Chinese linguist Zhou Youguang, known as the father of Pinyin for creating the system of Romanized Chinese writing, passed away on 14 January 2017 in Beijing, China. He was 111.
●    Pinyin is the writing method that coverts Chinese characters into words using letters from the Roman alphabet. It changed the way the language was taught. In 1958, it was officially adopted by the Chinese Government. 
●    In 1982, Pinyin became the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 7098 after a vote. The United Nations adopted it in 1986.
●    Zhou Youguang was a Chinese economist, linguist, sinologist, publisher, banker, and supercentenarian (someone who has lived to or passed their 110th birthday).
●    He entered Changzhou High School in 1918, during which time he first took interest in linguistics. In 1923, he graduated with honours.
●    He majored in economics from St. John's University, Shanghai.
●    His committee was charged with developing a romanization to represent the pronunciation of Chinese characters.

Former Chief Minister of Punjab, Surjit Singh Barnala, passed away on 14 January 2017. He was 91.
●    Barnala served as the Chief Minister of Punjab from 29 September 1985 until 11 May 1987, a period of Sikh militant movement in Punjab. 
●    Born on 21 October 1925, he completed his graduation in law from Lucknow.
●    His first ministerial assignment was in 1969 when he was sworn in as Education Minister in the Justice Gurnam Singh Government.
●    He had also served as the Governor of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand. 
●    He was the first Governor of Uttarakhand from its creation in 2000 until 2003.
●    From December 1990 to 18 March 1993, he served as the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
 

Clare Hollingworth, legendary correspondent who first broke the news of the beginning of World War II, passed away on 10 January 2017 following a brief illness. She was 105.
●    She was famously known as the doyenne of war correspondents.
●    She was the first to report the invasion of Poland by German troops that triggered the outbreak of World War Two.
●    Hollingworth's career took her to Palestine, Iraq and Iran, where she interviewed Mohammed Reza Pahlevi, who was overthrown by revolutionaries in February 1979.
●    While working as a correspondent for the Economist and the Observer, Hollingworth went to Jerusalem in July 1946 when the King David hotel, where she was staying, was bombed by Zionist paramilitaries led by future Israeli prime minister Menachim Begin.
●    She also covered the conflict in Vietnam where she scored a scoop that peace talks would shortly begin between Hanoi and Washington in 1968.
●    She also reported the defection of British spy Kim Philby, but the story was largely buried by her editors out of the fears of a libel suit. 
●    In 1972, Hollingworth became the Telegraph's first Beijing correspondent since 1949.
●    Later, she returned back to the UK as a defence correspondent and also travelled to Hong Kong to cover the colony's handover to Chinese control in 1997.
●    She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.
 

Clare Hollingworth, legendary correspondent who first broke the news of the beginning of World War II, passed away on 10 January 2017 following a brief illness. She was 105.
●    She was famously known as the doyenne of war correspondents.
●    She was the first to report the invasion of Poland by German troops that triggered the outbreak of World War Two.
●    Hollingworth's career took her to Palestine, Iraq and Iran, where she interviewed Mohammed Reza Pahlevi, who was overthrown by revolutionaries in February 1979.
●    While working as a correspondent for the Economist and the Observer, Hollingworth went to Jerusalem in July 1946 when the King David hotel, where she was staying, was bombed by Zionist paramilitaries led by future Israeli prime minister Menachim Begin.
●    She also covered the conflict in Vietnam where she scored a scoop that peace talks would shortly begin between Hanoi and Washington in 1968.
●    She also reported the defection of British spy Kim Philby, but the story was largely buried by her editors out of the fears of a libel suit. 
●    In 1972, Hollingworth became the Telegraph's first Beijing correspondent since 1949.
●    Later, she returned back to the UK as a defence correspondent and also travelled to Hong Kong to cover the colony's handover to Chinese control in 1997.
●    She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

Eminent jurist C.G. Weeramantry, who was the first Sri Lankan to be appointed to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), passed away on 5th January. He was 90.
●    Justice Weeramantry began his judicial career in the 1950s, and became Sri Lanka’s youngest Supreme Court judge.
●    He later served as a senior judge there before moving to Australia as the Sir Hayden Stark Professor of Law at Monash University.
●    He set up the Colombo-based Weeramantry Centre for International Peace and also served as president of the International Association of Lawyers against Nuclear Arms, a non-governmental organisation headquartered in The Hague.
 

Om Puri, the veteran actor of Bollywood, died on 5 January 2017 in Mumbai. He passed away after a massive heart attack. He was 66.
●    Born on 18 October 1950, Puri appeared in commercial Indian, British, American, and Pakistani films.
●    He also acted in art films and independent films.
●    He studied at the Film and Television Institute of India as well as the National School of Drama.
●    He made his film debut with the Marathi film Ghashiram Kotwal (1976).
●    Hailing from Ambala, Haryana, Om Puri, was a recipient of Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India as well as Order of the British Empire (OBE).
●    In 2009, he was conferred with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award.
●    In 2015, he was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award International Film Festival of Prayag.
 

Pride of Pakistan and the foremost Khayal vocalist Ustad Bade Fateh Ali Khan of Patiala Gharana passed away on Wednesday evening in Islamabad. He was 81 years old.
●    There is a galaxy of highly acclaimed singers in Patiala Gharana and the deceased was one of the most shining ones. 
●    He was younger of the legendary singing duo Amanat Ali and Fateh Ali, who enjoyed a lot of popularity in Pakistan and India and had fan following and disciples in many other countries. 
●    Ustad Fateh Ali was father of Rustam Fateh Ali and Sultan Ali Khan and uncle of Asad Amanat and Shafqat Amanat. 
●    He was elder brother of Ustad Hamid Ali Khan.
●    Born in 1935 in Patiala, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, at the age of 12, and his elder brother Amanat Ali Khan, at the age of 14, became the Maharaja’s chosen singers at his ‘darbar’ or court.
 

Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds, mother of actress Carrie Fisher, passed away on 28 December 2016 following a brief illness. She was 84.
●    Her death came just one day after the death of her daughter Carrie Fisher, who died on 27 December 2016 following a heart attack.
●    She was born as Mary Frances Reynolds in April 1932. It was Warner Brothers who changed her name to Debbie.
●    She made her feature acting debut in 1950 in The Daughter of Rosie O`Grady.
●    She was signed by MGM in 1950 and that year, Reynolds performed the hit duet Aba Daba Honeymoon with Carleton Carpenter. 
●    Reynolds rose to stardom in the film Singin` In the Rain in which she starred opposite Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Donald O`Connor, Fred Astaire, and Dick Van Dyke. 
●    Her fame grew with leading roles in Susan Slept Here with Dick Powell, The Tender Trap with Frank Sinatra, Bundle of Joy with then-husband Fisher, It Started with A Kiss with Glenn Ford and The Pleasure of His Company with Astaire.
●    She was nominated for Best Actress performance in Academy Awards for the 1964 musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

Carrie Fisher, known for her role as Princess Leia Organa in Star Wars movie, passed away on 27 December 2016 following a cardiac arrest. She was 60. She is survived by her mother, daughter and beloved French bulldog, Gary.
●    Escaping Hollywood in 1973, Fisher enrolled in the Central School of Speech and Drama in London to study acting.
●    In 1975, she made her film debut in the Warren Beatty-lead movie Shampoo.
●    Throughout the 1990s, Fisher focused on her writing career and published Surrender the Pink and Delusions of Grandma. 
●    She also crafted the scripts for numerous Hollywood films like The Wedding Singer, Hook and Sister Act, etc.
●    In 1990, she wrote her semi-autobiographical memoir Postcards From the Edge, which detailed her drug addiction and rehab experiences.
●    In 2005, she was recognized with the Women of Vision Award by the Women in Film & Video-DC.

Singer who first made his name as half of pop group Wham! before going on to solo success died peacefully at home.
●    Andrew Ridgeley and Sir Elton John have led tributes to pop superstar George Michael, who has died at his home in Oxfordshire aged 53.
●    Michael, was set to release a documentary in 2017, rose to fame as half of Wham!, known for their hits Club Tropicana and Last Christmas. 
●    He had a highly successful solo career that included the songs Careless Whisper, Faith, Outside and Freedom! 90.
●    Michael – who was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou – had 11 UK No 1s and sold more than 100m albums during a career spanning almost four decades. 
●    His last album, Symphonica, was released in 2014.
●    Michael’s death prompted an outpouring of emotional tributes with musicians, celebrities and politicians posting their memories of Michael on social media.