Last Word

Pictured: Charles Jencks Matthew Bannister on The architectural historian Charles Jencks, who was known as the godfather of postmodernism. He also involved leading architects in designing cancer treatment centres named after his wife Maggie. Lord Foster pays tribute. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the fanatical leader of ISIS who was behind the killing and torture of thousands of victims. Irene Shubik, the...

Pictured: Alicia Alonso Matthew Bannister on Alicia Alonso, the Cuban ballerina who went on dancing when her sight began to fail. She also set up the National Ballet Company of Cuba. Deborah Orr, the witty columnist who also edited the Guardian Weekend magazine. Joyce Cansfield, the British Scrabble champion and 1983 Brain of Mensa who set more than a thousand crossword puzzles for the Times. Clor...

Pictured: Alexei Leonov Matthew Bannister on The Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov who was the first person to walk in space. Sally Soames, the photographer who made portraits of many leading politicians and celebrities as well as working in war zones. Her niece Claudia Winkleman and sister in law Eve Pollard pay tribute. Kary Mullis, the Nobel Prize-winning biochemist who invented PCR - a revolution...

Pictured: Ginger Baker Matthew Bannister on Su Beng, the activist known as the father of Taiwan independence. Ginger Baker, the legendary drummer with rock super group Cream who struggled with drug addiction and an unpredictable temper. John Haylett who was editor of the socialist paper the Morning Star at a crucial time in its history. Diahann Carroll, the African American actress who starred in...

Pictured: Jessye Norman Julian Worricker on: The multiple award-winning American soprano, Jessye Norman, whose performances wowed audiences around the world.... Peter Sissons, the acclaimed television journalist, who moved from ITN to the BBC to present Question Time and the main evening news.... The author, Al Alvarez, poetry editor of the Observer newspaper, and renowned poker player.... And Mar...

Pictured: Jacques Chirac Julian Worricker on: Jacques Chirac, mayor of Paris for eighteen years, who served twice as French Prime Minister and twice as French president.... The man who took on the toughest of managerial assignments - running British Leyland in the late 1970s - Sir Michael Edwardes.... US television journalist and presenter, Cokie Roberts, credited with changing the role of women i...

Pictured: Chester Williams Matthew Bannister on Sheikh Yusuf Motala who founded the first traditional Islamic seminary in the UK, and trained hundreds of Imams. Chester Williams, the only black rugby player in the South African team that won the World Cup in 1995. Jan Ruff O'Herne who was forced to work in a brothel by the Japanese army during the war. She kept her story secret for fifty years, bu...

Matthew Bannister on Hans Rausing, the Swedish-born industrialist who led the Tetra Pak company. In the 1990s he topped the Sunday Times Rich List ahead of the Queen. His daughter Sigrid pays tribute. Sir Dawda Jawara the first President of independent Gambia who faced two coup attempts. Sue Crockford, a feminist campaigner who made influential films about the social history of North London. Terra...

Pictured: Robert Mugabe Matthew Bannister on The former President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe. He was once hailed as a hero of the liberation struggle but later seen by many as a tyrant. Alla Verber, the Russian socialite who brought high fashion to the newly wealthy in the post-Soviet society. Ciaran McKeown, who joined Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams to found the Peace People of Northern Irela...

Matthew Bannister on Lord Bell, the advertising and public relations executive who helped Margaret Thatcher to win three elections. Paule Marshall, the novelist who wrote about the experiences of black Americans of Caribbean origin. David Koch, the American billionaire who poured money into right wing political causes. Richard Booth, the second hand bookseller who was the self-styled King of Hay-o...

Pictured: Peter Fonda Matthew Bannister on Peter Fonda, the actor who became a hero of the 1960s counterculture, by riding his Harley Davidson across America in the classic film Easy Rider. Princess Christina of the Netherlands who was born nearly blind. When her mother Queen Juliana consulted a soothsayer, a constitutional crisis followed. Geoffrey Paul the respected long serving editor of the Je...

Pictured: Julia Farron Julian Worricker on: The Cambodian political leader, Nuon Chea, who was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity during his time as a member of the Khmer Rouge.... Julia Farron, a dancer with the Royal Ballet, who's been described as a great performer of virtuoso roles.... The pioneering graphic designer, June Fraser, whose work has influenced so many of the logo...

Pictured: Toni Morrison Matthew Bannister on The Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, acclaimed for her novels which put the experience of black women centre stage. Hal Prince, the successful theatre producer and director behind West Side Story, Phantom of the Opera and Evita. The pioneering radar and sonar engineer, Dr Elizabeth Killick. Li Peng, the Chinese Premier who ordered troops to fir...

Pictured: Russi Taylor Matthew Bannister on Beji Caid Essebsi who became the first democratically elected President of Tunisia in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. Russi Taylor the versatile voice artist best known for playing Minnie Mouse. She married the man who did the voice for Mickey Mouse. Jane Hubert, the anthropologist and psychologist who studied young people with severe learning disabili...

Pictured: Andrea Camilleri Matthew Bannister on Andrea Camilleri, the Sicilian writer who created the Inspector Montalbano novels. His literary success began in his late sixties. Johnny Clegg, the white South African singer and guitarist who confronted the apartheid government by embracing Zulu music and culture. Christopher Kraft, the founder of mission control for the NASA space programme. Paul...

Pictured: Audrey Eyton Matthew Bannister on Arthur Ryan, the Irish retailer who created Primark - known for selling fast fashion at low prices. Audrey Eyton, who devised the F-Plan diet, which encouraged people to eat fibre to lose weight. Jack Bond, the Lancashire cricket captain who led his team to success in the one-day game. Rip Torn, the film and stage actor known for his violent temper who a...

Pictured: Eva Kor Matthew Bannister on Eva Kor who, with her twin sister, was the subject of experiments by the Nazi doctor Josef Mengele in Auschwitz. She later publicly forgave her tormentors. Christopher Booker, the founding editor of Private Eye and Telegraph columnist. João Gilberto, the Brazilian pioneer of bossa nova music whose hits included The Girl From Ipanema. And John McCririck, the e...

Pictured: Brenda Maddox Matthew Bannister on Ivan Cooper, the human rights campaigner and politician from Northern Ireland who played a key role in the protests on Bloody Sunday. Min Hogg, the colourful founding editor of World of Interiors magazine. Her friend Nicky Haslam pays tribute. John Gunther Dean, the last US diplomat to be evacuated from Cambodia as war loomed. Brenda Maddox, author of m...

Pictured: Judith Krantz Matthew Bannister on Dr. Henry Lynch whose painstaking medical research revealed the causes of hereditary cancers. Judith Krantz, the American author who made a huge commercial success from her sex and shopping novels. Lord Patel, the Indian-born businessman who became a key figure in community relations in his adopted town of Blackburn. Anthony Hedges, the British composer...

Pictured: Franco Zeffirelli Matthew Bannister on Franco Zeffirelli, the stage and film director known for his opulent designs and flamboyant personality. Gloria Vanderbilt, the heiress who overcame personal tragedy and was the first to market designer jeans. Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected President, who was ousted from office after only a year. Philomena Lynott, who ran a hote...

Pictured: John Tidmarsh Matthew Bannister on John Tidmarsh, who presented Outlook on the BBC World Service for thirty years and brought comfort to the Beirut hostages. John McCarthy pays tribute. Sylvia Denman, the Barbados-born lawyer who campaigned for better race relations in the UK and fought to improve educational outcomes for young black people. Paul Darrow, the actor best known as Avon, the...

Pictured: Edward Seaga Julian Worricker on: The Jamaican politician, Edward Seaga, who led his country as prime minister throughout the 1980s Binyavanga Wainaina, one of Kenya's most prominent writers and LGBTQ activists The Vogue fashion editor and Manhattan socialite, Gloria Schiff Archivist, Mary Stopes-Roe, daughter of the bouncing bomb developer Barnes Wallis And the Grammy Award-winning, New...

Pictured: Nan Winton Matthew Bannister on Murray Gell-Mann, the American physicist who won the Nobel Prize for his work on the theory of elementary particles. He coined the name "quarks" for the fundamental building blocks of matter. Nan Winton, the first woman to read the TV news on the BBC. She faced discrimination in the male-dominated BBC newsroom. James McCord, the CIA agent who was involved...

Pictured: Judith Kerr Matthew Bannister on Niki Lauda, the fearless racing driver who survived a terrible crash to make a dramatic comeback on the track. Judith Kerr, the author of much-loved children's books including the Mog series and The Tiger Who Came to Tea. I.M. Pei, the architect best known for the glass pyramid outside the Louvre in Paris. Herman Wouk, the American novelist and screenwrit...

Pictured: Doris Day Julian Worricker on: One of Hollywood's top box-office stars of the 50s and 60s, actress and singer Doris Day. The Labour MP who became one of television's most exhaustive political interviewers, Brian Walden. Dorothy Rowe, one of the earliest figures in psychology to build a bridge between clinical practice and the general public. And the paranormal investigator, Lorraine Warr...