1981

January

 * January – The subterranean Sarawak Chamber is discovered in Borneo.
 * January 1
 * Greece enters the European Community, which later becomes the European Union.
 * Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
 * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán and Chalatenango departments.
 * January 15 – Pope John Paul II receives a delegation led by Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa at the Vatican.
 * January 16 – Loyalists shoot and seriously wound nationalist activist Bernadette Devlin McAliskey and her husband.
 * January 17 – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos lifts martial law.
 * January 19 – United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity.
 * January 20 – Iran releases the 52 Americans held for 444 days minutes after Ronald Reagan is sworn in as President of the United States, ending the Iran hostage crisis.
 * January 21 – The first DeLorean DMC-12 automobile, a stainless steel sports car with gull-wing doors, rolls off the production line in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland.
 * January 23 – An earthquake of 6.8 magnitude in Sichuan, China kills 150.
 * January 25
 * Jiang Qing ("Madame Mao") is sentenced to death in the People's Republic of China.
 * In South Africa the largest part of the town Laingsburg is swept away within minutes by one of the strongest floods ever experienced in the Great Karoo.
 * January 27 – The Indonesian passenger ship Tamponas 2 catches fire and capsizes in the Java Sea, killing 580.

February

 * February 4 – Gro Harlem Brundtland becomes Prime Minister of Norway.
 * February 8 – 20 fans of Olympiacos and 1 fan of AEK Athens die, while 54 are injured, after a stampede at the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, possibly because gate 7 does not open immediately after the end of the game.
 * February 9 – Polish Prime Minister Józef Pińkowski resigns and is replaced by General Wojciech Jaruzelski.
 * February 14
 * Stardust fire: A fire at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, Dublin, Ireland in the early hours kills 48 people and injures 214.
 * Australia withdraws recognition of the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia.
 * February 17--February 22 – Pope John Paul II visit to the Philippines.
 * February 23 – Antonio Tejero, with members of the Guardia Civil, enters the Spanish Congress of Deputies and stops the session where Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo is about to be named president of the government. The coup d'état fails thanks to King Juan Carlos.
 * February 24 – A powerful, magnitude 6.7 earthquake hits Athens, killing 22 people, injuring 400 people and destroying several buildings and 4000 house, mostly in Corinth and the nearby towns of Loutraki, Kiato and Xylokastro.

March

 * March 1 – Bobby Sands, a Provisional Irish Republican Army member, begins a hunger strike for political status in Long Kesh prison. He died May 5, the first of 10 men.
 * March 11 – Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet is sworn in as President of Chile for another 8-year term.
 * March 17 – In Italy the Propaganda Due Masonic Lodge is discovered.
 * March 19 – Three workers are killed and 5 injured during a test of the Space Shuttle Columbia.
 * March 29 – The first London Marathon starts with 7,500 runners.
 * March 30 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C. hotel by John Hinckley, Jr.; 2 police officers and Press Secretary James Brady are also wounded.

April

 * April 1 – Daylight saving time is introduced in the Soviet Union.
 * April 4 – UK pop group Bucks Fizz' song "Making Your Mind Up" wins the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, Republic of Ireland.
 * April 6 – Eventual 2016 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders becomes the Mayor of Burlington, Vermont and was in office until April 4, 1989. 26 years later he got elected as Democratic U.S. Senator from Vermont, and still remains the state's current Senator.
 * April 11 – 1981 Brixton riot: Rioters in south London throw petrol bombs, attack police and loot shops.
 * April 12 – The Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Columbia with NASA astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen launches on the STS-1 mission, returning to Earth on April 14. It is the first time a manned reusable spacecraft has returned from orbit.
 * April 15 – The first Coca-Cola bottling plant in China is opened.
 * April 18
 * A Minor League Baseball game between the Rochester Red Wings and the Pawtucket Red Sox at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, becomes the longest professional baseball game in history: 8 hours and 25 minutes/33 innings (the 33rd inning is not played until June 23).
 * The rock band Yes splits up (regrouping in 1983).
 * April 26 – French presidential election: A first-round runoff results between Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and François Mitterrand.

May

 * May – Daniel K. Ludwig abandons the Jari project in the Amazon basin.
 * May 1 – The new Chilean pension system, based on private pension funds, begins.
 * May 4 – The European Law Students' Association (ELSA) was founded in Vienna by law students from Austria, West Germany, Poland and Hungary.
 * May 5 – Bobby Sands, Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer and abstentionist Member of Parliament of the House of Commons, dies, aged 27, while on hunger strike in prison.
 * May 6 – A jury of architects and sculptors unanimously selects Maya Lin's design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial from 1,421 other entries.
 * May 11 – Jamaican singer Bob Marley dies aged 36 from cancer.
 * May 13 – Pope John Paul II is shot and nearly killed by Mehmet Ali Ağca, a Turkish gunman who is allegedly on orders from the Soviet KGB to shoot him, as he enters St. Peter's Square in Vatican City to address a general audience. The Pope successfully recovers.
 * May 15 – Donna Payant is murdered by serial killer Lemuel Smith, the first time a female prison officer has been killed on-duty in the United States.
 * May 21 – In France, Socialist François Mitterrand becomes the first socialist President of the French Fifth Republic.
 * May 22 – Peter Sutcliffe is found guilty of being the Yorkshire Ripper. He is sentenced to life imprisonment on 13 counts of murder and 7 of attempted murder.
 * May 25 – In Riyadh, the Gulf Cooperation Council is created between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Alain Robert scales the Willis Tower in Chicago.
 * May 26 – The Italian government resigns over its links to the fascist Masonic cell Propaganda Due.
 * May 30 – Bangladesh President Ziaur Rahman is assassinated in Chittagong.
 * May 31 – Burning of Jaffna library, was one of the most violent examples of ethnic biblioclasm of the 20th century.

June

 * June 5 – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 5 homosexual men in Los Angeles have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems (the first recognized cases of AIDS).
 * June 6 – Bihar train disaster: Seven coaches of an overcrowded passenger train fall off the tracks into the Bagmati River in Bihar, India, killing between 500 and 800.
 * June 7 – The Israeli Air Force destroys Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor killing ten Iraqi troops and a French technician.
 * June 12 – Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark is released in theaters.
 * June 13 – At the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London, Marcus Sarjeant fires 6 blank shots at Elizabeth II.
 * June 18
 * The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States is founded.
 * The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter makes its first flight at Groom Lake (Area 51), NV.
 * June 22 – Iranian president Abolhassan Banisadr is deposed.
 * June 27
 * The first game of paintball is played in Henniker, New Hampshire.
 * The E-mu Emulator sampler keyboard with floppy disk operation is unveiled at NAMM international Sound & Music Expo, Chicago. Production Model Serial Number 001 is issued to Stevie Wonder

July

 * July 2 – The Wonderland Gang is brutally murdered in a massacre involving Eddie Nash.
 * July 3 – The Toxteth riots in Liverpool, UK start after a mob saves a youth from being arrested.  Shortly afterward, the Chapeltown riots in Leeds start after increased racial tension.
 * July 7 – United States President Ronald Reagan nominates the first woman, Sandra Day O'Connor, to the Supreme Court of the United States.
 * July 8 – Irish republican volunteer Joe McDonnell dies at the Long Kesh Internment Camp after a 61-day hunger strike.
 * July 9 – Donkey Kong is released, marking the first Donkey Kong title and Mario title arcade smash hit game developed by Nintendo.
 * July 10
 * Mahathir bin Mohamad becomes the 4th Prime Minister of Malaysia.
 * Urban rioting hits several parts of the United Kingdom, including Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham.
 * July 16-21 – England become the first team this century to win a test match after following on when they beat Australia by 18 runs at Headingley cricket ground, Leeds, England.
 * July 17
 * Hyatt Regency walkway collapse: Two skywalks filled with people at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri collapse into a crowded atrium lobby, killing 114.
 * Israeli aircraft bomb Beirut, destroying multi-story apartment blocks containing the offices of PLO associated groups, killing approximately 300 civilians and resulting in worldwide condemnation and a U.S. embargo on the export of aircraft to Israel.
 * In Bolivia, General Luis Gracia Meza leads a bloody coup d'état against the elected government of Lidia Gayler.
 * July 19 – The 1981 Springbok Tour commences in New Zealand, amid controversy over the support of apartheid.
 * July 21 – Tohui The Panda is born in Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City, the first panda to ever be born and survive in captivity outside of China.
 * July 29 – A worldwide television audience of over 700 million people watch the Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral in London.
 * July 30 – As many as 50,000 demonstrators, mostly women and children, took to the streets in Łódź to protest food ration shortages in Communist Poland.

August

 * August 1 – The first 24-hour video music channel MTV (Music Television) is launched.
 * August 9 – Major League Baseball resumes from the strike with the All-Star Game in Cleveland's Municipal Stadium.
 * August 12
 * The original Model 5150 IBM PC (with a 4.77 MHz Intel 8088 processor) is released in the United States at a base price of $1,565.
 * Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu recognize the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).
 * August 19
 * Gulf of Sidra incident (1981): Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi sends two Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets to intercept two U.S. fighters over the Gulf of Sidra. The American jets destroy the Libyan fighters.
 * August 24 – Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison, after pleading guilty to murdering John Lennon in Manhattan 8 months earlier.
 * August 28 – South African troops invade Angola.
 * August 31 – A bomb explodes at the U.S. Air Force base in Ramstein, West Germany, injuring 20 people.

September

 * September 1 – Gregorio Conrado Álvarez is inaugurated as a military de facto President of Uruguay.
 * September 4 – An explosion at a mine in Záluží, Czechoslovakia, kills 65 people.
 * September 8 – the first episode of the extremely popular British sitcom Only Fools and Horses, Big Brother is shown on BBC One.
 * September 10 – Picasso's painting "Guernica" is moved from New York to Madrid.
 * September 15 – The John Bull becomes the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world, at 150 years old, when it operates under its own power outside Washington, D.C.
 * September 16 – Postman Pat is first aired on BBC1.
 * September 17 – Ric Flair defeats Dusty Rhodes to win his first World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship in Kansas City.
 * September 18 – France abolishes capital punishment.
 * September 19 – Simon & Garfunkel perform The Concert in Central Park, a free concert in New York in front of approximately half a million people.
 * September 20 – The Brazilian river boat Sobral Santos capsizes in the Amazon River, Óbidos, Brazil, killing at least 300.
 * September 21 – Belize gains independence from the United Kingdom.
 * September 25
 * Sandra Day O'Connor takes her seat as the first female justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
 * The Rolling Stones begin their Tattoo You tour at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia.
 * September 26
 * The Boeing 767 airliner makes its first flight.
 * The Sydney Tower opens to the public.
 * September 27 – TGV high-speed rail service between Paris and Lyon, France begins.
 * September 28 – The classic British children's animated comedy espionage TV series Danger Mouse debuts on ITV in the U.K.

October

 * October 2 – English rock band The Police releases Ghost in the Machine.
 * October 5 – Raoul Wallenberg becomes a posthumously honorary citizen of the United States.
 * October 6 – Egyptian president Anwar Sadat is assassinated during a parade by army members who belong to the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organization led by Khalid Islambouli; they opposed his negotiations with Israel.
 * October 10 – The Ministry for Education of Japan issues the jōyō kanji.
 * October 14 – Vice President Hosni Mubarak is elected President of Egypt, one week after Anwar Sadat was assassinated.
 * October 16 – Gas explosions at a coal mine at Hokutan, Yūbari, Hokkaidō, Japan kill 93.
 * October 21 – Andreas Papandreou becomes Prime Minister of Greece.
 * October 22 – The founding congress of the Nepal Workers and Peasants Organization faction led by Hareram Sharma and D. P. Singh begins.
 * October 27 – Soviet submarine S-363 runs aground outside the Karlskrona, Sweden military base.

November

 * November 1 – Antigua and Barbuda gain independence from the United Kingdom.
 * November 9 – Edict No. 81-234 abolishes slavery in Mauritania.
 * November 12 – The Church of England General Synod votes to admit women to holy orders.
 * November 16 – Luke and Laura marry on the U.S. soap opera General Hospital; it is the highest-rated hour in daytime television history.
 * November 18 – COMDEX Fall, IBM introduces the IBM PC; Scientific Solutions announces the first PC add-in cards.
 * November 22 – The Edmonton Eskimos (14-1-1) barely stave off defeat and win a record 4th consecutive Grey Cup, at the 69th Grey Cup at Montréal's Olympic Stadium defeating the Ottawa Rough Riders (5-11-0) 26-23 in the final 3 seconds; after being down 20-1 at halftime.
 * November 23 – Iran–Contra affair: U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs the top secret National Security Decision Directive 17 (NSDD-17), authorizing the Central Intelligence Agency to recruit and support Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
 * November 25–November 26 – A group of mercenaries led by Mike Hoare take over Mahe airport in the Seychelles in a coup attempt. Most of the mercenaries escape by a commandeered Air India passenger jet; 6 are later arrested.
 * November 30 – Cold War: In Geneva, representatives from the United States and the Soviet Union begin negotiating intermediate-range nuclear weapon reductions in Europe (the meetings end inconclusively on Thursday, December 17).

December

 * December 1 – An Inex-Adria Aviopromet McDonnell Douglas MD-80 strikes a mountain peak and crashes while approaching Ajaccio Airport in Corsica, killing all 180 people on board.
 * December 4 – South Africa grants homeland Ciskei independence, not recognized outside South Africa.
 * December 7 – Rotary International charters the Rotary Club of Grand Baie, Mauritius.
 * December 8
 * The No. 21 Mine explosion in Whitwell, Tennessee kills 13.
 * Arthur Scargill becomes President-elect of the National Union of Mineworkers.
 * December 10 – During the Ministerial Session of the North Atlantic Council in Brussels, Spain signs the Protocol of Accession to NATO.
 * December 11
 * Boxing: Muhammad Ali loses to Trevor Berbick; this proves to be Ali's last-ever fight.
 * El Mozote massacre: In El Salvador, army units kill 900 civilians.
 * December 13 – Wojciech Jaruzelski declares martial law in Poland, to prevent the dismantling of the communist system by Solidarity.
 * December 15 – A car bomb destroys the Iraqi Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 61 people; Syrian intelligence is blamed.
 * December 17 – American Brigadier General James L. Dozier is kidnapped in Verona by the Italian Red Brigades.
 * December 20 – The Penlee lifeboat disaster occurs off the coast of South-West Cornwall.
 * December 21 – Preferential Trade Area for Eastern and Southern Africa (PTA).
 * December 28 – The first American test-tube baby, Elizabeth Jordan Carr, is born in Norfolk, Virginia.
 * December 31 – A coup d'état in Ghana removes President Hilla Limann's PNP government and replaces it with the PNDC led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings.

Date unknown

 * January to March – Heavy snow causes many houses and buildings to collapse in northwestern Japan; 152 are killed.
 * Cuba suffers a major outbreak of Dengue fever, with 344,203 cases.
 * Use of crack cocaine, a smokeable form of the drug, first reported in the United States and Caribbean.
 * Luxor AB presents the ABC 800 computer.
 * Polybius, an urban legend game, is said to have been released in Portland, Oregon; there is no evidence for its existence.
 * The State Council of the People's Republic of China lists the cities of Beijing, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Guilin as those where the protection of historical and cultural heritage, as well as natural scenery, should be treated as a priority project.
 * Pepsi enters China.
 * The Millennium translation of Saint Edward the Martyr's relics from Wareham to Shaftesbury in England is observed in a reenactment.

January

 * January 1
 * Zsolt Baumgartner, Hungarian race car driver
 * Mladen Petrić, Croatian football player
 * Eden Riegel, American actress
 * January 2 – Maxi Rodríguez, Argentine footballer
 * January 3 – Eli Manning, American football player, brother of Peyton Manning
 * January 4 – Silvy De Bie, Belgian singer
 * January 5 – Deadmau5 (Joel Zimmerman), Canadian DJ/producer
 * January 6
 * Mike Jones, American rapper
 * Rinko Kikuchi, Japanese actress
 * Jérémie Renier, Belgian actor
 * January 7 – Alex Auld, Canadian ice hockey goaltender
 * January 8
 * Xie Xingfang, Chinese badminton player
 * Genevieve Cortese, American actress
 * Jeff Francis, Canadian pitcher
 * January 9
 * Euzebiusz Smolarek, Polish footballer
 * Caroline Lufkin, American singer
 * January 11
 * Jamelia, British singer
 * Tom Meighan, British singer and songwriter, lead vocalist for alternative rock band Kasabian
 * January 12 – Quentin Griffin, American football player
 * January 15
 * El Hadji Diouf, Senegalese footballer
 * Howie Day, American singer and songwriter
 * Pitbull, American hip-hop musician and record producer
 * January 16 – Marta Roure, Andorran singer and actress
 * January 17
 * Scott Mechlowicz, American actor
 * Ray J, American rapper and singer
 * January 18 – Otgonbayar Ershuu, Mongolian visual artist
 * January 19
 * Lucho González, Argentine footballer
 * Bitsie Tulloch, American actress
 * Thaila Zucchi, English singer (allSTARS*) and actress
 * January 20
 * Jason Richardson, American basketball player
 * Owen Hargreaves, Canadian-born English footballer
 * Brendan Fevola, Australian rules footballer
 * January 21
 * Dany Heatley, German-born hockey player
 * Gillian Chung, Hong Kong singer (Twins)
 * January 22
 * Chantelle Anderson, American basketball player
 * Willa Ford, American singer, television hostess, and actress
 * Beverley Mitchell, American actress
 * Ben Moody, American guitarist (formerly of Evanescence)
 * January 25
 * Alicia Keys, American singer
 * Toše Proeski, Macedonian singer (d. 2007)
 * January 26 – Gustavo Dudamel, Venezuelan conductor
 * January 27
 * Greg Owens, Australian soccer player
 * Alicia Molik, Australian tennis player
 * January 28 – Elijah Wood, American actor and music producer
 * January 29 – Jonny Lang, American musician
 * January 30
 * Dimitar Berbatov, Bulgarian footballer
 * Chieko Higuchi, Japanese voice actress
 * January 31 – Justin Timberlake, American actor and musician, former member of 'N Sync

February

 * February 2 – Emily Rose, American actress
 * February 3 – Alisa Reyes, American actress
 * February 4 – Matchstik, American rapper, singer and songwriter
 * February 5
 * Lee Eon, South Korean actor and model (d. 2008)
 * Nora Zehetner, American actress
 * Sara Foster, American actress
 * February 8 – Ralf Little, English actor
 * February 9
 * Tom Hiddleston, British actor
 * Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, American drummer (Avenged Sevenfold) (d. 2009)
 * February 10
 * Natasha St-Pier, Canadian singer
 * Holly Willoughby, British television presenter
 * February 11
 * Kelly Rowland, American singer (Destiny's Child)
 * Edoardo Molinari, Italian golfer
 * February 12
 * Lisa Hannigan, Irish singer, songwriter, and musician
 * Selena Li, Hong Kong actress
 * February 14 – Erin Torpey, American actress
 * February 15
 * Jenna Morasca, American television personality
 * Olivia, American singer
 * February 17
 * Joseph Gordon-Levitt, American actor and film director
 * Paris Hilton, American model, heiress, and socialite
 * February 18
 * Andrei Kirilenko, Russian basketball player
 * Ivan Sproule, British footballer
 * February 20
 * Chris Thile, American mandolinist
 * Majandra Delfino, American actress
 * February 22 – Jeanette Biedermann, German singer and actress
 * February 23
 * Josh Gad, American actor
 * Mai Nakahara, Japanese voice actress
 * Paleo, American singer-songwriter
 * Dylan Ryder, American former pornographic actress
 * February 24 – Lleyton Hewitt, Australian tennis player
 * February 25
 * Park Ji-sung, South Korean footballer
 * Shahid Kapoor, Indian Bollywood actor
 * February 26 – Maria Sansone, American journalist and Internet personality
 * February 27 – Josh Groban, American singer

March

 * March 1
 * Ana Hickmann, Brazilian model
 * Adam LaVorgna, American actor
 * Will Power, Australian racing driver
 * Brad Winchester, American ice hockey player
 * March 2
 * Lance Cade, American professional wrestler (d. 2010)
 * Bryce Dallas Howard, American actress
 * March 3
 * Lil' Flip, American rapper
 * Shada Hassoun, Iraqi singer
 * László Nagy, Hungarian handball player
 * Cristina Scarlat, Moldovan singer
 * March 5 – Hanna Alström, Swedish actress
 * March 6 – Ellen Muth, American actress
 * March 9 – Antonio Bryant, American football player
 * March 10
 * Kristen Maloney, American gymnast
 * Samuel Eto'o, Cameroonian footballer
 * March 11
 * David Anders, American actor
 * Lee Evans, American football player
 * LeToya Luckett, American singer
 * March 12
 * Katarina Srebotnik, Slovenian tennis player
 * Kenta Kobayashi, Japanese professional wrestler
 * March 13 – April Matson, American actress and singer
 * March 15 – Young Buck, American rapper
 * March 16
 * Andrew Bree, Irish swimmer
 * Johannes Aigner, Austrian footballer
 * March 17 – Kyle Korver, American basketball player
 * March 18 – Fabian Cancellara, Swiss road bicycle racer
 * March 19
 * Kolo Touré, Ivorian football player
 * Declan Bennett, English singer/songwriter
 * March 22
 * MIMS, American rapper
 * Tiffany Dupont, American actress
 * March 26 – Jay Sean, British-Indian singer
 * March 27
 * Lin Jun Jie, Chinese singer
 * Terry McFlynn, British footballer
 * March 28
 * Gareth David-Lloyd, Welsh actor
 * Lindsay Frimodt, American model
 * Dan Petronijevic, Canadian actor
 * Julia Stiles, American actress
 * March 29
 * Megan Hilty, American actress, singer, and broadway star
 * PJ Morton, American musician, singer, producer, and touring member of Maroon 5
 * March 31
 * Gerard McCarthy, British actor
 * Ryōko Shintani, Japanese voice actress
 * Maarten van der Weijden, Dutch Olympic swimmer

April

 * April 1
 * Aslı Bayram, Turkish German model and actress
 * Aimee Chan, Chinese-Canadian actress
 * Hannah Spearritt, British singer (S Club 7) and actress
 * Nolan Yonkman, Canadian hockey player
 * April 2
 * Bethany Joy Lenz, American actress and singer
 * Raghav, Canadian singer
 * April 3 – Arfius Arf, British artist
 * April 5 – Michael A. Monsoor, American Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2006)
 * April 6
 * Eliza Coupe, American actress
 * Robert Earnshaw, Welsh footballer
 * April 7 – Suzann Pettersen, Norwegian golfer
 * April 8
 * Taylor Kitsch, Canadian actor and model
 * Frédérick Bousquet, French swimmer
 * April 9
 * Milan Bartovič, Slovak hockey player
 * Eric Harris, American murderer (d. 1999)
 * Ireneusz Jeleń, Polish footballer
 * April 10
 * Gretchen Bleiler, American snowboarder
 * Laura Bell Bundy, American actress, singer, and Broadway star
 * Liz McClarnon, British singer (Atomic Kitten)
 * Michael Pitt, American actor
 * April 11 – Alessandra Ambrosio, Brazilian model
 * April 15 – Seth Wulsin, American artist
 * April 17 – Hanna Pakarinen, Finnish singer
 * April 18
 * Jang Na-ra, Korean actress and singer
 * Audrey Tang, Taiwanese software programmer
 * April 19
 * Hayden Christensen, Canadian-American actor
 * Saskia de Brauw, Dutch model and artist
 * Troy Polamalu, American football player
 * Catalina Sandino Moreno, Colombian actress
 * April 21
 * Mike Christie, English musician
 * Stephanie Larimore, American model
 * April 22 – Ken Dorsey, American football player
 * April 25
 * John McFall, British Paralympic sprinter
 * Anja Pärson, Swedish alpine skier
 * Felipe Massa, Brazilian race car driver
 * April 26 – Matthieu Delpierre, French football player
 * April 27 – Sandy Mölling, German pop singer
 * April 28 – Jessica Alba, American actress and businesswoman, co-founder of the Honest Company
 * April 29 – George McCartney, British footballer

May

 * May 1
 * Alexander Hleb, Belarusian football player
 * Wes Welker, American football player
 * May 2 – Rina Satō, Japanese voice actress
 * May 3
 * Farrah Franklin, American singer
 * Natalie Tong, Hong Kong actress
 * U;Nee, South Korean singer and actress (d. 2007)
 * May 4 – Jacques Rudolph, South African cricketer
 * May 5
 * Craig David, English singer
 * Danielle Fishel, American actress
 * May 8
 * Andrés Romero, Argentine golfer
 * Stephen Amell, Canadian actor
 * May 11
 * Lauren Jackson, Australian basketball player
 * Daisuke Matsui, Japanese football player
 * Dusán Mukics, Slovene journalist and reporter in Hungary
 * Terry Pheto, South African actress
 * May 12
 * Rami Malek, American actor
 * Kentaro Sato, Japanese composer
 * Dennis Trillo, Filipino actor
 * May 13
 * Rebecka Liljeberg, Swedish actress
 * Sunny Leone, Canadian pornstar and Bollywood actress
 * Jimmy Wang Yang, Korean professional wrestler
 * May 15
 * Patrice Evra, Senegalese-born French footballer
 * Zara Phillips, British elite equestrienne and daughter of Anne, Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips
 * Justin Morneau, Canadian baseball player
 * Jamie-Lynn Sigler, American actress
 * May 16 – Joseph Morgan, English actor
 * May 17 – Shiri Maimon, Israeli pop/R&B singer, TV show host and actress
 * May 18 – Adam Green, American singer-songwriter
 * May 19
 * Sani Bečirovič, Slovenian basketball player
 * Bong Tae-gyu, South Korean actor
 * Klaas-Erik Zwering, Dutch swimmer
 * Georges St-Pierre, Canadian mixed martial arts fighter
 * May 20
 * Rachel Platten, American singer-songwriter
 * Sean Conlon, English musician (5ive)
 * Lindsay Taylor, American basketball player
 * Iker Casillas, Spanish footballer
 * May 21
 * Belladonna, American porn actress and director
 * Josh Hamilton, American baseball player
 * Anna Rogowska, Polish pole vaulter
 * May 22
 * Daniel Bryan, American professional wrestler
 * Melissa Gregory, American figure skater
 * May 26 – Isaac Slade, American singer-songwriter and pianist (The Fray)
 * May 27 – Alina Cojocaru, Romanian ballerina
 * May 28
 * Laura Bailey, American voice actress
 * Aaron Schock, American politician
 * May 29
 * Andrey Arshavin, Russian football player
 * Brian Simnjanovski, American football player (d. 2009)
 * May 30 – Remy Ma, American rapper
 * May 31 – Jake Peavy, American baseball player

June

 * June 1
 * Carlos Zambrano, Venezuelan baseball player
 * Brandi Carlile, American singer and songwriter
 * Amy Schumer, American comedian, actress, and screenwriter
 * June 3 – Mike Adam, Canadian curler
 * June 4
 * Jennifer Carroll, Canadian swimmer
 * T. J. Miller, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
 * Giourkas Seitaridis, Greek footballer
 * Natalia Vodopyanova, Russian basketball player
 * June 5 – Jade Goody, British reality show star (d. 2009)
 * June 6 – Johnny Pacar, American actor
 * June 7
 * Anna Kournikova, Russian tennis player
 * Larisa Oleynik, American actress
 * June 8
 * Alex Band, American musician
 * Sara Watkins, American violinist
 * Ai Nonaka, Japanese voice actress
 * June 9
 * Vic Chou, Taiwanese actor, singer, and model
 * Celina Jaitly, Indian actress
 * Natalie Portman, Israeli-born actress
 * Anoushka Shankar, British musician and daughter of Ravi Shankar
 * June 10
 * Hoku Ho, Hawaiian singer and musician
 * Burton O'Brien, Scottish footballer
 * Arwind Santos, Filipino professional basketball player
 * Jonathan Bennett, American actor and model
 * June 12 – Adriana Lima, Brazilian model
 * June 13 – Chris Evans, American actor
 * June 14 – Lonneke Engel, Dutch model
 * June 15 – Haley Scarnato, American singer
 * June 16
 * Ben Kweller, American musician
 * Joe Saunders, American baseball player
 * June 17 – Amrita Rao, Indian actress
 * June 18
 * Ella Chen, Taiwanese singer
 * Yurin, Japanese actress, voice actress and singer
 * June 20 – Alisan Porter, American singer and retired actress; winner of The Voice season 10
 * June 21
 * Brandon Flowers, American singer and keyboardist
 * Simon Delestre, French equestrian
 * June 22
 * Chris Urbanowicz, British guitarist
 * Monty Oum, American animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
 * June 23 – Antony Costa, English singer (Blue)
 * June 25
 * Simon Ammann, Swiss ski jumper
 * Yūichi Komano, Japanese footballer
 * Sheridan Smith, English actress
 * June 28 – Mara Santangelo, Italian tennis player
 * June 29 – Joe Johnson, American basketball player

July

 * July 2
 * Alex Koroknay-Palicz, American activist
 * Paul Anthony Finn, Irish singer and songwriter (The Flaws)
 * July 3 – Brandon Jay McLaren, Canadian actor
 * July 4 – Will Smith, former American football player (d. 2016)
 * July 5
 * Gianne Albertoni, Brazilian model
 * Ryan Hansen, American actor
 * July 6 – Nnamdi Asomugha, American football player
 * July 7
 * Synyster Gates, American guitarist (Avenged Sevenfold)
 * Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Indian cricketer
 * July 8
 * Anastasia Myskina, Russian tennis player
 * Ashley Blue, American pornographic actress
 * July 11 – Andre Johnson, American football player
 * July 12
 * Rebecca Hunter, English singer (allSTARS*) and actress
 * Maya Sar, Bosnian singer
 * July 13
 * Ágnes Kovács, Hungarian swimmer
 * Fran Kranz, American actor
 * July 14 – Lee Mead, British actor
 * July 15 – Taylor Kinney, American Actor
 * July 19
 * Didz Hammond, bassist/backing vocalist (Dirty Pretty Things and The Cooper Temple Clause)
 * Nikki Osborne, Australian actress
 * Anderson Luiz de Carvalho, Brazilian footballer
 * July 20
 * Damien Delaney, Irish footballer
 * Dayang Nurfaizah, Malaysian singer
 * July 21
 * Paloma Faith, English singer, songwriter and actress
 * Stefan Schumacher, German cyclist
 * Chrishell Stause, American actress
 * July 23
 * Steve Jocz, Canadian drummer (Sum 41)
 * Jarkko Nieminen, Finnish tennis player
 * July 24
 * Summer Glau, American actress (Firefly)
 * Doug Bollinger, Australian cricketer
 * July 25 – Jani Rita, Finnish ice hockey player
 * July 26 – Maicon Douglas Sisenando, Brazilian footballer
 * July 27
 * Li Xiaopeng, Chinese gymnast
 * Dan Jones, British Historian
 * July 29 – Fernando Alonso, Spanish Two Time Formula 1 World Champion
 * July 31
 * M. Shadows, American singer (Avenged Sevenfold)
 * Eric Lively, American actor
 * Vernon Carey, American football player
 * Ira Losco, Maltese singer, Eurovision Song Contest 2002 runner-up

August

 * August 3
 * Fikirte Addis, Ethiopian fashion designer
 * Travis Willingham, American voice actor
 * August 4
 * Marques Houston, American singer and actor (IMx)
 * Florian Silbereisen, German singer and television presenter
 * August 5
 * Anna Rawson, Australian professional golfer
 * Carl Crawford, Major League Baseball outfielder
 * Rachel Scott, American murder victim (d. 1999)
 * Kō Shibasaki, Japanese singer and actress
 * Travie McCoy, American alternative hip-hop artist
 * August 6
 * Vitantonio Liuzzi, Italian race car driver
 * Leslie Odom Jr., American actor and singer
 * August 8
 * Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player
 * Harel Skaat, Israeli singer
 * Meagan Good, American actress
 * Kaori Iida, Japanese singer and actress
 * Vanessa Amorosi, Australian singer-songwriter, recording artist and entertainer
 * Bradley McIntosh, English singer (S Club 7)
 * August 9 – Li Jiawei, Singaporean Olympic table tennis player
 * August 10
 * Natsumi Abe, Japanese singer and actress
 * Taufik Hidayat, Indonesian badminton player
 * August 11 – Sandi Thom, Scottish singer & songwriter
 * August 12
 * Djibril Cissé, French footballer
 * Steve Talley, American actor
 * August 14
 * Ray William Johnson, American actor, comedian, rapper, and YouTuber
 * Kofi Kingston, Ghanaian professional wrestler
 * August 15
 * Song Ji-hyo, South Korean actress
 * Oh Jin-hyek, South Korean archer
 * August 16 – Taylor Rain, American actress
 * August 18 – Jan Frodeno, German triathlete
 * August 20 – Ben Barnes, English actor (Prince Caspian)
 * August 21
 * Ross Thomas, American actor
 * Mai Aizawa, Japanese voice actress
 * August 23 – Carmen Luvana, Puerto Rican adult actress
 * August 24
 * Jiro Wang, Taiwanese actor and singer (Fahrenheit)
 * Chad Michael Murray, American actor
 * August 25
 * Rachel Bilson, American actress
 * Shiva Keshavan, Indian luge pilot
 * August 26 – Nico Muhly, American contemporary classical composer
 * August 28
 * Charlie Frye, American National Football League quarterback
 * Jake Owen, American country music singer-songwriter
 * August 29 – Karim Darwish, Egyptian squash player

September

 * September 1
 * Park Hyo-shin, Korean singer
 * Clinton Portis, American football player
 * Michael Adamthwaite, Canadian voice actor
 * September 2 – Chris Tremlett, English cricketer
 * September 3 – Fearne Cotton, British television presenter
 * September 4
 * Jero, American-born Japanese enka singer
 * Beyoncé Knowles, American actress and R&B singer (Destiny's Child)
 * Lacey Mosley, American lead vocalist (Flyleaf)
 * September 6 – Yumiko Cheng, Hong Kong singer
 * September 8
 * Dan Fredinburg, American Google executive
 * Jonathan Taylor Thomas, American actor
 * September 9
 * Julie Gonzalo, Argentinian actress
 * Nancy Wu, Hong Kong actress
 * September 10 – Marco Chiudinelli, Swiss tennis player
 * September 11
 * Dylan Klebold, American mass murderer (d. 1999)
 * Charles Kelley, American country music singer-songwriter and founding member of Lady Antebellum
 * September 12
 * Jennifer Hudson, American singer and actress
 * Hosea Chanchez, American actor of The Game
 * September 13 – Angelina Love, Canadian professional wrestler
 * September 14
 * Ashley Roberts, American singer (The Pussycat Dolls)
 * Miyavi, Japanese musician
 * September 16
 * Alexis Bledel, American actress
 * Fan Bingbing, Chinese actress
 * September 18 – Jennifer Tisdale, American actress
 * September 21
 * Nicole Richie, American actress, singer and socialite
 * Phoenix Marie, American porn actress
 * September 22
 * Ashley Drane, American actress
 * Alexei Ramírez, Cuban baseball player
 * September 23
 * Misti Traya, American actress
 * Natalie Horler, German singer (Cascada)
 * Robert Doornbos, Dutch race car driver
 * September 25
 * Lee Norris, American actor
 * Rocco Baldelli, American baseball player
 * Van Hansis, American actor
 * Shane Tutmarc, American singer-songwriter (Dolour)
 * September 26
 * Christina Milian, American R&B singer and actress
 * Serena Williams, American tennis player
 * Ayumi Tsunematsu, Japanese voice actress
 * September 28 - Melissa Claire Egan, American actress
 * September 29 – Suzanne Shaw, British singer (Hear'Say) and actress
 * September 30
 * Cecelia Ahern, Irish author and daughter of Bertie Ahern, former Taoiseach
 * Dominique Moceanu, Romanian-American gymnast

October

 * October 1 – Rupert Friend, English actor, director, screenwriter and producer
 * October 3
 * Zlatan Ibrahimović, Swedish footballer
 * Amanda Walsh, Canadian actress
 * Seth Gabel, American actor
 * October 5 – Enrico Fabris, Italian speed skater
 * October 8
 * Ryuji Sainei, Japanese actor
 * Raffi Torres, Canadian ice hockey player
 * Ruby, Egyptian singer
 * October 9
 * Zachery Ty Bryan, American actor
 * Ryoichi Maeda, Japanese footballer
 * October 10 – Una Healy, Irish singer (The Saturdays)
 * October 11 – Beau Brady, Australian actor
 * October 12
 * Engin Akyürek, Turkish actor
 * Brian J. Smith, American actor
 * October 13
 * Ryan Ashford, English footballer
 * Kele Okereke, English singer (Bloc Party)
 * October 14 – Ruslan Alekhno, Russian-Belarusian singer
 * October 15
 * Elena Dementieva, Russian tennis player
 * Guo Jingjing, Chinese diver
 * October 16 – Boyd "Rainmaker" Melson, American boxer
 * October 17 – Tsubasa Imai, Japanese actor, singer and dancer (Tackey & Tsubasa)
 * October 19 – Christian Bautista, Filipino singer, actor, host, and model
 * October 20
 * Willis McGahee, American football player
 * Stefan Nystrand, Swedish swimmer
 * October 21 – Nemanja Vidić, Serbian football player
 * October 22 – Michael Fishman, American actor
 * October 23
 * Olivier Occéan, Canadian footballer
 * Huo Siyan, Chinese actress
 * October 24
 * Tila Tequila, Vietnamese-American model and singer
 * Mallika Sherawat, Indian actress
 * October 25
 * Shaun Wright-Phillips, English footballer
 * Hiroshi Aoyama, Japanese motorcycle road racer
 * October 26 – Guy Sebastian, original Australian Idol 2003 singer
 * October 28
 * Milan Baroš, Czech footballer
 * Dwayne Cameron, New Zealand actor
 * Noah Galloway, American former soldier and contestant from Dancing With The Stars
 * October 29
 * Jonathan Brown, Australian rules footballer
 * Amanda Beard, American swimmer
 * Angelika Dela Cruz, Filipina actress and singer
 * October 30
 * Chris Clemons, American football player
 * Fiona Dourif, American actress, daughter of Brad Dourif
 * Jun Ji-hyun, South Korean actress
 * Shaun Sipos, Canadian actor
 * Ivanka Trump, American model
 * October 31
 * Selina Ren, member of Taiwanese girl-group S.H.E
 * Irina Denezhkina, Russian writer
 * Frank Iero, American guitarist (My Chemical Romance)

November

 * November 1 – LaTavia Roberson, American singer (Destiny's Child)
 * November 2
 * Tatiana Totmianina, Russian figure skater
 * Katharine Isabelle, Candanian actress
 * November 3
 * Blair Chenoweth, American beauty queen
 * Jackie Gayda, American professional wrestler
 * November 4
 * Lakshmi Menon, Indian model
 * Vince Wilfork, American football player
 * Paul Tucker Canadian comic-book artist
 * November 6 – Cassie Bernall, American murder victim (d. 1999)
 * November 7 – George Pilkington, English footballer;
 * November 8
 * Joe Cole, English footballer
 * Azura Skye, American actress
 * November 10
 * Tony Blanco, Dominican baseball player
 * Jason Dunham, American Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2004)
 * Alison Waite, American model
 * November 11
 * Natalie Glebova, Canadian beauty queen
 * Raphael Gualazzi, Italian singer and pianist, Eurovision Song Contest 2011 runner-up
 * Jyothika, Indian actress
 * Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg
 * November 13
 * Mark Cardona, Filipino basketball player
 * Shawn Yue, Hong Kong actor and singer
 * Kirsten Price, American porn actress
 * November 14 – Russell Tovey, British actor
 * November 15 – Lorena Ochoa, Mexican golfer
 * November 16 – Caitlin Glass, American voice actress
 * November 17 – Sarah Harding, British singer (Girls Aloud)
 * November 19 – Yfke Sturm, Dutch model
 * November 20 – Kimberley Walsh, British singer (Girls Aloud)
 * November 21
 * Bryant McFadden, American football player
 * Ainārs Kovals, Latvian javelin thrower
 * November 22
 * Ben Adams, British singer (A1)
 * Seweryn Gancarczyk, Polish footballer
 * Song Hye-kyo, South Korean actress
 * November 24 – Lindsey Doe, American sexologist and video blogger
 * November 25
 * Xabi Alonso, Spanish footballer
 * Barbara Pierce Bush, daughter of U.S. President George W. Bush
 * Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of U.S. President George W. Bush
 * November 26
 * Natasha Bedingfield, British singer
 * Jon Ryan, Canadian National Football League football player from Regina, Saskatchewan
 * Aurora Snow, American pornographic actress
 * November 27 – Gary Lucy, British actor
 * November 29
 * Tom Hurndall, British photographer (d. 2004)
 * Fawad Afzal Khan, Pakistani and Indian actor
 * Bakhyt Sarsekbayev, Kazakh Olympic boxer
 * November 30
 * Billy Lush, American actor

December

 * December 1 – Kathryn Drysdale, English actress
 * December 2 – Britney Spears, American singer and entertainer
 * December 3
 * David Villa, Spanish footballer
 * Brian Bonsall, American actor
 * Tyjuan Hagler, American football player
 * December 4
 * Lila McCann, American singer
 * Courtney Cummz, American pornographic actress
 * December 8 – Philip Rivers, NFL quarterback of the San Diego Chargers
 * December 9 – Dia Mirza, Bollywood actress
 * December 11
 * Zacky Vengeance, American guitarist (Avenged Sevenfold)
 * Javier Saviola, Argentine soccer player
 * Kevin Phillips, American film actor
 * Jeff McComsey, American artist
 * Nikki Benz, Ukrainian-American porn actress
 * December 12 – Spencer Johnson, NFL player
 * December 13 – Amy Lee, American pianist/singer/songwriter (Evanescence)
 * December 14 – Amber Chia, Malaysian model and actress
 * December 15
 * Michelle Dockery, British actress
 * Thomas Herrion, American football player (d. 2005)
 * Donal Coonan, UK presenter for Channel 4's webshow thisisaknife
 * Roman Pavlyuchenko, Russian soccer player
 * December 16
 * A. J. Allmendinger, American racecar driver
 * Gaby Moreno, Guatemalan singer
 * December 18 – Joshua Dallas, American actor
 * December 19 – Monica Leigh, American model
 * December 21
 * Lynda Thomas, Mexican eurodance and alternative rock musician
 * Cristian Zaccardo, Italian footballer
 * December 24 – Dima Bilan, Russian pop-singer
 * December 27
 * Emilie de Ravin, Australian actress
 * Yuvraj Singh, Indian cricketer
 * December 28
 * Elizabeth Jordan Carr, first American test-tube baby
 * Sienna Miller, American-born English actress
 * Khalid Boulahrouz, Dutch footballer
 * December 29 – Shizuka Arakawa, Japanese figure skater
 * December 30
 * Kyle Eckel, American National Football League player
 * Haley Paige, American porn actress (d. 2007)
 * December 31
 * Matthew Pavlich, former professional Australian rules footballer

January

 * January 1 – Mauri Rose, American race car champion (b. 1906)
 * January 3 – Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria (b. 1883)
 * January 5
 * Harold C. Urey, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1893)
 * Lanza del Vasto, Italian-born philosopher, poet, and activist (b. 1901)
 * January 6 – A. J. Cronin, Scottish novelist (b. 1896)
 * January 7 – John Pascal, American playwright, screenwriter, author, and journalist (b. 1932)
 * January 8 – Matthew Beard, American actor (b. 1925)
 * January 10
 * Katherine Alexander, American actress (b. 1898)
 * Richard Boone, American actor (b. 1917)
 * January 11 – Beulah Bondi, American actress (b. 1888)
 * January 13 – Robert Kellard, American actor (b. 1915)
 * January 16 – Bernard Lee, English actor (b. 1908)
 * January 19 – Francesca Woodman, American photographer (b. 1958)
 * January 21 – Allyn Joslyn, American actor (b. 1901)
 * January 23
 * Samuel Barber, American composer (b. 1910)
 * Lobsang Rampa (Cyril Henry Hoskin), English author (b. 1910)
 * January 25 – Adele Astaire, American actress (b. 1896)
 * January 27 – Léo Collard, Belgian Socialist politician (b. 1902)
 * January 29 – Lajos Korányi, Hungarian footballer (b. 1907)
 * January 31 – Cozy Cole, American jazz drummer (b. 1909)

February

 * February 1
 * Wanda Hendrix, American actress (b. 1928)
 * Geirr Tveitt, Norwegian composer (b. 1908)
 * Ernst Pepping, German composer (b. 1901)
 * February 2 – Hugh Joseph Addonizio, Italian-American politician and Mayor of Newark (b. 1914)
 * February 3 – Normand Poirier, French-American newspaper editor, journalist, and essayist (b. 1928)
 * February 6 – Frederica of Hanover, Queen Consort of the Hellenes and wife of King Paul of Greece (b. 1917)
 * February 7 – Hermann Esser, German journalist and editor of the Nazi newspaper Völkischer Beobachter (b. 1900)
 * February 9
 * Bill Haley, American musician (b. 1925)
 * Jack Z. Anderson, U.S. Representative from California (b. 1904)
 * February 10 – Hubert Shirley-Smith, British civil engineer (b. 1901)
 * February 12 – Bruce Fraser, 1st Baron Fraser of North Cape, British admiral (b. 1888)
 * February 15 – Karl Richter, German conductor (b. 1926)
 * February 17 – David Garnett, British writer (b. 1892)
 * February 18 – John Knudsen Northrop, American airplane manufacturer (b. 1895)
 * February 20 – Baron Nicolas de Gunzburg, French magazine editor and playboy (b. 1904)
 * February 22
 * Michael Maltese, American screenwriter (b. 1908)
 * Ilo Wallace, wife of Henry A. Wallace, Second Lady of the United States (born 1888)
 * February 25 – Gunichi Mikawa, Japanese admiral (b. 1888)
 * February 26
 * Howard Hanson, American composer (b. 1896)
 * Roger Tonge, British actor (b. 1946)
 * February 27 – Jacob H. Gilbert, American politician (b. 1920)

March

 * March 4 – Torin Thatcher, American actor (b. 1905)
 * March 5 – Yip Harburg, American lyricist (b. 1896)
 * March 6 – George Geary, English cricketer (b. 1893)
 * March 7
 * Bosley Crowther, American film critic (b. 1905)
 * Kirill Kondrashin, Russian conductor (b. 1914)
 * Red Pollard, Jockey (b. 1909)
 * Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling, American tennis champion (b. 1908)
 * March 8 – Joseph Henry Woodger, British theoretical biologist (b. 1894)
 * March 9 – Max Delbrück, German biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1906)
 * March 15 – René Clair, French film director (b. 1898)
 * March 20 – Gerry Bertier, American college football player (b. 1953)
 * March 22
 * John S. McCain, Jr., American admiral (b. 1911)
 * Gil Puyat, Filipino businessman and politician, Senator of the Philippines, and Senate President (b. 1907)
 * March 23
 * Claude Auchinleck, British field marshal (b. 1884)
 * Beatrice Tinsley, English astronomer (b. 1941)
 * March 30
 * Sherman Edwards, American songwriter (b. 1919)
 * Douglas Lowe, British Olympic athlete (b. 1902)
 * DeWitt Wallace, American magazine publisher (b. 1889)
 * March 31 – Frank Tieri, American gangster (b. 1904)

April

 * April 3 – Juan Trippe, Airline entrepreneur (b. 1899)
 * April 5
 * Maurice Zbriger, Canadian violinist, composer and conductor (b. 1896)
 * Bob Hite, American musician (b. 1943)
 * April 7 – Norman Taurog, American film director (b. 1899)
 * April 8 – Omar N. Bradley, US Army General (b. 1893)
 * April 12 – Joe Louis, American boxer (b. 1914)
 * April 13 – Prince Yasuhiko Asaka of Japan (b. 1887)
 * April 15 – John Thach, American naval aviator and admiral (b. 1905)
 * April 18 – James H. Schmitz, German-born writer (b. 1911)
 * April 26
 * Jim Davis, American actor (b. 1909)
 * Madge Evans, American actress (b. 1909)
 * April 27 – John Aspinwall Roosevelt, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1916)
 * April 28 – Cliff Battles, American football player (Boston Redskins) and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (b. 1910)

May

 * May 5 – Bobby Sands, Irish republican hunger striker (b. 1954)
 * May 6 – Frank O'Grady, Australian public servant (b. 1900)
 * May 7 – Hiromichi Yahara, Imperial Japanese Army officer (b. 1902)
 * May 8 – Uri Zvi Greenberg, Israeli poet and journalist (b. 1896)
 * May 9
 * Nelson Algren, American author (b. 1909)
 * Ralph Allen, English footballer (b. 1906)
 * Margaret Lindsay, American actress (b. 1910)
 * May 11
 * Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
 * Bob Marley, Jamaican rock musician and guitarist (The Wailers) (b. 1945)
 * May 17 – Hugo Friedhofer, German-American film composer (b. 1901)
 * May 18
 * Eleonore Baur, German Nazi and only woman to participate in Munich Beer Hall Putsch (b. 1885)
 * Arthur O'Connell, American actor (b. 1908)
 * William Saroyan, American author (b. 1908)
 * May 23 – George Jessel, American actor (b. 1898)
 * May 24
 * Jaime Roldós Aguilera, President of Ecuador (1979-1981) (b. 1940)
 * A. Thiagarajah, Sri Lankan Tamil teacher and politician (b. 1916)
 * May 25 – Rosa Ponselle, American soprano (b. 1897)
 * May 28
 * John Bryan Ward-Perkins, British archaeologist (b. 1912)
 * Mary Lou Williams, American jazz pianist (b. 1910)
 * May 29 – Soong Ching-ling, Head of State of the People's Republic of China (b. 1893)
 * May 30 – Don Ashby, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1955)

June

 * June 1 – Carl Vinson, U.S. Congressman (b. 1883)
 * June 2 – Rino Gaetano, Italian singer-songwriter (b. 1950)
 * June 9 – Allen Ludden, American television game show host (b. 1917)
 * June 10
 * Jenny Maxwell, American actress (b. 1941)
 * Phelps Phelps, 38th Governor of American Samoa and United States Ambassador to the Dominican Republic (d. 1897)
 * June 13 – George Walsh, American actor (b. 1889)
 * June 17
 * Sir Richard O'Connor, British general (b. 1889)
 * Zerna Sharp, American writer and educator (b. 1889)
 * June 18 – Pamela Hansford Johnson, English poet, novelist, playwright, literary and social critic (b. 1912)
 * June 19
 * Anya Phillips, American co-founder of New York City's Mudd Club (b. 1955)
 * Lotte Reiniger, German-born silhouette animator (b. 1899)
 * June 22 – Lola Lane, American actress and singer (b. 1906)
 * June 23 – Zarah Leander, Swedish actress and singer (b. 1907)
 * June 28
 * Mohammad Beheshti, Chief Justice of Iran (b. 1928)
 * Terry Fox, Canadian athlete and cancer activist (b. 1958)

July

 * July 1 – Marcel Breuer, Hungarian-American architect (b. 1902)
 * July 3 – Ross Martin, American actor (b. 1920)
 * July 8
 * Joe McDonnell, Irish republican hunger striker (b. 1951)
 * Isaac Soyer, American painter (b. 1902)
 * July 10 – Ken Rex McElroy, American murder victim (b. 1934)
 * July 16 – Harry Chapin, American singer and songwriter (b. 1942)
 * July 27
 * Adam Walsh, American murder victim, inspired Code Adam (b. 1974)
 * William Wyler, American movie director (b. 1902)
 * July 29 – Robert Moses, American urban planner (b. 1888)
 * July 31 – Omar Torrijos, Panamanian leader (b. 1929)

August

 * August 1 – Paddy Chayefsky, American screenwriter (b. 1923)
 * August 2
 * Delfo Cabrera, Argentine athlete (b. 1919)
 * Stefanie Clausen, Danish diver (b. 1900)
 * August 4 – Melvyn Douglas, American actor (b. 1901)
 * August 14 – Karl Böhm, Austrian conductor (b. 1894)
 * August 15 – Carol Ryrie Brink, American author (b. 1895)
 * August 18 – Anita Loos, American screenwriter (b. 1888)
 * August 19 – Jessie Matthews, English actress (b. 1907)
 * August 26 – Kelly Keen, coyote victim (b. 1978)
 * August 27 – Valeri Kharlamov, Soviet ice hockey player (b. 1948)
 * August 29 – Lowell Thomas, American writer (b. 1892)
 * August 30 – Vera-Ellen, American actress and dancer (b. 1921)

September

 * September 1
 * Ann Harding, American actress (b. 1902)
 * Albert Speer, German Nazi architect and war minister (b. 1905)
 * September 2 – Enid Lyons, Australia politician (b. 1897)
 * September 3 – Alec Waugh, British novelist (b. 1898)
 * September 6 – Christy Brown, Irish author, poet, and artist (b. 1932)
 * September 7 – Edwin Albert Link, American pioneer in aviation, underwater archaeology, and submersibles, and inventor of aeronautical, navigation, and oceanographic equipment (b. 1904)
 * September 8 – Hideki Yukawa, Japanese physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
 * September 9
 * Jacques Lacan, French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist (b. 1901)
 * Ricardo Balbín, Argentine politician, leader of the Radical Civic Union (UCR) (b. 1904)
 * Sir Robert (Bob) Askin, Premier of New South Wales (b. 1907)
 * September 11 – Frank McHugh, American actor (b. 1898)
 * September 12 – Eugenio Montale, Italian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1896)
 * September 14 – Charles L. Melson, American admiral (b. 1904)
 * September 15
 * Rafael Méndez, Mexican-born trumpet virtuoso (b. 1906)
 * Harold Bennett, British actor (b. 1899)
 * September 21 – Nigel Patrick, English actor (b. 1912)
 * September 22 – Harry Warren, American songwriter (b. 1893)
 * September 23 – Chief Dan George, Canadian First Nations actor (b. 1899)
 * September 24 – Patsy Kelly, American actress (b. 1910)
 * September 27 – Robert Montgomery, American actor (b. 1904)
 * September 28
 * Sir Edward Boyle, Baron Boyle of Handsworth, British Conservative cabinet minister (b. 1923)
 * Rómulo Betancourt, two-term President of Venezuela (b. 1908)
 * September 29 – Bill Shankly, British football manager (b. 1913)

October

 * October 2
 * Harry Golden, American journalist (b. 1902)
 * Hazel Scott, American jazz singer and pianist (b. 1920)
 * October 4 – Freddie Lindstrom, American baseball player (New York Giants) and a member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1905)
 * October 5 – Gloria Grahame, American actress (b. 1923)
 * October 6 – Anwar Sadat, 3rd President of Egypt, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (assassinated) (b. 1918)
 * October 13
 * Antonio Berni, Argentine painter (b. 1905)
 * Nils Asther, Danish-born actor (b. 1897)
 * October 16
 * Stanley Clements, American actor (b. 1926)
 * Moshe Dayan, Israeli general (b. 1915)
 * October 20 – Mary Coyle Chase, American playwright (b. 1906)
 * October 23 – Reg Butler, English sculptor (b. 1913)
 * October 24 – Edith Head, American costume designer (b. 1897)
 * October 29 – Georges Brassens, French singer and songwriter (b. 1921)

November

 * November 3 – Jean Eustache, French film director (b. 1938)
 * November 7 – Will Durant, American philosopher and writer (b. 1885)
 * November 10 – Abel Gance, French film director (b. 1889)
 * November 12 – William Holden, American actor (b. 1918)
 * November 13 – Gerhard Marcks, German sculptor (b. 1889)
 * November 14 – Robert Bradford, Northern Irish footballer and politician (b. 1941)
 * November 15
 * William O. Gallery, American admiral (b. 1904)
 * Walter Heitler, German physicist (b. 1904)
 * Enid Markey, American actress (b. 1894)
 * Khawar Rizvi, Pakistani poet and scholar (b. 1938)
 * November 17 – Wilhelm Pelikan, Austrian chemist (b. 1893)
 * November 21
 * Harry von Zell, American actor (b. 1906)
 * Ejner Federspiel, Danish actor (b. 1896)
 * November 22
 * Hans Adolf Krebs, German physician and biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1900)
 * Ilya Bolotowsky, Russian-American painter (b. 1907)
 * November 25 – Jack Albertson, American actor (b. 1907)
 * November 26
 * Max Euwe, Dutch chess grandmaster (b. 1901)
 * Regino Sainz de la Maza, Spanish classical guitarist (b. 1896)
 * November 27 – Lotte Lenya, Austrian singer and actress (b. 1898)
 * November 29 – Natalie Wood, American actress (b. 1938)

December

 * December 2 – Wallace Harrison, American architect (b. 1895)
 * December 3 – Walter Knott, American farmer and theme park creator (b. 1889)
 * December 6 – Harry Harlow, American psychologist (b. 1905)
 * December 7 – William Edmunds, Italian stage and screen character actor (b. 1886)
 * December 8 – Ferruccio Parri, 29th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1905)
 * December 13 – Cornelius Cardew, English composer (b. 1936)
 * December 15
 * Catherine T. MacArthur, American philanthropist (b. 1909)
 * Karl Struss, American cinematographer (b. 1886)
 * December 17 – Mehmet Shehu, Prime Minister of Albania (b. 1913)
 * December 23
 * Luther H. Evans, American political scientist and librarian, 3rd Director General of the UNESCO (b. 1902)
 * Reginald Miles Ansett, Australian businessman and aviator (b. 1909)
 * December 26 – Suat Hayri Urguplu, Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1903)
 * December 27 – Hoagy Carmichael, American jazz composer (b. 1899)
 * December 28
 * Allan Dwan, Canadian-born American film director (b. 1885)
 * Bram van Velde, Dutch painter (b. 1895)
 * December 30 – Alfie Anido, Filipino actor (b. 1959)

Nobel Prizes

 * Physics – Nicolaas Bloembergen, Arthur Leonard Schawlow, Kai Siegbahn
 * Chemistry – Kenichi Fukui, Roald Hoffmann
 * Medicine – Roger Wolcott Sperry, David H. Hubel, Torsten Wiesel
 * Literature – Elias Canetti
 * Peace – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
 * Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences – James Tobin

Links

 * Protocol of Accession