List of Famous people who died at 72

Sabine Deitmer was a German crime writer known for her character, Beate Stein.

Dan Alon was an Israeli fencer. He competed in the individual foil event at the 1972 Summer Olympics, at the age of 27. He was placed fourth in round one with three wins and two losses and advanced to round two. There, he placed fifth with two wins and three losses, and was eliminated.

Peter Lawrence Montgomery was an American mathematician who worked at the System Development Corporation and Microsoft Research. He is best known for his contributions to computational number theory and mathematical aspects of cryptography, including the Montgomery multiplication method for arithmetic in finite fields, the use of Montgomery curves in applications of elliptic curves to integer factorization and other problems, and the Montgomery ladder, which is used to protect against side-channel attacks in elliptic curve cryptography.

Edyr de Castro was a Brazilian actress and singer. She initially signed her original name, but later took on the artistic name Edyr Duqui.

Miruts Yifter was an Ethiopian long-distance runner from Tigray and winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics. His date of birth is often given as 15 May 1944, though there is some uncertainty about this. His name is also sometimes spelled as Muruse Yefter.

Gilbert Favre was a clarinetist from Geneva, Switzerland. He trained at the Conservatory of Geneva, and also played jazz clarinet. In South America, he discovered the quena, and when he moved to Bolivia, he traded in his clarinet. In La Paz, he created the musical cabaret La Pena de Naira at the Place San Francisco featuring indigenous music. The club became a hub for the diplomatic corps stationed in La Paz, as well as a favorite for Bolivians. Gilbert was the founding member of the popular Bolivian folk group Los Jairas. Favre was commonly referred to as "El Gringo" by the Bolivian public. Favre traveled from Geneva to South America as assistant to the Swiss anthropologist Jean Christian Spahni. In Santiago, Favre met celebrated Chilean folk singer Violeta Parra and fell in love. Favre played quena with Violeta and her son Angel Parra. He appears on recordings as "El Tocador Afuerino". Favre eventually left for Bolivia, where he created La Pena de Naira and started experimenting with Andean music playing alongside virtuoso guitar player Alfredo Dominguez and renowned charango player Ernesto Cavour. Parra appeared several times at La Pena. Favre returned to Geneva in the early 1960s together with Parra; after a few years in Europe, they returned to South America. As the Trio Domínguez-Favre-Cavour gained media attention and became increasingly popular for their "neofolklore", Favre decided not to move back to Chile and left Parra for good; she would later write "Run Run Se Fue Pa'l Norte," dedicated to her lover. Violetta Parra would later commit suicide. Their relationship was portrayed in the award-winning film Violeta Went to Heaven (2011), in which Favre was played by Thomas Durand.

Claude Le Pen was a French economist. He specialized in health economics.

Olímpio Mourão Filho was a Brazilian general who actively participated in the integralist movement and in the 1964 coup d'état. He was the editor of the Cohen plan, a document falsely attributed to international communism, which was used as justification for the instatement of the Estado Novo regime of Getúlio Vargas. On 31 March 1964 he ordered the troops of the 4th infantry division under his command in Juiz de Fora to march on the city of Rio de Janeiro, an action that precipitated the military coup a few days before the date planned by the conspirators. Between 1967 and 1969 he was president of the Supreme Military Tribunal.

Karl-Heinz Mrosko was a German former football midfielder who played for Stuttgarter Kickers, Bayern Munich, 1. FC Nürnberg, Hannover 96, TSV 1860 Munich and Arminia Hannover. He also had a brief spell in the North American Soccer League with Oakland Stompers.

Yuri Grigorievich Shatalov was a Russian ice hockey player who played in the Soviet Hockey League. He played for Krylya Sovetov Moscow. He was inducted into the Russian and Soviet Hockey Hall of Fame in 1974.