Year 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar.
January
February
March
April
astronomer Patrick Moore.
May
June
July
- July 2 - North Vietnam and South Vietnam unite to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
- July 3 - Gregg v. Georgia: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that the death penalty is not inherently cruel or unusual and is a constitutionally acceptable form of punishment.
- July 3 - The great heat wave in the United Kingdom, which is currently suffering from drought conditions, reaches its peak.
- July 4 - United States Bicentennial: From coast to coast, the United States celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
- July 4 - The Puerto Rican Socialist Party (PSP) leads 50,000 marchers in Philadelphia to demand a "Bicentennial Without Colonies" and independence for Puerto Rico.
- July 4 - Entebbe Raid: Israeli airborne commandos free 103 hostages being held by Palestinian hijackers of an Air France plane at Uganda's Entebbe Airport; 1 Israeli soldier and several Ugandan soldiers are killed in the raid.
- July 6 - The first class of women is inducted at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD.
- July 7 - German left-wing terrorists Monika Berberich, Gabriella Rollnick, Juliane Plambeck and Inge Viett escape from the Lehrter Straße maximum security prison in West Berlin.
- July 10 - Three British and 1 American mercenaries are shot by firing squad in Angola.
- July 10 - An explosion in Seveso, Italy, kills a large number of people.
- July 12 - Barbara Jordan is the first black person to keynote a political convention.
- July 15 - Jimmy Carter is nominated for U.S. President at the Democratic National Convention in New York City.
- July 16–20 - Albert Spaggiari and his gang break into the vault of the Societe Generale Bank in Nice, France.
- July 17 - The 1976 Summer Olympics begin in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
- July 17 - East Timor is declared the 27th province of Indonesia.
- July 18 - Nadia Comaneci earns the first of 7 perfect scores of 10 at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
- July 19 - Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal is created.
- July 20 - Viking program: The Viking 1 lander successfully lands on Mars.
- July 21 - A bomb kills Christopher Ewart-Biggs, British ambassador to the Irish Republic.
- July 26 - In Los Angeles, Ronald Reagan announces his choice of liberal U.S. Senator Richard Schweiker as his vice presidential running mate, in an effort to woo moderate Republican delegates away from President Gerald Ford.
- July 27 - The United Kingdom breaks diplomatic relations with Uganda.
- July 28 - The Tangshan earthquake flattens Tangshan,China, killing 242,769 people, and injuring 164,851.
- July 29 - In New York City, the "Son of Sam" pulls a gun from a paper bag, killing 1 and seriously wounding another, in the first of a series of attacks that terrorize the city for the next year.
- July 30 - In Santiago, Chile, Cruzeiro from Brazil beats River Plate from Argentina and are the Copa Libertadores de América champions.
- July 31 - NASA releases the famous Face on Mars photo, taken by Viking 1.
- July 31 - The Big Thompson River in northern Colorado floods, destroying more than 400 cars and houses.
August
- August 1 - The Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago becomes a republic, replacing Queen Elizabeth II with a President as its head of state.
- August 1 - The Seattle Seahawks play their first football game.
- August 1 - Racing Champion Niki Lauda suffers serious burns in the German Grand Prix.
- August 2 - A gunman murders Andrea Wilborn and Stan Farr and injures Priscilla Davis and Gus Gavrel, in an incident at Priscilla's mansion in Fort Worth, Texas. T. Cullen Davis, Priscilla's husband and one of the richest men in Texas, is tried and found innocent for Andrea's murder, involvement in a plot to kill several people (including Priscilla and a judge), and a wrongful death lawsuit. Cullen goes broke afterwards.
- August 4 - The first recognized outbreak of Legionnaires' disease kills 29 at the American Legion convention in Philadelphia.
- August 5 - The Great Clock of Westminster (or Big Ben) suffers internal damage and stops running for over 9 months.
- August 6 - Former UK Postmaster General John Stonehouse is sentenced to 7 years' jail for fraud, theft and forgery.
- August 7 - Viking program: Viking 2 enters into orbit around Mars.
- August 14 - Ten thousand Protestant and Catholic women demonstrate for peace in Northern Ireland.
- August 14 - The Senegalese political party PAI-Rénovation is legally recognized, becoming the third legal party in the country.
- August 18 - At Panmunjom, North Korea, 2 United States soldiers are killed while trying to chop down part of a tree in the Korean Demilitarized Zone which had obscured their view.
- August 19 - U.S. President Gerald Ford edges out challenger Ronald Reagan to win the Republican Party presidential nomination in Kansas City.
- August 24 - In Uruguay, the army captures Marcelo Gelman and his pregnant wife. Marcelo is later killed and his wife (and unborn child) disappear.
- August 25 - Jacques Chirac resigns as Prime Minister of France; he is succeeded by Raymond Barre.
- August 26 - The first known outbreak of Ebola virus occurs in Yambuku, Zaire.
- August 26 - Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, husband of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, resigns from various posts over a scandal involving alleged corruption, in connection with business dealings with the Lockheed Corporation.
September
- September 3 - Viking program: The Viking 2 spacecraft lands at Utopia Planitia on Mars, taking the first close-up color photos of the planet's surface.
- September 6 - Cold War: Soviet Air Force pilot Lt. Viktor Belenko lands a MiG-25 jet fighter at Hakodate, on the island of Hokkaidō in Japan, and requests political asylum from the United States.
- September 6 - Frank Sinatra brings Jerry Lewis's former partner Dean Martin onstage, unannounced, at the 1976 Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon in Las Vegas, Nevada, reuniting the comedy team for the first (and only) time in over 20 years.
- September 9 - Chairman Mao Zedong, of the People's Republic of China, dies.
- September 10 - Zagreb mid-air collision: A British Airways Trident and a Yugoslav DC-9 collide near Zagreb, Yugoslavia (now Croatia), killing all 176 aboard.
- September 10 - Osamu Tezuka begins serialising MW, a manga inspired by the 1974 Kakuei Tanaka government scandal.
- September 16 - Shavarsh Karapetyan saves 20 people from a trolleybus that had fallen into an Erevan reservoir.
- September 17 - The space shuttle Enterprise is rolled out of a Palmdale, California hangar.
- September 20 - September 21 - The semi-legendary 100 Club Punk Festival ignites the careers of several influential punk and gothic rock bands, arguably sparking the Punk Movement's introduction into mainstream culture.
- September 21 - The Seychelles join the United Nations.
- September 21 - Orlando Letelier is assassinated in Washington, D.C. by agents of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.
- September 24 - Patricia Hearst is sentenced to 7 years in prison for her role in a 1974 bank robbery (an executive clemency order from U.S. President Jimmy Carter will set her free after only 22 months).
- September 25 - The Irish rock band U2 is formed after drummer Larry Mullen Jr. posts a note seeking members for a band on the notice board of his Dublin school.
October
- October 4 - The new Intercity 125 High Speed Train is introduced in the United Kingdom.
- October 6 - Cubana Flight 455 crashes due to a bomb placed by anti-Fidel Castro terrorists, after taking off from Bridgetown, Barbados. All 73 people on board are killed. [1]
- October 6 - Students gathering at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand are massacred, while protesting the return of ex-dictator Thanom Kittikachorn by a coalition of right-wing paramilitary and government forces, triggering the return of the military to government.
- October 6 - In San Francisco, during his second televised debate with Jimmy Carter, U.S. President Gerald Ford stumbles when he declares that "there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe" (there is at the time).
- October 10 - Taiwan Governor Hsieh Tung-ming is injured by a letter bomb from a pro-independence activist.
- October 12 - The People's Republic of China announces that Hua Guofeng is the successor to Mao Zedong, as Chairman of the Communist Party of China.
- October 13 - The United States Commission on Civil Rights releases the report, Puerto Ricans in the Continental United States: An Uncertain Future, that documents that Puerto Ricans in the United States have a poverty rate of 33 percent in 1974 (up from 29 percent in 1970), the highest of all major racial-ethnic groups in the country (not including Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory).
- October 19 - The Copyright Act of 1976 extends copyright duration for an additional 20 years in the United States.
- October 19 - The Battle of Aishiya is fought in Lebanon.
- October 19 - The Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) is placed on the list of endangered species.
- October 20 - The Mississippi River ferry MV George Prince is struck by a ship while crossing from Destrehan, LA to Luling, LA, killing 78 passengers and crew.
- October 22 - Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, the 5th President of Ireland, resigns after being publicly insulted by the Minister for Defense.
- October 25 - Clarence Norris, the last known survivor of the Scottsboro Boys, is pardoned.
November
December
Undated
Ongoing
Births
January–February
- January 2 - Cletidus Hunt, American football player
- January 2 - Paz Vega, Spanish actress
- January 2 - Mahée Paiement, Canadian actress
- January 4 - Shiro Amano, Japanese manga artist/writer
- January 6 - Danny Pintauro, American actor
- January 6 - Johnny Yong Bosch, American actor
- January 7 - Éric Gagné, Canadian baseball player
- January 7 - Alfonso Soriano, Dominican baseball player
- January 8 - Jenny Lewis, American actress and musician (Rilo Kiley)
- January 10 - Adam Kennedy, American baseball player
- January 13 - Bic Runga, New Zealand singer/songwriter
- January 19 - Marsha Thomason, British actress
- January 20 - Anastasia Volochkova, Russian prima ballerina
- January 20 - Gretha Smit, Dutch speed skater
- January 20 - Kirsty Gallacher, Scottish TV presenter
- January 21 - Emma Bunton, English musician (Spice Girls)
- January 22 - Mikko Luoma, Finnish ice-hockey player
- January 22 - James Dearth, American football player
- January 23 - Tony Lucca, American singer/songwriter
- January 23 - Angelica Lee, Taiwanese actress and singer
- January 23 - Nigel McGuiness, English professional wrestler
- January 27 - Ruby Lin, Taiwanese actress and singer
- January 27 - Mohamed Aly, Egyptian reformist & writer
- January 28 - Mark Madsen, American basketball player
- January 28 - Lee Ingleby, British actor
- January 29 - Tracy Lynn Cruz, American actress
- January 30 - Andy Milonakis, American Internet and MTV star
- January 31 - Buddy Rice, American race car driver
- February 2 - Carlos Coste, Venezuellan free-diver
- February 2 - James Hickman, British swimmer
- February 2 - Lori Beth Denberg, American comedian
- February 4 - Cam'ron, African-American rapper
- February 5 - Abhishek Bachchan, Indian actor
- February 5 - Tony Jaa, Thai martial art film actor/choreographer/director
- February 5 - Brian Moorman, American football player
- February 6 - Colin Teo, Singaporean D1 Professional Grand Prix drifter
- February 8 - Abi Titmuss, British TV presenter and model
- February 9 - Vladimir Guerrero, Dominican baseball player
- February 10 - Lance Berkman, American baseball player
- February 12 - Silvia Saint, Czech actress
- February 12 - Jenni Falconer, British TV presenter
- February 13 - Martin Sastre, Uruguayan artist
- February 15 - Brandon Boyd, American rock musician (Incubus)
- February 16 - Kyo, Japanese rock musician (Dir en grey)
- February 20 - Ed Graham, British rock drummer (The Darkness)
- February 20 - Gail Kim, Canadian professional wrestler (TNA Wrestling)
- February 23 - Jeff O'Neill, Canadian hockey player
- February 25 - Rashida Jones, African-American actress, writer, model, and musician
- February 28 - Ali Larter, American actress and model
- February 28 - Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge, Canadian actor
- February 29 - Ja Rule, African-American rapper
March–April
- March 1 - Luke Mably, English actor
- March 2 - Shane Brewer, English equestrian
- March 3 - Fraser Gehrig, Australian rules footballer
- March 4 - Hiram Bocachica, Puerto Rican baseball player
- March 4 - Scott Sturgeon (Stza Crack), American rock musician (Choking Victim, Leftöver Crack)
- March 4 - Thierry Renaer, Belgian field hockey player
- March 4 - Vic Wunderle, American archer
- March 5 - Sarunas Jasikevicius, Lithuanian basketball player
- March 6 - Mr. Kennedy, American professional wrestler
- March 8 - Freddie Prinze Jr., American actor
- March 10 - Haifa Wehbe, Lebanese model, actress and singer
- March 13 - Danny Masterson, American actor (That '70s Show)
- March 14 - Hunter Burgan, American rock musician (AFI)
- March 16 - Kim Johnsson, Swedish hockey player (Minnesota Wild)
- March 17 - Alvaro Recoba, Uruguayan footballer (soccer player)
- March 17 - Stephen Gately, Irish singer (Boyzone)
- March 17 - Brittany Daniel, American actress
- March 19 - Rachel Blanchard, Canadian actress
- March 19 - Alessandro Nesta, Italian football player
- March 20 - Chester Bennington, American rock musician (Linkin Park)
- March 22 - Teun de Nooijer, Dutch field hockey player
- March 22 - Reese Witherspoon, American actress (Legally Blonde)
- March 22 - Kellie Shanygne Williams, African-American actress (Family Matters)
- March 22 - Wayne Turner, American basketball player
- March 23 - Keri Russell, American actress (Felicity)
- March 24 - Aaron Brooks, American football player
- March 24 - Peyton Manning, American football player
- March 26 - Amy Smart, American actress (The '70s)
- March 27 - Carl Ng, Hong Kong/British actor and model
- March 28 - Dave Keuning, American rock guitarist (The Killers)
- March 30 - Ty Conklin, American ice-hockey player
- April 2 - Lucy Diakovska, German-Bulgarian pop singer
- April 2 - Rory Sabbatini, South African golfer
- April 3 - Drew Shirley, American guitarist (Switchfoot)
- April 5 - Henrik Stenson, Swedish golfer
- April 6 - Candace Cameron, American actress
- April 9 - Kris Radlinski, English rugby league player
- April 13 - Jonathan Brandis, American actor (seaQuest DSV) (d. 2003)
- April 13 - Yoo Ji-tae, South Korean actor
- April 14 - Anna DeForge, American basketball player
- April 15 - Steve Williams, British rower
- April 15 - Jason Bonsignore, Canadian ice-hockey player
- April 16 - Shu Qi, Taiwanese actress and singer
- April 18 - Melissa Joan Hart, American actress
- April 20 - Joey Lawrence, American actor (Blossom)
- April 21 - Rommel Adducul, Filipino basketball player
- April 22 - Michał Żewłakow, Polish footballer
- April 23 - Darren Huckerby, English footballer
- April 25 - Tim Duncan, West Indian basketball player
- April 25 - Rainer Schüttler, German tennis player
- April 26 - Emily Booth, English actress and TV presenter
- April 26 - Jose Pasillas, American rock drummer (Incubus)
- April 29 - Jay Orpin, Swedish composer and record producer
- April 30 - Amanda Palmer, American lead vocalist and pianist (The Dresden Dolls)
May–June
- May 1 - Darius McCrary, American actor
- May 3 - Beto, Portuguese footballer
- May 4 - Jason Michaels, American baseball player
- May 8 - Martha Wainwright, Canadian-American folk-pop singer
- May 10 - Udo Mechels, Belgian singer
- May 14 - Martine McCutcheon, British actress and singer
- May 15 - Tyler Walker, American baseball player
- May 15 - Jacek Krzynówek, Polish soccer player
- May 15 - Ryan Leaf, American football quarterback
- May 17 - Wang Lee Hom, U.S.-born Taiwanese singer/songwriter
- May 17 - Daniel Komen, Kenyan athlete
- May 19 - Kevin Garnett, American basketball player
- May 20 - Ramón Hernández, Venezuelan baseball player
- May 22 - Chris Brazzell, Canadian and American Football player
- May 25 - Stefan Holm, Swedish high jumper
- May 25 - Miguel Tejada, Dominican baseball player
- May 25 - Cillian Murphy, Irish actor
- May 26 - Paul Collingwood, English cricketer
- May 26 - Justin Pierre, American musician (Motion City Soundtrack)
- May 28 - Alexei Nemov, Russian gymnast
- May 31 - Roar Ljokelsoy, Noweigian ski jumper
- May 31 - Colin Farrell, Irish actor (Alexander)
- June 1 - Angela Perez Baraquio, Miss America 2001
- June 2 - Tim Rice-Oxley, English rock musician/composer (Keane)
- June 2 - Queen 'Masenate Mohato Seeiso of Lesotho
- June 4 - Reggie Rolle, American actor
- June 6 - Geoff Rowley, English skateboarder
- June 7 - Necro (Ron Braunstein), American rapper and record producer
- June 8 - Lindsay Davenport, American tennis player
- June 10 - Freddy Garcia, Venezuelan baseball player
- June 10 - Esther Ouwehand, Dutch politician, parliamentarian for the Party for the Animals
- June 11 - Tai Anderson, American rock bassist (Third Day)
- June 11 - Gran Naniwa, Japanese professional wrestler
- June 13 - Jason 'J' Brown, English rock musician (5ive)
- June 13 - Kym Marsh, British singer and actress
- June 14 - Alan Carr, English comedian
- June 13 - Lisa Riley, British actress and presenter
- June 15 - Dryden Mitchell, American rock musician (Alien Ant Farm)
- June 15 - Gary Lightbody, Northern Irish rock musician and songwriter (Snow Patrol)
- June 20 - Juliano Haus Belletti, Brazilian soccer player
- June 21 - Antonio Cochran, American football player
- June 21 - Mike Einziger, American rock musician (Incubus)
- June 23 - Brandon Stokley, American football player
- June 23 - Emmanuelle Vaugier, Canadian actress
- June 23 - Patrick Vieira, French soccer player
- June 26 - Chad Pennington, American football quarterback
July–August
- July 1 - Justin Lo, Hong Kong singer and actor
- July 1 - Patrick Kluivert, Dutch footballer
- July 1 - Ruud van Nistelrooy, Dutch footballer
- July 1 - Lina Rafn, Danish singer
- July 2 - Krisztián Lisztes, Hungarian footballer
- July 3 - Shane Lynch, Irish singer (Boyzone)
- July 4 - Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer
- July 5 - Bizarre, African American rapper
- July 5 - Marina Dias, Brazilian model
- July 5 - Mike DeWolf, American rock musician (Taproot)
- July 5 - Nuno Gomes, Portuguese footballer
- July 7 - Elijah Blue Allman, American musician, son of Cher and Greg Allman
- July 7 - Natasha Collins, British actress and television presenter (d. 2008)
- July 8 - Ellen MacArthur, English yachtswoman
- July 9 - Shelton Benjamin, American professional wrestler
- July 9 - Fred Savage, American actor (The Wonder Years)
- July 10 - Ludovic Giuly, French footballer
- July 10 - Adrian Grenier, American actor, musician, and director
- July 11 - Eduardo Nájera, Mexican basketball player
- July 16 - Anna Smashnova, Israeli tennis player
- July 16 - Bobby Lashley, American professional wrestler
- July 17 - Marcos Senna, Brazilian footballer
- July 20 - Andrew Stockdale, Australian rock singer/guitarist (Wolfmother)
- July 20 - Alex Yoong, Malaysian race car driver
- July 23 - Judit Polgar, Hungarian chess player
- July 23 - Jonathan Gallant, Canadian rock bassist (Billy Talent)
- July 25 - Timur Mucuraev, Chechen bard
- July 25 - Stéphane Rideau, French actor
- July 31 - Annie Parisse, American actress (Law & Order)
- August 3 - Troy Glaus, American baseball player
- August 6 - Soleil Moon Frye, American actress (Punky Brewster)
- August 6 - Melissa George, Australian actress
- August 8 - JC Chasez, American singer
- August 8 -