List of Famous people who died at 81

William Anthony Foulkes was an English footballer who played for Manchester United in the Busby Babes teams of the 1950s, and also in the 1960s. His favoured position was centre-half. For Manchester United, he played 688 games which places him at number 4 on the all-time list of appearances behind Ryan Giggs, Bobby Charlton and Paul Scholes. He made 3 appearances as a substitute. He also started in every single United game in the 1957–58, 1959–60 and 1964–65 seasons. He scored a total of 9 goals in his 18 seasons at United and helped the club win four First Division titles, one FA Cup and one European Cup. He was capped only once for England in 1955.

Mac Ahlberg was a Swedish film director and cinematographer.

Emy Roeder was a modern German sculptor born in Würzburg, Germany. During the first third of the twentieth century she was one of a number of women that were associated with the German Expressionist movement of Modern art. She was the first woman to achieve Master Student of sculpture as a student at the Berlin Academy In 1937 her work was labeled Degenerate art by the Nazis. After World War II she was arrested in Italy by the Allies because she was a German citizen and then sent to an internment camp. She received the Villa Romana prize in 1936, and was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit for her life work in 1960. She died, aged 81, in Mainz.

Miguel Contreras Torres was a Mexican-born actor, screenwriter, film producer and director.

Roger Gyselinck was a Belgian racing cyclist. He raced in the 1947 Tour de France and finished in tenth place in the 1948 Paris–Roubaix.

Noël Christopher Browne was an Irish politician who served as Minister for Health from 1948 to 1951 and Leader of the National Progressive Democrats from 1958 to 1963. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1948 to 1954, 1957 to 1973 and 1977 to 1982. He was a Senator for the University of Dublin from 1973 to 1977.