List of Famous people who died in 1961

Jozef-Ernest van Roey was a Belgian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Mechelen from 1926 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1927. He was significant figure in Catholic resistance to Nazism in Belgium.

Ferdinand Payan was a French bicyclist of the early 20th century. He was born in Arles in 1870.

Joseph Rhodes Hanley was an American lawyer, preacher, and politician who served as lieutenant governor of New York from 1943 to 1950.

Rudolf Schwarz was a German architect known for his work on Kirche St. Fronleichnam, Aachen. He also played a decisive part in the reconstruction of Cologne after the Second World War. He took a leading tole with Cologne's reconstruction authority between 1947 and 1952, contributing to the rebuilding of the city with some of his own designs. Among these is the Wallraf-Richartz Museum (1956), which now houses the Museum of Applied Art. He also reconstructed the pilgrimage church of Saint Anne in Düren, near Aachen, which is probably his most famous work.

Princess Dagmar of Denmark was a member of the Danish royal family. She was the youngest child and fourth daughter of Frederick VIII of Denmark and his wife, Princess Louise of Sweden and Norway.

Maurice Charles Delage was a French composer and pianist.

Jesús Guridi Bidaola was a Spanish Basque composer who was a key player in 20th-century Spanish and Basque music. His style fits into the late Romantic idiom, directly inherited from Wagner, and with a strong influence from Basque culture. Among his best-known works are the zarzuela El Caserío, the opera Amaya, the orchestral work Ten Basque Melodies and his organ works, where the Triptych of the Good Shepherd can be highlighted.

Helena Skłodowska-Szalay was a Polish educator, inspector of Warsaw schools, educational activist, and a member of the women's election committee of the Nation-State Union political party. She is known for her memoirs of her sister, Marie Curie, and the school she established for girls in Warsaw.

Clarence Edwards Case was the acting Republican Governor of New Jersey in 1920, succeeding William Nelson Runyon.