Born on Sunday, 1st February – Famous Birthdays

On this day, 201 notable people were born on 1st February — spanning from 1261 to 2002. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.

Sunday, 1st February 2026 marks a significant date in the calendar of notable births spanning centuries. Among the individuals born on this day, Harry Styles, the English singer-songwriter and actor, arrived in 1994, establishing himself as a prominent figure in contemporary music and entertainment. Giuseppe Rossi, the Italian footballer born in 1987, has also made his mark in professional sport. Further back in history, Emilio Segrè, the Italian-American physicist who won the Nobel Prize, was born on this date in 1905, contributing substantially to advances in nuclear physics during the twentieth century.

The list of notable people born on 1st February extends through various disciplines and generations. From entertainment and sport to politics and academia, the date has witnessed the births of individuals who would go on to shape their respective fields. Classical figures such as Hugo von Hofmannsthal, the Austrian author and playwright born in 1874, and contemporary personalities like Julia Garner, the American actress born in 1994, demonstrate the breadth of achievement across different eras.

On this Sunday in February, the weather conditions and environmental factors create a specific atmospheric context. The Aquarius zodiac sign governs those born on this date, whilst the waning crescent moon phase characterises the lunar cycle at this particular moment in the calendar.

DayAtlas provides comprehensive information about weather patterns, historical events, notable births and deaths for any chosen date and location, making it a valuable resource for those researching specific calendar days.

Discover who was born today 6th April.

01/02/2002

Brian Brobbey, Dutch footballer

Brian Ebenezer Adjei Brobbey is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Sunderland and the Netherlands national team.


01/02/2000

Talanoa Hufanga, American football player

Talanoa Hufanga is an American professional football safety for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL draft.


01/02/1999

Mohamed Abdelmonem, Egyptian footballer

Mohamed Abdelmonem El-Sayed Mohamed Ahmed is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Ligue 1 club Nice and the Egypt national team.


01/02/1997

Drew Eubanks, American basketball player

Drew Eubanks is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oregon State Beavers.


Jihyo, South Korean singer

Park Ji-hyo, known mononymously as Jihyo, is a South Korean singer. She is the leader and vocalist of the South Korean girl group Twice, formed by JYP Entertainment in 2015.


01/02/1996

Ahmad Abughaush, Jordanian taekwondo athlete

Ahmad Abughaush is a Jordanian taekwondo athlete. He won the gold medal in the 68 kg category at the 2016 Olympics. This was Jordan's first Olympic medal in any sport, excluding a bronze in 1988 when taekwondo was a demonstration sport.


Doyoung, South Korean singer

Kim Dong-young, known professionally as Doyoung (Korean: 도영), is a South Korean singer, actor, and host. He is a member of the South Korean boy band NCT through the sub-units NCT 127 and NCT DoJaeJung.


01/02/1994

Anna-Lena Friedsam, German tennis player

Anna-Lena Friedsam is a German professional tennis player. She reached her best singles ranking of world No. 45 in August 2016. In doubles, she peaked at No. 34 in September 2020. She has won four doubles titles on the WTA Tour, one WTA 125 singles title as well as 13 singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. Friedsam also reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam, at the 2016 Australian Open.


Julia Garner, American actress

Julia Garner is an American actress. She gained recognition for playing Ruth Langmore in the Netflix crime drama series Ozark (2017–2022), for which she received critical acclaim and won three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.


Harry Styles, English singer-songwriter and actor

Harry Edward Styles is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His showmanship, artistry, and flamboyant fashion have had a significant impact on popular culture.


01/02/1993

Diego Mella, Italian footballer

Diego Mella is an Italian footballer who plays as a forward for Varesina.


01/02/1992

Sean Manaea, American baseball player

Sean Anthony Manaea is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, and San Francisco Giants. Manaea played college baseball for the Indiana State Sycamores. He made his MLB debut in 2016 with the Athletics.


01/02/1991

Blake Austin, Australian rugby league player

Blake Austin is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a stand-off for The Entrance Tigers in the Central Coast Division Rugby League in NSW, Australia.


01/02/1990

Tyler Myers, American-Canadian ice hockey player

Tyler Paul Myers is a Canadian–American professional ice hockey player who is a defenceman for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the first round, 12th overall, in the 2008 NHL entry draft. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Myers won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's best rookie. Standing at 6 ft 8 in (203 cm) tall, he is one of the tallest active players in the NHL, and was nicknamed "The Big Easy" or "Big Tex" when he started his NHL career, because he was born in Houston. After moving to Vancouver, Myers earned the nickname "Chaos Giraffe" from fans, though he has since distanced himself from the nickname after moving to Dallas.


01/02/1989

Ricky Pinheiro, Portuguese footballer

Ricardo "Ricky" Soares Pinheiro is a Portuguese footballer who plays for SV Morlautern.


01/02/1988

Brett Anderson, American baseball player

Brett Franklin Anderson is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2009 to 2021 for the Oakland Athletics, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, and Milwaukee Brewers.


01/02/1987

Sebastian Boenisch, Polish footballer

Sebastian Boenisch is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a full-back.


Moises Henriques, Portuguese-Australian cricketer

Moisés Constantino Henriques is an Australian international cricketer who plays for Australia, New South Wales and the Sydney Sixers. An all-rounder, he is the first cricketer born in Portugal to play for Australia in an international match.


Austin Jackson, American baseball player

Austin Jarriel Jackson is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, and New York Mets. Prior to playing professionally, he attended Billy Ryan High School.


Heather Morris, American actress, singer, and dancer

Heather Elizabeth Morris is an American actress, dancer, and singer. She played the role of Brittany S. Pierce in the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee.


Giuseppe Rossi, Italian footballer

Giuseppe Rossi is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in the United States, he represented the Italy national team. He is the current Head of Soccer and Vice Chairman of USL League One club New York Cosmos.


Ronda Rousey, American mixed martial artist, wrestler and actress

Ronda Jean Rousey is an American mixed martial artist, actress, semi-retired professional wrestler, and former judoka. She is best known for her tenures in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and WWE.


01/02/1986

Jorrit Bergsma, Dutch speed skater

Jacob Jorrit Bergsma is a Dutch speed skater and marathon skater. He won the gold medal in the 10,000 m at the 2014 Winter Olympics, and the gold medal in the mass start at the 2026 Winter Olympics. His coach is Jillert Anema.


Lauren Conrad, American fashion designer and author

Lauren Katherine Conrad is an American television personality, fashion designer and author. In late 2004, she came to prominence after being cast in the reality television series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, which documented her and her friends' lives in their hometown of Laguna Beach, California.


Ladislav Šmíd, Czech ice hockey player

Ladislav Šmíd is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames.


01/02/1985

Dean Shiels, Irish footballer

Dean Andrew Shiels is a Northern Irish former footballer and current manager, who last managed Coleraine. He played for Hibernian, Doncaster Rovers, Kilmarnock, Rangers, Dundalk, FC Edmonton and Dunfermline Athletic, and made 14 full international appearances for Northern Ireland. His father is Kenny Shiels, who was his manager at Kilmarnock.


01/02/1984

Darren Fletcher, Scottish footballer

Darren Barr Fletcher is a Scottish professional football coach and former player who is currently the head coach of Manchester United Under-18s. He also served as caretaker head coach of the Manchester United first team in early January 2026. Fletcher spent the majority of his playing career at United, winning 13 trophies including five Premier League titles and the UEFA Champions League. He mostly played as a central midfielder, but began his career as a right winger and also featured occasionally in defence.


01/02/1983

Heather DeLoach, American actress

"No Rain" is a song by American rock band Blind Melon. It was released in 1993 as the second single from the band's debut album Blind Melon (1992). The song is well known for its accompanying music video, which features the "Bee Girl" character. The music video, directed by Samuel Bayer, received heavy airplay on MTV at the time of its release. It subsequently helped propel Blind Melon to multi-platinum status.


Kevin Martin, American basketball player

Kevin Dallas Martin Jr. is an American former professional basketball player who played 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Western Carolina University, where in his junior year, he averaged 24.9 points per game, which ranked second in the nation. After three years at Western Carolina, he entered the 2004 NBA draft and was selected with the 26th overall pick by the Sacramento Kings.


Jurgen Van den Broeck, Belgian cyclist

Jurgen Van den Broeck is a Belgian former road bicycle racer, who competed professionally between 2004 and 2017 for the Discovery Channel, Lotto–Soudal, Team Katusha and LottoNL–Jumbo squads. Van den Broeck specialised in the time trial discipline, having been Junior World Champion against the clock in 2001. The promise he first displayed in minor stage races like the Tour de Romandie and Eneco Tour was later validated and confirmed by top-10 finishes in all three Grand Tours: the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España.


Andrew VanWyngarden, American singer-songwriter and musician

Andrew Wells VanWyngarden is an American singer and musician who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, and co-founder of the rock band MGMT. One of his songs, "Kids" received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals while the band was nominated in the Best New Artist category.


01/02/1982

Gavin Henson, Welsh rugby player

Gavin Lloyd Henson is a Welsh former professional rugby union player, who played as a fly-half, fullback and inside centre.


Shoaib Malik, Pakistani cricketer

Shoaib Malik is a former Pakistani cricketer who played for the Pakistan national cricket team and previously played for Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). He was the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team from 2007 to 2009. He made his One Day International debut in 1999 against the West Indies and his Test debut in 2001 against Bangladesh. With his country, he won the 2009 World Twenty20 and the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.


01/02/1981

Hins Cheung, Hong Kong singer-songwriter

Hins Cheung / Cheung King-hin, is a Chinese singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, chef, and businessman based in Hong Kong. He made his debut in 2001 with the studio album Hins' First. He has since released 17 studio albums and EPs. Among his various accolades, he has won the Ultimate Song Chart Awards Best Male Singer Gold prize six times, Jade Solid Gold Most Popular Male Singer four times, and Best Pop Male Singer at the Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards.


Christian Giménez, Argentinian footballer

Christian Eduardo Giménez, also known by his nickname Chaco, is a former professional footballer, commentator, and manager. Born in Argentina, he represented the Mexico national team.


Graeme Smith, South African cricketer

Graeme Craig Smith is a South African cricket commentator and former cricketer who played for South Africa in all formats. In 2003, he was appointed captain of the national team, taking over from Shaun Pollock. He held the position of Test captain until his retirement in 2014. At 22, he was appointed as South Africa's youngest ever captain. He was the most capped captain ever when he played his 102nd match against England. He is considered one of South Africa's greatest captains, having led South Africa to a record 54 Test victories.


01/02/1980

Héctor Luna, Dominican baseball player

Héctor R. Luna is a Dominican Republic former professional baseball infielder. He last played for the Hiroshima Carp in Nippon Professional Baseball. He is primarily an infielder, but has played every position at the major league level except pitcher and catcher.


01/02/1979

Valentín Elizalde, Mexican singer-songwriter (died 2006)

Valentín Elizalde Valencia was a Mexican singer. Nicknamed "El Gallo de Oro", he specialized in Banda and regional mexican music and was known for his off-key style. His biggest hits included: "Vete Ya," "Ebrio de Amor", and "Soy Así". Some of his songs were narcocorridos, eulogizing Mexican drug lords like Vicente Carrillo Fuentes. He also wrote lyrics honoring Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. He was murdered as he left a concert; allegedly by members of the drug trafficking cartel Los Zetas.


Jason Isbell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Michael Jason Isbell is an American singer-songwriter. Isbell began his career as a member of Drive-By Truckers for six years, from 2001 to 2007. His first album with his backing band, the 400 Unit, was released in 2009.


Juan, Brazilian footballer

Juan Silveira dos Santos, commonly known as Juan, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He currently works as Brasil national football team assistant under Carlo Ancelotti.


01/02/1978

Tim Harding, Australian singer and actor

Timothy John Harding is an Australian musician, singer, guitarist, entertainer and original member of the Australian children's musical group Hi-5 between 1998 and 2007 and left Hi-5 after nine years with the group due to suffering major injuries following a motorcycle accident.


01/02/1977

Robert Traylor, American basketball player (died 2011)

Robert DeShaun "Tractor" Traylor was an American professional basketball player. He got his nickname because of his hulking frame. Traylor was the sixth pick in the 1998 NBA draft and played seven seasons in the league. He averaged 4.8 points per game, mainly as a reserve center and power forward.


01/02/1976

Phil Ivey, American poker player

Phillip Dennis Ivey Jr. is an American professional poker player who has won eleven World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title, and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables. Ivey is regarded by numerous poker observers and contemporaries as the best all-around player in the world. In 2017, he was elected to the Poker Hall of Fame. He is also an ambassador for WPT Global.


Mat Rogers, Australian rugby player

Mathew Steve Rogers is an Australian former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He played both codes at the highest level, becoming a dual-code international. He is currently a rugby union commentator on Stan Sport.


01/02/1975

Big Boi, American rapper

Antwan André Patton, known professionally as Big Boi, is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Atlanta, he was one half of the Southern hip-hop duo Outkast along with rapper André 3000, which the two formed in 1992.


Martijn Reuser, Dutch footballer

Martijn Franciscus Reuser is a Dutch former professional footballer who played top-flight football in both the Netherlands and England as a midfielder. He made one appearance for the Netherlands national team.


Tomáš Vlasák, Czech ice hockey player

Tomáš Vlasák is a Czech former professional hockey player who plays for the Plzeň HC in the Czech Extraliga. He played 10 games with the Los Angeles Kings during the 2000-2001 season.


01/02/1974

Walter McCarty, American basketball player and coach

Walter Lee McCarty is an American former professional basketball player, and current head coach of the Ostioneros de Guaymas in the Circuito de Baloncesto de la Costa del Pacífico (CIBACOPA). McCarty played for the NBA's New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, and the Los Angeles Clippers. He last served as head coach of the Evansville Purple Aces from 2018 to 2019.


01/02/1973

Andrew DeClercq, American basketball player and coach

Andrew Donald DeClercq is an American former professional basketball player and current coach. He was a center and power forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for ten seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. DeClercq played college basketball for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Orlando Magic of the NBA.


Óscar Pérez Rojas, Mexican footballer

Óscar Pérez Rojas is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Nicknamed El Conejo, he is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in Mexican football history.


01/02/1972

Leymah Gbowee, Liberian peace activist

Leymah Roberta Gbowee is a Liberian peace activist responsible for leading a women's non-violent peace movement, Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace that helped bring an end to the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003. Her efforts to end the war, along with her collaborator Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, helped usher in a period of peace and enabled a free election in 2005 that Sirleaf won. Gbowee and Sirleaf, along with Tawakkul Karman, were awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work."


Christian Ziege, German footballer

Christian Ziege is a German football manager and former player. He most recently coached FC Pinzgau.


01/02/1971

Michael C. Hall, American actor and producer

Michael Carlyle Hall is an American actor and musician. He is best known for playing the role of the titular character in the Showtime series Dexter and David Fisher in the HBO drama series Six Feet Under. He won a Golden Globe Award for the former, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and received six total nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, which ties the record for most nominations in the category without a win. He reprised his role of Dexter Morgan in Dexter: New Blood, Dexter: Resurrection, and performed the internal monologue in Dexter: Original Sin.


Tommy Salo, Swedish ice hockey player

Tommy Mikael Salo is a Swedish former professional ice hockey goaltender and the current general manager of Leksands IF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche, and previously served as head coach of IK Oskarshamn.


01/02/1970

Yasuyuki Kazama, Japanese racing driver

Yasuyuki Kazama is a drifting driver from Japan, formerly competing in D1 Grand Prix, well known for using the Nissan Silvia S15. He is also known as Waku Waku and Spin Benz Dokan.


Malik Sealy, American basketball player and actor (died 2000)

Malik Sealy was an American professional basketball player, active from 1992 until his death in an automobile accident at the age of 30. Posthumously inducted into the NYC Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004, Sealy played eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves.


01/02/1969

Gabriel Batistuta, Argentinian footballer

Gabriel Omar Batistuta is an Argentine former professional footballer. During his playing career, Batistuta was nicknamed Batigol as well as El Ángel Gabriel. Regarded as one of the best strikers of all time, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004.


Andrew Breitbart, American journalist, author, and publisher (died 2012)

Andrew James Breitbart was an American conservative journalist and political commentator who was the founder of Breitbart News and a co-founder of HuffPost.


Brian Krause, American actor

Brian Jeffrey Krause is an American actor. He is known for his role as Leo Wyatt on The WB television series Charmed (1998–2006) and for portraying the lead role of Charles Brady in the 1992 horror film Sleepwalkers.


Joshua Redman, American musician and composer

Joshua Redman is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He is the son of jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman (1931–2006).


Franklyn Rose, Jamaican cricketer

Franklyn Albert Rose is a former West Indian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a fast right-arm bowler who possesses a lot of power with his full-length outswing.


Patrick Wilson, American musician and songwriter

Patrick George Wilson is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as a co-founding member and the drummer of the rock band Weezer, with whom he has recorded 15 studio albums.


01/02/1968

Lisa Marie Presley, American singer-songwriter and actress (died 2023)

Lisa Marie Presley was an American singer-songwriter. The daughter of singer and actor Elvis Presley and actress Priscilla Presley, she became the sole heir to her father's estate following the deaths of her grandfather and great-grandmother. She was also known for her marriage to Michael Jackson, whom she wed in 1994 and divorced in 1996.


Mark Recchi, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

Mark Louis Recchi is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played 22 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1988 NHL entry draft, and he played for them, the Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal Canadiens, Carolina Hurricanes, Atlanta Thrashers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins. Recchi won the Stanley Cup three times in his playing career: in 1991 with the Penguins, in 2006 with the Hurricanes, and in 2011 with the Bruins. During the 2010-11 season, Recchi was the last active player who had played in the NHL in the 1980s. Subsequently, in Game 2 of the 2011 Finals, Recchi became the oldest player ever to score in a Stanley Cup Final game at age 43. On June 26, 2017, in his fourth year of eligibility, Recchi was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.


Pauly Shore, American actor and comedian

Paul Montgomery Shore is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for his performances in 1990s comedy films. Shore began as a stand-up comedian at the age of 17, before becoming an MTV VJ in 1989. This led to a starring role in the comedy film Encino Man in 1992, which was a modest hit. He followed this with leading man roles, including Son in Law (1993), In the Army Now (1994) and Bio-Dome (1996). Shore provided the voice of Robert "Bobby" Zimuruski in A Goofy Movie (1995) and its direct-to-video sequel, An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000).


01/02/1967

Meg Cabot, American author and screenwriter

Meggin Patricia Cabot is an American novelist. She has written and published over 80 novels of young adult and adult fiction and is best known for her young adult series The Princess Diaries, which was later adapted by Walt Disney Pictures into two feature films. Cabot has been the recipient of numerous book awards, including the New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age, the American Library Association Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, the Tennessee Volunteer State TASL Book Award, the Book Sense Pick, the Evergreen Young Adult Book Award, and the IRA/CBC Young Adult Choice. She has also had number-one New York Times bestsellers, and more than 25 million copies of her books are in print across the world.


01/02/1966

Michelle Akers, American soccer player

Michelle Anne Akers is an American former soccer player who starred in the 1991 and 1999 Women's World Cup and 1996 Olympics victories by the United States. At the 1991 World Cup, she won the Golden Shoe as the top scorer, with ten goals.


01/02/1965

Sherilyn Fenn, American actress

Sherilyn Fenn is an American actress. She played Audrey Horne on the television series Twin Peaks for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award.


Brandon Lee, American actor and martial artist (died 1993)

Brandon Bruce Lee was an American actor and martial artist. Establishing himself as a rising action star in the early 1990s, Lee landed what was to be his breakthrough role as Eric Draven in the supernatural superhero film The Crow (1994). However, Lee's career and life were cut short by his accidental death during the film's production.


Stéphanie of Monaco

Princess Stéphanie of Monaco is the youngest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and his wife, American actress Grace Kelly. She is the younger sister of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Caroline, Princess of Hanover. Currently 15th in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne, she has been a singer, swimwear designer, and fashion model.


01/02/1964

Jani Lane, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2011)

Jani Lane was an American singer and the lead vocalist, frontman, lyricist and main songwriter for the glam metal band Warrant. From Hollywood, California, the band experienced success from 1989 to 1996 with five albums reaching international sales of over 10 million. Lane left Warrant in 2004 and again in 2008 after a brief reunion. Lane also released a solo album, Back Down to One, in 2002, and the album Love the Sin, Hate the Sinner with a new group, Saints of the Underground, in 2008. Lane contributed lead vocals and songwriting to various projects throughout his career.


Eli Ohana, Israeli football player, and club chairman

Eliyahu "Eli" Ohana is an Israeli former professional footballer and the former chairman of Israeli club Beitar Jerusalem. He played as a forward or attacking midfielder for Beitar Jerusalem, KV Mechelen, S.C. Braga, and the Israel national football team, who is considered one of Israel's finest footballers, occasionally was dubbed "King Ohana" by fans and local news outlets. He managed Beitar Jerusalem, Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv, Maccabi Petah Tikva, Hapoel Kfar Saba, the Israel national under-19 football team, the seniors' Israel national football team (interim). He also played for Team Israel at the 1981 Maccabiah Games, winning a bronze medal.


Mario Pelchat, Canadian singer-songwriter

Mario Pelchat is a Canadian Francophone singer from Quebec. He received the Felix Award in 1990 and 1992.


Linus Roache, English actor

Linus William Roache is a British actor. He is best known to US audiences as Executive ADA Michael Cutter in the NBC dramas Law & Order (2008–2010) and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2011–2012), and also played Ecbert, King of Wessex in Vikings from 2014 to 2017.


01/02/1962

José Luis Cuciuffo, Argentinian footballer (died 2004)

José Luis Cuciuffo was an Argentine professional footballer who played as a centre back and who was part of the 1986 FIFA World Cup-winning Argentina national team.


Tomoyasu Hotei, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist

Tomoyasu Hotei , also known simply as Hotei, is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, composer, record producer and actor. With a career spanning more than 40 years, Hotei claims record sales of over 40 million copies and has collaborated with artists from around the world. Hotei first rose to prominence in the 1980s as the guitarist for Boøwy, one of Japan's most popular rock bands, before starting a solo career.


Takashi Murakami, Japanese painter and sculptor

Takashi Murakami is a Japanese contemporary artist. He works in fine arts as well as commercial media and is known for blurring the line between high and low arts. His work draws from the aesthetic characteristics of the Japanese artistic tradition and the nature of postwar Japanese culture. He has designed covers for several hip hop albums, namely Kanye West's Graduation (2007), Future's eponymous fifth studio album (2017), West and Kid Cudi's Kids See Ghosts (2018), and Juice Wrld's posthumous The Party Never Ends (2024).


01/02/1961

Volker Fried, German field hockey player and coach

Volker Fried is a former field hockey player from West Germany, who competed at four consecutive Summer Olympics for West and the reunified Germany. He won the gold medal with his team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, after capturing silver at the two previous Olympics in Los Angeles (1984) and Seoul (1988).


Kaduvetti Guru, Indian politician (died 2018)

J. Guru, also known as Kaduvetti Guru, was an Indian politician who was twice elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in Tamil Nadu. He was the president of the Vanniyar Sangam, a caste-based organization that represented the interests of the Vanniyar community.


Daniel M. Tani, American engineer and astronaut

Daniel Michio Tani is an American engineer and retired NASA astronaut. He was born in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, but considers Lombard, Illinois, to be his hometown.


01/02/1959

Wade Wilson, American football player and coach (died 2019)

Charles Wade Wilson was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys, and Oakland Raiders in a seventeen-year NFL career from 1981 to 1998. He was quarterbacks coach for the Dallas Cowboys from 2000 to 2002 and from 2007 to 2017, and also for the Chicago Bears from 2004 to 2006. He played college football for East Texas State Lions, where he was an NAIA All-American quarterback and led the Lions to the NAIA national semifinals during the 1980 season.


01/02/1958

Luther Blissett, Jamaican-English footballer and manager

Luther Loide Blissett is a former professional footballer and manager who played for the England national football team during the 1980s. Born in Jamaica, Blissett played as a forward, and is best known for his time at Watford, whom he helped win promotion from the Fourth Division to the First Division. Blissett set Watford's all-time records for appearances and goals, having played 503 games and scored 186 goals, and was the top goalscorer title in the 1982–83 Football League First Division as he led Watford to second-place. He was also one of the first black players to represent England. Blissett was capped 14 times by England, scoring a hat-trick on his debut. After retiring from playing, Blissett turned to coaching, initially under the management of Graham Taylor at Watford, and managed Chesham United from 2006 until 2007.


Eleanor Laing, Scottish lawyer and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland

Eleanor Fulton Laing, Baroness Laing of Elderslie,, is a British Conservative Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Epping Forest from 1997 to 2024. She served in the shadow cabinets of Michael Howard and David Cameron. From 2013 to 2024, Laing was a Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons and was the first female Chairman of Ways and Means from 2020 to 2024. She had one of the longest tenures in the Speaker's chair. She became a member of the House of Lords in 2024.


01/02/1957

Gilbert Hernandez, American author and illustrator

Gilberto Hernández, usually credited as Gilbert Hernandez and also by the nickname Beto, is an American cartoonist. He is best known for his Palomar/Heartbreak Soup stories in Love and Rockets, an alternative comic book he shared with his brothers Jaime and Mario.


Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, Saudi Arabian businessman (died 2007)

Mohammed Jamal Khalifa (1 February 1957 – 31 January 2007) was a Saudi businessman from Jeddah who married one of Osama bin Laden's sisters. He was accused of funding terror plots and groups in the Philippines in the 1990s while head of the International Islamic Relief Organization branch there. He was murdered in Madagascar in 2007.


01/02/1956

Exene Cervenka, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Exene Cervenka is an American singer, artist, and poet. She is best known for her work as a singer in the California punk rock band X.


01/02/1955

T. R. Dunn, American basketball player and coach

Theodore Roosevelt Dunn is an American former professional basketball player who was most recently an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA).


01/02/1954

Chuck Dukowski, American singer-songwriter and bass player

Gary Arthur McDaniel, better known by his stage name Chuck Dukowski, is an American punk rock musician. He is most well-known for being the bass player and an occasional songwriter for Black Flag.


Bill Mumy, American actor, writer, and musician

Charles William Mumy Jr. is an American actor, writer, producer, and musician. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a child actor whose work included television appearances on Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and a role in the film Dear Brigitte, followed by a three-season role as Will Robinson in the 1960s sci-fi series Lost in Space. Mumy later appeared as lonely teenager Sterling North in the film Rascal (1969) and Teft in the film Bless the Beasts and Children (1971).


01/02/1952

Owoye Andrew Azazi, Nigerian general (died 2012)

Owoye Andrew Azazi GSS DSS MSS CMH was a Nigerian army general who served as National Security Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, was Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of Nigeria, and Chief of Army Staff (COAS). Before his first service chief appointment (COAS), he was General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division, Kaduna State.


01/02/1951

Sonny Landreth, American guitarist and songwriter

Clide Vernon "Sonny" Landreth is an American blues musician from southwest Louisiana who is especially known as a slide guitar player. He was born in Canton, Mississippi, and settled in Lafayette, Louisiana. He lives in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.


01/02/1950

Mike Campbell, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer

Michael Wayne Campbell is an American guitarist and vocalist. He was a member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and co-wrote many of the band's hits with Petty, including "Refugee", "Here Comes My Girl", "You Got Lucky", and "Runnin' Down a Dream". Outside of The Heartbreakers, he has worked as a session guitarist and songwriter with a number of other acts, including composing and playing on the Don Henley hits "The Boys of Summer" and "The Heart of the Matter" as well as working on most of Stevie Nicks's solo albums. Campbell, along with Neil Finn, joined Fleetwood Mac to replace lead guitarist Lindsey Buckingham on their world tour in 2018–2019. After the end of that tour, he has been performing with his own band, the Dirty Knobs. As of 2024, the Dirty Knobs have released three albums.


Ali Haydar Konca, Turkish politician, 4th Turkish Minister of European Union Affairs

Ali Haydar Konca is a Turkish politician who served as the Minister of European Union Affairs and Chief Negotiator in the interim election government led by Ahmet Davutoğlu between 28 August and 22 September 2015. He served as a Member of Parliament for the electoral district of Kocaeli from June to November 2015. He is a member of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and is a former civil servant and Kaymakam (sub-governor).


Rich Williams, American guitarist and songwriter

Richard John Williams is an American guitarist, primarily known for being one of the only consistent original members of the rock band Kansas alongside drummer Phil Ehart. Both have appeared on every Kansas album to date.


01/02/1949

Lex Marinos, Australian actor (died 2024)

Alexander Francis Marinos was an Australian actor and television director, radio personality and voice artist. He was most notable for his role as Bruno, in the 1980s television series Kingswood Country.


01/02/1948

Rick James, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 2004)

James Ambrose Johnson Jr., better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, Rick James began his musical career in his teenage years. He was in various bands before entering the U.S. Naval Reserve to avoid being drafted into the Army. In 1964, James moved to Toronto, Canada, where he formed the rock band The Mynah Birds, who eventually signed a recording deal with Motown Records in 1966. James's career with the group halted after military authorities discovered his whereabouts and eventually convicted him of desertion related charges. He served several months in jail. After being released, James moved back to Toronto for pull together a new version of the Mynah Birds, with whom he returned to Motown to record. When that lineup folded, he moved to California, where he took over an existing group of Toronto ex-pats, Merryweather, added a new bassist and changed the group's name to Salt and Pepper. After a strong start and some recording for the Atlantic label, the group split and Rick and the group's keyboardist returned to Toronto to form Heaven and Earth with local players. After two 45s, Heaven and Earth merged with a local horn group, Milestone, and continued under a new name, Great White Cane. That group went to Los Angels, signed to MGM Records' Lion subsidiary. Their ensuing LP, released in 1972, was a minor rhythm and blues masterpiece but disappeared almost immediately. After forming the locally popular Stone City Band in his hometown of Buffalo in 1977, James finally found success as a recording artist after signing with Motown's Gordy Records, releasing the album Come Get It! in 1978 which produced the hits "You and I" and "Mary Jane". In 1981, James released his most successful album, Street Songs, which included career-defining hits such as "Give It to Me Baby" and "Super Freak", the latter song becoming his biggest crossover single, mixing elements of funk, disco, rock, and new wave. James was also known for his soulful ballads such as "Fire & Desire" and "Ebony Eyes". He also had a successful career as a songwriter and producer for other artists, including Teena Marie, the Mary Jane Girls, The Temptations, Eddie Murphy, and Smokey Robinson.


01/02/1947

Adam Ingram, Scottish computer programmer and politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces

Sir Adam Paterson Ingram is a retired British Labour Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Kilbride, then East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow, from 1987 to 2010.


Normie Rowe, Australian singer-songwriter and actor

Norman John Rowe is an Australian singer, songwriter and actor. He rose to national prominence in the mid-1960s as a pop star and teen idol, backed by The Playboys. His 1965 double A-side "Que Sera Sera"/"Shakin' All Over" was one of the most successful Australian singles of the decade.


Jessica Savitch, American journalist (died 1983)

Jessica Beth Savitch was an American television journalist who was the weekend anchor of NBC Nightly News and daily newsreader for NBC News during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Savitch was one of the first women to anchor an evening network newscast alone, following in the footsteps of Marlene Sanders of ABC News and Catherine Mackin of NBC News. She also hosted PBS's public affairs program Frontline from its January 1983 debut until her death in a car crash the following October.


01/02/1946

Karen Krantzcke, Australian tennis player (died 1977)

Karen Krantzcke was an Australian tennis player. She achieved a world top ten singles ranking in 1970. In her short career, she made the quarterfinals or better at each of the four Grand Slam championships in both singles and doubles. She also won the Australian Open in doubles, and assisted Australia to victory in the Federation Cup.


Elisabeth Sladen, English actress (died 2011)

Elisabeth Clara Miller, known professionally as Elisabeth Sladen, was an English actress. She was best known for her recurring role as Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who from 1973 to 1976, alongside Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, before reprising the role with David Tennant between 2006 and 2010 and in spin-offs K-9 and Company (1981) and The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–2011).


01/02/1945

Serge Joyal, Canadian lawyer and politician, 50th Secretary of State for Canada

Serge Joyal is a Canadian politician who served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1974 to 1984 and subsequently in the Senate of Canada from 1997 to 2020.


Ferruccio Mazzola, Italian footballer and manager (died 2013)

Ferruccio Mazzola was an Italian former professional footballer and manager, who played as a midfielder. He was the son of former footballer Valentino Mazzola, and the younger brother of retired footballer Sandro Mazzola.


Mary Jane Reoch, American cyclist (died 1993)

Mary Jane Reoch was an American cyclist. She won 11 national championships during her cycling career and afterwards worked as a cycling coach. She was killed in a road accident while training a client in 1993. She was posthumously inducted into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1994.


01/02/1944

Burkhard Ziese, German footballer and manager (died 2010)

Burkhard Ziese was a German football manager.


01/02/1942

Bibi Besch, Austrian-American actress (died 1996)

Bibi Besch was an Austrian-American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Dr. Carol Marcus in the science fiction film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). Her other notable film roles were in Who's That Girl (1987), and Tremors (1990). Besch also appeared in a number of television productions, including the television film The Day After (1983) and The Jeff Foxworthy Show, and received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations.


Terry Jones, Welsh actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2020)

Terence Graham Parry Jones was a Welsh actor, comedian, director, historian, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe.


01/02/1941

Jerry Spinelli, American author

Jerry Spinelli is an American writer of children's novels that feature adolescence and early adulthood. His novels include Maniac Magee, Stargirl, and Wringer.


01/02/1939

Fritjof Capra, Austrian physicist, author, and academic

Fritjof Capra is an Austrian-born American author, physicist, systems theorist and deep ecologist. In 1995, he became a founding director of the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley, California. He was on the faculty of Schumacher College which was disestablished in 2024.


Claude François, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter and dancer (died 1978)

Claude Antoine Marie François, also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of "Comme d'habitude", the original version of "My Way", and composed the music of "Parce que je t'aime mon enfant", the original version of "My Boy". Among his other famous songs are "Le Téléphone Pleure", "Le lundi au soleil", "Magnolias for Ever" and "Alexandrie Alexandra". He also enjoyed considerable success with French-language versions of English-language songs, including "Belles! Belles! Belles!", "Cette année là" and "Je vais à Rio".


Paul Gillmor, American lawyer and politician (died 2007)

Paul Eugene Gillmor was an American politician of the Republican Party who served as the U.S. representative from the 5th congressional district of Ohio from 1989 until his death in 2007.


Ekaterina Maximova, Russian ballerina (died 2009)

Ekaterina Sergeyevna Maximova was a Soviet and Russian ballerina of the second part of the 20th century who was internationally recognised. She was a prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theatre for 30 years, a ballet pedagogue, winner of international ballet competitions, Laureate of many prestigious International and Russian awards, a professor in GITIS, Honorary professor at the Moscow State University, Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts, and an Executive Committee member of the Russian Center of Counseil International De La Danse, UNESCO.


Joe Sample, American pianist and composer (died 2014)

Joseph Leslie Sample was an American jazz keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, whose name was shortened to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained a part of the group until its final album in 1991, and also the 2003 reunion album Rural Renewal.


01/02/1938

Jimmy Carl Black, American drummer and singer (died 2008)

James Inkanish, Jr., known professionally as Jimmy Carl Black, was an original member of the Mothers of Invention, providing drums and vocals. He is known for introducing the songs “Are You Hung Up?” and “Concentration Moon” from the Mothers album We're Only in It for the Money saying “Hi boys and girls, my name is Jimmy Carl Black and I'm the Indian of the group.”


Jacky Cupit, American golfer

Jacky Douglas Cupit was an American professional golfer who played on both the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour.


Sherman Hemsley, American actor and singer (died 2012)

Sherman Alexander Hemsley was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his roles as George Jefferson on the CBS television series All in the Family and The Jeffersons (1975–1985), Deacon Ernest Frye on the NBC series Amen (1986–1991), and B. P. Richfield on the ABC series Dinosaurs. For his work on The Jeffersons, Hemsley was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award. Hemsley also won an NAACP Image Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy Series or Special in 1982.


01/02/1937

Don Everly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2021)

Isaac Donald Everly was an American musician. Everly was one-half of the singing duo The Everly Brothers alongside his younger brother Phil.


Garrett Morris, American actor and comedian

Garrett Isaac Morris is an American actor, comedian and singer. He was part of the original cast and was the first Black cast member of the sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live, appearing from 1975 to 1980.


01/02/1936

Tuncel Kurtiz, Turkish actor, playwright, and director (died 2013)

Tuncel Tayanç Kurtiz was a Turkish theatre, movie and TV series actor, playwright, and film director. Since 1964, he acted in more than 70 movies, including many international productions.


01/02/1934

Marina Kondratyeva, Russian ballet dancer (died 2024)

Marina Viktorovna Kondratyeva was a Russian ballerina at the Bolshoi Ballet. Described as "weightless, airy, poetic and spiritual", she is known for roles such as Juliet in Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet and as Adam's Giselle, but also performed in contemporary ballets including world premieres. She toured with the Bolshoi troupe to London and the Metropolitan Opera in the 1960s. She became a master tutor at the Bolshoi, passing its tradition to younger dancers for decades.


01/02/1932

John Nott, British politician (died 2024)

Sir John William Frederic Nott was a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 1981 to 1983. A member of the National Liberal and Conservative parties, Nott served as Member of Parliament (MP) for St Ives from 1966 to 1983.


Hassan al-Turabi, Sudanese activist and politician (died 2016)

Hassan al-Turabi was a Sudanese politician and scholar. He was the alleged architect of the 1989 Sudanese military coup that overthrew Sadiq al-Mahdi and installed Omar al-Bashir as president. He has been called "one of the most influential figures in modern Sudanese politics" and a "longtime hard-line ideological leader". He was instrumental in institutionalizing Sharia in the northern part of the country and was frequently imprisoned in Sudan, but these "periods of detention" were "interspersed with periods of high political office".


01/02/1931

Boris Yeltsin, Russian politician, 1st President of Russia (died 2007)

Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to 1990. He later stood as a political independent, during which time he was viewed as being ideologically aligned with liberalism.


01/02/1930

Shahabuddin Ahmed, Bangladeshi judge and politician, 12th President of Bangladesh (died 2022)

Shahabuddin Ahmed was a Bangladeshi statesman who served as the president of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2001 and as the chief justice of Bangladesh from 1990 to 1995. He previously served as the acting president during 1990–91 when Hussain Muhammad Ershad resigned from the post. He headed a caretaker government and oversaw a general election in February 1991.


Hussain Muhammad Ershad, Bangladeshi general and politician, 10th President of Bangladesh (died 2019)

Hussain Muhammad Ershad was a Bangladeshi military officer, dictator and politician who served as President of Bangladesh from 1983 to 1990.


01/02/1928

Sam Edwards, Welsh physicist and academic (died 2015)

Sir Samuel Frederick Edwards was a Welsh physicist. The Sam Edwards Medal and Prize is named in his honour.


Tom Lantos, Hungarian-American academic and politician (died 2008)

Thomas Peter Lantos was a Hungarian-born American politician who served as a U.S. representative from California from 1981 until his death in 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented the state's 11th congressional district until 1993. After redistricting, he served from the 12th congressional district, which included both the northern two-thirds of San Mateo County and a portion of the southwestern part of San Francisco.


Stuart Whitman, American actor (died 2020)

Stuart Maxwell Whitman was an American actor, known for his lengthy career in film and television. Whitman was born in San Francisco and raised in New York until the age of 12, when his family relocated to Los Angeles. In 1948, Whitman was discharged from the Corps of Engineers in the U.S. Army and started to study acting and appear in plays. From 1951 to 1957, Whitman had a streak working in mostly bit parts in films, including When Worlds Collide (1951), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Barbed Wire (1952) and The Man from the Alamo (1952). On television, Whitman guest-starred in series such as Dr. Christian, The Roy Rogers Show, and Death Valley Days, and also had a recurring role on Highway Patrol. Whitman's first lead role was in John H. Auer's Johnny Trouble (1957).


01/02/1927

Galway Kinnell, American poet and academic (died 2014)

Galway Mills Kinnell was an American poet. His dark poetry emphasized scenes and experiences in threatening, ego-less natural environments. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his 1982 collection, Selected Poems and split the National Book Award for Poetry with Charles Wright. From 1989 to 1993, he was poet laureate for the state of Vermont.


01/02/1926

Vivian Maier, American street photographer (died 2009)

Vivian Dorothy Maier was an American street photographer whose work was discovered and recognized after her death. She took more than 150,000 photographs during her lifetime, primarily of the people and architecture of Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles, although she also traveled and photographed around the world.


01/02/1924

Emmanuel Scheffer, German-Israeli footballer, coach, and manager (died 2012)

Emmanuel Scheffer was an Israeli football player and coach who was born in Germany.


01/02/1923

Ben Weider, Canadian businessman, co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (died 2008)

Benjamin Weider, was a Canadian soldier, author, historian, fitness proponent, benefactor of the arts, and entrepreneur. He co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) alongside his brother Joe Weider. The Weiders also founded many successful businesses including gyms, nutritional supplements and magazines such as Muscle & Fitness.


01/02/1922

Renata Tebaldi, Italian soprano and actress (died 2004)

Renata Tebaldi was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period, and especially prominent as one of the stars of La Scala, San Carlo and, especially, the Metropolitan Opera. Often considered among the great opera singers of the 20th century, she focused primarily on the verismo roles of the lyric and dramatic repertoires. Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini called her voice la voce d'angelo, and La Scala music director Riccardo Muti called her "one of the greatest performers with one of the most extraordinary voices in the field of opera."


01/02/1921

Teresa Mattei, Italian feminist partisan and politician (died 2013)

Teresa "Teresita" Mattei was an Italian partisan and politician.


Patricia Robins, English writer and WAAF officer (died 2016)

Patricia Robins was a British writer of short stories and over 80 novels, mainly romance, from 1934 to 2016. She also signed under the pseudonym Claire Lorrimer; she had sold more than ten million copies. She served as Women's Auxiliary Air Force officer during World War II tracking Nazi bombers.


Peter Sallis, English actor (died 2017)

Peter John Sallis was an English actor. He was the original voice of Wallace in the Academy Award-winning Wallace & Gromit films and played Norman "Cleggy" Clegg in Last of the Summer Wine from its 1973 inception until the final episode in 2010, making him the only actor to appear in all 295 episodes. Additionally, he portrayed Norman Clegg's father in the prequel series First of the Summer Wine.


01/02/1920

Zao Wou-Ki, Chinese-French painter (died 2013)

Zao Wou-Ki was a Chinese-French painter. He was a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Zao Wou-Ki graduated from the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, where he studied under French-trained Fang Ganmin and Wu Dayu.


01/02/1918

Muriel Spark, Scottish novelist (died 2006)

Dame Muriel Sarah Spark was a Scottish novelist, short story writer, poet and essayist.


Ignacy Tokarczuk, Polish archbishop (died 2012)

Ignacy Tokarczuk was a Polish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church.


01/02/1917

José Luis Sampedro, Spanish economist and author (died 2013)

José Luis Sampedro Sáez was a Spanish economist and writer who advocated an economy "more humane, more caring, able to help develop the dignity of peoples". Academician of the Real Academia Española since 1990, he was the recipient of the Order of Arts and Letters of Spain, the Menéndez Pelayo International Prize (2010) and the Spanish Literature National Prize (2011). He became an inspiration for the anti-austerity movement in Spain.


Eiji Sawamura, Japanese baseball player and soldier (died 1944)

Eiji Sawamura was a Japanese professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, he played in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants. He is one of just two pitchers in Japanese baseball history to throw three no-hitters and the only one to do so for thirty years. He is one of just six numbers to be retired by the Giants in their history.


01/02/1915

Stanley Matthews, English footballer and manager (died 2000)

Sir Stanley Matthews was an English footballer who played as an outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the British game and one of the greatest players of all time, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing football, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year awards. His nicknames included "The Wizard of Dribble" and "The Magician".


01/02/1910

Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, Chinese general and politician (died 2009)

Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme was a Tibetan senior official who assumed various military and political responsibilities both before and after 1951 in Tibet. He is often known simply as Ngapoi in English sources.


01/02/1909

George Beverly Shea, Canadian-American singer-songwriter (died 2013)

George Beverly Shea was a Canadian-born American gospel singer and hymn composer. Shea was often described as "America's beloved gospel singer" and was considered "the first international singing 'star' of the gospel world," as a consequence of his solos at Billy Graham Crusades and his exposure on radio, records and television. Because of the large attendance at Graham's Crusades, it is estimated that Shea sang live before more people than anyone else in history.


01/02/1908

George Pal, Hungarian-American animator and producer (died 1980)

George Pal was a Hungarian-American animator, film director and producer. He is known for his stop motion animated film series Puppetoons and his fantasy and science-fiction films. He became an American citizen after emigrating from Europe.


Louis Rasminsky, Canadian economist and banker (died 1998)

Louis Rasminsky was a Canadian economist who served as the third governor of the Bank of Canada from 1961 to 1973, succeeding James Coyne. He was succeeded by Gerald Bouey.


01/02/1907

Günter Eich, German author and songwriter (died 1972)

Günter Eich was a German poet, radio playwright, and writer. He was born in Lebus, on the Oder River, and educated in Leipzig, Berlin, and Paris.


Camargo Guarnieri, Brazilian pianist and composer (died 1993)

Mozart Camargo Guarnieri was a Brazilian composer.


01/02/1906

Adetokunbo Ademola, Nigerian lawyer and jurist, 2nd Chief Justice of Nigeria (died 1993)

Omoba Sir Adetokunbo Adegboyega Ademola SAN was a Nigerian jurist who was the Chief Justice of Nigeria from 1958 to 1972. He was appointed as Chief Justice on 1 April 1958, succeeding Sir Stafford Foster-Sutton, who was retiring. Ademola was a son of Oba Sir Ladapo Ademola II, the Alake of the Egba clan of Nigeria. He was the first chancellor of the University of Benin.


01/02/1905

Emilio Segrè, Italian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1989)

Emilio Gino Segrè was an Italian-American nuclear physicist and radiochemist who discovered the elements technetium and astatine, and the antiproton, a subatomic antiparticle, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1959, along with Owen Chamberlain.


01/02/1904

S. J. Perelman, American humorist and screenwriter (died 1979)

Sidney Joseph Perelman was an American humorist and screenwriter. He is best known for his humorous short pieces written over many years for The New Yorker. He also wrote for several other magazines, including Judge, as well as books, scripts, and screenplays. Perelman received an Academy Award for screenwriting in 1956.


01/02/1902

Therese Brandl, German concentration camp guard (died 1947)

Therese Brandl was a Nazi concentration camp guard.


Langston Hughes, American poet, social activist, novelist, and playwright (died 1967)

James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance.


01/02/1901

Frank Buckles, American soldier (died 2011)

Frank Woodruff Buckles was a United States Army corporal and the last surviving American military veteran of World War I. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1917 aged 16 and served with a detachment from Fort Riley, driving ambulances and motorcycles near the front lines in Europe.


Clark Gable, American actor (died 1960)

William Clark Gable was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 motion pictures across a variety of genres during a 37-year career, three decades of which he spent as a leading man. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Gable as the seventh greatest male screen legend of classical Hollywood cinema.


01/02/1898

Leila Denmark, American pediatrician and author (died 2012)

Leila Alice Denmark was an American pediatrician in Atlanta, Georgia. She was the world's oldest practicing pediatrician until her retirement in May 2001 at the age of 103, after 73 years. She was a supercentenarian, living to the age of 114 years, 60 days.


01/02/1897

Denise Robins, English journalist and author (died 1985)

Denise Robins was a prolific English romantic novelist and the first President of the Romantic Novelists' Association (1960–1966). She wrote under her first married name and under the pen-names: Denise Chesterton, Eve Vaill, 'Anne Llewellyn', Hervey Hamilton, Francesca Wright, Ashley French, Harriet Gray and Julia Kane, producing short stories, plays, and about 170 Gothic romance novels. In 1965, Robins published her autobiography, Stranger Than Fiction. At the time of her death in 1985, Robins's books had been translated into fifteen languages and had sold more than one hundred million copies. In 1984, they were borrowed more than one and a half million times from British libraries.


01/02/1895

Conn Smythe, Canadian businessman (died 1980)

Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe MC was a Canadian businessman, soldier and executive in ice hockey and horse racing. He was best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1927 to 1961 and as the builder of the Maple Leaf Gardens hockey arena. He first joined the Maple Leafs in 1927 when the Toronto NHL franchise was in financial trouble. Under the threat of being moved, he organized a partnership to buy the team and keep it in Toronto. It was at his instigation that the team became known as the Maple Leaf club. He would remain involved with the franchise until the 1960s. The club was very successful during his ownership and his name appears on the Stanley Cup eight times. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder. In his honour, the Gardens gave the NHL the Conn Smythe Trophy, given to the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup playoffs.


01/02/1894

John Ford, American director and producer (died 1973)

John Martin Feeney, better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and was one of the first American directors to be recognized as an auteur. In a career of more than 50 years, he directed over 130 films between 1917 and 1970, and received a record four Academy Awards for Best Director for The Informer (1935), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), How Green Was My Valley (1941), and The Quiet Man (1952).


James P. Johnson, American pianist and composer (died 1955)

James Price Johnson was an American pianist and composer. A pioneer of stride piano, he was one of the most important pianists in the early era of recording, and like Jelly Roll Morton, one of the key figures in the evolution of ragtime into what was eventually called jazz. Johnson was a major influence on Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Thelonious Monk, and Fats Waller, who was his student. According to Hound Dog the 2009 biography of the song-writing partnership between Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber James P. Johnson also gave lessons to Stoller. .


01/02/1890

Nikolai Reek, Estonian general and politician, 11th Estonian Minister of War (died 1942)

Nikolai Reek VR I/2, VR II/2, VR II/3 was the Estonian military commander during the Estonian War of Independence.


01/02/1887

Charles Nordhoff, English-American lieutenant, pilot, and author (died 1947)

Charles Bernard Nordhoff was an American novelist and traveler, born in England. Nordhoff is perhaps best known for The Bounty Trilogy, three historical novels he wrote with James Norman Hall: Mutiny on the Bounty (1932), Men Against the Sea (1934) and Pitcairn's Island (1934). During World War I, he served as a driver in the Ambulance Corps as well as an aviator in both the French Air Force's Lafayette Flying Corps and the United States Army Air Service, reaching the rank of lieutenant. After the war, Nordhoff spent much of his life on the island of Tahiti, where he and Hall wrote a number of successful adventure books, many adapted for film.


01/02/1884

Bradbury Robinson, American football player and physician (died 1949)

Bradbury Norton Robinson Jr. was a pioneering American football player, physician, nutritionist, conservationist and local politician. He played college football at the University of Wisconsin in 1903 and at Saint Louis University from 1904 to 1907. In 1904, through personal connections to Wisconsin governor Robert M. La Follette, Sr. and his wife, Belle Case, Robinson learned of calls for reforms to the game of football from President Theodore Roosevelt, and began to develop tactics for passing. After moving to Saint Louis University, Robinson threw the first legal forward pass in the history of American football on September 5, 1906, at a game at Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He became the sport's first triple threat man, excelling at running, passing, and kicking. He was also a member of St. Louis' "Olympic World's Champions" football team in 1904.


Yevgeny Zamyatin, Russian journalist and author (died 1937)

Yevgeny Ivanovich Zamyatin, sometimes anglicized as Eugene Zamiatin, was a Russian author of science fiction, philosophy, literary criticism, and political satire.


01/02/1882

Vladimir Dimitrov, Bulgarian artist (died 1960)

Vladimir "the Master/Maystora" Dimitrov Poppetrov, was a Bulgarian painter, draughtsman and teacher. He is considered one of the most talented 20th century Bulgarian painters and probably the most remarkable stylist in Bulgarian painting in the post-Russo-Turkish War era.


Louis St. Laurent, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Canada (died 1973)

Louis Stephen St. Laurent was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 12th prime minister of Canada from 1948 to 1957.


01/02/1881

Tip Snooke, South African cricketer (died 1966)

Sibley John "Tip" Snooke played Test cricket for South Africa as an all-rounder, captaining the side to victory 3–2 against England in a five-Test series in South Africa in 1909–10. He played in 26 Test matches, playing the first 23 between 1906 and 1912, and he was recalled aged 41 for three further Test matches against England in South Africa in 1922–23.


01/02/1878

Alfréd Hajós, Hungarian swimmer and architect, designed the Grand Hotel Aranybika (died 1955)

Alfréd Hajós was a Hungarian swimmer, football (soccer) player, referee, manager, and career architect. He was the first modern Olympic swimming champion and the first Olympic champion of Hungary. Formerly excelling in track including discus and hurdles, he was part of the first National European football/soccer team fielded by Hungary in 1902, later serving as a referee as well as the manager and coach of the national football team.


Milan Hodža, Slovak journalist and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia (died 1944)

Milan Hodža was a Slovak politician and journalist, serving from 1935 to 1938 as the prime minister of Czechoslovakia. As a proponent of regional integration, he was known for his attempts to establish a democratic federation of Central European states.


01/02/1874

Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (died 1929)

Hugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal was an Austrian novelist, librettist, poet, dramatist, narrator, and essayist.


01/02/1873

John Barry, Irish soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (died 1901)

John Barry, born St Mary's parish, Kilkenny, Ireland, was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.


01/02/1872

Clara Butt, English opera singer (died 1936)

Dame Clara Ellen Butt was an English dramatic contralto and one of the most popular singers from the 1890s through to the 1920s. She had an exceptionally fine contralto voice and an agile singing technique, and impressed contemporary composers such as Saint-Saëns and Elgar; the latter composed his Sea Pictures, Op. 37 with her voice in mind.


Jerome F. Donovan, American lawyer and politician (died 1949)

Jerome Francis Donovan was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms as a United States representative from New York from 1918 to 1921.


01/02/1870

Erik Adolf von Willebrand, Finnish physician (died 1949)

Erik Adolf von Willebrand was a Finnish physician who made major contributions to hematology. Von Willebrand disease and von Willebrand factor are named after him. He also researched metabolism, obesity and gout, and was one of the first Finnish physicians to use insulin to treat a diabetic coma.


01/02/1868

Ștefan Luchian, Romanian painter and illustrator (died 1917)

Ștefan Luchian was a Romanian painter, famous for his landscapes and still life works.


01/02/1866

Agda Meyerson, Swedish nurse and healthcare activist (died 1924)

Agda Meyerson was a Swedish nurse who became an activist to improve the education, pay and working conditions of her profession. She served as vice chair of the Swedish Nursing Association in 1910 and on the board of numerous nursing facilities. She is recognized as one of the pioneers of the profession in Sweden.


01/02/1859

Victor Herbert, Irish-American cellist, composer, and conductor (died 1924)

Victor August Herbert was an American composer, cellist and conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is best known for composing many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway from the 1890s to World War I. He was also prominent among the Tin Pan Alley composers and was later a founder of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). A prolific composer, Herbert produced two operas, a cantata, 43 operettas, incidental music to 10 plays, 31 compositions for orchestra, nine band compositions, nine cello compositions, five violin compositions with piano or orchestra, 22 piano compositions and numerous songs, choral compositions and orchestrations of works by other composers, among other music.


01/02/1858

Ignacio Bonillas, Mexican diplomat (died 1942)

Ignacio Bonillas Fraijo was a Mexican diplomat. He was a Mexican ambassador to the United States and held a degree in mine engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was tapped by President Venustiano Carranza as his successor in the 1920 presidential elections, but the revolt of three Sonoran revolutionary generals overthrew Carranza before those elections took place.


01/02/1851

Durham Stevens, American lawyer and diplomat (died 1908)

Durham White Stevens was an American diplomat and later an employee of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, working for the Japanese colonial office in Korea, the Resident-General. He was fatally shot by Korean-American activists Jang In-hwan and Jeon Myeong-un in one of the first acts of nationalist rebellion by pro-Korean activists in the United States.


01/02/1844

G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist and academic (died 1924)

Granville Stanley Hall was an American psychologist and educator who earned the first doctorate in psychology awarded in the United States of America at Harvard University in the nineteenth century. His interests focused on human life span development and evolutionary theory. Hall was the first president of the American Psychological Association and the first president of Clark University. A 2002 survey by Review of General Psychology ranked Hall as the 72nd most cited psychologist of the 20th century, in a tie with Lewis Terman.


01/02/1836

Emil Hartmann, Danish organist and composer (died 1898)

Emil Hartmann was a Danish composer of the romantic period, fourth generation of composers in the Danish Hartmann musical family. His music is distinctly Nordic and tuneful and won great popularity in his time.


01/02/1820

George Hendric Houghton, American clergyman and theologian (died 1897)

George Hendric Houghton was an American Protestant Episcopal clergyman.


01/02/1801

Émile Littré, French lexicographer and philosopher (died 1881)

Émile Maximilien Paul Littré was a French lexicographer, freemason and philosopher, best known for his Dictionnaire de la langue française, commonly called le Littré.


01/02/1796

Abraham Emanuel Fröhlich, Swiss minister, poet, and educator (died 1865)

Abraham Emanuel Fröhlich was a Swiss poet.


01/02/1763

Thomas Campbell, Irish minister and theologian (died 1854)

Thomas Campbell was an Irish–American Presbyterian minister who became prominent during the Second Great Awakening of the United States. Born in County Down, he began a religious reform movement on the American frontier. He was joined in the work by his son, Alexander. Their movement, known as the "Disciples of Christ", merged in 1832 with the similar movement led by Barton W. Stone to form what is now described as the American Restoration Movement.


01/02/1761

Christiaan Hendrik Persoon, South African-French mycologist and academic (died 1836)

Christiaan Hendrik Persoon was a Cape Colony mycologist who is recognized as one of the founders of mycological taxonomy.


01/02/1701

Johan Agrell, Swedish-German pianist and composer (died 1765)

Johan Joachim Agrell was a late German/Swedish baroque composer.


01/02/1690

Francesco Maria Veracini, Italian violinist and composer (died 1768)

Francesco Maria Veracini was an Italian composer and violinist, perhaps best known for his sets of violin sonatas. As a composer, according to Manfred Bukofzer, "His individual, if not subjective, style has no precedent in baroque music and clearly heralds the end of the entire era", while Luigi Torchi maintained that "he rescued the imperiled music of the eighteenth century", His contemporary, Charles Burney, held that "he had certainly a great share of whim and caprice, but he built his freaks on a good foundation, being an excellent contrapuntist". The asteroid 10875 Veracini was named after him.


01/02/1687

Johann Adam Birkenstock, German violinist and composer (died 1733)

Johann Adam Birkenstock was a German composer and violinist. He was regarded as one of the foremost violinists of his day.


01/02/1666

Marie Thérèse de Bourbon, Princess of Conti and titular queen of Poland (died 1732)

Marie Thérèse de Bourbon was the titular Queen consort of Poland in 1697. She was the daughter of the Prince of Condé. As a member of France's reigning House of Bourbon, she was a princesse du sang.


01/02/1663

Ignacia del Espíritu Santo, Filipino nun, founded the Religious of the Virgin Mary (died 1748)

Ignacia del Espíritu Santo luco, also known as "Mother Ignacia" was a Filipino religious sister of the Catholic Church. She was known for her acts of piety and religious poverty and founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Religious of the Virgin Mary, the first congregation for native Filipino women with approved pontifical status on the Philippines.


01/02/1659

Jacob Roggeveen, Dutch explorer (died 1729)

Jacob Roggeveen was a Dutch explorer who was sent to find Terra Australis and Davis Land, but instead found Easter Island. Jacob Roggeveen was the first European to find Bora Bora and Maupiti of the Society Islands, as well as Samoa. He planned the expedition along with his brother Jan Roggeveen, who stayed in the Netherlands.


01/02/1648

Elkanah Settle, English poet and playwright (died 1724)

Elkanah Settle was an English poet and playwright.


01/02/1635

Marquard Gude, German archaeologist and scholar (died 1689)

Marquard Gude (Gudius) (1 February 1635 – 26 November 1689) was a German archaeologist and classical scholar, most famous for his collection of Greek and Latin inscriptions.


01/02/1561

Henry Briggs, British mathematician (died 1630)

Henry Briggs was an English mathematician notable for changing the original logarithms invented by John Napier into common logarithms, which are sometimes known as Briggsian logarithms in his honor. The specific algorithm for long division in modern use was introduced by Briggs c. 1600 AD.


01/02/1552

Edward Coke, English lawyer, judge, and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (died 1634)

Sir Edward Coke was an English barrister, judge, and politician. He is often considered the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras.


01/02/1462

Johannes Trithemius, German lexicographer, historian, and cryptographer (died 1516)

Johannes Trithemius, born Johann Heidenberg, was a German Benedictine abbot and a polymath who was active in the German Renaissance as a lexicographer, chronicler, cryptographer, and occultist. He is considered the founder of modern cryptography and steganography, as well as the founder of bibliography and literary studies as branches of knowledge. He had considerable influence on the development of early modern and modern occultism. His students included Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa and Paracelsus.


01/02/1459

Conrad Celtes, German poet and scholar (died 1508)

Conrad Celtes was a German Renaissance humanist scholar and poet of the German Renaissance born in Franconia. He led the theatrical performances at the Viennese court and reformed the syllabi.


01/02/1447

Eberhard II, Duke of Württemberg (died 1504)

Eberhard VI/II was a German nobleman. He was Count of Württemberg-Stuttgart from 1480 to 1496 as Eberhard VI, then Duke of Württemberg from 1496 to June 1498 as Eberhard II.


01/02/1435

Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy (died 1472)

Amadeus IX, nicknamed the Happy, was the Duke of Savoy from 1465 to 1472. Known for his piety, charity, and gentle nature, he is venerated by the Catholic Church with a liturgical feast on 30 March. He was beatified by Pope Innocent XI in 1677.


01/02/1261

Walter de Stapledon, English bishop and politician, Lord High Treasurer (died 1326)

Walter Stapeldon was an English cleric and administrator who was Bishop of Exeter from 1308 and twice served as Lord High Treasurer of England, in 1320 and from 1322 to 1325. He founded what became Exeter College, Oxford and contributed liberally to the rebuilding of Exeter Cathedral, where his tomb and monument survive. He was killed by a mob during the London uprising.