29th December — International Day of Biodiversity

On this day, 289 notable people were born on 29th December — spanning from 1536 to 2006. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.

29/12/2006

Ethan Mbappé, French footballer

Ethan Mbappé Lottin is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Lille.

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29/12/2005

Davide Bartesaghi, Italian footballer

Davide Bartesaghi is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a left-back, left wing-back and centre-back for Serie A club AC Milan and the Italy national team.

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29/12/2000

Orkun Kökçü, Dutch-Turkish footballer

Orkun Kökçü is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Süper Lig club Beşiktaş, whom he captains. Born in the Netherlands, he plays for the Turkey national team.

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Julio Rodríguez, Dominican baseball player

Julio Yamel Rodríguez, nicknamed "J-Rod", is a Dominican professional baseball center fielder for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He signed with the Mariners as an international free agent in 2017. In his rookie season in 2022, he was named an All-Star along with winning the Silver Slugger Award and American League Rookie of the Year Award. Rodríguez has been selected to three All-Star Games, won two Silver Sluggers, and made the All-MLB Second Team in 2022 and All-MLB Team in 2025.

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Eliot Vassamillet, Belgian singer

Eliot Vassamillet is a Belgian singer. He represented Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Wake Up". Prior to Eurovision, he competed in the seventh season of The Voice Belgique in 2018.

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29/12/1999

Andreas Skov Olsen, Danish footballer

Andreas Skov Olsen is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Scottish Premiership club Rangers, on loan from Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg and the Denmark national team.

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Francisco Trincão, Portuguese footballer

Francisco António Machado Mota de Castro Trincão is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Primeira Liga club Sporting CP and the Portugal national team.

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29/12/1998

Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, American actor

Seamus Liam Davey-Fitzpatrick is an American actor. His first feature film role was as Damien Thorn in the 2006 remake of the horror film The Omen.

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Victor Osimhen, Nigerian footballer

Victor James Osimhen is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Süper Lig club Galatasaray and is the vice-captain of the Nigeria national team. Described by some sources as one of the best strikers in the world, he is known for his pace, physical strength, aerial ability, and finishing.

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Brandon Thomas-Asante, Ghanaian footballer

Solomon Brandon Michael Clarke Thomas-Asante is a professional footballer who plays as a centre forward for Premier League club Coventry City. Born in England, he plays for the Ghana national team.

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29/12/1997

Felix Keisinger, German skeleton racer

Felix Keisinger is a German Skeleton racer who finished fourth in the standings in the men's singles category of the 2019-20 Skeleton World Cup.

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29/12/1996

Sana Minatozaki, Japanese singer

Sana Minatozaki, known mononymously as Sana, is a Japanese singer based in South Korea. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Twice, formed in 2015 by JYP Entertainment, and its subunit MiSaMo, formed in 2023.

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Dylan Minnette, American actor, musician and singer

Dylan Christopher Minnette is an American actor and musician. He is known for his role as Clay Jensen in the Netflix drama series 13 Reasons Why. He is also a member of the alternative rock band Wallows.

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29/12/1995

Myles Garrett, American football player

Myles Lorenz Garrett is an American professional football defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). Garrett played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies, receiving unanimous All-American honors in 2016, and was selected first overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 2017 NFL draft. Garrett is the Browns' all-time sacks leader, playing for them for nine seasons before being traded to the Rams in 2026. Garrett was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 and 2025 and has earned seven Pro Bowl and five first-team All-Pro selections. He holds the NFL single-season sack record with 23, which he set in 2025.

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Rina Ikoma, Japanese singer and actress (Nogizaka46 and AKB48)

Rina Ikoma is a Japanese actress and former idol singer best recognized as the "Face of Nogizaka46". She was a first generation member of the girl group Nogizaka46 and AKB48's Team B, also known as the former's eternal ace and original center, being appointed the position for an A-side six times in total for Nogizaka46's first five singles, "Guruguru Curtain", "Oide Shampoo", "Hashire! Bicycle", "Seifuku no Mannequin", and "Kimi no Na wa Kibō", as well as their 12th Single "Taiyō Nokku", which was the record highest at the time for the group, and is still the most for solo centers. Yasushi Akimoto originally made it to be so that Ikoma's graduation single "Synchronicity" was for her as center, but she declined.

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Ross Lynch, American singer and actor

Ross Shor Lynch is an American singer and actor. He was the lead vocalist of the pop rock band R5 and is one half of the band the Driver Era. As an actor, he rose to recognition for his leading roles as Austin Moon on Disney Channel's comedy television series Austin & Ally (2011–2016) and Brady in the network's musical films Teen Beach Movie (2013) and its sequel Teen Beach 2 (2015).

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29/12/1994

Kristel Fulgar, Filipino actress

Kristel Aina Fulgar-Ha, is a Filipino actress, singer and vlogger. She is known for her participation in television dramas and in the sketch comedy show Goin' Bulilit (2005). As a vlogger, Fulgar has a YouTube channel called KrisTells Vlogs.

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Princess Kako of Akishino, Japanese princess

Princess Kako of Akishino is the second daughter of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Japan and a member of the Akishino branch of the Japanese imperial family. She is a niece of Emperor Naruhito and the second-eldest grandchild of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko.

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29/12/1993

Travis Head, Australian cricketer

Travis Michael Head is an Australian international cricketer who represents the Australia national cricket team in all formats and is the current Test vice-captain. Known for his high strike rate, Head is a left-handed batter and part-time right arm off-spin bowler. He is contracted to South Australia at the state level and the Adelaide Strikers for the Big Bash League. Head has served as both a co vice-captain and vice-captain in Tests in multiple stints. Head captained Australia in T20Is and served as vice-captain in ODIs in 2024.

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Gabby May, Canadian artistic gymnast

Gabby May is a Canadian artistic gymnast.

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29/12/1992

Mislav Oršić, Croatian footballer

Mislav Oršić is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Dinamo Zagreb and the Croatia national team.

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Katsuhiro Suzuki, Japanese actor and model

Katsuhiro Suzuki is a Japanese actor and model known for his starring role as Hiromu Sakurada/Red Buster in the 2012 Super Sentai Series Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters. Until August 24, 2020, he was affiliated with Ever Green Entertainment. He is also a Keio University, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies student.

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29/12/1991

Steven Caulker, English footballer

Steven Roy Caulker is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He currently works as assistant manager at Konyaspor. Born in England, he represented and captained the Sierra Leone national team.

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Patrick Feeney, American sprinter

Patrick Feeney, also known as Pat Feeney, is an American former sprinter specializing in the 400 metres and the 2016 World Athletics Indoor Championships gold medalist in the 4 × 400 m relay by virtue of running in the heats. He was a multiple-time All American for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and finished 3rd in the 300 m at the 2015 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships.

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29/12/1990

Allen Kim, South Korean singer, dancer, and actor (U-KISS)

Kim Ki-bum, now better known by his stage name in Japan Allen Kim, is a South Korean idol singer, best known for being a former member of South Korean boy band U-KISS. He is also the younger brother of SS501 member Kim Hyung-jun.

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29/12/1989

Jane Levy, American actress

Jane Colburn Levy is an American actress. After attending the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, she debuted as the original Mandy Milkovich on the Showtime comedy-drama Shameless (2011). Levy left Shameless following its first season to portray the lead of the ABC sitcom Suburgatory from 2011 to 2014.

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Kei Nishikori, Japanese tennis player

Kei Nishikori is a Japanese professional tennis player. He has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4, making him the highest-ranked Japanese man in the Open Era and the second-highest-ranked of all time. Nishikori has won twelve singles titles on the ATP Tour and was runner-up at the 2014 US Open, making him the only man representing an Asian country to contest a major singles final.

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Harri Säteri, Finnish ice hockey player

Harri Säteri is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is a goaltender for EHC Biel of the National League (NL). Although drafted in 2008 by the San Jose Sharks, he did not play in an NHL game until nearly a decade later as a member of the Florida Panthers.

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29/12/1988

Eric Berry, American football player

James Eric Berry is an American former professional football player who was a safety for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers, earning unanimous All-American honors twice and recognition as the best collegiate defensive back in the country. Berry was selected by the Chiefs fifth overall in the 2010 NFL draft. He was voted to the Pro Bowl five times and named first-team All-Pro three times.

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Christen Press, American footballer

Christen Annemarie Press is an American former professional soccer player, entrepreneur, and sports journalist. She last played for Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team. She first appeared for the United States national team during an international friendly against Scotland on February 9, 2013. She made 155 appearances for her country and ranks ninth all-time with 64 goals scored.

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Ágnes Szávay, Hungarian tennis player

Ágnes Szávay is a former professional tennis player from Hungary. The 2007 WTA Newcomer of the Year achieved her career-high ranking of world No. 13 in April 2008.

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29/12/1987

Iain De Caestecker, Scottish actor

Iain De Caestecker is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying Leopold Fitz/The Doctor in the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020). He is also known for his roles in Coronation Street (2001–2003) as Adam Barlow and the films Shell (2012), In Fear (2013), Not Another Happy Ending (2013), Lost River (2014), and Overlord (2018).

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Juliana Huxtable, American artist

Juliana Huxtable is an American artist, writer, performer, DJ, and co-founder of the New York–based nightlife project Shock Value. Huxtable has exhibited and performed at a number of venues including Reena Spaulings Fine Art, Project Native Informant, Artists Space, the New Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, and Institute of Contemporary Arts. Huxtable's multidisciplinary art practice explores a number of projects, such as the internet, the body, history, and text, often through a process she calls "conditioning." Huxtable is a published author of two books and a member of the New York City–based collective House of Ladosha. She is on the roster of the talent agency Discwoman, a New York based collective and talent agency that books DJs for parties and events around the world. She previously lived and worked in New York City, and has been based in Berlin since 2020.

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Yuhi Sekiguchi, Japanese race car driver

Yuhi Sekiguchi is a Japanese racing driver. He currently competes in the GT500 class of the Super GT Series for TGR Team SARD.

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29/12/1986

Joe Anyon, former English footballer

Joseph Anyon is an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

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Derek Ryan, American ice hockey player

Derek Allen Ryan is an American former professional ice hockey player.

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29/12/1985

Wang Ji-hye, South Korean actress

Wang Ji-hye is a South Korean actress best known for her roles in Protect the Boss, Friend, Our Legend, The President, and Personal Taste.

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Alexa Ray Joel, American singer-songwriter

Alexa Ray Joel is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She is the daughter of singer/songwriter Billy Joel and model Christie Brinkley. Joel released an EP Sketches (2006) and several singles on independent record labels. She has performed at numerous charity events and New York City fashion events.

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29/12/1984

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, American playwright

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is an American playwright. His play Purpose won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, for which his works Gloria and Everybody were finalists in 2016 and 2018, respectively. His play Appropriate marked his Broadway debut as a playwright in 2023 and earned him his first Tony Award; he won a second in 2025 for Purpose. His additional plays include An Octoroon and The Comeuppance. He was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2016.

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Brenton Lawrence, Australian rugby league player

Brenton Lawrence is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a prop in the 2010s.

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Reimo Tamm, Estonian basketball player

Reimo Tamm is an Estonian professional basketball player. He plays for the Estonian club BC Tallinna Kalev at the point guard position. He has been a member of the Estonia national basketball team.

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29/12/1983

Jessica Andrews, American singer and songwriter

Jessica Danielle Andrews Chagnon is an American country music singer. At age 15 in mid-1999, she made her debut on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts with the single "I Will Be There for You", from her debut album Heart Shaped World, released in 1999 on DreamWorks Records Nashville. Andrews had her biggest chart success in 2001 with the song "Who I Am", a No. 1 country hit and the title track of her second studio album, which was certified gold in the United States. A third album, Now was released in 2003 to lower sales, while a fourth album was never released due to DreamWorks' closure. In late 2008, Andrews signed to Carolwood Records, an imprint of Lyric Street Records, however, she was dropped from the label in 2009 without issuing an album. Andrews has been married to Marcel, a singer-songwriter and music video director, since 2011.

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James Kelly, Australian footballer

James Kelly is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club and Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

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Gonzalo Olave, Chilean actor (died 2009)

Gonzalo Olave Alcaide was a Chilean actor, best known by his role in the telenovela called Lola and his recent work in Mis Años Grossos where he obtained the main role.

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Angela Scanlon, Irish television presenter and general television personality

Angela Marie Scanlon is an Irish television presenter and broadcaster for RTÉ and the BBC. She initially broadcast on Irish television, presenting a number of programmes on RTÉ including the documentary Oi Ginger! in 2014.

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29/12/1982

Alison Brie, American actress

Alison Brie Schermerhorn is an American actress, producer, and writer.

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Gabrielle Destroismaisons, Canadian singer

Gabrielle Destroismaisons is a Québécois singer. In 2000, she released her debut album Etc..., which sold more than 100,000 copies in a few months and led to Destroismaisons being awarded one win and two nominations at the 2002 Félix Awards and a nomination at the 2002 Juno Awards. She participated in the 20 year anniversary show of "La fureur" as a guest singer.

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Brian Hill, Canadian swimmer

Brian David Hill is a Canadian S13 para-swimmer who competed in the 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 Summer Paralympics and the 2007 Parapan American Games. He has won five gold medals, three silver medals and three bronze medals in his international career. He has won the British Columbia Blind Sports Award and Athlete of the Year Award.

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Dale Morris, Australian footballer

Dale Morris is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL).

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Norbert Siedler, Austrian race car driver

Norbert Siedler is an Austrian racing driver who currently competes in the 2025 Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie for Eastalent Racing in a Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II.

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Julia Wertz, American cartoonist, writer and urban explorer

Julia Wertz is an American cartoonist, writer and urban explorer.

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29/12/1981

Shizuka Arakawa, Japanese figure skater and sportscaster

Shizuka Arakawa is a retired Japanese figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic champion and the 2004 World champion. Arakawa is the first Japanese skater to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating and the second Japanese skater to win any Olympic medal in figure skating, after Midori Ito, who won silver in 1992. She is also the second Japanese woman to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics, following skier Tae Satoya. She was the only Japanese medalist at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

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Janice Lynn Mather, Bahamian-Canadian author

Janice Lynn Mather is a Bahamian-born Canadian writer and author of young adult fiction based in British Columbia.

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Shaun Suisham, American football player

Shaun Christopher Suisham is a Canadian former professional American football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Pittsburgh Steelers, while also playing for the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. He was signed by the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football for the Bowling Green Falcons.

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Anna Woltz, Dutch author

Anna Woltz is a Dutch writer of children's literature.

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Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko, Estonian footballer

Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko is an Estonian football coach and former player who currently manages FCI Levadia. Zahovaiko played for several professional clubs and was also a member of the Estonian national team.

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29/12/1979

Diego Luna, Mexican actor, director and producer

Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander is a Mexican actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Cassian Andor in Rogue One (2016) and its prequel series Andor (2022–2025), for which he was nominated twice for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama.

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Yuki Morisaki, Japanese chef and television host

Yuki Morisaki is a Japanese chef, entertainer, and representative of Unity Magenta who is represented by Horipro.

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Moe Oshikiri, Japanese model and actress

Moe Oshikiri is a Japanese model best known her work with fashion magazine AneCan and its sister magazine CanCam, which Oshikiri was a former top model for. She is also a designer, starting her own Kimono line branded under her name, as well as a hosiery line with CanCam model Yuri Ebihara called f*ing motesto.

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George Parros, American ice hockey player

George James Parros is an American former professional ice hockey player who played nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), who currently serves as the head of the NHL's Department of Players Safety, with the title of senior vice president of player safety. In this role Parros is tasked with determining the suspensions or fines handed out for various on-ice incidents in the NHL. His primary role on the ice was that of an enforcer. Parros was part of the 2007 Stanley Cup winning Anaheim Ducks.

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Reihan Salam, American political commentator, columnist and author

Reihan Morshed Salam is an American conservative political commentator and writer who, since 2019, has been president of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. He was previously executive editor of National Review, a columnist for Slate, a contributing editor at National Affairs, a contributing editor at The Atlantic, an interviewer for VICE, and a fellow at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics.

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Ariel Schrag, American cartoonist and screenwriter

Ariel Schrag is an American cartoonist and television writer who achieved critical recognition at an early age for her autobiographical comics. Her novel Adam provoked controversy with its theme of a heterosexual teenage boy becoming drawn into the LGBTQ community of New York. Schrag accepts the label of ‘dyke comic book artist’.

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29/12/1978

Alexis Amore, Peruvian-American porn actress and director

Alexis Amore is a pornographic film actress and director. In 2018, she was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame.

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Jake Berry, English lawyer and politician

Sir James Jacob Gilchrist Berry is a British politician and solicitor who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rossendale and Darwen from 2010 to 2024. He was Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio from 6 September to 25 October 2022. Before this, he served as Minister of State for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth from 2017 to 2020 in the governments of Theresa May and Boris Johnson.

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Matthew Carr, Australian footballer

Matthew Carr is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Fremantle and St Kilda in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played as a half-back flanker and began his football career at East Fremantle. Matthew is the elder brother of Josh Carr, who also played for Fremantle and they both attended Corpus Christi College in Bateman, Western Australia.

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Kieron Dyer, English footballer and coach

Kieron Courtney Dyer is an English professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of National League club Southend United.

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Danny Higginbotham, English footballer and journalist

Daniel John Higginbotham is a former professional footballer who played as a defender. Born in England, he represented Gibraltar in international football.

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Mitsuhiro Ishida, Japanese mixed martial artist

Mitsuhiro Ishida is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist who competed in Shooto, Strikeforce, PRIDE, DREAM, and DEEP. A professional competitor from 2001 until 2011, Ishida also participated in the Yarennoka event in the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

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LaToya London, American singer and actress

LaToya Renee London is an American R&B and soul singer and stage actress who was fourth-place finalist on the third season of American Idol. Her debut album, Love & Life, was released in September 2005 and spawned a number of moderate R&B chart hits. She has concentrated on stage work, including originating and performing the role of Nettie in the national tour of the Broadway musical The Color Purple from 2007 to 2010, for which she won an Ovation Award. She was the lead in the U.S. regional debut of The Bodyguard, a musical based on the 1992 film.

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Angelo Taylor, American hurdler and sprinter

Angelo F. Taylor is an American track and field athlete, winner of 400-meter hurdles at the 2000 and 2008 Summer Olympics. His personal record for the hurdles event is 47.25 seconds. His time puts him in a tie with Félix Sánchez for the #14 performer of all time. Sánchez also won two Olympic gold medals, in 2004 between Taylor's two golds and 2012, immediately following. Taylor also has a 400-meter dash best of 44.05 seconds, ranking him as the joint 29th performer of all time. He won the bronze medal in the 400 m at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics.

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29/12/1977

Jimmy Journell, American baseball player

James Richard Journell is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2003 and 2005.

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Katherine Moennig, American actress

Katherine Sian Moennig, often credited as Kate Moennig, is an American actress and producer. She is best known for her role as Shane McCutcheon on The L Word (2004–2009) and its sequel The L Word: Generation Q (2019–2023). She previously gained recognition for her role as Jacqueline "Jake" Pratt in the WB series Young Americans (2000), and later had a recurring role as Lena Burnham in the Showtime crime drama Ray Donovan (2013–2019).

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29/12/1976

Kate Ford, English actress

Kate Ford is an English actress. She is known for her portrayal of Tracy Barlow in the ITV soap opera, Coronation Street.

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Filip Kuba, Czech ice hockey player

Filip Kuba is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenseman. Kuba most recently played for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Minnesota Wild, Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Ottawa Senators of the NHL.

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Danny McBride, American actor, producer and screenwriter

Daniel Richard McBride is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. Known for his unique acting and writing style, the accolades he has received include nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and four Satellite Awards.

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29/12/1975

Shawn Hatosy, American actor

Shawn Wayne Hatosy is an American actor and director. He is best known for his roles in the films In & Out (1997), The Faculty (1998), Outside Providence, Anywhere but Here, The Cooler (2003), Alpha Dog (2006), and Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (2026).

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Jaret Wright, American baseball player

Jaret Samuel Wright is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or parts of 11 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, and Baltimore Orioles, primarily as a starting pitcher.

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29/12/1974

Asheru, American rapper and producer

Gabriel C. Benn, better known as Asheru, is an American rapper, educator, and youth activist. He performed the opening and closing themes for the TV series The Boondocks.

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O'Neil Bell, Jamaican boxer (died 2015)

O'Neil Bell was a Jamaican professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2011. He held the undisputed cruiserweight title in 2006 and the lineal cruiserweight title from 2006 to 2007.

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Maria Dizzia, American actress

Maria Dizzia is an American actress. Dizzia was nominated for the 2010 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in In the Next Room .

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Twinkle Khanna, Indian actress and writer

Twinkle Khanna is an Indian actress and author. A daughter of actors Dimple Kapadia and Rajesh Khanna, she made her acting debut with a leading role in the film Barsaat (1995), which earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. After playing the leading lady in such films as Jaan (1996), Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai (1998), International Khiladi (1999), Baadshah (1999), and Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega (2001), she quit acting.

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Mahal, Filipino actress, comedian and vlogger (died 2021)

Noemi Tesorero, known professionally as Mahal, was a Filipino actress, comedian, and vlogger. Noted for her childlike roles, she had dwarfism and was said to have a very giggly personality.

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Mekhi Phifer, American actor

Mekhi Phifer is an American actor. Beginning his career in the mid-1990s, Phifer was known for a few notable roles in films including Clockers, Soul Food, High School High and I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. He also appeared in the 1998 music video for "The Boy Is Mine" by Brandy and Monica. In 2002, he had a co-starring role opposite rapper Eminem in the feature film 8 Mile. His most notable television role is that of Dr. Greg Pratt, whom he portrayed from 2002 to 2008 on NBC's long-running medical drama ER (1994–2009). From July to October 2011, he played the role of CIA officer Rex Matheson in the British–American science fiction television show, Torchwood: Miracle Day. In 2013, he became a recurring cast member during season three on the Showtime drama House of Lies. Phifer starred in the action feature film Long Gone Heroes, with Frank Grillo and Andy Garcia, in 2024.

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Richie Sexson, American baseball player and coach

Richmond Lockwood Sexson is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Seattle Mariners, and New York Yankees from 1997 to 2008. Sexson was a two-time MLB All-Star and was inducted onto the Milwaukee Brewers Wall of Honor. Sexson was also the field manager for the Windy City ThunderBolts in the West division of the Frontier League for the 2023 season.

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Ryan Shore, Canadian composer and producer

Ryan Shore is a Canadian composer, songwriter, conductor, music producer, and music director for film, television, virtual reality, records, games, concerts, and theater. He is often known from his scores for Star Wars, Scooby-Doo!, Elmo, and Go! Go! Cory Carson. He is the nephew of Academy Award winning film composer Howard Shore.

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29/12/1973

Pimp C, American rapper and producer (UGK) (died 2007)

Chad Lamont Butler, better known by his stage name Pimp C, was an American rapper and record producer. He was best known for his work with Bun B as one half of the hip-hop duo Underground Kingz (UGK).

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Theo Epstein, American businessman

Theo Nathaniel Epstein is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) executive who currently serves as a senior advisor and part-owner of Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox of MLB and Liverpool F.C. of the English Premier League, among other properties.

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Jenny Lawson, American journalist and author

Jennifer Lawson is an American journalist, author and blogger.

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29/12/1972

Andreas Dackell, Swedish ice hockey player

Andreas Lars Dackell is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player. He played for several seasons with Brynäs IF in the Swedish league Elitserien (SEL) and was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the sixth round of the 1996 NHL entry draft.

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Jason Kreis, American soccer player and manager

Jason Clarence Kreis is an American soccer coach and former player who is the director of operations and special projects for Major League Soccer side Real Salt Lake and the former head coach of the United States under-23 team. From 2021 to 2023, he also served as an assistant coach for MLS club Inter Miami. He coached Orlando City SC in Major League Soccer and was previously an assistant coach under Jürgen Klinsmann for the United States men's national soccer team. Prior to that he was the head coach of New York City FC and Real Salt Lake.

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Jude Law, English actor

David Jude Heyworth Law is an English actor. He began his career in British theatre before landing small roles in various television productions and feature films. Law gained international recognition for his role in Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and was nominated for the Academy Award in the same category.

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Leonor Varela, Chilean-American model and actress

Leonor Magdalena Varela Palma is a Chilean born actress. She played the title role in the 1999 television film Cleopatra, and vampire princess Nyssa Damaskinos in the 2002 Marvel Comics film Blade II.

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29/12/1971

Besnik Hasi, Kosovo Albanian football manager and former player

Besnik Hasi is a professional football coach and former player who manages Süper Lig club Amed SK. During his playing career, he was known for his versatility as a midfielder and his strong leadership qualities on the field. Hasi spent most of his club career playing in Belgium, where he became a key figure at Anderlecht, one of the country’s most successful teams. Born in Yugoslavia, he made 47 appearances for the Albania national team, before playing one friendly for the Kosovo national team before they applied for FIFA membership.

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Mike Pesca, American radio journalist and podcaster

Mike Pesca is an American radio journalist and podcaster based in New York City. He is the host of the daily podcast, The Gist, and the editor of Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs in Sports History.

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Um Sang-hyun, South Korean voice actor

Um Sang-hyun is a South Korean voice actor who began his career by joining Educational Broadcasting System's voice acting division in 1998.

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Margot Thien, American swimmer

Margot A. Thien is a former American competitor in synchronized swimming and an Olympic champion.

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29/12/1970

Enrico Chiesa, Italian footballer and manager

Enrico Chiesa is an Italian football coach and former striker.

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Aled Jones, Welsh singer and television host

Aled Jones is a Welsh singer, actor and radio and television presenter. As a teenage chorister, he gained widespread fame in 1985 with his recording of "Walking in the Air", which reached number five in the UK singles chart. He has since worked in television with the BBC and ITV and also on radio for the BBC and Classic FM.

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Hidetoshi Mitsusada, Japanese race car driver

Hidetoshi Mitsusada is a former racing driver and current motorsport announcer from Japan. He currently serves as a commentator for Super GT on J Sports, partnering lead announcer Sascha Boeckle on its live broadcasts.

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Glen Phillips, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Glen Phillips is an American songwriter, lyricist, singer and guitarist. He is the lead singer and songwriter of the alternative rock group Toad the Wet Sprocket and also records and performs as a solo artist.

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Kevin Weisman, American actor

Kevin Glen Weisman is an American actor. He is known for portraying Marshall Flinkman in the ABC action thriller series Alias (2001–2006), Ray Spiewack in the CBS action drama series Scorpion (2015–2017), and Ned Berring in the Amazon Prime Video legal drama series Goliath (2016). In 2017, Kevin began a three-year stint as Dale Yorkes on the Hulu series Marvel's Runaways, before starring as Lester Thompson in the 2025 NBC drama Suits LA.

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29/12/1969

Jason Cook, English footballer

Jason Peter Cook is an English former footballer who played in the Football League as a midfielder for Southend United and Colchester United.

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Jennifer Ehle, American actress

Jennifer Anne Ehle is an American-British actress who has starred in and won numerous awards for her prolific work in stage, film, and television productions. Her accolades include two Tony Awards, a BAFTA Award for Best Actress (TV), and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Motion Picture. She is widely known for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in the 1995 BBC miniseries Pride and Prejudice.

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Allan McNish, Scottish race car driver and journalist

Allan McNish is a British former racing driver, commentator and team principal from Scotland. He is a three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, for Porsche in 1998 and for Audi in 2008 and 2013. He is also a three-time American Le Mans Series champion, and won the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2013. Previously, he raced for Toyota in Formula One in 2002. He has been a co-commentator and pundit for BBC Formula One coverage on TV, radio and online. He was team principal of the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler Formula E team, and is now racing director of the Audi F1 Team.

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José Antonio Noriega, Mexican footballer

José Antonio Noriega is a Mexican former professional footballer who played 14 years for various clubs in the Primera División de México. Noriega played with seven different clubs in Mexico, his most years coming with Monterrey. Noriega played for the Mexico national team in six occasions. He currently serves as Sporting Chairman of Liga MX club Monterrey. He is commonly known by his nickname, Tato.

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Scott Patterson, American financial journalist and author

Scott Patterson is an American financial journalist and bestselling author. He is a staff reporter at The Wall Street Journal and author of Dark Pools: High-Speed Traders, A.I. Bandits, and the Threat to the Global Financial System and The New York Times bestselling book The Quants.

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29/12/1968

Li Bun-hui, North Korean table tennis player

Li Bun-hui is a former table tennis player from North Korea who competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics.

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James Mouton, American baseball player

James Raleigh Mouton is an American former professional baseball player. An outfielder, he played all or parts of eight seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1994 until 2001, for the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, Montreal Expos and Milwaukee Brewers.

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29/12/1967

Ashleigh Banfield, Canadian-American journalist

Ashleigh Dennistoun Banfield is a Canadian-American journalist and former host of Banfield on the NewsNation network. She is also a former host of Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield and Early Start on CNN.

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Chris Barnes, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Chris Barnes is an American death metal vocalist, lyricist and producer who currently serves as the frontman of Six Feet Under. Artistically, he is noted for his low guttural vocals and explicitly violent lyrics.

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Lilly Wachowski, American director, screenwriter and producer

Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski are American film and television directors, writers and producers. Together known as the Wachowskis, the sisters are both trans women and have worked as a writing and directing team throughout most of their careers. They made their directing debut with Bound (1996), and achieved fame with The Matrix (1999), a major box-office success for which they won the Saturn Award for Best Director. They wrote and directed two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, and were involved in the writing and production of other works in the Matrix franchise.

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29/12/1966

Laurent Boudouani, French boxer

Laurent Boudouani is a French former professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 1999. He held the WBA light middleweight title from 1996 to 1999 and the European light middleweight title from 1992 to 1993. As an amateur, he won a silver medal in the welterweight event at the 1988 Summer Olympics. He holds wins over five world champions such as Terry Norris, Carl Daniels, Julio Cesar Vasquez, Javier Castillejo and Guillermo Jones.

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Stefano Eranio, Italian footballer and coach

Stefano Eranio is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Throughout his career, Eranio played mainly as a right winger; he is mostly remembered for having played for Italian clubs A.C. Milan, and Genoa, as well as English side Derby County, and he also represented Italy 20 times between 1990 and 1997 at international level. He was voted one of Derby County's 11 greatest ever footballers.

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Jason Gould, American actor and singer

Jason Emanuel Gould is an American actor and singer.

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Christian Kracht, Swiss author

Christian Kracht is a Swiss author, journalist, and screenwriter.

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Jeff Luhnow, American businessman

Jeff Luhnow is a Mexican and American former baseball executive and owner of Mexican club Cancún and Leganés of Spain. He worked for the St. Louis Cardinals in their scouting department from 2003 through 2011, before joining the Houston Astros in December 2011. On January 13, 2020, Luhnow was fired by the Astros after Major League Baseball suspended him for the entire 2020 season as a result of the electronic sign-stealing scandal. Prior to working in baseball, Luhnow was a business entrepreneur.

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Danilo Pérez, Panamanian pianist and composer

Danilo Pérez is a Panamanian pianist, composer, educator, and a social activist.

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29/12/1965

Dexter Holland, American musician, singer, songwriter, and biologist

Bryan Keith "Dexter" Holland is an American musician, best known as the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, main songwriter and composer, and only constant member of the punk rock band the Offspring. He co-founded the record label Nitro Records, sold in 2013, with former bandmate Greg K. and also holds a PhD in molecular biology.

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John Newton, American actor

John Haymes Newton is an American former actor. He is known for his regular roles on the television programs Superboy as Clark Kent in the show's first season and as Ryan McBride on the soap opera Melrose Place. He is currently focused on energy healing practices.

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Martin Offiah, English rugby league player and sportscaster

Martin Nwokocha Offiah MBE ; born 29 December 1965) is an English former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. He scored over 500 tries during his rugby league career, making him the third-highest try scorer of all time. Offiah was inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame in 2013, and now features in a statue of great rugby league players outside Wembley Stadium.

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29/12/1964

Michael Cudlitz, American actor

Michael Cudlitz is an American actor and director known for portraying John Cooper in the NBC/TNT drama series Southland (2009–2013) for which he won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2013, Sergeant Denver "Bull" Randleman in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers (2001), and Sergeant Abraham Ford in the AMC horror series The Walking Dead (2014–2018).

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Josh Harris, American investor and sports team owner

Joshua Jordan Harris is an American investor and sports team owner. Harris is a co-founder of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management and managing partner of the NBA team Philadelphia 76ers, the NHL team New Jersey Devils, and the NFL team Washington Commanders. He is also a general partner of the English football club Crystal Palace and holds a minority stake in Joe Gibbs Racing. He left Apollo in 2022 to focus on Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, which he formed with David Blitzer in 2017 as a holding company for their shared sports properties.

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Shingo Tsurumi, Japanese actor

Shingo Tsurumi is a Japanese actor.

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29/12/1963

Francisco Bustamante, Filipino billiards player

Francisco Bustamante is a Filipino professional pool player from Tarlac, Central Luzon and the 2010 World Nine-ball Champion, nicknamed "Django", after the lead character of the 1966 film of the same name, and sometimes also called "Bustie", especially in the United States. Bustamante has won over 100 international titles and is considered one of the greatest pool players of all time.

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Des Foy, English rugby player

Des Foy is a former professional rugby league footballer, appearing for various teams in Britain, and Australia, and at the international level for Great Britain and Ireland.

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Ulf Kristersson, Swedish politician, Leader of the Swedish Moderate Party and 35th Prime Minister of Sweden

Ulf Hjalmar Kristersson is a Swedish politician who has served as Prime Minister of Sweden since 2022 and as Leader of the Moderate Party since 2017. He has been a Member of the Riksdag for Södermanland County since 2014, previously holding a seat for Stockholm County from 1991 to 2000. He also served as Minister for Social Security from 2010 to 2014 and as chairman of the Moderate Youth League from 1988 to 1992.

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Dave McKean, English illustrator, photographer, director, and pianist

David McKean is an English artist. His work incorporates drawing, painting, photography, collage, found objects, digital art, and sculpture. McKean has illustrated works by authors such as S.F. Said, Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Heston Blumenthal, Ray Bradbury and Stephen King. He has also directed three feature films.

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Sean Payton, American football player and coach

Patrick Sean Payton is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he served as the head coach of the New Orleans Saints from 2006 to 2021, leading the franchise to its first Super Bowl victory during the 2009 season. Payton played college football for the Eastern Illinois Panthers and played professionally in 1987 with the Chicago Bears and in 1988 overseas in Britain for the Leicester Panthers.

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Liisa Savijarvi, Canadian skier

Liisa Savijarvi is a Canadian former skier.

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29/12/1962

Leza Lowitz, American author

Leza Lowitz is an American expatriate writer residing in Tokyo, Japan and in the American Southwest. She has written, edited and co-translated over twenty books, many about Japan, its relationship with the US, on the changing role of Japanese women in literature, art and society, and about the lasting effect of the Second World War and the desire for reconciliation in contemporary Japanese society. She is also an internationally renown yoga and mindfulness teacher recognized for her work bridging poetry and the spiritual path through disciplines like yoga and mindfulness.

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Carles Puigdemont, Catalan politician and journalist, former president

Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó is a Catalan politician and journalist from Spain. He has been the President of Together for Catalonia (Junts) since 2024, having previously held the office from 2020 to 2022. He served as the 130th President of the Government of Catalonia from 2016 to 2017. His government held an independence referendum, which culminated in the unsuccessful Declaration of independence of Catalonia and his removal from office. He then served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2019 to 2024.

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Wynton Rufer, New Zealand footballer

Wynton Alan Whai Rufer is a New Zealand retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent more than a decade of his professional career in Switzerland and Germany, achieving his greatest success at Werder Bremen, where he won a total of four major titles and finished the top scorer in the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League. He was also a member of the New Zealand national team in its first FIFA World Cup appearance in 1982. He was named the Oceania Footballer of the Century by the Oceania Football Confederation.

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Devon White, Jamaican-American baseball player

Devon Markes Whyte, nicknamed "Devo", is a Jamaican former professional baseball center fielder, best known for his defensive ability at that position. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the California Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, Florida Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Milwaukee Brewers. Following his playing career, White served as the first base coach for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, and was briefly called up to the Blue Jays as first base coach in 2022.

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29/12/1961

Kevin Granata, American engineer and academic (died 2007)

Kevin P. Granata was an American professor in multiple departments including the Departments of Engineering, Science and Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, in Blacksburg, Virginia. Granata held an additional academic appointment as a professor in the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and was an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery.

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Richard Horton, English physician and journalist

Richard Charles Horton is editor-in-chief of The Lancet, a United Kingdom–based medical journal. He is an honorary professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University College London, and the University of Oslo.

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Jim Reid, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist

James McLeish Reid is a Scottish singer, songwriter and the lead singer for the alternative rock band The Jesus and Mary Chain, which he formed with his elder brother and guitarist William Reid in 1983.

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Iliya Valov, Bulgarian football player (d. 2024)

Iliya Valov was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He made 34 appearances for Bulgaria.

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29/12/1960

Katerina Didaskalou, Greek actress

Katerina Didaskalou is a Greek theatre, stage, television and film actress. She studied dramatic arts and philosophy in Athens and went on to study cinema and theater at Columbia University, on an Onassis Foundation scholarship. In 2005, she starred in Eric Rohmer's Triple Agent, as "Arsinoe", the Greek wife of a retired general of the Tsarist army. She was in the 1st and 4th seasons of the Greek soap opera Erotas ("Love"), and in the US-produced film Captain Corelli's Mandolin.

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Brian A. Hopkins, American author

Brian A. Hopkins is an American author. His works include the novel The Licking Valley Coon Hunters Club and the novellas El Dia De Los Muertos and Five Days in April, all of which received Bram Stoker Awards. He edited the Stoker-winning horror anthology Extremes 2: Fantasy and Horror from the Ends of the Earth, as well as four other Extremes anthologies. His works have also been nominated for the Nebula Awards, Theodore Sturgeon Awards, Locus Awards, and International Horror Guild Awards.

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David Boon, Australian cricketer

David Clarence Boon is an Australian cricket match referee, former cricket commentator and international cricketer whose international playing career spanned the years 1984–1996. A right-handed batsman and a very occasional off-spin bowler, he played first-class cricket for both his home state Tasmania and English county team Durham. Boon was a part of the Australian team that won their first world title during the 1987 Cricket World Cup.

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Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, Congolese militia leader, founded the Union of Congolese Patriots

Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is a convicted war criminal from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the first person convicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). He founded and led the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) and was a key player in the Ituri conflict (1999–2007). Rebels under his command have been accused of massive human rights violations, including ethnic massacres, murder, torture, rape, mutilation, and forcibly conscripting child soldiers.

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David Gilbert, Australian cricketer

David Robert Gilbert is a former Australian cricketer who played in nine Test matches and 14 One Day Internationals (ODIs) in 1985 and 1986. He played domestically for New South Wales, Gloucestershire and Tasmania.

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Michael James Pappas, American politician

Michael James Pappas is an American politician and former one term Republican congressman from New Jersey, serving from 1997 to 1999. He is currently the Township Administrator in Bridgewater, New Jersey. He was an unsuccessful candidate for State Senator in New Jersey's 16th legislative district in the 2021 and 2023 elections.

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29/12/1959

Patricia Clarkson, American actress

Patricia Davies Clarkson is an American actress. She has starred in numerous leading and supporting roles in a variety of films ranging from independent film features to major film studio productions. Her accolades include a Golden Globe Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a Tony Award.

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Keith Crossan, Irish rugby player

Keith Crossan is a former Irish rugby union international player who played as a winger for the Irish national rugby union team from 1982 to 1992. Known for his searing pace on the left wing, Crossan won 41 caps, scored 12 tries and was part of the Triple Crown-winning teams of 1982 and 1985. In the 1985 championship, Crossan scored a superb try in Cardiff and a vital try at home to England as Ireland won the championship. He also scored two tries against Canada at the 1987 Rugby World Cup. He played in two Rugby World Cups: 1987 and 1991. Crossan also played for the Barbarians against Argentina in 1990, scoring two tries.

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Ann Demeulemeester, Belgian fashion designer

Ann Verhelst, known professionally as Ann Demeulemeester, is a Belgian fashion designer whose label, Ann Demeulemeester, is mainly showcased at the annual Paris Fashion Week. She is known as one of the Antwerp Six in the fashion industry.

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Martin Moran, American actor and author

Martin Moran is an American actor and writer who grew up in Denver, Colorado.

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Milton Ottey, Jamaican-Canadian high jumper and coach

Milton Bruce Ottey is a retired Canadian high jumper who competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics and the 1988 Summer Olympics and won two Commonwealth Games gold medals.

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Paula Poundstone, American comedian and author

Paula Poundstone is an American stand-up comedian, author, actress, interviewer, and commentator. In the late 1980s, she performed the first of several HBO comedy specials. She provided backstage commentary during the 1992 presidential election on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. She is the host of the podcast Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone, which is the successor to the National Public Radio program Live from the Poundstone Institute. She is a frequent panelist on NPR's weekly news quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me, and was a recurring guest on the network's A Prairie Home Companion variety program during Garrison Keillor's years as host.

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29/12/1958

Tyrone Benskin, English-Canadian actor, theatre director and politician

Tyrone Benskin is an English-Canadian actor, theatre director and politician. He was elected Member of Parliament in the Jeanne-Le Ber riding, in Montreal, Quebec, in the 2011 Canadian federal election and served as an MP until 2015.

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Nancy J. Currie-Gregg, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut

Nancy Jane Currie-Gregg is an American engineer, United States Army officer and a NASA astronaut. Currie-Gregg has served in the United States Army for over 22 years and holds the rank of colonel. With NASA, she has participated in four space shuttle missions: STS-57, STS-70, STS-88, and STS-109, accruing 1,000 hours in space. She currently holds an appointment as a professor of practice in the Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering at Texas A&M University.

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29/12/1957

Brad Grey, American screenwriter and producer (died 2017)

Brad Alan Grey was an American television and film producer. He co-founded Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, and afterwards became the chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, a position he held from 2005 to 2017. Grey graduated from the University at Buffalo School of Management. Under Grey's leadership, Paramount finished No. 1 in global market share in 2011 and No. 2 domestically in 2008, 2009, and 2010, despite releasing significantly fewer films than its competitors. He also produced eight out of Paramount's 10 top-grossing films of all time after having succeeded Sherry Lansing in 2005.

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Oliver Hirschbiegel, German actor, director, and producer

Oliver Hirschbiegel is a German film and television director. His feature works include the award-winning Das Experiment and the Oscar-nominated film about Adolf Hitler, Downfall. His television work includes the German series 4 Blocks, Netflix's Criminal: Germany and Apple TV's Constellation.

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Paul Rudnick, American author, playwright, and screenwriter

Paul Rudnick is an American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and essayist. His plays have been produced on and off Broadway. He wrote the screenplays for Sister Act, Addams Family Values, Jeffrey, and In & Out. Rudnick also wrote film criticism under the pseudonym Libby Gelman-Waxner.

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29/12/1956

Zaki Chehab, Lebanese-British journalist

Zaki Chehab is an Arab journalist. Founder and Editor-in-Chief of ArabsToday.net, an Arabic-language news website.

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Fred MacAulay, Scottish comedian and radio host

Frederick MacAulay is a Scottish comedian. For 18 years, until March 2015, he presented a daily BBC Scotland radio programme MacAulay and Co. He has appeared on numerous TV shows.

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Katy Munger, American writer

Katy Munger, who has also written under the names Gallagher Gray and Chaz McGee, is an American mystery author known for writing the Casey Jones, Hubbert & Lil, and Dead Detective series. She is a former reviewer for The Washington Post.

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29/12/1955

Chris Goodall, English businessman and author

Christopher Frank William Goodall is an English businessman, author and expert on new energy technologies. He was the Green Party candidate for Oxford West and Abingdon in the 2024 general election, having run in the same constituency in 2010. He writes Carbon Commentary, a newsletter on global advances in clean energy. His latest book, Possible: Ways to Net Zero, was published by Profile Books in March 2024.

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Donald D. Hoffman, American quantitative psychologist and author

Donald David Hoffman is an American cognitive psychologist and popular science author. He is a professor emeritus in the Department of Cognitive Sciences at the University of California, Irvine.

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29/12/1954

Albrecht Böttcher, German mathematician

Albrecht Böttcher is a German mathematician. His field of research is functional analysis.

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Norihito, Prince Takamado of Japan (died 2002)

Norihito, Prince Takamado was a Japanese member of the Imperial House of Japan and the third son of Takahito, Prince Mikasa and Yuriko, Princess Mikasa. He was a first cousin of Emperor Akihito, and was seventh in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne at the time of his death.

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Mike Parry, English broadcaster and former journalist

Michael Alan Newton-Parry is an English broadcaster and former journalist.

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Roger Voudouris, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2003)

John Roger Voudouris was an American musician best known for his 1979 hit "Get Used to It".

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29/12/1953

Gali Atari, Israeli singer and actress

Gali Atari is an Israeli singer and actress. Atari won the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 which was held in Jerusalem, as part of the musical group Milk and Honey.

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Thomas Bach, German fencer, lawyer and sports administrator; 9th President of the International Olympic Committee

Thomas Bach is a German lawyer, sports administrator, and former foil fencer. He served as the ninth president of the International Olympic Committee, from 2013 to 2025. He was the first Olympic champion to be elected to that position, having won gold in the 1976 men's team foil. Since 2025, he has served as Honorary President of the International Olympic Committee. Bach is also a former German individual foil champion as well as a team world champion, and former member of the German Olympic Sports Confederation's executive board.

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Alan Rusbridger, Zambian-English journalist and academic

Alan Charles Rusbridger is a British journalist who served as the editor-in-chief of The Guardian from 1995 to 2015, and the Prospect magazine from 2022 to 2025. He was also the principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford.

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Kate Schmidt, American javelin thrower and coach

Kathryn Joan "Kate" Schmidt is an American former world record holder in the javelin throw. A native of California, graduate of Woodrow Wilson Classical High School, and alumnus of UCLA, she won bronze medals at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics. She qualified for the 1980 Olympics, but did not compete due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott. She placed fourth at the 1984 Olympic Trials.

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Stanley Williams, American gang leader, co-founded the Crips (died 2005)

Stanley Tookie Williams III was an American gangster who co-founded and led the Crips gang in Los Angeles. He and Raymond Washington formed an alliance in 1971 that established the Crips as Los Angeles' first major African-American street gang. During the 1970s, Williams was the de facto leader of the Crips and the prominent crime boss in South Los Angeles.

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Charlayne Woodard, American actress and playwright

Charlaine "Charlayne" Woodard is an American playwright and actress. She is a two-time Obie Award winner as well as a Tony Award and Drama Desk nominee. She was a series regular on the hit FX TV series Pose. She played the title role in the Showtime movie Run For The Dream: The Gail Devers’ Story. Starring as Cindy in the ABC Movie of the Week, Woodard was the first black Cinderella portrayed on TV or film. She is in Marvel Studios' miniseries Secret Invasion as Priscilla Fury, which premiered on June 21, 2023.

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29/12/1952

Gelsey Kirkland, American ballerina and choreographer

Gelsey Kirkland is an American prima ballerina. She received early ballet training at the School of American Ballet. Kirkland joined the New York City Ballet in 1968 at age 15, at the invitation of George Balanchine. She was promoted to soloist in 1969, and principal in 1972. She went on to create leading roles in many of the great twentieth century ballets by Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Antony Tudor, including Balanchine's revival of The Firebird, Robbins' Goldberg Variations, and Tudor's The Leaves are Fading.

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29/12/1951

Willem de Blécourt, Dutch historical anthropologist

Willem de Blécourt is a Dutch historical anthropologist specialising in the study of witchcraft and folk magic in Europe from the Late Middle Ages to the 20th century. An Honorary Research Fellow at both the Huizinga Institute and the Meertens Institute, Amsterdam, de Blécourt is also a prolific author, having edited several books on the subject. As of 2024 he became she: Yseult de Blécourt.

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Yvonne Elliman, American singer-songwriter and actress

Yvonne Marianne Elliman is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who performed for four years in the first cast of the stage musical Jesus Christ Superstar. She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved a US No. 1 hit with "If I Can't Have You". The song also reached No. 9 on the Adult Contemporary chart and number 4 on the UK Singles Chart. Her cover of Barbara Lewis's "Hello Stranger" went to No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and "Love Me" was No. 5; at the time she had three top 10 singles. After a long hiatus in the 1980s and 1990s, during which time she left music to be with her family, she made a comeback album as a singer-songwriter in 2004.

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Mike deGruy, American documentary filmmaker (died 2012)

Michael V. deGruy was an American documentary filmmaker specializing in underwater cinematography. His credits include Life in the Freezer, Trials of Life, The Blue Planet and Pacific Abyss. He was also known for his storytelling, including a passionate TED talk about his love of the ocean on the Mission Blue Voyage. His company, Film Crew Inc., specialized in underwater cinematography, filming for the BBC, PBS, National Geographic, and the Discovery Channel. His notable accomplishments include diving beneath thermal vents in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He was a member of many deep sea expeditions and was a part of the team that first filmed the vampire squid and the nautilus.

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Georges Thurston, Canadian singer-songwriter (died 2007)

Georges Thurston was a Quebec singer, author and composer and radio show host. He was known as Boule Noire since 1975 and worked in the music industry as a solo artist for nearly 30 years and as part of musical groups for five years.

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29/12/1950

Jon Polito, American actor (died 2016)

Jon Raymond Polito was an American actor. In a film and television career spanning 35 years, he amassed over 220 credits. His television roles included Detective Steve Crosetti in the first two seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street and Phil Bartoli on the first season of Crime Story. He also appeared in several films including The Rocketeer, The Crow and Gangster Squad, as well as his work with the Coen brothers. He appeared in five of their films, including Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink and The Big Lebowski. Polito also portrayed hungry i nightclub impresario Enrico Banducci in a large supporting role in Tim Burton's 2014 film Big Eyes starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz.

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29/12/1949

Syed Kirmani, Indian cricketer and actor

Syed Mujtaba Hussain Kirmani is an Indian cricketer who played cricket for India and Karnataka as a wicket-keeper. In 2016, he was awarded the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honour bestowed by BCCI on a former player. Kirmani was a member of the Indian team that won the 1983 Cricket World Cup.

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Ian Livingstone, English fantasy author and entrepreneur

Sir Ian Livingstone is an English fantasy author and entrepreneur. He co-founded Games Workshop in 1975 and helped create Eidos Interactive as executive chairman of Eidos Plc in 1995. Along with Steve Jackson, he is also the co-creator of the Fighting Fantasy series of role-playing gamebooks, and the author of many books within that series.

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David Topliss, English rugby league player and coach (died 2008)

David Topliss was an English World Cup winning professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, England and Yorkshire, at club level for Wakefield Trinity (captain), Penrith Panthers, Balmain Tigers, Hull FC (captain) and Oldham, as a stand-off. and coached at club level for Wakefield Trinity.

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29/12/1948

Jacky Clark Chisholm, American gospel singer

Jacqueline Lenita Clark-Chisholm, known professionally as Jacky Clark-Chisholm, is an American Grammy Award-winning gospel singer, songwriter, and licensed practical nurse who is best known as the eldest member of the American gospel singing group The Clark Sisters.

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Peter Robinson, Northern Irish politician, 3rd First Minister of Northern Ireland

Peter David Robinson is a retired Northern Irish politician who served as First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2008 until 2016 and Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 2008 until 2015. Until his retirement in 2016, Robinson was involved in Northern Irish politics for over 40 years, being a founding member of the DUP along with Ian Paisley.

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29/12/1947

Richard Crandall, American physicist and computer scientist (died 2012)

Richard E. Crandall was an American physicist and computer scientist who made contributions to computational number theory.

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Ted Danson, American actor and producer

Edward Bridge Danson III is an American actor. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom Cheers (1982–1993), for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. He was further Emmy-nominated for the FX legal drama Damages (2007–2010) and the NBC comedy The Good Place (2016–2020). He received the 2025 Carol Burnett Award.

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Leonhard Lapin, Estonian architect and poet (died 2022)

Leonhard Lapin, also known under the pseudonym Albert Trapeež, was an Estonian architect, artist, architecture historian, and poet.

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Cozy Powell, English drummer, songwriter, and producer (died 1998)

Cozy Powell was an English drummer who made his name with major rock bands and artists such as The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Gary Moore, Graham Bonnet, Brian May, Whitesnake, Emerson, Lake & Powell, and Black Sabbath.

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David Tanner, English rower and coach

Sir David Whitlock Tanner CBE was the performance director for the British Rowing Team until February 2018. He has assisted the team to Olympic success from the 1984 Los Angeles games to the 2016 Rio games. This success has been paralleled by success in the World Rowing Championships.

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Vincent Winter, Scottish actor, director, and production manager (died 1998)

Vincent Winter was a Scottish child film actor who, as an adult, continued to work in the film industry as a production manager and in other capacities. He was an assistant director and actor, known for Superman (1978), The Little Kidnappers (1953) and Superman III (1983). He died on 2 November 1998 in Chertsey, Surrey, England, UK.

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29/12/1946

Marianne Faithfull, English singer-songwriter and actress (died 2025)

Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull was an English singer-songwriter and actress who achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her UK top 10 single "As Tears Go By". She became one of the leading female artists of the British Invasion in the United States.

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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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Paul Trible, American attorney, politician and academic administrator

Paul Seward Trible Jr. is an American attorney, politician and academic administrator. Trible was the president of Christopher Newport University from 1996 until his retirement in 2022. A Republican, he represented Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives for three terms and the U.S. Senate for one. Trible was the first Republican Class I senator from Virginia.

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Jackie Bezos, American philanthropist (died 2025)

Jacklyn Bezos was an American businesswoman. She was the mother of Jeff and Mark Bezos. She provided the initial investment to launch Amazon.com and was a philanthropist as co-founder and president of the Bezos Family Foundation.

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29/12/1945

Birendra of Nepal, King of Nepal from 1972 to 2001 (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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Keith Milow, British artist

Keith Milow is a British artist. He grew up in Baldock, Hertfordshire, and lived in New York City (1980–2002) and Amsterdam (2002–2014), now lives in London. He is an abstract sculptor, painter and printmaker. His work has been characterised as architectural, monumental, procedural, enigmatic and poetical.

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29/12/1944

Andrew Foster, British public servant

Sir Andrew William Foster, KBE is a British public servant who was knighted in 2001 for his services to the health and government services.

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Rodney Redmond, New Zealand cricketer

Rodney Ernest Redmond is a New Zealand former international cricketer. He is the father of Aaron Redmond, also a New Zealand international.

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Gerard Windsor, Australian author and literary critic

Gerard Charles Windsor is an Australian author and literary critic.

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29/12/1943

Bill Aucoin, American talent manager (died 2010)

William Martin Aucoin was an American band manager, known for his work with the rock band Kiss and Billy Idol.

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Molly Bang, American author and illustrator

Molly Garrett Bang is an American illustrator. For her illustration of children's books she has been a runner-up for the American Caldecott Medal three times and for the British Greenaway Medal once. Announced June 2015, her 1996 picture book Goose is the 2016 Phoenix Picture Book Award winner – that is, named by the Children's Literature Association the best English-language children's picture book that did not win a major award when it was published twenty years earlier.

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Rick Danko, Canadian singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (died 1999)

Richard Clare Danko was a Canadian musician, bassist, songwriter, and singer, best known as a founding member of the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

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29/12/1942

Dinah Christie, English-Canadian actress and singer

Dinah Barbara Christie was a Canadian actress and singer, best known for her regular appearances in Canadian television variety entertainment shows.

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Rajesh Khanna, Indian actor (died 2012)

Rajesh Khanna was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. Regarded as one of the greatest and most successful actors in the history of Indian cinema, he is considered the first Superstar of Hindi cinema. His accolades include five Filmfare Awards, and in 2013, he was posthumously awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour.

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Dorothy Morkis, American equestrian

Dorothy Sarkis Morkis is an American equestrian who won a bronze medal for America in team dressage aboard her white gelding Monaco in the 1976 Montreal Olympics where she had the highest individual dressage score of any American Dressage Team competitor. In one of her mount Monaco's best showings, she won a gold medal in team and a bronze medal in individual dressage in the 1975 Mexico City Pan Am games. She continued to compete in high level dressage intermittently through the 1980s and 1990s and later taught dressage to students.

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Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga, Honduran cardinal

Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, S.D.B. is a Honduran prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Tegucigalpa from 1993 to 2023. He was president of Caritas Internationalis and served as president of the Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM) from 1995 to 1999.

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29/12/1941

Ray Thomas, English singer-songwriter and flute player (died 2018)

Raymond Thomas was an English musician, singer and songwriter. He was best known as a founding member of the English progressive rock band the Moody Blues. His flute solo on the band's 1967 hit single "Nights in White Satin" is regarded as one of progressive rock's defining moments. In 2018, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Moody Blues.

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29/12/1940

Fred Hansen, American pole vaulter

Frederick Morgan Hansen is an American former athlete who competed mainly in the pole vault.

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29/12/1939

Ed Bruce, American country music singer-songwriter (died 2021)

William Edwin Bruce Jr. was an American country music songwriter, singer, and actor. He was known for writing the 1975 song "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" and recording the 1982 country number-one hit "You're the Best Break This Old Heart Ever Had". He also co-starred in the television series Bret Maverick with James Garner during the 1981–1982 season.

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29/12/1938

Harvey Smith, English horse rider and sportscaster

Harvey John Smith is a retired British show jumping champion. He stood out from the ranks of showjumpers because of his broad accent and blunt manner. His career was often controversial: in 1971 he was disciplined after he gave a "V sign" to the judges following a near-perfect round which won him the British Show Jumping Derby for the second year in succession; this act also earned him a 'tongue-in-cheek' part in an advertisement for Victory V sweets with the slogan 'They've got a kick like a mule!' The expression "Doing a Harvey Smith" entered the English language for giving a V sign.

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Jon Voight, American actor and producer

Jonathan Paul Voight is an American actor. Throughout his career, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and four Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations for four Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. Films in which Voight has appeared have grossed more than $5.2 billion worldwide.

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29/12/1937

Wayne Huizenga, American businessman, founded AutoNation (died 2018)

Harry Wayne Huizenga Sr. was an American businessman. He founded AutoNation and Waste Management, Inc., and was the owner or co-owner of Blockbuster Video, Republic Services, the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL), the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL), and the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB).

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Barbara Steele, English actress

Barbara Steele is an English actress and producer, known for starring in Italian gothic horror films of the 1960s. She has been referred to as the "Queen of All Scream Queens" and "Britain's first lady of horror". She played the dual role of Asa and Katia Vajda in Mario Bava's film Black Sunday (1960), and starred in The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (1962), The Long Hair of Death (1964), and Castle of Blood (1964).

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29/12/1936

Mary Tyler Moore, American actress and producer (died 2017)

Mary Tyler Moore was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her television roles on The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966) and The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977), which "helped define a new vision of American womanhood" and "appealed to an audience facing the new trials of modern-day existence". She won seven Primetime Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and two Tony Awards.

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Ray Nitschke, American football player (died 1998)

Raymond Ernest Nitschke was an American professional football player who spent his entire 15-year career as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) with the Green Bay Packers. Enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1978, he was the anchor of the defense for head coach Vince Lombardi in the 1960s, leading the Packers to five NFL championships and victories in the first two Super Bowls.

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29/12/1934

Ed Flanders, American actor (died 1995)

Edward Paul Flanders was an American actor. He is best known for playing Dr. Donald Westphall in the medical drama series St. Elsewhere (1982–1988). Flanders was nominated for eight Primetime Emmy Awards and won three times in 1976, 1977, and 1983.

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29/12/1933

Samuel Brittan, English journalist and author (died 2020)

Sir Samuel Brittan was an English journalist and author. He was the first economics correspondent for the Financial Times, and later a long-time columnist. He was a member of the Academic Advisory Council of the Global Warming Policy Foundation.

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29/12/1932

Inga Swenson, American actress and singer (died 2023)

Inga Swenson was an American actress and singer. She appeared in multiple Broadway productions and was nominated twice for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performances as Lizzie Curry in 110 in the Shade and Irene Adler in Baker Street. She also spent seven years portraying Gretchen Kraus in the ABC comedy series Benson.

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29/12/1931

Yi Ku, Korean prince (died 2005)

Yi Ku was a Korean prince who was head of the House of Yi from 1970 until 2005. He was a grandson of Emperor Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. Through Kuni Asahiko his maternal great-grandfather, Ku was a second-cousin to Emperor Emeritus Akihito of Japan.

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Stasys Stonkus, Lithuanian basketball player and coach (died 2012)

Stanislovas "Stasys" Stonkus was a Soviet and Lithuanian basketball player who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1952 Summer Olympics and in the 1956 Summer Olympics. He was born in Telšiai. In 1954, he graduated from the Lithuanian National Physical Education Institute. He trained at VSS Žalgiris in Kaunas.

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29/12/1929

Matt Murphy, American guitarist (died 2018)

Matthew Tyler Murphy, known as Matt "Guitar" Murphy, was an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was associated with Memphis Slim, The Blues Brothers and Howlin' Wolf. In 2012, Murphy was elected to the Blues Hall of Fame.

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29/12/1928

Bernard Cribbins, British actor (died 2022)

Bernard Joseph Cribbins was an English actor and singer whose career spanned over eight decades.

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29/12/1927

Andy Stanfield, American sprinter (died 1985)

Andrew William Stanfield was an American sprinter and Olympic gold and silver medallist.

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29/12/1925

Pete Dye, American golfer and architect (died 2020)

Paul Dye Jr., commonly referred to as Pete Dye, was an American golf course designer and a member of a family of course designers. He was married to fellow designer and amateur champion Alice Dye.

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29/12/1924

Joe Allbritton, American businessman and publisher, founded the Allbritton Communications Company (died 2012)

Joe Lewis Allbritton was an American banker, publisher and philanthropist.

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Kim Song-ae, Korean politician (died 2014)

Kim Song-ae, born Kim Sŏngp'al (김성팔), was a North Korean politician who served as the first lady of North Korea during the time that the position existed, from 1963 to 1974. She was the second wife of North Korea's founder, Kim Il Sung from their marriage in 1952 until his death in 1994.

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29/12/1923

Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat, French mathematician and physicist (died 2025)

Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat was a French mathematical physicist now best remembered for her investigation of the mathematics of general relativity. Her proof that the Einstein field equations can be expressed as a well-posed initial-value problem was listed by the journal Classical and Quantum Gravity as one of thirteen "milestone" results in general relativity in an issue published in the centennial anniversary of its birth in 2015. She also studied non-Abelian gauge theory, relativistic hydrodynamics, and supergravity.

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Cheikh Anta Diop, Senegalese historian, anthropologist, and physicist (died 1986)

Cheikh Anta Diop was a Senegalese historian, anthropologist, physicist, and politician who studied the human race's origins and pre-colonial African culture. Diop's work is considered foundational to the theory of Afrocentricity, though he himself never described himself as an Afrocentrist. The questions he posed about cultural bias in scientific research contributed greatly to the postcolonial turn in the study of African civilizations.

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Lily Ebert, Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor (died 2024)

Lily Ebert was a Hungarian-born British writer and Holocaust survivor, who in her later life became notable for her memoir, and social media videos and media appearances documenting her life as a survivor of the genocide.

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Morton Estrin, American pianist and educator (died 2017)

Morton Estrin was an American classical pianist and teacher.

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Dina Merrill, American actress, game show panelist, socialite, heiress, and businesswoman (died 2017)

Dina Merrill was an American actress. She had more than a hundred film and television credits from the late 1950s until the 2000s.

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Shlomo Venezia, Greek-Italian author and Holocaust survivor (died 2012)

Shlomo Venezia was a Greek-born Italian Jew. He was a survivor of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

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29/12/1922

Little Joe Cook, American singer-songwriter (died 2014)

Joseph Cook, known as Little Joe Cook, was an American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer of Little Joe & The Thrillers, whose song "Peanuts" reached No. 22 on the Billboard Top 100 and No. 4 in Canada in 1957.

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William Gaddis, American author and academic (died 1998)

William Thomas Gaddis Jr. was an American novelist. The first and longest of his five novels, The Recognitions, was named one of TIME magazine's 100 best novels from 1923 to 2005 and two others, J R and A Frolic of His Own, won the annual U.S. National Book Award for Fiction. A collection of his essays was published posthumously as The Rush for Second Place (2002). The Letters of William Gaddis was published by Dalkey Archive Press in February 2013.

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29/12/1921

Robert C. Baker, American inventor and professor (died 2006)

Robert Carl Baker was an American food science professor. He invented the chicken nugget as well as many other poultry-related inventions. For his contributions to poultry sciences, he was inducted into the American Poultry Hall of Fame.

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Dobrica Ćosić, Serbian politician, 1st President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (died 2014)

Dobrica Ćosić was a Yugoslav and Serbian writer, politician and political theorist.

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Michael Horne, English structural engineer, scientist and academic (died 2000)

Michael Rex Horne was an English structural engineer, scientist and academic who pioneered the theory of the Plastic Design of Structures.

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29/12/1920

Viveca Lindfors, Swedish-American actress, singer and poet (died 1995)

Elsa Viveca Torstensdotter Lindfors was a Swedish-American stage, film, and television actress. She won an Emmy Award and a Silver Bear for Best Actress.

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29/12/1919

Alfred de Grazia, American political scientist and author (died 2014)

Alfred de Grazia, born in Chicago, Illinois, was a political scientist and author. He developed techniques of computer-based social network analysis in the 1950s, developed new ideas about personal digital archives in the 1970s, and defended the catastrophism thesis of Immanuel Velikovsky.

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Roman Vlad, Italian pianist and composer (died 2013)

Roman Vlad was a Romanian-born Italian composer, pianist, and musicologist.

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29/12/1917

Tom Bradley, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 38th Mayor of Los Angeles (died 1998)

Thomas Bradley was an American politician, athlete, police officer, and lawyer who served as the 38th mayor of Los Angeles from 1973 to 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, he was Los Angeles' first black mayor, first liberal mayor, and longest-serving mayor.

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Ramanand Sagar, Indian director and producer (died 2005)

Ramanand Sagar was an Indian film-television director, producer, and writer. He is best known for writing and directing television serials Ramayan (1987–1988), Luv Kush (1988–1989) and Shri Krishna (1993–1999), which broke several viewership records globally.

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29/12/1915

Bill Osmanski, American football player and coach (died 1996)

William Thomas Osmanski, nicknamed "Bullet Bill", was an American professional football player who was a fullback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He was briefly a head coach after his playing career. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and in 1977 he was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.

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Robert Ruark, American hunter and author (died 1965)

Robert Ruark was an American author, syndicated columnist, and big game hunter.

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Jo Van Fleet, American actress (died 1996)

Jo Van Fleet was an American stage, film, and television actress. During her long career, which spanned over four decades, she often played characters much older than her actual age. Van Fleet won a Tony Award in 1954 for her performance in the Broadway production The Trip to Bountiful, and the next year she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in East of Eden.

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29/12/1914

Zainul Abedin, Bangladeshi painter and academic (died 1976)

Zainul Abedin, also known as Shilpacharya was a Bangladeshi painter. He became well known in 1944 through his series of paintings depicting some of the great famines in Bengal during its British colonial period. After the Partition of Indian subcontinent he moved to East Pakistan. In 1948, he helped to establish the Institute of Arts and Crafts at the University of Dhaka. The Indian Express has described him as a legendary Bangladeshi painter and activist. Like many of his contemporaries, his paintings on the Bengal famine of 1943 are viewed as his most characteristic works. His homeland honored him with the title "Shilpacharya" "Great teacher of the arts" for his artistic and visionary attributes. He was the pioneer of the modern art movement that took place in Bangladesh and was rightly considered by Syed Manzoorul Islam as the founding father of Bangladeshi modern arts, soon after Bangladesh became an independent republic.

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Billy Tipton, American pianist and saxophonist (died 1989)

Billy Lee Tipton was an American jazz musician, bandleader, and talent broker. He is notable for having been posthumously outed as a transgender man.

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Albert Tucker, Australian painter and illustrator (died 1999)

Albert Lee Tucker was an Australian artist and member of the Heide Circle, a group of modernist artists and writers associated with Heide, the Melbourne home of art patrons John and Sunday Reed. Along with Heide Circle members such as Sidney Nolan and Arthur Boyd, Tucker became associated with the Angry Penguins art movement, named after a publication founded by poet Max Harris and published by the Reeds.

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29/12/1911

Klaus Fuchs, German physicist and spy (died 1988)

Klaus Emil Julius Fuchs was a German theoretical physicist, atomic spy, and communist who supplied information from the American, British, and Canadian Manhattan Project to the Soviet Union during and shortly after World War II. While at the Los Alamos Laboratory, Fuchs was responsible for many significant theoretical calculations relating to the first nuclear weapons and, later, early models of the hydrogen bomb. After his conviction in 1950, he served nine years in prison in the United Kingdom, then migrated to East Germany where he resumed his career as a physicist and scientific leader.

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29/12/1910

Ronald Coase, English-American economist, author, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2013)

Ronald Harry Coase was a British economist and author. Coase was educated at the London School of Economics, where he was a member of the faculty until 1951. He was the Clifton R. Musser Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Law School, where he arrived in 1964 and remained for the rest of his life. He received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1991.

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29/12/1908

Helmut Gollwitzer, German theologian and author (died 1993)

Helmut Gollwitzer was a German Protestant (Lutheran) theologian and author.

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Magnus Pyke, English scientist and author (died 1992)

Magnus Alfred Pyke was an English nutritional scientist, governmental scientific adviser, writer and presenter. He worked for the UK Ministry of Food, the post-war Allied Commission for Austria, and different food manufacturers. He wrote prolifically and became famous as a TV and radio personality, and was featured on Thomas Dolby's 1982 synth-pop hit, "She Blinded Me with Science".

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29/12/1904

Kuvempu, Indian author and poet (died 1994)

Kuppalli Venkatappa Puttappa, popularly known by his pen name Kuvempu, was an Indian poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He is widely regarded as the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century. He was the first Kannada writer to receive the Jnanpith Award.

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29/12/1903

Candido Portinari, Brazilian painter (died 1962)

Candido Portinari was a Brazilian painter. He is considered one of the most important Brazilian painters as well as a prominent and influential practitioner of the neo-realism style in painting.

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29/12/1902

Nels Stewart, Canadian ice hockey player (died 1957)

Robert Nelson "Old Poison" Stewart was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for the Montreal Maroons, New York Americans and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League. He is an Honoured Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was the first player to win the NHL's Hart Trophy multiple times, and is considered the NHL's greatest goalscorer in the pre-World War II era, holding the league record for career goals from 1937 to 1952.

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29/12/1899

Nie Rongzhen, Chinese general and politician, Mayor of Beijing (died 1992)

Nie Rongzhen was a Marshal of the People's Republic of China. He died as the last People's Liberation Army (PLA) marshal.

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29/12/1896

David Alfaro Siqueiros, Mexican painter (died 1974)

David Alfaro Siqueiros was a Mexican social realist painter, best known for his large public murals using the latest in equipment, materials and technique. Along with Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, he was one of the most famous of the "Mexican muralists".

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29/12/1895

Oswald Freisler, German lawyer and author (died 1939)

Oswald Freisler was a lawyer in Nazi Germany and the younger brother of Roland Freisler, who a few years after Oswald's death became the Judge President of the People's Court.

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29/12/1894

J. Lister Hill, American politician (died 1984)

Joseph Lister Hill was an American attorney and Democratic Party politician who represented Alabama in the United States House of Representatives from 1923 to 1938 and the United States Senate from 1938 to 1969.

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29/12/1892

Aku Korhonen, Finnish actor (died 1960)

August ”Aku” Aleksander Korhonen was a Finnish theatre and film actor. During his career, he appeared in 76 films and received three Jussi Awards.

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29/12/1886

Norman Hallows, English runner and captain (died 1968)

Norman Frederick Hallows was an English middle-distance runner who competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics.

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Georg Hermann Struve, German astronomer (died 1933)

Georg Otto Hermann Struve was a German astronomer from the Struve family and the son of Hermann Struve.

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29/12/1885

Roman von Ungern-Sternberg, Austrian-Russian general (died 1921)

Baron Nikolai Robert Maximilian Freiherr von Ungern-Sternberg, often referred to as Roman von Ungern-Sternberg or Baron Ungern, was a Russian military leader in the Russian Civil War and then an independent warlord who intervened in Mongolia against China.

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29/12/1881

Scott Leary, American swimmer (died 1958)

John Scott Leary was an American freestyle swimmer who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri. He won a silver medal in the 50-yard freestyle and a bronze in the 100-yard freestyle. Leary is widely acclaimed for helping to introduce his use of the Australian crawl to American swimming spectators and competitors and for breaking the world record in the 100-yard swim in July, 1905, with a time of 60 seconds.

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Jess Willard, American boxer (died 1968)

Jess Myron Willard was an American world heavyweight boxing champion billed as the Pottawatomie Giant. He won the world heavyweight title in 1915 by knocking out Jack Johnson.

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29/12/1879

Billy Mitchell, American general and pilot (died 1936)

William Lendrum Mitchell was a United States Army officer who had a major role in the creation of the United States Air Force.

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29/12/1876

Pablo Casals, Catalan cellist and conductor (died 1973)

Pablo Casals, also known by his birth name, Pau Casals i Defilló, was a Catalan cellist, composer, and conductor, born in Spain. He made many recordings throughout his career of solo, chamber, and orchestral music, including some as conductor, but he is perhaps best remembered for the recordings he made of the Cello Suites by Bach.

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Lionel Tertis, English violist (died 1975)

Lionel Tertis, CBE was an English violist. A noted teacher, he was one of the first viola players to achieve international fame.

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29/12/1874

François Brandt, Dutch rower and bishop (died 1949)

François Antoine Brandt was a Dutch rower who competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. Brandt was part of the Dutch eight team that won a bronze medal with Hermanus Brockmann as the coxswain. Brockmann also steered the boat of Brandt and Roelof Klein in the coxed pairs semifinal, which they lost to France. The pair realized that the 60 kg weight of Brockmann puts them in disadvantage; they replaced him with a local boy of 33 kg and won the final narrowly beating the French team.

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29/12/1870

Earl Gregg Swem, American historian, bibliographer and librarian (died 1965)

Earl Gregg Swem was an American historian, bibliographer and librarian. Swem worked at the Library of Congress and Virginia State Library, and for more than two decades was primary librarian at the College of William & Mary, where the Earl Gregg Swem Library was named in his honor.

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29/12/1859

Venustiano Carranza, Mexican soldier and politician, 37th President of Mexico (died 1920)

José Venustiano Carranza de la Garza, known as Venustiano Carranza, was a Mexican land owner, revolutionary, and politician who served as the 44th President of Mexico from 1917 until his assassination in 1920, during the Mexican Revolution. He was previously Mexico's de facto head of state as Primer Jefe of the Constitutionalist faction from 1914 to 1917, and previously served as a senator and governor for Coahuila. He played the leading role in drafting the Constitution of 1917 and maintained Mexican neutrality in World War I.

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29/12/1857

Sydney Young, English chemist (died 1937)

Sydney Young, was an English chemist.

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29/12/1856

Thomas Joannes Stieltjes, Dutch-French mathematician and academic (died 1894)

Thomas Joannes Stieltjes was a Dutch mathematician. He was a pioneer in the field of moment problems and contributed to the study of continued fractions. The Thomas Stieltjes Institute for Mathematics at Leiden University, dissolved in 2011, was named after him, as is the Riemann–Stieltjes integral.

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29/12/1855

August Kitzberg, Estonian author and poet (died 1927)

August Kitzberg was an Estonian writer.

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29/12/1844

Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee, Indian barrister and first president of Indian National Congress (died 1906)

Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee was an Indian independence activist and barrister who practised in England. He was a secretary of the London Indian Society founded by Dadabhai Naoroji in 1865. He was one of the founders and the first president of Indian National Congress in 1885 at Bombay, serving again as president in 1892 at Allahabad. Bonnerjee financed the British Committee of Congress and its journals in London. Along with Naoroji, Eardley Norton and William Digby he started the Congress Political Agency, a branch of Congress in London. He unsuccessfully contested the 1892 United Kingdom general election as a Liberal party candidate for the Barrow and Furness seat. In 1893, Naoroji, Bonnerjee and Badruddin Tyabji founded the Indian Parliamentary Committee in England.

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29/12/1843

Elisabeth of Wied (died 1916)

Elisabeth of Wied was the first Queen of Romania as the wife of King Carol I from 15 March 1881 to 27 September 1914. She had been the princess consort of Romania since her marriage to then-Prince Carol on 15 November 1869.

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29/12/1816

Carl Ludwig, German physician and physiologist (died 1895)

Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig was a German physician and physiologist. His work as both a researcher and teacher had a major influence on the understanding, methods and apparatus used in almost all branches of physiology.

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29/12/1811

Francisco Palau, Catalan Discalced Carmelite friar and priest (died 1872)

Francisco Palau y Quer, OCD was a Catalan Discalced Carmelite priest.

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29/12/1809

George Washington Baines, American politician, journalist and educator (died 1882)

George Washington Baines was an American politician, Baptist preacher, journalist, slaveowner, and educator. He was a co-founder, professor of natural science, and the third president of Baylor University, while the university was located in Independence, Texas, during the American Civil War.

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William Ewart Gladstone, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1898)

William Ewart Gladstone was a British statesman who served four times as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He began in politics as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Newark and ended as the face of the Liberal Party. His four non-consecutive terms — the most of any British prime minister — took place between 1868 and 1894. He also served four times as Chancellor of the Exchequer, five times as Leader of the House of Commons, and MP for over 60 years, from 1832 to 1845 and from 1847 to 1895, representing a total of five constituencies. His political career thus spanned nearly the entire Victorian era.

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Albert Pike, American author, poet, orator, editor, lawyer, jurist, and general (died 1891)

Albert Pike was an American author, poet, orator, editor, lawyer, jurist and Confederate States Army general who served as an associate justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court in exile from 1864 to 1865. He had previously served as a senior officer of the Confederate States Army, commanding the District of Indian Territory in the Trans-Mississippi Theater. A prominent member of the Freemasons, Pike served as the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council, Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction from 1859 to 1891.

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29/12/1808

Andrew Johnson, American general and politician, 17th President of the United States (died 1875)

Andrew Johnson was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a War Democrat who ran with Lincoln on the National Union Party ticket in the 1864 presidential election, coming to office as the American Civil War concluded. Johnson favored quick restoration of the seceded states to the Union without protection for the newly freed people who were formerly enslaved, as well as pardoning ex-Confederates. This led to conflict with the Republican Party-dominated U.S. Congress, culminating in his impeachment by the House of Representatives in 1868. He was acquitted in the Senate by one vote.

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29/12/1804

John Langdon Sibley, American librarian (died 1885)

John Langdon Sibley was the librarian of Harvard University from 1856 to 1877.

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29/12/1800

Charles Goodyear, American chemist and engineer (died 1860)

Charles Goodyear was an American self-taught chemist and manufacturing engineer who developed vulcanized rubber, for which he received patent number 3633 from the United States Patent Office on June 15, 1844.

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29/12/1796

Johann Christian Poggendorff, German physicist and journalist (died 1877)

Johann Christian Poggendorff was a German physicist born in Hamburg. Poggendorff is best known for his work related to electricity and magnetism, most notably the electrostatic motor which is analogous to Wilhelm Holtz's electrostatic machine. In 1841 he described the use of the potentiometer for measurement of electrical potentials without current draw.

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29/12/1788

Christian Jürgensen Thomsen, Danish antiquarian (died 1865)

Christian Jürgensen Thomsen was a Danish antiquarian who developed early archaeological techniques and methods.

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29/12/1766

Charles Macintosh, Scottish chemist and the inventor of waterproof fabric (died 1843)

Charles Macintosh FRS was a Scottish chemist and the inventor of the modern waterproof raincoat. The Mackintosh raincoat is named after him.

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29/12/1746

Saverio Cassar, Maltese priest and rebel leader (died 1805)

Saverio Cassar was a Gozitan priest and patriot, who was Governor-general of an independent Gozo from 1798 to 1801.

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29/12/1721

Madame de Pompadour, mistress of King Louis XV (died 1764)

Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and remained influential as court favourite until her death.

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29/12/1709

Elizabeth Petrovna, Russian empress (died 1762)

Elizabeth or Elizaveta Petrovna was Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian monarchs because of her decision not to execute a single person during her reign, her numerous construction projects, and her strong opposition to Prussian policies. She was the last person on the agnatic line of the Romanovs as her nephew ascended, thus creating the house of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov.

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29/12/1633

Johannes Zollikofer, Swiss vicar (died 1692)

Johannes Zollikofer was a Swiss reformed vicar.

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29/12/1550

García de Silva Figueroa, Spanish diplomat and traveller (died 1624)

Don García de Silva Figueroa was a Spanish diplomat, and the first Western traveller to correctly identify the ruins of Takht-e Jamshid in Persia as the location of Persepolis, the ancient capital of the Achaemenid Empire and one of the great cities of antiquity.

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29/12/1536

Henry VI, German nobleman (died 1572)

Henry VI of Plauen was Burgrave of Meissen, Lord of Plauen and Lord of Schleiz and Lobenstein.

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