Born on Thursday, 25th December – Famous Birthdays
On this day, 227 notable people were born on 25th December — spanning from 1250 to 2000. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.
December 25th, 2025, marks another year in the calendar cycle when notable individuals have entered the world. Among those born on this date is Armin van Buuren, a Dutch DJ and record producer who has left a significant mark on electronic music since his birth in 1976. Further back in history, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was born on this day in 1924, eventually becoming the 10th Prime Minister of India and earning recognition as a poet and politician whose influence shaped Indian politics across decades. The list of births extends from contemporary athletes and entertainers to historical figures whose contributions spanned science, arts, and public service.
The significance of December 25th as a birthday encompasses individuals from diverse professional backgrounds and geographical origins. Figures such as Isaac Newton, born in 1642, represent the transformative scientific achievements that have occurred on this calendar date. Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, was also born on December 25th in 1821, demonstrating the humanitarian contributions that have characterised many of those sharing this birthday throughout history.
On Thursday, 25th December 2025, the weather conditions will be variable with temperatures around 5 degrees Celsius and cloud cover at 70 percent. The moon will be in its waning gibbous phase, appearing approximately 76 percent illuminated. Those born on this date will fall under the Capricorn zodiac sign, which governs those born from late December into January.
DayAtlas provides comprehensive information about weather conditions, significant historical events, and notable births and deaths for any date and location worldwide, offering users a detailed perspective on what occurred and who was born on specific days throughout history.
Discover who was born today 10th April.
25/12/2000
Wilfried Singo, Ivorian footballer
Wilfried Stephane Singo is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Süper Lig club Galatasaray and the Ivory Coast national team.
25/12/1999
Adut Akech, South Sudanese-Australian fashion model
Adut Akech Bior is a South Sudanese-Australian model. Akech made her fashion week runway debut as an exclusive in the Saint Laurent S/S 17 show and went on to close both their F/W 17 and S/S 18 shows as an exclusive. In 2018, she was chosen as "Model of the Year" by models.com, an honour which was repeated the next year. Models.com includes Akech in its list of the "New Supers".
25/12/1996
Emiliano Buendía, Argentine footballer
Emiliano Buendía Stati is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Premier League club Aston Villa and the Argentina national team.
25/12/1993
Emi Takei, Japanese actress, fashion model and singer
Emi Takei is a Japanese actress and model.
25/12/1992
Mitakeumi Hisashi, Japanese sumo wrestler
Mitakeumi Hisashi is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Agematsu, Nagano. He is in the Dewanoumi stable. He is a pusher thruster-type wrestler. A former amateur champion at Toyo University, he made his professional debut in March 2015, reaching the top makuuchi division in November of the same year. He has ten special prizes for Fighting Spirit, Technique and Outstanding Performance, as well two gold stars for defeating a yokozuna while ranked as a maegashira. His highest rank has been ōzeki. He won his first top division championship (yūshō) in July 2018, his second in September 2019, and his third in January 2022. All three yūshō were won at the rank of sekiwake.
25/12/1991
Avu-chan, Japanese musician, songwriter, actor, model and producer
Avu-chan is a Japanese singer, songwriter, producer and actor. They debuted as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the band Queen Bee in 2009, and took on a side project as the lead vocalist and trumpeter of the supergroup Gokumontō Ikka in 2015. As a producer and songwriter, Avu-chan uses the name Avu Barazono , and has written songs for Meg, Rina Satō, Ai Shinozaki, Hey! Say! JUMP, LiSA, KERENMI, and the SUPERNOVA sub-unit Funky Galaxy. They also produce the alternative vocal-and-dance boy group Ryugujo, formed in 2023 through the audition program "0th Class 0 - Avu-chan's Classroom".
25/12/1988
Eric Gordon, American basketball player
Eric Ambrose Gordon Jr. is a Bahamian-American professional basketball player who last played for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). In high school, he was named Indiana Mr. Basketball during his senior year while playing at North Central High School. He is known, in part, as the subject of a recruiting competition between the University of Illinois and Indiana University in the spring and summer of 2006; because of Gordon's talent and high level of play that year, his recruitment was the subject of media coverage.
Lukas Hinds-Johnson, German rugby player
Lukas Hinds-Johnson is a German international rugby union player, playing for the RK 03 Berlin in the Rugby-Bundesliga and the German national rugby union team.
Joãozinho, Brazilian footballer
João Natailton Ramos dos Santos or simply Joãozinho is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a right or left winger for Brasiliense.
25/12/1987
Ceyhun Gülselam, Turkish footballer
Ceyhun Gülselam is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a center back and defensive midfielder. He plays for Altay.
Demaryius Thomas, American football player (died 2021)
Demaryius Antwon Thomas was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Denver Broncos. He played college football for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, earning third-team All-American honors in 2009. Thomas was selected by the Broncos in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft. With Denver, he made five Pro Bowls and won Super Bowl 50 against the Carolina Panthers. Thomas also played for the Houston Texans, New England Patriots, and New York Jets.
25/12/1985
Martin Mathathi, Kenyan runner
Martin Irūngū Mathathi is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who competes in track, cross country and road running events. Mathathi won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka. He represented his country in the same event at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He holds the 10 miles world junior record of 44:51.
Rusev, Bulgarian-American professional wrestler
Miroslav Petrov Barnyashev is a Bulgarian professional wrestler and actor who holds both Bulgarian and American citizenship. As of April 2025, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Rusev. He is also known for his time in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) from 2020 to 2025, where he performed under the ring name Miro.
25/12/1984
Chris Cahill, Samoan footballer
Christopher Cahill is a retired professional footballer. Born in Australia, he represented Samoa at international level.
Alastair Cook, English cricketer
Sir Alastair Nathan Cook is an English commentator and a former cricketer and captain of the England Test and One-Day International (ODI) cricket teams. Known for his compact technique and ability to bat for long periods, Cook is widely regarded as one of the greatest batters of his era and one of the greatest opening batsman of all time. He is the sixth-highest Test run scorer of all time and second-highest run scorer for England. He is England's second most-capped Test batsman and captained the England team in 59 Tests, as well as in 69 ODIs. He was also the youngest player to score 12,000 test runs. Cook retired from Test cricket in September 2018 and played for Essex in English domestic cricket until 2023, while also working for the BBC radio programme Test Match Special.
Chris Richard, American basketball player
Chris Richard is an American former professional basketball player. Richard, a power forward, played college basketball for the Florida Gators. He has a wingspan of 7'4½". His role was that of the sixth man that came off the bench for the Florida Gators national championship men's team during the 2006–07 season. He is a former Mr. Basketball in the state of Florida (2002) and scored 8 points to go along with 8 rebounds in his final game of his college career. He was taken 1st overall in 2008 D-League draft by the Tulsa 66ers.
25/12/1982
Shawn Andrews, American football player
Shawn Cornelius Andrews is an American former professional football player who was an offensive lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks, and was a two-time consensus All-American. Philadelphia selected him in the first round of the 2004 NFL draft, and he earned two Pro Bowl selections during his career. He was inducted to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.
Rob Edwards, Welsh footballer
Robert Owen Edwards is a professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers. Born in England to Welsh parents, he represented Wales internationally.
Ethan Kath, Canadian keyboard player, songwriter and producer
Claudio Paolo Palmieri, known professionally as Ethan Kath, is a Canadian musician. He was the co-founder and songwriter/producer for Crystal Castles and bassist of Kïll Cheerleadër and Die Mannequin.
Chris Rene, American singer-songwriter and producer
Chris Rene is an American singer-songwriter. Rene auditioned for the first season of The X Factor USA with an original song entitled "Young Homie". He finished in third place in the competition. "Young Homie" was released as a single on March 13, 2012; it was the lead single from Rene's EP I'm Right Here.
25/12/1981
Trenesha Biggers, American wrestler and model
Trenesha Biggers is an American former model and professional wrestler. She is best known for her appearances with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Rhaka Khan; she also appeared with WWE as Trenesha, competing in the 2005 WWE Diva Search.
Camille Herron, American ultramarathon runner
Jacquelyn Camille Herron is an American ultramarathon runner. She has achieved 12 world records in ultramarathon distances.
Christian Holst, Danish-Faroese footballer
Christian Lamhauge Holst is a Faroese retired football midfielder who is currently a coach at BK Frem.
Willy Taveras, Dominican baseball player
Willy Taveras is a Dominican former professional baseball center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played a total of seven seasons for the Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, and Washington Nationals.
25/12/1980
Laura Sadler, English actress (died 2003)
Laura Ruth Sadler was an English actress. She played pupil Judi Jeffreys in the children's school drama series Grange Hill, and nurse Sandy Harper in the BBC One hospital drama series Holby City for three years from 2000 until her death in 2003.
Marcus Trufant, American football player
Marcus Lavon Trufant is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. He played college football for the Washington State Cougars, and was chosen by the Seattle Seahawks 11th overall in the 2003 NFL draft.
25/12/1979
Ferman Akgül, Turkish singer-songwriter
İbrahim Ferman Akgül is a Turkish singer, songwriter, TV host and actor. He is the lead singer of Turkish rock band maNga. In 2015 he opened the independent record label 06 Records and released his first solo single "İstemem Söz Sevmeni" in early 2016.
Laurent Bonnart, French footballer
Laurent Noël Bonnart is a French former professional footballer who played as a full-back.
Robert Huff, English race car driver
Robert Peter Huff is a British racing driver currently competing in the British Touring Car Championship for Toyota Gazoo Racing UK. He was the 2012 World Touring Car Championship champion and the 2020 Scandinavian Touring Car Championship champion.
Hyun Young-min, South Korean footballer
Hyun Young-min is a South Korean football coach and a former player. He is the manager of the Under-18 squad of Ulsan Hyundai.
25/12/1978
Simon Jones, Welsh cricketer
Simon Philip Jones is a Welsh former cricketer, who played internationally for the England cricket team. Jones played in eighteen Test matches for England, before injury ended his international career. He played county cricket for Glamorgan, Worcestershire and Hampshire, before retiring in 2013. His father, Jeff Jones, played cricket for Glamorgan and England in the 1960s.
Joel Porter, Australian footballer and manager
Joel William Porter is an Australian football (soccer) manager and former player.
Jeremy Strong, American actor
Jeremy Strong is an American actor. Known for his intense method acting style in roles across both stage and screen, he has received various accolades, including a Tony Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award. In 2022, Strong was featured on Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
25/12/1977
Ali Tandoğan, Turkish footballer
Ali Tandoğan is a Turkish former football player and coach who was most recently the manager of Şanlıurfaspor.
Israel Vázquez, Mexican boxer (died 2024)
Israel Vázquez Castañeda was a Mexican professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2010. He was a three-time super bantamweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 2004 to 2005; and the WBC, The Ring titles twice from 2005 to 2008. Vázquez is best known for his series of four fights against fellow Mexican Rafael Márquez.
25/12/1976
Tuomas Holopainen, Finnish keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
Tuomas Lauri Johannes Holopainen is a Finnish musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the primary songwriter, keyboardist, and founding member of the symphonic metal band Nightwish. He has stated that his songwriting is influenced by harmonic film music.
Atko Väikmeri, Estonian footballer
Atko Väikmeri is an Estonian football coach and former football defender. He played for several clubs in his native country, including JK Tervis Pärnu.
Armin van Buuren, Dutch DJ and record producer
Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van Buuren OON is a Dutch DJ, musician and record producer. Since 2001, he has hosted A State of Trance (ASOT), a weekly radio show, which is broadcast to nearly 40 million listeners in 84 countries on over 100 FM radio stations. According to the website DJs and Festivals, "the radio show propelled him to stardom and helped cultivate an interest in trance music around the world".
25/12/1975
Hideki Okajima, Japanese baseball player
Hideki Okajima is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. Okajima pitched for the Yomiuri Giants, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, and Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball, and the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball. Okajima was elected to the 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game as a first time All-Star via the All-Star Final Vote. He became the first Japanese-born pitcher to play in the World Series in Game 2 of the 2007 World Series. On July 18, 2016, Okajima announced his retirement.
Choi Sung-yong, South Korean footballer and manager
Choi Sung-yong is a former South Korean footballer who played as a wing-back or midfielder. Known for his good stamina and concentration, Choi was noted for his ability for man-to-man defense. He performed a role to concentrate on marking Hidetoshi Nakata, considered the best Asian player at the time, when South Korea played against Japan in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Marcus Trescothick, English cricketer
Marcus Edward Trescothick is an English former cricketer who played first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club, and represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals. He was Somerset captain from 2010 to 2016 and temporary England captain for several Tests and ODIs. Since retirement he has commentated and coached at both county and international level.
25/12/1973
Robbie Elliott, English footballer and coach
Robert James Elliott is an English football coach and former professional player, who is the strength coach for the United States U20 men's football team.
Chris Harris, American wrestler
Christopher Eric Harris is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "Wildcat" Chris Harris. He is best known for his time with NWA Total Nonstop Action (TNA) as one-half of the tag team America's Most Wanted alongside James Storm, where the duo won the NWA World Tag Team Championship six times. He is also known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment as Braden Walker.
Daisuke Miura, Japanese baseball player and coach
Daisuke Miura is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher and coach. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars from 1992 to 2016. He served as a coach for the team in two separate stints from 2014 to 2020 before being hired to become manager for the BayStars in 2021. In five seasons from 2021 to 2025, he led the team to the Climax Series four times, with the 2024 team reaching and winning the Japan Series for the first time in 26 years.
Alexandre Trudeau, Canadian journalist and director
Alexandre Emmanuel Trudeau is a Canadian filmmaker, journalist and author of Barbarian Lost. He is the second son of Canada's former prime minister, Pierre Trudeau, and Margaret Trudeau, and the younger brother of Canada's former prime minister, Justin Trudeau.
25/12/1972
Qu Yunxia, Chinese runner
Qu Yunxia is a Chinese Olympic athlete who specialised in the 1500 metres.
25/12/1971
Justin Trudeau, Canadian educator and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Canada
Justin Pierre James Trudeau is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament (MP) for Papineau from 2008 until 2025.
25/12/1970
Emmanuel Amunike, Nigerian footballer and manager
Emmanuel Amunike is a Nigerian professional football manager and former footballer who played as a winger.
Rodney Dent, American basketball player
Rodney Dent is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Edison, Georgia, Dent played college basketball at the University of Kentucky. He was drafted by the Orlando Magic in the 1994 NBA draft. He was selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 1995 NBA expansion draft in exchange for a second-round draft pick.
25/12/1969
Nicolas Godin, French musician
Nicolas Godin is a French musician best known for being one half of the music duo Air.
Noel Goldthorpe, Australian rugby league player
Noel Goldthorpe is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the halves in the 1990s. He played most of his career for the St George Dragons. Goldthorpe also played for the Western Suburbs Magpies, Hunter Mariners, Adelaide Rams and the North Queensland Cowboys, whom he captained.
Frederick Onyancha, Kenyan runner
Frederick ("Fred") Onyancha is a Kenyan 800 metres runner who won the bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta in a personal best time of 1:42.79 minutes.
25/12/1968
Jim Dowd, American ice hockey player
James Thomas Dowd is an American former professional ice hockey center who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for ten different teams over the course of 17 NHL seasons. Dowd, who won the 1995 Stanley Cup with his hometown New Jersey Devils, was the second New Jersey high school hockey player to make it to the NHL. He is also a frequent guest on NHL Live.
25/12/1967
Andreas Haitzer, Austrian politician
Andreas Haitzer is an Austrian politician and member of the National Council. A member of the Social Democratic Party, he has represented Salzburg since October 2024. He was a member of the Salzburg Landtag from June 2013 to March 2015.
Jason Thirsk, American bass player (died 1996)
Jason Matthew Thirsk was an American musician who was the bass player of the California punk rock band Pennywise from 1988 through his death in 1996. He grew up in Hermosa Beach, California.
25/12/1966
Toshi Arai, Japanese race car driver
Toshihiro 'Toshi' Arai is a Japanese rally driver and team owner. He is the first Japanese FIA world champion.
25/12/1965
Ed Davey, English politician, Leader of the Liberal Democrats
Sir Edward Jonathan Davey is a British politician who has served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats since 2020. He served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change from 2012 to 2015 and as Deputy Leader to Jo Swinson in 2019. An "Orange Book" liberal, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston and Surbiton since 2017, a seat he previously held from 1997 to 2015.
Dmitri Mironov, Russian ice hockey player
Dmitri Olegovich Mironov is a Russian former professional ice hockey defenseman. He was drafted in the eighth round, 160th overall, by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. He was part of the 1998 Stanley Cup winning Detroit Red Wings.
David Rath, Czech physician and politician
David Rath is a Czech medical doctor, former politician who served as Minister of Health from 2005 to 2006, and convicted criminal. He was a member of the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) until 16 May 2012 when he resigned after being charged with bribery. He also served as Member of the Chamber of Deputies (MP) from 2006 to 2013, first as representative from Prague and then from Central Bohemian Region where he was Governor between 2008 and 2012.
25/12/1964
Ian Bostridge, English tenor
Ian Charles Bostridge CBE is an English tenor, well known for his performances as an opera and lieder singer.
Gary McAllister, Scottish footballer and manager
Gary McAllister MBE is a Scottish professional football coach and former player.
Bob Stanley, British musician and writer
Bob Stanley is a British musician, journalist, author, and film producer. He is a member of the indie pop group Saint Etienne and has had a parallel career as a music journalist and author, writing for NME, Melody Maker, Mojo, The Guardian and The Times, as well as writing several books on music and football. His second book, Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!: The Story of Modern Pop, was published by Faber & Faber in 2013. His third book Let's Do It: The Birth of Pop Music: A History was published by Pegasus in 2022. He also has a career as a DJ and as a producer of record labels, and has collaborated on a series of films about London.
25/12/1962
Francis Dunnery, English musician
Francis Dunnery is an English musician, singer-songwriter, record producer and record label owner.
25/12/1961
Íngrid Betancourt, Colombian political scientist and politician
Íngrid Betancourt Pulecio is a Colombian-French politician, former senator, and anti-corruption activist. She gained international prominence after being kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2002 while campaigning for the Colombian presidency as a Green candidate. She was rescued in 2008 during Operation Jaque, a military operation conducted by Colombian security forces.
25/12/1959
Michael P. Anderson, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (died 2003)
Michael Phillip Anderson was a United States Air Force officer and NASA astronaut. He and his six fellow crew members were killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster when the craft disintegrated during its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Anderson served as the payload commander and lieutenant colonel in charge of science experiments on the Columbia. He was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
Ramdas Athawale, Indian poet and politician
Ramdas Bandu Athawale is an Indian politician, social activist and trade unionist from Maharashtra. Since 1999, he is the president of the Republican Party of India (A), a splinter group of the Republican Party of India, which has its roots in the Scheduled Castes Federation led by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. Since 2016, he has served as the Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India and represented Maharashtra in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's Parliament since 2014. Previously, he was Lok Sabha MP from Pandharpur from 1999 to 2009 and from Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha constituency from 1998 to 1999. He was also Cabinet minister of Maharashtra from 1990 to 1995 and a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council from 1990 to 1996.
25/12/1958
Cheryl Chase, American voice actress and singer
Cheryl Chase is an American actress and children's book author. She is best known for voicing Angelica Pickles in the television series Rugrats and its spinoffs All Grown Up, Angelica and Susie's Pre-School Daze, and on the revival.
Rickey Henderson, American baseball player and coach (died 2024)
Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson, nicknamed "Man of Steal", was an American professional baseball left fielder who played 25 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four separate tenures with his original team, the Oakland Athletics. He is widely regarded as baseball's greatest leadoff hitter and baserunner. He holds MLB records for career stolen bases, runs, unintentional walks, and leadoff home runs. At the time of his last major league game in 2003, the 10-time American League (AL) All-Star ranked among the sport's top 100 all-time home run hitters and was its all-time leader in walks. In 2009, he was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Konstantin Kinchev, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist
Konstantin Evgenievich Kinchev (Panfilov) (Russian: Константи́н Евге́ньевич Ки́нчев (Панфи́лов); born December 25, 1958) is a Russian rock singer, musician, frontman and the main songwriter for the Russian rock/hard rock band Alisa.
Alannah Myles, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress
Alannah Myles is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has won both a Grammy and a Juno Award for the song "Black Velvet". The song was a top-ten hit in Canada and a number one hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1990.
25/12/1957
Mansoor Akhtar, Pakistani cricketer
Mansoor Akhtar is a Pakistani former cricketer who played in 19 Test matches and 41 One Day Internationals between 1980 and 1990. In his Test career Mansoor scored one century and three half-centuries, with a highest score of 111 against Australia in Faisalabad. In his ODI career he failed to even record a half century and took only two wickets.
Chris Kamara, English footballer and sportscaster
Christopher Kamara is an English former professional footballer and manager who worked as a presenter and football analyst at Sky Sports for 30 years from 1992 to 2022.
25/12/1954
Annie Lennox, Scottish singer-songwriter and pianist
Ann Lennox is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician Dave Stewart went on to achieve international success in the 1980s as Eurythmics. When she appeared in the 1983 music video for "Sweet Dreams " with orange cropped hair and wearing a men’s lounge suit, the BBC wrote, "all eyes were on Annie Lennox, the singer whose powerful androgynous look defied the male gaze". Subsequent hits with Eurythmics include "There Must Be an Angel ", "Love Is a Stranger" and "Here Comes the Rain Again".
25/12/1953
Kaarlo Maaninka, Finnish runner
Kaarlo Hannes Maaninka is a Finnish former long-distance runner who won a silver medal in the 10,000 metres and a bronze medal in the 5,000 metres at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Maanink later admitted to using blood transfusions during the 1980 Olympics, although this practice was not prohibited under the rules at that time.
25/12/1952
Tolossa Kotu, Ethiopian runner and coach
Tolossa Kotu Terfe is an Ethiopian long-distance runner and coach. He placed fourth in men's 10,000 metres at the 1980 Summer Olympics and has coached the national teams of both Ethiopia and Bahrain.
Desireless, French singer and songwriter
Claudie Fritsch-Mentrop, known by her stage name Desireless, is a French singer. She gained international recognition between 1986 and 1988 with her hit single, "Voyage, voyage", which topped music charts in multiple countries. The music video, directed by Bettina Rheims, features Desireless in a cold, androgynous style, reminiscent of other contemporary female artists such as Annie Lennox and Grace Jones.
25/12/1951
Warren Robinett, American video game designer
Joseph Warren Robinett Jr. is an American video game designer. He is most notable as the developer of the Atari 2600's Adventure and as a founder of The Learning Company, where he designed Rocky's Boots and Robot Odyssey. More recently he has worked on virtual reality projects.
25/12/1950
Peter Boardman, English mountaineer and author (died 1982)
Peter Boardman was an English mountaineer and author. He is best known for a series of bold and lightweight expeditions to the Himalayas, often in partnership with Joe Tasker, and for his contribution to mountain literature. Boardman and Tasker died on the North East Ridge of Mount Everest in 1982. The Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature was established in their memory.
Karl Rove, American political strategist and activist
Karl Christian Rove is an American Republican political consultant, policy advisor, and lobbyist. He was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff during the George W. Bush administration until his resignation on August 31, 2007. He has also headed the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, and the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives. Rove was one of the architects of the Iraq War.
Manny Trillo, Venezuelan baseball player and manager
Jesús Manuel Marcano Trillo, nicknamed "Indio", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman, most prominently with the Chicago Cubs where he established himself as an All-Star player, and then with the Philadelphia Phillies where he was an integral member of the 1980 World Series winning team.
25/12/1949
Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira, Brazilian singer
Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira, better known as Simone, is a Brazilian singer of Música Popular Brasileira (MPB) who has recorded more than 30 albums.
Nawaz Sharif, Pakistani politician, 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan
Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then from 1997 to 1999 and later from 2013 to 2017. He is the longest-serving prime minister in the country's history, having served a total of more than 9 years across three tenures, with each term ending in his ousting.
25/12/1948
Merry Clayton, American singer and actress
Merry Clayton is an American soul and gospel singer. She contributed vocals to numerous tracks and worked with many major recording artists for decades, including a duet with Mick Jagger on the Rolling Stones song "Gimme Shelter". Clayton is prominently featured in 20 Feet from Stardom, the Oscar-winning documentary about background singers and their contributions to the music industry.
Kay Hymowitz, American sociologist and writer
Kay S. Hymowitz is an American author and sociologist that is perhaps best known for her 2011 non-fiction book, Manning Up: How the Rise of Women Has Turned Men Into Boys.
Barbara Mandrell, American singer-songwriter and actress
Barbara Ann Mandrell is an American retired country music singer and musician. She is also credited as an actress and author. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was considered among country's most successful music artists. She had six number one singles and 25 top ten singles reach the Billboard country songs chart. She also hosted her own prime-time television show in the early 1980s that featured music, dance numbers and comedy sketches. Mandrell also played a variety of musical instruments during her career that helped earn her a series of major-industry awards.
Joel Santana, Brazilian footballer and manager
Joel Natalino Santana is a Brazilian football coach and former player. He was recently in charge of Vasco da Gama in 2014.
25/12/1946
Jimmy Buffett, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (died 2023)
James William Buffett was an American singer-songwriter, author, and businessperson. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapism" and promoted enjoying life and following passions. Buffett recorded many hit songs, including those known as "The Big 8": "Margaritaville" (1977), which is ranked 234th on the Recording Industry Association of America's list of "Songs of the Century"; "Come Monday" (1974); "Fins" (1979); "Volcano" (1979); "A Pirate Looks at Forty" (1974); "Cheeseburger in Paradise" (1978); "Why Don't We Get Drunk" (1973); and "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes" (1977). His other popular songs include "Son of a Son of a Sailor" (1978), "One Particular Harbour" (1983), and "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" with Alan Jackson (2003). Buffett formed the Coral Reefer Band in 1975.
25/12/1945
Rick Berman, American screenwriter and producer
Richard Keith Berman is an American television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as the executive producer of several of the Star Trek television series: Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise, as well as several of the Star Trek films, and for ultimately succeeding Gene Roddenberry as head of the Star Trek franchise until the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise in 2005.
Mike Pringle, Zambian-Scottish lawyer and politician
Mike Pringle is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Edinburgh South from 2003 to 2011.
Noel Redding, English singer-songwriter and bass player (died 2003)
David Noel Redding was an English rock musician, best known as the bass player for the Jimi Hendrix Experience and guitarist/singer for Fat Mattress.
Ken Stabler, American football player and sportscaster (died 2015)
Kenneth Michael Stabler was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders. Nicknamed "Snake", he played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide and was selected by the Raiders in the second round of the 1968 NFL/AFL draft. During his 10 seasons in Oakland, Stabler received four Pro Bowl selections and was named Most Valuable Player in 1974. Stabler also helped the Raiders win their first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XI. He was posthumously inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
25/12/1944
Kenny Everett, British comedian and broadcaster (died 1995)
Kenny Everett was an English radio DJ and television comedian, known for his zany comedic style.
Jairzinho, Brazilian footballer
Jair Ventura Filho, better known as Jairzinho, is a Brazilian former professional footballer. A quick, skillful, and powerful right winger known for his finishing ability and eye for goal, he was a key member and leading scorer of the Brazil national team that won the 1970 FIFA World Cup.
Sam Strahan, New Zealand rugby player (died 2019)
Samuel Cuningham Strahan was a New Zealand rugby union player. He represented Manawatu at a provincial level and the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks. He was a lock and was said to be the best lineout jumper in the country.
25/12/1943
Wilson Fittipaldi Júnior, Brazilian race car driver and businessman (died 2024)
Wilson Fittipaldi Júnior was a Brazilian racing driver and Formula One team owner. He participated in 38 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 1 May 1972, scoring a total of three championship points. He ran the Fittipaldi Formula One team between 1974 and 1982. He also participated in numerous non-Championship Formula One races.
Ravish Malhotra, Indian pilot and military officer
Ravish Malhotra is a retired air commodore of the Indian Air Force. He was an Air Force test pilot stationed at the test centre in Bangalore. He was also the Air Officer Commanding of Hindon Air Force Station near Delhi.
Eve Pollard, English journalist and author
Evelyn, Lady Lloyd is an English author and journalist, and has been the editor of several tabloid newspapers.
Hanna Schygulla, German actress
Hanna Schygulla is a German actress and chanson singer best known for her work with director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. She first worked with Fassbinder in 1965 and became an active participant in the New German Cinema. Schygulla won the 1979 Silver Bear for Best Actress for Fassbinder's The Marriage of Maria Braun, and the 1983 Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for the Marco Ferreri film The Story of Piera.
Jacqui McShee, English singer
Jacqueline McShee is an English singer. Since 1966, she has performed with Pentangle, a jazz-influenced folk rock band.
25/12/1942
Françoise Dürr, French tennis player and coach
Françoise Dürr is a retired French tennis player. She won 50 singles titles and over 60 doubles titles.
Barbara Follett, English politician
Daphne Barbara Follett is a British Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Stevenage from 1997 to 2010. During this time she held several parliamentary and ministerial positions.
Barry Goldberg, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer (died 2025)
Barry Joseph Goldberg was an American blues and rock keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. Goldberg co-produced albums by Percy Sledge, Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton, and the Textones, plus Bob Dylan's version of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready".
Enrique Morente, Spanish singer-songwriter (died 2010)
Enrique Morente Cotelo, known as Enrique Morente, was a Spanish flamenco singer and a celebrated figure within the world of contemporary flamenco. After his orthodox beginnings, he plunged into experimentalism, writing new melodies for cante and jamming with musicians of all styles, without renouncing his roots in traditional flamenco singing, which he kept on cultivating despite criticism."It hasn't been easy. First came the accusations of corruption of the music, of treachery in his struggle to disfigure what was already perfectly coded. When some albums and some categorical evidence of his knowledge of the classical approach laid these malicious comments bare, then came the most twisted condemnations. That the pace of the compás waned, that he didn't really make you feel and that kind of thing."
25/12/1941
Kenneth Calman, Scottish physician and academic
Sir Kenneth Charles Calman was a Scottish doctor and academic who worked as a surgeon, oncologist and cancer researcher, and held the position of Chief Medical Officer of Scotland, and then England. He was Warden and Vice-Chancellor of Durham University from 1998 to 2006 before becoming Chancellor of the University of Glasgow. He held the position of Chair of the National Cancer Research Institute from 2008 until 2011. From 2008 to 2009, he was convener of the Calman Commission on Scottish devolution.
25/12/1940
Hilary Spurling, English journalist and author
Susan Hilary Spurling is a British writer, known for her work as a journalist and biographer.
25/12/1939
Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Pakistani businessman and politician
Ghulam Ahmad Bilour is a Pakistani politician who served as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2008 to 2018. He additionally served as Federal Minister for Railways twice and as Federal Minister for Local Government and Rural Development once.
Bob James, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
Robert McElhiney James is an American jazz keyboardist, arranger, and record producer. He founded the band Fourplay and wrote "Angela", the theme song for the TV show Taxi. According to VICE, music from his first seven albums has often been sampled and believed to have contributed to the formation of hip hop. Among his most well known recordings are "Nautilus", "Westchester Lady", "Tappan Zee", and his version of "Take Me to the Mardi Gras".
Akong Rinpoche, Tibetan-Chinese spiritual leader (died 2013)
Chöje Akong Tulku Rinpoche was a tulku in the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism and co-founder of the Samye Ling Monastery in Scotland, Tara Rokpa Therapy and charity ROKPA International.
25/12/1938
Duane Armstrong, American painter
Duane Albert Armstrong is an American painter, best known for his oil on canvas paintings. He was born in Fresno California, and was raised near San Luis Obispo California. His foster mother taught him to paint as a child.
Noel Picard, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2017)
Joseph Jean-Noël Yves Picard was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1965 to 1973.
25/12/1937
Maung Aye, Burmese military officer
Maung Aye is a retired Burmese army general who played a significant role in Myanmar's military government. He served as Vice Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the ruling military junta of Myanmar, from July 1993 to March 2011, holding the second highest-ranking position in the regime. He graduated from the Defence Services Academy in Pyin Oo Lwin and began his military career by commanding the Northeast Region in 1968, followed by the Eastern Region in 1988. His career progression included promotions to major-general in 1990 and Army Chief in 1992. In 1993, he was appointed as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services, and the following year, he assumed the role of Deputy Chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), which later evolved into the SPDC. Despite rumours of resignation in August 2010, Maung Aye remained deputy head of state until the SPDC was dissolved on 30 March 2011 by Senior General Than Shwe, marking a significant transition in Myanmar's governance.
O'Kelly Isley Jr., American R&B/soul singer-songwriter (died 1986)
O'Kelly "Kelly" Isley Jr. was an American singer and one of the founding members of the family group the Isley Brothers.
25/12/1936
Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy
Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy, is a member of the British royal family. She is the only daughter of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, the only living granddaughter of George V, a niece of Edward VIII and George VI, and a first cousin of Elizabeth II. Alexandra's mother was also a first cousin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, consort of Elizabeth II, making her both a second cousin and first cousin once removed of Charles III.
Ismail Merchant, Indian-English director and producer (died 2005)
Ismail Merchant was an Indian film producer. He worked for many years in collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions which included film director James Ivory as well as screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Together they made film adaptations from the novels of E.M. Forster and Henry James. Merchant received the BAFTA Award for Best Film for A Room with a View (1985), and Howards End (1992). He received Academy Award nominations for Best Live Action Short Film for The Creation of a Woman (1959) and for Best Picture for A Room with a View (1985), Howards End (1992), and The Remains of the Day (1993).
25/12/1935
Sadiq al-Mahdi, Sudanese politician, Prime Minister of Sudan (died 2020)
Sadiq al-Mahdi, also known as Sadiq as-Siddiq, was a Sudanese political and religious figure who was Prime Minister of Sudan from 1966 to 1967 and again from 1986 to 1989. He was head of the National Umma Party and Imam of the Ansar, a Sufi order that pledges allegiance to Muhammad Ahmad (1844–1885), who claimed to be the Mahdi, the messianic saviour of Islam.
Stephen Barnett, American scholar and academic (died 2009)
Stephen Roger Barnett was an American law professor and legal scholar who campaigned against the Newspaper Preservation Act of 1970 and the effects its antitrust exemptions had on newspaper consolidation. He also criticized the California Supreme Court for practices that hid information from the public.
Jeanne Hopkins Lucas, American educator and politician (died 2007)
Jeanne Hopkins Lucas was the first African-American woman elected to serve in North Carolina's state Senate.
25/12/1933
Basil Heatley, English runner (died 2019)
Benjamin Basil Heatley was a British competitive long-distance runner, who was an Olympic marathon silver medallist and former world marathon record-holder. Although he favoured cross country running, he was also a skilled marathon runner and, despite running shoe technology being in its infancy, he was able to adapt easily to the change of conditions underfoot.
25/12/1932
Mabel King, American actress and singer (died 1999)
Mabel King was an American actress and singer. She was known for her role as Mabel "Mama" Thomas on the ABC sitcom What's Happening!! from its premiere in 1976 until the end of its second season in 1978. King was also known for portraying Evillene the Witch, a role she originated in the stage musical The Wiz and reprised in Sidney Lumet's 1978 film adaptation. She recorded on the Rama Records and Amy Records labels.
25/12/1930
Emmanuel Agassi, Iranian-American boxer and coach (died 2021)
Emmanuel "Mike" Agassi was an amateur boxer, casino worker, tennis coach, and the father and coach of American tennis player Andre Agassi. He was born in Iran which he represented at the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics. After moving to the United States and becoming an American citizen, he won the Chicago Golden Gloves three times.
Armenak Alachachian, Armenian basketball player and coach (died 2017)
Armenak Misakovich Alachachian was an Armenian-Soviet basketball player and coach. During his club playing career, the point guard reached European stardom with CSKA Moscow and the senior men's Soviet Union national team. He was the first person to ever win a EuroLeague title, as both a player and a head coach.
Mary Rose Tuitt, Montserrat politician (died 2005)
Mary Rose Tuitt was an educator and politician from the island of Montserrat, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. She was the first woman to serve as a government minister in that country.
25/12/1929
Christine M. Jones, American educator and politician (died 2013)
Christine M. Jones was an American politician who represented District 26 in the Maryland House of Delegates.
China Machado, Chinese-born Portuguese-American fashion model, editor and television producer (died 2016)
Noelie Dasouza Machado, known as China Machado, was a Chinese-born American fashion model, editor, and television producer. She was the first model of color to appear in a major American fashion magazine, in the February 1959 issue of Harper’s Bazaar.
Chris Kenner, American singer and songwriter (died 1976)
Christophe Kenner was an American, New Orleans–based R&B singer and songwriter, best known for two hit singles in the early 1960s, "I Like It Like That" and "Land of 1000 Dances", which became staples in the repertoires of many other musicians.
25/12/1928
Irish McCalla, American actress and model (died 2002)
Nellie Elizabeth "Irish" McCalla was an American film and television actress and artist best known as the title star of the 1950s television series Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. She co-starred with actor Chris Drake. McCalla was also a "Vargas Girl" model for pin-up girl artist Alberto Vargas.
Dick Miller, American actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2019)
Richard Miller was an American character actor who appeared in more than 180 films, including many produced by Roger Corman. He later appeared in the films of directors who began their careers with Corman, including Joe Dante, James Cameron, and Martin Scorsese, with the distinction of appearing in every film directed by Dante. He was known for playing the beleaguered everyman, often in one-scene appearances.
25/12/1927
Nellie Fox, American baseball player and coach (died 1975)
Jacob Nelson Fox was an American professional baseball player. Fox was one of the best second basemen of all time, and the third-most difficult hitter to strike out in Major League Baseball (MLB) history. Fox played in the big leagues from 1947 through 1965 and spent the majority of his career as a member of the Chicago White Sox; his career was bookended by multi-year stints for the Philadelphia Athletics and, later, the Houston Astros.
Ram Narayan, Indian sarangi player (died 2024)
Ram Narayan, often referred to with the title Pandit, was an Indian musician who popularised the bowed instrument sarangi as a solo concert instrument in Hindustani classical music and became the first internationally successful sarangi player.
25/12/1926
Enrique Jorrín, Cuban violinist and composer (died 1987)
Enrique Jorrín was a Cuban charanga violinist, composer and music director. He is considered the inventor of the cha-cha-chá, a popular style of ballroom music derived from danzón.
25/12/1925
Carlos Castaneda, Peruvian-American anthropologist and author (died 1998)
Carlos Castaneda was a Peruvian-American anthropologist and writer. Starting in 1968, Castaneda published a series of books that describe alleged training in shamanism that he received under the tutelage of a Yaqui "Man of Knowledge" named Don Juan Matus. While Castaneda's work was accepted as factual by many when the books were first published, the character of Don Juan and the training he described is now generally considered to be fabricated and to have little relation to the actual cultural practices of the Yaqui. Castaneda's early writings featuring Don Juan were bestsellers with the general public, and are considered to be a significant influence on neoshamanism and the New Age movement more broadly.
Ned Garver, American baseball player (died 2017)
Ned Franklin Garver was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher for the St. Louis Browns (1948–1952), the Detroit Tigers (1952–1956), the Kansas City Athletics (1957–1960), and the Los Angeles Angels (1961). Garver and Irv Young are the only pitchers in the modern era of baseball to win 20 or more games for a team that lost 100 games.
Sam Pollock, Canadian businessman (died 2007)
Samuel Patterson Smyth Pollock, OC, CQ was a Canadian sports executive who was general manager of the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens for 14 years during which they won 9 Stanley Cups. Pollock also was chairman and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays baseball club.
25/12/1924
Rod Serling, American screenwriter and producer, created The Twilight Zone (died 1975)
Rodman Edward Serling was an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen, and helped form television industry standards. He was known as the "angry young man" of Hollywood, clashing with television executives and sponsors over a wide range of issues, including censorship, racism, and war.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Indian poet and politician, 10th Prime Minister of India (died 2018)
Atal Bihari Vajpayee was an Indian poet, writer and statesman who served as the prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for 6 years from 1998 to 2004. He was the first non-Congress prime minister to serve a full term in the office. Vajpayee was one of the co-founders and a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was a volunteer and full-time functionary (pracharak) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindutva paramilitary volunteer organisation. He was also a Hindi poet and a writer. The Sangh's emphasis on self-cultivation and disciplined nation-building left a lasting mark on Vajpayee's early worldview. Scholars have observed that Vajpayee combined cultural nationalism with political moderation, shaping a distinctive strand of post-Independence Indian conservatism rooted in civilisational identity. His speeches and poetry are noted for blending political pragmatism with themes drawn from India's cultural and philosophical traditions. Vajpayee represented a current in Hindu nationalism that sought to harmonise cultural identity with democratic pluralism.
25/12/1923
René Girard, French-American historian, philosopher, and critic (died 2015)
René Noël Théophile Girard was a French academic best known for developing mimetic theory, which posits that human desire is fundamentally imitative, leading to rivalry, violence and the scapegoat mechanism as foundations of religion and culture. Holding academic appointments primarily in literature departments in the United States, his interdisciplinary work influenced fields ranging from theology to economics to psychology and cultural studies.
Louis Lane, American conductor and educator (died 2016)
Louis Gardner Lane was an American conductor. Born in Eagle Pass, Texas, Lane studied composition with Kent Kennan at the University of Texas at Austin where he earned his bachelor's in music degree in 1943, and with Bohuslav Martinů at the Tanglewood Music Center, and with Bernard Rogers at the Eastman School of Music. He also studied opera with Sarah Caldwell (1950).
25/12/1922
William Demby, American author (died 2013)
William Demby was an African-American writer, whose works include Beetlecreek (1950), The Catacombs (1965), Love Story Black (1978) and King Comus.
25/12/1921
Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah, Indian-Pakistani journalist and author (died 2000)
Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah was a Pakistani writer and journalist. Begum Hamidullah was a pioneer of Pakistani literature and journalism in English, and also of feminism in Pakistan. She was Pakistan's first female editor and publisher, and the country's first female columnist writing in English. Zaibunnisa Street in Karachi was named after her.
Steve Otto, Polish-Canadian lawyer and politician (died 1989)
Steven Otto was a Canadian politician.
25/12/1919
Naushad Ali, Indian composer and director (died 2006)
Naushad Ali was an Indian composer for Hindi films. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and foremost music directors of the Hindi film industry. He is respectfully remembered as "Moseeqar-e-Azam" in the Hindi film industry. He is particularly known for popularising the use of classical music in films.
Paul David, Canadian cardiologist and politician, founded the Montreal Heart Institute (died 1999)
Paul David was a Canadian cardiologist, founder of the Montreal Heart Institute, and Senator.
Noele Gordon, English actress (died 1985)
Joan Noele Gordon was an English actress and television presenter, of Scottish descent. She played the role of Meg Mortimer in the long-running British soap opera Crossroads from 1964 to 1981, with a brief return in 1983.
25/12/1917
Arseny Mironov, Russian scientist, engineer, pilot, oldest active researcher in aircraft aerodynamics and flight testing (died 2019)
Arseny Dmitrievich Mironov was a Russian scientist, aerospace engineer, and aviator. He was one of the oldest researchers in aircraft aerodynamics and flight testing, a Gromov Flight Research Institute (GFRI) director from 1981 to 1985, a recipient of the Stalin Prize in 1948 and the USSR State Prize in 1976, and an honorary citizen of Zhukovsky.
Lincoln Verduga Loor, Ecuadorian journalist and politician (died 2009)
Lincoln Savonarola Verduga Loor was an Ecuadorian journalist and politician known for a long career in public service in his country.
25/12/1916
Ahmed Ben Bella, Algerian soldier and politician, 1st President of Algeria (died 2012)
Ahmed Ben Bella was an Algerian politician, soldier and revolutionary who served as the head of government of Algeria from 27 September 1962 to 15 September 1963 and then the first president of Algeria from 15 September 1963 until his overthrow on 19 June 1965.
25/12/1915
Pete Rugolo, Italian-American composer and producer (died 2011)
Pietro Rugolo, known professionally as Pete Rugolo, was an American jazz composer, arranger, and record producer.
25/12/1914
James Fletcher Jnr, New Zealand businessman (died 2007)
Sir James Muir Cameron Fletcher, often known as Jim or JC Junior, was a New Zealand industrialist known for heading Fletcher Construction, one of the country's largest firms. His father, also Sir James Fletcher, founded the company in 1908.
Oscar Lewis, American anthropologist of Latin America (died 1970)
Oscar Lewis, born Lefkowitz was an American anthropologist. He is best known for his vivid depictions of the lives of slum dwellers and his argument that a cross-generational culture of poverty transcends national boundaries. Lewis contended that the cultural similarities occurred because they were "common adaptations to common problems" and that "the culture of poverty is both an adaptation and a reaction of the poor classes to their marginal position in a class-stratified, highly individualistic, capitalistic society." He won the 1967 U.S. National Book Award in Science, Philosophy and Religion for La vida: a Puerto Rican family in the culture of poverty--San Juan and New York.
25/12/1913
Candy Candido, American singer, bass player, and voice actor (died 1999)
Jonathan Joseph "Candy" Candido was an American radio performer and voice actor. He was best remembered for his famous line "I'm feeling mighty low" on Jimmy Durante's radio show. He voiced characters in several Disney animated movies, including Peter Pan (1953), Sleeping Beauty (1959) and Robin Hood (1973). Candido was known for providing many animal vocalizations in his movies and was dubbed "The Man of a Thousand Voices".
Tony Martin, American singer (died 2012)
Alvin Morris, known professionally as Tony Martin, was an American actor and singer of popular music.
25/12/1911
Louise Bourgeois, French-American sculptor and painter (died 2010)
Louise Joséphine Bourgeois was a French-American artist. Although she is best known for her large-scale sculpture and installation art, Bourgeois was also a prolific painter and printmaker. She explored a variety of themes over the course of her long career including domesticity and the family, sexuality and the body, as well as death and the unconscious. These themes connect to events from her childhood which she considered to be a therapeutic process. Although Bourgeois exhibited with the abstract expressionists and her work has a lot in common with Surrealism and feminist art, she was not formally affiliated with a particular artistic movement.
25/12/1909
Zora Arkus-Duntov, Belgian-American engineer (died 1996)
Zachary "Zora" Arkus-Duntov was a Russian and American engineer whose work on the Chevrolet Corvette earned him the nickname "Father of the Corvette." He is sometimes erroneously referred to as the inventor of the Corvette; that title belongs to Harley Earl. He was also a racing driver, appearing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times and taking class wins in 1954 and 1955.
25/12/1908
Quentin Crisp, English author and illustrator (died 1999)
Quentin Crisp was an English raconteur, whose work in the public eye included a memoir of her life and various media appearances. Before becoming well known, she was an artist's model, hence the title of Crisp's most famous work, The Naked Civil Servant. She afterwards became a gay icon due to her flamboyant personality, fashion sense, and wit. Her iconic status was occasionally controversial due to her remarks about subjects like the AIDS crisis, inviting censure from gay activists including human-rights campaigner Peter Tatchell.
Ernest L. Massad, American general (died 1993)
Ernest Louis "Iron Mike" Massad was a college football star, major general of the U.S. Army, and successful oilman.
Jo-Jo Moore, American baseball player (died 2001)
Joe Gregg Moore, Sr. was a left fielder in Major League Baseball who played his entire career with the New York Giants from 1930 through 1941. Moore batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was born in Gause, Texas, and nicknamed the "Gause Ghost." He was 5' 11" and weighed 155 pounds.
25/12/1907
Cab Calloway, American singer-songwriter and bandleader (died 1994)
Cabell Calloway III was an American jazz singer, songwriter and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the swing era. His niche of mixing jazz and vaudeville won him acclaim during a career that spanned over 65 years.
Mike Mazurki, Ukrainian-American wrestler and actor (died 1990)
Mike Mazurki was a Ukrainian-American actor and professional wrestler who appeared in more than 142 films. Although educated as an attorney, his hulking 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) presence, craggy face, and croaking voice had him often typecast as brainless athletes, tough guys, thugs, and gangsters. Memorable roles included Moose Malloy in Murder, My Sweet (1944), Splitface in Dick Tracy (1945), Yusuf in Sinbad the Sailor (1947), and "The Strangler" in Night and the City (1950). He was the founder and first president of the Cauliflower Alley Club.
Glenn McCarthy, American businessman, founded the Shamrock Hotel (died 1988)
Glenn Herbert McCarthy was an American oil tycoon. The media often referred to him as "Diamond Glenn" and "The King of the Wildcatters". McCarthy was an oil prospector and entrepreneur who owned many businesses in various sectors of the economy. McCarthy founded the Shamrock Hotel in Houston, which garnered him national fame and inspired the fictional character Jett Rink in Edna Ferber's 1952 novel Giant which, in 1956, became a film, which starred James Dean in the role.
25/12/1906
Lew Grade, Baron Grade, Ukrainian-English film producer (died 1998)
Lew Grade, Baron Grade, was a British media proprietor and impresario. Born to Jewish parents in the Russian Empire, he emigrated to the United Kingdom as a child and was raised in London. Originally a dancer, and later a talent agent, Grade's interest in television production began in 1954 when he founded the Incorporated Television Company to distribute programmes.
Ernst Ruska, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1988)
Ernst August Friedrich Ruska was a German physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986 for his work in electron optics, including the design of the first electron microscope.
25/12/1904
Gerhard Herzberg, German-Canadian physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1999)
Gerhard Heinrich Friedrich Otto Julius Herzberg, was a German-Canadian pioneering physicist and physical chemist, who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1971, "for his contributions to the knowledge of electronic structure and geometry of molecules, particularly free radicals". Herzberg's main work concerned atomic and molecular spectroscopy. He is well known for using these techniques that determine the structures of diatomic and polyatomic molecules, including free radicals which are difficult to investigate in any other way, and for the chemical analysis of astronomical objects. Herzberg served as Chancellor of Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada from 1973 to 1980.
Philip Vera Cruz, Filipino-American labor leader and farmworker (died 1994)
Philip Villamin Vera Cruz was a Filipino American labor leader and farmworker. He helped found the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), which later merged with the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) to become the United Farm Workers (UFW) in 1966. In 1971, he was appointed as the organization’s second vice president, the highest-ranking Filipino American in the union. He wanted his work to cross both ethnic and generational lines. Thus, it included Filipino, Mexican, and Black workers, and he advocated for retirees he found were neglected in the broader movement for racial equality in America. Some of his major projects included chairing efforts to build the Paulo Agbayani Retirement Village, opened in 1974, which housed Filipino farmworkers who had aged out of the labor force and helping organize the Delano Grape Strike. In 1977, Vera Cruz resigned from the UFW. He had grown apart from the president, Cesar Chavez, due to disagreements over the Union's mission and actions.
25/12/1903
Antiochos Evangelatos, Greek composer and conductor (died 1981)
Antiochos Evangelatos was a Greek classical composer and conductor.
25/12/1902
William Bell, American tuba player and educator (died 1971)
William John Bell was the premier player and teacher of the tuba in America during the first half of the 20th century. In 1921, he joined the band of John Philip Sousa, and from 1924 to 1937 he served as Principal Tuba with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. In 1937 General Electric's David Sarnoff invited conductor Arturo Toscanini to select personnel for The NBC Symphony Orchestra. William Bell was the third musician selected by Toscanini, after his concertmaster Mischa Mischakoff and principal oboe Philip Ghignatti.
Barton MacLane, American actor, playwright, and screenwriter (died 1969)
Barton MacLane was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, including his role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s NBC television comedy series I Dream of Jeannie, with Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman.
25/12/1901
Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (died 2004)
Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, was a member of the British royal family. She was the wife of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V and Queen Mary. She was the mother of Prince William of Gloucester and Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
25/12/1899
Humphrey Bogart, American actor (died 1957)
Humphrey DeForest Bogart, nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart as the greatest male star of classic American cinema.
25/12/1891
Kenneth Anderson, Indian-English general and politician, Governor of Gibraltar (died 1959)
General Sir Kenneth Arthur Noel Anderson, was a senior British Army officer who saw service in both world wars. He is mainly remembered as the commander of the British First Army during Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa and the subsequent Tunisian campaign which ended with the capture of almost 250,000 Axis soldiers. An outwardly reserved character, he did not court popularity either with his superiors or with the public.
Clarrie Grimmett, New Zealand-Australian cricketer (died 1980)
Clarence Victor Grimmett was a New Zealand-born Australian cricketer. He was one of the finest spin bowlers of his time and usually credited as the developer of the flipper.
25/12/1890
Noel Odell, English geologist and mountaineer (died 1987)
Noel Ewart Odell FRSE FGS was an English geologist and mountaineer. In 1924 he was an oxygen officer on the Everest expedition in which George Mallory and Andrew Irvine famously perished during their summit attempt. Odell spent two weeks living above 23,000 feet (7,000 m), and twice climbed to 26,800 feet (8,200 m) and higher, all without supplemental oxygen. In 1936, Odell with Bill Tilman climbed Nanda Devi, at the time the highest mountain climbed.
25/12/1889
Lila Bell Wallace, American publisher and philanthropist, co-founded Reader's Digest (died 1984)
Lila Bell Wallace was an American magazine publisher and philanthropist. She co-founded Reader's Digest with her husband Dewitt Wallace, publishing the first issue in 1922.
25/12/1887
Conrad Hilton, American entrepreneur (died 1979)
Conrad Nicholson Hilton was an American hotel magnate and politician who founded the Hilton Hotels chain. From 1912 to 1916, Hilton was a Republican representative in the first New Mexico Legislature, but became disillusioned with the "inside deals" of politics. In 1919, he purchased his first hotel, the Mobley Hotel in Cisco, Texas, for US$40,000 and subsequently capitalized on the oil boom. The rooms were rented out in eight-hour shifts. He continued to purchase and sell hotels, and eventually established the world's first international hotel chain. When he died in 1979, he left the bulk of his estate to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.
25/12/1886
Malak Hifni Nasif, Egyptian poet and activist (died 1918)
Malak Hifni Nasif was an Egyptian feminist who contributed greatly to the intellectual and political discourse on the advancement of Egyptian women in the early 20th century.
Kid Ory, American trombonist and bandleader (died 1973)
Edward "Kid" Ory was an American jazz composer, trombonist and bandleader. One of the early users of the glissando technique, he helped establish it as a central element of New Orleans jazz.
25/12/1884
Samuel Berger, American boxer (died 1925)
Samuel Berger was an American heavyweight boxer who won the first Olympic Gold Medal in heavyweight boxing in 1904, competed as a professional, and acted as a promoter and manager for heavyweight Jim Jeffries in the first two decades of the 20th century.
Evelyn Nesbit, American model and actress (died 1967)
Florence Evelyn Nesbit was an American model, Broadway actress, writer, sculptor, and silent film star. Widely recognized as the world's first supermodel, she is best known for her varied career in New York City.
25/12/1883
Hugo Bergmann, Czech-Israeli philosopher and academic (died 1975)
Hugo Bergmann was an Israeli philosopher, born in Prague.
Hana Meisel, Belarusian-Israeli agronomist and politician (died 1972)
Hana Meisel was a Jewish agronomist, feminist and Zionist leader.
25/12/1878
Louis Chevrolet, American race car driver and businessman, co-founded Chevrolet (died 1941)
Louis-Joseph Chevrolet was a Swiss-born American racing driver, mechanic, and entrepreneur who co-founded the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911.
Noël, Countess of Rothes, British philanthropist, social leader and heroine of Titanic disaster (died 1956)
Lucy Noël Martha Leslie, Countess of Rothes was a British philanthropist and social leader. She was seen as a heroine of the Titanic disaster, famous for taking the tiller of her lifeboat and later helping row the craft to the safety of the rescue ship Carpathia.
Joseph M. Schenck, Russian-American film producer (died 1961)
Joseph Michael Schenck was a Russian-born American film studio executive. He was best known as one of the co-founders of film studio 20th Century Fox.
25/12/1876
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Indian-Pakistani lawyer and politician, 1st Governor-General of Pakistan (died 1948)
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pakistan on 14 August 1947 and then as Pakistan's first governor-general until his death a year later in 1948.
Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1959)
Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus was a German chemist who won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1928 for his work on sterols and their relation to vitamins. He was the doctoral advisor of Adolf Butenandt who also won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1939.
25/12/1875
Francis Aveling, Canadian psychologist and priest (died 1941)
Francis Arthur Powell Aveling MC ComC was a Canadian psychologist and Catholic priest. He married Ethel Dancy of Steyning, Sussex in 1925.
Theodor Innitzer, Austrian cardinal (died 1955)
Theodor Innitzer was Archbishop of Vienna and a cardinal of the Catholic Church.
25/12/1874
Lina Cavalieri, Italian soprano and actress (died 1944)
Natalina "Lina" Cavalieri was an Italian operatic dramatic soprano, actress, and monologist.
25/12/1873
Otto Frederick Hunziker, Swiss-American agriculturalist and educator (died 1959)
Otto Frederick Hunziker was a pioneer in the American and international dairy industry, as both an educator and a technical innovator. Hunziker was born and raised in Switzerland, emigrated to the U.S., and studied at Cornell University. He started and developed the dairy program at Purdue University when such programs were at their infancy. At this same time, Hunziker was heavily involved with the development of the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) and the standardization and improvement of many dairy tests and processes. Hunziker wrote several of the leading dairy processing texts, which continue to be cited. After leaving Purdue University, Hunziker managed research and operations at a large, national condensary, continued to drive ADSA's standardization and publishing efforts, represented the U.S. at international dairy congresses, and facilitated dairy industry improvements across the globe.
25/12/1872
Helena Rubinstein, Polish-American businesswoman and philanthropist (died 1965)
Helena Rubinstein was a Polish-American businesswoman, art collector, and philanthropist. A cosmetics entrepreneur, she was the founder and eponym of Helena Rubinstein Incorporated cosmetics company, which made her one of the world's richest women.
25/12/1869
Charles Finger, English-American journalist and author (died 1941)
Charles Joseph Finger was a British born American writer. He also directed an orchestra and taught piano.
25/12/1865
Evangeline Booth, English 4th General of The Salvation Army (died 1950)
Evangeline Cory Booth OF was a British evangelist and the fourth General of The Salvation Army from 1934 to 1939. She was the first woman to hold the post.
25/12/1861
Francis Henry Buzzacott, American hunter, explorer and army scout famous for writing Buzzacott's Masterpiece (died 1947)
Francis Henry Buzzacott (1861–1947) was an American hunter, conservationist, army scout, and explorer famous for writing the Hunter's and Trapper's Complete Guide and the Complete American and Canadian Sportsman's Encyclopedia, better known today as Buzzacott's Masterpiece.
Madan Mohan Malaviya, Indian educator, lawyer, and politician, President of the Indian National Congress (died 1946)
Madan Mohan Malaviya was an Indian scholar, educational reformer, and activist notable for his role in the Indian independence movement. He was president of the Indian National Congress four times and the founder of Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha. He was addressed as Pandit, a title of respect. Malaviya is known as the founder of one of the most prestigious universities of India named Banaras Hindu University.
25/12/1856
Pud Galvin, American baseball player and manager (died 1902)
James Francis "Pud" Galvin was an American Major League Baseball pitcher in the 19th century. He was MLB's first 300-game winner and was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1965.
25/12/1829
Patrick Gilmore, Irish-American composer and bandleader (died 1892)
Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore was an Irish-born American composer and military bandmaster who lived and worked in the United States after 1848. While serving in the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War, Gilmore wrote the lyrics to the song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home". This was published under the pseudonym Louis Lambert in September 1863.
25/12/1825
Stephen F. Chadwick, American lawyer and politician, 5th Governor of Oregon (died 1895)
Stephen Fowler Chadwick was an American Democratic politician who served as the fifth governor of Oregon from 1877 to 1878. Chadwick was the first person to obtain the governorship by way of the state's line of succession.
25/12/1821
Clara Barton, American nurse and humanitarian, founder of the American Red Cross (died 1912)
Clarissa Harlow "Clara" Barton was an American nurse who founded the American Red Cross. She was a hospital nurse in the American Civil War, a teacher, and a patent clerk. Since nursing education was not very formalized, and she did not attend nursing school, she provided self-taught nursing care. Barton is noteworthy for doing humanitarian work and civil rights advocacy at a time before women had the right to vote. She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1973.
25/12/1810
L. L. Langstroth, American apiarist, clergyman and teacher (died 1895)
Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth was an American apiarist, clergyman, and teacher, who has been called the father of American beekeeping. He recognized the concept of bee-space, a minimum distance that bees avoid sealing up. Although not his own discovery, the use of this principle allowed for the use of frames that the bees leave separate and this allowed the use of rectangular frames within the design of what is now called the Langstroth hive.
25/12/1776
Sydney, Lady Morgan, Irish author and poet (died 1859)
Sydney, Lady Morgan, was an Irish novelist, best known for The Wild Irish Girl (1806), a romantic, and some critics suggest, "proto-feminist", novel with political and patriotic overtones. Her work, including continental travelogues, sparked controversy and faced censorship. She counted Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron among her defenders.
25/12/1771
Dorothy Wordsworth, English diarist and poet (died 1855)
Dorothy Mae Ann Wordsworth was an English author, poet, and diarist. She was the sister of the Romantic poet William Wordsworth, and the two were close all their adult lives. Dorothy Wordsworth had no ambitions to be a public author, yet she left behind numerous letters, diary entries, topographical descriptions, poems, and other writings.
25/12/1766
Christmas Evans, Welsh Nonconformist preacher (died 1838)
Christmas Evans was a Welsh nonconformist minister, who, according to D. M. Lloyd-Jones, was "the greatest preacher that the Baptists have ever had in Great Britain."
25/12/1757
Benjamin Pierce, American general and politician, 17th Governor of New Hampshire (died 1839)
Benjamin Pierce was an American politician who twice served as the governor of New Hampshire from 1827 to 1828 and from 1829 to 1830. Pierce fought during the American Revolutionary War before becoming a Democratic-Republican Party politician. He was the father of Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States.
25/12/1745
Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Caribbean-French violinist, composer, and conductor (died 1799)
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George(s) was a French violinist, conductor, composer and soldier of African descent. Moreover, he demonstrated excellence as a fencer, an athlete, and an accomplished dancer. His historical significance lies partly in his distinctive background as a biracial free man of colour. Bologne was the first classical composer of African descent to attain widespread acclaim in European music. He composed an array of violin concertos, string quartets, sinfonia concertantes, violin duets, sonatas, two symphonies, and an assortment of stage works, notably opéra comique.
25/12/1730
Filippo Mazzei, Italian-American physician and philosopher (died 1816)
Philip Mazzei, originally Filippo Mazzei, and sometimes erroneously cited as Philip Mazzie, was an Italian physician, philosopher, diplomat, winemaker, merchant, and author. A neighbor of Thomas Jefferson, he was a supporter of the American Revolution and the American colonies' war for independence from Britain.
25/12/1728
Johann Adam Hiller, German composer and conductor (died 1804)
Johann Adam Hiller was a German composer, conductor and writer on music, regarded as the creator of the Singspiel, an early form of German opera. In many of these operas he collaborated with the poet Christian Felix Weiße.
25/12/1717
Pope Pius VI (died 1799)
Pope Pius VI was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to his death in August 1799.
25/12/1716
Johann Jakob Reiske, German physician and scholar (died 1774)
Johann Jakob Reiske was a German scholar and physician. He was a pioneer in the fields of Arabic and Byzantine philology as well as Islamic numismatics.
25/12/1711
Jean-Joseph de Mondonville, French violinist and composer (died 1772)
Jean-Joseph de Mondonville, also known as Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville, was a French violinist and composer. He was a younger contemporary of Jean-Philippe Rameau and enjoyed great success in his day. Pierre-Louis Daquin claimed, "If I couldn't be Rameau, there's no one I would rather be than Mondonville".
25/12/1700
Leopold II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (died 1758)
Leopold II Maximilian, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dessau from 1747 to 1751; he also was a Prussian general.
25/12/1686
Giovanni Battista Somis, Italian violinist and composer (died 1763)
Giovanni Battista Somis was an Italian violinist and composer of the Baroque music era.
25/12/1674
Thomas Halyburton, Scottish minister and theologian (died 1712)
Rev Prof Thomas Halyburton was a Scottish divine. Thomas was educated there at Erasmus's school, in Rotterdam, where his mother had taken him to avoid persecution. He returned to Scotland in 1682, graduated at the university of St. Andrews on 24 July 1696 and, after serving as a private chaplain, was licensed by the presbytery of Kirkaldy on 22 June 1699. He was ordained to the parish of Ceres, Fifeshire, 1 May 1700, but he injured his health by excessive labour. On 1 April 1710 he was appointed by Queen Anne, at the instance of the synod of Fife, professor of divinity at St. Mary's. He devoted his inaugural lecture to an attempt to confute the deistical views lately promulgated by Dr. Archibald Pitcairn in 1688. He died at St. Andrews on 23 September 1712, aged only 38.
25/12/1665
Lady Grizel Baillie, Scottish-English poet and songwriter (died 1746)
Lady Grizel Baillie was a Scottish gentlewoman and songwriter. Her accounting ledgers, in which she kept details about her household for more than 50 years, provide information about social life in Scotland in the eighteenth century.
25/12/1652
Archibald Pitcairne, Scottish physician, anatomist, and scholar (died 1713)
Archibald Pitcairne or Pitcairn was a Scottish physician. He was a physician and poet who first studied law at Edinburgh and Paris graduating with an M.A. from Edinburgh in 1671. He turned his attention to medicine, and commenced to practise in Edinburgh, around 1681. He was appointed professor of physic at Leyden, in 1692, resigning his chair. On returning to Edinburgh, however, around 1693, he was suspected of being at heart an atheist, chiefly on account of his mockery of the puritanical strictness of the Presbyterian church. He was the reputed author of two satirical works, 'The Assembly, or Scotch Reformation: a Comedy,' 1692, and Habel, a Satirical Poem,' 1692. He wrote also a number of Latin verses. He was one of the most celebrated physicians of his time.
25/12/1642
Isaac Newton, English physicist and mathematician (died 1727)
Sir Isaac Newton was an English polymath who was a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, author and inventor. He was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment that followed. His book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, first published in 1687, achieved the first great unification in physics and established classical mechanics. Newton also made seminal contributions to optics, and shares credit with the German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz for formulating infinitesimal calculus, although he developed calculus years before Leibniz. Newton contributed to and refined the scientific method, and his work is considered the most influential in bringing forth modern science.
25/12/1628
Noël Coypel, French painter and educator (died 1707)
Noël Coypel was a French painter, and was also called Coypel le Poussin, because he was heavily influenced by Poussin.
25/12/1601
Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha (died 1675)
Ernest I, called Ernest the Pious, was duke of Saxe-Gotha and Saxe-Altenburg, later united as Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. He was a surviving son of Johann II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar and Dorothea Maria of Anhalt. He is remembered for rebuilding and reforming his lands after the Thirty Years' War. A devout Lutheran, he allied with Sweden in 1631 and fought at Lech, Nördlingen, Lützen, and the siege of Nuremberg; after the Peace of Prague (1635) he withdrew from warfare to focus on administration and recovery.
25/12/1584
Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain (died 1611)
Margaret of Austria was Queen of Spain and Portugal by her marriage to King Philip III & II.
25/12/1583
Orlando Gibbons, English organist and composer (died 1625)
Orlando Gibbons was an English composer and keyboard player who was one of the last masters of the English Virginalist School and English Madrigal School. The best known member of a musical family dynasty, by the 1610s he was the leading composer and organist in England, with a career cut short by his untimely death in 1625. As a result, Gibbons's oeuvre was not as large as that of his contemporaries, like the elder William Byrd, but he made considerable contributions to many genres of his time. Musicologists characterize his music as exemplifying the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque periods.
25/12/1564
Johannes Buxtorf, German Calvinist theologian (died 1629)
Johannes Buxtorf was a celebrated Hebraist, member of a family of Orientalists; professor of Hebrew for thirty-nine years at Basel and was sometimes informally styled magister rabbinorum, or "Master of the Rabbis", by early modern European authors such as Edward Pococke and Johann Christoph Wolf. His massive tome, De Synagoga Judaica, scrupulously documents the customs and society of German Jewry in the early modern period.
25/12/1505
Christine of Saxony, German noblewoman (died 1549)
Christine of Saxony was a German noblewoman, landgravine consort of Hesse by her marriage to Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. She was the regent of Hesse during the absence of her spouse in 1547–1549.
25/12/1493
Antoinette de Bourbon, French noblewoman (died 1583)
Antoinette of Bourbon, Duchess of Guise, was a French noblewoman of the House of Bourbon. She was the wife of Claude, Duke of Guise.
25/12/1490
Francesco Marinoni, Italian Roman Catholic priest (died 1562)
Francesco Marinoni was an Italian Roman Catholic priest who was a member of the Theatines. He assumed the name Giovanni upon his admittance into the order. His cult was confirmed and acted as his formal beatification in 1764 under Pope Clement XIII. His life of heroic virtue was approved and Pope Benedict XVI added the title of Venerable to him despite the fact he was beatified. A miracle - now under investigation - is needed for his canonization.
25/12/1461
Christina of Saxony, Queen consort of Denmark (died 1521)
Christina of Saxony was Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden as the wife of King John.
25/12/1424
Margaret Stewart, Dauphine of France (died 1445)
Margaret Stewart was a princess of Scotland and the dauphine of France. She was the firstborn child of King James I of Scotland and Joan Beaufort.
25/12/1400
John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (died 1487)
John Sutton VI, 1st Baron Dudley was an English nobleman, diplomat, and councillor of King Henry VI. He fought in several battles during the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of the Roses, as well as acted as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1428 to 1430.
25/12/1281
Alice de Lacy, 4th Countess of Lincoln (died 1348)
Alice de Lacy, suo jure 4th Countess of Lincoln, suo jure 5th Countess of Salisbury was an English peeress, descendant of both English and Welsh royalty.
25/12/1250
John IV Laskaris, Byzantine emperor (died 1305)
John IV Doukas Laskaris was the fourth emperor of the Nicaean Empire from August 16, 1258 to December 25, 1261, one of the Greek successor states formed after the Sack of Constantinople by the Roman Catholics during the Fourth Crusade. He was the last emperor from the prominent Laskarid dynasty and the last to only rule Nicaea before the Reconquest of Constantinople by his successor in 1261.