List of Famous people who are 79

Erica Jong is an American novelist, satirist, and poet, known particularly for her 1973 novel Fear of Flying. The book became famously controversial for its attitudes towards female sexuality and figured prominently in the development of second-wave feminism. According to The Washington Post, it has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.

Jean-Claude Trichet is a French economist who served as President of the European Central Bank from 2003 to 2011. Previous to his assumption of the presidency he served as Governor of the Bank of France from 1993 to 2003 under presidents François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac.

Susan Rose-Ackerman is Henry R. Luce Professor of Jurisprudence and is co-director of the Center for Law, Economics, and Public Policy at Yale Law School. She is an expert in political corruption and development, administrative law, law and regulatory policy, the nonprofit sector, and federalism.

Gabriele Veneziano is an Italian theoretical physicist widely considered the father of string theory. He has conducted most of his scientific activities at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, and held the Chair of Elementary Particles, Gravitation and Cosmology at the Collège de France in Paris from 2004 to 2013, until the age of retirement there.