Born on Sunday, 14th December – Famous Birthdays

14/12/2002

Francisco Conceição, Portuguese footballer

Francisco "Chico" Fernandes da Conceição is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Serie A club Juventus and the Portugal national team.

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14/12/2001

Joshua Rush, American actor and activist

Joshua Nisenson, also known as Joshua Rush, is an American actor and political activist. He is known for playing Cyrus Goodman on the Disney Channel series Andi Mack (2017–2019), the first openly-gay character on the network. Rush earned significant praise and media coverage for his performance, as well as a Young Entertainer Award in 2019.

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14/12/1998

Lonnie Walker IV, American basketball player

Lonnie Walker IV is an American professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Ligat HaAl and the EuroLeague. In high school, he was named Mr. Pennsylvania Basketball and earned McDonald's All-American honors. Walker played college basketball for the Miami Hurricanes.

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Kim Ji-woong, South Korean singer and actor

Kim Ji-woong is a South Korean singer and actor. Kim is best known for competing on the reality competition show Boys Planet where he ranked 8th in the final episode, earning him a spot in the South Korean boy band Zerobaseone. Prior to this, Kim was a member of the boy group INX under the name Jinam until their disbandment in 2017. He made his debut as an actor in the web series The Sweet Blood (2021), and is best known for his role in Kissable Lips (2022).

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14/12/1997

DK Metcalf, American football player

DeKaylin Zecharius Metcalf is an American professional football wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels and was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 2019 NFL draft. After six seasons with the Seahawks, Metcalf was traded to the Steelers in 2025. He has one All-Pro selection and has been named to the Pro Bowl twice.

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14/12/1996

Barbie Ferreira, American actress and model

Barbara "Barbie" Seppe Ferreira is an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Kat Hernandez in the HBO series Euphoria (2019–2022).

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Raphinha, Brazilian footballer

Raphael Dias Belloli, known mononymously as Raphinha, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for La Liga club Barcelona and the Brazil national team. Known for his pace, playmaking, work rate, and finishing, he is considered one of the best players in the world.

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Li Zijun, Chinese figure skater

Li Zijun is a retired Chinese competitive figure skater. She is the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic bronze medalist and the 2014 Four Continents bronze medalist. Li is also the 2017 Asian Winter Games silver medalist, 2010 JGP Final bronze medalist, and a four-time (2011–2014) Chinese national champion.

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14/12/1995

Ivan Barbashev, Russian ice hockey player

Ivan Dmitrievich Barbashev is a Russian professional ice hockey player who is a forward for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). Barbashev was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the second round, 33rd overall, of the 2014 NHL entry draft.

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Calvyn Justus, South African swimmer

Calvyn Justus is a South African swimmer. He represented South Africa in the men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He is an alumnus of Westville Boys' High School. In 2018, Justus secured a bronze medal in the 4x100 medley relay at the Commonwealth Games, along with teammates Chad Le Clos, Cameron van der Burgh and Brad Tandy.

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Álvaro Odriozola, Spanish footballer

Álvaro Odriozola Arzallus is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right-back for La Liga club Real Sociedad.

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14/12/1994

Kuldeep Yadav, Indian cricketer

Kuldeep Yadav is an Indian international cricketer. A left-arm unorthodox spinner, he plays for Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket and Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League. He was a member of the Indian team that won the 2024 and 2026 T20 World Cups and the 2025 Champions Trophy.

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14/12/1993

Antonio Giovinazzi, Italian race car driver

Antonio Maria Giovinazzi is an Italian racing driver who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Ferrari. Giovinazzi competed in Formula One between 2017 and 2021. In endurance racing, Giovinazzi won the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2025 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2023, both with Ferrari.

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14/12/1992

Tori Kelly, American singer-songwriter

Victoria Loren "Tori" Kelly is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained recognition on YouTube before making it through to Hollywood week on the ninth season of American Idol in 2010 and eventually releasing her debut EP, Handmade Songs (2012).

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Ryo Miyaichi, Japanese footballer

Ryō Miyaichi is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a winger for J1 League club Yokohama F. Marinos, and the Japan national team.

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14/12/1991

Ben Henry, New Zealand rugby league player

Ben Henry is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand and played for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League competition. Henry was a utility player who could fill in at lock, second-row, centre and hooker.

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Offset, American rapper

Kiari Kendrell Cephus, known professionally as Offset, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for being a member of the Atlanta-based hip-hop trio Migos. Formed with fellow rappers Quavo and Takeoff in 2008, the group released four commercially successful studio albums—Yung Rich Nation (2015), Culture (2017), Culture II (2018) and Culture III (2021)—before disbanding in 2023.

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14/12/1990

Robert Covington, American basketball player

Robert Covington is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Tennessee State Tigers, and, in 2018, he was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team.

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14/12/1989

Pedro Botelho, Brazilian footballer

Pedro Roberto da Silva Botelho is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Rio Branco. Mainly a left back, he can also play as a left midfielder.

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Sam Burgess, English rugby league player

Samuel Burgess is an English professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Warrington Wolves in the Super League. He is a former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer.

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Onew, South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer

Lee Jin-ki, known professionally as Onew, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, and actor. Born in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi-do, Onew was discovered at the 2006 SM Academy Casting and signed a contract with SM Entertainment the day after his audition. He debuted as the lead vocalist and leader of the South Korean boy band Shinee in May 2008, who went on to become one of the best-selling artists in South Korea.

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14/12/1988

Nicolas Batum, French basketball player

Nicolas Madelin Victor Andre Batum is a French professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also a member of the French national team and earned a silver medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

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Nate Ebner, American football player

Nathan Ebner is an American former professional football player who was a safety and special teamer in the National Football League (NFL). He was a rugby sevens player for the United States national rugby sevens team.

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Vanessa Hudgens, American actress and singer

Vanessa Anne Hudgens is an American actress and singer. After making her feature film debut in Thirteen (2003), Hudgens rose to fame portraying Gabriella Montez in the High School Musical film series (2006–2008), which brought her mainstream recognition. Through Hollywood Records she released two albums, V (2006) and Identified (2008).

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Hayato Sakamoto, Japanese baseball player

Hayato Sakamoto is a Japanese professional baseball shortstop with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

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14/12/1987

Kenneth Medwood, Belizean-American hurdler

Kenneth Nathaniel Medwood is a Belizean track and field athlete, specializing in the 400 metres hurdles. He competed in the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Athletics and was his nation's flagbearer in the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

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14/12/1985

Jakub Błaszczykowski, Polish footballer

Jakub "Kuba" Błaszczykowski is a Polish businessman and former professional footballer who played as a winger. He is a part owner of Polish football club Wisła Kraków, where he began his professional career and established himself at a young age. In 2007, he joined Borussia Dortmund, where he spent the majority of his career, making over 250 appearances and winning two Bundesliga titles, two DFL-Supercups, and one DFB-Pokal.

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Alex Pennie, Welsh keyboard player

Alexander Gregor Pennie is a Welsh musician and a former member of the band the Automatic, where he provided backing vocals in addition to playing the synthesizer and keyboard. He left the Automatic in late 2007, soon forming Goodtime Boys in 2009. They disbanded in 2015.

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Tom Smith, English-Welsh rugby player

Thomas Mitchell Smith is a Welsh rugby union player. A flanker, he currently plays for Welsh regional team Ospreys having previously played for Neath RFC and the Ospreys academy.

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Nonami Takizawa, Japanese actress and singer

Nonami Takizawa is a Japanese gravure idol, and a female talent. She is best known for her voluptuous figure. She is from Gunma, and her nickname is 'Nonamin'. She retired from modeling as of 2011.

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14/12/1984

Chris Brunt, Northern Irish footballer

Christopher Colin Brunt is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently the loan player manager of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion.

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Rana Daggubati, Indian actor and producer

Ramanaidu "Rana" Daggubati is an Indian actor, film producer, and entrepreneur who primarily works in Telugu cinema, in addition to Tamil and Hindi films. He is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award, two Nandi Award, six SIIMA Awards and three Filmfare Awards South.

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Ed Rainsford, Zimbabwean cricketer

Edward Charles Rainsford is a Zimbabwean cricket commentator and former cricketer. He has played 39 One Day Internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals for Zimbabwe. His sister, Yvonne Rainsford is a Zimbabwean cricketer who was also a member of the first Zimbabwe women's cricket team when they made their international debut in 2006.

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Jackson Rathbone, American actor, singer, and musician

Monroe Jackson Rathbone V is an American actor, singer, and musician best known for his roles as Jasper Hale in The Twilight Saga and Sokka in the live-action The Last Airbender (2010). From 2008 to 2012, he was the vocalist and occasional guitarist, bassist, drummer, and keyboardist of the funk rock band 100 Monkeys.

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14/12/1983

Leanne Mitchell, English singer-songwriter

Leanne Mitchell is an English pop singer, best known for winning the first series of The Voice UK on 2 June 2012. Mitchell released her debut solo single "Run to You" on 3 June 2012.

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14/12/1982

Josh Fields, American baseball player

Joshua Dean Fields is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yomiuri Giants.

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Steve Sidwell, English footballer

Steven James Sidwell is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

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Anthony Way, English singer and actor

Anthony Way is an English chorister and classical singer, who rose to fame after appearing as a chorister in a BBC TV series. He has since had success as a recording artist, with gold and platinum discs to his credit.

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14/12/1981

Amber Chia, Malaysian model

Amber Chia is a Malaysian model, actress, TV host and brand ambassador. She was born in Teluk Intan, Malaysia but grew up in the town of Tawau in Sabah, East Malaysia. Chia started her own company called Amber Creations in mid-2009 and a modelling school Amber Chia Academy in August 2010.

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Johnny Jeter, American wrestler

John Jeter is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2006 as Johnny, a member of The Spirit Squad.

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Liam Lawrence, Irish footballer

Liam Lawrence is a former professional footballer who played as a right winger. He is currently interim head coach of Stoke City Under-21s.

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Shaun Marcum, American baseball player

Shaun Michal Marcum is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets, and Cleveland Indians. In 2015, he became the pitching coach for the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers. He joined the Missouri Southern Lions as their pitching coach in August 2016.

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14/12/1980

Thed Björk, Swedish race car driver

Thed Björk Bang-Melchior is a Swedish racing driver, and 2017 World Touring Car Champion. Other notable titles include the 2006 Swedish Touring Car Championship and the 2013, 2014 and 2015 Scandinavian Touring Car Championship. He also finished second in 2005 and 2009, and third in the 2008 STCC and the 2012 TTA – Racing Elite League.

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Gordon Greer, Scottish footballer

Gordon Greer is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a defender. Greer played for Clyde, Blackburn Rovers, Stockport County, Kilmarnock, Doncaster Rovers, Swindon Town and Brighton & Hove Albion during his career. He also played in 11 full international matches for Scotland between 2013 and 2016.

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Didier Zokora, Ivorian footballer

Déguy Alain Didier Zokora is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He represented the Ivory Coast national team for 14 years, beginning in 2000, and is currently the nation's most capped player. He now serves as an assistant manager at AFAD Djékanou.

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14/12/1979

Autumn Durald Arkapaw, American cinematographer

Autumn Cheyenne Durald Arkapaw is an American cinematographer. For her work on the film Sinners (2025), she became the first woman of color to be nominated, and the first woman to win, an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. On television, she received a nomination at the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for Outstanding Cinematography for her work on the Loki episode "Lamentis" (2021).

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Jean-Alain Boumsong, French footballer

Jean-Alain Boumsong Somkong is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender.

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Andrei Makrov, Estonian ice hockey player

Andrei Makrov is an Estonian professional ice hockey player who plays for HC Viking of the Meistriliiga (EML).

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Kyle Shanahan, American football coach

Kyle Michael Shanahan is an American professional football coach who is the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, whose offense in 2016 led the league in points scored and helped the team reach Super Bowl LI. Shanahan became the head coach of the 49ers the following season, leading the team to three division titles, five postseason appearances, four NFC Championship Game appearances, and two Super Bowl appearances.

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Sophie Monk, English-Australian singer-songwriter and actress

Sophie Charlene Akland Monk is an Australian singer, actress, and television personality. She was a member of the pop girl group Bardot, winners of the first season of Popstars Australia in 2000. After the group disbanded in 2002, Monk released her debut solo studio album, Calendar Girl (2003). She also ventured into acting with roles in the films Date Movie (2006), Click (2006), Sex and Death 101 (2007), The Hills Run Red (2009), Spring Breakdown (2009), and Zombie Plane (2026).

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Michael Owen, English footballer and sportscaster

Michael James Owen is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United, and Stoke City, as well as the England national team. Since retiring from football in 2013, he has become a racehorse breeder and owner and regularly features as a sports pundit and commentator. Regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, in 2001, Owen was the recipient of the Ballon d'Or. In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.

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14/12/1978

Dean Brogan, Australian footballer and coach

Dean Scott Brogan is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Port Adelaide Football Club and Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). He also played basketball professionally in the National Basketball League (NBL) and won an NBL championship with his hometown Adelaide 36ers in 1998.

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Shedrack Kibet Korir, Kenyan runner

Shedrack Kibet Korir is a Kenyan runner who specializes in the 1500 and 3000 metres.

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Zdeněk Pospěch, Czech footballer

Zdeněk Pospěch is a Czech former professional footballer. He normally played as a defender in a right back position, but could also play on the right side of midfield.

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Patty Schnyder, Swiss tennis player

Patty Schnyder is a Swiss former professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 7, achieved in November 2005. Schnyder won eleven WTA Tour singles titles, including a Tier I event at the 2002 Zurich Open, as well as five doubles titles, earning almost $8.6 million USD in prize money. She twice defeated a reigning world No. 1 player in her career: Martina Hingis at the 1998 Grand Slam Cup and Jennifer Capriati at the Family Circle Cup in 2002. In addition, she has notable wins over such former No. 1 players as Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Steffi Graf, Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin, Amélie Mauresmo, Maria Sharapova, Jelena Janković, Ana Ivanovic, and Caroline Wozniacki.

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Kim St-Pierre, Canadian ice hockey player

Kim St-Pierre is a retired Canadian ice hockey goaltender. She is a three-time Olympic gold medallist and five-time IIHF world champion. She was announced as a Hockey Hall of Fame inductee on June 24, 2020. She was named to the Order of Hockey in Canada in 2022.

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14/12/1977

Brendan Nash, Australian-Jamaican cricketer

Brendan Paul Nash is a Jamaican Australian former professional cricketer who played Test and One Day International cricket for West Indies. He played first-class cricket for Jamaica, Queensland and Kent.

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Jamie Peacock, English rugby player and manager

James Darryl Peacock MBE, is an English motivational speaker, leadership mentor and former professional rugby league footballer.

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14/12/1976

Tammy Blanchard, American actress and singer

Tammy Blanchard is an American actress. She rose to prominence for her role as teenage Judy Garland in the critically acclaimed television film Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows (2001), for which she received a Golden Globe Award nomination and a Primetime Emmy Award. Her other notable film roles were in The Good Shepherd (2006), Sybil (2007), Into the Woods (2014) and The Invitation (2015).

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Leland Chapman, American bounty hunter

Leland Blane Chapman is an American bail bondsman and bounty hunter, known as one of the stars of the A&E Network reality television program Dog the Bounty Hunter. He also starred in the CMT television documentary Dog and Beth: On the Hunt.

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Sebastien Chaule, French-German rugby player

Sebastien Chaule is a German international rugby union player, playing for the TSV Handschuhsheim until 2012 in the Rugby-Bundesliga and the German national rugby union team. His greatest success as a national team player was the promotion to Division 1 of the European Nations Cup in 2008.

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André Couto, Portuguese race car driver

André Bragança Macedo e Couto is a Macanese motor racing driver who is best known for winning his home F3 Grand Prix in 2000 and the 2015 Super GT Series in the GT300 class.

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Santiago Ezquerro, Spanish footballer

Santiago 'Santi' Ezquerro Marín is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a forward.

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14/12/1975

Justin Furstenfeld, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Justin Steward Furstenfeld is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and lyricist of the rock band Blue October. He is also a member of the band Harvard of the South.

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Ben Kay, English rugby player

Benedict James Kay MBE is an English retired international rugby union footballer who played second row forward for Leicester Tigers, England and the British & Irish Lions.

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KaDee Strickland, American actress

Katherine Dee Strickland is an American actress. She is known for her role of Dr. Charlotte King on the ABC drama Private Practice (2007–2013).

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14/12/1974

Billy Koch, American baseball player

William Christopher Koch is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He was born in Rockville Centre, New York and went to West Babylon High School.

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14/12/1973

Falk Balzer, German hurdler

Falk Balzer is a former German hurdler and the son of former East German hurdler Karin Balzer. He is best known for winning the silver medal at the 1998 European Championships in Budapest, Hungary and the bronze medal at the 1999 World Indoor Championships. He represented his native country at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Falk Balzer is the German national record holder in the 60 m hurdles with a time of 7.41 s.

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Pat Burke, Irish basketball player

Patrick John Burke is an Irish former professional basketball player who is currently the men's basketball head coach for Beacon College. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for three seasons between 2002 and 2007, for the Orlando Magic and the Phoenix Suns. To date, he is the only Irishman to have played in the NBA. He also played in Europe, mainly in Greece and Spain, before ending his career with Asseco Prokom Sopot. He was a co-captain of the senior Ireland national team and also represented his country at the World University Games.

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Tomasz Radzinski, Canadian soccer player

Tomasz Radzinski is a former professional soccer player who played as a striker and winger. He featured for clubs including North York Rockets in Canada, Germinal Ekeren, Anderlecht, Lierse and Waasland-Beveren in Belgium, Everton and Fulham in England and Skoda Xanthi in Greece. Born in Poland, he represented Canada at international level having moved there as a teenager, receiving 46 full caps between 1995 and 2009.

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Saulius Štombergas, Lithuanian basketball player and coach

Saulius Štombergas is a Lithuanian former professional basketball player, coach and businessman. Štombergas is widely considered to be among the greatest Lithuanian basketball players of all time, known for his leadership and 3-point shooting ability.

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14/12/1972

Miranda Hart, English actress

Miranda Katherine Hart Dyke, is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won three Royal Television Society awards, four British Comedy Awards and four BAFTA nominations for her self-driven semi-autobiographical BBC sitcom Miranda (2009–2015).

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Marcus Jensen, American baseball player and coach

Marcus Christian Jensen is an American professional baseball coach and former player. He played as a catcher for the San Francisco Giants, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1996 through 2002. After retiring as a player, Jensen coached and managed in the minor leagues. Since 2015, he has served as a coach for the Athletics of MLB.

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14/12/1971

Michaela Watkins, American actor and comedian

Michaela Watkins is an American actress and comedian. After several years performing with the Los Angeles comedy troupe The Groundlings, Watkins achieved widespread attention for her brief stint as a featured player on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live during its 34th season between 2008 and 2009. Since leaving SNL, she has starred on the Hulu series Casual and on the short-lived sitcoms The Unicorn and Trophy Wife. Watkins has also had recurring roles on other television series, such as The New Adventures of Old Christine, Catastrophe, Enlightened and Search Party and appeared in films such as The Back-up Plan (2010), Wanderlust (2012), Enough Said (2013), Sword of Trust (2019), and Suze (2023).

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14/12/1970

Anna Maria Jopek, Polish singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer

Anna Maria Jopek is a Polish vocalist, songwriter, and improviser. She represented Poland in the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest, with the song "Ale jestem" and finished 11th out of 25 participating acts; and in 2002, she collaborated on an album with jazz guitarist Pat Metheny. She has received numerous awards for her music, including Michel Legrand's Personal Award in Vitebsk in 1994, as well as all of the awards for music in Poland, together with gold and platinum records.

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Beth Orton, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

Elizabeth Caroline Orton is an English musician. Known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica, she was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Andrew Weatherall, Red Snapper and the Chemical Brothers in the mid-1990s. Her UK/US first solo album, Trailer Park, received much critical acclaim in 1996. Orton developed a devoted audience with the release of the BRIT Award-winning album Central Reservation (1999) and the 2002 UK top 10 album, Daybreaker. Her 2006 album, Comfort of Strangers, was followed by a break during which Orton gave birth to her daughter and collaborated with the British guitarist Bert Jansch. Orton returned with Sugaring Season in 2012, which moved towards a purer acoustic sound, followed by a return to electronic music with Kidsticks, released in 2016.

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14/12/1969

Scott Hatteberg, American baseball player and sportscaster

Scott Allen Hatteberg is an American former professional first baseman and catcher. From 1995 through 2008, he played in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics, and Cincinnati Reds. Hatteberg attended Washington State University, where he played college baseball for the Cougars.

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Archie Kao, American actor and producer

Archie Kao is an American actor and producer. He is best known to American audiences for series regulars roles on Chicago P.D., Power Rangers Lost Galaxy as well as long-running hit CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

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Natascha McElhone, English-Irish actress

Natascha McElhone is an English actress and producer, who has worked extensively in film and television in both the United Kingdom and the United States. She is known to film audiences for her roles in Surviving Picasso (1996), Ronin (1998), The Truman Show (1998), Kenneth Branagh's Love's Labour's Lost (2000), Solaris (2002), Carmen (2021), Young Sherlock series.

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Dave Nilsson, Australian baseball player and manager

David Wayne Nilsson is an Australian former professional baseball catcher and current manager of the Australia national baseball team and the Brisbane Bandits. He played for Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Brewers from 1992 to 1999 and was an All-Star in 1999, becoming the first Australian player to appear in an All-Star game. He ended his Major League career on 3 October 1999 with 837 games played, 789 hits, 105 home runs and a .284 career batting average.

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Arthur Numan, Dutch footballer and manager

Arthur Johannes Numan is a Dutch former professional footballer. He played as a left back.

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14/12/1968

Kelley Armstrong, Canadian author

Kelley Armstrong is a Canadian writer, primarily of fantasy novels since 2001.

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Mohamed Saad, Egyptian actor

Mohamed Saad Abdel-Hamid Ibrahim is an Egyptian actor active since 1988. Saad is known for comedic roles.

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14/12/1967

Ewa Białołęcka, Polish author

Ewa Białołęcka is a Polish fantasy writer. She currently lives in Gdańsk. Her literary debut was her short story Wariatka (Madwoman), published in 1993. Since then she has written more than a dozen short stories, two of which, Tkacz Iluzji (1994) and Błękit Maga (1997), were awarded with the Janusz A. Zajdel Award, and another, Nocny śpiewak, nominated for this award. She also published Piołun i miód, all of which are part of the Kroniki Drugiego Kręgu series. In 2005, she published Naznaczeni błękitem, which is a new version of the Tkacz Iluzji short story collection, made more consistent with the other two novels. Białołęcka also creates stained glass works.

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Hanne Haugland, Norwegian high jumper and coach

Hanne Birgit Haugland is a former Norwegian high jumper. She represented the clubs Haugesund IL, IL i BUL, SK Vidar and IF Minerva during her senior career.

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14/12/1966

Fabrizio Giovanardi, Italian race car driver

Fabrizio Giovanardi is an Italian racing driver. During his career he has won ten touring car titles, including European and British crowns making him the most successful touring car driver worldwide. He has spent the majority of his career racing for Alfa Romeo and Vauxhall.

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Carl Herrera, Trinidadian-Venezuelan basketball player

Carl Víctor Herrera Alleyne is a retired Trinidadian-born Venezuelan basketball player. A power forward, he was part of the Houston Rockets National Basketball Association championship teams of the mid-1990s. He was the first Venezuelan to ever play in the NBA.

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Anthony Mason, American basketball player (died 2015)

Anthony George Douglas Mason was an American professional basketball player. In his 13-year career he played with the New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Charlotte Hornets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association. He averaged 10.8 points and 8.3 rebounds in his 13-year NBA career. Mason earned the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1995 and led the NBA in minutes played in the following two seasons. In 1997, he was named to the All-NBA Third Team and the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. He was selected to the 2001 NBA All-Star Game. Mason was a member of the 1993–94 New York Knicks team that reached the NBA Finals.

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Bill Ranford, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

William Edward Ranford is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and current director of goaltending for the Los Angeles Kings. He was selected in the third round of the 1985 NHL entry draft, 52nd overall, by the Boston Bruins. Over the course of fifteen NHL seasons Ranford played with Boston, the Edmonton Oilers, Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Detroit Red Wings, winning two Stanley Cups, a Canada Cup, and the 1994 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships while playing for Canada. He is the only goaltender in history to be awarded the MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Canada Cup/World Cup, & Men's Ice Hockey World Championship.

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Tim Sköld, Swedish bass player and producer

Tim Skold is a Swedish musician and record producer who produces solo work and has also collaborated with multiple musical groups including Shotgun Messiah, KMFDM, Marilyn Manson and Motionless in White.

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Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Danish academic and politician, 41st Prime Minister of Denmark

Helle Thorning-Schmidt is a Danish retired politician who served as the prime minister of Denmark from 2011 to 2015 and leader of the Social Democrats from 2005 to 2015. She is the first woman to have held each post. Following defeat in 2015, she announced that she would step down as both prime minister and party leader. Ending her political career in April 2016, she was the chief executive of the NGO Save the Children until June 2019.

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14/12/1965

Craig Biggio, American baseball player and coach

Craig Alan Biggio is an American former baseball second baseman, outfielder, and catcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Houston Astros, from 1988 to 2007. A seven-time National League (NL) All-Star often regarded as the greatest all-around player in Astros history, he is the only player ever to be named an All-Star and to be awarded Silver Slugger Award at both catcher and second base. With longtime teammates Jeff Bagwell and Lance Berkman, he formed the core of the "Killer B's" who led Houston to six playoff appearances from 1997 to 2005, culminating in the franchise's first World Series appearance in 2005. At the end of his career, he ranked sixth in NL history in games played (2,850), fifth in at bats (10,876), 21st in hits (3,060), and seventh in runs scored (1,844). His 668 career doubles ranked sixth in major league history, and are the second-most ever by a right-handed hitter; his 56 doubles in 1999 were the most in the major leagues in 63 years.

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Ken Hill, American baseball player

Kenneth Wade Hill is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. During a 14-year career, he pitched for seven teams between 1988 and 2001. As a member of the Montreal Expos in 1994, he appeared in the All-Star Game and finished the season tied for the National League lead in wins. He pitched in the 1995 World Series as a member of the Cleveland Indians.

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Ted Raimi, American actor, director, and screenwriter

Theodore Raimi is an American character actor, director and writer. He is known for his roles in the works of his brother Sam Raimi, including a fake Shemp in The Evil Dead, possessed Henrietta in Evil Dead II, and Ted Hoffman in the Spider-Man trilogy. He later reprised his role as Henrietta in the television series Ash vs. Evil Dead, in which he also played the character Chet Kaminski. He is also known for his roles as Lieutenant JG Tim O'Neill in seaQuest DSV, the merchant in Legend of the Seeker, and Joxer the Mighty in both Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.

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14/12/1964

Dino Stamatopoulos, American writer, producer, and actor

Konstantinos Pollux Alexandros "Dino" Stamatopoulos is an American writer, producer, and actor. He has worked on TV programs such as Mr. Show, TV Funhouse, Mad TV, The Dana Carvey Show, Late Show with David Letterman, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien, as well as the Charlie Kaufman film Anomalisa. He has also created multiple animated TV series such as Moral Orel, Mary Shelley's Frankenhole, and High School USA!. As an actor, he is best known for his recurring role as the character Alex "Star-Burns" Osbourne on the NBC comedy series Community, on which he also worked as a producer, a consulting writer, and wrote two animated episodes.

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14/12/1963

Greg Abbott, English footballer and manager

Gregory Stephen Abbott is an English football coach and former player who is a youth coach at Harrogate Town.

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William Bedford, American basketball player

William Bedford is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 1986 NBA draft after playing at Memphis State University. Bedford, a 7'0" center, played for the Suns, Detroit Pistons and the San Antonio Spurs in six NBA seasons, averaging 4.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game in his career.

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Diana Gansky, German discus thrower

Diana Gansky is a German track and field athlete. She won an Olympic medal and was one of the world's best discus throwers. She represented East Germany and was the 1986 European champion. In 1987 and 1988 she was second in both the world championship and the Olympic games.

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Cynthia Gibb, American actress and model

Cynthia Lowrie Gibb, also credited as Cindy Gibb, is an American actress and former model who has starred in film and on television. She began her career as a cast member on the musical television drama Fame, based on the movie of the same name. She also appeared in the films Youngblood (1986), Salvador (1986), Malone (1987), Short Circuit 2 (1988) and Death Warrant (1990). She received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance as Gypsy Rose Lee in the film Gypsy (1993).

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14/12/1961

Patrik Sundström, Swedish ice hockey player

Olof Patric Waldemar Sundström is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 10 seasons.

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14/12/1960

James Comey, American lawyer, 7th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

James Brien Comey Jr. is an American lawyer who was the seventh director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2013 until his termination in May 2017.

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Don Franklin, American actor

Don Franklin is an American actor, best known for his work in seaQuest DSV as Commander Jonathan Ford, Seven Days as Captain Craig Donovan, and Alex Wheeler in the Dick Wolf TV pilot and series Nasty Boys.

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Chris Waddle, English footballer, manager, and sportscaster

Christopher Roland Waddle is an English former professional football player and manager. Since retiring, he has worked in the media for BBC Radio 5 Live as part of their Premier League and Champions League team. He currently works as a commentator.

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Diane Williams, American sprinter

Diane Williams is a retired World class sprinter who ran 100 m and 4 × 100 m relays. She was born 14 December 1960 in Chicago, Illinois.

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14/12/1959

Bob Paris, American-Canadian bodybuilder and actor

Robert Clark Paris is an American writer, actor, public speaker, civil rights activist, and former professional bodybuilder. Paris was the 1983 NPC American National and IFBB World Bodybuilding Champion. In 1989, he came out as gay in the media while still an active competitor in his sport.

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Jorge Vaca, Mexican boxer

Jorge Vaca is a Mexican former professional boxer who held the World Welterweight Championship.

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14/12/1958

Mike Scott, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist

Michael Scott is a Scottish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is the founding member, lead singer, guitarist, songwriter and only constant member of rock band The Waterboys. He has also produced two solo albums, Bring 'Em All In and Still Burning. Scott is a vocalist, guitarist and pianist, and has played a large range of other instruments, including the bouzouki, drums, and Hammond organ on his albums. Scott is also a published writer, having released his autobiography, Adventures of a Waterboy, in 2012.

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Spider Stacy, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

Peter Richard "Spider" Stacy is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is best known for playing tin whistle and sometimes singing for the Pogues.

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14/12/1956

Linda Fabiani, Scottish politician

Linda Fabiani HonFRIAS OSSI FCIH is a Scottish politician who served as a Deputy Presiding Officer in the Scottish Parliament from 2016 to 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the East Kilbride constituency from 2011 until her retirement in 2021. She was previously a regional member of the Scottish Parliament for the Central Scotland region from 1999 until 2011.

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Hanni Wenzel, German skier

Hannelore "Hanni" Wenzel is a retired Liechtensteiner alpine ski racer. Wenzel is a former Olympic, World Cup, and world champion. She won Liechtenstein's first-ever Olympic medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, and its first two Olympic gold medals four years later in Lake Placid, New York.

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14/12/1955

Jane Crafter, Australian golfer

Jane Crafter is an Australian professional golfer.

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Jill Pipher, American mathematician and academic

Jill Catherine Pipher is an American mathematician. She served as president of the American Mathematical Society. and president of the Association for Women in Mathematics. She was the first director of the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics, an NSF-funded mathematics institute based in Providence, Rhode Island.

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14/12/1954

Alan Kulwicki, American race car driver (died 1993)

Alan Dennis Kulwicki, nicknamed "Special K" and "the Polish Prince", was an American auto racing driver and team owner with Polish origin. He started racing at local short tracks in Wisconsin before moving up to regional stock car touring series. Kulwicki arrived at NASCAR, the highest and most expensive level of stock car racing in the United States, with no sponsor, a limited budget and only a racecar and a borrowed pickup truck. Despite starting with meager equipment and finances, he earned the 1986 NASCAR Rookie of the Year award over drivers racing for well-funded teams.

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Steve MacLean, Canadian physicist and astronaut

Steven Glenwood MacLean is a retired Canadian astronaut. He was the president of the Canadian Space Agency, from September 1, 2008, to February 1, 2013.

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14/12/1953

Vijay Amritraj, Indian tennis player and sportscaster

Vijay Amritraj is an Indian retired professional tennis player, sports commentator and actor from Madras. He was awarded the Padma Shri, in 1983, and the Padma Bhushan in 2026. In 2022, he was honored for his contributions to tennis in London by the International Tennis Hall of Fame and International Tennis Federation. On July 20, 2024 he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.

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Wade Davis, Canadian anthropologist, author, and photographer

Edmund Wade Davis is a Canadian cultural anthropologist, ethnobotanist, photographer, and writer.

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René Eespere, Estonian composer

René Eespere is an Estonian composer. His best-regarded works are Glorificatio (1990) and Two Jubilations (1995), both written for mixed chorus. Other works include Concerto Ritornello for Chamber Orchestra (1982/1993), Concerto for Flute and Chamber Orchestra (1995/98), and Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra (1996/98).

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Vangelis Meimarakis, Greek lawyer and politician, 4th Greek Minister for National Defence

Evangelos-Vasileios "Vangelis" Meimarakis is a Greek politician who served as the acting President of New Democracy and Leader of the Opposition in Greece from 5 July to 24 November 2015, competing as the challenger to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in the September 2015 Greek legislative election. He lost in the run-off of the New Democracy leadership election, 2015–16. Since 2019, he has been a Member of the European Parliament.

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Mikael Odenberg, Swedish soldier and politician, 29th Swedish Minister for Defence

Mikael Ingemarsson Odenberg is a Swedish politician of the Moderate Party. He was a Member of Parliament from 1991 to 2006 and Minister for Defence in the Swedish government from 2006 to 2007. From 1 March 2008 to 28 February 2017 he was the director-general of Svenska kraftnät.

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14/12/1952

John Lurie, American actor, saxophonist, painter, director, and producer

John Lurie is an American musician, painter, actor, director, and producer. He co-founded the Lounge Lizards jazz ensemble; has acted in 19 films, including Stranger than Paradise and Down by Law; has composed and performed music for 20 television and film works; and he produced, directed, and starred in the Fishing with John television series. In 1996 his soundtrack for Get Shorty was nominated for a Grammy Award, and his album The Legendary Marvin Pontiac: Greatest Hits has been praised by critics and fellow musicians.

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14/12/1951

John Brown, American basketball player

John Young Brown is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A forward, he played college basketball for the Missouri Tigers. He was a graduate of Dixon High School in Dixon, Missouri. Brown was selected for the 1972 Olympic team, but due to injury did not compete in the games.

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Jan Timman, Dutch chess player and author (died 2026)

Jan Hendrik Timman was a Dutch chess grandmaster who was one of the world's leading players from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. At the peak of his career, he was considered to be the best non-Soviet player and was known as "The Best of the West". He won the Dutch Chess Championship nine times and was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship several times. He lost the title match of the 1993 FIDE World Championship against Anatoly Karpov.

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14/12/1949

Bill Buckner, American baseball player and manager (died 2019)

William Joseph Buckner was an American first baseman and left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams from 1969 through 1990, most notably the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Boston Red Sox. Beginning his career as an outfielder with the Dodgers, Buckner helped the team to the 1974 pennant with a .314 batting average, but a serious ankle injury the next year led to his trade to the Cubs before the 1977 season. The Cubs moved him to first base, and he won the National League (NL) batting title with a .324 mark in 1980. He was named to the All-Star team the following year as he led the major leagues in doubles. After setting a major league record for first basemen with 159 assists in 1982, Buckner surpassed that total with 161 in 1983 while again leading the NL in doubles. Feuds with team management over a loss of playing time resulted in him being traded to the Red Sox in the middle of the 1984 season.

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David A. Cherry, American artist and illustrator

David Alan Cherry is an American artist, author, and illustrator of science fiction and fantasy and has also done substantial work as a marketing artist, concept artist, and 3D modeler in the game production industry. Cherry served as Lecturer and Head of the Art Department as well as Head of the master's degree Program for artists at The Guildhall at SMU, a graduate college dedicated to studies for people who want to work in the game production industry. Cherry was also an attorney, as well as a past president of the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists (1988–1990). He has been nominated eleven times for Hugo Awards, and 18 times for Chesley Awards.

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Cliff Williams, Australian bass player

Clifford Williams is an English musician, best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. He started his professional music career in 1967 and had previously been in the English groups Home and Bandit. His first studio album with AC/DC was Powerage in 1978. Williams was inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of AC/DC in 2003. Williams announced his retirement from AC/DC in 2016, but returned for their 2020 comeback album Power Up along with band mates Brian Johnson and Phil Rudd. His side projects include benefit concerts.

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14/12/1948

Lester Bangs, American journalist and author (died 1982)

Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs was an American music journalist and critic. He wrote for Creem and Rolling Stone magazines and was also a performing musician. The music critic Jim DeRogatis called him "America's greatest rock critic".

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Kim Beazley, Australian politician and diplomat, 9th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia

Kim Christian Beazley is an Australian former politician and diplomat. Since 2022 he has served as chairman of the Australian War Memorial. Previously, he was leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and leader of the opposition from 1996 to 2001 and 2005 to 2006, having previously been a cabinet minister in the Hawke and Keating governments. After leaving parliament, he served as ambassador to the United States from 2010 to 2016 and 33rd governor of Western Australia from 2018 to 2022.

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Boudewijn Büch, Dutch author, poet, and television host (died 2002)

Boudewijn Maria Ignatius Büch was a Dutch writer, poet and television presenter.

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Peeter Kreitzberg, Estonian lawyer and politician (died 2011)

Peeter Kreitzberg was an Estonian politician, member of parliament and a member of the Social Democratic Party. Kreitzberg served as the Estonian Minister of Culture and Education from April to November 1995. He also taught at Tallinn University from 1997 to 2011.

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Dee Wallace, American actress

Dee Wallace, also known as Dee Wallace Stone, is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Mary Taylor in the 1982 blockbuster science-fiction film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

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14/12/1947

Christopher Parkening, American guitarist and educator

Christopher William Parkening is an American classical guitarist. He holds the Chair of Classical Guitar at Pepperdine University under the title Distinguished Professor of Music.

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Dilma Rousseff, Brazilian economist and politician, 36th President of Brazil

Dilma Vana Rousseff is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the only woman to have held the Brazilian presidency to date. Since March 2023, she has been the chair of the New Development Bank. She also served in the cabinet of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during his first presidency—first as Minister of Mines and Energy, from 2003 to 2005, then as Chief of Staff from 2005 to 2010.

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14/12/1946

Antony Beevor, English historian and author

Sir Antony James Beevor is a British military historian. He has published several popular historical works, mainly on the Second World War, the Spanish Civil War, and most recently the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War.

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Jane Birkin, English-French actress and singer (died 2023)

Jane Mallory Birkin was an English-French actress, singer, and designer. She had a prolific career as an actress, mostly in French cinema.

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John Du Prez, English conductor and composer

John Du Prez is a British musician, conductor and composer. He was a member of the 1980s salsa-driven pop band Modern Romance and has since written several film scores including Oxford Blues (1984), Once Bitten, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), and the final Carry On film, Carry On Columbus (1992). He contributed to The Wild (2006) soundtrack.

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Patty Duke, American actress (died 2016)

Anna Marie Duke, known professionally as Patty Duke, was an American actress. Over the course of her acting career, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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Ruth Fuchs, German javelin thrower and politician (died 2023)

Ruth Fuchs was a German politician and athlete. Fuchs, representing East Germany, was the winner of the women's javelin at the 1972 (Munich) and 1976 (Montreal) Olympic Games. She set the world record for the javelin six times during the 1970s.

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Peter Lorimer, Scottish footballer (died 2021)

Peter Patrick Lorimer was a Scottish professional footballer who mainly played for Leeds United and Scotland during the late 1960s and early 1970s. An attacking midfielder and the club's youngest-ever player, he was renowned for his very powerful shots from distance. From 1984 to 1985 he was club captain. Lorimer is the club record scorer with 238 goals in all competitions. He was voted Leeds' ninth greatest player ever and on to the greatest Leeds United team of all time.

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Michael Ovitz, American talent agent, co-founded Creative Artists Agency

Michael Steven Ovitz is an American businessman. He was a talent agent who co-founded Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in 1975 and served as its chairman until 1995. Ovitz later served as president of The Walt Disney Company for 16 months, from October 1995 to January 1997.

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Stan Smith, American tennis player and coach

Stanley Roger Smith is an American former professional tennis player. A world No. 1 player and two-time major singles champion, Smith also paired with Bob Lutz to create one of the most successful doubles teams of all-time.

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Lynne Marie Stewart, American actress (died 2025)

Lynne Marie Stewart was an American actress, widely known for her performance as Miss Yvonne, "the Most Beautiful Woman in Puppet Land." She originated the role in the 1981 stage show, The Pee-wee Herman Show. She continued to play Miss Yvonne on the CBS television show Pee-wee's Playhouse, the 2010 Los Angeles stage revival, and the Broadway production which opened in November 2010 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. Stewart was also known for her recurring role on the FX/FXX television series, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia as Charlie Kelly's mother, Bonnie.

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Joyce Vincent Wilson, American singer

Joyce Vincent Wilson is an American singer, best known as part of the group Tony Orlando and Dawn. Her sister, Pamela Wilson, is also a vocalist.

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14/12/1944

Graham Kirkham, Baron Kirkham, English businessman, founded DFS

Graham Kirkham, Baron Kirkham, is an English businessman, founder of Northern Upholstery, and chairman of sofa retailer DFS.

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Denis Thwaites, English professional footballer murdered in the 2015 Sousse attacks (died 2015)

Denis Thwaites was an English professional footballer who made 86 appearances in the Football League for Birmingham City. He represented England at schoolboy and youth level. He played as an outside left.

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14/12/1943

Britt Allcroft, English writer (died 2024)

Britt Allcroft was an English screenwriter, producer, director, and voice actress. She adapted Wilbert Awdry's The Railway Series in the form of the children's television series Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends. She created Shining Time Station, Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales, and Magic Adventures of Mumfie. She also wrote, co-produced, and directed the film Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000).

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Tommy McAvoy, Scottish politician (died 2024)

Thomas McLaughlin McAvoy, Baron McAvoy, was a British Labour and Co-operative politician serving as a life peer in the House of Lords from 2010 until his death in 2024. He served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Rutherglen from 1987 to 2005, and Rutherglen and Hamilton West from 2005 to 2010.

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Emmett Tyrrell, American journalist, author, and publisher, founded The American Spectator

Robert Emmett Tyrrell Jr. is an American conservative magazine editor, book author and columnist. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of The American Spectator and writes with the byline "R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr."

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14/12/1942

Chris Harris, English actor and director (died 2014)

Chris Harris was an English actor, director and writer. He appeared in several UK TV series including Into the Labyrinth and Hey Look That's Me. He also built a successful career in pantomime, acting as a pantomime dame, as well as being a director and writer at the Bristol Old Vic and the Theatre Royal, Bath. He lived in Portishead in North Somerset.

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Dick Wagner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2014)

Richard Allen Wagner was an American rock guitarist, songwriter and author best known for his work with Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, and Kiss. He also fronted his own Michigan-based bands, the Frost and the Bossmen.

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14/12/1941

Karan Armstrong, American soprano and actress (died 2021)

Karan Armstrong was an American operatic soprano, who was celebrated as a singing actress. After winning the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1966, she was given small roles at the Metropolitan Opera, and appeared in leading roles at the New York City Opera from 1969, including Conceptión in Ravel's L'heure espagnol, Blonde in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and the title roles in Verdi's La traviata, Offenbach's La belle Hélène and Puccini's La fanciulla del West. After she performed in Europe from 1974, first as Micaëla in Bizet's Carmen, and then as a sensational Salome at the Opéra du Rhin, she enjoyed a career at major opera houses, appearing in several opera recordings and films. Armstrong was for decades a leading soprano at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where her husband Götz Friedrich was director. She appeared in world premieres, including Gottfried von Einem's Jesu Hochzeit, Luciano Berio's Un re in ascolto and York Höller's Der Meister und Margarita. She was awarded the title Kammersängerin twice.

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Ellen Willis, American journalist, critic, and academic (died 2006)

Ellen Jane Willis was an American left-wing political essayist, journalist, activist, feminist, and pop music critic. A 2014 collection of her essays, The Essential Ellen Willis, received the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism.

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14/12/1940

Lex Gold, Scottish footballer and civil servant

Lex Gold CBE is a Scottish administrator and former footballer who was a director of Caledonian MacBrayne as of 2012.

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14/12/1939

Ann Cryer, English academic and politician

Constance Ann Cryer JP is a British former politician who was the Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Keighley from the 1997 general election up until she stood down at the 2010 general election.

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Ernie Davis, American football player (died 1963)

Ernest R. Davis was an American college football player who was a halfback for the Syracuse Orangemen and won the Heisman Trophy in 1961. He was the award's first black recipient. Davis was selected first overall by the Washington Redskins in the 1962 NFL draft but was almost immediately traded to the Cleveland Browns. He was diagnosed with leukemia that same year, and died shortly after at age 23 without ever playing in a professional game. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979 and was the subject of the 2008 film The Express: The Ernie Davis Story.

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14/12/1938

Leonardo Boff, Brazilian theologian and author

Leonardo Boff is a Brazilian Catholic theologian, philosopher writer, and former Catholic priest known for his active support for Latin American liberation theology.

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Charlie Griffith, Barbadian cricketer

Sir Charles Christopher Griffith, KA, SCM is a West Indian former cricketer who played in 28 Tests from 1960 to 1969. He formed a formidable fast bowling partnership with Wes Hall during the 1960s, but experienced a number of controversies during his career, notably being called for throwing twice, and fracturing the skull of Indian cricket captain Nari Contractor with a bouncer.

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14/12/1935

Lewis Arquette, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 2001)

Lewis Michael Arquette was an American actor who worked in film and television. He played J.D. Pickett on the television series, The Waltons from 1978 to 1981, and appeared in several supporting roles throughout his career.

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Lee Remick, American actress (died 1991)

Lee Ann Remick was an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film Days of Wine and Roses (1962) and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role in Wait Until Dark (1966) in addition to earning seven Emmy Award nominations.

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14/12/1934

Shyam Benegal, Indian director and screenwriter (died 2024)

Shyam Benegal was an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as a pioneer of parallel cinema, he is considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. He has received several accolades, including eighteen National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award and a Nandi Award. In 2005, he was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest award in the field of cinema. In 1976, he was honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian honour of the country, and in 1991, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour for his contributions in the field of arts. He died on 23 December 2024, aged 90, at Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai, where he was receiving treatment for chronic kidney disease.

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Charlie Hodge, American guitarist and singer (died 2006)

Charles Franklin Hodge, better known as Charlie Hodge, was an American singer, vocal coach and musician who was a confidant and best friend of Elvis Presley, and lived at Graceland.

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14/12/1932

George Furth, American actor and playwright (died 2008)

George Furth was an American librettist, playwright, and actor.

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Abbe Lane, American actress, singer, and dancer

Abbe Lane is an American singer and actress. Lane was known in the 1950s and 1960s for her revealing outfits and sultry style of performing. Her first marriage was as the fourth wife of Latin bandleader and musician Xavier Cugat, more than thirty years her senior.

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Charlie Rich, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1995)

Charles Allan Rich was an American country singer. His eclectic style of music also blended influences from rockabilly, jazz, blues, soul, and gospel.

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14/12/1931

Jon Elia, Pakistani philosopher, poet, and scholar (died 2002)

Syed Hussain Sibt-e-Asghar Naqvi, commonly known by his pen name Jaun Elia, was a Pakistani poet.

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Vladimir-Georg Karassev-Orgusaar, Estonian director and politician (died 2015)

Vladimir-Georg Karassev-Orgusaar was an Estonian film director.

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14/12/1930

Margaret Bakkes, South African author (died 2016)

Margaret Bakkes was a South African writer.

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David R. Harris, English geographer, anthropologist, and archaeologist (died 2013)

David Russell Harris, FSA, FBA was a British geographer, anthropologist, archaeologist and academic, well known for his detailed work on the origins of agriculture and the domestication of plants and animals. He was a director of the Institute of Archaeology at University College London, and retained a position as Professor Emeritus of the Human Environment at the Institute.

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Fred Gray, American attorney, civil rights movement legal representative

Fred David Gray is an American civil rights attorney, preacher, activist, and state legislator from Alabama. He handled many prominent civil rights cases, such as Browder v. Gayle, and was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 1970, along with Thomas Reed, both from Tuskegee. They were the first black state legislators in Alabama in the 20th century. He served as the president of the National Bar Association in 1985, and in 2001 was elected as the first African-American President of the Alabama State Bar.

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14/12/1929

Ron Jarden, New Zealand rugby player (died 1977)

Ronald Alexander Jarden, better known as Ron Jarden, was a New Zealand rugby union footballer, businessman, and sharebroker.

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14/12/1927

Richard Cassilly, American tenor and actor (died 1998)

Richard Cassilly was an American operatic tenor who had a major international opera career between 1954–90. Cassilly "was a mainstay in the heldentenor repertory in opera houses around the world for 30 years", and particularly excelled in Wagnerian roles like Tristan, Siegmund and Tannhäuser, and in dramatic parts that required both stamina and vocal weight, such as Giuseppe Verdi's Otello and Camille Saint-Saëns's Samson.

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Koos Rietkerk, Dutch lawyer and politician, Dutch Minister of the Interior (died 1986)

Jacobus Gijsbert "Koos" Rietkerk was a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and jurist.

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14/12/1924

Raj Kapoor, Indian actor, director, and producer (died 1988)

Ranbir Raj Kapoor was an Indian actor, film director, and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors and filmmakers in the history of Indian cinema. He has been referred to as The Greatest Showman of Indian Cinema as well as The Charlie Chaplin of Indian Cinema.

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14/12/1923

Gerard Reve, Dutch-Belgian author and poet (died 2006)

Gerard Kornelis van het Reve was a Dutch writer. He started writing as Simon Gerard van het Reve and adopted the shorter Gerard Reve in 1973. Together with Willem Frederik Hermans and Harry Mulisch, he is considered one of the "Great Three" of Dutch post-war literature. His 1981 novel De vierde man was the basis for Paul Verhoeven's 1983 film.

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14/12/1922

Nikolay Basov, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2001)

Nikolay Gennadiyevich Basov was a Russian Soviet physicist and educator. For his fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics that led to the development of laser and maser, Basov shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics with Alexander Prokhorov and Charles Hard Townes.

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Don Hewitt, American journalist and producer, created 60 Minutes (died 2009)

Donald Shepard Hewitt was an American television news producer and executive, best known for creating the CBS television news magazine 60 Minutes in 1968, which at the time of his death was the longest-running prime-time broadcast on American television. Under Hewitt's leadership, 60 Minutes was the only news program ever rated as the nation's top-ranked television program, an achievement it accomplished five times. Hewitt produced the first televised presidential debate in 1960.

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Junior J. Spurrier, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1984)

Junior James Spurrier, born James Ira Spurrier Jr., was a United States Army soldier who received the United States' two highest military decorations for valor—the Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Cross—for his heroic actions in World War II.

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14/12/1920

Clark Terry, American trumpet player, composer, and educator (died 2015)

Clark Virgil Terry Jr. was an American swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator.

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14/12/1918

James T. Aubrey, American broadcaster (died 1994)

James Thomas Aubrey Jr. was an American television and film executive. As president of the CBS television network from 1959 to 1965, he produced some of television's most enduring series on the air, including Gilligan's Island and The Beverly Hillbillies.

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Radu Beligan, Romanian actor and director (died 2016)

Radu Beligan was a Romanian actor, director, and essayist, with an activity of over 70 years in theatre, film, television, and radio. On 15 December 2013, confirmed by Guinness World Records, the actor received the title of "The oldest active theatre actor" on the planet. He was elected honorary member of the Romanian Academy in 2004.

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B. K. S. Iyengar, Indian yoga instructor and author, founded Iyengar Yoga (died 2014)

Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar was an Indian teacher of yoga and author. He is the founder of the style of yoga as exercise called "Iyengar Yoga", and was considered one of the foremost yoga gurus in the world. He was the author of many books on yoga practice and philosophy including Light on Yoga, Light on Pranayama, Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and Light on Life. Iyengar was one of the earliest students of Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who is often called "the father of modern yoga". He has been credited with popularizing yoga, first in India and then around the world.

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14/12/1917

C.-H. Hermansson, Swedish author and politician (died 2016)

Carl-Henrik "C.-H." Hermansson was a Swedish politician who served as chairman of the Communist Party of Sweden from 1964 to 1975 and member of parliament from 1963 to 1985. He was a major force in redirecting Left Party policies away from Moscow loyalism towards Eurocommunism and Scandinavian Popular Socialism. He wrote several books regarding capitalism and the owners of the large corporations, as well as on communists and the policies of the left.

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Elyse Knox, American actress and fashion designer (died 2012)

Elyse Knox was an American actress, model, and fashion designer. She is the mother of actor Mark Harmon.

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June Taylor, American dancer and choreographer (died 2004)

Marjorie June Taylor was an American choreographer, best known as the founder of the June Taylor Dancers, who were featured on Jackie Gleason's various television variety programs.

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14/12/1916

Shirley Jackson, American novelist and short story writer (died 1965)

Shirley Hardie Jackson was an American writer known primarily for her works of horror and mystery. Her writing career spanned over two decades, during which she composed six novels, two memoirs, and more than 200 short stories.

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14/12/1915

Dan Dailey, American dancer and actor (died 1978)

Daniel James Dailey Jr. was an American actor and dancer. He is best remembered for a series of popular musicals he made at 20th Century Fox such as Mother Wore Tights (1947).

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14/12/1914

Karl Carstens, German lieutenant and politician, 5th President of the Federal Republic of Germany (died 1992)

Karl Carstens was a German politician. He served as the president of West Germany from 1979 to 1984.

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Rosalyn Tureck, American pianist and harpsichord player (died 2003)

Rosalyn Tureck was an American pianist and harpsichordist who was particularly associated with the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. However, she had a wide-ranging repertoire that included works by composers Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms and Frédéric Chopin, as well as more modern composers such as David Diamond, Luigi Dallapiccola and William Schuman. Diamond's Piano Sonata No. 1 was inspired by Tureck's playing. She was one of the great pianists of the 20th Century and she is also known as the High Priestess of Bach.

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14/12/1911

Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz, Greek-Polish swimmer and water polo player (died 1943)

Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz was a Polish athlete who was active as a secret agent in Greece and was collaborating with the Greek Resistance during World War II before his execution by the Germans.

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Spike Jones, American singer and bandleader (died 1965)

Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones was an American musician, bandleader and conductor specializing in spoof arrangements and satire of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with various sound effects, including gunshots, whistles, cowbells, hiccups, burps, sneezes, animal sounds and outlandish and comedic vocals. Jones and his band recorded for RCA Victor under the title Spike Jones and His City Slickers from the early 1940s to the mid-1950s, and they toured the United States and Canada as "The Musical Depreciation Revue".

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Hans von Ohain, German-American physicist and engineer (died 1998)

Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain was a German physicist, engineer, and the designer of the first aircraft to use a turbojet engine. Together with Frank Whittle and Anselm Franz, he has been described as the co-inventor of the turbojet engine. Additionally, prior to building his engine and filing his own patent in 1935, von Ohain had read and critiqued Whittle's patents. Von Ohain stated in his biography that "My interest in jet propulsion began in the fall of 1933 when I was in my seventh semester at Göttingen University. I didn't know that many people before me had the same thought." Unlike Whittle, von Ohain had the significant advantage of being supported by an aircraft manufacturer, Heinkel, who funded his work.

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14/12/1909

Edward Lawrie Tatum, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1975)

Edward Lawrie Tatum was an American geneticist. He shared half of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1958 with George Beadle for showing that genes control individual steps in metabolism. The other half of that year's award went to Joshua Lederberg. Tatum was an elected member of the United States National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

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14/12/1908

Morey Amsterdam, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (died 1996)

Moritz "Morey" Amsterdam was an American actor, comedian, writer and producer. Between 1948 and 1950, he hosted his own TV sitcom The Morey Amsterdam Show. He played Buddy Sorrell on CBS's The Dick Van Dyke Show from 1961 to 1966.

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Claude Davey, Welsh rugby player (died 2001)

Claude Davey was a Wales international rugby union player who played club rugby for several teams, most notably Sale and Swansea. He was awarded 23 caps for Wales and captained his country eight times. Davey was a hard tackling centre and his most famous performance took place on 21 December 1935 when he led Wales to a historic 13–12 victory over the All Blacks at Cardiff.

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Mária Szepes, Hungarian journalist, author, and screenwriter (died 2007)

Mária Szepes was a Hungarian author. She worked as a journalist and screenwriter, as well as an independent author in the field of hermetic philosophy since 1941. She would sometimes write under the pseudonyms Mária Papir or Mária Orsi.

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14/12/1904

Virginia Coffey, American civil rights activist (died 2003)

Virginia Coffey (1904–2003), was an American social reformer and civil rights activist who worked for improved race relations in and around Cincinnati, Ohio. She advised and directed several organisations during her career, including a variety of boards and committees.

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14/12/1903

Walter Rangeley, English sprinter (died 1982)

Walter Rangeley was an English athlete who competed mainly in the sprints.

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14/12/1902

Frances Bavier, American actress (died 1989)

Frances Elizabeth Bavier was an American stage and television actress. Originally from New York theatre, she worked in film and television from the 1950s until the 1970s. She is widely known for her role as Aunt Bee on The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D. from 1960 to 1970. Aunt Bee logged more Mayberry years (ten) than any other character. She won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Comedy Actress for the role in 1967. Bavier was also known for playing Amy Morgan on It's a Great Life (1954–1956).

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Herbert Feigl, Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (died 1988)

Herbert Feigl was an Austrian-American philosopher and an early member of the Vienna Circle. He coined the term "nomological danglers".

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14/12/1901

Henri Cochet, French tennis player (died 1987)

Henri Jean Cochet was a French tennis player. He was a world No. 1 ranked player, and a member of the famous "Four Musketeers" from France who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

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Paul of Greece (died 1964)

Paul was King of Greece from 1 April 1947 until his death on 6 March 1964.

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14/12/1899

DeFord Bailey, American Hall of Fame country and blues musician (died 1982)

DeFord Bailey was an American old-time musician and songwriter considered to be the first African American country music star. He started his career in the 1920s and was one of the first performers to be introduced on Nashville radio station WSM's Grand Ole Opry, and becoming, alongside Uncle Dave Macon, one of the program's most famous performers. He was the first African-American performer to appear on the show, and the first performer to record his music in Nashville. Bailey played several instruments in his career but is best known for playing the harmonica, often being referred to as a "harmonica wizard".

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14/12/1897

Kurt Schuschnigg, Italian-Austrian lawyer and politician, 15th Federal Chancellor of Austria (died 1977)

Kurt Alois Josef Johann von Schuschnigg was an Austrian politician who was the Chancellor of the Federal State of Austria from the 1934 assassination of his predecessor Engelbert Dollfuss until the 1938 Anschluss with Nazi Germany. Although Schuschnigg considered Austria a "German state" and Austrians to be Germans, he was strongly opposed to Adolf Hitler's goal to absorb Austria into the Third Reich and wished for it to remain independent.

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Margaret Chase Smith, American educator and politician (died 1995)

Margaret Madeline Chase Smith was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, she served as a U.S. representative (1940–1949) and a U.S. senator (1949–1973) from Maine. She was the first woman to serve in both houses of the U.S. Congress. A Republican, she was among the first to criticize the tactics of Joseph McCarthy in her 1950 speech "Declaration of Conscience".

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14/12/1896

Jimmy Doolittle, American general and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1993)

James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle was an American military general and aviation pioneer who received the Medal of Honor for his raid on Japan during World War II, known as the Doolittle Raid in his honor. He made early coast-to-coast flights and record-breaking speed flights, won many flying races, and helped develop and flight-test instrument flying. According to the FAA, he was the first pilot ever to perform a successful instrument flight.

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14/12/1895

George VI of the United Kingdom (died 1952)

George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of India from 1936 until the British Raj was dissolved in August 1947, and the first Head of the Commonwealth following the London Declaration of 1949.

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Paul Éluard, French poet and author (died 1952)

Paul Éluard, born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel, was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement.

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14/12/1894

Alexander Nelke, Estonian-American painter and carpenter (died 1974)

Sergei Alexander Nelke was an Estonian-American artist in the mid to late 20th century. He is primarily known as marine and landscape artist specializing in square rigged sailing vessels.

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14/12/1887

Xul Solar, Argentinian painter and sculptor (died 1963)

Xul Solar was the adopted name of Oscar Agustín Alejandro Schulz Solari, an Argentine painter, sculptor, writer, and inventor of imaginary languages.

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14/12/1884

Jane Cowl, American actress and playwright (died 1950)

Jane Cowl was an American film and stage actress and playwright who was, in the words of author Anthony Slide, "notorious for playing lachrymose parts". Actress Jane Russell was named in Cowl's honor.

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14/12/1883

Manolis Kalomiris, Greek pianist and composer (died 1962)

Manolis Kalomiris was a Greek classical composer. He was the founder of the Greek National School of Music.

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Morihei Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist, developed aikido (died 1969)

Morihei Ueshiba was a Japanese martial artist and founder of the martial art of aikido. He is often referred to as "the founder" Kaiso (開祖) or Ōsensei (大先生/翁先生), "Great Teacher".

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14/12/1881

Katherine MacDonald, American actress and producer (died 1956)

Katherine Agnew MacDonald was an American stage and film actress, film producer, and model. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was the older sister of actresses Miriam MacDonald and Mary MacLaren.

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14/12/1870

Karl Renner, Austrian lawyer and politician, 4th President of Austria (died 1950)

Karl Renner was an Austrian politician and jurist of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria. He is often referred to as the "Father of the Republics" because he led the first government of the Republic of German-Austria and the First Austrian Republic in 1919 and 1920, and was once again decisive in establishing the present Second Republic after the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945, becoming its first President after World War II.

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14/12/1866

Roger Fry, English painter and critic (died 1934)

Roger Eliot Fry was an English painter and critic, and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Establishing his reputation as a scholar of the Old Masters, he became an advocate of more recent developments in French painting, to which he gave the name Post-Impressionism. He was an early figure to raise public awareness of modern art in Britain, and he emphasised the formal properties of paintings over the "associated ideas" conjured in the viewer by their representational content. He was described by the art historian Kenneth Clark as "incomparably the greatest influence on taste since Ruskin ... In so far as taste can be changed by one man, it was changed by Roger Fry". The taste Fry influenced was primarily that of the Anglophone world, and his success lay largely in alerting an educated public to a compelling version of recent artistic developments of the Parisian avant-garde.

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14/12/1856

Louis Marshall, American lawyer and activist (died 1929)

Louis Marshall was an American corporate, constitutional and civil rights lawyer as well as a mediator and Jewish community leader who worked to secure religious, political, and cultural freedom for all minority groups. Among the founders of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), he defended Jewish and minority rights. He was also a conservationist, and the force behind re-establishing the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University, which evolved into today's State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF).

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14/12/1852

Daniel De Leon, Curaçaoan-American journalist and politician (died 1914)

Daniel De Leon, alternatively spelled Daniel de León, was a Curaçao-born American socialist newspaper editor, politician, Marxist theoretician, and trade union organizer. He is regarded as the forefather of the idea of revolutionary industrial unionism and was the leading figure in the Socialist Labor Party of America from 1890 until the time of his death. De Leon was a co-founder of the Industrial Workers of the World and much of his ideas and philosophy contributed to the creations of Socialist Labor parties across the English-speaking world, including: Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance.

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14/12/1851

Mary Tappan Wright, American novelist and short story writer (died 1916)

Mary Tappan Wright was an American novelist and short story writer best known for her acute characterizations and depictions of academic life. She was the wife of classical scholar John Henry Wright and the mother of legal scholar and utopian novelist Austin Tappan Wright and geographer John Kirtland Wright.

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14/12/1832

Daniel H. Reynolds, American general, lawyer, and politician (died 1902)

Daniel Harris Reynolds was a Confederate States Army brigadier general during the American Civil War. He was born at Centerburg, Ohio, but moved to Iowa, Tennessee, and finally to Arkansas before the Civil War. He was a lawyer in Arkansas before the war. After the war, Reynolds resumed his practice of law and was a member of the Arkansas Senate for one term.

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14/12/1824

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, French painter and illustrator (died 1898)

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes was a French painter known for his mural painting, who came to be known as "the painter for France". He became the co-founder and president of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, and his work influenced many other artists, notably Robert Genin, and he aided medallists by designs and suggestions for their works. Puvis de Chavannes was a prominent painter in the early Third Republic. Émile Zola described his work as "an art made of reason, passion, and will".

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14/12/1816

Abraham Hochmuth, Hungarian rabbi and educator (died 1889)

Abraham Hochmuth was a Hungarian rabbi.

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14/12/1794

Erastus Corning, American businessman and politician (died 1872)

Erastus Corning was an American businessman and politician from Albany, New York. A Democrat, he was most notable for his service as mayor of Albany from 1834 to 1837, in the New York State Senate from 1842 to 1845, and two nonconsecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1857 to 1859, and from 1861 to 1863.

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14/12/1791

Charles Wolfe, Irish priest and poet (died 1823)

Charles Wolfe was an Irish poet, chiefly remembered for "The Burial of Sir John Moore after Corunna" which achieved popularity in 19th century poetry anthologies.

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14/12/1789

Maria Szymanowska, Polish composer and pianist (died 1831)

Maria Szymanowska was a Polish composer and one of the first professional virtuoso pianists of the 19th century. She toured extensively throughout Europe, especially in the 1820s, before settling permanently in St. Petersburg. In the Russian imperial capital, she composed for the court, gave concerts, taught music, and ran an influential salon. The salons in 18th-century France were intellectual gatherings held at home by educated women. In 1837, the composer and music critic Robert Schumann defined salon music as elegant light music and stated that this type of social music should sound beautiful, delicate, and fashionable. Szymanowska was highly praised by Schumann for her salon music works, especially her etudes.

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14/12/1784

Princess Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily (died 1806)

Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily was the youngest surviving daughter of Ferdinand, King of Naples and Sicily, and Maria Carolina of Austria. As the wife of the future Ferdinand VII of Spain, then heir apparent to the Spanish throne, she held the title of Princess of Asturias. It was rumoured that her mother-in-law, Maria Luisa of Parma, caused her death, but there is no evidence to prove this.

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14/12/1777

Du Pré Alexander, 2nd Earl of Caledon, Irish politician, Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone (died 1839)

Colonel Du Pré Alexander, 2nd Earl of Caledon, styled The Honourable Du Pré Alexander from 1790 to 1800 and Viscount Alexander from 1800 to 1802, was an Irish politician, militia officer and colonial administrator who was the second child and only son of James Alexander, 1st Earl of Caledon.

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14/12/1775

Philander Chase, American bishop and educator, founded Kenyon College (died 1852)

Philander Chase was an Episcopal Church bishop, educator, pioneer of the United States western frontier, especially in Ohio and Illinois, and founder of Kenyon College.

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Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, Scottish admiral and politician (died 1860)

Admiral Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, Marquess of Maranhão, styled Lord Cochrane between 1778 and 1831, was a British naval officer, politician and mercenary. Serving during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in the Royal Navy, his naval successes led Napoleon to nickname him le Loup des Mers. He was successful in virtually all his naval actions.

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14/12/1738

Jan Antonín Koželuh, Czech composer and educator (died 1814)

Jan Antonín Koželuh was a Czech composer.

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14/12/1730

Capel Bond, English organist and composer (died 1790)

Capel Bond was an English organist and composer.

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14/12/1720

Justus Möser, German jurist and theorist (died 1794)

Justus Möser was a German jurist, social theorist, and conservative commentator best known for his innovative history of Osnabrück which stressed social and cultural themes. Möser is generally seen as the founder of German Conservatism

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14/12/1678

Daniel Neal, English historian and author (died 1743)

Daniel Neal was an English historian.

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14/12/1640

Aphra Behn, English playwright and author (died 1689)

Aphra Behn was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing, she broke cultural barriers and served as a literary role model for later generations of women authors. Rising from obscurity, she came to the notice of Charles II, who employed her as a spy in Antwerp. Upon her return to London and a probable brief stay in debtors' prison, she began writing for the stage. She belonged to a coterie of poets and famous libertines such as John Wilmot, Lord Rochester. Behn wrote under the pastoral pseudonym Astrea. During the turbulent political times of the Exclusion Crisis, she wrote an epilogue and prologue that brought her legal trouble; she thereafter devoted most of her writing to prose genres and translations. A staunch supporter of the Stuart line, Behn declined an invitation from Bishop Burnet to write a welcoming poem to the new king William III. She died shortly after.

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14/12/1631

Anne Conway, English philosopher and author (died 1679)

Anne Conway was an English philosopher of the seventeenth century, whose work was in the tradition of the Cambridge Platonists. Conway's thought is a deeply original form of rationalist philosophy. Conway rejected Cartesian substance dualism and instead, argued that nature is constituted by one substance. Against the mechanists, she argued that matter is not passive, but has self-motion, perception, and life.

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14/12/1625

Barthélemy d'Herbelot, French orientalist and academic (died 1695)

Barthélemy d'Herbelot de Molainville was a French Orientalist.

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14/12/1607

János Kemény, Hungarian prince (died 1662)

János Kemény was a Hungarian aristocrat, writer and prince of Transylvania.

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14/12/1599

Charles Berkeley, 2nd Viscount Fitzhardinge, English politician (died 1668)

Charles Berkeley, 2nd Viscount Fitzhardinge was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1668. He supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War. He succeeded by special remainder to the peerage of his son who predeceased him.

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14/12/1546

Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer and chemist (died 1601)

Tycho Brahe, generally called Tycho for short, was a Danish astronomer known for his comprehensive and unprecedentedly accurate astronomical observations which helped to turn astronomy into the first modern science and launch the Scientific Revolution. He was known during his lifetime as an astronomer, astrologer, and alchemist. He was the last major astronomer before the invention of the telescope and has been described as the greatest pre-telescopic astronomer.

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14/12/1332

Frederick III, German nobleman (died 1381)

Frederick III the Strict was Landgrave of Thuringia and Margrave of Meissen. A member of the House of Wettin, he strengthened the dynastic territories in central Germany during the mid-fourteenth century.

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14/12/1009

Go-Suzaku, emperor of Japan (died 1045)

Emperor Go-Suzaku was the 69th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.

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