List of Famous people who died at 85

Herbert Ferber was an American Abstract Expressionist, sculptor and painter, and a "driving force of the New York School."

James Power Gordon was an American physicist known for his work in the fields of optics and quantum electronics. His contributions include the design, analysis and construction of the first maser in 1954 as a doctoral student at Columbia University under the supervision of C. H. Townes, development of the quantal equivalent of Shannon's information capacity formula in 1962, development of the theory for the diffusion of atoms in an optical trap in 1980, and the discovery of what is now known as the Gordon-Haus effect in soliton transmission, together with H. A. Haus in 1986. James P. Gordon was a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Science.

Denys James Watkins-Pitchford MBE was a British naturalist, an illustrator and a children's author under the pseudonym "BB". He won the 1942 Carnegie Medal for British children's books.

Josef Stingl was a German politician who served as the longstanding president of the Bundesanstalt für Arbeit from 1968 to 1984. By that time he had already established himself as a national politician as a member of the CDU and, after he relocated to Munich, the CSU). From 1953 to 1968, he served as a member of the Bundestag. There, he took a particular interest in pensions and labour law.

Leon Albert Henkin was one of the most important logicians and mathematicians of the 20th century. His works played a strong role in the development of logic, particularly in the Theory of Types. He was an active scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, where he made great contributions as a researcher, teacher, as well as in administrative positions. At this university he directed, together with Alfred Tarski, the Group in Logic and the Methodology of Science, from which many important logicians and philosophers emerged. He had a strong sense of social commitment and was a passionate defensor of his pacifist and progressive ideas. He took part in many social projects aimed at teaching mathematics, as well as projects aimed at supporting women's and minority groups to pursue careers in mathematics and related fields. A lover of dance and literature, he appreciated life in all its facets: art, culture, science and, above all, the warmth of human relations. He is remembered by his students for his great kindness, as well as for his academic and teaching excellence.

Carl Joachim Classen was a German classical scholar.