Portal:Biography

A page from the first edition of Foxe's Book of Martyrs, published in 1563
Third Volume of a 1727 edition of Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans printed by Jacob Tonson
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Cover of the first English publication, J. Parson's, London, 1793

A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curriculum vitae (résumé), a biography presents a subject's life story, highlighting various aspects of their life, including intimate details of experience, and may include an analysis of the subject's personality. (Full article...)

Featured biographies

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Zinta in 2018

Preity G Zinta (pronounced [ˈpriːt̪i ˈzɪɳʈa]; born 31 January 1975) is an Indian actress and entrepreneur primarily known for her work in Hindi films. After graduating with degrees in English honours and criminal psychology, Zinta made her acting debut in Dil Se.. in 1998, followed by a role in Soldier in the same year. These performances earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut, and she was later recognised for her role as a teenage single mother in Kya Kehna (2000). She established a career as a leading Hindi film actress of the decade with a variety of character types. Her roles, often deemed culturally defiant, along with her unconventional screen persona won her recognition and several accolades.

Following critically appreciated roles in Chori Chori Chupke Chupke (2001), Dil Chahta Hai (2001), Dil Hai Tumhaara (2002), and Armaan (2003), Zinta received the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her performance in Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003). She starred in two consecutive annual top-grossing films in India, Koi... Mil Gaya (2003) and Veer-Zaara (2004), and was noted for her portrayal of independent, modern Indian women in Salaam Namaste (2005) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), top-grossing productions in domestic and overseas markets. For her first international role in the Canadian drama Heaven on Earth (2008) she was awarded the Silver Hugo Award for Best Actress and nominated for the Genie Award for Best Actress. She followed this with a hiatus from acting work for several years, with intermittent appearances such as in her self-produced comeback film, Ishkq in Paris (2013), which failed to leave a mark. (Full article...)
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Portrait of Bryant in 1913 by John Henry Trullinger

Louise Bryant (December 5, 1885 – January 6, 1936) was an American feminist, political activist, and journalist best known for her sympathetic coverage of Russia and the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution of November 1917.

Born Anna Louise Mohan, she began as a young girl to use the last name of her stepfather, Sheridan Bryant, in preference to that of her father. She grew up in rural Nevada and attended the University of Nevada in Reno and the University of Oregon in Eugene, graduating with a degree in history in 1909. Pursuing a career in journalism, she became society editor of the Spectator and freelanced for The Oregonian, newspapers in Portland, Oregon. During her years in that city (1909–1915), she became active in the women's suffrage movement. Leaving her first husband in 1915 to follow fellow journalist John Reed (whom she married in 1916) to Greenwich Village, she formed friendships with leading feminists of the day, some of whom she met through Reed's associates at publications such as The Masses; at meetings of a women's group, Heterodoxy; and through work with the Provincetown Players. During a National Woman's Party suffrage-rally in Washington, D.C. in 1919 she was arrested and spent three days in jail. Both she and Reed took lovers outside their marriage; during her Greenwich Village years (1916–1920), these included the playwright Eugene O'Neill and the painter Andrew Dasburg. (Full article...)
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Hudner in 1950

Thomas Jerome Hudner Jr. (August 31, 1924 – November 13, 2017) was a United States Navy officer and naval aviator. He rose to the rank of captain, and received the Medal of Honor for his actions in trying to save the life of his wingman, Ensign Jesse L. Brown, during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War.

Born in Fall River, Massachusetts, Hudner attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and the United States Naval Academy. Initially uninterested in aviation, he eventually took up flying and joined Fighter Squadron 32, flying the F4U Corsair at the outbreak of the Korean War. Arriving near Korea in October 1950, he flew support missions from the aircraft carrier USS Leyte. (Full article...)
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Davies in 2024

Stephen Russell Davies (/ˈdeɪvɪs/ DAY-vis; born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for being the original showrunner and head writer of the 2005 revival of the BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who, from 2005 to 2010 and again since 2023. His other notable works include creating the series Queer as Folk (1999–2000), Bob & Rose (2001), The Second Coming (2003), Casanova (2005), Doctor Who spin-offs Torchwood (2006–2011) and The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–2011), Cucumber (2015), A Very English Scandal (2018), Years and Years (2019), It's a Sin (2021) and Nolly (2023).

Born in Swansea, Davies had aspirations as a comic artist before focusing on being a playwright and screenwriter. After graduating from Oxford University, he joined the BBC's children's department, CBBC, in 1985 on a part-time basis and held various positions, which included creating two series, Dark Season and Century Falls. He eventually left the BBC for Granada Television, and in 1994 began writing adult television drama. His early scripts generally explored concepts of religion and sexuality among various backdrops: Revelations was a soap opera about organised religion and featured a lesbian vicar; Springhill was a soap drama about a Catholic family in contemporary Liverpool; The Grand explored society's opinion of subjects such as prostitution, abortion and homosexuality during the interwar period; and Queer as Folk recreated his experiences in the Manchester gay scene. His work in the 2000s included Bob & Rose, which portrayed a gay man who fell in love with a woman; The Second Coming, which focused on the second coming and deicide of Jesus Christ from a mostly non-religious point of view; Mine All Mine, a comedy about a family who discover they own the entire city of Swansea; and Casanova, an adaptation of the complete memoirs of Venetian adventurer Giacomo Casanova. (Full article...)
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Neal Dow (March 20, 1804 – October 2, 1897) was an American Prohibition advocate and politician. Nicknamed the "Napoleon of Temperance" and the "Father of Prohibition", Dow was born to a Quaker family in Portland, Maine. From a young age, he believed alcohol to be the cause of many of society's problems and wanted to ban it through legislation. In 1850, Dow was elected president of the Maine Temperance Union, and the next year he was elected mayor of Portland. Soon after, largely due to Dow's efforts, the state legislature banned the sale and production of alcohol in what became known as the Maine law. Serving twice as mayor of Portland, Dow enforced the law with vigor and called for increasingly harsh penalties for violators. In 1855, his opponents rioted and he ordered the state militia to fire on the crowd. One man was killed and several wounded, and when public reaction to the violence turned against Dow, he chose not to seek reelection.

Dow was later elected to two terms in the Maine House of Representatives, but retired after a financial scandal. He joined the Union Army shortly after the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, eventually attaining the rank of brigadier general. He was wounded at the siege of Port Hudson and later captured. After being exchanged for another officer in 1864, Dow resigned from the military and devoted himself once more to prohibition. He spoke across the United States, Canada, and Great Britain in support of the cause. In 1880, Dow headed the Prohibition Party ticket for President of the United States. After losing the election, he continued to write and speak on behalf of the prohibition movement for the rest of his life until his death in Portland at the age of 93. (Full article...)
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1763 portrait

Frederick II (German: Friedrich II.; 24 January 1712 – 17 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled King in Prussia, declaring himself King of Prussia after annexing Royal Prussia from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772. His most significant accomplishments include military successes in the Silesian wars, reorganisation of the Prussian Army, the First Partition of Poland, and patronage of the arts and the Enlightenment. Prussia greatly increased its territories and became a major military power in Europe under his rule. He became known as Frederick the Great (German: Friedrich der Große) and was nicknamed "Old Fritz" (German: der Alte Fritz).

In his youth, Frederick was more interested in music and philosophy than war, which led to clashes with his authoritarian father, Frederick William I of Prussia. However, upon ascending to the throne, he attacked and annexed the rich Austrian province of Silesia in 1742, winning military acclaim. He became an influential military theorist, whose analyses emerged from his extensive personal battlefield experience and covered issues of strategy, tactics, mobility and logistics. (Full article...)
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Frederick Park (right) and Ernest Boulton as Fanny and Stella, 1869

Thomas Ernest Boulton and Frederick William Park were Victorian cross-dressers. Both were homosexual men from upper-middle-class families, both enjoyed wearing women's clothes and both enjoyed taking part in theatrical performances—playing the women's roles when they did so. It is possible that they asked for money for sex, although there is some dispute over this. In the late 1860s they were joined on a theatrical tour by Lord Arthur Clinton, the Liberal Party Member of Parliament for Newark. Also homosexual, he and Boulton entered into a relationship; Boulton called himself Clinton's wife, and had cards printed showing his name as Lady Arthur Clinton.

Boulton and Park were indiscreet when they cross-dressed in public, and came to the attention of the police. They were under police surveillance for a year before they were arrested in 1870, while in drag, after leaving a London theatre. When they appeared at Bow Street Magistrates' Court the morning after the arrest they were still clothed in the women's dresses from the previous evening; a crowd of several hundred people were there to see them. The two men were subjected to an intrusive physical examination from a police surgeon and held on remand for two months. They were charged with conspiracy to commit sodomy, a crime that carried a maximum prison sentence of life with hard labour. Just before the case started Clinton died, possibly of scarlet fever or suicide; it is also possible his death was faked and he fled abroad. The case came before the Court of the Queen's Bench the following year, Boulton and Park with three other men. All five were found not guilty after the prosecution failed to establish that they had anal sex. The judge, Sir Alexander Cockburn, the Lord Chief Justice, was highly critical of the police investigation and the treatment of the men by the police surgeon. Boulton and Park admitted to appearing in public dressed as women, which was "an offence against public morals and common decency". They were bound over for two years. (Full article...)
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Chollet at Canisius College, in 1948

Leroy Patrick Chollet (March 5, 1925 – June 10, 1998) was an American professional basketball player. Chollet and his brothers attended Holy Cross School in New Orleans and excelled in sports. After a year in the United States Navy, Chollet enrolled at Loyola University New Orleans and led the Loyola Wolf Pack to their first NAIA men's basketball championship in 1945. Louisiana schools were segregated at the time. Chollet had an African American great-grandparent, and when this was revealed he was pressured into leaving Loyola. He moved to New York and played three seasons for Canisius College. In New York, he passed as white; Canisius would later claim Chollet to be the school's first African American basketball player.

Chollet played for several professional teams, including the Syracuse Nationals. During the inaugural season of the National Basketball Association (NBA), he became a role player behind established veterans, and the team made it to the 1950 NBA Finals. An ankle injury limited Chollet's second year in the NBA. The Elmira Colonels, an American Basketball League team, signed Chollet for his third and final season. He married Barbara Knaus in June 1950. After retiring from professional basketball in 1952, he moved to her hometown, Lakewood, Ohio. They had three children: Lawrence, Melanie, and David. In Lakewood, Chollet worked on the construction of St. Edward High School and became a teacher and varsity head coach. He was inducted into the Halls of Fame of Holy Cross School, Loyola University, and Canisius College. He died in 1998. (Full article...)
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Pavle Đurišić (Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic: Павле Ђуришић, pronounced [pâːvle dʑǔriʃitɕ]; 9 July 1909 – 21 April 1945) was a Montenegrin Serb regular officer of the Royal Yugoslav Army who became a Chetnik commander (vojvoda) and led a significant proportion of the Chetniks in Montenegro during World War II. He distinguished himself and became one of the main commanders during the popular uprising against the Italians in Montenegro in July 1941, but later collaborated with the Italians in actions against the Communist-led Yugoslav Partisans. In 1943, his troops carried out several massacres against the Muslim population of Bosnia, Herzegovina, and the Sandžak in which an estimated 10,000 people were killed between January and March, including thousands of women, children, and the elderly. He then led his troops during their participation in the anti-Partisan Case White offensive alongside Italian forces. Đurišić was captured by the Germans in May 1943, escaped, and was recaptured.

After the capitulation of Italy, the Germans released Đurišić and he began collaborating with them and the Serbian puppet government. In 1944, he created the Montenegrin Volunteer Corps with assistance from the Germans, the leader of the Serbian puppet government, Milan Nedić, and the leader of the fascist Yugoslav National Movement, Dimitrije Ljotić. In late 1944, the German commander in Montenegro decorated him with the Iron Cross 2nd Class. Đurišić was killed following the Battle of Lijevče Field, after being captured by elements of the Armed Forces of the Independent State of Croatia near Banja Luka in an apparent trap set by them and Montenegrin separatist Sekula Drljević. Some of Đurišić's troops were killed either in this battle or in later attacks by the Partisans as they then continued their withdrawal west. Others attempted to withdraw to Austria; they were forced to surrender to the Partisans and were killed in the Kočevski Rog area of southern Slovenia in May and June 1945. Đurišić was a very able Chetnik leader; his fighting skills were respected by his allies and opponents alike. (Full article...)
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Makhno in 1921

Nestor Ivanovych Makhno (Ukrainian: Нестор Івaнович Махно, pronounced [ˈnɛstor iˈʋɑnowɪt͡ʃ mɐxˈnɔ]; 7 November 1888 – 25 July 1934), also known as Bat'ko Makhno (батько Махно, lit. 'Father Makhno'), was a Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary and the commander of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine during the Ukrainian War of Independence. He established the Makhnovshchina (loosely translated as "Makhno movement"), a mass movement by the Ukrainian peasantry to establish anarchist communism in the country between 1918 and 1921. Initially centered around Makhno's home province of Katerynoslav and hometown of Huliaipole, it came to exert a strong influence over large areas of southern Ukraine, specifically in what is now the Zaporizhzhia Oblast of Ukraine.

Raised by a peasant family and coming of age amid the fervor around the 1905 Revolution, Makhno participated in a local anarchist group and spent seven years imprisoned for his involvement. With his release during the 1917 Revolution, Makhno became a local revolutionary leader in his hometown and oversaw the expropriation and redistribution of large estates to the peasantry. In the Ukrainian Civil War, Makhno sided with the Soviet Russian Bolsheviks against the Ukrainian nationalists and White movement, but his alliances with the Bolsheviks did not last. He rallied Bolshevik support to lead an insurgency, defeating the Central Powers' occupation forces at the Battle of Dibrivka and establishing the Makhnovshchina. Makhno's troops briefly integrated with the Bolshevik Red Army in the 1919 Soviet invasion of Ukraine, but split over differences on the movement's autonomy. Makhno rebuilt his army from the remains of Nykyfor Hryhoriv's forces in western Ukraine, routed the White Army at the Battle of Perehonivka, and captured most of southern and eastern Ukraine, where they again attempted to establish anarchist communism. (Full article...)
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Head of a gneiss statue of Sahure in gallery 103 of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sahure (also Sahura, meaning "He who is close to Re"; died c. 2477 BC) was a king of ancient Egypt and the second ruler of the Fifth Dynasty (c. 2465 – c. 2325 BC). He reigned for around 13 years in the early 25th century BC during the Old Kingdom Period. Sahure's reign marks the political and cultural high point of the Fifth Dynasty. He was probably the son of his predecessor Userkaf with Queen Neferhetepes II, and was in turn succeeded by his son Neferirkare Kakai.

During Sahure's rule, Egypt had important trade relations with the Levantine coast. Sahure launched several naval expeditions to modern-day Lebanon to procure cedar trees, slaves, and exotic items. His reign may have witnessed the flourishing of the Egyptian navy, which included a high-seas fleet as well as specialized racing boats. Relying on this, Sahure ordered the earliest attested expedition to the land of Punt, which brought back large quantities of myrrh, malachite, and electrum. Sahure is shown celebrating the success of this venture in a relief from his mortuary temple which shows him tending a myrrh tree in the garden of his palace whose name means "Sahure's splendor soars up to heaven". This relief is the only one in Egyptian art depicting a king gardening. Sahure sent further expeditions to the turquoise and copper mines in Sinai. He also ordered military campaigns against Libyan chieftains in the Western Desert, bringing back livestock to Egypt. (Full article...)
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"Vine" sculpture by Bronwyn Oliver

Bronwyn Joy Oliver (née Gooda, 22 February 1959 – 10 July 2006) was an Australian sculptor whose work primarily consisted of metalwork. Her sculptures are admired for their tactile nature, aesthetics, and technical skills demonstrated in their production.

Oliver was raised in rural New South Wales. She trained at Sydney's Alexander Mackie College of Advanced Education and London's Chelsea School of Art. She had early success, winning a New South Wales Travelling Art Scholarship in 1981 and the Moet & Chandon Australian Art Fellowship in 1984. Oliver settled in Sydney, where she practised and taught until her death in 2006. (Full article...)
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Hoult in 2024

Nicholas Caradoc Hoult (/hoʊlt/; born 7 December 1989) is an English actor. His filmography includes supporting work in big-budget mainstream productions and starring roles in independent projects in American and British films. He has received several accolades, including nominations for a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. He was included in Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2012.

Hoult performed in local theatre productions as a child. He made his screen debut at age six in the 1996 film Intimate Relations, and appeared in several television programmes. His breakthrough came with his role in the 2002 comedy-drama About a Boy. He achieved wider recognition for his performance as Tony Stonem in the E4 teen series Skins (2007–2008). His transition to adult roles began with the 2009 drama A Single Man and the fantasy film Clash of the Titans (2010). He played the mutant Hank McCoy / Beast in the 2011 superhero film X-Men: First Class, a role he reprised in later installments of the film series. (Full article...)
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Stereolab performing at the London Pitchfork Festival in 2021

Stereolab are an Anglo-French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's sound features influences from krautrock and 1960s French pop music, often incorporating a repetitive motorik beat with the use of vintage electronic keyboards and female vocals sung in English and French. Their lyrics have political and philosophical themes influenced by the Surrealist and Situationist art movements. While performing, they play in a more feedback-driven and guitar-oriented style. From the mid-1990s, the band began to draw from funk, jazz and Brazilian music.

Stereolab were formed by Gane (guitar and keyboards) and Sadier (vocals, keyboards and guitar) after the break-up of McCarthy. The two were romantically involved for fourteen years and are the group's only consistent members. Other longtime members included 1992 addition Mary Hansen (backing vocals, keyboards and guitar), who died in 2002, and 1993 addition Andy Ramsay (drums). The High Llamas' leader Sean O'Hagan (guitar and keyboards) was a member from 1993 to 1994 and continued appearing on later records for occasional guest appearances. (Full article...)
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Rutledge, c. 1943-49

Wiley Blount Rutledge Jr. (July 20, 1894 – September 10, 1949) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1943 to 1949. The ninth and final justice appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, he is best known for his impassioned defenses of civil liberties. Rutledge favored broad interpretations of the First Amendment, the Due Process Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause, and he argued that the Bill of Rights applied in its totality to the states. He participated in several noteworthy cases involving the intersection of individual freedoms and the government's wartime powers. Rutledge served on the Court until his death at the age of fifty-five. Legal scholars have generally thought highly of the justice, although the brevity of his tenure has minimized his impact on history.

Born in Cloverport, Kentucky, Rutledge attended several colleges and universities, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1922. He briefly practiced law in Boulder, Colorado, before accepting a position on the faculty of the University of Colorado Law School. Rutledge also taught law at the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Missouri, of which he became the dean; he later served as dean of the University of Iowa College of Law. As an academic, he vocally opposed Supreme Court decisions striking down parts of the New Deal and argued in favor of President Roosevelt's unsuccessful attempt to expand the Court. Rutledge's support of Roosevelt's policies brought him to the President's attention: he was considered as a potential Supreme Court nominee and was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, where he developed a record as a supporter of individual liberties and the New Deal. When Justice James F. Byrnes resigned from the Supreme Court, Roosevelt nominated Rutledge to take his place. The Senate overwhelmingly confirmed Rutledge by voice vote, and he took the oath of office on February 15, 1943. (Full article...)

Today anniversaries

Pre–1600

AD 39 – Titus, Roman emperor (probable; d. 81)
159 – Empress Dowager Bian, second wife of Cao Cao, mother of Cao Wei's first emperor, Cao Pi (d. 230)
1204 – Abû 'Uthmân Sa'îd ibn Hakam al Qurashi, ruler of Minorca (d. 1282)
1371 – Vasily I of Moscow (d. 1425)
1490 – Ebussuud Efendi, Ottoman lawyer and jurist (d. 1574)
1548 – David Pareus, German theologian (d. 1622)
1578 – Ulrik of Denmark, Danish prince-bishop (d. 1624)

1601–1900

1642 – Vincenzo da Filicaja, Italian poet (d. 1707)
1673 – Ahmed III, Ottoman sultan (d. 1736)
1678 – William Croft, English organist and composer (d. 1727)
1722 – Charles Yorke, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1770)
1724 – Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée, French painter and educator (d. 1805)
1757 – Sebastián Kindelán y O'Regan, colonial governor of East Florida, Santo Domingo and Cuba (d. 1826)
1760 – Charles Sapinaud de La Rairie, French general (d. 1829)
1792 – Sylvester Jordan, German lawyer and politician (d. 1861)
1819 – Theodor Fontane, German author and poet (d. 1898)
1819 – John W. Geary, American lawyer and politician, 16th Governor of Pennsylvania (d. 1873)
1825 – Samuel Newitt Wood, American lawyer and politician (d. 1891)
1842 – Osman Hamdi Bey, Ottoman administrator, intellectual, art expert and painter (d. 1910)
1849 – John Milne, English seismologist and geologist (d. 1913)
1851 – Asa Griggs Candler, American businessman and politician, 44th Mayor of Atlanta (d. 1929)
1853 – André Messager, French pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1929)
1857 – Sylvio Lazzari, French-Austrian composer (d. 1944)
1865 – Rudyard Kipling, Indian-English author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1936)
1869 – Stephen Leacock, English-Canadian political scientist and author (d. 1944)
1869 – Ōzutsu Man'emon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 18th Yokozuna (d. 1918)
1873 – Al Smith, American lawyer and politician, 42nd Governor of New York (d. 1944)
1878 – William Aberhart, Canadian evangelist and politician, seventh Premier of Alberta (d. 1943)
1879 – Ramana Maharshi, Indian guru and philosopher (d. 1950)
1883 – Archer Baldwin, American-English farmer and politician (d. 1966)
1883 – Lester Patrick, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1960)
1884 – Hideki Tōjō, Japanese general and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1948)
1886 – Austin Osman Spare, English artist and occultist (d. 1956)
1887 – William Kolehmainen, Finnish-American runner and coach (d. 1967)
1887 – K. M. Munshi, Indian politician, writer and educationist, founder of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (d. 1971)
1890 – Adolfo Ruiz Cortines, Mexican soldier and politician, 47th President of Mexico (d. 1973)
1897 – Alfredo Bracchi, Italian songwriter and screenwriter (d. 1976)
1899 – Helge Ingstad, Norwegian explorer, lawyer, and politician, 2nd Governor of Svalbard (d. 2001)

1901–present

1904 – Dmitry Kabalevsky, Russian composer and academic (d. 1987)
1905 – Daniil Kharms, Russian poet, author, and playwright (d. 1942)
1906 – Alziro Bergonzo, Italian architect and painter (d. 1997)
1906 – Carol Reed, English director and producer (d. 1976)
1910 – Paul Bowles, American composer and author (d. 1999)
1911 – Jeanette Nolan, American actress (d. 1998)
1913 – Lucio Agostini, Italian-Canadian conductor and composer (d. 1996)
1913 – Elyne Mitchell, Australian author (d. 2002)
1914 – Bert Parks, American actor, singer, television personality, and beauty pageant host (d. 1992)
1917 – Seymour Melman, American engineer and author (d. 2004)
1919 – Dick Spooner, English cricketer (d. 1997)
1919 – David Willcocks, English organist, composer, and conductor (d. 2015)
1921 – Rashid Karami, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Lebanon (d. 1987)
1922 – Jane Langton, American author and illustrator (d. 2018)
1923 – Prakash Vir Shastri, Indian academic and politician (d. 1977)
1924 – Yvonne Brill, Canadian-American propulsion engineer (d. 2013)
1925 – Ian MacNaughton, Scottish actor, producer, and director (d. 2002)
1926 – Stan Tracey, English pianist and composer (d. 2013)
1927 – Jan Kubíček, Czech painter and sculptor (d. 2013)
1928 – Bo Diddley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2008)
1929 – Rosalinde Hurley, English physician, microbiologist, and academic (d. 2004)
1930 – Roy Yorke Calne, English surgeon and academic (d. 2024)
1930 – Elmira Minita Gordon, Belizean educator, 1st Governor-General of Belize (d. 2021)
1930 – Red Rhodes, American pedal steel guitarist (d. 1995)
1930 – Tu Youyou, Chinese chemist and pharmacist, Nobel Prize laureate
1931 – Skeeter Davis, American singer-songwriter (d. 2004)
1931 – John T. Houghton, Welsh physicist and author (d. 2020)
1931 – Frank Torre, American baseball player and manager (d. 2014)
1933 – Timité Bassori, Ivorian filmmaker, actor, and writer
1934 – John N. Bahcall, American astrophysicist and astronomer, co-developed the Hubble Space Telescope (d. 2005)
1934 – Joseph Bologna, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
1934 – Barry Briggs, New Zealand motorcycle racer and sportscaster
1934 – Joseph P. Hoar, American general (d. 2022)
1934 – Del Shannon, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1990)
1934 – Russ Tamblyn, American actor
1935 – Omar Bongo, Gabonese lieutenant and politician, President of Gabon (d. 2009)
1935 – Sandy Koufax, American baseball player and sportscaster
1935 – Jack Riley, American actor (d. 2016)
1937 – Gordon Banks, English footballer and manager (d. 2019)
1937 – John Hartford, American singer-songwriter and fiddler (d. 2001)
1937 – Jim Marshall, American football player
1937 – Paul Stookey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1938 – Ron Wolf, American Football Hall of Fame General Manager
1939 – Glenda Adams, Australian author and academic (d. 2007)
1939 – Felix Pappalardi, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (d. 1983)
1940 – James Burrows, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1941 – Mel Renfro, American football player and coach
1942 – Vladimir Bukovsky, Russian author and activist (d. 2019)
1942 – Guy Edwards, English race car driver
1942 – Michael Nesmith, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2021)
1942 – Janko Prunk, Slovenian historian, academic, and politician
1942 – Robert Quine, American guitarist (d. 2004)
1942 – Toomas Savi, Estonian physician and politician
1942 – Fred Ward, American actor (d. 2022)
1944 – William J. Fallon, American admiral
1944 – Joseph Hilbe, American mathematician and philosopher (d. 2017)
1945 – Davy Jones, English singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2012)
1945 – Lloyd Kaufman, American director, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded Troma Entertainment
1945 – Paola Pigni, Italian runner (d. 2021)
1945 – Concetta Tomei, American actress
1946 – Clive Bunker, English drummer and songwriter
1946 – Patti Smith, American singer-songwriter and poet
1946 – Berti Vogts, German footballer and coach
1947 – James Kahn, American author, screenwriter, and producer
1947 – Jeff Lynne, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1947 – Steve Mix, American basketball player and coach
1948 – Jed Johnson, American interior designer and director (d. 1996)
1949 – David Bedford, English runner
1949 – Jerry Coyne, American biologist and author
1949 – Jim Flaherty, Canadian lawyer and politician, 37th Canadian Minister of Finance (d. 2014)
1950 – Timothy Mo, Chinese-English author
1950 – Lewis Shiner, American journalist and author
1950 – Bjarne Stroustrup, Danish computer scientist, created the C++ programming language
1950 – Martti Vainio, Finnish runner
1951 – Doug Allder, English footballer and coach
1951 – Chris Jasper, American musician, singer-songwriter, and producer
1951 – Nick Rose, English runner
1952 – June Anderson, American soprano and actress
1953 – Daniel T. Barry, American engineer and astronaut
1953 – Dana Key, American singer, guitarist, and producer (d. 2010)
1953 – Graham Vick, English director and producer (d. 2021)
1953 – Meredith Vieira, American journalist and game show host
1954 – Barry Greenstein, American poker player and philanthropist
1956 – Ingus Baušķenieks, Latvian singer-songwriter and producer
1956 – Suzy Bogguss, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist
1956 – Patricia Kalember, American actress
1956 – Sheryl Lee Ralph, American actress and singer
1957 – Matt Lauer, American journalist and television host
1958 – Pedro Costa, Portuguese director, screenwriter, and cinematographer
1958 – Steven Smith, American engineer and astronaut
1959 – Antonio Pappano, English pianist and conductor
1959 – Kåre Thomsen, Norwegian guitarist and graphic designer
1959 – Tracey Ullman, English-American actress, singer, director, and screenwriter
1959 – Josée Verner, Canadian politician, 8th Canadian Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
1960 – Richard M. Durbin, English biologist and academic
1961 – Douglas Coupland, German-Canadian author and playwright
1961 – Bill English, New Zealand farmer and politician, 39th Prime Minister of New Zealand
1961 – Sean Hannity, American radio and television host
1961 – Ben Johnson, Jamaican-Canadian sprinter
1961 – Charlie Nicholas, Scottish footballer and sportscaster
1963 – Chandler Burr, American journalist and author
1963 – Mike Pompeo, American diplomat and politician; 70th United States Secretary of State
1963 – Johnny Rogers, American-Spanish basketball player
1963 – Milan Šrejber, Czech tennis player
1964 – Almir Kayumov, Russian footballer and referee (d. 2013)
1964 – Sylvie Moreau, Canadian actress and screenwriter
1964 – George Newbern, American actor
1965 – Heidi Fleiss, American procurer
1966 – Gary Chartier, American philosopher, scholar, and academic
1966 – Bennett Miller, American director and producer
1967 – Carl Ouellet, Canadian wrestler and sportscaster
1968 – Bryan Burk, American screenwriter and producer
1968 – Adam Dale, Australian cricketer
1968 – Sandra Glover, American hurdler
1968 – Albano Mucci, Australian activist
1969 – Emmanuel Clérico, French race car driver
1969 – Dave England, American snowboarder and stuntman
1969 – Jay Kay, English singer and songwriter
1969 – Kersti Kaljulaid, President of Estonia
1969 – Michelle McGann, American golfer
1969 – Meredith Monroe, American actress
1971 – Sister Bliss, English keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
1971 – C. S. Lee, Korean-American actor
1971 – Ricardo, Spanish footballer and manager
1971 – Daniel Sunjata, American actor
1972 – Daniel Amokachi, Nigerian footballer and manager
1972 – Maureen Flannigan, American actress and producer
1972 – Paul Keegan, Irish footballer
1972 – Dita Indah Sari, Indonesian trade union leader and activist
1972 – Steven Wiig, American actor and drummer
1973 – Jason Behr, American actor
1973 – Ato Boldon, Trinidadian runner, sportscaster, and politician
1974 – Alexandro Alves do Nascimento, Brazilian footballer (d. 2012)
1974 – Dr. Jitheshji, Indian Speed Cartoonist and Pictorial Orator
1975 – Scott Chipperfield, Australian footballer
1975 – Tiger Woods, American golfer
1976 – Kastro, American rapper
1976 – Patrick Kerney, American football player
1976 – A. J. Pierzynski, American baseball player and sportscaster
1977 – Laila Ali, American boxer and actress
1977 – Glory Alozie, Nigerian-Spanish sprinter and hurdler
1977 – Grant Balfour, Australian baseball player
1977 – Saša Ilić, Serbian footballer
1977 – Kenyon Martin, American basketball player
1977 – Lucy Punch, English actress
1977 – Kazuyuki Toda, Japanese footballer
1978 – Devin Brown, American basketball player
1978 – Tyrese Gibson, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
1978 – Phillips Idowu, English triple jumper
1978 – Zbigniew Robert Promiński, Polish drummer
1978 – Rob Scuderi, American ice hockey player
1979 – Michael Grimm, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1980 – Eliza Dushku, American actress and producer
1980 – D. J. Mbenga, Congolese-Belgian basketball player
1980 – Alison McGovern, British politician
1981 – Ali Al-Habsi, Omani footballer
1981 – Cédric Carrasso, French footballer
1981 – Michael Rodríguez, Costa Rican footballer
1981 – Matt Ulrich, American football player
1982 – Kristin Kreuk, Canadian actress
1982 – Tobias Kurbjuweit, German footballer
1982 – Dawan Landry, American football player
1983 – Eddie Edwards, American professional wrestler
1983 – Nick Symmonds, American runner
1983 – Kevin Systrom, American computer programmer and businessman, co-founded Instagram
1984 – Randall Azofeifa, Costa Rican footballer
1984 – Andra Day, American singer and songwriter
1984 – LeBron James, American basketball player, producer and businessman
1985 – Lars Boom, Dutch cyclist
1985 – Bryson Goodwin, Australian rugby league player
1985 – Anna Wood, American actress
1986 – Domenico Criscito, Italian footballer
1986 – Ellie Goulding, English singer-songwriter and producer
1986 – Caity Lotz, American actress
1986 – Jeff Ward, American actor
1986 – Gianni Zuiverloon, Dutch footballer
1987 – Jakub Nakládal, Czech ice hockey player
1989 – Tyler Anderson, American baseball player
1989 – Yoon Bo-ra, South Korean singer, rapper and actress
1989 – Ryan Sheckler, American skateboarder and entrepreneur
1989 – Kateřina Vaňková, Czech tennis player
1990 – Bruno Henrique, Brazilian footballer
1990 – Joe Root, English cricketer
1990 – C. J. Wilcox, American basketball player
1991 – Camila Giorgi, Italian tennis player
1992 – Ryan Tunnicliffe, English footballer
1992 – Carson Wentz, American football player
1995 – Igor Shesterkin, Russian hockey goaltender
1995 – Ollie Watkins, English footballer
1995 – V, South Korean singer (Full article...)

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