List of Famous people who died at 96

Henry Judah Heimlich was an American thoracic surgeon and medical researcher. He is widely credited as the inventor of the Heimlich maneuver, a technique of abdominal thrusts for stopping choking, described in Emergency Medicine in 1974. He also invented the Micro Trach portable oxygen system for ambulatory patients and the Heimlich Chest Drain Valve, or "flutter valve", which drains blood and air out of the chest cavity.

Charles Everett Koop was an American pediatric surgeon and public health administrator. He was a vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and served as the 13th Surgeon General of the United States under President Ronald Reagan from 1982 to 1989. According to the Associated Press, "Koop was the only surgeon general to become a household name."

Alan Young was a Scottish–Canadian–American actor, comedian and radio and television host, whom TV Guide called "the Charlie Chaplin of television". He was best known for his roles as Wilbur Post in the television comedy Mister Ed (1961–1966) and Disney's Scrooge McDuck for over 30 years, first in the Academy Award-nominated short film Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) and in various other films, TV series and video games until his death. During the 1940s and 1950s, Young starred in his own variety-comedy sketch shows The Alan Young Show on radio and television, the latter gaining him two Emmy Awards in 1951. He also appeared in a number of feature films, starting from 1946, including the 1960 film The Time Machine and from the 1980s gaining a new generation of viewers appearing in numerous Walt Disney Productions films as both an actor and voice actor.

Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli, commonly known as Franco Zeffirelli, was an Italian director and producer of operas, films and television. He was also a senator from 1994 until 2001 for the Italian centre-right Forza Italia party.

Michael Mackintosh Foot was a British Labour Party politician who served as Labour Leader from 1980 to 1983. Foot began his career as a journalist on Tribune and the Evening Standard. He co-wrote the 1940 polemic against appeasement of Adolf Hitler, Guilty Men, under a pseudonym.

Henriette Ragon, better known as Patachou, was a French singer and actress. She was an Officier of the Légion d'honneur.

Richard George Adams was an English novelist and writer of the books Watership Down, Shardik and The Plague Dogs. He studied modern history at university before serving in the British Army during World War II. Afterwards, he completed his studies, and then joined the British Civil Service. In 1974, two years after Watership Down was published, Adams became a full-time author.

George Albert "Scotty" Bowers was an American who was a United States Marine and, from the 1940s to the 1980s, a Hollywood pimp. Stories of his exploits circulated for many years and were alluded to in books such as Hollywood Babylon. Bowers’ claims were met with both praise and skepticism.

Ryōichi Sasakawa was a Japanese businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was born in Minoh, Osaka. In the 1930s and during the Second World War he was active both in finance and in politics, actively supporting the Japanese war effort including raising his own paramilitary units. He was elected to the Japanese parliament during the war. After Japan's defeat he was imprisoned for a time, accused of war crimes, and then found financial success in various business ventures, including motorboat racing and ship building. He supported anticommunist activities, including the World Anti-Communist League. In 1951 he helped found the Nippon Foundation and became its first president. The foundation has done charitable work around the world, for which it and Sasakawa have received many official honors.

James Harold Doolittle was an American military general and aviation pioneer. He made early coast-to-coast flights, won many flying races, and helped develop instrument flying.