Born on Monday, 1st December – Famous Birthdays

01/12/2003

Robert Irwin, Australian conservationist and television personality

Robert Clarence Irwin is an Australian conservationist, zookeeper, wildlife photographer, and television presenter. The son of conservationists Steve and Terri Irwin, he manages Australia Zoo in Beerwah, Queensland, and is frequently involved in activities that his father originally participated in.

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01/12/2001

Carole Monnet, French tennis player

Carole Monnet is a Ukrainian-born French tennis player. Monnet has career-high WTA rankings of No. 162 in singles, achieved on 11 September 2023, and No. 129 in doubles, reached on 28 October 2024.

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01/12/1999

Lloyd Pope, Australian cricketer

Lloyd Aylmer James Pope is an Australian cricketer who currently represents South Australia and the Adelaide Strikers. A right-arm leg spin bowler, he is known for his effective use of the wrong'un as a variation. Pope was well renowned in his early career for his hair, becoming a cult hero of Australian cricket due to his “flowing red hair”.

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Nico Schlotterbeck, German footballer

Nico Cedric Schlotterbeck is a German professional footballer who plays primarily as a centre-back for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Germany national team. He is known for his aerial ability, speed, strength and aggressive tackling.

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01/12/1997

Sada Williams, Barbadian sprinter

Sada Williams is a Barbadian sprinter competing primarily in the 200 and 400 metres. She won the bronze medal in the 400 m at the 2022 World Championships, becoming the first Barbadian woman ever to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships. Williams took gold in the event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

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Jung Chae-yeon, South Korean actress and singer

Jung Chae-yeon, known mononymously as Chaeyeon, is a South Korean actress and singer. She is a member of the girl group DIA and former member of a project girl group I.O.I, having finished 7th in the survival show Produce 101. She is currently active as an actress, best known for her lead roles in the television series To. Jenny (2018), My First First Love (2019), The King's Affection (2021), The Golden Spoon (2022), and Family by Choice (2024).

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01/12/1995

Agnė Čepelytė, Lithuanian tennis player

Agnė Čepelytė is a Lithuanian former tennis player.

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Jenna Fife, Scottish footballer

Jenna Josephine Fife is a Scottish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Rangers W.F.C. in the Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) and for the Scotland national team.

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James Wilson, English footballer

James Antony Wilson is an English professional footballer who last played as a forward for EFL League One club Northampton Town.

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01/12/1994

Seedy Njie, English footballer

Seedy Ishmail Njie is an English former footballer who played as a forward.

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01/12/1993

Reena Pärnat, Estonian archer

Reena Pärnat is an Estonian archer who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Pärnat scored 621 points from 720 in the preliminary ranking round of the women's individual event, which determined the seedings for the subsequent elimination rounds, placing 52nd of the 64 competitors. She was eliminated in the first round of the competition by Mexico's Alejandra Valencia.

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Beau Webster, Australian cricketer

Beau Jacob Webster is an Australian International cricketer who plays for Tasmania at state level, and the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League. He also represents Australia in Test cricket. An all-rounder, Webster is a right-handed batter capable of bowling both right-arm medium and off spin.

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01/12/1992

Masahudu Alhassan, Ghanaian footballer

Masahudu Alhassan is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Anzio, where he is also head coach.

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Javier Báez, Puerto Rican baseball player

Ednel Javier "Javy" Báez, nicknamed "El Mago", is a Puerto Rican professional baseball utility player for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets. On the international level, he represents the Puerto Rican national team.

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Linos Chrysikopoulos, Greek basketball player

Linos-Spyridon Chrysikopoulos is a Greek professional basketball player for Kolossos Rodou of the Greek Basketball League. He is 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) tall and 225 pounds (102 kg). He plays at the power forward position and his nickname is Spider-Man.

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Gary Payton II, American basketball player

Gary Dwayne Payton II is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a junior and senior playing college basketball for the Oregon State Beavers, Payton was named first-team All-Pac-12 as well as Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. He won his first NBA championship with the Warriors in 2022.

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Marco van Ginkel, Dutch footballer

Marco Wulfert Cornelis van Ginkel is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a defensive or attacking midfielder.

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01/12/1991

Rakeem Christmas, American basketball player

Rakeem Haleek Christmas is an American professional basketball player for the Amartha Hangtuah of the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL). He played college basketball for the Syracuse Orange for four seasons before being drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 36th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft.

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Hilda Melander, Swedish tennis player

Hilda Melander is a Swedish former tennis player.

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Sun Yang, Chinese swimmer

Sun Yang is a Chinese Olympic and former world-record-holding competitive swimmer. In 2012, Sun became the first Chinese athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in men's swimming. Sun is the first male swimmer in history to earn Olympic and World Championship gold medals at every freestyle distance from 200 to 1500 metres. A three-time Olympic gold medalist and eleven-time world champion, he is the most decorated Chinese swimmer in history. In 2017, NBC Sports described him as "very arguably the greatest freestyle swimmer of all time".

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01/12/1990

Tomáš Tatar, Slovak ice hockey player

Tomáš Tatar is a Slovak professional ice hockey player who is a forward for EV Zug of the National League. Tatar was drafted 60th overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2009 NHL entry draft.

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01/12/1989

Sotelúm, Mexican trumpet player, composer, and producer

Sotelúm is a modernist and independent music artist, listed by UABC Radio and other local press media as an elemental post-nortec visionary in the Mexican avant garde of electronic music.

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01/12/1988

Tyler Joseph, American musician and singer

Tyler Robert Joseph is an American singer, rapper, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is the frontman for the musical duo Twenty One Pilots, alongside bandmate Josh Dun. Across his career he has recorded nine albums: one solo, and eight with Twenty One Pilots. He has been nominated for six Grammy Awards as a member of the duo, of which he has won one.

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Zoë Kravitz, American actress, singer, and model

Zoë Isabella Kravitz is an American actress, singer, and filmmaker. She has received nominations for a Critics' Choice Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2022, she was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People.

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Dan Mavraides, Greek-American basketball player

Daniel James Mavraides is a Greek American professional basketball player. At a height of 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) tall, he played as a point guard-shooting guard. Following his graduation from college, he played professionally in Italy and Greece for two seasons. Mavraides currently competes with the top-U.S. ranked Princeton 3×3 on the FIBA 3×3 World Tour.

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Michael Raffl, Austrian ice hockey player

Michael Raffl is an Austrian professional ice hockey left winger with EC Red Bull Salzburg of the ICE Hockey League (ICEHL). He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals and Dallas Stars, as well as in the Austrian ICE Hockey League (IceHL) with EC VSV and in the Swiss National League (NL) with Lausanne HC.

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01/12/1987

Simon Dawkins, English footballer

Simon Jonathan Dawkins is a Jamaican retired professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or winger. Born in England, he represented the Jamaica national team. Recently, he was the interim head coach for Monterey Bay FC in the USL Championship during some of their 2024 season.

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Tabarie Henry, Virgin Islander sprinter

Tabarie Joil Henry is a United States Virgin Islands sprinter who specializes in the 400 metres. His personal best time is 20.71 seconds in the 200 metres and 44.77 in the 400 metres, achieved in April 2009 in Arkansas City, Kansas, and in May 2009 in Hutchinson, Kansas respectively. He is affiliated with Barton County Community College and Texas A&M University, where he was a national champion in 2010 and 2011.

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Vance Joy, Australian singer-songwriter

James Gabriel Keogh, known professionally as Vance Joy, is an Australian singer, songwriter, musician, and former Australian rules footballer. He is best known for his 2013 hit song "Riptide".

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Brett Williams, English footballer

Brett Anthony Williams is an English footballer who plays as a forward for Wessex League Premier Division club AFC Stoneham.

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01/12/1986

DeSean Jackson, American football player

DeSean William Jackson is an American college football coach and former player who is the head football coach at Delaware State University. Known for his speed, he is recognized as one of the best deep threats in NFL history. He played college football as a wide receiver for the California Golden Bears, where he was recognized as a two-time, first-team All-American in 2006 and 2007. He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft, and also played for the Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Rams, and Baltimore Ravens. Jackson was selected to the Pro Bowl three times, and was the first player selected to the Pro Bowl at two different positions in the same year when he was named to the 2010 Pro Bowl as a wide receiver and return specialist. After retiring as a player, Jackson pursued a coaching career. Near the end of the 2024 season, Jackson was named the head football coach at Delaware State.

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01/12/1985

Philip DeFranco, American media host and YouTube personality

Philip James DeFranco, commonly known by his online nickname PhillyD, and formerly known as sxephil, is an American media host and YouTube personality. He is best known for The Philip DeFranco Show, a news commentary show centered on current events in politics and pop culture.

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Ilfenesh Hadera, American actress

Ilfenesh Hadera is an American actress. Hadera has been a frequent collaborator of director Spike Lee, appearing in Oldboy (2013), Chi-Raq (2015), She's Gotta Have It (2018-2019) and Highest 2 Lowest (2025).

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Janelle Monáe, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress

Janelle Monáe Robinson is an American singer, songwriter, rapper and actor. She has received ten Grammy Award nominations, and is the recipient of a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Children's and Family Emmy Award. Monáe has also been honored with the ASCAP Vanguard Award; as well as the Rising Star Award (2015) and the Trailblazer of the Year Award (2018) from Billboard Women in Music.

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Emiliano Viviano, Italian footballer

Emiliano Viviano is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

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01/12/1984

Charles Michael Davis, American actor

Charles Michael Davis is an American actor. Best known for his roles as Marcel Gerard on The CW television drama The Originals (2013–2018) and Zane Anders on the TV Land original series Younger (2017–2021). He also starred as Special Agent Quentin Carter on NCIS: New Orleans.

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Yolandi Visser, South African rapper and actress

Anri du Toit, known professionally as Yolandi Visser, is a South African singer, rapper, and songwriter. She is one of two vocalists in the alternative hip hop group Die Antwoord, along with Watkin Tudor Jones.

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01/12/1982

Riz Ahmed, English actor and rapper

Rizwan Ahmed is a British actor and rapper. He has received several awards, including an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, and nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and two British Academy Film Awards. In 2017, he was named by Time as one of the most influential people in the world.

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Christos Kalantzis, Greek footballer

Christos Kalantzis is a Greek retired professional footballer who played as a striker.

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Christos Melissis, Greek footballer

Christos Melissis, is a Greek football player who played for Sudanese club Al-Hilal Omdurman. He has played in the past for Naoussa, Panserraikos, PAOK, Panathinaikos, AEL, Panthrakikos, Marítimo in Portugal and the Greek national team. He usually plays as a center back but when called upon he is used as a right back or a defensive midfielder.

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01/12/1981

Park Hyo-shin, South Korean singer-songwriter and actor

Park Hyo-shin is a South Korean singer and musical theatre actor. Following his debut as a singer in 1999, Park released numerous hit songs in the 2000s, including "Good Person" (2002), "Snow Flower" (2004) and "Memories Resemble Love" (2007). In the 2010s, he achieved five number-one hits on the Circle Digital Chart, including 2014's "Wild Flower", which has sold 5 million copies, making it one of the best-selling singles in South Korea.

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Luke McPharlin, Australian footballer

Luke McPharlin is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the Fremantle Football Club between 2002 and 2015, after two seasons with the Hawthorn Football Club. Throughout his AFL career, McPharlin predominantly played as a key defender.

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I Made Wirawan, Indonesian footballer

I Made Wirawan is an Indonesian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is now the goalkeeper coach and player for Persib Bandung. He made 11 appearances for the Indonesia national team.

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01/12/1980

Iftikhar Anjum, Pakistani cricketer

Rao Iftikhar Anjum also known as RAO Anjum, is a former Pakistani cricketer right arm medium fast bowler and right hand batsman. Rao Iftikhar Anjum is another addition to Pakistan's seemingly endless production line of pace bowlers. Iftikhar, however, is more Aaqib Javed than Wasim Akram or Waqar Younis, and his outswinger is considered by many to be as effective as Aaqib's. He can bowl reverse-swing - a prerequisite for Pakistani bowlers, when the ball gets a bit rougher, with good control over his yorkers. Iftikhar has performed consistently well in the domestic circuit since making his debut three years ago. Anjum was a member of the Pakistan team that won the 2009 ICC World Twenty20.

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Mohammad Kaif, Indian cricketer and politician

Mohammad Kaif is a former Indian cricketer, who played Tests and ODIs. He made it to the national team on the strength of his performances at the Under-19 level, where he captained the India national under-19 cricket team to victory in the Under-19 World Cup in 2000. With India, Kaif was a member of the Indian team that was one of the joint-winners of the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy, which the title was also shared with Sri Lanka, and he was a member of the team that were runners-up in the 2003 Cricket World Cup. He is regarded as one of the greatest Indian fielders.

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Mubarak Hassan Shami, Kenyan-Qatari runner

Mubarak Hassan Shami is a Kenyan-born Qatari long-distance runner. He specializes in half marathon and marathon races.

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Gianna Terzi, Greek singer

Ioanna "Yianna" Terzi is a Greek singer and songwriter. She represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Oniro mou".

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01/12/1979

Stephanie Brown Trafton, American discus thrower

Stephanie Brown Trafton, née Stephanie Brown, is an American track and field athlete who won the discus throwing gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She is thus one of only three American women to have ever won the event.

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Ryan Malone, American ice hockey player

Ryan Gregory Malone, nicknamed "Bugsy", is an American former professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers. In 2003, he became the first Pittsburgh-born and trained player to suit up for the Penguins in an NHL game.

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Richard James, Jamaican sprinter

Richard James is a Jamaican former sprinter specializing in the 400 metres and the 8th World Athletics Indoor Championships gold medallist in the 4 × 400 m relay. He was an All-American track and field runner for the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds and won medals at the Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics and the NACAC Under-25 Championships in Athletics.

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01/12/1978

Mat Kearney, American musician

Mathew William Kearney is an American musician born in Eugene, Oregon, and based in Nashville, Tennessee. So far, he has a total of five top 20 hits on the Adult Top 40 Chart.

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01/12/1977

Brad Delson, American guitarist and producer

Bradford Philip Delson is an American musician. He is the lead guitarist and one of the founding members of the rock band Linkin Park.

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Sophie Guillemin, French actress

Sophie Guillemin is a French actress. She has appeared in such films as L'Ennui, Harry, He's Here to Help, Un chat un chat, and A la folie, pas du tout. In 2017, whilst on the set of the TV movie Remember Us, she met the actor Thierry Godard. The couple were married in August 2018. Guillemin met Godard on the set of the TV series Souviens-toi de Nous. At the time, he was mourning the loss of his partner, actress and drama teacher Blanche Veisberg, who died of cancer in 2017.

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Lee McKenzie, Scottish journalist

Lee McKenzie is a journalist and presenter who is a reporter and deputy presenter for Channel 4's F1 coverage and Channel 4 Rugby. McKenzie also works on a variety of sports on the BBC and Channel 4, including tennis, rugby and equestrian, as well as the Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games. McKenzie has also worked as a presenter for the BBC's F1 coverage, Sky Sports and Sky Sports News.

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Nate Torrence, American actor and comedian

Nathan Torrence is an American actor. He is known for several TV and film roles, most notably including Devon from She's Out of My League, Wade from HBO‘s Hello Ladies, Sully on the CW series Supernatural and for voicing the character of Clawhauser in Disney’s animated film Zootopia.

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01/12/1976

Tomasz Adamek, Polish boxer

Tomasz "Tomek" Adamek is a Polish former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2018. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC light heavyweight title from 2005 to 2007, and the IBF and The Ring magazine cruiserweight titles from 2008 to 2009. He also held the IBO cruiserweight title in 2007, and challenged once for the WBC heavyweight title in 2011. BoxRec ranks Adamek as the third greatest Polish boxer of all time, pound for pound. He is the first Polish boxer to win The Ring title.

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Laura Ling, American journalist and author

Laura Ling is an American journalist and writer. She worked for Current TV as a correspondent and vice president of its Vanguard Journalism Unit, which produced the Vanguard TV series. She was the host and reporter on E! Investigates, a documentary series on the E! Network. In November 2014, Ling joined Discovery Digital Networks as its Director of Development.

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Dean O'Gorman, New Zealand actor, artist, and photographer

Dean Lance O'Gorman is a New Zealand actor, artist, and photographer. He played the dwarf Fíli in the Hobbit trilogy and the Norse god Bragi/Anders Johnson in the fantasy series The Almighty Johnsons. He also portrayed Kirk Douglas in Trumbo (2015).

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Matthew Shepard, American hate crime victim (died 1998)

Matthew Wayne Shepard was an American student at the University of Wyoming who was beaten, tortured, and left to die near Laramie on October 6, 1998. He was transported by rescuers to Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he died six days later from severe head injuries sustained during the attack.

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Evangelos Sklavos, Greek basketball player

Evangelos "Vangelis" Sklavos is a former Greek professional basketball player. He was born in Athens, Greece. At a height of 2.02 m, he played in the small forward and power forward positions.

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01/12/1975

Matt Fraction, American author

Matt Fritchman, better known by the pen name Matt Fraction, is an American comic book writer, known for his work as the writer of The Invincible Iron Man, FF, The Immortal Iron Fist, Uncanny X-Men, and Hawkeye for Marvel Comics; Casanova and Sex Criminals for Image Comics; and Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen and Batman for DC Comics.

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Isaiah "Ikey" Owens, American keyboard player and producer (died 2014)

Randolph Isaiah "Ikey" Owens was an American multi-instrumentalist and producer, known primarily for his work as a keyboardist. Owens also played piano, organ, synthesizers, guitar, drums, melodica, clavinet, and effects pedals. Recognized for his tenure with The Mars Volta, Jack White, De Facto, and Free Moral Agents, he also played in and produced an array of bands from the Long Beach and Denver music scenes.

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Thomas Schie, Norwegian racing driver and sportscaster

Thomas Schie is a former racing and rally driver. He previously competed in the International Formula 3000, Swedish Touring Car Championship and World Rally Championship.

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Farah Shah, Pakistani actress and host

Farah Shah is a Pakistani television actress and former model. She made her acting debut with the role of Mehru in PTV World's classic series Boota From Toba Tek Singh (1999). Shah's career spans more than 20 years. She worked in various hits on Urdu Television including Landa Bazar (2002), Chashman (2006), Khuda Aur Muhabbat (2011), Numm (2013), Gul-e-Rana (2015), Choti Si Zindagi (2016), Toh Dil Ka Kiya Hua (2017), and Suno Chanda (2018). Her performance as the antagonist in Mohabbat Subh Ka Sitara Hai (2013) and Abro (2016) earned her a nomination for Hum Award in a negative role category. She has played the role of Naeema in Hum TV's Suno Chanda 2.

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Sophia Skou, Danish swimmer

Sophia Skou is a Danish former butterfly swimmer, who twice competed in the Summer Olympics for her native country: in 1996 and 2000.

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01/12/1974

Costinha, Portuguese footballer and manager

Francisco José Rodrigues da Costa, known as Costinha, is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He was also a manager.

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01/12/1973

Steve Gibb, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

Stephen Thadeus Crompton Gibb is a British-American guitarist. He has been a member of numerous hard rock and metal bands including 58, Black Label Society, Crowbar, Kingdom of Sorrow, The Underbellys, SkilletHead, and Saigon Kick. He is the son of Barry Gibb and is currently playing guitar as part of his father's band.

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01/12/1972

Stanton Barrett, American race car driver and stuntman

Stanton Thomas Barrett is an American professional stock car racing driver and Hollywood stuntman. He is the co-owner of Barrett–Cope Racing, which fields the No. 30 Chevrolet in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series. which he co-owns. He has previously competed in the WRL and HSR/SVRA Vintage Series.

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Bart Millard, American singer-songwriter

Bart Marshall Millard is an American singer and songwriter who is best known as the lead singer of Christian rock band MercyMe. He has also released two solo albums: Hymned, No. 1, in 2005 and Hymned Again in 2008. He received a solo Grammy nomination in the category of Best Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album for the latter album.

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01/12/1971

Christian Pescatori, Italian race car driver

Christian Pescatori is a professional racecar driver from Italy.

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Mika Pohjola, Finnish-American pianist and composer

Mika Pohjola ( is a Finnish-born jazz pianist and composer who resides in Stockholm. He is one of the most prolific Scandinavian jazz musicians in his generation.

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John Schlimm, American author and educator

John Schlimm is an American author and educator.

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01/12/1970

Golden Brooks, American actress

Golden Brooks is an American actress. She began her career with starring role in the Showtime comedy series, Linc's (1998–2000), and later appeared in the films Timecode (2000) and Impostor (2001).

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Jonathan Coulton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Jonathan William Coulton, often called "JoCo" by fans, is an American folk/comedy singer-songwriter, known for his songs about geek culture and his use of the Internet to draw fans. Among his most popular songs are "Code Monkey", "Re: Your Brains", "Still Alive", and "Want You Gone". He was the house musician for NPR weekly puzzle quiz show Ask Me Another from 2012 until its end in 2021.

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Kirk Rueter, American baseball player

Kirk Wesley Rueter, nicknamed "Woody", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the San Francisco Giants. He also played for the Montreal Expos who had drafted him in 1991.

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Sarah Silverman, American comedian, actress, and singer

Sarah Kate Silverman is an American stand-up comedian, actress and writer. She first rose to prominence for her brief stint as a writer and cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live during its 19th season, between 1993 and 1994. She then starred in and produced The Sarah Silverman Program, which ran from 2007 to 2010 on Comedy Central. For her work on the program, Silverman was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

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Tisha Waller, American high jumper and educator

Tisha Felice Waller, is an American athlete competing in the high jump, who participated in the 1996 Summer Olympics and 2004 Summer Olympics. She is a five time American Champion, and internationally won the 1998 Goodwill Games, plus bronze medals in the 1991 World University Games and the 1999 World Indoor Championships.

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01/12/1969

Richard Carrier, American author and blogger

Richard Cevantis Carrier is an American historian, author, and Christ myth theorist. A longtime contributor to skeptical outlets including The Secular Web and Freethought Blogs, Carrier writes about philosophy and religion in classical antiquity, examining the development of early Christianity from a skeptical perspective and addressing modern debates about religion and morality. He frequently debates the historical basis of the Bible and Christianity and promotes the view that Jesus did not exist in his publications. Carrier's interpretations have not been accepted within academic scholarship, and are considered fringe.

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01/12/1968

Justin Chadwick, English actor and director

Justin Chadwick is an English actor and television and film director. He directed episodes of EastEnders, Byker Grove, The Bill, Spooks and Red Cap before directing nine of the fifteen episodes of the mini-series Bleak House, which was broadcast by the BBC in the UK and by PBS in the United States as part of its Masterpiece Theatre series.

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Sarah Fitzgerald, Australian squash player

Sarah Elizabeth Fitz-Gerald AM is an Australian former professional squash player who won five World Open titles – 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2002. She ranks alongside Janet Morgan, Nicol David, Susan Devoy, Michelle Martin and Heather McKay as the sport's greatest female players of all time.

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Anders Holmertz, Swedish swimmer

Anders Holmertz is a Swedish retired swimmer who was a leader in freestyle races in the 1980s and at the beginning of the 1990s, though often missing personal success. He also settled a record in the 400 m freestyle. He is the brother of another Swedish swimmer, Mikael Holmertz.

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01/12/1967

Nestor Carbonell, American actor

Néstor Gastón Carbonell is an American actor, director, and screenwriter. He came to prominence for his role as Luis Rivera in the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan. He is known for his roles as Richard Alpert in the ABC drama series Lost, Sheriff Alex Romero in the A&E drama series Bates Motel, and Yanko Flores in the Apple TV+ drama series The Morning Show. Carbonell also starred as Mayor Anthony Garcia in Christopher Nolan's superhero films The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). He won the 2024 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role in the FX series Shōgun.

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Reggie Sanders, American baseball player

Reginald Laverne Sanders is an American former right fielder in Major League Baseball. He batted and threw right-handed. He played professionally with the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Kansas City Royals, and was a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks' 2001 World Series championship over the New York Yankees. Sanders possessed both power and speed and is one of eight MLB players to record over 300 home runs and over 300 steals.

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01/12/1966

Andrew Adamson, New Zealand director, producer, and screenwriter

Andrew Ralph Adamson is a New Zealand film director, producer, screenwriter, and animator. He is best known for directing the DreamWorks animated film Shrek (2001), which is based on the children's picture book of the same name by American author William Steig and won the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 74th Academy Awards ceremony, and directing and co-writing Shrek 2 (2004), which was nominated for Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. He also directed and co-wrote the first two live-action film adaptations of C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia novels: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) and Prince Caspian (2008).

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Katherine LaNasa, American actress, ballet dancer, and choreographer

Katherine LaNasa is an American actress. Since 2025, she has portrayed Nurse Dana Evans in the HBO Max medical drama The Pitt (2025–present), for which she earned a Primetime Emmy Award, a Critics' Choice Award, and an Actor Award.

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Larry Walker, Canadian baseball player and coach

Larry Kenneth Robert Walker is a Canadian former professional baseball right fielder. During his 17-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played with the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals. In 1997, he became the only player in major league history to register both a .700 slugging percentage (SLG) and 30 stolen bases in the same season, on his way to winning the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player Award (MVP). The first player in more than 60 years to record a batting average of .360 in three consecutive seasons from 1997 to 1999, Walker also won three NL batting championships. He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in the Class of 2009, and was named the 13th-greatest sporting figure from Canada by Sports Illustrated in 1999. In 2020, Walker was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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01/12/1965

Henry Honiball, South African rugby player

Henry William Honiball is a South African former professional rugby union footballer. He usually played at fly-half and sometimes as a centre.

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Magnifico, Slovenian singer

Robert Pešut, known as Magnifico, is a Slovenian singer of Slovene and Serbian descent.

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01/12/1964

Salvatore Schillaci, Italian footballer (died 2024)

Salvatore Schillaci, also known as Totò Schillaci, was an Italian professional footballer who played as a striker. During his club career, he played for Messina (1982–1989), Juventus (1989–1992), Internazionale (1992–1994) and Júbilo Iwata (1994–1997).

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Jo Walton, Welsh-Canadian author and poet

Jo Walton is a Welsh-Canadian fantasy and science fiction writer and poet. She is best known for the fantasy novel Among Others, which won the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 2012, and Tooth and Claw, a Victorian-era novel with dragons which won the World Fantasy Award in 2004. Other works by Walton include the Small Change series, in which she blends alternate history with the cozy mystery genre, comprising Farthing, Ha'penny and Half a Crown. Her fantasy novel Lifelode won the 2010 Mythopoeic Award, and her alternate history My Real Children received the 2015 Tiptree Award.

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01/12/1963

Marco Greco, Brazilian race car driver

Marco Greco is a Brazilian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and auto racing driver who competed in the Indy Racing League from 1996 to 1999. His best finish in the season points was third in 1996–1997. He made four starts in the Indianapolis 500 with a best finish of fourteenth in 1998. He previously competed in the CART World Series in full seasons in 1993 for Sovereign Motorsports and in 1994 for Arciero Racing and partial seasons in 1995 and 1996 for Dick Simon Racing, Galles Racing, and Team Scandia.

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Nathalie Lambert, Canadian speed skater

Nathalie Brigitte Lambert, OC is a Canadian Olympic medalist in short-track speed skating. She won one Gold medal and two Silver medals at the Winter Olympics, and was Canada's flag bearer at the 1992 Albertville Olympics closing ceremony. She is also a three-time Overall World Champion for 1991, 1993 and 1994.

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Arjuna Ranatunga, Sri Lankan cricketer and politician

Deshamanya Arjuna Ranatunga, is a Sri Lankan politician and former cricketer, who was the 1996 Cricket World Cup winning captain for Sri Lanka, and scored the winning boundary in the final. He is regarded as the pioneer who lifted the Sri Lankan cricket team from underdog status to a leading force in the cricketing world.

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01/12/1962

Sylvie Daigle, Canadian speed skater

Sylvie Daigle is a Canadian speed skater. She is a member of the Canadian short track relay team that won gold at the 1992 Winter Olympics and silver at the 1994 Winter Olympics. She is also a five-time Overall World Champion. She was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec.

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Pamela McGee, American basketball player and coach

Pamela Denise McGee is an American former professional women's basketball player, Olympic gold medalist, and Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductee. She is the mother of NBA player JaVale McGee and WNBL player Imani McGee-Stafford.

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01/12/1961

Safra Catz, Israeli-American businesswoman and boss of Oracle

Safra Ada Catz is an Israeli-American business executive. She is the executive vice chair and former CEO of Oracle Corporation. She has been an executive at Oracle since April 1999, and a board member since 2001. In April 2011, she was named co-president and chief financial officer (CFO), reporting to founder Larry Ellison. In September 2014, Oracle announced that Ellison would step down as CEO and that Mark Hurd and Catz had been named as joint CEOs. In September 2019, Catz became the sole CEO after Hurd resigned due to health issues.

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Raymond E. Goldstein, American biophysicist and academic

Raymond Ethan Goldstein FRS FInstP is the Alan Turing Professor of Complex Physical Systems in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP) at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge.

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Jeremy Northam, English actor

Jeremy Philip Northam is an English actor. His film credits include The Net (1995), Emma (1996), An Ideal Husband (1999), Amistad (1997), The Winslow Boy (1999), Gosford Park (2001) and Enigma (2001). In television, he also played Thomas More in the Showtime series The Tudors (2007–2008) and appeared as Anthony Eden in the Netflix series The Crown (2016–2017).

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01/12/1960

Carol Alt, American model and actress

Carol Ann Alt is an American model and actress.

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Shirin M. Rai, Indian-English political scientist and academic

Shirin M. Rai is an interdisciplinary scholar who works across the political science and international relations boundaries. She is known for her research on the intersections between international political economy, globalisation, post-colonial governance, institutions and processes of democratisation and gender regimes. She was a professor of politics and international studies at the University of Warwick, and is the founding director of Warwick Interdisciplinary Research Centre for International Development (WICID).

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Jane Turner, Australian actress and producer

Jane Turner is an Australian actress, comedian and Logie Award-winning comedy series creator and screenwriter. She is widely known for her role as Kath in the TV sitcom Kath and Kim.

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01/12/1959

Billy Childish, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and painter

Billy Childish is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer, and guitarist. Since the late 1970s, Childish has been prolific in creating music, writing, and visual art. He has led and played in bands including Thee Milkshakes, Thee Headcoats, and the Musicians of the British Empire, primarily working in the genres of garage rock, punk, and surf, and releasing more than 100 albums.

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Wally Lewis, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster

Walter James Lewis AM is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He became a commentator for television coverage of the sport. A highly decorated Australian national captain, Lewis is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever players of rugby league. His time as a player and coach was followed by a career as a sports presenter for the Nine Network.

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01/12/1958

Javier Aguirre, Mexican footballer and manager

Javier Aguirre Onaindía, nicknamed El Vasco, is a Mexican football manager and former footballer. He is currently manager of the Mexico national team.

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Candace Bushnell, American journalist and author

Candace Bushnell is an American author, journalist, and television producer. She wrote a column for The New York Observer (1994–96) that was adapted into the bestselling Sex and the City anthology. The book was the basis for the HBO hit series Sex and the City (1998–2004) and two subsequent movies.

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Alberto Cova, Italian runner

Alberto Cova is a retired Italian long-distance track athlete, winner of the 10,000 m at the 1984 Summer Olympics and 1983 World Championships.

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Gary Peters, American politician

Gary Charles Peters is an American politician, lawyer, and former naval officer serving as the senior United States senator from Michigan, a seat he has held since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representative for Michigan's 14th congressional district, which included the eastern half of Detroit, the Grosse Pointes, Hamtramck, Southfield, and Pontiac, from 2009 to 2015.

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Charlene Tilton, American actress and singer

Charlene L. Tilton is an American actress and singer. She is widely known for playing Lucy Ewing on the CBS prime time soap opera Dallas.

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01/12/1957

Chris Poland, American guitarist and songwriter

Chris Poland is an American guitarist, best known as the former guitarist of the thrash metal band Megadeth. Since 2002, Poland has been the guitarist of the instrumental rock/jazz rock bands OHM and OHMphrey, among others, and has appeared on several projects and albums from a variety of different genres.

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Deep Roy, Kenyan-British actor

Gurdeep "Deep" Roy is a Kenyan-British actor, stuntman and puppeteer. Standing at 132 centimetres tall, he has often been cast as diminutive characters, such as Teeny Weeny in The NeverEnding Story, the Oompa-Loompas in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Keenser in Star Trek and its sequels, and in television series such as The X-Files, Doctor Who and Eastbound & Down.

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Vesta Williams, American singer-songwriter and actress (died 2011)

Mary Vesta Williams was an American singer-songwriter, who performed across genres such as soul, funk, R&B, Quiet storm, jazz soul and Urban Contemporary. Originally credited as Vesta Williams, she was simply known as Vesta beginning in the 1990s. She was known for her four–octave vocal range. She once sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" for the Los Angeles Lakers game opener using all four of those octaves.

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01/12/1956

Julee Cruise, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress (died 2022)

Julee Ann Cruise was an American singer and actress, known for her collaborations with composer Angelo Badalamenti and filmmaker David Lynch in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She released four albums beginning with 1989's Floating into the Night.

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01/12/1955

Veikko Aaltonen, Finnish actor, director, and screenwriter

Veikko Aaltonen is a Finnish director, editor, sound editor, production manager and film and television writer and actor.

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Verónica Forqué, Spanish actress (died 2021)

Verónica Forqué Vázquez-Vigo was a Spanish stage, film and television actress. She was a four-time Goya Award winner, the most award-winning actress alongside Carmen Maura. She had a knack for characters "between ridiculous and tender, stunned and vehement".

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Udit Narayan, Indian playback singer

Udit Narayan Jha is an Indian playback singer whose songs are featured in Indian cinema, primarily Hindi films.

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Pat Spillane, Irish footballer and sportscaster

Patrick Gerard Spillane, better known as Pat Spillane, is an Irish former Gaelic football pundit and player. His league and championship career at senior level with the Kerry county team spanned seventeen years from 1974 to 1991. Spillane is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the game.

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Karen Tumulty, American journalist

Karen Emily Tumulty is a political columnist for The Washington Post. Tumulty served in several capacities with Time magazine's Washington, D.C. bureau from October 1994 to April 2010, including as Congressional correspondent, national political correspondent and White House correspondent.

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01/12/1954

Alan Dedicoat, English journalist

Alan Dedicoat is a British announcer from Hollywood, England, for programmes on BBC One. He is known as the "Voice of the Balls" on the National Lottery programmes, providing a voiceover for the draws since 1995. He was a BBC Radio 2 newsreader until his retirement from this role in March 2015. Since their inceptions in May 2004 and June 2005 respectively, Dedicoat has been the announcer on the BBC One reality TV competition Strictly Come Dancing and its American version Dancing with the Stars.

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Judith Hackitt, English chemist and engineer

Dame Judith Elizabeth Hackitt is a British engineer and civil servant. A former chair of the UK Health and Safety Executive, she is currently chair of manufacturing trade body EEF.

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François Van der Elst, Belgian footballer (died 2017)

François Van der Elst was a Belgian footballer, who played as a winger. He is mainly known for winning several national and European trophies while at R.S.C. Anderlecht.

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01/12/1952

Stephen Poliakoff, English director, producer, and playwright

Stephen Poliakoff is a British playwright, director and screenwriter. In 2006 Gerard Gilbert of The Independent described him as the UK's "pre-eminent TV dramatist" and that he had "inherited Dennis Potter's crown".

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Rick Scott, American politician and businessman

Richard Lynn Scott is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and Navy veteran serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served from 2011 to 2019 as the 45th governor of Florida.

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01/12/1951

Aleksandr Panayotov Aleksandrov, Bulgarian cosmonaut

Aleksandr Panayotov Aleksandrov is a retired Bulgarian cosmonaut. He is the second Bulgarian to have flown to space, behind Georgi Ivanov.

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Obba Babatundé, American actor, director, and producer

Obba Babatundé is an American actor. A native of Queens, New York City, he has appeared in more than seventeen stage productions, thirty theatrical films, sixty made-for-television films, and two prime-time series.

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Doug Mulray, Australian radio and television host (died 2023)

Douglas John Mulray was an Australian comedian, radio, and television presenter. Nicknamed Uncle Doug, he grew up in Dee Why on Sydney's Northern Beaches. Mulray was well-known for his bawdy humor and charismatic larrikinism, with his style of free quips, parodies, and "unbridled naughtiness".

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Jaco Pastorius, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (died 1987)

John Francis Anthony Pastorius III, also known as Jaco Pastorius, was an American jazz bassist, composer, and producer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential bassists of all time, Pastorius recorded albums as a solo artist, band leader, and as a member of the jazz fusion group Weather Report from 1976 to 1981. He also collaborated with numerous artists, including Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny and Joni Mitchell.

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Nozipho Schroeder, South African lawn bowler

Nozipho Schroeder is a South African lawn bowler.

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Treat Williams, American actor (died 2023)

Richard Treat Williams Jr. was an American actor, whose career on stage and in film and television spanned five decades. He received many accolades for his work, including nominations for three Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Satellite Award, and an Independent Spirit Award.

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01/12/1950

Manju Bansal, Indian biologist and academic

Manju Bansal has specialized in the field of Molecular biophysics. Currently, she is a professor in theoretical Biophysics group for Molecular Biophysics unit in the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. She is the founder director of the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology at Bangalore.

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Ross Hannaford, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2016)

Ross Andrew Hannaford was an Australian musician, active in numerous local bands. He was often referred to by his nickname "Hanna". Widely regarded as one of the country's finest rock guitarists, he was best known for his long collaboration with singer-songwriter Ross Wilson, which began as teenagers, with The Pink Finks and forming the seminal early '70s Australian rock band Daddy Cool. Hannaford died of cancer after being diagnosed a year earlier.

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Richard Keith, American actor and drummer

Keith Thibodeaux, also known as Richard Keith, is an American actor and musician, best known for playing Little Ricky on the television sitcoms I Love Lucy and The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour. He was billed as Richard Keith because his Cajun French last name, "Thibodeaux", was considered too hard to pronounce by producer Desi Arnaz. He is the last living regular appearing cast member from I Love Lucy.

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Gary Panter, American illustrator and painter

Gary Panter is an American cartoonist, illustrator, painter, designer and part-time musician. Panter's work is representative of the post-underground, new wave comics movement that began with the end of Arcade: The Comics Revue and the initiation of RAW, one of the main instigators of American alternative comics. The Comics Journal has called Panter the "Greatest Living Cartoonist".

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Filippos Petsalnikos, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Justice (died 2020)

Filippos Petsalnikos was a Greek politician of the Movement of Democratic Socialists. From 2009 to 2012, he served as Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament. Before, he was a Member of the Hellenic Parliament from 1985 to 2012.

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01/12/1949

Jan Brett, American author and illustrator

Jan Brett is an American illustrator and author of children's picture books. Her titles include The Mitten, The Hat, and Gingerbread Baby as well as retelling traditional stories such as the Gingerbread Man and Goldilocks.

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Pablo Escobar, Colombian drug lord and narcoterrorist (died 1993)

Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was a Colombian drug lord, narcoterrorist, and politician who was the founder and leader of the Medellín Cartel. Dubbed the "King of Cocaine", Escobar was one of the wealthiest conventional criminals in history, having amassed an estimated net worth of US$30 billion by his death, while his drug cartel monopolized the cocaine trade into the US in the 1980s and early 1990s.

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Sebastián Piñera, Chilean businessman and politician, 35th President of Chile (died 2024)

Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique was a Chilean businessman and politician who served as 34th and 36th president of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and from 2018 to 2022. The son of a Christian Democratic politician and diplomat, he studied business administration at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and economics at Harvard University. At the time of his death, he had an estimated net worth of US$2.7 billion, according to Forbes, making him the third richest person in Chile.

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01/12/1948

George Foster, American baseball player and radio host

George Arthur Foster is an American former professional baseball player and scout. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1969 through 1986, most notably as an integral member of the Cincinnati Reds, with whom he won two World Series championships, in 1975 and 1976. He also played for the San Francisco Giants, New York Mets and the Chicago White Sox.

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Sarfraz Nawaz, Pakistani cricketer and politician

Sarfraz Nawaz Malik is a former Pakistani Test cricketer and politician, who was instrumental in Pakistan's first Test series victories over India and England. Between 1969 and 1984, he played 55 Tests and 45 One Day Internationals and took 177 Test wickets at an average of 32.75. He is known as one of the earliest exponents of reverse swing.

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John Roskelley, American mountaineer and author

John Roskelley is an American mountain climber and author. He made first ascents and notable ascents of 7,000-meter (22,966 ft.) and 8,000-meter peaks (26,247 ft.) in Nepal, India, and Pakistan. In 2014, he became the 6th winner of the Piolet d'Or Lifetime Achievement Award.

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Neil Warnock, English footballer and manager

Neil Warnock is an English football manager and former player. He is currently football advisor of National League South club Torquay United. In a managerial career spanning five decades, Warnock has managed sixteen different clubs from the Premier League to non-league. Within English football, he holds the record for the most promotions, with eight, and the most games as a professional manager, with 1626, beating the previous record of 1601 set by Dario Gradi.

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N. T. Wright, English bishop and scholar

Nicholas Thomas Wright, known as N. T. Wright or Tom Wright, is an English New Testament scholar, Pauline theologian and Anglican bishop. He was the bishop of Durham and Lord Spiritual in the UK Parliament from 2003 to 2010. He then became research professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at St Mary's College in the University of St Andrews in Scotland until 2019, when he became a senior research fellow at Wycliffe Hall at the University of Oxford.

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Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, Nigerian civil servant and politician, Governor of Kaduna State (died 2012)

Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa (1 December 1948 – 15 December 2012) was a Nigerian politician who served as governor of Kaduna State from 2010 to 2012. He was appointed deputy governor of Kaduna State in July 2005, following the death of Stephen Shekari and was elected in 2007. He was sworn in as governor on 20 May 2010, replacing governor Namadi Sambo who had been sworn in as vice president the day before. Yakowa successfully ran for election as Kaduna Governor in the 26 April 2011 polls.

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01/12/1947

Alain Bashung, French singer-songwriter and actor (died 2009)

Alain Bashung was a French singer, songwriter and actor. Credited with reviving the French chanson in "a time of French musical turmoil", he is often regarded as the most important French rock musician after Serge Gainsbourg. He rose to prominence in the early 1980s with hit songs such as "Gaby oh Gaby" and "Vertige de l'amour", and later had a string of hit records from the 1990s onward, such as "Osez Joséphine", "Ma petite entreprise" and "La nuit je mens". He has had an influence on many later French artists, and is the most awarded artist in the Victoires de la Musique history with 12 victories obtained throughout his career.

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Bob Fulton, English-Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster (died 2021)

Robert Fulton, also nicknamed "Bozo", was an Australian rugby league footballer, coach and later commentator. Fulton played, coached, selected for and commentated on the game with great success at the highest levels and has been named amongst Australia's greatest rugby league players of the 20th century.

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01/12/1946

Jonathan Katz, American comedian and actor

Jonathan Paul Katz is an American actor and comedian best known for his starring role in the animated sitcom Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist as Dr. Katz. He is also known for voicing Erik Robbins in the UPN/Adult Swim series Home Movies. He produces a podcast titled Hey, We're Back and can be heard on Explosion Bus.

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Kemal Kurspahić, Bosnian journalist and author (died 2021)

Kemal Kurspahić was a Bosnian journalist. He was managing editor of The Connection Newspapers in Alexandria, Virginia and founder of the media in Democracy Institute, dedicated to promoting higher standards in journalism in post-conflict societies and countries in transition to democracy. He won broad international recognition as the Editor-in-Chief of the Bosnian daily Oslobođenje, 1989-1994. In 2023 Oslobođenje established international journalist award after him.

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Gilbert O'Sullivan, Irish singer-songwriter and pianist

Raymond Edward O'Sullivan, known professionally as Gilbert O'Sullivan, is an Irish singer-songwriter who achieved his most significant success during the early 1970s with hits including "Alone Again (Naturally)", "Clair" and "Get Down". His songs are often marked by his distinctive percussive piano playing style and observational lyrics using word play.

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01/12/1945

Ásta B. Þorsteinsdóttir, Icelandic politician

Ásta Bryndís Þorsteinsdóttir was an Icelandic politician and member of the Althing. A member of the Social Democratic Party, she represented the Reykjavík constituency from January 1998 to October 1998.

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Lyle Bien, American vice admiral in the United States Navy

Lyle G. Bien is a retired vice admiral in the United States Navy. He served during the Vietnam War, where he instructed students on piloting the F-14 Tomcat, and later became an instructor at the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN). He served as deputy commander of the United States Space Command between 1996 and 1998.

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Bette Midler, American singer-songwriter, actress and producer

Bette Midler is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her six-decade career Midler has received numerous accolades, including four Golden Globe Awards, three Grammy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Kennedy Center Honor, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards and a British Academy Film Award.

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01/12/1944

Eric Bloom, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Eric Jay Bloom is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, guitar and keyboard/synthesizer player for the long-running band Blue Öyster Cult, with work on more than 20 albums. Much of his lyrical content relates to his lifelong interest in science fiction.

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John Densmore, American drummer and songwriter

John Paul Densmore is an American musician. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band the Doors and as such is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He appeared on every recording made by the band, with drumming inspired by jazz and world music as much as by rock and roll. The many honors he shares with the other Doors include a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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Michael Hagee, American general

Michael William Hagee is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 33rd Commandant of the Marine Corps from 2003 to 2006, succeeding General James L. Jones on January 13, 2003. He stepped down as Commandant two months before the end of his four-year term, and was succeeded by General James T. Conway on November 13, 2006. On that date, Hagee had his retirement ceremony just prior to the passage of command ceremony. Hagee retired from the Marine Corps on January 1, 2007.

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Tahar Ben Jelloun, Moroccan author and poet

Tahar Ben Jelloun is a Moroccan writer who rose to fame for his 1985 novel L'Enfant de sable. Although his first language is Darija, his works are written in French. He has been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

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01/12/1943

Kenny Moore, American runner and journalist (died 2022)

Kenneth Clark Moore was an American Olympic road running athlete, journalist and actor. He ran the marathon at the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics, finishing fourth at the latter.

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01/12/1942

Mohamed Kamel Amr, Egyptian politician, Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs

Mohamed Kamel Amr is an Egyptian politician and diplomat who served as Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs between 2011 and 2013. He resigned from office on 30 June 2013.

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John Crowley, American author and academic

John Crowley is an American author of fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, and non-fiction. Crowley studied at Indiana University and has a second career as a documentary film writer.

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Ross Edwards, Australian cricketer

Ross Edwards is a former Australian cricketer. Edwards played in 20 Test matches for Australia, playing against England, West Indies and Pakistan. He also played in nine One Day Internationals. He was a part of the Australian squad which finished as runners-up at the 1975 Cricket World Cup. He was a right-handed batsman and superb cover fielder as well as a part-time wicket-keeper.

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01/12/1940

Mike Denness, Scottish cricketer and referee (died 2013)

Michael Henry Denness was a Scottish cricketer who played for England, Scotland, Kent and Essex.

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Jerry Lawson, American electronic engineer and inventor (died 2011)

Gerald Anderson Lawson was an American electronic engineer. Besides being one of the first African-American computer engineers in Silicon Valley, Lawson was also known for his work in designing the Fairchild Channel F video game console, leading the team that refined ROM cartridges for durable use as commercial video game cartridges. His innovations in this area led to his being considered the father of the game cartridge. He eventually left Fairchild and founded the game company Video-Soft.

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Richard Pryor, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 2005)

Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential comedians of all time. Pryor won a Primetime Emmy Award and five Grammy Awards. He received the first Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 1998. He won the Writers Guild of America Award in 1974.

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Tasso Wild, German footballer

Tasso Wild is a German former footballer who played as a midfielder for 1. FC Nürnberg and Hertha BSC.

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01/12/1939

Lee Trevino, American golfer and sportscaster

Lee Buck Trevino is an American retired professional golfer who is regarded as one of the greatest players in golf history. He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. Trevino won six major championships and 29 PGA Tour events over the course of his career. He is one of only four players to twice win the U.S. Open, The Open Championship and the PGA Championship. The Masters Tournament was the only major that eluded him. He is an icon for Mexican Americans, and is often referred to as "the Merry Mex" and "Supermex", both affectionate nicknames given to him by other golfers.

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01/12/1938

Sandy Nelson, American rock and roll drummer (died 2022)

Sander Lloyd Nelson was an American drummer. Nelson, one of the best-known rock and modern jazz drummers of the late 1950s and early 1960s, had several solo instrumental Top 40 hits and released over 30 albums. He was a session drummer on many other well-known hits. He lived in Boulder City, Nevada, where he continued to experiment with music on keyboards and piano.

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01/12/1937

Muriel Costa-Greenspon, American soprano and actress (died 2005)

Muriel Salina Costa-Greenspon was an American mezzo-soprano who had a lengthy career at the New York City Opera from 1963 to 1993.

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Gordon Crosse, English composer and academic (died 2021)

Gordon Crosse was an English composer.

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Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, Latvian psychologist and politician, President of Latvia

Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga is a Latvian politician who served as the sixth president of Latvia from 1999 to 2007. She is the first and to date only woman to hold the post and the most recent to be re-elected for a second term.

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01/12/1936

Igor Rodionov, Russian general and politician, 3rd Russian Minister of Defence (died 2014)

Igor Nikolayevich Rodionov was a Russian general and Duma deputy. He is best known as a hardline politician, and for his service heading the Defence Ministry of the Russian Federation.

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01/12/1935

Sola Sierra, Chilean human rights activist (died 1999)

Sola Sierra Henríquez was a Chilean human rights activist. She was director of Relatives of the Detained-Disappeared organization, and campaigned to find out the truth about the people who were violently disappeared during Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship.

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01/12/1934

Billy Paul, American soul singer (died 2016)

Paul Williams, known professionally as Billy Paul, was an American soul singer, known for his 1972 No. 1 single "Me and Mrs. Jones". His 1973 album and single War of the Gods blends his more conventional pop, soul, and funk styles with electronic and psychedelic influences.

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01/12/1933

Lou Rawls, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (died 2006)

Louis Allen Rawls was an American baritone singer. He released 61 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably the song "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine". He also worked as a film, television, and voice actor. He was a three-time winner of the Best Male R&B Vocal Performance Grammy Award.

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Violette Verdy, French ballerina (died 2016)

Violette Verdy was a French ballerina, choreographer, teacher, and writer who worked as a dance company director with the Paris Opera Ballet in France and the Boston Ballet in the United States. From 1958 to 1977 she was a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet where she performed in the world premieres of several works created specifically for her by choreographers George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. She was Distinguished Professor of Music (Ballet) at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University, in Bloomington, and the recipient of two medals from the French government.

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01/12/1931

Jimmy Lyons, American saxophonist (died 1986)

Jimmy Lyons was an American alto saxophone player. He is best known for his long tenure in the Cecil Taylor Unit. Lyons was the only constant member of the band from the mid-1960s until his death. Taylor never worked with another musician as frequently as he did with Lyons. Lyons' playing, influenced by Charlie Parker, kept Taylor's avant-garde music tethered to the jazz tradition.

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Jim Nesbitt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2007)

James Thomas Nesbitt, Jr. was an American country music singer. He had his first hit with "Please Mr. Kennedy" in 1961. It was released on Dot Records and became a number 11 hit on the Billboard charts. His biggest hit, "Lookin' for More in '64", got to number 7. He also recorded "A Tiger In My Tank". It stayed on the Cash Box charts for 13 weeks. He had several other hits on the Chart label. He released his last album, Phone Call From The Devil, in 1975 on Scorpion Records.

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George Maxwell Richards, Trinidadian politician, 4th President of Trinidad and Tobago (died 2018)

George Maxwell Richards was a Trinidadian politician who served as the fourth president of Trinidad and Tobago, from 2003 to 2013. He was the first president and head of state in the Caribbean to have mixed Chinese and Indigenous ancestry.

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01/12/1930

Marie Bashir, Australian psychiatrist, academic, and politician, 37th Governor of New South Wales (died 2026)

Dame Marie Roslyn Bashir was an Australian psychiatrist and administrator who served as the 37th Governor of New South Wales from 2001 to 2014 and concurrently as the 17th chancellor of the University of Sydney from 2007 to 2012.

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Joachim Hoffmann, German historian and author (died 2002)

Joachim Hoffmann was a German historian who was the academic director of the German Armed Forces Military History Research Office.

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01/12/1929

David Doyle, American actor (died 1997)

David Fitzgerald Doyle was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of John Bosley on the 1970s TV series Charlie's Angels. Doyle and Jaclyn Smith were the only actors to appear in every episode of the show. Doyle also became known later as the first voice of Grandpa Lou on the Nickelodeon series Rugrats.

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01/12/1928

Emily McLaughlin, American actress (died 1991)

Emily McLaughlin was an American actress, known for her long-standing role as original character Nurse Jessie Brewer on the daytime soap opera General Hospital from 1963 until 1991.

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Malachi Throne, American actor (died 2013)

Malachi Throne was an American actor known for his role as Noah Bain in It Takes a Thief. He also had guest-starring roles on multiple television series, including Star Trek and Batman, and appeared in films and theater.

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01/12/1927

Micheline Bernardini, French dancer and model

Micheline Bernardini is a French former nude dancer at the Casino de Paris who agreed to model, on 5 July 1946, Louis Réard's two-piece swimsuit, which he called the bikini, named four days after the first test of an American nuclear weapon at the Bikini Atoll.

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01/12/1926

Mother Antonia, American-Mexican nun and activist (died 2013)

Mother Antonia Brenner, better known as Mother Antonia was an American religious sister and activist who chose to reside and care for inmates at the notorious maximum-security La Mesa Prison in Tijuana, Mexico. As a result of her work, she founded a new community called the Eudist Servants of the 11th Hour.

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Allyn Ann McLerie, Canadian-American actress, singer, and dancer (died 2018)

Allyn Ann McLerie was a Canadian-born American actress, singer and dancer who worked with many of Golden Age musical theatre's major choreographers, including George Balanchine, Agnes de Mille, and Jerome Robbins.

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Keith Michell, Australian actor (died 2015)

Keith Joseph Michell was an Australian actor who worked primarily in the United Kingdom, and was best known for his television and film portrayals of King Henry VIII. He appeared extensively in Shakespeare and other classics and musicals in Britain, and was also in several Broadway productions. He was an artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre in the 1970s and later had a recurring role on Murder, She Wrote as the charming thief Dennis Stanton. He was also known for illustrating a collection of Jeremy Lloyd's poems Captain Beaky, and singing the title song from the associated album.

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Robert Symonds, American actor (died 2007)

Robert Symonds was an American actor. He was the associate director of the Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center from 1965 through 1972.

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Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner, Scottish businessman (died 2010)

Colin Christopher Paget Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner, was a British peer, landowner and socialite. He was the son of Christopher Tennant, 2nd Baron Glenconner, and Pamela Winifred Paget. He was also the nephew of Edward Tennant and Stephen Tennant, and the half-brother of the novelist Emma Tennant.

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01/12/1925

Martin Rodbell, American biochemist and endocrinologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1998)

Martin Rodbell was an American biochemist and molecular endocrinologist who is best known for his discovery of G-proteins. He shared the 1994 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Alfred G. Gilman for "their discovery of G-proteins and the role of these proteins in signal transduction in cells."

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01/12/1924

Masao Horiba, Japanese businessman, founded Horiba (died 2015)

Masao Horiba was a Japanese businessman who was the founder of Horiba Ltd., a manufacturer of advanced analytical and measurement technology. He founded the company as Horiba Radio Laboratory in 1945. Masao Horiba received several awards from the Japanese government including a national Blue Ribbon Medal, and was the first non-American to receive the Pittcon Heritage Award.

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01/12/1923

Dick Shawn, American actor (died 1987)

Dick Shawn was an American actor. He played a wide variety of supporting roles and was a prolific character actor. During the 1960s, he played small roles in madcap comedies, usually portraying caricatures of counterculture personalities, such as the hedonistic but mother-obsessed Sylvester Marcus in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), and the hippie actor Lorenzo Saint DuBois ("L.S.D.") in The Producers (1967). Beyond his film work, he appeared in numerous television shows from the 1960s through the 1980s.

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Stansfield Turner, American admiral and academic, 12th Director of Central Intelligence (died 2018)

Stansfield Turner was an admiral in the United States Navy who served as President of the Naval War College (1972–1974), commander of the United States Second Fleet (1974–1975), and Supreme Allied Commander NATO Southern Europe (1975–1977), and was Director of Central Intelligence (1977–1981) under the Carter administration. A graduate of Exeter College, Oxford and the United States Naval Academy, Turner served for more than 30 years in the Navy, commanding warships, a carrier group, and NATO's military forces in southern Europe, among other commands.

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01/12/1922

Vsevolod Bobrov, Russian ice hockey player, footballer, and manager (died 1979)

Vsevolod Mikhailovich Bobrov was a Soviet athlete, who excelled in football, bandy and ice hockey. He is considered one of the best Soviets ever in each of those sports.

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01/12/1921

Vernon McGarity, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (died 2013)

Thomas Vernon McGarity II was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States Military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.

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01/12/1920

Peter Baptist Tadamaro Ishigami, Japanese priest, 1st Bishop of Naha (died 2014)

Peter Baptist Tadamaro Ishigami, OFMCap was a Japanese prelate of the Roman Catholic Church.

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01/12/1917

Thomas Hayward, American tenor and actor (died 1995)

Thomas T. Hayward was an American operatic tenor. He was a cousin of opera singer Lawrence Tibbett.

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Marty Marion, American baseball player and manager (died 2011)

Martin Whiteford Marion, nicknamed "Slats", "the Octopus", and "Mr. Shortstop", was an American professional baseball shortstop and manager. He played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns from 1940 to 1953. He was a defensive stalwart of the Cardinals' dynasty in the 1940s, which saw them win three World Series in a five year span, and was named the National League MVP in 1944, the first shortstop in the history of the National League to win the award. Marion managed the Cardinals in 1951, the Browns from 1952 to 1953, and the Chicago White Sox from 1954 to 1956.

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01/12/1916

Wan Li, Chinese educator and politician, 4th Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China (died 2015)

Wan Li was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician who served as First Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1983 to 1988 and the 5th Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1988 to 1993.

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01/12/1913

Mary Martin, American actress and singer (died 1990)

Mary Virginia Martin was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in South Pacific (1949), the title character in Peter Pan (1954), and Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music (1959). Over the course of her career, she won four Tony Awards and an Emmy Award. She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1989. She was the mother of actor Larry Hagman.

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01/12/1912

Billy Raimondi, American baseball player (died 2010)

William Louis Raimondi was an American professional baseball catcher. He played in Minor League Baseball for 22 years, including 21 years in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). He played for the Oakland Oaks from 1932 to 1949, the Sacramento Solons from 1949 to 1950, and the Los Angeles Angels from 1951 to 1953. Raimondi is a member of the PCL Hall of Fame, elected in 1951.

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Minoru Yamasaki, American architect, designed the World Trade Center (died 1986)

Minoru Yamasaki was an American architect, best known for designing the original World Trade Center in New York City and several other large-scale projects. He and fellow architect Edward Durell Stone are generally considered to be the two master practitioners of "New Formalism".

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01/12/1911

Walter Alston, American baseball player and manager (died 1984)

Walter Emmons Alston, nicknamed "Smokey", was an American baseball manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who managed the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1954 through 1976, signing 23 one-year contracts with the team. Regarded as one of the greatest managers in baseball history, Alston was known for his calm, reticent demeanor, for which he was sometimes referred to as "the Quiet Man."

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Calvin Griffith, Canadian-American businessman (died 1999)

Calvin Robertson Griffith, born Calvin Griffith Robertson, was a Canadian-born American Major League Baseball team owner. As president, majority owner and de facto general manager of the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins franchise of the American League from 1955 through 1984, he orchestrated the transfer of the Senators after 60 years in Washington, D.C., to Minneapolis–Saint Paul in the autumn of 1960 to create the Twins. He was famous for his devotion to the game and for his sayings. He was the last MLB owner who had no income apart from his franchise.

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01/12/1910

Alicia Markova, English ballerina and choreographer (died 2004)

Dame Alicia Markova DBE was a British ballerina and a choreographer, director and teacher of classical ballet. Most noted for her career with Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and touring internationally, she was widely considered to be one of the greatest classical ballet dancers of the twentieth century. She was the first British dancer to become the principal dancer of a ballet company and, with Dame Margot Fonteyn, is one of only two English dancers to be recognised as a prima ballerina assoluta. Markova was a founder dancer of the Rambert Dance Company, The Royal Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, and was co-founder and director of the English National Ballet.

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01/12/1905

Alex Wilson, Canadian sprinter and coach (died 1994)

Alexander S. Wilson was a Canadian sprinter who competed in both the 1928 Summer Olympics and the 1932 Summer Olympics. He was born in Montreal and died in Mission, Texas, United States.

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01/12/1903

Nikolai Voznesensky, Soviet economic planner, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (died 1950)

Nikolai Alekseevich Voznesensky was a Soviet politician and economic planner who oversaw the running of Gosplan during the German–Soviet War of 1941–1945. A protégé of Andrei Zhdanov, Voznesensky was appointed Deputy Premier in May 1940. He became directly involved in the recovery of production associated with the evacuation of industry eastwards after the start of the war. His 1947 work The Economy of the USSR during World War II records those years.

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01/12/1901

Ilona Fehér, Hungarian-Israeli violinist and educator (died 1988)

Ilona Feher or Ilona Fehér, was one of the representatives of the Hungarian Violin School whose greats include Joseph Böhm, Joseph Joachim, Jakob Grün, Leopold Auer, Jenő Hubay, Carl Flesch, Joseph Szigeti, Tibor Varga, Sandor Vegh, André Gertler, Kato Havas, Paul Rolland and Geza Szilvay. She was also a noted violin teacher. She was born in Budapest and died in Holon, Israel.

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01/12/1900

Karna Maria Birmingham, Australian artist, illustrator and print maker (died 1987)

Karna Maria Birmingham was an Australian artist, illustrator and print maker. She was best known for her numerous illustrations of children's books.

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01/12/1898

Stuart Garson, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Premier of Manitoba (died 1977)

Stuart Sinclair Garson was a Canadian politician and lawyer. He served as the 12th premier of Manitoba from 1943 to 1948, and later became a Federal cabinet minister.

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Cyril Ritchard, Australian-American actor and singer (died 1977)

Cyril Joseph Trimnell-Ritchard, known professionally as Cyril Ritchard, was an Australian stage, screen and television actor, and director. He is best remembered today for his performance as Captain Hook in the Mary Martin musical production of Peter Pan. In 1945, he played Gabriel Eisenstein in Gay Rosalinda at the Palace theatre in London, a version of Strauss's Die Fledermaus by Erich Wolfgang Korngold in which he appeared with Peter Graves, 8th Baron Graves. The show was conducted by Richard Tauber and ran for almost a year.

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01/12/1896

Georgy Zhukov, Russian general and politician, 2nd Minister of Defence for the Soviet Union (died 1974)

Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov was a Soviet military leader who served as a top commander during World War II and achieved the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. During World War II, Zhukov served as deputy commander-in-chief of the armed forces under leader Joseph Stalin, and oversaw some of the Red Army's most decisive victories. He also served at various points as Chief of the General Staff, Minister of Defence, and a member of the Presidium of the Communist Party (Politburo).

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01/12/1895

Henry Williamson, English farmer, soldier, and author (died 1977)

Henry William Williamson was an English writer who wrote novels concerned with wildlife, English social history, ruralism and the First World War. He was awarded the Hawthornden Prize for literature in 1928 for his book Tarka the Otter.

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01/12/1894

Afrânio Pompílio Gastos do Amaral, Brazilian herpetologist (died 1982)

Afrânio Pompílio Bastos do Amaral was a Brazilian herpetologist.

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01/12/1886

Rex Stout, American detective novelist (died 1975)

Rex Todhunter Stout was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. His best-known characters are the detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin, who were featured in 33 novels and 39 novellas or short stories between 1934 and 1975.

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Zhu De, Chinese general and politician, 1st Vice Chairman of the People's Republic of China (died 1976)

Zhu De was a Chinese general, military strategist, politician and revolutionary in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

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01/12/1884

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, German painter and etcher (died 1976)

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff was a German expressionist painter and printmaker; he was one of the four founders of the artist group Die Brücke.

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01/12/1883

Henry Cadbury, American historian, scholar, and academic (died 1974)

Henry Joel Cadbury was an American biblical scholar, Quaker historian, writer, and non-profit administrator.

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01/12/1871

Archie MacLaren, English cricketer (died 1944)

Archibald Campbell MacLaren was an English cricketer who captained the England cricket team at various times between 1898 and 1909. A right-handed batsman, he played 35 Test matches for England, as captain in 22 of those games, and led the team to defeat in four Ashes series against Australia. An amateur, MacLaren played first-class cricket for Lancashire, captaining that county for most of his career. As a batsman, MacLaren was one of the leading cricketers of his time and had a reputation as a fast-scoring stylist. In 1895, he scored 424 runs in an innings against Somerset which was the highest individual score in first-class cricket until 1923 and remained a record in English cricket until 1994. Opinions were divided over his captaincy. He was a deep thinker on the game and critics believed him to be tactically advanced, but his pessimism, clashes with the selectors and inability to get the best out of his players led most commentators to rate him a poor leader.

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01/12/1869

Eligiusz Niewiadomski, Polish painter and critic (died 1923)

Eligiusz Józef Niewiadomski was a Polish modernist painter and art critic who sympathized with the right-wing National Democracy movement. In 1922, he assassinated Poland's first President, Gabriel Narutowicz, in his first week in office as president.

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01/12/1855

John Evans, English-Australian politician, 21st Premier of Tasmania (died 1943)

Sir John William Evans, CMG was an Australian politician, a member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly and Premier of Tasmania from 11 July 1904 to 19 June 1909.

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01/12/1847

Julia A. Moore, American poet (died 1920)

Julia Ann Moore was an American poet widely considered a poetaster. Like Scotland's William McGonagall, she is best known for writing notoriously bad poetry.

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01/12/1846

Ledi Sayadaw, Burmese monk and philosopher (died 1923)

Ledi Sayadaw U Ñaṇadhaja was an influential Theravada Buddhist monk. He was recognised from a young age as being developed in both the theory (Abhidhamma) and practice of Buddhism and so was revered as being scholarly. He wrote many books on Dhamma in Burmese and these were accessible even to a serious lay person, hence he was responsible for spreading Dhamma to all levels of society and reviving the traditional practice of Vipassanā meditation, making it more available for renunciates and lay people alike.

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01/12/1844

Alexandra of Denmark (died 1925)

Alexandra of Denmark was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of King Edward VII.

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01/12/1805

9th Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader (died 1815)

The 9th Dalai Lama was recognized as the 9th Dalai Lama of Tibet. He was the first and the youngest Dalai Lama among four successive Dalai Lamas who succumbed to illnesses before reaching 22 years of age.

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01/12/1800

Mihály Vörösmarty, Hungarian poet (died 1855)

Mihály Vörösmarty was a Hungarian poet and dramatist who lived and worked in the Kingdom of Hungary.

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01/12/1792

Nikolai Lobachevsky, Russian mathematician and geometer (died 1856)

Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky was a Russian mathematician and geometer, known primarily for his work on hyperbolic geometry, otherwise known as Lobachevskian geometry, and also for his fundamental study on Dirichlet integrals, known as the Lobachevsky integral formula.

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01/12/1761

Marie Tussaud, French-English sculptor, founded Madame Tussauds Wax Museum (died 1850)

Anna Maria "Marie" Tussaud, commonly known as Madame Tussaud, was a French artist known for her wax sculptures and Madame Tussauds, the wax museum she founded in London.

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01/12/1743

Martin Heinrich Klaproth, German chemist and academic (died 1817)

Martin Heinrich Klaproth was a German chemist. He trained and worked for much of his life as an apothecary, moving in later life to the university. His shop became the second-largest apothecary in Berlin, and the most productive artisanal chemical research center in Europe.

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01/12/1716

Étienne Maurice Falconet, French sculptor (died 1791)

Étienne Maurice Falconet was a French baroque, rococo and neoclassical sculptor, best-known for his equestrian statue of Peter the Great, the Bronze Horseman (1782), in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire, and for the small statues he produced in series for the Royal Sévres Porcelain Manufactory.

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01/12/1709

Franz Xaver Richter, Czech composer, violinist, and conductor (died 1789)

Franz Xaver Richter, known as François Xavier Richter in France was an Austro-Moravian singer, violinist, composer, conductor and music theoretician who spent most of his life first in Austria and later in Mannheim and in Strasbourg, where he was music director of the cathedral. From 1783 on, Haydn's favourite pupil, Ignaz Pleyel, was his deputy director.

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01/12/1690

Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom (died 1764)

Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, was an English lawyer and politician who served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. He was a close confidant of the Duke of Newcastle, Prime Minister between 1754 and 1756 and 1757 until 1762.

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01/12/1580

Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, French astronomer and historian (died 1637)

Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, often known simply as Peiresc, or by the Latin form of his name, Peirescius, was a French astronomer, antiquary and savant, who maintained a wide correspondence with scientists, and was a successful organizer of scientific inquiry.

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01/12/1561

Sophie Hedwig of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Duchess consort of Pomerania-Wolgast (died 1631)

Sophie or Sophia Hedwig of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was a princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel by birth and by marriage a Duchess of Pomerania-Wolgast.

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01/12/1530

Bernardino Realino, Italian Jesuit (died 1616)

Bernardino Realino was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and a professed member of the Jesuits. His entire career was devoted to the areas of Naples and Lecce. Realino pursued a career in law and served in several municipal capacities before feeling called to the Jesuit life and being ordained to the priesthood in Naples. He is often dubbed as the "Apostle of Lecce" for his commitment to the poor and for his preaching abilities.

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01/12/1525

Tadeáš Hájek, Czech physician and astronomer (died 1600)

Tadeáš Hájek of Hájek, also known by Latinized names Thaddaeus Hagecius ab Hayek and Thaddeus Nemicus, was a Czech naturalist and astronomer. He was a personal physician of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II and an astronomer in the Kingdom of Bohemia.

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01/12/1521

Takeda Shingen, Japanese daimyō (died 1573)

Takeda Shingen was a Japanese samurai and daimyō of the Sengoku period. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyō of the late Sengoku period and was credited with exceptional military prestige. Despite being based in Kai Province, a poor area with little arable land and no access to the sea, he became one of Japan's leading daimyō. His skills are highly esteemed and on par with Mōri Motonari.

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01/12/1443

Magdalena of France, French princess (died 1495)

Madeleine of France, also called Magdalena of Valois, was a French princess who became Princess of Viana by marriage to Gaston of Foix. She was the regent of Navarre between 1479 and 1494 during the minority of her two children, each of whom became monarchs of Navarre: Francis I and Catherine I.

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01/12/1438

Peter II, Duke of Bourbon, son of Charles I (died 1503)

Peter II, Duke of Bourbon, was the son of Charles I, Duke of Bourbon, and Agnes of Burgundy, and a member of the House of Bourbon. He and his wife Anne of France ruled as regents during the minority of Charles VIII of France.

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01/12/1415

Jan Długosz, Polish historian (died 1480)

Jan Długosz, also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first historian.

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01/12/1083

Anna Komnene, Byzantine physician and scholar (died 1153)

Anna Komnene, commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine Greek princess and historian. She is the author of the Alexiad, an account of the reign of her father, Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Her work constitutes the most important primary source of Byzantine history of the late 11th and early 12th centuries, as well as of the early Crusades. Although she is best known as the author of the Alexiad, Anna played an important part in the politics of the time and attempted to depose her brother John II Komnenos as emperor in favour of her husband, Nikephoros Bryennios the Younger.

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01/12/1081

Louis VI, French king (died 1137)

Louis VI, called the Fat or the Fighter, reigned as King of the Franks from 1108 to 1137. Like his father Philip I, Louis made a lasting contribution to centralizing the institutions of royal power. He spent much of his twenty-nine-year reign fighting – either against the "robber barons" who plagued the Ile de France, or against Henry I of England for the English continental possessions in Normandy. Nonetheless, Louis VI managed to reinforce his influence considerably, often resorting to force to bring lawless knights to justice, and was the first member of the House of Capet to issue ordonnances applying to the whole of the kingdom of France.

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01/12/0624

Hasan ibn Ali, the second Shia Imam (died 670)

Hasan ibn Ali was an Alid political and religious leader. The eldest son of Ali and Fatima and a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Hasan briefly ruled as caliph from January 661 until August 661. He is considered as the second Imam in Shia Islam, succeeding Ali and preceding his brother Husayn. As a grandson of the prophet, he is part of the ahl al-bayt and the ahl al-kisa, and also participated in the event of the mubahala.

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