Born on Monday, 22nd December – Famous Birthdays
On this day, 221 notable people were born on 22nd December — spanning from 244 to 2006. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.
Monday, 22 December 2025 marks the birth date of numerous notable figures across entertainment, sports and public life. Among those celebrating their birthday today is Raphael Guerreiro, the Portuguese footballer who has established himself as a prominent defender in European club football. Ralph Fiennes, the acclaimed English actor known for his diverse roles in cinema, was born on this date in 1962. The list of individuals born on 22 December extends across centuries, including historical figures such as Giacomo Puccini, the Italian composer whose operatic works remain central to the classical repertoire, and Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth guru of Sikhism who shaped the religion’s philosophy and practice.
The day also records births spanning various disciplines beyond entertainment and sport. From science and academia, Thomas C. Südhofer achieved recognition as a German-American biochemist and Nobel Prize laureate. Historical records reveal births of political figures including Jim Wright, who served as the 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and Lady Bird Johnson, who became the 38th First Lady of the United States and championed beautification initiatives.
Contemporary entertainment continues the tradition of 22 December births with performers such as Meghan Trainor, the American singer-songwriter and producer, and Jack Draper, the British tennis player gaining prominence in professional sport. The date encompasses musicians, athletes, actors and public figures whose contributions span politics, science, the arts and international sports, reflecting the diverse range of human achievement recorded across history for this particular date.
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22/12/2006
Callan McKenna, Scottish footballer
Callan Thomas McKenna is a Scottish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Bournemouth. He is a Scotland youth international.
22/12/2003
Joe Anders, American-British actor
Joe Alfie Winslet Mendes, known professionally as Joe Anders, is an American-British actor, screenwriter and composer. He is the son of actress Kate Winslet and film director Sam Mendes, and the younger half-brother of actress Mia Threapleton. He began his career with a small part in the war drama 1917 (2019), the Channel 4 film I Am Ruth (2022) and the biographical war drama Lee (2023) before starring in the musical coming-of-age romantic comedy Bonus Track (2023). He also wrote the screenplay for the film Goodbye June (2025), his mother's directorial debut.
22/12/2002
David Datro Fofana, Ivorian footballer
David Datro Fofana is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a forward for French Ligue 1 club Strasbourg on loan from Premier League club Chelsea.
22/12/2001
Camila Osorio, Colombian tennis player
María Camila Osorio Serrano is a Colombian professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 33 by the WTA, achieved on 4 April 2022 and a doubles ranking of No. 162, achieved on 8 September 2025. She is currently the No. 1 singles player from Colombia.
Jack Draper, British tennis player
Jack Alexander Draper is a British professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 4, achieved on 9 June 2025. He is currently the No. 2 singles player from Great Britain.
22/12/2000
Joshua Bassett, American actor and singer
Joshua Taylor Bassett is an American actor and singer. He began his career as a teen actor, appearing on the third season of Disney Channel family sitcom Stuck in the Middle (2018) as Aidan Peters. Bassett rose to prominence for his leading role as high school student Ricky Bowen in the Disney+ streaming series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019–2023), and for its accompanying soundtracks, for which he was nominated for two Children's and Family Emmy Awards, winning in 2023. He also starred in Better Nate Than Ever and led the voice cast in Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again. In music, Bassett was signed to Warner Records in 2020 and subsequently released four extended plays. His debut album The Golden Years was released on July 26, 2024.
22/12/1998
G Hannelius, American actress and singer
Genevieve Knight Hannelius is an American actress and singer who made her acting debut starring as Courtney Patterson on the ABC series Surviving Suburbia (2009). She had recurring roles on the Disney Channel series Sonny with a Chance (2009–2010) and Good Luck Charlie (2010–2011), and soon received recognition for her role as Avery Jennings in the Disney Channel sitcom Dog with a Blog (2012–2015). She has also voiced Rosebud in the Air Buddies film series (2011–2013), for which she won a Young Artist Award in 2012 and starred as Christa Carlyle in the crime series American Vandal (2017).
Latto, American rapper and singer
Alyssa Michelle Stephens, known professionally as Latto, is an American rapper and singer from Columbus, OH. She first appeared on Jermaine Dupri's reality television series The Rap Game in 2016, where she was known as Miss Mulatto and won the show's first season, but rejected its award of a recording contract with Dupri's So So Def Recordings.
Casper Ruud, Norwegian tennis player
Casper Ruud is a Norwegian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 2 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved in September 2022, making him the highest-ranked Norwegian in history. Ruud has won 14 ATP Tour singles titles, including a Masters 1000 event at the 2025 Madrid Open, and finished runner-up at three singles majors and at the 2022 ATP Finals.
22/12/1994
Rúben Lameiras, Portuguese footballer
Rúben Barcelos de Sousa Lameiras is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Al-Markhiya as a winger or attacking midfielder.
22/12/1993
Sergi Darder, Spanish footballer
Sergi Darder Moll is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club Mallorca.
Raphaël Guerreiro, Portuguese footballer
Raphaël Adelino José Guerreiro is a professional footballer who plays as a left-back and midfielder for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich.
Meghan Trainor, American singer-songwriter and producer
Meghan Elizabeth Trainor is an American singer-songwriter and television personality. She rose to prominence after signing with Epic Records in 2014 and releasing her debut single "All About That Bass", which reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and sold 11 million copies worldwide. Trainor has released six studio albums with the label and has received various accolades, including a Grammy Award, four ASCAP Pop Music Awards, and two Billboard Music Awards.
22/12/1992
Michaela Hončová, Slovak tennis player
Michaela Hončová is an inactive Slovak tennis player.
Nick Johnson, American basketball player
Nicholas Alexander Johnson is an American professional basketball player for Saint-Quentin of the LNB Pro A. He played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats, with whom he was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year. He was then drafted 42nd overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2014 NBA draft, and played for them in the 2014–15 season.
Moonbyul, South Korean rapper, vocalist and songwriter
Moon Byul-yi, known professionally as Moonbyul, is a South Korean rapper, singer and songwriter under RBW Entertainment. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Mamamoo and its sub-unit Mamamoo+.
22/12/1991
DaBaby, American rapper
Jonathan Lyndale Kirk, known professionally as DaBaby, is an American rapper. After releasing several mixtapes between 2014 and 2018, he signed with Interscope Records in January 2019. His debut studio album, Baby on Baby (2019), spawned the single "Suge", which peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 a month after its release.
22/12/1990
Jean-Baptiste Maunier, French actor and singer
Jean-Baptiste Maunier is a French actor and singer. He is best known for his role in the 2004 French film Les Choristes.
22/12/1989
Jordin Sparks, American singer-songwriter and actress
Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2007 after winning the sixth season of American Idol at age 17, becoming the youngest winner in the series' history. Her 2007 self-titled debut studio album was met with critical and commercial success; it peaked at number ten on the Billboard 200, received platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and sold over two million copies worldwide. The album was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-top ten singles "Tattoo" and "No Air" —the latter received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and remains the third highest-selling song by an American Idol contestant—with three million digital copies sold in the United States.
Jacob Stallings, American baseball player
Jacob Daniel Stallings is an American former professional baseball catcher who currently works in the Pittsburgh Pirates' front office. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pirates, Miami Marlins, Colorado Rockies, and Baltimore Orioles from 2016 to 2025. In 2021, he won the Gold Glove Award and Fielding Bible Award.
22/12/1988
Scott Darling, American ice hockey player
Scott Darling is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes. Darling was selected by the Phoenix Coyotes in the sixth round, 153rd overall, of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
Mohamed El Shenawy, Egyptian footballer
Mohamed El Sayed Mohamed El Shenawy Gomaa is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Egyptian Premier League club Al Ahly, which he captains, and the Egypt national team.
Leigh Halfpenny, Welsh rugby player
Stephen Leigh Halfpenny is a Welsh rugby union professional rugby union player who plays fullback or wing for Cardiff in the United Rugby Championship. Halfpenny is the third highest points scorer for Wales after Neil Jenkins and Stephen Jones.
22/12/1987
Zack Britton, American baseball player
Zackary Grant Britton, known professionally as Zach Britton until February 2019, is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees.
Éder, Bissau-Portuguese footballer
Ederzito António Macedo Lopes, commonly known as Eder, is a former professional footballer who played as a forward.
22/12/1986
Dennis Armfield, Australian footballer
Dennis Brett Armfield is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Fatih Öztürk, Turkish footballer
Fatih Öztürk is a French former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
22/12/1984
Basshunter, Swedish singer, record producer and DJ
Jonas Erik Altberg, known professionally as Basshunter, is a Swedish singer, record producer, songwriter and DJ. As indicated by his stage name, Basshunter is known for bass-heavy Eurodance music.
Greg Finley, American actor
Gregory Finley is an American actor, known for his role as Jack Pappas in the teenage drama series The Secret Life of the American Teenager as well as Drake in the series Star Crossed and iZombie, and Girder in The Flash.
22/12/1983
José Fonte, Portuguese footballer
José Miguel da Rocha Fonte is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for and captains Primeira Liga club Casa Pia.
Doc Gallows, American wrestler
Andrew William Hankinson is an American professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer under the ring name Doc Gallows. He is best known for his tenures in WWE, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
Viola Kibiwot, Kenyan runner
Viola Jelagat Kibiwot is a runner from Kenya who specialises in the 1500 metres.
22/12/1982
Britta Heidemann, German fencer
Britta Heidemann is a German épée fencer. In 2016, Heidemann became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Alinne Moraes, Brazilian actress and model
Aline Cristine Dorelli de Magalhães e Morais, known professionally as Alinne Moraes, is a Brazilian actress. She is best known by her roles as Maria Sílvia in Duas Caras and as Luciana in Viver a Vida.
22/12/1981
Marina Kuptsova, Russian high jumper
Marina Kuptsova is a Russian high jumper who won a silver medal at the 2003 World Championships. She is also a former European indoor high jump champion. Her personal best jump of 2.02 metres was achieved in Hengelo in June 2003, a year when she also won the national championship.
22/12/1980
Chris Carmack, American actor, singer, and model
James Christopher Carmack is an American actor, singer, and former fashion model. He is known for his roles in popular television shows—the teen drama series The O.C. (2003–2004) as Luke Ward, the country music drama Nashville as Will Lexington (2012–2018), and the medical drama Grey's Anatomy (2018–present) as Dr. Atticus "Link" Lincoln.
Marcus Haislip, American basketball player
Marcus Deshon Haislip is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and other top leagues. Haislip attended Marshall County High School in Lewisburg, Tennessee. He rose to prominence while playing college basketball with the University of Tennessee from 1999 to 2002. After college, he played for several seasons in the NBA and the EuroLeague. He is listed at 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) and 230 lbs. (104 kg).
22/12/1979
Jamie Langfield, Scottish footballer and coach
James Robert Langfield is a Scottish football player and coach, who is currently the goalkeeping coach at St Mirren. Langfield, who played as a goalkeeper, started his career with Dundee. He then played for Partick Thistle and Dunfermline Athletic before joining Aberdeen in 2005. He went on to spend the next decade with Aberdeen, regaining his place in the team after being dropped for off-field indiscipline in 2007, a loss of form in 2008 and then again in 2012 after suffering a brain seizure that kept him out of competitive action for nine months. He was voted the Aberdeen player of the year in 2009 and was part of the team that won the Scottish League Cup in 2014.
22/12/1978
Danny Ahn, South Korean singer
Danny Ahn is an American entertainer best known as the main rapper of the South Korean pop music group g.o.d. Having made his debut in the entertainment industry as a member of g.o.d in 1999, Ahn has gone into acting and has also been a radio DJ and MC.
Joy Ali, Fijian boxer (died 2015)
Zulfikar Joy Ali was a Fijian boxer. He had won 31 boxing matches in his career.
Emmanuel Olisadebe, Nigerian-Polish footballer
Emmanuel Olisadebe is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in Nigeria, an indigene of Ibusa in present day Delta State, he played for the Poland national team. He scored 11 international goals in 25 caps between 2000 and 2004, and participated in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. In 2001, he won the Polish Footballer of the Year Award.
22/12/1977
Steve Kariya, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
Steven Tetsuo Kariya is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger and younger brother of former National Hockey League player Paul Kariya. Kariya was born in North Vancouver, British Columbia.
22/12/1976
Katleen De Caluwé, Belgian sprinter
Katleen De Caluwé is a Belgian sprinter, who specializes in the 100 metres. Her personal best time is 11.49 seconds, achieved in May 2002 in Oordegem.
Jason Lane, American baseball player and coach
Jason Dean Lane is an American professional baseball former player who currently serves as the offense and strategy coordinator for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Houston Astros and San Diego Padres. Originally starting his career as an outfielder, Lane switched positions and became a pitcher.
Aya Takano, Japanese author and illustrator
Aya Takano is a Japanese painter, Superflat artist, manga artist, and science fiction essayist. Aya Takano is represented by Kaikai Kiki, the artistic production studio created in 2001 by Takashi Murakami.
22/12/1975
Sergei Aschwanden, Swiss martial artist
Sergei Aschwanden is a Swiss judoka and politician.
Dmitri Khokhlov, Russian footballer and manager
Dmitri Valeryevich Khokhlov is a Russian football manager and former midfielder who is the manager of the Under-19 squad of Lokomotiv Moscow.
Marcin Mięciel, Polish footballer
Marcin Mięciel is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a striker. His trademark was the bicycle kick.
Stanislav Neckář, Czech ice hockey player
Stanislav "Stan" Neckář is a former Czech professional ice hockey player. He played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers, Phoenix Coyotes, Tampa Bay Lightning and the Nashville Predators. He then played two seasons in Europe before retiring, with České Budějovice, and Elitserien team Södertälje SK.
Takuya Onishi, Japanese astronaut
Takuya Onishi is a Japanese astronaut selected for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in 2009. He spent four months on board the International Space Station in 2016. In March 2025, he arrived at the ISS as part of Expedition 72/73.
22/12/1974
Rei Hance, American actress
Rei Hance is an American businesswoman and retired actress. She is known for her starring roles in the found footage horror film The Blair Witch Project (1999) and the science fiction miniseries Taken (2002). She retired from acting in 2008 and became a medical marijuana grower. She legally changed her name to Rei Hance in 2020.
22/12/1972
Mark Hill, English musician, producer and songwriter
Mark Leslie Hill is a Welsh musician, songwriter and record producer. He rose to fame as one half of the Artful Dodger and co-writer and producer of Craig David's multi-platinum debut studio album, Born to Do It. Since he began releasing music in 1997, Hill has achieved four Ivor Novello Awards, a number one album, two number one singles and over 10 million records sales worldwide.
Kirk Maltby, Canadian ice hockey player and scout
Kirk Frederick Maltby is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers and Detroit Red Wings, the latter with whom he won the Stanley Cup four times.
Vanessa Paradis, French singer-songwriter and actress
Vanessa Chantal Paradis is a French singer, model and actress. Paradis first achieved acclaim at the age of 14 with the international success of her single "Joe le taxi" (1987). At age 18, she was awarded France's highest honours as both a singer and an actress with the Prix Romy Schneider and the César Award for Most Promising Actress for Jean-Claude Brisseau's Noce Blanche, as well as the Victoires de la Musique for Best Female Singer for her album Variations sur le même t'aime.
22/12/1971
Ajeenkya Patil, Indian economist and academic
Ajeenkya D Y Patil is an Indian educationist and economist. He is the son of D. Y. Patil. He is Chairman of the D Y Patil Group, Chancellor of Ajeenkya D Y Patil University and Pro-chancellor of the Dr. D. Y. Patil University.
22/12/1970
Gary Anderson, Scottish darts player
Gary James Grant Anderson is a Scottish professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is ranked world number ten, having reached a peak ranking of world number two from 2015 to 2017; Anderson is also a former British Darts Organisation (BDO) and World Darts Federation (WDF) world number one. Nicknamed "the Flying Scotsman", he is a two-time, back-to-back PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2015 and 2016. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, Anderson is known for his heavy scoring and smooth throwing style.
Ted Cruz, Canadian-American lawyer and politician
Rafael Edward Cruz is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 to 2008. Since 2025, Cruz has chaired the Senate Commerce Committee.
22/12/1969
Myriam Bédard, Canadian biathlete
Myriam Bédard, is a Canadian retired biathlete. She represented Canada at two Winter Olympics winning gold medals, and a bronze medal. As of 2022, Bédard is the only Canadian biathlete, male or female, ever to win an Olympic medal, and the only North American biathlete ever to win Olympic gold.
Mark Robins, English footballer and manager
Mark Gordon Robins is an English football manager and former player who is the manager of EFL Championship club Stoke City. As a player, he was a striker and is best known for his time in the Premier League with Manchester United, Norwich City and Leicester City.
22/12/1968
Emre Aracı, Turkish composer, conductor, and historian
Emre Aracı is a Turkish music historian, conductor, and composer.
Luis Hernández, Mexican footballer
Luis Arturo Hernández Carreón, commonly known as El Matador, is a Mexican former professional footballer. He is widely regarded as one of Mexico's most talented strikers,, as well as one of the best North American players of all time.
Lori McKenna, American singer-songwriter
Lorraine McKenna is an American folk, Americana, and country music singer-songwriter. In 2016, she was nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year and won Best Country Song for co-writing the hit single "Girl Crush" performed by Little Big Town. In 2017, she again won Best Country Song at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards for writing "Humble and Kind" performed by Tim McGraw. McKenna along with Lady Gaga, Natalie Hemby and Hillary Lindsey wrote the second single off the soundtrack to the 2018 film A Star Is Born called "Always Remember Us This Way." McKenna performed backing vocals along with Lindsey and Hemby, and the song received a nomination for Song of the Year at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
Dina Meyer, American actress
Dina Meyer is an American actress. She began her career appearing in a recurring role on the Fox teen drama series Beverly Hills, 90210 (1993–94), before landing a leading role opposite Keanu Reeves in the 1995 film Johnny Mnemonic.
22/12/1967
Richey Edwards, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1995)
Richard James Edwards, also known as Richey James or Richey Manic, was a Welsh musician who was the lyricist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. He was known for his dark, politicised and intellectual songwriting that, combined with an enigmatic and eloquent character, has assured him cult status; he has also been cited as a leading lyricist of his generation. Although he regularly involved himself in the band's songwriting, Edwards rarely recorded any guitar performances with the band.
Stéphane Gendron, Canadian lawyer and politician
Stéphane Gendron was the mayor of Huntingdon, Quebec, Canada, from 2003 to 2013 and a radio host, a television host and a political analyst for several media outlets.
Rebecca Harris, English businesswoman and politician
Dame Elizabeth Rebecca Scott Harris is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Castle Point since 2010. Since November 2024 she has also served as Opposition Chief Whip.
Dan Petrescu, Romanian footballer and manager
Dan Vasile Petrescu is a Romanian professional football manager and former player.
22/12/1966
Dmitry Bilozerchev, Russian gymnast and coach
Dmitry Vladimirovich Bilozerchev is a Russian gymnastics coach and retired gymnast who represented the Soviet Union. One of the most accomplished gymnasts in history, he is a two-time World All-Around Champion and three-time Olympic Champion. He trained at the Armed Forces sports society in Moscow.
Marcel Schirmer, German singer-songwriter and bass player
Destruction is a German thrash metal band formed in 1982. They have been credited as one of the "Big Four" of the German thrash metal scene, the others being Kreator, Sodom and Tankard.
David Wright, English lawyer and politician
David Wright is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Telford from 2001 until 2015. He was an assistant government whip from June 2009 to May 2010. In May 2019, he was elected as a Labour member of Telford and Wrekin Council, representing St George's ward, and became cabinet member for Economy, Housing, Transport and Infrastructure.
22/12/1965
David S. Goyer, American screenwriter
David Samuel Goyer is an American filmmaker, novelist, and comic book writer. He is best known for writing the screenplays and stories for several superhero films, including Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (1998), the Blade trilogy (1998–2004), Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy (2005–2012), Man of Steel (2013), and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). He has also directed four films: Zig Zag (2002), Blade: Trinity (2004), The Invisible (2007), and The Unborn (2009). He is the creator of the science fiction television series Foundation which is loosely based upon the Foundation series written by Isaac Asimov.
Urszula Włodarczyk, Polish heptathlete and triple jumper
Urszula Włodarczyk is a retired Polish heptathlete. She also competed briefly in triple jump in the fledgling years of the sport, and was a Polish record holder with 13.98 metres from July 1993 to July 2001.
22/12/1964
Mike Jackson, American baseball player
Michael Ray Jackson is an American former professional baseball player whose career spanned 19 seasons, 17 of which were spent in Major League Baseball (MLB). Jackson, a relief pitcher for the majority of his career, compiled a career earned run average (ERA) of 3.42, allowing 451 earned runs off of 983 hits, 127 home runs, and 464 walks while recording 1,006 strikeouts over 1,005 games pitched.
Angela James, Canadian ice hockey player
Angela James is a Canadian former ice hockey player who played at the highest levels of senior hockey between 1980 and 2000. She was a member of numerous teams in the Central Ontario Women's Hockey League (COWHL) from its founding in 1980 until 1998 and finished her career in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL). She was named her league's most valuable player six times. James is also a certified referee in Canada, and a coach. She lives in Richmond Hill, Ontario.
Simon Kirby, English businessman and politician
Simon Gerard Kirby, also known as Simon Radford-Kirby, is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Kemptown in 2010. In 2016, he was appointed Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister. He lost his seat at the 2017 general election.
22/12/1963
Giuseppe Bergomi, Italian footballer and coach
Giuseppe "Beppe" Bergomi is an Italian former professional footballer who spent his entire career at Inter Milan. He is regarded as one of the greatest Italian defenders of all time, and as one of the best of his generation, being elected by Pelé to be part of the FIFA 100 in 2004.
Brian McMillan, South African cricketer and educator
Brian Mervin McMillan played 38 Test matches and 78 One Day Internationals for South Africa from 1991 to 1998. He was rated by many as the best all-rounder in the world in the mid-1990s, and won South African Cricket Annual Cricketer of the Year awards in 1991 and 1996.
Luna H. Mitani, Japanese-American painter and illustrator
Luna H. Mitani is a Japanese-American artist. He works in the fields of painting and pen & ink drawing.
22/12/1962
Ralph Fiennes, English actor
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and director. Recognised for his work on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for three Academy Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award.
22/12/1961
Yuri Malenchenko, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut
Yuri Ivanovich Malenchenko is a retired Russian cosmonaut. Malenchenko became the first person to marry in space, on 10 August 2003, when he married Ekaterina Dmitrieva, who was in Texas, while he was 240 miles (390 km) over New Zealand, on the International Space Station. As of December 2023, Malenchenko ranks third for career time in space due to his time on both Mir and the International Space Station (ISS). He is a former commander of the International Space Station.
22/12/1960
Jean-Michel Basquiat, American painter and poet (died 1988)
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the neo-expressionism movement.
Luther Campbell, American rapper and actor
Luther Roderick "Luke" Campbell, also known by his stage name Uncle Luke, is an American rapper, music promoter, record executive, actor, and former leader of the rap group 2 Live Crew. He is a pioneer in Florida hip hop and the creator of the Miami bass genre, known for his sexually crude call and response lyrics. He also starred in a short-lived show on VH1, Luke's Parental Advisory.
Paul Kuniholm, Artist
Paul Kuniholm is a heritage-narrative public artist who creates art embodying sculptural objects, sculpture both fugitive and durable, art using digital material, wearable art intervention, video, mural art, and various time-based artwork that is exhibited in the public right-of-way, museums and other cultural venues internationally.
22/12/1959
Bernd Schuster, German footballer and manager
Bernd Schuster is a German former professional footballer of the late 1970s through early 1990s, who won club titles playing for the Spanish sides Barcelona (1980–1988) and Real Madrid (1988–1990). He played as a midfielder and was nicknamed "der Blonde Engel". After retiring as a player, he managed a number of European clubs, including Real Madrid, taking them to the league title in the 2007–08 season.
22/12/1958
Frank Gambale, Australian guitarist, songwriter, and producer
Frank Gambale is an Australian jazz fusion guitarist. He has released twenty albums over a period of three decades, and is known for his use of the sweep picking and economy picking techniques.
David Heavener, American singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director
David Brent Heavener is an American singer, songwriter, director, actor, composer, producer and writer, specialising in low-budget features and direct-to-video action films.
22/12/1957
Stephen Conway, English bishop
Stephen David Conway SCP is a British Anglican bishop. Since July 2023, he has served as the Bishop of Lincoln. Prior to that he had been successively Bishop of Ramsbury, then Bishop of Ely. He is currently suspended from his ministry following allegations of sexual assault.
Carole James, English-Canadian educator and politician
Carole Alison James is a Canadian politician and former public administrator, who represented Victoria-Beacon Hill in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 2005 to 2020. A member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party (NDP), she was the party's leader and Leader of the Opposition in British Columbia from 2005 to 2011. Following her resignation as leader, she stayed in politics and served as the 14th deputy premier of British Columbia and minister of finance under John Horgan, from 2017 to 2020.
Peter Mortimer, Australian rugby league player
Peter Mortimer is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and New South Wales.
22/12/1956
Jane Lighting, English businesswoman
Jane Elizabeth Stuart Lighting is a former Chief Executive of Five (TV) in the United Kingdom.
22/12/1955
Galina Murašova, Lithuanian discus thrower
Galina Murašova is a retired female discus thrower, who competed for the Soviet Union at two Summer Olympics: 1980 and 1988. Her last name is sometimes also spelled as Murashova.
Lonnie Smith, American baseball player
Lonnie Smith is an American former Major League Baseball left fielder. He made his debut for the Philadelphia Phillies on September 2, 1978, and later played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Baltimore Orioles. He overcame bouts with drug abuse to become one of the top base-stealers in baseball during the 1980s, with the seventh-most steals. He played on five pennant-winning teams, three of which won the World Series.
Thomas C. Südhof, German-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
Thomas Christian Südhof, ForMemRS, is a German-American biochemist known for his study of synaptic transmission. Currently, he is a professor in the school of medicine in the department of molecular and cellular physiology, and by courtesy in neurology, and in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University.
22/12/1954
Hideshi Matsuda, Japanese racing driver
Hideshi Matsuda is a Japanese car racer and TV reporter. He is the brother-in-law of Beat Takeshi.
Derick Parry, Nevisian cricketer
Derick Recaldo Parry is a former cricketer from St Kitts and Nevis who played 12 Tests and six One Day Internationals for the West Indies.
22/12/1953
Ian Turnbull, Canadian ice hockey player
Ian "Bull" Turnbull is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League from 1973–74 until 1982–83. He and Börje Salming combined to make one of the best 1–2 defensive punches in Toronto Maple Leafs history during the 1970s.
Tom Underwood, American baseball player (died 2010)
Thomas Gerald Underwood was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. His younger brother, Pat was also a pitcher, and made his major league debut against Tom. It was the first time in major league history this had occurred.
22/12/1952
Sandra Kalniete, Latvian politician and diplomat, former Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Sandra Kalniete is a Latvian politician, author and diplomat. She served as Minister for Foreign Affairs of Latvia from 2002 to 2004 and as European Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries in 2004. Since 2009, she has served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the European People's Party.
22/12/1951
Lasse Bengtsson, Swedish journalist
Lars Olov "Lasse" Bengtsson is a Swedish journalist and television presenter. He has been the presenter of shows such as Nyhetsmorgon Lördag, TV4-nyheterna, Misstänkt, and he also was a reporter for the Swedish broadcasts of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Charles de Lint, Dutch-Canadian author and critic
Charles de Lint is a Canadian writer.
Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, British landowner, businessman and philanthropist (died 2016)
Major General Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster was a British landowner, businessman, aristocrat, Territorial Army general, and peer. He was the son of Robert Grosvenor, 5th Duke of Westminster, and Viola Lyttelton. He was Chairman of the property company Grosvenor Group. In the first-ever edition of The Sunday Times Rich List, published in 1989, he was ranked as the second-richest person in the United Kingdom, with a fortune of £3.2 billion, with only Queen Elizabeth II above him.
Tony Isabella, American comic book writer, editor, actor, artist and critic
Jenny Blake Isabella, who writes under the names Tony Isabella and Jenny Blake, is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, artist and critic. She is the creator of Marvel Comics superhero Black Goliath, and of DC Comics' first major African-American superhero, Black Lightning. She was a columnist and critic for the Comics Buyer's Guide magazine.
Jan Stephenson, Australian golfer
Jan Lynn Stephenson is an Australian professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1974 and won three major championships and 16 LPGA Tour events. She has 41 worldwide victories including (10) LPGA Legends Tour wins and 8 worldwide major championships. She has 15 holes-in-one with nine in competition. She was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame, class of 2019.
22/12/1950
Manfred Moore, American football player and rugby league player (died 2020)
Manfred Moore was an American professional American football running back and, briefly, rugby league player who played in the 1970s.
22/12/1949
Maurice Gibb, Manx-English singer-songwriter and producer (died 2003)
Maurice Ernest Gibb was a British musician and songwriter. He achieved global fame as a member of the Bee Gees pop group, considered one of the most successful pop-rock groups of all time. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb were the group's main lead singers, most of their albums included at least one or two songs featuring Maurice's lead vocals, including "Lay It on Me", "Country Woman" and "On Time".
Robin Gibb, Manx-English singer-songwriter and producer (died 2012)
Robin Hugh Gibb was a British singer and songwriter. He gained global fame as a member of the Bee Gees with elder brother Barry and twin brother Maurice. Robin Gibb also had his own successful solo career.
Ray Guy, American football player (died 2022)
William Ray Guy was an American professional football punter who played for the Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). Guy was a first-team All-American selection in 1972 as a senior for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, and is the only pure punter ever to be drafted in the first round of the NFL draft, when the Raiders selected him with the 23rd overall pick in the 1973 NFL draft. He won three Super Bowls with the Raiders. Guy was elected to both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014. An eight-time All-Pro, Guy is widely considered to be the greatest punter of all time.
22/12/1948
Steve Garvey, American baseball player and sportscaster
Steven Patrick Garvey is an American former professional Major League Baseball player who played first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres from 1969 to 1987.
Don Kardong, American runner, journalist, and author
Donald Franklin Kardong is a noted runner and author from the United States. He finished fourth in the 1976 Olympic marathon in Montreal.
Rick Nielsen, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Richard Alan Nielsen is an American musician who is the lead guitarist, primary songwriter, and leader of the rock band Cheap Trick. He is well-known for his numerous custom-made guitars from Hamer Guitars, including his famous five-neck guitar.
Chris Old, English cricketer and coach
Chris Old is a former English cricketer, who played 46 Tests and 32 ODIs from 1972 to 1981. A right-arm fast-medium bowler and lower order left-handed batsman, Old was a key feature of the Yorkshire side between 1969 and 1983, before finishing his career at Warwickshire in 1985. As a Test bowler for England he took 143 wickets, and scored useful runs in the famous 1981 Ashes series' Headingley victory. He was a part of the English squad which finished as runners-up at the 1979 Cricket World Cup.
Lynne Thigpen, American actress and singer (died 2003)
Cherlynne Theresa Thigpen was an American actress of stage and screen. She was known for her role as the Chief of ACME Crimenet in the game show Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? and various spinoffs, and for her role as "Luna" in the Playhouse Disney children's series Bear in the Big Blue House. For her varied television work, Thigpen was nominated for six Daytime Emmy Awards. She won a Tony Award in 1997 for portraying Dr. Judith Kaufman in An American Daughter, and also played Ella Farmer on The District (2000–2003). Thigpen first gained attention for her role in the 1971 off-Broadway musical Godspell. Thigpen's character is named Lynne, and she sang "O Bless the Lord, My Soul" in the musical. Thigpen reprised her role as Lynne in the 1973 film adaptation, which she starred in alongside David Haskell and Victor Garber.
22/12/1947
Brian Daley, American author and screenwriter (died 1996)
Brian Charles Daley was an American science fiction novelist. He also adapted for radio the Star Wars radio dramas and wrote all of their episodes.
Dilip Doshi, Indian cricketer
Dilip Rasiklal Doshi was an Indian cricketer from Bengal though his origin goes back to Gujarat. He played in 33 Test matches and 15 One Day Internationals from 1979 to 1983.
22/12/1946
Roger Carr, English businessman
Sir Roger Martyn Carr is a British businessman. He was chairman of BAE Systems until May 2023.
C. Eugene Steuerle, American economist and author
C. Eugene "Gene" Steuerle is an American economist, a Richard B. Fisher chair and Institute Fellow at the Urban Institute in Washington, DC, and a columnist under the title The Government We Deserve.
22/12/1945
Frances Lannon, English historian and academic
Dame Frances Lannon is a retired British academic and educator. She was Principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford.
Sam Newman, Australian footballer and sportscaster
John Noel William "Sam" Newman is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
Diane Sawyer, American journalist
Lila Diane Sawyer is an American television broadcast journalist known for anchoring major programs on two networks including ABC World News Tonight, Good Morning America, 20/20, and Primetime newsmagazine while at ABC News. During her tenure at CBS News, she hosted CBS Morning and was the first woman correspondent on 60 Minutes. Prior to her journalism career, she was a member of U.S. president Richard Nixon's White House staff and assisted in his post-presidency memoirs. Sawyer works for ABC News producing documentaries and interview specials.
22/12/1944
Mary Archer, English chemist and academic
Mary Doreen Archer (formally Lady Archer of Weston-super-Mare, commonly Dame Mary Archer,, is a British scientist specialising in solar energy conversion.
Steve Carlton, American baseball player
Steven Norman Carlton is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left-handed pitcher for six different teams from 1965 to 1988, most notably as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies with whom he won four Cy Young Awards as well as the 1980 World Series. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994 in his first year of eligibility.
Barry Jenkins, English drummer
Colin Ernest "Barry" Jenkins was an English musician, best known for being a drummer for the Animals during both of that 1960s group's incarnations.
22/12/1943
Stefan Janos, Slovak-Swiss physicist and academic
Štefan Jánoš is a Slovak-Swiss physicist and university professor. He is the founder of very low temperature physics in Slovakia.
Paul Wolfowitz, American banker and politician, 25th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
Paul Dundes Wolfowitz is an American political scientist and diplomat who served as the 10th President of the World Bank, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, and dean of School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University. He is currently a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
22/12/1942
Jerry Koosman, American baseball player
Jerome Martin Koosman is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies between 1967 and 1985. Koosman is best known as a member of the Miracle Mets team that won the 1969 World Series.
Dick Parry, English saxophonist
Richard Parry is an English saxophonist. He has appeared as a session musician on various albums, most notably in solo parts on the Pink Floyd songs "Money", "Us and Them", "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and "Wearing the Inside Out". He also played on the Bloodstone album Riddle of the Sphinx.
22/12/1940
Luis Francisco Cuéllar, Colombian rancher and politician (died 2009)
Luis Francisco Cuéllar Carvajal was a Colombian politician, serving as Mayor of Morelia, Governor of the Caquetá Department from 2008 to 2009, and Deputy Governor of Caqueta from 2000 to 2003. He is known for being kidnapped and murdered by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, and for being kidnapped and held for ransom four times.
Mike Molloy, English journalist, author, and illustrator
Michael Molloy is a British author and former newspaper editor and cartoonist. He's also an accomplished painter, exhibiting in galleries across the UK and the South of France, and remains drawn to art as a deep creative passion.
22/12/1938
Matty Alou, Dominican-American baseball player and scout (died 2011)
Mateo "Matty" Rojas Alou was a Dominican professional baseball player and manager. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1974. He also played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) with the Taiheiyo Club Lions from 1974 through 1976. Alou was a two-time All-Star and the 1966 National League batting champion.
Lucien Bouchard, Canadian lawyer and politician, 27th Premier of Quebec
Lucien Bouchard is a Canadian lawyer, diplomat and retired politician who was the 27th premier of Quebec from 1996 to 2001.
Red Steagall, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and poet
Russell "Red" Steagall is an American country music singer, musician, poet, and stage performer, who focuses on American Western and country music genres.
22/12/1937
Charlotte Lamb, English author (died 2000)
Sheila Ann Mary Coates Holland, best known by her pen name Charlotte Lamb, was a British novelist. She signed her novels with her married and maiden names and under the pen names Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Woolf and Laura Hardy. She was the mother of writers Sarah Holland and Jane Holland.
Eduard Uspensky, Russian author, poet, and playwright (died 2018)
Eduard Nikolayevich Uspensky was a Soviet and Russian children's writer and poet, author of over 70 books, as well as a playwright, screenwriter and TV presenter. His works have been translated into 25 languages and spawned around 60 cartoon adaptations. Among the characters he created are Cheburashka and Gena the Crocodile, Uncle Fyodor and Kolobki brothers. He was awarded Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class in 1997.
Ken Whitmore, English author and playwright
Ken Whitmore is an author of radio plays, stage plays, short stories and poetry. His writing is characterised by black comedy and fantastic ideas, such as the complete disappearance of a man’s house, family and dog and the need for all mankind to jump in the air simultaneously
22/12/1936
James Burke, Irish historian and author
James Burke is a broadcaster, science historian, author, and television producer. He was one of the main presenters of the BBC1 science series Tomorrow's World from 1965 to 1971 and created and presented the television series Connections (1978), and its more philosophical sequel The Day the Universe Changed (1985), about the history of science and technology. The Washington Post has called him "one of the most intriguing minds in the Western world".
Héctor Elizondo, American actor and director
Héctor Elizondo is an American character actor. He is known for playing Phillip Watters in the television series Chicago Hope (1994–2000) and Ed Alzate in the television series Last Man Standing (2011–2021). His film roles include Pocket Money (1972), The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), Cuba (1979), American Gigolo (1980), The Flamingo Kid (1984), Taking Care of Business (1990), Pretty Woman (1990), Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), The Princess Diaries (2001), and Love in the Time of Cholera (2007).
22/12/1935
Paulo Rocha, Portuguese director and screenwriter (died 2012)
Paulo Soares da Rocha was a Portuguese film director. Among his best-known films are A Ilha dos Amores and O Rio do Ouro. A Ilha dos Amores was entered into the 1982 Cannes Film Festival, O Desejado was entered into the main competition at the 44th edition of the Venice Film Festival, and O Rio do Ouro was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1998 Festival.
22/12/1934
David Pearson, American race car driver (died 2018)
David Gene Pearson was an American stock car driver, who raced from 1960 to 1986 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series, most notably driving the No. 21 Mercury for Wood Brothers Racing. Pearson won the 1960 NASCAR Rookie of the Year award and three Cup Series championships. He never missed a race in the years he was active. NASCAR described his 1974 season as an indication of his "consistent greatness", finishing third in the season points having competed in only nineteen of thirty races. Pearson's career paralleled Richard Petty's, the driver who has won the most races in NASCAR history. They accounted for 63 first/second-place finishes, with the edge going to Pearson. Petty had two-hundred wins in 1,184 starts, while Pearson had 105 wins in 574 starts. Pearson was nicknamed the "Fox" for his calculated approach to racing.
22/12/1933
John Hartle, English motorcycle racer (died 1968)
John Hartle was an English professional road racer who competed in national, international and Grand Prix motorcycle events.
22/12/1932
Phil Woosnam, Welsh soccer player and manager (died 2013)
Phillip Abraham Woosnam was a Welsh association football inside-right and manager. A native of Caersws, Powys, Wales, Woosnam played for numerous clubs in Wales, England and one in the United States. He played international football for Wales. He was described as a "gifted inside-forward with a pronounced football intelligence".
22/12/1931
Gisela Birkemeyer, German hurdler and coach (died 2024)
Gisela Birkemeyer was a German hurdler and sprinter who won two medals in the 80 m hurdles at the 1956 and 1960 Olympics. During her career she set nine world records in the 80 m hurdles and in the 4 × 100 m, 4 × 110 yd and 4 × 200 m relays. She won 40 East German championships, mostly in the 80 m hurdles (1953–1961) and 200 m sprint (1956–1960). At the European Championships in Stockholm in 1958, she was third in the 80 m hurdles. In 1959, she was voted GDR Sportswoman of the Year.
Carlos Graça, São Toméan lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe (died 2013)
Carlos Alberto Monteiro Dias da Graça was a São Toméan politician who served as the country's sixth prime minister.
22/12/1930
Ardalion Ignatyev, Russian sprinter and educator (died 1998)
Ardalion Vasilyevich Ignatyev was a Soviet athlete who mainly competed in the 400 metres. He was born in the village of Novoye Toyderyakovo, Yalchiksky District, Chuvash ASSR.
22/12/1929
Wazir Mohammad, Indian-Pakistani cricketer (died 2025)
Wazir Mohammad was a Pakistani cricketer and banker who played in 20 Test matches for the Pakistan national cricket team between 1952 and 1959.
22/12/1928
Fredrik Barth, German-Norwegian anthropologist and academic (died 2016)
Thomas Fredrik Weybye Barth was a Norwegian social anthropologist who published several ethnographic books with a clear formalist view. He was a professor in the Department of Anthropology at Boston University, and previously held professorships at the University of Oslo, the University of Bergen, Emory University and Harvard University. He was appointed a government scholar in 1985.
22/12/1926
Alcides Ghiggia, Italian-Uruguayan footballer and manager (died 2015)
Alcides Edgardo Ghiggia Pereyra was a Uruguayan and Italian footballer who played as a right winger. He achieved lasting fame for his decisive role in the final match of the 1950 World Cup, and at the time of his death exactly 65 years later, he was also the last surviving player of Uruguay's 1950 World Cup squad.
Roberta Leigh, English writer, artist and TV producer (died 2014)
Roberta Leigh was an assumed name for Rita Lewin who was a British author, artist, composer and television producer. She wrote romance fiction and children's stories under the pseudonyms Roberta Leigh, Rachel Lindsay, Janey Scott and Rozella Lake.
22/12/1925
Lewis Glucksman, American businessman and philanthropist (died 2006)
Lewis L. Glucksman was a former Lehman Brothers trader and former chief executive officer and chairman of Lehman Brothers, Kuhn, Loeb Inc.
Lefter Küçükandonyadis, Turkish footballer and manager (died 2012)
Lefter Küçükandonyadis was a Turkish professional footballer of Greek descent, who played as a forward. He is often recognized as one of the greatest strikers to play for Fenerbahçe and Turkey. Having won several regional and national championship titles with Fenerbahçe and becoming Turkish top scorer twice in his career, he left an imprint on the history of the club. Lefter is one of a few players whose names are included in the Fenerbahçe Anthem. He was also known as "Ordinaryüs" in Turkey.
22/12/1924
Frank Corsaro, American actor and director (died 2017)
Frank Corsaro was one of America's foremost stage directors of opera and theatre. His Broadway productions include The Night of the Iguana (1961).
22/12/1923
Peregrine Worsthorne, English journalist and author (died 2020)
Sir Peregrine Gerard Worsthorne was a British journalist, writer, and broadcaster. He spent the largest part of his career at the Telegraph newspaper titles, eventually becoming editor of The Sunday Telegraph for several years. He left the newspaper in 1997.
22/12/1922
Ruth Roman, American actress (died 1999)
Ruth Roman was an American actress of film, stage, and television.
Jim Wright, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (died 2015)
James Claude Wright Jr. was a liberal American politician who served as the 48th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1989. He represented Texas' 12th congressional district as a Democrat from 1955 to 1989.
22/12/1921
Dimitri Fampas, Greek guitarist and composer (died 1996)
Dimitris Fampas was a Greek classical guitarist and composer.
Hawkshaw Hawkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1963)
Harold Franklin "Hawkshaw" Hawkins was an American country music singer popular from the 1950s into the early 1960s. He was known for his rich, smooth vocals and music drawn from blues, boogie and honky tonk. At 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall, Hawkins had an imposing stage presence, and he dressed more conservatively than some other male country singers. Hawkins died in the 1963 plane crash that also killed country stars Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas. He was a member of the Grand Ole Opry and was married to country star Jean Shepard.
22/12/1917
Gene Rayburn, American game show host and actor (died 1999)
Gene Rayburn was an American radio and television personality. He is best known as the host of various editions of the American television game show Match Game for over two decades.
22/12/1915
Barbara Billingsley, American actress (died 2010)
Barbara Billingsley was an American actress. She began her career with uncredited roles in Three Guys Named Mike (1951), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), and Invaders from Mars (1953) and was featured in the 1957 film The Careless Years opposite Natalie Trundy. She then appeared in recurring television roles, such as The Brothers.
Phillip Glasier, English author and academic (died 2000)
Phillip Edward Brougham Glasier was Britain's leading expert on hawking and falconry. Glasier initiated a new interest in falconry in both the UK and the United States of America. He spent much of his life involved with the conservation and breeding of raptors and bringing them to public attention through the foundation of the Falconry Centre, Newent, Gloucestershire, as well as through books, lectures and public demonstrations. He founded the Hawk Trust with John Burkett and the Raptor Breeders' Association.
22/12/1913
Giorgio Oberweger, Italian discus thrower and hurdler (died 1998)
Giorgio Oberweger was an Italian discus thrower who won a bronze medal at the 1936 Olympics and a silver at the 1938 European Championships. He placed sixth at the 1934 European Championships and 15th at the 1948 Olympics. Oberweger won five national titles, in the discus throw and 110 metres hurdles (1939).
22/12/1912
Elias Degiannis, Greek commander (died 1943)
Ilias Degiannis was a Greek navy officer Resistance leader during the Axis occupation of Greece.
Lady Bird Johnson, American beautification activist; 38th First Lady of the United States (died 2007)
Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson was the first lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States. She had previously been the second lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, when her husband was vice president under President John F. Kennedy.
22/12/1911
Danny O'Dea, English actor (died 2003)
Peter Anthony Joseph Daniel Wrenshall, better known by his stage name Danny O'Dea, was an English actor.
22/12/1909
Patricia Hayes, English actress (died 1998)
Patricia Lawlor Hayes was an English character actress. She is best known for playing the titular Edna in the Play for Today, Edna, the Inebriate Woman (1971), for which she won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress.
22/12/1908
Giacomo Manzù, Italian sculptor and academic (died 1991)
Giacomo Manzoni, known professionally as Giacomo Manzù, was an Italian sculptor.
22/12/1907
Peggy Ashcroft, English actress (died 1991)
Dame Edith Margaret Emily "Peggy" Ashcroft was an English actress whose career spanned more than six decades, both on screen and stage.
22/12/1905
Pierre Brasseur, French-Italian actor and screenwriter (died 1972)
Pierre Brasseur, born Pierre-Albert Espinasse, was a French actor.
Pierre Levegh, French ice hockey player and racing driver (died 1955)
Pierre Eugène Alfred Bouillin was a French sportsman and racing driver. He took the racing name Pierre Levegh in memory of his uncle Alfred Velghe, a pioneering driver who died in 1904. Levegh died in the 1955 Le Mans disaster which also killed about 81 spectators during the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans automobile race.
Kenneth Rexroth, American poet, translator, and academic (died 1982)
Kenneth Charles Marion Rexroth was an American poet, translator, and critical essayist. He is regarded as a central figure in the San Francisco Renaissance, and paved the groundwork for the movement. Although he did not consider himself to be a Beat poet, and disliked the association, he was dubbed the "Father of the Beats" by Time magazine. Largely self-educated, Rexroth learned several languages and translated poems from Chinese, French, Spanish, and Japanese.
22/12/1903
Haldan Keffer Hartline, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1983)
Haldan Keffer Hartline was an American physiologist who was a co-recipient of the 1967 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in analyzing the neurophysiological mechanisms of vision.
22/12/1901
Andre Kostelanetz, Russian-American conductor and composer (died 1980)
Andre Kostelanetz was a Russian-American popular orchestral music conductor and arranger who was one of the major exponents of popular orchestra music.
22/12/1900
Marc Allégret, French director and screenwriter (died 1973)
Marc Allégret was a French screenwriter, photographer and film director.
22/12/1899
Gustaf Gründgens, German actor and director (died 1963)
Gustaf Gründgens, born Gustav Heinrich Arnold Gründgens, was one of Germany's most famous and influential actors of the 20th century, and artistic director of theatres in Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg. His career continued unimpeded through the years of the Nazi regime; the extent to which this can be considered as deliberate collaboration with the Nazis is hotly disputed.
22/12/1898
Vladimir Fock, Russian physicist and mathematician (died 1974)
Vladimir Aleksandrovich Fock was a Soviet physicist, who did foundational work on quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics.
22/12/1894
Edwin Linkomies, Finnish academic, professor and the Prime Minister of Finland (died 1963)
Edwin Johannes Hildegard Linkomies was Prime Minister of Finland from March 1943 to August 1944, and one of the seven politicians sentenced to five and a half years in prison as responsible for the Continuation War, on the demand of the Soviet Union. He was paroled in 1948. Linkomies was a prominent fennoman academic, pro-rector of the University of Helsinki 1932 to 1943, rector 1956 to 1962, and the government's Chancellor of the University from 1962 until his death.
22/12/1892
Herman Potočnik, Slovenian-Austrian engineer (died 1929)
Herman Potočnik was an Austro-Hungarian Army officer, electrical engineer and astronautics theorist of Slovenian origin. He is regarded as an early theorist of modern space flight and is remembered mainly for his work concerning the long-term human habitation of space.
22/12/1889
George Hutson, English runner and soldier (died 1914)
George William Hutson was a British athlete who competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics.
22/12/1888
J. Arthur Rank, 1st Baron Rank, English businessman, founded Rank Organisation (died 1972)
Joseph Arthur Rank, 1st Baron Rank was an English industrialist who was head and founder of The Rank Organisation.
22/12/1887
Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician and theorist (died 1920)
Srinivasa Ramanujan Iyengar was an Indian mathematician who worked during the early 20th century. He made substantial contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions, including solutions to mathematical problems then considered unsolvable.
22/12/1885
Deems Taylor, American conductor and critic (died 1966)
Joseph Deems Taylor was an American composer, radio commentator, music critic, and author. Nat Benchley, co-editor of The Lost Algonquin Roundtable, referred to him as "the dean of American music." He was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1934.
22/12/1884
St. Elmo Brady, African American chemist and educator (died 1966)
St. Elmo Brady was an American chemist who was the first African American to obtain a Ph.D. in chemistry in the United States. He received his doctorate at the University of Illinois in 1915.
22/12/1883
Marcus Hurley, American cyclist (died 1941)
Marcus Latimer Hurley was an American cyclist who competed in the early twentieth century. He specialized in sprint cycling and won 4 gold medals in Cycling at the 1904 Summer Olympics and a bronze medal in the 2 mile race.
Edgard Varèse, French-American composer (died 1965)
Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse was a French and American avant-garde composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States. Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm; he coined the term "organized sound" in reference to his own musical aesthetic. Varèse's conception of music reflected his vision of "sound as living matter" and of "musical space as open rather than bounded". He conceived the elements of his music in terms of "sound-masses", likening their organization to the natural phenomenon of crystallization. Varèse thought that "to stubbornly conditioned ears, anything new in music has always been called noise", and he posed the question, "what is music but organized noises?"
22/12/1880
Fred Woolley, Australian rugby league player (died 1955)
Frederick Woolley was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s and 1910s. He played for Balmain and represented Australia in 1909.
22/12/1878
Myer Prinstein, Polish-American jumper (died 1925)
Myer Prinstein was a Poland-born American track and field athlete who held the world record for the long jump in 1900 and won four gold medals in three Olympic Games for the long jump and triple jump. He was a member of the Irish American Athletic Club in Queens, New York. A 1902 law graduate and track team captain for Syracuse University, after college he became a New York real estate lawyer and businessman while living in Jamaica Plains, Queens. To date, he is the only Olympic track athlete to win both the triple and long jump in the same Olympics, earning the distinction in St. Louis in 1904.
22/12/1876
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Egyptian-Italian poet and composer (died 1944)
Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti was an Italian poet, editor, art theorist and founder of the Futurist movement. He was associated with the utopian and Symbolist artistic and literary community Abbaye de Créteil between 1907 and 1908. Marinetti is best known as the author of the Manifesto of Futurism, which was written and published in 1909, and as a co-author of the Fascist Manifesto, in 1919.
22/12/1874
Franz Schmidt, Austrian cellist, pianist, and composer (died 1939)
Franz Schmidt, also Ferenc Schmidt was an Austro-Hungarian composer, cellist and pianist.
22/12/1872
Camille Guérin, French veterinarian and bacteriologist (died 1961)
Jean-Marie Camille Guérin was a French veterinarian, bacteriologist and immunologist who, together with Albert Calmette, developed the Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG), a vaccine for immunization against tuberculosis.
22/12/1869
Dmitri Egorov, Russian mathematician and academic (died 1931)
Dmitri Fyodorovich Egorov was a Russian and Soviet mathematician known for contributions to the areas of differential geometry and mathematical analysis. He was President of the Moscow Mathematical Society (1923–1930).
Edwin Arlington Robinson, American poet and playwright (died 1935)
Edwin Arlington Robinson was an American poet and playwright. Robinson won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry on three occasions and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature four times.
22/12/1868
Jaan Tõnisson, Estonian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Estonia (died 1941?)
Jaan Tõnisson was an Estonian statesman, serving as the Prime Minister of Estonia twice during 1919 to 1920, as State Elder from 1927 to 1928 and in 1933, and as Foreign Minister of Estonia from 1931 to 1932.
22/12/1865
Charles Sands, American golfer and tennis player (died 1945)
Charles Edward Sands was an American golfer, tennis and real tennis player who competed in the 1900 Summer Olympics and in the 1908 Summer Olympics.
22/12/1862
Connie Mack, American baseball player and manager (died 1956)
Cornelius McGillicuddy, better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. Mack holds records for the most wins (3,731), losses (3,948), ties (76), and games managed (7,755) in Major League Baseball (MLB) history. His victory total is 847 more than the second-highest: Tony La Russa's 2,884 wins. Mack's lead in career losses is even greater, with 1,449 more than La Russa's 2,499. Mack also has 17 more ties than the next-closest manager, Clark Griffith, who has 59.
22/12/1858
Giacomo Puccini, Italian composer and educator (died 1924)
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, stemming from the late Baroque era. Though his early work was firmly rooted in traditional late-nineteenth-century Romantic Italian opera, it later developed in the realistic verismo style, of which he became one of the leading exponents.
22/12/1856
Frank B. Kellogg, American lawyer and politician, 45th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1937)
Frank Billings Kellogg was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served in the U.S. Senate and as U.S. Secretary of State. He co-authored the Kellogg–Briand Pact, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1929.
22/12/1853
Teresa Carreño, Venezuelan-American singer-songwriter and pianist (died 1917)
María Teresa Gertrudis de Jesús Carreño García was a Venezuelan pianist, composer, soprano, and conductor. Over the course of her 54-year concert career, she became an internationally renowned virtuoso pianist and was often referred to as the "Valkyrie of the Piano". Carreño was an early adopter of the works of one of her students, American composer and pianist Edward MacDowell (1860–1908) and premiered several of his compositions across the globe. She also frequently performed the works of Norwegian composer and pianist Edvard Grieg (1843–1907). Carreño composed approximately 75 works for solo piano, voice and piano, choir and orchestra, and instrumental ensemble. Several composers dedicated their compositions to Carreño, including Amy Beach and Edward MacDowell.
Evgraf Fedorov, Russian mathematician, crystallographer, and mineralogist (died 1919)
Evgraf Stepanovich Fedorov was a Russian mathematician, crystallographer and mineralogist.
Sarada Devi, Indian mystic and philosopher (died 1920)
Sri Sarada Devi, born Kshemankari / Thakurmani / Saradamani Mukhopadhyay, was the wife and spiritual consort of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a nineteenth-century Hindu mystic. Sarada Devi is also reverentially addressed as the Holy Mother by the followers of the Sri Ramakrishna monastic order. The Sri Sarada Math and Ramakrishna Sarada Mission situated at Dakshineshwar is based on the ideals and life of Sarada Devi. She played an important role in the growth of the Ramakrishna Movement.
22/12/1850
Victoriano Huerta, Mexican general and politician, 35th President of Mexico (died 1916)
José Victoriano Huerta Márquez was a Mexican general, statesman, engineer, and dictator who served as the 39th President of Mexico from 1913 to 1914 and came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of Francisco I. Madero with the aid of other Mexican generals and the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. Establishing a military dictatorship, his violent seizure of power set off a new wave of armed conflict in the Mexican Revolution.
22/12/1839
John Nevil Maskelyne, English magician (died 1917)
John Nevil Maskelyne was an English stage magician and inventor of the pay toilet, along with other Victorian-era devices. He worked with magicians George Alfred Cooke and David Devant, and many of his illusions are still performed today. His book Sharps and Flats: A Complete Revelation of the Secrets of Cheating at Games of Chance and Skill is considered a classic overview of card sharp practices. In 1914 he founded the Occult Committee, a group to "investigate claims to supernatural power and to expose fraud".
22/12/1819
Franz Abt, German composer and conductor (died 1870)
Franz Wilhelm Abt was a German composer and choral conductor. He composed roughly 3,000 individual works mostly in the area of vocal music. Several of his songs were at one time universally sung, and have obtained a more or less permanent place in the popular repertory. Abt was a renowned choral conductor, and he spent much of the last three decades of his life working as a guest conductor with choirs throughout Europe and in the United States.
Pierre Ossian Bonnet, French mathematician and academic (died 1892)
Pierre Ossian Bonnet was a French mathematician. He made some important contributions to the differential geometry of surfaces, including the Gauss–Bonnet theorem.
22/12/1807
Johan Sebastian Welhaven, Norwegian author, poet, and critic (died 1873)
Johan Sebastian Cammermeyer Welhaven was a Norwegian writer, poet, critic, and art theorist. He has been considered "one of the greatest figures in Norwegian literature."
22/12/1805
John Obadiah Westwood, English entomologist and archaeologist (died 1893)
John Obadiah Westwood was an English entomologist and archaeologist noted for his artistic talents. He published several illustrated works on insects and antiquities. He was among the first entomologists with an academic position at Oxford University. He was a natural theologian, staunchly anti-Darwinian, and sometimes adopted a quinarian viewpoint. Although he never travelled widely, he described species from around the world on the basis of specimens, especially of the larger, curious, and colourful species obtained by naturalists and collectors in England.
22/12/1799
Nicholas Callan, Irish priest and physicist (died 1864)
Nicholas Joseph Callan was an Irish physicist and Catholic priest known for his work on the induction coil.
22/12/1765
Johann Friedrich Pfaff, German mathematician and academic (died 1825)
Johann Friedrich Pfaff was a German mathematician. He is best known for his work on differential equations and as Carl Friedrich Gauss's doctoral advisor.
22/12/1723
Carl Friedrich Abel, German viol player and composer (died 1787)
Carl Friedrich Abel was a German composer of the Classical era. He was a renowned player of the viola da gamba, and produced significant compositions for that instrument. He was director of music at the Dresden court from 1743, and moved to London in 1759, becoming chamber-musician to Queen Charlotte in 1764. He founded a subscription concert series there with Johann Christian Bach. According to the Catalogue of Works of Carl Friedrich Abel (AbelWV), he left 420 compositions, with a focus on chamber music.
22/12/1696
James Oglethorpe, English general and politician, 1st Colonial Governor of Georgia (died 1785)
Lieutenant-General James Edward Oglethorpe was a British Army officer, Tory politician and colonial administrator best known for founding the Province of Georgia in British North America. As a social reformer, he hoped to resettle Britain's "worthy poor" in the New World, initially focusing on those in debtors' prisons.
22/12/1694
Hermann Samuel Reimarus, German philosopher and academic (died 1768)
Hermann Samuel Reimarus, was a German philosopher and writer of the Enlightenment who is remembered for his Deism, the doctrine that human reason can arrive at a knowledge of God and ethics from a study of nature and our own internal reality, thus eliminating the need for religions based on revelation. He denied the supernatural origin of Christianity, and was the first influential critic to investigate the historical Jesus. According to Reimarus, Jesus was a mortal Jewish prophet, and the apostles founded Christianity as a religion separate from Jesus’ own ministry.
22/12/1666
Guru Gobind Singh, Indian guru and poet (died 1708)
Guru Gobind Singh was the tenth and last human Sikh Guru. He was a warrior, poet, and philosopher. In 1675, at the age of nine, he was formally made the leader of the Sikhs after his father Guru Tegh Bahadur—the ninth Sikh Guru—was executed by the emperor Aurangzeb. His four biological sons died during his lifetime—two in battle and two executed by the Mughal administrator Wazir Khan.
22/12/1639
Jean Racine, French poet and playwright (died 1699)
Jean-Baptiste Racine was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille, as well as an important literary figure in the Western tradition and world literature. Racine was primarily a tragedian, producing such "examples of neoclassical perfection" as Phèdre, Andromaque, and Athalie. He did write one comedy, Les Plaideurs, and a muted tragedy, Esther, for the young.
22/12/1591
Tommaso Dingli, Maltese architect and sculptor (died 1666)
Tommaso Dingli was a Maltese architect and sculptor. One of the last Renaissance architects on the island, he designed several parish churches, most notably those of Attard and Birkirkara.
22/12/1569
Étienne Martellange, French architect (died 1641)
Étienne Martellange was a French Jesuit architect and draftsman. He travelled widely in France as an architect for the Jesuit order and designed more than 25 buildings, mostly schools and their associated chapels or churches. His buildings reflect the Baroque style of the Counter-Reformation and include the Chapelle de la Trinité in Lyon and the church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis in Paris. In the course of his travels he made almost 200 detailed pen drawings depicting views of towns, buildings and monuments. These pictures have survived and provide an important historical record of French towns in the first third of the 17th century.
22/12/1550
Cesare Cremonini, Italian philosopher and author (died 1631)
Cesare Cremonini, sometimes Cesare Cremonino, was an Italian academic and professor of natural philosophy. His Latinized name was Cæsar Cremoninus or Cæsar Cremonius. Considered one of the greatest philosophers in his time, patronized by Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, corresponding with kings and princes who had his portrait, paid twice the salary of Galileo Galilei, he is now more remembered as an infamous side actor of the Galileo affair, being one of the two scholars who refused to look through Galileo's telescope.
22/12/1546
Kuroda Yoshitaka, Japanese daimyō (died 1604)
Kuroda Yoshitaka , also known as Kuroda Kanbei , was a Japanese samurai and daimyō of the late Sengoku through the early Edo period. Renowned as a man of great ambition, he succeeded Takenaka Hanbei as a chief strategist and adviser to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Kuroda became a Christian when he was 38, and received "Simeon Josui" as a baptismal name (rekishijin). His quick wit, bravery, and loyalty were respected by his warriors.
22/12/1459
Sultan Cem, Ottoman politician (died 1495)
Cem Sultan was a claimant to the Ottoman throne in the 15th century.
22/12/1300
Khutughtu Khan Kusala, Mongolian emperor (died 1329)
Khutughtu Khan, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Mingzong of Yuan, was a son of Khayishan who seized the throne of the Yuan dynasty of China in 1329, but died in suspicious circumstances six months later. Apart from the Emperor of China, he is considered as the 13th Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, although it was only nominal due to the division of the empire.
22/12/1183
Chagatai Khan, Mongol ruler (died 1242)
Chagatai Khan was a son of Genghis Khan, a prominent figure in the early Mongol Empire, and the first khan of the Chagatai Khanate. The second son of Genghis's wife Börte, Chagatai was renowned for his masterful knowledge of Mongol custom and law, which he scrupulously obeyed, as well as his harsh temperament. Because Genghis felt that he was too inflexible in character, most notably never accepting the legitimacy of his elder brother Jochi, he excluded Chagatai from succession to the Mongol throne. He was nevertheless a key figure in ensuring the stability of the empire after Genghis's death and during the reign of his younger brother Ögedei Khan.
22/12/1178
Emperor Antoku of Japan (died 1185)
Emperor Antoku was the 81st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1180 through 1185. His death marked the end of the Heian period and the beginning of the Kamakura period.
22/12/1095
Roger II of Sicily (died 1154)
Roger II or Roger the Great was King of Sicily and Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, became Duke of Apulia and Calabria in 1127, then King of Sicily in 1130 and King of Africa in 1148.
22/12/0948
Kang Kam-ch'an, Korean official and general (died 1031)
Kang Kamch'an was a medieval Korean government official and military commander during the early days of the Goryeo period (918–1392). Even though he was a career scholar and government official, he is best known for his military victories during the Third Goryeo-Khitan War. Kang came from the Geumju Kang clan.
22/12/0244
Diocletian, Roman emperor (died 311)
Diocletian, nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia. As with other Illyrian soldiers of the period, Diocles rose through the ranks of the military early in his career, serving under Aurelian and Probus, and eventually becoming a cavalry commander for the army of Emperor Carus. After the deaths of Carus and his son Numerian on a campaign in Persia, Diocles was proclaimed emperor by the troops, taking the name "Diocletianus". The title was also claimed by Carus's surviving son, Carinus, but Diocletian defeated him in the Battle of the Margus.