List of Famous people who died at 86

Walter Brecht was a German scientist and longtime lecturer at the Institut für Papierfabrikation in the Technische Universität Darmstadt. He died in Darmstadt.

Bernardin Gantin was a prominent Beninese cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Metropolitan Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cotonou and then at the Vatican in the service of the Holy See as President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and then as Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Bishops. Ultimately, he served as Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals, a post his French consecrator as a bishop once held and the same position Joseph Ratzinger had after Gantin and before his election as Pope Benedict XVI. He was the highest ranking Catholic to come from Africa since ancient times, when some Popes were believed to have come from there. He enjoyed a close relationship with Pope John XXIII, Popes Paul VI and John Paul I, and most especially, with Pope John Paul II and his fellow curial cardinal and future Pope, Joseph Ratzinger. Like many senior African prelates of his era, he was relatively conservative, but was esteemed by both his native land and for his work in Rome. His tomb in Ouidah, which is frequently visited, was visited by Pope Benedict when he visited Benin. In May 2013, Vatican officials inaugurated a Chair about "Socializing Policy in Africa" bearing his name at the Pontifical Lateran University.

Ita Maximowna was a Russian-German scenic designer, costume designer and illustrator. She was one of the first women in the professions in Germany who worked internationally. Trained as a painter, she came to the theatre late, after World War II in Berlin, and became a scenic designer first in theatres of the city, then internationally both for plays and opera, and in collaboration with directors such as a Günther Rennert and conductors such as Herbert von Karajan.

Brian Easdale was an English composer of operatic, orchestral, choral and film music.

Edward James "Son" House Jr. was an American delta blues singer and guitarist, noted for his highly emotional style of singing and slide guitar playing.