1990

1990 was a common year that started on a Monday. In the Gregorian calendar, it was the 1990th year of the Common Era, or of Anno Domini; the 990th year of the 2nd millennium; the 90th year of the 20th century; and the 1st year of the 1990s. It is often considered the final year of the Cold War era.

January

 * January 4 – Two trains collide in Sangi, Pakistan, killing between 200 and 300 people and injuring an estimated 700 others.
 * January 7 – The Leaning Tower of Pisa is closed to the public because of safety concerns.
 * January 9 – Ugandan Lt. Gen. Bazilio Olara-Okello, who led a coup against Dr. Apolo Milton Obote's government, dies in Ormduruman Hospital in Khartoum, Sudan.
 * January 10 – Time Warner is formed from the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications Inc.
 * January 11 – Cold War: In Lithuania, 300,000 demonstrate for independence.
 * January 15 – Thousands storm the Stasi headquarters in Berlin in an attempt to view their government records.
 * January 20 – Cold War: Soviet troops occupy Baku, Azerbaijan, under the state of emergency decree issued by Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev and kill over 130 and wound over 700 protesters for national independence.
 * January 22 – Robert Tappan Morris, Jr. is convicted of releasing the Morris worm.
 * January 25 – Avianca Flight 52 crashes into Cove Neck, Long Island, after a miscommunication between the flight crew and JFK Airport officials, killing 73 persons on board.
 * January 25–January 26 – The Burns' Day storm kills 97 in northwestern Europe.
 * January 27 – The city of Tiraspol in the Moldavian SSR briefly declares independence.
 * January 29 – The trial of Joseph Hazelwood, former skipper of the Exxon Valdez, begins in Anchorage, Alaska. He is accused of negligence that resulted in America's second worst oil spill to date.
 * January 31 – The first McDonald's in Moscow, Russia opens.

February

 * February 2 – Apartheid: In South Africa, President F.W. de Klerk allows the African National Congress to legally function again and promises to free Nelson Mandela.
 * February 5 – Manuel Fraga becomes the president of Galicia, Spain.
 * February 10 – South African President F.W. de Klerk announces that Nelson Mandela will be released the next day.
 * February 11 – Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison, near Cape Town, South Africa, after 27 years behind bars.
 * February 13
 * German reunification: An agreement is reached for a two-stage plan to reunite Germany.
 * Drexel Burnham Lambert files for bankruptcy protection, Chapter 11.
 * February 14 – The Pale Blue Dot picture was sent back from the Voyager 1 probe after completing its primary mission. It was around 3.5 billion miles away from earth.
 * February 15 – The United Kingdom and Argentina restore diplomatic relations after 8 years. The UK had severed ties in response to Argentina's invasion of the Falkland Islands, a British Dependent Territory, in 1982.
 * February 26
 * The Sandinistas are defeated in the Nicaraguan elections.
 * The USSR agrees to withdraw all 73,500 troops from Czechoslovakia by July, 1991.
 * February 27 – Exxon Valdez oil spill: Exxon and its shipping company are indicted on 5 criminal counts.

March

 * March 1
 * A fire at the Sheraton Hotel in Cairo, Egypt, kills 16 people.
 * Steve Jackson Games is raided by the U.S. Secret Service, prompting the later formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
 * The Royal New Zealand Navy discontinues its daily rum ration.
 * March 6 – An SR-71 sets a U.S. transcontinental speed record of 1 hour 8 minutes 17 seconds, on what is publicized as its last official flight.
 * March 9
 * Police seal off Brixton in South London after another night of protests against the poll tax.
 * Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Clyde Wells confirms he will rescind Newfoundland's approval of the Meech Lake Accord.
 * March 10 – Eighteen months after seizing power in a coup, Prosper Avril is ousted in Haiti.
 * March 11
 * Cold War: Lithuania declares independence from the Soviet Union with the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania.
 * Patricio Aylwin is sworn in as the first democratically elected Chilean president since 1970.
 * March 15
 * Iraq hangs British journalist Farzad Bazoft for spying. Daphne Parish, a British nurse, is sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment as an accomplice.
 * Mikhail Gorbachev is elected as the first executive president of the Soviet Union.
 * Cold War: The Soviet Union announces that Lithuania's declaration of independence is invalid.
 * March 18
 * Twelve paintings, collectively worth $100 to $300 million, are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts by 2 thieves posing as police officers. This is the largest art theft in US history, and the paintings have not been recovered.
 * Cold War: East Germany holds its first free elections.
 * March 20 – Ferdinand Marcos's widow, Imelda Marcos, goes on trial for bribery, embezzlement, and racketeering.
 * March 21 – After 75 years of South African rule, Namibia becomes independent.
 * March 25
 * In New York City, a fire due to arson at an illegal social club called "Happy Land" kills 87.
 * Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie announces his intention to retire at the end of the year.
 * March 26 – The 62nd Academy Awards, hosted by Billy Crystal, are held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California, with Driving Miss Daisy winning Best Picture.
 * March 27 – The United States begins broadcasting TV Martí to Cuba.
 * March 28 – U.S. President George H. W. Bush posthumously awards Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal.
 * March 31 – "The Second Battle of Trafalgar": A massive anti-poll tax demonstration in Trafalgar Square, London, turns into a riot; 471 people are injured, and 341 arrested.

April

 * April 1
 * Strangeways Prison riot: The longest prison riot in Britain's history begins at Strangeways Prison in Manchester, and continues for 3 weeks and 3 days, until April 25.
 * The Ultimate Warrior defeats Hulk Hogan to win the WWF Championship in a Title for Title, winner takes all match at WrestleMania VI in front of nearly 68,000 at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario
 * April 6 – Robert Mapplethorpe's "The Perfect Moment" show of nude and homoerotic photographs opens at the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center, in spite of accusations of indecency by Citizens for Community Values.
 * April 7 – Iran Contra Affair: John Poindexter is found guilty of 5 charges for his part in the scandal; the convictions are later reversed on appeal.
 * April 8 – Scandinavian Star, a Bahamas-registered ferry, catches fire en route from Norway to Denmark, leaving 158 dead.
 * April 13 – Cold War: The Soviet Union apologizes for the Katyn Massacre.
 * April 15 – Food poisoning kills 450 guests at an engagement party in Uttar Pradesh.
 * April 24
 * STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched aboard Space Shuttle Discovery.
 * The Space Shuttle Discovery places the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit.
 * Cold War: West Germany and East Germany agree to merge currency and economies on July 1.
 * April 25 – Violeta Chamorro is elected President of Nicaragua.

May

 * May 1 – The former Philippine Episcopal Church (supervised by the Episcopal Church of the United States of America) is granted full autonomy and raised to the states of an Autocephalous Anglican Province and renamed the Episcopal Church of the Philippines.
 * May 2 – In London, a man brandishing a knife robs a courier of bearer bonds worth £292 million (the largest mugging to date).
 * May 4 – Cold War: Latvia declares independence from the Soviet Union.
 * May 8 – Cold War: Estonia restores the formal name of the country, the Republic of Estonia, as well as the state emblems (the coat of arms, the flag and the anthem).
 * May 15 – Portrait of Doctor Gachet by Vincent van Gogh is sold for a record $82.5 million.
 * May 17 – The World Health Organization removes homosexuality from its list of diseases.
 * May 20 – Cold War: The first post-Communist presidential and parliamentary elections are held in Romania.
 * May 22
 * Cold War: The leaders of the Yemen Arab Republic and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen announce the unification of their countries as the Republic of Yemen.
 * Microsoft releases Windows 3.0.
 * May 29 – European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) founded.

June

 * June 1
 * Cold War: U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev sign a treaty to end chemical weapon production and begin destroying their respective stocks.
 * Members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army shoot and kill Major Michael Dillon-Lee and Private William Robert Davies of the British Army. Dillon-Lee is killed outside his home in Dortmund, Germany and Davies is killed at a railway station in Lichfield, England.
 * June 2
 * The Lower Ohio Valley tornado outbreak spawns 88 confirmed tornadoes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, killing 12; 37 tornadoes occur in Indiana, eclipsing the previous record of 21 during the Super Outbreak of April 1974.
 * Namibia recognizes the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).
 * June 7 – Metropolitan Alexy of Leningrad is elected Russian Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia.
 * June 8 – The 1990 FIFA World Cup begins in Italy.
 * June 12 – Cold War: The parliament of the Russian Federation formally declares its sovereignty.
 * June 13 – June 1990 Mineriad: Fighting breaks out in Romania in the aftermath of the Romanian Revolution of 1989, between the supporters of Nicolae Ceauşescu and the Communist regime, and those of the new regime.
 * June 21 – An earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter Scale kills thousands in the Iranian city of Manjil.
 * June 22 – Underwater volcano Mount Didicas erupts in the Philippines.
 * June 24 – Kathleen Young and Irene Templeton are ordained as priests in St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast, becoming the first female Anglican priests in the United Kingdom.

July

 * July 2 – A stampede in a pedestrian tunnel leading to Mecca kills 1,426.
 * July 6 – Somali president Siad Barre's bodyguards massacre antigovernment demonstrators during a soccer match; 65 people are killed, more than 300 seriously injured.
 * July 8 – West Germany defeats Argentina 1–0 to win the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
 * July 11 – Terrorist act in Azerbaijan. Armenian terrorists blow up passenger bus moving from Kelbecer to Tartar. 14 people are killed, 35 were wounded.
 * July 15 – Tamil Tigers kill 168 Muslims in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
 * July 16 – An earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter Scale kills more than 1,600 in the Philippines.
 * July 25
 * George Carey, Bishop of Bath and Wells, is named as the new Archbishop of Canterbury.
 * The Serbian Democratic Party declares the sovereignty of the Serbs in Croatia.
 * July 26 – U.S. President George H. W. Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act, designed to protect disabled Americans from discrimination.
 * July 27
 * The parliament building and a government television house in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago are stormed by the Jamaat al Muslimeen in a coup d'état attempt which lasts 5 days. Approximately 26 to 30 people are killed and several wounded (including then Prime Minister, A. N. R. Robinson, who is shot in the leg).
 * Cold War: Belarus declares its sovereignty, a key step toward independence from the USSR.
 * July 28 – Albert Fujimori becomes president of Peru.
 * July 30 – A Provisional Irish Republican Army car bomb kills former British politician and former Member of Parliament Ian Gow outside his home in England.

August

 * August 2 – Gulf War: Iraq invades Kuwait, eventually leading to the Gulf War.
 * August 6 – Gulf War: The United Nations Security Council orders a global trade embargo against Iraq in response to its invasion of Kuwait.
 * August 10 – A passenger bus, moving by the route "Tbilisi-Agdam" is blown up, 20 people died and 30 were injured. Organizers of the crime, Armenians A. Avanesian and M. Tatevosian, were brought to criminal trial.
 * August 12 – "Sue", the best preserved Tyrannosaurus rex specimen ever found, is discovered near Faith, South Dakota.
 * August 19 – Leonard Bernstein conducts his final concert, ending with Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
 * August 23 – East Germany and West Germany announce they will unite on October 3.
 * August 24 – Northern Ireland writer Brian Keenan is released from Lebanon after being held hostage for nearly 5 years.
 * August 28 – The Plainfield Tornado (F5 on the Fujita scale) strikes the towns of Plainfield, Crest Hill, and Joliet, Illinois, killing 29 people (the strongest tornado to date to strike the Chicago Metropolitan Area).
 * August 30 – Collapse of the Soviet Union: Azerbaijan declares independence from Soviet Union.

September

 * September 2 – Cold War: Transnistria declares its independence from the Moldavian SSR; however, the declaration is not recognized by any government.
 * September 9 – First Liberian Civil War: Liberian president Samuel Doe is captured by rebel leader Prince Johnson and killed in a filmed execution.
 * September 11 – Gulf War: President George H. W. Bush delivers a nationally televised speech in which he threatens the use of force to remove Iraqi soldiers from Kuwait.
 * September 12
 * Cold War: The two German states and the Four Powers sign the Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany in Moscow, paving the way for German reunification.
 * A judge in Australia orders the arrest of media tycoon Christopher Skase, former owner of the Seven Network, after he fails to give evidence in a liquidator's examination of failed shipbuilding company Lloyds Ships Holdings, an associate of Skase's Qintex Australia Ltd.
 * September 18 – The International Olympic Committee awards the 1996 Summer Olympics to Atlanta, United States.
 * September 19 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army tries to assassinate Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Terry at his home near Stafford, England.  Hit by at least 9 bullets, the former Governor of Gibraltar survives.
 * September 29 – Washington, D.C.'s National Cathedral is finished.

October

 * October 3 – Cold War: East Germany and West Germany reunify into a single Germany.
 * October 8 – Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: In Jerusalem, Israeli police kill 17 Palestinians and wound over 100 near the Dome of the Rock mosque on the Temple Mount.
 * October 13 – Lebanese Civil War: Syrian military forces invade and occupy Mount Lebanon, ousting General Michel Aoun's government. This effectively consolidates Syria's 14 year occupation of Lebanese soil.
 * October 14 – Leonard Bernstein dies of a heart attack at his home in New York City. He is 72 years old.
 * October 15 – Cold War: Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to lessen Cold War tensions and reform his nation.
 * October 17 – The Internet Movie Database is launched by Col Needham, giving internet users the opportunity to search for film information online.
 * October 27 – Cold War: The Supreme Soviet of Kyrgyzstan chooses Askar Akayev as the republic's first president.

November

 * November 1 – Mary Robinson defeats odds-on favourite Brian Lenihan to become the first female President of Ireland.
 * November 5 – Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the far-right Kach movement, is shot dead after a speech at a New York City hotel.
 * November 12
 * Akihito is enthroned as the 125th emperor of Japan.
 * Tim Berners-Lee publishes a more formal proposal for the World Wide Web.
 * November 14 – Germany and Poland sign a treaty confirming the border at the Oder-Neisse line.
 * November 15 – STS-38: Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on a classified military mission.
 * November 21 – Charter of Paris for a New Europe signed.
 * November 22 – Margaret Thatcher announces she will not contest the second ballot of the leadership election for the Conservative Party (UK).
 * November 25 – Lech Wałęsa and Stanisław Tymiński win the first round of the first presidential elections in Poland.
 * November 29 – Gulf War: The United Nations Security Council passes UN Security Council Resolution 678, authorizing military intervention in Iraq if that nation does not withdraw its forces from Kuwait and free all foreign hostages by Tuesday, January 15, 1991.

December

 * December 1 – Establishing the first land connection between the United Kingdom and the mainland of Europe, Channel Tunnel workers from the United Kingdom and France meet 40 metres beneath the English Channel seabed.
 * December 3
 * At Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Northwest Airlines Flight 1482 (a McDonnell Douglas DC-9) collides with Northwest Airlines Flight 299 (a Boeing 727) on the runway, killing 8 passengers and 4 crewmembers on Flight 1482.
 * Mary Robinson begins her term as President of Ireland, becoming the first female to hold this office.
 * December 6
 * Saddam Hussein releases the Western hostages.
 * President Hossain Mohammad Ershad of Bangladesh is forced to resign following massive protests.
 * December 9
 * Slobodan Milošević becomes President of Serbia.
 * Lech Wałęsa wins the 2nd round of Poland's first presidential election.
 * December 16 – Jean-Bertrand Aristide is elected president of Haiti, ending 3 decades of military rule.
 * December 22
 * The first constitution of the Republic of Croatia is adopted.
 * The Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia become independent, after the termination of their trusteeship.
 * December 25 – Tim Berners-Lee creates the first webpage on the first web server.
 * December 31 – Russian Garry Kasparov holds his title by winning the World Chess Championship match against his countryman Anatoly Karpov.

Date unknown

 * The last adornments in handwriting are de-standardized, to keep up with the Information Age.
 * Homosexual acts between consenting adults are decriminalized in Queensland.

January

 * January 4
 * Toni Kroos, German footballer
 * Alberto Paloschi, Italian footballer
 * January 6
 * Abhinav Mukund, Indian cricketer
 * Dominique Aegerter, Swiss motorcycle racer
 * Alex Teixeira Santos, Brazilian footballer
 * January 7
 * Gregor Schlierenzauer, Austrian ski jumper
 * Camryn Grimes, American actress
 * Liam Aiken, American actor
 * Elene Gedevanishvili, Georgian figure skater
 * January 10
 * Tao Li, Singaporean Olympic swimmer
 * Jessica Scheel, Miss Guatemala Universe 2010
 * January 12 – Sergey Karjakin, Ukrainian chess player
 * January 15 – Fernando Forestieri, Italian footballer
 * January 22 – Alizé Cornet, French tennis player
 * January 26
 * Christopher Massey, American actor
 * Kherington Payne, American dancer and actress
 * January 30
 * Eiza Gonzalez, Mexican actress/singer
 * Jake Thomas, American actor and singer
 * January 31 – Kota Yabu, Japanese singer/actor

February

 * February 1 – Laura Marling, British singer-songwriter
 * February 3 – Sean Kingston, American singer
 * February 4 – Haruka Tomatsu, Japanese Seiyū
 * February 7
 * Anna Abreu, Finnish pop singer
 * Steven Stamkos, Canadian ice hockey player
 * February 9
 * Camille Winbush, American actress
 * Facundo Affranchino, Argentine footballer
 * February 10 – Sooyoung, a member of South Korean girl group Girls' Generation
 * February 11 – Q'Orianka Kilcher, German-born actress
 * February 13 – Gyaincain Norbu, 11th Panchen Lama of Tibetan Buddhism according to some sources
 * February 19 - Luke Pasqualino, English actor
 * February 21 - Cory Kennedy, American model and internet celebrity
 * February 27 – Hafiz AF7, Malaysian singer
 * February 28 – Anna Muzychuk, Ukrainian chess player

March

 * March 1 – James Lomas, British actor
 * March 2 – Adderly Fong, Hong Kong Chinese race car driver
 * March 4 – Andrea Bowen, American actress
 * March 6 - Esti Ginzburg, Israeli model
 * March 8
 * Abigail and Brittany Hensel, American conjoined twins
 * Kristinia DeBarge, American singer-songwriter
 * Petra Kvitova, Czech tennis player
 * March 19 – Anthony Skorich, Australian soccer player
 * March 23
 * Princess Eugenie of York
 * Jaime Alguersuari, Spanish Formula One driver
 * March 24
 * Keisha Castle-Hughes, Australian-born New Zealand actress
 * Aljur Abrenica, Filipino actor
 * Starlin Castro, Major League Baseball player
 * March 25 – Kiowa Gordon, American actor
 * March 26
 * Yuya Takaki, Japanese singer/actor
 * Carly Chaikin, American actress
 * March 30 - Cassie Scerbo, American actress

April

 * April 2 – Miralem Pjanić, Bosnian footballer
 * April 5 – Miura Haruma, Japanese actor
 * April 6 - Charlie McDermott, American actor
 * April 9 – Kristen Stewart, American actress
 * April 10
 * Alex Pettyfer, English actor
 * Ben Amos, English footballer
 * April 15 – Emma Watson, English actress
 * April 16
 * Lorraine Nicholson, American actress
 * Lily Loveless, British actress
 * April 17 – Astrit Ajdarevic, Swedish professional football player
 * April 19 – Kim Chiu, Filipina actress
 * April 23 – Dev Patel, British actor
 * April 30 - Madison Riley, American actress

May

 * May 1 – Caitlin Stasey, Australian actress
 * May 2 – Kay Panabaker, American actress
 * May 3 – Miranda Chartrand, Canadian singer
 * May 4
 * Nicholas Naitanui, Australian rules footballer
 * David Hasler, Liechtenstein footballer
 * May 5 – Saad Al Sheebi, Qatari footballer
 * May 8
 * Anastasia Zuyeva, Russian swimmer
 * Kemba Walker, American basketball player
 * May 12 – Florent Amodio, French figure skater
 * May 15
 * Gerald Santos, Filipino actor and singer
 * Denzel Whitaker, American actor
 * May 16
 * Thomas Sangster, British actor
 * Darko Sarovic, Serbian sprinter
 * May 24 – Joey Logano, American race car driver
 * May 27 – Chris Colfer, American actor
 * May 26
 * Luigi Masi, British singer
 * Umar Akmal, Pakistani cricketer
 * May 30
 * Matías Nocedal, Argentine basketball player
 * Dean Collins, American actor
 * Yoona, a member of Korean girl group Girls' Generation

June

 * June 2
 * Kristiina Brask, Finnish pop singer
 * Brittany Curran, American actress and singer
 * June 4 – Zac Farro, American drummer
 * June 6 – Ashleigh Chisholm, Australian actress
 * June 7 – Daniel Rich, Australian rules footballer
 * June 10 – Niamh Perry, Irish actress and singer
 * June 11 - Christophe Lemaitre, French sprinter
 * June 12 – Jrue Holiday, American basketball player
 * June 13 – Aaron Johnson, British actor
 * June 17 – Jordan Henderson, English international footballer
 * June 18 – Sandra Izbaşa, Romanian gymnast and Olympic gold medalist
 * June 21 – Håvard Nordtveit, Norwegian football player
 * June 22 – Kei Inoo, Japanese singer/actor
 * June 25 – Andi Eigenmann, Filipina actress
 * June 28 – Jasmine Richards, Canadian actress

July

 * July 1 – Angelo Balanta, Colombian footballer
 * July 2 – Margot Robbie, Australian actress
 * July 4
 * Alyssa Miller, American model
 * David Kross, German actor
 * July 6 – Jeremy Suarez, American actor
 * July 9
 * Rafael da Silva, Brazilian footballer
 * Fabio da Silva, Brazilian footballer
 * July 11
 * Caroline Wozniacki, Danish tennis player
 * Patrick Peterson, American football player
 * July 16 – James Maslow, American actor and singer
 * July 18 – Saul Alvarez, Mexican boxer
 * July 23 – Kevin Reynolds, Canadian Figure Skater
 * July 24 – Daveigh Chase, American actress
 * July 27
 * Nick Hogan, American television personality
 * Indiana Evans, Australian actress
 * July 28 – Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, American rapper
 * July 29 – Munro Chambers, Canadian actor

August

 * August 1 – Jack O'Connell, British actor
 * August 6 – JonBenét Ramsey, American beauty queen and murder victim (d. 1996)
 * August 9 – Adelaide Kane, Australian actress
 * August 10 – Tai Woffinden, English speedway rider
 * August 12 – Mario Balotelli, Italian footballer
 * August 15 – Jennifer Lawrence, American actress
 * August 17 – Rachel Hurd-Wood, British actress
 * August 20 – Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Dutch swimmer
 * August 28 – Bojan Krkić, Spanish footballer

September

 * September 3 – Abbas Ali, Pakistani footballer
 * September 4 – Stefanía Fernández, Miss Universe 2009 from Venezuela
 * September 5 – Kim Yu-Na, South Korean figure skater
 * September 6 – John Wall, American basketball player
 * September 8 – Matt Barkley, American football player
 * September 9
 * Melody Klaver, Dutch actress
 * Haley Reinhart, American singer
 * September 13 – Jamie Anderson, American snowboarder
 * September 19 – Saki Fukuda, Japanese actress
 * September 20
 * Erich Gonzales, Filipina actress
 * John Tavares, Canadian ice hockey player
 * September 21 – Christian Serratos, American actress
 * September 23
 * Marigona Dragusha, Kosovan model, Miss Universe Kosovo 2009
 * Agustin Sierra, Argentine actor
 * Laurent Alvarez, Swiss figure skater
 * September 25 – Mao Asada, Japanese figure skater
 * September 28 – Kirsten Prout, Canadian actress
 * September 29 - Doug Brochu, American actor

October

 * October 7 - Ayla Kell, American actress
 * October 12 – Henri Lansbury, English footballer
 * October 16 – Yohanna, Icelandic singer and Eurovision runner-up
 * October 18 – Carly Schroeder, American actress
 * October 21 – Ricky Rubio, Spanish basketball player
 * October 22 – Jonathan Lipnicki, American actor
 * October 25 – Austin Peralta, American jazz musician and composer
 * October 29
 * Constance Jablonski, French model
 * Eric Saade, Swedish pop singer
 * October 31 - Noodle, member of the Gorillaz

November

 * November 2 – Kendall Schmidt, American actor and singer
 * November 4 – Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Canadian actor
 * November 7
 * Matt Corby, Australian singer
 * Marisa Siketa, Australian actress
 * November 14 – Jessica Jacobs, Australian actress and singer (d. 2008)
 * November 15 – Kanata Hongō, Japanese actor
 * November 24 - Sarah Hyland, American actress
 * November 29 – Diego González, Mexican singer, actor, and song writer
 * November 30 – Magnus Carlsen, Norwegian chess player

December

 * December 9 - LaFee, German singer/songwriter
 * December 10
 * Giulia Boverio, Italian actress
 * Shoya Tomizawa, Japanese motorcycle rider (d. 2010)
 * December 13 – Corey Anderson, New Zealand cricketer
 * December 17
 * Folashade Abugan, Nigerian sprinter
 * John Rooney, English footballer
 * December 18 – Lara Scandar, Egyptian singer
 * December 20 – JoJo, American singer/actress
 * December 22 – Jean-Baptiste Maunier, French actor
 * December 23
 * Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, American actress
 * Anna Mae Routledge, Canadian actress
 * December 26 – Aaron Ramsey, Welsh footballer
 * December 28 – David Archuleta, American singer
 * December 31
 * Patrick Chan, Canadian figure skater
 * Zhao Jing, Chinese swimmer

January

 * January 2
 * Alan Hale, Jr., American actor (b. 1921)
 * Evangelos Averoff, Greek politician, former Foreign Minister (b. 1910)
 * January 4
 * Sir Henry Bolte, Australian politician, former Premier of Victoria (b. 1908)
 * Doc Edgerton, American electrical engineer (b. 1903)
 * Alberto Lleras Camargo, Colombian politician, former President of the Republic (b. 1906)
 * January 5 – Arthur Kennedy, American actor (b. 1914)
 * January 6
 * Ian Charleson, Scottish actor (b. 1949)
 * Pavel Cherenkov, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
 * January 7 – Bronko Nagurski, Canadian-American football player (b. 1908)
 * January 8
 * Terry-Thomas, English actor (b. 1911)
 * Jaime Gil de Biedma, Spanish poet (b. 1929)
 * January 9
 * Bazilio Olara-Okello, Ugandan military officer and statesman, former head of State (b. 1929)
 * Spud Chandler, American baseball player (b. 1907)
 * January 10 – Lyle R. Wheeler, American art director (b. 1905)
 * January 15 – Gordon Jackson (actor), Scottish actor (b. 1923)
 * January 17 – Charles Hernu, French politician, former minister of Defense (b. 1923)
 * January 18
 * Melanie Appleby, British musician (b. 1966)
 * Rusty Hamer, American actor (b. 1947)
 * January 19
 * Arthur Goldberg, American Justice of the Supreme Court (b. 1908)
 * Herbert Wehner, German Social Democratic politician (b. 1906)
 * Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh), Indian mystic and spiritual teacher (b. 1931)
 * January 20
 * Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (b. 1907)
 * Hayedeh, Iranian singer (b. 1942)
 * Naruhiko Higashikuni, Japanese former Prime Minister (b. 1887)
 * January 22
 * Mariano Rumor, Italian politician, former Prime Minister (b. 1915)
 * Roman Vishniac, Russian-American photographer (b. 1897)
 * January 23
 * Allen Collins, American musician (b. 1952)
 * José Napoleón Duarte, Salvadoran politician, former President of the Republic (b. 1925)
 * January 24 – Madge Bellamy, American actress (b. 1899)
 * January 25
 * Ava Gardner, American actress (b. 1922)
 * Dámaso Alonso, Spanish poet (b. 1898)
 * January 26 – Lewis Mumford, American historian of science (b. 1895)
 * January 27 – Helen Jerome Eddy, American actress (b. 1897)
 * January 28 – Joseph Payne Brennan, American poet/author (b. 1918)

February

 * February 2
 * Joe Erskine, British boxer (b. 1934)
 * Paul Ariste, Estonian linguist (b. 1905)
 * Mel Lewis, American jazz musician (b. 1929)
 * February 7
 * Alfredo M. Santos, Filipino general and World War II hero (b. 1905)
 * Jimmy Van Heusen, American composer (b. 1913)
 * February 8 – Del Shannon, American musician and singer (b. 1934)
 * February 10 – Bill Sherwood, American film director (b. 1952)
 * February 14
 * Jean Wallace, American actress (b. 1923)
 * José Luis Panizo, Spanish footballer (b. 1922)
 * February 16
 * Keith Haring, American pop artist (b. 1954)
 * Robert Ouko, Kenyan politician (b. 1931)
 * February 17 – Erik Rhodes, American actor (b. 1906)
 * February 19 – Michael Powell, British director (b. 1905)
 * February 24
 * Malcolm Forbes, American publisher (b. 1919)
 * Johnnie Ray, American singer (b. 1927)
 * Sandro Pertini, Italian Socialist politician, former President of the Republic (b. 1896)
 * February 27 – Nahum Norbert Glatzer, American scholar (b. 1903)

March

 * March 5 – Gary Merrill, American actor (b. 1915)
 * March 6 – William Raborn, United States Navy officer, former CIA director (b. 1905)
 * March 13
 * Karl Münchinger, German conductor (b. 1915)
 * Bruno Bettelheim, American child psychologist (b. 1903)
 * Michael Stewart, British politician, former Foreign Secretary (b. 1906)
 * March 17
 * Capucine, French actress and fashion model (b. 1928)
 * Ric Grech, British musician (b. 1946)
 * March 18 – Robin Harris, American comedian and actor (b. 1953)
 * March 19 – Andrew Wood, American musician (b. 1966)
 * March 20 – Lev Yashin, Russian footballer (b. 1929)
 * March 22 – Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa, Colombian politician (b. 1956)
 * March 23
 * John Dexter, English theater director (b. 1925)
 * René Enríquez, American actor (b. 1933)
 * March 24 – Ray Goulding, American comedian (b. 1922)
 * March 26 – Halston, American fashion designer (b. 1932)

April

 * April 2 – Aldo Fabrizi, Italian actor (b. 1905)
 * April 3 – Sarah Vaughan, American jazz vocalist (b. 1924)
 * April 7 – Ronald Evans, American astronaut, NASA Apollo program (b. 1933)
 * April 8
 * Doreen Sloane, British actress (b. 1934)
 * Ryan White, American AIDS activist (b. 1971)
 * April 10 – Fortune Gordien, American Olympic athlete (b. 1922)
 * April 14
 * Sabicas, Spanish guitarist (b. 1912)
 * Ahmed Balafrej, Moroccan politician, former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister (b. 1908)
 * April 15 – Greta Garbo, Swedish actress (b. 1905)
 * April 17 – Ralph Abernathy, American civil rights leader (b. 1926)
 * April 18
 * Frédéric Rossif, French film and television director (b. 1922)
 * Gory Guerrero, American wrestler and father of Eddie Guerrero (b. 1921)
 * Robert D. Webb, American film director (b. 1903)
 * April 19 – Marco Aurelio Robles, Panamanian politician, former President of the Republic (b. 1905)
 * April 20 – Horst Sindermann, East German politician, former Prime Minister (b. 1915)
 * April 21 – Erté (Romain de Tirtoff), French Art Deco artist (b. 1892)
 * April 22 – Albert Salmi, American actor (b. 1928)
 * April 23 – Paulette Goddard, American actress (b. 1910)
 * April 25 – Dexter Gordon, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1923)
 * April 26 – Carlos Pizarro León-Gómez, Colombian politician (b. 1951)
 * April 27 – Bella Spewack, American songwriter (b. 1899)

May

 * May 1 – Sunset Carson, American actor (b. 1920)
 * May 2 – David Rappaport, American actor (b. 1951)
 * May 3 – Pimen I of Moscow, Patriarch of Moscow and head of the Russian Orthodox Church (b. 1910)
 * May 6 – Charles Farrell, American actor (b. 1901)
 * May 8 – Tomás Ó Fiaich, Northern Irish cardinal (b. 1923)
 * May 10 – Walker Percy, American writer (b. 1916)
 * May 12 – Andrei Kirilenko, Soviet politician (b. 1906)
 * May 14 – Franklyn Seales, American actor (b. 1952)
 * May 16
 * Sammy Davis Jr., American actor, dancer, and singer (b. 1925)
 * Jim Henson, American puppeteer and filmmaker (b. 1936)
 * May 18 – Jill Ireland, English actress (b. 1936)
 * May 21 – Max Wall, English actor (b. 1908)
 * May 22 – Rocky Graziano, American boxer (b. 1919)
 * May 25 – Vic Tayback, American actor (b. 1930)
 * May 29 – Hussein bin Onn, Malay politician, former Prime Minister (b. 1922)
 * May 31 – Willy Spühler, Swiss politician, former President of the Confederation (b. 1902)

June

 * June 2 – Rex Harrison, English actor (b. 1908)
 * June 3
 * Robert Noyce, American businessman and inventor (b. 1927)
 * Stiv Bators, American singer (The Dead Boys) (b. 1949)
 * June 4 – Jack Gilford, American actor (b. 1907)
 * June 5 – Vasili Kuznetsov, Soviet politician, former provisional head of the State (b. 1901)
 * June 7
 * Barbara Baxley, American actress (b. 1923)
 * Alfredo Poveda, Ecuadorean military officer and statesman, former head of the State (b. 1926)
 * June 8 – José Figueres Ferrer, Costa Rican politician, former President of the Republic (b. 1906)
 * June 12 – Lord Terence O'Neill, Northern Irish politician, former Prime Minister (b. 1914)
 * June 15 – Leonard Sachs, British actor (b. 1909)
 * June 16 – Dame Eva Turner, British soprano (b. 1892)
 * June 20 – Ina Balin, American actress (b. 1937)
 * June 22 – Ilya Frank, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
 * June 24 – Germán Suárez Flamerich, Venezuelan lawyer and politician, former head of State (b. 1907)
 * June 29 – Irving Wallace, American writer (b. 1916)
 * June 30 – Lynne Carol, British actress (b. 1914)

July

 * July 4 – Phil Boggs, American Olympic diver (b. 1949)
 * July 7
 * Bill Cullen, American game show host (b. 1920)
 * Cazuza, Brazilian poet, singer and composer (b. 1958)
 * July 8 – Howard Duff, American actor (b. 1913)
 * July 13 – Lois Moran, American actress (b. 1909)
 * July 15
 * Enn Roos, Estonian Soviet sculptor (b. 1908)
 * Margaret Lockwood, English actress (b. 1916)
 * July 18
 * Yun Bo-seon, South Korean politician, former President of the Republic (b. 1897)
 * Johnny Wayne, Canadian comedian (b. 1918)
 * Yves Chaland, French cartoonist (b. 1957)
 * Gerry Boulet, Canadian musician (b. 1946)
 * July 19 – Eddie Quillan, American actor (b. 1907)
 * July 21 – Joe Turner, American jazz pianist (b. 1907)
 * July 22 – Manuel Puig, Argentinian writer (b. 1932)
 * July 23 – Kenjiro Takayanagi, Japanese television engineer (b. 1899)
 * July 26 – Brent Mydland, American keyboard player (b. 1952)
 * July 29 – Bruno Kreisky, Austrian Social Democratic politician, former Federal Chancellor (b. 1911)
 * July 31 – Fernando Sancho, Spanish actor (b. 1916)

August

 * August 1
 * Norbert Elias, German sociologist of Jewish descent (b. 1897)
 * Robert Krieps, Luxembourgian Social Democratic politician (b. 1922)
 * August 2 – Edwin Richfield, British actor (b. 1921)
 * August 4
 * Mathias Goeritz, Mexican-German artist (b. 1915)
 * Ettore Maserati, Italian automotive engineer (b. 1894)
 * August 6 – Jacques Soustelle, French politician and anthropologist (b. 1912)
 * August 9 – Joe Mercer, English footballer (b. 1914)
 * August 12 – Dorothy Mackaill, British-born American actress (b. 1903)
 * August 15 – Victor Tsoi, Russian singer, actor and poet (b. 1962)
 * August 17 – Pearl Bailey, American singer and actress (b. 1918)
 * August 18 – B. F. Skinner, American psychologist (b. 1904)
 * August 22
 * Luigi Dadaglio, Italian Catholic Cardinal (b. 1914)
 * Patrick McAlinney, Irish actor (b. 1913)
 * August 23 – David Rose, British-born American songwriter, composer, arranger and orchestra leader (b. 1910)
 * August 24 – Sergei Dovlatov, Russian short-story writer and novelist (b. 1941)
 * August 26 – Mário Pinto de Andrade, Angolan politician and poet (b. 1928)
 * August 27
 * Raymond St. Jacques, American actor (b. 1930)
 * Stevie Ray Vaughan, American guitarist (b. 1954)
 * August 31 – Sergey Nikolayevich Volkov, Russian figure skater (b. 1949)

September

 * September 1 – Geir Hallgrímsson, Icelandic politician, former Prime Minister (b. 1925)
 * September 4 – Irene Dunne, American actress (b. 1898)
 * September 6 – Tom Fogerty, American musician (b. 1941)
 * September 7
 * A. J. P. Taylor, English historian (b. 1906)
 * Ahti Karjalainen, Finnish politician, former Prime Minister (b. 1923)
 * September 9
 * Samuel Doe, Liberian military officer and statesman, President of the Republic from 1980 (b. 1951)
 * Nicola Abbagnano, Italian philosopher (b. 1901)
 * September 16 – Len Hutton, English cricketer (b. 1916)
 * September 19 – Hermes Pan, American choreographer (b. 1910)
 * September 21 – Xu Xiangqian, Communist military leader in the People's Republic of China, former Defense minister. (b. 1901)
 * September 26 – Alberto Moravia, Italian novelist (b. 1907)
 * September 30 – Patrick White, Australian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1912)

October

 * October 1 – Curtis LeMay, American Air Force General (b. 1906)
 * October 3 – Stefano Casiraghi, Italian husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco (b. 1960)
 * October 4
 * Jill Bennett, British actress (b. 1931)
 * Avis Bunnage, British actress (b. 1923)
 * October 5 – Peter Taylor, English footballer and manager (b. 1928)
 * October 7
 * Rashid bin Said Al-Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of United Arab Emirates and Emir (Ruler) of Dubai (b. 1912)
 * Juan José Arévalo, Guatemalan politician, former President of the Republic (b. 1904)
 * Grim Natwick, American animator (b. 1890)
 * October 13
 * Douglas Edwards, American television news anchor (b. 1917)
 * Lê Ðức Thọ, Vietnamese general and politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1911)
 * October 14 – Leonard Bernstein, American composer and conductor (b. 1918)
 * October 15 – Delphine Seyrig, French actress (b. 1932)
 * October 16 – Art Blakey, American jazz musician (b. 1919)
 * October 20 – Joel McCrea, American actor (b. 1905)
 * October 21 – Dany Chamoun, Lebanese politician (b. 1934)
 * October 22 – Louis Althusser, French philosopher (b. 1918)
 * October 23 – Zephania Mothopeng, South African politician, leader of the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) (b. 1913)
 * October 26 – William S. Paley, American radio and television executive (b. 1901)
 * October 27
 * Xavier Cugat, American bandleader (b. 1900)
 * Jacques Demy, French film director (b. 1931)
 * Helmut Maandi, Estonian statesman (b. 1906)
 * Elliott Roosevelt, American writer, son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (b. 1910)
 * Ugo Tognazzi, Italian actor (b. 1922)
 * October 29 – William F. Smith, American lawyer. former Attorney General of the United States. (b. 1917)

November

 * November 3 – Mary Martin, American actress (b. 1913)
 * November 4 – Henry Cravatte, Luxembourgian Social Democratic politician, former Deputy Prime Minister (b. 1911)
 * November 5 – Meir Kahane, American rabbi and political figure (b. 1932)
 * November 7 – Lawrence Durrell, British writer (b. 1912)
 * November 11
 * Yiannis Ritsos, Greek poet (b. 1909)
 * Sadi Irmak, Turkish politician, former Prime Minister (b. 1904)
 * November 12 – Eve Arden, American actress (b. 1908)
 * November 13 – Don Chaffey, British film director (b. 1917)
 * November 17 – Robert Hofstadter, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
 * November 23
 * Roald Dahl, Welsh writer (b. 1916)
 * Nguyễn Văn Tâm, South Vietnamese politician, former Prime Minister (b. 1892)
 * November 26 – Ludwig von Moos, Swiss politician, former President of the Confederation (b. 1910)
 * November 27 – David White, American actor (b. 1916)

December

 * December 1 – Sergio Corbucci, Italian film director (b. 1927)
 * December 2
 * Aaron Copland, American composer (b. 1900)
 * Robert Cummings, American actor (b. 1908)
 * December 4 – Naoto Tajima, Japanese athlete (b. 1912)
 * December 6
 * Pavlos Sidiropoulos, Greek singer and songwriter (b. 1948)
 * Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysian politician, former Prime Minister (b. 1903)
 * December 7
 * Reinaldo Arenas, Cuban writer (b. 1943)
 * Dee Clark, American soul singer (b. 1938)
 * Joan Bennett, American actress (b. 1910)
 * December 8
 * Boris Kochno, Russian poet, dancer, and librettist (b. 1906)
 * Tadeusz Kantor, Polish painter, assemblage designer and theatre director (b. 1915)
 * Enrico Coveri, Italian fashion designer and entrepreneur (b. 1952)
 * Martin Ritt, American film director (b. 1914)
 * December 9 – Mike Mazurki, American actor and wrestler (b. 1909)
 * December 10 – Armand Hammer, American business tycoon (b. 1898)
 * December 12 – Concha Piquer, Spanish singer and actress (b. 1908)
 * December 13 – Alice Marble, American tennis champion (b. 1913)
 * December 14
 * Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Swiss writer (b. 1921)
 * Francisco Gabilondo Soler, Mexican singer (b. 1907)
 * December 15 – Edmund Parker, American Kenpo founder (b. 1931)
 * December 16
 * Douglas Campbell, American World War I pilot (b. 1896)
 * Jackie Mittoo, Jamaican musician (b. 1948)
 * December 18 – Anne Revere, American actress (b. 1903)
 * December 28 – Kiel Martin, American actor (b. 1944)
 * December 31
 * Vasili Lazarev, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1928)
 * George Allen, American football coach (b. 1918)

Nobel Prizes

 * Physics – Jerome Isaac Friedman, Henry Way Kendall, and Richard Edward Taylor
 * Chemistry – Elias James Corey
 * Physiology or Medicine – Joseph E. Murray, E. Donnall Thomas
 * Literature – Octavio Paz
 * Peace – Mikhail Gorbachev
 * Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel – Harry Markowitz, Merton Miller, William Sharpe

Templeton Prize

 * Baba Amte (Joint Award)
 * L. Charles Birch (Joint Award)

Fields Medal

 * Vladimir Drinfeld, Vaughan Frederick Randal Jones, Shigefumi Mori, Edward Witten

Right Livelihood Award

 * Alice Tepper Marlin, Bernard Lédéa Ouedraogo, Felicia Langer and ATCC (Asociación de Trabajadores Campesinos del Carare)