Timeline December 2011

Events in December 2011 13

• 1936 – 2011 Vaclav Havel (1936-2011) Died 18 December 2011, aged 75 The Czech playwright and dissident led the Velvet Revolution that ended communist rule in Czechoslovakia in 1989 and became the country's first post-communist president. He later served as the first president of the Czech Republic after the country split from Slovakia. He died at his country home in the Czech Republic.
• 1941 – 2011 Kim Jong-il (1941-2011) Died 17 December 2011, aged 70 The North Korean leader ruled the isolated, nuclear-armed state for 17 years, continuing the personality cult and militarized "Songun" policy established by his father, Kim Il-sung. His death was announced two days later and led to the succession of his son, Kim Jong-un. State media broadcast displays of mass public mourning across the country.
• 1941 – 2011 Cesaria Evora (1941-2011) Died 17 December 2011, aged 70 The Cape Verdean singer, known as the "Barefoot Diva," brought morna music to international audiences and won a Grammy Award in 2004. She died in her hometown of Mindelo after years of declining health. She remains Cape Verde's best-known cultural export.
• 1949 – 2011 Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) Died 15 December 2011, aged 62 The British-American writer and journalist was known for his combative essays and books, including "God Is Not Great," and for his outspoken atheism. He continued writing and giving interviews after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2010. He died in Houston, Texas.
• 1954 – 2011 Socrates The Doctor Philosopher-footballer who captained the legendary 1982 Brazil team.
• 2004 – 2011 Dumbledore in Harry Potter Took over the role of Albus Dumbledore from the late Richard Harris, appearing in six of the eight Harry Potter films from Prisoner of Azkaban onwards, introducing the character to a new generation of fans worldwide.
• 2009 – 2011 Lifetime Achievement Awards Received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011, having already been honoured with a Kennedy Center Honor nomination and the National Medal of Arts.
• 2011 2011: Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Vettel dominated the season with 11 victories from 19 races, winning his second consecutive title in the Adrian Newey-designed Red Bull.
• 2011 Arab Spring Wave of pro-democracy uprisings across Middle East The Arab Spring began in December 2010 in Tunisia and spread across the Arab world in 2011, toppling governments in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen and sparking civil war in Syria.
• 2011 Drive Nicolas Winding Refn used Nightcall for the opening credits of his film Drive, starring Ryan Gosling. The song and the film became inseparable in popular culture. Kavinsky later said watching the opening credits was 'one of the best moments of my life. I was a kid in Disneyland.'
• 2011 Amy Winehouse's Lioness: Hidden Treasures released Posthumous album A collection of unreleased recordings.
• 2011 CERN reports first hints of the Higgs boson Physicists narrow the search for the "God particle" Scientists at CERN's Large Hadron Collider announced tentative signals consistent with the long-sought Higgs boson, a particle theorized to explain how other particles acquire mass. The results were not yet strong enough to claim a discovery. Confirmation followed in July 2012.
• 2011 Last F-22 rolls off the line 195 built Production ends after 195 aircraft, down from the 750 once planned, after the Pentagon capped the fleet in 2009.