1981 deaths

American novelist, short story writer (1909-1981)

Russian Soviet writer and poet (1901–1981)

Italian partisan and politician (1890–1981)

American composer, pianist, singer, actor and bandleader (1899–1981)

Member of the House of Windsor

Italian footballer and manager (1906-1981)

2nd President of Singapore (1907–1981)

American actress (1902–1981)

Vera-Ellen (born Vera-Ellen Rohe; February 16, 1921 – August 30, 1981) was an American dancer, actress, and singer. She is remembered for her solo performances as well as her work with partners Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Danny Kaye, and Donald O'Connor. She is best known for her starring roles in On the Town (1949) with Kelly and White Christmas (1954) with Kaye.

Australian radio astronomer (1912-1981)

American jazz pianist and composer (1910–1981)

Hungarian footballer (1923-1981)

British actor (1908–1981)

Russian and Soviet actor, film and theatre director (1899–1981)

Irish artist (1932-1981)

Jewish-American physician and psychiatrist (1894-1981)

Slovenian writer (1904-1981)

physicist (1904-1981)

American psychologist and academic (1896–1981)

Soviet writer (1908–1981)

Brazilian film director, actor and writer (1939–1981)

Italian footballer (1912-1981)

American playwright, screenwriter and novelist (1923-1981)

American urban planner (1888–1981)

Iranian cleric, one of the leading figures of the 1979 Iranian Revolution (1928–1981)

President of Cuba (1901-1981)

German organist, harpsichordist, and conductor (1926–1981)

Indian guru (1897-1981)

Australian philosopher (1917-1981)

Iranian cleric (1933-1981)

President of Ecuador (1979–1981)

British motorcycle racer and racing driver (1940–1981)

Soviet chess player (1913–1981)

American stage, film and television actor (1908-1981)

French film director and editor (1938–1981)

Iranian Shia cleric, philosopher, jurist and mystic

Sri Lankan President (1897-1981)

German-American chess player (1885-1981)

American singer-songwriter (1942–1981)

American blues guitarist (1943-1981)

Argentine athlete (1919–1981)

English writer (1910-1981)

first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago (1911–1981)

American writer (1898–1981)

American psychologist (1905–1981)

Iranian politician (1932-1981)

Chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation (1899-1981)

film director, film producer, screenwriter (1885–1981)

American film critic (1905–1981)

American actress (1909–1981)

Uruguayan footballer (1903-1981)

Ukrainian-Russian psychiatrist and university teacher (1891-1981)

American commercial aviation pioneer and founder of Pan American World Airways (1899–1981)

American sprinter and hurdler (1919-1981)

Indian freedom fighter, politician, and social worker

Athletics and rugby competitor (1895–1981)

American operatic soprano (1897–1981)

British Army general (1889-1981)

British athlete (1902–1981)

Russian conductor (1914–1981)