Ian Smith

Ian Douglas Smith was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia from 1964 to 1979. He was the country's first leader to be born and raised in Rhodesia, and led the predominantly white government that unilaterally declared independence from the United Kingdom in November 1965 in opposition to the UK's demands for the implementation of majority rule as a condition for independence. His 15 years in power were defined by the country's international isolation and involvement in the Rhodesian Bush War, which pitted Rhodesia's armed forces against the Soviet- and Chinese-funded military wings of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU).

8 April 1919

Born on the same birth day (8 April): Charlotte Dawson • Elton John (footballer) • Francesco Flachi • Félix Hernández • Herman van Raalte • Joan Sebastian • Khaled Badra • Mary Stuart (1605–1607) • Ollie Mitchell • Oscar Zeta Acosta • Skai Jackson • Tatyana Petrova Arkhipova

Born in the same month (April 1919): Alberto Breccia • Chavela Vargas • Clairette Oddera • Donald J. Cram • Esther Afua Ocloo • Finn Helgesen • Gilles Lamontagne • Glafcos Clerides • Howard Keel • István Anhalt • J. Presper Eckert • Joseph Murray • Licio Gelli • Madalyn Murray O'Hair • Merce Cunningham • Nilla Pizzi • Oleg Penkovsky • Raymond Carr • Roger Doucet • Roland Gaucher • Virginia O'Brien