21st February — International Mother Language Day

On this day, 176 notable people were born on 20th February — spanning from 921 to 2007. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.

21/02/2007

Leeseo, South Korean singer

Lee Hyun-seo, known professionally as Leeseo, is a South Korean singer. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Ive under Starship Entertainment.

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21/02/1999

Metawin Opas-iamkajorn, Thai actor and singer

Metawin Opas-iamkajorn, widely known as Win Metawin, is a Thai actor and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2020 with his acting debut in Thai drama 2gether and gained further recognition with his role in F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers. In addition to his work in entertainment, Metawin is a brand ambassador for luxury brands Prada and Tiffany & Co. and was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia class of 2023.

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21/02/1996

Noah Rubin, American tennis player

Noah Rubin is an American former professional tennis player. He was the Wimbledon junior singles champion in 2014, and a former USTA junior national champion in both singles and doubles. After turning pro in 2015, he won four ATP Challenger titles.

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Sophie Turner, English actress

Sophie Belinda Turner is a British actress. She made her acting debut as Sansa Stark in the television series Game of Thrones (2011–2019), for which she received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 2019.

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21/02/1994

Tang Haochen, Chinese tennis player

Tang Haochen is a former tennis player from China.

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Hayley Orrantia, American actress and singer-songwriter

Sarah Hayley Orrantia is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She is best known for portraying Erica Goldberg on the ABC comedy series The Goldbergs (2013–2023). She had previously been a member of Lakoda Rayne, a girl group assembled by Paula Abdul during the first season of The X Factor. She released her debut single "Love Sick" in 2015 and her debut EP The Way Out in 2019.

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Wendy, South Korean singer

Shon Seung-wan, known professionally as Wendy (웬디), is a South Korean singer. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Red Velvet. In 2021, she made her solo debut with the EP Like Water. In 2022, she became a member of SM Entertainment's supergroup Got the Beat.

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21/02/1993

Steve Leo Beleck, Cameroonian footballer

Steve Leo Beleck A'Beka is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a striker.

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Davy Klaassen, Dutch footballer

Davy Klaassen is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eredivisie club Ajax, which he captains, and the Netherlands national team.

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21/02/1992

Phil Jones, English footballer

Philip Anthony Jones is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. Although primarily a centre-back, he was also used as a right-back or defensive midfielder. He is currently a first-team coach at Blackburn Rovers.

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21/02/1991

Joe Alwyn, English actor

Joseph Matthew Alwyn is an English actor. Alwyn made his feature film debut as the titular character in Ang Lee's 2016 war drama Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk and has since played roles in films such as The Favourite (2018), Boy Erased (2018), Mary Queen of Scots (2018), Harriet (2019), Catherine Called Birdy (2022), and The Brutalist (2024), as well as the BBC and Hulu drama series Conversations with Friends (2022).

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Riyad Mahrez, Algerian footballer

Riyad Karim Mahrez is a professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Al-Ahli. Born in France, he captains the Algeria national team. He is regarded as one of the best African players of all time.

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Ji So-yun, South Korean footballer

Ji So-yun is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for WK League club Suwon FC and the South Korea national team. She is South Korea's all-time top goalscorer, with 75 goals.

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Solar, South Korean singer, songwriter and actress

Kim Yong-sun, known professionally as Solar (솔라), is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and actress signed under RBW. She is the leader and main vocalist of girl group Mamamoo and its sub-unit Mamamoo+. She made her solo debut with the single "Spit It Out" on April 23, 2020. She released her first extended play 容: Face with its lead single "Honey" on March 16, 2022. Solar ventured into musical acting through the musical Mata Hari for its 2022 production. Solar will make her film debut with a role as Mi-yeon in horror film The Cursed. Solar also made her debut in Taiwan with Chinese Single "Floating Free" on June 11, 2025.

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Devon Travis, American baseball player

Devon Anthony Travis is an American professional baseball coach and former second baseman. He was originally drafted by the Detroit Tigers, and made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut on April 6, 2015 with the Toronto Blue Jays, playing with the team from 2015 to 2018. Travis began his coaching career in 2021 with the GCL Braves.

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21/02/1990

Mattias Tedenby, Swedish ice hockey player

Mattias Tedenby is a Swedish professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

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21/02/1989

Corbin Bleu, American actor, model, dancer, film producer and singer-songwriter

Corbin Bleu Reivers is an American actor and singer. He began acting professionally in the late 1990s before rising to prominence in the late 2000s for his leading role as Chad Danforth in the High School Musical trilogy (2006–2008). Songs from the films also charted worldwide, with the song "I Don't Dance" peaking inside the Top 70 of the Billboard Hot 100. During this time, he also starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Jump In! (2007) and the film To Write Love on Her Arms (2015). He competed in the 17th season of Dancing with the Stars.

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Ian Cole, American ice hockey player

Ian Douglas Cole is an American professional ice hockey player who is a defenseman for the Utah Mammoth of the National Hockey League (NHL). Cole won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

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Federico Fernández, Argentine footballer

Federico Fernández is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

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Jake Muzzin, Canadian ice hockey player

Jacob Muzzin is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and current member of the Player Development department for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously had played 12 seasons in the NHL for the Los Angeles Kings and Maple Leafs. Originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2007 NHL entry draft, Muzzin went unsigned and returned to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) as an overage player. There he served as team captain and won the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the top defenceman in the OHL. As a free agent, Muzzin signed with the Kings in 2010, winning a Stanley Cup with the team in 2014. Muzzin was traded to Toronto during the 2018–19 season, where he played parts of five seasons. After a spinal injury suffered in 2022 resulted in his placement on long-term injured reserve, Muzzin joined the Maple Leafs' front office as a professional scout in 2023.

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21/02/1988

Donté Greene, American basketball player

Donté Dominic Greene is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Syracuse Orange for one year before being selected with the 28th overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2008 NBA draft.

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21/02/1987

Eniola Aluko, English footballer

Eniola "Eni" Aluko is a British-Nigerian football executive, football broadcaster and former professional player, who played as a winger and striker. Aluko has been a broadcaster for live football on ITV, BT Sport, Amazon Prime and Fox Sports in the US, including men's Premier League and Women's Super League matches since 2014. She was the first female footballer to make an appearance on Match of the Day in 2014. She was the first sporting director for Angel City FC of the American National women's soccer league and held the position of sporting director at Aston Villa W.F.C. from January 2020 to June 2021.

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Ashley Greene, American actress

Ashley Greene Khoury is an American actress. She is known for playing Alice Cullen in the film adaptations of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight novels.

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Elliot Page, Canadian actor

Elliot Page is a Canadian actor, producer, and activist. He is known for his leading roles across Canadian and American film and television, and for his outspoken work as an activist for LGBTQ rights and against discrimination. His accolades include nominations for an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a SAG Award.

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21/02/1986

Charlotte Church, Welsh singer-songwriter and actress

Charlotte Maria Church is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress, and television presenter from Cardiff.

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21/02/1985

Georgios Samaras, Greek footballer

Georgios Samaras is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a forward.

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21/02/1984

Andrew Ellis, New Zealand rugby player

Andrew Ellis is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays the position of scrum-half for Rugby New York in Major League Rugby (MLR).

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David Odonkor, German footballer

David Odonkor is a German former professional footballer who played as a right winger.

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Marco Paoloni, Italian footballer

Marco Paoloni is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He served a nine-year suspension from football following his involvement in the 2011 Italian football scandal.

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James Wisniewski, American ice hockey player

James Joseph Wisniewski is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He most recently played for the Kassel Huskies of the German DEL2. He has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Carolina Hurricanes.

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21/02/1983

Braylon Edwards, American football player

Braylon Jamel Edwards is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was a unanimous All-American playing college football for the Michigan Wolverines, winning the Biletnikoff Award in 2004. He is the all-time leader for the University of Michigan in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He was also the first wide receiver in Big Ten Conference history to record three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and only the third to do so in NCAA Division I-A. He was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the third overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft. He also played in the NFL for the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, and Seattle Seahawks.

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Franklin Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball player

Franklin Rafael Gutiérrez, nicknamed "Guti", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers. While primarily a center fielder throughout his career, Gutiérrez transitioned to right field for the Mariners in 2016. He is currently a special assignment coach for the Seattle Mariners organization.

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Mélanie Laurent, French actress

Mélanie Laurent is a French actress, filmmaker, and singer. She has received two César Awards and a Lumière Award. Internationally, Laurent is known for her roles in Inglourious Basterds (2009), Now You See Me (2013), Operation Finale (2018) and 6 Underground (2019).

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21/02/1982

Andre Barrett, American basketball player

Andre Rashawd Barrett is an American professional basketball player who last played for Obras Sanitarias of the Liga Nacional de Básquet. He played college basketball for the Seton Hall Pirates.

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Chantal Claret, American singer-songwriter

Chantal Claret Euringer is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer for the rock and power pop band Morningwood.

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Tebogo Jacko Magubane, South African DJ and producer

Tebogo Jacko Magubane also known by his stage name Magubane da Franchiz is a South African house DJ and Music Producer radio producer currently working for Tshwane FM 93.6 as the Station Manager.

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21/02/1981

Tsuyoshi Wada, Japanese baseball player

Tsuyoshi Wada is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 2003 to 2011, and 2016 to 2024 for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He also played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2014 to 2015 for the Chicago Cubs.

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21/02/1980

Brad Fast, Canadian ice hockey player

Bradley M. Fast is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He spent his amateur career in the British Columbia Hockey League, and was selected in the third round of the 1999 NHL entry draft, 84th overall, by the Carolina Hurricanes. He played in one NHL game for the Hurricanes, scoring a goal, before embarking on a European career.

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Tiziano Ferro, Italian singer-songwriter and producer

Tiziano Ferro is an Italian pop singer and songwriter. He broke through in 2001 with his international hit single "Perdono" and has remained commercially successful since then, in several countries. Ferro has released a Spanish version of each of his albums and has also sung in English, Portuguese, and French. Known as the modern face of Italian pop music, he frequently writes songs for other artists and has produced albums for Giusy Ferreri, Alessandra Amoroso, and Baby K.

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Brendan Sexton III, American actor

Brendan Eugene Sexton III is an American actor.

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Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, 5th King of Bhutan

Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck is the current King of Bhutan, reigning since 9 December 2006. A member of the Wangchuck dynasty, he is the eldest son of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, and his third wife, Queen Tshering Yangdon. He received his early education in Bhutan before studying abroad in the United States and the United Kingdom, ultimately graduating from Wheaton College with a degree in politics.

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21/02/1979

Tituss Burgess, American actor and singer

Tituss Burgess is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in several Broadway musicals. He is best known for starring as Titus Andromedon on the Netflix comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015–2020), for which he received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He is featured in Schmigadoon! (2023).

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Carlito, Puerto Rican wrestler

Carlos Edwin Colón Coates Jr., better known by his ring name Carlito Colón or simply Carlito, is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. As of June 2025, He is signed to World Wrestling Council (WWC). He is best known for his tenures in WWE and Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW).

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Pascal Chimbonda, Guadeloupean-French footballer

Pascal Chimbonda is a French football coach and professional player who most recently was the player-manager of English non-league club Skelmersdale United.

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Jennifer Love Hewitt, American actress and producer

Jennifer Love Hewitt is an American actress, singer, producer and director. Hewitt began her career as a child, appearing in national television commercials before joining the cast of the Disney Channel series Kids Incorporated (1989–1991), which won her a Young Artist Award. After appearing in the film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993), she had a career breakthrough with the Fox teen drama Party of Five (1995–1999) and became known as a scream queen for her role as Julie James in the horror film I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and two of its three sequels.

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Jordan Peele, American actor, comedian, director, producer, and screenwriter

Jordan Haworth Peele is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker known for his film and television work in the comedy and horror genres. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. Peele started his career in comedy before transitioning to writing and directing psychological horror with comedic elements.

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21/02/1978

Erick Barkley, American basketball player

Erick Barkley is an American former professional basketball player. Born in New York City, raised in the Farragut housing project in Brooklyn, he played high school basketball at Christ the King Regional High School and the Maine Central Institute and college basketball at St. John's University. He was named First Team All-Big East and an All-American honorable mention in 2000. Barkley was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2000, and played for the team for two seasons.

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21/02/1977

Steve Francis, American basketball player

Steven D'Shawn Francis is an American former professional basketball player. He was selected with the second overall pick of the 1999 NBA draft and was named co-NBA Rookie of the Year in his first season. He was a three-time NBA All-Star while playing for the Houston Rockets. Francis also played for the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks, finishing his career with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association. He was known for his crossover dribble, driving ability, and flashy dunks. He was given the nickname Stevie Franchise.

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Rhiannon Giddens, American musician

Rhiannon Giddens is an American musician known for her eclectic folk music. She is a founding member of the group Carolina Chocolate Drops, where she was the lead singer and played fiddle and banjo.

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21/02/1976

Michael McIntyre, English comedian, actor and television presenter

Michael Hazen James McIntyre is a British comedian, writer, and television presenter. In 2012, he was the highest-grossing stand-up comedian in the world. He presents the variety and stand-up comedy show Michael McIntyre's Big Show and the game show The Wheel.

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Ryan Smyth, Canadian ice hockey player

Ryan Alexander Borden Smyth is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played most of his career for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was especially known for playing in the style of a power forward. He has been one of the owners of the BCHL Spruce Grove Saints since 2017.

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21/02/1975

Scott Miller, Australian swimmer

Scott Andrew Miller is an Australian convicted drug dealer and former butterfly swimmer who competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics, winning a silver and bronze medal.

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21/02/1974

Iván Campo, Spanish footballer

Iván Campo Ramos is a Spanish former professional footballer. Originally a centre-back, he featured in a defensive midfield role in the later years of his career.

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21/02/1973

Heri Joensen, Faroese singer-songwriter and guitarist

Heri Joensen is a Faroese musician, notable for being the vocalist for the folk metal band Týr. Heri was born in the Faroe Islands capital of Tórshavn which has had an influence on his song writing. As well as Týr, he has recorded a side project titled Heljareyga.

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Brian Rolston, American ice hockey player and coach

Brian Lee Rolston is an American former professional ice hockey player who most recently played for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He won a Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 1995, and the World Cup of Hockey in 1996 playing for the United States. Rolston has represented the U.S. three times in Olympic competition for ice hockey. In the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, he won the silver medal. Rolston was born in Flint, Michigan, but grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He has served as head coach of the Little Caesars 2001 hockey club as well as assisting with the Little Caesars 2005 team.

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21/02/1971

Pierre Fulke, Swedish golfer

Pierre Olof Fulke is a Swedish professional golfer who played on the European Tour.

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21/02/1970

Michael Slater, Australian cricketer and sportscaster

Michael Jonathon Slater is an Australian former professional cricketer and former television presenter. He played in 74 Test matches and 42 One Day Internationals for the Australia national cricket team. He was a part of the Australian squad which finished as runners-up at the 1996 Cricket World Cup.

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21/02/1969

James Dean Bradfield, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist

James Dean Bradfield is a Welsh singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He is known for being the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. His cousin Sean Moore is also a member.

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Aunjanue Ellis, American actress and producer

Aunjanue L. Ellis-Taylor is an American actress. She has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards.

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Petra Kronberger, Austrian skier

Petra Kronberger is an Austrian former alpine skier, who participated in all disciplines. She was the first female alpine skier to win in all five World Cup events.

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Tony Meola, American soccer player and manager

Antonio Michael Meola is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. He represented the United States national team at the 1990, 1994, and 2002 World Cups. From 1996 to 2006, he played in Major League Soccer, the U.S. top soccer division, where he obtained multiple honors. Meola is currently a radio host on SiriusXM FC.

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Cathy Richardson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Catherine Richardson is an American singer-songwriter from the Chicago suburbs in Illinois. She is the lead singer for the band Jefferson Starship and her own Cathy Richardson Band, and has performed the Janis Joplin parts for Joplin's former band Big Brother and the Holding Company.

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21/02/1967

Leroy Burrell, American runner and coach

Leroy Russel Burrell is an American former track and field athlete, who twice set the world record for the 100 m sprint.

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Sari Essayah, Finnish athlete and politician

Sari Miriam Essayah is a Finnish retired racewalker and a politician, former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and Member of Parliament since 2015. She is the president of the Finnish Christian Democrats party. She has been serving as Minister of Agriculture and Forestry since 2023.

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21/02/1965

Mark Ferguson, Australian journalist

Mark Ferguson is an Australian television news presenter, who currently presents Seven News in Sydney on weeknights.

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21/02/1964

Mark Kelly, American astronaut and politician

Mark Edward Kelly is an American politician and a retired astronaut and naval officer. He is the senior United States senator from Arizona, a seat he has held since 2020. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

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Scott Kelly, American astronaut

Scott Joseph Kelly is an American engineer, retired astronaut, and naval aviator. A veteran of four space flights, Kelly commanded the International Space Station (ISS) on Expeditions 26, 45, and 46.

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21/02/1963

William Baldwin, American actor

William Baldwin is an American actor and the second-youngest of the four Baldwin brothers. He has starred in the films Flatliners (1990), Backdraft (1991), Sliver (1993), Virus (1999), The Squid and the Whale (2005), Forgetting Sarah Marshall, in which he portrayed himself, and the Netflix show Northern Rescue (2019). Baldwin is married to singer Chynna Phillips.

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Ranking Roger, English singer-songwriter and musician (died 2019)

Roger Charlery, known professionally as Ranking Roger, was an English musician. He was a vocalist in the 1980s ska band the Beat and later new wave band General Public. He subsequently was the frontman for a reformed Beat lineup.

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Greg Turner, New Zealand golfer

Gregory James Turner is a New Zealand professional golfer.

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21/02/1962

Chuck Palahniuk, American novelist and journalist

Charles Michael Palahniuk is an American novelist who describes his work as transgressional fiction. He has published 19 novels, three nonfiction books, two graphic novels, and two adult coloring books, as well as several short stories. His first published novel was Fight Club, which was adapted into a film of the same title.

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David Foster Wallace, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (died 2008)

David Foster Wallace was an American writer and professor who published novels, short stories, and essays. He is best known for his 1996 novel Infinite Jest, which Time magazine named one of the 100 best English-language novels published from 1923 to 2005. In 2008, David Ulin wrote for the Los Angeles Times that Wallace was "one of the most influential and innovative writers of the last twenty years".

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21/02/1961

Christopher Atkins, American actor and businessman

Christopher Atkins Bomann is an American actor and businessman. He starred in the 1980 film The Blue Lagoon and played Peter Richards on Dallas (1983–1984).

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Elliot Hirshman, American psychologist and academic

Elliot Lee Hirshman is an American psychologist and academic who is the president of Stevenson University in Owings Mills, Maryland, since July 3, 2017. Prior to Stevenson University he served as president at San Diego State University (SDSU) and served as the provost and senior vice president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

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21/02/1960

Plamen Oresharski, Bulgarian economist and politician, 52nd Prime Minister of Bulgaria

Plamen Vasilev Oresharski is a Bulgarian politician who served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 2013 to 2014. Affiliated with the Bulgarian Socialist Party, he previously served as Member of the National Assembly from 2009 to 2013, Minister of Finance from 2005 to 2009 and Deputy Minister of Finance from 1997 to 2001.

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21/02/1959

José María Cano, Spanish singer-songwriter and painter

José María Cano Andrés is a Spanish visual artist, musician, composer, and record producer. From 1982 to 1998, he was a member and principal composer of the Spanish pop-rock band Mecano. Since 1998, he works primarily in the visual arts.

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21/02/1958

Jake Burns, Northern Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist

John "Jake" Burns is a singer and guitarist, and is best known as the frontman of Stiff Little Fingers, although he has also recorded with Jake Burns and the Big Wheel, 3 Men + Black, and as a solo artist.

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Mary Chapin Carpenter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Mary Chapin Carpenter is an American country and folk music singer-songwriter. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C.-area clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records. Carpenter's first album, 1987's Hometown Girl, did not produce any charting singles. She broke through with 1989's State of the Heart and 1990's Shooting Straight in the Dark.

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Kim Coates, Canadian-American actor

Kim Frederick Coates is a Canadian and American actor and producer. He is known for his starring roles as Alexander "Tig" Trager on the FX television series Sons of Anarchy (2008–14) and as Declan Gardiner on the Citytv series Bad Blood (2017–18). He has also had notable roles on Prison Break, CSI: Miami, Ghost Wars, Godless, Van Helsing, and as Brigham Young on American Primeval, and played Ronnie Hortense in the cult hockey comedy Goon (2011) and its sequel Goon: Last of the Enforcers (2017).

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Jack Coleman, American actor

John MacDonald Coleman is an American actor known as Steven Carrington on Dynasty (1982–1988), Noah Bennet in Heroes (2006–2010), State Senator Robert Lipton on The Office (2010–2013), and US Senator William Bracken on Castle (2012–2015).

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Alan Trammell, American baseball player, coach, and manager

Alan Stuart Trammell is an American former professional baseball shortstop, manager, and coach. He is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He played for the Detroit Tigers for the entirety of his 20-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB). Trammell has served as a special assistant to the general manager of the Detroit Tigers since the 2014 season.

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21/02/1955

Kelsey Grammer, American actor, singer, and producer

Allen Kelsey Grammer is an American actor. He gained fame for his role as the Harvard-educated Boston psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom Cheers (1984–1993) and its spin-off Frasier. With more than 20 years on air, this is one of the longest-running roles played by a single live-action actor in primetime television history. He has received numerous accolades including a total of six Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, two Satellite Awards, two People's Choice Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Tony Award.

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21/02/1954

Christina Rees, British politician

Christina Rees is a Welsh politician who served as Member of Parliament for Neath from 2015 to 2024. She is a member of the Labour and Co-operative parties.

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21/02/1953

Christine Ebersole, American actress and singer

Christine Ebersole is an American actress, singer, and comedian. She has appeared in film, television, and on stage. She has received two Tony Awards, and a Drama Desk Award as well as a nomination for a Daytime Emmy Award.

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William Petersen, American actor and producer

William Louis Petersen is an American retired actor. He is best known for his role as Gil Grissom in the CBS drama thriller series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000–2015), for which he won a Screen Actors Guild Award and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award; he was further nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards as a producer of the show. He reprised his role as Gil Grissom in the sequel CSI: Vegas, which premiered on October 6, 2021.

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21/02/1952

Jean-Jacques Burnel, English bass player, songwriter, and producer

Jean-Jacques Burnel is an English musician, best known as the bass guitarist and co-lead vocalist with the punk rock band the Stranglers. He is the only original member to remain in the band.

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Vitaly Churkin, Russian diplomat, former Ambassador of Russia to the United Nations (died 2017)

Vitaly Ivanovich Churkin was a Russian diplomat. He served as Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2006 until his death in 2017. Previously he was Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (2003–2006), Ambassador to Canada (1998–2003), Ambassador to Belgium and Liaison Ambassador to NATO and WEU (1994–1998), Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation to the talks on Former Yugoslavia (1992–1994), Director of the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR/Russian Federation (1990–1992).

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21/02/1951

Vince Welnick, American keyboard player (died 2006)

Vincent Leo Welnick was an American keyboardist and singer-songwriter, best known for playing with the band The Tubes during the 1970s and 1980s and with the Grateful Dead in the 1990s. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a member of the Grateful Dead.

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21/02/1950

Sahle-Work Zewde, Ethiopian politician and diplomat, 5th President of Ethiopia

Sahle-Work Zewde is an Ethiopian diplomat who served as president of Ethiopia from 2018 to 2024, the first woman to hold the office. She was elected as president unanimously by members of the Federal Parliamentary Assembly on 25 October 2018.

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21/02/1949

Frank Brunner, American illustrator

Frank Brunner is an American comics artist and illustrator best known for his work at Marvel Comics in the 1970s.

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Jerry Harrison, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Jeremiah Griffin Harrison is an American musician, songwriter, producer, and entrepreneur. He began his professional music career as a member of the band the Modern Lovers, before becoming keyboardist and guitarist for the new wave group Talking Heads. In 2002, Harrison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Talking Heads.

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Ronnie Hellström, Swedish footballer (died 2022)

Folke Ronnie Wallentin Hellström was a Swedish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He represented Hammarby IF and 1. FC Kaiserslautern during a career that spanned between 1966 and 1984. He was considered one of the world's best goalkeepers in the 1970s. In 1988, he played one Allsvenskan game for GIF Sundsvall following an injury crisis. As a full international between 1968 and 1980, he won 77 caps for the Sweden national team and represented his country at the 1970, 1974, and 1978 FIFA World Cups. He was awarded Guldbollen as Sweden's best footballer of the year in both 1971 and 1978.

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21/02/1947

Johnny Echols, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

John Marshall Echols is an American songwriter and guitarist, who was a co-founder and the lead guitar player of the psychedelic rock band Love.

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Olympia Snowe, American politician

Olympia Jean Snowe is an American businesswoman and politician who was a United States senator, representing Maine for three terms from 1995 to 2013. A lifelong member of the Republican Party, Snowe played an influential role in influencing the outcome of close votes in the U.S. Senate and in ending U.S. Senate filibusters. In 2006, Time magazine named her one of "America's Best Senators". Throughout her U.S. Senate career, she was considered one of the chamber's most moderate members.

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21/02/1946

Tyne Daly, American actress and singer

Ellen Tyne Daly is an American actress whose six-decade career included many leading roles in movies and theater. She has won six Emmy Awards for her television work and a Tony Award, and is a 2011 American Theatre Hall of Fame inductee.

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Anthony Daniels, English actor and producer

Anthony Daniels is an English actor and mime artist, best known for playing C-3PO in 11 Star Wars films, from Star Wars (1977) to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). He wore the costume and voiced his character in the films and several animated television series. Initially, Daniels did not want to play a robotic character, however Ralph McQuarrie's first concept painting of C-3PO and R2-D2 on Tatooine evoked empathy from him.

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Alan Rickman, English actor and director (died 2016)

Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman was an English actor. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he was renowned for his stage and screen roles and for his deep and distinctive voice. He received various accolades, including a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and an Actor Award, in addition to nominations for two Tony Awards and a Laurence Olivier Award.

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Bob Ryan, American journalist and author

Robert P. Ryan is an American sportswriter, formerly with The Boston Globe, and author. He has been described as "the quintessential American sportswriter" and a basketball guru, and is well known for his coverage of the sport including his famous stories covering the Boston Celtics in the 1970s. After graduating from Boston College, Ryan started as a sports intern for the Globe on the same day as Peter Gammons, and later worked with other notable Globe sportswriters Will McDonough and Leigh Montville. In early 2012, Ryan announced his retirement from sports writing after 44 years, effective at the conclusion of the 2012 Summer Olympics. His final column in the Globe was published August 12, 2012.

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21/02/1945

Maurice Bembridge, English golfer (died 2024)

Maurice Bembridge was an English professional golfer. Early in his career he had some success on the British PGA, winning the 1969 News of the World Match Play and the 1971 Dunlop Masters. He would go on to win six times on the British PGA's successor circuit, the European Tour. He also had some success overseas, winning the New Zealand Golf Circuit's Caltex Tournament in 1970 and the Kenya Open three times. Late in his career, Bembridge had some success on the European Senior Tour, winning twice.

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21/02/1943

David Geffen, American businessman, co-founded DreamWorks and Geffen Records

David Lawrence Geffen is an American film producer, record executive, and media proprietor. In music, he co-founded Asylum Records with Elliot Roberts in 1971 before founding Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1990, and co-founding DreamWorks Records in 1996. In film, he founded the Geffen Film Company in 1982 and co-founded DreamWorks SKG in 1994.

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21/02/1942

Tony Martin, Trinidadian-American historian and academic (died 2013)

Tony Martin was a Trinidad and Tobago-born scholar of Africana Studies. From 1973 to 2007 he worked at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and over the course of his career published more than ten books and a range of scholarly articles.

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Margarethe von Trotta, German actress, director, and screenwriter

Margarethe von Trotta is a German film director, screenwriter, and actress. She has been referred to as a "leading force" of the New German Cinema movement. Von Trotta's extensive body of work has won awards internationally. She was married to and collaborated with director Volker Schlöndorff. Although they made a successful team, von Trotta felt she was seen as secondary to Schlöndorff. Subsequently, she established a solo career for herself and became "Germany's foremost female film director, who has offered the most sustained and successful female variant of Autorenkino in postwar German film history". Certain aspects of von Trotta's work have been compared to Ingmar Bergman's features from the 1960s and 1970s.

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21/02/1940

Peter Gethin, English racing driver (died 2011)

Peter Kenneth Gethin was a British racing driver and motorsport executive who competed in Formula One from 1970 to 1974. Gethin won the 1971 Italian Grand Prix with BRM.

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John Lewis, American activist and politician (died 2020)

John Robert Lewis was an American civil rights activist and statesman who served in the United States House of Representatives for Georgia's 5th congressional district from 1987 until his death in 2020.

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21/02/1938

Bobby Charles, American singer-songwriter (died 2010)

Robert Charles Guidry, known as Bobby Charles, was an American singer-songwriter.

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Anja Hatakka, Finnish actress and beauty pageant competitor (died 2026)

Anja Inkeri Geissbühler was a Finnish actress and beauty pageant competitor.

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21/02/1937

Ron Clarke, Australian runner and politician, Mayor of the Gold Coast (died 2015)

Ronald William Clarke was an Australian athlete, writer, and the Mayor of the Gold Coast from 2004 to 2012. He was one of the best-known middle- and long-distance runners in the 1960s, notable for setting seventeen world records.

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Harald V of Norway, King of Norway

Harald V is King of Norway, having reigned since 17 January 1991.

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Gary Lockwood, American actor

Gary Lockwood is an American actor. Lockwood is best known for his roles as astronaut Frank Poole in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), and as Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell in the Star Trek second pilot episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (1966). He starred in the only American film by French New Wave director Jacques Demy, Model Shop. He played numerous guest television roles from the early 1960s into the mid-1990s, and played the title role in The Lieutenant (1963–1964).

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21/02/1936

Barbara Jordan, American lawyer and politician (died 1996)

Barbara Charline Jordan was an American politician, attorney, and educator. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate since Reconstruction, the first southern African-American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and one of the first two African Americans elected to the U.S. House from the former Confederacy since 1901, alongside Andrew Young of Georgia.

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21/02/1935

Richard A. Lupoff, American author (died 2020)

Richard Allen Lupoff was an American science-fiction and mystery author, who also wrote humor, satire, nonfiction and reviews. In addition to his two dozen novels and more than 40 short stories, he also edited science-fantasy anthologies. He was an expert on the writing of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and had an equally strong interest in H. P. Lovecraft. He also co-edited the non-fiction anthology All in Color For a Dime, which has been described as "the very first published volume dedicated to comic book criticism"; as well as its sequel, The Comic-Book Book.

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Mark McManus, Scottish actor (died 1994)

Mark McManus was a Scottish actor known for his roles in the British television series Sam, Bulman, The Brothers, Strangers, and Dramarama, and the feature film 2000 Weeks. He was best known for playing the tough Glaswegian Detective Chief Inspector Jim Taggart in the long-running STV television series Taggart from 1983 until his death in 1994.

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21/02/1934

Rue McClanahan, American actress (died 2010)

Eddi-Rue McClanahan was an American actress, primarily known for her work in television sitcoms. She portrayed Vivian Harmon on Maude (1972–1978), Aunt Fran Crowley on Mama's Family (1983–1984), and Blanche Devereaux on both The Golden Girls (1985–1992) and its spin-off The Golden Palace (1992–1993).

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21/02/1933

Bob Rafelson, American film director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2022)

Robert Jay Rafelson was an American film director, writer, and producer. He is regarded as one of the key figures in the founding of the New Hollywood movement of the 1970s. Among his best-known films as a director include those made as part of the company he co-founded, Raybert/BBS Productions, Five Easy Pieces (1970) and The King of Marvin Gardens (1972) as well as acclaimed later films, The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) and Mountains of the Moon (1990). Other films he produced as part of BBS include two of the most significant films of the era, Easy Rider (1969) and The Last Picture Show (1971). Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces and The Last Picture Show were all chosen for inclusion in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. He was also one of the creators of the pop group and TV series The Monkees with BBS partner Bert Schneider. His first wife was the production designer Toby Carr Rafelson.

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Nina Simone, American singer-songwriter and pianist (died 2003)

Nina Simone was an American pianist, singer, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Simone's bearing and stage presence earned her the title the High Priestess of Soul. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and pop. Her piano playing was strongly influenced by baroque and classical music, especially Johann Sebastian Bach, and accompanied expressive, jazz-like singing in her contralto voice. Rolling Stone named Simone one of the greatest singers on various lists.

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21/02/1929

Chespirito, Mexican actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2014)

Roberto Mario Gómez y Bolaños, more commonly known by his stage name Chespirito, or "Little Shakespeare", was a Mexican actor, comedian, screenwriter, humorist, director, producer, and author. He is widely regarded as one of the icons of Spanish-speaking humor and entertainment and one of the greatest comedians of all time. He is also one of the most loved and respected comedians in Latin America. He is mostly known by his acting role Chavo from the sitcom El Chavo del Ocho.

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21/02/1927

Erma Bombeck, American journalist and author (died 1996)

Erma Louise Bombeck was an American humorist who achieved great popularity for her newspaper humor column describing suburban home life, syndicated from 1965 to 1996. Fifteen books of her humor have been published; most became bestsellers.

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21/02/1925

Sam Peckinpah, American director and screenwriter (died 1984)

David Samuel Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and actor. He was known for his revisionist approach to the Western genre, employing a visually innovative and explicit depiction of action and violence. His 1969 film The Wild Bunch received two Academy Award nominations and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Institute's Top 100 list.

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Jack Ramsay, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (died 2014)

John Travilla Ramsay was an American basketball coach, commonly known as "Dr. Jack". He was best known for leading the Portland Trail Blazers to the 1977 NBA championship, and for his broadcasting work with the Indiana Pacers, the Miami Heat, and for ESPN TV and ESPN Radio. Ramsay was among the most respected coaches in NBA history and a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the winner of the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award for the 2009–10 NBA season.

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21/02/1924

Dorothy Blum, American computer scientist and cryptanalyst (died 1980)

Dorothy Toplitzky Blum was an American computer scientist and cryptanalyst. She worked for the National Security Agency and its predecessors from 1944 until her death in 1980.

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Thelma Estrin, American computer scientist and engineer (died 2014)

Thelma Estrin was an American computer scientist and engineer who did pioneering work in the fields of expert systems and biomedical engineering. Estrin was one of the first to apply computer technology to healthcare and medical research. In 1954, Estrin helped to design the Weizmann Automatic Computer, or WEIZAC, the first computer in Israel and the Middle East, a moment marked as an IEEE Milestone in Electrical and Computer Engineering. She was professor emerita in the Department of Computer Science, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

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Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwean educator and politician, 2nd President of Zimbabwe (died 2019)

Robert Gabriel Mugabe was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who led Zimbabwe from 1980 until he was deposed in a coup in 2017. He served as the first Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from internationally recognised independence in 1980 to 1987, then as the second president of Zimbabwe from 1987 to 2017. He was also the Leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) from 1975 to 1980 and led its successor political party, the ZANU – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) as its First Secretary, from 1980 to 2017. Ideologically an African nationalist, during the 1970s and 1980s he identified as a Marxist–Leninist, and from the 1990s as a socialist.

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21/02/1921

Zdeněk Miler, Czech animator (died 2011)

Zdeněk Miler was a Czech animator and illustrator best known for his Mole character and its adventures.

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John Rawls, American philosopher and academic (died 2002)

John Bordley Rawls was an American moral, legal and political philosopher in the modern liberal tradition. Rawls has been described as one of the most influential political philosophers of the 20th century.

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Richard T. Whitcomb, American aeronautical engineer (died 2009)

Richard Travis Whitcomb was an American aeronautical engineer who was noted for his contributions to the science of aerodynamics.

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21/02/1917

Lucille Bremer, American actress and dancer (died 1996)

Lucille Bremer was an American film actress and dancer.

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Tadd Dameron, American pianist and composer (died 1965)

Tadley Ewing Peake Dameron was an American jazz composer, arranger, and pianist.

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21/02/1915

Claudia Jones, Trinidad-British journalist and activist (died 1964)

Claudia Vera Jones was a Trinidad and Tobago-born journalist and activist. As a child, she migrated with her family to the United States, where she became a Communist political activist, feminist and Black nationalist, adopting the name Jones as "self-protective disinformation". Due to the political persecution of Communists in the US, she was deported in 1955 and subsequently lived in the United Kingdom. Upon arriving in the UK, she immediately joined the Communist Party of Great Britain and would remain a member for the rest of her life. In 1958, she founded Britain's first major Black newspaper, the West Indian Gazette (1958-1965), and from 1959 she organised a series of indoor Caribbean carnivals that have been cited as an influence on what became the Notting Hill Carnival, the second-largest annual carnival in the world.

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Ann Sheridan, American actress and singer (died 1967)

Clara Lou "Ann" Sheridan was an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in the films San Quentin (1937), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), They Drive by Night (1940), City for Conquest (1940), The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942), Kings Row (1942), Nora Prentiss (1947), and I Was a Male War Bride (1949).

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Anton Vratuša, Prime Minister of Slovenia (died 2017)

Anton Vratuša was a Slovenian politician and diplomat who was Prime Minister of Slovenia from 1978 to 1980, and Yugoslavia's ambassador to the United Nations.

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21/02/1914

Ilmari Juutilainen, Finnish soldier and pilot (died 1999)

Eino Ilmari "Illu" Juutilainen was a fighter pilot of the Ilmavoimat, and the top scoring non-German fighter pilot of all time. The top flying ace of the Finnish Air Force, he led all Finnish pilots in score against Soviet aircraft in World War II, with 94 confirmed aerial combat victories in 437 sorties. He achieved 58 of his victories while flying a Messerschmitt Bf 109G and 34 with a Brewster Buffalo.

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Zachary Scott, American actor (died 1965)

Zachary Scott was an American actor who was known for his roles as villains and "mystery men".

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Jean Tatlock, American psychiatrist and physician (died 1944)

Jean Frances Tatlock was an American psychiatrist. She was a member of the Communist Party USA and was a reporter and writer for the party's publication Western Worker. She is also known for her romantic relationship with J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II.

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21/02/1912

Arline Judge, American actress and singer (died 1974)

Margaret Arline Judge was an American actress and singer who worked mostly in low-budget B movies, but gained some fame for habitually marrying, including two brothers. Judge specialized in playing fairly earthy women of often questionable virtue and was at the peak of her career in her first years in Hollywood, starring in such pre-code films as The Age of Consent and Sensation Hunters, films often made at poverty row studios. She also played supporting roles in some major releases by the major studios.

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21/02/1910

Douglas Bader, English fighter pilot in World War II (died 1982)

Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader was a Royal Air Force flying ace during the Second World War, who achieved great success despite loss of the lower part of both his legs after a 1931 air crash, one amputation above the knee and the other below the knee. Resuming flying in 1939 after being re-checked for his flying abilities, he became a front-line fighter leader. He was credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared probable and 11 enemy aircraft damaged.

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21/02/1909

Hans Erni, Swiss painter, sculptor, and illustrator (died 2015)

Hans Erni was a Swiss graphic designer, painter, illustrator, engraver and sculptor.

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21/02/1907

W. H. Auden, English-American poet, playwright, and composer (died 1973)

Wystan Hugh Auden was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry is noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in tone, form, and content. Some of his best known poems are about love, such as "Funeral Blues"; on political and social themes, such as "September 1, 1939" and "The Shield of Achilles"; on cultural and psychological themes, such as The Age of Anxiety; and on religious themes, such as "For the Time Being" and "Horae Canonicae".

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21/02/1903

Anaïs Nin, French-American essayist and memoirist (died 1977)

Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and erotica. Born to Cuban parents in France, Nin was the daughter of the composer Joaquín Nin and the classically trained singer Rosa Culmell. Nin spent her early years in Spain and Cuba, about sixteen years in Paris (1924–1940), and the remaining half of her life in the United States, where she became an established author.

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Raymond Queneau, French poet and author (died 1976)

Raymond Auguste Queneau was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor and co-founder and president of Oulipo, notable for his wit and cynical humour.

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21/02/1902

Arthur Nock, English theologian and academic (died 1963)

Arthur Darby Nock was an English classicist and theologian, regarded as a leading scholar in the history of religion. He was a professor at Harvard University from 1930 until his death.

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21/02/1900

Jeanne Aubert, French singer and actress (died 1988)

Jeanne Aubert was a French singer and actress.

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21/02/1896

Nirala, Indian poet and author (died 1961)

Suryakant Tripathi was an Indian poet, writer, composer, and sketch artist who wrote in Hindi. He is considered one of the four major pillars of the Chhayavad period in Hindi literature. He is renowned with the epithet Mahāprāṇ and his pen name Nirālā.

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21/02/1895

Henrik Dam, Danish biochemist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1976)

Carl Peter Henrik Dam was a Danish biochemist and physiologist.

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21/02/1894

Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, Indian chemist and academic (died 1955)

Sir Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar was an Indian colloid chemist, academic and scientific administrator. The first director-general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Bhatnagar is revered as the Father of Research Laboratories in India. He was also the first Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

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21/02/1893

Celia Lovsky, Austrian-American actress (died 1979)

Celia Lovsky was an Austrian-American actress. On the original Star Trek she played the Vulcan matriarch T'Pau, and on The Twilight Zone she played the aged daughter of an eternally youthful Hollywood actress.

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Andrés Segovia, Spanish guitarist (died 1987)

Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña, was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were either students of Segovia or students of Segovia's students. Segovia's contribution to the modern-romantic repertoire included not only commissions but also his own transcriptions of classical or baroque works. He is remembered for his expressive performances: his wide palette of tone, and his distinctive musical personality, phrasing and style.

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21/02/1892

Harry Stack Sullivan, American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst (died 1949)

Herbert "Harry" Stack Sullivan was an American neo-Freudian psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who held that "personality can never be isolated from the complex interpersonal relationships in which [a] person lives" and that "[t]he field of psychiatry is the field of interpersonal relations under any and all circumstances in which [such] relations exist". Having studied therapists Sigmund Freud, Adolf Meyer, and William Alanson White, he devoted years of clinical and research work to helping people with psychotic illness.

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21/02/1888

Clemence Dane, English author and playwright (died 1965)

Winifred Ashton CBE, better known by the pseudonym Clemence Dane, was an English novelist and playwright.

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21/02/1887

Korechika Anami, Japanese general and politician, 54th Japanese Minister of War (died 1945)

Korechika Anami was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II who was War Minister during the surrender of Japan.

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21/02/1885

Sacha Guitry, Russian-French actor, director, and playwright (died 1957)

Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French actor, Lucien Guitry, and followed his father into the theatrical profession. He became known for his stage performances, particularly in boulevardier roles. He was also a prolific playwright, writing 115 plays throughout his career. He was married five times, always to rising actresses whose careers he furthered. Probably his best-known wife was Yvonne Printemps to whom he was married between 1919 and 1932.

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21/02/1881

Kenneth J. Alford, English soldier, bandmaster, and composer (died 1945)

Frederick Joseph Ricketts was an English composer of marches for band. Under the pen name Kenneth J. Alford, he composed marches which are considered to be great examples of the art. He was a bandmaster in the British Army, and Royal Marines director of music. Conductor Vivian Dunn called him "The British March King". Alford's frequent use of the saxophone contributed to its permanent inclusion in military bands. His best known work is the "Colonel Bogey March".

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21/02/1878

Mirra Alfassa, French-Indian spiritual leader (died 1973)

Mirra Alfassa, known to her followers as The Mother or La Mère, was a French-Indian spiritual guru, occultist and yoga teacher, and a collaborator of Sri Aurobindo, who considered her to be of equal yogic stature to him and called her by the name "The Mother" or "Shri Maa".

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21/02/1875

Jeanne Calment, French super-centenarian, oldest verified person ever (died 1997)

Jeanne Louise Calment was a French supercentenarian who is the oldest person in history whose age has been verified, with a documented lifespan of 122 years and 164 days. Her longevity attracted media attention and medical studies of her health and lifestyle. Calment is the only person in history who has been verified to have reached the age of 120 years.

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21/02/1867

Otto Hermann Kahn, German banker and philanthropist (died 1934)

Otto Hermann Kahn was a German-born American investment banker, collector, philanthropist, and patron of the arts. Kahn was a well-known figure, appearing on the cover of Time magazine and was sometimes referred to as the "King of New York". In business, he was best known as a partner at Kuhn, Loeb & Co. who reorganized and consolidated railroads. In his personal life, he was a great patron of the arts, where among things, he served as the chairman of the Metropolitan Opera.

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21/02/1865

John Haden Badley, English author and educator, founded the Bedales School (died 1967)

John Haden Badley was an English author, educator, and founder of Bedales School, which claims to have become the first coeducational boarding public school in England in 1893.

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21/02/1860

Goscombe John, Welsh-English sculptor and academic (died 1952)

Sir William Goscombe John was a Welsh sculptor known for his many public memorials. As a sculptor, John developed a distinctive style of his own while respecting classical traditions and forms of sculpture. He gained national attention with statues of eminent Victorians in London and Cardiff and subsequently, after both the Second Boer War and World War I, created a large number of war memorials. These included the two large group works, The Response 1914 in Newcastle upon Tyne and the Port Sunlight War Memorial which are considered the finest sculptural ensembles on any British monument. Although as a young man he adopted the first name Goscombe, taken from the name of a village in Gloucestershire near his mother's home, he was actively engaged with his native Wales and Welsh culture throughout his career.

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21/02/1844

Charles-Marie Widor, French organist and composer (died 1937)

Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor was a French organist, composer and teacher of the late Romantic era. As a composer he is known for his ten organ symphonies, especially the toccata of his fifth organ symphony, which is frequently played as recessional music at weddings and other celebrations.

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21/02/1836

Léo Delibes, French pianist and composer (died 1891)

Clément Philibert Léo Delibes was a French Romantic composer, best known for his ballets and operas. His works include the ballets Coppélia (1870) and Sylvia (1876) and the opera Lakmé (1883), which includes the well-known "Flower Duet".

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21/02/1821

Charles Scribner I, American publisher, founded Charles Scribner's Sons (died 1871)

Charles Scribner I was an American publisher who, with Isaac D. Baker (1819–1850), founded a publishing company that would eventually become Charles Scribner's Sons.

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21/02/1817

José Zorrilla, Spanish poet and playwright (died 1893)

José Zorrilla y Moral was a Spanish poet and dramatist, who became National Laureate.

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21/02/1801

John Henry Newman, English cardinal (died 1890)

John Henry Newman was an English Catholic theologian, academic, philosopher, historian, writer, and poet. He was an important figure in the religious history of England in the 19th century.

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21/02/1794

Antonio López de Santa Anna, Mexican general and politician, 8th President of Mexico (died 1876)

Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón, often known as Santa Anna, was a Mexican general, politician, and caudillo who served as the eighth president of Mexico on multiple occasions between 1833 and 1855. He was a controversial and pivotal figure in Mexican politics during the 19th century, to the point that he has been called an "uncrowned monarch", and historians often refer to the three decades after Mexican independence as the "Age of Santa Anna".

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21/02/1791

Carl Czerny, Austrian pianist and composer (died 1857)

Carl Czerny was an Austrian composer, teacher, and pianist of Czech origin whose music spanned the late Classical and early Romantic eras. His vast musical production amounted to over a thousand works and his books of studies for the piano are still widely used in piano teaching. He was one of Ludwig van Beethoven's best-known pupils and would later on be one of the main teachers of Franz Liszt.

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21/02/1788

Francis Ronalds, British scientist, inventor and engineer who was knighted for developing the first working electric telegraph (died 1873)

Sir Francis Ronalds FRS was an English scientist and inventor, and arguably the first electrical engineer. He was knighted for creating the first working electric telegraph over a substantial distance. In 1816 he laid an 8-mile (13 km) length of iron wire between wooden frames in his mother's garden and sent pulses using electrostatic generators. He also is known for creating the first electric clock in 1814.

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21/02/1783

Catharina of Württemberg (died 1835)

Catharina of Württemberg was Queen of Westphalia by marriage to Jérôme Bonaparte, who reigned as King of Westphalia between 1807 and 1813.

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21/02/1728

Peter III of Russia (died 1762)

Peter III Fyodorovich was Emperor of Russia from 5 January 1762 until 9 July of the same year, when his wife, Catherine II "the Great", overthrew him in a palace coup d'état. He implemented many notable reforms during his reign, though he is criticised for undoing Russian gains in the Seven Years' War by forming an alliance with Prussia.

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21/02/1705

Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, English admiral and politician (died 1781)

Admiral of the Fleet Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As captain of the third-rate HMS Berwick, he took part in the Battle of Toulon in February 1744 during the War of the Austrian Succession. He also captured six ships of a French squadron in the Bay of Biscay in the second Battle of Cape Finisterre in October 1747.

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21/02/1621

Rebecca Nurse, Massachusetts colonist, executed as a witch (died 1692)

Rebecca Nurse was a woman who was accused of witchcraft and executed by hanging in New England during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. She was fully exonerated less than twenty years later.

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21/02/1609

Raimondo Montecuccoli, Italian military commander (died 1680)

Raimondo Montecuccoli was an Italian-born professional soldier, military theorist, and diplomat, who served the Habsburg monarchy. His military exploits over his five-decade career earned him a reputation as one of the greatest military commanders in history. He is also regarded as the most distinguished military thinker of the early modern period.

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21/02/1556

Sethus Calvisius, German astronomer, composer, and theorist (died 1615)

Sethus Calvisius or Setho Calvisio, originally Seth Kalwitz, was a German music theorist, composer, chronologer, astronomer, and teacher of the late Renaissance.

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21/02/1541

Philipp V, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (died 1599)

Philipp V of Hanau-Lichtenberg was Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg from 1590 until his death.

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21/02/1498

Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland, English Earl (died 1549)

Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland KG, was an English peer and soldier. He was the grandson of Ralph Neville, 3rd Earl of Westmorland, and the father of Henry Neville, 5th Earl of Westmorland.

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21/02/1484

Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg (died 1535)

Joachim I Nestor was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1499–1535), the fifth member of the House of Hohenzollern. His nickname was taken from King Nestor of Greek mythology.

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21/02/1462

Joanna la Beltraneja, princess of Castile (died 1530)

Joanna of Castile, known as la Beltraneja, was a claimant to the throne of Castile, and Queen of Portugal as the wife of King Afonso V, her uncle.

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21/02/1397

Isabella of Portugal (died 1471)

Isabella of Portugal was Duchess of Burgundy from 1430 to 1467 as the third wife of Duke Philip the Good. Their son was Charles the Bold, the last Valois Duke of Burgundy.

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21/02/0921

Abe no Seimei, Japanese astrologer (died 1005)

Abe no Seimei was a Japanese onmyōji, a court official and specialist of Onmyōdō, during the middle of the Heian period. In addition to his prominence in history, he is a legendary figure in Japanese folklore. He has been portrayed in several stories and films.

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