MILITARY PERSONNEL
Saburō Sakai
1916 - 2000

Saburō Sakai
Saburō Sakai (坂井 三郎, Sakai Saburō; 25 August 1916 – 22 September 2000) was a Japanese naval aviator and flying ace ("Gekitsui-O", 撃墜王) of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Sakai had 28 aerial victories, including shared ones, according to official Japanese records, though he and his ghostwriter Martin Caidin claimed much higher numbers. Read more on Wikipedia
His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Saburō Sakai is the 572nd most popular military personnel (down from 563rd in 2019), the 418th most popular biography from Japan (down from 336th in 2019) and the 29th most popular Japanese Military Personnel.
Saburo Sakai is most famous for being the first Japanese fighter pilot to shoot down an American plane in the Pacific War.
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Among MILITARY PERSONNELS
Among military personnels, Saburō Sakai ranks 572 out of 2,058. Before him are Creighton Abrams, Mikhail Alekseyev, Hossein Salami, Sergey Sokolov, Milunka Savić, and Georges Picquart. After him are Filipp Golikov, Bo'orchu, Rüdiger von der Goltz, Seishirō Itagaki, Tamara Bunke, and Ibrahim Traoré.
Most Popular Military Personnels in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsCreighton Abrams
1914 - 1974
HPI: 65.92
Rank: 566
Mikhail Alekseyev
1857 - 1918
HPI: 65.92
Rank: 567
Hossein Salami
1960 - 2025
HPI: 65.92
Rank: 568
Sergey Sokolov
1911 - 2012
HPI: 65.91
Rank: 569
Milunka Savić
1890 - 1973
HPI: 65.89
Rank: 570
Georges Picquart
1854 - 1914
HPI: 65.89
Rank: 571
Saburō Sakai
1916 - 2000
HPI: 65.88
Rank: 572
Filipp Golikov
1900 - 1980
HPI: 65.84
Rank: 573
Bo'orchu
1159 - Present
HPI: 65.83
Rank: 574
Rüdiger von der Goltz
1865 - 1946
HPI: 65.82
Rank: 575
Seishirō Itagaki
1885 - 1948
HPI: 65.81
Rank: 576
Tamara Bunke
1937 - 1967
HPI: 65.81
Rank: 577
Ibrahim Traoré
1988 - Present
HPI: 65.80
Rank: 578
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1916, Saburō Sakai ranks 62. Before him are Kristján Eldjárn, Jacque Fresco, Glenn Ford, Lilian, Princess of Réthy, Rafael Caldera, and Michael Gough. After him are Henri Dutilleux, Georg Henrik von Wright, Hubert Maga, Lars Korvald, Lung Chien, and Hassan Gouled Aptidon. Among people deceased in 2000, Saburō Sakai ranks 52. Before him are John Harsanyi, Merton Miller, Richard Farnsworth, Leonid Rogozov, Barbara Cartland, and Lolo Ferrari. After him are Đorđe Martinović incident, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Carlo M. Cipolla, Friedrich Gulda, A. E. van Vogt, and Frederick Herzberg.
Others Born in 1916
Go to all RankingsKristján Eldjárn
POLITICIAN
1916 - 1982
HPI: 66.81
Rank: 56
Jacque Fresco
INVENTOR
1916 - 2017
HPI: 66.74
Rank: 57
Glenn Ford
ACTOR
1916 - 2006
HPI: 66.70
Rank: 58
Lilian, Princess of Réthy
COMPANION
1916 - 2002
HPI: 66.61
Rank: 59
Rafael Caldera
POLITICIAN
1916 - 2009
HPI: 66.34
Rank: 60
Michael Gough
ACTOR
1916 - 2011
HPI: 66.24
Rank: 61
Saburō Sakai
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1916 - 2000
HPI: 65.88
Rank: 62
Henri Dutilleux
COMPOSER
1916 - 2013
HPI: 65.54
Rank: 63
Georg Henrik von Wright
PHILOSOPHER
1916 - 2003
HPI: 65.41
Rank: 64
Hubert Maga
POLITICIAN
1916 - 2000
HPI: 65.05
Rank: 65
Lars Korvald
POLITICIAN
1916 - 2006
HPI: 64.91
Rank: 66
Lung Chien
FILM DIRECTOR
1916 - 1975
HPI: 64.70
Rank: 67
Hassan Gouled Aptidon
POLITICIAN
1916 - 2006
HPI: 64.68
Rank: 68
Others Deceased in 2000
Go to all RankingsJohn Harsanyi
ECONOMIST
1920 - 2000
HPI: 66.98
Rank: 46
Merton Miller
ECONOMIST
1923 - 2000
HPI: 66.85
Rank: 47
Richard Farnsworth
ACTOR
1920 - 2000
HPI: 66.79
Rank: 48
Leonid Rogozov
PHYSICIAN
1934 - 2000
HPI: 66.29
Rank: 49
Barbara Cartland
WRITER
1901 - 2000
HPI: 66.10
Rank: 50
Lolo Ferrari
PORNOGRAPHIC ACTOR
1963 - 2000
HPI: 65.91
Rank: 51
Saburō Sakai
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1916 - 2000
HPI: 65.88
Rank: 52
Đorđe Martinović incident
POLITICIAN
1928 - 2000
HPI: 65.80
Rank: 53
Jean-Pierre Rampal
MUSICIAN
1922 - 2000
HPI: 65.75
Rank: 54
Carlo M. Cipolla
ECONOMIST
1922 - 2000
HPI: 65.73
Rank: 55
Friedrich Gulda
MUSICIAN
1930 - 2000
HPI: 65.73
Rank: 56
A. E. van Vogt
WRITER
1912 - 2000
HPI: 65.70
Rank: 57
Frederick Herzberg
PSYCHOLOGIST
1923 - 2000
HPI: 65.67
Rank: 58
In Japan
Among people born in Japan, Saburō Sakai ranks 418 out of 6,245. Before him are Terauchi Masatake (1852), Nagisa Oshima (1932), Ikkyū (1394), Shigemaru Takenokoshi (1906), Emperor Go-Toba (1180), and Yoshinobu Ishii (1939). After him are Emperor Go-Shirakawa (1127), Kido Takayoshi (1833), Emperor Montoku (827), Emperor Chōkei (1343), Emperor Go-Hanazono (1419), and Takashi Mizuno (1931).
Others born in Japan
Go to all RankingsTerauchi Masatake
POLITICIAN
1852 - 1919
HPI: 65.93
Rank: 412
Nagisa Oshima
FILM DIRECTOR
1932 - 2013
HPI: 65.93
Rank: 413
Ikkyū
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1394 - 1481
HPI: 65.93
Rank: 414
Shigemaru Takenokoshi
SOCCER PLAYER
1906 - 1980
HPI: 65.92
Rank: 415
Emperor Go-Toba
POLITICIAN
1180 - 1239
HPI: 65.91
Rank: 416
Yoshinobu Ishii
SOCCER PLAYER
1939 - 2018
HPI: 65.90
Rank: 417
Saburō Sakai
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1916 - 2000
HPI: 65.88
Rank: 418
Emperor Go-Shirakawa
POLITICIAN
1127 - 1192
HPI: 65.88
Rank: 419
Kido Takayoshi
POLITICIAN
1833 - 1877
HPI: 65.87
Rank: 420
Emperor Montoku
POLITICIAN
827 - 858
HPI: 65.87
Rank: 421
Emperor Chōkei
POLITICIAN
1343 - 1394
HPI: 65.86
Rank: 422
Emperor Go-Hanazono
POLITICIAN
1419 - 1471
HPI: 65.84
Rank: 423
Takashi Mizuno
SOCCER PLAYER
1931 - Present
HPI: 65.82
Rank: 424
Among MILITARY PERSONNELS In Japan
Among military personnels born in Japan, Saburō Sakai ranks 29. Before him are Tamon Yamaguchi (1892), Yamagata Aritomo (1838), Mitsuru Ushijima (1887), Hijikata Toshizō (1835), Shoichi Yokoi (1915), and Mitsuo Fuchida (1902). After him are Seishirō Itagaki (1885), Kenji Doihara (1883), Jisaburō Ozawa (1886), Hitoshi Imamura (1886), Yoshijirō Umezu (1882), and Takeichi Nishi (1902).
Tamon Yamaguchi
1892 - 1942
HPI: 67.16
Rank: 23
Yamagata Aritomo
1838 - 1922
HPI: 67.06
Rank: 24
Mitsuru Ushijima
1887 - 1945
HPI: 66.91
Rank: 25
Hijikata Toshizō
1835 - 1869
HPI: 66.88
Rank: 26
Shoichi Yokoi
1915 - 1997
HPI: 66.84
Rank: 27
Mitsuo Fuchida
1902 - 1976
HPI: 66.65
Rank: 28
Saburō Sakai
1916 - 2000
HPI: 65.88
Rank: 29
Seishirō Itagaki
1885 - 1948
HPI: 65.81
Rank: 30
Kenji Doihara
1883 - 1948
HPI: 65.68
Rank: 31
Jisaburō Ozawa
1886 - 1966
HPI: 65.66
Rank: 32
Hitoshi Imamura
1886 - 1968
HPI: 65.46
Rank: 33
Yoshijirō Umezu
1882 - 1949
HPI: 65.30
Rank: 34
Takeichi Nishi
1902 - 1945
HPI: 65.24
Rank: 35