January

• January 1 – Haruo Nakajima, Japanese actor (d. 2017)
• January 2 – Tellervo Koivisto, Finnish politician and First Lady of Finland
• January 3
  • Sergio Leone, Italian director (d. 1989)
  • Gordon Moore, American computing entrepreneur, benefactor (d. 2023)
• January 4
  • Amitai Etzioni, German-born American sociologist
  • Günter Schabowski, official of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (d. 2015)
• January 5 – Walter Brandmüller, German cardinal
• January 6 – Babrak Karmal, Afghan politician (d. 1996)
• January 7 – Terry Moore, American actress
• January 8 – Saeed Jaffrey, Indian-born actor (d. 2015)
• January 9
  • Brian Friel, Irish dramatist (d. 2015)
  • Heiner Müller, German dramatist, poet, writer, essayist and theatre director (d. 1995)
• January 11
  • Nureddin al-Atassi, 54th Prime Minister of Syria, and 17th President of Syria (d. 1992)
  • Rafael Eitan, Israeli politician (d. 2004)
  • Wanda Wiłkomirska, Polish violinist (d. 2018)
• January 12
  • Alasdair MacIntyre, Scottish philosopher
  • Jaakko Hintikka, Finnish philosopher and logician (d. 2015)
• January 13 – Aureliano Chaves, Brazilian politician, 19th Vice President of Brazil (d. 2003)
• January 14
  • Aleksandar Petrović, French-born Serbian & Yugloslav film director (d. 1994)
  • Kim Young-sam, 7th President of South Korea (d. 2015)
• January 15 – Martin Luther King Jr., African-American civil rights leader, Nobel laureate (d. 1968)
• January 17 – Jacques Plante, Canadian hockey player (d. 1986)
• January 20
  • Arte Johnson, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
  • Jean-Jacques Perrey, French electronic music producer (d. 2016)
• January 23
  • Patriarch Filaret, former Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kiev Patriarchate
  • John Polanyi, Canadian chemist, Nobel laureate
• January 25 – Benny Golson, African-American jazz musician
• January 26 – Jules Feiffer, American cartoonist and author
• January 27 – Mohamed Al-Fayed, Egyptian business magnate (d. 2023)
• January 28
  • Acker Bilk, British clarinetist (d. 2014)
  • Edith M. Flanigen, American chemist
  • Claes Oldenburg, American artist (d. 2022)
• January 29 – Elio Petri, Italian political filmmaker (d. 1982)
• January 30 – Isamu Akasaki, Japanese physicist and Nobel laureate (d. 2021)
• January 31
  • Rudolf Mössbauer, German physicist and Nobel laureate (d. 2011)
  • Jean Simmons, English-American actress (d. 2010)

February

• February 2
  • Věra Chytilová, Czech director (d. 2014)
  • John Henry Holland, American computer scientist (d. 2015)
• February 4 – Jerry Adler, American actor
• February 5
  • Hal Blaine, American drummer and session musician (d. 2019)
  • Luc Ferrari, French composer (d. 2005)
  • Fred Sinowatz, 18th Chancellor of Austria (d. 2008)
• February 6
  • Pierre Brice, French actor (d. 2015)
  • Sixten Jernberg, Swedish cross-country skier (d. 2012)
• February 8
  • Roger Byrne, English footballer (d. 1958)
  • Claude Rich, French actor (d. 2017)
• February 10
  • Hallgeir Brenden, Norwegian athlete (d. 2007)
  • Jerry Goldsmith, American composer, conductor (d. 2004)
• February 14 – Vic Morrow, American actor, director ( Combat) (d. 1982)
• February 15
  • Graham Hill, English racing driver (d. 1975)
  • James R. Schlesinger, American politician (d. 2014)
• February 16 – Kazimierz Kutz, Polish film director and politician (d. 2018)
• February 17
  • Alejandro Jodorowsky, Chilean-French director and screenwriter
  • Chaim Potok, American author and rabbi (d. 2002)
  • Patricia Routledge, English actress, singer
• February 18 – Len Deighton, British author
• February 19 – Jacques Deray, French film director and screenwriter (d. 2003)
• February 20
  • Amanda Blake, American actress (d. 1989)
  • Toshiro Mayuzumi, Japanese composer (d. 1997)
• February 21
  • James Beck, English actor (d. 1973)
  • Chespirito (Roberto Gómez Bolaños), Mexican actor, comedian (d. 2014)
• February 22
  • James Hong, Chinese-American actor, director
  • Rebecca Schull, American actress
• February 23 – Patriarch Alexy II of Russia (d. 2008)
• February 24 – Zdzisław Beksiński, Polish surrealist painter (d. 2005)
• February 26 – Paolo Ferrari, Italian actor (d. 2018)
• February 27 – Djalma Santos, Brazilian footballer (d. 2013)
• February 28 – Frank Gehry, Canadian-born American architect

March

• March 1 – Georgi Markov, Bulgarian dissident (d. 1978)
• March 3
  • Mithat Bayrak, Turkish sports wrestler and trainer (d. 2014)
  • Mordechai Eliyahu, Israeli rabbi, posek, and spiritual leader (d. 2010)
• March 4 – Bernard Haitink, Dutch conductor (d. 2021)
• March 5 – J. B. Lenoir, African-American blues guitarist (d. 1967)
• March 6 – Fazil Iskander, Abkhaz writer (d. 2016)
• March 8 – Hebe Camargo, Brazilian television presenter, actress and singer (d. 2012)
• March 9
  • Desmond Hoyte, 3rd Prime Minister of Guyana, 4th President of Guyana (d. 2002)
  • Zillur Rahman, President of Bangladesh (d. 2013)
• March 13
  • Mateja Matevski, Macedonian poet, literary and theater critic, essayist, and translator (d. 2018)
  • Paek Nam-sun, North Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2007)
  • Joseph Mascolo, American musician, actor (d. 2016)
• March 15 – Cecil Taylor, African-American jazz pianist, composer, and poet (d. 2018)
• March 16 – Nadja Tiller, Austrian actress (d. 2023)
• March 17 – Peter L. Berger, Austrian-born American sociologist (d. 2017)
• March 18 – Christa Wolf, German literary critic, novelist, and essayist (d. 2011)
• March 22
  • Yayoi Kusama, Japanese contemporary artist
  • P. Ramlee, Malaysian film actor, director, singer, songwriter, composer, and producer (d. 1973)
• March 23
  • Sir Roger Bannister, British athlete (d. 2018)
  • Mark Rydell, American film director and producer
• March 27 – Anne Ramsey, American actress (d. 1988)
• March 29
  • Utpal Dutt, Indian actor, director and writer (d. 1993)
  • Richard Lewontin, American biologist, geneticist and academic (d. 2021)
  • Lennart Meri, President of Estonia (d. 2006)
• March 30
  • Richard Dysart, American actor (d. 2015)
  • Ilya Piatetski-Shapiro, Soviet-born Israeli mathematician (d. 2009)

April

• April 1
  • Milan Kundera, Czech writer (d. 2023)
  • Jane Powell, American actress, dancer (d. 2021)
• April 2 – Frans Andriessen, Dutch politician (d. 2019)
• April 3 – Poul Schlüter, 22nd Prime Minister of Denmark (d. 2021)
• April 5
  • Hugo Claus, Belgian author (d. 2008)
  • Ivar Giaever, Norwegian-American physicist
  • Nigel Hawthorne, English actor (d. 2001)
  • Joe Meek, English record producer, sound engineer, and songwriter (d. 1967)
• April 6
  • André Previn, German-American pianist, conductor and composer (d. 2019)
  • Christos Sartzetakis, 4th President of Greece (d. 2022)
• April 7 – Bob Denard, French soldier and mercenary (d. 2007)
• April 8 – Jacques Brel, Belgian singer (d. 1978)
• April 10
  • Yozo Aoki, Japanese footballer (d. 2014)
  • Mike Hawthorn, British racing driver (d. 1959)
  • Liz Sheridan, American actress (d. 2022)
  • Max von Sydow, Swedish actor (d. 2020)
• April 11 – Jack Betts, American actor
• April 14
  • Gerry Anderson, British puppeteer and TV producer (d. 2012)
  • Chadli Bendjedid, 3rd President of Algeria (d. 2012)
  • Paavo Berglund, Finnish conductor, violinist (d. 2012)
  • William E. Thornton, American astronaut (d. 2021)
• April 17
  • James Last, German composer (d. 2015)
  • Józef Pińkowski, Polish politician, 50th Prime Minister of Poland (d. 2000)
• April 21 – Estrella Zeledón Lizano, Costa Rican politician, First Lady (d. 2019)
• April 22 – Michael Atiyah, British-Lebanese mathematician (d. 2019)
• April 23 – George Steiner, French-American literary critic, essayist, philosopher, novelist, and educator (d. 2020)
• April 24
  • Rajkumar, Indian actor and singer (d. 2006)
  • Shammi, Indian actress (d. 2018)
• April 25 – Yvette Williams, New Zealand track-and-field athlete (d. 2019)
• April 26 – Jerzy Turonek, Polish-Belarusian historian (d. 2019)
• April 27
  • Michael Harner, American anthropologist, author (d. 2018)
  • Nina Ponomaryova, Russian Olympic discus thrower (d. 2016)
• April 28
  • Bhanu Athaiya, Indian costume designer (d. 2020)
  • Evangelina Elizondo, Mexican actress (d. 2017)
• April 29
  • Walter Kempowski, German writer (d. 2007)
  • Peter Sculthorpe, Australian composer (d. 2014)
• April 30 – Klausjürgen Wussow, German theatre, television actor (d. 2007)

May

• May 1 – Ralf Dahrendorf, Anglo-German sociologist (d. 2009)
• May 2
  • Eddie Garcia, Filipino actor and director (d. 2019)
  • Link Wray, American rock and roll musician (d. 2005)
  • Édouard Balladur, 91st Prime Minister of France
• May 3 – Per-Ingvar Brånemark, Swedish physician (d. 2014)
• May 4
  • Manuel Contreras, Chilean general (d. 2015)
  • Ronald Golias, Brazilian comedian and actor (d. 2005)
  • Audrey Hepburn, Belgian-born British actress and humanitarian (d. 1993)
• May 5 – Ilene Woods, American singer, actress (d. 2010)
• May 6
  • Hans Beck, German inventor (d. 2009)
  • Paul Lauterbur, American chemist and Nobel laureate (d. 2007)
• May 8
  • Girija Devi, Indian singer (d. 2017)
  • Miyoshi Umeki, Japanese-American actress and singer (d. 2007)
  • Jane Roberts, American writer (d. 1984)
  • John C. Bogle, American investor (d. 2019)
• May 10
  • Audun Boysen, Norwegian athlete (d. 2000)
  • George Coe, Americana actor (d. 2015)
  • Sándor Kányádi, Hungarian poet, translator (d. 2018)
• May 11 – Margaret Kerry, American actress
• May 12
  • Ágnes Heller, Hungarian philosopher (d. 2019)
  • Sam Nujoma, 1st President of Namibia
• May 14
  • Henry McGee, English actor (d. 2006)
  • Gump Worsley, Canadian professional ice hockey player (d. 2007)
• May 15 – Otar Patsatsia, Georgian politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Georgia
• May 16
  • Betty Carter, African-American jazz singer (d. 1998)
  • John Conyers, African-American politician (d. 2019)
  • Adrienne Rich, American poet, essayist (d. 2012)
• May 19 – Harvey Cox, American theologian
• May 23 – Ulla Jacobsson, Swedish actress (d. 1982)
• May 25 – Beverly Sills, American operatic soprano, director of the New York City Opera (d. 2007)
• May 29 – Peter Higgs, British theoretical physicist and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2024)
• May 30 – Doina Cornea, Romanian human rights activist, professor (d. 2018)
• May 31 – Menahem Golan, Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director (d. 2014)

June

• June 1
  • James H. Billington, American academic and author (d. 2018)
  • Nargis Dutt, Indian actress (d. 1981)
• June 2 – Ken McGregor, Australian tennis player (d. 2007)
• June 3 – Werner Arber, Swiss microbiologist and Nobel laureate
• June 4 – Karolos Papoulias, 6th President of Greece (d. 2021)
• June 6 – Sunil Dutt, Indian actor, producer, director and politician (d. 2005)
• June 7 – John Turner, 17th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 2020)
• June 8 – Gastone Moschin, Italian actor (d. 2017)
• June 9 – Johnny Ace, African-American rhythm and blues singer (d. 1954)
• June 10
  • James McDivitt, American astronaut (d. 2022)
  • E. O. Wilson, American biologist (d. 2021)
• June 12 – Anne Frank, German-born diarist, Holocaust victim (d. 1945)
• June 13 – Ralph McQuarrie, American conceptual designer and illustrator (d. 2012)
• June 14 – Cy Coleman, American composer, and songwriter (d. 2004)
• June 15 – Suraiya, Indian actress and singer (d. 2004)
• June 16 – Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (d. 2020)
• June 17
  • Tigran Petrosian, Armenian-Soviet chess Grandmaster (d. 1984)
  • James Shigeta, Japanese-American actor (d. 2014)
• June 18 – Jürgen Habermas, German sociologist, philosopher
• June 20
  • Bonnie Bartlett, American actress
  • Edith Windsor, American LGBT rights activist (d. 2017)
• June 21 – Abdel Halim Hafez, Egyptian singer and actor (d. 1977)
• June 23
  • June Carter Cash, American singer (d. 2003)
  • Claude Goretta, Swiss television producer, film director (d. 2019)
  • Henri Pousseur, Belgian composer, teacher, and music theorist (d. 2009)
• June 24 – Carolyn S. Shoemaker, American astronomer (d. 2021)
• June 25
  • Eric Carle, American designer, illustrator, and writer (d. 2021)
  • Francesco Marchisano, Italian Cardinal (d. 2014)
• June 26 – Milton Glaser, American graphic designer, illustrator and teacher (d. 2020)
• June 29
  • Pat Crawford Brown, American actress (d. 2019)
  • Oriana Fallaci, Italian journalist, author (d. 2006)
  • Pete George, American weightlifter (d. 2021)
  • Eberhard Jäckel, German historian (d. 2017)

July

• July 1 – Gerald Edelman, American biologist and Nobel laureate (d. 2014)
• July 2 – Imelda Marcos, 10th First Lady of the Philippines
• July 4
  • Al Davis, American football coach and executive (d. 2011)
  • Darío Castrillón Hoyos, Colombian Catholic cardinal (d. 2018)
• July 5
  • Mary Maxwell Gates, American businesswoman (d. 1994)
  • Katherine Helmond, American actress (d. 2019)
  • Chikao Ōtsuka, Japanese actor, voice actor and father of Akio Ōtsuka (d. 2015)
• July 6
  • Hélène Carrère d'Encausse, secretary of the Académie française, historian specializing in Russian history
  • Jean-Pierre Mocky, French film director, actor, screenwriter and producer (d. 2019)
• July 8 – Shirley Ann Grau, American writer (d. 2020)
• July 9
  • King Hassan II of Morocco (d. 1999)
  • Chi Haotian, Chinese general
  • Lee Hazlewood, American country and pop singer (d. 2007)
  • Isabel Sarli, Argentine actress and model (d. 2019)
• July 10 – José Vicente Rangel, Venezuelan politician (d. 2020)
• July 11
  • Sandy Frank, American television producer
  • David Kelly, Irish actor (d. 2012)
• July 13 – Sofia Muratova, Soviet artistic gymnast (d. 2006)
• July 18
  • Dick Button, American figure skater
  • Adelaide Tambo, South African anti-apartheid activist, politician (d. 2007)
• July 19
  • Gaston Glock, Austrian inventor, businessman (d. 2023)
  • Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, French historian
• July 20
  • Mike Ilitch, American entrepreneur (d. 2017)
  • Rajendra Kumar, Indian actor (d. 1999)
• July 22 – Vivien Merchant, English actress (d. 1982)
• July 24 – Peter Yates, English film director and producer (d. 2011)
• July 25
  • Vasily Shukshin, Russian actor, writer, screenwriter and film director (d. 1974)
  • Manuel Olivencia, Spanish economist, diplomat (d. 2018)
  • Somnath Chatterjee, Indian politician (d. 2018)
• July 26 – Alexis Weissenberg, Bulgarian-born French pianist (d. 2012)
• July 27
  • Jean Baudrillard, French sociologist, philosopher, cultural theorist and political commentator (d. 2007)
  • Harvey Fuqua, African-American singer, songwriter, and record producer (d. 2010)
  • Jack Higgins, British novelist
• July 28 – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, First Lady of the United States (d. 1994)
• July 29 – Remco Campert, Dutch author, poet and columnist (d. 2022)
• July 31
  • Don Murray, American actor (d. 2024)
  • José Santamaría, Uruguayan footballer and manager

August

• August 1
  • Leila Abashidze, Georgian actress, director and writer (d. 2018)
  • Hafizullah Amin, Afghan politician, statesman (d. 1979)
• August 4 – Kishore Kumar, Indian singer, actor, lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenwriter and scriptwriter (d. 1987)
• August 7 – Don Larsen, American baseball player (d. 2020)
• August 8
  • Ronnie Biggs, British criminal (d. 2013)
  • Gudrun Burwitz, German politician, activist (d. 2018)
  • Luis García Meza, 68th President of Bolivia (d. 2018)
  • Josef Suk, Czech composer and violinist (d. 2011)
• August 12
  • Charles Moore, American athlete (d. 2020)
  • Buck Owens, American singer, bandleader, and TV host (d. 2006)
• August 14 – Louise Slaughter, American politician (d. 2018)
• August 15 – Carlo Ripa di Meana, Italian politician (d. 2018)
• August 16 – Helmut Rahn, German footballer (d. 2003)
• August 17 – Francis Gary Powers, American U-2 spy plane pilot (d. 1977)
• August 18 – Yuan Longping, Chinese agronomist (d. 2021)
• August 21
  • Vyacheslav Ivanov, Russian philologist and semiotician (d. 2017)
  • Ahmed Kathrada, South African politician, political prisoner and anti-apartheid activist (d. 2017)
  • John McMartin, American actor (d. 2016)
  • Marie Severin, American comics artist, colorist (d. 2018)
• August 23
  • Zoltán Czibor, Hungarian footballer (d. 1997)
  • Vera Miles, American actress
  • Peter Thomson, Australian professional golfer (d. 2018)
• August 24
  • Yasser Arafat, Palestinian leader, Nobel laureate (d. 2004)
  • Alix, Princess of Ligne, Princess of Luxembourg (d. 2019)
• August 27 – Ira Levin, American novelist, playwright, and songwriter (d. 2007)
• August 28 – Roxie Roker, African-American actress (d. 1995)

September

• September 1
  • "Mad Dog" Vachon, Canadian professional wrestler (d. 2013)
  • Květa Fialová, Czech actress (d. 2017)
• September 2 – Rex Hartwig, Australian tennis player
• September 3 – Whitey Bulger, Irish-American organized crime boss ( Winter Hill Gang) (d. 2018)
• September 4 – Thomas Eagleton, American politician (d. 2007)
• September 5 – Bob Newhart, American comedian, actor
• September 7 – Clyde Lovellette, American basketball player (d. 2016)
• September 9
  • Claude Nougaro, French singer (d. 2004)
  • Ruth Pfau, German-Pakistani nun and physician (d. 2017)
• September 10 – Arnold Palmer, American professional golfer (d. 2016)
• September 11 – Eve Brent, American actress (d. 2011)
• September 15
  • John Julius Norwich, British historian, travel writer and television personality (d. 2018)
  • Murray Gell-Mann, American physicist and Nobel laureate (d. 2019)
• September 16 – Jamshid bin Abdullah, last Sultan of Zanzibar
• September 17 – Stirling Moss, British race car driver (d. 2020)
• September 19 – Luigi Taveri, Swiss motorcycle road racer (d. 2018)
• September 20 – Anne Meara, American actress, comedian (d. 2015)
• September 21
  • Sándor Kocsis, Hungarian footballer (d. 1979)
  • Bernard Williams, English philosopher (d. 2003)
• September 22 – Carlo Ubbiali, Italian motorcycle road racer (d. 2020)
• September 25
  • Ronnie Barker, English actor, comedian and writer (d. 2005)
  • Barbara Walters, American journalist (d. 2022)
• September 27 – Txillardegi, Spanish linguist, politician and writer (d. 2012)
• September 28
  • Lata Mangeshkar, Indian singer (d. 2022)
  • Nikolai Ryzhkov, Soviet and Russian politician (d. 2024)
• September 30
  • Kjell Askildsen, Norwegian writer (d. 2021)
  • Mir Hazar Khan Khoso, former Prime Minister of Pakistan (d. 2021)
  • Kazuko, Princess Taka, third daughter of Emperor Shōwa (d. 1989)

October

• October 2
  • Moses Gunn, African-American actor (d. 1993)
  • Hong Song-nam, 8th Premier of North Korea (d. 2009)
• October 5 – Richard F. Gordon Jr., American astronaut (d. 2017)
• October 6
  • Bruno Cremer, French actor (d. 2010)
  • Karin Lindberg, Swedish gymnast (d. 2020)
• October 8 – Arthur Bisguier, American chess Grandmaster (d. 2017)
• October 11 – Liselotte Pulver, Swiss actress
• October 13 – Adalet Ağaoğlu, Turkish novelist and playwright (d. 2020)
• October 15
  • Hubert Dreyfus, American philosopher (d. 2017)
  • Nikodim, Soviet Russian Orthodox metropolitan (d. 1978)
  • Milorad Pavić, Serbian writer (d. 2009)
• October 16 – Fernanda Montenegro, Brazilian actress
• October 18 – Violeta Chamorro, President of Nicaragua
• October 21
  • Ursula K. Le Guin, American science-fiction, fantasy author (d. 2018)
  • George Stinney, African-American criminal (d. 1944)
• October 22 – Lev Yashin, Soviet professional footballer (d. 1990)
• October 24 – George Crumb, American composer (d. 2022)
• October 28 – Joan Plowright, English actress
• October 29 – Yevgeny Primakov, 29th Prime Minister of Russia (d. 2015)
• October 31 – Bud Spencer, Italian actor, swimmer, and water polo player (d. 2016)

November

• November 2
  • Rachel Ames, American actress
  • Amar Bose, American engineer and entrepreneur (d. 2013)
  • Muhammad Rafiq Tarar, 9th President of Pakistan
  • Richard E. Taylor, Canadian physicist (d. 2018)
• November 5 – Lennart Johansson, Swedish sports official and 5th president of UEFA (d. 2019)
• November 6 – June Squibb, American actress
• November 7 – Eric Kandel, Austrian-born neuroscientist, Nobel laureate
• November 8
  • Bert Berns, American songwriter, record producer (d. 1967)
  • Jona Senilagakali, Acting Prime Minister of Fiji (d. 2011)
  • Vittorio Taviani, Italian film director and screenwriter (d. 2018)
• November 9 – Imre Kertész, Hungarian author (d. 2016)
• November 10 – Ninón Sevilla, Cuban-born Mexican actress, dancer (d. 2015)
• November 11
  • LaVern Baker, American singer (d. 1997)
  • Hans Magnus Enzensberger, German author, poet, translator and editor (d. 2022)
• November 12
  • Grace Kelly, American actress, later Princess of Monaco (d. 1982)
  • Michael Ende, German fantasy writer (d. 1995)
  • Hind Rostom, Egyptian actress (d. 2011)
• November 13 – Fred Phelps, American pastor and activist (d. 2014)
• November 15 – Ed Asner, American actor (d. 2021)
• November 17 – Gorō Naya, Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and theatre director, older brother of Rokurō Naya (d. 2013)
• November 20
  • Raymond Lefèvre, French conductor, arranger, composer (d. 2008)
  • Milkha Singh, Indian athlete (d. 2021)
• November 21 – Marilyn French, American author (d. 2009)
• November 24 – George Moscone, American attorney and politician (d. 1978)
• November 26 – Slavko Avsenik, Slovene composer and musician (d. 2015)
• November 28
  • Berry Gordy, African-American record producer, songwriter
  • Thomas Remengesau Sr., 4th President of Palau (d. 2019)
• November 30 – Dick Clark, American television host and producer (d. 2012)

December

• December 1
  • David Doyle, American actor (d. 1997)
  • Alfred Moisiu, 7th President of Albania
• December 6
  • Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Austrian conductor (d. 2016)
  • King Moody, Americana actor and comedian (d. 2001)
  • Alain Tanner, Swiss film director
• December 9
  • Bob Hawke, 23rd Prime Minister of Australia (d. 2019)
  • John Cassavetes, American actor and director (d. 1989)
• December 12 – Toshiko Akiyoshi, Japanese pianist and composer
• December 13 – Christopher Plummer, Canadian actor (d. 2021)
• December 14
  • Fernando Sebastián Aguilar, Spanish cardinal (d. 2019)
  • Shlomo Argov, Israeli diplomat (d. 2003)
• December 15 – Dina bint Abdul-Hamid, former Queen of Jordan (d. 2019)
• December 17 – William Safire, American author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter (d. 2009)
• December 18 – Józef Glemp, Polish cardinal (d. 2013)
• December 20
  • Selim Hoss, 3-time Prime Minister of Lebanon
  • Lee Hyun-jae, South Korean politician
  • Milan Panić, Serbian politician
• December 23 – Chet Baker, American jazz musician (d. 1988)
• December 28
  • Efraín Goldenberg, Peruvian politician, finance minister and foreign relations minister
  • Matt "Guitar" Murphy, American blues musician (d. 2018)
  • Terry Sawchuk, Canadian professional ice hockey player (d. 1970)
• December 29 – Susie Garrett, African-American actress (d. 2002)
• December 31 – Mies Bouwman, Dutch television presenter (d. 2018)

January

• January 1
  • Abdul Latif Dayfallah, Yemeni military officer, politician (d. 2019)
  • Ty Hardin, American actor (d. 2017)
  • Barkat Gourad Hamadou, Prime Minister of Djibouti (d. 2018)
  • Gaafar Nimeiry, 4th President of Sudan (d. 2009)
  • Frederick Wiseman, American filmmaker
• January 2 – Julius La Rosa, American singer (d. 2016)
• January 3
  • Robert Loggia, American actor (d. 2015)
  • Ahmed Osman, 8th Prime Minister of Morocco
• January 4
  • Sorrell Booke, American actor (d. 1994)
  • Don Shula, American professional football player and coach (d. 2020)
• January 5 – Edward Givens, American astronaut (d. 1967)
• January 6
  • Professor Tanaka, American professional wrestler and actor (d. 2000)
  • Vic Tayback, American actor ( Alice) (d. 1990)
• January 7 – Jack Greene, American country music singer and songwriter (d. 2013)
• January 9 – Pavel Kolchin, Soviet Olympic cross-country skier (d. 2010)
• January 10 – Roy E. Disney, American businessman (d. 2009)
• January 11 – Rod Taylor, Australian actor (d. 2015)
• January 12 – Tim Horton, Canadian hockey player, co-founder of Tim Hortons fast food chain (d. 1974)
• January 13 – Frances Sternhagen, American actress (d. 2023)
• January 14 – Kenny Wheeler, Canadian composer (d. 2014)
• January 15 – Hédi Baccouche, 6th Prime Minister of Tunisia (d. 2020)
• January 19 – Tippi Hedren, American actress
• January 20 – Buzz Aldrin, American pilot, astronaut ( Apollo 11)
• January 21 – Mainza Chona, Zambian politician, diplomat (d. 2001)
• January 23
  • Derek Walcott, West Indian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)
  • William R. Pogue, American astronaut (d. 2014)
  • Mervyn Rose, Australian tennis player (d. 2017)
• January 24
  • Terence Bayler, New Zealand actor (d. 2016)
  • John Romita Sr., American comic book artist (d. 2023)
• January 27 – Bobby Bland, African-American R&B musician (d. 2013)
• January 28
  • Jasraj, Indian musician (d. 2020)
  • Kurt Biedenkopf, German politician (d. 2021)
  • Luis de Pablo, Spanish composer (d. 2021)
• January 29 – Norio Ohga, Japanese businessman (d. 2011)
• January 30
  • Gene Hackman, American actor and novelist
  • Egon Klepsch, German politician (d. 2010)
• January 31 – Jo Bonnier, Swedish racecar driver (d. 1972)

February

• February 1
  • Shahabuddin Ahmed, 12th President of Bangladesh (d. 2022)
  • Hussain Muhammad Ershad, 10th President of Bangladesh (d. 2019)
• February 3 – Sándor Csoóri, Hungarian poet, essayist, writer, and politician (d. 2016)
• February 4
  • Jim Loscutoff, American basketball player (d. 2015)
  • Tony Madigan, Australian boxer (d. 2017)
• February 8
  • Catherine Hardy Lavender, American athlete (d. 2017)
  • Alejandro Rey, Argentine-American actor (d. 1987)
• February 10 – Robert Wagner, American actor
• February 12 – Arlen Specter, American lawyer, author, and politician (d. 2012)
• February 13 – Ernst Fuchs, Austrian painter (d. 2015)
• February 15 – Sara Jane Moore, American prison activist, convicted of the attempted murder of President Gerald Ford
• February 17 – Ruth Rendell, English author (d. 2015)
• February 18 – Theodore Freeman, American astronaut (d. 1964)
• February 19 – John Frankenheimer, American film director (d. 2002)
• February 22 – Marni Nixon, American vocalist (d. 2016)
• February 23
  • Harry Boldt, German equestrian
  • Goro Shimura, Japanese mathematician (d. 2019)
• February 24 – Barbara Lawrence, American model, actress, and real estate agent (d. 2013)
• February 25 – Wendy Beckett, English contemplative nun and art historian (d. 2018)
• February 26
  • Lazar Berman, Soviet pianist (d. 2005)
  • Robert Francis, American actor (d. 1955)
  • Vladimir Kesarev, Russian footballer (d. 2015)
• February 27 – Joanne Woodward, American actress
• February 28
  • Leon Cooper, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • Lho Shin-yong, South Korean politician, 16th Prime Minister of South Korea (d. 2019)

March

• March 1 – Raymond St. Jacques, American actor (d. 1990)
• March 2
  • Sergei Kovalev, Russian human rights activist and politician (d. 2021)
  • Tom Wolfe, American author, journalist (d. 2018)
• March 3
  • Heiner Geißler, German politician (d. 2017)
  • Ion Iliescu, 2-time President of Romania
• March 6
  • Allison Hayes, American actress (d. 1977)
  • Lorin Maazel, French-born American orchestral conductor (d. 2014)
• March 7
  • Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, English photographer, royal spouse (d. 2017)
  • Stanley Miller, American chemist (d. 2007)
• March 9
  • Ornette Coleman, African-American jazz saxophonist (d. 2015)
  • Stephen Fumio Hamao, Japanese cardinal (d. 2007)
• March 11 – Smail Hamdani, 11th Prime Minister of Algeria (d. 2017)
• March 12 – Win Tin, Burmese journalist, politician (d. 2014)
• March 15 – Zhores Alferov, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019)
• March 17 – James Irwin, American astronaut (d. 1991)
• March 18 – Adam Cardinal Maida, American Roman Catholic prelate
• March 21
  • James Coco, American actor (d. 1987)
  • Lynden Pindling, 1st Prime Minister of the Bahamas (d. 2000)
• March 22
  • Stephen Sondheim, American composer, lyricist (d. 2021)
  • Pat Robertson, American televangelist, motivational speaker, author and television host (d. 2023)
• March 24
  • David Dacko, 1st President of the Central African Republic (d. 2003)
  • Steve McQueen, American actor (d. 1980)
• March 26
  • Sandra Day O'Connor, American politician, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 2023)
  • Sigge Parling, Swedish footballer (d. 2016)
• March 28
  • Robert Ashley, American composer (d. 2014)
  • Jerome Isaac Friedman, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
• March 29
  • Lima Duarte, Brazilian actor
  • Naser Malek Motiei, Iranian actor, director (d. 2018)
  • Anerood Jugnauth, 3-time Prime Minister of Mauritius, and 4th President of Mauritius (d. 2021)
• March 30
  • John Astin, American actor
  • Rolf Harris, Australian-born entertainer (d. 2023)

April

• April 1 – Grace Lee Whitney, American actress and singer (d. 2015)
• April 3
  • Lawton Chiles, American politician (d. 1998)
  • Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of Germany (d. 2017)
• April 5
  • Mary Costa, American opera singer and actress
  • Pierre Lhomme, French cinematographer (d. 2019)
• April 7
  • Vilma Espín, Cuban revolutionary, feminist, and chemical engineer (d. 2007)
  • Andrew Sachs, German-born British actor (d. 2016)
• April 8 – Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma (d. 2010)
• April 9 – F. Albert Cotton, American chemist (d. 2007)
• April 10
  • Claude Bolling, French jazz pianist and composer (d. 2020)
  • Spede Pasanen, Finnish television personality (d. 2001)
  • Dolores Huerta, American Labor leader and activist
• April 11
  • Nicholas F. Brady, American politician
  • Anton LaVey, American author, musician, and occultist (d. 1997)
• April 12 – John Landy, Australian athlete (d. 2022)
• April 13 – Sergiu Nicolaescu, Romanian film director, actor, and politician (d. 2013)
• April 14 – Bradford Dillman, American actor, author (d. 2018)
• April 15 – Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, 4th President of Iceland
• April 16 – Herbie Mann, American jazz flutist (d. 2003)
• April 17 – Chris Barber, English jazz bandleader and trombonist (d. 2021)
• April 18
  • Jean Guillou, French composer, organist, and pianist (d. 2019)
  • Clive Revill, New Zealand actor
• April 19 – Dick Sargent, American actor, gay activist (d. 1994)
• April 21 – Silvana Mangano, Italian actress (d. 1989)
• April 23 – Alan Oppenheimer, American actor
• April 24
  • Richard Donner, American film director, producer (d. 2021)
  • José Sarney, 31st President of Brazil
• April 25 – Paul Mazursky, American director, writer (d. 2014)
• April 26 – Roger Moens, Belgian athlete and sportscaster
• April 28
  • James Baker, former United States Secretary of State
  • Carolyn Jones, American actress (d. 1983)
• April 29
  • Henri Coppens, Belgian footballer (d. 2015)
  • Claus Ogerman, German conductor and composer (d. 2016)
  • Jean Rochefort, French actor (d. 2017)

May

• May 1 – Little Walter, African-American blues singer, musician, and songwriter (d. 1968)
• May 2
  • Yoram Kaniuk, Israeli writer, painter, and journalist (d. 2013)
  • Marco Pannella, Italian politician, journalist and activist (d. 2016)
• May 3 – Juan Gelman, Argentine poet, writer (d. 2014)
• May 4
  • Katherine Jackson, Jackson Family matriarch
  • Miljan Miljanić, Yugoslavian-born footballer (d. 2012)
  • Roberta Peters, American soprano (d. 2017)
• May 5 – Michael J. Adams, American aviator, aeronautical engineer, and astronaut (d. 1967)
• May 8
  • Heather Harper, Northern Irish soprano (d. 2019)
  • Gary Snyder, American poet, essayist and translator
• May 9 – Joan Sims, English actress (d. 2001)
• May 10
  • Adam Darius, American dancer, choreographer (d. 2017)
  • George E. Smith, American physicist and engineer
• May 11 – Edsger W. Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist (d. 2002)
• May 12
  • Jesús Franco, Spanish film director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
  • Pat McCormick, American former diver (d. 2023)
• May 13
  • Vernon Shaw, 5th President of Dominica (d. 2013)
  • Mike Gravel, American politician, former Senator of Alaska and Presidential candidate (d. 2021)
• May 15 – Jasper Johns, American painter
• May 18 – Don L. Lind, American astronaut (d. 2022)
• May 19
  • Lorraine Hansberry, African-American playwright (d. 1965)
  • Rudolf E. Kálmán, Hungarian-born American electrical engineer (d. 2016)
• May 21 – Malcolm Fraser, 22nd Prime Minister of Australia (d. 2015)
• May 22
  • Kenny Ball, British jazz trumpeter, singer (d. 2013)
  • Marisol Escobar, French sculptor (d. 2016)
  • Harvey Milk, American politician, San Francisco gay rights activist (d. 1978)
• May 25 – Sonia Rykiel, French fashion designer (d. 2016)
• May 27 – John Barth, American writer (d. 2024)
• May 28
  • Frank Drake, American astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 2022)
  • Edward Seaga, Jamaican politician, 5th Prime Minister of Jamaica (d. 2019)
• May 31 – Clint Eastwood, American actor, director, and producer

June

• June 1
  • Pat Corley, American actor (d. 2006)
  • Edward Woodward, English actor and singer (d. 2009)
• June 2 – Pete Conrad, American astronaut, moonwalker and commander of Apollo 12 (d. 1999)
• June 3
  • Marion Zimmer Bradley, American writer (d. 1999)
  • George Fernandes, Indian politician (d. 2019)
  • Anthony Harvey, English filmmaker (d. 2017)
• June 4
  • Morgana King, American jazz singer, actress (d. 2018)
  • Viktor Tikhonov, Soviet ice hockey player and coach (d. 2014)
• June 6 – Frank Tyson, English cricketer (d. 2015)
• June 7 – Hilderaldo Bellini, Brazilian footballer (d. 2014)
• June 8 – Robert Aumann, German-born mathematician, recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
• June 9
  • Barbara, French singer (d. 1997)
  • Ragnhild Alexandra Lorentzen, Princess of Norway (d. 2012)
  • Jordi Pujol, 126th President of the Government of Catalonia
• June 10 – Ilya Glazunov, Russian artist (d. 2017)
• June 11
  • Charles Rangel, African-American politician
  • Ellen Schwiers, German actress (d. 2019)
• June 12
  • Innes Ireland, British racing driver (d. 1993)
  • Jim Nabors, American actor, musician and comedian (d. 2017)
  • Son Sen, Cambodian politician, criminal (d. 1997)
• June 14
  • Charles McCarry, American novelist (d. 2019)
  • Bora Kostić, Serbian footballer (d. 2011)
• June 16 – Vilmos Zsigmond, Hungarian-American cinematographer (d. 2016)
• June 19 – Gena Rowlands, American actress
• June 20
  • Magdalena Abakanowicz, Polish sculptor (d. 2017)
  • Juan Alberto Melgar Castro, Honduran military officer (d. 1987)
• June 22
  • Yury Artyukhin, Russian cosmonaut (d. 1998)
  • Sa'dun Hammadi, 33rd Prime Minister of Iraq (d. 2007)
• June 23
  • Donn F. Eisele, American astronaut (d. 1987)
  • Elza Soares, Brazilian singer (d. 2022)
• June 24
  • Rashid Bakr, 10th Prime Minister of Sudan (d. 1988)
  • Claude Chabrol, French film director (d. 2010)
• June 26 – Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi, Pakistani economist, civil servant (d. 2016)
• June 27
  • Tommy Kono, Japanese-American weightlifter (d. 2016)
  • Ross Perot, American billionaire, philanthropist and politician (d. 2019)
• June 28
  • William C. Campbell, Irish-American biologist, parasitologist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • Itamar Franco, 33rd President of Brazil (d. 2011)
  • Horacio Gómez Bolaños, Mexican actor (d. 1999)
• June 29
  • Ernst Albrecht, German politician (d. 2014)
  • Robert Evans, American film producer and studio executive (d. 2019)
• June 30
  • Ignatius Peter VIII Abdalahad, Syrian bishop (d. 2018)
  • Thomas Sowell, African-American economist
  • Ahmed Zaki Yamani, Saudi Arabian politician (d. 2021)

July

• July 1
  • Moustapha Akkad, Syrian-American film producer (d. 2005)
  • Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, Bolivian politician, businessman
• July 2
  • Ahmad Jamal, American jazz pianist, composer (d. 2023)
  • Carlos Menem, President of Argentina (d. 2021)
• July 3
  • Kinji Fukasaku, Japanese film director and screenwriter (d. 2003)
  • Carlos Kleiber, Austrian conductor (d. 2004)
• July 4
  • George Steinbrenner, American businessman, baseball team owner (d. 2010)
  • Yuriy Tyukalov, Russian rower (d. 2018)
• July 5 – John Wood, English actor (d. 2011)
• July 6
  • George Armstrong, Canadian professional ice hockey player (d. 2021)
  • M. Balamuralikrishna, Indian musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer and composer (d. 2016)
  • Herbert Erhardt, German footballer (d. 2010)
  • Françoise Mallet-Joris, Belgian author (d. 2016)
• July 7
  • Tadao Kobayashi, Japanese football player, manager
  • Theodore McCarrick, American Roman Catholic Cardinal
  • Hank Mobley, African-American jazz musician and composer (d. 1986)
  • Biljana Plavšić, 2nd President of Republika Srpska
• July 9 – Sim Iness, American athlete (d. 1996)
• July 11 – Harold Bloom, American literary critic (d. 2019)
• July 12 – Guy Ligier, French racing driver and team owner (d. 2015)
• July 14 – Polly Bergen, American actress (d. 2014)
• July 15
  • Jacques Derrida, Algerian-born French literary critic (d. 2004)
  • Stephen Smale, American mathematician
• July 17 – Sigvard Ericsson, Swedish speed skater (d. 2019)
• July 20
  • Oleg Anofriyev, Soviet-Russian actor, singer, songwriter, film director and poet (d. 2018)
  • Sally Ann Howes, English actress, singer (d. 2021)
  • Heinz Kubsch, German footballer (d. 1993)
• July 21 – Helen Merrill, American jazz vocalist
• July 22 – Sebastiano Mannironi, Italian weightlifter (d. 2015)
• July 25 – Maureen Forrester, Canadian contralto (d. 2010)
• July 27 – Andy White, Scottish drummer (d. 2015)
• July 31 – Oleg Popov, Soviet and Russian clown (d. 2016)

August

• August 1
  • Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist (d. 2002)
  • Lawrence Eagleburger, 62nd United States Secretary of State (d. 2011)
  • Károly Grósz, 51st Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1996)
  • Geoffrey Holder, Trinidadian-American dancer, choreographer and actor (d. 2014)
• August 4 – Ali al-Sistani, Shia Ayatollah
• August 5
  • Neil Armstrong, American astronaut, first human to set foot on the Moon, commander of Apollo 11 (d. 2012)
  • Michal Kováč, 1st President of Slovakia (d. 2016)
• August 6 – Abbey Lincoln, African-American singer and actress (d. 2010)
• August 8 – Nita Talbot, American actress
• August 9 – Jacques Parizeau, French-Canadian politician (d. 2015)
• August 10
  • Luigi De Filippo, Italian actor (d. 2018)
  • Jorma Panula, Finnish conductor, composer
• August 12
  • George Soros, Hungarian-born investor
  • Jacques Tits, Belgian-born French mathematician (d. 2021)
  • Peter Weck, Austrian film director, actor
• August 14 – Liz Fraser, English actress (d. 2018)
• August 15 – Tom Mboya, Kenyan trade unionist, educationist, Pan Africanist, author and independence activist (d. 1969)
• August 16
  • Flor Silvestre, Mexican singer, actress, and equestrienne (d. 2020)
  • Robert Culp, American actor (d. 2010)
  • Frank Gifford, American football player (d. 2015)
  • Leslie Manigat, 34th President of Haiti (d. 2014)
  • Tony Trabert, American tennis player (d. 2021)
  • Wolfgang Völz, German actor (d. 2018)
• August 17 – Ted Hughes, English poet (d. 1998)
• August 18 – Liviu Librescu, Romanian–American scientist and engineer (d. 2007)
• August 19 – Frank McCourt, Irish-American teacher and writer (d. 2009)
• August 20 – Jan Olszewski, 3rd Prime Minister of Poland (d. 2019)
• August 21
  • Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (d. 2002)
  • Frank Perry, American stage director and filmmaker (d. 1995)
• August 22 – Gylmar dos Santos Neves, Brazilian footballer (d. 2013)
• August 23
  • Luís Morais, Brazilian footballer (d. 2020)
  • Michel Rocard, French politician (d. 2016)
• August 25
  • Sean Connery, Scottish actor (d. 2020)
  • Georgiy Daneliya, Russian film director and screenwriter (d. 2019)
• August 27 – Gholamreza Takhti, Iranian wrestler (d. 1968)
• August 28
  • Windsor Davies, Welsh actor (d. 2019)
  • Ben Gazzara, American actor (d. 2012)
  • Irinej, Serbian Patriarch (d. 2020)
• August 29 – Atef Sedky, 45th Prime Minister of Egypt (d. 2005)
• August 30 – Warren Buffett, American billionaire entrepreneur

September

• September 1 – Charles Correa, Indian architect (d. 2015)
• September 7
  • King Baudouin I of Belgium (d. 1993)
  • Sonny Rollins, African-American jazz saxophonist
• September 8
  • Mario Adorf, German actor
  • Jeannette Altwegg, English figure skater (d. 2021)
  • Nguyễn Cao Kỳ, 8th Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam (d. 2011)
• September 9 – Frank Lucas, African-American drug trafficker (d. 2019)
• September 10 – Liliana Segre, Italian politician and holocaust survivor
• September 11
  • Cathryn Damon, American actress (d. 1987)
  • Renzo Montagnani, Italian actor (d. 1997)
• September 12 – Akira Suzuki, Japanese chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
• September 13 – Jimmy McLane, American swimmer (d. 2020)
• September 14
  • Pierre Bergé, French businessman (d. 2017)
  • Allan Bloom, American philosopher and author (d. 1992)
• September 16 – Anne Francis, American actress (d. 2011)
• September 17
  • David Huddleston, American actor (d. 2016)
  • Edgar Mitchell, American astronaut (d. 2016)
  • Thomas P. Stafford, American astronaut (d. 2024)
• September 19
  • Muhal Richard Abrams, African-American jazz musician and composer (d. 2017)
  • Antonio Margheriti, Italian filmmaker (d. 2002)
• September 21 – Dawn Addams, English actress (d. 1985)
• September 23
  • Colin Blakely, Northern Irish actor (d. 1987)
  • Ray Charles, African-American singer, musician and actor (d. 2004)
• September 24 – John Young, American astronaut (d. 2018)
• September 25 – Shel Silverstein, American author, poet and humorist (d. 1999)
• September 26
  • Philip Bosco, American actor (d. 2018)
  • Fritz Wunderlich, German opera singer (d. 1966)
• September 28 – Immanuel Wallerstein, American sociologist (d. 2019)
• September 29 – Colin Dexter, English author (d. 2017)

October

• October 1
  • Richard Harris, Irish actor, singer (d. 2002)
  • Philippe Noiret, French actor (d. 2006)
• October 5
  • Pavel Popovich, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 2009)
  • Reinhard Selten, German Nobel economist (d. 2016)
• October 6
  • Hafez al-Assad, President of Syria (d. 2000)
  • Richie Benaud, Australian cricketer, commentator (d. 2015)
• October 8 – Tōru Takemitsu, Japanese composer (d. 1996)
• October 10
  • Yves Chauvin, French Nobel chemist (d. 2015)
  • Harold Pinter, English playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2008)
• October 11 – Sam Johnson, American politician (d. 2020)
• October 14
  • Schafik Handal, Salvadoran politician (d. 2006)
  • Mobutu Sese Seko, President of Democratic Republic of the Congo (d. 1997)
• October 15 – Christian Tumi, Cameroonian cardinal (d. 2021)
• October 16
  • John Polkinghorne, English theoretical physicist, theologian, and Anglican priest (d. 2021)
  • Carmen Sevilla, Spanish singer and actress
• October 17
  • Robert Atkins, American nutritionist (d. 2003)
  • Freimut Börngen, German astronomer
• October 18 – Frank Carlucci, American politician (d. 2018)
• October 19 – Ron Joyce, Canadian businessman (d. 2019)
• October 22 – Todor Veselinović, Serbian footballer and coach (d. 2017)
• October 24
  • The Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson), American singer (d. 1959)
  • Johan Galtung, Norwegian sociologist and mathematician (d. 2024)
  • Ahmad Shah of Pahang, Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia (d. 2019)
• October 28 – Bernie Ecclestone, English auto racing tycoon
• October 29
  • Bertha Brouwer, Dutch athlete (d. 2006)
  • Omara Portuondo, Cuban singer, dancer
  • Niki de Saint Phalle, French artist (d. 2002)
• October 30
  • Clifford Brown, American jazz trumpeter (d. 1956)
  • Timothy Findley, Canadian author (d. 2002)
• October 31 – Michael Collins, American astronaut (d. 2021)

November

• November 3 – Lois Smith, American actress
• November 4
  • Kate Reid, English actress (d. 1993)
  • Doris Roberts, American actress (d. 2016)
• November 5 – Hans Mommsen, German historian (d. 2015)
• November 11
  • Mildred Dresselhaus, American scientist, educator (d. 2017)
  • Mabandla Dlamini, 3rd Prime Minister of Swaziland
  • Hugh Everett III, American physicist (d. 1982)
  • Alevtina Kolchina, Soviet Olympic cross-country skier (d. 2022)
• November 13 – Richard A. Falk, American professor emeritus
• November 14
  • Pierre Bergé, French businessman (d. 2017)
  • Ed White, American astronaut (d. 1967)
• November 15 – J. G. Ballard, English writer (d. 2009)
• November 16
  • Chinua Achebe, Nigerian writer (d. 2013)
  • Salvatore Riina, Italian mobster (d. 2017)
• November 17 – Bob Mathias, American athlete (d. 2006)
• November 19 – Kurt Nielsen, Danish tennis player (d. 2011)
• November 22
  • Owen Garriott, American astronaut (d. 2019)
  • Peter Hall, English film director (d. 2017)
• November 23 – Robert Easton, American actor (d. 2011)
• November 25 – Clarke Scholes, American freestyle swimmer (d. 2010)
• November 29 – David Goldblatt, South African photographer (d. 2018)
• November 30 – G. Gordon Liddy, American organizer of the Watergate burglaries (d. 2021)

December

• December 2
  • Gary Becker, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2014)
  • Vlatko Pavletić, Croatian politician, university professor, literary critic and essayist (d. 2007)
• December 3 – Jean-Luc Godard, French film director (d. 2022)
• December 4
  • Ronnie Corbett, English comedian (d. 2016)
  • Jim Hall, American jazz guitarist (d. 2013)
• December 6
  • Rolf Hoppe, German actor (d. 2018)
  • Daniel Lisulo, 3rd Prime Minister of Zambia (d. 2000)
  • Wojciech Zabłocki, Polish architect and fencer (d. 2020)
• December 8 – Maximilian Schell, Swiss-Austrian actor (d. 2014)
• December 9
  • Buck Henry, American actor, screenwriter and director (d. 2020)
  • Edoardo Sanguineti, Italian writer (d. 2010)
• December 11
  • Chus Lampreave, Spanish actress (d. 2016)
  • Nguyễn Ngọc Loan, South Vietnamese general (d. 1998)
  • Jean-Louis Trintignant, French actor (d. 2022)
• December 12 – Silvio Santos, Brazilian TV show host, entrepreneur
• December 13 – Robert Prosky, American actor (d. 2008)
• December 15 – Edna O'Brien, Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, and poet
• December 17
  • Bob Guccione, American photographer and publisher (d. 2010)
  • Armin Mueller-Stahl, German actor
• December 18 – Sonja Edström, Swedish cross-country skier (d. 2020)
• December 21 – Kalevi Sorsa, 14th Prime Minister of Finland (d. 2004)
• December 26 – Donald Moffat, English actor (d. 2018)
• December 27 – Marshall Sahlins, American anthropologist (d. 2021)
• December 28 – Franzl Lang, German Yodeler (d. 2015)
• December 30 – Tu Youyou, Chinese pharmaceutical chemist
• December 31 – Odetta, American singer (d. 2008)

January

• January 1 – Mohammad Ali Samatar, 5th Prime Minister of Somalia (d. 2016)
• January 2 – Toshiki Kaifu, 2-time Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2022)
• January 4
  • William Deane, Australian politician
  • Guido Messina, Italian racing cyclist (d. 2020)
  • Cleopa Msuya, 3rd Prime Minister of Tanzania
• January 5
  • Alvin Ailey, American choreographer (d. 1989)
  • Alfred Brendel, Austrian pianist
  • Walt Davis, American athlete (d. 2020)
  • Robert Duvall, American actor, filmmaker
  • Juan Goytisolo, Spanish poet, essayist, and novelist (d. 2017)
• January 6 – E. L. Doctorow, American author (d. 2015)
• January 8 – Bill Graham, German concert promoter (d. 1991)
• January 9 – Algis Budrys, Lithuanian-American sci-fi author (d. 2008)
• January 10 – Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Malaysian politician, Muslim cleric (d. 2015)
• January 12 – Yao Wenyuan, Chinese politician (d. 2005)
• January 13
  • Ian Hendry, English actor (d. 1984)
  • Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor, comedian (d. 2007)
  • Elias M. Stein, American mathematician (d. 2018)
• January 14 – Caterina Valente, French singer and actress
• January 16 – Johannes Rau, 8th President of Germany (d. 2006)
• January 17 – James Earl Jones, African-American actor
• January 18 – Chun Doo-hwan, 5th President of South Korea
• January 20
  • Sawako Ariyoshi, Japanese writer, novelist (d. 1984)
  • David Lee, American physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics
• January 22 – Sam Cooke, African-American singer (d. 1964)
• January 24 – Lars Hörmander, Swedish mathematician (d. 2012)
• January 25
  • Stig Anderson, Swedish music entrepreneur (d. 1997)
  • Paavo Haavikko, Finnish poet, playwright, essayist and publisher (d. 2008)
  • Dean Jones, American actor (d. 2015)
• January 26 – Bernard Panafieu, French cardinal (d. 2017)
• January 27 – Mordecai Richler, Canadian author (d. 2001)
• January 28 – Lucia Bosè, Italian actress (d. 2020)
• January 29 – Ferenc Mádl, 2nd President of Hungary (d. 2011)
• January 31 – Ernie Banks, African-American baseball player (d. 2015)

February

• February 1
  • Iajuddin Ahmed, 13th President of Bangladesh (d. 2012)
  • Boris Yeltsin, 1st President of Russia (d. 2007)
• February 2
  • Dries van Agt, Dutch politician, 46th Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2024)
  • Walter Burkert, German academic and writer (d. 2015)
• February 4 – Isabel Martínez de Perón, 41st President of Argentina
• February 6
  • Rip Torn, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
  • Mamie Van Doren, American actress, author
  • Ricardo Vidal, Filipino Roman Catholic prelate, cardinal (d. 2017)
• February 8
  • James Dean, American actor (d. 1955)
  • Shadia, Egyptian actress, singer (d. 2017)
• February 9
  • Thomas Bernhard, Austrian author (d. 1989)
  • Josef Masopust, Czech footballer and coach (d. 2015)
  • Robert Morris, American sculptor (d. 2018)
• February 12 – Agustín García-Gasco Vicente, Spanish cardinal (d. 2011)
• February 15 – Claire Bloom, English actress
• February 16
  • Bobby Collins, Scottish footballer (d. 2014)
  • Ken Takakura, Japanese actor (d. 2014)
• February 17 – Jiřina Jirásková, Czech actress (d. 2013)
• February 18
  • Johnny Hart, American cartoonist (d. 2007)
  • Toni Morrison, African-American writer, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature (d. 2019)
• February 23 – Linda Cristal, Argentine actress (d. 2020)
• February 24 – Dominic Chianese, American actor
• February 25 – Christopher George, American actor (d. 1983)
• February 28
  • Gavin MacLeod, American actor (d. 2021)
  • Dean Smith, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)

March

• March 1 – Lamberto Dini, Italian politician, economist and 51st Prime Minister of Italy
• March 2 – Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the Soviet Union, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 2022)
• March 4 – William H. Keeler, American cardinal (d. 2017)
• March 6
  • Chun Doo-hwan, 5th President of South Korea (d. 2021)
  • Hal Needham, American stuntman, film director, actor and writer (d. 2013)
  • John Smith, American actor (d. 1995)
• March 7 – Atsuko, Princess Yori, fourth daughter of Emperor Shōwa
• March 8 – Neil Postman, American media theorist and cultural critic (d. 2003)
• March 9 – León Febres Cordero, 35th President of Ecuador (d. 2008)
• March 11
  • Janosch, German writer
  • Rupert Murdoch, Australian-born publisher
• March 12 – Herb Kelleher, American businessman (d. 2019)
• March 14 – Lisbet Palme, Swedish child psychologist (d. 2018)
• March 15 – D. J. Fontana, American drummer (d. 2018)
• March 16 – Augusto Boal, Brazilian theatre director (d. 2009)
• March 17 – Eunice Gayson, English actress (d. 2018)
• March 18
  • Vlastimil Bubník, Czech ice hockey player and footballer (d. 2015)
  • John Mollo, British costume designer and book author (d. 2017)
• March 20
  • Hal Linden, American actor, singer
  • Karen Steele, American actress (d. 1988)
• March 22
  • Burton Richter, American physicist (d. 2018)
  • William Shatner, Canadian actor, science fiction novelist
• March 23
  • Yevgeny Grishin, Russian speedskater (d. 2005)
  • Viktor Korchnoi, Russian-born Swiss chess grandmaster (d. 2016)
• March 24 – Connie Hines, American actress (d. 2009)
• March 25 – Paul Motian, American jazz drummer (d. 2011)
• March 26 – Leonard Nimoy, American actor (d. 2015)
• March 27 – David Janssen, American actor (d. 1980)
• March 28 – Anatoly Lein, Russian-born American chess Grandmaster (d. 2018)
• March 29 – Aleksei Gubarev, Russian cosmonaut (d. 2015)
• March 31 – Alan Newton, English track cyclist

April

• April 1 – Rolf Hochhuth, German author and playwright (d. 2020)
• April 2 – Joseph Joffo, French author (d. 2018)
• April 5 – Jack Clement, American singer-songwriter, record producer (d. 2013)
• April 6
  • Ivan Dixon, African-American actor, director and producer (d. 2008)
  • Suchitra Sen (Roma Dasgupta), Bengali actress (d. 2014)
• April 7 – Daniel Ellsberg, American economist, and activist (d. 2023)
• April 8 – John Gavin, American actor and diplomat (d. 2018)
• April 11
  • Luis Cabral, 1st President of Guinea-Bissau (d. 2009)
  • Mustafa Dağıstanlı, Turkish free-style wrestler
  • Johnny Sheffield, American child actor (d. 2010)
  • Koichi Sugiyama, Japanese composer, conductor, and orchestrator (d. 2021)
• April 12 – Chico Anysio, Brazilian actor, comedian, writer and composer (d. 2012)
• April 13 – Dan Gurney, American race car driver (d. 2018)
• April 15 – Tomas Tranströmer, Swedish Nobel poet and translator (d. 2015)
• April 17 – David Axelrod, American musician (d. 2017)
• April 18 – Klas Lestander, Swedish biathlete
• April 21 – Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, 122nd Syriac Orthodox Patriarch (d. 2014)
• April 27 – Igor Oistrakh, Ukrainian violinist (d. 2021)
• April 29
  • Frank Auerbach, German-born painter
  • Lonnie Donegan, Scottish musician (d. 2002)

May

• May 3 – Aldo Rossi, Italian architect and designer (d. 1997)
• May 6 – Willie Mays, African-American baseball player
• May 7
  • Teresa Brewer, American pop, jazz singer (d. 2007)
  • Gene Wolfe, American science fiction and fantasy writer (d. 2019)
• May 8 – Bob Clotworthy, American diver (d. 2018)
• May 9 – Vance D. Brand, American astronaut
• May 10
  • Olja Ivanjicki, Serbian painter, sculptor, and poet (d. 2009)
  • Ichirō Nagai, Japanese actor (d. 2014)
  • Ettore Scola, Italian screenwriter and film director (d. 2016)
• May 13 – Jim Jones, American People's Temple cult leader (d. 1978)
• May 15 – James Fitz-Allen Mitchell, 2nd Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (d. 2021)
• May 16
  • Vujadin Boškov, Serbian footballer and coach (d. 2014)
  • Natwar Singh, Indian politician
  • Alena Vrzáňová, Czech figure skater (d. 2015)
• May 17 – Marshall Applewhite, American Heaven's Gate religious sect founder (d. 1997)
• May 18 – Robert Morse, American actor (d. 2022)
• May 20 – George Vassiliou, 3rd President of Cyprus
• May 23 – Barbara Barrie, American actress and writer
• May 24 – Michael Lonsdale, French actor (d. 2020)
• May 25 – Georgy Grechko, Russian cosmonaut (d. 2017)
• May 27 – Faten Hamama, Egyptian actress (d. 2015)
• May 28
  • Carroll Baker, American actress
  • Gordon Willis, American cinematographer and film director (d. 2014)
• May 31
  • John Schrieffer, American physicist and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019)
  • Shirley Verrett, American mezzo-soprano (d. 2010)

June

• June 2 – Viktor Tsaryov, Russian footballer (d. 2017)
• June 3
  • Françoise Arnoul, French actress (d. 2021)
  • Raúl Castro, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba
  • Emir Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa of Bahrain (d. 1999)
  • Lindy Remigino, American Olympic athlete (d. 2018)
• June 4 – D. M. Jayaratne, 14th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (d. 2019)
• June 5 – Jacques Demy, French director, lyricist, and screenwriter (d. 1990)
• June 6 – Kiki Dimoula, Greek poet (d. 2020)
• June 7 – Virginia McKenna, English actress
• June 8 – Dana Wynter, German-born American actress (d. 2011)
• June 9 – Joe Santos, Italian-American actor (d. 2016)
• June 10 – João Gilberto, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist, pioneer of bossa nova (d. 2019)
• June 14
  • Marla Gibbs, African-American actress, comedian and singer
  • Junior Walker, American saxophonist, singer (d. 1995)
• June 16 – John Shelby Spong, American Episcopal prelate (d. 2021)
• June 17 – John Baldessari, American conceptual artist (d. 2020)
• June 18 – Fernando Henrique Cardoso, 34th President of Brazil
• June 20
  • Olympia Dukakis, American actress (d. 2021)
  • Mary L. Good, American chemist (d. 2019)
  • Arne Nordheim, Norwegian composer (d. 2010)
  • James Tolkan, American actor
• June 21 – Margaret Heckler, American Secretary of Health and Human Services (d. 2018)
• June 22 – Ian Browne, Australian track cyclist
• June 23 – Ola Ullsten, Swedish politician and diplomat (d. 2018)
• June 24
  • Billy Casper, American golfer (d. 2015)
  • Gaston Flosse, French politician
• June 25 – V. P. Singh, Prime Minister of India (d. 2008)
• June 26 – Colin Wilson, English writer, philosopher and novelist (d. 2013)
• June 27
  • Magali Noël, French actress and singer (d. 2015)
  • Martinus J. G. Veltman, Dutch physicist (d. 2021)
• June 28 – Hans Alfredson, Swedish actor, film director, writer and comedian (d. 2017)
• June 30 – Allan Jay, British Olympian foil and épée fencer

July

• July 1
  • Leslie Caron, French actress
  • Stanislav Grof, Czech psychiatrist
  • Seyni Kountché, former President of Niger (d. 1987)
• July 4
  • Stephen Boyd, Irish actor (d. 1977)
  • Sébastien Japrisot, French author, screenwriter and film director (d. 2003)
• July 5 – James Burke, Irish-American mobster (d. 1996)
• July 6
  • Antonella Lualdi, Italian actress, singer
  • Della Reese, African-American actress, singer and evangelist (d. 2017)
• July 7 – David Eddings, American author (d. 2009)
• July 8 – Thorvald Stoltenberg, Norwegian politician (d. 2018)
• July 10
  • Nick Adams, American actor (d. 1968)
  • Morris Chang, Chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (TSMC) in 1987
  • Jerry Herman, American composer, lyricist (d. 2019)
  • Alice Munro, Canadian writer, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature
• July 11
  • Tab Hunter, American actor, singer (d. 2018)
  • Tullio Regge, Italian physicist and academic (d. 2014)
• July 13 – Frank Ramsey, American professional basketball player, coach (d. 2018)
• July 14
  • Luis Pércovich Roca, 118th Prime Minister of Peru (d. 2017)
  • Robert Stephens, English actor (d. 1995)
• July 15 – Clive Cussler, American author (d. 2020)
• July 17 – Caroline Graham, English playwright, screenwriter and novelist
• July 22 – Guido de Marco, Maltese politician, 6th President of Malta (d. 2010)
• July 23 – Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, Māori queen (d. 2006)
• July 26 – Telê Santana, Brazilian footballer and manager (d. 2006)
• July 27 – Jerry Van Dyke, American comedian, actor (d. 2018)
• July 31 – Kenny Burrell, American jazz guitarist

August

• August 1
  • Hal Connolly, American athlete (d. 2010)
  • Dino da Costa, Brazilian-born Italian footballer (d. 2020)
• August 3 – Vladimir Trusenyov, Russian discus thrower (d. 2001)
• August 6
  • Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani, Iranian cleric, writer and politician (d. 2014)
  • Umberto Lenzi, Italian film director, screenwriter and novelist (d. 2017)
• August 8 – Roger Penrose, English mathematical physicist, mathematician and philosopher
• August 9 – Mário Zagallo, Brazilian footballer and manager (d. 2024)
• August 10 – Tom Laughlin, American actor (d. 2013)
• August 12 – William Goldman, American author (d. 2018)
• August 15
  • Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi prince and politician (d. 2018)
  • Richard F. Heck, American chemist (d. 2015)
  • Janice Rule, American actress (d. 2003)
• August 16 – Harold Bernard St. John, 3rd Prime Minister of Barbados (d. 2004)
• August 18 – Hans van Mierlo, Dutch politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister (d. 2010)
• August 19
  • Marianne Koch, German actress
  • Willie Shoemaker, American jockey (d. 2003)
• August 20 – Don King, American boxing promoter
• August 23
  • Barbara Eden, American actress, singer ( I Dream of Jeannie)
  • Hamilton O. Smith, American microbiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• August 25 – Regis Philbin, American actor, singer and television personality (d. 2020)
• August 27
  • Sri Chinmoy, Indian philosopher (d. 2007)
  • Sven Tumba, Swedish ice hockey player (d. 2011)
• August 28 – Shunichiro Okano, Japanese footballer and manager (d. 2017)
• August 30 – Jack Swigert, American astronaut (d. 1982)
• August 31
  • Jean Béliveau, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2014)
  • Noble Willingham, American actor (d. 2004)

September

• September 1 – Arturo Pomar, Spanish chess grandmaster (d. 2016)
• September 3 – Paulo Maluf, Brazilian politician
• September 4 – Mitzi Gaynor, American actress, singer and dancer
• September 5 – Moshé Mizrahi, Israeli film director (d. 2018)
• September 7 – Josep Lluís Núñez, Spanish businessman and football club president (d. 2018)
• September 10 – Philip Baker Hall, American actor (d. 2022)
• September 12
  • Ian Holm, English actor (d. 2020)
  • George Jones, American country music singer, songwriter (d. 2013)
  • Bill McKinney, American actor (d. 2011)
• September 13
  • Barbara Bain, American actress ( Mission: Impossible)
  • Marjorie Jackson-Nelson, Austrian politician and athlete
• September 16 – E. C. George Sudarshan, Indian theoretical physicist (d. 2018)
• September 17
  • Anne Bancroft, American actress (d. 2005)
  • Jean-Claude Carrière, French novelist and screenwriter (d. 2021)
  • Princess Lalla Aicha of Morocco (d. 2011)
• September 18 – Julio Grondona, Argentine football executive (d. 2014)
• September 19
  • Brook Benton, American singer-songwriter (d. 1988)
  • Ray Danton, American actor (d. 1992)
• September 20 – Haya Harareet, Israeli actress and screenwriter (d. 2021)
• September 21
  • Larry Hagman, American actor (d. 2012)
  • Syukuro Manabe, Japanese-American meteorologist and climatologist
• September 22 – Fay Weldon, British author (d. 2023)
• September 24
  • Tom Adams, 2nd Prime Minister of Barbados (d. 1985)
  • Anthony Newley, English actor (d. 1999)
• September 27 – Freddy Quinn, Austrian singer, actor
• September 29
  • James Cronin, American Nobel physicist (d. 2016)
  • Anita Ekberg, Swedish actress (d. 2015)
• September 30 – Angie Dickinson, American actress

October

• October 3 – Denise Scott Brown, American architect
• October 6 – Riccardo Giacconi, Italian-born astrophysicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics (d. 2018)
• October 7
  • Cotton Fitzsimmons, American basketball coach (d. 2004)
  • Desmond Tutu, South African Anglican archbishop, activist and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 2021)
• October 13
  • Dritëro Agolli, Albanian poet, writer and politician (d. 2017)
  • Raymond Kopa, French footballer (d. 2017)
  • Eddie Mathews, American baseball player (d. 2001)
• October 15
  • Freddy Cole, American jazz singer and pianist (d. 2020)
  • A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Indian scientist and politician, 11th President of India (d. 2015)
  • Ahmed Laraki, 6th Prime Minister of Morocco (d. 2020)
• October 16 – Charles Colson, American politician, Watergate conspirator, later evangelist (d. 2012)
• October 17
  • José Alencar, Brazilian politician, 23rd Vice President of Brazil (d. 2011)
  • Nikolay Kamenskiy, Russian ski jumper (d. 2017)
• October 19
  • John le Carré, English novelist (d. 2020)
  • Manolo Escobar, Spanish singer, actor (d. 2013)
• October 20 – Mickey Mantle, American baseball player (d. 1995)
• October 21 – Shammi Kapoor, Indian actor and film director (d. 2011)
• October 22 – Ann Rule, American true-crime writer (d. 2015)
• October 23
  • Jim Bunning, American baseball player, and politician (d. 2017)
  • Diana Dors, English actress (d. 1984)
• October 25
  • Annie Girardot, French actress (d. 2011)
  • Klaus Hasselmann, German oceanographer
  • Jimmy McIlroy, Irish footballer and manager (d. 2018)
• October 27 – Nawal El Saadawi, Egyptian feminist and writer (d. 2021)
• October 28 – Analía Gadé, Argentine actress (d. 2019)
• October 29 – Franco Interlenghi, Italian actor (d. 2015)
• October 30 – Dick Gautier, American actor (d. 2017)
• October 31
  • Nawal El Saadawi, Egyptian feminist campaigner (d. 2021)
  • Sergio Obeso Rivera, Mexican Roman Catholic cardinal (d. 2019)
  • Dan Rather, American television news reporter ( CBS Evening News)

November

• November 1 – Shunsuke Kikuchi, Japanese composer (d. 2021)
• November 2 – Phil Woods, American saxophonist (d. 2015)
• November 3
  • Michael Fu Tieshan, Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association bishop (d. 2007)
  • Monica Vitti, Italian actress (d. 2022)
• November 4 – Bernard Francis Law, American cardinal (d. 2017)
• November 5 – Ike Turner, African-American singer, songwriter (d. 2007)
• November 6
  • Peter Collins, British racing driver (d. 1958)
  • Mike Nichols, German-American film director and producer (d. 2014)
• November 8
  • Darla Hood, American child actress, voice actress and singer ( Our Gang) (d. 1979)
  • Morley Safer, Canadian journalist ( 60 Minutes) (d. 2016)
• November 12 – Norman Mineta, American politician (d. 2022)
• November 15
  • John Kerr, American actor (d. 2013)
  • Mwai Kibaki, 3rd President of Kenya (d. 2022)
  • Pascal Lissouba, President of the Republic of Congo (d. 2020)
• November 16 – Hubert Sumlin, American blues musician (d. 2011)
• November 17 – Yusuf Zuayyin, 51st and 53rd Prime Minister of Syria (d. 2016)
• November 21 – Malcolm Williamson, Australian composer (d. 2003)
• November 25 – Nat Adderley, African-American jazz musician (d. 2000)
• November 26
  • Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Argentine activist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
  • Adrianus Johannes Simonis, Dutch cardinal (d. 2020)
• November 28 – Tomi Ungerer, French artist, illustrator and writer (d. 2019)
• November 29 – Shintaro Katsu, Japanese actor (d. 1997)

December

• December 1
  • Rajko Kuzmanović, 7th President of Republika Srpska
  • George Maxwell Richards, 4th President of Trinidad and Tobago (d. 2018)
• December 2
  • Wynton Kelly, Jamaican-American jazz pianist, composer (d. 1971)
  • Edwin Meese, American attorney, law professor, and author
• December 7 – Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, South Korean cardinal (d. 2021)
• December 11
  • Ronald Dworkin, American philosopher and lawyer (d. 2013)
  • Rita Moreno, Puerto-Rican actress
  • Rajneesh, Indian spiritual leader (d. 1990)
• December 15 – Klaus Rifbjerg, Danish author (d. 2015)
• December 17 – Dave Madden, Canadian-American actor (d. 2014)
• December 18
  • Eva Bosáková, Czechoslovakian artistic gymnast (d. 1991)
  • Allen Klein, American businessman (d. 2009)
  • Gunnel Lindblom, Swedish actress (d. 2021)
• December 21
  • Redha Malek, 8th Prime Minister of Algeria (d. 2017)
  • Georgi Naydenov, Bulgarian footballer and manager (d. 1970)
• December 22 – Carlos Graça, 6th Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe (d. 2013)
• December 23 – Ronnie Schell, American actor
• December 24
  • Ray Bryant, American jazz pianist, composer, arranger (d. 2011)
  • Mauricio Kagel, Argentine composer (d. 2008)
• December 26 – Roger Piantoni, French footballer (d. 2018)
• December 27
  • John Charles, Welsh footballer (d. 2004)
  • Scotty Moore, American guitarist (d. 2016)
  • Lê Khả Phiêu, 10th General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (d. 2020)
• December 28
  • Guy Debord, French theorist, philosopher, and filmmaker (d. 1994)
  • Martin Milner, American actor (d. 2015)
• December 30
  • Charles Bassett, American electrical engineer, astronaut (d. 1966)
  • Skeeter Davis, American singer (d. 2004)
• December 31 – Bob Shaw, Irish writer (d. 1996)

January

• January 3
  • Dabney Coleman, American actor
  • Eeles Landström, Finnish athlete (d. 2022)
• January 4 – Carlos Saura, Spanish film director (d. 2023)
• January 5
  • Johnny Adams, American singer (d. 1998)
  • Umberto Eco, Italian scholar and novelist (d. 2016)
  • Bill Foulkes, English footballer (d. 2013)
  • Raisa Gorbacheva, Wife of the President of the Soviet Union (d. 1999)
• January 7 – Max Gallo, French writer, historian and politician (d. 2017)
• January 11 – Alfonso Arau, Mexican actor and director
• January 13 – Joseph Zen, Chinese cardinal
• January 16 – Dian Fossey, American zoologist (d. 1985)
• January 17 – Sheree North, American actress and singer (d. 2005)
• January 18 – Robert Anton Wilson, American author (d. 2007)
• January 19 – Richard Lester, American film director
• January 22 – Piper Laurie, American actress (d. 2023)
• January 24 – Henri Nouwen, Dutch priest and author (d. 1996)
• January 25 – Nikolay Anikin, Soviet cross-country skier (d. 2009)
• January 26 – Coxsone Dodd, Jamaican record producer (d. 2004)
• January 27 – Boris Shakhlin, Soviet gymnast (d. 2008)
• January 29 – Tommy Taylor, English footballer (d. 1958)
• January 30 – Kazuo Inamori, Japanese businessman (d. 2022)

February

• February 1 – Hassan Al-Turabi, Sudanese spiritual leader (d. 2016)
• February 2 – Robert Mandan, American actor (d. 2018)
• February 3
  • Peggy Ann Garner, American actress (d. 1984)
  • Stuart Hall, Jamaican-British sociologist (d. 2014)
• February 5 – Cesare Maldini, Italian footballer and manager (d. 2016)
• February 6
  • François Truffaut, French film director, screenwriter, and producer (d. 1984)
  • Camilo Cienfuegos, Cuban revolutionary leader (d. 1959)
• February 7
  • Gay Talese, American author
  • Alfred Worden, American astronaut (d. 2020)
• February 8
  • Horst Eckel, German footballer (d. 2021)
  • John Williams, American composer and conductor
• February 9 – Gerhard Richter, German painter
• February 10 – Robert Taylor, American computer scientist (d. 2017)
• February 12
  • Princess Astrid of Norway
  • Lincoln Kilpatrick, African-American actor (d. 2004)
• February 13 – Susan Oliver, American actress (d. 1990)
• February 14
  • Harriet Andersson, Swedish actress
  • Alexander Kluge, German author and film director
• February 16
  • Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, 3rd President of Sierra Leone (d. 2014)
  • Aharon Appelfeld, Ukrainian-born Israeli writer (d. 2018)
• February 18 – Miloš Forman, Czech-American film director (d. 2018)
• February 19
  • Alberto Dines, Brazilian journalist and writer (d. 2018)
  • Joseph P. Kerwin, American physician and astronaut
  • Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, French opera director (d. 1988)
• February 20 – Enrique Múgica, Spanish lawyer and politician (d. 2020)
• February 22 – Ted Kennedy, American politician (d. 2009)
• February 23 – Majel Barrett, American actress (d. 2008)
• February 24
  • John Vernon, Canadian actor (d. 2005)
  • Michel Legrand, French composer (d. 2019)
  • Zell Miller, American politician (d. 2018)
• February 25
  • Hans Apel, German politician (d. 2011)
  • Tony Brooks, English racing driver
  • Faron Young, American country singer (d. 1996)
• February 26 – Johnny Cash, American country singer (d. 2003)
• February 27 – Elizabeth Taylor, English-American actress (d. 2011)
• February 28 – Don Francks, Canadian actor, singer and musician (d. 2016)

March

• March 4
  • Ryszard Kapuściński, Polish journalist (d. 2007)
  • Miriam Makeba, South African singer and civil rights activist (d. 2008)
• March 5 – Earl Woods, African-American army officer (d. 2006)
• March 6
  • Marc Bazin, 4th Prime Minister of Haiti (d. 2010)
  • Bronisław Geremek, Polish social historian and politician (d. 2008)
• March 7
  • Lola Beltrán, Mexican singer, actress, and television presenter (d. 1996)
  • Momoko Kōchi, Japanese actress (d. 1998)
• March 10
  • Anatoly Roshchin, Russian heavyweight wrestler (d. 2016)
  • Ieng Thirith, Cambodian politician (d. 2015)
• March 11 – Leroy Jenkins, African-American jazz musician and composer (d. 2007)
• March 12 – Andrew Young, African-American politician, diplomat and activist
• March 14
  • Mark Murphy, American jazz singer (d. 2015)
  • Naina Yeltsina, First Lady of Russia
• March 15
  • Alan Bean, American naval officer and naval aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut (d. 2018)
  • Arif Mardin, Turkish-American music producer (d. 2006)
• March 16 – Walter Cunningham, American astronaut (d. 2023)
• March 18 – John Updike, American author (d. 2009)
• March 21 – Walter Gilbert, American chemist and Nobel laureate
• March 22 – Els Borst, Dutch politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1998–2002) (d. 2014)
• March 26 – Luke Askew, American actor (d. 2012)
• March 27 – Junior Parker, African-American blues musician (d. 1971)
• March 28 – Sven Lindqvist, Swedish author (d. 2019)
• March 31 – Nagisa Oshima, Japanese film director (d. 2013)

April

• April 1 – Debbie Reynolds, American actress, dancer, and singer (d. 2016)
• April 2 – Edward Egan, American cardinal (d. 2015)
• April 4
  • Richard Lugar, American politician (d. 2019)
  • Anthony Perkins, American actor (d. 1992)
  • Andrei Tarkovsky, Russian film director, screenwriter (d. 1986)
• April 8
  • József Antall, Hungarian historian, librarian, political figure and teacher, 53rd Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1993)
  • Sultan Iskandar of Johor, 8th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia (d. 2010)
• April 9
  • Mati Klarwein, German painter (d. 2002)
  • Carl Perkins, American musician (d. 1998)
• April 10
  • Kishori Amonkar, Indian vocalist (d. 2017)
  • Mae Faggs, American athlete (d. 2000)
  • Delphine Seyrig, Lebanese-born French actress (d. 1990)
  • Omar Sharif, Egyptian actor (d. 2015)
• April 11 – Joel Grey, American actor, singer and dancer
• April 12
  • Jean-Pierre Marielle, French actor (d. 2019)
  • Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lankan politician (d. 2005)
  • Tiny Tim, American musician (d. 1996)
• April 14
  • Atef Ebeid, 47th Prime Minister of Egypt (d. 2014)
  • Loretta Lynn, American country singer (d. 2022)
• April 16
  • Qahhor Mahkamov, 1st President of Tajikistan (d. 2016)
  • Imre Polyák, Hungarian featherweight (d. 2010)
• April 19
  • Fernando Botero, Colombian artist and sculptor (d. 2023)
  • Andrea Mead Lawrence, American alpine ski racer (d. 2009)
• April 21
  • Elaine May, American film director, actress
  • Angela Mortimer, British tennis player
• April 22
  • Anthony Soter Fernandez, Malaysian cardinal (d. 2020)
  • Isao Tomita, Japanese composer (d. 2016)
• April 24 – Vladimir Yengibaryan, Armenian amateur light-welterweight boxer (d. 2013)
• April 25
  • Nikolai Kardashev, Russian astrophysicist (d. 2019)
  • Lia Manoliu, Romanian discus thrower (d. 1998)
  • William Roache, English actor
• April 26
  • Francis Lai, French composer (d. 2018)
  • Michael Smith, British-born Canadian biochemist (d. 2000)
• April 27
  • Anouk Aimée, French actress
  • Pik Botha, South African politician (d. 2018)
  • Casey Kasem, American disc jockey and voice actor (d. 2014)
  • Gian-Carlo Rota, Italian-born mathematician and philosopher (d. 1999)
• April 29 – King Hu, Chinese film director (d. 1997)

May

• May 1 – Donald Kagan, Lithuanian-born American historian (d. 2021)
• May 3
  • Maria Itkina, Soviet athlete (d. 2020)
  • Robert Osborne, American film historian and television host (d. 2017)
• May 6 – Antal Bolvári, Hungarian water polo player (d. 2019)
• May 7 – Pete Domenici, American politician (d. 2017)
• May 8
  • Phyllida Law, Scottish actress
  • Sonny Liston, American boxer (d. 1970)
• May 9 – Geraldine McEwan, English actress (d. 2015)
• May 11 – Valentino, Italian fashion designer
• May 14 – Bob Johnston, American record producer (d. 2015)
• May 15
  • Turgay Şeren, Turkish footballer (d. 2016)
  • Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, 22nd Prime Minister of Thailand
• May 17 – Miloslav Vlk, Czech cardinal (d. 2017)
• May 19 – Alma Cogan, English singer (d. 1966)
• May 21 – Jean Stablinski, French professional cyclist (d. 2007)
• May 23 – Dino Sani, Brazilian footballer and coach
• May 24 – Arnold Wesker, English playwright (d. 2016)
• May 25 – K. C. Jones, American basketball player and coach (d. 2020)
• May 27 – José Varacka, Argentine footballer and coach (d. 2018)
• May 29
  • Paul R. Ehrlich, American biologist
  • Richie Guerin, American basketball player and coach
• May 30
  • Solomon W. Golomb, American mathematician (d. 2016)
  • Pauline Oliveros, American composer (d. 2016)

June

• June 4
  • John Drew Barrymore, American actor (d. 2004)
  • Oliver Nelson, African-American jazz saxophonist (d. 1975)
  • Javier Echevarría Rodríguez, Spanish bishop (d. 2016)
• June 5 – Christy Brown, Irish writer and painter (d. 1981)
• June 6
  • David Scott, American astronaut
  • Billie Whitelaw, English actress (d. 2014)
• June 10
  • Marc Fumaroli, French historian and essayist (d. 2020)
  • Branko Lustig, Croatian film producer (d. 2019)
• June 11 – Athol Fugard, South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director
• June 12
  • Mimi Coertse, South African soprano
  • Mamo Wolde, Ethiopian Olympic athlete (d. 2002)
• June 13
  • Bob McGrath, American actor (d. 2022)
  • Oreco, Brazilian footballer (d. 1985)
• June 14 – Javier Echevarría Rodríguez, Spanish bishop (d. 2016)
• June 15
  • Mario Cuomo, American politician (d. 2015)
  • Asnoldo Devonish, Venezuelan athlete (d. 1997)
• June 17
  • Derek Ibbotson, English athlete (d. 2017)
  • Peter Lupus, American actor and bodybuilder
• June 18
  • Dudley R. Herschbach, American chemist and Nobel laureate
  • Geoffrey Hill, English poet (d. 2016)
• June 19
  • Pier Angeli, Italian actress (d. 1971)
  • Marisa Pavan, Italian actress (d. 2023)
• June 20 – Robert Rozhdestvensky, Soviet Poet (d. 1994)
• June 21 – Lalo Schifrin, Argentine pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor
• June 22
  • Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari, Princess of Iran; wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (d. 2001)
  • Amrish Puri, Indian actor (d. 2005)
  • Prunella Scales, English actress
• June 24 – Margit Korondi, Hungarian gymnast
• June 25
  • Peter Blake, English artist
  • Ichiro Ogimura, Japanese table tennis player, and coach (d. 1994)
• June 26 – Marguerite Pindling, Governor-General of the Bahamas
• June 27 – Anna Moffo, American operatic soprano (d. 2006)
• June 28 – Pat Morita, Japanese-American actor (d. 2005)
• June 29 – Soon-Tek Oh, Korean-American actor (d. 2018)

July

• July 2 – Kenneth McMillan, American actor (d. 1989)
• July 3 – Josef Musil, Czech volleyball player (d. 2017)
• July 5 – Gyula Horn, Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 2013)
• July 7 – Joe Zawinul, Austrian jazz keyboardist and composer (d. 2007)
• July 8 – Barbara Loden, American actress (d. 1980)
• July 9 – Donald Rumsfeld, 13th and 21st U.S. Secretary of Defense (d. 2021)
• July 10 – Carlo Maria Abate, Italian auto racing driver (d. 2019)
• July 11 – Hans van Manen, Dutch ballet dancer, choreographer and photographer
• July 12
  • Otis Davis, American athlete
  • Monte Hellman, American film director, producer, writer and editor (d. 2021)
• July 13
  • Per Nørgård, Danish composer
  • Hubert Reeves, Canadian astrophysicist (d. 2023)
  • Antonio Roma, Argentine footballer (d. 2013)
• July 14
  • Princess Margarita of Baden (d. 2013)
  • Helga Liné, German-born Portuguese-Spanish film actress and circus acrobat
• July 16
  • Bill Byrge, American actor and comedian
  • Oleg Protopopov, Russian pair skater (d. 2023)
  • Dick Thornburgh, American lawyer, author and politician (d. 2020)
• July 17
  • Johnny Kerr, American basketball player (d. 2009)
  • Wojciech Kilar, Polish composer (d. 2013)
  • Quino, Argentine cartoonist (d. 2020)
• July 18 – Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Russian poet (d. 2017)
• July 20
  • Dick Giordano, American comic book artist and editor (d. 2010)
  • Nam June Paik, Korean-born American artist (d. 2006)
  • Otto Schily, German politician
• July 22
  • Oscar de la Renta, Dominican-American fashion designer (d. 2014)
  • Tom Robbins, American novelist
• July 25 – Paul J. Weitz, American astronaut (d. 2017)
• July 26 – Neil McCarthy, English actor (d. 1985)
• July 29 – Nancy Kassebaum, American politician
• July 30 – Edd Byrnes, American actor (d. 2020)
• July 31
  • Ted Cassidy, American actor (d. 1979)
  • John Searle, American philosopher

August

• August 1
  • Meir Kahane, American-born Israeli rabbi and ultra-nationalist (d. 1990)
  • Meena Kumari, Indian actress (d. 1972)
• August 2
  • Lamar Hunt, American sportsman (d. 2006)
  • Peter O'Toole, British-Irish actor (d. 2013)
• August 4 – Frances E. Allen, American computer scientist (d. 2020)
• August 5 – Ja'Net DuBois, African-American actress (d. 2020)
• August 6 – Howard Hodgkin, British painter and print-maker (d. 2017)
• August 7 – Abebe Bikila, Ethiopian olympic athlete (d. 1973)
• August 8
  • Mel Tillis, American country singer (d. 2017)
  • Zito, Brazilian footballer (d. 2015)
• August 9 – Anand Panyarachun, 18th Prime Minister of Thailand
• August 11
  • Fernando Arrabal, Spanish writer
  • Keiko Kishi, Japanese actress and writer
• August 12 – Sirikit, Queen consort of Thailand
• August 15
  • Abby Dalton, American actress (d. 2020)
  • Robert L. Forward, American physicist (d. 2002)
• August 17 – V. S. Naipaul, West Indian-born writer and Nobel laureate (d. 2018)
• August 18 – Luc Montagnier, French virologist and Nobel Prize winner (d. 2022)
• August 19 – Banharn Silpa-archa, 21st Prime Minister of Thailand (d. 2016)
• August 20 – Vasily Aksyonov, Russian writer (d. 2009)
• August 21 – Melvin Van Peebles, African-American actor, filmmaker, playwright, novelist and composer (d. 2021)
• August 22 – Gerald Carr, American astronaut (d. 2020)
• August 23 – Houari Boumediene, 2nd President of Algeria (d. 1978)
• August 24
  • Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, British cardinal (d. 2017)
  • W. Morgan Sheppard, English actor (d. 2019)
• August 26 – Joe Engle, American astronaut
• August 27 – Saye Zerbo, 3rd President and 4th Prime Minister of Burkina Faso (d. 2013)
• August 28 – Raul Cortez, Brazilian actor (d. 2006)

September

• September 1
  • Sunny von Bülow, American socialite (d. 2008)
  • Derog Gioura, Nauruan politician and former President of Nauru (d. 2008)
• September 3 – Eileen Brennan, American actress and singer (d. 2013)
• September 5 – Carol Lawrence, American actress, singer and dancer
• September 8 – Patsy Cline, American singer (d. 1963)
• September 10 – Félix Malloum, 2nd President of Chad (d. 2009)
• September 12 – Atli Dam, 3-Time Prime Minister of Faroe Islands (d. 2005)
• September 17 – Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar (d. 2016)
• September 18
  • Hisashi Owada, Japanese jurist, diplomat and law professor
  • Nikolay Rukavishnikov, Russian cosmonaut (d. 2002)
• September 21 – Mickey Kuhn, American child actor (d. 2022)
• September 22
  • Algirdas Brazauskas, 10th President of Lithuania (d. 2010)
  • Ingemar Johansson, Swedish boxer (d. 2009)
• September 25
  • Glenn Gould, Canadian pianist (d. 1982)
  • Adolfo Suárez, 138th Prime Minister of Spain (d. 2014)
• September 26
  • Donna Douglas, American actress and singer (d. 2015)
  • Richard Herd, American actor (d. 2020)
  • Joyce Jameson, American actress (d. 1987)
  • Manmohan Singh, 13th Prime Minister of India
  • Vladimir Voinovich, Russian writer (d. 2018)
  • Clifton Williams, American astronaut (d. 1967)
• September 27
  • Roger C. Carmel, American actor (d. 1986)
  • Yash Chopra, Indian film director and producer (d. 2012)
  • Oliver E. Williamson, American economist (d. 2020)
• September 28 – Víctor Jara, Chilean singer-songwriter (d. 1973)
• September 29
  • Mehmood, Indian actor (d. 2004)
  • Rainer Weiss, German-born American gravitational physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
• September 30 – Shintaro Ishihara, Japanese author and politician (d. 2022)

October

• October 1 – Albert Collins, American blues guitarist and singer (d. 2013)
• October 2 – Henri Namphy, 36th President of Haiti (d. 2018)
• October 3
  • Luis María Argaña, Paraguayan politician (d. 1999)
  • Ángel Roberto Seifart, Paraguayan politician (d. 2018)
• October 7 – Predrag Matvejević, Bosnian Croat writer and scholar (d. 2017)
• October 8 – Ray Reardon, Welsh snooker player
• October 9 – Judy Tyler, American actress (d. 1957)
• October 11 – Dottie West, American singer and songwriter (d. 1991)
• October 12
  • Jake Garn, American astronaut and politician
  • Dick Gregory, African-American comedian and activist (d. 2017)
  • Yuichiro Miura, Japanese alpinist
• October 13
  • Dušan Makavejev, Serbian film director and screenwriter (d. 2019)
  • Liliane Montevecchi, French-Italian actress, dancer and singer (d. 2018)
• October 14 – Wolf Vostell, German artist (d. 1998)
• October 17 – Paul Anderson, American weightlifter (d. 1994)
• October 18 – Vytautas Landsbergis, Lithuanian politician
• October 19 – Robert Reed, American actor ( The Brady Bunch) (d. 1992)
• October 20
  • William Christopher, American actor and comedian ( M*A*S*H) (d. 2016)
  • Michael McClure, American poet, playwright, songwriter, and novelist (d. 2020)
• October 21 – Pál Csernai, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 2013)
• October 23 – Vasily Belov, Soviet-Russian writer, poet and dramatist (d. 2012)
• October 24
  • Stephen Covey, American educator, author, and businessman (d. 2012)
  • Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
  • Robert Mundell, Canadian economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2021)
• October 25 – Vitold Fokin, 1st Prime Minister of Ukraine
• October 26 – Manfred Max-Neef, Chilean economist (d. 2019)
• October 27
  • Harry Gregg, Northern Irish footballer and football manager (d. 2020)
  • Sylvia Plath, American poet and author (d. 1963)
  • Jean-Pierre Cassel, French actor (d. 2007)
• October 28
  • Spyros Kyprianou, 2nd President of Cyprus (d. 2002)
  • Suzy Parker, American fashion model and actress (d. 2003)
• October 30 – Louis Malle, French film director, screenwriter and producer (d. 1995)

November

• November 1 – A. Q. M. Badruddoza Chowdhury, 13th President of Bangladesh
• November 2
  • Henri Namphy, 35th President of Haiti (d. 2018)
  • Melvin Schwartz, American physicist (d. 2006)
• November 3 – Albert Reynolds, 8th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 2014)
• November 4 – Thomas Klestil, President of Austria (d. 2004)
• November 6 – Stonewall Jackson, American country singer, guitarist and musician
• November 8
  • Stéphane Audran, French actress (d. 2018)
  • Ben Bova, American writer, author (d. 2020)
  • Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, Maltese politician, 5th President of Malta
• November 10
  • Paul Bley, Canadian pianist (d. 2016)
  • Roy Scheider, American actor (d. 2008)
• November 13
  • Olga Fikotová, Czechoslovak-American discus thrower
  • Richard Mulligan, American actor (d. 2000)
• November 15
  • Petula Clark, British singer, actress and composer
  • Clyde McPhatter, American singer (d. 1972)
• November 20 – Richard Dawson, English-American actor, comedian, and game show host (d. 2012)
• November 21 – Beryl Bainbridge, English writer (d. 2010)
• November 22 – Robert Vaughn, American actor (d. 2016)
• November 24 – Claudio Naranjo, Chilean psychiatrist (d. 2019)
• November 27 – Benigno Aquino Jr., Filipino politician and senator (d. 1983)
• November 28 – Gato Barbieri, Argentine jazz saxophonist (d. 2016)
• November 29 – Jacques Chirac, 84th Prime Minister and 22nd President of France (d. 2019)

December

• December 3 – Corry Brokken, Dutch singer (d. 2016)
• December 4 – Roh Tae-woo, 6th President of South Korea (d. 2021)
• December 5
  • Fazu Aliyeva, Soviet-born Russian poet, novelist and journalist (d. 2016)
  • Sheldon Lee Glashow, American physicist
  • Little Richard, African-American singer and actor (d. 2020)
• December 7
  • Ellen Burstyn, American actress
  • Pentti Linkola, Finnish deep ecologist and writer (d. 2020)
• December 9 – Donald Byrd, African-American jazz trumpeter (d. 2013)
• December 12 – Bob Pettit, American basketball player
• December 13 – Tatsuya Nakadai, Japanese actor
• December 14
  • Abbe Lane, American actress and singer
  • Charlie Rich, American country music singer, songwriter, and musician (d. 1995)
  • Étienne Tshisekedi, 3-time Prime Minister of Zaire (d. 2017)
• December 15 – Curtis Fuller, American jazz trombonist (d. 2021)
• December 16 – Rodion Shchedrin, Russian composer and pianist
• December 18 – Roger Smith, American actor (d. 2017)
• December 20 – John Hillerman, American actor (d. 2017)
• December 21 – U. R. Ananthamurthy, Indian writer (d. 2014)
• December 23 – Tom Kibble, British physicist (d. 2016)
• December 24 – Colin Cowdrey, English cricketer (d. 2000)
• December 28
  • Nichelle Nichols, African-American actress (d. 2022)
  • Manuel Puig, Argentinian writer (d. 1990)
• December 29 – Inga Swenson, American actress and singer (d. 2023)
• December 30 – Paolo Villaggio, Italian writer and actor (d. 2017)

January

• January 1
  • Ford Konno, Japanese-American swimmer
  • Joe Orton, British playwright (d. 1967)
• January 2 – On Kawara, Japanese conceptual artist (d. 2014)
• January 4 – Ilia II of Georgia, Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church
• January 6 – Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov, Russian cosmonaut (d. 2003)
• January 9 – Wilbur Smith, Zambian-born South African novelist (d. 2021)
• January 12
  • Liliana Cavani, Italian film director and screenwriter
  • Kamal Ganzouri, 46th Prime Minister of Egypt (d. 2021)
• January 13 – Tom Gola, American basketball player (d. 2014)
• January 14 – Stan Brakhage, American filmmaker (d. 2003)
• January 16 – Susan Sontag, American author (d. 2004)
• January 17
  • Dalida, French singer (d. 1987)
  • Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, French U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (d. 2003)
• January 18
  • David Bellamy, English author, broadcaster, environmental campaigner and botanist (d. 2019)
  • John Boorman, English film director
  • Ray Dolby, American engineer and inventor (d. 2013)
• January 21 – Habib Thiam, Senegal politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Senegal (d. 2017)
• January 23
  • Bill Hayden, Australian politician, 21st Governor-General of Australia (d. 2023)
  • Chita Rivera, American actress, dancer (d. 2024)
• January 25 – Corazon Aquino, 11th President of the Philippines (d. 2009)
• January 29 – Sacha Distel, French singer, guitarist, and actor (d. 2004)

February

• February 1 – Wendell R. Anderson, American hockey player, and politician (d. 2016)
• February 2
  • Tony Jay, English-American actor and voice artist (d. 2006)
  • Than Shwe, 8th Prime Minister of Burma
• February 3 – Paul Sarbanes, American politician (d. 2020)
• February 5
  • Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, Nicaraguan diplomat, politician and priest (d. 2017)
  • Jörn Donner, Finnish writer, film director, actor, producer, and politician (d. 2020)
• February 8
  • Archduke Joseph Árpád of Austria, Austro-Hungarian royal (d. 2017)
  • Elly Ameling, Dutch soprano
• February 9 – John Mitchell, English author (d. 2009)
• February 12 – Costa-Gavras, Greek-born director, writer
• February 13
  • Paul Biya, 2nd President of Cameroon
  • Kim Novak, American actress
  • Emanuel Ungaro, French fashion designer (d. 2019)
• February 14 – Madhubala, Indian actress (d. 1969)
• February 17 – Craig L. Thomas, American politician (d. 2007)
• February 18
  • Yoko Ono, Japanese-born singer, artist and widow of John Lennon
  • Bobby Robson, English soccer player, manager (d. 2009)
  • Mary Ure, Scottish actress (d. 1975)
• February 21 – Nina Simone, African-American singer (d. 2003)
• February 22 – Katharine, Duchess of Kent, British royal, musician and patron of the arts
• February 23 – Lee Calhoun, American athlete (d. 1989)
• February 26
  • Godfrey Cambridge, American actor and comedian (d. 1976)
  • James Goldsmith, French, financier, tycoon, and politician (d. 1997)
  • Lubomyr Husar, Ukrainian archbishop and cardinal (d. 2017)
• February 28 – Charles Vinci, American weightlifter (d. 2018)

March

• March 3
  • Alfredo Landa, Spanish actor (d. 2013)
  • Tomas Milian, Cuban-American-Italian actor (d. 2017)
  • Lee Radziwiłł, American socialite, sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (d. 2019)
• March 5 – Evgeni Vasiukov, Russian chess grandmaster (d. 2018)
• March 7 – Jackie Blanchflower, Northern Irish footballer (d. 1998)
• March 9 – Lloyd Price, African-American R&B singer and vocalist (d. 2021)
• March 12
  • Barbara Feldon, American actress, model ( Get Smart)
  • Jesús Gil, Spanish right-wing politician, construction businessman, and football team owner (d. 2004)
• March 13 – Mike Stoller, American songwriter
• March 14
  • Michael Caine, English actor and author
  • René Felber, Swiss Federal Councillor (d. 2020)
  • Quincy Jones, African-American music producer, composer
• March 15
  • Philippe de Broca, French film director (d. 2004)
  • Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 2020)
• March 17 – Penelope Lively, English writer
• March 18 – Unita Blackwell, African-American civil rights activist (d. 2019)
• March 19
  • Philip Roth, American author (d. 2018)
  • Michel Sabbah, Israeli patriarch
  • Renée Taylor, American actress, screenwriter, playwright, producer and director
  • Richard Williams, Canadian-British animator (d. 2019)
• March 21 – Michael Heseltine, British politician and businessman
• March 22
  • Abolhassan Banisadr, 1st President of Iran (d. 2021)
  • Buddy MacKay, American politician and diplomat
  • Michel Hidalgo, French footballer and manager (d. 2020)
• March 23 – Philip Zimbardo, American psychologist, professor emeritus at Stanford University
• March 24 – William Smith, American actor (d. 2021)
• March 28
  • Tete Montoliu, Catalonian jazz pianist (d. 1997)
  • Frank Murkowski, American politician
• March 30 – Jean-Claude Brialy, French actor and director (d. 2007)
• March 31 – Nichita Stănescu, Romanian poet and essayist (d. 1983)

April

• April 1
  • Dan Flavin, American artist (d. 1996)
  • Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, French physicist
• April 4
  • Frits Bolkestein, Dutch politician
  • Brian Hewson, English athlete
• April 5 – Frank Gorshin, American actor ( Batman) (d. 2005)
• April 7
  • Wayne Rogers, American actor ( M*A*S*H) (d. 2015)
  • Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Persian-American Islamic scholar
• April 9
  • Jean-Paul Belmondo, French actor (d. 2021)
  • Gian Maria Volonté, Italian actor (d. 1994)
• April 11 – Denis Goldberg, South African social campaigner (d. 2020)
• April 12 – Montserrat Caballé, Catalan operatic soprano (d. 2018)
• April 13 – Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Cheyenne-American politician
• April 14
  • Yuri Oganessian, Russian nuclear physicist
  • Boris Strugatsky, Soviet-Russian science fiction author (d. 2012)
• April 15
  • Roy Clark, American country musician (d. 2018)
  • Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress (d. 1995)
• April 16 – Marcos Alonso, Spanish footballer (d. 2012)
• April 19 – Jayne Mansfield, American actress (d. 1967)
• April 21 – Ian Carr, Scottish jazz musician, composer, writer, and educator (d. 2009)
• April 25 – Jerry Leiber, American composer (d. 2011)
• April 26
  • Carol Burnett, American actress, singer and comedian
  • Arno Allan Penzias, German-born physicist and Nobel laureate (d. 2024)
  • Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, Puerto Rican activist (d. 2005)
• April 29
  • Mark Eyskens, 45th Prime Minister of Belgium
  • Rod McKuen, American singer, songwriter and poet (d. 2015)
  • Willie Nelson, American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, producer, author, poet and activist
• April 30 – Vittorio Merloni, Italian entrepreneur (d. 2016)

May

• May 3
  • James Brown, African-American soul musician (d. 2006)
  • Alex Cord, American actor (d. 2021)
  • Steven Weinberg, American theoretical physicist (d. 2021)
• May 5 – Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, 2-time Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (d. 2016)
• May 7
  • Johnny Unitas, American football player (d. 2002)
  • Nexhmije Pagarusha, Albanian singer, actress (d. 2020)
• May 10 – Barbara Taylor Bradford, English writer
• May 11 – Louis Farrakhan, African-American Muslim leader
• May 12 – Andrei Voznesensky, Soviet-Russian poet and writer (d. 2010)
• May 14
  • László Kovács, Hungarian-American cinematographer (d. 2007)
  • Siân Phillips, Welsh actress
• May 15 – Peter Broadbent, English footballer (d. 2013)
• May 18 – H. D. Deve Gowda, Indian politician, 11th Prime Minister of India
• May 19 – Edward de Bono, Maltese physician, psychologist, author, inventor, philosopher and consultant (d. 2021)
• May 20 – Constance Towers, American actress
• May 21 – Maurice André, French trumpeter (d. 2012)
• May 22 – Chen Jingrun, Chinese mathematician (d. 1996)
• May 23 – Joan Collins, English actress
• May 28 – Zelda Rubinstein, American actress and human rights activist (d. 2010)
• May 29 – Helmuth Rilling, German conductor
• May 30 – Stefano Rodotà, Italian jurist and politician (d. 2017)

June

• June 1
  • Charles Wilson, American politician (d. 2010)
  • Haruo Remeliik, 1st President of Palau (d. 1985)
• June 3 – Celso Torrelio, 69th President of Bolivia (d. 1999)
• June 4 – Godfried Danneels, Belgian cardinal (d. 2019)
• June 6 – Heinrich Rohrer, Swiss physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
• June 7 – Beverly Wills, American actress (d. 1963)
• June 8 – Joan Rivers, American actress, comedian, television host (d. 2014)
• June 9 – Don Young, American politician (d. 2022)
• June 10 – F. Lee Bailey, American attorney (d. 2021)
• June 11 – Gene Wilder, American actor (d. 2016)
• June 12 – Eddie Adams, American photographer and photojournalist (d. 2004)
• June 13 – Sven-Olov Sjödelius, Swedish sprint canoeist (d. 2018)
• June 14 – Henri, Count of Paris, French noble (d. 2019)
• June 15 – Mohammad-Ali Rajai, 2nd President of Iran, 47th Prime Minister of Iran (d. 1981)
• June 17 – Rod Paige, African-American politician
• June 19 – Viktor Patsayev, Russian cosmonaut (d. 1971)
• June 20 – Danny Aiello, American actor (d. 2019)
• June 21 – Bernie Kopell, American actor and comedian
• June 22 – Dianne Feinstein, American politician (d. 2023)
• June 24 – Sam Jones, African-American professional basketball player (d. 2021)
• June 25
  • James Meredith, African-American civil rights activist, writer, political adviser
  • Álvaro Siza, Portuguese architect
• June 26 – Claudio Abbado, Italian conductor (d. 2014)
• June 27 – Gary Crosby, American actor and singer (d. 1995)
• June 29 – Hayes Alan Jenkins, American figure skater
• June 30 – Lea Massari, Italian actress

July

• July 1 – Rashied Ali, American jazz free drummer (d. 2009)
• July 3 – Maximilian, Margrave of Baden, German prince (d. 2022)
• July 7
  • Murray Halberg, New Zealand runner
  • David McCullough, American historian, author (d. 2022)
• July 9 – Oliver Sacks, English-born neurologist (d. 2015)
• July 10 – Yang Chuan-kwang, Taiwanese decathlete (d. 2007)
• July 12 – Donald E. Westlake, American writer (d. 2008)
• July 13 – David Storey, English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist (d. 2017)
• July 14
  • Franz, Duke of Bavaria, German royal
  • Dumaagiin Sodnom, 13th Prime Minister of Mongolia
• July 15
  • Julian Bream, English guitarist, lutenist (d. 2020)
  • Guido Crepax, Italian comics artist (d. 2003)
  • M. T. Vasudevan Nair, Indian writer
• July 16 – Brad Harris, American actor and stunt performer (d. 2017)
• July 17 – Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, 9th Prime Minister of Malta
• July 18
  • Syd Mead, American industrial and conceptual designer (d. 2019)
  • Jean Yanne, French actor, and film director (d. 2003)
• July 20 – Cormac McCarthy, American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author (d. 2023)
• July 23 – Richard Rogers, Italian-born British architect (d. 2021)
• July 24 – John Aniston, American actor (d. 2022)
• July 26 – Edmund Phelps, American economist
• July 29
  • Lou Albano, Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor (d. 2009)
  • Robert Fuller, American actor and rancher
• July 31 – Cees Nooteboom, Dutch novelist, poet, and journalist

August

• August 1
  • Dom DeLuise, American actor, comedian (d. 2009)
  • Meena Kumari, Indian actress, singer and poet (d. 1972)
  • Antonio Negri, Italian philosopher (d. 2023)
• August 2 – Tom Bell, English actor (d. 2006)
• August 4 – Sheldon Adelson, American businessman, investor, and philanthropist (d. 2021)
• August 7
  • Elinor Ostrom, American economist, academic and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
  • Jerry Pournelle, American science fiction writer (d. 2017)
• August 9
  • Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, Japanese actress
  • Albert Quixall, English footballer (d. 2020)
• August 10
  • Doyle Brunson, American poker player (d. 2023)
  • Lynn Cohen, American actress (d. 2020)
• August 11 – Jerry Falwell, American evangelist, conservative political activist (d. 2007)
• August 14 – Richard R. Ernst, Swiss chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2021)
• August 15
  • Bobby Helms, American country music singer (d. 1997)
  • Stanley Milgram, American psychologist (d. 1984)
  • Lori Nelson, American actress and model (d. 2020)
• August 16
  • Julie Newmar, American actress ( Batman)
  • Stuart Roosa, American astronaut (d. 1994)
• August 17
  • Glenn Corbett, American actor (d. 1993)
  • Gene Kranz, American NASA Flight Director
• August 18
  • Just Fontaine, French footballer and manager (d. 2023)
  • Roman Polanski, Polish film director
• August 20
  • Luis Bacalov, Argentine-born Italian composer (d. 2017)
  • George J. Mitchell, American lawyer, businessman, author, and politician
• August 21 – Janet Baker, English mezzo-soprano
• August 22 – Sylva Koscina, Italian-Croatian actress (d. 1994)
• August 23
  • Robert Curl, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2022)
  • Pete Wilson, American politician
• August 25
  • Wayne Shorter, American jazz saxophonist and composer (d. 2023)
  • Tom Skerritt, American actor
• August 26 – Robert Chartoff, American film producer (d. 2015)
• August 27 – Kerstin Ekman, Swedish novelist
• August 29
  • Arnold Koller, Swiss Federal Councilor
  • Jehan Sadat, 3rd First Lady of Egypt (d. 2021)

September

• September 1
  • Ann Richards, American politician (d. 2006)
  • Conway Twitty, American country music artist (d. 1993)
• September 2 – Mathieu Kérékou, 5th President of Benin (d. 2015)
• September 4 – Richard S. Castellano, American actor (d. 1988)
• September 5 – Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa, Chilean cardinal
• September 8
  • Asha Bhosle, Indian musician
  • Michael Frayn, English playwright and novelist
• September 9 – Michael Novak, American philosopher, author (d. 2017)
• September 10
  • Yevgeny Khrunov, Russian cosmonaut (d. 2000)
  • Karl Lagerfeld, German fashion designer, artist (d. 2019)
• September 11
  • William Luther Pierce, American author, activist (d. 2002)
  • Rachid Sfar, 4th Prime Minister of Tunisia
• September 14
  • Harve Presnell, American actor and singer (d. 2009)
  • Hillevi Rombin, Swedish athlete, model and Miss Universe 1955 (d. 1996)
• September 15
  • Henry Darrow, Puerto-Rican American actor (d. 2021)
  • Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Spanish conductor (d. 2014)
• September 17
  • Chuck Grassley, American politician
  • Evelyn Kawamoto, American competition swimmer (d. 2017)
• September 18
  • Bob Bennett, American politician and businessman (d. 2016)
  • Robert Blake, American actor (d. 2023)
  • Scotty Bowman, Canadian ice hockey coach
• September 19 – David McCallum, Scottish actor (d. 2023)
• September 20 – Dennis Viollet, English footballer (d. 1999)
• September 24 – Raffaele Farina, Italian cardinal, archivist of the Holy Roman Church
• September 25 – Hubie Brown, American basketball coach, broadcaster
• September 27
  • Greg Morris, African-American actor (d. 1996)
  • Nagesh, Indian actor and comedian (d. 2009)
  • Will Sampson, American actor (d. 1987)
• September 29 – Samora Machel, 1st President of Mozambique (d. 1986)
• September 30 – Cissy Houston, African-American singer

October

• October 2 – John Gurdon, British developmental biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• October 3 – Abdon Pamich, Italian Olympic athlete
• October 5 – Diane Cilento, Australian actress and author (d. 2011)
• October 9 – Peter Mansfield, British physicist and Nobel laureate (d. 2017)
• October 10
  • Daniel Massey, English actor (d. 1998)
  • Jay Sebring, American hair stylist (d. 1969)
• October 13 – Mark Zakharov, Soviet and Russian film and theater director (d. 2019)
• October 17
  • William Anders, American astronaut
  • Jeanine Deckers, Belgian nun, known as "The Singing Nun" (d. 1985)
• October 18 – Firuz Mustafayev, Azerbaijani politician (d. 2018)
• October 19 – Dom Geraldo Majella, Brazilian Roman Catholic Cardinal
• October 24
  • Reginald Kray, British gangster (d. 2000)
  • Ronald Kray, British gangster (d. 1995)
• October 28 – Garrincha, Brazilian footballer (d. 1983)
• October 30 – Warith Deen Mohammed, American Muslim leader, theologian, philosopher and revivalist (d. 2008)
• October 31 – Narriman Sadek, Queen of Egypt (d. 2005)

November

• November 3
  • John Barry, British film score composer (d. 2011)
  • Ken Berry, American actor, dancer and singer (d. 2018)
  • Jeremy Brett, British actor (d. 1995)
  • Michael Dukakis, American politician, 1988 Democratic Presidential candidate
  • Amartya Sen, Indian economist, Nobel Prize laureate
• November 4 – Charles K. Kao, Chinese electrical engineer, physicist and Nobel laureate (d. 2018)
• November 5 – Herb Edelman, American actor (d. 1996)
• November 6 – Knut Johannesen, Norwegian speed-skater
• November 9 – Lucian Pintilie, Romanian film director, screenwriter (d. 2018)
• November 11 – Keiko Tanaka-Ikeda, Japanese artistic gymnast
• November 12 – Jalal Talabani, 8th President of Iraq (d. 2017)
• November 13 – Peter Härtling, German writer and poet (d. 2017)
• November 14 – Fred Haise, American astronaut
• November 15 – Gloria Foster, African-American actress (d. 2001)
• November 16 – Guy Stockwell, American actor (d. 2002)
• November 19 – Larry King, American talk show host (d. 2021)
• November 21 – Henry Hartsfield, American colonel and astronaut (d. 2014)
• November 23 – Krzysztof Penderecki, Polish composer (d. 2020)
• November 25 – Kathryn Grant, American actress
• November 26 – Robert Goulet, American entertainer (d. 2007)
• November 28 – Hope Lange, American actress (d. 2003)
• November 29
  • John Mayall, English blues musician
  • Francisco Cuoco, Brazilian actor
  • James Rosenquist, American artist (d. 2017)

December

• December 1
  • Fujiko Fujio, Japanese cartoonist (d. 1996)
  • Lou Rawls, African-American singer (d. 2006)
• December 2 – Mike Larrabee, American Olympic athlete (d. 2003)
• December 3 – Paul J. Crutzen, Dutch chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2021)
• December 4 – Horst Buchholz, German actor (d. 2003)
• December 6 – Henryk Górecki, Polish composer (d. 2010)
• December 8 – Flip Wilson, African-American actor and comedian (d. 1998)
• December 9 – Milt Campbell, American decathlete (d. 2012)
• December 10 – Mako, Japanese-American actor (d. 2006)
• December 12 – Manu Dibango, Cameroonian saxophonist (d. 2020)
• December 13 – Lou Adler, American film and record producer
• December 14 – Justin Rakotoniaina, 3rd Prime Minister of Madagascar (d. 2001)
• December 15 – Tim Conway, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
• December 18 – Lonnie Brooks, American blues singer and guitarist (d. 2017)
• December 20 – Jean Carnahan, American politician
• December 22 – Abel Pacheco, 44th President of Costa Rica
• December 23 – Akihito, 125th Emperor of Japan
• December 25
  • Phan Văn Khải, 5th Prime Minister of Vietnam (d. 2018)
  • Joachim Meisner, German cardinal (d. 2017)
• December 26 – Caroll Spinney, American puppeteer, cartoonist, author and speaker (d. 2019)

January

• January 1 – Raúl Eduardo Vela Chiriboga, Ecuadorian cardinal (d. 2020)
• January 4
  • Hellmuth Karasek, German journalist, literary critic, and novelist (d. 2015)
  • Rudolf Schuster, 2nd President of Slovakia
• January 6 – Sylvia Syms, English actress
• January 7
  • Charles Jenkins, American athlete
  • Tassos Papadopoulos, Cypriot politician, 5th President of Cyprus (d. 2008)
• January 8
  • Jacques Anquetil, French racing cyclist (d. 1987)
  • Piet Dankert, Dutch politician (d. 2003)
  • Roy Kinnear, English actor (d. 1988)
• January 9 – Bart Starr, American football player and coach (d. 2019)
• January 10 – Leonid Kravchuk, 1st President of Ukraine (d. 2022)
• January 11
  • Jean Chrétien, 20th Prime Minister of Canada
  • Mitchell Ryan, American actor (d. 2022)
  • Sven Wollter, Swedish actor (d. 2020)
• January 14 – Richard Briers, English actor (d. 2013)
• January 16
  • Marilyn Horne, American mezzo-soprano
  • Vasily Lanovoy, Soviet and Russian actor (d. 2021)
• January 17 – Cedar Walton, American jazz pianist (d. 2013)
• January 18 – Raymond Briggs, British writer and illustrator (d. 2022)
• January 20 – Tom Baker, British actor
• January 21 – Ann Wedgeworth, American actress (d. 2017)
• January 22 – Bill Bixby, American actor, director (d. 1993)
• January 23 – Lou Antonio, American actor, director
• January 26 – Bob Uecker, American baseball player, sportscaster, comedian and actor
• January 27 – Édith Cresson, 89th Prime Minister of France
• January 28 – Mitr Chaibancha, Thai actor (d. 1970)
• January 29 – Noel Harrison, English singer, actor, and Olympic skier (d. 2013)
• January 30 – Tammy Grimes, American actress (d. 2016)
• January 31
  • Ernesto Brambilla, Italian motorcycle road racer (d. 2020)
  • James Franciscus, American actor (d. 1991)
  • Eva Mozes Kor, Romanian Holocaust survivor and author (d. 2019)