1950

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	19th century – 20th century – 21st century
Decades:	1920s  1930s  1940s  – 1950s –   1960s   1970s   1980s
Years:	1947 1948 1949 – 1950 – 1951 1952 1953

1950 by topic:

Subject

Archaeology Architecture Art Aviation Awards Comics Film Literature ( Poetry) Meteorology Music ( Country) Rail transport Radio Science Spaceflight Sports Television

By country

Australia Canada People's Republic of China Ecuador France Germany Greece India Ireland Israel Italy Japan Luxembourg Malaya Mexico New Zealand Norway Pakistan Philippines Singapore South Africa Soviet Union United Kingdom United States

Leaders

Sovereign states State leaders Religious leaders Law

Birth and death categories

Births Deaths

Establishments and disestablishments categories

Establishments Disestablishments

Works and introductions categories

Works Introductions

1950 in other calendars

Gregorian calendar	1950 MCML
Ab urbe condita	2703
Armenian calendar	1399 ԹՎ ՌՅՂԹ
Assyrian calendar	6700
Bahá'í calendar	106–107
Bengali calendar	1357
Berber calendar	2900
British Regnal year	14 Geo. 6 – 15 Geo. 6
Buddhist calendar	2494
Burmese calendar	1312
Byzantine calendar	7458–7459
Chinese calendar	己丑年十一月十三日 (4586/4646-11-13) — to — 庚寅年十一月廿三日 (4587/4647-11-23)
Coptic calendar	1666–1667
Ethiopian calendar	1942–1943
Hebrew calendar	5710–5711
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	2006–2007
- Shaka Samvat	1872–1873
- Kali Yuga	5051–5052
Holocene calendar	11950
Igbo calendar
- Ǹrí Ìgbò	950–951
Iranian calendar	1328–1329
Islamic calendar	1369–1370
Japanese calendar	Shōwa 25 (昭和25年)
Juche calendar	39
Julian calendar	Gregorian minus 13 days
Korean calendar	4283
Minguo calendar	ROC 39 民國39年
Thai solar calendar	2493

Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. It is also the index year, or year 0, that scientists use for before present figures.

Events

January

• January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
• January 5 – U.S. Senator Estes Kefauver introduces a resolution calling for an investigation of organized crime in the U.S.
• January 6 – The United Kingdom recognizes the People's Republic of China; the Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with Britain in response.
• January 7 – A fire consumes Mercy Hospital in Davenport, Iowa, killing 39 patients.
• January 9 – The Israeli government recognizes the People's Republic of China.
• January 11 – Huk guerrillas manhandle the town of Hermosa, Bataan in the Philippines.

• January 12
  • The British submarine Truculent collides with a Swedish oil tanker in the Thames Estuary and sinks; 64 die.
  • Cold War: U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson delivers his 'Perimeter Speech', outlining the boundary of U.S. security guarantees.
• January 13 – Finland forms diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.
• January 17 – Great Brinks Robbery: Eleven thieves steal more than $2 million from the Brink's armored car company headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts.
• January 21 – Accused communist spy Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury.
• January 23 – The Knesset passes a resolution that states Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
• January 24 – Cold War: Klaus Fuchs, German émigré and physicist, confesses to an MI5 interrogator that he is a Soviet spy: for 7 years, he passed top secret data on U.S. and British nuclear weapons research to the Soviet Union. Fuchs is formally charged on February 2.
• January 26 – India promulgates its constitution, forming a republic, and Rajendra Prasad is sworn in as its first president.
• January 29 – Lord Balfour criticizes the fact that rationing is still in force in Britain.
• January 31
  • President Harry S. Truman orders the development of the hydrogen bomb, in response to the detonation of the Soviet Union's first atomic bomb in 1949.
  • The last Kuomintang troops surrender in mainland China.
• December - First five-year plan is tabled in the Parliament by Jawaharlal Nehru. It emphasizes Agricultural and Community development.

February

• February 1 – Chiang Kai-shek is re-elected as a president of the Republic of China.
• February 4 – Ingrid Bergman's illegitimate child arouses ire in the U.S.
• February 6 – First Cabinet Secretary N.R.Pillai appointed in India.
• February 8 – Payment first made by Diners Club card, in New York, first use of a charge card.
• February 9 – Second Red Scare: In his speech to the Republican Women's Club at the McClure Hotel in Wheeling, West Virginia, Senator Joseph McCarthy accuses the United States Department of State of being filled with 205 Communists.
• February 11
  • Two Viet Minh battalions attack a French base in French Indochina.
  • Finland recognizes Indonesia.
• February 12
  • Pro-communist riots erupt in Paris.
  • The European Broadcasting Union is founded.
  • Albert Einstein warns that nuclear war could lead to mutual destruction.
• February 13
  • The U.S. Army begins to deploy anti-aircraft cannons to protect nuclear stations and military targets.
  • British Columbia B-36 crash - The U.S. Air Force loses a Convair B-36 bomber that carried an Mark 4 nuclear bomb off the west coast of Canada, and produces the world's first Broken Arrow.
• February 14 – Cold War:
  • The Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China sign a mutual defense treaty.
  • In an election speech at Edinburgh, Winston Churchill proposes "a parley at the summit" with Soviet leaders, first use of term " summit" for such a meeting.
• February 15
  • Juho Kusti Paasikivi is re-elected president of Finland.
  • Walt Disney releases his 12th animated film, Cinderella in Hollywood.
• February 19 – Konrad Adenauer tries unsuccessfully to negotiate with East Germany to begin unification.
• February 21 – Cunard liner RMS Aquitania arrives at the scrapyard in Faslane at the end of a 36 year career, the longest of any in the 20th Century.
• February 23 – United Kingdom general election, 1950 : The Labour Party, led by Clement Attlee remains in office but the Tories, led by Winston Churchill increase their seats in the House of Commons.

March

• March 1
  • Klaus Fuchs is convicted in London of spying against both Britain and the United States for the Soviet Union, by giving to the latter top secret atomic bomb data.
  • Acting Chinese President Li Tsung-jen ends his term in office.
  • Chiang Kai-shek resumes his duties as Chinese president after moving his government to Taipei, Taiwan.
• March 3 – Poland states that it intends to exile all Germans.
• March 8– The first Volkswagen Type 2 (also known as the Microbus) rolls off the assembly line in Wolfsburg, Germany.
• March 12 – A plane carrying returning rugby fans from Ireland to Wales crashes near Llandow, with the loss of 80 lives.
• March 13 – In Belgium, the referendum over the monarchy shows 57.7% support the return of King Léopold III, 42.3% against.
• March 14 – The ship Cygnet hits a mine off the Dutch coast.
• March 17 – University of California, Berkeley researchers announce the creation of element 98, which they have named "californium".
• March 18 – The Belgian government collapses after the March 12 referendum favouring of the return from exile of King Léopold III.
• March 20 – The Polish government enacts a law to take possession of properties owned by Roman Catholic churches.
• March 22 – Egypt demands that Britain remove all its troops in the Suez Canal.
• March 23
  • The 22nd Academy Awards ceremony is held.

April

• April 14
  • Influential British comic Eagle is launched
  • NSC-68 is issued by the United States National Security Council
• April 15 – Belgian King Leopold III announces that he is ready to abdicate in favour of his son Baudouin.
• April 24 – Jordan formally annexes the West Bank.
• April 27
  • Apartheid: In South Africa, the Group Areas Act is passed, formally segregating the races.
  • Britain formally recognises Israel.

May

• May 1 – UNRWA operations begin.
• May 6
  • The town of Cazin (Bosnia) rises up against Communist agrarian reforms.
  • Tollund Man is unearthed in Denmark.
• May 9
  • Robert Schuman presents his proposal for the creation of a pan-European organisation, which he believes to be indispensable to the maintenance of permanently peaceful relations between the different nations of the continent. This proposal, known as the " Schuman declaration", is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union.
  • L. Ron Hubbard publishes Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health.
• May 11 – The Kefauver Committee hearings into U.S. organized crime begin.
• May 13 – The first race in the inaugural FIA Formula One World Championship is held at Silverstone, England.
• May 14 – The Huntsville Times runs the headline, "Dr. von Braun Says Rocket Flights Possible to Moon."
• May 17 Israeli Air Force Spitfires intercept a Royal Air Force Short Sunderland when it inadvertently crosses into Israeli airspace, and force it to land at Lod Airport. The Sunderland's crew had been issued maps that did not depict Israel, as Britain had not recognized the country when they were issued.
• May 22
  • Celal Bayar becomes the third president of Turkey.
  • Adnan Menderes of DP forms the new government of Turkey (19th government)
• May 24 – Maritime Administration (under Department of Commerce).
• May 25 – The Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel is formally opened to traffic.
• May 29 – St. Roch, the first ship to circumnavigate North America, arrives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

June

• June 1– June 23 – Mauna Loa in Hawaii starts erupting.
• June 3 – Annapurna I, 10th highest mountain in the world, is first ascended.
• June 6 – Turkey: The Adhan in Arabic is legalized.
• June 8 – Sir Thomas Blamey becomes the only Field Marshal in Australian history.
• June 25 – Korean War begins: North Korean troops cross the 38th parallel into South Korea.
• June 26 – The South African Parliament passes the Suppression of Communism Act, No. 44 of 1950.
• June 27 – Korean War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman orders American military forces to aid in the defense of South Korea.
• June 28
  • Korean War: North Korean forces capture Seoul but do not win the war.
  • Korean War: Hangang Bridge bombing.
  • Korean War: Seoul National University Hospital Massacre.

July

• July 16 – Uruguay beat Brazil 2–1 to win the 1950 World Cup.
• July 17 – The Suppression of Communism Act passed on June 26, comes into force in South Africa.

August

• August 5 – A bomb-laden B-29 Superfortress crashes into a residential area in California; 17 are killed, 68 injured.
• August 6 – Monarchist demonstrations lead to a riot in Brussels.
• August 8 –
  • Florence Chadwick swims across the English Channel in 13 hours, 22 minutes.
  • Winston Churchill supports idea of a pan-European army allied with Canada and the U.S.
• August 12
  • Korean War: Bloody Gulch massacre.
  • In his encyclical Humani Generis, Pope Pius XII declares evolution to be a serious hypothesis that did not contradict essential Catholic teachings.
• August 15 – 1950 Assam – Tibet earthquake: An earthquake in the Assam state of India kills 780 people and causes the Subansiri River to be dammed. Eight days later, the dam bursts, drowning another 536 people. The twin disasters leave 5,000,000 homeless.
• August 17 – Korean War: In the Hill 303 massacre, 39 U.S. soldiers are executed after being captured in battle by North Korea.
• August 22 – The Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary is founded in Tagbilaran City, Philippines.
• August 23 – Legendary singer-actor Paul Robeson, whose passport had recently been revoked because of his alleged Communist affiliations, meets with U.S. officials in an effort to get it reinstated. He is unsuccessful, and it is not reinstated until 1958.

September

• September 4
  • Darlington Raceway is the site of the inaugural Southern 500, the first 500-mile NASCAR race.
  • The comic strip Beetle Bailey is created by Mort Walker.
• September 7
  • A coal mine collapse in New Cumnock, Scotland, kills 13 miners; 116 are rescued.
  • The game show Truth or Consequences debuts on television.
• September 8 – The Defense Production Act is enacted into law in the U.S., shaping American military contracting for the next 60 years.
• September 9 – The U.S. state of California celebrates its centennial anniversary.
• September 12 – Communist riots erupt in Berlin.
• September 15 – Korean War – Battle of Inchon: Allied troops commanded by Douglas MacArthur land in Inchon, occupied by North Korea, to begin a U.N. counteroffensive.
• September 19 – West Germany decides to purge communist officials.
• September 22 – World Dance Council inaugurated.
• September 26 – Indonesia is admitted to the United Nations.
• September 30 – NSC-68 is enacted by President Truman, setting U.S. foreign policy for the next 20 years.

October

• October 2 – The comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz is first published in seven U.S. newspapers.
• October 3 – Getúlio Dornelles Vargas is elected president of Brazil for a 5-year term.
• October 5 – The Indonesian government quells riots in the Moluccas.
• October 7
  • The 1950-1951 invasion of Tibet by People's Republic of China begins.
  • The Agate Pass Bridge opens for traffic in Washington State.
• October 9 – Goyang Geumjeong Cave Massacre started.
• October 11 – The Federal Communications Commission issues the first license to broadcast television in colour, to CBS ( RCA will successfully dispute and block the license from taking effect, however).
• October 15
  • The second Tacoma Narrows Bridge opens.
  • In East Germany, the Communists win 99.7% of the vote.
• October 19 – Korean War: The People's Republic of China enters the conflict by sending thousands of soldiers across the Yalu River
• October 20 – Australia passes the Communist Party Dissolution Act, which is later struck down by the High Court.
• October 28 – Torcida Split is founded.
• October 30 – The Jayuya Uprising is started by Puerto Rican Nationalists against the United States.

November

• November 1
  • Pope Pius XII witnesses " The Miracle of the Sun" at the Vatican and defines a new dogma of Roman Catholicism, the Munificentissimus Deus, which says that God took Mary's body into Heaven after her death (the " Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary").
  • Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempt to assassinate U.S. President Harry S. Truman, who is staying at the Blair-Lee House in Washington, D.C. during White House repairs.
• November 4 – The United Nations ends the diplomatic isolation of Spain.
• November 8 – Korean War: While in an F-80, United States Air Force Lt. Russell J. Brown intercepts 2 North Korean MiG-15s near the Yalu River and shoots them down in the first jet-to-jet dogfight in history.
• November 10 – A U.S. Air Force B-50 Superfortress bomber, experiencing an in-flight emergency, jettisons and detonates a Mark 4 nuclear bomb over Quebec, Canada (the device lacked its plutonium core).
• November 11 – The Mattachine Society is founded in Los Angeles as the first gay-liberation organization.
• November 13
  • Colonel Carlos Delgado Chalbaud is kidnapped and murdered in Caracas.
  • A Curtiss Reid Flying Services plane crashes while en route to Paris from Rome, killing all 52 on board.
• November 18 – The United Nations accepts the formation of the Libyan National Council.
• November 20 – T. S. Eliot speaks against television in the UK.
• November 22
  • Anti-British riots erupt in Egypt.
  • Shirley Temple announces her retirement from show business.
• November 24 – A phenomenal winter storm ravages the northeastern United States, brings 30 to 50 inches of snow, temperatures below zero, and kills 323 people.
• November 26 – Korean War: Troops from the People's Republic of China launched a massive counterattack against South Korean and United Nations forces at the Ch'ongch'on River and the Chosin Reservoir, dashing any hopes for a quick end to the conflict.
• November 28
  • Colombo Plan for Co-operative Economic Development in South and South-East Asia
  • Greece and Yugoslavia reform diplomatic relations.
• November 29 – The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is founded.
• November 30 – Douglas MacArthur threatens to use nuclear weapons in Korea.

December

Date unknown

• The first pagers are developed.
• Canadians Harry Wasylyk, Larry Hansen and Frank Plomp introduce the plastic bin bag for garbage collection.
• Myxomatosis is introduced into Australia in an attempt to control the escalating rabbit population.
• IBM Israel begins operating in Tel Aviv.
• President Harry Truman sends United States military advisers to Vietnam to aid French forces.
• France institutes a government-guaranteed minimum wage.
• Knox's Translation of the Vulgate Old Testament (commissioned by the Catholic Church) is published.
• Laos gets involved in the First Indochina War to overthrow the French Army.

World population

• Total world population:
  • Africa: 221,214,000
  • Asia: 1,398,488,000
  • Europe: 547,403,000
  • Latin America: 167,097,000
  • North America: 171,616,000
  • Oceania: 12,812,000.

Births

January–February

• January 2
  • Débora Duarte, Brazilian actress
  • David Shifrin, American classical clarinetist
• January 3 – Victoria Principal, American actress
• January 5
  • John Manley, Canadian politician
  • Charlie Richmond, Canadian entrepreneur and inventor
• January 6
  • Louis Freeh, former Director of the FBI
  • Thomas J. Pickard, former Acting Director of the FBI
• January 7
  • Juan Gabriel (b. Alberto Aguilera Valadez), Mexican singer, songwriter and philanthropist
  • Erin Gray, American actress
• January 10 – Ernie Wasson, American gardener and writer
• January 12
  • Sheila Jackson-Lee, American politician
  • Dorrit Moussaieff, First Lady of Iceland
• January 14 – Jagadguru Rāmabhadrācārya, Hindu religious leader
• January 16 – Debbie Allen, American actress, dancer, and choreographer
• January 17
  • Cristina Galbó, Spanish actress
  • Luis López Nieves, Puerto Rican writer
• January 18 – Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (d. 1982)
• January 20 – Edward Hirsch, American poet
• January 21 – Billy Ocean, West Indian-born musician
• January 23 – Richard Dean Anderson, American actor
• January 24
  • Gennifer Flowers, American actress, connected to US President Bill Clinton
  • Benjamin Urrutia, Ecuadorian-born American author and scholar
• January 26
  • Jörg Haider, Austrian politician (d. 2008)
  • Janet Lupo, American model
• January 27
  • Amos Grunebaum, Israeli-born obstetrician and gynecologist
  • Derek Acorah, British spiritualist medium
• January 29
  • Jody Scheckter, South African race car driver
  • Ann Jillian, American actress
• January 30 – Trinidad Silva, American actor (d. 1988)
• February 1 – Kazimierz Nycz, Polish clergyman
• February 3 – Morgan Fairchild, American actress
• February 6
  • Natalie Cole, American singer
  • Jane Gordon-Cumming, British writer
• February 10 – Mark Spitz, American Olympic swimmer
• February 12
  • Michael Ironside, Canadian actor
  • Steve Hackett, British songwriter and guitarist
• February 13 – Peter Gabriel, British rock musician
• February 15 – Tsui Hark, Hong Kong film director
• February 16
  • Roman Tam, Renowned Cantopop singer (d.2002)
  • Peter Hain, British politician
• February 18
  • Cybill Shepherd, American actress
  • John Hughes, American film director, producer, and writer (d. 2009)
• February 20
  • Ken Shimura, Japanese television performer and actor
  • Tony Wilson, English impresario (d. 2007)
• February 22
  • Julius Erving, American basketball player
  • Julie Walters, English actress
  • Miou-Miou, French actress
  • Ellen Greene, American actress
• February 25
  • Neil Jordan, Irish film director, writer, and producer
  • Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina (d. 2010)
• February 26
  • Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand
  • Bill Ritter, American news anchor

March–April

• March 2 Karen Carpenter, American singer and drummer (d. 1983)
• March 4 – Rick Perry, Governor of Texas
• March 9 – Danny Sullivan, American race car driver
• March 11
  • Bobby McFerrin, American singer
  • Jerry Zucker, American film producer, director, and writer
• March 12 – Javier Clemente, Spanish football player and manager
• March 13 – William H. Macy, American actor
• March 18 – Brad Dourif, American actor
• March 20 – William Hurt, American actor
• March 22 – Jocky Wilson, Scottish darts player
• March 26
  • Teddy Pendergrass, American singer (d. 2010)
  • Martin Short, Canadian-born comedian
• March 28
  • Claudio Lolli, Italian singer-songwriter
  • Jeffrey Miller, Kent State University shooting victim (d. 1970).
• March 30
  • Robbie Coltrane, British actor and comedian
  • David Janson, British actor
• April 1 – Samuel Alito, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
• April 4 – Christine Lahti, American actress
• April 5
  • Agnetha Fältskog, Swedish rock singer and songwriter ( ABBA)
  • Harpo, Swedish pop musician
• April 8 – Grzegorz Lato, Polish footballer
• April 10 – Ken Griffey, Sr., American baseball player
• April 12 – David Cassidy, American actor and singer
• April 13 – Ron Perlman, American actor
• April 20 – Steve Erickson, American novelist
• April 22 – Peter Frampton, English rock musician
• April 25 – Lenora Fulani, American presidential candidate
• April 28 – Jay Leno, American comedian and talk show host
• April 29 – Paul Holmes, New Zealand radio and television broadcaster (d. 2013)

May–June

• May 5 – Googoosh, Iranian singer and actress
• May 7 – Tim Russert, American journalist (d. 2008)
• May 12
  • Ching Hai, Vietnamese born Taiwanese author, spiritual leader and jewellery designer
  • Billy Squier, American musician
• May 13
  • Gabriel Byrne, Irish actor
  • Bobby Valentine, American baseball manager
  • Stevie Wonder, American musician
• May 15 – Renate Stecher, German athlete
• May 18 – Mark Mothersbaugh, American composer, artist, and singer ( Devo)
• May 29 – Rebbie Jackson, American singer
• May 31 – Gregory Harrison, American actor and director
• June 3
  • Deniece Williams, American singer
  • Suzi Quatro, American singer-songwriter
• June 5 – Abraham Sarmiento, Jr., Filipino journalist and political activist (d. 1977)
• June 7 – Howard Finkel, American ring announcer
• June 8 – Kathy Baker, American actress
• June 13 – Belinda Bauer, Australian actress
• June 14 – Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
• June 15 – Lakshmi Mittal, Indian industrialist
• June 20 – Nouri Al-Maliki, Prime Minister of Iraq
• June 21
  • Vasilis Papakonstantinou, Greek singer and musician
  • Joey Kramer, American musician
• June 22 – Zenonas Petrauskas, Lithuanian lawyer and politician (d. 2009)
• June 24 – Nancy Allen, American actress
• June 25
  • Nitza Saul, Israeli actress
  • Marcello Toninelli, Italian writer
• June 29 – Don Moen, American singer and musician
• June 30 – Leonard Whiting, British actor

July–August

• July 5 – Huey Lewis, American rock singer
• July 9 – Victor Yanukovych, President of Ukraine
• July 11 – Pervez Hoodbhoy, Pakistani Nuclear physicist and social activist
• July 12 – Eric Carr, Former Kiss drummer and musician (d. 1991)
• July 13 – Ma Ying-jeou, current President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
• July 18
  • Sir Richard Branson, British entrepreneur
  • Glenn Hughes, American vocalist (d. 2001)
  • Jack Layton, Canadian politician (d. 2011)
• July 19
  • Per-Kristian Foss, Norwegian Minister of Finance
  • Freddy Moore, American musician
  • Simon Cadell, British actor (d. 1996)
• July 20 – William Knox Schroeder, Kent State University shooting victim (d. 1970).
• July 26 – Susan George, British actress
• July 27 – Simon Jones, English actor
• July 29 – Jenny Holzer, American conceptual artist
• August 1
  • Roy Williams, American basketball coach
  • Bunkhouse Buck, American professional wrestler
• August 3 – Jo Marie Payton, American actress
• August 7 – Alan Keyes, American conservative political activist
• August 8 – Ken Kutaragi, ex-C.E.O of Sony Computer Entertainment
• August 9 – Nicole Tourneur French novelist (d. 2011)
• August 11
  • Gennadiy Nikonov, Russian weapon designer
  • Erik Brann, American musician ( Iron Butterfly) (d. 2003)
• August 15
  • Anne, Princess Royal, British Princess and daughter of Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh
  • Neil J. Gunther Australian/American physicist and computer scientist
  • Tom Kelly American baseball manager
  • Andres Serrano, American photographer
• August 16
  • Hasely Crawford, West Indian athlete
  • Marshall Manesh, Persian actor
• August 19 – Sudha Murty, Indian social worker and Author
• August 22 – Scooter Libby, American former adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney
• August 26 – Carl Deuker, American author
• August 27 – Charles Fleischer, American actor, stand-up comedian, and voice artist

September–October

• September 1
  • Dr. Phil McGraw, American TV psychologist
  • Mikhail Fradkov, Russian politician, Prime Minister of Russia (2004–2007)
• September 2
  • Rosanna DeSoto, American actress
  • Yuen Wah, Hong Kong actor
• September 7
  • Julie Kavner, American actress
  • Johann Friedrich Hohenberger, German-Australian engineer and conman
• September 8 – Mark Gable, Australian singer and songwriter ( The Choirboys)
• September 10 – Joe Perry, American rock guitarist ( Aerosmith)
• September 14
  • Paul Kossoff, British rock guitarist ( Free) (d. 1976)
  • Masami Kuwashima, Japanese race car driver
• September 16
  • Henry Louis Gates, American literary critic
  • Loyd Grossman, American television presenter and chef
• September 17 – Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat
• September 21
  • Charles Clarke, British politician
  • Bill Murray, American actor and comedian
• September 22 – Kirka Babitzin, Finnish singer (d. 2007)
• September 24 – Kristina Wayborn, Swedish actress
• September 27 – Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Japanese actor
• September 28 – John Sayles, American director and screenwriter
• October 1 – Randy Quaid, American actor
• October 3 – Pamela Hensley, American actress
• October 5 – Jeff Conaway, American actor (d. 2011)
• October 7 – Jakaya Kikwete, Tanzanian president
• October 9 – Jody Williams, American teacher and aid worker, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
• October 10 – Nora Roberts, American novelist
• October 12
  • Edward Bloor, American novelist
  • Kaga Takeshi, Japanese actor
• October 17
  • Dean Shek, Hong Kong actor
  • Howard Rollins, American actor (d. 1996)
• October 18 – Wendy Wasserstein, American playwright (d. 2006)
• October 19 – Bishop Bill Ray, 10th Bishop of North Queensland
• October 20 – Tom Petty, American rock singer
• October 22 – Bill Owens, Governor of Colorado
• October 28 – Sihem Bensedrine, Tunisian human rights activist
• October 29 – Abdullah Gül, 11th President of Turkey
• October 30 – Louise DuArt, American comedienne and impersonator
• October 31
  • John Candy, Canadian comedian and actor (d. 1994)
  • Jane Pauley, American television broadcaster and journalist

November–December

• November 1 – Robert B. Laughlin, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
• November 3 – Massimo Mongai, Italian author
• November 4 – Charles Frazier, American novelist
• November 6 – Kenny Marks, American Christian musician
• November 8 – Joseph Donaldson, Belfast citizen and much-loved uncle
• November 9 – Maravillas Rojo, Catalan politician
• November 10
  • Debra Hill, American producer (d. 2005)
  • Bob Orton, Jr., American professional wrestler
• November 13 – Mary Lou Metzger, American singer and dancer
• November 16 – David Leisure, American actor
• November 17 – Roland Matthes, German swimmer
• November 21 – Alberto Juantorena, Cuban athlete
• November 22 – Lyman Bostock, American baseball player (d. 1978)
• November 24 – Stanley Livingston, American actor (My Three Sons)
• November 28
  • Russell Alan Hulse, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • Ed Harris, American actor
• December 1 – Keith Thibodeaux, American child actor
• December 2
  • Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd on Whale Wars.
  • Amin Saikal, Australian academic professor
  • Benjamin Stora, French historian
• December 5 – Camarón de la Isla, Spanish singer (d. 1992)
• December 9 – Joan Armatrading, St. Kitts-born English singer-songwriter
• December 10 – Tom Towles, American actor
• December 12 – Rajinikanth, Indian actor
• December 13 – Wendie Malick, American actress
• December 16 – Roy Schuiten, Dutch cyclist (d. 2006)
• December 17 – Laurence F. Johnson, American futurist and educator
• December 18 – Leonard Maltin, American film critic
• December 19 – Manny Trillo, Venezuelan-born American baseball player
• December 23
  • Michael C. Burgess, American politician
  • Vicente del Bosque, Spanish footballer and manager
• December 28 – Alex Chilton, American rock musician ( The Box Tops) (d. 2010)

Date unknown

• Lena Ackebo, Swedish comic creator
• Brian McConaghy, Canadian forensic scientist

Deaths

January–March

• January 2 – Emil Jannings, Swiss-born German actor (b. 1884)
• January 7 – Monty Banks, Italian comedian and director (b. 1897)
• January 8 – Joseph Schumpeter, Czech economist and political scientist (b. 1883)
• January 15 – Henry H. Arnold, American five-star general (b. 1886)
• January 17 – Seiichi Hatano, Japanese philosopher (b. 1877)
• January 20 – Ray Duggan, Australian-English speedway rider (b. 1913)
• January 21 – George Orwell, English author (b. 1903)
• January 22 – Alan Hale, Sr., American actor (b. 1892)
• February 3 – Sir Lionel Cripps, Rhodesian politician (b. 1863)
• February 6 – Georges Imbert, Alsatian chemist (b. 1884)
• February 7 – D. K. Broster, British historical novelist (b. 1877)
• February 13 – Rafael Sabatini, Italian writer (b. 1875)
• February 16 – Mile-a-Minute Murphy, American cyclist (b. 1870)
• February 25 – George Minot, American physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1885)
• February 26 – Harry Lauder, Scottish entertainer (b. 1870)
• March 2 Rosli Dhobi, famous Malay Sarawakian (b. 1932)
• March 5
  • Edgar Lee Masters, American poet (b. 1868)
  • Sid Grauman, American restaurateur (b. 1895)
• March 6
  • Albert Lebrun, President of France (b. 1871)
  • Harry Redfern, English architect (b. 1861)
• March 10 – Marguerite De La Motte, American actress (b. 1902)
• March 11 – Brock Pemberton, American theatrical producer (b. 1885)
• March 12 – Heinrich Mann, German novelist (b. 1871)
• March 19
  • Walter Haworth, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1883)
  • Edgar Rice Burroughs, American author (b. 1875)
• March 24 – James Rudolph Garfield, American politician (b. 1865)
• March 25 – Frank Buck, American animal collector (b. 1884)
• March 30
  • Léon Blum, French statesman and Prime Minister (b. 1872)
  • Joe Yule, Scottish-born comedian (b. 1894)

April–June

• April 1 – F.O. Matthiessen, American historian and literary critic (b. 1902)
• April 2 – Recep Peker, ex prime minister of Turkey (b. 1889)
• April 3 – Kurt Weill, German-born composer (b. 1900)
• April 7 – Walter Huston, American actor (b. 1884)
• April 8 – Vaslav Nijinsky, Russian ballet dancer and choreographer (b. 1889)
• April 11 – Bainbridge Colby, United States Secretary of State (b. 1869)
• April 26 – G. Murray Hulbert, American politician (b. 1881)
• April 27
  • Hobart Cavanaugh, American character actor (b. 1886)
  • Karel Kozeluh, Czech tennis player (b. 1895)
• May 1 – Lothrop Stoddard, American eugenicist (b. 1883)
• May 9 – Esteban Terradas i Illa, Catalan mathematician, scientist, and engineer (b. 1883)
• May 10 – Belle da Costa Greene, American librarian, bibliographer, and archivist (b. 1883)
• May 20 – John Gould Fletcher, American poet (b. 1886)
• May 24 – Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, British field marshal (b. 1883)
• June 4
  • Kazys Grinius, President of Lithuania (b. 1866).
  • George Cecil Ives, German-English poet, writer, penal reformer and early gay-rights campaigner. (b.1867)
• June 22 – Jane Cowl, American actress (b. 1883)
• June 24 – Darwan Singh Negi, Indian VC recipient (b. 1881)

July–September

• July 7 – Fats Navarro, American jazz trumpet player (b. 1923)
• July 8 – Helen Holmes, American actress (b. 1893)
• July 10 – Richard Maury, American naturalized Argentine engineer (b. 1882)
• July 11 – Buddy DeSylva, American songwriter (b. 1895)
• July 12 – Elsie de Wolfe, American socialite and interior decorator (b. 1865)
• July 17 – Evangeline Booth, General of The Salvation Army (b. 1865)
• July 21 – Rex Ingram, American director (b. 1892)
• July 22 – William Lyon Mackenzie King, three-time Prime Minister of Canada between 1921 and 1948; (b. 1874)
• August 19 – Black Elk, Wičháša Wakȟáŋ (Medicine Man or Holy Man) of the Ogala Teton Lakota (Western Sioux) (b. 1863)
• August 22 – Kirk Bryan, American geologist (b. 1888)
• August 23 – Frank Phillips, American oil executive (b. 1873)
• August 26 – Ransom E. Olds, American automotive pioneer (b. 1864)
• August 27 – Cesare Pavese, Italian poet and novelist (b. 1908)
• September 4 – Max Davidson, German actor (b. 1875)
• September 6 – Olaf Stapledon, British author and philosopher (b. 1886)
• September 10 – Raymond Sommer, American race car driver (b. 1906)
• September 11
  • Rudolph Palm, Curaçao born composer (b. 1880)
  • Jan Smuts, Prime Minister of South Africa (b. 1870)
• September 13 – Sara Allgood, Irish actress (b. 1879)
• September 16 – Pedro de Cordoba, American actor (b. 1881)
• September 21 – Edward Arthur Milne, British astrophysicist and mathematician (b. 1896)
• September 23 – Kenneth Muir, English soldier and posthumous winner of the Victoria Cross (b.1912)

October–December

• October 11 – Pauline Lord, American actress (b. 1890)
• October 13 – Ernest Haycox, American writer (b. 1899)
• October 19
  • Charles Ballantyne, Canadian politician (b. 1867)
  • Edna St. Vincent Millay, American poet (b. 1892)
• October 20 – Henry L. Stimson, United States Secretary of State (b. 1867)
• October 23 – Al Jolson, American musician and actor (b. 1886)
• October 28 – Maurice Costello, American actor (b. 1877)
• October 29 – King Gustaf V of Sweden (b. 1858)
• November 2 – George Bernard Shaw, Irish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1856)
• November 3 – Koiso Kuniaki, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1880)
• November 4 – Grover Cleveland Alexander, American baseball player (b. 1887)
• November 12 – Julia Marlowe, stage actress, (b. 1866)
• November 25
  • Johannes Vilhelm Jensen, Danish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1873)
  • Gustaf John Ramstedt, Finland-Swedish linguist and diplomat (b. 1873)
• November 28 – James Corbitt, English murderer ( hanged) (b. 1913)
• November 30 – Werner Haase, Hitler's personal physician (b. 1900)
• December 2 – Dinu Lipatti, Romanian pianist (b. 1917)
• December 5 – Sri Aurobindo, Indian guru (b. 1872)
• December 11 – Leslie Comrie, Honduras astronomer and computing pioneer (b. 1893)
• December 12 – Peter Fraser, former Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1884)
• December 15 – Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Indian political leader (b. 1875)
• December 20 – Enrico Mizzi, 6th Prime Minister of Malta (b. 1885)
• December 27 – Max Beckmann, German painter (b. 1884)

Nobel Prizes

• Physics – Cecil Frank Powell
• Chemistry – Otto Paul Hermann Diels, Kurt Alder
• Medicine – Edward Calvin Kendall, Tadeus Reichstein, Philip Showalter Hench
• Literature – Earl (Bertrand Arthur William) Russell
• Peace – Ralph Bunche