List of Famous people who born in 1916

Kirk Douglas was an American actor, producer, director, philanthropist, and writer. After an impoverished childhood with immigrant parents and six sisters, he made his film debut in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Douglas soon developed into a leading box-office star throughout the 1950s, known for serious dramas, including westerns and war films. During his career, he appeared in more than 90 films. Douglas was known for his explosive acting style, which he displayed as a criminal defense attorney in Town Without Pity (1961).

María de los Ángeles Alvariño González, known as Ángeles Alvariño, was a Spanish fishery research biologist and oceanographer globally recognized as an authority in plankton biology. She was the first woman ever appointed as scientist aboard any British or Spanish exploration ships. She discovered 22 new species of marine animals and published over a hundred scientific books, chapters and articles. In her late career she studied the history of early marine scientific exploration.

François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand was a French statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he was the first left-wing politician to assume the presidency under the Fifth Republic.

Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter pilot. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide.

Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. She was the last major surviving star from the Golden Age of Hollywood Cinema and the oldest living and earliest surviving Academy Award winner until her death in July 2020. Her younger sister was the actress Joan Fontaine.

James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, was a British statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1964 to 1970 and 1974 to 1976. A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Ormskirk from 1945 to 1950 and for Huyton from 1950 to 1983.

Bijayananda Patnaik, popularly known as Biju Patnaik, was an Indian politician, aviator and businessman. As politician, he served twice as the Chief Minister of the State of Odisha.

Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor. He was one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck among 25 Greatest Male Stars of Classic Hollywood Cinema, ranking him at No. 12.

Claude Elwood Shannon was an American mathematician, electrical engineer, and cryptographer known as "the father of information theory". Shannon is noted for having founded information theory with a landmark paper, "A Mathematical Theory of Communication", which he published in 1948.

Jacque Fresco was an American futurist and self-described social engineer. Self-taught, he worked in a variety of positions related to industrial design.

Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was the sixth King of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques from 1 August 2005 until his death.

Ruth Marianna Handler was an American businesswoman and inventor. She served as the president of the toy manufacturer Mattel Inc., In 1959 she invented the Barbie doll, which sold over a billion copies worldwide. She was the founder and president of the world's largest toy company, which at its peak had 18,000 employees and annual sales of over $300 million. She was active in public service and won many awards. In 1974 the Handlers were forced to resign from Mattel, and in 1978 Ruth Handler and four others were convicted in federal court of conspiracy, mail fraud, and false reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

James Britt Donovan was an American lawyer and United States Navy officer in the Office of Scientific Research and Development and the Office of Strategic Services, ultimately becoming general counsel of the OSS, and an international diplomatic negotiator.

Lyudmila Mikhailovna Pavlichenko, (Russian: Людми́ла Миха́йловна Павличе́нко, was a Soviet sniper in the Red Army during World War II, credited with 309 confirmed kills, making her the most successful female sniper in recorded history.

Jane Jacobs was an American-Canadian journalist, author, theorist, and activist who influenced urban studies, sociology, and economics. Her book entitled, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961), argued that "urban renewal" and "slum clearance" did not respect the needs of city-dwellers.

Beverly Atlee Cleary is an American writer of children's and young adult fiction. One of America's most successful living authors, 91 million copies of her books have been sold worldwide since her first book was published in 1950. Some of Cleary's best known characters are Ramona Quimby and Beezus Quimby, Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy, and Ralph S. Mouse.

Sir Edward Richard George Heath,, often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath served 51 years as a member of Parliament from 1950 to 2001. He was a strong supporter of the European Communities (EC), and after winning the decisive vote in the House of Commons by 356 to 244, he led the negotiations that culminated in Britain's entry into the EC on 1 January 1973. It was, according to biographer John Campbell, "Heath's finest hour". Although Heath planned to be an innovator as prime minister, his government foundered on economic difficulties, including high inflation and major strikes. He became an embittered critic of Margaret Thatcher, who supplanted him as party leader.

Dinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during the Big Band era. She achieved even greater success a decade later, in television, mainly as the host of a series of variety programs for the Chevrolet automobile company.

Deendayal Upadhyaya was an Indian politician and thinker of right-wing Hindutva ideology espoused by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and leader of the political party Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), the forerunner of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was also known as Panditji for appearing in the civil services examination hall wearing the traditional Indian dhoti-kurta and cap.

John Herbert Gleason was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy, exemplified by his city-bus-driver Ralph Kramden character in the television series The Honeymooners. He also developed The Jackie Gleason Show, which maintained high ratings from the mid-1950s through 1970. After originating in New York City, filming moved to Miami Beach, Florida in 1964 after Gleason took up permanent residence there.