January 14, 2012

2012Txillardegi, Spanish linguist and politician (born 1929)^[†]

José Luis Álvarez Enparantza, better known by his pseudonym Txillardegi, was a Basque linguist, politician, and writer. He was born and raised in the Basque Country, and although he did not learn the Basque language until the age of 17, he later came to be considered one of the most influential figures in Basque nationalism and culture in the second half of the 20th century. He was one of the founders of ETA, but in 1967 he left because he did not agree with its political line.

2012Dan Evins, American businessman, founded Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (born 1935)^[†]

Danny Wood Evins was an American entrepreneur and founder of Cracker Barrel, a Southern-themed restaurant chain.

2012Arfa Karim, Pakistani student and computer prodigy, youngest Microsoft Certified Professional in 2004 (born 1995)^[†]

Arfa Abdul Karim Randhawa (Urdu: ارفع کریم رندھاوا‎, Punjabi: ارفع کریم رندھاوا‎; 2 February 1995 – 14 January 2012) was a Pakistani student and computer prodigy who became the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) in 2004. She was submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records for her achievement. Arfa kept the title until 2008 and went on to represent Pakistan on various international forums, including the TechEd Developers Conference. She received Pakistan's highest literary award, the Presidential Pride of Performance from General Pervez Musharraf in 2005. A science park in Lahore, the Arfa Software Technology Park, is named in her honour. At the age of 10, Arfa was invited by Bill Gates to visit Microsoft's headquarters in the United States. She died in 2012, aged 16, from a cardiac arrest.

2012Giampiero Moretti, Italian entrepreneur and race car driver (born 1940)^[†]

Gianpiero Moretti was an Italian racing driver and the founder of the MOMO company in the 1960s. He was born in Milan.