Born on Friday, 12th December – Famous Birthdays

12/12/2001

Michael Olise, French footballer

Michael Akpovie Olise is a professional footballer who plays as a winger and attacking midfielder for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. Born in England, he plays for the France national team. Regarded as one of the best wingers in the world, he is known for his creativity, dribbling, and flair.

---

12/12/1997

Ed Oliver, American football player

Edward Oliver is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Houston Cougars, winning numerous awards, and was selected by the Bills in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft.

---

12/12/1996

Lucas Hedges, American actor

Lucas Hedges is an American actor. A son of filmmaker Peter Hedges, he studied theater at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Hedges began his acting career with a supporting role in Wes Anderson's comedy-drama Moonrise Kingdom (2012). He had his breakthrough in 2016 playing a sardonic teenager in Kenneth Lonergan's drama Manchester by the Sea, which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, among other accolades. Hedges then starred as an aggressive youth in an off-Broadway production of Yen and had supporting roles in the coming-of-age film Lady Bird and the drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri in 2017.

---

12/12/1994

Otto Warmbier, American student imprisoned in North Korea (died 2017)

Otto Frederick Warmbier was an American college student who was imprisoned in North Korea in 2016 on a charge of subversion. In June 2017, he was released by North Korea in a vegetative state and died soon after his parents requested his feeding tube be removed.

---

12/12/1993

Zeli Ismail, English footballer

Zeli Ismail is a professional footballer who plays as a right midfielder for Cymru Premier club Connah's Quay Nomads. Born in Albania, he has represented England at both under-16 and under-17 level.

---

12/12/1991

Shohjahon Ergashev, Uzbek professional boxer

Shohjahon Ergashev is an Uzbek professional boxer. He challenged for the IBF super-lightweight title in 2023.

---

Joseph Leilua, Australian-Samoan rugby league player

Joseph Leilua is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays centre for the Wyong Roos in the Central Coast Division Rugby League.

---

12/12/1990

Nixon Chepseba, Kenyan runner

Nixon Kiplimo Chepseba is a Kenyan middle-distance runner (1.84m) who specializes in the 1500 metres. He was the 2011 Diamond League series winner of that event and has a personal best of 3:29.90 minutes.

---

Dawin, American singer-songwriter

Dawin Polanco, known mononymously as Dawin, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper and record producer from Brooklyn, New York. He is best known for the song "Dessert", which reached number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100.

---

Victor Moses, Nigerian footballer

Victor Moses is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Kazakhstan Premier League club Kaisar. He has also been deployed as a wing-back at times during his career.

---

Tyron Smith, American football player

Tyron Jerrar Smith is an American former professional football player who played offensive tackle in the National Football League for 14 seasons. He played college football for the USC Trojans where he won the Morris Trophy, recognizing the best offensive and defensive linemen on the West Coast, in 2010. Smith was selected by the Dallas Cowboys with the ninth overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft. He played 14 seasons with the Cowboys and finished his career with the New York Jets. Smith was an eight-time Pro Bowler, a 5 time All-Pro, and was named to the 2010s All-Decade Team.

---

12/12/1988

Isaac John, New Zealand rugby league player

Isaac John is a former professional rugby league footballer who previously played for the Mount Pritchard Mounties in the Intrust Super Premiership. A Cook Islands and New Zealand international representative, he played as a five-eighth and halfback and previously played for the New Zealand Warriors and Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League, and the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats in the Super League.

---

Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, Israeli Olympic marathon runner

Lonah Korlima Chemtai Salpeter is an Israeli Olympic runner. Born in Kenya, she represents Israel internationally. She won the bronze medal in the marathon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. At the European Athletics Championships in the 10,000 metres, Salpeter won the gold medal in 2018, and earned a bronze medal in 2022. She won the 2020 Tokyo Marathon, won the silver medal at the 2022 New York City Marathon, and finished third at the 2023 Boston Marathon.

---

12/12/1986

Daddy Birori, Rwandan footballer

Daddy Birori, also known as Etekiama Agiti Tady, is a footballer who plays as a forward for AS Vita Club. Born in Zaire, he made 18 appearances for the Rwanda national team scoring five goals.

---

Përparim Hetemaj, Finnish footballer

Përparim Hetemaj is a Finnish football coach and a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in Kosovo, Hetemaj arrived in Finland when he was six years old and played for HJK's youth teams; signing a professional contract in 2004 at age 17. He joined Greek side AEK Athens in 2006, and moved to Twente in 2009. Subsequently, in 2010, he was signed by Brescia and was transferred to Chievo in 2011. Hetemaj played a total of 300 matches in the Serie A, before returning to Finland in 2022 after a season with Reggina in the Serie B.

---

Nina Kolarič, Slovenian long jumper

Nina Kolarič is a Slovenian long jumper. She holds both the indoor and outdoor national records with jumps of 6.67 and 6.78 metres respectively.

---

T. J. Ward, American football player

Terrell Ray Williams "T. J." Ward Jr. is an American former professional football safety who played for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks, and was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft. Ward also played for the Denver Broncos, with whom he won Super Bowl 50.

---

12/12/1985

Pat Calathes, Greek-American basketball player

Patrick Sean Calathes is a Greek-American former professional basketball player. At a height of 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) tall, he played at both the small forward and power forward positions. He was the 2013 Israeli Basketball Premier League Finals MVP.

---

Andrew Ladd, Canadian ice hockey player

Andrew Joseph Ladd is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played for the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Atlanta Thrashers, Winnipeg Jets, New York Islanders and Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL).

---

12/12/1984

Daniel Agger, Danish footballer

Daniel Munthe Agger is a Danish professional football coach and former player who is the assistant manager of the Danish national football team. As a player, he played as a centre-back for Brøndby and Liverpool and captained the Denmark national team. Agger was described as "a fine reader of the game, comfortable on the ball and blessed with a ferocious shot". He was the 2007 and 2012 Danish Football Player of the Year.

---

12/12/1983

Roni Porokara, Finnish footballer

Roni Porokara is a Finnish entrepreneur and a former international footballer, who is currently working in a real estate business.

---

12/12/1982

Ervin Santana, Dominican baseball player

Ervin Ramon Santana is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Kansas City Royals (twice), Atlanta Braves, Minnesota Twins, and Chicago White Sox. Santana is a two-time All-Star, and he threw a no-hitter with the Angels in 2011.

---

Dmitry Tursunov, Russian tennis player and coach

Dmitry Igorevich Tursunov is a Russian tennis coach and former player. At age 12, he moved to the United States to train and further his prospects of becoming a professional player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 20, achieved in October 2006.

---

12/12/1981

Eddie Kingston, American wrestler

Edward Moore, better known by his ring name Eddie Kingston, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a one-time and the inaugural AEW Continental Champion. He also performs for AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a one-time ROH World Champion, and in Japan for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a one-time Strong Openweight Champion. He simultaneously defended all three championships as the singular Continental Crown Championship.

---

Pedro Ríos, Spanish footballer

Pedro Ríos Maestre is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a right winger.

---

Yuvraj Singh, Indian cricketer

Yuvraj Singh is an Indian former international cricketer who played in all formats of the game. An all-rounder who batted left-handed in the middle order and bowled slow left-arm orthodox, he has won 7 Player of the Series awards in One Day International cricket, which is the joint third-highest by an Indian cricketer, shared with former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly. He is the son of former Indian cricketer and actor Yograj Singh.

---

Stephen Warnock, English footballer

Stephen Warnock is an English former professional footballer who played as a left-back.

---

Andrew Whitworth, American football player and commentator

Andrew James Whitworth is an American former professional football tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He spent 11 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and five with the Los Angeles Rams. Noted for the longevity of his career, he retired as the oldest tackle in NFL history and was the oldest offensive lineman to win a Super Bowl.

---

12/12/1980

Dejene Berhanu, Ethiopian runner (died 2010)

Dejene Berhanu was a male Ethiopian runner, who specialized in the 5000 metres.

---

Dorin Goian, Romanian footballer

Dorin Nicolae Goian is a Romanian professional football manager and former player.

---

12/12/1979

Garrett Atkins, American baseball player

Garrett Bernard Atkins is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. Between 2003 and 2010, he played for the Colorado Rockies and Baltimore Orioles.

---

Nate Clements, American football player

Nathan D. Clements is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 2001 NFL draft with the 21st overall pick, and also played for the San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals.

---

John Salmons, American basketball player

John Rashall Salmons is an American former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Miami Hurricanes.

---

12/12/1977

Yoel Hernández, Cuban hurdler

Yoel Hernández Reyes is a Cuban track and field athlete who specialises in the 110 metres hurdles.

---

Orlando Hudson, American baseball player

Orlando Thill Hudson is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball from 2002 to 2012 with the Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox. Hudson was known for his fielding abilities, and for making spectacular lunging catches and diving stabs at grounders. His defensive talents were recognized in 2005, when he won his first American League Gold Glove Award while with the Toronto Blue Jays.

---

Dean Macey, English decathlete and bobsledder

Dean Macey is an English athlete from Canvey Island. He is best known for competing in the decathlon, which he did from 1995 to 2008, winning the Commonwealth Games decathlon, two World Championship medals, as well as twice finishing fourth in the Olympic Games. Retiring from decathlon due to injury, he competed in the bobsleigh between 2008 and 2010.

---

Colin White, Canadian ice hockey player

Colin White is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He previously played with the New Jersey Devils and the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL).

---

12/12/1975

Mayim Bialik, American actress, neuroscientist, and author

Mayim Chaya Bialik is an American actress and former game show host. From 1991 to 1995, she played the title character of the NBC sitcom Blossom. From 2010 to 2019, she played neuroscientist Amy Farrah Fowler on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, for which she was nominated four times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2015 and 2017. Bialik shared hosting duties of Jeopardy! with Ken Jennings on a rotating basis between August 2021 and December 2023.

---

Craig Moore, Australian footballer and manager

Craig Andrew Moore is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. His 2006 FIFA World Cup profile describes him as being "tough-tackling and uncompromising but also calm and composed under pressure."

---

12/12/1974

Bernard Lagat, Kenyan-American runner

Bernard Kipchirchir Lagat is a Kenyan-American former middle and long-distance runner.

---

Nolberto Solano, Peruvian footballer and manager

Nolberto Albino Solano Todco is a Peruvian football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of the Pakistan national team.

---

12/12/1972

Nicky Eaden, English footballer and coach

Nicholas Jeremy Eaden is an English football coach and former professional footballer, he is a senior professional development coach at EFL League One side Barnsley.

---

Craig Field, Australian rugby league player

Craig Field is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. Field played for South Sydney, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Balmain Tigers and Wests Tigers. His primary position was at halfback. His talent and leadership on the field was hampered by off-field incidents throughout his career. He served a jail term for the manslaughter of a 50-year-old man in 2012.

---

Wilson Kipketer, Kenyan-Danish runner

Wilson Kosgei Kipketer is a Danish former middle distance runner. With a personal best of 1:41.11, Kipketer is tied with Emmanuel Wanyonyi as the second fastest of all time over the 800 meter distance, behind David Rudisha. Kipketer set the world record and broke his own record two more times, all in 1997. He dominated the 800 m distance for a decade, remaining undefeated for a three-year period and running 8 of the 17 currently all-time fastest times. He won gold medals in three successive editions of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics. Though unable to compete in the 1996 Olympics near the peak of his career, he earned silver in 2000 and bronze in 2004. Kipketer's 800 meters world record stood for almost 13 years. It was surpassed on 22 August 2010, when David Rudisha beat it by 0.02 seconds, running 1:41.09. Kipketer held the short track world record in the 800 metres from 1997 until 2026.

---

Georgios Theodoridis, Greek sprinter

Georgios Theodoridis is a Greek sprinter specializing in the 60 metres and 100 metres.

---

12/12/1971

Sammy Korir, Kenyan runner

Sammy Korir is a long distance runner from Kenya.

---

12/12/1970

Mädchen Amick, American actress and director

Mädchen Amick is an American actress and television director. She is known for her starring role as Shelly Johnson on the television series Twin Peaks (1990–1991), its prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) and its revival television series Twin Peaks: The Return (2017). She appeared in the pilot episode of Baywatch (1989). She was a series regular on Central Park West (1995–1996), Freddie (2005–2006), and Witches of East End (2013–2014) and as Wendall Meade in ER (2004). In film, she had starring roles in Sleepwalkers (1992) and Dream Lover (1993). She also portrayed Alice Cooper on The CW's drama television series Riverdale (2017–2023).

---

Jennifer Connelly, American actress

Jennifer Lynn Connelly is an American actress. She began her career as a child model before making her acting debut in the 1984 crime film Once Upon a Time in America. After a few more years of modeling, she began to concentrate on acting, starring in a variety of films including the horror film Phenomena (1985), the musical fantasy film Labyrinth (1986), the romantic thriller The Hot Spot (1990), the romantic comedy Career Opportunities (1991), and the period superhero film The Rocketeer (1991). She received praise for her performance in the science fiction film Dark City (1998) and playing a drug addict in Darren Aronofsky's drama film Requiem for a Dream (2000).

---

Regina Hall, American actress

Regina Lee Hall is an American actress. She gained prominence for her portrayal of Brenda Meeks in the comedy-horror Scary Movie film series and has since built a versatile career spanning comedy and drama in both film and television. In 2018, Hall became the first African-American to win the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film Support the Girls.

---

12/12/1969

Wilfred Kirochi, Kenyan runner

Wilfred Kirochi is a former Kenyan middle-distance runner who won a silver medal at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo in the 1500 m event. Previously Kirochi had won two World Junior Championship titles in 1986 and 1988.

---

Fiona May, English-Italian long jumper

Fiona May is a retired track and field athlete who competed for the United Kingdom and later Italy in the long jump. She won the World Championships twice and two Olympic silver medals. Her personal best jump was 7.11 metres, which was her silver medal result at the 1998 European Championships.

---

Michael Möllenbeck, German discus thrower (died 2022)

Michael Friedrich Möllenbeck was a German discus thrower.

---

12/12/1968

Sašo Udovič, Slovenian footballer

Sašo Udovič is a Slovenian former professional footballer who played as a forward. With the Slovenia national team, he appeared at the 2000 UEFA European Championship.

---

12/12/1967

John Randle, American football player

John Anthony Randle is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for eleven seasons for the Minnesota Vikings and three seasons for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was a six-time first-team All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowler. Since becoming an official stat in 1982, his 137.5 sacks rank tenth, tied with Richard Dent, and first among defensive tackles. On February 6, 2010, he was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He played college football for the Trinity Valley Cardinals and the Texas A&I Javelinas, and was signed by the Vikings as an undrafted free agent after the 1990 NFL draft. He is considered one of the greatest undrafted players of all time.

---

12/12/1965

Russell Batiste Jr., American funk and R&B drummer (died 2023)

David Russell Batiste Jr. was an American drummer based in New Orleans. Batiste played drums for the bands the funky Meters, Papa Grows Funk, and Vida Blue.

---

Will Carling, English rugby union player

William David Charles Carling is an English former rugby union player. He was England's youngest captain, aged 22, and won 72 caps from 1988 to 1996, captaining England 59 times. Under his captaincy, England won Five Nations Grand Slams in 1991, 1992 and 1995, and reached the 1991 World Cup final.

---

12/12/1964

Haywood Jeffires, American football player and coach

Haywood Franklin Jeffires is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He was selected by the Houston Oilers in the first round of the 1987 NFL draft out of North Carolina State.

---

Sabu, American wrestler(died 2025)

Terrance Michael Brunk was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Sabu. He was known for his trademark style of hardcore wrestling, which he pioneered in his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). He was a three-time world champion, having held the ECW World Heavyweight Championship twice and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship once.

---

12/12/1963

Eduardo Castro Luque, Mexican businessman and politician (died 2012)

Eduardo Enrique Castro Luque was a Mexican politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). At the time of his killing, he was a deputy-elect from Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, to the Congress of Sonora.

---

12/12/1962

Tracy Austin, American tennis player and sportscaster

Tracy Ann Austin Holt is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 21 weeks. Austin won 30 WTA Tour-level singles titles, including two major titles at the 1979 and 1981 US Opens, and five doubles titles, including the mixed doubles title at the 1980 Wimbledon Championships, partnering her brother John. She won the 1980 WTA Tour Championships and the year-ending 1981 Toyota Championships, both in singles.

---

Arturo Barrios, Mexican-American runner

Arturo Barrios Flores is a Mexican and American long-distance runner who set the 10,000 m world record in 1989, the one hour world record in 1991, and the 20,000 m world record en route to the one hour run world record.

---

Mike Golic, American football player and radio host

Michael Louis Golic Sr. is an American television host and former professional football player. He played as defensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL). Golic is well known for his 25-year association with ESPN, most notably co-hosting ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike from 2000 to 2017. He currently co-hosts a talk show with his son, Mike Golic Jr., on FanDuel Sports Network.

---

12/12/1961

Andrey Perlov, Russian race walker

Andrey Borisovich Perlov is a retired race walker who represented the USSR and later Russia.

---

12/12/1960

Martina Hellmann, German discus thrower

Martina Helga Hellmann is a retired German track and field athlete who represented East Germany. She was the Olympic champion in the discus throw at the 1988 Summer Olympics. She also won the World Championship in that event in 1983 and again in 1987.

---

12/12/1958

Sheree J. Wilson, American actress

Sheree J. Wilson is an American actress, producer, businesswoman, and model. She is best known for her roles as April Stevens Ewing on the American primetime television series Dallas (1986–1991) and as Alex Cahill-Walker on the television series Walker, Texas Ranger (1993–2001).

---

12/12/1957

Sheila E., American singer and musician

Sheila Cecilia Escovedo, known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Regarded as one of the greatest percussionists of her generation, she is a multi-instrumentalist known for playing drums and percussion. She is sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Percussion". Her music incorporates a wide variety of styles, including R&B, funk, jazz, pop, synth-pop, latin pop, and salsa.

---

12/12/1956

Johan van der Velde, Dutch cyclist

Johan van der Velde is a former Dutch cyclist. In the 1980 Tour de France, he won the young rider classification, also placing 12th in the general classification that year. He had been a racing cyclist for only a year. In the 1981 Tour de France, he took first place on the second and 21st stages, finishing 12th overall for the second year. He rode with TI–Raleigh in the Tour de France from 1979 to 1983 and the Panasonic team where he won Stage 5 and wore the Yellow Jersey for two days in the 1986 Tour de France.

---

12/12/1955

Eddy Schepers, Belgian cyclist

Eddy Schepers is a Belgian former professional cyclist. He was a professional cyclist from 1978 to 1990 where he rode for many teams including C&A, Carrera and Fagor–MBK. He started out in the C&A cycling team of Belgian Eddy Merckx before riding for various teams. He competed in the individual road race event at the 1976 Summer Olympics.

---

Stephen Smith, Australian politician

Stephen Francis Smith is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th high commissioner of Australia to the United Kingdom from 2023 to 2026. A member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), he was the federal member of Parliament (MP) for the division of Perth from 1993 to 2013, serving in the Rudd and Gillard governments as minister for Foreign Affairs from 2007 to 2010, minister for Trade in 2010 and minister for Defence from 2010 to 2013.

---

12/12/1953

Martin Ferguson, Australian lawyer and politician

Martin John Ferguson is an Australian former Labor Party politician who was the Member of the House of Representatives for Batman from 1996 to 2013. He served as Minister for Resources and Energy and Minister for Tourism in the Rudd and Gillard governments from 2007 to 2013.

---

Rafael Septién, Mexican-American football player

José Rafael Septién Michel is a Mexican-American former placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

---

12/12/1952

Cathy Rigby, American gymnast

Cathleen Roxanne Rigby, known as Cathy Rigby, is an actress, speaker, and former artistic gymnast. Her performance in the 1968 Summer Olympics helped to popularize the sport of gymnastics in the United States.

---

12/12/1951

Rehman Malik, Pakistani politician, Pakistani Minister of Interior (died 2022)

Rehman Malik NI was a Pakistani politician, and a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officer, who later served as the federal Interior Minister from 25 March 2008 until 16 March 2013.

---

12/12/1950

Pedro Ferriz de Con, Mexican journalist

Pedro Ferriz de Con is a Mexican radio and TV news anchor. During the 1990s, he worked for the Multivision Network. In January 2000, he left MVS and went to Grupo Imagen, where he hosted the morning newscast on XEDA-FM until August 25, 2014. He also hosted the evening newscast of Cadenatres from 2007 to 2012.

---

Heiner Flassbeck, German economist and academic

Heiner Flassbeck is a German economist and public intellectual. From 1998 to 1999 he was a State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry of Finance where he also advised former finance minister Oskar Lafontaine on a reform of the European Monetary System. He became the Chief of Macroeconomics and Development of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva in January 2003, a position that he held until resigning at the end of 2012 due to his age.

---

Rajinikanth, Indian actor

Shivaji Rao Gaikwad, known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 170 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Bangla, and Malayalam. He is widely regarded to be one of the most successful and popular actors in the history of Indian cinema. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 2000 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2016, India's third and second highest civilian honours respectively, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2019, the highest Indian award in the field of cinema, and the IFFI Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to world cinema.

---

Billy Smith, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager

William John Smith is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in 1970, Smith went through the minor leagues for two years before making his professional debut in 1972, where he won one of his five starts. In June of that year, he was drafted in the NHL Expansion Draft by the New York Islanders, where he would share duties for his first two seasons before becoming the primary goaltender in 1974, which would be the first of thirteen consecutive seasons where they would play the Stanley Cup playoffs.

---

Gorman Thomas, American baseball player

James Gorman Thomas III is an American former professional baseball player. He played Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder and right-handed hitter. Thomas played in the American League (AL) with the Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Indians (1983) and Seattle Mariners (1984–86).

---

12/12/1949

Bill Nighy, English actor

William Francis Nighy is a British actor. Known for his work on stage and screen, he has received various accolades including two BAFTA Awards and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, a Tony Award, a Laurence Olivier Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

---

Marc Ravalomanana, Malagasy businessman and politician, President of Madagascar

Marc Ravalomanana is a Malagasy politician who served as the sixth president of Madagascar from 2002 to 2009.

---

David Abulafia, English historian (died 2026)

David Samuel Harvard Abulafia was an English historian with a particular interest in Italy, Spain and the rest of the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. He spent most of his career at the University of Cambridge, rising to become a professor at the age of 50. He retired in 2017 as Professor Emeritus of Mediterranean History. He was a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. He was Chairman of the History Faculty at Cambridge University, 2003–2005, and was elected a member of the governing Council of Cambridge University in 2008. He was visiting Beacon Professor at the new University of Gibraltar, where he also served on the Academic Board. He was a visiting professor at the College of Europe.

---

12/12/1948

Randy Smith, American basketball player (died 2009)

Randolph Smith was an American professional basketball player who set the NBA record for consecutive games played. From 1972 to 1982, Smith played in every regular season game, en route to a then-record of 906 straight games. In college, he was a Division II All-American basketball player, soccer player and track athlete. He was born in Bellport, New York.

---

Colin Todd, English football player and coach

Colin Todd is an English football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Esbjerg fB. As a player, he made more than 600 appearances in the Football League, playing as a defender for Sunderland, Derby County, Everton, Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest, Oxford United and Luton Town, and also played in the North American Soccer League for the Vancouver Whitecaps. He won two Football League titles with Derby County during the 1970s, and won the PFA Players' Player of the Year award in 1975. He was capped by England on 27 occasions.

---

12/12/1947

Wings Hauser, American actor (died 2025)

Gerald Dwight "Wings" Hauser was an American actor, screenwriter, film director and musician. A prolific character actor, he appeared in over 100 film and television productions since 1967, and was once called "the biggest star you've never heard of". He received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Male for his role in Tough Guys Don't Dance (1987). He is the father of actor Cole Hauser.

---

Don Keith, American writer

Don Keith is an American writer, best known for his books series Hunter Killer (2003–2023) co-authored with George Wallace, of which the novel Firing Point (2011) was adapted into the film Hunter Killer (2018). He has also authored several biographies, young adult novels, and military history books.

---

Chris Mullin, English journalist and politician

Christopher John Mullin is a British journalist, author and Labour politician.

---

12/12/1946

Emerson Fittipaldi, Brazilian racing driver

Emerson Fittipaldi is a Brazilian former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from 1970 to 1980. Fittipaldi won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in 1972 and 1974 with Lotus and McLaren, respectively; he won 14 Grands Prix across 11 seasons. In American open-wheel racing, Fittipaldi won the IndyCar World Series in 1989 with Patrick, and is a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500.

---

12/12/1945

Gísli S. Einarsson, Icelandic politician

Gísli Sveinbjörn Einarsson is an Icelandic politician and former member of the Althing. A member of the Social Democratic Alliance, he represented the Western constituency from September 1993 to May 2003.

---

Tony Williams, American drummer, composer, and producer (died 1997)

Anthony Tillmon Williams was an American jazz drummer. Williams first gained fame as a member of Miles Davis's "Second Great Quintet", and later pioneered jazz fusion with Davis's group and his own combo, The Tony Williams Lifetime. In 1970, music critic Robert Christgau described him as "probably the best drummer in the world". Williams was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame in 1997.

---

12/12/1943

Dickey Betts, American musician and songwriter (died 2024)

Forrest Richard "Dickey" Betts was an American rock guitarist and vocalist, best known as a longtime member of the Allman Brothers Band. A co-founder of the band when it formed in 1969, he was central to the group's greatest commercial success in the mid-1970s, and was the writer and vocalist on the Allmans' hit single "Ramblin' Man". The Allman Brothers Band broke up and re-formed twice, always with Betts in the lineup, until he left the group in 2000.

---

Grover Washington, Jr., American singer-songwriter, saxophonist, and producer (died 1999)

Grover Washington Jr. was an American jazz-funk and soul-jazz saxophonist and Grammy Award winner. Along with Wes Montgomery and George Benson, he is considered by many to be one of the founders and legends of the smooth jazz genre. He wrote some of his material and later became an arranger and producer.

---

12/12/1942

Bob Thompson, American jazz pianist, composer and arranger

Robert H. "Bob" Thompson is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger based in West Virginia, whose music career has spanned for over 50 years. He is the featured house pianist for West Virginia's Public Broadcasting nationally syndicated show, Mountain Stage, and is the founding member of The Bob Thompson Unit.

---

12/12/1940

Sharad Pawar, Indian politician, Indian Minister of Agriculture

Sharadchandra Govindrao Pawar is an Indian politician who has served as a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha since 2014, representing the Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar. Pawar has served three terms as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and held cabinet positions in the Union Council of Ministers, including Minister of Defence under P. V. Narasimha Rao and Minister of Agriculture under Manmohan Singh. He founded the original NCP in 1999; however, following a party split in July 2023, he now leads the NCP faction, following a split from the Indian National Congress. Pawar has been involved in several coalition governments and political alliances in Maharashtra.

---

Dionne Warwick, American singer

Marie Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame, the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Apollo Theater Walk of Fame. In 2019, Warwick won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Three of her songs have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

---

12/12/1937

Connie Francis, American singer, musician, and actress (died 2025)

Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero, known professionally as Connie Francis, was an American singer and actress. One of the top-charting female vocalists of the late 1950s and early 1960s, she amassed over 200 million records sold, placing her among the best-selling music artists in history.

---

Philip Ledger, English pianist, composer, and academic (died 2012)

Sir Philip Stevens Ledger, CBE, FRSE was an English classical musician, choirmaster and academic, best remembered as Director of the Choir of King's College, Cambridge from 1974 to 1982 and of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama from 1982 until he retired in 2001. He also composed choral music and played the organ, piano and harpsichord.

---

12/12/1936

Iolanda Balaș, Romanian high jumper and educator (died 2016)

Iolanda Balaș was a Romanian athlete, an Olympic champion and former world record holder in the high jump. She was the first Romanian woman to win an Olympic gold medal and is considered to have been one of the greatest high jumpers of the twentieth century.

---

12/12/1934

Miguel de la Madrid, Mexican lawyer and politician, 52nd President of Mexico (died 2012)

Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado was a Mexican politician and lawyer affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who served as the 59th president of Mexico from 1982 to 1988.

---

12/12/1933

Christa Stubnick, German sprinter (died 2021)

Christa Stubnick was an East German sprinter who competed for the United Team of Germany in the 1956 Summer Olympics. She won silver medals in the 100 m and 200 m events, splitting the Australians Betty Cuthbert (winner) and Marlene Matthews (third). Her 4 × 100 m relay team finished sixth.

---

12/12/1932

Bob Pettit, American basketball player and coach

Robert Lee Pettit Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), all with the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks (1954–1965). In 1956, he became the first recipient of the NBA's Most Valuable Player Award and he won the award again in 1959. He also won the NBA All-Star Game MVP award four times. As of the end of 2024–2025 regular season, Pettit is still the only regular season MVP in the history of the Hawks. Pettit is the Hawks' franchise leader for most career rebounds (12,849), and most rebounds per game with 16.2.

---

12/12/1929

Toshiko Akiyoshi, Japanese pianist and composer

Toshiko Akiyoshi is a Japanese jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader.

---

12/12/1928

Helen Frankenthaler, American painter and academic (died 2011)

Helen Frankenthaler was an American abstract expressionist painter. She was a major contributor to the history of postwar American painting. Having exhibited her work for over six decades, she spanned several generations of abstract painters while continuing to produce vital and ever-changing new work. Frankenthaler began exhibiting her large-scale abstract expressionist paintings in contemporary museums and galleries in the early 1950s. She was included in the 1964 Post-Painterly Abstraction exhibition curated by Clement Greenberg that introduced a newer generation of abstract painting that came to be known as color field. Born in Manhattan, she was influenced by Greenberg, Hans Hofmann, and Jackson Pollock's paintings. Her work has been the subject of several retrospective exhibitions, including a 1989 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and been exhibited worldwide since the 1950s. In 2001, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts.

---

12/12/1927

Robert Noyce, American inventor and businessman, co-founded the Intel Corporation (died 1990)

Robert Norton Noyce, nicknamed "the Mayor of Silicon Valley", was an American physicist and entrepreneur who co-founded Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957 and Intel Corporation in 1968. He was also credited with the realization of the first monolithic integrated circuit or microchip made with silicon, which fueled the personal computer revolution and gave Silicon Valley its name.

---

12/12/1926

Étienne-Émile Baulieu, French biochemist and endocrinologist (died 2025)

Étienne-Émile Baulieu was a French biochemist and endocrinologist who was best known for his research in the field of steroid hormones and their role in reproduction and aging. He has been nicknamed the “father” of the abortion pill mainly as a result of his work on the abortion-inducing drug RU486 (Mifepristone). Baulieu also worked to determine if dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) was a prohormone and if it and other hormonal substitutions also increased longevity in humans.

---

12/12/1925

Ted Kennedy, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2009)

Theodore Samuel "Teeder" Kennedy was a professional ice hockey player. A centre, he spent his entire career with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1943 to 1957 and was captain for eight seasons. Along with Turk Broda, he was the first player in NHL history to win five Stanley Cups, and he was the last Maple Leaf to win the Hart Trophy for most valuable player, until Auston Matthews in 2022. He was an essential contributor to the Maple Leafs becoming what many consider as the National Hockey League's first dynasty. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966. He has been called the quintessential Maple Leaf and by some the greatest player in the team's history. In 2017 Kennedy was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.

---

Dattu Phadkar, Indian cricketer (died 1985)

Dattatraya Gajanan "Dattu" Phadkar was an all-rounder who represented India in Test cricket.

---

Vladimir Shainsky, Ukrainian-Russian pianist and composer (died 2017)

Vladimir Yakovlevich Shainsky was a Soviet and Russian composer. He was a recipient of the People's Artist of the RSFSR (1986).

---

12/12/1924

Ed Koch, American politician, 105th Mayor of New York City (died 2013)

Edward Irving Koch was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989. A popular figure, Koch rode the New York City Subway and stood at street corners greeting passersby with the slogan "How'm I doin'?"

---

12/12/1923

Bob Barker, American game show host and producer (died 2023)

Robert William Barker was an American media personality, game show host, and animal rights advocate. He hosted CBS's The Price Is Right, the longest-running game show in North American television history, from 1972 to 2007. Barker also hosted Truth or Consequences from 1956 to 1975.

---

Bob Dorough, American musician, composer, and producer (died 2018)

Robert Lrod Dorough was an American bebop and cool jazz vocalist, pianist, and composer. He became famous as the composer and performer of songs in the TV series Schoolhouse Rock!, as well as for his work with Miles Davis, Blossom Dearie, and others.

---

Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, Ethiopian pianist, composer and nun (died 2023)

Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, was an Ethiopian composer, pianist, and nun. She is generally known as Emahoy, a religious honorific.

---

12/12/1920

Josef Doležal, Czech race walker (died 1999)

Josef Doležal was a Czech athlete who competed mainly in the 50 kilometre walk.

---

12/12/1918

Joe Williams, American singer and pianist (died 1999)

Joe Williams was an American jazz singer. He sang with big bands, such as the Count Basie Orchestra and the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, and with small combos. He sang in two films with the Basie orchestra and sometimes worked as an actor.

---

12/12/1915

Frank Sinatra, American singer, actor, and producer (died 1998)

Francis Albert Sinatra was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of the 20th century.

---

12/12/1914

Patrick O'Brian, English author (died 2000)

Patrick O'Brian, born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series. These sea novels are set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centre on the friendship of the English naval captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish–Catalan physician Stephen Maturin. The 20-novel series, the first of which is Master and Commander, is known for its well-researched and highly detailed portrayal of early 19th-century life, as well as its authentic and evocative language. A partially finished 21st novel in the series was published posthumously containing facing pages of handwriting and typescript.

---

12/12/1912

Henry Armstrong, American boxer (died 1988)

Henry Jackson Jr. was an American professional boxer and a world boxing champion who fought under the name Henry Armstrong. He is the only fighter to ever hold world championships in three divisions simultaneously.

---

12/12/1907

Roy Douglas, English pianist and composer (died 2015)

Richard Roy Douglas was an English composer, pianist and arranger. He worked as musical assistant to William Walton and Ralph Vaughan Williams, made well-known orchestrations of works such as Les Sylphides and Richard Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto, and wrote a quantity of original music.

---

12/12/1901

Harald Kaarmann, Estonian footballer (died 1942)

Harald Kaarmann was an Estonian footballer and bandy player.

---

12/12/1893

Edward G. Robinson, American actor (died 1973)

Edward Goldenberg Robinson was an American actor who was popular during Hollywood's Golden Age. After making his stage debut in 1913, he rose to stardom with his performance as the title character in Little Caesar (1931) and became well known for his portrayals of gangsters. He starred in a variety of films, including the biopics Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet and A Dispatch from Reuters and the film noirs Double Indemnity and The Woman in the Window.

---

12/12/1881

Louise Thuliez, French school teacher, resistance fighter during World War I and World War II and author (died 1966)

Louise Thuliez was a French schoolteacher, resistance fighter during World War I and World War II and author.

---

12/12/1876

Alvin Kraenzlein, American hurdler and runner (died 1928)

Alvin Christian "Al" Kraenzlein was an American track-and-field athlete known as "the father of the modern hurdling technique". He was the first sportsman in the history of the Olympic games to win four individual gold medals in a single discipline at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. As of 2016, Alvin Kraenzlein is the only track-and-field athlete who has won four individual titles at one Olympics. Kraenzlein is also known for developing a pioneering technique of straight-leg hurdling, which allowed him to set two world hurdle records. He is an Olympic Hall of Fame (1984) and National Track and Field Hall of Fame (1974) inductee.

---

12/12/1870

Walter Benona Sharp, American businessman, co-founded Hughes Tool Company (died 1912)

Walter Benona Sharp was an American oilman and innovator in drilling techniques.

---

12/12/1866

Alfred Werner, Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1919)

Alfred Werner was a Swiss chemist who was a student at ETH Zurich and a professor at the University of Zurich. He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1913 for proposing the octahedral configuration of transition metal complexes. Werner developed the basis for modern coordination chemistry. He was the first inorganic chemist to win the Nobel Prize, and the only one prior to 1973.

---

12/12/1863

Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter (died 1944)

Edvard Munch was a Norwegian painter. His 1893 work The Scream has become one of the most iconic and acclaimed images in all of Western art.

---

12/12/1845

Bruce Price, American architect, designed the American Surety Building and Bank of the Metropolis (died 1903)

Bruce Price was an American architect and an innovator in the Shingle Style. The stark geometry and compact massing of his cottages in Tuxedo Park, New York, influenced Modernist architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright and Robert Venturi.

---

12/12/1842

Adolf Bötticher, German journalist and historian (died 1901)

Adolf Bötticher or Adolf Boetticher was a German art historian and conservator.

---

12/12/1830

Joseph Orville Shelby, Confederate general (died 1897)

Joseph Orville "J.O." Shelby was a Confederate officer who commanded cavalry in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. After the Confederacy surrendered, Shelby tried to swear fealty to Emperor Maximilian I during the second French intervention in Mexico. With the Emperor's permission, Shelby formed the New Virginia Colony, a colony of Confederate exiles in Mexico, until the end of the intervention in 1867, after which he abandoned the colony.

---

12/12/1821

Gustave Flaubert, French novelist (died 1880)

Gustave Flaubert was a French novelist. He has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country and abroad. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flaubert, realism strives for formal perfection, so the presentation of reality tends to be neutral, emphasizing the values and importance of style as an objective method of presenting reality". He is known especially for his debut novel Madame Bovary (1857), his Correspondence, and his scrupulous devotion to his style and aesthetics. The celebrated short story writer Guy de Maupassant was a protégé of Flaubert.

---

12/12/1812

John Sandfield Macdonald, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of Ontario (died 1872)

John Sandfield Macdonald, was the joint premier of the Province of Canada from 1862 to 1864. He was also the first premier of Ontario from 1867 to 1871, one of the four founding provinces created at Confederation in 1867. He served as both premier and attorney general of Ontario from July 16, 1867, to December 20, 1871.

---

12/12/1806

Stand Watie, American general (died 1871)

Brigadier-General Stand Watie, also known as Standhope Uwatie and Isaac S. Watie, was a Cherokee politician who served as the second principal chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1862 to 1866. The Cherokee Nation allied with the Confederate States during the American Civil War, and he was subsequently the only Native American Confederate general officer. Watie commanded Indian forces in the Trans-Mississippi Theater, made up mostly of Cherokee, Muskogee, and Seminole. He was the last Confederate States Army general to surrender.

---

12/12/1805

Henry Wells, American businessman, co-founded Wells Fargo and American Express (died 1878)

Henry Wells was an American businessman important in the history of both the American Express Company and Wells Fargo & Company. Wells worked as a freight agent before joining the express business. His companies, which were the predecessors of American Express and Wells Fargo, competed with the United States Post Office by carrying mail at less than the government rate. In higher education, Wells was the founder of Wells College in Aurora, New York.

---

12/12/1799

Karl Bryullov, Russian painter (died 1852)

Karl Pavlovich Bryullov was a Russian painter and draughtsman during the Romantic period, remembered among the greatest visual artists in the history of Russian art.

---

12/12/1786

William L. Marcy, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 21st United States Secretary of State (died 1857)

William Learned Marcy was an American lawyer, politician, and judge who served as U.S. Senator, the eleventh Governor of New York, U.S. Secretary of War and the twenty-first U.S. Secretary of State. In the latter office, he negotiated the Gadsden Purchase, the last major acquisition of land in the contiguous United States.

---

12/12/1724

Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, English admiral and politician (died 1816)

Admiral Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As a junior officer he saw action during the War of the Austrian Succession. While in temporary command of Antelope, Hood drove a French ship ashore in Audierne Bay, and captured two privateers in 1757 during the Seven Years' War. He held senior command as Commander-in-Chief, North American Station and then as Commander-in-Chief, Leeward Islands Station.

---

12/12/1685

Lodovico Giustini, Italian pianist and composer (died 1743)

Lodovico Giustini was an Italian composer and keyboard player of the late Baroque and early Classical eras. He was the first known composer ever to write music for the piano.

---

12/12/1526

Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz, Spanish admiral (died 1588)

Álvaro de Bazán y Guzmán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz, was a Spanish admiral and nobleman. He took part, among others, in the seizure of the rock of Vélez de la Gomera (1564), the relief to the besieged during the sieges of Oran (1563) and Malta (1565), the Battle of Lepanto (1571), the conquest of Tunis (1573), the incorporation of Portugal to the Spanish monarchy (1580), and the conquest of Terceira (1582).

---