List of Famous people who died in 2018

Stephen William Hawking was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge at the time of his death. He was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge between 1979 and 2009.

Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, known professionally as XXXTentacion, was an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Despite being a controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal issues, XXXTentacion gained a cult following among his young fanbase during his short career through his depression and alienation-themed music. He was often credited by critics and fans for his musical versatility, with his music exploring emo, trap, lo-fi, indie rock, nu metal, hip hop, R&B and punk rock.

Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter, actress, pianist, and civil rights activist. Franklin began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father C. L. Franklin was a minister. At the age of 18, she embarked on a secular-music career as a recording artist for Columbia Records. While Franklin's career did not immediately flourish, she found acclaim and commercial success after signing with Atlantic Records in 1966. Hit songs such as "I Never Loved a Man ", "Respect", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", "Chain of Fools", "Think", and "I Say a Little Prayer" propelled her past her musical peers. By the end of the 1960s, Aretha Franklin had come to be known as the "Queen of Soul".

Sir Charles Kuen Kao was an electrical engineer and physicist who pioneered the development and use of fibre optics in telecommunications. In the 1960s, Kao created various methods to combine glass fibres with lasers in order to transmit digital data, which laid the groundwork for the evolution of the Internet.

George Herbert Walker Bush was an American politician, diplomat and businessman who served as the 41st president of the United States from 1989 to 1993. A member of the Republican Party, Bush also served as the 43rd vice president from 1981 to 1989 under Ronald Reagan, in the U.S. House of Representatives, as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and as Director of Central Intelligence.

Malcolm James McCormick, known professionally as Mac Miller, was an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Miller began his career in Pittsburgh's hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of fifteen. In 2010, he signed a record deal with independent label Rostrum Records, and released his breakthrough mixtapes K.I.D.S. (2010) and Best Day Ever (2011). Miller's debut studio album, Blue Slide Park (2011), became the first independently-distributed debut album to top the US Billboard 200 since 1995.

Tim Bergling, known by his stage name Avicii, was a Swedish DJ, remixer, record producer, musician, and songwriter.

Stan Lee was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business to become Marvel Comics' primary creative leader for two decades, leading its expansion from a small division of a publishing house to a multimedia corporation that dominated the comics and movie industries.

Anthony Michael Bourdain was an American chef, book author, journalist, and travel documentarian who starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the human condition. Bourdain was a 1978 graduate of The Culinary Institute of America and a veteran of a number of professional kitchens in his long career, which included many years spent as an executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles in Manhattan. He first became known for his bestselling book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (2000).

John Sidney McCain III was an American statesman and United States Navy officer who served as a United States Senator for Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms in the United States House of Representatives and was the Republican nominee for president of the United States in the 2008 election, which he lost to Barack Obama.