1979 deaths

Rogers Clark Ballard Morton (September 19, 1914 – April 19, 1979) was an American politician who served as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Commerce during the administrations of presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, respectively. He also served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland.
Morton was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and moved to a farm on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the early 1950s. In 1962, he was elected to the House of Representatives, in which capacity he established a pro-environment record. Morton would joke that his two middle initials stood for "Chesapeake Bay". In 1968, Morton played a major role in Richard Nixon's campaign for president, and was chosen by Nixon in 1969 to serve as chairman of the Republican National Committee.
In the elections of 1970, Morton was considered a strong candidate to challenge Joseph Tydings for his U.S. Senate seat from Maryland, but he chose instead to remain as chairman of the RNC. In 1971, President Nixon tapped Morton to serve as Secretary of the Interior, during which time he oversaw the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and the 1973 oil crisis. Morton was the only person from the East Coast to serve as head of the Interior Department in the 20th century.Following Nixon's resignation due to the Watergate Scandal, Morton continued in his post in the Gerald Ford administration until 1975, when he was nominated to serve as Secretary of Commerce. From April to August 1976, Morton served as Ford's campaign manager in his bid for election. Morton retired from politics following Ford's election defeat. Three years later, he died of cancer at his home in Easton on the eastern shore of Maryland.

Dewey Follett Bartlett Sr. (March 28, 1919 – March 1, 1979) was an American politician who served as the 19th governor of Oklahoma from 1967 to 1971, following his fellow Republican, Henry Bellmon. In 1966, he became the first Roman Catholic elected governor of Oklahoma, defeating the Democratic nominee, Preston J. Moore of Oklahoma City. He was defeated for reelection in 1970 by Tulsa attorney David Hall in the closest election in state history. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1972 and served one term. In 1978, he was diagnosed with lung cancer and did not run for reelection that year. He died of complications of lung cancer two months after retiring from the Senate in 1979.

Jean-Louis Bory (25 June 1919 – 11/12 June 1979) was a French writer, journalist, and film critic.

Trygve Stokstad (25 November 1902 – 26 April 1979) was a Norwegian boxer who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics and in the 1924 Summer Olympics.In 1920 he was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the welterweight class after losing his fight to William Clark. Four years later he was eliminated in the first round of the middleweight class after losing his fight to Harry Mallin who was on the way to win his second consecutive Olympic gold medal.

Germaine Peyroles (22 March 1902 – 26 October 1979) was a French lawyer and politician. She was elected to the National Assembly in 1945 as one of the first group of French women in parliament. She served in the National Assembly until 1951, and then again from 1954 to 1955.

John C. McBride (September 16, 1908 – July 20, 1979) was an American politician who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and the Wisconsin State Senate.

Fred Richard Nibley (April 29, 1913 – September 22, 1979) was an American violinist, composer, and educator. He is often cited as an expert on the influence of music on behavior.
Richard spent many years as a professor at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah. He lived in a pioneer home on Main Street in Ephraim that was originally built for Canute Peterson, an early Mormon leader in the area.His list of the top ten classical music pieces for your music library is still used today.Richard was born in Medford, Oregon, to Alexander Nibley and Agnes Sloan. His older brother was Hugh Nibley, and his grandfather was Charles W. Nibley. Richard Nibley's great-grandfather Alexander Neibaur was the first Jew to join the LDS Church.
He died in the fall of 1979 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease).

Ella Kam Oon Chun, also Ella Chun (March 28, 1915 – December 3, 1979) was a journalist active in Hawaii, notable as the first Asian American woman reporter on the Honolulu Advertiser.

Ettore Manni (6 May 1927 – 27 July 1979) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1952 and 1979.

Eduard Bargheer (25 December 1901 – 1 July 1979) was a German painter and printmaker. His early oeuvre had a close affinity to Expressionism.