Did you know
Famous Birthdays on July 29
221 people
869 – 2003
July 29 has seen 221 notable people enter the world across recorded history — from 869 – 2003. Below are the most significant names born on this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
1980 — Fernando González
Chilean tennis player
Did you know
González is the fourth man in history to have won an Olympic tennis medal in every color, with gold in doubles and bronze in singles at Athens 2004, and silver in singles at Beijing 2008
Did you know
The gold medal that González won partnering Nicolás Massú at the 2004 Olympics in men's doubles was Chile's first-ever Olympic gold medal
Did you know
Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a Chilean former professional tennis player
Did you know
González qualified twice for the year-end Masters Cup event and was runner-up at two Masters Series tournaments
The 12th Imam of Muslims (Shiites) (died 941)
Muhammad al-Mahdi is believed by the Twelver Shia to be the last of the Twelve Imams and the eschatological Mahdi, who will emerge in the end of time to establish peace and justice and redeem Islam.
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869
Japanese nobleman (died 1075)
Fujiwara no Norimichi , fifth son of Michinaga, was a kugyo of the Heian period. His mother was Minamoto no Rinshi, daughter of Minamoto no Masanobu. Regent Yorimichi, Empress Shōshi, Empress Kenshi were his brother and…
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996
1166
king of Aragon, Valencia and Majorca (died 1410)
Martin the Humane, also called the Elder and the Ecclesiastic, was King of Aragon, Valencia, Sardinia and Corsica and Count of Barcelona from 1396 and King of Sicily from 1409. He failed to secure the accession of his…
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1356
Spanish nobleman (died 1590)
Pedro Téllez-Girón, 1st Duke of Osuna, 5th count of Ureña was a Spanish nobleman and administrator.
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1537
1573
Italian sculptor (died 1654)
Francesco Mochi was an Italian early-Baroque sculptor active mostly in Rome, Piacenza and Orvieto. His dramatic early works in Orvieto are now often regarded as the first truly Baroque sculptures.
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1580
German poet and hymn-writer (died 1659)
Simon Dach was a German lyrical poet and hymnwriter, born in Memel, Duchy of Prussia.
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1605
German organist and composer (died 1724)
Johann Theile was a German composer of the Baroque era, famous for the opera Adam und Eva, Der erschaffene, gefallene und aufgerichtete Mensch, first performed in Hamburg on 2 January 1678.
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1646
Italian cardinal (died 1830)
Giulio Maria della Somaglia was an Italian cardinal. and Secretary of State under Pope Leo XII. He was known as a staunch zelante cardinal who helped enforce an authoritarian regime in the crumbling Papal States.
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1744
Scottish admiral and politician (died 1845)
Admiral Sir Philip Charles Henderson Calderwood Durham, GCB was a Royal Navy officer whose service in the American War of Independence, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic Wars was lengthy, distinguished and at…
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1763
American businessman and financier (died 1879)
Daniel Drew was an American businessman, steamship and railroad developer, and financier, one of the "robber barons" of the Gilded Age. Summarizing his life, Henry Clews wrote: "Of all the great operators of Wall Street…
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1797
English cartographer and publisher (died 1853)
George Bradshaw was an English cartographer, engraver, printer and publisher. He developed Bradshaw's Guide, a widely sold series of combined railway guides and timetables.
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1801
French historian and philosopher (died 1859)
Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville, was a French diplomat, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his works Democracy in America and The Old Regime and the Revolution (1856). In both,…
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1805
American businessman and banker (died 1887)
Horace Abbott was an American iron manufacturer and banker. His work included the armor plating for the USS Monitor, USS Agamenticus, USS Roanoke, and USS Monadnock.
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1806
Armenian-Russian painter and illustrator (died 1900)
Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky was a Russian Romantic painter who is considered one of the greatest masters of marine art. Baptized as Hovhannes Aivazian, he was born to Armenian parents in the Black Sea port of…
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1817
German pastor, composer, and conductor (died 1893)
Martin Georg Emil Körber was a Baltic German pastor, composer, writer and choir leader.
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1817
Norwegian physician (died 1912)
Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen was a Norwegian physician, remembered for his identification of the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae in 1873 as the etiologic agent of leprosy. His distinguished work was recognized at the…
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1841
German linguist and academic (died 1901)
Johannes Friedrich Heinrich Schmidt was a German linguist. He developed the Wellentheorie of language development.
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1843
German pianist and composer (died 1918)
Sophie Menter was a German pianist and composer who became the favorite female student of Franz Liszt. She was called l'incarnation de Liszt in Paris because of her robust, electrifying playing style and was considered…
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1846
1846
Hungarian physician, author, and critic, co-founded the World Zionist Organization (died 1923)
Max Simon Nordau was a Jewish Zionist leader, physician, author, and social critic. He was a co-founder of the Zionist Organization together with Theodor Herzl, and president or vice-president of several Zionist…
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1849
Portuguese priest (died 1948)
Francisco Rodrigues da Cruz, SJ, more commonly known as Father Cruz was a Portuguese Catholic priest. Revered in Portugal for his apostolic fervor and charity, he visited prisons and hospitals in every city, gave alms…
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1859
2nd Baron Lamington, English politician, 8th Governor of Queensland (died 1940)
Charles Wallace Alexander Napier Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington,, was a British politician and colonial administrator who served as Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901, and Governor of Bombay from 1903 to…
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1860
Moravian rabbi (died 1942)
Berthold Oppenheim (1867–1942) was the rabbi of Olomouc, Moravia, from 1892 to 1939. He was murdered in 1942 at the Treblinka extermination camp.
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1867
American novelist and dramatist (died 1946)
Newton Booth Tarkington was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels The Magnificent Ambersons (1918) and Alice Adams (1921). He is one of only four novelists to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction…
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1869
Estonian writer and journalist (died 1930)
Jakob Mändmets was an Estonian writer and journalist.
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1871
American author, lawyer, and politician (died 1957)
Eric Alfred Knudsen was an American writer, folklorist, lawyer and politician who grew up and lived on Kauai, Hawaii. His father was Valdemar Knudsen, a west Kauai sugar plantation pioneer.
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1872
Canadian minister and politician (died 1942)
James Shaver Charleston Woodsworth was a Canadian Methodist minister, politician, and labour activist. He was a pioneer of the Canadian Social Gospel, a Christian religious movement with social democratic values and…
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1874
Russian-American actress and acting teacher (died 1949)
Maria Alekseyevna Ouspenskaya was a Russian actress and acting teacher. She achieved success as a stage actress as a young woman in Russia, and as an older woman in Hollywood films. She was twice nominated for the…
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1876
American author, poet, and playwright (died 1937)
Donald Robert Perry Marquis was an American humorist, journalist, and author. He was variously a novelist, poet, newspaper columnist, and playwright. He is remembered best for creating the characters Archy and…
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1878
Colombian poet and author (died 1942)
Miguel Ángel Osorio Benítez, better known by his pseudonym, Porfirio Barba-Jacob, was a Colombian poet and writer.
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1883
Italian fascist revolutionary and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Italy (died 1945)
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician, journalist, and dictator who led Italy as Il Duce from 1922 until his overthrow in 1943. He founded the fascist movement in 1919, with the creation of the…
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1883
American financier and politician, 2nd Under Secretary of the Navy (died 1975)
Ralph Austin Bard was a Chicago financier who served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, 1941–1944, and as Under Secretary, 1944–1945. He is noted for a memorandum he wrote to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson in 1945…
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1884
American actress (died 1955)
Theda Bara was an American silent film and stage actress. Bara was one of the more popular actresses of the silent era and one of cinema's early sex symbols. Her femme fatale roles earned her the nickname "The Vamp",…
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1885
Hungarian-American pianist and composer (died 1951)
Sigmund Romberg was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his musicals and operettas, particularly The Student Prince (1924), The Desert Song (1926) and The New Moon (1928).
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1887
German-Israeli gynecologist and academic (died 1966)
Bernhard Zondek was a German-born Israeli gynecologist who developed the first reliable pregnancy test in 1928.
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1891
American actor and singer (died 1984)
William Horatio Powell was an American actor, known primarily for his film career. Under contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the Thin Man series based on the Nick and…
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1892
Mexican-American rights activist (died 1986)
María Rebecca Latigo de Hernández was a Mexican-American rights activist. She was born in San Pedro Garza García, Mexico. During the 1930s, she spoke publicly and demonstrated on behalf of Mexican Americans about their…
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1896
Guyanese-English general (died 1983)
General Sir Neil Methuen Ritchie, was a British Army officer who served in the First and Second World Wars. During the Second World War he commanded the British Eighth Army in the North African campaign from November…
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1897
American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate (died 1988)
Israel "Isidor" Isaac Rabi was an American physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1944 "for his resonance method for recording the magnetic properties of atomic nuclei." He was also one of the first…
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1898
American baseball player (died 1959)
Walter Esau Beall was an American baseball player who played for the New York Yankees on several championship teams in the 1920s.
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1899
Australian community worker and political activist (died 1986)
Dame Mary Valentine Austin DBE was an Australian community worker and political activist. The daughter of Admiral Percival Hall-Thompson and his wife, Helen, she was educated in New Zealand at Marsden College,…
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1900
Swedish novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (died 1976)
Eyvind Johnson was a Swedish novelist and short story writer. Regarded as the most groundbreaking novelist in modern Swedish literature he became a member of the Swedish Academy in 1957 and shared the 1974 Nobel Prize…
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1900
Italian labor leader, activist, and journalist (died 1980)
Teresa Noce, also known as Teresa Noce Longo since marriage, was an Italian labor leader, activist, journalist and feminist. She served as a parliamentary deputy and advocated broad social legislation benefiting mothers.
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1900
American composer, and bandleader (died 1964)
Donald Matthew Redman was an American jazz musician, arranger, bandleader, and composer.
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1900
Burmese monk and philosopher (died 1982)
Mahāsī Sayādaw U Sobhana was a Burmese Theravada Buddhist monk and meditation master who had a significant impact on the teaching of Vipassana (insight) meditation in the West and throughout Asia.
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1904
French-Indian pilot and businessman, founded Tata Motors and Tata Global Beverages (died 1993)
Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata was a French-born Indian industrialist, philanthropist, aviator and former chairman of Tata Sons and the Tata Group.
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1904
1905
Swedish economist and diplomat, 2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations, Nobel Prize Laureate (died 1961)
Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld was a Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second Secretary-General of the United Nations from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961. As of 2026, he…
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1905
American poet and translator (died 2006)
Stanley Jasspon Kunitz was an American poet. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress twice, first in 1974 and then again in 2000.
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1905
American actress and singer (died 1935)
Thelma Alice Todd was an American actress and businesswoman who carried the nicknames "The Ice Cream Blonde" and "Hot Toddy". Appearing in about 120 feature films and shorts between 1926 and 1935, she is remembered for…
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1906
American lawyer (died 1996)
Melvin Mouron Belli was an American lawyer and writer known as "The King of Torts" and by insurance companies as "Melvin Bellicose". He had many celebrity clients, including Zsa Zsa Gabor, Errol Flynn, Chuck Berry,…
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1907
American author (died 1997)
Samm Sinclair Baker was the author/co-author of many how-to and self-help books, most notably The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet which he co-authored with Dr. Herman Tarnower.
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1909
American-Spanish author (died 1984)
Chester Bomar Himes was an American writer. His works, some of which have been filmed, include If He Hollers Let Him Go, published in 1945, and the Harlem Detective series of novels for which he is best known, set in…
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1909
American lawyer and politician, 60th Governor of Massachusetts (died 1995)
John Foster Furcolo was an American lawyer, writer, and Democratic Party politician from Massachusetts. He was the state's 60th governor, and also represented the state as a member of the United States House of…
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1911
Archbishop Iakovos of North and South America was the primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America from 1959 until his resignation in 1996.
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1911
German war criminal, leader of the 1944 Ardeatine massacre (died 2013)
Erich Priebke was a German mid-level Schutzstaffel (SS) commander in the Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo) of Nazi Germany. In 1996, he was convicted of war crimes in Italy for commanding the unit which was responsible for the…
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1913
American actor and activist (died 2017)
Irwin Corey was an American stand-up comic, film actor and activist, often billed as "The World's Foremost Authority". He introduced his unscripted, improvisational style of stand-up comedy at the San Francisco club the…
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1914
American colonel and religious leader (died 1985)
Bruce Redd McConkie was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1972 until his death. McConkie was a member of the LDS Church's First Council of the Seventy…
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1915
American soldier and politician, 64th Governor of Massachusetts (died 1998)
Francis Williams Sargent was an American politician who served as the 64th governor of Massachusetts from 1969 to 1975. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 63rd lieutenant governor of…
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1915
American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2001)
Oscar Boetticher Jr., known as Budd Boetticher,
was an American film director. He is best remembered for a series of low-budget Westerns he made in the late 1950s starring Randolph Scott.
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1916
American guitarist (died 1942)
Charles Henry Christian was an American swing and jazz guitarist. He was among the first electric guitarists and was a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz who transformed the electric guitar from a…
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1916
Australian politician, 39th Premier of Victoria (died 2004)
Sir Rupert James "Dick" Hamer, was an Australian politician who served as the 39th premier of Victoria from 1972 to 1981, and prior to that, the 18th deputy premier of Victoria from 1971 to 1972. He held office as the…
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1916
German SS officer (died 2013)
Rochus Misch was a German Oberscharführer (sergeant) in the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH). He was badly wounded during the Polish campaign during the first month of World War II in Europe.…
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1917
American writer and producer (died 2014)
Donald George Ingalls was an American screenwriter and television producer. During his 35-year career Ingalls wrote scripts for more than 70 episodes of network television, including Adam-12, Bonanza, The Big Valley,…
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1918
American journalist and author (died 1968)
Edwin Greene O'Connor was an American journalist, novelist, and radio commentator. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1962 for his novel The Edge of Sadness (1961). His ancestry was Irish, and his novels concerned…
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1918
American novelist, essayist, and memoirist (died 2005)
Mary Lee Settle was an American writer.
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1918
Australian businessman (died 2007)
Neville Jeffress was an Australian advertising executive and the founder of Media Monitors Australia, now called Isentia.
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1920
American actor (died 1987)
Richard Egan was an American actor. After beginning his career in 1949, he subsequently won a Golden Globe Award for his performances in the films The Glory Brigade (1953) and The Kid from Left Field (1953). He went on…
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1921
French photographer and journalist (died 2012)
Chris Marker was a French writer, photographer, documentary film director, multimedia artist and film essayist. His best known films are La Jetée (1962), A Grin Without a Cat (1977) and Sans Soleil (1983). Marker is…
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1921
American screenwriter and producer (died 2013)
George Henry Burditt was an American television writer and producer who wrote sketches for television variety shows and other programs such as Three's Company, for which he was also an executive producer in its last few…
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1923
American scientist and engineer (died 2014)
Edgar Maurice Cortright was a scientist and engineer, and senior official at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States. His most prominent positions during his career were Director of…
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1923
English businessman, founded Marshall Amplification (died 2012)
James Charles Marshall known as The Father of Loud or The Lord of Loud, was an English businessman and pioneer of guitar amplification. His company, Marshall Amplification, founded in 1962, has created equipment that is…
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1923
American bodybuilder and actor (died 2003)
Gordon Mitchell was an American actor and bodybuilder, known for his starring roles in Italian sword-and-sandal and Spaghetti Western films.
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1923
Canadian-American actor (died 2005)
Lloyd Wolfe Bochner was a Canadian film, TV and voice actor. He appeared in many Canadian and Hollywood productions between the 1950s and 1990s, including the films Point Blank (1967), The Detective (1968), The Young…
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1924
American actor (died 2016)
Mead Howard "Robert" Horton Jr. was an American actor and singer. He is known for playing Flint McCullough in Wagon Train (1957–1962).
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1924
American mathematician and academic (died 2014)
Harold William Kuhn was an American mathematician who studied game theory. He won the 1980 John von Neumann Theory Prize jointly with David Gale and Albert W. Tucker. A former professor emeritus of mathematics at…
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1925
Canadian ice hockey player, manager, and sportscaster (died 2019)
Robert Blake Theodore Lindsay was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played as a forward for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Lindsay scored over 800 points…
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1925
American sailor (died 2000)
Hilary Hurlburt Smart was an American sailor and Olympic champion. He competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, where he received a gold medal in the star class with the boat Hilarius, together with his father,…
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1925
Greek composer (died 2021)
Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works.
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1925
Baron Kilpatrick of Kincraig, Scottish physician, academic, and politician (died 2015)
Robert Kilpatrick, Baron Kilpatrick of Kincraig was a Scottish physician, educator, academic and former President of the General Medical Council.
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1926
Dutch author, poet, and playwright (died 2010)
Harry Kurt Victor Mulisch was a Dutch writer. He wrote more than 80 novels, plays, essays, poems, and philosophical reflections. Mulisch's works have been translated into 38 languages so far.
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1927
American dancer and choreographer (died 2018)
Paul Belville Taylor Jr. was an American dancer and choreographer. He was one of the last living members of the third generation of America's modern dance artists. He founded the Paul Taylor Dance Company in 1954 in New…
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1930
Norwegian pianist, composer, and bandleader (died 2020)
Kjell Oddvar Karlsen was a Norwegian band leader, composer, arranger, jazz pianist and organist, and a Nestor of Norwegian music and show business, with a career spanning more than 60 years. He was the father of the…
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1931
English diplomat (died 2021)
Sir Leslie Fielding was a British diplomat. In the Diplomatic Service, he spent time in the Foreign Office in London before serving as the European Commission Ambassador to Tokyo between 1978 and 1982. He was…
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1932
American businesswoman and politician
Nancy Josephine Kassebaum Baker is an American retired politician from Kansas who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1978 to 1997. She is the daughter of Alf Landon, who was Governor of Kansas from 1933…
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1932
Italian-American wrestler, manager, and actor (died 2009)
Louis Vincent Albano was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor, who performed under the ring/stage name "Captain" Lou Albano. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1969, before…
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1933
English race car driver (died 2012)
Colin Charles Houghton Davis was a British racing driver from England, who won the 1964 Targa Florio.
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1933
American actor and rancher
Robert Fuller is an American retired actor. Fuller was known for his deep "charcoal" voice, his roles on the popular Western series Laramie as Jess Harper and Wagon Train as Cooper Smith, and as Dr. Kelly Brackett in…
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1933
American folk singer-songwriter and musician (died 2024)
Lloyd Arrington Sparks, known professionally as Randy Sparks, was an American musician, singer-songwriter, and founder of The New Christy Minstrels and The Back Porch Majority.
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1933
German tenor and conductor (died 2019)
Peter Schreier was a German tenor in opera, concert and lied, and a conductor. He was regarded as one of the leading lyric tenors of the 20th century.
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1935
American lawyer and politician, 20th United States Secretary of Labor
Mary Elizabeth Alexander Dole is an American attorney, author, and politician
who served as a United States senator from North Carolina from 2003 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served in five…
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1936
American economist and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate
Daniel Little McFadden is an American econometrician who shared the 2000 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with James Heckman. McFadden's share of the prize was "for his development of theory and methods for…
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1937
Canadian-American journalist and author (died 2005)
Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings was a Canadian and American television journalist. He was best known for serving as the sole anchor of ABC World News Tonight from 1983 until his death from lung cancer in 2005.…
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1938
Canadian physician and politician (died 2021)
Jean Rochon was a Canadian politician and member of the National Assembly of Quebec. He was a cabinet minister for several ministries from 1994 to 2003 when the Parti Québécois formed the government under the leadership…
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1938
American chemist
Betty Wright Harris is an American chemist. She is known for her work on the chemistry of explosives completed at Los Alamos National Laboratory. She patented a spot test for detecting…
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1940
American civil rights movement activist (died 2026)
Bernard Lafayette Jr. was an American civil rights activist, organizer and Baptist minister, who was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He played a leading role in early organizing of the Selma Voting Rights…
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1940
Filipina economist and political commentator
Solita Garduño Collás-Monsod, popularly known as Mareng Winnie, is a Filipino economist, broadcaster, columnist, radio host, and public intellectual. She had been the 5th Director-General of the National Economic and…
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1940
American engineer and politician (died 2007)
Jennifer Jill Dunn was an American politician and engineer who served six terms as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 2005, representing Washington's 8th congressional…
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1941
Indonesian poet and playwright
Goenawan Mohamad is an Indonesian poet, essayist, playwright and editor. He is the founder and editor of the Indonesian magazine Tempo. Mohamad is a vocal critic of the Indonesian government, and his magazine was…
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1941
English actor (died 2022)
David Hattersley Warner was an English actor who portrayed a variety of villainous characters, as well as more sympathetic roles, in a career spanning six decades across stage and screen. His accolades include a…
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1941
Australian singer-songwriter
Douglas Wesley Ashdown is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter from Adelaide. He had a top 40 hit on the Australian singles chart with "Winter in America" or "Leave Love Enough Alone" (1976). It also reached No.…
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1942
American actor (died 2022)
Genaro Anthony Sirico Jr. was an American actor. Often cast as a mobster, he is known for portraying Paulie Gualtieri in The Sopranos.
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1942
English snooker player and sportscaster
David Taylor is an English former professional snooker player. He won the English Amateur Championship 11–6 against Chris Ross in 1968 and the 1968 World Amateur Snooker Championship 8–7 against Max Williams later that…
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1943
American rock climber and mountaineer (died 2018)
Jim Bridwell was an American rock climber and mountaineer, active from 1965 in Yosemite Valley, but later in Patagonia and Alaska. He was noted for pushing the standards of both aid climbing and big wall climbing, and…
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1944
American author and educator
Sharon Creech is an American writer of children's novels. She was the first American winner of the Carnegie Medal for British children's books and the first person to win both the American Newbery Medal and the British…
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1945
Romanian footballer, coach, and manager (died 2026)
Mircea Lucescu was a Romanian professional football player and manager.
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1945
1946
Swedish race car driver
Stig Lennart Blomqvist is a retired Swedish rally driver. He made his international breakthrough in 1981. Driving an Audi Quattro for the Audi factory team, Blomqvist won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in…
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1946
American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
REO Speedwagon, or simply REO, was an American rock band formed in Champaign, Illinois, in 1967. The band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. Their…
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1946
Italian mountaineer and adventurer
Alessandro Gogna is a mountaineer, adventurer and mountain guide from Italy.
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1946
English actress
Diane Keen is an English actress. With a career spanning numerous decades, she has appeared in various television series, films and stage productions. Keen's notable roles include Fliss Hawthorne in the Granada sitcom…
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1946
Estonian basketball player
Aleksei Tammiste is a retired Estonian professional basketball player, who competed for the Soviet Union. He won a gold medal at the 1971 EuroBasket Championship held in West Germany. During his career Tammiste won 10…
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1946
American golfer and coach (died 2006)
Dick Harmon was a PGA golf professional and instructor.
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1947
New Zealand-Australian comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 2017)
John Morrison Clarke was a New Zealand comedian, writer and satirist who lived and worked in Australia from the late 1970s. He was a highly regarded actor and writer whose work appeared on the Australian Broadcasting…
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1948
American actress
Leslie Easterbrook is an American actress and producer. She played Sgt./Lt./Capt. Debbie Callahan in the Police Academy films and Rhonda Lee on the television series Laverne & Shirley.
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1949
Ecuadorian lawyer and politician, 51st President of Ecuador
Jorge Jamil Mahuad Witt is an Ecuadorian lawyer, academic and former politician who served the 41st president of Ecuador from 1998 until he was deposed in a coup in 2000. He previously served as the 17th mayor of Quito…
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1949
American painter, author, and dancer
Jenny Holzer is an American neo-conceptual artist based in Hoosick, New York. Her work focuses on the delivery of words and ideas in public spaces and includes large-scale installations, advertising billboards,…
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1950
English psychologist and theorist
Susan Jane Blackmore is a British writer, lecturer, sceptic, broadcaster, and a visiting professor at the University of Plymouth. Her fields of research include memetics, parapsychology, consciousness, and she is best…
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1951
American baseball player and coach
Daniel Driessen is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1973 to 1987, most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won three…
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1951
American actor, director, screenwriter, and composer
Dean Pitchford is an American songwriter, screenwriter, director, actor, and novelist. His work has earned him an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for three additional Oscars, two more Golden…
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1951
Baron Blackwell, English businessman and politician
Norman Roy Blackwell, Baron Blackwell is a British former businessman, civil servant, Conservative politician, campaigner and policy advisor.
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1952
English snooker player and sportscaster
Joseph Johnson is an English former professional snooker player and a snooker commentator for Eurosport. As an amateur, he became the British under-19 champion in 1971, defeating George Crimes in the final. He turned…
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1952
Greek politician
Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou
is a Greek politician and was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) with the New Democracy from 2004 to 2009, .
As a member of the European Parliament Mrs Panayotopoulos was…
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1952
1953
1953
1953
Irish poet and playwright
Professor Frank McGuinness is an Irish writer. As well as his own plays, which include The Factory Girls, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me and Dolly West's Kitchen, he…
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1953
American musician
Vivienne Patricia Scialfa is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Scialfa has been a member of the E Street Band since 1984 and has been married to Bruce Springsteen since 1991. In 2014, Scialfa was inducted…
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1953
French actor, director, and screenwriter
Jean-Hugues Anglade is a French actor, film director, and screenwriter. He has been twice nominated for the César Award for Best Actor, for Betty Blue (1986) and Nocturne Indien (1990), and won Best Supporting Actor for…
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1955
American illustrator (died 2008)
Dave Lee Stevens was an American illustrator and comics artist. He was most famous for creating The Rocketeer comic book and film character, and for his pin-up style "glamour art" illustrations, especially of model…
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1955
English politician, Minister of State for Competitiveness
Sir Stephen Creswell Timms is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Ham, formerly Newham North East, since 1994. A member of the Labour Party, he has served as Minister of State for…
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1955
American boxer, trainer, and sportscaster
Theodore A. Atlas Jr. is an American boxing trainer and fight commentator.
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1956
American lawyer and politician, 62nd Governor of Mississippi
David Ronald Musgrove is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 62nd governor of Mississippi from 2000 to 2004. A Democrat, he previously served as the 29th lieutenant governor of Mississippi from 1996 to…
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1956
Spanish cyclist
Faustino Rupérez Rincón is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist who raced between 1979 and 1985. Ruperez is most famous for capturing the overall title at the 1980 Vuelta a España.
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1956
Australian author and educator (died 2014)
Liam Patrick Davison was an Australian novelist and reviewer. He was born in Melbourne, where, until 2007, he taught creative writing at the Chisholm Institute in Frankston.
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1957
Lithuanian-Swiss chess player (died 2016)
Viktor Nikolaevich Gavrikov was a Lithuanian-Swiss chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1984.
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1957
Russian gymnast and coach
Nellie Vladimirovna Kim is a retired Soviet and Belarusian gymnast of Sakhalin Korean and Tatar descent who won three gold medals and a silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, and two gold medals at the…
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1957
English-American author, activist, and academic
Gail Dines is professor emerita of sociology and women's studies at Wheelock College in Boston, Massachusetts.
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1958
1958
American fashion designer
Cynthia Rowley is an American fashion designer, known for her books, television appearances and "flirty" and "carefree" women's clothing designs.
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1958
Indian actor, singer, and producer
Sanjay Balraj Dutt is an Indian actor and film producer who works primarily in Hindi cinema, and has also appeared in some Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Marathi and Punjabi films. He has acted in over 135 films. Known for his…
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1959
Dutch blogger and illustrator
Ruud Janssen is a Dutch Fluxus and mail artist currently living in Breda in the Netherlands.
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1959
American baseball player and manager
David Jeffrey LaPoint is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the manager of the Rockland Boulders, an American professional baseball team based in Pomona, New York, and member of the Canadian…
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1959
English singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2024)
John James Sykes was an English guitarist and singer, best known as a member of Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and Tygers of Pan Tang. He also fronted the hard rock group Blue Murder and released several solo albums.
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1959
French author
Didier Van Cauwelaert is a French author and director of Belgian descent who was born in Nice. In 1994 his novel Un Aller simple won the Prix Goncourt.
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1960
1962
German footballer and manager
Frank Neubarth is a German football manager and former player who spent his whole career with SV Werder Bremen and has since managed FC Schalke 04, Holstein Kiel and FC Carl Zeiss Jena.
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1962
Belgian runner
Vincent Rousseau is a Belgian former long-distance runner, who competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics for his native country, starting in 1984.
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1962
American wrestler
Scott Rechsteiner, better known by the ring name Scott Steiner, is an American professional wrestler.
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1962
Belgian-German businessman
Hans-Holger Albrecht is a German businessman. He was CEO of Deezer until 2021, one of the largest music streaming services worldwide. Deezer offers more than 53 million tracks in over 180 countries to currently more…
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1963
Irish footballer and sportscaster
James Martin Beglin is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a defender, and a current co-commentator for RTÉ, CBS Sports, TNT Sports, and Premier League Productions.
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1963
English politician
Julie Elliott, Baroness Elliott of Whitburn Bay, is a British Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sunderland Central from 2010 to 2024. Elliott served as Shadow Minister for Energy and…
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1963
Pakistani cricketer
Raja Azeem Hafeez is a Pakistani former cricketer who played 18 Test matches for the national team from 1983 to 1985.
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1963
American actress and producer
Alexandra Elizabeth Paul is an American actress and activist. She began her career modeling in New York before landing her first major role in John Carpenter's horror film Christine (1983). This was followed with…
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1963
English footballer, referee, and journalist
Graham Poll is an English former football referee in the Premier League. With 26 years of experience, he was one of the most prominent referees in English football, often taking charge of the highest-profile games. His…
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1963
Estonian footballer
Jaanus Veensalu is a retired football (soccer) defender from Estonia, who retired in 1997. His last club was JK Tervis Pärnu. Veensalu obtained a total number of six caps for the Estonia national football team during…
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1964
Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
Luis René Alicea de Jesús is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball second baseman and coach.
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1965
Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
Dean Haglund is a Canadian actor, known for the role of Richard "Ringo" Langly, one of The Lone Gunmen on The X-Files. Haglund is also a stand-up comedian, specializing in improvisational comedy, including work with the…
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1965
English captain and politician
Adam James Harold Holloway is a British politician and military veteran who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gravesham from 2005 until 2024. He resigned from the Conservative Party in 2025 to join Reform UK.
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1965
American soccer player (died 2014)
Joseph Stanley Koziol was an American soccer midfielder who played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League, National Professional Soccer League and American Professional Soccer League. He also competed with the…
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1965
South Korean-American author and academic
Chang-rae Lee is a Korean-American novelist and a professor of creative writing at Stanford University. He was previously Professor of Creative Writing at Princeton and director of Princeton University's Program in…
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1965
Australian author
Xavier Waterkeyn is an Australian non-fiction and fiction writer and literary agent. He is the author of twenty-three books.
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1965
American guitarist and songwriter
Corrosion of Conformity is an American heavy metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina, formed in 1982. The band has undergone multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with lead guitarist Woody Weatherman as the…
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1965
English hurdler and sportscaster
Sally Jane Janet Gunnell, OBE, DL is a British former track-and-field athlete, who won the 1992 Olympic gold medal in the 400 metres hurdles. During a 24-month period between 1992 and 1994, Gunnell won every…
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1966
English cricketer
Stuart Richard Lampitt is a former English cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-pace bowler. He played for Worcestershire from 1985 to 2002. During his career he was victorious in the 1986…
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1966
American singer-songwriter and producer
Martina Mariea McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. An icon in the country music world, she is known for her country pop material with a powerful soprano voice and expansive range. McBride has won…
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1966
Finnish cellist and educator
Paavo Lötjönen is a cello player for Finnish band Apocalyptica.
Paavo comes from a family where both of his parents were professional musicians. At the age of 6, he took a cello and decided that would be the instrument…
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1968
American author
Adele Griffin is the author of over thirty highly acclaimed books across a variety of genres, including Sons of Liberty and Where I Want to Be, both National Book Award finalists. Her debut adult novel The Favor…
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1970
English journalist, actor, and producer
Andi Eleazu Peters is a British television presenter, producer, journalist and voice actor, currently employed by ITV and known for presenting Children's BBC, roles on breakfast TV shows Live & Kicking, GMTV, Good…
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1970
Zimbabwean cricketer
John Alexander Rennie is a former Zimbabwean cricketer who played in four Test matches and 44 One Day Internationals (ODIs) from 1993 to 2000. He played as a swing bowler for the Zimbabwe national team between 1993 and…
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1970
German sprinter
Andrea Philipp is a retired German sprinter. A three-time Olympian, she won a bronze medal in the 200 metres at the 1999 World Championships, and a gold medal in the 100 metres at the 1990 World Junior Championships.
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1971
Finnish singer and songwriter
Anssi Kela is a Finnish singer-songwriter multi-instrumentalist who has published six albums. During his career, Kela has sold over 230,000 records in Finland. He received four Emma awards in 2002.
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1972
American actor, producer, and screenwriter
Richard William "Wil" Wheaton III is an American actor and writer. He portrayed Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Gordie Lachance in the film Stand by Me, Joey Trotta in Toy…
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1972
American actor and producer
Stephen Hartley Dorff Jr. is an American actor. Starting his film career as a child appearing in the cult horror film The Gate (1987), Dorff first rose to prominence playing Peter Philip Kennith Keith in The Power of…
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1973
Kazakh mountaineer
Denis Urubko is a Russian-Polish climber. In 2009, he became the 15th person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders and the 8th person to achieve the feat without supplemental oxygen. During his 25 eight-thousander climbs,…
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1973
American actor and musician
Joshua Thomas Radnor is an American actor, filmmaker, author, and musician. He is best known for portraying Ted Mosby on the Emmy Award–winning CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014). He made his writing and…
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1974
Japanese mixed martial artist
Yoshihiro Akiyama , also known as Choo Sung-hoon (추성훈) and by his nickname Sexyama, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and judoka who won the gold medal at the 2001 Asian Championships for South Korea and for Japan at…
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1975
Sri Lankan cricketer
Lanka de Silva is a Sri Lankan former cricketer who played in three Test matches and 11 One Day Internationals in 1997. He is also the current interim head coach of the Sri Lanka women's national cricket team.
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1975
Italian footballer
Corrado Grabbi is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was nicknamed "Ciccio" throughout his career.
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1975
Estonian footballer
Jaanus Sirel is an Estonian former professional footballer. He was playing the position of defender and midfielder.
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1975
American baseball player
Jon Michael Adams is an American former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers (2004–06), San Diego Padres (2008–11), Texas Rangers…
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1978
1978
Tunisian footballer
Karim Essediri is a former professional footballer who played as a right winger. Born in France, he earned eight caps with the Tunisia national team at international level.
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1979
American basketball player
Ronald "Flip" Murray is an American former professional basketball player. At 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), 200 lb, Murray played as a point guard–shooting guard. After attending Strawberry Mansion High School in Philadelphia,…
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1979
Latvian basketball player
Juris Umbraško is a Latvian professional basketball coach and player. He heads the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League team Rīgas Zeļļi.
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1979
Canadian-American baseball player
Ryan Zachary Braun is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals. Listed at 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) and 215 pounds (98 kg) as a player, he threw…
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1980
American drummer
Ben Koller is an American drummer who has played with Converge, Mutoid Man, Killer Be Killed and All Pigs Must Die. He started playing a full drum kit at age 14.
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1980
Australian rugby league player
John Morris, is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the Assistant Coach and defence coach for Wests Tigers and a former professional rugby league footballer.
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1980
Spanish race car driver
Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin. While competing in 2005 and 2006 with Renault, he won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles. He has won 32…
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1981
Argentinian footballer
Andrés David Madrid is an Argentine former footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, and is a current manager.
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1981
American soccer player
Troy Perkins is an American former soccer player. During his career, he played for clubs in the United States, Canada, and Norway. The 2006 Major League Soccer Goalkeeper of the Year award winner earned seven caps with…
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1981
1982
Brazilian footballer
Jônatas Domingos, or simply Jônatas, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
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1982
American actress and criminal
Allison Mack is an American actress. She played Chloe Sullivan on the superhero series Smallville (2001–2011) and had a recurring role on the comedy series Wilfred (2012–2014).
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1982
Australian bowler
Jason Belmonte is an Australian professional ten-pin bowler. He plays on the PBA Tour in the United States and in world events. He is known for being one of the first bowlers to gain media attention for using the…
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1983
Mexican journalist and actress
Inés Gómez-Mont Arena is a Mexican television host, journalist and model. She was the host of TV Azteca's Los 25+ and co-host of Ventaneando.
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1983
Russian ice hockey player
Alexei Pavlovich Kaigorodov is a Russian former professional ice hockey forward who last played with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
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1983
American football player
Jerious Montreal Norwood is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Mississippi State Bulldogs and is the school's…
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1983
American singer-songwriter
Elise Nicole Testone is an American singer and songwriter from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. She placed sixth on the eleventh season of American Idol. Her debut album In This Life was released in February 2014, and…
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1983
South Korean footballer
Oh Beom-Seok is a South Korean former professional footballer who played as a right back and currently Analysis coach for Yongin FC.
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1984
American baseball player
Chad Ryan Billingsley is an American former professional baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2006 through 2013 and Philadelphia Phillies in…
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1984
Honduran footballer
Wilson Roberto Palacios Suazo is a Honduran former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
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1984
Japanese sumo wrestler
Okinoumi Ayumi is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Okinoshima, Shimane. He joined professional sumo in 2005, reaching the top division in 2010. He was runner-up in makuuchi three times in the January…
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1985
Albanian footballer
Besart Selim Berisha is a Kosovan professional football coach and former player who is the current manager of Melbourne Victory seniors academy team based in Victoria, Australia. Previously he held an assistant manager…
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1985
Indonesian badminton player
Simon Santoso is an Indonesian former badminton player. He was two-time SEA Games men's singles champion winning in 2009 and 2011, also featured in Indonesia team that won the men's team title in 2003, 2007, 2009, and…
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1985
1988
Estonian heptathlete
Grit Šadeiko is an Estonian heptathlete. She won the heptathlon at the 2011 European Athletics U23 Championships.
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1989
South Korean actress, singer and model
Shin Se-kyung is a South Korean actress. She started as a child actress and had her breakthrough in the sitcom High Kick Through the Roof (2009). Since then, she starred in the films Hindsight (2011), R2B: Return to…
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1990
Australian rugby league player
Dale Copley is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a centre or winger for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL.
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1991
Russian footballer
Irakli Genovich Logua is a Russian professional football player who plays for Amkal Moscow.
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1991
Bolivian swimmer
Karen Milenka Torrez Guzmán is a Bolivian swimmer from Cochabamba. She competes in the Women's 100m Freestyle. She was flag bearer for the nation at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
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1992
American tennis player
Nicole Melichar-Martinez is an American professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. On 3 July 2023, she peaked at world No. 6 in the WTA doubles rankings.
Melichar won a title in mixed doubles at the 2018…
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1993
American football player
Rayne Dakota Prescott is an American professional football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, twice earning…
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1993
Canadian ice hockey player
Liam O'Brien is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a forward for the Utah Mammoth of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Spicy Tuna" by Utah fans, O'Brien is mostly known as an enforcer.
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1994
Swedish tennis player
Mirjam Björklund is a Swedish former professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 123 by the WTA, achieved on 20 June 2022. She also has a best doubles ranking of No. 281, reached on 31…
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1998
American ice hockey player
Clayton Davis Keller is an American professional ice hockey player who is a forward and captain for the Utah Mammoth of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Arizona Coyotes selected him seventh overall in the 2016 NHL…
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1998
American long jumper and hurdler
Johnny Brackins Jr. is an American long jumper and hurdler and the 2024 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winner in the long jump. Brackins was a former U.S. U20 champion in the long jump and bronze medallist in…
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2003
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Who was born on July 29?
Fernando González — Chilean tennis player (born 1980)
FeaturedFernando González
Birth year1980
Known forDuring his career, he reached at least the quarterfinals of all four major tournaments
Birthdays on this date221 (869 – 2003)
Explore July 29
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Also on July 29 in History
2024
Three children are stabbed to death and 10 other people injured at a dance studio in Southport, England. This incident, coupled with widespread online misinformation, leads to various racially motivated riots across the UK. Wikipedia →
2021
The International Space Station temporarily spins out of control, moving the ISS 45 degrees out of attitude, following an engine malfunction of Russian module Nauka. Wikipedia →
2019
See all events on July 29
The 2019 Altamira prison riot between rival Brazilian drug gangs leaves 62 dead. Wikipedia →
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