List of Famous people who died in 2020

Othmar Mága was a German conductor, who was chief conductor internationally, including the Odense Symphony Orchestra in Denmark and the KBS Symphony Orchestra in Korea. Among his many recordings are several rarely played concertos for instruments such as horn and double bass, including works of the 20th century.

Nicolas Joel or Joël was a French opera director and administrator of opera houses. He was general manager of the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse from 1990 to 2009 and of the Paris Opera from 2009 to 2014. He directed operas internationally.

Paulette Sarcey was a French resistant. She was a member of the French Resistance in World War II.

Luiz Pacheco Drummond, nicknamed Luizinho Drummond, was an illegal lottery operator (bicheiro) and the patron of samba school Imperatriz Leopoldinense. He was the president of the Independent League of Samba Schools of Rio de Janeiro (LIESA) from 1998-2001. He was born and died in Rio de Janeiro.

George Vincent Coyne, S.J. was an American Jesuit priest and astronomer who was director of the Vatican Observatory and head of the observatory's research group at the University of Arizona from 1978 to 2006. From January 2012 until his death, he taught at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York. His career was dedicated to the reconciliation of theology and science, while his position on scripture was absolute: "One thing the Bible is not," he said in 1994, "is a scientific textbook. Scripture is made up of myth, of poetry, of history. But it is simply not teaching science."

Barry Holstun Lopez was an American author, essayist, nature writer, and fiction writer whose work is known for its humanitarian and environmental concerns. In a career spanning over 50 years, he visited over 80 countries, and wrote extensively about distant and exotic landscapes including the Arctic wilderness, exploring the relationship between human cultures and nature. He won the National Book Award for Nonfiction for Arctic Dreams (1986) and his Of Wolves and Men (1978) was a National Book Award finalist. He was a contributor to magazines including Harper's Magazine, National Geographic, and The Paris Review.

Wolfgang Brezinka was a German-Austrian educational scientist. He served as Professor of Pedagogy at the School of education of the University of Würzburg, as well as at the Universities of Innsbruck and Konstanz.

Jean-Claude Pecker was a French astronomer, astrophysicist and author, member of the French Academy of Sciences and director of the Nice Observatory. He served as the secretary-general of the International Astronomical Union from 1964 to 1967. Pecker was the President of the Société astronomique de France (SAF), the French amateur astronomical society, from 1973–1976. He was awarded the Prix Jules Janssen by the French Astronomical Society in 1967. A minor planet is named after him. Pecker was a vocal opponent of astrology and pseudo-science and was the president of the Association française pour l'information scientifique (AFIS), a skeptical organisation which promotes scientific enquiry in the face of quackery and obscurantism.

Mahjoub Ben Bella was an Algerian-born French painter and designer. He is well-known for his murals and cobblestone designs for Paris-Roubaix.