List of Famous people who died at 78

Michael Hilliard was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for the Meath–Westmeath constituency at the 1943 general election. During his career he served in the governments of Seán Lemass and Jack Lynch. During his tenure as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs Hilliard oversaw the introduction of a television service in Ireland, RTÉ. He served as Minister for Defence from 1965 to 1969.

Bai Guang, also credited as Pai Kwong, Bai Kwong and Bai Kwang, was a Chinese actress and singer. By the 1940s, she became one of the Seven great singing stars.

Te-tsun Yü (1908–1986) was a Chinese botanist, specialising in Spermatophytes and Phanerogams, particularly in the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China, which have the most diverse flora in China.

Donald Charles Hume was a male badminton player from England.

Lawrence Khai Saen-Phon-On was archbishop of Thare and Nonseng in northeast Thailand from 1980 till his retirement in 2004.