Born on Sunday, 3rd August – Famous Birthdays
On this day, 242 notable people were born on 3rd August — spanning from 1442 to 1999. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.
August 3rd marks the birth of numerous accomplished individuals across sports, entertainment and public service. Among those born on this date, Brahim Díaz, the Spanish-Moroccan footballer, arrived in 1999 and has since established himself as a versatile midfielder in European football. Similarly, Jules Bianchi, the French race car driver born in 1989, demonstrated exceptional talent in motorsport before his tragic death in 2015. The date has produced an extensive roster of athletes and performers, reflecting the diverse achievements recorded across multiple generations and sectors.
Contemporary births from August 3rd include figures who have shaped modern sport and culture. Karlie Kloss, born in 1992, became a prominent fashion model and entrepreneur, whilst Tom Brady, the American football player born in 1977, secured his position as one of the sport’s most decorated athletes. The date continues to produce individuals who contribute significantly to their respective fields, from professional athletes to creative professionals.
Historical context reveals that August 3rd has witnessed the births of numerous notable figures throughout recorded history. From political leaders to cultural icons, the date encompasses individuals who have influenced their nations and industries. The range spans from contemporary figures active in current professions to historical personalities whose legacies remain relevant to modern understanding of their disciplines.
On Sunday, 3rd August 2025, the weather is expected to be partly cloudy with moderate temperatures. The date falls under the zodiac sign of Leo, characterised by leadership and creativity. The moon will be in its waning gibbous phase, approaching the third quarter. DayAtlas shows weather on this day, events, famous births and deaths for any date and location, providing comprehensive historical information accessible through its dedicated interface.
Discover who was born today 17th April.
03/08/1999
Zach Wilson, American football player
Zachary Kapono Wilson is an American professional football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the BYU Cougars and was selected second overall by the New York Jets in the 2021 NFL draft. Wilson served as the Jets' starter during his first three seasons, but inconsistent play led to him being traded to the Denver Broncos in 2024. He joined the Miami Dolphins the following season. In 2026, Wilson signed with the New Orleans Saints.
Brahim Díaz, Spanish-Moroccan footballer
Brahim Abdelkader Díaz, also known mononymously as Brahim, is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for La Liga club Real Madrid. Born in Spain, he plays for the Morocco national team.
Yoo Yeon-jung, South Korean singer
Yoo Yeon-jung, known mononymously as Yeonjung, is a South Korean singer signed under Starship Entertainment and Yuehua Entertainment. She is best known for being a member of the South Korean girl group WJSN, and for finishing 11th in the survival show Produce 101, making her a member of I.O.I.
03/08/1997
Luis Robert Jr., Cuban baseball player
Luis Robert Moirán Jr. is a Cuban-born professional baseball center fielder for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox. After defecting from Cuba in 2016, Robert signed with the White Sox in 2017. He made his MLB debut in 2020. That year, he won the Gold Glove Award. He was named an All-Star in 2023.
03/08/1996
Alec Bohm, American baseball player
Alec Daniel Bohm, nicknamed "Raffe", is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has also represented USA Baseball in international competition.
Bokondji Imama, Canadian ice hockey player
Bokondji "Boko" Imama is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Arizona Coyotes and the Ottawa Senators.
Derwin James, American football player
Derwin Alonzo James Jr. is an American professional football safety for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles. He was selected by the Chargers in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft.
03/08/1995
Zac Gallen, American baseball player
Zachary Peter Gallen is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Miami Marlins. He played college baseball for the North Carolina Tar Heels for three seasons before being drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the third round of the 2016 MLB draft.
Victoria Kan, Russian tennis player
Victoria Rodionovna Kan is a Russian tennis player.
03/08/1994
Kwon Alexander, American football player
Kwon Alexander is an American former professional football linebacker. He played college football for the LSU Tigers. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL draft. Alexander has also played for the San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Manaia Cherrington, New Zealand rugby league player
Manaia Cherrington is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays for the Wests Magpies in the New South Wales Cup. He plays at hooker and previously played for the New Zealand Warriors, Wests Tigers and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
Esther Earl, American author, vlogger, and online personality (died 2010)
Esther Grace Earl was an American author, internet vlogger, online personality, and Nerdfighter, as well as an activist in the Harry Potter Alliance. Prior to her death from cancer in 2010, Earl befriended author John Green, who credited her for the inspiration to complete his bestselling 2012 novel The Fault in Our Stars. In 2014, Earl's writings were compiled with her biography This Star Won't Go Out, which appeared on the New York Times bestseller list for young adult books. Earl has been cited as an influential activist, with her family and online followers continuing to hold charity and fundraising events in her memory.
Todd Gurley, American football player
Todd Jerome Gurley II is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, earning first-team All-SEC honors, and was selected by the Rams 10th overall in the 2015 NFL draft.
Younghoe Koo, South Korean-born American football player
Younghoe Koo is a South Korean–American professional football placekicker. Known for his ability to successfully execute onside kicks, Koo played college football at Georgia Southern before signing with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2017 as an undrafted free agent.
03/08/1993
Ola Abidogun, English sprinter
Ola Abidogun is a British athlete who competes in T46 sprinting events. He competed for England at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and was part of the British team at the 2012 Summer Paralympics where he took bronze in the 100m sprint. He has won multiple medals at the junior level and as a senior won a silver in the 2014 European Championships.
Yurina Kumai, Japanese singer
Yurina Kumai is a Japanese model and former singer. Kumai began her career as a member of Hello! Project Kids in 2002. In 2004, she debuted as a member of Berryz Kobo, a girl group associated with the musical collective Hello! Project. During her time with Berryz Kobo and Hello! Project, Kumai also appeared in Hello! Project's other musical projects, such as Guardians 4. In 2014, Kumai left Hello! Project following Berryz Kobo's indefinite hiatus in the same year.
03/08/1992
Gamze Bulut, Turkish runner
Gamze Bulut is a Turkish middle-distance runner.
Gesa Felicitas Krause, German runner
Gesa Felicitas Krause is a German athlete who specialises in the 3000 m steeplechase. She won bronze medals in steeplechase at both the 2015 and 2019 World Championships, and represented Germany at the 2012, 2016, and 2021 Olympic Games. Her personal best for the 3000 m steeplechase is 9:03.30, which is also a national record. In 2019 Krause set a world best for the 2000 m steeplechase in 5:52.80.
Diāna Marcinkēviča, Latvian tennis player
Diāna Marcinkēviča is a tennis player from Latvia.
Aljon Mariano, Filipino basketball player
Aljon Escalona Mariano is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Terrafirma Dyip of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was drafted with the 16th overall pick in the 2015 PBA draft by the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, with whom he has won 7 PBA titles.
Lum Rexhepi, Finnish footballer
Lum Afrim Rexhepi is a professional footballer who most recently played as a centre-back for Finnish club JäPS and the Kosovo national team.
Karlie Kloss, American fashion model
Karlie Elizabeth Kloss is an American supermodel and entrepreneur. She was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2013 until 2015, when she enrolled as a student at New York University. By 2019, Kloss had appeared on 40 international Vogue covers. She has signed with several top modeling agencies throughout her career, including Elite Model Management, Next Management, IMG Models, and The Society. In 2019, she became the host of the reality competition television series Project Runway.
03/08/1990
Jourdan Dunn, English model
Jourdan Sherise Dunn is a British model. She was discovered in Hammersmith Primark in 2006 and signed to The Squad Management in London. She began appearing on international runways in early 2007. In February 2008, she was the first black model to walk a Prada runway in over a decade.
Kang Min-kyung, South Korean singer
Kang Min-kyung is a South Korean singer and actress. She is one half of the duo Davichi, who rose to fame upon the release of their debut album Amaranth in 2008. Davichi has since released 3 studio albums, 6 extended plays and several hit songs such as "Don't Say Goodbye", "Turtle", "Missing You Today" and "8282". Kang has also pursued acting, appearing in television dramas such as Smile, Mom (2010), Vampire Idol (2011), Haeundae Lovers (2012) and family drama The Dearest Lady (2015). On February 27, 2019, she debuted as a solo artist with her first extended play Kang Min Kyung Vol. 1.
03/08/1989
Jules Bianchi, French race car driver (died 2015)
Jules Lucien André Bianchi was a French racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2013 to 2014.
Sam Hutchinson, English footballer
Samuel Edward Hutchinson is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for AFC Wimbledon.
Tyrod Taylor, American football player
Tyrod Di'allo Taylor is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies and was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL draft.
Nick Viergever, Dutch footballer
Nick Viergever is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defender for Utrecht. He also made three appearances for the Netherlands national team.
03/08/1988
Denny Cardin, Italian footballer
Denny Cardin is an Italian footballer who plays for ACD Portomansuè.
Leigh Tiffin, American football player
Van Leigh Tiffin Jr. is an American former college football player who was a kicker for the Alabama Crimson Tide. He was signed by the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2010. Named for his father, Tiffin is called Leigh to distinguish him from Van Tiffin.
Sven Ulreich, German footballer
Sven Ulreich is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich.
03/08/1987
Kim Hyung-jun, South Korean singer and dancer
Kim Hyung-jun is a South Korean entertainer, lead rapper and youngest member of boyband SS501 and SS301. In 2010, Kim left DSP Media, who managed him as part of SS501, and joined S-Plus Entertainment as a solo artist. He made his debut as a soloist in March 2011 with mini album My Girl, and musical debut in Caffeine. In 2012, Kim starred on his first main lead role as Kang-min in KBS Drama's My Shining Girl, followed by SBS Plus's Late Blossom as Jung Min-chae in the same year. At the end of the year, Kim received the Rising Star Award for his role in Late Blossom by the K-Drama Star Awards.
Chris McQueen, Australian-English rugby league player
Chris McQueen is a former England international rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row or loose forward for the Brisbane Tigers in the Queensland Cup.
03/08/1986
Charlotte Casiraghi, Monégasque journalist, co-founded Ever Manifesto
Charlotte Marie Pomeline Casiraghi is a Monégasque writer and philosopher with experiences working in journalism and publishing. She has worked extensively as a brand ambassador and fashion model. While for many years she pursued equestrianism, her main interests revolve around French philosophy and literature. She is the second child of Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and the late Stefano Casiraghi, an Italian industrialist. She is twelfth in line to the throne of Monaco. Her maternal grandparents were Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and American actress Grace Kelly.
Darya Domracheva, Belarusian biathlete
Darya Uladzimirauna Domracheva is a retired Belarusian biathlete and coach who competed in the Biathlon World Cup from 2006 to 2018. She won a gold medal in the 4×6 km relay and a silver medal in the mass start competition at the 2018 Winter Olympics, three gold medals in the pursuit, individual, and mass start competitions at the 2014 Winter Olympics, and a bronze medal in the individual competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics. She was a Biathlon World Cup overall winner for the 2014–15 season.
03/08/1985
Georgina Haig, Australian actress
Georgina Haig is an Australian actress, known for her roles in American television series Once Upon a Time, Fringe, Limitless, Snowpiercer and Archive 81 and Australian films Late Night with the Devil, The Mule, Wasted on the Young and The Sapphires.
Brent Kutzle, American bass player and producer
Brent Michael Kutzle is an American musician, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer, and film composer originating from Fountain Valley, California. He is the bassist and cellist for the pop rock band OneRepublic.
Ats Purje, Estonian footballer
Ats Purje is an Estonian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Tallinna Kalev.
Sonny Bill Williams, New Zealand rugby player and boxer
Sonny William Williams is a New Zealand professional boxer, and a former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer. He is only the second person to represent New Zealand in rugby union after first playing for the country in rugby league, and is one of only 44 players to have won the Rugby World Cup twice.
03/08/1984
Yasin Avcı, Turkish footballer
Yasin Avcı is a Turkish professional football midfielder, who is currently unattached.
Sunil Chhetri, Indian footballer
Sunil Chhetri is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Bengaluru. He is the all-time top scorer in ISL history, the fourth-highest international goalscorer, and the most-capped player and all-time top goalscorer of the India national team. He is widely regarded as the greatest Indian football player.
Matt Joyce, American baseball player
Matthew Ryan Joyce is an American former professional baseball outfielder, who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Between 2008 and 2021, he played for eight MLB teams, most notably the Tampa Bay Rays, with whom he was named an MLB All-Star in 2011.
Ryan Lochte, American swimmer
Ryan Steven Lochte is an American former competitive swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. He is the third-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by total number of medals, behind only Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky. Lochte's seven individual Olympic medals rank second in history in men's swimming, tied for second among all Olympic swimmers. He currently holds the world records in the 4×200-meter freestyle.
Chris Maurer, former bassist of ska band Suburban Legends
Suburban Legends are an American ska punk band that formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1998 and later based themselves in nearby Santa Ana. After building a fanbase in the Orange County ska scene through their numerous regular performances at the Disneyland Resort, a series of lineup changes in 2005 introduced elements of funk and disco into the group's style.
03/08/1983
Ryan Carter, American ice hockey player
Ryan Michael Carter is an American former professional ice hockey forward. He played nearly 500 games in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Mark Reynolds, American baseball player
Mark Andrew Reynolds is an American former professional baseball third baseman and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals, and two stints with the Colorado Rockies. A right-hander both when batting and throwing, Reynolds was known for his frequent and long home runs, high strikeout totals, and defensive versatility, having been primarily a third baseman before transitioning to first base while playing for the Orioles.
03/08/1982
Kaspar Kokk, Estonian skier
Kaspar Kokk is an Estonian cross-country skier. He competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. He represents Estonia at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Kokk's best finish was 8th in the 4 x 10 km relay at the 2006 Games.
Jesse Lumsden, Canadian bobsledder and football player
Jesse Lumsden is a Canadian Olympic and world champion bobsledder and a former Canadian football player, who played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Edmonton Eskimos and Calgary Stampeders.
Damien Sandow, American wrestler
Aron Steven Haddad is an American professional wrestler working as a manager in the National Wrestling Alliance under the name Aron Stevens.
03/08/1981
Fikirte Addis, Ethiopian fashion designer
Fikirte Addis is an Ethiopian fashion designer and the founder of the Addis Ababa–based label Yefikir Design. Her work is noted for contemporary interpretations of Ethiopian traditional textiles and dress, including hand-woven cotton fabrics produced by local artisans.
Travis Bowyer, American baseball player
Travis Charlton Bowyer is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball in 2005.
Pablo Ibáñez, Spanish footballer
Pablo Ibáñez Tébar, sometimes known as just Pablo, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a centre back.
03/08/1980
Nadia Ali, Libyan-American singer-songwriter
Nadia Ali is an American singer and songwriter. Ali gained prominence in 2001 as the frontwoman and songwriter of the group iiO after their debut single "Rapture" gained significant success in Europe, most notably the United Kingdom, where the song peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart in November 2001. Their 2006 single, "Is It Love?", reached the top of the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.
Dominic Moore, Canadian ice hockey player
Dominic Moore is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who serves as the game and studio analyst for the Utah Mammoth. He played as a center, playing nearly 900 National Hockey League (NHL) games. Initially drafted in the third round, 95th overall, by the New York Rangers in the 2000 NHL entry draft, Moore also played in the NHL for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota Wild, Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, San Jose Sharks and Boston Bruins.
Tony Pashos, American football player
Anthony George Pashos is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini and was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round of the 2003 NFL draft.
Brandan Schieppati, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Brandan Schieppati is an American musician. He is the singer of metalcore band Bleeding Through and a former guitarist/songwriter of the fellow Orange County metalcore band Eighteen Visions, for which he played from 1997 to 2002. He is also a bodybuilder, personal trainer and "Rise Above Fitness" gym owner. He was strictly straight edge from an early age until his late twenties.
Hannah Simone, Canadian television host and actress
Hannah Simone is a British and Canadian actress. She portrayed Cece Parikh on the Fox sitcom New Girl.
03/08/1979
Evangeline Lilly, Canadian actress
Nicole Evangeline Lilly is a Canadian actress and author. She gained popularity for her first leading role as Kate Austen in the ABC drama series Lost (2004–2010), which garnered her six nominations for the Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television and a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series.
03/08/1978
Joi Chua, Singaporean singer-songwriter and actress
Joi Chua Choon Kah is a Singaporean singer, songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. She is known for the hits "Waiting for a Sunny Day" (等一个晴天), "One Day I Will" (有一天我會), and "Watching the Sunrise With Me" (陪我看日出), a Mandarin cover of "Namida Sousou".
Mariusz Jop, Polish footballer
Mariusz Jop is a Polish professional football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of I liga club Wisła Kraków.
Jenny Tinmouth, English motorcycle racer
Jennifer Rosanne Tinmouth is an English motorcycle racer. She is the current female Isle of Man TT lap record holder, breaking the record during her first ever TT in 2009 and gaining a Guinness World Record for this achievement. She then re-broke her own lap record during her second TT in 2010, with an average lap speed of 119.945 mph, gaining another Guinness World Record.
Dimitrios Zografakis, Greek footballer
Dimitrios Zografakis is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
03/08/1977
Tom Brady, American football player
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots and was a central contributor to the franchise's dynasty from 2001 to 2019. In his final three seasons, he played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady is widely regarded as the greatest quarterback of all time.
Justin Lehr, American baseball player
Charles Larry "Justin" Lehr is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, and Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB), as well as the Doosan Bears of the KBO League.
Óscar Pereiro, Spanish cyclist and footballer
Óscar Pereiro Sío is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. Pereiro was declared the winner of the 2006 Tour de France, after the original winner Floyd Landis was disqualified for failing a doping test after his stage 17 victory. Pereiro is a former member of Porta da Ravessa, Phonak Hearing Systems, Caisse d'Epargne, and the Astana cycling team (2010). After retiring from cycling in 2010, Pereiro joined his local part-time football club Coruxo FC of the Segunda División B.
03/08/1976
Troy Glaus, American baseball player
Troy Edward Glaus is an American former professional baseball third baseman and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Anaheim Angels (1998–2004), Arizona Diamondbacks (2005), Toronto Blue Jays (2006–2007), St. Louis Cardinals (2008–2009), and the Atlanta Braves (2010). Glaus lettered in baseball while attending UCLA. He won a bronze medal in baseball at the 1996 Summer Olympics as a member of the U.S. national baseball team. He was a four-time All-Star and won World Series MVP honors in 2002.
03/08/1975
Wael Gomaa, Egyptian footballer
Wael Kamel Gomaa El Hawty is an Egyptian retired professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is regarded as one of the best African defenders of all time.
Argyro Strataki, Greek heptathlete
Argyro Strataki is a Greek former heptathlete. She represented her country at the Olympic Games in 2004 and 2008. She was also a four-time participant at the World Championships in Athletics and a three-time competitor at the European Athletics Championships. Her personal best for the heptathlon is 6235 points – a Greek record.
03/08/1973
Jay Cutler, American bodybuilder
Jason Isaac Cutler is a former American professional bodybuilder. An IFBB Pro League bodybuilder, Cutler is a four-time Mr. Olympia winner, having won in 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010; and a six-time runner-up, the most in history. He also won consecutive Arnold Classic titles in 2002, 2003, and 2004. During his career, he was known for his rivalry with Ronnie Coleman. In 2021, he was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame.
Nikos Dabizas, Greek footballer
Nikos Dabizas is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a defender for Newcastle United, Leicester City, Olympiacos and AEL. He was also in Greece's 2004 European Football Championship winning squad.
Michael Ealy, American actor
Michael David Brown, known professionally as Michael Ealy, is an American actor. He is known for his roles in Barbershop (2002), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), Takers (2010), Think Like a Man (2012), About Last Night (2014), Think Like a Man Too (2014), The Perfect Guy (2015), and The Intruder (2019). Ealy also portrayed two detectives on two TV shows: Stumptown (2019) and Power Book II: Ghost (2024); the latter during its fourth and final season.
Chris Murphy, American politician
Christopher Scott Murphy is an American lawyer, author, and politician serving since 2013 as the junior United States senator from Connecticut. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 2007 to 2013 in the United States House of Representatives, representing Connecticut's 5th congressional district.
03/08/1972
Sandis Ozoliņš, Latvian ice hockey player and politician
Sandis Ozoliņš, commonly spelled Sandis Ozolinsh in North America, is a Latvian former professional ice hockey player and coach. During his career in North America, Ozoliņš was a seven-time NHL All-Star, Stanley Cup champion, and James Norris Memorial Trophy finalist. He is also the all-time leader for goals, assists, points, and games played by a Latvian in the NHL and holds several Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks franchise records. Ozoliņš was also the highest-paid sportsman in Latvian history, before NBA basketball player Andris Biedriņš succeeded him in 2008. He briefly became the head coach of Dinamo Riga in 2017.
03/08/1971
Forbes Johnston, Scottish footballer (died 2007)
Forbes Johnston was a Scottish professional footballer playing primarily in defence, but also spending some time in the midfield.
DJ Spinderella, American DJ, rapper, producer, and actress
Deidra Muriel Roper, known professionally as DJ Spinderella or simply Spinderella, is an American DJ, rapper, and producer. She is best known as a member of the hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa. Roper occasionally appeared on The Salt-n-Pepa Show, a reality TV series that focused on reforming the group, which aired on the VH1 network in 2008.
03/08/1970
Stephen Carpenter, American guitarist and songwriter
Stephen Carpenter is an American musician, best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist of the alternative metal band Deftones. He is also a founding member of the instrumental industrial metal side project Sol Invicto, alongside producer/guitarist Richie Londres and percussionist Eric Bobo
Gina G, Australian singer-songwriter
Gina G is an Australian former singer. She is most notable for her song "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit", with which she represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1996. The song reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart and reached the US top 20 in 1997. In 1998, she received a nomination at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Dance Recording for the song. Her other UK Top 30 hits are "I Belong to You", "Fresh", "Ti Amo" and "Gimme Some Love". Her last new activity in the music industry was a song release in 2011; she was then in a long lawsuit with a former talent manager that prevented her from releasing new material.
Masahiro Sakurai, Japanese video game designer
Masahiro Sakurai is a Japanese video game director and game designer best known as the creator of the Kirby and Super Smash Bros. series. Apart from his work on those series, he also led the design of Meteos in 2005 and directed Kid Icarus: Uprising in 2012.
03/08/1969
Doug Overton, American basketball player and coach
Douglas M. Overton is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played eleven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) following a college career with the La Salle Explorers.
03/08/1968
Rod Beck, American baseball player (died 2007)
Rodney Roy Beck, nicknamed "Shooter", was an American professional baseball relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the San Francisco Giants (1991–1997), Chicago Cubs (1998–1999), Boston Red Sox (1999–2001) and San Diego Padres (2003–2004). He batted and threw right-handed.
03/08/1967
Mathieu Kassovitz, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
Mathieu Kassovitz is a French actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has won three César Awards: Most Promising Actor for See How They Fall (1994), and Best Film and Best Editing for La Haine (1995). He also received Best Director and Best Original Screenplay or Adaptation nominations.
Skin, English singer and guitarist
Deborah Anne Dyer, known mononymously by the stage name Skin, is a British singer, musician and songwriter. She is the lead vocalist of Skunk Anansie, who are often grouped as part of the Britrock movement in the UK, and has gained attention for her powerful, wide-ranging soprano voice and striking look.
03/08/1966
Brent Butt, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
Brent Leroy Butt is a Canadian actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for his role as Brent Leroy on the CTV sitcom Corner Gas, which he created. He also created the television series Hiccups and wrote the 2013 film No Clue. In 2023, he released his debut novel, Huge, a psychological thriller about touring comedians.
Gizz Butt, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
Graham Anthony "Gizz" Butt is a British musician who is the lead vocalist and lead guitarist for the punk band Janus Stark. He is best known for being the live guitarist for The Prodigy in the late 1990s. His own band Janus Stark, from the same era, enjoyed a minor hit with the song "Every Little Thing Counts" from the album Great Adventure Cigar.
Eric Esch, American wrestler, boxer, and mixed martial artist
Eric David Scott Esch, better known by his nickname "Butterbean", is an American television personality and retired professional boxer, kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and professional wrestler. A competitor in the heavyweight and super heavyweight divisions, he is an overall four-time world champion across the four sports. Esch became a professional boxer in 1994 after a successful stint on the Toughman Contest scene and went on to capture the World Athletic Association (WAA) heavyweight and IBA super heavyweight championships. From 2003, he regularly fought as a kickboxer and mixed martial artist, notably in K-1 and the Pride Fighting Championships. Esch's combined fight record is 97–24–5 with 65 knockouts and 9 submissions.
Robert Laimer, Austrian politician
Robert Laimer is an Austrian politician and member of the National Council. A member of the Social Democratic Party, he has represented Lower Austria Centre since November 2017.
03/08/1964
Lucky Dube, South African singer and keyboard player (died 2007)
Lucky Philip Dube was a South African reggae musician and Rastafarian. His record sales across the world earned him the Best Selling African Musician prize at the 1996 World Music Awards. In his lyrics, Dube discussed issues affecting South Africans and Africans in general to a global audience. He recorded 22 albums in a 25-year period and was Africa's best-selling reggae artist of all time. Dube was murdered in the Johannesburg suburb of Rosettenville on the evening of 18 October 2007.
Ralph Knibbs, British rugby union player
Ralph Andrew Knibbs is an English former rugby union player who played for Bristol.
Nate McMillan, American basketball player and coach
Nathaniel McMillan is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He coached the Seattle SuperSonics from 2000 to 2005, the Portland Trail Blazers from 2005 to 2012, and the Indiana Pacers from 2016 to 2020. Nate served as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks in 2021, before becoming the head coach from 2021 to 2023. He spent his entire 12-year NBA playing career with the SuperSonics, then served as an assistant coach for one-and-a-half years and as head coach for almost five years. His long tenure as a player and coach in Seattle earned him the nickname "Mr. Sonic".
Kevin Sumlin, American football player and coach
Kevin Warren Sumlin is an American football coach who is currently the head coach for the Houston Gamblers of the United Football League (UFL). Sumlin served as the head football coach at the University of Houston from 2008 to 2011, Texas A&M University from 2012 to 2017, and at the University of Arizona from 2018 to 2020. Sumlin was formerly the associate head coach, co-offensive coordinator, and tight ends coach for the University of Maryland.
Abhisit Vejjajiva, English-Thai economist and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Thailand
Abhisit Vejjajiva is a Thai politician who was the 27th prime minister of Thailand from 2008 to 2011. He was the leader of the Democrat Party from 2005 until he resigned following the party's weak performance in the 2019 election. He returned as leader of the party once again in October 2025, following party elections. As leader of the second largest party in the House of Representatives, he was also leader of the opposition – a position he held from 2005 to 2008 and again after his premiership until his party's en masse resignation from the House on 8 December 2013.
03/08/1963
Tasmin Archer, English pop singer
Tasmin Angela Archer is a British pop rock singer-songwriter from Bradford, England. Her debut album, Great Expectations (1992), spawned the hit "Sleeping Satellite", which reached No. 1 in the United Kingdom and Ireland. She won the Brit Award for British Breakthrough Act in 1993 and has since released three more studio albums.
Frano Botica, New Zealand rugby player and coach
Frano Michael Botica is a New Zealand-Croatian rugby union and rugby league coach and former player in both codes, who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He was also the head coach of the Philippines sevens team.
James Hetfield, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
James Alan Hetfield is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder, and a primary songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his raspy voice and intricate rhythm playing, but occasionally performs lead guitar duties and solos both live and in studio. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering an advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler. Metallica has won 10 Grammy Awards and released 11 studio albums, three live albums, four extended plays, and 24 singles. Hetfield is often regarded as one of the greatest rhythm guitar players of all time.
David Knox, Australian rugby player
David Knox is an Australian former rugby union footballer and coach.
Ed Roland, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
Ed Roland is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Collective Soul, along with his brother Dean, who also served as the band's rhythm guitarist. He is also active with his side project, Ed Roland and the Sweet Tea Project.
Lisa Ann Walter, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
Lisa Ann Walter is an American actress, comedian, and television producer, best known for her roles as Chessy in the romantic comedy film The Parent Trap (1998) and Melissa Schemmenti on the ABC mockumentary sitcom Abbott Elementary (2021–present), for which she received a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
Isaiah Washington, American actor and producer
Isaiah Washington IV is an American actor. Following a series of film appearances, he came to prominence as Dr. Preston Burke in Grey's Anatomy.
03/08/1961
Molly Hagan, American actress
Molly Hagan is an American actress. She co-starred in films Code of Silence (1985), Some Kind of Wonderful (1987), The Dentist (1996), Election (1999), and Sully (2016), and is also known for her roles in television on Herman's Head (1991–1994), Unfabulous (2004–2007), and Walker (2021–2024).
Nick Harvey, English politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
Sir Nicholas Barton Harvey is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the member of parliament (MP) for North Devon from 1992 to 2015 and the Minister of State for the Armed Forces from 2010 to 2012.
Lee Rocker, American bassist
Leon Drucker, professionally known as Lee Rocker is an American musician. He is a member of the rockabilly band Stray Cats.
03/08/1960
Tim Mayotte, American tennis player and coach
Timothy Mayotte is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 7 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Mayotte won twelve singles titles during his career.
Gopal Sharma, Indian cricketer
Gopal Sharma is a former Indian cricketer who played in five Test matches and 11 One Day Internationals from 1985 to 1990. He was an off-spinner but was overshadowed by the spinners of the day for a place in the international squad – Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, Maninder Singh, Arshad Ayub, Shivlal Yadav, Ravi Shastri and Narendra Hirwani.
03/08/1959
Martin Atkins, English drummer and producer
Martin Clive Atkins is an English drummer, best known for his work in post-punk and industrial groups including Public Image Ltd, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Pigface, and Killing Joke. He also works as a consultant, has written multiple books on the music industry, and is the music industry studies coordinator at Millikin University in Decatur, IL. Atkins is the owner and operator of the Museum of Post Punk and Industrial Music in Chicago, is an honorary board member of the Chicago-based nonprofit organization Rock For Kids, and is a fellow of In Place of War.
Mike Gminski, American basketball player and sportscaster
Michael Thomas Gminski is an American former professional basketball player and a college basketball TV analyst for the ACC Network, ACC on The CW and CBS Sports. In 2003, Gminski, of Polish descent, was inducted into the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame.
John C. McGinley, American actor and producer
John Christopher McGinley is an American actor. He plays Perry Cox in Scrubs, Bob Slydell in Office Space, Captain Hendrix in The Rock, Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's Platoon, Marv in Stone's Wall Street, FBI agent Ben Harp in Point Break, and the serial killer Edgler Foreman Vess in the TV miniseries of Intensity.
Koichi Tanaka, Japanese chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate
Koichi Tanaka is a Japanese electrical engineer who shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2002 for developing a novel method for mass spectrometric analyses of biological macromolecules with John Bennett Fenn and Kurt Wüthrich.
03/08/1958
Lindsey Hilsum, English journalist and author
Lindsey Hilsum is an English television journalist and writer. She is the International Editor for Channel 4 News, and has reported from six continents, including coverage of the major conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Kosovo, Rwanda and Ukraine in the past two decades. She is also a regular contributor to The Sunday Times, The Observer, The Guardian, New Statesman, and Granta.
Ana Kokkinos, Australian director and screenwriter
Ana Kokkinos is an Australian film and television director and screenwriter of Greek descent. She is known for her breakthrough feature film Head On (1998), and has directed television shows such as The Secret Life of Us, The Time of Our Lives and Ten Pound Poms.
03/08/1957
Bodo Rudwaleit, German footballer and manager
Bodo Rudwaleit is a German former football goalkeeper who played as goalkeeper for the record champion BFC Dynamo from 1976 to 1989.
Kate Wilkinson, New Zealand lawyer and politician, 11th New Zealand Minister of Conservation
Catherine Joan Wilkinson is a New Zealand farmer and politician. She was a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the National Party from 2005 until her retirement in 2014. From 2008 until January 2013, she was a member of cabinet, holding the portfolios of Labour, Conservation, Food Safety, and Associate Immigration, before being removed from cabinet by Prime Minister John Key.
03/08/1956
Kirk Brandon, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
Kirk Brandon is an English musician best known as the leader of the bands Theatre of Hate and Spear of Destiny.
Todd Christensen, American football player and sportscaster (died 2013)
Todd Jay Christensen was an American professional football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1978 until 1988, primarily with the Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders. He played college football for the BYU Cougars and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 1978 NFL draft. Following his retirement Christensen became a commentator for both professional and collegiate games, working for NBC Sports, ESPN, and CBS Sports Network among others.
Dave Cloud, American singer-songwriter and actor (died 2015)
David Bliss Cloud was an American musician, singer, songwriter, storyteller and occasional actor. Cloud was known foremost for his amusing earthy concert performances and garage rock recordings with his band The Gospel of Power.
Balwinder Sandhu, Indian cricketer and coach
Balwinder Singh Sandhu is a former Indian international cricketer. He represented India in eight Tests and twenty-two One Day Internationals (ODIs) matches as a medium pace bowler who could swing the ball both ways and was a useful lower order batsman. Sandhu was a member of the Indian team that won the 1983 Cricket World Cup.
Ian Crichton, Canadian guitarist
Saga is a Canadian rock band from Oakville, Ontario. Bassist and keyboardist Jim Crichton and Welsh-born vocalist and keyboardist Michael Sadler are the principal songwriters.
03/08/1954
Michael Arthur, English physician and academic
Sir Michael James Paul Arthur FMedSci is a British academic who was the tenth provost and president of University College London between 2013 and January 2021. Arthur had previously been chairman of the Russell Group of UK universities and the vice-chancellor of the University of Leeds between September 2004 and 2013.
Gary Peters, English footballer and manager
Gary David Peters is an English former professional footballer and now manager. His last position was with Shrewsbury Town in from 2004 to 2008.
03/08/1953
Ian Bairnson, Scottish guitarist, songwriter and saxophonist (died 2023)
John "Ian" Bairnson was a Scottish musician and member of Pilot and the Alan Parsons Project. He was a multi-instrumentalist, who played saxophone and keyboards, but mainly performed as a guitarist, which he played with a sixpence. In addition to his work with Parsons, Bairnson played guitar on four Kate Bush albums, including the guitar solo on her 1978 debut single, "Wuthering Heights".
Marlene Dumas, South African painter
Marlene Dumas is a South African artist and painter based in the Netherlands.
03/08/1952
Osvaldo Ardiles, Argentinian footballer and manager
Osvaldo César Ardiles, more commonly known as Ossie Ardiles, is an Argentine football manager, pundit and former player.
03/08/1951
Marcel Dionne, Canadian ice hockey player
Marcel Elphège Dionne is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers between 1971 and 1989. A prolific scorer, he won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer in 1979–80, and recorded 50 goals or more in a season six times, and 100 points or more in a season 8 times during his career. Internationally Dionne played for the Canadian national team at two Canada Cups and three World Championships. Dionne was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992. In 2017 Dionne was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
Jay North, American actor (died 2025)
Jay Waverly North Jr. was an American actor and later a corrections officer after retiring from acting. His career as a child actor began in the late 1950s, and he went on to appear in eight TV series, two variety shows, and three feature films. At age seven, he became a household name for his role as the good-natured but mischievous Dennis Mitchell on the CBS situation comedy Dennis the Menace (1959–1963), based on the comic strip created by Hank Ketcham.
03/08/1950
Linda Howard, American author
Linda S. Howington is an American best-selling romance/suspense author under her pseudonym Linda Howard.
John Landis, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
John David Landis is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for directing comedy films such as The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977), National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), The Blues Brothers (1980), Trading Places (1983), Three Amigos (1986), Coming to America (1988), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), and Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), and horror films such as An American Werewolf in London (1981) and Innocent Blood (1992). He also directed the music videos for Michael Jackson's "Thriller" (1983) and "Black or White" (1991).
Jo Marie Payton, American actress and singer
Jo Marie Payton is an American actress. She portrayed Harriette Baines Winslow on the ABC/CBS sitcom Family Matters (1989–1997), a role she originated on its forerunner series Perfect Strangers. From 2001 to 2005, Payton provided the voice for Suga Mama Proud on Disney Channel's animated series The Proud Family and reprised the role in the 2005 television film The Proud Family Movie and also on Disney+'s revival The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. The role earned her an NAACP Image Award nomination in 2005. Payton also had a recurring role as the personal assistant to Gregory Hines' character, Ben Doucette, during season two of Will & Grace (1999–2000).
Ernesto Samper, Colombian economist and politician, 29th President of Colombia
Ernesto Samper Pizano is a Colombian politician who served as the President of Colombia from 1994 to 1998. From 2014 to 2017 he served as the Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). He is also a lawyer, economist and academic.
03/08/1949
Philip Casnoff, American actor and director
Philip Casnoff is an American actor and director, known for his roles in TV series and on Broadway. He is probably best known for his portrayal of the sadistic, egomaniacal antagonist Elkanah Bent in the miniseries North and South.
B. B. Dickerson, American bass player and songwriter (died 2021)
War is an American funk/soul/rock band from Long Beach, California, formed in 1969.
Sue Slipman, English politician
Susan Slipman was President of the National Union of Students between 1977 and 1978. She later joined the National Union of Public Employees. Since then she has held a wide range of appointments and offices in the public sector and the field of training and education.
03/08/1948
Jean-Pierre Raffarin, French lawyer and politician, 166th Prime Minister of France
Jean-Pierre Raffarin is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005 under President Jacques Chirac.
03/08/1947
Ralph Wright, English footballer (died 2020)
Ralph Wright was an English professional footballer who played as a defender and midfielder. Active in England and the United States, Wright made over 200 appearances in an 8-year career.
03/08/1946
Robert Ayling, English businessman
Robert John Ayling, also known as Bob Ayling, is a British retired lawyer and businessman who has worked with a variety of high-profile companies and organisations. From 1996 to 2000, he was the CEO of British Airways. He also served as chairman of Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, Dŵr Cymru, and Dyson. Ayling was appointed a CBE in the Queen's 2018 Birthday Honors List.
Jack Straw, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
John Whitaker Straw is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretary from 1997 to 2001, and Foreign Secretary from 2001 to 2006 under Blair. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Blackburn from 1979 to 2015.
John York, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
John York Foley is an American bassist and guitarist. He is best known for his work with the Byrds.
03/08/1945
Eamon Dunphy, Irish footballer and journalist
Eamon Martin Dunphy is an Irish media personality, journalist, broadcaster, author, sports pundit and former professional footballer. He grew up playing football for several youth teams including Stella Maris. Since retiring from the sport, he has become recognisable to Irish television audiences as a football analyst during coverage of the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and international football on RTÉ.
03/08/1944
Morris Berman, American historian and social critic
Morris Berman is an American historian and social critic. He earned a BA in mathematics at Cornell University in 1966 and a PhD in the history of science at Johns Hopkins University in 1971. Berman is an academic humanist cultural critic who specializes in Western cultural and intellectual history.
Nino Bravo, Spanish singer (died 1973)
Luis Manuel Ferri Llopis, better known by his stage name Nino Bravo, was a Spanish baroque pop and ballad singer.
03/08/1943
Béla Bollobás, Hungarian-English mathematician and academic
Béla Bollobás FRS is a Hungarian-born British mathematician who has worked in various areas of mathematics, including functional analysis, combinatorics, graph theory, and percolation theory. He was strongly influenced by Paul Erdős from the age of 14. He is currently a professor and chair of excellence at the University of Memphis.
Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson of Sweden
Princess Christina, Mrs. Magnuson, is a member of the Swedish royal family. She is the fourth child of Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and the youngest of the four older sisters of King Carl XVI Gustaf. She uses the name Christina Magnuson in a professional capacity.
Steven Millhauser, American novelist and short story writer
Steven Millhauser is an American novelist and short story writer. He won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel Martin Dressler.
03/08/1941
Juanita Helms, American politician (died 2009)
Juanita Lou Helms was an American politician who served as a member of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly for five years, and then as the first female borough mayor of Fairbanks from 1985 to 1991. During Helms's first term as mayor, she and her administration were criticized for violating borough finance laws with an investment, but was re-elected. Helms worked to establish Fairbanks' ties with the international community through sister city agreements both during and after her tenure as mayor. She was inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame, and the Juanita Helms Administrative Center in Fairbanks is named after her.
Beverly Lee, American singer
The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey, in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens, Doris Coley, Addie "Micki" Harris, and Beverly Lee.
Martha Stewart, American businesswoman, publisher, and author, founded Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
Martha Helen Stewart is an American retail businesswoman, writer, and television personality. As the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, focusing on home and hospitality, she gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing publishing, broadcasting, merchandising and e-commerce. She has written numerous bestselling books, was the publisher of Martha Stewart Living magazine and hosted two syndicated television programs: Martha Stewart Living, which ran from 1993 to 2004, and The Martha Stewart Show, which ran from 2005 to 2012.
03/08/1940
Lance Alworth, American football player
Lance Dwight Alworth, nicknamed "Bambi", is an American former professional football wide receiver who played for the San Diego Chargers of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL), and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL. Often considered one of the greatest wide receivers of all time, he played for 11 seasons, from 1962 through 1972, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1978. He was the first player inducted whose playing career was principally in the AFL. Alworth is also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. His teammates called him Bambi because he had a baby face and could run like a deer.
Martin Sheen, American actor and producer
Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez, known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans more than six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards.
James Tyler, American guitarist and songwriter (died 2010)
James Tyler was a 20th-century American lutenist, banjoist, guitarist, composer, musicologist and author, who helped pioneer an early music revival with more than 60 recordings.
03/08/1939
Jimmie Nicol, English drummer
James George Nicol is an English drummer and business entrepreneur. He is best known for sitting in for Ringo Starr in the Beatles for eight concerts of the Beatles' 1964 world tour during the height of Beatlemania.
Apoorva Sengupta, Indian general and cricketer (died 2013)
Lieutenant General Apoorva Kumar Sengupta was an Indian army officer and cricketer who played in one Test in 1959. According to Christopher Martin-Jenkins, he was a "very good allrounder, right hand opening batsman, leg-break and googly bowler and slip field".
03/08/1938
Terry Wogan, Irish radio and television host (died 2016)
Sir Michael Terence Wogan was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in Britain for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekday breakfast programme Wake Up to Wogan regularly drew an estimated eight million listeners. He was believed to be the most listened-to radio broadcaster in Europe.
03/08/1937
Steven Berkoff, English actor, director, and playwright
Steven Berkoff is an English actor, author, playwright, theatre practitioner and theatre director.
Roland Burris, American lawyer and politician, 39th Illinois Attorney General
Roland Wallace Burris is an American politician and attorney who served as Attorney General of Illinois from 1991 to 1995 and as a United States senator from Illinois from 2009 until 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, Burris was the first African-American elected to statewide office in Illinois.
Duncan Sharpe, Pakistani-Australian cricketer
Duncan Albert Sharpe is a Pakistani former cricketer who played in three Test matches in 1959–60. Sharpe is of Anglo-Indian heritage, and was the third Christian to play Test cricket for Pakistan. He has lived in Australia since 1961.
03/08/1936
Jerry G. Bishop, American radio and television host (died 2013)
Jerry G. Bishop was a radio and television personality who is known for being Chicago's original "Svengoolie", and for his award-winning twelve-year stint on Sun-Up San Diego.
Edward Petherbridge, English actor
Edward Petherbridge is an English actor, writer and artist. Among his many roles, he portrayed Lord Peter Wimsey in the 1987 BBC television adaptations of Dorothy L. Sayers' novels, and Guildenstern in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. At the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1980, he was a memorable Newman Noggs in the company's adaptation of Dickens's The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.
03/08/1935
John Erman, American actor, director, and producer (died 2021)
John Erman was an American television director, producer, and actor. He was nominated for ten Primetime Emmy Awards, winning once for the film Who Will Love My Children? (1983). He also won two Directors Guild of America Awards for the miniseries Roots (1977) and the film An Early Frost (1985).
Georgy Shonin, Ukrainian-Russian general, pilot, and cosmonaut (died 1997)
Georgy Stepanovich Shonin was a Soviet cosmonaut, who flew on the Soyuz 6 space mission.
Vic Vogel, Canadian pianist, composer, and bandleader (died 2019)
Victor Stefan Vogel was a Canadian jazz pianist, composer, arranger, trombonist, and conductor.
03/08/1934
Haystacks Calhoun, American wrestler and actor (died 1989)
William Dee Calhoun was an American professional wrestler, who used the professional name "Haystack" or "Haystacks" Calhoun.
Michael Chapman, English bassoon player (died 2005)
Michael Chapman was a British classical bassoonist and reed-maker.
Jonas Savimbi, Angolan general, founded UNITA (died 2002)
Jonas Malheiro Sidónio Sakaita Savimbi was an Angolan revolutionary, politician, and rebel military leader who founded and led the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, also known as UNITA. UNITA was one of several groups which waged a guerrilla war against Portuguese colonial rule from 1966 to 1974. Once independence was achieved, it then became an anti-communist group, which confronted the ruling People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola, also known as the MPLA, during the Angolan Civil War. Savimbi was killed in a clash with government troops in 2002.
03/08/1933
Pat Crawford, Australian cricketer (died 2009)
William Patrick Anthony Crawford was an Australian cricketer who played in four Tests, including one in England at Lord's in 1956 and three in India in 1956–57. He was born in Dubbo, New South Wales.
03/08/1930
James Komack, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1997)
James Arenson Komack was an American television producer, director, screenwriter, and actor. He is best known for producing several hit television series, including The Courtship of Eddie's Father, Chico and the Man, and Welcome Back, Kotter.
03/08/1928
Cécile Aubry, French actress, director, and screenwriter (died 2010)
Cécile Aubry was a French film actress, author, television screenwriter and director.
Henning Moritzen, Danish actor (died 2012)
Henning Moritzen was a Danish film actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1950 and 2010. He was born in Taarbæk, Denmark.
03/08/1926
Rona Anderson, Scottish actress (died 2013)
Rona Anderson was a Scottish stage, film, and television actress. She appeared in TV series and on the stage and films throughout the 1950s. She appeared in the films Scrooge and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and on TV in Dr Finlay's Casebook and Dixon of Dock Green.
Tony Bennett, American singer and actor (died 2023)
Anthony Dominick Benedetto, known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards. Bennett was named a National Endowments for the Arts Jazz Master and a Kennedy Center Honoree. He founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens, New York, along with Exploring the Arts, a non-profit arts education program. He sold more than 50 million records worldwide and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Anthony Sampson, English journalist and author (died 2004)
Anthony Terrell Seward Sampson was a British writer and journalist. His most notable and successful book was Anatomy of Britain, which was published in 1962 and was followed by five more "Anatomies", updating the original book under various titles. He was the grandson of the linguist John Sampson, of whom he wrote a biography, The Scholar Gypsy: The Quest For A Family Secret (1997). He also gave Nelson Mandela advice on Mandela's famous 1964 defence speech at the trial which led to his conviction for life.
Gordon Scott, American actor (died 2007)
Gordon Scott was an American film and television actor known for his portrayal of the fictional character Tarzan in five films of the Tarzan film series from 1955 to 1960. Gordon Scott was the 11th Tarzan, starting with Tarzan’s Hidden Jungle (1955). He was "discovered" poolside, and offered "a seven-year contract, a loin cloth, and a new last name."
Rushdy Abaza, Egyptian actor (died 1980)
Rushdy Saeed Baghdadi Abaza was an Egyptian film and television actor. He was considered one of the most charming actors in the Egyptian film industry and is one of the most famous. He died of brain cancer at the age of 53.
03/08/1925
Marv Levy, American-Canadian football player, coach, and manager
Marvin Daniel Levy is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. He spent most of his head coaching career with the Buffalo Bills, leading them from 1986 to 1997. After spending 10 years as head coach in college, Levy was hired to coach the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 1973. From 1973 to 1977, he won two Grey Cup titles with Montreal.
Lewis Rowland, American neurologist (died 2017)
Lewis Phillip "Bud" Rowland was an American neurologist. He served as president of the American Neurological Association (1980–81) and the American Academy of Neurology (1989–91). He was editor of the journal Neurology from 1977 to 1987 and of the newspaper Neurology Today from 2000 to 2009. He authored over 500 scientific articles, with a research emphasis on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and muscular dystrophy. He was chair of the neurology department at Columbia University for 25 years, where he established the H. Houston Merritt Clinical Research Center for Muscular Dystrophy and Related Diseases as well as the Eleanor and Lou Gehrig ALS Center.
03/08/1924
Connie Converse, American musician and singer-songwriter (disappeared 1974)
Elizabeth Eaton Converse was an American singer-songwriter, best known under her professional name Connie Converse. She was active in New York City in the 1950s, and her work is among the earliest known recordings in the singer-songwriter genre of music. Before and after the period in which she wrote her music she was an academic, writer, assistant editor for the Far Eastern Survey, and editor for the Journal of Conflict Resolution.
Leon Uris, American soldier and author (died 2003)
Leon Marcus Uris was an American author of historical fiction who wrote many bestselling books, including Exodus and Trinity.
03/08/1923
Jean Hagen, American actress (died 1977)
Jean Hagen was an American actress best known for her role as Doll Conovan in The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and as Lina Lamont in Singin' in the Rain (1952), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Hagen was also nominated three times for an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Margaret Williams on the first three seasons (1953–56) of the television series The Danny Thomas Show.
Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria (died 2012)
Pope Shenouda III was the 117th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. His papacy lasted 40 years, 4 months, and 4 days, from 14 November 1971 until his death in 2012.
03/08/1922
John Eisenhower, American historian, general, and diplomat, 45th United States Ambassador to Belgium (died 2013)
John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower was a United States Army officer, diplomat, and military historian. He was the second son of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. His military career spanned from before, during, and after his father's presidency, and he left active duty in 1963 and then retired in 1974. From 1969 to 1971, Eisenhower served as United States Ambassador to Belgium during the administration of President Richard Nixon, who was previously his father's vice president and also father-in-law to Eisenhower's son David.
03/08/1921
Richard Adler, American composer and producer (died 2012)
Richard Adler was an American lyricist, writer, composer and producer of several Broadway shows. He is best known for his work with Jerry Ross on the musicals The Pajama Game (1954) and Damn Yankees (1955).
Hayden Carruth, American poet and critic (died 2008)
Hayden Carruth was an American poet, literary critic and anthologist. He taught at Syracuse University.
Marilyn Maxwell, American actress (died 1972)
Marvel Marilyn Maxwell was an American actress and singer.
03/08/1920
Norman Dewis, English test driver and engineer (died 2019)
Norman Dewis was a British car test driver. He worked for Lea-Francis as a test driver from 1946 to 1951 then for Jaguar Cars from 1952 to 1985.
Max Fatchen, Australian journalist and author (died 2012)
Maxwell Edgar Fatchen, AM was an Australian children's writer and journalist.
P. D. James, English author (died 2014)
Phyllis Dorothy James White, Baroness James of Holland Park, known professionally as P. D. James, was an English novelist and life peer. Her rise to fame came with her series of detective novels featuring the police commander and poet, Adam Dalgliesh.
Charlie Shavers, American trumpet player and composer (died 1971)
Charles James Shavers was an American jazz trumpeter who played with Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King Cole, Roy Eldridge, Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, Sidney Bechet, Midge Williams, Tommy Dorsey, and Billie Holiday. He was also an arranger and composer, and one of his compositions, "Undecided", is a jazz standard.
Elmar Tampõld, Estonian-Canadian architect (died 2013)
Elmar Tampõld was an Estonian-Canadian architect and founder of an academic base for Estonian studies in Toronto.
03/08/1918
James MacGregor Burns, American historian, political scientist, and author (died 2014)
James MacGregor Burns was an American historian and political scientist, presidential biographer, and authority on leadership studies. He was the Woodrow Wilson Professor of Government Emeritus at Williams College and Distinguished Leadership Scholar at the James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership of the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park. In 1971 Burns received the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in History and Biography for his work on America's 32nd president, Roosevelt: The Soldier of Freedom.
Sidney Gottlieb, American chemist and theorist (died 1999)
Sidney Gottlieb was an American chemist and spymaster who headed the Central Intelligence Agency's 1950s and 1960s assassination attempts and mind-control program, known as Project MKUltra.
Larry Haines, American actor (died 2008)
Larry Haines was an American actor.
Eddie Jefferson, American singer-songwriter (died 1979)
Eddie Jefferson was an American jazz vocalist and lyricist. He is credited as an innovator of vocalese, a musical style in which lyrics are set to an instrumental composition or solo. Jefferson himself claims that his main influence was Leo Watson. Perhaps Jefferson's best-known song is "Moody's Mood for Love" which was recorded in 1952 by King Pleasure and catapulted the contrafact into wide popularity. Jefferson's recordings of Charlie Parker's "Parker's Mood" and Horace Silver's "Filthy McNasty" were also hits.
03/08/1917
Les Elgart, American trumpet player and bandleader (died 1995)
Lester Elliott Elgart was an American swing jazz bandleader and trumpeter.
03/08/1916
Shakeel Badayuni, Indian poet and songwriter (died 1970)
Shakeel Badayuni was an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist and songwriter in Hindi / Urdu language films.
José Manuel Moreno, Argentinian footballer and manager (died 1978)
José Manuel Moreno Fernández, nicknamed "El Charro", was an Argentine footballer who played as an inside forward for several clubs in Argentina, Mexico, Chile, and Colombia; for those who saw him play, he is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, even compared to Alfredo Di Stéfano, Pelé and Diego Maradona, and was the first footballer ever to have won first division league titles in four countries.
03/08/1913
Mel Tolkin, Ukrainian-American screenwriter and producer (died 2007)
Mel Tolkin was an American television comedy writer best known as head writer of the live sketch comedy series Your Show of Shows during the Golden Age of Television. There he presided over a staff that at times included Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, and Danny Simon. The writers' room inspired the film My Favorite Year (1982), produced by Brooks, and the Broadway play Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993), written by Neil Simon.
03/08/1912
Fritz Hellwig, German politician (died 2017)
Fritz Hellwig was a German CDU politician and European Commissioner. He was born in Saarbrücken and turned 100 in August 2012. and died on 22 July 2017 at the age of 104. He died at age 104, being the last surviving member of the Second Bundestag.
03/08/1911
Alex McCrindle, Scottish actor and producer (died 1990)
Alex McCrindle was a Scottish actor. He was best known for his role as General Jan Dodonna in Star Wars.
03/08/1909
Walter Van Tilburg Clark, American author and educator (died 1971)
Walter Van Tilburg Clark was an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and educator. He ranks as one of Nevada's most distinguished literary figures of the 20th century, and was the first inductee into the 'Nevada Writers Hall of Fame' in 1988, together with Robert Laxalt, Clark's mentee and Nevada's other heralded twentieth century author. Two of Clark's novels, The Ox-Bow Incident and The Track of the Cat, were made into films. As a writer, Clark taught himself to use the familiar materials of the western saga to explore the human psyche and to raise deep philosophical issues.
03/08/1907
Lawrence Brown, American trombonist and composer (died 1988)
Lawrence Brown was an American jazz trombonist from California best remembered for his work with the Duke Ellington orchestra. He was a session musician throughout his career, and also recorded albums under his own name.
Ernesto Geisel, Brazilian general and politician, 29th President of Brazil (died 1996)
Ernesto Beckmann Geisel was a Brazilian Army officer and politician, who served as the 29th president of Brazil from 1974 to 1979, during the Brazilian military dictatorship.
Yang Shangkun, Chinese politician, and 4th President of China (died 1998)
Yang Shangkun was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, president of China from 1988 to 1993, and one of the Eight Elders that dominated the party after the death of Mao Zedong.
03/08/1905
Franz König, Austrian cardinal (died 2004)
Franz König was an Austrian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of Vienna from 1956 to 1985, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958. The last surviving cardinal elevated by Pope John XXIII, he was the longest-serving and second-oldest cardinal worldwide at the time of his death.
03/08/1904
Dolores del Río, Mexican actress (died 1983)
María de los Dolores Asúnsolo y López Negrete, known professionally as Dolores del Río, was a Mexican actress. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is regarded as the first major female Latin American crossover star in Hollywood. Along with a notable career in American cinema during the 1920s and 1930s, she was also considered one of the most important female figures in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, and one of the most beautiful actresses of her era.
Clifford D. Simak, American journalist and author (died 1988)
Clifford Donald Simak was an American science fiction writer and journalist. He won three Hugo Awards and one Nebula Award. The Science Fiction Writers of America made him its third SFWA Grand Master, and the Horror Writers Association made him one of three inaugural winners of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement. He is associated with the pastoral science fiction subgenre.
03/08/1903
Habib Bourguiba, Tunisian journalist and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Tunisia (died 2000)
Habib Bourguiba was a Tunisian politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of the Kingdom of Tunisia from 1956 to 1957, and then as the first president of Tunisia from 1957 to 1987. Prior to his presidency, he led the nation to independence from France, ending the 75-year-old protectorate and earning the title of "Supreme Combatant".
03/08/1902
Regina Jonas, German rabbi (died 1944)
Regina Jonas was a Berlin-born Reform rabbi. In 1935, she became the first woman to be ordained as a rabbi. Jonas was murdered in the Holocaust.
David Buttolph, American film composer (died 1983)
James David Buttolph Jr. was an American film composer who scored over 300 movies in his career.
03/08/1901
John C. Stennis, American lawyer and politician (died 1995)
John Cornelius Stennis was an American politician who served as a U.S. senator from the state of Mississippi. He was a Democrat who served in the Senate for over 41 years, becoming its most senior member for his last eight years. He retired from the Senate in 1989, and is, to date, the last Democrat to have been a U.S. senator from Mississippi. At the time of his retirement, Stennis was the last senator to have served during the presidency of Harry S. Truman.
Stefan Wyszyński, Polish cardinal (died 1981)
Stefan Wyszyński was a Polish Roman Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Warsaw and Archbishop of Gniezno from 1948 to 1981. He previously served as Bishop of Lublin from 1946 to 1948. He was created a cardinal on 12 January 1953 by Pope Pius XII. As Archbishop of Gniezno, Wyszyński possessed the title, "Primate of Poland".
03/08/1900
Ernie Pyle, American soldier and journalist (died 1945)
Ernest Taylor Pyle was an American journalist and war correspondent who is best known for his stories about ordinary American soldiers during World War II. Pyle is also notable for the columns he wrote as a roving human-interest reporter from 1935 through 1941 for the Scripps-Howard newspaper syndicate that earned him wide acclaim for his simple accounts of ordinary people across North America. When the United States entered World War II, he lent the same distinctive, folksy style of his human-interest stories to his wartime reports from the European theater (1942–44) and Pacific theater (1945). Pyle won the Pulitzer Prize in 1944 for his newspaper accounts of "dogface" infantry soldiers from a first-person perspective. He was killed by enemy fire on Iejima during the Battle of Okinawa.
John T. Scopes, American educator (died 1970)
John Thomas Scopes was a teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, who was charged on May 5, 1925, with violating Tennessee's Butler Act, which prohibited the teaching of human evolution in Tennessee schools. He was trialed in a case known as the Scopes trial and was found guilty and fined $100.
03/08/1899
Louis Chiron, Monegasque race car driver (died 1979)
Louis Alexandre Chiron was a Monégasque racing driver who competed in rallies, sports car races, and Grands Prix.
03/08/1896
Ralph Horween, American football player and coach (died 1997)
Ralph Horween was an American football player and coach. He played fullback and halfback and was a punter and drop-kicker for the unbeaten Harvard Crimson football teams of 1919 and 1920, which won the 1920 Rose Bowl. He was voted an All-American.
03/08/1895
Allen Bathurst, Lord Apsley, English politician (died 1942)
Allen Algernon Bathurst, Lord Apsley, DSO, MC, TD, DL was a British Army officer and Conservative Party politician.
03/08/1894
Harry Heilmann, American baseball player and sportscaster (died 1951)
Harry Edwin Heilmann, nicknamed "Slug", was an American baseball player and radio announcer. He played professional baseball for 19 years between 1913 and 1932, including 17 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds. He was a play-by-play announcer for the Tigers for 17 years from 1934 to 1950.
03/08/1890
Konstantin Melnikov, Russian architect, designed the Rusakov Workers' Club (died 1974)
Konstantin Stepanovich Melnikov was a Russian architect and painter. His architectural work, compressed into a single decade (1923–1933), placed Melnikov on the front end of 1920s avant-garde architecture. Although associated with the Constructivists, Melnikov was an independent artist, not bound by the rules of a particular style or artistic group. In the 1930s, Melnikov refused to conform with the rising Stalinist architecture, withdrew from practice and worked as a portraitist and teacher until the end of his life.
03/08/1887
Rupert Brooke, English poet (died 1915)
Rupert Chawner Brooke was an English poet known for his idealistic war sonnets written during the First World War, especially "The Soldier". He was also known for his boyish good looks, which were said to have prompted the Irish poet W. B. Yeats to describe him as "the handsomest young man in England". He died of septicaemia following a mosquito bite whilst aboard a French hospital ship moored off the island of Skyros in the Aegean Sea.
August Wesley, Finnish journalist, trade unionist, and revolutionary (died ?)[citation needed]
August Anselm Wesley was a Finnish journalist, trade unionist, and revolutionary who was the chief of the Red Guards general staff in the Finnish Civil War. He later served as a lieutenant in the British organized Murmansk Legion and the Estonian Army.
03/08/1886
Maithili Sharan Gupt, Indian poet and playwright (died 1964)
Dr Maithilisharan Gupt was one of the most important modern Hindi poets. He is considered one among the pioneers of Khari Boli poetry and wrote in Khari Boli dialect, at a time when most Hindi poets favoured the use of Braj Bhasha dialect. He was a recipient of the third highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Bhushan. For his book Bharat-Bharati (1912), widely quoted during India's freedom struggle, he was given the title of Rashtra Kavi by Mahatma Gandhi.
03/08/1872
Haakon VII of Norway (died 1957)
Haakon VII was King of Norway from 1905 until his death in 1957, having reigned for nearly 52 years.
03/08/1871
Vernon Louis Parrington, American historian and scholar (died 1929)
Vernon Louis Parrington was an American literary historian, scholar, and college football coach. The first two volumne's of his is three-volume history of American letters, Main Currents in American Thought, won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1928 and was one of the most influential books for American historians of its time. The third volume approximately half completed was completed by his associates and students after his sudden death in 1929. Parrington taught at the College of Emporia, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Washington. He was also the head football coach at the College of Emporia from 1893 to 1896 and Oklahoma from 1897 to 1900. Parrington founded the American studies movement in 1927.
03/08/1867
Stanley Baldwin, English businessman and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1947)
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, was a British statesman and Conservative politician who was prominent in the political leadership of the United Kingdom between the world wars. He was prime minister on three occasions, from May 1923 to January 1924, from November 1924 to June 1929 and from June 1935 to May 1937.
03/08/1863
Géza Gárdonyi, Hungarian author and journalist (died 1922)
Géza Gárdonyi, born Géza Ziegler was a Hungarian writer and journalist. Although he wrote a range of works, he had his greatest success as a historical novelist, particularly with Eclipse of the Crescent Moon and Slave of the Huns.
03/08/1860
William Kennedy Dickson, French-Scottish actor, director, and producer (died 1935)
William Kennedy Laurie Dickson was a British-American inventor who devised an early motion picture camera under the employment of Thomas Edison.
03/08/1856
Alfred Deakin, Australian lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Australia (died 1919)
Alfred Deakin was an Australian politician who served as the second prime minister of Australia from 1903 to 1904, 1905 to 1908, and 1909 to 1910. He held office as the leader of the Protectionist Party, and in his final term as that of the Liberal Party. He is notable for being one of the fathers of Federation and for his influence in early Australian politics.
03/08/1850
Reginald Heber Roe, English-Australian swimmer, tennis player, and academic (died 1926)
Reginald Heber Roe was a headmaster of Brisbane Grammar School, Queensland, Australia and first vice-chancellor of the University of Queensland.
03/08/1840
John Bigham, 1st Viscount Mersey, English jurist and politician (died 1929)
John Charles Bigham, 1st Viscount Mersey was a British jurist and politician. After early success as a lawyer and a less successful spell as a politician, he was appointed a judge and worked in commercial law.
03/08/1837
Julien Reverchon, French botanist (died 1905)
Julien Reverchon was a French botanist and naturalist.
03/08/1832
Ivan Zajc, Croatian composer, conductor, and director (died 1914)
Ivan von Zajc, was a Croatian composer, conductor, director, and teacher who dominated Croatia's musical culture for over forty years. Through his artistic and institutional reform efforts, he is credited with its revitalization and refinement, paving the way for new Croatian musical achievements in the 20th century. He is often called the Croatian Verdi.
03/08/1823
Thomas Francis Meagher, Irish-American revolutionary and military leader, territorial governor of Montana (died 1867)
Thomas Francis Meagher was an Irish nationalist and leader of the Young Irelanders in the Rebellion of 1848. After being convicted of sedition, he was first sentenced to death but received transportation for life to Van Diemen's Land in Australia.
Francisco Asenjo Barbieri, Spanish clarinetist, composer, and musicologist (died 1894)
Francisco Asenjo Barbieri was a Spanish clarinetist, composer, and musicologist. Barbieri was a well-known composer of zarzuelas. He has been referred to as the “most important of all nineteenth-century composers" of the genre. Some of his most well known works in the genre include El barberillo de Lavapiés, Jugar con fuego, and Pan y toros.
03/08/1817
Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen (died 1895)
Archduke Albrecht Friedrich Rudolf Dominik of Austria, Duke of Teschen, was an Austrian Habsburg general. He was the grandson of Emperor Leopold II and one of the chief military advisors of Emperor Francis Joseph I. As Inspector General for 36 years, he was an old-fashioned bureaucrat who largely controlled the Austro-Hungarian Army and delayed modernization. He was honored with the rank of field marshal in the armies of Austria-Hungary (1863) and Germany (1893).
03/08/1811
Elisha Otis, American businessman, founded the Otis Elevator Company (died 1861)
Elisha Graves Otis was an American industrialist and founder of the Otis Elevator Company. In 1853, he invented a safety device that prevents elevators from falling if the hoisting cable fails. On March 23, 1857, he installed the first safety elevator for passenger service in the store of E.V. Haughwout & Co. in New York City.
03/08/1808
Hamilton Fish, American lawyer and politician, 26th United States Secretary of State (died 1893)
Hamilton Fish was an American statesman who served as the sixteenth governor of New York from 1849 to 1850, a United States senator from New York from 1851 to 1857, and the 26th U.S. secretary of state from 1869 to 1877. Fish was the most trusted advisor to President Ulysses S. Grant and recognized as the pillar of Grant's presidency. He is considered one of the nation's most effective U.S. secretaries of state by scholars, known for his judiciousness and efforts towards reform and diplomatic moderation. He settled the controversial Alabama Claims with the United Kingdom, developing the concept of international arbitration and avoided war with Spain over Cuban independence by coolly handling the volatile Virginius incident. He also organized a peace conference and treaty between South American countries and Spain. In 1875, Fish negotiated a reciprocal trade treaty for sugar production with the Kingdom of Hawai'i, initiating the process which ended in the 1893 overthrow of the House of Kalākaua and statehood. Fish worked with James Milton Turner to settle the Liberia-Grebo War in 1876.
03/08/1803
Joseph Paxton, English gardener and architect, designed The Crystal Palace (died 1865)
Sir Joseph Paxton was an English gardener, architect, engineer and Liberal Member of Parliament. He is best known for designing the Crystal Palace, which was built in Hyde Park, London to house the Great Exhibition of 1851, the first world's fair, great public parks such as Birkenhead Park, and for cultivating the Cavendish banana, the most consumed banana in the Western world.
03/08/1770
Frederick William III of Prussia (died 1840)
Frederick William III was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved.
03/08/1766
Aaron Chorin, Hungarian rabbi and author (died 1844)
Aaron Chorin was a Hungarian rabbi and pioneer of early religious reform. He favored the use of the organ and of prayers in the vernacular, and was instrumental in founding schools along modern lines. Chorin became a pivotal figure for reformers, although he himself still operated inside a traditional framework. He also interested himself in public affairs—he took an active part in the efforts for Jewish emancipation, and was very influential with the state authorities.
03/08/1724
Alvise Foscari, Venetian admiral (died 1790)
Alvise Foscari was a Venetian nobleman, naval officer, and administrator.
03/08/1692
John Henley, English minister and poet (died 1759)
John Henley, English clergyman, commonly known as 'Orator Henley', was a preacher known for showmanship and eccentricity.
03/08/1622
Wolfgang Julius, Count of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein, German field marshal (died 1698)
Wolfgang Julius of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein was a German Field Marshal and the last Count of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein. He was the son of Kraft III of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein and Sophie of Birkenfeld, a daughter of Charles I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld.
03/08/1509
Étienne Dolet, French scholar and translator (died 1546)
Étienne Dolet was a French scholar, translator and printer. He was a controversial figure throughout his lifetime, which was buffeted by the opposing forces of the Renaissance and the French Inquisition. His early attacks upon the Inquisition and the municipal authorities of Toulouse, together with his later publications in Lyon, caused the French Inquisition to monitor his activities closely.
03/08/1491
Maria of Jülich-Berg, German noblewoman (died 1543)
Maria of Jülich-Berg was the Duchess of Jülich-Berg, as the daughter of Wilhelm IV, Duke of Jülich-Berg and Sibylle of Brandenburg. She became heiress to her father's estates of Jülich, Berg and Ravensberg after it had become apparent that her parents’ marriage would not produce any more children. In 1509, Maria married John III, Duke of Cleves. Their daughter, Anna, became the fourth consort of King Henry VIII of England.
03/08/1486
Imperia Cognati, Italian courtesan (died 1512)
Imperia Cognati, was a Roman courtesan. She has been considered the first celebrity of the class of courtesans, which was created in Rome in the late 15th century.
03/08/1442
Galeotto I Pico, Duke of Mirandola (died 1499)
Galeotto I Pico della Mirandola was an Italian condottiero and nobleman, Signore of Mirandola and Concordia. He was noted by contemporaries for his tyranny. The son of Gianfrancesco I Pico, Galeotto initially allied himself to the Duchy of Ferrara, first fighting for Duke Borso d'Este and then Ercole I d'Este, with whom he formed a strong bond. In 1486, he switched allegiance to Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan. He fought his brother Antonio for the Signoria of Mirandola. He was ultimately successful in the last battle, taking his brother's place in 1491, which was reaffirmed two years later. He died in 1499 and was succeeded by his son Giovanni Francesco.