Famous Birthdays on August 9

Jessica Brooke Capshaw is an American actress known for her roles as Jamie Stringer on the ABC legal drama series The Practice, pediatric surgeon Dr. Arizona Robbins on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy and Blythe Hart on the ABC procedural drama 9-1-1: Nashville.

Barbara Mason is an American soul singer with several R&B and pop hits in the 1960s and 1970s, best known for her self-written 1965 hit song "Yes, I'm Ready". She has released 12 albums, including her 1965 debut with Yes, I'm Ready, and has had 14 top 40 hits on the US Billboard R&B chart.

Jonathan Seth Kellerman is an American novelist, psychologist, and Edgar- and Anthony Award–winning author best known for his popular mystery and psychological thriller novels featuring the character Alex Delaware, a child psychologist who consults for the Los Angeles Police Department.

Eddie Futch was an American boxing trainer. Among the fighters he trained are Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Larry Holmes, and Trevor Berbick, four of the five men to defeat Muhammad Ali. Futch also trained Riddick Bowe and Montell Griffin when they handed future Hall of Fame fighters Evander Holyfield and Roy Jones Jr. their first professional defeats. In Baltimore, Maryland, the Futch Gym boxing gymnasium is named after the trainer. He also trained Ireland's first ever WBC World Champion, Wayne McCullough. Eddie Futch was married to Eva Marlene Futch from March 21, 1996, until his death. Futch often called her "The love of his life."

Gordon Singleton was a Canadian world-record holding track cyclist. In 1982, he became the first Canadian cyclist to win a world championship. He was the first, and only, cyclist in history to simultaneously hold world records in all three of track cycling's sprint races: the 200m, 500m and 1000m distances, all in a 24-hour span from October 9–10 in 1980. An Olympic racer, he was deprived of competing in the 1980 Summer Olympics at the peak of his career by Canada's boycott of those games in Moscow. He also competed and won gold medals in the 1978 Edmonton Commonwealth Games, and the 1979 Puerto Rico Pan Am Games for Canada. At the end of 1986, he was named a Companion of the Order of Canada. In his middle-age, he continued to cycle and took part in Master Series races, getting a bronze medal at the Canadian Nationals for his age group in 2014. He was inducted into the Canadian Cycling Hall of Fame in October 2015 along with some of his teammates from the 1970s and 1980s. His hometown of Niagara Falls, Ontario celebrated him many times over his life, including in 2004, as their best athlete in its first 100 years. After his cycling career was over, he took over his father's automotive parts business in Niagara Falls. In 2023, he was diagnosed with Cancer, and died from the disease in March 2024.

Lesley McKenna is a former British professional snowboarder based in Aviemore, Scotland. McKenna has to date competed in three Winter Olympic Games in 2002, 2006 and 2010 but has not won any medals. At the 2010 games, she crashed in both her qualification runs in the women's halfpipe and finished last. She has also competed on the world cup circuit for several years with more success achieving six podium positions including two first placings in 2003. She was ranked 3rd in the world by the FIS for halfpipe in 2004 despite suffering from a broken jaw which took her out for most of the season. Lesley was also an ambassador for Scotland and after competing worked as the international team manager for the brand Roxy which is the female sister brand of the surf brand Quiksilver. Lesley is now the Team Manager for the GB Park and Pipe Team.

Hamilton Masakadza is a Zimbabwean former cricketer, who played all formats of the game for Zimbabwe. He captained the national team during 2016 ICC World T20, but was relieved of his duties following an indifferent team performance in the tournament, where they failed to get past the qualifying round. In February 2019, Zimbabwe Cricket confirmed that Masakadza would captain the national side across all three formats for the 2019–20 season.

Hayley Reide Peirsol is an American former distance swimmer. She swam under Dave Salo with Irvine Novaquatics prior to attending Auburn University. While at Auburn, Peirsol trained under David Marsh, Dorsey Tierney and the late Ralph Crocker. She earned 3 individual NCAA titles and 3 individual SEC titles in the 1650 freestyle as well as 3 NCAA and 4 SEC team titles. In 2006 and 2007, Peirsol also trained with Club Wolverine at the University of Michigan along with teammates Erik Vendt, Michael Phelps, Klete and Kalyn Keller, and Kaitlin Sandeno under Bob Bowman and distance expert Jon Urbanchek. In 2006, Hayley became the third woman in history to ever break 16 minutes in the 1500 meter freestyle, the other two women being Janet Evans and Kate Ziegler.

Ryan Matthew Bollman is an American television and film actor best known for his roles in Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (1992), Only the Strong (1993), and The NeverEnding Story III (1994).

Barton Lynch is an Australian former professional surfer known for his competitive prowess and style. In 1988, he was crowned ASP World Tour Champion. He also won the 1991 Rip Curl Pro. In 1998, he was inducted into the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame, and in 2000, he was inducted into the Australian Sporting Hall of Fame. The video game Barton Lynch Pro Surfing is named after Lynch.

Marek Niit is a sprinter from Estonia who won a gold medal at the 200 metres at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics in Beijing, China. He is also the current national record holder in 100 metres, 200 meters and 400 meters.

Farahnaz Forotan is an Afghan journalist and women's rights activist. She moved to Iran together with her family during the Mujahideen regime. Farahnaz returned to Afghanistan in 2001, but took refuge in France in 2020 after being included on a Taliban's target list.

Charles Robert Malden was a nineteenth-century British naval officer, surveyor and educator. He is the discoverer of Malden Island in the central Pacific, which is named in his honour. He also founded Windlesham House School at Brighton, England.

Brice Roger is a World Cup alpine ski racer from France. From Bourg-Saint-Maurice, Savoie, he specializes in the speed events of downhill and super-G. He made his World Cup debut at age twenty in January 2011.

Mareta Nelle West was an American astrogeologist who in the 1960s chose the site of the first crewed lunar landing, Apollo 11. She was the first female astrogeologist. Her cremated remains were launched into space.

John Howard Gomery was a Canadian jurist from Quebec. He was a Justice of the Quebec Superior Court from 1982 to 2007, and appointed Commissioner for the Royal Commission investigating the Sponsorship scandal in 2004.

Kento Ono is a Japanese actor and model who is affiliated with Stardust Promotion, then later JJ Promotion. He played the role of Hyde in the 2010 Super Sentai TV series Tensou Sentai Goseiger.

Ralph Walter Graystone Wyckoff, Sr., or simply Ralph Wyckoff, was an American chemist and pioneer of X-ray crystallography. He also made contributions to vaccine developments against epidemic typhus and other viruses.

Barbara Delinsky is an American writer of romance novels, including 19 New York Times bestsellers. She has also been published under the pen names Bonnie Drake and Billie Douglass.

David Albert Huffman was an American pioneer in computer science, known for his Huffman coding. He was also one of the pioneers in the field of mathematical origami.

Stuart McInally is a retired Scottish professional rugby union player who played as a hooker most notably for United Rugby Championship club Edinburgh and the Scotland national team.

Daniel Preussner is a German international rugby union player, playing for the SC 1880 Frankfurt in the Rugby-Bundesliga and the German national rugby union team.

Arnold Fitz Thedmar was a London chronicler and merchant.

John Webster was an early colonial settler of New England, serving one term as governor of the Colony of Connecticut in 1656.

Jonathan Homer Lane was an American astrophysicist and inventor.

Alfred David Benjamin was an Australian-born businessman and philanthropist.

John McQuade was a Northern Irish unionist politician. He was a professional boxer under the name of Jack Higgins.

Francisco Alonzo "Frank" Martínez was an American artist. He painted murals of his Mexican American heritage.

Mathews Mar Barnabas was a Metropolitan of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.

Vincent Leo Martin Hanna was a Northern Irish television journalist known for his coverage of United Kingdom by-elections.

John "Hot Rod" Williams was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1986 to 1999.

Michael Lerchl is a German retired footballer who played as a midfielder.

Vasilios Koutsianikoulis is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a left winger or an attacking midfielder.