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): Ana de la Reguera • Andrew Irvine (mountaineer) • Andy Currier • Bernt Haas • Brian McDermott (footballer) • Franco Corelli • John McGinlay • Kenny Benjamin • Marie Byles • María Félix • Nnedi Okorafor • Ofer Shechter • Philip IV of Spain • Richard Hatch (Survivor contestant) • Saygrace • Tracy Grammer

Born in the same month (April 1919): Chavela Vargas • Delfo Cabrera • Edoardo Mangiarotti • Esther Afua Ocloo • Gérard Oury • István Anhalt • J. Presper Eckert • John Houbolt • Joseph Murray • Licio Gelli • Madalyn Murray O'Hair • Merce Cunningham • Ministry of Culture and Sports (Greece) • Oleg Penkovsky • Pedro Ramírez Vázquez • Richard Hillary • Roger Doucet • Roger Lemelin • Roland Gaucher • Shamshad Begum