Deaths of 2008
It’s the time of the year when we look back at the year that was. Here is the list of the important people who have died in 2008, who have really touched the lives of us all. Things not listed here include the global economy, which is actually still dying and not yet pronounced dead.
Momofuku Ando (5 March 1910 – 5 January 2007) was the Taiwanese-Japanese founder of Nissin Food Products and invented the world’s first instant noodles and cup noodles. He was dubbed Mr Noodle and The Noodle Papa. Without this man our lives without instant noodles would surely be different. Mi goreng instant noodles are listed in Safeway-Woolworths top ten items bought this year in Melbourne.
Ernest Gary Gygax (27 July 1938 – 4 March 2008) co-created the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) with Dave Arneson. Gygax’ contribution to nerd life can never be forgotten. After his death hackers at MIT paid tribute to Gynax with a giant 20-sided die.
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 1917 – 19 March 2008) was a British science fiction author most famous for the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey. Stanley Kubrick brought the film to the screen and after 160 mins, those who have managed to stay awake (or have taken LSD) have said that it is one of the greatest films ever made.
Edward Norton Lorenz (23 May 1917 – 16 April 2008) was an American mathematician who was the father of chaos theory and coined the often misunderstood term ‘butterfly effect’. The flap of the butterfly wing can cause a chain of events leading to large-scale alterations of events, so if the butterfly didn’t flap it’s wings then we would never realise how freaky Jeff Goldblum could be in Jurassic Park.
Albert Hofmann (11 January 1906 – 29 April 2008) was a Swiss scientist who invented the psychedelic drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). He realised the psychedelic effects of LSD on the mind after accidentally ingesting the drug, then later testing it in larger quantities on himself.
Morgan Sparks (6 July 1916 – 3 May 2008) was the aptly named American engineer who helped invent the microwatt bipolar junction transistor in 1951, a critical step in making transistors usable for every-day electronics. Without transistors there would be none of these new-fangled dvds, computers, blogs or atari consoles.
John Michael Crichton, MD (23 October 1942 – 4 November 2008) was an American author best known for his work in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres. He is most famous as the author of Jurassic Park and its unfortunate sequels.
Richard Peach (1949 – 30 November 2008) was a former ABC news anchor, and the voice of the Australian speaking clock. You can still hear him talking beyond the grave by calling the phone number 1194, “At the third stroke it will be…”
