List of Famous people who died in 1972

Bernhard Hans Henry Scharoun was a German architect best known for designing the Berliner Philharmonie and the Schminke House in Löbau, Saxony. He was an important exponent of organic and expressionist architecture.

Eddie Dew was an American actor, film director, and television director. As an actor, he is best remembered for his starring roles in B movie western films during the 1940s. In the 1950s he became active in directing both for film and television, most notably for the television series Sergeant Preston of the Yukon.

Edgar Georg Ulmer was a Jewish-Moravian, Austrian-American film director who mainly worked on Hollywood B movies and other low-budget productions. His stylish and eccentric works came to be appreciated by auteur theory-espousing film critics in the years following his retirement. Ulmer's productions include The Black Cat (1934) and the film noir Detour (1945).

Sidney Lanfield was an American film director known for directing romances and light comedy films and later television programs.

Elmer R. Raguse was an American sound engineer mostly associated with the Hal Roach Studios. He was nominated for eight Academy Awards in the categories Best Sound Recording and Best Effects.

Jovan Hadži was a Slovenian zoologist of Serbian origin.

Frans Masereel was a Flemish painter and graphic artist who worked mainly in France, known especially for his woodcuts focused on political and social issues, such as war and capitalism. He completed over 40 wordless novels in his career, and among these, his greatest is generally said to be Passionate Journey.

August Zaleski was a Polish economist, freemason, politician, and diplomat. Twice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, he served as the 6th President of Poland in the 2nd Polish Government in Exile.

William Dieterle was a German-born actor and film director who emigrated to the United States in 1930 to leave a worsening political situation. He worked in Hollywood primarily as a director for much of his career, becoming a United States citizen in 1937. He moved back to Germany in the late 1950s.

Marcelino Olaechea was a Spanish Catholic religious, S.D.B, and Bishop of Pamplona during the Spanish Civil War.