Flashback 2014: 20 famous personalities we lost in 2014

Bengaluru, Dec 6: The year 2014 is coming to a close. We lost many celebrities, politicians, writers and other eminent personalities in the year. Read about some of them here:

On January 13, former Israeli prime minister and army general Ariel Sharon passed away. He had suffered a stroke in 2006, while he was at the height of his power, and fell into a coma. Sharon was 85-year-old. An iconic figure, Sharon had fought in three wars before entering politics and was elected as prime minister in 2001.

We lost a diva in 2014. Legendary actress of Bollywood, Suchitra Sen breathed her last in a Kolkata hospital on January 17. She was 82. The immediate reason of her death was believed to be cardiac arrest. Sen,during the time span between the fifties to the seventies, had acted in many acclaimed film with matinee idol Uttam Kumar.

Ulises Estrada, the Cuban revolutionary, who during the 1960s aided Argentinian revolutionary leader Ernesto Che Guevara during his campaign in Africa, died on 26 January 2014. He was 79. He held important posts in the Cuban Interior Ministry and performed sensitive missions in the 1960s related to guerrilla movements of Latin America.

Another famous personality who passed away in the first half of 2014 was Balu Mahendra, the award winning film director and cinematographer. He died on February 14 . He was admitted in Vijaya Hospital in Chennau due to prolonged and was said to be in critical condition when he was admitted at the hospital. Some of his acclaimed films in Tamil include Mullum Malarum (as cinematographer), Azhiyadha Kolangal, Moodu Pani and Moondram Pirai.

The world lost one of its most loved writers in 2014. Renowned novelist Gabriel García Márquez died at age 87 on April 17. García Márquez was hospitalised for infections in his lungs and urinary tract. Popularly known as Gabo, the writer was considered the most popular Spanish-language writer since Miguel de Cervantes in the 17th century. His most important works include 100 years of solitude, Love in the Time of Cholera, Memories of My melancholy whores.

Hollywood's legendary actor Mickey Rooney died on April 8 at 93. Rooney started off as a child artist and his career extended over 80 years, making him one of the most enduring performers in show business history.

The war in Afghanistan killed a Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist from Germany - Anja Niedringhaus on April 4. She and her colleague were shot dead by an Afghan policeman during an insurgent attack.

Khushwant Singh, the renowned author and journalist died on 20 March. He was 99. Singh was best known for his secularism, his humour, and an abiding love for poetry. He was editor of several literary and news magazines, including the Illustrated Weekly of India as well as two newspapers, the Hindustan Times and the National Herald, through the 1970s and 1980s. In 2007, he was awarded with the Padma Vibhushan.

Zohra Sehgal, a Bollywood actress who essayed character roles with critical acclaim in a career spanning over seven decades in both theatre and cinema, died on July 10 at the age of 102. A Padma Vibhushan awardee, Sehgal breathed her last at Max hospital in Mumbai.

Union Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde died on June 4 morning after a road accident in Delhi. Munde, 64, was on his way to the Indira Gandhi International Airport to fly to his constituency, Beed in Maharashtra, to address a rally when his Maruti Suzuki SX4 was hit by a Tata Indica at the Prithviraj road-Tughlaq road roundabout in the heart of the capital.

Maya Angelou, the American author and poet died 29 May. She died at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She was 86 at the time of death.

Oscar-winning British film director Richard Attenborough has died at the age of 90 on August 25. was one of Britain's leading actors, before becoming a highly successful director. In a career that spanned six decades, he appeared in films including Brighton Rock, World War Two prisoner of war thriller The Great Escape and later in dinosaur blockbuster Jurassic Park.

Kannada writer and one of the most acclaimed public intellectuals in the country, U.R. Ananthamurthy passed away at a private hospital in Bangalore on August 23. . He was 82. URA, a Jnanpith award winner, had a kidney ailment and had been on dialysis for a long time.

The Oscar-winning comedian and actor Robin Williams committed suicide at 63 on August 11. The popular actor had been battling severe depression of late. Williams, a four-time Oscar nominee, won a supporting actor Oscar for Good Will Hunting for his portrayal of a wise and morose psychologist.

Child prodigy-turned master musician Mandolin U. Shrinivas (45) passed away on November 4 at a private hospital in the city following a lung infection. He had been ailing for some time and had recently undergone a liver transplant.

Ravi Chopra, who co-directed Mahabharata (1988), one of the most popular serials in the history of Indian television, died on November 12 due to a lung ailment at a private hospital in Mumbai. He was 68.

US comedian and talk-show host Joan Rivers died 5th September. Rivers had been admitted to New York's Mt. Sinai hospital after she stopped breathing during procedure on her vocal cords at a New York clinic and was placed in a medically induced coma to assess her condition.

Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Murli Deora passed away on November 25 after prolonged illness. He was 77 and is survived by his wife and two sons, including former MP Milind Deora. Currently, he was serving his third term as a Rajya Sabha MP. He held the portfolio of Petroleum and Natural Gas during the UPA-1 regime. The Congress veteran had also served as the Mumbai Congress President for 22 years.

Veteran Bollywood character actor, director and producer Deven Verma died on December 4 following a heart attack and kidney failure. He was 78. He is best remembered for roles in movies such as Angoor, Golmaal, Chori Mera Kaam, Andaz Apna Apna, Bemisal, Judaai, Dil To Paagal Hai, and Kora Kagaz. Verma won three Filmfare awards in his career for his performances in films such as Chori Mera Kaam, Chor Ke Ghar Chor and Angoor.

Former Supreme Court judge and Kerala minister VR Krishna Iyer passed away in a hospital in Kochi on December 5. Iyer celebrated his 100th birthday November 15 this year. He was the minister of law in the first communist government led by legendary EMS Nampoothiripad in 1957. He was also the member of the second Kerala legislative assembly. Iyer became a judge of the Kerala high court in 1968 and remained there till 1971. He was also the member of the Law Commission for two years. In 1973, he was appointed the judge of the Supreme Court and retired in 1980.

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