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): Barbara Kingsolver • Charlotte Dawson • Chris Orr (artist) • Christian IX of Denmark • Hedwig Jagiellon (1408–1431) • Iveta Bartošová • Julius Seljamaa • Kumar Gandharva • Lewis Morris • Mariko Seyama • Mary Pickford • Mary W. Gray • Michelle Donelan • Pancha Carrasco • Philip IV of Spain • Skai Jackson • Steve Howe • Tom Petranoff

Born in the same month (April 1919): Billy Vaughn • Carl Lindner Jr. • Don Cornell • Ervin Drake • Gilles Lamontagne • Gérard Oury • Howard Keel • Joseph Murray • K. Saraswathi Amma • Oleg Penkovsky • Roger Doucet • Roger Lemelin • Shamshad Begum