In 2019, many famous and unknown people passed away. I have made a personal selection from the following categories: sports, design, diseases, fashion, film, politics, royalty, mountains, and animals.  

Niki Lauda

Niki Lauda (February 22, 1949 – May 20, 2019) was an Austrian racing driver. He rose to become one of the most important Formula 1 drivers of his time. In the final years of his life, Lauda was the non-executive chairman of the Mercedes-Benz Formula 1 team. Lauda's victories: 3 world titles (1975, 1977, 1984), 25 victories in F1 races, and 54 podium finishes. He drove for the racing teams: March, BRM, Ferrari, Brabham, McLaren. The last official F1 car race at Circuit Zandvoort was held on August 25, 1985. The race, consisting of 297,6 km spread over 70 laps, was won by Niki Lauda. Alain Prost finished second and Ayrton Senna third.

Chewbacca 

Chewbacca is a character from George Lucas's Star Wars trilogy. Chewbacca is the 234-year-old Wookiee co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon, Han Solo's ship. This mighty warrior played a crucial role during both the Clone Wars and the Civil War. [/ One_half] [one_half_last]              [/one_half_last] Chewbacca was portrayed by Peter Mayhew in episodes III-VIII. Peter Mayhew (May 19, 1944 – April 30, 2019) was a British actor, who was notable primarily for his unusual height of 2,21 meters. [one_half] [/ One_half] [one_half_last]                 Chewbacca's distinctive voice was designed by sound engineer Ben Burtt, who mixed together the sounds of camels, bears, walruses, rabbits, tigers, and badgers, among others. Lucas based the character on his dog Indiana, who always sat next to his ex-wife in the car.   

Raymond Poulidor

Raymond Poulidor (15 April 1936 – 13 November 2019) was active as a professional cyclist between 1960 and 1977. Poulidor was particularly popular because he could so easily accept his role as an underdog and absorb setbacks. In France, he is known by his nickname Poupou. He is also called the Eternal Second, because he narrowly missed out on the top prize in many races. In the Tour de France, among others, he finished second three times (1964, 1965, and 1974) and third five times (1962, 1966, 1969, 1972, and 1976), without having ridden a stage in the yellow jersey. [/ One_half] [one_half_last]                 At the beginning of his career, Jacques Anquetil was his greatest rival; later, he had to contend with Eddy Merckx. Raymond Poulidor was the husband of Gisele Bardet, the father of Isabelle and Corinne, the father-in-law of cyclist Adrie van der Poel, and the grandfather of cyclists Mathieu and David van der Poel.

Karl Lagerfeld

Karl Otto Lagerfeld (10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, artist, and photographer who lived and worked primarily in Paris from 1952. He was one of the most influential couturiers at the end of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first century, and was also active in other creative fields, particularly photography. [/ One_half] [one_half_last]              [/ One_half_last] In the 1970s, he became best known for his work at the fashion house Chloé, where he remained until Stella McCartney took over from him in 1997. From 1983, he was the chief designer of the fashion house Chanel. Between 1984 and 1997, he had his own fashion line, Karl Lagerfeld, and from 1998, his own label, Lagerfeld Gallery. In 2005, he sold the Karl Lagerfeld brand name and his two stores in Paris and Monaco to Tommy Hilfiger for an undisclosed cash amount. In 2012, Karl Lagerfeld designed a stamp for Monaco. It was for a charity specifically for the poor elderly: the 75th commemoration of the 'Work of Sister Marie'.

Yeoh Ming Pei

Ieoh Ming Pei (April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019), better known as IM Pei, was a Chinese-American architect who is regarded as one of the leading architects of the 20th century. He studied in Hong Kong and Shanghai before leaving for the United States at the age of 18 to study architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. He earned a bachelor's degree in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1940. Furthermore, he also studied at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. In 1944, he returned to Harvard, where he studied under Walter Gropius. He received a master's degree in architecture in 1946. In 1948, William Zeckendorf hired Pei at the firm of Webb and Knapp, where he became Director of Architecture. At this firm, he worked on many major projects throughout the country and designed his buildings in the style of Mies van der Rohe. He received the Wheelwright Traveling Fellowship in 1951. In 1954, he was naturalized as an American citizen. A year later, Pei started his own architectural firm in New York, IM Pei & Partners, renamed Pei Cobb Freed & Partners in 1989. From that time on, the influence of the French modernist architect Le Corbusier became apparent. Like Le Corbusier, Pei began designing 'brutalist' buildings; buildings of raw concrete consisting of block-like, geometric, and repeating forms. Collages of unusual stereometric forms of glass and concrete became Pei's trademark. Pei won the Pritzker Prize, the world's most important architecture prize, in 1983, and in 1989 he received the prestigious Japanese art prize, Praemium Imperiale. In the US, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1988 and the Medal of Freedom in 1993. He was also appointed an officer in the French Legion of Honor in 1993. Ieoh Ming Pei designed the Louvre Pyramid. It is a large glass and metal pyramid in the courtyard (Cour Napoléon) of the Louvre in Paris, which serves as the main entrance to the museum. President François Mitterrand unveiled the pyramid on March 29, 1989. The pyramid has a height of 21,65 meters and a length of 35,42 meters, and is surrounded by three smaller pyramids and an inverted pyramid (Pyramide Inversée). It consists of 603 rhombus-shaped and 70 triangular glass segments and 300 tons of steel. The total weight is approximately 450 tons. The proportions of the Pyramid of Cheops served as a model. Pei's designs, particularly known for their strong geometric forms and the use of daylight, have been built worldwide. [/ One_half] [one_half_last]              Besides the Louvre Pyramid, Pei designed other famous buildings:

• The Grand-Duc Jean Museum of Modern Art in Luxembourg
• de Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio
• de John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, Massachusetts
• de Bank of China Tower in Hongkong

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• the new wing of the Historisches Museum in Berlin
• the Museum of Suzhou in Suzhou
• the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha (Qatar)

Pei remained active as an architect until his death; when his final design, the Museum of Islamic Art in the capital of Qatar, opened (2008), he was 91 years old. Spacious structures recur in much of his work, which change throughout the day due to the incidence of light through the use of geometric forms of steel, stone, and glass. He also frequently made use of glass pyramids.

Jacques Chirac

Jacques René Chirac (29 November 1932 – 26 September 2019) was a French statesman and politician. He served as President of France for exactly twelve years, from 17 May 1995 to 16 May 2007. In 2002, he was re-elected for a new five-year term. Before being elected president, he was Mayor of Paris and served as Prime Minister twice. In 1996, Chirac received much praise for acknowledging the French role in the Holocaust. He was the first president to recognize that the French Vichy regime was jointly responsible for the deportation of French Jews.

On July 14, 2002, during the celebration of the French national holiday, Quatorze Juillet, he survived an assassination attempt: a young neo-Nazi fired a bullet at the president near the Arc de Triomphe while he was participating in a military parade in an open jeep. [/ One_half] [one_half_last]            In 2003, Chirac gained considerable international prestige due to his tough stance against the Iraq War, which had been decided upon by US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. With the support of German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chirac vehemently protested against the war. Through Chirac's Iraq policy, France acquired the image of a contrarian, yet prominent nation. Chirac was even nominated for the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize.

Palestinian Authority stamps, following Arafat's death, in honor of French President Jacques Chirac – for the tireless support Chirac gave Arafat on the international stage. After Arafat's death, Chirac called him “a courageous man”. 'I bow to President Yasser Arafat and pay tribute to him,' said Chirac.

>8000 koalas dead due to bushfires in Australia

[One_half] [/ One_half] [one_half_last]            “Koala” comes from Dharuk, an extinct Aboriginal language spoken around Sydney. It is said to mean something like “does not drink,” referring to the fact that the koala rarely drinks. The koala, like many other native Australian animals, plays an important role in Aboriginal myths about the creation of the world. [/ One_half] [one_half_last]               [/one_half_last] [one_half] [/ One_half] [one_half_last]                The Australian Koala Foundation estimates that over a thousand koalas died during the bushfires in New South Wales and Queensland over the past two months. And even when the animals have survived the natural disaster unharmed, their existence is threatened. Their habitat has shrunk considerably due to the bushfires, and it takes months for the eucalyptus, their primary food source, to grow back. Furthermore, hardly any rain is forecast, making living conditions even more difficult for the animals.

Mount Everest klimmers

The government of Nepal has granted a record number of 378 climbing permits to climbers for 2019. This is lucrative for the impoverished country, as mountaineers have to pay the equivalent of 10.000 euros to be allowed to climb the world's highest mountain (8848 meters). Most Everest climbers are accompanied by a Nepalese guide, which means that more than 750 climbers are expected to take the same path to the summit this current season. [/ One_half] [one_half_last]            To date, more than 5000 people have managed to reach the summit of Mount Everest. New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his Nepalese sherpa Tenzing Norgay were the first on the mountain in 1953.

 

It was a deadly week on Mount Everest. Ten alpinists lost their lives during the ascent or descent of the world's highest mountain. That is many more than last year, when five deaths occurred on 'Chomolungma'—the 'mother goddess of the earth'—during the entire climbing season. Why do climbers want to queue up and cross this mountain off their bucket list? Full of adrenaline, all climbers want to undergo their ultimate ordeal. [/ One_half] [one_half_last]         Most bodies will never leave Mount Everest. Of the more than 300 climbers who died there, at least 200 are believed to still lie on the mountain. The cold keeps their bodies well preserved. Most climbers succumbed to the effects of altitude sickness after reaching the summit. [/ One_half] [one_half_last]  

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Ebola in Congo

Ebola is a viral disease affecting humans caused by the Ebola virus. The disease is rare and occurs in the form of regional outbreaks in countries in Central Africa. It is estimated that 50% of people infected with the virus will die.

The name Ebola comes from the river of the same name in Congo (then Zaire), where a second outbreak occurred in 1976 and Ebola was first recognized and confirmed in the town of Yambuku, located 95 kilometers from the Ebola River. The disease causes a high mortality rate, and there is no specific treatment or cure available for the virus yet. Ebola was first recorded in 1976. Since that outbreak and up to the outbreak in 2014, there have been approximately twenty different smaller outbreaks. Until the outbreak of the disease in 2014 in the West African countries of Guinea and Liberia, several hundred people died per outbreak. Nevertheless, the Ebola virus became the subject of discussion for months when another outbreak occurred in Congo-Kinshasa in 1995. Symptoms and course of the disease The incubation period of Ebola is 2 to 21 days. Usually, the patient develops the first symptoms after 7 days. After the first symptoms—fever, very severe headache, and sharp pains—appear, the disease can worsen rapidly. An atypical but serious symptom is hiccups, which affect 15% of patients. At the beginning of the disease, the patient will exhibit non-specific flu-like symptoms, such as sore throat, fever, and general malaise. These symptoms come on quickly and worsen rapidly. Headache, muscle and joint pain, fever with chills, loss of appetite, and a feeling of weakness are the most common early symptoms. A patchy skin rash sometimes appears around day five of the infection, primarily on the trunk. This rash is not very characteristic as it occurs in only about 15% of cases. This is followed by gastrointestinal complaints such as abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. Signs of mucosal damage and bleeding include conjunctivitis, difficulty and painful swallowing, and bleeding at various locations in the gastrointestinal tract. Mucosal bleeding occurs in half of the cases. In subsequent stages, further bleeding, inflammation of the heart muscle, and pulmonary edema may occur. In the second week of the illness, one typically sees the beginning of recovery or a further deterioration with diffuse blood clotting in the vessels, general organ failure, and shock. When the patient dies from the infection, this usually occurs in the second week. Recovery is lengthy. During this period, complications such as testicular inflammation, hepatitis, joint pain, inflammation of the spinal cord or bone marrow, and conjunctivitis are frequently observed. Infections Bats are the most likely source of filoviruses. The viruses have been found in various bat species living in Africa. They spread the virus through their feces, among other means. Various animals in the African tropical rainforest can be infected with the virus, such as chimpanzees, gorillas, and antelopes. If people slaughter and eat these animals, they can also contract the virus. Around Meliandou, the village of the first patient in Guinea, bats are eaten. Congo In August 2014, Ebola was confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Several healthcare workers became infected due to local customs and funeral rituals. The WHO was informed of the epidemic by the Congolese Ministry of Health. Additionally, various teams were assembled to map and combat the epidemic. In the month of August, 35 people died of Ebola. In 2018, another Ebola outbreak occurred in eastern Congo. The disease was prevalent primarily in the border region with Uganda and Rwanda. The death toll stood at approximately 100 on September 24 of that year. On July 17, 2019, the death toll stood at at least 1.582 people, and the WHO declared the outbreak a medical emergency 'of international concern'. This was prompted by an Ebola death in the megacity of Goma, a border town with Rwanda located 200 km from the original epicenter. At that time, there had already been three cross-border deaths in Uganda.  

Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg

Jean Benoît Guillaume Marie Robert Louis Antoine Adolphe Marc d'Aviano, often referred to in Dutch as Jan van Luxembourg (5 January 1921 – 23 April 2019), was Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1964 to 2000. [one_half] [/ One_half] [one_half_last]            Jan married Princess Josephine Charlotte, daughter of King Leopold III of Belgium, on April 9, 1953. They were distant relatives through their great-grandmothers (Maria Anna of Bragança, mother of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg; Maria Antonia of Bragança, mother of Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma; and Maria José of Bragança, mother of Queen Elisabeth of Belgium). Even as children, Josephine-Charlotte and Jan got along well. Five children were born from their marriage. On October 7, 2000, Jan abdicated in favor of his eldest son Henri.

Previous blogs by deceased persons

Wim Crouwel (21 November 1928 – 19 September 2019): https://www.postzegelblog.nl/2019/09/23/ode-aan-wim-crouwel/ Rutger Hauer (January 23, 1944 – July 19, 2019): https://www.postzegelblog.nl/2019/07/27/ode-aan-rutger-hauer-onze-grootste-filmacteur/