Aged 79
Famous people who died at 79
266 of the 11,867 best-known people in our data died aged 79, including Immanuel Kant, Charles de Gaulle and H. G. Wells. Here are the 100 best known.
- Immanuel KantGerman philosopher · 1724–1804
- Charles de GaulleFrench general and statesman · 1890–1970
- H. G. WellsEnglish writer · 1866–1946
- Ho Chi MinhVietnamese communist leader, founder of North Vietnam · 1890–1969
- Martin Van BurenPresident of the United States from 1837 to 1841 · 1782–1862
- Elizabeth TaylorBritish-American actress · 1932–2011
- François Mitterrand21st President of the French Republic from 1981 to 1995 · 1916–1996
- Pius XPope of the Catholic Church from 1903 to 1914, saint · 1835–1914
- Pervez MusharrafPakistani soldier and politician · 1943–2023
- Charles BabbageEnglish mathematician, philosopher, and engineer · 1791–1871
- Erich FrommGerman-American sociologist and psychoanalyst · 1900–1980
- Edmund HusserlGerman philosopher, known as the father of phenomenology · 1859–1938
- William Henry BraggBritish scientist · 1862–1942
- Chingiz AĭtmatovSoviet and Kyrgyz author · 1928–2008
- Ella FitzgeraldAmerican jazz singer · 1917–1996
- Diane KeatonAmerican actress and film director · 1946–2025
- Amedeo AvogadroItalian scientist · 1776–1856
- Anthony EdenBritish soldier, diplomat and politician · 1897–1977
- Carl SpittelerSwiss writer · 1845–1924
- Ferenc PuskásHungarian association football player · 1927–2006
- François-Auguste-René de ChateaubriandFrench writer, politician and historian · 1768–1848
- Harold WilsonPrime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1964-1970 and 1974-1976 · 1916–1995
- William HarveyEnglish physician · 1578–1657
- William ShockleyAmerican physicist and inventor · 1910–1989
- Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph SchellingGerman philosopher · 1775–1854
- Qaboos bin Said Al SaidSultan of Oman from 1970 to 2020 · 1940–2020
- John FordAmerican film director · 1894–1973
- John Frederick William HerschelEnglish polymath, mathematician, astronomer, chemist, inventor and photographer · 1792–1871
- Ivan GoncharovRussian novelist and official · 1812–1891
- A. KollontaĭSoviet revolutionary, ambassador, diplomat, feminist · 1872–1952
- Callixtus IIIPope of the Catholic Church from 1455 to 1458 from the Borgia family · 1379–1458
- Charles X of FranceKing of France and Navarre from 1824 to 1830 · 1757–1836
- José Eduardo dos SantosPresident of Angola from 1979 to 2017 · 1942–2022
- Damasus IPope · c. AD 305–384
- Frederick SoddyEnglish radiochemist · 1877–1956
- Owen Willans RichardsonBritish physicist · 1879–1959
- Percy Williams BridgmanAmerican physicist · 1882–1961
- Thomas Hunt MorganAmerican biologist and professor from Kentucky · 1866–1945
- Honorius IIIHead of the Catholic Church from 1216 to 1227 · c. 1148–1227
- Iris MurdochIrish-born British writer and philosopher · 1919–1999
- GerónimoLeader of the Bedonkohe Apache · 1829–1909
- John CageAmerican avant-garde composer · 1912–1992
- Robert MitchumAmerican actor · 1917–1997
- Urban IVHead of the Catholic Church from 1261 to 1264 · c. 1185–1264
- VangelisGreek composer · 1943–2022
- Andrei GromykoSoviet diplomat · 1909–1989
- Heinrich RohrerSwiss physicist · 1933–2013
- Max FrischSwiss playwrighter and novelist · 1911–1991
- Peter FondaAmerican actor and filmmaker · 1940–2019
- William WylerSwiss-German-American director and producer · 1902–1981
- LiliʻuokalaniMonarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom · 1838–1917
- Mircea EliadeRomanian-American historian, writer, philosopher and professor at the University of Chicago · 1907–1986
- Theodor HeussGerman journalist and politician · 1884–1963
- Gordian IRoman Emperor · c. AD 159–238
- Johnny WeissmullerAmerican swimmer, water polo player, and actor · 1904–1984
- Mozi5th-century BC Chinese philosopher and founder of Mohism · c. 470–391 BC
- George Washington CarverAfrican American botanist and inventor · 1864–1943
- Horace WalpoleEnglish writer and politician · 1717–1797
- Mikhail BakhtinRussian intellectual and philosopher · 1895–1975
- Paulette GoddardAmerican actress · 1910–1990
- Rudolf CarnapGerman philosopher and logician · 1891–1970
- Adolphe SaxBelgian musical instrument designer and musician · 1814–1894
- Marcel PagnolNovelist, playwright and filmmaker from France · 1895–1974
- Milton Obote ↗President of Uganda · 1925–2005
- Walter Matthau ↗American actor, comedian and director · 1920–2000
- Gabriel Fauré ↗French composer, organist, pianist and teacher · 1845–1924
- John Fowles ↗English novelist · 1926–2005
- Amos Oz ↗Israeli writer, novelist, journalist and intellectual · 1939–2018
- Kenichi Fukui ↗Japanese chemist · 1918–1998
- Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma ↗British statesman and naval officer · 1900–1979
- William Carlos Williams ↗American poet · 1883–1963
- Vincent de Paul ↗French priest, founder and saint · 1581–1660
- Jacques Rogge ↗President of the International Olympic Committee from 2001 to 2013 · 1942–2021
- Karlheinz Stockhausen ↗German composer · 1928–2007
- Olga of Kiev ↗Princess of Kiev, Orthodox saint · c. AD 890–969
- William-Adolphe Bouguereau ↗French academic painter · 1825–1905
- Jean Arp ↗Alsatian sculptor, painter, poet and abstract artist · 1886–1966
- Carl Theodor Dreyer ↗Danish film director · 1889–1968
- Cecilia Helena Payne Gaposchkin ↗British-born American astronomer · 1900–1979
- Christian B. Anfinsen ↗American biochemist · 1916–1995
- Christoph Martin Wieland ↗German poet and writer · 1733–1813
- Desi Bouterse ↗Leader of Suriname · 1945–2024
- Jacob Burckhardt ↗Swiss historian · 1818–1897
- Ludwig Tieck ↗German poet, writer, and critic · 1773–1853
- Robert H. Grubbs ↗Nobel prize winning American chemist · 1942–2021
- Tomaso Albinoni ↗Italian composer and violinist · 1671–1751
- Alan MacDiarmid ↗New Zealand chemist · 1927–2007
- Annie Girardot ↗French actress · 1931–2011
- Gigi Riva ↗Italian association football player · 1944–2024
- Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib ↗Leader of Banu Hashim, a clan of the Qurayshi tribe of Mecca · c. AD 540–619
- Chick Corea ↗American jazz and fusion pianist, keyboardist, and composer · 1941–2021
- Derek Barton ↗English organic chemist · 1918–1998
- Nikolai Bulganin ↗Soviet politician · 1895–1975
- Richard Laurence Millington Synge ↗British biochemist · 1914–1994
- Ethel Barrymore ↗American actress · 1879–1959
- Jean-Léon Gérôme ↗French painter and sculptor · 1824–1904
- Mikhail Ulyanov ↗Soviet and Russian actor, theatre and film director · 1927–2007
- Stephen Covey ↗American educator, author, businessman and motivational speaker · 1932–2012
- Anna Karina ↗Danish-French actress · 1940–2019
- Edward G. Robinson ↗Romanian-American actor · 1893–1973
"c." means only the years are known, so the age could be a year out. Dates are from Wikidata (CC0), last updated 22 October 2026.
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