List of Famous people who died in 1966

Juho Pietari "Hannes" Kolehmainen was a Finnish four-time Olympic Gold medalist and a world record holder in middle- and long-distance running. He was the first in a generation of great Finnish long-distance runners, often named the "Flying Finns". Kolehmainen competed for a number of years in the United States, wearing the Winged Fist of the Irish American Athletic Club. He also enlisted in the 14th Regiment of the National Guard of New York, and became a U.S. citizen in 1921.

Genica Athanasiou was a Romanian-French stage and film actress.

Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell was an American jazz pianist and composer. Along with Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, and Dizzy Gillespie, Powell was a leading figure in the development of bebop. His virtuosity led many to call him the Charlie Parker of the piano. Powell was also a composer, and many jazz critics credit his works and his playing as having "greatly extended the range of jazz harmony."

Herbert John Yates was the founder and president of Republic Pictures, who had western stars John Wayne, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers under contract. Between the years 1935 and 1959, Republic, under Yates' leadership, made 956 feature films and 849 movie serial chapters, some of which are considered classics screened on television and later released on home video.

Howard Jackson was an American film composer of feature movies and industry documentaries. He was often uncredited.

James Joseph Rorimer, was an American museum curator and former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he was a primary force behind the creation of the Cloisters, a branch of the museum dedicated to the art and architecture of Medieval Europe. During World War II, Rorimer served in the U.S. Army's Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section, a.k.a. the "Monuments Men," protecting cultural sites and recovering stolen art work.

Jean Marchat (1902–1966) was a French film actor who appeared in around fifty films during his career. He made his film debut in 1931 and appeared in Maurice Tourneur's Departure the same year.

Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, was a Nigerian politician who was the first and only Prime Minister of Nigeria.