Fame is like a shadow never caught by those who chase it as it runs faster than the chasers, and queerly the shadow followed those who turned their backs from it. The faster they ran, the quicker they were  approached by fame. Heights achieved by great men were not attained in a sudden flight, and a devout, dedicated, and persistent struggle is invariably seen in the lives of famous people.

1.  Elizabeth Taylor

Dame Elizabeth Rosemond ‘Liz’ Taylor, DBE was born in Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, England on February 27, 1932 and died in Los Angles, California, U.S. on March 23, 2011 at the age of 79. The British-American actress was the most beautiful and the most desirable star of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She won two Oscars for her excellent performance in Butterfield 8 in 1960 and Who is Afraid of Virginia Woolf in 1966.  Queen Elizabeth II made the legendary actress with her rare beauty, Dame (Equivalent of male Knight) in May, 2000. She received the most prestigious award of France the Legion of Honor for supporting AIDS research. Larry King, who has met numerous great persons in his life, said on her death, ‘Elizabeth Taylor was a great friend, a great star, and one gutsy woman. She was so special. You won’t see the likes of her again’¦’

2. John McCarthy

John McCarthy was born to John Patrick and Ida McCarthy in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. on September 4, 1927 and died in Stanford, California, U.S. on October 24, 2011 at the age of 84. He received his early education from Belmont High School. His alma mater was Princeton University, California Institute of Technology, and he was associated with Stanford University and Dartmouth College as well. He is known for LISP; the programming language, circumscription, Situation Calculus and Artificial Intelligence. He was the first to coin the term ‘artificial intelligence’ in 1956. He had many honors and a few out of them are: Turning Award 1971, Kyoto Prize 1988, National Media of Science 1990, and Benjamin Franklin Medal 2003.

3. Jacob Goldman

Jacob Goldman also known as Jack Goldman was born in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. on July 18, 1921 and died in Westport, Connecticut, U.S. on December 20, 2011. He founded the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) which developed amazing technologies in the field of computing culminating into the modern personal computer. Xerox Corporation itself could not utilize the research for as much of its own benefit as the others like Apple and Microsoft who benefited from it. According to Walter Isaacson, the late co-founder of Apple; Steve Jobs was greatly impressed by the work done at PARC and having visited it in 1979, exclaimed, ‘I can’t believe Xerox is not taking advantage of it.’ PARC developed ‘Alto’ the first PC, laser printers, graphic interface, and Ethernet working.

4. Betty Ford

Elizabeth Ann Bloomer Warren Ford, better known as Betty Ford, was born in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. on April 8, 1918 and died in Rancho Mirage, California, United States on July 8, 2011 at the age of 93. She was the First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977 when her husband, Gerald Ford, the 38th President of the United States was in office. She was a candid advocate of women’s rights during her term as First Lady. Time nominated her as ‘Woman of the Year’ in 1975 and called her the ‘Fighting First Lady.’

5. Eunice Sanborn

Eunice Allen Lyons was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, U.S. on July 20, 1896 and died in Cherokee County, Texas, U.S. on January 31, 2011. She had been living during the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. On January 31, 2011, Eunice Sanborn died at the age of 114 years and 195 days. She was one of the verified 50 oldest persons. She has seen the invention of the X-ray, man’s first step on the surface of the moon, and the invention of the Internet. Having met and spoken to her, Jennifer Heathcock wrote, ‘She gives all the credit of her life to the Lord, and still prays for people. She is concerned for others while she is bedridden.’ A friend, Bunn, said about her, ‘She’ll say, ‘I love red peppers and olive oil’ that was her thing, and she still gets it too.’ On November 5, 2010, Guinness World Records officially confirmed Eunice Sanborn as the then oldest living person at the age of 114 years and 108 days.

6. Fred Shuttlesworth

Fred Shuttlesworth was born in Mount Meigs, Alabama, U.S. on March 18, 1922 and died in Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. on October 5, 2011 at the age of 89. Alabama Governor Robert Bentley ordered lowering of the flags on state government buildings to half staff until his burial. His birth name was Freddie Lee Robinson. He is best known as a Civil Rights activist and was associated with the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. He was the co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. along with Reverend T. J. Jemison, Reverend Joseph Lowery, and Reverend Ralph Abernathy from Montgomery.

7. Joe Frazier

Joseph William Frazier, sometimes known as ‘Smokin Joe,’ was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, United States on January 12, 1944 and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. on November 7, 2011 at the age of 67. He became the undisputed boxing heavyweight champion in 1970 and defeated Muhammad Ali in the famous Fight of the Century but was defeated by Muhammad Ali in the World Challenge title in 1975. He fought 37 fights while winning 32, losing 4, while 1 was a draw. He won many awards including Olympic and World Championships. Only that he was a contender in fights against Muhammad Ali established his greatness in the field of boxing.

8.  Al Davis

Allen ‘Al’ Davis was born to Rose and Louis Davis in Brockton, Massachusetts on July 4, 1929 and died in Oakland, California on October 8, 2011. He owned the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League from 1972 to 2011. He was educated at Wittenberg University and Syracuse University. He was awarded the AFL’s Coach of the Year in 1963 and inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992. He had been a coach of many teams including: Adelphi, The Citadel, Southern California and Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers. His commitment yielded Super Bowl Championships for the Raiders three times. His motto for the team was ‘Just win baby.’

9. Peter Falk

Peter Michael Falk was born in New York City, U.S. on September 16, 1927 and died in Beverly Hills, California, U.S. on June 23, 2011 at the age of 83. He was educated at Ossining High school and Hamilton College. He is best known for his role as  Lieutenant Columbo in the TV series Columbo. He won five Emmy Awards. Falk’s right eye was surgically replaced by a glass eye in his early childhood, but he liked to  participate in games anyway. Recalling his time as a cook and mess boy at the United States Merchant Marine, he wrote in 1997 in his biography, ‘There they don’t care if you are blind or not. The only one on a ship who has to see is the captain. And in the case of the Titanic, he couldn’t very well either.’

10. Annabelle Lyon

Annabelle Lyon was born in New York City, New York, U.S. on January 8, 1916 and died in Mansfield, Massachusetts, U.S. on November 4, 2011 at the age of 95. She was raised in Memphis. On account of her talent was awarded a scholarship to Michel Foline’s School. She was a member of George Balanchine’s American Ballet and one of the dancers of Ballet Theatre; currently known as the American Ballet Theater. A few of her notable dances include: Juno, Carousel, Capriccioso, Pillar of Fire, The Last One, and Three Virgins and a Devil. She danced with Anton Dolin being the first ballerina dancer to play the title role in Giselle in the American Theater Production in New York City.

Conclusion:

Death, the ultimate reality, does not wait for anyone and deals with both the renowned and unknown even-handedly although the way the brave and the coward face it is different;
‘Cowards die many times before their death
The valiant never taste death but once.
Of all the wonders I have yet heard
It seems to me most strange that men should fear,
Seeing that death, a necessary end
Will come when it come.’

Shakespeare