Jane Louise McGrath was born on the 4th of May, 1966 in Paignton, Devon, England. She was most well-known for her work as a cancer support campaigner and for the fact that she was married to Glenn McGrath - Australian Cricket fast bowler. Before she met her husband she worked as a flight attendant for Virgin Atlantic Airways. At the age of 31, Jane was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. One year later she appeared to be cancer-free and she then had two children with Glenn. In 2003, aged 37, she was once again diagnosed with cancer - this time, bone cancer. Once again she was given the all-clear about 1 year later. If all the pain she had already gone through wasn't enough, in 2006, aged 40, Jane was once again diagnosed with cancer - this time 'round it was cancer of the brain. She had her tumour removed successfully but with everything she had been through, on the 22nd of June, 2008, her body decided that it was time to give in. She passed away at her home in Cronulla, New South Wales, Australia surrounded by her loving family, consisting of her husband Glenn (38), and her two children, James (8) and Holly (6). She will be dearly missed by not only her husband, children and other surviving family members, but by the rest of the world too. She was an unlucky but, nevertheless, an amazing women - still is and always will be.

William Alfred Brown, whom everyone called 'Bill' for short was born in Toowoomba, Australia on the 31st of July 1912. He was a well-known famous cricketer who played for Australia in many Tests between 1934 and 1948. He was a right-handed batsman and bowled right-arm off-spin.

William 'Bill' Alfred Brown died on the 16th of March 2008 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia aged 95. He left behind a wife and 3 sons.

Richard Baer was well-known as a famous American writer/screenwriter. He wrote for over 56 tv shows such as The Munsters, Leave It To Beaver and Bewitched! Richard was born in New York on the 28th of April 1928.

Heath Ledger - we all know who he is, don't we? Heath was born in Perth, Western Australia, Australia on the 4th of April 1979. Ledger had been in the acting business ever since he was 16 years of age (1996). As far as I know, his acting debut was in a television series called 'Sweat' where he played the role of a gay cyclist.

Heath Ledger's last movie shoots were as 'The Joker' in 'Batman - The Dark Knight' and as 'Tony' in 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'. The movies will be released some time this year (2008).

Heath's untimely and some-what suspicious death occurred on the 22nd of January, 2008. He left behind a daughter as well as a griefing family including his father, mother and siblings. He will be missed.

Luciano Pavarotti was born in north-central Italy on the 12th of October 1935. He would go on to be an Italian Tenor and eventually become one of 'The Three Tenors'. Pavarotti's original childhood dream was to be a football goalkeeper. So for the 7 years leading up to 1961, Luciano was been vocal trained and it was in 1961 that he began his career as an Opera Singer/Tenor.

Luciano Pavarotti is survived by 5 daughters (4 from his 1st marriage and 1 from his 2nd - the youngest of his children being a mere 4 years old at the time of his death) as well as his wife Nicoletta Mantovani. He died from his battle with Pancreatic Cancer on the 6th of September, 2007 in his family home in Modena.

Born on the 25th of January, 1929 as Elizabeth Ellen Gillease, 'Elizabeth Allen' would become a model and not long after, launch her acting career. In 1996, she quietly decided to call it quits and retired at the age of 67. During her long career she appeared in shows such as 'The (Original) Twilight Zone' known as 'The After Hours' at the time.

A decade after her retirement from show-business (2006) she passed away, aged 77 from Kidney Disease. She left a substantial amount of family behind.

Jackie Kay Banta, a well-known Baseball Player whom played in the Major Baseball League of America was born on the 24th of June, 1925. He batted left handed, and pitched with his right. His sole purpose was as a pitcher. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1947 to 1950. His debut was on the 18th of September 1947 playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers and his last game (also for the Brooklyn Dodgers) was played on the 21st of June 1950. His career was a short but sweet one.

Peter Geoffrey Brock was born on the 26th of February, 1945 in a place called Hurstbridge in Victoria, Australia. He would then go on to be one of Australia's most well-known and one of the most successful Australian motor racing drivers of our time. Peter Brock raced from 1973 up until his unfortunate death in 2006. That's 33 years of racing!

On the 8th of September, 2006 at approximately 11:50am AWST driving in the 2006 Targa West Rally, Peter Brock skidded off a downhill left-hand turn/bend for over 50 metres hitting a tree only 3kms from the finish line. At just 61 years of age, Peter Brock's collision with the tree killed him instantly. His co-driver, Mick Hone survived the crash. Brock left behind 3 children as well as a girlfriend and ex-wife. Peter Geoffrey Brock died doing what he loved.

Stephen Robert Irwin was a crazy Australian 'character' nicknamed 'The Crocodile Hunter' for very obvious reasons. He was born on the 22nd of February, 1962 In Essendon, Victoria, Australia. At the age of 8, Steve moved to Queensland with his parents. It was there they opened up a family run zoo which was eventually turned over to Steve who renamed the zoo in 1992. Ever since, it has been known as 'Australia Zoo'. From there, 'The Crocodile Hunter' launched his career and spread his contagious character around the world. It wasn't long before Steve had his own television series 'The Crocodile Hunter' and in 2002 he released his movie, 'The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course which was a big hit.

Steve was a big supporter of the environment and animals in general. He even participated in an Australian quarantine/customs campaign.

On the 4th of September, 2006 while shooting a documentary off the coast of Port Douglas, Queensland on the Batt Reef, Steve Irwin was killed by a Sting Ray. He was pierced through the heart by the Sting Ray's barb (spine) while getting up close and personal for a segment. The rest of his family was bushwalking in Tasmania at the time of the accident. Ironically, Steve Irwin was killed by his life-long passion - animals. He leaves behind a wife and two very young children, Bindi and Robert. His death shocked the world and he will be missed for as long as his spirit shall live.

Born on the 1st of August, 1942 in Gothenburg, Sweden, Kent Andersson's parents has no idea that their son was set to be Sweden's only Motorcycle Road Racing World Champion!

Kent Andersson began his career as a Motorcycle Racer in 1966 at age 24 (professional debut at age 19). At the ages of 31 and 32 (1973-74), Kent Andersson raced in the 125cc championships, winning 18 races, snatching 53 podium finishes and 4 pole positions.

1966 was his first big year as a professional Motorcycle racer (his first race was the Finnish Grand Prix - 250cc) which ended up allowing him to win his first 250cc race in the West German Grand Prix of 1969. Kent's last win was while riding with the 125cc's in 1975's French Grand Prix. His last race was later that year - the Yugoslavian Grand Prix.

On the 29th of August , 2006, Kent Andersson life came to an unexpected end. He was just 64 years of age.I am unsure as to how is death came to be but I would be guessing that is was natural.

Robert Anderson, born on the 29th of May, 1966 is well-known as the man who kidnapped and murdered five-year-old Audra Ann Reeves on the 9th of June, 1992 in Amarillo, Texas, USA. He beat, stabbed and drowned Audra then stored her in a styrofoam ice chest. Her body was discovered by a neighbour that same day while they were throwing out their garbage. The neighbour then reported their findings, Robert Anderson was identified as the murderer and upon arrest, confessed to the murder.

Anderson was sentenced to death, imprisoned on Death Row until the 20th of July, 2000, where Robert was killed by means of lethal injection in Texas.

Keith Alexander was a guitarist, cyclist and body modification enthusiast born on the 23rd of November, 1963. He is best known as a guitarist of band 'Carnivore' - a late 1980's band fronted by Peter Steele. He was also a common member of Dee Snider's SMFs during the late 1990's. Alexander's active career years as a guitarist were between 1982 up until he died in 2005.

Keither Alexander died on the 11th of July, 2005 in a bicycle accident. He was just 41 years of age.

English actor, John Barron, was born on the 24th of December, 1920 in Marylebone, London. John wanted to be an actor from a very early age, so, for John's 18th birthday his godfather paid for his entry fees into RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts). Once having served some time as a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, John Barron went back to stage acting. In 1950, John moved into the role of a director where he was then known as Leonard Rossiter.

James 'Jimmy' Moffat Allan was born on the 2nd of April, 1932. He was a Scottish first-class cricketer whom made his first-class debut for Oxford University. Eventually Allan played for Scotland but never made a century. The closest he ever came was 99 against New Zealand in 1965. Jimmy Allan was an all-rounder who bat right-handed and bowled slow left-arm orthodox. His first-class career lasted from 1953 to 1972.

James 'Jimmy' Moffat Allan died on the 15th of April, 2005.

"It's a bird... it's a plane... no, it's actually Christopher Reeve!" Yep, I'm talking about Superman. Don't you just wish his only weakness really was Kryptonite? Christopher D'Olier Reeve was born on the 25th of September, 1952 in New York, United States. He went on to be a world-famous actor, director, producer and writer! He first came into the spotlight in 1973 and before he knew it, he had gone from a stage actor to... Superman! He played the role of Superman from 1978 to 1987. He continued to act and was a part of such films as, 'Somewhere in Time' (1980), 'Deathtrap' (1982), 'The Bostonians' (1984) and 'Street Smart' (1987). As we flew into the 1990's, Reeve acted in such films as, 'Noise Off' (1992), 'The Remains of the Day' (1993), and 'Village of the Damned' (1995). Unfortunately on the 27th of May, 1995, Christopher was in a horse-riding accident which left him paralyzed. From then on, he was confined to a wheel-chair and would remain so until the day he died. Inspired to help other with his same disability, Reeve founded the Christopher Reeve Foundation and well as co-finding the Reeve-Irvine Research Centre. Sadly, on the 10th of October, 2004, 'Superman' suffered cardiac arrest caused by a systemic infection which led him to his untimely death, aged just 52. Christopher had been married twice. His first marriage was to Gae Exton with whom he had two children, Matthew and Alexandra. He then divorced and remarried in April 1992 to a woman by the name of Dana Morosini and they had a son, Will. Dana outlived Christopher, but sadly, only by 2 years. Dana passed away from Lung Cancer in March 2006.

James E. Barnett was born on the 9th of June, 1924 and grew up to be a Professional Wrestling Promoter. He promoted championships such as Australia's World Championship Wrestling and was a previous owner of Georgia Championship Wrestling which went on to be renamed World Championship Wrestling. Barnett began to redefine Australian Wrestling in 1964 when he traveled to Australia to check things out in the world of Australian Wrestling.

NASCAR modified race driver, Tom (Tiger Tom) Baldwin (Sr) was born on the 14th of March, 1947. He went on to compete in 40 seasons, within which he won 6 modified races and several others. Between the 30th of June, 1978 and the 6th of June, 1992, Tom Baldwin won 11 races. Tom Baldwin won the 'Most Popular Driver' award in 2003 on the Modified Tour.

American actress and screenwriter, Elizabeth Harrower was born on the 28th of May, 1918 in Alameda, California. One of her many early film roles included the films, "True Grit" and "The Sterile Cuckoo" (1969).

Robert Baker was born on the 26th of October, 1926 in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, United States. He served in the Navy and went on to have a son, Robert Baker Jr. He then went on to become a heavyweight boxer at the age of 23 (in 1949). His career lasted one decade. During his 10 year career (1949 - 1959) he fought a total of 68 times: he won 51 - 20 of which were won by KO, lost 16 and drew 1.That's not bad considering he won 75% of his fights! Robert 'The Grinder' Baker died suddenly on the 23rd of April, 2002, aged 75. He left behind his only son, Robert Jr.

Chris Adams was born on the 10th of February, 1955 in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. He went on to become a Wrestler by the age of 23, weighing in at 104kgs and 185cms tall. In the ring, he was commonly known as 'The Masked Avenger'. Chris was married 3 times, his first wife's name was Jeannie Clarke, his second, Toni Adams and his last wife, Karen Adams. In April 2000, Chris and his girlfriend, Linda, were found unconscious in a friend's apartment. They had overdoses on GHB and alcohol. Chris managed to survive but his girlfriend passed away. Blamed for the death of Linda, Chris was charged with Manslaughter and was facing a sentence 20 years imprisionment if convicted. About a year later, in June 2001, Chris Adams retired from Wrestling. About 4 months later, on the 7th of October 2001, Adams was shot dead in an alcohol-fuelled fight with a friend. Chris Adams was cleared of any charges to do with the death of his girl friend, the day after he died. The man, Jim Ross, who fired the life-claiming shot, plead self-defense and was cleared on all charges. According to Mr Ross, Chris Adams abused women, had a very bad temper and was a complete and utter con man. Chris was only 46 years of age when he died. He passed away in Waxahachie, Texas, United States.

John Edward Francis Beck was a New Zealand cricketer born on the 1st of August, 1934 in Wellington, New Zealand. He played 8 Tests from New Zealand between 1953 and 1956. His Test debut was on the 24 of December 1953 and his last, the 9th of March 1956. He also played 41 First-Class matches. Beck was a left-hand batsman and bowled slow left-hand orthodox. In his whole career as a Test player and First-Class player, John Beck made a total of 1902 runs, 2 centuries, 11 half-centuries and 19 catches (as a bowler). His top run score as a Test player was 99 and 149 as a First-Class player. He only bowled 46 balls in his First-Class career but 19 of those balls resulted in wickets.

John Beck died on the 24th of April 2000 in Wellington, New Zealand, aged 66.

Unfortunately, from 2000 to present there has been approximately 24442 so-called 'famous deaths'. That is a lot of deaths! An average of 3055 deaths per year - and we are only halfway through 2008! Just goes to show you how delicate life really is, and yes, we all are really just humans - even Superman was just a human. So I guess the question still remains - why do so many of us take this life (and the things within it) for granted? Does death have to be the hard lesson learnt? Only one way to find out... the 24442 famous deaths of the 21st Century already know the answer...