List of Famous people who died at 81

Mikhail Petrovich Simonov was a Russian aircraft designer famed for creating the Sukhoi Su-27 fighter-bomber, the Soviet Union's answer to the American F-15 Eagle. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Simonov coordinated the Su-27's sale to foreign governments, providing badly needed hard currency to the Russian government. In recognition of his achievements, he was named a Hero of the Russian Federation in 1999.

Ong Poh Lim was a Malayan/Singaporean badminton player who won numerous national and international titles from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Known for his quickness and his aggressive, unorthodox playing style, Ong won many singles and doubles titles, including the Singapore, Malaysia, All-England, French, Danish and Thomas Cup championships in the 1940s and 1950s. He also invented the backhand flick serve known as the “crocodile serve”, a tactic that had been routinely used in the modern game. Ong was a keen rival to badminton legend Wong Peng Soon.

Mark Edward Mahowald was an American mathematician known for work in algebraic topology.

Krishna Chandra Pant was an Indian Member of Parliament for 26 years and was the Prime Minister's interlocutor on Kashmir. He was a cabinet minister in the Government of India and held several constitutional positions over a period of 37 years. Pant had held the positions of Minister for Defence, Minister of state for Home Affairs, Minister of Steel and Heavy Engineering, Finance, Atomic Energy and Science and Technology. He was the First Chairman of the Advisory Board on Energy, Chairman of the 10th Finance Commission and the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India, the economic planning body of India; his Vision 2020 document was published as India's Development Scenario, Next Decade and Beyond.

Élie Fruchart was a French football player who played with US Auchel. He was born in Calonne-Ricouart. He has also managed US Auchel, RC Lens, Stade de Reims, USL Dunkerque and Angers SCO.

David Sinclair Whitaker was an English composer, songwriter, arranger, and conductor who was most active in the 1960s and 1970s.

Andrea Prader was a Swiss scientist, physician, and pediatric endocrinologist. He co-discovered Prader–Willi syndrome and created two physiological sex development scales, the Prader scale and the orchidometer.

Hennadiy Yosypovych Udovenko was a Ukrainian politician and diplomat. He served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, was the 52nd President of the United Nations General Assembly (1997–1998) and a Member of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) of Ukraine (1998–2007). He was from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. He has studied international relations at Kyiv University, having graduated in 1954. He also did graduate studies in agricultural economics at the Ukrainian Research and the Development Institute for Agricultural Economy and Organization from 1956 to 1959.