Did you know
Famous Birthdays on April 26
196 people
121 – 2005
April 26 has seen 196 notable people enter the world across recorded history — from 121 – 2005. Below are the most significant names born on this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
1932 — Michael Smith
English-Canadian biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2000)
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He shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Kary Mullis for his work in developing site-directed mutagenesis
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Following a PhD in 1956 from the University of Manchester, he undertook postdoctoral research with Har Gobind Khorana at the British Columbia Research Council in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Subsequently, Smith worked at the Fisheries Research Board of Canada Laboratory in Vancouver before being appointed a professor of biochemistry in the UBC Faculty of Medicine in 1966
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In 1996 he was named Peter Wall Distinguished Professor of Biotechnology
Roman emperor (died 180)
Year 121 (CXXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Verus and Augur. The denomination 121 for this year has been used since the early…
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121
Year 757 (DCCLVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 757 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent…
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757
764
Countess of Warwick (died 1324)
Alice de Toeni, Countess of Warwick was a wealthy English heiress and the second wife of Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick, an English nobleman in the reign of kings Edward I and Edward II. He was one of the…
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1284
John II, called John the Good, was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which killed between a third and a half of its population;…
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1319
Italian painter and academic (died 1600)
Gian Paolo Lomazzo was an Italian artist and writer on art. Praised as a painter, Lomazzo wrote about artistic practice and art theory after blindness compelled him to pursue a different professional path by 1571.…
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1538
queen of Henry IV of France (died 1642)
Marie de' Medici was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV. Marie served as regent of France between 1610 and 1617 during the minority of her son Louis XIII. Her mandate as regent legally…
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1575
English banker, Sheriff of London, Lord Mayor of London and politician (died 1720)
Sir William Ashhurst was a British banker, merchant and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1689 to 1710. He also served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1693.
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1647
Dom Pedro II, nicknamed the Pacific was King of Portugal from 1683 until his death, previously serving as regent for his brother Afonso VI from 1668 until his own accession. He was the fifth and last child of John IV…
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1648
German lute player and composer (died 1754)
Adam Falckenhagen was a German lutenist and composer of the Baroque period.
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1697
Scottish philosopher and academic (died 1796)
Thomas Reid was a religiously trained Scottish philosopher best known for his philosophical method, his theory of perception, and its wide implications on epistemology, and as the developer and defender of an…
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1710
American commander (died 1802)
Commodore Esek Hopkins was a Continental Navy officer and privateer. He served as the only commander-in-chief of the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War, when the Continental Congress appointed him to…
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1718
German geologist and paleontologist (died 1853)
Christian Leopold von Buch, usually cited as Leopold von Buch, was a German geologist and paleontologist born in Stolpe an der Oder and is remembered as one of the most important contributors to geology in the first…
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1774
Queen of France (died 1866)
Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily was Queen of the French by marriage to Louis Philippe I, King of the French. She was the last Queen of the French.
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1782
French-American ornithologist and painter (died 1851)
John James Audubon was a French-American artist, entrepreneur, naturalist, explorer, and ornithologist. His combined interests in painting and ornithology turned into a plan to make a complete pictorial record of all…
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1785
German poet, philologist, and historian (died 1862)
Johann Ludwig Uhland was a German poet, philologist, literary historian, lawyer and politician.
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1787
French painter and lithographer (died 1863)
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic artist who was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school.
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1798
American politician and diplomat, 1st United States Assistant Secretary of State (died 1889)
Ambrose Dudley Mann was the first United States Assistant Secretary of State and a commissioner for the Confederate States of America.
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1801
American banker, lawyer, and politician (died 1876)
Charles Goodyear was a banker, attorney, and politician from New York. He was most notable for his service as a United States representative from 1845 to 1847 and 1865 to 1867.
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1804
American journalist and designer, co-designed Central Park (died 1903)
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the United States. Olmsted was famous for…
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1822
American author (died 1867)
Charles Farrar Browne was an American humor writer, better known under his nom de plume, Artemus Ward. Ward was the character of an illiterate rube with "Yankee common sense", whom Browne also played in public…
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1834
Australian-New Zealand businessman and politician, 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand (died 1930)
Sir Joseph George Ward, 1st Baronet, was a New Zealand politician who served as the 17th prime minister of New Zealand from 1906 to 1912 and from 1928 to 1930. He was a dominant figure in the Liberal and United…
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1856
American painter and educator (died 1938)
Edmund Charles Tarbell was an American Impressionist painter. A member of the Ten American Painters, his work hangs in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, Smithsonian…
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1862
Finnish artist (died 1931)
Akseli Gallen-Kallela was a Finnish painter who is best known for his illustrations of the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. His work is considered a very important aspect of the Finnish national identity. He…
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1865
German rower (died 1959)
Ferdinand Ernst Felle was a German rower who competed in the 1900 Summer Olympics. He was part of the German boat Ludwigshafener Ruderverein, which won the bronze medal in the coxed four final B.
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1876
Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of New South Wales (died 1950)
James Thomas Dooley was an Australian political figure who served twice, briefly, as Premier of New South Wales during the early 1920s.
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1877
Mexican bishop and saint (died 1938)
Rafael Guízar y Valencia was a Mexican bishop of the Roman Catholic Church who was persecuted during the Mexican Revolution. Named Bishop of Xalapa in 1919, he was driven out of his diocese and forced to live the…
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1878
British actor (died 1917)
Alfred Eric Campbell was an English actor. He was a key member of Charlie Chaplin's film ensemble, invariably playing an intimidating bully, and appeared in eleven of Chaplin's films before he was killed in a car crash…
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1879
English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1959)
Sir Owen Willans Richardson was a British physicist who received the 1928 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on thermionic emission and for the discovery of Richardson's law.
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1879
1886
Russian poet and publicist (died 1913)
Ğabdulla Möxəmmətğərif ulı Tuqay was a Tatar poet, critic, publisher, and towering figure of Tatar literature. Tuqay is often referred to as the founder of modern Tatar literature and the modern Tatar literary language,…
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1886
American author, playwright, and screenwriter (died 1981)
Corinne Anita Loos was an American actress, novelist, playwright and screenwriter. In 1912, she became the first female staff screenwriter in Hollywood, when D. W. Griffith put her on the payroll at Triangle Film…
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1889
Austrian-English philosopher and academic (died 1951)
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austro-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of language.
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1889
German politician and Deputy Führer in Nazi regime until 1941 (died 1987)
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess was a German politician, convicted war criminal, and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Germany. Appointed Deputy to the Führer in 1933, Hess held that position until 1941, when he flew…
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1894
Estonian actor and director (died 1967)
Ruut Tarmo was an Estonian stage and film actor and stage director whose career spanned more than five decades.
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1896
leading German fighter pilot in World War I and Chief of Procurement and Supply in the Luftwaffe (died 1941)
Ernst Udet was a German pilot during World War I and a Luftwaffe Colonel-General (Generaloberst) during World War II.
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1896
American boxer and bobsledder (died 1967)
Edward Patrick Francis Eagan was an American athlete who won a gold medal as a light-heavyweight boxer at the 1920 Summer Olympics and a gold medal in four-man bobsled at the 1932 Winter Olympics. Few athletes have…
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1897
German-American director and screenwriter (died 1987)
Douglas Sirk was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. However, he also directed comedies, westerns, and war films. Sirk started his career in Germany as a stage and screen…
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1897
Spanish poet and author, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1984)
Vicente Pío Marcelino Cirilo Aleixandre y Merlo was a Spanish poet who was born in Seville. Aleixandre received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1977 "for a creative poetic writing which illuminates man's condition in…
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1898
Scottish director and producer (died 1972)
John Grierson was a Scottish filmmaker, film theorist, and critic, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. In 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a review of Robert J.…
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1898
Latvian-English saxophonist and bandleader (died 1958)
Oscar Rabin was a Latvian-born English bandleader and musician. He was the musical director of his own big band.
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1899
German bookbinder and calligrapher (died 1969)
Eva Aschoff was a German visual artist known for her bookbinding and calligraphy.
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1900
American seismologist and physicist (died 1985)
Charles Francis Richter was an American seismologist and physicist. He is the namesake and one of the creators of the Richter scale, which, until the development of the moment magnitude scale in 1979, was widely used to…
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1900
American baseball player (died 1948)
Lewis Robert "Hack" Wilson was an American Major League Baseball player who played 12 seasons for the New York Giants, Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. Despite his diminutive stature, he was one…
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1900
Canadian cardinal (died 1991)
Paul-Émile Léger was a Canadian Catholic prelate, educator, missionary, and humanitarian. A member of the Society of Saint-Sulpice, he served as Archbishop of Montreal from 1950 to 1967 and was elevated to the College…
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1904
Greek economist and politician, 177th Prime Minister of Greece (died 2004)
Xenophon Euthymiou Zolotas was a Greek economist who served as an interim non-party Prime Minister of Greece.
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1904
1905
Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (died 1968)
Ilias Tsirimokos was a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece for a very brief period.
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1907
1909
Japanese screenwriter and producer (died 1997)
Tomoyuki "Yūkō" Tanaka was a Japanese film producer, best known as the creator of Godzilla. He produced most of the installments in the Godzilla series, beginning in 1954 with Godzilla and ending in 1995 with Godzilla…
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1910
German soldier and politician (died 1986)
Paul Verner was a German communist politician. He joined the communist movement at a young age and went into exile during Adolf Hitler's rule. Verner became a prominent political personality in the German Democratic…
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1911
Canadian-American author (died 2000)
Alfred Elton van Vogt was a Canadian-born American science fiction writer. His fragmented, bizarre narrative style influenced later science fiction writers, including Philip K. Dick. He was one of the most popular and…
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1912
American novelist and short story writer (died 1986)
Bernard Malamud was an American novelist and short story writer. Along with Saul Bellow, Joseph Heller, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Norman Mailer and Philip Roth, he was one of the best known American Jewish authors of the…
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1914
American real estate developer (died 1996)
James Wilson Rouse was an American businessman and founder of The Rouse Company. Rouse was a pioneering American real estate developer, urban planner, civic activist, and later, free enterprise-based philanthropist. He…
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1914
American artist, author, and illustrator (died 2000)
Eyvind Earle was an American artist, author and illustrator, noted for his contribution to the background illustration and styling of Disney's animated films in the 1950s. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rahr…
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1916
English commander, engineer, and pilot (died 2013)
Wing Commander Kenneth Horatio Wallis was a British aviator, engineer, and inventor. During the Second World War, Wallis served in the Royal Air Force and flew 28 bomber missions over Germany; after the war, he moved on…
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1916
Australian author and playwright (died 1999)
Morris Langlo West was an Australian novelist and playwright, best known for his novels The Devil's Advocate (1959), The Shoes of the Fisherman (1963) and The Clowns of God (1981). His books were published in 27…
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1916
American baseball player and coach (died 1992)
Salvatore Anthony Maglie was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB), and later a scout and a pitching coach. He played from 1945 to 1958 for the New York Giants, Cleveland Indians, Brooklyn Dodgers, New York…
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1917
1917
American baseball player and coach (died 2013)
Virgil Oliver "Fire" Trucks was an American professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees between 1941…
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1917
Dutch sprinter and long jumper (died 2004)
Francina Elsje "Fanny" Blankers-Koen was a Dutch track and field athlete, best known for winning four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. She competed there as a 30-year-old mother of two, earning her the…
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1918
American clarinet player, saxophonist, and composer (died 2008)
James Peter Giuffre, Italian pronunciation: [d͡ʒufˈfrɛ]; April 26, 1921 – April 24, 2008) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He is known for developing forms of jazz which allowed for…
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1921
English historian and academic (died 2014)
Sir James Clarke Holt, also known as J. C. Holt and Jim Holt, was an English medieval historian, known particularly for his work on Magna Carta. He was the third Master of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, serving between…
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1922
Canadian journalist and politician, Governor General of Canada (died 1993)
Jeanne Mathilde Sauvé was a Canadian politician, journalist and stateswoman who served as the 23rd governor general of Canada from 1984 to 1990 and as the 29th speaker of the House of Commons from 1980 to 1984. She was…
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1922
South African-Australian ballerina and choreographer (died 2019)
Dame Catherine Margaret Mary Scott, was a South African-born pioneering ballet dancer who found fame as a teacher, choreographer, and school administrator in Australia. As the first director of the Australian Ballet…
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1922
American runner and soldier (died 1998)
Harris Browning 'Brownie' Ross is often referred to as the father of long-distance running in the United States.
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1924
Russian mathematician, educator and author (died 2019)
Vladimir Grigorevich Boltyansky, also transliterated as Boltyanski, Boltyanskii, or Boltjansky, was a Soviet and Russian mathematician, educator and author of popular mathematical books and articles. He was best known…
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1925
American businessman and philanthropist (died 2013)
Gerard Leon Cafesjian was a businessman and philanthropist who founded the Cafesjian Family Foundation (CFF), the Cafesjian Museum Foundation (CMF) and the Cafesjian Center for the Arts.
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1925
Italian entrepreneur (died 2015)
Michele Ferrero was an Italian billionaire businessman. He owned the chocolate manufacturer Ferrero SpA, Europe's second-largest confectionery company, which he developed from the small bakery and café of his father in…
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1925
British economist (died 2013)
Frank Horace Hahn FBA was a British economist whose work focused on general equilibrium theory, monetary theory, Keynesian economics and critique of monetarism. A famous problem of economic theory, the conditions under…
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1925
British sports commentator and television presenter (died 2013)
David Robert Coleman was a British sports commentator and television presenter who worked for the BBC for 46 years. He covered eleven Summer Olympic Games from 1960 to 2000 and six FIFA World Cups from 1962 to 1982.
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1926
German soldier and illustrator (died 2003)
Michael Mathias Prechtl was a German artist, illustrator and cartoonist.
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1926
English actor (died 2008)
John Douglas Roberton, known professionally as Jack Douglas or Jack D. Douglas, was an English actor best known for his portrayals in the Carry On films.
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1927
British scientist (died 2007)
Dame Anne Laura Dorinthea McLaren, was a British scientist who was a leading figure in developmental biology. She paved the way for women in science and her work helped lead to human in vitro fertilisation (IVF). She…
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1927
American basketball player and coach (died 2015)
Harry Junior "The Horse" Gallatin was an American professional basketball player and coach. Gallatin played nine seasons for the New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1948 to 1957, as well as…
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1927
American baseball player (died 1993)
Granville Wilbur "Granny" Hamner was an American professional baseball shortstop and second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB). Hamner was one of the key players on the "Whiz Kids", the 1950 National League (NL)…
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1927
American author and educator (died 2002)
Richard Mitchell was a professor, first of English and later of classics, at Glassboro State College in Glassboro, New Jersey. He gained fame in the late-1970s as the founder and publisher of The Underground Grammarian,…
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1929
Belgian runner and sportscaster
Roger Moens is a Belgian former middle-distance runner. In 1955 he broke Rudolf Harbig's long-standing world record over 800 meters. At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome he won a silver medal in the 800 m.
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1930
Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2015)
Paul Almond was a Canadian television and motion picture screenwriter, director, producer, and novelist. He is most known for being the director of the first film in the Up series.
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1931
American talent agent and producer (died 2008)
Bernard Jules Brillstein was an American film and television producer, executive producer, and talent agent.
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1931
Australian politician, 41st Premier of Victoria (died 2019)
John Cain was an Australian politician who was the 41st Premier of Victoria, in office from 1982 to 1990 as leader of the Labor Party. During his time as premier, reforms were introduced such as liberalised shop trading…
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1931
Indian-Pakistani theologian, philosopher, and scholar (died 2010)
Israr Ahmed was a Pakistani Islamic scholar, theologian and orator. He developed a following in Pakistan and the rest of South Asia and also among some South Asian Muslims in the Middle East, Western Europe, and North…
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1932
English long jumper
Shirley Cawley is a British former athlete who won the bronze medal in the long jump at the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland.
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1932
American singer and guitarist (died 2013)
Frank D'Rone was an American jazz singer and guitarist.
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1932
French accordion player and composer (died 2018)
Francis Albert Lai was a French composer, noted for his film scores. He won the 1970 Oscar for Best Music, Original Score and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for the film Love Story. The soundtrack album…
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1932
American actress, singer, and producer
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American comedian, actress, singer and writer. Burnett has played dramatic and comedic roles on stage and screen. She has received numerous awards and accolades, including seven Golden…
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1933
1933
Puerto Rican-American general (died 2005)
Filiberto Ojeda Ríos was a Puerto Rican independence activist who cofounded the Boricua Popular Army, also known as Los Macheteros, and its predecessor, the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional Puertorriqueña (FALN).…
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1933
German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2024)
Arno Allan Penzias was an American physicist and radio astronomer. He shared the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics with Robert Woodrow Wilson "for their discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation".
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1933
French racing driver and motorcycle racer (died 2015)
Jean-Pierre Maurice Georges Beltoise was a French racing driver and motorcycle road racer, who competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1962 to 1964, and Formula One from 1966 to 1974. Beltoise won the 1972 Monaco…
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1937
American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (died 2024)
Duane Eddy was an American guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" guitar sound, including…
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1938
American doo-wop/R&B singer-songwriter
Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs were an American doo-wop/R&B vocal group in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Originally the (Royal) Charms, the band changed its name to the Gladiolas in 1957 and the Excellos in 1958,…
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1938
Italian singer-songwriter and producer
Giovanni Giorgio Moroder is an Italian composer and record producer. Dubbed the "Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering Euro disco and electronic dance music. His work with synthesizers had a significant…
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1940
English rugby league player (died 2018)
Clifford H. Watson was an English professional rugby league footballer who played as a prop in the 1960s and 1970s. He played for the St Helens in the Rugby Football League Championship, and later the…
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1940
Singaporean doctor and politician
Adrian Tan Cheng Bock is a Singaporean former politician and physician who has served as the secretary-general of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) between 2019 and 2021 and chairperson since 2021.
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1940
French model and actress (died 2019)
Claudine Auger was a French actress best known for her role as a Bond girl, Dominique "Domino" Derval, in the James Bond film Thunderball (1965). She earned the title of Miss France Monde 1958 and went on to finish as…
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1941
Russian journalist, author, and critic (died 2014)
Svyatoslav Igorevich Belza was a Soviet Russian literary and musical scholar, critic and essayist, and a prominent TV personality who's launched and hosted several TV programs aimed at popularizing classical music,…
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1942
Canadian lawyer and politician, Leader of the Government in the Senate
Sharon Carstairs is a Canadian politician. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for the riding of River Heights, serving as Leader of the Opposition in Manitoba, and leader of the Manitoba Liberal…
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1942
Canadian diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States
Michael Kergin is a Canadian career diplomat, who has been a member of the foreign service in some capacity since 1967, when he joined the Department of External Affairs.
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1942
American singer and actor (died 2022)
Robert Louis Ridarelli, known by the stage name Bobby Rydell, was an American singer and actor who mainly performed rock and roll and traditional pop music. In the early 1960s, he was considered a teen idol. His most…
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1942
Polish sociologist, political scientist, and academic (died 2024)
Jadwiga Staniszkis was a Polish sociologist and political scientist, essayist, a professor at the University of Warsaw and the Wyższa Szkoła Biznesu, a Polish campus of National-Louis University.
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1942
American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (died 2023)
Gary Malcolm Wright was an American musician and composer best known for his 1976 hit songs "Dream Weaver" and "Love Is Alive". Wright's breakthrough album, The Dream Weaver (1975), came after he had spent seven years…
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1943
Swiss architect and academic, designed the Therme Vals
Peter Zumthor is a Swiss architect whose work is frequently described as uncompromising and minimalist. Though managing a relatively small firm and not being a prolific architect, he won the 2009 Pritzker Prize and 2013…
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1943
English conductor (died 2007)
Richard James Bradshaw was a British opera conductor and the General Director of the Canadian Opera Company (COC) in Toronto.
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1944
American diplomat and government official (died 2025)
Richard Lee Armitage was an American diplomat and government official. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Armitage served as a U.S. Navy officer in three combat tours of duty in the Vietnam War as a riverine…
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1945
English director and producer (died 2016)
Stephen Howard Davies, was a British theatre and television director.
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1945
Australian racing driver
Richard Johnson is a part-owner of the V8 Supercar team Dick Johnson Racing and a former racing driver. As a driver, he was a five-time Australian Touring Car Champion and a three-time winner of the Bathurst 1000. As of…
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1945
Canadian academic and politician
Sylvain Simard is a politician and academic based in the Canadian province of Quebec. He represented Richelieu in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1994 to 2012, and was a cabinet minister in the governments of…
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1945
English international footballer (died 2010)
Ralph Coates was an English professional footballer who played as a winger. Coates played for Burnley, Tottenham Hotspur and Orient, making 480 appearances in the Football League. From 1970 to 1971, he played for the…
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1946
American poet and author
Marilyn Nelson is an American poet, translator, biographer, and children's book author. She is a professor emeritus at the University of Connecticut, and the former Poet Laureate of Connecticut. She is a winner of the…
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1946
Chilean footballer
Alberto Fernando Quintano Ralph, commonly known as El Mariscal, is a Chilean former professional footballer. He played as a defender for Universidad de Chile in Chile's Primera División.
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1946
Argentinian footballer and manager
Carlos Bianchi, nicknamed El Virrey, is an Argentine former football player and manager. A prolific goalscorer, although he had a bright career as a forward in Argentina and France, Bianchi is best known as one of the…
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1949
American wrestler (died 1995)
Jerry Blackwell Jr., better known by his ring name "Crusher" Jerry Blackwell, was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenure in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) from 1979 to 1989.
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1949
Japanese singer (died 2023)
Junko Ohashi was a Japanese singer best known for her songs "Silhouette Romance" (1981) and "Tasogare My Love" (1978). She was known for her "overwhelming singing ability" and was mainly successful between late 1970s…
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1950
English politician
Sir John Dominic Battle, is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds West from 1987 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he served in government as Minister of State for Trade and…
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1951
Estonian chess player
Tatjana Fomina is an Estonian chess player holding the title of Woman Grandmaster and twice European senior women's champion.
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1954
English mountaineer and explorer
Alan Hinkes OBE is an English Himalayan high-altitude mountaineer from Northallerton in North Yorkshire. He is the first British mountaineer to claim all 14 Himalayan eight-thousanders, a feat he completed on 30 May…
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1954
German politician
Kurt Bodewig is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as a member of the German Bundestag from 1998 to 2009, representing the Neuss I district. From 2000 to 2002, he served as Minister for…
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1955
1956
7th Marquess of Bute, Scottish racing driver (died 2021)
John Colum Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute, was a Scottish peer and racing driver, best known for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1988. He was known as Johnny Dumfries, or, after he succeeded his father as…
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1958
American actor, director, and producer
Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito is an American actor and director. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Gus Fring in the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad (2009–2011), a role he reprised in the spin-off…
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1958
Greek footballer, coach, and manager
Georgios Kostikos is a Greek former international footballer who played as a striker.
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1958
American singer-songwriter and guitarist
John Corabi is an American hard rock singer and guitarist. He was the frontman of the Scream during 1989 and the frontman of Mötley Crüe between 1992 and 1996 during original frontman Vince Neil's hiatus from the band.
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1959
Puerto Rican politician
Pedro Rafael Pierluisi Urrutia is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer who served as the Governor of Puerto Rico from 2021 to 2025, having previously been the de facto governor from August 2–7, 2019. A member of New…
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1959
American writer and academic (died 2020)
H. G. Carrillo was an American fiction writer and academic. In the 1990s, he began writing as "H. G. Carrillo," and he eventually adopted that identity in his private life as well. Carroll constructed a false claim that…
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1960
American baseball player and coach
Stephen Paul Lombardozzi Sr. is an American former professional baseball player who was a second baseman for the Minnesota Twins and Houston Astros for six Major League Baseball seasons. As part of the Twins' world…
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1960
English drummer
Roger Andrew Taylor is an English musician. He was the drummer of the new wave band Duran Duran from their inception until 1985, and again from 2001 onwards. Duran Duran have sold over 100 million records worldwide.…
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1960
Chinese-American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
Joan Chen is a Chinese-born American actress and film director. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including four Taipei Golden Horse Awards and an AACTA Award. She made her film debut in the Chinese film Youth…
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1961
American artist
Chris Mars is an American painter and musician. He was the drummer for the seminal Minneapolis-based alternative rock band the Replacements from 1979 to 1990; he later joined the informal supergroup Golden Smog before…
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1961
English footballer
Colin Anderson is an English former professional footballer, predominantly playing on left side of defence or midfield.
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1962
American actress and comedian
Debra Wilson is an American actress, puppeteer, and comedian. She is the longest-serving original cast member on the sketch comedy series Mad TV, having appeared on the show's first eight seasons from 1995 to 2003. As a…
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1962
1963
Australian-American football player
Colin Roberts Scotts is an Australian former professional American football defensive tackle. Scotts was the first Australian to receive an American football scholarship in the United States and be drafted into the…
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1963
German hurdler
Cornelia Ullrich, née Feuerbach is a retired East German hurdler. She represented the sports team SC Magdeburg.
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1963
Canadian basketball player
William Percey Wennington is a Canadian former professional basketball player who won three National Basketball Association (NBA) championships with the Chicago Bulls. A center, he represented Canada in the 1984…
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1963
English actress
Susannah Harker is an English film, television, and theatre actress. She was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award in 1990 for her role as Mattie Storin in House of Cards. She played Jane Bennet in the 1995 TV adaptation of…
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1965
American actor and comedian
Kevin George Knipfing, known professionally as Kevin James, is an American actor and writer. James began his career as a stand-up comedian on Long Island in the late 1980s before rising to prominence for playing Doug…
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1965
American professional wrestler, actor, businessman and politician
Glenn Thomas Jacobs, also known by his ring name Kane, is an American politician, actor and professional wrestler. He rose to fame in WWE, where he holds the record for most matches in WWE history. Jacobs is considered…
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1967
English actress and singer-songwriter
Marianne Raigipcien Jean-Baptiste is an English actress and director. She is known for her role in Mike Leigh's drama film Secrets & Lies (1996), for which she received acclaim and earned nominations for the Academy…
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1967
Estonian sailor and politician
Toomas Tõniste is an Estonian sailor and politician, and the former Minister of Finance.
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1967
English footballer and manager
Dean Barry Austin is an English football manager and former professional player who is head of recruitment at Coventry City.
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1970
Slovene-American model; 47th First Lady of the United States
Melania Knauss Trump is a Slovenian and American former model serving as the first lady of the United States since 2025, a role she previously held from 2017 to 2021 as the third wife of Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th…
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1970
American ethnographer and academic
Kristen Rogheh Ghodsee is an American ethnographer and Professor of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She is primarily known for her ethnographic work on post-Communist Bulgaria as…
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1970
American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
Tionne Tenese Watkins, also known by her stage name T-Boz, is an American singer and actress. Watkins rose to fame in the early 1990s as a member of the best selling girl group TLC, with whom she won four Grammy Awards.…
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1970
Japanese comedian and actor
Naoki Tanaka is a Japanese comedian, actor and television presenter, who is the leader and the boke of the owarai kombi Cocorico with his partner Shozo Endo. He has appeared in many television programmes and films. He…
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1971
American bass player, songwriter, and producer
Jay DeMarcus is an American musician, vocalist, record producer and songwriter. He is a member of the country music band Rascal Flatts.
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1971
Australian racing driver
Jason Eric Bargwanna is an Australian motor racing driver. Best known as a Supercars Championship competitor, Bargwanna raced in the series for 25 years, the pinnacle of which was winning, with Garth Tander, the 2000…
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1972
1972
American football player and coach
Natrone Jermaine Means is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Diego Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Carolina Panthers from 1993 to…
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1972
1972
American baseball player and sportscaster
Geoffrey Edward Blum is an American former professional baseball infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Montreal Expos, Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox and…
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1973
French-American director and producer
Jules Clément Naudet and Thomas Gédéon Naudet are French-American filmmakers. The brothers, residents of the United States since 1989 and citizens since 1999, were in New York City at the time of the September 11…
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1973
English footballer
Christopher John Perry is an English football coach, former footballer and pundit.
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1973
1973
American musician and songwriter (died 2021)
Nathan Jonas "Joey" Jordison was an American musician. He was the original drummer of the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he was designated #1, and the guitarist for the horror punk supergroup Murderdolls.
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1975
Indian social worker and activist
Rahul Verma is a humanitarian, spiritual worker, and a devoted follower of Neem Karoli Baba. He, along with his wife Tulika, founded the Uday Foundation—a nonprofit organization named after their son, who was born with…
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1975
Czech ice hockey player
Václav Varaďa is a Czech former professional ice hockey player and current coach. He formerly played in the National Hockey League (NHL) in a ten-year span. In his professional career, he has previously played for the…
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1976
Italian astronaut
Samantha Cristoforetti is an Italian European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut, former Italian Air Force pilot and engineer. She is the second of two women sent into space by ESA and the first from Italy. Cristoforetti…
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1977
Japanese baseball player
Kosuke Fukudome is a Japanese former professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league from 1999 to 2007 and in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2008 to 2012…
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1977
American journalist and author
Roxana Saberi is an American journalist who works as a correspondent for CBS News. In 2009, she was held prisoner in Iran's Evin Prison for 101 days under accusations of espionage. She subsequently wrote a book about…
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1977
American actor
Thomas Joseph Welling is an American actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his role as Clark Kent in The WB superhero drama Smallville (2001–2011). He also co-starred in the third season of the Fox fantasy…
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1977
Canadian actress
Stana Katić is a Canadian and American actress. She played Kate Beckett on the ABC television romantic crime series Castle (2009–2016) and FBI Special Agent Emily Byrne in the psychological thriller series Absentia…
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1978
Danish footballer
Peter Planch Madsen is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a striker.
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1978
Panamanian-American actress
Jordana Brewster is an American actress. She made her acting debut, three weeks after turning 15, in an episode of All My Children in 1995 and next took on the recurring role as Nikki Munson in As the World Turns,…
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1980
English footballer
Marlon Francis King is a former professional footballer who played as a striker.
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1980
Polish actress and journalist
Anna Maria Mucha is a Polish actress. She is best known to Western audiences as Danka Dresner in Steven Spielberg's 1993 film Schindler's List. In Poland, she is known for her regular role in the soap opera L for Love…
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1980
American actor and producer
Channing Matthew Tatum is an American actor and film producer. He made his film debut in the drama Coach Carter (2005), and had his breakthrough with the sports comedy film She's the Man (2006) and the dance film Step…
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1980
Dutch pop and jazz singer
Caroline Esmeralda van der Leeuw, formerly known as Caro Emerald and lately part of the music project The Jordan, is a Dutch pop and jazz singer who mainly performs in English. Active since 2007, she rose to prominence…
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1981
English rapper and producer
Naomi Arleen McLean-Daley, better known as Ms. Dynamite, is a British singer and rapper. She is the recipient of the Mercury Music Prize, two Brit Awards and three MOBO Awards.
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1981
German skier (died 2000)
Sandra Schmitt was a German freestyle skier. In 1998, she came 9th in the Women's Moguls contest at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. She became the Women's Dual Moguls World Champion in 1999. Schmitt died with her…
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1981
Jamaican sprinter
Novlene Hilaire Williams-Mills is a retired Jamaican track and field athlete. She won the bronze medal in the 400 metres at the 2007 World Championships. She is also a three-time Olympic silver medallist in the 4 × 400…
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1982
Argentinian racing driver
José María "Pechito" López is an Argentine race car driver who is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Akkodis ASP. He is three-time World Touring Champion with Citroën in 2014, 2015 and…
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1983
American soldier
Jessica Dawn Lynch is an American teacher, actress, and former United States Army soldier who served in the 2003 invasion of Iraq as a private first class.
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1983
American tennis player
John Robert Isner is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best…
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1985
Israeli footballer
Lior Refaelov is an Israeli former professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or as a winger.
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1986
Russian runner
Yuliya Mikhailovna Zaripova is a disgraced former Russian middle-distance runner who specialised in the 3000 metres steeplechase event.
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1986
Spanish footballer
Jorge Andújar Moreno, known as Coke, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a right-back.
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1987
American football player
Melvin Ingram III is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks, earning All-American honors…
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1989
South Korean singer
Kang Dae-sung, better known mononymously as Daesung and his Japanese stage name D-Lite, is a South Korean singer who made his musical debut in 2006 as a member of the South Korean boy band Big Bang. He debuted as a solo…
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1989
Mexican footballer
Jonathan dos Santos Ramírez is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Liga MX club América.
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1990
Australian rugby league player
Mitch Rein is a former Australian rugby league footballer who last played as a hooker for the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League (NRL).
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1990
Northern Irish rugby player (died 2012)
Nevin Spence was a Northern Irish rugby union player for Ulster in the Pro12. He played as a centre, but could also play wing. He was educated firstly at Dromore High School, where he was introduced to rugby, and then…
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1990
American baseball player
Joseph Patrick Wendle is an American professional baseball infielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Marlins, and New York…
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1990
Australian cricketer
Peter Stephen Patrick Handscomb is an Australian cricketer who plays for the Victoria cricket team.
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1991
1991
American baseball player
Aaron James Judge is an American professional baseball right fielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is a seven-time MLB All-Star and three-time American League (AL) Most Valuable Player…
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1992
American basketball player
Delon Reginald Wright is an American professional basketball player who last played for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the CC of San Francisco Rams and…
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1992
Russian racing driver
Daniil Vyacheslavovich Kvyat is a Russian racing driver who competes in Super GT for JLOC. Kvyat competed in Formula One from 2014 to 2020.
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1994
Greek international footballer
Odysseas Vlachodimos is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Sevilla, on loan from Premier League club Newcastle United. Born in Germany, he plays for the Greece national team.
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1994
American footballer
Theoson-Jordan Siebatcheu, commonly known as Jordan Pefok, Jordan Siebatcheu, or just Jordan, is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker for Portuguese Primeira Liga club Tondela on loan from…
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1996
Russian ice hockey player
Kirill Olegovich Kaprizov is a Russian professional ice hockey player who is a left winger and alternate captain for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Before joining the Wild, Kaprizov played for…
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1997
1997
Indonesian footballer
Calvin Ronald Verdonk is a professional footballer who plays as a left-back or centre-back for Ligue 1 club Lille. Born in the Netherlands, he plays for the Indonesia national team.
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1997
Argentine footballer
Thiago Ezequiel Almada is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Argentina national team.
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2001
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Famous birthdays
Who was born on April 26?
Michael Smith — Canadian biochemist, businessman and Nobel Prize laureate (1932–2000)
FeaturedMichael Smith
Birth year1932
Known forHe shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Kary Mullis for his work in developing site-directed mutagenesis
Birthdays on this date196 (121 – 2005)
Explore April 26
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Also on April 26 in History
2025
A car ramming attack at a Lapu-Lapu Day festival kills 11 people and injures at least 30 in Vancouver, Canada. Wikipedia →
2015
Nursultan Nazarbayev is re-elected President of Kazakhstan with 97.7% of the vote, one of the biggest vote shares in Kazakhstan's history. Wikipedia →
2005
See all events on April 26
Cedar Revolution: Under international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon, ending its 29-year military domination of that country (Syrian occupation of Lebanon). Wikipedia →
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