The following is a list of notable deaths in March 1978. 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.
March 1978
1 Léon Azéma, 90, French architect. Oets Kolk Bouwsma, 79, American analytic philosopher. Joe Fitzgerald, 78, American football player. William H. Inzer, 72, American judge. Reino Oittinen, 65, Finnish politician. Kiyoshi Oka, 76, Japanese mathematician. Henry Edward George Rope, 97, British writer. Vladislav Ryzy-Ryski, 52, Soviet Belarusian Orthodox Church prelate. Kenneth M. Schricker, 57, American politician. Paul Scott, 57, English novelist (The Raj Quartet, Staying On), colon cancer.Paul Scott, Novelist, Is Dead at 57; A Briton Known for 'Raj Quartet' Arne Sørensen, 71, Danish politician, MP (1943–1947). Ted Strong, 64, American baseball and basketball player. Vasyl Symchych, 63, Soviet Ukrainian actor.
2 Patricia Beck, 53, American writer, suicide by insulin overdose. Edward G. Begle, 63, American mathematician, developer of New Math, emphysema.Prof. Edward G. Begle, Chief Proponent of 'New Math' Dick Dobeleit, 74, American football player.Richard Dobeleit dies, former Steele grid star Jim Donnelly, 71, Australian cricketer. Ruth Dwyer, 80, American actress (Seven Chances). Bohuslav Havránek, 85, Czech literary historian and educator. Lajos Jánossy, 66, Hungarian physicist and mathematician.In memory of Lajos Jánossy Yrjö Korholin-Koski, 77, Finnish-American Olympic runner (1928). Francis McGurk, 69, Scottish footballer. Mario Pei, 77, Italian-born American linguist, heart attack.Mario Pei, Linguistics Teacher and Author, Dies James Allan Reid, 80, Canadian politician. George Lovejoy Rockwell, 88, American vaudeville and radio performer.George L. Rockwell Is Dead at 88; Comedian, Writer and Cartoonist Sukhlal Sanghvi, 97, Indian Jain scholar and philosopher. Zeinat Sedki, 65, Egyptian actress and comedian.
3 Neal Carter, 75, Canadian mountaineer. Vlastimil Hajšman, 50, Czech Olympic ice hockey player (1952). Friederike Koderitsch, 83, Dutch Olympic fencer (1928). Billy Leahy, 66, Australian footballer. John A. Lynch Sr., 69, American politician, member of the New Jersey Senate (since 1956), cancer.John A. Lynch, Senator in Jersey; Mayor of New Brunswick, 1951‐55 Alfred J. Marrow, 72, American psychologist, leukemia.DR. ALFRED MARROW, A PSYCHOLOGIST, 72 Georg Morgenstierne, 86, Norwegian linguist. Richard Power, 82, Irish cricketer. Robert William Prescott, 64, American flying ace and businessman, cancer.Robert Prescott, Head Of Flying Tiger Line, Dies Otto Steinert, 62, German photographer. Sylvester Wackerle, 70, German Olympic bobsledder (1956). Vasily Yefanov, 77, Soviet painter.
4 Élie Bloncourt, 81, French politician. Wesley Bolin, 68, American politician, governor of Arizona (since 1977), heart attack.WESLEY BOLIN, AT 68; GOVERNOR OF ARIZONA Emmet Dalton, 80, American-born Irish film producer and general. Syed Zahoor Shah Hashmi, 51, Pakistani writer and poet. Günther Marks, 80, German organist and composer. Joe Marsala, 71, American jazz musician, cancer.Joe Marsala, Swing Clarinetist And Bandleader, Is Dead at 71 William L. McKnight, 90, American businessman and philanthropist.William L. McKnight, Who Built A Sandpaper Company Into 3M John Meighan, 86–87, Irish politician, TD (1943–1944), senator (1944–1957). Olavi Munkki, 68, Finnish diplomat. Raoul Petouille, 84, French racing cyclist. Willis William Ritter, 79, American judge, cancer.Federal Judge Willis W. Ritter, Who Fought Retirement, Dies at79 Alfred Robinson, 83, British general. Abul Kalam Shamsuddin, 80, Bangladeshi journalist and politician.
5 Kaïd Ahmed, 56, Algerian politician, heart attack.Kaid Ahmed Cesare Andrea Bixio, 81, Italian composer. James A. Dooley, 63, American judge.JAMES A. DOOLEY Toshiko Higashikuni, 81, Japanese royal.TOSHIKO HIGASHIKUNI John Lawes, 70, Australian businessman.LAWES, John Frederick Renshaw May Mellanby, 95–96, English physiologist. Adolf Metzner, 67, German Olympic sprinter (1932, 1936). Norah Story, 75, Canadian archivist.Deaths Walter Muir Whitehill, 72, American historian and librarian, complications from a stroke.Walter Muir Whitehill Dies at 72; A Leading Boston Preservationist Zbigniew Załuski, 51, Polish politician, journalist and soldier, heart attack.
6 Franco Anselmi, 22, Italian terrorist, shot. Luke Brown, 76, Australian footballer. Buckpasser, 15, American Thoroughbred racehorse, aortic dissection.Buckpasser, '66 Champion, Dead At 15 John Burnaby, 86, British Anglican prelate. Clyde R. Chapman, 88, American politician and attorney, Maine attorney general (1933–1937).Clyde R. Chapman Boyd A. Clark, 60, American jurist and politician, stroke. K. L. Devaser, 66, Indian-born Malaysian politician. Ivan Duranthon, 81, French Olympic pentathlete (1924, 1932). John L. Hall Jr., 86, American naval admiral.Adm. John Hall Jr., a D‐Day Leader Xercès Louis, 51, French footballer. Micheál Mac Liammóir, 78, Irish actor and playwright.MICHEAL M'LIAMMOIR, 78, IRISH ACTOR, PLAYWRIGHT David Price-White, 71, Welsh politician, MP (1945–1950). Howard Queen, 84, American soldier and educator.Col. Queen, early black officer, dies Frank Raymond, 74, Australian footballer. A. R. Souza Ferrão, 68, Indian playwright, actor and composer. Sir Leon Trout, 72, Australian businessman and art collector. Harold Sandys Williamson, 85, English painter. Notable East Germans killed in a helicopter crash:Libya Crash Kills East German Aid Werner Lamberz, 48, politician Paul Markowski, 48, politician Hans-Joachim Spremberg, 34, photographer
7 Norman Anderson, 75, American Olympic track and field athlete (1924). Arthur Batcheller, 89, American radio engineer.ARTHUR BATCHELLER Steve Bilko, 49, American baseball player.Journeyman Player Steve Bilko Dead Charles Bracht, 63, Belgian businessman and Olympic skier (1936), shot.Abducted Belgian Industrialist Is Found Dead Horace Dixon, 79, New Zealand rugby player. Ida Eise, 86, New Zealand artist. Israel Emiot, 69, Polish-American poet.Israel Emiot Dead at 69 Friedrich Engel-Janosi, 85, Austrian historian. Salvatore "Ciaschiteddu" Greco, 55, Italian mobster, cirrhosis. Malcolm Henderson, 86, British air marshal. Harald Kivioja, 69, Estonian sport shooter. David Lindsay, 71, New Zealand rugby player. Frank O'Rourke, 72, Australian footballer. Silas Papare, 59, Indonesian politician. Rudolf Schoeller, 75, Swiss racing driver. Billy Stuart, 78, Canadian ice hockey player. Fred R. Zeller, 78, American politician.Fred R. Zeller is dead at 78
8 Alexander Atkins, 93, Australian politician. Sir Walter Bassett, 85, Australian engineer and academic. German Bokun, 55, Soviet Olympic fencer (1952). Tjeerd Bottema, 94, Dutch artist. John Karl Daniels, 102, Norwegian-born American sculptor.Daniels, famous sculptor, dies at 103 Sir Roy Harrod, 78, English economist and writer.Roy Harrod, One of the 20th Century's Seminal Economic Minds Wade Johnston, 79, American baseball player. Aulis Koponen, 71, Finnish footballer. Red Smith, 73, American baseball and football player.Red Smith Was Great Friend Of Rockets' Baseball Teams Adolf van der Voort van Zijp, 85, Dutch Olympic equestrian (1924, 1928). Rua Van Horn, 85, American home economist and educator.Rua Van Horn, Was Home Economist For Federal Office of Education Henry Wriston, 88, American academic administrator.HENRY WRISTON DIES, BROWN HEAD, 1937‐55
9 Raymond Didier, 58, American football and baseball coach.Nicholls' AD dies Bill Doran, 79, American baseball player. John K. Ewers, 73, Australian writer. L. Radley Flynn, 75, English singer and actor. Jack Millen, 77, Australian footballer. Sir Reg Pollard, 75, Australian general.General dies Owen Rock, 81, Australian cricketer. Wingate Rollins, 83, American football coach and engineer. Giles Vandeleur, 66, British soldier. Henry Earle Vaughan, 66, American electrical engineer.H. Earle Vaughan; Directed Advances In Phone Systems André Verbeke, 70, Belgian architect and urban planner. Wu Yunfang, 81–82, Chinese politician.
10 Sir John Baker, 80, British air marshal. Norbert A. Kosinski, 59, American politician, member of the Illinois Senate (since 1971), heart attack.Senator is nominated for re-election - 11 days after he died V. Kumaraswamy, 58, Sri Lankan politician, MP (1947–1956). Charles Manning, 83, South African academic. Sir R. S. Ramakrishna Ranga Rao, 77, Indian politician. Herbert Raubenheimer, 81, American sports coach and educator.Herbert Raubenheimer Sofia Vembo, 68, Greek singer and actress. Ronnie Waldman, 63, British radio presenter, cancer.Ronnie Waldman dies Natale Zaninetti, 70, Italian racing cyclist.
11 Torsten Andersson, 68, Swedish politician. Friedrich-Wilhelm Bock, 80, German Waffen-SS commander. Hélène Bouvier, 72, French opera singer. Sir Ralph Cusack, 61, Irish-born English barrister and judge. Claude François, 39, Egyptian-born French singer ("Comme d'habitude"), musician and dancer, electrocuted.Leading French Popular Singer, Claude Francois, in Home Mishap Chet Gay, 78, American football player. Duro Ladipo, 51, Nigerian playwright. Julius Mägiste, 77, Estonian linguist. Dalal Mughrabi, 18–19, Palestinian militant, suicide fragging.Lebanon braces for reprisal Gail Rubin, 39, American photographer, shot.New Yorker Terror Victim Priscilla Buchan, Baroness Tweedsmuir of Belhelvie, 63, Scottish politician, MP (1946–1966), cancer.Baroness Tweedsmuir Ward Van Orman, 83, American engineer, balloonist and inventor, stroke.
12 Ferrell Anderson, 60, American baseball player. Sir Leonard Behrens, 87, British politician. Georges Cogniot, 76, French writer and politician.Georges Cogniot Tolchard Evans, 76, British songwriter and bandleader.Tolchard Evans; Was Song Writer James Howden, 77, New Zealand rugby player. Jean Kellogg, 61, American author. Bernie Leahy, 69, American football player. Alex McCarthy, 88, American baseball player. Gene Moore, 68, American baseball player. Sir Henry Ruthven Moore, 91, British naval admiral.Sir Henry Moore, British Admiral; Led Strikes on Nazis Off Norway J. Reagor Motlow, 80, American businessman and politician, heart attack.Reagor Motlow Edith E. Nicholls, 85, American physician. John Pesek, 84, American professional wrestler, heart attack.Ex-Mat Champ Dies Mon Rivera, 52, Puerto Rican musician, heart attack. Semp Russ, 99, American football player and Olympic tennis player (1904). Dutch Schaefer, 62, American racing driver. Royston Simms, 84, Australian-born English cricketer Theresa Weld, 84, American Olympic figure skater (1920).Ex-skater dies William Witman II, 64, American diplomat, pulmonary illness.William Witman II, 64, Ex-Envoy To Togo, Specialist on Africa
13 Kaare Bache, 79, Norwegian Olympic triple jumper (1920). Arthur Beavis, 72, English Olympic boxer (1924). Frank O. Bowman, 81, American general. John Cazale, 42, American actor (The Godfather, Dog Day Afternoon, The Deer Hunter), lung cancer.JOHN CAZALE, ACTOR ON STAGE AND SCREEN Luis Abraham Coreas, 27, Salvadoran footballer. Greta Fahlcrantz, 88, Swedish artist. Gaston Feuillard, 73, Guadeloupean politician. Milton Fowler Gregg, 85, Canadian politician and soldier, MP (1947–1957).Politicians pay tribute to Gregg Ghulam Guard, 52, Indian cricketer. Matthew Josephson, 79, American historian.Matthew Josephson, Biographer and Muckraker, Dies Henry G. Sanchez, 70, American naval admiral. Preston Schoyer, 66, American journalist and Sinologist, lung cancer.Educator-Novelist B.P. Schoyer Dies Léon Van Aken, 80, Belgian racing cyclist. Leo Wainstein, 95, Russian-Finnish businessman and jurist. Ottar Wicklund, 66, Norwegian actor.
14 Enrico Accorretti, 89, Italian naval admiral.