List of Famous people who died in 1986

Michel de Certeau SJ was a French Jesuit and scholar whose work combined history, psychoanalysis, philosophy, and the social sciences. He was known as the philosopher of everyday life and widely regarded as a historian with interests ranging from travelogues of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to contemporary urban life.

Valerian Alexandrovich Zorin was a Soviet diplomat best remembered for his famous confrontation with Adlai Stevenson on 25 October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Arthur Floyd Gottfredson was an American cartoonist best known for his defining work on the Mickey Mouse comic strip, which he worked on from 1930 until his retirement in 1975. He has probably had the same impact on the Mickey Mouse comics as Carl Barks had on the Donald Duck comics. 17 years after his death, his memory was honored with the Disney Legends award in 2003 and induction into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2006.

Willard Van Dyke was an American filmmaker, photographer, arts administrator, teacher, and former director of the film department at the Museum of Modern Art. Van Dyke went to the University of California, dropping out for a time to avoid taking an ROTC course.

Bessie Amelia Emery Head, was a South African writer who, though born in South Africa, is usually considered Botswana's most influential writer. She wrote novels, short fiction and autobiographical works that are infused with spiritual questioning and reflection.

Lurene Tuttle was an American character actress and acting coach, who made the transition from vaudeville to radio, and later films and television. Her most enduring impact was as one of network radio's more versatile actresses. Often appearing in 15 shows per week, comedies, dramas, thrillers, soap operas, and crime dramas, she became known as the "First Lady of Radio".

Lothar Bolz was an East German politician. From 1953 to 1965 he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of East Germany (GDR).