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1946

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1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th century, and the 7th year of the 1940s decade.

Events[edit]

January[edit]

• January 6 – The first general election ever in Vietnam is held.^[1]
• January 7 – The Allies of World War II recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into four occupation zones.
• January 10
  • The first meeting of the United Nations is held, at Methodist Central Hall WestminsterinLondon.^[2]
  • Project Diana bounces radar waves off the Moon, measuring the exact distance between the Earth and the Moon, and proves that communication is possible between Earth and outer space, effectively opening the Space Age.
• January 11 – Enver Hoxha declares the People's Republic of Albania, with himself as prime minister.
• January 16 – Charles de Gaulle resigns as head of the French provisional government.
• January 17 – The United Nations Security Council holds its first session, at Church House, Westminster in London.
• January 19
  • The Bell XS-1 is test flown for the first time (unpowered), with Bell's chief test pilot Jack Woolams at the controls.
  • General Douglas MacArthur establishes the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo, to try Japanese war criminals.
• January 20 – Charles de Gaulle resigns as president of France.
• January 22
  • Iran crisis of 1946: Qazi Muhammad declares the independent people's Republic of Mahabad, at the Chahar Cheragh Square in the Kurdish city of Mahabad. He is the new president, Haji Baba Sheikh is the prime minister.
  • The National Intelligence Authority, and its operational arm, the Central Intelligence Group, are established in the United States; these become part of the Central Intelligence Agencyin1947.^[3]

• January 28 – The Canadian schooner Bluenose founders on a Haitian reef.
• January 31
  • The last session of the Permanent Court of International Justice occurs.
  • Yugoslavia's new constitution, modeling the Soviet Union, establishes 6 constituent republics (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia).

February[edit]

• February 1
  • Trygve Lie of Norway is selected as the first United Nations Secretary-General.
  • The Kingdom of Hungary becomes a republic, heavily influenced by the Soviet Union.
• February 14 – ENIAC (for "Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer"), an early general-purpose electronic computer, is unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania; it weighs 60,000 pounds (over 27 tons), and occupies a big room.
• February 15 – The Gouzenko Affair: Canada announces the shocking discovery of a ring of Canadian communist spies based at the Soviet embassy in Ottawa, passing atomic bomb secrets to Russia.
• February 20 – An explosion kills more than 400 coal miners in Bergkamen, West Germany.^[4]
• February 24 – Juan Perón is elected president of Argentina.

March[edit]

• March 2
  • British troops withdraw from Iran according to treaty; the Soviets do not.
  • Ho Chi Minh is elected President of North Vietnam.
• March 4 – C. G. E. Mannerheim resigns as president of Finland.
• March 5 – In his speech at Westminster College, in Fulton, Missouri, Winston Churchill talks about the Iron Curtain.
• March 6 – First Indochina War: Ho Chi Minh signs an agreement with France, which recognizes Vietnam as an autonomous state in the Indochinese Federation and the French Union.
• March 7 – The 18th Academy Awards Ceremony is held. Best Picture goes to The Lost Weekend.
• March 9 – Juho Kusti Paasikivi becomes the 7th President of Finland.
• March 19
  • The Soviet Union and Switzerland resume diplomatic relations.
  • French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion become overseas départements of France.
• March 22 – The United Kingdom grants the British protectorate of the Emirate of Transjordan (later known as Jordan) its independence by the Treaty of London.^[5]
• March 29 – The Gold Coast has an African majority in its parliament.

April[edit]

• April 1
  • The 8.6 M_w  Aleutian Islands earthquake shakes the Aleutian Islands, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong). A destructive tsunami reaches the Hawaiian Islands, resulting in many deaths, mostly in Hilo. Between 165 and 173 are killed.
  • The Malayan Union is formed.
  • Singapore becomes a Crown colony.
  • The Battle of Määritsa took place between Estonian partisans and Soviet forces in southeastern Estonia.
• April 3 – Japanese Lt. General Masaharu Homma is executed outside Manila in the Philippines, for leading the Bataan Death March.
• April 5 – A Fleet Air Arm Vickers Wellington crashes into a residential area in Rabat, Malta during a training exercise, killing all 4 crew members and 16 civilians on the ground.^[6][7][8]
• April 10 – In Japan, women vote for the first time, during elections for the House of Representatives of the 90th Imperial Diet.
• April 14 – Sh'erit ha-Pletah members of Nakam, the "Jewish Avengers", use arsenic to poison bread baked for SS prisoners of war held at Stalag XIII-D by the Americans.^[9]
• April 17 – Syria's independence from France is officially recognized.
• April 18
  • The inaugural session of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) takes place at The Hague.
  • The League of Nations, in its last meeting, transfers its mission to the United Nations and disbands itself.
  • The United States recognizes Josip Broz Tito's government in Yugoslavia.
• April 28 – Kinderdorf Pestalozzi (Pestalozzi Children's Village) is established at Trogen, Switzerland to accommodate and educate orphans of World War II, according to Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi's principles.^[10]
• April 29 – Trials against war criminals begin in Tokyo; the accused include Hideki Tōjō, Shigenori Tōgō and Hiroshi Ōshima.

May[edit]

• May 1 – At least 800 Indigenous Australian pastoral workers walk off the job in Northwest Western Australia, starting one of the longest industrial strikes in Australia.
• May 7 – Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded, with about 20 employees.
• May 9 – King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy abdicates, and is succeeded by his son Umberto II.
• May 10
  • Jawaharlal Nehru is elected leader of the Congress Party in India.
  • The first V-2 rocket to be successfully launched in the United States is fired from White Sands Missile Range.
• May 21 – Manhattan Project physicist Dr. Louis Slotin accidentally triggers a fission reaction at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the United States and, although saving his coworkers, gives himself a lethal dose of hard radiation, making him the second victim of a criticality accident in history (the incident is initially treated as classified information).
• May 23–24 – A two-day violent tornado outbreak occurs across the Central United States, with at least 15 significant tornadoes killing four people and injuring 42 others.
• May 25 – The Emirate of Jordan becomes the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan when its parliament makes the ruling amir Abdullah their king on the day it ratifies the Treaty of London.
• May 26 – 1946 Czechoslovak parliamentary election: Communists win with (38%), in the last election before communists take power.
• May 31 – The 1946 Greek referendum supports the return of the monarchy.

June[edit]

• June 1
  • Ion Antonescu, prime minister and "Conducator" (Leader) of Romania during World War II, is executed; he was found guilty of betraying the Romanian people for benefits of Germany and sentenced to death by the Bucharest People's Tribunal.
  • D'Argenlieu, French High Commissioner for Indo-China, recognizes an autonomous "Republic of Cochin-China" in violation of the March 6 Ho–Sainteny agreement, opening the way for conflict between the Viet Minh and France.^[11]
• June 2 – 1946 Italian institutional referendum: Italians vote to turn Italy from a monarchy into a republic.^[12] In the simultaneous 1946 Italian general election, the first since the end of World War II and also the first in which women are allowed to vote, the Christian Democracy party, led by Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi, wins most seats in the Constituent Assembly of Italy and forms a coalition government.^[13] Christian Democracy leads the Italian government continuously until 1981.
• June 3 – Interpol is re-founded; the telegraphic address "Interpol" is adopted.
• June 8 – In Indonesia, Sukarno incites his supporters to fight Dutch colonial occupation.
• June 9 – In Thailand, King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) accedes to the throne after the death of his elder brother, King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII). He will reign until his death on October 13, 2016.
• June 10 – Italy is declared a republic.
• June 13 – Umberto II of Italy leaves the country and goes into exile in Portugal; Alcide De Gasperi becomes head of state.
• June 14 – The Baruch Plan is proposed to the United Nations.
• June 17 – Formal ratification of the Treaty of London grants independence to the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan.
• June 23
  • The 7.5 M_w  Vancouver Island earthquake affects the island, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). Two people are killed.
  • 1946 French India municipal election: The National Democratic Front wins a landslide victory.
• June 25 – The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) (World Bank) begins operations.
• June 30 – The War Relocation Authority, which has administered the internment of Japanese Americans, is abolished.

July[edit]

• July 1 – Nuclear testing: Operation Crossroads, a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United StatesatBikini AtollinMicronesia, is initiated by the detonation of Able at an altitude of 520 feet (158 m).
  

  

• July 4
  • After more than 48 years of American dominance, the Philippines attains full independence as the 3rd Republic; Manuel A. Roxas is 5th President of the Philippines. It marks the end of nearly 400 years of colonial era when the Viceroyalty of New Spain took control since April 27, 1565.
  • The Kielce Pogrom takes place in Poland.
• July 5 – The bikini is first modeled in Paris.
• July 16 – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) within the Department of the Interior is formed by the merger of the Grazing Service and United States General Land Office.
• July 21 – An Irgun bomb explodes in Jerusalem, due to secretive talks between Jews and Britain to consolidate the state of Israel.
• July 22 – King David Hotel bombing: The Irgun bombs the King David Hotel (headquarters of the British civil and military administration) in Jerusalem, killing 90.
• July 25
  • Nuclear testing: In the first underwater test of the atomic bomb, the surplus USS Saratoga is sunk near Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, when the United States detonates the Baker device during Operation Crossroads.
  • At Club 500 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis stage their first show as a comedy team.
  • In the last mass lynching in the United States, a mob of white men shoot and kill two African-American couples, near Moore's Ford Bridge in Georgia.

August[edit]

• August 1 – The Scandinavian Airlines System is founded as a consortium of the flag carriers of Sweden, Denmark and Norway.
• August 3 – Santa Claus Land opens to the public at Santa Claus, Indiana. It becomes the first themed park, preceding Disneyland by 9 years, and is later renamed Holiday World.
• August 4 – The 1946 Dominican Republic earthquake (magnitude 8.0) hits the northern Dominican Republic, killing 100 and leaving 20,000 homeless.
• August 7 – The Soviet Union escalates the Turkish Straits crisis through a diplomatic demand to Turkey.
• August 16
  • Direct Action Day: Violence between Muslims and Hindus in Calcutta begins "The Week of the Long Knives", which leaves 3,000 dead.
  • The All Hyderabad Trade Union Congress is founded in Secunderabad, India.
  • The Kurdistan Democratic Party is founded in South Kurdistan.
• August 18 – The Vergarola explosion of ordnance in Croatia kills 70.
• August 30 – Bell's chief test pilot, Jack Woolams, dies in a plane crash while flying the P-39 "Cobra I" over Lake Ontario preparing for an air race the following day.

September[edit]

• September 1 – 1946 Turin Grand Prix, the first official Formula One Grand Prix, is held in Italy.^[14]
• September 2 – The Interim Government of India takes charge, with Jawaharlal Nehru as vice president, as part of the transition from the British Raj to full independence for India and Pakistan.
• September 4 – Street violence between Muslims and Hindus erupts in Bombay.
• September 8 – Bulgaria is declared a People's Republic after a referendum; King Simeon II leaves.
• September 19 – The idea of the Council of Europe is introduced in a speech by Winston Churchill at the University of Zurich.
• September 24 – Cathay Pacific Airways is founded in Hong Kong, by American Roy Farrell and Australian Sydney de Kantzow.
• September 28
  • 1946 Australian federal election: Ben Chifley's Labor government is re-elected with a reduced majority, defeating the Liberal/Country Coalition led by former Prime Minister Robert Menzies. This is the first occasion where a Labor government successfully wins two elections in a row on a federal level, albeit with a swing against them; among the casualties are former Prime Minister Frank Forde. This is also the first election contested by the newly formed Liberal Party, which had replaced the United Australia Party as the main centre-right political party in Australia.
  • George II of Greece returns to Athens from exile in England.

October[edit]

• October 1 – Mensa, an international organization for people with a high intelligence quotient (IQ), is founded by Roland Berrill, an Australian-born lawyer, and Dr Lancelot Ware, an English biochemist and lawyer, in Oxford.
• October 2 – Communists establish power in Bulgaria.
• October 6 – Sweden's Prime Minister Per Albin Hansson dies in office of a heart attack.
• October 10 – The Noakhali genocide of Hindus in Bengal begins, at the hands of Muslim mobs.
• October 11 – After a few days of vacancy, the Swedish premiership is taken over by Tage Erlander.
• October 13 – France adopts the constitution of the Fourth Republic.
• October 14 – The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is founded.
• October 15 – Nuremberg trials: Hermann Göring, founder of the Gestapo and recently convicted Nazi war criminal, poisons himself two hours before his scheduled execution.
• October 16
  • The remaining ten Nazi war criminals sentenced to death at the Nuremberg trials are executed by hanging, in a gymnasium in the Palace of Justice, Nuremberg.
  • The United Nations' first meeting in Long Island is held.
• October 23 – The United Nations General Assembly convenes for the first time, at an auditorium in Flushing, Queens, New York City.
• October 24–November 11 – 1946 Bihar riots: Hindu mobs target Muslim families in the Indian state of Bihar, resulting in anywhere between 2,000 and 30,000 deaths.

November[edit]

• November 4 – UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is established as a specialized agency of the United Nations.
• November 10 – At least 1,400 people are killed in an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter magnitude scale in the Ancash Region and Quiches DistrictinPeru.
• November 12
  • A truce is declared between Indonesian nationalist troops and the Dutch army in Indonesia.
  • In Chicago, a branch of the Exchange National Bank (later part of the Bank of America) opens the first 10 drive-up teller windows.
• November 15 – The Netherlands recognizes the Republic of Indonesia.
• November 19
  • Afghanistan, Iceland and Sweden join the United Nations.
  • 1946 Romanian general election: The Romanian Communist Party wins 79.86% of the vote, through widespread intimidation tactics and electoral fraud.
• November 23
  • Vietnamese riot in Haiphong and clash with French troops. The French cruiser Suffren opens fire, killing 6,000 Vietnamese.
  • The Workers' Party of South Korea is founded.
• November 27 – Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru appeals to the United States and the Soviet Union to end nuclear testing and to start nuclear disarmament, stating that such an action would "save humanity from the ultimate disaster."
• November 29 – The Central All-Indonesian Workers Organization (SOBSI) is founded in Jakarta.

December[edit]

• December 1 – Miguel Alemán Valdés takes office as President of Mexico.
• December 2 – The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling is signed in Washington, D.C., to "provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry" through establishment of the International Whaling Commission.
• December 7 – The Winecoff Hotel fireinAtlanta, United States, kills 119.
• December 10 – John Peters Humphrey becomes director of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• December 11 – UNICEF (the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) is founded.
• December 12
  • The United Nations severs relations with Francoist Spain and recommends that member countries sever diplomatic relations.
  • Léon Blum founds a government of socialist parties in France.
  • Iran crisis of 1946: Iranian troops recapture the Azerbaijan province.
• December 14
  • The International Labour Organization becomes a specialized agency of the United Nations.
  • Proposed United States purchase of Greenland from Denmark: An offer is made through diplomatic channels.
  • Aspen Skiing Company opens Aspen Mountain (ski area) in Colorado with Ski Lift No. 1, at 7,980 ft (2.43 km) the world's longest chairlift at this time.^[15]
• December 15
  • The first French India Representative Assembly election is held.
  • Iran crisis of 1946: Iranian troops recapture the Kurdish Republic of Mahabad.
• December 16 – Siam joins the United Nations (changes its name to Thailandin1949).
• December 19 – Viet Minh forces begin a war against French occupying forcesinVietnam, succeeding in 1954 with France's surrender at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.
• December 21 – 1946 Nankai earthquake; At least 1,362 people are killed in an earthquake and associated tsunami in Japan.
• December 22 – The Havana Conference begins between U.S. organized crime bosses in Havana, Cuba.
• December 24 – The French Fourth Republic is founded.
• December 25 – The first artificial, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction in Europe is initiated, within the Soviet (Russian) nuclear reactor F-1.
• December 31 – U.S. President Harry S. Truman delivers Proclamation 2714, which officially ends hostilities in World War II.

Date unknown[edit]

• The cancelled 1946 FIFA World Cup.
• Female suffrage is enacted in Romania, Yugoslavia, Argentina and the Canadian province of Quebec.
• The first female police officers are hired in Korea and Japan.
• The Chinese Civil War intensifies between the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party.
• Eva Perón tours Spain, Italy and France on behalf of Argentina, a circuit called the Rainbow Tour.
• The 20 mmM61 Vulcan Gatling gun contract is released.
• The Casio company is founded by engineer Tadao Kashio in Japan.
• The Magic 8 Ball was invented by Albert C. Carter and Abe Bookman.

Births[edit]

January[edit]

• January 1
  • Alfonso Caruana, Italian mobster
  • Rivellino, Brazilian football player
• January 3
  • John Paul Jones, English rock bassist (Led Zeppelin, Them Crooked Vultures)
  • Cissy King, American dancer, singer
• January 4
  • Diana Ewing, American actress
  • Lisa Appignanesi, Polish-born British-Canadian writer, novelist, and campaigner for free expression
• January 5 – Diane Keaton, American actress, film director (Annie Hall)
• January 6 – Syd Barrett, English rock guitarist, singer and songwriter (Pink Floyd) (d. 2006)
• January 8 – Robby Krieger, American rock musician (The Doors)
• January 9
  • Levon Ter-Petrosyan, President of Armenia
  • Mogens Lykketoft, Danish politician
• January 10
  • Kalidas Karmakar, Bangladeshi artist
  • Ha Yu, Hong Kong actor
• January 12 – George Duke, African-American musician (d. 2013)
• January 14
  • Feró Nagy, Hungarian singer
  • Harold Shipman, British serial killer (d. 2004)
• January 16
  • Kabir Bedi, Indian actor
  • Michael Coats, American astronaut
  • Katia Ricciarelli, Italian singer
• January 17 – Frank Bey, American blues singer (d. 2020)
• January 18
  • Paul Shmyr, Canadian former National Hockey League player (d. 2004)
  • Joseph Deiss, Swiss Federal Councillor
• January 19
  • Julian Barnes, English novelist
  • Dolly Parton, American singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman and philanthropist
• January 20 – David Lynch, American film director
• January 22
  • Malcolm McLaren, English singer, songwriter, musician and music manager (d. 2010)
  • Serge Savard, Canadian hockey player, executive
• January 23 – Arnoldo Alemán, President of Nicaragua
• January 24 – Michael Ontkean, Canadian actor (The Rookies)
• January 25 – Géza Bereményi, Hungarian writer, screenwriter and film director
• January 26
  • Gene Siskel, American film critic (Sneak Previews) (d. 1999)^[16]
  • Michel Delpech, French singer, songwriter and actor (d. 2016)
• January 27 – Nedra Talley, African-American singer (The Ronettes)
• January 29 – Bettye LaVette, African-American soul singer, songwriter
• January 30 – John Bird, Baron Bird, British social entrepreneur and life peer
• January 31 – Terry Kath, American rock musician (Chicago) (d. 1978)

February[edit]

• February 1
  • Elisabeth Sladen, English actress (d. 2011)
  • Pascal Bonitzer, French screenwriter, film director, actor, and former film critic
• February 2
  • Isaias Afwerki, President of Eritrea
  • Blake Clark, American actor, comedian
• February 4 – Ron Anderson, American vocal coach and opera singer (d. 2021)
• February 5 – Charlotte Rampling, British actress
• February 6
  • Kate McGarrigle, Canadian singer, songwriter (d. 2010)
  • Jim Turner, American politician
• February 7
  • Sammy Johns, American country music singer, songwriter (d. 2013)
  • Pete Postlethwaite, English actor (d. 2011)
  • Héctor Babenco, Argentine-Brazilian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor (d. 2016)
• February 9 – Seán Neeson, Northern Irish politician
• February 10 – Dick Anderson, American former professional football player
• February 13
  • Joe Estevez, American actor
  • Colin Matthews, British composer
  • Richard Blumenthal, American lawyer and politician
• February 14
  • Bernard Dowiyogo, 7-time President of Nauru (d. 2003)
  • Tina Aumont, American actress (d. 2006)
  • Gregory Hines, African-American dancer, actor (d. 2003)
• February 16 – Marvin Sease, American blues, and soul singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
• February 18 – Michael Buerk, British journalist and newsreader
• February 19 – Karen Silkwood, American activist (d. 1974)
• February 20
  • Brenda Blethyn, British actress
  • Sandy Duncan, American singer, dancer, comedian and actress
  • J. Geils, American guitarist (The J. Geils Band) (d. 2017)
• February 21
  • Alan Rickman, English actor, film director (d. 2016)^[17]
  • Anthony Daniels, English actor
  • Vito Rizzuto, Italian-Canadian mobster (d. 2013)
  • Monica Johnson, American screenwriter (d. 2010)
  • Tyne Daly, American actress (Cagney & Lacey)
• February 23 – Allan Boesak, South African Dutch Reformed Church cleric, politician and anti-apartheid activist
• February 24 – Jiří Bělohlávek, Czech conductor (d. 2017)
• February 25
  • Andrew Ang, judge of the Supreme Court of Singapore
  • Franz Xaver Kroetz, German dramatist^[18]
  • Jean Todt, French motorsport manager
  • Elkie Brooks, English rock, blues, and jazz singer
• February 26
  • Ahmed Zewail, Egyptian-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
  • Jiří Bělohlávek, Czech orchestral conductor (d. 2017)
  • Colin Bell, English professional footballer (d. 2021)
• February 27
  • Alexandra Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn, British aristocrat (d. 2018)
  • Jaroslav Beneš, Czech photographer
• February 28
  • Don Ciccone, American singer, songwriter (The Critters) (d. 2016)
  • Robin Cook, British politician (d. 2005)
  • Don Francisco, American Christian musician
  • Syreeta Wright, African-American singer, songwriter ("With You I'm Born Again") (d. 2004)

March[edit]

• March 1
  • Jan Kodeš, Czech tennis player
  • Lana Wood, American actress, producer
  • Tony Ashton, English rock pianist, keyboardist, singer, composer, producer and artist (d. 2001)
• March 2 – Morari Bapu, Hindu Kathakaar
• March 3 – James C. Adamson, former NASA astronaut
• March 4
  • Michael Ashcroft, English entrepreneur
  • Haile Gerima, Ethiopian filmmaker
  • Harvey Goldsmith, British impresario
• March 5
  • Murray Head, English singer, actor
  • Lova Moor, French singer, dancer
  • Rocky Bleier, American former professional football player and veteran
• March 6
  • Larry Huber, American television producer, animator
  • David Gilmour, English rock musician (Pink Floyd)
• March 7
  • John Heard, American actor (d. 2017)
  • Okko Kamu, Finnish conductor, violinist
  • Leandro Mendoza, Filipino politician (d. 2013)
  • Peter Wolf, American rock musician (The J. Geils Band)
• March 9
  • Steve Ashley, English singer-songwriter, recording artist, multi-instrumentalist, writer and graphic designer
  • Alexandra Bastedo, British actress (d. 2014)
• March 10 – Mike Hollands, Australian animator
• March 12
  • Frank Welker, American voice actor, singer
  • Liza Minnelli, American singer, actress
• March 13
  • Yonatan Netanyahu, American-born Israeli Army officer (d. in Operation Entebbe) (d. 1976)
  • Yann Arthus-Bertrand, French environmentalist, activist, journalist and photographer
• March 14
  • Álvaro Arzú, 32nd President of Guatemala (d. 2018)
  • Wes Unseld, American basketball player (d. 2020)
  • Mieke Bal, Dutch cultural theorist, video artist, and Professor Emerita
  • Molana Azizullah Bohio, Pakistani religious scholar and politician (d. 2021)
• March 15 – Bobby Bonds, American baseball player, manager (d. 2003)
• March 16 – Sigmund Groven, Norwegian classical harmonica player
• March 17 – Georges J. F. Köhler, German biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1995)^[19]
• March 18 – Larry Langford, American politician (d. 2019)
• March 19
  • Steve Halliwell, English actor (d. 2023)
  • Paul Atkinson, British guitarist and record company executive (d. 2004)
• March 21 – Timothy Dalton, Welsh actor
• March 23 – Qamaruzzaman Azmi, Indian Islamic scholar, philosopher, speaker, and president of the World Islamic Mission
• March 25
  • Cliff Balsom, English footballer
  • Stewart W. Bainum Jr., American businessman and politician
• March 26 – Gil Carlos Rodríguez Iglesias, Spanish judge (d. 2019)
• March 27
  • Mike Jackson, American baseball pitcher
  • Miklós Lukáts, Hungarian politician (d. 2022)^[20]
• March 28 – Alejandro Toledo, 63rd President of Peru
• March 29
  • Segun Bucknor, Nigerian musician, journalist (d. 2017)
  • Billy Thorpe, English-born Australian singer, songwriter (d. 2007)
• March 30 – Carolyn Simpson, judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
• March 31
  • Gonzalo Márquez, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player (d. 1984)
  • F'Murr, French comics artist (d. 2018)

April[edit]

• April 1 – Ronnie Lane, English musician (Small Faces, Faces) (d. 1997)
• April 2
  • Hamengkubuwono X, Sultan of the historic Yogyakarta SultanateinIndonesia, the current Governor of Yogyakarta Special Region
  • Beno Axionov, Russian-Moldovan actor, director, drama teacher, screenwriter
• April 3 – Hanna Suchocka, Prime Minister of Poland^[21]
• April 4 – Dave Hill, English guitarist (Slade)
• April 5
  • Jane Asher, English actress
  • János Bródy, Hungarian singer, guitarist, composer and songwriter
  • Björn Granath, Swedish actor (d. 2017)
• April 6 – Paul Beresford, British-New Zealander politician
• April 7
  • Colette Besson, French track and field athlete (d. 2005)
  • Léon Krier, Luxembourgian architect
  • Zaid Abdul-Aziz, American former professional basketball player
• April 8
  • Catfish Hunter, American baseball player (d. 1999)
  • Tim Thomerson, American actor and comedian
• April 10 – David Angell, American television producer (d. 2001)
• April 11 – Chris Burden, American artist (d. 2015)
• April 12 – Ed O'Neill, American actor (Married... with Children)
• April 13 – Al Green, African-American singer, songwriter and record producer
• April 15 – Marsha Hunt, American actress, singer and novelist
• April 16 – Margot Adler, American journalist
• April 18 – Hayley Mills, English actress
• April 19 – Tim Curry, British actor, voice artist and singer (The Rocky Horror Picture Show)
• April 20
  • Julien Poulin, Canadian actor
  • Ricardo Maduro, President of Honduras
• April 22
  • John Waters, American film director
  • Paul Davies, English physicist
  • Allahverdi Baghirov, (d. 1992) Azerbaijani officer, former leader of the Azerbaijani Popular Front Party of Agdam, and head coach of Qarabağ FK
• April 23
  • Rosy Afsari, Bangladeshi actress (d. 2007)
  • Blair Brown, American actress
• April 24
  • Phil Robertson, American businessman and reality television personality
  • Kamla Bhasin, Indian developmental feminist activist, poet, author and social scientist (d. 2021)
  • Ronnie Bird, French singer
• April 25
  • John Fox, British statistician
  • Talia Shire, American actress (Rocky)
  • Strobe Talbott, American journalist
  • Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Russian politician (d. 2022)^[22]
• April 26
  • Jennie Stoller, British actress (d. 2018)
  • Richard S. Fuld Jr., American banker
• April 28
  • Nour El-Sherif, Egyptian actor (d. 2015)
  • Beverly Bivens, American singer (We Five)
• April 29
  • Franc Roddam, English film director, businessman, screenwriter, television producer and publisher
  • Cliven Bundy, American cattle rancher
• April 30
  • King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden^[23]
  • Bill Plympton, American animator, graphic designer, cartoonist, and filmmaker
  • Lee Bollinger, American attorney and educator

May[edit]

• May 1 – Joanna Lumley, English actress, author
• May 2
  • Lesley Gore, American rock singer ("It's My Party") (d. 2015)
  • Ralf Gothóni, Finnish pianist, conductor and composer
• May 3 – Mohammed Ibrahim, businessman and philanthropist
• May 4
  • John Watson, Northern Irish racecar driver
  • John Barnard, English engineer and racing car designer
  • Gary Bauer, American civil servant, activist, and politician
• May 5
  • Jim Kelly, African-American actor, martial artist and tennis player (d. 2013)
  • Kebby Musokotwane, Prime Minister of Zambia (d. 1996)
  • Beth Carvalho, Brazilian samba singer, guitarist and composer (d. 2019)
  • Eddie Aikau, Hawaiian lifeguard and surfer (d. 1978)
• May 6
  • Daouda Malam Wanké, 6th President of Niger (d. 2004)
  • Susan Brown, English actress
• May 7
  • Thelma Houston, African-American singer ("Don't Leave Me This Way")
  • Bill Kreutzmann, American drummer (Grateful Dead)
  • Michael Rosen, British novelist, poet
• May 9
  • Candice Bergen, American actress
  • Yoel Bin-Nun, Israeli religious Zionist rabbi and one of the founders of Yeshivat Har Etzion, Gush Emunim, Michlelet Herzog, Alon Shevut and Ofra
• May 10
  • Donovan, Scottish rock musician ("Sunshine Superman")
  • Birutė Galdikas, Canadian anthropologist, primatologist, conservationist, ethologist and author
  • Graham Gouldman, English songwriter, musician (10cc, Wax)
  • Dave Mason, English rock musician (Traffic)
  • Murade Isaac Murargy, Mozambican diplomat, politician
• May 11
  • Robert Jarvik, American physicist, artificial heart inventor
  • Ana Amado, Argentine journalist, filmmaker, academic and feminist (d. 2016)
• May 12 – Richard Bruce Silverman, John Evans Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University
• May 13
  • Tim Pigott-Smith, English actor, author (d. 2017)
  • Basil Al Bayati, Iraqi-born architect and designer
• May 14
  • Claudia Goldin, American economic historian, recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences^[24]
  • Paul Broun, American physician and politician
  • Elmar Brok, German politician
• May 15 – Aly Bain, Scottish fiddler
• May 16
  • Robert Fripp, British musician
  • Olav Anton Thommessen, Norwegian composer
• May 17 – Udo Lindenberg, German musician^[25]
• May 18
  • Reggie Jackson, American baseball player^[26]
  • Andreas Katsulas, American actor (d. 2006)
  • Ken Kwaku, Ghanaian corporate governance expert
• May 19
  • André the Giant, French professional wrestler and actor (d. 1993)
  • Claude Lelièvre, Belgian Commissioner for Children Rights
  • Roger Sloman, English actor
  • Carlos Alberto de Barros Franco, Brazilian physician and professor
• May 20
  • Craig Patrick, American-Canadian hockey player, coach and manager
  • Cher, American actress, rock singer
• May 22
  • George Best, Northern Irish footballer (d. 2005)
  • Howard Kendall, English footballer (d. 2015)
• May 23
  • Frederik de Groot, Dutch actor
  • Gary Barnett, former American football player and coach
• May 24
  • Tansu Çiller, Turkish politician, Prime Minister of Turkey^[27]
  • Irena Szewińska, Polish Olympic sprinter (d. 2018)
  • Nicolau dos Reis Lobato, East Timorese politician, acting President of East Timor (d. 1978)
  • Jackie Berroyer, French actor, comedian and writer
• May 26 – Mick Ronson, English guitarist (d. 1993)
• May 27 – Alma Adams, American politician
• May 28
  • Bruce Alexander, English actor
  • K. Satchidanandan, Malayalam poet
• May 29 – Fernando Buesa, Basque politician (d. 2000)
• May 30
  • Dragan Džajić, Serbian footballer
  • Candy Lightner, American founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving
• May 31 – Adriana Bittel, Romanian writer

June[edit]

• June 1 – Brian Cox, Scottish actor
• June 2
  • Peter Sutcliffe, English serial killer (d. 2020)
  • Tomomichi Nishimura, Japanese voice actor
• June 3 – Michael Clarke, American musician (d. 1993)
• June 4
  • Mahmoud Abdel Aziz, Egyptian actor (d. 2016)
  • S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer (d. 2020)
• June 5 – Stefania Sandrelli, Italian actress
• June 7
  • Jenny Jones, Palestinian-Canadian comedian, talk show hostess
  • Zbigniew Seifert, Polish musician (d. 1979)^[28]
  • Robert Tilton, American televangelist, author
• June 8 – Pearlette Louisy, Governor-General of St. Lucia
• June 9 – Kenneth Adelman, American diplomat, political writer, policy analyst and Shakespeare scholar
• June 10 – Fernando Balzaretti, Mexican actor (d. 1998)
• June 11 – Biancamaria Frabotta, Italian writer (d. 2022)^[29]
• June 13
  • Paul L. Modrich, American biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
  • Paul Buckmaster, (d. 2017) British cellist, arranger, conductor and composer
• June 14 – Donald Trump, American businessman, television personality, 45th President of the United States
• June 15
  • Noddy Holder, English rock singer (Slade)
  • Janet Lennon, American singer (The Lennon Sisters)
  • Demis Roussos, Greek singer (d. 2015)
• June 16
  • Rick Adelman, American former professional basketball player and coach
  • John Astor, 3rd Baron Astor of Hever, English businessman and politician
• June 17 – Marcy Kaptur, U.S. Representative for the Ninth Congressional District of Ohio
• June 18
  • Bruiser Brody, American professional wrestler (d. 1988)
  • Russell Ash, British author (d. 2010)
  • Fabio Capello, Italian football player, manager
  • Maria Bethânia, Brazilian singer and songwriter
• June 21
  • Vincenzo Camporini, Italian Chief of the Defence General Staff
  • Kiril Ivkov, Bulgarian football defender
• June 22
  • Kay Redfield Jamison, American psychiatrist
  • Fabio Enzo, Italian football player (d. 2021)
  • Józef Oleksy, 7th Prime Minister of Poland (d. 2015)
• June 23 – Ted Shackelford, American actor
• June 24
  • Nguyễn Đức Soát, Vietnamese general
  • Ellison Onizuka, American astronaut (d. 1986)
  • Robert Reich, 22nd United States Secretary of Labor
• June 25
  • Stan Bunn, American politician and lawyer
  • Henk van Kessel, Dutch road racer
• June 26
  • Maria von Welser, German TV journalist, President of UNICEF Germany
  • Anthony John Valentine Obinna, Nigerian priest
  • Leo Rossi, American actor
  • Ricky Jay, American actor, author, and magician (d. 2018)
• June 27 – Russ Critchfield, American basketball player
• June 28
  • David Duckham, English rugby union player
  • Gilda Radner, American comedian, actress (Saturday Night Live) (d. 1989)
  • Jaime Guzmán, Chilean lawyer and senator, founder of the Independent Democratic Union (d. 1991)
  • Robert Asprin, American science fiction and fantasy author and active fan (d. 2008)
• June 29
  • Egon von Fürstenberg, Swiss fashion designer (d. 2004)
  • Gitte Hænning, Danish singer
  • Ram Gopal Yadav, Indian politician
  • Ernesto Pérez Balladares, President of Panama
• June 30
  • Allan Hunter, Irish footballer, manager
  • William J. Boarman, American printer and civil servant (d. 2021)