June 24, 2012

2012Darrel Akerfelds, American baseball player and coach (born 1962)^[†]

Darrel Wayne Akerfelds was a professional baseball pitcher. He also served as the bullpen coach of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres, from 2001 until his death. Akerfelds pitched in the major leagues in parts of five seasons, from 1986 to 1991 for the Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, and Philadelphia Phillies.

2012Gad Beck, German author and educator (born 1923)^[†]

Gerhard "Gad" Beck was an Israeli-German educator, author, activist, resistance member, and survivor of the Holocaust.

2012Gu Chaohao, Chinese mathematician and academic (born 1926)^[†]

Gu Chaohao was a Chinese mathematician. He graduated from National Chekiang University in 1948, and received a doctorate in physics and mathematical science from Moscow University in 1959. He was primarily engaged in research on partial differential equations, differential geometry, solitons, and mathematical physics. He served as vice president of Fudan University and from 1988 to 1993 as president of the University of Science and Technology of China. In 1980, he was elected an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He received the Highest Science and Technology Award in 2009.

2012Miki Roqué, Spanish footballer (born 1988)^[†]

Miguel "Miki" Roqué Farrero was a Spanish professional footballer who played as a central defender.

2012Ann C. Scales, American lawyer, educator, and activist (born 1952)^[†]

Ann C. Scales was an American lawyer, activist, and law professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law from 2003 to 2012, where she taught in constitutional law, sexual orientation and the law, civil procedure and torts.

2012Lonesome George, last known Pinta Island tortoise (h. c. 1910)^[†]

Lonesome George was a male Pinta Island tortoise and the last known individual of the subspecies. In his last years, he was known as the rarest creature in the world. George serves as an important symbol for conservation efforts in the Galápagos Islands and throughout the world.

2012Death of Lonesome George, the last known individual of Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii, a subspecies of the Galápagos tortoise.^[†]

Lonesome George was a male Pinta Island tortoise and the last known individual of the subspecies. In his last years, he was known as the rarest creature in the world. George serves as an important symbol for conservation efforts in the Galápagos Islands and throughout the world.