Among those who died in 2016…
Politics
Cecil Parkinson, former Tory party chairman, died 22 January, aged 84. Antonin Scalia, US Supreme Court justice, died 13 February, aged 79. Boutros Boutros-ghali, sixth secretary general of the UN, died 16 February, aged 93. Nancy Reagan, former actress and US first lady, died 6 March, aged 94. Rob Ford, crack-smoking former mayor of Toronto, died 22 March, aged 46. Daniel Berrigan, radical priest, died 30 April, aged 94. Jo Cox, Labour MP, died 16 June, aged 41. Shimon Peres, former Israeli prime minister and president, died 28 September, aged 93. Fidel Castro, former president of Cuba, died 25 November, aged 90.
Writers and critics
Sir George Weidenfeld, publisher, died 20 January, aged 96. Margaret Forster, novelist, died 8 February, aged 77. Umberto Eco, novelist, died 19 February, aged 84. Harper Lee, novelist, died 19 February, aged 89. Anita Brookner, novelist, died 10 March, aged 87. Barry Hines, novelist, died 18 March, aged 76. Howard Marks, drug smuggler turned memoirist, died 10 April, aged 70. Sir Arnold Wesker, playwright, died 12 April, aged 83. Sir Peter Shaffer, playwright, died 6 June, aged 90. Geoffrey Hill, poet, died 30 June, aged 84. Sydney Schanberg, war reporter, died 9 July, aged 82. Edward Albee, playwright, died 16 September, aged 88. William Trevor, novelist, died 20 November, aged 88. A.A. Gill, journalist, died 10 December, aged 62.
Scholars and scientists
Sir Christopher Zeeman, mathematician, died 13 February, aged 91. Lord (Asa) Briggs, historian and public servant, died 15 March, aged 94. Zaha Hadid, architect, died 31 March, aged 65. Lord (Maurice) Peston, economist, died 23 April, aged 85. Professor Sir Harry Kroto, chemist, died 30 April, aged 76. Fritz Stern, historian, died 18 May, aged 90. Lord Neill of Bladen, lawyer and academic, died 28 May, aged 89. Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate, died 2 July, aged 87. Ian Mccaskill, weather forecaster, died 10 December, aged 78.
The world of sport
Jack Bannister, cricketer and commentator, died 22 January, aged 85. Johan Cruyff, footballer and coach, died 24 March, aged 68. Christy O’connor Snr, golfer, died 14 May, aged 91. Muhammad Ali, boxer, died 3 June, aged 74. Donald Carr, cricketer, died 11 June, aged 89. Arnold Palmer, golfer, died 25 September, aged 87.
Film and showbiz
Alan Rickman, actor, died 14 January, aged 69. Frank Finlay, actor, died 30 January, aged 89. Terry Wogan, TV presenter and broadcaster, died 31 January, aged 77. Michael White, impresario, died 7 March, aged 80. Sir Ken Adam, set designer, died 10 March, aged 95. Paul Daniels, magician, died 17 March, aged 77. Cliff Michelmore, broadcaster, died 17 March, aged 96. Ronnie Corbett, comedian, died 31 March, aged 85. Victoria Wood, comedian and writer, died 20 April, aged 62. Burt Kwouk, actor, died 24 May, aged 85. Carla Lane, comedy writer, died 31 May, aged 87. Caroline Aherne, comedy writer and performer, died 2 July, aged 52. Michael Cimino, film director, died 2 July, aged 77. Lord (Brian) Rix, actor and disability campaigner, died 20 August, aged 92. Antony Jay, TV writer, died 21 August, aged 86. Gene Wilder, actor, died 29 August, aged 83. Jean Alexander, actress, died 14 October, aged 90. Jimmy Perry, comedy writer, died 23 October, aged 93. Howard Davies, theatre director, died 25 October, aged 71. Sir Jimmy Young, broadcaster, died 7 November, aged 95. Robert Vaughn, actor, died 11 November, aged 83. Andrew Sachs, actor, died 23 November, aged 86. Zsa Zsa Gabor, actress, died 18 December, aged 99.
Music
Pierre Boulez, composer, died 5 January, aged 90. David Bowie, rock star, died 10 January, aged 69. Sir George Martin, producer, died 8 March, aged 90. Peter Maxwell Davies, composer, died 14 March, aged 81. Merle Haggard, country star, died 6 April, aged 79. Prince, rock star, died 21 April, aged 57. Neville Marriner, conductor, died 2 October, aged 92. Leonard Cohen, singersongwriter, died 7 November, aged 82. Greg Lake, prog rock musician, died 7 December, aged 69.
Veterans and heroes
Samuel Willenberg, last survivor of the Treblinka camp, died 19 February, aged 93. Eric “Winkle” Brown, test pilot, died 21 February, aged 97. Jeannette Guyot, French Resistance fighter, died 10 April, aged 97. Dame Marion Kettlewell, former director of the Women’s Royal Naval Service, died 11 April, aged 102.