List of Famous people who died in 2000

Herbert Friedman was an American pioneer in the application of sounding rockets to solar physics, aeronomy, and astronomy. He was also a statesman and public advocate for science. During his lifetime, he was awarded the Eddington Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, the National Medal of Science, the Henry Norris Russell Lectureship of the American Astronomical Society, the William Bowie Medal of the American Geophysical Union, the Wolf Foundation Prize in Physics, and the Albert A. Michelson Medal of the Franklin Institute (1972), among others. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1960 and of the American Philosophical Society in 1964.

Zygmunt Wilhelm Birnbaum was a Polish-American mathematician and statistician who contributed to functional analysis, nonparametric testing and estimation, probability inequalities, survival distributions, competing risks, and reliability theory.

Kaj Aage Gunnar Strand was a Danish astronomer who worked in Denmark and the United States. He was Scientific Director of the U.S. Naval Observatory from 1963 to 1977. He specialized in astrometry, especially work on double stars and stellar distances.

Adam Kyler Petty was an American professional racing driver. He was the fourth generation from the Petty family to drive in races in the highest division of NASCAR racing. He is believed to be the first fourth-generation athlete in all of modern American professional sports.

Poul Hartling was a Danish politician and diplomat. He was a leader of the Liberal Party and served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1973 to 1975 in the Cabinet of Poul Hartling.