Born on Wednesday, 10th December – Famous Birthdays
On this day, 212 notable people were born on 10th December — spanning from 553 to 2000. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.
Wednesday, 10th December 2025 marks the birth of numerous individuals across entertainment, sport and public service. Among those born on this date, Kenneth Branagh stands out as a significant figure in British culture. The acclaimed actor, director and producer has shaped modern cinema and theatre since his emergence in the 1980s. Dutch footballer Jeremie Frimpong, born in 2000, represents a newer generation of athletes born on this date, having established himself in professional football with multiple club appearances. Lucia Bronzetti, the Italian tennis player born in 1998, has competed on the international circuit and demonstrates the breadth of sporting talent associated with this calendar date.
Throughout history, 10th December has produced figures of considerable influence. Nelly Sachs, born in 1891, became a Nobel Prize-winning poet and playwright whose work addressed profound human experiences. The date has also seen the birth of political leaders, military figures and creative professionals who have left lasting marks on their respective fields. From Ada Lovelace, the pioneering mathematician born in 1815, to contemporary athletes and entertainers, the date encompasses remarkable human achievement across centuries.
On 10th December 2025, the weather conditions are forecast to be cool with overcast skies typical of early winter in the Northern Hemisphere. The date falls within the Sagittarius zodiac sign, which runs until 21st December. The moon is approaching its waning gibbous phase, with approximately three quarters of its surface illuminated as it moves away from the full moon.
DayAtlas provides comprehensive information about any selected date and location, displaying weather patterns, significant historical events, notable births and deaths. The platform enables users to explore what occurred on their birthday or any date of interest, offering both historical context and contemporary weather data for informed browsing.
Discover who was born today 12th April.
10/12/2000
Jeremie Frimpong, Dutch footballer
Jeremie Agyekum Frimpong is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a right-back or right midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool and the Netherlands national team.
10/12/1999
Reiss Nelson, English footballer
Reiss Luke Nelson is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Brentford, on loan from Arsenal.
10/12/1998
Lucia Bronzetti, Italian tennis player
Lucia Bronzetti is an Italian professional tennis player. She has career-high WTA rankings of No. 46 in singles, achieved on 8 April 2024, and No. 170 in doubles. She has played three finals and won one singles title on the WTA Tour, at the 2023 Morocco Open, and has also reached nine singles finals on the ITF Women's Circuit, of which she won five. Bronzetti was a member of the Italian squad which reaching three finals in a row and won the 2024 and the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup.
10/12/1997
Viktoriia Savtsova, Ukrainian Paralympic swimmer
Viktoriia Savtsova is a Ukrainian Paralympic swimmer.
10/12/1996
Joe Burrow, American football player
Joseph Lee Burrow is an American professional football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). After three seasons of college football with the Ohio State Buckeyes, he played two seasons for the LSU Tigers, winning the Heisman Trophy and the College Football Playoff National Championship as a senior. He was selected by the Bengals first overall in the 2020 NFL draft.
Kang Daniel, South Korean singer and entrepreneur
Kang Daniel, stylized as KANGDANIEL, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, actor, television host, and businessman who rose to fame in early 2017 as the first-place winner of the second season of reality competition series Produce 101. He is a former member of the show's resulting boy group Wanna One that, at the time, was a major power player in the K-pop industry.
10/12/1995
Tacko Fall, Senegalese basketball player
El Hadji Tacko Sereigne Diop Fall is a Senegalese professional basketball player for the Ningbo Rockets of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He has previously played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers.
10/12/1994
Richard Kennar, Samoan rugby league player
Richard Kennar is a Samoan professional rugby league footballer who last played as a winger and centre for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL.
Matti Klinga, Finnish footballer
Matti Klinga is a Finnish footballer currently playing for Reipas Lahti.
10/12/1992
Carlos Rodón, American baseball player
Carlos Antonio Rodón is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played MLB for the Chicago White Sox and San Francisco Giants. Rodón is a three-time MLB All-Star.
Melissa Roxburgh, Canadian-American actress
Melissa Roxburgh is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles in Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011) and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2012), Supernatural (2014), The Marine 4: Moving Target (2015), Star Trek Beyond (2016), Valor (2017–2018), Mindcage (2022), and as Michaela Stone in the NBC/Netflix science fiction drama series Manifest (2018–2023). Since January 2025, she leads the television series The Hunting Party as FBI agent Rebecca "Bex" Henderson.
10/12/1991
KiKi Layne, American actress
Kiandra "KiKi" Layne is an American actress. She is known for her film roles in the romantic drama If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), the drama Native Son (2019), the action superhero film The Old Guard (2020), the romantic comedy Coming 2 America (2021), and the psychological thriller Don't Worry Darling (2022).
Eric Reid, American football player
Eric Todd Reid Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for LSU Tigers, receiving consensus All-American recognition. He was selected in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers, with whom he made the 2014 Pro Bowl.
Dion Waiters, American basketball player
Dion Waiters Jr. is an American former professional basketball player who played 8 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2012 to 2020. He played college basketball for the Syracuse Orange and was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Waiters also played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Miami Heat, and the Los Angeles Lakers, where his team won an NBA championship.
10/12/1990
Kazenga LuaLua, Congolese-English footballer
Kazenga LuaLua is an English–Congolese professional footballer who plays for Rimal Al-Sahra as a winger.
Sakiko Matsui, Japanese singer and actress
Sakiko Matsui is a Japanese singer and pianist. She was a member of AKB48. Concurrently as a student specializing in piano at Tokyo College of Music, she has released a piano instrumental album Kokyū Suru Piano on October 3, 2012, which reached number 10 on Oricon's albums chart.
Wil Myers, American baseball player
William Bradford Myers is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres, and Cincinnati Reds.
Teyana Taylor, American singer, songwriter, choreographer, and actress
Teyana Me Shay Jacqueline Taylor is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model, dancer, choreographer, and music video director. Her accolades include a Golden Globe Award, two Critics Choice Awards, and an NAACP Image Award, along with nominations for an Academy Award, two Actor Awards, a British Academy Film Award, and a Grammy Award. She was named one of Time's 2026 Women of the Year.
Shoya Tomizawa, Japanese motorcycle racer (died 2010)
Shoya Tomizawa was a Japanese motorcycle racer. After a successful career in the All Japan Road Race Championship, he switched to MotoGP and competed in the 250cc class during 2009. In the 2010 season, he rode in the newly created Moto2 class. Tomizawa won the first race of the new class, at Losail in Qatar, winning by nearly five seconds from Alex Debón and Jules Cluzel. Tomizawa died after sustaining cranial, thoracic and abdominal trauma at the San Marino Grand Prix.
10/12/1989
Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, French politician
Marion Jeanne Caroline Maréchal, known as Marion Maréchal-Le Pen from 2010 to 2018, is a French politician who has served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2024. She is part of the Le Pen family, as the granddaughter of National Front founder Jean-Marie Le Pen and niece of its later leader Marine Le Pen.
Tom Sexton, Australian-Irish rugby player
Tom Sexton is a professional rugby union player who plays for The Western Force in the Super Rugby competition. His usual position is hooker.
10/12/1988
Wilfried Bony, Ivorian footballer
Wilfried Guemiand Bony is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Neven Subotić, Serbian footballer
Neven Subotić is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he played for the Serbia national team.
10/12/1987
Gonzalo Higuaín, French-Argentinian footballer
Gonzalo Gerardo Higuaín is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed El Pipita or Pipa, he is considered to be one of the best strikers of his generation and was a prolific striker known for his eye for goal, strong physique, offensive movements and predatory finishing. He won six European league titles across La Liga and Serie A. He currently works in player development for Inter Miami.
10/12/1986
Kahlil Bell, American football player
Kahlil Edward Bell is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins. Bell was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He was also a member of the Chicago Bears, New York Jets and Green Bay Packers.
10/12/1985
Charlie Adam, Scottish footballer
Charles Graham Adam is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently the set-piece coach at Everton. Prior to that, he was the manager of EFL League Two club Fleetwood Town.
Roman Červenka, Czech ice hockey player
Roman Červenka is a Czech professional ice hockey player who is a centre for HC Dynamo Pardubice of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). He formerly played for Piráti Chomutov and Slavia Praha of the Czech Extraliga, Avangard Omsk, Lev Praha and SKA Saint Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was the leading goal scorer in the KHL in 2010–11 and was named to the All-Star team in 2011–12 before moving to North America after signing a contract with the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Calgary Flames. He played 39 games in the NHL during the 2012–13 season before returning to Europe.
Matt Forte, American football player
Matthew Garrett Forte is an American former professional football player who was a running back for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tulane Green Wave and was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft. Forte established himself as a dual-threat running back capable of earning yards as a rusher and receiver. He is one of only three players to record at least 1,000 rushing yards and 100 receptions in a single season. Forte spent eight seasons with the Bears before playing for the New York Jets for two seasons.
Trésor Mputu, Congolese footballer
Trésor Mputu Mabi is a Congolese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Raven-Symoné, American actress, singer, and dancer
Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman-Maday, also known as Raven, is an American actress, singer, and director. She has received several accolades, including five NAACP Image Awards, two Kids' Choice Awards, three Young Artist Awards, and five Emmy Award nominations. In 2012, she was included on VH1's list of "100 Greatest Child Stars of All Time".
Lê Công Vinh, Vietnamese footballer
Lê Công Vinh is a Vietnamese former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was part of the Vietnam national team between 2004 and 2016. Considered one of the greatest players in Vietnamese football's history, Công Vinh is the all time top scorer for the Vietnam national team, won the 2008 AFF Championship, and received three Vietnamese Golden Ball Awards.
10/12/1984
JTG, American wrestler
Jayson Anthony Paul is an American professional wrestler best known for his time in WWE under the ring name JTG.
10/12/1983
Patrick Flueger, American actor
Patrick John Flueger is an American actor, first known for a principal role as Shawn Farrell in the television series The 4400. He currently appears in a lead role on Chicago P.D., playing Adam Ruzek.
Xavier Samuel, Australian actor
Xavier Samuel is an Australian film and theatre actor. He has appeared in leading roles in the feature films Adore, September, Further We Search, Newcastle, The Loved Ones, Frankenstein, A Few Best Men, and played Riley Biers in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and Billy in Spin Out. He also starred as Cass Chaplin in Blonde.
10/12/1982
Claudia Hoffmann, German sprinter
Claudia Hoffmann is a German sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres. She represents SC Potsdam and trains under Frank Möller.
Sultan Kösen, Turkish farmer, tallest living person
Sultan Kösen is a Turkish farmer who holds the Guinness World Record for tallest living male at 251 cm.
10/12/1981
Taufik Batisah, Singaporean singer
Muhammad Taufik bin Batisah is a Singaporean singer-songwriter best known for winning the first season of the reality TV series Singapore Idol.
Rene Bourque, Canadian ice hockey player
Rene Gary Wayne Bourque is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who was a right winger in the National Hockey League (NHL). An undrafted player, Bourque was signed by the Chicago Blackhawks as a free agent in 2004 and made his NHL debut in 2005–06. He spent three years in Chicago before a 2008 trade sent him to the Calgary Flames where he established himself as a key offensive player. He was traded to the Montreal Canadiens before stints with the Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Colorado Avalanche.
Fábio Rochemback, Brazilian footballer
Fábio Rochemback is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
10/12/1980
Sarah Chang, American violinist
Sarah Chang is a Korean American classical violinist. Recognized as a child prodigy, she first played as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1989. She enrolled at Juilliard School to study music, graduated in 1999. Especially during the 1990s and early to mid-2000s, Chang had major roles as a soloist with many of the world's major orchestras.
10/12/1979
Matt Bentley, American wrestler
Matthew James Bentley, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) by the ring name Michael Shane, later changed to "Maverick" Matt Bentley. He was trained by his cousin, Shawn Michaels, and he took the name Michael Shane, a play on his cousin's name, originating from Michaels' guest appearance in Pacific Blue. Additionally, Bentley utilizes Michaels' signature superkick maneuver as his own finisher.
Iain Brunnschweiler, English cricketer
Iain Brunnschweiler is an English former professional cricketer, and semi-professional footballer. He played first-class cricket as a wicket-keeper for Hampshire between 2000 and 2003, and later coached cricket for both Hampshire and England, the latter at youth levels. He also played association football for A.F.C. Totton between 2005 and 2007, and later coached at Southampton until 2023.
Yang Jianping, Chinese recurve archer
Yang Jianping is a Chinese recurve archer.
10/12/1978
Anna Jesień, Polish hurdler
Anna Marta Jesień is a Polish former hurdler.
Summer Phoenix, American actress
Summer Phoenix is an American actress and musician. She is the youngest sibling of actors River, Rain, Joaquin, and Liberty Phoenix.
10/12/1976
Shane Byrne, English motorcycle racer
Shane Byrne, often known as Shakey, is a British professional motorcycle road racer. He is a six-time champion of the British Superbike Championship, the only man in the history of the series to win six titles. He has also been a double race winner in the Superbike World Championship and has competed in MotoGP.
10/12/1975
Steve Bradley, American wrestler (died 2008)
Steven James Bisson was an American professional wrestler who wrestled under the ring name Steve Bradley. He competed in various North American independent promotions as well as spending over three years in World Wrestling Entertainment developmental territories including Power Pro Wrestling, Heartland Wrestling Association, Memphis Championship Wrestling and Ohio Valley Wrestling.
Emmanuelle Chriqui, Canadian actress
Emmanuelle Sophie Anne Chriqui is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for playing Sloan McQuewick on HBO's Entourage (2004–11), Claire Bonner in Snow Day (2000), Dalia in You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008), Lorelei Martins on CBS's The Mentalist (2008–15), and Lana Lang on The CW's Superman & Lois (2021–2024).
Josip Skoko, Australian footballer
Josip Skoko is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as a central midfielder for North Geelong Warriors, Hajduk Split, Genk, Gençlerbirliği, Wigan Athletic, Stoke City and Melbourne Heart. Skoko has been described as a central midfielder with "superb on-ball ability, inch perfect passing, and his ability to turn defence to attack in an instant." Skoko is currently the Director of Football at North Geelong Warriors FC.
10/12/1974
Meg White, American drummer
Megan Martha White is an American musician who was the drummer and occasional vocalist of the rock duo the White Stripes. She was a key artist of the 2000s indie and garage rock movements, noted for her minimalist drumming style and reserved public persona. The White Stripes split up in 2011 after which she ceased performing. Her last media appearance was in 2009, and she has not been active in the music industry since.
10/12/1973
Rusty LaRue, American basketball player and coach
Rusty LaRue is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He was a multi-sport athlete who played basketball, baseball, and football at Wake Forest University. LaRue played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Chicago Bulls, Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors. He won an NBA championship with the Bulls in 1998.
Gabriela Spanic, Venezuelan actress
Gabriela Elena Španić Utrera, known simply as Gabriela Spanic or Gaby Spanic, is a Venezuelan actress, model, singer and beauty pageant titleholder. She is known for her roles in several Latin telenovelas, most notably her portrayal of twins in La usurpadora (1998), one of the most popular telenovelas in the Spanish-speaking world.
10/12/1972
Donavon Frankenreiter, American surfer, singer-songwriter, and guitarist
Donavon Frankenreiter is an American musician and surfer. His debut self-titled album was released in 2004 on Brushfire Records through Universal Music.
Brian Molko, British-Belgian singer-songwriter
Brian Molko is a British-American musician who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and lyricist of the band Placebo. He is known for his nasal voice and high registered vocals, feminine/androgynous appearance, aggressive guitar style and non-standard tunings.
10/12/1970
Kevin Sharp, American singer-songwriter (died 2014)
Kevin Grant Sharp was an American country music singer, author, and motivational speaker. Sharp came on the country music scene in 1996 with his first single: a cover of Tony Rich's "Nobody Knows", which topped the Billboard country chart for four weeks. The same year, Sharp released his first album, Measure of a Man. Having survived a form of bone cancer in his teenage years, Sharp became actively involved in the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He wrote an inspirational book about his life and his fight with cancer, and occasionally toured the United States as a motivational speaker. Sharp died from complications of stomach surgery in April 2014.
Bryant Stith, American basketball player and coach
Bryant Lamonica Stith is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently a men's assistant basketball coach at University of North Carolina Greensboro.
10/12/1969
Darren Berry, Australian cricketer and coach
Darren Shane Berry is an Australian cricket coach and former cricketer who was known for his sharp skills as a wicketkeeper, first with South Australia and then Victoria in the Sheffield Shield and ING Cup domestic competitions. He led the Redbacks to the first premiership win in 2010 of the BBL.
Rob Blake, Canadian ice hockey player and executive
Robert Bowlby Blake is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and executive who most recently served as the general manager of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally drafted by the Kings in 1988, appearing in the 1993 Stanley Cup Final, winning the James Norris Memorial Trophy and serving as team captain for five seasons in his initial 11-season stint with the club. In 2001, Blake was traded to the Colorado Avalanche and was a member of their 2001 Stanley Cup championship team. After a two-season return to Los Angeles, Blake signed with the San Jose Sharks in 2008, retiring as its captain after the 2009–10 season. Four years later, in 2014, Blake was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He won a second Stanley Cup as the assistant general manager of the Kings' front office in 2014.
10/12/1968
Yōko Oginome, Japanese singer, actress, and voice actress
Yōko Oginome , married name Yōko Tsujino , is a former pop idol, actress and voice actress, who gained popularity in the mid-1980s. Her fans often call her Oginome-chan. Her husband is Ryuso Tsujino. Oginome is affiliated with Rising Production.
10/12/1966
Rein Ahas, Estonian geographer and academic
Rein Ahas was an Estonian geographer and a professor at the University of Tartu. From 2013–2015 he was a researcher-professor of the Estonian Academy of Sciences.
Robin Brooke, New Zealand rugby player
Robin Matthew Brooke is a former New Zealand rugby player. He played for the New Zealand national rugby union team in the 1990s, playing many tests alongside brother Zinzan Brooke.
Mel Rojas, Dominican baseball player
Melquíades Rojas Medrano is a Dominican former Major League Baseball (MLB) relief pitcher. From 1990 to 1999, he played for the Montreal Expos, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers of the National League and the Detroit Tigers of the American League.
Penelope Trunk, American writer
Penelope Trunk is an American writer and entrepreneur. Trunk published literary works including electronic literature in the 1990s and early 2000s under the pen name Adrienne Eisen and later under the name Penelope Trunk, a name she adopted in her public life.
10/12/1965
Greg Giraldo, American lawyer, comedian, actor, and screenwriter (died 2010)
Gregory Carlos Giraldo was an American stand-up comedian, television personality, and lawyer. He is remembered for his appearances on Comedy Central's televised roast specials, and for his work on that network's television shows Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, Lewis Black's Root of All Evil, and the programming block Stand-Up Nation, the last of which he hosted.
J Mascis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Joseph Donald Mascis Jr., better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo artist and played drums and guitar on other projects. He was ranked number 74 in a Rolling Stone list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists", and number 5 in a similar list for Spin magazine in 2012.
Stephanie Morgenstern, Swiss-Canadian actress, producer, and screenwriter
Stephanie Morgenstern is a Canadian actress, filmmaker, and screenwriter for television and film. She has worked extensively on stage, film, and television in both English and French. Her most widely seen feature film credits have been The Sweet Hereafter, Maelström, Julie and Me and Forbidden Love. Morgenstern is also widely recognized by anime fans as the voice of Sailor Venus in the DIC Entertainment English dub of Sailor Moon in the first few seasons as well as the movies. Additionally, she provided the voice of Regina in the Dino Crisis series, and Yin in Yin Yang Yo!.
10/12/1964
Stephen Billington, English actor
Stephen Billington is an English actor. He is known for his role as Greg Kelly in the ITV1 soap opera Coronation Street, for which he won the 1999 British Soap Award for Villain of the Year.
Stef Blok, Dutch banker and politician, Dutch Minister of the Interior
Stephanus Abraham "Stef" Blok is a Dutch politician who served as Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy in the Third Rutte cabinet from 25 May 2021 till 10 January 2022. He is a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).
Bobby Flay, American chef and author
Robert William Flay is an American celebrity chef, food writer, restaurateur, and television personality. Flay is the owner and executive chef of several restaurants and franchises, including Bobby's Burger Palace, Bobby's Burgers, and Amalfi. He has appeared on Food Network since 1995, which won him four Daytime Emmy Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Edith González, Mexican actress (died 2019)
Edith González Fuentes was a Mexican actress, regarded as a blonde bombshell and one of the most beautiful actresses in Mexican cinema. She is best remembered for working on multiple telenovelas produced by three different multimedia companies, which included Televisa, TV Azteca and Telemundo.
10/12/1963
Jahangir Khan, Pakistani squash player
Jahangir Khan is a Pakistani former professional squash player. He won the World Open title six times, and the British Open title ten times (1982–1991). He is widely regarded as the greatest squash player of all time, and the greatest sportsman in Pakistan history. From 1981 to 1986, Khan was unbeaten and won 555 consecutive matches during that time – the longest winning streak by any athlete in top-level professional sport as recorded by Guinness World Records.
10/12/1962
Rakhat Aliyev, Kazakh politician and diplomat (died 2015)
Rakhat Mukhtaruly Aliyev was a Kazakh politician and diplomat, who died in an Austrian prison awaiting trial on charges of murder. His trial was planned to start in Vienna in first half of year 2015. Austrian legal circles were giving much attention to this high-profile criminal case in which a former diplomat was facing murder charges.
John de Wolf, Dutch footballer and manager
Johannes Hildebrand de Wolf is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a defender. He earned six caps for the Netherlands national team, scoring two goals.
10/12/1961
Mark McKoy, Canadian hurdler and sprinter
Mark Anthony McKoy is a Canadian retired track and field athlete. He won the gold medal for the 110 metres hurdles at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. He won the 60 metres hurdles title at the 1993 IAAF World Indoor Championships and the 110 metres hurdles titles at the Commonwealth Games in 1982 and 1986. He is the World record holder for the 50 metres hurdles with 6.25 secs (1986), he is also the Canadian record holder for the 60 metres hurdles with 7.41 secs (1993) and the 110 metres hurdles with 13.08 secs (1993).
Nia Peeples, American singer and actress
Virenia Peeples is an American R&B and dance music singer and actress. Peeples is known for playing Nicole Chapman on the TV series Fame; Pam Fields on the drama Pretty Little Liars; Karen Taylor Winters on The Young and the Restless; Sydney Cooke on Walker, Texas Ranger; and as Grace's mom, Susan, on The Fosters.
10/12/1960
Kenneth Branagh, British actor director, producer, and screenwriter
Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. His accolades include an Academy Award, four BAFTAs, two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Olivier Award. He was knighted in 2012, and was given Freedom of the City in his native Belfast in 2018. In 2020, he was ranked in 20th place on The Irish Times's list of Ireland's greatest film actors.
Kōichi Satō, Japanese actor
Koichi Sato is a Japanese actor. He is the son of actor Rentarō Mikuni. He is known for his acting skills and has won three individual Blue Ribbon Awards in the categories of Best Newcomer (1982), Best Actor (2003), and Best Supporting Actor (2024). He is the first actor to win three individual awards since his father, Rentarō Mikuni.
10/12/1959
Mark Aguirre, American basketball player and coach
Mark Anthony Aguirre is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Aguirre was chosen as the first overall pick of the 1981 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks after playing three years at DePaul University. Aguirre played in the NBA from 1981 until 1994 and won two championships with the Detroit Pistons after being traded to Detroit from Dallas in exchange for Adrian Dantley. Aguirre was a three-time All-Star for Dallas. Aguirre was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
Udi Aloni, American-Israeli director and author
Udi Aloni is an Israeli American filmmaker, writer, visual artist and political activist whose works focus on the interrelationships between art, theory, and action.
Kevin Ash, English journalist and author (died 2013)
Kevin Ash was a British motorcycle journalist and author, who contributed to The Daily Telegraph and to Motor Cycle News.
Wolf Hoffmann, German guitarist
Wolf Hoffmann is a German musician, primarily known as the guitarist and last remaining original member of heavy metal band Accept since 1976. His work in Accept influenced the development of speed metal genre. He is also one of the first players of neoclassical metal.
10/12/1958
Cornelia Funke, German-American author
Cornelia Maria Funke is a German author of children's fiction. Born in Dorsten, North Rhine-Westphalia, she began her career as a social worker before becoming a book illustrator. She began writing novels in the late 1980s and focused primarily on fantasy-oriented stories that depict the lives of children faced with adversity. Funke has since become Germany's "bestselling author for children". Her work has been translated into several languages and, as of 2012, Funke has sold over 20 million copies of her books worldwide.
Kathryn Stott, English pianist and academic
Kathryn Stott is an English classical pianist who performs as a concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. Her specialities include the English and French classical repertoire, contemporary classical music and the tango. She is a professor at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester and has organised several music festivals and concert series.
10/12/1957
Michael Clarke Duncan, American actor (died 2012)
Michael Clarke Duncan was an American actor best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in The Green Mile (1999), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and other honors. He also played Kingpin in Daredevil and Spider-Man: The New Animated Series. In addition, he appeared in movies such as Armageddon (1998), The Whole Nine Yards (2000), Planet of the Apes (2001), The Scorpion King (2002), Sin City (2005), and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), as well as in the role of Leo Knox in the television series Bones (2011) and its spin-off The Finder (2012); he also appeared in episodes of Two and a Half Men. He also had voice roles in films, including Brother Bear (2003), Brother Bear 2 (2006), Kung Fu Panda (2008), and Green Lantern (2011); he had the voice role of Benjamin King in the video game Saints Row (2006).
Paul Hardcastle, English composer and producer
Paul Louis Hardcastle is an English composer, musician, record producer, songwriter, radio presenter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for his song "19", which went to number one on the UK Singles Chart in 1985.
Prem Rawat, Indian-American guru and educator
Prem Pal Singh Rawat, formerly known as Maharaji, is an Indian international speaker and author. His teachings include a meditation practice he calls "Knowledge", and peace education based on the discovery of personal resources such as inner strength, choice, appreciation and hope.
10/12/1956
Rod Blagojevich, American lawyer and politician, 40th Governor of Illinois
Rod R. Blagojevich, often referred to by his nickname "Blago", is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Blagojevich previously worked in both the state and federal legislatures. He served as an Illinois state representative from 1993 to 1997, and the U.S. representative from Illinois's 5th district from 1997 to 2003.
Roberto Cassinelli, Italian lawyer and politician
Roberto Cassinelli is an Italian politician and lawyer, Judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy since 2025.
Jan van Dijk, Dutch footballer and manager
Johannes ("Jan") Hermannus van Dijk is a retired Dutch footballer and manager.
10/12/1954
Eudine Barriteau, Barbadian economist and academic
Violet Eudine Barriteau, FB, GCM, is a professor of gender and public policy, as well as Principal of the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill. She was also the president of the International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE) from 2009 to 2010, and she is on the advisory editorial boards of Palimpsest: A Journal on Women, Gender, and the Black International, published by SUNY Press, and Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, published by University of Chicago Press.
Price Cobb, American race car driver and manager
Price Cobb is an American race car driver. He won the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans together with John Nielsen and Martin Brundle in a Jaguar XJR-12. He also owned an Indy Racing League team in 1998 and 1999 for Roberto Guerrero and Jim Guthrie. He also has authored a number of books on auto racing.
Jack Hues, English singer-songwriter and musician
Jeremy Allan Ryder, known professionally as Jack Hues, is an English singer, songwriter and musician who is best known for forming and fronting the 1980s English new wave band Wang Chung. Hues was also a member of the one-off band Strictly Inc.
10/12/1953
Chris Bury, American journalist and academic
Christopher Robert Bury is an American journalist best known for being a correspondent at ABC News Nightline, where he also served as substitute anchor. Bury was also a national correspondent based in Chicago for World News with Diane Sawyer and Good Morning America. He is now senior journalist in residence at DePaul University in Chicago. Bury's recent work includes contributions to PBS NewsHour and Al Jazeera America.
10/12/1952
Clive Anderson, English lawyer and television host
Clive Stuart Anderson is an English comedian, presenter, writer and former barrister. Winner of a British Comedy Award in 1991, Anderson began experimenting with comedy and writing comedic scripts during his 15-year legal career. He then became host of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, initially a radio show on BBC Radio 4 in 1988, before moving to television on Channel 4 from 1988 to 1999. He was also host of his own chat show Clive Anderson Talks Back, which changed its name to Clive Anderson All Talk in 1996, from 1989 to 1999. He has also hosted many radio programmes and made guest appearances on Have I Got News for You, Mock the Week and QI.
Susan Dey, American actress
Susan Hallock Dey is a retired American actress, known for her television roles as Laurie Partridge on the sitcom The Partridge Family from 1970 to 1974, and as Grace Van Owen on the drama series L.A. Law from 1986 to 1992. A three-time Emmy Award nominee and six-time Golden Globe Award nominee, she won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series for L.A. Law in 1988.
Greg Mortimer, Australian geologist and mountaineer
Greg Mortimer is an Australian climber. Mortimer is notable as one of the first two Australians to successfully climb Mount Everest, on 3 October 1984. Their ascent, without supplemental oxygen, was the first via the North Face and Norton Couloir. It is one of the climbing routes that has not been repeated often.
Greg Laurie, American author and pastor
Greg Laurie is an American evangelical pastor, evangelist, and Christian author who serves as the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, based in Riverside, California. He also is the founder of Harvest Crusades. Laurie is also the subject of the 2023 film Jesus Revolution, which tells the story of how he converted to Christianity and got his start in ministry in the midst of the Jesus movement.
Paul Varul, Estonian lawyer and politician, 6th Estonian Minister of Justice
Paul Varul is an Estonian lawyer and politician. He was the Minister of Justice of Estonia from 1995 to 1999.
10/12/1951
Johnny Rodriguez, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2025)
Juan Raoul Davis "Johnny" Rodriguez was an American country music singer from Texas. In the 1970s and 1980s, Rodriguez was one of country music's most successful male artists, recording a string of hit songs, such as "You Always Come Back ", "Desperado", "Down on the Rio Grande", and "Foolin'". He recorded six No. 1 country hits in his career.
10/12/1950
John Boozman, American football player, lawyer, and politician
John Nichols Boozman is an American politician and former optometrist serving as the senior United States senator from Arkansas, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. representative for Arkansas's 3rd congressional district from 2001 to 2011. He has been the dean of Arkansas's congressional delegation since 2013, when Representative Mike Ross retired.
Simon Owen, New Zealand golfer
Simon Owen is a professional golfer from New Zealand.
10/12/1949
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Ugandan-English journalist and author
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown is a British journalist and author. A columnist for The i Paper and the Evening Standard, she is a commentator on immigration, diversity, and multiculturalism issues.
David Perdue, American politician
David Alfred Perdue Jr. is an American diplomat, politician, and businessman serving as the 14th United States ambassador to China since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, Perdue previously served as a United States senator for Georgia from 2015 to 2021. He was an unsuccessful candidate for governor of Georgia in 2022.
10/12/1948
Dušan Bajević, Bosnian footballer and manager
Dušan "Duško" Bajević is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Bosnian football managers of all time, he is the country's most decorated manager.
Jessica Cleaves, American singer-songwriter (died 2014)
Jessica Marguerite Cleaves was an American singer and songwriter who was the lead singer of the Friends of Distinction, Earth, Wind & Fire, Parliament Funkadelic, and Raw Silk.
Jasuben Shilpi, Indian sculptor (died 2013)
Jasuben Shilpi or Jasu Shilpi was an Indian bronze sculpture artist. In her career she made more than 525 bust size and 225 large size statues. She was popularly known as "The Bronze woman of India".
10/12/1947
Rasul Guliyev, Azerbaijani engineer and politician, 22nd Speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan
Rasul Guliyev was an Azerbaijani politician who served as the Speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan from 1993 to 1996.
10/12/1946
Douglas Kenney, American satirist (died 1980)
Douglas Clark Francis Kenney was an American comedy writer of magazine, novels, radio, TV and film, who co-founded the magazine National Lampoon in 1970. Kenney edited the magazine and wrote much of its early material. He went on to write, produce, and perform in the influential comedies Animal House and Caddyshack before his death at the age of 33.
10/12/1945
Mukhtar Altynbayev, Kazakhstani general and politician, 3rd Defence Minister of Kazakhstan
Mūhtar Qapaşūly Altynbaev is a Kazakh military officer and politician who holds the rank of General of the Army. He served as the Minister of Defense of Kazakhstan twice, most recently from December 2001 to 10 January 2007. Prime Minister Karim Massimov replaced him with former Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov in a political shakeup.
10/12/1944
Andris Bērziņš, Latvian businessman and politician, 8th President of Latvia
Andris Bērziņš is a Latvian businessman and politician who was President of Latvia from 2011 to 2015. Bērziņš was the President of Unibanka from 1993 to 2004. He was elected as President by the Saeima on 2 June 2011.
John Birt, Baron Birt, English businessman
John Birt, Baron Birt is a British television executive and businessman. He is a former Director-General (1992–2000) of the BBC.
Steve Renko, American baseball player
Steve Renko, Jr. is an American former right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the Montreal Expos (1969–1976), Chicago Cubs (1976–1977), Chicago White Sox (1977), Oakland Athletics (1978), Boston Red Sox (1979–1980), California Angels (1981–1982) and Kansas City Royals (1983).
10/12/1942
Ann Gloag, Scottish nurse and businesswoman
Ann Heron Gloag DBE is a Scottish businesswoman, activist, and charity campaigner. She is co-founder of the transport company Stagecoach Group.
10/12/1941
Ken Campbell, English actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2008)
Kenneth Victor Campbell was an English actor, director and writer. He was known for his work in experimental theatre. He has been called "a one-man dynamo of British theatre".
Fionnula Flanagan, Irish actress and producer
Fionnghuala Manon "Fionnula" Flanagan is an Irish actress. Flanagan is best known for her roles in the films James Joyce's Women (1985), Some Mother's Son (1996), Waking Ned (1998), The Others (2001), Four Brothers (2005), Yes Man (2008), The Guard (2011) and Song of the Sea (2014). She is also known for her recurring role as Eloise Hawking in the series Lost (2007–2010). Notable stage productions she has performed in include Ulysses in Nighttown and The Ferryman, both of which earned her Tony Award nominations for Best Featured Actress in a Play.
Tommy Kirk, American actor (died 2021)
Thomas Lee Kirk was an American actor, best known for his performances in films made by Walt Disney Studios such as Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, Swiss Family Robinson, The Absent-Minded Professor, and The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, as well as the beach party films of the mid-1960s. He frequently appeared as a love interest for Annette Funicello or as part of a family with Kevin Corcoran as his younger brother and Fred MacMurray as his father.
Tommy Rettig, American child actor (died 1996)
Thomas Noel Rettig was an American child actor, computer software engineer, and author. He portrayed Jeff Miller in the first three seasons of CBS's Lassie television series, from 1954 to 1957, later seen in syndicated re-runs with the title Jeff's Collie. He also played the young orphan adopted by British star David Niven in an episode of the TV anthology series Four Star Playhouse entitled "No Identity." He then co-starred with another former child actor, Tony Dow, in the mid-1960s television teen soap opera Never Too Young and recorded the song by that title with singing group The TR-4.
Kyu Sakamoto, Japanese singer and actor (died 1985)
Hisashi "Kyu" Sakamoto , legally registered as Hisashi Ōshima since 1956, was a Japanese singer and actor.
10/12/1939
Dick Bavetta, American basketball player and referee
Richard W. Bavetta is an American retired referee for the National Basketball Association (NBA). He debuted in the league in 1975 and never missed an assigned game until 2014, and he holds the league record for most officiated games with 2,635.
Barry Cunliffe, English archaeologist and academic
Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe, usually known as Sir Barry Cunliffe, is a British archaeologist and academic. He was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2007. Since 2007, he has been an emeritus professor.
10/12/1938
Bill Dunk, Australian golfer
William Edgar Dunk is an Australian professional golfer.
Yuri Temirkanov, Russian viola player and conductor (died 2023)
Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov was a Soviet and Russian conductor, named a People's Artist of the USSR.
10/12/1936
Howard Smith, American journalist, director, and producer (died 2014)
Howard Smith was an American Oscar-winning film director, producer, journalist, screenwriter, actor and radio broadcaster.
10/12/1935
Terry Allcock, English footballer and cricketer (died 2024)
Terence Allcock was an English professional footballer who played as a forward for Bolton Wanderers and Norwich City. He was also a cricketer who played for Norfolk County Cricket Club.
Jaromil Jireš, Czech director and screenwriter (died 2001)
Jaromil Jireš was a Czech film director and screenwriter. He was associated with the Czechoslovak New Wave movement.
10/12/1934
Howard Martin Temin, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1994)
Howard Martin Temin was an American geneticist and virologist. He discovered reverse transcriptase in the 1970s at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, for which he shared the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Renato Dulbecco and David Baltimore.
10/12/1933
Philip R. Craig, American author (died 2007)
Philip R. Craig was a writer known for his Martha's Vineyard mysteries.
Mako Iwamatsu, Japanese actor (died 2006)
Makoto Iwamatsu was a Japanese-American actor, credited mononymously in almost all of his acting roles as simply Mako . His career in film, on television, and on stage spanned five decades and 165 productions. He earned an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and was also a Tony Award nominee.
10/12/1931
Peter Baker, English-South African footballer and manager (died 2016)
Peter Baker was an English footballer. Educated at Southgate County School in North London, he played right-back for Tottenham Hotspur and was part of the double-winning side of 1960-61 and won the FA Cup with Spurs in 1962. He played 299 league games for Tottenham scoring three goals.
10/12/1930
Wayne D. Anderson, American baseball player and coach (died 2013)
Wayne Delbert Anderson was an American college basketball coach, the head coach for eight seasons at the University of Idaho, his alma mater. He was also the head baseball coach at Idaho for nine seasons, and the assistant athletic director for fifteen years.
Ray Felix, American basketball player (died 1991)
Raymond Darlington Felix Sr. was an American professional basketball player. He was born in New York City. He played high school basketball at Metropolitan High School in New York and college basketball at Long Island University. Felix was drafted No. 1 overall pick in the 1953 NBA draft, the first African American first selection in NBA history.
Michael Jopling, Baron Jopling, English farmer and politician, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Thomas Michael Jopling, Baron Jopling is a British politician who sits in the House of Lords as a member of the Conservative Party.
10/12/1928
Barbara Nichols, American actress (died 1976)
Barbara Marie Nickerauer, known professionally as Barbara Nichols, was an American actress who often played brassy or comic roles in films in the 1950s and 1960s.
10/12/1927
Bob Farrell, American businessman, founded Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour (died 2015)
Robert E. Farrell was an American motivational speaker, author, and founder of Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour and Restaurant.
Danny Matt, German-Israeli general (died 2013)
Danny Matt was a decorated career Israeli military officer who served in the Israel Defense Forces from 1948 until 1992. He attained the rank of major general and fought in five Arab-Israeli wars, including the wars of 1948 and 1973. Among his many exploits was a daring operation involving leading a paratroop force across the Suez Canal during the Yom Kippur War. The operation was the beginning phase of a larger Israeli counter offensive that ultimately led to the victory of the Israeli army.
10/12/1926
Guitar Slim, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1959)
Eddie Jones, known as Guitar Slim, was an American guitarist in the 1940s and 1950s, best known for the million-selling song "The Things That I Used to Do", for Specialty Records. It is listed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. Slim had a major impact on rock and roll and experimented with distorted tones on the electric guitar a full decade before Jimi Hendrix.
10/12/1925
Carolyn Kizer, American poet and academic (died 2014)
Carolyn Ashley Kizer was an American poet of the Pacific Northwest whose works reflect her feminism. She won the Pulitzer Prize in 1985.
10/12/1924
Ken Albers, American singer and musician (died 2007)
John Kenneth Albers was an American singer and brass musician who performed with The Four Freshmen from 1956 to 1982.
Michael Manley, Jamaican pilot and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Jamaica (died 1997)
Michael Norman Manley was a Jamaican politician, trade unionist and journalist who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Jamaica, from 1972 to 1980, and from 1989 to 1992. Manley championed a democratic socialist programme, and has been described as a populist, although many in the country feared he would turn Jamaica into a communist state. He remains one of Jamaica's most popular prime ministers.
10/12/1923
Harold Gould, American actor (died 2010)
Harold Vernon Goldstein, better known as Harold Gould, was an American character actor. He appeared as Martin Morgenstern on the sitcom Rhoda (1974–78) and Miles Webber on the sitcom The Golden Girls (1985–92). A five-time Emmy Award nominee, Gould acted in film and television for nearly 50 years, appearing in more than 300 television shows, 20 major motion pictures, and over 100 stage plays. He was known for playing elegant, well-dressed men, and he regularly played Jewish characters and grandfather-type figures on television and in film.
Clorindo Testa, Italian-Argentinian architect, designed the National Library of the Argentine Republic and Marriott Plaza Hotel (died 2013)
Clorindo Manuel José Testa was an Italian-Argentine architect and artist.
10/12/1922
Agnes Nixon, American television writer and director (died 2016)
Agnes Nixon was an American television writer and producer, and the creator of the ABC soap operas One Life to Live, All My Children, as well as Loving and its spin-off The City.
10/12/1921
Toh Chin Chye, Singaporean academic and politician, 1st Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore (died 2012)
Toh Chin Chye was a Singaporean statesman and academic. He was a founding member of the People's Action Party (PAP), the dominant political party in Singapore since independence. Toh played a significant role in Singapore's early political development and was instrumental in shaping the country's post-independence governance. Toh is widely recognised as one of the founding fathers of modern Singapore.
10/12/1920
Clarice Lispector, Ukrainian-Brazilian journalist and author (died 1977)
Clarice Lispector was a Ukrainian-born Brazilian novelist and short story writer. Her distinctive and innovative works delve into diverse narrative forms, weaving themes of intimacy and introspection, earning her subsequent international acclaim. Born to a Jewish family in Podolia in Western Ukraine, as an infant she moved to Brazil with her family, amidst the pogroms committed during the Russian Civil War.
Reginald Rose, American screenwriter and producer (died 2002)
Reginald Rose was an American playwright and screenwriter. He wrote about controversial social and political issues. His realistic approach was particularly influential in the anthology programs of the 1950s.
10/12/1919
Alexander Courage, American composer and conductor (died 2008)
Alexander Mair Courage Jr. familiarly known as "Sandy" Courage, was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film. He is best known as the composer of the theme music for the original Star Trek series.
10/12/1918
Anne Gwynne, American actress (died 2003)
Anne Gwynne was an American actress who was known as one of the first scream queens because of her numerous appearances in horror films. Gwynne was also one of the most popular pin-ups of World War II. She was the maternal grandmother of actor Chris Pine.
Anatoli Tarasov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (died 1995)
Anatoly Vladimirovich Tarasov was a Russian ice hockey player and coach. Tarasov is considered "the father of Russian ice hockey" and established the Soviet Union national team as "the dominant force in international competition". He was one of the first Russians to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 1974 in the builders category. He was inducted into the inaugural class of the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1997.
10/12/1916
Walt Arfons, American race car driver (died 2013)
Walter Charles Arfons was the half brother of Art Arfons, his former partner in drag racing, and his competitor in jet-powered land speed record racing. Along with Art, he was a pioneer in the use of aircraft jet engines for these types of competition.
10/12/1915
Nicky Barr, Australian rugby player, soldier, and pilot (died 2006)
Andrew William "Nicky" Barr, was a member of the Australian national rugby union team, who became a fighter ace in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. He was credited with 12 aerial victories, all scored flying the Curtiss P-40 fighter. Born in New Zealand, Barr was raised in Victoria and first represented the state in rugby in 1936. Selected to play for Australia in the United Kingdom in 1939, he had just arrived in England when the tour was cancelled following the outbreak of war. He joined the RAAF in 1940 and was posted to North Africa with No. 3 Squadron in September 1941. The squadron's highest-scoring ace, he attained his first three victories in the P-40 Tomahawk and the remainder in the P-40 Kittyhawk.
10/12/1914
Dorothy Lamour, American actress and singer (died 1996)
Dorothy Lamour was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for having appeared in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.
10/12/1913
Pannonica de Koenigswarter, English-American jazz patron and writer (died 1988)
Baroness Kathleen Annie Pannonica "Nica" de Koenigswarter was a British-born jazz patron, photographer and writer. A leading patron of bebop, she was a member of the Rothschild family.
Morton Gould, American pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1996)
Morton Gould was an American composer, conductor, arranger, and pianist.
Harry Locke, English actor (died 1987)
Harry Locke was an English character actor.
Ray Nance, American trumpeter, violinist, and singer (died 1976)
Ray Willis Nance was an American jazz trumpeter, violinist and singer. He is best remembered for his long association with Duke Ellington and his orchestra.
10/12/1912
Philip Hart, American lawyer and politician, 49th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan (died 1976)
Philip Aloysius Hart was an American lawyer and politician. A Democrat, he served as a United States senator from Michigan from 1959 until his death from cancer in Washington, D.C. in 1976. He was known as the "Conscience of the Senate". The Hart Senate Office Building is named in his honor.
Tetsuji Takechi, Japanese theatrical and film director, critic, and author (died 1988)
Tetsuji Takechi was a Japanese theatrical and film director, critic, and author. First coming to prominence for his theatrical criticism, in the 1940s and 1950s he produced influential and popular experimental kabuki plays. Beginning in the mid-1950s, he continued his innovative theatrical work in noh, kyōgen and modern theater. In late 1956 and early 1957 he hosted a popular TV program, The Tetsuji Takechi Hour, which featured his reinterpretations of Japanese stage classics.
René Toribio, Guadeloupean politician (died 1990)
René Toribio was a French politician and was a member of the French Senate representing Guadeloupe from 1959 to 1968.
10/12/1911
Chet Huntley, American journalist (died 1974)
Chester Robert Huntley was an American television newscaster, best known for co-anchoring NBC's evening news program, The Huntley–Brinkley Report, for 14 years beginning in 1956.
10/12/1910
Ambrosio Padilla, Filipino basketball player and politician (died 1996)
Ambrosio "Paddy" Bibby Padilla was a Filipino basketball player, lawyer, and an elected member of the Senate of the Philippines. He was one of the most important figures in Asian basketball development.
10/12/1909
Hermes Pan, American dancer and choreographer (died 1990)
Hermes Pan was an American dancer and choreographer, principally remembered as Fred Astaire's choreographic collaborator on the famous 1930s movie musicals starring Astaire and Ginger Rogers. He worked on nearly two dozen films and TV shows with Astaire. He won both an Oscar and an Emmy for his dance direction.
10/12/1908
Olivier Messiaen, French composer and ornithologist (died 1992)
Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th century, he was also an outstanding teacher of composition and musical analysis.
10/12/1907
Rumer Godden, English author and poet (died 1998)
Margaret Rumer Godden was a British author of more than 60 fiction and non-fiction books. Nine of her works have been made into films, most notably Black Narcissus in 1947 and The River in 1951.
Lucien Laurent, French footballer and coach (died 2005)
Lucien Laurent was a French footballer who played as a forward. Playing for France, at the 1930 FIFA World Cup, he scored the first ever FIFA World Cup goal against Mexico.
Amedeo Nazzari, Italian actor (died 1979)
Amedeo Nazzari was an Italian actor. Nazzari was one of the leading figures of Italian classic cinema, often considered a local variant of the Australian–American star Errol Flynn. Although he emerged as a star during the Fascist era, Nazzari's popularity continued well into the post-war years.
10/12/1906
Harold Adamson, American lyricist (died 1980)
Harold Campbell Adamson was an American lyricist from the 1930s through the 1960s.
Jules Ladoumègue, French runner (died 1973)
Jules Ladoumègue was a French middle-distance runner. He became a running star as the sport enjoyed a huge resurgence at the start of the Great Depression, fueled in large part by newsreel coverage. His career was abruptly cut short when he was banned for life from track for payments he received for several races.
10/12/1904
Antonín Novotný, Czechoslovak politician, President of Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (died 1975)
Antonín Josef Novotný was a Czechoslovak politician who served as the President of Czechoslovakia from 1957 to 1968, and as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1953 to 1968. An ardent hardliner, Novotný was forced to yield the reins of power to Alexander Dubček during the short-lived reform movement of 1968.
10/12/1903
Una Merkel, American actress (died 1986)
Una Merkel was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress.
10/12/1896
Torsten Bergström, Swedish actor and director (died 1948)
Torsten Lars Herman Jamte Bergström was a Swedish film director and theater and film actor.
10/12/1891
Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, English field marshal and politician, 17th Governor General of Canada (died 1969)
Field Marshal Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, was a British Army officer who served in both of the world wars. Alexander was born in London and was educated at Harrow school before moving on to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, for training as an army officer of the Irish Guards. He rose to military prominence through his service in the First World War, and continued his career through various British campaigns across Europe and Asia during the interwar period.
Arlie Mucks, American discus thrower and shot putter (died 1967)
Arlie Max Mucks was an American track and field athlete who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics.
Nelly Sachs, German-Swedish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1970)
Nelly Sachs was a German–Swedish poet and playwright. Her experiences resulting from the rise of the Nazis in World War II Europe transformed her into a poignant spokesperson for the grief and yearnings of her fellow Jews. Her best-known play is Eli: Ein Mysterienspiel vom Leiden Israels (1950) ; other works include the poems "Zeichen im Sand" (1962), "Verzauberung" (1970), and the collections of poetry In den Wohnungen des Todes (1947), Flucht und Verwandlung (1959), Fahrt ins Staublose (1961), and Suche nach Lebenden (1971). She was awarded the 1966 Nobel Prize in Literature.
10/12/1890
László Bárdossy, Hungarian politician and diplomat, 33rd Prime Minister of Hungary (died 1946)
László Bárdossy de Bárdos was a Hungarian diplomat and politician who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from April 1941 to March 1942. He was one of the chief architects of Hungary's involvement in World War II.
10/12/1889
Ray Collins, American actor (died 1965)
Ray Bidwell Collins was an American character actor in stock and Broadway theatre, radio, films, and television. With 900 stage roles to his credit, he became one of the most successful actors in the developing field of radio drama. A friend and associate of Orson Welles for many years, Collins went to Hollywood with the Mercury Theatre company and made his feature-film debut in Citizen Kane (1941), as Kane's political rival. Collins appeared in more than 75 films and had one of his best-remembered roles on television, as Los Angeles homicide detective Lieutenant Arthur Tragg in the CBS-TV series Perry Mason.
10/12/1886
Victor McLaglen, English-American actor (died 1959)
Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen was a British-American actor and boxer. His film career spanned from the early 1920s through the 1950s, initially as a leading man, though he was better known for his character acting. He was a well-known member of John Ford’s Stock Company, appearing in 12 of the director’s films, seven of which co-starred John Wayne.
10/12/1885
Elizabeth Baker, American economist and academic (died 1973)
Elizabeth Faulkner Baker was an American economist and academic who specialized in scientific management and the relationship between employment and technological change, especially the role of women.
Marios Varvoglis, Greek composer and conductor (died 1967)
Marios Varvoglis was a Greek composer.
10/12/1883
Giovanni Messe, Italian field marshal and politician (died 1968)
Giovanni Messe was an Italian field marshal and politician. In the Second World War, he was captured in Tunisia but made chief of staff of the Italian Co-belligerent Army after the armistice of September 1943. Later, he was an elected representative in the Italian Senate. He is considered by many to have been the best Italian general of the war.
10/12/1882
Otto Neurath, Austrian sociologist and philosopher (died 1945)
Otto Karl Wilhelm Neurath was an Austrian-born philosopher of science, sociologist, and political economist. He was also the inventor of the ISOTYPE method of pictorial statistics and an innovator in museum practice. Before he fled his native country in 1934, Neurath was one of the leading figures of the Vienna Circle.
Shigenori Tōgō, Japanese politician, 37th Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs (died 1950)
Shigenori Tōgō was Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Empire of Japan at both the start and the end of the Pacific War. He also served as Minister of Colonial Affairs in 1941, and assumed the same position, renamed the Minister for Greater East Asia, in 1945.
10/12/1878
C. Rajagopalachari, Indian lawyer and politician, 45th Governor-General of India (died 1972)
Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji, was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and Indian independence activist. Rajagopalachari was the last Governor-General of India, serving until the abolition of that office upon India becoming a republic in 1950. He was the only Indian-born Governor-General or Viceroy of India; all previous holders of these posts had been British nationals. He was an accomplished writer and one of the first recipients of India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna. He was close to both Gandhi and Nehru. He vehemently opposed the use of nuclear weapons, and was a proponent of world peace and disarmament, until his death at the age of 94 in 1972.
Mohammad Ali Jauhar, Indian Muslim activist (died 1931)
Muhammad Ali Jawhar was an Indian politician and activist of the Indian independence movement. He was a co-founder of the All-India Muslim League and Jamia Millia Islamia.
10/12/1870
Jadunath Sarkar, Indian historian (died 1958)
Sir Jadunath Sarkar, was a prominent Indian historian and a specialist on the Mughal dynasty.
Adolf Loos, Austrian architect and theoretician (died 1933)
Adolf Franz Karl Viktor Maria Loos was an Austrian and Czechoslovak architect, influential European theorist, polemicist of modern architecture. He was inspired by modernism and a widely-known critic of the Art Nouveau movement. His controversial views and literary contributions sparked the establishment of the Vienna Secession movement and postmodernism.
Pierre Louÿs, Belgian-French author and poet (died 1925)
Pierre-Félix Louÿs was a Belgian poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who sought to "express pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection". He was made first a Chevalier and then an Officer of the Légion d'honneur for his contributions to French literature.
10/12/1866
Louis Bolk, Dutch anatomist and biologist (died 1930)
Lodewijk 'Louis' Bolk was a Dutch anatomist who created the fetalization theory about the human body. It states that when a human being is born, it is still a fetus, as can be seen by its (proportionally) big head, lack of coordination, and helplessness. Furthermore, this "prematuration" is specifically human.
10/12/1851
Melvil Dewey, American librarian, created the Dewey Decimal System (died 1931)
Melville Louis Kossuth "Melvil" Dewey was an American librarian and educator who invented the Dewey Decimal system of library classification. He was a founder of the Lake Placid Club, a chief librarian at Columbia College, founder of what would later become the Columbia University School of Library Service, and a founding member of the American Library Association. Although Dewey's contributions to the modern library are widely recognized, his legacy is marred by his sexual harassment of female colleagues, as well as his racism and antisemitism.
10/12/1830
Emily Dickinson, American poet (died 1886)
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Largely unpublished and unknown during her lifetime, her work is now widely regarded as canonical. The Poetry Foundation describes her as having "created in her writing a distinctively elliptical language for expressing what was possible but not yet realized."
10/12/1827
Eugene O'Keefe, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (died 1913)
Eugene O'Keefe, baptized as Owen Keeffe, was an Irish-born Canadian businessman and philanthropist, well-known in the brewing industry for his signature brews. He incorporated the O'Keefe Brewery Company of Toronto Limited in 1891.
10/12/1824
George MacDonald, Scottish minister, author, and poet (died 1905)
George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet and Congregational minister. He became a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature and the mentor of fellow-writer Lewis Carroll. In addition to his fairy tales, MacDonald wrote several works of Christian theology, including several collections of sermons.
10/12/1822
César Franck, Belgian organist and composer (died 1890)
César Auguste Jean Guillaume Hubert Franck was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in present-day Belgium.
10/12/1821
Nikolay Nekrasov, Russian poet and critic (died 1877)
Nikolay Alexeyevich Nekrasov was a Russian poet, writer, critic and publisher, whose deeply compassionate poems about the Russian peasantry made him a hero of liberal and radical circles in the Russian intelligentsia of the mid-nineteenth century, particularly as represented by Vissarion Belinsky and Nikolay Chernyshevsky. He is credited with introducing ternary meters and the technique of dramatic monologue to Russian poetry. As the editor of several literary journals, notably Sovremennik, Nekrasov was also singularly successful and influential.
10/12/1815
Ada Lovelace, English mathematician and computer scientist (died 1852)
Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, also known as Ada Lovelace, was an English mathematician and writer chiefly known for work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the analytical engine. She was the first to recognise the machine had applications beyond pure calculation. Lovelace is often considered the first computer programmer.
10/12/1811
Caroline Mehitable Fisher Sawyer, American poet, biographer, and editor (died 1894)
Caroline M. Sawyer was a 19th-century American poet, writer, and editor. Her writings ranged through a wide variety of themes. Born in 1812, in Massachusetts, she began composing verse at an early age, but published little till after her marriage. Thereafter, she wrote much for various reviews and other miscellanies, besides several volumes of tales, sketches, and essays. She also made numerous translations from German literature, in prose and verse, in which she evinced an appreciation of the original. Sawyer's poems were numerous, sufficient for several volumes, though they were not published as a collection.
10/12/1805
William Lloyd Garrison, American journalist and activist, founded The Liberator (died 1879)
William Lloyd Garrison was an American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. His widely read anti-slavery newspaper The Liberator was a driving force that fueled the abolitionist era, which Garrison founded in 1831 and published in Boston until slavery in the United States was abolished by the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865. He supported the rights of women, and during the 1870s became a prominent voice for the women's suffrage movement.
Joseph Škoda, Czech physician, dermatologist, and academic (died 1881)
Joseph Škoda was a Czech-born Austrian physician, medical professor and dermatologist. Together with Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky, he was the founder of the Modern Medical School of Vienna.
10/12/1804
Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, German mathematician and academic (died 1851)
Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi was a German mathematician who made fundamental contributions to elliptic functions, dynamics, differential equations, determinants and number theory.
10/12/1787
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, American educator, founded the American School for the Deaf (died 1851)
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was an American educator. Along with Laurent Clerc and Mason Cogswell, he co-founded the first permanent institution for the education of the deaf in North America, and he became its first principal. When opened on April 15, 1817, it was called the "Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons", but it is now known as the American School for the Deaf.
10/12/1783
María Bibiana Benítez, Puerto Rican poet and playwright (died 1873)
María Bibiana Benítez Batista was a Puerto Rican writer who was Puerto Rico's first female poet and one of its first playwrights. She was the first of three renowned poets in her family, the others being her niece and adopted daughter Alejandrina Benítez de Gautier, and Alejandrina's son José Gautier Benítez.
10/12/1776
Archduchess Maria Leopoldine of Austria-Este (died 1848)
Archduchess Maria Leopoldine of Austria-Este was an Electress of Bavaria as the second wife of Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria.
10/12/1751
George Shaw, English botanist and zoologist (died 1813)
George Kearsley Shaw was an English botanist and zoologist.
10/12/1713
Johann Nicolaus Mempel, German cantor and organist (died 1747)
Johann Nicolaus Mempel was a German musician.
10/12/1658
Lancelot Blackburne, Archbishop of York (died 1743)
Lancelot Blackburne was an English clergyman, who became Archbishop of York, and – in popular belief – a pirate.
10/12/1654
Giovanni Gioseffo dal Sole, Italian painter (died 1719)
Giovanni Gioseffo dal Sole was an Italian painter and engraver from Bologna, active in the late-Baroque period. Upon the death of Carlo Cignani, Gioseffo dal Sole became among the most prominent painters in Bologna, described as the Guido Moderno.
10/12/1610
Adriaen van Ostade, Dutch painter (died 1685)
Adriaen van Ostade was a Dutch Golden Age painter of genre works, showing the everyday life of ordinary men and women.
10/12/1588
Isaac Beeckman, Dutch scientist and philosopher (died 1637)
Isaac Beeckman was a Dutch philosopher and scientist, who, through his studies and contact with leading natural philosophers, may have "virtually given birth to modern atomism".
10/12/1489
Gaston of Foix, Duke of Nemours (died 1512)
Gaston de Foix, duc de Nemours, nicknamed The Thunderbolt of Italy, was a famed French military commander of the Renaissance. Nephew of King Louis XII of France and general of his armies in Italy from 1511 to 1512, he is noted for his military feats in a career which lasted no longer than a few months. The young general is regarded as a stellar commander well ahead of his time. An adept of lightning fast forced marches as well as sudden and bold offensives that destabilized contemporary armies and commanders, De Foix is mostly remembered for his six-month campaign against the Holy League in the War of the League of Cambrai. He met his end in said conflict, at the age of 22, during the Battle of Ravenna (1512), the last of his triumphs.
10/12/1472
Anne de Mowbray, 8th Countess of Norfolk (died 1481)
Anne de Mowbray, 8th Countess of Norfolk, later also Duchess of York and Duchess of Norfolk was an English noblewoman and the sole heiress of the Mowbray family. She became the child bride of Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, one of the Princes in the Tower, in January 1478 when she was five years old. Through this marriage, her vast inheritance—including extensive lands and titles—was tied to the royal family by an act of Parliament of 1483, ensuring her estates remained under King Edward IV’s control through Richard. Anne died at the age of eight in Greenwich, London. Her early death meant her titles and estates were absorbed into the crown and redistributed under subsequent acts of Parliament, impacting the later dynastic settlement of her inheritance.
10/12/1452
Johannes Stöffler, German mathematician and astronomer (died 1531)
Johannes Stöffler was a German mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, priest, maker of astronomical instruments and professor at the University of Tübingen.
10/12/1376
Edmund Mortimer, English nobleman and rebel (died 1409)
Sir Edmund Mortimer IV was an English nobleman and landowner who played a part in the rebellions of the Welsh leader Owain Glyndŵr and of the Percy family against King Henry IV, at the beginning of the 15th century. He perished at the siege of Harlech as part of these conflicts. He was related to many members of the English royal family through his mother, Princess Philippa, Countess of Ulster, who was a granddaughter of King Edward III of England.
10/12/0553
Houzhu, emperor of the Chen dynasty (died 604)
Chen Shubao, also known as Houzhu of Chen, posthumous name Duke Yáng of Chángchéng, courtesy name Yuánxiù (元秀), childhood name Huángnú (黃奴), was the fifth and last emperor of the Chinese Chen dynasty, which was conquered by the Sui dynasty in 589.