Category: Famous Birthdays

1790 – George Everest, Welsh surveyor and namesake of Mt. Everest, born in Gwernvale, Brecknockshire, Wales (d. 1866)
1826 – Stephen Foster, American composer (Oh! Susanna; Swanee River; Beautiful Dreamer), born in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania (d. 1864)
1885 – Lucy Diggs Slowe, American educator (Dean of Women, Howard University, 1922-37), tennis champion (American Tennis Association, 1917), and sorority co-founder (Alpha Kappa Alpha, 1908), born in Berryville, Virginia (d. 1937)
1909 – Madeleine Barot, French activist and theologian, born in Châteauroux, France (d. 1995)
1910 – (William Thomas) “Champion Jack” Dupree, American boxer, blues and boogie-woogie pianist, singer-songwriter (Walkin’ The Blues), and WWII P.O.W., born in Irish Channel, New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1992)
1910 – Robert K. Merton, American sociologist (functionalism, self-fulfilling prophecy) and criminologist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2003)
1948 – René Arnoux, French formula-1 racer (6th place-1980), born in Pontcharra, Isère, France
1951 – Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, American Democratic politician and Lieutenant Governor of Maryland (1995-2003), born in Greenwich, Connecticut
1962 – Pam Shriver, American tennis star (1991 US Open doubles/Olympic gold 1988), born in Baltimore, Maryland
1976 – Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer, born in Saitama, Japan (d. 2003)

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1850 – Alfredo Keil, Portuguese composer, born in Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal (d. 1907)
1909 – Stavros Niarchos, Greek shipping magnate (Those Fabulous Greeks), born in Athens, Greece (d. 1996)
1909 – Earl Butz, 18th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1971-76), born in Albion, Indiana (d. 2008)
1913 – Hugh Stirling Mackenzie, British Royal Navy officer, born in Inverness, Scotland (d. 1996)
1944 – Paul Young, Scottish actor (Another Time Another Place), born in Edinburgh, Scotland
1945 – Michael Martin, British politician and Speaker of the House of Commons (2000-09), born in Glasgow (d. 2018)
1949 – Jan Smithers, American actress (WKRP in Cincinnati – “Bailey”), born in Hollywood, California
1964 – Peyton Reed, American film director (Yes Man; Ant-Man), born in Raleigh, North Carolina
1970 – Serhiy Gonchar, Ukrainian road cyclist (UCI World C’ships gold Time Trial 2000), born in Rivne, Ukraine
1970 – Benedict Wong, English actor (Wong in Marvel films), born in Eccles, England

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1820 – George Law Curry, American newspaper publisher and Governor of Oregon, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1878)
1900 – Tyrone Guthrie, British actor, producer, writer and director, born in Tunbridge Wells, England (d. 1971)
1915 – Bert Decorte, Flemish poet, born in Retie, Flanders, Belgium (d. 2009)
1927 – Ruth Berghaus, German choreographer and opera director, born in Dresden, Germany (d. 1996)
1937 – Dee [David] Palmer, English keyboard player and composer (Jethro Tull, 1972-80), born in Hendon, London
1955 – Kevin Michael Grace, Canadian journalist, born in Toronto, Ontario
1968 – Mark Tewksbury, Canadian swimmer (Olympic gold 100m backstroke 1992), born in Calgary, Alberta
1975 – Éric Dazé, Canadian NHL left wing (Chicago Blackhawks; NHL All Star MVP 2002), born in Montreal, Quebec
1981 – Angel Pagán, Puerto Rican baseball player
1991 – Burna Boy [Damini Ogulu], Nigerian singer-songwriter (African Giant), born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

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1560 – Charles III de Croÿ, Prince of Chimay and Duke of Aarschot, born in Beaumont, Hainaut (d. 1612)
1858 – Willard Metcalf, American painter known chiefly for his Impressionist landscape work, and instructor, born in Lowell, Massachusetts (d. 1925)
1922 – Don Whitmire, American College Football Hall of Fame tackle (Alabama, Navy – All American at both), born in Giles County, Tennessee (d. 1991)
1940 – John Gould, British songwriter and composer for musical theater, born in Newquay, England
1940 – Craig Brown, Scottish soccer wing half (Rangers, Dundee, Falkirk) and manager (Scotland 1993-2001; Preston NE, Motherwell, Aberdeen), born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 2023)
1943 – Jeff Wayne, American-British musician and composer, born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York
1950 – David Duke, American white nationalist politician and K.K.K. member, born in Tulsa, Oklahoma
1952 – Leon “Ndugu” Chancler, American pop, funk and jazz session and touring drummer, (Michael Jackson – “Billie Jean”; George Duke; Herbie Hancock), composer, and producer, born in Shreveport, Louisiana (d. 2018)
1991 – Michael Wacha, American baseball pitcher (NLCS MVP 2013; MLB All Star 2015 St. Louis Cardinals), born in Iowa City, Iowa
2003 – Tate McRae, Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer (You Broke Me First), born in Calgary, Alberta

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1879 – Walter Hampden, American actor (Five Fingers, Hunchback of Notre Dame), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1955)
1908 – Monica Maurice, industrialist and Managing Director and Chairman of the Wolf Safety Lamp Company, Sheffield, born in Hucknall, England (d. 1995)
1930 – Mac Benson, Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame trainer, born in Wilmington, Delaware
1930 – Joyce Wieland, Canadian experimental filmmaker and conceptual artist (1st women to have a retrospective at the Canadian National Gallery), born in Toronto, Canada (d. 1998)
1936 – Tony Musante, American actor (David Toma-Toma, Nowhere to Hide), born in Bridgeport, Connecticut (d. 2013)
1939 – Lindembergue Cardoso, Brazilian composer, and music educator (Brazilian Contemporary Music Ensemble), born in Livramento de Nossa Senhora, Bahia, Brazil (d. 1989)
1954 – Bryn Burrows, British rock drummer (Fabulous Poodles – “Mirror Star”), born in England
1967 – Sheila Hudson, American triple jumper (US record 1992), born in Wurzburg, Germany
1982 – Andy Knowles, British musician (Franz Ferdinand), born in Bolton, England
1988 – Joe Mazzulla, American basketball coach (NBA C’ship 2024 Boston Celtics), born in Johnston, Rhode Island

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1864 – Pietro Bonfante, Italian lawyer (Roman law) and historian, born in Poggio Mirteto, Italy (d. 1932)
1897 – Ottmar Gerster, German composer (rector of the Liszt Music Academy in Weimar), born in Braunfels, Germany (d. 1969)
1900 – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French writer, poet and pioneering aviator (The Little Prince), born in Lyon, France (d. 1944)
1912 – John Toland, American political writer (Rising Sun, Pulitzer 1971), born in La Crosse, Wisconsin (d. 2004)
1929 – Paul Webb, American college basketball coach (Randolph–Macon College 1956-75, Old Dominion University 1975-85), born in Petersburg, Virginia (d. 2023)
1929 – Pete George, American weightlifter (Olympic gold middle-heavyweight 1952, silver 1948, 56), born in Akron, Ohio (d. 2021)
1940 – Nancy Ramey, American swimmer (WR 100m butterfly 1:09.1 1959; 200m butterfly 2:40.5 1958; Olympic silver 100m butterfly 1956), born in Seattle, Washington
1942 – Mike Willesee, Australian television presenter (This Day Tonight), born in Perth, Australia (d. 2019)
1973 – George Hincapie, American road cyclist (Olympics-76th-92, 96), born in Queens, New York
1981 – Joe Johnson, American basketball player, born in Little Rock, Arkansas

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1847 – Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson, Icelandic composer (Lofsöngur – National Anthem of Iceland), born in Seltjarnarnes, Iceland (d. 1927)
1883 – Pierre Laval, Prime Minister of France (1931-32 and 1935-36) and Head of Vichy France (1942-44), born in Châteldon, France (d. 1945)
1891 – Esther Forbes, American novelist (Johnny Tremain), born in Westborough, Massachusetts (d. 1968)
1906 – Safford Cape, American-Belgian conductor, composer and music historian, born in Denver, Colorado (d. 1973)
1924 – Henk van Stipriaan, Dutch journalist and VARA radio host, born in Hamburg (d. 1989)
1939 – Klaus Schmiegel, German-American chemist (invented Prozac), born in Chemnitz, Germany
1946 – David Duckham, English rugby union outside back (36 Tests England, 3 British and Irish Lions; Coventry RFC), born in Coventry, England (d. 2023)
1956 – Noel Mugavin, Australian rules football player, born in Koroit, Victoria
1971 – Bobby Hurley, American basketball guard (Sacramento Kings) and coach (Uni of Buffalo, Arizona State Uni), born in Jersey City, New Jersey
1973 – Adrian Annus, Hungarian athlete, born in Szeged, Hungary

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1850 – Lafcadio Hearn, American author (Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan), born in Leucas, Greece (d. 1904)
1882 – Eduard Spranger, German psychologist and educator, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1963)
1916 – Robert Normann, Norwegian jazz guitar pioneer, accordionist, and composer, born in Borge, Østfold, Norway (d. 1998)
1922 – Herbert Ziergiebel, German writer, born in Nordhorn, Germany (d. 1988)
1931 – Ryszard Kwiatkowski, Polish composer (Polyphonic Music), born in Jaranów, Włocławek, Poland (d. 1993)
1951 – Sidney M. Gutierrez, Mjr USAF and NASA astronaut (STS 40, 59), born in Albuquerque, New Mexico
1958 – Lisa Germano, American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (Geek the Girl), born in Mishawaka, Indiana
1975 – Porter Collins, American rower (World C’ship gold 1995 M4+, 1998-99 M8+), born in New York City
1976 – Leigh Nash, American pop singer and songwriter (Sixpence None The Richer -“Kiss Me”), born in New Braunfels, Texas
1984 – Khloé Kardashian, American reality television star (Keeping Up with the Kardashians), born in Los Angeles, California

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1817 – Branwell Brontë [Patrick Branwell Brontë], English painter and writer and brother of the writers Charlotte, Emily and Anne, born in Thornton, West Yorkshire, England (d. 1848)
1821 – Bartolomé Mitre [Martínez], Argentine general, author, statesman and President (1862-1868), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 1906)
1902 – Hugues Cuénod, Swiss tenor and musical educator, born in Corseaux-sur-Vevey, Switzerland (d. 2010)
1922 – Eleanor Parker, American actress (Caged, Detective Story, Hans Brinker), born in Cedarville, Ohio (d. 2013)
1923 – Barbara Graham, American criminal convicted of murder, born in Oakland, California (d. 1955)
1923 – David Haslam, British rear admiral (hydrographer), born in Derby, England (d. 2009)
1934 – Dave Grusin, American jazz pianist and Academy and Grammy Award-winning composer specializing in film scores (The Milagro Beanfield War; Ishtar), born in Littleton, Colorado
1937 – Bob Thompson, African-American painter, born in Louisville, Kentucky (d. 1966)
1938 – Gene Gaines, American Canadian Football HOF defensive back (CFL All Star 1965, 66, 67; Grey Cup 1968, 69 Ottawa Rough Riders, 1970, 74 Montreal Alouettes), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2023)
1951 – Gary Gilmour, Australian cricket all-rounder (15 Tests, 54 wickets, HS 101; NSWCA), born in Waratah, Australia (d. 2014)

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1897 – Hans Barth, German-born American composer, born in Leipzig, Germany (d. 1956)
1912 – Virginia Lacy Jones, American librarian and presidential advisor, born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1984)
1936 – B. J. Habibie, 3rd President of Indonesia (1998-99) who liberalized Indonesia’s press and political party laws, born in Parepare, South Sulawesi, Dutch East Indies (d. 2019)
1943 – Gerrit “Ger” Zijlstra, Dutch sculptor, born in Utrecht, Netherlands
1945 – Labi Siffre, British singer-songwriter and poet (It Must Be Love), born in Hammersmith, London, England
1951 – Lee Wilkof, American stage and screen character actor (WEB; Delta House; Hart to Hart; Max Headroom), born in Canton, Ohio
1954 – John C. Kimmel, American horse trainer, born in East Orange, New Jersey
1970 – Ariel Gore, American journalist and author, born in Carmel, California
1974 – Vernon Crawford, American football linebacker (New England Patriots), born in Texas City, Texas
1975 – Chenoa [María Laura Corradini Falomir], Argentine-Spanish singer (Atrévete), born in Mar del Plata, Argentina

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