1950

January

 * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
 * January 5 – U.S. Senator Estes Kefauver introduces a resolution calling for an investigation of organized crime in the U.S.
 * January 6 – The UK recognizes the People's Republic of China; the Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with Britain in response.
 * January 7 – A fire consumes Mercy Hospital in Davenport, Iowa, killing 41 patients.
 * January 9 – The Israeli government recognizes the People's Republic of China.
 * January 11 – Huk guerrillas manhandle the town of Hermosa, Bataan in the Philippines.
 * January 12
 * The British submarine Truculent collides with a Swedish oil tanker in the Thames Estuary and sinks; 64 die.
 * Cold War: U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson delivers his 'Perimeter Speech', outlining the boundary of U.S. security guarantees.
 * January 13 – Finland forms diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.
 * January 17 – Great Brink's Robbery: Eleven thieves steal more than $2 million from the Brink's armored car company headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts.
 * January 21 – Accused communist spy Alger Hiss is convicted on 2 accounts
 * January 23 – The Knesset passes a resolution that states Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
 * January 24 – Cold War: Klaus Fuchs, German émigré and physicist, confesses to an MI5 interrogator that he is a Soviet spy: For seven years, he passed top secret data on U.S. and British nuclear weapons research to the Soviet Union. Fuchs is formally charged on February 2.
 * January 25 – Alger Hiss receives a five-year sentence following his conviction on two counts of perjury
 * January 26 – India promulgates its constitution, forming a republic, and Rajendra Prasad is sworn in as its first president. The Kingdom of Mysore is merged into the new republic.
 * January 29 – Lord Balfour criticizes the fact that rationing is still in force in Britain.
 * January 31
 * United States President Harry S. Truman orders the development of the hydrogen bomb, in response to the detonation of the Soviet Union's first atomic bomb in 1949.
 * The last Kuomintang troops surrender in mainland China.
 * December – First five-year plan is tabled in the Parliament by Jawaharlal Nehru. It emphasizes Agricultural and Community development.

February

 * February 1 – Chiang Kai-shek is re-elected as a president of the Republic of China.
 * February 4 – Ingrid Bergman's illegitimate child arouses ire in the U.S.
 * February 6 – First Cabinet Secretary N.R. Pillai appointed in India.
 * February 8 – Payment first made by Diners Club card, in New York, first use of a charge card.
 * February 9 – Second Red Scare: In his speech to the Republican Women's Club at the McClure Hotel in Wheeling, West Virginia, Senator Joseph McCarthy accuses the United States Department of State of being filled with 205 Communists.
 * February 11
 * Two Viet Minh battalions attack a French base in French Indochina.
 * Finland recognizes Indonesia.
 * February 12
 * Pro-communist riots erupt in Paris.
 * The European Broadcasting Union is founded.
 * Albert Einstein warns that nuclear war could lead to mutual destruction.
 * February 13
 * The U.S. Army begins to deploy anti-aircraft cannons to protect nuclear stations and military targets.
 * British Columbia B-36 crash – The U.S. Air Force loses a Convair B-36 bomber that carried a Mark 4 nuclear bomb off the west coast of Canada, and produces the world's first Broken Arrow.
 * February 14 – Cold War:
 * The Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China sign a mutual defense treaty.
 * In an election speech at Edinburgh, Winston Churchill proposes "a parley at the summit" with Soviet leaders, first use of term "summit" for such a meeting.
 * February 15
 * Juho Kusti Paasikivi is re-elected president of Finland.
 * Walt Disney releases his 12th animated film, Cinderella in Hollywood.
 * February 19 – Konrad Adenauer tries unsuccessfully to negotiate with East Germany to begin unification.
 * February 21 – Cunard liner RMS Aquitania arrives at the scrapyard in Faslane at the end of a 36-year career, the longest of any in the 20th Century.
 * February 23 – United Kingdom general election, 1950 : The Labour Party, led by Clement Attlee remains in office but the Tories, led by Winston Churchill increase their seats in the House of Commons.

March

 * March 1
 * Klaus Fuchs is convicted in London of spying against both Britain and the United States for the Soviet Union, by giving to the latter top secret atomic bomb data.
 * Acting Chinese President Li Tsung-jen ends his term in office.
 * Chiang Kai-shek resumes his duties as Chinese president after moving his government to Taipei, Taiwan.
 * March 3 – Poland indicates its intention to exile all Germans.
 * March 8 – The first Volkswagen Type 2 (also known as the Microbus) rolls off the assembly line in Wolfsburg, Germany.
 * March 12 – A plane carrying returning rugby fans from Ireland to Wales crashes near Llandow, with the loss of 80 lives.
 * March 13 – Royal Question: Belgian monarchy referendum, 1950 – In Belgium, the referendum over the monarchy shows 57.7% support the return of King Léopold III, 42.3% against.
 * March 14 – The ship Cygnet hits a mine off the Dutch coast.
 * March 17 – University of California, Berkeley researchers announce the creation of element 98, which they name "Californium".
 * March 18 – The Belgian government collapses after the March 12 referendum favouring of the return from exile of King Léopold III.
 * March 20 – The Polish government enacts a law to take possession of properties owned by Roman Catholic churches.
 * March 22 – Egypt demands that Britain remove all its troops in the Suez Canal.
 * March 23 – The 22nd Academy Awards ceremony is held.

April

 * April 14
 * Influential British comic Eagle is launched
 * NSC-68 is issued by the United States National Security Council
 * April 15 – Belgian King Leopold III announces that he is ready to abdicate in favor of his son Baudouin.
 * April 24 – Jordan formally annexes the West Bank
 * April 25 – Trial of alleged communist spy Judith Coplon commences in New York City
 * April 27
 * Apartheid: In South Africa, the Group Areas Act is passed, formally segregating the races.
 * Britain formally recognises Israel.

May

 * May 1 – UNRWA operations begin.
 * May 5 – Coronation of Bhomibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) of Thailand at The Grand Palace in Bangkok.
 * May 6
 * The town of Cazin (Bosnia) rises up against Communist agrarian reforms.
 * Tollund Man is unearthed in Denmark.
 * May 9
 * Robert Schuman presents his proposal for the creation of a pan-European organisation, which he believes to be indispensable to the maintenance of permanently peaceful relations between the different nations of the continent. This proposal, known as the "Schuman Declaration", is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union.
 * L. Ron Hubbard publishes Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health.
 * May 11 – The Kefauver Committee hearings into U.S. organized crime begin.
 * May 13 – The first race in the inaugural FIA Formula One World Championship is held at Silverstone, England.
 * May 14 – The Huntsville Times runs the headline "Dr. von Braun Says Rocket Flights Possible to Moon."
 * May 17 – Israeli Air Force Spitfires intercept a Royal Air Force Short Sunderland when it inadvertently crossed into Israeli airspace, forcing it to land at Lod Airport. The Sunderland's crew had been issued maps that did not depict Israel, as Britain had not recognized the Jewish State at the time the maps were issued.
 * May 22
 * Celâl Bayar becomes the third president of Turkey.
 * Adnan Menderes of DP forms the new government of Turkey (19th government)
 * May 24 – United States Maritime Administration (under Department of Commerce).
 * May 25 – The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel is formally opened to traffic.
 * May 29
 * St. Roch, the first ship to circumnavigate North America, arrives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
 * The pilot series of the world's longest-running radio soap opera The Archers, is first broadcast on BBC Light Programme

June



 * June 1–June 23 – Mauna Loa in Hawaii starts erupting.
 * June 3 – Annapurna I, 10th highest mountain in the world, is first ascended.
 * June 6 – Turkey: The Adhan in Arabic is legalized.
 * June 8 – Sir Thomas Blamey becomes the only Field Marshal in Australian history.
 * June 16 – Maracana Stadium, as well known for sports venues of Brazil, open in Rio de Janeiro, before opening 1950 FIFA World Cup.
 * June 25 – Korean War begins: North Korean troops cross the 38th parallel into South Korea.
 * June 26 – The Parliament of South Africa passes the Suppression of Communism Act.
 * June 27 – Korean War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman orders American military forces to aid in the defense of South Korea.
 * June 28
 * Korean War: North Korean forces capture Seoul but do not win the war.
 * Korean War: Hangang Bridge bombing: The South Korean army, in an attempt to defend Seoul, blows up the Hangang Bridge while it is crowded with refugees.
 * Korean War: Seoul National University Hospital massacre: the North Korean People's Army kills around 800 medical staff and patients.
 * Korean War: Bodo League massacre begins: South Korean armed forces and police summarily execute at least 100,000 suspected North Korean sympathizers.

July

 * July 16 – Uruguay beat Brazil 2–1 to win the 1950 World Cup.
 * July 17 – The Suppression of Communism Act passed on June 26, comes into force in South Africa.

August

 * August 5
 * 2 Squadron SAAF departs to take part in the Korean War.
 * A bomb-laden B-29 Superfortress crashes into a residential area in California, killing 17 and injuring 68.
 * August 6 – Monarchist demonstrations lead to a riot in Brussels.
 * August 8
 * Florence Chadwick swims across the English Channel in 13 hours, 22 minutes.
 * Winston Churchill supports idea of a pan-European army allied with Canada and the U.S.
 * August 12
 * Korean War: Bloody Gulch massacre.
 * In his encyclical Humani generis, Pope Pius XII declares evolution to be a serious hypothesis that did not contradict essential Catholic teachings.
 * August 15 – The 8.6 Mw Assam–Tibet earthquake shakes the region with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing between 1,500–3,300 people.
 * August 17 –
 * Korean War: In the Hill 303 massacre, 39 U.S. soldiers are executed after being captured in battle by North Korea.
 * August 22 – The Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary is founded in Tagbilaran City, Philippines.
 * August 23 – Legendary singer-actor Paul Robeson, whose passport had recently been revoked because of his alleged Communist affiliations, meets with U.S. officials in an effort to get it reinstated. He is unsuccessful, and it is not reinstated until 1958.

September

 * September 4
 * Darlington Raceway is the site of the inaugural Southern 500, the first 500-mile NASCAR race.
 * The comic strip Beetle Bailey is created by Mort Walker.
 * September 7
 * A coal mine collapse in New Cumnock, Scotland, kills 13 miners; 116 are rescued.
 * The game show Truth or Consequences debuts on television.
 * September 8 – The Defense Production Act is enacted into law in the U.S., shaping American military contracting for the next 60 years.
 * September 9 – The U.S. state of California celebrates its centennial anniversary.
 * September 12 – Communist riots erupt in Berlin.
 * September 15 – Korean War – Battle of Inchon: Allied troops commanded by Douglas MacArthur land in Inchon, occupied by North Korea, to begin a U.N. counteroffensive.
 * September 19 – West Germany decides to purge communist officials.
 * September 22 – World Dance Council inaugurated.
 * September 26 – Indonesia is admitted to the United Nations.
 * September 30 – NSC-68 is enacted by President Truman, setting U.S. foreign policy for the next 20 years.

October

 * Turing test published.
 * October 2 – The comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz is first published in seven U.S. newspapers.
 * October 3 – Getúlio Dornelles Vargas is elected president of Brazil for a 5-year term.
 * October 5 – The Indonesian government quells riots in the Moluccas.
 * October 7
 * Battle of Chamdo: The incorporation of Tibet into the People's Republic of China begins with the Chinese People's Liberation Army invading across the Jinsha River. By October 19 they will have taken the border town of Chamdo and the Tibetan army will have surrendered.
 * The Agate Pass Bridge opens for traffic in Washington State.
 * October 9 – Goyang Geumjeong Cave massacre starts in South Korea.
 * October 11 – The Federal Communications Commission in the United States issues the first license to broadcast television in color, to CBS (RCA will successfully dispute and block the license from taking effect, however).
 * October 15
 * The second Tacoma Narrows Bridge opens in Washington (state).
 * In East Germany, the Communists win 99.7% of the vote.
 * October 19 – Korean War: The People's Republic of China enters the conflict by sending thousands of soldiers across the Yalu River.
 * October 20 – Australia passes the Communist Party Dissolution Act, which is later struck down by the High Court.
 * October 28 – Torcida Split is founded in support of the Association football club HNK Hajduk Split in SFR Yugoslavia.
 * October 29 – Upon the death of Gustaf V of Sweden, he is succeeded as king by his 68-year-old son Gustaf VI Adolf.
 * October 30 – The Jayuya Uprising is started by Puerto Rican Nationalists against the United States.

November

 * November 1
 * Pope Pius XII witnesses the "Miracle of the Sun" at the Vatican and defines a new dogma of Roman Catholicism, the Munificentissimus Deus, which says that God took Mary's body into Heaven after her death (the "Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary").
 * Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempt to assassinate U.S. President Harry S. Truman, who is staying at the Blair-Lee House in Washington, D.C. during White House repairs.
 * November 4 – The United Nations ends the diplomatic isolation of Spain.
 * November 8 – Korean War: While in an F-80, United States Air Force Lt. Russell J. Brown intercepts 2 North Korean MiG-15s near the Yalu River and shoots them down in the first jet-to-jet dogfight in history.
 * November 10 – A U.S. Air Force B-50 Superfortress bomber, experiencing an in-flight emergency, jettisons and detonates a Mark 4 nuclear bomb over Quebec, Canada (the device lacked its plutonium core).
 * November 11 – The Mattachine Society is founded in Los Angeles as the first gay-liberation organization.
 * November 13
 * The President of Venezuela, Colonel Carlos Delgado Chalbaud is kidnapped and murdered in Caracas.
 * A Curtiss Reid Flying Services plane crashes while en route to Paris from Rome, killing all 52 on board.
 * November 17 – 15-year-old Tenzin Gyatso is formally enthroned as 14th Dalai Lama, becoming temporal ruler of Tibet.
 * November 18 – The United Nations accepts the formation of the Libyan National Council.
 * November 20 – T. S. Eliot speaks against television in the UK.
 * November 22
 * Anti-British riots erupt in Egypt.
 * Shirley Temple announces her retirement from show business.
 * November 24 – A phenomenal winter storm ravages the northeastern United States, brings 30 to 50 inches of snow, temperatures below zero, and kills 323 people.
 * November 26 – Korean War: Troops from the People's Republic of China launched a massive counterattack against South Korean and United Nations forces at the Ch'ongch'on River and the Chosin Reservoir, dashing any hopes for a quick end to the conflict.
 * November 28
 * Colombo Plan for Co-operative Economic Development in South and South-East Asia
 * Greece and Yugoslavia reform diplomatic relations.
 * November 29 – The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is founded.
 * November 30 – Douglas MacArthur threatens to use nuclear weapons in Korea.

December

 * December 4 – Foley Square trial commences review in U.S. Supreme Court as Dennis v. United States
 * December 31 – The inaugural 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race is held.

Date unknown

 * Canadians Harry Wasylyk, Larry Hansen and Frank Plomp introduce the plastic bin bag for garbage collection.
 * Myxomatosis is introduced into Australia in an attempt to control the escalating rabbit population.
 * IBM Israel begins operating in Tel Aviv.
 * President Harry Truman sends United States military advisers to Vietnam to aid French forces.
 * France institutes a government-guaranteed minimum wage.
 * Knox's Translation of the Vulgate Old Testament (commissioned by the Catholic Church) is published.
 * Laos gets involved in the First Indochina War to overthrow the French Army.

World population

 * Total world population: 2,518,630,000
 * Africa: 221,214,000
 * Asia: 1,398,488,000
 * Europe: 547,403,000
 * Latin America: 167,097,000
 * North America: 171,616,000
 * Oceania: 12,812,000.

January

 * January 2
 * Débora Duarte, Brazilian actress
 * David Shifrin, American classical clarinetist
 * January 3 – Victoria Principal, American actress
 * January 5
 * John Manley, Canadian politician
 * Charlie Richmond, Canadian entrepreneur and inventor
 * January 6
 * Louis Freeh, American Director of the FBI
 * Thomas J. Pickard, American Acting Director of the FBI
 * January 7
 * Juan Gabriel, Mexican singer, songwriter and philanthropist (d. 2016)
 * Erin Gray, American actress
 * January 9 – Alec Jeffreys, British geneticist, who developed techniques for DNA fingerprinting and DNA profiling
 * January 10 – Ernie Wasson, American gardener and writer
 * January 12
 * Sheila Jackson Lee, American politician
 * Dorrit Moussaieff, Israeli-born British businesswoman; First Lady of Iceland
 * January 14 – Jagadguru Rāmabhadrācārya, Hindu religious leader
 * January 16 – Debbie Allen, American actress, dancer, and choreographer
 * January 17
 * Steve Cuozzo, American writer and columnist
 * Cristina Galbó, Spanish actress
 * Honey Irani, Indian film actress and screenwriter
 * Luis López Nieves, Puerto Rican writer
 * January 18 – Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (d. 1982)
 * January 20 – Edward Hirsch, American poet
 * January 21 – Billy Ocean, West Indian-born musician
 * January 22 – Pamela Salem, British actress
 * January 23 – Richard Dean Anderson, American actor
 * January 24
 * Daniel Auteuil, French actor
 * Gennifer Flowers, American actress, connected to Bill Clinton
 * Benjamin Urrutia, Ecuadorian-born American author and scholar
 * January 26
 * Jörg Haider, Austrian politician (d. 2008)
 * Janet Lupo, American model
 * January 27
 * Derek Acorah, British spiritualist and medium
 * Ulrich Deppendorf, German journalist and television presenter
 * January 29
 * Ann Jillian, American actress
 * Jody Scheckter, South African race car driver
 * Miklós Vámos, Hungarian writer and screenwriter
 * January 30 – Trinidad Silva, American actor (d. 1988)

February

 * February 1 – Kazimierz Nycz, Polish clergyman
 * February 3 – Morgan Fairchild, American actress
 * February 6
 * Natalie Cole, American singer (d. 2015)
 * Timothy Michael Dolan, Roman Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop of New York.
 * February 10 – Mark Spitz, American Olympic swimmer
 * February 12
 * Steve Hackett, British songwriter and guitarist
 * Michael Ironside, Canadian actor
 * February 13 – Peter Gabriel, British rock musician and was lead singer of Genesis
 * February 15 – Tsui Hark, Hong Kong film director
 * February 16
 * Peter Hain, British politician
 * Roman Tam, Renowned Cantopop singer (d. 2002)
 * February 18
 * John Hughes, American film director, producer and writer (d. 2009)
 * Cybill Shepherd, American actress
 * February 20
 * Ken Shimura, Japanese television performer and actor
 * Tony Wilson, English impresario (d. 2007)
 * February 22
 * Julius Erving, American basketball player
 * Miou-Miou, French actress
 * Julie Walters, English actress
 * February 25
 * Neil Jordan, Irish film director, writer, and producer
 * Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina (d. 2010)
 * February 26
 * Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand
 * Bill Ritter, American news anchor

March

 * March 2 – Karen Carpenter, American singer and drummer (d. 1983)
 * March 4 – Rick Perry, Governor of Texas
 * March 9 – Danny Sullivan, American race car driver
 * March 10 – Carlos Roberto Flores, President of Honduras
 * March 11
 * Bobby McFerrin, American singer
 * Jerry Zucker, American film producer, director, and writer
 * March 12 – Javier Clemente, Spanish football player and manager
 * March 13 – William H. Macy, American actor
 * March 18 – Brad Dourif, American actor
 * March 20 – William Hurt, American actor
 * March 22
 * Hugo Egon Balder, German actor and television presenter
 * Jocky Wilson, Scottish darts player (d. 2012)
 * March 26
 * Teddy Pendergrass, American singer (d. 2010)
 * Martin Short, Canadian-born comedian
 * Alan Silvestri, American composer and conductor
 * March 28
 * Claudio Lolli, Italian singer-songwriter
 * Jeffrey Miller, Kent State University shooting victim (d. 1970)
 * March 29 – Mory Kanté, Guinean musician
 * March 30
 * Robbie Coltrane, Scottish actor and comedian
 * David Janson, British actor
 * March 31 – Ed Marinaro, American football player and actor

April

 * April 1 – Samuel Alito, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
 * April 3 – Sally Thomsett, English actress
 * April 4 – Christine Lahti, American actress
 * April 5
 * Agnetha Fältskog, Swedish pop singer and songwriter (ABBA)
 * Harpo, Swedish pop musician
 * April 8 – Grzegorz Lato, Polish footballer
 * April 10 – Ken Griffey, Sr., American baseball player
 * April 12
 * Joyce Banda, née Mtila, President of Malawi
 * David Cassidy, American actor and singer
 * April 13 – Ron Perlman, American actor
 * April 14 – Péter Esterházy, Hungarian writer
 * April 15 – Josiane Balasko, French actress/writer/director
 * April 17 – Bruce McNall, American businessman
 * April 20 – Steve Erickson, American novelist
 * April 22
 * Peter Frampton, English rock musician
 * Thierry Zéno, Belgian filmmaker
 * April 25 – Lenora Fulani, American presidential candidate
 * April 28 – Jay Leno, American comedian and talk show host
 * April 29 – Paul Holmes, New Zealand radio and television broadcaster (d. 2013)

May

 * May 5 – Googoosh, Iranian singer and actress
 * May 7 – Tim Russert, American journalist (d. 2008)
 * May 11 – Jeremy Paxman, English journalist
 * May 12
 * Gabriel Byrne, Irish actor
 * Ching Hai, Vietnamese born Taiwanese author, spiritual leader and jewelry designer
 * Billy Squier, American musician
 * May 13
 * Bobby Valentine, American baseball manager
 * Stevie Wonder, American musician
 * May 14 – Jill Stein, American politician, activist
 * May 15 – Renate Stecher, German athlete
 * May 16 – Georg Bednorz, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
 * May 18 – Thomas Gottschalk, German radio and television host, entertainer and actor
 * May 18 – Mark Mothersbaugh, American composer, artist, and singer (Devo)
 * May 29 – Rebbie Jackson, American singer
 * May 31 – Gregory Harrison, American actor and director

June

 * June 3
 * Deniece Williams, American singer
 * Melissa Mathison, American screenwriter (d. 2015)
 * Suzi Quatro, American singer-songwriter
 * June 5 – Abraham Sarmiento, Jr., Filipino journalist and political activist (d. 1977)
 * June 7 – Howard Finkel, American ring announcer
 * June 8 – Kathy Baker, American actress
 * June 11 – Graham Russell, English singer and musician (Air Supply)
 * June 13 – Belinda Bauer, Australian actress
 * June 14 – Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
 * June 15 – Lakshmi Mittal, Indian industrialist
 * June 20 – Nouri al-Maliki, 74th Prime Minister of Iraq
 * June 21
 * Joey Kramer, American musician
 * Vasilis Papakonstantinou, Greek singer and musician
 * June 22 – Zenonas Petrauskas, Lithuanian lawyer and politician (d. 2009)
 * June 24 – Nancy Allen, American actress
 * June 25
 * Nitza Saul, Israeli actress
 * Marcello Toninelli, Italian writer
 * June 29
 * Simone Gbagbo, ICC criminal, former Ivorian politician and First Lady
 * Don Moen, American singer and musician
 * June 30 – Leonard Whiting, British actor

July

 * July 5 – Huey Lewis, American rock singer
 * July 9 – Viktor Yanukovych, President of Ukraine
 * July 11 – Pervez Hoodbhoy, Pakistani Nuclear physicist and social activist
 * July 12 – Eric Carr, Former Kiss drummer and musician (d. 1991)
 * July 13 – Ma Ying-jeou, current President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
 * July 17 – Derek de Lint, Dutch actor
 * July 18
 * Sir Richard Branson, British entrepreneur
 * Glenn Hughes, American vocalist (d. 2001)
 * Jack Layton, Canadian politician (d. 2011)
 * July 19
 * Simon Cadell, British actor (d. 1996)
 * Per-Kristian Foss, Norwegian Minister of Finance
 * Freddy Moore, American musician
 * July 20 – William Knox Schroeder, Kent State University shooting victim (d. 1970)
 * July 26 – Susan George, British actress
 * July 27 – Simon Jones, English actor
 * July 29 – Jenny Holzer, American conceptual artist

August

 * August 1
 * Bunkhouse Buck, American professional wrestler
 * Roy Williams, American basketball coach
 * August 3
 * John Landis, American film director
 * Jo Marie Payton, American actress
 * Ernesto Samper, President of Colombia
 * August 5 – Rosi Mittermaier, German ski racer
 * August 7 – Alan Keyes, American conservative political activist
 * August 8
 * Lucjan Lis, Polish-German cyclist (d. 2015)
 * Ken Kutaragi, ex-C.E.O of Sony Computer Entertainment
 * August 9 – Nicole Tourneur, French novelist (d. 2011)
 * August 11
 * Erik Brann, American musician (Iron Butterfly) (d. 2003)
 * Gennadiy Nikonov, Russian weapon designer
 * August 12 – Iris Berben, German actress
 * August 15
 * Anne, Princess Royal, British Princess and daughter of Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh
 * Neil J. Gunther, Australian/American physicist and computer scientist
 * Tom Kelly, American baseball manager
 * Andres Serrano, American photographer
 * August 16
 * Hasely Crawford, West Indian athlete
 * Marshall Manesh, Persian actor
 * August 19 – Sudha Murthy, Indian social worker and author
 * August 22 – Scooter Libby, American political adviser
 * August 26
 * Carl Deuker, American author
 * Annette Badland, English actor
 * August 27 – Charles Fleischer, American actor, stand-up comedian and voice artist

September

 * September 1
 * Mikhail Fradkov, Russian politician and Prime Minister of Russia (2004–2007)
 * Phil McGraw, American TV psychologist
 * September 2
 * Rosanna DeSoto, American actress
 * Yuen Wah, Hong Kong actor
 * September 7
 * Johann Friedrich, German-Australian engineer and conman
 * Julie Kavner, American actress
 * September 8 –Mark Gable, Australian singer and songwriter (The Choirboys)
 * September 10 – Joe Perry, American rock guitarist (Aerosmith)
 * September 14
 * Paul Kossoff, British rock guitarist (Free) (d. 1976)
 * Masami Kuwashima, Japanese race car driver
 * September 16
 * Henry Louis Gates, American literary critic
 * Loyd Grossman, American television presenter and chef
 * September 17 – Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India
 * September 19 – Joan Lunden, American television broadcaster and journalist
 * September 21
 * Charles Clarke, British politician
 * Bill Murray, American actor and comedian
 * September 22 – Kirka Babitzin, Finnish singer (d. 2007)
 * September 24 – Kristina Wayborn, Swedish actress
 * September 27 – Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Japanese actor
 * September 28 – John Sayles, American director and screenwriter

October

 * October 1
 * Boris Morukov, Russian astronaut (d. 2015)
 * Randy Quaid, American actor and comedian
 * October 3 – Pamela Hensley, American actress
 * October 5 – Jeff Conaway, American actor (d. 2011)
 * October 7 – Jakaya Kikwete, 4th President of Tanzania
 * October 9 – Jody Williams, American teacher and aid worker, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
 * October 10 – Nora Roberts, American novelist
 * October 12
 * Edward Bloor, American novelist
 * Kaga Takeshi, Japanese actor
 * Pilar Pilapil, Filipina actress
 * October 16 – Cecil Bothwell. American atheist writer and politician
 * October 17
 * Howard Rollins, American actor (d. 1996)
 * Dean Shek, Hong Kong actor
 * October 18 – Wendy Wasserstein, American playwright (d. 2006)
 * October 19 – Bishop Bill Ray, 10th Bishop of North Queensland
 * October 20 – Tom Petty, American rock singer
 * October 22 – Bill Owens, Governor of Colorado
 * October 25 – Chris Norman, English singer (Smokie)
 * October 28
 * Annette Humpe, German singer, bands Ideal and Ich + Ich
 * Sihem Bensedrine, Tunisian human rights activist
 * October 29 – Abdullah Gül, 11th President of Turkey
 * October 30 – Louise DuArt, American comedian and impersonator
 * October 31
 * John Candy, Canadian comedian and actor (d. 1994)
 * Jane Pauley, American television broadcaster and journalist

November

 * November 1 – Robert B. Laughlin, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
 * November 3 – Massimo Mongai, Italian author
 * November 4 – Charles Frazier, American novelist
 * November 6 – Kenny Marks, American Christian musician
 * November 9 – Maravillas Rojo, Catalan politician
 * November 10
 * Debra Hill, American producer (d. 2005)
 * Bob Orton, Jr., American professional wrestler
 * November 12 – Barbara Fairchild, American country and gospel singer
 * November 13 – Mary Lou Metzger, American singer and dancer
 * November 16 – David Leisure, American actor
 * November 17 – Roland Matthes, German swimmer
 * November 21 – Alberto Juantorena, Cuban athlete
 * November 22 – Lyman Bostock, American baseball player (d. 1978)
 * November 23 – Chuck Schumer, American politician, U.S. Senator (D-Ny.) since 1999; cousin of comedian Amy Schumer
 * November 24 – Stanley Livingston, American actor
 * November 28
 * Ed Harris, American actor and film director
 * Russell Alan Hulse, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

December

 * December 1
 * Manju Bansal, Indian molecular biologist
 * Richard Keith [birth name Keith Thibodeaux], American child actor
 * December 2
 * Amin Saikal, Australian academic professor
 * Benjamin Stora, French historian
 * Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
 * December 5 – Camarón de la Isla, Spanish singer (d. 1992)
 * December 9 – Joan Armatrading, St. Kitts-born English singer-songwriter
 * December 10 – Tom Towles, American actor (d. 2015)
 * December 12
 * Heiner Flassbeck, German economist, professor, publicist, political counselor and State secretary
 * Rajinikanth, Indian actor
 * December 13 – Wendie Malick, American actress
 * December 15 – Sylvester James Gates, American theoretical physicist
 * December 16 – Roy Schuiten, Dutch cyclist (d. 2006)
 * December 17 – Laurence F. Johnson, American futurist and educator
 * December 18 – Leonard Maltin, American film critic
 * December 19 – Manny Trillo, Venezuelan-born American baseball player
 * December 23
 * Vicente del Bosque, Spanish footballer and manager
 * Michael C. Burgess, American politician
 * December 25 – Ed Hochuli, American football official
 * December 28 – Alex Chilton, American rock musician (The Box Tops) (d. 2010)
 * December 29 – Jon Polito, American actor (d. 2016)

January

 * January 2
 * Emil Jannings, Swiss-born German actor (b. 1884)
 * Anthony Prusinski, American politician (b. 1901)
 * January 7
 * Monty Banks, Italian comedian and director (b. 1897)
 * Alfonso Daniel Rodríguez Castelao, Galician politician, writer, painter and doctor (b. 1886)
 * January 8 – Joseph Schumpeter, Czech economist and political scientist (b. 1883)
 * January 11 – James A. Colescott, former Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan (b. 1897)
 * January 15 – Henry H. Arnold, American five-star general (b. 1886)
 * January 17 – Seiichi Hatano, Japanese philosopher (b. 1877)
 * January 18 – Horace Rice, Australian tennis player (b. 1872)
 * January 20 – Ray Duggan, Australian-English speedway rider (b. 1913)
 * January 21 – George Orwell, English author (b. 1903)
 * January 22 – Alan Hale, Sr., American actor (b. 1892)
 * January 23 – Vasil Kolarov, Bulgarian Communist politician, former provisional head of State and 33rd Prime Minister of Bulgaria (b. 1877)

February

 * February 3
 * Sir Lionel Cripps, Rhodesian politician (b. 1863)
 * Karl Seitz, 1st President of Austria (b. 1869)
 * February 6 – Georges Imbert, Alsatian chemist (b. 1884)
 * February 7 – D. K. Broster, British historical novelist (b. 1877)
 * February 10 – Marcel Mauss, French sociologist (b. 1872)
 * February 11 – Kiki Cuyler, American baseball player (Chicago Cubs) and a member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1898)
 * February 13 – Rafael Sabatini, Italian writer (b. 1875)
 * February 14 – Karl Guthe Jansky, American physicist and radio engineer, father of the radio astronomy (b. 1905)
 * February 16 – Mile-a-Minute Murphy, American cyclist (b. 1870)
 * February 25 – George Minot, American physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1885)
 * February 26 – Harry Lauder, Scottish entertainer (b. 1870)

March

 * March 2 – Rosli Dhobi, famous Malay Sarawakian (b. 1932)
 * March 5
 * Sid Grauman, American restaurateur (b. 1895)
 * Edgar Lee Masters, American poet (b. 1868)
 * March 6
 * Albert Lebrun, President of France (b. 1871)
 * Harry Redfern, English architect (b. 1861)
 * March 10 – Marguerite De La Motte, American actress (b. 1902)
 * March 11
 * Heinrich Mann, German novelist (b. 1871)
 * Brock Pemberton, American theatrical producer (b. 1885)
 * March 15 – Carl Storck, 3rd president of the National Football League (b. 1892)
 * March 19
 * Edgar Rice Burroughs, American author (b. 1875)
 * Walter Haworth, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1883)
 * March 22 – Emmanuel Mounier, French philosopher (b. 1905)
 * March 24
 * James Rudolph Garfield, American politician (b. 1865)
 * Harold Laski, British political theorist and economist (b. 1893)
 * March 25 – Frank Buck, American animal collector (b. 1884)
 * March 30
 * Léon Blum, French statesman and 128th Prime Minister of France (b. 1872)
 * Joe Yule, Scottish-born entertainer; father of Mickey Rooney (b. 1894)

April

 * April 1 – F. O. Matthiessen, American historian and literary critic (b. 1902)
 * April 2 – Recep Peker, Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1889)
 * April 3 – Kurt Weill, German-born composer (b. 1900)
 * April 7 – Walter Huston, American actor (b. 1884)
 * April 8 – Vaslav Nijinsky, Russian ballet dancer and choreographer (b. 1889)
 * April 10 – Fevzi Çakmak, Turkish military officer and statesman, former Prime Minister (b. 1876)
 * April 11 – Bainbridge Colby, United States Secretary of State (b. 1869)
 * April 16 – Henry J. Knauf, American politician (b. 1891)
 * April 26 – G. Murray Hulbert, American politician (b. 1881)
 * April 27
 * Hobart Cavanaugh, American character actor (b. 1886)
 * Karel Koželuh, Czech tennis player (b. 1895)

May

 * May 1 – Lothrop Stoddard, American eugenicist (b. 1883)
 * May 9 – Esteban Terradas i Illa, Catalan mathematician, scientist, and engineer (b. 1883)
 * May 10 – Belle da Costa Greene, American librarian, bibliographer, and archivist (b. 1883)
 * May 11 – Cedric Holland, British admiral (b. 1889)
 * May 20 – John Gould Fletcher, American poet (b. 1886)
 * May 24 – Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, British field marshal (b. 1883)

June

 * June 3 – Ahmad Tajuddin, Sultan of Brunei (b. 1913)
 * June 4
 * George Cecil Ives, German-English poet, writer, penal reformer and early gay-rights campaigner. (b.1867)
 * Kazys Grinius, 3rd President of Lithuania (b. 1866).
 * June 9 – Denis Auguste Duchêne, French general (b. 1862)
 * June 22 – Jane Cowl, American actress (b. 1883)
 * June 24 – Darwan Singh Negi, Indian VC recipient (b. 1881)
 * June 29 – Melitta Bentz, German entrepreneur, who invented the coffee filter in 1908 (b. 1873)

July

 * July 1 – Eliel Saarinen, Finnish architect (b. 1873)
 * July 7 – Fats Navarro, American jazz trumpet player (b. 1923)
 * July 8 – Helen Holmes, American actress (b. 1893)
 * July 10 – Richard Maury, American naturalized Argentine engineer (b. 1882)
 * July 11 – Buddy DeSylva, American songwriter (b. 1895)
 * July 12 – Elsie de Wolfe, American socialite and interior decorator (b. 1865)
 * July 17 – Evangeline Booth, General of The Salvation Army (b. 1865)
 * July 21 – Rex Ingram, American director (b. 1892)
 * July 22 – William Lyon Mackenzie King, 10th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1874)
 * July 28 – Kevin Budden, amateur Australian herpetologist (b. 1930)

August

 * August 8 – Nikolai Myaskovsky, Russian composer (b. 1881)
 * August 19 – Black Elk, Wičháša Wakȟáŋ (Medicine Man or Holy Man) of the Ogala Teton Lakota (Western Sioux) (b. 1863)
 * August 22 – Kirk Bryan, American geologist (b. 1888)
 * August 23 – Frank Phillips, American oil executive (b. 1873)
 * August 24 – Arturo Alessandri Palma, Chilean statesman, 3-Time President of Chile (b. 1868)
 * August 26 – Ransom E. Olds, American automotive pioneer (b. 1864)
 * August 27 – Cesare Pavese, Italian poet and novelist (b. 1908)

September

 * September 4 – Max Davidson, German actor (b. 1875)
 * September 6 – Olaf Stapledon, British author and philosopher (b. 1886)
 * September 10 – Raymond Sommer, American race car driver (b. 1906)
 * September 11
 * Rudolph Palm, Curaçao born composer (b. 1880)
 * Jan Smuts, Prime Minister of South Africa (b. 1870)
 * September 13 – Sara Allgood, Irish actress (b. 1879)
 * September 16 – Pedro de Cordoba, American actor (b. 1881)
 * September 21 – Edward Arthur Milne, British astrophysicist and mathematician (b. 1896)
 * September 23 – Kenneth Muir, English soldier and posthumous winner of the Victoria Cross (b.1912)
 * September 29 – Alfréd Meissner, Czechoslovak politician and Holocaust survivor (b. 1871)

October

 * October 2 – John F. Fitzgerald, Mayor of Boston (b. 1863)
 * October 9 – Nicolai Hartmann, German philosopher (b. 1882)
 * October 11 – Pauline Lord, American actress (b. 1890)
 * October 13 – Ernest Haycox, American writer (b. 1899)
 * October 19
 * Charles Ballantyne, Canadian politician (b. 1867)
 * Edna St. Vincent Millay, American poet (b. 1892)
 * October 20 – Henry L. Stimson, United States Secretary of State (b. 1867)
 * October 23 – Al Jolson, American musician and actor (b. 1886)
 * October 28 – Maurice Costello, American actor (b. 1877)
 * October 29 – King Gustaf V of Sweden (b. 1858)

November

 * November 2 – George Bernard Shaw, Irish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1856)
 * November 3 – Koiso Kuniaki, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1880)
 * November 4 – Grover Cleveland Alexander, American baseball player (Philadelphia Phillies) and a member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1887)
 * November 12 – Julia Marlowe, stage actress, (b. 1865)
 * November 25
 * Johannes V. Jensen, Danish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1873)
 * Gustaf John Ramstedt, Finland-Swedish linguist and diplomat (b. 1873)
 * November 28 – James Corbitt, English murderer (hanged) (b. 1913)
 * November 29 – Ma Zhanshan, Chinese general (b. 1885)
 * November 30 – Werner Haase, Hitler's personal physician (b. 1900)

December

 * December 2 – Dinu Lipatti, Romanian pianist (b. 1917)
 * December 4 – Jesse L. Brown, first African-American aviator in the United States Navy (killed in action) (b. 1926)
 * December 5 – Sri Aurobindo, Indian guru (b. 1872)
 * December 11 – Leslie Comrie, New Zealand astronomer and computing pioneer (b. 1893)
 * December 12 – Peter Fraser, 24th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1884)
 * December 15 – Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Indian political leader (b. 1875)
 * December 20 – Enrico Mizzi, 6th Prime Minister of Malta (b. 1885)
 * December 23 – Walton Walker, American general (b. 1889)
 * December 27 – Max Beckmann, German painter (b. 1884)
 * December 31 – Karl Renner, Austrian Social Democrat politician and 4th President of Austria (b. 1870)

Unknown

 * Laura Anning Bell, British artist (b. 1867)
 * T. Sathasiva Iyer, Ceylon Tamil scholar and a writer in Tamil language (b. 1882)

Nobel Prizes

 * Physics – Cecil Frank Powell
 * Chemistry – Otto Paul Hermann Diels, Kurt Alder
 * Medicine – Edward Calvin Kendall, Tadeusz Reichstein, Philip Showalter Hench
 * Literature – Earl (Bertrand Arthur William) Russell
 * Peace – Ralph Bunche