List of Famous people who born in 1940

Kōichi Morita , is a Japanese composer and singer who launched his recording career in the late 1960s and had gained huge commercial success during the 1970s.

George Arthur Akerlof is an American economist who is a university professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University and Koshland Professor of Economics Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. He won the 2001 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe, known as Stu Sutcliffe, was a Scottish painter and musician better known as the original bass guitarist of the English rock band the Beatles. Sutcliffe left the band to pursue his career as a painter, having previously attended the Liverpool College of Art. Sutcliffe and John Lennon are credited with inventing the name "Beetles", as they both liked Buddy Holly's band, the Crickets. John then came up with "The Beatles", from the word beat. As a member of the group when it was a five-piece band, Sutcliffe is one of several people sometimes referred to as the "Fifth Beatle".

Sir Geoffrey Boycott,, is a retired Test cricketer, who played cricket for Yorkshire and England. In a prolific and sometimes controversial playing career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's most successful opening batsmen. After retiring as a player, he pursued a successful career as a cricket commentator, before retiring in 2020 and was knighted in 2019.

Wolfgang Clement was a German politician and a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). He was the 7th Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 27 May 1998 to 22 October 2002 and Federal Minister of Economics and Labour from 2002 to 2005. He was an Honorary Member of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.

William Thomas Medley is an American singer and songwriter, best known as one half of The Righteous Brothers. He is noted for his bass-baritone voice, exemplified in songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". Medley produced a number of the duo's songs, including "Unchained Melody" and "Soul and Inspiration".

Luigi "Gigi" Proietti was an Italian actor, voice actor, comedian, director, musician, singer and television presenter.

Brian Russell De Palma is an American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for his work in the suspense, crime and psychological thriller genres. His prominent films include mainstream box office hits such as Carrie (1976), Dressed to Kill (1980), Scarface (1983), The Untouchables (1987), and Mission: Impossible (1996), as well as cult favorites such as Sisters (1972), Phantom of the Paradise (1974), Blow Out (1981), Body Double (1984), Casualties of War (1989), Carlito's Way (1993), and Femme Fatale (2002).

James F. Goldstein is an American businessman who attends over one hundred National Basketball Association (NBA) games each season, typically in courtside seats, including approximately 95 percent of home games for the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers. He also travels from city to city to watch games, especially during the NBA playoffs, and often attends post-game press conferences. His passion for the NBA has been featured in USA Today, the Detroit Free Press, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, and ESPN the Magazine.

Bakhtiyor Akhmedovich Ikhtiyarov was a Soviet and Uzbek actor.