List of Famous people who died in 2019

Jaegwon Kim was a Korean-American philosopher. At the time of his death, Kim was an emeritus professor of philosophy at Brown University. He also taught at several other leading American universities during his lifetime, including the University of Michigan, Cornell University, the University of Notre Dame, Johns Hopkins University, and Swarthmore College. He is best known for his work on mental causation, the mind-body problem and the metaphysics of supervenience and events. Key themes in his work include: a rejection of Cartesian metaphysics, the limitations of strict psychophysical identity, supervenience, and the individuation of events. Kim's work on these and other contemporary metaphysical and epistemological issues is well represented by the papers collected in Supervenience and Mind: Selected Philosophical Essays (1993).

Jari Johannes Laukkanen was a Finnish cross-country skier who competed from 1987 to 1988. He finished eighth in the 4 × 10 km relay at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. He was born in Viitasaari, Central Finland. Laukkanen died on 7 October 2019 from an unknown illness; he was known to suffer from heart issues.

James Samuel Pilafian was an American tuba player.

Jeanne Alida "Jan" Ruff-O'Herne was a Dutch Australian human rights activist known for campaigning internationally against war rape. During World War II, Ruff-O'Herne was forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army. After remaining silent for fifty years, from the 1990s until her death, Ruff-O'Herne spoke out publicly to demand a formal apology from the Japanese government and to highlight the plight of other "comfort women". On her death, the South Australian Attorney-General noted: "her story of survival is a tribute to her strength and courage, and she will be sorely missed not only here in South Australia, but around the world."

Hossein Korani Ameli is a Lebanese Shiite-Muslim cleric, one of the founders of Hezbollah in Lebanon and members of the Lebanese Hezbollah leadership council. He is the brother of Ali Al-Kourani.

Shih Chi-yang was a Taiwanese politician. He was Vice Premier of the Republic of China from 1988 to 1993 and convener of the Executive Yuan's Mainland Affairs Committee, which was established in 1988, and became the first Minister of the Mainland Affairs Council of the Executive Yuan when it was established in 1991. He was President of the Judicial Yuan from 1994 to 1999.

José María Rico Cueto was a Spanish-born Costa Rican lawyer and writer specializing in criminal law who served as the First Gentleman of Costa Rica during the presidency of his wife, former President Laura Chinchilla, from 2010 to 2014. Rico was the first First Gentleman in Costa Rica's history.

José Luis Fidalgo Veloso was a Spanish footballer who played as a striker.

Bai Hua was a Chinese novelist, playwright and poet. He gained national fame for his plays based on uncompromising historical criticism.

Sir Rex Edward Richards was a British scientist and academic. He served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford and as a director of the Leverhulme Trust.