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1954

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From top to bottom, left to right: theBattle of Dien Bien Phu ends with a decisive Vietnamese victory over French forces;Jonas Salk announces the development of the polio vaccine; the1954 FIFA World Cup is held in Switzerland, withWest Germany winning its first title; theGeneva Conference ends theFirst Indochina War and endedFrench Indochina into new independent countries fromFrance withthe Democratic Republic of Vietnam,South Vietnam,Laos, andCambodia and divides Vietnam at the 17th parallel; theAlgerian War begins with Algerian independence movement against France with theToussaint Rouge attacks; the1954 Guatemalan coup d'état topples PresidentJacobo Árbenz with U.S. support;Hurricane Hazel strikes the Caribbean, the U.S., and Canada, causing widespread destruction; the1954 Blons avalanches in Austria kill dozens of people; andCastle Romeo is detonated as part of the U.S. nuclear testing program in the Pacific.

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1954 by topic
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Afghanistan Australia Belgium Brazil Bulgaria Canada China Colombia Denmark France Germany India Ireland Iran Israel Japan Luxembourg Malaya Mexico New Zealand Norway Pakistan Philippines Portugal Singapore South Africa South Korea Soviet Union Spain Sweden Switzerland Thailand Turkey United Kingdom United States
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v t e

1954 in variouscalendars
Gregorian calendar	1954 MCMLIV
Ab urbe condita	2707
Armenian calendar	1403 ԹՎ ՌՆԳ
Assyrian calendar	6704
Baháʼí calendar	110–111
Balinese saka calendar	1875–1876
Bengali calendar	1360–1361
Berber calendar	2904
British Regnal year	2 Eliz. 2 – 3 Eliz. 2
Buddhist calendar	2498
Burmese calendar	1316
Byzantine calendar	7462–7463
Chinese calendar	癸巳年 (Water Snake) 4651 or 4444 — to — 甲午年 (Wood Horse) 4652 or 4445
Coptic calendar	1670–1671
Discordian calendar	3120
Ethiopian calendar	1946–1947
Hebrew calendar	5714–5715
Hindu calendars
-Vikram Samvat	2010–2011
-Shaka Samvat	1875–1876
-Kali Yuga	5054–5055
Holocene calendar	11954
Igbo calendar	954–955
Iranian calendar	1332–1333
Islamic calendar	1373–1374
Japanese calendar	Shōwa 29 (昭和２９年)
Javanese calendar	1885–1886
Juche calendar	43
Julian calendar	Gregorian minus 13 days
Korean calendar	4287
Minguo calendar	ROC 43 民國43年
Nanakshahi calendar	486
Thai solar calendar	2497
Tibetan calendar	ཆུ་མོ་སྦྲུལ་ལོ་ (female Water-Snake) 2080 or 1699 or 927 — to — ཤིང་ཕོ་རྟ་ལོ་ (male Wood-Horse) 2081 or 1700 or 928

Wikimedia Commons has media related to1954.

1954 (MCMLIV) was acommon year starting on Friday of theGregorian calendar, the 1954th year of theCommon Era (CE) andAnno Domini (AD) designations, the 954th year of the2nd millennium, the 54th year of the20th century, and the 5th year of the1950s decade.

Calendar year

Events

[edit]

January

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Main article:January 1954

January 3 – The Italian broadcasterRAI officially begins transmitting.^[1]
January 7 –Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of amachine translation system is held in New York, at the head office ofIBM.^[2]
January 10 –BOAC Flight 781, ade Havilland Comet jet plane, disintegrates in mid-air due tometal fatigue, and crashes in the Mediterranean nearElba; all 35 people on board are killed.^[3]
January 12 –Avalanches in Austria kill more than 200.
January 15 –Mau Mau leaderWaruhiu Itote is captured inKenya.^[4]
January 17 – InYugoslavia,Milovan Đilas, one of the leading members of theLeague of Communists of Yugoslavia, is relieved of his duties.
January 20 – The US-basedNational Negro Network is established, with 46 memberradio stations.
January 21 – The first nuclear-poweredsubmarine, theUSS Nautilus, is launched inGroton, Connecticut, byFirst Lady of the United States Mamie Eisenhower.^[5]
January 25 – The foreign ministers of the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union meet at theBerlin Conference.^[6]

February

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Main article:February 1954

February 10 – After authorizing $385 million over the $400 million already budgeted for military aid toVietnam,President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower warns against his country's intervention inVietnam.
February 19 –1954 transfer of Crimea: TheSoviet Politburo of theSoviet Union orders the transfer of theCrimean Oblast from theRussian SFSR to theUkrainian SSR.
February 23 – The first massvaccination of children againstpolio begins inPittsburgh,Pennsylvania, United States.^[7]
February 25 – Lt. Col.Gamal Abdel Nasser becomes premier ofEgypt.

March

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Main article:March 1954

March 1
- U.S. officials announce that ahydrogen bomb test (Castle Bravo) has been conducted, onBikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
- U.S. Capitol shooting incident: FourPuerto Rican nationalists open fire in theUnited States House of Representatives chamber and wound 5; they are apprehended by security guards.
March 9 – American journalistsEdward R. Murrow andFred W. Friendly produce a 30-minuteSee It Now documentary, entitledA Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy.
March 12 – Finland and Germany officially end their state of war.
March 13 –Việt Minh forces under GeneralVõ Nguyên Giáp began a massive artillery bombardment on the French military, beginning theBattle of Dien Bien Phu, the climactic battle of theFirst Indochina War.
March 19 –Joey Giardello knocks out Willie Tory atMadison Square Garden in the firsttelevised boxing prize fight to be shown in colour.
March 23 – In Vietnam, theViet Minh capture the main airstrip ofDien Bien Phu. The remaining French Army units there are partially isolated.
March 25
- The26th Academy Awards Ceremony is held.
- TheSoviet Union recognises thesovereignty ofEast Germany. Soviet troops remain in the country.
March 27 – TheCastle Romeo nuclear test explosion is executed atBikini Atoll, in theMarshall Islands.
March 28
- The trial ofA. L. Zissu and 12 other Zionist leaders ends with harsh sentences inCommunist Romania.
- Puerto Rico's first television station,WKAQ-TV, commencesbroadcasting.
March 29 – AC-47 transport with French nurseGeneviève de Galard on board is wrecked on the runway atDien Bien Phu.
March 30 – The first operationalsubway line in Canada opens inToronto.^[8]

April

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Main article:April 1954

April 1
- TheU.S. Congress and PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower authorize the founding of theUnited States Air Force Academy inColorado.
- South Point School in India is founded, and becomes the largest school in the world by1992.
April 3 –Petrov Affair: DiplomatVladimir Petrov defects from theSoviet Union and asks forpolitical asylum in Australia.
April 4 – Legendary symphony conductorArturo Toscanini experiences a lapse of memory during a concert broadcast live from Carnegie Hall in New York City. At this concert's end, his retirement is announced, and he never conducts in public again.
April 7 –Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his "domino theory" speech, during a news conference.
April 8 – A Royal Canadian Air Force CanadairHarvard collides with aTrans-Canada Air Lines Canadair North Star overMoose Jaw,Saskatchewan, killing 37 people.
April 10 – The modern form ofvalue-added tax is first implemented byMaurice Lauré, joint director of the French tax authority, in France'sIvory Coast colony.^[9]
April 11
- This day is denoted as the mostboring day in the 20th century byTrue Knowledge, ananswer engine developed byWilliam Tunstall-Pedoe. No significant newsworthy events, births, or deaths are known to have happened on this day.^[10]
- In ageneral election in Belgium, the dominantChristian Social Party wins 95 of the 212 seats in theChamber of Representatives, and 49 of the 106 seats in theSenate. The government led byJean Van Houtte loses their majority in parliament. The two other main parties, theSocialist andLiberal Party, subsequently form a rare "purple" government, withAchille Van Acker as Prime Minister.^[11]
April 12 –Bill Haley & His Comets record "Rock Around the Clock" in their first session for American Decca in New York City; it is released on May 20 as a B-side, but only in1955 becomes a #1 hit, helping to initiate therock and roll craze.
April 14
- Aneurin Bevan resigns from theBritish Labour Party'sShadow Cabinet in protest over his party's failure to oppose the rearmament of West Germany.
- A Soviet spy ring in Australia is unveiled.
April 16 – Vice PresidentRichard Nixon announces that the United States may be "putting our own boys in Indochina regardless of Allied support".^[12]
April 22
- The1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees comes into force, defining the status ofrefugees and setting out the basis for grantingright of asylum.
- Senator Joseph McCarthy begins hearings investigating theUnited States Army for being "soft" onCommunism.
April 26
- Aninternational conference on Korea and Indo-China opens in Geneva.
- Akira Kurosawa'sSeven Samurai is released in Japan.
April 28 – U.S. Secretary of StateJohn Foster Dulles accuses Communist China of sending combat troops to Indo-China to trainViet Minh guerrillas.^[13]

May

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Main article:May 1954

May 1 – TheUnification Church is founded in South Korea.
May 4 – GeneralAlfredo Stroessner deposesFederico Chaves in acoup d'état inParaguay; from August 15 he will hold the office ofPresident until1989.
May 6 –Roger Bannister runs the firstsub-four minute mile, inOxford, England.
May 7 –Vietnam War (run-up): TheBattle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat (the battle began onMarch 13).
May 8 – TheAsian Football Confederation (AFC) is formed inManila,Philippines.
May 11 – U.S. Secretary of StateJohn Foster Dulles declares that Indochina is important but not essential to the security of Southeast Asia, thus ending any prospect of American intervention on the side of France.
May 14
- TheBoeing 707 jetliner is rolled out in the United States, after about 2 years of development.
- TheHague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict is adopted inThe Hague, Netherlands.
May 15 – TheLatin Union (Unión Latina) is created by the Convention ofMadrid. Its member countries use the fiveRomance languages: Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian. It suspended operations in2012.
May 16 – Beginning of theKengir uprising in theGulag.^[14]
May 17
- Brown v. Board of Education (347 US 483 1954): TheSupreme Court of the United States rules unanimously that segregated schools are unconstitutional.
- TheRoyal Commission on thePetrov Affair in Australia begins its inquiry.
- Adnan Menderes of theDemocrat Party forms the new (21st) government ofTurkey.
May 20 –Chiang Kai-shek is re-elected as thepresident of the Republic of China, by theNational Assembly.
May 22 – The commonNordic Labour Market act is signed.
May 26 – A fire on board the U.S. Navy aircraft carrierUSSBennington, offNarragansett Bay,Massachusetts, kills 103 sailors.^[15]
May 29
- 1954 Australian federal election:Robert Menzies'Liberal/Country Coalition Government is re-elected with a decreased majority, defeating theLabor Party led byH.V. Evatt. The election has come shortly after thePetrov Affair, arguably helping the Government survive what was initially predicted to be a defeat.
- Creation and first meeting of theBilderberg Group.
- Diane Leather becomes the first woman to run a sub-five minute mile, inBirmingham, England.^[16]

June

[edit]

Main article:June 1954

June 6 – The grand opening of thesculpture of Yuriy Dolgorukiy takes place in Moscow (this statue is one of the main monuments of Moscow).
June 7 – English cryptanalyst, mathematician and computer scientistAlan Turing, age 41, commits suicide by cyanide poisoning.
June 9 –McCarthyism:Joseph N. Welch, special counsel for the United States Army, lashes out atSenator Joseph McCarthy, during hearings on whetherCommunism has infiltrated the Army, saying, "Have you, at long last, no decency?"^[17] The exchange results in the decline of McCarthy's popularity.
June 14 – The words "under God" are added to the United StatesPledge of Allegiance.
June 15 – TheUEFA (Union of European Football Associations) is formed inBasel, Switzerland.
June 17 – ACIA-engineered military coup occurs inGuatemala.
June 18 –Pierre Mendès France becomes prime minister of France.
June 22
- Sarah Mae Flemming is expelled from a bus in South Carolina, for sitting in a white-only section.
- Parker–Hulme murder case:Pauline Parker, 16 and her friendJuliet Hulme, 15, bludgeon Parker's mother to death using a brick, atVictoria Park in New Zealand.
June 27
- Guatemalan PresidentJacobo Árbenz steps down in aCIA-sponsoredmilitary coup, triggering a bloody civil war that continues for more than 35 years.
- The world's firstatomic power station opens atObninsk, near Moscow.

July

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Main article:July 1954

July 1
- TheCommon Nordic Labor Market Act comes into effect.
- The United States officially begins using the international unit of the nautical mile, equal to 6,076.11549 ft. or 1,852 meters.
July 4
- Food rationing in Great Britain ends, with the lifting of restrictions on sale and purchase of meat, 14 years after it began early inWorld War II, and nearly a decade after the war's end.
- "Miracle of Bern":West Germany beatsHungary 3–2 to win the1954 FIFA World Cup.
July 10 –Peter Thomson becomes the first Australian to win theBritish Open Golf Championship.
July 15
- TheBoeing 367-80 (or Dash 80), prototype of theBoeing 707 series, makes its maiden flight.
- Juan Fangio,Argentine driver for GermanGrand Prix teamMercedes-Benz, makes a new fastest lap of theSilverstone Circuit in England, with an average speed of 100.35 mph, the previous record being 100.16 mph.
July 17 –First Indochina War:Viet Minh troops successfully ambush the armoured French column 'G.M. 42' in theBattle of Chu Dreh Pass in theCentral Highlands. It is the last battle of the war.^[18]
July 19 – Release ofElvis Presley's first single, a cover of "That's All Right", bySun Records (recordedJuly 5 inMemphis, Tennessee).
July 21 –First Indochina War: TheGeneva Conference sends French forces to the south, and Vietnamese forces to the north, of a ceasefire line, and calls for elections to decide the government for all ofVietnam by July 1956. Failure to abide by the terms of the agreement leads to the establishment of the de facto regimes ofNorth Vietnam andSouth Vietnam, and theVietnam War.
July 29 – The construction of Yad Vashem started in Jerusalem. It is an official memorial center to commemorate the victims of the persecution of the Jews by the Nazis and their accomplices in Europe.
July 29 –The Fellowship of the Ring, the first of three volumes in J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy novel,The Lord of the Rings, is published in London.
July 31 –1954 Italian expedition to K2: Italian mountaineersLino Lacedelli andAchille Compagnoni become the first to reach the summit of the second highest mountain in the world, in theKarakoram range.

August

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Main article:August 1954

August 1 – TheFirst Indochina War ends with theVietnam People's Army inNorth Vietnam, theVietnamese National Army inSouth Vietnam, theKingdom of Cambodia inCambodia, and theKingdom of Laos inLaos, emerging victorious against the French Army.
August 6 – Emilie Dionne, one of theDionne quintuplets, dies ofasphyxiation following anepileptic seizure. She is the first of the Canadian five to perish; three live into the 21st century.
August 16 – The first issue ofSports Illustrated magazine is published in the United States.
August 23 – AUnited States Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules makes its first flight atBurbank, California, manufactured byLockheed Martin.
August 24 – Brazilian presidentGetúlio Vargas commits suicide, after being accused of involvement in a conspiracy to murder his chief political opponent,Carlos Lacerda.

September

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Main article:September 1954

September 6 – TheSoutheast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) treaty is signed inManila,Philippines.
September 8 – SEATO is established inBangkok,Thailand.
September 9 – The 6.7M_w Chlef earthquake shakes northernAlgeria, with a maximumMercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). The shock destroysOrléansville, leaving 1,243–1,409 dead, and 5,000 injured.
September 11 – TheMiss America Pageant is broadcast on television for the first time.
September 14
- TheSoviet Union carries out theTotskoye nuclear exercise.
- English composerBenjamin Britten'schamber opera version ofThe Turn of the Screw receives its world premiere, at theTeatro La Fenice inVenice, Italy.
September 17 –William Golding's allegorical dystopian novelLord of the Flies is published in London.
September 18 – Finnish presidentJ. K. Paasikivi is the first Western head of state to be awarded the highest honor of theSoviet Union, theOrder of Lenin.^[19]^[20]
September 20 – The firstMoominscomic strip is published in the London newspaperThe Evening News.^[21]
September 25 –Footscray Football Club wins their firstAustralian Football League Grand Final.
September 26 – Japanese ferryTōya Maru sinks during atyphoon in theTsugaru Strait. More than 1,100 people are killed, 7 other ships arewrecked, and at least nine others seriously damaged.
September 27 –The Tonight Show first airs on live television onNBC in the United States being the first late night talk show.
September 30 – TheUSS Nautilus (SSN-571), the first nuclear-poweredsubmarine in the world, is commissioned into theUnited States Navy.

October

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Main article:October 1954

October 11
- Pre-Vietnam War: TheViet Minh takes control ofNorth Vietnam.
- Hurricane Hazel crosses overHaiti, killing 1,000.
October 15 –Hurricane Hazel makes U.S. landfall; it is the only recordedCategory 4 hurricane to strike as far north asNorth Carolina
October 18
- Texas Instruments announces the development of the first commercialtransistor radio. TheRegency TR-1 goes on sale the following month.
- Thecomic stripHi and Lois, byMort Walker andDik Browne, is launched in the United States.
October 23
- West Germany joinsNATO.
- Paris Agreement sets up theWestern European Union to implement theTreaty of Brussels (1948), providing for mutual self-defence and other collaboration between Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
October 25 –Landslides caused by heavy rains hitSalerno, Italy, killing about 300.
October 26 –Muslim Brotherhood member Mahmoud Abdul Latif tries to killGamal Abdel Nasser.
October 31 –Algerian War of Independence: TheAlgerian National Liberation Front begins a revolt against French rule.

November

[edit]

Main article:November 1954

November 1 – TheFLN attacks representative and public buildings of the French colonial power.
November 2
- The dock workers' strike in the UK comes to an end.
- The radio programHancock's Half Hour, a pioneer insituation comedy, is first broadcast onBBC Radio (a television version will follow in1956).
November 3 – The firstGodzilla film premieres in Tokyo.
November 5 – Japan andBurma sign a peace treaty inRangoon, to end their long-extinct state of war.
November 10 – U.S. PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower dedicates theUSMC War Memorial (Iwo Jima Memorial), at the Arlington National Cemetery.
November 12 – The main immigration port-of-entry inNew York Harbor atEllis Island closes permanently.
November 13 –Great Britain defeatsFrance, to capture the first everRugby League World Cup in Paris in front of around 30,000 spectators
November 14 –Egyptian presidentMuhammad Naguib is deposed, andGamal Abdel Nasser replaces him.
November 21 –People's Action Party, an eventual dominative political party inSingapore, was established.^[22]
November 22 –Berman v. Parker (348 U.S. 26): TheU.S. Supreme Court upholds the federalslum clearance and urban renewal programs.
November 23 – TheDow Jones Industrial Average rises 3.27 points, or 0.86 percent, closing at an all-time high of 382.74. More significantly, this is the first time the Dow has surpassed its peak level, reached just before theWall Street Crash of 1929.
November 30 – InSylacauga, Alabama, a four-kilogram piece of theHodges Meteorite crashes through the roof of a house and badly bruises a napping woman, in the first documented case of an object fromouter space hitting a person.

December

[edit]

Main article:December 1954

December 1 – The firstHyatt Hotel, The Hyatt House Los Angeles, opens on the grounds ofLos Angeles International Airport. It is the first hotel in the world built on an airport property.
December 2
- Red Scare: TheUnited States Senate votes 67–22 to censureWisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy, for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute."
- The Taiwan-United States Mutual Defense Treaty is signed.^[23]
December 3
- A German court dismisses charges againstWerner Naumann, head of theNeo-Nazi Naumann Circle.
- Väinö Linna's war novelThe Unknown Soldier (Tuntematon sotilas) is published.^[24]
December 4 – The firstBurger King opens inMiami, Florida.
December 15 – TheNetherlands Antilles is created out of the Dutch Caribbean nations. It is dissolved between1986 and2010.
December 23 –J. Hartwell Harrison andJoseph Murray perform the world's first successfulkidney transplantation, inBoston, Massachusetts.
December 24 –Laos gains full independence from France.

Date unknown

[edit]

New Zealand engineerSir William Hamilton develops the firstpump-jet engine (the "Hamilton Jet") capable of propelling ajetboat.^[25]
The first electricdrip brew coffeemaker is patented in Germany and named theWigomat after its inventor Gottlob Widmann.^[26]
TheBoy Scouts of America desegregates on the basis of race.
Gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) are brought to the United States by Dr. Victor Schwentker.
The case ofLothar Malskat, who had admitted that he had painted the supposedly antiquefrescoes inMarienkirche himself, goes to trial.
TheTV dinner is introduced, by American entrepreneurGerry Thomas.
InSouth Vietnam, theViet Minh is reorganised into theViet Cong.
After the death ofJoseph Stalin, theSoviet Union starts releasing political prisoners and deportees from itsGulag prison camps.

Births

[edit]

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

January

[edit]

January 1
- Thomas Aisu, Ugandan physician, educator (d.2018)
- Djimrangar Dadnadji, 16th prime minister of Chad (d.2019)
January 3 –Ross the Boss, American heavy metal/punk guitarist
January 4
- Tina Knowles, African-American fashion designer; mother of R&B singersBeyoncé andSolange Knowles^[27]
- Dave "The Devilfish" Ulliott, English professional poker player
January 5 –Alex English, American basketball player
January 6 –Anthony Minghella, British film, theatre director (d.2008)
January 7
- Jodi Long, American actress
- José María Vitier,Cuban music composer, pianist
January 8 –Julieta Castellanos, Honduran sociologist
January 11 –Kailash Satyarthi, Indian activist,Nobel Peace Prize laureate
January 11 –Balachandra Menon, Indian Malayalam film director and actor
January 12 –Howard Stern, American radio host
January 13 –Trevor Rabin, South African–American musician
January 14 –Masanobu Fuchi, Japanese professional wrestler
January 16 –Morten P. Meldal, Danish chemist,Nobel Prize laureate^[28]
January 17 –Robert F. Kennedy Jr., environmental lawyer,2024 United States presidential election candidate
January 19
- Ted DiBiase, American professional wrestler^[29]
- Katey Sagal, American actress and singer^[30]
- Katharina Thalbach, German actress
January 21 –Thomas de Maizière, German politician
January 22 –Peter Pilz, Austrian politician
January 23
- Franco De Vita, Venezuelan singer, songwriter
- Edward Ka-Spel, British/Dutch singer and songwriter (The Legendary Pink Dots)
January 28
- Peter Lampe, German theologian, historian
- Bruno Metsu, French football coach (d.2013)^[31]
- Kaneto Shiozawa, Japanese voice actor (d.2000)^[32]
- Willy Telavi, 11th prime minister of Tuvalu
January 29
- Yukinobu Hoshino, Japanese cartoonist^[33]
- Oprah Winfrey, African-American actress, talk show hostess, producer and publisher^[34]
January 31 –Mark Slavin, Israeli wrestler (d.1972)

February

[edit]

February 1 –Bill Mumy, American actor, musician (Lost in Space)^[35]
February 2 –Christie Brinkley, American model^[36]
February 4 –Andrei Karlov, Russian diplomat (d.2016)^[37]
February 7 –Dieter Bohlen, German music producer and singer-songwriter (Modern Talking,Blue System)^[38]
February 9 –Gina Rinehart, Australian mining tycoon
February 11 –Noriyuki Asakura, Japanese composer
February 12
- Joseph Jordania, Georgian-Australian musicologist, academic
- Evangelos Basiakos, Greek politician, long term MP, and minister
- Tzimis Panousis, Greek comedian, singer, and author
February 13 –Donnie Moore, American baseball player (d.1989)
February 15 –Matt Groening, American cartoonist (The Simpsons)
February 16
- Iain Banks, Scottish author (d.2013)^[39]
- Michael Holding, Jamaican cricket player and commentator^[40]
- Margaux Hemingway, American fashion model and actress (d.1996)
February 17
- Rene Russo, American actress, fashion model
- Yuji Takada, Japanese free-style wrestler
- Brian Houston, Australian-New Zealand pastor, author and founder ofHillsong Church
February 18
- John Travolta, American actor^[41]
- Jalaluddin Hassan, Malaysian actor
February 19
- Messaouda Boubaker, Tunisian writer
- Sócrates, Brazilian footballer (d.2011)
February 20
- Anthony Head, English actor, musician
- Patty Hearst, American heiress and kidnap victim^[42]
February 23 –Viktor Yushchenko,President of Ukraine
February 24 –Sid Meier, Canadian programmer, game designer, notable for theCivilization series
February 25 –Gerardo Pelusso, Uruguayan football manager
February 26 –Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,12th President of Turkey