Did you know about Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Dostoevsky's most acclaimed novels include Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), Demons (1872), The Adolescent (1875) and The Brothers Karamazov (1880).
Famous Birthdays on November 11
November 11 has 231 recorded notable births across history, from 1050 to 2005. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
1821 — Fyodor Dostoevsky
Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, and philosopher (died 1881)
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Famous Birthdays
231 source records
1050 – 2005
Scorpio
Today in history
Major events on November 11
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1975 Australian constitutional crisis of 1975: Australian Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismisses the government of Gough Whitlam, appoints Malcolm Fraser as caretaker Prime Minister and announces a general election to be held in early December. Source
- 1831 In Jerusalem, Virginia, Nat Turner is hanged after inciting a violent slave uprising. Source
Did you know about Calista Flockhart
Calista Flockhart is also known for portraying Kitty Walker on Brothers & Sisters (2006–2011), Cat Grant on Supergirl (2015–2021), and as Lee Radziwill on Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (2024).
Did you know about Adam Beach
Most recently he has starred in Hostiles (2017) as Black Hawk and the Netflix original film Juanita (2019) as Jess Gardiner and Edward Nappo in Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog.
Did you know about Daniel Ortega
Daniel Ortega first came to power as the coordinator of the Junta of National Reconstruction from 1979 to 1985, and then served as president of Nicaragua from 1985 until 1990.
Did you know about Howard Fast
Several of Fast's novels have been adapted into movies and television series, most notably Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus (1960).
More major people born on November 11
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1964
Calista Flockhart
American actress
Calista Kay Flockhart is an American actress. She is best known for her role as the title character on the television series Ally McBeal (1997–2002), for which she received a Golden Globe Award in 1998 and was thrice nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She is also known for portraying Kitty Walker on Brothers & Sisters (2006–2011), Cat Grant on Supergirl (2015–2021), and as Lee Radziwill on Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (2024). In film, she is known for her performances in The Birdcage (1996), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999), and Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her (2000).
1972
Adam Beach
Canadian actor
Adam Rueben Beach is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles as Victor Joseph in Smoke Signals; Frank Fencepost in Dance Me Outside; Tommy on Walker, Texas Ranger; Kickin' Wing in Joe Dirt; US Marine Corporal Ira Hayes in Flags of Our Fathers; Private Ben Yahzee in Windtalkers; Dr. Charles Eastman (Ohiyesa) in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee; NYPD Detective Chester Lake in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; and Officer Jim Chee in the film adaptations of Skinwalkers, Coyote Waits and A Thief of Time. He starred in the Canadian 2012–2014 series Arctic Air and played Slipknot in the 2016 film Suicide Squad. He also performed as Squanto in Disney's historical drama film Squanto: A Warrior's Tale. Most recently he has starred in Hostiles (2017) as Black Hawk and the Netflix original film Juanita (2019) as Jess Gardiner and Edward Nappo in Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog.
1945
Daniel Ortega
Nicaraguan politician, President of Nicaragua
José Daniel Ortega Saavedra is a Nicaraguan politician, revolutionary, and former guerrilla fighter who, under various titles, has been the leader of Nicaragua since 2007 and previously from 1979 to 1990. He first came to power as the coordinator of the Junta of National Reconstruction from 1979 to 1985, and then served as president of Nicaragua from 1985 until 1990. He reassumed the presidency in 2007 and has served alongside his wife Rosario Murillo as co-president since February 2025. Ortega has been described as an authoritarian leader and has invited comparisons to Anastasio Somoza. Multiple media outlets and politicians in the international community have referred to him and his wife as dictators. In July 2026, Ortega declared an end to elections in Nicaragua.
1914
Howard Fast
American novelist and screenwriter (died 2003)
Howard Melvin Fast was an American author and television writer. Also writing under the pen names E.V. Cunningham, Behn Boruch, and Walter Ericson, his career spanned almost seven decades and several genres, including historical novels and noir. Fast mainly wrote novels, as well as short stories, poems, plays and non-fiction. Among his best known work are Spartacus (1951), April Morning (1961), and The Immigrants (1977). Several of Fast's novels have been adapted into movies and television series, most notably Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus (1960). A staunch communist early in his life, Fast was jailed in the 1950's after testifying before the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
1928
Carlos Fuentes
Mexican novelist and essayist (died 2012)
Carlos Fuentes Macías was a Mexican novelist, essayist and ambassador to France. Among his works are The Death of Artemio Cruz (1962), Aura (1962), Terra Nostra (1975), The Old Gringo (1985) and Christopher Unborn (1987). In his obituary, The New York Times described Fuentes as "one of the most admired writers in the Spanish-speaking world" and an important influence on the Latin American Boom, the "explosion of Latin American literature in the 1960s and '70s", while The Guardian called him "Mexico's most celebrated novelist". His many literary honors include the Miguel de Cervantes Prize as well as Mexico's highest award, the Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor (1999). He was often named as a likely candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature, though he never won.
1973
Jason White
American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Jason White is an American musician, best known for being the touring guitarist of the rock band Green Day, with whom he has performed since 1999. He has worked with the band in the studio and on tour, and has appeared in various music videos with the band, including "When I Come Around", "Wake Me Up When September Ends", "21 Guns", "Last of the American Girls", "Kill the DJ", "Nuclear Family", "Stay the Night", and "Dilemma". He joined the group in the studio as a session member for the band’s 2012 trilogy, ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré!. Aside from working with Green Day, White is a member of the punk band Pinhead Gunpowder, which also features Green Day vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong. White has also been a member of a number of Green Day side projects, including, among others, Foxboro Hot Tubs, the Network, and the Coverups.
1869
Gaetano Bresci
Italian anarchist assassin (died 1901)
Gaetano Bresci was an Italian anarchist who assassinated King Umberto I of Italy. His experience working as a young weaver led him to the conclusion that he had faced exploitation in the workplace, which attracted him to anarchism. Bresci emigrated to the United States, where he became involved with other Italian immigrant anarchists in Paterson, New Jersey. News of the Bava Beccaris massacre motivated him to return to Italy, where he planned to assassinate Umberto in response. Local police knew of his return but did not mobilize. Bresci killed the king in July 1900 during Umberto's scheduled appearance in Monza amid a sparse police presence.
1868
Édouard Vuillard
French painter and academic (died 1940)
Jean-Édouard Vuillard was a French painter, decorative artist, and printmaker. From 1891 through 1900, Vuillard was a member of the avant garde artistic group Les Nabis, creating paintings that assembled areas of pure color. His interior scenes, influenced by Japanese prints, explored the spatial effects of flattened planes of color, pattern, and form. As a decorative artist, Vuillard painted theater sets, panels for interior decoration, and designed plates and stained glass. After 1900, when the Nabis broke up, Vuillard adopted a more realistic style, approaching landscapes and interiors with greater detail and vivid colors. In the 1920s and 1930s, he painted portraits of figures in French industry and the arts in their familiar settings.
1898
René Clair
French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1981)
René Clair, born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker and writer. He first established his reputation in the 1920s as a director of silent films which often featured fantasy comedy themes. He went on to make some of the most innovative early sound films in France, before going abroad to work in the United Kingdom and the United States for more than a decade. Returning to France in the aftermath of World War II, he continued to make films that were characterised by their elegance and wit, often presenting a nostalgic view of French life in earlier years. He was elected to the Académie Française in 1960. Clair's best known films include Un chapeau de paille d'Italie, Sous les toits de Paris, Le Million (1931), À nous la liberté (1931), I Married a Witch (1942), and And Then There Were None (1945).
1914
Henry Wade
American soldier and lawyer (died 2001)
Henry Menasco Wade was an American lawyer who served as district attorney of Dallas County from 1951 to 1988. He participated in two notable U.S. court cases of the 20th century: the prosecution of Jack Ruby for killing Lee Harvey Oswald, and the U.S. Supreme Court case that held abortion was a constitutional right, Roe v. Wade. In addition, Wade was district attorney when Randall Dale Adams, the subject of the 1988 documentary film The Thin Blue Line, was wrongfully convicted in the murder of Robert Wood, a Dallas police officer. After his term and death, Wade was criticized for his corruption, ranging from wrongful convictions to attitudes and certain comments on race.
1912
Thomas C. Mann
American lawyer, politician, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to El Salvador (died 1999)
Thomas Clifton Mann was an American diplomat who specialized in Latin American affairs. He entered the U.S. Department of State in 1942 and quickly rose through the ranks to become an influential establishment figure. He worked to influence the internal affairs of numerous Latin American nations, typically focusing on economic and political influence rather than direct military intervention. After Lyndon B. Johnson became president in 1963, Mann received a double appointment and was recognized as the U.S. authority on Latin America. In March 1964, Mann outlined a policy of supporting regime change and promoting the economic interests of U.S. businesses. This policy, which moved away from the political centrism of Kennedy's Alliance for Progress, has been called the Mann Doctrine. Mann left the State Department in 1966 and became a spokesperson for the Automobile Manufacturer's Association.
1930
Mildred Dresselhaus
American physicist and academic (died 2017)
Mildred Spiewak Dresselhaus, known as the "Queen of Carbon Science", was an American physicist, materials scientist, and nanotechnologist. She was an Institute Professor and professor of both physics and electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She also served as the president of the American Physical Society, the chair of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as well as the director of science in the US Department of Energy under the Bill Clinton Government. Dresselhaus won numerous awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Science, the Enrico Fermi Award, the Kavli Prize and the Vannevar Bush Award.
1975
Daisuke Ohata
Japanese rugby player
Daisuke Ohata is a former Japanese rugby union player. He usually played on the wing, and sometimes at centre, for the Japanese national team. He made his name internationally as a speedy ace in the World Rugby Sevens Series, and went on to become a regular member of the national team. He first played for Japan on November 9, 1996, and scored three tries that day. He is the leading rugby union test try scorer of all time. In November 2016, Ohata was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame at the opening ceremony for the Hall's first physical location in Rugby, Warwickshire.
1899
Pat O'Brien
American actor (died 1983)
William Joseph Patrick O'Brien was an American film actor with more than 100 screen credits. Of Irish descent, he often played Irish and Irish-American characters and was referred to as "Hollywood's Irishman in Residence" in the press. One of the best-known screen actors of the 1930s and 1940s, he played priests, cops, military figures, pilots, and reporters. He is especially well-remembered for his roles in Knute Rockne, All American (1940), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), and Some Like It Hot (1959). He was frequently paired onscreen with Hollywood star and close friend James Cagney. O'Brien also appeared on stage and television.
1974
Jon B.
American singer-songwriter and producer
Jonathan David Buck is an American R&B singer, songwriter and record producer. His debut album Bonafide (1995) spawned the hit singles "Pretty Girl" and "Someone to Love", the latter of which reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated at the Grammys Awards for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. His second album Cool Relax (1997), was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Cool Relax included the hit singles "Are U Still Down" and "They Don't Know". His third album, Pleasures U Like (2001) reached the top ten on the Billboard 200 chart.
1976
Jason Grilli
American baseball player
Jason Michael Grilli is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Atlanta Braves, Toronto Blue Jays, and Texas Rangers. Taken as the fourth overall selection of the 1997 MLB draft by the San Francisco Giants, Grilli was one of the top starting pitcher prospects in all of Minor League Baseball, ranked 54th in 1998 and 44th in 1999. The Giants traded him to the Florida Marlins in 1999, for whom he debuted on May 11, 2000.
1579
Frans Snyders
Flemish painter (died 1657)
Frans Snyders or Frans Snijders was a Flemish painter of animals, hunting scenes, market scenes, and still lifes. A versatile artist, his works depict all sorts of foods, utensils, and tableware and wide assortment of animals. He was one of the earliest specialist animaliers and he is credited with initiating a wide variety of new still-life and animal subjects in Antwerp. His hunting scenes and still lifes engage the viewer with their dramatic and dynamic effects. He was a regular collaborator with leading Antwerp painters such as Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Jacob Jordaens, and Abraham Janssens.
1867
Shrimad Rajchandra
a Jain philosopher, spiritual mentor of Mahatma Gandhi (died 1901)
Shrimad Rajchandra, also known as Param Krupalu Dev, was a Jain poet, mystic, philosopher, scholar, and a major reformer from India. Born in Vavaniya, a village near Morbi, he attained recollection of his past lives at the age of seven. He performed Avadhāna, a memory retention and recollection test that gained him popularity, but he later discouraged it in favour of his spiritual pursuits. He wrote much philosophical poetry including Ātma-Siddhi-Śāśtra. He also wrote many letters and commentaries and translated some religious texts. He is known for his teachings on Jainism and his spiritual guidance to Mahatma Gandhi.
1869
Victor Emmanuel III of Italy (died 1947)
Victor Emmanuel III was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albanians from 1939 to 1943, following the Italian invasions of Ethiopia and Albania. During his reign of nearly 46 years, which began after the assassination of his father Umberto I, the Kingdom of Italy became involved in World War I and in World War II. His reign also encompassed the birth, rise, and fall of the Fascist regime.