1972 Deaths
- Alinsky, Saul (12 June)
- Atlas, Charles (24 December)
- Bush, Prescott (8 October)
- Clemente, Roberto (31 December)
- Escher, M.C. (27 March)
- Hoover, J. Edgar (2 May)
- Jackson, Mahalia (27 January)
- King Edward VIII (28 May)
- Moore, Marianne (5 February)
- Pound, Ezra (1 November)
- Robinson, Jackie (24 October)
- Truman, Harry S. (26 December)