Famous people born in 1916

The best-known people born in 1916, ranked by how many languages Wikipedia covers them in.

Best known

François Mitterrand
21st President of the French Republic from 1981 to 1995 (1916–1996)
October 26 · d. 1996
Photo: Comet Photo AG (Zürich), CC BY-SA 4.0
Roald Dahl
British writer and poet (1916–1990)
September 13 · d. 1990
Photo: Hans van Dijk for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0
Kirk Douglas
American actor (1916–2020)
December 9 · d. 2020
Photo: Unknown photographer, Public domain
Gregory Peck
American actor (1916–2003)
April 5 · d. 2003
Photo: Studio, Public domain
Camilo José Cela
Spanish writer (1916–2002)
May 11 · d. 2002
Photo: Unknown photographer, CC BY 4.0
Francis Crick
British molecular biologist, biophysicist, neuroscientist; co-discoverer of the structure of DNA (1916–2004)
June 8 · d. 2004
Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, CC BY 4.0
Harold Wilson
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1964-1970 and 1974-1976 (1916–1995)
March 11 · d. 1995
Photo: Eric Koch for Anefo, CC0
Aldo Moro
Italian politician (1916-1978)
September 23 · d. 1978
Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Prime Minister of Ceylon (later Sri Lanka) from 1960–65, 1970–77, 1994–2000
April 17 · d. 2000
Photo: Centralna Agencja Fotograficzna, Public domain
Vitaly Ginzburg
Russian physicist (1916–2009)
October 4 · d. 2009
Photo: Vitaly Ginzburg, CC SA 1.0
Ahmad ibn Billah
President of Algeria from 1963 to 1965
December 25 · d. 2012
Photo: République Algérienne, Public domain
Olivia de Havilland
British actress (1916–2020)
July 1 · d. 2020
Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
Edward Heath
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 (1916–2005)
July 9 · d. 2005
Photo: Moshe Milner, Public domain
Alexander Prokhorov
Soviet and Russian physicist (1916-2002)
July 11 · d. 2002
Photo: Nobel foundation, Public domain
Maurice Wilkins
New Zealand-born English physicist and biologist
December 15 · d. 2004
Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
Herbert Simon
American political scientist, economist, sociologist, and psychologist (1916–2001)
June 15 · d. 2001
Photo: Rochester Institute of Technology, Public domain
Claude Shannon
American mathematician and information theorist (1916–2001)
April 30 · d. 2001
Photo: Jacobs, Konrad, CC BY-SA 2.0 de
Christian B. Anfinsen
American biochemist (1916–1995)
March 26 · d. 1995
Photo: Hubbard, Edward A.; National Institutes of Health, Public domain
Gough Whitlam
Australian politician, 21st Prime Minister of Australia (1916–2014)
July 11 · d. 2014
Lyudmila Pavlichenko
Soviet sniper (1916–1974)
July 12 · d. 1974
Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
Robert McNamara
American businessman and Secretary of Defense (1916-2009)
June 9 · d. 2009
Photo: DoD photo by Oscar Porter, U.S. Army., Public domain
Walter Cronkite
American broadcast journalist (1916-2009)
November 4 · d. 2009
Photo: Rob Bogaerts for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl
João Havelange
Brazilian businessman and athlete (1916–2016)
May 8 · d. 2016
Photo: José Cruz/ABr, CC BY 3.0 br
Yehudi Menuhin
American violinist and conductor (1916–1999)
April 22 · d. 1999
Photo: Film screenshot, Public domain
P. W. Botha
South African prime minister (1916–2006)
January 12 · d. 2006
Photo: Wie is wie in Suid-Afrika 1963, Public domain
Paul Keres
Estonian chess player and sportsperson (1916–1975)
January 7 · d. 1975
Photo: Photographer unknown, own scan, Public domain
Peter Finch
British-Australian actor (1916–1977)
September 28 · d. 1977
Photo: Trailer screenshot Licencing information : https://web.archive.org/web/20080321033709/http://www.sab, Public domain
Zail Singh
President of India from 1982 to 1987
May 5 · d. 1994
Photo: India Post, Government of India, GODL-India
Elena Ceaușescu
Romanian politician (1919–1989)
January 7 · d. 1989
Photo: not credited, Attribution
C. Wright Mills
American sociologist (1916–1962)
August 28 · d. 1962
Photo: Institute for Policy Studies, CC BY 2.0

Who is your time twin?

Enter your birth date and find out who was exactly your age today on the day you were born.

Find my twin

Month by month

January

January 10 · Sune Bergström, Swedish biochemist (1916–2004)
January 11 · Bernard Blier, French character actor (1916–1989)
January 22 · Henri Dutilleux, French composer
January 24 · Rafael Caldera, president of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 kai from 1994 to 1999
January 27 · Stjepan Filipović, Yugoslav Partisan (1916-1942)
January 31 · Aboubacar Sangoulé Lamizana, President of Upper Volta and Burkina Faso (1916-2005)

February

February 5 · Ugo Locatelli, Italian footballer (1916-1993)
February 14 · Masaki Kobayashi, Japanese film director (1916–1996)
February 16 · Duong Van Minh, South Vietnamese commander (1916-2001)
February 17 · Raf Vallone, Italian actor (1916-2002)
February 26 · Jackie Gleason, American comedian and actor (1916–1987)
February 29 · Dinah Shore, American singer and actress (1916-1994)

March

March 13 · Jacque Fresco, American futurist and self-described social engineer
March 16 · Mercedes McCambridge, American actress (1916-2004)
March 16 · Tsutomu Yamaguchi, Japanese marine engineer (1916–2010)
March 20 · Pierre Messmer, 83rd Prime Minister of France (1916-2007)
March 21 · Bismillah Khan, Indian shehnai player (1916–2006)
March 26 · Sterling Hayden, American actor (1916–1986)

April

April 11 · Alberto Ginastera, Argentine composer (1916-1983)
April 11 · Hidetoki Takahashi, Japanese association football player and manager (1916–2000)
April 14 · Abdul Rahman Arif, President of Iraq from 1966 to 1968
April 26 · Morris West, Australian writer (1916-1999)
April 28 · Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian industrialist, founder of Automobili Lamborghini (1916–1993)
April 29 · Lars Korvald, 27th Prime Minister of Norway

May

May 1 · Glenn Ford, Canadian-American actor (1916–2006)
May 4 · Jane Jacobs, American–Canadian journalist, author, and activist (1916–2006)
May 16 · Ephraim Katzir, Israeli scientist, 4th President of Israel (1973–1978) - (born 1916-2009)
May 21 · Harold Robbins, American novelist (1916–1997)
May 28 · Walker Percy, American philosophical novelist
May 31 · Bernard Lewis, British-American historian (1916–2018)

June

June 4 · Robert F. Furchgott, American biochemist (1916-2009)
June 6 · Diori Hamani, President of Niger from 1960 to 1974 (1916-1989)
June 8 · Luigi Comencini, Italian film director (1916–2007)
June 14 · Dorothy McGuire, American actress (1916-2001)
June 23 · Ernst Wilimowski, Polish footballer (1916-1997)
June 26 · Virginia Satir, American psychotherapist & non-fiction author

July

July 1 · Iosif Shklovsky, Soviet astronomer (1916–1985)
July 14 · Natalia Ginzburg, Italian writer (1916–1991)
July 18 · Vladimir Demikhov, Soviet scientist (1916-1998)
July 22 · Marcel Cerdan, French boxer (1916-1949)
July 27 · Keenan Wynn, American actor (1916–1986)
July 29 · Charlie Christian, American swing and jazz guitarist (1916-1942)

August

August 6 · Dom Mintoff, Maltese politician (1916-2012)
August 10 · Hubert Maga, first president of Benin (1916-2000)
August 24 · Léo Ferré, French-born Monégasque poet and singer
August 25 · Frederick Chapman Robbins, American doctor
August 25 · Van Johnson, American actor (1916–2008)
August 28 · Jack Vance, American mystery and speculative fiction writer (1916–2013)

September

September 11 · Raúl Alberto Lastiri, President of Argentina (1915-1978)
September 12 · Han Suyin, physician and author (1917–2012)
September 15 · Margaret Lockwood, British stage and film actress (1916–1990)
September 16 · M. S. Subbulakshmi, Indian Carnatic classical vocalist (1916–2004)
September 17 · Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal, Prime Minister and President of Mongolia (1916-1991)
September 21 · Françoise Giroud, French writer and politician (1916–2003)

October

October 3 · James Herriot, veterinary surgeon and writer (1916-1995)
October 7 · Walt Whitman Rostow, American economist, political theorist and government official (1916–2003)
October 14 · Jack Arnold, American director (1916–1992)
October 15 · Hassan Gouled Aptidon, President of Djibouti (1916-2006)
October 19 · Jean Dausset, French immunologist (1916-2009)
October 19 · Emil Grigoryevich Gilels, Soviet pianist (1916-1985)

November

November 4 · Ruth Handler, American businesswoman
November 8 · Peter Weiss, Swedish-German playwright and author (1916–1982)
November 12 · Nadya Nozharova, Bulgarian operetta actress and businesswoman (1916-2014)
November 20 · Evelyn Keyes, American film actress (1916-2008)
November 23 · Michael Gough, English actor (1916–2011)
November 28 · Ramón José Velásquez, Venezuelan politician, lawyer and historian (1916–2014)

December

December 6 · Kristján Eldjárn, Icelandic politician, 3rd President of Iceland (1916-1982)
December 11 · Perez Prado, Cuban bandleader, pianist, composer and arranger (1917–1989)
December 14 · Shirley Jackson, American writer (1916-1965)
December 17 · Penelope Fitzgerald, British writer and poet (1916–2000)
December 18 · Betty Grable, American actress and pin-up girl (1916–1973)
December 23 · Dino Risi, Italian film director (1916-2008)

People from Wikidata (CC0), photos from Wikimedia Commons; each photo shows its author and licence.