List of Famous people who died in 2020

Creola Katherine Johnson was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights. During her 35-year career at NASA and its predecessor, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped pioneer the use of computers to perform the tasks. The space agency noted her "historical role as one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist".

Qasem Soleimani was an Iranian major general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and, from 1998 until his death in 2020, commander of its Quds Force, a division primarily responsible for extraterritorial military and clandestine operations. In his later years, he was considered by some to be the second most powerful person in Iran behind Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his right-hand man.

Alex Pullin, nicknamed Chumpy, was an Australian snowboarder who competed at the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics. He was a two-time snowboard cross (boardercross) world champion.

Haruma Miura was a Japanese actor and singer. He made his acting debut in the television drama Agri (1997) and rose to popularity after starring in the film Koizora (2007), winning Newcomer of the Year at the 31st Japan Academy Prize. In the following years, Miura notably starred in the third season of Gokusen (2009), Bloody Monday (2009), Naoko (2009), Kimi ni Todoke (2010), Last Cinderella (2013), Boku no Ita Jikan (2013), The Eternal Zero (2013), Attack on Titan (2015), Gintama 2 (2018), and Two Weeks (2019). He also starred as Lola in the Japanese production of Kinky Boots (2016), winning Best New Actor and the Haruko Sugimura Award at the 24th Yomiuri Theater Awards. In addition to his acting career, Miura debuted as a singer in 2019 with the single "Fight for Your Heart", which was followed by "Night Diver" in 2020.

Chiranjeevi Sarja was an Indian film actor who appeared in Kannada films. Hailing from a family of actors, Sarja acted in more than 20 films in a career spanning 11 years.

Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada is a hardline religious scholar and the leader of the Taliban, an armed militant group that was the former government of Afghanistan.

Jhon Jairo Velásquez Vásquez, also known by the alias "Popeye" or "JJ", was a Colombian hitman who was part of the criminal structure of the Medellín Cartel until his surrender to the Colombian justice system in 1992. Within this structure he claimed to be a lieutenant commanding half of the sicarios.

Brian Manion Dennehy was an American actor of stage, television, and film. He won two Tony Awards, an Olivier Award, and a Golden Globe, and received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Dennehy had roles in over 180 films and in many television and stage productions. His film roles included First Blood (1982), Gorky Park (1983), Silverado (1985), Cocoon (1985), F/X (1986), Presumed Innocent (1990), Romeo + Juliet (1996), and Knight of Cups (2015). Dennehy won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film for his role as Willy Loman in the television film Death of a Salesman (2000).

Carlos Falcó y Fernández de Córdoba, 5th Marquess of Griñón, GE was a Spanish peer. He was best known for one of his titles, Marquess of Griñón, despite holding another higher-ranking title, Marquess of Castel-Moncayo, with Grandeeship attached.

Max von Sydow was a Swedish-French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television series in multiple languages. He became a French citizen in 2002, and lived in France for the last decades of his life.