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Notable Achievements at Age 59
Died in London from liver cancer
Patrick O'Flynn died in London on 20 May 2025 at age 59 after a short battle with liver cancer.
Recognized as the Supreme Court's first African‑American justice
Upon taking his oath in Oct. 1967, Marshall became the first Black justice in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court—a historic recognition and milestone.
Obituaries and tributes published
Major outlets (The Telegraph, Daily Express, The Times, Sky News and others) published obituaries and tributes following his death (Telegraph piece dated 21 May 2025; Express tribute 21 May 2025; The Times obituary 24 May 2025).
Founded Fable (Founder, President & CEO)
Founded Fable, a curated reading platform focused on mental wellness; became Founder, President and CEO (September 2019).
Received the Yidan Prize for Education Research (USD 4M)
Awarded the Yidan Prize for Education Research — described as the world's largest education award with a prize of USD 4,000,000.
Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
President Barack Obama awarded Oprah Winfrey the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her cultural, philanthropic, and media contributions.
Elected U.S. Senator from Nebraska
Won the open Senate seat after Bob Kerrey's retirement, defeating Attorney General Don Stenberg. Nelson received 353,093 votes (51.00%).
Ratification of the Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the Constitution (Bill of Rights), which Washington had urged, were ratified by the states.
Death of Marcus Aurelius
Marcus dies on 17 March 180 at Vindobona or Sirmium (Pannonia). He is succeeded by his son Commodus.
Sentenced to 12 years in federal prison
On May 8, 2025 Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment after pleading guilty to securities and commodities fraud.
Left USAID Assistant Administrator position
Left the Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Global Health post on January 20, 2025, coinciding with the change in presidential administration.
Secures Democratic presidential nomination
By virtual delegate roll call in early August 2024, becomes the Democratic Party's official presidential nominee (first Black woman and first Asian American to win major-party nomination).
Re-elected to U.S. House (2022 primary won outright)
Won the November 8, 2022 nonpartisan primary outright for LA-2 with 77.1% (158,120 votes), avoiding a runoff.
Married Jonathan 'Jono' McLeod
Married Scottish filmmaker Jonathan McLeod at Bantry House in County Cork on 10 July 2022.
Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor released; flew with them
On Sept 24, 2021, the two detained Canadians were released from China and boarded a plane with Barton at the end of the diplomatic effort.
Published early Phase 3 data: Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine >90% effective
Pfizer released early efficacy data in Nov 2020 showing the vaccine was more than 90% effective — a major milestone in COVID-19 response.
Received the ACM A.M. Turing Award (2018 laureate)
Shared the 2018 Turing Award with Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio for breakthroughs in deep learning; the Turing Award carried a $1,000,000 prize (ACM).
Left Kleiner Perkins to found Bond Capital (BOND)
In September 2018 Meeker departed Kleiner Perkins to start her own San Francisco-based venture firm, Bond Capital (styled BOND).
💡 What this means for you
At age 59, you're at a pivotal point where many successful entrepreneurs made their breakthrough. Whether you're building your first company or scaling an existing one, these examples show what's possible with focus and execution.
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