15th December — International Tea Day

On this day, 208 notable people were born on 15th December — spanning from 37 to 2000. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.

15/12/2000

Kayvon Thibodeaux, American football player

Kayvon Thibodeaux is an American professional football edge rusher for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). A native of Los Angeles, he was named USA Today's High School Football Defensive Player of the Year in 2018.

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15/12/1998

Chandler Canterbury, American actor

Chandler Canterbury is an American former child actor.

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15/12/1997

Maude Apatow, American actress

Maude Apatow is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Lexi Howard in the HBO drama series Euphoria (2019–2026).

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Zach Banks, American race car driver

Zachary Banks-Calderín is an American racing driver. Banks has recorded over 90 career race wins.

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Magdalena Fręch, Polish tennis player

Magdalena Fręch is a Polish tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 22, achieved on 28 October 2024. On 8 August 2022, she peaked at No. 174 in the doubles rankings.

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Stefania LaVie Owen, New Zealand-American actress

Stefania LaVie Owen is a New Zealand-American actress. She portrayed Puddle Kadubic in the comedy television series Running Wilde and Dorrit Bradshaw in the teen drama television series The Carrie Diaries. She starred as Melanie in the film Paper Spiders, as Bear in the Netflix show Sweet Tooth, and as Nicole Chance in the Hulu original psychological thriller Chance. She earned a Children's and Family Emmy Award nomination for her role in the third season of Sweet Tooth.

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15/12/1996

Jenifer Brening, German singer

Jenifer Brening is a German singer and songwriter who represented San Marino in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal, with the song "Who We Are", alongside Jessika. She previously participated in the talent show The Winner Is ... and in the eleventh season of the talent show Deutschland sucht den Superstar.

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Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ukrainian footballer

Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Zinchenko is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a left-back or midfielder for Eredivisie club Ajax and the Ukraine national team.

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15/12/1995

Jahlil Okafor, American basketball player

Jahlil Obika Okafor is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for Levanga Hokkaido of the B.League. He played his freshman season of college basketball for the 2014–15 Duke national championship team. He was selected with the third overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.

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15/12/1993

Daniel Ochefu, American basketball player

Daniel Hassan Ochefu is an American-born Nigerian professional basketball player who last played for the Blackwater Bossing of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats, and had a short, 19-game stint in the NBA with the Washington Wizards.

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15/12/1992

Daiamami Genki, Japanese sumo wrestler

Daiamami Genki is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Tatsugō, Kagoshima.

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Jesse Lingard, English footballer

Jesse Ellis Lingard, also known as JLingz, is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Corinthians. He has won the UEFA Europa League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, and FA Community Shield, being one of only three players to score in all of the latter three finals.

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Maximiliano Meza, Argentine footballer

Maximiliano Eduardo Meza is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Argentine Primera Division club River Plate.

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Alex Telles, Brazilian footballer

Alex Nicolao Telles is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Botafogo and the Brazil national team.

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15/12/1991

Conor Daly, American race car driver

Conor James Daly is an American-Irish professional racing driver who competes part-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 23 Chevrolet for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. He has previously competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series, GP2 Series, ARCA Menards Series, Nitrocross and Road to Indy.

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Yanni Gourde, Canadian ice hockey player

Yanni Gourde is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a forward for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL).

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Alana Haim, American musician and actress

Alana Mychal Haim is an American musician and actress. She is a member of the pop rock band Haim, along with her older sisters Este and Danielle, and performs piano, guitar and vocals. Alana has been nominated for five Grammy Awards. She starred in Paul Thomas Anderson's comedy-drama film Licorice Pizza (2021), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. In 2025, Alana appeared in the acclaimed films The Mastermind and One Battle After Another. In 2026, she portrayed Rachel in the movie The Drama.

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15/12/1989

Nichole Bloom, American actress and model

Nichole Sakura O'Connor is an American actress best known for her roles as Cheyenne Tyler Lee in the NBC sitcom Superstore (2015–2021), Amanda in Shameless (2014–2016), and as Emily Davis in the horror video game Until Dawn developed by Supermassive Games.

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15/12/1988

Erik Gustafsson, Swedish ice hockey player

Erik Gustafsson is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman and captain for Luleå HF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

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Emily Head, English actress

Emily Head is an English actress. Her breakout role was as Carli D'Amato in the E4 sitcom The Inbetweeners (2008–2010), and she later played Rebecca White in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale and Colette Andrews in BBC One drama The Syndicate.

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Steven Nzonzi, French footballer

Steven Nkemboanza Mike Christopher Nzonzi is a French professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for EFL Championship club Stoke City.

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15/12/1987

Josh Norman, American football player

Joshua Ricardo Norman is an American professional football cornerback. He played college football for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers and was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL draft. Norman has also played for the Washington Redskins, Buffalo Bills, and San Francisco 49ers, and was once considered to be among the best cornerbacks in the NFL. He also participated in the celebrity dancing competition show Dancing with the Stars, finishing as the runner-up of its 26th season in 2018.

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15/12/1986

Kim Junsu, South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer

Kim Jun-su, known mononymously as Junsu or by the stage name XIA, is a South Korean singer-songwriter and musical actor. He is a former member of JYJ, and was one of the original members of TVXQ, during which time he was known by the stage name Xiah Junsu (시아준수).

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Iveta Mazáčová, Czech sprinter

Iveta Mazáčová is a Czech athlete who specialises in the sprint disciplines 60 m, 100 m and 200 metres.

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Keylor Navas, Costa Rican footballer

Keilor Antonio Navas Gamboa, known as Keylor Navas, is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for and captains Liga MX club Pumas UNAM and the Costa Rica national team. He is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers of his generation, and one of the greatest ever CONCACAF goalkeepers.

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Snejana Onopka, Ukrainian model

Snijana Dmytrivna Onopko, known professionally as Snejana Onopka, is a Ukrainian model. Onopka rose to prominence after being photographed by Steven Meisel for the Prada campaign and two covers of Vogue Italia.

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15/12/1985

Diogo Fernandes, Brazilian footballer

Diogo Fernandes is a Brazilian footballer.

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15/12/1984

Martyn Bernard, English high jumper

Martyn John Bernard is a British former athlete who competed in the high jump and appeared at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

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Martin Škrtel, Slovak footballer

Martin Škrtel is a Slovak former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is currently the sporting director of Slovak First League club Spartak Trnava.

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15/12/1983

Delon Armitage, Trinidadian-English rugby player

Delon Anthony Armitage is a rugby union coach and former player who played at wing or fullback for Lyon OU and is capped for England. He also occasionally played centre. Armitage started out at London Irish and Toulon. He sometimes did place kicking, mainly from a distance or if the regular kicker was unable to take it. He left Toulon at the end of the 2015/2016 season to join French Top 14 side Lyon. He retired at the end of the 2018/2019 season.

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René Duprée, Canadian professional wrestler

René Goguen, better known by his ring name René Duprée is a Canadian professional wrestler and podcaster. Goguen is best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment, where he is a one-time World Tag Team Champion with Sylvain Grenier as the tag team La Résistance and a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion with Kenzo Suzuki. He has also worked for Japanese promotions All Japan Pro Wrestling, Wrestle-1 and Hustle.

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Camilla Luddington, English actress

Camilla Anne Luddington is an English actress, best known for her role as Dr. Jo Wilson in the ABC medical drama series Grey's Anatomy. She is also known for voicing Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider Survivor trilogy video games and Zatanna in the DC Animated Movie Universe.

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Ronnie Radke, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Ronald Joseph Radke is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter who is the frontman of rock band Falling in Reverse and former frontman of post-hardcore band Escape the Fate. He rose to popularity with Escape the Fate, but was kicked out in 2008 after being sentenced to prison for violating probation. While in prison, Radke started a new band called From Behind These Walls, which later changed its name to Falling in Reverse. The band began recording upon his release from prison in December 2010.

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Sophia Young, Vincentian-American basketball player

Sophia Yvonne Ashley Young-Malcolm is a Vincentian-American former professional women's basketball player. She played with the San Antonio Stars in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Young-Malcolm has since been inducted into the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

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15/12/1982

Charlie Cox, English actor

Charles Thomas Cox is an English actor. He is known for portraying Matt Murdock / Daredevil in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2015, including in the television series Daredevil (2015–2018) and Daredevil: Born Again (2025–present).

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Borja García, Spanish race car driver

Borja García Menéndez is a Spanish racing driver. He last competed in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, having last driven for Alex Caffi Motorsport in a part-time effort in 2018. He was the 2004 Spanish Formula Three champion, and raced in the inaugural GP2 Series season.

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George O. Gore II, American actor and comedian

George Owen Gore II is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for portraying Gregory "G" Williams on the FOX series New York Undercover from 1994 to 1998 and Michael Kyle, Jr. on the ABC sitcom My Wife and Kids from 2001 to 2005. He was also one of the main characters in the cast of the comedy Second Generation Wayans. Throughout his career, Gore has received four NAACP Image Award nominations.

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Tatiana Perebiynis, Ukrainian tennis player

Tatiana Yurevna Perebiynis is a former professional tennis player from Ukraine.

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15/12/1981

Michelle Dockery, English actress

Michelle Suzanne Dockery is an English actress, best known for starring as Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV television period drama series Downton Abbey (2010–2015), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She reprised her role in the films Downton Abbey (2019), Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022) and Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025).

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Brendan Fletcher, Canadian actor and screenwriter

Brendan Fletcher is a Canadian actor. He first gained recognition as a child actor, being nominated for a Gemini Award for his acting debut in the made-for-television film Little Criminals and winning a Leo Award for his role in the TV series Caitlin's Way. He subsequently won the Genie Award for Best Leading Actor for John Greyson's The Law of Enclosures, and was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Turning Paige.

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Andy González, Puerto Rican-American baseball player

Angel Manuel "Andy" González is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball outfielder, third baseman and the current assistant hitting coach for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played professionally for the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, and Florida Marlins.

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Thomas Herrion, American football player (died 2005)

Thomas Lovell Herrion was an American football offensive guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. He also was a member of the Hamburg Sea Devils in NFL Europe. He played college football at the University of Utah.

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Roman Pavlyuchenko, Russian footballer

Roman Anatolyevich Pavlyuchenko is a Russian football coach and a former player who played as a striker. He works as a forwards coach with Rodina-2 Moscow.

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15/12/1980

Élodie Gossuin, French beauty pageant titleholder and model

Élodie Gossuin-Lacherie is a French beauty pageant titleholder, model, radio and television presenter, columnist and regional politician. She was elected Miss Picardy 2000, Miss France 2001, and Miss Europe 2001.

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Sergio Pizzorno, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

Sergio Lorenzo "Serge" Pizzorno is an English musician, singer, songwriter, artist, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder, guitarist, and second vocalist of the rock band Kasabian, for whom he became the primary songwriter after the departure of Christopher Karloff in 2006 and the sole vocalist following the firing of Tom Meighan in 2020. He is also a member of Loose Tapestries alongside Noel Fielding and fellow Kasabian member Tim Carter, a group put together to produce music for Fielding's TV series Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy.

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Manuel Wilhelm, German rugby player

Manuel Wilhelm is a German international rugby union player, playing for the RG Heidelberg in the Rugby-Bundesliga and the German national rugby union team.

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15/12/1979

Adam Brody, American actor

Adam Jared Brody is an American actor. His breakout role was as Seth Cohen on the Fox television series The O.C. (2003–2007). For his performance as Noah Roklov in the Netflix romantic comedy series Nobody Wants This (2024–present), he earned nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series (Musical/Comedy) and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series; he won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series.

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Eric Young, Canadian-American wrestler

Jeremy Fritz, known by his ring name Eric Young, is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Young is also known for his time in WWE.

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15/12/1978

Ned Brower, American drummer

Edward Andrew "Ned" Brower is an American musician, model, nurse, and actor. He was the former drummer/vocalist in the Los Angeles rock quintet Rooney.

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Mark Jansen, Dutch guitarist and songwriter

Markus Hubertus Johannes Jansen is a Dutch guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. A prominent figure in the symphonic metal subgenre, he is known for his work with the bands After Forever (1995–2002), Epica (2002–present), and MaYaN (2010–present).

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Jerome McDougle, American football player

Jerome McDougle is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles 15th overall in the 2003 NFL draft. McDougle played college football at the University of Miami. He also played in the NFL for the New York Giants.

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15/12/1977

Mehmet Aurélio, Brazilian-Turkish footballer and manager

Mehmet Aurélio, originally Marco Aurélio Brito dos Prazeres, is a football coach and former defensive midfielder. Formed at Flamengo, where he made over 100 appearances, Aurélio spent most of his career in Turkey, making 254 Süper Lig appearances and scoring 29 goals for Trabzonspor, Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş, winning three league titles with the second of them. He also played two seasons in La Liga for Real Betis.

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Geoff Stults, American actor and producer

Geoffrey Stults is an American actor. His first regular roles on television included 7th Heaven, October Road, and Happy Town. He went on to star as Major Walter Sherman on The Finder and Sgt. Pete Hill on Enlisted. Most recently, he played Mark McCullough on Little Fires Everywhere, Marco Strzalkowski on Guilty Party, and Jake Davis on The Last Thing He Told Me. He also played the recurring role of Mitch in the hit Netflix series Grace and Frankie.

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15/12/1976

Baichung Bhutia, Indian footballer and manager

Bhaichung Bhutia, also spelled as Baichung Bhutia, is an Indian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Bhutia is considered as the torchbearer of Indian football in the international arena. He is often nicknamed the Sikkimese Sniper because of his shooting skills in football. Three-time Indian Player of the Year I. M. Vijayan described Bhutia as "God's gift to Indian football".

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Kim Eagles, Canadian sport shooter

Kim Eagles is a Canadian sport shooter. Eagles won a gold medal at the 1999 Pan American Games in the 10 metre air pistol event. She also participated in the 2000 Summer Olympics in the 10 metre air pistol event.

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Aaron Miles, American baseball player and coach

Aaron Wade Miles is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2003 to 2011 for the Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Dodgers. He also managed the Pittsburg Diamonds of the Pacific Association. In 2024, Miles was named infield and third base coach of the newly formed Oakland Ballers of the Pioneer League. On July 21, 2024, the Ballers fired manager Micah Franklin and named Miles interim manager.

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Todd Tichenor, American baseball player and umpire

Todd Frederick Tichenor is an American professional baseball umpire. He became a Major League Baseball reserve umpire in 2007 and was promoted to the full-time MLB staff in 2012. He wore number 97 until the 2014 season, when he switched to number 13.

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15/12/1975

Samira Saraya, Palestinian actor, filmmaker, poet and rapper

Samira Saraya is a Palestinian-Israeli film, television and theater actor, filmmaker, poet, rapper and spoken word artist.

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15/12/1974

Garath Archer, English rugby player

Garath Archer is an English former rugby union player. He played for both Bristol Rugby and the Newcastle Falcons.Garath was an apprentice carpenter. In total Archer earned 21 caps for England, including games at the 1999 World Cup. At club level he began his career at Newcastle Falcons and made 20 appearances for them as they won the 1997-98 Premiership. He missed Newcastle's victory in the 2001 Anglo-Welsh Cup final but started the final as they won the tournament again in 2004.

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P. J. Byrne, American actor

Paul Jeffrey Byrne is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Nicky "Rugrat" Koskoff in the Martin Scorsese film The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Irv Smiff on the UPN/CW series The Game, and Bolin on Nickelodeon's animated series The Legend of Korra (2012–2014).

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15/12/1973

Surya Bonaly, French figure skater

Surya Varuna Bonaly is a French retired figure skater and coach. She is a three-time World silver medalist (1993–1995), a five-time European champion (1991–1995), the 1991 World Junior Champion, and a nine-time French national champion (1989–1997).

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Ryoo Seung-wan, South Korean actor, director, and screenwriter

Ryoo Seung-wan is a South Korean filmmaker. He made his debut in 1996 with the short film Dangerous Head, then worked as a director under director Park Chan-wook, took film lessons, and made his feature film debut with Die Bad (2000). He received the Blue Dragon Film Awards for Best New Director, drawing attention from the film industry. Ryoo Seung-wan is called Korea's "action kid" for his unique action and rough life style.

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15/12/1972

Rodney Harrison, American football player and sportscaster

Rodney Scott Harrison is an American former professional football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons with the San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots. He was selected in the fifth round of the 1994 NFL draft by the Chargers, where he spent his first nine seasons, and was a member of the Patriots in his last six. Since retiring from the NFL in 2009, he has served as a commentator for NBC's Football Night in America.

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Lee Jung-jae, South Korean actor

Lee Jung-jae is a South Korean actor, filmmaker, and businessman. Considered one of South Korea's most successful actors, he has received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, an Actor Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award, six Baeksang Arts Awards, in addition to nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a Gotham Award. Lee is also a businessman who has launched a restaurant chain in Seoul and founded several companies, including the development firm Seorim C&D, some of which he co-owns with Jung Woo-sung.

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Stuart Townsend, Irish actor

Stuart Townsend is an Irish actor. He portrayed Lestat de Lioncourt in the film adaptation of Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned (2002), and Dorian Gray in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003). In 2007, he directed the film Battle in Seattle.

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Alexandra Tydings, American actress, director, writer and producer

Alexandra Huntingdon Tydings is an American actress, director, writer, producer, and activist, best known for her role as Greek Goddess Aphrodite on the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and its spin-off, Xena: Warrior Princess.

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15/12/1971

Clint Lowery, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Clint Edward Lowery is an American musician, songwriter and producer, best known as a guitarist and backing vocalist in the rock band Sevendust. He has also played in Dark New Day and Still Rain, and served as the touring guitarist for Korn and Seether through most of 2007 and 2017, respectively. In 2008, he decided to work on new music as a solo artist, and the name of the project was titled Hello Demons Meet Skeletons. Lowery wrote and recorded a six-song EP while off the road with Sevendust, just for a week. He played every instrument on the CD, which was produced by his brother Corey Lowery. The EP, Chills, was released in October, followed by a tour at the same month. He would also later release two more EPs with HDMS. Also his fourth and last EP, Choices, was released in 2013.

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15/12/1970

Frankie Dettori, Italian jockey

Lanfranco "Frankie" Dettori, is a retired Italian jockey who was based in England for a career spanning over 35 years. He was British flat racing Champion Jockey three times and rode the winners of 288 Group 1 races including 23 winners of the British Classic Races. His most celebrated achievement was riding all seven winners on British Festival of Racing Day at Ascot Racecourse on 28 September 1996.

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Lawrence Funderburke, American basketball player

Lawrence Damon Funderburke is an American former professional basketball player.

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Michael Shanks, Canadian actor, screenwriter and director

Michael Garrett Shanks is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Daniel Jackson in the long-running military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 and as Dr. Charles Harris in the Canadian medical drama Saving Hope. He is also known for his work on low budget genre work filmed in Canada.

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15/12/1969

Ralph Ineson, English actor

Ralph Michael Ineson is an English actor, narrator and writer. His film roles include Amycus Carrow in the final three Harry Potter films (2009–2011), William in The Witch (2015), the title character in The Green Knight (2021), Dr. Wilhelm Sievers in Nosferatu (2024), and Galactus in The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025).

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Chantal Petitclerc, Canadian wheelchair racer and senator

Chantal Petitclerc is a Canadian wheelchair racer and a Senator from Quebec.

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Adam Setliff, American discus thrower and lawyer

Adam Setliff is an American former discus thrower who represented his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, finishing 12th and 5th respectively. Born in El Dorado, Arkansas, he set his personal best in the men's discus throw on July 21, 2001, at a meet in La Jolla, California.

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15/12/1968

Garrett Wang, American actor

Garrett Richard Wang is an American actor best known for his role of Ensign Harry Kim in Star Trek: Voyager.

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15/12/1967

David Howells, English footballer and coach

David Howells is an English football coach and former professional footballer.

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Mo Vaughn, American baseball player

Maurice Samuel Vaughn, nicknamed "the Hit Dog", is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman who played for the Boston Red Sox, Anaheim Angels, and New York Mets from 1991 to 2003. He was a three-time All-Star selection and won the American League MVP award in 1995 with Boston.

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15/12/1966

Carl Hooper, Guyanese cricketer and coach

Carl Llewelyn Hooper is a Guyanese former cricketer who captained the West Indies in Test matches and One Day International matches. An all-rounder, he was a right-handed batsman and off-spin bowler, who came to prominence in the late 1980s in a team that included such players as Vivian Richards, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Malcolm Marshall and Courtney Walsh and represented the West Indies over a 16-year international career.

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Molly Price, American actress

Molly Price is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Faith Yokas in the NBC drama series Third Watch (1999–2005). Price has also appeared in recurring and guest-starring roles in many other television dramas and co-starred in a number of films, including Sweet and Lowdown (1999), Chasing Sleep (2000), and Not Fade Away (2012).

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15/12/1964

Paul Kaye, English actor

Paul Kaye is an English comedian and actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Thoros of Myr in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones (2013–17). He started as shock interviewer Dennis Pennis on The Sunday Show (1995–97). His other TV roles include Mike Strutter in the MTV series Strutter (2006–2007), Vince the fox in the BBC black comedy series Mongrels (2010–2011), Vinculus in the BBC fantasy mini-series Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2015), Psychiatrist in the Netflix comedy series After Life (2019–20), Malcolm Donahue in the ITV crime drama Vera (2019–23), and Patrick Katz in the Netflix thriller mini-series The Stranger (2020).

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15/12/1963

Ellie Cornell, American actress and producer

Ellie Cornell is an American actress and producer. She made her film debut in the 1988 film Married to the Mob before becoming known for her roles as Rachel Carruthers in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989), and as Detective Janet Wright in the TV series Femme Fatales.

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Norman J. Grossfeld, American screenwriter and producer

Norman J. Grossfeld is an American director, television producer, record producer, screenwriter and media executive. From February 1994 to December 2009, he was the president of 4Kids Productions, a former subsidiary of 4Kids Entertainment and Leisure Concepts. He produced the English adaptations of the first eight seasons of the Pokémon TV series and five seasons of Yu-Gi-Oh!. He produced five seasons of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, five Pokémon movies, and one Yu-Gi-Oh! movie for 4Kids TV. In addition to producing and executive producing, Grossfeld co-wrote most of the Pokémon films, which grossed over $600 million worldwide. Grossfeld is credited with writing the Pokémon franchise's tagline, "Gotta catch 'em all!" He was also an executive producer for the anime One Piece.

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Helen Slater, American actress

Helen Rachel Slater is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She is best known for playing the DC Comics superheroine Supergirl in the 1984 film Supergirl, as well as appearing in films such as The Legend of Billie Jean (1985), Ruthless People (1986), The Secret of My Success (1987), City Slickers (1991), Chantilly Lace (1993), Lassie (1994), and No Way Back (1995). She provided the voice of Talia al Ghul in Batman: The Animated Series, portrayed Lara-El in Smallville, and played Eliza Danvers in the 2015 Supergirl TV series.

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David Wingate, American basketball player

David Grover Stacey Wingate Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. The shooting guard-small forward spent 15 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with six teams.

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15/12/1962

Tim Gaines, American bass player

Tim Gaines is an American bass guitarist best-known as the long-time bassist for the Christian metal band Stryper until his departure in 2017.

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Simon Hodgkinson, English rugby player and coach

Simon Hodgkinson is a former England international rugby union player. He represented England at fullback between 1989 and 1991, gaining 14 Test caps.

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15/12/1961

Karin Resetarits, Austrian journalist and politician

Karin Kraml is an Austrian journalist and politician. She was a member of the European Parliament from 2004 until 2009. At the time, her surname was Resetarits.

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15/12/1960

Walter Werzowa, Austrian composer and producer

Walter Werzowa is an Austrian-born composer, producer and owner of LA-based music production studio Musikvergnuegen. He is most famous for composing the "Intel bong" jingle and the 1980s hit "Bring Me Edelweiss" as part of the band Edelweiss. Walter Werzowa joined an AI team to co-write Beethoven’s 10th symphony, that premiered October 9, 2021 in Bonn. Robbie Williams heard Walter's Beethoven work and asked to work on Robbie's 2022 Angels remake. He is leading the music department for the immersive Mythos Mozart Experience Vienna. Walter collaborated with Refik Anadol in "Mozart Forever." Walter is heading the Filmmusik department at MDW University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.

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15/12/1959

Greg Matthews, Australian cricketer

Gregory Richard John Matthews is a New South Wales and Australian former cricket all rounder. He was popular with fans as "a tough, useful, determined little cricketer; a steady, flat, off-spin bowler; a staunch, correct left-hand bat; and a brilliant fielder.... also a cocky, slightly zany character."

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Alan Whetton, New Zealand rugby player

Alan Whetton also known as AJ is a former rugby union footballer who played for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks. Whetton first played representative rugby for Auckland in 1981. He played alongside his twin brother Gary for Auckland and later the All Blacks. He played a variety of positions early in his career, playing at number eight and lock before playing most often as a flanker. He first played for the All Blacks in 1984 on their tour of Australia, and played his first Test match on 21 July against Australia.

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Gary Whetton, New Zealand rugby player

Gary William Whetton is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He played 180 matches for Auckland, and 58 tests at lock for the All Blacks from 1981 to 1991. He serves on the Auckland Blues board and was elected Chairman in April 2012. He is the twin brother of fellow All Black Alan Whetton.

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15/12/1958

Carlo J. Caparas, Filipino director and producer

Carlo Magno Jose Caparas was a Filipino comic strip creator, writer, film director, and producer. He was best known for creating several Filipino superheroes and comic book characters, including Panday, Bakekang, Totoy Bato, Joaquin Bordado, Kamagong, Kamandag, Elias Paniki, Tasya Fantasya, and Gagambino, among others. He also gained recognition as the writer-director of numerous sensationalist "massacre" films, such as The Myrna Diones Story, The Maggie dela Riva Story, and Lipa 'Arandia' Massacre.

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Richard Kastle, American classical pianist

Richard Kastle is an American classical pianist and composer.

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15/12/1957

Mario Marois, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster

Mario Marois is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman.

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Mike McAlary, American journalist and author (died 1998)

Michael James McAlary was an American journalist and columnist who worked at the New York Daily News for 12 years, beginning with the police beat. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1998 for his columns exposing police brutality against Haitian immigrant Abner Louima.

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Tim Reynolds, German-American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Tim Reynolds is an American guitarist and multi-instrumentalist known as both a solo artist and as lead guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band. AllMusic critic MacKenzie Wilson has called Reynolds "an under-rated master".

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15/12/1956

John Lee Hancock, American screenwriter, film director, and producer

John Lee Hancock Jr. is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the films The Rookie (2002), The Alamo (2004), The Blind Side (2009), Saving Mr. Banks (2013), The Founder (2016), The Highwaymen (2019), The Little Things (2021), and Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022). He also wrote the screenplay for the film A Perfect World (1993).

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Tony Leon, South African lawyer and politician

Anthony James Leon is a South African politician who served as leader of the opposition from 1999 to 2007 as leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA). He led the DA from its inception in 2000, until his retirement from leadership in 2007. Before that, he led the Democratic Party from 1994. He is the longest-serving leader of the official opposition in parliament since the advent of democracy in 1994. Although still a member of the DA, he served as the South African Ambassador to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay under the African National Congress government from 2009 to 2012.

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15/12/1955

Hector Sants, English banker

Sir Hector William Hepburn Sants is a British investment banker. He was appointed chief executive officer of the Financial Services Authority in July 2007 and stepped down in June 2012. He took up a new position with Barclays Bank at the end of January 2013, but resigned from the bank on 13 November 2013.

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Paul Simonon, English singer-songwriter and bass player

Paul Gustave Simonon is an English musician and artist best known as the bassist for the Clash. More recent work includes his involvement in the supergroup the Good, the Bad & the Queen and playing on the Gorillaz album Plastic Beach in 2010, which saw Simonon reunite with the Clash guitarist Mick Jones and Blur frontman Damon Albarn – and which also led to Simonon becoming the live band's touring bassist for Gorillaz's Escape to Plastic Beach Tour. Simonon is also an established visual artist.

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15/12/1954

Alex Cox, English film director, screenwriter, actor, non-fiction author and broadcaster

Alexander B. H. Cox is an English film director, screenwriter, actor, non-fiction author and broadcaster. Cox experienced success early in his career with Repo Man (1984) and Sid and Nancy (1986). Since the release and commercial failure of Walker (1987), his career has moved towards independent films, including Highway Patrolman (1991) and Three Businessmen (1998), and microbudget features such as Searchers 2.0 (2007) and Repo Chick (2009).

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Oliver Heald, English lawyer and politician, Solicitor General for England and Wales

Sir Oliver Heald, is a British barrister and Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Hertfordshire, formerly North Hertfordshire, from 1992 to 2024.

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Mark Warner, American businessman and politician, 69th Governor of Virginia

Mark Robert Warner is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner served as the 69th governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006. He is vice chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus and vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

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15/12/1953

John R. Allen, American general and diplomat

John Rutherford Allen is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general, and former commander of the NATO International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces – Afghanistan (USFOR-A). On 13 September 2014, president Barack Obama appointed Allen as special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL. He was succeeded in that role by Brett McGurk on 23 October 2015. He is the co-author of Turning Point: Policymaking in the Era of Artificial Intelligence with Darrell M. West and Future War and the Defence of Europe alongside Lieutenant General (Ret.) Ben Hodges and Professor Julian Lindley French. Allen was president of the Brookings Institution from October 2017 until his resignation on 12 June 2022.

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J. M. DeMatteis, American author

John Marc DeMatteis is an American writer of comic books, television, film, and novels. He is known for psychologically and spiritually driven stories that dive deep into the human heart and mind.

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Robert Charles Wilson, American-Canadian author

Robert Charles Wilson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.

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15/12/1952

Rudi Protrudi, American singer-songwriter and producer

Glen Dalpis, known by his stage name Rudi Action Protrudi, is an American rock musician, songwriter, record producer, artist, and actor best known as the lead vocalist and frontman of the garage band The Fuzztones.

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Allan Simonsen, Danish footballer and manager

Allan Rodenkam Simonsen is a Danish former footballer and manager. He most prominently played as a striker for German Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach, winning the 1975 and 1979 UEFA Cups, as well as for Barcelona in Spain, winning the 1982 Cup Winners' Cup. Simonsen is the only footballer to have scored in the European Cup, UEFA Cup, and Cup Winners' Cup finals. Simonsen was named 1977 European Footballer of the Year.

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Julie Taymor, American director, producer, and screenwriter

Julie Taymor is an American director and writer of theater, opera, and film. Her stage adaptation of The Lion King debuted in 1997 and received eleven Tony Award nominations, with Taymor receiving Tony Awards for her direction and costume design. Her 2002 film Frida, about Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, was nominated for five Academy Awards, including a Best Original Song nomination for Taymor's composition "Burn It Blue". She also directed the 2007 jukebox musical film Across the Universe, based on the music of the Beatles.

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15/12/1951

George Donikian, Australian journalist

George Jack Donikian is an Australian former radio and television news presenter/personality. He has worked at the SBS as well as the Nine Network and Ten Network.

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Joe Jordan, Scottish footballer and manager

Joseph Jordan is a Scottish former football player and manager. A forward, his strong, fearless and committed play created his fearsome "Jaws" persona.

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Tim Webster, Australian journalist and sportscaster

Tim Webster is an Australian television and radio personality and sports broadcaster. He held various presenting roles on Network 10 from 1981 until 2008.

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15/12/1950

Melanie Chartoff, American actress and comedian

Melanie Barbara Chartoff is an American actress and comedian. Chartoff first became famous for her comedy work on the ABC series Fridays (1980–1982), and in the 1990s Fox sitcom Parker Lewis Can't Lose. She voiced both Didi Pickles and Grandma Minka, Didi's mother on the Nickelodeon animated series Rugrats and All Grown Up!.

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Sylvester James Gates, American theoretical physicist and professor

Sylvester James Gates Jr., known as S. James Gates Jr. or Jim Gates, is an American theoretical physicist who works on supersymmetry, supergravity, and superstring theory. He is currently the Toll Professor of Physics at the University of Maryland. He also holds the Clark Leadership Chair in Science with the physics department at the University of Maryland College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences. He is also affiliated with the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy. He previously was the Brown University Theoretical Physics Center Director and the Ford Foundation Professor of Physics. He served on former president Barack Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

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15/12/1949

Don Johnson, American actor

Don Wayne Johnson is an American actor and singer-songwriter. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series Miami Vice, for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. He also played the titular character in the 1990s series Nash Bridges. Johnson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1996.

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Brian Roper, English economist and academic

Brian Roper is a British economist and former vice-chancellor of London Metropolitan University.

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15/12/1948

Cassandra Harris, Australian actress (died 1991)

Sandra Colleen Waites, known professionally as Cassandra Harris, was an Australian actress.

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Charlie Scott, American basketball player

Charles Thomas Scott, also known as Shaheed Abdul-Aleem, is an American former professional basketball player. He played two seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Scott was an Olympic Gold Medalist and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018. Scott is the leader in most points per game with 24.8 in Suns franchise history.

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15/12/1946

Carmine Appice, American drummer and songwriter

Carmine Appice is an American rock drummer. He is best known for his associations with Vanilla Fudge; Cactus; the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice; Rod Stewart; King Kobra; and Blue Murder. He is the older brother of Vinny Appice. Appice was inducted into the Classic Drummer Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2014. He is also a bass player.

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Art Howe, American baseball player and manager

Arthur Henry Howe Jr. is an American former professional baseball infielder, coach, scout, and manager, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1974–1975), Houston Astros (1976–1982), and St. Louis Cardinals (1984–1985). Howe managed the Astros (1989–1993), Oakland Athletics (1996–2002), and New York Mets (2003–2004), compiling a career managerial record of 1,129 wins and 1,137 losses.

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Genny Lim, American writer

Genevieve (Genny) Lim is an American poet, playwright, and performer. She is the ninth poet laureate of San Francisco, California, and the first Chinese American in the role. She was the Chair of Community Arts and Education Committee, and Chair of the Advisory Board for the San Francisco Writers Corps. She has performed with Max Roach, Herbie Lewis, Francis Wong, and Jon Jang among others in San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, Houston and Chicago.

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Comunardo Niccolai, Italian footballer (Torres, Cagliari, national team) (died 2024)

Comunardo Niccolai was an Italian footballer, who played as a defender.

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15/12/1945

Heather Booth, American civil rights activist, feminist, and political strategist

Heather Booth is an American civil rights activist, feminist, and political strategist who has been involved in activism for progressive causes. During her student years, she was active in both the civil rights movement and feminist causes. Since then she has had a career involving feminism, community organization, and progressive politics.

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Ivor Crewe, English political scientist and academic

Sir Ivor Martin Crewe DL FAcSS is a former Master of University College, Oxford, and President of the Academy of Social Sciences. He was previously Vice-Chancellor of the University of Essex and also a Professor in the Department of Government at Essex.

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15/12/1944

Jim Leyland, American baseball player and manager

James Richard Leyland is an American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He serves as a special assistant to the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB).

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Chico Mendes, Brazilian trade union leader and activist (died 1988)

Francisco Alves Mendes Filho, better known as Chico Mendes, was a Brazilian rubber tapper, trade union leader, and environmentalist who fought to preserve the Amazon rainforest and advocated for the human rights of Brazilian peasants and Indigenous people. He was assassinated by a hired killer on 22 December 1988. The Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, a body under the jurisdiction of the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment, is named in his honour.

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15/12/1943

Lucien den Arend, Dutch sculptor

Lucien Armand Marco den Arend is a geometric abstract sculptor. As is the case with concrete art, his work is not modeled after any existing object – his sculpture represents only itself. Most of his sculptures and Land art projects were made as public art.

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15/12/1942

Kathleen Blanco, American educator and politician, 54th Governor of Louisiana (died 2019)

Kathleen Marie Blanco was an American politician who served as the 54th governor of Louisiana from 2004 to 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first and, to date, only woman elected as the state's governor.

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15/12/1940

Nick Buoniconti, American football player and sportscaster (died 2019)

Nicholas Anthony Buoniconti was an American professional football player who was a middle linebacker in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Buoniconti played professionally for the Boston Patriots and Miami Dolphins, winning two Super Bowls with the Dolphins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001.

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15/12/1939

Cindy Birdsong, American singer-songwriter

Cynthia Ann Birdsong is an American singer who became famous as a member of the Supremes in 1967, when she replaced co-founding member Florence Ballard. Birdsong had previously been a member of Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles.

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Dave Clark, English musician and songwriter

David Clark is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and entrepreneur. Clark was the leader, drummer, and manager of the 1960s beat group the Dave Clark Five, the first British Invasion band to follow the Beatles to the United States in 1964. In 2008, Clark and his band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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15/12/1938

Michael Bogdanov, Welsh director and screenwriter (died 2017)

Michael Bogdanov was a British theatre director known for his work with new plays, modern reinterpretations of Shakespeare, musicals and work for young people.

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Billy Shaw, American football player (died 2024)

William Lewis Shaw was an American professional football player who was a guard for the Buffalo Bills in the American Football League (AFL). After playing college football for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, he was selected by the Bills in the second round of the 1961 AFL draft. Shaw was the prototypical "pulling guard" who despite his size held his own against much bigger defensive linemen like Ernie Ladd, Earl Faison and Buck Buchanan. He won three straight Eastern Division titles and two AFL championships in 1964 and 1965 with Buffalo.

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15/12/1936

Joe D'Amato, Italian director and producer (died 1999)

Aristide Massaccesi, known professionally as Joe D'Amato, was an Italian film director, producer, cinematographer, and screenwriter who worked in many genres but is best known for his horror, erotic and adult films.

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15/12/1933

Bapu, Indian director and screenwriter (died 2014)

Sattiraju Lakshminarayana, known professionally as Bapu, was an Indian film director, painter, illustrator, cartoonist, screenwriter, music artist, and designer known for his works in Telugu cinema, and Hindi cinema. In 2013, he was awarded the Padma Shri, for his contribution to Indian art and cinema. He has garnered two National Honors, two National Film Awards, seven state Nandi Awards, two Filmfare Awards South, a Raghupathi Venkaiah Award, and a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South.

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Tim Conway, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 2019)

Thomas Daniel "Tim" Conway was an American actor, comedian, writer, and director. Conway is perhaps best known as a regular cast member (1975–1978) on the TV comedy-variety series The Carol Burnett Show where he portrayed his recurrent iconic characters Mister Tudball and the Oldest Man. Conway was known for his physical comedy. Over his career he received numerous accolades, including five Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999 and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2002.

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Donald Woods, South African journalist and activist (died 2001)

Donald James Woods was a South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist. As editor of the Daily Dispatch, he was known for befriending fellow activist Steve Biko, who was killed by police after being detained by the South African government. Woods continued his campaign against apartheid in London, and in 1978 became the first private citizen to address the United Nations Security Council.

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15/12/1932

Jesse Belvin, American singer-songwriter and pianist (died 1960)

Jesse Lorenzo Belvin was an American singer, pianist and songwriter popular in the 1950s. Belvin co-wrote the 1954 Penguins' doo-wop classic "Earth Angel", which sold more than 10 million copies, while his top recording was the 1956 single "Goodnight My Love", a song that reached No. 7 on Billboard's R&B chart.

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John Meurig Thomas, Welsh chemist and academic (died 2020)

Sir John Meurig Thomas, also known as JMT, was a Welsh scientist, educator, university administrator, and historian of science primarily known for his work on heterogeneous catalysis, solid-state chemistry, and surface and materials science.

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15/12/1931

Klaus Rifbjerg, Danish author and poet (died 2015)

Klaus Rifbjerg was a Danish writer. He authored more than 170 novels, books and essays. In 1965 he co-produced the film 4x4 which was entered into the 4th Moscow International Film Festival.

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15/12/1930

Edna O'Brien, Irish novelist, playwright, poet and short story writer (died 2024)

Josephine Edna O'Brien was an Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, poet and short-story writer.

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15/12/1928

Ernest Ashworth, American singer-songwriter (died 2009)

Ernest Bert Ashworth was an American country music singer, broadcaster, and longtime Grand Ole Opry star. Signed to the Hickory label, he recorded two studio albums in his career and charted several singles on Billboard Hot Country Songs, including the number one "Talk Back Trembling Lips" and seven other top ten hits.

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Ida Haendel, Polish-English violinist and educator (died 2020)

Ida Haendel, was a world renowned Polish-British-Canadian violinist. Haendel was a child prodigy, her career spanning over seven decades. She also became an influential teacher.

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Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian-New Zealand painter and architect (died 2000)

Friedrich Stowasser, better known by his pseudonym Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser, was an Austrian visual artist, architect and activist.

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15/12/1926

Bill Pitt, Australian race car driver (died 2017)

William Pitt (1926–2017) was an Australian former racing driver and motor racing official.

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15/12/1925

Kasey Rogers, American actress and author (died 2006)

Kasey Rogers was an American actress and writer, best known for playing the second Louise Tate in the sitcom Bewitched.

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15/12/1924

Frank W. J. Olver, English-American mathematician and academic (died 2013)

Frank William John Olver was a professor of mathematics at the Institute for Physical Science and Technology and Department of Mathematics at the University of Maryland who worked on asymptotic analysis, special functions, and numerical analysis. He was the editor in chief of the NIST Digital Library of Mathematical Functions.

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Ruhi Sarıalp, Turkish triple jumper and educator (died 2001)

Ruhi Sarıalp was a Turkish track and field athlete, who competed mainly in the triple jump. He was born in Manisa.

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15/12/1923

Pierre Cossette, American producer and manager (died 2009)

Pierre Maurice Joseph Cossette was a television executive producer and Broadway producer. Cossette produced the first television broadcast of the Grammy Awards in 1971. He was one of the founders of Dunhill Records.

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Freeman Dyson, English-American physicist and mathematician (died 2020)

Freeman John Dyson was a British-American theoretical physicist and mathematician who worked in quantum field theory, astrophysics, random matrices, mathematical formulation of quantum mechanics, condensed matter physics, nuclear physics, and engineering. He was professor emeritus in the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and a member of the board of sponsors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

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Uziel Gal, German-Israeli engineer, designed the Uzi gun (died 2002)

Uziel "Uzi" Gal was a German-born Israeli firearm designer who invented and became the eponym of the Uzi submachine gun.

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Valentin Varennikov, Russian general and politician (died 2009)

Valentin Ivanovich Varennikov was a Soviet and Russian Army general and politician, best known for being one of the planners and leaders of the Soviet–Afghan War, as well as one of the instigators of the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt.

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15/12/1921

Alan Freed, American radio host (died 1965)

Albert James "Alan" Freed was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout North America, including popularizing the term "rock and roll".

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15/12/1920

Gamal al-Banna, Egyptian author and scholar (died 2013)

Gamal al-Banna was an Egyptian author, and trade unionist. He was the youngest brother of Hassan al-Banna (1906–49), founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. Al-Banna was considered a liberal scholar, known for his criticism of Islamic traditional narratives. He rejected 635 Hadiths of Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim which he found contradictory to the Qur'an. He was a great-uncle of the Swiss Muslim academic and writer Tariq Ramadan.

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Kurt Schaffenberger, German-American sergeant and illustrator (died 2002)

Kurt Schaffenberger was an American comics artist. He was best known for his work on Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family during both the Golden Age and Bronze Age of comics, as well as his work on the title Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane during the 1950s and 1960s. Schaffenberger used the alias "Lou Wahl" on certain comics, when he was moonlighting from his main job of drawing Lois Lane at DC Comics.

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15/12/1919

Max Yasgur, American dairy farmer and host of the Woodstock Music & Art Fair (died 1973)

Max Bernard Yasgur was an American farmer. He was the owner of the 600-acre (240 ha) dairy farm in Bethel, New York, where the Woodstock Music and Art Fair was held on August 15–18, 1969. He sold his farm in 1971 and retired to Florida, where he died in 1973.

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15/12/1918

Jeff Chandler, American actor (died 1961)

Jeff Chandler was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Cochise in Broken Arrow (1950), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was one of Universal Pictures' more popular male stars of the 1950s. His other credits include Sword in the Desert (1948), Deported (1950), Female on the Beach (1955), and Away All Boats (1956). He also performed as a radio actor and as a singer.

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Chihiro Iwasaki, Japanese painter and illustrator (died 1974)

Chihiro Iwasaki was a Japanese artist and illustrator best known for her water-colored illustrations of flowers and children, the theme of which was "peace and happiness for children".

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15/12/1917

Shan-ul-Haq Haqqee, Indian-Pakistani linguist and lexicographer (died 2005)

Shan-ul-Haq Haqqee, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, Tamgha-e-Quaid-i-Azam, was an Urdu poet, writer, journalist, broadcaster, translator, critic, researcher, linguist and lexicographer of Pakistan.

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15/12/1916

Miguel Arraes, Brazilian lawyer and politician, Governor of Pernambuco (died 2005)

Miguel Arraes de Alencar was a Brazilian lawyer and politician. He was mayor of Recife, State Deputy, Federal Deputy and three times Governor of Pernambuco.

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Buddy Cole, American pianist and conductor (died 1964)

Edwin LeMar "Buddy" Cole was a jazz pianist, organist, orchestra leader, and composer. He played behind a number of pop singers, including Rosemary Clooney and Bing Crosby.

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Maurice Wilkins, New Zealand-English physicist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2004)

Maurice Hugh Frederick Wilkins was a New Zealand-born British biophysicist and Nobel laureate whose research spanned multiple areas of physics and biophysics, contributing to the scientific understanding of phosphorescence, isotope separation, optical microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. He is most noted for initiating and leading early X-ray diffraction studies on DNA at King's College London, and for his pivotal role in enabling the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA.

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15/12/1915

Eila Campbell, English geographer and cartographer (died 1994)

Eila Muriel Joice Campbell was an English geographer and cartographer. She was best known for her work on Domesday Geography of England and her work on the international journal, Imago Mundi.

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15/12/1913

Roger Gaudry, Canadian chemist and businessman (died 2001)

Roger Gaudry, was a Canadian chemist, businessman, corporate director, and rector of the Université de Montréal.

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Muriel Rukeyser, American poet, academic, and activist (died 1980)

Muriel Rukeyser was an American poet, essayist, biographer, novelist, screenwriter, and political activist. She wrote across genres and forms, addressing issues related to racial, gender, and class justice, war and war crimes, Jewish culture and diaspora, and American history, politics, and culture. Kenneth Rexroth said that she was the greatest poet of her "exact generation." Anne Sexton famously described her as "beautiful Muriel, mother of everyone"; Adrienne Rich wrote that she was “our twentieth-century Coleridge; our Neruda."

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15/12/1911

Nicholas P. Dallis, American psychiatrist and illustrator (died 1991)

Nicholas Peter Dallis, known as Nicholas P. Dallis, was an American psychiatrist turned comic strip writer, creator of the soap opera-style strips Rex Morgan, M.D., Judge Parker and Apartment 3-G. Separating his comics career from his medical practice, he wrote under pseudonyms, Dal Curtis for Rex Morgan, M.D. and Paul Nichols for Judge Parker.

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Stan Kenton, American pianist and composer (died 1979)

Stanley Newcomb Kenton was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though Kenton had several pop hits from the early 1940s into the 1960s, his music was always forward-looking. Kenton was also a pioneer in the field of jazz education, creating the Stan Kenton Jazz Camp in 1959 at Indiana University.

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15/12/1910

John Hammond, American record producer and critic (died 1987)

John Henry Hammond Jr. was an American record producer, civil rights activist, and music critic active from the 1930s to the early 1980s. As a talent scout, Hammond became one of the most influential figures in 20th-century popular music. He is the father of blues musician John P. Hammond.

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15/12/1909

Sattar Bahlulzade, Azerbaijani-Russian painter (died 1974)

Sattar Bahlulzade was an Azerbaijani painter, best known for his landscape paintings depicting the nature of Azerbaijan. He is considered to be the founder of Azerbaijani Impressionism.

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Eliza Atkins Gleason, American librarian (died 2009)

Eliza Atkins Gleason was the first African American to receive a doctorate in Library Science at the University of Chicago Graduate Library School in 1940. In 1941, she established and became the first Dean of the School of Library Service at Atlanta University and created a library education program that trained 90 percent of all African-American librarians by 1986.

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15/12/1908

Swami Ranganathananda, Indian monk, scholar, and author (died 2005)

Swami Ranganathananda was a Hindu swami of the Ramakrishna Math order. He served as the 13th president of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission.

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15/12/1907

Gordon Douglas, American actor, director, and screenwriter (died 1993)

Gordon Douglas Brickner was an American film director and actor, who directed many different genres of films over the course of a five-decade career in motion pictures.

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Oscar Niemeyer, Brazilian architect, designed the United Nations Headquarters and the Cathedral of Brasília (died 2012)

Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho, known as Oscar Niemeyer, was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was best known for his design of civic buildings for Brasília, a planned city that became Brazil's capital in 1960, as well as his collaboration with other architects on the headquarters of the United Nations in New York. His exploration of the aesthetic possibilities of reinforced concrete was highly influential in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

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15/12/1903

Tamanishiki San'emon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 32nd Yokozuna (died 1938)

Tamanishiki San'emon was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Kōchi. He was the sport's 32nd yokozuna. He won a total of nine top division yūshō or tournament championships from 1929 to 1936, and was the dominant wrestler in sumo until the emergence of Futabayama. He died whilst still an active wrestler.

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15/12/1902

Robert F. Bradford, American lawyer and politician, 57th Governor of Massachusetts (died 1983)

Robert Fiske Bradford was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as the 57th governor of Massachusetts, from 1947 to 1949.

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15/12/1899

Harold Abrahams, English sprinter, lawyer, and journalist (died 1978)

Harold Maurice Abrahams was an English track and field athlete. He was Olympic champion in 1924 in the 100 metres sprint, a feat depicted in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire.

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15/12/1896

Betty Smith, American author and playwright (died 1972)

Betty Smith was an American playwright and novelist, who wrote the 1943 bestseller A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

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15/12/1894

Vibert Douglas, Canadian astrophysicist and astronomer (died 1988)

Alice Vibert Douglas, who usually went by her middle name, was a Canadian astronomer and astrophysicist.

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Josef Imbach, Swiss sprinter (died 1964)

Josef Imbach was a Swiss sprinter who competed in the Olympic Games in 1920 and 1924.

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15/12/1892

J. Paul Getty, American-English businessman and art collector, founded Getty Oil (died 1976)

Jean Paul Getty Sr. was an American petroleum industrialist who founded the Getty Oil Company in 1942 and was the longtime patriarch of the Getty family. A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, he was the son of pioneer oilman George Getty. In 1957, Fortune magazine named J. Paul Getty the wealthiest living American, while the 1966 Guinness Book of Records declared him to be the world's wealthiest private citizen, worth an estimated $1.2 billion. At the time of his death, he was worth more than $6 billion. A book published in 1996 ranked him as the 67th wealthiest American who ever lived.

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15/12/1891

A.P. Carter, American country singer-songwriter and musician (died 1960)

Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter was an American musician and a founding member of the Carter Family, one of the most popular acts in the history of country music.

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15/12/1890

Harry Babcock, American pole vaulter (died 1965)

Henry Stoddard Babcock was an American pole vaulter who won the gold medal at the 1912 Summer Olympics, setting an Olympic record at 3.95 meters.

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15/12/1888

Maxwell Anderson, American journalist and playwright (died 1959)

James Maxwell Anderson was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist.

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15/12/1886

Wanda Krahelska-Filipowicz, Polish politician and resistance fighter (died 1968)

Wanda Krahelska-Filipowicz, code name "Alinka" or "Alicja", was a leading figure in Warsaw’s underground resistance movement throughout the years of German occupation during World War II in Poland, co-founder of Żegota. As the well-connected wife of a former ambassador to Washington, she used her contacts with both the military and political leadership of the Polish Underground to materially influence the underground's policy of aiding Poland's Jewish population during the war.

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Florence Jepperson Madsen, American contralto singer and professor of music (died 1977)

Florence Jepperson Madsen was an American contralto singer, vocal instructor, and professor of music. She served as the head of the music department of Brigham Young University (BYU) for ten years.

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15/12/1885

Leonid Pitamic, Slovenian lawyer, philosopher, and academic (died 1971)

Leonid Pitamic was a Slovene Yugoslav lawyer, philosopher of law, diplomat, and academic.

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15/12/1878

Hans Carossa, German author and poet (died 1956)

Hans Carossa was a German novelist, poet, and medical doctor, known mostly for his autobiographical novels, and his inner emigration during the Nazi era.

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15/12/1875

Emilio Jacinto, Filipino journalist and activist (died 1899)

Emilio Jacinto y Dizon was a Filipino general during the Philippine Revolution. He was one of the highest-ranking officers in the Philippine Revolution and was one of the highest-ranking officers of the revolutionary society Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-galang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan, or simply and more popularly called Katipunan, being a member of its Supreme Council. He was elected Secretary of State for the Haring Bayang Katagalugan, a revolutionary government established during the outbreak of hostilities. He is popularly known in Philippine history textbooks as the Brains of the Katipunan while some contend he should be rightfully recognized as the "Brains of the Revolution". Jacinto was present in the so-called Cry of Pugad Lawin with Andrés Bonifacio, the Supremo of the Katipunan, and others of its members which signaled the start of the Revolution against the Spanish government in the islands.

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15/12/1869

Leon Marchlewski, Polish chemist and academic (died 1946)

Leon Paweł Teodor Marchlewski was a Polish chemist, the first Director and Honorary Member of the Polish Chemical Society. He was one of the founders in the field of chlorophyll chemistry and a precursor of clinical chemistry.

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15/12/1863

Arthur Dehon Little, American chemist and engineer (died 1935)

Arthur Dehon Little was an American chemist and chemical engineer. He founded the consulting company Arthur D. Little and was instrumental in developing chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Little is credited with introducing the term unit operations to chemical engineering and promoting the concept of industrial research.

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15/12/1861

Charles Duryea, American engineer and businessman, co-founded the Duryea Motor Wagon Company (died 1938)

Charles Edgar Duryea was an American engineer. He was the engineer of the second working American gasoline-powered car and co-founder of Duryea Motor Wagon Company. He was born near Canton, Illinois, a son of George Washington Duryea and Louisa Melvina Turner, and died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but spent most of his life working in Springfield, Massachusetts.

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Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, Finnish lawyer, judge, and politician, 3rd President of Finland (died 1944)

Pehr Evind Svinhufvud af Qvalstad served as the president of Finland from 1931 to 1937. Before 1917, as a lawyer, judge, and politician in the Grand Duchy of Finland, Svinhufvud played a major role in the movement for Finnish independence, and he presented the Declaration of Independence to the Parliament on 15 December [O.S. 4 December] 1917.

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15/12/1860

Niels Ryberg Finsen, Faroese-Danish physician and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1904)

Niels Ryberg Finsen was a physician and scientist. In 1903, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology "in recognition of his contribution to the treatment of diseases, especially lupus vulgaris, with concentrated light radiation, whereby he has opened a new avenue for medical science."

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Abner Powell, American baseball player and manager (died 1953)

Abner Charles Powell was an American professional baseball player. Powell played in Major League Baseball for the Washington Nationals of the Union Association in 1884. He later played for the Baltimore Orioles and the Cincinnati Red Stockings of the American Association in 1886. He also managed and owned several teams, and is best known for his innovations as a manager.

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15/12/1859

L. L. Zamenhof, Polish linguist and ophthalmologist, created Esperanto (died 1917)

L. L. Zamenhof (1859–1917) was the creator of Esperanto, the most widely used constructed international auxiliary language.

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15/12/1852

Henri Becquerel, French physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1908)

Antoine Henri Becquerel was a French experimental physicist who shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics with Marie and Pierre Curie for his discovery of radioactivity.

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15/12/1846

Amunda Kolderup, Norwegian opera singer (died 1882)

Amunda Bartholda Wilhelmine Mariane Kolderup was a Norwegian opera singer.

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15/12/1837

E. W. Bullinger, English minister, scholar, and theologian (died 1913)

Ethelbert William Bullinger was an Anglican clergyman, biblical scholar, and ultradispensationalist theologian.

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15/12/1832

Gustave Eiffel, French architect and engineer, co-designed the Eiffel Tower (died 1923)

Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Métiers, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway network, most famously the Garabit Viaduct. He is best known for the Eiffel Tower, designed by his company and built for the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris, and his contribution to building the Statue of Liberty in New York. After his retirement from engineering, Eiffel focused on research into meteorology and aerodynamics, making significant contributions in both fields.

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15/12/1789

Carlos Soublette, Venezuelan general and politician, 11th President of Venezuela (died 1870)

Carlos Valentín José de la Soledad Antonio del Sacramento de Soublette y Jerez de Aristeguieta was a Venezuelan politician and military officer who was the 7th and 9th president of Venezuela from 1837 to 1839 and again from 1843 to 1847 and a hero of the Venezuelan War of Independence.

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15/12/1710

Francesco Zahra, Maltese painter (died 1773)

Francesco Vincenzo Zahra was a Maltese painter who mainly painted religious works in the Neapolitan Baroque style. His works may be found in many churches around the Maltese Islands, as well as in some private collections and museums. He is considered to be the greatest painter from 18th-century Malta.

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15/12/1686

Jean-Joseph Fiocco, Flemish violinist and composer (died 1746)

Jean-Joseph Fiocco was a Flemish composer of the high and late Baroque period.

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15/12/1657

Michel Richard Delalande, French organist and composer (died 1726)

Michel Richard Delalande [de Lalande] was a French Baroque composer and organist who was in the service of King Louis XIV. He was one of the most important composers of grands motets. He also wrote orchestral suites known as Simphonies pour les Soupers du Roy and ballets.

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15/12/1610

David Teniers the Younger, Flemish painter (died 1690)

David Teniers the Younger or David Teniers II was a Flemish Baroque painter, printmaker, and artist. He was an extremely versatile artist known for his prolific output. He was an innovator in a wide range of genres such as history painting, genre painting, landscape painting, portrait and still life. He is now best remembered as the leading Flemish genre painter of his day. Teniers is particularly known for developing the peasant genre, the tavern scene, pictures of collections and scenes with alchemists and physicians.

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15/12/1567

Christoph Demantius, German composer, poet, and theorist (died 1643)

Johann Christoph Demantius was a German composer, music theorist, writer and poet. He was an exact contemporary of Monteverdi, and represented a transitional phase in German Lutheran music from the polyphonic Renaissance style to the early Baroque.

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15/12/1447

Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria (died 1508)

Albert IV was Duke of Bavaria-Munich from 1467, and duke of the reunited Bavaria from 1503.

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15/12/1242

Prince Munetaka, Japanese shōgun (died 1274)

Prince Munetaka was the sixth shōgun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan who reigned from 1252 to 1266.

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15/12/0130

Lucius Verus, Roman emperor (died 169)

Year 130 (CXXX) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Catullinus and Aper. The denomination 130 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

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15/12/0037

Nero, Roman emperor (died 68)

AD 37 (XXXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Proculus and Pontius. The denomination AD 37 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

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