientist · 31 December 2025 · December 2025 · December 31
Mohammed Harbi Algerian historian dead at age 92
an Algerian historian and former member of the National Liberation Front during the Algerian War of Independence, died on January 1, 2026. Born on June 16, 1933, in El Harrouch, Algeria, he came from a wealthy family and later attended… · 01 January 2026 · January 2026
Ion H. Ciubotaru
Romanian ethnologist and literary historian · 30 December 2025 · December 2025 · December 30 · Ciubotaru
Dean C. Jessee American historian dead at age 96
an American historian of the early Latter Day Saint movement and a leading expert on the writings of Joseph Smith Jr., died on December 31, 2025. Born on August 29, 1929, he was raised in Springville, Utah, and was a… · 31 December 2025 · December 2025
Enno Hallek Artist dead at age 94
a Swedish artist and academic, died on December 31, 2025, at the age of 94. Born in Rohuküla, Estonia, on November 7, 1931, he moved with his family to Sweden in 1943 after fleeing Soviet-occupied Estonia as refugees. He studied… · 31 December 2025 · December 2025
Francis Hallé French botanist and biologist dead at age 87
the French botanist and biologist, died on December 31, 2025, at the age of 87. He was a specialist in tropical rainforests and tree architecture, and is best known for the first "Radeau des cimes" ("Navigating the peaks"), which he… · 31 December 2025 · December 2025 · Halle
Alexandra Wedgwood
British architectural historian · 29 December 2025 · December 2025 · December 29
Mate Meštrović Journalist, academic, lobbyist, politician, ambassador dead at age 95
a Croatian-American journalist, died on December 30, 2025, in Zagreb at the age of 95. Also known as Matthew Mestrovic and Matthew Meštrović, he was born in Zagreb on September 13, 1930. The son of Croatian-American sculptor Ivan Meštrović, he… · 30 December 2025 · December 2025
Killing of Monique and Spencer Tepe American early childhood educator, shot dead at age 39
an American early childhood educator, was shot dead on December 30, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio. She and her husband, Spencer Tepe, were found dead inside their home after Spencer failed to report to work and a welfare check was requested.… · 30 December 2025 · December 2025
Syed Mukhtaruddin Shah
Pakistani Islamic scholar · 28 December 2025 · December 2025 · December 28 · Other · Shah
James Akins (tubist) Musician dead at age 69
an American tubist and music professor best known for his association with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, died on December 29, 2025, at age 69. Born in Savannah, Georgia, on June 15, 1956, he studied the tuba with Ronald Bishop, Arnold… · 29 December 2025 · December 2025
Wu Feng
Chinese material scientist and engineer · 28 December 2025 · December 2025 · December 28
Emma Johnston
Australian marine ecologist and academic · 28 December 2025 · December 2025 · December 28
Monic Cecconi-Botella French pianist, composer and academic dead at age 89
a French pianist, music educator and composer, died on December 28, 2025. Born in Courbevoie on September 30, 1936, she studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Maurice Duruflé, Jean Rivier and Henri Dutilleux. She later taught music theory at… · 28 December 2025 · December 2025
Jeffrey R. Holland
American religious leader and educator · 26 December 2025 · December 2025 · December 26 · Holland · Other
Meredith Hooper Writer dead at age 86
an Australian historian and writer, died on December 27, 2025, aged 86. Born Meredith Jean Rooney in Adelaide on October 21, 1939, she was raised in the city and later graduated in history from the University of Adelaide. She went… · 27 December 2025 · December 2025
Stephen Boyden British-Australian scientist and writer dead at age 100
a British-Australian scientist and writer, died on December 26, 2025. He was a professor emeritus at the Australian National University and was widely recognised for pioneering work in immunology and human ecology. Born in Croydon, England, on February 8, 1925,… · 26 December 2025 · December 2025
Daniel Walker Howe American historian dead at age 88
an American historian who specialized in the early national period of U.S. history, died on December 25, 2025. He focused particularly on the period’s intellectual and religious dimensions. Howe was Rhodes Professor of American History at Oxford University from 1992… · 25 December 2025 · December 2025
Warwick Gould Australian-born British literary scholar dead at age 78
an Australian-born British literary scholar, died on December 25, 2025. Born in Sydney in 1947, he specialized in the Irish Literary Revival, particularly the writings of W. B. Yeats, as well as textual transmission studies and the history of the… · England · 25 December 2025 · December 2025
David Young (Watergate) American-British lawyer and academic, heart failure dead at age 89
an American-British lawyer and academic, died on December 24, 2025, in Oxford, England, at the age of 89. He served as a Special Assistant at the National Security Council in the Nixon administration and as an Administrative Assistant to Henry… · 24 December 2025 · December 2025 · Heart Failure
Isaiah Jackson (conductor) American conductor dead at age 80
an American conductor and academic teacher, died on December 24, 2025, at age 80. He was music director of the Royal Ballet in London from 1987 to 1990 and, from 2001, served for seven years as conductor of the Pro… · 24 December 2025 · December 2025
Michael J. Flynn Flynn’s taxonomy dead at age 91
an American computer scientist and professor emeritus at Stanford University, died on December 24, 2025, at the age of 91. Born in Jamaica, New York, Flynn attended Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School before earning a bachelor's degree from Manhattan University… · 24 December 2025 · December 2025
Claire Ortiz Hill
American scholar and translator · 23 December 2025 · December 2025 · December 23 · Other · Hill
Maria Bonghi Jovino
Italian archaeologist/archeologist · 22 December 2025 · December 2025 · December 22 · Jovino · Other
Renfrew Christie
South African scholar and anti-apartheid activist · 22 December 2025 · December 2025 · December 22 · Other
Dorothée Aimée Malenzapa Central African politician, activist, and professor dead at age 73
a Central African politician, women's activist, and professor, died on December 23, 2025. Born in 1951, she served during Bozize's administration as Minister of International Cooperation, Regional Integration and Francophonie from 2011 to 2013 and as Minister of Rural Development… · 23 December 2025 · December 2025
Roy Billinton Canadian scholar dead at age 90
a Canadian scholar and Distinguished Emeritus Professor at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, died on December 23, 2025. He was known for his work on power system reliability evaluation and for research and application of reliability concepts in electric… · 23 December 2025 · December 2025
Daniel Treier American biblical scholar and theologian dead at age 53
an American biblical scholar and theologian who served as Gunther H. Knoedler Professor of Theology at Wheaton College, died on December 22, 2025. Treier grew up near Bloomdale, Ohio, and studied at Cedarville University and Grand Rapids Theological Seminary before… · 22 December 2025 · December 2025
Syed Shahid Mahdi Indian civil servant and academic dead at age 85
an Indian civil servant and academic, died on December 22, 2025. He served as the 11th vice-chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia from 2000 to 2004. Mahdi was a 1963 batch IAS officer allotted to the Bihar cadre. After retiring from… · 22 December 2025 · December 2025
Ramadan Dib
Syrian Shafi'i scholar · 20 December 2025 · December 2025 · December 20 · Other · Dib
Rowell Huesmann American academic dead at age 82
an American academic and the Amos N. Tversky Collegiate Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies and Psychology and director of the ISR Research Center for Group Dynamics at the University of Michigan, died on December 21, 2025, at the age of… · 21 December 2025 · December 2025
Loren Carpenter Computer graphics scientist dead at age 78
an American computer graphics researcher and developer, died on December 21, 2025, at age 78. Born in Brighton, Michigan, on February 7, 1947, he was a founding employee and chief scientist at Pixar Animation Studios. Carpenter was the co-inventor of… · 21 December 2025 · December 2025
Aggrey Burke Psychiatrist dead at age 82
Jamaican-born British psychiatrist and academic, died on December 21, 2025, at the age of 82. Burke spent much of his medical career at St George's Hospital in London, where he specialised in transcultural psychiatry and wrote on changing attitudes towards… · 21 December 2025 · December 2025