1987

1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (dominical letter D) of the Gregorian calendar, the 1987th year of the Common Era (CE) andAnno Domini (AD) designations, the 987th year of the 2nd millennium, the 87th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year of the 1980s decade.

January

 * January 1 – Frobisher Bay, Northwest Territories, changes its name to Iqaluit.
 * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade.
 * January 3 – Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
 * January 4 – 1987 Maryland train collision: An Amtrak train en route from Washington, D.C. to Boston collides with Conrail engines at Chase, Maryland, killing 16.
 * January 5 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan undergoes prostate surgery, causing speculation about his physical fitness to continue in office.
 * January 8 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes for the first time above 2,000, gaining 8.30 to close at 2,002.25.
 * January 13 – New York mafiosi Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno and Carmine Peruccia are sentenced to 100 years in prison for racketeering.
 * January 15 – Hu Yaobang, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, is forced into retirement by political conservatives
 * January 16 – León Febres Cordero, president of Ecuador, is kidnapped by followers of imprisoned general Frank Vargas, who successfully demand the latter's release.
 * January 20 – Terry Waite, the special envoy of the Archbishop of Canterbury in Lebanon, is kidnapped in Beirut (released November 1991).
 * January 22 – Pennsylvania Treasurer Budd Dwyer shoots and kills himself with a revolver during a televised press conference after being found guilty on charges of bribery, fraud, conspiracy, and racketeering.
 * January 29 – William J. Casey ends his term as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
 * January 31 – The last Ohrbach's department store closes in New York City after 64 years of operation.

February

 * February 11
 * British Airways is privatised and listed on the London Stock Exchange.
 * The new Constitution of the Philippines goes into effect. This new constitution adds Spanish and Arabic as optional languages of the Philippines.
 * February 20 – A second Unabomber bomb explodes at a Salt Lake City computer store, injuring the owner.
 * February 23 – SN 1987A, the first "naked-eye" supernova since 1604, is observed.
 * February 25
 * Beginning of the Phosphorite War protest movement in Estonian SSR.
 * St. Kitts and Nevis recognizes the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
 * February 26 – Iran–Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes U.S. President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his National Security Council staff.
 * February 27 – Antigua and Barbuda recognizes the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

March
MS Herald of Free Enterprisebefore its capsizing on March 6.
 * March 2 – American Motors is acquired by the Chrysler Corporation.
 * March 4 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan addresses the American people on the Iran–Contra affair, acknowledging that his overtures to Iran had 'deteriorated' into anarms-for-hostages deal.
 * March 6 – Zeebrugge disaster: Roll-on/roll-off cross-channel ferry MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes off Zeebrugge harbor in Belgium; 193 people die.
 * March 7 – 1987 Lieyu massacre: Republic of China Army execute 19 unarmed Vietnamese refugees on Donggang beach, Lieyu, Kinmen off Mainland China.
 * March 9 – The Irish rock band U2 releases their studio album The Joshua Tree.
 * March 18 – Woodstock of physics: The marathon session of the American Physical Society’s meeting features 51 presentations concerning the science of high-temperature superconductors.
 * March 20 – AZT is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for use in the treatment of HIV/AIDS.
 * March 23 – The Bold & the Beautiful debuts on CBS.
 * March 24 – Michael Eisner, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, and French Prime Minister and future President of France, Jacques Chirac, sign the agreement to construct the 4,800 acres (19 km2) Euro Disney Resort (now called Disneyland Paris) and to develop the Val d'Europe area of the new town Marne-la-Vallée in Paris, France.
 * March 29 – The World Wrestling Federation (later WWE) produces WrestleMania III from the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. The event is particularly notable for the record attendance of 93,173, the largest recorded attendance for a live indoor sporting event in North America until February 14, 2010, when the 2010 NBA All-Star Game has an attendance of 108,713 at AT&T Stadium.
 * March 30 – The 59th Academy Awards take place in Los Angeles, with Platoon winning Best Picture
 * March 31 – Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, conducts a 45-minute interview on Soviet television.

April

 * April 3 – Showboat Casino Hotel first opens in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
 * April 13 – The governments of the Portuguese Republic and the People's Republic of China sign an agreement in which Macau will be returned to China in 1999.
 * April 19 – The Simpsons cartoon first appears as a series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show.
 * April 27 – The United States Department of Justice declares incumbent Austrian president Kurt Waldheim an "undesirable alien".
 * April 30 – Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the Provincial Premiers agree on principle to the Meech Lake Accord which would bring Quebec into the constitution.

May

 * May 9 – A Soviet-made Ilyushin Il-62 airliner, operated by LOT Polish Airlines, crashes into a forest just outside Warsaw, killing all 183 people on board.
 * May 11 – Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II.
 * May 14 – Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka executes a bloodless coup in Fiji.
 * May 17 – USS Stark is hit by two Iraqi-owned Exocet AM39 air-to-surface missiles killing 47 sailors.
 * May 22
 * The Hashimpura massacre occurs in Meerut, India.
 * The first ever Rugby World Cup kicks off with New Zealand playing Italy at Eden Park, Auckland.
 * May 27 – In one of the densest concentrations of humanity in history, a crowd of 800,000+ packed shoulder-to-shoulder onto the Golden Gate Bridge and its approaches for its 50th Anniversary celebration.
 * May 28 – Eighteen-year-old West German pilot Mathias Rust evades Soviet air defenses and lands a private plane on Red Square in Moscow. He is immediately detained (released on August 3, 1988).

June

 * June 3 – The Vanuatu Labour Party is founded.
 * June 8 – The New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act is passed, the first of its kind in the world.
 * June 11 – The Conservative Party of the United Kingdom, led by Margaret Thatcher, is re-elected for a third term at the 1987 general election.
 * June 12 – During a visit to Berlin, Germany, U.S. President Ronald Reagan challenges Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.
 * June 15 – Rock musician Roger Waters releases his second solo album since splitting from his former band, Pink Floyd, entitled Radio K.A.O.S.
 * June 17 – With the death of the last individual, the dusky seaside sparrow becomes extinct.
 * June 19
 * Teddy Seymour is officially designated the first black man to sail around the world, when he completes his solo sailing circumnavigation in Frederiksted, St. Croix, of the United States Virgin Islands.
 * Edwards v. Aguillard: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that a Louisiana law requiring that creation science be taught in public schools whenever evolution is taught is unconstitutional.
 * June 27 – A commercial HS 748 (Philippine Airlines Flight 206) crashes near Baguio City, Philippines, killing 50.
 * June 28
 * Iraqi warplanes drop mustard-gas bombs on the Iranian town of Sardasht in two separate bombing rounds, on four residential areas. This is the first time a civilian town was targeted by chemical weapons.
 * An accidental explosion at the Hohenfels Training Area in West Germany kills 3 U.S. troops.
 * June 29 – South Korean president Roh Tae-woo makes a speech promising a wide program of nationwide reforms, the result of the June Democracy Movement.
 * June 30 – Canada introduces a one-dollar coin, nicknamed the "Loonie".

July

 * July 1
 * The Single European Act is passed by the European Community.
 * U.S. President Ronald Reagan nominates former Solicitor General Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. The nomination is later rejected by the Senate.
 * July 3
 * In the Soviet Union, Vladimir Nikolayev is sentenced to death for cannibalism.
 * Greater Manchester Police recover the body of 16-year-old Pauline Reade from Saddleworth Moor, after her killers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley help them in their search, almost exactly 24 years since Pauline was last seen alive.
 * July 4 – A court in Lyon sentences former Gestapo boss Klaus Barbie to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity.
 * July 11
 * Australian Prime Minister Robert Hawke's government is re-elected for a third term.
 * World population is estimated to have reached five billion people, according to the United Nations.[1]
 * July 12 – Konami releases the video game Metal Gear in Japan for the MSX2.
 * July 16 – Death of Pierre Lardinois, Belgian politician (b. 1924)
 * July 17 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 2,500 mark for the first time, at 2,510.04.
 * July 22 – Palestinian cartoonist Naji Salim al-Ali is shot in London; he dies August 28.
 * July 25
 * The East Lancashire Railway, a heritage railway in the North West of England, is opened between Bury and Ramsbottom.
 * United States Secretary of Commerce Malcolm Baldrige, Jr. dies in a rodeo accident at a California ranch.
 * July 31
 * Four hundred pilgrims killed in clashes between demonstrating Iranian pilgrims and Saudi Arabian security forces in Mecca.
 * Docklands Light Railway in London, the first driverless railway in Great Britain, is formally opened by Elizabeth II.
 * An F4-rated tornado devastates eastern Edmonton, Alberta; hardest hit are an industrial park and a trailer park. 27 people are killed and hundreds injured, with hundreds more left homeless and jobless.

August

 * August 4
 * The World Commission on Environment and Development, also known as the Brundtland Commission, publishes its report, Our Common Future.
 * The Federal Communications Commission rescinds the Fairness Doctrine, which had required radio and television stations to "fairly" present controversial issues.
 * August 7 – The Colombian frigate Caldas enters Venezuelan waters near the Los Monjes Archipelago, sparking the Caldas frigate crisis between both nations.
 * August 9 – Hoddle Street massacre in Australia: Julian Knight, 19, goes on a shooting rampage in the Melbourne suburb of Clifton Hill, Victoria, killing 7 people and injuring 19 before surrendering to police.
 * August 14 – All the children held at Kai Lama, a rural property on Lake Eildon, Australia, run by the Santiniketan Park Association, are released after a police raid.
 * August 16
 * Northwest Airlines Flight 255 (a McDonnell Douglas MD-82) crashes on takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Michigan just west of Detroit killing all but one (4-year old Cecelia Cichan) of the 156 people on board.
 * The followers of the Harmonic Convergence claim it was observed around the world.
 * August 17 – Rudolf Hess is found dead in his cell in Spandau Prison. Hess, 93, is believed to have committed suicide by hanging himself with an electrical flex. He was the last remaining prisoner at the complex, which is soon demolished.
 * August 19
 * Hungerford massacre: Sixteen people die in the first British mass shooting carried out by Michael Ryan.
 * ABC News' chief Middle East correspondent Charles Glass escapes his Hezbollah kidnappers in Beirut, Lebanon, after 62 days in captivity.
 * The Order of the Garter is opened to women.
 * August 22 – North American release of The Legend of Zelda
 * August 23 – The Hirvepark meeting is organized as the first unsanctioned political meeting in Estonian SSR, in commemoration of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.
 * August 31 – Michael Jackson releases his hit album Bad.

September

 * September 2 – In Moscow, the trial begins for 19-year-old pilot Mathias Rust, who flew his Cessna airplane into Red Square in May.
 * September 3 – In a coup d'état in Burundi, President Jean-Baptiste Bagaza is deposed by Major Pierre Buyoya.
 * September 7 – Rock band Pink Floyd release their album A Momentary Lapse of Reason, their first since the departure of Roger Waters.
 * September 7 – 21 – The world's first conference on artificial life is held at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
 * September 13 – Scavengers open an old radiation source abandoned in a hospital in Goiânia, causing the worst radiation accident ever in an urban area.
 * September 15 – Pope John Paul II arrives in Los Angeles for a two-day papal visit, his first one ever to the city.
 * September 17 – At a small rally in New York City's Harlem district, televangelist Pat Robertson announces his candidacy for the 1988 Republican presidential nomination.
 * September 17 Pope John Paul II arrives in San Francisco for his first ever papal tour here, including a speech to several AIDS sufferers.
 * September 22 – The series Full House airs its first episode, "Our Very First Show".
 * September 28 – The second Star Trek TV series The Next Generation premieres in syndication.

October

 * October 3 – The Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement is reached but still requires ratification. This agreement would be a precursor to NAFTA.
 * October 7 – Sikh nationalists declares the independence of Khalistan from India.
 * October 11 – The first National Coming Out Day is held in celebration of the second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.
 * October 14–16 – The United States is caught up in a drama that unfolds on television as a young child named Jessica McClure falls down a well in Midland, Texas, and is later rescued.


 * October 15–16 – Great Storm of 1987: Hurricane-force winds hit much of southern England, killing 23 people.
 * October 19
 * Black Monday: Stock market levels fall sharply on Wall Street and around the world.
 * US warships destroy two Iranian oil platforms in the Persian Gulf.
 * Two commuter trains collide head-on on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia; 102 are killed.
 * October 22 – The pilot of a British Aerospace BAE Harrier GR5 registered ZD325 accidentally ejects from his aircraft. The jet continues to fly until it runs out of fuel and crashes into the Irish Sea.[2]
 * October 23
 * Champion English jockey Lester Piggott is jailed for three years after being convicted of tax evasion.
 * On a vote of 58–42, the United States Senate rejects President Ronald Reagan's nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court.
 * October 26 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average goes down 156.83 points.

November

 * November 1 – InterCity 125 breaks world diesel powered train speed record reaching 238 km/h (147.88 mph).
 * November 7
 * Zine El Abidine Ben Ali assumes the Presidency of Tunisia.
 * Lynne Cox swims between the Diomede Islands from the American Little Diomede Island to the Soviet Big Diomede Island.
 * November 8 – Enniskillen bombing: Twelve people are killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb at a Remembrance Day service at Enniskillen.
 * November 12 – The first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Mainland China opens in Beijing, near Tiananmen Square.
 * November 15
 * In Brașov, Romania, workers rebel against the communist regime led by Nicolae Ceaușescu.
 * European release of The Legend of Zelda
 * November 16 – The Parlatino Treaty of Institutionalization is signed.
 * November 17 – A tsunami hits the Gulf of Alaska.
 * November 18
 * The King's Cross fire on the London Underground kills 31 people and injures a further 100.
 * Iran–Contra affair: U.S. Senate and House panels release reports charging President Ronald Reagan with 'ultimate responsibility' for the affair.
 * November 22 – Max Headroom broadcast signal intrusion – unknown perpetrators hijack the signal of WGN-TV for about 20 seconds, and WTTW for about 90 seconds, and displays a strange video of a man in a Max Headroom mask.
 * November 25 – Category 5 Typhoon Nina smashes the Philippines with 165 miles per hour (266 km/h) winds and a devastating storm surge, causing destruction and 1,036 deaths.
 * November 28 – South African Airways Flight 295 crashes into the Indian ocean off Mauritius, due to a fire in the cargo hold; the 159 passengers and crew perish.
 * November 29 – Korean Air Flight 858 is blown up over the Andaman Sea, killing 115 crew and passengers. North Korean agents are responsible for the bombing.

December

 * December 1
 * NASA announces the names of 4 companies awarded contracts to help build Space Station Freedom: Boeing Aerospace, General Electric's Astro-Space Division, McDonnell Douglas, and the RocketdyneDivision of Rockwell.
 * Queensland: Following a week of turmoil from his National Party of Australia colleagues, Joh Bjelke-Petersen resigns as Premier of Queensland. He is replaced by Mike Ahern, the only premier never to contest an election as premier.
 * December 2 – Hustler Magazine v. Falwell is argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.
 * December 7 – Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 crashes near Paso Robles, California, killing all 43 on board, after a disgruntled passenger shoots his ex-supervisor on the flight, then shoots both pilots.
 * December 8
 * Israeli–Palestinian conflict: The First Intifada begins in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
 * Queen Street massacre: In Melbourne, Australia, 22-year-old Frank Vitkovic kills 8 and injures another 5 in a Post Office building before committing suicide by jumping from the eleventh floor.
 * The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is signed in Washington, D.C. by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
 * Alianza Lima air disaster: A Peruvian Navy Fokker F27 crashes near Ventanilla, Peru, killing 43.
 * December 9
 * General Rahimuddin Khan retires from the Pakistan Army, along with the cabinet of the country's military dictatorship.
 * Microsoft releases Windows 2.0.
 * December 17
 * Gustáv Husák resigns as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
 * Mega Man is released in Japan.
 * December 18
 * Square Co., Ltd. releases Final Fantasy in Japan for the Famicom.
 * The Perl programming language is created by Larry Wall.
 * December 20 – In history's worst peacetime sea disaster, the passenger ferry MV Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker Vector 1 in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official).
 * December 21 – Turgut Özal of ANAP forms the new government of Turkey (46th government).
 * December 30 – Pope John Paul II issues the encyclical Sollicitudo rei socialis (On Social Concern).

Date unknown

 * Birth rates begin to fall in the Soviet Union as the country's government began to collapse.[3]
 * The Pendolino train makes its debut in Italy.
 * Tinker Hatfield designs the Nike Air Max.
 * Shoko Asahara founds the Aum Shinrikyo cult.
 * Thomas Knoll and John Knoll develop the first version of Photoshop.
 * Maglite introduces the 2AAA Mini Maglite flashlight, targeted for medical and industrial applications.
 * Barry Minkow's ZZZZ Best fraud unravels.
 * Varroa destructor, an invasive parasite of honeybees, is found in the U.S.
 * The first Starbucks Coffee stores outside Seattle are opened in Vancouver and Chicago.
 * BiCE Ristorante opens in New York, New York.[4]
 * Fluoxetine, marketed as Prozac, is approved for use as an antidepressant in the USA by the Food and Drug Administration in December 1987.

January

 * January 1
 * Meryl Davis, American figure skater
 * January 2
 * Shelley Hennig, American actress
 * Lauren Storm, American actress
 * January 5
 * Kristin Cavallari, American reality television star
 * Jason Mitchell American actor
 * January 6
 * Ndamukong Suh, American football player
 * Zhang Lin, Chinese swimmer
 * January 7
 * Lyndsy Fonseca, American actress
 * Sirusho, Armenian singer
 * January 8 – Freddie Stroma, English actor
 * January 9
 * Lucas Leiva, Brazilian football player
 * Paolo Nutini, British singer
 * January 10 – César Cielo, Brazilian swimmer
 * January 11
 * Danuta Kozák, Hungarian sprint canoer
 * Jamie Vardy, English footballer
 * January 12 – Naya Rivera, American actress
 * January 13 – Jack Johnson, American hockey player
 * January 15
 * Greg Inglis, Australian rugby league footballer
 * Tsegaye Kebede, Ethiopian long-distance runner
 * Kelly Kelly, American professional wrestler
 * Michael Seater, Canadian actor
 * January 16 – Jake Epstein, Canadian actor
 * January 18
 * Zane Holtz, Canadian actor
 * Stefan Filipović, Montenegrin pop singer
 * January 20 – Evan Peters, American actor
 * January 23 – The Avener, French deep house producer
 * January 24
 * Ruth Bradley, Irish television and film actress
 * Luis Suárez, Uruguayan football player
 * January 26
 * Andrew J. Ferchland, American actor
 * Sebastian Giovinco, Italian football player
 * January 27
 * Lily Donaldson, British model
 * Katy Rose, American singer-songwriter
 * Kylie Sparks, American actress
 * Hannah Teter, American snowboarder
 * January 28
 * Misha Crosby, British actor
 * Katie Nolan, American sport personality and TV host
 * January 29
 * Ksenia Kahnovich, Russian model
 * Alex Murrel, American singer and actress
 * January 30
 * Lance Franklin, Australian rules footballer
 * Phil Lester, English video blogger and radio personality
 * Arda Turan, Turkish footballer
 * January 31 – Marcus Mumford, English-American singer, songwriter and musician (Mumford & Sons)

February

 * February 1
 * Heather Morris, American actress
 * Giuseppe Rossi, Italian-American football player
 * Ronda Rousey, American martial arts expert and actress
 * February 2
 * Gerard Piqué, Barcelona and Spanish footballer
 * Victoria Song, Chinese pop singer (f(x)) and model
 * Martin Spanjers, American actor
 * Athena Imperial, Miss Philippines Earth 2011 winner
 * February 3 – Johan Dahlberg, Swedish architect
 * February 4 – Lucie Šafářová, Czech tennis player
 * February 5
 * Darren Criss, American singer and actor
 * Richard Rawson, English rapper and songwriter
 * Donald Sanford, American-Israeli Olympic sprinter
 * February 7
 * Kerli Kõiv, Estonian singer
 * Monika Brodka, Polish singer
 * February 8 – Carolina Kostner, Italian figure skater
 * February 9
 * Rose Leslie, Scottish actress
 * Michael B. Jordan, American actor
 * Magdalena Neuner, German biathlete
 * February 10
 * Choi Siwon, South Korean recording artist
 * Poli Genova, Bulgarian singer
 * February 11 – Ellen van Dijk, Dutch road and track cycling world champion
 * February 13
 * Eljero Elia, Dutch footballer
 * Rau'shee Warren, American boxer
 * February 14 – Edinson Cavani, Uruguayan footballer
 * February 15 – Alex Rodman, English footballer
 * February 16
 * Luc Bourdon, Canadian ice hockey defenceman (d. 2008)
 * Ryan Follesé, American singer; lead singer of pop-rock band Hot Chelle Rae
 * February 20 – Miles Teller, American actor
 * February 21
 * Ashley Greene, American actress
 * Tuppence Middleton, English actress
 * Ellen Page, Canadian actress
 * February 22
 * Han Hyo-joo, South Korean actress
 * Sergio Romero, Argentine footballer
 * February 24 – Tina Desai, Indian actress and model
 * February 25
 * Natalie Dreyfuss, American actress
 * Andrew Poje, Canadian figure skater
 * Eva Avila, Canadian singer/songwriter
 * February 26 – Johan Sjöstrand, Swedish handball player
 * February 27
 * Valeriy Andriytsev, Ukrainian wrestler
 * Scott Davies, English footballer

March

 * March 1 – Kesha, American singer
 * March 3
 * Siddharth Bhardwaj, Indian VJ, model and actor
 * Elnur Hüseynov, Azerbaijani singer
 * March 4 – Tamzin Merchant, English actress
 * March 5 – Anna Chakvetadze, Russian professional tennis player
 * March 6
 * Kevin-Prince Boateng, Ghanaian-German footballer
 * Hannah Taylor-Gordon, English actress
 * March 7 – Hatem Ben Arfa, Tunisian-French footballer
 * March 9 – Bow Wow, African-American rapper
 * March 10
 * Martellus Bennett, American football player
 * Liu Shishi, Chinese actress
 * Emeli Sandé, Scottish recording artist and songwriter
 * March 11 – Ngonidzashe Makusha, Zimbabwean sprinter and long jumper
 * March 12
 * Jessica Hardy, American swimmer
 * Teimour Radjabov, Azerbaijani chess player
 * Chris Stark, English radio DJ
 * March 13 – Marco Andretti, American IRL driver
 * March 14
 * Robert Clark, American actor
 * Aravane Rezaï, Iranian-French tennis player
 * March 16 – Alexandr Smyshlyaev, Russian freestyle skier
 * March 17 – Robert Kardashian Jr., American television personality, model, and talent manager
 * March 18 – Rebecca Soni, American swimmer
 * March 19
 * AJ Lee, American professional wrestler
 * Josie Loren, American actress
 * March 20 &uneasy; João Alves de Assis Silva (Jô), Brazilian soccer player
 * March 21 – Yuri Ryazanov, Russian artistic gymnast (d. 2009)
 * March 22
 * Ike Davis, American baseball player
 * Alexander Shatilov, Israeli artistic gymnast
 * March 23 – Alan Toovey, Australian Rules Football Premiership player
 * March 24 – Josh Zeid, American baseball player
 * March 25 – Nobunari Oda, Japanese figure skater
 * March 26 – YUI, Japanese singer-songwriter
 * March 27
 * Polina Gagarina, Russian singer, songwriter, actress, and model
 * Buster Posey, American baseball player
 * March 28 – Kagney Linn Karter, American pornographic actress
 * March 29 – Dénes Varga, Hungarian water polo player
 * March 31 – Humpy Koneru, Indian chess grandmaster

April

 * April 1
 * Mackenzie Davis, a Canadian actress.
 * Ding Junhui, Chinese snooker player
 * April 2 – Molly Smitten-Downes, British singer-songwriter
 * April 3 – Park Jung-min, South Korean singer (SS501)
 * April 4
 * Sarah Gadon, Canadian actress
 * Océane Zhu, Chinese actress
 * April 6 – Hilary Rhoda, American model
 * April 8 – Royston Drenthe, Dutch footballer
 * April 9
 * Jesse McCartney, American singer and actor
 * Jazmine Sullivan, American recording artist
 * Pengiran Anak Sarah, wife of the Crown Prince of Brunei, Al-Muhtadee Billah
 * April 10
 * Hayley Westenra, New Zealand soprano
 * Shay Mitchell, Canadian actress and model
 * Jamie Renée Smith, American actress
 * April 11
 * Joss Stone, English musician
 * Lights Poxleitner, Canadian musician
 * Michelle Phan, American make-up demonstrator
 * April 12
 * Brendon Urie, American musician
 * Brooklyn Decker, American fashion model and actress
 * Mike Manning, American actor
 * April 15
 * Iyaz, British Virgin Islands singer
 * Samira Wiley, American actress and model
 * April 16 – Aaron Lennon, English footballer
 * April 18 – Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, English supermodel
 * April 19
 * Courtland Mead, American actor
 * Joe Hart, English footballer
 * Maria Sharapova, Russian tennis player
 * Oksana Akinshina, Russian actress
 * April 20
 * John Patrick Amedori, American actor and musician
 * Anna Rossinelli, Swiss singer-songwriter
 * April 21
 * Sophie Rundle, English television and film actress
 * Lenira Santos, Cape Verdean sprinter
 * Anastasia Prikhodko, Ukrainian folk rock and traditional pop singer
 * April 22 – John Obi Mikel, Nigerian footballer
 * April 24 – Varun Dhawan, Indian Bollywood actor
 * April 27
 * William Moseley, English actor
 * Anne Suzuki, Japanese actress
 * Emma Taylor-Isherwood, Canadian actress
 * April 28 – Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Indian film actress and model
 * April 29
 * Sara Errani, Italian tennis player
 * Alicia Morton, American actress and singer

May

 * May 1
 * Matt Di Angelo, English actor
 * Shahar Pe'er, Israeli tennis player
 * May 2
 * Nana Kitade, Japanese singer
 * Pat McAfee, American football player
 * May 4
 * Anjeza Shahini, Albanian singer
 * Cesc Fàbregas, Spanish football player
 * Jorge Lorenzo, Spanish motorcycle racer
 * Zbigniew Bartman, Polish volleyball player
 * May 5 – Jessie Cave, English actress
 * May 6 – Moon Geun-young, Korean actress
 * May 7
 * Aidy Bryant, American actress and comedian
 * Asami Konno, Japanese singer
 * May 10
 * Allie Haze, American pornographic actress
 * Eileen April Boylan, American actress
 * May 11
 * Albulena Haxhiu, Kosovo Albanian politician
 * Enikő Mihalik, Hungarian model
 * May 13
 * Hunter Parrish, American actor
 * Candice King, American actress and singer
 * Misha Gabriel, American dancer
 * May 15 – Andy Murray, Scottish tennis player
 * May 16 – Can Bonomo, Turkish-Jewish singer
 * May 17 – Ott Lepland, Estonian singer
 * May 20 – Fra Fee, Northern Irish actor and singer
 * May 22 – Novak Djokovic, Serbian tennis player
 * May 25 – Nico Hillenbrand, German footballer
 * May 26 – Tooji, Norwegian-Iranian singer, model and television host
 * May 29
 * Alessandra Torresani, American actress
 * Ak'Sent, American female rapper
 * Noah Reid, Canadian actor and musician
 * May 30 – Curtis Williams, American actor
 * May 31
 * Shaun Fleming, American actor and musician
 * Meredith Hagner, American actress

June

 * June 2 – Sonakshi Sinha, Indian actress
 * June 3
 * Lalaine, American actress and singer
 * Masami Nagasawa, Japanese actress
 * Michelle Keegan, British actress
 * June 4
 * Mollie King, British singer
 * Tori Praver, American model and swimwear designer
 * Luisa Zissman, British TV personality
 * June 5 – Charlie Clements, British actor
 * June 6 – Luo Zilin, Miss Universe China 2011 4th runner-up and model
 * June 9 – Rheagan Wallace, American actress
 * June 10 – He Chong, Chinese diver
 * June 11
 * Dappy, English rapper
 * Didrik Solli-Tangen, Norwegian singer
 * Rie Tanaka, Japanese gymnast
 * June 12 – Abbey Lee Kershaw, Australian model
 * June 14 – Cameron Russell, American model
 * June 16
 * Kelly Blatz, American actor and singer
 * Diana DeGarmo, American singer and Broadway actress
 * June 17
 * Nozomi Tsuji, Japanese singer
 * Kendrick Lamar, American rapper
 * Rebecca Breeds, Australian actress
 * June 18 – Zsuzsanna Tomori, Hungarian handball player
 * June 19 – Miho Fukuhara, Japanese singer
 * June 20 – Daiana Menezes, Brazilian actress, model, and television host
 * June 21 – Kim Ryeowook, South Korean singer (Super Junior)
 * June 22 – Lee Min-ho, South Korean actor and model
 * June 23 – Haley Strode, American actress
 * June 24
 * Lionel Messi, Argentine football player
 * Josh Lillis, English footballer
 * June 26 – Samir Nasri, French footballer
 * June 27 – Ed Westwick, English actor

July

 * July 2 – Ruslana Korshunova, Kazakhstani model (d. 2008)
 * July 3
 * Chris Hunter, American actor
 * Chad Broskey, American actor
 * Sebastian Vettel, German racing driver
 * July 5 – Ji Chang-wook, South Korean actor
 * July 6
 * Kate Nash, British singer/songwriter
 * Matt O'Leary, American actor
 * Caroline Trentini, Brazilian model
 * July 7 – Julianna Guill, American actress
 * July 9 – Rebecca Sugar, American animator and creator of Steven Universe.
 * July 11 – Maximilian Müller, German field hockey player
 * July 14 – Dan Reynolds, American singer and musician
 * July 13 – Eva Rivas, Russian-Armenian singer
 * July 16
 * AnnaLynne McCord, American actress
 * Evelina Sašenko, Lithuanian jazz singer of Polish-Ukrainian descent
 * July 17 – Jeremih, American recording artist and producer
 * July 19 – Yan Gomes, Brazilian baseball player
 * July 24 – Mara Wilson, American actress
 * July 25
 * Alan Dawa Dolma (better known as "Alan"), Chinese singer
 * Gor Sujyan, Armenian rock singer, lead singer of Dorians
 * Michael Welch, American actor
 * July 26 – Miriam McDonald, Canadian actress and dancer
 * July 27 – Marek Hamšík, Slovak football player
 * July 28
 * Sumire, Japanese fashion model (d. 2009)
 * Pedro Rodríguez Ledesma, Spanish footballer
 * July 29
 * Dyana Liu, American actress
 * Alice Dellal, Brazilian-born British model
 * July 31
 * Michael Bradley, American soccer player

August

 * August 2 – Jessie Daniels, American actress, songwriter, and Christian musician
 * August 3 – Kim Hyung-jun, South Korean singer, DJ (SS501)
 * August 4
 * Jon Lilygreen, Welsh singer
 * Philip Younghusband, British-Filipino footballer
 * August 5 – Genelia D'Souza, Indian actress, model, and host
 * August 6
 * Aditya Narayan, Bollywood actor and singer
 * Charley Chase, American pornographic actress
 * Joran van der Sloot, Dutch murder suspect
 * August 7
 * Sidney Crosby, Canadian hockey player
 * Ryan Lavarnway, American baseball player
 * August 8 – Katie Leung, Scottish actress
 * August 14
 * James Buckley, English actor
 * Tim Tebow, American football player
 * August 15 – Sean McAllister, English footballer
 * August 18 – Mika Boorem, American actress
 * August 19 – Nico Hülkenberg, German racing driver
 * August 20
 * Cătălina Ponor, Romanian gymnast
 * Tulus, Indonesian singer
 * August 21
 * Cody Kasch, American actor
 * Kim Kibum, South Korean singer and actor (Super Junior)
 * August 24 – Anže Kopitar, Slovene ice hockey player
 * August 25
 * Stacey Farber, Canadian actress
 * Liu Yifei, Chinese actress
 * Blake Lively, American actress
 * Amy Macdonald, Scottish singer and songwriter
 * Rona Nishliu, Albanian Kosovar singer, radio presenter and humanitarian
 * Justin Upton, American baseball player
 * August 30 – Johanna Braddy, American film actress

September

 * September 2
 * Scott Moir, Canadian figure skater
 * Spencer Smith, American musician
 * September 3 – James Neal, Canadian ice hockey player
 * September 4 – Maryna Linchuk, Belarusian model
 * September 7
 * Evan Rachel Wood, American actress and singer
 * Aleksandra Wozniak, Canadian tennis player
 * September 8 – Wiz Khalifa, American rapper
 * September 9
 * Afrojack, Dutch DJ and music producer
 * Clayton Snyder, American actor
 * Milan Stanković, Serbian pop-folk singer
 * September 11
 * Susianna Kentikian, German-Armenian boxer
 * Tyler Hoechlin, American actor
 * Elizabeth Henstridge, English actress
 * September 13 – G.NA, Canadian singer
 * September 15 – Clare Maguire, British singer-songwriter
 * September 16 – Anthony Padilla, Internet comedian
 * September 19 – Danielle Panabaker, American actress
 * September 20
 * Jack Lawless, American actress
 * Sarah Natochenny, American Voice Artist
 * September 22 – Tom Felton, English actor
 * September 23 – Skylar Astin, American actor
 * September 24
 * Matthew Connolly, English footballer
 * Brit Morgan, American film and television actress
 * September 25 – Monica Niculescu, Romanian tennis player
 * September 26 – Jang Keun Suk, South Korean actor, singer and model
 * September 28 – Hilary Duff, American actress and singer
 * September 29
 * Kyle Riabko, Canadian pop singer, guitarist
 * David Del Rio, American actor
 * September 30
 * Ramy Ashour, Egyptian squash player
 * Elanne Kong, Hong Kong actress and singer
 * Denise Laurel, Filipina actress and singer

October

 * October 2
 * Christopher Larkin, American actor
 * Phil Kessel, American professional ice hockey forward
 * Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., American stock car driver
 * October 3 – Zuleyka Rivera, Puerto Rican beauty queen who held the titles Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2006 and Miss Universe 2006
 * October 4 – Marina Weisband, German politician
 * October 8 – Aya Hirano, Japanese voice actress and singer
 * October 11 – Ariella Kaslin, Swiss artistic gymnast
 * October 12 – Besian Idrizaj, Austrian footballer
 * October 15 – Mizuho Sakaguchi, Japanese woman footballer
 * October 16 – Seungho, South Korean pop singer (MBLAQ)
 * October 17 – Bea Alonzo, Filipino actress
 * October 18
 * Zac Efron, American actor
 * Freja Beha Erichsen, Danish model
 * October 20 – Levy Li, Miss Malaysia Universe 2008
 * October 22 – Donny Montell, Lithuanian singer-songwriter
 * October 23 – Miyuu Sawai, Japanese actress
 * October 24 – Charlie White, American figure skater
 * October 27
 * Thelma Aoyama, Japanese singer
 * Yi Jianlian, Chinese basketball player (year of birth disputed)
 * October 28
 * Na Yeon Choi, South Korean female professional golfer
 * Frank Ocean, American singer and rapper
 * October 29
 * Jessica Dubé, Canadian figure skater
 * Tove Lo, Swedish singer-songwriter
 * Makoto Ogawa, Japanese singer

November

 * November 1
 * Bruce Irvin, American football player
 * Ileana D'Cruz, Indian actress
 * November 3
 * Ty Lawson, American basketball player
 * Colin Kaepernick, American National Football League player, quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers
 * Kyle Seager, American baseball player
 * Elizabeth Smart, American kidnap survivor
 * Gemma Ward, Australian model
 * November 4
 * Tim Douwsma, Dutch singer
 * T.O.P, Korean rapper
 * November 5 – Kevin Jonas, American singer/songwriter
 * November 6
 * Ana Ivanovic, Serbian tennis player
 * G.O, South Korean singer (MBLAQ)
 * November 7 – Rachele Brooke Smith, American actress and dancer
 * November 8
 * Samantha Droke, American actress
 * Maryjun Takahashi, Japanese model and actress
 * November 11 – Yuya Tegoshi, Japanese singer (NEWS, Tegomass)
 * November 12 – Jason Day, Australian golfer
 * November 17 – Kat DeLuna, American singer
 * November 18 – Jake Abel, American actor
 * November 23
 * Kasia Struss, Polish model
 * Snooki, American television personality
 * November 24 – Elena Satine, American film actress and singer
 * November 25 – Dolla, American rapper (d. 2009)
 * November 28 – Karen Gillan, Scottish actress
 * November 30
 * Christel Khalil, American actress
 * Dougie Poynter, English musician (McFly)
 * Ian Hecox, Internet comedian

December

 * December 2 – Teairra Marí, American singer
 * December 3
 * Michael Angarano, American actor
 * Alicia Sacramone, American gymnast
 * December 4
 * Dree Hemingway, American model and actress
 * Orlando Brown, American actor, singer, and comedian
 * December 6 – Jack DeSena, American actor
 * December 7 – Aaron Carter, American singer and actor
 * December 8 – Susanne Riesch, German alpine skier
 * December 9 – Hikaru Nakamura Japanese American chess grandmaster
 * December 10 – Gonzalo Higuaín, Argentine footballer
 * December 12
 * Lao Lishi, Chinese diver
 * Kate Todd, Canadian actress
 * December 13 – Rachel Anne Daquis, Filipino volleyball player
 * December 16
 * Hallee Hirsh, American actress
 * Michael Lohan Jr., American actor
 * December 18
 * Miki Ando, Japanese figure skater
 * Ayaka, Japanese singer
 * Yuki Furukawa, Japanese actor
 * December 19
 * Karim Benzema, French footballer
 * Ronan Farrow, American activist
 * December 20
 * Michihiro Yasuda, Japanese football player
 * Alana Grace, American singer and actress
 * December 22 – Lisa Andreas, English singer of Cypriot descent
 * December 25 – Demaryius Thomas, American football player
 * December 27 – Lily Cole, British model
 * December 28
 * Taylor Ball, American actor
 * Thomas Dekker, American actor
 * Hannah Tointon, English actress
 * Adam Gregory, American actor
 * December 29 – Iain De Caestecker, Scottish actor
 * December 31
 * Javaris Crittenton, American basketball player
 * Seydou Doumbia, Ivorian football player
 * Émilie Le Pennec, French gymnast

January

 * January 6 – Harry D. Payne, American architect (b. 1891)
 * January 9 – Arthur Lake, American actor, Dagwood Bumstead in Blondie (b. 1905)
 * January 10 – Hakan Malmrot, Swedish swimmer (b. 1900)
 * January 14 – Douglas Sirk, German-born film director, Hollywood melodramas Magnificent Obsession, All That Heaven Allows, Written on the Wind, Imitation of Life (b. 1897)
 * January 15 – Ray Bolger, American actor, singer, and dancer. Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (b. 1904)
 * January 16
 * Joyce Jameson, American actress, 'Skippy' in The Andy Griffith Show, and 'The Blonde' in The Apartment (b. 1932)
 * Joseph Urner, American sculptor, painter and etcher born in Frederick, Maryland (b. 1898)
 * January 19 – Gerald Brenan, British writer and Hispanist (b. 1894)
 * January 21 – Charles Goodell, American politician (b. 1926)
 * January 22 – Budd Dwyer, American politician (b. 1939)
 * January 25 – Nahuel Moreno, Argentine Trotskyist leader (b. 1924)
 * January 27
 * Allan V. Cox, American geologist (b. 1926)
 * Norman McLaren, Canadian animator and director, Best Documentary Oscar winner Neighbours (b. 1914)
 * January 29 – Emvin Cremona, Maltese artist (b. 1919)
 * January 31 – Yves Allégret, French film director, Oscar nomination for The Proud and the Beautiful screenplay. Husband of Simone Signoret (b. 1905)

February

 * February 2
 * Alistair MacLean, British writer (b. 1922)
 * Carlos José Castilho, Brazilian football goalkeeper (b. 1927)
 * February 3 – Donald Aronow, creator of the Cigarette Boat (b. 1927)
 * February 4 – Liberace, American pianist (b. 1919)
 * February 5
 * William Collier, Jr., American actor, Cimarron, Little Caesar (b. 1902)
 * Otto Wöhler, serving during World War I and World War II (b. 1894)
 * February 10
 * Robert O'Brien, American racing driver (b. 1908)
 * Hans Rosenthal, German radio editor, director, and radio and television host (b. 1925)
 * February 14 – Dmitry Kabalevsky, Russian composer (b. 1904)
 * February 20 – Lev Russov, Russian painter (b. 1926)
 * February 22
 * David Susskind, American producer and host (b. 1920)
 * Andy Warhol, American artist, director, writer (b. 1928)
 * Glenway Wescott, American novelist (b. 1901)
 * February 24 – Jim Connors, American radio personality (b. 1940)
 * February 25
 * James Coco, American actor, the unemployed actor in Only When I Laugh, and Sancho Panza in Man of La Mancha (b. 1930)
 * Elisabeth Coit, American architect (b. 1897)
 * Florence Cayford, Labour politician in London (b. 1897)
 * John Collin, English actor, Detective Sergeant Haggar in Z-Cars (b. 1931)
 * Edgar Nixon, African-American civil rights leader (b. 1899)
 * February 27 – Joan Greenwood, English actress (b. 1921)
 * February 28 – Stephen Tennant, British aristocrat and playboy (b. 1906)
 * (Date unknown) – Lou Darvas, American artist and cartoonist (b. 1913)

March

 * March 2 – Randolph Scott, American actor (b. 1898)
 * March 3 – Danny Kaye, American singer, actor, and comedian (b. 1911)
 * March 7 – Waldo Salt, American screenwriter (b. 1914)
 * March 11 – Joe Gladwin, English actor (b. 1906)
 * March 12 – Woody Hayes, football coach at Ohio State (b. 1913)
 * March 13
 * Bernhard Grzimek, German zoo director and zoologist (b. 1909)
 * Gerald Moore, English pianist (b. 1899)
 * March 15 – W. Sterling Cole, American politician, first Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (b. 1904)
 * March 19 – Louis-Victor de Broglie, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
 * March 21
 * Dean Paul Martin, American actor (b. 1951)
 * Robert Preston, American actor (b. 1918)
 * March 22 – Joan Shawlee, American actress (b. 1926)
 * March 26
 * Walter Abel, American actor (b. 1898)
 * Georg Muche, German painter, printmaker, architect, author, and teacher (b. 1895)
 * Eugen Jochum, German conductor (b. 1902)
 * March 28
 * Maria von Trapp, Austrian singer (b. 1905)
 * Patrick Troughton, British actor (b. 1920)
 * Alphonse Alley, Beninese military officer, former Head of State of Dahomey (b. 1930)

April

 * April 1 – Henri Cochet, French tennis champion (b. 1901)
 * April 2
 * Wang Renmei, Chinese actress and singer (b. 1914)
 * Buddy Rich, American jazz drummer (b. 1917)
 * Trevor Hockey, Welsh footballer (b. 1943)
 * April 3 – Tom Sestak, American football player (b. 1936)
 * April 4 – C. L. Moore, American writer (b. 1911)
 * April 11
 * Erskine Caldwell, American writer (b. 1903)
 * Kent Taylor, American actor (b. 1907)
 * April 13
 * Dennis Allen (b. 1951), Australian criminal and drug dealer, eldest son of Kath Pettingill
 * April 15 – Masatoshi Nakayama, Japanese Karate Master (b. 1913)
 * April 17
 * Carlton Barrett, Jamaican reggae drummer (b. 1950)
 * Cornelius Van Til, Christian philosopher, Reformed theologian, and presuppositional apologist (b. 1895)
 * Dick Shawn, American actor (b. 1924)
 * April 19
 * Hugh Brannum, American actor (b. 1910)
 * Milt Kahl, Animator for the Disney Studio (b. 1909)
 * Antony Tudor, English dancer and choreographer (b. 1908)
 * Antonio Quarantotto, Italian freestyle swimmer (b. 1897)
 * Maxwell D. Taylor, American general and diplomat (b. 1901)
 * April 24 – Josephine Bell, English physician and writer (b. 1897)
 * April 26 – John Ernest Silkin, British politician (b. 1923)
 * April 28 – Ben Linder, American engineer (b. 1959)

May

 * May 1 – Paul Geidel, longest serving American prison inmate (b. 1894)
 * May 3 – Dalida, French singer (b. 1933)
 * May 4
 * Paul Butterfield, American musician (b. 1942)
 * Cathryn Damon, American actress (b. 1930)
 * May 6 – William J. Casey, American Central Intelligence Agency director (b. 1913)
 * May 7 – Colin Blakely, Irish actor (b. 1930)
 * May 8 – James Plimsoll, Australian public servant (b. 1917)
 * May 9 – Thodoros Kefalopoulos, Greek actor (b. 1894)
 * May 14 – Rita Hayworth, American actress (b. 1918)
 * May 17 – Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
 * May 19 – James Tiptree, Jr., American author (b. 1915)
 * May 21 – Alejandro Rey, Argentine actor (b. 1930)
 * May 24 – Hermione Gingold, English actress (b. 1897)
 * May 26 – Emiliana de Zubeldia, Spanish pianist and composer (b. 1888)
 * May 27 – John Howard Northrop, American biochemist (b. 1891)

June

 * June 1 – Errol Barrow, Prime Minister of Barbados (b. 1920)
 * June 2
 * Sammy Kaye, American bandleader and songwriter (b. 1910)
 * Andrés Segovia, Spanish guitarist (b. 1893)
 * June 3 – Will Sampson, American actor (b. 1933)
 * June 6 – Fulton Mackay, Scottish actor (b. 1922)
 * June 9 – Madge Kennedy, American actress (b. 1891)
 * June 10
 * Elizabeth Hartman, American actress (suicide) (b. 1943)
 * Gordon Fox Rule, Anglo-Brazilian First World War flying ace (b. 1898)
 * June 11 – Ralph Guldahl, American golf champion (b. 1911)
 * June 13
 * Vera Caspary, American screenwriter, novelist, playwright (b. 1899)
 * Geraldine Page, American actress (b. 1924)
 * June 20 – Salim Ali, Indian ornithologist and naturalist (b. 1896)
 * June 22
 * Fred Astaire, American actor and dancer (b. 1899)
 * John Hewitt, Northern Irish poet (b. 1907)
 * Joseph Meyer, American songwriter (b. 1894)
 * Mow Pang Tzu, Republic of China air force general (b. 1904)
 * June 24 – Jackie Gleason, American actor and comedian (b. 1916)
 * June 26
 * Oluf Berntsen, Danish fencer (b. 1891)
 * Gerhard Wagner, German naval officer, and the last Rear Admiral of the Federal Navy (b. 1898)
 * June 30 – Federico Mompou, Spanish composer and pianist (b. 1893)

July

 * July 2 – Michael Bennett, American theater director and choreographer (b. 1943)
 * July 3 – Viola Dana, American actress (b. 1897)
 * July 4 – Edward Addison, electrical engineering (b. 1898)
 * July 10 – John Hammond, American record producer (b. 1910)
 * July 12 – Joseph Burns, Major League Baseball outfielder (b. 1889)
 * July 15 – Alfie Bass, British actor (b. 1916)
 * July 17
 * Kristjan Palusalu, Estonian wrestler (b. 1908)
 * Yujiro Ishihara, Japanese actor (b. 1934)
 * July 20 – Richard Egan, American actor (b. 1921)
 * July 22 – Jack Lescoulie, American actor (b. 1917)
 * July 26
 * Kenneth Muse, American animator (b. 1910)
 * Hugh Wheeler, English playwright and librettist (b. 1912)
 * July 27 – Travis Jackson, American baseball player (New York Giants) and member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1904)
 * July 28 – Jack Renshaw, Australian politician, former Premier of New South Wales (b. 1909)
 * July 31 – Joseph E. Levine, American film producer (b. 1905)

August

 * August 1 – Pola Negri, Polish born actress (b. 1897)
 * August 6
 * Léon Noël, French diplomat, politician and historian (b. 1888)
 * Ira C. Eaker, World War II United States Army Air Forces general (b. 1896)
 * August 8 – Juan Antonio Yanes, Venezuelan professional baseball pioneer (b. 1902)
 * August 9 – Terrence Michael Walsh, Australian singer, known as Johnny Dole (b. 1953)
 * August 10 – Prince Yamashina Takehiko (b. 1898)
 * August 11 – Clara Peller, American actress (b. 1902)
 * August 16 – Nick Vanos, American basketball player (b. 1963)
 * August 17
 * Clarence Brown, American film director (b. 1890)
 * Rudolf Hess, Nazi Deputy Führer (b. 1894)
 * August 19
 * Hayden Rorke, American actor (I Dream of Jeannie) (b. 1910)
 * Bruno Vogel, German pacifist and writer. (b. 1898)
 * Harold Sherman, American author, lecturer and psychical researcher. (b. 1898)
 * August 26 – Georg Wittig, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
 * August 28 – John Huston, American film director and actor (b. 1906)
 * August 29 – Lee Marvin, American actor (b. 1924)

September

 * September 1 – Gerhard Fieseler, German World War I flying ace, aerobatics champion, and aircraft designer and manufacturer (b. 1896)
 * September 3 – Rusty Wescoatt, American actor (b. 1911)
 * September 4
 * Bill Bowes, British cricketer (b. 1908)
 * Richard Marquand, Welsh film director (b. 1937)
 * September 11
 * Lorne Greene, Canadian actor (b. 1915)
 * Peter Tosh, Jamaican singer and musician (b. 1944)
 * September 12
 * J. Lawton Collins, American general (b. 1896)
 * John Qualen, Canadian actor (b. 1899)
 * September 13 – Mervyn LeRoy, American film producer and director (b. 1900)
 * September 15 – Trygve Dalseg, America Norwegian marketing agent (b. 1898)
 * September 16 – Howard Moss, American poet, dramatist, and critic (b. 1922)
 * September 17 – Harry Locke, British character actor (b. 1913)
 * September 19 – Einar Gerhardsen, former Prime Minister of Norway (b. 1897)
 * September 20
 * Michael Stewart, American playwright and librettist for the stage (b. 1924)
 * Holly Glynn, former unidentified decedent (b. 1966)
 * September 21 – Jaco Pastorius, American bassist (b. 1951)
 * September 22
 * Dan Rowan, American comedian (b. 1922)
 * Hédi Váradi, Hungarian actress (b. 1929)
 * September 23
 * Bob Fosse, American theater choreographer and director (b. 1927)
 * Erland Van Lidth De Jeude, Dutch-born wrestler, opera singer and actor (b. 1953)
 * September 25
 * Mary Astor, American actress (b. 1906)
 * Harry Holtzman, American abstract artist (b. 1912)
 * Emlyn Williams, British actor (b. 1905)
 * September 29 – Henry Ford II, president of Ford Motor Company (b. 1917)
 * September 30 – Herbert Sobel, US Army officer, made famous by Band of Brothers (b. 1912)

October

 * October 2
 * Madeleine Carroll, British actress (b. 1906)
 * Peter Medawar, Brazilian-born scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1915)
 * October 3
 * Jean Anouilh, French dramatist (b. 1910)
 * Hans Gál, composer, teacher and author (b. 1890)
 * Oskar Theodor, Israeli entomologist (b. 1898)
 * Kalervo Palsa, Finnish artist (b. 1947)
 * October 7 – Cedric Phatudi, Chief Minister of Lebowa bantustan (b. 1912)
 * October 8 – Spencer Gordon Bennet, American film producer (b. 1893)
 * October 9
 * Clare Boothe Luce, American playwright (b. 1903)
 * William P. Murphy, American physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1892)
 * October 12
 * Alf Landon, American politician (b. 1887)
 * Fahri Korutürk, Turkish diplomat, 6th President of Turkey (b. 1903)
 * October 13
 * Walter Houser Brattain, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
 * Kishore Kumar, Indian playback singer (b. 1929)
 * October 15 – Donald Wandrei, American writer (b. 1908)
 * October 19
 * Jacqueline du Pré, British cellist (b. 1945)
 * Hermann Lang, German race car driver (b. 1909)
 * October 20 – Andrey Kolmogorov, Russian mathematician (b. 1903)
 * October 22 – Lino Ventura, Italian actor (b. 1919)
 * October 23 – John Wittig, Danish actor (b. 1921)
 * October 24 – Kelvin Martin, New York criminal (b. 1964)
 * October 28 – André Masson, French artist (b. 1896)
 * October 29 – Woody Herman, American jazz musician (b. 1913)
 * October 30 – Joseph Campbell, American mythologist, author (b. 1904)

November

 * November 1 – René Lévesque, Canadian politician and premier of Quebec (b. 1922)
 * November 5
 * Eamonn Andrews, Television and Radio Presenter (b. 1922)
 * Georges Franju, French filmmaker (b. 1912)
 * November 6
 * Zohar Argov, Israeli singer (b. 1955)
 * Jean Rivier, French composer of classical music (b. 1896)
 * November 7 – Arne Borg, Swedish Olympic swimmer (b. 1901)
 * November 8 – Matilde Cantos, Spanish feminist (b. 1898)
 * November 10
 * Seyni Kountché, President of Niger (b. 1931)
 * Jackie Vernon, American comic (b. 1924)
 * November 16 – Zubir Said, Singaporean composer who composed Singapore's national anthem (b. 1907)
 * November 21 – Ivan Jandl, Czech actor (b. 1937)
 * November 24 – Anton Pieck, Dutch painter, artist and graphic artist (b. 1895)
 * November 26 – Duncan Sandys, British politician (b. 1908)
 * November 27 – Henri Fluchère, chairman of the Société Française Shakespeare and a notable literary critic (b. 1898)
 * November 30 – James Baldwin, American writer (b. 1924)

December

 * December 1 – Punch Imlach, Canadian NHL coach (b. 1918)
 * December 2
 * Luis Federico Leloir, French-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
 * Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich, Russian physicist (b. 1914)
 * December 3 – Pierre Mollaret, American neurologist (b. 1898)
 * December 4 – Rouben Mamoulian, Armenian-American film director (b. 1898)
 * December 10 – Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian-born violinist (b. 1901)
 * December 14 – Tim Dinsdale, British aeronautical engineer and Loch Ness Monster seeker (b. 1924)
 * December 15 – Septima Poinsette Clark, American educator and civil rights activist (b. 1898)
 * December 17 – Linda Wong, porn star (b. 1951)
 * December 19 – Leo Jung, American rabbi (b. 1892)
 * December 21
 * Ralph Nelson, American actor (b. 1916)
 * Robert Paige, American actor (b. 1911)
 * Joe Sherman, Major League Baseball pitcher (b. 1890)
 * December 22 – Alice Terry, American actress (b. 1899)
 * December 23 – Harald Johnsson, Swedish politician (b. 1898)
 * December 24 – Joop den Uyl, Dutch politician and journalist, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1973–1977) (b. 1919)
 * December 25 – Ruf Bonner, Soviet Jewish exilee (b. 1900)
 * December 27 – Priscilla Dean, American actress (b. 1896)
 * December 29 – Patrick Bissell, American dancer (b. 1957)

Date unknown

 * John Pierotti, American cartoonist (b. 1911)
 * Huang Yao, Chinese artist (b. 1917)
 * Syd Hartley, English professional association football player (b. 1914)
 * Otto Klemperer, German physicist (b. 1899)

In fiction
The following are references to year 1987 in fiction:

Film

 * 13 Going on 30 (2004): The scenes where Jenna is thirteen take place in New Jersey on May 26, 1987.
 * American Psycho (2000): According to director Mary Harron on the DVD commentary, the film is set around the end of 1987. Patrick Bateman is seen reading Zagat's Survey of this year as well.
 * Fargo (1996): The film takes place in Minnesota, 1987
 * Adventureland (2009): The film takes place in Pittsburgh, summer 1987
 * Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997): The year that Romy and Michele had their high school prom and graduated takes place in Los Angeles 1987
 * Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (2009): The film takes place in Harlem, New York 1987.
 * DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story (2004): There is a picture of a fat White Goodman with the caption "White Goodman – 1987" on it.
 * Rock of Ages (2012): The film takes place in Los Angeles 1987
 * Dirty Girl The film takes place in Oklahoma 1987
 * McFarland, USA (2015) The film takes place in McFarland, California 1987 based on a true story.
 * Chasing Mavericks (2012) The scene where Jay is 8 years old takes place in Santa Cruz, California 1987
 * The Wolf of Wall Street (2013 film) The scene at the start with Jordan Belfort takes place in New York City 1987

Television

 * Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979): NASA launches the last of America's deep-space probes, the Space Shuttle Ranger 3, which is piloted by Captain William "Buck" Rogers.
 * Set in 1987: the Doctor Who episode "Father's Day", 2005 takes place on November 7.
 * Space: 1999 episode "The Rules of Luton" we learn that a world war, likely World War III, began sometime in 1987. It was described as The war to end all wars.
 * Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends episode "Bye Bye Nerdy", Bloo insists that Mac purchased something from a store named "1987 Store", however, the plan backfires.

Video games

 * Five Nights at Freddy's 2 (2015): The game takes place in 1987.

Nobel Prizes

 * Physics – J. Georg Bednorz, Karl Alexander Müller
 * Chemistry – Donald J. Cram, Jean-Marie Lehn, Charles J. Pedersen
 * Medicine – Susumu Tonegawa
 * Literature – Joseph Brodsky
 * Peace – Óscar Arias Sánchez
 * Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel – Robert Solow