1973
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1973.
Year 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar.
Events
January
- January 1
- The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
- CBS sells the New York Yankees for $10 million to a 12-person syndicate led by George Steinbrenner (3.2 million dollars less than CBS bought the Yankees for).
- January 4 – The pilot episode of the longest-running TV comedy series in the world Last of the Summer Wine is broadcast in the United Kingdom.
- January 7 – Mark Essex kills 8 people at the Howard Johnson's hotel in downtown New Orleans.
- January 14
- Elvis Presley's concert in Hawaii. The first worldwide telecast by an entertainer watched by more people than watched the Apollo moon landings.
- Super Bowl VII: The Miami Dolphins defeat the Washington Redskins, 14–7, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, to complete the NFL's first Perfect Season in front of 90,182 fans.
- January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam.
- January 17 – Ferdinand Marcos becomes President for Life of the Philippines.
- January 18 – Eleven Labour Party councillors in Clay Cross, Derbyshire, England, are ordered to pay £6,985 for not enforcing the Housing Finance Act.
- January 20 – U.S. President Richard Nixon is inaugurated for his second term.
- January 21 – The Communist League is founded in Denmark.
- January 22
- Roe v. Wade: The U.S. Supreme Court overturns state bans on abortion.
- George Foreman defeats Joe Frazier to win the heavyweight world boxing championship.
- A Royal Jordanian Boeing 707 flight from Jeddah crashes in Kano, Nigeria; 176 people are killed.
- Former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson dies at his Stonewall, Texas ranch, leaving no former U.S. President living until the resignation of Richard M. Nixon in 1974.
- January 23
- Eldfell on the Icelandic island of Heimaey erupts.
- U.S. President Richard Nixon announces that a peace accord has been reached in Vietnam.
- January 25 – English actor Derren Nesbitt is convicted of assaulting his wife Anne Aubrey.
- January 27 – U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War ends with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords.
- January 31 – Pan American and Trans World Airlines cancelled their options to buy 13 Concorde airliners.
February
- February 6 – Toronto: Construction on the CN Tower begins.
- February 11 – Vietnam War: The first American prisoners of war are released from Vietnam.
- February 12 – Ohio becomes the first U.S. state to post distance in metric on signs (see Metric system in the United States).
- February 13 – The United States Dollar is devalued by 10%.
- February 16 – The Court of Appeal of England and Wales rules that the Sunday Times can publish articles on Thalidomide and Distillers Company, despite ongoing legal actions by parents (the decision is overturned in July by the House of Lords).
- February 21 – Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 (Boeing 727) is shot down by Israeli fighter aircraft over the Sinai Desert, after the passenger plane is suspected of being an enemy military plane. Only 5 (1 crew member and 4 passengers) of 113 survive.
- February 22 – Sino-American relations: Following President Richard Nixon's visit to mainland China, the United States and the People's Republic of China agree to establish liaison offices.
- February 26 – Edward Heath's British government publishes a Green Paper on prices and incomes policy.
- February 27 – The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
- February 28
- The Republic of Ireland general election is held. Liam Cosgrave becomes the new Taoiseach.
- The landmark postmodern novel Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon is published.
March
- March 1
- Dick Taverne, having resigned from the Parliament of the United Kingdom on leaving the Labour Party, is re-elected as a 'Democratic Labour' candidate.
- Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon, one of rock's landmark albums, is released in the US. It is released in the UK on March 24.
- March 3 – Tottenham Hotspur wins the Football League Cup final at Wembley, beating Norwich City 1–0.
- March 7 – Comet Kohoutek is discovered.
- March 8
- In the 'Border Poll', voters in Northern Ireland vote to remain part of the United Kingdom. Irish nationalists are encouraged to boycott the referendum.
- Provisional Irish Republican Army bombs explode in Whitehall and the Old Bailey in England.
- March 10 – Sir Richard Sharples, Governor of Bermuda, is assassinated in Government House.
- March 12 - Last episode of original "Laugh-In" airs on NBC. The show would continue with re-runs until May 14, 1973.
- March 17
- Elizabeth II opens the modern London Bridge.
- Many of the few remaining United States soldiers begin to leave Vietnam. One reunion of a former POW with his family is immortalized in the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph Burst of Joy.
- March 20 – A British government White Paper on Northern Ireland proposes the re-establishment of an Assembly elected by proportional representation, with a possible All-Ireland council.
- March 21 – The Lofthouse Colliery disaster occurs in Great Britain.
- March 23 – Watergate scandal (United States): In a letter to Judge John Sirica, Watergate burglar James W. McCord Jr. admits that he and other defendants have been pressured to remain silent about the case. He names former Attorney General John Mitchell as 'overall boss' of the operation.
- March 29 – The last United States soldier leaves Vietnam.
April
- April 2 – The LexisNexis computerized legal research service begins.
- April 3 – The first handheld cellular phone call is made by Martin Cooper in New York City.
- April 4 – The World Trade Center officially opens in New York City with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
- April 5
- Fahri Korutürk becomes the sixth president of Turkey.
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- Pioneer 11 is launched on a mission to study the solar system.
- April 6 – Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees becomes the first designated hitter in Major League Baseball.
- April 7 – Tu te reconnaîtras by Anne-Marie David (music by Claude Morgan, text by Vline Buggy) wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1973 for Luxembourg.
- April 10 – Israeli commandos raid Beirut, assassinating 3 leaders of the Palestinian Resistance Movement. The Lebanese army's inaction brings the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Saib Salam, a Sunni Muslim.
- April 11 – The British House of Commons voted against restoring capital punishment by a margin of 142 votes.
- April 12 – The Labour Party wins control of the Greater London Council.
- April 15 – Naim Talu, a former civil servant forms the new government of Turkey (36th government)
- April 17
- The German counter-terrorist force GSG 9 is officially formed.
- Federal Express officially begins operations, with the launch of 14 small aircraft from Memphis International Airport. On that night, Federal Express delivers 186 packages to 25 U.S. cities from Rochester, New York, to Miami, Florida.
- The Morganza Spillway on the Mississippi River is opened for the first time to prevent catastrophic flooding of New Orleans.
- April 20 – An Indian Pacific train en route to Perth, derails near Broken Hill, New South Wales, destroying a quarter mile of track.
- April 26 – This first day of trading on the Chicago Board Options Exchange
- April 28 – Six Irishmen, including Joe Cahill, are arrested by the Irish Naval Service off County Waterford, on board a coaster carrying 5 tons of weapons destined for the Provisional Irish Republican Army.
- April 30 – Watergate Scandal: President Richard Nixon announces that top White House aides H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, and others have resigned.
May
- May 1 – An estimated 1,600,000 workers in the United Kingdom stop work in support of a Trade Union Congress "day of national protest and stoppage" against the Government's anti-inflation policy.
- May 3 – The Sears Tower in Chicago is finished, becoming the world's tallest building at 1,451 feet.
- May 5
- Shambu Tamang becomes the youngest person to climb to the summit of Mount Everest.
- Sunderland AFC defeats Leeds United A.F.C. in the FA Cup final.
- Secretariat wins the Kentucky Derby.
- Led Zeppelin plays before 56,800 persons at Tampa Stadium (breaking the attendance record of 55,600 set by The Beatles at Shea Stadium on August 15, 1965) on the band's 1973 North American Tour.
- May 8 – A 71-day standoff between federal authorities and American Indian Movement activists who were occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, ends with the surrender of the militants.
- May 10
- The Polisario Front, a Sahrawi movement dedicated to the independence of Western Sahara, is formed.
- The New York Knicks defeat the Los Angeles Lakers, 102–93 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to win the NBA title.
- May 13
- Bobby Riggs challenged and defeated Margaret Court in a nationally-televised tennis match set in Ramona, CA northeast of San Diego. Riggs won 6-2, 6-1 which led to the huge Battle of the Sexes match against Billie Jean King later in the year on September 20.
- May 14
- Skylab, the United States' first space station, is launched.
- The British House of Commons votes to abolish capital punishment in Northern Ireland.
- May 17 – Watergate scandal: Televised hearings begin in the United States Senate.
- May 18 – Cod War: Joseph Godber, British Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, announces that Royal Navy frigates will protect British trawlers fishing in the disputed 50-mile limit round Iceland.
- May 19 – Secretariat wins the Preakness Stakes.
- May 22 – Lord Lambton resigns from the British government over a 'call girl' scandal.
- May 24 – Earl Jellicoe, Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords in Britain, resigns over a separate prostitution scandal.
- May 25
- Skylab 2 (Pete Conrad, Paul Weitz, Joseph Kerwin) is launched on a mission to repair damage to the recently launched Skylab space station.
- Héctor José Cámpora becomes democratic president of the Argentine Republic ending the 1966 to 1973 Revolución Argentina military dictatorship.
- May 27 – By virtue of the non-retroactivity of Soviet copyright laws, all works published before this date are public domain. This applies worldwide.Template:NoMention
June
- June 1 – The Greek military junta abolishes the monarchy and proclaims a republic.
- June 3 – A Tupolev Tu-144 crashes at the Paris air show; 15 are killed.
- June 4 – A patent for the ATM is granted to Donald Wetzel, Tom Barnes and George Chastain.
- June 9 – Secretariat wins the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing winner since 1948.
- June 10 – The grandson of J. Paul Getty is kidnapped in Rome.Template:NoMention
- June 16 – U.S. President Richard Nixon begins several talks with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.
- June 20 – The Ezeiza massacre occurs in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Snipers shoot on left-wing Peronists, killing at least 13 and injuring more than 300.
- June 22 – W. Mark Felt ("Deep Throat") retires from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
- June 23 – A house fire in Kingston upon Hull, England, which kills a 6-year-old boy is passed off as an accident; it later emerges as the first of 26 fire deaths caused over the next 7 years by arsonist Peter Dinsdale.
- June 24 – Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev addresses the American people on television, the first to do so.
- June 25
- Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE)
- Erskine Hamilton Childers is elected the 4th President of Ireland.
- Watergate scandal: Former White House counsel John Dean begins his testimony before the Senate Watergate Committee.
- June 26 – At Plesetsk Cosmodrome, 9 persons are killed in the explosion of a Cosmos 3-M rocket.
- June 28 – Elections are held for the Northern Ireland Assembly, which will lead to power-sharing between unionists and nationalists in Northern Ireland for the first time.
- June 30 – A very long total solar eclipse occurs. During the entire 2nd millennium, only 7 total solar eclipses exceeded 7 minutes of totality.
July
- July 1 – The United States Drug Enforcement Administration is founded.
- July 2 – The United States Congress passes the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA) mandating Special Education federally.
- July 4 – MLB: The New York Mets fall 12½ games back in last place of the National League Eastern Division.
- July 5
- The Isle of Man Post begins to issue its own postage stamps.
- The catastrophic BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion) in Kingman, Arizona, following a fire that broke out as propane was being transferred from a railroad car to a storage tank, kills 11 firefighters. This explosion has become a classic incident, studied in fire department training programs worldwide.
- July 6 – St Andrew's Cathedral, Singapore is gazetted as a national monument.
- July 10 – The Bahamas gains full independence within the Commonwealth of Nations.
- July 11 – Varig Flight 820 crashes near Orly, France; 123 are killed.
- July 12 – 1973 National Archives Fire: A major fire destroys the entire 6th floor of the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
- July 16 – Watergate Scandal: Former White House aide Alexander Butterfield informs the United States Senate Watergate Committee that President Richard Nixon had secretly recorded potentially incriminating conversations.
- July 17 – King Mohammed Zahir Shah of Afghanistan is deposed by his cousin Mohammed Daoud Khan while in Italy undergoing eye surgery.
- July 20
- France resumes nuclear bomb tests in Mururoa Atoll, over the protests of Australia and New Zealand.
- Bruce Lee dies.
- July 21 – The Philippines receives its second Miss Universe title, with Margarita Moran as the winner.
- July 23 – The Avianca Building in Bogotá, Colombia suffers a serious fire.
- July 25 – The Soviet Mars 5 space probe is launched.
- July 28
- The Summer Jam at Watkins Glen, a massive rock festival featuring The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers Band and The Band, attracts over 600,000 music fans.
- Skylab 3 (Owen Garriott, Jack Lousma, Alan Bean) is launched, to conduct various medical and scientific experiments aboard Skylab.
- July 29 – Formula One racing driver Roger Williamson dies in an accident, witnessed live on European television, during the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix.
- July 30 – An 11-year legal action for the victims of Thalidomide ends.Template:NoMention
- July 31
- Militant protesters led by Ian Paisley disrupt the first sitting of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
- A Delta Air Lines Flight 173 DC9-31 aircraft lands short of Boston's Logan Airport runway in poor visibility, striking a sea wall about 165 feet (50 m) to the right of the runway centerline and about 3,000 feet (914 m) short. All 6 crew members and 83 passengers are killed, 1 of the passengers dying several months after the accident.
August
- August 1 – Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) inaugurated.
- August 2 – A flash fire kills 51 at the Summerland amusement centre at Douglas, Isle of Man.Template:NoMention
- August 5 – Black September members open fire at the Athens airport; 3 are killed, 55 injured.
- August 8
- South Korean politician Kim Dae-Jung is kidnapped in Tokyo by the KCIA.
- The death of Dean Corll leads to the discovery of the Houston Mass Murders: 28 boys were killed by 3 men.
- August 15 – The U.S. bombing of Cambodia ends, officially halting 12 years of combat activity in Southeast Asia.
- August 23 – The Norrmalmstorg robbery occurs, famous for the origin of the term Stockholm syndrome.
September
- September 3 – The British Trade Union Congress expels 20 members for registering under the Industrial Relations Act 1971.
- September 11 – Chile's democratically elected government is overthrown in a military coup after serious instability. President Salvador Allende commits suicide during the coup in the presidential palace, and General Augusto Pinochet heads a U.S.-backed military junta that governs Chile for the next 16 years.
- September 15 – Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden dies. His grandson, Carl XVI Gustaf, becomes king.
- September 18 – The two German Republics, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), are admitted to the United Nations.
- September 20 – The Battle of the Sexes: Billie Jean King defeats Bobby Riggs in a televised tennis match, 6–4, 6–4, 6–3, at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas.
- September 22 – Henry Kissinger, United States National Security Advisor, starts his term as United States Secretary of State.
- September 23 – The Oakland Raiders defeat the Miami Dolphins 12-7, ending the Dolphins unbeaten streak at 18. It was the Miami Dolphins' first loss since January 16, 1972 in Super Bowl VI.
- September 27 – Soviet space program: Soyuz 12, the first Soviet manned flight since the Soyuz 11 tragedy in 1971, is launched.
- September 28 – ITT is bombed in New York City by leftist terrorists protesting the restoration of the Chilean Constitution ordered by the Chilean judicial and legislative branches against the Allende administration.
- September 30 – Yankee Stadium, known as "The House That Ruth Built", closes for a two year renovation at a cost of $160 million. The New York Yankees play all of their home games at Shea Stadium in 1974 and 1975.
October
- October 6 – Yom Kippur War: The fourth and largest Arab–Israeli conflict begins, as Egyptian and Syrian forces attack Israeli forces in the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights on Yom Kippur.
- October 8 – LBC Radio begins broadcasting on 97.3 FM in London.
- October 10
- Spiro T. Agnew resigns as Vice President of the United States and then, in federal court in Baltimore, Maryland, pleads no contest to charges of income tax evasion on $29,500 he received in 1967, while he was governor of Maryland. He is fined $10,000 and put on 3 years' probation.
- The New York Mets win baseball's National League pennant, defeating the heavily favored Cincinnati Reds 3 games to 2.
- October 14 – Students revolt in Bangkok, Thailand.
- October 17 – The Arab Oil Embargo against several countries which support Israel triggers the 1973 energy crisis.
- October 20
- The Saturday Night Massacre: U.S. President Richard Nixon orders Attorney General Elliot Richardson to dismiss Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Richardson refuses and resigns, along with Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus. Solicitor General Robert Bork, third in line at the Department of Justice, then fires Cox. The event raises calls for Nixon's impeachment.
- The Sydney Opera House is opened by Elizabeth II after 14 years of construction work.
- October 21 – The Oakland Athletics win baseball's World Series, defeating the New York Mets 4 games to 3.
- October 26
- The Yom Kippur War ends.
- The United Nations recognizes the independence of Guinea-Bissau.
- October 27 – The Canon City meteorite, a 1.4 kilogram chondrite type meteorite, strikes Earth in Fremont County, Colorado.
- October 30 – The Bosporus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey is completed, connecting the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosporus for the first time in history.
- October 31 – Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape: Three Provisional Irish Republican Army members escape from Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, Republic of Ireland after a hijacked helicopter lands in the exercise yard.
November
- November 1 – Watergate scandal: Acting Attorney General Robert Bork appoints Leon Jaworski as the new Watergate Special Prosecutor.Template:NoMention
- November 3
- Pan Am cargo flight 160, a Boeing 707-321C, crashes at Logan International Airport, Boston, killing 3 people.
- Mariner program: NASA launches Mariner 10 toward Mercury (on March 29, 1974 it becomes the first space probe to reach that planet).
- November 7 – The Congress of the United States overrides President Richard M. Nixon's veto of the War Powers Resolution, which limits presidential power to wage war without congressional approval.
- November 8 – Millennium '73, a festival hosted by Guru Maharaj Ji at the Astrodome, is called by supporters the "most significant event in human history".
- November 11 – Egypt and Israel sign a United States-sponsored cease-fire accord.
- November 14 – In the United Kingdom, The Princess Anne marries Captain Mark Phillips in Westminster Abbey (they divorce in 1992).
- November 16
- Skylab program: NASA launches Skylab 4 (Gerald Carr, William Pogue, Edward Gibson) from Cape Canaveral, Florida on an 84-day mission.
- U.S. President Richard Nixon signs the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act into law, authorizing the construction of the Alaska Pipeline.
- November 17
- Watergate scandal: In Orlando, Florida, U.S. President Richard Nixon tells 400 Associated Press managing editors "I am not a crook."
- The Athens Polytechnic uprising occurs against the military regime in Athens, Greece.
- November 21 – U.S. President Richard Nixon's attorney, J. Fred Buzhardt, reveals the existence of an 18½-minute gap in one of the White House tape recordings related to Watergate.
- November 25 – Greek dictator George Papadopoulos is ousted in a military coup led by Brigadier General Dimitrios Ioannidis.
- November 27 – The United States Senate votes 92–3 to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States.
- November 29 – 104 people are killed in a Taiyo department store fire in Kumamoto, Kyūshū, Japan.
December
- December – Chile breaks diplomatic contacts with Sweden.Template:NoMention
- December 1 – Papua New Guinea gains self government from Australia.
- December 3 – Pioneer program: Pioneer 10 sends back the first close-up images of Jupiter.
- December 6 – The United States House of Representatives votes 387–35 to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States; he is sworn in the same day.
- December 15 – Gay rights: The American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from its DSM-II.
- December 16 – O.J. Simpson of the Buffalo Bills became the first running back to rush for 2,000 yards in a pro football season.
- December 18 – Islamic Development Bank created as a specialized agency of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) (effective 12 August 1974).
- December 20 – Spanish prime minister Luis Carrero Blanco is assassinated in Madrid by the terrorist organization ETA.
- December 23 – OPEC doubles the price of crude oil.Template:NoMention
- December 28 – The Endangered Species Act is passed in the United States.
- December 30 – Terrorist Carlos fails in his attempt to assassinate British businessman Joseph Sieff.Template:NoMention
- December 31 – In the United Kingdom, due to coal shortages caused by industrial action, the Three-Day Week electricity consumption reduction measure comes into force.
Date unknown
- ODECA functions suspended.
- Economist E. F. Schumacher publishes his book Small is Beautiful.
- The National House Building Council is formed in the United Kingdom.
- The COSC The Swiss Official Chronometer testing Institute is founded in Switzerland by 5 Watch Cantons & Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH.
- The title Queen of Australia is created by the Royal Style and Titles Act.
- Confirming the descriptions of bulkhead hull compartments for Chinese sailing ships in Zhu Yu's Pingzhou Table Talks of 1119, a large Song Dynasty trade ship of c. 1277 A.D. is dredged up from the waters near the southern coast of China that had 12 bulkhead compartment rooms in its hull.
- Sentosa Musical Fountain opens along side the Fountain Gardens in Sentosa, Singapore.
- 5 teams tie for rugby championship: wales, England, France, ireland, and Italy
Births
January
- January 1 – Danny Lloyd, American actor
- January 4 – Greg de Vries, Canadian ice hockey player
- January 6 – Scott Ferguson, Canadian ice hockey player
- January 7 – Jonna Tervomaa, Finnish singer
- January 9 – Sean Paul, Jamaican singer
- January 10 – Ryan Drummond, American actor
- January 12
- Hande Yener, Turkish Singer
- Joseph M. Smith, American actor, writer and producer
- January 13
- Nikolai Khabibulin, Russian hockey player
- Gloria Yip, Hong Kong actress
- January 14 – Giancarlo Fisichella, Italian race car driver
- January 15
- Tomáš Galásek, Czech football player
- Maksim Martynov, Russian engineer
- January 16
- Josie Davis, American actress
- Scott Greenall, Musician, Recording Engineer / Producer and performance artist.
- January 17 – Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Mexican football player
- January 18 – Crispian Mills, British musician (The Jeevas, Kula Shaker)
- January 19
- Antero Manninen, Finnish cellist
- Karen Lancaume, French actress (d. 2005)
- Ann-Kristin Aarønes, Norwegian footballer
- Aaron Yonda, American YouTube celebrity
- Wang Junxia, Chinese long-distance runner
- Yevgeny Sadovyi, Russian swimmer
- January 21
- Chris Kilmore, American rock DJ (Incubus)
- Duane Lee Chapman II American bail bondsman
- January 22 – Abi Tucker, Australian actor and singer
- January 29 – Jason Schmidt, American baseball player
- January 30 – Jalen Rose, American basketball player
- January 31 – Shingo Katayama, Japanese golfer
February
- February 1
- Yuri Landman, Dutch artist and musician
- Nick Mitchell, American wrestler
- February 2 – Aleksander Tammert, Estonian discus thrower
- February 3 – Ilana Sod, Mexican journalist
- February 4
- Oscar de la Hoya, American boxer
- James Hird, Australian rules footballer
- February 5 – Deng Yaping, Chinese table tennis player
- February 7 – Kate Thornton, British TV presenter
- February 8 – Sonia Deol, British-Asian presenter
- February 9 – Svetlana Boginskaya, Soviet gymnast
- February 10 – Gunn-Rita Dahle, Norwegian mountain biker
- February 11
- Varg Vikernes, Norwegian rock musician (Burzum)
- Craig Jones, American rock sampler (Slipknot)
- February 12 – Tara Strong, Canadian-born voice actress
- February 14 – Steve McNair, American football player (d. 2009)
- February 15 – Amy Van Dyken, American swimmer
- February 16 – Cathy Freeman, Australian athlete
- February 18 – Claude Makélélé, French footballer
- February 20 – Kimberley Davies, Australian actress
- February 22
- Shota Arveladze, Georgian football player
- Gustavo Assis-Brasil, Brazilian guitarist
- Scott Phillips, American rock drummer (Creed, Alter Bridge)
- February 24
- Alexei Kovalev, Russian ice hockey player
- Yordan Yovchev, Bulgarian gymnast
- February 26
- Anders Björler & Jonas Björler, heavy metal guitarists
- Marshall Faulk, American football player
- Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Norwegian footballer
- Jenny Thompson, American swimmer
- February 27
- Peter Andre, English singer and television personality
- Li Bingbing, Chinese actress
- February 28
- Eric Lindros, Canadian hockey player
- Masato Tanaka, Japanese professional wrestler
March
- March 1
- Jack Davenport, English actor
- Chris Webber, American basketball player
- Anton Gunn, American politician
- March 2 – Asi Taulava, Filipino-Tongan basketball player
- March 3 – Dejan Bodiroga, Serbian basketball player
- March 4 – Jennifer Cole, American actress, model and game show hostess
- March 5 – Ryan Franklin, American baseball pitcher
- March 6 - Rumi Ochiai, Japanese seiyuu
- March 7 – Rick Emerson, American talk show host and author
- March 9 – Aaron Boone, American baseball player
- March 10
- Dan Swanö, Swedish musician
- John LeCompt, American musician
- March 13
- Edgar Davids, Dutch footballer
- David Draiman song writer and lead singer for the band Disturbed
- March 15 – Lee Jung-jae, South Korean actor & model
- March 17 – Caroline Corr, Irish musician (The Corrs)
- March 18 - Luci Christian, American voice actress
- March 19
- Magnus Hedman, Swedish footballer
- Simmone Jade Mackinnon, Australian actor
- March 20 – Arjun Atwal, Indian golfer
- March 23 – Jason Kidd, American basketball player
- March 24
- Jacek Bąk, Polish footballer
- Jim Parsons, American actor
- March 26
- T. R. Knight, American actor
- Larry Page, American entrepreneur
- March 28 – Matt Nathanson, American singer-songwriter
- March 29 – Marc Overmars, Dutch footballer
- March 30 – Adam Goldstein, American DJ (d. 2009)
April
- April 1
- Stephen Fleming, New Zealand cricket captain
- Kris Marshall, British actor
- Rachel Maddow, News anchor
- April 2 – Roselyn Sanchez, Puerto Rican actress
- April 3
- Jamie Bamber, English actor
- Matthew Ferguson, Canadian actor
- April 4
- David Blaine, American magician
- Loris Capirossi, Italian motorcycle racer
- April 5 – Pharrell, American musician and producer (The Neptunes)
- April 6 – Rie Miyazawa, Japanese actress and singer
- April 10 – Roberto Carlos, Brazilian football player
- April 11 – Jennifer Esposito, American actress
- April 13 – Sergei Shnurov, Russian singer
- April 14 – Adrien Brody, Academy Award-winning American actor
- April 15 – Emanuel Rego, Brazilian beach volleyball player
- April 16 – Bonnie Pink, Japanese singer
- April 18 – Haile Gebrselassie, Ethiopian long-distance runner
- April 19 – George Gregan, Australian rugby union footballer
- April 22 – Christopher Sabat, American voice actor
- April 24
- Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricketer
- Lee Westwood, English golfer
- April 25 – Fredrik Larzon, Swedish rock musician (Millencolin)
- April 27 – Sharlee D'Angelo, Swedish guitarist
- April 28
- Melissa Fahn, American actress
- Elisabeth Röhm, German-born American actress
- April 30
- Jeff Timmons, American singer
- Akon, Senegalese-American hip hop and R&B singer
May
- May 1
- Oliver Neuville, German footballer
- Paul Burke, Irish rugby player
- May 3
- Brad Martin, American musician
- Michael Reiziger, Dutch footballer
- May 4 – Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Argentine footballer
- May 7 – Paolo Savoldelli, Italian professional road racing cyclist
- May 8
- Hiromu Arakawa, Japanese manga artist
- Marcus Brigstocke, British comedian
- May 9 – Tegla Loroupe, Kenyan long-distance runner
- May 10
- Gareth Ainsworth, English footballer
- Rüştü Reçber, Turkish football goalkeeper
- May 12 – Forbes March, American actor
- May 14
- Natalie Appleton, Canadian singer (All Saints)
- Shanice, American singer
- May 16
- Jason Acuna, American skateboarder and actor
- Tori Spelling, American actress
- May 17
- Joshua Homme, American musician
- Sasha Alexander, American actress
- May 18 – Kazuhiro Hayashi, Japanese professional wrestler
- May 19 – Dario Franchitti, Scottish race car driver
- May 21 – Noel Fielding, British comedian
- May 23 – Jacopo Gianninoto, Italian musician
- May 24 – Dermot O'Leary, British TV presenter
- May 25
- Demetri Martin, American comedian
- Jean-Pierre Canlis, American glass artist
- May 30 – Leigh Francis, British comedian
- May 31 – Dominique van Roost, Belgian tennis player
June
- June 1
- Fred Deburghgraeve, Belgian swimmer
- Heidi Klum, German model
- Derek Lowe, American baseball player
- June 6 – Kat Swift, American presidential candidate
- June 8 – Lexa Doig, Canadian actress
- June 9 – Tedy Bruschi, American football player
- June 10 – Faith Evans, American singer
- June 12 – Darryl White, Australian footballer
- June 13
- Sam Adams, American football player
- Cheryl "Coko" Clemons, American singer (SWV)
- June 14 – Ceca Raznatovic, Serbian Folk singer
- June 15
- Neil Patrick Harris, American actor
- Greg Vaughan, American actor
- June 19 – Yuko Nakazawa, Japanese singer
- June 20 – Chino Moreno, American musician
- June 21 – Juliette Lewis, American actress
- June 22 – Carson Daly, American talk show host
- June 24 – Alexander Beyer, German actor
- June 26 – Paweł Małaszyński, Polish actor
- June 27 – Olve Eikemo, Norwegian musician
- June 28 – Adrián Annus, Hungarian athlete
- June 30 – Chan Ho Park, Korean Major League Baseball player
July
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- July 3 – Emma Cunniffe, British actress
- July 4 – Gackt, Japanese singer-songwriter and actor
- July 7 – Natsuki Takaya, Japanese manga artist
- July 9 – Kelly Holcomb, American football player
- July 11 – Konstantinos Kenteris, Greek athlete
- July 12 – Christian Vieri, Italian soccer player
- July 14 – Halil Mutlu, Bulgaria-born Turkish weightlifter
- July 15
- Brian Austin Green, American actor
- John Dolmayan, Lebanese-born rock drummer for the band System of a Down
- July 16
- Stefano Garzelli, Italian professional road racing cyclist
- Graham Robertson, American filmmaker and author
- July 17
- Eric Moulds, American football player
- Liam Kyle Sullivan, American comedian
- July 20
- Peter Forsberg, Swedish hockey player
- HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway
- July 22
- Daniel Jones, Australian musician and record producer
- Rufus Wainwright, American-Canadian musician
- July 23
- Nomar Garciaparra, American baseball player
- Monica Lewinsky, American former White House intern
- July 25 – Kevin Phillips, English footballer
- July 25 – Tony Vincent, American actor and singer
- July 26 – Kate Beckinsale, English actress
- July 27 – Gorden Tallis, Australian rugby league player
- July 28 – Steve Staios, Canadian ice hockey player
- July 29 – Wanya Morris, American singer (Boyz II Men)
- July 30
- Markus Näslund, Swedish ice hockey player
- Sonu Nigam, Indian singer
August
- August 2 – Miguel Mendonca, Anglo-Azorean writer
- August 6
- Asia Carrera, American actress
- Vera Farmiga, American actress
- August 9 – Filippo Inzaghi, Italian footballer
- August 11 – Carolyn Murphy, American model
- August 12 – Richard Reid, English terrorist
- August 14
- Jared Borgetti, Mexican footballer
- Kieren Perkins, Australian swimmer
- Jay-Jay Okocha, Nigerian soccer player (footballer)
- August 15 – Adnan Sami, music composer, pianist, singer
- August 16 – Damian Jackson, baseball player
- August 19
- HRH Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway
- Marco Materazzi, Italian football player
- August 20 – Todd Helton, American baseball player
- August 21
- Steve McKenna, hockey player
- Nikolai Valuev, Russian heavyweight boxing champion
- Sergey Brin, Soviet-born American entrepreneur, co-founder of Google
- August 22
- Howie Dorough, American singer (Backstreet Boys)
- Kristen Wiig, American actress and comedian
- August 24
- Dave Brown, English comedian, photographer, graphic designer, choreographer and naan bread
- Dave Chappelle, American actor, comedian
- Inge de Bruijn, Dutch swimmer
- Carmine Giovinazzo, American actor
- August 28 – Kirby Morrow, Canadian voice actor
- August 30 – Lisa Ling, American journalist
September
- September 1 – Ram Kapoor, Indian actor
- September 4 – Jason David Frank, American actor and martial artist
- September 5 – Rose McGowan, American actress
- September 6
- Carlo Cudicini, Italian footballer
- Greg Rusedski, Anglo-Canadian tennis player
- September 7 – Shannon Elizabeth, American actress
- September 9 – Kazuhisa Ishii, Japanese baseball player
- September 12
- Darren Campbell, British athlete
- Paul Walker, American actor
- September 13 – Fabio Cannavaro, Italian footballer
- September 14 – Andrew Lincoln, British actor
- September 15
- Julie Cox, English actress
- Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland, né Olof Daniel Westling, Swedish prince, married to Crown Princess Victoria
- September 17 – Ada Choi, Hong Kong actress
- September 18
- Paul Brousseau, Canadian ice hockey player
- James Marsden, American actor
- Mark Shuttleworth, South African entrepreneur
- Ami Onuki, Japanese singer
- September 19 – José Azevedo, Portuguese cyclist
- September 21 – Oswaldo Sanchez, Mexican footballer
- September 22
- Craig McRae, Australian footballer
- Yoo Chae-yeong, South Korean singer and actress
- September 24 – Eddie George, American football player
- September 25 – Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, American actress
- September 29
- Joe Hulbig, American ice hockey player
- Alfie Boe, English tenor
October
- October 1 – Christian Borle, American singer and actor
- October 2 – Lene Nystrøm, Norwegian singer (Aqua)
- October 3
- Neve Campbell, Canadian actress
- Richard Ian Cox, Canadian voice actor and radio host
- October 4 – Chris Parks, American professional wrestler
- October 5 – Annabelle Chvostek, Canadian singer/songwriter/singer
- October 6 – Ioan Gruffudd, Welsh actor
- October 9 – Steven Burns, Blues Clues Actor
- October 10 – Mario López, American actor
- October 11 – Takeshi Kaneshiro, Taiwanese/Japanese actor
- October 13
- Nanako Matsushima, Japanese actress
- Matt Hughes, American mixed martial arts fighter
- October 14 – Lasha Zhvania, Georgian Politician
- October 19 – Joaquin Gage, Canadian ice hockey player
- October 21 – Beverly Turner, British TV and radio presenter
- October 22 – Ichiro Suzuki, Japanese baseball player
- October 24 – Levi Leipheimer, American professional cyclist
- October 25
- Lamont Bentley, American actor (d. 2005)
- Maxi Mounds, American female stripper, largest breasts in the world
- October 26
- Seth MacFarlane, American animator and voice actor
- Taka Michinoku, Japanese professional wrestler
- October 28 – MVP, WWE Raw wrestler
- October 29 – Robert Pirès, French football player
- October 30
- Silvia Corzo, Colombian newsreader
- Edge, retired Canadian professional wrestler, 4-time WWE Champion
November
- November 1
- Assia, Algerian singer
- Aishwarya Rai, Indian actress
- Li Xiaoshuang, Chinese gymnast
- November 3 – Mick Thomson, American guitarist (Slipknot)
- November 5
- Johnny Damon, baseball player
- Peter Emmerich, American illustrator
- November 9
- Maija Vilkkumaa, Finnish pop rock singer
- Alyson Court, Canadian actress ( The Big Comfy Couch)
- Nick Lachey, American singer (98 Degrees)
- November 10, – Jacqui Abbott, English singer (The Beautiful South)
- November 14
- Lawyer Milloy, American football player
- Dana Snyder, American voice actor
- November 20 – Sav Rocca, American football player and former Australian rules footballer
- November 22 – Cassie Campbell, Canadian ice hockey forward and CBC commentator
- November 26 – Peter Facinelli, American actor
- November 28
- Jade Puget, American guitarist (AFI)
- Rob Conway, American professional wrestler
- November 29
- Ryan Giggs, Welsh footballer
- Raphael Smith, South African screenwriter and songwriter
- November 30
- Lim Chang-jung, South Korean actor
- Jason Reso, Canadian professional wrestler
December
- December 2
- Monica Seles, Yugoslavian-born tennis player
- Jan Ullrich, German professional road bicycle racer
- December 3 – Holly Marie Combs, American actress
- December 4
- Tyra Banks, American supermodel and talk show host
- Steven Menzies, Australian rugby league player
- December 5 – Mikelangelo Loconte, Italian singer
- December 7
- Terrell Owens, American football player
- Damien Rice, Irish singer-songwriter, musician and record producer
- December 8 – Corey Taylor, American rock vocalist (Slipknot, Stone Sour)
- December 9 – Bárbara Padilla American operatic soprano
- December 14
- Thuy Trang, Vietnamese-born actress (d. 2001)
- Tomasz Radzinski, Canadian footballer
- December 15 – Surya Bonaly, French figure skater
- December 16 – Scott Storch, American hip-hop producer
- December 17 – Paula Radcliffe, British athlete
- December 18 – Darryl Brown, Trinidad and West Indian cricketer
- December 20 – Antti Kasvio, Finnish swimmer
- December 24
- Kerry Nettle, Australian Senator
- Stephenie Meyer, American author
- December 25 – Chris Harris, American professional wrestler
- December 27
- Wilson Cruz, American actor
- Kristoffer Zegers, Dutch composer
- December 28
- Ids Postma, Dutch speed skater
- Seth Meyers, American actor and comedian
- December 29 – Theo Epstein, American baseball general manager
- December 30
- Jason Behr, American actor
- Ato Boldon, West Indian athlete
- December 31 – Nikolay Tsiskaridze, Russian dancer
Deaths
January
- January 1
- Sergei Kourdakov, former KGB agent (b. 1951)
- Sir Arthur Elton, pioneer of the British documentary film industry (b. 1906)
- January 7 – Mark Essex, American spree killer (b. 1949)
- January 8 – Dudley Foster, British actor (b. 1924)
- January 19 – Max Adrian, Northern Irish actor (b. 1903)
- January 22 – Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th President of the United States (b. 1908)
- January 23 – Kid Ory, American musician (b. 1886)
- January 24 – J. Carrol Naish, American actor (b. 1897)
- January 26 – Edward G. Robinson, American actor (b. 1893)
- January 28 – John Banner, Austrian-born actor (b. 1910)
- January 29 – Ludwig Stössel, Austrian actor (b. 1883)
- January 31 – Ragnar Anton Kittil Frisch, Norwegian economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
February
- February 11 – Hans D Jensen, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
- February 15
- February 16 – Francisco Caamaño, Dominican politician (b. 1932)
- February 19 – Joseph Szigeti, Hungarian violinist (b. 1892)
- February 22
- Elizabeth Bowen, Irish novelist (b. 1899)
- Katina Paxinou, Greek actress (b. 1900)
- February 23 – Dickinson W. Richards, American physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1895)
- February 28 – Cecil Kellaway, South African actor (b. 1893)
March
- March 3 – Vera Panova, Soviet-Russian writer (b. 1905)
- March 6 – Pearl S. Buck, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
- March 8 – Ron Pigpen McKernan, American rock musician (Grateful Dead) (b. 1945)
- March 10 – Robert Siodmak, German-American director (b. 1900)
- March 13 – Melville Cooper, British actor (b. 1896)
- March 14
- Rafael Godoy, Colombian composer (b. 1907)
- Chic Young, American cartoonist (b. 1901)
- March 18
- Johannes Aavik, Estonian philologist (b. 1880)
- Lauritz Melchoir, Danish opera singer (b. 1890)
- March 23 – Ken Maynard, American actor (b. 1895)
- March 25 – Edward Steichen, American photographer (b. 1879)
- March 26
- Safford Cape, American composer and musicologist (b. 1906)
- Noël Coward, English composer and playwright (b. 1899)
- George Sisler, American baseball player (b. 1893)
April
- April 8 – Pablo Picasso, Spanish artist (b. 1881)
- April 12
- Arthur Freed, American film producer (b. 1894)
- Henry Darger, reclusive American outsider artist (b. 1892)
- April 16
- Istvan Kertesz, Hungarian conductor (b. 1929)
- Nino Bravo, singer (b. 1944)
- April 19 – Hans Kelsen, Austrian-born legal theorist (b. 1881)
- April 20 – Robert Armstrong, American actor (b. 1890)
- April 21
- Merian C. Cooper, American aviator, director, and producer (b. 1893)
- Arthur Fadden, 13th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894)
- April 26 – Irene Ryan, American actress (b. 1902)
- April 28 – Jacques Maritain, Catholic philosopher (b. 1882)
- April 30 – Václav Renč, Czech poet, dramatist and translator (b. 1911)
May
- May 1 – Asger Jorn, Danish painter (b. 1914)
- May 2 – Alan Carney, American actor and comedian (b. 1909)
- May 10 – Jack E. Leonard, American comedian (b. 1910)
- May 11 – Lex Barker, American actor (b. 1919)
- May 12 – Frances Marion, American screenwriter (b. 1888)
- May 14 – Jean Gebser, German author, linguist, and poet (b. 1905)
- May 18
- Dieudonné Costes, French aviator (b. 1892)
- Jeannette Rankin, first U.S. Congresswoman (b. 1880)
- May 20 – Jarno Saarinen, Finnish motorcycle racer (b. 1945)
- May 21 – Vaughn Monroe, American singer (b. 1911)
- May 26 – Jay C. Higginbotham, American musician (b. 1906)
June
- June 1 – Mary Kornman, American actress (b. 1915)
- June 3 – Dory Funk, American professional wrestler (b. 1919)
- June 4 – Arna Bontemps, African-American Harlem Renaissance writer (b. 1902)
- June 5 – Max Terhune, American actor (b. 1891)
- June 9 – Erich von Manstein, German field marshal (b. 1887)
- June 10 – William Inge, American playwright (b. 1913)
- June 18 – Roger Delgado, English actor (b. 1918)
- June 23 – Fay Holden, American actress (b. 1893)
- June 24 – Mary Carr, American actress (b. 1874)
- June 26 – Ernest Truex, American actor (b. 1889)
- June 30
- Nancy Mitford, English novelist (b. 1904)
- Blessed Vasyl Velychkovsky C.Ss.R, Ukrainian Catholic bishop and martyr (b. 1903)
July
- July 1 – Yosef Alon, Israeli pilot, co-founder of the Israeli Air Force, assassinated in the United States (b. 1929)
- July 2
- Betty Grable, American actress (b. 1916)
- Swede Savage, American race car driver (b. 1946)
- July 5 – Golwalkar, Second sarsanghchalak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (b. 1906)
- July 6
- Otto Klemperer, German-born conductor (b. 1885)
- Joe E. Brown, American actor (b. 1892)
- July 7 – Veronica Lake, American actress (b. 1922)
- July 8
- Ben-Zion Dinur, Russian-born Israeli educator, historian and politician (b. 1884)
- Wilfred Rhodes, English cricketer (b. 1877)
- July 11
- Robert Ryan, American actor (b. 1909)
- Alexander Mosolov, Russian composer (b. 1900)
- July 12 – Lon Chaney, Jr., American actor (b. 1906)
- July 18 – Jack Hawkins, British actor (b. 1910)
- July 20
- Robert Smithson, American artist (b. 1938)
- Bruce Lee, Chinese-American martial artist and actor (b. 1940)
- July 27 – Eddie Rickenbacker, American World War I flying ace and race car driver (b. 1890)
- July 29
- Henri Charriere, French writer (b. 1906)
- Roger Williamson, British race car driver (b. 1948)
August
- August 1
- Gian Francesco Malipiero, Italian composer (b. 1882)
- Walter Ulbricht, East German leader (b. 1893)
- August 2 – Jean-Pierre Melville, French film director (b. 1917)
- August 4 – Eddie Condon, American jazz musician (b. 1905)
- August 6
- James Beck, British actor (b. 1929)
- Fulgencio Batista, Cuban dictator (b. 1901)
- August 9 – Charles Daniels, American Olympic swimmer (b. 1885)
- August 10 – Douglas Kennedy, American actor (b. 1915)
- August 11 – Karl Ziegler, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
- August 12
- Dayanand Bandodkar, Chief Minister of Goa (b. 1911)
- Walter Rudolf Hess, Swiss physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1881)
- August 16
- Veda Ann Borg, American actress (b. 1915)
- Selman Waksman, Ukrainian-born biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1888)
- August 17
- Conrad Aiken, American writer (b. 1889)
- Jean Barraqué, French composer (b. 1928)
- Paul Williams, American singer (b. 1939)
- August 30 – Michael Dunn, American actor (b. 1934)
- August 31 – John Ford, American film director (b. 1895)
September
- September 2
- Diana Sands, American actress (b. 1934)
- J. R. R. Tolkien, British writer (b. 1892)
- September 11 – Salvador Allende, President of Chile (b. 1908)
- September 13
- Betty Field, American actress (b. 1913)
- Sajjad Zaheer, Urdu writer and revolutionary (b. 1905)
- September 15
- King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden (b. 1882)
- Victor Jara, Chilean politician and singer-songwriter (b. 1932)
- September 18 – Ken Harada, first diplomat from Japan to the Holy See (age 80)
- September 19 – Gram Parsons, American musician (b. 1946)
- September 20
- Jim Croce, American songwriter (b. 1943)
- Glenn Strange, American actor (b. 1899)
- September 23 – Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
- September 24 – Josué de Castro, Brazilian writer, physician, geographer and activist against hunger (b. 1908)
- September 26
- Ralph Earnhardt, American race car driver (b. 1928)
- Anna Magnani, Italian actress (b. 1908)
- September 29 – W. H. Auden, English poet (b. 1907)
- September 28 – Norma Crane, American actress (b. 1928)
- September 30 – Peter Pitseolak, Inuit photographer and author (b. 1902)
October
- October 2
- Paul Hartman, American dancer and actor (b. 1904)
- Paavo Nurmi, Finnish runner (b. 1897)
- October 6
- Sidney Blackmer, American actor (b. 1895)
- François Cevert, French race car driver (b. 1944)
- October 8 – Gabriel Marcel, French Catholic existential thinker (b. 1889)
- October 10 – Ludwig von Mises, Austrian economist (b. 1881)
- October 14
- Edmund A. Chester, American broadcaster and journalist (b.1897)
- Ahmed Hamdi, Egyptian soldier, who fought in Yom Kippur (b.1929)
- October 16 – Gene Krupa, American jazz drummer (b. 1909)
- October 17 – Ingeborg Bachmann, Austrian writer (b. 1926)
- October 18
- Walt Kelly, American cartoonist (b. 1913)
- Crane Wilbur, American actor (b. 1886)
- October 19 – Margaret Caroline Anderson, American magazine publisher (b. 1886)
- October 22 – Pablo Casals, Spanish cellist and conductor (b. 1876)
- October 25 – Abebe Bikila, Ethiopian long-distance runner (b. 1932)
- October 27 – Allan "Rocky" Lane, American actor (b. 1909)
- October 28 – Cleo Moore, American actress (b. 1928)
November
- November 3 – Marc Allégret, French film director (b. 1900)
- November 10 – David "Stringbean" Akeman, American banjo player (b. 1915)
- November 11 – Artturi Ilmari Virtanen, Finnish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
- November 13 – Lila Lee, American actress (b. 1901)
- November 23
- Sessue Hayakawa, Japanese-American actor (b. 1889)
- Constance Talmadge, American actress (b. 1897)
- November 25 – Laurence Harvey, English actor (b. 1928)
- November 27 – Frank Christian, American musician (b. 1887)
- November 28 – John Rostill, English bassist, musician and composer (The Shadows) (b. 1942)
- November 30 – Allan Sherman, American musical parodist (b. 1924)
December
- December 1 – David Ben-Gurion, Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1886)
- December 2 – Richard G. Colbert, American admiral (.b 1915)
- December 3 – Emile Christian, American musician (b. 1895)
- December 4 – Michael O'Shea, American actor (b. 1906)
- December 5 – Robert Watson-Watt, Scottish engineer, inventor of radar (b. 1892)
- December 20
- Bobby Darin, American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, dancer, impressionist and TV presenter (b. 1936)
- Luis Carrero Blanco, first minister of Spain (assassinated) (b. 1907)
- December 25
- Gabriel Voisin, French aviation pioneer (b. 1880)
- İsmet İnönü, Turkish general, prime minister, and president (b. 1884)
- Adrian Scott, American screenwriter, one of the Hollywood Ten (b. 1912)
- December 26
- William Haines, American actor (b. 1900)
- Harold B. Lee, American president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1899)
Nobel prizes
- Physics – Leo Esaki, Ivar Giaever, Brian David Josephson
- Chemistry – Ernst Otto Fischer, Geoffrey Wilkinson
- Medicine – Karl von Frisch, Konrad Lorenz, Nikolaas Tinbergen
- Literature – Patrick White
- Peace – Henry A. Kissinger, Le Duc Tho
- Economics – Wassily Leontief