Famous Birthdays on August 24

David Khari Webber Chappelle is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and former sketch comedian. He debuted his half-hour TV special in 1998 and his hour-long TV special in 2000. He co-created and starred in the sketch comedy series Chappelle's Show (2003–2006) on Comedy Central before quitting in the middle of production of the third season. After a hiatus, Chappelle returned to performing stand-up comedy across the United States. By 2006, Chappelle was called the "comic genius of America" by Esquire magazine and, in 2013, "the best" by a Billboard writer. In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked him No. 9 in their "50 Best Stand Up Comics of All Time".

Orson Scott Card is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. As of 2024, he is the only person to have won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for his novel Ender's Game (1985) and its sequel Speaker for the Dead (1986). A feature film adaptation of Ender's Game, which Card coproduced, was released in 2013. Card also wrote the Locus Fantasy Award-winning series The Tales of Alvin Maker (1987–2026). Card's fiction often features characters with exceptional gifts who make difficult choices with high stakes. Card has also written political, religious, and social commentary in his columns and other writing; he has provoked controversy and criticism for his public opposition to homosexuality.

Griffin Alexander Gluck is an American actor. Gluck began his career as a child actor in comedy films such as Just Go with It (2011) and Why Him? (2016). He had his first leading role as a comatose teenager in the drama series Red Band Society (2014–2015) and gained acclaim for playing a young film prodigy in the Netflix mockumentary series American Vandal (2017–2018) and as Gabe/Dodge in the Netflix horror series Locke & Key (2020–2022). He also had further leading roles in comedy films Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (2016); Big Time Adolescence (2019); Tall Girl (2019) and its 2022 sequel; and North Hollywood (2021). He appeared in the second season of the Freeform thriller anthology Cruel Summer (2023).

Anže Kopitar is a Slovenian former professional ice hockey player. Kopitar played as a centre and spent his entire 20-season NHL career with the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). The 11th overall pick in the 2005 NHL entry draft, Kopitar became the first Slovenian to play in the NHL upon making his debut in 2006. Kopitar led the Kings team in scoring in all but four seasons and is first in franchise history in points, third in goals, and first in assists. He scored his 1,000th career point in 2021. Following the 2015–16 season, he was named the Kings' captain. Noted for both his offensive and defensive play, Kopitar was awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward in the NHL in 2016 and 2018 while also being a finalist in 2014 and 2015, as well as the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for gentlemanly play in 2016, 2023 and 2025 while also being a finalist in 2015 and 2026. He was also a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy in 2018.

Alexander II was King of Scotland from 1214 until his death. He was the son of William the Lion and Ermengarde de Beaumont, succeeding to the throne at the age of sixteen. He ruled for thirty-five years, during which time he began consolidating the Scottish kingdom. Alexander's early reign was marked by conflict with John of England and his involvement in the First Barons' War. He supported the rebel English barons and campaigned mainly in northern England. Following John's death in 1216, Alexander made peace with John's son and successor, Henry III of England, taking a more diplomatic approach between the two kingdoms. This was strengthened by his marriage in 1221 to Joan of England.

Sir Alexander "Sandy" McCall Smith is a Rhodesian/Zimbabwean Scottish legal scholar and author of fiction. He was born and brought up in Southern Rhodesia and was formerly Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. He became an expert on medical law and bioethics and served on related British and international committees. He has since become known as a fiction writer, with sales in English exceeding 40 million by 2010 and translations into 46 languages. He is known as the creator of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. The "McCall" derives from his great-great-grandmother Bethea McCall, who married James Smith at Glencairn, Dumfries-shire, in 1833.

Albert Claude was a Belgian-American cell biologist and medical doctor who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1974 with Christian de Duve and George Emil Palade. His elementary education started in a comprehensive primary school at Longlier, his birthplace. He served in the British Intelligence Service during the First World War, and got imprisoned in concentration camps twice. In recognition of his service, he was granted enrolment at the University of Liège in Belgium to study medicine without any formal education required for the course. He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1928. Devoted to medical research, he initially joined German institutes in Berlin. In 1929 he found an opportunity to join the Rockefeller Institute in New York. At Rockefeller University he made his most groundbreaking achievements in cell biology. In 1930 he developed the technique of cell fractionation, by which he discovered the agent of the Rous sarcoma, as well as components of cell organelles such as the mitochondrion, chloroplast, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, ribosome, and lysosome. He was the first to employ the electron microscope in the field of biology. In 1945 he published the first detailed structure of cell. His collective works established the complex functional and structural properties of cells.

Admiral of the Fleet Vladimir Vasilyevich Masorin is a retired Russian naval officer who was Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy from 2005 to 2007. He was previously the Chief of the Main Staff and First Deputy Commander-in-Chief in 2005, and commanded the Black Sea Fleet from 2002 to 2005 and the Caspian Flotilla from 1996 to 2002. He was commissioned from the Nakhimov Black Sea Higher Naval School in Crimea in 1970, and commanded two destroyers, a destroyer brigade, and a squadron before reaching higher command. Masorin also graduated from the Grechko Naval Academy and the Russian General Staff Academy. As the head of the Russian navy he oversaw increased cooperation with NATO countries, for which he was made a Commander of the Legion of Merit by the United States.

J. Gordon Edwards was an American entomologist and proponent of the use and safety of the pesticide DDT. He was professor of entomology at San Jose State University for 40 years, and namesake to the university's entomology museum. He was an outspoken critic of Rachel Carson and efforts to ban DDT, famously eating the substance to demonstrate its safety to humans. He was also a noted mountain climber, spending nine seasons as a ranger-naturalist in Glacier National Park during the 1940s and '50s, and returning often to collect insects and map routes. His 1961 book A Climber's Guide to Glacier National Park, republished several times since, made him known as the "patron saint of climbing" in the park, where he died while hiking, aged 84.

Enrique Juan Yañez González , best known under the ring name Enrique Llanes, was a Mexican professional wrestler. He was one of the premier Hispanic professional wrestlers in the early days of professional wrestling in Mexico, which is why he is considered one of its most important pioneers. Llanes held both the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Middleweight Championship during his career. Enrique Llanes is the brother-in-law to Gory Guerrero and uncle to Mando Guerrero, Chavo Guerrero, Sr., Hector Guerrero and Eddie Guerrero, his brothers Mario and Sergio Llanes also wrestled as did his son Javier Llanes. Llanes is credited with innovating the La Cerrajera submission hold.

Count Peder Griffenfeld was a Danish statesman and royal favourite. He became the principal adviser to King Christian V of Denmark from 1670 and the de facto ruler of the dual kingdom of Denmark-Norway in the first half of the 1670s. In 1673 he was appointed as Chancellor of Denmark, elevated to count, the highest aristocratic rank in Denmark-Norway, and received the Order of the Elephant, the country's highest order. At the behest of his enemies at court, Griffenfeld was arrested in early 1676 and convicted of treason, a charge that historians agree was false. He was imprisoned for 22 years, mainly at Munkholmen in Norway.

Richard James Cushing was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of Boston from 1944 to 1970 and was made a cardinal in 1958. Cushing's main role was as fundraiser and builder of new churches, schools, and institutions. Unlike his predecessor, he was on good terms with practically the entire Boston elite, as he softened the traditional confrontation between the Catholic Irish and the Protestant upper-class. He built useful relationships with Jews, Protestants, and institutions outside the usual Catholic community. He helped presidential candidate John F. Kennedy deflect fears of papal interference in American government if a Catholic became president.

Lavinia Fontana was an Italian Mannerist painter active in Bologna and Rome. She is best known for her successful portraiture, but also worked in the genres of mythology and religious painting. She was trained by her father, Prospero Fontana. She is regarded as the first female career artist in Western Europe, as she relied on commissions for her income. Her family relied on her career as a painter, and her husband served as her agent and raised their 11 children. She was perhaps the first female artist to paint female nudes, but this is a topic of controversy among art historians.

Michael Wesley Redd is an American former professional basketball player. Standing 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) tall and weighing 215 pounds (98 kg), he played 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), primarily with the Milwaukee Bucks. Born in Columbus, Ohio, Redd attended West High School and later Ohio State University. As an Ohio State student, he was selected 43rd overall in the 2000 NBA draft. Redd spent both his collegiate and professional career at the shooting guard and small forward positions. He was also a member of the U.S. national basketball team and was an All-Star in 2004.

John I was King of Castile and León from 1379 until 1390. He was the son of Henry II and Juana Manuel of Castile. John ascended to the throne in 1379, and in 1383, he married Beatrice, the daughter of King Ferdinand I of Portugal. When Ferdinand died that same year, John, aiming to enforce his claim on the Portuguese crown through his wife, brought the country into the 1383–1385 Crisis. His forces faced resistance from Portuguese factions supporting John of Aviz. The conflict culminated in the Battle of Aljubarrota in 1385, where John suffered a defeat, ensuring Portugal's independence.

René Lévesque was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to seek, through a referendum, a mandate to negotiate the political independence of Quebec. Starting his career as a reporter, and radio and television host, he later became known for his eminent role in Quebec's nationalization of hydro-electric companies and as an ardent defender of Quebec sovereignty. He was the founder of the Parti Québécois, and before that, a Liberal minister in the Lesage government from 1960 to 1966.

Samuel Robert Torrance is a Scottish former professional golfer and sports commentator. He was one of the leading players on the European Tour from the mid-1970s to the late 1990s, with 21 Tour wins. Torrance was a member of European Ryder Cup teams on eight occasions consecutively; on Cup-winning teams four times. He was also part of the winning Scotland team at the 1995 Dunhill Cup. He was the winning non-playing captain of the European Ryder Cup team in 2002. Torrance was honoured with the MBE (1996) and OBE (2003), for his outstanding contributions to golf.

Oteil Burbridge is an American multi-instrumentalist who is primarily known for his skill on the bass guitar. Burbridge was trained in jazz and classical music from an early age. He achieved fame primarily during the resurgence of the Allman Brothers Band, and as a founding member of the band Dead & Company. Burbridge was also a founding member of The Aquarium Rescue Unit and Tedeschi Trucks Band, which also featured his brother Kofi Burbridge on keyboards and flute. He has worked with other musicians including Bruce Hampton, Trey Anastasio, Page McConnell, Bill Kreutzmann and Derek Trucks.

Arthur III, more commonly known as Arthur de Richemont, was briefly Duke of Brittany from 1457 until his death. He is noted primarily, however, for his role as a leading military commander during the Hundred Years' War. Although Richemont briefly sided with the English once, he otherwise remained firmly committed to the House of Valois. He fought alongside Joan of Arc, and was appointed Constable of France. His military and administrative reforms in the French state were an important factor in assuring the final defeat of the English in the Hundred Years' War.