They may not be the people who dominate your music playlists or the shows you binge-watch, but these individuals were major influences in politics, business and social causes.<\/p>\n
These are some of the newsmakers we lost in 2019.<\/p>\n
Luis Alvarez, 53; Former New York City detective who became the face of the fight to extend health benefits for 9\/11 first responders.<\/p>\n
In this undated file photo provided by the New York City Police Department, NYPD Detective Luis Alvarez poses for a photo. Alvarez, died on Saturday, June 29, after a three-year battle with cancer.<\/p>\n
AP<\/p>\n
RELATED: Detective who fought for 9\/11 victims remembered for his bravery<\/p>\n
Michel Bacos, 94; French pilot of a hijacked airliner in 1976 who refused to leave the plane while Jewish and Israeli passengers remained on board.<\/p>\n
Jacques Chirac, 86; Influential French president who sought unified Europe.<\/p>\n
Rep. Elijah Cummings, 68; 13-term congressman from Baltimore. Son of sharecroppers advanced to become chairman of the powerful House Oversight Committee.<\/p>\n
Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., speaks during a luncheon at the National Press Club in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019. (AP Photo\/Patrick Semansky)<\/p>\n
AP<\/p>\n
RELATED: Congress bids tearful farewell to 'sweet Elijah' Cummings<\/p>\n
Rep. John Conyers, 90; Served in House of Representatives from 1965-2017, making him the longest-serving African-American in congressional history.<\/p>\n
Rep. John Dingell, 92; His 59 years in the House was the longest run in history.<\/p>\n
Rep. Paul Findley, 98; Helped write the War Powers Act, which requires the president to give Congress 48 hours notice before sending troops into combat.<\/p>\n
Richard Hatcher, 86: As mayor of Gary, Indiana, was one of the first black mayors of a big U.S. city.<\/p>\n
Lee Iacocca, 94; Spent 32 years at Ford Motor Company, but best known for turning around Chrysler during 14-year tenure.<\/p>\n
David Koch, 79; Right-wing billionaire who, along with brother Charles, poured billions into influencing American politics. Was 1980 Libertarian vice-presidential candidate. Philanthropist donated mightily to arts and culture.<\/p>\n
James Leavelle, 99; Detective was handcuffed to Lee Harvey Oswald and escorting him when Jack Ruby shot and killed Oswald.<\/p>\n
Lee Harvey Oswald, suspected assassin of JFK, shot to death at point-blank range by Jack Ruby in basement of Dallas police headquarters Nov. 24, 1963. Plainclothes officer to the left of him is Jim Leavelle in the white suit and Stetson.<\/p>\n
Bob Jackson<\/p>\n
Aleksei Leonov, 85; Russian cosmonaut was the first man to walk in space. Later revealed the walk nearly killed him because his suit bulked up, making it difficult to re-enter the spacecraft.<\/p>\n
RELATED: First human to walk in space, Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, has died<\/p>\n
Sen. Richard Lugar, 87; Spent 36 years in the Senate. Led effort to destroy nuclear weapons stockpiles around the world<\/p>\n
Rosemary Mariner, 65; First woman to command a U.S. Navy air squadron.<\/p>\n
Mohammed Morsi, 67; Egypt's first democratically-elected president. Was ousted by the military in Arab Spring in 2011.<\/p>\n
Robert Mugabe, 95; First president of independent Zimbabwe with an appetite for power was forced out by his party and military in 2017.<\/p>\n
H. Ross Perot, 89; Ran for president twice, but his 1992 run gained rarely-seen traction for a third-party candidate, winning 19 percent of the popular vote.<\/p>\n
H. Ross Perot died July 9 at the age of 89.<\/p>\n
WFAA<\/p>\n
T. Boone Pickens, 91; Powerful, colorful entrepreneur and investor in the oil and gas industries was also an environmentalist.<\/p>\n
John Paul Stevens, 99; Served 35 years as an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
William Doyle Ruckelshaus, 87; Resigned as deputy attorney general rather than carry out President Richard Nixons order to fire the special prosecutor investigating the Watergate scandal.<\/p>\n
Cokie Roberts, 75; Political reporter for NPR then ABC News inspired generations of aspiring female journalists.<\/p>\n
Paul Volcker, 92: Former Federal Reserve Chairman fought double-digit infation in the 1980s by raising interest rates to historic highs, triggering a recession.<\/p>\n
Joseph Wilson, 69; American diplomat who challenged the claim by President George W. Bush that Iraq was building nuclear weapons. His then-wife Valerie Plame was subsequently outed as an undercover CIA agent.<\/p>\n
Sources include The New York Times, Associated Press and Britannica..<\/p>\n
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Remembering the newsmakers we lost in 2019 - KREM.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" They may not be the people who dominate your music playlists or the shows you binge-watch, but these individuals were major influences in politics, business and social causes. These are some of the newsmakers we lost in 2019. Luis Alvarez, 53; Former New York City detective who became the face of the fight to extend health benefits for 9\/11 first responders Continue reading