Transitions 2017

People who have passed on during 2017, whose life or works have influenced me:

  • Kenneth Arrow (1921-2017), American economist
  • John Berger (1926-2017), British writer and art critic
  • Chuck Berry (1926-2017), American musician
  • John Clarke (1948-2017), New Zealand & Australian comedian
  • John Charles Rowell Fieldsend CJ (1921-2017), Zimbabwean Chief Justice
  • Jerry Fodor (1935-2017), American philosopher
  • Joel Goodman Joffe (1932-2017), South African lawyer and defender of Nelson Mandela at Rivonia trial
  • Ahmed Kathrada (1929-2017), South African democracy activist and political prisoner
  • Liu Xiaobo (1955-2017), Chinese writer and democracy activist
  • Peter Luck (1944-2017), Australian TV journalist
  • Maryam Mirzakhani (1977-2017), Iranian & American mathematician
  • Rory O’Donoghue (“Thin Arthur”, “Flash Nick from Jindavick”) (1949-2017), Australian comedian
  • Josh Parsons (1973-2017), New Zealand philosopher
  • Raymond Smullyan (1919-2017), American logician and taoist
  • Timothy Stamps (1936-2017), Zimbabwean doctor and Minister for Health (1986-2002)
  • Herman Toivo ya Toivo (1924-2017), Namibian freedom fighter and politician
  • Tony Vinson (1935-2017), Australian sociologist
  • Vladimir Voevodsky (1966-2017), Russian & American mathematician
  • Heathcote Williams (1941-2017), British poet, writer, playwright, actor
  • Daniel Yankelovich (1924-2017), American pollster and market researcher.

Past editions of Transitions can be found here.

Transitions 2016

People who have passed on during 2016, whose life or works have influenced me:

  • Edward Albee (1928-2016), American playwright
  • Myrtle Berman (1924-2016), South African political activist and resistance fighter
  • Daniel Berrigan SJ (1921-2016), American priest and political activist
  • Pierre Boulez (1925-2016), French composer and conductor
  • Victoria Chitepo (1928-2016), Zimbabwean politician
  • Harold Cohen (1928-2016), British-American artist and AI pioneer
  • Ronnie Corbett (1930-2016), British comedian
  • Umberto Eco (1932-2016), Italian writer
  • Bob Ellis (1942-2016), Australian playwright and journalist
  • Tom Hayden (1939-2016), American political activist
  • Chip Heathcote (1931-2016), Australian statistician
  • Bobby Hutcherson (1941-2016), American vibraphonist
  • Peter Maxwell Davies (1934-2016), British composer
  • Diana Mitchell (1932-2016), Zimbabwean historian
  • Yukio Ninagawa (1935-2016), Japanese theatre director
  • John Satterthwaite (1928-2016), Australian engineer and Bishop
  • Thomas Schelling (1921-2016), American game theorist and strategist
  • Garry Shandling (1949-2016), American comedian
  • Lois Weisberg (1925-2016), Chicagoan connector
  • Alexander Yessenin-Volpin  (1924-2016),  Russian-American poet, mathematician and dissident.