Famous Birthdays on April 5

Paula Dorothy Cole is an American singer and songwriter. After gaining attention for her performances as a vocalist on Peter Gabriel's 1993–1994 Secret World Tour, she released her first album, Harbinger, which suffered from a lack of promotion when the label, Imago Records, folded shortly after its release. Her second album, This Fire (1996), brought her worldwide acclaim, peaking at number 20 on the Billboard 200 album chart and producing two hit singles, the triple-Grammy nominated "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?", which reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1997, and "I Don't Want to Wait", which was used as the theme song of the television show Dawson's Creek. Cole was a featured performer in the 1996 prototype mini-tour for Lilith Fair, and also was a headliner for Lilith Fair in 1997 and 1998. She won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1998, and that same year became the first woman to be nominated for "Producer of the Year" without a male collaborator.

Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo, often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010. She is the longest-serving president since Ferdinand Marcos. Before her presidency, she was the 10th vice president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001 under President Joseph Estrada, becoming the first female vice president. She was also a senator from 1992 to 1998. After her presidency, she was elected as the representative of Pampanga's 2nd district in 2010 and continues to serve in this role. She also served as the speaker of the House from 2018 to 2019, and as deputy speaker from 2016 to 2017 and 2022 to 2023. Alongside former President Sergio Osmeña, she is one of only two Filipinos to hold at least three of the four highest offices: vice president, president, and house speaker.

Haruma Miura was a Japanese actor and singer. He made his acting debut in the television drama Agri (1997) and rose to popularity after starring in the film Koizora (2007), winning Newcomer of the Year at the 31st Japan Academy Prize. In the following years, Miura notably starred in the third season of Gokusen (2009), Bloody Monday (2009), Naoko (2009), Kimi ni Todoke (2010), Last Cinderella (2013), Boku no Ita Jikan (2013), The Eternal Zero (2013), Attack on Titan (2015), Gintama 2 (2018), and Two Weeks (2019). He also starred as Lola in the Japanese production of Kinky Boots (2016), winning Best New Actor and the Haruko Sugimura Award at the 24th Yomiuri Theater Awards. In addition to his acting career, Miura debuted as a singer in 2019 with the single "Fight for Your Heart."

Robert Albert Bloch was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror, and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small amount of science fiction. His writing career lasted 60 years, including more than 30 years in television and film. He began his professional writing career immediately after graduation from high school, aged 17. He is best known as the writer of the novel Psycho (1959), the basis for the 1960 film Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Bloch wrote hundreds of short stories and over 30 novels. He was a protégé of H. P. Lovecraft, who was the first to seriously encourage his talent. However, while he started emulating Lovecraft and his brand of cosmic horror, he later specialized in crime and horror stories, often emphasizing psychological aspects of the characters within.

Junko Takeuchi is a Japanese actress and voice actress employed by Ogipro The Next Co. Inc. & BQMAP. Taking a well-trod path by many voice actresses, she often voices young male characters, with generally very quirky and goofy personalities. One of her most well-known roles includes Naruto Uzumaki in the popular anime series Naruto. She has played Takuya Kanbara in Digimon Frontier, Rin Natsuki/Cure Rouge in Yes! PreCure 5, Metabee in Medabots, Mamoru Endō in Inazuma Eleven and Inazuma Eleven GO, Gon Freecss in the 1999 version of Hunter × Hunter, MrBeast in the Japanese dub of MrBeast, and GingerBrave in the Japanese dub of Cookie Run: Kingdom.

Alfred Blalock was an American surgeon most noted for his work on the medical condition of shock as well as tetralogy of Fallot – commonly known as blue baby syndrome. He created, with assistance from his research and laboratory assistant Vivien Thomas and pediatric cardiologist Helen Taussig, the Blalock–Thomas–Taussig shunt, a surgical procedure to relieve the cyanosis from tetralogy of Fallot. This operation ushered in the modern era of neonatal cardiac surgery. He worked at both Vanderbilt University and Johns Hopkins University, where he studied medicine and later served as chief of surgery. He is known as a medical pioneer who won various awards, including Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award. Blalock was also nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in Medicine.

Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy, 1st Baronet, GCB was a Royal Navy officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He took part in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in February 1797, the Battle of the Nile in August 1798 and the Battle of Copenhagen in April 1801 during the French Revolutionary Wars. Hardy served as flag captain to Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson, and commanded HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars. Nelson was shot as he paced the decks with Hardy, and as he lay dying, Nelson's famous remark of "Kiss me, Hardy" was directed at him. Hardy went on to become First Naval Lord in November 1830 and in that capacity refused to become a Member of Parliament and encouraged the introduction of steam warships.

Frank J. Gaffney Jr. is an American military policy analyst, and founder of the Center for Security Policy (CSP) think tank in Washington, D.C. Gaffney founded the CSP in 1988, serving as its president until 2023, and thereafter as executive chairman. In the 1970s and 1980s, he worked for the federal government in multiple posts, including as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy from 1983 to 1987, and seven months as Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs during the Reagan administration. He was awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service in 1987. In later years, he has been described as an anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist.

Madeline Jane "Maya" DiRado-Andrews is a retired American competitive swimmer who specialized in freestyle, butterfly, backstroke, and individual medley events. She attended and swam for Stanford University, where she won NCAA titles in the 200 and 400 meter individual medley in 2014 and graduated with a degree in management science and engineering. At the 2016 US Olympic Trials, DiRado qualified to swim the 200 meter and 400 meter individual medley events, as well as the 200 meter backstroke, at the 2016 Summer Olympics. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, she won a gold medal in the women's 4x200 meter freestyle relay, a silver medal in the 400 meter individual medley, a bronze medal in the women's 200 meter individual medley, and a gold medal in the 200 meter backstroke. Following the Olympics, DiRado retired from the sport.

Carlos Guastavino was an Argentine composer, considered one of the foremost composers of his country. His production amounted to over 500 works, most of them songs for piano and voice, many still unpublished. His style was quite conservative, always tonal and lushly romantic. His compositions were clearly influenced by Argentine folk music. His reputation was based almost entirely on his songs, and Guastavino has sometimes been called "the Schubert of the Pampas". Some of his songs, for example Pueblito, mi pueblo, La rosa y el sauce and Se equivocó la paloma, became national favorites. Unlike most other composers, at any time or place, Guastavino earned enough from his royalties and performing rights that he had little need for other income.

Prentice Mulford was an American literary humorist, philosopher, and early figure in the development of the New Thought movement. Many of the principles that would become standard in the movement, including the Law of Attraction, the power of thought, spiritual autonomy, and mental healing, were clearly laid out in his Your Forces and How to Use Them, released as a series of essays during 1886–1892. Mulford’s writings laid foundational concepts that shaped later metaphysical and psychological systems, including auto-suggestion and personal magnetism. He is recognized as one of the earliest voices to articulate the idea that thought itself is a creative force that influences both personal health and external circumstances.

Mary Costa is an American actress and soprano. A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, she moved to Glendale, California in 1946 to pursue vocal training at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music while still a high school student. After performing in radio and television programs connected to Edgar Bergen, she was cast as Princess Aurora in the Disney animated film Sleeping Beauty in 1952; a work she spent the next three years recording. The film was not released until 1959, but became the work for which Costa is best known. She also starred in the films Marry Me Again (1953), The Big Caper (1957), and The Great Waltz (1972).

Arthur Adams is an American comic book artist and writer. He first broke into the American comic book industry with the 1985 Marvel Comics miniseries Longshot. His subsequent interior comics work includes a number of Marvel's major books, including The Uncanny X-Men, Excalibur, X-Factor, Fantastic Four, Hulk, and Ultimate Comics: X, as well as books by various other publishers, such as Action Comics, Vampirella, The Rocketeer, and The Authority. Adams has also illustrated books featuring characters for which he has a personal love, such as Godzilla, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and Gumby, the latter of which garnered him a 1988 Eisner Award for Best Single Issue.

Colin Luther Powell was an American U.S. Army general, diplomat, and statesman who served as the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005, being the first Black American to hold the office, and was the highest-ranking Black American in the federal executive branch in American history until the election of Barack Obama as president in 2008. Initially politically independent, Powell joined the Republican Party in 1995, but left it in 2021 following the January 6 United States Capitol attack. He was the 15th national security advisor from 1987 to 1989, and the 12th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993.

David Winters was an English-born American actor, dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker. At a young age, he acted in film and television projects such as Lux Video Theatre, Naked City; Mister Peepers, Rock, Rock, Rock, and Roogie's Bump. He received some attention in Broadway musicals for his roles in West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959). In the film adaptation of West Side Story (1961) he was one of the few actors to be re-cast in a different role than what he performed in the original stage version. West Side Story became the highest grossing motion picture of that year, and won 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Pharrell Lanscilo Williams is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and fashion designer. He initially became known as one half of the music production duo the Neptunes, which he established with Chad Hugo in 1992. Fifteen of their productions have peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, which includes four songs that peaked atop the chart. The two also formed the rock and hip-hop band N.E.R.D. with Shay Haley in 1999, for which Williams served as lead vocalist. He has been regarded as one of the most influential producers in modern popular music. He has also contributed music to all Despicable Me animated films.

Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic, sardonic characters and was known for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, although her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, was the first person to accrue ten Academy Award nominations for acting, and was the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute.

Elihu Yale was a British colonial administrator. Born in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Yale lived in America only as a child, and spent the rest of his life in England, Wales, and India. He became a clerk for the East India Company at Fort St. George, later Madras, and eventually rose to the Presidency of the settlement. He was later removed from the post under charges of corruption for self-dealing, and required to pay a fine. In 1699, he returned to Britain with a considerable fortune, around £200,000, mostly made by selling diamonds, and spent his time and wealth in philanthropy and art collecting.

Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and during World War II he conducted at the Berlin State Opera. Generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, he was a controversial but dominant figure in European classical music from the mid-1950s until his death. Part of the reason for this was the large number of recordings he made and their prominence during his lifetime. By one estimate, he sold 200 million records.