List of Famous people who died in 1986

Cheryl Ann Araujo was an American woman from New Bedford, Massachusetts, who was gang-raped in 1983 at age 21 by four men in a tavern in the town, while other patrons reportedly watched but did not intervene. Her case became national news, and drew widespread attention to media coverage of rape trials.

Jagjivan Ram, known popularly as Babuji, was an Indian independence activist and politician from Bihar. He was instrumental in the foundation of the All India Depressed Classes League, an organisation dedicated to attaining equality for untouchables, in 1935 and was elected to Bihar Legislative Assembly in 1937, after which he organised the rural labour movement.

Ronald Erwin McNair was an American NASA astronaut and physicist. He died during the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51-L, in which he was serving as one of three mission specialists in a crew of seven.

J. C. Ramaswamy, known by his screen name Shakti Prasad, was an Indian actor who appeared in Kannada films in mostly villainous roles. In a career spanning close to 20 years, he appeared in over 200 films including landmark films such as Immadi Pulikeshi (1967) and Antha (1981).

Helga Anders was an Austrian actress.

María Rebecca Latigo de Hernández was a Mexican-American rights activist. She was born in San Pedro Garza García, Mexico. During the 1930s, she spoke publicly and demonstrated on behalf of Mexican Americans about their education in the United States. She and her husband, Pedro Hernandez Barrera, founded Orden Caballeros de America on January 10, 1929. She organized the Asociación Protectora de Madres in 1933. In 1970 she was active in the Raza Unida Party.

Gia Marie Carangi was an American model during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Considered by many to be the first supermodel, she was featured on the cover of fashion magazines, including multiple editions of Vogue and Cosmopolitan, and appeared in advertising campaigns for such fashion houses as Armani, Christian Dior, Versace, and Yves Saint Laurent.

Ted Knight was an American actor and voice artist well known for playing the comedic roles of Ted Baxter in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Henry Rush in Too Close for Comfort, and Judge Elihu Smails in Caddyshack.

Joseph Jacques Omer Plante was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. During a career lasting from 1947 to 1975, he was considered to be one of the most important innovators in hockey. He played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1953 to 1963; during his tenure, the team won the Stanley Cup six times, including five consecutive wins. In 2017 Plante was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players" in history.

Cleo Virginia Andrews, better known as V. C. Andrews or Virginia C. Andrews, was an American novelist. She was born in Portsmouth, Virginia and died of breast cancer at the age of 63. Following her death, many subsequent novels have been written by Andrew Neiderman, using Andrews's pen name.