List of Famous people who died at 72

Benjamin Earl Franklin Davidson, Jr. was an American football player, a defensive end best known for his play with the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League. Earlier in his career, he was with the Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins of the National Football League.

William E. "Bill" Garity was an American inventor and audio engineer who attended the Pratt Institute before going to work for Lee De Forest around 1921. Garity worked with DeForest on the Phonofilm sound-on-film system until 1927, when Pat Powers hired Garity to develop a sound system that Powers called Powers Cinephone.

Oldřich Černík was a Czechoslovak Communist political figure. He was the Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia from April 8, 1968 to January 28, 1970.

Virginia Satir was an influential American author and psychotherapist, recognized for her approach to family therapy. Her pioneering work in the field of family reconstruction therapy honored her with the title "Mother of Family Therapy". Her most well-known books are Conjoint Family Therapy, 1964, Peoplemaking, 1972, and The New Peoplemaking, 1988.