1926 births

Louis Velle (29 May 1926 – 2 February 2023) was a French actor. He appeared in numerous films including Stopover in Orly, The Impossible Mr. Pipelet, and Kings for a Day.

Alfred Paul Ries (November 14, 1926 – October 7, 2022) was an American marketing professional and author. He was the cofounder and chairman of the Atlanta-based consulting firm Ries & Ries with his partner and daughter, Laura Ries. Along with Jack Trout, Ries is credited with resurrecting the idea of "positioning" in the field of marketing.

Rosario Gálvez (October 15, 1926 – September 17, 2015) was a Mexican actress. She was married to Luis Aguilar, "El Gallo Giro", one of the icons of the golden age of Mexican cinema, from 1957 until his death in 1997.

Eugenio Garza Lagüera (18 December 1923 – 24 May 2008) was a Mexican businessman and philanthropist who served as chairman of the board of the Monterrey Institute of Technology (ITESM) and Femsa, Latin America's largest beverage corporation. In February 2008 he was laureated with the Business Social Responsibility Award from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a nonpartisan institution created by the U.S. Congress within the Smithsonian Institution.

Rubén Fuentes (15 February 1926 – 5 February 2022) was a Mexican classical violinist and composer who was best known for his contributions to mariachi music.

Lawrence Donald Soens (August 26, 1926 – November 1, 2021) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. In 2008, the Diocese of Davenport in Iowa announced multiple credible accusations that Soens had sexually abused children as a priest. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City in Iowa from 1983 to 1998.

Donald William Strauch, Jr. (April 8, 1926 – January 11, 2016), known as Don Strauch, was an American politician. He served as mayor of Mesa, Arizona, from 1980 to 1984. He had previously served on the Mesa City Council since 1972.Born in Iowa and raised in Arizona, Don was the only son and eldest child of three siblings born to Donald W. Strauch, Sr. and Mary Strauch. He served in World War II with the United States Army. After the war, Strauch attended Babson College, Phoenix College, and Arizona State University.Strauch was the president of Strauchs' Stationers, Inc. He served as a Republican in the Arizona House of Representatives for district 29 in Mesa until his defeat in 1988 in a primary. Strauch died in Scottsdale, Arizona, from complication from a fall on January 11, 2016, at the age of 89. He was survived by his wife, daughter and extended family.

John Henry Geiger (June 19, 1926 – January 10, 2011) was an American architect and engineer who served as the National Commander of The American Legion from 1971 to 1972.

O.D. Hopkins (1926, Beijing–April 3, 2010) was the founder of the amusement ride manufacturing firm O.D. Hopkins Associates Inc. Hopkins' family moved from Beijing to New Jersey when he was two years old. He first worked as a farmer, then in logging and road and bridge contracting, then in pre-poured concrete].Hopkins incorporated Hopkins Engineering in 1962 and from 1962 to 1964 operated as a general contractor installing ski lifts for J.A. Roebling & Sons of Trenton, New Jersey. In 1965 Hopkins purchased the ski lift division and all the related assets from Roebling & Sons. Business improved after a competitor, Universal Design Ltd., discontinued manufacturing Sky Rides, and their customers turned to Hopkins Engineering for parts. Hopkins' first customer in the amusement business was Charles Wood of Storytown USA who owned a Universal Design ski lift and contracted Hopkins to provide parts and maintenance. In 1969 Hopkins sold his first Sky Glider chairlift to Paragon Park in Massachusetts. In 1971 Hopkins changed the name of his company to O.D. Hopkins Associates Inc.
O.D. Hopkins had a long business relationship and friendship with Paul Roads of Wonderland Park (Texas), which currently operates eight Hopkins rides, many of them prototypes, including Hopkins' first flume, first Sky Rider (monorail), first Rapids Ride, and first Roller Coaster.Hopkins retired in 1991.

Nell Soto (June 18, 1926 – February 26, 2009) was an American politician. Soto represented the 61st Assembly district (including parts of Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties and the cities of Ontario, Pomona, Chino and Montclair) from 1998 to 2000 and again from 2006 to 2008. She served two terms as a state senator for the 32nd district from 2000 to 2006.
Soto served on the Pomona city council from 1986 until 1998. Soto also served on the South Coast Air Quality Management District. She was the first Latina from the San Gabriel Valley to be elected to that position. In 2006, she authored legislation that included expansion of the Nell Soto Teacher Involvement program, improving foster care licensing, and improving welfare to work programs.
Soto was married to Phil Soto, a pioneering Latino politician in California's history. Soto died February 26, 2009, after months of declining health.