List of Famous people who died in 1991

Richard Benjamin Speck was an American mass murderer who systematically raped one and tortured and murdered eight student nurses from South Chicago Community Hospital on the night of July 13 into the early morning hours of July 14, 1966. He was convicted at trial and sentenced to death, but the sentence was later overturned due to issues with jury selection at his trial. Speck died of a heart attack in 1991, after 25 years in prison. In 1996, videotapes featuring Speck were shown before the Illinois State Legislature to highlight some of the illegal activity that took place in prisons.

David Eli Ruffin was an American soul singer and musician most famous for his work as one of the lead singers of the Temptations (1964–68) during the group's "Classic Five" period as it was later known. He was the lead voice on such famous songs as "My Girl" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg."

Helga "Big Helga" Hahnemann was an East German multi-faceted stage performer and entertainer. She came to wider prominence through her television and radio appearances after 1962. By the time reunification arrived in 1990 she had become a leading star of the small screen in East Germany. She fell terminally ill and then died shortly afterwards, possibly because of the extent of her addiction to cigarettes: she was 54. Her death left unanswered the question of how successfully her performances might have captivated pan-German television audiences post unification.

Gerhard Höllerich, known professionally as Roy Black, was a German schlager singer and actor, who appeared in several musical comedies and starred in the 1989 TV series, Ein Schloß am Wörthersee.

Igor Vladimirovich Talkov, was a Soviet Russian rock singer-songwriter and film actor. His breakthrough came in 1987 with the David Tukhmanov-composed song "Chistye prudy" which was an instant hit. Talkov's lyrics are mostly about love, but also contain social critic of the Soviet regime. He was shot dead in 1991.

Donald Henry "Pee Wee" Gaskins Jr. was an American serial killer, rapist, and cannibal from South Carolina. As a young man, Gaskins was repeatedly arrested for robbery and rape. In 1955, he escaped from prison and found work with a traveling carnival. Gaskins was charged in 1976 with eight charges of murder after an associate told police officers that he had confessed to multiple murders. Police found eight buried bodies on his property in Prospect, South Carolina. While awaiting the death sentence in prison, Gaskins killed a fellow inmate on death row with a small explosive. He was put to death on September 6, 1991.

Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musical directions in a five-decade career that kept him at the forefront of many major stylistic developments in jazz.

Rajiv Ratna Gandhi was an Indian politician who served as the 6th Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to become the youngest Indian Prime Minister at the age of 40.

Nikolaus “Klaus” Barbie was a Nazi, known as the "Butcher of Lyon" for having personally tortured prisoners of the Gestapo—primarily Jews and members of the French Resistance—while stationed in Lyon under the collaborationist Vichy regime. After the war, United States intelligence services employed him for his anti-Marxist efforts and also aided his escape to Bolivia.

Olav V was King of Norway from 1957 until his death.