- Francesco Solimena, Italian painter, born in Canale di Serino, Avellino, Italy (d. 1747)
- Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, French artist and sculptor, born near Orléans, France (d. 1915)
- Luis Trenker, South Tyrolean film producer, director and actor (Berge in Flammen), born in Urtijëi, Tyrol (d. 1990)
- Robert Shayne [Shaen Dawe], American stage and screen character actor (Invaders from Mars; The Adventures of Superman; Tora! Tora! Tora!), born in Yonkers, New York (d. 1992)
- Rene Cloke, British illustrator, born in Plymouth, England (d. 1995)
- Cristiano Lucarelli, Italian soccer striker and manager (6 caps; AS Liverno), born in Livorno, Italy
- Mauro Camoranesi, Italian soccer winger and manager (55 caps; Juventus), born in Tandil, Argentina
- Cabral Ibacka, Romanian actor (Catacombs) and television presenter (I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! Romania), born in Bucharest, Romania
- Spencer Perceval becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after William Cavendish-Bentinck, Duke of Portland retires due to ill health
- Riccardo Zanella becomes first elected President of Free State of Fiume
- US Air Force Major Robert A. Rushworth flies an X-15 to an altitude of 105,971 ft (32,300 m)
- San Jose Sharks play first NHL game in franchise history, a 4-3 loss in Vancouver; native Californian Craig Coxe scores club's first goal while Jeff Hackett makes an impressive 48 saves
- "Real Inspector Hound" closes at Criterion Theater in NYC after 61 performances
- Clifton Davis, American actor (That's My Mama; Amen) and singer-songwriter ("Never Can Say Goodbye"), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Nina Carter, vocalist (Blonde on Blonde), born in London, England
- Jennifer Anglin, American actress (Cheryl Stansbury in "General Hospital"), born in Adrian, Michigan
- Kazuki Takahashi, Japanese creator of manga and trading card game Yu-Gi-Oh, born in Tokyo, Japan (d. 2022)
- Morgan Spector, American actor (The Gilded Age, The Plot Against America), born in Santa Rosa, California