Among the notable people who died in 2021 were Colin Powell, former Secretary of State, and Donald Rumsfeld, former Defense Secretary.
Powell, who was killed in October, was a pioneering soldier and diplomat. After rising to the rank of four star general in the Army, he became the first Black chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was also the first Black secretary-of-state in the country under President George W. Bush.
Rumsfeld, who was killed in June, had a long and distinguished career in the United States government, where he served under four presidents. He was considered a visionary for a modern military.
Rumsfeld, who was secretary of defense, shared some of the blame for Iraq’s collapse after Saddam Hussein’s overthrow. Powell claimed that Hussein had secretly stored weapons of mass destruction while citing faulty information in a United Nations Security Council speech.
Other political figures that the world said farewell to in this year’s end include Walter F. Mondale (ex-US Vice President), and F.W. de Klerk, ex-Sen. Bob Dole, South Korean President Roh T.woo, and talk radio host Rush Limbaugh (ex-Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, former Danish Prime Minster Poul Schlueter, and Iranian ambassadors Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour & Ardeshir Zahedi.
A man who was the baseball’s most successful home run king for many years was also among the dead this year. Hank Aaron, who was killed in January after enduring racist threats while trying to break Babe Ruth’s record, is still considered one the greatest players in baseball.
Other notable sports personalities who died in 2021 were Tommy Lasorda of Los Angeles Dodgers, Bobby Bowden, Bobby Bowden, Bobby Bowden, Bobby Bowden, Bobby Bowden, Bobby Bowden, Bobby Westphal, Elgin Baylor, Bobby Unser, Bobby Unser, Lee Elder, Milkha Singh, Leon Spinks, and Leon Spinks, boxer Leon Spinks, and track and field star Milkha Singh.
One of the entertainers who passed away this year was a children’s author whose books were loved by millions all over the globe. Beverly Cleary, who passed away in March, used her memories from Oregon as inspiration to create beloved characters like Ramona Quimby (her sister Beatrice “Beezus”) Quimby and Henry Huggins.
Cicely Tyson and Ed Asner, Cloris Leeachman, Christopher Plummer and Jane Powell were among others who died in the entertainment and arts worlds this year.
