1664 – Lars Roberg, Swedish physician (d. 1742)
1759 – Maria Rosa Coccia, Italian composer from the age of 13 and harpsichordist, born in Rome (d. 1833)
1797 – Wilhelm Beer, German amateur astronomer (constructed 1st Moon map), born in Berlin (d. 1850)
1896 – Everett Dirksen, American politician (Sen-R-Ill) (d. 1969)
1905 – Sterling Holloway, American actor (The Jungle Book, Alice in Wonderland, The Aristocats, Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree), born in Cedartown, Georgia (d. 1992)
1929 – Amitai W Etzioni, US sociologist (Active Society)
1935 – Kenneth Money, Canadian scientist and CAF astronaut (STS 42-alt), born in Toronto, Ontario
1945 – Vesa-Matti Loiri, Finnish entertainer
1960 – April Winchell, American actress
1965 – Guy Forget, French tennis player (ATP Tour Finals 1990; France Davis Cup 1991, 96; Fed Cup/Davis Cup captain; Director French Open), born in Casablanca, Morocco
Category: Famous Birthdays
Famous Birthdays for 3rd January 2024
1803 – Douglas William Jerrold, English writer, playwright and wit (Punch Mag), born in London, England (d. 1857)
1845 – Annibal Napoleão dos Santos, Portuguese pianist, composer, and pedagogue, born in Porto, Portugal (d. 1880)
1882 – Willem Benoy, Flemish actor and director (Pygmalion), born in Antwerpen, Flanders, Belgium (d. 1939)
1893 – Pierre Drieu La Rochelle, French novelist and essayist (Gilles), born in Paris, France (d. 1945)
1900 – Maurice Jaubert, French composer, born in Nice (d. 1940)
1920 – Siegfried Buback, German Federal Prosecutor, born in Wilsdruff, Saxony, Germany (d. 1977)
1922 – Morten Nielsen, Danish poet and resistance fighter, born in Ålborg, Denmark (d. 1944)
1932 – Anatoli Petrovich Kuklin, Russian cosmonaut
1932 – Dabney Coleman, American Emmy Award-winning character actor (Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman – “Mayor Jeeter”; 9 to 5; Buffalo Bill; Boardwalk Empire), born in Austin, Texas
1966 – Chetan Sharma, Indian cricket fast bowler (23 Tests, 61 wickets; 65 ODI), born in Ludhiana, Punjab, India
Famous Birthdays for 2nd January 2024
1699 – Osman III, sultan of Turkey (1754-57), born in Edirne Palace, Edirne (d. 1757)
1870 – Tex Rickard, American boxing promoter and entrepreneur (founder NHL New York Rangers; builder third incarnation of Madison Square Garden, NYC), born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 1929)
1893 – Lillian Leitzel, German acrobat and strongwoman (d. 1931)
1944 – Péter Eötvös, Hungarian composer, conductor and teacher (“Chinese Opera”), born in Székelyudvarhely, Transylvania, Hungary (now Romania)
1954 – Cynthia Sikes, American actress (Flamingo Road; St Elsewhere), born in Coffeyville, Kansas
1963 – Edgar Martínez, American Baseball HOF third baseman and DH (7 × MLB All-Star; 5 × Silver Slugger Award; AL batting champion 1992, 95; Seattle Mariners), born in NYC, New York
1968 – Anky van Grunsven, Dutch equestrian rider (Olympic gold dressage 2000, 04, 08; World C’ship gold 1994, 2006), born in Erp, Netherlands
1969 – Christy Turlington, American model (Calvin Klein Eternity), born in San Francisco, California
1975 – Reuben Thorne, New Zealand rugby union flanker and captain (50 caps; captain 2002-03; Canterbury Crusaders), born in Christchurch, New Zealand
1975 – Doug Robb, American singer (Hoobastank – “The Reason”), born in Agoura Hills, California
Famous Birthdays for 1st January 2024
1648 – Elkanah Settle, English writer (d. 1724)
1767 – Maria Edgeworth, Anglo-Irish novelist (d. 1849)
1873 – Mariano Azuela, Mexican novelist (The Flies, The Bosses), born in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco (d. 1952)
1896 – Teinosuke Kinugasa, Japanese actor and director (Gate of Hell, A Page of Madness, Jujiro, Jigoku-mon), born in Mie Ken, Japan (d. 1982)
1900 – Chiune Sugihara, Japanese diplomat (d. 1986)
1906 – Giovanni D’Anzi, Italian pianist and songwriter (“Malinconia d’amore”), born in Milan, Italy (d. 1974)
1956 – Andy Gill, British guitarist and record producer (Gang of Four – “Damaged Goods”), born in Manchester, England (d. 2020)
1966 – Rawley Valberde, American actor (Amado-Santa Barbara), born in Oceanside, California
1976 – Georgina Chapman, British fashion designer and actress (Project Runway: All-Stars), born in Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom
1998 – Marlene Lawston, American child actress
Famous Birthdays for 31st December 2023
1857 – Michael “King” Kelly, American Baseball HOF utility (NL batting champion 1884, 86; NL runs scored 1884–86, Chicago White Sox) and manager (Boston Beaneaters, Reds; Cincinnati KKs), born in Troy, NY (d. 1894)
1874 – Ernest Austin, English composer, born in Poplar, London (d. 1947)
1878 – Elizabeth Arden, Canadian businesswoman, born in Woodbridge, Ontario (d. 1966)
1931 – Gil Mellé, American jazz saxophonist and composer, born in New York City (d. 2004)
1932 – Xavier Chamorro Cardenal, Nicaraguan journalist and newspaper editor (La Prensa; El Nuevo Diario), born in Granada, Nicaragua, (d. 2008)
1933 – Fred F. Carter Jr., American country session guitarist, singer, producer and composer (Nashville’s “A-Team”), born in Winnsboro, Louisiana (d. 2010)
1939 – Willye White, American athlete (Olympic silver long jump 1956, 4x100m relay 1964; Sports Illustrated 100 greatest women athletes of 20th century), born in Money, Mississippi (d. 2007)
1939 – Hugh Lewin, South African anti-apartheid activist and writer (Bandiet: Seven Years in a South African Prison), born in Lydenburg, South Africa (d. 2019)
1940 – Oleg Anatolyevich Yakovlev, Russian cosmonaut, born in Leningrad
1977 – Psy [Park Jae-sang], South Korean pop star (Gangnam Style), born in Seoul, South Korea
Famous Birthdays for 30th December 2023
1859 – Josef Bohuslav Foerster, Czech composer, born in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia (now Czech Republic) (d. 1951)
1884 – Karl Heinrich David, Swiss composer, born in St. Gallen, Switzerland (d. 1951)
1913 – Svend Simon Schultz, Danish composer and choral director (Danish Radio Choir, 1949-79), born in Nykøbing Falster, Denmark (d. 1998)
1937 – (Noel) Paul Stookey, American singer, songwriter and musician (Peter, Paul, and Mary – “The Wedding Song (There Is Love)”), born in Baltimore, Maryland
1942 – Robert Quine, American rock guitarist (Lou Reed; Matthew Sweet; John Zorn), born in Akron, Ohio (d. 2004)
1947 – Janet Mills, American lawyer and politician, first female Governor of Maine (2018-), born in Farmington, Maine
1950 – Dave Stewart, English keyboardist (Hatfield and the North; National Health), born in London, England
1953 – Bill Kazmaier, American powerlifter
1976 – A.J. Pierzynski, American baseball player
1983 – Rachel and Ross Trudeau, twins of Jane Pauley and Gerry Trudeau
Famous Birthdays for 29th December 2023
1831 – Adam Badeau, American author, Union Army officer, and diplomat, born in NYC, New York (d. 1895)
1843 – Elisabeth of Wied [pseudonym Carmen Sylva], Queen consort of Romania and poet, born in Neuwied, Germany (d. 1916)
1880 – Jean-Fernand Vaubourgoin, French composer (Ophellia), born in Bordeaux, France (d. 1952)
1934 – Benny Dees, American college basketball coach (U of New Orleans; U of Wyoming; Western Carolina Uni), born in Mount Vernon, Georgia (d. 2021)
1938 – Jon Voight, American actor (Deliverance, Midnight Cowboy), born in Yonkers, New York
1962 – Carles Puigdemont [i Casamajó], Catalan politician and nationalist (President of Catalonia, 2016-17), born in Amer, Catalonia, Spain
1964 – Craig Grebeck, American baseball infielder (Florida Marlins), born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania
1967 – Lilly [formerly Andy] Wachowski, American film director (Matrix trilogy), born in Chicago, Illinois
1969 – Jennifer Ehle, American actress, born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
1973 – Theo Epstein, American baseball executive and President of Baseball Operations, born in NYC, New York
Famous Birthdays for 28th December 2023
1778 – Franciszek Ksawery Drucki-Lubecki, Polish politician (d. 1846)
1826 – Conrad Busken Huet, Dutch vicar and writer (Country of Rubens) (d. 1886)
1845 – Homer Newton Bartlett, American pianist, organist and composer, born in Olive, New York (d. 1920)
1899 – Eugeniusz Bodo [Bohdan Eugène Junod], Polish film director, producer and comedic actor, born in Geneva, Switzerland (d. 1943)
1915 – Roebuck “Pops” Staples, American gospel singer (The Staple Singers), born in Winona, Mississippi (d. 2000)
1916 – Nelly Adamson Landry, French tennis player (French C’ships 1948), born in Bruges, Belgium (d. 2010)
1947 – Aurelio Rodriguez, baseball player
1954 – Tony Rosato, Canadian comedian (SCTV, Saturday Night Live), born in Naples, Italy (d. 2017)
1956 – Kenneth Gant, American funk bassist and vocalist (Midnight Star – “No Parking On The Dance Floor”; “Operator”), record producer, and real estate agent, born in the USA
1972 – Kevin Stitt, American politician, Governor of Oklahoma (2019-), born in Milton, Florida
Famous Birthdays for 27th December 2023
1801 – Guillaume Louis Baud, Dutch politician (Minister of Colonies 1848-49) (d. 1891)
1832 – Pavel Tretyakov, Russian businessman and patron of art, born in Moscow (d. 1897)
1899 – Paul Costello, American double sculls rower (Olympic gold 1920, 24, 28), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1986)
1924 – James A. McClure, American politician (R-Sen-Idaho), born in Payette, Idaho (d. 2011)
1947 – Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, Danish businessman (CEO of Lego Group, 1979-2004), born in Billund, Denmark
1952 – Craig Reynolds, American baseball shortstop (MLB All Star 1978-79; Seattle Mariners; Houston Astros), born in Houston, Texas
1955 – Brad Murphey, Australian racing driver
1962 – Bill Self, American basketball coach
1985 – Tivon Pennicott, Jamaican-American jazz saxophonist (Celery Juice), born in Marietta, Georgia
1990 – Luis Trujillo, Peruvian Football Player
Famous Birthdays for 26th December 2023
1912 – Arsenio Lacson, Filipino journalist and politician (Mayor of Manila, 1952-62), born in Talisay, Philippines (d. 1962)
1926 – Earle Brown, American composer (open form), born in Lunenburg, Massachusetts (d. 2002)
1933 – Caroll Spinney, American puppeteer behind Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street (1969-2018), born in Waltham, Massachusetts (d. 2019)
1935 – Noel Kelehan, Irish pianist, conductor (RTÉ Concert Orchestra), and arranger (Eurovision; U2), born in Dublin (d. 2012)
1939 – [Harvey] Phil Spector, American record producer (Wall of Sound), and convicted murderer, born in The Bronx, New York (d. 2021)
1942 – Alain Plantefol, French rugby union second rower (11 Tests; Racing CF, SU Agen), born in Colombes, France (d. 2022)
1949 – José Ramos-Horta, President of East Timor, Nobel laureate
1964 – Jeff King, American baseball infielder (Pittsburgh Pirates), born in Marion, Indiana
1966 – Tim Legler, NBA guard (Washington Wizards/Bullets), born in Washington, D.C.
1973 – Ryan Berube, American 800m freestyle relay (Olympic gold 1996), born in Tequesta, Florida