1966 Explained
1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar.
Events of 1966
January
- January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
- January 2 - A strike of public transportation workers in New York City begins (it will end January 13).
- January 3 - The first Acid Test is conducted at the Fillmore, San Francisco.
- January 4 - A military coup occurs in Upper Volta (later Burkina Faso).
- January 4 - The prime ministers of India and Pakistan meet in Moscow.
- January 4 - A gas leak fire at the Feyzin oil refinery near Lyon, France kills 18 and injures 84.
- January 10 - Pakistani-Indian peace negotiations end successfully in Tashkent.
- January 10 - The French paper L'Express publishes a story of Georges Figon, who took part in the kidnapping of Mehdi Ben Barka.
- January 11 - A conference on Rhodesia begins in Lagos, Nigeria.
- January 11 - The first SR-71 Blackbird spy plane goes into service at Beale AFB.
- January 12 - United States President Lyndon Johnson states that the United States should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there is ended.
- January 13 - Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American Cabinet member, by being appointed United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
- January 15 - A violent military coup is staged in Nigeria.
- January 17 - The Nigerian coup is overturned.
- January 17 - A B-52 bomber collides with a KC-135 Stratotanker over Spain, dropping three 70-kiloton hydrogen bombs near the town of Palomares, and 1 into the sea, in the 1966 Palomares B-52 crash.
- January 17 - Carl Brashear, the first African American United States Navy diver, is involved in an accident during the recovery of a lost H-bomb which results in the amputation of his leg.
- January 18 - French police announce that Georges Figon has committed suicide, prior to his arrest for the kidnapping of Mehdi Ben Barka.
- January 18 - About 8,000 U.S. soldiers land in South Vietnam; U.S. troops now total 190,000.
- January 19 - Indira Gandhi is elected Prime Minister of India; she is sworn in January 24.
- January 20 - Demonstrations occur against high food prices in Hungary.
- January 21 - Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro resigns due to a power struggle in his party.
- January 22 - The military government of Nigeria announces that ex-prime minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was killed during the coup.
- January 22 - The Chadian Muslim insurgent group FROLINAT is founded in Sudan, starting the Chadian Civil War.
- January 24 - Air India Flight 101 crashes at Mont Blanc kills 117, including Dr. Homi J. Bhabha, chairman Indian Atomic Energy Commission.
- January 26 - Harold Holt becomes Prime Minister of Australia when Robert Menzies retires.
- January 26 - Beaumont children disappearance: Three children disappear on their way to Glenelg, South Australia, never to be seen again.
- January 27 - The British government promises the U.S. that British troops in Malaysia will stay until more peaceful conditions occur in the region.
- January 29 - The first of 608 performances of Sweet Charity opens at the Palace Theatre in New York City.
- January 31 - The United Kingdom ceases all trade with Rhodesia.
February
March
- March 1 - Soviet space probe Venera 3 crashes on Venus, becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet's surface.
- March 1 - The Ba'ath Party takes power in Syria.
- March 2 - Kwame Nkrumah arrives in Guinea and is granted asylum.
- March 4 - The Beatles: In an interview published in The London Evening Standard, John Lennon comments, "We're more popular than Jesus now," eventually sparking a controversy in the United States.
- March 4 - Canadian Pacific Airlines Flight 402 crashes while landing at Tokyo International Airport in Japan, killing 64 of 72 persons on board.
- March 5 - A massive theft of nuclear materials is revealed in Brazil.
- March 5 - Merci Chérie by Udo Jürgens (music by Udo Jürgens, text by Udo Jürgens and Thomas Hörbiger) wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 for Austria.
- March 7 - Charles De Gaulle asks U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson for negotiations about the state of NATO equipment in France.
- March 8 - Anti-communist demonstrations occur at the Indonesian Foreign Ministry.
- March 8 - Vietnam War: Australia announces it will substantially increase its number of troops in Vietnam.
- March 8 - An Irish Republican Army bomb destroys Nelson's Pillar in Dublin.
- March 9 - Ronnie Kray murders George Cornell in East London's Blind Beggar pub, a crime for which he is finally convicted in 1969.
- March 10 - Crown Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands marries Claus von Amsberg. Some spectators demonstrate against the groom because he is German.
- March 11 - Indonesian President Sukarno gives all executive powers to General Suharto (see Transition to the New Order and Supersemar).
- March 11 - French President Charles De Gaulle states that French troops will be taken out of NATO and that all French NATO bases and HQ's must be closed within a year.
- March 12 - Bobby Hull of the Chicago Blackhawks sets the NHL single season scoring record against the New York Rangers, with his 51st goal.
- March 16 - Gemini 8 (David Scott, Neil Armstrong) docks with an Agena target vehicle.
- March 17 - More anti-communist demonstrations occur in Indonesia.
- March 17 - Off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean, the DSV Alvin submarine finds a missing American hydrogen bomb.
- March 19 - The Texas Western Miners defeat the Kentucky Wildcats with 5 African-American starters, ushering in desegregation in athletic recruiting.
- March 20 - The World Cup Trophy (the "Jules Rimet") is stolen at an exhibition; it is later found by a dog named "Pickles" and his owner David Corbett.
- March 22 - In Washington, D.C., General Motors President James M. Roche appears before a Senate subcommittee, and apologizes to consumer advocate Ralph Nader for the company's intimidation and harassment campaign against him.
- March 23 - Pope Paul VI and Arthur Michael Ramsey, the Archbishop of Canterbury, meet in Rome.
- March 26 - Demonstrations are held across the United States against the Vietnam War.
- March 27 - In South Vietnam, 20,000 Buddhists march in demonstrations against the policies of the military government.
- March 28 - Indira Gandhi visits Washington, D.C.
- March 29 - The 23rd Communist Party Conference is held in the Soviet Union; Leonid Brezhnev demands that U.S. troops leave Vietnam, and announces that Chinese-Soviet relations are not satisfying.
- March 31 - The Labour Party under Harold Wilson wins the British General Election.
- March 31 - The Soviet Union launches Luna 10, which later becomes the first space probe to enter orbit around the Moon.
April
May
- May 1 - Floods occur on the Finnish coast.
- May 3 - Swinging Radio England and Britain Radio commence broadcasting on AM, with a combined potential 100,000 watts, from the same ship anchored off the south coast of England in international waters.
- May 4 - Fiat signs a contract with the Soviet government to build a car factory in the Soviet Union.
- May 5 - The Montreal Canadiens defeat the Detriot Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup.
- May 6 - The Moors Murderers trial ends with Ian Brady being found guilty on all 3 counts of murder and sentenced to 3 concurrent terms of life imprisonment. Myra Hindley is convicted on 2 counts of murder and of being an accessory in the third murder committed by Brady, and receives 2 concurrent terms of life imprisonment and a 7-year fixed term for being an accessory.
- May 12 - African members of the UN Security Council say that the British army should blockade Rhodesia.
- May 12 - The Busch Memorial Stadium opens in St Louis, Missouri.
- May 12 - Radio Peking claims that U.S. planes have shot down a Chinese plane over Yunnan (the U.S. denies the story the next day).
- May 14 - Turkey and Greece intend to start negotiations about the situation in Cyprus.
- May 15 - Indonesia asks Malaysia for peace negotiations.
- May 15 - The South Vietnamese army besieges Da Nang.
- May 15 - Tens of thousands of anti-war demonstrators again picket the White House, then rally at the Washington Monument.
- May 16 - A seamen's strike is called in Britain.
- May 16 - The legendary album Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys is released.
- May 16 - Bob Dylan's seminal album, Blonde on Blonde is released in the U.S.
- May 16 - In New York City, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. makes his first public speech on the Vietnam War.
- May 19 - Gertrude Baniszewski is found guilty of murdering and torturing Sylvia Likens and is sentenced to life in prison. (she is released on parole in December 1985).
- May 24 - Ugandan army troops arrest Mutesa II of Buganda and occupy his palace.
- May 24 - The Nigerian government forbids all political activity in the country until January 17, 1969.
- May 25 - Explorer program: Explorer 32 is launched.
- May 25 - In St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. Vice-President Hubert Humphrey and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall dedicate the Gateway Arch, as part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.
- May 26 - Guyana achieves independence.
- May 28 - Fidel Castro delcares martial law in Cuba because of a possible U.S. attack.
- May 28 - The Indonesian and Malayan governments declare that the Indonesian Confrontation is over (a treaty is signed on August 11).
- May 31 - The Philippines reestablishes diplomatic relations with Malaysia.
June
- June 1 - The final new episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show airs (the first episode aired on October 3, 1961).
- June 2 - Éamon de Valera is re-elected as Irish president.
- June 2 - Surveyor program: Surveyor 1 lands in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon, becoming the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on another world.
- June 2 - Four former cabinet ministers are executed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for alleged involvement in a plot to kill Mobutu Sese Seko.
- June 3 - Joaquín Balaguer is elected president of the Dominican Republic.
- June 5 - Gemini 9: Gene Cernan completes the second U.S. spacewalk (2 hours, 7 minutes).
- June 6 - Civil rights activist James Meredith is shot while trying to march across Mississippi.
- June 8 - An XB-70 Valkyrie prototype is destroyed in a mid-air collision with a F-104 Starfighter chase plane during a photo shoot. NASA pilot Joseph A. Walker and USAF test pilot Carl Cross are both killed.
- June 8 - Topeka, Kansas is devastated by a tornado that registers as an "F5" on the Fujita Scale, the first to exceed US $100 million in damages. Sixteen people are killed, hundreds more injured, and thousands of homes damaged or destroyed. http://www.crh.noaa.gov/top/events/66tornado.php
- June 13 - Miranda v. Arizona: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that the police must inform suspects of their rights before questioning them.
- June 14 - The Vatican abolishes the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (index of banned books).
- June 17 - An Air France personnel strike begins.
- June 18 - CIA chief William Raborn resigns; Richard Helms becomes his successor.
- June 20 - French President Charles De Gaulle starts his visit to the Soviet Union.
- June 21 - Opposition leader Arthur Calwell is shot after attending a political meeting in Mosman, Sydney, Australia.
- June 28 - In Argentina, a junta deposes president Arturo Umberto Illia in a coup, and appoints General Juan Carlos Ongania to lead.
- June 29 - A sailors' strike, organised by the National Union of Seamen, ends in the United Kingdom.
- June 29 - Vietnam War: U.S. planes begin bombing Hanoi and Haiphong.
- June 30 - France formally leaves NATO.
- June 30 - The National Organization for Women (NOW) is founded in Washington, DC.
July
- July 1 - Joaquin Balaguer becomes president of the Dominican Republic.
- July 3 - Rene Barrientos is elected president of Bolivia.
- July 4 - North Vietnam declares general mobilization.
- July 4 - President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act, which goes into effect the following year.
- July 6 - Malawi becomes a republic.
- July 7 - A Warsaw Pact conference ends with a promise to support North Vietnam.
- July 8 - King Mwambutsa IV Bangiriceng of Burundi is deposed by his son Ntare V, who is in turn deposed by prime minister Michel Micombero.
- July 11 - The 1966 FIFA World Cup begins in England.
- July 12 - Indira Gandhi visits Moscow.
- July 12 - Zambia threatens to leave the Commonwealth of Nations because of British peace overtures to Rhodesia.
- July 14 - Israeli and Syrian jet fighters clash over the Jordan River.
- July 14 - Richard Speck murders 8 student nurses in their Chicago dormitory. He is arrested on July 17.
- July 14 - Gwynfor Evans becomes member of Parliament for Carmarthen, the first Plaid Cymru MP in the UK.
- July 16 - British Prime Minister Harold Wilson flies to Moscow to try to start peace negotiations about the Vietnam War (the Soviet government refutes his ideas).
- July 18 - Gemini 10 (John Young, Michael Collins) is launched. After docking with an Agena target vehicle, the astronauts then set a world altitude record of 474 miles (763 km).
- July 18 - The Hough Riots break out in Cleveland, Ohio, the city's first race riot.
- July 19 - A Chinese delegate in the Netherlands, Liu en-Tsiu, is declared persona non grata because of the death of a Chinese engineer in unclear circumstances; there are claims that he was kidnapped and taken to the delegate's office.
- July 22 - The Chinese government declares Dutch delegate G. J. Jongejans persona non grata, but tells him not to leave the country before a group of Chinese engineers has left the Netherlands.
- July 23 - Katangese troops in Stanleyville, Congo, revolt for several weeks in support of the exiled minister Moise Tshombe.
- July 24 - U.N. Secretary General U Thant visits Moscow.
- July 26 - Lord Gardiner issues the Practice Statement in the House of Lords, stating that the House is not bound to follow its own previous precedent.
- July 28 - The U.S. announces that a Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance plane has disappeared over Cuba.
- July 29 - The Nigerian army rebels and executes head of state General Aguiyi-Ironsi.
- July 29 - Bob Dylan is injured in a motorcycle accident near his home in Woodstock, New York. He is not seen in public for over a year.
- July 30 - England beats West Germany 4–2 to win the 1966 FIFA World Cup at Wembley after extra time.
August
- August 1 - Sniper Charles Whitman kills 13 people and wounds 31 from atop the University of Texas at Austin Main Building tower, after earlier killing his wife and mother.
- August 1 - A military coup occurs in Nigeria; General Yakubu Gowon takes over.
- August 2 - The Spanish government forbids overflights of British military aircraft.
- August 5 - Martin Luther King Jr. leads a civil rights march in Chicago, during which he is struck by a rock thrown from an angry white mob.
- August 5 - The Beatles release the legendary Revolver album in the United Kingdom.
- August 6 - Braniff Airlines Flight 250 crashes in Falls City, Nebraska, killing all 42 on board.
- August 6 - Rene Barrientos takes office as the president of Bolivia.
- August 6 - The Salazar Bridge (now the 25 de Abril Bridge) opens in Lisbon, Portugal.
- August 7 - Race riots occur in Lansing, Michigan.
- August 10 - An East German court sentences Günter Laudahn to life imprisonment for spying for the United States.
- August 10 - Lunar Orbiter 1, the first U.S. spacecraft to orbit another world, is launched.
- August 11 - The Beatles hold a press conference in Chicago, during which John Lennon apologizes for his "more popular than Jesus" remark, saying, "I didn't mean it as a lousy anti-religious thing."
- August 12 - Massacre of Braybrook Street: Harry Roberts, John Duddy and Jack Witney shoot dead 3 plainclothes policemen in London; they are later sentenced to life imprisonment.
- August 13 - In the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong begins the Cultural Revolution to purge and reorganize China's Communist Party.
- August 13 - An earthquake in Turkey kills 2,394 and injures 10,000.
- August 15 - Syrian and Israeli troops clash over Lake Genesaret for 3 hours.
- August 15 - It is announced that the New York Herald Tribune will not resume publication.
- August 16 - Vietnam War: The House Un-American Activities Committee starts investigating Americans who have aided the Viet Cong, with the intent to make these activities illegal. Anti-war demonstrators disrupt the meeting and 50 are arrested.
- August 17 - Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Republic begin negotiations in Kuwait to end the war in Yemen.
- August 18 - Vietnam War - Battle of Long Tan: D Company, 6th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, meets and defeats a Viet Cong force estimated to be 4 times larger, at the in Phuoc Tuy Province, Republic of Vietnam.
- August 19 - An earthquake in eastern Turkey destroys whole cities.
- August 21 - Seven men are sentenced to death in Egypt, for anti-Nasser agitation.
- August 22 - The United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC), predecessor of the United Farm Workers of America (UFW), is formed.
- August 26 - Riots occur in French Somaliland.
- August 29 - The Beatles play their very last concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California.
- August 30 - France offers independence to French Somaliland.
September
- September 1 - United Nations Secretary-General U Thant declares that he will not seek re-election, because U.N. efforts in Vietnam have failed.
- September 1 - 98 British tourists die in an air crash in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia.
- September 6 - In Cape Town, the South African architect of Apartheid, Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, is stabbed to death by Dimitri Tsafendas during a parliamentary meeting.
- September 8 - Star Trek, the classic science fiction television series, debuts with its first episode, titled "The Man Trap."
- September 9 - NATO decides to move SHAPE headquarters to Belgium.
- September 12 - Gemini 11 (Richard Gordon, Pete Conrad) docks with an Agena target vehicle.
- September 12 - Balthazar Johannes Vorster becomes the new South African Prime Minister.
- September 13 - TASS reports on clashes between the Chinese Communist Party and the Red Guards.
- September 16 - In South Vietnam, Thich Tri Quang ends a 100-day hunger strike.
- September 16 - The Metropolitan Opera House opens at Lincoln Center in New York City to the world premiere of Samuel Barber's opera, Antony and Cleopatra.
- September 18 - Valerie Percy, the 21-year-old daughter of Senator Charles H. Percy, is stabbed and bludgeoned to death in the family mansion on Chicago's North Shore.
- September 19 - Scotland Yard arrests Ronald Edwards, suspected of involvement in the Great Train Robbery.
- September 30 - Baldur von Schirach and Albert Speer are released from Spandau Prison.
- September 30 - Botswana achieves independence.
October
November
- Jack L. Warner sells Warner Bros. Pictures to Seven Arts Productions, which eventually becomes Warner Bros.-Seven Arts.
- November 2 - The Cuban Adjustment Act comes into force, allowing 123,000 Cubans the opportunity to apply for permanent residence in the United States.
- November 4 - The Arno river floods Florence, damaging many art treasures.
- November 5 - Thirty-eight African states demand that the United Kingdom use force against the Rhodesian government.
- November 6 - Lunar Orbiter 2 is launched.
- November 8 - Former Massachusetts Attorney General Edward Brooke becomes the first African American elected to the United States Senate since Reconstruction.
- November 8 - Actor Ronald Reagan, a Republican, is elected Governor of California.
- November 9 - John Lennon meets Yoko Ono at the Indica Gallery.
- November 11 - A mine kills 3 Israeli paratroopers on the West Bank border.
- November 11 - Spain declares general amnesty for crimes committed during the Spanish Civil War (effective only for the Falangists' side).
- November 15 - Gemini 12 (James A. Lovell, Buzz Aldrin), splashes down safely in the Atlantic Ocean, 600 km east of the Bahamas.
- November 15 - Harry Maurice Roberts, who killed 3 policemen in August, is caught near London.
- November 15 - A Boeing 727 carrying Pan Am Flight 708 crashes near Berlin, Germany, killing all three people on board.
- November 16 - U.S. doctor Sam Sheppard is acquitted in his second trial for the murder of his pregnant wife in 1954.
- November 17 - The U.N. General Assembly decides to found the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.
- November 17 - A spectacular Leonid meteor shower passes over Arizona, at the rate of 2,300 a minute for 20 minutes.
- November 21 - In Togo, the army crushes an attempted coup.
- November 26 - In Vancouver, the Saskatchewan Roughriders defeat the Ottawa Rough Riders to win the 54th Grey Cup.
- November 27 - The Washington Redskins defeat the New York Giants 72-41 in the highest scoring game in NFL history.
- November 28 - Truman Capote's Black and White Ball ('The Party of the Century') is held in New York City.
- November 30 - Barbados achieves independence.
December
- December 1 - Kurt Georg Kiesinger is elected Chancellor of West Germany.
- December 1 - British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and Rhodesian Prime minister Ian Smith negotiate on the HMS Tiger in the Mediterranean.
- December 2 - U Thant agrees to serve a second term as U.N. Secretary General.
- December 3 - Anti-Portuguese demonstrations occur in Macau; a curfew is declared the next day.
- December 7 - Syria offers weapons to rebels in Jordan.
- December 7 - Barbados is admitted to the United Nations.
- December 8 - The Typaldos Line's ferry Heraklion sinks in rough seas, in the Aegean Sea near Crete, leaving 217 dead.
- December 16 - The U.N. Security Council approves an oil embargo against Rhodesia.
- December 16 - The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights are adopted by the General Assembly, as Resolution 2200 A (XXI).
- December 17 - South Africa does not join the trade embargo against Rhodesia.
- December 20 - Harold Wilson withdraws all his previous offers to the Rhodesian government, and announces that he will agree to independence only after the founding of a Black majority government.
- December 22 - Prime Minister Ian Smith declares that Rhodesia is already a republic.
- December 23 - How the Grinch Stole Christmas, narrated by Boris Karloff, is shown for the first time on CBS, becoming an annual Christmas tradition.
- December 26 - The first Kwanzaa is celebrated by Maulana Karenga, the chair of Black Studies, at California State University, Long Beach.
- December 31 - East German Premier Walter Ulbricht discusses negotiations about German reunification.
- December 31 - Thieves steal millions' worth of paintings from the Dulwich Art Gallery in London.
- December 31 - The Congolese government takes over the Union Minière du Haut Katanga.
Undated
Ongoing
Births
January
- January 1 - Anna Burke, Australian politician and member for Chisholm in the House of Representatives
- January 1 - Crazy Legs, Puerto Rican breakdancer (Rock Steady Crew
- January 1 - Michael Imperioli, American actor
- January 3 - Martin Galway, Northern Irish composer
- January 4 - Deana Carter, American singer
- January 5 - Kate Schellenbach, American musician
- January 7 - Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, American actress and model, wife of John F. Kennedy, Jr.
(d. 1999)
- January 7 - Ehab Tawfik, Egyptian singer
- January 8 - Igor Vyazmikin, Russian ice hockey player
- January 12 - Rob Zombie, American rock musician, artist, and writer
- January 13 - Patrick Dempsey, American actor
- January 14 - Marco Hietala, Finnish rock bassist (Nightwish)
- January 17 - Shabba Ranks, Jamaican singer
- January 19 - Stefan Edberg, Swedish tennis player
- January 19 - Floris Jan Bovelander, Dutch field-hockey player
- January 20 - Stacey Dash, American actress
- January 20 - Tracii Guns, American guitarist
- January 21 - Wendy James, British rock singer (Transvision Vamp)
- January 24 - Jimeoin, Northern Irish-Australian comedian and actor
- January 29 - Romário, Brazilian footballer
- January 30 - Hans Tutschku, German composer
February
- February 1 - Michelle Akers, American footballer
- February 4 - Kyōko Koizumi, Japanese actress and singer
- February 5 - Jose Maria Olazabal, Spanish golfer
- February 6 - Rick Astley, British rock singer
- February 7 - Kristin Otto, German swimmer
- February 9 - Ellen van Langen, Dutch athlete
- February 10 - Daryl Johnston, American football player
- February 11 - Stephen Gregory, American actor
- February 18 - Richard A Collins, British scientist and author
- February 20 - Cindy Crawford, American model and actress
- February 22 - Rachel Dratch, American actress comedienne
- February 22 - Yahya Ayyash, Palestinian bombmaker
- February 22 - Brian Greig, Australian politician
- February 23 - Michael Arata, American actor
- February 24 - Billy Zane, American actor
- February 25 - Samson Kitur, Kenyan athlete
- February 25 - Tea Leoni, American actress
- February 26 - Najwa Karam, Lebanese singer
March
- March 3 - Tone Lōc, American R&B musician
- March 4 - Daniela Amavia, American actress and international model
- March 4 - Kevin Johnson, American basketball player
- March 4 - Grand Puba, American rapper (Brand Nubian)
- March 4 - Patrick Hannan, English musician
- March 4 - Steve Bastoni, Australian actor
- March 4 - Dav Pilkey, American writer
- March 4 - Wash Westmoreland, British film director
- March 5 - Mark Z. Danielewski, American author
- March 5 - Michael Irvin, American football player
- March 6 - Maurice Ashley, American chess grandmaster
- March 6 - Yahya Ayyash, Palestinian terrorist (d. 1996)
- March 7 - Jeff Feagles, American football kicker
- March 7 - Atsushi Sakurai, Japanese singer (Buck-Tick)
- March 9 - Michael Patrick MacDonald, American memorist
- March 10 - Edie Brickell, American singer
- March 10 - Mike Timlin, American baseball player
- March 16 - Rodney Peete, American football quarterback
- March 22 - Antonio Pinto, Portuguese long-distance runner
- March 25 - Tom Glavine, American baseball player
- March 25 - Jeff Healey, Canadian guitarist (d. 2008)
- March 25 - Anton Rogan, Northern Irish footballer
- March 29 - Krassimir Balakov, Bulgarian footballer
April
- April 1 - Chris Evans, British radio disc-jockey
- April 2 - Teddy Sheringham, British footballer
- April 3 - Miina Tominaga, Japanese seiyu (voice actress)
- April 4 - Riduan Isamuddin, Bali bombing suspect
- April 8 - Robin Wright Penn, American actress
- April 8 - Bobby Ologun, Nigerian television personality and martial artist
- April 11 - Dustin Rhodes, American professional wrestler
- April 11 - Lisa Stansfield, British soul singer
- April 13 - Ali Boumnijel, Tunisian footballer
- April 14 - Greg Maddux, American baseball player
- April 14 - Lloyd Owen, British actor
- April 15 - Samantha Fox, British model and singer
- April 18 - Trine Hattestad, Norwegian athlete
- April 19 - El Samurai, Japanese professional wrestler
- April 20 - David Chalmers, Australian philosopher
- April 21 - Bubba the Love Sponge, American radio personality
- April 22 - Jeffrey Dean Morgan, American actor
- April 28 - John Daly, American golfer
- April 29 - Phil Tufnell, British cricketer
May
- May 1 - Anne Fletcher, American film director and choreographer
- May 3 - Firdous Bamji, American actor
- May 5 - Lyubov Yegorova, Russian cross-country skier
- May 6 - Andrea Chiesa, Swiss Formula One driver
- May 6 - Cindy Hsu, American Emmy-Award-winning anchor and reporter
- May 7 - Anderson Cummins, Canadian cricketer
- May 7 - Hill Harper, American film, television and stage actor
- May 7 - Jes Høgh, Danish footballer
- May 8 - Robert J. Behnen, American genealogist and a former member of the Missouri House of Representatives
- May 8 - Blag Dahlia, American musician, producer, and author
- May 8 - Kamil Kašťák, Czechoslovakian ice hockey player
- May 8 - Marta Sánchez, Spanish female vocalist, entertainer
- May 8 - Cláudio Taffarel, Brazilian goalkeeper
- May 10 - Mikael Andersson, Swedish ice hockey player
- May 10 - Frank T. Caprio, General Treasurer of Rhode Island
- May 10 - Wade Domínguez, American actor, model, singer and dancer (d. 1998)
- May 10 - Jonathan Edwards, British athlete
- May 10 - Anne Elvebakk, Norwegian biathlete
- May 10 - Genaro Hernandez, Mexican-American boxer
- May 11 - Christoph Schneider, German rock musician (Rammstein)
- May 12 - Stephen Baldwin, American actor
- May 12 - Bebel Gilberto, Brazilian popular singer
- May 13 - Nereus Acosta, Filipino politician, academician, and political scientist
- May 13 - Cheryl Dunye, Liberian-born film director, producer, screenwriter, editor and actress
- May 13 - Darius Rucker, American rock singer (Hootie & the Blowfish)
- May 13 - Alison Goldfrapp, English singer-songwriter
- May 13 - Jeffrey Scott Holland, American artist and musician
- May 16 - Juan Manuel Funes, Guatemalan footballer and coach
- May 16 - Janet Jackson, American singer
- May 16 - Thurman Thomas, American football player
- May 19 - Neil Campbell, British musician
- May 19 - Sophia Crawford, actress, stuntwoman and martial artist
- May 20 - Mindy Cohn, American actress
- May 20 - Joey Gamache, American boxer
- May 21 - Lisa Edelstein, American actress and playwright
- May 22 - Siri Eftedal, Norwegian team handball player and Olympic medalist
- May 22 - Johnny Gill, American singer
- May 23 - Graeme Hick, English cricketer
- May 24 - Russell Kun, Nauruan politician
- May 24 - Dan Abrams, American journalist
- May 24 - Eric Cantona, French footballer
- May 24 - Francisco Javier Cruz, Mexican football player
- May 24 - Ella Guru, American painter and musician
- May 25 - Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh, Iranian goalkeeper
- May 25 - Jeff Cross (American football), American football player
- May 26 - Helena Bonham Carter, English actress
- May 26 - Zola Budd, South African athlete
- May 27 - Heston Blumenthal, British chef
- May 27 - Carol Campbell (actress), Afro-German actress, model and presenter
- May 27 - Juan M. Garcia, Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives
- May 28 - Theo Bleckmann, German vocalist and composer
- May 28 - Larry Davis (criminal), American criminal (d. 2008)
- May 29 - Robert Anderson, American child murderer (executed) (d. 2006)
- May 30 - Frank Goosen, German cabaret artist and novel author
- May 30 - Thomas Häßler, German football player
- May 30 - Stephen Malkmus, American rock singer (Pavement)
June
- June 1 - Greg Schiano, American football coach
- June 2 - Candace Gingrich, American LGBT rights activist
- June 4 - Cecilia Bartoli, Italian mezzo-soprano
- June 4 - Tiffany Million, American actress
- June 6 - Faure Gnassingbé, President of Togo
- June 8 - Julianna Margulies, American actress
- June 8 - Doris Pearson, British R&B singer Five Star
- June 8 - Jens Kidman, Swedish musician
- June 14 - Matt Freeman, American musician
- June 15 - Daniel Pinchbeck, American author
- June 15 - Roberto Carnevale, Italian musician
- June 16 - Jan Železný, Czech javelin thrower
- June 17 - Christy Canyon, American porn actress
- June 18 - Kurt Browning, Canadian figure skater
- June 19 - Samuel West, British actor
- June 21 - Rudi Bakhtiar, American journalist
- June 22 - Michael Park, British rally co-driver (d. 2005)
- June 22 - Schooly D, American rapper
- June 23 - Richie Ren, Taiwanese musician
- June 25 - Dikembe Mutombo, Congolese basketball player
- June 27 - J. J. Abrams, American television writer and producer
- June 28 - Mary Stuart Masterson, American actress
- June 28 - John Cusack, American actor
- June 28 - Bobby Bare, Jr., American musician
- June 30 - Mike Tyson, American boxer
- June 30 - Marton Csokas, New Zealand actor
July
- July 1 - Enrico Annoni, Italian footballer
- July 3 - Moisés Alou, American baseball player
- July 5 - Kathryn Erbe, American actress
- July 5 - Claudia Wells, American actress
- July 5 - Gianfranco Zola, Italian footballer
- July 6 - Brian Posehn, American actor and comedian
- July 7 - Jim Gaffigan, American comedian
- July 7 - Gundula Krause, German violinist
- July 8 - Shadlog Bernicke, Nauruan politician
- July 11 - Melanie Appleby, British singer (d. 1990)
- July 11 - Mick Molloy, Australian comedian
- July 13 - Gerald Levert, American singer (d. 2006)
- July 14 - Tanya Donelly, American musician
- July 14 - Matthew Fox, American actor
- July 15 - Irène Jacob, French-born actress
- July 15 - Dimitris P. Kraniotis, Greek poet
- July 22 - Tim Brown, American football player
- July 22 - Shawn Michaels, American professional wrestler
- July 28 - Miguel Angel Nadal, Spanish footballer
- July 28 - Troy Boyle, American comic book artist
- July 29 - Martina McBride, American country singer
- July 29 - Richard Steven Horvitz, American voice actor
- July 30 - Murilo Bustamante, Brazilian mixed martial artist
- July 30 - Allan Langer, Australian rugby league footballer
- July 31 - Dean Cain, American actor
August
- August 2 - Tim Wakefield, American baseball player
- August 3 - Brent Butt, Canadian comedian and TV producer (Corner Gas)
- August 4 - Kensuke Sasaki, Japanese professional wrestler
- August 7 - Jimmy Wales, American founder of Wikipedia
- August 10 - Charlie Dimmock, English TV celebrity gardener and horticulturalist
- August 11 - Juan Maria Solare, Argentine composer
- August 12 - Les Ferdinand, English footballer
- August 14 - Halle Berry, American actress
- August 14 - Freddy Rincon, Colombian footballer
- August 15 - Scott Brosius, American baseball player
- August 17 - Rodney Mullen, famous flatland skateboarder
- August 18 - Gustavo Charif, Argentine artist
- August 19 - Lilian Garcia, American singer and wrestling ring announcer
- August 19 - Lee Ann Womack, American musician
- August 20 - Dimebag Darrell, American rock guitarist (Pantera, Damageplan) (d. 2004)
- August 22 - GZA/Genius, American rapper (Wu-Tang Clan)
- August 23 - Rik Smits, Dutch basketball player
- August 25 - Derek Sherinian, American keyboardist
- August 25 - Robert Maschio, USA Actor
- August 26 - Jacques Brinkman, Dutch field hockey player
- August 26 - Shirley Manson, Scottish rock musician (Garbage)
- August 28 - Priya Dutt, Indian social worker and politician
September
- September 1 - Tim Hardaway, American basketball player
- September 2 - Salma Hayek, Mexican-born American actress
- September 4 - Yanka Dyagileva, Russian singer
- September 6 - Eduardo Maruri, Ecuadorian business man and politician
- September 7 - Vladimir Andreyev, Russian race walker
- September 7 - Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann, German speed skater
- September 8 - Carola Häggkvist, Swedish pop singer
- September 9 - Georg Hackl, German luger
- September 9 - Adam Sandler, American actor and comedian (Saturday Night Live)
- September 12 - Princess Akishino, Japanese princess
- September 12 - Ben Folds, American piano rock artist
- September 22 - Mike Richter, American ice hockey player
- September 22 - Moustafa Amar, Egyptian pop star
- September 24 - Michael J. Varhola, American author and publisher
October
- October 1 - George Weah, Liberian politician and football player
- October 2 - Rodney Anoa'i, Samoan-American professional wrestler (d. 2000)
- October 3 - Rabbi Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane, Israeli settler leader (d. 2000)
- October 5 - Inessa Kravets, Ukrainian athlete
- October 6 - Niall Quinn, Irish footballer.
- October 7 - Sherman Alexie, Native American author
- October 8 - Aaron Callaghan, Irish football club executive
- October 9 - David Cameron, British politician
- October 10 - Tony Adams, English footballer
- October 10 - Elana Meyer, South African athlete
- October 11 - Stephen Williams (politician), British politician
- October 12 - Brian Kennedy, Irish musician and author
- October 14 - Savanna Samson, American porn star
- October 15 - Jorge Campos, Mexican footballer and coach
- October 17 - Mark Gatiss, English actor and writer
- October 19 - Jon Favreau, American actor and director
- October 19 - Sinitta, American pop singer
- October 24 - Roman Abramovich, Russian oil magnate
- October 26 - Jeanne Zelasko, American baseball host
- October 27 - Matt Drudge, American conservative Internet journalist
- October 28 - Steve Atwater, American football player
- October 31 - Koji Kanemoto, Japanese professional wrestler
November
- November 2 - David Schwimmer, American actor (Friends)
- November 2 - Yoshinari Ogawa, Japanese professional wrestler
- November 3 - Joe Hachem, Lebanese-born Australian poker player
- November 6 - Peter DeLuise, American actor
- November 6 - Paul Gilbert, American musician
- November 6 - Christian Lorenz, German rock musician (Rammstein)
- November 7 - Lin Xiaochieh, Burmese leader
- November 8 - Gordon Ramsay, British chef
- November 14 - Curt Schilling, American baseball player
- November 15 - Rachel True, American actor
- November 17 - Jeff Buckley, American singer (d. 1997)
- November 17 - Sophie Marceau, French actress
- November 20 - Kevin Gilbert, American singer, composer, and instrumentalist
- November 21 - Troy Aikman, American football player
- November 23 - Vincent Cassel, French actor
- November 29 - John Bradshaw Layfield, American professional wrestler
- November 30 - Wil Mara, American author
- November 30 - David Nicholls, English novelist and screenwriter
December
- December 1 - Larry Walker, Canadian Major League Baseball player
- December 7 - C. Thomas Howell, American actor
- December 7 - Linn Ullmann, Norwegian journalist and author
- December 8 - Sinéad O'Connor, Irish pop singer
- December 9 - Kirsten Gillibrand, American politician
- December 11 - Leon Lai, Hong Kong singer and actor
- December 12 - Último Dragón, Japanese professional wrestler
- December 12 - Royce Gracie, Brazilian martial artist
- December 13 - Don Roff, American writer and filmmaker
- December 14 - Bill Ranford, Canadian hockey player
- December 15 - Katja von Garnier, German film director
- December 16 - Dennis Wise, English footballer
- December 17 - Milos Tichy, Czech astronomer
- December 19 - Alberto Tomba, Italian alpine skier
- December 20 - Ed de Goeij, Dutch footballer
- December 20 - Chris Robinson, American rock singer (Black Crowes)
- December 21 - Kiefer Sutherland, Canadian actor
- December 22 - Dmitry Bilozerchev, Soviet gymnast
- December 24 - Diedrich Bader, American actor and comedian
- December 27 - Wendy Coakley-Thompson, American author
- December 27 - Bill Goldberg, American professional wrestler
- December 27 - John Harrington, American photographer
Deaths
January–March
- January 1 - Vincent Auriol, President of France (b. 1884)
- January 11 - Alberto Giacometti, Swiss sculptor (b. 1901)
- January 11 - Hannes Kolehmainen, Finnish runner (b. 1889)
- January 14 - Barry Fitzgerald, Irish actor (b. 1888)
- January 14 - Bill Carr, American athlete (b. 1909)
- January 15 - Sergei Korolev, Russian space scientist (b. 1907)
- January 15 - Samuel Ladoke Akintola, Nigerian premier of the Western region and Aare Ona Kakanfo XIII of the Yoruba (b. 1910)
- January 18 - Kathleen Norris, American writer (b. 1880)
- February 1 - Buster Keaton, American actor and film director (b. 1895)
- February 1 - Hedda Hopper, American gossip columnist (b. 1885)
- February 6 - Narcisa de Leon, Filipino film mogul (b. 1877)
- February 10 - Billy Rose, American composer and band leader (b. 1899)
- February 10 - Lal Bahadur Shastri, Prime Minister of India (b. 1904)
- February 15 - Gerard Ciołek, Polish architect and historian of gardens (b. 1909)
- February 20 - Chester Nimitz, American admiral (b. 1885)
- March 1 - Fritz Houtermans, German physicist (b. 1903)
- March 3 - Maxfield Parrish, American artist (b. 1870)
- March 3 - Alice Pearce, American actress (b. 1917)
- March 3 - William Frawley, American actor (I Love Lucy) (b. 1887)
- March 5 - Anna Akhmatova, Russian poet (b. 1889)
- March 8 - William Waldorf Astor, 3rd Viscount Astor, British politician (b. 1907)
- March 10 - Frits Zernike, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
April–June
- April 1 - Flann O'Brien, Irish humorist (b. 1911)
- April 2 - C.S. Forester, English author (b. 1899)
- April 3 - Battista Farina, Italian car designer (b. 1893)
- April 10 - Evelyn Waugh, English author (b. 1903)
- April 11 - Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, Salvadorian military dictator (assassinated) (b. 1882)
- April 13 - Georges Duhamel, French author (b. 1884)
- April 13 - Abdul Salam Arif, President of Iraq (b. 1921)
- April 23 - Georges Ohsawa, Japanese diet founder (b. 1893)
- May 22 - Tom Goddard, English cricketer (b. 1900)
- May 23 - Demchugdongrub, Mongolian politician (b. 1902)
- June 1 - Papa Jack Laine, American jazz musician (b. 1873)
- June 7 - Jean Arp, Alsatian sculptor, painter, and poet (b. 1887)
- June 8 - Anton Melik, Slovenian geographer (b. 1890)
- June 11 - Delmore Schwartz, American poet (b. 1913)
- June 12 - Hermann Scherchen, Austrian conductor (b. 1891)
- June 19 - Ed Wynn, American actor (b. 1886)
- June 30 - Giuseppe Farina, Italian race car driver (b. 1906)
July–September
- July 2 - Jan Brzechwa, Polish poet (b. 1900)
- July 5 - George de Hevesy, Hungarian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
- July 6 - Sad Sam Jones, American baseball player (b. 1892)
- July 14 - Julie Manet, French painter (b. 1878
- July 24 - Montgomery Clift, American actor (b. 1920)
- August 3 - Lenny Bruce, American comedian (b. 1925)
- August 6 - Cordwainer Smith, American author (b. 1913)
- September 5 - Dezső Lauber, Hungarian sportsman and architect (b. 1879)
- September 6 - Margaret Sanger, American birth control advocate (b. 1879)
- September 6 - Hendrik Verwoerd, Dutch-born Prime Minister of South Africa (b. 1901)
- September 11 - C. E. Woolman, American Airlines founder (b. 1889)
- September 14 - Gertrude Berg, American actress (b. 1899)
- September 17 - Fritz Wunderlich, German tenor (b. 1930)
- September 28 - Andre Breton, French writer (b. 1896)
- September - Hiram Wesley Evans, American leader of the Ku Klux Klan (b. 1881)
October–December
- October 4 - Janice Joplin, 1960's rock-n-roll singer and songwriter (b. 1943)
- October 7 - Smiley Lewis, African-American R&B musician (b. 1913)
- October 16 - George O'Hara, American actor (born 1899)
- October 18 - Elizabeth Arden, Canadian-born beautician and cosmetics entrepreneur (b. 1878)
- October 26 - Alma Cogan, English singer (b. 1932)
- November 2 - Peter Debye, Dutch chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1884)
- November 2 - Mississippi John Hurt, African-American singer and guitarist (b. 1893)
- November 12 - Shakeb Jalali, Pakistani poet (b. 1934)
- November 19 - Arthur Haynes, English comedian (b. 1914)
- November 23 - Seán T. O'Kelly, second President of Ireland (b. 1882)
- December 15 - Walt Disney, American animated film producer (b. 1901)
Nobel Prizes
Academy Awards
- Best Picture: The Sound of Music, Robert Wise, producer
- Best Director: Robert Wise, The Sound of Music
- Best Actor: Lee Marvin, Cat Ballou
- Best Actress: Julie Christie, Darling
- Best Supporting Actor: Martin Balsam, A Thousand Clowns
- Best Supporting Actress: Shelley Winters, A Patch of Blue
- Best Original Screenplay: Darling written by Frederic Raphael
- Best Adapted Screenplay: Doctor Zhivago, screenplay by Robert Bolt
- Best Original Song: The Sandpiper, Johnny Mandel (music); Paul Francis Webster (lyrics); For the song "The Shadow of Your Smile"
- Best Original Score: Doctor Zhivago, by Maurice Jarre
Table of contents
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Notes and References
- http://amelia.db.erau.edu/reports/ntsb/aar/AAR67-AF.pdf Aircraft Accident Report. West Coast Airlines, Inc DC-9 N9101. Near Wemme, Oregon
