References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2008 June 28.

1972 January 1 Jane Morgan, actress (Mrs Margaret Davis - Our Miss Brooks), dies at age 91. [1] Kenneth Patchen, American poet/writer (Cloth of Tempest), dies at age 60. [1] Maurice A Chevalier, French actor (Can Can, Gigi), dies at age 83. [1] [5] January 3 Frans Masereel, Flemish WWII resistance fighter (Le Soleil), dies at age 82. [1] January 4 Carl-Olof Anderberg, composer, dies at age 57. [1] January 7 Clarence Passailaigue, cricketer (487 for 6th wicket for Jamaica), dies. [1] John Berryman, American poet (Imaginary Jew), dies. [1] January 8 Kenneth Patchen, American writer (See You in the Morning), dies at age 60. [1] January 9 Ted Shawn, American dancer, dies at age 80. [1] January 10 Al Goodman, Russian/US orchestra leader (NBC Comedy Hour), dies at age 81. [1] Georg Rendl, Austrian miner/bee-keeper (Satan on Earth), dies at age 68. [1] Sverre Jordan, composer, dies at age 82. [1] January 12 Padraic Colum, Irish poet/writer/founder (Irish Review), dies at age 90. [1] January 14 Frederik IX [Christiaan FFMKW], king of Denmark (1947-72), dies at age 72. [1] January 16 Ross "David Seville" Bagdasarian, voice of Alvin and Chipmunks, dies at age 52. [1] January 17 Rochelle Hudson, actress (That's My Boy, Curly Top), dies from pneumonia at age 55. [1] January 18 Rudolf Wittelsbach, composer, dies at age 69. [1] January 24 Jerome Cowan, actor (Mr Dithers - Blondie), dies at age 74. [1] January 27 Mahalia Jackson, gospel singer ("He Got the Whole World"), dies at age 60. [1] Richard Courant, German/US mathematician, dies at age 84. [1] January 28 Adriaan B "Jaap" Wagemaker, Dutch sculptor, dies at age 66. [1] January 30 Karel Boleslav Jirak, composer, dies at age 81. [1] January 31 Bir Bikram Shah Deva Mahendra, king of Nepal (1955-72), dies at age 51. [1] Howard Barlow, conductor (Voice of Firestone), dies at age 79. [1] Istvan Szelenyi, composer, dies at age 67. [1] February 2 Jessie Royce Landis, actress (North by Northwest), dies at age 67. [1] February 3 John Litel, actor (Big Boss, Crime Doctor, My Buddy), dies at age 79. [1] February 5 Marianne Moore, US poetess (Pulitzer 1951), dies at age 84. [1] February 6 Julian H Steward, US anthropologist (South American), dies at age 70. [1] February 11 Jan Wils, architect (Olympian Stadium, Amsterdam), dies at age 80. [1] February 14 Lambertus "Bertus" van Lyre, composer/conductor (Dike), dies at age 65. [1] February 15 Edgar P Snow, American author/journalist (Battle for Asia), dies at age 66. [1] Jef [Josephus CF], last Dutch poet/Indonesian politician, dies at age 73. [1] February 17 Gavril Nikolayevich Popov, composer, dies at age 67. [1] February 20 Herbert Menges, composer, dies at age 69. [1] Walter Winchell, writer/actor (Dondi, Love and Hisses), dies at age 74. [1] February 22 Walter Sande, actor (Adventures of Tugboat Annie), dies at age 65. [1] February 23 Michael Taube, composer, dies at age 81. [1] February 26 Tom Manders, Dutch cabaret artist (Dorus), dies at age 50. [1] February 28 Victor Barna, table tennis champion, dies. [1] March 1 Victor Babin, composer, dies at age 63. [1] March 2 Bill Lawrence, news anchor (ABC), dies at age 56. [1] March 5 Nils Bjorkander, composer, dies at age 78. [1] March 11 Fredric [William] Brown, sci-fi author (Martians Go Home), dies at age 65. [1] March 16 Harold "Pie" Traynor, hall of fame third baseman (Pittsburgh Pirates), dies at age 72. [1] March 17 Manny Martindale, cricketer (10 Tests for West Indies, 34 wickets), dies. [1] March 20 Aad de Haas, Dutch religious painter/graphic artist, dies at age 51. [1] Jan Engelman, Dutch poet/art critic (At the Front), dies at age 71. [1] Marilyn Maxwell, actress (Grace - Bus Stop), dies at age 50. [1] March 27 Maurits C Escher, Dutch lithograph carver (Praedestinatie), dies at age 73. [1] March 29 Death of J Arthur Rank, first Baron Rank, industrialist/film magnate. [1] March 30 Gabriel Heather, US news anchor, dies at age 81. [1] Peter Whitney, actor (Rough Riders), dies at age 55. [1] April 2 Gil Hodges, manager (New York Mets), dies of heart attack at age 57. [1] April 3 Ferde Ferdinand Rudolph von Grofé, composer (Grand Canyon Suite), dies at age 80. [1] April 4 Adam Clayton Powell Jr (Representative-Democrat-New York), dies at age 63. [1] Stefan Wolpe, German composer (Zeus and Elidco), dies at age 69. [1] April 5 Brian Donlevy, actor (Steve - Dangerous Assignment), dies at age 73. [1] Isabel Jewell dies at age 62. [1] April 6 Heinrich Lübke, West Germany President (1959-69), dies at age 77. [1] April 7 "Crazy" Joe Gallo, mobster, killed at his 43rd birthday party. [1] Abeid Karume, Tanzanian sheik/President, murdered. [1] Victor Wong, actor (Mission to Moscow, King Kong) dies at age 65. [1] April 12 C W Ceram [Kurt Marek], German/US writer (first American), dies at age 57. [1] Henri Potiron, composer, dies at age 89. [1] April 15 Otto Brenner, German trade union leader, dies at age 64. [1] April 16 Yasunari Kawabata, Japanese author (Nobel Prize 1968), dies at age 72. [1] April 19 Adolf Bach, German philologist/sociologist, dies at age 82. [1] April 25 George Sanders, actor (Mr Freeze - Batman, Ivanhoe), dies at age 65. [1] April 26 Margaret A R Bonds, US pianist/composer/arranger, dies at age 59. [1] April 27 Kwame Nkrumah, President of Ghana, dies at age 62. [1] Phil King, rocker (Blue Oyster Cult), shot in head at age 24 while gambling. [1] April 29 Ntare V, deposed King of Burundi, killed in an abortive coup. [1] April 30 Gia Scala, actress (Garment Jungle, I Aim at the Stars), dies at age 38. [1] May 1 Fernand Ansseau, Belgian operator (Orfeo), dies at age 82. [1] May 2 Hugo Hartung, writer, dies at age 69. [1] J Edgar Hoover, head of US FBI (1924-72), dies at age 77. [1] [5] May 3 Bruce Cabot, actor (Diamonds are Forever), dies at age 68. [1] Les Harvey, rocker, dies. [1] May 5 Reverend Gary David, vocalist, dies at age 76. [1] May 13 Dan Blocker, actor (Hoss - Bonanza), dies following surgery at age 41. [1] May 15 Nigel Green, actor (Skull, Tobruk, Ipcress File), dies at age 47. [1] May 16 Maxime Dumoulin, composer, dies at age 79. [1] May 18 Eero Aukusti Sipila, composer, dies at age 53. [1] May 20 Cornelis J van der Klauw, Dutch biologist/zoologist, dies at age 78. [1] Walter Winchell, columnist/narrator (Untouchables), dies at age 75. [1] May 22 Margaret Rutherford, English actress (Murder Ahoy, VIP's), dies at age 80. [1] May 24 Asta Nielsen, actress (Joyless Street), dies at age 88. [1] Gavin Muir, actor (Hollister - Betty Hutton Show), dies at age 64. [1] May 28 Edward VIII, King of Great Britain/Northern Ireland/emperor (India 1936), dies at age 77. [1] May 30 Margaret Ruthven Lang, composer, dies at age 104. [1] June 12 Saul David Alinsky, radical writer (John L Lewis), dies at age 63. [1] June 13 Clyde McPhatter, singer of the drifters, dies of a heart attack. [1] June 23 Elton Britt, country singer (Saturday Night Jamboree), dies at age 54. [1] July 6 Brandon De Wilde, actor (Jamie), dies at age 30 in a car crash. [1] July 21 Jigme Dori Wangchuck, king of Bhutan, dies. [1] July 24 Bobby Ramirez, drummer (White Trash), killed at age 23 in bar brawl. [1] August 2 Brian Cole, rocker with The Association, dies of heroin overdose at age 28. [1] August 5 Frederic Tozere, actor (Mr Phillips - Stanley), dies at age 71. [1] August 7 Joi Lansing, actress (Bob Cummings Show), dies at age 44 of cancer. [1] August 9 Bill Berns, commentator (Television Screen Magazine), dies at age 53. [1] August 13 George Wiess, New York Yankees' general manager, dies. [1] August 14 Jules Romains, French novelist, dies at age 86. [1] Oscar Levant, actor (American in Paris, Dance of Life), dies at age 65. [1] September 12 William Boyd, cowboy (Hopalong Cassidy), dies at age 77. [1] September 23 Carl Frank, actor (Uncle Gunnar - Mama), dies at age 63. [1] September 26 Charles Correll, actor (Calvin and the Colonel), dies at age 82. [1] September 27 Rory Storm, lead singer of Rory Storm and Hurricane, commits suicide. [1] October 1 Louis Leakey, anthropologist, dies at age 68. [1] October 4 Colin Gordon, actor (John - The Baron), dies at age 61. [1] October 16 Leo G Carroll, actor (Topper, Man From Uncle), dies at age 80. [1] October 20 Harlow Shapley, discoverer of the Sun's position in the galaxy, dies. [1] October 24 Jackie Robinson dies at age 53. [1] October 27 Lew Parker, actor (Lou Marie - That Girl), dies a day before turning 65. [1] October 30 Alan Roth, orchestra leader (Milton Berle Show), dies at age 68. [1] November 6 Tod Andrews, actor (Gray Ghost, Counterthrust), dies at age 52. [1] November 23 Marie Wilson, actress (My Friend Irma), dies at age 56. [1] December 1 Antonio Segni, Italian Prime Minister/President (1955-57, 1959-60, 1962-64), dies at age 81. [1] December 2 Friedrich Christian Christiansen, German Luftwaffe general, dies. [1] José Limón, Mexican/US dancer (moor's pavane), dies at age 64. [1] December 6 Janet Munro, actress (Crawling Eye, Swiss Family Robinson), dies at age 38. [1] December 7 Adrian J Zoetmulder, author (God's Hour), dies at age 91. [1] December 8 George Collins (Representative-Illinois), dies at age 47, in airplane crash. [1] December 10 Mark A Van Doren, US literary (Our Lady Peace), dies at age 78. [1] December 11 John Mills, cricketer (7 Tests for New Zealand in early 1930s, 241 runs), dies. [1] Semjon I Kirsanov, Ukrainian poet (Zolushka), dies at age 66. [1] December 15 Edward Earle, actor (Charlie Chan - Meeting at Midnight), dies at age 90. [1] Herbert Eimert, German composer (Glockenspiel), dies at age 75. [1] December 17 Erwin Dressel, composer, dies at age 63. [1] December 20 Günter Eich, German literary (Botschaften des Regens), dies at age 65. [1] December 21 Horace Mann Bond, president of Lincoln University (Pennsylvania), dies at age 70. [1] December 23 Andrej N Tupolev, Russian aircraft builder, dies at age 84. [1] December 24 Charles Atlas [Angelo Siciliano], body builder, dies at age 79. [1] Ernst Kreuder, writer, dies at age 69. [1] December 26 Harry Truman, 33rd US President, dies in Kansas City, Missouri at age 88. [1] December 27 Lester B Pearson (Liberal), 14th Canadian Prime Minister (Nobel Prize 1957), dies at age 75. [1] December 29 Fritz Behrend, composer, dies at age 83. [1] December 31 Roberto Clemente, Pittsburgh Pirates' pitcher, dies in a plane crash at age 38. [1]