Did you know about Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Hargitay is best known for playing Olivia Benson on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since 1999, the longest-running character of all time in an American primetime drama.
Famous Birthdays on January 23
January 23 has 209 recorded notable births across history, from 1350 to 2004. This page lists every one of them, with the best-known people first.
What happened on the day you were born?
1964 — Mariska Hargitay
American actress and producer
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia · Report an error
Famous Birthdays
209 source records
1350 – 2004
Aquarius
Garnet birthstone
Carnation birth flower
Today in history
Major events on January 23
See what else happened on this day in history.
Did you know about Chesley Sullenberger
After the Hudson landing, Sullenberger became an outspoken advocate for aviation safety and helped develop new protocols for flight safety.
Did you know about Subhas Chandra Bose
The honorific Netaji was first applied to Bose in Germany in early 1942—by the Indian soldiers of the Indische Legion and by the German and Indian officials in the Special Bureau for India in Berlin.
Did you know about Doutzen Kroes
In 2013, she became the first model to land four different solo international covers of Vogue's September issue in a single year.
Did you know about Rutger Hauer
Rutger Oelsen Hauer was a Dutch actor, with a career that spanned over 170 roles across nearly 50 years, beginning in 1969.
More major people born on January 23
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1951
Chesley Sullenberger
American airline pilot and safety expert
Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III is an American retired aircraft pilot, diplomat and aviation safety expert, who is best known for his actions as captain of US Airways Flight 1549 on January 15, 2009, when he ditched the plane on the Hudson River after both engines were disabled by a bird strike; all 155 people aboard survived. After the Hudson landing, Sullenberger became an outspoken advocate for aviation safety and helped develop new protocols for flight safety. He served as the co-chairman, along with his co-pilot on Flight 1549, Jeffrey Skiles, of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)'s Young Eagles youth introduction-to-aviation program from 2009 to 2013.
1897
Subhas Chandra Bose
Indian freedom fighter and politician (died 1945)
Subhas Chandra Bose was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan left a legacy vexed by authoritarianism, antisemitism, and military failure. The honorific Netaji was first applied to Bose in Germany in early 1942—by the Indian soldiers of the Indische Legion and by the German and Indian officials in the Special Bureau for India in Berlin. It is now used throughout India.
1985
Doutzen Kroes
Dutch model and actress
Doutzen Kroes is a Dutch fashion model. She began her modelling career in 2003, in the Netherlands and was quickly sent by her agency to New York where she was cast by lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret. She was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2008 until 2014, making her the second Dutch to earn the coveted title after Karen Mulder. She has been a brand ambassador for L'Oréal Paris since 2006. Kroes has been one of the highest-paid models, with an estimated income of more than $5 million per year, since 2008. In 2014, she came in second on the Forbes top-earning models list, estimated to have earned $8 million in one year. In 2013, she became the first model to land four different solo international covers of Vogue's September issue in a single year.
1944
Rutger Hauer
Dutch actor, director, and producer (died 2019)
Rutger Oelsen Hauer was a Dutch actor, with a career that spanned over 170 roles across nearly 50 years, beginning in 1969. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century.
1950
Richard Dean Anderson
American actor, producer, and composer
Richard Dean Anderson is an American actor. He began his television career in 1976, playing Jeff Webber in the American soap opera series General Hospital, and then rose to prominence as the lead actor in the television series MacGyver (1985–1992). He later appeared in films such as Through the Eyes of a Killer (1992), Pandora's Clock (1996), and Firehouse (1997).
1737
John Hancock
American general and politician, first Governor of Massachusetts (died 1793)
John Hancock was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He was the longest-serving president of the Continental Congress, having served as the second president of the Second Continental Congress and the seventh president of the Congress of the Confederation. He was the first and third governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. His large and stylish signature on the United States Declaration of Independence led to John Hancock or Hancock becoming a colloquialism for a person's signature. He also signed the Articles of Confederation, and used his influence to ensure that Massachusetts ratified the United States Constitution in 1788.
1898
Randolph Scott
American actor (died 1987)
George Randolph Scott was an American film actor, whose Hollywood career ran from 1928 to 1962. He was a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, appearing in more than 60 Westerns, and over 40 dramas, comedies, musicals, adventures, war, horror and fantasy films.
1984
Arjen Robben
Dutch footballer
Arjen Robben is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a winger. Known for his dribbling skills, speed, and long-range shots, he is regarded as one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest wingers of all time. He ranks second for the all-time Dutch top goalscorers (32) in the UEFA Champions League and is the all-time Dutch top assist provider (19) in the competition.
1981
Julia Jones
American actress
Julia Jones is an American actress. She is best known for playing Leah Clearwater in The Twilight Saga film series and Angela Bishop in the television series Dexter: New Blood, and for guest starring as Kohana in "Kiksuya", acclaimed as one of the best episodes in the four-year run of the series Westworld.
1828
Saigō Takamori
Japanese samurai (died 1877)
Saigō Takamori was a Japanese samurai and politician who was one of the most influential figures in Japanese history. He played a key role in the Meiji Restoration, which overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868, and subsequently served in the new Meiji government. However, he later became disillusioned with the direction of the new regime and led the Satsuma Rebellion against it in 1877, in which he was killed.
1957
Caroline
Princess of Hanover
Princess Caroline of Monaco, Princess of Hanover is Princess of Hanover by marriage to Prince Ernst August. As the eldest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and Grace Kelly, she is the elder sister of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Princess Stéphanie.
1910
Django Reinhardt
Belgian guitarist and composer (died 1953)
Jean Reinhardt, known by his Romani nickname Django, was a Belgian jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most significant exponents.
1855
John Browning
American weapons designer, founded the Browning Arms Company (died 1926)
John Moses Browning was an American firearm designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world. He made his first firearm at age 13 in his father's gun shop and was awarded the first of his 128 firearm patents on October 7, 1879, at the age of 24. He is regarded as one of the most successful firearms designers of the 19th and 20th centuries and a pioneer of modern repeating, semi-automatic, and automatic firearms.
1926
Bal Thackeray
Indian journalist, cartoonist, and politician (died 2012)
Bal Keshav Thackeray, also known as Balasaheb Thackeray, was an Indian cartoonist and politician who founded the original Shiv Sena, a right-wing Marathi regionalist and a Hindu nationalist party, active mainly in the state of Maharashtra.
1946
Boris Berezovsky
Russian-English businessman and mathematician (died 2013)
Boris Abramovich Berezovsky, also known as Platon Elenin, was a Russian business oligarch, government official, engineer and mathematician. He was a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and held the federal state civilian service rank of 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation.
2002
Joško Gvardiol
Croatian footballer
Joško Gvardiol is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or left-back for Premier League club Manchester City and the Croatia national team. He is known for his on-pitch composure, precise passing, and defensive reliability.
1832
Édouard Manet
French painter (died 1883)
Édouard Manet was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism.
1972
Ewen Bremner
Scottish actor
Ewen Bremner is a Scottish actor. His roles have included Shawn Nelson in Black Hawk Down, Julien in Julien Donkey-Boy and Daniel "Spud" Murphy in Trainspotting and its 2017 sequel T2 Trainspotting.
1928
Jeanne Moreau
French actress (died 2017)
Jeanne Moreau was a French actress, singer, screenwriter, director, and socialite. She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française.
2004
Julio Enciso
Paraguayan footballer
Julio César Enciso Espínola is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or striker for Premier League club Ipswich Town and the Paraguay national team.
1963
Gail O'Grady
American actress
Gail Ann O'Grady is an American actress and producer, best known for her roles on television. Her roles include Donna Abandando in the ABC police drama NYPD Blue, and Helen Pryor in the NBC drama series American Dreams. O'Grady is also well known for her lead roles in a number of television movies. She has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award three times.
1783
Stendhal
French novelist (died 1842)
Marie-Henri Beyle, better known by his pen name Stendhal, was a French writer. Best known for the novels Le Rouge et le Noir and La Chartreuse de Parme, he is highly regarded for the acute analysis of his characters' psychology and considered one of the early and foremost practitioners of realism. Stendhal proclaimed himself an egotist; the neologism for the same characteristic in his characters was "Beylism".
1938
Giant Baba
Japanese wrestler and promoter, founded All Japan Pro Wrestling (died 1999)
Shohei Baba , best known by his ring name Giant Baba , was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota and Yoshihiro Momota, the sons of his mentor Rikidōzan. For the first 10 years of its existence, Baba was the top star of All Japan, while also serving as the booker, promoter, head trainer and president of the promotion from its inception in 1972 till his death in 1999. Baba was also responsible for recruiting much of the talent for All Japan, and was the public face of the promotion for much of his lifetime.
1947
Megawati Sukarnoputri
Indonesian politician, 5th president of Indonesia
Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri is an Indonesian politician who served as the fifth president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004 and the eighth vice president under President Abdurrahman Wahid from 1999 to 2001. She is Indonesia's first and only female president to date, and also the first president born in Indonesia after its independence.
1969
Andrei Kanchelskis
Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager
Andrei Antanasovich Kanchelskis is a Russian professional football coach and former player who currently manages Russian Second League side Dynamo Bryansk. During his playing career, he won two Premier League titles, the FA Cup, the Football League Cup, two FA Charity Shields and the European Super Cup with Manchester United, before going on to win the Scottish Premier League, Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup twice each with Rangers.
1919
Bob Paisley
English footballer and manager (died 1996)
Robert Paisley was an English professional football manager and player who played as a wing-half. He spent almost 50 years with Liverpool and is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time. Reluctantly taking the job in 1974, he built on the foundations laid by his predecessor Bill Shankly and went on to become the most successful English manager in history. Paisley is the first of five managers to have won the European Cup three times. He is also one of five managers to have won the English top-flight championship as both a player and manager at the same club.
1953
Robin Zander
American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Robin Wayne Zander is an American musician who is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Cheap Trick. Zander joined Cheap Trick in 1974 and, as of 2026, remains a member of the band. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 as a member of Cheap Trick. Zander is also a solo artist.
1969
Brendan Shanahan
Canadian ice hockey player and actor
Brendan Frederick Shanahan is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. Originally drafted by the New Jersey Devils second overall in the 1987 NHL entry draft, Shanahan played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues, Hartford Whalers, Detroit Red Wings, and New York Rangers. Following his retirement, Shanahan served as the director of player safety for the NHL, as well as president and alternate governor of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He is currently working with the NHL’s hockey operations department.
1919
Frances Bay
Canadian-American actress (died 2011)
Frances Evelyn Bay was a Canadian and American character actress and comedian. In a career that spanned 80 years, she acted in a variety of roles both in film and television. Bay was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2008.
1962
David Arnold
English composer
David Arnold is an English film composer whose credits include scoring five James Bond films (1997–2008), as well as Stargate (1994), Independence Day (1996), Godzilla (1998), Shaft (2000), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), Four Brothers (2005), Hot Fuzz (2007), and the television series Little Britain and Sherlock. For Independence Day, he received a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television, and for Sherlock, he and co-composer Michael Price won a Creative Arts Emmy for the score of "His Last Vow", the final episode in the third series. Arnold scored the BBC / Amazon Prime series Good Omens (2019) adapted by Neil Gaiman from his book Good Omens, written with Terry Pratchett. Arnold is a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.
1933
Chita Rivera
American actress, singer, and dancer (died 2024)
Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero, known professionally as Chita Rivera, was an American actress, singer, and dancer. Rivera received numerous accolades including two Tony Awards, two Drama Desk Awards, and a Drama League Award. She was the first Latina and the first Latino American to receive a Kennedy Center Honor in 2002, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. She won the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2018.
1943
Gil Gerard
American actor (died 2025)
Gilbert Cyril Gerard was an American actor, whose roles include that of Captain William "Buck" Rogers in the 1979–1981 television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.
1907
Dan Duryea
American actor and singer (died 1968)
Dan Duryea was an American actor in film, stage, and television. Known for portraying villains, he had a long career in leading and secondary roles.
1974
Rebekah Elmaloglou
Australian actress
Rebekah Sophie Elmaloglou is an Australian actress, known for her roles as teenage tearaway Sophie Simpson on Home and Away and Terese Willis on Neighbours. She also made guest appearances in E Street, A Country Practice and Pacific Drive. Her film appearances include Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), Princess Kate (1988) and The Sum of Us (1994).
1953
Antonio Villaraigosa
American politician, 41st Mayor of Los Angeles
Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the Majority Leader from 1996 to 1998 and Speaker of the California State Assembly from 1998 to 2000.
1985
Jeff Samardzija
American baseball and football player
Jeffrey Alan Samardzija, nicknamed "Shark", is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played college baseball and football for the University of Notre Dame, and was recognized as a two-time football All-American playing wide receiver and a two-time Baseball All-American as a pitcher. He was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the fifth round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft, and made his major-league (MLB) debut in 2008. He played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs from 2008 to 2014, the Oakland Athletics in 2014, the Chicago White Sox in 2015, and the San Francisco Giants from 2016 to 2020. He was an All-Star in 2014.
1948
Anita Pointer
American singer-songwriter (died 2022)
Anita Marie Pointer was an American singer and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the vocal group the Pointer Sisters. She co-wrote and was the lead singer on their hit song "Fairytale", which garnered them their first Grammy Award in 1975. She was also the lead singer on many of their other hits, including "Yes We Can Can", "Fire", "Slow Hand", and "I'm So Excited".
1964
Bharrat Jagdeo
Guyanese economist and politician, 7th President of Guyana
Bharrat Jagdeo is a Guyanese politician who has been serving as Vice President of Guyana since 2020, in the administration of President Irfaan Ali. He had previously also held the office from 1997 until 1999, during the presidency of Janet Jagan. Jagdeo subsequently served as the President of Guyana from 11 August 1999 to 3 December 2011. He also holds a number of global leadership positions in the areas of sustainable development, green growth and climate change.
1971
Kevin Mawae
American football player and coach
Kevin James Mawae is an American former professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. Mawae played college football for the LSU Tigers, earning first-team All-SEC honors. He was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 1994 NFL draft. After joining the New York Jets in 1998, he received six consecutive Pro Bowl selections and five-first All-Pro honors during his eight seasons with the team. Mawae spent his final four seasons as a member of the Tennessee Titans, extending his Pro Bowl selections to eight and his first-team All-Pro honors to seven. Near the end of his career, he also served two terms as NFLPA president from 2008 to 2012.
1953
Alister McGrath
Irish priest, historian, and theologian
Alister Edgar McGrath is an Irish theologian, Anglican priest, intellectual historian, scientist, Christian apologist, and public intellectual. He currently holds the Andreas Idreos Professorship in Science and Religion in the Faculty of Theology and Religion, and is a fellow of Harris Manchester College at the University of Oxford. He held the position of Professor of Divinity at Gresham College between 2015 and 2018. He was previously professor of theology, ministry, and education at King's College London and head of the Centre for Theology, Religion and Culture, professor of historical theology at the University of Oxford, and was principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, until 2005.
1950
Luis Alberto Spinetta
Argentinian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and poet (died 2012)
Luis Alberto Spinetta was an Argentine singer, guitarist, composer, writer and poet. One of the most influential rock musicians of Argentina, he is widely regarded as one of the founders of Argentine rock, which is considered one of the first incarnations of Spanish-language rock. Born in Buenos Aires, he was the founder of several iconic rock bands including Almendra, Pescado Rabioso, Invisible, Spinetta Jade, and Spinetta y Los Socios del Desierto. In Argentina, January 23rd is celebrated as "Día Nacional del Músico" in honor of Spinetta's birth.
1936
Jerry Kramer
American football player and sportscaster
Gerald Louis Kramer is an American former professional football player, author and sports commentator. He played 11 years as a guard and kicker with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
1915
Potter Stewart
American lawyer and judge (died 1985)
Potter Stewart was an American lawyer and judge who was an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1958 to 1981. During his tenure, he made major contributions to criminal justice reform, civil rights, access to the courts, and Fourth Amendment jurisprudence.
1897
William Stephenson
Canadian captain and spy (died 1989)
Sir William Samuel Stephenson was a Canadian soldier, fighter pilot, businessman and spymaster who served as the senior representative of British Security Coordination (BSC) for the Western Allies during World War II. He is best known by his wartime intelligence code name, Intrepid. Many people consider him to be one of the real-life inspirations for James Bond. Ian Fleming himself once wrote, "James Bond is a highly romanticised version of a true spy. The real thing is... William Stephenson."
1945
Mike Harris
Canadian politician, 22nd Premier of Ontario
Michael Deane Harris is a retired Canadian politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario from 1990 to 2002. Taking the PC Party to the right, he is noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his government's program of fiscally conservative policies.
2002
Nicola Zalewski
Polish footballer
Nicola Zalewski is a professional footballer who plays as a wing-back or attacking midfielder for Serie A club Atalanta. Born in Italy, he plays for the Poland national team.
1962
Boris McGiver
American actor
Boris McGiver is an American actor. He is known for his roles in projects such as Lincoln, House of Cards, The Wire, Killing Kennedy, and Person of Interest.
1979
Larry Hughes
American basketball player
Larry Darnell Hughes Sr. is an American former professional basketball player. Hughes played for eight different teams during his 14-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Hughes played collegiately for the Saint Louis Billikens for one season before being selected with the eighth overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft. Hughes is the founder of the Larry Hughes Basketball Academy.
1924
Frank Lautenberg
American soldier, businessman, and politician (died 2013)
Frank Raleigh Lautenberg was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as United States Senator from New Jersey from 1982 to 2001, and again from 2003 until his death in 2013. He was originally from Paterson, New Jersey.
1918
Gertrude B. Elion
American biochemist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1999)
Gertrude "Trudy" Belle Elion was an American biochemist and pharmacologist, who shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with George H. Hitchings and Sir James Black for their use of innovative methods of rational drug design for the development of new drugs. This new method focused on understanding the target of the drug rather than simply using trial-and-error. Her work led to the creation of the anti-retroviral drug AZT, which was the first drug widely used against AIDS. Her well known works also include the development of the first immunosuppressive drug, azathioprine, used to fight rejection in organ transplants, and the first successful antiviral drug, acyclovir (ACV), used in the treatment of herpes infection.
1994
Addison Russell
American baseball player
Addison Wayne Russell is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League. Russell was drafted 11th overall by the Oakland Athletics in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs in 2014. In 2015, Baseball America listed Russell as the third-best prospect in professional baseball. He made his MLB debut with the Cubs in April 2015 and was an All-Star in 2016. That same year, Russell won the World Series with the Cubs. He has previously played in the KBO League for the Kiwoom Heroes.
1350
Vincent Ferrer
Spanish missionary and saint (died 1419)
Vincent Ferrer, OP was a Valencian Dominican friar who gained acclaim as a preacher, missionary and logician. After supporting Antipope Benedict XIII during the Western Schism, Ferrer travelled to preach across Western Europe and the British Isles. His preaching has been credited in some sources as converting 25,000 Jews to Catholicism. Other sources indicate that it involved support for coercive means, such as the forcible conversion of synagogues into churches. He was canonized in 1455.
2001
Olga Danilović
Serbian tennis player
Olga Danilović is a Serbian professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 32 by the WTA, achieved on 14 July 2025, and a best doubles ranking of No. 82, reached on 2 February 2026. Danilović has won two singles titles and two doubles titles on the WTA Tour.
1872
Paul Langevin
French physicist and academic (died 1946)
Paul Langevin was a French physicist who developed Langevin dynamics and the Langevin equation. He was one of the founders of the Comité de vigilance des intellectuels antifascistes, an anti-fascist organization created after the 6 February 1934 far right riots. Being a public opponent of fascism in the 1930s resulted in his arrest and being held under house arrest by the Vichy government for most of World War II. Langevin was also president of the Human Rights League (LDH) from 1944 to 1946, having recently joined the French Communist Party.
1943
Gary Burton
American musician
Gary Burton is an American retired jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. He developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be heralded as an innovator, and his sound and technique are widely imitated. He is also known for pioneering jazz fusion and popularizing the duet format in jazz, as well as being a major figure in music education from his 30 years teaching at the Berklee College of Music.
1938
Georg Baselitz
German painter and sculptor (died 2026)
Georg Baselitz was a German-Austrian painter, sculptor and graphic artist. In the 1960s he became well known for his figurative, expressive paintings. In 1969 he began painting his subjects upside down in an effort to overcome the representational, content-driven character of his earlier work and stress the artifice of painting, which would become a defining feature of his later work. Drawing from myriad influences, including Socialist Realism, Mannerism, and African sculpture, he developed his own, distinct artistic language.
1968
Petr Korda
Czech-Monégasque tennis player
Petr Korda is a Czech former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 2 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in February 1998. Korda won ten singles titles, including the 1998 Australian Open, and was the runner-up at the 1992 French Open. Korda tested positive for nandrolone in July 1998 at Wimbledon, and was banned from September 1999 for 12 months, retiring from the sport shortly before the ban. He is the father of professional golfers Jessica Korda and Nelly Korda, and of professional tennis player Sebastian Korda.
1923
Walter M. Miller
Jr., American soldier and author (died 1996)
Walter Michael Miller Jr. was an American science fiction writer. He wrote short stories that became a celebrated fix-up novel, A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959). His only novel published in his lifetime, it won the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
1947
Tom Carper
American captain and politician, 71st Governor of Delaware
Thomas Richard Carper is an American politician and former military officer who served from 2001 to 2025 as a United States senator from Delaware. A member of the Democratic Party, Carper served from 1983 to 1993 in the United States House of Representatives and from 1993 to 2001 as the 71st governor of Delaware.
1999
Alban Lafont
French footballer
Alban-Marc Lafont is a professional footballer who plays as goalkeeper for Turkish Süper Lig club Amedspor. Born in Burkina Faso and raised in France, he plays for the Ivory Coast national team.
1975
Phil Dawson
American football player
Philip Drury Dawson is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 years. Before that he was an All-American college football player for the Texas Longhorns. He signed with the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 1998 and spent a season on the Patriots practice squad. He played most of his career with the Cleveland Browns from 1999 to 2012 where he was a Pro Bowler, and has the record for most field goals made for the franchise, passing Hall of Famer Lou Groza in 2010. He also played for the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals.
1752
Muzio Clementi
Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1832)
Muzio Filippo Vincenzo Francesco Saverio Clementi was an Italian composer, virtuoso pianist, pedagogue, conductor, music publisher, editor, and piano manufacturer who was mostly active in England.
1934
Lou Antonio
American actor and director
Louis Antonio is an American actor and TV director best known for performing in the films Cool Hand Luke and America America. He also starred in two short-lived TV series, Dog and Cat, and Makin' It.
1929
Myron Cope
American journalist and sportscaster (died 2008)
Myron Sidney Kopelman, known professionally as Myron Cope, was an American sports journalist, radio personality, and sportscaster. He is best known for being "the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers".
1925
Marty Paich
American pianist, composer, producer, and conductor (died 1995)
Martin Louis Paich was an American pianist, composer, arranger, record producer, music director, and conductor. As a musician and arranger he worked with jazz musicians Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Kenton, Al Hirt, Art Pepper, Buddy Rich, Ray Brown, Shorty Rogers, Pete Rugolo, Ray Charles, Barbra Streisand, and Mel Tormé. His long association with Tormé included one of the singer's earliest albums, Mel Tormé with the Marty Paich Dek-Tette. Over the next three decades he worked with pop singers such as Andy Williams and Jack Jones and for film and television. He is the father of David Paich, a founding member of the rock band Toto.
1838
Marianne Cope
German-American nun and saint (died 1918)
Marianne Cope, OSF, also known as Marianne of Molokaʻi, was a German-born American member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Syracuse. She was founding director of St. Joseph's Hospital in the city, among the first general hospitals in the country. In 1883, she led a group of six other sisters to the Kingdom of Hawaii to care for lepers in Molokaʻi and aid in developing the kingdom's medical infrastructure. Despite direct contact with patients over many years, Cope did not contract the disease. In 2005, she was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI. She was canonized in 2012.
1907
Hideki Yukawa
Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1981)
Hideki Yukawa was a Japanese theoretical physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1949 "for his prediction of the existence of mesons on the basis of theoretical work on nuclear forces."
1903
Jorge Eliécer Gaitán
Colombian lawyer and politician, 16th Minister of National Education of Colombia (died 1948)
Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala was a Colombian politician and statesman who was the leader of the Liberal Party. A nationalist, he served as the mayor of Bogotá from 1936–37, the national Education Minister from 1940–41, and the Labor Minister from 1943–44.
1915
W. Arthur Lewis
Saint Lucian-Barbadian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1991)
Sir William Arthur Lewis was a Saint Lucian economist and the James Madison Professor of Political Economy at Princeton University. Lewis remains the only black person to have won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
1930
Tanya Savicheva
Russian child diarist (died 1944)
Tatyana Nikolayevna Savicheva, commonly referred to as Tanya Savicheva, was a Soviet Russian teenage diarist who wrote a diary for several months, whilst enduring the siege of Leningrad during World War II. During the siege, Savicheva wrote the successive and unfortunate deaths of each member of her family from starvation and diseases such as dysentery and dystrophy over four and a half months in her diary, with the last family member to die being her mother, Mariya, on 13 May 1942. After her mother died, Tanya Savicheva wrote her final diary entry: The Savichevs are dead. Everyone is dead. Only Tanya is left. Savicheva was evacuated from the besieged Leningrad and sent to live in an orphanage, she eventually died from tuberculosis on 1 July 1944, at the age of 14, in Gorky Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.
1872
Jože Plečnik
Slovenian architect, designed Plečnik Parliament (died 1957)
Jože Plečnik was a Slovenian architect who had a major impact on the modern architecture of Vienna, Prague and of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, most notably by designing the iconic Triple Bridge and the Slovenian National and University Library building, as well as the embankments along the Ljubljanica River, the Ljubljana Central Market buildings, the Ljubljana cemetery, parks, plazas. His architectural imprint on Ljubljana has been compared to the impact Antoni Gaudí had on Barcelona.
1942
Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat
Mongolian politician, 1st President of Mongolia (died 2025)
Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat was a Mongolian politician and geologist who served as the first president of Mongolia from 1990 to 1997. A member of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party since 1965, he served multiple ministerial positions between 1972 and 1990. In the aftermath of the 1990 Democratic Revolution, he briefly served as Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Great Khural from March to September 1990.
1933
Bill Hayden
Australian politician, 21st Governor General of Australia (died 2023)
William George Hayden was an Australian politician who served as the 21st governor-general of Australia from 1989 to 1996. He was Leader of the Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1977 to 1983, and served as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade from 1983 to 1988 under Bob Hawke and as Treasurer of Australia in 1975 under Gough Whitlam.
1932
Larri Thomas
American actress and dancer (died 2013)
Larri Thomas was an American actress and dancer. She began her career by participating in a string of television commercials and eventually signed a contract with NBC. The network put on Thomas' shows, including Peter Gunn and The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. She became one of the six Goldwyn Girls selected by Samuel Goldwyn to go on tour for the movie Guys and Dolls, in which she makes a brief appearance. Thomas was also in the movies Mary Poppins and Island of Love. She was the stand-in for Julie Andrews in some flying sequences in Mary Poppins and her stand-in in The Sound of Music. Thomas also appeared in movies and television with Dean Martin. In her later years, she appeared in Dynasty, Cheers, and Coach.
1585
Mary Ward
English Catholic Religious Sister (died 1645)
Mary Ward, IBVM CJ was an English Catholic religious sister whose activities led to the founding of the Congregation of Jesus and the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, better known as the Sisters of Loreto. There is now a network of around 200 Mary Ward schools worldwide. Ward was declared venerable by Pope Benedict XVI on 19 December 2009.
1998
XXXTentacion
American rapper (died 2018)
Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, professionally known as XXXTentacion, was an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Though a controversial figure due to his widely publicized legal troubles, XXXTentacion gained a cult following among his young fan base during his short career with his depression and alienation-themed music. Critics and audiences often credit him for his musical versatility, with his music exploring emo, trap, trap metal, nu metal, indie rock, lo-fi, hip-hop, R&B, and punk rock. He was considered to be a leading figure in the establishment of the emo rap and SoundCloud rap genres, which garnered mainstream attention during the mid-to-late 2010s. In the years after his death, Onfroy's musical style went on to influence the development of rage music.
1900
William Ifor Jones
Welsh organist and conductor (died 1988)
William Ifor Jones was a Welsh conductor and organist. Born into a large coal-mining family and raised in Merthyr Tydfil, Jones studied at the Royal Academy of Music as a scholarship student in London from 1920 to 1925. He studied the organ with Sir Stanley Marchant at St. Paul's Cathedral, London; orchestral conducting with Ernest Read and with Sir Henry Wood, ; and harmony with Benjamin Dale. He was for a time organist at the Welsh Baptist Church in Castle Street, London, worked at the Royal Opera House, as a vocal coach at Covent Garden, assisted with the British National Opera Company in the role of prompter, and was the Assistant Choir Master at St. Paul's Cathedral, London.
1939
Ed Roberts
American activist (died 1995)
Edward Verne Roberts was an American activist. He was the first wheelchair user to attend the University of California, Berkeley. He was a pioneering leader of the disability rights movement.
1840
Ernst Abbe
German physicist and engineer (died 1905)
Ernst Karl Abbe, was a German businessman, optical engineer, physicist, and social reformer. Together with Otto Schott and Carl Zeiss, he developed numerous optical instruments. He was also a co-owner of Carl Zeiss AG, a German manufacturer of scientific microscopes, astronomical telescopes, planetariums, and other advanced optical systems.
1975
Tito Ortiz
American mixed martial artist
Jacob Christopher "Tito" Ortiz is an American former mixed martial artist, politician, and professional boxer, of Mexican descent. He is best known for his career with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, having held the title from April 2000 to September 2003. Along with fighters like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell, he was one of the sport's early stars. Ortiz ultimately became the biggest pay-per-view draw of 2006 for his fights with Liddell, Forrest Griffin, and Ken Shamrock. On July 7, 2012, Ortiz became the ninth inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame.
1876
Otto Diels
German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1954)
Otto Paul Hermann Diels was a German chemist. His most notable work was done with Kurt Alder on the Diels–Alder reaction, a method for cyclohexene synthesis. The pair was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1950 for their work. Their method of synthesizing cyclic organic compounds proved valuable for the manufacture of synthetic rubber and plastic. He completed his education at the University of Berlin, where he later worked. Diels was employed at the University of Kiel when he completed his Nobel Prize-winning work, and remained there until he retired in 1945. Diels was married, with five children.
1920
Henry Eriksson
Swedish runner (died 2000)
Knut Henry "Krylbo" Eriksson was a Swedish middle-distance runner who specialized in the 1500 m event. In 1946 he finished second behind Lennart Strand, both at the national and European Championships. On 15 July 1947, at the national championships at Malmö, Eriksson and Strand had a very close 1500 m race. Strand won, equaling the world record at 3:43.0, and Eriksson finished second, setting his all-time personal best at 3:44.4. Eriksson beat Strand at the 1948 Swedish Championships and at the 1948 Summer Olympics. He retired the same year and returned to his work as a fireman.
1985
Sudaryono
Indonesian politician and businessman
Sudaryono, also known as Mas Dar, is an Indonesian politician and businessman who has served as Head of the National Nutrition Agency since 22 July 2026. His tenure has been marked by the continued occurrence of mass food poisoning incidents linked to the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program and uncertainty over law enforcement against those responsible, despite the number of victims continuing to increase, with as many as 2,000 cases occurring within a three-day period. He stated that the food-poisoning issue was only receiving widespread attention on social media and was politically and ideologically motivated.
1991
Steve Birnbaum
American soccer player
Steven Mitchell Birnbaum is an American former professional soccer player who is currently the sporting director for DC Power FC in the USL Super League. He was captain of and played as a center-back for D.C. United for the majority of his professional career. Birnbaum started every game for D.C. United in the 2018 season. In 2018 he played every minute in all 34 regular season games, and led Major League Soccer in total clearances, headed clearances, and aerials won, and in 2019 he again led the league in headed clearances and aerials won.
1985
Aselefech Mergia
Ethiopian runner
Aselefech Mergia Medessa is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in the marathon. She was a bronze medallist in the event at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. She is a two-time winner of the Dubai Marathon and has finished in the top three at the Paris and London Marathons. She was retrospectively confirmed as the winner of the 2010 London Marathon after the top two were disqualified. Her personal best of 2:19:31 hours is a former Ethiopian record for the distance and places her within the top ten of all time.
1922
Tom Lewis
Australian politician, 33rd Premier of New South Wales (died 2016)
Thomas Lancelot Lewis was a New South Wales politician who served as the 33rd Premier of New South Wales from 1975 to 1976, and served as a minister in the cabinets of Sir Robert Askin and Sir Eric Willis. He became Premier following Askin's retirement from politics and held the position until he was replaced by Willis in a party vote. Lewis was first elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for the Electoral district of Wollondilly for the Liberal Party in 1957, and served until his resignation in 1978.
1940
Alan Cheuse
American writer and critic (died 2015)
Alan Stuart Cheuse was an American writer, editor, professor of literature, and radio commentator. A longtime NPR book commentator, he was also the author of five novels, five collections of short stories and novellas, a memoir and a collection of travel essays. In addition, Cheuse was a regular contributor to the radio program All Things Considered. His short fiction appeared in respected publications like The New Yorker, Ploughshares, The Antioch Review, Prairie Schooner, among other places. He taught in the Writing Program at George Mason University and the Community of Writers.
1974
Tiffani Thiessen
American actress
Tiffani Amber Thiessen is an American actress. Her roles as Kelly Kapowski on NBC's Saved by the Bell (1989–1993) and its spin-off media, and as Valerie Malone on Fox's Beverly Hills, 90210 (1994–1998) established her as a teen idol of the 1990s. As an adult, she has played Wilhemina 'Billie' Chambers in Fox's Fastlane (2002–2003), Natasha Drew in ABC's What About Brian (2007), Elizabeth Burke in USA Network's White Collar (2009–2014), and Lori Mendoza in Netflix's Alexa & Katie (2018–2020). For the latter, she earned a Daytime Emmy Award nomination.
1971
Adam Parore
New Zealand cricketer and mountaineer
Adam Craig Parore is a New Zealand former wicket-keeper and batsman. He played 78 Test cricket matches for New Zealand and 179 One Day International cricket matches. Parore has been the managing director of financial services firm Adam Parore Mortgages. CoinHQ was also founded by him. Parore was a member of the New Zealand team that won the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy.
1952
Jaroslav Pouzar
Czech ice hockey player
Jaroslav Pouzar is a Czech former professional ice hockey forward. He was selected in the fourth round of the 1982 NHL entry draft, 83rd overall, by the Edmonton Oilers. He won two Stanley Cups with Edmonton in 1984, 1985. He left to play in Europe in the summer of 1985. He returned during 1987 season to win a third cup with Edmonton. Pouzar played parts of four NHL seasons with Edmonton, as well as seeing extensive playing time in Europe.
1918
Charlie Kerins
Executed Irish Republican (died 1944)
Charlie Kerins was a physical force Irish Republican, and Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Kerins was one of six IRA men who were executed by the Irish State between September 1940 and December 1944. After spending two years on the run he was captured by the police in 1944. Following his subsequent trial and conviction for the 1942 murder of Garda Detective Sergeant Denis O'Brien, Kerins was hanged at Mountjoy Prison in Dublin.
1982
Wily Mo Peña
Dominican baseball player
Wily Modesto Peña Gutierrez is a Dominican former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners, and in NPB for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and Orix Buffaloes. At 6 feet, 3 inches in height and nearly 300 pounds, the right-handed batting and throwing Peña is considered a pure power hitter best known for his long-distance home runs and high strikeout rate.
1946
Arnoldo Alemán
Nicaraguan lawyer and politician, President of Nicaragua
José Arnoldo Alemán Lacayo is a Nicaraguan politician who served as the president of Nicaragua from 10 January 1997 to 10 January 2002. His tenure as president was marked by corruption and attempts to centralize power.
1996
Keita Bates-Diop
American basketball player
Keita Bates-Diop is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach for the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
1974
Glen Chapple
English cricketer
Glen Chapple is an English cricket coach and former cricketer. He is an all-rounder, and represented the national team in a One Day International, as well as performing well for Lancashire over many years. He bowled right-arm fast-medium, and is a right-handed batsman. With six first-class centuries to his name, Chapple shares with Mark Pettini the record for fastest first-class century, scored against declaration bowling by Glamorgan in 1993, coming off just 27 balls.
1920
Gottfried Böhm
German architect (died 2021)
Gottfried Böhm was a German architect and sculptor. His reputation is based on creating highly sculptural buildings made of concrete, steel, and glass. Böhm's first independent building was the Cologne chapel "Madonna in the Rubble". The chapel was completed in 1949 where a medieval church once stood before it was destroyed during World War II. Böhm's most influential and recognized building is the Maria, Königin des Friedens pilgrimage church in Neviges.
1813
Camilla Collett
Norwegian novelist and activist (died 1895)
Jacobine Camilla Collett was a Norwegian writer, often referred to as the first Norwegian feminist. She was also the younger sister of Norwegian poet Henrik Wergeland, and is recognized as being one of the first contributors to realism in Norwegian literature. Her younger brother was Major General Joseph Frantz Oscar Wergeland. She became an honorary member of the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights when the association was founded in 1884.
1898
Freda Utley
English scholar and author (died 1978)
Winifred Utley, commonly known as Freda Utley, was an English scholar, political activist and best-selling author. After visiting the Soviet Union in 1927 as a trade union activist, she joined the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1928. Later, married and living in Moscow, she quickly became disillusioned with communism. When her Russian husband, Arcadi Berdichevsky, was arrested in 1936, she escaped to England with her young son.
1958
Sergey Litvinov
Russian hammer thrower (died 2018)
Sergey Nikolaevich Litvinov was a Russian hammer thrower and athletics coach. He competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics and the 1988 Summer Olympics, missing the 1984 Summer Olympics due to the Soviet boycott, and won a silver and a gold medal, respectively. He also won two world titles, in 1983 and 1987. After retiring from competitions he coached elite hammer throwers including Ivan Tsikhan and his son Sergey.
1983
Irving Saladino
Panamanian long jumper
Irving Jahir Saladino Aranda is a Panamanian former long jumper. He was Olympic champion, having won at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and remains Panama's first and only Olympic gold medalist. He was world champion in the long jump in 2007. He represented his country at three consecutive Olympics, from 2004 to 2012, and competed at four World Championships in Athletics from 2005 to 2011.
1985
San E
South Korean rapper
Jung San, more commonly known by his stage name San E (산이), is a South Korean rapper. He debuted in 2010 under JYP Entertainment, where he was the label's first solo rapper. He left the company in 2013 to sign with hip hop label Brand New Music. He left the company in 2018 and established hip hop label FameUs Entertainment in 2019.
1927
Fred Williams
Australian painter (died 1982)
Frederick Ronald Williams was an Australian painter and printmaker. He was one of Australia's most important artists, and one of the twentieth century's major landscapists. He had more than seventy solo exhibitions during his career in Australian galleries, as well as the exhibition Fred Williams - Landscapes of a Continent at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1977.
1919
Hans Hass
Austrian biologist and diver (died 2013)
Hans Hass was an Austrian biologist and underwater diving pioneer. He was known mainly for being among the first scientists to popularise coral reefs, stingrays, octopuses and sharks. He pioneered the making of documentaries filmed underwater and led the development of a type of rebreather. He is also known for his energon theory and his commitment to protecting the environment.
1981
Rob Friend
Canadian soccer player
Robert Douglas Friend is a Canadian former professional soccer player, the president and co-founder of Vancouver FC, the CEO and co-founder of Pacific FC, the founder of Toca Football Canada, the co-founder of Canadian Premier League, the managing partner of SixFive Sport Fund also DRG Investment Group, and currently appointed as chief executive officer for Malaysia national team.
1941
João Ubaldo Ribeiro
Brazilian journalist, author, and academic (died 2014)
João Ubaldo Ribeiro was a Brazilian writer, journalist, screenwriter and professor. Several of his books and short stories have been turned into movies and TV series in Brazil. Ribeiro was a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, being elected in 1994. At the time of his death many considered him to be Brazil's greatest contemporary novelist.
1976
Brandon Duckworth
American baseball player and scout
Brandon J. Duckworth is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who is currently a scout. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, and Kansas City Royals, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Since 2014, Duckworth has worked for the New York Yankees professional scouting department.
1964
Jonatha Brooke
American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Jonatha Brooke is an American folk rock singer-songwriter and guitarist from Massachusetts, United States. Her music merges elements of folk, rock and pop, often with poignant lyrics and complex harmonies. She has been a performer, writer, and artist since the late 1980s, and her songs have been used in television shows and movies.
1929
Filaret Denysenko
Ukrainian religious leader, Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate (died 2026)
Patriarch Filaret was a Ukrainian religious leader, serving as the primate and Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church–Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC–KP). The Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which he left in 2019, viewed him as the Honorary Patriarch emeritus, while the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople recognized him as a former Metropolitan of Kyiv.
1935
Mike Agostini
Trinidadian sprinter (died 2016)
Michael George Raymond Agostini was a Trinidadian track and field athlete. He was the first athlete from his country to win a gold medal at what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, when he won the 100 yards final in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on 31 July 1954.
1979
Juan Rincón
Venezuelan baseball player and coach
Juan Manuel Rincón is a Venezuelan professional baseball coach and former relief pitcher. Rincón bats and throws right-handed. He throws a low 90s fastball and a mid to low 80s slider. In his career, Rincón posted a .208 BAA against left-handed hitters and a .248 BAA against right-handed hitters.
1986
Steven Taylor
English footballer
Steven Vincent Taylor is an English professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of UAE Third Division League club Desert Falcon. As a defender, he played over 200 games in the Premier League with Newcastle United, in the span of 13 seasons.
1922
Leon Golub
American painter and academic (died 2004)
Leon Golub was an American painter. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he also studied, receiving his BA at the University of Chicago in 1942, and his BFA and MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1949 and 1950, respectively.
1952
Omar Henry
South African cricketer
Omar Henry is a South African former cricketer who represented South Africa and Scotland at the international level. He played in three Tests and three One Day Internationals for South Africa. He is notable for being the first non-white player of the post-Apartheid era to play cricket for South Africa. Henry made both his Test and ODI debuts after turning 40 and was a member of the South African squad that reached the semi-finals of the 1992 Cricket World Cup. He played extensively in Scotland from 1982 to 1992. His son Riyaad Henry is also a professional cricketer who has played for Boland in domestic cricket in South Africa, and was called up to play for the Scotland A team in 2016.
1898
Georg Kulenkampff
German violinist (died 1948)
Alwin Georg Kulenkampff-Post (23 January 1898 – 4 October 1948) was a German virtuoso violinist. One of the most popular German concert violinists of the 1930s and 1940s, he was considered one of the finest violinists of the 20th century.
1935
Tom Reamy
American author (died 1977)
Tom Reamy was an American science fiction and fantasy author, and a key figure in 1960s and 1970s science fiction fandom. He died at age 42 prior to the publication of his first novel; his work is primarily dark fantasy.
1973
Tomas Holmström
Swedish ice hockey player
Bengt Tomas Holmström is a Swedish former professional ice hockey left winger who played his entire National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he won four Stanley Cup championships; in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008.
1913
Wally Parks
American businessman, founded the National Hot Rod Association (died 2007)
Wallace Gordon Parks was an American writer. He was the founder, president, and chairman of the National Hot Rod Association, better known as NHRA. He was instrumental in establishing drag racing as a legitimate amateur and professional motorsport.
1857
Andrija Mohorovičić
Croatian meteorologist and seismologist (died 1936)
Andrija Mohorovičić was a Croatian geophysicist and academic. He is best known for the eponymous Mohorovičić discontinuity and is considered one of the founders of modern seismology. He is also considered among the greatest Croatian natural scientists.
1899
Glen Kidston
English racing driver and pilot (died 1931)
George Pearson Glen Kidston was a British motor racing driver and aviator who completed a record-breaking flight from Netheravon, Wiltshire to Cape Town, South Africa, in 1931. He was one of the "Bentley Boys".
1514
Hai Rui
Chinese politician (died 1587)
Hai Rui, courtesy name Ru Xian (汝賢), art name Gang Feng (剛峰), was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Ming dynasty, remembered as a model of honesty and integrity in office.
1809
Surendra Sai
Indian activist (died 1884)
Bira Surendra Sai was an Indian revolutionary and freedom fighter from what is now Odisha. He fought against the British rule in India after they dethroned the rulers of the Sambalpur State.
1986
Gelete Burka
Ethiopian runner
Gelete Burka Bati is an Ethiopian middle-distance and long-distance runner. She was born in Kofele in the Arsi Zone of the Oromia Region, the same district as double Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie.
1862
Frank Shuman
American inventor and engineer (died 1918)
Frank Shuman was an American inventor, engineer and solar energy pioneer known for his work on solar engines, especially those that used solar energy to heat water that would produce steam.
1880
Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama
Mexican politician (died 1967)
Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama was a Mexican politician. He fought for Emiliano Zapata in the 1910–1917 Revolution and later served in Congress and in the cabinet of President Lázaro Cárdenas.
1897
Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky
Austrian architect (died 2000)
Margarete "Grete" Schütte-Lihotzky was an Austrian architect and a communist activist in the Austrian resistance to Nazism. She is mostly remembered today for designing what is known as the Frankfurt kitchen.
1786
Auguste de Montferrand
French-Russian architect, designed Saint Isaac's Cathedral and Alexander Column (died 1858)
Auguste de Montferrand was a French classicist architect who worked primarily in Russia. His two best known works are the Saint Isaac's Cathedral and the Alexander Column in Saint Petersburg.
1923
Horace Ashenfelter
American runner (died 2018)
Horace Ashenfelter III was an American athlete. He competed in international athletics from 1947 to 1956. He won fifteen AAU nationals titles and three collegiate national titles during his career.
1942
Herman Tjeenk Willink
Dutch judge and politician
Herman Diederik Tjeenk Willink is a retired Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and jurist. He was granted the honorary title of Minister of State on 21 December 2012.
1915
Herma Bauma
Austrian javelin thrower and handball player (died 2003)
Hermine "Herma" Bauma was an Austrian athlete who competed mainly in the javelin. She also was famous for playing handball, and she is the Austrian Handball Hall of Fame.
1799
Alois Negrelli
Tyrolean engineer and railroad pioneer active in the Austrian Empire (died 1858)
Nikolaus Alois Maria Vinzenz Negrelli, Ritter von Moldelbe was a Tyrolean civil engineer and railroad pioneer mostly active in parts of the Austrian Empire, Switzerland, Germany and Italy.
1916
David Douglas Duncan
American photographer and journalist (died 2018)
David Douglas Duncan was an American photojournalist, known for his dramatic combat photographs, as well as for his extensive domestic photography of Pablo Picasso and his wife Jacqueline.
1941
Jock R. Anderson
Australian economist and academic
Jock Robert Anderson is an Australian agricultural economist, specialising in agricultural development economics, risk and decision theory, and international rural development policy. Born in Monto, Queensland, he studied at the University of Queensland, attaining bachelor's and master's degrees in agricultural science. After graduation, Anderson joined the Faculty of Agricultural Economics at the University of New England. At New England, he focused on research in farm management, risk, and uncertainty and received a doctor of philosophy in economics in 1970. In 1977, Anderson co-authored a book, Agricultural Decision Analysis, which has served as an influential source on risk and decision analysis for agricultural economics researchers and the agricultural industry.
1953
John Luther Adams
American composer
John Luther Adams is an American composer. His history of environmental activism informs his music. His orchestral work Become Ocean was awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Music.
1979
Maria Stepanova
Russian basketball player
Maria Alexandrovna Stepanova is a Russian professional and Olympic basketball player. In the United States, she played for the Phoenix Mercury in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
1745
William Jessop
English engineer, built the Cromford Canal (died 1814)
William Jessop was an English civil engineer, best known for his work on canals, harbours and early railways in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
1912
Boris Pokrovsky
Russian director and manager (died 2009)
Boris Aleksandrovich Pokrovsky was a Soviet and Russian opera director and pedagogue, best known as the stage director of the Bolshoi Theatre between 1943 and 1982.
1979
Scott Hannan
Canadian ice hockey player
Kenneth Scott Hannan is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Hannan was born in Richmond, British Columbia, but grew up in Surrey, British Columbia.
1976
Alex Shaffer
American skier
Alexandra Luise Wubbels is an American nurse and former Olympian. As an alpine ski competitor, she was the national champion in both the slalom and giant slalom in 1999, and competed in the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics as Alex Shaffer.
1918
Florence Rush
American social worker and theorist (died 2008)
Florence Rush was an American certified social worker, feminist theorist and organizer best known for introducing The Freudian Coverup in her presentation "The Sexual Abuse of Children: A Feminist Point of View", about childhood sexual abuse and incest, at the April 1971 New York Radical Feminists (NYRF) Rape Conference. Rush's paper at the time was the first challenge to Freudian theories of children as the seducers of adults rather than the victims of adults' sexual/power exploitation.
1927
Lars-Eric Lindblad
Swedish-American businessman and explorer (died 1994)
Lars-Eric Lindblad was a Swedish-American entrepreneur and explorer, who pioneered tourism to many remote and exotic parts of the world. He led the first tourist expedition to Antarctica in 1966 in a chartered Argentine navy ship, and for many years operated his own vessel, the MS Lindblad Explorer, in the region. Observers point to the Lindblad Explorer’s 1969 expeditionary cruise to Antarctica as the forerunner to today's sea-based tourism there.
1949
Charlie Papazian
American nuclear engineer, brewer and author.
Charles N. Papazian is an American nuclear engineer, brewer and author. He founded the Association of Brewers and the Great American Beer Festival, and wrote The Complete Joy of Home Brewing (1984). He is the longtime former president (1979–2016) of the Brewers Association. He is also the creator of the National Pie Day, a celebration of pies which is celebrated on January 23, Papazian's birthday.
1901
Arthur Wirtz
American businessman (died 1983)
Arthur Michael Wirtz was an American entrepreneur. He was the founder of Wirtz Corporation, a holding company that owned Chicago Stadium, the Bismarck Hotel in Chicago, the Chicago Black Hawks, and the Chicago Bulls. He was the father of the late Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz, as well as the grandfather of the late Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz, who died on July 25, 2023.
1966
Damien Hardman
Australian surfer
Damien Hardman, known as The Iceman, is an Australian former surfer from Sydney. He won the Rip Curl Pro twice in 1988 and 1993, and was runner-up three times in 1989, 1991 and 1997, and in 1987/88 and 1991 he won the ASP World Tour. In 1999, he was inducted into the Australian Surfing Hall of Fame in 1999.
1950
Suzanne Scotchmer
American economist and academic (died 2014)
Suzanne Scotchmer was an American professor of law, economics and public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and a noted author on many economic subjects. She earned her B.A. from University of Washington magna cum laude in 1970, her M.A. in statistics from UC Berkeley in 1979, and her PhD in economics from UC Berkeley in 1980.
1967
Owen Cunningham
Australian rugby league player
Owen Cunningham, nicknamed OJ, is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. A Queensland State of Origin representative forward, he played his club football for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, North Queensland Cowboys and the Northern Eagles.
1897
Ieva Simonaitytė
Lithuanian author (died 1978)
Ieva Simonaitytė or Ewa Simoneit was a Lithuanian writer. She represented the culture of Lithuania Minor and Klaipėda Region, territories of German East Prussia with historically large, but dwindling, Lithuanian populations. She received critical acclaim for her novel Aukštujų Šimonių likimas.
1969
Susen Tiedtke
German long jumper
Susen Tiedtke is a German former long jumper, who took part in two editions of the Summer Olympics and won a silver and a bronze medal at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics in 1993 and 1995 respectively.
1878
Rutland Boughton
English composer (died 1960)
Rutland Boughton was an English composer who became well known in the early 20th century as a composer of opera and choral music. He was also an influential communist activist within the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB).
1896
Alf Blair
Australian rugby league player and coach (died 1944)
Alfred Lewis "Smacker" Blair was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach whose playing career ran from 1917 to 1930 with South Sydney. A skilled five-eighth, he made a single appearance for the Australian national team in 1924.
1970
Richard Šmehlík
Czech ice hockey player
Richard Šmehlík is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the fifth round, 97th overall, by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1990 NHL entry draft.
1894
Jyotirmoyee Devi
Indian author (died 1988)
Jyotirmoyee Devi (1894–1988) was an Indian writer in the early twentieth century. She wrote predominantly about women in the Rajasthan of her childhood and in what is now West Bengal at the time of Partition.
1929
Phillip Knightley
Australian journalist, author, and critic (died 2016)
Phillip George Knightley was an Australian journalist, critic, and non-fiction author. He became a visiting Professor of Journalism at the University of Lincoln, England, and was a media commentator on the intelligence services and propaganda.
1990
Alex Silva
Canadian wrestler
Alexander Freitas is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is a former Impact Gut Check Winner under the ring name Alex Silva.
1853
John Marks Moore
American politician (died 1902)
John Marks Moore was an American attorney, Democratic politician from Texas, a member of the Texas House of Representatives, and the Secretary of State of Texas during the term of Lawrence Sullivan Ross.
1934
Pierre Bourgault
Canadian journalist and politician (died 2003)
Pierre Bourgault was a politician and essayist, as well as an actor and journalist, from Quebec, Canada. He is most famous as a public speaker who advocated sovereignty for Quebec from Canada.
1954
Trevor Hohns
Australian cricketer
Trevor Victor Hohns is a former Queensland and Australian cricketer who played in seven Test matches as a spin bowler, and was later Australia's chairman of selectors.
1986
Marc Laird
Scottish footballer
Marc James Peter Laird is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Lowland League East club Civil Service Strollers, where he is also assistant manager.
1961
Yelena Sinchukova
Russian long jumper
Yelena Sinchukova is a retired Russian athlete who specialised in the long jump. She competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics, as well as two World Championships.
1965
Louie Clemente
American drummer
Louie Clemente is a former drummer for the Bay Area thrash metal band Testament. He is known for being a part of Testament's original lineup.
1378
Louis III
Elector Palatine (died 1436)
Louis III, was an Elector Palatine of the Rhine from the house of Wittelsbach in 1410–1436.
1622
Abraham Diepraam
Dutch painter (died 1670)
Abraham Diepraam, or Diepraem, was a Dutch Golden Age painter.
1719
John Landen
English mathematician and theorist (died 1790)
John Landen was an English mathematician.
1780
Georgios Karaiskakis
Greek general (died 1827)
Georgios Karaiskakis, born Georgios Karaiskos, was a Greek military commander and a leader of the Greek War of Independence.
1833
Muthu Coomaraswamy
Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (died 1879)
Sir Muthu Coomaraswamy was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, writer and member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon.
1846
Nikolay Umov
Russian physicist and mathematician (died 1915)
Nikolay Alekseevich Umov was a Russian physicist and mathematician known for discovering the concept of Umov-Poynting vector and Umov effect.
1847
Elijah Bond
American inventor and lawyer, patented the Ouija board (died 1921)
Elijah Jefferson Bond was an American lawyer and inventor. He is best known for patenting the ouija board.
1862
David Hilbert
German mathematician and academic (died 1943)
David Hilbert was a German mathematician and philosopher of mathematics and one of the most influential mathematicians of all time.
1889
Claribel Kendall
American mathematician (died 1965)
Claribel Kendall was an American mathematician.
1896
Alf Hall
English-South African cricketer (died 1964)
Alfred Ewart Hall was a South African cricketer who played in seven Tests from 1923 to 1931.
1905
Erich Borchmeyer
German sprinter (died 2000)
Erich Borchmeyer was a German athlete, who competed mainly in the 100 metres.
1913
Jean-Michel Atlan
Algerian-French painter (died 1960)
Jean-Michel Atlan was a French artist.
1916
Airey Neave
English colonel, lawyer, and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (died 1979)
Lieutenant Colonel Airey Middleton Sheffield Neave was a British soldier, lawyer and Member of Parliament (MP) from 1953 until his assassination in 1979.
1919
Ernie Kovacs
American actor and game show host (died 1962)
Ernest Edward Kovacs was an American comedian, actor, and writer.
1920
Walter Frederick Morrison
American businessman, invented the Frisbee (died 2010)
Walter Frederick Morrison was an American inventor and entrepreneur, who invented the Frisbee.
1929
John Polanyi
German-Canadian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
John Charles Polanyi is a German-born Hungarian-Canadian chemist. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research in chemical reaction dynamics.
1930
Derek Walcott
Saint Lucian poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2017)
Sir Derek Alton Walcott was a Saint Lucian poet and playwright.
1930
Mervyn Rose
Australian tennis player (died 2017)
Mervyn Gordon Rose AM was an Australian male tennis player who won seven Grand Slam titles.
1930
Teresa Żylis-Gara
Polish operatic soprano (died 2021)
Teresa Żylis-Gara was a Polish operatic soprano who enjoyed a major international career from the 1950s through the 1990s.
1932
George Allen
English footballer (died 2016)
George Henry Allen was an English footballer who played more than 250 games in the Football League.
1936
1942
Laurie Mayne
Australian cricketer
Lawrence Charles Mayne is a former Australian cricketer who played in six Test matches between 1965 and 1970.
1943
Özhan Canaydın
Turkish basketball player and businessman (died 2010)
Özhan Canaydın was a businessman, basketballer and former chairman of the Turkish sports club Galatasaray.
1946
Marie Charlotte Fayanga
Central African politician and diplomat (died 2021)
Marie Charlotte Fayanga was a Central African diplomat and politician.
1950
Guida Maria
Portuguese actress (died 2018)
Guida Maria was a Portuguese actress. Her career spanned 60 years and included appearances on stage, in film and on television.
1959
Clive Bull
English radio host
Clive Bull is an English radio talk show host, best known for presenting a late-night show on LBC in London.
1960
Greg Ritchie
Australian cricketer
Gregory Michael Ritchie is a former Australian international cricketer who played in 30 Tests matches and 44 One Day Internationals between 1982 and 1987.
1961
1962
Aivar Lillevere
Estonian footballer and coach
Aivar Lillevere is an Estonian football manager and former football player.
1962
Elvira Lindo
Spanish journalist and author
Elvira Lindo Garrido is a Spanish journalist and writer.
1966
Haywoode Workman
American basketball player and referee
Haywoode Wilvon Workman is an American former basketball player who is a referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
1968
Taro Hakase
Japanese violinist and composer
Taro Hakase is a Japanese musician who specialises as a violinist and composer.
1970
Spyridon Vasdekis
Greek long jumper
Spyridon "Spyros" Vasdekis is a retired Greek long jumper.
1971
1974
Richard T. Slone
English painter
Richard T. Slone is a British-born artist residing in the United States. He was born in 1974 in Newton-in-Furness, Lancashire, England.
1976
Anne Margrethe Hausken
Norwegian orienteering competitor
Anne Margrethe Hausken Nordberg is a Norwegian orienteering competitor, World champion and European champion. She took the overall victory in the 2008 World Cup.
1979
Dawn O'Porter
Scottish-English fashion designer and journalist
Dawn O'Porter is a British writer, director, and television presenter.
1982
Andrew Rock
American sprinter
Andrew Rock is an American sprinter who specializes in the 400 meter dash.
1982
Oceana Mahlmann
German singer and songwriter
Oceana Mahlmann is a German singer. Her musical roots are embedded in soul, reggae, hip hop, and funk.
1985
Dong Fangzhuo
Chinese footballer
Dong Fangzhuo is a Chinese former professional footballer who played as a forward.
1985
Yevgeny Lukyanenko
Russian pole vaulter
Yevgeny Yuryevich Lukyanenko is a Russian pole vaulter.
1986
José Enrique
Spanish footballer
José Enrique Sánchez Díaz, known as José Enrique, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a left-back.
1986
Sandro Viletta
Swiss skier
Sandro Viletta is a Swiss former World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist.
1987
Leo Komarov
Estonian-Finnish ice hockey player
Leonid Aleksandrovich Komarov is an Estonian-born Finnish professional ice hockey player who is a forward for Kiekko-Espoo of the Liiga.
1992
Reina Triendl
Japanese model and actress
Reina Triendl is an Austrian-Japanese model, tarento, and actress.
1996
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
English footballer
Ruben Ira Loftus-Cheek is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club AC Milan and the England national team.
2000
Fanni Pigniczki
Hungarian rhythmic gymnast
Fanni Pigniczki is a Hungarian rhythmic gymnast. She competed at the 2020 Tokyo and the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.