Aged 97
Famous people who died at 97
52 of the 11,867 best-known people in our data died aged 97, including Bertrand Russell, John D. Rockefeller and Doris Day.
- Bertrand RussellBritish philosopher and logician · 1872–1970
- John D. RockefellerAmerican industrialist and philanthropist · 1839–1937
- Doris DayAmerican actress and singer · 1922–2019
- Marc ChagallBelarusian-French artist · 1887–1985
- Nicolaas BloembergenDutch-born American physicist · 1920–2017
- Tsung-Dao LeeChinese-American physicist · 1926–2024
- John Kenneth GalbraithCanadian-American economist and diplomat · 1908–2006
- Kenneth KaundaFirst president of Zambia · 1924–2021
- Antony HewishEnglish physicist and radio astronomer · 1924–2021
- Kenan EvrenPresident of Turkey · 1917–2015
- Caroline HerschelGerman-British astronomer · 1750–1848
- Walter ScheelPresident of West Germany · 1919–2016
- Jim Lovell ↗American astronaut · 1928–2025
- Renato Dulbecco ↗Italian-born American virologist · 1914–2012
- Stanley Cohen ↗American biochemist · 1922–2020
- Lazar Kaganovich ↗Soviet politician · 1893–1991
- Chuck Yeager ↗American World War II flying ace and test pilot; first pilot to fly faster than sound · 1923–2020
- Karl Malden ↗American actor · 1912–2009
- Lee Teng-hui ↗7-9th President of Republic of China(Taiwan) · 1923–2020
- Andrew Schally ↗Polish-American endocrinologist · 1926–2024
- Bess Truman ↗First Lady of the United States from 1945 to 1953 · 1885–1982
- George Pólya ↗Hungarian mathematician · 1887–1985
- Peter Brook ↗English theatre and film director · 1925–2022
- George Whipple ↗American physician and biomedical researcher · 1878–1976
- Jacques Hadamard ↗French mathematician · 1865–1963
- Abdul Ghaffar Khan ↗Pashtun independence activist against British rule in India · 1890–1988
- Marie Under ↗Estonian poet · 1883–1980
- Julien Green ↗American author · 1900–1998
- Norman Jewison ↗Canadian film director, producer and actor · 1926–2024
- Carol Channing ↗American actress · 1921–2019
- Joaquín Rodrigo ↗Spanish composer, best known for his Concierto de Aranjuez · 1901–1999
- Millvina Dean ↗Last remaining survivor of Titanic disaster · 1912–2009
- Peter Abrahams ↗South African novelist, journalist and political commentator · 1919–2017
- Arnaldo Forlani ↗Italian politician · 1925–2023
- John Mills ↗British actor · 1908–2005
- Patricio Aylwin ↗Chilean politician and former president · 1918–2016
- Maurice Wilkes ↗British computer scientist · 1913–2010
- Gemistus Pletho ↗15th-century Byzantine Greek philosopher · c. 1355–1452
- Julien Gracq ↗French writer · 1910–2007
- Youssef ibn Tashfin ↗Leader of the Almoravid dynasty (r. 1061–1106), founder of Marrakech and a key figure in consolidating power in southern Morocco before expanding into Al-Andalus · c. 1009–1106
- Lucien Laurent ↗French footballer · 1907–2005
- Alain Touraine ↗French sociologist · 1925–2023
- Dana Zátopková ↗Czech javelin thrower · 1922–2020
- Mary Cartwright ↗British mathematician · 1900–1998
- Princess Lilian, Duchess of Halland ↗Welsh model who became a member of the Swedish royal family · 1915–2013
- Qian Xuesen ↗Chinese rocket scientist · 1911–2009
- Asmā' bint Abu Bakr ↗Companion of Muhammad · c. AD 595–692
- Leon Theremin ↗Russian inventor, physicist, and musician · 1896–1993
- Fred Lawrence Whipple ↗American astronomer · 1906–2004
- Lakshmi Sahgal ↗Officer in the Indian National Army (INA) and former presidential candidate of India · 1914–2012
- Tom Lehrer ↗American musician · 1928–2025
- Margaret Chase Smith ↗Member of the United States Senate from Maine · 1897–1995
"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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