1981 deaths

Indian freedom fighter, politician, and social worker

American politician; 83rd governor of Connecticut (1975-80)

US tennis player (1894–1981)

Japanese admiral (1888–1981)

German-Danish tennis player

Swiss broadcasting executive (1907-1981)

athletics competitor (1899-1981)

Croatian Roman Catholic cardinal (1905–1981)

Russian ballet dancer (1892–1981)

Italian recording artist; singer-songwriter

American actor (1909–1981)

Royal Navy admiral of the fleet (1888-1981)

Austrian-American psychoanalyst and psychiatrist (1913-1981)

Indian actress (1935–1981)

American actor (1917–1981)

philosopher, poet, artist, activist (1901–1981)

Polish athlete (1951–1981)

German-Cuban inventor, Cuban ambassador to Israel and philanthropist (1887–1982)

American composer and lyricist (1893–1981)

American composer, conductor, educator and music theorist (1896–1981)

Mexican-born American theoretical chemist (1901-1981)

Karmapas (1924–1981)

Dutch physicist (1895-1981)

Bosnian painter

Swedish football referee (1905-1981)

Russian prince (1897–1981)

member of the Romanov family (1905-1981)

speed skater (1906-1981)

Hungarian poet, writer (1921–1981)

Polish philosopher (1886–1981)

Spanish football player/manager/referee (1909-1981)

American lyricist (1896–1981)

American blues harmonica player (1921–1981)

British politician and diplomat (1901-1981)

Spanish footballer (1907-1981)

British writer and publisher (1892-1981)

German engineer and inventor of the smart card (1916-1981)

Russian-Jewish American writer

Argentine artist (1905-1981)

Czech footballer (1906-1981)

American statistician (1903–1981)

Argentine footballer (1901-1981)

Czech illustrator, painter and biological illustrator (1905-1981)

French geologist, archaeologist and author (1919-1981)

Latvian artist (1892–1981)

Soviet economist (1897-1981)

American aeroplanes designer and businessman (1892–1981)

German footballer (1908–1981)

Soviet lawyer (1907-1981)

Polish composer (1928–1981)

British economist; life peer (1914-1981)

Danish diver (1900-1981)

American anthropologist

Soviet animator (1905–1981)

American composer, arranger (1894-1981)

Swedish actor (1897–1981)

Jamaican Rastafari preacher (1898–1981)

American basketball player (1910-1981)

German sculptor (1889–1981)

American dancer and entertainer (1896-1981)