Famous Birthdays on July 31

Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox is an English actress and presenter whose career is primarily in British television. Her feature film debut was in Roman Polanski's film The Pianist (2002). Her other motion pictures include the Italian–French–British romance-drama The Soul Keeper (2002), for which she won the Flaiano Film Award for Best Actress; the drama The Republic of Love (2003); the comedy-drama Things to Do Before You're 30 (2005); the black comedy Keeping Mum (2005); the romantic comedy-drama Cashback (2006); the drama Flashbacks of a Fool (2008); the drama Ways to Live Forever (2010); the drama-thriller A Thousand Kisses Deep (2011); and the fantasy-horror drama Dorian Gray (2009).

Milton Friedman was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and the complexity of stabilization policy. With George Stigler, Friedman was among the intellectual leaders of the Chicago school of economics, a neoclassical school of economic thought associated with the faculty at the University of Chicago that rejected Keynesianism in favor of monetarism before shifting their focus to new classical macroeconomics in the mid-1970s. Several students, young professors and academics who were recruited or mentored by Friedman at Chicago went on to become leading economists, including Nobel laureates Gary Becker (1992), Robert Fogel (1993), and Robert Lucas Jr. (1995).

Salvatore Maranzano, nicknamed Little Caesar, was an Italian-American mobster from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss who led what later would become the Bonanno crime family in New York City. He instigated the Castellammarese War in 1930 to seize control of the American Mafia, winning the war after the murder of rival faction head Joe Masseria in April 1931. He then briefly became the Mafia's capo di tutti capi and formed the Five Families in New York City but was murdered on September 10, 1931, on the orders of Charles "Lucky" Luciano, who established the Commission, in which families shared power to prevent future turf wars.

William Thomas Berry is an American musician who was the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. Although best known for his economical drumming style, Berry also played other instruments, including guitar, bass guitar and piano, both for songwriting and on R.E.M. albums. In 1995, Berry suffered a ruptured cerebral aneurysm onstage and collapsed. After a successful recovery, he left the music industry two years later to become a farmer, and has since maintained a low profile, making sporadic reunions with R.E.M. and appearing on other artists' recordings. His departure made him the only member of the band not to remain with them during their entire run. Berry eventually returned to the industry in 2022.

Daniel Gaston Ash is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He became prominent in the late 1970s as the guitarist for the goth rock band Bauhaus, which spawned two related bands led by Ash: Tones on Tail, Love and Rockets and more recently Ashes and Diamonds. He also reunited with bandmate Kevin Haskins to form Poptone, a retrospective of their respective careers, featuring Kevin's daughter Diva Dompe on bass. He has also recorded several solo albums. Several guitarists have listed Ash as an influence, including Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction, Kim Thayil of Soundgarden, Hide of X Japan and John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Muhammadu Sanusi II, ; born 31 July 1961), known by the religious title Khalifa Sanusi II, is the spiritual leader (khalifa) of the Tijanniyah Sufi order in Nigeria and the emir of the ancient city-state of Kano. He is a member of the Dabo dynasty and the grandson of Muhammadu Sanusi I. He succeeded his great-uncle Ado Bayero to the throne on 8 June 2014, assuming the regnal name Muhammadu Sanusi II. He spent most of his reign advocating for cultural reform in Northern Nigeria. In 2020, he was deposed by Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and was succeeded by his cousin Aminu Ado Bayero. On 23 May 2024, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf reinstated Sanusi as emir of Kano.

Troy Norman Murray was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Murray was born in Calgary, Alberta, but grew up in St. Albert, Alberta. Before playing collegiate hockey for the University of North Dakota, he was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks as the 57th overall pick in the 1980 NHL entry draft. In 1982, he represented Canada's national junior team, winning a gold medal at the World Junior Championships and returned with the senior team at the 1987 World Championships. He began his professional career with the Blackhawks in 1982 and spent the next nine seasons with the team, winning the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league's best defensive forward in 1986. In 1992, he was traded to the Winnipeg Jets, before returning to the Blackhawks and the stops with the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins. He won the Stanley Cup with his final NHL team, the Colorado Avalanche in 1996 before retiring from playing in 1997. Post retirement, he was the colour analyst on Blackhawks radio and TV broadcasts.

Erik Maria Ritter von Kuehnelt-Leddihn was an Austrian-American nobleman and polymath, whose areas of interest included philosophy, history, political science, economics, linguistics, art and theology. He opposed the ideas of the French Revolution, as well as those of communism and Nazism. Describing himself as a "conservative arch-liberal" or "extreme liberal", Kuehnelt-Leddihn often argued that majority rule in democracies is a threat to individual liberties. He declared himself a monarchist and an enemy of all forms of totalitarianism, although he also supported what he defined as "non-democratic republics", such as Switzerland and the early United States. Kuehnelt-Leddihn cited the U.S. Founding Fathers, Tocqueville, Burckhardt, and Montalembert as the primary influences for his skepticism towards democracy.

Lawrence Joseph Doyle, nicknamed "Laughing Larry", was an American second baseman in Major League Baseball from 1907 to 1920 who played almost his entire career for the New York Giants. The National League's outstanding second baseman during the 1910s, he was awarded the 1912 Chalmers Award as the league's best player, and won the 1915 batting title with a .320 average. The team captain and top everyday star on three consecutive pennant winners (1911–1913), his .408 career slugging average was the top mark by an NL second baseman when he retired, as were his career totals in hits (1887), doubles (299), triples (123), total bases (2654) and extra base hits (496). He ended his career among the major league leaders in career games, putouts, assists, total chances and double plays at second base, and set Giants franchise records for career games, at bats and doubles, each of which was broken by Bill Terry.

Ryan Johansen is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. A centre, he played minor hockey in the Greater Vancouver area until joining the junior ranks with the Penticton Vees of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) for one season. In 2009–10, he moved to the major junior level with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League (WHL). After his first WHL season, he was selected fourth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2010 NHL entry draft. He would play five seasons with them before being traded to the Nashville Predators for Seth Jones in January 2016. Playing parts of eight seasons with Nashville, he was a key part of seven straight postseason berths for the Predators, including a trip to the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals. Nearing the end of his contract as the Predators declined, he was traded to the Avalanche in the 2023 off-season.

Frederick Charles Keenor was a Welsh professional footballer. He began his career at his hometown side Cardiff City after impressing the club's coaching staff in a trial match in 1912 organised by his former schoolteacher. A hard tackling defender, he appeared sporadically for the team in the Southern Football League before his spell at the club was interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War. Keenor served in the 17th (Service) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, led by Major Frank Buckley, which became known as the Football Battalion. He fought in the Battle of the Somme, suffering a severe shrapnel wound to his thigh in 1916. He returned to Britain and after a lengthy rehabilitation he ended the war as a physical training instructor, reaching the rank of sergeant. He also appeared as a guest player for Brentford during the war.

William Smith Clark was an American professor of chemistry, botany, and zoology; a colonel during the American Civil War; and a leader in agricultural education. Raised and schooled in Easthampton, Massachusetts, Clark spent most of his adult life in Amherst, Massachusetts. He graduated from Amherst College in 1848 and obtained a doctorate in chemistry from Georgia Augusta University in Göttingen in 1852. He then served as professor of chemistry at Amherst College from 1852 to 1867. During the Civil War, he was granted leave from Amherst to serve with the 21st Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, eventually achieving the rank of colonel and the command of that unit.

Jonathan Phillip Ogden is an American former professional football player who spent his entire career as an offensive tackle with the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, and was recognized as a unanimous All-American. He was selected by the Ravens with the 4th overall pick in the 1996 NFL draft, making him the first Ravens draft selection in franchise history. He was an 11-time Pro Bowl selection and a nine-time All-Pro. A member of the Ravens team that won Super Bowl XXXV, Ogden is widely considered one of the greatest offensive linemen of all time.

Herman's Hermits are an English pop rock group formed in 1963 in Manchester and fronted by singer Peter Noone. Known for their jaunty beat sound and Noone's often tongue-in-cheek vocal style, the Hermits charted with numerous transatlantic hits in the UK and in America, where they ranked as one of the most successful acts in the Beatles-led British Invasion. Between March and August 1965 in the United States, the group logged twenty-four consecutive weeks in the Top Ten of Billboard's Hot 100 with five singles, including the two number ones "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter" and "I'm Henry VIII, I Am".

Evgeni Vladimirovich Malkin is a Russian professional ice hockey player who is a centre and alternate captain for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Geno", Malkin began his career with his hometown club Metallurg Magnitogorsk, playing for their junior and senior teams. He was then selected second overall in the 2004 NHL entry draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins, though an international transfer dispute delayed the start of his NHL career until 2006. Malkin is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of the modern NHL era and a quintessential piece of the Pittsburgh Penguins' salary cap era success.

William E. Callahan is an American football coach who is the offensive line coach for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). Callahan was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2002 and 2003, leading them to Super Bowl XXXVII, where the Raiders lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was also the head coach for the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 2004 to 2007 and interim head coach for the Washington Redskins in 2019. Callahan is considered to be one of the best offensive line coaches in the NFL. His son, Brian, was the head coach of the Titans.

Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, martial artist, author, and film producer. In a film career spanning more than forty years, Snipes has appeared in a variety of genres, such as numerous thrillers, dramatic feature films, and comedies, though he is best known for his action films. He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his work in The Waterdance (1992) and won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for his performance in the film One Night Stand (1997). Films in which he has appeared have grossed over $3.6 billion worldwide.

Kim Sae-ron was a South Korean actress. Kim began her career in 2001 as a child model and transitioned to acting in 2009 with the film A Brand New Life (2009). She gained recognition through The Man from Nowhere (2010), earning herself a Baeksang Arts Awards for Best New Actress nomination. She later starred in the television series Listen to My Heart (2011), The Queen's Classroom (2013), and Hi! School: Love On (2014), along with the film A Girl at My Door (2014). Her first adult lead role was in the series Secret Healer (2016).

Marion Talbot was an American educator who served as Dean of Women at the University of Chicago from 1895 to 1925, and an influential leader in the higher education of women in the United States during the early 20th century. In 1882, while still a student, she co-founded the American Association of University Women with her mentor Ellen Swallow Richards. During her long career at the University of Chicago, Talbot fought tenaciously and often successfully to improve support for women students and faculty, and against efforts to restrict equal access to educational opportunities.