List of Famous people who died in 1974

Rosario Castellanos Figueroa was a Mexican poet and author. She was one of Mexico's most important literary voices in the last century. Throughout her life, she wrote eloquently about issues of cultural and gender oppression, and her work has influenced Mexican feminist theory and cultural studies. Though she died young, she opened the door of Mexican literature to women, and left a legacy that still resonates today.

Akhtari Bai Faizabadi, also known as Begum Akhtar, was an Indian singer and actress. Dubbed "Mallika-e-Ghazal", she is regarded as one of the greatest singers of ghazal, dadra, and thumri genres of Hindustani classical music.

George Christian Spahn was an American rancher who once owned the Spahn Ranch near Chatsworth, Los Angeles. Spahn rented the ranch to the movie industry to film Westerns, and later allowed Charles Manson and his "Family" of followers to live at the site.

Alberta Christine Williams King was Martin Luther King Jr.'s mother, married to Martin Luther King Sr. She played a significant role in the affairs of the Ebenezer Baptist Church. She was shot and killed in the church by Marcus Wayne Chenault, a 23-year-old Black Hebrew Israelite, six years after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

Manuel dos Reis Machado, commonly called Mestre Bimba, was a mestre of the Afro-Brazilian martial art of capoeira. He founded the capoeira regional school, one of the art's two main branches.

Stanisława Leszczyńska was a Polish midwife who was incarcerated at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II, where she delivered over 3,000 children. She is an official candidate for canonization (sainthood) by the Catholic Church.

Satyendra Nath Bose was an Indian mathematician and physicist specialising in theoretical physics. He is best known for his work on quantum mechanics in the early 1920s, collaboration with Albert Einstein in developing the foundation for Bose–Einstein statistics and the theory of the Bose–Einstein condensate. A Fellow of the Royal Society, he was awarded India's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan in 1954 by the Government of India.

Gennady Fyodorovich Shpalikov was a prominent Soviet Russian poet, screenwriter and film director.

Buford Hayse Pusser was the Sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee, from 1964 to 1970 and Constable of Adamsville from 1970 to 1972. Pusser is known for his virtual one-man war on moonshining, prostitution, gambling, and other vices along the Mississippi–Tennessee state line. His efforts have inspired several books, songs, movies, and a TV series. He was also a wrestler known as "Buford the Bull" in the Mid-South.

Maharaja Sir Yadavinder Singh was the 9th and last Maharaja of Patiala from 1938 to 1971. He was also an Indian cricketer who played in one Test in 1934.