1978

Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar).

Events of 1978

January

January 1 - The Copyright Act of 1976 takes effect, making sweeping changes to United States copyright law.
January 1 - Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes into the ocean near Bombay, killing 213.
January 4 - A referendum in Chile supports the policies of Augusto Pinochet.
January 6 - The Hungarian Holy Crown (also known as Stephen of Hungary Crown) is returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held since World War II.
January 7 - Emilio Palma is born in Antarctica, making his birth the southernmost in history.
January 10 - Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, a critic of the Nicaraguan government, is assassinated. Riots erupt against Somoza's government.
January 14–15 - The body of former U.S. Vice President Hubert Humphrey lies in state in the Capitol Rotunda, following his death from cancer.
January 18 - The European Court of Human Rights finds the United Kingdom government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture.
January 19 - Federal Appeals Court Judge William H. Webster is appointed FBI Director.
January 22 - Ethiopia declares the ambassador of West Germany Persona non grata.
January 24 - Soviet satellite Cosmos 954 burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering debris over Canada's Northwest Territories.
January 24 - Rose Dugdale and Eddie Gallagher become the first convicted prisoners to marry in prison in the history of the Republic of Ireland.
January 28 - Richard Chase, the "Vampire of Sacramento", is arrested.
January 30 - Blizzards in the USA kill 90.

February

February 1 - A bomb explodes outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, Australia, killing two garbagemen, a policeman and several others.
February 1 - Hollywood film director Roman Polanski skips bail and flees to France, after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl.
February 6 - Akyab, Arakan, The King Dragon operation in Arakan begins in the village of Sakkipara.
February 8 - United States Senate proceedings are broadcast on radio for the first time.
February 11 - Pacific Western Airlines Flight 314, a Boeing 737-200, crashes in Cranbrook, British Columbia, killing 44 of the 50 people onboard.
February 11 - Sixteen Unification Church couples wed in New York, New York.
February 11 - Somalia mobilizes its troops, due to an apparent Ethiopian attack.
February 11 - The People's Republic of China lifts a ban on works by Aristotle, William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens.
February 15 - Rhodesia's prime minister Ian Smith and 3 black leaders agree on the transfer to black majority rule.
February 15 - Serial killer Ted Bundy is captured in Pensacola, Florida.
February 16 - The Hillside Strangler, a serial killer prowling Los Angeles, claims a tenth and final victim.
February 16 - The first computer bulletin board system (CBBS) is created in Chicago.
February 21 - Electrical workers in Mexico City find the remains of the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in the middle of the city.

March

March 1 - Charlie Chaplin's remains are stolen from Cosier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland.
March 2 - Soyuz 28 (Aleksei Gubarev, Vladimir Remek) is launched on a rendezvous with Salyut 6, with the first cosmonaut from third country (except Soviet Union and United States) - Czechoslovak citizen Vladimír Remek.
March 3 - Ethiopia admits that its troops are fighting with the aid of Cuban soldiers against Somalian troops in Ogaden.
March 3 - Rhodesia attacks Zambia.
March 3 - The New York Post publishes an article about David Rorvik's book The Cloning of Man, about a supposed cloning of a human being.
March 6 - American porn publisher Larry Flynt is shot and paralyzed in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
March 10 - Soyuz 28 lands.
March 11 - Coastal Road Massacre: Palestinian terrorists kill 34 Israelis.
March 14 - Israeli forces invade Lebanon in Operation Litani.
March 16 - Former Italian Premier Aldo Moro is kidnapped by the Red Brigades; 5 bodyguards are killed.
March 17 - The oil tanker Amoco Cadiz runs aground on the coast of Brittany.
March 18 - Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Prime Minister of Pakistan, is sentenced to death by hanging for ordering the assassination of a political opponent.
March 22 - Karl Wallenda of the Flying Wallendas dies after falling off a tight-rope between two hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
March 24 - The tanker Amoco Cadiz splits in two off Brittany, spilling 50,000 metric tons of crude oil.
March 28 - Stump v. Sparkman (435 U.S. 349}: The Supreme Court of the United States hands down a 5-3 decision in a controversial case involving involuntary sterilization and judicial immunity.

April

April 1 - Dick Smith of Dick Smith Foods tows a fake iceberg to Sydney Harbour.
April 1 - Philippine College of Commerce, through a presidential decree, was converted to Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
April 3 - The 50th Academy Awards are held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California with Annie Hall winning Best Picture
April 7 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter decides to postpone production of the neutron bomb - a weapon which kills people with radiation but leaves buildings relatively intact.
April 8 - Regular radio broadcasts of British Parliament proceedings start.
April 9 - Somali military officers stage an unsuccessful coup against the government of Siad Barre; security forces thwart the attempt within hours, and several conspirators are arrested.
April 10 - Volkswagen becomes the first non-American automobile manufacturer to open a plant in the United States, commencing production of the Rabbit, the North American version of the Volkswagen Golf, in New Stanton, Pennsylvania with a unionized (UAW) workforce. (The plant will close in 1992.)
April 14 - 1978 Tbilisi Demonstrations: thousands of Georgians demonstrate against the attempt by the Soviet authorities to change the constitutional status of the Georgian language.
April 16 - In Cologne, 15,000 former members of the resistance movement demonstrate against Nazism.
April 18 - The U.S. Senate votes 68-32 to turn the Panama Canal over to Panamanian control on December 31, 1999.
April 22 - Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta win the Eurovision Song Contest 1978 for Israel with their song "A-Ba-Ni-Bi".
April 22 - The One Love Peace Concert is held at National Heroes Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. Bob Marley unites 2 opposing political leaders at this concert, bringing peace to the civil war ridden streets of the city.
April 25 - St. Paul, Minnesota becomes 2nd US city to repeal its gay rights ordinance after Anita Bryant's successful 1977 anti-gay campaign in Dade County, Florida.
April 27 - Afghanistan President Daoud Khan is killed during a military coup; Nur Mohammed Taraki succeeds him.
April 30 - The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan is proclaimed, under pro-communist leader Nur Mohammed Taraki.

May

May 4 - Battle of Cassinga occurs in southern Angola.
May 4 - Communist activist Henri Curiel is murdered in Paris.
May 5 - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds gets his 3,000th major league hit.
May 8 - Norway opens a natural gas field in the Polar Sea.
May 9 - In Rome, the body of Aldo Moro, the Italian president of the Christian Democrats, is found in a parked car.
May 12–13 - A group of mercenaries lead by Bob Denard oust Ali Soilih in the Comoros; 10 local soldiers are killed. Denard forms a new government.
May 12 - In Zaire, rebels occupy the city of Kolwezi, the mining centre of the province of Shaba. The Zairean government asks the U.S., France and Belgium to restore order.
May 15 - Students of the University of Tehran riot in Tabriz; the army stops the riot.
May 17 - Charles Chaplin's coffin is found 10 miles from the cemetery it was stolen from, near Lake Geneva.
May 18 - Soviet dissident Yuri Orlov is sentenced to 7 years hard labor for distributing counterrevolutionary material.
May 18–19 - Belgian and French paratroopers fly to Zaire to aid the fight against the rebels.
May 20 - Mavis Hutchinson, 53, becomes the first woman to run across the U.S.; her trek took 69 days.
May 22 - Exiled leaders Ahmed Abdallah and Mohammed Ahmed return to the Comoros.
May 25 - A bomb explodes in the security section of Northwestern University, wounding a security guard (the first Unabomber attack).
May 26 - In Atlantic City, New Jersey, Resorts International, the first legal casino in the eastern United States, opens.
May 28 - Indianapolis 500: Al Unser wins his third race, and the first for car owner Jim Hall.
May 29 - Ali Soilih is found dead in the Comoros, allegedly shot when trying to escape.

June

June 1 - The 1978 FIFA World Cup starts in Argentina.
June 6 - California voters approve Proposition 13, which slashes property taxes nearly 60%.
June 8 - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints extends the priesthood and temple blessings to “all worthy males,” ending a general policy of excluding Canaanites from Priesthood ordination and temple ordinances (see Blacks and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).
June 12 - Serial killer David Berkowitz, the "Son of Sam," is sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
June 15 - King Hussein of Jordan marries 26-year-old Lisa Halaby, who takes the name Queen Noor.
June 19 - Cricketer Ian Botham becomes the first man in the history of the game to score a century and take eight wickets in one innings of a Test match.
June 19 - Garfield, which eventually becomes the world's most widely syndicated comic strip, makes its debut.
June 20 - A magnitude 6.5 earthquake hits Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city, killing 45 people, injuring hundreds and damaging some of the city's Byzantine landmarks.
June 21 - A shootout between Provisional IRA members and the British Army leaves 1 civilian and 3 IRA men dead.
June 22 - Charon, a satellite of Pluto, is discovered.
June 23 - Josip Broz Tito is named Yugoslav president for life.
June 24 - Yemen Arab Republic President Ahmad al-Ghashmi is killed.
June 24 - Gay & Lesbian Solidarity March held in Sydney, Australia to mark 10th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots; Which would become known as the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras the following year and be held annually; later incorporating a festival.
June 25 - Argentina defeats the Netherlands 3-1 after extra time to win the 1978 FIFA World Cup.
June 26 - The bombing by Breton nationalists causes destruction in Versailles.
June 28 - U.S. scientific satellite Seasat is launched.
June 28 - University of California Regents v. Bakke: The Supreme Court of the United States bars quota systems in college admissions but affirms the constitutionality of programs which give advantages to minorities.
June 30 - Ethiopia begins a massive offensive in Eritrea.

July

July 7 - The Solomon Islands become independent from the United Kingdom.
July 11 - More than 200 tourists die in an explosion of a tanker-truck at a campsite in Costa Daurada, Spain.
July 25 - Cerro Maravilla Incident: Two Puerto Rican pro-independence activists are killed in a police ambush.

September

September 5 - Camp David Accords: Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat begin the peace process at Camp David, Maryland.
September 7 - In London, England, a poison filled pellet, supposedly injected using an umbrella, poisons Bulgarian defector Georgi Markov, probably on orders of Bulgarian intelligence; he dies 4 days later.
September 8 - Iranian Army troops open fire on rioters in Teheran - 122 dead, 4,000 wounded.
September 16 - General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq officially assumes the post of President of Pakistan.
September 17 - The Camp David Accords are signed between Israel and Egypt.
September 19 - Police in the West Midlands of England launch a massive murder hunt, when 13 year old newspaper boy Carl Bridgewater is shot dead after disturbing a burglary.
September 20 - General Rahimuddin Khan assumes the post of Martial Law Governor of Balochistan.
September 25 - PSA Flight 182, a Boeing 727, collides with a small private airplane and crashes in San Diego, California; 144 are killed.
September 25 - Giuseppe Verdi's opera Otello makes its first appearance on Live from the Met, in a complete production of the opera starring Jon Vickers. This is the first complete television broadcast of the opera in the U.S. since the historic 1948 one.
September 27 - The last Forest Brother guerilla movement fighter is discovered and killed in Estonia.
September 28 - Pope John Paul I dies after only 33 days of papacy.

October

October 1 - Vietnam attacks Cambodia.
October 1 - Tuvalu become independent from the United Kingdom.
October 2 - The New York Yankees defeat the Boston Red Sox 5-4 at Fenway Park to clinch the AL East after being 14 games out of first place only two months earlier. The Yankees would eventually go on to defeat the Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Dodgers and win the World Series.
October 7 - Wranslide in New South Wales: the Wran government is re-elected with an increased majority.
October 8 - Australia's Ken Warby sets the current world water speed record of 317.60 mph at Blowering Dam, Australia.
October 10 - A massive short circuit in Seasat's electrical system ends the satellite's scientific mission.
October 10 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs a bill that authorizes the minting of the Susan B. Anthony dollar.
October 14 - Daniel arap Moi becomes president of Kenya.
October 16 - Pope John Paul II (Cardinal Karol Wojtyła) succeeds Pope John Paul I as the 264th pope. He is the first Polish pope in history.
October 17 - The New York Yankees clinch their 22nd World Series championship, defeating the Dodgers 7-2 in Los Angeles and winning the Series 4 games to 2.
October 27 - Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin win the Nobel Peace Prize for their progress toward achieving a Middle East accord.

November

November 3 - Dominica gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
November 5 - Rioters sack the British Embassy in Tehran.
November 7 - Indira Gandhi is re-elected to the Indian parliament.
November 7 - California voters defeat the Briggs Initiative that would have prohibitted gay school teachers.
November 18 - Jonestown incident: In Guyana, Jim Jones leads his Peoples Temple cult in a mass murder-suicide that claims 918 lives in all, 909 of them at Jonestown itself, including over 270 children. Congressman Leo J. Ryan is assassinated by members of Peoples Temple shortly beforehand.
November 19 - The first U.S. Take Back the Night march occurs in San Francisco.
November 27 - In San Francisco, California, Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk are assassinated by former Supervisor Dan White.
November 30 - Publication of The Times is suspended due to labor problems until November 13, 1979.

December

December 3 - The Southern Crescent passenger train derails at Shipman, Virginia, killing six, injuring 60.
December 4 - Dianne Feinstein succeeds the murdered George Moscone as San Francisco, California's first woman mayor (she serves until January 8, 1988).
December 6 - The Spanish Constitution officially restores the country's democratic government.
December 11 - Lufthansa heist: Six men rob a Lufthansa cargo facility in New York City's Kennedy airport.
December 11 - Two million demonstrate against the Shah in Iran.
December 13 - The first Susan B. Anthony dollar enters circulation.
December 15 - Cleveland, Ohio becomes the first major American city to go into default since the Great Depression, under Mayor Dennis Kucinich.
December 16 - Train 87 from Nanjing to Xining collision into train 368 from Xi'an to Xuzhou near Yangzhuang railway station in China, killing 106, injuring 218.
December 19 - Former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi is arrested and jailed for a week for breach of privilege and contempt of parliament.
December 22 - The pivotal Third Plenum of the 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is held in Beijing, with Deng Xiaoping reversing Mao-era policies to pursue a program for Chinese economic reform.
December 22 - Serial killer John Wayne Gacy finally confesses to his lawyers that he raped and killed 33 boys/men after months of denial to authorities. The confession surprised the entire city of Chicago, as Gacy was a family man that was adored by people all over town.
December 25 - Vietnam launches a major offensive against the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia.
December 27 - The Spanish Constitution is approved in a referendum, officially ending 40 years of military dictatorship.

Undated

Artificial insulin is invented.
David Rorvik claims he has participated in a creation of a human clone in his book In His Image.
Abortion legalized in Italy for first time.
Seoul, Korea begins construction on Subway Line 2

Ongoing

Cold War

Births

January-February

January 1 - Alex Leigh, British model
January 1 - Phillip Mulryne, Northern Irish footballer
January 2 - Toyoguchi Megumi, Japanese seiyuu (voice actress)
January 3 - Kimberley Locke, American singer and model
January 3 - Park Sol-mi, South Korean actress
January 5 - Franck Montagny, French Formula One driver
January 9 - Chad Ocho Cinco, American football player
January 9 - AJ McLean, member of the Backstreet Boys
January 12 - Kris Roe, American guitarist and singer (The Ataris)
January 12 - Jeremy Camp, American guitarist and Christian singer
January 14 - Eddie Berlin, American football player
January 14 - Shawn Crawford, American runner
January 15 - Franco Pellizotti, Italian professional road racing cyclist
January 20 - Sid Wilson, American turntablist (Slipknot, DJ Starscream)
January 26 - Kelly Stables, American actress
January 28 - Gianluigi Buffon, Italian goalkeeper (football)
February 2 - Barry Ferguson, Scottish footballer
February 5 - Brian Russell, American football player
February 7 - Christopher Ashton Kutcher, American actor
February 12 - Gethin Jones, British (Welsh) television presenter
February 12 - Silver Meikar, Estonian politician
February 13 - Niklas Bäckström, Finnish hockey player (Minnesota Wild)
February 14 - Richard Hamilton, American basketball player
February 14 - Darius Songaila, Lithuanian basketball player
February 15 - Tuan Le, American poker player
February 16 - John Tartaglia, Broadway actor and Muppeteer
February 16 - Tia Hellebaut, Belgian atlete
February 17 - Jacob Wetterling, child kidnapping victim (missing since 1989)
February 19 - Kenyatta Wright, American football linebacker
February 20 - Julia Jentsch, German actress
February 23 - Dan Snyder, Canadian hockey player (d. 2003)
February 24 - John Nolan, lead singer of Straylight Run
February 24 - Leon Constantine, Leeds United footballer
February 27 - Kakha Kaladze, Georgian and AC Milan footballer
February 28 - Benjamin Raich, Austrian Olympic skier
February 28 - Jeanne Cherhal, French Singer-songwriter

March-April

March 1 - Jensen Ackles, American actor
March 2 - Tomas Kaberle, Czech hockey player
March 4 - Denis Dallan, Italian rugby union footballer
March 6 - Sage Rosenfels, American Football Player
March 10 - Benjamin Burnley, American musician
March 11 - Didier Drogba, Ivory Coast footballer
March 12 - Claudio Sanchez, singer/songwriter Coheed & Cambria
March 13 - Karina Smirnoff, Ukrainian dancer
March 14 - Pieter van den Hoogenband, Dutch swimmer
March 14 - Carl Johan Bergman, Swedish biathlete
March 14 - Moon Hee Jun, Korean singer
March 14 - Carlo Giuliani, Italian anarchist (d. 2001)
March 21 - Kevin Federline, American musician
March 21 - Rani Mukherji, Indian actress
March 22 - Josh Heupel, American football player
March 31 - Stephen Clemence, English footballer
March 31 - Jérôme Rothen, French footballer
March 31 - Tony Yayo, American rapper

April 1 - Vitor Belfort, Brazilian martial artist
April 3 - John Smit, South African rugby player
April 4 - Jason Ellison, American baseball player
April 5 - Franziska van Almsick, German swimmer
April 6 - Tim Hasselbeck, American NFL quarterback.
April 7 - Duncan James, English musician
April 9 - Jorge Andrade, Portuguese footballer
April 9 - Rachel Stevens, English singer
April 11 - Thomas Thacker, Canadian singer
April 12 - Guy Berryman, Scottish bass player (Coldplay)
April 13 - Kyle Howard, American television and movie actor
April 16 - Lara Dutta, Indian actress
April 17 - Jason White, Scottish rugby player
April 17 - Juan Guillermo Castillo, Uruguayan goalkeeper
April 19 - James Franco, American Actor
April 20 - Mirei Kuroda, Japanese gravure idol
April 20 - Matt Austin, Canadian actor
April 21 - Jukka Nevalainen, Finnish drummer (Nightwish)
April 22 - Jason Stollsteimer, lead singer and guitarist (The Von Bondies)
April 23 - Princess Tamara Czartoryski-Borbon, Spanish athlete

May-June

May 3 - Paul Banks, Frontman of US band Interpol (band)
May 6 - Alexander Fedorov, Russian bodybuilder
May 7 - Brian Clevinger, American author
May 8 - Josie Maran, American supermodel and actress
May 9 - Marwan al-Shehhi, United Arab Emirates hijacker (d. 2001)
May 10 - Kenan Thompson, American actor
May 10 - Marcelo Moretto, Brazilian footballer
May 11 - Laetitia Casta, French supermodel and actress
May 12 - Hossein Reza Zadeh, Iranian weightlifter
May 12 - Jason Biggs, American actor
May 12 - Aya Ishiguro, Japanese singer, writer, and fashion designer
May 13 - Mike Bibby, American basketball player
May 13 - Barry Zito, baseball player
May 15 - Caroline Dhavernas, French Canadian actress
May 15 - Dwayne De Rosario, Canadian footballer
May 15 - David Krumholtz, American actor
May 15 - Krissy Taylor, American model (d. 1995)
May 18 - Ricardo Carvalho, Portuguese footballer
May 21 - Briana Banks, German-American porn star
May 21 - Adam Gontier, Canadian-born musician (Three Days Grace)
May 22 - Jordan, English model
May 23 - Carolyn Moos, American model and professional basketball player
May 23 - Scott Raynor, musician (Blink-182)
May 25 - Brian Urlacher, American football player
May 29 - Lorenzo Odone, patient who had adrenoleukodystrophy (d. 2008)
June 6 - Carl Barât, English singer and guitarist (The Libertines and Dirty Pretty Things)
June 8 - Maria Menounos, American actress, journalist, and television presenter
June 9 - Matthew Bellamy, British musician (Muse)
June 9 - Miroslav Klose, German football player
June 10 - Shane West, American actor
June 10 - Han Hee-Won, South Korean golfer
June 11 - Joshua Jackson, Canadian actor
June 13 - Jason Michael Carroll, country musician
June 19 - Dirk Nowitzki, German basketball player
June 19 - Mía Maestro, Argentine actress
June 20 - Frank Lampard Engish football player
June 20 - Mark Powell, Australian politician
June 21 - Erica Durance, Canadian actress
June 22 - Champ Bailey, American football player
June 22 - Dan Wheldon, English race car driver
June 24 - Emppu Vuorinen, Finnish musician (Nightwish)
June 24 - Juan Roman Riquelme, Argentine football player
June 25 - Aftab Shivdasani, Bollywood actor
June 25 - Marcus Stroud, American football player
June 25 - Layla El, 2006 WWE Diva Search Winner
June 25 - Aramis Ramírez, Latin baseball player
June 27 - Anna Kumble, English pop singer Lolly and TV presenter
June 29 - Nicole Scherzinger, lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls
June 30 - Ben Cousins, Australian rules footballer

July-August

July 1 - Hillary Tuck, American actress
July 4 - Tony Reali, ESPN personality
July 4 - Becki Newton, American actress
July 6 - Kevin Senio, New Zealand rugby union footballer
July 6 - Tamera Mowry,American Actress
July 6 - Tia Mowry, American Actress
July 9 - Linda Park, Korean-born actress
July 9 - Mark Medlock, German singer and winner of Deutschland sucht den Superstar's season four
July 12 - Topher Grace, American actor
July 18 - Shane Horgan, Irish rugby player
July 18 - Ben Sheets, American baseball player
July 20 - Elliott Yamin, American singer
July 21 - Josh Hartnett, American actor
July 21 - Francine Dee, import car model
July 23 - Stuart Elliott, Northern Irish footballer
July 23 - Stefanie Sun, Singapore singer
July 25 - Louise Brown, the first human born from an embryo conceived by in vitro fertilization
July 25 - Gerard Warren, American football player
July 26 - Jehad Muntasser, Libyan footballer

August 1 - Jonathan Wilkes, TV presenter
August 3 - Mariusz Jop, Polish footballer
August 4 - Kurt Busch, NASCAR driver
August 6 - Marisa Miller, American supermodel
August 7 - Alexandre Aja, French director
August 7 - Vanness Wu, Taiwanese singer
August 7 - Linsey Dawn McKenzie, English model and porn star
August 7 - Cirroc Lofton, American actor
August 7 - Jamey Jasta, American singer (Hatebreed)
August 15 - Tim Foreman, American bassist (Switchfoot)
August 17 - Vibeke Stene, former Norwegian singer (Tristania)
August 18 - James Corden, English actor and comedian
August 21 - Reuben Droughns, American football player
August 21 - Alan Lee, Irish footballer
August 23 - Kobe Bryant, American basketball player
August 23 - Julian Casablancas, American musician (The Strokes)
August 24 - Rafael Furcal, Dominican Major League Baseball player
August 25 - Kel Mitchell, American actor
August 28 - Albina Digaeva, Chechen-American human rights activist
August 29 - Danielle Hampton, Canadian actress

September-October

September 4 - Wes Bentley, American actor
September 6 - Cisco Adler, American musician
September 7 - Devon Sawa, Canadian actor
September 7 - Stephanie-Xiani Andrea Sperandio, Mixed Heritage Model
September 11 - Ed Reed, American football player
September 11 - Ben Lee, Australian singer
September 12 - Ruben Studdard, American singer
September 14 - Ben Cohen, English rugby union footballer
September 15 - Eiður Guðjohnsen, Icelandic football player
September 17 - Jennifer Rosales, Filipino golfer
September 20 - Jason Bay, Canadian baseball player
September 20 - Patrizio Buanne, Italian singer
September 20 - Sarit Hadad, Israeli pop music singer
September 22 - Harry Kewell, Australian footballer
September 23 - Worm Miller, American screenwriter, director, actor
September 24 - Wietse van Alten, Dutch archer
September 25 - Jodie Kidd, English model
September 29 - Kurt Nilsen, Norwegian singer
September 30 - Candice Michelle, American professional wrestler and model

October 2 - Ayumi Hamasaki, Japanese singer
October 3 - Jake Shears, American singer
October 3 - Shannyn Sossamon, American actress
October 4 - Kei Horie, Japanese actor
October 5 - Shane Ryan, Irish Gaelic footballer
October 9 - Nicky Byrne, Irish musician (Westlife)
October 10 - Francis Escudero("Chiz" ), Filipino Congressman, Senator
October 13 - Jermaine O'Neal, American basketball player
October 14 - Usher Raymond, American musician
October 14 - Paul Hunter, English snooker player (d. 2006)
October 18 - Wesley Jonathan, American actor
October 20 - Kira, German singer
October 20 - Virender Sehwag, Indian cricketer
October 21 - Joey Harrington, American football player
October 24 - Carlos Edwards, Trinidadian footballer
October 25 - Russell Anderson, Scottish footballer
October 26 - Antonio Pierce, American football player
October 26 - Phil "CM Punk" Brooks, American professional wrestler
October 26 - Jimmy Aggrey, English footballer
October 27 - Vanessa-Mae, Singaporean musician
October 28 - Justin Guarini, American singer
October 29 - Travis Henry, American football player

November-December

November 1 - Manju Warriar, Indian actress
November 6 - Paul O'Grady, Australian Footballer (Central Coast Mariners)
November 6 - Taryn Manning, American actress
November 6 - Sandrine Blancke, Belgian actress
November 8 - Ali Karimi, Iranian football player
November 9 - Sisqó, American actor and singer (Dru Hill)
November 10 - Eve, American rapper
November 10 - Kyla Cole, Czech adult model
November 11 - Jyothika, Indian actress
November 13 - Nikolai Fraiture, American musician. Bassist for the rock band The Strokes
November 13 - Hsu Wei Lun, Taiwanese actress (d. 2007)
November 14 - Bobby Allen, American ice hockey player
November 14 - Xavier Nady, American baseball player
November 17 - Reggie Wayne, American football player
November 18 - Damien Johnson, Northern Irish footballer
November 19 - Matt Dusk, Canadian jazz musician & singer
November 21 - Annie, Norwegian singer
November 22 - Karen O, American singer (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
November 24 - Katherine Heigl, American actress
November 25 - Shina Ringo, Japanese singer and musician
November 27 - Mike Skinner, English musician
November 29 - Ludwika Paleta, Polish Mexican actress
November 30 - Emil Steiner, American author
November 30 - Clay Aiken, American singer
November 30 - Gael Garcia Bernal, Mexican actor
December 2 - Nelly Furtado, Canadian-born singer and songwriter
December 2 - Chris Wolstenholme, English baseplayer (Muse)
December 5 - Olli Jokinen, Finnish ice hockey player
December 7 - Shiri Appleby, American actress
December 8 - Ian Somerhalder, American actor
December 8 - Vernon Wells, baseball player
December 9 - Jesse Metcalfe, American actor
December 10 - Brandon Novak, freestyle skateboarder and TV/radio personality
December 10 - Donna Williams, Cofounder of Neopets
December 12 - Evren Genis, Turkish composer
December 12 - Monica Barladeanu, Romanian actress
December 15 - Jerome McDougle, professional football player (Philadelphia Eagles)
December 16 - Joe Absolom, British actor
December 17 - Chase Utley, American baseball player
December 18 - Daniel Cleary, Canadian ice hockey player
December 18 - Katie Holmes, American actress
December 19 - Patrick Casey, American screenwriter and actor
December 20 - Geremi, Cameroon footballer
December 20 - Jacqueline Saburido, a drunk driving accident survivor and a promoter of non-drunk driving
December 22 - Edo Maajka, Bosnian rapper
December 23 - Andra Davis, American football player
December 23 - Víctor Martínez, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
December 23 - Estella Warren, Canadian swimmer, model, and actress
December 24 - Yıldıray Baştürk, Turkish footballer
December 24 - Carlson Twins, American Models
December 26 - Kaoru Sugayama, Japanese volleyball player
December 29 - Alexis Amore, Peruvian actress, dancer, and model
December 29 - LaToya London, American singer
December 30 - Heath Evans, National Football League fullback

Unknown date

Laurence Fox, English actor
Eve Myles, Welsh actress

Deaths

January - March

January 5 - Wyatt Emory Cooper, screenwriter and author (b. 1927)
January 13 - Hubert Humphrey, U.S Vice President and Senator (b. 1911)
January 13 - Joe McCarthy, baseball manager (b. 1887)
January 14 - Harold Abrahams, English athlete (b. 1899)
January 14 - Kurt Gödel, Austrian-born mathematician (b. 1906)
January 18 - Walter H. Thompson, English Scotland Yard detective, bodyguard of Winston Churchill (b. 1890)
January 22 - Herbert Sutcliffe, English cricketer (b. 1894)
January 23 - Terry Kath, American musician (Chicago) (b. 1946)
January 23 - Jack Oakie, American actor (b. 1903)

February 11 - James B Conant, American chemist and headmaster of Harvard University (b. 1893)
February 11 - Harry Martinson, Swedish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
February 27 - Vadim Salmanov, Russian composer (b. 1912)
February 28 - Zara Cully, American actress (b. 1892)
March 18 - Leigh Brackett, American author (b. 1915)
March 19 - Gaston Julia, French mathematician (b. 1893)
March 21 - Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh (Carroll Daly), fifth President of Ireland (b. 1911)
March 31 - Charles Best, American-born medical scientist (b. 1899)

April - June

April 14 - F.R. Leavis, British Literary Critic (b. 1895)
April 21 - Sandy Denny, English singer (b. 1947)
April 25 - Leo Najo, baseball player (b. 1899)

May 1 - Aram Khachaturian, Armenian composer (b. 1903)
May 9 - Aldo Moro, former Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1916)
May 14 - Robert Menzies, twelfth Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894)
May 22 - Joe Colombo, American gangster (b. 1914)

June 7 - Ronald George Wreyford Norrish, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
June 18 - Walter C. Alvarez, American physician (b. 1884)
June 24 - Robert Charroux, French writer (b. 1909)
June 25 - Barry Brown, American actor and writer (b. 1951)

July - September

July 8 - Osman Lins, Brazilian novelist (b. 1924)
July 10 - Joe Davis, English snooker and billiards player (b. 1901)
July 30 - Umberto Nobile, Italian aviator (b. 1885)

August 2 - Carlos Chávez, Mexican composer (b. 1899)
August 6 - Pope Paul VI (heart attack) (b. 1897)
August 7 - Eddie Calvert (heart failure), musician (b. 1922)
August 11 - Hugh MacDiarmid, Scottish poet (b. 1892)
August 14 - Nicolas Bentley, British writer and illustrator (b. 1907)
August 21 - Charles Eames, American architect and designer (b. 1907)
August 22 - Jomo Kenyatta, Kenyan statesman
August 26 - Charles Boyer, French actor (b. 1899)
August 28 - Robert Shaw, English actor (b. 1927)
September 7 - Keith Moon, English drummer (The Who) (drug overdose) (b. 1946)
September 9 - Jack Warner, Canadian film studio founder (b. 1892)
September 10 - Ronnie Peterson, Swedish race car driver (racing accident) (b. 1944)
September 11 - Mike Gazella, American baseball player (b. 1895)
September 11 - Georgi Markov, Bulgarian dissident (assassinated) (b. 1929)
September 15 - Willy Messerschmitt, German aircraft engineer (b. 1898)
September 23 - Lyman Bostock, baseball player (murdered) (b. 1950)
September 25 - Bret Morrison, actor, voice of The Shadow (b. 1912)
September 26 - Manne Siegbahn, Swedish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
September 28 - Pope John Paul I (b. 1912)

October - December

October 6 - Johnny O'Keefe, Australian singer (b. 1935)
October 9 - Jacques Brel, Belgian singer (b. 1929)
October 10 - Ralph Metcalfe, American athlete (b. 1910)
October 12 - Nancy Spungen, American groupie and girlfriend of Sid Vicious (b. 1958)
October 20 - Gunnar Nilsson, Swedish race car driver (cancer) (b. 1948)
October 23 - Maybelle Carter, American singer (b. 1909)

November 6 - Harry Bertoia, Italian artist and designer (b. 1915)
November 8 - Norman Rockwell, American artist and illustrator (b. 1894)
November 15 - Margaret Mead, American anthropologist (b. 1901)

December 8 - Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1898)
December 10 - Ed Wood, American filmmaker (b. 1924)
December 11 - Vincent du Vigneaud, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
December 27 - Houari Boumédiènne, President of Algeria (b. 1932),

Unknown dates

Pankaj Mullick, Bengali composer and singer (b. 1904)
Mark A. Shaw, American temperance movement leader and Prohibition Party candidate for vice-president in 1964 (b. ?)