- Luigi Cherubini, Italian musical prodigy, composer (Médée; Requiem in D minor), and educator (Conservatoire de Paris, 1822-42), baptized in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany (d. 1842) [birth was likely on the 8th]
- María Grever, Mexican-American composer ("What A Difference A Day Makes" / "Cuando vuelva a tu lado"), born in Guanajuato, Mexico (d. 1951)
- Richard Mohaupt, German composer (Bucolica), born in Wrocław, Poland (d. 1957)
- Frances Bergen, American actress (Titanic, Her Twelve Men, Interlude), model, and mother of Candice Bergen, born in Birmingham, Alabama (d. 2006)
- Sam Neill, New Zealand actor (Jurassic Park; Dead Calm; The Piano), born in Omagh, Northern Ireland (d. 2026)
- Jerry Don Gleaton, American baseball player, born in Brownwood, Texas
- Hans Richter, German soccer forward (15 caps GDR; FC Karl-Marx-Stadt, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig), born in Olbernhau, Germany (d. 2023)
- Dmitry Medvedev, Russian politician (President and Prime Minister of Russia), born in Leningrad, Soviet Union
- Battle at Marignano ends after two days in a French and Venetian victory over a Swiss army
- Ira Levin's stage comedy "No Time for Sergeants," based on Mac Hyman's novel, starring Andy Griffith and featuring Don Knott, closes at the Alvin Theatre in NYC after 796 performances
- Joseph-Desiré Mobutu launches a bloodless coup d'état in the Congo, declaring President Joseph Kasa-Vubu and Patrice Lumumba to be "neutralised" and establishing a new government of university graduates
- WCVE TV channel 23 in Richmond, Virginia (PBS) begins broadcasting
- Calgary Flames become the first NHL team to play in USSR, win 4-2
- John Gould, British ornithologist and bird artist, born in Lyme Regis, Dorset (d. 1881)
- Anton Zischka, Austrian writer (Lebendiges Europa), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1997)
- Douglas Kennedy, American actor (Dark Passage, The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold), born in New York City (d. 1973)
- Pete Agnew, Scottich rock bassist (Nazareth - "Love Hurts"), born in Dunfermline, Scotland
- Antonia De Sancha, English actress and lover of British MP David Mellor, born in London