List of Famous people who died in 1979

Esen Ağan, better known by her stage name Esengül, was a Turkish singer. Her published works in the 1970s broke sales records in Turkey.

Maurice Challe was a French general during the Algerian War, one of four generals who took part in the Algiers putsch.

Friedrich Torberg is the pen-name of Friedrich Kantor, an Austrian writer.

Nur Muhammad Taraki was an Afghan revolutionary communist politician, journalist and writer. He was a founding member of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) who served as its General Secretary from 1965 to 1979 and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council from 1978 to 1979.

Katharine Burr Blodgett was an American physicist and chemist known for her work on surface chemistry, in particular her invention of "invisible" or nonreflective glass while working at General Electric. She was the first woman to be awarded a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Cambridge, in 1926.

Shinichiro Tomonaga , usually cited as Sin-Itiro Tomonaga in English, was a Japanese physicist, influential in the development of quantum electrodynamics, work for which he was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965 along with Richard Feynman and Julian Schwinger.

Darryl Francis Zanuck was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors. He earned three Academy Awards as producer for Best Picture during his tenure, but was responsible for many more.

Amedeo Nazzari was an Italian actor. Nazzari was one of the leading figures of Italian classic cinema, often considered a local variant of the Australian-American star Errol Flynn. Although he emerged as a star during the Fascist era, Nazzari's popularity continued well into the post-war years.

Heinrich Ernst Walter Schulz was a German officer and political assassin. He was an accomplice of Heinrich Tillessen on August 26, 1921 when the murder of German politician Matthias Erzberger took place.

Valentina Petrovna Telegina was a Soviet and Russian actress.