April 7, 2014

2014George Dureau, American painter and photographer (born 1930)^[†]

George Valentine Dureau was an American artist whose long career was most notable for charcoal sketches and black and white photography of poor white and black athletes, dwarfs, and amputees. Robert Mapplethorpe is said to have been inspired by Dureau's amputee and dwarf photographs, which showed the figures as "exposed and vulnerable, playful and needy, complex and entirely human individuals."

2014James Alexander Green, American-English mathematician and academic (born 1926)^[†]

James Alexander "Sandy" Green FRS was a mathematician and Professor at the Mathematics Institute at the University of Warwick, who worked in the field of representation theory.

2014V. K. Murthy, Indian cinematographer (born 1923)^[†]

Venkatarama Pandit Krishnamurthy known professionally as V. K. Murthy, was an Indian cinematographer. Murthy, a one-time violinist and jailed freedom fighter, was Guru Dutt's regular cameraman on his movies. He provided some of Indian cinema's most notable images in starkly contrasted black and white. He also shot India's first cinemascope film, Kaagaz Ke Phool. For his contribution to film industry, particularly Indian film industry he was awarded the IIFA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. In 2010, he was honoured with the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for his contributions to Indian cinema.

2014Zeituni Onyango, Kenyan-American computer programmer (born 1952)^[†]

Zeituni Onyango was the half-aunt of United States President Barack Obama; she was born into the Luo tribe in Kenya. Born during the British rule of the Protectorate of Kenya, Onyango was the half-sister of Barack Obama Sr., father to the president. The younger Obama refers to her as "Aunti Zeituni" in his 1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father. In 2002 she applied for political asylum in the United States but was denied. She became notable when her case was leaked in the final days of the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign in which Barack Obama was the Democratic candidate, attracting international media attention.

2014John Shirley-Quirk, English opera singer (born 1931)^[†]

John Stanton Shirley-Quirk CBE was an English bass-baritone. A member of the English Opera Group from 1964 to 1976, he gave premiere performances of several operatic and vocal works by Benjamin Britten, recording these and other works under the composer's direction. He also sang and recorded a wide range of works by other composers, ranging from Handel through Tchaikovsky to Henze.

2014George Shuffler, American guitarist (born 1925)^[†]

George Shuffler was an American bluegrass guitar player and an early practitioner of the crosspicking style. During his career Shuffler played with The Bailey Brothers, The Stanley Brothers and Ralph Stanley's Clinch Mountain Boys. He was a 2007 recipient of the North Carolina Heritage Award and in 2011 was elected to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.

2014Josep Maria Subirachs, Spanish sculptor and painter (born 1927)^[†]

Josep Maria Subirachs i Sitjar was a Spanish sculptor and painter of the late 20th century. His best known work is probably the Passion Facade of the basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona. He was controversial, as he did not make any concessions to the style of the architect who designed the building, Antoni Gaudí.

2014Royce Waltman, American basketball player and coach (born 1942)^[†]

Royce Waltman was an American college basketball coach, best known for his time as head coach at Indiana State University from 1997 to 2007. Previously, he coached the University of Indianapolis from 1992 to 1997 and DePauw University from 1987 to 1992. He returned to coach Indianapolis for the 2007–8 season, before retiring.