List of Famous people who died in 1988

Louis Dearborn L'Amour was an American novelist and short-story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels ; however, he also wrote historical fiction, science fiction, non-fiction (Frontier), as well as poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into films. L'Amour's books remain popular and most have gone through multiple printings. At the time of his death almost all of his 105 existing works were still in print, and he was "one of the world's most popular writers".

Mikha'il Nu'ayma, better known in English by his pen name Mikhail Naimy, was a Lebanese Greek Orthodox poet, novelist, and philosopher, famous for his spiritual writings, notably The Book of Mirdad. He is widely recognized as one of the most important figures in modern Arabic literature and one of the most important spiritual writers of the 20th century.

Jesse Edwin Davis was a Native American guitarist. He was well regarded as a session artist and solo performer, was a member of Taj Mahal's backing band and played with musicians such as Eric Clapton, John Lennon, and George Harrison. In 2018, Davis was posthumously inducted into the Native American Music Hall of Fame at the 18th Annual Native American Music Awards.

Carlos Mauro Hoyos Jiménez was a Colombian jurist and politician. He was the general inspector of the nation from September 1987 until he was kidnapped and assassinated by hitmen under orders of Medellín Cartel.

Barclay Graham Plager was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and coach for the St. Louis Blues.

Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Mravinsky was a Russian conductor, pianist, and music pedagogue; he was a professor at Leningrad State Conservatory.

William Alton Carter was an American farmer, businessman, brewer, and politician. The younger brother of U.S. President Jimmy Carter, he promoted Billy Beer and was a candidate for mayor of Plains, Georgia.

Qairat Nogaibaevich Rysqulbekov was a participant in the Jeltoqsan riot of 1986 that took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He later died in mysterious circumstances while held by the authorities. He was posthumously awarded the title Hero of Kazakhstan after independence.

Aya Kitō was a Japanese diarist. She wrote about her personal experiences living with spinocerebellar ataxia which was later published in the book 1 Litre no Namida.

John Desmond Dillon was a British sailor. He won a silver medal in the 5.5 metre class at the 1956 Summer Olympics.