Did you know
In 1829 he was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his first pieces, "Timbuktu"
Famous Birthdays on August 6
171 people
1180 – 2004
August 6 has seen 171 notable people enter the world across recorded history — from 1180 – 2004. Below are the most significant names born on this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
1809 — Alfred
Lord Tennyson, English poet (died 1892)
Did you know
He published his first solo collection of poems, Poems, Chiefly Lyrical, in 1830
Did you know
"Claribel" and "Mariana", which remain some of Tennyson's most celebrated poems, were included in this volume
Did you know
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson was an English poet
Did you know
Some critics described Tennyson as overly sentimental
Emperor Go-Toba was the 82nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1183 through 1198.
Read More
1180
English archbishop (died 1575)
Matthew Parker was an English bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 1559 to his death. He was also an influential theologian and arguably the co-founder of a distinctive tradition of…
Read More
1504
Druze emir (died 1635)
Fakhr al-Din Ma'n, commonly known as Fakhr al-Din II or Fakhreddine II, was the paramount Druze emir of Mount Lebanon from the Ma'n dynasty, an Ottoman governor of Sidon-Beirut and Safed, and the strongman over much of…
Read More
1572
English lawyer (died 1675)
Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke was an English lawyer, writer, parliamentarian, and one of the commissioners of the Great Seal during the Interregnum.
Read More
1605
English-American politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (died 1675)
Richard Bennett was an English planter and Governor of the Colony of Virginia, serving 1652–1655. He had first come to the Virginia colony in 1629 to represent his merchant uncle Edward Bennett's business, managing his…
Read More
1609
Italian composer and singer-songwriter (died 1677)
Barbara Strozzi was a Venetian composer and singer of the middle Baroque Period. During her lifetime, Strozzi published eight volumes of her own music, and had more secular music in print than any other composer of the…
Read More
1619
Dutch admiral (died 1666)
Tjerk Hiddes de Vries was a Dutch States Navy officer. The French, who could not pronounce his name, called him Kiërkides. His name was also given as Tsjerk, Tierck or Tjerck.
Read More
1622
French priest and philosopher (died 1715)
Nicolas Malebranche was a French Oratorian Catholic priest and rationalist philosopher. In his works, he sought to synthesise the thought of St. Augustine and Descartes, in order to demonstrate the active role of God in…
Read More
1638
French mistress of Louis XIV (died 1710)
Françoise Louise de La Baume Le Blanc, Duchess of La Vallière and Vaujours was a French noblewoman and the mistress of Louis XIV from 1661 to 1667.
Read More
1644
French archbishop and poet (died 1715)
François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon, P.S.S., more commonly known as François Fénelon, was a French Catholic archbishop, theologian, poet and writer. Today, he is remembered mostly as the author of The Adventures of…
Read More
1651
French general (died 1733)
Claude, comte de Forbin-Gardanne was a French Navy officer, nobleman and diplomat. From 1685 to 1688, he led a diplomatic mission to the Ayutthaya Kingdom. He became governor of Bangkok and a general in the Siamese…
Read More
1656
Maria Sophia Elisabeth of Neuburg was Queen of Portugal as the wife of King Peter II from 1687 until her death in 1699. A popular queen, she was noted for her extraordinary generosity and for being the mother of the…
Read More
1666
Swiss mathematician (died 1748)
Johann Bernoulli was a Swiss mathematician and was one of the many prominent mathematicians in the Bernoulli family. He is known for his contributions to infinitesimal calculus and educating Leonhard Euler in the…
Read More
1667
Holy Roman Emperor (died 1745)
Charles VII was elector of Bavaria from 26 February 1726 and Holy Roman Emperor from 24 January 1742 to his death. He was also King of Bohemia from 1741 to 1743. Charles was a member of the House of Wittelsbach, and his…
Read More
1697
marquis de Vauvenargues, French author (died 1747)
Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues was a French writer and moralist. He died at age 31, in broken health, having published the year prior—anonymously—a collection of essays and aphorisms with the encouragement of…
Read More
1715
Greek general and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Greece (died 1848)
Petros Mavromichalis, also known as Petrobey, was a Greek general and politician who played a major role in the lead-up and during the Greek War of Independence. Before the war, he served as the Bey of Mani. His family…
Read More
1765
English chemist and physicist (died 1828)
William Hyde Wollaston was an English chemist and physicist who is famous for discovering the chemical elements palladium and rhodium. He also developed a way to process platinum ore into malleable ingots, patented the…
Read More
1766
French general and politician (died 1813)
Jean-Baptiste Bessières, duc d'Istrie was a French military leader of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was made a Marshal of the Empire by Emperor Napoleon in 1804.
Read More
1768
Irish lawyer and politician, Lord Mayor of Dublin (died 1847)
Daniel O'Connell, hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilisation of Catholic Ireland, down to the…
Read More
1775
English-Australian author (died 1915)
Thomas Alexander Browne was a British-born Australian police magistrate and author. He published many of his works under the pseudonym Rolf Boldrewood. He is best known for his 1882 bushranging novel Robbery Under Arms.…
Read More
1826
Danish botanist (died 1900)
Hjalmar Frederik Christian Kiærskou, sometimes also stated as Hjalmar Kiaerskov, was a Danish botanist.
Read More
1835
1844
South African-English engineer (died 1896)
James Henry Greathead was an English mechanical and civil engineer renowned for his work on the London Underground railways, Winchester Cathedral, and Liverpool overhead railway, as well as being one of the earliest…
Read More
1844
Canadian-American giant (died 1888)
Anna Haining Bates was a Canadian woman notable for her great stature of 7 feet 11 inches (2.41 m). She was one of the tallest women who ever lived. Her parents were of average height and were Scottish immigrants.
Read More
1846
American writer and first black Army nurse (died 1912)
Susie King Taylor was an American nurse, educator, and memoirist. Born into slavery in coastal Georgia, she is known for being the first African-American nurse during the American Civil War. Beyond her aptitude in…
Read More
1848
French poet and playwright (died 1955)
Paul Claudel was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He is most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism, and for…
Read More
1868
American author (died 1932)
Charles Hoy Fort was an American writer and researcher who specialized in anomalous phenomena. The terms "Fortean" and "Forteana" are sometimes used to characterize various such phenomena. Fort's books sold well and are…
Read More
1874
American lawyer and politician (died 1952)
Wallace Humphrey White Jr. was an American politician and Republican leader in the United States Congress from 1917 until 1949. White was from the U.S. state of Maine and served in the U.S. House of Representatives…
Read More
1877
Austrian actor and singer (died 1964)
Hans Moser was an Austrian actor who, during his long career, from the 1920s up to his death, mainly played in comedy films. He was particularly associated with the genre of the Wiener Film. Moser appeared in over 150…
Read More
1880
American actor (died 1961)
Leopoldo Antonio Carrillo was an American actor, vaudevillian, political cartoonist, and conservationist.
He was notable for playing Pancho in the television series The Cisco Kid (1950–1956) and in several films.
Read More
1881
Scottish biologist, pharmacologist, and botanist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1955)
Sir Alexander Fleming was a Scottish physician and microbiologist. He shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Howard Florey and Ernst Chain "for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in…
Read More
1881
American journalist (died 1972)
Louella Rose Oettinger, known by the pen name Louella Parsons, was an American gossip columnist and screenwriter. At her peak, her columns were read by 20 million people in 700 newspapers worldwide.
Read More
1881
South African botanist (died 1968)
Constance Georgina Adams, also known as Constance Georgina Tardrew, was a South African housewife and collector of botanical specimens. Known by the nicknames Connie and Daisy, Adams was born in Cape Town and spent her…
Read More
1883
American economist and educator (died 1983)
Scott Nearing was an American radical economist, educator, writer, political activist, pacifist, vegetarian and advocate of simple living. In 1915, he was dismissed from a teaching position at the Wharton School on…
Read More
1883
American composer and academic (died 1971)
Edward Ballantine, was an American composer and professor of music.
Read More
1886
American child psychologist (died 1959)
Florence Laura Goodenough was an American psychologist and professor at the University of Minnesota who studied child intelligence and various problems in the field of child development. She was president of the Society…
Read More
1886
English racing driver (died 1957)
Joseph Dudley "Benjy" Benjafield, MD was a British medical doctor and racing driver.
Read More
1887
Canadian-American general (died 1977)
George Churchill Kenney was a United States Army general during World War II. He is best known as the commander of the Allied Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA), a position he held between August 1942 and…
Read More
1889
English poet and author (died 1957)
John Middleton Murry was an English writer. He was a prolific author, producing more than 60 books and thousands of essays and reviews on literature, social issues, politics, and religion during his lifetime. A…
Read More
1889
1st Viscount Slim, English field marshal and politician, 13th Governor-General of Australia (died 1970)
Field Marshal William Joseph Slim, 1st Viscount Slim, usually known as Bill Slim, was a British military commander and the 13th governor-general of Australia from 1953 to 1960.
Read More
1891
Australian politician, 28th Premier of Queensland (died 1978)
Sir George Francis Reuben Nicklin, was an Australian politician. He was the Premier of Queensland from 1957 to 1968, the first non-Labor Party premier since 1932.
Read More
1895
English-American geophysicist and businessman, co-founded Texas Instruments (died 2003)
Cecil Howard Green was a British-born American geophysicist, electrical engineer, and electronics manufacturing executive, who trained at the University of British Columbia and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Read More
1900
American gangster (died 1935)
Arthur Simon Flegenheimer, known as Dutch Schultz, was an American mobster based in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s. He made his fortune in organized crime-related activities, including bootlegging and the numbers…
Read More
1901
American civil rights activist (died 1999)
Virginia Foster Durr was an American civil rights activist and lobbyist. She was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1903 to Dr. Sterling Foster, an Alabama Presbyterian minister, and Ann Patterson Foster. At 22 she married…
Read More
1903
Greek-Egyptian fashion designer (died 1970)
Jean Dessès was a fashion designer in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. His designs reflected the influences of his travels, specializing in creating draped evening gowns in chiffon and mousseline, based on early Greek and…
Read More
1904
1904
American trombonist (died 1984)
Victor Dickenson was an American jazz trombonist. His career began in the 1920s and continued through musical partnerships with Count Basie (1940–41), Sidney Bechet (1941), and Earl Hines.
Read More
1906
Polish classical archaeologist and a member of WWII Polish resistance (died 1998)
Maria Ludwika Bernhard was a Polish classical archaeologist and a specialist in Greek Art. During the German Occupation of Poland in World War II, Bernhard was living in Warsaw and was active in the Polish Resistance…
Read More
1908
American tennis player and commander (died 1997)
Helen Hull Jacobs was an American tennis player who won nine Grand Slam titles. In 1936 she was ranked No. 1 in singles by A. Wallis Myers.
Read More
1908
Hungarian painter and illustrator (died 1941)
Lajos Vajda was a Hungarian painter and graphic artist. From 1927 to 1930 he was a student of István Csók at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts.
Read More
1908
Countess of Albemarle (died 2013)
Dame Diana Cicely Keppel, Countess of Albemarle married Walter Egerton George Lucian Keppel, son of Arnold Allen Cecil Keppel, 8th Earl of Albemarle, as his second wife on 24 February 1931 at St Columba's Church,…
Read More
1909
Brazilian musician, singer, composer, humorist, and actor (died 1982)
Adoniran Barbosa, artistic name of João Rubinato, was a noted Brazilian São Paulo style samba singer and composer.
Read More
1910
English director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1999)
Charles Ainslie Crichton was an English film director and editor.
Read More
1910
American actress, television producer and businesswoman (died 1989)
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, actress, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by Time in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for her work in all four of these…
Read More
1911
South African cricketer (died 2014)
Norman Gordon was a South African cricketer who played in five Test matches during the 1938–39 South African cricket season.
Read More
1911
English author and actress (died 1995)
Constance Christina Aimee Heaven was a British writer of romance novels, under her maiden name, her married name and under the pseudonym Christina Merlin. In 1973, her novel The House Of Kuragin was the Winner of the…
Read More
1911
American photographer (died 2010)
Richard Crump Miller was an American photographer best known for his vintage carbro prints, photos of celebrities, and work documenting the Hollywood Freeway.
Read More
1912
Australian lawyer and politician, 24th Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs (died 2001)
Sir Gordon Freeth was an Australian politician and diplomat. He served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1969, including as a minister in the Coalition governments from 1958 to 1969. He later served as…
Read More
1914
American historian and academic (died 1970)
Richard Hofstadter was an American historian and public intellectual. Hofstadter was the DeWitt Clinton Professor of American History at Columbia University. Rejecting his earlier historical materialist approach to…
Read More
1916
Maltese journalist and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Malta (died 2012)
Dominic Mintoff was a Maltese socialist politician, architect, and civil engineer who was leader of the Labour Party from 1949 to 1984, and was 8th Prime Minister of Malta from 1955 to 1958, when Malta was still a…
Read More
1916
American author and illustrator (died 2000)
Barbara Cooney was an American writer and illustrator of 110 children's books, published for over sixty years. She received two Caldecott Medals for her work on Chanticleer and the Fox (1958) and Ox-Cart Man (1979), and…
Read More
1917
American actor (died 1997)
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American actor and singer. He is known for his antihero roles and film noir appearances. He received nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He received a star on the…
Read More
1917
American-Swiss record producer and manager (died 2001)
Norman Granz was an American jazz record producer and concert promoter. He founded the record labels Clef, Norgran, Down Home, Verve, and Pablo and the Jazz at the Philharmonic concert series. Granz was acknowledged as…
Read More
1918
American tennis player (died 2011)
Pauline May Betz Addie was an American professional tennis player. She won five Grand Slam singles titles and was the runner-up on three other occasions. Jack Kramer called her the second best female tennis player he…
Read More
1919
American author (died 2013)
John Alexander Graves III was an American writer known for his book Goodbye to a River.
Read More
1920
American actress (died 1988)
Ella Wallace Raines was an American film and television actress active from the early 1940s through the mid-1950s. Described as "sultry" and "mysterious", the green-eyed star appeared frequently in crime pictures and…
Read More
1920
English businessman, founded Laker Airways (died 2006)
Sir Frederick Alfred Laker was an English airline entrepreneur, best known for founding Laker Airways in 1966, which went bankrupt in 1982. Known as Freddie Laker, he was one of the first airline owners to adopt the…
Read More
1922
American lawyer and politician, 36th Governor of Illinois (died 2015)
Daniel J. Walker was an American lawyer, businessman, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 36th governor of Illinois, from 1973 until 1977.
Read More
1922
American painter (died 2004)
Jess Collins, known today simply as Jess, was an American visual artist.
Read More
1923
Canadian engineer and politician, 16th Canadian Minister of Defence (died 2021)
Paul Theodore Hellyer was a Canadian engineer, politician, writer, and commentator. He was the longest serving member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada at the time of his death.
Read More
1923
American white supremacist, co-founded the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (died 2006)
Samuel Holloway Bowers Jr. was an American white supremacist who co-founded the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and became its first Imperial Wizard. Previously, he was a Grand dragon of the Mississippi Original…
Read More
1924
American folk singer (died 2024)
Ella Louise Jenkins was an American singer-songwriter and centenarian. Called the "First lady of children's music", she was a leading performer of folk and children's music. Her 1995 album Multicultural Children's Songs…
Read More
1924
English journalist and author (died 2010)
Elisabeth Beresford MBE, also known as Liza Beresford, was an English author of children's books. She is best known for creating The Wombles. Born into a literary family, she worked as a journalist, but struggled for…
Read More
1926
English actor (died 2016)
Francis Finlay was an English actor. He earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Iago in Othello (1965). His first leading television role came in 1971 in Casanova. This led to appearances on The…
Read More
1926
American baseball player and manager (died 2007)
Clement Walter Labine was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) best known for his years with the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1950 to 1960.
Read More
1926
1926
American screenwriter (died 1999)
Norman Wexler was an American screenwriter whose work included films such as Saturday Night Fever, Serpico and Joe. A New Bedford, Massachusetts native and 1944 Central High School graduate in Detroit, Wexler attended…
Read More
1926
American baseball player (died 2005)
Herbert Moford was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals (1955), Detroit Tigers (1958), Boston Red Sox (1959) and New York Mets (1962). He was born in Brooksville,…
Read More
1928
American painter, photographer and film director (died 1987)
Andrew Warhol was an American artist and filmmaker. Widely regarded as the most important artist of the second half of the 20th century, Warhol's practice spanned various media, including painting, filmmaking,…
Read More
1928
Jamaican saxophonist
Mike Elliott is a Jamaican-born British saxophonist. He played on ska recordings in the early 1960s and on pop and soul music hits in the late 1960s. He is best known as a co-founding member of the British band The…
Read More
1929
Canadian politician, 42nd Canadian Minister of Public Works (died 2007)
Roch La Salle was a Canadian politician from the province of Quebec. He represented the riding of Joliette in the House of Commons of Canada for 20 years. He was re-elected six times during his tenure.
Read More
1929
American singer-songwriter and actress (died 2010)
Anna Marie Wooldridge, known professionally as Abbey Lincoln, was an American jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress. She was a civil rights activist beginning in the 1960s. Lincoln made a career out of delivering…
Read More
1930
American scholar and author (died 2010)
Chalmers Ashby Johnson was an American political scientist specializing in comparative politics, and professor emeritus of the University of California, San Diego. He served in the Korean War, was a consultant for the…
Read More
1931
English screenwriter and producer
Michael Deeley is an Academy Award-winning British film producer known for motion pictures such as The Italian Job (1969), The Deer Hunter (1978), and Blade Runner (1982). He is also a founding member and Honorary…
Read More
1932
English painter (died 2017)
Sir Gordon Howard Eliot Hodgkin was a British painter and printmaker. His work is most often associated with abstraction.
Read More
1932
English playwright and screenwriter (died 2020)
Charles Gerald Wood was an English playwright and scriptwriter for radio, television, and film.
Read More
1932
Indian cricketer (died 1987)
Amritsar Govindsingh Kripal Singh was an Indian Test cricketer.
Read More
1933
English-American soldier and author
Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob is an American author in the science fiction and fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers Anthony. He is best known for his long-running novel series set in the fictional realm of…
Read More
1934
English mountaineer and author
Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL is a British mountaineer whose career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest.
Read More
1934
Welsh rugby player and soldier
Sir William John Boston is a Welsh former professional rugby league footballer who played as a winger or centre. Born and raised in Cardiff, Wales, Boston started his career as a rugby union player before joining Wigan…
Read More
1934
Italian cardinal (died 2012)
Fortunato Baldelli was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who was appointed a cardinal in 2010 after a career in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1966 to 2009 that included ten years as Apostolic…
Read More
1935
Spanish-Argentinian director and screenwriter (died 2012)
Octavio Getino was an Argentine film director and writer who is best known for co-founding, along with Fernando Solanas, the Grupo Cine Liberación and the school of Third Cinema.
Read More
1935
Brazilian guitarist and composer (died 2000)
Baden Powell de Aquino, known professionally as Baden Powell, was a Brazilian virtuoso guitarist and composer. He combined classical techniques with popular harmony and swing. He performed in many styles, including…
Read More
1937
American bassist and composer (died 2014)
Charles Edward Haden was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than fifty years. Haden helped to revolutionize the harmonic concept of bass playing in jazz,…
Read More
1937
English actress (died 2020)
Dame Barbara Windsor was an English actress. She was known for her roles in the Carry On films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders. She joined the cast of EastEnders in 1994 and won the…
Read More
1937
American actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2000)
Paul Bartel was an American actor, writer and director. He was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy Eating Raoul, which he co-wrote, starred in and directed.
Read More
1938
1938
American golfer (died 1994)
Albert Winsborough Yancey was an American professional golfer who won seven times on the PGA Tour and later played on the Senior PGA Tour.
Read More
1938
Russian philologist and politician, 2nd President of Dagestan
Mukhu Gimbatovich Aliyev is a Russian politician who served as the 2nd Head of the Republic of Dagestan, a federal subject of Russia. He was born in the village of Tanusi, Khunzakhsky District, Dagestan ASSR, Russian…
Read More
1940
Norwegian pianist and composer (died 2017)
Egil Kapstad was a Norwegian jazz pianist, composer and arranger. He wrote the music for more than 50 theatre productions, and composed for film and television drama. Kapstad composed classical works for orchestra,…
Read More
1940
American actress
Louise Jacqueline Sorel is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Vivian Alamain in Days of Our Lives from 1992-2000, 2009-2011, 2017-2018, 2020, 2023 & 2025-present, Augusta Lockridge on Santa…
Read More
1940
1941
American saxophonist and flute player (died 2012)
Byard Lancaster was an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and flutist.
Read More
1942
American computer scientist and academic (died 1998)
Jonathan Bruce Postel was an American computer scientist who made many significant contributions to the development of the Internet, particularly with respect to standards. He is known principally for being the editor…
Read More
1943
Filipino journalist and actress (died 2003)
Maria Lourdes Jimenez Carvajal, popularly known as Inday Badiday, was a Filipino TV host and journalist who was known as Philippine television's "queen of showbiz talk shows" and "queen of intrigues".
Read More
1944
English chemist and academic
David Michael Patrick Mingos is a British chemist and academic. He was Principal of St Edmund Hall, Oxford from 1999 to 2009, and Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Oxford.
Read More
1944
English bishop
John Martin Wharton, is a British Anglican bishop, a retired Bishop of Newcastle.
Read More
1944
1945
English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (died 2017)
Allan Holdsworth was a British jazz and rock guitarist, violinist and composer. He contributed to numerous bands, including Soft Machine, U.K., The Tony Williams Lifetime, Pierre Moerlen's Gong, Bruford, Level 42, and…
Read More
1946
French computer scientist and academic (died 2014)
Radhia Cousot was a French computer scientist known for inventing abstract interpretation.
Read More
1947
Italian-Canadian wrestler (died 1993)
Adolfo Bresciano, better known by the ring name Dino Bravo, was an Italian Canadian professional wrestler and promoter and alleged organized crime figure.
Read More
1949
American actor
Dorian Harewood is an American actor, best known for playing Jesse Owens in The Jesse Owens Story (1984), Det. Paul Strobber on Strike Force (1981–1982), and Rev. Morgan Hamilton in 7th Heaven (1996–2003).
Read More
1950
American actress
Catherine Mary Hicks is an American retired actress. She played the character Annie Camden on the long-running television series 7th Heaven. Other roles included Dr. Faith Coleridge on the soap opera Ryan's Hope…
Read More
1951
Australian television host and singer
Daryl Paul Somers is an Australian television personality and musician, and a triple Gold Logie award winner. He rose to national fame as the host and executive producer of the long-running comedy-variety program Hey…
Read More
1951
American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Patrick Lee MacDonald is an American musician and songwriter. He was the singer, guitarist, and main songwriter for Timbuk 3, nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1987. He formed the duo with his wife,…
Read More
1952
Scottish lawyer and politician (died 2013)
David William McLetchie CBE was a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 1998 to 2005. He was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Edinburgh Pentlands constituency…
Read More
1952
Dutch keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
Ton Scherpenzeel is a Dutch keyboardist, composer, lyricist, and founding member of Dutch progressive rock band Kayak. Subsequent to Kayak, Scherpenzeel joined British progressive rock band Camel. He also played for…
Read More
1952
English-Australian rugby league player
Mark Stephen Hughes is an English-born Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played for Canterbury-Bankstown in the 1970s and 1980s. He mostly played lock, but he also spent time playing centre and…
Read More
1954
English journalist and author
William John Emmott is an English journalist, author, and consultant best known as the editor-in-chief of The Economist newspaper from 1993 to 2006. Emmott has written fourteen books and worked on two documentary…
Read More
1956
American baseball player
James Robert Horner is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball and the Nippon Professional Baseball league as a third baseman and a first baseman from 1978 to 1988, most…
Read More
1957
American lawyer and politician, 52nd Governor of New Jersey
James Edward McGreevey is an American politician who served as the 52nd governor of New Jersey from 2002 until his resignation in 2004 amidst a sex scandal. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first openly gay…
Read More
1957
American singer-songwriter and bass player
William Randall DeBarge is an American R&B/soul singer and bass guitarist, best known for being one of the original members of the popular Motown singing family group DeBarge. Randy is also known for singing co-lead and…
Read More
1958
Indian environmentalist
Rajendra Singh is an Indian water conservationist and environmentalist from Alwar district, Rajasthan in India. Also known as the "Waterman of India", he won the Magsaysay Award in 2001 and Stockholm Water Prize in…
Read More
1959
American singer (died 2022)
Joyce Elizabeth Sims-Sandiford was an American singer and songwriter, whose biggest hit single, "Come into My Life", reached the top 10 in both the US Billboard R&B Chart and the UK Singles Chart in 1987.
Read More
1959
American basketball player
Dale Ellis is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). At various points in his career, Ellis held the record for the most career 3-point field goals…
Read More
1960
English journalist and radio host
Mary Ann Corinna Howard Sieghart is an English author, journalist, consultant, radio presenter and former assistant editor of The Times, where she wrote columns about politics, social affairs and life in general. She…
Read More
1961
Malaysian-Hong Kong actress and producer
Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng Todt, known professionally as Michelle Yeoh, is a Malaysian actress. In a career spanning over four decades, she has acted in film and television productions covering a wide range of genres and…
Read More
1962
English soldier, author, and game show contestant
Charles William Ingram is a British fraudster and a former major in the British Army who gained fame for his appearance on the ITV television game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Across two episodes recorded in…
Read More
1963
American computer security consultant, author, and convicted hacker (died 2023)
Kevin David Mitnick was an American computer security consultant, author, and convicted hacker. In 1995, he was arrested for various computer and communications-related crimes, and spent five years in prison after being…
Read More
1963
Nigerian journalist, activist, social media expert, and pharmacist
Olukemi "Kemi" Omololu-Olunloyo is a Nigerian blogger, an activist against gun violence and drug abuse, and also a social media personality.
Read More
1964
French racing driver
Stéphane Peterhansel is a rally driver from France. He holds the record for wins at the Dakar Rally, with 14 victories. He currently drives for Land Rover Defender Rally Team.
Read More
1965
Japanese pianist and composer
Yuki Kajiura is a Japanese composer, arranger and music producer. She has provided the music for several popular anime series, such as Sword Art Online, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero, The Garden of Sinners,…
Read More
1965
American basketball player and lieutenant
David Maurice Robinson is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Admiral" for his service in the U.S. Navy, he spent his entire 14-year career with National Basketball Association (NBA)…
Read More
1965
Dutch footballer
Jack de Gier is a Dutch professional football manager and former player who played as a forward.
Read More
1968
New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster
Simon Blair Doull is a New Zealand radio personality, commentator, and former international cricketer. He was a right-arm medium pacer who was capable of swing bowling. He was plagued by injuries as a result of which…
Read More
1969
American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2003)
Steven Paul Smith, known as Elliott Smith, was an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he gained…
Read More
1969
Indian-American director, producer, and screenwriter
Manoj Nelliyattu "M. Night" Shyamalan is an American filmmaker. His films often employ supernatural plots and twist endings. The cumulative gross of his films exceeds $3.3 billion globally. Shyamalan has received…
Read More
1970
English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
Geraldine Estelle Halliwell-Horner is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, and author. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Ginger…
Read More
1972
Irish actor
Jason O'Mara is an Irish actor. He has starred in American television series Terra Nova (2011), Vegas (2012–13), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2016–17) and The Man in the High Castle (2018–19). For his performance in The…
Read More
1972
American actress
Vera Ann Farmiga is an American actress and singer. She began her professional acting career on stage in the original Broadway production of Taking Sides (1996). After expanding to television and film, her breakthrough…
Read More
1973
Australian cyclist
Stuart Peter O'Grady is a retired Australian road bicycle racer, who rode as a professional between 1995 and 2013. A former track cyclist, O'Grady and Graeme Brown won a gold medal in the Men's Madison at the 2004…
Read More
1973
English-Australian motorcycle racer
Jason Philip Crump is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Australia. He is a three-time Speedway World Champion, and a World Cup winner.
Read More
1975
Austrian skier
Renate Götschl is an Austrian former alpine ski racer. She is a two-time individual World Champion in the combined (1997) and downhill (1999), and has won a total of 9 World Championships medals. She also won two…
Read More
1975
Venezuelan baseball player
Víctor Manuel Zambrano is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or parts of seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2001 to 2007 for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, New York Mets, Toronto…
Read More
1975
American actress
Soleil Moon Frye is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress at the age of two. When she was seven, Frye won the role of Penelope "Punky" Brewster in the NBC sitcom Punky Brewster. The series debuted…
Read More
1976
Australian-American actress
Melissa Suzanne George is an Australian and American actress. She began her career playing Angel Parrish on the Australian soap opera Home and Away between 1993–1996. After moving to the United States, George made her…
Read More
1976
Brazilian footballer
Leandro Câmara do Amaral, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Read More
1977
Danish footballer and manager
Jimmy Nielsen is a Danish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Read More
1977
1977
Italian cyclist
Francesco Bellotti is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, who last rode for UCI ProTour team Liquigas–Cannondale.
Read More
1979
Mexican footballer
Jaime Correa Córdova also known as "El Alacran" or "El Motor", is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He made his debut for the Mexico national team in the 2007 Copa América against…
Read More
1979
American basketball player
Travis Reed is an American former professional basketball player. Reed played college basketball for UCLA and Long Beach State. He played professionally in the Netherlands, Estonia, Romania, Australia and Germany.
Read More
1979
American actor and singer
Leslie Lloyd Odom Jr. is an American actor, singer and songwriter. He made his acting debut on Broadway in 1998 and first gained recognition for his portrayal of Aaron Burr in the musical Hamilton, which earned him a…
Read More
1981
Hungarian figure skater
Diána Póth is a Hungarian former competitive figure skater. She is a two-time Karl Schäfer Memorial silver medalist and a two-time Hungarian national champion. She also competed briefly for Austria.
Read More
1981
Dutch footballer
Robin van Persie is a Dutch football coach and former professional footballer who is the head coach of Eredivisie club Feyenoord. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and was known for his…
Read More
1983
Bosnian footballer
Vedad Ibišević is a Bosnian professional football coach and former player who played as a forward.
Read More
1984
Serbian volleyball player
Maja Ognjenović is a Serbian professional volleyball player of the Serbia women's national volleyball team and a two-time Olympic medalist. She is a five-time Olympian at the setter position. Ognjenović won gold with…
Read More
1984
New Zealand cricketer
Jesse Daniel Ryder is a former international New Zealand cricketer, who played all forms of the game. He was primarily a middle-order batsman for Tests and an opening batsman in ODIs. Ryder also bowled useful…
Read More
1984
French cyclist
Mickaël Delage is a French former professional road and track cyclist, who last rode for UCI WorldTeam Groupama–FDJ.
Read More
1985
French footballer
Bafétimbi Gomis is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. He's the third fastest hat-trick scorer in UEFA Champions League history, as of December 2025.
Read More
1985
American swimmer
Garrett Weber-Gale is an American competition swimmer, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and world record-holder in two events.
Read More
1985
German rugby player
Rafael Pyrasch is a German international rugby union player, playing for the Heidelberger RK in the Rugby-Bundesliga and the German national rugby union team.
Read More
1986
Scottish footballer
Leanne Crichton is a former Scottish professional football player who currently manages Rangers and works as a media pundit for BBC Scotland.
Read More
1987
Venezuelan baseball player
Wilmer Alejandro Flores Garcia, nicknamed "Catire", is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York…
Read More
1991
Chinese swimmer
Jiao Liuyang is a retired Chinese swimmer who won the 200 m butterfly at the 2012 Olympics, and formerly held the world record in the 4×100 m medley relay.
Read More
1991
Swedish tennis player
Rebecca Peterson is a Swedish inactive professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 43 in singles and No. 87 in doubles by the WTA.
Read More
1995
American baseball player
Christian Hunter Greene is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Reds selected him second overall in the 2017 MLB draft.
Read More
1999
Spanish-Swiss tennis player
Rebeka Masarova is a Swiss professional tennis player. She has career-high WTA rankings of No. 62 in singles and No. 125 in doubles, achieved in 2023.
Masarova won the juniors' 2016 French Open.
Read More
1999
American singer-songwriter
Janesa Jaida "Nessa" Barrett is an American singer-songwriter and social media personality. She rose to prominence on TikTok and began uploading song covers as a teenager, which led her to sign a recording contract with…
Read More
2002
Uzbekistani rhythmic gymnast
Takhmina Ikromova is an Uzbekistani rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2022 Asian Games all-around and team gold medalist, a three-time Asian all-around champion and the 2025 World University Games all-around silver medalist.
Read More
2004
Advertisement
Famous birthdays
Who was born on August 6?
Alfred — British Poet Laureate (1809–1892)
FeaturedAlfred
Birth year1809
Known forHe was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria's reign
Birthdays on this date171 (1180 – 2004)
Explore August 6
Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.
Also on August 6 in History
2015
A suicide bomb attack kills at least 15 people at a mosque in the Saudi city of Abha. Wikipedia →
2012
NASA's Curiosity rover lands on the surface of Mars. Wikipedia →
2011
See all events on August 6
War in Afghanistan: A United States military helicopter is shot down, killing 30 American special forces members and a working dog, seven Afghan soldiers, and one Afghan civilian. It was the deadliest single event for the United States in the War in Afghanistan. Wikipedia →
Advertisement