Events
January
*
January 3
Events Pre-1600
*AD 69, 69 – The Roman legions on the Rhine refuse to declare their allegiance to Galba, instead proclaiming their legate, Aulus Vitellius, as emperor.
* 250 – Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (ex ...
** United States President
Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
has severed diplomatic and consular relations with
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...
(
Cuba–United States relations
Cuba and the United States restored diplomatic relations on July 20, 2015. Relations had been severed in 1961 during the Cold War. U.S. diplomatic representation in Cuba is handled by the United States Embassy in Havana, and there is a simila ...
are restored in
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
).
**
Aero Flight 311
Aero Flight 311, often referred to as the Kvevlax air disaster, was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by Aero O/Y (now Finnair) between Kronoby and Vaasa in Finland. The aircraft, a Douglas DC-3, crashed in the municipality Kvevlax ...
(Koivulahti air disaster):
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner
manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II.
It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper versi ...
C OH-LCC of Finnish airline
Aero
Aero is a Greek prefix relating to flight and air. In British English, it is used as an adjective related to flight (e.g., as a shortened substitute for aeroplane).
Aero, Ærø, or Aeros may refer to:
Aeronautics Airlines and companies
* Aero ( ...
crashes near
Kvevlax (Koivulahti), on approach to
Vaasa Airport in Finland, killing all 25 on board, due to
pilot error
Pilot error generally refers to an accident in which an action or decision made by the pilot was the cause or a contributing factor that led to the accident, but also includes the pilot's failure to make a correct decision or take proper a ...
: an investigation finds that the
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
and
first officer were both exhausted for lack of sleep, and had consumed excessive amounts of alcohol at the time of the crash. It remains the deadliest air disaster to occur in the country.
*
January 5
Events Pre-1600
* 1477 – Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is defeated and killed in a conflict with René II, Duke of Lorraine; Burgundy subsequently becomes part of France.
1601–1900
*1675 – Battle of Colmar: The French a ...
** Italian sculptor
Alfredo Fioravanti
Alfredo Adolfo Fioravanti (1886–1963) was an Italian sculptor, who was part of the team that forged the Etruscan terracotta warriors in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", ...
marches into the U.S. Consulate in Rome, and confesses that he was part of the team that forged the
Etruscan terracotta warriors in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
.
** After the
1960 military coup, General
Cemal Gürsel
Cemal Gürsel (; 13 October 1895 – 14 September 1966) was a Turkish army general who became the fourth President of Turkey after a coup.
Early life
He was born in the city of Erzurum as the son of an Ottoman Army officer, Abidin Bey, and ...
forms the new government of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
(25th government).
*
January 7
Events Pre-1600
* 49 BC – The Senate of Rome says that Caesar will be declared a public enemy unless he disbands his army. This prompts the tribunes who support him to flee to Ravenna, where Caesar is waiting.
* 1325 – Alfonso I ...
– Following a four-day conference in
Casablanca
Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
, five African chiefs of state announce plans for a
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
-type African organization to ensure common defense. The Charter of Casablanca involves the
Casablanca Group
The Casablanca Group, sometimes known as the 'Casablanca bloc', was a short-lived, informal association of African states with a shared vision of the future of Africa and of Pan-Africanism in the early 1960s. The group was composed of seven states ...
:
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...
, the
United Arab Republic
The United Arab Republic (UAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية المتحدة, al-Jumhūrīyah al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 until 1971. It was initially a political union between Eg ...
,
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...
,
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
, and
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...
.
*
January 8
Events Pre-1600
* 307 – Jin Huaidi becomes emperor of China in succession to his father, Jin Huidi, despite a challenge from his uncle, Sima Ying.
* 871 – Æthelred I and Alfred the Great lead a West Saxon army to repel an inv ...
– In France, a
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...
supports
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...
's policies on independence for
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
.
*
January 9
Events Pre-1600
* 681 – Twelfth Council of Toledo: King Erwig of the Visigoths initiates a council in which he implements diverse measures against the Jews in Spain.
*1127 – Jin–Song Wars: Invading Jurchen soldiers from the Jin ...
– British authorities announce they have uncovered a large
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
spy ring
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangi ...
, the
Portland Spy Ring, in London.
*
January 17
Events Pre-1600
* 38 BC – Octavian divorces his wife Scribonia and marries Livia Drusilla, ending the fragile peace between the Second Triumvirate and Sextus Pompey.
* 1362 – Saint Marcellus' flood kills at least 25,000 people ...
** President
Dwight Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War I ...
gives his final
State of the Union Address
The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current conditi ...
to Congress. In a Farewell Address the same day, he warns of the increasing power of a "
military–industrial complex
The expression military–industrial complex (MIC) describes the relationship between a country's military and the defense industry that supplies it, seen together as a vested interest which influences public policy. A driving factor behind the ...
."
**
Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Émery Lumumba (; 2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic of the Congo) from June u ...
of the
Republic of Congo
The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
is assassinated.
*
January 20
Events Pre-1600
* 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.
* 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom.
* 1156 & ...
–
John F. Kennedy is
sworn in
Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to giv ...
as the 35th President of the United States.
*
January 24
Events Pre-1600
* 41 – Claudius is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula.
* 914 – Start of the First Fatimid invasion of Egypt.
*1438 – The Counc ...
– A
B-52 Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...
, with two
nuclear bomb
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
s,
crashes near
Goldsboro, North Carolina
Goldsboro, originally Goldsborough, is a city and the county seat of Wayne County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 33,657 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Metropol ...
.
*
January 25
Events Pre-1600
* 41 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman emperor by the Senate.
* 750 – In the Battle of the Zab, the Abbasid rebels defeat the Umayyad Caliphate, leading to the overthrow of the dynasty ...
** In Washington, D.C., President
John F. Kennedy delivers the first live presidential
news conference
A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...
. In it, he announces that the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
has freed the two surviving crewmen of a
USAF
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
RB-47 reconnaissance plane, shot down by Soviet flyers over the
Barents Sea
The Barents Sea ( , also ; no, Barentshavet, ; russian: Баренцево море, Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian terr ...
on
July 1
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor.
* 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and th ...
,
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Ja ...
(see RB-47H shot down).
** Acting to halt 'leftist excesses', a
junta
Junta may refer to:
Government and military
* Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones
** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by a ...
composed of two army officers and four civilians takes over
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south ...
, ousting another junta that had ruled for three months.
*
January 28
Events Pre-1600
* 98 – On the death of Nerva, Trajan is declared Roman emperor in Cologne, the seat of his government in lower Germany.
* 814 – The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession ...
– ''
Supercar
A supercar – also called exotic car – is a loosely defined description of street-legal, high-performance sports cars. Since the 2010s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performing supercars. Supercars commonly serve as t ...
'', the first family sci-fi TV series filmed in
Supermarionation, debuts on
ATV in the UK.
*
January 30
Events Pre-1600
* 1018 – Poland and the Holy Roman Empire conclude the Peace of Bautzen.
*1287 – King Wareru founds the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, and proclaims independence from the Pagan Kingdom.
1601–1900
* 1607 – An estimat ...
– President
John F. Kennedy delivers his first
State of the Union Address
The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current conditi ...
.
*
January 31
Events Pre-1600
* 314 – Pope Sylvester I is consecrated, as successor to the late Pope Miltiades.
*1208 – The Battle of Lena takes place between King Sverker II of Sweden and his rival, Prince Eric, whose victory puts him on the ...
–
Ham, a 37-pound (17-kg) male chimpanzee, is rocketed into space aboard
Mercury-Redstone 2
Mercury-Redstone 2 (MR-2) was the test flight of the Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle just prior to the first crewed American space mission in Project Mercury. Carrying a chimpanzee named Ham on a suborbital flight, Mercury spacecraft Number 5 ...
, in a test of the
Project Mercury
Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...
spacecraft, designed to carry United States
astronaut
An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
s into space.
February
*
February 1
Events Pre-1600
* 1327 – The teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer.
* 1411 – The First Peace of Thorn is signed in Thorn (Toruń), ...
– The United States tests its first
Minuteman I intercontinental ballistic missile.
*
February 4
Events Pre–1600
* 211 – Following the death of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus at Eboracum (modern York, England) while preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians, the empire is left in the control of his two quarrelling ...
– The
Portuguese Colonial War
The Portuguese Colonial War ( pt, Guerra Colonial Portuguesa), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambican War of Independence, ...
begins in
Angola
, national_anthem = "Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordinat ...
.
*
February 5
Events Pre-1600
* 62 – Earthquake in Pompeii, Italy.
* 1576 – Henry of Navarre abjures Catholicism at Tours and rejoins the Protestant forces in the French Wars of Religion.
* 1597 – A group of early Japanese Christians ar ...
–
9 – In
Congo, President
Joseph Kasa-Vubu
Joseph Kasa-Vubu, alternatively Joseph Kasavubu, ( – 24 March 1969) was a Congolese politician who served as the first President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Republic of the Congo) from 1960 until 1965.
A member of the Kon ...
names
Joseph Iléo as the new Prime Minister.
*
February 9
Events Pre-1600
* 474 – Zeno is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
* 1003 – Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland.
*1539 – The first recorded race is held ...
–
The Beatles at The Cavern Club
The Cavern Club at 10 Mathew Street, in Liverpool was the venue where the Beatles' UK popularity started. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Pete Best were first seen by Brian Epstein at the club. Epstein eventually became the ...
: Lunchtime –
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
perform under this name at
The Cavern Club
The Cavern Club is a nightclub on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England.
The Cavern Club opened in 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 50s and early 1960s. The club became closely assoc ...
for the first time following their return to
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
from
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...
,
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
's first appearance at the venue. On March 21 they begin regular performances here.
*
February 12
Events Pre-1600
* 1404 – The Italian professor Galeazzo di Santa Sophie performed the first post-mortem autopsy for the purposes of teaching and demonstration at the Heiligen–Geist Spital in Vienna.
* 1429 – English forces und ...
– The
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...
launches ''
Venera 1'' towards
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
.
*
February 13
Events Pre-1600
* 962 – Emperor Otto I and Pope John XII co-sign the ''Diploma Ottonianum'', recognizing John as ruler of Rome.
* 1322 – The central tower of Ely Cathedral falls on the night of 12th–13th.
* 1462 – The ...
– The
Congo government announces that villagers have killed
Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Émery Lumumba (; 2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic of the Congo) from June u ...
.
*
February 14
Events Pre-1600
* 748 – Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan, marking the consolidation of the Abbasid revolt.
* 842 – Charles the Bald and Louis t ...
–
Discovery of the chemical elements: Element 103,
Lawrencium, is first synthesized in
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...
.
*
February 15
Events Pre-1600
* 438 – Roman emperor Theodosius II publishes the law codex Codex Theodosianus
* 590 – Khosrau II is crowned king of Persia.
* 706 – Byzantine emperor Justinian II has his predecessors Leontios and Tib ...
** United States President
John F. Kennedy warns the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
to avoid interfering with the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
' pacification of the
Congo.
**
Sabena Flight 548
Sabena Flight 548 was a Boeing 707-329 flight operated by Sabena that crashed en route from New York City to Brussels, Belgium, on February 15, 1961. The flight, which had originated at Idlewild International Airport, crashed on approach to Br ...
crashes near
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States
figure skating
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
team and several coaches.
** The total
solar eclipse of February 15, 1961
A total solar eclipse occurred on February 15, 1961. Totality was visible from France, Monaco, Italy, San Marino, SFR Yugoslavia (parts now belonging to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo, North Macedonia), Albania ...
, visible in the southern part of Europe, occurs.
*
February 26
Events Pre-1600
* 747 BC – According to Ptolemy, the epoch (origin) of the Nabonassar Era began at noon on this date. Historians use this to establish the modern BC chronology for dating historic events.
* 364 – Valentinian I is ...
–
Hassan II is pronounced King of
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...
.
March
*
March
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...
–
April
April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. It is the first of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the second of five months to have a length of less than 31 days.
April is commonly associated with ...
– Drilling for
Project Mohole is undertaken off the coast of
Guadalupe Island, Mexico.
*
March 1
Events Pre-1600
* 509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia.
* 293 – Emperor Dioclet ...
– United States President
John F. Kennedy establishes the
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John ...
.
*
March 3
Events Pre-1600
* 473 – Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
* 724 – Empress Genshō abdicates the throne in favor of her nephew Shōmu who becomes emperor of Japan.
*1575 ...
–
Hassan II is crowned
King of Morocco
This is the list of rulers of Morocco, since the establishment of the state in 789. The common and formal titles of these rulers has varied, depending on the time period. Since 1957, the designation King has been used.
The present King of Mor ...
.
*
March 8
Events Pre-1600
* 1010 – Ferdowsi completes his epic poem ''Shahnameh''.
*1126 – Following the death of his mother, queen Urraca of León, Alfonso VII is proclaimed king of León.
* 1262 – Battle of Hausbergen between bou ...
**
Max Conrad
Max Arthur Conrad, Jr. (January 21, 1903 – April 3, 1979 in Summit, New Jersey) known as the "Flying Grandfather", was a record-setting aviator. In the 1950s and 1960s, he set nine official light plane world records, three of which still stan ...
circumnavigates the earth in 8 days, 18 hours and 49 minutes, setting a new world record.
** The first U.S.
Polaris
Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude th ...
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
s arrive at
Holy Loch
The Holy Loch ( gd, An Loch Sianta/Seunta) is a sea loch, a part of the Cowal peninsula coast of the Firth of Clyde, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.
The "Holy Loch" name is believed to date from the 6th century, when Saint Munn landed there a ...
in Scotland.
*
March 11
Events Pre-1600
* 222 – Roman emperor Elagabalus is murdered alongside his mother, Julia Soaemias. He is replaced by his 14-year old cousin, Severus Alexander.
* 843 – Triumph of Orthodoxy: Empress Theodora II restores the ven ...
– "
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...
" gets a boyfriend, when the "
Ken
Ken or KEN may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer.
* ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film.
* ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine.
* Ken Masters, a main character in ...
" doll is introduced in the United States.
*
March 13
Events Pre-1600
* 624 – The Battle of Badr, the first major battle between the Muslims and Quraysh.
*1567 – The Battle of Oosterweel, traditionally regarded as the start of the Eighty Years' War.
*1591 – At the Battle of Ton ...
** Black and white
£5 notes cease to be
legal tender
Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered ("tendered") in ...
in the UK.
**
1961 Kurenivka mudslide
The Kurenivka mudslide occurred on 13 March 1961 in Kyiv, then a city in the Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union. It took place near the historic Babi Yar ravine, which had been the site of the mass murder of more than 100,000 Jews and other civilians d ...
: A dam bursts in
Kiev
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Ky ...
,
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...
, killing 145.
** United States delegate to the
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, ...
Adlai Stevenson votes against Portuguese policies in Africa.
** United States President
John F. Kennedy proposes a long-term "
Alliance for Progress
The Alliance for Progress ( es, Alianza para el Progreso, links=no), initiated by U.S. President John F. Kennedy on March 13, 1961, ostensibly aimed to establish economic cooperation between the U.S. and Latin America. Governor Luis Muñoz Marí ...
", between the United States and Latin America.
**
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...
joins the
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the C ...
, becoming the first small country in the Commonwealth.
**
Monash University
Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has ...
in Melbourne, Australia takes in its first students.
** A second
B-52 crashes near
Yuba City, California
Yuba City (Maidu: ''Yubu'') is a city in Northern California and the county seat of Sutter County, California, United States. The population was 70,117 at the 2020 census. Yuba City is the principal city of the Yuba City Metropolitan Statistic ...
, after cabin pressure is lost and the fuel runs out. Two nuclear weapons are found unexploded.
* March 15
** South Africa announces it will withdraw from the
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the C ...
, upon becoming a republic (31 May). The nation rejoins the organization in 1994.
** The Union of Peoples of Angola, led by Holden Roberto, attacks strategic locations in the north of
Angola
, national_anthem = "Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordinat ...
. These events result in the beginning of the colonial war with Portugal.
* March 18
** A ceasefire takes effect in the Algerian War of Independence.
** ''Nous les amoureux'' by Jean-Claude Pascal (music by Jacques Datin, text by Maurice Vidalin) wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1961 for Luxembourg.
* March 29 – The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to vote in President of the United States, presidential elections.
* March 30 – The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs is signed at New York.
April
![Gagarin in Sweden](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Gagarin_in_Sweden.jpg)
* April 5 – The New Guinea Council of West Papua (region), Western Papua is installed.
* April 8 – British India Steam Navigation Company passenger ship ' blows up and sinks off Dubai; 238 passengers and crew are killed.
* April 11 – The trial of Nazi Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem.
* April 12
** ''Vostok 1'': Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space, orbiting the Earth once before parachuting to the ground.
** Albert Kalonji takes the title ''Emperor Albert I Kalonji'' of South Kasai.
** Bernard Schwarz gets the patent for the body electrode.
* April 13 – In Portugal, a coup attempt against António de Oliveira Salazar fails.
* April 17
** The Bay of Pigs Invasion of
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...
begins; it fails by April 19.
** The 33rd Academy Awards ceremony is held in Santa Monica, California: ''The Apartment'' (1960) wins most awards, including Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture.
* April 18 – Portugal sends its first military reinforcement to
Angola
, national_anthem = "Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordinat ...
.
* April 20 – Fidel Castro announces that the Bay of Pigs Invasion has been defeated.
* April 22 – Algiers putsch: Four French generals who oppose Charles de Gaulle, de Gaulle's policies in
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
fail in a coup attempt.
* April 23 – Judy Garland performs in a legendary comeback concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
* April 24 – Sweden, Swedish warship ''Vasa (ship), Vasa'', sunk on her maiden voyage in 1628, is recovered from Stockholm Harbor.
* April 27
** President John F. Kennedy, Kennedy urges newspapers to consider national interest in times of struggle against "a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy", in an address before the American Newspaper Publishers Association''.
** Sierra Leone becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
May
* May 4 – U.S. Freedom Riders begin interstate bus rides, to test the new U.S. Supreme Court Discrimination, integration Boynton v. Virginia, decision.
* May 5 – Mercury program: Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space, aboard Mercury-Redstone 3.
* May 6 – Tottenham Hotspur F.C. becomes the first team in the 20th century to win the Football in England, English league and cup double. , this is the last time Tottenham have won the English League.
* May 8 – Briton George Blake is sentenced to 42 years imprisonment for spying.
* May 9 – In a speech on "Television and the Public Interest" to the National Association of Broadcasters, Federal Communications Commission, FCC chairman Newton N. Minow describes commercial television programming as a "vast wasteland".
* May 14 – Civil rights movement: A Freedom Riders bus is fire-bombed near Anniston, Alabama, and the civil rights protestors are beaten by an angry mob of Ku Klux Klan members.
* May 15 – J. Heinrich Matthaei alone performs the Poly-U-Experiment, and is the first person to recognize and understand the genetic code. This is the birthdate of modern genetics.
* May 16 – Park Chung-hee takes over in a military coup, in South Korea.
* May 19 – ''
Venera 1'' becomes the first man-made object to fly-by another planet by passing
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
(however, the probe loses contact with Earth a month earlier, and does not send back any data).
* May 21 – Civil rights movement: Alabama Governor John Malcolm Patterson, John Patterson declares martial law in an attempt to restore order, after race riots break out.
* May 22 – An 1961 New South Wales earthquake, earthquake rocks New South Wales.
* May 24 – Civil rights movement: Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi for "disturbing the peace", after disembarking from their bus.
* May 25 – Apollo program: John F. Kennedy, President Kennedy announces, before a special joint session of Congress, his goal to put a man on the Moon before the end of the decade.
* May 27 – Tunku Abdul Rahman, Prime Minister of Federation of Malaya, Malaya, holds a press conference in Singapore, announcing his idea to form the Federation of Malaysia, comprising Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, Brunei and North Borneo (Sabah).
* May 28 – Peter Benenson's article "The Forgotten Prisoners" is published in several internationally read newspapers. This is later considered the founding of the human rights organization Amnesty International.
* May 30 – Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, ruler of the Dominican Republic since 1930, is killed in an ambush.
* May 31
** In France, rebel generals Maurice Challe and Andre Zelelr are sentenced to 15 years in prison.
** South Africa becomes a republic, and officially leaves the
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the C ...
.
** President
John F. Kennedy and
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...
meet in Paris.
** S.L. Benfica, Benfica beats FC Barcelona, Barcelona 3–2 at Wankdorf Stadium, Bern and wins the 1960–61 European Cup (football).
June
* June 1 – Ethiopia experiences its most devastating earthquake of the 20th century, with a magnitude of 6.7. The town of Majete is destroyed, 45% of the houses in Karakore collapse, of the main road north of Karakore are damaged by landslides and fissures, and 5,000 inhabitants in the area are left homeless.
* June 4 – Vienna summit:
John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev meet during two days in Vienna. They discuss nuclear tests, disarmament and Germany.
* June 16 – Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev requests asylum in France, while in Paris with the Kirov Ballet.
* June 17
** A Paris-to-Strasbourg train derails near Vitry-le-François; 24 are killed, 109 injured.
** The New Democratic Party of Canada is founded, with the merger of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and the Canadian Labour Congress.
* June 19 – The British protectorate ends in Kuwait and it becomes an emirate.
* June 22 – Moise Tshombe is released for lack of evidence of his connection to the murder of
Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Émery Lumumba (; 2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic of the Congo) from June u ...
.
* June 23 – The Antarctic Treaty comes into effect.
* June 25 – Iraqi president Abd al-Karim Qasim announces his intention to annex newly independent Kuwait (such an annexation Gulf War, will occur in 1990).
* June 27 – Kuwait requests British help against the Iraqi threat; the United Kingdom sends in troops.
July
* July 4 – Soviet submarine K-19 suffers a reactor leak in the North Atlantic.
* July 5 – The first Israeli rocket, ''Shavit 2'', is launched.
* July 8 – A mine explosion in Czechoslovakia leaves 108 dead.
* July 12
** A Czechoslovakian Ilyushin Il-18 crashes while attempting to land at
Casablanca
Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
, Morocco, killing all 72 people on board.
** Khadakwasla Dam, Two dams that supplied water to the City of Pune, India burst, causing death of more than 1000 residents.
* July 17 – Baseball legend Ty Cobb dies at the age of 74, at Emory University Hospital.
* July 21 – Mercury program: Gus Grissom, Virgil I. Grissom, piloting the Mercury-Redstone 4 spacecraft ''Liberty Bell 7'', becomes the second American to go into space (sub-orbital). After splashdown, the hatch prematurely opens, and the spacecraft sinks (it is recovered in 1999).
* July 25 – U.S. President
John F. Kennedy gives a widely watched TV speech on the Berlin crisis, warning "we will not be driven out of Berlin." Kennedy urges Americans to build fallout shelters, setting off a four-month debate on civil defense.
* July 31
** At Fenway Park in Boston, the first Major League Baseball All-Star Game tie occurs, when the game is stopped in the 9th inning due to rain (the only tie until 2002).
** Ireland submits the first application from a non-founding country to join the European Economic Community.
August
* August – The United States founds the
Alliance for Progress
The Alliance for Progress ( es, Alianza para el Progreso, links=no), initiated by U.S. President John F. Kennedy on March 13, 1961, ostensibly aimed to establish economic cooperation between the U.S. and Latin America. Governor Luis Muñoz Marí ...
.
* August 1 – The Six Flags Over Texas theme park officially opens to the public.
* August 6 – ''Vostok 2'': Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov becomes the second human to orbit the Earth, and the first to be in outer space for more than one day.
* August 7 – ''Vostok 2'' lands in the Soviet Union.
* August 10 – The United Kingdom applies for membership in the European Economic Community.
* August 11 – An Solar eclipse of August 11, 1961, annular solar eclipse is visible from the Southern Ocean.
* August 13 – Construction of the Berlin Wall begins, restricting movement between East Berlin and West Berlin, and forming a clear boundary between West Germany and East Germany, Western Europe and Eastern Europe. On August 22 Ida Siekmann jumps from a window in her tenement building trying to flee to the West, becoming the List of deaths at the Berlin Wall, first of at least 138 people to die at the Wall.
* August 21 – Jomo Kenyatta is released from prison in Kenya.
* August 25 – João Goulart replaces Jânio Quadros as President of Brazil (he is ousted in 1964).
* August 30 – The Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness is signed at the United Nations in New York, coming into effect December 13, 1975.
September
* September 1
** The Eritrean War of Independence officially begins, with the shooting of the Ethiopian police by Hamid Idris Awate.
** The first meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement is held. The Soviet Union resumes nuclear testing, escalating fears over the ongoing Berlin crisis.
* September 7 – Tom and Jerry make a return with their first cartoon short since 1958, ''Switchin' Kitten''. The new creator, Gene Deitch, makes 12 more Tom and Jerry shorts through 1962.
* September 10 – During the 1961 Italian Grand Prix, F1 Italian Grand Prix on the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, circuit of Monza, German Wolfgang von Trips, driving a Ferrari, crashes into a stand, killing 14 spectators and himself.
* September 12 – The African and Malagasy Union is founded.
* September 14
** The new military government of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
sentences 15 members of the previous government to death.
** The Focolare Movement opens its first North American center in New York (state), New York.
* September 17
** Military rulers in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
hang former prime minister Adnan Menderes, together with the former Minister of Foreign Affairs Fatin Rüştü Zorlu and former Minister of Finance Hasan Polatkan.
** The world's first retractable roof stadium, the Civic Arena (Pittsburgh), Civic Arena, opens in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
* September 18 –
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
Secretary-General of the United Nations, Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld dies in 1961 Ndola United Nations DC-6 crash, an air crash, en route to Katanga Province, Katanga,
Congo.
* September 21 – In France, the Organisation de l'armée secrète, OAS slips an anti-Charles de Gaulle, de Gaulle message into TV programming.
* September 24
** The old Deutsche Opernhaus in the Berlin neighborhood of Charlottenburg is returned to its newly rebuilt house, as the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
** In the U.S., the Walt Disney anthology television series, renamed ''Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color'', moves from ABC to NBC after seven years on the air, and begins telecasting its programs in color for the first time. Years later, after Disney's death, the still-on-the-air program will be renamed ''The Wonderful World of Disney''.
* September 28 – A 1961 Syrian coup d'état, military coup in Damascus, Syria effectively ends the
United Arab Republic
The United Arab Republic (UAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية المتحدة, al-Jumhūrīyah al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 until 1971. It was initially a political union between Eg ...
, the union between Egypt and Syria.
* September 30 – The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is formed to replace the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC).
October
* October 1 – Baseball player Roger Maris of the New York Yankees hits his 61st home run in the last game of the season, against the Boston Red Sox, setting a new record for the longer baseball season. The record for the shorter season is still held by Babe Ruth.
*October 5 – Breakfast at Tiffany's (film), ''Breakfast at Tiffany's'' (film) was theatrically released by Paramount Pictures, to critical and commercial success.
* October 10 – A volcanic eruption on Tristan da Cunha causes the whole population to be evacuated to Britain, where they will remain until 1963.
* October 12 – The death penalty is abolished in New Zealand.
* October 17 – Paris massacre of 1961: French police in Paris attack about 30,000 protesting a curfew applied solely to
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
ns. The official death toll is 3, but human rights groups claim 240 dead.
* October 18 – ''West Side Story (1961 film), West Side Story'' is released as a film in the United States.
* October 19 – The Arab League takes over protecting Kuwait; the last British troops leave.
* October 25 – The first edition of ''Private Eye'', the British satirical magazine, is published.
* October 26 –
Cemal Gürsel
Cemal Gürsel (; 13 October 1895 – 14 September 1966) was a Turkish army general who became the fourth President of Turkey after a coup.
Early life
He was born in the city of Erzurum as the son of an Ottoman Army officer, Abidin Bey, and ...
becomes the fourth president of Turkey (his former title is head of state and government; he is elected as president by constitutional referendum).
* October 27
** An armistice begins in Katanga Province, Katanga,
Congo.
** Mongolia and Mauritania join the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
.
** Confrontation at Checkpoint Charlie: A standoff between
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
and American tanks in Berlin, Germany heightens Cold War tensions.
** Fahrettin Özdilek becomes the acting prime minister of Turkey.
* October 29
** GMA Network, DZBB-TV Channel 7, the Philippines' third TV station, is launched.
** Devrim, the first ever car designed and produced in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
, is released. The project has been completed in only 130 days almost from scratch, a period including decision on the project, research, design, development and production of four vehicles.
* October 30
** Nuclear weapons testing: The
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
detonates a 58-megaton yield hydrogen bomb known as Tsar Bomba, over Novaya Zemlya (it remains the largest ever man-made explosion).
** The Note Crisis: The Soviet Union issues a diplomatic note to Finland, proposing military co-operation.
* October 31
** Hurricane Hattie devastates Belize City, Belize killing over 270. After the hurricane, the capital moves to the inland city of Belmopan.
** Joseph Stalin's body is removed from the Lenin Mausoleum.
November
* November 1
** The Hungry generation Movement is launched in Calcutta, India.
** The Interstate Commerce Commission's federal order banning segregation at all interstate public facilities officially comes into effect.
* November 2 – ''Kean (musical), Kean'' opens at Broadway Theater in New York City for 92 performances.
* November 3 – The United Nations General Assembly unanimously elects Burmese diplomat U Thant to the position of acting Secretary-General of the United Nations, Secretary-General.
* November 6 – The US government issues a stamp honoring the 100th birthday of James Naismith.
* November 8
** Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8 crashes while attempting to land at Richmond, Virginia, killing 77 people on board.
** KVN, Russia's longest running TV show, airs for the first time on Soviet television.
* November 9 – Robert Michael White, Robert White records a Flight airspeed record, world air speed record of , in an North American X-15, X-15.
* November 10 – ''Catch-22'' by Joseph Heller is first published, in the US.
* November 11
** Congolese soldiers murder 13 Italian
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
pilots.
** Stalingrad is renamed Volgograd.
*November 14 – Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves Saint Laurent, a Luxury goods, luxury fashion brand of France, founded in Rue La Boetie, Paris.
* November 17 – Michael Rockefeller, son of Govenor of New York, New York Governor and later Vice President of the United States, Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, disappears in the jungles of New Guinea.
* November 18 – U.S. President
John F. Kennedy sends 18,000 military advisors to South Vietnam.
* November 19 – Rebellion of the Pilots: A military uprising overthrows the Trujillo regime in the Dominican Republic.
* November 20 – İsmet İnönü of the Republican People's Party, CHP forms the new government of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
(26th government, first coalition in Turkey, partner Justice Party (Turkey), AP).
* November 21 – The "La Ronde (restaurant), La Ronde" opens in Honolulu, the first revolving restaurant in the United States.
* November 24 – The World Food Programme (WFP) is formed as a temporary
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
program.
* November 30 – The
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
vetoes Kuwait's application for
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
membership.
December
* December 1 – Netherlands New Guinea raises the new Morning Star flag, and changes its name to Republic of West Papua, West Papua.
* December 2 – Cold War: In a nationally broadcast speech,
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...
n leader Fidel Castro announces he is a Marxist–Leninist, and that Cuba will adopt socialism.
* December 5 – U.S. President
John F. Kennedy gives support to the Akosombo Dam, Volta Dam project in
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...
.
* December 9
** Tanganyika (1961–1964), Tanganyika gains independence as a Commonwealth realm, with Julius Nyerere as its first Prime Minister, with Queen Elizabeth II as Queen of Tanganyika, and represented locally by the Governor-General of Tanganyika.
** 1961 Australian federal election: Robert Menzies' Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal/National Party of Australia, Country Coalition (Australia), Coalition Menzies Government (1949-66), Government is re-elected with a one-seat majority, narrowly defeating the Australian Labor Party, Labor Party led by Arthur Calwell. One of the closest election results in Australian history, such a result will not be replicated again 2016 Australian federal election, until 2016. Notably, former Prime Minister of Australia, Prime Minister Earle Page loses his seat, although he dies a few days later, never knowing the result.
* December 10 – The
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
severs Soviet-Albanian Relations, diplomatic relations with Albania.
* December 11
** American involvement in the Vietnam War officially begins, as the first American helicopters arrive in Saigon, along with 400 U.S. personnel.
** Adolf Eichmann is Adolf Eichmann#Trial, pronounced guilty of crimes against humanity by a panel of three Israeli judges, and sentenced to death.
* December 14 – Walt Disney's first live-action Technicolor musical, ''Babes in Toyland (1961 film), Babes in Toyland'', a remake of the famous Victor Herbert operetta, is released, but flops at the box office.
* December 15 – An Israeli war crimes tribunal sentences Adolf Eichmann to death, for his part in The Holocaust.
* December 17 – A circus tent fire in Niterói, Brazil kills 323.
* December 18 – India opens hostilities in 1961 Indian annexation of Goa, its annexation of Portuguese India, the colonies of Goa, Daman, India, Damao and Diu, India, Diu.
* December 19
** The 1961 Indian annexation of Goa#Portuguese surrender, Portuguese surrender Goa to India, after 400 years of Portuguese rule.
** Indonesian president Sukarno announces that he will take West Irian by force, if necessary.
* December 21 – In
Congo, Katangan prime minister Moise Tshombe recognizes the Congolese constitution.
* December 23 – Luxembourg's National Day, national holiday, the Grand Duke's Official Birthday, is set on June 23 by Grand Ducal decree.
* December 30 – Congolese troops capture Albert Kalonji of South Kasai (who soon escapes).
* December 31 – Ireland's first national television station, ''Telefís Éireann'' (later Raidió Teilifís Éireann), begins broadcasting.
Births
January
![Wayne Gretzky 2006-02-18 Turin 001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Wayne_Gretzky_2006-02-18_Turin_001.jpg)
* January 2
** Gabrielle Carteris, American actress, and trade union leader
** Todd Haynes, American film director
*
January 7
Events Pre-1600
* 49 BC – The Senate of Rome says that Caesar will be declared a public enemy unless he disbands his army. This prompts the tribunes who support him to flee to Ravenna, where Caesar is waiting.
* 1325 – Alfonso I ...
– Supriya Pathak, Indian actress
*
January 8
Events Pre-1600
* 307 – Jin Huaidi becomes emperor of China in succession to his father, Jin Huidi, despite a challenge from his uncle, Sima Ying.
* 871 – Æthelred I and Alfred the Great lead a West Saxon army to repel an inv ...
– Calvin Smith, American athlete
* January 11
** Lars-Erik Torph, Swedish rally driver (d. 1989)
** Karl von Habsburg, Karl Habsburg-Lothringen, Austrian politician, noble
* January 13 – Julia Louis-Dreyfus, American actress, producer and comedian
* January 14
** Rob Hall, New Zealand mountaineer (d. 1996)
** Mike Tramp, Danish rock singer (''White Lion'')
*
January 17
Events Pre-1600
* 38 BC – Octavian divorces his wife Scribonia and marries Livia Drusilla, ending the fragile peace between the Second Triumvirate and Sextus Pompey.
* 1362 – Saint Marcellus' flood kills at least 25,000 people ...
– Maia Chiburdanidze, Georgian chess player
* January 18
** Peter Beardsley, English footballer
** Mark Messier, Canadian hockey player
* January 22
** Daniel Johnston, American singer-songwriter, musician and artist (d. 2019)
** Shigeru Nakahara, Japanese voice actor
*
January 24
Events Pre-1600
* 41 – Claudius is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula.
* 914 – Start of the First Fatimid invasion of Egypt.
*1438 – The Counc ...
– Guido Buchwald, German footballer
*
January 25
Events Pre-1600
* 41 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman emperor by the Senate.
* 750 – In the Battle of the Zab, the Abbasid rebels defeat the Umayyad Caliphate, leading to the overthrow of the dynasty ...
– Vivian Balakrishnan, Singaporean politician
* January 26 – Wayne Gretzky, Canadian hockey player
* January 27 – Saifuddin Abdullah, Malaysian politician
*
January 28
Events Pre-1600
* 98 – On the death of Nerva, Trajan is declared Roman emperor in Cologne, the seat of his government in lower Germany.
* 814 – The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession ...
– Arnaldur Indriðason, Icelandic writer
* January 29 – Petra Thümer, German swimmer
February
![Mark Latham 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Mark_Latham_1.jpg)
*
February 1
Events Pre-1600
* 1327 – The teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer.
* 1411 – The First Peace of Thorn is signed in Thorn (Toruń), ...
– Volker Fried, German field hockey player
* February 3 – Jim Balsillie, Canadian CEO and philanthropist
*
February 4
Events Pre–1600
* 211 – Following the death of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus at Eboracum (modern York, England) while preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians, the empire is left in the control of his two quarrelling ...
** Aleksandr Nikitin (footballer), Aleksandr Nikitin, Russian football coach and player (d. 2021)
** Denis Cyr, Canadian-American ice hockey player and politician
*
February 5
Events Pre-1600
* 62 – Earthquake in Pompeii, Italy.
* 1576 – Henry of Navarre abjures Catholicism at Tours and rejoins the Protestant forces in the French Wars of Religion.
* 1597 – A group of early Japanese Christians ar ...
– Flordelis, Brazilian pastor, singer and politician
* February 6 – Yuko Kobayashi, Japanese voice actress
*
February 9
Events Pre-1600
* 474 – Zeno is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
* 1003 – Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland.
*1539 – The first recorded race is held ...
– Jussi Lampi, Finnish musician and actor
* February 11 – Mary Docter, American speed skater
*
February 12
Events Pre-1600
* 1404 – The Italian professor Galeazzo di Santa Sophie performed the first post-mortem autopsy for the purposes of teaching and demonstration at the Heiligen–Geist Spital in Vienna.
* 1429 – English forces und ...
– David Graeber, American anthropologist, anarchist activist and author (d. 2020)
*
February 13
Events Pre-1600
* 962 – Emperor Otto I and Pope John XII co-sign the ''Diploma Ottonianum'', recognizing John as ruler of Rome.
* 1322 – The central tower of Ely Cathedral falls on the night of 12th–13th.
* 1462 – The ...
– Henry Rollins, American musician and activist
*
February 14
Events Pre-1600
* 748 – Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan, marking the consolidation of the Abbasid revolt.
* 842 – Charles the Bald and Louis t ...
– Maria do Carmo Silveira, Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe
*
February 15
Events Pre-1600
* 438 – Roman emperor Theodosius II publishes the law codex Codex Theodosianus
* 590 – Khosrau II is crowned king of Persia.
* 706 – Byzantine emperor Justinian II has his predecessors Leontios and Tib ...
– Benoît Chamoux, French alpinist (d. 1995)
* February 16 – Niko Nirvi, Finnish journalist
* February 17
** Meir Kessler, Israeli rabbi
** Andrey Korotayev, Russian anthropologist, economic historian and sociologist
* February 18 – Hironobu Kageyama, Japanese singer
* February 19 – Justin Fashanu, English footballer (d. 1998)
* February 20
** Dwayne McDuffie, American writer of comics and television (d. 2011)
** Phil Powers (climber), Phil Powers, American alpinist
** Imogen Stubbs, British actress and playwright
* February 21
** Christopher Atkins, American actor
** Abhijit Banerjee, Indian-born economist, recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
** Geoff Moore, American Christian musician
* February 22 – Akira Takasaki, Japanese guitarist
* February 27 – James Worthy, American basketball player and analyst
* February 28 – Richard Waugh (actor), Richard Waugh, Canadian voice actor
March
![Amy Sedaris080112](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Amy_Sedaris080112.jpg)
*
March 3
Events Pre-1600
* 473 – Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
* 724 – Empress Genshō abdicates the throne in favor of her nephew Shōmu who becomes emperor of Japan.
*1575 ...
** Milorad Mandić, Serbian actor (d. 2016)
** Mary Page Keller, American actress
** John Matteson, Pulitzer Prize-winning American biographer
* March 4
** Ray Mancini, American boxer
** Roger Wessels, South African golfer
* March 5 – Charles Poliquin, Canadian strength coach
* March 9
** Mike Leach (American football coach), Mike Leach, American college football coach
** Rick Steiner, American professional wrestler
* March 10
** Mike Bullard (ice hockey), Mike Bullard, American hockey player
** Laurel Clark, American astronaut (d. 2003)
** Mitch Gaylord, American gymnast
*
March 11
Events Pre-1600
* 222 – Roman emperor Elagabalus is murdered alongside his mother, Julia Soaemias. He is replaced by his 14-year old cousin, Severus Alexander.
* 843 – Triumph of Orthodoxy: Empress Theodora II restores the ven ...
– Elias Koteas, Canadian film and television actor
*
March 13
Events Pre-1600
* 624 – The Battle of Badr, the first major battle between the Muslims and Quraysh.
*1567 – The Battle of Oosterweel, traditionally regarded as the start of the Eighty Years' War.
*1591 – At the Battle of Ton ...
- Vasily Ignatenko, Soviet firefighter at the Chernobyl disaster (d. 1986)
*March 14
** Kim Boyce, American Christian musician
** Gary Dell'Abate, American radio producer
** Marc Koska, English businessman and inventor
** Hiro Matsushita, Japanese Businessman and Former Racing driver
* March 16
** Brett Kenny, Australian rugby league player
** Todd McFarlane, Canadian comic book creator and entrepreneur
** Michiru Ōshima, Japanese composer
* March 17
** Umayya Abu-Hanna, Palestine-born Finnish writer and politician
** Alexander Bard, Swedish musician (Army of Lovers)
** Sam Bowie, American basketball player
** Dana Reeve, American actress, singer and activist (d. 2006)
** Casey Siemaszko, American actor
* March 21
** Kassie DePaiva, American actress
** Lothar Matthäus, German footballer
* March 22
** Simon Furman, British comic book writer
* March 23
** Norrie McCathie, Scottish footballer (d. 1996)
** Ali Hewson, Irish activist and businesswoman
** Helmi Johannes, Indonesian television newscaster
* March 24
** Mitsuru Ogata, Japanese voice actor
** Yanis Varoufakis, Greek economist, Greek Finance Minister
* March 25
** Reggie Fils-Aimé, American businessman
** Vitalijus Satkevičius, Lithuanian politician
* March 26 – William Hague, former UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Foreign Secretary and former Leader of the UK Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party
* March 27 – Tak Matsumoto, Japanese guitarist (B'z)
* March 28 – Byron Scott, American basketball player and coach
* March 29
** Amy Sedaris, American actress, comedian and writer
** Gerardo Teissonniere, Puerto Rican pianist
* March 30 – Doug Wickenheiser, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1999)
* March 31 – Gary Winick, American filmmaker (d. 2011)
April
![George Lopez 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/George_Lopez_2010.jpg)
* April 1
** Susan Boyle, Scottish singer
** Kujira, Japanese voice actress
* April 2 – Christopher Meloni, American actor
* April 3
** Elizabeth Gracen, American beauty queen, actress and model
** Eddie Murphy, African-American actor and comedian
** Edward Highmore, English actor
* April 5 – Lisa Zane, American actress
* April 6 – Gene Eugene, Canadian actor and singer (d. 2000)
* April 7
** DONDI, American graffiti artist (d. 1998)
** Thurl Bailey, American basketball player
* April 9
** Mick Kennedy, Irish footballer (d. 2019)
** April Boy Regino, Filipino musician (d. 2020)
* April 10 – Rudy Dhaenens, Belgian road bicycle racer (d. 1998)
* April 11 – Vincent Gallo, American actor
* April 12 – Lisa Gerrard, Australian musician
* April 14
** Robert Carlyle, Scottish film and television actor
** Neil Dougherty, American basketball coach (d. 2011)
** Humberto Martins, Brazilian actor
* April 17
** Igor Lavrinenko, Belarusian politician (d. 2021)
** Frank J. Christensen, American labor leader
** Boomer Esiason, American football player and color commentator
** Greg Gianforte, U.S. Representative from Montana's at large district
** Daphna Kastner, Canadian actress
* April 18 – Jane Leeves, English actress
* April 20
** Konstantin Lavronenko, Russian actor
** Don Mattingly, American baseball player
* April 21
** John Jairo Arias Tascón 'Pinina', Colombian criminal (d. 1990)
** Cathy Cavadini, American voice actress
* April 22 – Alo Mattiisen, Estonian musician and composer (d. 1996)
* April 23
** Dirk Bach, German actor and comedian (d. 2012)
** George Lopez, American actor and comedian
* April 26
** Mike Francis, Italian singer and composer (d. 2009)
** Anthony Cumia, American radio personality
* April 27 – Moana Pozzi, Italian pornographic actress, television personality and politician (d. 1994)
* April 28 – Futoshi Matsunaga, Japanese serial killer
* April 29 – Fumihiko Tachiki, Japanese voice actor
* April 30 – Isiah Thomas, African-American basketball player, coach and team owner
May
![Kevin McDonald-1-17 (13683967045)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Kevin_McDonald-1-17_%2813683967045%29.jpg)
* May 1 – Marilyn Milian, American judge
* May 2 – Steve James (snooker player), Steve James, English snooker player
* May 3
** Joe Murray (animator), Joe Murray, American animator
** David Vitter, U.S. Senator (R-LA)
* May 4
** Jay Aston, British singer (Bucks Fizz (band), Bucks Fizz)
** Mary Elizabeth McDonough, American actress, producer, director and author
* May 5 – Hiroshi Hase, Japanese professional wrestler
* May 6
** George Clooney, American actor
** Wally Wingert, American actor and voice actor
** Frans Timmermans, Dutch politician and European Commissioner
* May 7 – Robert Spano, American conductor and pianist
* May 8
** Akira Taue, Japanese professional wrestler
* May 9
** Rene Capo, American judoka (d. 2009)
** John Corbett, American actor and country music singer
* May 10 – Danny Carey, American drummer (Tool (band), Tool, Pigmy Love Circus)
* May 11
** Paul Begala, American political commentator
** Lar Park Lincoln, American actress
* May 12 – Billy Duffy, British guitarist (The Cult)
* May 13 – Dennis Rodman, American basketball player and actor
* May 14
** Urban Priol, German Kabarett artist and comedian
** Tim Roth, English actor and director
*May 16
** Solveig Dommartin, French actress (d. 2007)
** Kevin McDonald, Canadian actor, voice actor and comedian
** Charles Wright (wrestler), Charles Wright, American professional wrestler
* May 17 – Enya, Irish musician
* May 18 – Jim Bowden (baseball), Jim Bowden, American baseball executive
* May 20 – Clive Allen, British footballer
* May 21 – Brent Briscoe, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2017)
* May 22
** Mike Breen, American sports announcer
** Ann Cusack, American actress
* May 23
** Mitar Subotić, Serbian musician and composer (d. 1999)
** Karen Duffy, American actress
* May 24 – Ilaria Alpi, Italian journalist (d. 1994)
* May 27 – Peri Gilpin, American actress
* May 28 – Roland Gift, British singer and musician (Fine Young Cannibals)
* May 29 – Melissa Etheridge, American musician
* May 30
** Ralph Carter, American actor
** Harry Enfield, English comedian, actor, writer and director
* May 31
** Ray Cote, Canadian ice hockey player
** Lea Thompson, American actress
June
![Ricky Gervais 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Ricky_Gervais_2010.jpg)
* June 1
** Paul Coffey, Canadian hockey player
** Dilipkumar Viraji Thakor, Indian politician
* June 2 – Dez Cadena, American musician
* June 3
** Lawrence Lessig, American academic and political activist
** Ed Wynne (guitarist), Ed Wynne, English musician (Ozric Tentacles)
* June 4
**El DeBarge, American urban singer; was member of American urban group DeBarge
**Sam Harris (singer), Sam Harris, American actor and pop musician
* June 5
** Mary Kay Bergman, American voice actress (d. 1999)
** Anthony Burger, American musician and singer (d. 2006)
** Rosie Kane, Member of Scottish Parliament
* June 6 – Tom Araya, Chilean-born rock musician (Slayer)
* June 8 – Katy Garbi, Greek singer
* June 9
** Michael J. Fox, Canadian-American actor, producer and author
** Aaron Sorkin, American screenwriter, producer and playwright
* June 10
** Kim Deal, Kim and Kelley Deal, American musicians
** Maxi Priest, born Max Elliott, British reggae singer
* June 12 – Yuri Rozanov, Russian sports TV commentator (d. 2021)
* June 14 – Boy George, born George O'Dowd, British singer-songwriter and music producer
* June 15
** Dave McAuley, Northern Irish boxer
** Greg Kouri, Lebanese-Canadian investor, real estate businessman, and co-founder of Zip2
* June 17
** Muslimgauze, British ethnic electronica and experimental musician (d. 1999)
** Kōichi Yamadera, Japanese voice actor
* June 18
** Sakahoko Nobushige, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 2019)
** Andrés Galarraga, Venezuelan baseball player
** Alison Moyet, English singer-songwriter
* June 19 – Bidhya Devi Bhandari, 2nd President of Nepal
* June 20 – Karin Enke, Karin Kania, German speed skater
* June 21
**Iztok Mlakar, Slovenian singer-songwriter and theatre actor
**Joko Widodo, 7th President of Indonesia
* June 23
** Zoran Janjetov, Serbian comic artist
** David Leavitt, American novelist
* June 24
** Raja Yong Sofia, Malaysian aristocrat
** Lisa Bevill, American Christian musician
** Iain Glen, Scottish actor
** Curt Smith, British singer and keyboardist
* June 25
** Jamil Khir Baharom, Malaysian politician and former military officer
** Ricky Gervais, English comedian, actor, writer, director, and singer in Seona Dancing
* June 26 – Greg LeMond, American cyclist
* June 27
** Tim Whitnall, English playwright, screenwriter and actor
** Meera Syal, British-Indian comedian and actress
* June 28
** Jeff Malone, American basketball player
** Eliezer Melamed, Israeli rabbi
* June 29
** Greg Hetson, American rock guitarist
** Sharon Lawrence, American actress, singer and dancer
July
![National Memorial Day Concert 2017 (34117818524) (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/National_Memorial_Day_Concert_2017_%2834117818524%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
*
July 1
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor.
* 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and th ...
** Diana, Princess of Wales, born The Hon. Diana Spencer, English princess consort as first wife of Charles III of the United Kingdom, Charles, Prince of Wales (d. 1997)
** Vito Bratta, American rock guitarist
** Ivan Kaye, English actor
** Jefferson King, British bodybuilder and wrestler
** Carl Lewis, American athlete
** Fredy Schmidtke, German track cyclist (d. 2017)
** Michelle Wright, Canadian country music artist
* July 2
** Tetchie Agbayani, Filipina actress
** Jimmy McNichol, American child actor
** Samy Naceri, French actor
** Ram Chiang, Hong Kong actor and singer-composer
* July 3
** Tatiana Aleshina, Russian composer, singer-songwriter, theater artist and poet
** Mosi Alli, Tanzanian sprinter
** Suzanne Dando, English Olympic gymnast
** Joe Moreira, Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and mixed martial artist
* July 4
** Charles Hector, Malaysian human rights advocate and activist
** Andrew Zimmern, American television personality (Bizarre Foods)
* July 5 – Patrizia Scianca, Italian voice actress
* July 6
** Richard Mofe-Damijo, Nigerian actor
** Rick Price, Australian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer
* July 7
** Peter Michael Escovedo, American percussionist and musical director
** Eric Jerome Dickey, American writer
* July 8
** Toby Keith, American country music singer
** Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher, English musician. (d. 2022)
** Olaf Johannessen (actor), Olaf Johannessen, Faroese stage and actor
* July 9 – Raymond Cruz, American actor
* July 10
** Jacky Cheung, Hong Kong singer and actor
** Lee Heung-sil, South Korean footballer
** Liyel Imoke, Nigerian politician
** Killion Munyama, Zambian-Polish economist, academic lecturer and politician
* July 11
** João Donizeti Silvestre, Brazilian businessman, historian, biologist and politician
** Ron Luce, American writer
** Ophir Pines-Paz, Israeli politician
** Sylvester Tung Kiem San, Indonesian bishop
* July 12 – Mark McGann, English actor, director, writer and musician
* July 13 – Stelios Manolas, Greek footballer
* July 14 – Jackie Earle Haley, American actor
* July 15
** Forest Whitaker, African-American actor and film director
** David Cicilline, American politician
* July 16
** Li Ruiying, Chinese media personality and politician
** Copycat (software)#External links, J. Alan Brogan, Irish programmer
* July 17
** António Costa, Portuguese politician, Prime Minister of Portugal, 119th Prime Minister (2015–present)
** Jeremy Hardy, English comedian (d. 2019)
** Guru (rapper), Guru, American rapper (Gang Starr) (d. 2010)
** Zbigniew Zamachowski, Polish actor
* July 18 – Elizabeth McGovern, American actress and musician
* July 19
** Noriyuki Abe, Japanese anime director
** Maria Filatova, Soviet gymnast
** Benoît Mariage, Belgian film director
** Lisa Lampanelli, American stand-up comedian, actress and insult comic
** Campbell Scott, American actor, director, producer and voice artist
* July 21
** Kenji Haga, Japanese entertainment talent, actor and businessperson
** Mokgweetsi Masisi, 5th President of Botswana
* July 22
** Masumi Hayashi (murderer), Masumi Hayashi, Japanese serial killer
** Porfirije, Serbian Patriarch, Porfirije, born Prvoslav Perić, Serbian Patriarch
** Irina Rozanova, Russian actress
** Keith Sweat, American singer
* July 23
** Martin Gore, British musician and songwriter
** Michael Durant, American military pilot
** Milind Gunaji, Indian actor, model, television show host
** Woody Harrelson, American actor and comedian
** David Kaufman (actor), David Kaufman, American actor and voice actor
* July 24
** :fr:Bruno Colmant, Bruno Colmant, Belgian economist and author
** Joseph Kony, Ugandan insurgent, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army
* July 25
** Katherine Kelly Lang, American actress
** Hugo Teufel III, American lawyer and government official, 2nd Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security
* July 26
** Raquel Dodge, General Prosecutor of Brazil
** Gary Cherone, American rock singer-songwriter
** David Heyman, English film producer, founder of Heyday Films
** Keiko Matsui, Japanese pianist and composer
** Dimitris Saravakos, Greek footballer
* July 27
** Ed Orgeron, American football coach
** Erez Tal, Israeli television host
* July 28
** Mustafa El Haddaoui, Moroccan footballer
** Aleksandr Kurlovich, Soviet-Belarusian Olympic weightlifter (d. 2018)
* July 30 – Laurence Fishburne, African-American actor and film director
August
![Koji kondo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Koji_kondo.jpg)
* August 1 – Danny Blind, Dutch footballer
* August 2 – Pete de Freitas, English musician and producer (d. 1989)
* August 3
** Art Porter Jr., American jazz saxophonist (d. 1996)
** Molly Hagan, American actress
** Nick Harvey, English politician
* August 4
** Pumpuang Duangjan, Thai megastar singer and actress (d. 1992)
** Robin Carnahan, Secretary of State of Missouri
** Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States
** Lauren Tom, American actress and voice artist
* August 5
** Mercedes Aráoz, 1st Vice President of Peru
** Janet McTeer, English actress
** Hishamuddin Hussein, Malaysian politician
* August 7
** Ileen Getz, American actress (d. 2005)
** Brian Conley, English actor, comedian, singer and presenter
** Yelena Davydova, Soviet gymnast
** Maggie Wheeler, American actress
* August 8
** The Edge, Irish rock guitarist (U2)
** Bruce Matthews (American football), Bruce Matthews, American football player
** Rikki Rockett, American rock drummer (Poison (American band), Poison)
* August 9
**Brad Gilbert, American tennis player
**John Key, 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand
* August 10 – Beatrice Alda, American actress and filmmaker
* August 11
** Suniel Shetty, Indian actor, producer and entrepreneur
** Jukka Tapanimäki, Finnish game programmer (d. 2000)
* August 12 – Lawrence (musician), Lawrence, English musician
* August 13
** Mahesh Anand, Indian actor (d. 2019)
** Dawnn Lewis, American voice actress
** Koji Kondo, Japanese video game composer (Nintendo)
* August 14 – Susan Olsen, American actress
* August 15 – Suhasini Maniratnam, Indian actress
* August 16
** Elpidia Carrillo, Mexican-American actress
** Urara Takano, Japanese voice actress
* August 17 – Uwe Schmitt, German sprinter and hurdler (d. 1995)
* August 18
** Huw Edwards (journalist), Huw Edwards, BAFTA award-winning Welsh journalist and presenter
** Bob Woodruff, American television journalist and activist
* August 19 – Tony Longo, American actor (d.
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
)
* August 20
** Plamen Nikolov (footballer born 1961), Plamen Nikolov, Bulgarian footballer
** Linda Manz, American actress (d. 2020)
** Manuel Merino, Peruvian politician, 68th President of Peru
* August 21 – Stephen Hillenburg, American marine biologist, cartoonist and animator (d. 2018)
* August 22 – Roland Orzabal, British musician and songwriter
* August 23
** Bhupesh Baghel, Indian politician and current Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh
** Alexandre Desplat, French film composer
* August 24 – Jared Harris, English actor
* August 25
** Billy Ray Cyrus, American actor and singer
** Benjamin Bwalya, Zambian footballer and coach (d. 1999)
* August 27 – Tom Ford, American fashion designer and film director
* August 28
** Jennifer Coolidge, American actress and comedian
** Deepak Tijori, Indian actor and director
* August 30 – Brian Mitchell (boxer), Brian Mitchell, South African boxer
* August 31 – :ms:Saleem, Saleem, Malaysian singer (d. 2018)
September
![Julia Gillard 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Julia_Gillard_2010.jpg)
* September 1
** Bam Bam Bigelow, American professional wrestler (d. 2007)
** Boney James, American saxophonist, songwriter and record producer
* September 2
** Eugenio Derbez, Mexican actor, comedian and filmmaker
** Carlos Valderrama, Colombian footballer
** Ron Wasserman, American composer
** Anthony Wong Chau Sang, Anthony Wong Chau-sang, Hong Kong actor
* September 3
** Andy Griffiths (author), Andy Griffiths, Australian author
** Iwan Fals, Indonesian singer-songwriter
** Yermi Kaplan, Israeli musician
* September 5 – Marc-André Hamelin, Canadian pianist and composer
* September 6
** Bruce W. Smith, American animator, director and producer
** Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Norwegian rock musician and songwriter (A-ha)
* September 7 – Kevin Kennedy (actor), Kevin Kennedy, British actor
* September 11
** E.G. Daily, American actress, voice actress and singer
** Virginia Madsen, American actress
* September 12 – Mylène Farmer, Canadian singer and songwriter
* September 13 – Dave Mustaine, American metal singer, guitarist
* September 14 – Martina Gedeck, German actress
* September 15
** Terry Lamb, Australian rugby league player and coach
** Dan Marino, American football player
** Colin McFarlane, British actor and voice actor
** Lidia Yusupova, Chechen human-rights lawyer
* September 16 – Jen Tolley, American-Canadian actress and singer
* September 17 – Jim Cornette, American author and podcaster
* September 18 – James Gandolfini, American actor and producer (d. 2013)
* September 20 – Lisa Bloom, American lawyer
* September 22
** Bonnie Hunt, American actress, comedian, writer, director and television producer
** Catherine Oxenberg, American actress
* September 23
** Chi McBride, American actor
** William C. McCool, U.S. Navy Commander and astronaut (d. 2003)
* September 24
** Fiona Corke, Australian actress
** Michael Tavera, American composer
* September 25
** Heather Locklear, American actress
** Steve Scott (journalist), Steve Scott, British journalist and presenter
* September 26 – Wes Hopkins, American football player (d. 2018)
* September 27
** Andy Lau, Hong Kong actor and singer
** Melissa Newman, American artist and singer
* September 28
** Yordanka Donkova, Bulgarian athlete
** Wayne Westner, South African golfer (d. 2017)
* September 29 – Julia Gillard, 27th Prime Minister of Australia
* September 30
** Crystal Bernard, American actress and singer
** Gary Coyne, Australian rugby league player
** Eric Stoltz, American actor and director
** Sally Yeh, Hong Kong singer and actress
October
![Peter Jackson SDCC 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Peter_Jackson_SDCC_2014.jpg)
* October 1
** Gary Ablett, Sr., Gary Ablett, Australian rules footballer
** Rico Constantino, American professional wrestler
** Michael Righeira, Italian singer-songwriter, musician and actor
* October 3 – Ludger Stühlmeyer, German cantor, composer and musicologist
* October 4
** Kazuki Takahashi, Japanese manga artist (d. 2022)
** Philippe Russo, French singer
** Jon Secada, Cuban-American singer-songwriter
* October 5 – Matthew Kauffman, American journalist, George Polk Award winner
* October 6 – Mark Shasha, American artist, author and illustrator
* October 10 – Jodi Benson, American actress and singer
* October 11
** Amr Diab, Egyptian singer
** Steve Young, American football player
* October 12 – Diego García (runner), Diego García, Spanish long-distance athlete (d. 2001)
* October 13
** Rachel De Thame, English gardener and television presenter
** Doc Rivers, American basketball player and coach
* October 14 – Jim Burns, British science-fiction illustrator
* October 15 – Meera Sanyal, Indian banker (d. 2019)
* October 16
** Chris Doleman, American football player (d. 2020)
** Scott O'Hara, American pornographic performer, author, poet, editor and publisher (d. 1998)
** Paul Vaessen, English footballer (d. 2001)
** Randy Vasquez, American actor
** Kim Wayans, American actress, comedian, producer, writer and director
* October 18
** Wynton Marsalis, African-American trumpeter and composer
** Rick Moody, American writer
** Gladstone Small, Barbadian-English cricketer
* October 19 – Cliff Lyons, Australian rugby league player
* October 20
** Les Stroud, Canadian survival expert, filmmaker and musician
** Michie Tomizawa, Japanese voice actress
* October 22
** Todd Oldham, American designer
** Robert Torti, American actor and singer
* October 24 – Dave Meltzer, American wrestling journalist
* October 25
** Ward Burton, American NASCAR driver
** Pat Sharp, British radio DJ and host
** Chad Smith, American musician
* October 26 – Dylan McDermott, American actor
* October 29 – Randy Jackson (Jacksons singer), Randy Jackson, African-American pop singer (The Jackson 5)
* October 30 – Dmitry Muratov, Russian campaigning journalist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
* October 31
** Alonzo Babers, American runner
** Peter Jackson, New Zealand film director
** Larry Mullen, Jr., Irish rock drummer (U2)
November
![Mariel Hemingway headshot, free use](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Mariel_Hemingway_headshot%2C_free_use.jpg)
* November 1
** Anne Donovan, American basketball player and coach (d. 2018)
** Heng Swee Keat, Singaporean politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
* November 2
** Lisa de Cazotte, American soap opera producer (d. 2019)
** k.d. lang, Canadian singer and songwriter
* November 3 – David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon
* November 4
** Daron Hagen, American composer
** Dominic Heale, British journalist and newsreader
** Ralph Macchio, American actor
** Jeff Probst, American television personality
** Jerry Sadowitz, American-born British stand-up comic and card magician
** Nigel Worthington, Northern Irish footballer and football manager
* November 5 – Alan G. Poindexter, American astronaut (d. 2012)
* November 9
** Jill Dando, British journalist and television presenter (d. 1999)
** Jackie Kay, Scottish poet and novelist
* November 12 – Nadia Comăneci, Romanian gymnast
* November 14
** Ben Coleman (basketball), Ben Coleman, American basketball player (d. 2019)
** Jurga Ivanauskaitė, Lithuanian writer (d. 2007)
** D. B. Sweeney, American actor
* November 16
** Andrea Prodan, Scottish-Italian film actor, composer and musician
** Corinne Hermès, French singer, Eurovision Song Contest 1983 winner
* November 18
** Michael Hawley, American academic and artist (d. 2020)
** Steven Moffat, Scottish screenwriter
** Anthony Warlow, Australian singer
* November 19 – Meg Ryan, American actress and film director
* November 20 – Dave Watson, English footballer
* November 21 – Maria Kawamura, Japanese voice actress
* November 22
** Mariel Hemingway, American actress
** Stephen Hough, British-Australian pianist
** Randal L. Schwartz, American computer programmer
* November 24 – Arundhati Roy, Indian writer and activist
* November 25 – Matthias Freihof, German television actor and director
November 27 Lieselotte Lauer, (child family name: Schröder) German company C. Lorenz AG, SEL (Standard Elektrik Lorenz) Reported missing since July 1992
* November 28 – Alfonso Cuarón, Mexican film director, screenwriter and producer
* November 29
** Kim Delaney, American actress
** Tom Sizemore, American actor
December
![Ilham Heydar oglu Aliyev - President of the Republic of Azerbaijan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Ilham_Heydar_oglu_Aliyev_-_President_of_the_Republic_of_Azerbaijan.jpg)
* December 1 – Salahuddin Ayub, Malaysian politician
* December 3 – Marcelo Fromer, Brazilian guitarist
* December 4
** Rocky Dennis, American teenager who had craniodiaphyseal dysplasia (d. 1978)
** Frank Reich, American football player
* December 5
** Alan Davies (footballer), Alan Davies, English-Welsh international footballer (d. 1992)
** Laura Flanders, British born American journalist
* December 6 - Colin Salmon, British actor
*December 8 – Ann Coulter, American author, conservative commentator and attorney
* December 9
** Beril Dedeoğlu, Turkish politician and academic (d. 2019)
** David Anthony Higgins, American actor
* December 10
** Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, Nepalese Buddhist (d. 1993)
** Nia Peeples, American actress
* December 12
** Daniel O'Donnell, Irish singer
** Sarah Sutton, British actress
* December 13
**Karen Witter, American actress and model
**Per Øystein Sørensen, Norwegian lead singer Fra Lippo Lippi
* December 15 – Karin Resetarits, Austrian journalist and politician
* December 16
** Bill Hicks, American comedian (d. 1994)
** Jon Tenney, American actor
** Sam Robards, American actor
** Shane Black, American film director
* December 19
** Eric Allin Cornell, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
** Matthew Waterhouse, British actor
** Reggie White, American football player (d. 2004)
* December 20 – Mohammad Fouad, Arab singer and actor
* December 21 – Francis Ng, Hong Kong actor
* December 22 – Kassim Majaliwa, 10th Prime Minister of Tanzania
* December 23 – Ezzat el Kamhawi, Egyptian novelist
* December 24
** Ilham Aliyev, 7th Prime Minister of Azerbaijan and 4th President of Azerbaijan
** Wade Williams, American actor
* December 25
** Íngrid Betancourt, Colombian senator
** Ghislaine Maxwell, British socialite
** David Thompson (Barbadian politician), David Thompson, 6th Prime Minister of Barbados (d. 2010)
* December 26 – John Lynch (actor), John Lynch, Northern Irish actor
* December 27 – Guido Westerwelle, German politician (d. 2016)
* December 29 – Jim Reid, Scottish musician
* December 30
** Douglas Coupland, Canadian author
** Bill English, 39th Prime Minister of New Zealand
** Sean Hannity, American radio/television host and conservative commentator
** Ben Johnson (Canadian sprinter), Ben Johnson, Canadian athlete
Deaths
January
![Patrice Lumumba, 1960](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Patrice_Lumumba%2C_1960.jpg)
*
January 3
Events Pre-1600
*AD 69, 69 – The Roman legions on the Rhine refuse to declare their allegiance to Galba, instead proclaiming their legate, Aulus Vitellius, as emperor.
* 250 – Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (ex ...
– Auvergne Doherty, Australian businesswoman (b. 1896)
* January 4 – Erwin Schrödinger, Austrian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
*
January 8
Events Pre-1600
* 307 – Jin Huaidi becomes emperor of China in succession to his father, Jin Huidi, despite a challenge from his uncle, Sima Ying.
* 871 – Æthelred I and Alfred the Great lead a West Saxon army to repel an inv ...
– František Flos, Czech novelist (b. 1864)
*
January 9
Events Pre-1600
* 681 – Twelfth Council of Toledo: King Erwig of the Visigoths initiates a council in which he implements diverse measures against the Jews in Spain.
*1127 – Jin–Song Wars: Invading Jurchen soldiers from the Jin ...
– Emily Greene Balch, American writer and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1867)
* January 10 – Dashiell Hammett, American writer (b. 1894)
* January 13
** Nino Marchesini, Italian actor (b. 1895)
** Blanche Ring, American singer and actress (b. 1871)
* January 14 – Barry Fitzgerald, Irish actor (b. 1888)
*
January 17
Events Pre-1600
* 38 BC – Octavian divorces his wife Scribonia and marries Livia Drusilla, ending the fragile peace between the Second Triumvirate and Sextus Pompey.
* 1362 – Saint Marcellus' flood kills at least 25,000 people ...
–
Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Émery Lumumba (; 2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic of the Congo) from June u ...
, 1st Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b. 1925)
* January 18 – Thomas Anthony Dooley III, physician (b. 1927)
* January 21
** Blaise Cendrars, Swiss writer (b. 1887)
** John J. Becker, American composer and pianist (b. 1886)
*
January 24
Events Pre-1600
* 41 – Claudius is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula.
* 914 – Start of the First Fatimid invasion of Egypt.
*1438 – The Counc ...
– Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American swimmer and inventor (b. 1884)
* January 26 – Stan Nichols, English cricketer (b. 1900)
* January 29 – Jesse Wallace, American naval officer, 29th Governor of American Samoa (b. 1899)
*
January 30
Events Pre-1600
* 1018 – Poland and the Holy Roman Empire conclude the Peace of Bautzen.
*1287 – King Wareru founds the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, and proclaims independence from the Pagan Kingdom.
1601–1900
* 1607 – An estimat ...
– Dorothy Thompson, American journalist (b. 1893)
February
![Mohammed V](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Mohammed_V.jpg)
* February 2 – Anna May Wong, Chinese-American actress (b. 1905)
* February 3 – William Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil, Viscount Dunrossil, Australian Governor-General (b. 1893)
*
February 4
Events Pre–1600
* 211 – Following the death of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus at Eboracum (modern York, England) while preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians, the empire is left in the control of his two quarrelling ...
** Hazel Heald, American writer (b. 1896)
** Philip Game, Sir Philip Game, British army officer, colonial governor and police officer (b. 1876)
* February 6 – Lawrence Dundas, 2nd Marquess of Zetland, British politician (b. 1876)
* February 7 – William Duncan (actor), William Duncan, American actor (b. 1879)
*
February 9
Events Pre-1600
* 474 – Zeno is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
* 1003 – Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland.
*1539 – The first recorded race is held ...
– Carlos Luz, Brazilian politician, 19th President of Brazil (b. 1894)
*
February 12
Events Pre-1600
* 1404 – The Italian professor Galeazzo di Santa Sophie performed the first post-mortem autopsy for the purposes of teaching and demonstration at the Heiligen–Geist Spital in Vienna.
* 1429 – English forces und ...
– Richmond K. Turner, American admiral (b. 1885)
*
February 13
Events Pre-1600
* 962 – Emperor Otto I and Pope John XII co-sign the ''Diploma Ottonianum'', recognizing John as ruler of Rome.
* 1322 – The central tower of Ely Cathedral falls on the night of 12th–13th.
* 1462 – The ...
– Arthur Ripley, American film director (b. 1897)
*
February 15
Events Pre-1600
* 438 – Roman emperor Theodosius II publishes the law codex Codex Theodosianus
* 590 – Khosrau II is crowned king of Persia.
* 706 – Byzantine emperor Justinian II has his predecessors Leontios and Tib ...
– Laurence Owen, American figure skater (b. 1944)
* February 16 – Dazzy Vance, American baseball player (Brooklyn Dodgers) and a member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1891)
* February 17
** Horatio Pettus Mackintosh Berney-Ficklin, Horatio Berney-Filkin, British army general (b. 1892)
** Nita Naldi, American actress (b. 1894)
* February 20 – Percy Grainger, Australian composer (b. 1882)
* February 22
** George de Cuevas, Chilean-American ballet impresario and choreographer (b. 1885)
** Nick LaRocca, American jazz musician (b. 1889)
*
February 26
Events Pre-1600
* 747 BC – According to Ptolemy, the epoch (origin) of the Nabonassar Era began at noon on this date. Historians use this to establish the modern BC chronology for dating historic events.
* 364 – Valentinian I is ...
** Uberto De Morpurgo, Italian tennis player (b. 1896)
** King Mohammed V of Morocco (b. 1909)
* February 28 – Aaron S. Merrill, Aaron S. "Tip" Merrill, American admiral (b. 1890)
March
![Victor d%27Arcy and Harold Abrahams 1920](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Victor_d%27Arcy_and_Harold_Abrahams_1920.jpg)
*
March 3
Events Pre-1600
* 473 – Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
* 724 – Empress Genshō abdicates the throne in favor of her nephew Shōmu who becomes emperor of Japan.
*1575 ...
** Azizul Haq, Bengali Islamic scholar (b. 1903)
** Paul Wittgenstein, Austrian-born pianist (b. 1887)
* March 6
** George Formby, British singer, comedian and actor (b. 1904)
** Oswald Rayner, British Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent (b. 1888)
*
March 8
Events Pre-1600
* 1010 – Ferdowsi completes his epic poem ''Shahnameh''.
*1126 – Following the death of his mother, queen Urraca of León, Alfonso VII is proclaimed king of León.
* 1262 – Battle of Hausbergen between bou ...
** Sir Thomas Beecham, English conductor (b. 1879)
** Gala Galaction, Romanian writer (b. 1879)
* March 12
** Victor d'Arcy, British Olympic athlete (b. 1887)
** Belinda Lee, English actress (b. 1935)
* March 17 – Susanna M. Salter, first woman mayor in the United States (b. 1860)
* March 22 – Nikolai Massalitinov, Soviet-born Bulgarian actor (b. 1880)
* March 23 – Valentin Bondarenko, Russian cosmonaut (b. 1937)
* March 25 – Arthur Drewry, English administrator, 5th President of FIFA (b. 1891)
* March 26 – Carlos Duarte Costa, Brazilian Roman Catholic archbishop and saint, founder of the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church (b. 1888)
April
![Padma Shamsher JBR](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Padma_Shamsher_JBR.jpg)
* April 2 – Wallingford Riegger, American music composer (b. 1885)
* April 3 – Eliseo Mouriño, Argentine footballer (b. 1927)
* April 6 – Jules Bordet, Belgian immunologist and microbiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1870)
* April 7
** Vanessa Bell, English artist and interior designer (b. 1879)
** Jesús Guridi, Spanish Basque composer (b. 1886)
** Marian Driscoll Jordan, American actress and radio personality (b. 1898)
* April 9 – Ahmet Zog/Zog I of Albania, Zog I, Skanderberg III, Albanian political leader, 11th Prime Minister of Albania, 7th President of Albania and King of Albania (b. 1895)
* April 10 – John Hope Simpson, Sir John Hope Simpson, British politician (b. 1868)
* April 11 – Padma Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana, 16th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1882)
* April 12
** Mbarek Bekkay, 1st Prime Minister of Morocco (b. 1907)
** Aziz Ezzat Pasha, Egyptian politician (b. 1869)
* April 19 – Manuel Quiroga (violinist), Manuel Quiroga, Spanish violinist (b. 1892)
* April 21 – James Melton, American tenor (b. 1904)
* April 24 – Lee Moran, American actor (b. 1888)
* April 25
** Robert Garrett, American Olympic athlete (b. 1875)
** George Melford, American actor (b. 1877)
* April 27
** Roy Del Ruth, American film director (b. 1893)
** Minoru Sasaki, Japanese general (b. 1893)
* April 30
** Dickie Dale, English motorcycle road racer (b. 1927)
** Jessie Redmon Fauset, American editor, writer and educator (b. 1882)
May
![Gary Cooper (1952)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Gary_Cooper_%281952%29.jpg)
* May 3
** Lajos Dinnyés, 41st Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1901)
** Maurice Merleau-Ponty, French phenomenological philosopher (b. 1908)
* May 6 – Lucian Blaga, Romanian poet and philosopher (b. 1895)
* May 13 – Gary Cooper, American actor (''High Noon'') (b. 1901)
* May 14 – Albert Sévigny, Canadian politician (b. 1881)
* May 16 – George A. Malcolm, American jurist and educator (b. 1881)
* May 22 – Joan Davis, American actress (b. 1912)
* May 30 – Rafael Trujillo, Dominican politician and soldier, 2-time President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1891)
June
![Jeff Chandler - 1958](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Jeff_Chandler_-_1958.jpg)
* June – Constantin Constantinescu-Claps, Romanian general (b. 1884)
* June 6 – Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist (b. 1875)
* June 9 – Camille Guérin, French bacteriologist and immunologist (b. 1872)
* June 14 – Eddie Polo, Austrian-American actor (b. 1875)
* June 16 – Marcel Junod, Swiss physician (b. 1904)
* June 17
** Jeff Chandler, American actor (b. 1918)
** Thomas Darden, American Rear admiral (United States), Rear admiral, 37th Governor of American Samoa (b. 1900)
* June 18 – Eddie Gaedel, American with dwarfism (b. 1925)
* June 19 – Richard Ernest William Turner, Sir Richard Turner, Canadian general, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1871)
* June 23 – Nikolai Malko, Soviet conductor (b. 1883)
* June 24
** William J. Connors, American politician (b. 1891)
** George Washington Vanderbilt III, American philanthropist (b. 1914)
* June 25 – John Alexander Douglas McCurdy, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia and pilot (b. 1886)
* June 27
** Paul Guilfoyle (actor, born 1902), Paul Guilfoyle, American actor (b. 1902)
** Mukhtar Auezov, Kazakh writer (b. 1897)
* June 30 – Lee de Forest, American inventor (b. 1873)
July
![1913 Ty Cobb portrait photo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/1913_Ty_Cobb_portrait_photo.png)
*
July 1
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor.
* 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and th ...
** Nasuhi al-Bukhari, Syrian soldier and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Syria (b. 1881)
** Louis-Ferdinand Céline, French writer (b. 1894)
* July 2 – Ernest Hemingway, American writer, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize laureate (suicide) (b. 1899)
* July 4 – Franklyn Farnum, American actor (b. 1878)
* July 6
** Konstantinos Logothetopoulos, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1878)
** Woodall Rodgers, American politician, 43rd Mayor of Dallas (b. 1890)
* July 9 – Whittaker Chambers, American spy and witness in Alger Hiss, Hiss case
* July 15 – Nina Bari, Russian mathematician (b. 1901)
* July 17 – Ty Cobb, American baseball player and a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Baseball Hall of Fame (b. 1886)
* July 23
** Esther Dale, American actress (b. 1885)
** Valentine Davies, American screenwriter (b. 1905)
** Shigeko Higashikuni, Princess Teru of Japan (b. 1925)
* July 28 – Harry Gribbon, American actor of silent films (b. 1885)
* July 30 – Sediqeh Dowlatabadi, Persian feminist, women's rights activist and journalist (b. 1882)
August
![Sidney George Holland (1953) 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Sidney_George_Holland_%281953%29_2.png)
* August 1 – Domingo Pérez Cáceres, Spanish Roman Catholic priest and saint (b. 1892)
* August 4
** Zoltán Tildy, 39th Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1889)
** Maurice Tourneur, French film director (b. 1873)
* August 5 – Sidney Holland, New Zealand politician, 25th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1893)
* August 8 – Mei Lanfang, Beijing opera star (b. 1894)
* August 9 – Walter Bedell Smith, American general and diplomat (b. 1895)
* August 11 – William Jackson (gangster), William Jackson, American gangster (b. 1920)
* August 14
** Henri Breuil, French priest, archaeologist, anthropologist and ethnologist (b. 1877)
** Clark Ashton Smith, American writer and sculptor (b. 1893)
* August 20 – Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1882)
* August 23 – Beals Wright, American tennis player (b. 1879)
* August 26
** Howard P. Robertson, American physicist (b. 1903)
** Gail Russell, American actress (b. 1924)
* August 30
** Charles Coburn, American actor (b. 1877)
** Cristóbal de Losada y Puga, Peruvian mathematician and mining engineer (b. 1894)
September
![Mariondavies](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Mariondavies.jpg)
* September 1 – Eero Saarinen, Finnish architect (b. 1910)
* September 3
** Richard Mason (explorer), Richard Mason, British explorer (b. 1934)
* September 4 – Charles D.B. King, President of Liberia from 1920 to 1930 (b. 1875)
* September 7 – Pieter Gerbrandy, Prime Minister of the Netherlands 1940 to 1945 (b. 1885)
* September 16
** Percy Chapman, English cricketer (b. 1900)
** Hasan Fehmi (Ataç), Hasan Fehmi, Turkish politician (b. 1879)
* September 17
** Miguel Gómez Bao, Spanish-born Argentine actor (b. 1894)
** Adnan Menderes, Turkish statesman, 9th Prime Minister of Turkey (executed) (b. 1899)
* September 18
** Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish diplomat, politician and author, 2nd Secretary General of the United Nations, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1905)
* September 21 – Georgia Ann Robinson, community worker and first African Americans, African American woman to be appointed a Los Angeles police officer (b. 1879)
* September 22 – Marion Davies, American actress (b. 1897)
* September 23 – Elmer Diktonius, Finnish poet and composer (b. 1896)
* September 24 – Sumner Welles, American diplomat (b. 1892)
* September 25 – Frank Fay (American actor), Frank Fay, American vaudeville comedian and film and stage actor (b. 1891)
* September 26
** Robert L. Eichelberger, American general (b. 1886)
** Juanita Hansen, American actress (b. 1895)
* September 27 – H.D. (Hilda Doolittle), American poet and novelist (b. 1886)
October
![Sergio Osmena photo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Sergio_Osmena_photo.jpg)
* October 1 – Donald Cook (actor), Donald Cook, American actor (b. 1901)
* October 2 – Essington Lewis, Australian industrialist (b. 1881)
* October 4 – Max Weber (artist), Max Weber, Polish-American artist (b. 1881)
* October 6 – J. Reuben Clark, American politician and Mormon leader (b. 1871)
* October 11
** Lucy Tayiah Eads, Kaw tribal chief (b. 1888)
** Chico Marx, American comedian (b. 1887)
* October 13
** Louis Rwagasore, 2nd Prime Minister of Burundi (assassinated) (b. 1932)
** Maya Deren, Russian-born American filmmaker (b. 1917)
** Zoltán Korda, Hungarian screenwriter and director (b. 1895)
** Dun Karm Psaila, Maltese writer (b. 1871)
* October 14
** Paul Ramadier, French politician, 63rd Prime Minister of France (b. 1888)
** Harriet Shaw Weaver, English political activist (b. 1876)
* October 19
** Şemsettin Günaltay, Turkish historian and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1883)
** Sergio Osmeña, Filipino politician, 4th President of the Philippines (b. 1878)
* October 21 – Karl Korsch, German Marxist theoretician (b. 1886)
* October 22
** Joseph M. Schenck, Russian-born film studio executive (b. 1878)
** Aloys Van de Vyvere, 25th Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1871)
* October 26 – Milan Stojadinović, 12th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (b. 1888)
* October 30 – Luigi Einaudi, Italian economist and politician, 2nd President of Italy (b. 1874)
* October 31 – Augustus John, Welsh painter (b. 1878)
November
![Anselmo Alliegro y Milá](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Anselmo_Alliegro_y_Mil%C3%A1.jpg)
* November 1 – Mordecai Ham, American evangelist (b. 1877)
* November 2
** James Thurber, American humorist (b. 1894)
** Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa I, 12th Hakim of Bahrain (b. 1894)
* November 3 – Thomas Flynn (bishop of Lancaster), Thomas Flynn, British Roman Catholic prelate and reverend (b. 1880)
* November 9 – Ferdinand Bie, Norwegian Olympic athlete (b. 1888)
* November 15
** Elsie Ferguson, American actress (b. 1883)
** Johanna Westerdijk, Dutch plant pathologist (b. 1883)
* November 16 – Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1882)
* November 22 – Anselmo Alliegro y Milá, Cuban politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Cuba, leader of World War II (b. 1899)
* November 24 – Ruth Chatterton, American actress, novelist and aviator (b. 1892)
* November 25 – Adelina de Lara, British composer (b. 1872)
* November 30 – Anna Gould, American heiress and socialite, daughter of financier Jay Gould (b. 1875)
December
![Bundesarchiv Bild 101III-Ludwig-006-19, Kurt Meyer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101III-Ludwig-006-19%2C_Kurt_Meyer.jpg)
* December 2 – Dulcie Mary Pillers, English medical illustrator (b. 1891)
* December 3 – Pat O'Hara Wood, Australian tennis player (b. 1891)
* December 6 – Frantz Fanon, Caribbean philosopher (b. 1925)
* December 7 – Herbert Pitman, British sailor, third officer of the (b. 1877)
* December 10 – Elwyn Welch, New Zealand farmer, ornithologist, conservationist and Open Brethren missionary (b. 1925)
* December 13 – Anna Mary Robertson Moses aka Grandma Moses, American naïve painter (b. 1860)
* December 15 – Gioacchino Failla, Italian-born American physicist (b. 1891)
* December 20
** Moss Hart, American dramatist (b. 1904)
** Earle Page, Sir Earle Page, Australian politician, 11th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1880)
* December 23
** Kurt Meyer, German ''Generalmajor der Waffen-SS'' and war criminal (b. 1910)
** Fanny Schoonheyt, Dutch Communist Lieutenant in the Spanish Civil War. (b. 1912)
* December 25 – Otto Loewi, German-born pharmacologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1873)
* December 27 – Bernard McConville, American screenwriter (b. 1887)
* December 28 – Edith Wilson, First Lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921 (b. 1872)
* December 29
** Anton Flettner, German aviation engineer and inventor (b. 1885)
** Sibyl Morrison, first female barrister in New South Wales, Australia (b. 1895)
Nobel Prizes
* Nobel Prize in Physics, Physics – Robert Hofstadter, Rudolf Mössbauer
* Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemistry – Melvin Calvin
* Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Physiology or Medicine – Georg von Békésy
* Nobel Prize in Literature, Literature – Ivo Andrić
* Nobel Peace Prize, Peace – Dag Hammarskjöld (posthumously)
See also
* Upside down year
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1961
1961,