1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1950th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 950th year of the 2nd millennium, the 50th year of the 20th century, and the 1st year of the 1950s decade.
Contents
Events
January
January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: Aeroflot Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 aboard are killed, including almost the entire national ice hockey team (VVS Moscow) of the Soviet Air Force – 11 players, as well as a team doctor and a masseur.
January 6 – The United Kingdom recognizes the People's Republic of China; the Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with Britain in response.
January 7 – A fire in the St Elizabeth's Ward of Mercy Hospital in Davenport, Iowa, United States, kills 41 patients.
January 9 – The Israeli government recognizes the People's Republic of China.
January 12 – British submarine HMS Truculent collides with Swedish oil tanker Divina in the Thames Estuary and sinks; 64 die.
January 13 – Finland forms diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.
January 21 – In the United States, suspected spy Alger Hiss is convicted on two counts of perjury.
January 23 – The Knesset passes a resolution that states Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
January 24 – Cold War: Klaus Fuchs, German émigré physicist, confesses to a British MI5 interrogator that he is a Soviet spy: for seven years, he passed top secret data on U.S. and British nuclear weapons research to the Soviet Union. Fuchs is formally charged on February 2.
January 26 – India promulgates its constitution, forming a republic, and Rajendra Prasad is sworn in as its first president. The Kingdom of Mysore is merged into the new republic.
February
February 1 – Chiang Kai-shek is re-elected as president of the Republic of China.
February 6
In West Virginia, 372,000 coal miners strike (they remain out until March 3).
In India, the first Cabinet Secretary (N. R. Pillai) is appointed.
February 8
The Stasi is founded in East Germany, and acts as a secret police until 1990.
A payment is first made by Diners Club card, in New York, United States (the first use of a charge card).
February 9 – In Wheeling, West Virginia, Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin makes a speech that claims to have 205 communists in the U.S. State Department.
February 11
Two Viet Minh battalions attack a French base in French Indochina.
Finland recognizes Indonesia.
February 12
The European Broadcasting Union is founded.
Albert Einstein warns that nuclear war could lead to mutual destruction.
February 13 – British Columbia B-36 crash: The U.S. Air Force loses a Convair B-36 bomber that carried a Mark 4 nuclear bomb off the west coast of Canada, and produces the world's first Broken Arrow.
February 14 – Cold War:
March
March 1
Klaus Fuchs is convicted in London of spying against both Britain and the United States for the Soviet Union, by giving to the latter top secret atomic bomb data.
Acting President of the Republic of China Li Zongren ends his term in office and Chiang Kai-shek resumes his duties as president, after moving the government of the Republic to Taipei, Taiwan.
March 3 – Poland indicates its intention to exile all Germans.
March 8 – The first Volkswagen Type 2 (also known as the Microbus) rolls off the assembly line in Wolfsburg, Germany.
March 12
A plane carrying returning rugby fans from Ireland to Wales crashes near Llandow, with the loss of 80 lives.
Royal question: 1950 Belgian monarchy referendum – In Belgium, a referendum on the monarchy shows 57.7% support the return of King Leopold III from exile to resume exercise of his constitutional powers, 42.3% against. The King has said he would abdicate if he did not receive 55% support, and that the final decision would be for the federal parliament.
March 18 – The Belgian government collapses, after the March 12 referendum.
March 20 – The Polish government enacts a law to take possession of properties owned by Roman Catholic churches.
March 22 – Egypt demands that Britain remove all its troops from the Suez Canal zone.
March 23 – The 22nd Academy Awards ceremony is held in Hollywood. All the King's Men (1949 film) is Best Picture.
April
April 14 – Influential British adventure comic Eagle is launched.
April 21 – Nainital wedding massacre: A mass stabbing occurs at Nainital in India, killing 22 members of the Harijan caste.
April 24 – Jordan formally annexes the West Bank.
April 27
Apartheid: In South Africa, the Group Areas Act is passed, formally segregating the races.
Britain formally recognises Israel.
May
May 1 – UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, begins operations.
May 5 – Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), king of Thailand since 1946, is crowned, at The Grand Palace in Bangkok.
May 6 – Cazin rebellion in Bosnia against Communist agrarian reforms.
May 8 – Tollund Man is unearthed in Denmark.
May 9 – Robert Schuman presents his proposal for the creation of a pan-European organisation, which he believes to be indispensable to the maintenance of permanently peaceful relations between the different nations of the continent. This proposal, known as the "Schuman Declaration", is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what becomes the European Union.
May 11 – The Kefauver Committee hearings into U.S. organized crime begin.
May 13 – The first race in the inaugural FIA Formula One World Championship in automobile racing is held, at Silverstone, England.
May 14 – The Huntsville Times runs the headline "Dr. von Braun Says Rocket Flights Possible to Moon."
May 17 – Israeli Air Force Spitfires intercept a British Royal Air Force Short Sunderland when it inadvertently crosses into Israeli airspace, forcing it to land at Lod Airport. The Sunderland's crew have been issued maps that do not depict Israel, as Britain had not recognized the Jewish state at the time they were issued.
May 22
Celâl Bayar becomes the third president of Turkey and Adnan Menderes of the DP forms the new government of Turkey (19th government).
Recorded premiere of Four Last Songs (1948) by German composer Richard Strauss (d. 1949) given by the composer's choice of soloist, Norwegian-born soprano Kirsten Flagstad, with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler at the Royal Albert Hall in London, sponsored by Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, Sultan of Mysore.
June
June 1–23 – Mauna Loa in Hawaii starts erupting.
June 3 – Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal, of the French Annapurna expedition, become the first climbers to reach the summit of an 8,000-metre peak.
June 6 – In Turkey, the Adhan (call to prayer) in Arabic is permitted by law after a ban of 18 years.
June 8 – Sir Thomas Blamey becomes the only Field Marshal in Australian history.
June 16 – Maracanã Stadium, which becomes a well-known sports venue of Brazil, opens in Rio de Janeiro, in advance of the opening of the 1950 FIFA World Cup in the country on June 24.
June 25 – The Korean War begins: Troops and T-34 tanks of the North Korean People's Army cross the 38th parallel into South Korea.
June 27 – Korean War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman orders American military forces to aid in the defense of South Korea.
June 28 – Korean War:
North Korean forces capture Seoul, but do not win the war.
Hangang Bridge bombing: The South Korean army, in an attempt to defend Seoul, blows up the Hangang Bridge while it is crowded with refugees.
Seoul National University Hospital massacre: North Korean troops kill around 800 medical staff and patients.
Bodo League massacre begins: South Korean armed forces and police summarily execute at least 100,000 suspected North Korean sympathizers.
July
July 14–21 – Korean War: Battle of Taejon – North Korean forces capture the city held by the U.S. 24th Infantry Division, but the delay allows establishment of the Pusan Perimeter.
July 16 – Uruguay beats Brazil 2–1, to win the 1950 World Cup, the match dubbed the Maracanazo.
July 17 – The Suppression of Communism Act (passed on June 26 by the Parliament of South Africa) comes into force in South Africa.
July 20 – Air Battle of South Korea: After a month-long campaign, the majority of North Korea's People's Air Force is destroyed by anti-communist forces.
July 22 – Royal question in Belgium: King Leopold III returns from exile, provoking a general strike, particularly in Wallonia.
July 30 – 4 workers striking over the "Royal question" in Belgium are shot dead by the Gendarmerie, at Grâce-Berleur near Liège.
August
August 1 – Royal question: King Leopold III of Belgium publicly announces that he will abdicate in favor of his son, Baudouin.
August 5
2 Squadron SAAF departs from South Africa to take part in the Korean War.
1950 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash: A bomb-laden Boeing B-29 Superfortress crashes into a residential area in California, United States, killing 17 people and injuring 68.
August 6 – Monarchist demonstrations lead to a riot in Brussels.
August 8
American Florence Chadwick swims the English Channel in 13 hours, 22 minutes, beating the women's record for the crossing.
Winston Churchill supports the idea of a pan-European army, allied with Canada and the U.S.
August 12
Korean War: Bloody Gulch massacre – 75 U.S. soldiers are executed after being captured in battle by North Korea.
In his encyclical Humani generis, Pope Pius XII requires Catholic theologians to defer to the teachings of the Church as a whole but declares evolution to be a serious hypothesis that does not contradict essential Catholic views.
August 15 – The 8.6 Mw Assam–Tibet earthquake shakes the region, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing about 4,800 people.
August 17 – Korean War: Hill 303 massacre – 39 U.S. soldiers are executed after being captured in battle by North Korea.
August 22
September
September 3 – Italian racing driver Giuseppe Farina becomes the first winner of the FIA Formula One World Championship, being the only driver to win the championship in his home country.
September 7 – The Knockshinnoch Disaster in Scotland kills 13 coal miners; 116 are rescued.
September 15 – Korean War: Battle of Inchon – Allied troops commanded by Douglas MacArthur land in Inchon, occupied by North Korea, to begin a U.N. counteroffensive.
September 18 – Rede Tupi, the first television broadcast network in South America, is founded in Brazil.
September 19
West Germany decides to purge communist officials.
Korean War: An attack by North Korean forces is repelled at the Battle of Nam River.
September 26 – Indonesia is admitted to the United Nations.
October
October – Turing test published.
October 2 – The comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz is first published in seven U.S. newspapers.
October 3 – Getúlio Vargas is elected president of Brazil for a 5-year term.
October 5 – The Indonesian government quells riots in the Moluccas.
October 7
Battle of Chamdo: The Annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China, begins with the Chinese People's Liberation Army invading across the Jinsha River. By October 19 they will have taken the border town of Chamdo, and the Tibetan army will have surrendered.
The Agate Pass Bridge opens for traffic in Washington State.
October 9 – The Goyang Geumjeong Cave massacre begins in South Korea.
October 11 – The Federal Communications Commission in the United States issues the first license to broadcast television in color, to CBS (RCA will successfully dispute and block the license from taking effect, however).
October 19 – Korean War: The People's Republic of China enters the conflict, by sending thousands of soldiers across the Yalu River.
October 20 – Australia passes the Communist Party Dissolution Act, which is later struck down by the High Court.
October 28 – Torcida Split is founded, in support of the Association football club HNK Hajduk Split, in SFR Yugoslavia.
October 29 – Upon the death of Gustaf V of Sweden, he is succeeded as king by his 68-year-old son Gustaf VI Adolf.
November
November 1
Pope Pius XII witnesses the "Miracle of the Sun" at the Vatican and defines a new dogma of Roman Catholicism, the Munificentissimus Deus, which says that God took Mary's body into Heaven after her death (the "Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary").
Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempt to assassinate U.S. President Harry S. Truman, who is staying at the Blair-Lee House in Washington, D.C. during White House repairs.
November 4 – The United Nations ends the diplomatic isolation of Spain.
November 8 – Korean War: While in an F-80, United States Air Force Lt. Russell J. Brown intercepts 2 North Korean MiG-15s near the Yalu River and shoots them down, in the first jet-to-jet dogfight in history.
November 10 – A U.S. Air Force B-50 Superfortress bomber, experiencing an in-flight emergency, jettisons and detonates a Mark 4 nuclear bomb over Quebec, Canada (the device lacks its plutonium core).
November 13
The President of Venezuela, Colonel Carlos Delgado Chalbaud, is kidnapped and murdered in Caracas.
A Curtiss Reid Flying Services plane crashes while en route to Paris from Rome, killing all 52 on board.
November 17 – Tenzin Gyatso, 15, is formally enthroned as the 14th Dalai Lama, becoming temporal ruler of Tibet.
November 18 – The United Nations accepts the formation of the Libyan National Council.
November 24 – A phenomenal winter storm ravages the northeastern United States, brings 30–50 inches of snow and temperatures below zero, and kills 323 people.
December
December 2 – Korean War: The Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River ends with the Chinese People's Volunteer Army expelling United Nations forces from North Korea.
December 31 – The inaugural 12 Hours of Sebring automobile endurance race is held in Florida.
Date unknown
Raid Pyrénéen, a French timed bicycle challenge, is first staged.
Summer – The first newspaper for the Romanian minority in modern Hungary, Foaia Românească ("The Romanian Sheet"), is founded.
Births
January
January 1 – Wayne Bennett, Australian rugby league player and coach
January 3
Victoria Principal, American actress (Dallas)
Vesna Vulović, Serbian flight attendant and world-record holding plane crash survivor (d. 2016)
January 7
Juan Gabriel, Mexican singer, songwriter and philanthropist (d. 2016)
Erin Gray, American actress
January 9 – Alec Jeffreys, British geneticist, who developed techniques for DNA fingerprinting and DNA profiling
January 12 – Dorrit Moussaieff, Israeli-born British businesswoman; First Lady of Iceland 2003-2016
January 14 – Jagadguru Rāmabhadrācārya, Hindu religious leader
January 16
Debbie Allen, African-American actress, dancer, and choreographer
Honey Irani, Indian film actress and screenwriter
Luis López Nieves, Puerto Rican writer
January 18 – Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (d. 1982)
January 21 – Billy Ocean, Trinidadian–British singer
January 23 – Richard Dean Anderson, American actor (MacGyver)
February
February 1 – Kazimierz Nycz, Polish clergyman
February 3 – Morgan Fairchild, American actress (Flamingo Road)
February 5 – Jonathan Freeman, American actor and puppeteer.
February 6 – Natalie Cole, African-American singer (d. 2015)
February 7 – Karen Joy Fowler, American author
February 10
Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexican politician and economist, assassinated while campaigning for President of Mexico (d. 1994)
Mark Spitz, American Olympic swimmer
February 12
Michael Ironside, Canadian actor (V)
João W. Nery, Brazilian writer and LGBT activist (d. 2018)
February 13
Peter Gabriel, British rock musician, original lead singer of Genesis
Bob Daisley, Australian musician
Lyman Hoffman, American politician and member of the Alaska State Legislature since 1987
February 15 – Tsui Hark, Hong Kong film director
February 16 – Peter Hain, Kenyan-born British politician
February 18
Nana Amba Eyiaba I, Ghanaian queen mother and advocate
March
March 1 – Phil Alden Robinson, American film director
March 2 – Karen Carpenter, American singer and drummer (d. 1983)
March 4 – Rick Perry, American politician, 14th U.S. Secretary of Energy, 47th Governor of Texas
March 9 – Danny Sullivan, American race car driver
March 10
Carlos Roberto Flores, President of Honduras
Catherine Pugh, Democrat politician, 50th mayor of Baltimore and criminal
March 11
Bobby McFerrin, African-American singer (Don't Worry, Be Happy)
Jerry Zucker, American film producer, director and writer
March 12 – Javier Clemente, Spanish football player, manager
March 13
Robert Brandom, American philosopher
William H. Macy, American actor
Charles Krauthammer, American conservative political commentator (d. 2018)
March 18 – Brad Dourif, American actor
March 20 – William Hurt, American actor (d. 2022)
March 21 – Sergey Lavrov, current Foreign Minister of Russia
April
April 1 – Samuel Alito, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
April 4 – Christine Lahti, American actress
April 5
Agnetha Fältskog, Swedish pop singer, songwriter (ABBA)
Harpo, Swedish pop musician
Paul Oscher, American blues singer-songwriter
April 6 – Tan Aik Mong, Malaysian badminton player (d. 2020)
April 8 – Grzegorz Lato, Polish footballer
April 11 – Bill Irwin, American actor
April 12
Joyce Banda, née Mtila, 4th President of Malawi
David Cassidy, American actor and singer (d. 2017)
April 13
Ron Perlman, American television, film, stage, and voice actor
Tommy Raudonikis, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2021)
Joseph Paul Franklin, American serial killer and terrorist (d. 2013)
April 14
Francis Collins, American physician
Péter Esterházy, Hungarian writer (d. 2016)
April 15 − Josiane Balasko, French actress, writer and director
May
May 2 – Lou Gramm, American singer-songwriter (Foreigner)
May 3 – Kensō Soai, Japanese organic chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
May 5 – Googoosh, Iranian singer and actress
May 6 – Jeffery Deaver, American crime writer
May 7 – Tim Russert, American journalist (Meet the Press) (d. 2008)
May 10 – Dale Wilson, Canadian voice actor
May 11 – Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Indian actor (d. 2014)
May 12
Gabriel Byrne, Irish actor
Ana Cano, Spanish philologist
May 13
Joe Johnston, American film director
Danny Kirwan, English rock musician (d. 2018)
Stevie Wonder, African-American musician
May 14 – Jill Stein, American politician and activist, 2016 Green Party presidential candidate
May 15 – Renate Stecher, East German sprinter
May 16 – Georg Bednorz, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
May 17 – Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian politician, 2-time Prime Minister of Slovenia, 2nd President of Slovenia (d. 2008)
June
June 3
Melissa Mathison, American screenwriter (d. 2015)
Suzi Quatro, American singer-songwriter
Deniece Williams, African-American singer
June 5 – Abraham Sarmiento Jr., Filipino journalist and political activist (d. 1977)
June 8 – Kathy Baker, American actress
June 13 – Belinda Bauer, Australian actress
June 14 – Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
June 15 – Lakshmi Mittal, Indian industrialist
June 16 – Mithun Chakraborty, Indian actor, singer, producer, writer, social worker and entrepreneur
June 19
Ray Lovelock, Italian actor and musician
Ann Wilson, American singer, musician ((Heart))
June 20 – Nouri al-Maliki, 74th Prime Minister of Iraq
June 21
Anne Carson, Canadian poet, essayist, translator and classical scholar, Nobel Prize laureate
Joey Kramer, American rock drummer
Vasilis Papakonstantinou, Greek singer and musician
June 22
July
July 5 – Huey Lewis, American rock singer
July 9 – Viktor Yanukovych, President of Ukraine
July 11 – Pervez Hoodbhoy, Pakistani nuclear physicist and social activist
July 12 – Eric Carr, American rock drummer, musician (Kiss) (d. 1991)
July 13
Ma Ying-jeou, President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
Jurelang Zedkaia, 5th President of the Marshall Islands (d. 2015)
July 14
Chungsen Leung, Taiwanese-Canadian businessman, politician
James F. Capalino, American businessperson
July 17
Tengku Sulaiman Shah, Malaysian corporate figure
Phoebe Snow, African-American singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
Stevo Stepanovski, Macedonian bibliophile
July 18
Sir Richard Branson, British entrepreneur
Jack Layton, Canadian politician (d. 2011)
July 19 – Per-Kristian Foss, Norwegian Minister of Finance
July 26 – Susan George, British actress
July 28
August
August 2 – Ken Kutaragi, Japanese businessman
August 3
John Landis, American film director
Ernesto Samper, 29th President of Colombia
August 5 – Rosi Mittermaier, German ski racer (d. 2023)
August 7 – Alan Keyes, African-American conservative political activist
August 8 – Lucjan Lis, Polish-German cyclist (d. 2015)
August 9 – Anémone, French actress, filmmaker and political activist (d. 2019)
August 11
Gennadiy Nikonov, Russian weapon designer (d. 2003)
Steve Wozniak, American inventor, engineer, programmer, philanthropist, and entrepreneur
August 12 – Iris Berben, German actress
August 15
Anne, Princess Royal, British royal, daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh
Neil J. Gunther, Australian/American physicist, computer scientist
August 16
Hasely Crawford, West Indian athlete
Marshall Manesh, Persian actor
August 17 – Jose Apolinario Lozada Jr., Filipino diplomat, politician (d. 2018)
September
September 1
Mikhail Fradkov, Russian politician, Prime Minister of Russia (2004–2007)
Phil McGraw, American TV psychologist
September 7 – Julie Kavner, American actress and the voice of Marge Simpson
September 14
Paul Kossoff, British rock guitarist (Free) (d. 1976)
Masami Kuwashima, Japanese racing driver
Juan Carlos Boveri, Argentine author, psychologist, sociologist, and cultural anthropologist.
September 15 – Rajiv Malhotra, Indian-American author
September 16 – Henry Louis Gates Jr., American literary critic, professor, and historian
September 17 – Narendra Modi, 14th Prime Minister of India
September 21 – Bill Murray, American actor and comedian
September 22 – Kirka Babitzin, Finnish singer (d. 2007)
September 24
Feng Ting-kuo, Taiwanese politician (d. 2018)
Kristina Wayborn, Swedish actress
September 26 – Mohamed Tarabulsi, Lebanese weightlifter (d.2002)
September 27 – Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Japanese actor (d. 2025)
October
October 1
Boris Morukov, Russian astronaut (d. 2015)
Randy Quaid, American actor, comedian
October 3 – Phyllis Nelson, American singer (d. 1998)
October 5 – Laura Gemser, Indonesian born-Dutch actress
October 7 – Jakaya Kikwete, 4th President of Tanzania
October 9 – Jody Williams, American teacher, aid worker and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
October 10
Ana Margarita Gasteazoro, Salvadoran activist (d. 1993)
Nora Roberts, American novelist
October 12
Kaga Takeshi, Japanese actor
Pilar Pilapil, Filipina actress
Howard Rollins, American actor (d. 1996)
October 14 - Arun Khetarpal, Indian Military Officer
October 16 – Angry Grandpa, American YouTuber (d. 2017)
October 18 – Wendy Wasserstein, American playwright (d. 2006)
October 19 – Bishop Bill Ray, 10th Bishop of North Queensland
October 20 – Tom Petty, American rock singer (d. 2017)
November
November 1 – Robert B. Laughlin, American Nobel Prize laureate
November 3
Massimo Mongai, Italian author (d. 2016)
Nayyara Noor, Pakistani playback singer (d. 2022)
November 4
Charles Frazier, American novelist
Markie Post, American actress (d. 2021)
November 9 – Maravillas Rojo, Catalan politician
November 10 – Debra Hill, American producer (d. 2005)
November 17 – Roland Matthes, German swimmer (d. 2019)
November 21 – Alberto Juantorena, Cuban athlete
November 22 – Steven Van Zandt, American singer, songwriter, musician, producer, actor, and activist.
November 23 – Chuck Schumer, American politician
November 28
Ed Harris, American actor and film director
Russell Alan Hulse, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
November 29 – Olavi Mäenpää, Finnish politician (d. 2018)
December
December 1
Manju Bansal, Indian molecular biologist
Themba Dlamini, 9th Prime Minister of Swaziland
December 2
Amin Saikal, Australian academic professor
Benjamin Stora, French historian
Paul Watson, Canadian-American founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
December 5 – Camarón de la Isla, Spanish singer (d. 1992)
December 7 – Hasanaga Sadigov, Azerbaijani ashik musician (d. 2018)
December 9 – Joan Armatrading, St. Kitts-born English singer, songwriter
December 12
Heiner Flassbeck, German economist, professor, publicist, political counselor and State secretary
Rajinikanth, Indian actor
December 13 – Wendie Malick, American actress and former fashion model
December 19 – Manny Trillo, Venezuelan-born American baseball player
December 23 – Vicente del Bosque, Spanish footballer, manager
December 25 – Yehuda Poliker, Israeli singer, songwriter, musician, and painter
December 30 – Safiya Henderson-Holmes, African-American poet (d. 2001)
Date unknown
Koibla Djimasta, 7th Prime Minister of Chad (d. 2007)
Joseph Yodoyman, 4th Prime Minister of Chad (d. 1993)
Deaths
January
January 1 – William A. Griffin, American Roman Catholic prelate and reverend (b. 1885)
January 2
Emil Jannings, Swiss-born German actor (b. 1884)
Theophrastos Sakellaridis, Greek composer, conductor (b. 1883)
January 3 – Tess Gardella, Italian-born American actress, dancer (b. 1894)
January 7
Monty Banks, Italian comedian, director (b. 1897)
Alfonso Daniel Rodríguez Castelao, Spanish politician, writer, painter and doctor (b. 1886)
January 8 – Joseph Schumpeter, Czech economist, political scientist (b. 1883)
January 11 – James A. Colescott, American Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan (b. 1897)
January 12 – John M. Stahl, American film director, producer (b. 1886)
January 13 – Gino Frittelli, Italian painter (b. 1879)
January 14 – Ieu Koeus, 9th Prime Minister of Cambodia (b. 1905)
January 15 – Henry H. Arnold, American general and aviation pioneer (b. 1886)
January 16 – Ali Moustafa Mosharafa, Egyptian physicist (b. 1898)
January 17 – Seiichi Hatano, Japanese philosopher (b. 1877)
February
February 3
Lionel Cripps, Rhodesian politician (b. 1863)
Karl Seitz, Austrian politician, 1st President of Austria (b. 1869)
February 6 – Georges Imbert, Alsatian chemist (b. 1884)
February 7
D. K. Broster, British historical novelist (b. 1877)
Masao Inoue, Japanese actor, director (b. 1881)
William Murphy, American Roman Catholic clergyman, bishop and reverend (b. 1885)
February 9
Abdul Qadir, Indian editor (b. 1874)
Franz Justus Rarkowski, German Roman Catholic bishop and reverend (b. 1873)
Ted Theodore, Australian politician, Premier of Queensland (b. 1884)
February 10 – Marcel Mauss, French sociologist (b. 1872)
February 11 – Kiki Cuyler, American baseball player (Chicago Cubs), MLB Hall of Fame member (b. 1898)
February 12 – Bernard Meninsky, Ukrainian-born British artist, painter, draughtsman and teacher (b. 1891)
February 13 – Rafael Sabatini, Italian writer (b. 1875)
February 14
Cecilio Guzmán de Rojas, Bolivian painter (b. 1899)
March
March 2 – Rosli Dhobi, Malay Sarawakian nationalist (b. 1932)
March 4 – Anthony Holles, British actor (b. 1901)
March 5
Sid Grauman, American theatre entrepreneur (b. 1879)
Edgar Lee Masters, American poet (b. 1868)
March 6
Albert Lebrun, French politician, 15th President of France (b. 1871)
Harry Redfern, British architect (b. 1861)
Lew Lehr, American comedian (b. 1895)
March 10 – Marguerite De La Motte, American actress (b. 1902)
March 11
Ralph Freeman, British engineer (b. 1880)
Heinrich Mann, German novelist (b. 1871)
Brock Pemberton, American theatrical producer (b. 1885)
March 15
Alexander Kabiskoy, Soviet WWII heroine (b. 1920)
Carl Storck, 3rd President of the National Football League (b. 1892)
March 18 – Väinö Kivilinna, Finnish teacher, activist and politician (b. 1875)
March 19
Edgar Rice Burroughs, American author (Tarzan) (b. 1875)
April
April 1
F. O. Matthiessen, American historian, literary critic (b. 1902)
Recep Peker, Turkish officer, politician and 6th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1889)
April 3 – Kurt Weill, German-born composer (b. 1900)
April 5 – Charles Binaggio, American gangster (b. 1909)
April 7 – Walter Huston, Canadian-born American actor (b. 1883)
April 8 – Vaslav Nijinsky, Soviet ballet dancer, choreographer (b. 1889)
April 10
Fevzi Çakmak, Turkish military officer, statesman and Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1876)
Alfred Fischer, German architect (b. 1881)
April 11 – Bainbridge Colby, United States Secretary of State (b. 1869)
April 13
Saleh al-Ali, Syrian revolt leader (b. 1884)
James Morrison, Canadian Roman Catholic bishop and reverend (b. 1861)
April 14 – Ramana Maharshi, Indian sage and jivanmukta (b. 1879)
April 16
Henry J. Knauf, American politician (b. 1891)
Arnaud Massy, French golfer (b. 1877)
May
May 1 – Lothrop Stoddard, American eugenicist (b. 1883)
May 6 – Víctor Manuel Román y Reyes, Nicaraguan politician, 23rd President of Nicaragua (b. 1872)
May 7 – Gavrilo V, Serbian Patriarch (b. 1881)
May 8 – Vital Brazil, Brazilian physician and immunologist (b. 1865)
May 9
Harry Stubbs, British-born American actor (b. 1874)
Esteban Terradas i Illa, Andorran mathematician, scientist and engineer (b. 1883)
May 10
John Gould Fletcher, American poet (b. 1886)
Belle da Costa Greene, American librarian, bibliographer and archivist (b. 1883)
May 11 – Cedric Holland, British admiral (b. 1889)
May 12 – Harold Basil Christian, South African-Rhodesian horticulturalist (b. 1871)
May 18 – Henri Cihoski, Romanian general and politician (b. 1871)
May 19
Giuseppe Garibaldi II, Italian soldier, patriot, revolutionary and grandson of Italian patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi (b. 1879)
Giuseppina Suriano, Italian Roman Catholic nun and blessed (b. 1915)
May 22
June
June 3 – Ahmad Tajuddin, Sultan of Brunei (b. 1913)
June 4
Carmen Baroja, Spanish writer, ethnologist (b. 1883)
George Cecil Ives, German-born British poet, writer, penal reformer and early gay rights campaigner (b. 1867)
Kazys Grinius, 3rd President of Lithuania (b. 1866)
June 5 – Miklós Bánffy, Hungarian nobleman, politician and novelist (b. 1873)
June 6 – William Wadsworth, American actor (b. 1874)
June 9 – Denis Auguste Duchêne, French general (b. 1862)
June 20 – Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto, Japanese autobiographer, novelist (b. 1874)
June 22 – Jane Cowl, American actress (b. 1883)
June 24 – Darwan Singh Negi, Indian Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1881)
June 26 – Antonina Nezhdanova, Soviet soprano (b. 1873)
June 27
Záviš Kalandra, Czechoslovak historian, theorist (b. 1902)
Theophilus Pashkovsky, American Orthodox archbishop, metropolitan (b. 1874)
June 28 – Archbishop Makarios II (b. 1870)
June 29 – Melitta Bentz, German entrepreneur, who invented the coffee filter in 1908 (b. 1873)
July
July 1 – Eliel Saarinen, Finnish architect (b. 1873)
July 5 – Salvatore Giuliano, Italian bandit (b. 1922)
July 7 – Fats Navarro, American jazz trumpet player (b. 1923)
July 8
Helen Holmes, American actress (b. 1892)
Othmar Spann, Austrian philosopher and economist (b. 1878)
July 10 – Richard Maury, American naturalized Argentine engineer (b. 1882)
July 11 – Buddy DeSylva, American songwriter (b. 1895)
July 12
Lev Galler, Soviet admiral (b. 1883)
Elsie de Wolfe, American socialite and interior decorator (b. 1859)
July 17
Evangeline Booth, 4th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1865)
Antonie Nedošinská, Czech actress (b. 1885)
July 18 – Mignon Talbot, American paleontologist (b. 1869)
July 21 – Rex Ingram, Irish-born American director (b. 1892)
July 22 – William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canadian political leader, 10th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1874)
July 24 – Zeffie Tilbury, English stage and film actress (b. 1863)
August
August 3
Pierre-Émile Côté, Canadian politician (b. 1887)
Kristian Laake, Norwegian general (b. 1875)
August 6 – Francisco José Urrutia Olano, Colombian diplomat and jurist (b. 1870)
August 8 – Nikolai Myaskovsky, Soviet composer (b. 1881)
August 10 – Tadeusz Tomaszewski, 34th Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1881)
August 19
Black Elk, Wičháša Wakȟáŋ (Medicine Man or Holy Man) of the Ogala Teton Lakota (Western Sioux) (b. 1863)
Giovanni Giorgi, Italian physicist, engineer (b. 1871)
August 22 – Kirk Bryan, American geologist (b. 1888)
August 23 – Frank Phillips, American oil executive (b. 1873)
August 24
Arturo Alessandri, Chilean politician, reformer and 3-time President of Chile (b. 1868)
Vasily Gordov, Soviet general (executed) (b. 1896)
Grigory Kulik, Soviet military officer, Marshal of the Soviet Union (executed) (b. 1890)
August 25 – Giuseppe Grassi, Italian politician (b. 1883)
August 26
Giuseppe De Luca, Italian baritone (b. 1876)
September
September 4
Max Davidson, German actor (b. 1875)
Pieter Franciscus Dierckx, Belgian painter (b. 1871)
September 6 – Olaf Stapledon, British author, philosopher (b. 1886)
September 10 – Raymond Sommer, American race car driver (b. 1906)
September 11
Rudolph Palm, Curaçao-born composer (b. 1880)
Jan Smuts, 2nd Prime Minister of South Africa (b. 1870)
September 13 – Sara Allgood, Irish actress (b. 1880)
September 15
Maraimalai Adigal, Indian orator, writer (b. 1876)
Baldomero López, American hero of Korean War (b. 1925)
September 16
Frederick Bennett, New Zealand Anglican bishop and reverend (b. 1871)
Pedro de Cordoba, American actor (b. 1881)
September 21 – Edward Arthur Milne, British astrophysicist, mathematician (b. 1896)
September 23
George Carlton, American actor (b. 1885)
Kenneth Muir, British soldier, posthumous winner of the Victoria Cross (b.1912)
October
October 1 – Mikhail Rodionov, Soviet statesman, Leader of the Soviet Union (b. 1907)
October 2 – John F. Fitzgerald, American politician, Mayor of Boston (b. 1863)
October 5 – Thomas Addis Emmet, American-born Jamaican Roman Catholic bishop and reverend (b. 1873)
October 9 – Nicolai Hartmann, German philosopher (b. 1882)
October 11 – Pauline Lord, American actress (b. 1890)
October 13 – Ernest Haycox, American writer (b. 1899)
October 14 – António Maria da Silva, Portuguese politician, interim and 3-time Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1872)
October 18 – Giuseppe Borgatti, Italian tenor (b. 1871)
October 19
Edna St. Vincent Millay, American poet (b. 1892)
Viktor Strazhev, Soviet bibliographer, translator, poet and literary critic (b. 1879)
October 20 – Henry L. Stimson, United States Secretary of State (b. 1867)
October 23 – Al Jolson, American musician, actor (The Jazz Singer) (b. 1886)
October 25 – Yi Gwangsu, Korean writer, activist (b. 1891)
October 26 – Miguel Mariano Gómez, Cuban politician, 7th President of Cuba (b. 1889)
November
November 2 – George Bernard Shaw, Irish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1856)
November 3 – Kuniaki Koiso, Japanese general, 41st Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1880)
November 4
Grover Cleveland Alexander, American baseball player (Philadelphia Phillies), MLB Hall of Fame member (b. 1887)
Francisca Herrera Garrido, Spanish writer (b. 1869)
November 5 – Michael Strange, American poet (b, 1890)
November 8 – Bernice Herstein, American socialite (b. 1918)
November 9 – Attilio Andreoli, Italian painter (b. 1877)
November 10 – Hanns Kräly, Oscar-winning German screenwriter (b. 1884)
November 11
Alexandros Diomidis, 152nd Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1875)
Lúcio Alberto Pinheiro dos Santos, Portuguese philosopher, teacher (b. 1889)
November 12
Hryhorij Lakota, Soviet Eastern Catholic bishop and blessed (b. 1883)
Julia Marlowe, English-born American stage actress (b. 1865)
November 16 – Bob Smith, American doctor, physician and surgeon (b. 1879)
November 17 – Virginia Fábregas, Mexican actress (b. 1871)
December
December 2
James Fenton, Australian politician (b. 1864)
Dinu Lipatti, Romanian pianist (b. 1917)
December 4 – Jesse L. Brown, American aviator in the United States Navy (killed in action) (b. 1926)
December 5 – Sri Aurobindo, Indian guru (b. 1872)
December 11
Ernst II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, German prince (b. 1863)
Leslie Comrie, New Zealand astronomer, computing pioneer (b. 1893)
December 12
Luigi Biancheri, Italian admiral (b. 1891)
Peter Fraser, New Zealand political figure, 24th Prime Minister of New Zealand, leader of World War II (b. 1884)
December 15 – Vallabhbhai Patel, Indian political leader (b. 1875)
December 18 – Viliam Žingor, Slovak general and anti-fascist fighter (b. 1912)
December 20 – Enrico Mizzi, Maltese politician, 6th Prime Minister of Malta (b. 1885)
December 22 – Walter Damrosch, German-born American conductor and composer (b. 1862)
December 23
Francisco Lomuto, Argentine pianist, composer (b. 1893)
Nobel Prizes
Physics – Cecil Frank Powell
Chemistry – Otto Paul Hermann Diels, Kurt Alder
Medicine – Edward Calvin Kendall, Tadeusz Reichstein, Philip Showalter Hench
Literature – Earl (Bertrand Arthur William) Russell
Peace – Ralph Bunche