Events of 1949

January

• January 2 - Luis Muñoz Marín becomes the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico.
• January 4 - RMS Caronia of the Cunard Line departs Southampton for New York on her maiden voyage.
• January 4 - February 22 - Series of winter storms in Nebraska, Wyoming, South Dakota, Utah, Colorado and Nevada - winds of up to 72 mph - tens of thousands of cattle and sheep perish.
• January 5 - U.S. President Harry S. Truman unveils his Fair Deal program.
• January 11 - Los Angeles, California receives its first recorded snowfall.
• January 11 - KDKA-TV, Becomes the first local, on-air television station.
• January 17 - The first Volkswagen Beetle to arrive in the United States, a 1948 model, is brought over to New York by Dutch businessman Ben Pon. Unable to interest dealers or importers in the Volkswagen, Pon sells the sample car to pay his travel expenses. Only two 1949 models will be sold in America that year, convincing Volkswagen chairman Heinrich Nordhoff that the car has no future in the U.S. (The VW Beetle goes on to become the greatest automobile phenomenon in American history.)
• January 19 - First recorded date of The Poe Toaster to appear at the grave of Edgar Allan Poe
• January 20 - U.S. President Harry S. Truman begins his full term.

• December 8 - The government of Republic of China finish their evacuation to Taiwan.
• December 10- Robert Gordon (Bob) Menzies elected.
• December 14 - Traicho Kostov, ex-vice prime minister of Bulgaria, is sentenced to death.
• December 15 - Typhoon strikes fishing fleet off Korea - several thousand reported dead.
• December 16 - Sukarno elected president of Republic of Indonesia.
• December 17 - Burma recognizes People's Republic of China.
• December 27 - Queen Juliana of the Netherlands grants Indonesia sovereignty.
• December 30 - India recognizes People's Republic of China.

Undated

• Pamir is the last commercial sailing ship to sail round Cape Horn.
• The Malta Labour Party is founded.
• The Vatican announces that bones uncovered in its subterranean catacombs could be the apostle Peter: 19 years later, Pope Paul VI announces confirmation that the bones belonged to this first saint.
• The first 20mm M61 Vulcan Gatling gun prototypes are completed.
• Samuel Putnam publishes his new translation of Don Quixote, the first in what we would consider modern English. It is instantly acclaimed and, in 2007, is still in print.

Ongoing

• Marshall Plan
• First Indochina War

Births

January-February

• January 2 - Christopher Durang, American playwright
• January 3 - Sylvia Likens, American murder victim (d. 1965)
• January 7 - Steven Williams, American actor
• January 7 - Chavo Guerrero, American wrestler.
• January 8 - Wolfgang Puck, Austrian chef
• January 10
• George Foreman, American boxer
• James Lapine, American stage director and librettist
• Linda Lovelace, American actress (d. 2002)
• January 11 - Kalev Ots, Estonian statesman
• January 12
• Haruki Murakami, Japanese author
• Michael W. Vannier, American radiologist
• Wayne Wang, Hong Kong-born film director
• January 13 - Brandon Tartikoff, American television executive (d. 1997)
• January 14
• Nadezhda Ilyina, Soviet athlete
• Lawrence Kasdan, American director and screenwriter
• Mary Robison, American writer
• January 17 - Andy Kaufman, American comedian (d. 1984)
• January 18 - Philippe Starck, French designer
• January 19
• Robert Palmer, English musician (d. 2003)
• Dennis Taylor, Irish snooker player
• January 20 - Göran Persson, former Prime Minister of Sweden
• January 22 - Steve Perry, former lead singer of Journey. From 1978 to 1998.
• January 24 - John Belushi, American actor (d. 1982)
• January 28 - Gregg Popovich, American basketball coach
• January 30 - Peter Agre, American biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• January 31 - Johan Derksen, Dutch footballer and sports journalist
• January 31 - Ken Wilber, American philosopher
• February 2 - Brent Spiner, American actor, Duncan Bannatyne, Entrepreneur
• February 3 - Hennie Kuiper, Dutch cyclist
• February 9 - Jim Sheridan, Irish film director
• February 10
• Michael Weiss, jazz pianist and composer
• Maxime Le Forestier, French singer
• Harold Sylvester, American actor
• February 15 - Ken Anderson, NFL player
• February 16 - Lyn Paul, English female singer
• February 17 - Dennis Green, American football coach
• February 18 - Gary Ridgway, American serial killer
• February 19 - Dan Bunten, American computer game designer (d. 1998)
• February 21 - Jerry Harrison, guitarist/keyboardist for Talking Heads.
• February 21 - Ronnie Hellström, Swedish footballer
• February 22 - Niki Lauda, Austrian race car driver
• February 25 - Ric Flair, American professional wrestler

March-April

• March 2
• Gates McFadden, American actress
• Eddie Money, American singer (or March 21)
• JPR Williams, Welsh rugby player
• March 3 - Jesse Jefferson, baseball player
• March 6
• Shaukat Aziz, Prime Minister of Pakistan
• Martin Buchan, Scottish footballer
• March 7 - Ghulam Nabi Azad, Indian politician
• March 9 - Tapani Kansa, Finnish singer
• March 10 - Larry Wall, American computer programmer
• March 12
• Bill Payne, American musician (Little Feat)
• Natalia Kuchinskaya, Soviet gymnast
• March 13 - Julia Migenes, American soprano
• March 14 - Michael Stedman, British World War I Historian and Author
• March 16
• Erik Estrada, Puerto Rican actor
• Victor Garber, Canadian actor
• March 17
• Patrick Duffy, American actor
• Pat Rice, Irish footballer and football manager
• March 18 - Alex Higgins, Irish snooker player
• March 21 - Eddie Money, American singer
• March 22 - Fanny Ardant, French actress
• March 23 - Ric Ocasek, American musician (The Cars)
• March 24 - Nick Lowe, English musician
• March 26 - Patrick Süskind, German writer
• March 29 - Michael Brecker, American jazz musician (d. 2007)
• March 30
• Marcia Ball, American musician
• Lene Lovich, American singer
• Naomi Sims, American model and businesswoman
• Elijah Harper, Canadian Aboriginal activist
• April 1 The Reserve Bank of India is established.
• Gérard Mestrallet, French businessman
• Sammy Nelson, Irish footballer
• Gil Scott-Heron, American musician and composer
• April 3 - Richard Thompson, English musician and songwriter
• April 6 - Horst Ludwig Störmer, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
• April 14 - John Shea, American actor
• April 15 - Alla Pugacheva, Russian musical performer
• April 15 - Aleksandra Ziolkowska-Boehm, Polish born writer
• April 16 - Sandy Hawley, Canadian jockey
• April 18 - Geoff Bodine, American race car driver
• April 21 - Patti Lupone. American actress
• April 24 - Veronique Sanson, French singer and songwriter
• April 28 - Bruno Kirby, American actor (d. 2006)

May-June

• May 2 - Alan Titchmarsh, English gardener
• May 4 - John Force, American race car driver
• May 9 - Billy Joel, American musician
• May 13 - Zoë Wanamaker, English-American actress
• May 18
• Rick Wakeman, English musician and songwriter (Yes)
• Bill Wallace, Canadian musician (The Guess Who)
• May 19
• Enrique Aguirre, gynecologist who discovered cervical cancer
• Archie Manning, American football player
• May 20 - Dave Thomas, Canadian actor and comedian
• May 24 - Tomaž Pisanski, Slovenian mathematician
• May 25 - Prahladananda Swami, ISKCON religious leader
• May 26
• Philip Michael Thomas, American actor
• Hank Williams Jr., American singer
• May 29 - Francis Rossi English guitist/singer (Status Quo)
• May 31 - Tom Berenger, American actor
• June 2 - Heather Couper, British astronomer
• June 4 - Mark B. Cohen, Pennsylvania legislative leader
• June 8 - Emanuel Ax, Polish-born pianist
• June 11 - Benjamin Vasserman, Estonian artist
• June 13 - Ann Druyan, American writer
• June 14
• Jimmy Lea, English musician (Slade)
• Harry Turtledove, American historian and novelist
• June 15 - Jim Varney, American actor (d. 2000)
• June 17 - Andrei Fursenko, Russian politician, scientist and businessman
• June 18
• Chris Van Allsburg, American author and illustrator
• Lech Kaczyński, President of Poland
• Jarosław Kaczyński, Polish Prime Minister
• Prince Lincoln Thompson, Jamaican musician (d. 1999)
• June 21
• John Agard, British writer
• Jane Urquhart, Canadian author
• June 22 - Meryl Streep, American Actress
• June 27 - Vera Wang, American fashion designer

July-August

• July 2
• David Eaton, American Composer/Conductor/Producer
• July 3
• Jan Smithers, American actress
• Johnnie Wilder, Jr., American R&B singer (Heatwave) (d. 2006)
• July 7 - Shelley Duvall, American actress
• July 11 - Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
• July 11 - Émerson Leão, Brazilian footballer
• July 15
• Carl Bildt, Prime Minister of Sweden
• Trevor Horn, British singer and producer
• July 16 - Dennis Young, American Skier
• July 17 - Charlie Steiner, American sportscaster
• July 22 - Alan Menken, American composer
• July 26 - Roger Taylor, English musician (Queen)
• August 4 - John Riggins, American football player
• August 6 - Alan Campbell, Northern Irish clergyman
• August 7 - Walid Jumblatt, leader of the Lebanese Druze
• August 12 - Mark Knopfler, British guitarist (Dire Straits)
• August 15 - Richard Deacon, Welsh sculptor.
• August 15 - Beverly Lynn Burns, first woman in the world to captain the boeing 747.
• August 20 - Philip Lynott, Irish musician (Thin Lizzy) (d. 1986)
• August 22 - Alfred Musema, Rwandan businessperson and geocidaire
• August 23
• Shelley Long, American actress
• Rick Springfield, Australian singer and actor
• August 25
• Martin Amis, English novelist
• Gene Simmons, American musician (Kiss)
• August 27 - Jeff Cook, vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass, fiddle, banjo, and mandolin for Alabama
• August 28 - Svetislav Pešić, Serbian basketball player and coach
• August 31
• Richard Gere, American actor
• H. David Politzer, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

September-October

• September 1 - P.A. Sangma, Indian politician
• September 3 - Patriarch Peter VII of Alexandria (d. 2004)
• September 7
• Lee McGeorge Durrell, American author, television presenter, and zookeeper
• Gloria Gaynor, American singer
• September 9
• Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Current President of Indonesia.
• Joe Theismann, American football player
• September 13 - John Henry, American foreign exchange advisor, Boston Red Sox owner
• September 14
• Fred "Sonic" Smith, American guitarist
• Eikichi Yazawa, Japanese singer
• September 15 - Joe Barton, American politician
• September 17 - Cassandra Peterson, American actress
• September 18
• Mo Mowlam, British politician (d. 2005)
• Peter Shilton, English goalkeeper
• September 19 - Twiggy Lawson, English model
• September 23 - Bruce Springsteen, American singer and songwriter
• September 24 - Pedro Almodóvar, Spanish filmmaker
• September 26 - Jane Smiley, American novelist
• September 27 - Mike Schmidt, baseball player
• October 1 - Isaac Bonewits, American author and occultist
• October 4 - Armand Assante, American actor
• October 7 - Ronnie Mund, American television personality
• October 8 - Sigourney Weaver, American actress
• October 12
• Carlos the jackal, Venezuelan-born mercenary
• Stan Hansen, American professional wrestler
• October 14
• Katy Manning, British actress
• Katha Pollitt, American writer
• October 20 - Valeri Borzov, Ukrainian athlete
• October 21 - Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel
• October 22
• Stiv Bators, American musician (The Dead Boys) (d. 1990)
• Arsene Wenger, French football (soccer) manager
• October 26 - Antonio Carpio, Filipino Supreme Court jurist

November-December

• November 2 - Simon Augustini, Albanian politician
• November 3 - Larry Holmes, American World Heavyweight Boxing Champion
• November 5
• Armin Shimerman, American actor
• Jimmie Spheeris, American singer-songwriter (d. 1984)
• November 6 - Nigel Havers, British Actor
• November 7
• Aiswarya, Queen of Nepal (d. 2001)
• Judi Bari, American environmental activist (d. 1997)
• November 19 - Ahmad Rashad, American sports host and commentator
• November 15 - David Rubinstein, American pianist and composer
• November 24 - Nicholas Richard Ainger, British politician
• November 25 - Kerry James O'Keeffe, Australian cricketer and commentator
• November 26 - Juanin Clay, American actress (d. 1995)
• Shlomo Artzi, Israeli singer
• November 28
• Alexander Godunov, Russian-born dancer and actor (d. 1995)
• Paul Shaffer, Canadian-American musician
• November 29
• Jerry Lawler, American professional wrestler and commentator
• Stan Rogers, Canadian musician (d. 1983)
• Garry Shandling, American comedian

• December 1 - Kurt Schmoke, Dean, Howard Law School, Mayor of Baltimore
• December 3 - John Akii-Bua, Ugandan hurdler (d. 1997)
• December 4
• Jeff Bridges, American actor
• Pamela Stephenson, New Zealand-born comedienne, actress, and singer
• December 7 - Tom Waits, American singer, composer, and actor
• December 8 - Mary Gordon, American writer
• December 11 - Teri Garr, American actress
• December 12 - Rajinikanth, Indian actor
• December 13
• Robert Lindsay, English actor
• Randy Owen, lead vocals, rhythm guitar for Alabama
• Tom Verlaine, American singer/guitarist of Television
• December 14 - Bill Buckner, baseball player
• December 15 - Don Johnson, American actor
• December 16 - Billy Gibbons, American guitarist (ZZ Top)
• December 17 - Paul Rodgers, British singer (Free)
• December 19 - Sebastian, Danish musician
• December 22
• Maurice Gibb, British musician (The Bee Gees) (d. 2003)
• Robin Gibb, British musician (The Bee Gees)
• December 24 - Randy Neugebauer, American politician
• December 25
• Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira, Brazilian singer
• Sissy Spacek, American actress
• Joe Louis Walker, American musician
• December 26 - José Ramos-Horta, President of East Timor, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
• unknown date - Brian Calvin Hartnell, Zodiac killer survivor
• unknown date - Suthep Po-ngam, Thai comedian, actor, film director and screenwriter.
• unknown date - Mu Tiezhu, Chinese basketball player and coach (d.2008)

Deaths

• See also 1949 deaths

January-June

• January 6 - Victor Fleming, American director (b. 1883)
• January 11 - Nelson Doubleday, American publisher (b. 1889)
• January 14 - Joaquín Turina, Spanish composer (b. 1882)
• January 28 - Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (b. 1908)
• February 12 - Imam Hassan al Banna, Egyptian founder of the Muslim Brotherhood (b. 1906)
• February 21 - Tan Malaka, Indonesian nationalist activist and communist leader (b. 1894)
• March 25 - Jack Kapp, president of US branch of Decca Records (b. 1901)
• March 28 - Grigoraş Dinicu, Romanian composer (b. 1889)
• March 30
• Friedrich Bergius, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1884)
• Prince Harald of Denmark (b. 1876)
• April 18 - Will Hay, English comedian and actor (b. 1888)
• April 19 - Ulrich Salchow, Swedish figure skater (b. 1877)
• April 28 - Aurora Quezon, First Lady of the Philippines (shot) (b. 1888)
• May 6 - Maurice Maeterlinck, Belgian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
• May 9 - Louis II, Prince of Monaco (b. 1870)
• May 22
• James Forrestal, U.S. Secretary of Navy and Defense (suicide) (b. 1892)
• Klaus Mann, German writer (suicide) (b. 1906)
• May 27 - Robert Ripley the creator of the famous Ripley's Believe It or Not! dies.
• June 10 - Sigrid Undset, Norwegian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1882)
• June 14 - Russell Doubleday, American author and publisher (b. 1872)
• June 19 - Syed Zafarul Hasan, Prominent Indian/Pakistani Muslim philosopher (b. 1885)
• June 25 - Buck Freeman, baseball player (b. 1871)

July-December

• July 9 - Fritz Bennicke Hart, English-born composer (b. 1874)
• July 12 - Douglas Hyde, first President of Ireland (b. 1860)
• July 18 - Vítězslav Novák, Czech composer (b. 1870)
• August 16 - Margaret Mitchell, American writer (b. 1900)
• August 17 - Gregorio Perfecto, Filipino jurist & politician (b. 1891)
• August 18 - Paul Mares, American musician (b. 1900)
• August 30 - Arthur Fielder, English cricketer (b. 1877)
• September 8 - Richard Strauss, German composer (b. 1864)
• September 13 - August Krogh, Danish zoophysiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1874)
• September 14 - Gottfried Graf von Bismarck-Schönhausen, German Resistance figure (b. 1901)
• September 19
• Will Cuppy, American humorist (b. 1884)
• George Shiels, Irish writer (b. 1886)
• Nikolaos Skalkottas, Greek composer (b. 1901)
• October 27
• Marcel Cerdan, French boxer (plane crash) (b. 1916)
• Ginette Neveu, French violinist (plane crash) (b. 1919)
• November - Maria Josepha Sophia de Iturbide, head of Imperial House of Mexico (b. 1872)
• November 2 - Jerome F. Donovan, American politician (b. 1872)
• November 5 - Abdolhossein Hazhir, Prime Minister of Iran (b. 1899)
• December 6 - Leadbelly, American musician (b. 1888)
• December 11 - Krishna Chandra Bhattacharya, Indian philosopher (b. 1875)
• December 16 - Sidney Olcott, Canadian film director (b. 1873)
• December 28 - Hervey Allen, American author (b. 1889)
• December 28 - Jack Lovelock, New Zealand athlete (b. 1910)

Nobel prizes

• Physics - Yukawa Hideki
• Chemistry - William Francis Giauque
• Medicine - Walter Rudolf Hess, Antonio Caetano De Abreu Freire Egas Moniz
• Literature - William Faulkner
• Peace - John Boyd Orr

Notes

External links

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