1962 Explained

Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar.

Events of 1962

January

• January 1 - Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand.
• January 1 - The United States Navy SEALs are activated. SEAL Team One is commissioned in the Pacific Fleet and SEAL Team Two in the Atlantic Fleet.
• January 1 - The Beatles have their first and only audition for Decca Records (named The Decca audition).
• January 2 - NAACP Executive Secretary Roy Wilkins praises U.S. President John F. Kennedy's "personal role" in advancing civil rights.
• January 3 - Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.
• January 4 - New York City introduces a subway train that operates without a crew on board.
• January 5 - The Beatles' first record, "My Bonnie" with Tony Sheridan, is released by Polydor.
• January 8 - Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is exhibited in the United States for the first time, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C..

• January 8 - Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the worst Dutch rail disaster.
• January 9 - Cuba and the Soviet Union sign a trade pact.
• January 10 - An avalanche on Nevado Huascarán in Peru causes 4,000 deaths.
• January 12 - The Indonesian Army confirms that it has begun operations in West Irian.
• January 13 - Albania allies itself with the People's Republic of China.
• January 15 - Portugal abandons the U.N. General Assembly due to the debate over Angola.
• January 16 - A military coup occurs in the Dominican Republic.
• January 19 - A counter-coup occurs in the Dominican Republic; the old government returns except for the new president Rafael Filiberto Bonnelly.
• January 22 - The Organization of American States suspends Cuba's membership.
• January 24 - The East German government readopts conscription.
• January 24 - The Organisation armée secrète (OAS) bombs the French Foreign Ministry.
• January 26 - Ranger 3 is launched to study the Moon; it later misses the Moon by 22,000 miles.
• January 27 - The Soviet government changes all place names honoring Molotov, Kaganovich and Georgi Malenkov.
• January 30 - Two of the high-wire "Flying Wallendas" are killed, when their famous 7-person pyramid collapses during a performance in Detroit, Michigan.

February

• February 3 - The United States embargo against Cuba is announced.
• February 4 - The Sunday Times becomes the first paper to print a colour supplement.
• February 4–5 - During a new moon and solar eclipse, an extremely rare grand conjunction of the classical planets occurs (it includes all 5 of the naked-eye planets plus the Sun and Moon), all of them within 16° of one another on the ecliptic. At the precise moment of the new moon/solar eclipse, 5 celestial bodies (the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter) are clustered within 3° of each other, with the Earth in close conjunction with them. Taken in totality, this grand conjunction includes the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, with the Earth also in alignment with the Sun and Moon at the exact moment of the new moon/solar eclipse (8 celestial bodies in total).
• February 5 - French President Charles de Gaulle calls for Algeria to be granted independence.
• February 6 - Negotiations between U.S. Steel and the United States Department of Commerce begin.

• February 7 - The United States Government bans all U.S.-related Cuban imports and exports.
• February 7 - A coal mine explosion in Saarland, West Germany kills 299.
• February 9 - The Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation opens.
• February 10 - Captured American spy pilot Francis Gary Powers is exchanged for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel in Berlin.
• February 12 - Six members of the Committee of 100 of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament are found guilty of a breach of the Official Secrets Act.
• February 14 - First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy takes television viewers on a tour of the White House.
• February 15 - Urho Kekkonen is re-elected president of Finland.
• February 16 - Heavy storms flood Germany's North Sea coast, mainly around Hamburg; more than 300 people die, thousands lose their homes.
• February 20 - Project Mercury: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth, three times in 4 hours, 55 minutes.
• February 23 - Twelve European countries form the European Space Agency.

March

• March 1 - An American Airlines Boeing 707 crashes on takeoff at New York International Airport, after its rudder separates from the tail, with the loss of all life on board.
• March 2 - A military coup in Burma brings General Ne Win to power.
• March 2 - Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points in a single NBA basketball game.
• March 7 Ash Wednesday Storm: A snow storm batters the Mid-Atlantic.
• March 8–12 - In Geneva, France and the Algerian FLN begin negotiations.
• March 15 - Katangan Prime Minister Moise Tshombe begins negotiations to rejoin the Congo.
• March 18 - Évian Accords: France and Algeria sign an agreement in Évian-les-Bains ending the Algerian War.
• March 18 - Un premier amour by Isabelle Aubret (music by Claude-Henri Vic, text by Roland Stephane Valade) wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1962 for France.
• March 19 - An armistice begins in Algeria; however, the OAS continues its terrorist attacks against Algerians.
• March 23 - The Scandinavian States of the Nordic Council sign the Helsinki Convention on Nordic Co-operation.
• March 24 - OAS leader Edmond Jouahud is arrested in Oran.
• March 26 - France shortens the term for military service from 26 months to 18.
• March 26 - Baker v. Carr: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that federal courts can order state legislatures to reapportion seats.

April

• April 3 - Jawaharlal Nehru is elected de facto Prime Minister of India.
• April 4 - James Hanratty is hanged in Bedford Gaol for the A6 murder; many believe he is innocent.
• April 6 - Belgium reestablishes diplomatic relations with the Congo.
• April 6 - Leonard Bernstein causes controversy with his remarks before a concert featuring Glenn Gould with the New York Philharmonic.
• April 7 - Author Milovan Djilas is arrested in Yugoslavia.
• April 8 - In France, the Évian Accords are adopted in a referendum with a majority of 90%.
• April 9 - The 34th Academy Awards ceremony is held.
• April 10 - In Los Angeles, California, the first MLB game is played at Dodger Stadium.
• April 13 - OAS leader Edmond Jouhaud is sentenced to death in France.
• April 14 - A Cuban military tribunal convicts 1,179 Bay of Pigs attackers.
• April 18 - The Commonwealth Immigration Bill in the United Kingdom removes free immigration from the citizens of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations.
• April 20 - OAS leader Raoul Salan is arrested in Algiers.
• April 21 - The Century 21 Exposition World's Fair opens in Seattle, Washington.
• April 26 - The Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon.

May

• May 1 - Norwich City wins the League Cup, beating Rochdale in the final.
• May 1 - Dayton Hudson Corporation opens the first of its Target discount stores in Roseville, Minnesota.
• May 2 - An OAS bomb explodes in Algeria - this and other attacks kill 110 and injure 147.
• May 3 - 160 die in a triple-train disaster near Tokyo.
• May 5 - Twelve East Germans escape via a tunnel under the Berlin Wall.
• May 6 - Antonio Segni is elected President of the Italian Republic.
• May 14 - Juan Carlos of Spain marries the Greek Princess Sophia in Athens.
• May 14 - Milovan Djilas, former vice-president of Yugoslavia, is given further sentence for publishing Conversations with Stalin.
• May 23 - Drilling for the new Montreal subway commences.
• May 23 - Raoul Salan, founder of the French terrorist Organisation armée secrète, is sentenced to life imprisonment in France.
• May 24 - Project Mercury: Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth 3 times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.
• May 25 - The new Coventry Cathedral is consecrated in London.
• May 29 - Negotiations between the OAS and the FLA lead to a real armistice in Algeria.
• May 30 - The 1962 FIFA World Cup begins in Chile.

June

• June 1 - Adolf Eichmann is hanged in Israel.
• June 3 - Air France charter flight Chateau de Sully, a Boeing 707, over-runs the runway at Orly Airport in Paris; 130 of 132 passengers are killed, 2 flight attendants survive. Most victims are cultural and civic leaders of Atlanta, Georgia.
• June 6 - President John F. Kennedy gives the commencement address at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.
• June 11 - President John F. Kennedy gives the commencement address at Yale University.
• June 11 - Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin become the only apparently successful escapees from the Alcatraz Island prison. There is no conclusive evidence that they survived the attempt.
• June 15 - Students for a Democratic Society complete the Port Huron Statement.
• June 17 - The OAS signs a truce with the FLN in Algeria, but a day later announces that it will continue the fight on behalf of French Algerians.
• June 17 - Brazil beats Czechoslovakia 3-1 to win the 1962 FIFA World Cup.
• June 22 - An Air France Boeing 707 jet crashes into terrain during bad weather in Guadeloupe, West Indies, killing all 113 on board. It is the airline's second fatal accident in just 3 weeks, and the third fatal 707 crash of the year.
• June 25 - Engel v. Vitale: The United States Supreme Court rules that mandatory prayers in public schools are unconstitutional.
• June 25 - MANual Enterprises v. Day: The United States Supreme Court rules that photographs of nude men are not obscene, decriminalizing nude male pornographic magazines.
• June 26 - A 2-day steel strike begins in Italy, in support of increased wages and a 5-day working week.
• June 28 - The United Lutheran Church in America, Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, American Evangelical Lutheran Church, and Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church merge to form the Lutheran Church in America.
• June 30 - The last soldiers of the French Foreign Legion leave Algeria.

July

• July 1 - Rwanda and Burundi gain independence.
• July 1 - Supporters of Algerian independence win 99% majority in a referendum.
• July 1 - A heavy smog develops over London.
• July 2 - Charles de Gaulle accepts Algerian independence; France recognizes it the next day.
• July 2 - The first Wal-Mart store opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas.
• July 5 - Algeria becomes independent from France.
• July 6 - Irish broadcaster Gay Byrne presents his first edition of The Late Late Show. Byrne goes on to present the talk show for 37 years, making it the longest running in the world.
• July 10 - AT&T's Telstar, the world's first commercial communications satellite, is launched into orbit, and activated the next day.
• July 12 - The Rolling Stones make their debut at London's Marquee Club, Number 165 Oxford Street, opening for Long John Baldry.
• July 13 - In what the press dubs the "the Night of the Long Knives", United Kingdom Prime Minister Harold Macmillan dismisses 1/3 of his Cabinet.
• July 17 - Nuclear testing: The "Small Boy" test shot Little Feller I becomes the last atmospheric test detonation at the Nevada Test Site.
• July 19 - The First Annual Swiss & Wielder Hoop and Stick Tournament is held.
• July 20 - France and Tunisia reestablish diplomatic relations.
• July 22 - Mariner program: The Mariner 1 spacecraft flies erratically several minutes after launch and has to be destroyed.
• July 23 - Telstar relays the first live trans-Atlantic television signal.
• July 25 - Puerto Rico becomes a commonwealth of the United States of America.
• July 28 - A locust swarm threatens New Delhi.
• July 31 - Algeria proclaims independence; Ahmed Ben Bella is the first President.
• July 31 - A crowd assaults the rally of Sir Oswald Mosley's right-wing Union Movement in London.

August

• August 5 - The South African government arrests Nelson Mandela in Howick, and charges him with incitement to rebellion.
• August 6 - Jamaica becomes independent.
• August 15 - The Netherlands acknowledge that Irian Jaya is part of Indonesia.
• August 16 - Beatles drummer Pete Best is fired and replaced by Ringo Starr.
• August 16 - Algeria joins the Arab League.
• August 17 - East German border guards kill 18-year-old Peter Fechter, as he attempts to cross the Berlin Wall into West Berlin.
• August 10 - Marvel Comics publishes Amazing Fantasy #15, which features the superhero character of Spider-Man, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.
• August 22 - A failed assassination attempt is made against French President Charles De Gaulle.
• August 23 - John Lennon secretly marries Cynthia Powell.
• August 24 - A group of armed Cuban exile terrorists fire at a hotel in Havana from a speedboat.
• August 27 - NASA launches the Mariner 2 space probe.
• August 31 - Trinidad and Tobago becomes independent.

September

• September 1 - A referendum in Singapore supports the Malayan Federation.
• September 1 - Typhoon Wanda strikes Hong Kong, killing at least 130 and wounding more than 600.
• September 2 - The Soviet Union agrees to send arms to Cuba.
• September 8 - Newly independent Algeria, by referendum, adopts a constitution.
• September 12 - President John F. Kennedy, at a speech at Rice University, reaffirms that the U.S. will put a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
• September 15 - The Beatles are signed by Parlophone Records.
• September 21 - A border conflict between China and India erupts into fighting.
• September 21 - New Musical Express, a British music magazine, publishes a story about two 13-year-old schoolgirls, Sue and Mary, releasing a disc on Decca and adds "A Liverpool group, The Beatles, have recorded 'Love Me Do' for Parlophone Records, set for October 5 release."
• September 26 - Civil war erupts in Yemen.
• September 27 - A flash flood in Barcelona, Spain, kills more than 440.
• September 27 - Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring is released, giving rise to the modern environmentalist movement.
• September 28 - Prime Minister Ahmed Ben Bella founds the first government in Algeria.
• September 29 - The Canadian Alouette 1, the first satellite built outside the United States and the Soviet Union, is launched from Vandenberg AFB in California.
• September 30 - CBS broadcasts the final episodes of Suspense and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, marking the end of the Golden Age of Radio.

October

• October 1 - The first black student, James Meredith, registers at the University of Mississippi, escorted by Federal Marshals.
• October 5 - The French National Assembly censures the proposed referendum to sanction presidential elections by popular mandate; Prime Minister Georges Pompidou resigns, but President de Gaulle asks him to stay in office.
• October 5 - Dr. No, the first James Bond film, premieres in UK theaters.
• October 5 - The Beatles release their first single, Love Me Do.
• October 8 - The German magazine Der Spiegel publishes an article about the Bundeswehr's poor preparedness; the Spiegel scandal erupts.
• October 8 - Algeria is accepted into the United Nations.
• October 9 - Uganda becomes independent within the Commonwealth of Nations.
• October 10 - The Sino-Indian War, a border dispute involving two of the world's largest nations (India and the People's Republic of China), begins.
• October 10 - Der Spiegel publishes an article on a NATO exercise criticizing the weakness of the West German army.
• October 11 - Second Vatican Council: Pope John XXIII convenes the first ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church in 92 years.
• October 12 - The infamous Columbus Day Storm strikes the U.S. Pacific Northwest with wind gusts up to 170 mph (270km/h); 46 are killed, 11 billion board feet (26 million m³) of timber is blown down, with $230 million U.S. in damages.
• October 12 - Jazz bassist/composer Charles Mingus presents a disastrous concert at Town Hall in New York City. It will gain a reputation as the worst moment of his career.
• October 13 - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? opens on Broadway.
• October 14 - Cuban Missile Crisis begins: A U-2 flight over Cuba takes photos of Soviet nuclear weapons being installed. A stand-off then ensues the next day between the United States and the Soviet Union, threatening the world with nuclear war.
• October 22 - In a televised address, U.S. President John F. Kennedy announces to the nation the existence of Soviet missiles in Cuba.
• October 26 - Spiegel scandal: German police occupy Der Spiegel offices in Hamburg.
• October 28 - Cuban Missile Crisis: Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that he has ordered the removal of Soviet missile bases in Cuba.
• October 28 - A referendum in France favours the election of the president by universal suffrage.
• October 31 - The UN General Assembly asks the United Kingdom to suspend enforcement of the new constitution in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), but the constitution comes into effect on November 1.

November

• November 1 - The Soviets begin dismantling their missiles in Cuba.
• November 1 - The first issue of Diabolik is published in Italy.
• November 3 - The term "personal computer" is first mentioned by the media.
• November 5 - Franz Josef Strauß, the West German defence minister, is relieved of his duties over the Spiegel scandal, due to his alleged involvement in police action against the magazine.
• November 5 - Saudi Arabia breaks off diplomatic relations with Egypt, following a period of unrest partly caused by the defection of several Saudi princes to Egypt.
• November 5 - A coal mining disaster in Ny-Ålesund kills 21 people. The Norwegian government is forced to resign in the aftermath of this accident in August, 1963.
• November 6 - Apartheid: The United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution condemning South Africa's racist apartheid policies, and calls for all UN member states to cease military and economic relations with the nation.
• November 7 - Richard M. Nixon loses the California governor's race. In his concession speech, he states that this is his "last press conference" and that "you won't have Dick Nixon to kick around any more".
• November 17 - In Washington, D.C., U.S. President John F. Kennedy dedicates Dulles International Airport.
• November 20 - The Cuban Missile Crisis ends: In response to the Soviet Union agreeing to remove its missiles from Cuba, U.S. President John F. Kennedy ends the quarantine of the Caribbean nation.
• November 23 - United Airlines Flight 297 crashes, killing all 17 on board.
• November 26 - Spiegel scandal: German police end their occupation of Der Spiegels offices.
• November 26 - Mies Bouwman starts presenting the first live TV-marathon fundraising show (Open Het Dorp), which lasts 23 hours non-stop.
• November 27 - French President Charles De Gaulle orders Georges Pompidou to form a government.
• November 29 - An agreement is signed between Britain and France to develop the Concorde supersonic airliner.
• November 30 - The United Nations General Assembly elects U Thant of Burma as the new UN Secretary-General.

December

• December 2 - Vietnam War: After a trip to Vietnam at the request of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield becomes the first American official not to make an optimistic public comment on the war's progress.
• December 7 - Rainier III, Prince of Monaco revises the principality's constitution, devolving some of his formerly autocratic power to several advisory and legislative councils.
• December 8 - The first period of the Second Vatican Council closes.
• December 8 - The North Kalimantan National Army revolts in Brunei, in the first stirrings of the Indonesian Confrontation.
• December 8 - The 1962 New York City newspaper strike begins, affecting all of the city's major newspapers; It would last for 114 days.
• December 9 - Tanganyika (now Tanzania) becomes a republic within the Commonwealth, with Julius Nyerere as president.
• December 10 - David Lean's epic film Lawrence of Arabia, featuring Peter O' Toole, Omar Shariff, Alec Guiness, Jack Hawkins, and Anthony Quinn premieres in London.
• December 11 - In West Germany, a coalition government of Christian Democrats, Christian Socialists, and Free Democrats is formed.
• December 14 - U.S. spacecraft Mariner 2 flies by Venus, becoming the first probe to successfully transmit data from another planet.
• December 19 - Britain acknowledges the right of Nyasaland (now Malawi) to secede from the Central African Federation.
• December 19 - The last foreign-occupied territory of India, Daman and Diu, is integrated into India.
• December 22 - "Big Freeze" in Britain: There are no frost-free nights until March 5, 1963.
• December 24 - Cuba releases the last 1,113 participants in the Bay of Pigs Invasion to the U.S., in exchange for food worth $53 million.
• December 30 - United Nations troops occupy the last rebel positions in Katanga; Moise Tshombe moves to South Rhodesia.

Undated

• American advertising man Martin K. Speckter invents the interrobang, a new English-language punctuation mark.
• A Clockwork Orange, written by Anthony Burgess, is published.
• The band The Dubliners is formed at O'Donoghue's Pub in Dublin.

Ongoing

• Cold War

Births

January-February

• January 3 - Guy Pratt, English bassist, songwriter, actor & comedian (worked for Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, Coverdale-Page)
• January 4 - Natalya Bochina, Russian athlete
• January 4 - Peter Steele, American rock musician (Type O Negative)
• January 8 - Chris Marion, American musician (Little River Band)
• January 11 - Kim Coles, African-American actress and comedian (In Living Color)
• January 13 - Trace Adkins, American country music singer-songwriter
• January 13 - Kevin Mitchell, American baseball player
• January 14 - Michael McCaul, American politician
• January 17 - Jim Carrey, Canadian actor and comedian (In Living Color)
• January 20 - IKKO, Japanese make-up artist
• January 21 - Tyler Cowen, American economist
• January 21 - Marie Trintignant, French actress (d. 2003)
• January 22 - Lyudmila Dzhigalova, Russian athlete
• January 25 - Chris Chelios, American ice hockey player
• January 28 - Creflo Dollar, African-American evangelist
• January 30 - King Abdullah II of Jordan
• January 31 - Sophie Muller, British music video director
• February 2 - Andy Fordham, English darts player
• February 3 - Michele Greene, American actress
• February 4 - Clint Black, American country musician
• February 5 - Jennifer Jason Leigh, American actress
• February 6 - Axl Rose, American rock singer (Guns N' Roses)
• February 7 - Garth Brooks, American country musician (Friends In Low Places)
• February 7 - Eddie Izzard, British actor and comedian
• February 8 - Malorie Blackman, British-born author
• February 10 - Cliff Burton, American rock bassist (Metallica) (d. 1986)
• February 10 - Bobby Czyz, American boxer
• February 11 - Sheryl Crow, American rock singer (All I Wanna Do)
• February 12 - Nana Ioseliani, Georgian chess player
• February 12 - Jimmy Kirkwood, Irish-born field hockey player
• February 13 - Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, American politician
• February 17 - Lou Diamond Phillips, American actor
• February 18 - Julie Strain, American actress and model
• February 21 - Vanessa Feltz, British television presenter
• February 21 - Chuck Palahniuk, American author
• February 21 - David Foster Wallace, American writer (d. 2008)
• February 22 - Steve Irwin, Australian herpetologist and television personality (The Crocodile Hunter) (d. 2006)
• February 22 - Lenda Murray, American bodybuilder
• February 24 - Michelle Shocked, American musician
• February 25 - Birgit Fischer, German kayaker
• February 27 - Adam Baldwin, American actor
• February 28 - Angela Bailey, Canadian athlete

March-April

• March 1 - Melanie Moore, American pornographic actress
• March 2 - Jon Bon Jovi, American singer, songwriter
• March 2 - Raimo Summanen, Finnish ice hockey player and coach
• March 3 - Jackie Joyner-Kersee, American athlete
• March 3 - Herschel Walker, American football player
• March 4 - Simon Bisley, British comic book artist
• March 4 - Lolo Ferrari, French actress (d. 2000)
• March 6 - Erika Hess, Swiss alpine skier
• March 7 - Taylor Dayne, American singer
• March 8 - Michael Graham, American singer, entertainer
• March 8 - Cecilia Yip, Hong Kong actress
• March 10 - Seiko Matsuda, Japanese pop singer/songwriter
• March 11 - Barbara Alyn Woods, American actress
• March 12 - Darryl Strawberry, American baseball player
• March 15 - Terence Trent D'Arby, American-born English singer
• March 16 - Branco Mello, Brazilian singer, actor and writer
• March 17 - Clare Grogan, Scottish actress and singer
• March 18 - Mike Rowe, American television host (Dirty Jobs, Deadliest Catch)
• March 18 - Thomas Ian Griffith, American actor
• March 19 - Ivan Calderón, Puerto Rican Major League Baseball player (d. 2003)
• March 20 - Stephen Sommers, American film director
• March 21 - Matthew Broderick, American actor (Ferris Bueller's Day Off)
• March 21 - Rosie O'Donnell, American comedian, actress, talk show host, and publisher
• March 23 - Sir Steve Redgrave, English rower
• March 23 - Jenny Wright, American actress
• March 24 - Star Jones, American talk show host and publisher
• March 24 - Angèle Dubeau, Canadian violinist
• March 24 - Renee Rosnes, Canadian jazz pianist/composer
• March 25 - Marcia Cross, American actress
• March 26 - John Stockton, American basketball player
• March 27 - Jann Arden, Canadian singer
• March 30 - Bil Dwyer, American actor
• March 30 - MC Hammer, American rapper (U Can't Touch This)
• March 31 - Phil Leadbetter, Award winning resonator guitar player
• April 1 - Phillip Schofield, British TV presenter
• April 1 - Samboy Lim, Filipino basketball player
• April 3 - Mike Ness, American rock musician (Social Distortion)
• April 7 - Hugh O'Connor, American actor (d. 1995)
• April 8 - Izzy Stradlin, American musician (Guns N' Roses)
• April 9 - Imran Sherwani, British field hockey player
• April 10 - Steve Tasker, American football player
• April 11 - Vincent Gallo, American actor
• April 12 - Art Alexakis, American singer and musician (Everclear)
• April 12 - Sheila Kennedy, former model big brother 9 contestant
• April 12 - Nobuhiko Takada, Japanese mixed martial arts fighter and professional wrestler
• April 12 - Carlos Sainz, Spanish rally driver
• April 13 - Jennifer Rubin, American actress/model
• April 13 - Hillel Slovak, American rock musician (Red Hot Chili Peppers) (d. 1988)
• April 15 - Nawal El Moutawakel, Moroccan hurdler
• April 16 - Ian MacKaye, American musician
• April 19 - Al Unser, Jr., American race car driver
• April 20 - Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf (Henry Joseph Nasiff Jr.), American comedian (The Howard Stern Show) (d. 2001)
• April 23 - John Hannah, Scottish actor
• April 24 - Steve Roach, Australian champion rugby league prop forward
• April 26 - Colin Anderson, English footballer

May-June

• May 2 - Elizabeth Berridge, American actress
• May 2 - Jimmy White, British snooker player
• May 3 - Anders Graneheim, Swedish bodybuilder
• May 4 - Oleta Adams, African-American soul and jazz singer
• May 4 - Tracy Vaccaro, American model
• May 8 - Natalia Molchanova, Russian free-diver
• May 9 - David Gahan, English rock singer (Depeche Mode)
• May 10 - David Fincher, American film director
• May 12 - Emilio Estevez, American actor
• May 13 - Eduardo Palomo, Mexican actor (d. 2003)
• May 13 - Paul McDermott, Australian comedian
• May 14 - Ian Astbury, British rock singer (The Cult)
• May 14 - C.C. Deville, American rock guitarist (Poison)
• May 17 - Lise Lyng Falkenberg, Danish writer
• May 17 - Craig Ferguson, Scottish actor and comedian
• May 17 - Kim Mulkey, American basketball player/coach
• May 19 - Frances Ondiviela, Spanish/Mexican actress
• May 20 - Mike Jeffries, American soccer coach
• May 22 - Brian Pillman, American professional wrestler
• May 24 - Gene Anthony Ray, American actor (d. 2003)
• May 26 - Bobcat Goldthwait, American actor and comedian
• May 27 - Ravi Shastri, Indian cricketer
• May 28 - Brandon Cruz, American child actor and musician (The Courtship of Eddie's Father)
• May 28 - James Michael Tyler, American actor
• May 30 - Timo Soini, Finnish politician
• May 31 - Corey Hart, Canadian singer
• May 31 - Sebastian Koch, German actor
• June 1 - Sherri Howard, American athlete
• June 2 - Clyde Drexler, American basketball player
• June 4 - John P. Kee, American gospel singer
• June 5 - Jeff Garlin, American comedian
• June 7 - Thierry Hazard, French singer and songwriter
• June 8 - Suzy Gorman, American photographer
• June 8 - Nick Rhodes, English rock musician (Duran Duran)
• June 10 - Gina Gershon, American actress and musician
• June 10 - Carolyn Hennesy, American actress
• June 11 - Olga Charvátová, Czech alpine skier
• June 11 - Erika Salumäe, Estonian cyclist
• June 12 - Camilla Scott, Canadian actress
• June 12 - Jodi Thelen, American actress
• June 13 - Ally Sheedy, American actress
• June 13 - Hannah Storm, American television personality
• June 14 - Emilija Erčić, Yugoslav (Serbian) handball player
• June 15 - Andrea Rost, Hungarian lyric soprano
• June 16 - Arnold Vosloo, South African-born U.S. actor
• June 17 - Lio, Belgian singer/actress
• June 18 - Lisa Randall, American theoretical physicist
• June 18 - Mitsuharu Misawa, Japanese professional wrestler
• June 19 - Paula Abdul, American dancer, choreographer, and singer
• June 21 - Pipilotti Rist, Swiss video artist
• June 21 - Victor Tsoi, Soviet underground singer and songwriter (d. 1990)
• June 22 - Stephen Chow, Hong Kong actor and director
• June 23 - Kari Takko, Finnish ice hockey player
• June 26 - Bussunda, Brazilian comedian (d. 2006)
• June 27 - Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Hong Kong actor
• June 28 - Don Chambers, American newspaper comic strip artist
• June 29 - Amanda Donohoe, English actress
• June 29 - George Zamka, American astronaut
• June 30 - Tony Fernández, Dominican-born baseball player
• June 30 - Deirdre Lovejoy, American actress

July-August

• July 3 - Tom Cruise, American actor
• July 4 - Neil Morrissey, British actor
• July 4 - Pam Shriver, American tennis player
• July 5 - Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, Indonesian terrorist
• July 8 - Joan Osborne, American singer
• July 13 - Tom Kenny, American voice actor and comedian
• July 13 - Zlata Petrović, Serbian pop singer
• July 15 - Michelle Ford, Australian swimmer
• July 19 - Anthony Edwards, American actor
• July 20 - Giovanna Amati, Italian race car driver
• July 20 - Carlos Alazraqui, American actor & comedian
• July 21 - Rob Morrow, American actor
• July 22 - Steve Albini, American musician
• July 26 - Sergei Kiriyenko, former Prime Minister of Russia
• July 26 - Galina Chistyakova, Ukrainian athlete
• July 28 - Ray Shero, American hockey manager
• July 29 - Scott Steiner, American professional wrestler
• July 30 - Alton Brown, American television host and chef
• July 31 - Wesley Snipes, African-American actor
• August 1 - Robert Clift, British field hockey player
• August 2 - Cynthia Stevenson, American actress
• August 4 - Roger Clemens, American baseball player
• August 5 - Patrick Ewing, Jamaican-born basketball player
• August 6 - Michelle Yeoh, Hong Kong actress
• August 8 - Mike Zanier, Canadian ice hockey player
• August 14 - Kevin Harris, Canadian skateboarder
• August 15 - Tom Colicchio, American chef
• August 16 - Steve Carrel, American actor and comedian
• August 17 - Gilby Clarke, American rock musician (Guns N' Roses)
• August 18 - Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, President of Mexico
• August 19 - Valérie Kaprisky, French actress
• August 20 - Sophie Aldred, British actress and television presenter
• August 20 - James Marsters, American actor
• August 21 - Gilberto Santa Rosa, Puerto Rican salsa singer
• August 24 - Craig Kilborn, American talk show host
• August 25 - Theresa Andrews, American swimmer
• August 26 - Princess Lalla Meryem of Morocco
• August 26 - Bob Mionske, American cyclist and attorney
• August 27 - Vic Mignogna, American voice actor
• August 29 - Jutta Kleinschmidt, German rally driver
• August 29 - Lycia Naff, American actress/journalist
• August 30 - Alexander Litvinenko, Russian ex-KGB colonel and ex-FSB lieutenant-colonel (d. 2006)

September-October

• September 1 - Ruud Gullit, Dutch footballer
• September 7 - Kylie InGold, Australian fantasy artist
• September 8 - Thomas Kretschmann, German actor
• September 11 - Kristy McNichol, American actress (Family)
• September 11 - Victoria Poleva, Ukrainian composer
• September 15 - Scott McNeil, Canadian voice actor
• September 17 - Baz Luhrmann, Australian film director
• September 19 - Gottfried von Bismarck, controversial German aristocrat and socialite (d. 2007)
• September 24 - Jack Dee, British comedian
• September 24 - Rosamund Kwan, Hong Kong actress
• September 24 - Ally McCoist, Scottish footballer and TV pundit
• September 25 - Aida Turturro, American actress
• September 26 - Jacky Wu, Taiwanese talk show host, singer, and actor
• September 26 - Melissa Sue Anderson, American actress
• September 26 - Steve Moneghetti, Australian long-distance runner
• September 27 - Kimberly Carson, American pornographic actress
• September 28 - Grant Fuhr, Canadian hockey player
• September 30 - Frank Rijkaard, Dutch football player and manager
• October 1 - Esai Morales, American actor
• October 3 - Tommy Lee, American rock musician and drummer (Mötley Crüe)
• October 5 - Caron Keating, British TV presenter (d. 2004)
• October 6 - Rich Yett, American baseball player
• October 11 - Nicola Bryant, British actress
• October 11 - Joan Cusack, American actress and comedian
• October 12 - Deborah Foreman, American actress
• October 13 - T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh, American actress and comedian
• October 13 - Margareth Menezes, Brazilian singer
• October 13 - Kelly Preston, American actress
• October 13 - Jerry Rice, American football player
• October 16 - Flea, Australian actor and rock bassist (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
• October 16 - Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Russian baritone
• October 16 - Tamara McKinney, American alpine skier
• October 19 - Tracy Chevalier, American author
• October 19 - Evander Holyfield, American boxer
• October 23 - Doug Flutie, American football player
• October 23 - Mike Tomczak, American football player
• October 25 - Nick Hancock, British actor and television presenter
• October 25 - Darlene Vogel, American actress
• October 26 - Cary Elwes, British actor
• October 27 - Ang Peng Siong, Singapore sportsman
• October 28 - Daphne Zuniga, American actress
• October 30 - Courtney Walsh, West Indian cricketer

November-December

• November 1 - Sharron Davies, British swimmer/television presenter
• November 1 - Magne Furuholmen, Norwegian rock keyboardist (a-ha)
• November 1 - Anthony Kiedis, American rock singer (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
• November 1 - Helene Udy, Canadian-American actress
• November 2 - Ron McGovney, American rock bassist (Metallica)
• November 3 - Gabe Newell, American business executive
• November 3 - Jacqui Smith, UK Home Secretary
• November 4 - Jeff Probst, American television personality (Survivor)
• November 7 - Bettina Hoy, German equestrienne
• November 11 - Demi Moore, American actress (G.I. Jane)
• November 11 - James Morrison, Australian musician
• November 11 - Mic Michaeli, Swedish rock keyboardist (Europe)
• November 12 - Neal Shusterman, American author
• November 13 - Steve Altes, American humorist
• November 15 - Judy Gold, American comedian and actress
• November 18 - Kirk Hammett, American rock musician (Metallica)
• November 19 - Jodie Foster, American actress and director (The Silence of the Lambs)
• November 21 - Steven Curtis Chapman, American musician
• November 22 - Sumi Jo, Korean operatic soprano
• November 24 - John Kovalic, American cartoonist
• November 24 - Ggreg Snyder, American actor and pop culturist
• November 27 - Marumi Shiraishi, Japanese actress
• November 28 - Jon Stewart, American actor and comedian (The Daily Show)
• November 29 - Andrew McCarthy, American actor
• November 30 - Bo Jackson, African-American football and baseball player
• November 30 - Daniel Keys Moran, American writer
• December 1 - Sylvie Daigle, Canadian speed skater
• December 1 - Shōzō Hayashiya (9th), Japanese rakugoka, tarento and seiyū
• December 3 - Tammy Jackson, American basketball player
• December 4 - Anna Walker, British television presenter
• December 5 - José Cura, Argentine tenor
• December 6 - Janine Turner, American actress
• December 8 - Marty Friedman, American guitarist
• December 9 - Felicity Huffman, American actress
• December 10 - Scott Capurro, American comedian
• December 11 - Denise Biellmann, Swiss figure skater
• December 11 - Ben Browder, American actor
• December 12 - Tracy Austin, American tennis player
• December 12 - Arturo Barrios, Mexican long-distance runner
• December 14 - Yvonne Ryding, Swedish pageant winner (Miss Universe 1984)
• December 16 - Maruschka Detmers, Dutch actress
• December 17 - Paul Dobson, English footballer
• December 17 - Richard Jewell, American security guard and media figure (d. 2007)
• December 17 - Galina Malchugina, Russian athlete
• December 17 - Rocco Mediate, American golfer
• December 19 - Jill Talley, American actress
• December 22 - Ralph Fiennes, English actor (Schindler's List)
• December 23 - Keiji Mutoh, Japanese professional wrestler
• December 27 - Barbara Crampton, American actress
• December 27 - Mark Few, American basketball coach
• December 27 - Bill Self, American basketball coach
• December 27 - Sherri Steinhauer, American golfer
• December 28 - Michelle Cameron, Canadian synchronised swimmer
• December 28 - Michel Petrucciani, French musician (d. 1999)
• December 28 - Choi Soo Jong, South Korean actor
• December 30 - Alessandra Mussolini, Italian politician

Deaths

January-June

• January 6 - Marziyya Davudova, Azerbaijani actress (b. 1901)
• January 13 - Ernie Kovacs, American TV comedian (b. 1919)
• January 20 - Robinson Jeffers, American poet (b. 1887)
• January 26 - Lucky Luciano, American gangster (b. 1897)
• January 29 - Fritz Kreisler, Austrian violinist (b. 1875)
• February 5 - Jacques Ibert, French composer (b. 1890)
• February 7 - Roy Atwell, American actor, comedian and composer (b. 1878)
• February 7 - Clara Nordström, German writer and translator (b. 1886)
• February 10 - Eduard von Steiger, President of Switzerland (b. 1881)
• February 17 - Bruno Walter, German conductor (b. 1876)
• February 17 - Joseph Kearns, American actor (b. 1907)
• February 19 - Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek inventor (b. 1883)
• February 24 - Hu Shi, Chinese liberal (b. 1891)
• March 15 - Arthur Compton, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
• March 24 - Jean Goldkette, Greek-born musician (b. 1899)
• March 24 - Auguste Piccard, Swiss physicist and explorer (b. 1884)
• April 10 - Michael Curtiz, Austrian-born film director (b. 1886)
• April 10 - Manton S. Eddy, U.S. general (b. 1892)
• April 10 - Stuart Sutcliffe, English artist and rock musician (The Beatles) (b. 1940)
• April 13 - Culbert Olson, Governor of California (b. 1876)
• April 15 - Arsenio Lacson, Filipino politician and sportswriter (b. 1911)
• May 5 - Ernest Tyldesley, English cricketer (b. 1889)
• May 13 - Henry Trendley Dean, American dental researcher (b. 1893)
• May 27 - Egon Petri, German pianist (b. 1881)
• May 31 - Henry Fountain Ashurst, American politician (b. 1874)
• June 1 - Adolf Eichmann, German Nazi official (executed) (b. 1906)
• June 2 - Vita Sackville-West, English writer and landscape gardener (b. 1892)
• June 4 - Charles William Beebe, American oceanic pioneer (b. 1877)
• June 6 - Yves Klein, French painter (b. 1928)
• June 7 - Korneli Kekelidze, Georgian philologist (b. 1879)
• June 8 - Eugène Freyssinet, French civil engineer (b. 1879)
• June 12 - John Ireland, English composer (b. 1879)
• June 13 - Eugène Aynsley Goossens, English composer (b. 1893)
• June 15 - Alfred Cortot, Swiss pianist (b. 1877)
• June 19 - Will Wright, American character actor (b. 1891)
• June 28 - Mickey Cochrane, American baseball player (b. 1903)

July-December

• July 6 - William Faulkner, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
• July 6 - Archduke Joseph August of Austria, Austrian field marshal (b. 1872)
• July 9 - Georges Bataille, French writer (b. 1897)
• July 12 - Roger Wolfe Kahn, American band leader (b. 1907)
• July 21 - G.M. Trevelyan, English historian (b. 1876)
• July 27 - Richard Aldington, English poet (b. 1892)
• August 5 - Marilyn Monroe, American actress (Some Like It Hot) (b. 1926)
• August 9 - Hermann Hesse, German-born writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1877)
• August 15 - Lei Feng, Chinese soldier (b. 1940)
• August 24 - Mykolas Biržiška, Lithuanian politician (b. 1882)
• August 28 - John Collum, American actor (b. 1926)
• September 3 - E. E. Cummings, American poet (b. 1894)
• September 6 - Hanns Eisler, German-born composer (b. 1898)
• September 7 - Isak Dinesen, Danish writer (b. 1885)
• September 7 - Graham Walker, British motorcycle racer (b. 1896)
• September 18 - Ahmad bin Yahya, King of Yemen (b. 1891)
• September 19 - Nikolai Pogodin, Soviet playwright (b. 1900)
• September 24 - Charles Reisner, American silent actor and film director (b. 1887)
• October 6 - Tod Browning, American film director (b. 1882)
• October 9 - Milan Vidmar, Slovenian chess player (b. 1885)
• October 27 - Enrico Mattei, Italian politician (plane crash) (b. 1906)
• November 7 - Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States (b. 1884)
• November 18 - Niels Bohr, Danish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
• November 28 - Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (b. 1880)
• November 29 - Erik Scavenius, Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1877)
• December 7 - Kirstin Flagstad, Norwegian soprano (b. 1895)
• December 15 - Charles Laughton, English actor and director (b. 1899)
• December 18 - Garrett Mattingly, American historian (b. 1900)
• December 20 - Emil Artin, Austrian mathematician (b. 1898)
• December 24 - Wilhelm Ackermann, German mathematician (b. 1896)

Nobel Prizes

• Physics - Lev Davidovich Landau
• Chemistry - Max Ferdinand Perutz, John Cowdery Kendrew
• Physiology or Medicine - Francis Harry Compton Crick, James Dewey Watson, Maurice Hugh Frederick Wilkins
• Literature - John Steinbeck
• Peace - Linus Carl Pauling

Academy Awards

• Best Picture: West Side Story, Robert Wise
• Best Foreign Language Film: Såsom i en spegel, Sweden
• Best Documentary Feature: Le Ciel et la Boue (Sky Above and Mud Beneath), Ardennes Films
• Best Director: Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, West Side Story'
• Best Actor: Maximilian Schell, Judgment at Nuremberg
• Best Actress: Sophia Loren, Two Women
• Best Supporting Actor: George Chakiris, West Side Story
• Best Supporting Actress: Rita Moreno, West Side Story
• Best Original Screenplay: William Inge, Splendor in the Grass
• Best Adapted Screenplay: Abby Mann, Judgment at Nuremberg

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