What happened on 28th December?

On this day, 204 notable people were born on 28th December — spanning from 1461 to 2002. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.

28/12/2002

Tom Cannon, British-Irish footballer

Thomas Christopher Cannon is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL Championship club Sheffield United. Born in England, he represents the Republic of Ireland national team.

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28/12/2001

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Canadian actress

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is a Canadian actress. She rose to prominence for her leading role as high school student Devi Vishwakumar in the Netflix teen comedy series Never Have I Ever (2020–2023). She played voice roles in the animated films Turning Red (2022) and The Twits, and the animated series My Little Pony: Make Your Mark (2022–2023) and My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale (2022–2024). Ramakrishnan transitioned to live-action films with supporting roles in Slanted and Freakier Friday.

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28/12/1999

Iqbaal Ramadhan, Indonesian actor and singer

Iqbaal Dhiafakhri Ramadhan is an Indonesian actor and singer. He is best known as an ex-member of the Indonesian boy band CJR (also known as Coboy Junior, and for his leading role in Dilan 1990. In 2018, he won the Variety Asian Star: Up Next award at the International Film Festival & Awards Macao for his role in that drama.

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28/12/1996

Tanguy Ndombele, French footballer

Tanguy Ndombele Alvaro is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Nice.

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28/12/1995

Dylan Cease, American baseball player

Dylan Edward Cease is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox and San Diego Padres.

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Mauricio Lemos, Uruguayan footballer

Paolo Mauricio Lemos Merladett is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Peñarol.

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Nahitan Nández, Uruguayan footballer

Nahitan Michel Nández Acosta is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays for Saudi Pro League club Al-Qadsiah and the Uruguay national team. A versatile player, Nández can play as a central midfielder, right-back, attacking midfielder or winger.

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28/12/1994

Adam Peaty, English swimmer

Adam George Ramsay-Peaty is an English competitive swimmer who specialises in the sprint breaststroke events. He won the gold medal in the 100 metre breaststroke at the 2016 Summer Olympics, the first by a male British swimmer in 24 years, and retained the title at the 2020 Summer Olympics in 2021, the first British swimmer ever to retain an Olympic title.

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28/12/1992

Tomáš Jurčo, Slovak ice hockey player

Tomáš Jurčo is a Slovak professional ice hockey right winger who is currently playing for HC Lada Togliatti of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He began playing hockey in the HC Košice before moving to North America in 2009 to play for the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). He spent three seasons with Saint John, helping them win the Memorial Cup as major junior champions of Canada in 2011. Jurčo was drafted in the second round, 35th overall, by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2011 NHL entry draft.

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28/12/1990

Ayele Abshero, Ethiopian runner

Ayele Abshero Biza is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who mainly competes in cross country and road races.

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Marcos Alonso, Spanish footballer

Marcos Alonso Mendoza is a Spanish professional footballer who plays either as a left-back or centre-back for La Liga club Celta de Vigo.

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David Archuleta, American singer

David James Archuleta is an American singer and songwriter. At the age of ten, he won the children's division of the Utah Talent Competition, leading to other television singing appearances. When he was twelve years old, he became the Junior Vocal Champion on the second season of Star Search, known as "Star Search 2". In 2008, he finished second on the seventh season of American Idol.

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John Henson, American basketball player

John Allen Henson is an American former professional basketball player who played eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels, where he was a two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Henson was selected with the 14th overall pick in 2012 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks and played his first 6+1⁄2 seasons with the team before being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in December 2018. In February 2020, he was traded to the Detroit Pistons.

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Bastiaan Lijesen, Dutch swimmer

Bastiaan Lijesen is a Dutch former swimmer. At the 2012 Summer Olympics he finished 23rd overall in the heats in the Men's 100 metre backstroke and failed to reach the semifinals.

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28/12/1989

Austin Barnes, American baseball player

Austin Scott Barnes is an American professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played college baseball for the Arizona State Sun Devils. Barnes was selected by the Florida Marlins in the eighth round of the 2011 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 2015 and helped the team win the 2020 and 2024 World Series. He has also played for the Mexico national baseball team.

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Mackenzie Rosman, American actress

Mackenzie Rosman is an American actress. She is known for her television role as Ruthie Camden on The WB's long-running drama series 7th Heaven.

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28/12/1987

Thomas Dekker, American actor and musician

Thomas Alexander Dekker is an American actor, musician, singer, director, and producer. He is known for his roles as John Connor in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Adam Conant on The Secret Circle, and Zach on Heroes.

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28/12/1986

Tom Huddlestone, English footballer

Thomas Andrew Huddlestone is an English former professional footballer and coach, who is currently a first team assistant coach at Birmingham City. He played as a defensive midfielder.

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28/12/1984

Martin Kaymer, German golfer

Martin Kaymer is a German professional golfer who currently plays on the LIV Golf League. A winner of two major championships, he was also the No. 1 ranked golfer in the Official World Golf Ranking for eight weeks in 2011.

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Duane Solomon, American runner

Duane Renard Solomon is a retired American Olympic track athlete, primarily known for racing the 800 meters. He ran for his home country in the IAAF World Championships in 2007 and 2013 as well as in the 2012 Olympic Games. He also took the gold medal at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Under 23 Championships in 2006.

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28/12/1982

Cedric Benson, American football player (died 2019)

Cedric Myron Benson was an American professional football player who spent eight years as a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packers. He played college football for the Texas Longhorns and won the Doak Walker Award in 2004. He was selected by Chicago with the fourth overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft.

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Beau Garrett, American actress and model

Beau Garrett is an American actress and model. She began her career appearing in GUESS advertisements in the late 1990s after being discovered by an Elite modeling agent at age fourteen. She made her feature film debut in the horror film Turistas (2006) before portraying Captain Raye in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) and Gem in Tron: Legacy (2010).

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François Gourmet, Belgian decathlete

François Gourmet is a retired Belgian decathlete. His personal best score is 7974 points, achieved at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan. He is a former Belgian record holder.

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Curtis Glencross, Canadian hockey player

Curtis Jack Glencross is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). An undrafted player, he signed with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim as a free agent in 2004 and made his NHL debut with the team in 2007. He has also played in the NHL for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames and Washington Capitals.

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28/12/1981

Khalid Boulahrouz, Dutch footballer

Khalid Boulahrouz is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a defender. Nicknamed "The Cannibal" for his ability to "eat up" the opposition, Boulahrouz was noted for his technical ability, tackling and versatility in defence.

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Elizabeth Jordan Carr, American journalist

Elizabeth Jordan Carr is the United States' first baby born from the in-vitro fertilization procedure and the 15th in the world. The technique was conducted at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk under the direction of Doctors Howard Jones and Georgeanna Seegar Jones, who were the first to attempt the process in the United States. She was delivered at Norfolk General Hospital in Virginia by Dr. Mason Andrews weighing 5 pounds 12 ounces.

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Sienna Miller, American-British actress and fashion designer

Sienna Rose Diana Miller is a British actress. She began her career as a model, appearing in the pages of Italian Vogue and for the 2003 Pirelli Calendar. Her acting breakthrough came in the 2004 films Layer Cake and Alfie. She portrayed socialite Edie Sedgwick in Factory Girl (2006) and author Caitlin Macnamara in The Edge of Love (2008), and was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2008. Her role as The Baroness in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) was followed by a brief sabbatical from the screen amid increased tabloid scrutiny.

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David Moss, American ice hockey player

David Moss is an American former professional ice hockey winger who last played for the EHC Biel of the NLA. He was a last round selection of the Calgary Flames, taken 220th overall, at the 2001 NHL entry draft. Moss has appeared in three outdoor games during his career: The 2001 Cold War while he was a member of the University of Michigan Wolverines, while a member of the United States National Team at the 2010 World Championship and at the 2011 Heritage Classic as a member of the Flames. Moss has been honored by his teams for his sportsmanship and dedication to the community on several occasions.

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Narsha, South Korean singer and dancer

Park Hyo-jin, better known by her stage name Narsha, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is best known as a member of the South Korean girl group Brown Eyed Girls. Her stage name, Narsha, is derived from the term na-reu-sha, which means 'to fly up' in Middle Korean and was given to her by a former manager.

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Frank Turner, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

Francis Edward Turner is an English punk and folk singer-songwriter. He began his career as the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, then embarked upon a primarily acoustic-based solo career following the band's split in 2005. In the studio and during live performances, Turner is accompanied by his backing band, The Sleeping Souls, consisting of Ben Lloyd, Tarrant Anderson (bass), Matt Nasir and Callum Green (drums).

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Mika Väyrynen, Finnish footballer

Mika Väyrynen is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder, and a football coach, most recently serving as the head coach of Honka in Kakkonen. After his playing career, Väyrynen has also worked as an assistant coach of Klubi 04 and HJK, and as a head coach of Klubi 04.

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28/12/1980

Lomana LuaLua, Congolese footballer

Trésor Lomana LuaLua is a Congolese former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is currently the attacking coach for Spalding United.

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Ryta Turava, Belarusian race walker

Ryta Turava, also known as Margarita Turova, is an athlete from Belarus, competing in race walking. She was born in Vitebsk.

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28/12/1979

James Blake, American tennis player

James Riley Blake is an American former professional tennis player. He won 10 titles on the ATP Tour, reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4. His career highlights included reaching the final of the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup, the semifinals of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the quarterfinals of the 2008 Australian Open and 2005 and 2006 US Opens, two titles at the Hopman Cup and being the American No. 1 in men's singles. Blake was also a key performer for the victorious United States 2007 Davis Cup team, winning both his matches in the championship tie against Russia.

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Senna Gammour, German singer-songwriter

Senna Gammour, also known mononymously as Senna, is a German singer, television personality and presenter. She was a member of the girl group Monrose.

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Bill Hall, American baseball player

William Leonard Hall is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants, and Baltimore Orioles from 2002 through 2012.

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Zach Hill, American musician and artist

Zachary Charles Hill is an American multi-instrumentalist and visual artist. He is best known as the drummer and co-producer of industrial hip-hop band Death Grips, experimental rock band the I.L.Y's, as well as the drummer of math rock band Hella.

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André Holland, American actor

André Holland is an American actor. He is widely known for his 2016 performance as Kevin in the Academy Award-winning film Moonlight.

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Noomi Rapace, Swedish actress

Noomi Rapace is a Swedish actress. She achieved international fame with her portrayal of Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish film adaptations of the Millennium series (2009): The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest. For her performance in the Millennium series, Rapace won two Nymphe d'Ors, a Guldbagge Award, and a Satellite Award as Best Actress amongst others, and was nominated for a BAFTA Award, an International Emmy Award and a European Film Award. Following the success of the Millennium series, Rapace has gone on to star in American movies.

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28/12/1978

Chris Coyne, Australian footballer and manager

Christopher John Coyne is an Australian former soccer player and coach who is currently head of Perth Glory Youth NPL in National Premier Leagues Western Australia (NPLWA). In a 17-year career as a player, Coyne appeared for clubs in Australia, England and China, most significantly for Luton Town for whom he appeared 221 times between 2001 and 2008. He played seven times for Australia in 2008 and 2009.

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John Legend, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor

John Roger Stephens, known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and record producer. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's "Everything Is Everything", and performing as an uncredited backing vocalist on Jay-Z's "Encore" and Alicia Keys' "You Don't Know My Name". He was the first artist to sign with rapper Kanye West's GOOD Music, through which he released his debut studio album, Get Lifted (2004). Preceded by the hit ballad "Ordinary People", the album reached the top ten of the Billboard 200 and received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

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28/12/1977

Derrick Brew, American sprinter

Derrick Keith Brew is a 2004 Olympic Gold medalist in the Men's 4 × 400 meter relay for the United States. Earlier in the games he took third in the US sweep of the 400 m.

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Shane Elford, Australian rugby league player

Shane Elford, is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a winger and centre in the 1990s and 2000s.

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Vanessa Ferlito, American actress

Vanessa Ferlito is an American actress. She is known for playing Detective Aiden Burn in the first two seasons of the CBS crime drama CSI: NY, as well as for her recurring portrayal of Claudia Hernandez in FOX drama 24, and for her starring roles as FBI Agent Charlie DeMarco in the USA Network series Graceland and as Tammy Gregorio on the CBS crime drama series NCIS: New Orleans.

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Seun Ogunkoya, Nigerian sprinter

Seun Ogunkoya is a Nigerian sprinter and two-time African Championships gold medalist over 100 metres.

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28/12/1976

Brendan Hines, American actor and singer

Brendan Patrick Hines is an American actor. He has had a number of television roles, including as part of the main cast of Lie to Me as well as recurring roles in Scandal, Betrayal, Suits, Scorpion, Secrets and Lies, and a regular role in Amazon Video's The Tick and Netflix's Locke & Key. Hines has also had leading roles in a handful of films, and released three albums.

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Joe Manganiello, American actor

Joseph Michael Manganiello is an American actor. His professional film career began when he played Flash Thompson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man. His breakout role was as werewolf Alcide Herveaux in five seasons of the HBO series True Blood.

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Trond Nymark, Norwegian race walker

Trond Nymark is a Norwegian race walker. He was born in Bergen and represents TIF Viking.

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Ben Tune, Australian rugby player

Ben Tune is a former Australian rugby union player. He played most of his rugby career on the wing but later switched to outside centre.

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Igor Žiković, Croatian footballer

Igor Žiković is a retired Croatian footballer.

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Deddy Corbuzier, Indonesian presenter and magician

Deodatus Andreas Deddy Cahyadi Sunjoyo, commonly known as Deddy Corbuzier, is an Indonesian television presenter, actor, YouTuber, and former mentalist. He is a recipient of the Merlin Award for "World's Best Mentalist" twice in a row. Deddy made his debut on television in 1998 with Impresario 008 on RCTI. He did many publicity stunts with many famous magicians. As an actor, Deddy starred in The Mentalist (2011). Deddy also wrote, directed, and starred in the action film Triangle The Dark Side (2016)

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28/12/1975

B. J. Ryan, American baseball player

Robert Victor "B. J." Ryan Jr. is an American baseball coach and former relief pitcher. He played college baseball at Louisiana, where he played for coach Tony Robichaux in 1997 and 1998. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1999 to 2009 for the Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, and Toronto Blue Jays.

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28/12/1974

Jocelyn Enriquez, American singer

Jocelyn Enriquez is a Filipino American dance-pop singer born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her most popular songs are "Do You Miss Me", "A Little Bit of Ecstasy", and the Stars on 54 cover of Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind". Her success helped inspire and pave the way for many Asian American, particularly Filipino Americans from the San Francisco Bay Area, artists during the mid to late 1990s such as Buffy, Kai, One Vo1ce, Pinay, Sharyn Maceren, and others.

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Rob Niedermayer, Canadian ice hockey player

Robert Wade Niedermayer Jr. is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 17 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons for the Florida Panthers, Calgary Flames, Anaheim Ducks, New Jersey Devils, and Buffalo Sabres.

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Markus Weinzierl, German footballer and manager

Markus Weinzierl is a German football coach, who last managed 1. FC Nürnberg.

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28/12/1973

Holger Blume, German sprinter

Holger Blume is a former German sprinter who specialised in the 100 metres.

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Marc Blume, German sprinter

Marc Blume is a German sprinter who specialised in the 100 metres.

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Seth Meyers, American actor, producer, screenwriter, and talk show host

Seth Adam Meyers is an American comedian, television host, writer, actor, and producer. He has hosted Late Night with Seth Meyers, a late-night talk show on NBC since 2014. Prior to hosting Late Night, he was a cast member on NBC's sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live (SNL) from 2001 to 2014. He served as SNL's head writer, as well as an anchor of the news parody segment Weekend Update, from 2006 until his departure from the show.

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Ids Postma, Dutch speed skater

Ids Hylke Postma is a Dutch former speed skater. He is an Olympic gold medalist and former world champion.

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28/12/1972

Roberto Palacios, Peruvian footballer

Roberto Carlos Palacios Mestas is a Peruvian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

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Patrick Rafter, Australian-Bermudian tennis player and model

Patrick Michael Rafter is an Australian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for one week in 1999, and world No. 6 in doubles. Rafter won eleven ATP Tour-level singles titles, including two majors at the 1997 and 1998 US Opens, as well as two Masters titles. He was also the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2000 and 2001. In doubles, Rafter won ten titles, including a major at the 1999 Australian Open partnering Jonas Björkman, and two Masters titles.

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Adam Vinatieri, American football player

Adam Matthew Vinatieri is an American former professional football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 24 seasons with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Vinatieri attended South Dakota State University (SDSU) from 1991 to 1994. Vinatieri is the NFL's all-time leading scorer at 2,673 points, in addition to holding the NFL records for field goals made (599), postseason points (238), and overtime field goals made (12). He is considered one of the greatest placekickers of all time.

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28/12/1971

Benny Agbayani, American baseball player

Benny Peter Agbayani, Jr. is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, and Boston Red Sox, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Chiba Lotte Marines.

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Sergi Barjuán, Spanish footballer and manager

Sergi Barjuán Esclusa, known simply as Sergi as a player, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a left-back, currently a manager.

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Anita Doth, Dutch singer-songwriter

Anita Doth is a Dutch singer and songwriter. She was the singer of the duo 2 Unlimited, which she formed together with rapper Ray Slijngaard.

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William Gates, American basketball player

William Gates is an American former college basketball player. Gates and Arthur Agee are the two subjects of the 1994 documentary film Hoop Dreams.

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28/12/1970

Elaine Hendrix, American actress

Katherine Elaine Hendrix is an American actress and dancer. She gained recognition for appearing in a range of television films in the 1990s before her breakthrough role as Meredith Blake in the romantic comedy film The Parent Trap (1998). On television, Hendrix appeared in Joan of Arcadia (2003–2005), 90210 (2010–2011), Anger Management (2014), Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2015–2016), and later gained renewed attention for starring as Alexis Colby in the CW drama television series Dynasty (2019–2022).

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James Jett, American sprinter and football player

James Sherman Jett, is an American former professional football player and Olympic sprinter. He played football as a wide receiver for nine seasons with the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) from 1993 to 2002. He attended college at West Virginia University. He guided the Jefferson High School Cougars of Shenandoah Junction, West Virginia to the state playoffs in 1988. James also ran for the JHS Cougar's Track Team.

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Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, Dutch tennis player

Brenda Anne Marie Schultz-McCarthy is a former Dutch tennis player. Primarily known by her maiden name Brenda Schultz, she married Sean McCarthy, a former American football player at University of Cincinnati, on 8 April 1995 and took his name. Schultz is known for her fast serve; she has the eighth-fastest serve ever recorded by a female tennis player.

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28/12/1969

Linus Torvalds, Finnish-American computer programmer, developed Linux kernel

Linus Benedict Torvalds is a Finnish and American software engineer who is the creator and lead developer of the Linux kernel since 1991. He also created the distributed version control system Git.

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28/12/1968

Akihiko Hoshide, Japanese engineer and astronaut

Akihiko Hoshide is a Japanese engineer, JAXA astronaut, and former commander of the International Space Station. On August 30, 2012, Hoshide became the third Japanese astronaut to walk in space.

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28/12/1967

Chris Ware, American illustrator

Franklin Christenson Ware is an American cartoonist known for his Acme Novelty Library series and the graphic novels Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth (2000), Building Stories (2012) and Rusty Brown (2019). His works explore themes of social isolation, emotional torment and depression. He tends to use a vivid color palette and realistic, meticulous detail. His lettering and images are often elaborate and sometimes evoke the ragtime era or another early 20th-century American design style.

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28/12/1965

Allar Levandi, Estonian skier

Allar Levandi is an Estonian nordic combined skier who competed during the late 1980s and early 1990s under two different nations in three straight Winter Olympic Games. He trained at Dynamo in Tallinn when Estonia was under Soviet rule in the late 1980s.

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28/12/1964

Tex Perkins, Australian singer-songwriter

Gregory Stephen Perkins, better known by his stage name Tex Perkins, is an Australian singer-songwriter who fronted the Australian rock band The Cruel Sea, but has also performed with the Beasts of Bourbon, Thug, James Baker Experience, The Butcher Shop, Salamander Jim, and Tex, Don and Charlie. He has also released many solo records. In 1997, a portrait of Tex Perkins by artist Bill Leak won the Packing Room award at the Archibald Prize.

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Maite Zúñiga, Spanish runner

María Teresa "Maite" Zúñiga Domínguez is a retired Basque Spanish middle-distance runner.

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28/12/1962

Michel Petrucciani, French jazz pianist (died 1999)

Michel Petrucciani was a French jazz pianist. From birth he had osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disease that causes brittle bones and, in his case, short stature. Despite his health condition and relatively short life, he became one of the most accomplished jazz pianists of his generation.

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28/12/1961

Kent Nielsen, Danish footballer and manager

Kent Nielsen is a Danish professional football manager and former player, who is currently an assistant coach at the Denmark national team. He was named coach of the year by the Danish Football Association in 2014 after winning both the Danish Superliga and the Danish Cup with AaB. He started his coaching career as caretaker manager of AGF, before getting his breakthrough with AC Horsens, guiding the club to promotion to the top-flight Superliga championship in 2005. He has also coached Superliga clubs Brøndby and OB. He has the record for most games managed in the Danish Superliga.

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28/12/1960

Ray Bourque, Canadian ice hockey player

Raymond Jean Bourque is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He holds records for most career goals, assists, and points by a defenceman in the National Hockey League (NHL). He won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL's best defenceman five times, while finishing second for that trophy a further six times. He also twice finished second in the voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy, a rarity for a defenceman. He was named to the end-of-season All-Star teams 19 times, with a record 13 on the first-team and six on the second-team.

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John Fitzgerald, Australian tennis player, coach, and sportscaster

John Basil Fitzgerald OAM is a former professional tennis player from Australia who played right-handed with a single-handed backhand.

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Chad McQueen, American actor and race car driver (died 2024)

Chadwick Steven McQueen was an American actor, film producer, martial artist, and race car driver. He was the only son and last living child of actor Steve McQueen (1930–1980).

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Melvin Turpin, American basketball player (died 2010)

Melvin Harrison Turpin was an American professional basketball player. He played five seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an All-American college player at the University of Kentucky, where as a senior he led the Wildcats to the 1984 Final Four.

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28/12/1959

Hansjörg Kunze, German runner and sportscaster

Hansjörg Kunze is a German track and field athlete. He represented East Germany as a long distance runner.

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Daniel Léo Simpson, American composer

Daniel Léo Simpson is an American composer.

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Ana Torroja, Spanish singer-songwriter

Ana Torroja Fungairiño, 3rd Marchioness of Torroja is a Spanish singer and aristocrat. She was the lead singer of the pop trio Mecano, considered one of the most popular pop bands from Spain during the 1980s and 1990s. Mecano split in 1998, and she embarked on a solo career.

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28/12/1958

Terry Butcher, English footballer and manager

Terry Ian Butcher is an English football manager and former player.

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Curt Byrum, American golfer

Curt Allen Byrum is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour. He is the older brother of PGA Tour golfer Tom Byrum.

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Zoran Gajić, Serbian volleyball trainer

Zoran Gajić is a Serbian volleyball coach and politician serving as minister of sports since 2022. As a volleyball coach, he coached Rabita Baku, and FR Yugoslavia, Iran and Russia men's national volleyball teams.

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28/12/1956

Nigel Kennedy, English violinist

Nigel Kennedy is an English musician and composer. He plays the violin, viola and piano. His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and has since expanded into jazz, klezmer, and other genres.

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28/12/1955

Stephen Frost, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter

Stephen Frederick Eustace Frost is an English actor and comedian. He is best known for his work on Whose Line Is It Anyway? as well as several projects with comedy partner Mark Arden.

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Liu Xiaobo, Chinese author, academic, and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2017)

Liu Xiaobo was a Chinese literary critic, human rights activist, philosopher and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who called for political reforms and was involved in campaigns to end Chinese Communist Party one-party rule in China. He was arrested numerous times, and was described as China's most prominent dissident and the country's most famous political prisoner. On 26 June 2017, he was granted medical parole after being diagnosed with liver cancer; he died a few weeks later on 13 July 2017.

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28/12/1954

Tony Ables, American serial killer

Tony Alvin Ables is an American serial killer convicted of multiple homicides in the Tampa Bay area. Officially convicted of two murders, he was linked through DNA evidence in 2006 to two additional cases: the 1983 killing of 84-year-old Adeline McLaughlin and the 1987 death of his 31-year-old girlfriend, Deborah Kisor. Despite their romantic involvement, Ables was not charged with killing Kisor, nor has he been tried for McLaughlin's murder. He is currently serving a life sentence for the 1990 murder of another girlfriend, 48-year-old Marlene Burns.

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Gayle King, American television journalist

Gayle Patrice King is an American television personality, author and broadcast journalist for CBS News, co-hosting its flagship morning program, CBS Mornings, and before that its predecessor CBS This Morning. She is also an editor-at-large for Oprah Daily. King was named one of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People of 2019".

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Denzel Washington, American actor, director, and producer

Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including two Academy Awards, an Actor Award, two Golden Globes, two Silver Bears and a Tony Award as well as nominations for a Grammy Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2020, The New York Times named Washington the greatest actor of the 21st century. He has also been honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2016, AFI Life Achievement Award in 2019, the Honorary Palme d'Or in 2025, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2025. Films in which he has appeared have grossed over $5.1 billion worldwide.

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28/12/1953

Richard Clayderman, French pianist

Richard Clayderman is a French pianist who has released numerous albums including the compositions of Paul de Senneville, Olivier Toussaint and Marc Minier, instrumental renditions of popular music, rearrangements of movie soundtracks, ethnic music, and easy-listening arrangements of popular works of classical music.

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Tatsumi Fujinami, Japanese wrestler and promoter, founded Dradition wrestling promotion

Tatsumi Fujinami is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is best known for his long tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a six-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion and four-time IWGP Tag Team Champion. He is also the owner and founder of the Dradition wrestling promotion.

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Charlie Pierce, American journalist and author

Charles Patrick Pierce is an American sportswriter, political blogger, liberal pundit, author, and game show panelist.

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Martha Wash, American singer-songwriter

Martha Elaine Wash is an American singer and songwriter. Known for her distinctive and powerful voice, Wash first achieved fame as half of the Two Tons O' Fun, along with Izora Armstead, as they sang backing vocals for the disco singer Sylvester including on his signature hit "You Make Me Feel ". After gaining their own record deal, they released three consecutive commercially successful songs which all peaked at number two in the dance charts. The duo was renamed the Weather Girls in 1982 after they released the top-selling single "It's Raining Men", which brought them to mainstream pop attention. The duo released five albums and were heavily featured on Sylvester's albums.

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28/12/1952

Arun Jaitley, Indian lawyer and politician, 9th Indian Minister of Law and Justice (died 2019)

Arun Jaitley was an Indian politician and attorney. A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Jaitley served as the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of the Government of India from 2014 to 2019. Jaitley previously held the cabinet portfolios of Finance, Defence, Corporate Affairs, Commerce and Industry, and Law and Justice in the Vajpayee government and Narendra Modi government.

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Bridget Prentice, Scottish educator and politician

Bridget Theresa Prentice is a Scottish politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewisham East from 1992 to 2010. She was married to the Labour MP Gordon Prentice from 1975 until their divorce in 2000. She was a member of the Labour Party until May 2019, when she resigned in protest at Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

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28/12/1950

Alex Chilton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2010)

William Alexander Chilton was an American musician, best known as the lead singer of the rock bands the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s as a teen vocalist for the Box Tops was not matched by similar chart success in his later work with Big Star and in his subsequent solo career on independent record labels. However, he built a devoted following among indie and alternative musicians, and has been frequently cited as a seminal influence by influential rock artists and bands.

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Clifford Cocks, English mathematician and cryptographer

Clifford Christopher Cocks is a British mathematician and cryptographer. In the early 1970s, while working at the United Kingdom Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), he developed an early public-key cryptography (PKC) system. This pre-dated commercial offerings, but due to the classified nature of Cocks' work, it did not become widely known until 1997 when the work was declassified.

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Rainer Maria Latzke, German-American painter and academic

Rainer Maria Latzke is a German artist working in the field of trompe-l'œil and mural painting. He taught at the Utah State University and is founder of the Institute of Frescography. Latzke is Honorary Professor of the Fudan University, Shanghai and Guest Professor of the Shanghai Institute of Visual Art . Latzke was ranked one of the 12 cultural trendsetters of the 1990s by Forbes and one of the world's best artists of the last four centuries by the Artists Trade Union of Russia. He is a cousin of Poland´s wealthiest entrepreneur Jan Kulczyk.

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28/12/1948

Ziggy Modeliste, American drummer

Joseph "Ziggy" Modeliste, also known as Zigaboo Modeliste, is an American drummer best known as a founding member of the funk band the Meters. He is widely considered an innovator in the funk genre and New Orleans style drumming. The Meters' music had a defining role and set the stylistic tone of New Orleans funk. Due to his work with the band, Modeliste is credited as an integral part of bringing New Orleans second-line grooves into popular music.

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28/12/1947

Dick Diamonde, Dutch-Australian rock bass player (died 2024)

Dingeman Adriaan Henry van der Sluijs, better known by his stage name Dick Diamonde, was an Australian bass guitarist. He was a founding mainstay member of the Easybeats. Diamonde, with the group, was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2005.

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Aurelio Rodríguez, Mexican baseball player, coach, and manager (died 2000)

Aurelio Rodríguez Ituarte, Jr., sometimes known by the nickname "Chi Chi", was a Mexican professional baseball player, who spent the bulk of his Major League career with the Detroit Tigers. Known for his powerful throwing arm, he was one of the great defensive third basemen of his generation. His career range factor of 3.215 per nine innings at third base ranks second in major league history, and his 4,150 assists at the position ranked fifth in major league history at the time of his retirement.

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28/12/1946

Mike Beebe, American lawyer and politician, 45th Governor of Arkansas

Mickey Dale Beebe is an American politician and attorney who served as the 45th governor of Arkansas from 2007 to 2015. He is to date the last Democrat to hold that office.

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Pierre Falardeau, Canadian director, screenwriter, and activist (died 2009)

Pierre Falardeau was a Québécois film and documentary director, pamphleteer and noted activist for Quebec independence.

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Hubert Green, American golfer (died 2018)

Hubert Myatt Green was an American professional golfer. Green won 19 PGA Tour events including two major championships: the 1977 U.S. Open and the 1985 PGA Championship. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2007.

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Tim Johnson, American lawyer and politician (died 2024)

Timothy Peter Johnson was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from South Dakota from 1997 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the United States representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district from 1987 to 1997 and in the South Dakota Legislature from 1979 to 1987. Johnson is the last Democrat to hold statewide and/or congressional office in South Dakota. He and Stephanie Herseth Sandlin are also the last Democrats to win a statewide election in South Dakota.

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Barbara, Lady Judge, American-English lawyer and businesswoman (died 2020)

Barbara Thomas Judge, Lady Judge, previously known as Barbara Singer Thomas, was an American and British lawyer and businesswoman, based in London with dual American-British citizenship.

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Bill Lee, American baseball player and author

William Francis Lee III, nicknamed "Spaceman", is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox (1969–1978) and Montreal Expos (1979–1982). On November 7, 2008, Lee was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame as the team's record-holder for most games pitched by a left-hander (321) and the third highest win total by a Red Sox southpaw (94). On August 23, 2012, he signed a contract to play with the San Rafael Pacifics of the independent North American League, at age 65.

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Laffit Pincay Jr., Panamanian jockey

Laffit Alejandro Pincay Jr. is a retired Panamanian jockey who is known for once holding the all-time record for wins in horse racing, while still holding third place many years after his retirement. He competed primarily in the United States.

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Edgar Winter, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer

Edgar Holland Winter is an American multi-instrumentalist, working as a vocalist along with playing keyboards, saxophone, and percussion. His success peaked in the 1970s with his band the Edgar Winter Group and their popular songs "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride" which remain staple tracks of classic rock radio. He is the brother of blues singer and guitarist Johnny Winter, who died in 2014.

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28/12/1945

Birendra, King of Nepal (died 2001)

Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev was the King of Nepal from 1972 until his assassination in the 2001 Nepalese royal massacre.

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Max Hastings, English journalist, historian, and author

Sir Max Hugh Macdonald Hastings is a British journalist and military historian who has worked as a foreign correspondent for the BBC, editor-in-chief of The Daily Telegraph, and editor of the Evening Standard. He is also the author of thirty books, most significantly histories, which have won several major awards. Hastings currently writes a bimonthly column for Bloomberg Opinion and contributes to The Times and The Sunday Times.

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28/12/1944

Sandra Faber, American astronomer and academic

Sandra Moore Faber is an American astrophysicist known for her research on the evolution of galaxies. She is the University Professor emerita of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and works at the Lick Observatory. She has made discoveries linking the brightness of galaxies to the speed of stars within them and was the co-discoverer of the Faber–Jackson relation. Faber was also instrumental in designing the Keck telescopes in Hawaii.

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Johnny Isakson, American sergeant and politician (died 2021)

John Hardy Isakson was an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 2005 until his resignation in 2019 following health concerns. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Georgia legislature and the United States House of Representatives.

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Kary Mullis, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2019)

Kary Banks Mullis was an American biochemist. In recognition of his role in the invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, he shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Michael Smith and was awarded the Japan Prize in the same year. PCR became a central technique in biochemistry and molecular biology, described by The New York Times as "highly original and significant, virtually dividing biology into the two epochs of before PCR and after PCR."

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Gordon Taylor, English footballer

Gordon Alexander Taylor OBE is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. He was chief executive of the English footballers' trades union, the Professional Footballers' Association, for over 40 years, between 1981 and 2021. In March 2019 it was reported that he was to stand aside upon completion of a "full and open review" into the PFA's finances along with its entire management committee and chairman Ben Purkiss. He was reputed to be the highest paid union official in the world. The 2020 PFA AGM is scheduled for 26 November, and is expected to appoint four non-executive directors. In September 2020 the chair of the all party group on gambling, Carolyn Harris voiced her reservations on gambling related harm exampled by the Union's CEO. On the 1 June 2021, Taylor was formally replaced as CEO, retaining a temporary transitional advisory role to his successor.

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28/12/1943

Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, Peruvian cardinal

Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne is a Peruvian Catholic who served as Archbishop of Lima from 1999 to 2019. He has been a bishop since 1988 and was made a cardinal in 2001.

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David Peterson, Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Premier of Ontario

David Robert Peterson is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 20th premier of Ontario from 1985 to 1990. He was the first Liberal officeholder in 42 years, ending the so-called Tory dynasty.

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Joan Ruddock, Welsh politician

Dame Joan Mary Ruddock, is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewisham Deptford from 1987 to 2015. Ruddock was Minister of State for Energy at the Department of Energy and Climate Change until 11 May 2010. She stood down at the 2015 general election.

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28/12/1942

Roger Swerts, Belgian cyclist

Roger Swerts is a Belgian former road bicycle racer. As an amateur he placed 18th in the individual road race at the 1964 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal at the 1965 UCI Road World Championships. He turned professional later in 1965.

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28/12/1941

Intikhab Alam, Indian-Pakistani cricketer and coach

Intikhab Alam Khan is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer who played in 47 Test matches and four One Day Internationals from 1959 to 1977. He captained Pakistan in 17 Tests between 1969 and 1975. He also played in English county cricket for Surrey between 1969 and 1981. Prior to this, Intikhab was professional for several years at West of Scotland Cricket Club in Glasgow and also coached at The Glasgow Academy. In August 1967, at the Oval, he joined Asif Iqbal for a ninth-wicket stand of 190 runs. This remained a world record for around 30 years.

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28/12/1940

A. K. Antony, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Defence

Arackaparambil Kurien Antony is an Indian lawyer, attorney and statesman who was the longest serving Defence Minister of India from 2006 to 2014. One of the senior leaders of the Indian National Congress, he currently serves as the Chairman of the Disciplinary Action Committee of the All India Congress Committee, Congress Working Committee, and member of the Congress Core Group and Central Election Committee.

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Don Francisco, Chilean-American journalist and talk show host

Mario Luis Kreutzberger Blumenfeld, better known by his stage name Don Francisco, is a Chilean television host known for presenting several variety, talk and game shows. A popular personality on the Univision network reaching Spanish-speaking viewers in the United States, he is recognized for hosting shows including Sábado Gigante, Don Francisco Presenta and Don Francisco Te Invita.

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28/12/1939

Philip Anschutz, American businessman, founded Anschutz Entertainment Group

Philip Frederick Anschutz is an American billionaire businessman who owns or controls companies in a variety of industries, including energy, railroads, real estate, sports, newspapers, travel, movies, theaters, arenas and music. In 2004, he purchased the parent company of the Journal Newspapers, which under Anschutz's direction became the American conservative editorial newspaper Washington Examiner. Anschutz is the son of Fred and Marian Pfister Anschutz.

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Frank McLintock, Scottish footballer and manager

Francis McLintock is a Scottish former footballer, football manager and businessman. He also worked as a sports agent and football pundit in his later life.

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Michelle Urry, American journalist and illustrator (died 2006)

Michelle Urry was the cartoon editor of Playboy magazine for over 30 years. Together with Hugh Hefner, she edited the retrospective Playboy: 50 Years The Cartoons. Among the cartoonists whose career she is credited with developing is B. Kliban. On learning of her death, Jules Feiffer told the New York Times she was the "mother superior to cartoonists."

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28/12/1938

Dick Sudhalter, American trumpet player, scholar, and critic (died 2008)

Richard Merrill Sudhalter was an American jazz trumpeter and writer.

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28/12/1937

Ratan Tata, Indian businessman and philanthropist (died 2024)

Ratan Naval Tata was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist. He served as the chairman of Tata Group and Tata Sons from 1991 to 2012, and he held the position of the interim chairman from October 2016 to February 2017. In 2000, he received the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour in India, followed by the Padma Vibhushan, the country's second-highest civilian honour, in 2008.

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28/12/1936

Alan Coleman, English-Australian director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2013)

Alan James Coleman was an England-born Australian television series producer, screenwriter, director and former actor, active in his native United Kingdom as well as in Australia and New Zealand.

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Lawrence Schiller, American journalist, director, and producer

Lawrence Julian Schiller is an American photojournalist, film producer, director and screenwriter. As of 2026, he is the last living professional photographer who worked with Marilyn Monroe.

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28/12/1934

Rudi Faßnacht, German footballer and manager (died 2000)

Rudolf "Rudi" Faßnacht was a German football manager.

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Maggie Smith, English actress (died 2024)

Dame Margaret Natalie Smith was a British actress. Known for her wit in both comedic and dramatic roles, she had an extensive career on stage and screen for over seven decades and was one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actresses. She received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards, four Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for six Olivier Awards. Smith was one of the few performers to earn the Triple Crown of Acting.

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28/12/1933

John Y. Brown Jr., American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 55th Governor of Kentucky (died 2022)

John Young Brown Jr. was an American politician and entrepreneur from Kentucky. He served as the 55th governor of Kentucky from 1979 to 1983, and built Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) into a multimillion-dollar restaurant chain.

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28/12/1932

Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian businessman, founded Reliance Industries (died 2002)

Dhirajlal Hirachand "Dhirubhai" Ambani was an Indian businessman who founded Reliance Industries in 1958. Ambani took Reliance public in 1977. In 2016, he was honoured posthumously with the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian honour for his contributions to trade and industry.

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Dorsey Burnette, American singer-songwriter (died 1979)

Dorsey William Burnett Jr. was an American early rockabilly singer. With his younger brother Johnny Burnette and a friend named Paul Burlison, he was a founding member of The Rock and Roll Trio. He is also the father of country musician and former Fleetwood Mac member Billy Burnette.

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Roy Hattersley, English journalist and politician, Shadow Home Secretary (died 2026)

Roy Sydney George Hattersley, Baron Hattersley was a British politician, author and journalist who served in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom for Birmingham Sparkbrook from 1964 to 1997, and in the House of Lords from 1997 to 2017. A member of the Labour Party, he held multiple ministerial positions under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. In opposition, Hattersley was deputy leader of the Labour Party under Neil Kinnock from 1983 to 1992.

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Harry Howell, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 2019)

Henry Vernon Howell was a Canadian professional hockey player who was a defenceman for 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, California Golden Seals, and Los Angeles Kings. He also played three seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the New York Golden Blades / Jersey Knights, San Diego Mariners, and Calgary Cowboys.

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Nichelle Nichols, American actress (died 2022)

Grace Dell "Nichelle" Nichols was an American actress, singer and dancer whose portrayal of Uhura in Star Trek and its film sequels was groundbreaking for African American actresses on American television. From 1977 to 2015, she volunteered her time to promote NASA's programs and recruit diverse astronauts, including some of the first female and ethnic minority astronauts.

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Manuel Puig, Argentine author and playwright (died 1990)

Juan Manuel Puig Delledonne, commonly called Manuel Puig, was an Argentine author and LGBTQ activist. Among his best-known novels are La traición de Rita Hayworth, Boquitas pintadas, and El beso de la mujer araña which was adapted into the film released in 1985, directed by the Argentine-Brazilian director Héctor Babenco; and a Broadway musical in 1993.

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28/12/1931

Guy Debord, French theorist and author (died 1994)

Guy-Ernest Debord was a French Marxist theorist, philosopher, filmmaker, critic of work, member of the Letterist International, founder of a Letterist faction, and founding member of the Situationist International. He was also briefly a member of Socialisme ou Barbarie. Debord is best known for his 1967 work, The Society of the Spectacle, alongside his direction to the Letterist and Situationist Magazines.

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Martin Milner, American actor (died 2015)

Martin Sam Milner was an American actor. He was best known for his starring roles on two popular television series: as Tod Stiles on Route 66 (1960–64), and as Officer Pete Malloy on Adam-12 (1968–75).

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28/12/1930

Mariam A. Aleem, Egyptian illustrator and academic (died 2010)

Mariam A. Aleem was an Egyptian artist and art professor specializing in printed design. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the Faculty of Fine Arts Cairo in 1954 and her Master of Fine Arts in graphic printing 1957 from the University of Southern California. Beginning in 1958, Aleem taught printmaking at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Alexandria. In 1968 she became an assistant professor, heading the Printmaking Department. Aleem became a full professor in 1975 and led the Design Department from 1985 to 1990. She earned her Ph.D. in the history of art from Helwan University in Cairo. Aleem exhibited worldwide, with shows in the United States, Lebanon, Egypt, Germany, Italy, and Norway.

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28/12/1929

Brian Redhead, English journalist and author (died 1994)

Brian Leonard Redhead was a British author, journalist and broadcaster. He was a co-presenter of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 from 1975 until 1993, shortly before his death. He was a great lover and promoter of the city of Manchester and the North West in general, where he lived for most of his career.

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Terry Sawchuk, Canadian-American ice hockey player (died 1970)

Terrance Gordon Sawchuk was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings, and New York Rangers between 1950 and 1970. He won the Calder Trophy, earned the Vezina Trophy four times, was a four-time Stanley Cup champion, and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame the year after his final season, one of 10 players for whom the three-year waiting period was waived.

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Maarten Schmidt, Dutch astronomer (died 2022)

Maarten Schmidt was a Dutch-born American astronomer who first measured the distances of quasars. He was the first astronomer to identify a quasar, and so was pictured on the March cover of Time magazine in 1966.

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28/12/1928

Moe Koffman, Canadian flute player, saxophonist, and composer (died 2001)

Morris "Moe" Koffman, OC was a Canadian jazz saxophonist and flautist, as well as composer and arranger. During a career spanning from the 1950s into the 2000s, Koffman was one of Canada's most prolific musicians, working variously in clubs and sessions and releasing 30 albums. With his 1957 record Cool and Hot Sax on the New York-based Jubilee label, Koffman became one of the first Canadian jazz musicians to record a full-length album. Koffman was also a long-time member of Rob McConnell's Boss Brass.

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John William Thomson, Canadian politician (died 2025)

John William Thomson was a Canadian politician who was a Progressive Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada. He was a businessman by career.

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28/12/1926

Donald Carr, German-English cricketer and referee (died 2016)

Donald Bryce Carr OBE was an English cricketer who played for Derbyshire from 1946 to 1967, for Oxford University from 1948 to 1951, and twice for England in 1951/52. He captained Derbyshire between 1955 and 1962 and scored over 10,000 runs for the county.

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28/12/1925

Hildegard Knef, German actress and singer (died 2002)

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Milton Obote, Ugandan engineer and politician, 2nd President of Uganda (died 2005)

Apollo Milton Obote was a Ugandan politician who served as the Prime Minister of Uganda from 1962 to 1966 and the president of Uganda from 1966 to 1971 and later from 1980 to 1985.

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28/12/1924

Girma Wolde-Giorgis, Ethiopian politician; President of Ethiopia (died 2018)

Girma Wolde-Giorgis was an Ethiopian politician who was the president of Ethiopia from 2001 to 2013. He was the second person to hold the office of president since the founding of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in 1995.

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28/12/1922

Lionel Bowen, Australian politician, 6th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia (died 2012)

Lionel Frost Bowen AC was an Australian politician. He was the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1977 to 1990 and served as the sixth deputy prime minister of Australia in the Hawke government from 1983 to 1990.

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Stan Lee, American publisher, producer, and actor (died 2018)

Stan Lee was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics, which later became Marvel Comics. He was Marvel's primary creative leader for two decades, expanding it from a small publishing house division to a multimedia corporation that dominated the comics and film industries.

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28/12/1921

Johnny Otis, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 2012)

Johnny Otis, born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes, was an American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, talent scout, and preacher. He was a seminal influence on American R&B and rock and roll. He discovered numerous artists early in their careers who went on to become highly successful in their own right, including Little Esther Phillips, Etta James, Alan O'Day, Big Mama Thornton, Johnny Ace, Jackie Wilson, Little Willie John, Hank Ballard, and The Robins, Sugar Pie DeSanto, among many others. Otis has been called the "Godfather of Rhythm and Blues".

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28/12/1920

Tufty Mann, South African cricketer (died 1952)

Norman Bertram Fleetwood "Tufty" Mann was a South African cricketer who played in 19 Test matches from 1947 to 1951.

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Bruce McCarty, American architect, designed the Knoxville City-County Building (died 2013)

Bruce McCarty, FAIA was an American architect, founder and senior designer at McCarty Holsaple McCarty Architects of Knoxville, Tennessee. During a career that spanned more than a half-century, he designed some of the city's iconic landmarks, and was the city's most dedicated champion of Modern architecture. Buildings designed or co-designed by McCarty include the Lawson McGhee Library, Knoxville City County Building, University of Tennessee Humanities Complex, Clarence Brown Theatre, and University of Tennessee Art and Architecture Building. McCarty was also the Master Architect for the 1982 World's Fair.

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Steve Van Buren, Honduran-American football player (died 2012)

Stephen Wood Van Buren was a Honduran-American professional football halfback who played for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL) from 1944 to 1951. Regarded as a powerful and punishing runner with excellent speed, he won four NFL rushing titles through eight NFL seasons, including three straight from 1947 to 1949. At a time when teams played 12 games a year, he was the first NFL player to rush for over ten touchdowns in a season—a feat he accomplished three times—and the first to have multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons. When he retired, he held the NFL career records for rushing attempts, rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns.

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Al Wistert, American football player and coach (died 2016)

Albert Alexander "Ox" Wistert was an American professional football player who was a tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles. He played his entire nine-year NFL career for the Eagles and became their team captain. He was named to play in the NFL's first Pro Bowl as an Eagle. During most of Wistert's career there were no football All-star games, although he was named to the league All-Pro team four times.

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28/12/1919

Emily Cheney Neville, American author (died 1997)

Emily Cheney Neville was an American author. Her first book, It's Like This, Cat (1963), won the Newbery Medal in 1964.

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28/12/1917

Ellis Clarke, Trinidadian politician, 1st President of Trinidad and Tobago (died 2010)

Sir Ellis Emmanuel Innocent Clarke was the first President of Trinidad and Tobago and last Governor-General. He was one of the main architects of Trinidad and Tobago's 1962 Independence constitution.

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28/12/1914

Bidia Dandaron, Russian author and educator (died 1974)

Bidia Dandarovich Dandaron, religious name Chitta-Vajra, was a Soviet Buryat Buddhist lama, Tibetologist, Buddhologist and translator, known for being the successor of the Balagat movement. A victim of Soviet religious persecution, Dandaron was imprisoned for a total of 15 years throughout his life and died aged 59 in Vydrino Labor Camp.

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Pops Staples, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2000)

Roebuck "Pops" Staples was an American gospel and R&B musician. A "pivotal figure in gospel in the 1960s and 1970s", he was a songwriter, guitarist and singer. He was the patriarch and member of singing group The Staple Singers, which included his son Pervis and daughters Mavis, Yvonne, and Cleotha.

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28/12/1913

Lou Jacobi, Canadian-American actor (died 2009)

Lou Jacobi was a Canadian character actor. Jacobi came to prominence for his role as Mr. Van Daan in the 1955 Broadway production of The Diary of Anne Frank which he reprised in the 1959 film version. He also acted in the films Irma la Douce (1963), Little Murders (1971), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (1972), Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976), The Lucky Star (1980), Arthur (1981), My Favorite Year (1982), and Avalon (1990).

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28/12/1911

Wil van Beveren, Dutch sprinter and journalist (died 2003)

Wijnand "Wil" van Beveren was a Dutch sprinter who competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics.

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28/12/1910

Billy Williams, American singer (died 1972)

Wilfred Williams was an American singer. He had a successful cover recording of Fats Waller's "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter" in 1957. The record sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

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28/12/1908

Lew Ayres, American actor (died 1996)

Lewis Frederick Ayres III was an American actor whose film and television career spanned 65 years. He is best known for starring as German soldier Paul Bäumer in the film All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) and for playing Dr. Kildare in nine films. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Johnny Belinda (1948).

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28/12/1907

Ze'ev Ben-Haim, Ukrainian-Israeli linguist and academic (died 2013)

Ze'ev Wolf Goldman, later known as Ze'ev Ben-Ḥayyim, was a leading Israeli linguist and a former president of the Academy of the Hebrew Language.

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28/12/1903

Earl Hines, American pianist and bandleader (died 1983)

Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz".

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John von Neumann, Hungarian-American mathematician and physicist (died 1957)

John von Neumann was a Hungarian and American mathematician, physicist, computer scientist and engineer. Von Neumann had perhaps the widest coverage of any mathematician of his time, integrating pure and applied sciences and making major contributions to many fields, including mathematics, physics, economics, computing, and statistics. He was a pioneer in building the mathematical framework of quantum physics, in the development of functional analysis, and in game theory, introducing or codifying concepts including cellular automata, the universal constructor and the digital computer. His analysis of the structure of self-replication preceded the discovery of the structure of DNA.

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28/12/1902

Mortimer J. Adler, American philosopher and author (died 2001)

Mortimer Jerome Adler was an American philosopher, educator, encyclopedist, author, and lay theologian. His philosophical work was situated within the Aristotelian and Thomistic traditions. Adler taught at Columbia University and the University of Chicago, served as chairman of the board of editors of Encyclopædia Britannica, and founded the Institute for Philosophical Research.

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Shen Congwen, Chinese author and educator (died 1988)

Shen Congwen, formerly romanized as Shen Ts'ung-wen, was a Chinese writer. Born in the multiethnic region of western Hunan, Shen spent his early years roaming the frontier regions of southwestern China as a soldier and a tax collector. Following the New Culture Movement, he moved to Beijing and rose to prominence for his “native soil” literature featuring idyllic, ethnic cultures and colorful, underclass characters. In the 1930s, his advocacy of apolitical literature made him a target of attacks from left-wing writers. After the Communist takeover of Beijing in 1949, Shen attempted suicide. He subsequently abandoned literary writing under Communist rule, devoting the rest of his life to the study of historical artifacts and material culture. Shen was slated to win the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature but died before it could be awarded.

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28/12/1900

Ted Lyons, American baseball player (died 1986)

Theodore Amar Lyons was an American professional baseball starting pitcher, manager and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in 21 MLB seasons, all with the Chicago White Sox. He is the franchise leader in wins. Lyons won 20 or more games three times and became a fan favorite in Chicago.

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28/12/1898

Carl-Gustaf Rossby, Swedish-American meteorologist and academic (died 1957)

Carl-Gustaf Arvid Rossby was a Swedish-born American meteorologist who first explained the large-scale motions of the atmosphere in terms of fluid mechanics. He identified and characterized both the jet stream and the long waves in the westerlies that were later named Rossby waves.

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Shigematsu Sakaibara, Japanese admiral (died 1947)

Shigematsu Sakaibara was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, the Japanese garrison commander on Wake Island during World War II, and a convicted war criminal. He was responsible for ordering the Wake Island massacre, in which 98 American civilians were murdered by Japanese soldiers. Following Japan's surrender, Sakaibara was tried for war crimes and executed for his involvement.

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28/12/1895

Carol Ryrie Brink, American author and playwright (died 1981)

Carol Ryrie Brink was an American writer of over thirty juvenile and adult books. Her novel Caddie Woodlawn won the 1936 Newbery Medal and a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958.

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28/12/1894

Burnita Shelton Matthews, American judge (died 1988)

Burnita Shelton Matthews was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. She was the first woman appointed to serve on a United States District Court.

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28/12/1890

Quincy Wright, American political scientist, historian, and academic (died 1970)

Philip Quincy Wright was an American political scientist based at the University of Chicago known for his pioneering work and expertise in international law, international relations, and security studies. He headed the Causes of War project at the University of Chicago, which resulted in the prominent 1942 multi-volume book A Study of War.

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28/12/1888

F. W. Murnau, German-American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1931)

Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau was a German film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is regarded as one of cinema's most influential filmmakers for his work in the silent era.

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28/12/1887

Werner Kolhörster, German physicist and academic (died 1946)

Werner Heinrich Gustav Kolhörster was a German physicist and a pioneer of research into cosmic rays.

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28/12/1882

Arthur Eddington, English astronomer, physicist, and mathematician (died 1944)

Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington was an English astrophysicist and mathematician. The Eddington limit, the natural limit to the luminosity of stars, or the radiation generated by accretion onto a compact object, is named in his honour.

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Lili Elbe, Danish model and painter (died 1931)

Lili Ilse Elvenes, better known as Lili Elbe, was a Danish painter, transgender woman, and one of the earliest recipients of sex reassignment surgery.

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28/12/1870

Charles Bennett, English runner (died 1949)

Charles Bennett was a British athlete, winner of the 1500 metres at the 1900 Summer Olympics and the first British track and field athlete to become Olympic champion. He was a member of Finchley Harriers which was amalgamated into Hillingdon Athletic Club in 1966.

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28/12/1869

Kathleen O'Melia, Canadian religious sister (died 1939)

Kathleen Fanny O'Melia, also known as Sister Mary of the Angels, Sister Mary Stella, and O'Melia-san, was an English-born teacher, social worker, and lay missionary for the Church of England and the Catholic Church in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

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28/12/1865

Félix Vallotton, Swiss/French painter (died 1925)

Félix Édouard Vallotton was a Swiss and French painter and printmaker associated with the group of artists known as Les Nabis. He was an important figure in the development of the modern woodcut. He painted portraits, landscapes, nudes, still lifes, and other subjects in an unemotional, realistic style.

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28/12/1856

Woodrow Wilson, American historian and politician, 28th President of the United States, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1924)

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only Democrat to serve as president during the Progressive Era, when Republicans dominated the presidency and legislative branches. As president, Wilson made significant economic reforms and led the United States through World War I. He was the leading architect of the League of Nations, and his stance on foreign policy came to be known as Wilsonianism.

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28/12/1842

Calixa Lavallée, Canadian-American lieutenant and composer (died 1891)

Calixa Lavallée was a Canadian musician and Union Army band musician during the American Civil War. He was born in the Province of Canada. He is best known for composing the music for "O Canada", which officially became the national anthem of Canada in 1980, after a vote in the Senate and the House of Commons. The same 1980 Act of Parliament also changed some of the English lyrics. A further alteration to the English lyrics was made again in 2018. The original French lyrics and the music, however, have remained unchanged since 1880.

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28/12/1818

Carl Remigius Fresenius, German chemist and academic (died 1897)

Carl Remigius Fresenius, was a German chemist, known for his studies in analytical chemistry.

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28/12/1798

Thomas Henderson, Scottish astronomer and mathematician (died 1844)

Thomas Henderson FRSE FRS FRAS was a Scottish astronomer and mathematician noted for being the first person to measure the distance to Alpha Centauri, the major component of the nearest stellar system to Earth, the first to determine the parallax of a fixed star, and for being the first Astronomer Royal for Scotland.

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28/12/1789

Catharine Maria Sedgwick, American novelist of "domestic fiction" (died 1867)

Catharine Maria Sedgwick was an American novelist of domestic fiction. From the 1820s to the 1850s, Sedgwick made a living writing short stories for a variety of periodicals. She became one of the most notable female novelists of her time. She wrote work in American settings, and combined patriotism with protests against historic Puritan oppressiveness. Her topics contributed to the creation of a national literature, enhanced by her detailed descriptions of nature. Sedgwick created spirited heroines who did not conform to the stereotypical conduct of women at the time. She promoted Republican motherhood.

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28/12/1775

Jean-Gabriel Eynard, Swiss banker and photographer (died 1863)

Jean-Gabriel Eynard was a Swiss banker and significant benefactor of the Greek independence movement.

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28/12/1763

John Molson, English-Canadian brewer, founded the Molson Brewery (died 1836)

John Molson was an English-born brewer and entrepreneur in colonial Quebec, which during his lifetime became Lower Canada. In addition to founding Molson Brewery, he is known for building the first Canadian steamship and the first public Canadian railway. He was a president of the Bank of Montreal, and established a hospital, a hotel, and a theatre in Montreal. Molson was also the "leader" of the freemason's lodge of Montreal from 1826 to 1833. His business dynasty, much of which he passed along to and was expanded by his family, continues to remain influential in Canada.

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28/12/1724

Christoph Franz von Buseck, Prince-Bishop of Bamberg (died 1805)

Christoph Franz von Buseck was the Roman Catholic bishop of Bamberg and the last Prince-Bishop of Bamberg.

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28/12/1722

Eliza Lucas, Caribbean-American agriculturalist (died 1793)

Elizabeth "Eliza" Pinckney was an American farmer. Pinckney transformed agriculture in colonial South Carolina, where she developed indigo as one of its most important cash crops. Its cultivation and processing as dye produced one-third the total value of the colony's exports before the Revolutionary War. The manager of three plantations, Pinckney had a major influence on the colonial economy.

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28/12/1665

George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire (died 1716)

Lieutenant-General George FitzRoy, Duke of Northumberland, KG, PC was the third and youngest illegitimate son of King Charles II of England by Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine ; he was the fifth of Charles's eight illegitimate sons. On 1 October 1674, he was created Earl of Northumberland, Baron of Pontefract (Yorkshire) and Viscount Falmouth (Cornwall). On 6 April 1683, he was created Duke of Northumberland. He was described as "a most worthy man", and as "...a tall, Black-Man, like his father, the King." The same John Macky files described his half-sibling, Charles Lennox, Duke of Richmond as Black complexion, also like his father, King Charles II.

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28/12/1655

Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk (died 1698)

Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis PC was an English politician who served as First Lord of the Admiralty and Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk, in which capacity he personally served as Colonel of the Suffolk Militia Horse in 1692. He succeeded his father Charles Cornwallis, 2nd Baron Cornwallis as Baron Cornwallis in 1673. On 27 December that year, at Westminster Abbey, he married Elizabeth Fox, daughter of Sir Stephen Fox. Their son Charles succeeded him as 4th Baron Cornwallis. After Elizabeth's death, he married Anne Scott, 1st Duchess of Buccleuch, widow of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth.

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28/12/1651

Johann Krieger, German organist and composer (died 1735)

Johann Krieger was a German composer and organist, younger brother of Johann Philipp Krieger. Born in Nuremberg, he worked at Bayreuth, Zeitz, and Greiz before settling in Zittau. He was one of the most important keyboard composers of his day, highly esteemed by, among others, George Frideric Handel. A prolific composer of church and secular music, he published several dozen of his works, and others survive in manuscript. However, hundreds more were lost when Zittau was destroyed by fire in 1757, during the Seven Years' War.

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28/12/1635

Elizabeth Stuart, second daughter of King Charles I of England (died 1650)

Elizabeth Stuart was the second daughter of Charles I, King of England, Scotland and Ireland, and Henrietta Maria of France.

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28/12/1619

Antoine Furetière, French author and scholar (died 1688)

Antoine Furetière was a French scholar, writer, and lexicographer, known best for his satirical novel Le Roman bourgeois, and also his famous Dictionnaire universel. The Académie Française charged him with lexicographic plagiarism and ousted him for seeking to publish his own French language dictionary.

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28/12/1535

Martin Eisengrein, German theologian (died 1578)

Martin Eisengrein was a German Catholic theologian, university professor, and polemical writer.

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28/12/1510

Nicholas Bacon, English politician (died 1579)

Sir Nicholas Bacon was Lord Keeper of the Great Seal during the first half of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England. He was the father of the philosopher and statesman Sir Francis Bacon.

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28/12/1461

Louise of Savoy, French nun (died 1503)

Louise of Savoy was a member of the French royal family, who gave up a life of privilege and comfort to become a Poor Clare nun. She was beatified by the Roman Catholic Church in 1839.

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