January 16, 2012

2012Joe Bygraves, Jamaican-English boxer (born 1931)^[†]

Joe Bygraves was a British heavyweight boxer. Bygraves turned professional in 1953, and after an impressive early career he successfully challenged Kitione Lave for the vacant Commonwealth Heavyweight belt in 1956. Bygraves defended the title on three occasions, knocking-out Henry Cooper and holding Dick Richardson to a draw before losing the championship to Joe Erskine. Bygraves immigrated to Britain as a youth but did not take British citizenship until the end of his fighting career in 1967.

2012Jimmy Castor, American singer-songwriter and saxophonist (born 1940)^[†]

James Walter Castor was an American funk, R&B and soul musician. He is credited with vocals, saxophone and composition. He is best known for songs such as "It's Just Begun", "The Bertha Butt Boogie", and his biggest hit single, the million-seller "Troglodyte ." Castor has been described as "one of the most sampled artists in music history" by the BBC.

2012Sigursteinn Gíslason, Icelandic footballer and manager (born 1968)^[†]

Sigursteinn Davíð Gíslason was an Icelandic football player and manager. A left-sided defender who could also play in midfield, he spent the majority of his playing career in his home country; he started his career with KR and later had spells with ÍA and Víkingur Reykjavík. During the 1999–2000 season, Sigursteinn joined English club Stoke City and played eight matches in the Football League. Following his retirement from playing, he became a coach at his former club KR and went on to spend three years as the club's assistant manager. In 2008, Sigursteinn was appointed as manager of Leiknir Reykjavík, a position he held for more than two seasons before being forced to retire through illness.

2012Lorna Kesterson, American journalist and politician (born 1925)^[†]

Lorna J. Kesterson was an American journalist, newspaper editor and politician. She served as the first female mayor of the city of Henderson, Nevada, for two consecutive four-year terms from 1985 to 1993. She was the first and only woman to be Henderson's mayor until Debra March was sworn in to office in 2017. Kesterson was also a longtime reporter and managing editor for the Henderson Home News, a local community newspaper.

2012Gustav Leonhardt, Dutch pianist, conductor, and musicologist (born 1928)^[†]

Gustav Maria Leonhardt was a Dutch keyboardist, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. He was a leading figure in the historically informed performance movement to perform music on period instruments.

2012The Mali War begins when Tuareg militias start fighting the Malian government for independence.^[†]

The Mali War is an ongoing conflict that began on 16 January 2012 with a Taureg rebellion in northern Mali. The rebels included the secular-oriented National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), a group fighting for independence or greater autonomy of a region they called Azawad. The MNLA was initially allied with the jihadist Ansar Dine, which, in turn, was allied to other Salafi jihadist organizations such as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and its splinter, Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA).