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
Category: Famous Birthdays
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
Famous Birthdays for 13th May 2026
1655 – Innocent XIII [Michelangiolo dei Conti], Italian 244th Pope (1721-24) tried to introduce frugal measures and end nepotism, born in Poli, Papal States (d. 1724)
1883 – Georgios Papanicolaou, Greek-American doctor, cytopathologist, and inventor of the Pap smear, born in Kymi, Greece (d. 1962)
1901 – Witold Pilecki, Polish WWII resistance fighter (volunteered to go to Auschwitz, Witold’s Report), born in Olonets, Russian Empire (d. 1948)
1931 – Eileen Diss, British theatrical designer (August, Secret Places, Betrayal), born in London (d. 2024)
1940 – Richard Brooks, American soul singer (Impressions, 1958-62 – “Gypsy Woman”), and songwriter (“For Your Precious Love”), born in Chattanooga, Tennessee (d. 2023)
1944 – Betsy Finley Ashton, American broadcast journalist, author and lecturer, born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
1959 – Paul Pesco, Eurasian American session guitarist, singer-songwriter and record producer, born in Canandaigua, New York
1962 – Sean McDonough, American sports newscaster
1964 – Tom Verica, American actor, director and producer (How to Get Away with Murder, Bridgerton), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1965 – Chris Washburn, American NBA player, born in Hickory, North Carolina
Famous Birthdays for 12th May 2026
1753 – Giovanni Battista Viotti, Italian violonist and composer, born in Fontanetto Po, Savoia, Kingdom of Sardinia (d. 1824)
1921 – (Otis W.) “Joe” Maphis, American session and country music guitarist (“Dim Lights”), born in Suffolk, Virginia (d. 1986)
1922 – Barend Busnac, Dutch office clerk and resistance fighter, born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1944)
1923 – Ewart Abner, American record company executive (President of Motown, manager of Stevie Wonder), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1997)
1924 – Tony Hancock, English comedian and actor (Hancock’s Half Hour), born in Birmingham, England (d. 1968)
1935 – Gary Peacock, American jazz bassist (Keith Jarrett Trio), born in Burley, Idaho (d. 2020)
1942 – Barry Longyear, American sci-fi author (City of Baraboo), born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
1961 – Thomas Dooley, American soccer midfielder (81 caps; FC Homburg, 1. FC Kaiserslautern), born in Bechhofen, Germany
1963 – Vanessa Williams, American actress (Soul Food, Murder One, Melrose Place – “Rhonda Blair”;), born in Brooklyn, New York [not Miss America]
1969 – Kim Fields Freeman, American actress (The Facts of Life – “Tootie”), born in Los Angeles, California
Famous Birthdays for 11th May 2026
1871 – Frank Schlesinger, American astronomer and director of the Yale University Observatory (1920-41), born in New York City (d. 1943)
1882 – Joseph Marx, Austrian composer and music critic, born in Graz, Austria (d. 1964)
1909 – Herbert Murrill, British organist, composer (The Song of the Birds; Carillon), and educator (Royal Academy of Music, 1933-52), born in London, England (d. 1952)
1918 – Richard Feynman, American theoretical physicist known for his work on quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics (1965 Nobel), born in Queens, New York (d. 1988)
1934 – Jim. Jeffords, American politician (Senator-R+I-Vermont 1989-2007, Rep-R-VT, 1975-89), born in Rutland, Vermont (d. 2014)
1943 – Nancy Greene Raine OC OBC OD, Canadian alpine skier (Olympic gold giant slalom 1968; World C’ship gold giant slalom, combined 1968) and senator (BC), born in Ottawa, Ontario
1963 – Mark Breland, American welterweight boxer (Olympic gold 1984), born in Brooklyn, New York
1967 – Eric Young, infielder (Colorado Rockies), born in New Brunswick, New Jersey
1979 – Laphonza Butler, American politician (Senator-D-California 2023-), born in Magnolia, Mississippi
1988 – Marek Pospieszalski, Polish avant-garde jazz saxophonist and composer, born in Częstochowa, Poland
Famous Birthdays for 10th May 2026
1824 – Charles Henry Van Wyck, American politician and Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Poughkeepsie, New York (d. 1895)
1885 – Fritz von Unruh, German expressionist playwright (Jurgen Wullenweber, Zero), born in Koblenz, Germany (d. 1970)
1912 – Edward Gardner, British barrister and Conservative Party politician (British Nationality Act 1981), born in Preston, Lancashire, England (d. 2001)
1930 – George E. Smith, American physicist and co-inventor of the charge-coupled device who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics (2009), born in White Plain, New York (d. 2025)
1932 – Ian Leslie, 21st Earl of Rothes, Scottish nobleman (House of Lords, 1974-99), born in Chelsea, England (d. 2005)
1940 – Arthur Alexander, American singer-songwriter (“Lonely Just Like Me”), whose songs were covered by The Beatles (“Anna”), The Rolling Stones (“You Better Move On”), and Bob Dylan (“Sally Sue Brown”), born in Sheffield, Alabama (d. 1993)
1942 – Carl Douglas, Jamaican-British singer (“Kung Fu Fighting”), born in Kingston, Jamaica
1956 – Vladislav Listyev, Russian television anchor and journalist, born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1995)
1958 – Rick Santorum, American politician (Rep-R-Penn 1995-2007), born in Winchester, Virginia
1977 – Amanda Borden, American gymnast (World silver 1994, Olympic gold 1996), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
Famous Birthdays for 9th May 2026
1771 – Antoine-Charles Glachant, French violinist, composer, and artillery commander, born in Paris, France (d. 1851)
1901 – John Forest “Fuzzy” Knight, American actor (Oklahoma Annie, Cowby and the Lady), born in Fairmont, West Virginia (d. 1976)
1924 – Connie Russell, American singer (Club Embassy; Garroway at Large), born in New York City (d. 1990)
1934 – Robert Heide [Heitke], American author and playwright (The Bed, West of the Moon), born in Irvington, New Jersey (d. 2025)
1965 – Ken Nomura, Japanese auto racer (D1 Grand Prix 2006, 08 runner-up), born in Fukuoka, Japan
1975 – Brian Deegan, American freestyle motocross cyclist, born in Omaha, Nebraska
1979 – Pierre Bouvier, Canadian singer and bass player (Simple Plan – “Perfect”; “Welcome To My Life”), born in Montreal, Quebec
1985 – Jake Long, American football player
1985 – Kyle Marvin, American actor and screenwriter (Splitsville, The Climb), born in Portland, Oregon
1989 – C418 [Daniel Rosenfeld], German ambient musician, and video game and soundtrack composer (Minecraft; Beyond Stranger Things), born in Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany (now Chemnitz, Germany)
Famous Birthdays for 8th May 2026
1641 – Nicolaas Witsen, Dutch statesman and mayor of Amsterdam, born in Amsterdam (d. 1717)
1829 – Louis Moreau Gottschalk, American pianist and composer, born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1869)
1895 – Joselito [José Gómez Ortega], Spanish matador (bullfighter) prodigy, born in Gelves, Spain (d. 1920)
1902 – Andre Michel Lwoff, French physiologist (1965 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries of genetic control of enzyme and virus synthesis), born in Ainay-le-Château, France (d. 1994)
1920 – Sloan Wilson, American novelist (“The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit”; “A Summer Place”), born in Norwalk, Connecticut (d. 2003)
1935 – Lucius Cary, 15th Viscount Falkland, British peer (Lib-Dem), born in UK
1954 – John Michael Talbot, American contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter, and television host, born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1964 – Melissa Gilbert, American actress (Little House on the Prairie), born in Los Angeles, California
1978 – Matthew Davis, American actor (Legally Blonde, Vampire Diaries), born in Salt Lake City, Utah
1981 – John Maine, American baseball player (NY Mets), born in Fredericksburg, Virgini
Famous Birthdays for 7th May 2026
1840 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer of the late-Romantic period (1812 Overture; The Nutcracker; Swan Lake), born in Votkinsk, Russia (d. 1893)
1873 – Clarence Dickinson, American composer, born in Lafayette, Indiana (d. 1969)
1893 – Frank J. Selke, Canadian Hockey HOF executive (9 x Stanley Cup Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens), born in Berlin, Ontario (d. 1985)
1908 – Leo Sternbach, Polish-American chemist, created first benzodiazepines including valium, born in Abbazia, Austria-Hungary (d. 2005)
1917 – David Tomlinson, British actor (Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Helter Skelter), born in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England (d. 2000)
1935 – Kevin O’Connor, American actor (Bogie, Special Effects), born in Honolulu, Hawaii (d. 1991)
1935 – Isobel Warren, Canadian author and journalist (On the Go at 50 Plus), born in Canada
1938 – Johnny Caldwell, Irish flyweight boxer (Olympic bronze 1956), born in Belfast, Ireland (d. 2009)
1950 – Tim Russert, American television journalist and host of NBC’s Meet the Press, born in Buffalo, New York (d. 2008)
1951 – Bernie Marsden, English rock and blues guitarist and songwriter (Whitesnake – “Fool for Your Loving”; “Here I Go Again”), born in Buckingham, England (d. 2023)