List of Famous people who died in 1978

Sir Robert Gordon Menzies,, was an Australian politician who twice served as Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1939 to 1941 and again from 1949 to 1966. He played a central role in the creation of the Liberal Party of Australia, defining its policies and its broad outreach. He is Australia's longest-serving prime minister, serving over 18 years in total.

John Francis Archibald Browne, 6th Baron Kilmaine, CBE was an Anglo-Irish hereditary peer and building conservationist.

Vera Deakin, Lady White, was an Australian humanitarian known for her long involvement with the Australian Red Cross. In 1915, aged 23, she established the Australian Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau to assist the families of soldiers. The bureau, initially based in Cairo and later in London, responded to thousands of requests for information during the First World War.

László Radványi, also known as Johann Lorenz Schmidt, was a Hungarian writer and academic.

William Fisk Harrah was an American businessman and the founder of Harrah's Hotel and Casinos, now part of Caesars Entertainment.

Jack Oakie was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on stage, radio and television. He portrayed Napaloni in Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940), receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Lilly Becher was a German writer, journalist, and communist activist.

Duncan William Ferguson Lamont was a British actor. Born in Lisbon, Portugal, and brought up in Scotland, he had a long and successful career in film and television, appearing in a variety of high-profile productions.