Did you know about Vince Gill
Vince Gill played in a number of local bluegrass bands in the 1970s, and from 1978 to 1982, he achieved his first mainstream attention after taking over as lead singer of the soft rock band Pure Prairie League.
Famous Birthdays on April 12
April 12 has 255 recorded notable births across history, from 811 to 1996. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
1957 — Vince Gill
American singer-songwriter and guitarist
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Famous Birthdays
255 source records
811 – 1996
Aries
Today in history
Major events on April 12
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 2026 The Tisza Party, led by Péter Magyar wins the 2026 Hungarian parliamentary election, defeating Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party, which had ruled the country for 16 years, marking the first change in government in Hungary for over a decade. Source
- 1983 Harold Washington is elected as the first black mayor of Chicago. Source
Did you know about Andy Garcia
Andy Garcia first rose to prominence acting in Brian De Palma's The Untouchables (1987) followed by roles in Stand and Deliver (1988), Black Rain (1989) and Internal Affairs (1990).
Did you know about Brooklyn Decker
Brooklyn Danielle Decker is an American model and actress, perhaps best known for her appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, including the cover of the 2010 issue.
Did you know about Flavio Briatore
However, he was dogged by allegations of cheating, including the 1994 "Launch Control" controversy and the 2007 "Spygate" affair, although in both cases his teams escaped penalties.
Did you know about Charles Napier
(1969), which was the first of four films he would do with director Russ Meyer.
More major people born on April 12
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1956
Andy Garcia
Cuban-American actor, director, and producer
Andrés Arturo García Menéndez is an American actor, director, producer, and musician. Known for his roles in film and television, he has received a Grammy Award, as well as nominations for an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. He first rose to prominence acting in Brian De Palma's The Untouchables (1987) followed by roles in Stand and Deliver (1988), Black Rain (1989) and Internal Affairs (1990). He then portrayed Vincent Mancini in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part III (1990), earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and becoming the first Cuban to be nominated for an acting Oscar.
1987
Brooklyn Decker
American model and actress
Brooklyn Danielle Decker is an American model and actress, perhaps best known for her appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, including the cover of the 2010 issue. In addition to working for Victoria's Secret for the 2010 "Swim" collection, she has ventured into television with guest appearances on Chuck, Ugly Betty, The League, and Royal Pains. She made her feature film debut in Just Go with It (2011), and later starred in Battleship (2012) and What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012). In 2015, she was cast as a series regular, portraying Mallory Hanson, on Netflix's Grace and Frankie.
1950
Flavio Briatore
Italian businessman
Flavio Briatore is an Italian businessman, who serves as executive adviser and de facto team principal of Alpine in Formula One. As the longtime team principal of the colloquially known "Team Enstone", Briatore led the team to three World Constructors' Championship and four World Drivers' Championship victories. However, he was dogged by allegations of cheating, including the 1994 "Launch Control" controversy and the 2007 "Spygate" affair, although in both cases his teams escaped penalties. He was forced out of Renault and received a lifetime ban from F1 after the 2008 "Crashgate" scandal, although a French court subsequently overturned the ban. Fifteen years later, he returned to the Enstone team, which currently operates as Alpine F1.
1936
Charles Napier
American actor (died 2011)
Charles Lewis Napier was an American actor who was known for playing supporting and occasional leading roles in television and films. He was frequently cast as police officers, soldiers, or authority figures, many of them villainous or corrupt. After leaving his Kentucky hometown to serve in the Army, he graduated from college and worked as a sports coach and art teacher before settling on acting as a career. His first prominent role in a film was in Cherry, Harry & Raquel! (1969), which was the first of four films he would do with director Russ Meyer. Napier established himself in character roles and worked steadily for the next 35 years. He made numerous collaborations with director Jonathan Demme, including roles in Something Wild (1986), Married to the Mob (1988), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Philadelphia (1993), Beloved (1998), and The Manchurian Candidate (2004).
1988
Jessie James Decker
American singer-songwriter
Jessica Rose James Decker is an American country pop singer. At age 15, after auditioning for and being rejected by most of the country labels in Nashville, Tennessee, Decker began working with Carla Wallace of Big Yellow Dog Music. One of her songs attracted the attention of Mercury Records, which offered her a recording contract. She released her debut album, Jessie James, in 2009. A few years later in 2013, she starred with her husband Eric Decker, a wide receiver in the National Football League, in the E! reality show Eric & Jessie: Game On. She is no relation to the famous American outlaw Jesse James.
1869
Henri Désiré Landru
French serial killer (died 1922)
Henri Désiré Landru was a French serial killer, nicknamed the Bluebeard of Gambais and a prolific marriage fraudster. He is confirmed to have murdered at least ten women and the teenage son of his first victim, primarily targeting lonely war widows whom he met through newspaper advertisements, seduced, defrauded of their assets, and then killed, disposing of their bodies by burning them in his stove. He committed these crimes between December 1914 and January 1919, first at a house in Vernouillet and later at an isolated villa in Gambais, near Paris. The true number of Landru's victims remains unknown, as police traced correspondence with 283 women, 72 of whom were never found. He is considered one of France's most famous and notorious murderers, whose investigation and trial became a media sensation in the aftermath of World War I. His case inspired Charlie Chaplin's film Monsieur Verdoux.
811
Muhammad al-Jawad
the ninth Imam of Shia Islam (died 835)
Muhammad ibn Ali al-Jawad, also known as Muhammad al-Taqi, was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the ninth of the Twelve Imams, succeeding his father Ali al-Rida. Born in Medina around 810, al-Jawad was the only child of al-Rida, the eighth Imam. When al-Rida left Medina after being summoned to Khorasan by the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun to assume the position of heir apparent, he did not take any of his family members with him. Al-Jawad was only four years old when his father reluctantly left Medina. Therefore, al-Jawad spent most of his childhood away from his father. Al-Rida's appointment provoked strong opposition among the Abbasids in Baghdad, which forced al-Ma'mun to return to the capital Baghdad in 818. On the way back, al-Rida suddenly fell ill and died mysteriously in Tus, likely poisoned by order of al-Ma'mun as he made concessions to the opposition.
1968
Toby Gad
German songwriter and producer
Tobias Gad is a German music producer and songwriter based in Los Angeles. He is known for co-writing songs including John Legend's biggest hit, "All of Me", the fifth-highest certified single in RIAA history, and for co-writing and producing "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie and "If I Were a Boy" by Beyoncé. Other notable works include "Skyscraper" for Demi Lovato, "Who You Are" for Jessie J, "Untouched" for The Veronicas, "A Year Without Rain" for Selena Gomez & the Scene, "Don't Hold Your Breath" for Nicole Scherzinger, "Love You More" for JLS, and "I Do" for Colbie Caillat.
1948
Joschka Fischer
German academic and politician
Joseph Martin "Joschka" Fischer is a German former politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens party. He served as the foreign minister and as the vice chancellor of Germany in the cabinet of Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 2005. Fischer has been a leading figure in the German Greens since the 1970s, and according to opinion polls, he was the most popular politician in Germany for most of the Schröder government's duration. Following the September 2005 election, in which the Schröder government was defeated, he left office on 22 November 2005. In September 2010, he supported the creation of the Spinelli Group, a Europarliamentarian initiative founded with a view to reinvigorate efforts to federalise the European Union.
1874
William B. Bankhead
American lawyer and politician, 47th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (died 1940)
William Brockman Bankhead was an American politician who served as the 42nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1936 to 1940, representing Alabama's 10th and later 7th congressional districts as a Democrat from 1917 to 1940. Bankhead was a strong liberal and a prominent supporter of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal of pro-labor union legislation, thus clashing with most other Southern Democrats in Congress at the time. Bankhead described himself as proud to be a politician, by which he meant that he did not neglect matters that concerned his district or reelection. He was the father of actress Tallulah Bankhead.
1913
Keiko Fukuda
Japanese-American martial artist (died 2013)
Keiko Fukuda was a Japanese-American martial artist. She was the highest-ranked female judoka in history, holding the rank of 9th dan from the Kodokan (2006), and 10th dan from USA Judo and from the United States Judo Federation (USJF), and was the last surviving student of Kanō Jigorō, founder of judo. She was a renowned pioneer of women's judo, and in 1972 together with her senpai Masako Noritomi (1913–1982) was one of the first two women promoted to 6th dan. In 2006, the Kodokan promoted Fukuda to 9th dan, making her the first woman to hold this rank from any recognized judo organization. She is also the first and, so far, only woman to have been promoted to 10th dan in judo, which occurred in 2011. After completing her formal education in Japan, Fukuda visited the United States to teach in the 1950s and 1960s, and eventually settled there. She continued to teach her art in the San Francisco Bay Area until her death in 2013.
1925
Ned Miller
American country music singer and songwriter (died 2016)
Henry Ned Miller was an American country music singer-songwriter. Active as a recording artist from 1956 to 1970, he is known primarily for his hit single "From a Jack to a King", a crossover hit in 1962 which reached the Top 10 on the country music, adult contemporary, and Billboard Hot 100 chart, No. 1 for five weeks in Canada, as well as reaching No. 2 in the UK singles chart. He had several more chart singles in his career, although none matched the success of "From a Jack to a King". He also composed and recorded "Invisible Tears".
1777
Henry Clay
American lawyer and politician, 9th United States Secretary of State (died 1852)
Henry Clay was an American lawyer, statesman, and diplomat who represented Kentucky in both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state. Clay unsuccessfully ran for president in the 1824, 1832, and 1844 elections. He helped found both the National Republican Party and the Whig Party. For his role in defusing sectional crises, he earned the appellation of the "Great Compromiser" and was part of the "Great Triumvirate" of Congressmen, alongside fellow Whig Daniel Webster and Democrat John C. Calhoun.
1932
Herbert Butros Khaury
American singer and ukulele player (died 1996)
Herbert Butros Khaury, also known as Herbert Buckingham Khaury, and known professionally as Tiny Tim, was an American musician, songwriter and musical archivist. He is especially known for his 1968 hit cover of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips", a song from the 1929 musical Gold Diggers of Broadway. "Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight", which was featured and popularized in the SpongeBob SquarePants pilot episode, "Help Wanted" in 1999, was rated as 2nd best song at "Top 10 Tiny Tim Songs". Tiny Tim was renowned for his wide vocal range, in particular his far-reaching falsetto.
1946
George Robertson
Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, Scottish politician and diplomat, 10th Secretary General of NATO
George Islay MacNeill Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen is a British politician who served as the 10th secretary general of NATO from 1999 to 2003. A member of the Labour Party, he previously served as Secretary of State for Defence from 1997 to 1999 and Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland from 1993 to 1997. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Hamilton South from 1978 to 1999 and was appointed to the House of Lords as a life peer in 2000. He currently serves as Chancellor of the University of Dundee.
1930
Manuel Neri
American sculptor and painter (died 2021)
Manuel John Neri Jr. was an American sculptor who is recognized for his life-size figurative sculptures in plaster, bronze, and marble. In Neri's work with the figure, he conveys an emotional inner state that is revealed through body language and gesture. Since 1965 his studio was in Benicia, California; in 1981 he purchased a studio in Carrara, Italy, for working in marble. Over four decades, beginning in the early 1970s, Neri worked primarily with the same model, Mary Julia Klimenko, creating drawings and sculptures that merge contemporary concerns with Modernist sculptural forms.
1974
Roman Hamrlík
Czech ice hockey player
Roman Hamrlík is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally selected first overall in the 1992 NHL entry draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning, the first-ever selection by the expansion franchise, beginning his career with the team and later playing for the Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders, Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens, Washington Capitals, and New York Rangers. In total, he played 1,395 games during his NHL career and participated in three NHL All-Star Games, in 1996, 1999, and 2003.
1898
Lily Pons
French-American soprano and actress (died 1976)
Alice Joséphine Pons, known professionally as Lily Pons, was a French-American operatic lyric coloratura soprano and actress who had an active career from the late 1920s through the early 1970s. As an opera singer, she specialized in the coloratura soprano repertoire and was particularly associated with the title roles in Lakmé and Lucia di Lammermoor. In addition to appearing as a guest artist with many opera houses internationally, Pons enjoyed a long association with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, where she performed nearly 300 times between 1931 and 1960.
1979
Jennifer Morrison
American actress
Jennifer Marie Morrison is an American actress and director. She played the roles of Dr. Allison Cameron in the medical-drama series House (2004–2012) and Emma Swan in the ABC adventure-fantasy series Once Upon a Time (2011–2018). She has also portrayed Zoey Pierson, one of Ted Mosby's love interests, on the comedy series How I Met Your Mother; Winona Kirk, mother of James T. Kirk in the 2009 science-fiction film Star Trek; and Tess Conlon in the 2011 sports drama film Warrior. She made her feature-film directorial debut with Sun Dogs (2017).