COMMENTARY | From the famous to the infamous, we witnessed the deaths of many notable public figures in 2011. Some were expected, while others took us by complete surprise.
These are four notable deaths of 2011 that will not be quickly forgotten:
Elizabeth Taylor
This iconic beauty graced the silver screen when she was just a child. After a long health battle, she passed away at 79 from congestive heart failure on Mar. 23. She will be remembered for her ageless beauty, eight marriages, quirky character and, of course, her star quality. There will likely never be another actress like Liz, who kept us entertained both on and off the screen for decades.
Amy Winehouse
At just 27, the award-winning singer lost her life to alcohol poisoning on July 23. The soulful voice of the troubled singer will carry on with fans for ages. Her talent revitalized the soul music scene and earned her five Grammys. However, she will always remain a cautionary tale about the consequences of drug and alcohol abuse among celebrities. Winehouse had publicly battled with alcohol and drugs for years, so her cause of death hardly came as a surprise.
Dan Wheldon
The 33-year-old race car driver was killed on Oct. 16 in a fiery crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The death of the two-time Indy winner was the first for IndyCar since Paul Dana in 2006. His courage and talent behind the wheel will be missed, but the tragedy reminds the public once again that these high-speed races take lives. There hasn’t been a loss like this in the racing world since Dale Earnhardt’s crash in 2001.
Steve Jobs
Perhaps one of the greatest losses to the technology world, the co-founder of Apple died at 56 from pancreatic cancer on Oct. 5. This innovative leader brought the world to our fingertips with the first Apple Computer, making way for personal computers in every household. He later made handheld devices a must-have with the inventions of the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. His genius and talent will never be forgotten, and we will always wonder what he would have come up with next.