December 2, 2008

2008Odetta, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress (born 1930)^[†]

Odetta Holmes, known as Odetta, was an American singer, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and spirituals. An important figure in the American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s, she influenced many of the key figures of the folk-revival of that time, including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Mavis Staples, and Janis Joplin. In 2011 Time magazine included her recording of "Take This Hammer" on its list of the 100 Greatest Popular Songs, stating that "Rosa Parks was her No. 1 fan, and Martin Luther King Jr. called her the queen of American folk music."

2008Henry Molaison, American memory disorder patient (born 1926)^[†]

Henry Gustav Molaison, known widely as H.M., was an American epileptic man who in 1953 received a bilateral medial temporal lobectomy to surgically resect parts of his brain—the anterior two thirds of his hippocampi, parahippocampal cortices, entorhinal cortices, piriform cortices, and amygdalae—in an attempt to cure his epilepsy. Although the surgery was partially successful in controlling his epilepsy, a severe side effect was that he became unable to form new memories. His unique case also helped define ethical standards in neurological research, emphasizing the need for patient consent and the consideration of long-term impacts of medical interventions. Furthermore, Molaison's life after his surgery highlighted the challenges and adaptations required for living with significant memory impairments, serving as an important case study for healthcare professionals and caregivers dealing with similar conditions.

2008Edward Samuel Rogers, Canadian lawyer and businessman (born 1933)^[†]

Edward Samuel "Ted" Rogers Jr., was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist who served as the president and CEO of Rogers Communications. He was the fifth-richest person in Canada in terms of net worth.

2008Renato de Grandis, Italian composer, musicologist, and writer (born 1927)^[†]

Renato de Grandis was an Italian composer, musicologist, writer and Theosophist.