Obit

Marquez, 87

COLOMBIAN AUTHOR and journalist Gabriel Garcia Marquez died of pneumonia last April 17. He was 87.

Marquez wrote for newspapers in Cartagena and Barranquilla, Colombia. Working as a journalist for El Espectador in 1955, he interviewed the sailor who survived a navy destroyer lost at sea. The sailor told Marquez that the ship carried “a heavy load of contraband household goods, which  was unloosed during a storm and caused the ship to list enough to sink.” His report earned the ire of Colombian dictator Gustavo Rojas Pinilla. Marquez then fled to Europe and worked there as a foreign correspondent for two years. (Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Conjurer of Literary Magic, dies at 87, The New York Times)

Marquez is best known for his novels  “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” “Autumn of the Patriarch,” “Love in the Time of Cholera,” “Chronicle of a Death Foretold,” “No One Writes to the Colonel Anymore,” “In Evil Hour,” “Of Love and Other Demons,”  and “News of a Kidnapping.” (Gabriel Garcia Marquez Dies: Famed Colombian Author and Nobel Laureate Dead at 87 From Pneumonia, Latin Times)

His 1967 novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude” won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982. (Author Gabriel Garcia Marquez dies, BBC News)

Marquez created the Foundation for a New Ibero-American Journalism in Cartagena in 1995. The organization aims to “help young journalists learn the craft of journalism.” (Gabriel Garcia Marquez-Biography, The European Graduate School)

In a statement on Marquez’ death, Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos said: “A thousand years of solitude and sadness at the death of the greatest Colombian of all time. Solidarity and condolences to his wife and family. Such giants never die.” (Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Nobel laureate writer, dies aged 87, The Guardian)

Marquez is survived by his wife and two sons.

Win Tin, 85

BURMESE JOURNALIST Win Tin died of respiratory problems last April 21. He was 85.

Win Tin started to work as night editor for Agence France-Presse’ bureau in Yangon in 1951. He stayed there for three years. (Win Tin: From AFP editor to Myanmar political dissident, Agence France-Presse)

Win Tin, along with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, established the National League for Democracy (NLD) in 1988. (Burmese activist Win Tin dies at 85, The Guardian)

He wrote a book called “What’s that? A human hell” which described his life in prison. (Anti-junta Myanmar journalist Win Tin dies at 85, Yahoo! News)

In a statement on Win Tin’s death, NLD spokesman Nyan Win said: “He was a great pillar of strength. His demise at this important political juncture of transition is a great loss not only to the NLD but also to the country. We are deeply saddened.” (Anti-Junta Journalist Win Tin Dies, The Wall Street Journal)