2016 Obituaries

Another pop star passes on...
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George Michael: Pop superstar dies at 53
26 December 2016 - Singer George Michael has died at the age of 53, his publicist has said.
The star, who launched his career with Wham! in the 1980s and continued his success as a solo performer, is said to have "passed away peacefully at home" in Goring, Oxfordshire. Thames Valley Police say they are treating the death as unexplained but there were no suspicious circumstances. His former Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley said he was "heartbroken at the loss of my beloved friend". Writing on Twitter and referring to Michael as "Yog", a nickname for "Yours Only George", he added: "Me, his loved ones, his friends, the world of music, the world at large. 4ever loved. A xx"

In a statement, Michael's publicist said: "It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period. "The family would ask that their privacy be respected at this difficult and emotional time. There will be no further comment at this stage." On Instagram, Sir Elton John posted a photograph of himself with Michael, writing: "I am in deep shock. I have lost a beloved friend - the kindest, most generous soul and a brilliant artist. My heart goes out to his family and all of his fans."

Thames Valley Police said South Central Ambulance Service attended a property in Goring at 13:42 GMT on Christmas Day. The force said: "At this stage the death is being treated as unexplained but not suspicious. "A post-mortem will be undertaken in due course. There will be no further updates from Thames Valley Police until the post-mortem has taken place."

Treatment for pneumonia

Michael, who was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in north London, sold more than 100 million albums throughout a career spanning almost four decades. He first found fame with his schoolfriend Andrew Ridgeley in duo Wham! before going on to release solo albums, including the multi-million selling Faith and follow-up Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1. It outsold Faith in the UK but led to Michael losing a court case with record label Sony over his frustration over how the album has been marketed.

From teen idol to long-term stardom
 
Six more days and we will be in another year finally.

God bless you and his family always!!!

Holly

P.S. I wasn't a fan, but if there is any song from him that I don't mind, its "I'm Never Going To Dance Again".
 
Helped find powerful evidence of dark matter...
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Vera Rubin, who did pioneering work on dark matter, dies
December 26, 2016 — Vera Rubin, a pioneering astronomer who helped find powerful evidence of dark matter, has died, her son said Monday. She was 88.
Allan Rubin, a professor of geosciences at Princeton University, told The Associated Press his mother died Sunday night of natural causes. He said the Philadelphia native had been living in the Princeton area. Vera Rubin found that galaxies don't quite rotate the way they were predicted, and that lent support to the theory that some other force was at work, namely dark matter. Dark matter, which hasn't been directly observed, makes up 27 percent of universe — as opposed to 5 percent of the universe being normal matter. Scientists better understand what dark matter isn't rather than what it is.

Rubin's scientific achievements earned her numerous honors, including becoming the second female astronomer to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences. She also received the National Medal of Science from President Bill Clinton in 1993 "for her pioneering research programs in observational cosmology." Rubin's interest in astronomy began as a young girl and grew with the involvement of her father, Philip Cooper, an electrical engineer who helped her build a telescope and took her to meetings of amateur astronomers.

She was the only astronomy major to graduate from Vassar College in 1948. When she sought to enroll as a graduate student at Princeton, she learned women were not allowed in the university's graduate astronomy program, so she instead earned her master's degree from Cornell University. Rubin earned her doctorate from Georgetown University, where she later worked as a faculty member for several years before working at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, a nonprofit scientific research center. During her career, Rubin examined more than 200 galaxies.

Vera Rubin, who did pioneering work on dark matter, dies
 
Richard Adams author of Watership Down dies aged 96...
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Watership Down author Richard Adams dies aged 96
Tue, 27 Dec 2016 - The author of Watership Down, Richard Adams, has died aged 96, his daughter says.
Juliet Johnson said her father had been "ailing for some time" but "died peacefully" on Christmas Eve. Watership Down, a children's classic about a group of rabbits in search of a new home after their warren was destroyed, was first published in 1972. Adams was 52 when he wrote it, after first telling the story to his two daughters on a long car journey. It went on to become a best-seller, with tens of millions of copies bought around the world.

'Magical night'

Mrs Johnson told BBC Radio 4 she had a "long talk" with her father on the night before he died. "I assured him that he was much loved, that he had done great work, that many people loved his books," she said. She said an upcoming adaptation, which is due to air on the BBC next year, gave Adams "great composure and comfort". Describing Christmas Eve a "rather a magical night", she said: "It's the night that traditionally the animals and birds can talk. "It was absolutely typical of Dad that he would choose such a night on which to leave this world."

'Cherished book'

Adams, a former civil servant from Newbury in Berkshire, also wrote Shardik, The Plague Dogs and The Girl in a Swing. Watership Down won the Carnegie Medal for children's fiction in 1972, the year of publication, despite having been rejected by several publishers. A statement on a website devoted to the book said: "Richard's much-loved family announce with sadness that their dear father, grandfather, and great-grandfather passed away peacefully at 10pm on Christmas Eve."

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The statement marked his death with a passage from his best-known work. "It seemed to Hazel that he would not be needing his body any more, so he left it lying on the edge of the ditch, but stopped for a moment to watch his rabbits and to try to get used to the extraordinary feeling that strength and speed were flowing inexhaustibly out of him into their sleek young bodies and healthy senses. "You needn't worry about them," said his companion. "They'll be alright - and thousands like them." Adams, a World War Two veteran, was head of animal welfare charity the RSPCA for a short spell.

Obituary: The man who turned a car story into a best-seller
 

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