List of Famous people who died in 1985

Lovro von Matačić was a Croatian conductor and composer.

Petar Čule was a Herzegovinian Croat prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Mostar-Duvno and of apostolic administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan from 1942 until his retirement in 1980. After his retirement, he was named titular archbishop of Giufi in present-day Tunisia.

Georgia Theodora Hale was an actress of the silent movie era.

Alfred Theodor Brauer was a German-American mathematician who did work in number theory. He was born in Charlottenburg, and studied at the University of Berlin. As he served Germany in World War I, even being injured in the war, he was able to keep his position longer than many other Jewish academics who had been forced out after Hitler's rise to power. In 1935 he lost his position and in 1938 he tried to leave Germany, but was not able to until the following year. He initially worked in the Northeast, but in 1942 he settled into a position at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A good deal of his works, and the Alfred T. Brauer library, would be linked to this university. He occasionally taught at Wake Forest University after he retired from Chapel Hill at 70. He died in North Carolina, aged 91.

Lincoln LaPaz was an American astronomer from the University of New Mexico and a pioneer in the study of meteors.

Pooradam Thirunal Sethu Lakshmi Bayi CI was the monarch, though designated as the Regent due to British policy, of the Kingdom of Travancore in southern India between 1924 and 1931. She, along with her younger cousin, Moolam Thirunal Sethu Parvathi Bayi, were adopted into the Travancore Royal Family and were the granddaughters of the celebrated painter, Raja Ravi Varma.

Loren L. Ryder was an American sound engineer. He won five Academy Awards and was nominated for twelve more in the categories Best Sound Recording and Best Effects.

Mischa Spoliansky was a Russian-born composer who lived for many years in Britain.