A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead (Latin: Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead (Latin: Missa defunctorum), is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is frequently, but not necessarily, celebrated in the context of a funeral.

Musical settings of the propers of the Requiem Mass are also called Requiems, and the term has subsequently been applied to other musical compositions associated with death and mourning, even when they lack religious or liturgical relevance.

The term is also used for similar ceremonies outside the Catholic Church, especially in the Anglo-Catholic branch of Anglicanism and in certain Lutheran churches. A comparable service, with a wholly different ritual form and texts, exists in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches.

The Mass and its settings draw their name from the introit of the liturgy, which begins with the words "Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine" – "Grant them eternal rest, O Lord". ("Requiem" is the accusative singular form of the Latin noun requies, "rest, repose".) The Roman Missal as revised in 1970 employs this phrase as the first entrance antiphon among the formulas for Masses for the dead, and it remains in use to this day.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (German: [ˈvɔlfɡaŋ amaˈdeus ˈmoːtsaʁt], English see fn.), baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791), was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral music. He is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers.

Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood in Salzburg. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. At 17, he was engaged as a court musician in Salzburg, but grew restless and travelled in search of a better position, always composing abundantly. While visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He chose to stay in the capital, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of his death. The circumstances of his early death have been much mythologized. He was survived by his wife Constanze and two sons.

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (Italian pronunciation: [dʒuˈzɛppe ˈverdi]; 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century. His works are frequently performed in opera houses throughout the world and, transcending the boundaries of the genre, some of his themes have long since taken root in popular culture – such as "La donna è mobile" from Rigoletto, "Va, pensiero" (The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves) from Nabucco, "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" (The Drinking Song) from La traviata and the "Grand March" from Aida.

Verdi’s masterworks dominate the standard opera repertoire a century and a half after their composition.

Verdi was born the son of Carlo Giuseppe Verdi and Luigia Uttini in Le Roncole, a village near Busseto, then in the Département Taro which was a part of the First French Empire after the annexation of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza. The baptismal register, on 11 October lists him as being "born yesterday", but since days were often considered to begin at sunset, this could have meant either 9 or 10 October. The next day, he was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church in Latin as Joseph Fortuninus Franciscus. The day after that (Tuesday), Verdi's father took his newborn the three miles to Busseto, where the baby was recorded as Joseph Fortunin François; the clerk wrote in French. "So it happened that for the civil and temporal world Verdi was born a Frenchman."

Howard James Barton (10 July 1836 – 11 October 1922) was an English cricketer. Barton's batting style is unknown. He was born at Dartford, Kent.

Barton made a single first-class appearance the Gentlemen of England against the Gentlemen of Kent and Sussex at Lord's in 1856. In the Gentlemen of England's first-innings, Barton was dismissed for 12 runs by Tom Wills, with the team making a total of 195. The Gentlemen of Kent and Sussex made 91 in their first-innings and were made to follow-on in their second, making 168 all out. This left the Gentlemen of England with a target of 65, which they reached with 8 wickets to spare. The following year he made a second first-class appearance for Sussex against Surrey at The Oval. Surrey made 166 in their first-innings, with Sussex replied poorly in their first-innings, making just 35, with Barton being dismissed for a duck by George Griffith. Sussex were made to follow-on in their second-innings, faring in this innings than they did in their first, making just 31. Barton ended the innings not out on 2, with Surrey winning by an innings and 100 runs. This was his only major appearance for Sussex.

Komla Dumor is a Ghanaian journalist who was born on 3 October 1972 in Accra, Ghana. His grandfather was Philip Gbeho, composer of the Ghanaian national anthem.

Dumor joined the BBC African Service in 2006 as host of the radio programme Network Africa. From 2008 he has presented The World Today on the BBC World Service. He is currently also a news presenter for the BBC's international television news channel, presenting BBC World News and "Africa Business Report". Prior to joining the BBC he worked for JOY FM in Accra, Ghana, and was the 2003 winner of Journalist of the Year award given by the Ghana Journalist Association. Dumor is the only West African news reader on BBC World News.

Initially, Dumor studied medicine but he changed course and graduated from the University of Ghana with a BSc in Sociology and Psychology and from Harvard University with an MA in Public Administration; he is married to Kwansema, with whom he has two children.