1469 – Giovanni della Robbia, Italian Renaissance sculptor (The Resurrection of Christ, Ospedale del Ceppo at Pistoia), born in Florence, Republic of Florence (d. c. 1529)
1857 – John Jacob Abel, American pharmacologist (endocrine glands), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1938)
1861 – Nellie Melba [Helen Mitchell], Australian operatic soprano and face of the Australian 100 dollar note, born in Richmond, Victoria, Australia (d. 1931)
1913 – Sanjiva Reddy, Indian politician, sixth President of India (1977-82), born in Illur, British India (d. 1996)
1926 – Swami Kriyananda [J. Donald Walters], American Hindu guru, yoga teacher, and author, born in Teleajen, Romania (d. 2013)
1940 – Carlos Diegues, Brazilian film director and screenwriter (Xica), born in Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
1946 – Michele Placido, Italian actor (La Lupa, La Piovra), born in Ascoli Satriano, Italy
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)
1948 – Jean-Pierre Haigneré, French cosmonaut and first non-Russian flight engineer on a Soyuz flight (Soyuz TM-29), born in Paris, France
1975 – Masanobu Ando, Japanese actor (Kids Return, Battle Royale), born in Kanagawa, Japan
Category: Famous Birthdays
Famous Birthdays for 18th May 2025
1851 – James Budd, American politician, Governor of California (1895-99), born in Janesville, Wisconsin (d. 1908)
1869 – Ruprecht, crown prince of Bavaria and WWI Commander of the 6th army, last heir to the Bavarian throne, born in Munich (d. 1955)
1923 – Liam Sullivan, American singer and actor (Star Trek, The Magic Sword, Monroes), born in Jacksonville, Illinois (d. 1998)
1930 – Don Lind, American USN Commander, and pilot, and NASA astronaut (STS-51-B), born in Midvale, Utah (d. 2022)
1930 – Warren Rudman, American politician (Sen-R-NH, 1980-93), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2012)
1941 – Malcolm Longair, British physicist (Jacksonian chair at Cavendish Laboratory), born in Dundee, Scotland
1944 – Peter Ryan, British police officer and first non-Australian Commissioner of the NSW Police, Australia, born in Lancaster, England
1955 – Chow Yun-fat, Hong Kong actor (Better Tomorrow), born in Lamma Island, British Hong Kong
1960 – Tyka Nelson, American RandB singer (“Marc Anthony’s Tune”), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 2024)
1983 – Vince Young, American football player, born in Houston, Texas
Famous Birthdays for 17th May 2025
1551 – Martin Delrio, Flemish theologian and occultist, born in Antwerp (d. 1608)
1794 – Anna Brownell Jameson, Anglo-Irish historian and writer (Loves of the Poets), born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 1860)
1911 – Maureen O’Sullivan, Irish actress (Tarzan, Pride and Prejudice, Hannah and Her Sisters), born in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland (d. 1998)
1932 – Peter Burge, Australian cricket batsman (42 Tests, 4 x 100, HS 181; Queensland CA), born in Brisbane, Australia (d. 2001)
1936 – Dennis Hopper, American actor and director (True Grit, Blue Velvet, Easy Rider), born in Dodge City, Kansas (d. 2010)
1949 – Andrew Latimer, English musician (Camel), born in Guildford, England
1953 – George Johnson, American funk and RandB guitarist and vocalist (Brothers Johnson), born in Los Angeles, California
1964 – Menno Oosting, Dutch tennis player (7 ATP doubles titles), born in Son en Breugel, Netherlands (d. 1999)
1973 – Sasha Alexander, American television actress (Rizzoli and Isles, NCIS), born in Los Angeles, California
1995 – Hannah Dodd, English actress (Bridgerton), born in Colchester, England
Famous Birthdays for 16th May 2025
1824 – Edmund Kirby Smith, American military officer (Confederate Army General), born in St Augustine, Florida (d. 1893)
1940 – Sir Gareth Gwyn Roberts, Welsh physicist (semiconductors and molecular electronics) and president of the Institute of Physics, born in Penmaenmawr, North Wales (d. 2007)
1948 – Jimmy Franklin, American aerobatics pilot, born in Lovington, New Mexico (d. 2005)
1951 – Jonathan Richman, American rock singer-songwriter (Modern Lovers – “Road Runner”), born in Natick, Massachusetts
1965 – Krist Novoselic, American rock bassist, and accordion player (Nirvana – “Smells Like Teen Spirit”; Giants In The Trees), born in Compton, California
1966 – Janet Jackson, American pop singer (Control, “Nasty”), sister of Michael, born in Gary, Indiana
1970 – Gabriela Sabatini, Argentine tennis player (US Open 1990), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
1977 – Dolcenera [Emanuela Trane], Italian singer-songwriter, born in Galatina, Italy
1982 – Łukasz Kubot, Polish tennis player
1984 – Rick Rypien, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Alberta, Canada (d. 2011)
Famous Birthdays for 15th May 2025
1817 – Debendranath Tagore, Indian philosopher of the Bengal Renaissance, religious reformer and founder of the Brahmo religion, born in Calcutta, British India (d. 1905)
1873 – Nikolay Tcherepnin, Russian composer of ballets, born in St Petersburg, Russia (d. 1945)
1892 – Jimmy Wilde, Welsh boxer (Flyweight World Champion, 1916-23), referee, and columnist (News of the World), born in Quakers Yard, Wales (d. 1969)
1911 – Leo Fuchs, Polish-born Jewish American actor (The Six Million Dollar Man, Avalon), born in Lemberg, Galicia, Austria-Hungary (d. 1994)
1925 – Andrei Yakoulevich Eshpai, Soviet composer, born in Kozmodemyansk, Mari Autonomous Region, Soviet Union (d. 2015)
1926 – Peter Shaffer, English playwright (Equus, Amadeus), twin brother to Anthony, born in Liverpool (d. 2016)
1935 – (Bruce) “Utah” Phillips, American folk singer-songwriter (“Green Rolling Hills”; “The Goodnight-Loving Trail”) storyteller, poet, and labor organizer, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2008)
1969 – Emmitt Smith, American College/Pro Football HOF running back (Uni of Florida; Super Bowl 1992, 93 [MVP], 95; NFL MVP 1993; 3 x NFL rushing leader; Dallas Cowboys), born in Pensacola, Florida
1969 – Assala [Nasri], Syrian-Bahraini Middle Eastern and Arabic pop singer (“Ma Aaaraftik”), born in Damascus, Syria
1975 – Shiney Ahuja, Indian Bollywood actor, born in New Delhi, India
Famous Birthdays for 14th May 2025
1781 – Friedrich von Raumer, German historian, travel writer (Italy and the Italians) and politician, born in Wörlitz (d. 1873)
1846 – Pieter Cort van de Linden, Dutch politician (Prime Minister of Netherlands 1913-18), born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1935)
1907 – Mohammed Ayub Khan, Pakistani general and politician (1958 coup, President of Pakistan 1958-69), born in Rehana, British India (d. 1974)
1932 – Richard Estes, American artist and photorealist painter (Telephone Booths), born in Kewanee, Illinois
1952 – Donald R McMonagle, Mjr USAF/astronaut (STS 39, 54, 66), born in Flint, Michigan
1960 – Anne Clark, British poet and avant garde recording artist, born in Croydon, Surrey, England
1978 – Brent Harvey, Australian footballer
1982 – Ai Shibata, Japanese swimmer (Olympic gold 800m freestyle 2004), born in Dazaifu, Japan
1984 – Gary Ablett Jr, Australian Rules Football midfielder (Brownlow Medal 2009, 13; 8-time All Australian; Geelong, Gold Coast), born in Moriac, Victoria
1988 – Nadine Sierra, American opera singer (Lucia di Lammermoor), born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Famous Birthdays for 13th May 2025
1735 – Horace Coignet, French violinist, singer, and composer, born in Lyon, France (d. 1821)
1795 – Gérard-Paul Deshayes, French geologist, known for his research on Cenozoic marine fossil molluscs of the Paris Basin, born in Nancy, France (d. 1875)
1903 – Paul Page, American actor (Girl From Havana, Moth), born in Birmingham, Alabama (d. 1974)
1904 – Earle Birney, Canadian poet and novelist who twice won the Governor General’s Award, born in Calgary, Northwest Territories (d. 1995)
1925 – Russ Savakus, American jazz, folk, and rock session bassist and violinist, born in Reading, Pennsylvania (d. 1984)
1931 – Eileen Diss, British theatrical designer (August, Secret Places, Betrayal), born in London, England
1933 – Stig Gustav Schonberg, Swedish composer and organist, born in Västra Husby, Sweden
1966 – Alison Goldfrapp, English singer-songwriter (Seventh Tree), born in London
1974 – Brian Geraghty, American actor (Broadwalk Empire, Big Sky), born in Toms River, New Jersey
1980 – Mau Marcelo, Filipina-American soul and RandB singer, born in Lucena, Philippines
Famous Birthdays for 12th May 2025
1855 – Anatoly Lyadov, Russian composer (From the Apocalypse; Bewitched Lake), conductor, and pedagogue (St. Petersburg Conservatory, 1878-1914), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1914)
1933 – Andrey Voznesensky, Russian poet, born in Moscow, Soviet Union (d. 2010)
1936 – David Snell, British jazz harpist and conductor, born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England
1936 – Klaus Doldinger, German jazz saxophonist (Passport) and composer for film, born in Berlin, Germany
1941 – Anthony Newman, American harpsichordist and organist (Bhajeb), born in Los Angeles, California
1946 – Leonard Baichan, West Indian cricketer (WI opener, 103 v Pakistan on debut 1975), born in Rose Hall, British Guiana
1955 – Kix Brooks, American country music singer (Brooks and Dunn – “Brand New Man”), born in Shreveport, Louisiana
1959 – Ving Rhames [Irving Rameses Rhames], American actor (Mission Impossible), born in New York City
1972 – Jason Kyle, NFL linebacker (Seattle Seahawks), born in Tempe, Arizona
1995 – Luke Benward, American actor, born in Franklin, Tennessee
Famous Birthdays for 11th May 2025
1854 – Jack Blackham, Australian cricket wicketkeeper (35 Tests, 4 x 50s, 61 dismissals; Victoria CA), born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 1932)
1875 – Harriet Quimby, American pioneering aviator, 1st woman in the US to receive a pilot certificate and to cross the English Channel, born in Arcadia, Michigan (d. 1912)
1881 – Jan van Gilse, Dutch composer (Frau Helga von Staveren; Thijl), conductor, and anti-Nazi resistance fighter, born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1944)
1894 – Anton Mussert, Dutch fascist (co-founded the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands), born in Werkendam, Netherlands (d. 1946)
1906 – Jacqueline Cochran, US pilot and 1st woman to break the sound barrier, born in Muscogee, Florida (d. 1980)
1924 – Jackie Milburn, English soccer striker (13 caps; Newcastle United 353 games), born in Ashington, England (d. 1988)
1952 – Shohreh Aghdashloo [Shohreh Vaziri-Tabar], Iranian actress (House of Sand and Fog, The Stoning of Soraya M.), born in Tehran, Iran
1977 – Victor Matfield, South African rugby union footballer
1978 – Richard Spencer, American white supremacist, born in Boston, Massachusetts
1987 – Justin King, American football player
Famous Birthdays for 10th May 2025
1783 – Nicola Benvenuti, Italian composer, born in Pisa, Grand Duchy of Tuscany (d. 1867)
1887 – (Jacobus) “J.C.” Bloem, Dutch poet (Sintels – Embers), born in 1887, Oudshoorn, South Holland, Netherlands (d. 1966)
1902 – David O Selznick, American Academy Award-winning producer (Gone With The Wind; Rebecca), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1965)
1919 – Ella Grasso, American politician (1st woman governor not a widow/spouse of a previous governor, Governor of Connecticut (D) 1975-80), born in Windsor Locks, Connecticut (d. 1981)
1940 – Bill Cash, British politician (C), born in London
1951 – Steve Gunderson, American politician (Rep-R-WI, 1981-97), born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin
1960 – Tauseef Ahmed, Pakistani cricketer (leading Pakistani off-spinner of 80’s), born in Karachi, Pakistan
1969 – John Scalzi, American science fiction writer (Old Man’s War, Redshirts), born in Fairfield, California
1972 – Emma Ridley, American actress (Return to Oz, Boy Meets World), born in Hampstead, England
1991 – Kenny Beats [Blume], American hip-hop record producer and songwriter, born in Greenwich, Connecticut