This is not an exhaustive list just a few people who are sadly no longer with us who have some relevance to me.

Dennis Richie – By far and away the most influentional technology death of the year. Inventor of C and Unix programming languages which form the basis of a large part of modern computing plus much more. Sadly his death went largely unnoticed for reasons I don’t want to go in to. You can read more about Richie here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Ritchie

Harry Morgan – Best known for playing Sherman Potter in M*A*S*H. I went through a phase a few years back of watching through MASH from start to finish as I was too young the first time round. While some of the humour didn’t fit a lot of the references to the futility of War are still relevant today. Harry Morgan played his part fantastically well and I’m sure will be missed among MASH fans.

Kim Jong-il – Quite Frankly good riddance, let’s hope his son is more a more moderate leader and the region can benefit.

Dan Wheldon – Tragically killed doing the sport he loved aged just 33. I hope his death serves as a watershed moment to make Indy Car racing safer in the same way Senna’s death was in F1.

Frances Bay – Aged 92 She was in one of my favourite films Happy Gilmore.

Andy Whitfield – Lead actor in the TV series Spartacus: Blood and Sand which I watched for the first time this year.  He was 39 and died due to non-Hodgkin lymphoma. His replacement will have to be very good to win over the fans when the next series is on next year.

Bubba Smith – NFL veteran and Hightower from the Police Academy films which I loved when I was younger.

Elizabeth Sladen – Most notably played Dr Who assistant Sara Jane.

Pete Postlethwaite – A Great actor who starred in numerous films. He also played the malevolent sergeant Hakeswill in the TV adaptation of Sharpe and played the character perfectly.

Osama Bin Laden – Another for the good riddance section.

Steve Jobs – Everything has already been said a brilliant Apple founder.

Peter Falk – Played detective Columbo on TV.

Amy Whinehouse – died aged 27, lived a short and troubled life, Not my kind of music but her music brought joy to a lot of people.

Gerry Rafferty - The 'Stuck In The Middle With You' and 'Baker Street' singer/songwriter.

Marco Simoncelli was tragically killed less than a week after Dan Wheldon.

Part 3 of my Look back at 2011 will follow soon.

Read part 1 of my look back at 2011