1779 – Stephen Decatur, American naval hero (War of 1812), born in Sinepuxent, Maryland (d. 1820)
1788 – Kaspar Ett, German organist and composer, born in Eresing, Germany (d. 1847)
1823 – William Rockstro, English musicologist and composer, born in Cheam, Sutton (d. 1895)
1829 – Sir Roger Tichborne, missing U.K. heir who was the subject of the longest criminal trial in British history (d. c.1854)
1935 – Nancy L. Johnson, American politician (Rep-R-CT, 1983- ), born in Chicago, Illinois
1938 – Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Kenyan writer, born in Kamirithu
1945 – Roger Spottiswoode, Canadian-British film director, born in Ottawa, Canada
1947 – Ted Lange, American actor (Isaac-Love Boat, Mr T and Tina), born in Oakland, California
1969 – Paul McGillion, Scottish actor, born in Paisley, United Kingdom
1971 – Mayuko Takata, Japanese actress, born in Tokyo, Japan
Category: Famous Birthdays
Famous Birthdays for 4th January 2020
1077 – Emperor Zhezong of Song Dynasty in China (d. 1100)
1809 – Louis Braille, French educator and inventor of a system of reading and writing for the blind, born in Coupvray, France (d. 1852)
1838 – Charles Stratton, [General Tom Thumb] (famous short person)
1901 – C. L. R. James, writer and journalist (d. 1989)
1916 – Lionel Newman, American film music composer (Peyton Place), born in New Haven, Connecticut (d. 1989)
1941 – John Bennett Perry, singer/actor (Falcon Crest), born in Williamstown, Massachusetts
1955 – Mark Hollis, British synth-pop musician (Talk Talk), born in London, England (d. 2019)
1970 – Colin Scrivener, CFL defensive tackle (Winnipeg Blue Bombers), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba
1972 – James Longley, American documentary filmmaker, born in Eugene, Oregon
1979 – Jeph Howard, American musician (The Used), born in Orem, Utah
Famous Birthdays for 3rd January 2020
1710 – Richard Gridley, American Revolutionary soldier (d. 1796)
1786 – [Johann Christian] Friedrich Schneider, German composer and conductor (d. 1853)
1806 – Henriette Sontag, German soprano (d. 1854)
1868 – Franz V M Cumont, Belgian religious historian
1944 – David Atherton, English conductor
1957 – Frank Dicopoulos, actor (Frank Cooper-Guiding Light), born in Akron, Ohio
1969 – Michael Schumacher, German auto racer (World F1 champion 1994-95, 2000-05), born in Hürth, Germany
1975 – Thomas Bangalter, French DJ (Daft Punk)
1988 – Rodrigo de la Cadena, Mexican artist and performer
2003 – Greta Thunberg, Swedish climate change activist, born in Stockholm, Sweden
Famous Birthdays for 2nd January 2020
1901 – Robert “Bob” Marshall, American forester, wilderness activist and co-founder of the Wilderness Society, born in NYC, New York (d. 1939)
1908 – Ben Grauer, American newscaster (Big Story), born in NYC, New York
1912 – Renato Guttuso, Italian painter (Flight from Etna, Crucifixion)
1912 – Andre Ameller, composer
1922 – Jason Evers, American actor (Wrangler, Channing), born in NYC, New York (d. 2005)
1928 – Tiberiu Olah, composer
1936 – Roger Miller, country singer (King of the Road, Dang Me), born in Fort Worth, Texas
1974 – Tomáš Řepka, Czech soccer defender (46 caps; Sparta Prague, Fiorentina, West Ham United), born in Slavičín, Czech Republic
1978 – Devin Doherty, actor (Jimmy Clayton-Swan’s Crossing)
1979 – Suranne Jones, British actress
Famous Birthdays for 1st January 2020
1800 – Sydney Nelson, composer
1894 – Shitsu Nakano, Japanese supercentenarian (d. 2007)
1895 – J. Edgar Hoover, first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (1924-72), born in Washington, D.C.
1943 – Raghunath Anant Mashelkar, Indian scientist
1946 – Carl B. Hamilton, Swedish economist and politician
1958 – Ren Woods, actress (Fanta-Roots), born in Portland, Oregon
1969 – Christi Paul, American news anchor
1970 – Brian Morton, Wollongong Australia, canoeist (Olympics 1996)
1977 – Hasan Salihamidžić, Bosnian soccer utility (42 caps; Bayern Munich, 234 games, sporting director), born in Jablanica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
1978 – Nina Bott, German actress
Famous Birthdays for 31st December 2019
695 – Muhammad bin Qasim, Umayyad general, born in Ta’if, Saudi Arabia (d. 715)
1882 – Ben Jones, American horse trainer who trained 6 winners of the Kentucky Derby (Citation, Whirlaway), born in Parnell, Missouri (d. 1961)
1894 – Ernest John Moeran, English composer, born in London Borough of Hounslow, United Kingdom (d. 1950)
1912 – John Frost, British airborne officer, born in Pune, India (d. 1993)
1929 – Sidney Greenbaum, British scholar, born in London, United Kingdom (d. 1996)
1949 – Sara K. [Sara Katherine Wooldridge], American musician (Gypsy Alley), born in Dallas, Texas
1959 – Alfie Anido, Filipino actor, born in Calamba, Laguna, Philippines (d. 1981)
1964 – Liz Masakayan, Filipino WPVA volleyball player (Best of Beach-3rd-1994), born in Quezon City, Philippines
1978 – Papoose [Shamele Mackie], American rapper, born in Brooklyn, New York
1979 – Elaine Cassidy, Irish actress, born in Raheny, Republic of Ireland
Famous Birthdays for 30th December 2019
1775 – Heinrich Carl Ebell, German composer, born in Neu-Rippon, Germany (d. 1824)
1884 – Karl Heinrich David, composer
1895 – August De Boodt, Belgian politician
1934 – Joseph Bologna, American actor (Citizen Cohn, My Favorite Year), born in Brooklyn, New York
1948 – Surinder Amarnath, cricketer (son of Lala 124 on debut v NZ 1976)
1961 – Ben Johnson, Canadian athlete (Olympic 100m gold 1988-disqualified), born in Falmouth, Jamaica
1963 – Chandler Burr, American author, born in Chicago, Illinois
1978 – Zbigniew Robert Promiński, Polish drummer
1986 – Ellie Goulding, English singer and songwriter (Lights, Anything Could Happen), born in Hereford, England
1988 – Leon Jackson, Scottish singer
Famous Birthdays for 29th December 2019
1913 – Laurence Gower, English lawyer and academic, born in Forest Gate, London (d. 1997)
1938 – Jon Voight, American actor (Deliverance, Midnight Cowboy), born in Yonkers, New York
1951 – Yvonne Elliman, American actress and singer (I Don’t Know How to Love Him), born in Honolulu, Hawaii
1953 – Kate Schmidt, American javelin thrower (Olympic bronze 1972), born in Long Beach, California
1970 – Aled Jones, Welsh singer, born in Bangor, United Kingdom
1970 – Glen Phillips, American musician (Toad The Wet Sprocket), born in Santa Barbara, California
1974 – Brad Hodge, Australian cricketer (promising Victorian middle-order batsman), born in Sandringham, Australia
1979 – Mitsuhiro Ishida, Japanese mixed-martial arts fighter, born in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
1989 – Kei Nishikori, Japanese tennis player (11 singles titles, only Japanese player ranked in top 10), born in Matsue, Japan
1996 – Minatozaki Sana, Japanese singer (Twice), born in Osaka, Japan
Famous Birthdays for 28th December 2019
1164 – Emperor Rokujō of Japan (d. 1176)
1801 – James Barnes, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1869)
1887 – Charles Dingle, American actor (The Little Foxes), born in Wabash, Indiana (d. 1956)
1902 – Shen Congwen, Chinese writer (Long River), born in Zhen’gan, Hunan Province (d. 1988)
1919 – Inocenti Carreno, composer
1934 – John Akers, American business executive (IBM)
1941 – Don Francisco, Spanish variety show host (Sabado Gigante)
1943 – Bobby Comstock, rocker
1964 – Charles Sinek, American ice dancer (and Beata Handra-1997 Pac Coast Sr 3rd), born in Wilmington, North Carolina
1982 – Cedric Benson, American football player, born in Midland, Texas
Famous Birthdays for 27th December 2019
1715 – Philippe de Noailles, duc de Mouchy, French soldier (d. 1794)
1748 – William Marshall, Scottish fiddle composer ( strathspeys The Marchioness of Huntly), born in Fochabers, Scotland (d. 1833)
1755 – Antons Klemens Theodor, king of Saksen (1827-36)
1800 – John Goss, English organist and composer (Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven), (d. 1880)
1910 – Jack Massey, groundsman
1943 – Cokie Roberts, American pioneering newscaster (ABC, NPR), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 2019)
1955 – Barbara Olson, American political commentator (d. 2001)
1965 – Salman Khan, Indian actor (Bajrangi Bhaijaan), born in Indore, India
1966 – Wendy Coakley-Thompson, American writer
1971 – Duncan Ferguson, Scottish footballer