1st August — World Lung Cancer Day & World Breastfeeding Week (starts)

On this day, 268 notable people were born on 1st August — spanning from -10 to 2003. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.

01/08/2003

Joseph Sua'ali'i, Australian-Samoan rugby league player

Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i is an Australian rugby union footballer who plays for the New South Wales Waratahs in the Super Rugby and the Australia national rugby team. He previously played rugby league as a winger or centre for the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League (NRL), for New South Wales and for Samoa at international level.

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01/08/2002

Alejandro Francés, Spanish footballer

Alejandro Francés Torrijo is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central defender for La Liga club Girona.

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01/08/2001

Scottie Barnes, American basketball player

Scott Wayne Barnes Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in West Palm Beach, Florida, he attended Cardinal Newman High School in his hometown before transferring to NSU University School and later Montverde Academy, where he was rated a consensus five-star recruit and among the top players in the 2020 class by major recruiting services in his senior year. He played college basketball for the Florida State Seminoles, being named the conference rookie of the year among other honours in 2021.

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Park Si-eun, South Korean actress

Park Si-eun is a South Korean singer and actress. After debuting as a child actress in 2014, she starred in several television series and films, winning the award for Best Young Actress at the 2018 SBS Drama Awards for her role as young Woo Seo-ri in Still 17. She was both an actor and idol trainee in JYP Entertainment, but left the company in 2019 after JYP Actors became defunct. After signing with High Up Entertainment in December 2019, she debuted as a member of the girl group STAYC in November 2020.

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Ben Trbojevic, Australian rugby league player

Ben Trbojevic, also nicknamed "Burbo", is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre or second-row forward for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League (NRL).

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01/08/2000

Kim Chaewon, South Korean singer

Kim Chaewon is a South Korean singer. She is the leader of South Korean girl group Le Sserafim and a former member of the girl group Iz*One, having finished tenth in the reality competition series Produce 48 in 2018.

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01/08/1996

Katie Boulter, British tennis player

Katie Charlotte Boulter is a British professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking by the WTA of 23, achieved on 4 November 2024, and a best doubles ranking of No. 225, reached on 8 June 2026. Boulter has won four singles titles on the WTA Tour. She has also won one WTA 125 singles title, as well as seven singles and four doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. She is a former British women’s No. 1.

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01/08/1995

Madison Cawthorn, American politician

David Madison Cawthorn is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 11th congressional district from 2021 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Cawthorn describes himself as a constitutional conservative.

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01/08/1994

Sergeal Petersen, South African rugby player

Sergeal Phillipe Petersen is a South African rugby union player for the Stormers in Super Rugby and Western Province in the Currie Cup. His regular position is winger.

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Ayaka Wada, Japanese singer

Ayaka Wada is a Japanese singer signed to YU-M Entertainment. She was a first generation member and the leader of Angerme also known as S/mileage as well as the leader of Hello! Project.

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01/08/1993

Álex Abrines, Spanish basketball player

Alejandro "Álex" Abrines Redondo is a Spanish former professional basketball player. He spent most of his career playing for FC Barcelona of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague, acting as team captain for several seasons. Standing at 6 ft 6 in, he mainly played the shooting guard and small forward positions. Abrines has won three Spanish League championships with FC Barcelona in 2014, 2021 and 2023. He was selected for the EuroLeague Rising Star Award in 2016.

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Leon Thomas III, American actor and singer

Leon George Thomas III is an American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer and actor. He began his career as a child actor on Broadway, appearing in the musicals The Lion King, Caroline, or Change and The Color Purple across the 2000s. He gained wide recognition for starring as Andre Harris in the Nickelodeon teen sitcom Victorious (2010–2013).

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Saleh Gomaa, Egyptian footballer

Saleh Gomaa is an Egyptian professional footballer who formerly played for Al Ahly and currently plays for Ismailia based club, Ismaily SC, and the Egyptian national team. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2013 African U-20 Championship. As a 19-year-old, he played at the 2013 African U-20 championship in Algeria and won "The Player of the Tournament" award, when the Egyptians won their trophy. He is the elder brother of the Egyptian footballer Abdallah Gomaa.

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01/08/1992

Austin Rivers, American basketball player

Austin James Rivers is an American former professional basketball player who is currently a sports analyst for ESPN and NBC Sports. The son of basketball coach and former player Doc Rivers, he played for 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In the 2012 NBA draft, Rivers was selected with the 10th overall pick by the New Orleans Hornets, playing three seasons there before being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. After three years with the Clippers, he was traded to the Washington Wizards in June 2018. In December of the same year, he joined the Houston Rockets. He also played in the NBA for the New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets, and Minnesota Timberwolves.

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Mrunal Thakur, Indian actress

Mrunal Thakur is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Hindi and Telugu films. Thakur is a recipient of several accolades including a Filmfare Award South, a Filmfare OTT Award, three SIIMA Awards and an ITA Award.

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01/08/1991

Piotr Malarczyk, Polish footballer

Piotr Kamil Malarczyk is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

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Marco Puntoriere, Italian footballer

Marco Puntoriere is an Italian footballer who plays as a forward for USD Palmese.

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01/08/1990

Aledmys Díaz, Cuban baseball player

Aledmys Díaz Serrano is a Cuban professional baseball utility player who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, and Oakland Athletics. He played for the Naranjas de Villa Clara in the Cuban National Series from 2007 through 2012, before defecting to the United States. Díaz signed with the Cardinals in 2014, and made his MLB debut with them in 2016.

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Elton Jantjies, South African rugby player

Elton Thomas Jantjies is a South African professional rugby union player who plays as fly-half.

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01/08/1989

Madison Bumgarner, American baseball player

Madison Kyle Bumgarner, nicknamed "MadBum", is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants (2009–19) and Arizona Diamondbacks (2020–23). Bumgarner won three World Series championships and two Silver Slugger Awards. He was also selected to four National League (NL) All-Star teams and has the most strikeouts in franchise history by a Giants left-handed pitcher.

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Tiffany Young, Korean American singer, songwriter, and actress

Stephanie Young Hwang, known professionally as Tiffany or Tiffany Young, is an American singer-songwriter and actress of Korean descent. Born and raised in California, she was discovered by South Korean entertainment agency SM Entertainment at the age of fifteen and subsequently moved to South Korea. After two years of training, Young debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation in August 2007, which went on to become one of the best-selling artists in South Korea and one of South Korea's most widely known girl groups worldwide.

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01/08/1988

Mustafa Abdellaoue, Norwegian footballer

Mustafa "Mos" Abdellaoue is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is the younger brother of former Norway international Mohammed Abdellaoue.

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Travis Boak, Australian footballer

Travis Alexander Boak is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Boak captained the club from 2013 to 2018, and is a three-time All-Australian, dual John Cahill Medallist and three-time Showdown Medallist. He is Port Adelaide's games record holder with 387 games, as well as the holder of the record for most VFL/AFL games played without winning a premiership.

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Patryk Małecki, Polish footballer

Patryk Adrian Małecki is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a winger for II liga club Avia Świdnik.

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Nemanja Matić, Serbian footballer

Nemanja Matić is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Serie A club Sassuolo.

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Bodene Thompson, New Zealand rugby league player

Bodene Thompson is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who last played as a second-row forward for Bradford Bulls in the RFL Championship.

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01/08/1987

Iago Aspas, Spanish footballer

Iago Aspas Juncal is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for and captains La Liga club Celta de Vigo.

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Karen Carney, English women's footballer

Karen Julia Carney is an English sports journalist and former professional footballer who played as a winger and midfielder. Carney has been a regular broadcaster for live football on TNT Sports, Sky Sports, ITV and Amazon Prime, including Women's Super League and men's Premier League matches since 2019. She is also a sports columnist for BBC Sport and The Guardian, and a pundit for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Television.

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Taapsee Pannu, Indian actress

Tapasee Pannu, professionally known as Taapsee Pannu, is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. She has received two Filmfare Awards and a Filmfare OTT Award.

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Sébastien Pocognoli, Belgian footballer

Sébastien Jean Pocognoli is a Belgian football coach and former player who was most recently the head coach of Ligue 1 club Monaco.

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Lee Wallace, Scottish footballer

Lee Wallace is a Scottish former professional footballer. He represented the Scotland national team with 10 caps.

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01/08/1986

Damien Allen, English footballer

Damien Samuel Allen is an English former footballer who is academy manager at Stockport County.

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Marissa Paternoster, American artist, singer and guitarist

Marissa Paternoster is an American artist, singer and guitarist active in New Jersey's New Brunswick music scene. She is the former lead singer and guitarist of the band Screaming Females, and continues to perform in the solo project Noun.

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Anton Strålman, Swedish ice hockey player

Anton Strålman is a former Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman. Strålman last played for HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League. He also played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the organization that drafted him in the seventh round, 216th overall, in 2005, as well as the Columbus Blue Jackets, the New York Rangers, the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Florida Panthers, the Arizona Coyotes, and the Boston Bruins.

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Andrew Taylor, English footballer

Andrew Derek Taylor is an English former professional footballer who last played for Bolton Wanderers. He has previously played for Cardiff City, Middlesbrough, Bradford City, Watford and Wigan Athletic.

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Elena Vesnina, Russian tennis player

Elena Sergeyevna Vesnina is a Russian former professional tennis player who was world No. 1 in doubles. Vesnina is a four-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2013 French Open, 2014 US Open, and 2017 Wimbledon Championships in women's doubles with compatriot Ekaterina Makarova, and the 2016 Australian Open in mixed doubles, partnering Bruno Soares. She reached also eight further finals in women's doubles, and four in mixed doubles.

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Mike Wallace, American football player

Burnell Michael Wallace III is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Ole Miss Rebels, and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 2009 NFL draft with the 84th overall pick. He also played for the Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore Ravens, and Philadelphia Eagles. Throughout his career, Wallace was known for his speed after finishing with a time of 4.33-seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. He has run the 40 in as fast as 4.21 seconds.

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01/08/1985

Stuart Holden, Scottish-American soccer player

Stuart Alistair Holden is a former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder, and is currently the lead TV game analyst for Fox Sports. Holden is part of the ownership group for Spanish La Liga football club RCD Mallorca.

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Adam Jones, American baseball player

Adam LaMarque Jones is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played parts of 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, and Arizona Diamondbacks and two seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Orix Buffaloes. Internationally, Jones played for the United States, helping the U.S. win the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

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Cole Kimball, American baseball player

Cole A. Kimball is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals.

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Tendai Mtawarira, South African rugby player

Tendai Mtawarira is a Zimbabwean-South African retired professional rugby union player who last played for Old Glory DC in Major League Rugby and previously for the South Africa national team and the Sharks in Super Rugby. He was born in Zimbabwe and qualified for South Africa on residency grounds, before later acquiring South African citizenship. Mtawarira, a prop, is known by the nickname Beast.

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Kris Stadsgaard, Danish footballer

Kris Stadsgaard is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He made one senior appearance in 2003 for Farum before the club changed its name to Nordsjælland. He signed with Italian club Reggina in August 2007 and left the club in March 2008 for Rosenborg in Norway, winning two Norwegian Premier League championships in three seasons there. After 1.5 years with Spanish club Málaga he returned to Denmark with Copenhagen in January 2012. He made three appearances for the Denmark national team.

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Dušan Švento, Slovak footballer

Dušan Švento is a Slovak former professional football midfielder who played as a left winger or left-back. He spent most of his career with Slavia Prague and Red Bull Salzburg while representing Slovakia.

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01/08/1984

Steve Feak, American game designer

Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is a subgenre of strategy video games in which two teams of players compete on a structured battlefield, each controlling a single character with distinctive abilities that grow stronger as the match progresses. The objective is to destroy the enemy team's main structure while defending one's own. In some MOBA games, the objective can be defeating every player on the enemy team. Matches emphasize team coordination, tactical choices, and real-time combat. Players are assisted by computer-controlled units that periodically spawn in groups and march along set paths toward their enemy's base, which is heavily guarded by defensive structures. Players can influence these units by eliminating enemy waves or supporting their own, affecting lane control and map pressure. This type of multiplayer online video games originated as a subgenre of real-time strategy (RTS); however, most of the traditional RTS elements, such as building construction and unit production, were removed in favor of a more focused player-versus-player experience. The genre blends elements of real-time strategy, role-playing, and action games, combining strategic depth with individual character progression and fast-paced combat.

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Francesco Gavazzi, Italian cyclist

Francesco Gavazzi is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional from 2007 to 2023.

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Brandon Kintzler, American baseball player

Brandon Lee Kintzler is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins, and Philadelphia Phillies.

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Bastian Schweinsteiger, German footballer

Bastian Schweinsteiger is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Earlier in his career, he primarily played as a wide midfielder before later switching to a central midfield role. Former Germany national team manager Joachim Löw has referred to Schweinsteiger as one of the greatest players the country has ever produced.

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01/08/1983

Bobby Carpenter, American football player

Robert Joseph Carpenter III is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, and was selected by the Cowboys in the first round of the 2006 NFL draft. He also played in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins, the Detroit Lions and the New England Patriots.

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Craig Clarke, New Zealand rugby player

Craig Brian James Clarke is a retired rugby union player from New Zealand. He played as a lock during his career, winning two Super Rugby titles with the Chiefs where he served as captain. He also captained Taranaki in the ITM Cup. Before his retirement he was playing for the Irish provincial team Connacht in the Pro12, and served as the team captain. Clarke's ability to anticipate play and adaptability to the referee's rulings are two of his key attributes.

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Julien Faubert, French footballer

Julien Alex Thomas Faubert is a French former professional footballer who played as a right back. Born in France, he played in one match for the France national team, in which he scored, before switching allegiance to the Martinique national team in 2014.

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David Gervasi, Swiss decathlete

David Alvarez Gervasi is a decathlete from Switzerland. He set his personal best score in the men's decathlon on 1 June 2008 at the 2008 Hypo-Meeting in Götzis. Gervasi is a two-time national champion in the men's decathlon: 2005 and 2006.

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01/08/1982

Basem Fathi, Jordanian footballer

Basem Fat'hi Omar Othman is a retired Jordanian footballer.

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Montserrat Lombard, English actress, director, and screenwriter

Montserrat Lombard is a British actress known for playing Sharon 'Shaz' Granger in the BBC drama series Ashes to Ashes.

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01/08/1981

Dean Cox, Australian footballer

Dean Michael Cox is a retired Australian rules footballer and the current senior coach of the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). After winning the Simpson Medal with East Perth in the 2000 WAFL premiership, Cox debuted in the AFL with the West Coast Eagles in 2001. A ruckman, Cox was named in the All-Australian team six times, including four seasons consecutively from 2005 to 2008. In 2006, he played in West Coast's premiership side and in 2008 he won West Coast's best and fairest award. Cox retired at the end of the 2014 season, finishing his career with 290 games, a club record, and 169 goals.

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Pia Haraldsen, Norwegian journalist and author

Pia Renate Haraldsen is a Norwegian TV personality, comedian, and author, most known for her interviews on the Norwegian TV show Rikets Røst.

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Christofer Heimeroth, German footballer

Christofer Heimeroth is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

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Stephen Hunt, Irish footballer

Stephen Patrick Hunt is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a winger for Crystal Palace, Brentford, Reading, Hull City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Ipswich Town and Coventry City. At international level, he made 39 appearances scoring once for the Republic of Ireland national team. His younger brother, Noel, was also a footballer.

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Jamie Jones-Buchanan, English rugby player

Jamie Daniel Peter Jones-Buchanan is a British rugby league coach, former professional player, and the Chief Executive of the Leeds Rhinos. He was briefly the interim head coach for Leeds in the Super League XXVII season.

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01/08/1980

Mancini, Brazilian footballer

Alessandro Faiolhe Amantino, more commonly known as Mancini, is a Brazilian football coach and former player.

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Romain Barras, French decathlete

Romain Barras is a French decathlete. At the Universiade he finished fifth in 2001 and first in 2003, the latter in a personal-best score of 8,196 points. He represented France at the 2004 Summer Olympics and came in thirteenth place overall in the decathlon. He became the regional champion at the 2005 Mediterranean Games.

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Esteban Paredes, Chilean footballer

Esteban Efraín Paredes Quintanilla is a Chilean football manager and former footballer who played as a forward. He is currently in charge of Santiago Morning.

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01/08/1979

Junior Agogo, Ghanaian footballer (died 2019)

Manuel "Junior" Agogo was a Ghanaian professional footballer who played as a striker. He was born in Ghana but spent most of his childhood in the UK. He then moved back to Ghana during his years in secondary school. He began his youth career at Sheffield Wednesday in 1995, moving up to the senior squad in 1997. He played for fifteen different clubs over the next fifteen years, before retiring from professional football in 2012. He spent most of his playing career in England, with additional spells in the US, Egypt, Cyprus and Scotland. His longest spell was at Bristol Rovers (2003–2006), where he made 140 appearances and scored over 40 goals before moving to Nottingham Forest.

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Nathan Fien, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player

Nathan Fien, also known by the nickname of "Fieny", is a professional rugby league assistant coach with the Dolphins since their inaugural 2023 season in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition.

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Jason Momoa, American actor, director, and producer

Joseph Jason Namakaeha Momoa is an American actor and film producer. He made his acting debut as Jason Ioane on the syndicated action drama series Baywatch: Hawaii (1999–2001), which was followed by portrayals of Ronon Dex on the Syfy science fiction series Stargate Atlantis (2005–2009), and Khal Drogo in the first two seasons of the HBO fantasy drama series Game of Thrones (2011–2012). He went on to play the lead roles in the Discovery Channel historical drama series Frontier (2016–2018), and the Apple TV shows See (2019–2022) and Chief of War (2025).

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Grant Wooden, Australian rugby league player

Grant Wooden is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s. He played for Manly Warringah and the Northern Eagles in the NRL competition.

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01/08/1978

Andy Blignaut, Zimbabwean cricketer

Arnoldus Mauritius Blignaut is a Zimbabwean former cricketer, who played all formats of the game. He was a right-arm fast-medium bowler, also known as a hard-hitting batsman in ODIs, where he frequently scored a fast rate; though he was seldom able to sustain this form and keeping his wicket intact through many overs. He more often played ODIs, where many runs in a short time are desired, than Tests.

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Björn Ferry, Swedish biathlete

Björn Ferry is a Swedish former biathlete and Olympic champion. He began competing internationally in World Cup competitions in 2001, but did not win his first international race until the 2007–2008 season. In 2007, he won gold in the mixed relay event at the Biathlon World Championships. In 2010, at his third Winter Olympics appearance, he won the gold medal in the pursuit event. He started the event in 8th place as determined by the previous sprint event, but managed to overtake the race leader on the final lap.

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Dhani Harrison, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

Dhani Harrison is an English and American musician, composer and singer-songwriter. He is the son of George Harrison, lead guitarist of the Beatles, and Olivia Harrison. Dhani debuted as a professional musician assisting in recording his father's final album, Brainwashed, and completing it with the assistance of Jeff Lynne after his father's death in November 2001.

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Chris Iwelumo, Scottish footballer

Christopher Robert Iwelumo is a Scottish former professional football coach and player, who played as a striker.

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Edgerrin James, American football player

Edgerrin Tyree James is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at the University of Miami for the Miami Hurricanes. He was selected by the Indianapolis Colts fourth overall in the 1999 NFL draft. James also played for the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks.

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01/08/1977

Marc Denis, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster

Joseph Marc Denis is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender, who last played with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). For the 2009–10 season, he was hired as the goaltenders' coach of the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) team. He is currently working as a colour analyst for the Canadiens on the Francophone Canadian sports network RDS, working alongside Pierre Houde. He is the all time leader in save percentage in the shootout among goaltenders who have faced at least 40 shootout attempts.

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Haspop, French-Moroccan dancer, choreographer, and actor

Hassan El Hajjami, also known as Haspop, is a French stage director, choreographer and dancer.

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Darnerien McCants, American-Canadian football player

Darnerien Richard McCants is an American former professional football wide receiver. He was selected by the Washington Redskins in the fifth round of the 2001 NFL draft. He played college football at Delaware State.

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Damien Saez, French singer-songwriter and guitarist

Damien Saez or just Saez, is a French singer-songwriter and musician.

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Yoshi Tatsu, Japanese wrestler and boxer

Naofumi Yamamoto is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Yoshi Tatsu.

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01/08/1976

Don Hertzfeldt, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor

Don Hertzfeldt is an American animator, writer, and independent filmmaker. He is a two-time Academy Award nominee who is best known for the animated films It's Such a Beautiful Day, the World of Tomorrow series, ME, and Rejected. In 2014, his work appeared on The Simpsons. Nine of his short films have competed at the Sundance Film Festival, a festival record. He is also the only filmmaker to have won the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize for Short Film twice.

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Søren Jochumsen, Danish footballer

Søren Jochumsen is a Danish retired professional football (soccer) player, who played as a goalkeeper. Despite his lack of height, he is known as one of the most reliable goalkeepers of the league.

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Nwankwo Kanu, Nigerian footballer

Nwankwo Kanu is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a forward. A member of the Arsenal 'Invincibles', he was named by the club as one of its greatest ever players. Kanu is widely considered one of the greatest African footballers of all time.

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David Nemirovsky, Canadian ice hockey player

David Semenovich Nemirovsky is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward.

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Hasan Şaş, Turkish footballer and manager

Hasan Gökhan Şaş is a Turkish football coach and former player, who played as a winger.

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Cristian Stoica, Romanian-Italian rugby player

Cristian Alexandru Stoica, also known as Alessandro Stoica is a Romanian-Italian retired rugby union footballer, who played as a centre.

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01/08/1975

Vhrsti, Czech author and illustrator

Vhrsti is a Czech illustrator, writer, children's book author, comics artist and scenarist, member of the unofficial new wave of Czech and Slovak comics Generation Zero and the Czech Cartoonists' Union. He lives in Plzeň in the Czech Republic.

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01/08/1974

Cher Calvin, American journalist

Cher Calvin is the lead news anchor for KTLA, the flagship station for The CW and Nexstar in Los Angeles.

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Marek Galiński, Polish cyclist (died 2014)

Marek Galiński was a Polish professional mountain biker and road racing cyclist. During his sporting career, he won nine Polish national championship titles and a silver medal in men's cross-country racing at the 2003 UCI World Cup series in Sankt Wendel, Germany. Galinski also represented his nation Poland in four editions of the Olympic Games, where he competed in men's mountain biking from the time that it officially became an Olympic sport in 1996. Galinski raced professionally for more than five seasons on the JBG2 Professional MTB Team. After his retirement from the sport in 2011, Galinski worked as an assistant coach of both Polish and Russian mountain bike national teams. Upon his return from a training camp in Cyprus on 17 March 2014, Galinski was suddenly killed in a car accident near Jędrzejów.

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Tyron Henderson, South African cricketer

Tyron Henderson is a former South African professional cricketer who played in one international match for the South African national team. He was born in Durban in Natal Province.

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Dennis Lawrence, Trinidadian footballer and coach

Dennis William Lawrence is a Trinidadian professional football coach and former player who is currently assistant head coach of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion.

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Beckie Scott, Canadian skier

Rebecca Scott is a Canadian retired cross-country skier. She is an Olympic gold and silver medallist, and the first Canadian to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing. She is the founder of a national organization dedicated to improving health, wellness and education outcomes for Indigenous youth through sport and play. Scott was Chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Athlete Committee, and gained notoriety for her position during the Russian (2014–2019) doping scandal. She served as an International Olympic Committee member by virtue of being elected to the IOC Athlete's Commission along with Saku Koivu between 2006 and 2014. She is married to the American former cross-country skier Justin Wadsworth. They have two children.

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01/08/1973

Gregg Berhalter, American soccer player and coach

Gregg Matthew Berhalter is an American soccer coach and former player. He is the current head coach and director of football for Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire, a role he assumed following the end of the 2024 season. From 2018 to 2023 and 2023–24, he was the head coach of the United States men's national soccer team. He is the first person in United States history to participate in the FIFA World Cup as both a player and head coach. His tenure as coach has been noted for the recruitment of a younger player roster.

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Tempestt Bledsoe, American actress

Tempestt Bledsoe is an American actress. She is best known for her childhood role as Vanessa Huxtable, the fourth child of Cliff and Clair Huxtable on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–92). In December 2010, it was announced that Bledsoe would be the host of Clean House on the Style Network, replacing Niecy Nash. From September 2012 to February 2013, she was one of the stars of the NBC TV sitcom Guys with Kids, portraying Marny.

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Veerle Dejaeghere, Belgian runner

Veerle Dejaeghere is a Belgian runner, who has specialized in the 3000 metres steeplechase. She represented her country at the Summer Olympics in 2000 and 2008.

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Edurne Pasaban, Spanish mountaineer

Edurne Pasaban Lizarribar is a Basque Spanish mountaineer. On May 17, 2010, she became the first woman to climb all 14 of the eight-thousanders – and the 21st person to do so. Her first 8,000 peak had been achieved 9 years earlier, on May 23, 2001, when she reached the summit of Mount Everest. She has also completed the seven summits.

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01/08/1972

Nicke Andersson, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist

Anders Niklas Andersson, also known as Nicke Andersson, is a Swedish musician best known as the singer and guitarist for the rock band The Hellacopters and drummer for the death metal band Entombed. Besides his work with the Hellacopters and Entombed, Andersson currently plays and writes songs for the soul band The Solution, the death metal band Death Breath, the hard rock band Lucifer, and rock band Imperial State Electric.

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Christer Basma, Norwegian footballer and coach

Christer Basma is a Norwegian former footballer who played as a defender. He played 16 consecutive seasons Tippeligaen, for Kongsvinger, Stabæk and Rosenborg. With 350 top division appearances, Basma has made the eighth-highest number of appearances in Eliteserien. Basma was capped 40 times for Norway. He has later worked as assistant coach of Ranheim.

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Todd Bouman, American football player and coach

Todd Matthew Bouman is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 1997 after playing college football for the St. Cloud State Huskies. Bouman was also a member of the New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, St. Louis Rams, and Baltimore Ravens.

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Thomas Woods, American historian, economist, and academic

Thomas Ernest Woods Jr. is an American author, podcast host, and libertarian commentator who is currently a senior fellow at the Mises Institute. A proponent of the Austrian School of economics, Woods hosts a podcast, The Tom Woods Show, and formerly co-hosted the weekly podcast Contra Krugman.

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01/08/1970

Quentin Coryatt, American football player

Quentin John Coryatt is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Texas A&M University. He is distinguished as being the first Crucian to play in the NFL.

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David James, English footballer and manager

David Benjamin James is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. His most recent position was manager at Kerala Blasters FC in the Indian Super League in 2018. He is also a pundit on Sky Sports football coverage.

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Eugenie van Leeuwen, Dutch cricketer

Eugenie van Leeuwen is a former Dutch cricketer who represented the Netherlands women's national cricket team.

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01/08/1969

Andrei Borissov, Estonian footballer and manager

Andrei Borissov is an Estonian football coach and former professional footballer. He played the position of midfielder and is 1.77 m tall and weighs 76 kg. Borissov is the former member of the Estonia national football team, with 14 caps to his name.

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Kevin Jarvis, American baseball player and scout

Kevin Thomas Jarvis is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played professionally for many teams including the Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers, Oakland Athletics, Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Boston Red Sox. As of 2015, he is a scout for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

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Graham Thorpe, English cricketer and journalist (died 2024)

Graham Paul Thorpe was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Surrey and represented England in 100 Test matches. He also played 82 One Day Internationals (ODIs) including appearances at the 1996 and 1999 World Cups and deputised as captain on three occasions.

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01/08/1968

Stacey Augmon, American basketball player and coach

Stacey Orlando Augmon is an American basketball coach and former player. He serves as the player development coach of the Sacramento Kings. He played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He gained the nickname "Plastic Man" due to his athletic ability to contort his body. Augmon played college basketball for the UNLV Runnin' Rebels. He was also an assistant coach at his alma mater, UNLV, under coach Dave Rice. He was previously the head coach of Jeonju KCC Egis of the Korean Basketball League.

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Dan Donegan, American heavy metal guitarist and songwriter

Daniel Joseph Donegan is an American musician who is the guitarist and one of the founding members of heavy metal band Disturbed.

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Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Japanese baseball player and sportscaster

Shigetoshi Hasegawa is a retired relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. He achieved the most recognition when he played for the Seattle Mariners from 2002 through 2005. Previously, Hasegawa played with the Anaheim Angels (1997–2001), and before that spent six years with the Orix BlueWave. He bats and throws right-handed.

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01/08/1967

Gregg Jefferies, American baseball player and coach

Gregory Scott Jefferies is an American former infielder/outfielder in Major League Baseball who had a 14-year career from 1987 to 2000. He played for six MLB teams, primarily the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. He was a highly touted prospect who became the first two-time winner of the Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award. In 2017, Baseball America called him their most highly regarded prospect until Andruw Jones. He went on to become a two-time All-Star.

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José Padilha, Brazilian director, producer and screenwriter

José Bastos Padilha Neto is a Brazilian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the Brazilian critical and financial successes Elite Squad and Elite Squad: The Enemy Within and the 2014 remake of RoboCop. He has won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for Elite Squad in 2008. He is also the producer of the Netflix original series Narcos, starring frequent collaborator Wagner Moura, and directed the first two episodes in the series.

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01/08/1966

James St. James, American club promoter and author

James St. James is a television and internet personality, author, celebutante, frequent collaborator with Mathu Andersen, and former "Club Kid", a member of the New York City club scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

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01/08/1965

Brandt Jobe, American golfer

Brandt William Jobe is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Champions Tour. He has also played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour and the Japan Golf Tour.

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Sam Mendes, English director and producer

Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes is a British filmmaker and stage director. In 2000, Mendes was appointed a CBE for his services to drama, and he was knighted in the 2020 New Years Honours List. In 2000, Mendes was awarded the Shakespeare Prize by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation in Hamburg, Germany. In 2005, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Directors Guild of Great Britain. In 2008, The Daily Telegraph ranked him number 15 in their list of the "100 most powerful people in British culture".

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01/08/1964

Adam Duritz, American singer-songwriter and producer

Adam Fredric Duritz is an American singer, best known as the frontman for the rock band Counting Crows, for which he serves as a founding member and main composer. Since its founding in 1991, Counting Crows has sold over 20 million records, released seven studio albums that have been certified gold or platinum, and been nominated for two Grammy Awards and an Academy Award.

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Fiona Hyslop, Scottish businesswoman and politician

Fiona Jane Hyslop is a Scottish politician. Hyslop served in various offices under first ministers Salmond, Sturgeon, Yousaf and Swinney; as education secretary, culture secretary, transport secretary, and economy secretary as well as in junior ministerial roles. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she served as member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Linlithgow constituency from 2011 to 2026, having represented the Lothians region from 1999 to 2011.

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01/08/1963

Demián Bichir, Mexican-American actor and producer

Demián Bichir Nájera is a Mexican actor. After starring in telenovelas, he began to appear in Hollywood films. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in A Better Life.

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Coolio, American rapper, producer, and actor (died 2022)

Artis Leon Ivey Jr., known by his stage name Coolio, was an American rapper, songwriter and record producer. He was best known for his single "Gangsta's Paradise" (1995), which won a Grammy Award, and was credited for changing the course of hip-hop by bringing it to a wider audience. Other singles included "Fantastic Voyage" (1994), "1, 2, 3, 4 " (1996), and "C U When U Get There" (1997). He released nine albums, the first three of which achieved mainstream success: It Takes a Thief (1994), Gangsta's Paradise (1995), and My Soul (1997). Coolio first achieved recognition as a member of the gangsta rap group WC and the Maad Circle. Coolio sold 4.8 million albums in the U.S.

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John Carroll Lynch, American actor

John Carroll Lynch is an American character actor and film director. He first gained notice for his role as Norm Gunderson in Fargo (1996). He is also known for his television work on the ABC sitcom The Drew Carey Show (1997–2004) as the title character's cross-dressing brother, Steve Carey, as well as on four seasons of American Horror Story (2014–2019), most notably as breakout character Twisty the Clown. His films include Face/Off (1997), Mercury Rising (1998) Gothika (2003), Zodiac (2007), Gran Torino (2008), Shutter Island (2010), Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011), Ted 2 (2015), The Invitation (2015), The Founder (2016), and The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020). He made his directorial debut with the 2017 film Lucky.

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Koichi Wakata, Japanese astronaut and engineer

Koichi Wakata is a Japanese engineer and an astronaut working for Axiom Space. Wakata retired from JAXA in 2024 after a career in spaceflight spanning nearly two decades. He logged over 500 days in space across five missions: three aboard the Space Shuttle, one on the Soyuz, and one on the Crew Dragon. His missions included three long-duration stays on the International Space Station (ISS) and two short-duration flights—one to the ISS and one aboard the Space Shuttle. Notably, during Expedition 39, he became the first Japanese commander of the ISS.

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Dean Wareham, New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist

Dean Wareham is an American musician and actor who co-founded the band Galaxie 500 in 1987. He departed from Galaxie 500 in April 1991 and went on to establish the band Luna. Following Luna's dissolution in 2005, Wareham has collaborated on albums with fellow Luna band member Britta Phillips, forming the duo known as Dean & Britta. They have also ventured into film composition, notably contributing to the soundtracks of Noah Baumbach's films The Squid and the Whale (2005) and Mistress America. In 2014, Wareham released a self-titled album and in 2015, he reformed Luna.

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01/08/1962

Jacob Matlala, South African boxer (died 2013)

Jacob "Baby Jake" Matlala was a South African professional boxer and four-time world champion who competed from 1980 to 2002. Standing about 4 ft 10 in, he is the shortest boxer in history to win a world title. He was a world champion in two weight classes: having held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) flyweight title from 1993 to 1995 and the WBO light-flyweight from 1995 to 1997. He scored high-profile wins against international opponents during the 1990s. He was a hugely popular national figure in South Africa — admired for his fighting spirit and charitable work — and was publicly counted among Nelson Mandela’s favourite sportspeople. In 2004, Matlala was voted #72 in the "100 Greatest South Africans" poll organized by SABC.

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01/08/1960

Chuck D, American rapper and songwriter

Carlton Douglas Ridenhour, known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip-hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D is also a member of the rock supergroup Prophets of Rage. He has released several solo albums, most notably Autobiography of Mistachuck (1996).

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Suzi Gardner, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist

Suzanne Gardner is an American musician and creative director best known for being a guitarist, vocalist, and co-founder of the rock band L7.

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01/08/1959

Joe Elliott, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Joseph Thomas Elliott is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the lead singer and one of the founding members of the hard rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of the David Bowie tribute band the Cybernauts and the Mott the Hoople cover band Down 'n' Outz. Elliott is known for his distinctive and wide-ranging raspy vocals. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Def Leppard on 29 March 2019. He is considered by some journalists to be among the greatest glam metal singers of all time.

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01/08/1958

Rob Buck, American guitarist and songwriter (died 2000)

Robert Norman Buck was an American guitarist and founding member of the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. Buck co-wrote some of the most successful songs recorded by 10,000 Maniacs, including "What's the Matter Here", "Hey Jack Kerouac", and "These Are Days".

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Michael Penn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Michael Daniel Penn is an American musician, singer, and composer. His 1989 single "No Myth" was a top 20 hit in the U.S. and successful in several other countries.

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Kiki Vandeweghe, American basketball player and coach

Ernest Maurice "Kiki" VanDeWeghe III is an American former professional basketball player, coach and executive who is an advisor for the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, he was a two-time NBA All-Star.

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01/08/1957

Anne-Marie Hutchinson, British lawyer (died 2020)

Anne-Marie Hutchinson OBE QC (Hon) was an Irish lawyer known for her work in the UK concerning children's rights, particularly forced marriage and international child abduction.

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Taylor Negron, American actor and screenwriter (died 2015)

Brad Stephen "Taylor" Negron was an American actor, comedian, writer and artist. He is known for his roles as Albert in Punchline (1988); Milo in the 1991 action comedy The Last Boy Scout; and David in Angels in the Outfield (1994).

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01/08/1954

Trevor Berbick, Jamaican-Canadian boxer (died 2006)

Trevor Berbick was a Jamaican professional boxer who competed from 1976 to 2000. He won the WBC heavyweight title in 1986 by defeating Pinklon Thomas, then lost it in his first defense in the same year to Mike Tyson. Berbick was the last boxer to fight Muhammad Ali, defeating him in 1981 by unanimous decision.

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James Gleick, American journalist and author

James Gleick is an American author and historian of science whose work has chronicled the cultural impact of modern technology. Recognized for his writing about complex subjects through the techniques of narrative nonfiction, he has been called "one of the great science writers of all time". He is part of the inspiration for Jurassic Park character Ian Malcolm.

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Benno Möhlmann, German footballer and manager

Benno Hans Möhlmann is a German retired football player and manager. He played for Preußen Münster, Werder Bremen, and Hamburger SV.

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01/08/1953

Robert Cray, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist

Robert William Cray is an American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards.

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Howard Kurtz, American journalist and author

Howard Alan Kurtz is an American journalist and author and host of Media Buzz on Fox News. He is the former media writer for The Washington Post and the former Washington bureau chief for The Daily Beast. He has written five books about the media. Kurtz left CNN and joined Fox News in 2013.

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01/08/1952

Zoran Đinđić, Serbian philosopher and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Serbia (died 2003)

Zoran Đinđić was a Serbian politician and philosopher who served as the prime minister of Serbia from 2001 until his assassination in 2003. He was the mayor of Belgrade in 1997, becoming the first non-communist and first democratically elected official to hold both key positions after World War II. Đinđić was a long-time opposition politician and held a doctorate in philosophy.

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01/08/1951

Tim Bachman, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2023)

Timothy Gregg Bachman was a Canadian guitarist and vocalist best known for his work with rock bands Brave Belt and Bachman–Turner Overdrive (BTO). Bachman was one of the four founding members of BTO together with his brothers Randy (guitar/vocals) and Robbie (drums), and Fred Turner (bass/vocals). BTO has sold nearly 30 million albums worldwide.

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Tommy Bolin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1976)

Thomas Richard Bolin was an American rock guitarist and songwriter who played with Zephyr, the James Gang and Deep Purple, in addition to maintaining a career as a solo artist and session musician, notably for Billy Cobham on his 1973 album Spectrum.

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Pete Mackanin, American baseball player, coach, and manager

Peter Mackanin, Jr., is an American former professional baseball utility player, coach, scout, and manager, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Montreal Expos, Philadelphia Phillies, and Minnesota Twins, from 1973 to 1981.

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01/08/1950

Roy Williams, American basketball player and coach

Roy Allen Williams is an American retired college basketball coach who served as the men's head coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels for 18 seasons and the Kansas Jayhawks for 15 seasons. He was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.

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01/08/1949

Bettina Arndt, Australian writer and commentator

Bettina Mary Arndt is an Australian writer and commentator who specialises in sex and gender issues. Starting as a sex therapist, she established her career in the 1970s publishing and broadcasting as well as writing several books. In the last two decades she has abandoned feminism and attracted controversy with her social commentary and her views on sexual abuse, domestic violence and men's rights advocacy.

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Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Kyrgyzstani politician, 2nd President of Kyrgyzstan

Kurmanbek Sali uulu Bakiyev is a Kyrgyzstani politician who served as the second president of Kyrgyzstan from 2005 until his removal from office as a result of the Kyrgyz Revolution of 2010, forcing Bakiyev to flee the country.

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Jim Carroll, American poet, author, and musician (died 2009)

James Dennis Carroll was an American author, poet, and punk musician. Carroll was best known for his 1978 autobiographical work The Basketball Diaries, which inspired a 1995 film of the same title that starred Leonardo DiCaprio as Carroll, and his 1980 song "People Who Died" with the Jim Carroll Band.

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Ray Nettles, American football player (died 2009)

Ray Nettles was a football linebacker at the University of Tennessee who played professional Canadian football from 1972 to 1980. He was a five-time Canadian Football League (FL) All-Star and Hall of Famer.

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01/08/1948

Avi Arad, Israeli-American screenwriter and producer, founded Marvel Studios

Avi Arad is an Israeli-American studio executive and producer of film, television and animation. He became the CEO of Toy Biz in the 1990s, was the chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment and is the founder, former chairman and former CEO of the latter's successor, Marvel Studios. He has produced and sometimes written a wide array of live-action, animated, and television comic book adaptations.

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Cliff Branch, American football player (died 2019)

Clifford Branch Jr. was an American professional football wide receiver who played for the Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders during his entire 14-year National Football League (NFL) career. He won three NFL championships with the Raiders in Super Bowl XI, XV, and XVIII. He was selected by the Raiders in the fourth round of the 1972 NFL draft after playing college football for the Colorado Buffaloes. He was posthumously elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022.

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David Gemmell, English journalist and author (died 2006)

David Andrew Gemmell was a British author of heroic fantasy, best known for his debut novel, Legend. A former journalist and newspaper editor, Gemmell had his first work of fiction published in 1984. He went on to write over thirty novels. Gemmell's works display violence, yet also explore themes of honour, loyalty and redemption. There is always a strong heroic theme but nearly always the heroes are flawed in some way. With over one million copies sold, his work continues to sell worldwide.

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01/08/1947

Lorna Goodison, Jamaican poet and author

Lorna Gaye Goodison is a Jamaican poet, essayist and memoirist, a West Indian writer, whose career spans four decades. She is now professor emerita, English Language and Literature/Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of Michigan, previously serving as the Lemuel A. Johnson Professor of English and African and Afroamerican Studies. She was appointed Poet Laureate of Jamaica in 2017, serving in the role until 2020.

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Chantal Montellier, French comics creator and artist

Chantal Montellier, born on August 1, 1947, in Bouthéon near Saint-Étienne in the Loire Department, is a French comics creator and artist, editorial cartoonist, novelist, and painter. As the first female editorial cartoonist in France, she is noted for pioneering women's involvement in comic books.

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01/08/1946

Boz Burrell, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and guitarist (died 2006)

Raymond "Boz" Burrell was an English musician. Originally a vocalist and guitarist, Burrell is best known for being the vocalist and bassist of King Crimson from 1971 to 1972 and the original bassist of Bad Company from 1973 to their first disbandment in 1982 and once more from 1998 to 1999. He died of a heart attack in Spain in 2006, aged 60.

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Rick Coonce, American drummer (died 2011)

Eric Michael Coonce was the drummer for American rock band The Grass Roots from 1966 to 1972.

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Richard O. Covey, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut

Richard Oswalt Covey is a retired United States Air Force officer, former NASA astronaut, and a member of the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame.

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Fiona Stanley, Australian epidemiologist and academic

Fiona Juliet Stanley is an Australian epidemiologist noted for her public health work, her research into child and maternal health as well as birth disorders such as cerebral palsy. Stanley is the patron of the Telethon Kids Institute and a distinguished professorial fellow in the School of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of Western Australia. From 1990 to December 2011 she was the founding director of Telethon Kids.

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01/08/1945

Douglas Osheroff, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Douglas Dean Osheroff is an American physicist known for his work in experimental condensed matter physics, in particular for his co-discovery of superfluidity in Helium-3. For his contributions he shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physics along with David Lee and Robert C. Richardson. Osheroff is currently the J. G. Jackson and C. J. Wood Professor of Physics, emeritus, at Stanford University.

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01/08/1944

Dmitry Nikolayevich Filippov, Russian banker and politician (died 1998)

Dmitry Filippov was a Soviet and Russian politician and businessman. An influential member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Lensovet before 1991, Filippov established Saint Petersburg's tax service in the early 1990s and was one of the city's most prominent businessmen during the 1990s, with significant investments in the Russian petrochemical industry. He was killed in a 1998 bombing; Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly member Yury Shutov was found guilty of his assassination by the Saint Petersburg city court in 2006 after a seven-year trial.

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01/08/1942

Jerry Garcia, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1995)

Jerome John Garcia was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 1960s. Although he disavowed the role, Garcia was viewed by many as the leader of the band. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a member of the Grateful Dead.

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Giancarlo Giannini, Italian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

Giancarlo Giannini is an Italian actor. He won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in Love and Anarchy (1973) and received an Academy Award nomination for Seven Beauties (1975). He is also a four-time recipient of the David di Donatello Award for Best Actor.

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01/08/1941

Ron Brown, American politician, 30th United States Secretary of Commerce (died 1996)

Ronald Harmon Brown was an American politician and lobbyist who served as the 30th United States secretary of commerce during the first term of President Bill Clinton. Before this, he was chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). He was the first African American to hold these positions. He was killed, along with 34 others, in a 1996 plane crash in Croatia.

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Étienne Roda-Gil, French songwriter and screenwriter (died 2004)

Étienne Roda-Gil was a songwriter and screenwriter. He was an anarchist and an anarcho-syndicalist.

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01/08/1940

Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, Iranian writer and actor

Mahmoud Dowlatabadi is an Iranian writer and actor, known for his promotion of social and artistic freedom in contemporary Iran and his realist depictions of rural life, drawn from personal experience. In 2020, he wrote and recited a work called Soldier for the Art of Peace global project, composed and arranged by Mehran Alirezaei. He has collaborated with this project.

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Mervyn Kitchen, English cricketer and umpire

Mervyn John Kitchen, is a former English first-class cricketer and international umpire. In his playing days he was a left-handed batsman for Somerset County Cricket Club, making 15,230 runs in his 354 first-class games between 1960 and 1979. He topped the Somerset averages in 1966 and 1968. After retiring as a player, he went on to become a first-class cricket umpire. He umpired in 20 Test matches and 28 One-Day Internationals before retiring from that at the age of 65 in 2005.

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Henry Silverman, American businessman, founded Cendant

Henry R. Silverman is an American entrepreneur and private equity investor. Silverman is best known for his role in building Cendant Corporation into a multibillion-dollar business services company that provided car rentals, travel reservation services as well as real estate brokerage services and was also the largest franchisor of hotels globally.

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01/08/1939

Bob Frankford, English-Canadian physician and politician (died 2015)

Robert Timothy Stansfield "Bob" Frankford was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995 who represented the Toronto riding of Scarborough East.

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Terry Kiser, American actor

Terry Kiser is an American actor. While he has more than 140 acting credits to his name, with a career spanning more than 50 years, he is best known for portraying the deceased title character Bernie Lomax in the comedy Weekend at Bernie's and its sequel, Weekend at Bernie's II.

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Stephen Sykes, English bishop and theologian (died 2014)

Stephen Whitefield Sykes was a Church of England bishop and academic specialising in divinity. He was Van Mildert Professor of Divinity at Durham University from 1974 to 1985, and Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University from 1985 to 1990. Between 1990 and 1999, he served as the Bishop of Ely, the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Ely. He was the Principal of St John's College, Durham from 1999 to 2006. He served as an Honorary Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Durham during his time as head of St John's College and in retirement.

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Robert James Waller, American author and photographer (died 2017)

Robert James Waller was an American author best known for The Bridges of Madison County. He was also a professor, photographer, and musician.

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01/08/1937

Al D'Amato, American lawyer and politician

Alfonse Marcello D'Amato is an American attorney, lobbyist, and Republican politician who represented the state of New York in the United States Senate from 1981 to 1999. From 1995 to 1999, he chaired the Senate Banking Committee. As of 2026, he is the most recent Republican to serve New York in the U.S. Senate.

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01/08/1936

W. D. Hamilton, British biologist, psychologist, and academic (died 2000)

William Donald Hamilton was a British evolutionary biologist, recognised as one of the most significant evolutionary theorists of the 20th century. Hamilton became known for his theoretical work expounding a rigorous genetic basis for the existence of altruism, an insight that was a key part of the development of the gene-centered view of evolution. He is considered one of the forerunners of sociobiology. Hamilton published important work on sex ratios and the evolution of sex. From 1984 to his death in 2000, he was a Royal Society Research Professor at Oxford University.

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Yves Saint Laurent, Algerian-French fashion designer, co-founded Yves Saint Laurent (died 2008)

Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent, better known as Yves Saint Laurent or YSL, was a French fashion designer who founded his eponymous fashion label in 1962. He is widely regarded as one of the foremost designers of the 20th century.

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Laurie Taylor, English sociologist, radio host, and academic

Laurence John Taylor is an English sociologist and radio presenter, originally from Liverpool.

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01/08/1935

Geoff Pullar, English cricketer (died 2014)

Geoffrey Pullar was an English cricketer, who played for Lancashire and Gloucestershire and in 28 Tests for England.

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01/08/1934

John Beck, New Zealand cricketer (died 2000)

John Edward Francis Beck was a New Zealand cricketer who played in eight Test matches between 1953 and 1956. He played Plunket Shield cricket for Wellington from 1954–55 to 1961–62.

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Derek Birdsall, English graphic designer (died 2024)

Derek Birdsall, was a British graphic designer.

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01/08/1933

Dom DeLuise, American actor, singer, director, and producer (died 2009)

Dominick DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, director, musician, chef, and author. Known primarily for comedic roles, he rose to fame in the 1970s as a frequent guest on television variety shows. He is widely recognized for his performances in the films of Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder, as well as a series of collaborations and a double act with Burt Reynolds. Beginning in the 1980s, his popularity expanded to younger audiences from voicing characters in several major animated productions, particularly those of Don Bluth.

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Masaichi Kaneda, Japanese baseball player and manager (died 2019)

Masaichi Kaneda was a Japanese professional baseball pitcher of Zainichi Korean origin, one of the best-known pitchers in Japanese baseball history, and is the only Japanese pitcher to have won 400 games. He was inducted in the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988.

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Meena Kumari, Indian actress (died 1972)

Meena Kumari was an Indian actress and poet, who worked in Hindi films. Known as "The Tragedy Queen", she is regarded among the finest and greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema. In a career spanning 33 years, from child actress to adult, Kumari starred in over 90 films.

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Teri Shields, American actress, producer, and agent (died 2012)

Theresia Anna Lilian Maria Shields was an American actress, who was the mother and manager of actress Brooke Shields.

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Dušan Třeštík, Czech historian and author (died 2007)

Dušan Třeštík was a Czech historian. He specialized in medieval history of the Czech lands and theory of history.

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01/08/1932

Meir Kahane, American-Israeli rabbi and activist, founded the Jewish Defense League (died 1990)

Meir David HaKohen Kahane was an Israeli Orthodox ordained rabbi, convicted terrorist, writer and ultra-nationalist politician. He was the founder of the Israeli political party Kach, whose ideology continues to influence militant and far-right political groups active today in Israel. Kahane was convicted of multiple acts of terrorism in the United States and in Israel.

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01/08/1931

Ramblin' Jack Elliott, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Ramblin' Jack Elliott is an American folk singer, songwriter, and storyteller.

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Trevor Goddard, South African cricketer (died 2016)

Trevor Leslie Goddard was a South African cricketer. A left-handed all-rounder, he played 41 Test matches for South Africa from 1955 to 1970. He captained the young South African team on its five-month tour of Australia and New Zealand in the 1963–64 season, levelling the series with Australia, and was also captain in 1964–65 against England in South Africa.

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01/08/1930

Lionel Bart, English composer (died 1999)

Lionel Bart was an English writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's "Rock with the Caveman" and was the sole creator of the musical Oliver! (1960). With Oliver! and his work alongside theatre director Joan Littlewood at Theatre Royal, Stratford East, he played an instrumental role in the 1960s birth of the British musical theatre scene after an era when American musicals had dominated the West End.

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Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher (died 2002)

Pierre Bourdieu was a French sociologist and public intellectual. Bourdieu's contributions to the sociology of education, the theory of sociology, and sociology of aesthetics have achieved wide influence in several related academic fields. During his academic career he was primarily associated with the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris and the Collège de France.

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Julie Bovasso, American actress and writer (died 1991)

Julia Anne Bovasso was an American actress of stage, screen, and television.

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Lawrence Eagleburger, American lieutenant and politician, 62nd United States Secretary of State (died 2011)

Lawrence Sidney Eagleburger was an American statesman and career diplomat who served briefly as the secretary of state under President George H. W. Bush from December 1992 to January 1993, one of the shortest terms in modern history. Previously, he had served in lesser capacities under Presidents Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan, and as deputy secretary of state to James Baker under George H. W. Bush. Eagleburger is the only career Foreign Service Officer to have served as secretary of state. He was also Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense from January to May 1973. As a career member of the United States Senior Foreign Service, he attained the rank of Career Ambassador on April 12, 1984.

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Károly Grósz, Hungarian politician, 51st Prime Minister of Hungary (died 1996)

Károly Grósz was a Hungarian communist politician, who served as the General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party from 1988 to 1989.

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Geoffrey Holder, Trinidadian-American actor, singer, dancer, and choreographer (died 2014)

Geoffrey Lamont Holder was a Trinidadian-American actor, dancer, musician, director, choreographer, and artist. He was a principal dancer for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, before his film career began in 1957 with an appearance in Carib Gold. For his theatre work, Holder won two Tony Awards, Best Direction of a Musical and Best Costume Design in a Musical for the original Broadway production of The Wiz.

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01/08/1929

Leila Abashidze, Georgian actress (died 2018)

Leila Abashidze was a Georgian actress, director and writer. She was Meritorious Artist of Georgia, People's Artist of Georgia, a recipient of Order of the Red Banner of Labour, as well as of awards of European and Asian film festivals, and has her own honorary star in front of Rustaveli cinema on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi, Georgia. During her career she was widely considered as the "Mary Pickford of the USSR". She is one of the most popular Georgian and Soviet actresses.

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Hafizullah Amin, Afghan educator and politician, Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 1979)

Hafizullah Amin was an Afghan revolutionary and communist head of state, who served in that position for a little over three months, from September 1979 until his assassination. He organized the Saur Revolution of 1978 and co-founded the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA), ruling Afghanistan as General Secretary of the People's Democratic Party.

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Ann Calvello, American roller derby racer (died 2006)

Ann Theresa Calvello was an American athlete and notable personality in the sport of roller derby.

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01/08/1928

Jack Shea, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2013)

Jack Shea was an American television and film director. He was the president of the Directors Guild of America from 1997 to 2002.

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01/08/1927

María Teresa López Boegeholz, Chilean oceanographer (died 2006)

María Teresa López Boegeholz was a Chilean oceanographer and academic. She was considered a pioneer in the field of marine sciences.

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Anthony G. Bosco, American bishop (died 2013)

Anthony Gerard Bosco was an American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Greensburg in Pennsylvania from 1987 to 2004. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania from 1970 to 1987.

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01/08/1926

George Habash, Palestinian politician, founder of the PFLP (died 2008)

George Habash was a Palestinian politician and physician who was the founder and first general-secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) from 1967 to 2000.

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George Hauptfuhrer, American basketball player and lawyer (died 2013)

George Jost Hauptfuhrer Jr. was an American basketball player who, despite being taken third overall in the 1948 BAA Draft after a collegiate career at Louisville and Harvard, decided to pursue a career in law.

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Hannah Hauxwell, English TV personality (died 2018)

Hannah Bayles Tallentire Hauxwell was an English farmer who was the subject of several television documentaries. She first came to public attention after being covered in an ITV documentary, Too Long a Winter, made by Yorkshire Television and produced by Barry Cockcroft, which chronicled the almost unendurable conditions of farmers in the High Pennines in winter.

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01/08/1925

Ernst Jandl, Austrian poet and author (died 2000)

Ernst Jandl was an Austrian writer, poet, and translator. He became known for his experimental lyric, mainly sound poems (Sprechgedichte) in the tradition of concrete and visual poetic forms.

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01/08/1924

Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (died 2015)

Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 1 August 2005 until his death in 2015. Prior to his accession, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 13 June 1982. He was the tenth son of King Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia.

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Frank Havens, American canoeist (died 2018)

Frank Benjamin Havens was an American sprint canoeist who competed from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. He was born in Arlington, Virginia. Competing in four Summer Olympics, he won two medals: in the C-1 10000 m event with a silver in 1948, and a gold in 1952. In Havens' first shot in the 1948 Olympic games, he finished second to Capek by 35.4 seconds in a canoe he borrowed from the Czechs. In 1952, his world record was set in a canoe he and his brother, Bill, imported from Sweden for about $160. He was the only American Olympic gold medal winner in a singles canoeing event until the 2021 Tokyo Olympics where Nevin Harrison won the C-1 Womens 200 m race. He was a member of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and an American Canoe Association Legend of Paddling. He died in July 2018 at the age of 93.

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Marcia Mae Jones, American actress and singer (died 2007)

Marcia Mae Jones was an American film and television actress whose prolific career spanned 57 years.

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Frank Worrell, Barbadian cricketer (died 1967)

The Hon. Sir Frank Mortimer Maglinne Worrell, sometimes referred to by his nickname of "Tae", was a Barbadian West Indies cricketer and Jamaican senator. A stylish right-handed batsman and useful left-arm seam bowler, he became famous in the 1950s as the first black captain of the West Indies cricket team. Along with Everton Weekes and Clyde Walcott, he formed what was known as "The Three Ws" of the West Indian cricket. He was the first batter to have been involved in two 500-run partnerships and remained the only one until Ravindra Jadeja emulated him in the 2010s.

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01/08/1922

Arthur Hill, Canadian-American actor (died 2006)

Arthur Edward Spence Hill was a Canadian actor of film, stage, and television. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as George in the original Broadway production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962). He was also known for playing the title role on the television legal drama Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law (1971–74).

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01/08/1921

Jack Kramer, American tennis player, sailor, and sportscaster (died 2009)

John Albert Kramer was an American tennis player of the 1940s and 1950s, and a pioneer promoter who helped drive the sport towards professionalism at the elite level. Kramer also ushered in the serve-and-volley era in tennis, a playing style with which he won three Grand Slam tournaments. He also led the U.S. Davis Cup tennis team to victory in the 1946 and 1947 Davis Cup finals.

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Pat McDonald, Australian actress (died 1990)

Patricia Ethel McDonald known professionally as Miss Patricia McDonald, and subsequently as Pat McDonald was an Australian Gold Logie winning actress of radio, stage and screen, primarily in small screen, her performance career spanned some 60 years in the industry.

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01/08/1920

Raul Renter, Estonian economist and chess player (died 1992)

Raul Renter was an Estonian economist and chess player, who twice won the Estonian Chess Championship.

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James Mourilyan Tanner, British paediatric endocrinologist (died 2010)

James Mourilyan Tanner was a British paediatric endocrinologist who was best known for his development of the Tanner scale, which measures the stages of sexual development during puberty. He was a professor emeritus of the Institute of Child Health at the University of London.

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01/08/1919

Stanley Middleton, English author (died 2009)

Stanley Middleton FRSL was a British novelist.

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01/08/1918

T. J. Jemison, American minister and activist (died 2013)

Theodore Judson Jemison, better known as T. J. Jemison, was minister of Mount Zion First Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in June 1953 when he led a bus boycott to protest the city's segregated public transit. It was the first boycott of its kind in the modern civil rights movement. He quickly organized a free-ride system to offer car transportation to the city's black residents while the boycott was in effect. This system was studied by Martin Luther King Jr. and served as a model two years later during the Montgomery bus boycott.

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01/08/1916

Fiorenzo Angelini, Italian cardinal (died 2014)

Fiorenzo Angelini was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers in the Roman Curia, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1991. When Cardinal Ersilio Tonini died on 28 July 2013, Cardinal Angelini became the oldest living cardinal until the next consistory where Pope Francis appointed 98-year-old Archbishop Loris Francesco Capovilla as a cardinal.

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Anne Hébert, Canadian author and poet (died 2000)

Anne Hébert, was a Canadian author and poet. She won Canada's top literary honor, the Governor General's Award, three times, twice for fiction and once for poetry.

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01/08/1914

Jack Delano, American photographer and composer (died 1997)

Jack Delano was a Russian Empire-born Ukrainian photographer, filmmaker, and composer, who spent much of his life in Puerto Rico. In the United States, he worked for the Works Progress Administration, United Fund, and most notably, the Farm Security Administration (FSA). He wore many hats as he also was a composer known for his use of Puerto Rican folk material, started a television production company, and was a cartoonist, poet, professor, and architectural designer.

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Alan Moore, Australian painter and educator (died 2015)

Alan Moore was an Australian war artist during World War II. He is best known for his images of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, and the Australian War Memorial holds many of his works.

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J. Lee Thompson, English-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2002)

John Lee Thompson was an English film director, screenwriter and producer. Initially an exponent of social realism, he became known as a versatile and prolific director of thrillers, action, and adventure films.

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01/08/1912

David Brand, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Western Australia (died 1979)

Sir David Brand KCMG was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving premier of Western Australia, in office from 1959 to 1971, and was state leader of the Liberal Party from 1957 to 1972.

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Gego, German-Venezuelan sculptor and academic (died 1994)

Gertrud Louise Goldschmidt, known as Gego, was a modern German-Venezuelan visual artist. Gego is perhaps best known for her geometric and kinetic sculptures made in the 1960s and 1970s, which she described as "drawings without paper".

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Henry Jones, American actor (died 1999)

Henry Burk Jones was an American actor of stage, film, and television.

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01/08/1911

Jackie Ormes, American journalist and cartoonist (died 1985)

Jackie Ormes was an American cartoonist. She is known as the first African-American woman cartoonist and creator of the Torchy Brown comic strip and the Patty-Jo 'n' Ginger panel.

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01/08/1910

James Henry Govier, English painter and illustrator (died 1974)

James Henry Govier was a British painter and etcher, who worked in Swansea and East Anglia.

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Raymond A. Palmer, American author and magazine editor (died 1977)

Raymond Alfred Palmer was an American author and magazine editor. Influential in the first wave of science fiction fandom, his first fiction stories were published in 1935.

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Walter Scharf, American pianist and composer (died 2003)

Walter Scharf was an American musician, best known as a film, television and concert composer and arranger/conductor.

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Gerda Taro, German war photographer (died 1937)

Gerta Pohorylle, known professionally as Gerda Taro, was a German war photographer active during the Spanish Civil War. She is regarded as the first female photojournalist to have died while covering the frontline in a war.

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01/08/1907

Eric Shipton, Sri Lankan-English mountaineer and explorer (died 1977)

Eric Earle Shipton, CBE, was an English Himalayan mountaineer.

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01/08/1905

Helen Sawyer Hogg, American-Canadian astronomer and academic (died 1993)

Helen Battles Sawyer Hogg was an American-Canadian astronomer who pioneered research into globular clusters and variable stars. She was the first female president of several astronomical organizations and a scientist when many universities would not award scientific degrees to women. Her dedication to sharing astronomy with the wider public led to scientific advocacy and journalism, including columns in the Toronto Star and the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. She was considered a "great scientist and a gracious person" over a career of sixty years.

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01/08/1903

Paul Horgan, American historian, author, and academic (died 1995)

Paul George Vincent O'Shaughnessy Horgan was an American writer of historical fiction and non-fiction who mainly wrote about the Southwestern United States. He was the recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes for History.

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01/08/1901

Francisco Guilledo, Filipino boxer (died 1925)

Francisco Villaruel Guilledo, commonly known as Pancho Villa, was a Filipino professional boxer. Villa, who stood only 5 feet and 1 inch (154 cm) tall and never weighed more than 114 pounds (51 kg), despite the racial discrimination of that time, rose from obscurity to become the first Asian to win the World Flyweight Championship in 1923, earning the reputation in some quarters as one of the greatest Flyweight boxers in history. Villa is widely regarded as one of the greatest Filipino boxers of all time alongside Manny Pacquiao and Gabriel Elorde. He was never knocked out in his entire boxing career, which ended with his sudden death at only twenty-three from complications following a tooth extraction.

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01/08/1900

Otto Nothling, Australian cricketer and rugby player (died 1965)

Otto Ernest Nothling was a rugby union player who represented Australia, as well as an Australian cricketer who played in one Test in 1928. He is one of only two Australian rugby and cricket dual internationals, the other being Johnny Taylor. He became a dermatologist.

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01/08/1899

Raymond Mays, English race car driver and businessman (died 1980)

Thomas Raymond Mays was an auto racing driver and entrepreneur from Bourne, Lincolnshire, England.

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01/08/1898

Morris Stoloff, American composer and musical director (died 1980)

Morris W. Stoloff was an American composer. He worked with Sammy Davis Jr., Dinah Shore, Al Jolson and Frank Sinatra.

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01/08/1894

Ottavio Bottecchia, Italian cyclist (died 1927)

Ottavio Bottecchia was an Italian cyclist and the first Italian winner of the Tour de France.

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01/08/1893

Alexander of Greece (died 1920)

Alexander was King of Greece from 11 June 1917 until his death on 25 October 1920.

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01/08/1891

Karl Kobelt, Swiss lawyer and politician, 52nd President of the Swiss Confederation (died 1968)

Karl Kobelt was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council.

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01/08/1889

Walter Gerlach, German physicist and academic (died 1979)

Walther Gerlach was a German physicist who co-discovered, through laboratory experiment, spin quantization in a magnetic field, the Stern–Gerlach effect. The experiment was conceived by Otto Stern in 1921 and successfully conducted first by Gerlach in early 1922. He was Nazi Germany's plenipotentiary of nuclear physics from December 1943 until his capture by US Army in May 1945.

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01/08/1885

George de Hevesy, Hungarian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1966)

George Charles de Hevesy was a Hungarian radiochemist and Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate, recognized in 1943 for his key role in the development of radioactive tracers to study chemical processes such as in the metabolism of animals. He also co-discovered the element hafnium.

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01/08/1881

Otto Toeplitz, German mathematician and academic (died 1940)

Otto Toeplitz was a German mathematician working in functional analysis. In addition to his mathematical research, Toeplitz is well known for the popular mathematics book The Enjoyment of Mathematics, co-authored with Hans Rademacher.

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01/08/1878

Konstantinos Logothetopoulos, Greek physician and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (died 1961)

Konstantinos Logothetopoulos was a Greek medical doctor who became Prime Minister of Greece, directing the Greek collaborationist government during the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II.

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01/08/1877

George Hackenschmidt, Estonian-English wrestler and strongman (died 1968)

Georg Karl Julius Hackenschmidt, known in English-language publications as George Hackenschmidt, was an Estonian strongman, amateur and professional wrestler, writer, and sports philosopher. He is recognized as professional wrestling's first world heavyweight champion.

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01/08/1871

John Lester, American cricketer and soccer player (died 1969)

John Ashby Lester was an American cricketer, active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and a teacher. Lester was one of the Philadelphian cricketers who played from the end of the 19th century until the outbreak of World War I. His obituary in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, described him as "one of the great figures in American cricket." During his career, he played in 53 matches for the Philadelphians, 47 of which are considered first class. From 1897 until his retirement in 1908, Lester led the batting averages in Philadelphia and captained all the international home matches.

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01/08/1865

Isobel Lilian Gloag, English painter (died 1917)

Isobel Lilian Gloag (1865–1917) was an English Victorian painter, known for her oil and watercolour portraits, as well as posters and stained-glass designs.

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01/08/1861

Sammy Jones, Australian cricketer (died 1951)

Samuel Percy Jones was an Australian cricketer who played 12 Test matches between 1882 and 1888.

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01/08/1860

Bazil Assan, Romanian engineer and explorer (died 1918)

Bazil George Assan was a Romanian engineer, explorer and economist. Belonging to a wealthy family in Bucharest, Assan was an important figure in the industrialization of the Kingdom of Romania. He studied engineering, commerce and economics, which impulsed him to discover the globe. In 1896, he became the first Romanian to travel to the Arctic, and between 1897 and 1898, he became the first Romanian to travel around the world. His travels were later presented to King Carol I of Romania. Assan died on 16 June 1918 in Montreux, Switzerland.

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01/08/1858

Gaston Doumergue, French lawyer and politician, 13th President of France (died 1937)

Pierre Paul Henri Gaston Doumergue was a French politician who served as President of France from 1924 to 1931.

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Hans Rott, Austrian organist and composer (died 1884)

Johann Nepomuk Karl Maria Rott was an Austrian composer and organist. His music is little-known today, though he received high praise in his time from Gustav Mahler and Anton Bruckner. He left a symphony and Lieder, among other works.

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01/08/1856

George Coulthard, Australian footballer and cricketer (died 1883)

George Coulthard was an Australian cricketer, umpire and Australian rules footballer.

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01/08/1843

Robert Todd Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 35th United States Secretary of War (died 1926)

Robert Todd Lincoln was an American lawyer and businessman. He was the eldest son of President Abraham Lincoln and First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln and the only one of their four children to reach the age of 19. Robert Lincoln became a business lawyer and company president, serving as both United States Secretary of War (1881–1885) and the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain (1889–1893).

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01/08/1831

Antonio Cotogni, Italian opera singer and educator (died 1918)

Antonio "Toto" Cotogni was an Italian baritone of the first magnitude. Regarded internationally as being one of the greatest male opera singers of the 19th century, he was particularly admired by the composer Giuseppe Verdi. Cotogni forged an important second career as a singing teacher after his retirement from the stage in 1894.

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01/08/1819

Herman Melville, American novelist, short story writer, and poet (died 1891)

Herman Melville was an American writer of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are Moby-Dick (1851); Typee (1846), a romanticized account of his experiences in Polynesia; and Billy Budd, Sailor, a posthumously published novella. At the time of his death, Melville was not well known to the public, but 1919, the centennial of his birth, was the starting point of a Melville revival. Moby-Dick would eventually be considered one of the Great American Novels.

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01/08/1818

Maria Mitchell, American astronomer and academic (died 1889)

Maria Mitchell was an American astronomer, librarian, naturalist, and educator. In 1847, she discovered a comet named 1847 VI that was later known as "Miss Mitchell's Comet" in her honor. She won a gold medal prize for her discovery, which was presented to her by King Christian VIII of Denmark in 1848. Mitchell was the first internationally known woman to work as both a professional astronomer and a professor of astronomy after accepting a position at Vassar College in 1865. She was also the first woman elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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01/08/1815

Richard Henry Dana Jr., American lawyer and politician (died 1882)

Richard Henry Dana Jr. was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts, a descendant of a colonial family, who gained renown as the author of the classic American memoir Two Years Before the Mast and as an attorney who successfully represented the U.S. government before the U.S. Supreme Court during the Civil War in the Prize Cases. Both as a writer and as a lawyer, he was a champion of the downtrodden, from seamen to fugitive slaves and freedmen.

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01/08/1809

William B. Travis, American colonel and lawyer (died 1836)

William Barret "Buck" Travis was a Texian Army officer and lawyer. He is known for helping set the Texas Revolution in motion during the Anahuac disturbances and defending the Alamo Mission during the battle of the Alamo.

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01/08/1779

Francis Scott Key, American lawyer, author, and poet (died 1843)

Francis Scott Key was an American lawyer, author, and poet from Frederick, Maryland, best known as the author of the poem "Defence of Fort M'Henry", which was set to a popular British tune and eventually became the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner". In 1814 Key observed the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore during the War of 1812. He was inspired upon seeing an American flag flying over the fort at dawn: his poem was published within a week with the suggested tune of the popular song "To Anacreon in Heaven". The song with Key's lyrics became known as "The Star-Spangled Banner" and slowly gained in popularity as an unofficial anthem, finally achieving official status as the national anthem more than a century later in 1931.

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Lorenz Oken, German-Swiss botanist, biologist, and ornithologist (died 1851)

Lorenz Oken was a German naturalist, botanist, biologist, and ornithologist. He became a professor of natural history at the University of Jena and from 1833 at the newly founded University of Zurich. He founded the journal Isis.

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01/08/1770

William Clark, American soldier, explorer, and politician, 4th Governor of Missouri Territory (died 1838)

William Clark was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Missouri.

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01/08/1744

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, French soldier, biologist, and academic (died 1829)

Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck, often known simply as Lamarck, was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biological evolution occurred and proceeded in accordance with natural laws, though the mechanism he suggested has been refuted at large.

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01/08/1738

Jacques François Dugommier, French general (died 1794)

Divisional-General Jacques François Coquille, known as Dugommier was a French Army officer who served in the Seven Years' War, American Revolutionary War and French Revolutionary Wars.

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01/08/1714

Richard Wilson, Welsh painter and academic (died 1782)

Richard Wilson was a Welsh painter who specialised in landscape art and worked in Britain and Italy. With George Lambert he is recognised as a pioneer in British art of landscape for its own sake and was described in the Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales as the "most distinguished painter Wales has ever produced and the first to appreciate the aesthetic possibilities of his country". In December 1768 Wilson became one of the founder-members of the Royal Academy.

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01/08/1713

Charles I, German duke and prince (died 1780)

Charles, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, reigned as Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1735 until his death.

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01/08/1659

Sebastiano Ricci, Italian painter (died 1734)

Sebastiano Ricci was an Italian Baroque painter of the late Baroque period in Venetian painting. About the same age as Piazzetta, and an elder contemporary of Tiepolo, he represents a late version of the vigorous and luminous Cortonesque style of grand manner fresco painting.

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01/08/1630

Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (died 1673)

Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh was an English statesman who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1672 when he was created Baron Clifford. He was one of five leading politicians who formed the Cabal ministry between 1668 and 1674 in the reign of Charles II.

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01/08/1626

Sabbatai Zevi, Montenegrin rabbi and theorist (died 1676)

Sabbatai Zevi or Shabtai Tzvi was a former Jewish mystic and rabbi from Smyrna who converted to Islam. His family were Romaniote Jews from Patras.

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01/08/1579

Luis Vélez de Guevara, Spanish author and playwright (died 1644)

Luis Vélez de Guevara was a Spanish dramatist and novelist. He was born at Écija and was of Jewish converso descent. After graduating as a sizar at the University of Osuna in 1596, he joined the household of Rodrigo de Castro, Cardinal-Archbishop of Seville, and celebrated the marriage of Philip III in a poem signed Vélez de Santander, a name which he continued to use until some years later.

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01/08/1555

Edward Kelley, English spirit medium (died 1597)

Edward Kelley or Kelly, also known as Edward Talbot, was an English Renaissance occultist and scryer. He is known for working with John Dee in his magical investigations. Besides the professed ability to see spirits or angels in a "shew-stone" or mirror, which John Dee so valued, Kelley also said that he possessed the secret of transmuting base metals into gold, a goal of alchemy, as well as the philosopher's stone itself.

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01/08/1545

Andrew Melville, Scottish theologian and scholar (died 1622)

Andrew Melville was a Scottish scholar, theologian, poet and religious reformer. His fame encouraged scholars from the European continent to study at Glasgow and St. Andrews.

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01/08/1520

Sigismund II, Polish king (died 1572)

Sigismund II Augustus was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the last male monarch from the Jagiellonian dynasty.

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01/08/1492

Wolfgang, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, German prince (died 1566)

Wolfgang, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen. He was one of the earliest Protestant rulers in the Holy Roman Empire.

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01/08/1410

John IV, Count of Nassau-Siegen, German count (died 1475)

Count John IV of Nassau-Siegen, German: Johann IV. Graf von Nassau-Siegen, official titles: Graf zu Nassau, Vianden und Diez, Herr zu Breda, was since 1442 Count of Nassau-Siegen, of Vianden and of half Diez, and Lord of Breda and of the Lek. He descended from the Ottonian Line of the House of Nassau.

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01/08/1385

John Fitzalan, 6th Earl of Arundel (died 1421)

John Fitzalan, 6th Earl of Arundel, 3rd Baron Maltravers was an English nobleman.

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01/08/1377

Go-Komatsu, Japanese emperor (died 1433)

Emperor Go-Komatsu was the 100th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession, and the sixth and final Emperor of the Northern Court.

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01/08/1313

Kōgon, Japanese emperor (died 1364)

Emperor Kōgon was the first of the Emperors of Northern Court during the Period of the Northern and Southern Courts in Japan. His reign spanned the years from 1331 through 1333.

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01/08/1068

Emperor Taizu of Jin, Chinese emperor (died 1123)

Emperor Taizu of Jin, personal name Aguda, sinicised name Min, was the founder and first emperor of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty of China. He was originally the chieftain of the Wanyan tribe, the most dominant among the Jurchen tribes which were subjects of the Khitan-led Liao dynasty. Starting in 1114, Aguda united the Jurchen tribes under his rule and rebelled against the Liao dynasty. A year later, he declared himself emperor and established the Jin dynasty. By the time of his death, the Jin dynasty had conquered most of the Liao dynasty's territories and emerged as a major power in northern China. In 1145, he was posthumously honoured with the temple name Taizu by his descendant Emperor Xizong.

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01/08/0992

Hyeonjong of Goryeo, Korean king (died 1031)

Hyeonjong, personal name Wang Sun, was the 8th ruler of the Goryeo dynasty of Korea. He was a grandson of the dynastic founder King Taejo. He was appointed by the military leader Kang Cho, whom the King Mokjong had called upon to destroy a plot by Kim Ch'i-yang. During his reign, the Goryeo dynasty fought two wars against the Khitan Liao dynasty. Today Hyeonjong is considered to be among the greatest leaders in Korean history.

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01/08/0845

Sugawara no Michizane, Japanese scholar and politician (died 903)

Sugawara no Michizane , or Kankō , was a scholar, poet, and politician of the Heian period of Japan. He is regarded as an excellent poet, particularly in waka and kanshi poetry, and is today revered in Shinto as the god of learning, Tenman-Tenjin . In the famed poem anthology Hyakunin Isshu, he is known as Kanke (菅家), and in kabuki drama he is known as Kan Shōjō (菅丞相). Along with Taira no Masakado and Emperor Sutoku, he is often called one of the "Three Great Onryō of Japan".

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01/08/0126

Pertinax, Roman emperor (died 193)

Year 126 (CXXVI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Verus and Ambibulus. The denomination 126 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

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01/01/1970

Claudius, Roman emperor (died 54)

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 until his death in AD 54. The fourth ruler of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Drusus the Elder, the brother of Emperor Tiberius, and Antonia Minor at Lugdunum in Roman Gaul, where his father was stationed as a military legate. He was the first Roman emperor to be born outside Italy.

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