Famous Birthdays on January 15

Sonny John Moore, known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ, record producer, singer, and musician. Raised in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he began his career in 2004 as the lead vocalist of the post-hardcore band From First to Last. He recorded their first two studio albums with the band, Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Bodycount (2004) and Heroine (2006), before leaving to pursue a solo career in 2007. He began his first tour as a solo artist in late 2007. After recruiting a new band lineup, Moore joined the Alternative Press Tour to support bands such as All Time Low and the Rocket Summer, and appeared on the cover of Alternative Press's annual "100 Bands You Need to Know" issue.

Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, including the actors Beau Bridges and Jeff Bridges. He started his career as a contract performer for Columbia Pictures, appearing in films such as Sahara (1943), A Walk in the Sun (1945), Little Big Horn (1951) and High Noon (1952). On television, he starred in Sea Hunt (1958–1961). By the end of his career, he had re-invented himself and demonstrated a comedic talent in such parody films as Airplane! (1980), Hot Shots! (1991), and Jane Austen's Mafia! (1998). Among other honors, Bridges was a two-time Emmy Award nominee. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 1, 1994.

Andrea Louise Martin is an American and Canadian actress and comedian, best known for her work in the television series SCTV and Great News. She has appeared in films such as Black Christmas (1974) and its 2006 remake, Wag the Dog (1997), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001), My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002), My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016), Little Italy (2018) and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (2023). Martin is also a prolific voice actress, lending her voice to many animated series and films, including Anastasia (1997), The Rugrats Movie (1998), and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001). From 2021 to 2024, she co-starred in the supernatural drama series Evil. She plays a recurring role on Only Murders in the Building as of 2021.

Margaret Mary Beckett, Baroness Beckett is a British politician who was the United Kingdom's first female Foreign Secretary and a member of Parliament (MP) for more than 45 years, first from 1974 to 1979 and then from 1983 to 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she was and served as a minister under Prime Ministers Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Beckett was Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1992 to 1994, and briefly Leader of the Opposition and acting Leader of the Labour Party following John Smith's death in 1994. A member of the Labour Party, she served as MP for Lincoln from 1974 to 1979, and for Derby South from 1983 to 2024. Her 45 years in the House of Commons makes her the female MP in the Commons with the longest service overall, and she was the last sitting MP who served in the Labour governments of the 1970s.

Afonso V, also known as the African, was King of Portugal from 1438 until he died in 1481, with a brief interruption in 1477. The son of Edward, King of Portugal, and Eleanor of Aragon, Afonso acceded to the throne when he was only six years old. His early reign was marked by a struggle over the regency between his mother, Eleanor, and his uncle, Pedro, Duke of Coimbra. Pedro was appointed sole regent in 1439, but the Braganza faction at court continued to challenge his authority. Influenced by his other uncle, Afonso I, Duke of Braganza, the King dismissed Pedro in 1448 and defeated him in the Battle of Alfarrobeira in 1449.

Mihai Eminescu was a Romanian Romantic poet, novelist, and journalist from Moldavia, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active member of the Junimea literary society and worked as an editor for the newspaper Timpul, the official newspaper of the Conservative Party (1880–1918). His poetry was first published when he was 16 and he went to Vienna, Austria to study when he was 19. The poet's manuscripts, containing 46 volumes and approximately 14,000 pages, were offered by Titu Maiorescu as a gift to the Romanian Academy during the meeting that was held on 25 January 1902. Notable works include Luceafărul, Odă în metru antic, and the five Letters (Epistles/Satires). In his poems, he frequently used metaphysical, mythological and historical subjects.

Lewis Madison Terman was an American psychologist, academic, and proponent of eugenics. He was noted as a pioneer in educational psychology in the early 20th century at the Stanford School of Education. Terman is best known for his revision of the Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scales and for initiating the longitudinal study of children with high IQs called the Genetic Studies of Genius. As a prominent eugenicist, he was a member of the Human Betterment Foundation, the American Eugenics Society, and the Eugenics Research Association, believing in genetic racial associations with intelligence. Terman also served as president of the American Psychological Association. A Review of General Psychology survey published in 2002 ranked Terman as the 72nd most cited psychologist of the 20th century, in a tie with G. Stanley Hall.

Martin Anthony Lyons is an American former professional football defensive tackle and defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the New York Jets. Lyons played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, earning consensus All-American honors and SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 1978 en route to a victory in the 1979 Sugar Bowl. Lyons was selected by the Jets in the first round of the 1979 NFL draft and was a member of the New York Sack Exchange defense. Following his playing career, he spent 22 years as a radio analyst for the Jets from 2002 to 2023. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011.

Ruby Laffoon was an American attorney and politician who served as the 43rd governor of Kentucky from 1931 to 1935. A Kentucky native, at age 17, Laffoon moved to Washington, D.C., to live with his uncle, U.S. Representative Polk Laffoon. He developed an interest in politics and returned to Kentucky, where he compiled a mixed record of victories and defeats in elections at the county and state levels. In 1931, he was chosen as the Democratic gubernatorial nominee by a nominating convention, not a primary, making him the only Kentucky gubernatorial candidate to be chosen by a convention after 1903. In the general election, he defeated Republican William B. Harrison by what was then the largest margin of victory in Kentucky gubernatorial history.

Alexei Andreyevich Cherepanov was a Russian professional ice hockey player. He was a winger for Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Previously, Cherepanov had played for Avangard's lower-level teams, and then for the senior men's team in the Russian Super League. Cherepanov was selected in the first round of the 2007 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft by the New York Rangers, although he never played professional hockey in North America. Cherepanov represented Russia in international play, and played in several tournaments at the junior level. He won a gold medal at the 2007 World Under-18 Championships. While playing at the Under-20 level, Cherepanov won silver and bronze medals in 2007 and 2008.

Henry Burr was a Canadian singer, radio performer and producer. He was born Harry Haley McClaskey and used Henry Burr as one of his many pseudonyms, in addition to Irving Gillette, Henry Gillette, Alfred Alexander, Robert Rice, Carl Ely, Harry Barr, Frank Knapp, Al King, and Shamus McClaskey. He produced more than 12,000 recordings, by his own estimate, and some of his most popular recordings included "Just a Baby's Prayer at Twilight", "Till We Meet Again" with Albert Campbell, "Beautiful Ohio", "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now" "When I Lost You" and "In The Shade of the Old Apple Tree". A tenor, he performed as a soloist and in duets, trios and quartets.

Alexander Sergeyevich Griboyedov was a Russian diplomat, playwright, poet, and composer. His one notable work is the 1823 verse comedy Woe from Wit. He was Russia's ambassador to Qajar Persia, where he and all the embassy staff were massacred by an angry mob in the aftermath of the ratification of the Treaty of Turkmenchay (1828), which confirmed the cession to Russia of Persia's northern territories comprising Transcaucasia and parts of the North Caucasus. Griboyedov played a pivotal role in the ratification of the treaty. The immediate cause for the incident was Griboyedov giving refuge to Armenians who had escaped from the harems of the Persian shah and his son.

Matthew Thomas Holliday is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, and New York Yankees. A World Series champion in 2011 with the Cardinals, Holliday played a key role in seven postseasons, including the Rockies' first-ever World Series appearance in 2007 and Cardinals' playoff success in the 2010s. His distinctions include a National League (NL) batting championship, the 2007 NL Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award, seven All-Star selections, and four Silver Slugger Awards. Other career accomplishments include 300 home runs, more than 2,000 hits, and batting over .300 eight times.

Armando Christian Pérez, known professionally as Pitbull, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He began his career in the early 2000s as a reggaeton, Latin hip-hop, and crunk performer, and signed with TVT Records to release his debut album, M.I.A.M.I. (2004). Executive produced by Lil Jon, the album entered the Billboard 200 along with his second and third albums, El Mariel (2006) and The Boatlift (2007). His fourth album, Pitbull Starring in Rebelution (2009), yielded his mainstream breakthrough, spawning the singles "I Know You Want Me " and "Hotel Room Service"—which peaked at numbers two and eight on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, respectively.

George Cadle Price was a Belizean statesman who served as the head of government of Belize from 1961 to 1984 and 1989 to 1993. He was the first minister and premier under British rule until independence in 1981 and was the nation's first prime minister after independence that year. He is considered one of the principal architects of Belizean independence. Today he is referred to by many as the "Father of the Nation". Price effectively dominated Belizean politics from the early 1960s until his 1996 retirement from party leadership, having been the nation's head of government under various titles for most of that period.

William Reginald Mitchell was a British writer who was the editor of Dalesman magazine for twenty years and over a sixty-year period wrote over 200 books, hundreds of articles, and delivered many talks on the history and physical and natural evolution of North Britain, with particular emphasis on the Yorkshire Dales, Lancashire and the Lake District. These include the regions' biographies, social history, topography, and natural history. In the course of his career Mitchell made and collected many taped interviews with people of these regions - now housed at the Universities of Leeds and Bradford - representing a unique archive of dialect and history.

Earl Zebedee Hooker was a Chicago blues guitarist known for his slide guitar playing. Considered a "musician's musician", he performed with blues artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, Junior Wells, and John Lee Hooker and fronted his own bands. An early player of the electric guitar, Hooker was influenced by the modern urban styles of T-Bone Walker and Robert Nighthawk. He recorded several singles and albums as a bandleader and with other well-known artists. His "Blue Guitar", a slide guitar instrumental single, was popular in the Chicago area and was later overdubbed with vocals by Muddy Waters as "You Shook Me".

Khalid al-Islambuli was an Egyptian military officer who participated in the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, during the annual 6th October victory parade on 6 October 1981. Al-Islambuli stated that his primary motivation for the assassination was Sadat's signing of the Camp David Accords with Israel and Sadat's plan for a more progressive Egypt. Al-Islambuli was tried before an Egyptian court-martial, found guilty, and sentenced to death by firing squad. Following his execution, he was declared a martyr by many in the Islamic world, and became an inspirational symbol for Islamic movements as one of the first 'modern martyrs of Islam'.

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon was a French anarchist, socialist, philosopher, and economist who founded mutualist philosophy and is considered by many to be the "father of anarchism". He was the first person to call himself an anarchist, and is widely regarded as one of anarchism's most influential theorists. Proudhon became a member of the French Parliament after the Revolution of 1848, whereafter he referred to himself as a federalist. Proudhon described the liberty he pursued as the synthesis of community and individualism. Some consider his mutualism to be part of individualist anarchism while others regard it to be part of social anarchism.