List of Famous people who died at 79

Nunnally Hunter Johnson was an American filmmaker who wrote, produced, and directed movies.

Alden B. Dow was an American architect based in Midland, Michigan, and known for his contributions to the style of Michigan Modern. During a career that spanned from the 1930s to the 1960s, he designed more than 70 residences and dozens of churches, schools, civic and art centers, and commercial buildings. His personal residence, the Midland Center for the Arts, and the 1950s Grace A. Dow Memorial Library are among numerous examples of his work located in his hometown of Midland, Michigan. The son of Herbert Henry Dow and philanthropist Grace A. Dow, Dow is known for his prolific architectural designs.

Roger Heim was a French botanist specialising in mycology and tropical phytopathology. He was known for his studies describing the anatomy of the mushroom hymenium, the systematics and phylogeny of higher fungi, the mycology of tropical fungi such as Termitomyces, as well as ethnomycological work on hallucinogenic fungi, like Psilocybe and Stropharia. In his career, he published over 560 articles, scientific reviews, and major works in fields like botany, chemistry, education, forestry, horticulture, liberal arts, medicine and zoology.

Winifred May Watkins, FRS was a British biochemist and academic. She worked at the Imperial College School of Medicine.

Laureano López Rodó was a Spanish lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and as Commissioner and later Minister for Development Planning during the rule of Francisco Franco.