1961
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{{year nav|1961}}
{{C20YearInTopicX}}
Year '''1961''' ('''[[Roman numerals|MCMLXI]]''') was a [[common year starting on Sunday]] (link will display full calendar) of the [[Gregorian calendar]].
{{C20YearTOC|1961|||World population}}
As ''[[MAD Magazine]]'' pointed out on its cover for the March 1961 issue, this was the first "upside-up" year—i.e., one in which the numerals that form the year look the same as when the numerals are rotated upside down—since [[1881]], and the last until 6009.
== Events of 1961 ==
===January===
<!-- Link dates even if repeated, for date-format preferences.
-->
* [[January 1]] - The [[British farthing coin|farthing]], used since the [[13th century]], ceases to be [[legal tender]] in the [[United Kingdom]].
* [[January 3]]
**President [[Dwight Eisenhower]] announces that the [[United States]] has severed diplomatic and consular relations with [[Cuba]].
**At the National Reactor Testing Station near [[Idaho Falls, Idaho]], [[SL-1]], an [[atomic reactor]] explodes, killing 3 military technicians.
{{Month3|1|6|0}}
* [[January 5]] - Italian sculptor [[Alfredo Fioravanti]] marches into the U.S. Consulate in [[Rome]], and confesses that he was part of the team that forged the [[Etruscan terracotta warriors]] in the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]].
* [[January 7]] - Following a 4-day conference in [[Casablanca]], 5 African chiefs of state announce plans for a [[NATO]]-type African organization to ensure common defense. The Charter of Casablanca involves the [[Casablanca Group]] - [[Morocco]], the [[United Arab Republic]], [[Ghana]], [[Guinea]], and [[Mali]].
* [[January 8]] - In [[France]], a [[referendum]] supports [[Charles de Gaulle]]'s policies in [[Algeria]].
* [[January 9]] - [[United Kingdom|British]] authorities announce that they have discovered a large [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[spy]] ring in [[London]].
* [[January 17]]
**President [[Dwight Eisenhower]] gives his final [[State of the Union Address]] to Congress. In a Farewell Address the same day, he warns of the increasing power of a "[[military-industrial complex]]".
**[[Patrice Lumumba]] is assassinated.
[[Image:Jfk inauguration.jpg|thumb|200px| [[January 20|Jan. 20]]: [[John F. Kennedy]] inaugurated as President of the [[U.S.]]]]
* [[January 20]] - [[John F. Kennedy]] becomes the 35th [[President of the United States]].
* [[January 24]]
**A U.S. [[B-52 Stratofortress]], with two roughly 2.4 [[megaton]] [[nuclear bomb]]s, crashes near [[Goldsboro, North Carolina]].
**Musician [[Bob Dylan]] reportedly makes his way to [[New York City]] after bumming a ride in [[Madison, Wisconsin]]. Dylan is likely on his way to visit his idol [[Woody Guthrie]]. He later finds fame in the [[Greenwich Village]] protest folk music scene.
* [[January 25]] - In [[Washington, DC]] [[John F. Kennedy]] delivers the first live [[President of the United States|presidential]] [[news conference]]. In it, he announces that the [[Soviet Union]] has freed the 2 surviving crewmen of a [[USAF]] [[B-47|RB-47]] reconnaissance plane shot down by Soviet flyers over the [[Barents Sea]] [[July 1]], 1960. (see RB-47H shot down)
* [[January 25]] - Acting to halt 'leftist excesses,' a [[Military dictatorship|junta]] composed of 2 army officers and 4 civilians takes over [[El Salvador]], ousting another junta that had ruled for 3 months.
* [[January 26]] - [[John F. Kennedy]] appoints [[Janet G. Travell]] to be his physician, the first woman to hold this appointment.
* [[January 30]] - President [[John F. Kennedy]] delivers his first [[State of the Union Address]].
* [[January 31]] - [[Ham the Chimp|Ham]], a 37 pound male [[chimpanzee]], is rocketed into space aboard [[Mercury-Redstone 2]], in a test of the [[Project Mercury]] capsule, designed to carry [[United States]] [[astronaut]]s into space.
===February===
{{Month3|2|2|0}}
* [[February 3]] - [[China]] buys grain from [[Canada]] for $60 million.
* [[February 4]] - The Portuguese Colonial War begins in [[Angola]].
* [[February 5]] - [[February 9]] - In [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]], President [[Joseph Kasavubu]] names Joseph Ileo as the new Prime Minister.
* [[February 9]] - The Beatles perform for their first time at the Cavern Club.
* [[February 12]] - [[U.S.S.R|U.S.S.R.]] launches [[Venera 1]] towards [[Venus]].
* [[February 13]] - The [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]] government announces that villagers have killed [[Patrice Lumumba]].
* [[February 14]] - [[Discovery of the chemical elements]]: Element 103, [[Lawrencium]], is first synthesized in [[Berkeley, California]].
* [[February 15]] - A [[Sabena]] [[Boeing 707]] crashes near [[Brussels]], [[Belgium]], killing 73, including the entire [[United States]] [[figure skating]] team and several coaches.
* [[February 25]] - The last public [[Trams in Sydney|tram]] operates in [[Sydney]], [[Australia]], bringing to an end the Southern Hemisphere's largest tramway network.
* [[February 26]] - [[Hassan II of Morocco|Hassan II]] is pronounced King of [[Morocco]].
===March===
{{Month3|3|2|0}}
<!-- Commented out because image was deleted: [[Image:Stamp-ctc-peace-corps.jpg|thumb|100px|right| '''[[March 1]]''': [[Peace Corps]].]] -->
* [[March 1]]
**[[President of the United States]] [[John F. Kennedy]] establishes the [[Peace Corps]].
**[[Uganda]] becomes self-governing by holding its first general elections.
* [[March 3]] - [[Hassan II of Morocco|Hassan II]] is crowned King of [[Morocco]].
* [[March 8]]
**Max Conrad circumnavigates the earth in 8 days, 18 hours and 49 minutes, setting a new world record.
**The first U.S. [[UGM-27 Polaris|Polaris]] [[submarine]]s arrive at [[Holy Loch]].
* [[March 13]]
**Black and white [[Pound sterling|£]]5 notes cease to be [[legal tender]] in the [[United Kingdom|UK]].
**A dam bursts on the [[Dnieper River]] in the [[USSR]], killing 145.
**[[USA]] delegate to the [[UNSC]] Adlai Stevenson votes against [[Portugal|Portuguese]] policies in [[Africa]].
* [[March 15]]
**[[South Africa]] withdraws from the [[Commonwealth of Nations]].
**The Union of Peoples of Angola, led by Holden Roberto, attacks strategic locations in the north of [[Angola]]. These events result in the beginning of the colonial war with [[Portugal]].
* [[March 18]] - A [[ceasefire]] takes effect in the [[Algerian War of Independence]].
* [[March 18]] - ''Nous les amoureux'' by Jean-Claude Pascal (music by Jacques Datin, text by Maurice Vidalin) wins the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1961]] for [[Luxembourg]].
* [[March 29]] - The [[Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution]] is ratified, allowing residents of [[Washington, DC]] to vote in [[President of the United States|presidential]] elections.
* [[March 30]] - The [[Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs]] is signed at [[New York]].
===April===
{{Month3|4|5|0}}
* [[April 5]] - The New Guinea Council of Western Papua is installed.
* [[April 11]] - The trial of [[Adolf Eichmann]] begins in [[Jerusalem]].
* [[April 12]]
**''[[Vostok 1]]'': [[Yuri Gagarin]], a Soviet [[cosmonaut]], becomes the first human in space.
**Albert Kalonji takes the title ''Emperor Albert I Kalonji'' of [[South Kasai]].
* [[April 13]] - [[Portugal]]: failed [[coup]] attempt against [[António de Oliveira Salazar|Salazar]].
* [[April 17]]
**The [[Bay of Pigs Invasion]] of [[Cuba]] begins; it fails by [[April 19]].
**[[33rd Academy Awards]] ceremony
* [[April 18]] - [[Portugal]] sends to [[Angola]] the first military reinforcement.
* [[April 20]] - [[Fidel Castro]] announces that the [[Bay of Pigs invasion]] has been defeated.
* [[April 22]] - [[Algiers putsch]]: Four French generals who oppose [[Charles de Gaulle|de Gaulle]]'s policies in [[Algeria]] fail in a [[coup]] attempt.
* [[April 23]] - [[Judy Garland]] performs in a legendary comeback concert at [[Carnegie Hall]] in [[New York City]].
* [[April 24]] - ''[[Regalskeppet Vasa]]'' is removed from the water after being sunk 333 years earlier.
===May===
{{Month3|5|0|0}}
* [[May 3]] - French phenomenological philosopher [[Maurice Merleau-Ponty]] dies, age 53, of a [[stroke]], apparently while preparing for a class on [[Descartes]].
* [[May 4]] - [[Freedom Riders]]: 13 black and white students with the [[Congress of Racial Equality]] (CORE) leave Washington DC on 2 buses, to test integration laws in bus stations throughout the deep South.
* [[May 5]] - [[Mercury program]]: [[Alan Shepard]] becomes the first American in space aboard [[Mercury-Redstone 3]].
*[[May 6]] - [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.]] become the first team in the 20th century to win the league and cup double.
* [[May 8]] - Briton [[George Blake]] is sentenced to 42 years imprisonment for spying.
* [[May 14]] - [[American civil rights movement]]: A [[Freedom Riders]] bus is fire-bombed near [[Anniston, Alabama]] and the [[civil rights]] protestors are beaten by an [[angry mob]].
* [[May 16]] - A military coup in [[South Korea]] - [[Park Chung Hee]] takes over.
* [[May 19]] - [[Venera program]]: [[Venera 1]] becomes the first man-made object to fly-by another planet by passing [[Venus (planet)|Venus]] (however, the probe had lost contact with Earth a month earlier and did not send back any data).
* [[May 21]] - [[American civil rights movement]]: [[Alabama]] Governor [[John Malcom Patterson|John Patterson]] declares [[martial law]] in an attempt to restore order after [[race riot]]s break out.
* [[May 24]] - [[American civil rights movement]]: [[Freedom Riders]] are arrested in [[Jackson, Mississippi]] for "disturbing the peace" after disembarking from their bus.
* [[May 25]] - [[Apollo program]]: [[John F. Kennedy|President Kennedy]] announces before a special joint session of Congress his goal to put a man on the [[Moon]] before the end of the decade.
* [[May 27]] - [[Tunku Abdul Rahman]], Prime Minister of [[Federation of Malaya|Malaya]], holds a press conference in [[Singapore]], announcing his idea to form the Federation of [[Malaysia]], comprising Malaya, [[Singapore]], [[Sarawak]], [[Brunei]] and North Borneo ([[Sabah]]).
* [[May 28]] - [[Peter Benenson]]'s article "The Forgotten Prisoners" is published in several internationally read [[newspaper]]s. This will later be thought of as the founding of the [[human rights]] organization [[Amnesty International]].
* [[May 30]] - [[Rafael Leónidas Trujillo]], totalitarian despot of the [[Dominican Republic]] since 1930, is killed in an ambush, putting an end to the second longest-running dictatorship in [[Latin America]]n history.
* [[May 31]]
**In [[France]], rebel generals Maurice Challe and Andre Zelelr are sentenced to 15 years in prison.
**[[South Africa]] officially leaves the [[Commonwealth of Nations]].
**President [[John F. Kennedy]] and [[Charles De Gaulle]] meet in [[Paris]].
===June===
{{Month3|6|3|0}}
* [[1 June]] - [[Ethiopia]] experiences her most devastating earthquake of the 20th century, with a magnitude of 6.7. The town of [[Majete]] is destroyed, 45% of the houses in [[Karakore]] collapsed, 17 kilometers of the main road north of Karakore were damaged by landslides and fissures, and 5,000 inhabitants in the area are left homeless.
* [[June 4]] - [[Vienna summit]]: [[John F. Kennedy]] and [[Nikita Khrushchev]] meet during 2 days in [[Vienna]]. They discuss nuclear tests, [[disarmament]] and [[Germany]].
* [[June 17]] - A [[Paris]]-to-[[Strasbourg]] train derails near [[Vitry-le-François]]; 24 are killed, 109 injured.
* [[June 17]] - The [[New Democratic Party]] of Canada is founded with the merger of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and the Canadian Labour Congress.
* [[June 19]] - The British [[protectorate]] ends in [[Kuwait]] and it becomes an [[emirate]].
* [[June 21]] - Russian ballet dancer [[Rudolf Nureyev]] requests asylum in [[France]] while in Paris with the [[Kirov Ballet]].
* [[June 22]] - [[Moise Tshombe]] is released for lack of evidence of connection to the murder of [[Patrice Lumumba]].
* [[June 24]] - The [[Ayrshire (Earl of Carrick's Own) Yeomanry]], a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Yeomanry]] [[Cavalry]] [[Regiment]] is presented its first [[Guidon]] by General Sir Horatius Murray KBE CB DSO at [[Culzean Castle]], [[Ayrshire]].
* [[June 25]]
**U.S. philanthropist [[George Washington Vanderbilt III]] is found dead at the base of a San Francisco skyscraper.
**[[Iraq]]i president [[Abdul Karim Kassem]] announces he is going to annex [[Kuwait]].
* [[June 27]] - Kuwait requests British help; the [[United Kingdom]] sends in troops.
===July===
{{Month3|7|5|0}}
* [[July 2]] - [[Ernest Hemingway]] commits suicide by gunshot in [[Ketchum, Idaho]].
* [[July 4]] - The [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] submarine ''[[K-19]]'' reactor leak occurs in the North [[Atlantic]].
* [[July 5]] - The first Israeli rocket, [[Shavit 2]], is launched.<ref>{{cite web
|accessdate=2007-12-18
|format= html
|url= http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Egypt/Missile/index.html
|title=Missile Overview
|publisher=Nuclear Threat Initiative}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|accessdate=2007-12-18
|format=html
|url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Timeline/1961-3.html
|title=July 1961
|publisher=NASA}}</ref>
* [[July 8]] - A mine explosion in [[Czechoslovakia]] leaves 108 dead.
* [[July 13]] - [[Charlie Brown]] successfully flies his kite
* [[July 21]] - [[Mercury program]]: [[Gus Grissom]], piloting the [[Mercury-Redstone 4]] capsule ''[[Liberty Bell 7]]'', becomes the second [[United States|American]] to go into space (sub-orbital). Upon splashdown, the hatch prematurely opens, and the capsule sinks (it will be recovered in [[1999]]).
* [[July 31]]
**At [[Fenway Park]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts]], the first [[All-Star Game]] tie in major league [[baseball]] history occurs when the game is stopped in the 9th inning due to rain. It will be the only tie (until [[2002]]) in MLB All-Star Game history.
**Ireland submits the first ever application to join the then [[European Economic Community]].
===August===
{{Month3|8|1|0}}
* [[August 5]] - The [[Six Flags over Texas]] theme park officially opens to the public.
* [[August 10]] - Britain applies for membership in the [[European Economic Community]].
* [[August 13]] - Construction of the [[Berlin Wall]] begins, restricting movement between [[East Berlin]] and [[West Berlin]] and forming a clear boundary between [[West Germany]] and [[East Germany]], [[Western Europe]] and [[Eastern Europe]].
* [[August 21]] - [[Jomo Kenyatta]] is released from prison in [[Kenya]].
===September===
{{Month3|9|4|0}}
* [[September 10]] - During the [[1961 Italian Grand Prix|F1 Italian Grand Prix]] on the [[Autodromo Nazionale Monza|circuit of Monza]], the German driver [[Wolfgang Von Trips]] in a [[Ferrari]] crashes into a stand killing 14 spectators and himself.
* [[September 14]] - The new military government of [[Turkey]] sentences 15 members of the previous government to death.
* [[September 17]] - Military rulers in [[Turkey]] hang former president [[Adnan Menderes]].
*[[September 17]] - [[September 18]] - [[UN Secretary-General]] [[Dag Hammarskjöld]] dies in an air crash en route to [[Katanga]], [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]].
* [[September 19]] - The first [[Grey alien]] is reported.
* [[September 21]] - In [[France]], [[Organisation armée secrète|OAS]] slips an anti-[[Charles de Gaulle|de Gaulle]] message into TV programming.
* [[September 24]] - The old [[Deutsche Opernhaus]] in the [[Berlin]] neighborhood of [[Charlottenburg]] is returned to its newly rebuilt house as the [[Deutsche Oper Berlin]].
* [[September 28]] - A [[military coup]] in [[Damascus]], [[Syria]] effectively ends the [[United Arab Republic]], the union between [[Egypt]] and [[Syria]].
===October===
{{Month3|10|6|0}}
* [[October 1]] - Baseball player [[Roger Maris]] of the New York Yankees hits his 61st home run in the last game of the season, against the Boston Red Sox, beating the 34-year-old record held by Babe Ruth.
* [[October 9]] - Digital photography invented by Eugene F. Lally presented in a technical paper at the American Rocket Society's Space Flight Report to the Nation in [[New York]].
* [[October 10]] - A volcanic eruption on [[Tristan da Cunha]] causes the whole population to be evacuated.
* [[October 12]] - The [[death penalty]] is abolished in [[New Zealand]].
* [[October 17]] - [[Paris massacre of 1961]]: French police attack in [[Paris]] about 30,000 protesting a curfew applied solely to [[Algeria]]ns. The official death toll is 3, but human rights groups claim 240 dead.
* [[October 19]] - The [[Arab League]] takes over protecting [[Kuwait]]; the last British troops leave.
* [[October 25]] - The first edition of ''[[Private Eye]]'', the British satirical magazine, is published.
* [[October 27]]
**An [[armistice]] begins in [[Katanga]], [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]].
**[[Mongolia]] and [[Mauritania]] join the [[United Nations]].
**A standoff between [[Soviet]] and [[United States|American]] tanks in [[Berlin]], [[Germany]] heightens [[Cold War]] tensions.
* [[October 29]] - [[RBS Channel 7]], the Philippines' third TV station, is launched.
* [[October 30]] - [[Nuclear testing]]: The [[Soviet Union]] detonates a 58 megaton yield [[hydrogen bomb]] known as [[Tsar Bomba]] over [[Novaya Zemlya]]. It remains the largest ever (man-made) explosion.
* [[October 31]]
**[[Hurricane Hattie]] devastates [[Belize City]], [[Belize]] killing over 270. After the [[hurricane]], the capital moves to the inland city of [[Belmopan]].
**[[Joseph Stalin]]'s body is removed from the Lenin Mausoleum.
===November===
{{Month3|11|2|0}}
<!-- Link dates even if repeated, for date-format preferences.
-->
*November - The [[Fantastic Four]] #1 debuts, launching the [[Marvel Universe]] and revolutionizing the [[American comic book]] industry.
* [[November 1]] - The Interstate Commerce Commission's federal order banning segregation at all interstate public facilities officially comes into effect.
* [[November 2]] - ''Kean'' opens at Broadway Theater New York City for 92 performances.
* [[November 3]] - The [[UN General Assembly]] unanimously elects [[U Thant]] acting Secretary General.
* [[November 6]] - The U.S. government issues a stamp honoring the 100th birthday of [[James Naismith]].
* [[November 9]] - [[Neil Armstrong]] records a world record speed in a rocket plane of 6,587km/h flying a [[X-15]].
* [[November 10]] - ''[[Catch-22]]'' is first published by Joseph Heller.
* [[November 11]]
**Congolese soldiers murder 13 Italian [[United Nations]] pilots.
**Stalingrad is renamed [[Volgograd]].
* [[November 17]] - [[Michael Rockefeller]], son of [[Govenor of New York|New York Governor]], and later [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Nelson Rockefeller]], disappears in the jungles of [[New Guinea]].
* [[November 18]] - U.S. President [[John F. Kennedy]] sends 18,000 military advisors to South Vietnam.
* [[November 20]] - The funeral of longtime House Speaker [[Sam Rayburn]] is held in [[Washington, DC]]. Two former Presidents ([[Harry S. Truman|Truman]], [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]]) and one future one ([[Lyndon B. Johnson]]) join [[John F. Kennedy|President Kennedy]] in paying their respects.
* [[November 30]] - The [[Soviet Union]] vetoes [[Kuwait]]'s application for [[United Nations]] membership.
===December===
{{Month3|12|4|0}}
* [[December 1]] - [[Netherlands New Guinea]] raises the new Morning Star flag and changes its name to [[West Papua]].
* [[December 2]] - [[Cold War]]: In a nationally broadcast speech, [[Cuba]]n leader [[Fidel Castro]] declares he is a [[Marxist]]-[[Leninist]], and that Cuba will adopt [[Communism]].
* [[December 5]] - U.S. President [[John F. Kennedy]] gives support to the [[Akosombo Dam|Volta Dam]] project in [[Ghana]].
* [[December 9]]
**[[Tanganyika]] gains independence and declares itself a republic, with [[Julius Nyerere]] as its first President.
**The [[Australia]]n government of [[Robert Menzies]] is re-elected for a sixth term.
* [[December 10]]
**The [[Soviet Union]] severs [[diplomatic relations]] with [[Albania]].
**[[Nobel Prize]]: Melvin Calvin is awarded the Nobel Prize for the process of photosynthesis.
* [[December 11]]
**The [[Vietnam War]] officially begins, as the first American helicopters arrive in Saigon along with 400 U.S. personnel.
**[[Adolf Eichmann]] is pronounced guilty of crimes against humanity by a panel of 3 [[Israel]]i judges.
* [[December 15]] - An Israeli war crimes tribunal sentences [[Adolf Eichmann]] to die for his part in the Jewish [[Holocaust]].
* [[December 17]]
**[[India]] occupies [[Goa]].
**[[Circus]] tent fire in [[Niteroi]], [[Brazil]] kills 323.
* [[December 18]] - [[India]] occupies [[Portugal|Portuguese]] colonies of [[Goa]], [[Damao]] and [[Diu]]
* [[December 19]]
**[[Goa]] is officially ceded to [[India]] after 400 years of Portuguese rule.
**[[Sukarno]] announces that he will take [[West Irian]] by force if necessary.
* [[December 21]] - In [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]], Katangan prime minister [[Moise Tshombe]] recognizes the Congolese constitution.
* [[December 23]] - [[Luxembourg]]'s [[National Day|national holiday]], the [[Grand Duke's Official Birthday]], is set on [[June 23]] by Grand Ducal decree.
* [[December 30]] - Congolese troops capture Albert Kalonji of [[South Kasai]] (who soon escapes).
* [[December 31]]
**The [[Marshall Plan]] expires, after having distributed more than $12 billion in [[foreign aid]] to rebuild [[Europe]].
**Ireland's first national television station, ''Telefís Éireann'' (later [[RTÉ]]), begins broadcasting.
===Undated===
*"[[Barbie]]" gets a boyfriend when the "[[Ken (Barbie)|Ken]]" doll is introduced.
===Ongoing===
* [[Marshall Plan]]
==Births==
{{Year in other calendars|japanese=[[Shōwa]] 36}}
===January-February===
<!-- Link dates even if repeated, for date-format preferences.
-->
* [[January 1]] - [[Mark Wingett]], British actor
* [[January 2]]
**[[Gabrielle Carteris]], American actress
**[[Todd Haynes]], American film director
* [[January 5]] - [[Iris DeMent]], American singer-songwriter
* [[January 8]] - [[Calvin Smith]], American athlete
* [[January 11]] - [[Karl Habsburg-Lothringen| Karl von Habsburg-Lothringen (Károly)]], Archduke, Prince Imperial of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary
* [[January 13]] - [[Julia Louis-Dreyfus]], American actress
* [[January 13]] - [[Suggs (singer)|Suggs]], British singer ([[Madness (band)|Madness]])
* [[January 17]] - [[Maia Chiburdanidze]], Georgian chess player
* [[January 18]] - [[Mark Messier]], Canadian hockey player
* [[January 24]] - [[Nastassja Kinski]], German-born actress
* [[January 26]] - [[Wayne Gretzky]], Canadian hockey player ("The Great One")
* [[January 30]] - [[Dexter Scott King]], son of [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]]
* [[January 31]] - [[Lloyd Cole]], British singer and songwriter
* [[February 1]] - [[Volker Fried]], German field hockey player
* [[February 3]]
**[[Jim Balsillie]], Canadian CEO and [[philanthropist]]
**[[Gretel Killeen]], Australian author and TV presenter ([[Big Brother Australia|Big Brother]])
* [[February 8]] - [[Vince Neil]], American singer
* [[February 9]]
**[[John Kruk]], baseball player and commentator
**[[Jussi Lampi]], Finnish musician and actor
* [[February 10]] - [[George Stephanopoulos]], American political consultant and commentator
* [[February 11]]
**[[Mary Docter]], American speed skater
**[[Carey Lowell]], American actress
* [[February 13]]
**[[Henry Rollins]], American musician
**[[Richard Tyson]], American actor
* [[February 14]] - [[Latifa]], Tunisian singer
* [[February 16]] - [[Andy Taylor (guitarist)|Andy Taylor]], British musician ([[Duran Duran]])
* [[February 22]] - [[Akira Takasaki]], Japanese guitarist
* [[February 25]] - [[Davey Allison]], American race car driver (d. [[1993]])
* [[February 27]] - [[James Worthy]], American basketball player and analyst
===March-April===
* March - [[Reggie Fils-Aime]], American businessperson ([[Nintendo]])
* [[March 4]]
**[[Ray Mancini]], American boxer
**[[Steven Weber (actor)|Steven Weber]], American actor
**[[Roger Wessels]], South African golfer
* [[March 8]] - [[Camryn Manheim]], American actress
* [[March 10]]
**[[Mike Bullard (ice hockey)]], American hockey player
**[[Laurel Clark]], astronaut (d. [[2003]])
**[[Mitch Gaylord]], American gymnast
**[[Bobby Petrino]], American football coach
* [[March 14]] - [[Gary Dell'Abate]], radio producer ([[The Howard Stern Show]])
* [[March 16]] - [[Brett Kenny]], Australian [[rugby league]] player
* [[March 17]] - [[Umayya Abu-Hanna]], Palestine-born Finnish writer and politician
* [[March 21]] - [[Lothar Matthäus]], German footballer
* [[March 23]] - [[Helmi Johannes]], Indonesian television newscaster
* [[March 27]]
**[[Ellery Hanley]], English rugby league player and coach
**[[Tak Matsumoto]], Japanese guitarist ([[B'z]])
* [[March 28]] - [[Byron Scott (basketball)|Byron Scott]], American basketball player and coach
* [[March 29]]
**[[Amy Sedaris]], American actress, comedian and writer
**[[Gerardo Teissonniere]], Puerto Rican pianist
* [[April 2]] - [[Christopher Meloni]], American actor
* [[April 3]] - [[Eddie Murphy]], American actor and comedian
* [[April 5]] - [[Lisa Zane]], American actress
* [[April 6]] - [[Gene Eugene]], Canadian actor and singer ([[Adam Again]])
* [[April 12]] - [[Lisa Gerrard]], Australian musician
* [[April 14]] - [[Neil Dougherty]], basketball coach
* [[April 17]] - [[Frank J. Christensen]], American labor leader
* [[April 18]] - [[Jane Leeves]], English actress
* [[April 20]]
**[[Don Mattingly]], American baseball player
**[[Konstantin Lavronenko]], Russian actor
* [[April 23]] - [[George Lopez]], American actor and comedian
* [[April 26]] - [[Anthony Cumia]], American radio personality (The [[Opie and Anthony]] Show)
* [[April 27]] - [[Moana Pozzi]], Italian porn actress (d. [[1994]])
* [[April 28]] - [[Futoshi Matsunaga]], Japanese serial killer
* [[April 29]] - [[Fumihiko Tachiki]], Japanese seiyuu
* [[April 30]] - [[Isiah Thomas]], American basketball player, coach, and team owner
===May-June===
* [[May 2]] - [[Steve James]], English [[snooker]] player
* [[May 6]] - [[George Clooney]], American actor
* [[May 7]] - [[Robert Spano]], American conductor and pianist
* [[May 8]] - [[Janet McTeer]], British actress
* [[May 12]] - [[Billy Duffy|Billy (William H) Duffy]], English guitarist ([[The Cult]])
* [[May 13]] - [[Dennis Rodman]], American basketball player and actor
* [[May 14]] - [[Tim Roth]], English actor
* [[May 17]] - [[Enya]] (Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin), Irish musician
* [[May 27]] - [[Peri Gilpin]], American actress
* [[May 29]] - [[Melissa Etheridge]], American musician
* [[May 31]]
**[[Ray Cote]], Canadian ice hockey player
**[[Justin Madden]], Australian footballer and politician
**[[Lea Thompson]], American actress
* [[June 1]] - [[Paul Coffey]], Canadian hockey player
* [[June 2]] - [[Dez Cadena]], American musician
* [[June 3]] - [[Lawrence Lessig]], Professor and Free Culture activist
* [[June 5]]
**[[Anthony Burger]], American musician and singer (d. [[2006]])
**[[Rosie Kane]], member of Scottish Parliament
* [[June 6]] - [[Tom Araya]], Chilean-born musician ([[Slayer]])
* [[June 9]] - [[Michael J. Fox]], Canadian actor
* [[June 10]] - [[Kim Deal|Kim]] and [[Kelley Deal]], American musicians
* [[June 14]] - "[[Boy George]]" O'Dowd, British musician and producer
* [[June 15]]
**[[Kai Eckhardt]], German bass guitarist
**[[Dave McAuley]], Northern Irish boxer
* [[June 18]] - [[Andrés Galarraga]], Venezuelan [[Major League Baseball]] player
* [[June 23]]
**[[Zoran Janjetov]], Serbian comic artist
**[[David Leavitt]], American novelist
* [[June 25]]
**[[Ricky Gervais]], English comedian
**[[Mike Breen]], American broadcaster
* [[June 26]] - [[Greg LeMond]], American cyclist
* [[June 27]] - [[Meera Syal]], British-Indian comedian and actress
* [[June 28]] - [[Jeff Malone]], American basketball player
*[[June 29]] - [[Greg Hetson]] American guitarist for Bad Religion and Circle Jerks, among others.
===July-August===
* [[July 1]]
**[[Kalpana Chawla]], astronaut (d. [[2003]])
**[[Diana, Princess of Wales]] (d. [[1997]])
**[[Carl Lewis]], American athlete
* [[July 2]] - [[Michael Lindsay]], Voice actor
* [[July 6]] - [[Rick Price]], singer/songwriter
* [[July 7]] - [[Eric Jerome Dickey]], American writer
* [[July 10]] - [[Jacky Cheung]], Hong Kong singer and actor
* [[July 12]] - [[Ray Gillen]], American singer (d. [[1993]])
* [[July 14]] - [[Jackie Earle Haley]], American actor
* [[July 17]] - [[Jonathan Potts]], Canadian actor
* [[July 19]] - [[Maria Filatova]], Soviet gymnast
* [[July 19]] - [[Benoît Mariage]], Belgian film director
* [[July 23]] - [[Martin Gore]], English musician and songwriter ([[Depeche Mode]])
* [[July 26]] - [[Keiko Matsui]], Japanese pianist and composer
* [[July 30]] - [[Laurence Fishburne]], American actor
* [[August 3]] - [[Nick Harvey]], English politician
* [[August 4]]
**[[Barack Obama]], US Senator, author
**[[Lauren Tom]], American actress
* [[August 5]] - [[Clayton Rohner]], American actor
* [[August 7]]
**[[Brian Conley]], English TV presenter, comedian, singer & actor
**[[Yelena Davydova]], Soviet gymnast
* [[August 8]]
**[[Bruce Matthews]], American football player
**[[The Edge]] (David Howell Evans), Irish guitarist ([[U2]])
* [[August 14]] - [[Susan Olsen]], American actress
* [[August 18]] - [[Bob Woodruff]], American television journalist
* [[August 21]] - [[Stephen Hillenburg]], animation writer and artist
* [[August 25]] - [[Billy Ray Cyrus]], American singer and actor
* [[August 29]] - [[Carsten Fischer]], German field hockey player
===September-October===
* [[September 1]] - [[Cécilia Rhode]], Miss Sweden
* [[September 2]]
**[[Eric Dickerson]], American football player
**[[Carlos Valderrama (soccer player)|Carlos Valderrama]], Colombian footballer
* [[September 5]] - [[Karim Abdul Razak]], Ghanaian footballer
* [[September 6]]
**[[Paul Waaktaar-Savoy]], Norwegian guitarist ([[a-ha]])
**[[Scott Travis]], American drummer ([[Judas Priest]])
* [[September 11]]
**[[Elizabeth Daily]], American actress
**[[Virginia Madsen]], American actress
* [[September 12]] - [[Mylene Farmer]], Canadian singer and songwriter
* [[September 13]] - [[Dave Mustaine]], former [[Metallica]] guitarist, frontman of [[Megadeth]]
* [[September 15]]
**[[Dan Marino]], American football player
**[[Lidia Yusupova]], Chechen human-rights lawyer
* [[September 18]] - [[James Gandolfini]], American actor
* [[September 22]]
**[[Scott Baio]], American actor
**[[Bonnie Hunt]], American actress, comedian, writer, director and television producer.
**[[Catherine Oxenberg]], British actress
* [[September 23]] - [[William C. McCool]], US Army Commander and astronaut (d. [[2003]])
* [[September 25]] - [[Heather Locklear]], American actress
* [[September 26]] - [[Edward Kennedy Jr]], son of [[U.S. Senator]] [[Ted Kennedy]]
* [[September 27]] - [[Andy Lau]], Hong Kong actor and singer
* [[September 30]] - [[Sally Yeh]], Hong Kong singer and actress
* [[October 2]] - [[Edmond Yu]], Chinese student (d. [[1997]])
* [[October 5]] - [[Matthew Kauffman]], American journalist and [[George Polk Award]] winner
* [[October 11]]
**[[Steve Young (athlete)|Steve Young]], American football player
**[[Amr Diab]], Egyptian singer
**[[Neil Buchanan]], English television presenter
* [[October 13]] - [[Doc Rivers]], American basketball player and coach
* [[October 16]] - [[Randy Vasquez]], American actor
* [[October 18]]
**[[Wynton Marsalis]], American trumpeter and composer
**[[Rick Moody]], American writer
* [[October 25]] - [[Pat Sharp]], host of the British version of [[Fun House]], radio DJ
* [[October 26]] - [[Dylan McDermott]], American actor
* [[October 29]] - [[Randy Jackson (musician)|Randy Jackson]], American musician
* [[October 31]]
**[[Alonzo Babers]], American runner
**[[Peter Jackson]], New Zealand film director
**[[Larry Mullen, Jr.]], Irish drummer ([[U2]])
===November-December===
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-->
* [[November 1]] - [[Anne Donovan]], American basketball player
* [[November 2]] - [[k.d. lang]], Canadian singer and songwriter
* [[November 4]]
**[[Daron Hagen]], American composer
**[[Edward Knight (composer)|Edward Knight]], American composer
**[[Ralph Macchio]], American actor
**[[Nigel Worthington]], Northern Irish footballer and football manager
* [[November 5]] - [[Gina Mastrogiacomo]], American actress (d. [[2001]])
* [[November 11]] - [[Jan Kuehnemund]], American guitarist, [[Vixen (band)|Vixen]]
* [[November 13]] - [[Klayton]], musician
* [[November 14]] - [[Jurga Ivanauskaitė]], Lithuanian writer (d. [[2007]])
* [[November 15]] - [[Ian Reid (educator)|Ian Reid]], Australian educator
* [[November 18]] - [[Anthony Warlow]], Australian singer
* [[November 19]] - [[Meg Ryan]], American actress
* [[November 20]] - [[Dave Watson]], English footballer
* [[November 22]]
**[[Mariel Hemingway]], American actress
**[[Randal L. Schwartz]], American computer programmer
* [[December 3]] - [[Marcelo Fromer]], Brazilian guitarist
* [[December 4]] - [[Frank Reich]], American football player
* [[December 8]] - [[Ann Coulter]], American author, political commentator and attorney
* [[December 11]] - [[Dave King (musician)|Dave King]], Irish-American singer
* [[December 12]]
**[[Sarah Sutton]], British actress
**[[Daniel O'Donnell (Irish singer)|Daniel O'Donnell]], Irish singer
* [[December 15]] - [[Karin Resetarits]], Austrian journalist and politician
* [[December 16]] - [[Bill Hicks]], American comedian (d. [[1994]])
* [[December 19]]
**[[Matthew Waterhouse]], British actor
**[[Eric Allin Cornell]], American physicist, [[Nobel Prize]] laureate
**[[Reggie White]], American football player (d. [[2004]])
* [[December 20]] - [[Mohammad Fouad]], Arab singer and actor
* [[December 21]] - [[Francis Ng]], Hong Kong actor
* [[December 25]] - [[Ingrid Betancourt]], Colombian senator
* [[December 26]] - [[John Lynch (actor)|John Lynch]], Northern Irish actor
* [[December 29]] - [[Jim Reid]], Scottish musician
* [[December 30]]
**[[Douglas Coupland]], Canadian author
**[[Sean Hannity]], American talk radio host and conservative commentator
**[[Ben Johnson (athlete)|Ben Johnson]], Canadian athlete
==Deaths==
===January - June===
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* [[January 4]] - [[Erwin Schrödinger]], Austrian physicist, [[Nobel Prize]] laureate (b. [[1887]])
* [[January 9]] - [[Emily Greene Balch]], American writer and pacifist, recipient of the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] (b. [[1867]])
* [[January 10]] - [[Dashiell Hammett]], American writer (b. [[1894]])
* [[January 21]] - [[Blaise Cendrars]], Swiss writer (b. [[1887]])
* [[January 24]] - [[Alfred Carlton Gilbert]], American swimmer and inventor (b. [[1884]])
* [[January 26]] - [[Stan Nichols]], English cricketer (b. [[1900]])
* [[February 17]] - [[Nita Naldi]], American actress (b. [[1897]])
* [[February 20]] - [[Percy Grainger]], Australian composer (b. [[1882]])
* [[February 22]] - [[Nick LaRocca]], American jazz musician (b. [[1889]])
* [[February 26]] - King [[Mohammed V of Morocco]] (b. [[1909]])
* [[March 3]] - [[Paul Wittgenstein]], Austrian-born pianist (b. [[1887]])
* [[March 6]] - [[George Formby, Jr.|George Formby]], British singer, comedian & actor (b. [[1904]])
* [[March 8]]
**Sir [[Thomas Beecham]], English conductor (b. [[1879]])
**[[Gala Galaction]], Romanian writer (b. [[1879]])
* [[March 17]] - [[Susanna M. Salter]], first woman mayor in the United States (b. [[1860]])
* [[March 23]] - [[Valentin Bondarenko]], [[cosmonaut]] (b. [[1937]])
*[[March 26]] - [[Carlos Duarte Costa]], founder of the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church (b. [[1888]])
* [[April 6]] - [[Jules Bordet]], Belgian immunologist and microbiologist, recipient of the [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] (b. [[1870]])
* [[April 7]] - [[Vanessa Bell]], English artist and interior designer (b. [[1879]])
* [[April 9]] - [[Zog of Albania|Ahmet Zog]], [[King of Albania]] (b. [[1895]])
* [[May 6]] - [[Lucian Blaga]], Romanian poet and philosopher (b. [[1895]])
* [[May 13]] - [[Gary Cooper]], American actor (b. [[1901]])
* [[May 14]] - [[Albert Sévigny]], Canadian politician (b. [[1881]])
* [[May 16]] - [[George A. Malcolm]], American jurist & educator (b. [[1881]])
* [[May 30]] - [[Rafael Leónidas Trujillo]], dictator of the Dominican Republic (b. [[1891]])
* [[May 31]] - [[Walter Little]], Canadian politician (b. [[1877]])
* [[June 2]] - [[George S. Kaufman]], American playwright (b. [[1889]])
* [[June 6]] - [[Carl Jung]], Swiss psychiatrist (b. [[1875]])
* [[June 16]] - [[Marcel Junod]], Swiss physician (b. [[1904]])
* [[June 17]] - [[Jeff Chandler (actor)|Jeff Chandler]], American actor (b. [[1918]])
* [[June 30]] - [[Lee DeForest]], American inventor (b. [[1873]])
===July - December===
* [[July 1]] - [[Louis-Ferdinand Céline]], French writer (b. [[1894]])
* [[July 2]] - [[Ernest Hemingway]], American writer, [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel Prize]] laureate (b. [[1899]])
* [[July 6]] - [[Woodall Rodgers]], Mayor of Dallas, Texas (b. [[1890]])
* [[July 17]] - [[Ty Cobb]], baseball player (b. [[1886]])
*[[August 8]] - [[Méi Lánfāng]], Beijing opera star (b. [[1894]])
* [[August 20]] - [[Percy Williams Bridgman]], American physicist, [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Nobel Prize]] laureate (b. [[1882]])
* [[September 17]] - [[Adnan Menderes]], Turkish prime minister (executed) (b. [[1899]])
* [[September 18]] - [[Dag Hammarskjöld]], Swedish [[Secretary General of the United Nations]], recipient of the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] (b. [[1905]])
* [[September 25]] - [[Frank Fay(U.S.-born)|Frank Fay]], American actor (b. [[1897]])
* [[October 4]] - [[Benjamin (Fedchenkov)|Metropolitan Benjamin (Fedchenkov)]], [[Orthodox Christianity|Orthodox]] [[missionary]] and writer, [[Exarch]] of [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Church]] in North America (b. [[1880]])
* [[October 11]] - [[Chico Marx]], American comedian (b. [[1887]])
*[[October 13]] - [[Dun Karm Psaila]], Maltese writer (b. [[1871]])
* [[October 14]] - [[Harriet Shaw Weaver]], English political activist (b. [[1876]])
* [[October 13]] - [[Maya Deren]], Russian-born filmmaker (b. [[1917]])
* [[November 1]] - [[Mordecai Ham]], American evangelist (b. [[1877]])
* [[November 2]] - [[James Thurber]], American humorist (b. [[1894]])
* [[November 16]] - [[Sam Rayburn]], [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives]] (b. [[1882]])
* [[December 20]]
**[[Moss Hart]], American dramatist (b. [[1904]])
**[[Earle Page]], eleventh [[Prime Minister of Australia]] (b. [[1880]])
* [[December 25]] - [[Otto Loewi]], German-born pharmacologist, recipient of the [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] (b. [[1873]])
* [[December 29]] - [[Sibyl Morrison]], first female barrister in New South Wales, Australia (b. [[1895]])
==Notes==
{{reflist|1}}
{{commonscat}}
==External links==
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