Famous Birthdays on December 9

Q: Who was born on December 9?

Famous people born on December 9 include: Peter, Chenghua Emperor of China (died 1487), Frederick II, Íñigo López de Mendoza, Gemma Frisius.

Q: What is McKayla Maroney known for?

McKayla Maroney, American gymnast

263 people 1392 – 2005

December 9 has seen 263 notable people enter the world across recorded history — from 1392 – 2005. Below are the most significant names born on this date.

By thisDay.info Editorial Team · December 9 — Wikipedia

1995 — McKayla Maroney

American gymnast

Did you know

She was a member of the American women's gymnastics team, dubbed the Fierce Five, that won a gold medal in the team competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Did you know

Maroney was also a member of the gold-winning American team at the 2011 World Championships, where she also won the vault title

Did you know

Earlier in her career, she won three gold medals at the 2010 Pan American Championships.

Did you know

There, she also won an individual silver medal on the vault

Did you know

female gymnast to defend a World Championship vault title at the 2013 World Championships

Peter

Duke of Coimbra (died 1449)

Dom Peter, Duke of Coimbra, KG was a Portuguese infante (prince) of the House of Aviz, son of King Dom John I of Portugal and his wife, Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt. In Portugal, he is known as…

1392

Chenghua Emperor of China (died 1487)

The Chenghua Emperor, personal name Zhu Jianshen, changed to Zhu Jianru in 1457, was the ninth emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1464 to 1487. He succeeded his father, Emperor Yingzong.

1447

Frederick II

Elector Palatine (died 1556)

Frederick II, Count Palatine of the Rhine, also Frederick the Wise, a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was Prince-elector of the Palatinate from 1544 to 1556, and pretender to the Norwegian Throne from 1535 to 1556.

1482

Íñigo López de Mendoza

4th Duke of the Infantado (died 1566)

Íñigo Lopez de Mendoza y Pimentel, 4th Duke of the Infantado was a Spanish nobleman. He was made a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1546, the 193rd to receive that distinction. Duke of the Infantado is a…

1493

Gemma Frisius

Dutch mathematician and cartographer (died 1555)

Gemma Frisius was a Dutch physician, mathematician, cartographer, philosopher, and instrument maker. He created important globes, improved the mathematical instruments of his day and applied mathematics in new ways to…

1508

Edwin Sandys

English lawyer and politician (died 1629)

Sir Edwin Sandys was an English politician who was a member of the House of Commons at various times between 1589 and 1626. He was also one of the founders of the proprietary Virginia Company of London, which in 1607…

1561

Metius

Dutch mathematician and astronomer (died 1635)

Adriaan Adriaanszoon, called Metius, was a Dutch geometer and astronomer born in Alkmaar. The name "Metius" comes from the Dutch word meten ("measuring"), and therefore means something like "measurer" or "surveyor".

1571

Martin de Porres

Peruvian saint (died 1639)

Martín de Porras Velázquez was a Peruvian lay brother of the Dominican Order who was beatified in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI and canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII. He is the patron saint of Black people, mixed-race…

1579

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (died 1632)

Gustavus Adolphus, also known as Gustav II Adolf or Gustav II Adolph, was King of Sweden from 1611 to 1632. He is credited with the rise of Sweden as a great European power. During his reign, Sweden became one of the…

1594

John Milton

English poet and philosopher (died 1674)

John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem Paradise Lost was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and political upheaval. It…

1608

Baldassare Ferri

Italian singer and actor (died 1680)

Baldassare Ferri was an Italian castrato singer. He is said to have possessed "extraordinary endurance of breath, flexibility of voice and depth of emotion".

1610

Richard Lovelace

English poet (died 1657)

Richard Lovelace was an English poet in the seventeenth century. He was a cavalier poet who fought on behalf of Charles I during the English Civil War. His best known works are "To Althea, from Prison", and "To Lucasta,…

1617

Augustus Quirinus Rivinus

German physician and botanist (died 1723)

Augustus Quirinus Rivinus is the professional name of August Bachmann or A. Q. Bachmann who was a German physician and botanist who helped to develop better ways of classifying plants.

1652

William Whiston

English mathematician, historian, and theologian (died 1752)

William Whiston was an English theologian, historian, natural philosopher, and mathematician, a leading figure in the popularisation of the ideas of Isaac Newton. He is now probably best known for helping to instigate…

1667

Johann Joachim Winckelmann

German archaeologist and historian (died 1768)

Johann Joachim Winckelmann was a German art historian and archaeologist. He was a pioneering Hellenist who first articulated the differences between Greek, Greco-Roman and Roman art. "The prophet and founding hero of…

1717

Peter Pelham

English-American organist and composer (died 1805)

Peter Pelham was an English-born American organist, harpsichordist, teacher and composer.

1721

Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi

Italian composer (died 1804)

Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi was an Italian opera composer of the classical period.

1728

Carl Wilhelm Scheele

Swedish Pomeranian and German pharmaceutical chemist (died 1786)

Carl Wilhelm Scheele was a German-Swedish pharmaceutical chemist.

1742

Maddalena Laura Sirmen

Italian violinist and composer (died 1818)

Maddalena Laura Sirmen, commonly known as Madame Sirmen, was an Italian composer, violinist, and opera singer of the musical Classical period.

1745

Claude Louis Berthollet

French chemist and academic (died 1822)

Claude Louis Berthollet was a Savoyard-French chemist who became vice president of the French Senate in 1804. He is known for his scientific contributions to the theory of chemical equilibria via the mechanism of…

1748

Antoine Étienne de Tousard

French general and engineer (died 1813)

Antoine Étienne de Tousard was a French general and military engineer during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was also the last military engineer of the Order of Saint John. He is the brother of Louis de…

1752

Joseph Desha

American politician (died 1842)

Joseph Desha was an American politician who was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky from 1807 to 1819 and the ninth governor of Kentucky from 1824 to 1828. First known as an Indian fighter from Middle Tennessee, Desha…

1768

Tabitha Babbitt

American tool maker and inventor (died 1853)

Sarah "Tabitha" Babbitt was a Shaker credited as a tool maker and inventor. Inventions attributed to her by the Shakers include the circular saw in lumber milling, an improved spinning wheel head, and a process for…

1779

John Dobson

English architect, designed Eldon Square and Lilburn Tower (died 1865)

John Dobson was a 19th-century English neoclassical architect. During his life, he was the most noted architect in Northern England. He designed more than 50 churches and 100 private houses, but he is best known for…

1787

Jean-Olivier Chénier

Canadian physician (died 1838)

Jean-Olivier Chénier was a medical doctor in Lower Canada. Born in Lachine. During the Lower Canada Rebellion, he commanded the Patriote forces in the Battle of Saint-Eustache. Trapped with his men in a church by the…

1806

Thomas Andrews

Irish chemist and physicist (died 1885)

Thomas Andrews FRS FRSE was an Irish chemist and physicist who did important work on phase transitions between gases and liquids. He was a longtime professor of chemistry at Queen's University of Belfast.

1813

Émile Waldteufel

French pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1915)

Charles Émile Waldteufel was a French composer, pianist, and conductor known for his numerous popular salon pieces. Among his best known works is "Les Patineurs" (1882), known as "The Skater's Waltz".

1837

Peter Kropotkin

Russian zoologist, economist, geographer, and philosopher (died 1921)

Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin was a Russian anarchist political philosopher and geographer known as a proponent of anarchist communism.

1842

Joel Chandler Harris

American journalist and author (died 1908)

Joel Chandler Harris was an American journalist and folklorist best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories. Born in Eatonton, Georgia, where he served as an apprentice on a plantation during his teenage years,…

1845

Emma Abbott

American soprano and actress (died 1891)

Emma Abbott was an American operatic soprano and impresario known for her pure, clear voice of great flexibility and volume.

1850

Hélène Smith

French psychic and occultist (died 1929)

Catherine-Elise Müller, known professionally as Hélène Smith, was a famous late-19th century French medium. She was known as "the Muse of Automatic Writing" by the Surrealists, who viewed Smith as evidence of the power…

1861

Gregorios Xenopoulos

Greek journalist and author (died 1951)

Gregorios Xenopoulos was a novelist, journalist and playwright from Zakynthos.

1867

Fritz Haber

Polish-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1934)

Fritz Jakob Haber was a German chemist who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918 for his invention of the Haber process, a method used in industry to synthesize ammonia from nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas. This…

1868

Ida S. Scudder

Indian physician and missionary (died 1960)

Ida Sophia Scudder was a third-generation American medical missionary in India. She sought to improve the plight of Indian women by fighting against bubonic plague, cholera and leprosy. In 1918, she started a teaching…

1870

Francisco S. Carvajal

Mexican lawyer and politician, president 1914 (died 1932)

Francisco Sebastián Carvajal y Gual, sometimes spelled Carbajal was a Mexican lawyer and politician who served briefly as president in 1914, during the Mexican Revolution. In his role as foreign minister, he succeeded…

1870

Joe Kelley

American baseball player and manager (died 1943)

Joseph James Kelley was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who starred in the outfield of the Baltimore Orioles teams of the 1890s. Making up the nucleus of the Orioles along with John McGraw,…

1871

George Blewett

Canadian philosopher, author, and academic (died 1912)

George John Blewett was a Canadian philosopher and theologian.

1873

Harry Miller

American engineer (died 1943)

Harold Arminius Miller, commonly called Harry, was an American race car designer and builder who was most active in the 1920s and 1930s. Griffith Borgeson called him "the greatest creative figure in the history of the…

1875

Berton Churchill

Canadian-American actor and singer (died 1940)

Berton Churchill was a Canadian stage and film actor.

1876

Elmer Booth

American actor (died 1915)

William Elmer Booth was an American stage and film actor. He was born in Los Angeles, California and was the elder brother of Margaret Booth, a renowned film editor for Hollywood productions for nearly 70 years.

1882

Joaquín Turina

Spanish-French composer, critic, and educator (died 1949)

Joaquín Turina Pérez was a Spanish composer of classical music.

1882

Nikolai Luzin

Russian mathematician, theorist, and academic (died 1950)

Nikolai Nikolayevich Luzin was a Soviet and Russian mathematician known for his work in descriptive set theory and aspects of mathematical analysis with strong connections to point-set topology. He was the eponym of…

1883

Alexander Papagos

Greek general and politician, 152nd Prime Minister of Greece (died 1955)

Alexandros Papagos was a Greek military officer who led the Hellenic Army in World War II and in the later stages of the subsequent Greek Civil War. Afterwards, he served as Prime Minister of Greece from 1952 to 1955.

1883

Joseph Pilates

German-American fitness expert, developed Pilates (died 1967)

Joseph Hubertus Pilates was a German physical trainer, writer, and inventor. He is credited with inventing and promoting the Pilates method of physical fitness. He patented a total of 26 apparatuses in his lifetime.

1883

Clarence Birdseye

American businessman, founded Birds Eye (died 1956)

Clarence Birdseye was an American inventor, entrepreneur, and naturalist, considered the founder of the modern frozen food industry. He founded the frozen food company Birds Eye. Among his inventions during his career…

1886

Tim Moore

American actor (died 1958)

Tim Moore was an American vaudevillian and comic actor of the first half of the 20th century. He gained his greatest recognition in the starring role of George "Kingfish" Stevens in the CBS TV's The Amos 'n' Andy Show.…

1887

Hannes Kolehmainen

Finnish-American runner (died 1966)

Juho Pietari "Hannes" Kolehmainen was a Finnish four-time Olympic gold medalist and a world record holder in middle- and long-distance running. He was the first in a generation of great Finnish long-distance runners,…

1889

Laura Salverson

Canadian author (died 1970)

Laura Goodman Salverson was a Canadian author. Her work reflected her Icelandic heritage. Two of her books won Governor General's awards for literature.

1890

Maksim Bahdanovič

Belarusian poet and critic (died 1917)

Maksim Adamavich Bahdanovich was a Belarusian poet, journalist, translator, literary critic and historian of literature. He is considered one of the founders of the modern Belarusian literature.

1891

André Randall

French actor (died 1974)

André Randall was a French screen actor. He was born André Ayaïs in Bordeaux and died at Sainte-Foy-la-Grande.

1892

Dolores Ibárruri

Spanish activist, journalist and politician (died 1989)

Isidora Dolores Ibárruri Gómez, also known as Pasionaria, was a Spanish Republican politician during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) and a communist. She is renowned for her slogan ¡No Pasarán!, which she issued…

1895

Conchita Supervía

Spanish soprano and actress (died 1936)

Conchita Supervía was a highly popular Spanish mezzo-soprano singer who appeared in opera in Europe and America and also gave recitals.

1895

Hermione Gingold

English actress and singer (died 1987)

Hermione Ferdinanda Gingold was an English actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric character. Her signature drawling, deep voice was a result of nodules on her vocal cords she developed in the 1920s and early…

1897

Irene Greenwood

Australian radio broadcaster, feminist and peace activist (died 1992)

Irene Greenwood was an Australian radio broadcaster and feminist and peace activist.

1898

Emmett Kelly

American clown and actor (died 1979)

Emmett Leo Kelly was an American circus performer who created the clown character "Weary Willie", based on the hobos of the Great Depression in the 1930s.

1898

Jean de Brunhoff

French author and illustrator (died 1937)

Jean de Brunhoff was a French writer and illustrator remembered best for creating the Babar series of children's books concerning a fictional elephant, the first of which was published in 1931.

1899

Margaret Brundage

American illustrator, known for illustrating pulp magazine Weird Tales (died 1976)

Margaret Brundage, was an American illustrator and painter who is remembered chiefly for having illustrated the pulp magazine Weird Tales. Working in pastels on illustration board, she created most of the covers for…

1900

Albert Weisbord

American activist, founded the Communist League of Struggle (died 1977)

Albert Weisbord was an American political activist and union organizer. He is best remembered, along his wife Vera Buch, as one of the primary union organizers of the seminal 1926 Passaic Textile Strike and as the…

1900

Jean Mermoz

French pilot and politician (died 1936)

Jean Mermoz was a French aviator, viewed as a hero by other pilots such as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, and in his native France, where many schools bear his name. In Brazil, he also is recognized as a pioneer aviator.

1901

Ödön von Horváth

Hungarian-German author and playwright (died 1938)

Edmund Josef von Horváth was an Austro-Hungarian playwright and novelist who wrote in German, and went by the nom de plume Ödön von Horváth. He was one of the most critically admired writers of his generation prior to…

1901

Margaret Hamilton

American schoolteacher, actress and voice artist (died 1985)

Margaret Brainard Hamilton was an American character actress, vaudevillian and educator, whose fifty-year career in entertainment spanned theater, film, radio and television. She often played villains and is best known…

1902

Robert Livingston

American actor and singer (died 1988)

Robert Edward Randall was an American film actor known under his stage name, Robert Livingston. He appeared in 136 films between 1921 and 1975. He was one of the original Three Mesquiteers. He also played The Lone…

1904

Dalton Trumbo

American author, screenwriter, and blacklistee (died 1976)

James Dalton Trumbo was an American screenwriter who scripted many award-winning films, including Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944), Roman Holiday (1953), Spartacus (1960), and Exodus (1960). One of the Hollywood Ten, he…

1905

Grace Hopper

American admiral and computer scientist, designed COBOL (died 1992)

Grace Brewster Hopper was an American computer scientist, mathematician, and United States Navy rear admiral. She was a pioneer of computer programming. Hopper was the first to devise the theory of machine-independent…

1906

Freddy Martin

American bandleader and tenor saxophonist (died 1983)

Frederick Alfred Martin was an American bandleader and tenor saxophonist.

1906

Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

American captain, actor, and producer (died 2000)

Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr. was an American actor, producer, and United States Navy officer. He was a leading man during the Golden Age of Hollywood, notably in adventure and swashbuckling roles like in The Prisoner of…

1909

Vere Bird

first Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda (died 1999)

Sir Vere Cornwall Bird was the first Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. His son, Lester Bryant Bird, succeeded him as prime minister. In 1994, he was declared a "National Hero".

1910

Broderick Crawford

American actor (died 1986)

William Broderick Crawford was an American actor. Known for his "bulldog face and barking voice", he was initially a character actor often cast tough-guy or slob roles, but gained widespread acclaim for his portrayal of…

1911

Ryūzō Sejima

Japanese colonel and businessman (died 2007)

Ryūzō Sejima was a Japanese army officer and business leader.

1911

Tip O'Neill

American lawyer and politician, 55th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (died 1994)

Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill Jr. was an American Democratic Party politician from Massachusetts who served as the 47th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987, the third-longest tenure in…

1912

Jim Turnesa

American golfer (died 1971)

James R. Turnesa was an American professional golfer and winner of the 1952 PGA Championship, beating Chick Harbert 1-up in the match-play final.

1912

Max Manus

Norwegian lieutenant (died 1996)

Maximo Guillermo Manus DSO, MC & Bar was a Norwegian resistance fighter during World War II, specialising in sabotage in occupied Norway. After the war he wrote several books about his adventures and started the…

1914

Frances Reid

American actress (died 2010)

Frances Reid was an American dramatic actress. Reid acted on television for nearly all of the second half of the 20th century. Her career continued into the early 2000s.

1914

Ljubica Sokić

Serbian painter and illustrator (died 2009)

Ljubica "Cuca" Sokić was a prominent Serbian and Yugoslav painter of the twentieth century.

1914

Eloise Jarvis McGraw

American author (died 2000)

Eloise Jarvis McGraw was an American author of children's books and young adult novels.

1915

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

German-Austrian soprano and actress (died 2006)

Dame Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike Schwarzkopf, was a German-born Austro-British lyric soprano. She was among the foremost singers of lieder, and is renowned for her performances of Viennese operetta, as well as the…

1915

Jerome Beatty Jr.

American soldier, journalist, and author (died 2002)

Jerome M. Beatty Jr. was a twentieth-century American author of children's literature. He was also an accomplished feature writer for magazines. Beatty served in the United States Army, achieving the rank of corporal,…

1916

Kirk Douglas

American actor, singer, and producer (died 2020)

Kirk Douglas was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Douglas soon developed into a leading…

1916

Colin McCool

Australian cricketer (died 1986)

Colin Leslie McCool was an Australian cricketer who played in 14 Test matches between 1946 and 1950. McCool, born in Paddington, New South Wales, was an all-rounder who bowled leg spin and googlies with a round arm…

1916

James Jesus Angleton

American CIA agent (died 1987)

James Jesus Angleton was an American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer who served as chief of the counterintelligence department of the CIA from 1954 to 1975. According to director of central intelligence…

1917

James Rainwater

American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1986)

Leo James Rainwater was an American physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1975 for his part in determining the asymmetrical shapes of certain atomic nuclei.

1917

V. Dakshinamoorthy

Indian singer-songwriter (died 2013)

Venkateswaran Dakshinamoorthy was a veteran carnatic musician and composer and music director of Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi films. His work was predominantly in Malayalam cinema.

1919

William Lipscomb

American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2011)

William Nunn Lipscomb Jr. was a Nobel Prize-winning American inorganic and organic chemist working in nuclear magnetic resonance, theoretical chemistry, boron chemistry, and biochemistry.

1919

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi

Italian economist and politician, 10th President of Italy (died 2016)

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi was an Italian politician, statesman and banker who was the president of Italy from 1999 to 2006 and prime minister of Italy from 1993 to 1994.

1920

Bruno Ruffo

Italian motorcycle racer and race car driver (died 2007)

Bruno Ruffo was an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer born in Verona. He won three Grand Prix World Championships.

1920

Redd Foxx

American actor (died 1991)

John Elroy Sanford, better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Foxx gained success with his raunchy nightclub act before and during the civil rights movement. Known as the…

1922

Roy Rubin

American basketball player and coach (died 2013)

Roy Rubin was a former college and professional basketball coach.

1925

Henry Way Kendall

American physicist, photographer, and mountaineer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1999)

Henry Way Kendall was an American particle physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1990 jointly with Jerome Isaac Friedman and Richard E. Taylor "for their pioneering investigations concerning deep inelastic…

1926

Jan Křesadlo

Czech-English psychologist and author (died 1995)

Václav Jaroslav Karel Pinkava, better known by his pen name Jan Křesadlo, was a Czech psychologist who was also a prizewinning novelist and poet.

1926

David Nathan

British journalist (died 2001)

David Nathan was a British journalist.

1926

Lorenzo Wright

American sprinter and coach (died 1972)

Lorenzo Christopher Wright was an American athlete. A Detroit native, he started at Miller High School and Wayne State University; Wright is renowned for his noteworthy track and field accomplishments.

1926

Pierre Henry

French composer (died 2017)

Pierre Georges Albert François Henry was a French composer known for his significant contributions to musique concrète.

1927

Joan Blos

American author and educator (died 2017)

Joan Winsor Blos was an American writer, teacher and advocate for children's literacy.

1928

André Milhoux

Belgian race car driver

André Milhoux is a former racing driver from Belgium. He participated in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, the 1956 German Grand Prix on 5 August 1956, but had to retire after 15 laps due to an engine…

1928

Dick Van Patten

American actor (died 2015)

Richard Vincent Van Patten was an American actor, comedian, businessman, and animal welfare advocate whose career spanned seven decades of television. He was best known for his role as patriarch Tom Bradford on the…

1928

John Cassavetes

American actor, director, and screenwriter (died 1989)

John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American filmmaker and actor. He began as an actor in film and television before helping to pioneer modern American independent cinema as a writer and director, often self-financing,…

1929

Bob Hawke

Australian union leader and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Australia (died 2019)

Robert James Lee Hawke was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously…

1929

Buck Henry

American actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2020)

Buck Henry was an American actor, screenwriter, and director. Henry's contributions to film included his work as a co-writer for Mike Nichols's The Graduate (1967) for which he received a nomination for the Academy…

1930

Óscar Humberto Mejía Víctores

Guatemalan soldier and politician, 27th President of Guatemala (died 2016)

Óscar Humberto Mejía Víctores was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who served as the Head of Government from August 1983 to January 1986. A member of the military, he was head of state during the apex of…

1930

Cliff Hagan

American basketball player-coach

Clifford Oldham Hagan is an American former professional basketball player. A 6′ 4″ forward who excelled with the hook shot, Hagan, nicknamed "Li’l Abner", played his entire 10-year NBA career (1956–1966) with the St.…

1931

William Reynolds

American actor (died 2022)

William DeClercq Reynolds was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Special Agent Tom Colby in the 1960s television series The F.B.I. and his film and television roles during the 1950s through the 1970s.

1931

Ladislav Smoljak

Czech actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2010)

Ladislav Smoljak was a Czech film and theatre director, actor and screenwriter.

1931

Donald Byrd

American trumpet player and academic (died 2013)

Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter, composer and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop musicians who…

1932

Bill Hartack

American jockey (died 2007)

William John Hartack Jr. was an American jockey.

1932

Billy Edd Wheeler

American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and playwright (died 2024)

Billy Edd Wheeler was an American songwriter, performer, writer, and visual artist.

1932

Ashleigh Brilliant

English-American author and illustrator (died 2025)

Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant was a British epigrammatist and cartoonist. He was best known for his Pot-Shots, single-panel illustrations with one-line humorous remarks, which began syndication in the United States in 1975.

1933

Milt Campbell

American decathlete and football player (died 2012)

Milton Gray Campbell was an American decathlete of the 1950s. In 1956, he became the first African American to win the gold medal in the decathlon of the Summer Olympic Games.

1933

Morton Downey Jr.

American actor and talk show host (died 2001)

Morton Downey Jr. was an American television talk show host and actor who pioneered the "trash TV" format in the late 1980s on his program The Morton Downey Jr. Show.

1933

Orville Moody

American golfer (died 2008)

Orville James Moody was an American professional golfer who won numerous tournaments in his career. He won the U.S. Open in 1969, the last champion in the 20th century to win through local and sectional qualifying.

1933

Judi Dench

English actress

Dame Judith Olivia Dench is a retired English actress. Widely considered one of Britain's greatest actresses, she is noted for her versatile roles on stage and screen. Dench has garnered various accolades throughout a…

1934

Alan Ridout

English composer and teacher (died 1996)

Alan Ridout was a British composer and teacher.

1934

Junior Wells

American blues singer-songwriter and harmonica player (died 1998)

Junior Wells was an American singer, harmonica player, and recording artist. He is best known for his signature song "Messin' with the Kid" and his 1965 album Hoodoo Man Blues, described by the critic Bill Dahl as "one…

1934

David Houston

American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1993)

Charles David Houston was an American country music singer. His peak in popularity came between the mid-1960s and the early 1970s.

1935

Deacon Jones

American football player, sportscaster, and actor (died 2013)

David D. "Deacon" Jones was an American professional football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played for the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, and Washington…

1938

Dimitrios Trichopoulos

Greek epidemiologist, oncologist, and academic (died 2014)

Dimitrios Trichopoulos was a Mediterranean Diet expert and tobacco harms researcher. He was Vincent L. Gregory Professor of Cancer Prevention and Professor of Epidemiology, and a past chair of the Department of…

1938

Clancy Eccles

Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer (died 2005)

Clancy Eccles was a Jamaican ska and reggae singer, songwriter, arranger, promoter, record producer and talent scout. Known mostly for his early reggae works, he brought a political dimension to this music. His house…

1940

Mehmet Ali Birand

Turkish journalist and author (died 2013)

Mehmet Ali Birand was a Kurdish-Turkish journalist, political commentator and writer.

1941

Beau Bridges

American actor, director, and producer

Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III is an American actor. He is a three-time Emmy, two-time Golden Globe and one-time Grammy Award winner, as well as a two-time Screen Actors Guild Award nominee. Bridges also has a star on…

1941

Dan Hicks

American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2016)

Daniel Ivan Hicks was an American singer-songwriter and musician, and the leader of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks. His idiosyncratic style combined elements of cowboy folk, jazz, country, swing, bluegrass, pop, and gypsy…

1941

Billy Bremner

Scottish footballer and manager (died 1997)

William John Bremner was a Scottish professional footballer and manager. Regarded as one of the game's great midfielders, he combined precision passing skills with tenacious tackling and physical stamina. He played for…

1942

Dick Butkus

American football player, sportscaster, and actor (died 2023)

Richard Marvin Butkus was an American professional football linebacker, sports commentator, and actor. He played football for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1965 to 1973. He was invited to…

1942

Germain Gagnon

Canadian ice hockey player (died 2014)

Joseph Adrien Germain Gagnon was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 259 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Chicago Black Hawks, and Kansas…

1942

Fred Jones

Australian rugby league player (died 2021)

Frederick Jones was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s. An Australian international and New South Wales interstate representative hooker, he played his club football for…

1942

Joe McGinniss

American journalist and author (died 2014)

Joseph Ralph McGinniss Sr. was an American non-fiction writer and novelist. He was the author of twelve books.

1942

William Turnage

American conservationist (died 2017)

William Albert Turnage was the director of The Wilderness Society from 1978 to 1985 and business manager of photographer Ansel Adams. He was known for turning the Wilderness Society into a more professional advocacy…

1942

Pit Martin

Canadian ice hockey player (died 2008)

Hubert Jacques "Pit" Martin was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who served as captain for the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1975 to 1977. He was an NHL All-Star and Bill…

1943

Joanna Trollope

English author, playwright, and director (died 2025)

Joanna Trollope was an English writer. She also wrote under the pseudonym of Caroline Harvey. Her novel Parson Harding's Daughter won the 1980 Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association.

1943

Kenny Vance

American singer-songwriter and music producer

Kenny Vance is an American singer, songwriter, and music producer who was a founding member of Jay and the Americans. His career spans from the 1950s to today, with projects ranging from starting doo-wop groups to music…

1943

Neil Innes

English singer-songwriter (died 2019)

Neil James Innes was an English songwriter, writer, comedian and musician. He first came to prominence in the comedy rock group the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later became a frequent collaborator with the Monty Python…

1944

Ki Longfellow

American author, playwright, and producer (died 2022)

Ki Longfellow was an American novelist, playwright, theatrical producer, theatre director and entrepreneur with dual citizenship in Britain. She is best known in the United States for her novel The Secret Magdalene…

1944

Bob O'Connor

American businessman and politician, 57th Mayor of Pittsburgh (died 2006)

Robert E. O'Connor Jr. was an American politician who was the Mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from January 3, 2006, until his death.

1944

Michael Nouri

American actor

Michael Nouri is an American screen and stage actor. He is best known for his television roles, including Dr. Neil Roberts on The O.C., Phil Grey on Damages, Caleb Cortlandt on All My Children, Eli David in NCIS, and…

1945

David Currie

Baron Currie of Marylebone, English economist and academic

David Anthony Currie, Baron Currie of Marylebone is a British economist specialising in regulation, and a cross-bench member of the House of Lords. Currie was the inaugural Chairman of the Competition and Markets…

1946

Dennis Dunaway

American bass player and songwriter

Dennis Dunaway is an American musician, best known as the original bass guitarist for the rock band Alice Cooper. He co-wrote some of the band's most notable songs, including "I'm Eighteen" and "School's Out".

1946

Sonia Gandhi

Italian-Indian politician

Sonia Gandhi is an Indian politician. She is the longest-serving president of the Indian National Congress, a big-tent liberal political party, which has governed India for most of its post-independence history. She…

1946

Nicholas Reade

English bishop

Nicholas Stewart Reade is a retired British Anglican bishop. He was the Bishop of Blackburn in the Province of York from 2004 to 2012.

1946

Tom Daschle

American soldier, academic, and politician

Thomas Andrew Daschle is an American politician and lobbyist who represented South Dakota in the United States Senate from 1987 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he led the Senate Democratic Caucus during the…

1947

Jaak Jõerüüt

Estonian politician, 24th Estonian Minister of Defense

Jaak Jõerüüt is an Estonian writer and politician. He was the defense minister of Estonia from November 2004 to 10 October 2005.

1947

Allan Jones

English cricketer and umpire

Allan Arthur Jones is an English cricket umpire and a former cricketer. When he joined Glamorgan in 1980 he became the first cricketer to represent four English first-class counties.

1947

Marleen Gorris

Dutch director and screenwriter

Marleen Gorris is a Dutch former writer and director. Gorris is known as an outspoken feminist and supporter of gay and lesbian issues which is reflected in much of her work. Her film, Antonia's Line, won an Oscar for…

1948

Jonathan Sumption

English historian, author, and judge

Jonathan Philip Chadwick Sumption, Lord Sumption,, is a British author, medieval historian, barrister and former senior judge who sat on the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom between 2012 and 2018 and on the Hong Kong…

1948

Tom Kite

American golfer and architect

Thomas Oliver Kite Jr. is an American professional golfer and golf course architect. He won the U.S. Open in 1992 and spent 175 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 1989 and 1994.

1949

Joan Armatrading

Kittian-English singer-songwriter and guitarist

Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. Her first major commercial success came with her third and fourth albums, Joan Armatrading (1976) and Show Some Emotion (1977), and she…

1950

Liaqat Baloch

Pakistani politician

Liaqat Baloch is a Pakistani political leader, who is currently serving as the Naib Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, a Pakistani Islamic religio-political party.

1952

Michael Dorn

American actor and voice artist

Michael Dorn is an American actor best known for his role as the Klingon character Worf in the Star Trek franchise, appearing in all seven seasons of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), and…

1952

Cornelis de Bondt

Dutch composer and educator

Cornelis de Bondt is a Dutch composer. Born in The Hague, de Bondt attended the Royal Conservatory there and currently teaches composition and music theory at the same institution.

1953

World B. Free

American basketball player

World B. Free is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1975 to 1988. Free was known as the "Prince of Mid-Air", "Brownsville Bomber", and most…

1953

John Malkovich

American actor and producer

John Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer and director. His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award and nominations for two Academy Awards, two Actor Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, and three…

1953

Jean-Claude Juncker

Luxembourger lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Luxembourg

Jean-Claude Juncker is a Luxembourgish politician who was prime minister of Luxembourg from 1995 to 2013 and president of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. He was also Luxembourg's Finance Minister from 1989 to…

1954

Henk ten Cate

Dutch footballer and manager

Hendrik Willem ten Cate is a Dutch football coach and former player who is head coach of the Suriname national team.

1954

Otis Birdsong

American basketball player and radio host

Otis Lee Birdsong is an American former professional basketball player. He spent twelve seasons (1977–1989) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and appeared in four NBA All-Star Games.

1955

Chamras Saewataporn

Thai singer-songwriter

Chamras Saewataporn, is an accomplished Thai musician and composer who first turned professional at the age of 18. He began his musical career working in night clubs and later joined one of the Thai bands of that era,…

1955

Sylvia

American country singer-songwriter

Sylvia Jane Kirby, known professionally as Sylvia, is an American singer, songwriter and life coach. In the 1980s decade, she had 11 US top ten country chart songs, including "Nobody" (1982), which crossed over onto the…

1956

Jean-Pierre Thiollet

French journalist and author

Jean-Pierre Thiollet is a French writer and journalist. He is also affiliated with the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions, a European trade union.

1956

Peter O'Mara

Australian guitarist and composer

Peter John O'Mara is an Australian-born jazz guitarist, composer, arranger, teacher and author. He has been based in Germany since late 1981.

1957

Donny Osmond

American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor

Donald Clark Osmond is an American singer, actor, television host and former teen idol. He gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gold albums. In the…

1957

Steve Taylor

American singer-songwriter and producer

Roland Stephen Taylor is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, music executive, filmmaker, assistant professor, and actor. A figure in what has come to be known as Christian alternative rock, Taylor enjoyed a…

1957

Susan Bullock

English soprano

Susan Margaret Bullock is a British soprano. She has performed dramatic soprano parts at major opera houses, and also sung in concert and recital.

1959

Mario Cantone

American comedian, actor, and writer

Mario Cantone is an American comedian, writer, actor, singer, and television host. He played Anthony Marentino in Sex and the City (2000–2004) and its revival And Just Like That... (2021–2025) and Terri in Men in Trees…

1959

Stefen Fangmeier

American visual effects designer and director

Stefen Markus Fangmeier is an American visual effects supervisor and film director. He worked on numerous major feature films, including Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Saving Private Ryan, Terminator…

1960

Caroline Lucas

English activist and politician

Caroline Patricia Lucas is a British politician who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2003 to 2006, 2007 to 2012, and from 2016 to 2018. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Pavilion…

1960

Dobroslav Paraga

Croatian politician

Dobroslav Paraga is a Croatian far-right politician. He was the first president of the far-right Croatian Party of Rights, after the party was reestablished in 1991. In 1993 he founded the Croatian Party of Rights 1861…

1960

Juan Samuel

Dominican baseball player and manager

Juan Milton Samuel is a Dominican former professional baseball second baseman and outfielder who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). A three-time National League (NL) All-Star, he appeared in the 1983…

1960

David Anthony Higgins

American actor and screenwriter

David Anthony Higgins is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Craig Feldspar on Malcolm in the Middle, Joe on Ellen, and Reginald Bitters on Big Time Rush. He also had a recurring role as Harry on…

1961

Joe Lando

American actor

Joseph John Lando is an American actor, known for playing Jake Harrison on daytime's One Life to Live (1990–1992) and Byron Sully on the television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993–1998).

1961

Felicity Huffman

American actress and producer

Felicity Kendall Huffman is an American actress. She is known for her role as Lynette Scavo in the ABC comedy-drama Desperate Housewives and her role as Sabrina "Bree" Osbourne, a transgender woman, in the film…

1962

Roxanne Swentzell

Santa Clara Pueblo (Native American) ceramic sculptor

Roxanne Swentzell is a Santa Clara Tewa Native American sculptor, ceramic artist, Indigenous food activist, and gallerist. Her artworks are in major public collections and she has won numerous awards.

1962

Dave Hilton Jr.

Canadian boxer

Dave "Davey" Hilton Jr. is a Canadian former boxing world champion. He is also known for being convicted of sexually assaulting two of his daughters.

1963

Empress Masako

Japanese consort of Emperor Naruhito

Masako is Empress of Japan as the wife of Emperor Naruhito.

1963

Michael Foster

American drummer

Michael Foster is an American musician best known as the drummer and founding member of rock band FireHouse. Foster and guitarist/founding member Bill Leverty are the only original members still active in the band,…

1964

Ross Harrington

Australian rugby league player

Ross Harrington is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He primarily played at wing he played club football with the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Eastern Suburbs…

1964

Hape Kerkeling

German actor and singer

Hans Peter Wilhelm "Hape" Kerkeling is a German comedian, TV presenter, author, and actor.

1964

Johannes B. Kerner

German journalist and sportscaster

Johannes Baptist Kerner is a German television host, journalist, and former sportscaster.

1964

Les Kiss

Australian rugby league player

Les Kiss is an Australian rugby union coach and former rugby league coach and professional rugby league footballer, representing Queensland in State of Origin. Kiss is the current head coach of Super Rugby Pacific side,…

1964

Paul Landers

German guitarist

Paul Landers is a German musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist of Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein, and punk rock bands Feeling B and First Arsch. Landers has released eight studio albums and three live albums…

1964

Joe Ausanio

American baseball player and coach

Joseph John Ausanio is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who appeared in 41 games for the New York Yankees in 1994 and 1995. He is the current Director of Baseball Operations for the New York…

1965

Kirsten Gillibrand

American lawyer and politician

Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from New York since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as a member of the U.S. House of…

1966

Dave Harold

English snooker player

David William Harold is an English former professional snooker player from Stoke-on-Trent. He was known by the nicknames of "the Hard Man" and "the Stoke Potter". As an amateur he played as David Harold, but after…

1966

Gideon Sa'ar

Israeli lawyer and politician, 24th Israeli Minister of Internal Affairs

Gideon Moshe Sa'ar is an Israeli politician currently serving as Israel's Foreign Minister. Sa'ar was first elected to the Knesset as a member of Likud in 2003, serving until 2014. During that period, he served as…

1966

Martin Taylor

English footballer and coach

Martin Taylor is an English former footballer. He was a goalkeeper. During his time at Wycombe, Taylor went on to miss just seven League games in four seasons, culminating in a clean sweep of the Player of the Season…

1966

Joshua Bell

American violinist and conductor

Joshua David Bell is an American violinist and conductor. He is the music director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.

1967

Jason Dozzell

English footballer and manager

Jason Irvin Winans Dozzell is an English football manager and former professional footballer.

1967

Kurt Angle

American freestyle and professional wrestler

Kurt Steven Angle is an American former professional wrestler and amateur wrestler. Currently, he is a sports analyst for Real American Freestyle. He first earned recognition for winning a gold medal in freestyle…

1968

Brian Bell

American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Brian Lane Bell is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and occasional lead vocalist of the rock band Weezer, with whom he has recorded fifteen…

1968

Brent Price

American basketball player

Hartley Brent Price is an American former professional basketball player who played for four teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the brother of 4-time NBA All-Star, Mark Price.

1968

Jakob Dylan

American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Jakob Luke Dylan is an American singer-songwriter. He rose to fame as the lead vocalist, guitarist, and principal songwriter of the rock band the Wallflowers, which he formed in 1989.

1969

Saskia Garel

Jamaican-Canadian singer-songwriter

Saskia Garel is a Jamaican-Canadian musician and actress.

1969

Lori Greiner

American businesswoman and television personality

Lori Greiner is an American television personality and entrepreneur. She is known for her QVC show Clever & Unique Creations (2000–present), for which she has been called the "Queen of QVC" and additionally being an…

1969

Annick Lambrecht

Belgian politician

Annick Lambrecht is a Belgian politician and member of the Chamber of Representatives. A member of Vooruit, she has represented West Flanders since June 2024. She had previously been a member of the Chamber of…

1969

Bixente Lizarazu

French footballer

Bixente Jean Michel Lizarazu is a French former professional footballer who played as a left-back.

1969

Raphaël Rouquier

French mathematician and academic

Raphaël Alexis Marcel Rouquier is a French mathematician and a professor of mathematics at UCLA.

1969

Allison Smith

American actress

Allison Smith is an American actress, singer, writer and director, best known for her work on television as Mallory O'Brien in Aaron Sorkin's Emmy Award-winning NBC drama The West Wing and for starring on Broadway in…

1969

Kara DioGuardi

American singer-songwriter and producer

Kara Elizabeth DioGuardi is an American songwriter, record producer, music publisher, A&R executive, and singer. She primarily writes music in the pop rock genre. She has worked with many popular artists; sales of…

1970

Lance Krall

American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

Lance Krall is an American producer, screenwriter, and actor. He became well known after his portrayal as "Kip" in the role in faux-reality show The Joe Schmo Show. He went on to create and star in The Lance Krall Show…

1970

Geoff Barrow

English drummer, DJ, composer, and producer

Geoffrey Paul Barrow is an English music producer, composer, and DJ. He is a member of the bands Portishead, Beak, and Quakers, and he has scored several films.

1971

Nick Hysong

American pole vaulter and coach

Nick E. Hysong is an American athlete competing in the men's pole vault. Best known for winning the Olympic gold medal in 2000 with a personal best jump of 5.90 metres, he also won a bronze medal at the 2001 World…

1971

Petr Nedvěd

Czech-Canadian ice hockey player

Petr Nedvěd is a Czech-Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1990 and 2007.

1971

Reiko Aylesworth

American actress

Reiko M. Aylesworth is an American actress. She is known for playing Michelle Dessler in the action television series 24.

1972

Tré Cool

German-American drummer and songwriter

Frank Edwin Wright III, better known by his stage name Tré Cool, is a German-American musician and songwriter, best known as the long-time drummer for the rock band Green Day. He replaced the band's former drummer John…

1972

Michael Corcoran

American singer-songwriter and producer

Michael Thomas Corcoran, known professionally as Backhouse Mike or Ken Lofkoll, is an American musician, record producer, and composer. He has composed music for Nickelodeon's Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, iCarly, Victorious,…

1972

Fabrice Santoro

Tahitian-French tennis player and sportscaster

Fabrice Vetea Santoro is a French former professional tennis player. Successful in both singles and doubles, he had a lengthy professional career, with many of his accomplishments coming towards the end of his career,…

1972

Saima Wazed

Bangladeshi psychologist

Saima Wazed, also known as Putul, is the daughter of Bangladesh's former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. She served as the South East Asian regional director for the World Health Organization from 1 November 2023, to 11…

1972

Stacey Abrams

American politician and activist

Stacey Yvonne Abrams is an American politician, lawyer, voting rights activist, and author who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017, serving as minority leader from 2011 to 2017. A member of…

1973

Fabio Artico

Italian footballer

Fabio Artico is an Italian former footballer.

1973

Vénuste Niyongabo

Burundian runner

Vénuste Niyongabo is a Burundian former long and middle-distance runner. In 1996, he became the first Olympic medalist from Burundi by winning the 5000 metres at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He had only competed twice…

1973

Bárbara Padilla

Mexican-American soprano

Bárbara Padilla is a Mexican-American operatic soprano. She was the runner-up on the fourth season of America's Got Talent. She is well known as a survivor of Hodgkin's lymphoma.

1973

David Akers

American football player

David Roy Akers is an American former professional football player who was a kicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He began his career in 1998…

1974

Canibus

Jamaican-American rapper

Germaine Williams, better known by his stage name Canibus, is a Jamaican-American rapper. First having gained recognition for his freestyling abilities, he signed with Universal Records to release his debut studio…

1974

Aloísio da Silva Filho

Brazilian footballer

Aloísio da Silva Filho, known as Aloísio, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Potiguar de Mossoró.

1974

Wendy Dillinger

American soccer player, coach, and manager

Wendy Dillinger is an American former professional soccer player and coach. She served as the head soccer coach at Washington University in St. Louis, Iowa State University, and the University of Missouri–St. Louis, and…

1974

Fiona MacDonald

Scottish curler

Fiona MacDonald MBE is a Scottish curler and Olympic champion, born in Paisley. She received a gold medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

1974

Mona Hanna-Attisha

American pediatrician, professor, and public health advocate

Mona Hanna, formerly known as Mona Hanna-Attisha, is a pediatrician, professor, and public health advocate whose research exposed the Flint water crisis. She is the author of the 2018 book What the Eyes Don't See, which…

1976

Shayne Graham

American football player

Michael Shayne Graham is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies. He made his…

1977

Imogen Heap

English singer-songwriter and keyboard player

Imogen Jennifer Jane Heap is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur. She is considered a pioneer in pop music, particularly electropop, and in music technology.

1977

Gastón Gaudio

Argentinian tennis player

Gastón Norberto Gaudio is an Argentine former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 5 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals, achieved in April 2005. Gaudio won eight ATP…

1978

Jesse Metcalfe

American actor and musician

Jesse Eden Metcalfe is an American actor. He is known for playing John Rowland on Desperate Housewives. Metcalfe has also had notable roles on Passions and played the title role in John Tucker Must Die. He starred as…

1978

Olivia Lufkin

Japanese-American singer-songwriter

Olivia Lufkin, known professionally as Olivia, is a Japanese singer and songwriter. Lufkin began her solo career after singing in the Japanese girl group D&D. She gained mainstream success in 2006 after creating songs…

1979

Stephen McPhail

Irish footballer

Stephen John Paul McPhail is an Irish former professional footballer. A play-making central midfielder, McPhail started his career at Leeds United in the Premier League. He subsequently found success at Cardiff City,…

1979

Aiko Uemura

Japanese skier

Aiko Uemura is a Japanese freestyle skier. She participates in moguls and dual moguls.

1979

Simon Helberg

American actor, comedian, and musician

Simon Maxwell Helberg is an American actor and comedian. From 2007 to 2019, he played Howard Wolowitz on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory and won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a…

1980

Ryder Hesjedal

Canadian cyclist

Eric Ryder Hesjedal is a Canadian retired professional racing cyclist who competed in mountain biking and road racing between 1998 and 2016. Hesjedal won a silver medal at the 1998 Junior, 2001 Under-23, and Elite world…

1980

Mark Riddell

Australian rugby league player and sportscaster

Mark Robert Riddell is an Australian rugby league commentator and former professional player who played as a hooker in the 2000s and 2010s. A City New South Wales representative goal-kicker, he played in the National…

1980

Mardy Fish

American tennis player

Mardy Simpson Fish is an American former professional tennis player. He was a hardcourt specialist. He is one of several American tennis players who rose to prominence in the early 2000s.

1981

Tamilla Abassova

Russian cyclist

Tamilla Rashidovna Abassova is a Russian racing cyclist who won the silver medal in the women's sprint event at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and the silver medal at the 2005 UCI Track Cycling World Championships…

1982

Nathalie De Vos

Belgian runner

Nathalie De Vos is a Belgian long-distance runner who specializes in the 5000 and 10,000 metres.

1982

Ryan Grant

American football player

Ryan Brett Grant is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). Grant played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, rushing for over 1,000…

1982

Jim Slater

American ice hockey player

James Parker Slater is an American former professional ice hockey forward. He spent the entirety of his National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets organization.

1982

Bastian Swillims

German sprinter

Bastian Swillims is a German sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres. He was born in Dortmund.

1982

Jermaine Beckford

English-Jamaican footballer

Jermaine Paul Alexander Beckford is a football pundit and former professional footballer who played as a striker. He began his career as a trainee at Chelsea, and played for Wealdstone, Uxbridge, Leeds United, Carlisle…

1983

Neslihan Demir Darnel

Turkish volleyball player

Neslihan Demir is a retired Turkish volleyball star. She is one of the most successful athletes of Turkey and has been among FIVB Heroes. She represented her country as the flag bearer at the 2012 Summer Olympics and…

1983

Dariusz Dudka

Polish footballer

Dariusz Dudka is a Polish former professional footballer. He played as a defensive midfielder or full-back and also as a centre-back. He is currently the assistant coach of the Poland U21 national team.

1983

Jolene Purdy

American actress

Jolene Purdy is an American actress. Purdy starred as Cherita Chen in the 2001 film Donnie Darko. Among her television credits is the Fox sitcom Do Not Disturb, which debuted in 2008, as well as the ABC Family comedy…

1983

Ángel Guirado

Spanish–Filipino footballer

Ángel Aldeguer Guirado, known as Ángel Guirado, is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. He represented the Philippines at senior level.

1984

Leon Hall

American football player

Leon Lastarza Hall is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and earned consensus All-American…

1984

Wil Besseling

Dutch golfer

Wil Besseling is a Dutch professional golfer.

1985

Aron Baynes

Australian basketball player

Aron John Baynes is an Australian former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Washington State University before starting his professional career in Europe. In 2013, he joined the San Antonio…

1986

Kostas Giannoulis

Greek footballer

Kostas Giannoulis is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a defender.

1987

Gerald Henderson Jr.

American basketball player

Jerome McKinley "Gerald" Henderson Jr. is an American former professional basketball player who played eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils.…

1987

Mat Latos

American baseball player

Mathew Adam Latos is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres from 2009 through 2011, the Cincinnati Reds from 2012 through 2014, and the Miami…

1987

Hikaru Nakamura

Japanese-American chess player

Christopher Hikaru Nakamura is an American chess grandmaster, internet personality, five-time U.S. Chess Champion, and the 2022 World Fischer Random Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he earned his grandmaster title at…

1987

Jeff Petry

American ice hockey player

Jeffrey Petry is an American professional ice hockey player who is a defenseman for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL).

1987

Joshua Sasse

English actor

Joshua Seymour Sasse is a British actor. He is known for playing Sir Gary Galavant in ABC's Galavant (2015-2016). Other credits include The Big I Am (2010), Frankenstein's Army (2012), Rogue (2013–2014), The Neighbors…

1987

Kwadwo Asamoah

Ghanaian footballer

Kwadwo Asamoah is a Ghanaian former professional footballer. Mainly a left midfielder or left-back, he was also occasionally deployed as a central midfielder.

1988

Eric Bledsoe

American basketball player

Eric Bledsoe is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He plays the point guard position. After a season of college basketball…

1989

Ashleigh Brewer

Australian actress

Ashleigh May Brewer (born 9 December 1990) is an Australian actress. She had a recurring role in The Sleepover Club, before she joined the cast of H2O: Just Add Water. Brewer played the role of Kate Ramsay in the…

1990

Denise Hannema

Dutch cricketer

Denise van Deventer is a Dutch international cricketer who debuted for the Dutch national team in 2008, and was appointed its captain in 2015. In June 2018, she was named in the Netherlands' squad for the 2018 ICC…

1990

Langston Galloway

American basketball player

Langston Arnold Galloway is an American professional basketball player for Esenler Erokspor of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He played college basketball for the Saint Joseph's Hawks.

1991

Choi Min-ho

South Korean singer and actor

Choi Min-ho, known mononymously as Minho, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, rapper and actor. In May 2008, he debuted as a member of South Korean boy band Shinee which later became one of the best-selling Korean…

1991

Cem Ince

German politician

Cem Hamit Ince is a German politician and member of the Bundestag. A member of The Left, he has represented Lower Saxony since 2025.

1993

Mark McMorris

Canadian snowboarder

Mark Lee McMorris is a Canadian professional snowboarder who specializes in slopestyle and big air events. A three-time Olympic bronze medallist, he placed third in each of the 2014 Winter Olympics, 2018 Winter…

1993

Laura Smulders

Dutch cyclist

Laura Smulders is a Dutch racing cyclist who represents the Netherlands in BMX. She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the women's BMX event where she won the bronze medal.

1993

Ryan Lomberg

Canadian ice hockey player

Ryan Lomberg is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a left winger for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). Lomberg won the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers in 2024.

1994

Simone Fontecchio

Italian basketball player

Simone Fontecchio is an Italian professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays at the small forward position.

1995

Kelly Oubre Jr.

American basketball player

Kelly Paul Oubre Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Oubre played one season of college basketball for the University of Kansas…

1995

Mackenzie Blackwood

Canadian ice hockey player

Mackenzie Blackwood is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a goaltender for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). Blackwood was the top-rated North American goaltender ranked in the…

1996

Kyle Connor

American ice hockey player

Kyle David Connor is an American professional ice hockey player for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Connor was drafted 17th overall by the Jets in the 2015 NHL entry draft.

1996

MyKayla Skinner

American gymnast

MyKayla Brooke Skinner Harmer is an American former artistic gymnast. She was the 2020 Olympic vault silver medalist, competing as an individual, and was an alternate for the 2016 Olympic team. Skinner competed at the…

1996

AleXa

American singer based in South Korea

Alexaundra Christine Schneiderman, known professionally as AleXa (Korean: 알렉사) or Kim Se-ri (김세리), formerly Alex Christine, is an American singer based in South Korea. She debuted as a K-pop singer in October 2019. In…

1996

Harvey Barnes

English footballer

Harvey Lewis Barnes is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Newcastle United and the England national team.

1997

Diāna Ņikitina

Latvian figure skater

Diāna Ņikitina is a Latvian former figure skater. She is the 2017 Golden Bear of Zagreb champion, the 2018 Cup of Tyrol silver medalist, and the 2018 Latvian national champion. She competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics…

2000

Yuna

South Korean rapper, singer and dancer

Shin Yu-na, known mononymously as Yuna, is a South Korean singer, dancer, rapper, and actress. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Itzy, formed by JYP Entertainment in 2019. She made her acting debut in 2026…

2003

Ni-Ki

Japanese singer

Nishimura Riki , known professionally as Ni-Ki, is a Japanese singer and dancer based in South Korea. He is a member of the boy band Enhypen under Belift Lab, formed through the reality survival show I-Land in 2020.

2005

Famous birthdays

Who was born on December 9?

McKayla Maroney — American artistic gymnast (born 1995)

FeaturedMcKayla Maroney

Birth year1995

Known forShe was a member of the American women's gymnastics team, dubbed the Fierce Five, that won a gold medal in the team competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Birthdays on this date263 (1392 – 2005)

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2021

Fifty-five people are killed and more than 100 injured when a truck with 160 migrants from Central America overturned in Chiapas, Mexico. Wikipedia →

2019

A volcano on Whakaari / White Island, New Zealand, kills 22 people after it erupts. Wikipedia →

2017

The Marriage Amendment Bill receives royal assent and comes into effect, making Australia the 26th country to legalize same-sex marriage. Wikipedia →

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1995 — McKayla Maroney

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