List of Famous people who died at 97

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its variants were the highest awards in the military of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded for a wide range of reasons and across all ranks, from a senior commander for skilled leadership of his troops in battle to a low-ranking soldier for a single act of extreme gallantry. A total of 7,321 awards were made between its first presentation on 30 September 1939 and its last bestowal on 17 June 1945. This number is based on the acceptance by the Association of Knight's Cross Recipients (AKCR). Presentations were made to members of the three military branches of the Wehrmacht—the German Army, Kriegsmarine (Navy) and Luftwaffe —as well as the Waffen-SS, the Reich Labour Service and the Volkssturm. There were also 43 foreign recipients of the award.

Mario Roberto Álvarez was an Argentine architect.

Jocelyn Louise Burdick was an American politician from North Dakota who briefly served as a Democratic United States Senator during 1992. She was the first woman from the state to hold this office. At the age of 97, she was the oldest living former U.S. Senator for the last eight months of her life.

Eugene "Gene" Allen was an American art director. He followed his father and became a Los Angeles Police officer after he was laid off from his first job as a sketch artist. After serving in the United States Navy during World War II, Allen went to art school to pursue his career. He won an Oscar in 1965 for Best Art Direction for My Fair Lady, and was nominated for A Star Is Born in 1955 and for Les Girls in 1958. He served as President of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences from 1983 to 1985 and received a Special Achievement Award from the Art Directors Guild in 1997. Allen died on October 7, 2015 at the age of 97.

Ernst Frederick Werner Alexanderson was a Swedish-American electrical engineer, who was a pioneer in radio and television development. He invented the Alexanderson alternator, an early radio transmitter used between 1906 and the 1930s for longwave long distance radio transmission. Alexanderson also created the amplidyne, a direct current amplifier used during the Second World War for controlling anti-aircraft guns.

Charles Coulston Gillispie was an American historian of science. He was the Dayton-Stockton Professor of History of Science, Emeritus at Princeton University. He was succeeded by Arno J. Mayer.