Famous Birthdays on February 21

Robert Jay Rafelson was an American film director, writer, and producer. He is regarded as one of the key figures in the founding of the New Hollywood movement of the 1970s. Among his best-known films as a director include those made as part of the company he co-founded, Raybert/BBS Productions, Five Easy Pieces (1970) and The King of Marvin Gardens (1972) as well as acclaimed later films, The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) and Mountains of the Moon (1990). Other films he produced as part of BBS include two of the most significant films of the era, Easy Rider (1969) and The Last Picture Show (1971). Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces and The Last Picture Show were all chosen for inclusion in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. He was also one of the creators of the pop group and TV series The Monkees with BBS partner Bert Schneider. His first wife was the production designer Toby Carr Rafelson.

Jacob Muzzin is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and current member of the Player Development department for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously had played 12 seasons in the NHL for the Los Angeles Kings and Maple Leafs. Originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2007 NHL entry draft, Muzzin went unsigned and returned to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) as an overage player. There he served as team captain and won the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the top defenceman in the OHL. As a free agent, Muzzin signed with the Kings in 2010, winning a Stanley Cup with the team in 2014. Muzzin was traded to Toronto during the 2018–19 season, where he played parts of five seasons. After a spinal injury suffered in 2022 resulted in his placement on long-term injured reserve, Muzzin joined the Maple Leafs' front office as a professional scout in 2023.

Sir William Goscombe John was a Welsh sculptor known for his many public memorials. As a sculptor, John developed a distinctive style of his own while respecting classical traditions and forms of sculpture. He gained national attention with statues of eminent Victorians in London and Cardiff and subsequently, after both the Second Boer War and World War I, created a large number of war memorials. These included the two large group works, The Response 1914 in Newcastle upon Tyne and the Port Sunlight War Memorial which are considered the finest sculptural ensembles on any British monument. Although as a young man he adopted the first name Goscombe, taken from the name of a village in Gloucestershire near his mother's home, he was actively engaged with his native Wales and Welsh culture throughout his career.

Claudia Vera Jones was a Trinidad and Tobago-born journalist and activist. As a child, she migrated with her family to the United States, where she became a Communist political activist, feminist and Black nationalist, adopting the name Jones as "self-protective disinformation". Due to the political persecution of Communists in the US, she was deported in 1955 and subsequently lived in the United Kingdom. Upon arriving in the UK, she immediately joined the Communist Party of Great Britain and would remain a member for the rest of her life. In 1958, she founded Britain's first major Black newspaper, the West Indian Gazette (1958–1965), and from 1959 she organised a series of indoor Caribbean carnivals that have been cited as an influence on what became the Notting Hill Carnival, the second-largest annual carnival in the world.

Braylon Jamel Edwards is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was a unanimous All-American playing college football for the Michigan Wolverines, winning the Biletnikoff Award in 2004. He is the all-time leader for the University of Michigan in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He was also the first wide receiver in Big Ten Conference history to record three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and only the third to do so in NCAA Division I-A. He was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the third overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft. He also played in the NFL for the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, and Seattle Seahawks.

Robert P. Ryan is an American sportswriter, formerly with The Boston Globe, and author. He has been described as "the quintessential American sportswriter" and a basketball guru, and is well known for his coverage of the sport including his famous stories covering the Boston Celtics in the 1970s. After graduating from Boston College, Ryan started as a sports intern for the Globe on the same day as Peter Gammons, and later worked with other notable Globe sportswriters Will McDonough and Leigh Montville. In early 2012, Ryan announced his retirement from sports writing after 44 years, effective at the conclusion of the 2012 Summer Olympics. His final column in the Globe was published August 12, 2012.

Margarethe von Trotta is a German film director, screenwriter, and actress. She has been referred to as a "leading force" of the New German Cinema movement. Von Trotta's extensive body of work has won awards internationally. She was married to and collaborated with director Volker Schlöndorff. Although they made a successful team, von Trotta felt she was seen as secondary to Schlöndorff. Subsequently, she established a solo career for herself and became "Germany's foremost female film director, who has offered the most sustained and successful female variant of Autorenkino in postwar German film history". Certain aspects of von Trotta's work have been compared to Ingmar Bergman's features from the 1960s and 1970s.

Brian Lee Rolston is an American former professional ice hockey player who most recently played for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He won a Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 1995, and the World Cup of Hockey in 1996 playing for the United States. Rolston has represented the U.S. three times in Olympic competition for ice hockey. In the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, he won the silver medal. Rolston was born in Flint, Michigan, but grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He has served as head coach of the Little Caesars 2001 hockey club as well as assisting with the Little Caesars 2005 team.

Folke Ronnie Wallentin Hellström was a Swedish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He represented Hammarby IF and 1. FC Kaiserslautern during a career that spanned between 1966 and 1984. He was considered one of the world's best goalkeepers in the 1970s. In 1988, he played one Allsvenskan game for GIF Sundsvall following an injury crisis. As a full international between 1968 and 1980, he won 77 caps for the Sweden national team and represented his country at the 1970, 1974, and 1978 FIFA World Cups. He was awarded Guldbollen as Sweden's best footballer of the year in both 1971 and 1978.

Eniola "Eni" Aluko is a British-Nigerian football executive, football broadcaster and former professional player, who played as a winger and striker. Aluko has been a broadcaster for live football on ITV, BT Sport, Amazon Prime and Fox Sports in the US, including men's Premier League and Women's Super League matches since 2014. She was the first female footballer to make an appearance on Match of the Day in 2014. She was the first sporting director for Angel City FC of the American National women's soccer league and held the position of sporting director at Aston Villa W.F.C. from January 2020 to June 2021.

Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón, often known as Santa Anna, was a Mexican general, politician, and caudillo who served as the eighth president of Mexico on multiple occasions between 1833 and 1855. A controversial and pivotal figure in Mexican politics during the 19th century, he has been called an "uncrowned monarch" by some historians who refer to the 30 years after Mexico's independence as the "Age of Santa Anna." Santa Anna is often remembered in Mexico as a vendepatria due to the loss of Mexican territory to the United States during his rule.

Jennifer Love Hewitt is an American actress, singer, producer and director. Hewitt began her career as a child, appearing in national television commercials before joining the cast of the Disney Channel series Kids Incorporated (1989–1991), which won her a Young Artist Award. After appearing in the film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993), she had a career breakthrough with the Fox teen drama Party of Five (1995–1999) and became known as a scream queen for her role as Julie James in the horror film I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and two of its three sequels.

Corbin Bleu Reivers is an American actor and singer. He began acting professionally in the late 1990s before rising to prominence in the late 2000s for his leading role as Chad Danforth in the High School Musical trilogy (2006–2008). Songs from the films also charted worldwide, with the song "I Don't Dance" peaking inside the Top 70 of the Billboard Hot 100. During this time, he also starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Jump In! (2007) and the film To Write Love on Her Arms (2015). He competed in the 17th season of Dancing with the Stars.

Richard Allen Lupoff was an American science-fiction and mystery author, who also wrote humor, satire, nonfiction and reviews. In addition to his two dozen novels and more than 40 short stories, he also edited science-fantasy anthologies. He was an expert on the writing of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and had an equally strong interest in H. P. Lovecraft. He also co-edited the non-fiction anthology All in Color For a Dime, which has been described as "the very first published volume dedicated to comic book criticism"; as well as its sequel, The Comic-Book Book.

Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman was an English actor. He was renowned for his stage and screen roles and for his distinctive deep and languid voice. He received various accolades, including a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and an Actor Award, in addition to nominations for two Tony Awards and a Laurence Olivier Award. In 2009, The Guardian named him one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination. Rickman died of pancreatic cancer on 14 January 2016, at the age of 69.

Vitaly Ivanovich Churkin was a Russian diplomat. He served as Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2006 until his death in 2017. Previously he was Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (2003–2006), Ambassador to Canada (1998–2003), Ambassador to Belgium and Liaison Ambassador to NATO and WEU (1994–1998), Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation to the talks on Former Yugoslavia (1992–1994), and Director of the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR/Russian Federation (1990–1992).

Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French actor, Lucien Guitry, and followed his father into the theatrical profession. He became known for his stage performances, particularly in boulevardier roles. He was also a prolific playwright, writing 115 plays throughout his career. He was married five times, always to rising actresses whose careers he furthered. Probably his best-known wife was Yvonne Printemps to whom he was married between 1919 and 1932.

Allen Kelsey Grammer is an American actor and comedian. He gained fame for his role as the Harvard-educated Boston psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom Cheers (1984–1993) and its spin-off Frasier. With more than 20 years on air, this is one of the longest-running roles played by a single live-action actor in primetime television history. He has received numerous accolades including a total of six Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, two Satellite Awards, two People's Choice Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Tony Award.

Steven D'Shawn Francis is an American former professional basketball player. He was selected with the second overall pick of the 1999 NBA draft and was named co-NBA Rookie of the Year in his first season. He was a three-time NBA All-Star while playing for the Houston Rockets. Francis also played for the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks, finishing his career with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association. He was known for his crossover dribble, driving ability, and flashy dunks. He was given the nickname Stevie Franchise.

Robert Gabriel Mugabe was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who led Zimbabwe from 1980 until 2017. He served as the country's first prime minister from 1980 to 1987 and as its second president from 1987 to 2017. He also led the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) from 1975 to 1980 and then its successor political party, the ZANU – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF), from 1980 to 2017. Ideologically an African nationalist, during the 1970s and 1980s he identified as a Marxist–Leninist, and from the 1990s as a socialist.

Thelma Estrin was an American computer scientist and engineer who did pioneering work in the fields of expert systems and biomedical engineering. Estrin was one of the first to apply computer technology to healthcare and medical research. In 1954, Estrin helped to design the Weizmann Automatic Computer, or WEIZAC, the first computer in Israel and the Middle East, a moment marked as an IEEE Milestone in Electrical and Computer Engineering. She was professor emerita in the Department of Computer Science, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

Maurice Bembridge was an English professional golfer. Early in his career he had some success on the British PGA, winning the 1969 News of the World Match Play and the 1971 Dunlop Masters. He would go on to win six times on the British PGA's successor circuit, the European Tour. He also had some success overseas, winning the New Zealand Golf Circuit's Caltex Tournament in 1970 and the Kenya Open three times. Late in his career, Bembridge had some success on the European Senior Tour, winning twice.

Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader was a Royal Air Force flying ace during the Second World War, who achieved great success despite loss of the lower part of both his legs after a 1931 air crash, one amputation above the knee and the other below the knee. Resuming flying in 1939 after being re-checked for his flying abilities, he became a front-line fighter leader. He was credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared probable and 11 enemy aircraft damaged.

Wystan Hugh Auden was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry is noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in tone, form, and content. Some of his best known poems are about love, such as "Funeral Blues"; on political and social themes, such as "September 1, 1939" and "The Shield of Achilles"; on cultural and psychological themes, such as The Age of Anxiety; and on religious themes, such as "For the Time Being" and "Horae Canonicae".

Kim Frederick Coates is a Canadian and American actor and producer. He is known for his starring roles as Alexander "Tig" Trager on the FX television series Sons of Anarchy (2008–14) and as Declan Gardiner on the Citytv series Bad Blood (2017–18). He has also had notable roles on Prison Break, CSI: Miami, Ghost Wars, Godless, Van Helsing, and as Brigham Young on American Primeval, and played Ronnie Hortense in the cult hockey comedy Goon (2011) and its sequel Goon: Last of the Enforcers (2017).

Margaret Arline Judge was an American actress and singer who worked mostly in low-budget B movies, but gained some fame for habitually marrying, including two brothers. Judge specialized in playing fairly earthy women of often questionable virtue and was at the peak of her career in her first years in Hollywood, starring in such pre-Code films as The Age of Consent and Sensation Hunters, films often made at poverty row studios. She also played supporting roles in some major releases by the major studios.

John Travilla Ramsay was an American basketball coach, commonly known as "Dr. Jack". He was best known for leading the Portland Trail Blazers to the 1977 NBA championship, and for his broadcasting work with the Indiana Pacers, the Miami Heat, and for ESPN TV and ESPN Radio. Ramsay was among the most respected coaches in NBA history and a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the winner of the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award for the 2009–10 NBA season.

Gary Lockwood is an American actor. Lockwood is best known for his roles as astronaut Frank Poole in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), and as Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell in the Star Trek second pilot episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (1966). He starred in the only American film by French New Wave director Jacques Demy, Model Shop. He played numerous guest television roles from the early 1960s into the mid-1990s, and played the title role in The Lieutenant (1963–1964).

Otto Hermann Kahn was a German-born American investment banker, collector, philanthropist, and patron of the arts. Kahn was a well-known figure, appearing on the cover of Time magazine and was sometimes referred to as the "King of New York". In business, he was best known as a partner at Kuhn, Loeb & Co. who reorganized and consolidated railroads. In his personal life, he was a great patron of the arts, where among things, he served as the chairman of the Metropolitan Opera.

Olympia Jean Snowe is an American businesswoman and politician who was a United States senator, representing Maine for three terms from 1995 to 2013. A lifelong member of the Republican Party, Snowe played an influential role in influencing the outcome of close votes in the U.S. Senate and in ending U.S. Senate filibusters. In 2006, Time magazine named her one of "America's Best Senators". Throughout her U.S. Senate career, she was considered one of the chamber's most moderate members.

William Louis Petersen is a retired American actor. He is best known for his role as Gil Grissom in the CBS drama thriller series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000–2015), for which he won a Screen Actors Guild Award and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award; he was further nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards as a producer of the show. He reprised his role as Gil Grissom in the sequel CSI: Vegas, which premiered on October 6, 2021.

Roberto Mario Gómez y Bolaños, more commonly known by his stage name Chespirito, was a Mexican actor, comedian, screenwriter, songwriter, humorist, director, producer, and author. He is widely regarded as one of the icons of Spanish-speaking humor and entertainment and one of the greatest comedians of all time. He is also one of the most loved and respected comedians in Latin America. He is mostly known by his acting role Chavo from the sitcom El Chavo del Ocho.

Frederick Joseph Ricketts was an English composer of marches for band. Under the pen name Kenneth J. Alford, he composed marches which are considered to be great examples of the art. He was a bandmaster in the British Army, and Royal Marines director of music. Conductor Vivian Dunn called him "The British March King". Alford's frequent use of the saxophone contributed to its permanent inclusion in military bands. His best known work is the "Colonel Bogey March".

Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and erotica. Born to Cuban parents in France, Nin was the daughter of the composer Joaquín Nin and the classically trained singer Rosa Culmell. Nin spent her early years in Spain and Cuba, about sixteen years in Paris (1924–1940), and the remaining half of her life in the United States, where she became an established author.

Nina Simone was an American composer, concert pianist, singer, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Simone's bearing and stage presence earned her the title the High Priestess of Soul. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and pop. Her piano playing was strongly influenced by baroque and classical music, especially Johann Sebastian Bach, and accompanied expressive, jazz-like singing in her contralto voice. Rolling Stone named Simone one of the greatest singers on various lists.

Tiziano Ferro is an Italian pop singer and songwriter. He broke through in 2001 with his international hit single "Xdono", and has since remained commercially successful in several countries. Ferro has released a Spanish version of each of his albums and has also sung in English, Portuguese, and French. Known as the modern face of Italian pop music, he frequently writes songs for other artists and has produced albums for Giusy Ferreri, Alessandra Amoroso, and Baby K.

Anthony Daniels is a British actor and mime artist, best known for playing C-3PO in 11 Star Wars films, from Star Wars (1977) to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). He wore the costume and voiced his character in the films and several animated television series. Initially, Daniels did not want to play a robotic character; however Ralph McQuarrie's first concept painting of C-3PO and R2-D2 on Tatooine evoked empathy from him.

Joseph Matthew Alwyn is an English actor. Alwyn made his feature film debut as the titular character in Ang Lee's 2016 war drama Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk and has since played roles in films such as The Favourite (2018), Boy Erased (2018), Mary Queen of Scots (2018), Harriet (2019), Catherine Called Birdy (2022), The Brutalist (2024), and Hamnet (2025), as well as the BBC and Hulu drama series Conversations with Friends (2022).

Metawin Opas-iamkajorn, widely known as Win Metawin, is a Thai actor and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2020 with his acting debut in Thai drama 2gether and gained further recognition with his role in F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers. In addition to his work in entertainment, Metawin is a brand ambassador for luxury brands Prada and Tiffany & Co. and was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia class of 2023.

Eino Ilmari "Illu" Juutilainen was a fighter pilot of the Ilmavoimat, and the top scoring non-German fighter pilot of all time. The top flying ace of the Finnish Air Force, he led all Finnish pilots in score against Soviet aircraft in World War II, with 94 confirmed aerial combat victories in 437 sorties. He achieved 58 of his victories while flying a Messerschmitt Bf 109G and 34 with a Brewster Buffalo.

Carl Czerny was an Austrian composer, music educator, and pianist of Czech origin. His music spanned the late Classical and early Romantic eras. His vast musical production amounted to over a thousand works and his books of studies for the piano are still widely used in piano teaching. He was one of Ludwig van Beethoven's best-known pupils and would later become one of the main teachers of Franz Liszt.

Sarah Hayley Orrantia is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She is best known for portraying Erica Goldberg on the ABC comedy series The Goldbergs (2013–2023). She had previously been a member of Lakoda Rayne, a girl group assembled by Paula Abdul during the first season of The X Factor. She released her debut single "Love Sick" in 2015 and her debut EP The Way Out in 2019.

Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor was a French organist, composer, teacher, conductor and critic of the late Romantic era. As a composer he is best known for his ten symphonies for solo organ, a genre he invented. He was helped in this by the innovative organs built by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. The final Toccata of his Organ Symphony No. 5 is frequently played as recessional music at weddings and other celebrations.

Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña, was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were either students of Segovia or students of Segovia's students. Segovia's contribution to the modern-romantic repertoire included not only commissions but also his own transcriptions of classical or baroque works. He is remembered for his expressive performances: his wide palette of tone, and his distinctive musical personality, phrasing and style.

Barbara Charline Jordan was an American politician, attorney, and educator. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate since Reconstruction, the first woman descendant of American slavery elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and one of the first two African Americans elected to the U.S. House from the former Confederacy since 1901, alongside Andrew Young of Georgia.

Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck is the current King of Bhutan, reigning since 9 December 2006. A member of the Wangchuck dynasty, he is the eldest son of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, and his third wife, Queen Tshering Yangdon. He received his early education in Bhutan before studying abroad in the United States and the United Kingdom, ultimately graduating from Wheaton College with a degree in politics.

Admiral of the Fleet Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, was a British politician and Navy officer. As captain of the third-rate HMS Berwick, he took part in the Battle of Toulon in February 1744 during the War of the Austrian Succession. He also captured six ships of a French squadron in the Bay of Biscay in the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre in October 1747.

Sir Francis Ronalds was an English scientist and inventor, sometimes described as the first electrical engineer. He was knighted for creating the first working electric telegraph over a substantial distance. In 1816 he laid an 8-mile (13 km) length of iron wire between wooden frames in his mother's garden and sent pulses using electrostatic generators. He also created the first electric clock in 1814.

David Lawrence Geffen is an American film producer, record executive, media proprietor, and philanthropist. In music, he co-founded Asylum Records with Elliot Roberts in 1971 before founding Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1990, and co-founding DreamWorks Records in 1996. In film, he founded the Geffen Film Company in 1982 and co-founded DreamWorks SKG with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg in 1994.

Jeanne Louise Calment was a French supercentenarian who is the oldest person in recorded history whose age has been verified, with a documented lifespan of 122 years and 164 days. Her longevity attracted media attention and medical studies of her health and lifestyle. Calment is the only person in history who has been verified to have reached the age of 120 years.

Alan Stuart Trammell is an American former professional baseball shortstop, manager, and coach. He is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He played for the Detroit Tigers for the entirety of his 20-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB). Trammell has served as a special assistant to the general manager of the Detroit Tigers since the 2014 season.

Antonio Michael Meola is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. He represented the United States national team at the 1990, 1994, and 2002 World Cups. From 1996 to 2006, he played in Major League Soccer, the U.S. top soccer division, where he obtained multiple honors. Meola was a radio host on SiriusXM FC until September of 2026.

Bradley M. Fast is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He spent his amateur career in the British Columbia Hockey League, and was selected in the third round of the 1999 NHL entry draft, 84th overall, by the Carolina Hurricanes. He played in one NHL game for the Hurricanes, scoring a goal, before embarking on a European career.

Franklin Rafael Gutiérrez, nicknamed "Guti", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers. While primarily a center fielder throughout his career, Gutiérrez transitioned to right field for the Mariners in 2016. He is currently a special assignment coach for the Seattle Mariners organization.

Elliot Page is a Canadian actor, producer, and activist. He is known for his leading roles across Canadian and American film and television, and for his work as an activist for LGBTQ rights and against discrimination. His accolades include nominations for an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a SAG Award.

Clara Lou "Ann" Sheridan was an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in the films San Quentin (1937), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), They Drive by Night (1940), City for Conquest (1940), The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942), Kings Row (1942), Nora Prentiss (1947), and I Was a Male War Bride (1949).

Mary Chapin Carpenter is an American country and folk music singer-songwriter. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C.-area clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records. Although her first album, 1987's Hometown Girl, did not produce any charting singles, she broke through with 1989's State of the Heart and 1990's Shooting Straight in the Dark.

Peter III Fyodorovich was Emperor of Russia from 5 January 1762 until 9 July of the same year, when his wife, Catherine II, overthrew him in a palace coup d'état. He implemented many notable reforms during his reign, though he is criticised for undoing Russian gains in the Seven Years' War by forming an alliance with Prussia.

Jeremiah Griffin Harrison is an American musician, record producer, and songwriter. He began his professional music career as a member of the band the Modern Lovers, before becoming keyboardist and guitarist for the new wave group Talking Heads. In 2002, Harrison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Talking Heads.

Devon Anthony Travis is an American professional baseball coach and former second baseman. He was originally drafted by the Detroit Tigers, and made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut on April 6, 2015 with the Toronto Blue Jays, playing with the team from 2015 to 2018. Travis began his coaching career in 2021 with the GCL Braves.

William Baldwin is an American actor and the third of the four Baldwin brothers. He has starred in the films Flatliners (1990), Backdraft (1991), Sliver (1993), Virus (1999), The Squid and the Whale (2005), Forgetting Sarah Marshall, in which he portrayed himself, and the Netflix show Northern Rescue (2019). Baldwin is married to singer Chynna Phillips.

Ryan Alexander Borden Smyth is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played most of his career for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was especially known for playing in the style of a power forward. He has been one of the owners of the BCHL Spruce Grove Saints since 2017.

David Samuel Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and actor. He was known for his revisionist approach to the Western genre, employing a visually innovative and explicit depiction of action and violence. His 1969 film The Wild Bunch received two Academy Award nominations and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Institute's Top 100 list.

Jordan Haworth Peele is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker known for his film and television work in the comedy and horror genres. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. Peele started his career in comedy before transitioning to writing and directing psychological horror with comedic elements.

Jean Frances Tatlock was an American psychiatrist. She was a member of the Communist Party USA and was a reporter and writer for the party's publication Western Worker. She is also known for her romantic relationship with J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II.

Plamen Vasilev Oresharski is a Bulgarian politician who served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 2013 to 2014. Affiliated with the Bulgarian Socialist Party, he previously served as Member of the National Assembly from 2009 to 2013, Minister of Finance from 2005 to 2009 and Deputy Minister of Finance from 1997 to 2001.

David Foster Wallace was an American writer and professor who published novels, short stories, and essays. He is best known for his second novel, Infinite Jest (1996). In 2008, David Ulin wrote in the Los Angeles Times that Wallace was "one of the most influential and innovative writers of the last twenty years".

Raimondo Montecuccoli was an Italian-born professional soldier, military theorist, and diplomat, who served the Habsburg monarchy. His military exploits over his five-decade career earned him a reputation as one of the greatest military commanders in history. He is also regarded as the most distinguished military thinker of the early modern period.

Vincent Leo Welnick was an American keyboardist and singer-songwriter, best known for playing with the band The Tubes during the 1970s and 1980s and with the Grateful Dead in the 1990s. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a member of the Grateful Dead.

Charles Michael Palahniuk is an American novelist who describes his work as transgressive fiction. He has published 19 novels, three nonfiction books, two graphic novels, and two adult coloring books, as well as several short stories. His first published novel, Fight Club, was adapted into a film of the same title.

Carlos Edwin Colón Coates Jr., better known by his ring name Carlito Colón or simply Carlito, is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. As of June 2025, He is signed to World Wrestling Council (WWC). He also makes appearances on the independent circuit. He is best known for his tenures in WWE.

James Joseph Wisniewski is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He most recently played for the Kassel Huskies of the German DEL2. He has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Carolina Hurricanes.

Mirra Alfassa, known to her followers as The Mother or La Mère, was a French-Indian spiritual guru, occultist and yoga teacher, and a collaborator of Sri Aurobindo, who considered her to be of equal yogic stature to him and called her by the name "The Mother" or "Shri Maa".

Shon Seung-wan, known professionally as Wendy (웬디), is a South Korean singer. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Red Velvet. In 2021, she made her solo debut with the EP Like Water. In 2022, she became a member of SM Entertainment's supergroup Got the Beat.

Sir Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar was an Indian colloid chemist, academic and scientific administrator. The first director-general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Bhatnagar is revered as the Father of Research Laboratories in India. He was also the first Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Michael Jonathon Slater is an Australian former professional cricketer and former television presenter. He played in 74 Test matches and 42 One Day Internationals for the Australia national cricket team. He was a part of the Australian squad which finished as runners-up at the 1996 Cricket World Cup.

Heri Joensen is a Faroese musician, notable for being the vocalist for the folk metal band Týr. Heri was born in the Faroe Islands capital of Tórshavn which has had an influence on his song writing. As well as Týr, he has recorded a side project titled Heljareyga.

Tituss Burgess is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in several Broadway musicals. He is best known for starring as Titus Andromedon on the Netflix comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015–2020), for which he received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He is featured in Schmigadoon! (2023).

Donté Dominic Greene is a current American semi-professional basketball player for the Vermont Coyotes of the American Basketball Association. He played college basketball for the Syracuse Orange for one year before being selected with the 28th overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2008 NBA draft.

Sari Miriam Essayah is a Finnish retired racewalker and a politician, former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and Member of Parliament since 2015. She is the president of the Finnish Christian Democrats party. She has been serving as Minister of Agriculture and Forestry since 2023.

Mélanie Laurent is a French actress, filmmaker, and singer. She has received two César Awards and a Lumière Award. Internationally, Laurent is known for her roles in Inglourious Basterds (2009), Now You See Me (2013), Operation Finale (2018) 6 Underground (2019) and Fauda season 5 (2026)

Abe no Seimei was a Japanese onmyōji, a court official and specialist of Onmyōdō, during the middle of the Heian period. In addition to his prominence in history, he is a legendary figure in Japanese folklore. He has been portrayed in several stories and films.

Catherine Richardson is an American singer-songwriter from the Chicago suburbs in Illinois. She is the lead singer for the band Jefferson Starship and her own Cathy Richardson Band, and has performed the Janis Joplin parts for Joplin's former band Big Brother and the Holding Company.

Tsuyoshi Wada is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 2003 to 2011, and 2016 to 2024 for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He also played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2014 to 2015 for the Chicago Cubs.

Eddi-Rue McClanahan was an American actress, primarily known for her work in television sitcoms. She portrayed Vivian Harmon on Maude (1972–1978), Aunt Fran Crowley on Mama's Family (1983–1984), and Blanche Devereaux on both The Golden Girls (1985–1992) and its spin-off The Golden Palace (1992–1993).

Suryakant Tripathi was an Indian poet, writer, composer, and sketch artist who wrote in Hindi. He is considered one of the four major pillars of the Chhayavad period in Hindi literature. He is renowned with the epithet Mahāprāṇ and his pen name Nirālā.

Ellen Tyne Daly is an American actress whose six-decade career included many leading roles in movies and theater. She has won six Emmy Awards for her television work and a Tony Award, and is a 2011 American Theatre Hall of Fame inductee.

Tony Martin was a Trinidad and Tobago-born scholar of Africana Studies. From 1973 to 2007 he worked at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and over the course of his career published more than ten books and a range of scholarly articles.

Michael Hazen James McIntyre is a British comedian, writer, and television presenter. In 2012, he was the highest-grossing stand-up comedian in the world. He presents the variety and stand-up comedy show Michael McIntyre's Big Show and the game show The Wheel.

Riyad Karim Mahrez is a professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Qatar Stars League side Al-Shamal. Born in France, he represented the Algeria national team. He is regarded as one of the best African players of all time.

Noah Rubin is an American former professional tennis player. He was the Wimbledon junior singles champion in 2014, and a former USTA junior national champion in both singles and doubles. After turning pro in 2015, he won four ATP Challenger titles.

Sahle-Work Zewde is an Ethiopian diplomat who served as president of Ethiopia from 2018 to 2024, the first woman to hold the office. She was elected as president unanimously by members of the Federal Parliamentary Assembly on 25 October 2018.

John "Jake" Burns is a singer and guitarist, and is best known as the frontman of Stiff Little Fingers, although he has also recorded with Jake Burns and the Big Wheel, 3 Men + Black, and as a solo artist.

José María Cano Andrés is a Spanish visual artist, musician, composer, and record producer. From 1982 to 1998, he was a member and principal composer of the Spanish pop-rock band Mecano. Since 1998, he works primarily in the visual arts.

Christine Ebersole is an American actress, singer, and comedian. She has appeared in film, television, and on stage. She has received two Tony Awards, and a Drama Desk Award as well as a nomination for a Daytime Emmy Award.

Roger Charlery, known professionally as Ranking Roger, was an English musician. He was a vocalist in the 1980s ska band the Beat and later new wave band General Public. He subsequently was the frontman for a reformed Beat lineup.

Ronald William Clarke was an Australian athlete, writer, and the Mayor of the Gold Coast from 2004 to 2012. He was one of the best-known middle- and long-distance runners in the 1960s, notable for setting seventeen world records.

Mark Edward Kelly is an American politician and a retired astronaut and naval officer. He is the senior United States senator from Arizona, a seat he has held since 2020. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

James Dean Bradfield is a Welsh singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. His cousin Sean Moore is the band's drummer.

Clément Philibert Léo Delibes was a French Romantic composer, best known for his ballets and operas. His works include the ballets Coppélia (1870) and Sylvia (1876) and the opera Lakmé (1883), which includes the well-known "Flower Duet".

Rhiannon Giddens is an American musician, actress, and author known for her eclectic folk music. She is a founding member of the group Carolina Chocolate Drops, where she was the lead singer and played fiddle and banjo.

Ian Douglas Cole is an American professional ice hockey player who is a defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Cole won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

Philip Anthony Jones is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. Although primarily a centre-back, he was also used as a right-back or defensive midfielder. He is currently a first-team coach at Sheffield United.

Sophie Belinda Turner is an English actress. She made her acting debut as Sansa Stark in the television series Game of Thrones (2011–2019), for which she received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 2019.

Erma Louise Bombeck was an American humorist who achieved great popularity for her newspaper humor column describing suburban home life, syndicated from 1965 to 1996. Fifteen books of her humor have been published; most became bestsellers.

John MacDonald Coleman is an American actor known as Steven Carrington on Dynasty (1982–1988), Noah Bennet in Heroes (2006–2010), State Senator Robert Lipton on The Office (2010–2013), and US Senator William Bracken on Castle (2012–2015).

Ji So-yun is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for WK League club Suwon FC and the South Korea national team. She is South Korea's all-time top goalscorer, with 76 goals.

Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland KG, was an English peer and soldier. He was the grandson of Ralph Neville, 3rd Earl of Westmorland, and the father of Henry Neville, 5th Earl of Westmorland.

Rebecca Nurse was a woman who was accused of witchcraft and executed by hanging in New England during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. She was fully exonerated less than twenty years later.

Celia Lovsky was an Austrian-American actress. In the original Star Trek she played the Vulcan matriarch T'Pau, and in The Twilight Zone she played the aged daughter of an eternally youthful Hollywood actress.

John Bordley Rawls was an American philosopher, most active in moral, legal, and political philosophy. Rawls has been described as one of the most influential modern liberal political philosophers of the 20th century.

Jean-Jacques Burnel is an English musician, best known as the bass guitarist and co-lead vocalist with the punk rock band the Stranglers. He is the only original member to remain in the band.

Tebogo Jacko Magubane also known by his stage name Magubane da Franchiz is a South African house DJ and Music Producer radio producer currently working for Tshwane FM 93.6 as the Station Manager.

Isabella of Portugal was Duchess of Burgundy from 1430 to 1467 as the third wife of Duke Philip the Good. Their son was Charles the Bold, the last Valois Duke of Burgundy.

John Robert Lewis was an American civil rights activist and statesman who served in the United States House of Representatives for Georgia's 5th congressional district from 1987 until his death in 2020.

Arthur Darby Nock was an English classicist and theologian, regarded as a leading scholar in the history of religion. He was a professor at Harvard University from 1930 until his death.

Scott Joseph Kelly is an American engineer, retired astronaut, and naval aviator. A veteran of four space flights, Kelly commanded the International Space Station (ISS) on Expeditions 26, 45, and 46.

Joachim I Nestor was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1499–1535), the fifth member of the House of Hohenzollern. His nickname was taken from King Nestor of Greek mythology.

Andre Rashawd Barrett is an American professional basketball player who last played for Obras Sanitarias of the Liga Nacional de Básquet. He played college basketball for the Seton Hall Pirates.

John Henry Newman was an English Catholic theologian, academic, philosopher, historian, writer, and poet. He was an important figure in the religious history of England in the 19th century.

Peter Kenneth Gethin was a British racing driver and motorsport executive who competed in Formula One from 1970 to 1974. Gethin won the 1971 Italian Grand Prix with BRM.

Joanna of Castile, known as la Beltraneja, was a claimant to the throne of Castile, and Queen of Portugal as the wife of King Afonso V, her uncle.

Christina Rees is a Welsh politician who served as Member of Parliament for Neath from 2015 to 2024. She is a member of the Labour and Co-operative parties.

Dorothy Toplitzky Blum was an American computer scientist and cryptanalyst. She worked for the National Security Agency and its predecessors from 1944 until her death in 1980.

Aunjanue L. Ellis-Taylor is an American actress. She has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards.

Iván Campo Ramos is a Spanish former professional footballer. Originally a centre-back, he featured in a defensive midfield role in the later years of his career.

Anton Vratuša was a Slovenian politician and diplomat who was Prime Minister of Slovenia from 1978 to 1980, and Yugoslavia's ambassador to the United Nations.

Christopher Atkins Bomann is an American actor and businessman. He starred in the 1980 film The Blue Lagoon and played Peter Richards on Dallas (1983–1984).

Lee Hyun-seo, known professionally as Leeseo, is a South Korean singer. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Ive under Starship Entertainment.

John Haden Badley was an English author, educator, and founder of Bedales School, which claims to have become the first coeducational boarding public school in England in 1893.

Philipp V of Hanau-Lichtenberg was Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg from 1590 until his death.

Sethus Calvisius or Setho Calvisio, originally Seth Kalwitz, was a German music theorist, composer, chronologer, astronomer, and teacher of the late Renaissance.

Catharina of Württemberg was Queen of Westphalia by marriage to Jérôme Bonaparte, who reigned as King of Westphalia between 1807 and 1813.

José Zorrilla y Moral was a Spanish poet and dramatist, who became National Laureate.

Charles Scribner I was an American publisher who, with Isaac D. Baker (1819–1850), founded a publishing company that would eventually become Charles Scribner's Sons.

Korechika Anami was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II who was War Minister during the surrender of Japan.

Winifred Ashton CBE, better known by the pseudonym Clemence Dane, was an English novelist and playwright.

Carl Peter Henrik Dam was a Danish biochemist and physiologist.

Jeanne Aubert was a French singer and actress.

Raymond Auguste Queneau was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor and co-founder and president of Oulipo, notable for his wit and cynical humour.

Hans Erni was a Swiss graphic designer, painter, illustrator, engraver and sculptor.

Zachary Scott was an American actor who was known for his roles as villains and "mystery men".

Lucille Bremer was an American film actress and dancer.

Tadley Ewing Peake Dameron was an American jazz composer, arranger, and pianist.

Richard Travis Whitcomb was an American aeronautical engineer who was noted for his contributions to the science of aerodynamics.

Zdeněk Miler was a Czech animator and illustrator best known for his Mole character and its adventures.

Harald V was King of Norway from 1991 until his death in 2026.

Anja Inkeri Geissbühler was a Finnish actress and beauty pageant competitor.

John Marshall Echols is an American songwriter and guitarist, who was a co-founder and the lead guitar player of the psychedelic rock band Love.

Frank Brunner is an American comics artist and illustrator best known for his work at Marvel Comics in the 1970s.

Mark Ferguson is an Australian television news presenter, who currently presents Seven News in Sydney on weeknights.

Leroy Russel Burrell is an American former track and field athlete, who twice set the world record for the 100 m sprint.

Pierre Olof Fulke is a Swedish professional golfer who played on the European Tour.

Chantal Claret Euringer is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer for the rock and power pop band Morningwood.

Andrew Ellis is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays the position of half-back.

David Odonkor is a German former professional footballer who played as a right winger.

Georgios Samaras is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a forward.

Charlotte Maria Church is a Welsh singer, actress, and television presenter.

Ashley Greene Khoury is an American actress. She is known for playing Alice Cullen in the film adaptations of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight novels.

Federico Fernández is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

Mattias Tedenby is a Swedish professional ice hockey player who is currently playing in HPK of the Finnish Liiga.

Davy Klaassen is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for and captains Eredivisie club Ajax.

Steve Leo Beleck A'Beka is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a striker.