1952

1952 in various calendars
Gregorian calendar	1952; MCMLII
Ab urbe condita	2705
Armenian calendar	1401; ԹՎ ՌՆԱ
Assyrian calendar	6702
Baháʼí calendar	108–109
Balinese saka calendar	1873–1874
Bengali calendar	1359
Berber calendar	2902
British Regnal year	16 Geo. 6 – 1 Eliz. 2
Buddhist calendar	2496
Burmese calendar	1314
Byzantine calendar	7460–7461
Chinese calendar	辛卯年 (Metal Rabbit); 4649 or 4442; — to —; 壬辰年 (Water Dragon); 4650 or 4443
Coptic calendar	1668–1669
Discordian calendar	3118
Ethiopian calendar	1944–1945
Hebrew calendar	5712–5713
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	2008–2009
- Shaka Samvat	1873–1874
- Kali Yuga	5052–5053
Holocene calendar	11952
Igbo calendar	952–953
Iranian calendar	1330–1331
Islamic calendar	1371–1372
Japanese calendar	Shōwa 27; (昭和２７年)
Javanese calendar	1883–1884
Juche calendar	41
Julian calendar	Gregorian minus 13 days
Korean calendar	4285
Minguo calendar	ROC 41; 民國41年
Nanakshahi calendar	484
Thai solar calendar	2495
Tibetan calendar	阴金兔年; (female Iron-Rabbit); 2078 or 1697 or 925; — to —; 阳水龙年; (male Water-Dragon); 2079 or 1698 or 926

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	19th century; 20th century ; 21st century;
Decades:	1930s; 1940s; 1950s ; 1960s; 1970s;
Years:	1949; 1950; 1951; 1952 ; 1953; 1954; 1955;

From top to bottom, left to right: President Sukarno addressing protestors in front of the Merdeka Palace during the 17 October affair; supporters of the Bolivian National Revolution; a tsunami produced by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake in Russia that killed 2,336 people reaches Midway Atoll; The Catalina shot down by Soviet forces while searching for the missing Hugin; the 1952 Winter Olympics are held in Oslo, Norway; The leaders of the 1952 Egyptian Revolution; the signing of Reparations Agreement between Israel and the Federal Republic of Germany; Elizabeth II becomes monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

1952 Summer Olympic Games stamp — 1952 Summer Olympic Games

Events

January–February

January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
February 6
- Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the British Dominions: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon. The princess, who is on a visit to Kenya when she hears of the death of her father, King George VI, aged 56, takes the regnal name Elizabeth II.
- In the United States, a mechanical heart is used for the first time in a human patient.
February 14–25 – The Winter Olympics are held in Oslo, Norway.
February 15 – The State Funeral of King George VI of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the British Dominions and the last Emperor of India, takes place. George VI's coffin is brought in procession through London to Paddington Station where a royal train brought the King to Windsor, where his funeral and burial took place at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.
February 18 – Greece and Turkey join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
February 21 – In Dhaka, East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) police open fire on a procession of students, killing 4 people and starting a country-wide protest, which leads to the recognition of Bengali as one of the national languages of Pakistan. The day is later declared "International Mother Language Day" by UNESCO.
February 25 – The Parícutin active volcano in Michoacán, west central Mexico, ceases its discontinuous eruption after spewing forth a gigaton of lava, and burying San Juan Parangaricutiro.
February 26 – Vincent Massey is sworn in, becoming the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada.

March–April

March 10 – General Fulgencio Batista re-takes power in Cuba in a coup.
March 15–16 – 73 inches (1,870 mm) of rain falls in Cilaos, Réunion, the most rainfall in one day up to that time.
March 20 – The United States Senate ratifies a peace treaty with Japan.
March 21
- The last two executions in the Netherlands take place.
- Kwame Nkrumah is elected Prime Minister of the Gold Coast.
- Tornadoes ravage the lower Mississippi River Valley, leaving 208 dead, through March 22.
March 22 – Wernher von Braun publishes the first in his series of articles titled Man Will Conquer Space Soon!, including ideas for crewed flights to Mars and the Moon.
March 27
- Konrad Adenauer survives an assassination attempt.
- A legislative Assembly election is held in Coorg.
April 1
- Al Arabi was founded in Qatar
April 4
- In the Hague Tribunal, Israel demands reparations worth $3 billion from Germany.
- West Ice accidents: During a severe storm in the West Ice, east of Greenland, 78 seal hunters on 5 Norwegian seal hunting vessels vanish without a trace.
April 7 – The American Research Bureau reports that the I Love Lucy episode "The Marriage License" was the first TV show in history to be seen in around 10,000,000 homes, the evening the episode aired.
April 8 – Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer: The U.S. Supreme Court limits the power of the President to seize private business, after President Harry S. Truman nationalizes all steel mills in the United States, just before the 1952 steel strike begins.
April 9
- Hugo Ballivián's government is overthrown by the Bolivian National Revolution, which starts a period of agrarian reform, universal suffrage and the nationalization of tin mines.
- Santa Teresa Church tragedy: 50 people are trampled to death in the Basilica of St. Teresa, Caracas, Venezuela, after someone shouts "Fire!"; 40 people are arrested in connection with the crush.
April 11
- Battle of Nanri Island: The Republic of China seizes the island from the People's Republic of China.
- Bolivian National Revolution: Rebels take over Palacio Quemado.
April 18
- Bolivia National Revolution: A universal vote enables indigenous peoples and women to vote, nationalizes mines and enacts agrarian reform.
- West Germany and Japan form diplomatic relations.
April 26 – United States Navy aircraft carrier Wasp collides with destroyer Hobson while on exercises in the Atlantic Ocean, killing 175 men.
April 28 – The Treaty of San Francisco goes into effect, formally ending the war between Japan and the Allies, and simultaneously ending the occupation of the four main Japanese islands by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers.

May–June

May 1 – East Germany threatens to form its own army.
May 3 – U.S. lieutenant colonels Joseph O. Fletcher and William P. Benedict land a plane at the geographic North Pole.
May 6 – Farouk of Egypt has himself announced as a descendant of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.
May 13 – Pandit Nehru forms his first government in India.
May 15 – Diplomatic relations are established between Israel and Japan at the level of legations.
May 18 – Ann Davison becomes the first woman to single-handedly sail the Atlantic Ocean.
June 1
- The Roman Catholic Church bans the books of André Gide.
- Navigation opens on the Volga–Don Canal, connecting the Caspian Sea basin with that of the Black Sea.
June 10 – 1952 San Juan earthquake. A magnitude 6.8 earthquake kills 5 people on Argentina's San Juan Province.
June 13
- "Catalina affair": Soviet MiG-15 fighter planes shoot down a Swedish military Douglas C-47 Skytrain, carrying out signals intelligence gathering operations over the Baltic Sea, killing all 8 crew; three days later they shoot down a Catalina flying boat, searching for possible survivors.
- Polttoainehankinta, a secret Finnish Defence Forces operations order is approved.
June 14 – Myxomatosis is introduced to Europe, on the French estate of Paul-Félix Armand-Delille.
June 15 – Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl is published in English-language translation.
June 19 – The Special Forces (United States Army) are created.
June 26 – The Pan-Malayan Labour Party is founded in Malaya, as a union of statewide labour parties.
June 27 – Decree 900 in Guatemala orders the redistribution of uncultivated land.
June 28 – The First Miss Universe pageant is held. Armi Kuusela from Finland wins the title of Miss Universe 1952.

July–August

July 13 – East Germany announces the formation of its National People's Army.
July 19–August 3 – The 1952 Summer Olympics are held in Helsinki, Finland.
July 21 – The 7.3 M_w Kern County earthquake strikes California's southern Central Valley with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing 12 and injuring hundreds.
July 23
- The European Coal and Steel Community is established.
- General Mohammed Naguib leads The Free Officers (formed by Gamal Abdel Nasser – the real power behind the coup) in the overthrow of King Farouk of Egypt.
July 26
- King Farouk of Egypt abdicates in favour of Fuad II.
- Maria Eva Duarte De Peron known as "Evita" Argentina's first lady dies of cancer. The Argentine government's declaration of national mourning causes all business, entertainment, leisure, and work to a standstill.
August 5 – The Treaty of Taipei between Japan and the Republic of China goes into effect, to officially end the Second Sino-Japanese War.
August 11 – The Jordanian Parliament forces King Talal of Jordan to abdicate due to mental illness; he is succeeded by his son King Hussein.
August 12 – Night of the Murdered Poets: 13 Soviet Jewish poets are executed.
August 13 – Japan joins the IMF.
August 14 – West Germany joins the IMF and the World Bank.
August 16 – Lynmouth, North Devon, England is devastated by floods; 34 die.
August 18 – A 7.5 earthquake shakes the Tibet region leaving a balance of 54 fatalities.
August 22 – The most damaging aftershock of the 1952 Kern County earthquake sequence strikes with a moment magnitude of 5.8, and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). This event damages several hundred buildings in Bakersfield, California, with total additional losses of $10 million, with two associated deaths and some injuries.
August 26 – A British passenger jet makes a return crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in the same day.
August 27 – Reparation negotiations between West Germany and Israel end in Luxembourg: Germany will pay 3 billion Deutsche Marks.
August 29 – Composer John Cage's 4′33″, during which the performer does not play, premieres in Woodstock, New York.
August 30 – The last Finnish war reparations are sent to the Soviet Union.
August 31 – The Grenzlandring racetrack closes in Wegberg, Germany.

September–October

September 2 – C. Walton Lillehei and F. John Lewis perform the first open-heart surgery, at the University of Minnesota.
September 6 – The CBC in Montreal, Quebec, goes on air launching television in Canada.
September 10 – The European Parliamentary Assembly (from March 1962, the European Parliament) opens.
September 15 – The United Nations cedes Eritrea to Ethiopia.
September 18 – The Soviet Union vetoes Japan's application for membership in the United Nations.
September 30 – The Revised Standard Version of the Bible is published.
October 14 – The United Nations begins work in the new United Nations building in New York City, designed by Le Corbusier and Oscar Niemeyer.
October 17 – 17 October affair: Indonesian troops led by General Nasution surround the presidential palace, seeking the dismissal of the People's Representative Council; Sukarno avoids confrontation.
October 19 – Alain Bombard begins to sail from the Canary Islands to Barbados in 65 days; he reaches them December 23.
October 20 – Martial law is declared in Kenya, in the face of the Mau Mau uprising.
October 23 – The West German Federal Constitutional Court bans the Socialist Reich Party as unconstitutional for being a Nazi Party successor organization.

November–December

November 1 – Nuclear testing and Operation Ivy: The United States successfully detonates the first hydrogen bomb, codenamed "Mike", at Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific Ocean, with a yield of 10.4 megatons.

1952 — The explosion of the first hydrogen bomb.

November 4
- 1952 United States presidential election: Republican General Dwight D. Eisenhower defeats Democratic Governor of Illinois Adlai Stevenson (correctly predicted by the UNIVAC computer).
- Pace-Finletter MOU 1952: A Memorandum of understanding is signed between "...Air Force Secretary Finletter and Army Secretary Pace that established a fixed wing weight limit [for the Army] of five thousand pounds empty, but weight restrictions on helicopters were eliminated..."
November 5 – The 9.0 M_w Severo-Kurilsk earthquake hits the Kamchatka Peninsula of the Soviet Union with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). A tsunami took the lives of more than 2,300 people.
November 18 – Jomo Kenyatta is arrested in Kenya, for an alleged connection to the Mau Mau Uprising.
November 20
- The first official passenger flight over the North Pole is made, from Los Angeles to Copenhagen.
- The first successful sex reassignment surgery is performed in Copenhagen on Christine Jorgensen.
November 29 – Korean War: U.S. President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower fulfills a political campaign promise, by traveling to Korea to find out what can be done to end the conflict.
December 1 – Adolfo Ruiz Cortines takes office as President of Mexico.
December 10 – Albert Schweitzer is given the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize.
December 14 – The first successful surgical separation of Siamese twins is conducted in Mount Sinai Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio.
December 20 – The crash of a U.S. Air Force C-124 Globemaster at Moses Lake, WA kills 86 servicemen.
December 25 – One West German soldier is killed in a shooting incident in West Berlin.
December 26 – Joseph Ivor Linton, the first Israeli Minister Plenipotentiary in Japan, presents his credentials to the Emperor of Japan.

Date unknown

The Nordic Council agrees to the unrestricted transport of people, goods and services throughout the Nordic Countries.
Supramar launches the first commercial high-speed craft, a hydrofoil.
During the Mau Mau Uprising, the poisonous latex of the African milk bush is used to kill cattle, in an incident of Biological warfare.
Slavery in Qatar is abolished.

Births

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

January

January 1 – Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar
January 2 – Elvira Saadi, Soviet gymnast
January 3
- Esperanza Aguirre, Spanish politician
- Jim Ross, American wrestling announcer
January 7 – Sammo Hung, Hong Kong martial arts superstar, producer and director
January 9 – Marek Belka, 11th Prime Minister of Poland
January 12 – Walter Mosley, American author
January 14 – Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, 60th Prime Minister of Romania
January 15
- Boris Blank, Swiss musician
- Muhammad Wakkas, Bangladeshi teacher and parliamentarian
January 17 – Ryuichi Sakamoto, Japanese electronic musician, composer, producer and actor (Yellow Magic Orchestra) (d. 2023)
January 24 – Raymond Domenech, French football player, manager
January 25
- Sara Mandiano, French singer-songwriter
- Peter Tatchell, Australian-born British human rights activist
January 27
- Brian Gottfried, American tennis player
- Asma Jahangir, Pakistani human rights activist, lawyer (d. 2018)
January 29 – Klaus-Peter Hanisch, German footballer (d. 2009)
January 30 – Valery Khalilov, Russian military band conductor (d. 2016)

February

February 2 – Park Geun-hye, President of South Korea
February 4
- Abdalá Bucaram, 38th President of Ecuador
- Jenny Shipley, Prime Minister of New Zealand
February 7 – John Hickenlooper, American politician, 42nd Governor of Colorado
February 8 – Nora Miao, Hong Kong actress
February 10 – Lee Hsien Loong, 3rd Prime Minister of Singapore
February 12 – Simon MacCorkindale, English actor (d. 2010)
February 14 – Sushma Swaraj, Indian politician, at Ambala Cantonment, Haryana (d. 2019)
February 15
- Nikolai Sorokin, Soviet, Russian actor, theatre director (d. 2013)
- Tomislav Nikolić, 4th President of Serbia
February 16 – James Ingram, African-American R&B musician (d. 2019)
February 17 – Javier Urruticoechea, Spanish footballer (d. 2001)
February 18 – Juice Newton, American singer/songwriter
February 19
- Gary Seear, New Zealand rugby union player (d. 2018)
- Amy Tan, American novelist (The Joy Luck Club)
February 21
- Vitaly Churkin, Russian diplomat (d. 2017)
- Elisha Obed, Bahamian boxer (d. 2018)
February 22
- William Frist, U.S. Senator, heart surgeon
- Saufatu Sopoanga, 8th Prime Minister of Tuvalu (d. 2020)
February 25 – Joey Dunlop, Northern Irish motorcycle racer (d. 2000)

March

March 2 – Laraine Newman, American comedian (Saturday Night Live)
March 4 – Umberto Tozzi, Italian singer
March 7 – Viv Richards, West Indian cricketer
March 10 – Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwean politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (d. 2018)
March 11 – Douglas Adams, English author (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) (d. 2001)
March 13
- Ágnes Rapai, Hungarian writer
- Wolfgang Rihm, German composer
March 14 – Martin Dempsey, United States Army general
March 15 – Howard Devoto, British singer
March 16 – Alice Hoffman, American novelist
March 17 – Perla, Paraguayan-Brazilian singer
March 18 – Salome Zourabichvili, Georgian politician, 5th President of Georgia
March 19 – Harvey Weinstein, American film producer
March 23
- Kim Stanley Robinson, American author
- Rex Tillerson, United States Secretary of State
- Villano III, Mexican professional wrestler (d. 2018)
March 24 – Reinhard Genzel, German astrophysicist, Nobel Prize recipient
March 25
- Jung Chang, Chinese-born author, historian
- Antanas Mockus, Colombian mathematician, politician
March 26 – Didier Pironi, French racing driver (d. 1987)
March 27 – Maria Schneider, French actress (d. 2011)
March 28 – Keith Ashfield, Canadian politician (d. 2018)
March 29 –
- Teofilo Stevenson, Cuban boxer (d. 2012)
- Bola Tinubu, Nigerian politician, President of Nigeria
March 31 – Dermot Morgan, Irish actor and comedian (d. 1998)

April

April 1
- Annette O'Toole, American actress
- Bernard Stiegler, French philosopher (d. 2020)
April 2 – Lennart Fagerlund, Swedish cyclist
April 4
- Rosemarie Ackermann, German athlete
- Gary Moore, Northern Irish musician (d. 2011)
- Karen Magnussen, Canadian figure skater
April 6 – Marilu Henner, American actress (Taxi) and writer
April 7 – Nichita Danilov, Romanian writer
April 10 – Steven Seagal, American actor
April 11 – Qamar Zaman, Pakistani squash player
April 15 – Glenn Shadix, American voice actor (d. 2010)
April 16 – Billy West, American voice actor
April 17
- Joe Alaskey, American voice actor (d. 2016)
- Željko Ražnatović, Serbian mobster, paramilitary leader (d. 2000)
April 19 – Alexis Arguello, Nicaraguan boxer, politician (d. 2009)
April 21 – Cheryl Gillan, British politician (d. 2021)
April 23 – Jean-Dominique Bauby, French journalist and author (d. 1997)
April 24 – Jean-Paul Gaultier, French Haute couture, Prêt-à-Porter fashion designer
April 25
- Ketil Bjørnstad, Norwegian pianist
- Vladislav Tretiak, Russian ice hockey player
April 27 – George Gervin, American basketball player
April 28 – Mary McDonnell, American actress

May

May 1 – Mike Thornton, British politician
May 2 – Christine Baranski, American actress
May 3
- Leonid Khachiyan, Russian-born mathematician
- Allan Wells, Scottish athlete
May 4 – Michael Barrymore, British comedian, TV presenter
May 5 – Maria Catarina Sumarsih, Indonesian human rights activist, civil servant, and teacher
May 6 – Michael O'Hare, American actor (d. 2012)
May 10
- Roland Kaiser, German singer
- Manuel Mora Morales, Spanish director, writer
May 11
- Shohreh Aghdashloo, Iranian actress
- Frances Fisher, British-born American actress
- Renaud, French composer
May 12 – Christopher Gaze, British voice actor
May 13 – John Kasich, Governor of Ohio
May 14
- Robert Zemeckis, American film director (Back to the Future)
- David Byrne, Scottish singer-songwriter (Talking Heads)
May 15 – Chazz Palminteri, American actor
May 18 – George Strait, American country musician
May 19 – Bert van Marwijk, Dutch football manager
May 20 – Roger Milla, Cameroonian footballer
May 21 – Mr. T, African-American actor (The A-Team)
May 23 – Anne-Marie David, French singer, Eurovision Song Contest 1973 winner
May 24 – Sybil Danning, Austrian actress
May 31 – Carole Achache, French writer, photographer and actress (d. 2016)

June

June 4 – Bronisław Komorowski, President of Poland
June 6
- Marsha Blackburn, American politician and businesswoman
- Yukihiro Takahashi, Japanese drummer and singer (d. 2023)
June 7
- Hubert Auriol, French racing driver (d. 2021)
- Liam Neeson, Northern Irish actor (Schindler's List)
- Orhan Pamuk, Turkish writer, Nobel Prize winner
June 14 – Pat Summitt, American basketball coach (d. 2016)
June 16
- George Papandreou, Greek politician
- Gino Vannelli, Canadian singer, songwriter
June 17
- Sergio Marchionne, Italian-Canadian executive (d. 2018)
- Sarbjit Singh Chadha, Indian enka singer
June 18
- Idriss Déby Itno, President of Chad (d. 2021)
- Carol Kane, American actress
- Isabella Rossellini, Italian model, actress
June 20
- John Goodman, American actor
- Vikram Seth, Indian novelist
June 21
- Jeremy Coney, New Zealand cricket captain
- Marcella Detroit, American singer (Shakespears Sister)
June 22
- Franco Cucinotta, Italian professional footballer
- Graham Greene, Canadian actor
- Alastair Stewart, British newsreader
- Santokh Singh, Malaysian footballer
June 23 – Peter Whiteside, British modern pentathlete
June 24
- Ladislas Lozano, French-Spanish football coach, retired player
- Stephen Pusey, British-born artist
June 25
- Péter Erdő, Hungarian cardinal
- Tim Finn, New Zealand singer, songwriter
June 28 – Pietro Mennea, Italian athlete (d. 2013)
June 29 – Joe Johnson, English snooker player
June 30 – Stein Olav Hestad, Norwegian footballer

July

July 1
- Brian George, Israeli-English actor, voice artist, comedian and singer
- Dan Aykroyd, Canadian actor, comedian (Saturday Night Live)
- Dale Hayes, South African professional golfer
July 2
- Linda M. Godwin, American scientist
- Ahmed Ouyahia, Algerian politician
- Marco Piccinini, Monegasque sport personality, businessman, and politician
July 3
- Laura Branigan, American singer, actress ("Self Control") (d. 2004)
- Lu Colombo, Italian singer
- Andy Fraser, English musician (d. 2015)
- Rohinton Mistry, Indian writer
July 4
- Álvaro Uribe, President of Colombia
- John Waite, English singer, musician
July 6
- Adi Shamir, Israeli cryptographer
- Ani Yudhoyono, 6th First Lady of Indonesia (d. 2019)
- Kim Chul-soo, South Korean footballer
July 7
- Li Hongzhi, Chinese-American founder, spiritual leader of Falun Gong
- Alain Cortes, French modern pentathlete
July 8
- Ahmed Nazif, Prime Minister of Egypt
- Knud Arne Jürgensen, Danish music, theater and ballet historian
July 10
- Evelio Leonardia, Filipino politician
- Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, Indian politician
July 11 – Stephen Lang, American actor
July 12
- Irina Bokova, Bulgarian diplomat and civil servant
- Voja Antonić, Serbian inventor, writer
- Liz Mitchell, Jamaican-born singer (Boney M.)
July 13 – Ricardo Boechat, Argentine-Brazilian journalist, anchor and radio announcer (d. 2019)
July 15
- Yuriko Koike, Japanese politician (Governor of Tokyo)
- Terry O'Quinn, American actor
- Marky Ramone, American musician
July 16 – Stewart Copeland, American rock musician (The Police)
July 17 – David Hasselhoff, American actor (Knight Rider)
July 18 – Albert Camille Vital, Malagasy Army officer, politician and civil engineer
July 19 – Allen Collins, American rock musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 1990)
July 21 – Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, Malaysian Minister of Finance
July 24
- Kamrul Hasan Bhuiyan, Bangladeshi military officer, writer (d. 2018)
- Gus Van Sant, American film director
July 25 – Eduardo Souto de Moura, Portuguese Architect
July 26 – Hezi Leskali, Israeli poet and artist (d. 1994)
July 28 – Vajiralongkorn, King of Thailand (Rama X)
July 31 – João Barreiros, Portuguese author

August

August 1 – Zoran Đinđić, Serbian politician (d. 2003)
- Brian Patrick Clarke, American film actor
August 3 – Osvaldo Ardiles, Argentine footballer
August 4
- Estanislau da Silva, East Timorese politician
- Moya Brennan, Irish singer
August 5
- Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia
- Louis Walsh, Irish music producer, reality TV show judge
August 6 – Wojciech Fortuna, Polish ski jumper
August 8 – Jostein Gaarder, Norwegian author
August 12 – Charlie Whiting, British motorsports director (d. 2019)
August 14 – Jeanette Oppenheim, Danish lawyer and politician
August 16 – Reginald VelJohnson, American actor
August 17 – Guillermo Vilas, Argentine tennis player
August 18 – Patrick Swayze, American actor and dancer (d. 2009)
August 19 – Jonathan Frakes, American actor (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
August 21
- Joe Strummer, British rock musician (The Clash) (d. 2002)
- Jiří Paroubek, 6th Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
August 24 – Linton Kwesi Johnson, Jamaican-born musician, poet
August 25 – Charles M. Rice, American virologist, Nobel Prize recipient
August 26
- Bryon Baltimore, Canadian ice hockey player
- Michael Jeter, American film, stage, and television actor (d. 2003)
August 27 – Paul Reubens, American actor, writer and comedian (Pee-Wee Herman) (d. 2023)
August 28
- Rita Dove, American poet (1987 Pulitzer Prize, United States Poet Laureate 1993–95)
- Wendelin Wiedeking, German businessman
August 31
- Eli Gorenstein, Israeli actor, voice actor and cellist
- Hilary Farr, British-Canadian actress, designer

September

September 2
- Jimmy Connors, American tennis player
- Yuen Wah – Hong Kong martial actor
September 4 – Rishi Kapoor, Indian actor (d. 2020)
September 6 – Lucky Enam, Bangladeshi actress
September 8 – Patrick Prosser, Scottish computer scientist
September 10 – Paulo Betti, Brazilian actor
September 12
- Sergey Karaganov, Russian political scientist
- Neil Peart, Canadian rock drummer (Rush) (d. 2020)
September 16
- Karen Muir, South African swimmer (d. 2013)
- Fatos Nano, Albanian prime minister
- Mickey Rourke, American film actor, former boxer
September 17 – Harold Solomon, American tennis player
September 18 – Nile Rodgers, African-American musician, songwriter, composer, and guitarist
September 20 – Manuel Zelaya, President of Honduras
September 21 – Anneliese Michel, German Roman Catholic believed possessed by demons (d. 1976)
September 22 – Oliver Mtukudzi, Zimbabwean musician (d. 2019)
September 23 – Kim Duk-soo, Korean musician
September 25 – Christopher Reeve, American actor, activist (Superman) (d. 2004)
September 26 – Predrag Miletić, Serbian actor
September 27 – Didier Dubois, French mathematician
September 28 – Sylvia Kristel, Dutch actress (d. 2012)
September 30 – Jack Wild, English actor (H.R. Pufnstuf) (d. 2006)

October

October 5
- Clive Barker, British author
- Harold Faltermeyer, German musician
- Emomali Rahmon, President of Tajikistan
- Duncan Regehr, Canadian actor
October 6 – Matthew Sweeney, Irish poet (d. 2018)
October 7
- Ivo Gregurević, Croatian actor (d. 2019)
- Mary Badham, American actress
- Vladimir Putin, President of Russia
- Ludmilla Tourischeva, Soviet gymnast
- Ricky Phillips, American musician
October 9
- Sharon Osbourne, British actress, TV host and author
- Dennis Stratton, British musician
October 12 – Advent Bangun, Indonesian karateka, actor (d. 2018)
October 13 – John Lone, Hong Kong actor
October 14
- Kaija Saariaho, Finnish composer (d. 2023)
- Harry Anderson, American actor, comedian and magician (d. 2018)
- Nikolai Andrianov, Soviet gymnast (d. 2011)
- Rick Aviles, American actor and stand-up comedian (d. 1995)
October 18 – Chuck Lorre, American sitcom creator
October 19 – Verónica Castro, Mexican actress, entertainer
October 20 – Eliane Giardini, Brazilian actress
October 22 – Jeff Goldblum, American actor
October 23 – Steven Tandy, Australian stage, television and film actor
October 24 – David Weber, American science-fiction, fantasy author
October 26 – Andrew Motion, English poet
October 27
- Roberto Benigni, Italian actor, screenwriter, and film director
- Hazell Dean, British pop, dance musician
- Francis Fukuyama, American political scientist
- Topi Sorsakoski, Finnish singer
October 28 – Annie Potts, American actress

November

November 3
- David Ho, Taiwanese-American AIDS researcher
- Michael Shea, American child actor
- Roseanne Barr, American actress, comedian (Roseanne)
- Jim Cummings, American voice actor
November 4 – Jeff Lorber, American jazz keyboardist, composer and record producer
November 5
- Oleh Blokhin, Ukrainian football player and manager
- Brian Muehl, American puppeteer
- Bill Walton, American basketball player, commentator
November 6 – Michael Cunningham, American writer
November 7
- Geraldo Alckmin, Brazilian politician
- David Petraeus, American general
November 8
- Jan Raas, Dutch professional cyclist
- Alfre Woodard, African-American actress, producer and political activist
November 9 – Gladys Requena, Venezuelan politician
November 13 – Art Malik, Pakistani-born British actor
November 14 – Maggie Roswell, American actress
November 15 – Randy Savage, American professional wrestler (d. 2011)
November 16 – Shigeru Miyamoto, Japanese game designer
November 17
- Ties Kruize, Dutch field hockey player
- Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa
November 18
- Delroy Lindo, British actor
- John Parr, English singer, songwriter and guitarist
- León Zuleta, Colombian LGBT activist and writer
November 23 – Sharon O'Neill, New Zealand singer-songwriter and pianist
November 24 – Ilja Richter, German actor, voice actor, television presenter, singer and author
November 25 – Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan
November 28 – S. Epatha Merkerson, African-American actress (Law and Order)
November 29 – John D. Barrow, English cosmologist, theoretical physicist and mathematician (d. 2020)
November 30 – Mandy Patinkin, American actor and singer

December

December 1
- Rick Scott, American politician, 45th Governor of Florida, U.S. Senator (Florida)
- Pegi Young, American singer, songwriter, educator, and philanthropist (d. 2019)
December 3
- Bruno Jonas, German Kabarett artist, actor
- Mel Smith, British comedian (d. 2013)
- Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Malaysian politician
December 6
- Nicolas Bréhal, French novelist, literary critic
- Edward Etzel, American Olympic shooter
- Christian Kulik, Polish football player
December 8 – Khaw Boon Wan, Singaporean politician
December 9 – Michael Dorn, African-American actor (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
December 12
- Harbance Singh (Herb) Dhaliwal, Canadian politician
- Sarah Douglas, English actress
December 15
- Julie Taymor, American film, stage and opera director, costume designer
- Hwang Woo-suk, South Korean biomedical scientist
- Allan Simonsen, Danish footballer and coach
December 16 – Joel Garner, West Indian cricketer
December 20
- Jenny Agutter, English actress
- Faisal Al-Fayez, Prime Minister of Jordan
December 25 – Youssouf Ouédraogo, 6th Prime Minister of Burkina Faso (d. 2017)
December 26 – Riki Sorsa, Finnish singer (d. 2016)
December 27
- David Knopfler, British musician
- Tovah Feldshuh, American actress
December 28 – Arun Jaitley, Indian politician (d. 2019)
December 29 – Külliki Saldre, Estonian actress
December 30 – June Anderson, American soprano