They may not be the people who dominate your music playlists or the shows you binge-watch, but these individuals were major influences in politics, business and social causes.
Among them was a diminutive liberal giant of the U.S. Supreme Court; a man who helped define the 1960s civil rights movement and another whose death launched a new one in 2020; and a doctor who tried to sound the alarm on coronavirus for the world before it became a pandemic.
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These are some of the newsmakers we lost in 2020.
- Alonzo “Lon” T. Adams II, 95; Created the formula for Slim Jim beef jerky sticks.
- Hank Adams, 77; One of Indian Country’s most prolific thinkers and strategists.
- Command Sgt. Maj. Bennie Adkins, 86; Medal of Honor winner for his heroism in carrying soldiers to safety during a 1966 battle in Vietnam.
- Phillip Anderson, 96; Nobel Prize-winning physicist who expanded the world's understanding of magnetism and superconductivity.
- Bernard Bailyn, 97; Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and educator of lasting influence whose “The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution” transformed how many thought about the country’s formation.
- Bobbie Batista, 67; Was among the original anchors for CNN Headline News.
- Deborah A. Batts, 72; America's first openly gay federal judge. She was set to preside over a trial of California lawyer Michael Avenatti.
- Eddie Benton-Banai, 89; Helped found the American Indian Movement partly in response to alleged police brutality against Indigenous people.
- Sultan Qaboos bin Said, 79; Overthrew his father in a bloodless 1970 coup and modernized Oman.
- Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, 84; One of the world’s longest-serving prime ministers who led Bahrain's government for decades and survived the 2011 Arab Spring protests that demanded his ouster over corruption allegations.
- George Blake, 98; Former British intelligence officer who worked as a double agent for the Soviet Union and passed some of the most coveted Western secrets to Moscow.
- Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr., 82; The last of three one-time Ku Klux Klansmen convicted in a 1963 Alabama church bombing that killed four Black girls.
- Bruce Carver Boynton, 83; A civil rights pioneer who inspired the “Freedom Rides."
- Timothy Ray Brown, 54; Made history as “the Berlin patient,” the first person known to be cured of HIV infection. Brown died after a recurrence of the cancer that prompted the treatments which seemed to eliminate the HIV in his body.
- Herman Cain, 74; Former presidential candidate and ardent supporter of President Donald Trump, died of complications from the coronavirus.
- Cassandra Callender, 22; Was forced by Connecticut courts as a teenager to undergo chemotherapy for cancer.
- Pierre Cardin, 98; French fashion designer possessed a wildly inventive artistic sensibility tempered by a stiff dose of business sense.
- Frank Carney, 82; Founded Pizza Hut with his brother.
- Joe Louis Clark, 82; The baseball bat and bullhorn-wielding principal whose unwavering commitment to his students and uncompromising disciplinary methods inspired the 1989 film “Lean on Me."
- Former Sen. Tom Coburn, 72; The Oklahoma Republican was known for railing against federal earmarks.
- Bernard Cohen, 86; Lawyer who won a landmark case that led to the U.S. Supreme Court’s rejection of all laws forbidding interracial marriage.
- Joe Coulombe, 89; Founder of Trader Joe's.
- Connie Culp, 57; Recipient of the first partial face transplant in the U.S.
- David Dinkins, 93; New York City's first Black mayor.
- Shirley Douglas, 86; Impassioned Canadian activist and veteran actress who was mother to actor Kiefer Sutherland and daughter of medicare founder Tommy Douglas.
- Hugh Downs, 99; Broadcaster worked on NBC's “Today” and “Tonight” shows, the game show “Concentration,” co-hosted the ABC magazine show “20/20” with Barbara Walters and the PBS series “Over Easy” and “Live From Lincoln Center.”
- Kaing Guek Eav, 77; The Khmer Rouge’s chief jailer who admitted overseeing the torture and killings of as many as 16,000 Cambodians while running the regime’s most notorious prison.
- Alfred Thomas Farrar, 99; Former Tuskegee Airman.
- Charlotte Figi, 13; Girl with rare form of epilepsy whose recovery inspired the name of a medical marijuana oil that drew families of children with similar health problems to Colorado for treatment.
- George Floyd, 46; Black man who died while in custody of Minneapolis police. Video of officer kneeling on Floyd's neck before his death sparked nationwide protests.
- William H. Gates II, 94; Lawyer and philanthropist best known as the father of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87; Supreme Court Associate Justice was towering women's rights champion, the unquestioned leader of the court’s liberal wing and became something of a rock star to her admirers.
- Milton Glaser, 91; Groundbreaking graphic designer who adorned Bob Dylan’s silhouette with psychedelic hair and summed up the feelings for his native New York with “I (HEART) NY."
- Manolis Glezos, 97; Greek World War II resistance hero cut down the Nazi flag from the Acropolis in Athens at age 18.
- Jerzy Glowczewski, 97; Polish-born fighter pilot who flew World War II missions with Britain's Royal Air Force after Nazi Germany invaded his country.
- Glenna Goodacre, 80; Renowned sculptor and painter created the Vietnam Women’s Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
- Robert Gore, 83; Invention of what created the breathable-yet-waterproof fabric known as Gore-Tex revolutionized outdoor wear and helped spawn uses in numerous other fields.
- Slade Gorton, 92; Patrician and cerebral politician from Washington state who served as a U.S. Senate Republican leader.
- David Graeber, 59; Helped organize the Occupy Wall Street movement.
- The Rev. Robert Graetz, 92; Only white minister to support the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott.
- Earl Graves Sr., 85; Championed black businesses as the founder of the first African American-owned magazine focusing on black entrepreneurs.
- The Rev. Thorkild Grosboell, 72; Danish Lutheran minister who attracted international attention by proclaiming that there is no God or afterlife.
- Pete Hamill, 85; Longtime New York City newspaper columnist and author.
- Wilson Roosevelt Jerman, 91; Former White House butler served under 11 presidents from Eisenhower to Obama.
- Katherine Johnson, 101; Mathematician who calculated rocket trajectories and earth orbits for NASA’s early space missions and was later portrayed in the 2016 hit film “Hidden Figures."
- Former Rep. Sam Johnson, 89; A military pilot who spent years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam before serving more than two decades in Congress.
- Dr. Tomisaku Kawasaki, 95; Discovered Kawasaki Disease in 1960s. The inflammatory disease that affects young children received increased attention due to a possible connection to complications of COVID-19.
- Joe Kernan, 74; Vietnam prisoner of war later became governor of Indiana.
- Rajendra Kumar, 79; Led U.N. climate change panel that shared 2007 Nobel Peace Price with Al Gore.
- Helen LaFrance, 101; A prominent Black Kentucky artist whose painted memories of rural life in Kentucky are featured in U.S. and European museums.
- Jim Lehrer, 85; A longtime host of the nightly PBS “NewsHour."
- Luke Letlow, 41; Republican U.S. representative-elect died of COVID-19 four days before he was to be sworn into office.
- Mary Kay Letourneau, 58; Seattle-area teacher who married a former sixth-grade student after she was convicted of raping him. The case drew international headlines.
- Rep. John Lewis, 80; Carried the struggle against racial discrimination from Southern battlegrounds of the 1960s to the halls of Congress.
- Dr. Li Wenliang, 34; Chinese doctor who got in trouble with authorities in the communist country for sounding an early warning about the coronavirus outbreak. He died of the illness.
- Samuel Little, 80; Authorities say he was the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history with nearly 60 confirmed victims.
- Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, 98; A civil rights leader who helped the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
- Phyllis Lyon, 95; Gay rights pioneer who, with her longtime partner, was among the first same-sex couples to marry in California when it became legal.
- James A. Mahoney, 62; New York City physician known for his dedication to patient care continued working on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic in an intensive care unit and died from COVID-19.
- Zindzi Mandela, 59; Daughter of South African anti-apartheid figures Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
- Anne Marion, 81; Founder of Georgia O'Keeffe Museum.
- Roberta McCain, 108; The mother of the late Sen. John McCain who used her feisty spirit to help woo voters during his 2008 presidential campaign.
- Manuel “Matty” Moroun, 93; Billionaire businessman who owned a critical bridge that connects Michigan to Canada.
- Jan Morris, 94; Celebrated journalist, historian, world traveler and fiction writer who in middle age became a pioneer of the transgender movement.
- Hosni Mubarak, 91; Egyptian president who was ousted during the Arab Spring uprising of 2011.
- Robert Murray, 80; Board chairman of the largest privately owned U.S. coal operator; long fought federal regulations to reduce black lung disease.
- Charles “Chuckie” O'Brien, 86; Longtime associate of Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa and who became a leading suspect in Hoffa's disappearance.
- Paul O’Neill, 84; Former Treasury secretary who broke with George W. Bush over tax policy and then produced a book critical of the administration.
- Pat Quinn, 37; A co-founder of the social media ALS ice bucket challenge, which has raised more than $200 million worldwide for Lou Gehrig’s disease research.
- Thomas Railsback, 87; Illinois Republican congressman who helped draw up articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon.
- James Eubaun Richardson, 99; Tennessee man who was among the last surviving members of the World War II jungle fighting unit known as Merrill's Marauders.
- Ang Rita, 72; Veteran Nepalese Sherpa guide who was the first person to climb Mount Everest 10 times.
- Don Ryce, 76; Labor lawyer who, with his wife, became a leading advocate for missing children after their 9-year-old son was abducted, raped and murdered in South Florida.
- Brent Scowcroft, 95; National security adviser to Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush.
- William S. Sessions, 90; Former federal judge appointed by President Ronald Reagan to head the FBI was fired years later by President Bill Clinton.
- Gail Sheehy, 83; Journalist, commentator and pop sociologist whose best-selling “Passages” helped millions navigate their lives from early adulthood to middle age and beyond.
- Former Army Staff Sgt. Ronald Shurer II, 41; Received the Medal of Honor in 2018 for braving heavy gunfire to save lives in Afghanistan.
- William J. Small, 93; Led CBS News' Washington coverage during the civil rights movement, Vietnam War and Watergate and was later president of NBC News and United Press International.
- Jean Kennedy Smith, 92; Last surviving sibling of President John F. Kennedy and a U.S. ambassador who played a key role in the peace process in Northern Ireland.
- Sy Sperling, 78; Hair Club for Men founder -- and client.
- Gertrud Steinl, 97; Last surviving German honored for saving Jews during the Holocaust.
- Herbert Stempel, 93; A fall guy and whistleblower of early television whose confession to deliberately losing on a 1950s quiz show helped drive a national scandal.
- Paik Sun-yup, 99; South Korean army general who was celebrated as a major war hero for leading troops in several battle victories against North Korean soldiers during the 1950-53 Korean War.
- Mamadou Tandja, 82; Former two-term president of Niger who was overthrown in a coup d’etat after trying to change the constitution to extend his grip on power.
- Stella Tennant, 50; Aristocratic British model who was a muse to designers such as Karl Lagerfeld and Gianni Versace.
- Larry Tesler, 74; Creator of computer concepts such as “cut,” “copy” and “paste.”
- Linda Tripp, 70; Secretly recorded conversations with White House intern Monica Lewinsky that led to the 1998 impeachment of President Bill Clinton.
- Robert Trump, 72; President Donald Trump's younger brother, a businessman known for an even keel that was strikingly different from his famous sibling.
- Rev. C.T. Vivian, 95; An early ally of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. who organized pivotal campaigns in the civil rights movement and then spent decades advocating for justice and equality.
- Rosalind P. Walter, 95; The original inspiration for "Rosie the Riveter" and longtime public television supporter.
- Jack Welch, 84; Transformed General Electric into a highly profitable multinational conglomerate.
- Arne Wilhelmsen, 90; A founder of Royal Caribbean Cruises who helped shape the modern cruise industry.
- Al Worden, 88; Circled moon as command module pilot of Apollo 15.
- Charles “Chuck” Yeager, 97; Retired Air Force brigadier general was a World War II fighter pilot ace and quintessential test pilot who showed he had the “right stuff” when in 1947 he became the first person to fly faster than sound.
