1955

January

• January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama.
• January 17 – USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut.
• January 18–20 – Battle of Yijiangshan Islands: The Chinese Communist People's Liberation Army seizes the islands from the Republic of China (Taiwan).
• January 22 – In the United States, The Pentagon announces a plan to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), armed with nuclear weapons.
• January 23 – The Sutton Coldfield rail crash kills 17, near Birmingham, England.
• January 25 – The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union announces the end of the war between the USSR and Germany, which began during World War II in 1941.
• January 28 – The United States Congress authorizes President Dwight D. Eisenhower to use force to protect Taiwan from the People's Republic of China.

February

• February 10 – The United States Seventh Fleet helps the Republic of China evacuate the Chinese Nationalist army and residents from the Tachen Islands to Taiwan.
• February 16 – Nearly 100 die in a fire at a home for the elderly in Yokohama, Japan.
• February 19 – The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) is established, at a meeting in Bangkok.
• February 22 – In Chicago's Democratic primary, Mayor Martin H. Kennelly loses to the head of the Cook County Democratic Party, Richard J. Daley, 364,839 to 264,077.
• February 24 – The Baghdad Pact (CENTO), originally known as Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), is signed between Iraq and Turkey.

March

• March 2 – Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old African-American girl, refuses to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, to a white woman after the driver demands it. She is carried off the bus backwards, while being kicked, handcuffed and harassed on the way to the police station. She becomes a plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle (1956), which rules bus segregation to be unconstitutional.
• March 5
  • WBBJ-TV signs on the air in Jackson, Tennessee, with WDXI as its initial call-letters, to expand American commercial television in mostly rural areas.
  • Elvis Presley makes his television debut on "Louisiana Hayride", carried by KSLA-TV Shreveport in the United States.
• March 7 – The Broadway musical version of Peter Pan, which had opened in 1954 starring Mary Martin, is presented on television for the first time by NBC-TV, with its original cast, as an installment of Producers' Showcase. It is also the first time that a stage musical is presented in its entirety on TV, almost exactly as it was performed on stage. This program gains the largest viewership of a TV special up to this time, and it becomes one of the first great TV family musical classics.
• March 17 – Richard Riot in Montreal: 6,000 people protest the suspension of French Canadian ice hockey star Maurice Richard of the Montreal Canadiens by the National Hockey League, following a violent incident during a match.
• March 19 – KXTV signs on the air in Sacramento, California, as the 100th commercial television station in the United States.
• March 20 – The movie adaptation of Evan Hunter's novel Blackboard Jungle premieres in the United States, featuring the famous single "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets. Teenagers jump from their seats to dance to the song.

April

• April 1 – EOKA starts a resistance campaign against British rule in the Crown colony of Cyprus.
• April 5
  • Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, due to ill-health, at the age of 80.
  • Richard J. Daley defeats Robert Merrian to become Mayor of Chicago, by a vote of 708,222 to 581,555.
• April 6 – Anthony Eden becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
• April 10 – In the American National Basketball Association championship, the Syracuse Nationals defeat the Fort Wayne Pistons 92–91 in Game 7, to win the title.
• April 11
  • The Taiwanese Kuomintang put a bomb on the airplane Kashmir Princess, killing 16 but failing to assassinate the People's Republic of China leader, Zhou Enlai.
  • Taekwondo, a form of Korean martial arts, is officially recognized ^{[clarification needed]} in South Korea.^{[citation needed]}
• April 12 – The Salk polio vaccine, having passed large-scale trials earlier in the United States, receives full approval by the Food and Drug Administration.
• April 14
  • The Detroit Red Wings win the Stanley Cup in North American ice hockey for the 7th time in franchise history, but will not win again until 1997.
  • A 7.1 earthquake shakes the Chinese city of Kangding leaving 70 dead.
• April 15 – The first franchised McDonald's restaurant is opened by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois.
• April 16 – The Burma-Japan Peace Treaty, signed in Rangoon on November 5, 1954, comes into effect, formally ending a state of war between the two countries.
• April 17 – Imre Nagy, the communist Premier of Hungary, is ousted for being too moderate.
• April 18–24 – The Asian-African Conference is held in Bandung, Indonesia.

May

• May 5 – West Germany becomes a sovereign country, recognized by Western countries such as France, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.
• May 6 – The Western European Union Charter becomes effective.
• May 7 – Newcastle United F.C. beat Manchester City F.C. 3–1 to win the 1955 FA Cup final in English Association football.
• May 9
  • West Germany joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
  • A young Jim Henson introduces the earliest version of Kermit the Frog (made in March), in the premiere of his puppet show Sam and Friends, on WRC-TV in Washington, D.C.
• May 11 – Japanese National Railways' ferry Shiun Maru sinks after a collision with sister ship Uko Maru, in thick fog off Takamatsu, Shikoku, in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan; 166 passengers (many children) and 2 crew members are killed. This event is influential in plans to construct the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge (built 1986–98).
• May 12 – New York's Third Avenue Elevated runs its last train between Chatham Square in Manhattan and East 149th Street in the Bronx, thus ending elevated train service in Manhattan.
• May 14
  • Eight Communist Bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, sign a mutual defence treaty in Warsaw, Poland, that is called the Warsaw Pact (it will be dissolved in 1991).
  • Warrington win the British Rugby League Championship title for the third time; they will not win it again within the following 60 years.
• May 15
  • The Austrian State Treaty, which restores Austria's national sovereignty, is concluded between the 4 occupying powers following World War II (the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and France) and Austria, setting it up as a neutral country.
  • Lionel Terray and Jean Couzy become the first people to reach the summit of Makalu, the fifth-highest mountain in the world, on the 1955 French Makalu expedition. The entire team of climbers reaches the summit over the next two days.
• May 18 – Free movement of residents between North and South Vietnam ends.
• May 25 – Joe Brown and George Band are the first to climb Kangchenjunga in the Himalayas, as part of the British Kangchenjunga expedition led by Charles Evans.

June

• June 7 – The television quiz program The $64,000 Question premieres on CBS-TV in the United States, with Hal March as the host.
• June 11 – Le Mans disaster: Eighty-three people are killed and at least 100 are injured, after two race cars collide in the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans.
• June 13 – Mir mine, the first diamond mine in the Soviet Union, is discovered.
• June 16
  • Lady and the Tramp, the Walt Disney company's 15th animated film, premieres in Chicago.
  • The Argentine Navy drops bombs over Plaza de Mayo and shoots unarmed civilians in an attempt to kill the then president Juan Perón.
• June 26 – The Freedom Charter of the anti-apartheid South African Congress Alliance is adopted, at a Congress of the People in Kliptown.
• June 30 – The Simonstown Agreement provides for control of the naval base at Simon's Town in the Union of South Africa to transfer from the British Royal Navy to the South African Navy.

July

• July 1 – Transformation from the Imperial Bank of India to the State Bank of India is given legal recognition through an Act of the Parliament of India.
• July 7 – The New Zealand Special Air Service is formed.
• July 13 – Ruth Ellis is hanged for murder in London, becoming the last woman ever to be executed in the United Kingdom.
• July 17
  • The Disneyland theme park opens in Anaheim, California, an event broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company television network.
  • The first atomic-generated electrical power is sold commercially, partially powering Arco, Idaho, from the U.S. National Reactor Testing Station; on July 18, Schenectady, New York, receives power from a prototype nuclear submarine reactor at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory.
• July 18 – Illinois Governor William Stratton signs the Loyalty Oath Act, that mandates all public employees take a loyalty oath to the State of Illinois and the United States or lose their jobs.
• July 18–23 – Geneva Summit between the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom and France.
• July 22 – In Long Beach, California (United States), Hillevi Rombin of Sweden is crowned Miss Universe.
• July 27 – El Al Flight 402 from Vienna (Austria) to Tel Aviv, via Istanbul, is shot down over Bulgaria. All 58 passengers and crewmen aboard the Lockheed Constellation are killed.
• July 28 – The first Interlingua Congress is held in Tours, France, leading to the foundation of the Union Mundial pro Interlingua.

August

• August 1 – The prototype Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft first flies, in Nevada.
• August 18
  • The First Sudanese Civil War begins.
  • The first meeting of the Organization of Central American States (Spanish: Organización de Estados Centroamericanos, ODECA) is held, in Antigua Guatemala.
• August 19 – Hurricane Diane hits the northeastern United States, killing over 200 people and causing over $1 billion in damage.
• August 20 – Hundreds of people are killed in anti-French rioting in Morocco and Algeria.
• August 22 – Eleven schoolchildren are killed when their school bus is hit by a freight train in Spring City, Tennessee.
• August 25 – The last Soviet Army forces leave Austria.
• August 26 – Satyajit Ray's film Pather Panchali is released in India.
• August 27 – The first edition of the Guinness Book of Records is published, in London.
• August 28 – Black 14-year-old Emmett Till is lynched and shot in the head for allegedly whistling at a white woman in Money, Mississippi; his white murderers, Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam, are acquitted by an all-white jury.

September

• September 2 – Under the guidance of Dr. Humphry Osmond, Christopher Mayhew ingests 400 mg of mescaline hydrochloride and allows himself to be filmed as part of a Panorama special for BBC TV in the U.K. that is never broadcast.
• September 3 – Little Richard records "Tutti Frutti" in New Orleans; it is released in October.
• September 6 – Istanbul pogrom: Istanbul's Greek minority is the target of a government-sponsored pogrom.
• September 10 – The long-running Western television series Gunsmoke debuts, on the CBS network in the United States.
• September 14 – Pope Pius XII elevates many of the apostolic vicariates in Africa to Metropolitan Archdioceses.
• September 15 – Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in Paris, by Olympia Press.
• September 16
  • The military coup to unseat President Juan Perón of Argentina is launched at midnight.
  • A Soviet Navy Zulu-class submarine becomes the first to launch a ballistic missile.
• September 18 – The United Kingdom formally annexes the uninhabited Atlantic island of Rockall.
• September 19–21 – President of Argentina Juan Perón is ousted in a military coup.
• September 19 – Hurricane Hilda kills about 200 people in Mexico.
• September 21–30 – Hurricane Janet, one of the strongest North Atlantic tropical cyclones on record, sweeps the Lesser Antilles and Mexico, causing more than 1,020 deaths.
• September 22 – Commercial television starts in the United Kingdom with the Independent Television Authority's first ITV franchises beginning broadcasting in London, ending the BBC monopoly.
• September 23 – A 6.8 earthquake shakes the Chinese county of Huili, leaving 728 dead and 1,547 injured.
• September 24
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States, suffers a coronary thrombosis while on vacation in Denver, Colorado. Vice President Nixon serves as Acting President while Eisenhower recovers.
  • Founder of Swiss watchmaker Glycine Watch SA, Eugène Meylan, age 64, is murdered.
• September 30 – Actor James Dean is killed when his automobile collides with another car at a highway junction, near Cholame, California.

October

• October 2 – Alfred Hitchcock Presents debuts on the CBS TV network in the United States.
• October 3 – The Mickey Mouse Club debuts on the ABC-TV network in the United States.
• October 4 – The Reverend Sun Myung Moon is released from prison in Seoul, South Korea.
• October 5 – Disneyland Hotel opens to the public in Anaheim, California.
• October 11 – 70-mm film for projection is introduced, with the theatrical release of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical film, Oklahoma!.
• October 14 – The Organization of Central American States secretariat is inaugurated.
• October 20 – Disc jockey Bill Randle of WERE (Cleveland) is the key presenter of a concert at Brooklyn High School (Ohio), featuring Pat Boone and Bill Haley & His Comets, and opening with Elvis Presley (Elvis's first filmed performance), for a documentary on Randle titled The Pied Piper of Cleveland.
• October 26
  • After the last Allied troops have left Austria, and following the provisions of the Austrian Independence Treaty, the country declares its permanent neutrality.
  • Ngô Đình Diệm proclaims Vietnam to be a republic, with himself as its President (following the State of Vietnam referendum on October 23), and forms the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.
• October 27 – The film Rebel Without a Cause, starring James Dean, is released in the United States.
• October 29 – Soviet battleship Novorossiysk explodes at moorings in Sevastopol Bay, killing 608 (the Soviet Union's worst naval disaster to date).

November

• November 1
  • Official start date of the Vietnam War between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and Republic of Vietnam; the north is allied with the Viet Cong.
  • A time bomb explodes in the cargo hold of United Airlines Flight 629, a Douglas DC-6B, over Longmont, Colorado, killing all 39 passengers and 5 crew members on board.
• November 3 – The Rimutaka Tunnel opens on the New Zealand Railways, at 5.46 mi (8.79 km), the longest in the Southern Hemisphere at this time.
• November 15 – The Democratic Party of Japan and Japan Liberal Party merge to form the Japan Liberal Democratic Party, beginning the "1955 System".
• November 19 – C. Northcote Parkinson first propounds 'Parkinson's law', in The Economist.
• November 20 – Bo Diddley makes his television debut on Ed Sullivan's Toast Of The Town show for the CBS-TV network in the United States.
• November 23 – The Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean are transferred from British to Australian control.
• November 26 – The British Governor of Cyprus declares a state of emergency on the island.
• November 27 – The Westboro Baptist Church holds its first service in Topeka, Kansas.

December

• December 1 – In Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refuses to obey bus driver James F. Blake's order that she give up her seat to make room for a white passenger, and is arrested, leading to the Montgomery bus boycott.
• December 4 – The International Federation of Blood Donor Organizations is founded in Luxembourg.
• December 5
  • The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge, to become the AFL–CIO.
  • The Montgomery Improvement Association is formed in Montgomery, Alabama, by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and other Black ministers to coordinate the Montgomery bus boycott by Black people.
• December 9 – Adnan Menderes of DP forms the new government of Turkey (22nd government).
• December 10 – 1955 Australian federal election: Robert Menzies' Liberal/Country Coalition Government is re-elected with a substantially increased majority, defeating the Labor Party led by H. V. Evatt. This election comes in the immediate aftermath of the devastating split in the Labor Party, which leads to the formation of the Democratic Labor Party. The DLP will preference against Labor, and keep the Coalition in office until 1972.
• December 14
  • The Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River, in New York State, opens to traffic.
  • Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Nepal, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Sri Lanka join the United Nations simultaneously, after several years of moratorium on admitting new members that began during the Korean War.
• December 19 – Australian comedian Barry Humphries first introduces his character Edna Everage on stage in Melbourne.
• December 20 – Cardiff is declared by the British Government as the capital of Wales.
• December 22 – American cytogeneticist Joe Hin Tjio discovers the correct number of human chromosomes, forty-six.
• December 31
  • General Motors becomes the first American corporation to make a profit of over 1 billion dollars in 1 year.
  • Austria becomes independent, under terms of the May 15 Austrian State Treaty.

World population

• World population: 2,755,823,000
  • Africa: 246,746,000
  • Asia: 1,541,947,000
  • Europe: 575,184,000
  • South America: 190,797,000
  • North America: 186,884,000
  • Oceania: 14,265,000

January

• January 1
  • Mario Andreacchio, Australian film director
  • Bonnie Arnold, American film producer
  • Mary Beard, English classicist
  • Akissi Kouamé, Ivorian army general (d. 2022)
  • Simon Schaffer, English academic and historian of science and philosophy
  • Mulatu Teshome, Ethiopian politician and 8th President of Ethiopia
• January 4 – Mark Hollis, English musician (d. 2019)
• January 5 – Mamata Banerjee, Indian politician, Chief Minister of West Bengal
• January 6 – Rowan Atkinson, English comic actor
• January 7 – Belinda Meuldijk, Dutch actress
• January 8 – Mike Reno, Canadian musician
• January 9
  • Michiko Kakutani, American literary critic
  • J. K. Simmons, American actor
• January 10
  • Volker Mosblech, German politician (d. 2024)
  • Michael Schenker, German guitarist (Scorpions, UFO, Michael Schenker Group)
  • Jimmy Vivino, American guitarist
• January 12 – Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Canadian politician
• January 13
  • Paul Kelly, Australian musician
  • Jay McInerney, American writer
• January 15
  • Andreas Gursky, German photographer
  • Enrico Mentana, Italian journalist
• January 16
  • Mary Karr, American poet
  • J. S. G. Boggs, American artist
• January 17
  • Steve Earle, American crossover singer-songwriter
  • Katalin Karikó, Hungarian-born biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate
• January 18
  • Kevin Costner, American actor, producer and director
  • Frankie Knuckles, American disk jockey and record producer (d. 2014)
  • Marilyn Mazur, Danish percussionist
• January 19
  • Sir Simon Rattle, English orchestral conductor
  • Paul Rodriguez, Mexican American actor and comedian
• January 20 – Wyatt Knight, American actor (d. 2011)
• January 21 – Jeff Koons, American artist
• January 22 – Sonja Morgenstern, German figure skater
• January 25 – Olivier Assayas, French film director
• January 26
  • Björn Andrésen, Swedish actor
  • Eddie Van Halen, Dutch-American rock musician (Van Halen) (d. 2020)
  • Lucía Méndez, Mexican film actress
• January 27
  • John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States
  • Ratnottama Sengupta, Indian journalist
• January 28
  • Vinod Khosla, Indian-born American venture capitalist
  • Nicolas Sarkozy, 23rd President of France
• January 29
  • Rachid Mouffouk, Algerian sculptor
  • Femi Pedro, Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Nigeria
• January 30 – Mychal Thompson, Bahamian basketball player
• January 31 – Virginia Ruzici, Romanian tennis player

February

• February 1 – Hans Werner Olm, German television and film comedian
• February 2 – Leszek Engelking, Polish poet, writer and translator (d. 2022)
• February 3
  • Kirsty Wark, Scottish television presenter
• February 4 – Joseph D. Kernan, American military officer, Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
• February 6
  • Michael Pollan, American journalist
  • Irinej Dobrijević, American-born Serbian Bishop of Australia and New Zealand
• February 7 – Miguel Ferrer, American actor (d. 2017)
• February 8
  • Janusz Cisek, Polish historian (d. 2020)
  • Jim Neidhart, American professional wrestler (d. 2018)
  • John Grisham, American novelist
  • Ethan Phillips, American actor
  • Xu Bing, Chinese artist
• February 9 – Charles Shaughnessy, English actor
• February 10
  • Chris Adams, English wrestler and judoka (d. 2001)
  • Pablo Borges Delgado, Cuban artist
  • Jim Cramer, American television personality
  • Greg Norman, Australian golfer
• February 12
  • David Owen Brooks, American convicted murderer (d. 2020)
  • Bill Laswell, American bass guitarist
• February 13 – Hank Risan, American scientist
• February 14
  • Guillermo Francella, Argentine actor
  • Mitsuhisa Taguchi, Japanese footballer (d. 2019)
• February 15
  • Janice Dickinson, American model, photographer, author and talent agent
  • Christopher McDonald, American actor
• February 16 – Bradley Byrne, American business attorney and politician, Alabama
• February 17 – Mo Yan, Chinese writer
• February 18 – Cheetah Chrome, American musician
• February 19
  • Jeff Daniels, American actor
  • Siri Hustvedt, American novelist
• February 20 – Mack Wilberg, American composer
• February 21 – Kelsey Grammer, American actor and comedian
• February 22 – David Axelrod, American political analyst
• February 23 – Flip Saunders, American basketball coach (d. 2015)
• February 24
  • Deborah Coyne, Canadian constitutional lawyer
  • Steve Jobs, American businessman and founder of Apple Computer (d. 2011)
  • Alain Prost, French four-time Formula 1 world champion
• February 25 – Leann Hunley, American television actress
• February 27 – Grady Booch, American software engineer

March

• March 1
  • Sir Timothy Laurence, English vice admiral and second husband of Anne, Princess Royal
  • Denis Mukwege, Congolese gynecologist, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
• March 2 – Shoko Asahara, Japanese cult leader (Aum Shinrikyo) (d. 2018)
• March 3 – Kent Derricott, Canadian TV personality in Japan
• March 4 – Dominique Pinon, French actor
• March 5
  • Julien Dray, French politician
  • Penn Jillette, American magician and comedian (Penn & Teller)
  • Deddy Mizwar, Indonesian politician, actor, movie Director
• March 6
  • Wendy Boglioli, American Olympic gold medallist swimmer (1976)
  • Jay Ilagan, Filipino actor (d. 1992)
  • Cyprien Ntaryamira, Burundian politician, 5th President of Burundi (d. 1994)
  • Alberta Watson, Canadian actress (d. 2015)
• March 7
  • Michael Jan Friedman, American novelist and comic book writer
  • Tommy Kramer, American football player
• March 8 – Don Ashby, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1981)
• March 9
  • Ornella Muti, Italian actress
  • Franco Uncini, Italian motorcycle racer
• March 10
  • Yousra, Egyptian actress and singer
  • Marianne Rosenberg, German singer
• March 11 – Nina Hagen, German pop singer
• March 12 – Richard Martini, American film director
• March 13
  • Bruno Conti, Italian football player
  • Gail Grandchamp, American female boxer
  • Glenne Headly, American actress of film, stage and television (d. 2017)
• March 14 – Stephen R. Bissette, American comics artist
• March 15
  • Robert Kabbas, Egyptian-born Australian Olympic silver medallist weightlifter
  • Dee Snider, American rock singer (Twisted Sister)
• March 16
  • Bruno Barreto, Brazilian film director
  • Jiro Watanabe, Japanese former world super flyweight champion boxer
• March 17
  • Cynthia McKinney, American politician, activist
  • Gary Sinise, American actor, producer and director
• March 18
  • Carlos Enrique Trinidad Gómez, Guatemalan Roman Catholic prelate (d. 2018)
  • Guillermo Dávila, Venezuelan actor and singer
  • Dwayne Murphy, American baseball player
• March 19
  • Pino Daniele, Italian music artist (d. 2015)
  • Bruce Willis, American actor
  • Simon Yam, Hong Kong actor
• March 20
  • Eric Schiller, American chess player and author (d. 2018)
  • Mariya Takeuchi, Japanese singer-songwriter
• March 21
  • Jair Bolsonaro, Brazilian congressman and politician, 38th President of Brazil
  • Philippe Troussier, French football coach
  • Bärbel Wöckel, East German sprinter
• March 22
  • Lena Olin, Swedish actress
  • Pete Sessions, American politician
  • Valdis Zatlers, 7th President of Latvia
• March 23
  • Moses Malone, American basketball player (d. 2015)
  • Susan Schwab, American politician, who served under President George W. Bush as United States Trade Representative
• March 24
  • Kim Johnston Ulrich, American actress
  • Candy Reynolds, American tennis player
  • Celâl Şengör, Turkish geologist
• March 25 – Wendy Larry, American head coach of the Old Dominion University Lady Monarchs women's basketball team
• March 26 – Danny Arndt, Canadian ice hockey player
• March 27 – Mariano Rajoy, Prime Minister of Spain
• March 28 – Reba McEntire, American country singer and actress
• March 29
  • Earl Campbell, American football player
  • Margaret I. Cuomo, American radiologist
  • Brendan Gleeson, Irish actor
  • Christopher Lawford, American author, actor and activist (d. 2018)
  • Marina Sirtis, English actress
• March 30
  • Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Filipina film director (d. 2012)
  • Randy VanWarmer, American singer-songwriter (d. 2004)
  • Humberto Vélez, Mexican voice actor
• March 31
  • Philip Dimitrov, Bulgarian politician
  • Angus Young, lead guitarist of Australian rock group AC/DC

April

• April 1 – Ockie Oosthuizen, South African rugby union player (d. 2019)
• April 2
  • Sirindhorn, Princess Royal of Thailand
  • Chellie Pingree, Democratic politician, Maine's 1st congressional district
• April 3 – Mick Mars, American rock guitarist (Mötley Crüe)
• April 5 – Akira Toriyama, Japanese manga artist (d. 2024)
• April 6 – Michael Rooker, American actor
• April 7
  • Bruno Zaremba, French footballer (d. 2018)
  • Grace Hightower, American philanthropist, actress and singer
  • Gregg Jarrett, American lawyer turned journalist
  • Akira Nishino, Japanese soccer player and manager
  • Werner Stocker, German actor (d. 1993)
• April 8
  • Kane Hodder, American actor
  • Barbara Kingsolver, American fiction writer
• April 9 – Kate Heyhoe, American food writer
• April 10 – Philip J. Hanlon, American mathematician and computer science, 18th President of Dartmouth College
• April 11 – Kevin Brady, American politician, Texas's 8th congressional district
• April 12 – Fred Ryan, chief executive officer of The Washington Post
• April 13
  • Steve Camp, American Christian musician
  • Hideki Saijo, Japanese singer and actor (d. 2018)
• April 14 – Don Roos, American screenwriter
• April 15
  • Tommy Castro, American blues guitarist
  • Dodi Fayed, Egyptian film producer (d. 1997)
  • Jeff Golub, American jazz guitarist (d. 2015)
• April 16
  • Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
  • DJ Kool Herc, Jamaican American DJ
  • Bruce Bochy, MLB manager and former baseball player
• April 17
  • Rob Bolland, Dutch musician, songwriter and music producer (Bolland & Bolland)
  • Pete Shelley, English punk rock singer-songwriter, musician (Buzzcocks) (d. 2018)
  • Dave VanDam, American voice actor and impressionist (d. 2018)
• April 18 – Bobby Castillo, American baseball player (d. 2014)
• April 20
  • Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Nigerian-born British photographer (d. 1989)
  • Svante Pääbo, Swedish evolutionary geneticist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• April 21
  • Ebiet G. Ade, Indonesian singer and songwriter
  • Toninho Cerezo, Brazilian footballer and coach
• April 23
  • Judy Davis, Australian actress
  • Ludovikus Simanullang, Indonesian Roman Catholic bishop (d. 2018)
  • Fumi Hirano, Japanese voice actress and essayist
  • Tony Miles, English chess player (d. 2001)
• April 24 – John de Mol, Dutch media tycoon
• April 25
  • Karon O. Bowdre, United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
  • John Nunn, English chess player and mathematician
  • Parviz Parastui, Iranian actor
• April 26 – Chen Daoming, Chinese actor
• April 27
  • James Risen, American Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and author
  • Eric Schmidt, American software engineer and businessman, CEO of Google (2001-2011)
  • Jing Yidan, Chinese former television host
• April 28
  • Saeb Erekat, Palestinian diplomat (d. 2020)
  • Eddie Jobson, English musician
• April 29
  • Richard Epcar, American voice actor
  • Kate Mulgrew, American actress
  • Yūko Tanaka, Japanese actress
• April 30 – Zlatko Topčić, Bosnian writer and screenwriter

May

• May 1 : Julie Pietri, French singer
• May 2
  • Willie Miller, Scottish footballer
  • Donatella Versace, Italian designer
  • Dave Winer, American software pioneer
• May 4
  • Avram Grant, Israeli football manager
  • Robert Ellis Orrall, American singer
• May 6 – Tom Bergeron, American television host
• May 7 – Peter Reckell, American actor
• May 8
  • Betsy Baker, American actress
  • Meles Zenawi, 10th Prime Minister of Ethiopia and 3rd President of Ethiopia (d. 2012)
• May 9
  • Kevin Peter Hall, American actor (d. 1991)
  • Anne Sofie von Otter, Swedish mezzo-soprano
• May 10
  • Chris Berman, American sports broadcaster
  • Mark David Chapman, American murderer of musician John Lennon
• May 14
  • Big Van Vader, American professional wrestler and football player (d. 2018)
  • Dave Hoover, American comic book artist and animator (d. 2011)
  • Robert Tapert, American television producer
• May 15
  • Mohamed Brahmi, Tunisian politician (assassinated 2013)
  • Lee Horsley, American film, television and theater actor
  • Hege Skjeie, Norwegian political scientist and feminist (d. 2018)
• May 16
  • Olga Korbut, Soviet gymnast
  • Olli Kortekangas, Finnish composer
  • Jack Morris, American baseball player
  • Richard Phillips, American merchant mariner and captain of the MV Maersk Alabama
  • Debra Winger, American actress
• May 17 – Bill Paxton, American actor (d. 2017)
• May 18 – Chow Yun-fat, Hong Kong actor
• May 19
  • Mark Staff Brandl, American and Swiss artist and art historian
  • James Gosling, Canadian software engineer
  • Th. Emil Homerin, American theologian
• May 20
  • Diego Abatantuono, Italian actor
  • Steve George, American keyboardist and singer
  • Zbigniew Preisner, Polish film composer
• May 21 – Sergei Shoigu, Russian politician, (Russian Defence Minister)^{[citation needed]}
• May 22
  • Chalmers Alford, American jazz guitarist (d. 2008)
  • Iva Davies, Australian singer and musician; lead singer of Icehouse
  • Dale Winton, English radio DJ and television presenter (d. 2018)
• May 24 – Rosanne Cash, American entertainer
• May 25 – Connie Sellecca, American actress
• May 26 – Doris Dörrie, German actress and screenplay writer
• May 27 – Richard Schiff, American actor and comedian
• May 29
  • John Hinckley Jr., attempted assassin of Ronald Reagan
  • Mike Porcaro, American bass guitarist (Toto) (d. 2015)
• May 30
  • Brian Kobilka, American physiologist
  • Paresh Rawal, Indian actor
  • Colm Tóibín, Irish novelist
• May 31
  • Tommy Emmanuel, Australian guitarist
  • Susie Essman, American actress
  • Lynne Truss, English writer

June

• June 1
  • Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, Japanese sumo wrestler (58th Yokozuna grand champion) (d. 2016)
  • David Schultz, American professional wrestler
• June 2 – Dana Carvey, American actor and comedian
• June 3 – Daniel Filmus, Argentine politician, member of the Chamber of Deputies of Argentina
• June 4
  • Precious, Canadian professional wrestling valet
  • Mary Testa, American film actress
• June 5 – Fernando Borrego Linares, Cuban singer and songwriter (aka Polo Montañez)
• June 6
  • Sandra Bernhard, American comedian, actress, author and singer
  • Chris Nyman, American baseball player
  • Sam Simon, American filmmaker (d. 2015)
• June 7
  • Jo Gilbert, English film producer and casting director (d. 2018)
  • Bob Beatty, American football coach
  • Tim Richmond, American race car driver (d. 1989)
  • Dean Sullivan, English actor and director (d. 2023)
• June 8
  • Duke Aiona, 10th Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii
  • Tim Berners-Lee, English computer scientist and World Wide Web inventor
  • Griffin Dunne, American actor and director
• June 10
  • Floyd Bannister, American baseball player
  • Andrew Stevens, American actor, producer and director
• June 11 – Yuriy Sedykh, Ukrainian hammer thrower (d. 2021)
• June 12
  • Jagadish Kumar, Indian Malayalam film actor
  • William Langewiesche, American author
• June 13 – John E. Jones III, American justice
• June 14
  • Tito Rojas, Puerto Rican salsa singer and songwriter (d. 2020)
  • Kim Lankford, American actress, businesswoman and horse wrangler
  • Paul O'Grady (also known as "Lily Savage"), English talk show host, comedian and drag queen (d. 2023)
• June 15
  • István Levente Garai, Hungarian physician and politician (d. 2018)
  • Polly Draper, American actress, screenwriter, playwright, producer and director
  • David A. Kennedy, son of Robert F. Kennedy (d. 1984)
• June 16 – Laurie Metcalf, American actress
• June 18 – Sandy Allen, American, world's tallest woman (d. 2008)
• June 20 – Tor Nørretranders, Danish author
• June 21
  • Aloysius Amwano, Nauruan politician
  • Tim Bray, Canadian computer programmer
  • Jean-Pierre Mader, French singer-songwriter
  • Leigh McCloskey, American actor
  • Michel Platini, French retired football player and President of UEFA
• June 22 – Choi Kyoung-hwan, South Korean politician; Prime Minister of South Korea
• June 23
  • Jean Tigana, Malian-French international footballer
  • Glenn Danzig, American rock singer (The Misfits, Samhain, Danzig)
• June 24 – Nobuhiro Kiyotaki, Japanese economist and professor
• June 25 – Víctor Manuel Vucetich, Mexican footballer and manager
• June 26
  • Gedde Watanabe, American actor and comedian
  • Yoko Gushiken, Japanese former WBA light flyweight champion boxer
• June 27 – Isabelle Adjani, French actress
• June 30 – Egils Levits, President of Latvia

July

• July 1
  • Sanma Akashiya, Japanese comedian and actor
  • Nikolai Demidenko, Russian born British classical pianist
  • Christian Estrosi, French sportsman and politician
  • Li Keqiang, Premier of the People's Republic of China (d. 2023)
  • Lisa Scottoline, American novelist
• July 2
  • Andrew Divoff, Venezuelan actor
  • Stephen Walt, American political scientist
  • Sylvie Le Noach, French swimmer
  • Randy Burchell, Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender
  • Chau Giang, Vietnamese-born American professional poker player
  • Proceso Alcala, Filipino politician
• July 3
  • Bruce Altman, American actor
  • John Cramer, American game show announcer
  • Matt Keough, American baseball player (d. 2020)
• July 4
  • Eero Heinäluoma, Finnish politician
  • Víctor Reymundo Nájera, Mexican politician
• July 5
  • Sebastian Barry, Irish playwright, novelist and poet
  • Shannon Bell, Canadian performance philosopher
  • Mia Couto, Mozambican writer
  • Muhammad Aslam Khan Raisani, Pakistani politician
  • Henry Lee Summer, American singer
• July 6 – Sherif Ismail, Former Prime Minister of Egypt (d. 2023)
• July 7
  • Paul Bahoken, Cameroonian footballer
  • Rolf Saxon, American actor
  • Ludo Vika, Dominican actress
• July 8
  • Vladislava Milosavljević, Serbian actress
  • Mihaela Mitrache, Romanian actress
• July 9
  • Lindsey Graham, American politician, lawyer, U.S. Army soldier, U.S. Senator (R-Sc.) and unsuccessful 2016 presidential candidate
  • Fred Norris, American radio personality
  • Jimmy Smits, American actor
• July 10
  • Andrea Bruce, Jamaican athlete
  • Vinnie Curto, American professional boxer
  • Ray Goff, American football player and coach
  • Dan Newhouse, American politician
• July 11
  • Balaji Sadasivan, Singaporean politician and neurosurgeon
  • Søren Sætter-Lassen, Danish actor
• July 12
  • Timothy Garton Ash, English modern historian
  • Nina Gunke, Swedish actress
  • Tadashi Miyazawa, Japanese voice actor
• July 13 – Yoshitaka Tamba, Japanese actor
• July 14 – Ramon Jimenez Jr., Filipino attorney (d. 2020)
• July 15
  • Željko Burić, Croatian politician and doctor
  • Didier Etumba, Congolese Army general
  • Pooran Prakash, Indian politician
• July 16
  • Zohar Argov, Israeli singer (d. 1987)
  • Patrick Bernasconi, French business executive
  • Ritva Elomaa, Finnish professional female bodybuilding champion, pop singer and politician
  • Janet Huckabee, American politician
  • Saw Swee Leong, Malaysian badminton player
• July 17
  • Janina Buzūnaitė-Žukaitienė, Lithuanian painter, poet, creator of accessories and metal sculptures
  • Fei Yu-ching, Taiwanese singer-songwriter
  • Sylvie Léonard, French-Canadian actress
  • Alvin Slaughter, American gospel singer-songwriter and worship leader
• July 18
  • Bernd Fasching, Austrian painter and sculptor
  • György Matolcsy, Hungarian politician and economist
  • Sergey Zimov, Russian geophysicist and creator of Pleistocene Park
• July 19 – Karen Cheryl, French singer, actress, radio and television presenter
• July 20 – Edgar Zambrano, Venezuelan lawyer and politician
• July 21
  • Adrienne King, American actress
  • Dannel Malloy, American politician
  • Howie Epstein, American musician and producer (d. 2003)
  • Béla Tarr, Hungarian film director
• July 22
  • Gbenga Bareehu Ashafa, Nigerian politician
  • Willem Dafoe, American actor
• July 25 – Iman, Somalian model
• July 26
  • Michele Pillar, American Christian musician
  • Asif Ali Zardari, 11th President of Pakistan
  • Joseph Christopher, American serial killer and mass murderer (d. 1993)
• July 27 – Allan Border, Australian cricketer
• July 31 – Jakie Quartz, French singer

August

• August 1 – Paul Shrubb, English professional footballer, coach and scout (d. 2020)
• August 2
  • John Battaglia, American convicted murderer (d. 2018)
  • Caleb Carr, American writer
• August 3
  • Corey Burton, American voice actor
  • Roger Gifford, Lord Mayor of London 2013
• August 4
  • Gerrie Coetzee, South African boxer, 1983-1984 WBA heavyweight champion.
  • Billy Bob Thornton, American actor, director and screenwriter
• August 6
  • Gordon J. Brand, English golfer (d. 2020)
  • Ron Davis, American baseball player
  • Earl "Chinna" Smith, Jamaican Reggae guitarist
• August 7
  • Wayne Knight, American actor and comedian
  • Vladimir Sorokin, Russian writer
• August 8 – Diddú, Icelandic soprano and songwriter
• August 9 – Doug Williams, American football quarterback
• August 10 – Mel Tiangco, Filipina television anchor, journalist and humanitarian
• August 12
  • Heintje Simons, Dutch singer and actor
  • Gish Jen, American fiction writer
• August 13 – Daryl, American magician (d. 2017)
• August 17 – Richard Hilton, American businessman
• August 19
  • Peter Gallagher, American actor
  • Terry Harper, American baseball player
  • Apisai Ielemia, 10th Prime Minister of Tuvalu
• August 20 – Agnes Chan, Hong Kong-born TV personality in Japan
• August 22
  • Chiranjeevi, Indian actor
  • Gordon Liu, Chinese actor
• August 24 – Mike Huckabee, American politician, Governor and 2008 presidential candidate
• August 25 – John McGeoch, Scottish musician (d. 2004)
• August 27
  • Laura Fygi, Dutch singer
  • Diana Scarwid, American actress
  • Sergey Khlebnikov, Soviet speed skater (d. 1999)
• August 30
  • Mayumi Muroyama, Japanese manga artist
  • Andy Pask, English bass player and composer (Landscape)
  • Helge Schneider, comedian, jazz musician and multi-instrumentalist, author, film and theatre director
• August 31 – Edwin Moses, American athlete

September

• September 1
  • Billy Blanks, American martial artist; inventor of the Tae Bo exercise program
  • Bruce Foxton, English musician
• September 2
  • Robert Duncan, American astrophysicist
  • Claus Kleber, German television journalist
  • Natalya Petrusyova, Soviet speed skater
  • Michelle Yim, Hong Kong actress
• September 4
  • David Broza, Israeli singer-songwriter and activist
  • Teodor Frunzeti, Romanian general
  • Hiroshi Izawa, Japanese actor
• September 6 – Raymond Benson, American author
• September 7 – Efim Zelmanov, Russian mathematician
• September 9
  • Edward Hibbert, English-American actor and literary agent
  • John Kricfalusi, Canadian cartoonist
  • Ivan Smirnov, Russian composer and guitar player (d. 2018)
• September 12 – Peter Scolari, American actor and comedian
• September 13 – Dan Ghica-Radu, Romanian general
• September 14 – Daniella Levine Cava, American lawyer and politician
• September 15
  • Željka Antunović, Croatian politician
  • Brendan O'Carroll, Irish actor and comedian
  • Bruce Reitherman, American filmmaker and voice actor
  • Renzo Rosso, Italian clothing designer
• September 16 – Robin Yount, American baseball player
• September 17
  • Marina Lima, Brazilian singer and songwriter
  • Charles Martinet, American voice-actor
• September 19 – Richard Burmer, American composer, sound designer and musician (d. 2006)
• September 21
  • Richard Hieb, American astronaut
  • Israel Katz, Israeli politician
• September 24 – Shinbo Nomura, Japanese manga artist
• September 25
  • Zucchero Fornaciari, Italian singer-songwriter
  • Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, German football player
• September 28 – Stéphane Dion, Canadian politician
• September 29
  • Joe Donnelly, American politician
  • Gwen Ifill, American journalist (d. 2016)
• September 30
  • Janet Arceo, Mexican actress, TV presenter, announcer, director and businesswoman (Doña Eduviges in El Chavo del Ocho)
  • Andy Bechtolsheim, German electrical engineer and co-founder of Sun Microsystems.

October

• October 1 – P. B. Abdul Razak, Indian politician (d. 2018)
• October 2 – Philip Oakey, English synth-pop singer-songwriter (The Human League)
• October 3 – Tommy Wiseau, American film director and actor (The Room)
• October 4 – Dane Sorensen, New Zealand rugby league player
• October 5
  • Bart D. Ehrman, American religious studies scholar and writer, specialist in textual criticism
  • Jean-Jacques Lafon, French singer-songwriter
  • Caroline Loeb, French singer and actress
• October 6 – Wang Huning, Chinese politician
• October 7 – Yo-Yo Ma, French-born Chinese American cellist
• October 8
  • Bill Elliott, American racing driver
  • Darrell Hammond, Comedian (Saturday Night Live)
• October 12 – Pat DiNizio, American singer-songwriter (The Smithereens) (d. 2017)
• October 13 – Sergei Shepelev, Russian ice hockey player
• October 15
  • James B. Aguayo-Martel, Mexican-born physician, surgeon, scientist and inventor
  • Kulbir Bhaura, Indian-born British field hockey player
  • Emily Yoffe, American journalist and advice columnist
• October 17 – Tyrone Mitchell, American murderer (d. 1984)
• October 18
  • Hiromi Go, Japanese singer
  • Timmy Mallett, English television presenter
• October 19
  • Lonnie Shelton, American basketball player (d. 2018)
  • LaSalle Ishii, Japanese television personality
  • Roland Dyens, French classical guitarist and composer (d. 2016)
  • Dan Gutman, American writer
• October 20
  • Tony Hanson, American basketball player (d. 2018)
  • Thomas Newman, American composer
• October 21
  • Yasukazu Hamada, Japanese politician
  • Rich Mullins, American Christian musician (d. 1997)
• October 24
  • Karen Austin, American actress
  • Katherine Knight, Australian mariticide
• October 25
  • Glynis Barber, South African-born British actress
  • Gale Anne Hurd, American film and television producer
• October 28
  • Bill Gates, American businessman and co-founder of Microsoft
  • Indra Nooyi, Indian business executive
• October 29
  • Kevin DuBrow, American rock singer (d. 2007)
  • Roger O'Donnell, English rock keyboardist
  • Etsuko Shihomi, Japanese actress

November

• November 1 – Joe Arroyo, Colombian salsa and tropical music singer (d. 2011)
• November 3
  • Howard Michaels, American businessman (d. 2018)
  • Teresa De Sio, Italian singer-songwriter
  • Phil Simms, American football player
  • Yukihiko Tsutsumi, Japanese film director
• November 4
  • Rita Bhaduri, Indian actress (d. 2018)
  • Ghousavi Shah, Sufi teacher and author, Secretary General of The Conference of World Religions
  • Matti Vanhanen, Prime Minister of Finland
• November 5
  • Pedro Brieger, Argentine journalist and sociologist.
  • Kris Jenner, American television personality
  • Karan Thapar, Indian journalist, political analyst and commentator
• November 6 – Maria Shriver, American television journalist, host; First Lady of California
• November 7
  • Al Attles, American basketball player and coach
  • Norbert Eder, German footballer (d. 2019)
  • Paul Romer, American economist, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences laureate
  • Detlef Ultsch, German judo athlete
• November 9 – Karen Dotrice, Guernsey-born child actress
• November 10 – Roland Emmerich, German film director
• November 11 – Jigme Singye Wangchuck, King of Bhutan
• November 13 – Whoopi Goldberg, American actress and comedian
• November 14
  • Koichi Nakano, Japanese bicycle racer
  • Jack Sikma, American basketball player
• November 15 – Idris Jusoh, Malaysian politician ; Former Chief Minister Of Terengganu
• November 16 – Guillermo Lasso, President of Ecuador
• November 17
  • Bill Macatee, American sports broadcaster
  • Yolanda King, African-American actress and activist (d. 2007)
• November 19 – Dianne de Leeuw, Dutch figure skater
• November 20 – Ray Ozzie, American computer programmer
• November 21
  • Kyle Gann, American composer and music critic
  • Cedric Maxwell, American basketball player
• November 23
  • Steven Brust, American fantasy author
  • Peter Douglas, American television and film producer
  • Ludovico Einaudi, Italian pianist and composer
  • Mary Landrieu, American politician, U.S. Senator from Louisiana
• November 24
  • Sir Ian Botham, English cricketer
  • Najib Mikati, Lebanese politician, 2-Time Prime Minister of Lebanon
• November 25 – Bruno Tonioli, film, music video and theater choreographer
• November 26
  • Tracy Hickman, American author
  • Jelko Kacin, Slovenian politician, Member of the European Parliament
• November 27 – Bill Nye, American science presenter and public television host
• November 28 – Alessandro Altobelli, Italian football player
• November 29 – Howie Mandel, Canadian actor and game show host
• November 30
  • Michael Beschloss, American historian
  • Billy Idol, born William Broad, British rock musician
  • Kevin Conroy, American actor (d. 2022)

December

• December 3
  • Melody Anderson, Canadian actress and social worker
  • Steven Culp, American actor
  • Warren Jeffs, American criminal
  • Andrea Romano, American casting director, voice director, and voice actress
• December 4 – Maurizio Bianchi, Italian musician
• December 9 – Janusz Kupcewicz, Polish footballer (d. 2022)
• December 10 – Ana Gabriel, Mexican singer and songwriter
• December 12 – Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, Greek politician and businesswoman
• December 13 – Manohar Parrikar, Indian politician (d. 2019)
• December 14 – Hervé Guibert, French writer and photographer (d. 1991)
• December 16 – Xander Berkeley, American actor
• December 17
  • Brad Davis, American basketball player
  • Jagadish Shettar, Indian politician
• December 21 – Jane Kaczmarek, American actress
• December 23
  • Keith Comstock, American baseball player
  • Carol Ann Duffy, Scottish poet
  • Stefan Arngrim, Canadian actor
• December 24
  • Mizuho Fukushima, Japanese politician
  • Clarence Gilyard, American actor and college professor
• December 27 – Barbara Olson, American television commentator (d. 2001)
• December 28 – Liu Xiaobo, Chinese literary critic and human rights activist, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (d. 2017)
• December 31 – Jim Tracy, American baseball player and manager

January

• January 1 – Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, Indian scientist (b. 1894)
• January 2 – José Antonio Remón Cantera, 19th President of Panama (assassinated) (b. 1908)
• January 5 – Marcel Déat, French politician (b. 1894)
• January 6 – Yevgeny Tarle, Soviet historian (b. 1874)
• January 11 – Rodolfo Graziani, Italian general (b. 1882)
• January 15
  • Johannes Baader, German artist (b. 1875)
  • Yves Tanguy, French painter (b. 1900)
• January 21 – Archie Hahn, American athlete (b. 1880)
• January 24 – Ira Hayes, U.S. Marine flag raiser on Iwo Jima (b. 1923)
• January 29 – Hans Hedtoft, 14th Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1903)
• January 31 – John Mott, American YMCA leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1865)

February

• February 3 – Vasily Blokhin, Soviet executioner (b. 1895)
• February 6 – Constantin Argetoianu, 41st Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1871)
• February 11 – Ona Munson, American actress (b. 1903)
• February 12
  • Tom Moore, Irish-American film actor (b. 1883)
  • S. Z. Sakall, Hungarian actor (b. 1883)
• February 20 – Oswald Avery, American physician and medical researcher (b. 1877)
• February 23 – Paul Claudel, French poet, dramatist, and diplomat (b. 1868)
• February 27 – Trixie Friganza, American actress (b. 1870)

March

• March 3 – Katharine Drexel, American Roman Catholic foundress and saint (b. 1858)
• March 8 – William C. deMille, American screenwriter and director (b. 1878)
• March 9
  • Miroslava Stern, Czechoslovakian-Mexican actress (b. 1926)
  • Matthew Henson, American explorer (b. 1866)
• March 11 – Sir Alexander Fleming, Scottish scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1881)
• March 12 – Charlie Parker, American saxophonist (b. 1920)
• March 14 – Ruth Poll, American lyricist and music publisher (b. 1899)
• March 16 – Nicolas de Staël, Russian painter (b. 1914)
• March 19 – Mihály Károlyi, 1st President of Hungary and 20th Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1875)
• March 23 – Arthur Bernardes, 12th President of Brazil (b. 1875)
• March 24 – John W. Davis, American politician, diplomat, and lawyer (b. 1873)

April

• April 5 – Tibor Szele, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1918)
• April 7 – Theda Bara, American film actress (b. 1885)
• April 10 – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, French Jesuit priest, philosopher, paleontologist and geologist (b. 1881)
• April 11 – Clifton Sprague, American admiral (b. 1896)
• April 13 – Peyton C. March, United States Army general (b. 1864)
• April 18 – Albert Einstein, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
• April 19 – Jim Corbett, Anglo-Indian hunter, conservationist and author (b. 1875)
• April 24 – Alfred Polgar, Austrian-born journalist (b. 1873)
• April 25 – Constance Collier, English actress and acting coach (b. 1878)
• April 30 – John Henry Towers, American admiral and naval aviation pioneer (b. 1885)

May

• May 2 – Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, 10th Governor-General of Australia (b. 1872)
• May 4
  • Louis Charles Breguet, French aircraft designer and builder and early aviation pioneer (b. 1880)
  • George Enescu, Romanian composer (b. 1881)
• May 10 – Tommy Burns, Canadian boxer (b. 1881)
• May 16 – James Agee, American writer (b. 1909)
• May 17 – Owen Roberts, American jurist (b. 1875)
• May 18 – Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator (b. 1875)
• May 19 – Concha Espina, Spanish writer (b. 1869)
• May 26 – Alberto Ascari, Italian race-car driver (accident) (b. 1918)
• May 29 – Rudolf Klein-Rogge, German actor (b. 1885)
• May 30 – Bill Vukovich, American race-car driver (accident) (b. 1918)

June

• June 3 – Barbara Graham, American criminal (executed) (b. 1923)
• June 10 – Margaret Abbott, American golfer (b. 1878)
• June 11 – Walter Hampden, American actor (b. 1879)
• June 12 – Redcliffe N. Salaman, British botanist (b. 1874)
• June 13 – Walter Braemer, German Nazi war criminal (b. 1883)
• June 17 – Carlyle Blackwell, American actor (b. 1884)
• June 26 – Engelbert Zaschka, German helicopter pioneer (b. 1895)
• June 29 – Max Pechstein, German painter (b. 1881)

July

• July 9 – Adolfo de la Huerta, 38th President of Mexico (b. 1881)
• July 13
  • Ruth Ellis, British-born murderer, last woman to be executed in the United Kingdom (b. 1926)
  • Stanley Price, American film and television actor (b. 1892)
• July 20 – Calouste Gulbenkian, Armenian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1869)
• July 23 – Cordell Hull, United States Secretary of State, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1871)
• July 25 – Isaak Dunayevsky, Soviet film composer and conductor (b. 1900)
• July 31 – Robert Francis, American actor (b. 1930)

August

• August 1 – William Hamilton, American Olympic athlete (b. 1883)
• August 2
  • Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria, Bavarian military leader and last Bavarian crown prince (b. 1869)
  • Wallace Stevens, American poet (b. 1879)
• August 5 – Carmen Miranda, Portuguese-born Brazilian singer and actress (b. 1909)
• August 11 – Frank Seiberling, American inventor, co-founder of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (b. 1859)
• August 12
  • Thomas Mann, German novelist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1875)
  • James B. Sumner, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
• August 13 – Florence Easton, English opera soprano (b. 1882)
• August 17 – Fernand Léger, French painter and sculptor (b. 1881)
• August 22 – Raymond Duval, French general (b. 1894)
• August 28 – Emmett Till, American murder victim (b. 1941)

September

• September 20 – Robert Riskin, American screenwriter (b. 1897)
• September 23 – Martha Norelius, American Olympic swimmer (b. 1908)
• September 30
  • Michael Chekhov, Russian actor, theatre director, and writer (b. 1891)
  • James Dean, American actor (b. 1931)

October

• October 4 – Alexander Papagos, Greek Field Marshal (b. 1883)
• October 7 – Rodolphe Seeldrayers, German journalist and administrator, 4th President of FIFA (b. 1876)
• October 9
  • Theodor Innitzer, Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna (b. 1875)
  • Alice Joyce, American actress (b. 1890)
• October 13
  • Manuel Ávila Camacho, 45th President of Mexico (b. 1897)
  • Alexandrina Maria da Costa, Portuguese Roman Catholic mystic, victim soul and blessed (b. 1904)
• October 17 – Dimitrios Maximos, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1873)
• October 18 – José Ortega y Gasset, Spanish philosopher (b. 1883)
• October 19 – John Hodiak, American actor (b. 1914)
• October 25 – Sadako Sasaki, Japanese atomic bomb sickness victim (b. 1943)
• October 27 – Juan de Dios Martínez, 23rd President of Ecuador (b. 1875)

November

• November 1 – Dale Carnegie, American writer and lecturer (b. 1888)
• November 4 – Cy Young, American baseball player (Cleveland Spiders) and member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1867)
• November 5 – Maurice Utrillo, French artist (b. 1883)
• November 6 – Edwin Barclay, 18th president of Liberia (b. 1882)
• November 7 – Tom Powers, American actor (b. 1890)
• November 12 – Alfréd Hajós, Hungarian swimmer and architect (b. 1878)
• November 14 – Robert E. Sherwood, American playwright (b. 1896)
• November 15 – Lloyd Bacon, American actor and director (b. 1889)
• November 17
  • James P. Johnson, American pianist and composer (b. 1894)
  • Helmuth Weidling, German general (b. 1891)
• November 22 – Shemp Howard, American actor and comedian (The Three Stooges) (b. 1895)
• November 27 – Arthur Honegger, French-born Swiss composer (b. 1892)

December

• December 5 – Jirō Minami, Japanese general and Governor-General of Korea (1936-1942) (b. 1874)
• December 6 – Honus Wagner, American baseball player (Pittsburgh Pirates) and a member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1874)
• December 8 – Hermann Weyl, German mathematician, theoretical physicist and philosopher (b. 1885)
• December 13 – António Egas Moniz, Portuguese neurologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1874)
• December 14 – Paddy Mayne, Irish & British lions rugby international, Founding member of the S.A.S
• December 15 – Otto Braun, German politician, former Minister President of the Free State of Prussia (b. 1872)
• December 18 – Anna Murray Vail, American botanist (b. 1863)
• December 21 – Garegin Nzhdeh, Armenian statesman (b. 1886)
• December 24 – Nana Bryant, American actress (b. 1888)

• Physics – Willis Eugene Lamb and Polykarp Kusch
• Chemistry – Vincent du Vigneaud
• Physiology or Medicine – Axel Hugo Theodor Theorell
• Literature – Halldór Kiljan Laxness
• Peace – not awarded