List of Famous people who died in 1985

Abdul Muhsin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was a member of the House of Saud, the governor of Medina, and one of the leading poets in Saudi Arabia. He was a lover of literature, poetry and historical books.

Emil Grigoryevich Gilels was a Soviet pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time.

Abe Minderts Lenstra was a Dutch football player and national football icon in the 1950s who played as a forward. He is regarded as one of the greatest players ever to hail from the Netherlands. He was also a Frisian legend, most notably with the club where he made his name as a football player, Heerenveen.

Józef Mackiewicz was a Polish writer, novelist and political commentator; best known for his documentary novels Nie trzeba głośno mówić, and Droga donikąd. He staunchly opposed communism, referring to himself as an "anticommunist by nationality". Mackiewicz died in exile. His older brother Stanisław Mackiewicz was also a writer.

Saunders Lewis was a Welsh political activist, poet, dramatist, historian and literary critic. He was a prominent Welsh nationalist and one of the founders of Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru, later known as Plaid Cymru. Lewis is usually acknowledged as one of the most prominent figures of 20th century Welsh-language literature. In 1970, Lewis was nominated for a Nobel Prize in Literature. Lewis was voted the tenth greatest Welsh hero in the '100 Welsh Heroes' poll, released on St. David's Day 2004.

Alfonso Reyes Echandía was a Colombian educator, jurist and magistrate of the Supreme Court of Colombia who served as its President from 24 January 1985 until his death in the Palace of Justice siege.

Tat’yana Avenirovna Proskuriakova was a Russian-American Mayanist scholar and archaeologist who contributed significantly to the deciphering of Maya hieroglyphs, the writing system of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica. Tatyana Proskuriakova moved to the USA with her parents in 1916. In 1924, she accepted American citizenship. She graduated from the College of Architecture in Pennsylvania (1930). In 1936-1937, she took part in two seasons of archaeological expedition to Piedras Negras (Guatemala). In 1939, she made scientific trips to Copan and Chichen Itza. In 1940-1958, she was a staff member of the Carnegie Institute and developed methods of dating ancient Mayan monuments based on the peculiarities of the fine arts style. In 1950-1955, she worked at the excavations of Mayapan. In 1958, Proskouriakoff moved to the Peabody Museum at Harvard University, where she worked until her retirement in 1977. In her final years of life, she suffered from Alzheimer's disease. The most significant scientific contribution of Tatiana Proskouriakoff is considered to be the consistent application of the structural method to Mayan inscriptions of the classical period, as a result of which she proved that historical events were recorded on the monuments. Publications about new method application have been published since 1960. In 1967, she wrote the preface for the English translation of Yuri Knorozov's monograph "Writing of Maya Indians". However, she did not try to voice Maya texts, although she recognized the method of deciphering the written language.

Boris Nikolayevich Lisanevich, a.k.a. Boris Lissanevitch, Ukrainian: Борис Миколайович Лисаневич, Russian: Борис Николаевич Лисаневич, was a ballet dancer, a hotelier and a restaurateur. He helped pave the way for tourism in Nepal, when he opened the country's first hotel, the Hotel Royal, and later when he created the Yak & Yeti Hotel and Restaurant.

Charlotte reigned as Grand Duchess of Luxembourg from 1919 until her abdication in 1964.

Xiong Yaohua, better known by his pen name Gu Long, was a Taiwanese, Hong Kong-born novelist, screenwriter, film producer and director. A graduate of Cheng Kung Senior High School and Tamkang University, Xiong is best known for writing wuxia novels and serials, which include Juedai Shuangjiao, Xiaoli Feidao Series, Chu Liuxiang Series, Lu Xiaofeng Series and The Eleventh Son. Some of these works have been adapted into films and television series for numerous times. In the 1980s, he started his own film studio, Bao Sian (寶龍), to produce film adaptations of his works.