Wikipedia / 1958
Wikipedia / 1958
Events
January
January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third overland journey to the South Pole, the first to use powered vehicles.
Sputnik 1 (launched on October 4, 1957) falls towards Earth from its orbit and burns up.
January 13 – Battle of Edchera: The Moroccan Army of Liberation ambushes a Spanish patrol.
January 27 – A Soviet-American executive agreement on cultural, educational and scientific exchanges, also known as the "Lacy–Zarubin Agreement", is signed in Washington, D.C.
February
February 1 – Egypt and Syria unite to form the United Arab Republic.
February 2 – The Falcons aerobatic team of the Pakistan Air Force led by Wg Cdr Mitty Masud set a world record performing a 16 aircraft diamond loop in F-86 Sabres. 30,000 people are in attendance including President Iskandar Ali Mirza, General Ayub Khan, Air Marshal Asghar Khan, Air Commodore Nur Khan, C-in-C Turkish Air Force Hamdullah Suphi Göker, Chief of the Iraqi Air Force Abdul Kadhim Abaddi, Chief of the Imperial Iranian Air Force and Chief Guest King Zahir Shah in whose honor the performance has been organized.
February 5 – 1958 Tybee Island mid-air collision: A U.S. B-47 bomber jettisons a hydrogen bomb into Wassaw Sound off Tybee Island, Georgia; it is never recovered.
February 6 – Seven Manchester United footballers are among the 21 people killed in the Munich air disaster in West Germany, on the return flight from a European Cup game in Yugoslavia. 23 people survive; manager Matt Busby and players Johnny Berry and Duncan Edwards are in a serious condition. Berry will never play again and Edwards dies a fortnight later, as does the co-pilot.
February 11 – Marshal Chen Yi succeeds Zhou Enlai as Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs.
February 14 – The Hashemite Kingdoms of Iraq and Jordan unite in the Arab Federation, with King Faisal II of Iraq as head of state.
Cuban rebels kidnap five-time world driving champion Juan Manuel Fangio, releasing him 28 hours later.
Arturo Frondizi is elected president of Argentina.
February 24 – In Cuba, Fidel Castro's Radio Rebelde begins broadcasting from Sierra Maestra.
February 25 – Bertrand Russell launches the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in the United Kingdom, initiated at a meeting called by Canon John Collins on January 15. The campaign peace symbol has been launched on 21 February by Gerald Holtom. Protests will focus on the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston.
February 28 – Prestonsburg bus disaster: One of the worst school bus accidents in U.S. history occurs in Kentucky when a school bus hits a truck and falls into a river, resulting in 27 deaths, 26 of them schoolchildren. Twenty-two others are rescued.
March
March 1 – Turkish passenger ship capsizes and sinks in a sudden gale while crossing the Gulf of İzmit, Turkey; many of the 272 who die are teenage students.
March 2 – A British Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition team, led by Sir Vivian Fuchs, completes the first overland crossing of the Antarctic, using snowcat caterpillar tractors and dogsled teams, in 99 days, via the South Pole.
March 8 – The is decommissioned, leaving the United States Navy without an active battleship for the first time since 1896 (she is recommissioned October 22, 1988).
March 11 – 1958 Mars Bluff B-47 nuclear weapon loss incident: A U.S. B-47 bomber accidentally drops an atom bomb on Mars Bluff, South Carolina. Without a fissile warhead, its conventional explosives destroy a house and injure six people.
March 17 – The United States launches the Vanguard 1 satellite.
March 19 – The Monarch Underwear Company fire occurs in New York, United States, killing 24 people.
March 26 – The 30th Academy Awards Ceremony takes place in Hollywood; The Bridge on the River Kwai wins 7 awards, including Academy Award for Best Picture.
March 27 – Nikita Khrushchev becomes Premier of the Soviet Union.
April
April 1 – The Treaty of Angra de Cintra is signed by Spain and Morocco, ending the Spanish protectorate in Morocco.
April 3 – In Cuba, Castro's revolutionary army begins its attacks on Havana.
April 13 – The Soviet satellite Sputnik 2 (launched November 3, 1957) disintegrates during reentry from orbit.
April 14 – Van Cliburn wins the International Tchaikovsky Competition for pianists in Moscow, easing Cold War tensions.
April 17 – King Baudouin of Belgium officially opens the world's fair in Brussels, also known as Expo 58. The Atomium forms the centrepiece.
April 20 – The Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup in ice hockey, after defeating the Boston Bruins in 6 games.
April 21 – United Airlines Flight 736 is involved in a mid-air collision with a U.S. Air Force F-100F jet fighter over what becomes Enterprise, Nevada; all 49 persons in both aircraft are killed.
April 28 – A bomber flown by a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency operative in support of Indonesian Permesta rebels bombs the harbor at Balikpapan, Borneo, Indonesia, hitting an Indonesian naval corvette and two British oil tankers. In June, the Indonesian and British governments both claim that Indonesian rebels are responsible for such attacks, concealing the C.I.A.'s involvement.
May
Arturo Frondizi becomes President of Argentina.
U.S. space scientist James van Allen announces the discovery of Earth's magnetosphere.
The Nordic Passport Union comes into force.
May 10 – Interviewed in the Chave d'Ouro café, when asked about his rival António de Oliveira Salazar, Humberto Delgado utters one of the most famous comments in Portuguese political history: "Obviamente, demito-o! (Obviously, I'll sack him!)".
May 12 – A formal North American Aerospace Defense Command agreement is signed between the United States and Canada.
Crisis in France: French Algerian protesters seize government offices in Algiers, leading to a military coup.
During a visit to Caracas, Venezuela, Vice President Richard Nixon's car is attacked by anti-American demonstrators.
May 15 – The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 3.
May 18 – A U.S. Lockheed F-104 Starfighter sets a world speed record of .
May 20 – The Cuban government of Fulgencio Batista launches a counteroffensive against Castro's rebels.
May 22 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes the first American elected official to appear on color television.
May 28 – Real Madrid beats A.C. Milan 3–2 at Heysel Stadium, Brussels, and wins the 1957–58 European Cup in Association football.
May 30 – The bodies of unidentified United States soldiers killed in action during World War II and the Korean War are buried at the Tomb of the Unknowns, in Arlington National Cemetery.
June
Charles de Gaulle is brought out of retirement at Colombey-les-Deux-Églises to lead France by decree for 6 months.
Iceland extends its fishing limits to 12 miles (22.2km).
June 4 – French Prime Minister Charles de Gaulle visits Algeria.
June 16 – Imre Nagy and other leaders of the failed Hungarian Revolution of 1956 are hanged for treason, following secret trials.
June 20 – The iron barque Omega of Callao, Peru (built in Liverpool, 1887), the world's last full-rigged ship trading under sail alone, sinks on passage carrying guano from the Pachacamac Islands for Huacho.
June 29 – Brazil beats Sweden 5–2 in the final game to win the football World Cup in Sweden.
June 30 – The 1957–58 Ifni War ends in Spanish Sahara.
July
July 9 – 1958 Lituya Bay megatsunami: A 7.8 strike-slip earthquake in Southeast Alaska causes a landslide that produces a megatsunami. The runup from the waves reaches on the rim of Lituya Bay.
July 12 – Henri Cornelis becomes Governor-General of the Belgian Congo, the last Belgian governor prior to independence.
July 14 – July 14 Revolution in Iraq: King Faisal II and several family members are executed. Abd al-Karim Qasim assumes power.
July 15 – 1958 Lebanon crisis: 5,000 United States Marines land in the Lebanese capital Beirut in support of the pro-Western government.
July 24 – Fourteen life peerages, the first under the Life Peerages Act 1958, are created in the United Kingdom.
Explorer program: Explorer 4 is launched in the United States.
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom announces that she is giving her son Prince Charles the customary title for the heir apparent of Prince of Wales. The announcement is made at the end of the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, held in Cardiff.
July 29 – The U.S. Congress formally creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
August
August 3 – The nuclear-powered submarine becomes the first vessel to cross the North Pole under water.
Australian athlete Herb Elliott clips almost 3 seconds off the world record for the mile run at Santry Stadium, Dublin, recording a time of 3 minutes 54.5 seconds.
The Law of Permanent Defense of Democracy, which outlawed the Communist Party of Chile and banned 26,650 persons from the electoral lists, is repealed.
August 7 – 1958 East Pakistan-India border skirmishes, a skirmish between East Pakistan and the Indian Army in Laxmipur.
August 14 – KLM Flight 607-E, a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation, crashes into the Atlantic with 99 people aboard, all of whom are killed.
August 17 – The first Thor-Able rocket is launched, carrying Pioneer 0, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 17. The launch fails due to a first stage malfunction.
August 18 – Brojen Das from East Pakistan swims across the English Channel in a competition, the first Bangali as well as the first Asian to ever do it. He is first among 39 competitors.
August 21–October 15 – Illinois observes the centennial of the Lincoln–Douglas debates.
August 23 – The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis begins with the People's Republic of China's People's Liberation Army shelling the island of Kinmen (Quemoy) which is controlled by the Republic of China (Taiwan)'s Kuomintang forces.
August 26 – A general strike is called in Paraguay.
August 30–September 1 – Notting Hill race riots: Riots occur between blacks and whites in Notting Hill, London.
September
September 1 – The first Cod War begins between the United Kingdom and Iceland.
Hendrik Verwoerd becomes the 6th Prime Minister of South Africa.
China's first television broadcasts start at Beijing Television Station, a predecessor of China Central Television.
September 4 – Jorge Alessandri is the winner of Chile's presidential election.
September 12 – Jack Kilby invents the first integrated circuit, while working at Texas Instruments.
September 14 – Two rockets designed by German engineer Ernst Mohr (the first German post-war rockets) reach the upper atmosphere.
September 18 – BankAmericard, the first credit card to be widely offered, is launched in Fresno, California in what becomes known as the "Fresno Drop".
Typhoon Ida kills at least 1,269 people in Honshū, Japan.
Hurricane Helene, the worst storm of the North Atlantic hurricane season, reaches category 4 status.
In the 1958 French constitutional referendum, a majority of 79% says yes to the constitution of the Fifth Republic.
Fernando Rios, a Mexican tour guide in New Orleans, dies from injuries suffered in an incident of gay bashing.
September 30 – The U.S.S.R. performs a nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya.
October
October – GoldStar, predecessor of LG Electronics, is founded in South Korea.
Tunisia and Morocco join the Arab League.
The United Kingdom transfers sovereignty of Christmas Island from Singapore to Australia.
NASA starts operations and replaces the NACA in the United States.
October 2 – Guinea declares itself independent from France, rejecting that nation's new constitution.
The new Constitution of France is signed into law, establishing the French Fifth Republic.
The British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) uses one of its new de Havilland Comet 4s, G-APDB, to make the first commercial transatlantic flight by a jet airliner, from London to New York International Airport, Anderson Field via Gander.
October 11 – Pioneer 1, the second and most successful of the 3 project Able space probes, becomes the first spacecraft launched by the newly formed NASA.
October 17 – An Evening with Fred Astaire, the first television show recorded on color videotape, is broadcast on NBC in the United States.
October 18 – Tennis for Two, a game invented by William Higinbotham and considered to be the first pure entertainment computer game, is introduced at the Brookhaven National Laboratory Visitors' Day Exhibit in the United States.
October 26 – A Pan American World Airways Boeing 707 makes its first transatlantic flight.
October 28 – Pope John XXIII succeeds Pope Pius XII, as the 261st pope.
November
The new UNESCO building, World Heritage Centre, is inaugurated in Paris.
Jorge Alessandri is sworn in as President of Chile.
November 10 – Harry Winston donates the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
November 18 – En route to Rogers City, Michigan, United States, the Lake freighter breaks up and sinks in a storm on Lake Michigan; 33 of the 35 crewmen on board perish.
November 20 – The Jim Henson Company is founded as Muppets, Inc. in the United States.
November 22 – 1958 Australian federal election: Robert Menzies' Liberal/Country Coalition Government is re-elected with a slightly increased majority, defeating the Labor Party led by H.V. Evatt. This is the first election where television is used as a medium for communicating with voters. Evatt will eventually resign as Labor leader and will be replaced by his deputy Arthur Calwell.
November 25 – French Sudan gains autonomy as a self-governing member of the French colonial empire.
November 28 – Chad, the Republic of the Congo and Gabon become autonomous republics within the French colonial empire.
November 30 – Gaullists win the French parliamentary election.
December
Our Lady of the Angels School fire: 90 students and 3 nuns are killed in a fire in Chicago.
Adolfo López Mateos takes office as President of Mexico.
December 14 – The 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition becomes the first ever to reach the Southern Pole of Inaccessibility.
December 15 – Arthur L. Schawlow and Charles H. Townes of Bell Laboratories publish a paper in Physical Review Letters setting out the principles of the optical laser.
A fire breaks out in the Vida Department Store in Bogotá, Colombia and kills 84 persons.
Soviet polar pilot V. M. Perov on Li-2 rescues four Belgian polar explorers, led by Gaston de Gerlache, who have survived a plane crash in Antarctica 250km from their base five days earlier.
The United States launches SCORE, the world's first communications satellite.
The Bell XV-3 Tiltrotor makes the first true mid-air transition from vertical helicopter-type flight to fully level fixed-wing flight.
December 19 – A message from U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower is broadcast from the SCORE satellite.
December 21 – General Charles de Gaulle is elected president of France with 78.5% of the votes.
December 24 – 1958 BOAC Bristol Britannia crash: A BOAC Bristol Britannia (312 G-AOVD) crashes near Winkton, England, during a test flight, killing nine people. Three crew members survive.
December 29 – Battle of Santa Clara: Rebel troops under Camilo Cienfuegos and Che Guevara begin to invade Santa Clara, Cuba.
December 30 – The Guatemalan Air Force fires on Mexican fishing boats which had strayed into Guatemalan territory, triggering the Mexico–Guatemala conflict.
December 31 – After the fall of Santa Clara, Cuban President Fulgencio Batista flees the country.
Undated
For the first time, the total of transatlantic passengers carried by air this year exceeds the total carried by sea.
Denatonium, the bitterest substance known, is discovered. It is used as an aversive agent in products such as bleach to reduce the risk of children drinking them.
Births
January
Grandmaster Flash, Barbadian-American hip-hop/rap DJ
Renn Woods, American actress, vocalist and songwriter
January 4 – Matt Frewer, Canadian-American actor (Max Headroom)
January 6 – Shlomo Glickstein, Israeli tennis player
January 7 – Yasmin Ahmad, Malaysian film director, writer and scriptwriter (d. 2009)
January 8 – Betsy DeVos, American businesswoman and politician, 11th Secretary of Education
January 9 – Mehmet Ali Ağca, Turkish militant, would-be assassin of Pope John Paul II
Samira Said, Moroccan singer
Eddie Cheever, American racing driver and motorsport executive
Jerry Estrada, Mexican luchador
Pantaleon Alvarez, Filipino lawyer and politician
Dov Khenin, Israeli politician, political scientist and lawyer
January 12 – Christiane Amanpour, British-born Iranian journalist and television host for CNN and PBS
January 14 – Greg Fischer, American businessman, entrepreneur, and politician
January 15 – Boris Tadić, Serbian president
January 17 – Ted Conover, American author and journalist
Thomas Kinkade, American painter (d. 2012)
Stephen Fried, American investigative journalist, author, and lecturer
January 20 – Lorenzo Lamas, American actor, martial artist and reality show participant
January 21 – Hussein Saeed, Iraqi football player
Jools Holland, British musician
Mike Harmon, American stock car racing driver, crew chief, and team owner
Anita Baker, American soul and R&B singer
Ellen DeGeneres, American actress, comedian and television host
Xavier Becerra, American attorney and politician
January 28 – Mohammad-Ali Abtahi, Iranian theologian, scholar, and activist
January 31 – Fit Finlay, Northern Irish former professional wrestler
February
Marina Silva, Brazilian politician
Sherri Martel, American professional wrestler and manager (d. 2007)
February 9 – Cyrille Regis, English footballer (d. 2018)
Michael Weiss, Jazz pianist and composer
Ricardo Gareca, Argentine footballer and manager
Pernilla August, Swedish actress
Marc Emery, Canadian cannabis rights activist, entrepreneur and politician
February 15 – Shaun Toub, Iranian born-American actor
Ice-T, American rapper, songwriter and actor
Andriy Bal, Ukrainian football player and coach (d. 2014)
February 19 – Leslie David Baker, American actor
Jack Coleman, American actor and screenwriter
Mary Chapin Carpenter, American singer
Kim Coates, Canadian-American actor
February 23 – David Sylvian, English musician, singer and songwriter
February 25 – Jeff Fisher, American football coach and former player
Susan Helms, American astronaut
Tim Kaine, American Senator
February 27 – Maggie Hassan, US Senator
February 28 – Natalya Estemirova, Russian activist (d. 2009)
March
March 1 – Sheikh Mohammad Aslam, Bangladeshi footballer
Miranda Richardson, English actress
Gianni Alemanno, Italian politician and former mayor of Rome
Patricia Heaton, American actress
Tina Smith, American Senator
March 5 – Andy Gibb, English singer-songwriter, performer and teen idol (d. 1988)
Rik Mayall, English comedian and actor (d. 2014)
Gregory Markkanen, American politician and member of the Michigan House of Representatives since 2019
Hélio dos Anjos, Brazilian football coach and player
March 8 – Gary Numan, British singer
March 9 – Mikhail Gutseriev, Russian billionaire businessperson
Sheikh Mohammad Illias, Bengali politician
Sharon Stone, American actress and producer
Frankie Ruiz, Puerto Rican singer (d. 1998)
March 11 – Matthew Aid, American military historian and author (d. 2018)
March 15 – Ravi Belagere, Indian writer and journalist (d. 2020)
March 16 – Phillip Wilcher, Australian pianist and composer
March 18 – Mbaye Diagne, Senegalese military officer (d. 1994)
March 20 – Holly Hunter, American actress
Gary Oldman, English actor and filmmaker
Raul Khajimba, President of Abkhazia 2014 to 2020
March 24 – Roland Koch, German politician
March 25 – John Ensign, American veterinarian and politician
Hala Fouad, Egyptian actress (d. 1993)
Bart Conner, American gymnast
Curt Hennig, American professional wrestler (d. 2003)
Maurice LaMarche, Canadian voice actor and comedian
Peter Ellis, wrongfully convicted New Zealand childcare worker (d. 2019)
Mike Rotunda, American professional wrestler
March 31 – Dietmar Bartsch, German politician
April
April 2 – Jeff Wassmann, American artist, writer and theorist
Alec Baldwin, American actor
Francesca Woodman, American photographer (d. 1981)
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, Thai billionaire businessman (d. 2018)
Pascal Lecamp, French politician
Mark Henn, American animator and film director
Stuart Adamson, Scottish guitarist and singer (d. 2001)
Luísa Diogo, prime minister of Mozambique (d. 2026)
Ginka Zagorcheva, Bulgarian athlete
J. Alexander, American reality television personality and runway coach
April 14 – Peter Capaldi, Scottish actor
April 15 – Benjamin Zephaniah, British writer and musician (d. 2023)
April 18 – Maurice Gamelin, French general (b. 1872)
April 19 – Denis O'Brien, Irish billionaire businessman
Andie MacDowell, American actress
Yoshito Usui, Japanese manga artist (Crayon Shin-chan) (d. 2009)
Lokua Kanza, Congolese singer and musician
April 22 – Andy, Armenian-Iranian singer-songwriter and actor
April 24 – Susan Tsvangirai, Spouse of the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (d. 2009)
April 25 –
Mike DeVault, American politician
Rosemarie Aquilina, American judge
Fish, Scottish singer, songwriter and occasional actor
April 26 – Giancarlo Esposito, Italian-American actor
April 29 – Michelle Pfeiffer, American actress
May
May 2 – David O'Leary, Irish football manager
May 3 – Sandi Toksvig, Danish-British writer, comedian and broadcaster
May 4 – Keith Haring, American artist (d. 1990)
May 8 – Lovie Smith, American football coach
Rick Santorum, American politician
Ellen Ochoa, American astronaut, first Hispanic woman to go into space
Vlada Divljan, Serbian singer and songwriter (d. 2015)
May 11 – Sayuri Kume, Japanese singer-songwriter
Dries van Noten, Belgian designer
Eric Singer, American drummer (Kiss)
May 13 – Frances Barber, English actress
May 14 – Sarah Chen, Taiwanese singer
May 15 – Ron Simmons, American professional wrestler and football player
Paul Di'Anno, English heavy metal singer (d. 2024)
Paul Whitehouse, Welsh actor, writer, presenter and comedian
May 18 – Toyah Willcox, English singer-songwriter, actress, and television presenter
May 19 – Jenny Durkan, American attorney, federal prosecutor and politician
May 20 – Jane Wiedlin, American musician and actress
Drew Carey, American comedian and actor
Lea DeLaria, American comedian, actress and jazz singer
Mitch Albom, American author and journalist
May 25 – Paul Weller, English singer-songwriter
May 26 – Margaret Colin, American actress
Annette Bening, American actress
Juliano Mer-Khamis, Israeli actor, director, filmmaker and political activist (d. 2011)
Marie Fredriksson, Swedish rock guitarist and singer-songwriter (d. 2019)
K. S. Ravikumar, Indian film director, film producer, screenwriter and actor
June
June 1 – Nambaryn Enkhbayar, Mongolian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Mongolia
Margot Käßmann, Lutheran theologian, German bishop
Ali Larijani, Iranian politician, military officer, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (2005-2007; 2025-2026)
June 5 – Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, Comoroan businessman and politician, President of Comoros 2006–2011
June 6 – Wayne Babych, Canadian professional ice hockey player
Dan Severn, American wrestler and mixed martial artist
Louise Richardson, Irish political scientist
June 10 – Elain Harwood, English architectural historian (d. 2023)
June 12 – Mark Amodei, American lawyer and politician
Eric Heiden, American speed skater with five Olympic gold medals
June 15 – Wade Boggs, American baseball player
Ted Arcidi, American professional wrestler, actor and powerlifter
Gordana Čomić, Serbian politician
Jello Biafra, American singer and activist
Jerry Carl, American politician and businessman
June 18 – Peter Altmaier, German jurist and politician, Federal Minister for Special Affairs of Germany
June 19 – Sergei Makarov, Russian ice-hockey player and coach
June 21 – Steve Lieberman, Jewish-American singer, songwriter, and musician
Rocío Banquells, Mexican pop singer and actress
Jennifer Finney Boylan, American author
Bruce Campbell, American actor, producer, writer and director
Tommy Lister Jr., American actor and professional wrestler (d. 2020)
Jean Charest, Canadian lawyer and 29th premier of Quebec
June 25 – Serik Akhmetov, 8th Prime Minister of Kazakhstan
Jonathan Bate, British author, scholar, and cleric
Suresh Gopi, Indian actor, playback singer, television presenter and politician
June 27 – Magnus Lindberg, Finnish composer
Rosa Mota, Portuguese long-distance runner
Ralf Rangnick, German football coach, executive, and player
Ziggy Rozalski, Polish American boxing manager and promoter
Esa-Pekka Salonen, Finnish conductor and composer
Irina Vorobieva, Russian pair skater
Vasil Yakusha, Belarusian rower
July
Mary Fahl, American singer, songwriter and actress
Tom Magee, Canadian world champion powerlifter and strongman competitor
July 2 – Pavan Malhotra, Indian actor
Avigdor Lieberman, Soviet-born Israeli politician
Bill Watterson, American cartoonist (Calvin and Hobbes)
July 6 – Jennifer Saunders, British comedian and actress
July 7 – Michala Petri, Danish recorder player
Jackson Anthony, Sri Lankan actor (d. 2023)
Kevin Bacon, American actor
Robert Cassilly, American politician
Richard Moth, Rhodesian-born British Catholic archbishop
Neetu Singh, Indian actress
July 10 – Fiona Shaw, Irish-born actress
July 11 – Hugo Sánchez, Mexican football player and coach
July 13 – Roger L. Jackson, American voice actor
Mircea Geoană, Romanian politician and diplomat
Jujie Luan, Chinese-Canadian fencer
Scott Rudin, American producer
July 15 – Jörg Kachelmann, Swiss presenter, journalist and entrepreneur in the meteorological field
July 16 – Michael Flatley, Irish-born dancer
July 17 – Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong second wave filmmaker
July 19 – Azumah Nelson, Ghanaian boxer
July 20 – Billy Mays, American television salesperson (d. 2009)
July 21 – Dave Henderson, American baseball player (d. 2015)
July 25 – Thurston Moore, American guitarist, singer and songwriter
July 27 – Christopher Dean, British ice dancer and Olympian
July 28 – Terry Fox, Canadian athlete and cancer activist (d. 1981)
Bill Berry, American rock drummer
Mark Cuban, American entrepreneur and basketball team owner
August
August 3 – Lambert Wilson, French actor
August 5 – Andriy Fedetskyi, Ukrainian football player (d. 2018)
August 7 – Bruce Dickinson, English musician (Iron Maiden)
August 8 – Iván Arias, Bolivian politician, political analyst, and sociologist
August 10 – Rami Hamdallah, Palestinian politician
August 14 – Bobby Eaton, American professional wrestler (d. 2021)
August 15 – Simon Baron-Cohen, British psychologist and professor
Angela Bassett, African-American actress
Anne L'Huillier, French-born atomic physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
Madonna, American-born singer-songwriter and actress
Wanle Akinboboye, Nigerian culture and tourism icon
August 17 – Belinda Carlisle, American singer
Reg E. Cathey, African-American actor (d. 2018)
Madeleine Stowe, American actress
Didier Auriol, French rally driver
Brendan Nelson, Australian politician
Darryl Sutter, Canadian ice hockey coach and player
Rick Snyder, American business executive and politician
August 21 – Steve Case, American businessman, investor, and philanthropist
August 22 – Colm Feore, American-born Canadian actor
Julio Franco, Dominican baseball player and coach
Bill Haslam, American billionaire businessman and politician
Steve Guttenberg, American actor
Yan Lianke, Chinese writer
August 25 – Tim Burton, American film director
August 27 – Kathy Hochul, American politician, Governor of New York
Michael Jackson, African-American singer-songwriter and dancer (d. 2009)
Sir Lenny Henry, English comedian and actor
Mick Harvey, Australian musician and singer-songwriter
August 30 – Anna Politkovskaya, Russian investigative journalist (d. 2006)
September
September 2 – Zdravko Krivokapić, Montenegrin politician, Prime Minister of Montenegro
September 4 – Drew Pinsky, American media personality and physician
Jeff Foxworthy, American comedian, actor and author
Akhil Reed Amar, American legal scholar
The Barbarian, Tongan professional wrestler
Danny Chan, Hong Kong singer, songwriter and actor (d. 1993)
Goran Hadžić, Croatian Serb politician and President the Republic of Serbian Krajina during the Croatian War of Independence
Peter Mettler, Swiss-Canadian film director and cinematographer
September 10 – Chris Columbus, American film director/writer/producer
September 11 – Roxann Dawson, American actress and director
Wilfred Benítez, Puerto Rican professional boxer
Steven G. Bradbury, American lawyer and government official
September 13 – Philippa York, Scottish journalist and road racing cyclist
September 14 – Michael Böllner, German actor and tax accountant
Jennifer Tilly, Canadian/American actress
Orel Hershiser, American baseball player
Marc Buie, American astronomer
September 18 – Rachid Taha, Algerian singer and activist (d. 2018)
Lita Ford, British musician
Lucky Ali, Indian singer, songwriter, and actor
September 20 – Arn Anderson, American wrestling road agent, author, and wrestler
Andrea Bocelli, Italian tenor
Joan Jett, American rock musician
Renel Brooks-Moon, American radio personality
September 23 – Marvin Lewis, American football coach
Kevin Sorbo, American actor
Byron Brown, American politician
September 27 – Irvine Welsh, Scottish writer
September 28 – Rob Manfred, American lawyer and business executive
September 29 — Jahna Steele, American entertainer and showgirl (d. 2008)
September 30 – Marty Stuart, American singer, songwriter, and musician
October
October 3 – Chen Yanyin, Chinese sculptor
October 5 – Neil deGrasse Tyson, American astrophysicist and science communicator
October 7 – Bernardo Arévalo, president of Guatemala
October 8 – Ursula von der Leyen, German politician, President of the European Commission
Yuriy Boyko, Ukrainian politician and former Vice Prime Minister
Mike Singletary, American football player and coach
Tanya Tucker, American singer
John M. Grunsfeld, American physicist and astronaut
Bruce Harrell, American politician and attorney
Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi journalist (d. 2018)
Maria Cantwell, US Senator
October 14 – Thomas Dolby, English musician
October 16 – Tim Robbins, American actor and film director
October 17 – Alan Jackson, American country music singer-songwriter
October 18 – Thomas Hearns, American boxer
Dario Franceschini, Italian lawyer, writer, and politician
Michael Steele, American politician, attorney, and political commentator
Viggo Mortensen, Danish-American actor
Scott Hall, American professional wrestler (d. 2022)
October 21 – Andre Geim, Dutch–British physicist
October 23 – Tony Christiansen, New Zealand motivational speaker
October 24 – Rushern Baker, American lawyer and politician
October 25 – Kornelia Ender, German swimmer
October 26 – Pascale Ogier, French actress (d. 1984)
October 27 – Simon Le Bon, English rock singer
October 28 – Raúl Pellegrin, Chilean revolutionary, leader of Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front (d. 1988)
October 30 – Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Indian playback singer
Jeannie Longo, French cyclist
Simon Poidevin, Australian rugby union player
Md. Abdul Mohit Talukder, Bangladeshi politician
November
November 3 – Derrike Cope, American stock car racing driver and team owner
November 4 – Redmond Burke, American surgeon
November 5 – Robert Patrick, American actor
Dmitry Kozak, Russian politician and deputy Prime Minister of Russia
Alice Bag, American singer and author
Andy Biggs, American lawyer and politician
November 10 – Mark Danner, American writer, journalist, and educator
November 11 – Teresa Cheng, Hong Kong Senior Counsel, arbitrator and politician
November 13 – Stephenson King, former Prime Minister of Saint Lucia
November 12 – Megan Mullally, American actress, singer and media personality
Marg Helgenberger, American actress
Roberto Guerrero, Colombian-American racing driver
November 17 – Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, American actress and singer
Daniel Brailovsky, Argentine-born Israeli footballer and manager
Oscar Nunez, American actor, comedian
November 19 – Charlie Kaufman, American screenwriter, film director, and novelist
November 21 – Rickson Gracie, Brazilian mixed martial artist
Jamie Lee Curtis, American actress
November 26 – Michael Alden Bayard, American musician, lecturer, and author
November 27 – Paul Gosar, American politician and dentist
November 28 – Tanya Harford, South African tennis player
November 29 – John Mahama, President of Ghana
December
Candace Bushnell, American writer (Sex & the City), journalist and television producer
Gary Peters, US Senator
Charlene Tilton, American actress
Javier Aguirre, Mexican football player and manager
Kwesi Ahoomey-Zunu, eleventh Prime Minister of Togo
George Saunders, American writer
Lal, Indian actor, director, screenwriter, producer and distributor
December 4 – Terdema Ussery, American business executive, attorney, and philanthropist
Mark Boals, American singer
Dynamite Kid, British professional wrestler (d. 2018)
December 6 – Nick Park, English filmmaker and animator
Arlette Sombo-Dibélé, Central African lawyer and politician
Vitaly Mutko, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia from 2016 to 2020
Cornelia Funke, German author
Ahmad Shabery Cheek, Malaysian politician
December 11 – Nikki Sixx, American rock musician
December 12 – Sheree J. Wilson, American actress
December 13 – Allan K., Filipino comedian, actor, and television personality
December 17 – Jayasudha, Indian actress and politician
D. Suresh Babu, Indian film producer, studio owner and film distributor
Michael Flynn, American lieutenant general and former U.S. national security advisor
Dimi Mint Abba, Mauritanian musician and singer (d. 2011)
Alannah Myles, Canadian singer-songwriter
Rickey Henderson, American baseball player (d. 2024)
Barbara Crampton, American actress and producer
December 28 – Joe Diffie, American country music singer and songwriter (d. 2020)
December 29 – Lakhdar Belloumi, Algerian football player
December 30 – Lav Diaz, Filipino filmmaker and film critic
December 31 – Bebe Neuwirth, American actress
Other
David Charles Abell, American conductor
Dave Allen, American television and film actor and comedian
Bronwyn Bancroft, Aboriginal Australian artist, administrator, book illustrator, and fashion designer
David Breskin, American writer, poet, and record producer
Vincenzo de Cotiis, artist and designer
Pamela Geller, American far-right political commentator and conspiracy theorist
James Giles, Canadian philosopher and psychologist
Nicky Hager, New Zealand investigative journalist
Randy Hillier, Canadian politician
Vickie Roach, Aboriginal Australian activist
Raed Salah, Palestinian religious leader
Doris Salcedo, Colombian artist
Hamza Yusuf, American Islamic scholar, neo-traditionalist, and co-founder of Zaytuna College
Deaths
January
January 1 – Edward Weston, American photographer (b. 1886)
January 4 – John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley, Scottish civil servant and politician (b. 1882)
January 7 – Petru Groza, Romanian politician, 46th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1884)
Mary Colter, American architect (b. 1869)
Paul Pilgrim, American athlete (b. 1883)
Jesse L. Lasky, American film producer (b. 1880)
Edna Purviance, American actress (b. 1895)
January 19 – Cândido Rondon, Brazilian military officer (b. 1865)
January 20 – Ataúlfo Argenta, Spanish conductor and pianist (b. 1913)
January 30 – Ernst Heinkel, German aircraft designer and manufacturer (b. 1888)
February
February 1 – Clinton Davisson, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1881)
February 6 – Manchester United footballers and journalists who died in Munich air disaster
Geoff Bent (b. 1932)
Roger Byrne (b. 1929)
Eddie Colman (b. 1936)
Mark Jones (b. 1933)
David Pegg (b. 1935)
Tommy Taylor (b. 1932)
Liam "Billy" Whelan (b. 1935)
Frank Swift (b. 1913)
February 10 – Nezihe Muhiddin, Turkish suffragette and journalist (b. 1889)
February 11 – Ernest Jones, Welsh neurologist and psychoanalyst (b. 1879)
Christabel Pankhurst, English suffragette (b. 1880)
Georges Rouault, French painter (b. 1871)
Henryk Arctowski, Polish scientist and explorer (b. 1871)
Duncan Edwards English footballer, died from injuries sustained in the Munich air disaster (b. 1936)
February 27 – Harry Cohn, American film producer (b. 1891)
March
March 1 – Giacomo Balla, Italian painter (b. 1871)
March 6 – Anton Reinthaller, Austrian politician (b. 1895)
March 11 – Ole Kirk Christiansen, Danish businessman, founder of The Lego Group (b. 1891)
March 13 – Vallathol Narayana Menon, Malayalam poet (b. 1878)
March 22 – Mike Todd, American film director, in aviation accident (b. 1907)
March 23 – Florian Znaniecki, Polish philosopher and sociologist (b, 1882)
March 25 – Eileen Sharp, English singer and actress (b. 1900)
March 28 – W. C. Handy, African-American blues composer (b. 1873)
April
Willie Maley, Scottish football player and manager (b. 1868)
Jōsei Toda, Japanese educator and activist (b. 1900)
April 5 – Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria (born 1884)
April 8 – Alcibíades Arosemena, Panamanian politician, 15th President of Panama (b. 1883)
April 15 – Estelle Taylor, American actress (b. 1894)
April 16 – Rosalind Franklin, English crystallographer (b. 1920)
April 17 – Rita Montaner, Cuban singer, pianist and actress (b. 1900)
April 18 – Maurice Gamelin, French general (b. 1872)
April 19 – Billy Meredith, Welsh footballer (b. 1874)
May
May 2 – Henry Cornelius, South African-born director (b. 1913)
May 5 – James Branch Cabell, American writer (b. 1879)
May 9 – Koshirō Oikawa, Japanese admiral (b. 1883)
Ronald Colman, English actor (b. 1891)
Marie Pujmanová, Czechoslovak poet and novelist (b. 1893)
Jadunath Sarkar, Indian historian (b. 1870)
May 20 – Frédéric François-Marsal, 59th Prime Minister of France (b. 1874)
Constantin Cantacuzino, Romanian aviator (b. 1905)
Cheong Yoke Choy, Chinese businessman and philanthropist (b. 1873)
May 29 – Juan Ramón Jiménez, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1881)
June
June 9 – Robert Donat, English actor (b. 1905)
June 12 – Kate Cory, American photographer and artist (d. 1861)
Imre Nagy, Hungarian politician, 44th Prime Minister of Hungary (executed) (b. 1896)
Nereu Ramos, Brazilian politician, 20th President of Brazil (b. 1888)
June 18 – Douglas Jardine, English cricketer (b. 1900)
June 20 – Kurt Alder, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
June 24 – George Orton, Canadian athlete (b. 1873)
June 25 – Alfred Noyes, English poet, short-story writer and playwright (b. 1880)
July
July 1 – Rudolf von Laban, Austro-Hungarian dance artist, choreographer, and movement theorist (b. 1879)
July 5 – Patriarch Vikentije II (b. 1890)
July 9 – James H. Flatley, American naval aviator (b. 1906)
July 14 (killed during coup d'état):
King Faisal II of Iraq (b. 1935; assassinated)
Abd al-Ilah, Prince of Iraq (b. 1913; assassinated)
Ibrahim Hashem, Jordanian lawyer and politician, 3-time Prime Minister of Jordan (b. 1888)
Nuri al-Said, Iraqi politician, 7th Prime Minister of Iraq (b. 1888)
Julia Lennon, mother of John Lennon (b. 1914)
July 17 – Henri Farman, French aviator and aircraft company founder (b. 1874)
July 22 – Mikhail Zoshchenko, Russian and Soviet writer and satirist (b. 1894)
July 25 – Harry Warner, American studio executive (b. 1881)
July 27 – Claire Lee Chennault, American aviator and general, leader of the Flying Tigers (b. 1893)
August
August 1 – Albert E. Smith, English-born American stage magician, film director and producer (b. 1875)
August 2 – Michele Navarra, Italian Sicilian Mafia boss (b. 1905)
August 8 – Barbara Bennett, American actress (b. 1906)
August 12 – Augustus Owsley Stanley, American politician (b. 1867)
Big Bill Broonzy, American blues singer, composer (b. 1893) (some sources give his year of birth as 1903)
Frédéric Joliot-Curie, French physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (b. 1900)
José Domingues dos Santos, Portuguese politician, 89th Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1885)
Paul Panzer, German actor (b. 1872)
Stevan Hristić, Yugoslav composer (b. 1885)
Kurt Neumann, German film director (b. 1908)
Roger Martin du Gard, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1881)
Dummy Taylor, American deaf baseball player
August 24 – J. G. Strijdom, 5th Prime Minister of South Africa (b. 1893)
August 26 – Ralph Vaughan Williams, English composer (b. 1872)
August 27 – Ernest Lawrence, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
August 30 – John C. H. Lee, American army general (b. 1887)
September
Hans Grundig, German artist (b. 1901)
Robert W. Service, Scottish-born Canadian poet (b. 1874)
September 15 - Snuffy Stirnweiss, professional baseball second baseman
September 16 – Alma Bennett, American actress (b. 1904)
September 20 – Jacques Delannoy, French footballer (b. 1912)
September 22 – Mary Roberts Rinehart, American writer (b. 1876)
September 23 – Walter F. Otto, German classical philologist (b. 1874)
September 25 – John B. Watson, American psychologist (b. 1878)
September 27 – Adolfo Salazar, Spanish historian, composer and diplomat (b. 1890)
September 28 – Aarre Merikanto, Finnish composer (b. 1893)
September 30 – Estate Tatanashvili, Soviet general (b. 1902)
October
October 9 – Pope Pius XII (b. 1876)
October 11 – Maurice de Vlaminck, French painter (b. 1876)
October 14 – Sir Douglas Mawson, Australian geologist and polar explorer (b. 1882)
October 16 – Michalis Souyioul, Greek composer (b. 1906)
October 17 – Zheng Zhenduo, Chinese historian and translator (b. 1898)
G. E. Moore, British philosopher of (Principia Ethica) (b. 1873)
Martin Shaw, English composer and conductor (b. 1875)
October 29 – Zoë Akins, American playwright, poet and author (b. 1886)
November
Hermann von Kuhl, German general (b. 1856)
Sam Zimbalist, American film producer (b. 1904)
November 9 – Dorothy Canfield Fisher, American author and activist (b. 1879)
November 11 – André Bazin, French film critic and theorist (b. 1918)
November 15 – Tyrone Power, American actor (b. 1914)
Vittorio Ambrosio, Italian general (b. 1879)
Hans Heinrich von Twardowski, German actor (b. 1898)
November 24 – Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood, English politician and diplomat, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1864)
Artur Rodziński, Polish conductor (b. 1892)
Georgi Damyanov, Bulgarian Communist political, Chairman of the Presidium of the National Assembly and head of the State (b. 1892)
November 30 – Sir Hubert Wilkins, Australian explorer (b. 1888)
December
December 1 – Elizabeth Peratrovich, American civil rights activist (born 1911)
December 4 – José María Caro Rodríguez, Chilean Roman Catholic cardinal (born 1866)
Willie Applegarth, British track and field athlete (b. 1890)
Patras Bokhari, Pakistani humorist (b. 1898)
December 8 – Tris Speaker, American baseball player (b. 1888)
Slobodan Jovanović, Serbian intellectual and politician (b. 1869)
Milutin Milanković, Yugoslav mathematician, astronomer, climatologist and geophysicist, (b. 1879)
December 15 – Wolfgang Pauli, Austrian-born American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1900)
Lion Feuchtwanger, German novelist and playwright (b. 1884)
H. B. Warner, English actor (b. 1876)
December 23 – Dorothy Macardle, Irish writer and historian (b. 1889)
December 27 – Mustafa Merlika-Kruja, 16th Prime Minister of Albania (b. 1887)
December 29 – Doris Humphrey, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1895)
Nobel Prizes
References