1461 – Christina of Saxony, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1521)
1601 – Jose Ximenez, Spanish composer, born in Zaragoza (d. 1672)
1698 – Jacobus Houbraken, Dutch engraver and illustrator, born in Dordrecht, (d. 1789)
1891 – Clarrie Grimmett, Australian cricket spin bowler (37 Tests; 216 wickets @ 24.21; ICC Cricket Hall of Fame), born in Dunedin, New Zealand (d. 1980)
1900 – W L “Tich” Cornford, English cricket wicketkeeper (4 Tests, 8 dismissals; Sussex CCC), born in Hurst Green, England (d. 1964)
1909 – Louis van Lint, Belgian painter (post-war abstraction), born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 1986)
1971 – Terry Vaughn, American CFL receiver (1006 career receptions, 1st in CFL history to reach 1,000; Grey Cup 1998, 2003), born in Sumter, South Carolina
1982 – Shawn Andrews, American football offensive lineman (Pro Bowl 2006, 07; First-team All-Pro 2006; Philadelphia Eagles), born in Littleton, Massachusetts
1984 – Jessica Origliasso, Australian singer-songwriter and actress (The Veronicas), born in Albany Creek, Queensland, Australia
1985 – Perdita Weeks, British actress, born in Cardiff, United Kingdom
Category: Famous Birthdays
Famous Birthdays for 24th December 2023
1653 – Georg Motz, German composer, born in Augsburg, Germany (d. 1733)
1868 – Emanuel Lasker, German World Chess Champion (1894-21), born in Barlinek, Poland (d. 1941)
1911 – Malcolm MacEwen, Scottish conservationist and communist activist, born in Inverness, Scotland (d. 1996)
1921 – Bill Dudley, American College/Pro Football HOF halfback (Uni of Virginia; NFL MVP 1946; 4×First-team All-Pro; NFL rushing leader 1942, 46; Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins), born in Bluefield, Virginia (d. 2010)
1923 – Iron Mike DiBiase, American wrestler, born in NYC, New York (d. 1969)
1941 – John Levene, British actor, born in Salisbury, United Kingdom
1949 – Ray Colcord III, American film and television composer, born in NYC, New York (d. 2016)
1959 – Lee Daniels, American director (“Precious”, “Empire”), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1961 – Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan Republic, born in Baku, Azerbaijan
1975 – Natalie Ward, Australian softball shortstop/2nd baseman (Olympic bronze 1996)
Famous Birthdays for 23rd December 2023
1716 – Johann Heinrich Rolle, German composer, born in Quedlinburg (d. 1785)
1916 – Dino Risi, Italian film director and screenwriter (Scent of a Woman), born in Milan, Italy (d. 2008)
1918 – Kumar Pallana, Indian character actor and vaudevillian (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore), born in Indore, India (d. 2013)
1933 – Akihito, Emperor of Japan (1989-2019), born in Tokyo, Japan
1936 – James Stacy [Maurice William Elias], American actor (Lancer), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2016)
1945 – Ron Bushy, American rock drummer (Iron Butterfly – “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2021)
1949 – Luther Grosvenor, English rock musician (Spooky Tooth), born in Evesham, United Kingdom
1960 – William Sinnot, Scottish techno-dance pop singer and musician (Shamen – “Move Any Mountain”), born in Glasgow (d. 1990)
1971 – Steve Stenstrom, American football quarterback (Chicago Bears), born in Lake Forest, California
1980 – Cody Ross, American baseball player, born in Portales, New Mexico
Famous Birthdays for 22nd December 2023
1550 – Cesare Cremonini, Italian professor of natural philosophy, born in Cento, Papal States (now Italy) (d. 1631)
1907 – Peggy Ashcroft [Dame Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft], British actress (Dear Brutus, Happy Days), born in Croydon, Surrey, England (d. 1991)
1908 – Max Bill, Swiss architect and artist (Ruban Sans Fin), born in Winterthur, Switzerland (d. 1994)
1911 – Grote Reber, American radio astronomer (1st parabolic radio telescope), born in Wheaton, Illinois (d. 2002)
1932 – Phil Woosnam, Welsh soccer striker (Wales 17 caps; Leyton Orient, West Ham United, Aston Villa) and manager (USA 1968), born in Powys, Wales (d. 2013)
1957 – Susan Powter, Australian-born American motivational speaker, nutritionist, personal trainer, and author (The Susan Powter Show), born in Sydney, Australia
1967 – Dan Petrescu, Romanian football manager and professional football player, born in Bucharest, Romania
1970 – Ted Cruz [Rafael Edward], Canadian-born US politician (Senate-R-Texas 2013-), born in Calgary. Alberta
1971 – Pat Mastroianni, Canadian actor, born in Toronto, Ontario
1973 – Jamel Williams, American football safety (Washington Redskins), born in Gary, Indiana
Famous Birthdays for 21st December 2023
1804 – Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, British Prime Minister (Tory: 1868, 1874-80) and writer, born in London (d. 1881)
1898 – Ira S. Bowen, American physicist and astronomer (Mt Wilson/Palomar), born in Seneca Falls, New York (d. 1973)
1910 – Rosa Bouglione, French circus performer, born in Ixelles, Belgium (d. 2018)
1927 – Alex d’Arbeloff, Georgian-American entrepreneur who co-founded Teradyne, born in Paris, France (d. 200
1938 – Larry Bryggman, American actor (Dr John Dixon-As the World Turns), born in Concord, California
1943 – Albert Lee, English guitarist, born in Lingen, Herefordshire
1957 – John Geddert, American gymnastics coach (US head coach London Olympic Team 2012), born in Mt. Clemens, Michigan (d. 2021)
1964 – Keith Taylor, NFL safety (Washington Redskins), born in Pennsauken Township, New Jersey
1964 – Rob Kelly, English football manager, born in Birmingham, England
1968 – Khrystyne Haje, American actress (Simone-Head of the Class), born in Santa Clara, California
Famous Birthdays for 20th December 2023
1860 – Dan Leno [George Wild Galvin], English comedian and stage actor, born in Somers Town, London (d. 1904)
1871 – Henry Kimball Hadley, American composer and conductor, born in Somerville, Massachusetts (d. 1937)
1888 – Fred Merkle, American baseball figure, born in Watertown, Wisconsin (d. 1958)
1895 – Susanne Langer, American philosopher and educator (Philosophy in a New Key), born in Manhattan, New York City (d. 1985)
1932 – Neil Armstrong, Canadian ice hockey linesman (1,744 NHL games; Hockey Hall of Fame), born in Plympton, Ontario (d. 2020)
1933 – Jean Carnahan, US politician and writer (Missouri, Senator 2001–2002), born in Washington, D.C.
1946 – Dick Wolf, American television series creator (Miami Vice, Law and Order), born in NYC, New York
1950 – Don Heffington, American touring and session drummer, singer, songwriter and producer (Lone Justice; Watkins Family Hour; Emmylou Harris), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2021)
1963 – Karen Moncrieff, American actress (Xtro 3, Days of Our Lives), born in Sacramento, California
1973 – Muadianvita Kazadi, American football linebacker (St Louis Rams), born in Zaire
Famous Birthdays for 19th December 2023
1554 – Philip William, Prince of Orange (1584) and Knight of the Golden Fleece (1599), born in Buren, Gelderland (d. 1618)
1714 – John Winthrop, American astronomer (d. 1779)
1784 – Marcus Morton, 16th and 18th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1864)
1869 – Eduard Hermann, German linguist (Homer) Coburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (d. 1950)
1884 – Antonin Zapotocky, Czech communist politician (President of Czechoslovakia 1953-57), born in Zákolany, Kingdom of Bohemia (d. 1957)
1926 – Herb Stempel, American game show contestant
1934 – Pratibha Patil, 1st female President of India (2007-12) and Governor of Rajasthan (2004-07), born in Nadgaon, India
1944 – Mitchell Feigenbaum, American mathematical physicist
1947 – Janie Fricke, American country music singer (“It Ain’t Easy Bein’ Easy”), born in South Whitley, Indiana
1967 – Criss Angel [Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos], American magician and illusionist (Criss Angel Mindfreak), born in Hempstead, New York
Famous Birthdays for 18th December 2023
1734 – Jean-Baptiste Rey, French conductor (Paris Opera) and composer, born in Lauzerte, France (d. 1810)
1803 – William Allen, American politician (Rep, Governor of Ohio 1874-76), born in Edenton, North Carolina (d. 1879)
1835 – George Dashiell Bayard, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Seneca Falls, New York (d. 1862)
1867 – Antoon van Welie, Dutch painter, born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1956)
1870 – Saki [Hector Hugo Munro], British writer (Reginald; When William Came), born in Akyab, British Burma (d. 1916)
1906 – Kam Tong, Chinese American actor (Have Gun Will Travel, Across the Pacific, Flower Drum Song), born in San Francisco (d. 1969)
1931 – Alison Plowden, English historian (d. 2007)
1948 – Laurent Voulzy, French singer and composer, born in Paris, France
1950 – Leonard Maltin, American movie critic (Entertainment Tonight), born in NYC, New York
1964 – Robson Green, British actor (Soldier Soldier) and singer-songwriter (Robson and Jerome), born in Hexham, England
Famous Birthdays for 17th December 2023
1632 – Anthony Wood, English antiquarian, born in Oxford, England (d. 1695)
1820 – Frederick Tracy Dent, American General (Union Army), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 1892)
1874 – Mackenzie King, 10th Prime Minister of Canada (1921-30, and 1935-48), born in Berlin, Ontario (d. 1950)
1900 – Mary Cartwright, English mathematician, born in Aynho, United Kingdom (d. 1998)
1928 – Eli Beeding, Sherman, TX, Air Force Captain and rocket test pilot, (d. 2013)
1936 – Tommy Steele [Thomas Hicks], English pop singer, 1st British Rock and Roll star, born in London
1937 – Kerry Packer, Australian businessman (d. 2005)
1962 – Giulla Boschi, Italian actress (Act of Contrition, Bonus Malus)
1971 – Carl Reeves, NFL defensive end (Chicago Bears)
1974 – Sarah Paulson, American actress (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip; American Horror Story), born in Tampa, Florida
Famous Birthdays for 16th December 2023
1827 – Jean Abraham Oudemans, Dutch geographer and astronomer, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands, (d. 1906)
1882 – Walther Meissner, German physicist (Meissner effect), born in Berlin, German Empire (d. 1974)
1882 – Zoltán Kodály, Hungarian composer and ethno-musicologist, (Psalmus Hungaricus; Hary Janos), born in Kecskemét, Hungary (d. 1967)
1922 – Anthony Simmons, British writer and film director (The Optimists of Nine Elms), born in London (d. 2016)
1923 – Menahem Pressler, Israeli-American classical pianist (Beaux Arts Trio, 1955-2008), and educator (Indian University, 1955-2023), born in Magdeburg, Germany (d. 2023)
1931 – Karl Denver [Angus McKenzie], Scottish pop singer (“Never Say Goodbye”; “Wimoweh”), born in Springburn, Glasgow, Scotland
1942 – Donald Carcieri, American politician, governor of Rhode Island
1965 – J.B. Smoove [Jerry Brooks], American actor, comedian and writer (SNL, 2003-06; Curb Your Enthusiasm), born in Plymouth, North Carolina
1981 – Krysten Ritter, American actress (Jessica Jones, Veronica Mars) and model, born in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
1984 – Theo James, English actor (Divergent, The Time Traveler’s Wife), born in High Wycombe, England