Deaths in 1981
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| Contents | ||
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January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December | ||
| ← 1980 | 1981 | 1982 → |
The following is a list of notable deaths in 1981. Entries for each day are listed alphabetically by surname. A typical entry lists information in the following sequence:
- Name, age, country of citizenship at birth, subsequent country of citizenship (if applicable), reason for notability, cause of death (if known), and reference.
Deaths in 1981
January
- January 1
- Kazimierz Michałowski, Polish archaeologist (b. 1901)
- Mauri Rose, American race car champion (b. 1906)
- January 3
- Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria (b. 1883)
- Marvin Opler, American anthropologist (b. 1914)
- January 5
- Harold Urey, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1893)[1]
- Lanza del Vasto, Italian philosopher, poet and activist (b. 1901)[2]
- January 6 – A. J. Cronin, Scottish novelist (b. 1896)[3]
- January 9 – Donald H. Bochkay, 64, American Air Force pilot and flying ace (b. 1916)
- January 10
- Katherine Alexander, American actress (b. 1898)
- Richard Boone, American actor (b. 1917)
- January 11 – Beulah Bondi, American actress (b. 1889)
- January 16 – Bernard Lee, English actor (b. 1908)
- January 19 – Francesca Woodman, American photographer (b. 1958)
- January 21 – Allyn Joslyn, American actor (b. 1901)
- January 23 – Samuel Barber, American composer (b. 1910)
- January 25 – Adele Astaire, American dancer and actress (b. 1896)
- January 29 – Lajos Korányi, Hungarian footballer (b. 1907)
- January 30 – John Gordon, Irish Roman Catholic bishop (b. 1912)
- January 31 – Cozy Cole, American jazz drummer (b. 1909)
February
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- February 1
- Donald Wills Douglas Sr., American industrialist (b. 1892)
- Wanda Hendrix, American actress (b. 1928)
- Ernst Pepping, German composer (b. 1901)
- Geirr Tveitt, Norwegian composer (b. 1908)
- February 2 – Hugh J. Addonizio, Italian-American politician and Mayor of Newark (b. 1914)
- February 3 – J Harlen Bretz, American geologist (b. 1882)
- February 4 – Mario Camerini, Italian film director and screenwriter (b. 1895)
- February 6 – Frederica of Hanover, Queen Consort of the Hellenes and wife of King Paul of Greece (b. 1917)
- February 7 – Hermann Esser, German journalist and editor of the Nazi newspaper Völkischer Beobachter (b. 1900)
- February 9 – Bill Haley, American rock musician, member of Bill Haley & The Comets (b. 1925)
- February 12 – Bruce Fraser, 1st Baron Fraser of North Cape, British admiral (b. 1888)
- February 15
- Karl Richter, German conductor (b. 1926)
- Mike Bloomfield, American blues guitarist (b. 1943)
- February 17 – David Garnett, English novelist and writer (b. 1892)
- February 18
- Jack Northrop, American airplane manufacturer (b. 1895)
- Ibrahim Abdel Hady Pasha, Egyptian politician, 28th Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1896)
- February 20
- Bernard B. Brown, American sound engineer and composer (b. 1898)
- Baron Nicolas de Gunzburg, French magazine editor and playboy (b. 1904)
- February 22
- Michael Maltese, American screenwriter (b. 1908)
- Curtis Bernhardt, German film director (b. 1899)
- February 25
- Leonard Howell, Founder of Rastafari (b. 1898)
- Gunichi Mikawa, Japanese admiral (b. 1888)
- February 26 – Howard Hanson, American composer (b. 1896)
March
- March 1 – Roberto Francisco Chiari Remón, 14th President of Panama (b. 1905)
- March 4 – Torin Thatcher, American actor (b. 1905)
- March 5 – Yip Harburg, American lyricist (b. 1896)
- March 6 – George Geary, English cricketer (b. 1893)
- March 7
- Peter Birch, Irish Roman Catholic bishop (b. 1911)
- Kirill Kondrashin, Russian conductor (b. 1914)[4]
- Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling, German-Danish tennis player (b. 1908)
- March 9 – Max Delbrück, German biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1906)[5]
- March 10 – Flavio Calzavara, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1900)
- March 11 – Kazimierz Kordylewski, Polish astronomer (b. 1903)
- March 14 – Paolo Grassi, Italian actor (b. 1919)
- March 15 – René Clair, French film director (b. 1898)
- March 20 – Gerry Bertier, American college football player (b. 1953)
- March 21 – Mark Donskoy, Russian Soviet film director (b. 1901)
- March 22
- John S. McCain Jr., American admiral (b. 1911)
- Gil Puyat, Filipino businessman and politician, Senator of the Philippines and Senate President (b. 1907)[6]
- March 23
- Sir Claude Auchinleck, British field marshal (b. 1884)
- Mike Hailwood, English motorcycle racer (b. 1940)
- Beatrice Tinsley, English astronomer (b. 1941)
- March 26 – Cyril Dean Darlington, English biologist, geneticist and eugenicist, (b. 1903)
- March 27 – Mao Dun, Chinese novelist, cultural critic, and minister of culture (b. 1896)[7]
- March 29 – Eric Williams, 1st Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago (b. 1911)
- March 30
- Sherman Edwards, American songwriter (b. 1919)
- Douglas Lowe, British Olympic athlete (b. 1902)
- DeWitt Wallace, American magazine publisher (b. 1889)
- March 31 – Frank Tieri, American gangster (b. 1904)
April
- April 3 – Juan Trippe, airline entrepreneur (b. 1899)
- April 5
- Bob Hite, American musician (Canned Heat) (b. 1943)
- Maurice Zbriger, Canadian violinist, composer and conductor (b. 1896)[8]
- April 7 – Norman Taurog, American film director (b. 1899)[9]
- April 8 – Omar Bradley, American army general (b. 1893)[10]
- April 10 - George Carlyle Marler, Canadian politician, notary and philatelist (b. 1901)
- April 12
- Hendrik Andriessen, Dutch composer (b. 1892)
- Prince Yasuhiko Asaka of Japan (b. 1887)
- Joe Louis, American boxer (b. 1914)[11]
- April 15
- John Thach, American naval aviator and admiral (b. 1905)
- Lorenzo Guerrero, former President of Nicaragua (b. 1900)
- April 18 – James H. Schmitz, German-American writer (b. 1911)
- April 23 – Josep Pla, Spanish journalist and author (b. 1897)[12]
- April 26
- Jim Davis, American actor (b. 1909)
- Madge Evans, American actress (b. 1909)
- Muhammad Lafir, Sri Lankan snooker player (b. 1930)
- April 27 – John Aspinwall Roosevelt, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1916)
- April 28 – Cliff Battles, American football player (Boston Redskins) and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (b. 1910)
May
- May 1 – Barry Jones, American actor (b. 1893)
- May 3 – Nargis, Indian actress (b. 1929)
- May 4 – Paul Green, American Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright (b. 1894)[13]
- May 5 – Bobby Sands, Irish republican hunger striker (b. 1954)
- May 6 – Frank O'Grady, Australian public servant (b. 1900)
- May 7 – Hiromichi Yahara, Imperial Japanese Army officer (b. 1902)
- May 8 – Prince Andrei Alexandrovich of Russia (b. 1897)
- May 9
- Nelson Algren, American author (b. 1909)
- Margaret Lindsay, American actress (b. 1910)
- May 10 – Ismail of Johor, Malaysian sultan (b. 1894)
- May 11
- Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)[14]
- Bob Marley, Jamaican singer, songwriter and musician (b. 1945)
- May 12 – Benjamin Sheares, Singaporean politician and professor, 2nd President of Singapore (b. 1907)
- May 13 – Ben Andrews, American actor (b. 1942)
- May 14 – J. Posadas, Argentine politician (b. 1912)
- May 17 – Hugo Friedhofer, German-American film composer (b. 1901)
- May 18
- Eleonore Baur, German Nazi and only woman to participate in Munich Beer Hall Putsch (b. 1885)
- Richard Hale, American singer and actor (b. 1892)[15]
- Arthur O'Connell, American actor (b. 1908)
- William Saroyan, American author (b. 1908)[16]
- May 20 – Dositej II, Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia (b. 1906)
- May 21 – Yuki Shimoda, American actor (b. 1921)
- May 22 – Boris Sagal, Ukrainian-American television and film director (b. 1923)
- May 23
- George Jessel, American actor (b. 1898)
- Donald Macintyre, British naval officer and naval historian (b. 1904)
- May 24
- Jaime Roldós Aguilera, 33rd President of Ecuador (b. 1940)
- Jack Warner, British actor (b. 1895)
- May 25
- Rosa Ponselle, American soprano (b. 1897)
- Ruby Payne-Scott, Australian radio astronomer (b. 1912)
- A. Thiagarajah, Sri Lankan Tamil teacher and politician (b. 1916)
- May 28
- John Bryan Ward-Perkins, British archaeologist (b. 1912)
- Mary Lou Williams, American jazz pianist (b. 1910)
- Stefan Wyszyński, Polish Roman Catholic prelate, archbishop and Servant of God (b. 1901)
- Lem Billings, American businessman (b. 1916)
- May 29 – Soong Ching-ling, Acting head of State of the People's Republic of China (b. 1893)
- May 30
- Don Ashby, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1955)
- Peter Lindgren, Swedish actor (b. 1915)
- Ziaur Rahman, 7th President of Bangladesh (b. 1936)
- May 31
- Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, British economist (b. 1914)
- Gyula Lóránt, Hungarian footballer and manager (b. 1923)
- Giuseppe Pella, Italian politician, 31st Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1902)
June
- June 1 – Carl Vinson, American politician (b. 1883)[17]
- June 2 – Rino Gaetano, Italian musician and singer-songwriter (b. 1950)
- June 5 – Miguel Contreras Torres, Mexican actor, director, producer and screenwriter (b. 1899)
- June 10 – Jenny Maxwell, American actress (b. 1941)
- June 11 – Botak Chin, Malaysian criminal and gangster (b. 1951)
- June 12 – Mahmoud Fawzi, Egyptian diplomat and political figure, 35th Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1900)
- June 13 – George Walsh, American actor (b. 1889)
- June 16 – Sir Thomas Playford, Australian politician, Premier of South Australia (b. 1896)
- June 17 – Sir Richard O'Connor, British general (b. 1889)
- June 19 – Lotte Reiniger, German silhouette animator (b. 1899)
- June 22
- Henri Bouillard, French Jesuit theologian (b. 1908)
- Lola Lane, American actress and singer (b. 1906)
- June 23 – Zarah Leander, Swedish actress and singer (b. 1907)
- June 28
- Mohammad Beheshti, Chief Justice of Iran (b. 1928)
- Terry Fox, Canadian athlete and cancer activist (b. 1958)
July
- July 1
- Marcel Breuer, Hungarian-American architect (b. 1902)
- George Voskovec, Czech-American actor, writer, dramatist and director (b. 1905)
- July 3 – Ross Martin, American actor (b. 1920)
- July 7 – Qahtan Muhammad al-Shaabi, South Yemenite socialist leader, 1st President of South Yemen (b. 1920)
- July 8
- Jugah Barieng, Malaysian politician (b. 1903)
- Joe McDonnell, Irish republican hunger striker (b. 1951)
- July 10 – Giorgio De Lullo, Italian actor and director (b. 1921)
- July 16 – Harry Chapin, American singer and songwriter (b. 1942)
- July 26 – Stafford L. Warren, American physician and radiologist; inventor of the mammogram (b. 1896)[18]
- July 27 – William Wyler, American movie director (b. 1902)[19]
- July 28 – Stanley Francis Rother, American priest, martyr, and Blessed (b. 1935)
- July 29 – Robert Moses, American urban planner (b. 1888)
- July 31 – Omar Torrijos, Panamanian leader (b. 1929)
August
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- August 1 – Paddy Chayefsky, American screenwriter (b. 1923)
- August 2
- Delfo Cabrera, Argentine athlete (b. 1919)
- Stefanie Clausen, Danish diver (b. 1900)
- August 4 – Melvyn Douglas, American actor (b. 1901)
- August 14 – Karl Böhm, Austrian conductor (b. 1894)
- August 15
- Carlo Buscaglia, Italian football player (b. 1909)
- Karl Gero, Duke of Urach, Lichtenstein noble (b. 1899)
- August 18
- Robert Russell Bennett, American composer and arranger (b. 1894)
- Anita Loos, American screenwriter (b. 1888)
- August 19 – Jessie Matthews, English dancer, singer and actress (b. 1907)
- August 22 – Glauber Rocha, Brazilian filmmaker (b. 1939)
- August 27 – Valeri Kharlamov, Soviet ice hockey player (b. 1948)
- August 28 – Béla Guttmann, Hungarian Association footballer and coach (b. 1899)[20]
- August 29 – Lowell Thomas, American writer and broadcaster (b. 1892)
- August 30
- Mohammad-Ali Rajai, 47th Prime Minister of Iran and 2nd President of Iran (assassinated) (b. 1933)
- Mohammad-Javad Bahonar, Iranian theologian and politician, 48th Prime Minister of Iran (assassinated) (b. 1933)
- Vera-Ellen, American actress and dancer (b. 1921)
September
- September 1
- Ann Harding, American actress (b. 1902)
- Albert Speer, German Nazi architect and war minister (b. 1905)
- September 2 – Dame Enid Lyons, Australian politician (b. 1897)
- September 7 – Christy Brown, Irish writer and painter (b. 1932)[21]
- September 8
- Uri Zvi Greenberg, Israeli poet and journalist (b. 1896)[22]
- Hideki Yukawa, Japanese physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)[23]
- Roy Wilkins, American civil rights activist (b. 1901)
- September 9
- Jacques Lacan, French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist (b. 1901)
- Ricardo Balbín, Argentine politician, leader of the Radical Civic Union (UCR) (b. 1904)
- Sir Robert Askin, Premier of New South Wales (b. 1907)
- September 11 – Frank McHugh, American actor (b. 1898)
- September 12 – Eugenio Montale, Italian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1896)[24]
- September 14 – Charles L. Melson, American admiral (b. 1904)
- September 15
- Harold Bennett, British actor (b. 1899)
- Rafael Méndez, Mexican trumpet virtuoso (b. 1906)
- September 17 – Sir Milton Allen, Governor of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla (b. 1888)[25]
- September 21 – Nigel Patrick, English actor (b. 1912)
- September 22 – Harry Warren, American songwriter (b. 1893)
- September 23 – Chief Dan George, Canadian actor and writer, tribal chief of the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation (b. 1899)
- September 24 – Patsy Kelly, American actress (b. 1910)
- September 27 – Robert Montgomery, American actor and director (b. 1904)
- September 28
- Rómulo Betancourt, 2-time President of Venezuela (b. 1908)
- Sir Edward Boyle, Baron Boyle of Handsworth, British Conservative cabinet minister (b. 1923)
- September 29
- Javad Fakoori, Iranian military officer, former minister of Defence (b. 1913)
- Mousa Namjoo, Iranian military officer, minister of Defence (b. 1938)
- Bill Shankly, British football manager (b. 1913)
October
- October 2
- Harry Golden, American journalist (b. 1902)
- Hazel Scott, American jazz singer and pianist (b. 1920)
- October 3 – Chrysostom Blashkevich, Soviet Benedict monk (b. 1915)
- October 4 – Freddie Lindstrom, American baseball player (New York Giants) and a member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1905)
- October 5 – Gloria Grahame, 57, American actress, breast cancer.
- October 6 – Anwar Sadat, 62, 37th Prime Minister of Egypt and 3rd President of Egypt, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, assassinated.
- October 13
- Antonio Berni, Argentine painter (b. 1905)
- Nils Asther, Danish-Swedish actor (b. 1897)
- October 16
- Stanley Clements, American actor (b. 1926)
- Moshe Dayan, Israeli general (b. 1915)
- October 22 – Michael Granger, American actor (b. 1923)
- October 24 – Edith Head, American costume designer (b. 1897)
- October 25 – Barbara Bedford, American actress (b. 1903)
- October 27 – John Warburton, British actor (b. 1899)
- October 29 – Georges Brassens, French singer and songwriter (b. 1921)
November
- November 2 – Wally Wood, American cartoonist (b. 1927)
- November 5 – Jean Eustache, French film director (b. 1938)
- November 7 – Will Durant, American philosopher and writer (b. 1885)
- November 10 – Abel Gance, French film director (b. 1889)
- November 12 – William Holden, American actor (b. 1918)
- November 13 – Gerhard Marcks, German sculptor (b. 1889)
- November 15
- Walter Heitler, German physicist (b. 1904)
Fellow of the Royal Society[26] - Enid Markey, American actress (b. 1894)
- Walter Heitler, German physicist (b. 1904)
- November 17 – Wilhelm Pelikan, Austrian chemist (b. 1893)[27]
- November 21 – Ejner Federspiel, Danish actor (b. 1896)[28]
- November 22
- Jack Fingleton, Australian cricketer (b. 1908)
- Hans Adolf Krebs, German physician and biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1900)[29]
- November 25
- Jack Albertson, American actor and comedian (b. 1907)
- Morris Kirksey, American athlete (b. 1895)[30]
- November 26 – Max Euwe, Dutch chess grandmaster (b. 1901)
- November 27 – Lotte Lenya, Austrian singer and actress (b. 1898)
- November 29 – Natalie Wood, American actress (b. 1938)
December
- December 2
- Wallace Harrison, American architect (b. 1895)
- Francis Hunter, American tennis player (b. 1894)
- December 6 – Harry Harlow, American psychologist (b. 1905)
- December 7 – William Edmunds, Italian stage and screen character actor (b. 1886)
- December 8 – Ferruccio Parri, Italian partisan and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1890)
- December 13 – Cornelius Cardew, English composer (b. 1936)
- December 15
- Catherine T. MacArthur, American philanthropist (b. 1908)
- Karl Struss, American cinematographer (b. 1886)
- December 17
- Franz Dahlem, German politician. (b. 1892)
- Mehmet Shehu, Albanian politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Albania (b. 1913)
- December 18
- Enrique Hertzog, Bolivian politician, 42nd President of Bolivia (b. 1896)
- Juan Miles, Argentine polo player (b. 1895)
- December 23
- Luther H. Evans, American political scientist and librarian, 3rd Director General of the UNESCO (b. 1902)
- Reginald Miles Ansett, Australian businessman and aviator (b. 1909)
- December 26 – Suat Hayri Urguplu, Turkish politician, 11th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1903)
- December 27 – Hoagy Carmichael, American jazz composer (b. 1899)
- December 28 – Allan Dwan, Canadian-American film director (b. 1885)
References
- ^ Cohen, K. P.; Runcorn, S. K.; Suess, H. E.; Thode, H. G. (1983). "Harold Clayton Urey 29 April 1893-5 January 1981". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 29: 622–659. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1983.0022. JSTOR 769815.
- ^ Galiana, Ismael (1 July 1981). "Murió en Murcia el poeta y pacifista Lanza del Vasto: Apóstol de la no violencia" [The poet and pacifist Lanza del Vasto died in Murcia: Apostle of nonviolence] (PDF). ABC (in Spanish). Madrid. p. 24.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "A. J. Cronin, author of 'Citadel' and 'Keys of the Kingdom', dies". New York Times. 10 January 1981. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ Don Michael Randel (1996). The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music. Harvard University Press. p. 459. ISBN 978-0-674-37299-3.
- ^ William Hayes (1982). "Max Ludwig Henning Delbruck. 4 September 1906-10 March 1981". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 28. London: Royal Society: 58–90. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1982.0003. JSTOR 769892.
- ^ Philippines. Supreme Court (1988). Supreme Court Reports, Annotated. Central Book Supply, Incorporated. p. 655.
- ^ McDougall, Bonnie S. (December 1998). "Disappearing women and disappearing men in may fourth narrative: a post-feminist survey of short stories by Mao Dun, Bing Xin, Ling Shuhua and Shen Congwen". Asian Studies Review. 22 (4): 427–458. doi:10.1080/10357829808713209. ISSN 1035-7823. S2CID 197655380.
- ^ Maurice Zbriger
- ^ "Norman Taurog, Director, Dies". The New York Times. April 10, 1981. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
- ^ Reagan, Ronald (1 January 1982). Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Ronald Reagan, 1981. Best Books on. p. 343. ISBN 978-1-62376-932-1.
- ^ McGowen, Deane (April 13, 1981). "Joe Louis, 66, Heavyweight King Who Reigned 12 Years, Is Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
- ^ Josep Miquel Sobrer (1992). Catalonia, a Self-portrait. Indiana University Press. p. 157. ISBN 0-253-28883-5.
- ^ Paul Green American author
- ^ Pedersen, Bjørn (2019-09-24), "Odd Hassel", Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian), retrieved October 23, 2019
- ^ Richard Hale
- ^ Leo Hamalian (1987). William Saroyan: The Man and the Writer Remembered. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. p. 233. ISBN 978-0-8386-3308-3.
- ^ "VINSON, Carl | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov.
- ^ Stafford Leak Warren (1896–1981)
- ^ Gabriel Miller (5 June 2013). William Wyler: The Life and Films of Hollywood's Most Celebrated Director. University Press of Kentucky. p. 394. ISBN 978-0-8131-4211-1.
- ^ David Bolchover (2017). The Greatest Comeback: From Genocide To Football Glory; The Story of Béla Guttman
- ^ Peterkin, Tom (6 November 2007). "Christy Brown 'neglected by ex-prostitute wife'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2007.
- ^ "Uri Zvi Greenberg, 83; Hebrew and Yiddish Poet". The New York Times. 10 May 1981.
- ^ Kemmer, N. (1983). "Hideki Yukawa. 23 January 1907 – 8 September 1981". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 29: 660–676. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1983.0023. JSTOR 769816.
- ^ "The Nobel Prize in Literature 1975". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ Sir Milton Allen
- ^ Mott, N. (1982). "Walter Heinrich Heitler. 2 January 1904 – 15 November 1981". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 28: 140–151. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1982.0007. JSTOR 769896.
- ^ Wilhelm Pelikan
- ^ Ejner Federspiel (in Danish)
- ^ Kornberg, H.; Williamson, D. H. (1984). "Hans Adolf Krebs. 25 August 1900 – 22 November 1981". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 30: 350–385. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1984.0013. PMID 11616005.
- ^ Hickok, Ralph (1995). A who's who of sports champions : their stories and records. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. p. 441. ISBN 9780395681954.
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