Wikipedia / 1978
Wikipedia / 1978
Events
January
January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government).
January 6 – The Holy Crown of Hungary (also known as Stephen of Hungary Crown) is returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held since World War II.
January 10 – Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, a critic of the Nicaraguan government, is assassinated; riots erupt against Somoza's government.
January 18 – The European Court of Human Rights finds the British government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture.
January 22 – Ethiopia declares the ambassador of West Germany persona non grata.
Soviet satellite Kosmos 954 burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's Northwest Territories.
Rose Dugdale and Eddie Gallagher become the first convicted prisoners to marry in prison since the establishment of the Republic of Ireland.
January 25–27 – The Great Blizzard of 1978 strikes the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes, killing 70.
February
February 1 – Film director Roman Polanski skips bail in the United States and flees to France, after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl.
February 2 - the Reunion Tower opens in Dallas Texas.
February 5–7 – The Northeastern United States blizzard of 1978 hits the New England region and the New York metropolitan area, killing about 100, and causing over US$520million in damage.
February 6 – King Dragon operation in Arakan: Burmese General Ne Win targets Muslim minorities in the village of Sakkipara.
February 8 – United States Senate proceedings are broadcast on radio for the first time.
February 9 – The Budd Company unveils its first SPV-2000 self-propelled railcar in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
Pacific Western Airlines Flight 314, a Boeing 737-200, crashes in Cranbrook, British Columbia, killing 44 of the 50 people on board.
Somalia mobilizes its troops to deal with an apparent Ethiopian attack.
The People's Republic of China lifts a ban on works by Aristotle, William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens.
February 13 – Sydney Hilton Hotel bombing: A bomb explodes outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, Australia, killing a policeman and two civilians, and injuring several other people.
February 15 – Rhodesia, one of only two remaining white-ruled African nations (the other being South Africa), announces that it will accept multiracial democracy within 2 years.
February 19 – Egyptian raid on Larnaca International Airport: Egyptian Special Forces attempt to rescue several hostages in Larnaca, Cyprus; 20 Egyptian commandos are injured or killed.
February 25 – The first Legislative Assembly election is held in Arunachal Pradesh, India.
February 27 – The first global positioning satellite, the Rockwell International-built Navstar 1, is launched by the United States.
March
March 1 – Charlie Chaplin's remains are stolen from Cosier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland.
March 2 – Soyuz 28 (Aleksei Gubarev, Vladimír Remek) is launched on a rendezvous with Salyut 6, with the first cosmonaut from a country other than the US or USSR (Czechoslovak Vladimír Remek).
Ethiopia admits that its troops are fighting with the aid of Cuban soldiers, against Somalian troops in the Ogaden.
Rhodesian Bush War: Rhodesia attacks Zambia.
The New York Post publishes an article about David Rorvik's book The Cloning of Man, about a supposed cloning of a human being.
March 8 – The first radio episode of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, is transmitted on BBC Radio 4.
Coastal Road massacre: Palestinian terrorists kill 34 Israelis.
Claude François, French entertainer born 1939, dies by electrocution in his home in Paris.
March 14 – Operation Litani: Israeli forces invade Lebanon.
March 15 – Somalia and Ethiopia sign a truce to end the Ethio-Somali War.
March 16 – Former Italian Premier Aldo Moro is kidnapped by the Red Brigades; 5 bodyguards are killed.
March 17 – An oil tanker, Amoco Cadiz, runs aground on the coast of Brittany.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Prime Minister of Pakistan, is sentenced to death by hanging, for ordering the assassination of a political opponent.
California Jam II is held at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California, attracting more than 300,000 fans.
March 22 – Karl Wallenda of The Flying Wallendas dies, after falling off a tight-rope between two hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
March 26 – The control tower and some other facilities of New Tokyo International Airport, which were scheduled to open on March 31, are illegally occupied and damaged in a terrorist attack by New Left activists, forcing a rescheduling of its opening date to May 20.
San Francisco's City Council signs the United States's most comprehensive gay rights bill.
Stump v. Sparkman (435 U.S. 349): The Supreme Court of the United States hands down a 5–3 decision, in a controversial case involving involuntary sterilization and judicial immunity.
April
New Zealand National Airways Corporation (the domestic airline of New Zealand) is merged with New Zealand's international airline, Air New Zealand.
Dick Smith of Dick Smith Foods tows a fake iceberg to Sydney Harbour.
The Philippine College of Commerce, through a presidential decree, is converted to the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
April 2 – Dallas debuts on CBS, and gives birth to the modern day primetime soap opera.
April 3 – The 50th Academy Awards are held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, with Annie Hall winning Best Picture.
April 7 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter decides to postpone production of the neutron bomb, a weapon that kills people with radiation, but leaves buildings relatively intact.
April 9 – Somali military officers stage an unsuccessful coup against the government of Siad Barre; security forces thwart the attempt within hours, and several conspirators are arrested.
April 14 – Thousands of Georgians demonstrate against an attempt by Soviet authorities to change the constitutional status of the Georgian language.
April 18 – The U.S. Senate votes, 68–32, to turn the Panama Canal over to Panamanian control on December 31, 1999.
April 18– 30 – The Khmer Rouge massacres 3,157 civilians in Ba Chúc, Vietnam.
April 20 – A Soviet air defense plane shoots down Korean Air Lines Flight 902; the plane makes an emergency landing on a frozen lake.
Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta win the Eurovision Song Contest 1978 for Israel with their song A-Ba-Ni-Bi.
The One Love Peace Concert is held at National Heroes Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica.
April 25 – St. Paul, Minnesota becomes the second U.S. city to repeal its gay rights ordinance, after Anita Bryant's successful 1977 anti-gay campaign in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Saur Revolution – Afghanistan's president Mohammad Daoud Khan and his family are murdered; Nur Muhammad Taraki succeeds him, beginning the Afghan conflict.
Willow Island disaster – In the deadliest construction accident in United States history, 51 construction workers are killed when a cooling tower under construction collapses at the Pleasants Power Station in Willow Island, West Virginia.
April 30 – The "Democratic Republic of Afghanistan" is proclaimed, under pro-communist leader Nur Muhammad Taraki.
May
South African Border War: The Battle of Cassinga occurs in southern Angola.
Communist activist Henri Curiel is murdered in Paris.
Norway opens a natural gas field, in the Polar Sea.
Reinhold Messner (Italy) and Peter Habeler (Austria) make the first ascent of Mount Everest, without supplemental oxygen.
May 9 – In Rome, the corpse of former Italian prime minister Aldo Moro, is found in a red Renault 4.
May 12 – Shaba II: In Zaire, rebels occupy the city of Kolwezi, the mining centre of the province of Shaba. The Zairean government asks the U.S., France and Belgium to restore order.
May 12–13 – A group of mercenaries, led by Bob Denard, oust Ali Soilih in the Comoros; ten local soldiers are killed. Denard forms a new government.
Students of the University of Tehran riot in Tabriz; the army stops the riot.
First Timezone Opens in Perth, Western Australia
May 17 – Charlie Chaplin's coffin is found some from the cemetery from which it was stolen, near Lake Geneva.
Soviet dissident Yuri Orlov is sentenced to 7 years' hard labor, for distributing 'counterrevolutionary material'.
Sarajevo is selected to host the 1984 Winter Olympics, and Los Angeles is selected to host the 1984 Summer Olympics.
May 18–19 – Belgian and French paratroopers fly to Zaire, to aid the fight against the rebels.
May 19–20 – French Foreign Legion paratroopers land in Kolwezi, Zaire, to rescue Europeans in the middle of a civil war.
May 20 – Mavis Hutchinson, 53, becomes the first woman to run across the U.S.; her trek took 69 days.
May 22 – Exiled leaders Ahmed Abdallah and Muhammad Ahmad return to the Comoros.
May 23 – American basketball player center Bill Walton of the Portland Trail Blazers was named the National Basketball Association regular season MVP.
First Unabomber attack: A bomb explodes in the security section of Northwestern University, wounding a security guard.
In a rematch of the previous season, the Montreal Canadiens again defeat the Boston Bruins, this time four games to two, to win the Stanley Cup.
May 26 – In Atlantic City, New Jersey, Resorts International, the first legal casino in the eastern United States, opens.
May 28 – Indianapolis 500: Al Unser wins his third race, and the first for car owner Jim Hall.
May 29 – Ali Soilih is found dead in the Comoros, allegedly shot when trying to escape.
June
June 1 – The 1978 FIFA World Cup starts in Argentina.
June 2 – Japan Air Lines 115 had its tail struck on the runway on the airport it landed in. The same aircraft would be involved in a 2nd accident 7 years later
June 10 – Affirmed holds off Alydar to win the Belmont Stakes and becomes the last horse to win the U.S. Triple Crown of Horse Racing until 2015.
June 15 – King Hussein of Jordan marries 26-year-old Lisa Halaby, who takes the name Queen Noor.
England cricketer Ian Botham becomes the first man in the history of the game to score a century and take eight wickets in one innings of a Test match.
Garfield's first comic strip, originally published locally as Jon in 1976, goes into nationwide syndication.
June 20 – The 6.2 Thessaloniki earthquake shakes Northern Greece with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Fifty people were killed.
A shootout between Provisional IRA members and the British Army in Northern Ireland leaves one civilian and three IRA men dead.
1978 Iranian Chinook shootdown: Iranian helicopters stray into Soviet airspace and are shot down.
June 24 – The Gay & Lesbian Solidarity March is held in Sydney, Australia to mark the 9th Anniversary of the Stonewall riots (which later becomes the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras; later incorporating a festival).
Argentina defeats the Netherlands 3–1 after extra time to win the 1978 FIFA World Cup.
The rainbow flag of the LGBT movement flies for the first time (in its original form) at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.
June 26 – A bombing by Breton nationalists causes destruction in the Palace of Versailles.
July
July 1 – Australia's Northern Territory is granted self-government.
July 3 – The Amazon Co-operation Treaty (ACT) is signed.
July 7 – The Solomon Islands become independent from the United Kingdom.
July 11 – At least 217 tourists die in an explosion of a tanker-truck at a campsite in Costa Daurada, Spain.
July 24 – In Acapulco, Mexico, Margaret Gardiner of South Africa is crowned Miss Universe.
July 25 – Louise Brown, the world's first test tube baby, is born in Oldham, Greater Manchester, UK.
August
August 6 – Pope Paul VI dies at Castel Gandolfo.
August 12 – The Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China is concluded.
August 17 – Double Eagle II becomes the first balloon to successfully cross the Atlantic Ocean, flying from Presque Isle, Maine, to Miserey, France.
Sandinistas seize the Nicaraguan National Palace.
Kenya's first president and founding father, Jomo Kenyatta, dies aged 89 in Mombasa.
August 26 – Pope John Paul I succeeds Pope Paul VI as the 263rd Pope.
September
September 5 – Camp David Accords: Hosted by U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Israel's Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egypt's President Anwar Sadat met at Camp David in Maryland to discuss a peace agreement between the two nations.
September 7 – In London, UK, a poison-filled pellet, supposedly injected using an umbrella, fatally poisons Bulgarian defector Georgi Markov; he dies four days later.
September 8 – Iranian Army troops open fire on rioters in Tehran, killing 122, wounding over 200.
September 12 – The Declaration of Alma Ata is signed and released in the Capital City of Kazakh, USSR. Known as the core document on Primary Health Care Practices and Equity in Healthcare, it paved the way for the modern-day State-sponsored Healthcare System.
The 7.4 Tabas earthquake killed at least 15,000 people in the city of Tabas in Iran. The quake was measured with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent).
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq officially assumes the post of President of Pakistan.
September 17 – The Camp David Accords are signed between Israel and Egypt.
Police in the West Midlands of England launch a massive murder hunt, when 13-year-old newspaper boy Carl Bridgewater is shot dead after disturbing a burglary.
The Solomon Islands join the United Nations.
September 20 – General Rahimuddin Khan assumes the post of martial law Governor of Balochistan.
September 23 – California Angels outfielder Lyman Bostock is shot to death at age 27 while visiting friends in Gary, Indiana during an Angels' road trip in Chicago, Illinois.
September 24 – Giuseppe Verdi's opera Otello makes its first appearance on Live from the Met, in a complete production of the opera starring Jon Vickers. This is the first complete television broadcast of the opera in the U.S. since the historic 1948 one.
September 25 – PSA Flight 182, a Boeing 727, collides with a small private airplane and crashes in San Diego, California; 144 are killed.
September 27 – The last Forest Brother guerrilla movement fighter is discovered and killed in Estonia.
September 28 – Pope John Paul I dies after only 33 days as the Roman Catholic Pontiff.
September 30 – Finnair Flight 405 aircraft is hijacked by Aarno Lamminparras in Oulu, Finland.
September – Attempted poisoning of 500 members of the African National Congress by South African government infiltrators.
September – Serial criminal Lawrence Singleton commits heinous crime against Mary Vincent.
October
Tuvalu becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
October 2 – Mommie Dearest, written by Christina Crawford that discusses her adoptive mother Joan Crawford's abusive nature, is published. It is the first celebrity tell-all memoir.
October 7 – Wranslide in New South Wales: the Wran government is re-elected with an increased majority.
October 8 – Australia's Ken Warby sets the current world water speed record of 317.6mph (511.13km/h) at Blowering Dam, Australia.
October 9 – P.W. Botha succeeds John Vorster as Prime Minister of South Africa.
Daniel arap Moi becomes president of Kenya.
A massive short circuit in Seasat's electrical system ends the satellite's scientific mission.
United States President Jimmy Carter signs a bill that authorizes the minting of the Susan B. Anthony dollar.
October 13 – The Soviet Union launches a major Russification campaign throughout all union republics.
October 14 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs a bill into law which allows homebrewing of beer in the United States.
October 16 – Pope John Paul II succeeds Pope John Paul I as the 264th pope, resulting in the first Year of Three Popes since 1605. He is the first Polish pope in history, and the first non-Italian pope since Pope Adrian VI (1522–1523).
October 18 – Thorbjörn Fälldin steps down as Prime Minister of Sweden, and is succeeded by Ola Ullsten, the Leader of the liberal People's Party ("Folkpartiet").
October 20 – The first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is held as a protest march and commemoration of the Stonewall riots.
October 21 – Australian civilian pilot Frederick Valentich vanishes in a Cessna 182 Skylane over the Bass Strait south of Melbourne, after reporting contact with an unidentified aircraft.
October 27 – Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin win the Nobel Peace Prize for their progress toward achieving a Middle East accord.
October 31 – The South African Railways sets a still unbeaten world rail speed record on Cape gauge.
November
November 2: 8:00 pm – The Republic of Ireland's second television channel RTÉ 2 goes on air (renamed Network 2, 1988; RTÉ Network Two, 1995; N2, 1997; and RTÉ Two in 2004).
November 3 – Dominica gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
November 5 – Indira Gandhi is elected to the Indian parliament for the first time in 20 months after winning a by-election.
November 18 – In Guyana, Jim Jones leads his Peoples Temple cult in a mass murder–suicide in his commune, Jonestown, that claims 918 lives in all, 909 of them at Jonestown itself, including over 270 children. Representative Leo J. Ryan is assassinated by members of Peoples Temple shortly beforehand.
November 24 – China starts an experimental "household responsibility system", in Anhui Province.
November 26 – Two British commercial divers, Michael Ward and Tony Prangley, die of hypothermia and drowning in the East Shetland Basin after their diving bell plunges to the seabed at a depth of over .
November 27 – Moscone-Milk assassinations: San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk are assassinated by disgruntled former Supervisor Dan White.
December
December 4 – Dianne Feinstein succeeds the murdered George Moscone, to become the first woman mayor of San Francisco; she will remain in office until January 8, 1988.
December 6 – Spanish transition to democracy: The Spanish Constitution officially restores the country's democratic government.
Lufthansa heist: Six men rob a Lufthansa cargo facility in New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Iranian Revolution: Two million demonstrate against the Shah in Iran.
December 15 – Superman: The Movie is released in cinemas in the United States.
Train 87 from Nanjing to Xining collides with train 368 from Xi'an to Xuzhou near Yangzhuang railway station in China, killing 106, injuring 218.
The Mystery of Mamo is released in cinemas in Japan.
December 19 – Former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi is arrested and jailed for a week for breach of privilege and contempt of parliament.
The pivotal Third Plenum of the 11th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is held in Beijing, with Deng Xiaoping reversing Mao-era policies to pursue the reform and opening up.
Chicago serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who was subsequently convicted of the murder of 33 young men and boys committed between 1972 and 1978, is arrested.
Argentina begins Operation Soberanía against Chile, but Argentinian forces quickly withdraw.
December 25 – Vietnam launches a major offensive against the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia.
December 27 – The Constitution of Spain is approved in a referendum, officially ending 40 years of military dictatorship.
Date unknown
Myriodontium keratinophilum is first isolated in Italy during the screening of soil microbes.
Synthetic insulin is developed.
Romanian painter Doina Bumbea is abducted by the North Korean government.
Abortion is legalized in Italy for the first time.
In Seoul, South Korea, construction begins on Seoul Subway Line 2.
Births
January
January 1 – Philip Mulryne, Northern Irish footballer
January 2 – Megumi Toyoguchi, Japanese voice actress
January 2 – Karina Smirnoff, Ukrainian-American dancer
Liya Kebede, Ethiopian model, clothing designer and actress
Park Sol-mi, South Korean actress
January 4 – Karine Ruby, French snowboarder (d. 2009)
Franck Montagny, French Formula One driver
January Jones, American actress
Emilio Palma, Argentine citizen, first human born in Antarctica
Israel Keyes, American serial killer (d. 2012)
Matt Beard, English football manager (Burnley F.C. Women, Liverpool F.C. Women) (d. 2025)
Gennaro Gattuso, Italian football player
Chad Johnson, American football player
AJ McLean, American singer
January 10 – Kanako Mitsuhashi, Japanese voice actress
January 11 – Emile Heskey, English footballer
January 12 – Hannah Gadsby, Australian comedian
Ashmit Patel, Indian actor
Mohit Sharma Indian Army Officer
January 14 – Shawn Crawford, American sprinter
Eddie Cahill, American actor
Franco Pellizotti, Italian cyclist
January 16 – Vijay Sethupathi, Indian actor
Susanne Schaper, German politician
Ricky Wilson, British vocalist (Kaiser Chiefs)
Thor Hushovd, Norwegian cyclist
Katja Kipping, German politician
January 20 – Omar Sy, French actor and comedian
January 24 – Kristen Schaal, American actress, comedian, and writer
January 25 – Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian politician and comedian, President of Ukraine
Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer
Jamie Carragher, English footballer
Papa Bouba Diop, Senegalese footballer (d. 2020)
Sheamus, Irish professional wrestler
Vanessa Villela, Mexican actress
February
February 1 – Karen Martello, Venezuelan singer and television presenter.
Nelson Chamisa, Zimbabwean politician
Barry Ferguson, Scottish footballer and coach
Joan Capdevila, Spanish footballer
Amal Clooney, British-Lebanese barrister, activist and author
February 4 – Danna García, Colombian actress and model
Brian Russell, American football player
Samuel Sánchez, Spanish road bicycle racer
Danny Buderus, Australian rugby league player
Olena Zelenska, Ukrainian first lady and former model
Yael Naim, Israeli-French singer and songwriter
Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, Nigerian actress, singer, philanthropist and former model
Ashton Kutcher, American actor
Ivan Leko, Croatian football player and coach
Daniel Van Buyten, Belgian footballer
Isabella Eklöf, Swedish screenwriter and film director
Don Omar (stage name for William Omar Landrón Rivera), Puerto Rican American rapper known as the "King of Reggaeton"; in San Juan
Gethin Jones, Welsh television presenter
Silver Meikar, Estonian politician
February 13 – Niklas Bäckström, Finnish hockey player
Richard Hamilton, American basketball player
Danai Gurira, American actress and playwright
Darius Songaila, Lithuanian basketball player
February 15 – Rafał Romanowski, Polish politician
Tia Hellebaut, Belgian athlete
John Tartaglia, American actor
Yekaterina Volkova, Russian middle-distance runner
Kenyatta Wright, American football player
Immortal Technique, Peruvian-American rapper
Julia Jentsch, German actress
Ken Takeuchi, Japanese voice actor
Kim Ha-neul, South Korean actress
Kumail Nanjiani, Pakistani-American actor and comedian
Miki Sakai, Japanese actress
February 22 – Jenny Frost, English singer
February 23 – Dan Snyder, Canadian hockey player (d. 2003)
February 24 – Gary, South Korean musician, entertainer
February 25 – Yuji Nakazawa, Japanese footballer
February 27 – Kakha Kaladze, Georgian footballer and politician, Mayor of Tbilisi
Jeanne Cherhal, French singer-songwriter
Yasir Hameed, Pakistani cricketer
Benjamin Raich, Austrian skier
March
Jensen Ackles, American actor
Liya Kebede, Ethiopian model and fashion designer
Sakura Nogawa, Japanese voice actress
Jim Chalmers, Australian politician, Treasurer of Australia (2022-present)
Tomáš Kaberle, Czech hockey player
Sebastian Janikowski, American football player
March 3 – Tanishaa Mukerji, Indian actress
March 4 – Denis Dallan, Italian rugby union footballer
Sage Rosenfels, American football player
Mike Jackson, American politician
Didier Drogba, Ivorian footballer
Ha Jung-woo, South Korean actor and director
Neal Obermeyer, American editorial cartoonist
Claudio Sanchez, American writer and musician
Tom Danielson, American cyclist
Kenny Watson, American football player
Pieter van den Hoogenband, Dutch swimmer
Carl Johan Bergman, Swedish biathlete
Moon Hee-joon, Korean singer
March 15 – Flavio Furtado, Cape Verdean boxer
Matthew Montgomery, American actor
Brooke Burns, American fashion model and actress
Pilar Rubio, Spanish reporter and TV presenter
Patrick Seitz, American voice actor
Antonio Margarito, Mexican-American boxer
Yoshie Takeshita, Japanese volleyball player
March 21 – Rani Mukerji, Indian actress
Josh Heupel, American football player and coach
Vanessa Senior, Venezuelan comedian and actress.
Nicholle Tom, American actress
Perez Hilton, American actor and blogger
March 24 – Tomáš Ujfaluši, Czech footballer
March 27 – Romesh Ranganathan, English-Pakistani comedian and actor
March 29 – Igor Rakočević, Serbian basketball player
April
Matthew Goode, English actor
Tommy Haas, German tennis player
John Smit, South African rugby union player
Franziska van Almsick, German swimmer
Arnaud Tournant, French track cyclist
Tim Hasselbeck, American football player
Myleene Klass, British singer, pianist, and model
Martín Méndez, Uruguayan musician and songwriter
Lauren Ridloff, African-American actress
Duncan James, English singer
Adrienne Haan, German-Luxembourgish actress, singer, writer and producer
Jorge Andrade, Portuguese footballer
Takashi Ohara, Japanese voice actor
Rachel Stevens, English singer
April 10 – Rokhaya Diallo, French writer and filmmaker
Guy Berryman, Scottish musician
Cheeming Boey, Malaysian artist
Riley Smith, American actor
Kyle Howard, American television and movie actor
Sylvie Meis, Dutch model and television host
April 15 – Luis Fonsi, Puerto Rican singer and songwriter
Lara Dutta, Indian actress and beauty queen
Matthew Lloyd, Australian rules footballer
Juan Guillermo Castillo, Uruguayan goalkeeper
Jason White, Scottish rugby union player
James Franco, American actor
Gabriel Heinze, Argentine football player and coach
Matthew Wilkas, American actor, playwright and reality television personality
Matt Austin, Canadian actor
Alessandro Rigotti, Italian voice actor
April 21 – Jukka Nevalainen, Finnish drummer
April 25 – Duncan Kibet, Kenyan long-distance runner
Stana Katic, Canadian-American actress
Shinnosuke Tachibana, Japanese voice actor
Bob and Mike Bryan, American doubles tennis team
Tyler Labine, Canadian actor
May
Daisuke Ono, Japanese voice actor
Ognjen Jovanić, Croatian chess grandmaster
Tony Estanguet, French slalom canoeist
Aleksandr Fyodorov, Russian bodybuilder
Kenan Thompson, African-American actor and comedian
Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco, former princess consort of Morocco
Laetitia Casta, French supermodel and actress
Judy Ann Santos, Filipino actress
Hossein Rezazadeh, Iranian weightlifter
Jason Biggs, American actor
Aya Ishiguro, Japanese singer, writer, and fashion designer
Malin Åkerman, Swedish-Canadian actress
May 13 – Barry Zito, American baseball player
May 14 – Elisa Togut, Italian volleyball player
Dwayne De Rosario, Canadian soccer player
Caroline Dhavernas, French-Canadian actress
Krzysztof Ignaczak, Polish volleyball player
May 16 – Lionel Scaloni, Argentine football coach and former football player
Ricardo Carvalho, Portuguese footballer
Cindy Parlow Cone, American soccer player
May 19 – Marcus Bent, English footballer
Katie Price (Jordan), English model and television personality
Ginnifer Goodwin, American actress
May 25 – Adam Gontier, Canadian singer
Jake Johnson, American actor and comedian
Rufa Mae Quinto, Filipina actress and comedian
Tomohiko Ito, Japanese footballer
Pelle Almqvist, Swedish singer-songwriter
Sébastien Grosjean, French tennis player
May 30 – Lyoto Machida, Brazilian mixed martial artist
May 31 – Sara Duterte, 15th Vice President of the Philippines
June
June 1 – Antonietta Di Martino, Italian high-jumper
Nikki Cox, American actress
Dominic Cooper, English actor
Justin Long, American actor
Simone Maludrottu, Italian boxer
Scott Cawthon, video game developer, creator of the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise
June 5 – Nick Kroll, American actor and comedian
Konstantīns Konstantinovs, Latvian powerlifter (d. 2018)
Mariana Popova, Bulgarian singer
Judith Barsi, American child actress (d. 1988)
Mini Andén, Swedish model
Bill Hader, American actor and comedian
Maria Menounos, American actress, journalist, and television presenter
Eun Ji-won, South Korean rapper and singer
Michaela Conlin, American actress
Miroslav Klose, German footballer
Matt Bellamy, British musician and singer
Han Hee-won, South Korean golfer
Subhash Khot, Indian-American mathematician and computer scientist
DJ Qualls, American actor, producer, and model
Shane West, American actor
June 11 – Joshua Jackson, Canadian actor
Faizal Yusof, Malaysian actor (d. 2011)
Vishwananda, Hindu guru
June 14 – Nikola Vujčić, Croatian basketball player and team manager of Maccabi Tel Aviv
June 15 – Wilfred Bouma, Dutch footballer
June 16 – Daniel Brühl, German actor
June 18 – Tara Platt, American actress and author
Mía Maestro, Argentine actress
Dirk Nowitzki, German basketball player
Zoe Saldaña, American actress
June 20 – Frank Lampard, English footballer
Thomas Blondeau, Belgian writer (d. 2013)
Ignacio Corleto, Argentine rugby union player
Erica Durance, Canadian actress
Jean-Pascal Lacoste, French singer, actor and television host
Diederik Boomsma, Dutch politician
Tim Driesen, Belgian actor
Dan Wheldon, English racing driver (d. 2011)
Gladys Reyes, Filipino actress
Frédéric Leclercq, French musician
Emppu Vuorinen, Finnish musician
Juan Román Riquelme, Argentine footballer
Shunsuke Nakamura, Japanese footballer
Aramis Ramírez, Dominican baseball player
Aftab Shivdasani, Indian actor
Daniel Constantin, Romanian politician
Cristian Lucchetti, Argentine footballer
Luke Kirby, Canadian actor
Nicole Scherzinger, American singer
Steve Savidan, French footballer
July
Aleki Lutui, Tongan rugby player
Liu Kwok Man, Chinese footballer
Mark Hunter, British rower
Ganesh, Indian actor and television presenter
Diana Gurtskaya, Georgian singer
Jüri Ratas, Estonian politician and 18th Prime Minister of Estonia
Ian Anthony Dale, American actor
Jesse Leach, American vocalist
Mizuki Noguchi, Japanese long-distance runner
July 4 – Becki Newton, American actress
Andreas Baum, German politician
Nandamuri Kalyan Ram, Indian actor and film producer
Danil Khalimov, Kazakh Greco-Roman wrestler
Tia and Tamera Mowry, African-American actresses
Chris Andersen, American basketball player
DJ Manian, German music producer and DJ
July 8 – Erin Morgenstern, American artist and author
Mark Medlock, German singer
Linda Park, Korean-born actress
Gulnara Samitova-Galkina, Russian middle-distance runner
Ray Kay, Norwegian director and photographer
Jesse Lacey, American singer-songwriter
Kim Kang-woo, South Korean actor
Mattias Gustafsson, Swedish handball player
Topher Grace, American actor
Michelle Rodriguez, American actress
July 13 – Gary David, Filipino professional basketball player
July 14 – Roger Clark, American actor
Matt Mitrione, American mixed martial artist
Greg Sestero, French-American actor and model
July 16 – Ahmede Hussain, Bangladeshi writer
Panda Bear, American musician
Justine Triet, French film director and screenwriter
Shane Horgan, Irish rugby player
Virginia Raggi, Italian lawyer, politician
Joo Sang-wook, South Korean actor
Vladimir Tintor, Serbian film actor
Pavel Datsyuk, Russian ice hockey player
Tamsyn Manou, Australian athlete
Josh Hartnett, American actor
Kyoko Iwasaki, Japanese swimmer
A. J. Cook, Canadian actress
Kyōko Hasegawa, Japanese model and actress
Dennis Rommedahl, Danish footballer
July 23 – Stefanie Sun, Singapore singer
Louise Brown, British citizen, first human born through in vitro fertilisation
Gerard Warren, American football player
Asma Lamnawar, Moroccan singer
Jehad Muntasser, Libyan footballer
Eve Myles, Welsh actress
Mine Tugay, Turkish actress
Hitomi Yaida, Japanese singer
July 29 – Ayşe Hatun Önal, Turkish singer, actress, model and beauty pageant
Abelardo de la Espriella, Colombian politician, President of Colombia (2026-present)
Nick Sorensen, American football player and sportscaster
July – Caucher Birkar, born Fereydoun Derakhshani, Kurdish-born mathematician
August
August 1 – Oliver Dowden, British politician
August 3 – Mariusz Jop, Polish football player and coach
August 4 – Kurt Busch, American race car driver
Carolina Duer, Argentine boxer
Harel Levy, Israeli tennis player
Marisa Miller, American supermodel
Peng Cheng-min, Taiwanese baseball player
Alexandre Aja, French director
Vanness Wu, Taiwanese singer
Natsuko Kuwatani, Japanese voice actress
Louis Saha, French footballer
August 10 – Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, Indonesian politician and former military officer
August 11 – Leszek Laszkiewicz, Polish ice hockey player and executive
Jennie Eisenhower, American actress
Kerri Walsh Jennings, American beach volleyball player
Vibeke Stene, Norwegian rock singer
Jelena Karleuša, Serbian pop singer
August 18 – Andy Samberg, American actor and comedian
Reuben Droughns, American football player
Alan Lee, Irish footballer
Vitaliy Balytskyi, Ukrainian football player and manager (d. 2018)
James Corden, British comedian and television personality
August 23 – Kobe Bryant, American basketball player (d. 2020)
August 25 – Kel Mitchell, American actor, stand-up comedian, musician, singer, and rapper
August 26 – Amanda Schull, American actress
August 27 – Suranne Jones, English actress
Pablo Echenique, Argentine born-Spanish politician
Kelly Overton, American actress
Sam Wills, New Zealand comic
August 29 – Danielle Hampton, Canadian actress
Ido Pariente, Israeli mixed martial artist
Jennifer Ramírez Rivero, Venezuelan model and businesswoman (d. 2018)
September
September 1 – Manju Warrier, Indian actress
September 2 – Tatiana Okupnik, Polish singer and composer
September 3 – Tinkara Kovač, Slovenian singer and musician
Wes Bentley, American actor
Frederik Veuchelen, Belgian cyclist
September 5 – Chris Hipkins, New Zealand Prime Minister
Mathew Horne, English actor
Homare Sawa, Japanese footballer
Peter van Huffel, Canadian jazz musician
September 7 – Devon Sawa, Canadian actor
September 9 – Gina Gogean, Romania artistic gymnast
Ed Reed, American football player
Ben Lee, Australian singer
Yevgeny Popov, Russian politician and journalist
Else-Marthe Sørlie Lybekk, Norwegian handball player
Dejan Stanković, Serbian football player and coach
Ruben Studdard, American singer
Ben McKenzie, American actor
September 13 – Megan Henning, American actress
Ben Cohen, English rugby union player
Ron DeSantis, American politician, 46th Governor of Florida
Carmen Kass, Estonian supermodel
September 15 – Eiður Guðjohnsen, Icelandic football player
September 16 – Stephanie Murphy, American politician
September 18 – Billy Eichner, American actor and comedian
September 19 – Mariano Puerta, Argentine tennis player
Jason Bay, Canadian baseball player
Patrizio Buanne, Italian singer
Sarit Hadad, Israeli pop singer
Doug Howlett, New Zealand rugby union player
Josh Thomson, American mixed martial artist
Alaine Laughton, Jamaican American singer
September 22 – Harry Kewell, Australian footballer
Anthony Mackie, American actor
Worm Miller, American screenwriter, director and actor
Keri Lynn Pratt, American actress
September 24 – Wietse van Alten, Dutch archer
Jodie Kidd, English model
Rossif Sutherland, Canadian actor
September 27 – Ani Lorak, Ukrainian singer
Dane Boedigheimer, American Internet personality
Pastora Soler, Spanish singer
September 29 – Kurt Nilsen, Norwegian singer
Candice Michelle, American professional wrestler and model
Daniel Grossberg, American politician
October
October 1 – Katie Aselton, American actress
October 2 – Ayumi Hamasaki, Japanese singer
Jake Shears, American singer and songwriter
Claudio Pizarro, Peruvian footballer
Gerald Asamoah, German footballer
Christian Coulson, English actor
Shannyn Sossamon, American actress
Dana Davis, American actress
Mark Day, Canadian actor
Phillip Glasser, American actor and producer
Kei Horie, Japanese actor
Shane Ryan, Irish Gaelic footballer
James Valentine, American musician
October 6 – Ricky Hatton, British professional boxer (d. 2025)
October 9 – Nicky Byrne, Irish musician (Westlife)
Caroline Evers-Swindell, New Zealand sailor
Georgina Evers-Swindell, New Zealand sailor
Paul Hunter, English snooker player (d. 2006)
Usher, American singer and actor
October 15 – Boško Balaban, Croatian footballer
Isabel Díaz Ayuso, Spanish politician
Pablo Iglesias Turrión, Spanish politician
Tomohiko Ito, Japanese anime director
Michael Johns, Australian singer (d. 2014)
Kira, German singer
Dionne Quan, American voice actress
Virender Sehwag, Indian cricketer
October 21 – Joey Harrington, American football player
October 24 – Carlos Edwards, Trinidadian footballer
Russell Anderson, Scottish footballer
Zachary Knighton, American actor
David T. Little, American composer and drummer
October 26 – CM Punk, American professional wrestler
David Walton, American actor
Vanessa-Mae, Singaporean violinist
Byron Donalds, American politician
Marta Etura, Spanish actress
Justin Guarini, American singer
October 29 – Travis Henry, American football player
October 30 – Matthew Morrison, American actor and singer
November
Jessica Valenti, American blogger and writer
Mary Kate Schellhardt, American actress
November 4 – Shaun Berrigan, Australian rugby league player
Bubba Watson, American golfer
Xavier Tondo, Spanish cyclist (d. 2011)
Nicole Dubuc, American actress and writer
Taryn Manning, American actress
Sandrine Blancke, Belgian actress
Mohamed Aboutrika, Egyptian footballer
Zaheer Khan, Indian cricketer
Moses Michael Levi Barrow (born Jamal Michael Barrow), better known by his stage name Shyne, Belizean rapper and politician
Ali Karimi, Iranian football player
November 9 – Sisqó, American actor and singer
Nadine Angerer, German footballer
Kyla Cole, Czech model
Diplo, American DJ and music producer
Eve, African-American rapper
Destra Garcia, female Trinidadian soca singer
November 12 – Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Pakistani journalist, activist and filmmaker
November 13 – Hsu Wei Lun, Taiwanese actress (d. 2007)
Bobby Allen, American ice hockey player
Xavier Nady, American baseball player
Rachel McAdams, Canadian actress
Reggie Wayne, American football player
Damien Johnson, Northern Irish footballer
Aldo Montano, Italian fencer
Ebru Özkan, Turkish actress
November 19 – Mahé Drysdale, New Zealand rower
November 22 – Karen O, American singer-songwriter and musician
November 23 – Destin Daniel Cretton, American film director
November 24 – Katherine Heigl, American actress
November 25 – Shiina Ringo, Japanese singer and musician
November 26 – Jun Fukuyama, Japanese voice actor
Mike Skinner, English musician
Radek Štěpánek, Czech tennis player
Clay Aiken, American singer-songwriter and author
Gael García Bernal, Mexican actor
Robert Kirkman, American comic book writer
December
Stefan Kapičić, Serbian actor
Jen Psaki, American television political analyst and former government official
Nelly Furtado, Portuguese-Canadian singer and songwriter
Alo Kõrve, Estonian actor
December 4 – Lars Bystøl, Norwegian ski jumper
Neil Druckmann, Israeli-American video game writer and programmer, founder of Naughty Dog
Olli Jokinen, Finnish ice hockey player
December 7 – Shiri Appleby, American actress
December 8 – Ian Somerhalder, American actor
December 9 – Gastón Gaudio, Argentine tennis player
December 10 – Summer Phoenix, American actress
December 11 – Courtney Henggeler, American former actress
December 12 – Monica Bîrlădeanu, Romanian actress
December 14 – Patty Schnyder, Swiss tennis player
December 16 – Veronica Schneider, Venezuelan actress and model
Riteish Deshmukh, Indian actor, architect, producer and entrepreneur
Manny Pacquiao, Filipino boxer and politician
Daniel Cleary, Canadian ice hockey player
Josh Dallas, American actor
Katie Holmes, American actress
December 19 – Patrick Casey, American screenwriter and actor
Geremi, Cameroon footballer
Jacqueline Saburido, Venezuelan-American social activist (d. 2019)
December 21 – Shaun Morgan, South African musician and singer-songwriter
Edo Maajka, Bosnian rapper
Emmanuel Olisadebe, Polish-Nigerian footballer
Joanne Kelly, Canadian actress
Víctor Martínez, Venezuelan baseball player
Estella Warren, Canadian swimmer, model, and actress
December 24 – Yıldıray Baştürk, Turkish footballer
Paula Seling, Romanian singer and radio DJ
Jeremy Strong, American actor
Miyuki Takahashi, Japanese volleyball player
December 26 – Kaoru Sugayama, Japanese volleyball player
Feng Kun, Chinese volleyball player
John Legend, African-American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor
Alexis Amore, Peruvian actress, dancer, and model
Angelo Taylor, American athlete
Tyrese Gibson, African-American singer, songwriter, rapper, actor, model, and screenwriter
Inferno, Polish musician
December 31 – Yulia Barsukova, Russian rhythmic gymnast
Deaths
Nobel Prizes
Physics – Pyotr Kapitsa, Arno Allan Penzias, Robert Woodrow Wilson
Peace – Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin
References