John Levy, American jazz double-bassist and manager, died he was 99.

John Levy was an African-American jazz double-bassist and businessman died he was 99..

(April 11, 1912 – January 20, 2012)

Levy was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1944, he left his family home in Chicago, Illinois, and moved to New York City, New York, where he played bass for such renowned jazz musicians as Ben Webster, Errol Garner, Milt Jackson, and Billie Holiday. In 1949, he became the bassist in the original George Shearing Quintet, where he also acted as Shearing's road manager. In 1951, Levy opened John Levy Enterprises, Inc., becoming the first African-American personal manager in the pop or jazz music field. By the 1960s, Levy's client roster included Shearing, Nancy Wilson, Cannonball Adderley, Joe Williams, Shirley Horn, and Ramsey Lewis.
In 1997, Levy was inducted into the International Jazz Hall of Fame, and in 2006 he was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts. He died, aged 99, in Altadena, California.^[1][2]



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Ioannis Kefalogiannis, Greek politician, MP (1958–1964; 1974–2004) and Minister of the Interior (1992–1993), died he was 79.

Ioannis Kefalogiannis  was a Greek politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 1958 to 1964, and again from 1974 to 2004 died he was 79.. During this time he was briefly Minister of Public Order, Minister for Tourism, and Minister of the Interior.^[1][2]

(Greek: Ιωάννης Κεφαλογιάννης; 6 December 1933 – 20 January 2012)


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Etta James, American blues singer ("At Last"), died from leukemia she was 73.

Etta James was an American singer died from leukemia she was 73.. Her style spanned a variety of music genres including blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul, gospel and jazz. Starting her career in 1954, she gained fame with hits such as "Roll With Me, Henry", "At Last", "Tell Mama", "Something's Got a Hold on Me", and "I'd Rather Go Blind" for which she wrote the lyrics.^[1] She faced a number of personal problems, including drug addiction, before making a musical resurgence in the late 1980s with the album The Seven Year Itch.^[2]

^{(born Jamesetta Hawkins; January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012)}

James is regarded as having bridged the gap between rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and is the winner of six Grammys and 17 Blues Music Awards. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Grammy Hall of Fame in both 1999 and 2008.^[3] Rolling Stone ranked James number 22 on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and number 62 on the list of the 100 Greatest Artists.^[4][5]

Early life and career: 1938–1959

Jamesetta Hawkins was born on January 25, 1938, in Los Angeles, California, to Dorothy Hawkins, who was only 14 at the time. Her father has never been identified.^[6] James speculated that her father was the pool player Rudolf "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone, and met him briefly in 1987.^[7] Due to her mother being often absent from their Watts apartment, conducting relationships with various men, James lived with a series of foster parents, most notably "Sarge" and "Mama" Lu. James referred to her mother as "the Mystery Lady".^[6]
James received her first professional vocal training at the age of five from James Earle Hines, musical director of the Echoes of Eden choir, at the St. Paul Baptist Church in south central Los Angeles. She became a popular singing attraction at the church, and Sarge tried to pressure the church into paying him money for her singing, but they refused. During drunken poker games at home, he would often wake James up in the early hours of the morning and force her through beatings to sing for his friends. As she was a bed-wetter, and often soaked with her own urine on these occasions, the trauma of being forced to sing meant she had a lifelong reluctance to sing on demand.^[8]
In 1950, Mama Lu died, and James' real mother took her to the Fillmore District, San Francisco.^[9] Within a couple of years, James began listening to doo-wop and was inspired to form a girl group, called the Creolettes (due to the members' light skinned complexions). The 14-year-old girl met musician Johnny Otis. Stories on how they met vary including Otis' version in which James had come to his hotel after one of his performances in the city and persuaded him to audition her. Another story came that Otis spotted the group performing at a Los Angeles nightclub and sought them to record his "answer song" to Hank Ballard's "Work with Me, Annie". Nonetheless, Otis took the group under his wing, helping them sign to Modern Records and changing their name from the Creolettes to the Peaches and gave the singer her stage name reversing Jamesetta into Etta James. James recorded the version, which she was allowed to co-author, in 1954, and the song was released in early 1955 as "Dance with Me, Henry". Originally the name of the song was "Roll With Me, Henry" but was changed to avoid censorship due to the subtle title. In February of that year, the song reached number one on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Tracks chart.^[10] Its success gave the group an opening spot on Little Richard's national tour.^[11]
While on tour with Richard, pop singer Georgia Gibbs recorded her version of James' song, which was released under the title "The Wallflower", and became a crossover hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100, which angered James. After leaving the Peaches, James had another R&B hit with "Good Rockin' Daddy", but struggled with follow-ups. When her contract with Modern came up in 1960, she decided to sign with Leonard Chess' namesake label, Chess Records, and shortly afterwards got involved in a relationship with singer Harvey Fuqua, founder of the doo-wop group, The Moonglows.
Bobby Murray, aka "Taters", toured with Etta James for 20 years. He wrote that James had her first hit single when she was 15 years of age and went steady with B.B. King when she was 16. Etta James believed the hit single "Sweet Sixteen" by King was about her.^[12]

Chess years: 1960–1978

Dueting with Harvey Fuqua, James recorded for the Chess label Argo (later Cadet) and her first hit singles with Fuqua were "If I Can't Have You" and "Spoonful". Her first solo hit was the doo-wop styled rhythm and blues number, "All I Could Do Was Cry", becoming a number two R&B hit.^[13] Leonard Chess had envisioned James as a classic ballad stylist who had potential to cross over to the pop charts and soon surrounded the singer with violins and other string instruments.^[13] The first string-laden ballad James recorded was "My Dearest Darling" in May 1960, which peaked in the top five of the R&B chart. James sang background vocals on label mate Chuck Berry's "Back in the U.S.A.".^[14][15]

Vinyl recording of "At Last"/"I Just Want to Make Love"

Her debut album, At Last!, was released in late 1960 and was noted for its varied choice in music from jazz standards to blues numbers to doo-wop and rhythm and blues (R&B).^[16] The album also included James' future classic, "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and "A Sunday Kind of Love". In early 1961, James released what was to become her signature song, "At Last", which reached number two on the R&B chart and number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100. Though the song was not as successful as expected, it has become the most remembered version of the song.^[14] James followed that up with "Trust in Me", which also included string instruments.^[13] Later that same year, James released a second studio album, The Second Time Around. The album took the same direction as her previous album, covering many jazz and pop standards, and using strings on many of the songs spawning two hit singles, "The Fool That I Am" and "Don't Cry Baby".^[17]
James started adding gospel elements in her music the following year releasing "Something's Got a Hold on Me", which peaked at number four on the R&B chart and was also a top 40 pop hit.^[18] That success was quickly followed by "Stop the Wedding", which reached number six on the R&B charts and also had gospel elements.^[14] In 1963, she had another major hit with "Pushover" and released the live album Etta James Rocks the House, which was recorded at the New Era Club in Nashville, Tennessee.^[13] After a couple years scoring minor hits, James' career started to suffer after 1965. After a period of isolation, James returned to recording in 1967 and reemerged with more ballsy R&B numbers thanks to her recording at the legendary Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama releasing her comeback hit "Tell Mama", which was co-written by Clarence Carter and Paul C Saenz, and reached number ten R&B and number twenty three pop. An album of the same name was also released that year and included her take of Otis Redding's "Security".^[19] The B-side of "Tell Mama" was "I'd Rather Go Blind", which became a blues classic in its own right and was recorded by many other artists. She wrote in her autobiography Rage To Survive that she heard the song outlined by her friend Ellington "Fugi" Jordan when she visited him in prison.^[20] According to her account, she wrote the rest of the song with Jordan, but for tax reasons gave her songwriting credit to her partner at the time, Billy Foster.
Following this success, James became an in-demand concert performer though she never again reached the heyday of her early to mid-1960s success. She continued to chart in the R&B Top 40 in the early 1970s with singles such as "Losers Weepers" (1970) and "I Found a Love" (1972). Though James continued to record for Chess, she was devastated by the death of Chess founder Leonard Chess in 1969. James ventured into rock and funk with the release of her self-titled album in 1973 with production from famed rock producer Gabriel Mekler, who had worked with Steppenwolf and Janis Joplin, who had admired James and had covered "Tell Mama" in concert. The album, known for its mixtures of musical styles, was nominated for a Grammy Award.^[19] The album did not produce any major hits, neither did the follow-up, Out On the Street Again, in 1974, though like Etta James before it, the album was also critically acclaimed. James continued to record for Chess releasing two more albums in 1978, Etta Is Betta Than Evah and Deep in the Night, which saw the singer incorporating more rock-based music in her repertoire.^[13] That same year, James was the opening act for The Rolling Stones and also performed at the Montreal International Jazz Festival. Following this brief success, however, she left Chess Records and did not record for another ten years as she struggled with drug addiction and alcoholism.

Later career: 1988–2012

Etta James in 1990

Though she continued to perform, little was heard of Etta James until 1987 when she was seen performing "Rock & Roll Music" with Chuck Berry on his "Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll" documentary. In 1989, James signed with Island Records and released the album Seven Year Itch. The album was produced by Barry Beckett. She released a second album, also produced by Barry Beckett, in 1989 titled Stickin' to My Guns. Both albums were recorded at FAME Studios.^[19] Also in 1989 James filmed a live concert from the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles with Joe Walsh and Albert Collins, "Jazzvisions: Jump The Blues Away". Backing musicians consisted of many top-flight players from LA: Rick Rosas (bass); Michael Huey (drums); Ed Sanford (B3); Kip Noble (piano); and Etta's longtime guitar player Josh Sklar (guitar). James participated in rap singer Def Jef for the song "Droppin' Rhymes on Drums", which mixed James' jazz vocals with hip-hop. In 1992, James released The Right Time produced by Jerry Wexler on Elektra Records and the following year, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.^[10] James signed with Private Music Records in 1993 and recorded the Billie Holiday tribute album Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday.^[18] The album later set a trend for James' music to incorporate more jazz elements.^[13] The album won James her first Grammy Award for best jazz vocal performance in 1994. In 1995, she released the David Ritz-co authored autobiography, A Rage to Survive, and recorded the album Time After Time. Three years later she issued the Christmas album Etta James Christmas in 1998.^[13]
By the mid-1990s, James' earlier classic music was included in commercials including, most notably, "I Just Wanna Make Love to You". Due to exposure of the song in a UK commercial, the song reached the top ten of the UK charts in 1996.^[10] Continuing to record for Private Music, she released the blues album Matriarch of the Blues in 2000, which had James returning to her R&B roots with Rolling Stone hailing it as a "solid return to roots", further stating that the album found the singer "reclaiming her throne — and defying anyone to knock her off it."^[18] In 2001, she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, the latter for her contributions to the developments of both rock and roll music and rockabilly. In 2003, she received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Her 2004 release, Blue Gardenia, returned James to a jazz music style. Her final album for Private Music, Let's Roll, was released in 2005 and won James a Grammy for best contemporary blues album.^[21]

Etta James performing in San Jose, California, in 2000.

In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked her No. 62 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.^[22] James has performed at the top world jazz festivals in the world, such as the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1977, 1989, 1990 and 1993,^[23] performed nine times at the legendary Monterey Jazz Festival, and the San Francisco Jazz Festival five times. Additionally, James often performed at free summer arts festivals throughout the United States.
In 2008, James was portrayed by Beyoncé Knowles in the film, Cadillac Records, loosely based on the rise and fall of James' label of 18 years, Chess Records, and how label founder and producer Leonard Chess helped the career of James and other label mates, though it was noted that James was successful prior to her signing with Chess Records.^[24] In the film, Etta James' character is in constant search to seek the recognition as well as love from a professional pool player named Minnesota Fats, whom she believed to be her white biological father.^[25] The film also portrayed "At Last" as a huge pop hit, but the single only charted briefly when it was initially released and James had bigger hits. It also inaccurately portrayed James and Chess [who were 21 years apart in age] as lovers. Though James and Knowles were later seen at a red carpet event following the film's release embracing each other, James expressed her displeasure with Knowles at a Seattle concert in January 2009, a few days after Knowles sang her song, "At Last", at the first inaugural ball for Barack Obama. James claimed she "can't stand Beyoncé" and that Knowles would "get her ass whipped". James later said that her remarks about Knowles were a joke but admitted she was hurt that she was not invited to sing her song and that she could have performed it better.^[26]
In April 2009, the 71-year-old James made her final television appearance performing "At Last" during an appearance on Dancing with the Stars. In May 2009, James received the Soul/Blues Female Artist of the Year award from the Blues Foundation, the ninth time James had won the award. James carried on touring but by 2010 had to cancel concert dates due to her gradually failing health after it was revealed that she was suffering from dementia and leukemia. In November 2011, James released her final album, The Dreamer, which was critically acclaimed upon its release. James announced that this would be her final album. James's continuing relevance was affirmed in 2011 when the Swedish DJ Avicii achieved substantial chart success with the song "Levels", which samples her 1962 song, "Something's Got a Hold On Me". The same sample was also used by rapper Flo Rida in his hit 2011 single "Good Feeling." Both artists issued statements of condolence on James's death.^[27]

Style and influence

James possessed the vocal range of a contralto.^[28] James's musical style changed during the course of her career. When beginning her recording career in the mid-50s, James was marketed as an R&B and doo-wop singer.^[13] After signing with Chess Records in 1960, James broke through as a traditional pop-styled singer, covering jazz and pop music standards on her debut album, At Last!.^[29] James's voice deepened and coarsened, moving her musical style in her later years into the genres of soul and jazz.^[13]
Etta James had once been considered one of the most overlooked blues and R&B musicians in Music history of the United States. It was not until the early 1990s, when James began receiving major industry awards from the Grammys and the Blues Foundation, that she began to receive wide recognition. In recent years, James was seen as bridging the gap between rhythm and blues and rock and roll. James has influenced a wide variety of American musicians including Diana Ross, Christina Aguilera, Janis Joplin, Bonnie Raitt, Shemekia Copeland,^[18] and Hayley Williams of Paramore^[30] as well as British artists The Rolling Stones,^[31] Rod Stewart,^[32] Elkie Brooks,^[33] Amy Winehouse,^[32] Paloma Faith,^[34] Joss Stone^[35] and Adele^[36], and also Belgian singer Dani Klein.
Her song, "Something's Got a Hold on Me", was recognized in many ways. Brussels music act Vaya Con Dios covered the song on their 1990 album Night Owls. Another version, performed by Christina Aguilera, was in her 2010 film Burlesque; and in 2011 the song was sampled in Avicii's dance hit, "Levels", and again in Flo Rida's single, "Good Feeling".

Personal life

James encountered a string of legal problems during the early 1970s due to her heroin addiction. She was continuously in and out of rehabilitation centers, including the Tarzana Rehabilitation Center, in Los Angeles, California. Her husband Artis Mills, whom she married in 1969, accepted responsibility when they were both arrested for heroin possession and served a 10-year prison sentence.^[37] He was released from prison in 1981 and was still married to James at her death.^[18] She was also arrested around the same time for her drug addiction, accused of cashing bad checks, forgery and possession of heroin.^[38]
In 1974, James was sentenced to drug treatment instead of serving time in prison. She was in the Tarzana Psychiatric Hospital for 17 months, at age 36, and went through a great struggle at the start of treatment. In her autobiography, she said that the time she spent in the hospital changed her life. However, after leaving treatment, her substance abuse continued after she developed a relationship with a man who was also using drugs. In 1988, at the age of 50, she entered the Betty Ford Center, in Palm Springs, California, for treatment.^[18] In 2010, she received treatment for a dependency on painkillers.^[39]
James had two sons, Donto and Sametto. Both started performing with their mother in 2003—Donto on drums and Sametto on bass guitar.^[40]

Illness and death

James was hospitalized in January 2010 to treat an infection caused by MRSA, a bacterium that is resistant to most antibiotic treatments. During her hospitalization, her son Donto revealed that James had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2008, and attributed her previous comments about Beyoncé Knowles to "drug induced dementia".^[41]
She was diagnosed with leukemia in early 2011. The illness became terminal and she died on January 20, 2012, just five days before her 74th birthday, at Riverside Community Hospital in Riverside, California.^[42] Her death came three days after that of Johnny Otis, the man who discovered her in the 1950s. Additionally, just 36 days after her death, her sideman Red Holloway also died.
The funeral, presided by Reverend Al Sharpton, took place in Gardena, California eight days after her death. Singers Stevie Wonder and Christina Aguilera each gave a musical tribute.^[43][44] She was interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Los Angeles County, California.

Awards

From 1989, James received over 30 awards and recognitions from eight different organizations, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences which organizes the Grammys.
In 1989, the newly formed Rhythm and Blues Foundation included James in their first Pioneer Awards for artists whose "lifelong contributions have been instrumental in the development of Rhythm & Blues music".^[45] The following year, 1990, she received an NAACP Image Award, which is given for "outstanding achievements and performances of people of color in the arts";^[46] an award she cherished as it "was coming from my own people".^[47]

• 1993, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• 2001, Rockabilly Hall of Fame
• April 18, 2003,^[48] Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Hollywood Walk of Fame, star at 7080 Hollywood Blvd, and Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) Lifetime Achievement Award^[49]
• 2006, Billboard R&B Founders Award^[50]

Grammys

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. James has received six Grammy Awards. Her first was in 1994, when she was awarded Best Jazz Vocal Performance for the album Mystery Lady, which consisted of covers of Billie Holiday songs.^[51] Two other albums have also won awards, Let's Roll (Best Contemporary Blues Album) in 2003, and Blues to the Bone (Best Traditional Blues Album) in 2004. Two of her early songs have been given Grammy Hall of Fame Awards for "qualitative or historical significance": "At Last", in 1999,^[52] and "The Wallflower (Dance with Me, Henry)" in 2008.^[53] In 2003, she was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.^[54]

Year	Recipient	Award	Result
1961	"All I Could Do Was Cry"	Best Rhythm & Blues Performance	Nominated
1962	"The Fool That I Am"	Best Rhythm & Blues Performance	Nominated
1968	"Tell Mama"	Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Female	Nominated
1969	"Security"		Nominated
1974	Etta James		Nominated
1975	"St. Louis Blues"		Nominated
1989	"Seven Year Itch"	Best Contemporary Blues Recording	Nominated
1991	Stickin' to My Guns		Nominated
1993	The Right Time		Nominated
1995	Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday	Best Jazz Vocal Performance	Won
1999	"At Last"	Grammy Hall of Fame Award	Won
	Life, Love & the Blues	Best Contemporary Blues Album	Nominated
2000	Heart of a Woman	Best Jazz Vocal Performance	Nominated
2002	Matriarch of the Blues	Best Contemporary Blues Album	Nominated
2003	Etta James	Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award	Inducted
2004	Let's Roll	Best Contemporary Blues Album	Won
2005	Let's Roll	Best Traditional Blues Album	Won
2008	"The Wallflower"	Grammy Hall of Fame Award	Inducted

Blues Foundation

The members of the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up in Memphis, Tennessee, to foster the blues and its heritage,^[55] have nominated James for a Blues Music Award nearly every year since its founding in 1980; and she received some form of Blues Female Artist of the Year award 14 times since 1989, continuously from 1999 to 2007.^[56] In addition, the albums Life, Love, & The Blues (1999), Burnin' Down The House (2003), and Let's Roll (2004) were awarded Soul/Blues Album of the Year,^[56] and in 2001 she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.^[51]


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Dolores Guinness, German Baroness and socialite, died she was 75.

Dolores Guinness, was a German born Freiin (Baroness), socialite, fashion icon and jet set member of the 1950s and 1960s died she was 75.. She is also a member of the International Best Dressed List since 1970.^[2][3] Her mother was the famous socialite Gloria Guinness.

(31 July 1936 – 20 January 2012)

Early life

Born Dolores Maria Agatha Wilhelmine Luise, Freiin von Fürstenberg-Hedringen on 31 July 1936 in Berlin-Charlottenburg.^[4] She is the second daughter of Franz-Egon Maria Meinhard Engelbert Pius Aloysius Kaspar Ferdinand Dietrich, 3rd Graf von Fürstenberg-Herdringen (1896–1975) and his second wife, Gloria Guinness (1912–1980). She also has a younger brother, Franz-Egon born 1939, and a stepsister, Betsy von Furstenberg, from her fathers previous marriage.
Though some published sources have described Dolores von Fürstenberg as a countess and a princess, she is, in fact, a Freiin (baroness) by birth, according to the last published issue of the Almanach de Gotha. Children of the counts von Fürstenberg-Hedringen are known as Freiherr (baron) or Freiin (baroness), and the sons move up in rank to Graf (count) only if they inherit the primary title.

Later life

At age 19 she married her stepbrother Patrick Benjamin Guinness^[5] (1931–1965), son of Loel Guinness, on 22 October 1955 in Paris. Patrick was killed in a car accident in Turtig near Raron, Switzerland 1965.^[6] Have issue:

1. Maria Alexandra Guinness Cook (born 1956) married Foulques, Count de Quatrebarbes (born 1948) in 1979. Now divorced. Have issue.
2. Loel Patrick Guinness (born 1957).
3. Victoria Christina Niarchos (born 1960) married Philip Niarchos in 1984, son of late Greek billionaire Stavros Niarchos. Have issue.

After Patrick's death Dolores fell madly in love with Karim Aga Khan, the son of Joan Barbara Yarde-Buller (1908–1997) by her marriage to Aly Khan (1911–1960), and wanted to marry him, but nothing came of that eventually.^[7]

Fashion icon

Dolores was often seen in Vogue (magazine), Harper's Bazaar,^[8] Town and Country (magazine) and LIFE dressed in designer clothes from Givenchy, Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent and Balenciaga during the 1950s and 1960s, photographed by Cecil Beaton, Bert Stern, Henry Clarke, Mark Shaw (photographer), Richard Avedon and William Klein. She often appeared on the International Best Dressed List during these years.


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Lucy Faulkner, Northern Irish journalist, widow of Brian Faulkner. died she was 87.

Lucy Barbara Ethel Faulkner, Lady Faulkner of Downpatrick CBE was a Northern Irish journalist, unionist and peace advocate died she was 87.. Faulkner was the wife of the sixth and last Prime Minister of Northern Ireland Brian Faulkner, who was in office from 1971 to 1972.^[1][2] She was also the first woman to hold a seat as a National Governor of the BBC from Northern Ireland from 1978 to 1985.^[3][4] As a BBC Governor, Faulkner oversaw the formation of the Northern Ireland Broadcasting Council and the launch of Radio Foyle.^[3] She further became the chairwoman of the BBC in 1981.^[4]

^{(July 1, 1925 – January 20, 2012)} 

Faulkner was born Lucy Barbara Ethel Forsythe.^[1] She attended Bangor Collegiate School before enrolling in Trinity College, Dublin, where she studied history.^[2] Forsythe worked as a journalist, joining the staff of for The Belfast Telegraph in 1947.^[2] In 1949, she left the newspaper and became the personal secretary to then Northern Irish Prime Minister Basil Brooke at Stormont House.^[2]
Forsythe married her husband, Brian Faulkner, in 1951 (Faulkner was serving as the youngest MP in the history of the Parliament of Northern Ireland at the time).^[1] The couple had first met due to their shared interests in both hunting and politics.^[1] After their marriage, the Faulkners resided in Highlands, which is located near the village of Seaforde, County Down.^[1] The couple had three children: David, Claire and Michael.^[3]
Brian Faulkner, was created Lord Faulkner of Downpatrick and introduced to the House of Lords on February 22, 1977.^[1] However, he was killed in a hunting accident just days later on March 3, 1977, following a stag hunt.^[1] The horse slipped and he was thrown onto the road and died instantly. Lady Faulkner was at his side in minutes having been following the hunt by car.^[1]
In 1985, Lady Faulkner was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).^[1] Two years later, in the aftermath of the Remembrance Day bombing by the IRA, Faulkner implored the Protestant Unionists to consider a power sharing agreement and "put the clock back" and further appealed to the Catholic Nationalists to cooperate with Northern Irish security forces.^[1]
Additionally, Lady Faulkner worked as a researcher and trustee for the Ulster Historical Foundation.^[4]
Lady Faulkner died at her home on January 20, 2012, at the age of 86.^[3]


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John F. Baker, Jr., American Medal of Honor recipient, died he was 66.

John Franklin Baker, Jr. was a United States Army Master Sergeant who served in the Vietnam War and received the Medal of Honor  died he was 66..

(October 30, 1945 – January 20, 2012) 

Personal life

Baker was born in Davenport, Iowa, and attended Moline High School from 1963 to 1966. At 5’ 1”, he was a gymnast before joining the army. He became a "tunnel rat" in Vietnam, a soldier who entered Viet Cong tunnels searching out the enemy and destroying their caches of war material. Baker made the military his career, retiring in 1989. He then began working as a computer analyst at a Veterans Hospital in South Carolina. In addition to serving as the Vice-President of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, he served as a member on the Nation's Monuments and Cemeteries Committee.
In 2008, the I-280 Bridge, connecting Davenport, Iowa with Rock Island, Illinois, was renamed the Sergeant John F. Baker, Jr. Bridge in his honor.^[1]
Baker suffered from heart problems in the last years of his life and began using oxygen in 2010. He died aged 66 on January 20, 2012, after collapsing at his Northeast Richland home.^[2]

Career

Baker entered the U.S. Army in Moline, Illinois, serving as a private in A Company, 2nd Battalion of the 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Division. In Vietnam, he took part in Operation Attleboro which began in September 1966. On November 5, 1966, Baker and his unit were called to assist another squad who were taking enemy fire. En route, A Company began to take fire and lost their lead soldier. Together with two other soldiers, Baker took over the head of the column and assisted in destroying two enemy positions. They were moving to take two others when a hand grenade knocked Baker off of his feet.
With the two other soldiers wounded, Baker "single handedly" destroyed another bunker before recovering his comrades. Despite taking further fire from enemy bunkers and snipers, he continually fell back to replenish ammunition and take back several wounded. For these actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor along with Captain Robert F. Foley, who also received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the battle. When awarding the medal, President Lyndon B Johnson stated:

“

The battlefield is the scarred and the lonely landscape of man's greatest failure. But is a place where heroes walk. Today we come here to the East Room of the White House to honor two soldiers, two soldiers who—in the same battle and at the same time—met the surpassing tests of their lives with acts of courage far beyond the call of duty. Captain Foley and Sergeant Baker fought in the same company. Now, together, they join the noblest company of them all. They fought because their Nation believed that only by honoring its commitments, and only by denying aggression its conquest, could the conditions of peace be created in Southeast Asia and the world.[3]

”

Decorations

•   Medal of Honor
•   Silver Star
•   Legion of Merit
•   Bronze Star
•   Purple Heart

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Sergeant (then Pfc.), U.S. Army, Company A, 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Republic of Vietnam, November 5, 1966. Entered service at: Moline, Ill. Born: October 30, 1945, Davenport, Iowa.
Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. En route to assist another unit that was engaged with the enemy, Company A came under intense enemy fire and the lead man was killed instantly. Sgt. Baker immediately moved to the head of the column and together with another soldier knocked out 2 enemy bunkers. When his comrade was mortally wounded, Sgt. Baker, spotting 4 Viet Cong snipers, killed all of them, evacuated the fallen soldier and returned to lead repeated assaults against the enemy positions, killing several more Viet Cong. Moving to attack 2 additional enemy bunkers, he and another soldier drew intense enemy fire and Sgt. Baker was blown from his feet by an enemy grenade. He quickly recovered and single-handedly destroyed 1 bunker before the other soldier was wounded. Seizing his fallen comrade's machine gun, Sgt. Baker charged through the deadly fusillade to silence the other bunker. He evacuated his comrade, replenished his ammunition and returned to the forefront to brave the enemy fire and continue the fight. When the forward element was ordered to withdraw, he carried 1 wounded man to the rear. As he returned to evacuate another soldier, he was taken under fire by snipers, but raced beyond the friendly troops to attack and kill the snipers. After evacuating the wounded man, he returned to cover the deployment of the unit. His ammunition now exhausted, he dragged 2 more of his fallen comrades to the rear. Sgt. Baker's selfless heroism, indomitable fighting spirit, and extraordinary gallantry were directly responsible for saving the lives of several of his comrades, and inflicting serious damage on the enemy. His acts were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.^[4]

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Stella Cunliffe, British statistician, died she was 95.

Stella Vivian Cunliffe MBE ^[1][2] was a British statistician died she was 95.. She was the first female president of the Royal Statistical Society.^[3]
She was educated at Parsons Mead, Ashtead and the London School of Economics where she gained a BSc (Econ).

(12 January 1917 - 20 January 2012)

Career

She started her career in the Danish Bacon Company (1939–44) but at the end of WWII interrupted her career to do voluntary relief work in Europe with the Guide International service (1945–47).
In 1947 she resumed her career by accepting a post as statistician at the Dublin brewers Arthur Guinness Son & Co. (1947–70).
She then in 1970 became Head of Research Unit at the Home Office (1970–72) before being appointed Director of Statistics at the Home Office (1972–77), the first woman to reach this grade in the British Government Statistical Service. She was later Statistical Adviser to the Committee of Enquiry into the Engineering Profession 1978-80
She served as the first female President of the Royal Statistical Society from 1975 to 1977. ^[4]

Guide International Service

The Guide International Service was formed from specially trained ex-Girl Guide volunteers to help with the rehabilitation of Europe after the war, As a member of the service, Stella Cunliffe was amongst the first civilians to go into Belsen Concentration Camp in 1945 ^[5] where they oversaw the "human laundry": the delousing of the inmates.
She was appointed MBE in 1993.

Presidential Address to the RSS

• Interaction Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series A (General), Vol. 139, No. 1. (1976), pp. 1–19.

Her recreations were work with youth organisations, gardening and prison after-care.


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