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Famous people and celebrities who died in May 1979

This page is dedicated to commemorating the celebrities and famous people who passed away in May 1979. This month marked the loss of influential and beloved figures whose contributions spanned various fields and touched many lives. Explore our detailed list to remember and celebrate their enduring legacies and the remarkable impact they had on the world

  • Giulio Natta
    May 2 Giulio Natta

    Giulio Natta was an Italian chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963 with Karl Ziegler for groundbreaking work on polymers.

  • Talcott Parsons
    May 8 Talcott Parsons

    Influential American sociologist who developed structural functionalism theory and significantly impacted social science research in the...

  • Cyrus Eaton
    May 9 Cyrus Eaton

    American businessman known for his investments and philanthropy.

  • Gabriel Ramanantsoa
    May 9 Gabriel Ramanantsoa
  • Louis Paul Boon
    May 10 Louis Paul Boon

    Prominent Flemish novelist and journalist, known for his innovative literary style and social critique.

  • István Bibó
    May 10 István Bibó
  • Lester Flatt
    May 11 Lester Flatt

    Influential bluegrass musician and guitarist, co-founder of the Foggy Mountain Boys and Nashville Grass.

  • Pietro Gallinotti
    May 12 Pietro Gallinotti
  • Leonardantonio Sforza
    May 12 Leonardantonio Sforza
  • Jean Rhys
    May 14 Jean Rhys

    Dominican-British novelist known for her novel 'Wide Sargasso Sea'.

  • Giuseppe Brancale
    May 15 Giuseppe Brancale
  • Luigi Savini
    May 15 Luigi Savini
  • Elemér Somfay
    May 15 Elemér Somfay
  • Curtis Stevens
    May 15 Curtis Stevens
  • A. Philip Randolph
    May 16 A. Philip Randolph

    American union leader and activist (b. 1889).

  • Max Niederbacher
    May 16 Max Niederbacher
  • Volodymyr Ivasjuk
    May 18 Volodymyr Ivasjuk
  • S. Selvanayagam
    May 23 S. Selvanayagam

    Sri lankan geographer and academic (b. 1932).

  • Ernest Bullock
    May 24 Ernest Bullock

    English organist, composer, and educator (b. 1890).

  • Itzhak Bentov
    May 25 Itzhak Bentov

    Czech-israeli engineer, mystic, and author (b. 1923).

  • Amédée Gordini
    May 25 Amédée Gordini

    Italian-born french racing driver and sports car manufacturer (b. 1899).

  • Philippe Halsman
    May 25 Philippe Halsman
  • George Brent
    May 26 George Brent

    George Brent was an Irish-American film and stage actor, best known for his leading roles in Hollywood films of the 1930s and 1940s, particularly as a leading man opposite Bette Davis. [bio]

  • Mary Pickford
    May 29 Mary Pickford

    Mary Pickford was a Canadian-American film actress, producer, and screenwriter, renowned as one of the most significant pioneers of the early Hollywood film industry. She was a co-founder of United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. [bio]

  • John H. Wood Jr.
    May 29 John H. Wood Jr.

    American lawyer and judge (b. 1916).