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The following is a list of notable deaths in March 1986.

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.

• Valentine Britten, 83, British librarian.
• Pierre Charton, 81, French racing cyclist.
• Rosario Couture, 80, Canadian NHL ice hockey player.
• Cahir Davitt, 91, Irish judge.
• Tommy Farr, 72, Welsh boxer.^[1]
• Gerhard Meidell Gerhardsen, 73, Norwegian economist.
• Charles Hahn, 92, German Olympic rower (1920).
• Ken Holley, 66, American football player.
• Marcel Liebman, 56, Belgian political scientist.
• William Modisane, 62, South African writer.
• Harvey H. Nininger, 99, American scientist in the study of meteorites.
• Samuel Roper, 90, American Klansman and law enforcement officer.
• Ernie Rosteck, 63, American NFL football player.
• Jens Stefenson, 91, Swedish naval officer and Olympic diver (1912).
• Katherine Amelia Towle, 87, American military director and academic administrator.^[2]
• Luigi Zucchini, 70, Italian Olympic ice hockey player (1936).

• Jocko Collins, 80, American NBA basketball referee and baseball scouting agent.
• Eileen Olive Deste, 77, New Zealand photographer.
• Hymie Ginsburg, 71, American NBL basketball player.
• Frank W. Hawthorne, 85, American judge.
• W. Stuart Helm, 77, American politician, member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1957–1958, 1963–1964).^[3]
• Alice Mann, 86, American actress.
• Zafer al-Masri, 45–46, Palestinian politician, shot.
• William D. Mullins, 54, American politician, member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (after 1977), cancer.
• Jacob P. Nathanson, 85, Russian-born American politician, member of the New York State Assembly (1927–1933).
• Cesare Polacco, 85, Italian actor.
• Edmund Port, 80, American judge.
• Jimmy Reynolds, 65, American baseball player.
• Margaret Trist, 71, Australian writer.

• Peter Capell, 73, German actor.
• Paul Castner, 89, American Major League baseball player.
• Gordon Collins, 71, English cricketer.
• Winfield S. Cunningham, 86, American naval admiral.^[4]
• Léonard Daghelinckx, 85, Belgian Olympic cyclist (1920, 1924).
• Charles A. Halleck, 85, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1935–1969).^[5]
• Ernst König, 77, German general.
• David Macindoe, 68, English cricketer.
• Dmitri Protopopov, 88, Soviet Tajik politician.
• Mohinder Singh Randhawa, 77, Indian historian and agriculturalist.

• Archibald Charles Barrington, 79, New Zealand peace activist.
• Ding Ling, 81, Chinese author.
• Hans Gillesberger, 76, Austrian choir director.
• Howard Greenfield, 49, American songwriter ("Love Will Keep Us Together", "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo", "Everybody's Somebody's Fool"), AIDS.^[6]
• František Hochmann, 81, Czechoslovak footballer.
• Albert L. Lehninger, 69, American biochemist.
• Edward MacLysaght, 98, English-Irish genealogist.
• Richard Manuel, 42, Canadian musician (The Band), suicide by hanging.^[7]
• Leonid Meshkov, 70, Soviet Olympic swimmer (1952).
• George Owen, 84, Canadian-American NHL ice hockey player, stroke.^[8]
• Lyudmila Rudenko, 81, Soviet chess player.
• Elizabeth Smart, 72, Canadian writer.
• John Spence, 65, British politician, MP (since 1970).

• Necati Çelim, 76–77, Turkish politician.
• Franciska Clausen, 87, Danish painter.
• Beatrice Centner Davidson, 76–77, Canadian architect.
• Emily Benton Frith, 91, American film producer.
• Teddy Hoad, 90, Barbadian cricketer.
• Sir Basil McFarland, 88, Northern Irish politician.
• George Nelson, 77, American industrial designer.^[9]
• Bernard Rowe, 81, English Olympic wrestler (1924, 1928).
• Veikko Ruotsalainen, 77, Finnish Olympic skier (1928).
• George Smith, 71, American NBL football player.
• Helmut Thielicke, 77, German theologian.
• Notable Nigerian soldiers executed by firing squad:
  • Daniel Bamidele, 36–37.
  • Musa Bityonɡ.
  • Mamman Jiya Vatsa, 45.

• Madhavrao Bagal, 90, Indian writer and social activist.
• Robert Bateson, 73, English RAF pilot.
• Jack Binder, 83, American comic book artist.
• Emilio de Brigard Ortiz, 97, Colombian Roman Catholic prelate.
• Eric Brown, 61, Scottish golfer, stroke.
• Adolph Caesar, 52, American actor (A Soldier's Story, The Color Purple), heart attack.^[10]
• Georgia O'Keeffe, 98, American painter.^[11]
• Orlando Paladino Orlandini, 81, Italian sculptor.
• Vahram Papazyan, 93, Ottoman-American Olympic runner (1912).
• Jerry Paulson, 50, American NBL basketball player.
• István Pelle, 78, Hungarian Olympic gymnast (1932).
• Max Shacklady, 67, English Olympic boxer (1948).
• Robert Early Strawbridge Jr., 89, American polo player.^[12]
• George Thornewell, 87, English footballer.
• Zhu Guangqian, 88, Chinese literary scholar.

• Emma Baron, 81, Italian actress.
• Olin G. Blackwell, 71, American prison warden (Alcatraz).^[13]
• Charles Catlow, 78, English cricketer.
• Wal Cherry, 53, Australian theatre director, heart disease.
• Giacomo Di Segni, 66, Italian Olympic boxer (1948, 1952).
• Robert Howland, 80, English Olympic shot putter (1928).
• Carmel Humphries, 76, Irish zoologist.
• Jacob Javits, 81, American politician, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1947–1954) and Senate (1957–1981), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.^[14]
• Henry Harrison Mayes, 88, American evangelist.
• Bert Metzger, 77, American football player.
• Jimmy Moore, 82, American Major League baseball player.

• Victor Borghi, 73, Swiss Olympic skier (1948).
• T.H. Chan, 62–63, Hong Kong real estate entrepreneur.
• Hubert Fichte, 50, German novelist, AIDS.
• Kaarlo Halttunen, 76, Finnish actor.
• Hans Knecht, 72, Swiss racing cyclist.
• Moses Mabhida, 62, South African politician, heart attack.
• Kersti Merilaas, 72, Soviet Estonian poet.
• Jackie Morton, 71, English footballer.

• André Barbeau, 54, Canadian neurologist.
• Ned Calmer, 78, American journalist.
• Alex Chaplin, 94, Scottish footballer.
• James Crump, 87, American baseball player.
• Joseph-Léon Deslières, 92, Canadian politician.
• Victor Forget, 69, Canadian politician.
• Joe A. Griffiths, 75–76, Maltese footballer.
• Hannah Kudjoe, 67, Ghanaian political activist.
• John MacLean, 85, English cricketer.
• Ignác Molnár, 84, Hungarian footballer.
• Anthony Otter, 89, British Anglican prelate.
• Arthur Rude, 59, American politician, member of the Florida House of Representatives (1966–1976).^[15]
• Michael Strunge, 27, Danish poet, fall.

• Walter Blankenburg, 82, German hymnologist.
• Latham Castle, 86, American judge.
• Seydou Cissokho, 56, Senegalese politician.
• Myron Cohen, 83, Russian-born American comedian, heart attack.^[16]
• Fred Downer, 89, American baseball player.
• Heinz Emmerich, 78, German footballer.
• E. Gwyndaf Evans, 73, Welsh poet.
• Aram Haigaz, 85, Armenian-American writer.^[17]
• Magnus Colcord Heurlin, 90, American painter.
• George Horsburgh, 75, Scottish rugby player.
• Ruth Agatha Houghton, 76, American nurse.
• Yaakov Kamenetsky, 95, Russian-American rabbi.^[18]
• Franz Karasek, 61, Austrian politician.
• Dominica Legge, 80, British linguist.
• Reg Manning, 80, American cartoonist.
• Lew Mathe, 70, American bridge player.
• Ray Milland, 79, Welsh-American actor (The Lost Weekend, The Thief, The Jungle Princess), lung cancer.^[19]
• Elizabeth Monroe, 81, English historian.
• Emerson Norton, 85, American Olympic athlete (1924).

• Victor Ankarcrona, 89, Swedish Olympic equestrian (1924, 1928).
• Ari Ankorion, 77, Russian-Israeli politician.
• Pat Barlow, 71, Irish footballer.
• Mai Clifford, 72, Irish trade unionist.
• Georg-Peter Eder, 65, German flying ace.
• Henry Friendly, 82, American judge, suicide by drug overdose.^[20]
• Ricardo Frione, 75, Uruguayan footballer.
• Lurline Hook, 70–71, Australian diver.
• Sherman Kent, 82, American intelligence analyst and historian.^[21]
• Heinrich Lützenkirchen, 76, German politician.
• Giuseppe Moruzzi, 75, Italian neuroscientist.
• Herbert Runge, 73, German Olympic boxer (1936).
• Shwe Done Bi Aung, 80, Burmese filmmaker.
• Heinz Eberhard Strüning, 89, German painter.
• Sonny Terry, 74, American blues musician.^[22]
• Michel Van Vaerenbergh, 66, Belgian footballer.
• Onslow Whitford, 62, New Zealand cricketer.
• Václav Zavázal, 65, Czech Olympic sports shooter (1960).

• Ruth Abrams, 73–74, American painter.
• Percy Birtchnell, 75, British historian, heart attack.
• Richard Declerck, 86, Belgian politician.
• Fred Hancock, 67, American Major League baseball player.
• Claude L. Harrison, 99, Canadian politician.
• Bunker Hill, 44, American musician.
• Thure Johansson, 73, Swedish Olympic wrestler (1948).
• Nina Katzir, 71, Polish-Israeli socialite, first lady (1973–1978).
• James Maurice Scott, 79, British writer and explorer.
• Soedjono Hoemardani, 67, Indonesian general, internal bleeding.
• Frank W. Tomasello, 86, American judge.

• Jack Bruton, 82, English footballer.
• Howard W. Cameron, 70, American politician.
• Andy Chisick, 69, American football player.
• Robert Courrier, 90, French biologist.
• Álvaro Fayad, 39, Colombian guerrilla leader (19th of April Movement), shot.^[23]
• Jesse A. Fernández, 60, Cuban artist.
• Eugen Gerstenmaier, 79, German politician.^[24]
• Jack Harvey, 78, American politician.
• Alan Hector, 46, South African cricketer.
• Hồ Văn Nhựt, 80, Vietnamese physician.
• S. Kanapathipillai, 86, Sri Lankan writer.
• Josef Kuchař, 84, Czechoslovak footballer.
• Angelo Litrico, 58, Italian fashion designer.
• Donald Manes, 52, American politician, suicide by stabbing.^[25]
• Felix Scheffler, 71, German soldier.
• Allene Talmey, 83, American journalist.
• Jack Warner, 82, American Major League baseball player.
• Walter Weidauer, 86, German politician.

• K. C. Abraham, 87, Indian politician.
• Harold Arlin, 90, American radio announcer and engineer.^[26]
• Ed Aspatore, 76, American NFL football player.
• Edith Atwater, 74, American actress, cancer.^[27]
• Bertrand Harris Bronson, 83, American academic.
• James Vincent Casey, 71, American Roman Catholic prelate.
• Kálmán Cseh von Szent-Katolna, 93, Hungarian Olympic equestrian (1928).
• John Fulton, Baron Fulton, 83, British academic administrator.
• Nilo Hovey, 79, American clarinetist and musicologist.
• Harald Leth, 87, Danish painter.
• Jose Roy, 81, Filipino politician.
• Kodardas Kalidas Shah, 77, Indian politician.
• Servaas Theron, 67, South African flying ace.
• Sir Huw Wheldon, 69, Welsh broadcaster, cancer.
• Audrey Williamson, 72, British writer.

• Martin Cooper, 76, English musicologist.
• Raymond Philip Etteldorf, 74, American Roman Catholic prelate.
• Alexandru Giugaru, 88, Romanian actor.
• Hendrik Greyvenstein, 69, South African soldier.
• Walter Lenkeit, 85, German veterinarian.
• Lü Bing-Chuan, 56, Taiwanese musicologist.
• Rupert G. Miller, 53, American statistician, lymphoma.
• Miguel Darío Miranda y Gómez, 90, Mexican Roman Catholic cardinal.
• Bill Patton, 73, American Major League baseball player.
• Pandelis Prevelakis, 77, Greek writer.
• Ramón S. Sabat, 83–84, Cuban artist.
• Andrew J. Santaniello Jr., 59, American politician, member of the Connecticut Senate (since 1983).^[28]
• Sir Henry Skinner, 59, British barrister.

• Abdurrahman Baswedan, 77, Indonesian diplomat.
• Pat Carroll, 30, Irish hurler.
• Lalit Kumar Doley, 58, Indian politician.
• George Jackson, 64, British animator.
• Hans Kloss, 80, Austrian bank manager and lawyer.
• Jean Letourneau, 78, French politician.
• Sir John Nicholson, 3rd Baronet, 82, English surgeon.
• Mihal Prifti, 67, Albanian politician.
• Ouvry Lindfield Roberts, 87, British general.
• Morteza Haeri Yazdi, 69, Iranian Shia cleric.

• Edward Jordan Dimock, 96, American judge.^[29]
• John Bagot Glubb, 88, British general.
• Peter Lienhardt, 58, British anthropologist.
• Clarence D. Lester, 63, American fighter pilot.
• Janette Sebring Lowrey, 94, American author (The Poky Little Puppy).
• Dave McCormick, 42, American NFL football player.
• Heinz Nixdorf, 60, German computer engineer (Nixdorf Computer).
• Raimundo, 2nd Duke of Castel Duino, 79, Italian hereditary peer.
• James Shuler, 26, American boxer, traffic collision.^[30]
• Arne Sultan, 60, American filmmaker.
• Sir Eric St Johnston, 75, British constable.
• Igor Tselovalnikov, 42, Soviet Olympic cyclist (1968, 1972).
• David Dortch Warriner, 57, American judge, heart attack.^[31]
• Gerhard Weber, 76, German architect.
• Sir Maurice Yonge, 86, English zoologist.

• Ludvík Aškenazy, 65, Czechoslovak writer.
• Janina Brzostowska, 88, Polish writer.
• Rolf Daleng, 56, Norwegian dancer and choreographer.
• Helmut Jahn, 68, German footballer.
• Bernard Malamud, 71, American novelist (The Natural).^[32]
• Bob Polk, 71, American basketball coach.

• Elisabeth Barker, 75, English historian and journalist.
• Linden Cameron, 68, Australian soldier and politician.
• Henri Courtemanche, 69, Canadian politician.
• Jon Lormer, 79, American actor, cancer.^[33]
• Norman McEachern, 86, Irish Olympic runner (1924, 1928).
• Marius Sandberg, 89, Dutch footballer.
• Júlia Székely, 79, Hungarian writer.
• Niyom Thongchit, 76–77, Thai boxing coach.
• Robert Dorsey Watkins, 85, American judge.

• Antonio Carrillo Flores, 76, Mexican politician.
• Mauricio de la Serna, 83, Mexican filmmaker.
• John Joseph Dougherty, 78, American Roman Catholic prelate.
• Tom Gale, 73, Australian rules footballer.
• Perry B. Jackson, 90, American judge.
• Kenichi Konishi, 77, Japanese Olympic field hockey player (1932).
• Samson Kutateladze, 71, Soviet hydrodynamicist.

• Raymond Burke, 81, American clarinetist.
• Derek Farr, 74, English actor (The Dam Busters).
• Horst Fischer, 55, German trumpeter.
• Chris Koch, 58, South African rugby player.
• Medardo Lamberti, 95, Italian Olympic rower (1928).
• Toby Robins, 55, Canadian actress, breast cancer.

• Harriette Simpson Arnow, 77, American writer.^[34]
• John W. Bricker, 92, American politician, governor of Ohio (1939–1945), member of the U.S. Senate (1947–1959).^[35]
• Sydney Checkland, 69, Canadian-British economist.
• Olive Deering, 67, American actress, cancer.^[36]
• Mark Dinning, 52, American singer ("Teen Angel"), heart attack.^[37]
• Denys Gaith, 76, Syrian Greek Catholic prelate.
• Marit Halset, 73, Norwegian actress.
• Martin Harlinghausen, 84, German general.
• Howard Harris, 74, American comedy writer.
• Jimmy Jones, 73, British tennis player.
• Michele Sindona, 65, Italian banker, mobster and convicted felon, suicide by cyanide poisoning.^[38]
• Charles Starrett, 82, American actor, cancer.^[39]
• Hellmut Wolff, 79, German occultist.

• René Cornu, 56, French Olympic swimmer (1948).
• Sir Leo de Gale, 64, Grenadian politician, governor-general (1974–1978).
• Moshe Feinstein, 91, Russian-American rabbi.^[40]
• Étienne Mattler, 80, French footballer.
• Sir Walter Merton, 80, British RAF officer.
• Ruth L. Saw, 84, British philosopher.
• Lev Smirnov, 74, Soviet judge.
• Josephine B. Sneed, 86, American politician.
• Stanley Stephens, 73, Australian politician.
• Viola S. Wendt, 78, American poet.
• Anastasia Zuyeva, 89, Soviet actress.

• Teófilo Carvalho dos Santos, 79, Portuguese politician.
• Walter Colbath, 80, American Olympic diver (1928).
• Sarah Cunningham, 67, American actress.
• Anders Dahlgren, 60, Swedish politician.
• L. Harold DeWolf, 81, American theologian.
• Wesley Ferguson, 63–64, American botanist.
• Loy W. Henderson, 93, American diplomat.^[41]
• Gordon Hocking, 66, Australian rules footballer.
• Edmond Leclère, 74, French Olympic basketball player (1936).
• Michael, Prince of Montenegro, 77, Montenegrin royal, head of the house of Petrović-Njegoš (after 1921).
• Dimitrije Najdanović, 88, Yugoslav theologian.
• Krzysztof Mikołaj Radziwiłł, 87, Polish politician.
• Ernest Rogez, 78, French Olympic water polo player (1928).
• Maurício Sirotsky Sobrinho, 60, Brazilian business executive and journalist, cardiac arrest.
• Joseph Zuken, 73, Canadian politician.

• Daisy Bacon, 87, American magazine publisher.^[42]
• Gloria Blondell, 70, American actress, cancer.
• Warren Bockwinkel, 74, American professional wrestler.
• George Cehanovsky, 93, Russian-American singer.^[43]
• George Grant, 83, American Major League baseball player.
• Eddie McAteer, 71, Northern Irish politician.
• Allan McHardy, 71, Australian rules footballer.
• Norayr Mnatsakanyan, 63, Soviet Armenian singer.
• Jean van Heijenoort, 73, French-Mexican mathematics historian.^[44]
• Saifuddin Zuhri, 66, Indonesian politician.

• Mel Bosser, 72, American Major League baseball player.
• Chen Yonggui, 71, Chinese politician, vice premier (1975–1980), lung cancer.^[45]
• Andrew Freeth, 73, British painter.
• Anthony T. Lucas, 74–75, Irish archaeologist.
• Tony Panaccion, 77, American NFL football player.
• Pedro Puente, 78, Peruvian Olympic sports shooter (1960, 1964).
• Bartlett Robinson, 73, American actor, cancer.^[46]

• Abdul Hai Arifi, 87–88, Pakistani Islamic scholar and pharmacologist.
• Cass Canfield, 88, American publisher.
• Dudley Cockle, 78, English cricketer.
• Sir Harold Harding, 86, British civil engineer.
• Masanosuke Ikeda, 88, Japanese politician, renal failure.
• Richard Geraint Rees, 78, British judge.
• Julian Roosevelt, 61, American Olympic sailor (1952), liver cancer.^[47]
• Constantin Stanciu, 78, Romanian footballer.
• Albert Tate Jr., 65, American judge.

• Abdul Hakeem Chowdhury, 61, Bangladeshi politician.
• Oliver E. Crockford, 92–93, Canadian politician.
• Howard Ford, 80, English Olympic athlete (1928).
• Virginia Gilmore, 66, American actress, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.^[48]
• Norman Hilberry, 87, American physicist, influenza.^[49]
• Mahsum Korkmaz, 29–30, Turkish Kurd militant, shot.
• Olle Nordberg, 80, Swedish painter.
• Gustav Weinkötz, 73, German Olympic high jumper (1936).

• Jessie Cross, 78, American Olympic runner (1928).
• Haane Manahi, 72, New Zealand soldier, traffic collision.
• William D. Murray, 77, American college athletics coach.^[50]
• Steere Noda, 93–94, American politician and lawyer.
• Harry Ritz, 78, American comedian, pneumonia.^[51]

• Helga Anders, 38, Austrian actress, heart failure.
• Herman A. Blumenthal, 69, American production designer.
• James Cagney, 86, American actor (Angels with Dirty Faces, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Love Me or Leave Me), heart attack.^[52]
• John Ciardi, 69, American poet and translator.
• Yasuko Endō, 17, Japanese singer, suicide by jumping.
• James L. Jones Sr., 73, American soldier.
• Alan Missen, 60, Australian politician, heart attack.
• Jean Vigoureux, 78, French-American artist.
• Beatrice White, 83, British literary scholar.

• Richard Aldrich, 83, American theatre producer.
• Andrew Fekete, 31, British artist, respiratory failure.
• P. Gopalan, 79, Indian politician.
• Ray Greenwood, 88, American politician.
• O'Kelly Isley Jr., 48, American singer (The Isley Brothers), heart attack.^[53]
• Adam Kossowski, 80, Polish-British artist.
• Alan Lloyd, 43, American composer, AIDS.
• Jerry Paris, 60, American actor (The Dick Van Dyke Show) and television director (Happy Days), brain cancer.^[54]