1848 – Otto Lilienthal, German pioneer aviator who explored winged flight through gliders, born in Anklam, Province of Pomerania, Kingdom of Prussia (d. 1896)
1882 – James Gleason, American writer and actor (Bishop’s Wife, Flying Fool), born in New York City (d. 1959)
1901 – Edmund Rubbra, English composer (Morning Watch), born in Semilong, Northampton, England (d. 1986)
1910 – Franz Kline, American abstract expressionist painter, born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (d. 1962)
1930 – Friedrich Achleitner, Austrian architecture critic (Österreichische Architektur im 20. Jahrhundert), and poet, born in Schalchen, Austria (d. 2019)
1935 – Melvin Leipzig, American figurative painter (Joshua’s Tattoos, Francesca at the Door), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2025)
1951 – Antonis Samaras, Greek politician and Prime Minister (2012-15), born in Athens, Greece
1952 – James Mankey, American rock guitarist (Sparks, 1972-73; Concrete Blonde – “Joey”), born in Washington
1979 – Ivo Kahánek, Czech concert pianist, born in Frýdek-Místek, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic)
1982 – Tristan Prettyman, American singer-songwriter, born in Del Mar, California
Category: Famous Birthdays
Famous Birthdays for 22nd May 2026
1759 – Gervais-François Couperin, French organist and composer, born in Paris, France (d. 1826)
1891 – Johannes R. Becher, German writer and politician, born in Munich (d. 1958)
1900 – Yvonne de Gaulle (née Vendroux), wife of Charles de Gaulle, born in Calais, France (d. 1979)
1907 – Hergé [Georges Prosper Remi], Belgian comic book creator (The Adventures of Tintin), born in Etterbeek, Belgium (d. 1983)
1922 – Quinn Martin [Irwin Martin Cohn], American television producer (The Fugitive; Cannon; The Streets of San Francisco; Barnaby Jones), born in New York City (d. 1987)
1924 – Charles Aznavour [Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian], French-Armenian singer (Monsieur Carnavel; She; Tin Drum), born in Paris, France (d. 2018)
1942 – Barbara Parkins, Canadian-American actress (Betty-Peyton Place, Asylum), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
1967 – John Vanderslice, American rock musician and producer, born in Gainesville, Florida
1973 – Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Danish actor (“Department Q: The Keeper of Lost Causes”; “Riders of Justice”), born in Rødovre, Denmark
1979 – Maggie Q [Margaret Quigley], American actress (Mission Impossible III, Nikita), born in Honolulu, Hawaii
Famous Birthdays for 21st May 2026
1796 – Reverdy Johnson, American politician and jurist (Dred Scott v. Sandford), born in Annapolis, Maryland (d. 1876)
1873 – Hans Berger, German neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and inventor of electroencephalography (EEG), born in Neuses, German Empire (d. 1941)
1904 – Thomas “Fats” Waller, American jazz organist, piano player, singer and composer (“Ain’t Misbehavin'”; “Honeysuckle Rose”; “Hot Chocolate”), born in New York City (d. 1943)
1906 – Keith Rigg, Australian cricket batsman (8 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 127; Victoria), born in Melbourne, Victoria (d. 1995)
1910 – Marie-Rose Tessier, current oldest living French supercentenarian and 2nd oldest living person in the world (115 years), born in Beaurepaire, France
1912 – Monty Stratton, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1937 Chicago WS; played minor leagues with prosthetic leg; 1949 film The Stratton Story), born in Palacios, Texas (d. 1982)
1942 – Danny Ongais, American auto racer (inducted Motorsports Hall of Fame of America 2000), born in Kahului, Hawaii (d. 2022)
1951 – Al Franken, US politician (Senate-D-Minnesota 2009-18) comedian, writer, actor (SNL, 1975-80; 1985-90), born in New York City
1960 – Mark Carnevale, American golfer (PGA Tour Rookie of the Year 1992) and broadcaster (Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio), born in Annapolis, Maryland (d. 2024)
1979 – Scott Smith, mixed martial arts fighter, born in Reno, Nevada
Famous Birthdays for 20th May 2026
1537 – Hieronymus Fabricius Ab Aquapende Italian physician (De Formato Foetu), born in Aquapende, Italy (d. 1619)
1894 – Chandrashekarendra Saraswat [Swaminathan Shasthri], Indian Hindu sage and Jivanmukta, born in Villupuram, British India (d. 1994)
1899 – Estelle Taylor, American actress (The Ten Commandments), born in Wilmington, Delaware (d. 1958)
1902 – Hans Sahl, German American anti-Nazi Jewish writer, born in Dresden, Germany (d. 1993)
1904 – Margery Allingham, English detective writer (one of ‘four ‘Queens of Crime’), born in London, England (d. 1966)
1929 – André Carolus Cirino, Surinamese indigenous writer, born in Goede Hoop, Saramacca, Dutch Guiana (d. 2023)
1937 – Maria Teresa Horta, Portuguese writer and poet (New Portuguese Letters, My Lady of Me), born in Lisbon, Portugal (d. 2025)
1939 – María Luisa Ozaita, Spanish pianist, harpsichordist, musicologist, conductor, and composer (Pelleas y Melisanda), born in Baracaldo, Spain (d. 2017)
1954 – Robert Van de Walle, Belgian judoka (Olympic gold 1980, Olympic silver 1988), born in Ostend, Belgium
1981 – Iker Casillas, Spanish footballer
Famous Birthdays for 19th May 2026
1864 – Carl Akeley, American taxidermist and naturalist who developed the animal mount process and other techniques for museums, born in Clarendon, New York (d. 1926)
1868 – John Fillmore Hayford, American Geodesist who established the theory of isostasy and founded the modern science of geodesy (precise measurements of the shape of the earth), born in Rouses Point, New York (d. 1925)
1909 – Sir Nicholas Winton, British humanitarian (‘British Schindler’ – saved 669 children from Nazis), born in London (d. 2015)
1935 – Fritz Rudolf Fries, German writer, born in Bilbao, Spain (d. 2014)
1936 – Elisabeth Schwartz, Austrian pairs figure skater (Olympic gold 1956)
1942 – Frank Froehling, American tennis player (US C’ships 1963 runner-up; doubles, mixed doubles 1965 runner-up), born in Islamorada, Florida (d. 2020)
1946 – André the Giant, French pro wrestler (WWF World Heavyweight C’ship 1988; WWF World Tag Team C’ship [with Haku] 1989), born in Grenoble, France (d. 1993)
1949 – Archie Manning, American football quarterback (New Orleans Saints; 2 x Pro Bowl; Saints Hall of Fame), born in Drew, Mississippi
1965 – Joshua Beckett [Joshua Rifkind], American actor (Marshall Chronicles), born in Beverly Hills, California
1986 – Eric Lloyd, American actor (Charlie Calvin in the “Santa Clause” franchise), born in Glendale, California
Famous Birthdays for 18th May 2026
1662 – George Smalridge, British Bishop of Bristol (Sixty Sermons Preach’d on Several Occasions), born in Lichfield, England (d. 1719)
1862 – Albert von Schrenk-Notzing, German psychologist who studied paranormal phenomena, born in Oldenburg, Germany Confederation (d. 1929)
1889 – Thomas Midgley, American chemist and inventor (leaded gasoline), born in Beaver Fall, Pennsylvania (d. 1944)
1891 – Rudolf Carnap, German American philosopher (German Logical Positivist), born in Ronsdorf, Germany (d. 1970)
1931 – Don Martin, American cartoonist “Mad’s Maddest Artist”, born in Paterson, New Jersey (d. 2000)
1949 – Hugo Sotil, Peruvian soccer striker (62 caps; Deportivo Municipal, Barcelona, Alianza Lima), born in Ica, Peru (d. 2024)
1949 – Jim McNeely, American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger (Mel Lewis; Stan Getz; Phil Woods), and educator, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2025)
1951 – Mike Baird, American session drummer (Donna Summer; Rick Springfield; Eddie Money; Richard Marx; Kenny Rogers), born in South Gate, California
1957 – Michael Cretu, Romanian-German rocker (Enigma – “Sadeness, Part 1”), born in Bucharest, Romania
1992 – Adam Melchor, American singer-songwriter (Here Goes Nothing!), born in New Jersey
Famous Birthdays for 17th May 2026
1758 – John St Aubyn, British fossil collector, born in Golden Square, London (d. 1839)
1821 – Sebastian Kneipp, Bavarian priest and naturopathist (known for “Kneipp Cure” form of hydrotherapy), born in Stephansried, Germany (d. 1897)
1890 – Philip James, American composer, and conductor (New Jersey Symphony, 1922-29; Bamberger Little Symphony, 1929-36), and educator (NYU, 1934-56), born in Jersey City, New Jersey (d. 1975)
1911 – Lisa Fonssagrives, Swedish supermodel, born in Västra Götaland County, Sweden (d. 1992)
1931 – Marshall Applewhite, American cult leader (Heaven’s Gate), born in Spur, Texas (d. 1997)
1952 – Howard Hampton, Canadian politician, Attorney General (1990-93), and Ontario MMP (1999-2011), born in Fort Frances, Ontario
1962 – Steven Honigberg, American classical cellist (National Symphony Orchestra; Potomac String Quartet), born in Chicago, Illinois
1964 – Menno Oosting, Dutch tennis player (7 ATP doubles titles), born in Son en Breugel, Netherlands (d. 1999)
1972 – John Burrough, NFL defensive tackle (Atlanta Falcons)
1974 – Andrea Corr, Irish Celtic folk rock singer, pianist, ukulele player (The Corrs – “What Can I Do”), and actress, born in Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland
Famous Birthdays for 16th May 2026
1804 – Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, American educator, founder of first English-language kindergarten in the US, born in Billerica, Massachusetts (d. 1894)
1906 – Ernie McCormick, Australian cricket fast bowler (12 Tests, 36 wickets, BB 4/101; Victoria), born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 1991)
1916 – Ephraim Katzir, biophysicist and President of Israel (1973-78), born in Kiev, Russian Empire (d. 2009)
1935 – Jimmy LIndley, English jockey (2,000 Guineas 1963, 66; St Leger 1964) and broadcaster (BBC), born in Sutton-in-Ashfield, England (d. 2022)
1954 – Joseph Polchinski, American leading theoretical physicist (multiverse), born in White Plains, New York (d. 2018)
1975 – Tony Kakko, Finnish power metal singer-songwriter and keyboard player (Sonata Arctica), born in Kemi, Finland
1978 – Vincent Larusso, American actor (Mighty Ducks; D2; D3), born in Livingston, New Jersey
1980 – Michael Ryan, American ice hockey player and coach (Springfield Thunderbirds), born in Boston, Massachusetts
1985 – Anja Mittag, German soccer striker (158 caps; Turbine Potsdam, FC Rosengård; Olympic gold 2016), born in Chemnitz, Germany
1998 – Ariel Waller, Canadian child actress (Cinderella Man, Life with Derek), born in Toronto, Ontario
Famous Birthdays for 15th May 2026
1749 – Levi Lincoln, Sr., American revolutionary, statesman, politician, and Thomas Jefferson’s first attorney general, born in Massachusetts Bay, British America (d. 1820)
1862 – John Reeves Ellerman, British accountant, businessman, and shipping magnate, born in Kingston upon Hull, England (d. 1933)
1912 – Alexis Kagame, Rwandan philosopher, historian, poet and Tutsi intellectual and cultural leader, born in Kiyanza, Rwanda, German East Africa (d. 1981)
1942 – Doug Lowe, Australian politician (35th Premier of Tasmania, 1977-81), born in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
1951 – (Dennis) “Fergie” Frederiksen, American rock singerr (Toto, 1984-85), born in Grand Rapids, Michigan (d. 2014)
1953 – George Brett, American Baseball Hall of Fame third baseman (13 x MLB All Star; World Series 1985; AL MVP 1980; KC Royals), born in Glen Dale, West Virginia
1970 – Keith Tower, NBA center (LA Clippers)
1970 – Cory Philpot, CFL running back (BC Lions)
1982 – Alexandra Breckenridge, American actress (Virgin River, The Walking Dead, Family Guy), born in Bridgeport, Connecticut
1995 – Ksenia Sitnik, Belarusian pop singer, born in Mazyr, Belarus
Famous Birthdays for 14th May 2026
1752 – Albrecht Thaer, German agronomist and founder of modern scientific agriculture (Principles of Rational Agriculture), born in Celle, Electorate of Hanover (d. 1828)
1899 – Stelios Perpiniadis, Greek folk singer, songwriter and guitarist, born in Tinos, Greece (d. 1977)
1926 – Čestmír Gregor, Czech composer, born in Brno, Czechoslovakia (d. 2011)
1937 – Vic Flick, British studio guitarist (“James Bond Theme”; George Martin Orchestra; John Barry Seven), film score composer, and arranger, born in Worcester Park, Surrey, England (d. 2024)
1940 – William F. Murphy, Disgraced American Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church (Vicar General to Cardinal Bernard Law, 1993-2001), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2026)
1943 – Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, Icelandic politician (President of Iceland, 1996-2016; Minister of Finance, 1988-91), born in Ísafjörður, Iceland
1952 – Donald R McMonagle, Mjr USAF/astronaut (STS 39, 54, 66), born in Flint, Michigan
1960 – Carlyle Best, cricketer (WI batsman late 80’s)
1973 – Voshon Lenard, NBA guard (Miami Heat)
1983 – Tom Welham, British guitarist (Thirteen Senses; The Story), born in the UK