List of Famous people who died in 1961

John Adrian Frederick March Phillipps de Lisle was an English businessman and a cricketer who played first-class cricket for Leicestershire and was captain of the team in the 1930 season. He also served as High Sheriff of Leicestershire. He was born in Kensington, London and died at his home, Stockerston Hall, near Uppingham, Rutland.

George Henry Irving was an American film actor and director.

George Simon Kaufman was an American playwright, theatre director and producer, humorist, and drama critic. In addition to comedies and political satire, he wrote several musicals for the Marx Brothers and others. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the musical Of Thee I Sing in 1932, and won again in 1937 for the play You Can't Take It with You. He also won the Tony Award for Best Director in 1951 for the musical Guys and Dolls.

Emily Muriel Lucas also known as Meriel Lucas (1877-1962) was an English badminton player. Lucas from Devon was capped by England on only seven occasions between 1902-1909 but won a remarkable 17 All England titles.

Ingram Macklin Stainback was an American politician. He served as the ninth Territorial Governor of Hawaii from 1942 to 1951.

Maria of Romania or Marie of Yugoslavia, known in Serbo-Croatian as Marija Karađorđević, was Queen of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later Queen of Yugoslavia, as the wife of King Alexander from 1922 until his assassination in 1934. She was the mother of Peter II, the last Yugoslav monarch. Her citizenship was revoked and her property confiscated by the Yugoslav Communist regime in 1947, but she was "rehabilitated" in 2014.

Leo Lania (1896–1961) was a journalist, playwright and screenwriter.