List of Famous people who died in 1988

Mathilde Danegger was an Austrian stage and movie actress. Sources may also identify her by the pseudonym, Mathilde Leusch; Leusch is apparently a variant of her second husband's surname (Lesch).

Anatoly Semyonovich Levchenko was a Soviet cosmonaut.

James Rhyne Killian Jr. was the 10th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from 1948 until 1959.

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its variants were the highest awards in the military of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded for a wide range of reasons and across all ranks, from a senior commander for skilled leadership of his troops in battle to a low-ranking soldier for a single act of extreme gallantry. Presentations were made to members of the three military branches of the Wehrmacht—the Heer (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy) and Luftwaffe —as well as the Waffen-SS, the Reichsarbeitsdienst and the Volkssturm. There were also 43 recipients in the military forces of allies of Nazi Germany.

Marion Crawford, CVO was a Scottish educator and governess to Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth, who called her Crawfie. Crawford was the named author of the book The Little Princesses, which told the story of her time with the royal family. After the book was published in 1950, Crawford was socially ostracised and left Nottingham Cottage, her grace and favour house, which had been granted to her for life. Neither the Queen nor any other member of the Royal Family ever spoke to her again.

Charles Samuel Addams was an American artist and cartoonist known for his darkly humorous and macabre characters. He signed his cartoons under the pen name Chas Addams. Some of the recurring characters, who became known as the Addams Family, have been the basis for spin-offs in several other forms of media.