List of Famous people who died in 2019

Karin Balzer was an East German hurdler who competed in the 80 m hurdles event at the 1960, 1964 and 1968 Olympics, and in the 100 m hurdles in 1972. She won a gold medal in 1964 and a bronze in 1972, while finishing fifth in 1968. During her career she set 37 world's best performances.

The Ice Bucket Challenge, sometimes called the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, was an activity involving the pouring of a bucket of ice water over a person's head, either by another person or self-administered, to promote awareness of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and encourage donations to research. The challenge was co-founded by Pat Quinn and Pete Frates; it went viral on social media during July–August 2014. In the U.S., many people participated for the ALS Association, and in the UK, many people participated for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, although some individuals opted to donate their money from the Ice Bucket Challenge to other organizations.

Gavin Joseph Watson was a South African businessman who served as Chief Executive Officer of African Global Operations, previously known as Bosasa, from 2000 until his death in 2019. His company was implicated in state capture during judicial hearings in January 2019.

Julio César Trujillo Vásquez was an Ecuadorian lawyer and politician. Born in Ibarra, he served as a member of the National Congress from 1979 to 1984. Described by Forbes as "reshaping the landscape of Ecuadorian politics," Trujillo was a presidential candidate of the Popular Democracy-Christian Democratic Union during the 1984 general election, receiving a total of 103,790 (4.7%) votes. In 2018, he was appointed president of the Council of Citizen Participation and Social Control (CPCCS), prompting The Economist to refer to Trujillo as "Ecuador's second-most powerful man." He died in office in 2019.

Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya was the second woman officer in Indian Police Service (IPS) in India, the first being Kiran Bedi. A 1973 batch IPS officer, she was the first woman to become Director General of Police of a state and retired on 31 October 2007 after 33 years of service. She then turned to politics and ran as a candidate of Aam Aadmi Party from Haridwar, Uttarakhand in the 2014 Indian general election.

Sandra Faire was a Canadian television producer and philanthropist. She created music specials for Canadian entertainers such as Anne Murray, and was executive producer of So You Think You Can Dance Canada. Her career lasted over four decades.

Isaac Lesiba Maphotho was a South African anti-apartheid activist, revolutionary leader, African National Congress (ANC) stalwart and Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) veteran. Maphotho had previously served as a Member of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature.

Gennady Mikhailovich Manakov was a Soviet and Russian cosmonaut who commanded two Soyuz flights to the Mir space station.

Charles Cuthbert Powell Williams, Baron Williams of Elvel, was a British business executive, Labour life peer and member of the House of Lords. In his 20s he played first-class cricket while at university and for several seasons afterwards. He was the stepfather of Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Henry Wollman Bloch was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the co-founder and the chairman emeritus of the American tax-preparation company H&R Block. Henry and his brother, Richard Bloch, founded H&R Block in 1955 in Kansas City, Missouri.