The year 2021 witnessed the passing of notable figures including Prince Philip, Desmond Tutu, Charlie Watts, and Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Here is a summary of the prominent individuals who left the world in 2021.
**January**
- **16** - Phil Spector (81 years old): American music producer who worked with global singers and bands including "The Beatles," revolutionizing pop music with the "wall of sound" technique. He died in prison while serving a sentence for murder.
- **23** - Larry King (87 years old): King of interviews and American broadcasting star who spent over 60 years on the radio, his show from 1985 to 2010 on CNN became a must for politicians and celebrities.
**February**
- **05** - Christopher Plummer (91 years old): Canadian actor known for "The Sound of Music," awarded an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe for "Beginners."
- **08** - Jean-Claude Carrière (89 years old): French screenwriter with about 60 scripts and 80 books, worked alongside directors such as Luis Buñuel and Miloš Forman.
- **10** - Larry Flynt (78 years old): Founder of an adult entertainment media empire and Hustler magazine.
- **14** - Carlos Menem (90 years old): Former president of Argentina, ideologically identified as a Peronist.
- **22** - Lawrence Ferlinghetti (101 years old): American poet who was a prominent figure in American poetry throughout the 20th century, as well as a publisher and bookstore owner.
- **24** - Philippe Jaenada (95 years old): French poet, translator, and literary critic.
**March**
- **02** - Bunny Wailer (73 years old): Jamaican singer and percussionist, a legend in reggae music.
- **08** - Guibril Tamsir Niane (89 years old): Prominent Guinean thinker and historian.
- **09** - James Lawrence Levine (77 years old): Music director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, faced allegations of "harassment" and "misconduct."
**April**
- **09** - Prince Philip (99 years old): Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth for over 73 years.
- **09** - Earl Simmons (50 years old): American rapper known as "DMX."
- **14** - Bernard Madoff (82 years old): Behind the largest financial fraud in history, dying in a North Carolina prison while serving a 150-year sentence.
- **20** - Idriss Déby (68 years old): President of Chad since 1991, injured on the battlefield during a confrontation with rebels the day after his re-election.
- **24** - Alber Elbaz (59 years old): American-Israeli fashion designer who led Lanvin for 14 years until 2015.
- **24** - Christa Ludwig (93 years old): Opera singer awarded the French Legion of Honor in 2010 for her career spanning nearly half a century.
**June**
- **04** - Richard Ernst (87 years old): Considered one of the developers of nuclear magnetic resonance (MRI) and Nobel laureate in chemistry in 1991.
- **17** - Kenneth Kaunda (97 years old): Known as "the African Gandhi" for his advocacy of nonviolent movement for Zambia's independence, held presidency from 1964 to 1991.
- **30** - Donald Rumsfeld (88 years old): U.S. Secretary of Defense during George W. Bush's presidency and architect of the Iraq War.
**July**
- **07** - Dilip Kumar (98 years old): One of the biggest stars of the golden era of Indian cinema.
- **25** - Henry Vern (102 years old): Belgian writer known for the adventure series Bob Moran.
**August**
- **09** - Patricia Hitchcock (93 years old): Only daughter of director Alfred Hitchcock and British actress Alma Reville.
- **20** - Raoul Cauvin (82 years old): Belgian writer and author of "Les Tuniques Bleues" comic books.
- **24** - Hissène Habré (79 years old): Former President of Chad (1982-1990) who died of COVID-19 in Senegal, where he was imprisoned for crimes against humanity.
- **24** - Charlie Watts (79 years old): Drummer of the "Rolling Stones."
- **29** - Jacques Rogge (79 years old): Former president of the International Olympic Committee from 2001 to 2013.
- **29** - Lee "Scratch" Perry (85 years old): Producer of Bob Marley and Jamaican musician.
**September**
- **02** - Mikis Theodorakis (96 years old): Composer of the music for "Zorba the Greek" and former left-wing Greek MP.
- **06** - Jean-Paul Belmondo (88 years old): Major star of French cinema.
- **11** - Abimael Guzmán (86 years old): Founder of the "Shining Path" organization which declared a revolutionary war in Peru.
- **17** - Abdelaziz Bouteflika (84 years old): Former President of Algeria (1999-2019) who resigned under the pressure of the Algerian Hirak protests and the military.
**October**
- **13** - Agnes Tirop (25 years old): Bronze medalist in the 10,000 meters at the World Athletics Championships was found dead from stab wounds at her home in the Iten training center in Western Kenya. Kenyan police confirmed that they had begun searching for her husband, the main suspect in her murder.
- **18** - Colin Powell (84 years old): First Black U.S. Secretary of State during George Bush's presidency.
**November**
- **11** - Frederik Willem de Klerk (85 years old): Last white president of South Africa who hastened the fall of apartheid by releasing Nelson Mandela, whom he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with.
- **13** - Wilbur Smith (88 years old): South African adventure novelist whose works were translated worldwide.
- **27** - Almudena Grandes (61 years old): Spanish writer and journalist.
- **28** - Frank Williams (79 years old): Founder of the Williams F1 team, one of the most famous in Formula One history.
**December**
- **03** - Lamine Diack (88 years old): Former Senegalese athlete in long jump and president of the International Association of Athletics Federations, held in France on charges of corruption.
- **11** - Anne Rice (80 years old): American author known for her vampire novels, including "Interview with the Vampire."
- **12** - Vicente Fernández (81 years old): King of Mexican folk music and a leading figure in famous mariachi bands.
- **16** - Lucia Hiriart (98 years old): Widow of former Chilean president Augusto Pinochet.
- **18** - Richard Rogers (88 years old): British architect and pioneer of the "High-Tech" architectural movement, known for glass and steel designs, co-designer of the Pompidou Center in Paris.
- **23** - Joan Didion (87 years old): American writer and journalist known for her stories about California in the 1960s.
- **26** - Desmond Tutu (90 years old): Bishop and symbol of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.
