1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1970th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 970th year of the 2nd millennium, the 70th year of the 20th century, and the 1st year of the 1970s decade.
Events
January
January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
January 5 – The 7.1 Mw Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). Between 10,000 and 14,621 are killed and 30,000 injured.
January 14 – Biafra capitulates, ending the Nigerian Civil War.
January 15 – After a 32-month fight for independence from Nigeria, Biafran forces under Philip Effiong formally surrender to General Yakubu Gowon.
February
February 1 – The Benavídez rail disaster near Buenos Aires, Argentina, kills 236.
February 10 – An avalanche at Val-d'Isère, France, kills 41 tourists.
February 11 – Ohsumi, Japan's first satellite, is launched on a Lambda-4 rocket.
February 22 – Guyana becomes a Republic within the Commonwealth of Nations.
March
March 1 – Rhodesia severs its last tie with the United Kingdom, declaring itself a republic.
March 4 – All 57 men aboard the French submarine Eurydice (S644) are killed when the vessel implodes while making a practice dive in the Mediterranean Sea.
March 5 – The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty goes into effect, after ratification by 56 nations.
March 6 – Süleyman Demirel of AP forms the new government of Turkey (32nd government).
March 12 – Citroën introduces the Citroën SM, the fastest front-wheel drive auto in the world at this time, at the annual Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland.
March 15 – The Expo '70 World's Fair opens in Suita, Osaka, Japan.
March 16 – The complete New English Bible is published.
March 18 – General Lon Nol ousts Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia and holds Queen Sisowath Kossamak under house arrest.
March 19 – Ostpolitik: The leaders of West Germany and East Germany meet at a summit for the first time since Germany's division into two republics. West German Chancellor Willy Brandt is greeted by cheering East German crowds as he arrives in Erfurt for a summit with his counterpart, East German Ministerpräsident Willi Stoph.
March 20 – The Agency for Cultural and Technical Co-operation (ACCT) (Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique) is founded.
March 21 – All Kinds of Everything, sung by Dana (music and text by Derry Lindsay and Jackie Smith), wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1970 for Ireland.
March 31
NASA's Explorer 1, the first American satellite and Explorer program spacecraft, reenters Earth's atmosphere after 12 years in orbit.
Japan Airlines Flight 351, carrying 131 passengers and 7 crew from Tokyo to Fukuoka, is hijacked by Japanese Red Army members. All passengers and crew are eventually freed.
April
April 4 – Fragments of burnt human remains believed to be those of Adolf Hitler, Eva Braun, Joseph Goebbels, Magda Goebbels and the Goebbels children are crushed and scattered in the Biederitz river at a KGB center in Magdeburg, East Germany.
April 8
A huge gas explosion at a subway construction site in Osaka, Japan, kills 79 and injures over 400.
Israeli Air Force F-4 Phantom II fighter bombers kill 47 Egyptian school children at an elementary school in what is known as Bahr el-Baqar massacre. The single-floor school is hit by five bombs and two air-to-ground missiles.
April 10 – In a press release written in mock-interview style, that is included in promotional copies of his first solo album, Paul McCartney announces that he has left The Beatles.
April 11
An avalanche at a tuberculosis sanatorium in the French Alps kills 74, mostly young boys.
Apollo program: Apollo 13 (Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, Jack Swigert) is launched toward the Moon.
April 13 – An oxygen tank in the Apollo 13 spacecraft explodes, forcing the crew to abort the mission and return in four days.
April 17 – Apollo program: Apollo 13 splashes down safely in the Pacific.
April 21 – The Principality of Hutt River "secedes" from Australia (it remains unrecognised by Australia and other nations).
April 24 – China's first satellite (Dong Fang Hong 1) is launched into orbit using a Long March-1 Rocket (CZ-1).
April 26 – The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is founded.
May
May 4 – Kent State shootings: Four students at Kent State University in Ohio, are killed and nine wounded by Ohio National Guardsmen, at a protest against the U.S. incursion into Cambodia.
May 6
Arms Crisis in the Republic of Ireland: Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney are dismissed as members of the Irish Government, for accusations of their involvement in a plot to import arms for use by the Provisional IRA in Northern Ireland.
Feyenoord wins the European Cup after a 2–1 win over Celtic.
May 11
A strong, Multi-vortex F5 tornado impacts areas of Lubbock, Texas after dark. The tornado resulted in 26 fatalities and over 1,500 injuries.
May 14
Ulrike Meinhof helps Andreas Baader escape and create the Red Army Faction in West Germany which exists until 1998.
In the second day of violent demonstrations at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi, state law enforcement officers fire into the demonstrators, killing 2 and injuring 12.
May 17 – Thor Heyerdahl sets sail from Morocco on the papyrus boat Ra II, to cross the South Atlantic.
May 26 – The Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 becomes the first commercial transport to exceed Mach 2.
May 31
The 7.9 Mw Ancash earthquake shakes Peru with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe) and a landslide buries the town of Yungay, Peru. Between 66,794 and 70,000 are killed and 50,000 injured.
The 1970 FIFA World Cup is inaugurated in Mexico.
June
June 1 – Soyuz 9, a two-man spacecraft, is launched in the Soviet Union.
June 4 – Tonga gains independence from the United Kingdom.
June 8 – A coup in Argentina brings a new junta of service chiefs; on June 18, Roberto M. Levingston becomes President.
June 12 – NDFLOAG guerrillas attack military garrisons at Izki and Nizwa in Oman.
June 19 – The Patent Cooperation Treaty is signed into international law, providing a unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions.
June 21 – Brazil defeats Italy 4–1 to win the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.
July
July 3
All 112 people on board Dan-Air Flight 1903 are killed when the British De Havilland Comet crashes into mountains north of Barcelona.
The French Army detonates a 914 kiloton thermonuclear device in the Mururoa Atoll. It is the fifth in a series that started on June 15 in their program to perfect a hydrogen bomb small enough to be delivered by a missile.
July 5 – Air Canada Flight 621 crashes near Toronto International Airport, Toronto, Ontario; all 109 passengers and crew are killed.
July 12 – Thor Heyerdahl's papyrus boat Ra II arrives in Barbados.
July 21 – The Aswan High Dam in Egypt is completed.
July 23 – 1970 Omani coup d'état: Said bin Taimur, Sultan of Muscat and Oman, is deposed in a bloodless palace coup by his son, Qaboos.
July 30 – Damages totalling £485,528 are awarded to 28 Thalidomide victims.
August
August 11 – Creation of the International Council of Organizations of Folklore Festivals and Folk Arts in Confolens, France.
August 17 – Venera program: Venera 7 is launched toward Venus. It later becomes the first spacecraft successfully to transmit data from the surface of another planet.
August 31 – Solar eclipse of August 31, 1970: An annular solar eclipse is visible in Oceania, and is the 14th solar eclipse of Solar Saros 144.
September
September 1 – An assassination attempt against King Hussein of Jordan precipitates the Black September crisis.
September 3–6 – Israeli forces fight Palestinian guerillas in southern Lebanon
September 4 – Chilean Socialist Senator Salvador Allende wins 36.2% of the vote in his run for presidency defeating former right-wing President Jorge Alessandri with 34.9% of the votes and Christian Democrat Radomiro Tomic with 27.8% of the votes.
September 5 – Vietnam War: Operation Jefferson Glenn: The United States 101st Airborne Division and the South Vietnamese 1st Infantry Division initiate a new operation in Thua Thien Province (the operation ends in October 1971).
September 6 – Dawson's Field hijackings: The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine hijacks four passenger aircraft from Pan Am, TWA and Swissair on flights to New York from Brussels, Frankfurt and Zürich and flies them to a desert airstrip in Jordan.
September 7 – Fighting breaks out between Arab guerillas and government forces in Amman, Jordan.
September 8–10 – The Jordanian government and Palestinian guerillas make repeated unsuccessful truces.
September 9 – Guinea recognizes the German Democratic Republic.
September 10 – Cambodian government forces break the siege of Kompong Tho after three months.
September 15 – King Hussein of Jordan forms a military government with Muhammad Daoud as the prime minister.
September 17 – "Black September": King Hussein of Jordan orders the Jordanian Armed Forces to oust Palestinian fedayeen from Jordan.
September 19 – Kostas Georgakis, a Greek student of geology, sets himself ablaze in Matteotti Square in Genoa, Italy, as a protest against the dictatorial Greek junta led by Georgios Papadopoulos.
September 20
Syrian armored forces cross the Jordanian border.
Luna 16 lands on the Moon and lifts off the next day with samples, landing back on Earth September 24.
September 21 – Palestinian armed forces reinforce guerillas in Irbidi, Jordan.
September 22
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is founded.
Tunku Abdul Rahman resigns as prime minister of Malaysia, and is succeeded by his deputy Tun Abdul Razak.
September 27
Richard Nixon begins a tour of Europe, visiting Italy, Yugoslavia, Spain, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Pope Paul VI names Saint Teresa of Ávila as the first female Doctor of the Church.
September 28 – Vice President Anwar Sadat is named temporary president of Egypt following the death of Gamal Abdel Nasser.
September 29 – In Berlin, Red Army Faction members rob three banks, with loot totaling over DM 200,000.
October
October 2 – The Wichita State University football team's "Gold" plane crashes in Colorado, killing most of the players. They were on their way (along with administrators and fans) to a game with Utah State University.
October 3
In Lebanon, the government of Prime Minister Rashid Karami resigns.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is formed in the United States and the Weather Bureau is renamed to National Weather Service as part of NOAA.
Pope Paul VI names Saint Catherine of Siena as the second female Doctor of the Church.
October 4
Jochen Rindt becomes Formula One World Driving Champion, the first to earn the honor posthumously.
In Bolivia, Army Commander General Rogelio Miranda and a group of officers rebel and demand the resignation of President Alfredo Ovando Candía, who dismisses him.
October 5 – The Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnaps British trade commissioner James Cross in Montreal and demands release of all imprisoned FLQ members, beginning Quebec's October Crisis. The next day the Canadian government announces that it will not meet the demand.
October 6 – Bolivian President Alfredo Ovando Candía resigns; General Rogelio Miranda takes over but resigns soon after.
October 7 – General Juan José Torres becomes the new President of Bolivia.
October 8
The U.S. Foreign Office announces the renewal of arms sales to Pakistan.
Vietnam War: In Paris, a Communist delegation rejects U.S. President Richard Nixon's peace proposal as "a maneuver to deceive world opinion."
October 9 – The Khmer Republic is proclaimed in Cambodia, escalating the Cambodian Civil War between the government and the Khmer Rouge.
October 10
Fiji becomes independent.
October Crisis: In Montreal, Quebec Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte becomes the second statesman kidnapped by members of the FLQ terrorist group.
October 11 – Eleven French soldiers are killed in a shootout with rebels in Chad.
October 12 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces that the United States will withdraw 40,000 more troops before Christmas.
October 13 – Saeb Salam forms a government in Lebanon.
October 14 – A Chinese nuclear test is conducted in Lop Nor.
October 15
A section of the new West Gate Bridge in Melbourne collapses into the river below, killing 35 construction workers.
In Egypt, a referendum supports Anwar Sadat 90.04%.
October 16 – October Crisis: The Canadian government declares a state of emergency and outlaws the Quebec Liberation Front.
October 17
October Crisis: Pierre Laporte is found murdered in south Montreal.
A cholera epidemic breaks out in Istanbul.
Anwar Sadat officially becomes President of Egypt.
October 20
The Soviet Union launches the Zond 8 lunar probe.
New Egyptian president Anwar Sadat names Mahmoud Fawzi as his prime minister.
October 22 – Chilean army commander René Schneider is shot in Santiago; the government declares a state of emergency. Schneider dies October 25.
October 23 – Gary Gabelich sets a land speed record in a rocket-powered automobile called the Blue Flame, fueled with natural gas.
October 24 – Salvador Allende is elected President of Chile by a run-off vote in the National Congress
October 25 – The wreck of the Confederate submarine Hunley is found off Charleston, South Carolina, by 22-year-old pioneer underwater archaeologist, Dr. E. Lee Spence. Hunley is the first submarine in history to sink a ship in warfare.
October 28
In Jordan, the government of Ahmad Toukan resigns; the next prime minister is Wasfi al-Tal.
A cholera outbreak in eastern Slovakia causes Hungary to close its border with Czechoslovakia.
Gary Gabelich drives the rocket-powered Blue Flame to an official land speed record of 622.407 mph (1,001.667 km/h) on the dry lake bed of the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. The record, the first above 1,000 km/h, stands for nearly 13 years.
October 30 – In Vietnam, the worst monsoon to hit the area in six years causes large floods, kills 293, leaves 200,000 homeless and virtually halts the Vietnam War.
November
November 1
The Club Cinq-Sept fire in Saint-Laurent-du-Pont, France, kills 146.
Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Zygfryd Wolniak and three Pakistanis are killed in an attack on a group of Polish diplomats at the Karachi airport.
November 3
Salvador Allende takes office as president of Chile.
The 1970 Bhola cyclone makes landfall in modern-day Bangladesh around high tide, causing $86.4 million in damage (1970 USD, $576 million 2020 USD) and becomes the world's deadliest storm killing over 500,000 people.
November 5 – Vietnam War: The United States Military Assistance Command in Vietnam reports the lowest weekly American soldier death toll in five years (24 soldiers die this week, which is the fifth consecutive week the death toll is below 50; 431 are reported wounded in the week, however).
November 8 – Egypt, Libya and Sudan announce their intentions to form a federation.
November 9
The Soviet Union launches Luna 17.
Vietnam War: The Supreme Court of the United States votes 6–3 not to hear a case by the state of Massachusetts about the constitutionality of a state law granting Massachusetts residents the right to refuse military service in an undeclared war.
November 13
1970 Bhola cyclone: A 120-mph (193 km/h) tropical cyclone hits the densely populated Ganges Delta region of East Pakistan (modern-day Bangladesh), killing an estimated 500,000 people (considered the 20th century's worst cyclone disaster). It gives rise to the temporary island of New Moore / South Talpatti.
Hafez al-Assad comes to power in Syria, following a military coup within the Ba'ath Party.
November 14
Southern Airways Flight 932 crashes in Wayne County, West Virginia; all 75 on board, including 37 players and 5 coaches from the Marshall University football team, are killed.
The Soviet Union enters the International Civil Aviation Organization, after having resisted joining the UN Agency for more than 25 years. Russian becomes the fourth official language of the ICAO.
November 16 – The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar flies for the first time.
November 17 – Luna programme: The Soviet Union lands Lunokhod 1 on Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains) on the Moon. This is the first roving remote-controlled robot to land on another world, and is released by the orbiting Luna 17 spacecraft.
November 19 – The six European Economic Community nation prime ministers meet in Munich to begin the new programme of European Political Cooperation (EPC), a unified foreign policy for a future European Union.
November 20 – The Miss World 1970 beauty pageant, hosted by Bob Hope at the Royal Albert Hall, London is disrupted by Women's Liberation protesters. Earlier on the same evening a bomb is placed under a BBC outside broadcast vehicle by The Angry Brigade, in protest at the entry of separate black and white contestants by South Africa.
November 21
Syrian Prime Minister Hafez al-Assad forms a new government but retains the post of defense minister.
In Ethiopia, the Eritrean Liberation Front kills an Ethiopian general.
Vietnam War – Operation Ivory Coast: A joint Air Force and Army team raids the Sơn Tây prison camp in an attempt to free American POWs thought to be held there (no Americans are killed, but the prisoners have already moved to another camp; all U.S. POWs are moved to a handful of central prison complexes as a result of this raid).
1970 Australian Senate election: The Liberal/Country Coalition government led by Prime Minister John Gorton and the Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam each ends up with 26 seats, both suffering a swing against them. The Democratic Labor Party wins an additional seat and holds the balance of power in the Senate. This is the last occasion on which a Senate election is held without an accompanying House Of Representatives election.
November 22 – Guinean president Ahmed Sékou Touré accuses Portugal of an attack when hundreds of mercenaries land near the capital Conakry. The Guinean army repels the landing attempts over the next three days.
November 25–29 – A U.N. delegation arrives to investigate the Guinea situation.
November 25 – In Tokyo, author and Tatenokai militia leader Yukio Mishima and his followers take over the headquarters of the Japan Self-Defense Forces in an attempted coup d'état. After Mishima's speech fails to sway public opinion towards his right-wing political beliefs, including restoration of the powers of the Emperor, he commits seppuku (public ritual suicide).
November 27 – Bolivian artist Benjamin Mendoza tries to assassinate Pope Paul VI during his visit in Manila.
November 28 – The Montréal Alouettes defeat the Calgary Stampeders, 23–10, to win the 58th Grey Cup.
December
December 1
The Italian Chamber of Deputies accepts a new divorce law.
Ethiopia recognizes the People's Republic of China.
The Basque ETA (separatist group) kidnaps West German Eugen Beihl in San Sebastián.
Luis Echeverría becomes president of Mexico.
December 2 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency is established.
December 3
October Crisis: In Montreal, kidnapped British trade commissioner James Cross is released by the Front de libération du Québec terrorist group after being held hostage for 60 days. Police negotiate his release and in return the Government of Canada grants 5 terrorists from the FLQ's Chenier Cell their request for safe passage to Cuba.
Burgos Trial: In Burgos, Spain, the trial of 16 Basque terrorism suspects begins.
December 4
The Spanish government declares a 3-month martial law in the Basque county of Guipuzcoa, over strikes and demonstrations.
The U.N. announces that Portuguese navy and army units were responsible for the attempted invasion of Guinea.
December 5
The Asian and Australian tour of Pope Paul VI ends.
Fluminense wins the Brazil Football Championship.
December 7
Giovanni Enrico Bucher, the Swiss ambassador to Brazil, is kidnapped in Rio de Janeiro; kidnappers demand the release of 70 political prisoners.
The U.N. General Assembly supports the isolation of South Africa for its apartheid policies.
During his visit to the Polish capital, German Chancellor Willy Brandt goes down on his knees in front of a monument to the victims of the Warsaw Ghetto, which will become known as the Warschauer Kniefall ("Warsaw Genuflection").
December 12 – A landslide in western Colombia leaves 200 dead.
December 15
The USSR's Venera 7 becomes the first spacecraft to land successfully on Venus and transmit data back to Earth.
The South Korean ferry Namyong Ho capsizes off Korea Strait; 308 people are killed.
December 16 – The Ethiopian government declares a state of emergency in the county of Eritrea over the activities of the Eritrean Liberation Front.
December 20 – An Egyptian delegation leaves for Moscow to ask for economic and military aid.
December 21 – The Grumman F-14 Tomcat makes its first flight.
December 22
The Libyan Revolutionary Council declares that it will nationalize all foreign banks in the country.
Franz Stangl, the ex-commander of Treblinka, is sentenced to life imprisonment.
December 23
The Bolivian government releases Régis Debray.
Law 70-001 is enacted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, amending article 4 of the constitution and making the country a one-party state.
December 25 – ETA releases Eugen Beihl in Spain.
December 27 – President of India V. V. Giri declares new elections.
December 28 – The suspected killers of Pierre Laporte, Jacques and Paul Rose and Francis Sunard, are arrested near Montreal.
December 29 – U.S. President Richard Nixon signs into law the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
December 30 – In Biscay in the Basque country of Spain, 15,000 go on strike in protest at the Burgos trial death sentences. Francisco Franco commutes the sentences to 30 years in prison.
December 31 – Paul McCartney sues in Britain to dissolve The Beatles' legal partnership.
Date unknown
The first Regional Technical Colleges open in Ireland.
Sada Abe, Japanese former prostitute and later actress, disappears.
Slavery in Oman is abolished.
The Sweet Track is discovered in England. It is the world's oldest engineered roadway at the time of its discovery.
Sammlung zeitgenössischer Kunst der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, the Federal collection of contemporary art, is established in Germany.
Xerox PARC computer laboratory opens in Palo Alto, California, United States.
A multi-business conglomerate, Virgin Group is founded by Richard Branson in the UK.
World population
Births
January
January 2
Oksana Omelianchik, Soviet artistic gymnast
Eric Whitacre, American composer
January 9 – Lara Fabian, Canadian/Belgian singer
January 12 – Zack de la Rocha, American musician
January 13
Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist (d. 2004)
Shonda Rhimes, American TV producer and writer
January 15 – Shane McMahon, American businessman and professional wrestler
January 17 – Genndy Tartakovsky, Russian-American animator
January 20 – Skeet Ulrich, American actor
January 21 – Ken Leung, American actor
January 24 – Matthew Lillard, American actor, presenter, director, and producer
January 27 – Emmanuel Pahud, Franco-Swiss flutist, the Principal flutist of the Berlin Philharmonic,
January 29
Heather Graham, American actress
Paul Ryan, American politician
January 30 – Hans Vonk, South African footballer
January 31 – Minnie Driver, English actress
February
February 3 – Warwick Davis, English actor
February 4 – Hunter Biden, American attorney and son of U.S. president Joe Biden
February 8 – Alonzo Mourning, American basketball player
February 9 – Glenn McGrath, Australian test cricketer
February 10 – Ardy Wiranata, Indonesian badminton player
February 13 – Park Hee-soon, South Korean actor
February 14 – Simon Pegg, British comedian, actor, and screenwriter
February 16 – Armand Van Helden, American DJ and music producer
February 17
Tommy Moe, American Alpine skier
Dominic Purcell, English-Australian actor
February 18 – Susan Egan, American actress, voice actress, singer and dancer
February 26 – Cathrine Lindahl, Swedish curler
February 28
Daniel Handler, American author
Noureddine Morceli, Algerian athlete
March
March 2 – Alexander Armstrong, English comedian, actor and presenter
March 3 – Julie Bowen, American actress
March 5
John Frusciante, American rock musician
Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia
March 7
Petra Mede, Swedish comedian, dancer, actress and television presenter
Rachel Weisz, British-American actress
March 10
Antonio Edwards, American football player
Michel van der Aa, Dutch composer
March 13 – Carme Chacón, Spanish politician (d. 2017)
March 16 – Paul Oscar, Icelandic pop singer, songwriter and disc jockey
March 18 – Queen Latifah, American rapper and actress
March 21 – Jaya, Filipino pop singer
March 22 – Leontien van Moorsel, Dutch cyclist
March 23 – Gianni Infantino, Swiss football administrator
March 24
Lara Flynn Boyle, American actress
Sharon Corr, Irish musician
March 27
Maribel Díaz Cabello, Peruvian educator, First Lady of Peru
Elizabeth Mitchell, American actress
Leila Pahlavi, Iranian princess (d. 2001)
March 28 – Vince Vaughn, American actor, writer, and producer
March 31 – Alenka Bratušek, 7th Prime Minister of Slovenia
April
April 4
Rebekka Bakken, Norwegian singer
Barry Pepper, Canadian actor
April 7 – Rosey, Samoan-American professional wrestler (d. 2017)
April 8 – Andrej Plenković, 12th Prime Minister of Croatia
April 10
José Paulo Lanyi, Brazilian journalist, writer and filmmaker
Q-Tip, American musician and actor
April 11 – Trevor Linden, Canadian hockey player
April 12 - Retta, American stand-up comedian and actress
April 13 – Ricky Schroder, American actor
April 14 – Anna Kinberg Batra, Swedish politician
April 17 – Redman, American rapper and actor
April 18
Heike Friedrich, German swimmer
Saad Hariri, 2-Time Prime Minister of Lebanon
April 19 – Luis Miguel, Mexican singer
April 20 – Shemar Moore, American actor
April 21
Rob Riggle, American actor and comedian
Nicole Sullivan, American actress, comedian, and writer
April 22 – Regine Velasquez, Filipino singer and actress
April 23
Sadao Abe, Japanese actor
Andrew Gee, Australian rugby league footballer
April 25
Kate Allen, Australian born-Austrian triathlete
Tomoko Kawakami, Japanese voice actress (d. 2011)
Jason Lee, American skateboarder and actor
April 26
Melania Trump, Slovenian model, former First Lady of the United States
Tionne Watkins, American actress and singer-songwriter
April 28
Kurt Eversley, Guyanese-born former cricketer
Nicklas Lidström, Swedish hockey player
Diego Simeone, Argentine footballer and manager
April 29
Andre Agassi, American tennis player
Uma Thurman, American actress
April 30 – Halit Ergenç, Turkish actor
May
May 3
Bobby Cannavale, American actor
Ariel Hernandez, Cuban boxer
May 4
Will Arnett, Canadian actor
Dawn Staley, American basketball coach
May 5 – Zorana Mihajlović, Serbian politician
May 6 – Roland Kun, Nauruan politician
May 8
Michael Bevan, Australian cricketer
Luis Enrique, Spanish footballer
Naomi Klein, Canadian author and activist
May 9
Hao Haidong, Chinese footballer
Ghostface Killah, American rapper
May 10 – Angelica Agurbash, Belarusian singer and model
May 11 – Pooja Bedi, Indian actress
May 12 – Samantha Mathis, American actress
May 15 – Ronald and Frank de Boer, Dutch footballers
May 16 – Gabriela Sabatini, Argentine tennis player
May 17 – Giovanna Trillini, Italian fencer
May 18 – Tina Fey, American comedian and actress
May 19 – K. J. Choi, South Korean golfer
May 20
Juliana Pasha, Albanian singer
Louis Theroux, Singaporean-English journalist and producer
May 22 – Naomi Campbell, British model and actress
May 25
Jamie Kennedy, American actor and comedian
Octavia Spencer, American actress
May 26 – Nobuhiro Watsuki, Japanese cartoonist
May 27
Joseph Fiennes, British actor
Bianka Panova, Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast
May 28 – Glenn Quinn, Irish actor (d. 2002)
May 30 – Erick Thohir, Indonesian politician and businessman
June
June 1
Alison Hinds, British-born Bajan soca artist
Alexi Lalas, American soccer player
R. Madhavan, Indian film actor
Karen Mulder, Dutch model and singer
June 2 – B-Real, American rapper
June 3 – Peter Tägtgren, Swedish musician
June 4 – Izabella Scorupco, Polish model and actress
June 5 – Deborah Yates, American dancer and actress
June 7
Helen Baxendale, English actress
Cafu, Brazilian footballer and politician
Mike Modano, American hockey player
June 8
Gabby Giffords, American politician
Kelli Williams, American actress
June 13
Rivers Cuomo, American musician, frontman of Weezer
Mikael Ljungberg, Swedish wrestler (d. 2004)
June 15 – Leah Remini, American actress
June 16
Younus AlGohar, Pakistani spiritualist
Phil Mickelson, American golfer
June 17 – Will Forte, American actor and comedian
June 19 – Quincy Watts, American athlete
June 20
Russell Garcia, British field hockey player
Moulay Rachid, Prince of Morocco
Michelle Reis, Hong Kong actress and beauty queen
Athol Williams, South African poet and social philosopher
June 21 – Pete Rock, American rapper and DJ
June 22 – Michel Elefteriades, Greek-Lebanese politician, artist, producer and businessman
June 23 – Marko Albrecht, German disc jockey and electronic producer
June 24
Glenn Medeiros, American singer and songwriter
Daniel Sánchez Arévalo, Spanish screenwriter and film director
June 25 – Pan Lingling, Singaporean actress
June 26
Paul Thomas Anderson, American screenwriter and director
Sean Hayes, American actor
Paweł Nastula, Polish judoka and mixed martial artist
Chris O'Donnell, American actor
Nick Offerman, American actor, writer and carpenter
June 27 – Ahmed Ahmed, Egyptian-born American actor and comedian
June 30
Leonardo Sbaraglia, Argentine actor
Erica Sjöström, Swedish female singer and saxophonist
July
July 2
Derrick Adkins, American Olympic athlete
Yap Kim Hock, Malaysian badminton player
Steve Morrow, Northern Irish footballer
Kym Ng, Singaporean television host and actress
July 3
Serhiy Honchar, Ukrainian road racing cyclist
Audra McDonald, American actress and singer
Aşkın Nur Yengi, Turkish singer and actress
Teemu Selänne, Finnish hockey player
July 7
Wayne McCullough, Northern Irish boxer
Masai Ujiri, Nigerian professional basketball executive
Atli Örvarsson, Icelandic film score composer
July 8
Beck, American singer-songwriter and record producer
Atul Agnihotri, Indian film actor, producer, and director
Micky Hoogendijk, Dutch actress, presenter, model and professional photographer
Todd Martin, American tennis player
July 10
Jason Orange, British singer
John Simm, British actor
July 11 – Justin Chambers, American actor and fashion model
July 12
Lee Byung-hun, South Korean actor, singer and model
Aure Atika, French actress, writer and director
Susan Tyler Witten, American politician
July 13 – Bruno Salomone, French actor and comedian
July 17
Jang Hyun-sung, South Korean actor
Gavin McInnes, Canadian writer and political commentator (co-founder of Vice Media)
July 19 – Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland (2014-present)
July 20 – Tunku Abdul Majid
July 22 – Jonathan Zaccaï, Belgian actor, film director and screenwriter
July 23
Thea Dorn, German writer
Saulius Skvernelis, Prime Minister of Lithuania
July 28 – Isabelle Brasseur, Canadian figure skater
July 30 – Christopher Nolan, English screenwriter and director
August
August 1
David James, English football goalkeeper
Elon Lindenstrauss, Israeli mathematician
August 2 – Kevin Smith, American screenwriter, film director, and actor
August 3 – Masahiro Sakurai, Japanese video game director, designer and writer
August 4 – Hakeem Jeffries, American politician
August 5 – Konstantin Yeryomenko, Russian futsal player (d. 2010)
August 6 – M. Night Shyamalan, Indian-American film director and writer
August 10
Brendon Julian, New Zealand cricket player
Steve Mautone, Australian football player and coach
August 11 – Daniella Perez, Brazilian actress and ballerina (d. 1992)
August 13 – Alan Shearer, English footballer
August 14 – Leah Purcell, Australian actress
August 15 – Anthony Anderson, American actor
August 16
Saif Ali Khan, Indian actor
Manisha Koirala, Indian actress
August 17 – Jim Courier, American tennis player
August 19 – Fat Joe, American rapper, songwriter, actor, record producer and record executive
August 20
Els Callens, Belgian tennis player
Fred Durst, American rapper
August 21
Erik Dekker, Dutch professional cyclist
Cathy Weseluck, Canadian actress and comedian
August 22
Giada De Laurentiis, Italian-American celebrity chef
Ricco Groß, German biathlete
Tímea Nagy, Hungarian fencer
August 23
Jay Mohr, American actor and comedian
River Phoenix, American actor (d. 1993)
August 25 – Claudia Schiffer, German model
August 26
Olimpiada Ivanova, Russian race walker
Melissa McCarthy, American actress, comedian, and film producer
August 27
Peter Ebdon, English snooker player
Jim Thome, American baseball player, MLB Hall of Fame member
Karl Unterkircher, Italian mountaineer (d. 2008)
August 29 – Alessandra Negrini, Brazilian actress
August 31
Debbie Gibson, American singer
Queen Rania of Jordan, Queen consort of Jordan
September
September 1
Hwang Jung-min, South Korean actor
Padma Lakshmi, Indian-born American author, activist, actress and model
September 3
Jeremy Glick, passenger on board United Airlines Flight 93 (d. 2001)
Gareth Southgate, England national football team manager
September 5 – Kim Hye-soo, South Korean actress
September 7
Gao Min, Chinese diver
Tom Everett Scott, American actor
September 10 – Julie Halard-Decugis, French tennis player
September 11 – Taraji P. Henson, American actress
September 12 – Amala Akkineni, Indian actress, dancer and activist
September 14
Ketanji Brown Jackson, American jurist and associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Mike Burns, American soccer player
September 17 – Valeria Cappellotto, Italian racing cyclist. (d. 2015)
September 18
Darren Gough, English cricketer
Aisha Tyler, American actress, comedian, director, and talk show host
September 19 – Takanori Nishikawa, Japanese singer
September 20 – Gert Verheyen, Belgian footballer
September 21 – Samantha Power, Irish-American government official and writer
September 22 – Emmanuel Petit, French footballer
September 23 – Ani DiFranco, American-Canadian musician
September 25 – David Benioff, American producer and director
September 26
Marco Etcheverry, Bolivian footballer
Yukio Iketani, Japanese gymnast
September 27 – Yoshiharu Habu, Japanese professional shogi player
September 28 – Kimiko Date, Japanese tennis player
September 29
Ninel Conde, Mexican actress, singer, and television host
Daniëlle Jansen, Dutch politician
Emily Lloyd, English actress
Yoshihiro Tajiri, Japanese professional wrestler
September 30 – Tony Hale, American actor
October
October 1 – Moses Kiptanui, Kenyan athlete
October 4
Olga Kuzenkova, Russian hammer thrower
Zdravko Zdravkov, Bulgarian footballer
October 8
Matt Damon, American actor
Sadiq Khan, British politician; 3rd Mayor of London (2016–present)
Tetsuya Nomura, Japanese video game and film director
October 9 – Annika Sörenstam, Swedish golfer
October 10
Sir Matthew Pinsent, British rower
Jokelyn Tienstra, Dutch handball player (d. 2015)
October 12 – Kirk Cameron, American actor and Christian activist
October 14 – Daniela Peštová, Czech supermodel
October 15 – Dalia El Behery, Egyptian actress, model and beauty pageant
October 16 – Mehmet Scholl, German footballer
October 17 – Anil Kumble, Indian cricketer
October 20 – Michelle Malkin, American political commentator
October 21 – Louis Koo, Hong Kong actor
October 22 – Javier Milei, President-elect of Argentina
October 24
Stephen Kipkorir, Kenyan middle-distance runner (d. 2008)
Natasa Theodoridou, Greek singer
October 25 – Adam Goldberg, American actor
October 26 – Chavo Guerrero Jr., Mexican-American professional wrestler
October 27
Adrian Erlandsson, Swedish drummer
Jonathan Stroud, British writer of fantasy fiction
October 29 – Edwin van der Sar, Dutch footballer
October 30 – Nia Long, American actress
Xie Jun, Chinese chess grandmaster
October 31 – Linn Berggren, Swedish singer
November
November 1
Toma Enache, Romanian film director
Merle Palmiste, Estonian actress
November 2
Ely Buendia, Filipino rock lead singer and rhythm guitarist (Eraserheads)
Lucy Hawking, English journalist and novelist
November 6 – Ethan Hawke, American actor, writer, and film director
November 7
Marc Rosset, Swiss tennis player
Morgan Spurlock, American filmmaker and activist (d. 2024)
November 9 – Chris Jericho, American-Canadian professional wrestler
November 10 – Warren G, American rapper
November 12 – Tonya Harding, American figure skater
November 15
Uschi Disl, German biathlete
Patrick M'Boma, Cameroonian footballer
November 16 – Martha Plimpton, American actress
November 17 – Paul Allender, English guitarist
November 18
Megyn Kelly, American journalist and television host
Peta Wilson, Australian actress
Mike Epps, American stand-up comedian and actor
November 21 – Karen Davila, Filipina journalist, TV host and news personality
November 22 – Joe Son, Korean-American actor, wrestler, and convicted felon
November 23 – Oded Fehr, Israeli-American actor
November 24 – Julieta Venegas, American born-Mexican singer, guitarist and producer
November 26 – Dave Hughes, Australian comedian
November 27
Andreína Mujica, Venezuelan journalist and photographer.
Jorge Luis González Tanquero, Cuban dissident (d. 2016)
November 28
Richard Osman, English television presenter, producer and director
Édouard Philippe, French politician, 100th Prime Minister of France
November 30
Yayuk Basuki, Indonesian tennis player
Natalie Williams, American basketball player
December
December 1 – Sarah Silverman, American stand-up comedian, actress, singer, producer, and writer
December 3
Christian Karembeu, French footballer
Jimmy Shergill, Indian actor
December 4 – Kevin Sussman, American actor and comedian
December 5
Tim Hetherington, English-born photojournalist (d. 2011)
Martin Selmayr, German Eurocrat
December 6 – Michaela Schaffrath, German actress
December 9 – Kara DioGuardi, American songwriter, producer and singer
December 11 – Chris Henderson, American soccer player
December 12
Mädchen Amick, American actress
Jennifer Connelly, American actress
Regina Hall, American actress
December 14 – Andrew Lewis, Guyanese professional boxer (d. 2015)
December 15
Babul Supriyo, Indian singer and politician
Przemysław Truściński, Polish artist
December 17 – Craig Doyle, Irish television presenter
December 18
DMX, American rapper and actor (d. 2021)
Rob Van Dam, American professional wrestler
December 20 – Massimo Ellul, Maltese entrepreneur and philanthropist
December 22
Yuriko Backes, Luxembourgish diplomat and politician
Ted Cruz, Canadian-American politician, U.S. Senator (R-Tx.) from 2013 and 2016 presidential candidate
Gary Anderson, Scottish darts player
December 23 – Catriona Le May Doan, Canadian speed skater
December 25 – Emmanuel Amuneke, Nigerian footballer
December 26 – Krissada Sukosol Clapp, Thai actor and singer
December 28
Yolanda Andrade, Mexican actress and television presenter
Elaine Hendrix, American actress
December 29 – Aled Jones, Welsh singer and television presenter
Deaths
January–February
January 5 – Max Born, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1882)
January 10 – Pavel Belyayev, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1925)
January 18 – David O. McKay, 9th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1873)
January 25 – Eiji Tsuburaya, Japanese film director and special effects designer (b. 1901)
January 27 – Erich Heckel, German painter (b. 1883)
January 29
Sir Basil Liddell Hart, British military historian (b. 1895)
Thelma Morgan, American socialite (b. 1904)
January 30 – Fritz Bayerlein, German general (b. 1899)
January 31 – Slim Harpo, American singer (b. 1924)
February 2 – Bertrand Russell, British logician and philosopher, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature (b. 1872)
February 3 – Italo Gariboldi, Italian general (b. 1879)
February 7 – Abe Attell, American boxer (b. 1883)
February 14
Arthur Edeson, American cinematographer (b. 1891)
Harry Stradling, American cinematographer (b. 1901)
February 15 – Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, British RAF Fighter Commander during the Battle of Britain (b. 1882)
February 16 – Francis Peyton Rous, American pathologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1879)
February 17
Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Israeli writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
Alfred Newman, American film composer (b. 1900)
February 19 – Jules Munshin, American actor (b. 1915)
February 20
Café Filho, Brazilian politician, 18th President of Brazil (b. 1899)
Sophie Treadwell, American playwright and journalist (b. 1885)
February 22 – Dora Boothby, English tennis champion (b. 1881)
February 24 – Conrad Nagel, American actor (b. 1897)
March
March 6 – William Hopper, American actor (b. 1915)
March 11 – Erle Stanley Gardner, American crime writer (b. 1889)
March 15 – Arthur Adamov, Russian-French playwright (b. 1908)
March 16 – Tammi Terrell, American singer (b. 1945)
March 18 – William Beaudine, American film director (b. 1892)
March 21 – Marlen Haushofer, Austrian author (b. 1920)
March 29 – Vera Brittain, British writer (b. 1893)
March 30 – Heinrich Brüning, German academic and politician, 21st Chancellor of Germany (b. 1885)
March 31 – Semyon Timoshenko, Soviet general, Marshal of the Soviet Union (b. 1895)
April
April 1
Polina Zhemchuzhina, Soviet politician (b. 1897)
Ludolf von Alvensleben, German Nazi functionary, SS and Police Leader (b. 1901)
April 5
Louisa Bolus, South African botanist and taxonomist (b. 1877)
Alfred Henry Sturtevant, American geneticist (b. 1891)
April 6 – Maurice Stokes, American basketball player (b. 1933)
April 8
Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma, consort of Grand Duchess Charlotte (b. 1893)
Julius Pokorny, Austrian-born Czech linguist (b. 1887)
April 11 – Cathy O'Donnell, American actress (b. 1923)
April 16 – Richard Neutra, Austrian-born American architect (b. 1892)
April 17 – Patriarch Alexy I of Moscow (b. 1877)
April 18 – Michał Kalecki, Polish economist (b. 1899)
April 26
Francisco Cunha Leal, Portuguese politician, 84th Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1888)
Gypsy Rose Lee, American actress (b. 1911)
April 27 – Arthur Shields, Irish actor (b. 1896)
April 28 – Ed Begley, American actor (b. 1901)
April 30 – Inger Stevens, Swedish-American actress (b. 1934)
May
May 1
Ralph Hartley, American inventor (b. 1888)
Yi Un, Crown Prince of Korea (b. 1897)
May 9 – Walter Reuther, American labor union leader and president of the United Auto Workers (b. 1907)
May 11 – Johnny Hodges, American jazz musician (b. 1907)
May 12
Władysław Anders, General of the Polish Army (b. 1892)
Nelly Sachs, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
May 13 – Sir William Dobell, Australian artist (b. 1899)
May 14 – Billie Burke, American actress (b. 1884)
May 17 – Heinz Hartmann, Austrian psychiatrist and psychoanalyst (b. 1894)
May 24 – Phan Khắc Sửu, South Vietnamese politician and Chief of State of the Republic of Vietnam (b. 1893)
May 28 – Iuliu Hossu, Romanian Roman Catholic bishop and servant of God (b. 1885)
May 29
John Gunther, American writer (b. 1901)
Eva Hesse, German-born American sculptor (b. 1936)
May 31 – Terry Sawchuk, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
June
June 1 – Pedro Eugenio Aramburu, 31st President of Argentina (b. 1903)
June 2 – Bruce McLaren, founder of McLaren Racing (b. 1937)
June 3 – Hjalmar Schacht, Nazi German economic minister (b. 1877)
June 7
E. M. Forster, English writer (b. 1879)
Manuel Gómez-Moreno Martínez, Spanish archaeologist and historian (b. 1870)
June 8 – Abraham Maslow, American psychologist (b. 1908)
June 9 – Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia, 19th President of Costa Rica (b. 1900)
June 10 – Bartolomé Blanche, Chilean military officer, provisional President of Chile (b. 1879)
June 11 – Alexander Kerensky, Russian revolutionary politician (b. 1881)
June 14 – Roman Ingarden, Polish philosopher (b. 1893)
June 16 – Heino Eller, Estonian composer and composition teacher (b. 1887)
June 21 – Sukarno, 1st President of Indonesia (b. 1901)
June 26 – Leopoldo Marechal, Argentine writer (b. 1900)
July
July 6 – Marjorie Rambeau, American actress (b. 1889)
July 7 – Sylvester Wiere, Austro-Hungarian-born American slapstick comedian, member of the Wiere Brothers (b. 1909)
July 10 – Bjarni Benediktsson, 11th Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1908)
July 13
Leslie Groves, American general, director of the Manhattan Project (b. 1896)
Sheng Shicai, Chinese warlord (b. 1895)
July 14 – Luis Mariano, Spanish tenor (b. 1914)
July 19
Egon Eiermann, German architect (b. 1904)
Panagiotis Pipinelis, former Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1899)
July 22 – Fritz Kortner, Austrian-born director (b. 1892)
July 23
Amadeo Bordiga, Italian Marxist (b. 1889)
July 27 – António de Oliveira Salazar, Portuguese economist and politician, 100th Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1889)
July 29 – Sir John Barbirolli, English conductor (b. 1899)
July 30 – George Szell, Hungarian conductor (b. 1897)
July 31 – Sir Wilfrid Kent Hughes, Australian Olympian and politician (b. 1895)
August
August 1
Frances Farmer, American actress and television host (b. 1913)
Giuseppe Pizzardo, Italian Roman Catholic cardinal (b. 1877)
Otto Heinrich Warburg, German physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (b. 1883)
August 8 – Jerry Dawson (footballer, born 1888), Burnley and national team (b. 1888)
August 10 – Bernd Alois Zimmermann, German composer (b. 1918)
August 12 – Glenn Hartranft, American athlete (b. 1901)
August 18 – Soledad Miranda, Spanish actress (b. 1943)
August 20 – Zeki Velidi Togan, Turkish historian (b. 1890)
August 22 – Vladimir Propp, Soviet folklorist (b. 1895)
August 23 – Abdallah Khalil, 3rd Prime Minister of Sudan (b. 1892)
August 30 – Del Moore, American actor, comedian and radio announcer (b. 1916)
September
September 1 – François Mauriac, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
September 2 – Marie-Pierre Kœnig, French general and politician (b. 1898)
September 3
Vince Lombardi, American football player and coach (b. 1913)
Alan Wilson, American musician (Canned Heat) (b. 1943)
September 5
Jesse Pennington, English footballer (b. 1883)
Jochen Rindt, Austrian racing driver, 1970 Formula One Driver's Champion (b. 1942)
September 7 – Yitzhak Gruenbaum, leader of the Zionist movement in the interwar period (b. 1879)
September 12 – Jacob Viner, Canadian economist (b. 1892)
September 14 – Rudolf Carnap, German-American philosopher and mathematician (b. 1891)
September 18 – Jimi Hendrix, American rock musician (b. 1942)
September 22 – Alice Hamilton, the first woman appointed to the faculty of Harvard University (b. 1869)
September 23 – André Bourvil, French actor (b. 1917)
September 25 – Erich Maria Remarque, German author (All Quiet On The Western Front) (b. 1898)
September 28
John Dos Passos, American novelist (b. 1896)
Mahmud al-Muntasir, 1st Prime Minister of Libya (b. 1903)
Gamal Abdel Nasser, 31st Prime Minister of Egypt and 2nd President of Egypt (b. 1918)
September 29 – Edward Everett Horton, American actor (b. 1886)
September 30 – Benedetto Aloisi Masella, Italian Roman Catholic cardinal (b. 1875)
October
October 1 – Petar Konjović, Yugoslav composer (b. 1883)
October 4 – Janis Joplin, American rock singer (b. 1943)
October 10 – Édouard Daladier, 72nd Prime Minister of France (b. 1884)
October 12 – Feodor Stepanovich Rojankovsky, Russian illustrator (b. 1891)
October 18 – Prince Zeid bin Hussein (b. 1898)
October 19 – Lázaro Cárdenas, 44th President of Mexico (b. 1895)
October 21
Li Linsi, Chinese educator and diplomat (b. 1896)
Ernest Haller, American cinematographer (b. 1896)
October 24 – Richard Hofstadter, American historian (b. 1916)
October 25 – René Schneider, commander-in-chief of the Chilean Army (b. 1913)