Leading lights who died in 2016

Former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram died of cardiac arrest on December 5, in a Chennai hospital. (TOI photo)

Muhammad Ali, one of the most successful and celebrated sportspersons of the past century, passed away on June 3 after brief hospitalisation. Born Cassius Clay, he began training as an amateur boxer at the age of 12 and later converted to Islam. (AP)

Fidel Castro, the Cuban revolutionary and politician, died at the age of 90 on November 25. (TOI photo)

The famous Princess Leia from the Star Wars series, Carrie Fisher, died of a cardiac arrest on December 27, in a Los Angeles Medical Centre. (AFP)

India’s first quizmaster Neil O’Brien died at the age of 82 on June 24, at his home in Kolkata. (TOI photo)

Sundar Lal Patwa, senior leader of the BJP and former chief minister of Madya Pradesh, died at the age of 92, on December 28.

John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth, died on December 8, at the OSU Wexner Medical Centre in Ohio. (Reuters)

Harper Lee, the author of many popular books, including “To Kill a Mockingbird”, passed away at the age of 89, on February 19. (AP)

The entertainment world was jolted on January 14, when Alan Rickman, famous for playing ‘Professor Snape’ in the Harry Potter franchise, died in London. He was suffering from cancer. (AP)

David Bowie, a popular musician for over five decades, died on January 10, due to liver cancer, in Manhattan. (Reuters)

Manohar Aich, the man who gave India its first Mr Universe title in 1952, passed away in Kolkata omn June 5, 2016, at the age of 104. Aich, who stood at 4 feet 11 inches tall, was popularly called ‘Pocket Hercules’. (TOI photo)

Cho Ramaswamy, the Editor of the Tughlak magazine and close friend of Jayalalithaa Jayaram, died of cardiac arrest on December 7, in a Chennai hospital. (TOI photo)

George Michael, the famous English singer and songwriter died at his home in Oxfordshire, on December 25. (Reuters)

Rick Parfitt, the famous rhythm guitarist from the rock band Status Quo, died from Sepsis - an infection from his pre-existing shoulder surgery - on December 24. (AP)

Prince, the famous American musician died from an accidental overdose of fentanyl, in his recording studio in Minnesota, on April 21. (AP)

Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, member of the People's Democratic Party and former Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir died at the age of 79, on January 7, 2016. (TOI photo)