Politics

Zell Miller, independent-minded Georgia politician who battled fellow Democrats during his four years as a U.S. senator, died March 23, age 86.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, South African politician and former wife of Nelson Mandela who kept his anti-apartheid struggle alive during his 27 years in prison, died April 2, age 81.

Barbara Bush, formidable first lady who helped her husband, George H.W. Bush, and eldest son, George W., rise to the presidency, died April 17, age 92.

Dick Tuck, Democratic political prankster who bedeviled Republican candidates with his bag of campaign trail tricks, died May 28, age 94.

Ron Dellums, Californian anti-war activist who spent 14 terms in Congress advancing the progressive cause, died July 30, age 82.

Kofi Annan (pictured), Ghanaian peacemaker who became the first black African to helm the United Nations, died Aug. 18, age 80.

John McCain, Vietnam War hero, six-term GOP senator, and presidential contender whose maverick streak made him a standout in American politics, died Aug. 25, age 81.

George H.W. Bush, former U.S. president who triumphed over the Soviet Union and Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, but struggled with recession at home, died Nov. 30, age 94. dent had left his kicking foot toeless, died Feb. 8, age 98.

Roger Bannister, British amateur athlete who broke the 4-minute mile in 1954, while studying medicine at Oxford, died March 3, age 88. Rusty Staub, 6-foot-2 slugger whose heroics ended the Montreal Expos 20-game losing streak in 1969, earning him the nickname Le Grand Orange, died March 29, age 73.

Bruno Sammartino (pictured), champion pro wrestler who fought more than 200 bouts at Madison Square Garden, died April 18, age 82.

Maria Bueno, Brazilian tennis player who won 19 Grand Slams from 1958 to 1968 and elevated the women’s game, died

June 8, age 78.

Anne Donovan, 6-foot-8 women’s basketball star who won Olympic gold as both a player and coach, died June 13, age 56. Diane Leather, British amateur athlete who, in 1954, became the first woman to run a mile in under 5 minutes, though her record was ignored for decades, died Sept. 5, age 85.

Tex Winter, basketball coach who invented the “Triangle Offense,” the blueprint for the Chicago Bulls’ and L.A. Lakers’ championships in the 1990s, died Oct. 10, age 96. David Pearson, NASCAR champion known as the Silver Fox for his cunning behind the wheel, who won 105 races in 27 seasons, died Nov. 12, age 83.