Famous Birthdays on June 25

Carly Elisabeth Simon is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 top 40 U.S. hits include "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" (No. 10), "Anticipation" (No. 13), "The Right Thing to Do" (No. 17), "Haven't Got Time for the Pain" (No. 14), "You Belong to Me" (No. 6), "Coming Around Again" (No. 18), and her four Gold-certified singles "You're So Vain" (No. 1), "Mockingbird", "Nobody Does It Better" (No. 2) from the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, and "Jesse" (No. 11). She has authored two memoirs and five children's books.

June Kathleen Lockhart was an American actress, beginning a film career in the 1930s and 1940s in films such as A Christmas Carol and Meet Me in St. Louis. She appeared primarily in 1950s and 1960s television and with performances on stage and in film. She became most widely known for her work on two television series, Lassie and Lost in Space, in which she played mother roles. Lockhart also portrayed Dr. Janet Craig on the CBS television sitcom Petticoat Junction (1968–70). She was a two-time Emmy Award nominee and a Tony Award winner. With a career spanning nearly 90 years, Lockhart was one of the last surviving actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Brian Timothy Finn is a New Zealand singer, musician and songwriter. He is best known as a founding member of Split Enz and for his work with his brother Neil, including contributions to Neil's band Crowded House. Finn founded Split Enz in 1972 with Phil Judd, and the two served as the band's co-lead singers and songwriters. Judd's 1977 departure initially left Finn as the sole lead singer and songwriter, though Judd's replacement, Finn's brother Neil, eventually joined Tim as co-lead singer and songwriter. Tim Finn wrote or co-wrote some of the band's best-known songs, including "I See Red", "Dirty Creature", "I Hope I Never" and "Six Months in a Leaky Boat". While still a member of Split Enz, he released his first solo album Escapade in 1983. A commercial success, the album also produced two hit singles with "Fraction Too Much Friction" and "Made My Day". Finn left Split Enz in early 1984, though he briefly returned for the band's farewell tour later that year.

James Howard Meredith is an American civil rights activist, writer, political adviser, and United States Air Force veteran who became, in 1962, the first African-American student admitted to the racially segregated University of Mississippi after the intervention of the federal government. Inspired by President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address, Meredith decided to exercise his constitutional rights and apply to the University of Mississippi. His goal was to put pressure on the Kennedy administration to enforce civil rights for African Americans. The admission of Meredith ignited the Ole Miss riot of 1962 where Meredith's life was threatened and 31,000 American servicemen were required to quell the violence – the largest ever invocation of the Insurrection Act of 1807.

Willis Reed Jr. was an American professional basketball player, coach, and general manager. He spent his entire ten-year pro playing career (1964–1974) with the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Reed was a seven-time NBA All-Star and five-time All-NBA selection, including once on the first team in 1970, when he was named the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP). He was a two-time NBA champion and was voted the NBA Finals MVP both times. He is the only 2nd round NBA draft pick to have won the award twice. In 1982, Reed was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was named to both the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams.

Mary Beth Peil is an American actress and soprano. She began her career as an opera singer in 1962 with the Goldovsky Opera Theater. In 1964 she won two major singing competitions, the Young Concert Artists International Auditions and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions; the latter of which earned her a contract with the Metropolitan Opera National Company with whom she performed in two seasons of national tours as a leading soprano from 1965 to 1967. She continued to perform in operas through the 1970s, notably creating the role of Alma in the world premiere of Lee Hoiby's Summer and Smoke at the Minnesota Opera in 1971. She later recorded that role for American television in 1982. With that same opera company she transitioned into musical theatre, performing the title role of Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate in 1983. Later that year she joined the national tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I as Anna Leonowens opposite Yul Brynner, and continued with that production when it opened on Broadway on January 7, 1985. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her portrayal.

Yasuhito, Prince Chichibu was the second son of Emperor Taishō (Yoshihito) and Empress Teimei (Sadako), a younger brother of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) and a general in the Imperial Japanese Army. As a member of the Imperial House of Japan, he was the patron of several sporting, medical, and international exchange organizations. Before and after World War II, the English-speaking prince and his wife attempted to foster good relations between Japan and the United Kingdom and enjoyed a good rapport with the British royal family. As with other Japanese imperial princes of his generation, he was an active-duty career officer in the Imperial Japanese Army. Like all members of the imperial family, he was given immunity from criminal prosecution before the International Military Tribunal for the Far East by Douglas MacArthur.

Elisabeth Brooke was an English courtier and noblewoman. She was the eldest daughter of George Brooke, 9th Baron Cobham of Kent and Anne Braye. Her relationship with William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton, Katherine Parr's brother, would shape the politics of England for many years to come. As the Marchioness of Northampton, Elisabeth performed much of a queen's role during the reign of Edward VI. Her husband was instrumental in putting Lady Jane Grey on the throne. When Mary I was proclaimed queen, she imprisoned the Marquess in the Tower and stripped him of all his titles. Her first cousin, Thomas Wyatt the Younger, was the leader of a rebellion against Queen Mary known as Wyatt's Rebellion. In the reign of Elizabeth I, she became one of the most influential courtiers again.

Milan Hnilička is a Czech former professional ice hockey player and politician. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Atlanta Thrashers and the Los Angeles Kings. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies since 2017, but resigned in January 2021, after attending a party in breach of coronavirus restrictions. He was drafted 70th overall by the New York Islanders in the 1991 NHL entry draft. In 2000, Hnilička won the Calder Cup while playing for the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL). He announced his retirement in August 2010. Internationally, Hnilička represented the Czechoslovak national junior team and the Czech national senior team at multiple tournaments.

Tracey Leigh Spicer is an Australian newsreader, journalist and social justice advocate. She is known for her association with Network Ten as a newsreader in the 1990s and 2000s when she co-hosted Ten Eyewitness News in Brisbane, Queensland. She later went on to work with Sky News Australia as a reporter and presenter from 2007 to 2015. In May 2017 Spicer released her autobiography, The Good Girl Stripped Bare. She has won a Walkley Award for year journalism. She was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia "For significant service to the broadcast media as a journalist and television presenter, and as an ambassador for social welfare and charitable groups".

Thomas Henry Tracy was a Canadian architect and alderman. Born in London, Upper Canada, to Irish immigrants, Tracy was apprenticed to William Robinson for five years beginning in 1864; after spending time working for Kivas Tully and Thomas Fuller, Tracy returned to Robinson in 1873, and he took control of the firm after the latter's 1878 retirement. Tracy left private practice in 1882, with George F. Durand assuming control of the firm and Tracy serving as full-time city engineer. Tracy moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1891, to assume the position of city engineer. In that capacity, he helped design the city's waterworks; he also served five years as an alderman.

Douglas Robert Gilmour is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for seven different teams. Gilmour was a seventh round selection, 134th overall, of the St. Louis Blues at the 1982 NHL entry draft and recorded 1,414 points in 1,474 games in the NHL between 1983 and 2003. A two-time All-Star, he was a member of Calgary's 1989 Stanley Cup championship team and won the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL's best defensive forward in 1992–93. Internationally, he represented Canada three times during his career and was a member of the nation's 1987 Canada Cup championship team.

Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold was an American general officer holding the ranks of General of the Army and later, General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps (1938–1941), commanding general of the United States Army Air Forces, the only United States Air Force general to hold five-star rank, and the only officer to hold a five-star rank in two different U.S. military services. Arnold was also the founder of Project RAND, which evolved into one of the world's largest non-profit global policy think tanks, the RAND Corporation, and was one of the founders of Pan American World Airways.

James Carter Walker Jr. is an American actor and comedian. He portrayed James ("J.J.") Evans Jr., the older son of James Evans Sr. and Florida Evans, on the CBS television comedy series Good Times. The show ran from 1974 to 1979, and Walker was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1975 and 1976 for his role as J.J. On Good Times, Walker's character was known for his catchphrase "Dyn-o-mite!", and the actor later used it in his mid-1970s TV commercials for Panasonic cassette and 8-track tape players and in a 2021–2023 public announcement for Medicare.

Yann Martel, is a Canadian author who wrote the Man Booker Prize-winning novel Life of Pi, an international bestseller published in more than 50 territories. It has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and spent more than a year on the bestseller lists of The New York Times and The Globe and Mail, among many other best-selling lists. Life of Pi was adapted for a movie of the same name directed by Ang Lee, receiving four Academy Awards including the Academy Award for Best Director and winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.

Patricia Ann Kennedy, better known by her stage name Patricia Brake, was an English actress. Her credits include Lorna Doone (1963), The Ugliest Girl in Town (1968-1969), My Lover, My Son (1970), The Optimists of Nine Elms (1973), Emmerdale (1975), Nicholas Nickleby (1977), A Sharp Intake of Breath (1977), EastEnders (2004), and Coronation Street (2005-2006). She was most notable for her role as Ingrid Fletcher, eldest daughter of Norman Stanley Fletcher, in the BBC sitcom Porridge (1974-1977), and its sequel Going Straight (1978), and for starring as Gwen Lockhead in 128 episodes of Eldorado (1992-1993).

Aya Matsuura is a Japanese singer and actress. Matsuura began her career as a solo artist within the idol musical collective Hello! Project, where she released her debut single "Dokki Doki! Love Mail" in 2001. Her subsequent singles, "Love Namidairo" (2001), "Momoiro Kataomoi (2002), "Yeah! Meccha Holiday" (2002) charted within the top 5 of the Oricon Weekly Singles Charts, and were certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. Aside from her solo activities, Matsuura was also a member of the sub-groups Gomattō, Nochiura Natsumi, Def.Diva, and several Hello! Project Shuffle Units.

Carlos Juan Delgado Hernández is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball primarily as a first baseman, from 1993 to 2009, most prominently as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, where he was a member of the 1993 World Series-winning team, won the 2000 American League (AL) Hank Aaron Award, and was the 2003 AL RBI leader. He was also a two-time AL All-Star player and a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner during his tenure with the Blue Jays.

Wilhelm Fabry, often called the "Father of German surgery", was the first educated and scientific German surgeon. He is one of the most prominent scholars in the iatromechanics school and author of 20 medical books. His Observationum et Curationum Chirurgicarum Centuriae, published posthumously in 1641, is the best collection of case records of the century and gives clear insight into the variety and methods of his surgical practice. He developed novel surgical techniques and new surgical instruments. He also wrote a notable treatise on burns.