List of Famous people who died at 72

Keith Irvine Geddes was a Scottish rugby union player.

Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne was an English actor. He is most known for his stage acting and his portrayal of Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Permanent Secretary in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. For this role, he won four BAFTA TV Awards for Best Light Entertainment Performance.

Peter Adolf Serkin was an American classical pianist. He won the Grammy Award for Most Promising New Classical Recording Artist in 1966, and he performed globally, known for not only "technically pristine" playing but also a "commitment to contemporary music". He taught at the Curtis Institute of Music, the Juilliard School, Yale University, and Bard College.

Louis Nucéra was an award-winning 20th-century French writer. He published his first novel L'obstiné in 1970.

Joan Whitney Payson was an American heiress, businesswoman, philanthropist, patron of the arts and art collector, and a member of the prominent Whitney family. She was also co-founder and majority owner of Major League Baseball's New York Mets baseball franchise, and was the first woman to own a major-league team in North America without inheriting it.

Prince Gorm of Denmark was the first son of Prince Harald of Denmark and his wife, Princess Helena of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.

Li Shuxian, also known as Li Shu-Hsien, was the fifth and last wife of Puyi, the last emperor of the Qing dynasty in China.