1981

This article is about the year 1981. For other uses, see 1981 (disambiguation).

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	19th century – 20th century – 21st century
Decades:	1950s  1960s  1970s  – 1980s –  1990s  2000s  2010s
Years:	1978 1979 1980 – 1981 – 1982 1983 1984

1981 by topic:

Subject

Archaeology – Architecture – Art – Aviation – Awards – Comics – Film – Home video – Literature (Poetry) – Meteorology – Music (Country, Metal) – Rail transport – Radio – Science – Spaceflight – Sports – Television – Video gaming

By country

Australia – Canada – People's Republic of China – Ecuador – France – Germany – Greece – India – Ireland – Israel – Italy – Japan – Luxembourg – Malaysia – Mexico – New Zealand – Norway – Pakistan – Philippines – Singapore – South Africa– Soviet Union – UK – USA – Zimbabwe

Leaders

Sovereign states – State leaders – Religious leaders – Law

Birth and death categories

Births – Deaths

Establishments and disestablishments categories

Establishments – Disestablishments

Works and introductions categories

Works – Introductions

v · d · e

1981 in other calendars

Gregorian calendar	1981 MCMLXXXI
Ab urbe condita	2734
Armenian calendar	1430 ԹՎ ՌՆԼ
Assyrian calendar	6731
Bahá'í calendar	137 – 138
Bengali calendar	1388
Berber calendar	2931
British Regnal year	29 Eliz. 2 – 30 Eliz. 2
Buddhist calendar	2525
Burmese calendar	1343
Byzantine calendar	7489 – 7490
Chinese calendar	庚申年十一月廿六日 (4617/4677-11-26) — to — 辛酉年十二月初六日 (4618/4678-12-6)
Coptic calendar	1697 – 1698
Ethiopian calendar	1973 – 1974
Hebrew calendar	5741 – 5742
Hindu calendars
- Bikram Samwat	2037 – 2038
- Shaka Samvat	1903 – 1904
- Kali Yuga	5082 – 5083
Holocene calendar	11981
Iranian calendar	1359 – 1360
Islamic calendar	1401 – 1402
Japanese calendar	Shōwa 56 (昭和56年)
Korean calendar	4314
Minguo calendar	ROC 70 民國70年
Thai solar calendar	2524
Unix time	347155200 – 378691199
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1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar).

Events

January

Main article: January 1981

• January – The subterranean Sarawak Chamber is discovered in Borneo.
• January 1
  • Greece enters the European Community, which later becomes the European Union.
  • Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
• January 6 – The Brazilian double decker boat Novo Amapo capsizes in the Amazon River, Belem de Cajari, Macapa, Brazil; 230 are killed.
• January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán and Chalatenango departments.
• January 16 – Protestant gunmen shoot and wound Bernadette Devlin McAliskey and her husband.
• January 17 – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos lifts martial law.
• January 19 – United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity.
• January 20 – Iran releases the 52 Americans held for 444 days within minutes of Ronald Reagan succeeding Jimmy Carter as the President of the United States, ending the Iran hostage crisis.
• January 21 – The first DeLorean DMC-12 automobile, a stainless steel sports car with gull-wing doors, rolls off the production line in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland.
• January 23 – An earthquake of 6.8 magnitude in Sichuan, China kills 150.
• January 25
  • Chiang Ching ("Madame Mao") is sentenced to death in the People's Republic of China.
  • Super Bowl XV: The Oakland Raiders defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 27–10 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
• January 27 – The Indonesian passenger ship Tamponas 2 catches fire and capsizes in the Java Sea, killing 580.

February

Main article: February 1981

• February 4 – Gro Harlem Brundtland becomes Prime Minister of Norway.
• February 8 – 20 fans of Olympiacos and 1 fan of AEK Athens die, while 54 are injured, after a stampede at the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, possibly because gate 7 does not open immediately after the end of the game.
• February 9 – Polish Prime Minister Józef Pinkowski resigns and is replaced by General Wojciech Jaruzelski.
• February 14
  • Stardust fire: A fire at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, Dublin, Ireland in the early hours kills 48 and injures 214.
  • Australia withdraws recognition of the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia.
• February 23 – Antonio Tejero, with members of the Guardia Civil, enters the Spanish Congress of Deputies and stops the session where Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo is about to be named president of the government. The coup d'état fails thanks to King Juan Carlos.
• February 24 – A powerful, magnitude 6.7 earthquake hits Athens, killing 16 people, injuring thousands and destroying several buildings, mostly in Corinth and the nearby towns of Loutraki, Kiato and Xylokastro.

March

Main article: March 1981

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

April

Main article: April 1981

• April 1 – Daylight saving time is introduced in the Soviet Union.
• April 4 – The UK pop group Bucks Fizz wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 with the song, "Making Your Mind Up".
• April 11 – 1981 Brixton riot: Rioters in South London throw petrol bombs, attack police and loot shops.
• April 12 – The Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Columbia (John Young, Robert Crippen) launches on the STS-1 mission, returning to Earth on April 14. It is the first time a manned reusable spacecraft has returned from orbit.
• April 18
  • A Minor League Baseball game between the Rochester Red Wings and the Pawtucket Red Sox at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, becomes the longest professional baseball game in history: 8 hours and 25 minutes/33 innings (the 33rd inning is not played until June 23).
  • The rock band Yes splits up (regrouping in 1983).
• April 26 – French presidential election: A first-round runoff results between Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and François Mitterrand.

April 12: First Space Shuttle launch: Columbia, April 12, 1981.

May

Main article: May 1981

• May – Daniel K. Ludwig abandons the Jari project in the Amazon Basin.
• May 1 – The new Chilean pension system, based on private pension funds, begins.
• May 5 – Bobby Sands, Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer and elected member of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, dies aged 27 while on hunger strike in HM Prison Maze.
• May 6 – A jury of architects and sculptors unanimously selects Maya Lin's design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial from 1,421 other entries.
• May 13 – Pope John Paul II is shot and nearly killed by Mehmet Ali Ağca, a Turkish gunman, as he enters St. Peter's Square in Vatican City to address a general audience.
• May 15 – Donna Payant is murdered by serial killer Lemuel Smith, the first time a female prison officer has been killed on-duty in the United States.
• May 21 – In France, Socialist François Mitterrand becomes President.
• May 22 – Peter Sutcliffe is found guilty of being the Yorkshire Ripper. He is sentenced to life imprisonment on 13 counts of murder and 7 of attempted murder.
• May 25 – In Riyadh, the Gulf Cooperation Council is created between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
• May 26 – The Italian government resigns over its links to the fascist Masonic cell Propaganda Due.
• May 30 – Bangladesh President Ziaur Rahman is assassinated in Chittagong.

June

Main article: June 1981

• June 5 – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 5 homosexual men in Los Angeles, California have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems (the first recognized cases of AIDS).
• June 6 – Bihar train disaster: Seven coaches of an overcrowded passenger train fall off the tracks into the River Kosi in Bihar, India; about 800 die.
• June 7 – The Israeli Air Force destroys Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor.
• June 13 – At the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London, Marcus Sarjeant fires 6 blank shots at Elizabeth II.
• June 18 – The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States is founded.
• June 22 – Iranian president Abolhassan Banisadr is deposed.
• June 24 – Six young people in Yugoslavia first saw what they believed to be an apparition of The Virgin Mary.

July

Main article: July 1981

• July 2 – The Wonderland Gang is brutally murdered in a massacre involving Eddie Nash.
• July 3 – The Toxteth riots in Liverpool, UK start after a mob saves a youth from being arrested. Shortly afterward, the Chapeltown riots in Leeds start after increased racial tension.
• July 7 – President Ronald Reagan nominates the first woman, Sandra Day O'Connor, to the Supreme Court of the United States.
• July 8 – Irish Republican Joe McDonnell dies at the Long Kesh Internment Camp after a 61-day hunger strike.
• July 10 – Mahathir bin Mohamad becomes the 4th Prime Minister of Malaysia.
• July 16-July 21 – England become the first team this century to win a test match after following on when they beat Australia by 18 runs at Headingley cricket ground, Leeds, England.
• July 17
  • Hyatt Regency walkway collapse: Two skywalks filled with people at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri collapse into a crowded atrium lobby, killing 114.
  • Israeli aircraft bomb Beirut, destroying multi-story apartment blocks containing the offices of PLO associated groups, killing approximately 300 civilians and resulting in worldwide condemnation and a U.S. embargo on the export of aircraft to Israel.^[1]
  • In Bolivia, General Luis Gracia Meza leads a bloody coup d'état against the elected government of Lidia Gayler.
• July 19 – The 1981 Springbok Tour commences in New Zealand, amid controversy over the support of apartheid.
• July 21 – Tohui The Panda is born in Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City, the first panda to ever be born and survive in captivity outside of China.
• July 29 – A worldwide television audience of over 700 million people watched the Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral in London.

August

Main article: August 1981

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

September

Main article: September 1981

• September 4 – An explosion at a mine in Záluží, Czechoslovakia, kills 65 people.
• September 10 – Picasso's painting "Guernica" is moved from New York to Madrid.
• September 15 – The John Bull becomes the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world, at 150 years old, when it operates under its own power outside Washington, DC.
• September 17 – Ric Flair defeats Dusty Rhodes to win his first World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship in Kansas City.
• September 18 – France abolishes capital punishment.
• September 19 – Simon & Garfunkel perform The Concert in Central Park, a free concert in New York in front of approximately half a million people.
• September 20 – The Brazilian river boat Sobral Santos capsizes in the Amazon River, Óbidos, Brazil, killing at least 300.
• September 21 – Belize becomes independent.
• September 25
  • Sandra Day O'Connor takes her seat as the first female justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
  • The Rolling Stones begin their Tattoo You tour at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia.
• September 26
  • The Boeing 767 airliner makes its first flight.
  • The Sydney Tower opens to the public.
• September 27
  • TGV high speed rail service between Paris and Lyon, France begins.

October

Main article: October 1981

• October 5 – Raoul Wallenberg becomes posthumously honorary citizen of the United States
• October 6 – Egyptian president Anwar Sadat is assassinated during a parade by army members who belong to the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organization; they opposed his negotiations with Israel.
• October 10 – The Ministry for Education of Japan issues the jōyō kanji.
• October 14 – Vice President Hosni Mubarak is elected President of Egypt 1 week after Anwar Sadat's assassination.
• October 16 – Gas explosions at a coal mine at Hokutan, Yūbari, Hokkaidō, Japan kill 93.
• October 21 – Andreas Papandreou becomes Prime Minister of Greece.
• October 22 – The founding congress of the Nepal Workers and Peasants Organization faction led by Hareram Sharma and D. P. Singh begins.
• October 27 – Soviet submarine S-363 runs aground outside the Karlskrona, Sweden military base.
• October 28 – The thrash metal band Metallica forms in Los Angeles.

November

November 1: Antigua and Barbuda.

Main article: November 1981

• November 1 – Antigua and Barbuda gain independence from the United Kingdom.
• November 9 – Edict No. 81-234 abolishes slavery in Mauritania.
• November 12 – The Church of England General Synod votes to admit women to holy orders.
• November 16 – Luke and Laura marry on the U.S. soap opera General Hospital; it is the highest-rated hour in daytime television history.
• November 18 – COMDEX Fall, IBM introduces the IBM PC. Scientific Solutions announces the first PC add-in cards.
• November 23 – Iran-Contra scandal: U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs the top secret National Security Decision Directive 17 (NSDD-17), authorizing the Central Intelligence Agency to recruit and support Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
• November 25–November 26 – A group of mercenaries led by Mike Hoare take over Mahe airport in the Seychelles in a coup attempt. Most of the mercenaries escape by a commandeered Air India passenger jet; 6 are later arrested.
• November 30 – Cold War: In Geneva, representatives from the United States and the Soviet Union begin negotiating intermediate-range nuclear weapon reductions in Europe (the meetings end inconclusively on Thursday, December 17).

December

Main article: December 1981

• December 1 – A Yugoslavian McDonnell Douglas DC-9 crashes into a mountain while approaching Ajaccio Airport in Corsica, killing 178.
• December 4 – South Africa grants "homeland" Ciskei independence (not recognized outside South Africa).
• December 8
  • The No. 21 Mine explosion in Whitwell, Tennessee kills 13.
  • Arthur Scargill becomes President-elect of the National Union of Mineworkers.
• December 10 – During the Ministerial Session of the North Atlantic Council in Brussels, Spain signs the Protocol of Accession to NATO.
• December 11
  • Boxing: Muhammad Ali loses to Trevor Berbick; this proved to be Ali's last-ever fight.
  • El Mozote massacre: In El Salvador, army units kill 900 civilians.
• December 13 – Wojciech Jaruzelski declares martial law in Poland, to prevent the dismantling of the communist system by Solidarity.
• December 15 – A car bomb destroys the Iraqi Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 61 people; Syrian intelligence is blamed.
• December 17 – American Brigadier General James L. Dozier is kidnapped in Verona by the Italian Red Brigades.
• December 20 – The Penlee lifeboat disaster occurs off the coast of South-West Cornwall.
• December 21 – Preferential Trade Area for Eastern and Southern Africa (PTA).
• December 28 – The first American test-tube baby, Elizabeth Jordan Carr, is born in Norfolk, Virginia.
• December 31 – A coup d'état in Ghana removes President Hilla Limann's PNP government and replaces it with the PNDC led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings.

Date unknown

• Heavy snow causes many houses and buildings to collapse in northwestern Japan; 152 are killed (from January to March).
• The Millennium translation of Saint Edward the Martyr's relics from Wareham to Shaftesbury is observed in a reenactment.
• The State Council of the People's Republic of China lists the 4 cities (Beijing, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Guilin) as those where the protection of historical and cultural heritage, as well as natural scenery, should be treated as a priority project.
• Cuba suffers a major outbreak of Dengue fever, with 344,203 cases. ^[2]
• Luxor AB Presents the ABC 800 computer.

Births

January

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

February

• February 2 – Emily Rose, American actress
• February 3 – Alisa Reyes, American actress
• February 4 – Matchstik, American rapper, singer and song writer
• February 5
  • Nora Zehetner, American actress
  • Lee Eon, South Korean actor and model (d. 2008)
• February 8 – Ralf Little, English Actor
• February 9 – Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, American drummer (Avenged Sevenfold) (d. 2009)
• February 10
  • Natasha St-Pier, Canadian singer
  • Holly Willoughby, British television presenter
• February 11
  • Kelly Rowland, American singer (Destiny's Child)
  • Edoardo Molinari, Italian golfer
• February 14 – Erin Torpey, American actress
• February 15
  • Jenna Morasca, American television personality
  • Olivia, American singer
• February 17
  • Joseph Gordon-Levitt, American actor
  • Paris Hilton, American model, heiress, and socialite
• February 18
  • Andrei Kirilenko, Russian basketball player
  • Ivan Sproule, British footballer
• February 19 – Vitas, Russian singer
• February 20
  • Chris Thile, American mandolinist
  • Majandra Delfino, American actress
• February 22 – Jeanette Biedermann, German singer and actress
• February 23
  • Paleo, American singer-songwriter
  • Nakahara Mai, Japanese voice actress
• February 24 – Lleyton Hewitt, Australian tennis player
• February 25 – Ji-Sung Park, South Korean footballer
• February 26 – Maria Sansone, American journalist and Internet personality
• February 27 – Josh Groban, American singer

March

• March 1
  • Ana Hickmann, Brazilian model
  • Adam LaVorgna, American actor
  • Brad Winchester, American ice hockey player
• March 2
  • Bryce Howard, American actress
  • Lance Cade, American professional wrestler (d. 2010)
• March 3
  • Lil' Flip, American rapper
  • Shada Hassoun, Iraqi singer
• March 4 – Carol Banawa, Filipina singer
• March 6 – Ellen Muth, American actress
• March 9 – Antonio Bryant, American football player
• March 10
  • Kristen Maloney, American gymnast
  • Samuel Eto'o, Cameroonian footballer
• March 11
  • David Anders, American actor
  • Lee Evans, American football player
  • LeToya Luckett, American singer
• March 12
  • Katarina Srebotnik, Slovenian tennis player
  • Kenta Kobayashi, Japanese professional wrestler
• March 15 – Young Buck, American rapper
• March 16
  • Andrew Bree, Irish swimmer
  • Johannes Aigner, Austrian footballer
• March 17 – Kyle Korver, American basketball player
• March 18 – Fabian Cancellara, Swiss road bicycle racer
• March 19 – Kolo Touré, Ivorian football player
• March 22
  • MIMS, American rapper
  • Tiffany Dupont, American actress
• March 26 – Jay Sean, British-Indian singer
• March 27
  • Lin Jun Jie, Chinese Singer
  • Terry McFlynn, British footballer
• March 28
  • Lindsay Frimodt, American model
  • Julia Stiles, American actress
  • Gareth David-Lloyd, Welsh actor
• March 29 – Megan Hilty, American actress, singer, and broadway star
• March 31 – Gerard McCarthy, British actor

April

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

May

• May 1 – Alexander Hleb, Belarusian football player
• May 3
  • Farrah Franklin, American singer
  • U;Nee, South Korean singer and actress (d. 2007)
• May 4 – Jacques Rudolph, South African cricketer
• May 5
  • Craig David, English singer
  • Danielle Fishel, American actress
  • Danijel Nikolic, Serbian actor
• May 8 – Andrés Romero, Argentine golfer
• May 11
  • Lauren Jackson, Australian basketball player
  • Daisuke Matsui, Japanese football player
  • Dusán Mukics, Slovene journalist and reporter in Hungary
• May 12 – Kentaro Sato, Japanese composer
• May 13
  • Rebecka Liljeberg, Swedish actress
  • Sunny Leone, Canadian pornstar
  • Jimmy Wang Yang, Korean professional wrestler
• May 15
  • Patrice Evra, Senegalese-born French footballer
  • Zara Phillips, British elite equestrienne and daughter of Anne, Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips
  • Justin Morneau, Canadian baseball player
  • Jamie-Lynn Sigler, American actress
• May 18 – Adam Green, American singer-songwriter
• May 19
  • Bong Tae-gyu, South Korean actor
  • Klaas-Erik Zwering, Dutch swimmer
  • Georges St-Pierre, Canadian mixed martial arts fighter
• May 20
  • Sean Conlon, English musician
  • Lindsay Taylor, American basketball player
  • Iker Casillas, Spanish footballer
• May 21
  • Josh Hamilton, American baseball player
  • Anna Rogowska, Polish pole vaulter
• May 22
  • Bryan Danielson, American professional wrestler
  • Melissa Gregory, American figure skater
• May 26 – Isaac Slade, American singer/pianist of The Fray
• May 27 – Alina Cojocaru, Romanian ballerina
• May 28
  • Laura Bailey, American voice actress
  • Aaron Schock, American politician
• May 29
  • Andrei Arshavin, Russian football player
  • Brian Simnjanovski, American Football Player
• May 30 – Remy Ma, American rapper
• May 31 – Jake Peavy, American baseball player

June

• June 1
  • Carlos Zambrano, Venezuelan baseball player
  • Brandi Carlile, American singer and songwriter
• June 3 – Mike Adam, Canadian curler
• June 5 – Jade Goody, British reality show star (d. 2009)
• June 6 – Johnny Pacar, American actor
• June 7
  • Anna Kournikova, Russian tennis player
  • Larisa Oleynik, American actress
• June 8
  • Alex Band, American musician
  • Sara Watkins, American violinist
  • Ai Nonaka, Japanese voice actress
• June 9
  • Celina Jaitley, Indian actress
  • Natalie Portman, Israeli-born actress
  • Anoushka Shankar, British musician and daughter of Ravi Shankar
  • Vic Zhou, Taiwanese actor, singer, and model
• June 10
  • Hoku Ho, Hawaiian singer and musician
  • Burton O'Brien, Scottish footballer
• June 12 – Adriana Lima, Brazilian model
• June 13 – Chris Evans, American actor
• June 14 – Lonneke Engel, Dutch model
• June 15 – Haley Scarnato, American singer
• June 16
  • Ben Kweller, American musician
  • Joe Saunders, American baseball player
• June 17 – Amrita Rao, Indian actress
• June 18
  • Teresa Cormack, New Zealand murder victim (d. 1987)
  • Ella Chen, Taiwanese singer
• June 20 – Alisan Porter, American actress and singer
• June 21 – Brandon Flowers, American singer and keyboardist
• June 22 – Chris Urbanowicz, British guitarist
• June 25
  • Simon Ammann, Swiss ski jumper
  • Yūichi Komano, Japanese footballer
  • Sheridan Smith, English Actress
• June 28 – Mara Santangelo, Italian tennis player
• June 29 – Joe Johnson, American basketball player

July

• July 1 – Amanda Diva, American actress and rapper
• July 2
  • Alex Koroknay-Palicz, American activist
  • Paul Anthony Finn, Irish singer and songwriter (The Flaws)
• July 3 – Brandon Jay McLaren, Canadian actor
• July 5
  • Gianne Albertoni, Brazilian model
  • Ryan Hansen, American actor
• July 6 – Nnamdi Asomugha, American football player
• July 7 – Synyster Gates, American guitarist (Avenged Sevenfold)
• July 8
  • Anastasia Myskina, Russian tennis player
  • Ashley Blue, American pornographic actress
• July 13
  • Ágnes Kovács, Hungarian swimmer
  • Fran Kranz, American actor
• July 14 – Lee Mead, British actor
• July 19
  • Didz Hammond, bassist/backing vocalist (Dirty Pretty Things and The Cooper Temple Clause)
  • Nikki Osborne, Australian actress
• July 20
  • Damien Delaney, Irish footballer
  • Dayang Nurfaizah, Malaysian singer
• July 21 – Stefan Schumacher, German cyclist
• July 23
  • Steve Jocz, Canadian drummer (Sum 41)
  • Jarkko Nieminen, Finnish tennis player
• July 24 – Summer Glau, American actress (Firefly)
• July 25 – Jani Rita, Finnish ice hockey player
• July 26 – Maicon Douglas Sisenando, Brazilian footballer
• July 27 – Li Xiaopeng, Chinese gymnast
• July 29 – Fernando Alonso, Spanish Two Time Formula 1 World Champion
• July 31
  • M. Shadows, American singer (Avenged Sevenfold)
  • Eric Lively, American actor
  • Vernon Carey, American football player

August

• August 4 – Marques Houston, American singer and actor
• August 5
  • Carl Crawford, Major League Baseball outfielder
  • Rachel Scott, American murder victim (d. 1999)
  • Kō Shibasaki, Japanese singer and actress
  • Travie McCoy, American alternative hip-hop artist
• August 6 – Vitantonio Liuzzi, Italian race car driver
• August 8
  • Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player
  • Harel Skaat, Israeli singer
  • Meagan Good, American actress
  • Kaori Iida, Japanese singer and actress
• August 9 – Li Jiawei, Singaporean Olympic table tennis player
• August 10
  • Natsumi Abe, Japanese singer and actress
  • Taufik Hidayat, Indonesian badmington player
• August 11 – Sandi Thom, Scottish singer & song writer
• August 12
  • Djibril Cissé, French footballer
  • Steve Talley, American actor
• August 14 – Kofi Kingston, Ghanaian professional wrestler
• August 15 – Song Ji-hyo, South Korean actress
• August 16 – Taylor Rain, American actress
• August 20 – Benjamin Barnes, English actor (Prince Caspian)
• August 21 – Ross Thomas, American actor
• August 23 – Carmen Luvana, Puerto Rican adult actress
• August 24
  • Jiro Wang, Actor and Singer Fahrenheit (Taiwanese band)
  • Chad Michael Murray, American actor
• August 25
  • Rachel Bilson, American actress
  • Shiva Keshavan, Indian Luge Pilot
• August 28 – Charlie Frye, National Football League quarterback
• August 29 – Lanny Barbie, American pornstar

September

• September 1
  • Clinton Portis, American football player
  • Michael Adamthwaite, Canadian voice actor
• September 2 – Bracha van Doesburgh, Dutch actress
• September 3 – Fearne Cotton, British television presenter
• September 4
  • Jero, American-born Japanese enka singer
  • Beyoncé Knowles, American actress and R&B singer (Destiny's Child)
  • Lacey Mosley, American lead vocalist (Flyleaf)
• September 6 – Yumiko Cheng, Hong Kong singer
• September 8 – Jonathan Taylor Thomas, American actor
• September 9 – Julie Gonzalo, Argentinian actress
• September 10 – Marco Chiudinelli, Swiss tennis player
• September 11 – Dylan Klebold, American murderer (d. 1999)
• September 12
  • Jennifer Hudson, American singer and actress
  • Hosea Chanchez, American actor of The Game
• September 13
  • Angelina Love, Canadian professional Wrestler
• September 14
  • Ashley Roberts, singer The Pussycat Dolls
  • Miyavi, Japanese musician
• September 16
  • Alexis Bledel, American actress
  • Fan Bingbing, Chinese actress
• September 21 – Nicole Richie, American actress, singer and socialite
• September 22
  • Ashley Drane, American actress
  • Alexei Ramirez, Cuban baseball player
• September 23
  • Misti Traya, American actress
  • Natalie Horler, German singer Cascada
  • Robert Doornbos, Dutch race car driver
• September 25
  • Rocco Baldelli, American baseball player
  • Van Hansis, American actor
  • Shane Tutmarc, American singer-songwriter and front man of the band, Dolour
• September 26
  • Christina Milian, American R&B singer and actress
  • Serena Williams, American tennis player
• September 29 – Suzanne Shaw, British singer Hear'Say
• September 30
  • Cecelia Ahern, Irish author and daughter of Bertie Ahern, former Taoiseach
  • Dominique Moceanu, American gymnast

October

• October 3
  • Zlatan Ibrahimović, Swedish footballer
  • Amanda Walsh, Canadian actress
• October 5 – Enrico Fabris, Italian speed skater
• October 8
  • Raffi Torres, Canadian ice hockey player
  • Ruby, Egyptian singer
• October 9
  • Zachery Ty Bryan, American actor
  • Ryoichi Maeda, Japanese footballer
• October 11 – Beau Brady, Australian actor
• October 12 – Brian J. Smith, American actor
• October 13
  • Ryan Ashford, English footballer
  • Kele Okereke, English singer (Bloc Party)
• October 15
  • Elena Dementieva, Russian tennis player
  • Guo Jingjing, Chinese diver
• October 20
  • Willis McGahee, American football player
  • Stefan Nystrand, Swedish swimmer
• October 21 – Nemanja Vidić, Serbian fotball player
• October 22 – Michael Fishman, American actor
• October 23 – Olivier Occean, Canadian footballer
• October 24
  • Tila Tequila, Vietnamese American model and singer
  • Mallika Sherawat, Indian actress
• October 25
  • Shaun Wright-Phillips, English footballer
  • Austin Winkler, American lead vocalist (Hinder)
  • Hiroshi Aoyama, Japanese motorcycle road racer
• October 26 – Guy Sebastian, original Australian Idol 2003 singer
• October 28
  • Milan Baroš, Czech footballer
  • Dwayne Cameron, New Zealand actor
• October 29
  • Jonathan Brown, Australian rules footballer
  • Amanda Beard, American swimmer
• October 30
  • Ivanka Trump, American model
  • Shaun Sipos, Canadian actor
• October 31
  • Selina Ren, member of Taiwanese girl-group S.H.E
  • Irina Denezhkina, Russian writer
  • Frank Iero, American guitarist (My Chemical Romance)

November

• November 1 – LaTavia Roberson, American singer (Destiny's Child)
• November 2
  • Tatiana Totmianina, Russian figure skater
  • Katharine Isabelle, Candanian actress
• November 3
  • Blair Chenoweth, American beauty queen
  • Jackie Gayda, American professional wrestler
• November 4
  • Vince Wilfork, American football player
  • Paul Tucker Canadian comic-book artist
• November 6 – Cassie Bernall, American murder victim (d. 1999)
• November 7 – George Pilkington, English footballer
• November 8
  • Joe Cole, English footballer
  • Azura Skye, American actress
• November 10
  • Tony Blanco, Dominican baseball player
  • Jason Dunham, American Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2004)
  • Alison Waite, American model
• November 11
  • Natalie Glebova, Canadian beauty queen
  • Jyothika, Indian actress
  • Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg
  • Ross Phillips, British musician (Hard-Fi)
• November 13
  • Mark Cardona, Filipino basketball player
  • Shawn Yue, Hong Kong actor and singer
• November 14 – Russell Tovey, British actor
• November 15 – Lorena Ochoa, Mexican golfer
• November 17
  • Sarah Harding, British singer (Girls Aloud)
• November 18 – Gian Magdangal, Filipino singer and actor
• November 20 – Kimberley Walsh, British singer (Girls Aloud)
• November 21
  • Bryant McFadden, American football player
  • Ainārs Kovals, Latvian javelin thrower
• November 22
  • Ben Adams, British singer (a1)
  • Seweryn Gancarczyk, Polish footballer
• November 25
  • Xabi Alonso, Spanish footballer
  • Barbara Pierce Bush, daughter of U.S. President George W. Bush
  • Jenna Bush, daughter of U.S. President George W. Bush
• November 26
  • Natasha Bedingfield, British singer
  • Aurora Snow, American actress
• November 27 – Gary Lucy, British actor
• November 29 – Tom Hurndall, British photographer (d. 2004)

December

• December 1 – Kathryn Drysdale, English Actress
• December 2 – Britney Spears, American singer and entertainer
• December 3
  • David Villa, Spanish footballer
  • Brian Bonsall, American actor
  • Tyjuan Hagler, American football player
• December 4 – Lila McCann, American singer
• December 9 – Dia Mirza, Bollywood actress
• December 11
  • Zacky Vengeance, American guitarist (Avenged Sevenfold)
  • Javier Saviola, Argentine soccer player
  • Kevin Phillips (actor), American film actor
• December 12 – Spencer Johnson, NFL player
• December 13 – Amy Lee, American pianist/singer/songwriter (Evanescence)
• December 14 – Amber Chia, Malaysian model and actress
• December 15
  • Thomas Herrion, American football player (d. 2005)
  • Donal Coonan, UK presenter for Channel 4's webshow thisisaknife
  • Roman Pavlyuchenko, Russian Soccer player
• December 16 – Anna Sedokova, Ukrainian singer
• December 18 – Joshua Dallas, American actor
• December 21 – Cristian Zaccardo, Italian footballer
• December 24 – Dima Bilan, Russian pop-singer
• December 27
  • Emilie de Ravin, Australian actress
  • Yuvraj Singh, Indian cricketer
• December 28
  • Elizabeth Jordan Carr, first American test-tube baby
  • Sienna Miller, American-born actress
  • Khalid Boulahrouz, Dutch footballer
• December 29
  • Shizuka Arakawa, Japanese figure skater
  • Angela Via, American singer
• December 30
  • Kyle Eckel, National Football League player
  • Haley Paige, American porn actress (d. 2007)

Deaths

January–March

• January 1 – Mauri Rose, American race car champion (b. 1906)
• January 5
  • Harold C. Urey, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1893)
  • Lanza del Vasto, Italian-born philosopher, poet, and activist (b. 1901)
• January 6 – A. J. Cronin, Scottish novelist (b. 1896)
• January 8 – Matthew Beard, American actor (b. 1925)
• January 10
  • Katherine Alexander, American actress (b. 1898)
  • Richard Boone, American actor (b. 1917)
• January 11 – Beulah Bondi, American actress (b. 1888)
• January 13 – Robert Kellard, American actor (b. 1915)
• January 16 – Bernard Lee, English actor (b. 1908)
• January 21 – Allyn Joslyn, American actor (b. 1901)
• January 23 – Samuel Barber, American composer (b. 1910)
• January 25 – Adele Astaire, American actress (b. 1896)
• January 31 – Cozy Cole, American jazz drummer (b. 1909)
• February 1
  • Wanda Hendrix, American actress (b. 1928)
  • Geirr Tveitt, Norwegian composer (b. 1908)
  • Ernst Pepping, German composer (b. 1901)
• February 9 – Bill Haley, American musician (b. 1925)
• February 15 – Karl Richter, German conductor (b. 1926)
• February 17 – David Garnett, British writer (b. 1892)
• February 18 – John Knudsen Northrop, American airplane manufacturer (b. 1895)
• February 20 – Baron Nicolas de Gunzburg, French magazine editor and playboy (b. 1904)
• February 22 – Michael Maltese, American screenwriter (b. 1908)
• February 26
  • Howard Hanson, American composer (b. 1896)
  • Roger Tonge, British actor (b. 1946)
• February 27 – Jacob H. Gilbert, American politician (b. 1920)
• March 4 – Yip Harburg, American lyricist (b. 1896)
• March 6 – George Geary, English cricketer (b. 1893)
• March 7
  • Bosley Crowther, American film critic (b. 1905)
  • Kiril Kondrashin, Russian conductor (b. 1914)
  • Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling, American tennis champion (b. 1908)
• March 8 – Joseph Henry Woodger, British theoretical biologist (b. 1894)
• March 9 – Max Delbrück, German biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1906)
• March 15 – René Clair, French film director (b. 1898)
• March 20– Gerry Bertier, College Football Player (b. 1953)
• March 23 – Beatrice Tinsley, English astronomer (b. 1941)
• March 30
  • Sherman Edwards, American songwriter (b. 1919)
  • DeWitt Wallace, American magazine publisher (b. 1889)
• March 31 – Frank Tieri, American gangster (b. 1904)

April–June

• April 3 – Juan Trippe, Airline entrepreneur (b. 1899)
• April 5 – Maurice Zbriger, Canadian violinist, composer and conductor (b. 1896)
• April 7 – Norman Taurog, American film director (b. 1899)
• April 8 – Omar N. Bradley, 5 Star General US Army (b. 1893)
• April 12 – Joe Louis, American boxer (b. 1914)
• April 18 – James H. Schmitz, German-born writer (b. 1911)
• April 26
  • Jim Davis, American actor (b. 1909)
  • Madge Evans, American actress (b. 1909)
• April 27 – John Aspinwall Roosevelt, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1916)
• May 5 – Bobby Sands, Irish republican (hunger strike) (b. 1954)
• May 8 – Uri Zvi Grinberg, Israeli poet and journalist (b. 1896)
• May 9
  • Nelson Algren, American author (b. 1909)
  • Ralph Allen, English footballer (b. 1906)
  • Margaret Lindsay, American actress (b. 1910)
• May 11
  • Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
  • Bob Marley, Jamaican singer and musician (b. 1945)
• May 17 – Hugo Friedhofer, German-American film composer (b. 1901)
• May 18
  • Arthur O'Connell, American actor (b. 1908)
  • William Saroyan, American author (b. 1908)
• May 23 – George Jessel, American actor (b. 1898)
• May 24 – Jaime Roldós Aguilera, Ecuadorian President (since 1979) (b. 1940)
• May 25 – Rosa Ponselle, American soprano (b. 1897)
• May 28 – Mary Lou Williams, American jazz pianist (b. 1910)
• May 30 – Don Ashby, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1955)
• June 1 – Carl Vinson, U.S. Congressman (b. 1883)
• June 2 – Rino Gaetano, Italian singer-songwriter (b. 1950)
• June 9 – Allen Ludden, American television game show host (b. 1917)
• June 10
  • Jenny Maxwell, American actress (b. 1941)
  • Phelps Phelps, 38th Governor of American Samoa and United States Ambassador to the Dominican Republic (d. 1897)
• June 13 – George Walsh, American actor (b. 1889)
• June 17
  • Sir Richard O'Connor, English general (b. 1889)
  • Zerna Sharp, American writer and educator (b. 1889)
• June 18 – Pamela Hansford Johnson, English poet, novelist, playwright, literary and social critic (b. 1912)
• June 19
  • Anya Phillips, American co-founder of New York City's Mudd Club (b. 1955)
  • Lotte Reiniger, German-born silhouette animator (b. 1899)
• June 22 – Lola Lane, American actress and singer (b. 1906)
• June 23 – Zarah Leander, Swedish actress and singer (b. 1907)
• June 28 – Terry Fox, Canadian athlete and cancer activist (b. 1958)

July–September

• July 3 – Ross Martin, American actor (b. 1920)
• July 8 – Joe McDonnell, Irish political prisoner (b. 1951)
• July 10 – Ken Rex McElroy, American murder victim (b. 1934)
• July 16 – Harry Chapin, American singer and songwriter (b. 1942)
• July 27
  • Adam Walsh, American murder victim, inspired Code Adam (b. 1974)
  • William Wyler, American movie director (b. 1902)
• July 29 – Robert Moses, American urban planner (b. 1888)
• July 31 – Omar Torrijos, Panamanian leader (b. 1829)
• August 1 – Paddy Chayefsky, American screenwriter (b. 1923)
• August 2 – Delfo Cabrera, Argentine athlete (b. 1919)
• August 4 – Melvyn Douglas, American actor (b. 1901)
• August 14 – Karl Böhm, Austrian conductor (b. 1894)
• August 15 – Carol Ryrie Brink, American author (b. 1895)
• August 18 – Anita Loos, American screenwriter (b. 1888)
• August 19 – Jessie Matthews, English actress (b. 1907)
• August 27 – Valeri Kharlamov, Soviet ice hockey player (b. 1948)
• August 29 – Lowell Thomas, American writer (b. 1892)
• August 30 – Vera-Ellen, American actress and dancer (b. 1921)
• September 1
  • Ann Harding, American actress (b. 1901)
  • Albert Speer, German Nazi architect and war minister (b. 1905)
• September 2 – Enid Lyons, Australia politician (b. 1897)
• September 3 – Alec Waugh, British novelist (b. 1898)
• September 6 – Christy Brown, Irish author, poet, and artist (b. 1932)
• September 8 – Hideki Yukawa, Japanese physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
• September 9 – Sir Robert (Bob) Askin, Premier of New South Wales (b. 1907)
• September 11 – Frank McHugh, American actor (b. 1898)
• September 12 – Eugenio Montale, Italian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1896)
• September 15
  • Rafael Méndez, Mexican-born trumpet virtuoso (b. 1906)
  • Harold Bennett, British actor (b. 1899)
• September 21 – Nigel Patrick, English actor (b. 1913)
• September 22 – Harry Warren, American songwriter (b. 1893)
• September 23 – Dan George, First Nations actor (b. 1899)
• September 24 – Patsy Kelly, American actress (b. 1910)
• September 27 – Robert Montgomery, American actor (b. 1904)
• September 28
  • Sir Edward Boyle, Baron Boyle of Handsworth, British Conservative cabinet minister (b. 1923)
  • Rómulo Betancourt, Venezuelan president (b. 1908)
• September 29 – Bill Shankly, British football manager (b. 1914)

October–December

• October 2
  • Harry Golden, American journalist (b. 1902)
  • Hazel Scott, American jazz singer and pianist (b. 1920)
• October 5 – Gloria Grahame, American actress (b. 1923)
• October 6 – Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1918)
• October 13 – Nils Asther, Danish-born actor (b. 1897)
• October 16
  • Stanley Clements, American actor (b. 1926)
  • Moshe Dayan, Israeli general (b. 1915)
• October 20 – Mary Coyle Chase, American playwright (b. 1906)
• October 23 – Reg Butler, English sculptor (b. 1913)
• October 24 – Edith Head, American costume designer (b. 1897)
• October 29 – Georges Brassens, French singer and songwriter (b. 1921)
• November 3 – Jean Eustache, French film director (b. 1938)
• November 7 – Will Durant, American philosopher and writer (b. 1885)
• November 10 – Abel Gance, French film director (b. 1889)
• November 14 – Robert Bradford, Northern Irish footballer and politician (b. 1941)
• November 15
  • Enid Markey, American actress (b. 1894)
  • Khawar Rizvi, Pakistani Poet and Scholar(b. 1938)
• November 16 – William Holden, American actor (b. 1918)
• November 21 – Harry von Zell, American actor (b. 1906)
• November 22 – Hans Adolf Krebs, German physician and biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1900)
• November 25 – Jack Albertson, American actor (b. 1907)
• November 27 – Lotte Lenya, Austrian singer and actress (b. 1898)
• November 29 – Natalie Wood, American actress (b. 1938)
• December 3 – Walter Knott, American farmer and theme park creator (b. 1889)
• December 15
  • Catherine T. MacArthur, American philanthropist (b. 1909)
  • Karl Struss, American cinematographer (b. 1886)
• December 23 – Reginald Miles Ansett, Australian businessman and aviator (b. 1909)
• December 27 – Hoagy Carmichael, American jazz composer (b. 1899)
• December 28 – Allan Dwan, Canadian-born film director (b. 1885)
• December 30 – Alfie Anido, Filipino actor (b. 1959)

Nobel Prizes

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

Templeton Prize

• Dame Cicely Saunders

References

1. ^ "The Bombing of Beirut". Journal of Palestine Studies 11 (1): 218–225. 1981. doi:10.1525/jps.1981.11.1.00p0366x. 
2. ^ http://w3.whosea.org/en/Section10/Section332/Section521_2454.htm

• Protocol of Accession