1938

1938 in variouscalendars
Gregorian calendar	1938; MCMXXXVIII
Ab urbe condita	2691
Armenian calendar	1387; ԹՎ ՌՅՁԷ
Assyrian calendar	6688
Baháʼí calendar	94–95
Balinese saka calendar	1859–1860
Bengali calendar	1345
Berber calendar	2888
British Regnal year	2Geo. 6– 3Geo. 6
Buddhist calendar	2482
Burmese calendar	1300
Byzantine calendar	7446–7447
Chinese calendar	Đinh SửuNăm (FireOx); 4635 or 4428; — to —; Mậu Dần năm (EarthTiger); 4636 or 4429
Coptic calendar	1654–1655
Discordian calendar	3104
Ethiopian calendar	1930–1931
Hebrew calendar	5698–5699
Hindu calendars
-Vikram Samvat	1994–1995
-Shaka Samvat	1859–1860
-Kali Yuga	5038–5039
Holocene calendar	11938
Igbo calendar	938–939
Iranian calendar	1316–1317
Islamic calendar	1356–1357
Japanese calendar	Shōwa13; ( chiêu cùng １３ năm )
Javanese calendar	1868–1869
Juche calendar	27
Julian calendar	Gregorian minus 13 days
Korean calendar	4271
Minguo calendar	ROC27; Dân quốc 27 năm
Nanakshahi calendar	470
Thai solar calendar	2480–2481
Tibetan calendar	Âm hỏa ngưu năm; (female Fire-Ox); 2064 or 1683 or 911; — to —; Dương thổ hổ năm; (male Earth-Tiger); 2065 or 1684 or 912

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	19th century; 20th century; 21st century;
Decades:	1910s; 1920s; 1930s; 1940s; 1950s;
Years:	1935; 1936; 1937; 1938; 1939; 1940; 1941;

1938(MCMXXXVIII) was acommon year starting on Saturdayof theGregorian calendar,the 1938th year of theCommon Era(CE) andAnno Domini(AD) designations, the 938th year of the2nd millennium,the 38th year of the20th century,and the 9th year of the1930sdecade.

Events[edit]

January[edit]

January 16:Benny Goodmanin New York City

January 1–State-owned railwaynetworks are created by merger, inFrance(SNCF) and theNetherlands(Nederlandse Spoorwegen– NS).^[1]
January 20– KingFarouk of Egyptmarries Safinaz Zulficar, who becomesQueen Farida,inCairo.^[2]
January 27– TheHoneymoon BridgeatNiagara Falls, New York,collapses as a result of an ice jam.^[3]

February[edit]

February 4
- Adolf Hitlerabolishes the War Ministry and creates theOberkommando der Wehrmacht(High Command of the Armed Forces), giving him direct control of the German military. In addition, he dismisses political and military leaders considered unsympathetic to his philosophy or policies. GeneralWerner von Fritschis forced to resign as Commander of Chief of the German Army following accusations of homosexuality, and replaced by GeneralWalther von Brauchitsch.Foreign Minister BaronKonstantin von Neurathis dismissed, and replaced byJoachim von Ribbentrop.
- Walt Disney'sSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs,the firstcel-animated feature in motion picture history, is released in the United States, following a premiere on December 21 of the previous year.
February 6– Black Sunday atBondi Beach,Sydney,Australia: 300 swimmers are dragged out to sea in 3 freak waves; 80lifesaverssave all but 5.^[4]
February 10
- Carol II of Romaniatakes dictatorial powers.
- Second Sino-Japanese War:Bombing of Chongqingbegins.
February 12– ChancellorKurt von Schuschniggof Austria meetsAdolf HitleratBerchtesgadenand, under threat of invasion, is forced to yield to German demands for greaterNaziparticipation in the Austrian government.
February 22– TheBattle of Teruelends in aNationalistvictory with recapture of the city, a turning point in theSpanish Civil War.^[5]
February 24– Anylonbristletoothbrushbecomes the first commercial product to be made with nylon yarn.^[6]

March[edit]

March 1–Lee Byung-chulestablishes a trucking business inDaegu,Korea, which he names Samsung Trading Co, the forerunner toSamsung.^[7]
March 3
- TheSanta Ana RiverinCalifornia,United States, spills over its banks during a rainy winter, killing 58 people in Orange County, and causing trouble as far inland as Palm Springs.^[8]
- SirNevile Henderson,British Ambassador to Germany, presents a proposal to Hitler for an international consortium to rule much of Africa (in which Germany would be assigned a leading role), in exchange for a German promise never to resort to war to change her frontiers; Hitler rejects the British offer.
March 12–Anschluss:German troops occupy Austria; annexation is declared the following day.
March 14– French PremierLéon Blumreassures the Czechoslovak government that France will honor its treaty obligations to aidCzechoslovakia,in the event of a German invasion.
March 17– Polandpresents an ultimatumtoLithuania,to establish normal diplomatic relations that were severed over theVilnius Region.
March 27– Italian mathematicianEttore Majoranadisappears suddenly under mysterious circumstances, while travelling by ship fromPalermotoNaples.
March 28– At a meeting with Hitler in Berlin,Konrad Henleinis instructed to make increasing demands concerning the status of theSudetenland,but to avoid reaching an agreement with Czechoslovak authorities.
March 30– Italy'sDuceBenito Mussoliniis granted equal power over the Italian military to that of KingVictor Emmanuel III,asFirst Marshal of the Empire.^[9]

April[edit]

April 10
- Édouard Daladierbecomes prime minister of France. He appoints as Foreign Minister a leading advocate of the policy ofappeasement,Georges Bonnet,effectively negating Blum's reassurances of March 14.
- In a result that astonishes even Hitler, the Austrian electorate in a national referendum approvesAnschlussby an overwhelming 99.73%.
April 16– The UK and Italy sign an agreement that sees Britain recognise Italian control of Ethiopia (formally on November 16), in return for an Italian pledge to withdraw all its 10,000 troops from Spain, at the conclusion of the civil war there.
April 18–Supermanfirst appears inAction Comics#1 (cover date June). The date is established in court documents released during the legal battle over the rights to Superman (on April 18, 2018, DC Comics releasedAction Comics#1000).
April 24–Konstantin Pätsbecomes the firstPresident of Estonia.

May[edit]

May 5
- TheVaticanrecognizesFrancisco Franco's government in Spain.
- GeneralLudwig Beck,Chief of the German Army's General Staff, submits a memorandum to Hitler opposingFall Grün(Case Green), the plan for a war with Czechoslovakia, under the grounds that Germany is ill-prepared for the world war likely to result from such an attack.
May 12– U.S. Secretary of StateCordell Hullrejects the Soviet Union's offer of a joint defence pact, to counter the rise of Nazi Germany.
May 14–Chilewithdraws from theLeague of Nations.
May 19–May Crisis 1938:Czechoslovakintelligence receives reports of menacingGermanmilitary concentrations (it later appears the reports are false).
May 20–Czechoslovakiaorders a partial mobilization of its armed forces along the German border.
May 21–Tsuyama massacre:Matsuo Toi kills 30 people in a village inOkayama,Japan,in the world's worstspree killingby an individual until1982.
May 23– No evidence of German troop movements againstCzechoslovakiais found, and theMay Crisissubsides.Germanyis, nevertheless, perceived to have backed down in the face of Czechoslovak mobilization and international diplomatic unity, but the issue of the future of theSudetenlandis far from resolved.
May 25
- Spanish Civil War:Alicanteisbombed by fascist rebels,resulting in 313 deaths.
- TheSovietambassador to the United States, A. A. Troyanovsky, declares Moscow ready to defendCzechoslovakia.
May 28– In a conference at theReich Chancellery,Hitlerdeclares his decision to destroyCzechoslovakiaby military force, and orders the immediate mobilization of 96 Wehrmacht divisions.
May 30–Hitlerissues a revised directive forFall Grün( "Case Green" ) - the invasion ofCzechoslovakia- to be carried out by October 1, 1938.

June[edit]

June 5&7– The1938 Yellow River floodis created by theNationalist governmentin centralChina,breaching embankments during the early stage of theSecond Sino-Japanese War,in an attempt to halt the rapid advance of Japanese forces. The flood kills at least 400,000, covers and destroys thousands of square kilometers of farmland, and shifts the mouth of theYellow Riverhundreds of kilometers to the south.
June 11– Fire destroys 214 buildings inLudza,Latvia.
June 15–László Bírópatents theballpoint penin Britain.
June 19–ItalybeatsHungary4–2, to win the1938 FIFA World Cup.
June 22–Heavyweight bo xingchampionJoe Louisknocks outMax Schmelingin the first round of their rematch, atYankee Stadiumin New York City.^[10]
June 25– Dr.Douglas Hydetakes office as the firstPresident of Ireland.^[11]

July[edit]

July– TheMauthausen concentration campis built in Austria.
July 1– TheSouth African Press Associationis established, with offices inCape Town,Johannesburg,Durban,BloemfonteinandPretoria.
July 3
- Thesteam locomotiveMallardsets the world speed record for steam, by reaching 125.88 mph on theLondon and North Eastern Railway.
- The last reunion of the Blue andGraycommemorates the 75th anniversary of theBattle of Gettysburg,inGettysburg, Pennsylvania.
July 5– TheNon-Intervention Committeereaches an agreement to withdraw all foreign volunteers from theSpanish Civil War.The agreement is respected by most RepublicanInternational Brigades,notably those from England and the United States, but is ignored by the governments of Germany and Italy.
July 6– TheEvian Conferenceon Refugees is convened in France. No country in Europe is prepared to accept Jews fleeing persecution, and the United States will take only 27,370.
July 14–Howard Hughessets a new record, by completing a 91-hourairplaneflight around the world.
July 18–Wrong Way Corrigantakes off from New York, ostensibly heading for California. He lands in Ireland instead.
July 22– Britain rejects a proposal from its ambassador in Berlin,Nevile Henderson,for a four-power summit on Czechoslovakia consisting of Britain, France, Germany and the U.S.S.R., as London will under no circumstances accept the U.S.S.R. as a diplomatic partner.
July 24– The north face of theEigerin the Alps is first ascended.
July 28
- 1938 Greek coup d'état attempt:A revolt against theIoannis Metaxasdictatorship in Greece is put down inChania.
- Pan Am flying boatHawaii Clipperdisappears with 6 passengers and 9 crew members, en route fromGuamtoManila.

August[edit]

August– In the face of overwhelming Japanese military pressure,Chiang Kai-shekwithdraws his government toChungking.
August 10– At a secret summit with his leading generals, Hitler attacks General Beck's arguments againstFall Grün,winning the majority of his senior officers over to his point of view.
August 18– Colonel GeneralLudwig Beck,convinced thatHitler's decision to attackCzechoslovakiawill lead to a general European war, resigns his position as Chief of the Army General Staff in protest.
August 23–Hitler,hosting a dinner on board the ocean linerPatriainKiel Bay,tells the Regent of Hungary,Admiral Horthy,that action againstCzechoslovakiais imminent and that "he who wants to sit at the table must at least help in the kitchen", a reference to Horthy's designs onCarpathian Ruthenia.

September[edit]

September– The European crisis over German demands for annexation of theSudetenborderland ofCzechoslovakiabecomes increasingly severe.
September 5–CzechoslovakianPresidentEdvard Benešinvites mid-level representatives of theSudeten Germans HradčanyPalace, to tell them he will accept whatever demands they care to make, provided theSudetenlandremains part of theRepublic of Czechoslovakia.
September 6– What eventually proves to be the last of the "Nuremberg Rallies"begins. It draws worldwide attention because it is widely assumed thatHitler,in his closing remarks, will signal whether there will be peace with or war overCzechoslovakia.
September 7–The Timespublishes a lead article, which calls onCzechoslovakiato cede theSudetenlandto Germany.
September 10–Hermann Göring,in a speech atNuremberg,calls theCzechsa "miserable pygmy race" who are "harassing the human race". That same evening,Edvard Beneš,President ofCzechoslovakia,makes a broadcast in which he appeals for calm.
September 12–Hitlermakes his much-anticipated closing address atNuremberg,in which he vehemently attacks theCzechpeople and PresidentBeneš.American news commentatorHans von Kaltenbornbegins his famous marathon of broadcast bulletins over theCBSRadio Network, with a summation of Hitler's address.
September 13– The followers ofKonrad Henleinbegin an armed revolt against the Czechoslovak government inSudetenland.Martial law is declared and after much bloodshed on both sides order is temporarily restored.Neville Chamberlainpersonally sends a telegram toHitler,urgently requesting that they both meet.
September 15–Neville Chamberlainarrives inBerchtesgaden,to begin negotiations withHitlerover theSudetenland.
September 16–Lord Runcimanis recalled to London fromPrague,in order to brief the British government on the situation in theSudetenland.
September 17–Neville Chamberlainreturns temporarily to London, to confer with his cabinet. The U.S.S.R.Red Armymasses along the Ukrainian frontier. Rumania agrees to allow Soviet soldiers free passage across her territory to defend Czechoslovakia.
September 18
- During a meeting betweenNeville Chamberlain,the recently elected Premier of France,Édouard Daladier,and Daladier's Foreign Minister,Georges Bonnet,it becomes apparent that neither the British nor the French governments are prepared to go to war over theSudetenland.TheSoviet Uniondeclares it will come to the defence of Czechoslovakia only if France honours her commitment to defend Czechoslovak independence.
- Mussolini makes a speech in Trieste, Italy, where he indicates that Italy is supporting Germany in the Sudeten crisis.
September 21
- In the early hours of the day, representatives of the French and British governments call on Czechoslovak PresidentEdvard Beneš,to tell him France and Britain will not fightHitlerif he decides to annex theSudetenlandby force. Late in the afternoon, the Czechoslovak government capitulates to the French and British demands.
- Winston Churchillwarns of grave consequences to European security, ifCzechoslovakiais partitioned. The same day, Soviet Foreign CommissarMaxim Litvinovmakes a similar statement in theLeague of Nations.
- Following the capitulation of the Czech government to Germany's demands, both Poland and Hungary demand slices of Czech territory where their nationals reside.
- The1938 New England hurricanein the United States strikesLong Islandand southern New England, killing over 300 along the Rhode Island shoreline and 600 altogether.
September 22
- Unable to survive the previous day's capitulation to the demands of the English and French governments, Czechoslovak premierMilan Hodžaresigns. GeneralJan Syrovýtakes his place.
- Neville Chamberlainarrives in the city ofBad Godesberg,for another round of talks withHitlerover theSudetenlandcrisis. Hitler raises his demands to include occupation of all German Sudeten territories by October 1. That night after a telephone conference, Chamberlain reverses himself and advises the Czechoslovaks to mobilize.^[12]
September 23
- TheCzechoslovakarmy mobilizes.^[13]
- As the Polish army masses along the Czech border, theSoviet Unionwarns Poland that if it crosses the Czech frontier, Russia will regard the 1932 non-aggression pact between the two countries as void.
September 24
- SirEric Phipps,British Ambassador to France, reports to London, "all that is best in France is against war, almost at any price", being opposed only by a "small, but noisy and corrupt, war group". Phipps's report creates major doubts about the ability and/or willingness of France to go to war.^[14]
- At 1:30 AM,Adolf HitlerandNeville Chamberlainconclude their talks on theSudetenland.Chamberlain agrees to take Hitler's demands, codified in theGodesberg Memorandum,personally to the Czech Government. The Czech Government rejects the demands, as does Chamberlain's own cabinet. The French Government also initially rejects the terms and orders a partial mobilization of the French army.
September 25– BritishRoyal Navyis ordered to sea.^[15]
September 26– In a vitriolic speech at Berlin's Sportpalast, Hitler defies the world and implies war withCzechoslovakiawill begin at any time.
September 28– As his self-imposed October 1 deadline for occupation of theSudetenlandapproaches,Adolf Hitlerinvites Italian Duce Benito Mussolini, French Premier Edourd Deladier and British Prime MinisterNeville Chamberlainto one last conference inMunich.The Czechs themselves are not invited.
September 29
- ColonelGraham Christie,former British military attaché in Berlin, is told byCarl Friedrich Goerdelerthat the mobilization of theRoyal Navyhas badly damaged the popularity of the Nazi regime, as the German public realizes thatFall Grünis likely to cause a world war.
- Munich Agreement:German, Italian, British and French leaders agree to German demands regarding annexation of theSudetenlandinCzechoslovakia.The Czechoslovak government is largely excluded from the negotiations, and is not a signatory to the agreement.
- TheRepublic of Hatayis declared inSyria.
September 30– Neville Chamberlain returns to Britain from meeting with Adolf Hitler, and declares "Peace for our time".

October[edit]

October– TheImperial Japanese Armylargely overrunsCanton.
October 1– German troops march into theSudetenland.The Polish government gives the Czech government an ultimatum, stating thatTrans-Olzaregion must be handed over within twenty-four hours. The Czechs have little choice but to comply; Polish forces occupy Trans-Olza.
October 2
- Tiberias massacre:Arab raiders murder 19 Jewish immigrants.
- Disgusted withNeville Chamberlain's conduct at Munich,Duff Cooperresigns his post asFirst Lord of the Admiralty.With his resignation, formal debate begins in theParliament of the United Kingdomon theMunich Agreement,but with Chamberlain at the peak of his popularity, there can be little doubt His Majesty's Government will receive a vote of confidence.
October 4– The Republican forces in theSpanish Civil Warbegin withdrawing their foreign volunteers from combat, as agreed on July 5.
October 5
- Edvard Beneš,president ofCzechoslovakia,resigns.
- Nuremberg Laws:In Nazi Germany, Jews' passports are invalidated, and those who need a passport for emigration purposes are given one marked with the letter J ( "Jude" – "Jew" ).^[16]
October 16–Winston Churchill,in a broadcast address to the United States, condemns theMunich Agreementas a defeat, and calls upon America and western Europe to prepare for armed resistance against Hitler.
October 18– The German government expels 12,000 Polish Jews living in Germany; the Polish government accepts 4,000 and refuses admittance to the remaining 8,000, who are forced to live in the no-man's land on the German-Polish frontier.
October 21– In direct contravention of the recently signedMunich Agreement,Adolf Hitlercirculates among his high command a secret memorandum stating that they should prepare for the "liquidation of the rest ofCzechoslovakia"and the occupation ofMemel.
October 24
- French Foreign MinisterGeorges Bonnetcarries out a major purge of theMinistry of Foreign Affairs,dismissing or exiling a number of anti-appeasement officials such asPierre ComertandRené Massigli.
- At a "friendly luncheon" inBerchtesgaden,German foreign ministerJoachim von RibbentroptellsJózef Lipski,the Polish ambassador to Germany, that theFree City of Danzigmust return to Germany, that the Germans must be given extraterritorial rights in thePolish Corridor,and that Poland must sign theAnti-Comintern Pact.
October 27–DuPontannounces a name for its new synthetic yarn: "nylon".

November[edit]

November 2– Arising from The Munich Agreement, Hungary is "awarded"theFelvidekregion of SouthSlovakiaand Ruthenia.
November 7–Ernst vom Rath,the Third Secretary at the German Embassy in Paris, is assassinated byHerschel Grynszpan.
November 9–Holocaust–Kristallnacht:In Germany, the "night of broken glass" begins asNaziactivists and sympathizers loot and burn Jewish businesses (the all night affair sees 7,500 Jewish businesses destroyed, 267synagoguesburned, 91 Jews killed and at least 25,000 Jewish men arrested).^[17]
November 10–İsmet İnönübecomes the second president ofTurkey.
November 11–Celâl Bayarforms the new government ofTurkey(10th government; Celal Bayar had served twice as a prime minister).
November 12– French Finance MinisterPaul Reynaudbrings into effect a series of laws aiming at improving French productivity (thus aiming to undo the economic weaknesses which led to Munich), and undoes most of the economic and social laws of the Popular Front.
November 16–LSDis first synthesized byAlbert Hofmannfrom ergotamine, at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel.^[18]
November 18–Trade unionmembers electJohn L. Lewis,as the first president of theCongress of Industrial Organizationsin the United States.
November 25– French Foreign MinisterGeorges BonnetinformsLéon Noël,the French Ambassador to Poland, that France should find an excuse for terminating the 1921 Franco-Polish alliance.
November 30
- The Czechoslovak parliament electsEmil Háchaas the new president of Czechoslovakia.
- Benito Mussoliniand his Foreign Minister, CountGaleazzo Ciano,order "spontaneous" demonstrations in the Italian Chamber of Deputies, demanding that France cede Tunisia, Nice, Corsica and French Somaliland to Italy. This begins an acute crisis in Franco-Italian relations, that lasts untilMarch 1939.
- Corneliu Zelea Codreanu,leader of the Romanian fascistIron Guard,is murdered on the orders of KingCarol II of Romania.Officially, Codreanu and the 13 other Iron Guard leaders are "shot while trying to escape".
- A general strike is called in France by theFrench Communist Party,to protest the laws of November 12.

December[edit]

December–Adolf HitlerisTimemagazine's "Man of the Year",as the most influential person of the year.
December 1– Slovakia is granted the status of an autonomous state, under Catholic priest Fr. Joseph Tiso.
December 6– German Foreign MinisterJoachim von Ribbentropvisits Paris, where he is allegedly informed by French Foreign MinisterGeorges Bonnetthat France now recognizes all of Eastern Europe as being in Germany's exclusive sphere of influence. Bonnet's alleged statement (he subsequently always denies making the remark) to Ribbentrop is a major factor in German policy in 1939.
December 11–Kingdom of Yugoslavia parliamentary election:The opposition gains votes but not seats.
December 13– TheNeuengamme concentration campopens nearHamburg.
December 15– TheNetherlandscloses its border to refugees.
December 17–Otto Hahndiscovers thenuclear fissionof uranium, the scientific and technological basis ofnuclear power,which marks the beginning of theAtomic Age.
December 23– Acoelacanth,a fish thought to have beenextinct,is caught off the coast of South Africa, near theChalumna River.
December 24– Leading Korean dancerChoi Seung-heearrives inLe Havre,Franceafter her tour in theUnited States.This is to begin her European tour inFrance,Belgium,Switzerland,Italy,Germany,and theNetherlands.^[19]She is the firstKorean Waveentertainer.
December 27– A massive avalanche of snow hits a construction worker dormitory site inKurobe,Japan, killing 87 people.

Date unknown[edit]

MajlisKhuddam-ul Ahmadiyyais established byKhalifat-ul MasihII,Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad,the secondCaliphof theAhmadiyya Muslim Community.
TheWalther P38pistol design is agreed to by the German military.
The lastSchomburgk's deerin the wild is said to have been killed.^[20]
Herbert E. Ivesand G. R. Stilwell execute theIves–Stilwell experiment,showing thationsradiate atfrequenciesaffected by their motion.^[21]

Births[edit]

Births
January·February·March·April·May·June·July·August·September·October·November·December

January–February[edit]

January 1–Frank Langella,American actor
January 2
- Goh Kun,Korean politician, Mayor of Seoul and 31stPrime Minister of the Republic of Korea(South Korea)
- Bohumil Nemecek,Czechoslovakian Olympic boxer (d.2010)^[22]
January 4–Mohamed Rahmat( "Tok Mat" ), Malaysian politician (d.2010)^[23]
January 5
- KingJuan Carlos I of Spain^[24]
- Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o,Kenyan writer
January 7–Roland Topor,French illustrator (d.1997)^[25]
January 10–Donald Knuth,American mathematician and computer scientist^[26]
January 13–Shivkumar Sharma,Indian musician
January 14
- Morihiro Hosokawa,Japanese politician, 50thPrime Minister of Japan^[27]
- Jack Jones,American singer^[28]
- Allen Toussaint,American musician, composer (d.2015)^[29]
January 23–Georg Baselitz,German painter, sculptor
January 25
- Etta James,African-American singer (d.2012)
- Shotaro Ishinomori,Japanese manga artist, father of "Henshin Heroes" (d.1998)
- Vladimir Vysotsky,Russian singer-songwriter, poet and actor (d.1980)
January 28–Tomas Lindahl,Swedish biochemist, recipient of theNobel Prize in Chemistry
January 29–Shuji Tsurumi,Japanese men's artistic gymnast
January 30–Islam Karimov,President of Uzbekistan(d.2016)
January 31– QueenBeatrix of the Netherlands
February 1–Sherman Hemsley,African-American comedian and actor (d.2012)^[30]
February 2–Pilar Pellicer,Mexican actress (d.2020)^[31]
February 3–Emile Griffith,American welterweight boxer (d.2013)
February 11–Mohammed Gammoudi,Tunisian Olympic athlete^[32]
February 12–Judy Blume,American author
February 13–Oliver Reed,English actor (d.1999)
February 18–István Szabó,Hungarian film director
February 24
- James Farentino,American actor (d.2012)
- Phil Knight,American sportswear entrepreneur^[33]
February 25–Herb Elliott,Australian runner
February 27–Pascale Petit,French actress

March–April[edit]

March 1–Tufuga Efi,Samoa political figure, 3rdPrime Minister of SamoaandO le Ao o le Maloof Samoa
March 2–Ricardo Lagos Escobar,President of Chile
March 4
- Alpha Condé,4thPresident of Guinea^[34]
- Paula Prentiss,American actress
March 5–Fred Williamson,American football player and actor^[35]
March 7–David Baltimore,American biologist, recipient of theNobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
March 12–Dumitru Fărcaș,Romaniantárogatóplayer (d.2018)
March 14–Árpád Orbán,Hungarian footballer (d. 2008)^[36]^[37]
March 17
- Rudolf Nureyev,Russian-born dancer, choreographer (d.1993)
- Keith O'Brien,Roman Catholic prelate, Archbishop of Edinburgh (d.2018)
March 18
- Timo Mäkinen,Finnish racing driver (d.2017)
- Shashi Kapoor,Indian actor, director, and producer (d.2017)^[38]
March 21–Luigi Tenco,Italian singer-songwriter (d.1967)
March 24–David Irving,English author and Holocaust denier
March 25–Hoyt Axton,American country music singer, songwriter and actor (d.1999)
March 26–Anthony James Leggett,American physicist,Nobel Prizelaureate
March 30–Klaus Schwab,German economist, founder of theWorld Economic Forum
March 31–Sheila Dikshit,Indian politician (d.2019)
April 7–Freddie Hubbard,American jazz trumpeter (d.2008)
April 8–Kofi Annan,GhanaianSecretary-General of the United Nations,recipient of theNobel Peace Prize(d.2018)
April 10–Viktor Chernomyrdin,Russian politician (d.2010)
April 11–Kurt Moll,German operatic bass (d. 2017)
April 15–Claudia Cardinale,Tunisian-born Italian actress
April 16–Kasdi Merbah,Algerian politician, 4thPrime Minister of Algeria(d.1993)
April 20–Betty Cuthbert,Australian track athlete (d.2017)^[39]
April 22–Issey Miyake,Japanese fashion designer^[40](d.2022)
April 26
- Nino Benvenuti,Italian Olympic boxer^[41]
- Duane Eddy,American rock guitarist (d.2024)^[42]
April 28–Madge Sinclair,Jamaican-American actress (d.1995)^[43]
April 29–Bernard Madoff,American financial fraudster (d.2021)
April 30–Larry Niven,American author

May–June[edit]

May 2– KingMoshoeshoe II of Lesotho(d.1996)
May 9–Carroll Cole,American serial killer (d. 1985)^[44]
May 13–Giuliano Amato,48thPrime Minister of Italy
May 16–Marco Aurelio Denegri,Peruvian literature critic, television host and sexologist (d.2018)^[45]
May 19–Girish Karnad,Indian actor, screenwriter and playwright (d.2019)^[46]
May 22–Susan Strasberg,American actress (d.1999)
May 24–Prince Buster,Jamaican singer-songwriter (d.2016)
May 26
- William Bolcom,American composer and arranger
- Teresa Stratas,Canadian operatic soprano^[47]
May 28–Jerry West,American basketball player and executive (d.2024)^[48]
June 2–Princess Désirée, Baroness Silfverschiöld,Princess of Sweden
June 5–Karin Balzer,German athlete (d.2019)^[49]
June 24–Abulfaz Elchibey,Azerbaijani political figure, 2ndPresident of Azerbaijan(d.2000)
June 26–Maria Velho da Costa,Portuguese writer
June 30–Billy Mills,American Olympic athlete^[50]

July–August[edit]

July 1–Hariprasad Chaurasia,Indian classical flutist
July 3
- Bolo Yeung,Hong Kong actor
- Sjaak Swart,Dutch footballer^[51]
July 4–Bill Withers,African-American singer-songwriter (d.2020)^[52]
July 9–Brian Dennehy,American actor (d.2020)
July 15–Enrique Figuerola,Cuban sprinter^[53]
July 18–Paul Verhoeven,Dutch film director^[54]
July 19–Jayant Narlikar,Indian astrophysicist^[55]
July 20
- Diana Rigg,English actress (d.2020)^[56]
- Natalie Wood,American actress (d.1981)^[57]
July 21–Janet Reno,American lawyer, U.S. Attorney General underBill Clinton(d.2016)^[58]
July 22–Terence Stamp,English actor
July 27–Gary Gygax,American author, game designer (d.2008)
July 28
- Luis Aragonés,Spanish football player, manager (d.2014)
- Alberto Fujimori,Peruvian politician and dictator,President of Peru
- Chuan Leekpai,Thai politician, 20thPrime Minister of Thailand
July 29–Peter Jennings,Canadian-American journalist (d. 2005)^[59]
August 1
- Edward Sokoine,2nd Prime Minister of Tanzania (d.1984)
- Yaşar Yakış,Turkish politician (d.2024)
August 3– SirTerry Wogan,Irish radio broadcaster, television presenter/personality (d.2016)^[60]
August 4–Jean Nguza Karl-i-Bond,Zairian politician (d.2003)^[61]
August 8–Connie Stevens,American actress, singer and businesswoman^[62]
August 9
- Michèle Girardon,French actress (d.1975)
- Leonid Kuchma,President of Ukraine
- Rod Laver,Australian tennis player^[63]
August 11–Nagat,Egyptian singer and actress
August 12–Naomi Seymour,Bahamian politician
August 14–Bennie Muller,Dutch footballer^[64]
August 15–Stephen Breyer,formerAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States^[65]
August 16–Emmanuel Rakotovahiny,8th Prime Minister of Madagascar (d.2020)
August 19–Valentin Mankin,Ukrainian Soviet sailor, Olympic triple champion and silver medalist (d.2014)
August 20
- Jacqueline Andere,Mexican actress^[66]
- Alain Vivien,French politician
August 21–Kenny Rogers,American country singer (d.2020)
August 24–Halldór Blöndal,Icelandic politician
August 28–Paul Martin,21stPrime Minister of Canada
August 29–Elliott Gould,American actor

September–October[edit]

September 1–Alan Dershowitz,American lawyer and academic
September 2–Giuliano Gemma,Italian actor (d.2013)^[67]
September 3–Ryōji Noyori,Japanese chemist,Nobellaureate
September 6–Dennis Oppenheim,American artist (d.2011)^[68]
September 10–Tomasi Puapua,Tuvaluan politician, 2ndPrime Minister of Tuvaluand 6thGovernor-General of Tuvalu
September 23–Romy Schneider,German-French actress (d.1982)^[69]
September 25
- Celestino Rocha da Costa,2nd Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe (d.2010)
- Jonathan Motzfeldt,Prime Minister of Greenland(d.2010)^[70]
September 28–Ben E. King,American singer-songwriter (d.2015)
September 29–Wim Kok,Dutch politician, 48thPrime Minister of the Netherlandsfrom 1994 until 2002 (d.2018)^[71]
October 1–Stella Stevens,American actress and model (d.2023)^[72]
October 3
- Eddie Cochran,American rock and roll singer (d.1960)^[73]
- Pedro Pablo Kuczynski,Peruvian entrepreneur and politician, 66thPresident of Peru^[74]
October 4–Kurt Wüthrich,Swiss chemist,Nobel Prizelaureate
October 8–Bronislovas Lubys,5th Prime Minister of Lithuania (d.2011)
October 14–Farah Diba,Empress of Iran
October 15–Fela Kuti,Nigerian musician, activist (d.1997)
October 16–Nico,German-American singer (d.1988)
October 17–Evel Knievel,American motorcycle daredevil (d.2007)^[75]
October 18–Dawn Wells,American actress (d.2020)^[76]
October 22
- Derek Jacobi,English actor and director^[77]
- Christopher Lloyd,American actor^[78]
October 29
- Ralph Bakshi,Israeli cartoonist, film director, and video producer^{[citation needed]}
- Ellen Johnson Sirleaf,24thPresident of Liberia^[79]

November–December[edit]

November 2
- Pat Buchanan,American conservative political operative, journalist, pundit and one-time presidential candidate^[80]
- Queen Sofía of Spain
November 5
- Joe Dassin,French singer (d.1980)^[81]
- Ionatana Ionatana,5th Prime Minister of Tuvalu (d.2000)
- César Luis Menotti,Argentine football coach (d.2024)
November 8–Satch Sanders,American basketball player^[82]
November 12–Benjamin Mkapa,3rdPresident of Tanzania(d.2020)
November 13–Jean Seberg,American actress (d.1979)
November 16–Robert Nozick,American philosopher (d.2002)^[83]
November 17–Gordon Lightfoot,Canadian folk singer-songwriter (d.2023)^[84]
November 18
- Ahmad Obeidat,Prime Minister of Jordan
- Norbert Ratsirahonana,9th Prime Minister of Madagascar
November 19–Ted Turner,American entrepreneur^[85]
November 20–Dick Smothers,American actor and comedian
November 21–Helen,Indian actress and dancer
November 24–Oscar Robertson,African-American basketball player
December 5–J. J. Cale,American singer-songwriter, guitarist (d.2013)
December 8–John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor,President of Ghana
December 13–Heino,German singer
December 15–Juan Carlos Wasmosy,48thPresident of Paraguay
December 16–Liv Ullmann,Norwegian actress^[86]
December 17–Peter Snell,New Zealand athlete (d.2019)^[87]
December 23–Bob Kahn,American Internet pioneer
December 28–Lagumot Harris,Nauruan politician, President (d.1999)
December 29–Jon Voight,American actor^[88]

Date unknown[edit]

Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi,President of Mauritania (d.2020)
Tafazzul Haque Habiganji,Bangladeshi Islamic scholar and politician (d.2020)^[89]

Deaths[edit]

January[edit]

January 2–Henry Victor Deligny,French general (b.1855)
January 3–Arturo Berutti,Argentinian composer (b.1862)
January 4–Paola Drigo,Italian novelist (b.1876)
January 5–Karel Baxa,Czechoslovakian politician (b.1863)
January 8–Christian Rohlfs,German painter (b.1849)
January 9–Johnny Gruelle,American cartoonist and children's book author (b.1880)^[90]
January 11–Isidore Konti,Austrian-born Hungarian sculptor (b.1862)
January 14–Jaakko Mäki,Finnish politician (b.1878)^[91]
January 17–Vladimir Beneshevich,Soviet scholar, martyr (executed) (b.1874)
January 20
- Émile Cohl,French caricaturist, animator (b.1857)
- Liu Xiang,Chinese general (b.1890)
January 21–Georges Méliès,French film director (b.1861)
January 22–Sergei Buturlin,Soviet ornithologist (b.1872)
January 23–J. P. Dahlén,Swedish worker, politician (b.1881)
January 28–Bernd Rosemeyer,German racing driver (b.1909)
January 29–Armando Palacio Valdés,Spanish writer (b.1853)
January 31–Marcella Cosgrave,Irish nationalist leader (b.1873)

February[edit]

February 6–George Auriol,French poet (b.1863)
February 7–Harvey Firestone,American tire manufacturer (b.1868)
February 8–Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark(b.1872)
February 9–Arturo Caprotti,Italian engineer, architect (b.1881)
February 11
- Kalle Korhonen,Finnish politician (executed) (b. 1878)^[92]
- Kazimierz Twardowski,Polish philosopher, logician (b.1866)
February 16–Hal De Forrest,Portuguese-born American actor (b.1862)
February 18–Leopoldo Lugones,Argentine writer, journalist (b.1874)
February 19–Edmund Landau,German mathematician (b.1877)
February 21–Matvei Petrovich Bronstein,Soviet physicist (executed) (b.1906)

March[edit]

March 1–Gabriele D'Annunzio,Italian writer, war hero, and politician (b.1863)
March 2–William Blomfield,New Zealand cartoonist (b.1866)
March 7–Andreas Michalakopoulos,Greek politician, 47thPrime Minister of Greece(b.1876)
March 10–Ahn Changho,Korean independence activist (b.1878)
March 12–Lyda Roberti,Polish actress (b.1906)
March 13
- Cevat Çobanlı,Ottoman military commander, Turkish army officer (b.1870)
- Clarence Darrow,American attorney (b.1857)^[93]
March 14–Wang Mingzhang,Chinese general of theNational Revolutionary Army(b.1893)
March 15
- Alexei Rykov,Premier of RussiaandPremier of the Soviet Union(executed) (b.1881)
- Nikolai Bukharin,Soviet politician (executed) (b.1888)
- Genrikh Yagoda,Soviet police and intelligence official (executed) (b.1891)
March 18–Lidia Charskaya,Soviet actress, writer (b.1875)
March 19–Magzhan Zhumabayev,Soviet writer, pedagogue (b.1893)
March 20
- Martin Burrell,Canadian politician (b.1858)
- Aleksandar Malinov,17thPrime Minister of Bulgaria(b.1867)
March 26–Lakshminath Bezbaroa,Indian writer, dramatist, novelist, poet and editor (b.1864)
March 27
- William Stern,German psychologist, philosopher (b.1871)
- Helen M. Winslow,American editor, author, and publisher (b.1851)^[94]
March 28–Zheng Xiaoxu,Chinese statesman, diplomat and calligrapher, firstPrime Minister of Manchukuo(b.1860)
March 29–Marcel Bloch,Swiss aviator (b.1890)

April[edit]

April 1–Louis-Henri Foreau,French painter (b.1866)
April 2–Hermanus Johannes Lovink,Dutch agriculturist and politician (b.1866)^[95]
April 6–Khoren I of Armenia,Catholicos of theArmenian Apostolic Churchand patriarch (b.1873)
April 8–King Oliver,American jazz musician (b.1885)
April 9–Manuel Carrasco Formiguera,Spanish lawyer, politician (b.1890)
April 12–Feodor Chaliapin,Soviet bass (b.1873)
April 14–Gillis Grafström,Swedish figure skater (b.1893)^[96]
April 15–César Vallejo,Peruvian poet (b.1892)
April 16–Steve Bloomer,English footballer (b.1874)
April 17–Viktor Graf von Scheuchenstuel,Austro-Hungarian general (b.1857)
April 21
- Sultan Majid Afandiyev,Soviet revolutionary, statesman (b.1887)
- SirMuhammad Iqbal,Indian philosopher, poet (b.1877)
April 25–Aleksander Świętochowski,Polish writer (b.1849)
April 27–Edmund Husserl,Austrian philosopher (b.1859)^[97]