List of Famous people who died at 72

Kumaraswami Kamaraj, was the founder and the president of the Indian National Congress (Organisation), widely acknowledged as the "Kingmaker" in Indian politics during the 1960s. He also served as the president of the Indian National Congress for two terms i.e. four years between 1964–1967 and was responsible for the elevation of Lal Bahadur Shastri to the position of Prime Minister of India after Nehru's death and Indira Gandhi after Shastri's death. Kamaraj was the 3rd Chief Minister of Madras State during 1954–1963 and a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha during 1952–1954 and 1969–1975. He was known for his simplicity and integrity. He played a major role in developing the infrastructure of the Madras state and worked to improve the quality of life of the needy and the disadvantaged.

Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected President of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its U.S.-backed dictator from 1952 to 1959, before being overthrown during the Cuban Revolution. Batista initially rose to power as part of the 1933 Revolt of the Sergeants, which overthrew the provisional government of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada. He then appointed himself chief of the armed forces, with the rank of colonel and effectively controlled the five-member "pentarchy" that functioned as the collective head of state. He maintained this control through a string of puppet presidents until 1940, when he was himself elected President of Cuba on a populist platform. He then instated the 1940 Constitution of Cuba and served until 1944. After finishing his term, Batista moved to Florida, returning to Cuba to run for president in 1952. Facing certain electoral defeat, he led a military coup against President Carlos Prío Socarrás that pre-empted the election.

Lidia Andreyevna Ruslanova was one of the greatest and best-loved performers of Russian folk songs.

Machiko Hasegawa , January 30, 1920 – May 27, 1992, in Taku, Saga Prefecture) was one of the first female manga artists.

Dennis Leroy Hof was an American brothel owner, television personality, and political candidate. He was best known as the owner of seven legal brothels in Nevada. Several of his brothels are in Moundhouse, Nevada, a few minutes outside Carson City. His best-known brothel is the Moonlite BunnyRanch. Hof wrote an autobiography, The Art of the Pimp. He was elected to the Nevada Assembly less than one month after his death.

Gottfried John was a German stage, screen, and voice actor. A long-time collaborator of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, John appeared in many of the filmmaker's projects between 1975 and his death in 1982, including Eight Hours Don't Make a Day, Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven, Despair, The Marriage of Maria Braun, and Berlin Alexanderplatz. His distinctive, gaunt appearance saw him frequently cast as villains, and he is best known to audiences for his role as the corrupt General Arkady Ourumov in the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye, and for his comedic turn as Julius Caesar in Asterix & Obelix Take On Caesar, the latter for which he won the Bavarian Film Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Oscar S. Lerman was an American nightclub impresario, theatre and film producer, and the second husband of British novelist Jackie Collins, from 1969 until his death in 1992, whom he persuaded to write. In 1969, he co-founded the famously exclusive members-only nightclub Tramp in London. In 1978–79, he was a producer of the films The Stud, The World Is Full of Married Men, and The Bitch, all based on his wife's books.

Gino Cervi was an Italian actor.

Raymond Louis Heenan, better known as Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, was an American professional wrestling manager, color commentator, wrestler, and comedian, best known for his time with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

Poon Lim was a Chinese sailor who survived 133 days alone in the South Atlantic.