Wikipedia / 1955
Wikipedia / 1955
Events
January
January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama.
January 7 – Marian Anderson is the first African-American singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut.
January 18–20 – Battle of Yijiangshan Islands: The Chinese Communist People's Liberation Army seizes the islands from the Republic of China (Taiwan).
January 22 – In the United States, The Pentagon announces a plan to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), armed with nuclear weapons.
January 23 – The Sutton Coldfield rail crash kills 17, near Birmingham, England.
January 25 – The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union announces the end of the war between the USSR and Germany, which began during World War II in 1941.
January 28 – The United States Congress authorizes President Dwight D. Eisenhower to use force to protect Taiwan from the People's Republic of China.
February
February 10 – The United States Seventh Fleet helps the Republic of China evacuate the Chinese Nationalist army and residents from the Tachen Islands to Taiwan.
February 16 – Nearly 100 die in a fire at a home for the elderly in Yokohama, Japan.
February 19 – The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) is established, at a meeting in Bangkok.
February 22 – In Chicago's Democratic primary, Mayor Martin H. Kennelly loses to the head of the Cook County Democratic Party, Richard J. Daley, 364,839 to 264,077.
February 24 – The Baghdad Pact (CENTO), originally known as Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), is signed between Iraq and Turkey.
March
March 2 – Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old African-American girl, refuses to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, to a white woman after the driver demands it. She is carried off the bus backwards, while being kicked, handcuffed and harassed on the way to the police station. She becomes a plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle (1956), which rules bus segregation to be unconstitutional.
March 20 – The movie adaptation of Evan Hunter's novel Blackboard Jungle premieres in the United States, featuring the famous single "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets. Teenagers jump from their seats to dance to the song.
April
April 1 – EOKA starts a resistance campaign against British rule in the Crown colony of Cyprus.
Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, due to ill-health, at the age of 80.
Richard J. Daley defeats Robert Merrian to become Mayor of Chicago, by a vote of 708,222 to 581,555.
April 6 – Anthony Eden becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
The Taiwanese Kuomintang put a bomb on the airplane Kashmir Princess, killing 16 but failing to assassinate the People's Republic of China leader, Zhou Enlai.
Taekwondo, a form of Korean martial arts, is officially recognized in South Korea. A board convened by General Choi Hong Hi, including master instructors, historians and societal leaders, officially adopts the name Taekwon-Do for the unified Korean martial art.
April 12 – The Salk polio vaccine, having passed large-scale trials earlier in the United States, receives full approval by the Food and Drug Administration.
April 15 – The first franchised McDonald's restaurant is opened by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois.
April 16 – The Burma–Japan Peace Treaty, signed in Rangoon on November 5, 1954, comes into effect, formally ending a state of war between the two countries.
April 17 – Imre Nagy, the communist Premier of Hungary, is ousted for being too moderate.
April 18–24 – The Asian-African Conference is held in Bandung, Indonesia.
May
May 5 – West Germany becomes a sovereign country, recognized by Western countries such as France, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.
May 6 – The Western European Union Charter becomes effective.
May 7 – Newcastle United F.C. beat Manchester City F.C. 3–1 to win the 1955 FA Cup final in English Association football.
May 9 – West Germany joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
May 11 – Japanese National Railways' ferry Shiun Maru sinks after a collision with sister ship Uko Maru, in thick fog off Takamatsu, Shikoku, in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan; 166 passengers (many children) and 2 crew members are killed. This event is influential in plans to construct the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge (built 1986–98).
May 14 – Eight Communist Bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, sign a mutual defence treaty in Warsaw, Poland, that is called the Warsaw Pact (it will be dissolved in 1991).
The Austrian State Treaty, which restores Austria's national sovereignty, is concluded between the 4 occupying powers following World War II (the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and France) and Austria, setting it up as a neutral country.
Lionel Terray and Jean Couzy become the first people to reach the summit of Makalu, the fifth-highest mountain in the world, on the 1955 French Makalu expedition. The entire team of climbers reaches the summit over the next two days.
May 18 – Free movement of residents between North and South Vietnam ends.
May 25 – Joe Brown and George Band are the first to climb Kangchenjunga in the Himalayas, as part of the British Kangchenjunga expedition led by Charles Evans.
June
June 7 – The television quiz program The $64,000 Question premieres on CBS-TV in the United States, with Hal March as the host.
June 11 – Le Mans disaster: Eighty-three people are killed and at least 100 are injured after two race cars collide in the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans.
June 13 – Mir mine, the first diamond mine in the Soviet Union, is discovered.
June 26 – The Freedom Charter of the anti-apartheid South African Congress Alliance is adopted, at a Congress of the People in Kliptown.
June 30 – The Simonstown Agreement provides for control of the naval base at Simon's Town in the Union of South Africa to transfer from the British Royal Navy to the South African Navy.
July
July 7 – The New Zealand Special Air Service is formed.
July 13 – Ruth Ellis is hanged for murder in London, becoming the last woman ever to be executed in the United Kingdom.
The Disneyland theme park opens in Anaheim, California, an event broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company television network.
The first atomic-generated electrical power is sold commercially, partially powering Arco, Idaho, from the U.S. National Reactor Testing Station; on July 18, Schenectady, New York, receives power from a prototype nuclear submarine reactor at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory.
July 18 Illinois Governor William Stratton signs the Loyalty Oath Act, that mandates all public employees take a loyalty oath to the State of Illinois and the United States or lose their jobs.
July 18–23 – Geneva Summit between the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom and France.
July 27 – El Al Flight 402 from Vienna (Austria) to Tel Aviv, via Istanbul, is shot down over Bulgaria. All 58 passengers and crewmen aboard the Lockheed Constellation are killed.
July 28 – The first Interlingua Congress is held in Tours, France, leading to the foundation of the Union Mundial pro Interlingua.
August
August 1 – The prototype Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft first flies, in Nevada.
The First Sudanese Civil War begins.
The first meeting of the Organization of Central American States (, ODECA) is held, in Antigua Guatemala.
August 19 – Hurricane Diane hits the northeastern United States, killing over 200 people and causing over $1billion in damage.
August 20 – Hundreds of people are killed in anti-French rioting in Morocco and Algeria.
August 22 – Eleven schoolchildren are killed when their school bus is hit by a freight train in Spring City, Tennessee.
August 25 – The last Soviet Army forces leave Austria.
August 26 – Satyajit Ray's film Pather Panchali is released in India.
August 27 – The first edition of the Guinness Book of Records is published, in London.
August 28 – Black 14-year-old Emmett Till is lynched and shot in the head for allegedly whistling at a white woman in Money, Mississippi; his white murderers, Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam, are acquitted by an all-white jury.
September
September 2 – Under the guidance of Dr. Humphry Osmond, Christopher Mayhew ingests 400mg of mescaline hydrochloride and allows himself to be filmed as part of a Panorama special for BBC TV in the U.K. that is never broadcast.
September 3 – Little Richard records "Tutti Frutti" in New Orleans; it is released in October.
September 6 – Istanbul pogrom: Istanbul's Greek minority is the target of a government-sponsored pogrom.
September 10 – The long-running Western television series Gunsmoke debuts, on the CBS network in the United States.
September 14 – Pope Pius XII elevates many of the apostolic vicariates in Africa to Metropolitan Archdioceses.
September 15 – Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in Paris, by Olympia Press.
The military coup to unseat President Juan Perón of Argentina is launched at midnight.
A Soviet Navy Zulu-class submarine becomes the first to launch a ballistic missile.
September 18 – The United Kingdom formally annexes the uninhabited Atlantic island of Rockall.
September 19–21 – President of Argentina Juan Perón is ousted in a military coup.
September 19 – Hurricane Hilda kills about 200 people in Mexico.
September 21–30 – Hurricane Janet, one of the strongest North Atlantic tropical cyclones on record, sweeps the Lesser Antilles and Mexico, causing more than 1,020 deaths.
September 22 – Commercial television starts in the United Kingdom with the Independent Television Authority's first ITV franchises beginning broadcasting in London, ending the BBC monopoly.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, president of the United States, suffers a coronary thrombosis while on vacation in Denver, Colorado. Vice President Nixon assumed administrative duties and presided over Cabinet and National Security Council meetings while Eisenhower recovers.
Founder of Swiss watchmaker Glycine Watch SA, Eugène Meylan, age 64, is murdered.
September 30 – Actor James Dean is killed when his automobile collides with another car at a highway junction, near Cholame, California.
October
October 2 – Alfred Hitchcock Presents debuts on the CBS TV network in the United States.
October 3 – The Mickey Mouse Club debuts on the ABC-TV network in the United States.
Captain Kangaroo debuts on CBS network in the United States.
October 4 – The Reverend Sun Myung Moon is released from prison in Seoul, South Korea.
October 5 – Disneyland Hotel opens to the public in Anaheim, California.
October 11 – 70-mm film for projection is introduced, with the theatrical release of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical film, Oklahoma!.
October 14 – The Organization of Central American States secretariat is inaugurated.
After the last Allied troops have left Austria, and following the provisions of the Austrian Independence Treaty, the country declares its permanent neutrality.
Ngô Đình Diệm proclaims Vietnam to be a republic, with himself as its President (following the State of Vietnam referendum on October 23), and forms the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.
October 27 – The film Rebel Without a Cause, starring James Dean, is released in the United States.
October 29 – Soviet battleship Novorossiysk explodes at moorings in Sevastopol Bay, killing 608 (the Soviet Union's worst naval disaster to date).
November
Official start date of the Vietnam War between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and Republic of Vietnam; the north is allied with the Viet Cong.
A time bomb explodes in the cargo hold of United Airlines Flight 629, a Douglas DC-6B, over Longmont, Colorado, killing all 39 passengers and 5 crew members on board.
November 3 – The Rimutaka Tunnel opens on the New Zealand Railways, at 5.46mi (8.79km), the longest in the Southern Hemisphere at this time.
November 15 – The Democratic Party of Japan and Japan Liberal Party merge to form the Japan Liberal Democratic Party, beginning the "1955 System".
November 19 – C. Northcote Parkinson first propounds 'Parkinson's law', in The Economist.
November 23 – The Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean are transferred from British to Australian control.
November 26 – The British Governor of Cyprus declares a state of emergency on the island.
December
December 1 – In Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refuses to obey bus driver James F. Blake's order that she give up her seat to make room for a white passenger, and is arrested, leading to the Montgomery bus boycott.
December 4 – The International Federation of Blood Donor Organizations is founded in Luxembourg.
The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge, to become the AFL–CIO.
The Montgomery Improvement Association is formed in Montgomery, Alabama, by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and other Black ministers to coordinate the Montgomery bus boycott by Black people.
December 9 – Adnan Menderes of DP forms the new government of Turkey (22nd government).
December 10 – 1955 Australian federal election: Robert Menzies' Liberal/Country Coalition Government is re-elected with a substantially increased majority, defeating the Labor Party led by H. V. Evatt. This election comes in the immediate aftermath of the devastating split in the Labor Party, which leads to the formation of the Democratic Labor Party. The DLP will preference against Labor, and keep the Coalition in office until 1972.
The Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River, in New York State, opens to traffic.
Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Nepal, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Sri Lanka join the United Nations simultaneously, after several years of moratorium on admitting new members that began during the Korean War.
December 19 – Australian comedian Barry Humphries first introduces his character Edna Everage on stage in Melbourne.
December 20 – Cardiff is declared by the British Government as the capital of Wales.
December 22 – American cytogeneticist Joe Hin Tjio discovers the correct number of human chromosomes, forty-six.
General Motors becomes the first American corporation to make a profit of over 1billion dollars in 1 year.
Austria becomes independent, under terms of the May 15 Austrian State Treaty.
World population
World population: 2,755,823,000
Africa: 246,746,000
Asia: 1,541,947,000
Europe: 575,184,000
South America: 190,797,000
North America: 186,884,000
Oceania: 14,265,000
Births
January
Mary Beard, English classicist
Simon Schaffer, English historian of science and philosophy
Mulatu Teshome, Ethiopian politician and 8th President of Ethiopia
January 4 Mark Hollis, English musician (d. 2019)
January 5 – Mamata Banerjee, Indian politician, Chief Minister of West Bengal
January 6 – Rowan Atkinson, English comic actor
January 7 Belinda Meuldijk, Dutch actress
Michiko Kakutani, American literary critic
J. K. Simmons, American actor
January 10 – Michael Schenker, German guitarist (Scorpions, UFO, Michael Schenker Group)
Paul Kelly, Australian musician
Jay McInerney, American writer
January 15 – Andreas Gursky, German photographer
Steve Earle, American crossover singer-songwriter
Katalin Karikó, Hungarian-born biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate
Kevin Costner, American actor, producer and director
Frankie Knuckles, American disk jockey and record producer (d. 2014)
Marilyn Mazur, Danish percussionist
Sir Simon Rattle, English orchestral conductor
Paul Rodriguez, Mexican American actor and comedian
January 20 – McKeeva Bush, Caymanian politician
January 21 – Jeff Koons, American artist
January 22 – Sonja Morgenstern, German figure skater
January 25 – Olivier Assayas, French film director
Eddie Van Halen, Dutch-American rock musician (Van Halen) (d. 2020)
Lucía Méndez, Mexican film actress
January 27 – John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States
Vinod Khosla, Indian-born American venture capitalist
January 30 – Mychal Thompson, Bahamian basketball player
January 31 – Virginia Ruzici, Romanian tennis player
February
February 2 Leszek Engelking, Polish poet, writer and translator (d. 2022)
February 3 Izzeldin Abuelaish, Canadian-Palestinian doctor and author
February 5 Mary Chen, Taiwanese environmentalist and politician
February 6 – Irinej Dobrijević, American-born Serbian Bishop of Australia and New Zealand
February 7 Miguel Ferrer, American actor (d. 2017)
Janusz Cisek, Polish historian (d. 2020)
Jim Neidhart, American professional wrestler (d. 2018)
John Grisham, American novelist
Ethan Phillips, American actor
Xu Bing, Chinese artist
Pablo Borges Delgado, Cuban artist
Jayarathna Herath, Sri Lankan politician, cabinet minister, MP (2000–2024)
Greg Norman, Australian golfer
Guillermo Francella, Argentine actor
Mitsuhisa Taguchi, Japanese footballer (d. 2019)
Janice Dickinson, American model, photographer, author and talent agent
Christopher McDonald, American actor
February 16 – Bradley Byrne, American business attorney and politician, Alabama
February 17 Mo Yan, Chinese writer
Jeff Daniels, American actor
Siri Hustvedt, American novelist
February 20 – Mack Wilberg, American composer
February 21 – Kelsey Grammer, American actor and comedian
February 22 – David Axelrod, American political analyst
February 23 – Flip Saunders, American basketball coach (d. 2015)
Deborah Coyne, Canadian constitutional lawyer
Steve Jobs, American businessman and founder of Apple Computer (d. 2011)
Alain Prost, French four-time Formula 1 world champion
February 25 Leann Hunley, American television actress
February 27 – Grady Booch, American software engineer
February 28 Gilbert Gottfried, American stand-up comedian and actor (d. 2022)
March
Sir Timothy Laurence, English vice admiral and second husband of Anne, Princess Royal
Denis Mukwege, Congolese gynecologist, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
March 2 – Shoko Asahara, Japanese cult leader (Aum Shinrikyo) (d. 2018)
March 3 – Kent Derricott, Canadian TV personality in Japan
Dominique Pinon, French actor
Tim Costello, Australian Baptist minister
Julien Dray, French politician
Penn Jillette, American magician and comedian (Penn & Teller)
Deddy Mizwar, Indonesian politician, actor, movie Director
Wendy Boglioli, American Olympic gold medallist swimmer (1976)
Jay Ilagan, Filipino actor (d. 1992)
Cyprien Ntaryamira, Burundian politician, 5th President of Burundi (d. 1994)
Alberta Watson, Canadian actress (d. 2015)
Michael Jan Friedman, American novelist and comic book writer
Tommy Kramer, American football player
Ornella Muti, Italian actress
Franco Uncini, Italian motorcycle racer
Yousra, Egyptian actress and singer
Marianne Rosenberg, German singer
March 11 – Nina Hagen, German pop singer
March 12 – Richard Martini, American film director
Bruno Conti, Italian football player
Gail Grandchamp, American female boxer
Glenne Headly, American actress of film, stage and television (d. 2017)
Milovan Bojić, Serbian medical doctor, administrator and politician
Stephen R. Bissette, American comics artist
Daniel Bertoni, Argentine footballer
Nigel Biggar, British Anglican priest, theologian and ethicist
Robert Kabbas, Egyptian-born Australian Olympic silver medallist weightlifter
Dee Snider, American rock singer (Twisted Sister)
Bruno Barreto, Brazilian film director
Tina Beattie, British Christian theologian, writer and broadcaster
Jiro Watanabe, Japanese world super flyweight champion boxer
Bob Ley, American sports anchor and reporter
Petr Aven, Russian businessman, economist and politician
Michael L. Brown, American author and radio host
Cynthia McKinney, American politician, activist
Gary Sinise, American actor, producer and director
Mark Boone Junior, American character actor
Carlos Enrique Trinidad Gómez, Guatemalan Roman Catholic prelate (d. 2018)
Guillermo Dávila, Venezuelan actor and singer
Dwayne Murphy, American baseball player
Paul Chan Mo-po, Hong Kong politician and accountant
Pino Daniele, Italian music artist (d. 2015)
Bruce Willis, American actor
Simon Yam, Hong Kong actor
John Burnside, Scottish writer
Mike Coffman, American politician, businessman and veteran
Eric Schiller, American chess player and author (d. 2018)
Mariya Takeuchi, Japanese singer-songwriter
Jair Bolsonaro, Brazilian congressman and politician, 38th President of Brazil
Philippe Troussier, French football coach
Bärbel Wöckel, East German sprinter
Lena Olin, Swedish actress
Pete Sessions, American politician
Wally Badarou, French musician
Moses Malone, American basketball player (d. 2015)
Susan Schwab, American politician, who served under President George W. Bush as United States Trade Representative
Kim Johnston Ulrich, American actress
Candy Reynolds, American tennis player
Celâl Şengör, Turkish geologist
Wendy Larry, American head coach of the Old Dominion University Lady Monarchs women's basketball team
Daniel Boulud, French chef and restaurateur
Patty Brard, Dutch entertainer and entrepreneur of Indo descent
Danny Arndt, Canadian ice hockey player
Dean Dillon, American country musician and songwriter
Reba McEntire, American country singer and actress
John Alderdice, Northern Ireland politician
Earl Campbell, American football player
Margaret Cuomo, American radiologist
Brendan Gleeson, Irish actor
Christopher Lawford, American author, actor and activist (d. 2018)
Marina Sirtis, English actress
Henry Bellingham, British politician
Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Filipina film director (d. 2012)
Randy VanWarmer, American singer-songwriter (d. 2004)
Humberto Vélez, Mexican voice actor
Philip Dimitrov, Bulgarian politician
Angus Young, lead guitarist of Australian rock group AC/DC
April
April 1 – Ockie Oosthuizen, South African rugby union player (d. 2019)
Sirindhorn, Princess Royal of Thailand
Chellie Pingree, Democratic politician, Maine's 1st congressional district
April 3 – Mick Mars, American rock guitarist (Mötley Crüe)
Casey Biggs, American actor
John Bird, Canadian engineer, scientist and journalist
Akira Toriyama, Japanese manga artist (d. 2024)
Anthony Horowitz, English novelist and screenwriter
Lazarus Chakwera, Malawian politician and theologian, President of Malawi and minister of defence
April 6 – Michael Rooker, American actor
Bruno Zaremba, French footballer (d. 2018)
Grace Hightower, American philanthropist, actress and singer
Gregg Jarrett, American lawyer turned journalist
Akira Nishino, Japanese soccer player and manager
Werner Stocker, German actor (d. 1993)
Kane Hodder, American actor
Barbara Kingsolver, American fiction writer
Ricky Bell, American football player (d. 1984)
Glen Burtnik, American singer, songwriter, entertainer and multi-instrumentalist
April 9 – Kate Heyhoe, American food writer
April 10 – Philip J. Hanlon, American mathematician and computer science, 18th President of Dartmouth College
Kevin Brady, American politician, Texas's 8th congressional district
Michael Callen, American singer-songwriter, composer, author and AIDS activist (d. 1993)
Fred Ryan, chief executive officer of The Washington Post
Jean-Louis Aubert, French musician
Steve Camp, American Christian musician
Hideki Saijo, Japanese singer and actor (d. 2018)
José Alperovich, Argentine politician
Ole von Beust, German politician
Don Roos, American screenwriter
Binod Chaudhary, Nepalese billionaire businessman, politician and philanthropist
Tommy Castro, American blues guitarist
Dodi Fayed, Egyptian film producer (d. 1997)
Jeff Golub, American jazz guitarist (d. 2015)
DJ Kool Herc, Jamaican American DJ
Rob Bolland, Dutch musician, songwriter and music producer (Bolland & Bolland)
Pete Shelley, English punk rock singer-songwriter, musician (Buzzcocks) (d. 2018)
Dave VanDam, American voice actor and impressionist (d. 2018)
April 18 – Bobby Castillo, American baseball player (d. 2014)
April 19 – Ahmoo Angeconeb, Canadian Ojibwe artist (d. 2017)
Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Nigerian-born British photographer (d. 1989)
Svante Pääbo, Swedish evolutionary geneticist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Ebiet G. Ade, Indonesian singer and songwriter
Toninho Cerezo, Brazilian footballer and coach
Judy Davis, Australian actress
Ludovikus Simanullang, Indonesian Roman Catholic bishop (d. 2018)
Fumi Hirano, Japanese voice actress and essayist
Tony Miles, English chess player (d. 2001)
Paul J. McAuley, British botanist and science fiction author
April 24 – John de Mol, Dutch media tycoon
Karon O. Bowdre, United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
John Nunn, English chess player and mathematician
Parviz Parastui, Iranian actor
Chen Daoming, Chinese actor
Gisele Ben-Dor, Uruguayan-American-Israeli orchestra conductor
Rod Blum, American businessman and politician
James Risen, American Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and author
Eric Schmidt, American software engineer and businessman, CEO of Google (2001–2011)
Jing Yidan, Chinese television host
Saeb Erekat, Palestinian diplomat (d. 2020)
Eddie Jobson, English musician
William Kentridge, South African artist
Richard Epcar, American voice actor
Kate Mulgrew, American actress
Yūko Tanaka, Japanese actress
April 30 – Zlatko Topčić, Bosnian writer and screenwriter
May
May 1 – Julie Pietri, French singer
Willie Miller, Scottish footballer
Donatella Versace, Italian designer
Dave Winer, American software pioneer
Avram Grant, Israeli football manager
Robert Ellis Orrall, American singer
May 5 – Jon Butcher, American rock/blues songwriter, guitarist and freelance multimedia producer
Tom Bergeron, American television host
Kim Bullard, American keyboardist, songwriter, record producer and film composer
Peter Reckell, American actor
Alan Garber, American physician, health economist and academic
Betsy Baker, American actress
Danny Barber, American serial killer, necrophile and burglar (d. 1999)
Meles Zenawi, 10th Prime Minister of Ethiopia and 3rd President of Ethiopia (d. 2012)
Kevin Peter Hall, American actor (d. 1991)
Anne Sofie von Otter, Swedish mezzo-soprano
Chris Berman, American sports broadcaster
Mark David Chapman, American murderer of musician John Lennon
May 12 – Kix Brooks, American country artist, actor and producer
María Cecilia Botero, Colombian actress, television presenter and journalist
Garry Bushell, English columnist, journalist, television presenter, author, musician and political activist
Big Van Vader, American professional wrestler and football player (d. 2018)
Dave Hoover, American comic book artist and animator (d. 2011)
Robert Tapert, American television producer
Anatoly Antonov, Russian military official and diplomat
Mohamed Brahmi, Tunisian politician (assassinated 2013)
Brenda Sue Brown, American murdered child
Lee Horsley, American film, television and theater actor
Hege Skjeie, Norwegian political scientist and feminist (d. 2018)
Dean Corren, American politician and scientist (d. 2023)
Olga Korbut, Soviet gymnast
Olli Kortekangas, Finnish composer
Jack Morris, American baseball player
Richard Phillips, American merchant mariner and captain of the MV Maersk Alabama
Debra Winger, American actress
Edgar Bronfman Jr., American businessman, filmmaker, theater producer and media executive
Bill Paxton, American actor (d. 2017)
Chan Kong Choy, Malaysian politician and businessman
Chow Yun-fat, Hong Kong actor
Vincent Chin, Chinese-American draftsman murdered in a racially motivated assault (d. 1982)
Mark Staff Brandl, American and Swiss artist and art historian
James Gosling, Canadian software engineer
Th. Emil Homerin, American theologian
Fátima Bezerra, Brazilian politician
Diego Abatantuono, Italian actor
Steve George, American keyboardist and singer
Zbigniew Preisner, Polish film composer
Anton Corbijn, Dutch photographer and director
May 21 Sergei Shoigu, Russian politician, (Russian Defence Minister)
Chalmers Alford, American jazz guitarist (d. 2008)
Iva Davies, Australian singer and musician; lead singer of Icehouse
Dale Winton, English radio DJ and television presenter (d. 2018)
May 23 – Mary Black, Irish folk singer
May 24 – Rosanne Cash, American entertainer
Connie Sellecca, American actress
Alistair Burt, British politician
May 26 – Doris Dörrie, German actress and screenplay writer
May 27 – Richard Schiff, American actor and comedian
Károly Bezdek, Hungarian-Canadian mathematician
Geoffrey A. Landis, American aerospace engineer and author
John Hinckley Jr., attempted assassin of Ronald Reagan
Mike Porcaro, American bass guitarist (Toto) (d. 2015)
Brian Kobilka, American physiologist
Paresh Rawal, Indian actor
Jake Roberts, American professional wrestler and actor
Laura Baugh, American golfer
Tommy Emmanuel, Australian guitarist
Susie Essman, American actress
Lynne Truss, English writer
June
Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, Japanese sumo wrestler (58th Yokozuna grand champion) (d. 2016)
David Schultz, American professional wrestler
Suresh Angadi, Indian politician (d. 2020)
June 2 – Dana Carvey, American actor and comedian
Daniel Filmus, Argentine politician, member of the Chamber of Deputies of Argentina
Paul Stagg Coakley, American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church
Louis H. Schiff, retired American judge, law school professor.
Johnny Alegre, Filipino jazz guitarist
Precious, Canadian wrestling valet
Mary Testa, American film actress
June 5 – Fernando Borrego Linares, Cuban singer and songwriter (aka Polo Montañez)
Sandra Bernhard, American comedian, actress, author and singer
Chris Nyman, American baseball player
Jo Gilbert, English film producer and casting director (d. 2018)
Bob Beatty, American football coach
Tim Richmond, American race car driver (d. 1989)
Dean Sullivan, English actor and director (d. 2023)
William Forsythe, American actor
Jon Balke, Norwegian jazz pianist
Duke Aiona, 10th Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii
Tim Berners-Lee, English computer scientist and World Wide Web inventor
Griffin Dunne, American actor and director
José Antonio Camacho, Spanish footballer and manager
June 9 – Carlos Manuel Urzúa Macías, Mexican politician and academic (d. 2024)
Floyd Bannister, American baseball player
Andrew Stevens, American actor, producer and director
June 11 – Yuriy Sedykh, Ukrainian hammer thrower (d. 2021)
Jagadish Kumar, Indian Malayalam film actor
William Langewiesche, American author
June 13 – John E. Jones III, American justice
Tito Rojas, Puerto Rican salsa singer and songwriter (d. 2020)
Kim Lankford, American actress, businesswoman and horse wrangler
Paul O'Grady (also known as "Lily Savage"), English talk show host, comedian and drag queen (d. 2023)
István Levente Garai, Hungarian physician and politician (d. 2018)
Polly Draper, American actress, screenwriter, playwright, producer and director
, son of Robert F. Kennedy (d. 1984)
Julie Hagerty, American actress
Marjorie Agosín, Chilean-American writer and women's rights activist
Brent Anderson, American comics artist
Laurie Metcalf, American actress
Anatoly Chubais, Russian politician and economist
Sandy Allen, American, world's tallest woman (d. 2008)
Kevin Burns, American television and film producer, director and screenwriter (d. 2020)
June 20 – Tor Nørretranders, Danish author
Aloysius Amwano, Nauruan politician
Tim Bray, Canadian computer programmer
Jean-Pierre Mader, French singer-songwriter
Leigh McCloskey, American actor
Michel Platini, French football player and President of UEFA
June 22 – Choi Kyoung-hwan, South Korean politician; Prime Minister of South Korea
Jean Tigana, Malian-French international footballer
Glenn Danzig, American rock singer (The Misfits, Samhain, Danzig)
June 24 – Nobuhiro Kiyotaki, Japanese economist and professor
June 25 – Víctor Manuel Vucetich, Mexican footballer and manager
Gedde Watanabe, American actor and comedian
Yoko Gushiken, Japanese WBA light flyweight champion boxer
Mick Jones, English punk rock guitarist (The Clash)
Joey Baron, American avant-garde jazz drummer
June 27 – Isabelle Adjani, French actress
June 29 – Christopher A. Bray, American politician and businessman
Brian Burke, American-Canadian ice hockey executive
July
Augusto De Luca, Italian photographer
Sanma Akashiya, Japanese comedian and actor
Nikolai Demidenko, Russian born British classical pianist
John S. Chen, Hong Kong-American businessman
Christian Estrosi, French sportsman and politician
Li Keqiang, Premier of China (d. 2023)
Lisa Scottoline, American novelist
Andrew Divoff, Venezuelan actor
Stephen Walt, American political scientist
Sylvie Le Noach, French swimmer
Randy Burchell, Canadian ice hockey goaltender
Chau Giang, Vietnamese-born American poker player
Proceso Alcala, Filipino politician
Kim Carr, Australian politician
Bruce Altman, American actor
John Cramer, American game show announcer
Matt Keough, American baseball player (d. 2020)
Li Keqiang, Chinese economist and politician, premier of China (d. 2023)
Polly Apfelbaum, American contemporary visual artist
Eero Heinäluoma, Finnish politician
Víctor Reymundo Nájera, Mexican politician
Sebastian Barry, Irish playwright, novelist and poet
Shannon Bell, Canadian performance philosopher
Mia Couto, Mozambican writer
Muhammad Aslam Khan Raisani, Pakistani politician
Henry Lee Summer, American singer
Raúl Baduel, Venezuelan politician, general and defense minister (d. 2021)
Sherif Ismail, Prime Minister of Egypt (d. 2023)
Paul Bahoken, Cameroonian footballer
Rolf Saxon, American actor
Ludo Vika, Dominican actress
Vladislava Milosavljević, Serbian actress
Mihaela Mitrache, Romanian actress
Lindsey Graham, American politician, lawyer, U.S. Army soldier, U.S. Senator (R-Sc.) and unsuccessful 2016 presidential candidate (d. 2026)
Fred Norris, American radio personality
Jimmy Smits, American actor
Lisa Banes, American actress (d. 2021)
Herb Abrams, American wrestling promoter (d. 1996)
Andrea Bruce, Jamaican athlete
Vinnie Curto, American boxer
Ray Goff, American football player and coach
Dan Newhouse, American politician
Bernhard Caesar Einstein, Swiss-American engineer (d. 2008)
Balaji Sadasivan, Singaporean politician and neurosurgeon
Søren Sætter-Lassen, Danish actor
Timothy Garton Ash, English modern historian
Nina Gunke, Swedish actress
Tadashi Miyazawa, Japanese voice actor
F. Scott Hess, American artist
Jimmy LaFave, American singer-songwriter and folk musician (d. 2017)
Yoshitaka Tamba, Japanese actor
Mark Murphy, American football player and executive
Kathlene Contres, former United States Navy captain
July 14 – Ramon Jimenez Jr., Filipino attorney (d. 2020)
Željko Burić, Croatian politician and doctor
Didier Etumba, Congolese Army general
Pooran Prakash, Indian politician
Zohar Argov, Israeli singer (d. 1987)
Patrick Bernasconi, French business executive
Ritva Elomaa, Finnish female bodybuilding champion, pop singer and politician
Janet Huckabee, American politician
Saw Swee Leong, Malaysian badminton player
Janina Buzūnaitė-Žukaitienė, Lithuanian painter, poet, creator of accessories and metal sculptures
Fei Yu-ching, Taiwanese singer-songwriter
Sylvie Léonard, French-Canadian actress
Alvin Slaughter, American gospel singer-songwriter and worship leader
Paul Stamets, American mycologist and entrepreneur
Mike Bickle, American evangelical leader and founder of the International House of Prayer (IHOPKC)
Bernd Fasching, Austrian painter and sculptor
György Matolcsy, Hungarian politician and economist
Sergey Zimov, Russian geophysicist and creator of Pleistocene Park
July 19 – Karen Cheryl, French singer, actress, radio and television presenter
July 20 – Edgar Zambrano, Venezuelan lawyer and politician
Adrienne King, American actress
Dannel Malloy, American politician
Howie Epstein, American musician and producer (d. 2003)
Marcelo Bielsa, Argentine football manager
Taco (musician), Dutch musician, actor and entertainer
Gbenga Bareehu Ashafa, Nigerian politician
Willem Dafoe, American actor
Iman, Somalian model
Debra Austin, American ballet dancer
Michele Pillar, American Christian musician
Asif Ali Zardari, 11th President of Pakistan
Joseph Christopher, American serial killer and mass murderer (d. 1993)
July 27 – Allan Border, Australian cricketer
July 29 – Mohammad Barakeh, Israeli Arab politician
July 31 – Jakie Quartz, French singer
August
August 1 Tunde Adegbola, Nigerian scientist, musician, engineer, linguist and culture activist
John Battaglia, American convicted murderer (d. 2018)
Caleb Carr, American writer
Roger Cohen, British-American journalist and author
Corey Burton, American voice actor
Gordon Davies, Welsh footballer
Gerrie Coetzee, South African boxer, 1983–1984 WBA heavyweight champion.
Billy Bob Thornton, American actor, director and screenwriter
Alberto Gonzales, American lawyer and 80th United States Attorney General
Andrew M. Allen, American astronaut
Gordon J. Brand, English golfer (d. 2020)
Ron Davis, American baseball player
Earl "Chinna" Smith, Jamaican Reggae guitarist
Terry Finn, American actress
Wayne Knight, American actor and comedian
Vladimir Sorokin, Russian writer
Peter Barca, American politician
Doug Williams, American football quarterback
Sukhdev Singh Babbar, militant and co-leader of Babbar Khalsa (BK)
Udo Beyer, East German track and field athlete
Mel Tiangco, Filipina television anchor, journalist and humanitarian
Eddie Campbell, British comics artist and cartoonist
Ted Robbins, English comic, actor, television presenter and radio broadcaster
Hilary Beckles, Barbadian historian
Heintje Simons, Dutch singer and actor
Gish Jen, American fiction writer
August 17 – Richard Hilton, American businessman
Peter Gallagher, American actor
Terry Harper, American baseball player
Apisai Ielemia, 10th Prime Minister of Tuvalu (d. 2018)
Agnes Chan, Hong Kong-born TV personality in Japan
Luis Alberto Urrea, Mexican-American poet, novelist and essayist
Jay Acovone, American actor
Gloria Brame, American sexologist, writer and sex therapist
Chiranjeevi, Indian actor
Gordon Liu, Chinese actor
August 23 – Reuven Amitai, Israeli-American historian and writer
August 24 – Mike Huckabee, American politician, Governor and 2008 presidential candidate
August 25 – John McGeoch, Scottish rock guitarist (d. 2004)
Laura Fygi, Dutch singer
Diana Scarwid, American actress
Sergey Khlebnikov, Soviet speed skater (d. 1999)
Mayumi Muroyama, Japanese manga artist
Helge Schneider, comedian, jazz musician and multi-instrumentalist, author, film and theatre director
Jaime Aparicio Otero, Bolivian diplomat, lawyer and journalist
Anthony Coleman, American avant-garde jazz pianist
August 31 – Edwin Moses, American athlete
September
Billy Blanks, American martial artist; inventor of the Tae Bo exercise program
Bruce Foxton, English musician
Robert Duncan, American astrophysicist
Claus Kleber, German television journalist
Natalya Petrusyova, Soviet speed skater
Michelle Yim, Hong Kong actress
Linda Purl, American actress
David Broza, Israeli singer-songwriter and activist
Teodor Frunzeti, Romanian general
Hiroshi Izawa, Japanese actor
Raymond Benson, American author
Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, Ghanaian politician
Paul Cliteur, Dutch professor of jurisprudence, politician, philosopher, writer, publicist and columnist
September 7 – Efim Zelmanov, Russian mathematician
September 8 – Thad Altman, American politician
Edward Hibbert, English-American actor and literary agent
John Kricfalusi, Canadian cartoonist
Ivan Smirnov, Russian composer and guitar player (d. 2018)
Hiram Bullock, American jazz guitarist (d. 2008)
David Clendon, New Zealand politician
September 12 – Peter Scolari, American actor and comedian (d. 2021)
September 13 – Dan Ghica-Radu, Romanian general
Geraldine Brooks, Australian-American journalist and novelist
Daniella Levine Cava, American lawyer and politician
Pope Leo XIV, head of the Catholic Church
Željka Antunović, Croatian politician
Bruce Reitherman, American filmmaker and voice actor
Renzo Rosso, Italian clothing designer
Abdul Qadir, Pakistani cricketeer (d. 2019)
Iftach Alony, Israeli writer, poet and architect
Robin Yount, American baseball player
Jayati Ghosh, Indian development economist and professor
Đorđe Božović, Serbian criminal and paramilitary commander in the Yugoslav Wars (d. 1991)
Marina Lima, Brazilian singer and songwriter
Charles Martinet, American voice actor
Brendan O'Carroll, Irish actor and comedian
September 18 – Paul Butler, British Anglican bishop and Lord Spiritual of the House of Lords
Richard Burmer, American composer, sound designer and musician (d. 2006)
Henry Cuellar, American attorney and politician
Rebecca Blank, American economist and academic administrator (d. 2023)
Alain Manceau, French environmental mineralogist and biogeochemist
September 20 – Georg Christoph Biller, German choral conductor (d. 2022)
Candy Atherton, British politician (d. 2017)
Philip M. Breedlove, US Airforce general
François Cluzet, French film and theatre actor
Israel Katz, Israeli politician
John R. Adams, American judge and a United States district judge
John Brennan, American Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
September 24 – Lane Brody, American country music singer-songwriter
Zucchero Fornaciari, Italian singer-songwriter
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, German football player
Roni Horn, American visual artist and writer
Thelma Aldana, Guatemalan jurist and politician
Charles Burns, American cartoonist and illustrator
September 28 – Stéphane Dion, Canadian politician
Joe Donnelly, American politician
Gwen Ifill, American journalist (d. 2016)
Janet Arceo, Mexican actress, TV presenter, announcer, director and businesswoman (Doña Eduviges in El Chavo del Ocho)
Andy Bechtolsheim, German electrical engineer and co-founder of Sun Microsystems.
October
Howard Hewett, American singer-songwriter
P. B. Abdul Razak, Indian politician (d. 2018)
Philip Oakey, English synth-pop singer-songwriter (The Human League)
Bruce Blakeman, American politician and attorney
Tommy Wiseau, American film director and actor (The Room)
Salah Bachir, Canadian business executive, entrepreneur, publisher, art collector, fundraiser and philanthropist
October 4 – Dane Sorensen, New Zealand rugby league player
Bart D. Ehrman, American religious scholar and writer, specialist in textual criticism
Jean-Jacques Lafon, French singer-songwriter
Caroline Loeb, French singer and actress
Adair Turner, British businessman and academic
Tony Dungy, American football coach
Velma Scantlebury, Barbadian-born American surgeon
Wang Huning, Chinese politician
Claudio Gugerotti, Italian Catholic clergyman
Yo-Yo Ma, French-born Chinese American cellist
Toshimitsu Motegi, Japanese politician
Al Borges, American football coach
Bill Elliott, American racing driver
Darrell Hammond, American comedian (Saturday Night Live)
Hans-Peter Briegel, German footballer and manager
Norm Nixon, American basketball player
Haitham bin Tariq, Sultan and Prime Minister of Oman
Ante Gotovina, Croatian military officer
Pat DiNizio, American rock singer-songwriter (The Smithereens) (d. 2017)
Guy Cogeval, French art historian (d. 2025)
Sergei Shepelev, Russian ice hockey player
Matthias Herrmann, German musicologist
Thomas Keller, American chef
Arleen Sorkin, American actress, screenwriter, television presenter and comedian (d. 2023)
Richard Wagamese, Canadian Ojibwe writer (d. 2017)
James Aguayo-Martel, Mexican-born physician, surgeon, scientist and inventor
Kulbir Bhaura, Indian-born British field hockey player
Joaquín Caparrós, Spanish football manager
Emily Yoffe, American journalist and advice columnist
Georgios Alogoskoufis, Greek economist
Sam Bottoms, American actor (d. 2008)
Kerry James Marshall, American painter and sculptor
Smita Patil, Indian actress (d. 1986)
Hiromi Go, Japanese singer
Timmy Mallett, English television presenter
Lonnie Shelton, American basketball player (d. 2018)
LaSalle Ishii, Japanese television personality
Roland Dyens, French classical guitarist and composer (d. 2016)
Dan Gutman, American writer
Tony Hanson, American basketball player (d. 2018)
Thomas Newman, American composer
Yasukazu Hamada, Japanese politician
Rich Mullins, American Christian musician (d. 1997)
Catherine Hardwicke, American film director, production designer and screenwriter
Andrew Cohen, American spiritual teacher
Toshio Hosokawa, Japanese composer
Karen Austin, American actress
Katherine Knight, Australian mariticide
Jack Skillingstead, American science fiction writer
Jay Anderson, American jazz double-bassist and studio musician
Glynis Barber, South African-born British actress
Gale Anne Hurd, American film and television producer
Bill Gates, American businessman and co-founder of Microsoft
Indra Nooyi, Indian business executive
Kevin DuBrow, American rock singer (d. 2007)
Roger O'Donnell, English rock keyboardist
Etsuko Shihomi, Japanese actress
October 30 – Heidi Heitkamp, American politician, senator, attorney general and tax commissioner from North Dakota
John Barrow, American politician
Daryl Coley, American Christian singer (d. 2016)
November
November 1 – Joe Arroyo, Colombian salsa and tropical music singer (d. 2011)
November 2 – Peter Bossman, Ghanaian-born Slovenian physician and politician
Howard Michaels, American businessman (d. 2018)
Teresa De Sio, Italian singer-songwriter
Phil Simms, American football player
Yukihiko Tsutsumi, Japanese film director
Rita Bhaduri, Indian actress (d. 2018)
Ghousavi Shah, Sufi teacher and author, Secretary General of The Conference of World Religions
Pedro Brieger, Argentine journalist and sociologist.
Kris Jenner, American television personality
Karan Thapar, Indian journalist, political analyst and commentator
Catherine Asaro, American science fiction and fantasy author, singer and teacher
Geoff Bullock, Australian singer-songwriter and pianist
Alton Coleman, American serial killer (executed 2002)
William H. McRaven, U.S. Navy admiral and SEAL, leader of planning for Operation Neptune Spear
Paul Romer, American economist, professor and policy entrepreneur
Norbert Eder, German footballer (d. 2019)
Paul Romer, American economist, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences laureate
Detlef Ultsch, German judo athlete
November 8 – Aras Agalarov, Azerbaijani Russian billionaire
Karen Dotrice, Guernsey-born child actress
Kevin Andrews, Australian politician (d. 2024)
Roland Emmerich, German film director
Jacques Burtin, French composer, writer, producer and filmmaker
Friedrich Merz, German politician, Chancellor of Germany
Dave Alvin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer
November 12 – Lawrence Lemieux, Canadian sailor and Olympian
November 13 – Whoopi Goldberg, American actress and comedian
Koichi Nakano, Japanese bicycle racer
Jack Sikma, American basketball player
November 15 – Idris Jusoh, Malaysian politician, Chief Minister Of Terengganu
Bill Macatee, American sports broadcaster
Yolanda King, African-American actress and activist (d. 2007)
Patrick Achi, Ivorian politician and former Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire
Steve Chalke, British Baptist minister, founder of Oasis Charitable Trust, UN Special Adviser on Human Trafficking and social activist
November 19 – Dianne de Leeuw, Dutch figure skater
November 20 – Ray Ozzie, American computer programmer
Kyle Gann, American composer and music critic
Cedric Maxwell, American basketball player
George Alagiah, British newsreader, journalist and television presenter (d. 2023)
Milan Bandić, Croatian politician (d. 2021)
Steven Brust, American fantasy author
Peter Douglas, American television and film producer
Ludovico Einaudi, Italian pianist and composer
Mary Landrieu, American politician, U.S. Senator from Louisiana
Harolyn Blackwell, American lyric coloratura soprano
Sir Ian Botham, English cricketer
Najib Mikati, Lebanese politician, 2-Time Prime Minister of Lebanon
Terry Baker, American politician
Michael Barber, British public servant and educationist
Bruno Tonioli, film, music video and theater choreographer
Norman Buckley, American television director
Tracy Hickman, American author
Jelko Kacin, Slovenian politician, Member of the European Parliament
Ben Joravsky American newspaper columnist, author
November 27 – Bill Nye, American science presenter and public television host
Alessandro Altobelli, Italian football player
Wendy Brown, American political theorist
November 29 – Howie Mandel, Canadian actor and game show host
Billy Idol, born William Broad, British rock musician
Kevin Conroy, American actor (d. 2022)
Andy Gray, Scottish football broadcaster and player
Deborra-Lee Furness, Australian actress and producer
Richard Burr, American businessman and politician
December
Melody Anderson, Canadian actress and social worker
Steven Culp, American actor
Warren Jeffs, American criminal
Andrea Romano, American casting director, voice director and voice actress
Tommy Battle, American businessman and politician
Art Briles, American football coach
Pier Ferdinando Casini, Italian politician
December 4 – Maurizio Bianchi, Italian musician
Koray Aydın, Turkish politician
Cai Qi, Chinese politician
Dumitru Găleșanu, Romanian writer, poet, philosopher, illustrator and jurist
Steven Wright, American stand-up comedian, actor, writer and film producer
Anne Begg, Scottish politician
Otis Birdsong, American basketball player
Janusz Kupcewicz, Polish footballer (d. 2022)
December 10 – Ana Gabriel, Mexican singer and songwriter
December 12 – Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, Greek politician and businesswoman
December 13 – Manohar Parrikar, Indian politician (d. 2019)
Hervé Guibert, French writer and photographer (d. 1991)
Rebeca Grynspan, Costa Rican economist
Xander Berkeley, American actor
Carol Browner, American lawyer, environmentalist, government official and businesswoman
Brad Davis, American basketball player
Jagadish Shettar, Indian politician
Danny Ayalon, Israeli diplomat, columnist and politician
December 19 – Alfredo Castro, Chilean actor
December 21 – Jane Kaczmarek, American actress
December 23 – Carol Ann Duffy, Scottish poet
Mizuho Fukushima, Japanese politician
Clarence Gilyard, American actor and college professor (d. 2022)
December 25 – Jim Beloff, American musician
December 26 – Evan Bayh, American politician
December 27 – Barbara Olson, American television commentator (d. 2001)
December 28 – Liu Xiaobo, Chinese literary critic and human rights activist, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (d. 2017)
December 29 – Claudi Arimany, Catalan musician
December 31 – Jim Pillen, American politician and Governor of Nebraska since 2023
Date Unknown
Justine Véronique Abatchou, Central African politician, Member of National Assembly.
Kamal Abbas, Egyptian activist and trade unionist
Mostafa Abdollahi, Iranian actor and director (d. 2015)
Richard Abel, Canadian instrumental musician and pianist
Deaths
January
Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, Indian scientist (b. 1894)
Maria Bal, Polish baroness and a lifelong muse of Jacek Malczewski (b. 1879)
January 2 – José Antonio Remón Cantera, 19th President of Panama (assassinated) (b. 1908)
January 5 – Marcel Déat, French politician (b. 1894)
January 6 – Yevgeny Tarle, Soviet historian (b. 1874)
January 11 – Rodolfo Graziani, Italian general (b. 1882)
Johannes Baader, German artist (b. 1875)
Yves Tanguy, French painter (b. 1900)
January 21 – Archie Hahn, American athlete (b. 1880)
January 24 – Ira Hayes, U.S. Marine flag raiser on Iwo Jima (b. 1923)
January 29 – Hans Hedtoft, 14th Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1903)
January 31 – John Mott, American YMCA leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1865)
February
February 3 – Vasily Blokhin, Soviet executioner (b. 1895)
February 6 – Constantin Argetoianu, 41st Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1871)
February 9 – Ahmed Zaki Abu Shadi, Egyptian poet, publisher, doctor, bacteriologist and bee scientist (d. 1892)
February 11 – Ona Munson, American actress (b. 1903)
S. Z. Sakall, Hungarian actor (b. 1883)
February 20 – Oswald Avery, American physician and medical researcher (b. 1877)
February 23 – Paul Claudel, French poet, dramatist and diplomat (b. 1868)
February 27 – Trixie Friganza, American actress (b. 1870)
March
March 3 – Katharine Drexel, American Roman Catholic foundress and saint (b. 1858)
March 8 – William C. deMille, American screenwriter and director (b. 1878)
Miroslava Stern, Czech-Mexican actress (b. 1926)
Matthew Henson, American explorer (b. 1866)
March 11 – Sir Alexander Fleming, Scottish scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1881)
March 12 – Charlie Parker, American saxophonist (b. 1920)
March 14 – Ruth Poll, American lyricist and music publisher (b. 1899)
March 16 – Nicolas de Staël, Russian painter (b. 1914)
March 18 – Warder Clyde Allee, American ecologist (b. 1885)
March 19 – Mihály Károlyi, 1st President of Hungary and 20th Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1875)
March 23 – Artur Bernardes, 12th President of Brazil (b. 1875)
March 24 – John W. Davis, American politician, diplomat and lawyer (b. 1873)
April
April 5 – Tibor Szele, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1918)
Theda Bara, American film actress (b. 1885)
Dániel Bánffy, Hungarian politician (b. 1893)
April 10 – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, French Jesuit priest, philosopher, paleontologist and geologist (b. 1881)
April 11 – Clifton Sprague, American admiral (b. 1896)
Stanley Yale Beach, American aviation pioneer and entrepreneur (b. 1877)
Peyton C. March, United States Army general (b. 1864)
April 18 – Albert Einstein, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
April 19 – Jim Corbett, Anglo-Indian hunter, conservationist and author (b. 1875)
Alfred Polgar, Austrian-born journalist (b. 1873)
Walter Seymour Allward, Canadian sculptor (b. 1874)
April 25 – Constance Collier, English actress and acting coach (b. 1878)
April 30 – John Henry Towers, American admiral and naval aviation pioneer (b. 1885)
May
Louis Charles Breguet, French aircraft designer and builder and early aviation pioneer (b. 1880)
George Enescu, Romanian composer (b. 1881)
May 10 – Tommy Burns, Canadian boxer (b. 1881)
May 16 – James Agee, American writer (b. 1909)
May 17 – Owen Roberts, American jurist (b. 1875)
May 18 – Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator (b. 1875)
May 19 – Concha Espina, Spanish writer (b. 1869)
May 20 – Tetsuzō Iwamoto, Japanese fighter ace (b. 1916)
May 23 – Roy E. Ayers, American politician and judge (b. 1882)
May 26 – Alberto Ascari, Italian race-car driver (accident) (b. 1918)
May 29 – Rudolf Klein-Rogge, German actor (b. 1885)
May 30 – Bill Vukovich, American race-car driver (accident) (b. 1918)
June
June 3 – Barbara Graham, American criminal (executed) (b. 1923)
June 10 – Margaret Abbott, American golfer (b. 1878)
June 11 – Walter Hampden, American actor (b. 1879)
June 12 – Redcliffe N. Salaman, British botanist (b. 1874)
June 13 – Walter Braemer, German Nazi war criminal (b. 1883)
June 17 – Carlyle Blackwell, American actor (b. 1884)
June 26 – Engelbert Zaschka, German helicopter pioneer (b. 1895)
June 27 – Harry Agganis, American college football player and professional baseball player (b. 1929)
Gerhard Benkowitz, schoolteacher and resistance activist against the German Democratic Republic (b. 1923)
Max Pechstein, German painter (b. 1881)
July
July 3 – Adelbert Ames Jr., American scientist (b. 1880)
July 9 – Adolfo de la Huerta, 38th President of Mexico (b. 1881)
Ruth Ellis, British murderer, last woman to be executed in the United Kingdom (b. 1926)
Stanley Price, American film and television actor (b. 1892)
July 20 – Calouste Gulbenkian, Armenian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1869)
July 23 – Cordell Hull, United States Secretary of State, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1871)
Isaak Dunayevsky, Soviet film composer and conductor (b. 1900)
Gertrude Beasley, American writer, feminist and memoirist (b. 1892)
July 26 – Raymond C. Archibald, Canadian-American mathematician (b. 1875)
July 29 – Catherine Backus, American sculptor (b. 1863)
July 31 – Robert Francis, American actor (b. 1930)
August
August 1 – William Hamilton, American Olympic athlete (b. 1883)
Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria, Bavarian military leader and last Bavarian crown prince (b. 1869)
Wallace Stevens, American poet (b. 1879)
Carmen Miranda, Portuguese-born Brazilian singer and actress (b. 1909)
Suzan Ball, American actress (b. 1933)
August 9 – Marion Bauer, American composer, teacher, writer, and music critic (b. 1882)
August 11 – Frank Seiberling, American inventor, co-founder of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (b. 1859)
Thomas Mann, German novelist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1875)
James B. Sumner, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
August 13 – Florence Easton, English opera soprano (b. 1882)
August 17 – Fernand Léger, French painter and sculptor (b. 1881)
August 22 – Raymond Duval, French general (b. 1894)
August 27 – Devere Allen, American socialist, pacifist political activist and journalist (b. 1891)
August 28 – Emmett Till, American murder victim (b. 1941)
August 31 – Willi Baumeister, German painter, scenic designer, art professor and typographer (b. 1889)
September
September 14 – Lagi von Ballestrem, part of German resistance to Nazism (b. 1909)
September 16 – Leo Amery, British Conservative politician and journalist( b. 1873)
September 20 – Robert Riskin, American screenwriter (b. 1897)
September 23 – Martha Norelius, American Olympic swimmer (b. 1909)
September 24 – Barclay Bailes, Australian rules footballer (b. 1883)
Michael Chekhov, Russian actor, theatre director and writer (b. 1891)
James Dean, American actor (b. 1931)
October
October 3 – Julius Ochs Adler, American publisher, journalist and United States Army major general (d. 1892)
Alexander Papagos, Greek Field Marshal (b. 1883)
Stan Baumgartner, American baseball player (b. 1894)
October 6 – Robert Munro, Scottish lawyer, judge and Liberal politician (b. 1868)
October 7 – Rodolphe Seeldrayers, German journalist and administrator, 4th President of FIFA (b. 1876)
Theodor Innitzer, Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna (b. 1875)
Alice Joyce, American actress (b. 1890)
October 10 – F. Matthias Alexander, Australian actor and author (b. 1869)
Manuel Ávila Camacho, 45th President of Mexico (b. 1897)
Alexandrina of Balazar, Portuguese Roman Catholic mystic, victim soul and blessed (b. 1904)
October 17 – Dimitrios Maximos, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1873)
October 18 – José Ortega y Gasset, Spanish philosopher (b. 1883)
October 19 – John Hodiak, American actor (b. 1914)
October 22 – Cyril Alington, English educationalist, scholar, cleric and author (b. 1872)
October 25 – Sadako Sasaki, Japanese atomic bomb sickness victim (b. 1943)
October 27 – Juan de Dios Martínez, 23rd President of Ecuador (b. 1875)
November
November 1 – Dale Carnegie, American writer and lecturer (b. 1888)
November 4 – Cy Young, American baseball player (Cleveland Spiders) and member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1867)
November 5 – Maurice Utrillo, French artist (b. 1883)
November 6 – Edwin Barclay, 18th president of Liberia (b. 1882)
November 7 – Tom Powers, American actor (b. 1890)
November 12 – Alfréd Hajós, Hungarian swimmer and architect (b. 1878)
Robert E. Sherwood, American playwright (b. 1896)
Ruby M. Ayres, British romance novelist (b. 1881)
November 15 – Lloyd Bacon, American actor and director (b. 1889)
James P. Johnson, American pianist and composer (b. 1894)
Helmuth Weidling, German general (b. 1891)
November 20 – Tomasz Arciszewski, Polish socialist politician and 31st Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1877)
November 22 – Shemp Howard, American actor and comedian (The Three Stooges) (b. 1895)
November 27 – Arthur Honegger, French-born Swiss composer (b. 1892)
December
December 1 – Edward Grigg, 1st Baron Altrincham, British colonial administrator and politician (b. 1879)
December 5 – Jirō Minami, Japanese general and Governor-General of Korea (1936–1942) (b. 1874)
December 6 – Honus Wagner, American baseball player (Pittsburgh Pirates) and a member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1874)
December 8 – Hermann Weyl, German mathematician, theoretical physicist and philosopher (b. 1885)
December 13 – António Egas Moniz, Portuguese neurologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1874)
December 14 – Paddy Mayne, Irish & British lions rugby international, Founding member of the S.A.S
Otto Braun, German politician, Minister President of the Free State of Prussia (b. 1872)
Dorothy Bernard, American actress (b 1890)
December 18 – Anna Murray Vail, American botanist (b. 1863)
December 21 – Garegin Nzhdeh, Armenian statesman (b. 1886)
December 22 – Mary Josephine Bedford, Australian philanthropist (b. 1861)
December 24 – Nana Bryant, American actress (b. 1888)
December 31 – Charles Ulrick Bay, American businessman and diplomat (b. 1888)
Unknown date
Jnanadabhiram Barua, Indian Assamese language writer, dramatist, translator and barrister (b. 1880)
Nobel Prizes
Peace – not awarded
References