Notable Alumni of University of New Mexico [Sorted List]

1. Niko Hansen

1994-. (aged 32)

association football player

Nikolaj Hansen is a Danish retired footballer who played as a winger or forward. He previously appeared at the semi-professional level for Seattle Sounders FC U-23 and professionally with Columbus Crew SC, Houston Dynamo, Minnesota United and San Antonio FC.

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2. Michael McGarrity

1939-. (aged 87)

novelist

Michael McGarrity is a New Mexican author and former law enforcement officer. He has written a dozen crime novels set in New Mexico and the American West trilogy, historical novels also set in New Mexico consisting of Hard Country, Backlands and The Last Ranch. As deputy sheriff of Santa Fe County he founded their sex crimes unit.

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3. Edwin L. Mechem

1912-2002 (aged 90)

lawyer judge politician

Edwin Leard Mechem was an American attorney, politician, and jurist from New Mexico. He served as the 15th, 17th, and 19th governor of New Mexico, the first person born in the 20th century to become the state's governor, as well as the first person born in New Mexico after statehood to ascend to the office. During his final term as...

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4. Jhurell Pressley

1992-. (aged 34)

American football player

Jhurell Pressley is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the New Mexico Lobos and was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2016. He was also a member of the Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants,...

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5. Thomas L. Brown II

1960-2021 (aged 61)

military officer

Thomas Lee Brown II was a United States Navy officer and the first Navy officer to command Special Operations Command South, based in Homestead Joint Air Reserve Base, Florida.

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6. Jordan Pacheco

1986-. (aged 40)

baseball player

Jordan Patrick Pacheco is an American former professional baseball infielder and catcher who is a hitting coach for the Colorado Rockies in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks and the Cincinnati Reds.

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7. Diane Denish

1949-. (aged 77)

politician

Diane Daniels Denish is an American politician, who was the 28th lieutenant governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011 under Governor Bill Richardson. Denish was the first woman to hold that post.

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8. William I. Robinson

1959-. (aged 67)

university teacher sociologist

William I. Robinson is an American professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His work focuses on political economy, globalization, Latin America and historical materialism. He is a member of the International Parliamentary and Civil Society Mission to Investigate the Political Transition in Iraq.

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9. Darington Hobson

1987-. (aged 39)

basketball player

Darington O'Neal Hobson is an American professional basketball player for Botafogo of the Novo Basquete Brasil. He played college basketball for the New Mexico Lobos.

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10. Fred Begay

1932-2013 (aged 81)

nuclear physicist

Fred Begay, also Fred Young or Clever Fox, was a Navajo/Ute nuclear physicist. Begay was born in Towaoc, Colorado on the Ute Mountain Indian Reservation. His work was in the alternative use of laser, electron and ion beams to heat thermonuclear plasmas for use as alternative energy sources.

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11. Leon Silver

1925-2022 (aged 97)

geologist university teacher

Leon Theodore "Lee" Silver was an American geologist who was professor of geology at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He was an instructor to the Apollo 13, 15, 16, and 17 astronaut crews. Working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), he taught astronauts how to perform field geology, essentially creating lunar field geology as a new discipline....

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12. Simon J. Ortiz

1941-. (aged 85)

writer children's writer

Simon J. Ortiz is a Native American writer, poet, and enrolled member of the Pueblo of Acoma. Ortiz is one of the key figures in the second wave of what has been called the Native American Renaissance.

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13. Thomas Madden

1960-. (aged 66)

historian university teacher

Thomas Francis Madden is an American historian, a former chair of the history department at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, and director of Saint Louis University's Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies.

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14. Ola Mildred Rexroat

1917-2017 (aged 100)

aircraft pilot

Ola Mildred Rexroat was the only Native American woman to serve in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).

15. Martin Chávez

1952-. (aged 74)

politician

Martin Joseph "Marty" Chávez is an American politician, businessman, and attorney who served as a member of the New Mexico Senate from 1987 to 1993 and as the 26th and 28th mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He served as the Executive Director of ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability USA. and Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Center for Green...

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16. Wafaa Bilal

1966-. (aged 60)

conceptual artist video artist artist video installation artist

Dr. Wafaa Bilal is an Iraqi American artist, a former professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and currently an art professor at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. He is a Creative Capital Award winner in 2021 for his project In a Grain of Wheat: Cultivating Hybrid Futures in Ancient Seed DNA...

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17. Shohini Ghose

1974-. (aged 52)

astrophysicist physicist scientist university teacher

Shohini Ghose is a quantum physicist and Professor of Physics and Computer Science at Wilfrid Laurier University. She has served as the president of the Canadian Association of Physicists, co-editor-in-chief of the Canadian Journal of Physics, and the Director of the Laurier Centre for Women in Science. She was named a 2014 TED Fellow and a 2018 TED Senior Fellow....

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18. Jerry Apodaca

1934-2023 (aged 89)

politician

Jerry Apodaca was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as the 24th governor of New Mexico from 1975 to 1979 and chair of the president's council on physical fitness and sports from 1978 to 1980.

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19. Maggie Toulouse Oliver

1976-. (aged 50)

politician

Maggie Toulouse Oliver is an American politician from the state of New Mexico. She is the 26th Secretary of State of New Mexico and a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to serving as Secretary of State, Toulouse Oliver was the county clerk for Bernalillo County. On April 24, 2019, Toulouse Oliver declared her candidacy for the 2020 U.S. Senate...

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20. Davar Ardalan

1964-. (aged 62)

journalist

Iran Davar Ardalan is an AI strategist and storyteller with a career spanning Booz Allen, National Geographic, NPR, and the White House Presidential Innovation Fellowship program. She has led significant research on large language models and risk mitigation, and led AI integration and digital transformation initiatives across sectors. In September 2025, she was named one of Project Voice's Voice AI...

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21. Oniel Fisher

1991-. (aged 35)

association football player

Oniel David Fisher is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a right-back and midfielder for the Jamaica national team.

22. Henry A. Crumpton

1957-. (aged 69)

chief executive officer intelligence officer non-fiction writer

Henry "Hank" Alva Crumpton is an American retired Central Intelligence Agency operations officer, who served as deputy director of the Counterterrorism Center and as head of the CIA's National Resources Division, which focuses on operations in the United States. In the early days of the invasion of Afghanistan, Crumpton led CTC Special Operations paramilitary forces in pursuit of the Taliban...

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23. Luis González

1995-. (aged 31)

baseball player

Luis Fernando González is a Mexican professional baseball outfielder for the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He played college baseball at the University of New Mexico. He was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the third round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft, and made his MLB debut with them in 2020. He...

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24. Kelly Graves

1963-. (aged 63)

basketball coach basketball player

Kelly Lee Graves is the current head women's basketball coach at the University of Oregon. Previously, Graves was the head women's basketball coach at St. Mary's from 1997 to 2000, as well as Gonzaga University from 2000 to 2014. He was formerly an assistant coach for the Portland Pilots (1994–1997) and St. Mary Gaels, where he later got his first...

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25. Erika Sánchez

1984-. (aged 42)

writer poet essayist university teacher

Erika L. Sánchez is an American poet and writer. She is the author of poetry collection Lessons on Expulsion, a young adult novel I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, a 2017 finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, and Crying in the Bathroom: A Memoir. She was a professor at DePaul University.

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26. Richard J. Berry

1962-. (aged 64)

economist businessperson politician

Richard James Berry is an American entrepreneur and politician who served as the 29th mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is also a former two term member of the New Mexico House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party, and, as of 2025, is the last Republican Mayor of Albuquerque.

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27. Diane Dimond

1952-. (aged 74)

biographer writer journalist

Diane Dimond is an American investigative journalist, author, syndicated columnist, and TV commentator.

28. Weini Kelati

1996-. (aged 30)

long-distance runner athletics competitor

Weini Kelati Frezghi is an American middle and long distance runner. Born in Eritrea, she claimed asylum in the United States in July 2014. While attending Heritage High School in Leesburg, Virginia, she won several state and national level competitions in track and cross country. At the University of New Mexico, Kelati won the 2019 NCAA Division I Cross Country...

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29. Antoine Predock

1936-2024 (aged 88)

interior designer designer landscape architect architect

Antoine Samuel Predock was an American architect based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was the principal of Antoine Predock Architect PC, the studio he founded in 1967.

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30. Gerald Curtis

1940-. (aged 86)

political scientist professor

Gerald L. Curtis is an American academic and political scientist interested in comparative politics, Japanese politics, and U.S.-Japan relations.

31. Aaron Herrera

1997-. (aged 29)

association football player

Aaron Joseph Herrera is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club D.C. United. Born in the United States, he represents the Guatemala national team.

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32. Kevin Meyer

1956-. (aged 70)

politician

Kevin Gerald Meyer is an American politician who served as the 14th lieutenant governor of Alaska from 2018 to 2022. He was a Republican member of the Alaska Senate from January 20, 2009 to December 3, 2018, representing District M. He was president of the Alaska Senate, leading a caucus of 14 Republicans and 1 Democrat from 2015 to 2017....

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33. Kenny Thomas

1977-. (aged 49)

basketball player

Kenneth Cornelius Thomas is an American former professional basketball player who played eleven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

34. Melinda M. Snodgrass

1951-. (aged 75)

science fiction writer screenwriter jurist writer novelist

Melinda Marilyn Snodgrass is an American science fiction writer for print and television. In February 2021 Snodgrass was the Screenwriting Guest of Honor and Keynote Speaker at the 39th annual Life, the Universe, & Everything professional science fiction and fantasy arts symposium.

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35. Hugh Greenwood

1992-. (aged 34)

basketball player Australian rules football player

Hugh Greenwood is an Australian former sportsman who played Australian rules football and basketball. Greenwood was a promising under-16 footballer, but opted to attempt a career in basketball in 2008, moving to the United States in 2011 to play college basketball for the University of New Mexico. He returned to Australia in 2015 and joined the Perth Wildcats of the...

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36. Shirley M. Hufstedler

1925-2016 (aged 91)

university teacher lawyer judge

Shirley Ann Mount Hufstedler was an American attorney and judge who served as the first United States secretary of education from 1979 to 1981. She previously served as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals from 1968 to 1979.

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37. Michael A. Nielsen

1974-. (aged 52)

academic theoretical physicist physicist programmer

Michael Aaron Nielsen is an Australian-American quantum physicist, science writer, and computer programming researcher living in San Francisco.

38. Courtney Frerichs

1993-. (aged 33)

athletics competitor

Courtney Frerichs is an American middle-distance runner and steeplechase specialist from Nixa, Missouri, She is a three-time silver medalist in the 3000 meters steeplechase capturing silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the 2017 World Championships in London and at the 2018 World (Continental) Cup in Ostrava. In 2021, she became the first American woman to run under nine-minutes in...

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39. Anne Hillerman

1949-. (aged 77)

novelist

Anne Hillerman is an American journalist from New Mexico, and a New York Times best-selling author. The daughter of novelist Tony Hillerman, she has continued her father's series of Joe Leaphorn-Jim Chee novels following his death, adding officer Bernadette Manuelito as a full partner in solving the crimes.

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40. Halim El-Dabh

1921-2017 (aged 96)

composer pianist ethnomusicologist university teacher

Halim Abdul Messieh El-Dabh was an Egyptian-American composer, musician, ethnomusicologist, and educator, who had a career spanning six decades. He is particularly known as an early pioneer of electronic music. In 1944 he composed one of the earliest known works of tape music, or musique concrète. From the late 1950s to early 1960s he produced influential work at the Columbia-Princeton...

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41. Bruce King

1924-2009 (aged 85)

politician

Bruce King was an American businessman and politician who for three non-consecutive four-year terms was the governor of New Mexico. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the longest-serving governor in New Mexico history, with 12 years of service.

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42. Tony Snell

1991-. (aged 35)

basketball player

Tony Rena Snell Jr. is an American professional basketball player for Boulazac Basket Dordogne of the French Betclic Élite. He played college basketball for the New Mexico Lobos. He was drafted with the 20th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls. He is also the first NBA player to be publicly diagnosed with autism.

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43. E. J. Peaker

1944-. (aged 82)

actor film actor

Edra Jean Peaker is an American actress. Peaker is best known for her appearances in the movie Hello, Dolly! and in the TV musical series That's Life.

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44. Alex Kirk

1991-. (aged 35)

basketball player

Alex Ryan Kirk is an American-born Japanese professional basketball player for the Ryukyu Golden Kings of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for the University of New Mexico.

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45. Jennifer Carroll

1959-. (aged 67)

politician military officer

Jennifer Sandra Carroll is an American Republican politician and retired naval officer who served as the 18th lieutenant governor of Florida from January 4, 2011 to March 12, 2013. Carroll is the first black person, woman and Trinidadian-American elected to the office. Carroll previously served as a Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives. She is the bestselling author...

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46. Walter Jon Williams

1953-. (aged 73)

novelist comics writer writer science fiction writer role-playing game designer

Walter Jon Williams is an American writer, primarily of science fiction. Previously he wrote nautical adventure fiction under the name Jon Williams, in particular, Privateers and Gentlemen (1981–1984), a series of historical novels set during the Age of Sail.

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47. Rebecca Roanhorse

1971-. (aged 55)

novelist short story writer lawyer writer jurist

Rebecca Roanhorse is an American science fiction and fantasy writer from New Mexico. She has written short stories and science fiction novels featuring Navajo and other indigenous American characters. Her work has received Hugo and Nebula awards, among others.

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48. Robert Creeley

1926-2005 (aged 79)

university teacher poet writer

Robert White Creeley was an American poet and author of more than 60 books. He is associated with the Black Mountain poets, although his verse aesthetic diverged from that school. Creeley was close with Charles Olson, Robert Duncan, Allen Ginsberg, John Wieners and Ed Dorn.

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49. Jerry McNerney

1951-. (aged 75)

business executive engineer politician

Gerald Mark McNerney is an American businessman and politician who has served as member of the California State Senate from the 5th district since 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, his district includes all of San Joaquin County and the Tri-Valley area of Alameda County. He previously served as the U.S. representative from California's 9th congressional district, based in...

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50. Cissy King

1946-. (aged 80)

singer dancer television actor

Cissy King is an American-born dancer and choreographer best known as a featured performer on The Lawrence Welk Show television program. Her dance team partner on the series was Bobby Burgess.

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51. Glover Quin

1986-. (aged 40)

American football player

Glover Freeman Quin Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the New Mexico Lobos, and was selected by the Houston Texans in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL draft. Quinn stayed in Houston for four seasons. He then also played for the Detroit...

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52. Jack Dongarra

1950-. (aged 76)

computer scientist engineer university teacher mathematician

Jack Joseph Dongarra FRS is an American computer scientist and mathematician. He is a University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Computer Science in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at the University of Tennessee. He holds the position Turing Fellowship in the School of Mathematics at the University of Manchester, and is an adjunct professor and teacher in the Computer...

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53. Rudolfo Anaya

1937-2020 (aged 83)

university teacher novelist writer children's writer author

Rudolfo Anaya was an American author. Noted for his 1972 novel Bless Me, Ultima, Anaya was considered one of the founders of the canon of contemporary Chicano and New Mexican literature. The themes and cultural references of the novel, which were uncommon at the time of its publication, had a lasting impression on fellow Latino writers. It was subsequently adapted...

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54. Mitch Garver

1991-. (aged 35)

baseball player

Mitchell Lynn Garver is an American professional baseball catcher and designated hitter in the Seattle Mariners organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers and the Mariners. Garver made his MLB debut with the Twins in 2017 and won a Silver Slugger Award in 2019. The Twins traded him to the Rangers in...

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55. Leslie Marmon Silko

1948-. (aged 78)

writer poet novelist essayist

Leslie Marmon Silko is an American writer. A woman of Laguna Pueblo descent, she is one of the key figures in the First Wave of what literary critic Kenneth Lincoln has called the Native American Renaissance.

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56. Cameron Bairstow

1990-. (aged 36)

basketball player

Cameron David Bairstow is an Australian former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of New Mexico before being drafted 49th overall in the 2014 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls. He spent two seasons with the Bulls before playing five of next six years in the National Basketball League (NBL).

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57. Rocky Long

1950-. (aged 76)

head coach Canadian football player American football player American football coach

Roderick John Long Jr. is an American college football coach and former player currently working as a defensive analyst at Fort Lewis College. He was previously the defensive coordinator at Syracuse and New Mexico. He was a head coach at New Mexico and then San Diego State. He played professionally with BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and...

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58. Mikki Padilla

1974-. (aged 52)

model television actor actor film actor

Mikki Padilla is an American actress, model, writer and author. She has since filmed several projects, commercials, and her book, Been There, Done That... now doing MORE! was released in March 2013. She was the co-host and dealer of the GSN game show Catch 21 from 2008 to 2011.

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59. Mel Daniels

1944-2015 (aged 71)

basketball player basketball coach

Melvin Joe Daniels was an American professional basketball player. He played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the Minnesota Muskies, Indiana Pacers, and Memphis Sounds, and in the National Basketball Association for the New York Nets. One of the greatest players in ABA history, Daniels was a two-time ABA Most Valuable Player, three-time ABA Champion and a seven-time ABA...

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60. Vincent Barrett Price

1940-. (aged 86)

poet writer

Vincent Barrett Price is an American poet, human rights and environmental columnist, editor, reporter, publisher, and teacher. His most recent works include the poetry volumes Orpheus the Healer, Lucretius and the Logic of Venus, Polishing the Mountain, or Catching Balance Just in Time: Selected Poems 2008–2020, Innocence Regained: Christmas Poems, and Memoirs of the World in Ten Fragments, and the...

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61. Pete Domenici

1932-2017 (aged 85)

lawyer politician

Pietro Vichi "Pete" Domenici was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from New Mexico from 1973 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he served six terms in the Senate, making him the longest-tenured U.S. Senator in the state's history. To date, Domenici is the last Republican to be elected to the Senate...

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62. Jose Garcia Villa

1908-1997 (aged 89)

poet

José García Villa was a Filipino poet, literary critic, short story writer, and painter. He was awarded the National Artist of the Philippines title for literature in 1973, as well as the Guggenheim Fellowship in creative writing by Conrad Aiken. He is known to have introduced the "reversed consonance rhyme scheme" in writing poetry, as well as the extensive use...

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63. N. Scott Momaday

1934-2024 (aged 90)

scholar of English university teacher novelist writer poet

Navarre Scotte Momaday was a Kiowa and American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. His novel House Made of Dawn was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1969, and is considered the first major work of the Native American Renaissance.

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64. Kim Stanley

1925-2001 (aged 76)

film actor television actor stage actor

Kim Stanley was an American actress who was primarily active in television and theatre but also had occasional film performances.

65. Milton Rubenfeld

1919-2004 (aged 85)

aircraft pilot military personnel

Milton Rubenfeld was an American pilot who flew for the Royal Air Force and U.S. Army during World War II, later becoming one of the five founding pilots of the Israeli Air Force in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It is widely believed that Rubenfeld, the other four volunteer pilots, and the other machalniks changed the course of the 1948 Arab–Israeli...

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66. Lois Duncan

1934-2016 (aged 82)

screenwriter novelist writer journalist children's writer

Lois Duncan Steinmetz, known as Lois Duncan, was an American writer, novelist, poet, and journalist. She is best known for her young-adult novels, and has been credited by historians as a pioneering figure in the development of young-adult fiction, particularly in the genres of horror, thriller, and suspense.

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67. Daniel Abraham

1969-. (aged 57)

writer science fiction writer novelist producer

Daniel James Abraham, pen names M. L. N. Hanover and James S. A. Corey, is an American novelist, comic book writer, screenwriter, and television producer. He is best known as the author of The Long Price Quartet and The Dagger and the Coin fantasy series, and with Ty Franck, as the co-author of The Expanse science fiction series, written under...

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68. Josh Kerr

1997-. (aged 29)

athletics competitor middle-distance runner

Josh Kerr is a Scottish middle-distance runner who competes primarily in the 1500 metres. He won a gold medal in the event at the 2023 World Championships, a silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics, and a gold medal at the 2015 European Junior Championships. He is also the 2024 World Indoor...

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69. Victoria Price

1962-. (aged 64)

writer biographer

Mary Victoria Price is an American public speaker and the author of the memoir, The Way of Being Lost: A Road Trip to My Truest Self and Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography. She currently spends much of her time traveling and speaking about the life of her father, Vincent Price, as well as discussing self-development topics.

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70. Michael Cooper

1956-. (aged 70)

basketball player basketball coach screenwriter

Michael Jerome Cooper, nicknamed "Coop", is an American basketball coach and former player. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers during his entire career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning five NBA championships with the Lakers during their Showtime era. He was an eight-time selection to the NBA All-Defensive Team, including five times on the first team. He was...

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71. Robert Mercer

1946-. (aged 80)

computer scientist banker hedge fund manager entrepreneur

Robert Leroy Mercer is an American hedge fund manager, computer scientist, and political donor. Mercer was an early artificial intelligence researcher and developer and is the former co-CEO of the hedge fund company Renaissance Technologies.

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72. Martin Heinrich

1971-. (aged 55)

business executive engineer politician

Martin Trevor Heinrich is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from New Mexico, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Heinrich served as the U.S. representative from New Mexico's 1st congressional district from 2009 to 2013. He and fellow senator Ben Ray Luján are the co-deans of New Mexico's congressional...

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73. Donald Gibb

1954-. (aged 72)

basketball player television actor actor film actor

Donald Richard Gibb is an American actor, best known for his roles as the hulking, dimwitted fraternity brother Ogre in several installments of the Revenge of the Nerds film series, as Kumite fighter Ray Jackson in Bloodsport, and as Leslie "Dr. Death" Krunchner on the HBO sitcom 1st & Ten.

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74. Michelle Lujan Grisham

1959-. (aged 67)

lawyer business executive politician

Michelle Lynn Lujan Grisham is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 32nd governor of New Mexico since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, Lujan Grisham previously served as the U.S. representative for New Mexico's 1st congressional district from 2013 to 2019.

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75. Danny Granger

1983-. (aged 43)

basketball player

Danny Granger Jr. is an American former professional basketball player who played ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted by the Indiana Pacers in 2005 after a two-year college stint at New Mexico. In 2009, Granger averaged 26 points per game on 45 percent shooting and was named an All-Star and the league's Most Improved Player....

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76. Brian Urlacher

1978-. (aged 48)

American football player

Brian Urlacher is an American former professional football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the New Mexico Lobos, earning consensus All-American honors and winning MW Player of the Year in 1999. He was selected ninth overall by the Bears in the 2000 NFL draft.

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77. Deb Haaland

1960-. (aged 66)

civil servant business executive businessperson politician

Debra Anne Haaland is an American politician who served as the 54th United States secretary of the interior from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the U.S. representative for New Mexico's 1st congressional district from 2019 to 2021 and was chair of the New Mexico Democratic Party from 2015 to 2017. Haaland, a Native...

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78. Hank Baskett

1982-. (aged 44)

American football player

Henry Randall Baskett III is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, and Indianapolis Colts.

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79. Luc Longley

1969-. (aged 57)

basketball player

Lucien James Longley AM is an Australian professional basketball coach and former player. He was the first Australian to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he played for four teams over 10 seasons. He most notably played for the Chicago Bulls, with whom he won three championships from 1996 to 1998. Longley represented Australia as a player at...

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80. Gary Johnson

1953-. (aged 73)

businessperson politician

Gary Earl Johnson is an American businessman and politician who served as the 29th governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party. He has been a member of the Libertarian Party since 2011 and was the party's nominee in the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections. He was also the Libertarian nominee in the...

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81. Rockmond Dunbar

1973-. (aged 53)

television actor film director actor film actor

Rockmond Dunbar is an American actor, best known for his roles as Baines on the NBC series Earth 2, Kenny Chadway on Showtime family drama Soul Food, and Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin on the Fox crime drama Prison Break. He also played Sheriff Eli Roosevelt on the FX Drama series Sons of Anarchy, FBI Agent Dennis Abbott on The Mentalist,...

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82. Adrienne Maloof

1961-. (aged 65)

presenter businessperson film producer reality television participant

Adrienne Maloof is an American businesswoman, television personality, shoe designer, and co-owner of the various business holdings of Maloof Companies, which include a stake in the Vegas Golden Knights (NHL), The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada; Maloof Productions, Maloof Music and the retired Maloof Money Cup skateboarding event.

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83. Chris Henchy

1964-. (aged 62)

screenwriter film director film producer actor television producer

Christopher Thomas Henchy is an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for being a creative collaborator with Will Ferrell, including co-creating the website Funny or Die and writing several Ferrell films, including Land of the Lost, The Other Guys and The Campaign.

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84. Steve-O

1974-. (aged 52)

YouTuber television actor television producer skateboarder clown

Stephen Gilchrist Glover, known professionally as Steve-O, is an American stunt performer, comedian, television personality, and podcaster. He rose to fame in the early 2000s as a cast member of the MTV reality comedy series Jackass, which showcased dangerous stunts and pranks and led to a successful film franchise.

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85. Penny Marshall

1943-2018 (aged 75)

dancer comedian stunt performer voice actor film director

Carole Penny Marshall was an American actress, film director, and producer. She is best known for her role as Laverne DeFazio on the television sitcom Laverne & Shirley (1976–1983), receiving three nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy for her portrayal.

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86. Holly Holm

1981-. (aged 45)

boxer kickboxer mixed martial arts fighter

Holly Rene Holm is an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist. She previously competed in the women's Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is a former Women's Bantamweight Champion.

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87. Kathy Lueders

engineer

Kathryn Lueders is an American engineer and business manager. Lueders has led NASA's human spaceflight program as the Associate Administrator of the Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) Mission Directorate. She became the first woman to head human spaceflight. She was the program manager for NASA's Commercial Crew Program and oversaw the return of human spaceflight capabilities to NASA. She worked...

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88. Michael Blake

1945-2015 (aged 70)

writer novelist non-fiction writer screenwriter

Michael Lennox Blake was an American author, best known for the film adaptation of his novel Dances With Wolves, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

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89. Ben Ray Luján

1972-. (aged 54)

politician

Ben Ray Luján is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from New Mexico since 2021. He served as the U.S. representative for New Mexico's 3rd congressional district from 2009 to 2021 and as assistant speaker from 2019 to 2021. He served as a member of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission from 2005 to...

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90. Eddie Guerrero

1967-2005 (aged 38)

professional wrestler

Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) / World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), along with his appearances in Mexico and Japan. A prominent member of the Guerrero wrestling family, being the son of first-generation wrestler Gory Guerrero, and brother of Chavo...

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91. Joy Harjo

1951-. (aged 75)

musician children's writer teacher climate activist poet

Joy Harjo is an American poet, musician, playwright, and author. She served as the 23rd United States Poet Laureate from 2019 to 2022, the first Native American to hold that honor. She was also only the second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to have served three terms (after Robert Pinsky). Harjo is a seventh-generation Monahwee daughter (also known as "Menawa")....

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92. Benjamin Radford

1970-. (aged 56)

author podcaster journalist

Benjamin Radford is an American writer, investigator, and skeptic. He has authored, coauthored or contributed to over twenty books and written over a thousand articles and columns on a wide variety of topics including urban legends, unexplained mysteries, the paranormal, critical thinking, mass hysteria, and media literacy. His book, Mysterious New Mexico: Miracles, Magic, and Monsters in the Land of...

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93. Joel-Peter Witkin

1939-. (aged 87)

photographer artist

Joel-Peter Witkin is an American photographer who lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His work often deals with themes such as death, corpses (and sometimes dismembered portions thereof), often featuring ornately decorated photographic models, including people with dwarfism, transgender and intersex persons, as well as people living with a range of physical features. Witkin is often praised for presenting these figures...

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94. James Oberg

1944-. (aged 82)

author engineer journalist

James Edward Oberg is an American space journalist and historian, regarded as an expert on the Russian and Chinese space programs. He had a 22-year career as a space engineer in NASA specializing in orbital rendezvous. Oberg is an author of ten books and more than a thousand articles on space flight. He has provided multiple explanations of UFO phenomena...

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95. Charles Smith

1975-. (aged 51)

basketball player

Charles Daniel Smith is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1988 to 1998. He was an All-American college player for the Pittsburgh Panthers. He led the 1986 World Games USA Team in scoring to win the Gold Medal and Olympic bronze medal as a member of the United States national team...

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96. John Lewis

1920-2001 (aged 81)

film score composer composer record producer university teacher pianist

John Robert Lewis was an American civil rights activist and statesman who served in the United States House of Representatives for Georgia's 5th congressional district from 1987 until his death in 2020.

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97. Agnes Martin

1912-2004 (aged 92)

painter draftsperson printmaker

Agnes Bernice Martin RCA was a Canadian-American abstract painter known for her minimalist style and abstract expressionism. Born in Saskatchewan, she moved to the United States in 1931, where she pursued higher education and became a U.S. citizen in 1950. Martin's artistic journey began in New York City, where she immersed herself in modern art and developed a deep interest...

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98. N. Ahmed

1940-. (aged 86)

engineer

Nasir Ahmed is an American electrical engineer and computer scientist. He is Professor Emeritus of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of New Mexico (UNM). He is best known for inventing the discrete cosine transform (DCT) in the early 1970s. The DCT is the most widely used data compression transformation, the basis for most digital media standards (image, video and...

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99. Lang Ping

1960-. (aged 66)

volleyball player volleyball coach beach volleyball player

"Jenny" Lang Ping is a Chinese former volleyball player and coach. She is the former head coach of the Chinese women's national volleyball team and U.S. women's national volleyball team. As a player, Lang won the most valuable player award in women's volleyball at the 1984 Olympics.

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100. Jun Ye

1967-. (aged 59)

university teacher researcher physicist

Jun Ye is a Chinese-American physicist at JILA, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the University of Colorado Boulder, working primarily in the field of atomic, molecular, and optical physics.

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