1773 – Hans Georg Nägeli, Swiss composer, born in Wetzikon, Switzerland (d. 1836)
1867 – Mary of Teck, Queen of Great Britain and consort of George V, born in Kensington Palace, London (d. 1953)
1895 – Paul Lukas, Hungarian actor (Watch on the Rhine, Sphynx), born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 1971)
1908 – Vera Van [Webster], American radio and dance band singer, born in Marion, Ohio (d. 2006)
1916 – Moondog [Louis Thomas Hardin], American composer, musician and poet, born in Marysville, Kansas (d. 1999)
1949 – Philip Michael Thomas, American actor (Miami Vice – “Tubbs”), born in Columbus, Ohio
1961 – Tarsem Singh, Indian commercial and film director (The Fall, Dear Jassi), born in Jalandhar, India
1966 – Helena Bonham Carter, British actress (Harry Potter, Fight Club, The King’s Speech, Enid, The Wings of the Dove), born in London, England
1979 – Elisabeth Harnois, American actress (CSI), born in Detroit, Michigan
1981 – Irini Merkouri, Greek-Romani pop and laïka singer, born in Ilion, Greece
Category: Famous Birthdays
Famous Birthdays for 25th May 2026
1725 – Samuel Ward, American politician (31st and 33rd Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations), born in Newport, Rhode Island (d. 1776)
1921 – (Catherine) “Kitty” Kallen, American big band (Harry James, Jimmy Dorsey, Jack Teagarden) and pop singer (“Little Things Mean A Lot”; “My Coloring Book”), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2016)
1942 – Brian “Blinky” Davison, British rock drummer (The Nice), born in Leicester, England (d. 2008)
1958 – Dorothy Straight, American 4-year-old author (How the World Began), born in Washington, D.C.
1964 – David Shaw, Canadian NHL defenseman, 1982-98 (Quebec Nordiques, New York Rangers, and 4 other teams), born in St. Thomas, Ontario
1968 – Nathalie Schneyder, American synchronized swimmer (Olympic gold 1996), born in San Francisco, California
1970 – Heather Simmons-Carrasco, American synchronized swimmer (Olympic alt-96), born in Mountain View, California
1973 – Molly Sims, American model and actress (Las Vegas, Yes Man), born in Murray, Kentucky
1973 – Daz Dillinger [Delmar Drew Arnaud], American hip-hop performer, born in Long Beach, California
1985 – Luciana Abreu, Portuguese singer and actress (Floribella), born in Massarelos, Porto, Portugal
Famous Birthdays for 24th May 2026
1689 – Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea and 3rd Earl of Nottingham, English politician, born in England (d. 1769)
1925 – Pedro Gonzales-Gonzalez, American actor (Rio Bravo), born in Aguilares, Texas (d. 2006)
1941 – Patricia Hollis, Baroness Hollis of Heigham, English Labour politician, born in Plympton, Plymouth (d. 2018)
1947 – Cynthia Plaster Caster [Cynthia Albritton], American artist who made plaster casts of celebrity penises and breasts, born in Chicago, Illinois
1950 – Jo Ann Washam, American golfer (3 LPGA Tour titles), born in Auburn, Washington
1954 – Mitch Kupchak, American NBA executive (Charlotte Hornets) and power forward (Washington Bullets, Los Angeles Lakers; 3x NBA champion, 1976 Olympic gold medalist), born in Brentwood, New York
1964 – Elizabeth McColgan, British running star (world record 5 km indoor), born in Dundee, Scotland
1973 – Ruslana [Lyzhychko], Ukrainian pop singer and songwriter, born in Lviv, Ukrainian SSR, USSR
1974 – Will Sasso, Canadian-American actor and comedian (The Three Stooges 2012), born in Ladner, British Columbia, Canada
1994 – Emma McKeon, Australian swimmer (Olympic gold 50/100m freestyle, 4×100 medley relay 2020; 4x100m free relay 2016, 20, 24), born in Wollongong, Australia
Famous Birthdays for 23rd May 2026
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
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