List of Famous people who died in 1996

Sergei Sergeyevich Yakovlev was a Russian actor. He appeared in more than forty films from 1957 to 1992.

Elisa Cegani was an Italian actress. She appeared in 60 films between 1935 and 1983.

Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, was an English Royal Air Force air officer. He is credited with single-handedly inventing the turbojet engine. A patent was submitted by Maxime Guillaume in 1921 for a similar invention; however, this was technically unfeasible at the time. Whittle's jet engines were developed some years earlier than those of Germany's Hans von Ohain who was the designer of the first operational turbojet engine.

Gerald Joseph Mulligan, also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz—Mulligan was also a significant arranger, working with Claude Thornhill, Miles Davis, Stan Kenton, and others. His pianoless quartet of the early 1950s with trumpeter Chet Baker is still regarded as one of the best cool jazz groups. Mulligan was also a skilled pianist and played several other reed instruments. Several of his compositions, such as "Walkin' Shoes" and "Five Brothers", have become standards.

Obdulio Jacinto Muiños Varela was a Uruguayan football player. He was the captain of the Uruguayan national team that won the 1950 World Cup after beating Brazil in the decisive final round match popularly known as the Maracanazo. He was nicknamed "El Negro Jefe" because of his dark skin and the influence he had on the pitch, especially during the unlikely victory over Brazil. He was of African, Spanish and Greek ancestry. Commonly regarded as one of the greatest classic holding midfielders, Varela was adept in defence and was renowned for his tenacity and leadership. He is regarded as one of the greatest captains in football history.

Robert Paisley OBE was an English football manager and player who played as a wing half. He spent almost 50 years with Liverpool and is regarded, due to his achievements with the club, as one of the greatest British managers of all time. Reluctantly taking the job in 1974, he built on the foundations laid by his predecessor Bill Shankly. Paisley is the first of three managers to have won the European Cup three times. He is also one of five managers to have won the English top-flight championship as both a player and manager at the same club.

Huugjilt, also spelled Hugjiltu, was an Inner Mongolian who was executed on 10 June 1996 for the rape and murder of a woman. On 5 December 2006, ten years after the execution, Zhao Zhihong wrote the Petition of my Death Penalty admitting he had committed the crime. Huugjilt was posthumously exonerated and Zhao Zhihong was sentenced to death in 2015.

María Luisa Ponte Mancini was a Spanish actress. She appeared in over 135 films and television shows between 1952 and 1995. She appeared in the 1977 film Black Litter, which was entered into the 27th Berlin International Film Festival.

Carlos Jáuregui was an Argentinian LGBT rights activist. He founded La Comunidad Homosexual Argentina in 1984. In the early 1990s, he set up Gays por los Derechos Civiles and organised the first Pride march in Buenos Aires. He died from an HIV-AIDS-related illness at the age of 38. In memorial, a national day of activism for sexual diversity was established. He was posthumously given the Felipa de Souza Award, and, in 2017, a station was renamed after him on the Buenos Aires Underground.

Archduke Robert, Archduke of Austria-Este, was the second son of Karl I, (beatified) last Emperor of Austria-Hungary, and Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma. He was also known as Robert Karl Erzherzog von Österreich.