Historical Figures Born in 1926

Birthdays 1 - 200 of 301

Jan 20 Jamiluddin Aali, Pakistani poet & writer, born in New Delhi, India (d. 2015)
Jan 20 Qurratulain Hyder, Indian Urdu novelist & writer, born in Aligarh, India (d. 2007)
Jan 22 Lord Erskine of Rerrick, peer
Jan 22 Tom Blackburn, writer
Jan 24 Robert Delpire, French publisher, editor and photographer, born in Paris, France (d. 2017)
Jan 26 Charles Henderson Tidbury, British brewing executive (Whitbread & Co), born in Camberley, Surrey, England (d. 2003)
Jan 26 Farman Fatehpuri [Syed Dildar Ali], Urdu scholar, linguist, critic and author, born in Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, British India (d. 2013)
Jan 26 José María Valverde, Spanish philosopher, poet and translator (La espera, Historia de la literatura universal), born in Valencia de Alcántara, Spain (d. 1996)
Jan 29 Abdus Salam, Pakistani theoretical physicist (1979 Noble Prize for Physics - electroweak unification theory), born in Jhand, British India (d. 1996)
Jan 30 Vasily Arkhipov, Soviet-Russian naval officer who saved the world by refusing to launch a nuclear torpedo from submarine B-59 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, born in Zvorkovo, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (d. 1998)
Jan 31 Prunella Briance, founder (National Childbirth Trust)
Feb 1 Douglas Johnson, British historian, born in Edinburgh (d. 2005)
Feb 1 Peter Crill, Bailiff of Jersey
Feb 1 Vivian Maier, American street photographer unknown until her death, born in New York City (d. 2009)
Feb 2 Miguel Cardinal Obando y Bravo, 1st Cent American cardinal (Nicaragua)
Feb 2 Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, French politician, President of France (1974-81), born in Koblenz, French-occupied Germany (d. 2020)
Feb 3 Glen Tetley, US choreographer
Feb 3 Hans-Jochen Vogel, leader of West Germany's Social Democrats (SPD)
Feb 3 J. Roy Rowland, American politician (Rep-D-GA, 1983-95), born in Wrightsville, Georgia (d. 2022)
Feb 4 John Edward Caulwell Hearne, writer

Feb 5 Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, American publisher (NY Times), born in NYC, New York
Feb 7 Konstantin Petrovich Feokistov, USSR, cosmonaut (Voskhod I)
Feb 7 Konstantin Petrovich Feoktistov, Soviet cosmonaut (Voskhod 1 - 1st to carry three members), born in Voronezh, Russia (d. 2009)
Feb 8 Neal Cassady, American writer (d. 1968)
Feb 9 Garret FitzGerald, Prime Minister of Ireland
Feb 11 Paul Bocuse, French great chef (Legion of Honor), born in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or, France (d. 2018)
Feb 12 Charles Van Doren, American quiz show contestant (Twenty-One), born in New York City
Feb 12 Paul Hamlyn, English publisher/multi-millionaire (Octopus)
Feb 16 David Austin, English rose breeder (Austin roses), born in Albrighton, England (d. 2018)
Feb 16 Jack Levy, English mechanical engineer, born in London, England (d. 2017)
Feb 16 John Schlesinger, English director (Midnight Cowboy, Darling), born in London, England
Feb 20 Cameron Rusby, British Vice-Admiral
Feb 20 Kenneth H Olsen, American electrical engineer, and co-founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, born in Bridgeport, Connecticut (d. 2011)
Feb 20 Richard Matheson, American author, (d. 2013)
Feb 21 Hans Andreus [Johan W van der Zant], Dutch poet (Animal Language)
Feb 24 Reginald Freeson, British MP
Feb 25 Harvey McGregor, QC/warden (New College-Oxford)
Feb 27 David H. Hubel, Canadian neuroscientist, Nobel Prize laureate, (d. 2013)
Feb 27 Peter Emery, British MP
Feb 28 Svetlana Alliluyeva, Russian-born daughter of Joseph Stalin who later defected to the West and author (My Life), born in Moscow (d. 2011)

Mar 2 Murray Rothbard, American economist, and libertarian, born in The Bronx, NYC (d. 1995)
Mar 3 James Ingram Merrill, American poet/author (Scripts for the Pageant)
Mar 3 Joseph Anthony Ferrario, American clergyman (Roman Catholic Bishop of Honolulu , 1982-93), born in Scranton, Pennsylvania (d. 2003)
Mar 4 James J. Eagan, Former Mayor of Florissant, Missouri (d. 2000)

Richard DeVos (1926-2018)

Mar 4 American businessman who co-founded Amway, born in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Alan Greenspan (96 years old)

Mar 6 American economist, presidential advisor and Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States (1987-2006), born in NYC, New York

Mar 6 Elwood Hillis, American politician (Rep-R-IN, 1971-87), born in Kokomo, Indiana
Mar 9 Gerrit A. Kooy, Dutch sociologist (Apartheid & work in South Africa), born in Kedichem, The Netherlands
Mar 11 Adrienne Keith Cohen, travel editor
Mar 11 Patricia Tindaole, England, architect

Ralph Abernathy (1926-1990)

Mar 11 American civil rights leader (Southern Christian Leadership Conference), born in Linden, Alabama

Mar 11 Thomas Starzl, American surgeon, performed 1st successful liver transplant, born in Le Mars, Iowa (d. 2017)
Mar 12 David Oliver Williams, trade unionist (COHSE)
Mar 12 George R Ariyoshi, (Gov-D-Hawaii)
Mar 12 John C[lellon] Holmes, American writer (Horn)
Mar 12 Ronald Alley, art gallery manager (Tate Gallery)
Mar 13 F. H. McClintock, British criminologist, born in London, England (d. 1994)
Mar 15 Tim Valentine, American politician (Rep-D-NC, 1983-95), born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina (d. 2015)
Mar 16 Charles Goodell, American politician (d. 1987)
Mar 17 Siegfried Lenz, German writer (Ein Kriegsende)
Mar 22 Julius Marmur, American biochemist and geneticist (DNA research), born in Bialystok, Poland (d. 1996)
Mar 24 Dario Fo, Italian playwright and performer (Nobel Prize Literature 1997), born in Sangiano (d. 2016)
Mar 25 Hans Rausing, Swedish British industrial billionaire (Tetra Pak)
Mar 27 Frank O'Hara, American writer and poet, born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1966)
Mar 27 Louis Blom-Cooper, barrister specialising in public and administrative law and co-editor of The Judicial House of Lords 1876–2009, born in London
Mar 28 Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba, born in Madrid (d. 2014)

Ingvar Kamprad (1926-2018)

Mar 30 Swedish eccentric businessman (founder of IKEA) and author (The Testament of a Furniture Dealer), born in Pjätteryd, Sweden

Mar 30 Lord Rayner [Derek Rayner], English businessman and chief executive (Marks & Spencer), born in Norwich, Norfolk
Mar 31 John Fowles, British novelist (Collector, French Lieutenant's Woman), born in Leigh-on-Sea, Southend-on-Sea, England (d. 2005)

Anne McCaffrey (1926-2011)

Apr 1 American sci-fi author (Dragonflight, Dragondrums), born in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Apr 2 Michael Rizzello, English sculptor and coin designer, born in London (d. 2004)
Apr 3 Virgil Grissom, US Air Force test pilot and NASA astronaut (Mercury-Redstone 4, Gemini 3, Apollo 1), born in Mitchell, Indiana (d. 1967)
Apr 6 Gil Kane, Latvian-born cartoonist (d. 2000)

Ian Paisley (1926-2014)

Apr 6 First Minister of Northern Ireland (Democratic Unionist Party: 2007-08), loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader, born in Armagh, Northern Ireland

Apr 7 Johannes Rood, Dutch immunologist (Eurotransplant)
Apr 8 Henry N. Cobb, American architect (Pei Cobb Freed & Partners), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2020)
Apr 8 Jürgen Moltmann, German Reformed theologian, born in Hamburg, Germany
Apr 9 Gerry Fitt, Northern Irish politician (Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party), born in Beechmount, Belfast, Northern Ireland (d. 2005)
Apr 9 Graham Hills, English physical scientist and principal (Strathclyde University, England), born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex (d. 2014)
Apr 9 Harris Wofford, American politician (Sen-D-Pennsylvania 1991-94), head of AmeriCorps, born in New York City (d. 2019)

Hugh Hefner (1926-2017)

Apr 9 American magazine publisher and businessman (Playboy), born in Chicago, Illinois

Apr 9 Michael Ogden, British barrister (Ogden Tables), born in London (d. 2003)
Apr 10 Johnnie Tillmon, civil rights activist (National Welfare Rights Association), born in Scott, Arkansas (d. 1995)
Apr 12 James Hillman, American psychologist, and educator (C.G. Jung Institute, Zurich), born in Atlantic City, New Jersey (d. 2011)
Apr 13 John Spencer-Churchill, 11th duke of Marlborough, English large landowner, born in Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, England (d. 2014)
Apr 14 Barbara Anderson, New Zealand author, born in Hastings, New Zealand (d. 2013)
Apr 14 Frank Daniel, Czech-born writer, director and teacher (d. 1996)
Apr 16 Barbara Tizard, British educator and author, born in London (d. 2015)
Apr 17 Arthur Hockaday, Director-General (Commonwealth War Graves Commission), born in Plymouth
Apr 19 Kim Bok-dong, Korean sex slave activist, born in Yangsan, Korea (d. 2019)
Apr 20 Harriet Elizabeth Byrd, American politician, Member of the Wyoming House of Representatives (1998-88), born in Cheyenne, Wyoming (d. 2015)

Elizabeth II (1926-2022)

Apr 21 Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland (country's longest reigning monarch 1952-2022), born in London

Apr 22 James Stirling, Scottish architect, born in Glasgow (d. 1992)
Apr 23 J. P. Donleavy, American novelist (Ginger Man, Onion Eaters), born in Brooklyn, New York
Apr 24 Thorbjorn Falldin, Swedish politician, Prime Minister (1976-78, 79-82) and sheep farmer, born in Hogsjo (d. 2016)
Apr 25 Gertrude Fröhlich-Sandner, Austrian politician (Social Democratic Party of Austria), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2008)
Apr 26 Michael Mathias Prechtl, German illustrator, born in Amberg, Bavaria (d. 2003)
Apr 27 Ernest McCulloch, Canadian stem cell research pioneer, born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 2011)

Harper Lee (1926-2016)

Apr 28 American author (To Kill a Mockingbird), born in Monroeville Alabama

Apr 29 Carrie Meek, American politician (Rep-D-Florida 1993-2003), born in Tallahassee, Florida (d. 2021)
Apr 30 Edmund Cooper, British sci-fi author (Seed of Light, All Fool's Day), born in Marple, Greater Manchester, England (d. 1982)
May 1 Peter Lax, Hungarian Mathematician
May 2 Gérard D. Levesque, Canadian politician, born in Port-Daniel–Gascons, Canada (d. 1993)
May 4 Gerlind Reinshagen, German writer, born in Konigsberg, Germany
May 4 Milt Thompson, American astronaut (Dynasoar, X-15), NASA test pilot and chief-engineer, born in Crookston, Minnesota (d. 1993)
May 6 Gilles Grégoire, Quebec politician (co-founder of the Parti Québécois), born in Quebec City, Quebec (d. 2006)
May 6 John Hamilton-Jones, CEO (Richmond Enterprises) and British Major-General
May 8 Ronald Waterhouse, British high court judge (d. 2011)
May 9 Francis Kennedy, British diplomat
May 9 Joshua Hassan, chief minister (Gibralter)
May 9 Robin Cooke, pres (NZ Court of Appeal)
May 10 Duncan Watson, president (World Blind Union)
May 10 Hugo Banzer, Bolivian dictator (d. 2002)
May 11 Ernest Harrison, CEO (Racal Electronics)
May 12 Earl Hutto, American politician (Rep-D-Florida, 1979-95), born in Panama City, Florida (d. 2020)
May 12 Mervyn Dymally, American politician (Rep-D-CA, 1981-93), born in Cedros, Trinidad and Tobago (d. 2012)
May 13 Dewey Philip "Daddy-O", American pioneering DJ, born in Crump, Tennessee (d. 1968)
May 13 Wallace Breem, British author (Eagle in the Snow), born in Kingston, England (d. 1990)
May 15 Anthony Shaffer, Engish playwright (Sleuth), twin brother to Peter, born in Liverpool (d. 2001)

Peter Shaffer (1926-2016)

May 15 English playwright (Equus, Amadeus), twin brother to Anthony, born in Liverpool

May 17 Cicely Berry, British theatre director (Royal Shakespeare Company)
May 17 David Ogilvy, Earl of Airlie, Scottish peer, Lord Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth, born in London
May 17 David Young, Lt-Gen/CEO (Cairn Tech)
May 17 Geoffrey Caston, vice chancellor (U of South Pacific)
May 19 Swami Kriyananda, Indian teacher and author
May 20 John Lucarotti, scriptwriter
May 21 Robert Creeley, American, poet and novelist (Island), born in Arlington, Massachusetts (d. 2005)
May 26 Phyllis Gotlieb, Canadian sci-fi novelist (Sunburst), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 2009)
May 29 Abdoulaye Wade, Senegalese politician (President of Senegal, 2000-12; Secretary-General of Senegalese Democratic Party, 1974-present), born in Kébémer, Senegal
May 30 Christine Jorgensen, pioneer transsexual (born George William Jorgensen, Jr)
May 30 James Whitman McLamore, businessman
May 31 Derek Birley, English founding Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ulster and sports writer, born in West Yorkshire (d. 2002)
May 31 Martin Peake, 2nd Viscount Ingleby, British peer and business man (d. 2008)

Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997)

Jun 3 American beat poet (Howl, The Fall of America) and 1960s counterculture icon, born in Newark, New Jersey

Jun 3 Hamilton Fish IV, American politician (Rep-R-NY, 1969-95), born in Washington D.C. (d. 1996)
Jun 3 Roscoe Bartlett, American politician (Rep-R-Maryland), born in Moorland, Kentucky
Jun 4 Robert Earl Hughes, American man who became heaviest known human (485 kg), born in Monticello, Missouri (d. 1958)
Jun 6 Tom Ryan, American comic strip cartoonist (Tumbleweeds), born in Anderson, Indiana (d. 2019)
Jun 8 Cranley Onslow, British politician (C), born in Bexhill (d. 2001)
Jun 8 Nico Kiasashvii, professor of English Literature
Jun 10 Willem Oltmans, Dutch investigative journalist and author (Outlawed; Free as a Bird), born in Huizen, Netherlands (d. 2004)
Jun 11 John Aspinall, English zoo owner (Howletts; Port Lympne), and gambling club host, born in Delhi, British India (d. 2000)
Jun 13 Geoffrey Finsberg, British politician (d. 1996)
Jun 13 Jerome Lejeune, French physician and geneticist (discovered chromosome responsible for Downs Syndrome), born in Montrouge, France (d. 1994)
Jun 14 Hermann Kant, German writer, born in Hamburg (d. 2016)
Jun 15 Shigeru Kayano, Japanese Ainu activist (d. 2006)

Efraín Ríos Montt (1926-2018)

Jun 16 Guatemalan general and dictator convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity, born in Huehuetenango, Guatemala

Jun 17 Alan Walters, British political economist (Chief Economic Adviser to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher), born in Leicester, England (d. 2009)
Jun 18 Patricia Hutchinson, British ambassador (Uruguay)
Jun 18 Tom Wicker, American columnist (covered assassination of JFK for NY Times) and author, born in Hamlet, North Carolina (d. 2011)
Jun 20 Arthur Bell, Director of Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew Gardens), born in Gosforth, Northumberland (d. 2006)
Jun 21 Louis Ottens, Dutch engineer, developed the audio cassette tape, and worked on the compact disc, born in Bellingwolde, Netherlands (d. 2021) [1]
Jun 25 Ingeborg Bachmann, Austrian author and poet (Gott von Manhattan), born in Klagenfurt, Austria (d. 1973)
Jun 28 Robert Ledley, American scientist (invented the CT scanner), born in Queens, New York (d. 2012)
Jun 29 Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, born in Kuwait City (d. 2006)
Jun 29 Rex Hunt, British diplomat and Governor of the Falkland Islands (1982-1985), born in Redcar, North Yorkshire, England (d. 2012)
Jun 30 Paul Berg, American biochemist (development of recombinant DNA techniques, Nobel Chemistry 1980), born in NYC, New York
Jul 1 Carl Hahn, German automotive executive (Volkswagen Group), born in Chemnitz, Saxony, Germany
Jul 1 Robert Fogel, American economic historian (Nobel Prize 1993), born in NYC, New York (d. 2013)
Jul 2 Octavian Paler, Romanian writer, journalist, (d. 2007)
Jul 3 Joseph M. Gaydos, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania), born in Braddock, Pennsylvania (d. 2015)
Jul 3 William Roll, German poltergeist researcher and parapsychologist (The Poltergeist, Unsolved Mysteries), born in Bremen, Germany (d. 2012)
Jul 5 Haya van Someren-Downer, Dutch politician (2nd Member of parliament (Dutch Lib Party)), born in Amsterdam (d. 1980)
Jul 6 Conrad "Nicky" Hilton Jr., American hotel heir and 1st husband of Elizabeth Taylor, born in Dallas, Texas (d. 1969)
Jul 7 Nuon Chea [Lau Kim Korn], Cambodian revolutionary and Khmer Rouge leader 'Brother Number Two', born in Battambang, Cambodia (d. 2019)
Jul 8 Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, Swiss-American author and psychiatrist (On Death and Dying), born in Zürich, Switzerland (d. 2004)
Jul 8 John Dingell, American politician (D-Michigan, 1955-2015), born in Colorado Springs, Colorado (d. 2019)
Jul 9 Ben Roy Mottelson, American-Danish physicist (Nobel 1975), born in Chicago, Illinois
Jul 9 Mathilde Krim, American medical researcher and founding chairman of amfAR (Foundation for AIDS Research), born in Como, Italy (d. 2018)
Jul 9 Murphy Anderson, American comic artist (DC Comics), born in Asheville, North Carolina (d. 2015)
Jul 11 Frederick Buechner, American author
Jul 11 Ralph D Abernathy, American president (SCLC)
Jul 15 Driss Chraïbi, Moroccan author
Jul 15 John Graham, British ambassador to NATO

Leopoldo Galtieri (1926-2003)

Jul 15 Argentine general, dictator and President of Argentina (1981-82) who invaded the Falkland Islands, born in Caseros, Argentina [1]

Jul 16 Brian Howard, deputy chairman (Marks & Spencer), born in Blackpool, England (d. 2005)
Jul 16 Irwin Rose, American biologist (Nobel Prize Chemistry 2004), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2015)
Jul 16 Philip Randle, British biochemist (Randle cycle), born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire (d. 2006)
Jul 18 Margaret Laurence, Canadian writer (The Stone Angel), born in Neepawa, Manitoba (d. 1987)
Jul 19 Max Sordam, Suriname warden and writer (Dictionary Sranantongo)
Jul 21 Karel Reisz, director (Everybody Wins, Isadora, Who'll Stop the Rain)
Jul 21 Norman Jewison, Canadian director (Moonstruck, ...and Justice For All), born in Toronto, Ontario
Jul 21 Rahimuddin Khan, Pakistani general and Governor, born in Qaimganj, British India
Jul 22 Peter Michael Grayson, British showman, born in Manchester (d. 1996)

About 1926

How Old? 96 or 97 years old
Generation: Greatest Generation

Chinese Zodiac: Ox (Jan 24, 1925 - Feb 12, 1926),
Tiger (Feb 13, 1926 - Feb 1, 1927)

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