Famous People Who Died In 2001

Aaliyah was an American singer, actress and model, who became famous when her debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number sold three million copies in the US. Her subsequent albums also sold in millions and won her numerous accolades. She also acted in some films. She tragically died in an airplane crash in the Bahamas, at the age of 22.

Gaining fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band, the Beatles, English musician, George Harrison, helped broaden the scope of popular music in the Western world. He was also successful as a solo performer and released many best-selling albums. He was named in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time

Dale Earnhardt was an American stock car driver who raced in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series from 1975 to 2001. Considered one of the greatest drivers in the history of NASCAR, Earnhardt won 76 Winston Cup races and seven Winston Cup championships in an illustrious career spanning 40 years. In 2010, he was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Australian cricketer, Sir Donald Bradman, is widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. He started playing cricket as a young man and scored numerous records within a few years. In a career spanning around two decades, he retired with a career test batting average of 99.94. He retained a pre-eminent position in the game for decades following his retirement. 

Carroll O'Connor was an American actor, director, and producer. In a TV career that spanned 40 years, O'Connor popularized several fictional characters, including Archie Bunker from the sitcom All in the Family, for which he received four Emmy Awards. In 1996, he was ranked 38th on the 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list published by TV Guide.

Ahmad Shah Massoud was an Afghan military commander and politician. From 1979 to 1989, he played an important role in the Soviet-Afghan War, where he served as a powerful guerrilla commander. He was nicknamed Lion of Panjshir for his role in the war. Massoud was assassinated by Al-Qaeda in 2001. His death anniversary is observed as a national holiday in Afghanistan.

Thuy Trang was a Vietnamese-American actress who is remembered for her portrayal of the first Yellow Ranger on the popular TV series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Unfortunately, she joined the infamous 27 Club when she passed away after suffering internal injuries caused by a car accident on September 3, 2001, in San Francisco, California, USA.

English author, screenwriter, and essayist, Douglas Adams, is most remembered for his comedy science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. As a screenwriter, he wrote two stories for the TV series Doctor Who. He advocated for environmentalism and spoke about environmental issues in his non-fiction radio series Last Chance to See.

Troy Donahue was an American actor and singer. During the 1950s and 1960s, Donahue became known as a popular sex symbol. He was also one of the most bankable stars during the early-1960s and was ranked the 20th most popular American star in 1963. The creation of Troy McClure, a character from The Simpsons, was inspired by Troy Donahue.

Rick Rescorla was a British American police officer, soldier, private security specialist, and educator. He is best remembered for saving thousands of lives by anticipating the 9/11 attacks and implementing evacuation procedures while serving as the director of security for the banking and financial services firm, Morgan Stanley, at the ill-fated WTC on September 11. Rescorla died during the attacks.

The daughter of American publisher and financier Eugene Meyer, Katharine Graham later carried forward her family’s newspaper, The Washington Post. While the newspaper was initially handed over to her husband, Philip Graham, by her father, she took over as the owner, following Philip’s suicide. She later penned a Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir.

Carwood Lipton was a United States army officer who served during World War II. Lipton, who played a major role in the Battle of Normandy and Battle of the Bulge, was honored with three Purple Hearts and two Bronze Star medals. In the popular TV war drama miniseries Band of Brothers, Carwood Lipton was portrayed by actor Donnie Wahlberg.

Eugene Sledge was a US Marine, author, and university professor. He is remembered for chronicling his Second World War combat experiences in a memoir titled With the Old Breed, which was used as source material for a television documentary miniseries titled The War. The memoir also inspired the 2010 HBO miniseries, The Pacific, where Sledge was played by Joseph Mazzello.

Claude Shannon was an electrical engineer, mathematician, and cryptographer. He is credited with publishing the article A Mathematical Theory of Communication which gave rise to the field of information theory. Hence, Shannon is considered the father of information theory. He is also credited with founding digital circuit design theory. During World War II, he contributed to the field of cryptanalysis.

Dieter Dengler was a German-born American aviator who served the US Navy during the Vietnam War. He was caught and tortured by the enemies for over six months, after which Dengler escaped from captivity, becoming only the second U.S. airman to escape captivity during the war. The experience was documented by Dieter Dengler in his book, Escape From Laos.

Berry Berenson was an American actress, photographer, and model. Apart from appearing on films alongside actors like Jeff Bridges and Anthony Perkins, Berenson also contributed as a photographer; her works were featured in popular magazines like Newsweek, Glamour, Vogue, and Life. Berry Berenson died aboard American Airlines Flight 11 during the September 11 attacks. 

Emilie Schindler is best remembered as the wife of Oskar Schindler, the German industrialist who saved over a thousand Jews from the Nazis by employing them at his factory and later inspired the iconic Steven Spielberg movie Schindler's List. She later fled to Argentina with Oskar but was abandoned by him.

Remembered as one of the greatest authors of Indian literature in English, R. K. Narayan created the iconic character Swami and related his experiences set in the fictional town of Malgudi. The Sahitya Akademi and Padma Vibhushan winner was also the brother of cartoonist R.K. Laxman.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh was an American aviator and writer. She is best remembered for her exploratory flights along with her husband and pioneer aviator, Charles Lindbergh. Anne was the first woman to earn a US glider pilot license in 1930. In 1996, Anne Morrow Lindbergh was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

Robert Leckie was an American writer and US Marine. He is best remembered for authoring sports books, children's books, autobiographies, fiction books, and books about the history of the United States military. One of Robert Leckie's memoirs, Helmet for My Pillow, became the basis for the popular war drama miniseries The Pacific.