There Were Fewer Celebrity Deaths in 2016 Than Research Expected

A lot of beloved celebrities passed away in 2016: David Bowie, Prince, Alan Rickman, Muhammad Ali, and Carrie Fisher, to name a few. However, MIT Media Lab researchers found that fewer celebrities died last year than expected. According to Science magazine, “they defined celebrity as a person who is written about in 20 or more languages on Wikipedia, calling the site ‘a form of cultural memory’”.
Although, when it comes to superstars — people written about in 70 languages — 2016 definitely stands out. Sixteen superstars died last year, compared to nine in 2015. Don’t expect the trend to go away any time soon, though. As our favourite superstars age, we shouldn’t be surprised by the inevitable.