List of Famous people who died at 78

Cosmo Francesco Ruppi was the Roman Catholic archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lecce, Italy.

Paul-Pierre Philippe O.P. was a Cardinal and Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in the Roman Catholic Church.

Bernard Van Rysselberghe was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer. Van Rysselberghe won one stage in the 1929 Tour de France, and was the winner of the 1931 edition of Bordeaux–Paris.

Stuart Sinclair Garson, was a Canadian politician and lawyer. He served as the 12th Premier of Manitoba from 1943 to 1948, and later became a Federal cabinet minister.

Jean Letourneau was a French lawyer and politician. He was a lifelong Christian Democrat. During World War II (1939–45) he was active in the French Resistance. After the war he was a deputy in the national legislature from 1945 to 1956, and held various ministerial posts. His most important office was that of Minister, or Minister of State, for Relations with Associated States. He held office between 1950 and 1953. In this role he was responsible for policy in French Indochina during the struggle of the people of those countries for independence. He was strongly anti-communist and in favor of maintaining French authority in the region.

Wang Hairong was a Chinese politician who served as vice minister in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs between July 1974 and February 1979.

Dimitris Kremastinos was a Greek politician, physician, Professor of Cardiology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts.

Henry Norwood "Barney" Ewell was an American athlete, winner of one gold and two silver medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics.

Bellino Giusto Ghirard was a French Roman Catholic bishop.