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1962

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1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1962nd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 962nd year of the 2nd millennium, the 62nd year of the 20th century, and the 3rd year of the 1960s decade.

The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a nuclear confrontation during the Cold War.

Events[edit]

January[edit]

• January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand.
• January 3 – The office of Pope John XXIII announces the excommunicationofFidel Castro for preaching communism and interfering with Catholic churches in Cuba.
• January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the worst Dutch rail disaster.
• January 9 – Cuba and the Soviet Union sign a trade pact.
• January 12 – The Indonesian Army confirms that it has begun operations in West Irian.
• January 13 – Albania allies itself with the People's Republic of China.
• January 15 – Portugal abandons the U.N. General Assembly, due to the debate over Angola.
• January 16 – A military coup occurs in the Dominican Republic.
• January 19 – A counter-coup occurs in the Dominican Republic; the old government returns, except for the new president Rafael Filiberto Bonnelly.
• January 22 – The Organization of American States suspends Cuba's membership; the suspension is lifted in 2009 (47 years later).
• January 24 – The Organisation armée secrète (OAS) bombs the French Foreign Ministry.
• January 26 – Ranger 3 is launched to study the Moon; it later misses the Moon by 22,000 mi (35,000 km).
• January 27 – The Soviet government changes all place names honoring Molotov, Kaganovich and Georgy Malenkov.
• January 30 – Two of the high-wire "Flying Wallendas" are killed, when their famous seven-person pyramid collapses during a performance in Detroit.

February[edit]

• February 3 – The United States embargo against Cuba is announced.
• February 4–5 – During a new moon and solar eclipse, an extremely rare grand conjunction of the classical planets occurs (it includes all five of the naked-eye planets plus the Sun and Moon), all of them within 16° of one another on the ecliptic. A total solar eclipse is visible in Asia, Australia and the Pacific Ocean, and is the 49th solar eclipse of Solar Saros 130.
• February 5 – French President Charles de Gaulle calls for Algeria to be granted independence.
• February 7
  • The United States embargo against Cuba comes into effect, prohibiting all U.S.-related Cuban imports and exports.
  • Luisenthal Mine Disaster: A coal mine explosion in Saarland, West Germany kills 299.
• February 10 – Captured American spy pilot Francis Gary Powers is exchanged for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel, in Berlin.
• February 11 – The inaugural 24 Hours of Daytona sports car endurance race is run as a 3-hour event, at Daytona Beach, Florida.
• February 12 – Six members of the Committee of 100 of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in the U.K. are found guilty of a breach of the Official Secrets Act.
• February 14 – First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy takes television viewers on a tour of the White House.
• February 15 – Urho Kekkonen is re-elected president of Finland.
• February 17 – Heavy storms and high tides result in the North Sea flood of 1962 on Germany's North Sea coast, mainly around Hamburg; more than 300 people die and thousands lose their homes.
• February 18 – 1962 NHRA Winternationals: Carol Cox becomes the first woman allowed to race at a National Hot Rod Association national event; she wins in the Super Stock class.
• February 20 – Project Mercury: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth, three times in 4 hours, 55 minutes.
• February 21 – Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev first dance together in a Royal Ballet performance of Giselle, in London.

March[edit]

• March–May – Yi–Ta incident: At least 60,000 Chinese citizens migrate from the People's Republic of China to the Soviet Union, predominantly (but not exclusively) ethnic Kazakhs.^[1]
• March 1
  • Hulk, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, is introduced by Marvel Comics with the publication of The Incredible Hulk #1 as the first issue of the comic book, with cover date of May 1962.
  • American Airlines Flight 1 (aBoeing 707) crashes on takeoff at New York International Airport, after a rudder malfunction causes an uncontrolled roll, resulting in the loss of control of the aircraft, with the loss of all 95 on board.
  • The S. S. Kresge Company opens its first Kmart discount store in Garden City, Michigan.
• March 2 – A military coup in Burma brings General Ne Win to power.
• March 7 – Ash Wednesday Storm: A snow storm batters the Mid-Atlantic.
• March 8–12 – In Geneva, France and the Algerian FLN begin negotiations.
• March 15 – Katangan Prime Minister Moise Tshombe begins negotiations to rejoin the Congo.
• March 16 – Flying Tiger Line Flight 739, a Lockheed L-1049H Super Constellation chartered by the United States Military Air Transport Service, and carrying mainly United States Army personnel bound for South Vietnam, vanishes over the western Pacific Ocean, with the loss of all 107 on board (no wreckage or bodies are ever found).
• March 18
  • Évian Accords: France and Algeria sign an agreement in Évian-les-Bains, ending the Algerian War.
  • "Un premier amour", sung by Isabelle Aubret (music by Claude-Henri Vic, lyrics by Roland Stephane Valade), wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1962 (staged in Luxembourg) for France.
• March 19 – An armistice begins in Algeria; however, the OAS continues its terrorist attacks against Algerians
• March 23 – The Scandinavian States of the Nordic Council sign the Helsinki Convention on Nordic Co-operation.
• March 24 – OAS leader Edmond Jouhaud is arrested in Oran.
• March 26 – France shortens the term for military service from 26 months to 18.

April[edit]

• April 3 – Jawaharlal Nehru is elected de facto Prime Minister of India, for the fourth time.^[2]
• April 6 – Belgium reestablishes diplomatic relations with the Congo.
• April 7 – Milovan Đilas, author and former vice-president of Yugoslavia is re-arrested.
• April 8 – In France, the Évian Accords are adopted in a referendum, with a majority of 90%.
• April 9 – The 34th Academy Awards Ceremony is held; West Side Story wins Best Picture.
• April 13 – OAS leader Edmond Jouhaud is sentenced to death in France.
• April 14 – A Cuban military tribunal convicts 1,179 Bay of Pigs attackers.
• April 18 – The Commonwealth Immigration Bill in the United Kingdom removes free immigration from the citizens of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations.
• April 20 – OAS leader Raoul Salan is arrested in Algiers.
• April 21 – The Century 21 Exposition World's Fair opens in Seattle, United States.
• April 26 – The Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon.

May[edit]

• May 1
  • Norwich City F.C. wins the English Football League Cup, beating Rochdale in the final.
  • Dayton Hudson Corporation opens the first of its Target discount stores, in Roseville, Minnesota.
• May 2
  • An OAS bomb explodes in Algeria; this and other attacks kill 110 and injure 147.
  • S.L. Benfica beats FC Barcelona 5–3 at the Olympic Stadium (Amsterdam), to win the 1961–62 European Cup in association football.
• May 3 – Mikawashima train crash: 160 die in a triple-train disaster near Tokyo.
• May 5 – Twelve East Germans escape to the West via a tunnel under the Berlin Wall.
• May 6
  • Antonio Segni is elected President of the Italian Republic.
  • A test of a W47 warhead fired from a Polaris missile, the only time a nuclear missile has been test fired with its warhead detonated, occurs near Palmyra Atoll south of Hawaii.
• May 14
  • Juan Carlos of Spain marries the Greek Princess Sophia in Athens.
  • Milovan Đilas is given a further sentence in Yugoslavia, for publishing Conversations with Stalin.
• May 22 – Continental Airlines Flight 11 crashes near Unionville, Missouri, after the in-flight detonation of a bomb near the rear lavatory; all 45 passengers and crew aboard are killed.
• May 23
  • Drilling for the new Montreal Subway commences.
  • Raoul Salan, founder of the French terrorist Organisation armée secrète, is sentenced to life imprisonment in France.
  • Ruben Jaramillo, Mexican peasant leader, and his wife and children, are gunned down by the Mexican army and federal police in Xochitepec, Morelos, Mexico.
• May 24 – Project Mercury: Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth 3 times, in the Aurora 7 space capsule.
• May 25 – The new Coventry Cathedral is consecrated in England.
• May 29 – Negotiations between the OAS and the FLA lead to a real armistice in Algeria.
• May 30 – The 1962 FIFA World Cup begins in Chile.

June[edit]

• June – Rachel Carson's Silent Spring begins serialization in The New Yorker; it is released as a book on September 27 in the U.S., giving rise to the modern environmentalist movement.
• June 3 – Air France Flight 007 (aBoeing 707) crashes on take-off at Orly AirportinParis; 130 of 132 people on board are killed, 2 flight attendants survive. Most victims are cultural and civic leaders of Atlanta.
• June 5 – Spider-Man, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, was introduced by Marvel Comics with the publication of Amazing Fantasy #15 with a cover date of August 1962.
• June 11
  • President John F. Kennedy gives the commencement addressatYale University.
  • Frank Lee Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin escape from the Alcatraz Island prison
• June 15 – Students for a Democratic Society in the United States complete the Port Huron Statement.
• June 17
  • The OAS signs a truce with the FLN in Algeria, but a day later announces that it will continue the fight on behalf of French Algerians.
  • Brazil beats Czechoslovakia 3–1, to win the 1962 FIFA World Cup.
• June 22 – Air France Flight 117 (aBoeing 707 jet) crashes into terrain during bad weather in Guadeloupe, West Indies, killing all 113 on board, the airline's second fatal accident in just 3 weeks, and the third fatal 707 crash of the year.
• June 25
  • Engel v. Vitale: The United States Supreme Court rules that mandatory prayers in public schools are unconstitutional.
  • MANual Enterprises v. Day: The United States Supreme Court rules that photographs of nude men are not obscene, decriminalizing nude male pornographic magazines.
  • İsmet İnönü of the CHP forms the new government of Turkey (27th government, coalition partners; YTP and CKMP).
• June 26 – A 2-day steel strike begins in Italy, in support of increased wages and a five-day working week.
• June 30 – The last soldiers of the French Foreign Legion leave Algeria.

July[edit]

• July 1
  • Rwanda and Burundi gain independence.
  • Algerian independence referendum, 1962: Supporters of Algerian independence win a 99% majority in a referendum.
  • A heavy smog develops over London.
  • The Helsinki Convention on Nordic Co-operation of March 23 comes into force in the Nordic countries.
• July 2
  • Charles de Gaulle accepts Algerian independence; the French government recognizes it the next day.
  • The first Walmart store, at this time known as Wal-Mart, opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas.
• July 5 – Algeria becomes independent from France.
• July 6 – Gay Byrne presents the first edition of The Late Late ShowonRTÉ in the Republic of Ireland. Byrne goes on to present the show for 37 years, the longest period through which any individual hosts a televised talk show anywhere in the world, and the show itself becomes the world's second longest-running talk show.
• July 9 – American artist Andy Warhol premieres his Campbell's Soup Cans exhibit in Los Angeles.
• July 10 – AT&T's Telstar, the world's first commercial communications satellite, is launched into orbit and activated the next day.
• July 12 – The Rolling Stones make their debut at London's Marquee Club, opening for Long John Baldry.
• July 13 – In what the press dubs "the Night of the Long Knives", United Kingdom Prime Minister Harold Macmillan dismisses one-third of his Cabinet.
• July 14 – Norma NolanofArgentina crowned Miss Universe 1962.
• July 17 – Nuclear testing: The "Small Boy" test shot Little Feller I becomes the last atmospheric test detonation, at the Nevada Test Site.
• July 19 – The first annual Swiss & Wielder Hoop and Stick Tournament is held.
• July 20 – France and Tunisia reestablish diplomatic relations.
• July 22 – Mariner program: The Mariner 1 spacecraft flies erratically several minutes after launch, and has to be destroyed.
• July 23 – Telstar relays the first live trans-Atlantic television signal.
• July 25
  • The first armed helicopter company of the United States Army is formed at Okinawa, Japan.^[3]
  • The International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos is signed in Geneva.
• July 31
  • Algeria proclaims independence; Ahmed Ben Bella is the first President.
  • A crowd assaults the rally of Sir Oswald Mosley's right-wing Union Movement in London.
  • Anannular solar eclipse is visible in South America, the Atlantic Ocean, Africa and the Indian Ocean, and is the 36th solar eclipse of Solar Saros 135.

August[edit]

• August 5
  • Death of Marilyn Monroe: Marilyn Monroe is found dead from an overdose of sleeping pills and chloral hydrate at her home in Brentwood, Los Angeles; it is officially ruled a "probable suicide" (the exact cause has been disputed).
  • Nelson Mandela is arrested by the South African government near Howick, and charged with incitement to rebellion.
• August 6 – Jamaica becomes independent.
• August 11 – King Kong vs. Godzilla is released in Japan, becoming the first Godzilla & King Kong film in colour. It also became the 3rd film in both franchises.
• August 15 – The New York Agreement is signed, trading the West New Guinea colony to Indonesia.
• August 16 – Algeria joins the Arab League.
• August 17 – East German border guards kill 18-year-old Peter Fechter, as he attempts to cross the Berlin Wall into West Berlin.
• August 18 – Norway launches its 1st sounding rocket, Ferdinand 1 from Andøya Space Center and becomes a space nation.^[4]
• August 22 – An assassination attempt is made against French President Charles de Gaulle.
• August 24
  • A group of armed Cuban exile terrorists fire at a hotel in Havana from a speedboat.
  • Indonesia officially launched television with the establishment of TVRI television network or Televisi Republik Indonesia (Indonesian National Channel)
• August 27 – NASA launches the Mariner 2 space probe.
• August 31 – Trinidad and Tobago becomes independent.

September[edit]

• September 1
  • Areferendum in Singapore supports the Malayan Federation.
  • Typhoon Wanda strikes Hong Kong, killing at least 130 and injuring more than 600.
• September 2 – The Soviet Union agrees to send arms to Cuba.
• September 8 – Newly independent Algeria, by referendum, adopts a constitution.
• September 12 – President John F. Kennedy, at a speechatRice University, reaffirms that the U.S. will put a man on the Moon by the end of the decade.
• September 19 – Atlantic College opens its doors for the first time in Wales, marking the birth of the pioneering United World College educational movement.^[5]
• September 21 – A border conflict between China and India erupts into fighting.
• September 22 – Bob Dylan premieres his song "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall", at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
• September 25 – Sonny Liston knocks out Floyd Patterson two minutes into the first round of his fight, for the boxing world title in Chicago.
• September 26 – The North Yemen Civil War erupts.
• September 27 – A flash floodinBarcelona, Spain, kills more than 440 people.
• September 29 – The Canadian Alouette 1, the first satellite built outside the United States and the Soviet Union, is launched from Vandenberg Air Force BaseinCalifornia.

October[edit]

• October 3 – Project Mercury: Mercury-Atlas 8 – Walter Schirra orbits the Earth six times, in the Sigma 7 space capsule.
• October 5
  • The French National Assembly censures the proposed referendum to sanction presidential elections by popular mandate; Prime Minister Georges Pompidou resigns, but President de Gaulle asks him to stay in office.
  • The Beatles' first single in their own right, "Love Me Do"/"P.S. I Love You", is released in the U.K. on EMI's Parlophone label.^[6] This version is recorded on September 4, at Abbey Road StudiosinLondon, with Ringo Starr as drummer.
  • Dr. No, the first James Bond film, premieres at the London Pavilion, featuring Sean Connery as the hero.
• October 8
  • The German magazine Der Spiegel publishes an article about the Bundeswehr's poor preparedness; the Spiegel scandal erupts.
  • Algeria is accepted into the United Nations.
• October 9 – Uganda becomes independent within the Commonwealth of Nations.
• October 11 – Second Vatican Council: Pope John XXIII convenes the first ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church in 92 years.

• October 16 – The beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis: A U-2 flight over Cuba in the Caribbean photographs Soviet nuclear weapons being installed. A stand-off then ensues for another 12 days, after President Kennedy is told of the pictures, between the United States and the Soviet Union, threatening the world with nuclear war.
• October 20 – The Sino-Indian War, a border dispute involving two of the world's largest nations (India and the People's Republic of China), begins.
• October 22 – Cuban Missile Crisis: In a televised address, U.S. President John F. Kennedy announces the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba.
• October 24 – Cuban Missile Crisis: The first confrontation occurs between the U.S. Navy and a Soviet cargo vessel; the vessel changes course.
• October 26 – Spiegel scandal: German police occupy the offices of Der SpiegelinHamburg.
• October 27 – Cuban Missile Crisis: Vasily Arkhipov, executive officer of Soviet submarine B-59, refuses to launch nuclear torpedoes against the U.S. Navy. This event is widely regarded to be crucial in averting a worldwide nuclear war.^[7]
• October 28
  • The end of the Cuban Missile Crisis: Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that he has ordered the removal of Soviet missile bases in Cuba. In a secret deal between Kennedy and Khrushchev, Kennedy agrees to the withdrawal of U.S. missiles from Turkey. The fact that this deal is not made public makes it look as though the Soviets have backed down.^{[dubious – discuss]}
  • A referendum in France favors the election of the president by universal suffrage.
• October 31 – The United Nations General Assembly asks the United Kingdom to suspend enforcement of the new constitution in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), but it comes into effect on November 1.

November[edit]

• November – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's novella One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (Russian: Оди́н день Ива́на Дени́совича, Odin den' Ivana Denisovicha), the author's pseudo-autobiographical account of life in the gulag, is published in Novy Mir, in an unprecedented acknowledgement of the Soviet Union's Stalinist past.
• November – Slavery in Saudi Arabia is abolished.
• November 1
  • The Soviet Union begins dismantling its missiles in Cuba.
  • The comic book antihero Diabolik first appears in Italy.
• November 3 – Earliest recorded use of the term "personal computer", in the report of a speech by computing pioneer John MauchlyinThe New York Times.^[8]
• November 5
  • West German defense minister Franz Josef Strauß is relieved of his duties over the Spiegel scandal, due to his alleged involvement in police action against the magazine.
  • Saudi Arabia breaks off diplomatic relations with Egypt, following a period of unrest, partly caused by the defection of several Saudi princes to Egypt.
  • A coal mining disaster in Ny-Ålesund kills 21 people; the Norwegian government is forced to resign in the aftermath of this accident, in August 1963.
• November 6 – Apartheid: The United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution condemning South Africa's racist apartheid policies and calls for all UN member states to cease military and economic relations with the nation.
• November 17 – Dulles International Airport, in Washington, D.C., is dedicated by President John F. Kennedy.
• November 20 – Cuban Missile Crisis: In response to the Soviet Union agreeing to remove its missiles from Cuba, President John F. Kennedy ends the blockade of the island.
• November 21 – The Sino-Indian War ends with a Chinese ceasefire.
• November 23 – United Airlines Flight 297 crashes in Columbia, Maryland, killing all 17 on board.
• November 24 – The first episode of That Was the Week That Was, the groundbreaking satirical comedy program hosted by David Frost, is broadcast on BBC Television in the United Kingdom.
• November 26
  • Spiegel scandal: German police end their occupation of Der Spiegel's offices.
  • Mies Bouwman starts presenting the first live TV-marathon fundraising show (Open Het Dorp in the Netherlands), which lasts 23 hours non-stop.
• November 27 – French President Charles De Gaulle orders Georges Pompidou to form a government.
• November 29 – An agreement is signed between Britain and France, to develop the Concorde supersonic airliner.
• November 30 – The United Nations General Assembly elects U ThantofBurma, as the new Secretary-General of the United Nations.

December[edit]

• December 2 – Vietnam War: After a trip to Vietnam at the request of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield becomes the first American official to make a pessimistic public comment on the war's progress.
• December 7 – Rainier III, Prince of Monaco revises the principality's constitution, devolving some of his formerly autocratic power to several advisory and legislative councils.
• December 8
  • The first period of the Second Vatican Council closes.
  • The North Kalimantan National Army revolts in Brunei, in the first stirrings of the Indonesian Confrontation.
  • The 1962–63 New York City newspaper strike begins, affecting all of the city's major newspapers; it will last for 114 days.
  • Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, who died on November 28, is buried at the Nieuwe Kerk (Delft).
  • The Wedding Day of Stuart and Gwen Flower in Hull
• December 9 – Tanganyika (modern-day Tanzania) becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, with Julius Nyerere as president.
• December 10 – David Lean's epic film Lawrence of Arabia, featuring Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins and Anthony Quinn, premieres in London; 6 days later, it opens in the U.S.
• December 11
  • In West Germany, a coalition government of Christian Democrats, Christian Socialists and Free Democrats is formed.
  • The last execution by hanging is carried out in Canada.
• December 14
  • U.S. spacecraft Mariner 2 passes by Venus, becoming the first spacecraft to transmit data from another planet.
  • Leonardo da Vinci's early 16th-century painting the Mona Lisa is assessed for insurance purposes at US$100 million before touring the United States for several months, the highest insurance value for a painting in history. However, the Louvre, its owner, chooses to spend the money that would have been spent on the insurance premium on security instead.
• December 15 – Storm over the North Sea: Belgian pirate radio station Radio Uylenspiegel is knocked off the airwaves, never to operate again.
• December 19 – Britain acknowledges the right of Nyasaland (modern-day Malawi) to secede from the Central African Federation.
• December 24 – Cuba releases the last 1,113 participants in the Bay of Pigs Invasion to the U.S., in exchange for food worth $53 million.
• December 30
  • United Nations troops occupy the last rebel positions in Katanga; Moise Tshombe moves to South Rhodesia.
  • An unexpected storm buries Maine under five feet of snow, forcing the Bangor Daily News to miss a publication date for the only time in history. The same day, also, the Netherlands are covered with several feet of snow.

Date unknown[edit]

• The laser diode is invented.
• Slavery in Yemen is abolished.

Births[edit]

January[edit]

• January 3 – Ginette Amara, Central African academician, veterinarian, and politician.^[9]
• January 4
  • Laila Elwi, Egyptian actress
  • Peter Steele, American musician (Type O Negative) (d. 2010)^[10]
  • Natalya Bochina, Russian athlete
• January 5 – Suzy Amis Cameron, American actress and model^[11]
• January 7
  • Ron Rivera, American football player and coach^[12]
  • Hallie Todd, American actress, producer and writer
• January 8 – Paraguayo Cubas, Paraguayan politician
• January 9 – Cecilia Gabriela, Mexican actress
• January 17
  • Jim Carrey, Canadian actor and comedian
  • Karl Davis, African-American fashion designer (d. 1987)
  • Denis O'Hare, American-Irish actor
• January 21
  • Tyler Cowen, American economist
  • Marie Trintignant, French actress (d. 2003)
• January 22
  • Lyudmila Dzhigalova, Russian athlete
  • Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu, Yang di-Pertuan AgongofMalaysia
• January 23
  • Stephen Keshi, Nigerian footballer and manager (d. 2016)
  • Richard Roxburgh, Australian actor
• January 25 – Chris Chelios, American ice hockey player
• January 29 – Olga Tokarczuk, Polish novelist, Nobel Prize laureate^[13]
• January 30
  • King Abdullah II of Jordan
  • Mary Kay Letourneau, American child rapist (d. 2020)^[14]

February[edit]

• February 1 – Takashi Murakami, Japanese pop artist^[15]
• February 2 – Kátia Abreu, Brazilian politician
• February 5
  • Jennifer Jason Leigh, American actress
  • Martin Nievera, Filipino singer
• February 6 – Axl Rose, American musician, singer/songwriter of Guns N' Roses
• February 7
  • Garth Brooks, American singer and songwriter
  • David Bryan, American musician (Bon Jovi)
  • Eddie Izzard, British actor and comedian
• February 8
  • Malorie Blackman, British author of young adult fiction
  • Timothy Britten Parker, American actor
• February 9
  • Lolo Ferrari, French actress (d. 2000)
  • Zoë Lund, American musician, model, actress, author, producer, political activist, and screenwriter (d. 1999)
  • Dennis Padilla, Filipino comedian, TV host, radio broadcaster, and actor
  • Dany Roland, Argentine-born Brazilian drummer, sound designer, actor, film director, and record producer
• February 10
  • Cliff Burton, American musician and songwriter (d. 1986)
  • Bobby Czyz, American boxer
• February 11 – Sheryl Crow, American singer-songwriter
• February 12
  • Nana Ioseliani, Georgian chess player
  • Jimmy Kirkwood, Irish field hockey player
• February 13
  • Michele Greene, American actress
  • Jackie Silva, Brazilian volleyball player^[16]
• February 14 – Ken Oosterbroek, South African photojournalist (d. 1994)
• February 17
  • Alison Hargreaves, British mountain climber (d. 1995)
  • Lou Diamond Phillips, American actor
• February 19 – Nabila Khashoggi, American businesswoman, actress, and philanthropist
• February 20 – Eduardo de Almeida Navarro, Brazilian philologist and lexicographer
• February 21
  • Vanessa Feltz, British television presenter
  • Chuck Palahniuk, American author
  • David Foster Wallace, American writer (d. 2008)^[17]
• February 22
  • Steve Irwin, Australian zookeeper, television personality, wildlife expert, environmentalist, and conservationist (d. 2006)
  • Ethan Wayne, American actor
• February 25 – Birgit Fischer, German kayaker
• February 26 – Domingos Montagner, Brazilian actor, playwright, and entrepreneur (d. 2016)
• February 27
  • Adam Baldwin, American actor
  • Grant Show, American actor
• February 28 – Angela Bailey, Canadian track and field athlete (d. 2021)

March[edit]

• March 2
  • Jon Bon Jovi, American musician^[18]
  • Raimo Summanen, Finnish ice hockey player and coach^[19]
  • Scott La Rock, American disc jockey (d. 1987)
• March 3 – Jackie Joyner-Kersee, American athlete^[20]
• March 6
  • Rita Sargsyan, Armenian First Lady (d. 2020)^[21]
  • Erika Hess, Swiss alpine skier^[22]
• March 7 – Taylor Dayne, American singer, songwriter and actress^[23]
• March 10
  • Jasmine Guy, American actress, director, singer and dancer^[24]
  • Seiko Matsuda, Japanese pop singer and songwriter^[25]
• March 11 – Achmad Yurianto, Indonesian military doctor and bureaucrat (d. 2022).^[26]
• March 12 – Julia Campbell, American actress
• March 14 – Tsvetanka Khristova, Bulgarian athlete (d. 2008)^[27]
• March 16 – Branco Mello, Brazilian singer, actor and writer
• March 17 – Kalpana Chawla, American astronaut (d. 2003)
• March 19 – Iván Calderón, Puerto Rican Major League Baseball player (d. 2003)
• March 20 – Stephen Sommers, American film director
• March 21
  • Matthew Broderick, American actor and singer^[28]
  • Rosie O'Donnell, American comedian, actress, talk-show host and activist^[29]
• March 23
  • Bassel al-Assad, Syrian politician, engineer and equestrian (d. 1994)^[30]
  • Sir Steve Redgrave, English rower ^[31]
• March 25
  • Fernando Martín Espina, Spanish basketball player (d. 1989)
  • Marcia Cross, American actress
• March 26 – John Stockton, American basketball player
• March 27 – Jann Arden, Canadian singer^[32]
• March 29 – Ted Failon, Filipino broadcast journalist and radio commentator
• March 30
  • Mark Begich, American politician
  • MC Hammer, American rapper and actor
  • Michael Rooney, American choreographer
  • Gary Stevens, English international footballer and manager

April[edit]

• April 2 – Clark Gregg, American actor, director, and screenwriter^[33]
• April 3 – Jaya Prada, Indian actress and politician^[34]
• April 5 – Sara Danius, Swedish writer and academic (d. 2019)^[35]
• April 8 – Izzy Stradlin, American guitarist^[36]
• April 9 – Imran Sherwani, British field hockey player^[37]
• April 12 – Carlos Sainz, Spanish rally driver^[38]
• April 13
  • Edivaldo Martins Fonseca, Brazilian footballer (d. 1993)
  • Hillel Slovak, Israeli-American guitarist (Red Hot Chili Peppers) (d. 1988)^[39]
• April 15
  • Nawal El Moutawakel, Moroccan hurdler^[40]
  • Jhon Jairo Velásquez, Colombian hitman and drug dealer (d. 2020)
• April 16 – Antony Blinken, American diplomat, 71st United States Secretary of State
• April 18 – Jeff Dunham, American ventriloquist
• April 19 – Al Unser Jr., American race car driver
• April 20
  • Scott McGehee, American film director and screenwriter
• April 21 – Craig Robinson, American college basketball coach
• April 22
  • Han Aiping, Chinese badminton player (d. 2019)
  • Jeff Minter, British video game designer and programmer^[41]
• April 23
  • Bram Bart, Dutch voice actor (d. 2012)
  • John Hannah, Scottish film and television actor
• April 25 – Flex-Deon Blake, African-American gay pornographic actor (d. 2021)
• April 26
  • Debra Wilson, American actress and comedian
  • Michael Damian, American actor and singer
• April 29 – Stephan Burger, German Roman Catholic archbishop

May[edit]

• May 1 – Maia Morgenstern, Romanian actress
• May 2
  • Elizabeth Berridge, American actress
  • Ryan Brown, American comic book writer, artist and toy designer
  • Jimmy White, British snooker player
• May 3 – Anders Graneheim, Swedish bodybuilder
• May 5
  • Robby Robbins, American politician
  • Kaoru Wada, Japanese composer
• May 7 – Ari Telch, Mexican actor
• May 8 – Natalia Molchanova, Russian free-diver
• May 9
  • Dave Gahan, English singer-songwriter
  • Paul Heaton, English singer-songwriter
  • Sean McNamara, American film director, film producer, actor and screenwriter
• May 12 – Emilio Estevez, American actor
• May 13 – Eduardo Palomo, Mexican actor (d. 2003)
• May 14
  • Ferran Adrià, Spanish chef and restaurateur^[42]
  • Danny Huston, American actor and film director
• May 15 – Rod Lurie, American-Israeli director
• May 16 – Michele Marziani, Italian novelist and journalist^[43]
• May 17
  • Lise Lyng Falkenberg, Danish writer
  • Craig Ferguson, Scottish-American actor, comedian and television host
  • Ferenc Krausz, Hungarian-born attosecond physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • Kim Mulkey, American basketball player/coach
  • Arturo Peniche, Mexican actor
• May 18
  • Karel Roden, Czech actor
  • Sandra, German pop singer
• May 19 – Frances Ondiviela, Spanish/Mexican actress
• May 20
  • Aleksandr Dedyushko, Russian actor (d. 2007)
  • Mike Jeffries, American soccer coach
  • Ralph Peterson Jr., American jazz drummer and bandleader (d. 2021)
• May 21 – Cam Brainard, American voice actor and narrator
• May 22 – Brian Pillman, American professional wrestler (d. 1997)
• May 24 – Gene Anthony Ray, American actor (d. 2003)
• May 25 – Anders Johansson, Swedish drummer
• May 26
  • Genie Francis, American actress
  • Bobcat Goldthwait, American comedian
• May 27
  • Scott Perry, American politician^[44]
  • Ravi Shastri, Indian cricketer
• May 28
  • Brandon Cruz, American child actor and punk rocker
  • François-Henri Pinault, French businessman
• May 30 – Timo Soini, Finnish politician
• May 31
  • Dina Boluarte, Peruvian politician, 64th President of Peru
  • Corey Hart, Canadian singer
  • Noriko Hidaka, Japanese voice actress
  • Victoria Ruffo, Mexican actress

June[edit]

• June 1 – Sherri Howard, American athlete
• June 3 – David Cole, American record producer and songwriter (d. 1995)
• June 4
  • Trinidad Jiménez, Spanish politician and diplomat
  • Pam Shriver, American tennis player^[45]
• June 5 – Jeff Garlin, American actor
• June 6 – Alex Datcher, American actress
• June 7
  • Thierry Hazard, French singer and songwriter
  • Lance Reddick, American actor and musician (d. 2023)
• June 8 – Suzy Gorman, American photographer
• June 10
  • Gina Gershon, American actress
  • Ralf Schumann, German sport shooter
  • Ahmed Khaled Tawfik, Egyptian author and physician (d. 2018)
• June 11
  • Olga Charvátová, Czech alpine skier
  • Erika Salumäe, Estonian cyclist
  • Toshihiko Seki, Japanese voice actor
• June 12 – Jordan Peterson, Canadian clinical psychologist and professor of psychology
• June 13
  • Ally Sheedy, American actress
  • Vladimir Pravik, Soviet firefighter (d. 1986)
  • Bence Szabó, Hungarian fencer
• June 14 – Emilija Erčić, Yugoslav (Serbian) handball player
• June 15 – Andrea Rost, Hungarian lyric soprano
• June 16 – Arnold Vosloo, South African actor
• June 17 – Bap Kennedy, Northern Irish singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
• June 18
  • Lisa Randall, American theoretical physicist
  • Mitsuharu Misawa, Japanese professional wrestler (d. 2009)
• June 19 – Paula Abdul, American dancer, choreographer and singer
• June 21
  • Pipilotti Rist, Swiss video artist
  • Viktor Tsoi, Soviet underground singer and songwriter (d. 1990)
• June 22
  • Campino, German singer
  • Stephen Chow, Hong Kong actor and director
  • Clyde Drexler, American basketball player
• June 23
  • Kari Takko, Finnish ice hockey player
  • Shriti Vadera, Baroness Vadera, Ugandan-born British banker
• June 24
  • Harry van Bommel, Dutch politician, anti-globalisation activist and educator
  • Juan Fernando Brügge, Argentine politician
  • Claudia Sheinbaum, president of Mexico
• June 25
  • Pavla Tomicová, Czech actress
  • Ricardo Iorio, Argentine heavy metal musician
  • Bussunda, Brazilian comedian (d. 2006)
• June 26
  • Morten Skogstad, Norwegian drummer
  • Hubert Strolz, Austrian alpine skier
• June 27
  • Michael Ball, British actor and singer
  • Ollanta Humala, Peruvian politician, 65th President of Peru
  • Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Hong Kong actor
  • Mambury Njie, Gambian politician
• June 29
  • Mario Castañeda, Mexican voice actor and dubbing director
  • Amanda Donohoe, English actress
  • George D. Zamka, American astronaut
  • Guy Lecluyse, French comedian and actor
• June 30
  • Florence Pernel, French actress
  • Predrag Bjelac, Serbian actress

July[edit]