1951

January

January 1 – First week as No. 1 single on Billboard and Cashbox charts in the United States of Patti Page hit song "Tennessee Waltz".

January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (they had lost Seoul in the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).

January 9 – The Government of the United Kingdom announces abandonment of the Tanganyika groundnut scheme for the cultivation of peanuts in the Tanganyika Territory with the writing off of £36.5M debt.

January 15 – In a court in West Germany, Ilse Koch, The "Witch of Buchenwald", wife of the commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is sentenced to life imprisonment.

January 20 – Avalanches in the Alps kill 240 and bury 45,000 for a time in Switzerland, Austria and Italy.

January 25 – Dutch author Anne de Vries releases the first volume of her novel Journey Through the Night (Reis door de nacht) set during World War II.

January 27 – Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with a 1-kiloton bomb dropped on Frenchman Flat, northwest of Las Vegas.

January 31 – The United States' last narrow gauge passenger train the "San Juan Express" ends service.

February

February – Convention People's Party wins national elections in Gold Coast (British colony).

February 1 – The United Nations General Assembly declares that China is an aggressor in the Korean War in United Nations General Assembly Resolution 498.

February 4–February 8 – Surgeons remove an ovarian cyst from Gertrude Levandowski in a 96-hour long operation in Chicago. She loses almost half of her weight and emerges weighing 140 kg.

February 6 – A Pennsylvania Railroad passenger train derails near Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, killing 85 people and injuring over 500, in one of the worst rail disasters in American history.

February 12 – Muhammad Reza Shah marries Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari.

February 15 – Start of the 1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute, which lasts for 151 days.

February 19 – Jean Lee becomes the last woman hanged in Australia, when Lee and her 2 pimps are hanged for the murder and torture of a 73-year-old bookmaker.

February 27 – The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting Presidents to two terms, is ratified.

March

March 2 – The first NBA All-Star Game of basketball is played in the Boston Garden.

March 3 or 5 – Jackie Brenston "and His Delta Cats" (actually Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm) record "Rocket 88" at Sam Phillips' Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, a candidate for the first rock and roll record (released in April). It is covered on June 14 by Bill Haley and His Saddlemen.

March 6 – The trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for conspiracy to commit espionage begins in the United States.

March 9 – United Artists releases sci-fi film The Man from Planet X in the United States.

March 12 – Hank Ketcham's best-selling comic strip Dennis the Menace appears in newspapers across the United States for the first time.

March 14

Korean War: For the second time, United Nations troops recapture Seoul during Operation Ripper.

West Germany joins UNESCO.

March 29

Second Red Scare: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage. On April 5 they are sentenced to receive the death penalty.

Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I opens on Broadway and runs for three years. It is the first of their musicals specifically written for an actress (Gertrude Lawrence). Lawrence is stricken with cancer during the run of the show and dies halfway through its run a year later. The show makes a star of Yul Brynner.

The 23rd Academy Awards ceremony is held; All About Eve wins the Best Picture award and four others.

March 31 – Remington Rand delivers the first UNIVAC I computer to the United States Census Bureau.

April

April 5–13 – The most complete recording of George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess up to

April 11

U.S. President Harry S. Truman relieves General Douglas MacArthur of his Far Eastern commands.

After its removal from Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day, 1950, the Stone of Scone resurfaces on the altar of Arbroath Abbey.

April 18 – The Treaty of Paris (1951) is adopted, establishing the European Coal and Steel Community.

April 21 – The National Olympic Committee of the Soviet Union is formed. The USSR first participates in the Olympic Games at Helsinki, Finland, in 1952.

April 24 – In Yokohama, Japan, a fire on a train kills more than 100.

April 28 – Robert Menzies' Liberal Party government in Australia is re-elected for a second term.

April 29 – RKO releases the Howard Hawks sci-fi film, The Thing (From Another World).

May

May 1 – The opera house of Geneva, Switzerland is almost destroyed in a fire.

May 3

King George VI opens London's Royal Festival Hall as a patron.

The Festival of Britain opens.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services and U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations begins its closed door hearings into the dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur by U.S. President Harry S Truman.

May 9 – Operation Greenhouse: The first thermonuclear weapon is tested on Enewetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands, by the United States.

May 14 – The first volunteer-run passenger trains run on Talyllyn Railway, Wales.

May 15 – A military coup occurs in Bolivia.

May 21 – The 9th Street Art Exhibition, otherwise known as the Ninth Street Show, a gathering of a number of notable artists, marks the stepping-out of the post war New York avant-garde, collectively known as the New York School.

May 23 – The Tibetan government signs the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet with the People's Republic of China.

May 25 – The first atomic bomb "boosted" by the inclusion of thermonuclear materials, is tested in the "Item" test on Enewetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands by the United States.

May 28 – The Goon Show is first broadcast on BBC Home Service in the U.K.; the first series was entitled "Crazy People".

June

June 4 – Foley Square trial concludes review in U.S. Supreme Court as Dennis v. United States, with a ruling against the defendants (overturned by Yates v. United States in 1957)

June 14 – UNIVAC I is dedicated by the U.S. Census Bureau.

June 15–July 1– In New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, thousands of acres of forests are destroyed in fires.

July

July 1

Colombo Plan operations commence.

Judy Garland opens the first of 14 concerts in Dublin, Ireland at the Theatre Royal.

July 5 – William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain announce the invention of the junction transistor.

July 10

Korean War: Armistice negotiations begin at Kaesong.

A formal peace agreement between Canada and Germany is signed.

July 13

The Great Flood of 1951 reaches its highest point in northeast Kansas, culminating in the greatest flood damage to date in the Midwestern United States.

MGM's Technicolor film version of Show Boat, starring Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner and Howard Keel, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The musical brings overnight fame to bass-baritone William Warfield (who sings Ol' Man River in the film).

July 14 – In Joplin, Missouri, the George Washington Carver National Monument becomes the first United States National Monument to honor an African American.

July 16 – King Leopold III of Belgium abdicates in favour of his son Baudouin.

July 17 – Baudouin takes the oath as king of Belgium.

July 20 – King Abdullah I of Jordan is assassinated by a Palestinian while attending Friday prayers in Jerusalem. He is succeeded by his son, King Talal.

July 26 – Walt Disney's 13th animated film, Alice in Wonderland, premieres in London, United Kingdom.

July 30 – David Lean's film of Oliver Twist is finally shown in the United States, after 10 minutes of supposedly anti-Semitic references and closeups of Alec Guinness as Fagin are cut. It will not be shown uncut in the U.S. until 1970.

August

August 11 – René Pleven becomes Prime Minister of France.

August 12 – J. D. Salinger's coming-of-age story The Catcher in the Rye is first published in the United States.

August 31 – The first Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the plant in Uitenhage, South Africa.

September

September 1 – The United States, Australia and New Zealand all sign a mutual defense pact, called the ANZUS Treaty.

September 3 – The American soap opera Search for Tomorrow debuts on CBS.

September 8

Treaty of San Francisco: In San Francisco, 48 representatives out of 51 attending sign a peace treaty with Japan to formally end the Pacific War; the delegations of the Soviet Union, Poland and Czechoslovakia do not sign the treaty instead favoring separate treaties.

Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, which allows United States Armed Forces being stationed in Japan after the occupation of Japan, is signed by Japan and the United States.

September 9 – Chinese communist forces move into Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.

September 10 – The United Kingdom begins an economic boycott of Iran.

September 18 – Elia Kazan's adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire premieres, becoming a critical and box-office smash.

September 20 – NATO accepts Greece and Turkey as members.

September 24 – MGM releases the musical Show Boat.

September 26–September 28 – A blue sun is seen over Europe: the effect is due to ash coming from the Canadian forest fires 4 months previously.

September 28 – 20th Century Fox releases the Robert Wise science fiction film, The Day the Earth Stood Still.

September 30 – Charlotte Whitton becomes mayor of Ottawa and Canada's first woman mayor of a major city.

October

October 3 – "Shot Heard 'Round the World": One of the greatest moments in Major League Baseball history occurs when the New York Giants' Bobby Thomson hits a game-winning home run in the bottom of the 9th inning off of Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca, to win the National League pennant after being down 14 games.

October 4

MGM's Technicolor musical film, An American in Paris, starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron, premieres in New York. It was directed by Vincente Minnelli. It would go on to win 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Shoppers World (one of the first shopping malls in the U.S.) opens in Framingham, Massachusetts.

October 6 – Malayan Emergency: Communist insurgents kill British commander Sir Henry Gurney.

October 14 – Organization of Central American States (Organización de Estados Centroamericanos, ODECA) formed.

October 15

Norethisterone, the progestin used in the combined oral contraceptive pill, is synthesized by Luis E. Miramontes in Mexico.

I Love Lucy makes its television debut on CBS in the United States.

October 16

Judy Garland begins a series of concerts in New York's Palace Theatre.

Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan of Pakistan is assassinated.

East China Normal University is founded in Shanghai, China.

October 17 – CBS's Eye logo premieres on American television.

October 19 – The state of war between the United States and Germany is officially ended.

October 20 – The Johnny Bright incident occurs in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

October 21 – A storm in southern Italy kills over 100.

October 24 – U.S. President Harry Truman declares an official end to war with Germany.

October 26 – Winston Churchill is re-elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (a month before his 77th birthday) in a general election which sees the defeat of Clement Attlee's Labour government after six years in power.

October 27 – Farouk of Egypt declares himself king of Sudan, with no support.

October 29 – The town of Carnation, Washington, USA changes its name back to Carnation, after being named Tolt since May 1928.

October 31 – The film Scrooge, starring Alastair Sim, opens in England.

November

November 1 – The first military exercises for nuclear war, with infantry troops included, are held in the Nevada desert.

November 10 – Direct dial coast-to-coast telephone service begins in the United States.

November 11

Juan Perón is re-elected president of Argentina.

Monogram Pictures releases sci-fi film Flight to Mars in the United States.

November 12 – The National Ballet of Canada performs for the first time in Eaton Auditorium, Toronto.

November 20 – The Po (river) floods in northern Italy.

November 22 – Paramount Pictures releases George Pal science fiction film When Worlds Collide in the United States.

November 24 – The Broadway play Gigi opens, starring Audrey Hepburn as the lead character.

November 28 – The U.K. film Scrooge, starring Alastair Sim, premieres in the United States under the title of Charles Dickens's original novel, A Christmas Carol.

November 29 – LEO (computer) runs the worlds first commercial computer program, Bakery Valuations, for J. Lyons and Co.'s tea shops in the U.K.

December

c. December – The Institute of War and Peace Studies is established by Dwight D. Eisenhower at Columbia University in New York (of which he is President) with William T. R. Fox as first director.

December 3 – The Lebanese University is founded in Lebanon.

December 5 – Provisional Intergovernmental Committee for the Movement of Migrants from Europe.

December 6 – A state of emergency is declared in Egypt due to increasing riots.

December 13 – A water storage tank collapses in Tucumcari, New Mexico, resulting in 4 deaths and 200 buildings destroyed.

December 16 – Salar Jung Museum is opened to the public by Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru.

December 17 – "We Charge Genocide", a petition describing genocide against African Americans, is delivered to the United Nations.

December 20

Experimental Breeder Reactor I (EBR-1), the world's first (experimental) nuclear power plant, opens in Idaho.

A chartered Curtiss C-46 Commando crash-lands in Cobourg, Ontario Canada; all on board survive.

The World Meteorological Organization becomes a specialized agency of the United Nations.

December 22 – The Selangor Labour Party is founded in Selangor, Malaya.

December 23 – John Huston's drama film The African Queen, starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, premieres in Hollywood.

December 24

Libya becomes independent from Italy.

Gian Carlo Menotti's 45-minute opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, premieres live on NBC in the United States, becoming the first opera written especially for television.

December 31 – The Marshall Plan expires after distributing more than $13.3 billion US in foreign aid to rebuild Europe.

Unknown dates

A fourth and final forest fire starts in the Tillamook Burn, Oregon; but unlike earlier fires this one burns only 32,700 acres (132 km²), and within an area already affected by the earlier fires.

A research team publishes the Interlingua–English Dictionary.

IBM (United Kingdom) is formed.

In Munich, Germany, a collection of mementos and personal papers belonging to Adolf Hitler are turned over to Bayerische Landesbank for authentication and eventual sale. Among the documents are his appointment as Chancellor signed by President Paul von Hindenburg, his Austrian passport, as well as an assortment of swastika insignia pins and medals. An initial offer of $200,000.00 is made for the collection.

An 18-year-old sailor is fined for kissing in public in Stockholm, Sweden. The lawcourt calls his actions "obnoxious behavior repulsive to the public morals."

The United States becomes malaria-free (excluding territories and possessions)

January

January 1 – Ashfaq Hussain, Urdu poet

January 2 – Waldir Peres, Brazilian footballer

January 5 – Steve Arnold, English footballer

January 6 – Kim Wilson, American singer and harmonica player

January 8

Kenny Anthony, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia

John McTiernan, American director, producer and writer

January 9 – Andy Qunta, English singer-songwriter, composer, and musician

January 12

Kirstie Alley, American actress

Rush Limbaugh, American conservative radio personality

January 15 – Biff Byford, English rock singer (Saxon)

January 20 – Ian Hill, English rock bassist (Judas Priest)

January 25 – Steve Prefontaine, American runner (d. 1975)

January 30 – Phil Collins, English rock musician and producer

January 31

Dave Benton, Aruban-American singer, Eurovision Song Contest 2001 winner

Harry Wayne Casey, American musician, songwriter and producer

Phil Manzanera, British rock musician

February

February 1 – Albert Salvadó, Andorran writer

February 3

Blaise Compaoré, 3rd President of Burkina Faso (1987-2014)

Felipe Muñoz, Mexican swimmer

Eugenijus Riabovas, Lithuanian football manager

February 5 – Ryūsei Nakao, Japanese actor, singer and voice actor

February 13 – David Naughton, American actor

February 14 – Kevin Keegan, English footballer and football manager

February 15

Melissa Manchester, American pop singer

Jane Seymour, English actress

February 16

Mike Flanagan, American baseball pitcher

William Katt, American film and television actor

February 19 – Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, Pakistani Islamic Sufi scholar and leader

February 20

Edward Albert, American actor (d. 2006)

Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

February 22 – Ellen Greene, American actress

February 23 – Patricia Richardson, American actress

February 24 – Debra Jo Rupp, American actress

February 25 – Don Quarrie, Jamaican sprinter

February 27 – Steve Harley, British rock musician

March

March 1

Sergei Kourdakov, KGB agent

Mike Read, British television presenter and radio disc jockey

March 3 – Heizō Takenaka, Japanese economist

March 4

Edelgard Bulmahn, German politician

Kenny Dalglish, Scottish footballer and football manager

Mike Quarry, American light-heavyweight boxer (d. 2006)

Chris Rea, British singer and musician

Gwen Welles, American actress (d. 1993)

Linda Yamamoto, Japanese pop star

March 6 – Gerrie Knetemann, Dutch cyclist (d. 2004)

March 8 – Karen Kain, Canadian ballerina

March 12 – Susan Musgrave, Canadian poet and children's writer

March 13 – Charo, Spanish-American singer and entertainer

March 14 – Jerry Greenfield, American co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream

March 17 – Kurt Russell, American actor

March 18 – Ben Cohen, American co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream

March 19 – Fred Berry, American actor (d. 2003)

March 24 – Tommy Hilfiger, American fashion designer

March 26 – Carl Wieman, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

March 30 – Wolfgang Niedecken, German singer

April

April 5

Joe Bowen, Canadian hockey broadcaster

Dean Kamen, American inventor and entrepreneur

Frank Moulaert, Flemish scholar

Guy Vanderhaeghe, Canadian author

April 6

Bert Blyleven, Dutch Major League Baseball player

Rita Raave, Estonian actress

April 7 – Janis Ian, American singer and songwriter

April 8

Geir Haarde, Prime Minister of Iceland (2006–2009)

Joan Sebastian, Mexican singer-songwriter (d. 2015)

April 10 – David Helvarg, American journalist and activist

April 11 – Doris Angleton, American socialite and murder victim (d. 1997)

April 12 – Tom Noonan, American actor

April 13

Peabo Bryson, American singer

Peter Davison, British actor

Max Weinberg, American drummer

April 14 – Julian Lloyd Webber, English cellist

April 15 – Trixi Schuba, Austrian figure skater

April 16

Mordechai Ben David, American singer

Ioan Mihai Cochinescu, Romanian writer

Björgvin Halldórsson, Icelandic singer

Pierre Toutain-Dorbec, French photographer

April 17

Horst Hrubesch, German football player

Olivia Hussey, Argentine-born actress (Romeo and Juliet)

April 19 – Jóannes Eidesgaard, Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands

April 20

Louise Jameson, British actress

Luther Vandross, American R&B/soul musician (d. 2005)

April 21 – Tony Danza, American actor and comedian

April 23 – Allison Krause, Kent State University shooting victim (d. 1970).

April 27 – Ace Frehley, original guitarist of Kiss

April 29 – Dale Earnhardt, American race-car driver (d. 2001)

May

May 3 – Christopher Cross, American singer-songwriter

May 4 – Jackie Jackson, American singer

May 6

Antonio Saldías, Chilean historian

Samuel Doe, President of Liberia (d. 1990)

May 9

Christopher Dewdney, Canadian poet

Joy Harjo, Native American poet

May 13

Sharon Sayles Belton, Mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota

Jumbo Tsuruta, Japanese professional wrestler (d. 2000)

May 15

Yoshifumi Hibako, Japanese general

Jonathan Richman, American musician

Frank Wilczek, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

May 16 – Unshō Ishizuka, Japanese voice actor

May 18 – Ben Feringa, Dutch organic chemist, Nobel Prize laureate

May 19

Al Franken, American comedian turned politician (United States Senator, D-MN)

Joey Ramone, American rock musician (Ramones) (d. 2001)

Dick Slater, American professional wrestler

May 23

Jill E. Barad, American businessperson

Anatoly Karpov, Russian chess player

Antonis Samaras, Greek economist and politician, 185th Prime Minister of Greece

May 26

Madeleine Taylor-Quinn, Irish politician

Sally Ride, American astronaut (d. 2012)

May 30

Stephen Tobolowsky, American actor

Fernando Lugo, President of Paraguay

June

June 2 – Larry Robinson, Canadian hockey player

June 3 – Jill Biden, Second Lady of the United States

June 5 – Suze Orman, American financial advisor, writer and television personality

June 8 – Bonnie Tyler, Welsh singer

June 12

Brad Delp, American rock vocalist (Boston) (d. 2007)

Andranik Margaryan, 14th Prime Minister of Armenia (d. 2007)

June 13

Stellan Skarsgård, Swedish actor

Richard Thomas, American actor

June 14 – Paul Boateng, British politician

June 15 – Álvaro Colom Caballeros, President of Guatemala

June 16 – Roberto Durán, Panamanian boxer

June 18 – Gyula Sax, Hungarian chess grandmaster (d. 2014)

June 20

Tress MacNeille, American voice actress

Paul Muldoon, Irish poet

June 21 – Nils Lofgren, American musician

June 24 – David Rodigan, British radio DJ/actor

June 27

Julia Duffy, American actress

Mary McAleese, 8th President of Ireland

June 28

Lloyd Maines, American musician and record producer

Lalla Ward, British actress

June 29

Keno Don Rosa, American comic book author

Craig Sager, American sports commentator (d. 2016)

June 30 – Stanley Clarke, American bassist

July

July 1

Anne Feeney, American folk singer

Terrence Mann, American actor and dancer

Thomas Boni Yayi, 7th President of Benin

July 2

Elisabeth Brooks, Canadian actress (d. 1997)

Sylvia Rivera, American transgender activist (d. 2002)

July 3 – Richard Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer

July 5 – Goose Gossage, American baseball player

July 6 – Geoffrey Rush, Australian actor

July 8 – Anjelica Huston, American actress

July 9 – Chris Cooper, American actor

July 10 – Cheryl Wheeler, American singer and songwriter

July 12 – Cheryl Ladd, American actress and singer

July 14 – Erich Hallhuber, German actor (d. 2003)

July 16 – Jean-Luc Mongrain, Canadian news anchor and journalist

July 17 – Lucie Arnaz, American actress

July 18 – Elio Di Rupo, Belgian politician

July 21 – Robin Williams, American actor and comedian (d. 2014)

July 23

Edie McClurg, American actress

Michael McConnohie, American actor

July 24

Lynda Carter, American actress and singer

Chris Smith, British politician

July 25 – Yury Kovalchuk, Russian oligarch

July 26 – Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, German politician

July 28

Doug Collins, American basketball player, coach and analyst

Garrett Hongo, American poet

July 31

Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Australian tennis player

Vjekoslav Šutej, Croatian orchestra conductor

August

August 2 – Andrew Gold, American singer-songwriter and musician (10cc, Wax) (d. 2011)

August 3

Jay North, American actor

Marcel Dionne, Canadian hockey player

August 6

Catherine Hicks, American actress

Daryl Somers, Australian television personality

August 8

Louis van Gaal, Dutch football player and manager

Mamoru Oshii, Japanese film director

Randy Shilts, American journalist and author (d. 1994)

August 10 – Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize

August 11 – Katsumi Chō, Japanese voice actor

August 12 – Willie Horton, American criminal

August 13 – Dan Fogelberg, American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (d. 2007)

August 14 – Carl Lumbly, American actor

August 15 – Jim Allen, West Indian cricketer

August 17 – Richard Hunt, American puppeteer (d. 1992)

August 19 – John Deacon, English rock bassist

August 20 – Greg Bear, American author

August 21

Eric Goles, Chilean mathematician and computer scientist

Chesley V. Morton, American politician and securities arbitrator

Glenn Hughes, British rock musician

August 22 – Chandra Prakash Mainali, Nepalese politician

August 23

Mark Hudson, American musician

Akhmad Kadyrov, President of Chechnya (d. 2004)

Queen Noor of Jordan, born Lisa Najeeb Halaby, American-born queen consort

Jimi Jamison, American musician (d. 2014)

August 24 – Orson Scott Card, American writer

August 25 – Rob Halford, English rock singer

August 26 – Edward Witten, American mathematician and Fields medalist

August 27 – Mack Brown, American college football coach

August 28 – Wayne Osmond, American pop singer

August 30

Behgjet Pacolli, 3rd President of Kosovo.

Dana Rosemary Scallon, Irish singer, Eurovision Song Contest 1970 winner and Member of the European Parliament (MEP)

September

September 2

Jim DeMint, American politician, United States Senator (R-SC)

Mark Harmon, American actor

September 5 – Michael Keaton, American actor and film director

September 7

Chrissie Hynde, American rock singer

Bert Jones, American football player

September 11 – Mr. Butch, American homeless person and Boston icon (d. 2007)

September 12

Bertie Ahern, Taoiseach of Ireland

Joe Pantoliano, American actor

September 13 – Jean Smart, American actress, better known for her role in Designing Women

September 14 – Duncan Haldane, English-born condensed-matter physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics

September 15

Pete Carroll, football coach

Jared Taylor, American author and journalist

Fred Seibert, American producer and Frederator Studios founder

September 17 – Cassandra Peterson, American actress, better known for her role in Elvira, Mistress of the Dark

September 18

Dee Dee Ramone, American bassist (d. 2002)

Darryl Stingley, American football player for the NFL New England Patriots (d. 2007)

September 20 – Guy Lafleur, Canadian hockey player

September 21 – Aslan Maskhadov, President of Chechnya (d. 2005)

September 22

David Coverdale, English singer and musician

Wolfgang Petry, German singer

September 24 – Alfonso Portillo, President of Guatemala

September 25

Pedro Almodóvar, Spanish filmmaker

Mark Hamill, American actor, better known for his role in Star Wars

September 26 – Stuart Tosh, Scottish musician

September 27 – Paul Craig, English professor of law

September 28 – Jim Diamond, Scottish singer-songwriter (d. 2015)

September 29

Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile

Andrés Caicedo, Colombian writer (d. 1977)

Maureen Caird, Australian hurdler

Mike Enriquez, Filipino radio and television newscaster

September 30 – Barry Marshall, Australian physician and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

October

October 2 – Sting, British singer, rock musician, philanthropist

October 3

Bernard Cooper, American writer

Keb' Mo', American musician

Kathryn D. Sullivan, American astronaut

Dave Winfield, baseball player

October 4 – Bakhytzhan Kanapyanov, Kazakh poet

October 5 – Bob Geldof, Irish musician (The Boomtown Rats)

October 6 – Manfred Winkelhock, German race car driver

October 7 – John Mellencamp, American musician and songwriter

October 10 – Epeli Ganilau, Fijian soldier and statesman

October 11

Jean-Jacques Goldman, French singer and songwriter

Jon Miller, American sports announcer

October 15 – Rafael Vaganian, Armenian chess grandmaster

October 18

Mike Antonovich, American ice hockey player and executive

Terry McMillan, American author

October 22 – William David Sanders, American victim of the Columbine High School massacre (d. 1999)

October 23 – Charly García, Argentine musician and songwriter

October 25 – Richard Lloyd, American rock guitarist

October 26

Willie P. Bennett, Canadian songwriter and singer (d. 2008)

Bootsy Collins, American musician, singer-songwriter

October 27 – Éric Morena, French singer

October 30 – Harry Hamlin, American actor

November

November 2 – Thomas Mallon, American author and critic

November 3 – Ed Murawinski, American cartoonist (New York Daily News)

November 4 – Traian Băsescu, President of Romania

November 6 – Nigel Havers, English actor

November 9 – Lou Ferrigno, American actor and bodybuilder

November 10 – Danilo Medina, President of the Dominican Republic

November 11 – Marc Summers, American television host

November 14 – Jacob ter Veldhuis, Dutch composer

November 15

Alamgir Hashmi, English poet

Beverly D'Angelo, American actress

November 16

Miguel Sandoval, American actor

Paula Vogel, American playwright

November 18 – Justin Raimondo, American author

November 19

Lord Falconer of Thoroton, British politician

Zeenat Aman, Bolywood Actress

November 20 – Rodger Bumpass voice actor notably Squidward

November 21 – Thomas Roth, German news anchor presenter and television presenter

November 24 – Chet Edwards, American politician

November 26 – Cicciolina, Hungarian-Italian actress and politician

November 27 – Teri DeSario, American singer-songwriter

November 29

Kathryn Bigelow, American film director

Roger Troutman, American funk musician (d. 1999)

November 30 – Christian Bernard, French-born mystic

December

December 1

Sherry Aldridge, American singer

Obba Babatundé, American actor

Jaco Pastorius, American bassist (d. 1987)

Treat Williams, American actor

December 2 – Adrian Devine, American baseball pitcher

December 3

Natalis Chan, Hong Kong actor and producer

Riki Choshu, Korean-Japanese professional wrestler

December 4

Chang Fei, Taiwanese TV personality

Patricia Wettig, American actress

December 6 – Tomson Highway, Canadian writer

December 8

Bill Bryson, American-born British author

Jan Eggum, Norwegian singer and songwriter

December 10 – Doug Allder, English footballer

December 11 – Peter T. Daniels, American scholar

December 12 – Wau Holland, German hacker (d. 2001)

December 14

Mike Krüger, German comedian and singer

Jan Timman, Dutch chess player

December 17 – Ken Hitchcock, Canadian hockey coach

December 20 – Peter May, Scottish novelist and television dramatist

December 27 – Ernesto Zedillo, President of Mexico

December 29 – Georges Thurston, Canadian singer (d. 2007)

December 31 – Tom Hamilton, American musician

Date unknown

John Kindness, Irish artist

Adriana Monti, Italian film director

Mike Jackson, British systems scientist and consultant

January

January 5 – Ken Le Breton, Australian speedway rider (b. 1925)

January 7 – René Guénon, French metaphysician (b. 1886)

January 10 – Sinclair Lewis, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)

January 12 – Albert Guay, Canadian murderer (executed) (b. 1917)

January 18

Amy Carmichael, Irish missionary to India (b. 1867)

Jack Holt, American actor (b. 1888)

January 21 – Yuriko Miyamoto, Japanese novelist (b. 1899)

January 27 – Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, President of Finland (b. 1867)

January 29 – Frank Tarrant, Australian cricketer (b. 1880)

January 30 – Ferdinand Porsche, German auto engineer (b. 1875)

February

February 3 – Choudhry Rahmat Ali, one of the founding fathers of Pakistan (b. 1895)

February 8 – Fritz Thyssen, German businessman and industrialist (b. 1873)

February 9 – Eddy Duchin, American pianist and bandleader (b. 1909)

February 13 – Lloyd C. Douglas, American author (b. 1877)

February 18 – Lyman Gilmore, American aviation pioneer (b. 1874)

February 19 – André Gide, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869)

February 22 – Alfred Lindley, American Olympic rower - Men's eights (b. 1904)

February 28 – Henry W. Armstrong, American boxer and songwriter (b. 1879)

March

March 6 – Ivor Novello, British actor, musician and composer (b. 1893)

March 10 – Kijūrō Shidehara, 44th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1872)

March 11 – János Zsupánek, Prekmurje Slovene poet and writer (b. 1861)

March 12 – Alfred Hugenberg, German businessman and politician (b. 1865)

March 14 – Val Lewton, American producer and screenwriter (b. 1904)

March 21 – Willem Mengelberg, Dutch conductor (b. 1871)

March 25

Eddie Collins, American baseball player (Chicago White Sox) and a member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1887)

Oscar Micheaux, African-American filmmaker (b. 1884)

March 31 – Ralph Forbes, American actor (b. 1896)

April

April 3 – Henrik Visnapuu, Estonian poet and dramatist (b. 1890)

April 4

Al Christie, Canadian-born film director and producer (b. 1881)

George Albert Smith, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1870)

April 6 – Robert Broom, Scottish paleontologist (b. 1866)

April 14 – Ernest Bevin, British labour leader, politician and statesman (b. 1881)

April 19 – Frank Hopkins, American professional horseman, soldier (b. 1865)

April 18 – Óscar Carmona, 11st President of Portugal (b. 1869)

April 20 – Ivanoe Bonomi, 25th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1873)

April 21 – Lambertus Johannes Toxopeus, Dutch lepidopterist (b. 1894)

April 22 – Horace Donisthorpe, English myrmecologist (b. 1870)

April 23 – Charles G. Dawes, 30th Vice President of the United States, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1865)

April 29 – Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian philosopher (b. 1889)

May

May 3 – Homero Manzi, Argentine Tango lyricist and author (b. 1907)

May 6 – Henri Carton de Wiart, former Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1869)

May 7 – Warner Baxter, American actor (b. 1889)

May 17

William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, British field marshal (b. 1865)

Empress Teimei of Japan, Empress consort of Emperor Taishō (b. 1884)

May 24 – Thomas N. Heffron, American silent film director (b. 1872)

May 27 – Sir Thomas Blamey, Australian field marshal (b. 1884)

May 29 – Fanny Brice, American entertainer (b. 1891)

May 30 – Hermann Broch, Austrian author (b. 1886)

June

June 4 – Serge Koussevitzky, Russian conductor (b. 1874)

June 7

Paul Blobel, German SS officer (executed) (b. 1894)

Werner Braune, German SS officer (executed) (b. 1909)

Erich Naumann, German SS officer (executed) (b. 1905)

Otto Ohlendorf, German SS officer (executed) (b. 1907)

Oswald Pohl, German SS officer (executed) (b. 1892)

June 9 – Mayo Methot, American actress (b. 1904)

June 11 – Takuma Nishimura, Japanese general (executed) (b. 1899)

June 13 – Ben Chifley, Australian Labour politician, 16th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1885)

June 21 – Charles Dillon Perrine, American-born astronomer, discovered two moons of Jupiter (Himalia and Elara) (b. 1867)

June 27 – David Warfield, stage actor (b. 1866)

July

July 2 – Ferdinand Sauerbruch, German surgeon (b. 1875)

July 9 – Harry Heilmann, American baseball player (Detroit Tigers) and a member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1894)

July 13 – Arnold Schoenberg, Austrian composer (b. 1874)

July 20

King Abdullah I of Jordan (assassinated) (b. 1882)

Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (b. 1882)

July 23

Robert J. Flaherty, American filmmaker (b. 1884)

Philippe Pétain, French World War I marshal, leader of Vichy France (b. 1856)

July 26 – Maximilian Ritter von Pohl, German army and air force officer (b. 1893)

August

August 3 – Bee Ho Gray, Native American Wild West star, silent film actor and vaudeville performer (b. 1885)

August 14 – William Randolph Hearst, American newspaper publisher (b. 1863)

August 15 – Artur Schnabel, Austrian-born Jewish classical pianist (b. 1882)

August 16 – Louis Jouvet, French actor and director (b. 1887)

August 21 – Constant Lambert, British composer (b. 1905)

August 26 – Bill Barilko, Canadian hockey player (b. 1927)

August 28 – Robert Walker, American actor (b. 1918)

September

September 1 – Wols, German painter and photographer (b. 1913)

September 7

Maria Montez, Dominican-born actress (b. 1912)

John French Sloan, American artist (b. 1871)

September 9 – Gibson Gowland, English actor (b. 1877)

September 17 – Jimmy Yancey, American pianist and composer (b. 1898)

September 29 – Thomas Cahill, American soccer coach (b. 1864)

October

October 4 – Henrietta Lacks, African American originator of the HeLa cell line (b. 1920)

October 6 – Otto Fritz Meyerhof, German-born physician and biochemist (b. 1884)

October 12 – Leon Errol, Australian-born actor and comedian (b. 1881)

October 16 – Liaquat Ali Khan, 1st Prime Minister of Pakistan (assassinated) (b. 1895)

October 24 – Clarence Stewart Williams, American admiral (b. 1863)

October 28 – Mady Christians, Austrian actress (b. 1892)

November

November 3 – Richard Wallace, American film director (b. 1894)

November 5 – Reggie Walker, South African athlete (b. 1889)

November 9 – Sigmund Romberg, Hungarian-born composer (b. 1887)

November 13 – Nikolai Medtner, Russian pianist and composer (b. 1880)

November 20 – Thomas Quinlan, English opera singer (b. 1881)

November 25 – Harry B. Liversedge, American general (b. 1894)

December

December 5 – Shoeless Joe Jackson, American baseball player (Chicago White Sox) (b. 1889)

December 6

J. Edward Bromberg, Hungarian-born character actor (b. 1903)

André Gobert, French tennis player (b. 1890)

Harold Ross, American editor (b.1892)

December 10 – Algernon Blackwood, English writer (b. 1869)

December 19 – Barton Yarborough, American actor (b. 1900)

December 23 – Enrique Santos Discépolo, Argentine tango and milonga musician and composer (b. 1901)

December 31 – Maxim Litvinov, Russian revolutionary and Soviet diplomat (b. 1876)

Nobel Prizes

Physics – John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton

Chemistry – Edwin McMillan and Glenn T. Seaborg

Physiology or Medicine – Max Theiler

Literature – Pär Lagerkvist

Peace – Léon Jouhaux