Did you know
Antonis Samaras is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2012 to 2015
Famous Birthdays on May 23
218 people
635 – 2007
May 23 has seen 218 notable people enter the world across recorded history — from 635 – 2007. Below are the most significant names born on this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
1951 — Antonis Samaras
Greek economist and politician, 185th Prime Minister of Greece
Did you know
A member of the New Democracy party, he was its president from 2009 until 2015
Did you know
He also founded the Political Spring party, which he led as president from 1993 to 2004, when he returned to New Democracy
Did you know
He has been Member of the Greek Parliament (MP) for Messenia since 2007, having previously served at the same role from 1977 to 1996
Did you know
He was also a Member of the European Parliament for Greece from 2004 to 2007
Mayan king (died 702)
Kʼinich Kan Bahlam II, also known as Chan Bahlum II, was ajaw of the Maya city-state of Palenque, in what is now the state of Chiapas, Mexico. He acceded to the throne in January, 684, several months after the death of…
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635
King of Mutharaiyar dynasty, Tamil Nadu, India
Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar, also known as Suvaran Maran and Perarasar Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar, was a king of Thanjavur from the Mutharaiyar dynasty. He ruled over Thanjavur, Trichy, Pudukkottai, Perambalur and Thiruvarur…
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675
Philip I, called the Amorous, was King of the Franks from 1060 to 1108. His reign of nearly 48 years, like that of most of the early Capetians, was extraordinarily long for the time. The monarchy began a modest recovery…
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1052
Emperor Qinzong of Song, personal name Zhao Huan, was the ninth emperor of the Song dynasty of China and the last emperor of the Northern Song dynasty.
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1100
Korean monarch of the Goryeo dynasty (died 1173)
Uijong, personal name Wang Hyŏn, was the 18th king of the Goryeo dynasty of Korea.
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1127
Korean ruler (died 1374)
Gongmin, also known by his Mongolian name, Bayan Temür, was 31st ruler of Goryeo from 1351 to 1374. He was the second son of King Chungsuk.
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1330
German composer and organist (died 1666)
Paul Siefert was a German composer and organist associated with the North German school.
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1586
Spanish mathematician and philosopher (died 1682)
Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz was a Spanish Catholic scholastic philosopher, ecclesiastic, mathematician, polyglot, and writer. He is believed to be a great-grandson of Jan Popel y Lobkowicz.
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1606
Flemish Baroque painter (died 1675)
Bertholet Flemalle, Flemal, or Flamael (1614–1675) was a Liège Baroque painter.
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1614
English astrologer and politician (died 1692)
Elias Ashmole was an English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer, freemason and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, serving in the artillery of Lord…
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1617
Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, noble of Hesse-Kassel (died 1663)
Wilhelm VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, known as William the Just, was Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel from 1637 to 1663.
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1629
Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist (died 1778)
Carl Linnaeus, also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné, was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming organisms. He is known as the "father of…
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1707
Scottish-English anatomist and physician (died 1783)
William Hunter was a Scottish anatomist and physician. He was a leading teacher of anatomy, and the outstanding obstetrician of his day. His guidance and training of his equally famous brother, John Hunter, was also of…
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1718
Italian poet and educator (died 1799)
Giuseppe Parini was an Italian satirist and Neoclassical poet.
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1729
Prussian prince and general (died 1813)
Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia was a Prussian prince and general, as well as Herrenmeister of the Bailiwick of Brandenburg of the Order of Saint John. He belonged to the House of Hohenzollern, and was the youngest…
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1730
German physician and astrologer (died 1815)
Franz Anton Mesmer was a German physician with an interest in astronomy. He theorized the existence of a process of natural energy transference occurring between all animate and inanimate objects; this he called "animal…
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1734
Italian organist and composer (died 1801)
Andrea Luca Luchesi was an Italian composer. He knew Mozart and Beethoven.
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1741
Austrian earl and general (died 1862)
Franz Joseph von Schlik of Bassano and Weisskirchen was a count and general in the Austrian Empire. He was one of the most successful Austrian generals during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848.
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1789
French admiral and explorer (died 1842)
Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville was a French explorer and naval officer who explored the south and western Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica. As a botanist and cartographer, he gave his name to…
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1790
French neoclassical sculptor (died 1852)
James Pradier was a Genevan-born French sculptor best known for his work in the neoclassical style.
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1790
Czech pianist and composer (died 1870)
Isaac Ignaz Moscheles was a Bohemian piano virtuoso and composer. He was based initially in London and later in Leipzig, where he joined his friend and sometime pupil Felix Mendelssohn as professor of piano in the…
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1794
English architect, designed the Upper Brook Street Chapel and Halifax Town Hall (died 1860)
Sir Charles Barry was an English architect best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster in London during the mid-19th century, but also responsible for numerous other buildings and gardens. He…
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1795
Mexican general and president (1855) (died 1877)
José María Rómulo Díaz de la Vega Fuentes was a Mexican military officer and politician. As commander of the garrison in Mexico City, he was the de facto president of Mexico in 1855, after the resignation of President…
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1800
American journalist and critic (died 1850)
Sarah Margaret Fuller, sometimes referred to as Margaret Fuller Ossoli, was an American journalist, editor, critic, translator, and women's rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movement. She…
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1810
Unconstitutional Mexican interim president (died 1862)
Manuel Robles Pezuela was a military engineer, military commander, and eventually interim president of Mexico during a civil war, the Reform War, being waged between conservatives and liberals, in which he served as…
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1817
American engineer, designed the Eads Bridge (died 1887)
James Buchanan Eads was an American civil engineer and inventor. He held more than 50 patents and was known internationally. He designed and built the Eads Bridge over the Mississippi River in St. Louis, which was…
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1820
American lawyer and judge (died 1891)
Lorenzo Sawyer was an American lawyer and judge who was appointed to the Supreme Court of California in 1860 and served as the ninth Chief Justice of California from 1868 to 1870. He served as a United States circuit…
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1820
American general and politician, 30th Governor of Rhode Island (died 1881)
Ambrose Everts Burnside was an American army officer and politician who became a senior Union general in the American Civil War and a three-time governor of Rhode Island, as well as being an inventor and industrialist.
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1824
Latvian architect (died 1891)
Jānis Frīdrihs Baumanis was a Latvian, Baltic German architect. He was the first professional Latvian architect. Baumanis designed the Riga Circus in 1888. He was responsible for a number of important public buildings…
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1834
1834
Swiss mechanical engineer and inventor (died 1919)
Jules Theodore Anatole Mallet was a Swiss mechanical engineer, who was the inventor of the first successful compound system for a railway steam locomotive, patented in 1874. He is known for having invented three…
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1837
Polish pianist and composer (died 1912)
Józef Wieniawski was a Polish pianist, composer, conductor and teacher. He was born in Lublin, the younger brother of the famous violinist Henryk Wieniawski. After Franz Liszt, he was the first pianist to publicly…
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1837
1838
Irish-Australian politician, 2nd Premier of Western Australia (died 1910)
George Throssell was the second Premier of Western Australia. He served for just three months, from 15 February to 27 May 1901, during a period of great instability in Western Australian politics.
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1840
Iranian religious leader (died 1921)
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, born ʻAbbás, was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh, founder of the Bahá’í Faith, who designated him to be his successor and head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 until 1921. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was later cited as the…
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1844
German pilot and engineer (died 1896)
Karl Wilhelm Otto Lilienthal was a German pioneer of aviation who became known as the "flying man". He was the first person to make well-documented, repeated, successful flights with gliders, therefore making the idea…
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1848
English author and activist (died 1924)
Isabella Ormston Ford was an English social reformer, suffragist and writer. She became a public speaker and wrote pamphlets on issues related to socialism, feminism and workers' rights. After becoming concerned with…
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1855
Hungarian painter (died 1927)
József Rippl-Rónai was a Hungarian painter. He was among the first Hungarian exponents of artistic modernism.
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1861
Polish architect (died 1930)
Władysław Horodecki was a Polish architect active in the Russian Empire and later in the Second Polish Republic. He is best known for his contributions in the urban development of Kyiv, with buildings such as the House…
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1863
American fencer (died 1939)
William Scott O'Connor was an American épée and foil fencer who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. He won the silver medal in the singlestick competition. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and died in Manhattan.
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1864
Brazilian jurist and politician, 11th President of Brazil (died 1942)
Epitácio Lindolfo da Silva Pessoa was a Brazilian politician and jurist who served as the 11th president of Brazil between 1919 and 1922, when Rodrigues Alves was unable to take office due to illness, after being…
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1865
American businessman and philanthropist (died 1966)
Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr. was an American business executive in the automotive industry. He was a longtime president, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of General Motors (GM). First as a senior executive and…
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1875
Canadian pole vaulter (died 1960)
William Halpenny was a Canadian track and field athlete who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. He was born in Prince Edward Island. In 1912, he won a bronze medal in the pole vault event.
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1882
American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1939)
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. was an American actor and filmmaker best known for being the first actor to play the masked vigilante Zorro and other swashbuckling roles in silent films. One of the biggest stars of the…
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1883
Italian sociologist and demographer (died 1965)
Corrado Gini was an Italian statistician, demographer and sociologist who developed the Gini coefficient, a measure of the income inequality in a society. Gini was a proponent of organicism and applied it to nations.…
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1884
Norwegian mathematician and theorist (died 1963)
Thoralf Albert Skolem was a Norwegian mathematician who worked in mathematical logic, set theory, and number theory.
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1887
Estonian-Russian sailor and captain (died 1951)
Nikolai Vekšin was a Russian and Estonian sailor and helmsman of the bronze-medallist Estonian team at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games.
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1887
English historian (died 1941)
Charles Robert Mowbray Fraser Cruttwell was a British historian and academic who served as dean and later principal of Hertford College, Oxford. His field of expertise was modern European history, his most notable work…
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1887
Dutch writer (died 1976)
Adriaan Roland Holst was a Dutch writer, nicknamed the "Prince of Dutch Poets". He was the second winner, in 1948, of the Constantijn Huygens Prize.
He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961.
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1888
American baseball player and police officer (died 1972)
Zachariah Davis Wheat, nicknamed "Buck", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left fielder from 1909 to 1927, most notably as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers who…
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1888
German educator and politician (died 1967)
Ernst Niekisch was a German writer and political theorist. Initially a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and of the Old Social Democratic Party of Germany (ASPD), he later became a prominent exponent of the…
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1889
English-American actor and singer (died 1966)
Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall was an English actor of stage, screen, and radio. He starred in many popular and well-regarded Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. After a successful theatrical career in the United…
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1890
Swedish novelist, playwright, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1974)
Pär Fabian Lagerkvist was a Swedish author who received the 1951 Nobel Prize in Literature.
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1891
7th Earl Spencer, British peer (died 1975)
Albert Edward John Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer,, styled The Honourable Albert Spencer until 1910 and Viscount Althorp from 1910 to 1922, and known less formally as Jack Spencer, was a British peer. He was the paternal…
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1892
Russian-German SS officer (died 1966)
Felix Martin Julius Steiner was a German SS commander during the Nazi era. During World War II, he served in the Waffen-SS, the combat branch of the SS, and commanded several SS divisions and corps. He was awarded the…
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1896
1897
American soldier, journalist, and author (died 1989)
Scott O'Dell was an American writer of 26 novels for young people, along with three novels for adults and four nonfiction books. He wrote historical fiction, primarily, including several children's novels about…
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1898
German soldier and politician (died 1945)
Josef Antonius Heinrich Terboven was a German Nazi Party official and politician who was the long-serving Gauleiter of Gau Essen and the Reichskommissar for Norway during the German occupation.
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1898
American super-centenarian (died 2015)
Jeralean Talley was an American supercentenarian who was, aged 116 years, 25 days, the world's verified oldest living person. She was previously thought to be the oldest living American, from the death of Elsie Thompson…
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1899
German lawyer and politician (died 1946)
Hans Michael Frank was a German Nazi politician, lawyer and convicted war criminal who served as the head of the General Government, an entity created by Germany on part of the German-occupied Polish lands during the…
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1900
German lawyer and theorist (died 1954)
Franz Leopold Neumann was a German political activist, Western Marxist theorist, and labor lawyer who became a political scientist in exile and is best known for his theoretical analyses of Nazism. He studied in Germany…
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1900
American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1991)
John Bardeen was an American physicist. He is the only person to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics twice: first in 1956 with William Shockley and Walter Brattain for their invention of the transistor; and again in…
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1908
French pilot (died 1934)
Hélène Boucher was a well-known French pilot in the early 1930s, when she set several women's world speed records and the all-comers record for 1,000 km in 1934. She was killed in an accident in the same year.
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1908
Japanese supercentenarian (died 2024)
Tomiko Itooka was a Japanese supercentenarian who was recognized as the world's oldest verified living person in September 2024. She managed her family's textile business during World War II and lived to the age of 116…
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1908
Swiss author and photographer (died 1942)
Annemarie Minna Renée Schwarzenbach was a Swiss writer, journalist and photographer. Her bisexual mother brought her up in a masculine style, and her androgynous image suited the bohemian Berlin society of the time, in…
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1908
American author and educator (died 1952)
Margaret Wise Brown was an American writer of children's books, including Goodnight Moon (1947) and The Runaway Bunny (1942), both illustrated by Clement Hurd. She has been called "the laureate of the nursery" for her…
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1910
English architect and academic (died 1999)
Sir Hugh Maxwell Casson was a British architect, also active as an interior designer, an artist, and a writer and broadcaster on twentieth-century design. He was the director of architecture for the 1951 Festival of…
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1910
American actor and comedian (died 1986)
Benjamin Sherman "Scatman" Crothers was an American actor and musician. He is known for playing Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show Chico and the Man, and Dick Hallorann in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980). He was…
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1910
American painter and academic (died 1962)
Franz Kline was an American painter. He is associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement of the 1940s and 1950s. Kline, along with other action painters like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell,…
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1910
American clarinet player, composer, and bandleader (died 2004)
Artie Shaw was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, and author of both fiction and non-fiction.
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1910
Canadian boxer (died 1984)
Lucien Pierre Brouillard, better known as Lou Brouillard,, was a Canadian professional boxer who held the Undisputed World Welterweight and Undisputed World Middleweight Titles. Statistical boxing website BoxRec ranks…
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1911
German cardinal (died 2010)
Paul Augustin Mayer, OSB was a German Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He held various positions in the Roman Curia from 1971 to 1991.
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1911
English tennis player (died 1983)
Betty May Nuthall Shoemaker was an English tennis player. Known for her powerful forehand, according to Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Nuthall was ranked in the world's top 10 in 1927, 1929…
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1911
French pianist and composer (died 1997)
Jean René Désiré Françaix was a French neoclassical composer, pianist, and orchestrator known for his prolific output and vibrant style. Françaix composed for various genres, and is particularly known for his chamber…
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1912
American actor (died 1989)
John Howard Payne was an American film actor who is mainly remembered from film noir crime stories and 20th Century Fox musical films, and for his leading roles in Miracle on 34th Street and the NBC Western television…
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1912
English visionary landscape artist (died 2009)
Harold Hitchcock, born Raymond Hitchcock, was an English visionary landscape artist.
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1914
American journalist and author (died 1999)
Celestine Sibley was an American newspaper reporter, syndicated columnist, and novelist in Atlanta, Georgia, for nearly sixty years.
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1914
Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, English economist, journalist, and prominent Catholic layperson (died 1981)
Barbara Mary Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, was a British economist and writer interested in the problems of developing countries. She urged Western governments to share their prosperity with the rest of the world…
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1914
American physicist and chemist, invented CorningWare (died 2014)
Stanley Donald Stookey was an American inventor. He had 60 patents in his name related to glass and ceramics. His discoveries and inventions have contributed to the development of ceramics, eyeglasses, sunglasses,…
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1915
American mathematician and meteorologist (died 2008)
Edward Norton Lorenz was an American mathematician and meteorologist who established the theoretical basis of weather and climate predictability, as well as the basis for computer-aided atmospheric physics and…
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1917
English cricketer and sportscaster (died 1997)
Denis Charles Scott Compton was an English multi-sportsman. As a cricketer he played in 78 Test matches and spent his whole career with Middlesex. As a footballer, he played as a winger and spent most of his career at…
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1918
American author and playwright (died 1988)
Robert Bernstein, sometimes credited as R. Berns, was an American comic book writer, playwright and concert impresario, notable as the founder of the Island Concert Hall recital series which ran for 15 years on Long…
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1919
Puerto Rican contralto and a member of the Puerto Rican Senate (died 2012)
Ruth Fernández was a Puerto Rican contralto and a member of the Puerto Rican Senate. According to the "Comisiones Nacionales para la Celebración del Quinto Centenario" (National Commission for the Celebration of the…
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1919
American actress, singer, and dancer (died 2011)
Betty Garrett was an American actress, comedian, singer and dancer. She originally performed on Broadway, and was then signed to a film contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She appeared in several musical films, then…
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1919
American singer (died 1993)
Helen O'Connell was an American singer, actress, and hostess, described as "the quintessential big band singer of the 1940s".
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1920
British jazz musician and broadcaster (died 2008)
Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton, also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster from the Lyttelton family.
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1921
Catalan-Spanish pianist (died 2009)
Alicia de Larrocha y de la Calle was a Spanish pianist and composer. She was considered one of the great piano legends of the 20th century. Reuters called her "the greatest Spanish pianist in history", Time "one of the…
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1923
American virologist and microbiologist (died 2012)
Irving Millman was a noted virologist and microbiologist. He was a member of the U.S. Army's Eighth Armored Division during the Second World War, earning a Bronze Star. In 1948, Millman earned a bachelor's degree from…
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1923
German author and activist (died 2014)
Karl Heinrich Leopold Deschner was a German researcher and writer who achieved public attention in Europe for his trenchant and fiercely critical treatment of Christianity in general and the Catholic Church in…
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1924
American biologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2008)
Joshua Lederberg was an American molecular biologist known for his work in microbial genetics, artificial intelligence, and the United States space program. He was 33 years old when he won the 1958 Nobel Prize in…
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1925
Indian bishop (died 1996)
Basil Salvadore D'Souza was the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mangalore from 22 March 1965 until his death on 5 September 1996. He was the longest-serving bishop in the diocese's history.
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1926
1926
American union organizer and civil rights activist (died 2017)
Aileen Hernandez was an African-American union organizer, civil rights activist, and women's rights activist. She served as the president of the National Organization for Women (NOW) between 1970 and 1971, and was the…
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1926
American singer and actress (died 2002)
Rosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me", "Mambo Italiano",…
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1928
English actor (died 2013)
Arthur Nigel Davenport was an English stage, television and film actor, best known for his film roles as the Duke of Norfolk in A Man for All Seasons, and Lord Birkenhead in Chariots of Fire.
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1928
Russian runner (died 2015)
Nina Grigoryevna Otkalenko, née Pletnyova, was a Soviet middle-distance runner. She won a European title in the 800 m at the inaugural 1954 European Athletics Championships and set multiple world records in this event…
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1928
Swedish-Austrian actress (died 1982)
Ulla Jacobsson was a Swedish actress. She had the lead role in One Summer of Happiness (1951) and played the only female speaking role in the film Zulu (1964).
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1929
German poet and critic (died 2019)
Friedrich Achleitner was an Austrian poet and architecture critic. As a member of the Wiener Gruppe, he wrote concrete poems and experimental literature. His magnum opus is a multi-volume documentation of 20th-century…
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1930
1931
Syrian-French journalist and author (died 1998)
Kevork Vartani Ajemian (Adjemian) was a prominent Syrian-Armenian writer, journalist, novelist, theorist and public activist, and long-time publisher of the Beirut-based literary, artistic and general publication Spurk.…
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1932
English actress
Dame Joan Henrietta Collins is an English actress, author and columnist. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime…
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1933
Swedish motorcycle racer
Ove Fundin is a Swedish former professional motorcycle speedway rider. He competed in the Speedway World Championships from 1951 to 1970. Fundin is notable for winning the Speedway World Championship Final five times, a…
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1933
electronic engineer and inventor of the Moog synthesizer (died 2005)
Robert Arthur Moog was an American engineer and electronic music pioneer. He was the founder of the synthesizer manufacturer Moog Music and the inventor of the first commercial synthesizer, the Moog synthesizer, which…
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1934
Swedish author (died 2009)
Folke Lars-Olov Strömstedt, better known as Lasse Strömstedt, was a Swedish writer who wrote of and about his own life in prison and drug abuse. Strömstedt was born in Gävle in 1935. He was a casual laborer whose…
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1935
German soprano and actress
Ingeborg Hallstein is a German coloratura soprano, known for the purity and range of her voice. She had an international career as a guest singer on the opera houses of Europe and was a member of the Bavarian State…
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1936
American actor (died 2023)
Charles Mayberry Kimbrough was an American actor. He was best known for his role as the straight-faced anchorman Jim Dial on Murphy Brown. In 1990, his performance in the role earned him a nomination for an Emmy Award…
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1936
French-American composer and conductor (died 2004)
Michel Colombier was a French composer, arranger, and conductor.
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1939
German director and screenwriter
Reinhard Hauff is a German film director. His works, which were mostly carried out in the late 1960s to early 1990s, are known for their social and political commentary. Stammheim, which is based on the activities of…
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1939
Norwegian saxophonist (died 2002)
Bjørn John Johansen was a Norwegian jazz musician, known from a number of recordings and international cooperation. He has been one of the most influential Norwegian saxophonists of all time and has been the inspiration…
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1940
French race car driver
Gérard Gilles Marie Armand Larrousse is a former sports car racing, rallying and Formula One driver from France. His greatest success as a driver was winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1973 and 1974, driving a…
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1940
Argentinian mathematician and academic (died 2010)
Cora Susana Sadosky de Goldstein was an Argentine mathematician and Professor of Mathematics at Howard University.
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1940
American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2012)
Zalman King was an American film director, writer, actor and producer. His films are known for incorporating sexuality, and are often categorized as erotica.
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1941
1941
1942
Indian director, screenwriter, and choreographer
Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao is an Indian film director, screenwriter, choreographer, and producer known primarily for his work in Telugu cinema, besides a few Hindi film and Kannada films. Over a career spanning more…
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1942
Solomon Islands politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands (died 2016)
Sir Peter Kenilorea was a Solomon Islander politician, officially styled The Rt Hon. Sir Peter Kenilorea as a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. He was the first prime minister of an independent Solomon…
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1943
Australian tennis player and sportscaster
John David Newcombe AO OBE is an Australian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in both men's singles and men's doubles. Newcombe won a combined 26 major titles: seven in singles, a…
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1944
Indian director, screenwriter, and author (died 1991)
Padmarajan Padmanabhan Pillai, better known as P. Padmarajan was an Indian film maker, screenwriter and author who was known for his works in Malayalam literature and Malayalam cinema. Considered as one of the greatest…
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1945
Australian golfer
Anthony David Graham, AM is an Australian golfer. Graham turned pro as a teenager and had much success on the Australasian circuits in his youth, winning several tournaments. In 1972, he joined the PGA Tour where he…
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1946
American poet and translator (died 1995)
Jane Kenyon was an American poet and translator. Her work is often characterized as simple, spare, and emotionally resonant. Kenyon was the second wife of poet, editor, and critic Donald Hall who made her the subject of…
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1947
French actress, director, and producer
Myriam Boyer is a French actress. She appeared in more than eighty films and television shows since 1970. At the age of 18, she married Roger Cornillac with whom she had a son, Clovis Cornillac. From 1975 until his…
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1948
American cardinal
Daniel Nicholas DiNardo is an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Galveston-Houston from 2006 to 2025. He previously served as Coadjutor and later Bishop of Sioux City from 1997 to 2004.
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1949
Peruvian lawyer and politician, twice President of Peru (died 2019)
Alan Gabriel Ludwig García Pérez was a Peruvian politician who served as President of Peru for two non-consecutive terms, from 1985 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2011. He was the second leader of the American Popular…
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1949
Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician, Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland (died 2017)
James Martin Pacelli McGuinness was an Irish republican politician and statesman for Sinn Féin and a leader within the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) during The Troubles. He was the deputy First Minister of…
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1950
American serial killer (died 1980)
Richard Trenton Chase was an American serial killer, cannibal and necrophile known as the Vampire of Sacramento, the Dracula Killer and the Vampire Killer, who killed six people between December 1977 and January 1978 in…
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1950
Russian chess player
Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian and former Soviet chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, and politician. He was the 12th World Chess Champion from 1975 to 1985, a three-time FIDE World Champion, twice…
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1951
English photographer and journalist
Martin Parr was an English documentary photographer and photojournalist. He was known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in particular…
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1952
Northern Irish international footballer
Gerard Joseph Armstrong is a Northern Irish former footballer who played for Tottenham Hotspur.
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1954
American boxer and actor (died 2021)
Marvelous Marvin Hagler was an American professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 1987. He reigned as the undisputed champion of the middleweight division from 1980 to 1987, making twelve successful title defenses,…
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1954
Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
Kevin Barry Moore, known professionally as Luka Bloom, is an Irish folk singer-songwriter. He is the younger brother of folk singer Christy Moore.
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1955
Italian illustrator and painter (died 1988)
Andrea Pazienza was an Italian comics artist and painter.
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1956
Austrian politician and diplomat, Foreign Minister of Austria
Ursula Plassnik is an Austrian diplomat and politician. She was Foreign Minister of Austria between October 2004 and December 2008. She has served as the Austrian ambassador to Switzerland from 2016 to 2021.
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1956
American baseball player, coach, and manager
William Nathaniel "Buck" Showalter III is an American professional baseball manager. He served as manager of the New York Yankees (1992–1995), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998–2000), Texas Rangers (2003–2006), Baltimore…
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1956
American journalist, author, and screenwriter
Mitchell David Albom is an American author, sports journalist, talk show host and philanthropist. As of 2021, his books are reported to have sold 40 million copies worldwide. Having achieved national recognition as a…
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1958
American actor, game show host, and entrepreneur
Drew Allison Carey is an American comedian, game show host, and actor. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey gained stardom in his own sitcom, The Drew Carey…
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1958
American actress and singer
Lea DeLaria is an American comedian, actress, and jazz singer. She portrayed Carrie "Big Boo" Black on the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019) and Psychic Madame Delphina on the ABC daytime drama…
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1958
Dutch tennis player and sportscaster
Marcella Mesker is a former professional tennis player from the Netherlands.
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1959
American actor
Clarence Linden Garnett Ashby III is an American actor. On television, he portrayed Brett Cooper on the final two seasons of the Fox soap opera Melrose Place (1997–1999) and Sheriff Noah Stilinski on all six seasons of…
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1960
Italian footballer and manager
Daniele Emilio Massaro is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward.
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1961
Scottish Australian gender activist
Norrie, also known by the pseudonym Norrie May-Welby, is a Scottish-Australian transgender person who pursued the legal status of being neither a man nor a woman, between 2010 and 2014. The High Court of Australia ruled…
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1961
American actress
Karen "Duff" Duffy is an American writer, model, television personality, and actress. She is a certified hospital chaplain, a former Coney Island Mermaid Queen, and one of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful Women" in…
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1962
Swiss mathematician
Viviane Baladi is a mathematician who works as a director of research at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) in France. Originally Swiss, she has become a naturalized citizen of France. Her research…
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1963
Swiss lawyer and politician
Ruth Metzler is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1999 to 2003. A member of the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), she headed the Federal Department of Justice and…
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1964
Spanish footballer
Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a sweeper.
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1965
German director, producer, screenwriter, and composer
Tom Tykwer is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, and composer. He is best known internationally for directing the thriller films Run Lola Run (1998), Heaven (2002), Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006),…
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1965
American actress
Melissa Suzanne McBride is an American actress. She made her acting debut in 1993, and went onto appear in Walker, Texas Ranger (1997) and Dawson's Creek (1998). In 2007, she also starred in the film The Mist (2007).…
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1965
Australian rugby league player
Paul Sironen is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of Finnish descent who was a prominent Second-row forward for the Balmain Tigers during the late 1980s, and early 1990s. He was part of the team…
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1965
American actor, comedian, writer, and producer
Harry Jon Benjamin is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He is known for his voice roles in adult animated series, including Sterling Archer in Archer, Bob Belcher in Bob's Burgers, Ben in Dr.…
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1966
Zimbabwean-English cricketer and coach
Graeme Ashley Hick is a Zimbabwean-born former England cricketer who played 65 Test matches and 120 One Day Internationals for England. He was born in Rhodesia, and as a young man played international cricket for…
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1966
Canadian ice hockey player and coach
Gary R. Roberts is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers,…
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1966
Mexican footballer
Luis Roberto Alves dos Santos Gavranić is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is best known as Zague, in honor to his father.
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1967
1967
English musician
Philip James Selway is an English musician and the drummer of the rock band Radiohead. He combines rock drumming with electronic percussion. Selway was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of…
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1967
American actress and screenwriter
Guinevere Jane Turner is an American actress, screenwriter, and film director. She wrote the films American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page and played the lead role of the dominatrix Tanya Cheex in Preaching to the…
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1968
American race car driver and businessman, co-founded Bryan Herta Autosport
Bryan John Herta is an American race strategist and former race car driver. He currently runs his own team, Bryan Herta Autosport in the NTT IndyCar Series and is the strategist for the #27 Andretti Autosport in the…
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1970
English journalist and politician, former Chancellor of the Exchequer
George Gideon Oliver Osborne is a British retired politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the Cameron government. A…
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1971
Brazilian race car driver
Rubens Gonçalves Barrichello is a Brazilian racing driver and broadcaster, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for Full Time Sports. Nicknamed "Rubinho", Barrichello competed in Formula One from 1993 to 2011, and…
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1972
Australian entrepreneur
Poppy Cybele King is an Australian entrepreneur. She is best known for her company Poppy Industries and the range of cosmetics available at Poppy Stores in Australia, during the 1990s.
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1972
English cricketer and umpire
Martin John Saggers is an English county cricket umpire and a retired English cricketer. He played international cricket for the England cricket team, including appearing in three Test matches and spent the majority of…
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1972
1973
1974
German politician, German Federal Minister of Family Affairs
Manuela Schwesig is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party serving as Minister President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern since 4 July 2017, becoming the first woman to serve in that post. Previously she served as…
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1974
Brazilian footballer and manager
Ricardo Luis Pozzi Rodrigues, better known as Ricardinho, is a Brazilian football manager and retired footballer.
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1976
Sammarinese footballer and manager
Andy Selva is a Sammarinese former footballer who is currently the manager of Campionato Sammarinese club Cosmos. During his playing career he played as a forward and captained the San Marino national team, finishing…
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1976
British actor, director and writer
Richard Ayoade is a British comedian, actor, writer, director, and presenter. He played the role of socially awkward IT technician Maurice Moss in Channel 4 sitcom The IT Crowd (2006–2013), for which he won the 2014…
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1977
Russian figure skater
Ilya Alexandrovich Kulik is a Russian figure skater. He is the 1998 Olympic Champion, the 1995 European Champion, the 1997–1998 Grand Prix Final champion, and the 1995 World Junior champion.
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1977
American drummer
Scott William Raynor Jr. is an American former musician best known as a founding member and the original drummer of the band Blink-182. Born in Poway, California, Raynor first approached the drums in his preteens; he…
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1978
American basketball player (died 2018)
Rasual Butler was an American professional basketball player. In his 14-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career, he played for the Miami Heat, New Orleans Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago Bulls, Toronto…
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1979
Canadian ice hockey player
Brian Wesley Campbell is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played for the Buffalo Sabres, San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks and Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He won the…
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1979
Greek footballer
Theofanis Gekas is a Greek professional football official, coach and former player who played as a striker.
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1980
American actor, comedian and writer
Christopher Paul Gethard ( GETH-ərd; born May 23, 1980) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He was the host of The Chris Gethard Show, a talk show based in New York City, which aired from 2011 to 2018. He hosts…
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1980
1980
American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
Tim Robinson is an American comedian, actor, and screenwriter. He first became known as a writer and performer on Saturday Night Live (2012–2016) before gaining wider recognition as the co-creator, co-writer, and star…
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1981
Belgian-Italian footballer
Silvestro "Silvio" Proto is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
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1983
Portuguese footballer
Hugo Miguel Pereira de Almeida is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a centre-forward, currently a manager.
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1984
Uruguayan footballer
Sebastián Bruno Fernández Miglierina is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a forward for Danubio.
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1985
Russian tennis player
Teymuraz Besikovich Gabashvili is a Russian-Georgian former professional tennis player. He has a career-high singles ranking of World No. 43 achieved on 1 February 2016. He has reached the fourth round of the 2010 and…
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1985
1985
Scottish footballer
Ross Wallace is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a winger. He played for Celtic, Sunderland, Preston North End, Burnley, Sheffield Wednesday, Fleetwood Town, and once played in a full…
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1985
American film director and screenwriter
Ryan Kyle Coogler is an American filmmaker. His accolades include an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, a Golden Globe Award, four Black Reel Awards, and ten NAACP Image Awards.
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1986
Russian-Azerbaijani figure skater
Alexei Alexandrovich Sitnikov is a former competitive ice dancer. Competing for Azerbaijan with Julia Zlobina, he is the 2013 Golden Spin of Zagreb champion, 2013 Volvo Open Cup champion, 2012 Nebelhorn Trophy silver…
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1986
Australian swimmer
Alice Mary Tait, is an Australian former swimmer who represented Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Olympics winning two relay gold medals and a bronze.
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1986
Australian footballer
Ruben Anton Zadkovich is an Australian football manager and former player and former head coach of Broadmeadow Magic, Hills United, Perth Glory and Brisbane Roar. He played for six clubs in a career that spanned between…
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1986
Australian actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
Gracie Otto is an Australian film and television director.
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1987
American wrestler (died 2023)
Windham Lawrence Rotunda, better known by his ring name Bray Wyatt, was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures in WWE from 2009 to 2021 and again from 2022 until his death in 2023.
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1987
1988
Italian footballer
Obinze Angelo Ogbonna is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back. He is currently a free agent.
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1988
American golfer
Morgan Pressel is an American professional golfer and golf commentator who played on the LPGA Tour. In 2001, as a 12-year-old, she became the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open. She was the 2005…
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1988
Italian footballer
Ezequiel Matías Schelotto is an Argentine-Italian footballer who plays for FC Paradiso in the Swiss Promotion League. A versatile player on the right flank, he started his career as a winger and was later converted into…
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1989
1990
Slovak tennis player
Kristína Kučová is a former Slovak tennis player. On 12 September 2016, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 71. On 5 October 2009, she peaked at No. 168 in the WTA doubles rankings.
She won one singles…
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1990
Estonian volleyball player
Oliver Venno is an Estonian volleyball player currently playing for Kuwait SC of the Kuwaiti Volleyball League. He mostly plays at the opposite hitter position but has also played at the outside hitter position on…
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1990
American football player
Aaron Charles Donald is an American former professional football defensive tackle who played 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He spent his entire career playing for the St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams and…
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1991
German singer-songwriter
Lena Johanna Therese Meyer-Landrut, also known by the mononym Lena, is a German singer. She rose to fame after representing Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo, winning the event with the song…
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1991
Chilean footballer
César Ignacio Pinares Tamayo is a Chilean footballer who plays as a midfielder.
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1991
Brazilian politician
Laerte Leandro de Araújo Fernandes, better known as Laerte do Vando, is a Brazilian politician serving as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Bahia since 2019. He is the son of Vando.
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1992
German ski jumper
Katharina Schmid is a German ski jumper. She is a seven-time world champion, including one individual title and six team titles, as well as a two-time Olympic silver medalist, making her one of the most decorated…
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1996
Ghanaian footballer
Emmanuel Okyere Boateng is a Ghanaian footballer who plays as a striker for Israeli Premier League club Hapoel Tel Aviv and the Ghana national football team.
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1996
Romanian footballer
Răzvan Gabriel Marin is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Super League Greece club AEK Athens and the Romania national team.
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1996
Turkish footballer
Çağlar Söyüncü is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe and the Turkey national team.
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1996
Spanish footballer
Pedro Chirivella Burgos is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Greek Super League club Panathinaikos.
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1997
1997
English footballer
Maximilian William Kilman is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club West Ham United.
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1997
Swedish footballer
Håkan Gustaf Nilsson is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Belgian Pro League club Club Brugge and the Sweden national team.
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1997
New Zealand basketball player
Samuel Alexander William Timmins is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Southland Sharks of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He played college basketball for the Washington Huskies.…
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1997
Brazilian racing driver
Sérgio Santos Sette Câmara Filho is a Brazilian racing driver who currently competes in the 2025 European Le Mans Series with Nielsen Racing. He previously competed in Formula E, having previously raced for Dragon /…
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1998
Bahraini track and field sprinter
Salwa Eid Naser is a Nigerian-born Bahraini sprinter who specialises in the 400 meter race. She was the 2019 World champion, with the fifth-fastest time in history of 48.14 seconds, becoming the youngest-ever champion…
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1998
American soccer player
Lucas Daniel de la Torre is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer side Charlotte FC and the United States national team.
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1998
American internet personality
James Charles Dickinson is an American YouTuber and makeup artist. While working as a local makeup artist in his hometown of Bethlehem, New York, Charles started a YouTube channel, where he began uploading makeup…
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1999
American singer and songwriter
Trinidad Cardona is an American singer, songwriter and social media personality. He first went viral for his song "Jennifer" released in 2017. His single, "Dinero", peaked at 46 on the Billboard Global 200 after…
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1999
Georgian-American basketball player
Alexander "Sandro" Mamukelashvili is a Georgian-American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Seton Hall Pirates.
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1999
Brazilian-Italian racing driver
Felipe Drugovich Roncato is a Brazilian racing driver who competes in Formula E for Andretti.
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2000
Mexican footballer
Israel Reyes Romero is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a centre-back, right-back and defensive midfielder for Liga MX club América and the Mexico national team.
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2000
Welsh footballer
Brennan Price Johnson is a professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Premier League club Crystal Palace and the Wales national team.
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2001
Filipino tennis player
Alexandra Maniego Eala is a Filipino professional tennis player. She has a career-high WTA singles ranking of world No. 29, achieved on March 16, 2026, making her the highest-ranked Filipino in WTA Tour history. Eala is…
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2005
French footballer
Rayane Messi Tanfouri is a French footballer who plays as a left winger for Saudi Pro League club Neom, on loan from Strasbourg.
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2007
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Who was born on May 23?
Antonis Samaras — Prime Minister of Greece (2012–2015)
FeaturedAntonis Samaras
Birth year1951
Known forA member of the New Democracy party, he was its president from 2009 until 2015
Birthdays on this date218 (635 – 2007)
Explore May 23
Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.
Also on May 23 in History
2022
Anthony Albanese of the Australian Labor Party is sworn in as the 31st Prime Minister of Australia after winning the 2022 Australian federal election, ending 9 years of conservative rule. Wikipedia →
2021
A cable car falls from a mountain near Lake Maggiore in northern Italy, killing 14 people. Wikipedia →
2021
See all events on May 23
Ryanair Flight 4978 is forced to land by Belarusian authorities to detain dissident journalist Roman Protasevich. Wikipedia →
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