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The following is a list of notable deaths in May 1991.
Entries for each day are listed alphabetically by surname. A typical entry lists information in the following sequence:
- Name, age, country of citizenship at birth, subsequent country of citizenship (if applicable), reason for notability, cause of death (if known), and reference.
1
- Jack Cope, 77, South African writer.
- Charles Sutherland Elton, 91, English zoologist.[1]
- Frank N. Ikard, 78, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1951–1961), heart attack.[2]
- Mary McAllister, 82, American silent film actress.[3]
- Cesare Merzagora, 92, Italian politician, acting president (1964).
- Richard Thorpe, 95, American film director.[4]
2
- Richard Threlkeld Cox, 92, American physicist.[5]
- Robert Elter, 92, Luxembourgian footballer.[6]
- Susan Fassbender, 32, English singer, suicide.
- Jens Haugland, 81, Norwegian politician.
- Charles Kaufman, 86, American screenwriter, pneumonia.[7]
- Abby Crawford Milton, 110, American suffragist and supercentenarian.
3
- Harry Gibson, 75, American musician, heart failure.
- Truus Klapwijk, 87, Dutch Olympic swimmer (1924, 1928).[8]
- Jerzy Kosiński, 57, Polish-American novelist (Being There, The Painted Bird, Steps), suicide by asphyxiation.[9]
- Frank Leja, 55, American baseball player, heart attack.[10]
- Günther Noack, 78, German figure skater.
- Yolande Plancke, 82, French Olympic sprinter (1928).[11]
- Carlos Márquez Sterling, 92, Cuban politician.
- Margaret Tallichet, 77, American actress, cancer.[12]
4
- Dennis Crosby, 56, American actor and singer, son of Bing Crosby, suicide by gunshot.
- George T. Delacorte Jr., 96, American magazine publisher.
- Luigi Facelli, 92, Italian hurdler and Olympian.[13]
- Mohammed Khadda, 61, Algerian artist, lung cancer.[14]
- Chandravadan Mehta, 90, Indian playwright and author.
- Xiaocun Sun, 84, Chinese politician.
- Mohammed Abdel Wahab, 89, Egyptian singer, stroke.[15]
- Bernie Winters, 60, English comedian, stomach cancer.
5
- Rolf Bremer, 64, German politician.
- Chaim Gross, 89, Austrian-American sculptor and educator, heart attack.[16]
- Hermann Kopf, 89, German politician.
- Jimmy Lile, 57, American knifemaker.[17]
- Rune Lindblad, 67, Swedish composer.[18]
- Richard A. Teague, 67, American automobile designer.
- Arthur Trudeau, 88, American Army lieutenant general.
6
- Mehrdad Avesta, 60, Iranian poet, heart attack.
- Virgil Calotescu, 63, Romanian film director.
- Thomas A. Carlin, 62, American actor (Caddyshack, The Pope of Greenwich Village, Ragtime).[19]
- Konstantinos Engolfopoulos, 79, Hellenic Navy officer.
- Wilfrid Hyde-White, 87, British actor (My Fair Lady, The Third Man, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century), heart failure.[20]
- Guido Martina, 85, Italian comic writer.
- Chucky Mullins, 21, American football player and quadriplegic, pulmonary embolism.[21]
7
- Hans Bender, 84, German parapsychologist.[22]
- Lucien Duquesne, 90, French Olympic runner (1920, 1924, 1928).[23]
- Glenn Eagleston, 70, American flying ace.
- Fred Eggan, 84, American anthropologist.[24]
- Bill McPeak, 64, American football player, heart attack.[25]
- Alexandre Prigogine, 78, Russian mineralogist and ornithologist.
- Wolfgang Reichmann, 59, German actor, heart attack.[26]
- István Zsolt, 69, Hungarian football referee.
8
- Edward G. Breen, 82, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1949–1951).[27]
- Ralph Theodore Breyer, 87, American Olympic swimmer (1924).[28]
- Ronnie Brody, 72, British actor.
- Joseph Kramm, 83, American playwright.
- Hilde Krüger, 78, German actress.
- Jean Langlais, 84, French composer.[29]
- Ronald McKie, 81, Australian novelist, kidney disease.
- Mireille Perrey, 87, French stage and film actress.[30]
- Michel Robida, 81, French writer.[31]
- Rudolf Serkin, 88, Austrian-American pianist, cancer.[32]
- Cedric Tallis, 76, American baseball executive, heart attack.[33]
- Alun Thomas, 65, Welsh rugby player.
- Friedelind Wagner, 73, German opera director.[34]
9
- Yanka Dyagileva, 24, Russian poet and singer-songwriter, suicide.
- Charles Fox, 69-70, English jazz critic.[35]
- Flip Keegstra, 76, Dutch Olympic sailor (1948, 1952).[36]
- István Messzi, 29, Hungarian Olympic weightlifter (1988), traffic collision.[37]
- Ross Story, 71, Australian politician.[38]
10
- Béla Balassa, 63, Hungarian economist.[39]
- Thomas Leather, 80, Australian cricket player.[40]
- Georg Strobl, 81, German ice hockey player and Olympic medalist.[41]
- Teisutis Zikaras, 68, Lithuanian-Australian sculptor.[42]
11
- Ho Dam, 62, North Korean politician.[43]
- Dino Di Luca, 88, Italian actor.[44]
- Jusuf Hatunić, 40, Yugoslav football player.[45]
- Friedrich Issak, 75, Estonian javelin thrower and journalist.
12
- Danny Little Bear, 53, American professional wrestler, liver cancer.
- Leland Hickman, 56, American poet, AIDS.[46]
- Deny King, 81, Australian naturalist, environmentalist, and painter, heart attack.[47]
- Konstantin Sokolsky, 86, Latvian singer.
13
- Abderrahmane Farès, 80, Algerian politician.
- Hal Gregg, 69, American baseball player.[48]
- David Mercer MacDougall, 86, Hong Kong politician.
- Delia Parodi, 78, Argentine politician.
- Carl Weinrich, 86, American organist.[49]
14
- Giampiero Albertini, 63, Italian actor, heart attack.[50]
- Joy Batchelor, 77, English animator.[51]
- Agehananda Bharati, 68, American Hindu monk and anthropologist, cancer.[52]
- Omar Truman Burleson, 85, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1947–1978).[53]
- Aladár Gerevich, 81, Hungarian Olympic fencer.[54]
- High Echelon, 24, American thoroughbred racehorse.
- Jiang Qing, 77, Chinese actress and politician, widow of Mao Zedong, suicide by hanging.[55]
- José María Rodero, 68, Spanish actor.[56]
- Frank Sanucci, 90, Argentine-American composer.
15
- Shintarō Abe, 67, Japanese politician, liver cancer.[57]
- Reno Browne, 70, American actress, cancer.
- Amadou Hampâté Bâ, 90-91, Malian writer and ethnologist.
- Andreas Floer, 34, German mathematician, suicide.
- Ken Jones, 88, American baseball player.[58]
- Ronald Lacey, 55, English actor (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Red Sonja, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension), liver cancer.[59]
- Kalindi Charan Panigrahi, 89, Indian writer.
- Fritz Riess, 68, German racing driver.
- Ed Weir, 88, American gridiron football player.[60]
- İhsan Yüce, 62, Turkish actor.
- Vukašin Šoškoćanin, 32, Yugoslav military commander, drowned.
16
- Rufe Persful, 84, American criminal.
- Herbert Schäfer, 63, German football player.[61]
- Willem Jacob Visser, 76, Dutch linguist.[62]
- Osmar White, 82, Australian journalist.
17
- Jean Charles Snoy et d'Oppuers, 83, Belgian diplomat.
- Maurie Dunstan, 62, Australian footballer.
- Göthe Grefbo, 69, Swedish actor.[63]
- G. Evelyn Hutchinson, 88, English ecologist.[64]
- Herman Kalckar, 83, Danish biochemist.[65]
- Harry Rée, 76, British academic.
- Ross Somerville, 88, Canadian golfer.
- Tom Trana, 53, Swedish rally driver, cancer.[66]
- Ilse Trautschold, 85, German actress.[67]
18
- Gerd Achgelis, 82, German aviator.[68]
- Edwina Booth, 86, American actress.[69]
- Muriel Box, 85, English screenwriter and director.[70]
- Nicholas Elko, 81, American Catholic prelate.[71]
- Litzi Friedmann, 81, Austrian spy for the Soviet Union.
- Gunnar Johansson, 85, Swedish composer.
- Rudolf Nierlich, 25, Austrian skier, traffic collision.[72]
- Jimmy Thomson, 64, Canadian ice hockey player, heart attack.[73]
- Hoang Van Hoan, 85-86, Vietnamese politician.
19
- Gabino Arregui, 76, Argentine footballer.[74]
- Lloyd Butler, 66, American Olympic rower (1948).[75]
- Odia Coates, 49, American singer, breast cancer.
- Royce Goodbread, 83, American football player.[76]
- Wim Lakenberg, 70, Dutch football player.[77]
- Mario Panzeri, 79, Italian composer.
- Greg Rice, 75, American long-distance runner, stroke.
- Nexhmedin Zajmi, 75, Albanian artist.
20
- Milko Bambič, 86, Italian artist.
- Bill Champion, 69, American racing driver.[78]
- Zdzisław Kostrzewa, 35, Polish footballer.
- Joseph J. Maraziti, 78, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1973–1975).[79]
- Pete Runnels, 63, American baseball player, stroke.[80]
21
- Ioan P. Culianu, 41, Romanian historian and philosopher, shot.[81]
- Nicholas Dante, 49, American dancer and writer, AIDS.[82]
- Rajiv Gandhi, 46, Indian politician, prime minister (1984–1989), suicide bombing.[83]
- Julián Orbón, 65, Cuban composer, cancer.[84]
22
- Lino Brocka, 52, Filipino film director, traffic collision.[85]
- Shripad Amrit Dange, 91, Indian politician.[86]
- Valentin Iremonger, 73, Irish diplomat and poet.[87]
- Derrick Henry Lehmer, 86, American mathematician.[88]
- Jacob Millman, 79-80, Ukrainian-American electrical engineer.[89]
- Stan Mortensen, 69, English footballer.[90]
- Stan Richards, 59-60, American sportscaster.
- Ernie Robinson, 83, English footballer.[91]
23
- Manning Clark, 76, Australian historian.[92]
- Henri Dauban de Silhouette, 90, British javelin thrower and Olympian.[93]
- David H. Frisch, 73, American nuclear physicist.[94]
- Wilhelm Kempff, 95, German pianist.[95]
- René Lefèvre, 93, French actor.[96]
- Fletcher Markle, 70, Canadian filmmaker, heart failure.[97]
- Kemal Satır, 80, Turkish politician.
- Jean Van Houtte, 84, Belgian politician, prime minister (1952–1954).
24
- John Anderton, 61, South African Olympic sprinter (1952).[98]
- Mo Bassett, 60, American football player.
- Gene Clark, 46, American singer-songwriter (The Byrds), peptic ulcer disease.[99]
- Pat Scantlebury, 73, Panamanian-American baseball player.[100]
- Juozas Ūdras, 66, Lithuanian Olympic fencer (1952, 1956).[101]
25
- Lorne MacLaine Campbell, 88, Scottish army officer.
- Eddie Fullerton, 56, Irish politician, shot.[102]
- Gunnar Johansen, 85, Danish-American pianist, liver cancer.[103]
- Doug Nott, 79, American football player.[104]
26
- Aleksandar Benko, 66, Yugoslav footballer.[105]
- José Caballero, 75, Spanish painter.[106]
- Doris M. Curtis, 77, American geologist.[107]
- Claudine Dupuis, 67, French actress.[108]
- Tom Eyen, 50, American playwright and lyricist (Dreamgirls), AIDS.[109]
- Tim Landers, 80, Irish footballer.
- Eugène Lourié, 88, French filmmaker, stroke.[110]
- Kisaburo Osawa, 80-81, Japanese aikido teacher.
- John Price, 71, American competitive sailor and Olympic silver medalist.[111]
- Wilfrid Roberts, 90, British politician.
- Nick Wasnie, 88, Canadian ice hockey player.
- Hailu Yimenu, -9, Ethiopian politician, suicide.
27
- Ed Dodd, 88, American cartoonist (Mark Trail).[112]
- Eric Heffer, 69, British politician.[113]
- Herman Struve Hensel, 89, American lawyer, heart failure.[114]
- Leopold Nowak, 86, Austrian musicologist.[115]
28
- Roy Cullenbine, 77, American baseball player, heart disease.[116]
- Garton Hone, 90, Australian tennis player.
- Victor Aloysius Meyers, 93, American politician and musician.[117]
- Ethel L. Payne, 79, American journalist, editor, and foreign correspondent.[118]
- Walter Steinbauer, 45, German bobsledder and Olympic medalist.[119]
29
- Margaret Barr, 86, Australian choreographer.
- Peter Betz, 61, German Olympic rower (1952).[120]
- Coral Browne, 77, Australian-American actress (An Englishman Abroad, Dreamchild, The Ruling Class), breast cancer.[121]
- Andrew Mensaros, 69, Australian politician.
- John Tronolone, 80, American mobster (Cleveland crime family).
- Henry Walston, Baron Walston, 78, British politician.
30
- Edgar Bodenheimer, 83, German-American author and law professor.[122]
- Manolo Gómez Bur, 74, Spanish actor.[123]
- Uma Shankar Dikshit, 90, Indian politician.
- Walter Dirks, 90, German theologian.[124]
- Roland V. Libonati, 93, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1957–1965).[125]
- Jim Magnuson, 44, American baseball player, alcohol poisoning.[126]
- Eugene Oberst, 89, American football player, javelin thrower, and Olympic medalist .[127]
- Lafayette G. Pool, 71, American tank commander.
31
- Rubens Josué da Costa, 62, Brazilian football player.
- Ronald Garvey, 87, British colonial administrator.
- Magnus Hestenes, 85, American mathematician.
- Ian Milner, 79, New Zealand political scientist and alleged KGB spy.[128]
- Robert Schlapp, 91, British physicist.[129]
- Hans Schwartz, 78, German footballer.[130]
- Angus Wilson, 77, English novelist, stroke.[131]
- Artur Woźniak, 77, Polish football player.
- Yuri Zhukov, 83, Soviet journalist, publicist and political figure.
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