1974 deaths

Juan Domingo Perón (UK: , US: , Spanish: [ˈxwan doˈmiŋɡo peˈɾon] ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine Army lieutenant general and politician who served as the 35th President of Argentina from 1946 to his overthrow in 1955, and again as the 45th President from October 1973 to his death in July 1974. He had previously served in several government positions, including Minister of Labour and Vice President under presidents Pedro Pablo Ramírez and Edelmiro Farrell.
During his first presidential term (1946–1952), Perón was supported by his second wife, Eva Duarte ("Evita"); they were immensely popular among the Argentine working class. Perón's government invested heavily in public works, expanded social welfare, and forced employers to improve working conditions. Trade unions grew rapidly with his support and women's suffrage was granted with Eva's influence. His government was also known to employ dictatorial tactics; several dissidents were fired, exiled, or arrested, and much of the press was closely controlled. Several high-profile fascist war criminals, such as Josef Mengele, Adolf Eichmann, and Ante Pavelić, were given refuge in Argentina during this time.
Perón was re-elected by a fairly wide margin, though his second term (1952–1955) was far more troubled. Eva, a major source of support, died a month after his inauguration in 1952. An economic crisis was ongoing, Perón was accused of having a relationship with a teenage girl, Nelly Rivas, and his plans to legalise divorce and prostitution damaged his standing with the Catholic Church. After he deported two Catholic priests and was mistakenly thought to be excommunicated, pro-Church elements of the Argentine Navy and Air Force bombed Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, where supporters of Perón had gathered, in June 1955. More than 300 civilians were killed in this coup attempt, which in turn prompted violent reprisals against many churches by Perón's supporters. Within months, a successful coup deposed him.
During the following period of two military dictatorships, interrupted by two civilian governments, the Peronist party was outlawed and Perón was exiled. Over the years he lived in Paraguay, Venezuela, Panama, and Spain. When the Peronist Héctor José Cámpora was elected President in 1973, Perón returned to Argentina amidst the Ezeiza massacre and was soon after elected President for a third time (12 October 1973 – 1 July 1974). During this term, left- and right-wing Peronists were permanently divided and violence between them erupted, with Perón increasingly siding with the right. His minister José López Rega formed the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance, believed to have committed at least hundreds of extrajudicial killings and kidnappings. Perón's third wife, María Estela Martínez, known as Isabel Perón, was elected as Vice President on his ticket and succeeded him as President upon his death in 1974. Political violence only intensified, and she was ousted in 1976, followed by a period of even deadlier repression under the junta of Jorge Rafael Videla.
Although they are still controversial figures, Juan and Eva Perón are nonetheless considered icons by the Peronists. The Peróns' followers praised their efforts to eliminate poverty and to dignify labour, while their detractors considered them demagogues and dictators. The Peróns gave their name to the political movement known as Peronism, which in present-day Argentina is represented mainly by the Justicialist Party.

Eddie Johnson (February 10, 1919 – June 30, 1974) was an American race car driver.
Born in Richmond, Virginia, Johnson grew up in Los Angeles, where he was a high school acquaintance of 1950 Indianapolis 500 winner Johnnie Parsons. He drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1950–1952 and 1955–1966 seasons with 33 starts, including the Indianapolis 500 races in all of those years but the first two. He finished in the top ten 9 times, with his best finish in 3rd position, in 1959 at Trenton. Late in his career, Johnson frequently came to Indianapolis without an assigned car only to be signed on to a team which needed a driver to put a struggling car in the race. In 1965, Johnson became the last person on the track in the Indianapolis 500 mile race with a naturally aspirated Offenhauser in a roadster. Johnson was flagged to finish in 10th place.
Johnson died in a plane crash near Cleveland, Ohio. The National Transportation Safety Board ruled the probable cause was pilot error, specifically attempting to fly visually in unsuitable weather and structurally overloading the airplane.

Gaston Thubé (16 October 1876 – 22 June 1974) was a French sailor who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. He was a crew member on the French boat Mac Miche, which won the gold medal in the 6 metre class.

Fernand Arnout (8 December 1899 – 30 January 1974) was a French weightlifter. He competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics and in the 1928 Summer Olympics.In 1920, he finished fifth in the lightweight class. Eight years later at the 1928 Games, Arnout won the bronze medal in the lightweight class.

Lothar Mendes (19 May 1894 – 24 February 1974) was a German-born screenwriter and film director. His two best known films are Jew Süss (1934) and The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1936), both productions for British studios.

Kurt Matthias Robert Martin Hahn (5 June 1886 – 14 December 1974) was a German educator. He was decisive in founding Stiftung Louisenlund, Schule Schloss Salem, Gordonstoun, Outward Bound, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, and the first of the United World Colleges, Atlantic College.

William Maurice "Doc" Ewing (May 12, 1906 – May 4, 1974) was an American geophysicist and oceanographer.Ewing has been described as a pioneering geophysicist who worked on the research of seismic reflection and refraction in ocean basins, ocean bottom photography, submarine sound transmission (including the SOFAR channel), deep sea core samples of the ocean bottom, theory and observation of earthquake surface waves, fluidity of the Earth's core, generation and propagation of microseisms, submarine explosion seismology, marine gravity surveys, bathymetry and sedimentation, natural radioactivity of ocean waters and sediments, study of abyssal plains and submarine canyons.

Stanisława Leszczyńska (May 8, 1896 – March 11, 1974) was a Polish midwife who was incarcerated at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II, where she delivered over 3,000 children. Her beatification process was opened in 2015.

Jan Paweł Nowacki (25 June 1905, in Berlin – 23 May 1979, in Warsaw) was an engineer. He worked for the British during World War II on radar installations, and later had a career as a university lecturer.

Arthur Emil Kores (July 22, 1886 – March 26, 1974) was a professional baseball player whose career spanned nine seasons, one of which was spent in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the St. Louis Terriers (1915). In the majors, he compiled a .234 batting average with 18 runs scored, 47 hits, nine doubles, two triples, one home run, and 22 runs batted in (RBIs) in 60 games played. He played all of his Major League games at third base. Kores played the majority of his career in the minor leagues with the Des Moines Boosters (1911–1912), Portland Beavers (1913–1914), Rochester Hustlers (1915), Nashville Volunteers (1916–1917), Louisville Colonels (1918), Toledo Mud Hens (1920), and Indianapolis Indians (1920). In the minors, he compiled a career .274 batting average with 1,225 hits, 212 doubles, 91 triples, and 29 home runs in 1,243 games played. Kores batted and threw right-handed. During his playing career, he stood at 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm) and weighed 167 pounds (76 kg).