Did you know
DeMille Award in 2009, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015, and the National Medal of Arts in 2023.
Famous Birthdays on December 18
1946 — Steven Spielberg
American director, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded DreamWorks
December 18 has 221 recorded notable births across history, from 1406 to 2002. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Famous Birthdays
221 source records
1406 – 2002
Sagittarius
Today in history
Major events on December 18
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1854 The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada abolishes the seigneurial system. Source
- 1972 Vietnam War: President Richard Nixon announces that the United States will engage North Vietnam in Operation Linebacker II, a series of Christmas bombings, after peace talks collapsed with North Vietnam on the 13th. Source
- 1958 Project SCORE, the world's first communications satellite, is launched. Source
- 1865 US Secretary of State William Seward proclaims the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment, prohibiting slavery throughout the United States. Source
Did you know
Ray Liotta first gained attention for his role in the film Something Wild (1986), which earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination.
Did you know
First professionally known as Keith Richard, in 1978 he fully asserted his family name.
Did you know
In 1936, Cobb received the most votes of any player on the inaugural ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving 222 out of a possible 226 votes (98.
Did you know
A defensive baseliner, Sánchez Vicario won 29 WTA Tour-level singles titles and 69 doubles titles, including 14 major titles: four in singles, six in women's doubles, and four in mixed doubles.
More major people born on December 18
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1954
Ray Liotta
American actor (died 2022)
Raymond Allen Liotta was an American actor. He first gained attention for his role in the film Something Wild (1986), which earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination.
1943
Keith Richards
English musician
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones.
1886
Ty Cobb
American baseball player and manager (died 1961)
Tyrus Raymond Cobb, nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American professional baseball center fielder. A native of rural Narrows, Georgia, Cobb played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB).
1971
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Spanish tennis player and sportscaster
Aránzazu Isabel María "Arantxa" Sánchez Vicario is a Spanish former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No.
1949
David A. Johnston
American volcanologist and geologist (died 1980)
David Alexander Johnston was an American United States Geological Survey (USGS) volcanologist who was killed by the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in the U.S. state of Washington.
1941
Joan Wallach Scott
American historian, author, and academic
Joan Wallach Scott is an American historian of France with contributions in gender history. She is a professor emerita in the School of Social Science in the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.
1887
Bhikhari Thakur
Indian actor, singer, and playwright (died 1971)
Bhikari Thakur was an Indian Bhojpuri language poet, playwright, lyricist, actor, folk dancer, folk singer and social activist.
1988
Brianne Theisen-Eaton
Canadian heptathlete
Brianne Theisen-Eaton, née Theisen, is a retired Canadian track and field athlete who competed in the heptathlon and women's pentathlon. She won the bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
1933
Lonnie Brooks
American blues singer and guitarist (died 2017)
Lonnie Brooks was an American blues singer and guitarist. The musicologist Robert Palmer, writing in Rolling Stone, stated, "His music is witty, soulful and ferociously energetic, brimming with novel harmonic…
1936
Malcolm Kirk
English rugby player and wrestler (died 1987)
Malcolm Kirk was an English professional wrestler who went by the ring name of "King Kong" Kirk as well as Kojak Kirk, Killer Kirk and "Mucky" Mal Kirk.
1950
Lizmark
Mexican wrestler (died 2015)
Juan Baños was a Mexican professional wrestler better known by the ring name Lizmark. The name was taken from the German battleship Bismarck.
1964
Don Beebe
American football player and coach
Donald Lee Beebe is an American football coach and former professional wide receiver who is the head coach of the Aurora Spartans.
1992
Ryan Crouser
American shot putter
Ryan Crouser is an American track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and discus.
1931
Allen Klein
American businessman and music publisher (died 2009)
Allen Klein was an American businessman whose aggressive negotiation tactics affected industry standards for compensating recording artists. He founded ABKCO Music & Records Incorporated.
1935
Jacques Pépin
French-American chef and author
Jacques Pépin is a French chef, author, culinary educator, television personality, and artist.
1950
Leonard Maltin
American historian, author, and critic
Leonard Michael Maltin is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide, published from 1969 to 2014.
1950
Sarath Fonseka
Sri Lankan general and politician
Field Marshal Gardihewage Sarath Chandralal Fonseka is a Sri Lankan retired army officer.
1960
Naoko Yamano
Japanese singer, guitarist and composer
Naoko Yamano is a Japanese musician, best known as a founding member, singer/guitarist, and primary songwriter for the pop-punk band Shonen Knife.
1993
Byron Buxton
American baseball player
Byron Keiron Buxton is an American professional baseball center fielder and designated hitter for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB).