Famous Birthdays on January 29

Q: Who was born on January 29?

Famous people born on January 29 include: Johann Reuchlin, Giuliano Bugiardini, Katharina von Bora, Lelio Sozzini, Frederick Henry.

166 people 1455 – 2003

January 29 has seen 166 notable people enter the world across recorded history — from 1455 – 2003. Below are the most significant names born on this date.

By thisDay.info Editorial Team · January 29 — Wikipedia

1602 — Countess Amalie Elisabeth of Hanau-Münzenberg (died 1651)

Countess Amalie Elisabeth of Hanau-Münzenberg (died 1651)

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She married the future William V, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel in 1619 and became Landgravine upon his ascension to power in 1627

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Later that year, she became regent for their son William VI upon her husband's death

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In 1637, military defeats forced her and William V into exile in East Frisia

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She handed over an enlarged landgraviate to her son when she abdicated upon his majority in 1650

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However, her health had deteriorated over the course of the war, and she died soon after her abdication in 1651.

Johann Reuchlin

German-born humanist and scholar (died 1522)

Johann Reuchlin, sometimes called Johannes, was a German Catholic humanist and a scholar of Greek and Hebrew, whose work also took him to modern-day Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and France. Most of Reuchlin's career…

1455

Giuliano Bugiardini

Italian painter (died 1555)

Giuliano di Piero di Simone Bugiardini was an Italian Renaissance painter. He was born and was mainly active in Florence. He was a painter primarily of religious subjects but he also executed a number of portraits and a…

1475

Katharina von Bora

wife of Martin Luther; formerly a Roman Catholic nun (died 1552)

Katharina von Bora, after her wedding Katharina Luther, also referred to as "die Lutherin", was the wife of the German reformer Martin Luther and a seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation. Although little is known…

1499

Lelio Sozzini

Italian humanist and reformer (died 1562)

Lelio Francesco Maria Sozzini, often known in English by his Latinized name Laelius Socinus, was an Italian Renaissance humanist and theologian, and, alongside his nephew Fausto Sozzini, founder of the Nontrinitarian…

1525

Frederick Henry

Prince of Orange (died 1647)

Frederick Henry was the sovereign prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from his older half-brother's death on 23 April 1625 until his death on 14…

1584

Franciscus Junius

German pioneer philologist (died 1677)

Franciscus Junius , also known as François du Jon, was a pioneer of Germanic philology. As a collector of ancient manuscripts, he published the first modern editions of a number of important texts. In addition, he wrote…

1591

Johann Georg Graevius

German scholar and critic (died 1703)

Johann Georg Graevius was a German classical scholar and critic. He was born in Naumburg, in the Electorate of Saxony.

1632

Emanuel Swedenborg

Swedish astronomer, philosopher, and theologian (died 1772)

Emanuel Swedenborg was a Swedish polymath; a scientist, engineer, astronomer, anatomist, Christian theologian, philosopher, and mystic. He became best known for his book on the afterlife, Heaven and Hell (1758).

1688

Giuseppe Bonno

Austrian composer (died 1788)

Giuseppe Bonno was an Austrian composer of Italian origin.

1711

Georg Christoph Wagenseil

Austrian organist and composer (died 1777)

Georg Christoph Wagenseil was an Austrian composer.

1715

Jeffery Amherst

1st Baron Amherst, English field marshal and politician, 19th Governor General of Canada (died 1797)

Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst was a British Army officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the British Army. Amherst is credited as the architect of Britain's successful campaign to conquer the…

1717

Paul Rabaut

French pastor (died 1794)

Paul Rabaut was a French pastor of the Huguenot "Church of the Desert". He was regarded by many as the leader and director of the proscribed church. He was a peacemaker and a scholar despite, due to persecution, living…

1718

Thomas Paine

English-American political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary (died 1809)

Thomas Paine was an English-born American Founding Father, French Revolutionary, inventor, political philosopher, and statesman. His pamphlets Common Sense (1776) and The American Crisis (1776–1783) framed the Patriot…

1737

Christian VII of Denmark (died 1808)

Christian VII was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death in 1808. He was affected by mental illness and was only nominally king for most of his reign. His royal advisers…

1749

Moses Cleaveland

American general, lawyer, and politician, founded Cleveland, Ohio (died 1806)

Moses Cleaveland was an American lawyer, politician, soldier, and surveyor from Connecticut who founded the city of Cleveland, Ohio, while surveying the Connecticut Western Reserve in 1796. During the American…

1754

Henry Lee III

American general and politician, 9th Governor of Virginia (died 1818)

Henry Lee III was an early American Patriot and politician who served as the ninth Governor of Virginia and as the Virginia Representative to the United States Congress. Lee's service during the American Revolution as a…

1756

Albert Gallatin

Swiss-American ethnologist, linguist, and politician, 4th United States Secretary of the Treasury (died 1849)

Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin was a Genevan-American politician, diplomat, ethnologist, and linguist. Often described as "America's Swiss Founding Father", he was a leading figure in the early years of the United…

1761

Daniel Auber

French composer (died 1871)

Daniel-François-Esprit Auber was a French Romantic composer and director of the Paris Conservatoire.

1782

Lemuel H. Arnold

American politician (died 1852)

Lemuel Hastings Arnold was an American politician from the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A Whig, he served as the 12th governor of the State of Rhode Island and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

1792

Johannes Bernardus van Bree

Dutch violinist, composer, and conductor (died 1857)

Johannes Bernardus van Bree was a Dutch composer, violinist and conductor.

1801

Ernst Kummer

Polish-German mathematician and academic (died 1893)

Ernst Eduard Kummer was a German mathematician. Skilled in applied mathematics, Kummer trained German army officers in ballistics; afterwards, he taught for 10 years in a gymnasium, the German equivalent of high school,…

1810

Mary Whitwell Hale

American teacher, school founder, and hymnwriter (died 1862)

Mary Whitwell Hale was an American teacher, school founder, and hymnwriter of the Romantic era. She was a contributor to The Christian Register. Her pen name was made up of the concluding letters of her first, middle,…

1810

William McKinley

American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 25th President of the United States (died 1901)

William McKinley was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party, he led a realignment that made Republicans largely dominant in the…

1843

Karol Olszewski

Polish chemist, mathematician and physicist (died 1915)

Karol Stanisław Olszewski was a Polish chemist, mathematician, and physicist. Together with Zygmunt Wróblewski, in 1883 he was the first scientist in the world to liquify oxygen and nitrogen.

1846

Frederic Hymen Cowen

Jamaican-English pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1935)

Sir Frederic Hymen Cowen, was an English composer, conductor and pianist.

1852

Henry Ward Ranger

American painter and academic (died 1916)

Henry Ward Ranger was an American artist. Born in western New York State, he was a prominent landscape and marine painter, an important Tonalist, and the leader of the Old Lyme Art Colony. Ranger became a National…

1858

Anton Chekhov

Russian playwright and short story writer (died 1904)

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian playwright and short story writer. Widely considered one of the greatest writers of all time, his career as a playwright produced four classics, and his best short stories are held…

1860

Florida Ruffin Ridley

American civil rights activist, teacher, editor, and writer (died 1943)

Florida Ruffin Ridley was an African-American civil rights activist, suffragist, teacher, writer, and editor from Boston, Massachusetts. She was one of the first black public schoolteachers in Boston, and edited The…

1861

Frederick Delius

English composer (died 1934)

Frederick Theodore Albert Delius was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce. He was sent to Florida in the United…

1862

Richard Arman Gregory

British astronomer (died 1952)

Sir Richard Arman Gregory, 1st Baronet FRS, FRAS was a British astronomer and promoter of science. Some of his work was published as by Richard A. or R. A. Gregory.

1864

Romain Rolland

French historian, author, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1944)

Romain Rolland was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915 "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary production and to the…

1866

Vicente Blasco Ibáñez

Spanish journalist and author (died 1928)

Vicente Blasco Ibáñez was a journalist, politician, and a bestselling Spanish novelist in various genres whose most widespread and lasting fame in the English-speaking world is from Hollywood films that were adapted…

1867

John D. Rockefeller Jr.

American businessman and philanthropist (died 1960)

John Davison Rockefeller Jr. was an American financier and philanthropist. Rockefeller was the fifth child and only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast…

1874

Havergal Brian

English composer (died 1972)

William Havergal Brian was an English composer, librettist, and church organist.

1876

W. C. Fields

American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (died 1946)

William Claude Dukenfield, better known as W. C. Fields, was an American actor, comedian, juggler and writer. His career in show business began in vaudeville, where he attained international success as a silent juggler.…

1880

Alice Catherine Evans

American microbiologist (died 1975)

Alice Catherine Evans was an American microbiologist. She became a researcher at the U.S. Department of Agriculture where she investigated bacteriology in milk and cheese. She proved that Bacillus abortus caused the…

1881

Juhan Aavik

Estonian-Swedish composer and conductor (died 1982)

Juhan Aavik was an Estonian composer.

1884

Karl Freudenberg

German chemist (died 1983)

Karl Johann Freudenberg was a German chemist who did early seminal work on the absolute configurations to carbohydrates, terpenes, and steroids, and on the structure of cellulose and other polysaccharides, and on the…

1886

Sydney Chapman

English mathematician and geophysicist (died 1970)

Sydney Chapman was a British mathematician and geophysicist. His work on the kinetic theory of gases, solar-terrestrial physics, and the Earth's ozone layer has inspired a broad range of research over many decades.

1888

Wellington Koo

Chinese statesman (died 1985)

Koo Vi Kyuin, better known as V. K. Wellington Koo, was a Chinese diplomat.

1888

Ernst Lubitsch

German American film director, producer, writer, and actor (died 1947)

Ernst Lubitsch was a German and American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige…

1892

Muna Lee

American poet and author (died 1965)

Muna Lee was an American poet, author, and activist, who first became known and widely published as a lyric poet in the early 20th century. She also was known for her writings that promoted Pan-Americanism and feminism.…

1895

Allen B. DuMont

American engineer and broadcaster, founded the DuMont Television Network (died 1965)

Allen Balcom DuMont was an American electronics engineer, scientist and inventor who improved the cathode-ray tube in 1931 for use in television receivers. Seven years later he manufactured and sold the first…

1901

E. P. Taylor

Canadian businessman and horse breeder (died 1989)

Edward Plunket Taylor, CMG, was a Canadian business tycoon, investor, and philanthropist. He was a famous breeder of Thoroughbred race horses, and a major force behind the evolution of the Canadian horse-racing…

1901

Barnett Newman

American painter and etcher (died 1970)

Barnett Newman was an American painter. He has been critically regarded as one of the major figures of abstract expressionism, and one of the foremost color field painters. His paintings explore the sense of place that…

1905

Victor Mature

American actor (died 1999)

Victor John Mature was an American stage, film, and television actor who was a leading man in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His best known film roles include One Million B.C. (1940), My Darling Clementine…

1913

Bill Peet

American author and illustrator (died 2002)

William Bartlett Peet was an American children's book illustrator and a story writer and animator for Walt Disney Animation Studios.

1915

John Serry Sr.

Italian-American concert accordionist and composer (died 2003)

John Serry was an American concert accordionist, arranger, composer, organist, and educator. He performed on the CBS Radio and Television networks and contributed to Voice of America's cultural diplomacy initiatives…

1915

Roy Markham

British plant virologist (died 1979)

Roy Markham FRS was a British plant virologist who served as the fifth director of the John Innes Centre from 1967 until his death in 1979.

1916

John Raitt

American actor and singer (died 2005)

John Emmet Raitt was an American actor and singer best known for his performances in musical theatre. His most notable role was Billy Bigelow in the original Broadway cast of Carousel.

1917

John Forsythe

American actor (died 2010)

John Lincoln Forsythe was an American stage, film/television actor, producer, narrator, and drama teacher whose career spanned six decades. He also appeared as a guest on several talk and variety shows and as a panelist…

1918

Paul Gayten

American R&B pianist, songwriter, producer, and record company executive (died 1991)

Paul Leon Gayten was an American R&B pianist, songwriter, producer, and record company executive.

1920

Paddy Chayefsky

American author and screenwriter (died 1981)

Sidney Aaron "Paddy" Chayefsky was an American playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He is the only person to have won three solo Academy Awards for writing both Adapted and Original screenplays.

1923

Eddie Taylor

American electric blues guitarist and singer (died 1985)

Eddie Taylor was an American electric blues guitarist and singer.

1923

Abdus Salam

Pakistani-British physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1996)

Mohammad Abdus Salam was a Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate. He shared the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics with Steven Weinberg and Sheldon Glashow "for their contributions to the theory of the unified…

1926

Edward Abbey

American environmentalist and author (died 1989)

Edward Paul Abbey was an American author and essayist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues, criticism of public land policies, and anarchist political views. His best-known works include the novel The Monkey…

1927

Joseph Kruskal

American mathematician and computer scientist (died 2010)

Joseph Bernard Kruskal, Jr. was an American mathematician.

1928

Lee Shau-kee

Hong Kong real estate billionaire (died 2025)

Lee Shau-kee was a Hong Kong business magnate, investor and philanthropist. He was a real estate tycoon and majority owner of Henderson Land Development, a property conglomerate with interests in property, hotels,…

1928

Elio Petri

Italian director and screenwriter (died 1982)

Eraclio Petri, commonly known as Elio Petri, was an Italian film and theatre director, screenwriter and film critic. The Museum of Modern Art described him as "one of the preeminent political and social satirists of…

1929

Leslie Bricusse

English playwright and composer (died 2021)

Leslie Charles Bricusse was a British composer, lyricist, and playwright who worked on theatre musicals and wrote theme music for films. He was best known for writing the music and lyrics for the films Doctor Dolittle;…

1931

Ferenc Mádl

Hungarian academic and politician, 2nd President of Hungary (died 2011)

Ferenc Mádl was a Hungarian legal scholar, professor, and politician who served as President of Hungary from 2000 until 2005. Prior to that he had been minister without portfolio from 1990 to 1993 then Minister of…

1931

Raman Subba Row

English cricketer and referee (died 2024)

Raman Subba Row was a 20th-century Anglo-Indian cricket player and administrator, who played Test cricket for England and captained Northamptonshire CCC (1958–61), later serving as Chairman of the Test and County…

1932

Sacha Distel

French singer and guitarist (died 2004)

Alexandre "Sacha" Distel was a French musician and singer who had hits with a cover version of "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" in 1970, which reached No. 10 on the UK charts, "Scoubidou", and "The Good Life". He was…

1933

Alan Cowley

British chemist (died 2020)

Alan Herbert Cowley FRS was a British chemist, and Robert A. Welch Chair at the University of Texas at Austin. He was a 1976 Guggenheim Fellow.

1934

James Jamerson

American bass player (died 1983)

James Lee Jamerson was an American bassist. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s, and is now regarded as one of the greatest and most influential bass players in…

1936

Veturi

Indian poet and songwriter (died 2010)

Veturi Sundararama Murthy, known mononymously by his surname Veturi, was an Indian poet and lyricist who is known for his works in Telugu literature and cinema. Veturi is a recipient of the National Film Award, various…

1936

Jeff Clyne

British musician (died 2009)

Jeffrey Ovid Clyne was a British jazz bassist.

1937

Germaine Greer

Australian journalist and author

Germaine Greer is an Australian writer and public intellectual, regarded as one of the major voices of the second-wave feminism movement in the latter half of the 20th century.

1939

Jeanne Lee

American jazz singer, poet and composer (died 2000)

Jeanne Lee was an American jazz singer, poet and composer. Best known for a wide range of vocal styles she mastered, Lee collaborated with numerous distinguished composers and performers who included Gunter Hampel,…

1939

Justino Díaz

Puerto Rican opera singer

Justino Díaz is a Puerto Rican operatic bass-baritone. In 1963, Díaz won an annual contest held at the Metropolitan Opera of New York, becoming the first Puerto Rican to obtain such an honor and as a consequence, made…

1940

Katharine Ross

American actress and author

Katharine Juliet Ross is an American retired actress. Her accolades include an Academy Award nomination, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards.

1940

Robin Morgan

American actress, journalist, and author

Robin Morgan is an American poet, writer, activist, journalist, lecturer and former child actor. Since the early 1960s, she has been a key radical feminist member of the American Women's Movement, and a leader in the…

1941

Gamini Jayawickrama Perera

Sri Lankan politician (died 2024)

Mallawa Arachchige Gamini Jayawickrama Perera was a Sri Lankan politician. He was a United National Party member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka for the Kurunegala District between 1994 and 2020, and had previously…

1941

Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez

Cuban military officer, legislator and cosmonaut

Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez is a Cuban military officer, legislator, and former cosmonaut and the first person of African heritage in space. In 1980, as a member of the crew of Soyuz 38, he became the first Cuban citizen, the…

1942

Tony Blackburn

English radio and television host

Anthony Kenneth Blackburn is an English disc jockey, singer and television presenter, whose career spans over 60 years.

1943

Pat Quinn

Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 2014)

John Brian Patrick Quinn was a Canadian ice hockey player, head coach, and executive. Known by the nickname "The Big Irishman", he coached for the National Hockey League's Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings,…

1943

Mark Wynter

English singer and actor

Terence Sidney Lewis, professionally known as Mark Wynter, is an English singer and actor, who had four Top 20 singles in the 1960s, including "Venus in Blue Jeans" and "Go Away Little Girl". He enjoyed a lengthy career…

1943

Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta

Malian academic and politician, Prime Minister of Mali (died 2022)

Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, often known by his initials IBK, was a Malian politician who served as the president of Mali from September 2013 to August 2020, when he was forced to resign in the 2020 Malian coup d'état. He…

1945

Tom Selleck

American actor and businessman

Thomas William Selleck is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series Magnum, P.I. (1980–88), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations for…

1945

Geater Davis

American singer-songwriter (died 1984)

Vernon "Geater" Davis was an American soul singer and songwriter. He has been described as "one of the South's great lost soul singers, an impassioned stylist whose voice was a combination of sweetness and sandpaper…

1946

Bettye LaVette

American singer-songwriter

Bettye LaVette is an American soul singer who made her first record at sixteen, but achieved only intermittent fame until 2005, when her album I've Got My Own Hell to Raise was released to widespread critical acclaim,…

1946

Linda B. Buck

American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Linda Brown Buck is an American biologist best known for her work on the olfactory system. She was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, along with Richard Axel, for their work on olfactory receptors.…

1947

David Byron

English singer-songwriter (died 1985)

David Garrick, better known by his stage name David Byron, was a British singer who was best known in the early 1970s as the original lead vocalist of the rock band Uriah Heep and their hit singles "Easy Livin'" (1972)…

1947

Marián Varga

Slovak organist and composer (died 2017)

Marián Varga was a Slovak musician, composer and organist. In the context of Czech-Slovak musical culture of the second half of the 20th century, Varga was a significant figure in the field of autonomous, modern…

1947

Raymond Keene

English chess player and author

Raymond Dennis Keene is an English chess grandmaster, a FIDE International Arbiter, a chess organiser, and a journalist and author. He won the British Chess Championship in 1971, and was the first player from England to…

1948

Cristina Saralegui

Cuban-American journalist, actress and talk show host

Cristina María Saralegui de Ávila is a Cuban-born American journalist, television personality, actress and talk show host of the Spanish-language eponymous show, El show de Cristina. Before her television career, she…

1948

Marc Singer

Canadian-American actor

Marc Singer is a Canadian-American actor best known for his roles in the Beastmaster film series, as Mike Donovan in the original 1980s TV series V, and as Matt Cantrell in 1983 Dallas.

1948

Doris Davenport

American poet and teacher

Doris Davenport, sometimes styled as doris davenport, was an American writer, educator, and literary and performance poet. She wrote an essay featured in This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color…

1949

Tommy Ramone

Hungarian-American drummer and producer (died 2014)

Thomas Erdelyi, known professionally as Tommy Ramone, was a Hungarian musician. He was the drummer for the influential punk rock band the Ramones from its debut in 1974 to 1978, later serving as its producer, and was…

1949

Ann Jillian

American actress and singer

Ann Jillian is an American former actress and singer whose career began as a child actress in 1960. She is best known for her role as the sultry waitress Cassie Cranston on the 1980s sitcom It's a Living.

1950

Miklós Vámos

Hungarian writer, novelist, screenwriter and translator

Miklós Vámos originally Tibor Vámos, is a Hungarian writer, novelist, screenwriter, translator and talkshow host, who has published 33 books.

1950

Pete Geren

American attorney and politician

Preston Murdoch "Pete" Geren III is an American attorney and politician who served as the 20th United States Secretary of the Army from July 16, 2007, to September 16, 2009. He is a Democratic former member of the…

1952

Tim Healy

British actor

Timothy Malcolm Healy is an English actor. He played Dennis Patterson in the comedy-drama series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1983–2004), Lesley Conroy in the sitcom Benidorm (2009–2018), and Gastric in the comedy series Still…

1952

Teresa Teng

Taiwanese singer (died 1995)

Teng Li-Chun, also known as Teresa Teng, was a Taiwanese singer, television personality, musician, and philanthropist. Widely regarded as one of the most culturally significant figures in the Chinese-speaking world of…

1953

Charlie Wilson

American singer-songwriter and producer

Charles Kent Wilson, also known as Uncle Charlie, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer who served as lead vocalist for the Gap Band from its 1967 formation until its 2010 disbandment. As a solo act,…

1953

Terry Kinney

American actor and director

Terry Kinney is an American actor, theater director, and founding member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, with Gary Sinise and Jeff Perry. Kinney is best known for his role as Tim McManus on HBO's prison drama Oz.

1954

Oprah Winfrey

American talk show host, actress, and producer, founded Harpo Productions

Oprah Gail Winfrey is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, broadcast from Chicago, which ran in national…

1954

Greg Ballard

American basketball player and coach (died 2016)

Gregory Ballard was an American professional basketball player and NBA assistant coach. A collegiate All-American at Oregon, Ballard averaged 12.4 points and 6.1 rebounds over an eleven-season NBA career with the…

1955

John Tate

American boxer (died 1998)

John Tate was an American professional boxer and held the WBA heavyweight championship from 1979 to 1980. As an amateur he won a bronze medal in the heavyweight division at the 1976 Summer Olympics. He scored notable…

1955

Irlene Mandrell

American musician, actress, and model

Ellen Irlene Mandrell is an American musician. She is the younger sister of country singers Barbara and Louise Mandrell.

1956

Amii Stewart

American singer and dancer

Amy Paulette "Amii" Stewart is an American disco and soul singer who found prominence with her 1979 U.S. Billboard number 1 hit cover of Eddie Floyd's song "Knock on Wood", often considered a classic of the disco genre.…

1956

Diane Delano

American actress (died 2024)

Diane Delano was an American character actress. She was known for her numerous roles in films and television, such as Sergeant Barbara Semanski on the CBS television series Northern Exposure and Roberta "Bobbi" Glass on…

1957

Ron Franscell

American author and journalist

Ron Franscell is an American journalist, novelist and true crime writer best known for the true account The Darkest Night about the 1973 crimes against two childhood friends in the small community where Franscell grew…

1957

Judy Norton

American actress and theater director

Judy Norton is an American actress and theater director who is best known for her role as Mary Ellen Walton on The Waltons television series and subsequent Waltons TV movies.

1958

Cho-liang Lin

Taiwanese-American musician

Cho-Liang Lin is a Taiwanese-American violinist who is renowned for his appearances as a soloist with major orchestras. Musical America named him its "Instrumentalist of the Year" in 2000. He founded the Taipei…

1960

Greg Louganis

American diver and author

Gregory Efthimios Louganis is an American Olympic diver who won gold medals at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics on the springboard and platform. He is the only man and the second diver in Olympic history to sweep the…

1960

Steve Sax

American baseball player

Stephen Louis Sax is an American former Major League Baseball player and coach. He played as a second baseman in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1994, celebrated as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers with whom he…

1960

Gia Carangi

American supermodel (died 1986)

Gia Marie Carangi was an American supermodel, considered by some to be the first supermodel. In 2023, Harper's Bazaar ranked her 15th among the greatest supermodels in the 1980s. She was featured on the cover of…

1960

Strive Masiyiwa

Zimbabwean businessman and philanthropist

Strive Masiyiwa is a London-based Zimbabwean billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder and executive chairman of international technology groups Econet Global and Cassava Technologies. As of 2026,…

1961

Gauri Lankesh

Indian journalist and activist (died 2017)

Gauri Lankesh was an Indian activist and journalist from Bangalore, Karnataka. She worked as an editor in Lankesh Patrike, a Kannada weekly started by her father P. Lankesh, and ran her own weekly called Gauri Lankesh…

1962

Lee Terry

American politician and lawyer

Lee Raymond Terry is an American former politician and senior law firm adviser. From 1999 to 2015, he served eight terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district as a…

1962

Nicholas Turturro

American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

Nicholas Turturro Jr. is an American actor. He is known as one of the frequent collaborators of Spike Lee, and his roles as Detective James Martinez on NYPD Blue and Sergeant Anthony Renzulli on Blue Bloods. He was…

1962

Roddy Frame

Scottish singer-songwriter and musician

Roddy Frame is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. He was the founder of the 1980s new wave band Aztec Camera and has undertaken a solo career since the group's dissolution. In November 2013, journalist Brian…

1964

Andre Reed

American football player

Andre Darnell Reed is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football for the…

1964

David Agus

American physician and author

David B. Agus is an American physician and author specializing in advanced cancer. He serves as professor of medicine and biomedical engineering at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine and…

1965

Dominik Hašek

Czech ice hockey player

Dominik Hašek is a Czech former ice hockey player who was a goaltender for 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), mostly for the Buffalo Sabres. Widely considered to be the greatest goaltender in history, Hašek…

1965

Sean Burke

Canadian ice hockey player and coach

Sean Burke is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and the current director of goaltending for the Vegas Golden Knights, with whom he won the Stanley Cup with in 2023. He played 18 seasons in the…

1967

Stacey King

American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster

Ronald Stacey King is an American sports announcer and former National Basketball Association (NBA) center who won three consecutive championships with the Chicago Bulls from 1991 to 1993 while playing next to Michael…

1967

Edward Burns

American actor, director, writer, and producer

Edward Fitzgerald Burns is an American actor and filmmaker. He rose to fame with The Brothers McMullen (1995), his low-budget independent film that became successful worldwide. His other film appearances include Saving…

1968

Monte Cook

American game designer and writer

Monte Cook is an American professional tabletop role-playing game designer and writer, best known for his work on Dungeons & Dragons.

1968

Aeneas Williams

American football player

Aeneas Demetrius Williams is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback and safety in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the Southern Jaguars and…

1968

Sam Trammell

American actor

Sam Trammell is an American actor, best known for his role as Sam Merlotte on the HBO fantasy drama series True Blood. He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard…

1969

Heather Graham

American actress

Heather Joan Graham is an American actress. The accolades she has received include nominations for two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and an Independent Spirit Award.

1970

Jörg Hoffmann

German swimmer

Jörg Hoffmann is a retired freestyle swimmer from Germany and former World record holder. He was also multiple World and European champion, in both Long and Short Course Championships.

1970

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

Indian colonel and politician

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore is an Indian politician, Olympic medallist in shooting and retired colonel in the Indian Army. He is serving as a cabinet minister at the Industry & Commerce, Youth Affairs & Sports Department…

1970

Paul Ryan

American politician, 62nd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

Paul Davis Ryan is an American politician who served as the 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the party's vice presidential nominee in…

1970

Clare Balding

English broadcaster, journalist and author

Clare Victoria Balding is an English broadcast journalist and author. She currently presents programmes for BBC Sport and Channel 4, and previously for BT Sport. She also formerly presented Good Morning Sunday on BBC…

1971

Brian Wood

American writer, illustrator and graphic designer

Brian Wood is an American writer, illustrator, and graphic designer, known for his work in comic books, television and video games. His noted comic book work includes the series DMZ, Demo, Northlanders, The Massive,…

1972

Megan McArdle

American journalist

Megan Jennifer McArdle is an American columnist and blogger based in Washington, D.C. She writes for The Washington Post, mostly about economics, finance, and government policy.

1973

Jason Schmidt

American baseball player

Jason David Schmidt is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. In his career, he has played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (2007–2009), San Francisco Giants (2001–06), Pittsburgh Pirates (1996–2001) and Atlanta…

1973

Sharif Atkins

American actor

Sharif Atkins is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Dr. Michael Gallant on ER (2001–2006), FBI Agent Clinton Jones on White Collar (2009–2014), and Captain Norman 'Boom Boom' Gates on NCIS: Hawaiʻi…

1975

Sara Gilbert

American actress, producer, and talk show host

Sara Gilbert is an American actress best known for portraying Darlene Conner on Roseanne and its sequel, The Conners (2018–25), a role for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. She created and was a…

1975

Kelly Packard

American actress

Kelly Chemane Packard is an American actress and television personality. She is best known for her roles as Tiffani Smith on California Dreams and April Giminski on Baywatch, as well as co-hosting Ripley's Believe It or…

1975

Justin Hartley

American actor

Justin Scott Hartley is an American actor, television producer, and director. He has played Fox Crane on the NBC daytime soap opera Passions (2002–2006), Oliver Queen on the WB/CW television series Smallville…

1977

Sam Jaeger

American actor and screenwriter

Samuel Heath Jaeger is an American actor and screenwriter.

1977

Andrew Keegan

American actor

Andrew Keegan is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor, making his film debut with a supporting role in Camp Nowhere (1994). Keegan later received recognition for his main role as Jack Kelly on season…

1979

Christina Koch

American engineer and astronaut

Christina Hammock Koch is an American engineer and NASA astronaut. On her mission to the International Space Station in 2019–20 she was part of the first all‑female spacewalk and set the record for the longest…

1979

Jason James Richter

American actor and musician

Jason James Richter is an American actor, musician, producer, and director.

1980

Tenoch Huerta

Mexican actor

José Tenoch Huerta Mejía is a Mexican actor and activist. He has appeared in a number of movies in Latin America and Spain, and has had a starring role in the crime drama Narcos: Mexico (2018–2020). He has since…

1981

Jonny Lang

American singer, songwriter and guitarist

Jon Gordon Langseth Jr., known as Jonny Lang, is an American blues, gospel, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded five albums that have charted on the top 50 of the Billboard 200 chart and won a Grammy…

1981

Adam Lambert

American singer, songwriter and actor

Adam Mitchel Lambert is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his dynamic vocal performances that combine his theatrical training with modern and classic genres. Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after…

1982

Tim Gleason

American ice hockey player

Timothy Patrick Gleason is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman and current assistant coach to the Carolina Hurricanes. Drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the first round, 23rd overall, at the 2001 NHL…

1983

Marc Gasol

Spanish basketball player

Marc Gasol Sáez is a Spanish former professional basketball player who is the president of Bàsquet Girona of the Liga ACB. The center is a two-time All-NBA Team member and a three-time NBA All-Star. He was named the NBA…

1985

Isabel Lucas

Australian actress and model

Isabel Lucas is an Australian actress, environmentalist and model. She is best known for her roles in Home and Away (2003–06), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), Daybreakers (2009), The Waiting City (2009), The…

1985

Rag'n'Bone Man

English singer-songwriter

Rory Charles Graham, known professionally as Rag'n'Bone Man, is an English singer. He is known for his baritone voice. His first hit single, "Human", was released in 2016, and his first album Human was released in 2017.…

1985

Chris Bourque

American ice hockey player

Christopher Ray Bourque is an American former professional ice hockey forward. Originally drafted by the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL), he has played 51 NHL games for the Capitals, the…

1986

Thomas Greiss

German ice hockey player

Thomas Greiss is a German professional ice hockey goaltender who currently plays for Löwen Frankfurt of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Selected 94th overall in the third round of the 2004 NHL entry draft by the San Jose…

1986

Jair Jurrjens

Curaçaoan baseball player

Jair Francoise Jurrjens is a Dutch-Curaçaoan professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, and…

1986

José Abreu

Cuban baseball player

José Dariel Abreu Correa is a Cuban-born professional baseball first baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros.

1987

Alex Avila

American baseball player

Alexander Thomas Avila is an American former professional baseball catcher. Between 2009 and 2021 he played for the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks and Minnesota Twins and…

1987

Jessica Burkhart

American author

Jessica Ashley, better known by her pen name Jessica Burkhart, is an American author. Burkhart works primarily in the tween fiction genre, and is the writer of the Canterwood Crest series of novels.

1987

Vladimír Mihálik

Slovak ice hockey player

Vladimír Mihálik is a Slovak professional ice hockey defenceman who currently playing for HC Prešov of the Slovak 1. Liga.

1987

Ayobami Adebayo

Nigerian author

Ayobami Adebayo is a Nigerian writer, whose debut novel, Stay With Me, won the 9mobile Prize for Literature in 2017. She was awarded The Future Awards Africa Prize for Arts and Culture in the same year.

1988

Jake Auchincloss

American politician, businessman, and Marine veteran

Jacob Daniel Auchincloss is an American politician, businessman, and Marine Corps officer serving as the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 4th congressional district since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party,…

1988

Hank Conger

American baseball player

Hyun Choi "Hank" Conger is an American former professional baseball catcher who currently serves as the bullpen coach for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). Conger was selected in the first round of…

1988

Shay Logan

English footballer

Shaleum Narval Logan is an English former professional footballer who played as a right-back.

1988

Mohamed Abou Gabal

Egyptian footballer

Mohamed Qotb Abou Gabal Ali, also known as Gabaski, is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Egyptian Premier League club Modern Sport and the Egypt national team.

1989

Kevin Shattenkirk

American ice hockey player

Kevin Michael Shattenkirk is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, Tampa…

1989

Markel Brown

American basketball player

DeMarious Markel Brown is an American professional basketball player for Pallacanestro Trieste of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

1992

Maxi Kleber

German basketball player

Maximilian Kleber is a German professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He spent the first seven years of his career playing in Germany and Spain. In 2017,…

1992

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

Japanese singer

Kiriko Takemura , known professionally as Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, is a Japanese singer, model and tarento. Her public image is associated with Japan's kawaii and decora culture, centered in the Harajuku neighborhood of…

1993

Joel Eriksson Ek

Swedish ice hockey player

Joel Eriksson Ek is a Swedish professional ice hockey player who is a centre for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL).

1997

Jack Roslovic

American ice hockey player

John Roslovic is an American professional ice hockey player who is a center for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round, 25th overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2015…

1997

Lee Dae-hwi

South Korean singer

Lee Dae-hwi, known mononymously as Daehwi, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, producer and television personality. He is a member of South Korean boy group AB6IX, and is known for his participation in the reality…

2001

Jarell Quansah

English footballer

Jarell Amorin Quansah is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen and the England national team.

2003

Famous birthdays

Who was born on January 29?

Countess Amalie Elisabeth of Hanau-Münzenberg (died 1651) — Landgravine consort of Hesse-Kassel

FeaturedCountess Amalie Elisabeth of Hanau-Münzenberg (died 1651)

Birth year1602

Known forShe married the future William V, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel in 1619 and became Landgravine upon his ascension to power in 1627

Birthdays on this date166 (1455 – 2003)

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Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.

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2025

American Eagle Flight 5342 collided mid-air with a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk operated by the United States Army and crashed into the Potomac River, killing all 67 people onboard both aircraft. Wikipedia →

2025

A chartered Beechcraft 1900 crashes near the Unity oilfield in South Sudan, killing 20 people. Wikipedia →

2022

Canadian truck drivers and pedestrians gathered to rally and protest on Parliament Hill against Canadian COVID-19 restrictions, which caused traffic and closures around the city. Wikipedia →

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1602 — Countess Amalie Elisabeth of Hanau-Münzenberg (died 1651)

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