Federal government

• President: Franklin D. Roosevelt (D-New York)
• Vice President: John Nance Garner (D-Texas)
• Chief Justice: Charles Evans Hughes (New York)
• Speaker of the House of Representatives: Joseph W. Byrns, Sr. (D-Tennessee) (until June 4), William B. Bankhead (D-Alabama) (starting June 4)
• Senate Majority Leader: Joseph Taylor Robinson (D-Arkansas)
• Congress: 74th

January–March

March 1: Hoover Dam completed.

• January 4 – Billboard magazine publishes its first music hit parade.
• January 15 – The first American building to be completely covered in glass is completed in Toledo, Ohio, for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company.
• February 17 – The first superhero to wear a skin-tight costume and mask, The Phantom, makes his appearance in U.S. newspapers.
• March – German American Bund formed in Buffalo, New York, in support of Nazi Germany to succeed the Friends of New Germany, with German-born American citizen Fritz Julius Kuhn elected as its first leader.
• March 1 – Construction of Hoover Dam is completed.
• March 5 – The 8th Academy Awards, hosted by Frank Capra, are presented at Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, with Frank Lloyd's Mutiny on the Bounty winning the Academy Award for Outstanding Production. The film receives the most nominations with eight, while John Ford's The Informer wins the most awards with four, including Best Director for Ford.
• March 17–18 – Pittsburgh Flood of 1936 ("St. Patrick's Day Flood"): Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, suffers the worst flooding in its history.
• March 26 – The longest game in the history of the National Hockey League is played. The Montreal Maroons and Detroit Red Wings are scoreless until 16½ minutes into the sixth overtime when Mud Bruneteau ends it at 2:25 am.

April–June

March: "Migrant Mother", an iconic photo taken by Dorothea Lange

• April 3 – Richard Hauptmann, convicted of the Lindbergh kidnapping and murder in 1932, is executed by electrocution in New Jersey State Prison.
• April 5 – A tornado hits Tupelo, Mississippi, killing 216 and injuring over 700 (the 4th deadliest tornado in U.S. history).
• April 6 – Two tornadoes strike Gainesville, Georgia. The smaller tornado hits north Gainesville, the stronger tornado the west side of town. 203 die and 1,600 are injured in the 5th deadliest tornado in U.S. history.
• May
  • Lawrence Warehouse Company, based in San Francisco, California has an initial public stock offering.
• May 12 – The Santa Fe railroad inaugurates the all-Pullman Super Chief passenger train between Chicago and Los Angeles.
• May 25 – Remington Rand strike of 1936–37 begins.
• June
  • A major heat wave strikes North America; high temperature records are set and thousands die.
  • The first production model PCC streetcar, built by St. Louis Car Company, is placed in service by Pittsburgh Railways.
• June 7 – The Steel Workers Organizing Committee is founded.
• June 10 – Margaret Mitchell's epic historical romance Gone with the Wind is published.
• June 19 – Max Schmeling knocks out Joe Louis in the 12th round of their heavyweight boxing match at Yankee Stadium in New York City.
• June 29 – United States Maritime Commission is formed.

July–September

• July 11 – Triborough Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic.
• July 13–14 – Peak of July 1936 heat wave: The U.S. states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana all set new state records for high temperature. At Mio in northern Michigan, it soars to 113 °F (45 °C).
• August 3 – African-American athlete Jesse Owens wins the 100-meter dash at the Berlin Olympics.
• August 14
  • Rainey Bethea was hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky, in the last public execution in the United States
  • 1936 Summer Olympics: The United States men's national basketball team wins its first ever Olympic basketball tournament in the final game over Canada, 19–8.

October–December

• October 6 – The New York Yankees defeat the New York Giants (baseball), 4 games to 2, to win their 5th World Series Title.
• October 11 – Earl Bascom, rodeo cowboy and artist, designs and builds Mississippi's first permanent rodeo arena at Columbia, Mississippi.
• October 19 – H.R. Ekins, reporter for the New York World-Telegram, wins a race to travel around the world on commercial airline flights, beating Dorothy Kilgallen of the New York Journal and Leo Kieran of The New York Times. The flight takes 18½ days.
• October 29 – The historic Uptown Theater opens in Washington, D.C.
• November 3 – U.S. presidential election, 1936: Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt is reelected to a second term in a landslide victory over Republican Governor of Kansas Alf Landon.
• November 12 – In California, the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opens to traffic.
• November 23 – Life magazine begins publication as a weekly news magazine under the management of Henry Luce.
• November 25 – The Abraham Lincoln Brigade sails from New York City on its way to the Spanish Civil War.
• December 3 – Radio station WQXR is officially founded in New York City.
• December 29 – The United Auto Workers begins the Flint Sit-Down Strike in Flint, Michigan.

Undated

• The YMCA Youth and Government program is founded in Albany, New York.
• Society of American Archivists established.^[1]

Ongoing

• Lochner era (c. 1897–c. 1937)
• Dust Bowl (1930–1936)
• New Deal (1933–1939)^[2]

January

Roger Miller

Alan Alda

• January 1 – Don Nehlen, American football player and coach
• January 2 – Roger Miller, American singer, songwriter, musician and actor (d. 1992)
• January 5
  • Florence King, American novelist, essayist and columnist (d. 2013)
  • Daryl Robertson, American baseball player (d. 2018)
• January 6 – Darlene Hard, American professional tennis player
• January 7 – G. Robert Blakey, American lawyer and academic
• January 9
  • Anne Rivers Siddons, American author (d. 2019)
  • Ralph Terry, American baseball player (d. 2022)
• January 10
  • Stephen E. Ambrose, American historian and biographer (d. 2002)
  • Al Goldstein, American publisher and pornographer (d. 2013)
  • Robert Wilson, American physicist and radioastronomer, recipient of 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics
• January 14 – Clarence Carter, African-American soul musician
• January 23
  • Arlene Golonka, American actress
  • Jerry Kramer, American football player
• January 27
  • Barry Barish, American gravitational physicist, recipient of 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics
  • Troy Donahue, American actor and singer (d. 2001)
  • Samuel C. C. Ting, American physicist
• January 28 – Alan Alda, American actor
• January 29 – James Jamerson, American bass guitarist (d. 1983)

February

Burt Reynolds

Jim Brown

• February 1 – Azie Taylor Morton, 35th Treasurer of the United States (d. 2003)
• February 3
  • Jim Marshall, American photographer (d. 2010)
  • Elizabeth Peer, American journalist (d. 1984)
• February 4
  • David Brenner, American comedian (d. 2014)
  • Gary Conway, American actor
• February 6 – J. Howard Marshall III, American businessman
• February 8 – Larry Verne, American singer, songwriter (d. 2013)
• February 11 – Burt Reynolds, American actor, director and producer (d. 2018)
• February 14 – Andrew Prine, American actor (d. 2022)
• February 16 – Carl Icahn, American businessman, investor and philanthropist
• February 17 – Jim Brown, African American football player and actor (d. 2023)
• February 19 – Sam Myers, American musician, songwriter (d. 2006)
• February 20 – Larry Hovis, American actor (d. 2003)
• February 21 – Barbara Jordan, African-American lawyer, politician and Civil Rights campaigner (d. 1996)
• February 22
  • J. Michael Bishop, American immunologist and microbiologist
  • Elizabeth MacRae, American actress
• February 27 – Roger Mahony, American cardinal
• February 29 – Alex Rocco, American actor (d. 2015)

March

Marion Barry

Antonin Scalia

• March 3 – Peter G. Davis, American opera and classical music critic (d. 2021)
• March 5 – Dean Stockwell, American actor (d. 2021)
• March 6 – Marion Barry, African-American politician and civil rights activist (d. 2014)
• March 7 – Loren Acton, American astronaut
• March 8
  • Sue Ane Langdon, American actress
  • Earl J. Silbert, American attorney (d. 2022)
• March 9
  • Mickey Gilley, American country singer and musician (d. 2022)
  • Marty Ingels, American actor, agent (d. 2015)
  • Tom Sestak, American football player (d. 1987)
• March 11 – Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the U.S. from 1986 to 2016 (d. 2016)
• March 12 – William Foege, American physician, epidemiologist
• March 15
  • Howard Greenfield, American songwriter (d. 1986)
  • Don Sundquist, American businessman and politician, Governor of Tennessee from 1995 to 2003 (d. 2023)
• March 16 – Raymond Damadian, Armenian-American MRI practitioner (d, 2022)
• March 17
  • Patty Maloney, American actress
  • Ken Mattingly, American astronaut (d. 2023)
• March 22 – Edith Grossman, American translator (d. 2023)
• March 24 – Don Covay, American singer, songwriter (d. 2015)
• March 26 – Harry Kalas, American sportscaster (d. 2009)
• March 28 – Bill Gaither, American singer and songwriter
• March 31
  • Marge Piercy, American poet, activist
  • Walter E. Williams, American economist (d. 2020)

April

Charles Napier

Glen Campbell

Roy Orbison

• April 3
  • Jerry Krause, American basketball coach (d. 2023)^[3]
  • Scott LaFaro, American jazz musician (d. 1961)
  • Jimmy McGriff, American jazz musician (d. 2008)
• April 9
  • Bob Albright, American politician (d. 2023)^[4]
  • Valerie Solanas, American radical feminist, attempted murderer of Andy Warhol (d. 1988)
• April 10
  • John Madden, American football player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2021)
  • Bobby Smith, American singer, songwriter (d. 2013)
• April 12 – Charles Napier, American actor (d. 2011)
• April 14
  • Bobby Nichols, American professional golfer
  • Frank Serpico, American police officer
• April 18
  • Roger Graef, American-born British theater director and filmmaker (d. 2022)
  • Tommy Ivo, American actor, drag racer
  • Michael M. Thomas, American novelist and investment banker (d. 2021)^[5]
• April 19
  • Ruby Johnson, American singer (d. 1999)
  • Andy Romano, American actor (d. 2022)
• April 20 – Pat Roberts, American politician
• April 21
  • Bob Cleary, American ice hockey player (d. 2015)
  • James Dobson, American child psychologist, conservative evangelical political activist
• April 22 – Glen Campbell, American musician and actor (d. 2017)
• April 23 – Roy Orbison, American singer, songwriter (d. 1988)
• April 24
  • Glen Hobbie, American baseball player (d. 2013)
  • Jim Rountree, American CFL football player (d. 2013)
• April 26 – Doug Sax, American mastering engineer (d. 2015)
• April 28 – Charles Hill, American diplomat and academic (d. 2021)
• April 29 – Lane Smith, American actor (d. 2005)
• April 30
  • Jerry Bellune, editor and publisher
  • Bobby Gregg, American musician (d. 2014)

May

Bobby Darin

Dennis Hopper

Louis Gossett Jr.

• May 1 – Jerry Mander, American author and activist (d. 2023)
• May 2
  • Sam DeLuca, American football offensive lineman, sports broadcaster (d. 2011)
  • Perdita Huston, American journalist (d. 2001)
• May 7 – Jimmy Ruffin, African-American singer (d. 2014)
• May 8 – Clyde Bellecourt, Native American rights organiser (d. 2022)
• May 9
  • Terry Drinkwater, American television and radio journalist (d. 1989)
  • Floyd Robinson, African-American baseball player
• May 11 – Carla Bley, American jazz musician (d. 2023)
• May 12
  • Tom Snyder, American talk show host (d. 2007)
  • Frank Stella, American minimalist painter
• May 14
  • Bobby Darin, American singer and actor (d. 1973)
  • Dick Howser, American baseball shortstop, manager (d. 1987)
• May 15
  • Wavy Gravy, American anti-war activist
  • Paul Zindel, American writer (d. 2003)
• May 17 – Dennis Hopper, American actor and director (d. 2010)
• May 22
  • George H. Heilmeier, American engineer (d. 2014)
  • M. Scott Peck, American psychiatrist (d. 2005)
• May 23 – Charles Kimbrough, American actor
• May 24 – Harold Budd, American avant-garde composer and poet (d. 2020)
• May 25 – Tom T. Hall, American country singer-songwriter (d. 2021)
• May 27 – Louis Gossett Jr., African-American actor
• May 29 – Arlene McQuade, American actress (d. 2014)

June

Bruce Dern

Kris Kristofferson

• June 3 – Larry McMurtry, American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter (d. 2021)
• June 4 – Bruce Dern, American screen actor
• June 6
  • Richard Green, American sexologist, psychiatrist, lawyer and author (d. 2019)
  • Levi Stubbs, American baritone singer (d. 2008)
• June 8
  • James Darren, American actor, singer
  • Kenneth G. Wilson, American theoretical physicist (d. 2013)
• June 11 – Jud Strunk, American singer and comedian (d. 1981)
• June 12 – Marcus Belgrave, American jazz trumpeter (d. 2015)
• June 14 – Renaldo Benson, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
• June 15 – William Levada, American cardinal (d. 2019)
• June 19 – Shirley Goodman, American R&B singer (d. 2005)
• June 20 – Billy Guy, American singer (d. 2002)
• June 22 – Kris Kristofferson, American actor and singer-songwriter
• June 24 – Robert Downey Sr., American film actor and director (d. 2021)
• June 26 – Hal Greer, African-American professional basketball player (d. 2018)
• June 27 – Lucille Clifton, American poet, writer and educator (d. 2010)
• June 28
  • Chuck Howley, American football player
  • Major Owens, African-American politician (d. 2013)
• June 29 – Harmon Killebrew, American baseball player (d. 2011)
• June 30 – Nancy Dussault, American actress and singer

July

Shirley Knight

Larry Cohen

Elizabeth Dole

Buddy Guy

• July 1
  • Ron Masak, American actor (d. 2022)
  • Syl Johnson, African-American blues musician (d. 2022)
• July 4 – Dick Hyde, American trombonist (d. 2019)
• July 5 – Shirley Knight, American actress (d. 2020)
• July 7 – Joseph Renzulli, American educational psychologist
• July 9
  • James Hampton, American actor
  • June Jordan, Jamaican American poet, essayist, teacher, and activist (d. 2002)
  • David Zinman, American conductor and violinist
• July 10
  • Herbert Boyer, American biotechnology entrepreneur
  • Barbara B. Kennelly, American politician
• July 11 – Joe Bussard, American record collector (d. 2022)
• July 12 – Frank Ryan, American football player and mathematician (d. 2024)
• July 13 – Albert Ayler, African-American saxophonist, singer and composer (d. 1970)
• July 14
  • Pema Chödrön, American Tibetan Buddhist
  • Robert F. Overmyer, American astronaut (d. 1996)
• July 15
  • Larry Cohen, American film director, producer and screenwriter (d. 2019)
  • George Voinovich, American politician (d. 2016)
• July 16 – Buddy Merrill, American musician
• July 18 – Jerry Richardson, American businessman and football club owner (d. 2023)
• July 19 – Connie Kurtz, American LGBT rights activist (d. 2018)
• July 20
  • Butch Baird, American professional golfer
  • Barbara Mikulski, American politician
• July 23
  • Don Drysdale, American baseball player (d. 1993)
  • Anthony Kennedy, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the U.S. from 1988
• July 24
  • Ruth Buzzi, American actress, comedian, and singer
  • Mark Goddard, American actor
• July 26 – Kathryn Hays, American actress
• July 27 – J. Robert Hooper, American politician (d. 2008)
• July 29 – Elizabeth Dole, American politician
• July 30 – Buddy Guy, African-American blues singer and guitarist

August

Robert Redford

Wilt Chamberlain

John McCain

• August 1 – Bradford Bishop, American fugitive
• August 7 – Richard L. Tierney, American poet, novelist (d. 2022)
• August 8
  • Don Bowden, American middle-distance runner
  • Frank Howard, American baseball player (d. 2023)
• August 11 – Bill Monbouquette, American baseball player (d. 2015)
• August 12 – John Poindexter, American Naval officer, US Chief of Staff
• August 16 – Anita Gillette, American actress
• August 17
  • Margaret Hamilton, American computer scientist, systems engineer, and business owner
  • Floyd Westerman, Native-American cctor, artist, musician, and political activist
• August 18 – Robert Redford, American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist
• August 20 – Sam Melville, American actor (d. 1989)
• August 21 – Wilt Chamberlain, African-American basketball player (d. 1999)
• August 22
  • Dale Hawkins, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
  • Lex Humphries, American drummer (d. 1994)
• August 23
  • Rudy Lewis, American R&B singer (d. 1964)
  • Henry Lee Lucas, American serial killer (d. 2001)
• August 24
  • William J. Coyne, American politician (d. 2013)
  • Kenny Guinn, American politician (d. 2010)
• August 26 – Benedict Anderson, American academic (d. 2015)
• August 27 – Joel Kovel, American scholar and author (d. 2018)
• August 28 – Don Denkinger, American professional baseball player
• August 29 – John McCain, American politician, U.S. Senator (R-Az.) (d. 2018)
• August 31 – Richard J. Ferris, American business executive (d. 2022)

September

Buddy Holly

Jim Henson

• September 3 – John Olver, politician
• September 5
  • John Danforth, politician
  • Alcee Hastings, African-American politician (d. 2021)
  • Jonathan Kozol, writer, educator, and activist
  • Bill Mazeroski, professional baseball player
• September 7 – Buddy Holly, singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll (d. 1959)
• September 11 – Charles Dierkop, actor
• September 14
  • Walter Koenig, actor
  • Ferid Murad, Albanian-American physician and pharmacologist
  • Stan Williams, professional baseball player (died 2021)
• September 17 – Gerald Guralnik, American physicist (died 2014)
• September 19 – Al Oerter, Olympic athlete (died 2007)
• September 21 – Dickey Lee, singer and songwriter
• September 22 – Art Metrano, actor and comedian (died 2021)
• September 24 – Jim Henson, puppeteer, filmmaker, and television producer (The Muppets) (died 1990)
• September 25 – Ken Forsse, inventor, producer and creator of Teddy Ruxpin (d. 2014)
• September 27 – Don Cornelius, African-American television personality and host of Soul Train (died 2012)^[6]
• September 30 – Jim Sasser, politician

October

Charlie Daniels

Michael Landon

• October 1 – Edward Villella, American danseur and choreographer
• October 3 – Steve Reich, American composer
• October 7 – Frank Otto, American educator (d. 2017)
• October 8 – Joe M. Haynes, American politician (d. 2018)
• October 11
  • C. Gordon Fullerton, American astronaut (d. 2013)
  • Larry Staverman, American professional basketball player, coach (d. 2007)
• October 13 – Cliff Gorman, American actor (d. 2002)
• October 14 – Carrie Nye, American actress (d. 2006)
• October 17 – Dave Hobson, American politician
• October 19
  • James Bevel, African-American civil rights activist (d. 2008)

James Bevel

• • Tony Lo Bianco, American actor
  • James P. Liautaud, American industrialist, inventor and business theorist (d. 2015)
• October 20 – Joanna Simon, American mezzo-soprano and journalist (d. 2022)
• October 22 – Bobby Seale, African-American political activist
• October 24 – David Nelson, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2011)
• October 26 – Shelley Morrison, American actress (d. 2019)
• October 28 – Charlie Daniels, American country musician and singer-songwriter (d. 2020)
• October 30 – Merri Dee, American television journalist and philanthropist (d. 2022)
• October 31 – Michael Landon, American actor, director, producer and writer (d. 1991)

November

Dick Cavett

• November 2 – Rose Bird, American judge (d. 1999)
• November 3 – Clifford Curry, American singer (d. 2016)
• November 4 – C. K. Williams, American poet (d. 2015)
• November 5 – Billy Sherrill, American record producer, arranger and songwriter (d. 2015)
• November 9
  • Bob Graham, American politician
  • Teddy Infuhr, American child actor (d. 2007)
• November 11 – Susan Kohner, American actress
• November 14
  • Cornell Gunter, American singer (The Coasters and The Flairs) (d. 1990)
  • Bob Walkup, American politician, Mayor of Tucson (d. 2021)
• November 19 – Dick Cavett, American talk show host, television personality
• November 20 – Don DeLillo, American author
• November 23
  • Frank Caprio, American judge
  • Steve Landesberg, American actor, director (d. 2010)
• November 27 – Glynn Lunney, American aerospace engineer (d. 2021)
• November 28 – Gary Hart, American politician, diplomat, and lawyer

December

David Carradine

Héctor Elizondo

Mary Tyler Moore

• December 4 – Larry Davis, African-American blues musician (d. 1994)
• December 5 – James Lee Burke, American author
• December 6
  • Kenneth Copeland, American televangelist
  • David Ossman, American writer and comedian
• December 7 – Martha Layne Collins, American businesswoman and politician
• December 8 – David Carradine, American actor, director and martial artist (d. 2009)
• December 11 – Tom Fuccello, American actor (d. 1993)
• December 12 – Reggie Young, American musician (d. 2019)
• December 13 – J. C. Martin, American professional baseball player
• December 14 – Robert A. Parker, American physicist and astronomer
• December 15 – Donald Goines, American novelist (d. 1974)
• December 17 – Rollie Sheldon, American professional baseball player
• December 20 – Judy Henske, American singer-songwriter (d. 2022)^[7]
• December 21 – Barbara Roberts, American politician
• December 22
  • Héctor Elizondo, American actor
  • Fred Malek, American business executive, political advisor and philanthropist (d. 2019)
• December 23
  • Frederic Forrest, American actor
  • Bobby Ross, American football player and coach
  • James Stacy, American actor (d. 2016)
• December 24 – Dirck Halstead, American photojournalist (d. 2022)^[8]
• December 28 – Lawrence Schiller, American journalist, film producer, director and screenwriter
• December 29
  • Mary Tyler Moore, American actress, producer and diabetes awareness activist (d. 2017)^[9]
  • Ray Nitschke, American professional football player (d. 1998)